Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Warrior, Part 2: Killing Your Inner Coward

Episode Date: January 12, 2020

MEN: JOIN OR LEAD A WARRIOR LIFEGROUPMen: You don’t have to fight your battles alone. Life is better together! LifeGroups are a place to laugh, grow, and serve with friends. If you’re interested in a LifeGroup. Head to https://www.life.church/lifegroups to get started.LET PASTOR CRAIG LEAD YOUR LIFEGROUPGoing through Warrior with your men’s LifeGroup? Pastor Craig has created discussion videos you can use to spark conversation and grow closer together. Find them each week of the series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXvTERtQ_HV95I1zWGNn02-92iCSQXOo8WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR?Defeat the fear that stares you down. Find purpose in your battles. Discover your God-given courage to become the Warrior He made you to be. Get more from the Warrior message series: https://www.life.church/warriorNEXT STEPSHave you made a decision to follow Jesus? You may be wondering what’s next on your journey. We want to help! Let us guide you to your next steps in your walk with Christ: http://www.life.church/nextABOUT LIFE.CHURCHWherever you are in life, you have a purpose. Life.Church wants to help you find your next step. Our hope is that your journey will include joining us at a Life.Church location throughout the United States or globally online at https://www.live.life.church. Find locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.life.church or download the Life.Church app at https://www.life.church/app.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, I wonder are there any warriors in the house today? Can I hear from our warriors at all of our life churches? I had a friend last week tell me, my gosh, Craig, you are in the zone when you talk about warriors, you're brave, you're confident, you're unwavering, you show courage, and I thought I'm glad I looked that way because I didn't feel that way at all. I mean, like, not at all. If you could have seen me last week before the message, I was a complete emotional wreck. That doesn't happen often. But on this particular message, I worked and worked and worked and worked, and I just couldn't get it to the place where I felt good in my spirit about it. I wrote it, rewrote it, threw it away, started over again, rearranged, restructured.

I am always finished by Wednesday. always finished by Wednesday. It was Saturday 10 minutes before, and I was rearranging the notes in the back, and I told Amy, I'm just not ready. I don't have what it takes. And it's interesting as men, there are a lot of times we can portray something on the outside,

but on the inside we're feeling something totally different. If I looked brave and passionate and courageous, I'm glad that I did, because what I felt honestly was I felt inadequate, I felt unsure, I felt weak, I felt nervous, and I felt afraid. You have a kingdom to advance. You have someone to protect. You've got a battle to win.

And your pastor wanted to run and hide. That's what I felt. We're talking more specifically to the men in this message series. We're talking about being a warrior. I want to be very, very clear beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I know embrace the reality that some of the strongest, bravest, most fierce warriors are not just men, but there are amazingly brave women warriors who know how to fight and fight for what's right. Embrace that. I want you to know, I know that. I'm talking more

directly to the men for a couple of reasons because one reason I feel like men need it. Secondly, I think I understand men. Admittedly, I don't understand women. I don't know any man that understands women. Secretly, I think women like it that we don't understand that, but I cannot prove that. But I want to talk directly to the men because I feel like men need spiritual encouragement. I know that I do. What tends to happen as men is a lot of times we know how to put on a little bit of a front. Hey, look at me, I feel strong.

I look confident. I look brave. I look like I know it all. But so often as men, our insecurities privately scream louder than our. faith. And that's why today I want to look at a warrior that I think a lot of men and women can relate to. He's what I would call a hesitant warrior. You can find his story in the Old Testament in the book of judges in chapter six. And just to give you the context is he was one of the Israelites, and the Israelites were very afraid of the evil and oppressive Midianites who for seven years

ravaged the Israelites lands, burned their homes, killed their entire families a lot of times. And so Gideon and his people were very, very, very afraid, scared for their lives. In fact, what's interesting to me about Gideon is I can so relate to him because if you'll notice, there are parts of him where he was very, very courageous, and there were other times when he cowered. There were times when he showed bravery and courage, and then there were other times when he was wavering and would retreat. In fact, one of the ways you see that he was actually full of courage is he was the only family member to worship the one true God.

All the other family members worshipped the false prophet bail. And so you can imagine the ridicule, the persecution that he got for standing up for his God. He was brave. Then at the same time, he was hiding from the bad guys because he was afraid he didn't have what it would take to defend his family. He was simultaneously courageous and full of fear. You can read the beginning of his story in Judges chapter 6, verses 11 and 12 that tells us this. The angel of the Lord, now that's just pretty cool if an angel appears to you.

