March 9, 2024 • 34 mins
When fear whispers that we're not strong enough to bear our crosses, it's the echo of an enemy who dreads our potential in God's grand design.
Tune in, and be empowered to live out your calling with the courage and peace that can only come from embracing the fullness of life in Jesus Christ.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We need courage and we need a drip of constant
encouragement every single day,day and night.
We need people who areministers of encouragement.
We need people who are going toreach out to us and encourage
us when we need it most.
Men need courage.
There's a quote by JohnEldridge that says the story of
your life is the story of thelong and brutal assault on your
(00:21):
heart by the one who knows whatyou could be and fears it.
Why are we hit with fear everysingle day?
Why are we constantly afraid offailure?
Why are we constantly afraid wedon't have what it takes, or
that maybe our story isn't goingto work out, or maybe God's
going to get us to the door andsay away from me, I never knew
(00:43):
you.
Why are we so afraid?
Well, because the enemy isafraid.
He's afraid of you.
Welcome to the In Rest podcastwith Noah James Weeb.
(01:05):
I'm so glad you're here Now.
This is episode two of a twopart sermon in which I preached
on courage.
Courage is critical.
It's crucial for living lifethe way that God intended us to
live, If we are going to live insuch a way that we obey Jesus,
(01:28):
that we face the difficultiesthat come with being a fully
devoted follower of Christ.
If we are going to live in sucha way that we are disciplined,
that we are present with thepeople in our life who are most
valuable or whom God has givenus to serve, we're going to need
courage.
We're going to need courage tospeak up when something needs to
(01:48):
be said.
We're going to need couragewhen we're struggling just to
get out of bed every morning.
We're going to need courage inevery crucial moment of our life
, and so courage is critical forliving the life that God has
for you and I don't know whereyou're at today in the sense of
(02:09):
accepting your God givenidentity, accepting a call or
receiving a call from God.
That goes deeper than justsimply accepting the call to
receive Jesus as your Savior.
Jesus as your Savior is awesome.
Jesus as your Lord means thatyou have a ministry and a
(02:30):
purpose.
Now, that doesn't necessarilymean you're going to be a pastor
, a preacher, a teacher.
It does mean that you are goingto live before God as someone
who is devoted to Christ.
If that's the case, then you'regoing to need courage.
Courage has purpose, and if youhave a calling, you're going to
(02:50):
need courage, because everycalling, every purpose, every
person who's a Christian has across to bear, which means that
you need the courage to bearthat cross.
So this sermon, I hope, will bean encouragement to you.
See what I did thereEncouragement, Get it.
(03:13):
No.
Okay, I hope that this sermonis an encouragement to you to
live courageously as a followerof Jesus in this age in which we
are living.
I pray that this sermonempowers you.
It not only encourages you, butenlivens you in a fresh way.
(03:36):
This sermon was gearedspecifically towards men, but
that doesn't necessarily mean itisn't for everyone listening.
So if you are listening today,it doesn't matter what
background you're coming from,who you are, what your name is.
It matters that you are hereand you're listening to this.
I trust.
(03:56):
I don't just pray, I'm not justasking.
I trust genuinely and hopegenuinely that this message is
for you.
So, without further ado, let'stune in and get going.
Can I tell you there's nothingmore honorable about one
person's call than another.
Everybody needs everybody inthe body of Christ.
Each person is important.
So, whatever your call is, youshould obey it, even if it seems
(04:16):
small or seems large or seemstoo big or seems to make too
many in front of too many people.
Regardless of what you do, ifyou are the one equipped to do
it, if you are the one who Godhas called you are the one he's
going to get to do it and he'snot going to ask anybody else.
He's going to ask you becauseyou are the one who will lead
these people.
(04:37):
So this is about Joshua's call,but in general, I would like to
draw from this is that withinthe heart of every man there is
a desire to add value throughleadership and influence.
There's a desire to add value.
How many of you guys knowsomeone who's a man who just
wants to fix the thing?
You know this one is fix it,fix the thing.
(04:58):
You know what I'm saying.
But that's an expression ofleadership.
Leadership in a biblicaldefinition is not about
dominating other people.
Leadership in the biblicaldefinition is honoring God's
call to tend to the needs ofother people.
Now you're like, hold on asecond.
So you're saying if I'm a mom,that that doesn't count for me
(05:21):
to be a leader, I can't be aleader.
Or if I'm a woman, I can't be aleader.
Of course that's ridiculous.
Of course you can be.
God called lots of women to beleaders in the Bible to take
care of the needs of others.
I mean good gracious.
Just look at the call ofmotherhood, from month one in
the womb or day one in the wombuntil the moment that child is
finally birthed into the worldand beyond.
I mean leadership is at thecore of humanity.
(05:44):
Genesis chapter one rule andsubdue the earth.
He didn't tell that to Adam, hetold it to Adam and Eve at the
same time.
Rule and subdue the earth witha collaborative authority, a
collaborative leadership, anallyship which will last from
now until eternity.
Rule and subdue the earth.
But rule and subdue again.
(06:05):
Subdue is the same word that Ijust mentioned to care for the
needs of something so that itthrives.
Cabash subdue, take care of,tend to.
And so it's not aboutdomination, it's not about
wielding an iron scepter orbeing the judge, or being a
critic, or being the person thateverything's going to fall back
(06:28):
on.
Yes, there's responsibility, butto be a leader, to be an
influencer, to lead this, obeyGod's call to take care of the
needs of others and whateverscope of responsibility you have
been given.
Does that make sense so far?
I hope so.
Be strong and very courageous.
Verse seven be careful to obeyall the instructions Moses gave
(06:50):
you.
And then finally, in verseeight study this book of
instruction continually,meditating on it day and night.
So be sure to obey everythingwritten in it.
Only then will you beprosperous and successful in all
you do.
And then he emphasizes it againbe strong and courageous.
Now, if you notice, there'skind of like a sandwich going on
here.
He's like be strong andcourageous, be strong and
courageous.
(07:10):
And right in the middle is thisverse that says keep this book
of the law, or book ofinstruction, continually on your
lips, meditate on it day andnight.
It's to constantly think aboutthe word of God.
