Rise Above the Battle | Rise Above | Pastor Rob Koke | Shoreline Church | Message

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Good morning, everybody. How you guys doing today? We are so, so excited about church. I'm looking. Where did Chris and Paisley go? They left? I just saw them in church. They got married on Friday. There they are. Chris and Paisley. Would you give them a great big hand clap? Let me just brag on these guys here for a moment. They got married on Friday, but Chris and Paisley work in our youth ministry, and the youth are having a really incredible event tonight you don't want to miss. So, listen, if they gave up a couple of days of their honeymoon, you can get your teenager here tonight for an incredible event. But give it up for these guys. Congratulations, you guys. Love you. Love you. Hey, we are really excited about this. This is our fully devoted follower booklet that we put together, how to be a Jesus follower. And it highlights the seven practices if you want to be a

fully devoted follower of Jesus. And I want to give a shout out to Yuri and to Aliska, who really helped to make this thing come together. This is going to be a part of our discipleship process. We're going to give this to every single one of the new believers that accepts Jesus here at Shoreline. And we wanted to give it to you as a gift from us today. So, on the way out, there's baskets and tables and ushers that will be handing these out. This is just our gift to you guys to just say, hey, if you want to be on the same page of being a fully devoted follower and at least understanding and getting some thoughts about the seven practices that will really help you to grow in your relationship with God, make sure you grab one of these on your way out here today. Hey, Jadae, how are you? I'm going to give this one to you. All right, let's all of us stand to our feet. And we are going to do what we do every single Sunday before the message. We are going to recite our creed. It's just our way of wrapping our understanding around the fact that Christianity, at the end of the day, is about God's amazing grace. If you're new to Shoreline, you can read along. The rest of us, we're going to say this with some enthusiasm and passion. You guys ready? Oh, man, I love that. You guys ready?

Here we go. I am loved by God. I cannot earn it. I cannot lose it. I am forgiven and made brand new. In Christ, I live with passion and purpose. I am empowered by the spirit to be the church in the world and to live this love revolution. Come on, let's give God praise for that. Okay, so I am one of five children. I've got two older siblings, two younger siblings, four boys. The youngest is a girl. But I am smack in the middle. And being a middle child has its challenges. You know, they talk a little bit about birth order and the impact that it has on people. I was born right in the middle. And so, all of my clothes were hand-me-downs. They were all, you know, abused and never got that new clothes smell. You know, they were all road tested by the time they got to me. In fact, I think the first new outfit I ever got was when I started dating Laura and she didn't want to be caught seen with me in public without being properly dressed. And so, she bought me some clothes. But that's what happens when you're the middle child, right? You get the hand-me-downs. My parents, I love my parents. They were so good to me and loved me.

But, you know, sometimes being the middle child, people wouldn't get your name right. You know, coaches and teachers and by the time I showed up, you know, when they were trying to call out my name, they couldn't remember it. So, it was like, Pete, John, and, you know, what's the deal? Even my parents would sometimes say, I can't remember your name. Just you, come over here. And then the whole photo gap. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. That first born gets 500 pages of a photo album with all kinds of, you know. recorded phrases about every step and milestone in their life and then the youngest was a girl so you know she got a curated filmography of her an entire life. Me, I wanted to show you a picture of my childhood but there are none. Three blurry Polaroids and one picture with me kind of half obscured by a lamp. Life as a middle child, right? Well I don't know if birth order has a huge impact. There's been lots of books written about it. Some people believe that's a huge huge issue but this is what I do believe with all of my heart that the story you tell yourself is the story that you live out in your life and that's been kind of a theme for us as we've been studying the life of Gideon and this this story of Gideon is so filled with incredible drama and human reactions. I think that's why this story resonates so much is because he often responds exactly the way we would respond in our own journey. God wants the children of Israel to be set free. They've been oppressed by the Midianites for seven years. They're on lockdown and God shows up sends an angel to Gideon and tells Gideon he says the Lord is with you mighty warrior. Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midianites hands. Now the problem is is that God shows up and tells Gideon that he's a mighty warrior and that he's with him but Gideon doesn't believe it and that's often the same response that we have. In fact he says in a polite