The angel of the Lord sat down under the oak in Oprah. Oprah's been around for quite some time. Hashtag dad joke, sorry. Can't stop, won't stop. It just happens when you get to be my age. The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the word. the Okina Oprah that belonged to Joash, the Abyserite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press. What does that mean? He was threshing wheat in a wine press. Well, you would never, ever

thresh wheat in a wine press unless you were afraid of the Midianites, and that's what he was doing. He was trying to hide, and that's what Scripture says. He was threshing wheat in a wine press to keep it from the Midianites. Then the angel is going to speak to him, and I love what the angel says, because what the angel says is not at all what Gideon feels about it. himself. The angel appeared to Gideon and he said, the Lord is with you, mighty warrior. What I'd like to say to every man and every woman in this place is this. The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Whether you feel like he's with you or not, he's with you, whether you feel like you're full of courage or not, you are a mighty warrior. Because the Lord sees more in

you than you see in yourself. What's interesting to me is the moment that this angel of the Lord says to him, you have the heart of a warrior. Immediately this man's insecurities, his interferes, and his self-doubt start to arise. That's why I call him the hesitant warrior. The title of this message is killing your inner coward. Gentlemen, if you're anything like Gideon, If you find yourselves occasionally full of faith and then often full of fear, if you sometimes hesitate, I've got three truths for every hesitant warrior. The first one is this. Gentlemen, number one, every warrior must fight their inner fear of failure. Every single one.

Every time you go into battle, you may feel partially prepared and partially afraid. Every warrior must fight their inner fear of failure. The angel says to him, you're a mighty warrior. And then the Lord turned to him and said this in verse 14. The angel says, go in the strength that you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you. In other words, guess what? You've got someone to protect, a kingdom to advance, a battle to win.

I've prepared you. You're equipped. You're a mighty warrior. This is your kingdom assignment now and go. Do it. Getting replies instead of saying, yes, Lord, I know you with me. I'm full of faith and I'll do what you called me to do. He says the very same thing many of us say, but Lord, getting replied. Let me give you all the reasons why I'm not good enough. Here's my resume of excuses. But Lord, getting replied, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Vanessa and I am the least in my entire family. The Lord says, I've given you everything you need, go on the strength that you have. And Gideon replies, but Lord, I'm not good enough. Gentlemen, this is the very thing that will often happen to you.

You'll sense God leading you to do something, prompting you. Maybe you're supposed to share your faith with a coworker, with a buddy, with a friend, and you really believe you're supposed to. But Lord, what if he asked me a question? What if I don't know what to say next? God says, I want you to do it, but Lord, I'm not prepared. You feel like maybe you're supposed to start something, a ministry, a business, start tithing. But Lord, what if I try and it doesn't work?

What if I don't have enough? What if I fall short? But Lord, God's leading you out of your lifestyle of partying. You're going to be a witness. You're going to be different. You're going to be set apart. You're going to be holy. Yes, God, I want to stand up for you.

but what if I don't have any fun? And what if nobody likes me? And what if I'm 35 and I'm not married? And all my friends who are hooking up, they get married, but I'm not, my Lord. It's just not fair. Every warrior must fight their inner fear of failure. And that's one of the reasons why we need to encourage one another so often.

In fact, I want to talk for a moment to the women just to bring a little bit of encouragement because you like to be built up and encouraged in a different way than most. men. Many women, what you want to know is this. You want to know, do you cherish me and value me today? Ladies, that would be true for most of you. Do you want to know for the men in your life, am I cherished? Am I valued? And that today really, really matters. Gentlemen, like, you might listen to her, spend quality time with her, you know, do something she enjoys and that matters. You get points when you do that. You might serve your bride.

I've learned in almost 29 years of marriage that doing the dishes is really sexy and romantic. It's just like a spiritual fact. In fact, it sometimes outranks flowers, but it only counts today, you see. You may get points, but in the woman's economy, all points evaporate at midnight. And all the women said?

Amen. I don't understand that I read that. I learned it from a woman. It wasn't intuitive. You know, most women want to know, do you cherish me? Do you value me today? But men, we don't do that. Well, I've never ever said to Amy, do you cherish me?

Do you value? We're wired differently. What most men, most warriors want to know is this, do you respect, admire, and believe in me today? And again, the today really matters. Why? Because our security as men, ladies, you need to know this. Our security, as men, tends to us. evaporate with our last accomplishment.

