From Fear To Faith

The Lord today. If you have your Bibles, you can turn with me to Matthew chapter number 14, Matthew the 14th chapter, the 24th verse. I am, uh, I'm proud of Brother Hank and Brother Taylor. They came up here and nobody mentioned anything about yesterday. I, uh, I brought this on purpose today, but I'm not going to mention anything about yesterday either, because Jesus loves Alabama, too — just not as much as Rocky Top. Now I'm joking. I said I wouldn't. I did put my notes not to say something, and here I am.

Matthew, the 14th chapter and the 24th verse, it says: "But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary." Jumping down to verse 27: "But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid." Waves are crashing, there in the middle of the storm. They think they're going to die. They think they're seeing a ghost. Jesus says, "Be of good cheer." Be a good cheer: this is a perfect time to be happy. Verse 28: "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come out on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus."

Today I want to preach on this title: From Fear to Faith. From Fear to Faith. I believe that in this place today, God wants to shift some thinkings in this house. He wants to move some people from a place of fear to a place of faith. I think that there are some folks in this place — you've been living in fear for way too long. You can, I get a witness? I think there's some folks here today — you, you've been dealing with anxiety for way too long, with depression for, for way too long. And I believe that today God wants to change your perspective: from Fear to Faith, from Fear to Faith.

The night, it was dark, when the disciples were all in that sea. The wind was howling, the, the thunder, it roared, the lightning, it crashed. And their fear had been vocalized by the disciples. What I've learned in life is that anytime you speak fear, fear can become contagious. That is why it's so imperative that you and I, we watch our words and we watch our actions. And when we are nervous, and when we are fearful, not that we don't show it, but that we make sure that we take it to Jesus Christ. When, when there was a moment of fear and a moment of anxiety, Peter, he looks out and he sees this man named Jesus, walking on the water to him. And so Peter, he takes a breath, and he climbs out of the boat, and he begins to walk on the water.

You see, fear has a way of bringing two different types of, uh, actions out of us. It can either paralyze us, or it can — fear can push us out of our comfort zone. I've come to tell somebody today that, that storms will always enter our lives. And, and storms have a way of either dominating us or challenging us. And not every storm that we face, not every battle that we take on, should be avoided because of its destructive possibilities. But instead, we have to realize that God places some storms in our lives, not to destroy us or not to harm us, but he's put them there in our way, so that he can clear a path for our lives.

I've come to tell somebody today that God is still setting purpose into motion. He's still revealing glory, and he's still wanting to show his divine majesty and power. And sometimes he'll let storms in our lives so that he can do that. The Bible says in Matthew 14: 24, that the boat was in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. In, in human logic, it, it looks at a situation like this, a, a circumstance where the disciples find themselves in, in human reason says, "This is a dangerous place to be. This is a harmful place to be." But faith looks at a situation like this completely different, because faith, it has no limits. Faith, it only sees opportunities. It only sees moments where God can produce miracles. Because faith says, miracles can happen each and every day.

I don't know what you've come in today with. I, I don't know what you're dealing with. I don't know what you're experiencing right now, but my faith says that you can experience a miracle before you leave this place today. Faith says, no matter the storm, no matter the circumstance, no matter the things we're facing, God can perform a miracle in our life today. My objective is plain: is to get us from a place of fear to a place of faith. You see, today, if you're breathing in this place — and I hope you are — if you're breathing in this place today, I want you to know that you have purpose still. I'll say that again for the folks in the back: you've got purpose today. I don't care what the adversary has spoken over your life. I don't know, I don't care what your opponents are saying about you behind your back. I want you to know today, you have a God-given purpose. If you're in this place today, and you're breathing, and you are alive

I want you to know that you still have more miracles to see, more people to reach, that your work on this earth is not done. And today you need to move from a place of fear to a place of faith.

Faith, that's going to push you. Faith is going to push you past your peers. Faith is going to cause you to believe in, in greater things than what you can see right now. I've noticed that within the church world, that great leaders and achievers and believers are rarely realistic when it comes to what maybe other people's standards are. That faith has elevated them, that has caused them to be unique in the way that they live life. Some people would see these kind of people and consider them peculiar. These people oftentimes navigate negative experiences and common fears, yet they accomplish one great thing after another, never accepting or believing that something can't be done for the kingdom's sake. But faith drives them to believe that they can see the impossible. They can experience the supernatural. They can, they can see things that other people have not seen before. And they can experience healings in their body that nobody has had before. Faith, it drives them to a place where they, they get to a realm, in the spiritual sense, where no one else is. And, and I would today encourage you — and I, I pray this, this morning in the Holy Ghost, that each and every person that's here today would actually believe what I'm preaching, that it wouldn't just be words coming from behind a pulpit, but that there would be people here at Center Point that would believe that they can move from Fear to Faith, that they can get to a place in their life where God begins to conquer human logic and shows them the supernatural.