voice, pardon me my lord but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my family. I know we've touched on this a little bit but I want to reemphasize it again today. To fully unpack the story that Gideon was telling himself, the story that he was living out, we've got to go back in time. So we're gonna go back a couple of generations to where it all began and it began with actually one of the most popular stories in the Bible you know the story of Joseph. Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Israel and he you know he had some dreams and told his brothers about the dreams but his brothers were you know a little bit you know put out by what they implied and so they they took Joseph and threw him in a pit and then sold him into slavery and he ended up in prison and then in an incredible you know plot twist because of Joseph's ability to interpret dreams he is promoted to be second to Pharaoh this is the CliffsNotes version okay super quick he's promoted to be second to Pharaoh and God uses him to save all of Egypt and all of the known world at that time by accumulating food during the seven years that were of plenty and then rationing it out you know during the seven years of famine and so that's that's incredible and then in a beautiful moment of reconciliation and redemption he is connected with his brothers he meets them again and forgives them and then he's reunited with his father okay so that's the quick version because something really interesting happens when he's reunited with his father this is where things get interesting the two sons that Joseph had when he was you know the second most powerful ruler in Egypt he names them Manasseh and Ephraim Manasseh means that God has made me forget my trouble and Ephraim means God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering and this is kind of an interesting twist because there's 12 sons of Israel and there are 12 tribes in Israel and God decides and Jacob decides that Joseph is not going to be his full share of a son in the 12 sons of of Israel but his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim are going to be half tribes you know that fill his spot in the legacy and and moving forward with the people of God so we don't know if there's a half tribe you know mentality going on with Manasseh because you know

he could tell himself If you know this is the story, he could tell himself, you know, I'm not a full tribe, I'm a half tribe. But there's really something that happens after he is adopted into the family of Jacob, there is a switch. This would often happen with the children of Israel. The father would bless, you know, the sons, and the firstborn blessing was very, very important in the times that the Bible was written. This is, you know, really, really significant. But when Israel is praying for Manasseh and Ephraim, he switches. We read it here in Genesis chapter 48. But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh's head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn. And Joseph actually tries to correct him and say, hey, dad, you're doing it wrong. You gotta put, you know, your right hand on Manasseh, your left hand on Ephraim, but he actually crosses them and blesses them and said it was intentional. So not only is Manasseh perhaps dealing with the idea that he's, you know, like a half tribe and not a full tribe, he actually could be telling himself as well that he was not worthy of the firstborn's blessing, that his own grandfather chose the younger son over himself. I'm not just a half tribe. I am not even worthy of being the firstborn.

Maybe I wasn't good enough. Maybe I wasn't strong enough. Maybe I didn't have the gifts and talents and abilities that are needed to carry the firstborn blessing. And the name Manasseh, which actually means the Lord has made me forget my pain, perhaps becomes in his own mind, the Lord has forgotten me. And the devil, you know what, can twist all kinds of words and all kinds of language. And his whole strategy is to make people feel less than who they really are. So this has happened like 10 generations before Gideon. And it resurfaces in the moment that God taps Gideon to be the deliverer of the children of Israel. That's why his response is, you know, our tribe is the least in all of Israel. My clan is the least in the tribe. My family's the least in the clan. And he's just thinking, I'm the least of the least of the least. And that's the story that he's telling himself. And that's the story he's living out. And I just wonder here this morning, what kind of story we're telling ourselves and what kind of story we're living out. Sometimes we just are born with an insecurity and we take things perhaps in ways that other people don't. We're easily slighted or perhaps easily offended or more commonly, we are easily wounded. Sometimes the enemy will try to convince you

