Embracing Faith: Overcoming Negativity Through Action

Summary

In today's discussion, we explored the concept of avoiding the crippling effects of negativity and the importance of faith-filled action in our lives. We began by examining the pervasive nature of complaining and negativity bias, which can lead to a more negative mindset and hinder our progress. This negativity can even extend to our relationship with God, where we might find ourselves questioning His actions or inactions in our lives. However, the key to overcoming this lies in understanding that sometimes God calls us to action rather than simply granting our desires.

We delved into the story of the Josephites from the book of Joshua, who were challenged to take possession of the land God had promised them. Despite their fears and the presence of formidable enemies, Joshua encouraged them to act with faith and courage. This narrative serves as a powerful reminder that God's provision often requires our participation. We must be willing to step out in faith, work hard, and persist in the face of challenges.

The message also touched on the importance of holy audacity, grind, and tenacity. Holy audacity involves taking bold risks for God, while grind refers to the relentless pursuit of our goals, not just for ourselves but for the benefit of others. Tenacity, on the other hand, is about persevering until we see the breakthrough, outlasting the challenges and opposition we face.

As a church, we are called to embrace these principles, recognizing that God's plans often involve our active participation. Whether it's expanding our services or reaching out to our community, we must be willing to step out in faith and work diligently for the sake of God's kingdom.

Key Takeaways:

1. Negativity Bias and Its Impact: Our tendency to focus on negative information can lead to a more negative mindset, affecting our relationship with God and our ability to progress. It's crucial to recognize this bias and actively choose to focus on God's promises and faithfulness. [00:37]

2. Faith-Filled Action: Sometimes, God calls us to act rather than simply waiting for Him to fulfill our desires. Like the Josephites, we must be willing to step out in faith, work hard, and trust that God will provide as we take action. [06:02]

3. Holy Audacity: Taking bold risks for God requires courage and trust in His promises. Holy audacity involves stepping out in faith, even when the outcome is uncertain, and believing that God will guide and support us. [17:35]

4. The Power of Grind: Hard work and perseverance are essential in achieving our goals. We must be willing to put in the effort, not just for ourselves but for the benefit of others, recognizing that our actions can have a lasting impact on future generations. [24:15]

5. Tenacity in the Face of Opposition: Perseverance is key to overcoming challenges and achieving success. By outlasting the opposition and continuing to press forward, we demonstrate our faith and trust in God's plan for our lives. [33:14]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:37] - The Impact of Negativity
- [01:13] - Complaints About God
- [02:25] - Faith vs. Unbelief
- [03:29] - God's Different Answers
- [04:15] - Joshua's Challenge to the Josephites
- [06:02] - Faith-Filled Action Problem
- [07:14] - God's Mission for the Israelites
- [09:01] - Joshua's Reminder of God's Power
- [10:13] - Overcoming Fear of Obstacles
- [12:37] - Seeing Opportunities in Challenges
- [14:37] - The Purpose of Big Days
- [16:54] - God's Provision Requires Participation
- [17:35] - Holy Audacity and Kingdom Moxy
- [24:15] - The Importance of Grind
- [33:14] - Tenacity and Perseverance
- [39:27] - The Advantage of God's Process

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Joshua 17:14-18
- Hebrews 11:1
- James 2:17

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Observation Questions:

1. In Joshua 17:14-18, what was the complaint of the Josephites, and how did Joshua respond to their concerns? [06:42]

2. How does the sermon describe the concept of "negativity bias," and what impact does it have on our mindset and relationship with God? [00:37]

3. What does the sermon suggest about God's different responses to our prayers, and how does this relate to the story of the Josephites? [02:58]

4. According to the sermon, what are the three key elements needed to take possession of what God has promised us? [17:35]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the story of the Josephites illustrate the need for faith-filled action in our spiritual journey? What does this teach us about the balance between divine provision and human responsibility? [06:02]

2. The sermon mentions "holy audacity" as a necessary trait for taking bold risks for God. How can this concept be applied in modern-day faith practices? [17:35]

3. In what ways does the sermon suggest that "grind" and "tenacity" are essential for achieving our goals? How do these concepts align with biblical teachings on perseverance? [24:15]

4. How does the sermon address the issue of fear and obstacles, and what biblical principles are suggested to overcome them? [10:13]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when negativity bias affected your relationship with God. How can you actively choose to focus on God's promises and faithfulness in similar situations? [00:37]

2. Identify an area in your life where you feel God is calling you to take faith-filled action. What steps can you take this week to move forward in faith, even if the outcome is uncertain? [06:02]

3. Consider a bold risk you believe God is prompting you to take. What fears or uncertainties are holding you back, and how can you cultivate "holy audacity" to overcome them? [17:35]