Faith is going to push you past your comforts. It's going to get you out of your comfort zone. It's gonna, it's gonna enable you. Faith is going to push you. It's going to drive you to see the depths of your dreams, see things you've never seen before. Faith is in operation: the ability to see things that do not exist. But fear, it does the opposite. It drives us down. It drives us to what is common, what is average, what is normal. But today I want somebody to understand: just because you haven't seen it yet doesn't mean it's not going to happen. Just because you haven't seen it yet, it doesn't give you permission to quit right now. I, I want to encourage somebody. I want to speak faith into somebody's life, that if God has given you a word, if God has given you a promise, if God has given you a belief that something is going to happen, you should not quit today, but you ought to stay the course. You ought to hold fast to the promises that God has given you. Keep believing, keep dreaming, keep asking God to give you your God-given destiny. From Fear to Faith.

Now fear, it does have an ugly cousin by the name of failure. Fear and failure, they seem to, to go together: fear pushes failure, and failure pushes fear. I've got good news for us today. I'll take the cat out of the bag here: every single person in this room has failed. There's not a perfect one here today. You may feel insecure because of your failures, but I want you to know that you're in a room full of failures, full of people who have tried things from the kingdom of God and have failed. We're all touched by failure. We've — here's what I know about failure: either you're in a season of failure, or you've just gotten out of a season of failure, or you're about to go into a season of failure. But this is also what I know about failure, and that is this: that failure is not final. It's not final. Just because you're in failure right now doesn't mean that you have to live the rest of your life as a failure. But today, through faith, you can get up, and you can look at your failure, and you can say, "I'm rising above you. I'm going to be different. I'm letting God work some things out of my life." Your failure does not have to be permanent. It does not have to be final.

I like sports, and what I really love about sports is, I like a good comeback. I like it whenever the, the scoreboard says, "You have no hope, you have no chance." I remember there was a certain game — and I'm not going to mention names — but it was 28-3, and things were looking bad. But there was a comeback. And before that, that game was over, you look up, the scoreboard, it was 34-28. And I believe this, that if in the sports realm comebacks can take place, then I believe in this spiritual realm God can work a comeback. And this is what I know: he doesn't have to wait a day, or two days, or three days for a comeback, but he can work a comeback instantaneously, anywhere, at any time, at any place.

You may, you've made mistakes. Guess what, we all have. But it doesn't have to be final. It doesn't have to be who you are. Pick up your failures, pick up your mistakes, learn from them. Learn from your mistakes, and get back in the game, because your failure is not final. Look your neighbor and say

failure. "Your failure is not final." Your failure, I didn't have to be final. There's nothing less important in the, in this — again, I'm going back to sports here for a second — there's nothing less important than the school board in the middle of a game. That thing can change, that thing can shift, that thing, that thing doesn't have to — at the, at the end of the game, when, when the fat lady does sing, that scoreboard can look completely and drastically different. There's nothing less important than a scoreboard in the middle of the game. Why? Because if it ain't over, it ain't over.

The tragedy today would be, for somebody that, that has lost some battles, to quit. To quit. Because the tragedy is not that you're losing, and the tragedy is not that, that you have failed. The tragedy would be that you quit in your failure, when there's still time to get up and try again, and do something different for the kingdom of God. Today, I believe I'm preaching to a group of people who are not quitters, but not, our overcomers through Christ Jesus. I believe I'm looking at a group of people who will rise above the chaos of our society, and will look their failures in the mirror and say, "I am not who I used to be." I'm looking today for a group of people who will declare the mighty works of the Lord, who will say, "I may fill out, I may feel like a loss right now, but I'm getting up again. I'm trying again. I'm going to do something different today."

