Stake In The Ground | Pastor Emma Mullings

And as we kick off this series, we're going to be going through four stakes in the ground. Four stakes in the ground, and we're going to cover one each week. And truly, as you put these four stakes in the ground, and they're here for you to see, there is faith, family and friendships, finances, and fitness and health. And as we talked about last week, as we talked about the scripture over the church for the year, it says, stretch out your tents. These are the four cornerstones, the four stakes, and he will fill whatever you make room for. However big you stretch your tent curtains, however big you create a space for him to dwell in, he will dwell. Let's read that scripture again. Isaiah 54, 1 to 5, sing barren woman, you who never bore a child, burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor, because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband, says the Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent. Enlarge the place of your tent. Stretch your tent curtains wide. Do not hold back. Lengthen your cords. Strengthen your stakes, for you will spread out to the right and to the left. Your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. Do not be afraid. You will not be put to shame, history makers church. Do not fear disgrace. You will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your husband. The Lord almighty is his name. The holy one of Israel is your redeemer. And he is called the God of all the earth. How do we actually achieve this scripture in our life? We've got to put these four stakes in the ground. So I want to encourage you to lean in, lean into these next four weeks. And today we are going to look at the first one, which is the stake of faith. God is calling you to take some faith steps in 2025. And Pastor Terence asked me to share a part actually of a part of a word I bought at conference in October. And it's interesting. I believe that at that conference, we put a stake in the ground that has actually started this whole ripple effect throughout the church. Even the history makers original song that we have been on a Sunday morning, holy ground. I'm not backing down, put my stake in the ground. It was birthed at that conference. So as we kick off this morning, I'm going to talk about the stake of faith and I'm going to touch on the lives of three different women that we read about in the Bible, who God called to take faith steps, to walk out their assignment and purpose from heaven. Two of these women showed us what to do. One showed us what not to do, but you can learn a lot. This is actually not a rest year church. This is not a rest year. This is a take ground year for us as a church. It's put your stake in the ground as a church. We didn't come here to

play church this year. We came here to take back some territory. We came to take back some territory that darkness has tried to inhibit. So we're going to take ground this year. We're going to put some stakes in the ground. We're going to prophesy to the dry bones as we talked about last week, but this is not naming it and claiming it. It's actually speaking out what God's word has already spoken. It's coming in line with his word, with what he has already said about your situation and your circumstance. So I want to speak to you from this topic, stake in the ground steps of faith for those taking notes, stake in the ground steps of faith. Now, what is faith? What is faith? Hebrews 11 one tells us now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. It's a confidence in what we hope for and an assurance in what we do not see. And there's two women I want to bring to your attention as we start this morning's message, two women that I think will build your faith and help you pursue the promises of God that he has on your life for 2025. And they are Deborah and JL. Deborah and JL. We read their story in Judges chapter four. God has raised Deborah up at a time when the nation was in chaos. They had lost their identity. They were being attacked, taken captive by anything that the enemy was throwing at them and tracing back the timeline for those who love Bible history. Joshua had brought Israel to Canaan that God called the land flowing with milk and honey, the promised land well before Deborah's time. But over the years, the nation began to break down into separate tribes and they were no longer acting like a united nation. But God being the kind God that he is, was calling them back to be a productive nation again. He was calling them back to a place of restoration. He was calling them back. Act for it to be the land flowing with milk and honey once more. Which is how God describes your promised land in 2025. And we read in this passage of scripture in Judges that there is a desire from God to renew the promise. And God speaks through Deborah, a restorative judge in the land to go forth into battle, to take down the enemy and restore the land. Because now at this point, there are enemies in the land. And for it to truly return to the land flowing with milk and honey, Sisera, an evil leader of one of the tribes, must be destroyed. Sisera must die. And just like we read in this story, I think we all have Sisera's in our life that come against us. Come against what God has placed in our life. Come against the original plan and purpose that he placed in our life.