4. Think about a goal you are currently pursuing. How can you incorporate the concept of "grind" into your daily routine to ensure you are working diligently not just for yourself, but for the benefit of others? [24:15]

5. Reflect on a challenge you are facing that seems insurmountable. How can you apply the principle of tenacity to persevere and trust in God's plan for your life? [33:14]

6. The sermon suggests that God's provision often requires our participation. How can you actively participate in God's plans for your church or community this month? [16:54]

7. Identify a specific area where you need to demonstrate more tenacity. What practical steps can you take to ensure you don't give up too quickly and continue to press forward? [36:28]

Devotional

Day 1: Recognizing and Overcoming Negativity Bias
Negativity bias is a common human tendency to focus more on negative experiences or information than positive ones. This bias can significantly impact our mindset, leading us to dwell on complaints and doubts, even in our relationship with God. It can hinder our spiritual growth and progress by causing us to question God's actions or inactions in our lives. To overcome this, we must actively choose to focus on God's promises and faithfulness, redirecting our thoughts towards gratitude and trust. By doing so, we can cultivate a more positive and faith-filled mindset that aligns with God's truth. [00:37]

Psalm 77:11-12 (ESV): "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds."

Reflection: Identify a recent situation where negativity bias affected your perspective. How can you intentionally shift your focus to recognize God's faithfulness in that situation today?

Day 2: Embracing Faith-Filled Action
Faith-filled action involves stepping out in trust and obedience, even when the path is uncertain. Like the Josephites in the book of Joshua, we are often called to take possession of the promises God has given us. This requires courage and a willingness to act, despite fears or obstacles. God often invites us to participate in His plans, working alongside Him to see His promises fulfilled. By taking faith-filled action, we demonstrate our trust in God's provision and His ability to guide us through challenges. [06:02]

James 2:17-18 (ESV): "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

Reflection: What is one area in your life where you feel God is calling you to take action? How can you step out in faith and trust Him to guide you?

Day 3: Cultivating Holy Audacity
Holy audacity is about taking bold risks for God, trusting in His promises even when the outcome is uncertain. It requires courage and a deep belief that God will guide and support us as we step out in faith. This audacity is not reckless but rooted in a desire to see God's kingdom advance and His purposes fulfilled. By embracing holy audacity, we align ourselves with God's vision and open ourselves to the extraordinary ways He can work through us. [17:35]

2 Samuel 10:12 (ESV): "Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him."

Reflection: Consider a bold step you feel God is prompting you to take. What fears or uncertainties are holding you back, and how can you trust God to lead you through them?

Day 4: The Power of Grind
Grind refers to the relentless pursuit of our goals, not just for ourselves but for the benefit of others. It involves hard work, perseverance, and a commitment to seeing things through, even when the journey is challenging. Our efforts can have a lasting impact on future generations, and by grinding for God's kingdom, we contribute to His greater plan. This dedication requires discipline and a willingness to put in the effort, trusting that God will use our work for His glory. [24:15]

Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV): "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

Reflection: What is one goal or task you have been working on that requires perseverance? How can you renew your commitment to this work, knowing it serves a greater purpose?

Day 5: Tenacity in the Face of Opposition
Tenacity is the ability to persevere and outlast challenges and opposition. It involves a steadfast commitment to pressing forward, even when the path is difficult. By demonstrating tenacity, we show our faith and trust in God's plan for our lives. This perseverance is key to overcoming obstacles and achieving success, as it allows us to remain focused on God's promises and His ability to bring about breakthroughs. [33:14]

Hebrews 10:36 (ESV): "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised."

Reflection: Think of a challenge you are currently facing. How can you demonstrate tenacity and trust in God's plan as you work through this challenge?