that your upbringing is somehow different from others. Sometimes the enemy wants to say that your ethnicity is somehow less than someone else's. One of my best friends in college, he grew up in a family. His dad was a meat cutter at the grocery store. His mom was a secretary. And nobody in his family ever went to college. None of his cousins went to college. None of his parents before him went to college. Nobody in his family for as far back as could be ever went to college. But he wanted to go to college. But he had to face and deal with all of the insecurities and all of the negative drama and thought processes. And the story he was telling himself is that the Cordrays don't go to college. But inside of him was something so much more significant than you could ever imagine. And when he got to college, he was on my floor. He was my roommate. We became best of friends. And not only did he graduate from college with me, he went on to become a surgeon. And his practice was so successful that he actually bought a percentage of the hospital that he worked in. And he became one of the most successful business doctors, entrepreneurs that I've ever met in my life. Punching up against the circumstances

that tried to keep him down. Sometimes it's a person of influence, a teacher or a coach that tries to tell you that. You don't have what it takes. When I was in high school, my English teacher, and she really liked me actually, you know, she said, you're a great young man, but she was not impressed with my English skills. She was not impressed with my writing ability. And I'll never forget, you know, on the last few days in the school year as I was graduating high school and going off to college, she said, you know, you could probably do anything you want with your life, but I would suggest that you don't become an author. This week, I will complete my fifth book. But we all have stories like that, right? We all have those moments in our lives where people have tried

to convince us that we are less than who God intended us to be. And the story you tell yourself is the story that you live out. The story that was resonating and filtering through Gideon's mind was the story that he was the least of the least of the least. And God wanted to heal that. We've been in the story of Gideon for the last couple of weeks, and we've been highlighting all different parts of the story. But Gideon's heart doesn't get fully healed until the end. Something happens towards the end that changes everything in Gideon's life. God knows what's going on in his head. He knows the story he's telling himself, and he wants it to change. That's why he starts a conversation with Gideon with these words. You are a mighty warrior,

and I am with you. Gideon now is trying to get to the point that God wants him to be. He hears something. God orchestrates an event in his life that gave him exactly what his faith needed. God tells Gideon to sneak up to the enemy because he has something that's going to heal his heart. He sneaks up to the enemy, and he overhears a conversation between two enemy soldiers. Gideon arrived just as one man was telling his friend his dream. I had a dream, he was saying. A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed. His friend responded, this can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon, son of Joash the Israelite. God has given the Midianites

and the whole camp into his hands. Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation. Gideon overhears the enemy talking about a dream that includes him. Think about that for a moment. God probably didn't give Gideon the dream because he would have doubted himself and discounted it in some way. So he gives the dream to an enemy, and Gideon overhears. Here's the beautiful part. God was putting Gideon's name on the tongue of people that he had never met. God was putting Gideon's name in rooms that he had never walked into, in places that he had never been. I'll never forget the time in my life where this happened to me. I was a baseball player growing up, and I was pretty good.

I was asked to be a part of the all-star team in our small town. The Little League all-star team plays other towns in surrounding communities, and I was so excited that I was honored to be selected to be a part of that team. But my mom and dad had been planning for a year to take the whole family over the summer back to Holland, where we're from, and we would meet all of our relatives for the very first time. It was a super big deal. We were planning for an entire year. We were selling lemonade out in the front of the property just to earn enough money to be able to take this trip. And when my all-star selection was in conflict with our family traveling plans, my parents understandably said,

you know what? You can't participate. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for our family. We're going together over to Holland. And I was disappointed. And I truly was. But I was able to go to the first game of the all stars, even though I wasn't playing, I could watch and cheer on the team. I was standing right behind the catcher and they were warming up and there were two other young men that were standing there watching the same thing I was watching. They were dressed in the clothes of the opposing team as I was dressed in the clothes of our team. And these two young men, they turned over to me and they said, you know what, we're going to whoop your team. And I look back and I say, well, why is that? And they said, because their best player can't play for them. He's on a family trip over to Europe. Their best player can't play. And I looked over at them, and it was the first time I had ever heard my name coming out of people I had never met. It was the first time I heard my name coming from a place that I had never been coming out of the mouths of people that I had never met. I was so shocked. But I got to tell you this morning that when I heard them say what they say