I'm not saying this is right. I'm just saying it's the way it is. Everything in culture says, would you sell today? How'd you score today? What'd you shoot today? What'd you do today? What'd you do today? What'd you earn today?

And culture programs us essentially that we are only worth what we last accomplished. And that's why we need to know. Do you respect, admire, believe in me today? And ladies, I hope you'll understand the warriors in your life, your son, your brothers, the men in your life group, your husbands, they will fight and stand strong and engage in the battle until they're afraid that they might lose your respect, that they're stripped of your belief,

or they're afraid they might let you down. That's why my warriors' words, Amy, which she says to me, it means more to me than you could ever imagine. When she says you have what it takes, you can make a difference. Because if she doesn't believe in me, here's what I think. Well, she knows me better than anybody else. If she doesn't believe in me, I must not have what it takes. It matters more than you can imagine.

Last week, what happened was right before the message, I'm telling you, I was an unusual wreck. I'm not normally not like that. It's five minutes to go time, and I'm not ready. And she grabbed my hands, and she said, look at me. Close your eyes. We're going before God. And she opened up heaven with her faith and prayed the power of God down for her warrior and then said, Christ in you will get it done.

Get out there and fight like a man of God. Oh, my war. So I preached my brains out. And when I came back, she might have jumped into my arms. might have kissed me behind the ear and might have said, that's how my warrior preaches, but I can't publicly declare that as a total fact. What I want you to know, ladies, is it's not your fault

if a guy goes astray, he's got his own mind. But what you do or don't do can be the difference sometimes in how we feel about ourselves. Imagine if Amy always told me, you're not like him and you don't do what he does, and I wish you are more like and you're not, but it would do in so many ways it would strip me of the confidence that she helps give me

when she says, you are strong in the Lord. You have what it takes. There's fight inside of you. I believe in you. Every warrior must face the inner fear of failure. That's why we need to build each other up, encourage each other in the things of God. Gentlemen, question.

What are you afraid of? Because every warrior fears failure. What are you afraid of? Like, what are you afraid of? Failing, I am, falling short, that would be me, appearing weak, one of my greatest fears, not providing for my family like someone else might provide, keeps me awake at night,

letting someone down paralyzes me at times being a spiritual failure is a fear that can haunt me what are you afraid of because every warrior has to fight that interfere of failure and that's why thought number two is so incredibly important gentlemen in christ you have everything you need to fight and win. Every word of that statement is important. Not on your own, you don't. On your own, you will be in trouble all the time. Gentlemen, you can't even find your car keys on your own, okay?

In Christ, you have everything you need to fight and to win the battles that are before you. In fact, this is what Scripture says, as Gideon was battling his own inner demons, his own insecurities. Verse 14, the Lord turned to Gideon. and said, Gideon, listen, go in the strength you have. I've given you everything you need.

The New Testament says, you have everything you need for life and godliness. Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hands. Am I not sending you? Gentlemen, I hope you'll understand that God has given you someone to protect, a kingdom to advance, a battle to win. and you do have enough strength in Christ. You do have enough power in Christ. You do have enough faith in Christ.

In Him, you have everything that you are strong and mighty in the power of the Lord. And the good news is the weapons you fight with are not the weapons of this world. Your spiritual weapons have divine power to pull down strongholds. do you have? You have the helmet of salvation. Nobody can strip you out of the hand of God. If you're in Christ, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life and no one can blot it out. You have the breastplate of righteousness. It's not your righteousness. It's the righteousness of Christ. You, gentlemen, have the shield of faith with which to quench out the fiery darts of the evil one. You have the sword of the spirit, which is the living word of God, sharper

than any double-edged sword. You have the belt of truth. You have the shoes prepared with the gospel of peace, and you can pray in the spirit on all occasions, going boldly before the throne of grace, and God will hear your prayers and give you grace and mercy in your time of needs. Gentlemen and ladies, the Lord is with you, mighty warrior.

The problem is so often, We hesitate. We cower. We take our eyes off of the power in Christ and put our eyes on ourselves. And we fall apart in our own insecurities. You're going to see this happen with Gideon. God is saying this. God is saying, Gideon, go fight.