Quotes

"Finally all of this has an impact on the brain so this tends to rewrite the if we're very negative people we're around very negative people our brains become organically more negative the pathways the neural pathways to get thoughts from here to there uh the negative pathways just become more grooved more ingrained we just become if we be if we are negative we just become more and more negative what does it feel like when your complaints when the things you have a lot of negative thoughts about you've got some opinions about are about God about what God's done or not done or allowed in your life what do you do when your primary complaints are about what what's going on with God what's going on with God and you we've all got this thing called sin on the inside it is permanent it is a disease that is with us our entire lives it's the hell disease it's the stuff in us that resists and opposes the ways of God just naturally uh it's in some ways it's not your fault it's just the way that you were born but we've all got it in us and it will cause us to find things that are wrong with God and how he's messed up this planet and how we would do things a whole lot better and sometimes God allows stuff into our lives or he he opens up opportunities into our lives and we just wish it were better we wish it were easier wish that man why do I have to do all this why does this have to be so hard all the time why hasn't this broken through and the truth is sometimes we just don't want to work hard because it's easier to complain we don't want to do the hard work of expressing or demonstrating faith because it's easier just to walk in unbelief we don't want to fight for stuff we just want stuff to be given to us we just want to just have it if hey if I'm just going to trust God and just believe God I just want it to happen i see these things that happen like I hear the old stories i hear stories in the Bible and Jesus just did stuff and stuff just happened and that's true that really was true the problem is that's not the only way God operated in the Bible there's a lot of times where he operated by I've got this thing open for you okay sometimes my answer to prayer God would say is yes yes you can have that thing pray for it i'll give it to you sometimes the answer is soon keep praying for it it's not time now in fact I've got some things to change about you and things about things to change about the situation and once I do that then the answer will be yes sometimes the answer is just no cuz that's you don't know this but that's a dumb prayer that's not going to get what you really want i can see all ends i know that you think that leads to a good place but it doesn't lead to a good place so I'm because I love you I'm going to say no i don't want you to hurt yourself but sometimes what God says instead of just yes or instead of yes soon or no God says hustle hustle he says "Okay well that's an option get after it do something about it fight for it don't just sit there the land is before you what you going to do?" He says "I love you." So trust me trust me that there's going to be times where you could have that you're just going to have to press in you're just going to have to work a little harder you're going to have to not be afraid of hard work you're going to have to push and push and keep pushing and keep pushing and look fear right in the eye and say "I'm going to go right past you because I'm tenacious because I'm going to see it happen because God's answer is hustle so I'm going to hustle this is what Joshua knew when he was trying to teach one specific family of the Israelites okay so we're going to go back in time to the time where the lands are being aortioned to the families of Israel they've made it out of Egypt they've made it for 40 years wandering in the wilderness and now they're with a new leader Joshua and they're doing out all the allotments of land that everyone's been waiting for and believing for and the Josephites they get a certain plot of land and they look at this thing they look it over and like "Wow Joshua there's not enough here there's not enough for us we're a big people we got a lot of needs here man." Uh also I don't know if you noticed there is land around it but there's enemies right there they're in the land there could be a lot of danger there there could be a lot of hard work uh Joshua we need another aortionment of land that's what they're going to come tell Joshua and Joshua man he's he's he's a seasoned leader now he knows what goes on in people's hearts he knows when people are afraid he knows when people are uh shrinking back because maybe they just don't want to work quite that hard and so as they come and they bring Joshua this request Joshua is going to clue them in hey guys you don't actually have a land problem you have a faithfilled action problem hey guys can you open yourself up before we look at the scripture and you open yourself up to the idea that possibly there's some stuff that you you and I we'd be tempted to complain about we'd be tempted to say "I wish it was this way i wish it was that way." And and God in his love in kindness might say to us "I know you think you have that problem but but you don't actually have that problem you have a faithfilled action problem." The problem is the thing you want takes faithfilled action to get it and in order for you to get it I'm going to have to have you fight for it i don't want you to just have opportunity i want you to work for it i don't want you to just be given something i want you to fight for it so uh Joshua 17:14 the descendants of Joseph said to Joshua "Why have you given us only one part of the land who possesses our own there are very many of us because the Lord has blessed us." They're like "It must be God that we get more land than this joshua answered "If there's so many of you and the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you then go into the forests clear the ground for yourselves in the land of the parizzites and the Refam." These are uh Canaanite tribes okay and and God's mission for the Israelites was go in and where you find these guys kick them out in fact it's time for them to get out god's given them a long time to get their act together to repent to turn away from their things like child sacrifice and beastiality and all kinds of stuff like that he's given him 400 years to do it and God says "I'm done i'm ready to remove them and by the way just so you Israelites know if you ever do what they do I'm going to remove you too." Which is exactly what happens hundreds of years later so God's not being unfair he's just saying "Okay if you want it go in and get it." The hill country is not big enough though they reply the Canaanites in the plains have iron chariots we