and I might not have been the best player on my team, but I felt like it. I walked away from that conversation with a swag that I still remember to this day. Something happens to your confidence when you hear your name spoken in a place you've never been out of mouths of people you have never met. Something happens to your spirit. And that's exactly what happened to Gideon. He heard his name coming out of mouths he had never met in places that he had never been. And it finally healed his broken heart. And he began to embrace the true reality that he was a mighty warrior and that God indeed was with him. And I just want you to know that that's what God does. He puts your name in places that you've never been in the mouths of people that you have never met. God is putting your name in the room of friendships. God is putting your name in the room of business clients. God is putting your name in the room of influencers who can help you accomplish the dreams and goals you carry in your heart. God is putting your name in the rooms of people who need to be touched by the love of God. He's already put your name in places that you have never been. And when you get that truth, everything changes about your life. Everything changes when you see you as God sees you and you believe that he is with you. Everything will change in your life

when you see you as God sees you and you believe that he is with you. And that's my challenge to each and every one of you. You've got to see your name in the story. You've got to see your name in the book. It's a really amazing thing that happens. Moses is writing the the Bible. Honestly, he wrote the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. And so God inspires human authors. All of the Bible was written by human beings inspired by the Holy Spirit. Here is Moses. He's writing the first five books of the Bible. And in Deuteronomy, the Holy Spirit inspires him. To write the name of Joshua into the story. And then God and Moses tell Joshua that you need to read this book of the law over and over and over and over. And one of the reasons why God wants Joshua to read this book of the law over and over and over, because he's dealing with some insecurities. He's dealing with some doubts. He needs to see his name in the book. He needs to see himself as God sees him. And so God orchestrates Moses writing his name in the book so he'll read about himself when he opens up the book in Deuteronomy chapter 31. This is what Moses wrote, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him, be strong and courageous, for you must go with these people into the land that I've sworn to give to their.

Ancestors to give them the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you He will never leave you never forsake you do not be afraid do not be discouraged God Wants to get Joshua To see himself as God sees him and he says read the book over and over Come to grips that I am with you. Don't be discouraged be strong and courageous We're gonna take this promised land together God wants you to see your name in this book and So when you see your new identity realities in this book, you can't just gloss over them You can't just read them and put them on the shelf You got to get to the place where you see yourself as God sees you That you are forgiven put your name in there. Say your name and then say I'm Forgiven you are a brand-new Creation you are you are seated with Christ in heavenly places put your name there You're more than a conqueror. You're the head and not the tail you're above and not beneath you need to see yourself as God Sees you come on. Somebody give praise to God this morning And then don't skip this step When Gideon overheard the conversation when Gideon heard how God had equipped and prepared him for victory When Gideon finally realized that it was true that he was a mighty warrior and that God was with him He didn't immediately run to the battle he didn't even make some strategy or some military plans Here's what the Bible says he did When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation he bowed down and worshipped Don't skip that step When you're on the verge of seeing your dreams fulfilled When you're on the edge of fulfilling God's purpose and plan for your life Don't ever skip the worship