Proverbs, the 24th chapter, the 16th verse, and the New Living, says this. It says: "The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. They will get up again. But one disaster, one mistake, is enough to overflow, or overflow, excuse me, the wicked." The biggest difference between the godly and the ungodly is not making mistakes. The difference between the godly and the ungodly is that the godly gave back up again. The difference between the godly and the ungodly is, they do not accept failure as final. The wicked ones are the ones that don't get up again. But those that are faithful, those that are kingdom minded, those that are righteous, those that are godly, those that are saints of the one true living God, they try again. I say, they try again, though. Those that are righteous, they believe again, they, they rise again. Let's get this personal today: they sing again, they play again, they worship again, they pray again, they fast again, they teach again, they preach again. They don't sit there and say, "I'm not good, or I'm disqualified." They get back up again. The identity of the righteous, of the godly — it's not perfection, it's persistence, it's perseverance. The godly may fall seven times, but they will get up. Somebody in this room today, you just need to determine right now, "I'm getting up." I don't care how long you've been down, you're still breathing today. You still have the opportunity to get up again. Who — I feel this in the Holy Ghost. Some of you have accepted your calling as dead. I rebuke that today, in Jesus' name. There's an anointing on you. There's a calling on you. There's a purpose in it on you. You have not failed enough. You can get back up again.

I believe this about Jesus, and that is, that he is still sovereign in my life, even in my failures. I believe that he is still in control. I believe that he still saves the sinner. I believe he still redeems the fallen. I believe that he still is an encourager to those that have messed up. I believe with all my heart that he is still a gracious and loving God, and there is not a thing that you can do that can disqualify you from receiving his grace today.

We need to move from Fear to Faith. Get rid of that fear. Get rid of that anxiety. Get rid of that, that worry. See, God cannot bless you — I need you to hear this today — he cannot bless you beyond your ability to handle the trouble that accompanies his blessings. Every blessing — I know this is going to sound kind of sad, maybe, to some of y'all, but every blessing that God gives, it's tied to a burden. Some of y'all, God can't bless you because you don't want the burden. You don't want the weight of the blessing. Oh, Lindsey and I, my wife and I, we, we're expecting our third at like any moment. If I run out of here, that's why. But, but children, they're a blessing from the Lord, but there's also a little bit of a burden that comes with it. There's a weight, you know, to parent. Parenting is not super easy. If you find it super easy, come, come talk to me after church, write a book. But blessings come with burdens. Ministry comes with challenges. You don't just sign up for ministry and then go into coast mode, because everything's going to be peachy and wonderful. No, no, no, no, no. Blessings come with burdens. The, the, the greatest piece of steel that exists was created in the hottest fire. The, the brightest star in sheds the darkest night. Suffering and surviving through your fears and failures is what builds courage and perseverance in your life. But pain and suffering, frustration, burdens, are not something that you can avoid in life. Wow, fill this in the

Holy Ghost today. Any time you try to avoid the negative, to avoid the burden, to, to squash it, to silence it, to avoid it, it always backfires. For the, the very avoidance of suffering isn't itself suffering. The avoidance of struggle is, at the end of the day, a struggle. The avoidance of failure is a, a failure. You and I, we cannot avoid a life of pain. I know you're excited right now to hear this. We can't skip over it. You are not going to be the only human being that has ever lived that will be able to go through life without pain and frustration and hurt and disappointment. It is a very large part of our experience as humans, pain. It is the very fabric of life. And to try to avoid it, to, to attempt to, to skip over it, would actually unravel everything else that we have in life.

Today I'm encouraging someone in this room: it's time to rise above your pain. I'm encouraging somebody to say, it's time to get past your failures, to get over your insecurities. Because if you can learn to — oh, if you can learn to live with pain, if you can learn to live with a burden, you can become an unstoppable force for the kingdom of God. But you have to be okay with some pain. You have to be okay with some, some frustration and some suffering.

I think that's why Paul said in Second Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7: "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exhausted, exalted above measure." Listen to this: "Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would depart for me. And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, and my strength is made perfect in your weakness." If you do not have the thorn today, if you did not have the frustration today, if you do not have the disappointment today, if you did not have the failure today, then you cannot stand your feet and say, "His grace is sufficient." If you didn't know the pain, and you didn't know your weakness, you wouldn't be able to stay, "His strength is made perfect in my weakness." That's why Paul says: "Therefore, most gladly I will, I would rather boast in my infirmities, so that the power, so that the power — I said, so the power of Christ may rest upon me." Paul didn't want the thorn, but he had a revelation that the thorn showed him a side of Jesus Christ that he had not experienced before, the pain. He goes on to say in verse 10: "Therefore I take pleasures in infirmities, and reproaches, and needs, and persecutions, and distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I'm strong." Oh, it's only when we're weak today that his strength is made perfect in our lives.