don't have that tech both those who live in Bethshan and its surrounding towns and those who live in the valley of Jezrael joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Man and West Manasseh these are the the families of Joseph there are indeed many of you and you are very powerful you shall have more than one share the hill country will be yours even though it is a forest you will clear it and take possession of it from one end to the other as for the Canaanites you'll drive them out even though they have iron chariots and are a strong people that's true but see Joshua he remembers he remembers 40 years ago he remembers when he and Caleb went with 10 other spies into the promised land to spy it out and to see hey do you think you think this really is a good land is this the the land that God is bringing us into and 10 of them came back out of the 12 and said you know it's good in there but we can't do this those are huge people they've got all kinds of war stuff that we don't we we're just no match we we're just slaves we just came out of Egypt man we don't know what we're doing and God was very angry with those 10 spies because they spread word around the camp and they said "Hey God is not going to be able to deliver us because these two are too these people are too powerful." And the two Caleb and Joshua said "What are you guys nuts are you Are you mental didn't God just bring us out of Egypt with all these signs and wonders you think these people are any match for him?" And so Joshua and Caleb are the only ones that get to survive the next 40 years and come into this new land and so Joshua's looking at these people who are now I don't know they're a little bit afraid a little bit intimidated and Joshua's like "Guys I know what's in your hearts but here's the deal you're going to have to go in and get it you're going to have to believe your God you're going to have to work for it you're going to have to have courage you're going to have to have tenacity you're going to have to have endurance and you're going to have it and you're going to take it by faith somebody say "Take it by faith." You're going to take it by faith and like them sometimes I mean it's it's normal right we want we want the blessings of obedience without having to wait on the obedience part we just want it now god's God's kind of like a genie to us just let's have it then but that's not always what his purpose is we often like them maybe maybe this is true for you maybe there's some place where you're so focused on the obstacle you're so focused on the iron chariot that you're forgetting how big your God is you're forgetting how powerful he is how easy it is for him to lay the smackdown on iron chariots and anything else in the universe but we're so like "But this is scary but this is a big deal but this is better than I've got how am I ever going to get past this oh God it's too big look God this is insurmountable i'm never going to be able to do that i'm never going to be able to afford this i'll never know anybody that's able to open any doors like this or that i'll never be reconciled with so and so it's just too big iron chariots and my friends we got to be careful because it's natural it's human it's about it's it's how it goes on earth but there's something inside of our our believe muscle in our heart that breaks and breaks and breaks and pretty soon we just say you know what it's easier just to not believe at all it's easier just to look at all the iron chariots and say "That's what you get on planet Earth iron chariots everywhere what you going to do instead of saying I I also experience the disappointments of life but I'm going to keep my eyes on my God cuz he's the same God yesterday today and forever and this is where we got to ask i've I've had to do this i don't know if you ever had to do this i've had to ask God "God something's wrong with my believer something's wrong with this like it's malfunctioning it's broken down i don't know what happened over the years i just know i don't I just don't believe you that you want this good for me or for my family like I know you do conceptually but I'm not believing it in my heart and I think something went wrong i think I got hurt i think I got damaged and I need you to just fix it i don't know how to fix it just fix it just bring it back to life jesus breathe on the thing smear some mud on it whatever you got to do God make it better and you know what i found out he will and often he doesn't need you to figure anything out he doesn't need you to like okay well like you know do a lot of self-reflection and look inward occasionally that might be part of the process but I'm just telling you God doesn't need to go that route he can just be like okay done don't ask you any questions get up and go just believe go ahead and go ahead are you seeing your current opportunity so your current iron chariots are you seeing these as something in the way a roadblock a dead end or are you seeing it as an opportunity to demonstrate faith in the God you say is so great are you seeing it as a dead end hey that's it just get over it or oh great awesome this is the perfect opportunity i was looking for something big for my God to do to take me in and lay the beat down on all these Canaanites and have this land even though there's a lot of trees to cut down even though there's iron chariots we're dealing with this a little bit honestly right now in our church so last weekend we had what we call a big day we had this Easter egg drop find thing over in the gym many of you were there it was after church and guys it was I got I got to be honest with you it was a bit wild like I was I was pretty much blown away i was walking around i was like "Who are all these people and where do they come from?" Like I was and I we've had the we've had many of these but I was like "What is going on right now?" Like it was it was overwhelming and then overwhelming again to me and on one level I was like "Oh hallelujah Lord look at you." But then as the day went on I'm like "Uhoh god if people keep showing up like this what are we gonna do because we can't handle all this like this is a lot and I don't want to say I was looking at the iron chariots but I was just like I don't know God what the plan is here but I know today we're not ready for this now on one level I got to give everybody props because you guys crushed it man like well done that's what a big day is supposed to be like you guys put it together you you had hospitality toward everybody what a big day is for us for those who don't know a big day is a day that we set aside it's a special event after church usually it could be Christmas or Easter but it could be something leading up to that where we're inviting the community to come hang