What you don't know, perhaps, is that Gideon's brother was murdered by the Midianites. He had reason to be afraid. God says you have what it takes, you engage in the battle, you go attack and defeat them. And Gideon's looking at his army saying, God, I've only got 32,000 men. I don't feel like that's enough. And God's going to say that's too many. Because if you fight with that many, you're going to think you won the battle on your own, and I want you to understand that I was the one that gave you victory.

Watch it very clear in chapter 7, verse 2. The Lord said to Gideon, Gideon, you have Gideon. you have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they save themselves by their own strength. So God says, tell any warrior who's afraid. They may look strong on the outside,

but they're afraid on the inside. If they're afraid, tell them to go home. And 22,000 warriors went home. And Gideon is thinking, this ain't good. I was nervous at 32,000. now I'm down to 10,000 and God says there's still too many. Tell the rest of them to go out and drink water. And those who do it the right way can stay, the rest of them send them home.

And only 300 were qualified for battle after this simple exercise. And Gideon is thinking, we didn't have enough at 32,000. Now I'm down to 300. There's no way this is possible. And what Gideon is going to learn is this, that with God, the way forward often starts with a step backwards. That with God, sometimes a warrior in order to win the war

has to be willing to first lose a battle. You'll see this all the time, gentlemen. What I know about you is we're at the second weekend of the new year. A lot of you have New Year's resolutions, and so you declared boldly, this is what we're going to do, only to get knocked backwards almost immediately. Some of you might have said, this is a year, this is a year,

we're getting out of debt this year. I'm telling you well, We've got intensity. I got Dave Ramsey's face tattooed on my arm. We're getting out of death. And immediately, your car broke down. And so did your washing machine. And your kid went on a sprinting spree.

And you're like, what happened? We just, you know, we took a step forward and three steps back. Or maybe for you, it was this. I'm going to invest in my marriage. We're going to have the most spiritual year together. We're going to pray together. And you messed up the start. And you got in the biggest fight you've had the last 10 years.

What happened, God? you declared boldly this is the year I get in shape I'm going to exercise every single day and seven days into the new year the only exercise you got was going to the refrigerator four times for chocolate ice cream what happened God and what you're going to find is oftentimes

the way forward starts with what looks like a step backwards this is my story as a pastor when a lot of you wouldn't know I started when I was about 22 years of age, and Amy and I led the fastest growing single adult ministry in this part of the country. Pretty impressive, right? The problem is we had what I call a Gideon revival.

Gideon's army got smaller. Our ministry grew backwards. We grew from pretty big to very small. It was the fastest growing backwards ministry in this part of the country. We grew from hundreds at a downtown church in a few short weeks down to four people. Only four showed up. One was me, one was Amy, she had to be there, and the other two, dear God, they had nothing to do with their lives whatsoever but show up. It was only four of us.

Fastest growing ministry, and it grew backwards. And everything in this warrior spirit cried out, I told you you weren't good enough. You're never going to be a pastor. You don't have what it takes. You don't know enough of the Bible. You can't communicate. You don't have any real faith. Everything you touch just falls apart.

The insecurity screamed louder than my faith. Step backwards. And God started to show me very clearly. In fact, I heard from God. It wasn't audible, but it felt audible. And what I heard was this. What I heard was, be careful. Don't blame yourself for the declines.

because if you blame yourself for the declines, one day you might take credit for the increases. Here's what had to happen. God had to do something in me that felt like a step backwards before God could do something significant through me. I had to be stripped of anything that appeared to be self-confidence. So I could recognize it's only in Christ. that I have what I need. This is where some of you are right now. Gentlemen, you believe, I'm going to step forward for God.

And then you feel like it's a big step backwards. Sometimes with God, the way forward starts with a step backwards. This was Gideon. I'm afraid with 32,000 men. And you've stripped me to only 300. How are we going to fight? God says, I'm going to tell you my plan. You can read this interesting story.

Gideon made fleeces and bargains with God. And essentially, God said, here's your battle plan. Take your 300 warriors and go out there with trumpets and with jars or pitchers. And I want you to blow your horn, toot that trumpet really loud, and throw those jars down and trust in me. That doesn't sound like a good plan to me. I want some AKI, I want some machine guns. I want some missiles, God. I want 50,000 men, 100,000 men. Guys says, take your 300, lead the band with a horn, and throw your root beer mugs on the ground

with all your strength. And when did they start to advance, conquer, and win the battle? Verse 21 of Judges, Chapter 7, tells us this. They did exactly what God told him to do, and Scripture says this, while each man did what, let's say it allowed all of our churches while each man held his position in other words while every man

stood their ground why they didn't run while they did not cowl or where they didn't quit where they did not surrender while each man held his position around the camp all the midianites all the bad guys ran crying as they fled when did god's people start to advance they advanced when they stood their ground, when they held fast, when they didn't cower, when they refused to retreat, when did they move forward when they had a faith to stand their ground? Were they afraid? You better believe, doggone straight, they were afraid. Gideon was afraid with a big army, and now he had a little group with no weapons. Was he afraid? Yes, but gentlemen, you need to understand that your greatest victories and your greatest fears often go hand in hand.