Problem is, nobody signs up for weaknesses. The line for who wants a new weakness is always empty. It ain't like waiting at Disney for a ride. If you want a weakness today, you, you're probably going to get one. You'll be the first in line. But, but what I've discovered in life is that true joy, true happiness, oftentimes requires struggle. I've known today, nobody's signing up for hurt. Nobody signed up for a diagnosis that's negative. I get that. But without the struggle, you'll never really know what true joy is. Without adversity, there's no need for a miracle in your life. If no one's sick, then no one has to recover. If no one is addicted, then no one has to get delivered. If no one is desperate financially, then we would never know him as Jehovah Jireh, our provider. If we were not waging war in our mind, that we would never have to experience him as our, as our peace and our joy.

Today, in this room, we all have pains. We all have problems. We all have hang ups. We have addictions, hurts, frustrations. But I want you to know, God's not intimidated by those today. In fact, he sees all those things as opportunities to bless your life. I believe that God, when he sees us going through a season of frustration, he does not see it through the same lenses. He's not trying to rush the process; he's trying to bless us in the process. There's a reason for the storm today. There's a reason for the frustration. There's a, there's a purpose in your pain today. Question today: it's how much pain are you willing to take on, for what God has promised you in your life?

When I was a kid, I really wanted to be a professional athlete. I wanted to be the next Michael Jordan. Was that too much to ask for? I thought if I could hit a golf ball like Tiger Woods, that would be pretty awesome. To sign up to be a professional athlete — now, I didn't even really care what I was a professional in. It could be golf, baseball, basketball. I, I would hit the home run, I would be okay with that. I would make the buzzer beater. I'd wear that green jacket proudly at Augusta. I'd have been okay being a professional athlete. In fact, I would have liked it. A lot of things — no, no, no, I want to be clear, maybe I shouldn't be talking about this, but there's, there's a plethora of reasons

why I'm not an athlete today, a professional athlete. I still think I'm athletic. There are a lot of reasons why the fantasy of me being a professional athlete never came to fruition. But perhaps the biggest reason why I never became what I dreamed of becoming was because I didn't actually want it. I thought it sounded cool. I love the idea of being that person, to having that kind of fame, to having that kind of money, to, to have the success that comes along with being a professional athlete. I loved the idea of it, but I did not like the idea of the work that was attached to it. When I was 15 years old, it was a lot easier for me to sit behind a TV, playing Xbox and playing Madden, than it was for me to go to the gym and actually work out. What I've come to learn as an adult is that these professional athletes are doing it 24 7. They're working on their craft to become the person that they desire to be. I love the image of the, of the professional athlete, but I didn't like the process.

Some of you in this room right now, you're, you're in love with the ideas of spiritual victories, of mountaintop experiences. You love the, the imagery when you're at the apex of the mountaintop. Problem is, is you don't like to climb. You like the idea of being on top, so, spiritually, but you don't like that. And I'm just being real today — I hope this is okay — but you don't like the idea of praying. You don't like the idea of fasting, unless Pastor calls the fast. You don't like the idea of coming to a family prayer meeting. You, you want the spiritual mountaintop, but you're not willing to go through the process, through the struggles, through the disciplines, to see them happen in your life. I've come today to, to wave the warning flag, that as a church, we can love the idea of seeing miracles and revivals and breakthroughs and anointings and ministries and daughter works, but if we're never willing to fight for it, and we're never willing to struggle for it, and we're never willing to sacrifice for it, then we'll always be a pipe dream. But at some point, as, sometimes, you and I, we've got to get up and say, "Hey, this is something worth fighting for."

Do you want to see miracles in your life? Do you want to see — well, I, I feel like I'm trying to push somebody today, to encourage somebody today. You're longing for something spiritually, but you don't have the disciplines to get you there. You know, you're not willing to go through the struggle to push you to a place where you can see those things in your life. You're living fearful, not faithful. Hear this today: there's no reward for fear. Haunts you, hurts you, is negative in your life. You don't experience good through fear. It's going to take you to have some faith. So today, why don't you go from Fear to Faith?

I'm looking at somebody today, I'm asking you the question: why aren't you worshiping like you've never worshiped before? I'm looking at some people today, I'm saying, why aren't you praying like you've never prayed before? I'm looking at some people today, I'm asking, why aren't you dancing like you've never danced before? Why aren't you giving like you've never given before? Why aren't you teaching that Bible study that you've been convicted over for years? Why don't you actually invite that person to the house of God? Why don't you actually take the step of faith and lead this small group that God's called you to lead? Today, we need to go from Fear to Faith.