out with us and there's going to be food and there's going to be fun it's going to be low pressure it's going to be super easy and barely an inconvenience and we're going to do it to give people some kind of sense of like oh this is what church people are like this is what it's like here at Fierce so if I'm ever in trouble if I'm ever in tension or my life's ever blown up I'm like wait a minute maybe I should go to church i'll think about Fierce i'm like "Those people are dope and fun and cool and they got goats over there sometimes and I'm going to go there that's why we do big dates." You guys you tore it up like you were so kind you're so you're so gracious you're great hosts and hopefully one of the things that you noticed was I I think sometimes maybe some of our folks used to think those kinds of things are church potlooks really they're just big extra fun church potlooks that's not what they are at all those are a message to Gra Lake and the surrounding communities we are here to serve you like we're here to be an advantage to you so you can have fun so you can take your kids places so you can have a a real hoot that's why we do it and that's what you guys did now we can't handle all that many people again and again it's not like that every weekend but I look at the trends of our church over the past year and go it keeps going up and what I what I'm a little bit nervous about is splitting up this into two different services and I'm nervous for a few reasons the first and foremost is because honestly we're not ready like we don't have the volunteer roles ready over in Fierce Kids to take that many kids we don't have enough teachers installed we don't have enough people we don't enough greeters out in the hallways we don't have enough online hosts that can help us with everything that we want to do for that i'll be super honest about my own selfishness as well um this is hard it's hard once it's hard once and precious you know dog on I'm 47 i ain't 27 like this is this is harder than it used to be so adding a whole another one is not necessarily something my flesh wants to do but that's not really the question is it the question is what does God want it's not that necessarily we just want a bigger church it's God are you what are you doing here because we didn't even expect that last weekend and so if if you're doing something here we just we don't want to say no Jesus sorry pick another church right we want to say "All right let's do something let's believe maybe we got to be like these Josephites and take a look at the land and say "God but what are you what are you calling us to do?" And if we're going to do that we got to remember that God's provision often requires our participation that works as a as a church and it works in our individual lives so let's look at what do we need what do you need if we're going to be people that go into the land and take it here's what the Josephites needed number one holy audacity they needed holy audacity you know what audacity is right it's willingness to take a big bold risk if it's holy that means it's for God and with God it's holy audacity it's saying um I've got God said to courage it doesn't necessarily mean I've got courage in myself it just means I've got some let's call it kingdom moxy everybody say kingdom moxy and and it's not there is risk involved it's not like it's a sure thing it's just a like well what do we got to lose let's go see if we can't get after it and the Josephites needed some stirring up by Joshua see Joshua knew as a good leader knows sometimes you you can't just let your people off the hook you can't just say "Well I know it's I know it's hard." They're there there he said "Hey Josephites rise up grab your saws and whatever you got and head into those woods and cut down those trees um and we've got to know they had to know because when God blesses us we're not entitled to it right it's not that they weren't entitled to that land they were chosen by God completely he's very clear about this in the book of Deuteronomy you did nothing for me to choose you he tells them you weren't more numerous than other people you weren't more righteous than other people i just out of loving kindness I chose you i picked you and I saved you and that's what he says to each one of us and so every time there's more potential anytime there's new land that you're trying to take anytime there's there's "Oh God I'm not satisfied with this i want more of this." God says "Well let's let's just be clear you're not entitled to anything but I want to give it to you i want to because of my loving kindness because it highlights my generosity it highlights what an awesome God I am and hopefully it highlights to you just how much I love you but we've got to know we're not entitled to anything and isn't that just like the cross of Jesus Christ we're not entitled for Jesus to save us like it's not because you're good that Jesus died on the cross for you it's not because you're an upstanding person sask is like he's like "Well if I if I die for them they'll be especially good." No no no there's no value we added to the deal just so everyone's clear on that god just loved you and he says 'What's in the way their sin how do I solve it i send my son to die in their place and take the penalty and then I give them all of heaven and everything that belongs to Jesus 100% not because they deserve it but just because I want to be with him my friend are you looking at the thing that you're longing for that you're wishing was yours right now like why can't I have this why can't I have that and are you just owning and recognizing bro brah you're not entitled to that though it's not like you deserve this it's not like you're like God's late for something he's not in his mercy he wants to help us take that land but he's not late and yeah there's iron shirts and for some of us that might be fear for some of us it might be what if I get rejected it might be what if I do all this work and then it's nothing and it doesn't pay off what if I like invest in these courses and I I try to get ahead in all this and then it's like I'm not even good at it or that's not even like what I'm supposed to do with my life maybe I'll just sit back and just complain here in this little portion of land and say I wish it were different well so do a lot of people but let's avoid passivity let's avoid just playing the victim or being the victim and my friends if if you got a real if you think about yourself as poor old little old me I'll give you some pastoral encouragement here if you have a hard time getting past all that's gone wrong for you I have compassion for you i really do but I would encourage you ask some other people their stories and hear how they've got it because it might be cuz I