The only way that we, as men oras women or as children,
whoever we are, the only waythat we as God's people will
live out the life that God hasfor us and serve well and live
(07:34):
well in accordance with how he'scommanded us, is by getting
into the word, drawing from itour very life, reading it and
taking it in and digesting itevery single day and obeying it.
I did not change.
I did not overcome depression,I did not decide not to commit
suicide, I did not decide tolead people or help others or
show love until I got into theword of God.
(07:56):
I did not choose to love myneighbor until I got into the
word of God.
I didn't choose to change theway I spoke to my brothers and
sisters until I got into theword of God.
I didn't choose to be a goodhusband or a good dad or a good
leader, even a good pastor.
I didn't choose to be a goodleader until I got into the word
of God.
And as soon as I get away fromthe word of God, it's like
getting out of an IV drip that'skeeping you alive.
Sure, you can go a day or twoor a week or a month, but
(08:19):
eventually something's going tofall through here if you're not
getting refreshed in the word ofGod, meditating on it day and
night.
Only then will you prosper andbe successful.
Only then will you do the thingand exceed in the thing that
God has given you to do and havethe wisdom to see it through.
Now God says, after all of this, at the end of it all, bottom
(08:44):
line the Lord, your God, is withyou wherever you go.
This is not about you in theend.
This is about what God is up to.
This is about God isaccomplishing in the world.
This is what God is doing inand through your life as a man,
as a husband, as a father, as amom, as a child, as whoever.
(09:07):
So why is it so important thatwe know about these things?
Why is it so important that Godtold Joshua this stuff?
Why is it so important that,just before he goes on, like a
military conquest or something?
Why is that important?
Why is it important to bestrong and courageous?
Why is it important to beunyielding in your conviction
and yet also to do and act notout of fear but out of God's
(09:28):
promises?
Why is that so important?
And it's because men needcourage.
Men need courage.
We need it.
Can I just tell you I don'tthink I know a single more
fearful group of people onplanet earth than men.
Men are terrified.
(09:48):
We don't admit it because thatwould be weak, you know.
But we're scared man.
We're scared we're not makingenough money.
We're scared that we're notgoing to take care of our family
.
We're scared that things aren'tgoing to work out the way
they're supposed to.
We need courage and we need adrip of constant encouragement
every single day, day and night.
We need people who areministers of encouragement.
(10:10):
We need people who are going toreach out to us and encourage
us when we need it most.
Men need courage.
There's a quote by John Eldridgethat says the story of your
life is the story of the longand brutal assault on your heart
by the one who knows what youcould be and fears it.
Why are we hit with fear everysingle day?
(10:33):
Why are we constantly afraid offailure?
Why are we constantly afraid wedon't have what it takes, or
that maybe our story isn't goingto work out, or maybe God's
going to get us to the door andsay, away from me, I never knew
you.
Why are we so afraid?
Well, because the enemy isafraid.
He's afraid of you.
He's afraid of what you aregoing to make an impact on.
(10:55):
He's afraid of the change youare going to make.
He's afraid of the return oninvestment that you are going to
seed into the lives and heartsof women and children and other
men and people who need you most.
He's afraid of him losingground.
He's afraid and he's enraged byit.
Why is that?
(11:17):
It's because men are leaders.
Men are leaders.
Leadership as John Maxwelldescribes it John C Maxwell,
leadership expert knownthroughout the world Leadership
is influence.
Nothing more, nothing less.
If you have.
If you're a person and you haveinfluence over another person,
(11:38):
you have leadership in thatperson's life, Whether that's as
a mentor, as a father, as afriend, as an encourager.
If you have influence insomeone else's life, you have
leadership.
If you have influence in agroup, you have leadership.
If you have influence over achild or over a ministry, you
have leadership.
You are a leader, Men and womenboth.
Leadership is at the core ofhumanity.
(11:59):
Then, what is the single mostimportant thing that we do as
leaders?
Ray Johnson, in his book HopeQuotient, was asked by his
daughter in an interview what isthe single most important thing
you do as a leader?
And he answered thusly the mostimportant thing I do as a
leader is stay encouraged, Stayencouraged.
(12:22):
Now, the reality is that God wasgiving Joshua a crown, position
of leadership, a role, a title,and he even said later on if
anybody disobeys you, they'll beput to death.
Whoa, Okay, Lord, I better notscrew this up.
Like God was saying to Joshuayou are a leader.
(12:42):
He's as close to a king as youcould get at the time for God's
people.
God made Joshua a leader.
He put a crown on his head,metaphorically speaking, and he
expected him to live out thatauthority.
But for every crown there is across.
For every crown that is givenamong men there is a cross.
(13:04):
It's for the joy set before himthat Jesus endured the cross,
scorned its shame and took hisseat at the right hand of the
Father in heaven For the joy setbefore him, for the authority
set before him.
And he already had authority.
But Jesus was given authorityand lived out his authority and
lived.
I mean, he was authority, youknow, in eternity.
But Jesus knew and was able tofunction well as a leader
(13:27):
because he knew that his crownresulted in a cross.
He knew that the end of hislife was not going to be for
himself.
He knew that his purpose, hislife, was not for his own
success, but for the success andfor the blessing of others, for
our very lives.
But for every cross there iscourage available to take it up.
Jesus, in the Garden ofGethsemane, did not draw his
(13:48):
strength only from his friends.
He didn't draw his strengthonly from a good Passover meal.
He didn't draw his strengthonly from, you know, coming out
of a ministry high.
In fact, I don't think he didget any strength from coming out
of any ministry.
High Palm Sunday he knew wasleading towards Good Friday.
And here he was, just beforethat pinnacle moment.
(14:09):
What does he do?
He goes to the Garden ofGethsemane, gathers the boys
around him and he says pray withme.
And he goes before the Lord andhe gets the courage he needs to
take up the cross as associatedwith his crown.
So the question is, what are wegoing to do?
I mean, what are we going to do?
(14:32):
The reality is we, as men, needcourage, and anyone who knows
any man who's ever faceddiscouragement knows that you
have a special place in thatperson's heart, a level of trust
, a level of influence.
You know it's not just men thathave influence over families.
You know men, those of you whoare married in this room how
many of you know that you stillthink about what your wife
(14:53):
thinks about you all the time?
And not because happy wife,happy life thing.
Quite frankly, I don't likethat quote.