Something that the enemy uses to stop us fully walking in our purpose, in our land flowing with milk and honey. So I want to ask you this morning, church, what is your Sisera? Your Sisera might be a negative doctor's report. Your Sisera might be some lies that have been spoken over you and you have believed them. Your Sisera might be an addiction that you're battling. You know it's not good for you, but you haven't been able to kill it yet. Your Sisera might be shamed from your past. Your Sisera might be fear that stops you stepping into the future. So let's look at this story. We're going to pick it up in Judges chapter 4 verse 4. It says, Go take with you 10,000 men of Neptali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands. She is prophesying the word of the Lord. God is saying go. God is giving strategy. As you lean into these 21 days of prayer and fasting, God is going to give you strategy for 2025. Verse 8, this is Barak's reply. Barak said to her, Now remember Sisera is the evil leader. And if you don't read the whole story, the whole passage, you might think that Deborah's kind of being a little bit arrogant here saying, well fine then if you're not going to do it, it'll be in the hands of a woman like I'll do it. But she's not even talking about herself. She's actually prophetically declaring what God will do through another woman called Jael. So Deborah went with Barak to Kadesh. Verse 10, So Barak went down Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. Verse 15, this is key church. So God said, Go forth, go forth Barak, go forth with your 10,000 men and I will rout Sisera.

Yet it was at Barak's advance that the Lord routed Sisera. I think for many of us in the room, God has given you a directive. He said do this thing and this is what I'm going to do. Take this step of faith and this is what I'm going to do. And yet we're waiting for him to move first. But that's not faith. It's at Barak's advance the Lord routed Sisera. He was always going to do it. He always said he was going to do it. But Barak had to take a step of faith first. And you need to take a step of faith first. You're waiting for him, but he's waiting for you. Verse 16, Verse 18, Come my Lord, come right in. Don't be afraid. So he entered her tent and she covered him with a blanket. I'm thirsty. He said, please give me some water. She opened a skin, a skin of milk, gave him a drink and covered him up. Stand in the doorway of the tent. He told her someone comes by and asks you, is anyone in there? Say no. Now, JL would have known how evil this man was. It was well known. Sisera had quite a reputation. We read even the entire story, even his mother is lamenting about how evil her son is. Verse 21, but J.L. Heber's wife picked up a tent peg and a hammer

and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground and he died. Welcome to church, everybody. I wanna show you what this actually would have looked like, the tent peg and the hammer. For those who like me, you're very visual and you just like to insert yourself into the story. Verse 22, just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera and J.L. went out to meet him. Come, she said, I'll show you the man you're looking for. So he went in with her and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple, dead. What is your Sisera? I wanna propose to you this morning, church, that God has been fighting on your behalf. And your Sisera is not as big and scary as you may think, in fact, your Sisera is weak and tired and asleep at your feet. And it's time for you to pick up the tent peg and the hammer and drive that thing through his head once and for all to kill that addiction in your life once and for all, to kill that thing that has kept you inhibited, that keeps you bound. God has been working behind the scenes. And the tent peg and the hammer is the word of God. It's time for you to use it, to use the sword of the spirit that he's given you. It's time for some of you to take some faith steps in 2025.

Because just like God called these great men and women to take faith steps to restore unity in their land, each one of you is called to take some faith steps in 2025 to return your land to the land flowing with milk and honey, to put your stake in the ground for 2025. And don't doubt church that God has an assignment for you. Lean into these 21 days of prayer and fasting. He will reveal it to you if you don't know what it is. He will give you faith steps. He will give you faith strategy, lean in. God is so intentional with his purpose on your life. Deborah and JL and Barack, they worked together. And let me show you how intentional God is. If you've been around for a little while, you would have heard me talk about the power of a name. The power of a name. And I always encourage people that are having a baby to seek God, ask God what he has placed in this child's life because we are just stewards of these children that he allows us to be parents of. Ask God, what purposes and plans have you put in their life? Let me prophesy because there are, it's power in a name. Names are prophetic. So I wanna show you how intentional God is because he's been doing this from the beginning of time. JL means mountain goat. You can Google this for yourself. JL means mountain goat. Deborah, the meaning of the name Deborah is bee. Mountain goat and bee.

What do mountain goats make? Milk. What do bees make? They were always called to restore the land to the land flowing with milk and honey. This is what God had always placed on their life. God has placed a purpose on your life. There are no coincidences when it comes to God. He prophesies into your future from the beginning of time. They were operating in their purpose to bring down the enemy, to restore Israel to the land and restore their land to the land flowing with milk and honey. Because every time there is a problem, God always has a solution. And just like God called these men and women to take some steps in of faith in taking down the enemy to restore unity in the world, He is calling you, church, to take some steps of faith in 2025. Each one of you are called to take some faith steps in your life. And taking faith steps looks a little different to everybody. Some of you might feel like, well, it's a new year. Like, what are you talking about? Like projects, goals, maybe it's starting a business or writing a book. And for some of you, God actually does have a business for you to start or a book to write. But for many of you, God is calling you