meet people all the time that I'm like "Dad gum you got it way worse than me." You'll meet some people if you ask them their stories if you hey tell me the hard stuff tell me the deeper stuff tell me the stuff that you wouldn't just bring out you'll hear some folks tell you stuff and you're like "Wow God I thought I had problems but that's hard." And that'll grow your compassion but also hopefully get your eyes off yourself you're not a victim you're a conqueror in Christ amen you're more than enough you're well able to do this but we can't fear failure we can't fear what if I make three plans and they all fail great question here's part of the answer what if it works what if it works i mean that's what I want to tell the Josephites right now yeah but guys what if it works what if you get 80% of it wouldn't it still be worth it what if you get 10% it's still 10% better than here what if it works and because we're so negative and we have a negativity bias and we're going to prioritize the negative stuff let's just all resist it right now in the power of Jesus and say "Listen I'm not listening to you negative thoughts i'm going to start saying "Hey man what if it goes better than I think?" Do you ever notice you don't worry about all the positive stuff that could happen you're never like "Dog on I hope I don't make too much money man i hope if I go to that event they don't like me too much." Like no one's thinking that but why not you're thinking about all the negatives but what if it all goes fantastic we just need to practice but what if it's amazing but what if it goes way better than I thought oh sure there'll be challenges but what if I get all the advantages that come with it maybe I just need to And see this is where it starts when we say that we're going to have audacity that means I'm saying I'm going to have courage i see the iron shadow dude see them i'm going to step toward them though i'm going to keep going i'm going to take faithfilled action i'm just going to decide you are not going to stop me i know it's hard i know it's bloody i know it's not fun but I got to do it i got to go tell somebody I got to go holy Audacity and then number two grind grind we're not talking about like grinding coffee beans this is get your grind on this is work it baby this is get in there and get it done again and again and again get your grind on man you're grinding man you're doing your thing everyone else goes home and you're still doing the thing cuz you're getting on your grind you are not afraid of hard work you're doing it and you're doing it for not just for you because there's a certain there's a certain self-satisfaction there's a certain like and it feels good it feels good to do good hard work and it feels good to know that you're the kind of person that will do good hard work but it's beyond just that because that's not necessarily why the Josephites were going to do it see the Josephites were going into the land and they knew they they probably thought about land a little bit differently than us for them this is going to be their land for hundreds and hundreds of years they didn't just see land they saw these are the places where my kids and grandkids and their grandkids are going to do stuff and live life and have holidays and play and work and become and glorify God they're looking at the land and saying "This is related to all kinds of other people and I'm going to get my grind on when I'm going up those hills to cut down those trees when I'm going in to take on those iron chariots of those Canaanites I'm not doing it so I can feel good about getting my grind on i'm doing it for the people I love because their future matters to me you hear what I'm talking about so it's it's not only for you in my early years of marriage we had one daughter and we were living in a place where there wasn't a lot of great work and so one of my jobs was pizza delivery boy and I got to tell you man I didn't like it i would drive around all night okay and it's cold and I'm I'm running up to people's doors carrying pizza and and it's you know you can't see anything you might slip on the ice and and just a little part of me would whisper "This is for your girls this is for your girls." Like they need to eat they need to have a place to say "You're not doing this because you like pizza you're doing this because your girls are worth it and they deserve a good life and this is the best you got so give it all you got get your grind on but get it on for them let me ask you a question who benefits from your grind think it through that's a way better motivator than just cuz I want to be dope and awesome and I want to have the land no but who benefits from it who benefits from your grind a few years later see guys you got to know that since I was 18 years old the thing we're that I'm doing right now that we're all participating in right now I wanted to do this then but I couldn't just do it there's a lot of ups and downs and zigzags and so after I was sick for many years I got the opportunity hey man you get to go be with four students in a utility closet two of them are right over there and you get to I know you got a full-time job but on your day off you get to prep a sermon all day long because it takes a while and then you get to go talk about Jesus to these four people let's see if you want to do it Carter you going to get your grind on i guess I didn't you got to know my flesh didn't necessarily want to do it but I got to know him in some ways i fell in love with them and it became easier because I was doing it for them but you know what else I imagined during that time i imagined you i said maybe if I just keep doing this I'm getting my grind on for them people I didn't meet yet and I as I would imagine I would imagine I think someday people are going to get they're going to meet because of whatever ministry we're doing they're going to be like it's going to be a meet cute at church and they're going to meet and they're they're going to get married and they're going to have babies and those babies are going to populate the planet and they're going to go and they're going to love Jesus and serve Jesus and I don't feel like getting my grind on today but I'm thinking about those kids that are going to go out and they're going to do stuff and they're going to invent stuff and they're going to prioritize the ways of God and they're going to do this thing called Tik Tok that I couldn't have imagined what that was yet and they're going to talk about Jesus to people that I could never reach but I'm going to do it for them who can you grind for you're already grinding for people probably just it'll be more meaningful if you think it through who benefits from what you're trying to do right now and this is this hopefully