Honestly, I don't.
And the reason why I don't isbecause there's so many times
where me, as a husband, doingthe right thing put my wife into
very uncomfortablecircumstances and I needed a lot
of courage to do that andknowing that it was the right
thing, because I was stillafraid of what my wife thought
(15:15):
of me.
When I get the chance, I stilltry to impress her.
When I'm walking around in thehouse or whatever, got a t-shirt
, I'm like working out.
You know, the reason why thatmatters is because you women
moms, sisters, friends, wivesyou have one of the most
influential relationshipspossible for another man, for a
(15:37):
man, If you're a man and you are, you know, going through a
season of life where there's nota lot of friendships, not a lot
of encouragement, you areleaning on one another.
That allyship is sometimes theonly encouragement that a person
has to receive.
How many of you have readthrough, you know, Genesis 3
(15:58):
before?
Why did we set into a life ofsin to this day?
The Bible says Adam listened tohis wife and he took the fruit
and ate it.
Now, is that a condemning thingor a shame thing?
No, it's speaking to the factthat the enemy knew where to go.
The enemy knew where to go.
The enemy knew that the biggestinfluence that Adam had in his
(16:18):
life other than God was his wife.
He's like well, I know thatAdam's really steadfast, but you
know what I could do, and hedoes it to men all the time
Tries to wane away at yourcourage through your spouse.
And I've failed my wife on manyoccasions and she received me
with forgiveness and the impactthat that had on me was
(16:39):
tremendous.
The impact on my well-being,the impact on my leadership.
The best gift you can give tochildren your children is a good
marriage.
Did you know that the best giftyou can give to your children
is a good marriage, Tending toone another's hearts?
Well, so what are we going todo?
(16:59):
How are we going to honor theinfluence that we have in one
another's lives?
This is an important topicbecause it means the success of
our mission as a church and asthe church.
And I know what I have to do.
I know there's areas where Icould be better, but I'm not,
and that's not shame, it's justreality.
It's where I've shrunk back,lost heart, lost courage and I
(17:25):
need to change, as with FrodoBaggins and the Lord of the
Rings and the Fellowship of theRing, who says I know what I
must do, it's just I'm afraid todo it.
But the problem is again JohnWaxwell quote, to kind of close
us out here without ownership,changes will be short term.
(17:47):
So what's the scoop.
How do we go from here?
How do we move forward in lifeas a church and as marriages,
whether that's investing infriendships with other men,
despite how busy you two may be,going on a walk instead of
opting for coffee at Tim's sothat you can be together in
nature and maybe have more quiet, opting for solitude, taking on
spiritual practices likefasting, or even worshiping
(18:10):
together with a small group ofmen?
You know, I never overcame orpornography addiction until I
got into the room with trustedmen who continue to build me up
and encourage me, and until Istarted confessing every single
time I messed up to my wife.
It's like you have to thinkabout the entire system of your
life and think what do I want?
What's my goal?
What am I going to do?
(18:31):
God says you will lead thispeople.
You will take up your cross andfollow Jesus.
This task has been appointed toyou and no other.
You are irreplaceable.
So what are you going to do, men?
What are we going to do to lifteach other up and spur one
another on to good deeds?
What are we going to do tohuddle together and build one
(18:53):
another up?
What are we going to do toencourage each other, to be
valiant men of honor, to be menwho do not use their influence
for evil or for their pleasuresor for making things peaceful at
home and they're not peaceful.
Are we going to have thecourage to have that difficult
conversation this week?
Are we going to have thecourage to ask for a raise or
plan out our finances?
Are we going to have thecourage to step into a ministry
(19:15):
role that we've been avoidingbut that we know the God's
putting on our hearts, but wedon't want to do it because it's
going to be too hard?
Are we going to do it?
Are you going to reach out tothat friend, even though he's so
uncomfortable, it feels sovulnerable in front of another
man, and say I need help?
Are you going to have thecourage to literally be so
honest with your wife that youare just in a boat of tears
before her and say I have givenmy heart to the wrong things and
(19:38):
in fact I've even given myheart to you when I should have
been giving it to the Lord?
Are you going to have thecourage to take it back?
Are you going to have thecourage to step into this next
week, sent as a disciple ofJesus as an apprentice of his,
not living out a life that youdesire, but the one that he
desires for you.
And let me tell you, it's worthit, but it's one of the hardest
things that you will ever do,but you are the one to take
(20:00):
ownership.
No one will force you to makethis change.
God said to Joshua be strongand very courageous, for you
will lead these people.
So what is it for you today?
Do you need to get in a journal?
Do you need to get a piece ofpaper and write down the goals
(20:21):
of the things that you know youneed changing?
Do you need to talk to atherapist?
Do you need to talk to yourwife?
Do you need to say sorry toyour children?
Do you need to get before theLord and tell him I want you in
my life.
I'm sorry.
Let us have the courage to liveout the call that God has given
(20:46):
us.
In Jesus' name, Father, God,thank you so much for your love
for us and for your joy in ourlives.
It is not through our strength,but through yours, that we do
all that we have been called todo.
Bless us, Lord, in our work.
Bless us in our ministry.
Empower us in all we do to bethe men you've called us to be.
(21:07):
Yet not I, yet not us, butthrough Christ in us, Amen.
Here's the thing.
That message is so good to hear, to know, to get it into us,
but it's so much harder to liveout.
I want to just acknowledge thatit's not easy to take up that
(21:31):
call.
But if there's something inthat list of things, or maybe
there's something else that Godis putting on your heart to
apply from this and to takeaction on, I encourage you to do
that, Because failure to act onwhat God is calling you to do,
especially with the courage thathe's given you to do it, it
(21:54):
will result in other issues.
We can either choose the painthat we have or that pain will
happen to us in another area.
I think it's Dave Ramseyactually finance guy, financial
piece university that sayschoose your pain or your pain
will choose you.
(22:14):
Something into that effect.
I might be completely botchingthat quote, but I don't care.
The idea is this is you know,it's clear, If we don't choose
to take action on the thingsthat we know and we need to act
on, we're not going to avoid thepain, we're just going to delay
it a little bit longer.