to take some faith steps to break some generational curses over your family. He's calling you to take some faith steps to change the way that you parent. Because you are parented a certain way and you can either repeat the pattern and use the excuse, well, I don't know what I don't know. That's all I know. That's all I've seen. but it is just an excuse. Because you know exactly how that felt. So he's calling you to take some faith steps to do things a little differently with your children. Some of you, he's calling you to take some faith steps and forgive some people in your life because your family, you're like, well, no second chances here. When they out, they out. But he is the God of the second chances. So he's asking you to take some faith steps and forgive some people in your life and give them another chance. For some of you, he's calling you to take some faith steps and be a bridge builder. Because up until now, you've believed the lie, well, I cut them off, I'm good. But you're actually just angry. And if you don't deal with it, it'll fester and make you sick, emotionally and physically.

God has called you to build bridges, not walls. I wanna give you three attributes this morning of those who take faith steps. And they speak to your past, present, and your future. And I truly believe that if you implement these in your life in 2025, it will allow you to put your stake in the ground for 2025. So take notes, church. Faith steps will require you, number one, to not look back. Attributes of those who take faith steps, number one, they don't look back. If you're truly gonna take faith steps, into the future, God has called you to, you're gonna have to be okay with leaving some things in 2024. You're gonna have to be okay with walking away from some things and not looking back. You're gonna have to be okay with cutting off some relationships that you know that need to end. You're gonna have to be okay with perhaps ending some things, some ways that you're earning income that are not integrous. You're gonna have to be okay to deleting some numbers in your phone. Don't look back. You know, when I was 22, which was 21 years ago, thank you for pretending you're surprised, Terrence.

That's really nice of you. I had to make some decisions to walk away from some things and not look back. To truly walk away from some things and not look back. And I'm just gonna share just a little bit of my story with you. If you've heard parts of this before, I just wanna invite you to consider what God might speak to you through it in this season of your life. You see, when I was 22 years old, I had to make some decisions to walk away. And at that point, I had been far away from God for eight years. I'm actually a pastor's kid. My parents were pastors and I grew up in church, but I left church when I was 14 years old. I had a lot of questions for God and didn't have enough answers. My mom had died. My older sister had died. My younger sister's severely disabled. And growing up, I was sexually abused by someone in our church. And I left church at 14 years old. I was out in the wilderness, shall we call it, for eight years. And that's where I found myself at 22 years old. Now, at that point in my life, I was far away from God.

I had deconstructed the whole church before deconstruction was in the Urban Dictionary. But who knows, deconstruction without a real rebuild is actually just destruction. And I didn't stick around for the rebuild. I was just standing, bleeding and bloody in the aftermath. I was probably the most cynical person that you could ever met. Hate is a strong word, but I would have said at that time, I hated church, hated church, happy, clappy folk. If you had to come up to me then, I would have told you you were in a cult. Just picture the most cynical person in your world who gives you the hardest time of coming here every Sunday. That was me, okay? So there is hope for them. God can do anything, amen? So there I was, I'd been out of church for eight years. I'm 22 years old. And at that point in my life, I was involved in a whole lot of things that I should not have been involved in. I had two jobs and two phones and two names, and you can just fill in the gaps of what you think that might have looked like. From the very, very young age, I'd always had thoughts of ending my life, always. I'd lived with it the whole time.

It was very normal to me because, well, my mom was in heaven, so why wouldn't I wanna be there? So I'd play with substances every single weekend, had no value for my life. So I'm 22 years old, and when you have a job that you don't really want people knowing about, you always have another job because they'll say, what do you do for work? And you need to have an answer, okay? So you have to have a job that's like two days a week at a legitimate place, just telling you, all right? So now some of you are thinking about your friends, and now you've got some questions for them after the service. But that's where I was at 22 years old. And so I worked at this radio station. It was like a Y100 kind of station. We'd drive around, hand out the CDs. And there was a new guy on, and they asked me to show him around. And so we're driving around, and look, I was not the person I am today. I didn't really like people, just being honest with you. And this guy just irritated me from the beginning because he was all sunshine and rainbows, and clearly he had the Holy Spirit on the inside. And sometimes the light in you will irritate the darkness in other people, just saying. And so we're driving around, and he turns the radio off, and he puts on a worship album. And I'm like, look, I probably manifested a demon, let's be honest. But I told him in very colorful language where I'm about to put that CD if you continue to