The 11 disciples that watched Peter — I'm sure they would have loved the idea of walking on water. It sounds like a pretty appealing thing to do. But they weren't willing to get out of the boat. We're willing to get out of the boat.

I'm coming to a close here in just a little bit. In Psalm 77: 19, it says this: "Your way was in the sea, your path was in the great waters, in your footsteps were not known." This, this Psalm was written on behalf of the, uh, Israelites escaping out of Egypt. Fear kept them back. Fear let them see the Red Sea. Fear let them see the desert surrounding them, the mountains surrounding them, and the enemy that was coming after them. But Jesus, and God, he knew a way that they didn't even know existed. "Your way was in the sea, your path was in the great waters, in your footsteps were not known." Fear prevents you from seeing the plan that God has for your life. But faith will push you out of your comfort zone, and he'll be — oh, he'll begin to reveal things to you that you've never seen before.

This is something I know about Jesus, and that is this: he has a plan for your life. He has a purpose for your life. He has an anointing that's reserved for just you. But you have to be the person of faith to step out and actually start walking that life, before he ever begins to reveal it to you. God's reputation will not be on the line until you're willing to put your reputation on the line. So today I ask you the question: are you willing to live a life of faith? Are you wanting to live a life of fear?

Fear says, "I want control." Could you give me my props here? I've got some props today. Fear says, "I want to be in control. I want to be able to maneuver my life. I want to call all the shots." Faith says, "God, I'm willing to do whatever you want me to do. I give you control. You're the master of my life. You are the controller of my future."

Now, I am no Taylor sailing. I'm no great angler. I wish I was. But we see a story of faith in Luke chapter 5. You see, in Luke 5, we see Peter, James, and John, and they've gone fishing all night, and they've got nothing from it. They've toiled. They, they have not caught a single fish. Jesus, he walks on the scene, and he, he tells Simon in verse 4 of Luke chapter 5: "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch." Now, Simon Peter did not say this, because he's a better person than me, but they had been fishing all night. What I would have wanted to say, if I was Peter, was this: "Jesus, you're a carpenter. I am a professional fisherman. I do this for a living. You build things out of wood. Why don't you, Jesus, stay in your lane, and I'll handle the fishing business? I don't know if you can't tell, but we've been out there all night, and we haven't caught anything." But he says, "Launch out into the deep."

Now again, I'm not a great angler, I wish I was. I remember this one time I went fishing — I already mentioned Taylor by name, but I'll mention them again. I went fishing with Taylor one time. I fished all day, didn't catch a single thing. I was out there before he was, didn't catch anything. He threw it out one time — sorry, that one further than I thought, he did, that one time — and he caught a fish. It's pretty remarkable. I'm not very good at this fishing business. Maybe I should throw it up here, I don't know. I'm not very good at this. But I do know this about fishing with a pole, and that is, when I'm fishing with a pole, I can determine I want to put on the hook. I can determine the bait that I put on here. And when I cast it out into the water, I'm looking for that large mouth bass that I never catch. I got that, that, that, that proper bait to catch it. You know, again, I'm not a professional, but if you're trying to catch a catfish, you put a different bait on it than if you're trying to catch a bass, versus a crappie, versus whatever other kind of fish you want to catch. To me — and I know this, maybe it's a weird analogy — but living in fear is kind of like using a fishing pole: you're going after certain things, and you don't want other things on your line. "I'm okay, Jesus, with you putting this there, but I don't want anything else. I'm not cool with anything else."

But in verse 5 — you know, Luke 5, verse 5 — it says that, that Simon looks at Jesus and says: "Master, we have toil all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I will let down the net." There's two things about this verse I really like. One: Peter calls Jesus mastery. He's saying, "I have identified you as not just a man, but I've identified you as the creator of the world. It does not make human logical sense for me to go out and cast my net again. I did it all night, in the proper waters, in the shallow waters, and I caught nothing. Now you're asking me to go out and launch into the deep, where I know, as an angler, there is no fish out there. There are no fish out there. You're wanting to go out there and, and cast my net again. It makes no sense. But, but Jesus, your master, your creator — this is what I know about you, is that every fish that's swimming out there, you created. And that if I throw my faith out there, you'll speak to those fish and tell them to get in my net. You'll — it doesn't make sense for me to go out there and cast my net one more time. But, but Jesus, I believe that if I do it, you're going to be faithful on your side, and you're going to speak to your creation, and you're going to bless me."