So we get short-term relief ormaybe a short-term deferral of
(22:39):
that, but we end up taking atleast clutter in our life in
which we're deferring thedecision-making that we know we
need to make, we know we need totake on, or we're actually
experiencing something akin tothe infection of a wound Pain is
deferred, but it actually getsworse because the longer that
(23:00):
you defer the pain that you knowyou need to handle, that you
know you need to address, theharder and the more painful it
is to actually finally addressit.
Or, of course, there's theother option, in which that pain
will completely overwhelm you.
So don't let that be.
You Take action on the thingsthat God has put in front of you
.
There is so much graceavailable for you.
(23:26):
Assuming, something that hasalways encouraged me about
Jesus' call to be a disciple isthat if you want to follow Jesus
, you need to take up your cross.
Yes, that's true Daily In thebook of Luke, when Jesus says
take up your cross daily andfollow me.
That dailiness has.
There's so much beauty in thereality of our daily walk with
(23:48):
God, in which it's not justyesterday's obedience or last
year's victories or pastfailures, even Rather the next
steps that are right in front ofus.
Today we can take that optionand make that choice and decide.
However, because it's a dailything, we can leave behind the
(24:09):
mistakes of yesterday.
We can leave behind the areasin which we not the areas, but
the decisions that we didn'tmake, the things that we should
have done whatever consequencesthat we're handling in our day
to day and in our moment rightnow, we can say goodbye to
yesterday and say yes to takingup our cross.
(24:29):
Today.
Jesus doesn't hold a big stickwaiting for you to get to the
part where you were supposed tosay yes again and take that
right chance, just so he canbeat you on the head and say see
, if you would have already donethis, this would not be the
case.
Blah, blah, blah.
Jesus is not looking to shameyou.
He's looking to empower you tolive the life he's called you to
(24:50):
live.
So the dailiness of your walkwith God, the dailiness and the
nature of the taking up of yourcross, it doesn't matter how
many times you've failed.
It doesn't matter how manytimes you've missed the mark.
It doesn't matter how manytimes you have given in to fear.
Fear is always waiting to bedefeated.
(25:10):
You just have to say yes toJesus in this moment.
Keep in mind you are going toget hit with spiritual warfare
in this moment, because the factis, it doesn't matter what
success you've had in the pastor what potential there is in
your future.
Today, the enemy is afraid ofyou realizing your full
(25:30):
potential as a disciple of Jesus.
He's not afraid of you givingin to like listening to another
sermon, because if you're notgoing to act on anything, it
doesn't really make a difference.
But as soon as you act, and assoon as you make the decision to
act, the enemy is the one thatwants to throw shame on you and
discourage you and make you feellike you can't do it and take
away your confidence and makeyou feel afraid and hit you with
(25:53):
fear upon fear upon fear, justso that you will choose again to
go back the way you came fromand leave behind the call of
discipleship for somebody elsewho maybe has more boldness than
you have.
My friend, do not give intothat.
Do not give into the enemy'sschemes to make you feel
frightened.
Do not give into the enemy'sschemes to make you feel that
(26:14):
your past failures define yourtoday's decisions.
Okay, Yesterday's mistakes areyesterday and today.
You have the call right now,right now before you, to take up
your cross and follow Jesus.
It doesn't matter whatrelationship that you've had
with this particular ministry oraction step that you need to
(26:37):
take, or even passage ofscripture that you've been
avoiding reading because youknow it's really challenging to
you, or a person that you'vebeen avoiding and a problem in
that relationship.
It doesn't matter the magnitudeof it, none of that.
What matters is are you goingto give Jesus your yes right now
?
Are you going to?
(26:57):
And really not even that, it'snot that, that's not important.
The bottom line is you have theopportunity right now to take
up your cross and be empoweredwith courage by God to walk into
the scope of obedience to whichhe's calling you right now, to
which he's leading you Right.
(27:18):
So I hope that makes sense,because the thing is, the enemy
is the one that's throwing thefear at you on top of the fear
you may already have.
So you really need to beequipped, you need to be ready
to face that battle, and nextweek we're going to be having or
next week next episode, I guess, is going to be another episode
(27:39):
yes, well, anyway, next weekwe're going to have another
episode about how to be equippedhow to be equipped to face the
spiritual battle that we're in,to recognize the warfare that
we're facing and to really meetthat warfare, to face it in the
way that God calls us to.
And we're going to be exploring, you know, what does it mean to
actually be equipped by thearmor of God, and how do we take
(28:02):
on that battle and how do weface it.
Blah, blah, blah.
So tune into that next week andpay attention, because that is
going to be another one thatyou're not going to want to miss
.
That is another sermon clipthat we're going to explore
again next episode.
Again, I hope that that will bea huge encouragement to you.
I trust it will.
But why is it important that wetalk about that?
(28:22):
Well, because the enemy is notconcerned about your past.
He's not concerned about youknow your potential and,
necessarily, in terms of thethings that you could do if you
said yes, he's concerned aboutwhether or not you're going to
say yes right now.
He's concerned about whether ornot you know.
He is worried that if you sayyes, that potential will be
(28:44):
realized.
Today is the thing that he'sconcerned about.
He wants to keep you stuckthinking about the future or
stuck thinking about the past.
So anyway, I've harped on thatenough.
The bottom line is this Say yesto Jesus today.
Take action on what God hascalled you to do, because that
dailiness, the grace that isoffered you in that dailiness,
(29:05):
that is something that today isavailable to you.
The Bible says in the book ofHebrews as long as it is called
today, continue to spur oneanother on to good deeds.
Friends, do not be discouraged,Do not be afraid.
The Lord is with you.
It doesn't matter what happenedin the past.
The Bible tells us in Isaiah,chapter 41, do not fear, for I
(29:27):
am with you.
Do not be dismayed, for I amyour God.
I will strengthen you and helpyou.
I will hold you up by myrighteous right hand.
My friends, do not bediscouraged, Do not be afraid.
The Lord is with you.
Take up your call.
Say yes to God.
Be that chain breaker and don'tlet another day go by, and
(29:51):
don't let another moment go by.
If there's a right now that youhave to handle, do it, but
don't be discouraged.
He is with you.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me for this episode of
the In Rest podcast.
I really hope that you areencouraged by this content and,
if you are, I hope that you'refollowing us on social media.
(30:12):
On Instagram, it's inrestinstah, so I'd encourage you to follow
us on Instagram.