play it. He's like, oh, do you know what this is? This is called worship music. I'm like, oh, yes, I know what this is. I was terrible. And so we started a conversation, and he found out that I was a pastor's kid. And he's like, oh, you should come to my church, and I'm like, never. You are in a cult. I will never go to your church. But he kept inviting me every single Sunday. He would call, he would text, he would offer to pick me up, and I would ignore him most of the time. Sometimes I'd say, oh, yeah, I'll meet you there with no intention to go. And it had been three months of this, and I remember waking up after a massive night out, seeing his familiar texts, and I was like, oh, my gosh, this guy's like almost stalkerish. I'm just going to go once and check it out. But remember, I'm a church kid. I'm like, I know how this works. You guys think you're the players, I'm the coach, all right? I am not taking you up on a ride, because then I have to wait to the very end. And I want to avoid all those happy-clappy people at the front with the signs. So I went on my own, and I drove on my own, and I waited at the front till all those people went inside. And I wanted to leave just before they gave that altar call at the end to invite Jesus into your heart, because I knew all about it. I knew what was going to happen, and I'm like, they're all just going to turn and stare at me. And I'm like, clearly, she needs the good Lord. So I went in there, and I had just such a wrestle in my spirit, because it was a spirit-filled

church. The presence of God was in that church. And I knew the presence of God from when I was a little girl. And so I'm standing at the back, and I've just got to wrestle, because I'm like, okay, God, you're here. I know you. I'm still mad at you. I still got questions. I left before the end of the service. But then I went back the next week. I went back the next week. And then a few weeks later, they were talking about an ex-Mafia boss from America. Thank you, America. Was coming to speak at their main campus. But remember, I'd renamed everything. I was super cynical, so I called it the Mothership. I'm like, oh, an ex-Mafia boss at the Mothership. Finally, someone with some life experience. That's exactly what I thought. I'm like, finally, someone I can relate to. So I drove 45 minutes to hear this ex-Mafia boss. And I just had to hear his story to even comprehend that God could restore everything. Not just the stuff that had happened to me, but the stuff that I had done and was still doing. And that's the first time I stayed until the end of service, and I ran. I ran down the front when they gave that altar call to accept Jesus. I ran down the front. I remember standing on the altar with my hands lifted to heaven, and I became so aware in that moment that I am so messed up. I am so dysfunctional, and I remember praying to God, God, if you can heal me, I'll do whatever

you ask me to do for the rest of my life, and he held me to it. He held me to it. And so I made that decision to accept Jesus, and I had to make some decisions very quickly, as in, in the following days. Are you truly going to walk this path? Because you're going to have to walk away from some things. And I remember the following Thursday going back to that place where I worked, and I remember being in there, and I'm like, I had this restless, like, I know I'm not meant to be here. I know I'm not meant to be here. And so I walked into this linen closet, and I'm like, God, get me out of here. What do I do? And I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit immediately say, just walk out. Just walk out. But listen, I'm just at the beginning of this Christian journey, so I'm talking back. I'm like, well, what do you mean, just walk out? Like, how am I going to pay my rent? I'm talking back to the good Lord, and I heard his voice again, just walk out. And even in that moment, he quickened to me the story of Lot's wife, because here's the thing when you're a church kid, right? You know the Bible stories, you know the scriptures, you just don't know sometimes when you've walked away, like me, you don't know how to apply it to your life. And we talked about it at our Christmas service, I was talking to you about the importance of knowing the word, of reading the word, because it will increase your vocabulary for the good Lord to speak to you. But even in that moment, I remember God quickened to my memory, he brought to my remembrance the story of Lot's wife, and I knew the story of Lot's wife from when I was a little girl. I knew that she was in a dire situation, and God had provided her a pathway out. Yet we have free will. We have a choice. We've all been given free will, so you have a choice. And I knew in that moment that I had a choice. He was providing a pathway out, but I've got a choice. What am I going to do with it?