it was from that place of surrender and gratitude that God cemented his identity and the promise that he was with him and So along with Gideon we can sing God. You are good. We can sing God. You are worthy we can sing all glory and honor and praise and Thanksgiving belongs to you When Gideon gets off of his knees after a time of worship, he is a changed person His name was placed on the lips of people he never met In rooms that he had never walked in and he goes back to the camp and he's a different man There is clarity There's conviction. There's courage There's strategy there's passion Gone is this attitude and mindset that I'm the least of the least gone is the whining gone is the low self-esteem He organizes 300 men into three companies of a hundred men each Now keep in mind that these 300 had been whittled down from 32,000 And he's about to face an army of innumerable Number it can't be counted how many he's going up to fight But he's leading with confidence and boldness even though he's only got 300 He says follow me Watch me Judges chapter 7 and verse 17 and 18 Read these words along with me and notice how different they are from all of the language We have heard Gideon speak so far He says watch me he told them follow my lead when I get to the edge of the camp do exactly what I do Gone is the insecurity gone is the fear gone is the Least of the least of the least mindset when I and all who are with me blow the trumpets Then from all around the camp blow yours and shout for the Lord and for Gideon Wow Follow my lead Watch what I do

blow the trumpet break the pot that covers the flame raise the torch and shout for the Lord and for Gideon and watch What God does? the Lord causes This group of 300 it to be like 300,000. Their voices are magnified. Their shout is is so large and so strong that it intimidates the enemy and they start fighting against each other. And the victory that is produced that day is a generational victory that sets all of the children of Israel free. And I love this verse. In Judges chapter seven and verse 24, Gideon sent messengers throughout all of the hill country of Ephraim saying, come down. Against the Midianites. Oh, how the tables have turned. The tribe of Manasseh does the heavy lifting and Ephraim gets the mop up duty for years. The children of Israel have been on the ropes for years, taking hits for years, facing an army

that was too numerous to count. And yet the Lord produces this monumental victory with 300 bold, confident men who see themselves as God sees them, who are convinced that God is with them. When you know those two things, there's nothing you can't do. And you might have come to church today feeling like your marriage is on the ropes. Perhaps your business is on the ropes. Your health is on the ropes. Your dreams are on the ropes. You're battling, but it doesn't seem like you're making any progress and you're feeling a little bit like Gideon, that you're the least of the least or you don't have what it takes. And I'm here to tell you that you're a mighty warrior and that God is with you. And he has put your name in the mouths of people that you have never met in rooms that you have never walked into. And it's time for all of us to get an attitude shift. It's time for us to fight for our marriages, to fight for our family, to fight for our health, to fight for our businesses and career path. It's time for us to fight as a church, not, you know, with with military strength, but to fight on our knees

with acts of courage and kindness to make a difference, to be a light on the hill. When Jesus was talking about the church, he said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it. Jesus is painting a picture of a church that he's building, a church that's powerful, a church that has a mission, a church that will be stronger than the gates of hell. He spoke about a church that had strategy, a church on fire, a church that was totally free, a church that would bring light to the darkness. And it's time, brothers and sisters, it's time for the mighty warrior to arise in each and every one of us. When you see you as God's chosen people, when you see you as God sees you and believe that he is with you, you won't be hiding in the wine press. You'll turn into a mighty warrior. You won't be bound by addiction. You will be free at last. You'll go from lack to blessing, from timidity to courage and from a church on the corner to a church on a hill. I want to take the opportunity as we close this message today to do something special.

We're going to turn down the lights. Nobody leaving early or moving around. When Gideon had the victory that day, there were torches covered in pots, there were trumpets to be blown and there was a shout to be given. They broke those pots and raised their torches. They blew their trumpets and they shouted for the Lord and for Gideon. I want all of us to do something kind of special. I want you to get your phone out and I want you to be ready. I don't want you to do it right now. I want you to be ready to turn on the light when you can say yes I want you to turn on that light as a modern-day torch that we raise today. Now, kind of got to turn off your lights. Got to pay attention. Everybody turn off their lights. I want you to turn on your light on your phone if you signed up to serve during Shore Fest this past month, turn on your light. If you're here today and you serve in some form or fashion here at Shoreline, I want you to turn on your light. If you signed up over this last month to be involved in a small group, I want you to turn on your light. If you're already a part of a small group and community is very important to me to you, I want you to turn on your light. If you signed up to be baptized today, I want you to turn on your light. If you came to church today and you weren't planning on being baptized, but you thought you know what? I don't want to live the way I've been living. I want to be a mighty warrior.