In addition, we have a websitecalled inrestlivingcom, so
inrestlivingcom.
You're going to find mostlyjust information about coaching
and speaking from me.
If you're interested in beingpart of one of my group coaching
programs that's coming up thisspring, you're going to find
(30:35):
information about that in thecoming days.
There's going to be moreinformation about that as well
throughout some of the otherpodcast episodes that are to
come.
In that.
There's also our Facebook pageas well, so inrest I think it's
facebookcom slash inrestcoaching, and then, of course,
(30:56):
there's facebookcom slash inrestpodcast and whatever platform
you're listening to this on, I'dreally encourage you to just go
into the Spotify thing on theshow app, Not the show app.
What am I trying to say?
The show.
If you were to go to the Inrestpodcast page on Spotify, just
(31:17):
like it, Hit the five star thing.
If you're listening to this onYouTube, hit the like button and
subscribe, follow.
If you're listening to this onSpotify.
It's so important to get thismessage out because I want more
people to hear about Jesus.
I want more people who areChristians to be encouraged in
their faith.
I want people who arestruggling with fear to overcome
(31:39):
and have courage.
And if you want that too,please share this and help
somebody else experience thismessage of the life changing
power of the gospel of Jesus.
He is so amazing.
So, anyway, sorry, yes,continue to share in rest Would
love that and leave a review.
That'd be awesome.
Check us out on socials, Followus.
(32:00):
That'd be great.
In any case, thank you so muchfor listening to the end.
If you have, this is, you know,welcome to the end of the
episode.
You're awesome.
Thank you so much for joiningme for another episode of the In
Rest podcast Tune in next weekfor Be Equipped, for being
equipped, to face the spiritualbattle that we're in.
Until next time, may the Lordbless you and keep you and give
(32:24):
you his peace, and may he giveyou courage to live the life
that you're called to live inJesus' name.
Okay, Let me pray for you,Father.
God, I pray for the listenerthat's on the other side of this
Spotify screen, the personthat's on the other end of these
speakers.
I pray, Father, for whoever islistening to this, that he or
(32:49):
she would be empowered withcourage in this moment and a
profound peace that they havenot felt in a very long time, so
that they may live the lifeyou've called them to live.
I pray that whoever islistening to me right now,
whoever is under the sound of myvoice, that they would be
(33:09):
encouraged and empowered andenlivened to live out the life
of a follower of Jesus Christ,One who is not only bearing
their cross daily, but doing socourageously.
I pray that you would give themhope for the future, for one
day, they too, just like Pauland Jesus and so many others,
(33:34):
made it to the end of the raceand received the crown of
righteousness waiting for thosewho love you.
Let them receive it, Lord, andlet them be encouraged and
rejoicing in hope because ofthat day.
So bless them and keep them andhelp them to say yes to you
today.
Help them to take action inwhat you've called them to do,
(33:57):
In Jesus' name, amen.
Quisite music, mid-teams音樂 music, cooking and intense music.
We need courage and we need a drip of constant
encouragement every single day,day and night.
We need people who areministers of encouragement.
We need people who are going toreach out to us and encourage
us when we need it most.
Men need courage.
There's a quote by JohnEldridge that says the story of
your life is the story of thelong and brutal assault on your
(00:21):
heart by the one who knows whatyou could be and fears it.
Why are we hit with fear everysingle day?
Why are we constantly afraid offailure?
Why are we constantly afraid wedon't have what it takes, or
that maybe our story isn't goingto work out, or maybe God's
going to get us to the door andsay away from me, I never knew
(00:43):
you.
Why are we so afraid?
Well, because the enemy isafraid.
He's afraid of you.
Welcome to the In Rest podcastwith Noah James Weeb.
(01:05):
I'm so glad you're here Now.
This is episode two of a twopart sermon in which I preached
on courage.
Courage is critical.
It's crucial for living lifethe way that God intended us to
live, If we are going to live insuch a way that we obey Jesus,
(01:28):
that we face the difficultiesthat come with being a fully
devoted follower of Christ.
If we are going to live in sucha way that we are disciplined,
that we are present with thepeople in our life who are most
valuable or whom God has givenus to serve, we're going to need
courage.
We're going to need courage tospeak up when something needs to
(01:48):
be said.
We're going to need couragewhen we're struggling just to
get out of bed every morning.
We're going to need courage inevery crucial moment of our life
, and so courage is critical forliving the life that God has
for you and I don't know whereyou're at today in the sense of
(02:09):
accepting your God givenidentity, accepting a call or
receiving a call from God.
That goes deeper than justsimply accepting the call to
receive Jesus as your Savior.
Jesus as your Savior is awesome.
Jesus as your Lord means thatyou have a ministry and a
(02:30):
purpose.
Now, that doesn't necessarilymean you're going to be a pastor
, a preacher, a teacher.
It does mean that you are goingto live before God as someone
who is devoted to Christ.
If that's the case, then you'regoing to need courage.
Courage has purpose, and if youhave a calling, you're going to
(02:50):
need courage, because everycalling, every purpose, every
person who's a Christian has across to bear, which means that
you need the courage to bearthat cross.
So this sermon, I hope, will bean encouragement to you.
See what I did thereEncouragement, Get it.
(03:13):
No.
Okay, I hope that this sermonis an encouragement to you to
live courageously as a followerof Jesus in this age in which we
are living.
I pray that this sermonempowers you.
It not only encourages you, butenlivens you in a fresh way.
(03:36):
This sermon was gearedspecifically towards men, but
that doesn't necessarily mean itisn't for everyone listening.
So if you are listening today,it doesn't matter what
background you're coming from,who you are, what your name is.
It matters that you are hereand you're listening to this.
I trust.
(03:56):
I don't just pray, I'm not justasking.
I trust genuinely and hopegenuinely that this message is
for you.
So, without further ado, let'stune in and get going.
Can I tell you there's nothingmore honorable about one
person's call than another.
Everybody needs everybody inthe body of Christ.
Each person is important.
So, whatever your call is, youshould obey it, even if it seems
(04:16):
small or seems large or seemstoo big or seems to make too
many in front of too many people.
Regardless of what you do, ifyou are the one equipped to do
it, if you are the one who Godhas called you are the one he's
going to get to do it and he'snot going to ask anybody else.