For those of you who are not familiar with this story, I want to read you this. Genesis 19, 15. It says, With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, Hurry, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you'll be swept away when the city is punished. When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand, these are the angels, grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters, and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, Flee for your lives. Don't look back. Turn to your neighbor. Say, Don't look back. And don't stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away. Verse 26, But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. She died. In the New Testament, Jesus says in Luke 17, 32, Remember Lot's wife. Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it. Whoever loses their life will preserve it. Remember Lot's wife. All through scripture, there's only one woman that we are told to remember. Remember Lot's wife. Don't look back. God always provides a way out. We have free will. You have a choice. He will always provide a way out for you. But what are you going to do? What is your response? I want to encourage you, church, to take some faith steps and not look back. No matter what has happened in 2024, leave it there. Leave it there. It's a new year and God is doing a new thing. And some of you need to walk away from some things and not look back. And you need to do it today. Don't doubt, church, that God has more for you. He does. He has so much more for you. 1 Corinthians 2.9. You should know this scripture by now. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, neither has it entered into the hearts of man the things that he has for his people. This is his promise for you. Don't doubt for a second that he does not have more for you in 2025. Whatever you're walking through right now, he has provided a way out. Take it. Walk away and don't look back. You are not too far gone. If God can use Rahab in the lineage of Jesus to deliver a nation. If he can use David, a guy with lust problems. If he can use a guy who lies, Abraham. Can we just talk about the whole story now? Not just the highlights. If he can use a lonely widow, Ruth. If God can use me, God can use you. God can use you. God can restore it. God can redeem it. God can provide you with a path out. What are you going to respond? Don't look back. That's the first attribute of those who take faith steps. By the way, those who have never heard that story before, the guy who

harassed me into coming to his church that turned the music off is Pastor Terrence. I did marry him a few years later, just so you know. Had to wait a few years. Had to wait a few years till we were on the same page because it took a little while. Bible talks about the renewing of your mind. It's a process. Okay. It's a process and you need a partner, not a project. That was for somebody. The second attribute of those who take faith steps as you take notes this morning, they are radically obedient to the Holy Spirit. You need to be radically obedient to the Holy Spirit to take faith steps in 2025. I'm going to give you a couple of reasons why you need to be radically obedient to the Holy Spirit. When you are taking faith steps into what God has for you, there is always a season of preparation. There is always a season of preparation. When God is calling you to new territory, it can often be a very humbling experience because He has to take you aside to prepare you. Often, He'll take you from a platform to obscurity. If you don't know you're being prepared and you're in a preparation season, you'll exit early and you'll never be ready. You actually miss out on walking in what God has for you. How do you not do this? You have to be radically obedient to the Holy Spirit. How can you be radically obedient to the Holy Spirit if you don't know His voice. How can you be radically obedient to the Holy Spirit if you don't know the whispers of heaven, if you can't hear His voice? Remember what you feed grows, what you starve dies. His voice is found in a verse. You have to read the Word. Allow the Word to read you. You have to spend time at the feet of Jesus. Spend time in worship. Spend time seeking Him first thing. Seek His voice. Get to know His voice. His Word tells us that we are made more and more into His image as we get to know Him. And before God can bring us to new territory, there is always, always the season of preparation. But preparation is humbling. It's humbling. Don't confuse preparation with desolation. Because God has not sat you down. He's growing you up. He's preparing you for what He has for you. Let God humble you. Let Him keep you quiet in your preparation season. 1 Peter 5, 6, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. Radical obedience always takes a humbling. But you are called to be obedient to Him. He is not about your preference. He's about your purpose. He's not about your preference. He's about your purpose. And He will test you in private before He elevates you in public. Obedience is uncomfortable.