I want to live as if God is with me as he truly is and you want to be baptized today. You know what? You can be spontaneously baptized. We've prepared for you. We've got shorts and a t-shirt for you, but if you want to be baptized today, turn on your light. If you want to be a part of a church that's not just a quiet small little place in the corner where we're not dangerous, that we're not making much impact, if you don't want to be a part of a church like that, but you want to be a part of a church that's bold and strong and committed to being fully devoted followers, I want you to turn on your light. If you came to church today and there's an attitude shift that needs to take place in your personal life, you need to go from being timid and fearful to being a mighty warrior. Now you need to fight for your marriage, turn on your light. If you need to fight for your career, turn on your light. If you need to fight for your health, turn on your light. If you want to be a part of being a fully devoted follower, turn on your light. And now I'm going to ask everyone with your lights shining, I want you to stand to your feet, nobody leaving early, nobody moving around. I want all of us to give a shout to the Lord this morning. A few thousand years ago when Gideon was standing before the enemy, he told them to shout for the Lord and for Gideon. But we are going to shout together here this morning for the Lord and the kingdom. For the Lord and the kingdom. On three. Ready? One, two, three. For the Lord and the kingdom. Come on, one more time. For the Lord and the kingdom. One more time. For the Lord and the kingdom. Come on, let's give God a shout of praise. Can I ask you, just as you're standing there for a moment, to close your eyes. Lord, we thank you for your victory. We thank you, God, that you are the one that even when we face a Midianite army, Lord God, that outnumbers us thousands to what we have, Lord God. I pray that we would know that you are with us. And Lord, I thank you, God, that you've placed us in an army of a couple hundred, Lord God, like Gideon and his 300.

We have our 300, Father, and we can stand together and fight the enemy as we proclaim your name. But I want to take a moment for those today whose sins are before them like a Midianite army. Maybe you find yourself in a place today where you don't feel good enough, where you don't feel holy enough, where you don't feel right enough with God to come to Him. I want to tell you Jesus has fought and won the victory and you get to be in union with God. You get to have a relationship with God, not because you feel good enough, but because of how He sees you with your life hidden in the sacrifice of Christ. So if you feel far from God today, we get to pray together today. You get to accept what He has done and you get to make your relationship with God right this day. Maybe today is your day to come back to Him and to stand in a relationship with God. So if that's you today, and you need to respond and say, God, I'm coming back to you. I accept what Jesus Christ has done on the cross to die for my sins and you want to respond to Him and acknowledge that, I want to invite you to just right there where you are. Would you just put your hand up high and say, that's me. I need to respond today. I see hands going up all over. Anybody else that needs to respond today and accept, see you up there. See you guys all the way at the top, I see you. Can we pray out loud with those who have put up their hands and all of us together as a reaffirmation of our faith, say this together, dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I accept you as my Lord and as my Savior. And I will live for you from this day on forevermore in Jesus' name, amen, amen. Can we give them a great hand? If you responded today, I wanna invite you,

there are people at all the doors ready to receive you on my left and my right, they have signs that says made brand new, they have some resources for you. So if you responded today, make a moment to go out to them. I wanna invite the prayer partners to the front. If you have any prayer need, we would love to take this opportunity to pray with you today. So feel free to come to the front, we'd love to pray with you. I wanna remind you guys to grab one of those booklets on the way out of what it means to be a Jesus follower, read it, use it, share it with someone else. Remind you guys on first Wednesday, that's coming up this Wednesday, we're back here together for a time of communion and prayer, it's gonna be amazing. Can I speak a blessing over you before you go? May you see yourself as He sees you and may you walk around this week as somebody that believes what He says about you, amen and amen, have a great week. Amen.