He's going to ask you becauseyou are the one who will lead
these people.
(04:37):
So this is about Joshua's call,but in general, I would like to
draw from this is that withinthe heart of every man there is
a desire to add value throughleadership and influence.
There's a desire to add value.
How many of you guys knowsomeone who's a man who just
wants to fix the thing?
You know this one is fix it,fix the thing.
(04:58):
You know what I'm saying.
But that's an expression ofleadership.
Leadership in a biblicaldefinition is not about
dominating other people.
Leadership in the biblicaldefinition is honoring God's
call to tend to the needs ofother people.
Now you're like, hold on asecond.
So you're saying if I'm a mom,that that doesn't count for me
(05:21):
to be a leader, I can't be aleader.
Or if I'm a woman, I can't be aleader.
Of course that's ridiculous.
Of course you can be.
God called lots of women to beleaders in the Bible to take
care of the needs of others.
I mean good gracious.
Just look at the call ofmotherhood, from month one in
the womb or day one in the wombuntil the moment that child is
finally birthed into the worldand beyond.
I mean leadership is at thecore of humanity.
(05:44):
Genesis chapter one rule andsubdue the earth.
He didn't tell that to Adam, hetold it to Adam and Eve at the
same time.
Rule and subdue the earth witha collaborative authority, a
collaborative leadership, anallyship which will last from
now until eternity.
Rule and subdue the earth.
But rule and subdue again.
(06:05):
Subdue is the same word that Ijust mentioned to care for the
needs of something so that itthrives.
Cabash subdue, take care of,tend to.
And so it's not aboutdomination, it's not about
wielding an iron scepter orbeing the judge, or being a
critic, or being the person thateverything's going to fall back
(06:28):
on.
Yes, there's responsibility, butto be a leader, to be an
influencer, to lead this, obeyGod's call to take care of the
needs of others and whateverscope of responsibility you have
been given.
Does that make sense so far?
I hope so.
Be strong and very courageous.
Verse seven be careful to obeyall the instructions Moses gave
(06:50):
you.
And then finally, in verseeight study this book of
instruction continually,meditating on it day and night.
So be sure to obey everythingwritten in it.
Only then will you beprosperous and successful in all
you do.
And then he emphasizes it againbe strong and courageous.
Now, if you notice, there'skind of like a sandwich going on
here.
He's like be strong andcourageous, be strong and
courageous.
(07:10):
And right in the middle is thisverse that says keep this book
of the law, or book ofinstruction, continually on your
lips, meditate on it day andnight.
It's to constantly think aboutthe word of God.
The only way that we, as men oras women or as children,
whoever we are, the only waythat we as God's people will
live out the life that God hasfor us and serve well and live
(07:34):
well in accordance with how he'scommanded us, is by getting
into the word, drawing from itour very life, reading it and
taking it in and digesting itevery single day and obeying it.
I did not change.
I did not overcome depression,I did not decide not to commit
suicide, I did not decide tolead people or help others or
show love until I got into theword of God.
(07:56):
I did not choose to love myneighbor until I got into the
word of God.
I didn't choose to change theway I spoke to my brothers and
sisters until I got into theword of God.
I didn't choose to be a goodhusband or a good dad or a good
leader, even a good pastor.
I didn't choose to be a goodleader until I got into the word
of God.
And as soon as I get away fromthe word of God, it's like
getting out of an IV drip that'skeeping you alive.
Sure, you can go a day or twoor a week or a month, but
(08:19):
eventually something's going tofall through here if you're not
getting refreshed in the word ofGod, meditating on it day and
night.
Only then will you prosper andbe successful.
Only then will you do the thingand exceed in the thing that
God has given you to do and havethe wisdom to see it through.
Now God says, after all of this, at the end of it all, bottom
(08:44):
line the Lord, your God, is withyou wherever you go.
This is not about you in theend.
This is about what God is up to.
This is about God isaccomplishing in the world.
This is what God is doing inand through your life as a man,
as a husband, as a father, as amom, as a child, as whoever.
(09:07):
So why is it so important thatwe know about these things?
Why is it so important that Godtold Joshua this stuff?
Why is it so important that,just before he goes on, like a
military conquest or something?
Why is that important?
Why is it important to bestrong and courageous?
Why is it important to beunyielding in your conviction
and yet also to do and act notout of fear but out of God's
(09:28):
promises?
Why is that so important?
And it's because men needcourage.
Men need courage.
We need it.
Can I just tell you I don'tthink I know a single more
fearful group of people onplanet earth than men.
Men are terrified.
(09:48):
We don't admit it because thatwould be weak, you know.
But we're scared man.
We're scared we're not makingenough money.
We're scared that we're notgoing to take care of our family
.
We're scared that things aren'tgoing to work out the way
they're supposed to.
We need courage and we need adrip of constant encouragement
every single day, day and night.
We need people who areministers of encouragement.
(10:10):
We need people who are going toreach out to us and encourage
us when we need it most.
Men need courage.
There's a quote by John Eldridgethat says the story of your
life is the story of the longand brutal assault on your heart
by the one who knows what youcould be and fears it.
Why are we hit with fear everysingle day?
(10:33):
Why are we constantly afraid offailure?
Why are we constantly afraid wedon't have what it takes, or
that maybe our story isn't goingto work out, or maybe God's
going to get us to the door andsay, away from me, I never knew
you.
Why are we so afraid?
Well, because the enemy isafraid.
He's afraid of you.
He's afraid of what you aregoing to make an impact on.
(10:55):
He's afraid of the change youare going to make.
He's afraid of the return oninvestment that you are going to
seed into the lives and heartsof women and children and other
men and people who need you most.
He's afraid of him losingground.
He's afraid and he's enraged byit.
Why is that?
(11:17):
It's because men are leaders.
Men are leaders.
Leadership as John Maxwelldescribes it John C Maxwell,
leadership expert knownthroughout the world Leadership
is influence.
Nothing more, nothing less.
If you have.
If you're a person and you haveinfluence over another person,
(11:38):
you have leadership in thatperson's life, Whether that's as
a mentor, as a father, as afriend, as an encourager.
If you have influence insomeone else's life, you have
leadership.
If you have influence in agroup, you have leadership.