And if you're going to take some faith steps this year in 2025, you better get okay with feeling a little uncomfortable. It's just a feeling, okay? It's not going to kill you. Surprise. Your feelings don't kill you. You need to make your flesh a slave to you. You are not a slave to your flesh. And for some of you, God will give you the smallest thing. He's going to give you a small assignment. Go home and pray for your wife. Go home and pray for your husband. And you're like, what? I don't even pray out loud. That would be super awkward for me. God, that would be very uncomfortable. But if you are going to take faith steps in 2025, get okay with being uncomfortable. Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Obedience is uncomfortable. I think of my seven-year-old daughter. We have two sons and two daughters. And my seven-year-old, her name is Israel. And she is definitely a little uncomfortable with obedience, is a nice way to say it. Out of all four, she is definitely the most uncomfortable with obedience. And just the other day, I was trying to explain to her why she can't ride her scooter around the block by herself, why she has to wait for me. And obedience is just uncomfortable for her. She's like, well, why? But why? And so, I'm trying to explain why, but not instill fear. There's too much fear at the same time, but just a little bit of fear. The mums in the room know exactly what I'm talking about, okay? I don't want to give her nightmares, but I also want to know what can happen. It's a balance. And so, I'm trying to explain it to her. And she's like, but why? But why would this happen? I'm a fast runner, mum. But why? And she's asking me all these questions, and she's clearly very uncomfortable with obedience. And I'm thinking, like, can you not just respect what I say? Why do you have to understand everything? And as I'm having this exasperatingly draining conversation with her, the Holy Spirit speaks to me. He's like, this is sometimes how I feel with you. Because I'm trying to explain concepts to her that she can't understand because she's seven. But His Word says my ways are higher and my thoughts are higher. So, there's some things that I just will never understand this side of heaven. But yet, I need to trust Him as my heavenly Father. She needs to trust me as her earthly parent. I need to trust Him. Obedience is uncomfortable. And the enemy is relying on you, sitting in fear, entertaining your self-comfort. Radical obedience. Radical obedience is also required to ensure that you stay on assignment. Now, what do I mean by that? Many times, God will give you an assignment. He's given you an

assignment to do something in your life. You complete the assignment. You know it's from God. You know He's opened this door for you. And then He's trying to move you to the next thing. He has assignment for you. Yet, over here, we've allowed our identity to get caught up in this assignment and we don't want to let it go. Radical obedience is what will keep you from staying on assignment. Because the same faith that you needed to step into that assignment in the very beginning, the same faith could Because it was from God. You were being obedient. The same faith you're gonna need to step into the next thing when he asks you to let it go. We have to hold loosely every assignment that God has for us. We are only stewards of the assignment. And radical obedience is what will keep us in his will. To leave everything in Australia, for me, it was radical obedience because I had some great jobs in media that God had opened the door to. It was prophesied. God wants to use you in media. God had opened supernatural doors. Everything was going really well. And yet then he said, well done. Now I've got another assignment. It's over here. So I had to hold the previous assignment loosely. And it took, I think, more faith. The faith that it took to step into those things in the first place, I think it took even more faith to walk away from them.

Because again, he's not taking you to another platform. He takes you to preparation season. There's a humbling. Radical obedience is the secret weapon. Radical obedience is what you need for the preparation season. It's what you need to stay on assignment. And it's what you need to do some of the faith steps that he's gonna call you to do. Every single assignment that God has given me, there's always been two things that it starts with. Two practical next steps that the Lord gives me. Sow and serve. Every time, sow and serve. I remember when God planted the seed to work in television. The first thing that he told me to do was sow into someone else's vision. Our church was just starting a TV station. So I started, so I was at Bible college at the time. I was so broke, but I sowed $10 a week. That's all I had. Sow and serve. I remember the first job that I got at Network 10 in Australia. The reason I was able and equipped to do the job was because everything that I had learned working, sorry, serving, I didn't work for the church. I just served, serving in production at my church. Sow and serve. It's always the first step.

But how will you sow and serve? Radical obedience. Because you'll have people in your world. They're like, what? Aren't you saving this side of business? Why are you tithing? Because kingdom currency works a little bit different. You'll have people in your world like, why are you serving every Sunday? Why are you going to do that? Why are you doing that? Sow and serve, sow and serve. It's always the first step when God gives you an assignment. But how do you do it? Radical, radical obedience. The third attribute of those who take faith steps. So number one, they don't look back. Number two, they're radically obedient to the Holy Spirit. And number three, they feel the fear and do it anyway. You have to feel the fear and do it anyway. Let's circle back to JL and Deborah, just for a minute. Both of them took tangible faith steps. Both of them would have felt the fear, but they did it anyway. Deborah went down to battle. She could have died. She would have felt the fear, but you've got to do it anyway. You've just got to feel the fear and do it anyway.