a check for some of us if we've got a really self-focused life and this is really just all about you precious it's awesome that you you have all those gifts and you can do that grind but you know this isn't about you right you know you have all that money not for you you have all that talent not so you can be the next Insta tick tock whatever person famous or whatever the next thing is it's to help people it's to cut down trees and to take out iron chariots so people can flourish and have a life where they love and they know the God who loves them are we hearing this and so that's part of what I think about when I think about okay then if we added another service which my flesh doesn't want to do would it be a repeat would it be the same kind of a thing where yeah I don't particularly feel like I'm benefiting from it at the moment but there's people that are reached and there's people that meet and there's people that make babies and there's kids that grow up and they hear about Jesus in fierce kids and they go on and they do a whole bunch of stuff just because you said yes is it possible that that's true that's already happening but what if we just exponentially increased it so here's what one of the things I want to invite you to do is I want to ask you we're going to take a few months just like we talked about the 15-year vision we took a lot of time to talk about we're going to take a few months and we're talk about is it time soon to add an additional service should we do it one of the ways you can participate that is first you can pray for our church god if it's it doesn't matter if we want to even or not it matters Jesus what do you want because we serve at your convenience what do you want Jesus would you help us do it if we are and if if so I need you to provide what we're going to need to go up into those hills and cut some stuff down one other way that you can participate is there's a new survey like to do surveys like to know what you guys are thinking um that you can find on the website or we should have a slide that we can show hopefully it's there if not just go to fierce.urch church and there's a little red button that says summer survey or summer service survey something like that go check that out and it's just going to ask you hey could you do this what would you do could you help us do this is there a place you're not serving that you could that would make this possible so we could help more people so if God sends another 600 people on the next one that we're not like "Sorry as last time we we're out of places to park so bye i know the Lord sent her all the way over here but no room we'll see you maybe next time maybe a way you can help is just by thinking about this coming weekend a week from today is Easter Sunday we've got two services instead of one so it's going to be at 10:00 and 11:30 and that's just for Easter but are there people right now if you ask the spirit of God God who would dig this who have I even been thinking I think they might dig fierce if you're watching online are there people you've had thoughts again and again maybe I should just send them the link maybe I should just send it to them why not why don't you do it see what happens if they text you back and say "Never send me this again." You know you be like "Noted." Okay try somebody else maybe if you're online and you want to help us one of the things that you can do is you could be an online host which means maybe you you're you're far away and you don't really know how to help the church maybe you want to help us by being one of our hosts that would be dope or maybe you're even here but you know you could help host online and so maybe if we did two services you could be here and then go in one of our rooms and you could host online and then you can come back out and still be with everybody and you're still helping because maybe tech makes sense to you or you like that kind of thing cuz I don't know what it is but I know that wherever you are God's asking you to get your grind on for the glory of God get your grind on for others get your grind on for your church family have a holy audacity and here's the last one tenacity tenacity tenacity means keep doing it until the devil lets go keep doing it until the devil lets go what I mean by that is my friends there's some things whether it's sin patterns whether it is a marriage that is just rocky and hard whether it's a relationship where you keep running into into one another and it gets crappy and it's hard whatever it is there's things that only come because you persevere and you say "Oh devil I'm not going to just be depressed because it didn't work once or something went wrong or it didn't go the way that I expected four times it doesn't matter." See one of the big secrets that Jesus people don't know dear heart you can wear out the devil he doesn't really last that long he's used to people just caving in quickly he'll bring a certain amount of opposition and like he's like bragging to his demon but he's watch this this is going to knock him right down and what you got to do is you got to get some kingdom moxy you say "Oh it's going to be like that eh is that how it's going to be devil?" And you do it again and you do it again and you do it again and you do it again and you do it again and you do it again and you say "Devil you ain't never met anybody as tenacious as me except maybe Jesus Christ cuz I'm going to keep on going up that hill i'm going to keep on chopping down those trees i'm going to keep on engaging those chariots again." And yeah I get my butt kicked occasionally sure but I learn to see failure as not God's disappointed with me or it's not God i learn oh this is how I learn to fight good because then I can do this all day i'm ready to do it let's go let's go devil i'm going to do it again so where do you need to be tenacious it's not just that I'm not afraid to do it it's not even just that I'll do it for other people no I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it again because I believe this thing is going to give amen now if the spirit of God shows up and directly tells you "Stop doing it." That's your sign to stop doing it okay but in the meantime the land is before you you can have it go get it don't talk yourself out of it it's right there oh it's a little hard is it yeah get up and do it again grab three people and get some help that means Carter I'm trying to break through as an influencer on YouTube okay precious well you better not quit after 10 videos you better do it again when when nobody's watching do it for the next three years and see what happens you just keep on going do it again well I I I wish God would open a door for me here okay well do the course and do the next one and do the next one and do