If you have influence over achild or over a ministry, you
have leadership.
You are a leader, Men and womenboth.
Leadership is at the core ofhumanity.
(11:59):
Then, what is the single mostimportant thing that we do as
leaders?
Ray Johnson, in his book HopeQuotient, was asked by his
daughter in an interview what isthe single most important thing
you do as a leader?
And he answered thusly the mostimportant thing I do as a
leader is stay encouraged, Stayencouraged.
(12:22):
Now, the reality is that God wasgiving Joshua a crown, position
of leadership, a role, a title,and he even said later on if
anybody disobeys you, they'll beput to death.
Whoa, Okay, Lord, I better notscrew this up.
Like God was saying to Joshuayou are a leader.
(12:42):
He's as close to a king as youcould get at the time for God's
people.
God made Joshua a leader.
He put a crown on his head,metaphorically speaking, and he
expected him to live out thatauthority.
But for every crown there is across.
For every crown that is givenamong men there is a cross.
(13:04):
It's for the joy set before himthat Jesus endured the cross,
scorned its shame and took hisseat at the right hand of the
Father in heaven For the joy setbefore him, for the authority
set before him.
And he already had authority.
But Jesus was given authorityand lived out his authority and
lived.
I mean, he was authority, youknow, in eternity.
But Jesus knew and was able tofunction well as a leader
(13:27):
because he knew that his crownresulted in a cross.
He knew that the end of hislife was not going to be for
himself.
He knew that his purpose, hislife, was not for his own
success, but for the success andfor the blessing of others, for
our very lives.
But for every cross there iscourage available to take it up.
Jesus, in the Garden ofGethsemane, did not draw his
(13:48):
strength only from his friends.
He didn't draw his strengthonly from a good Passover meal.
He didn't draw his strengthonly from, you know, coming out
of a ministry high.
In fact, I don't think he didget any strength from coming out
of any ministry.
High Palm Sunday he knew wasleading towards Good Friday.
And here he was, just beforethat pinnacle moment.
(14:09):
What does he do?
He goes to the Garden ofGethsemane, gathers the boys
around him and he says pray withme.
And he goes before the Lord andhe gets the courage he needs to
take up the cross as associatedwith his crown.
So the question is, what are wegoing to do?
I mean, what are we going to do?
(14:32):
The reality is we, as men, needcourage, and anyone who knows
any man who's ever faceddiscouragement knows that you
have a special place in thatperson's heart, a level of trust
, a level of influence.
You know it's not just men thathave influence over families.
You know men, those of you whoare married in this room how
many of you know that you stillthink about what your wife
(14:53):
thinks about you all the time?
And not because happy wife,happy life thing.
Quite frankly, I don't likethat quote.
Honestly, I don't.
And the reason why I don't isbecause there's so many times
where me, as a husband, doingthe right thing put my wife into
very uncomfortablecircumstances and I needed a lot
of courage to do that andknowing that it was the right
thing, because I was stillafraid of what my wife thought
(15:15):
of me.
When I get the chance, I stilltry to impress her.
When I'm walking around in thehouse or whatever, got a t-shirt
, I'm like working out.
You know, the reason why thatmatters is because you women
moms, sisters, friends, wivesyou have one of the most
influential relationshipspossible for another man, for a
(15:37):
man, If you're a man and you are, you know, going through a
season of life where there's nota lot of friendships, not a lot
of encouragement, you areleaning on one another.
That allyship is sometimes theonly encouragement that a person
has to receive.
How many of you have readthrough, you know, Genesis 3
(15:58):
before?
Why did we set into a life ofsin to this day?
The Bible says Adam listened tohis wife and he took the fruit
and ate it.
Now, is that a condemning thingor a shame thing?
No, it's speaking to the factthat the enemy knew where to go.
The enemy knew where to go.
The enemy knew that the biggestinfluence that Adam had in his
(16:18):
life other than God was his wife.
He's like well, I know thatAdam's really steadfast, but you
know what I could do, and hedoes it to men all the time
Tries to wane away at yourcourage through your spouse.
And I've failed my wife on manyoccasions and she received me
with forgiveness and the impactthat that had on me was
(16:39):
tremendous.
The impact on my well-being,the impact on my leadership.
The best gift you can give tochildren your children is a good
marriage.
Did you know that the best giftyou can give to your children
is a good marriage, Tending toone another's hearts?
Well, so what are we going todo?
(16:59):
How are we going to honor theinfluence that we have in one
another's lives?
This is an important topicbecause it means the success of
our mission as a church and asthe church.
And I know what I have to do.
I know there's areas where Icould be better, but I'm not,
and that's not shame, it's justreality.
It's where I've shrunk back,lost heart, lost courage and I
(17:25):
need to change, as with FrodoBaggins and the Lord of the
Rings and the Fellowship of theRing, who says I know what I
must do, it's just I'm afraid todo it.
But the problem is again JohnWaxwell quote, to kind of close
us out here without ownership,changes will be short term.
(17:47):
So what's the scoop.
How do we go from here?
How do we move forward in lifeas a church and as marriages,
whether that's investing infriendships with other men,
despite how busy you two may be,going on a walk instead of
opting for coffee at Tim's sothat you can be together in
nature and maybe have more quiet, opting for solitude, taking on
spiritual practices likefasting, or even worshiping
(18:10):
together with a small group ofmen?
You know, I never overcame orpornography addiction until I
got into the room with trustedmen who continue to build me up
and encourage me, and until Istarted confessing every single
time I messed up to my wife.
It's like you have to thinkabout the entire system of your
life and think what do I want?
What's my goal?
What am I going to do?
(18:31):
God says you will lead thispeople.
You will take up your cross andfollow Jesus.
This task has been appointed toyou and no other.
You are irreplaceable.
So what are you going to do, men?
What are we going to do to lifteach other up and spur one
another on to good deeds?
What are we going to do tohuddle together and build one
(18:53):
another up?
What are we going to do toencourage each other, to be
valiant men of honor, to be menwho do not use their influence
for evil or for their pleasuresor for making things peaceful at
home and they're not peaceful.
Are we going to have thecourage to have that difficult
conversation this week?
Are we going to have thecourage to ask for a raise or
plan out our finances?