JL took faith steps. Let's go to verse 21 again. It says, Do you not think she felt some fear? It's not exactly something she would have done every day. Am I the only one who overthinks every detail of these stories? What if she goes to do it and she's just trying to like, okay, you can do this, come on, you can do this. And then all of a sudden he opens his eyes and looks at her like something weird like that. She had to feel the fear and do it anyway. For some of you, your faith step is you need to nail some things in your life. You need to feel the fear and just do it anyway. I always think of fear like an ocean wave. I learned very young swimming in Australian beaches. We have big waves. Like you, if that wave is coming through, you've just got to dive through it. Otherwise you're in trouble. You just got to dive through it. Some of you need to take some faith steps in 2025. You need to take some tangible faith steps. And yeah, it's going to be uncomfortable. Yeah, you're going to feel the fear, but you got to do it anyway. To kill that addiction, those booty calls you keep entertaining at 11 p.m. at night,

you just got to cut it off. Let it die. What you feed grows, what you... starved eyes, remember? If you keep feeding your flesh man or your flesh woman, if you feed your spirit man or feed your spirit woman, that will rise. As the more you let the flesh die, it will die. If you want to walk in your land flowing with milk and honey, you're gonna have to nail some things in your life and it's gonna take taking some tangible steps of faith. Maybe your tangible step of faith is forgiving someone. Because anyone you're holding unforgiveness against, you're tethered to. It's like an invisible cord and it's a step of faith to cut that thing. It's a step of faith to forgive them. Don't let that one chapter, that one thing that happened in your life dictate every single thing you do for the rest of your life. I know I've said this before here church, but you know I was abused. The blood of Jesus doesn't give you amnesia, but it gives you a life beyond your past. I'm fully aware of what happened to me, but I'm fully aware that I have not been abused for 35 years. So why would I let that dictate every decision that I make from here on in? I know who I am. I'm not a victim. I'm victorious because I have the victor Jesus living on the inside of me. Church, you are not a victim. You are victorious. You are victorious because you have the victor Jesus on the inside of you. And for some of you, your faith step is going to be getting these scriptures and writing them out, writing them on your mirror, writing them on your car, and actually speaking out the Word of God, prophesying to yourself, declaring what God says about you. You've got to let heaven hear you declare. You've got to let the enemy hear that you are prophesying, you are speaking what the Word of God says. Because he cannot say in the presence of Jesus. He can't stay there. The miracle is in your mouth. What is your faith step, Church? If God has been speaking to you, I want you to write it down right now. What is your faith step? Maybe your faith step is walking away from some things. Maybe your faith step is forgiving someone. Maybe

your faith step is actually texting someone after the service and sowing a seed of kindness when you know that they've hurt you, but you're sowing a seed. Maybe that's your faith step. Maybe your faith step is choosing to pray for your husband or your wife. Maybe your faith step is loving again, giving again, serving in church again. Maybe it's praying before complaining. Maybe it's just choosing to follow when it's hard, or just choosing to trust when it's hard. What is your faith step to put your stake in the ground for 2025? Corinthians 5.7 says we live by faith, not by sight. Hebrews 11.1, that we started this message with, now faith is confidence in what we hope or an assurance about what we do not see. Romans 10.17, so faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of God. If you're gonna take some faith steps this year, you're gonna have to not look back, be radically obedient to the Holy Spirit, and just feel the fear and do it anyway. To see heaven touch earth in your life in 2025. It's gonna take you not looking back, that speaks to your past. God always speaks to your past, present and future. It's gonna take you not looking back, that's your past. It's gonna take you being radically obedient to the Holy Spirit, that's your present, and it's gonna take you taking some steps of faith, that is your future. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Just take the steps of faith. What do history makers do? You're a history maker. History makers don't look back. History makers are radically obedient to the Holy Spirit. History makers feel the fear and they do it anyway. And you can do that this year church. You can do that this year because somebody already did it for you and it's the same person that did it for me. It's the same person that did it for me. Jesus is pardoned for my past, He is peace for your present, and He is your promise for tomorrow. He always speaks to your past, your present, and your future. He is pardoned for your past, He is peace for your present, and He is your promise for tomorrow. I want to read that scripture one more time. Isaiah 54 to enlarge the place of your tent. Stretch your tent curtains wide. Do not hold back. Lengthen your cords. Strengthen your stakes. I love that we have this tent on stage again this week because you need to lengthen your cords. You need to

stretch out your tent. Remember, He will fill whatever space you give Him. How much space are you going to give Him? As we go through these four weeks, I want you to stretch your 10 cords, stretch it out, put the stake in the ground, give Him more room to move in each of these areas of your life and watch Him fill those spaces in your life. Watch Him do miracles. Watch Him move things. Watch Him shift things that need to be shifted. Watch Him soften hearts. Watch Him do what only He can do. Watch Him do what only He can do. So I wanna do two things as we come to a close this morning. The first thing that I wanna do is give you an opportunity to accept Jesus because you actually can't do any of this stuff without Him. You really can't. You can't manifest it. You can't manifest it. You can't get your crystals out. You're just summoning demons. That's all that is. It's one person and His name is Jesus. He is the beginning and the end. He's the alpha and the omega. He's the one that went to the cross for you. It's Him and it's only Him.