In other words, when you engage in the battle, you can feel the fear and fight anyway. Because you have the heart of a warrior, someone to protect, a kingdom to advance, a battle to win. The fear may never go away. but neither will the spirit of a warrior who's willing to stand his ground. Last week I told you about one of my worst parenting moments. I'll tell you another one. I could do this every week for years to come. I've got a lot of them.

Amy and I, we have six children, four daughters and two sons. My youngest son is Stephen, and hopefully he's had the better end of the deal because I learned from the mistakes I made with his older brother, Sam. I told you one of the Sam mistakes last week. This is another one that's famous in our family. I don't know if you've ever seen these scooters that kids have. There's a bar that goes up and there's handlebars that go like this. And there's kind of like a skateboard.

At the bottom, they're made for like 14-year-old kids or something. Well, since my son is advanced and obviously I'm advanced, I got him one when he was two years of age. Mistake number one. Mistake number two was we have this really long driveway and at the end of it that goes toward the house, as it approaches our house, there's a sharp incline that's a great place

to, like, go sledding or take a very fast scooter down the hill with a two-year-old, so I thought. And so I wouldn't put Sam on there by himself. I'm way too smart for that, but I'd get on the back of the scooter, and then he put his feet on mine, and then we'd ride down.

And we did this. It must have been 50 or 60 successful rides, and it was great. Everybody said, don't do this day. He's like, you have no idea. Oh, this is fun. And it was until it wasn't. Sam on one particular ride, two years of age,

for whatever reason, decided just to step off of the scooter. And when he did, the momentum of the forward thrust snapped his femur, and you could just hear the crack. And immediately, I was just shamed with the guilt of breaking my son's femur. We stayed the night in the emergency room. they had to operate the next day because they couldn't get to it. And I'm telling you what, it was, Amy, I'll tell you this. It was like every day, and I promise you, it seemed like three years.

There wasn't a day where Sam wouldn't say, the scoot, scoop broke my leg. The scoop broke my leg. The scoop broke my leg. And so Amy said, get rid of that scooter. I don't want to ever see it again. And there was something in me that thought, ah, we need to keep it. So he kept it in the garage. Sam would avoid that thing like it was the devil made of metal. He said, oh, scoot, scoot, going to get me. Scoot going to break my leg. Scoot going to get me.

And he would avoid the scooter like this. This went on for years. Poor little kid. Traumatized. He's probably five, maybe six years of age. One day I came home. And a little Sam, my little warrior, was at the peak of the driveway looking down toward the garage. holding the scooter by his side. I was like, whoa, there are little buddy. What are you doing? And he didn't speak. He just kept looking down.

He said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, what are you doing? He just had this fierce look on his face. He said, what are you doing? He just looked and he looked and looked and looked. I said, hey, man, listen to me. You don't have to do this. You don't have to do this. Then the tears started coming down his face.

And I said, listen, you don't have to do this. He looked up at me and said, Dad, there are some rides a man's just got to. a take. And then he did it through the tears and the fear. He took the ride and conquered the scoot, scoot. And in that little warrior's mind, he re-engaged in the battle. Gentlemen, do not abandon your post. Do not abandon your post. Listen to me, every warrior's got to fight the fear of failure. Every warrior's greatest fear, that's what it is. Failure. Failure. Every warrior's greatest fear is failure, but every warrior's greatest pain is regret.

Do not regret. Do not disengage. Do not abandon your post. Gentlemen, hear me, feel it, step into it. You have someone to protect, a kingdom to advance, a battle to win. to win, you don't want to die with regrets. How do you do it? You stand your ground.

Ephesians chapter six talks about the spiritual war, and it says this. Therefore, put on gentlemen and ladies, the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, and it will, you may be able to stand your ground. And when you've done everything else you know to do, warriors, what do you do? you continue to stand. You're a warrior. You have fight in you. The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.