What I love about this story in Luke 5 — I can identify with this, I understand this to some degree — but what I love about Luke 5 is, when he throws his net out there, we know the story: he doesn't just catch some, he catches enough that his net begins to break. He has to call on his friends. He's like, "Hey, Nicholas, come up here, bring your net. You don't have a, no, okay, bring your net. Philip, bring your net, I need you." And what happened, because Peter was willing to go out there with a little bit of faith, saying, "He's Master," before he knew it, every net that was out there in the ocean was full. But this is what I love about the story. This is why I understand about fishing with a net. I need somebody to hear this today: is that when you go with a net, you can't always determine what goes in there. When I go fishing with

a pole, I can somewhat determine the things that I'm going to catch. But when I cast my net out there and trust Jesus and say, "God, whatever you put it, I'm gonna, I want to work it, I want to believe in it, I'm going to do whatever is it, whatever you fill my net with, Jesus, I'm going to accept that it's your purpose for my life." Today, in this room, I, I'm asking for you to consider: move away from fishing with a pole. Move away from living a life of fear, and go to a net kind of living. Go to a life full of faith, saying, "I want to cast it out there, and Jesus, whatever you want to do, whatever you want to fill me with, whatever purpose you want to give me, God, I'm going to believe it, I'm going to hold on to it, I'm going to accept it, and I'm going to walk in it."

I believe in this room today, Jesus wants to fill some nets. The question is, do you trust him as master in your life? As the musicians come, you can stand to your feet today. Do you trust what God wants to put in your net, for your benefit? You know that this represents so much to me in my mind. One, because I can't determine what goes in my net. I can't just try to reach certain types of people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Does this make sense? If God wants to put Spanish-speaking people, Japanese speaking people, Chinese speaking people, English, whatever he wants to do, I want my Ned to be out there to catch whatever he is, he wants me to catch. Is that okay? I'm not going to determine what he does in the net. But what I'm also going to say is that, Jesus, outside of the people that you want me to catch, whatever bit of pain you want me to go through, whatever bit of suffering you want me to endure for a season, whatever level of frustration, of agony, of pain, whatever you're wanting to do in my life, God, I'm giving it all to you.

I believe in this room, Jesus is looking for people to give him permission to be master of their life. He's looking for people who say, "Jesus, I'm willing to go through every bit of frustration for your kingdom. I'm willing to pick up any type of ministry, no matter the suffering that's attached to it. I will sacrifice to a place where it, it hurts me physically. But God, I will trust you as master of my life."

Jesus, I'm God in this net, and I'm throwing it out there, and whatever you put in it, I'm going to accept it as your perfect will. I'm not going to try to fight it, oh, I'm not going to try to avoid it. Yes, there's going to be pain in my offering, but Jesus, bring me the pain, because I want to see your glory. Oh, your kingdom come, your will be done, in my life. Do I have to hurt for a little bit to get what you want? Maybe. But Jesus, I'm willing, I'm willing. Today, in this place, maybe you're going through some pain. Maybe you're going through some frustration. Maybe you're going through some hurt. I want you to know, it's not final. You don't have to live in fear, because it's not final. God wants to move your fear to faith, and change your perspective on how you're dealing with the hurt that's in your life.

Let's bow our heads right now, and let's pray in this place. Jesus, I pray right now, God, for each and every young, every person that's here today. God, God, I pray today, Lord Jesus, and there would be people in this room, God, I would trust you enough that to open up their hearts and say, "I'm going to live in faith. I'm going to live in expectation. I'm going to live with my mind and my heart said on kingdom work." And God, if it comes with pain, if it comes with frustrations, and if it comes with struggles, I'm going to be okay with it, because I know that you're sovereign, that you're in control, that you're on the throne. God, I give you everything today. I trust you with everything today, God, knowing that you can do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or can think.

All right, now, I'm going to open up this altar. I'm inviting every single person here today. Maybe you're in a season right now of hurt, a season of frustration, I'm inviting you up here. But maybe everything right now is good in your life. I'm asking that you come up, because maybe your faith will elevate the person besides you to make their way up. I want you to come up here. I want you to lift up your hands and say, "Jesus, I'm here. I'm here for kingdom work. I'm here for whatever you want me to do. I'm casting my net out there. I'm saying, God, fill it with whatever you want, because I trust in you today." Give him everything today. Give them all that you have today. Give them your purpose, give them your plans, give them your dreams, and let God fill your life. Begin to pray, church. Begin to lift up your hands, and let's go right now to the throne room, and begin talking to Jesus today.