It's always been Him. It will always be Him. So I wanna give you an opportunity to invite Jesus into your life, to pray that prayer and invite Him into your heart. The same prayer that I prayed 21 years ago. And that's where it all starts. Because it's not in your strength, it's through the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Jesus working in your life. So we're gonna pray this prayer and we're gonna give you an opportunity to pray this prayer just to respect the privacy of those around you. Would you just close your eyes and bow your head? And if you're praying this for the very first time this morning, would you just be so bold as to raise your hand? It's just me and the worship team that can see you. Just raise your hand so we know who we're praying for. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you so much, the whole family here, I see your hand. Thank you, hands going up across this space. Thank you at the back there, I see your hand. Thank you, I see your hand. Thank you, thank you. We see your hand, but heaven sees your heart and your heart decision and your heart posture. And I promise you, this is gonna be the best decision

that you have ever made in your entire life. So we're gonna pray this together to support you. His Word says in Romans, if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that you will be saved. So we're gonna confess with our mouth. Pray this with me. Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me. I invite you into my heart today. I commit to follow you. I commit to follow you. I declare that today I am saved. Amen, amen. Would you lift him up and shout a praise? Heaven is rejoicing. Sons and daughters coming back to him today. Amen, amen, amen. All right, here's what we're gonna do right now. Now this is important. Listen, don't go anywhere. This is important. If you know that God is calling you to take some faith steps, would you stand in your seat? I'm not gonna ask you to come down the front. I just want you to stand in your seat. If you know that God is calling you to take some faith steps in 2025, to do some things a little bit different, some big faith steps, amen, amen.

What we're gonna do right now, I'm gonna pray for you. I'm gonna pray for you. I'm gonna pray that God will give you a courage from heaven, a strength from heaven, amen. So would you lift your hands to heaven where you are? If you know that God is calling you to take some faith steps in 2025, God, I lift up every single person, every single person standing in their seat. God, you know that you have called them to new territory in 2025. You have called them to take faith steps. You have called them to step out of faith in you. God, I pray you'd give them a fresh strength, Lord, not to rely on their own understanding. God, that they would truly take steps of faith towards the things of God, that they would not look to the left or to the right, as your Word says, but they would stay on the path that you have called them to. God, I pray for a wisdom from heaven. God, I pray you would increase their discernment. God, I pray you'd put a new strength, a new courage in their spirit. God, put a fresh fire in their belly for 2025. God, they would have a fresh fire from heaven, a fresh fire from heaven to walk boldly, to walk with confidence in everything that you have called them to do. In Jesus' mighty name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen. So what we're gonna do right now, I've asked our ministry team to come. Our ministry team have yellow lanyards, and they're gonna. Line up across the front here. If you made that decision to accept Jesus, I wanna encourage you to do two things. To text New Story to 94000, because that's a big decision and we wanna help you with your next steps. We wanna pray with you, we wanna support you. Text New Story to 94000, but also come down the front. Come down the front and allow one of our ministry team to pray with you. If you would like prayer for anything, they're also gonna be here and you can come down for prayer. Our worship, we're gonna officially close the service, but our worship team is gonna worship for a little longer for you to receive prayer. If you would like to do that. Have an amazing week church. We will see you next week for week two and it's gonna be awesome. Let's worship. Thanks so much for watching. You know, if you've never made that decision to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, He actually wants to lead you

into the best story of your life. And the Bible says, the way we do that is to believe in our heart and just confess with our mouth this simple prayer. And we'd love you to pray this with us. Are you ready? Here we go. It says, Amen. We are celebrating with you and we wanna walk this journey together. And if you prayed that prayer or you wanna know more about Jesus, follow the prompts that are on the screen right now. Our vision is God's vision for you. And that's to see you live a better story, holy, healthy, happy, and bringing heaven to earth. And if you've been impacted by what you hear, partner with us. Yeah, together we can make both an epic and an eternal difference. The giving options are coming up on the screen to share the love and see people meet Jesus and live that better story. Hey, and if you're in the South Florida area, we would love to see you in person. Check out the description below for times and places where we can meet and we'd love to see you soon. Yes, we're friends become family at History Makers Church.