the next one and go chase down everyone who will talk to you about it do everything you can you keep knocking on that door you keep seeking and you are going to find and that thing is going to open up but see God is looking for some tenacious people man he doesn't need pushover people now we've all been pushover people but it's time today to say "Jesus I repent for that forgive me cuz you've given me a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline that lives inside of me so I'm just going to sit here and lay on the ground i'm going to get up in Jesus name and we're going to take this hill again." Yeah and if you want me to stop Lord tell me to stop or you know kill me and take me to heaven that'll be a sure sign but in the meantime I'm going to demonstrate tenacity i really believe tenacity is the real problem behind a lot of our problems the problem is you just stopped too quick you just stopped short you just said "Ah it'll never work i'm going to have my negative thinking and I'm just going to talk myself out of it." No is it possible that tenacity plays a more significant role in your life and its results or non-results than you think it does is it possible that it's really been Dude it's not just It's not just that you're bad at money it's that you got a tenacity issue here it's not just that I just I just got the wrong marriage my heart breaks for your dear heart but is it possible also that you just got to have some more tenacity like let's get what we got to get and get after it is it possible is it possible you just need to outlast everybody else so when when I was an early church planter early preacher here's what I found a lot of folks didn't like the way I talked they didn't like the way that I would say yo or whatever I would say okay or I'd use illustrations that were kind of like like is that okay to say in church and you know to be sure there's some things they were right about you probably shouldn't say that in church um but nevertheless it would they'd tell me about it too okay so they they they'd take advantage of email and say let me just tell you you little pipsqueak punk this is what I think about you and this is what I think about your church and yada yada yada and guys there's no question that it hurts but there was also I don't it was the spirit of God in his mercy there was just this this tenacity on the inside that said hey I don't care if you like it or not cuz you didn't call me and the problem is you're going to move on next weekend you're going to go somewhere or you're going to go three weeks you're going to go three years from now you're going to go somewhere and I'm still going to be here and I still got to do it whether you like it or Not so maybe I'll learn to talk better or maybe I'll say yo until I'm 77 i don't know but I'm going to outlast you and my friends I got to tell you a lot of your critics just go away if you just decide i'm just going to outlast you think whatever you want to think that's fine i'm just going to be here anyway i'm going to keep on grinding till you've long forgotten about me but you know what else I'm going to get in Jesus name i'm gonna get that land because I'm not gonna be pushed over and kicked out just because some people don't like what I do baby there's got to be people there's probably more people than you think that don't quite like everything that you do you can't be moved by that like who cares what they think who are they you need to get your land that's your land if you're called to it go get it and don't care what anybody says about it this is what Joshua knew joshua knew "Hey you Josephites it is to your advantage for me to not just say,"Okay it is yours magically." And I wonder if some of us need to hear that today the spirit of God we've we've been wondering about we've been complaining about "God why can't I have this?" or "Why hasn't this happened yet?" And he's saying "Dear heart it is to your advantage that I don't just wave a hand and you have it it's to your advantage that you learn to have kingdom moxy and godly audacity it's to your advantage that you learn to get your grind on and not just for you but for the people around you whom I love and whom I have a future and a destiny for and it's to your advantage in Jesus name that you develop tenacity again and again and again can anybody say amen i'm going to invite the worship team to come up while I close us in prayer if you want to bow your heads with me father I thank you so much for the gift of your word i thank you for the examples of people like Joshua and the Josephites i thank you for pictures that we can have of what we're supposed to be doing here and I I pray for everybody who maybe like me they've had a wounded believer muscle they they want to believe but they just something went wrong and it's hard i want to ask you in Jesus name you just kiss that thing that you just whisper healing to that thing that whatever the next step for them is that you bring that thing back to life i pray for the dreams that maybe some people have given up on maybe there's lands that people like ah that's never going to happen maybe some of those don't need to happen but maybe some do and so Father for those I pray that you'd quicken those dreams back to life i pray that you'd surround them with the sense of your presence that you are cheering them on telling them it is to your advantage to go through the difficulty to fight with faithfilled action to attain everything that I have for you father I pray that we'd be a church that is characterized by affection for whatever it is you want even when it hurts our flesh and we don't necessarily want to do it but we care about you more and I pray for people maybe today that have been beat down by the words of others and some of it is pretty sharp and some of it is pretty painful father in Jesus name I speak over every soul that has been cursed or something was said against it that was not from you at all in Jesus name those are lies god I thank you that you are enough and when you've called somebody you're going to take care of it you're going to bring them everywhere they're supposed to go would you help them to call us up to those kinds of things and press on tenaciously thank you so much Father in Jesus name amen hey thanks for tuning in today if God has used the ministry of Fierce in your life please consider paying it forward with a financial gift at fierce.urch/g if you want more resources like this check out all of our channels at YouTube Tik Tok and Instagram check out our podcasts and check out our blog at fierce.urch/blog if you haven't already please consider sharing this to help people you know take their next step we'll see you next time" [00:00:52]

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