You don't back down. You don't cower. You don't walk away. You stand your ground. Whenever the enemy tells you, you can't, you won't. You don't listen to the enemy. You listen to the voice of God that says you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. You are an overcomer by the blood of the lamb and by the words of your testimony.

When lust rages itself up against shone, you, you just continue to stand your ground. Even if you have a setback, you step back in and you don't back down. If your marriage is struggling, you don't cower, you don't run, you don't flee, you fight like a man, you fight like a man of God. And when you've done everything else, you remain standing week after week. Month after a month, year after year, you show back up. and you stand your ground.

Before I preach, I take one big step, and I'll tell you why. Because every week there's a part of me that feels insecure, inadequate, incapable, and afraid. The voices say, you don't have what it takes, you're not good enough, you're going to mess it up. people's eternities rest on what you do. And the fear becomes overwhelming. So every week, those of you at other locations, you won't see it. Those here, you see it. Because as the lights come on and the camera goes up,

I take one big step forward. And what I'm doing in my mind is this. I'm stepping out of my fears, out of my insecurities, out of my weakness and the inner voice that tells me I can't. And I'm stepping into the authority of God, his anointing, his power, his strength,

because this warrior has everything he needs in Christ to fight every battle I'm called to fight and win. And so do you. Gentlemen, step out of your fear of failure and step into the battle. Do not abandon your posts. You have the heart of a war. So Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that you would speak faith to every woman and every man warrior to believe that you are with us, God.

You will fight on our behalf and you've given us what we need to engage and to win. At all of our churches, those of you that would say, I oftentimes, my insecurities scream louder than my faith. My fears hold me back. increase my faith, oh God, build my faith. Build my faith. Oh, God, increase my faith. If that's you, would you lift up your hands right now? Just in a moment of honesty, just all of our churches, just lift up your hands and say yes, God, thank you. That you build our faith as we hear your word, that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So we thank you today that you're building our faith. Continue to do so, God. That you've given us what we need in Christ to fight the

that we need to fight and win. We thank you for the ultimate victory we have through your son, Jesus. God, especially for my brothers. Give them the courage to stand their ground. Give them the heart, God, that reflects your heart, the heart of a warrior. As you keep praying today at all of our churches,

just listen to me. Some of you, there's a spiritual battle going on for you right now. The kingdom of God is drawing you. and the kingdom of darkness is trying to keep you from surrendering to the goodness of God. There's a battle. You might have one of different types of fears. Your fear might be, what if I'm not good enough?

What if I've sinned too much for God? And let me tell you right now, that's a real fear because you're not good enough and you have sinned too much. So have I. None of us in our own efforts qualify to be good enough for God. God. And that's why we need His grace. That's why we need a Savior. Others of you think, well, maybe, yes, I kind of do want to follow Jesus, but I'm afraid, what if I do and then I mess up and I'm a hypocrite and I fail? Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. The good news is, the Bible tells us this, that perfect love cast out all fear. And our God, he is perfect love. He is love. Love is not just

something that God does, love is who he is. For God so love the world that he sent Jesus, his only son, who lived without sin and died in our place so we could be forgiven. And God raised him from the dead. Why? So that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord would be saved, anyone, anyone, doesn't matter what you've done. Doesn't matter how dark your world is. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord would be saved. At all of our churches, I'm asking for those of you that say, I want to follow Jesus. Not like I want to kind of join a church and try to be a good person.

No, no halfway, no partly. No, this is, I've sinned, I need a savior, I'm turning from my sins, I'm turning toward Jesus. I'm engaging in his battle. I know he is the king of kings. I want to follow him in all of our churches. Those who say, yes, Jesus, forgive me. I turn to you.

I give you my life. I want you, I surrender to you. That's your prayer today. Jesus, I give my life to you. your hands high now all over the place and say yes that's my prayer right here in this section warrior right here and up here as well right back over there praise god for you guys others of you right back here man praise god for you way back up here in this section oh come on somebody why don't we give god a little bit of praise church online you click right below me and i need some

warriors to stand up in this house to give god some praise would you just stand to your feet as you're standing all around the room today praying aloud nobody prays alone join your faith with those around you pray heavenly father forgive my sins Jesus save me be my lord fill me with your spirit so I could follow you for the rest of my life my life is not my own I give it to you in Jesus name I pray could somebody celebrate somebody give God some praise welcome those born into God's family Thank you very.