Are we going to have thecourage to step into a ministry
(19:15):
role that we've been avoidingbut that we know the God's
putting on our hearts, but wedon't want to do it because it's
going to be too hard?
Are we going to do it?
Are you going to reach out tothat friend, even though he's so
uncomfortable, it feels sovulnerable in front of another
man, and say I need help?
Are you going to have thecourage to literally be so
honest with your wife that youare just in a boat of tears
before her and say I have givenmy heart to the wrong things and
(19:38):
in fact I've even given myheart to you when I should have
been giving it to the Lord?
Are you going to have thecourage to take it back?
Are you going to have thecourage to step into this next
week, sent as a disciple ofJesus as an apprentice of his,
not living out a life that youdesire, but the one that he
desires for you.
And let me tell you, it's worthit, but it's one of the hardest
things that you will ever do,but you are the one to take
(20:00):
ownership.
No one will force you to makethis change.
God said to Joshua be strongand very courageous, for you
will lead these people.
So what is it for you today?
Do you need to get in a journal?
Do you need to get a piece ofpaper and write down the goals
(20:21):
of the things that you know youneed changing?
Do you need to talk to atherapist?
Do you need to talk to yourwife?
Do you need to say sorry toyour children?
Do you need to get before theLord and tell him I want you in
my life.
I'm sorry.
Let us have the courage to liveout the call that God has given
(20:46):
us.
In Jesus' name, Father, God,thank you so much for your love
for us and for your joy in ourlives.
It is not through our strength,but through yours, that we do
all that we have been called todo.
Bless us, Lord, in our work.
Bless us in our ministry.
Empower us in all we do to bethe men you've called us to be.
(21:07):
Yet not I, yet not us, butthrough Christ in us, Amen.
Here's the thing.
That message is so good to hear, to know, to get it into us,
but it's so much harder to liveout.
I want to just acknowledge thatit's not easy to take up that
(21:31):
call.
But if there's something inthat list of things, or maybe
there's something else that Godis putting on your heart to
apply from this and to takeaction on, I encourage you to do
that, Because failure to act onwhat God is calling you to do,
especially with the courage thathe's given you to do it, it
(21:54):
will result in other issues.
We can either choose the painthat we have or that pain will
happen to us in another area.
I think it's Dave Ramseyactually finance guy, financial
piece university that sayschoose your pain or your pain
will choose you.
(22:14):
Something into that effect.
I might be completely botchingthat quote, but I don't care.
The idea is this is you know,it's clear, If we don't choose
to take action on the thingsthat we know and we need to act
on, we're not going to avoid thepain, we're just going to delay
it a little bit longer.
So we get short-term relief ormaybe a short-term deferral of
(22:39):
that, but we end up taking atleast clutter in our life in
which we're deferring thedecision-making that we know we
need to make, we know we need totake on, or we're actually
experiencing something akin tothe infection of a wound Pain is
deferred, but it actually getsworse because the longer that
(23:00):
you defer the pain that you knowyou need to handle, that you
know you need to address, theharder and the more painful it
is to actually finally addressit.
Or, of course, there's theother option, in which that pain
will completely overwhelm you.
So don't let that be.
You Take action on the thingsthat God has put in front of you
.
There is so much graceavailable for you.
(23:26):
Assuming, something that hasalways encouraged me about
Jesus' call to be a disciple isthat if you want to follow Jesus
, you need to take up your cross.
Yes, that's true Daily In thebook of Luke, when Jesus says
take up your cross daily andfollow me.
That dailiness has.
There's so much beauty in thereality of our daily walk with
(23:48):
God, in which it's not justyesterday's obedience or last
year's victories or pastfailures, even Rather the next
steps that are right in front ofus.
Today we can take that optionand make that choice and decide.
However, because it's a dailything, we can leave behind the
(24:09):
mistakes of yesterday.
We can leave behind the areasin which we not the areas, but
the decisions that we didn'tmake, the things that we should
have done whatever consequencesthat we're handling in our day
to day and in our moment rightnow, we can say goodbye to
yesterday and say yes to takingup our cross.
(24:29):
Today.
Jesus doesn't hold a big stickwaiting for you to get to the
part where you were supposed tosay yes again and take that
right chance, just so he canbeat you on the head and say see
, if you would have already donethis, this would not be the
case.
Blah, blah, blah.
Jesus is not looking to shameyou.
He's looking to empower you tolive the life he's called you to
(24:50):
live.
So the dailiness of your walkwith God, the dailiness and the
nature of the taking up of yourcross, it doesn't matter how
many times you've failed.
It doesn't matter how manytimes you've missed the mark.
It doesn't matter how manytimes you have given in to fear.
Fear is always waiting to bedefeated.
(25:10):
You just have to say yes toJesus in this moment.
Keep in mind you are going toget hit with spiritual warfare
in this moment, because the factis, it doesn't matter what
success you've had in the pastor what potential there is in
your future.
Today, the enemy is afraid ofyou realizing your full
(25:30):
potential as a disciple of Jesus.
He's not afraid of you givingin to like listening to another
sermon, because if you're notgoing to act on anything, it
doesn't really make a difference.
But as soon as you act, and assoon as you make the decision to
act, the enemy is the one thatwants to throw shame on you and
discourage you and make you feellike you can't do it and take
away your confidence and makeyou feel afraid and hit you with
(25:53):
fear upon fear upon fear, justso that you will choose again to
go back the way you came fromand leave behind the call of
discipleship for somebody elsewho maybe has more boldness than
you have.
My friend, do not give intothat.
Do not give into the enemy'sschemes to make you feel
frightened.
Do not give into the enemy'sschemes to make you feel that
(26:14):
your past failures define yourtoday's decisions.
Okay, Yesterday's mistakes areyesterday and today.
You have the call right now,right now before you, to take up
your cross and follow Jesus.
It doesn't matter whatrelationship that you've had
with this particular ministry oraction step that you need to
(26:37):
take, or even passage ofscripture that you've been
avoiding reading because youknow it's really challenging to
you, or a person that you'vebeen avoiding and a problem in
that relationship.
It doesn't matter the magnitudeof it, none of that.
What matters is are you goingto give Jesus your yes right now
?
Are you going to?
(26:57):
And really not even that, it'snot that, that's not important.
The bottom line is you have theopportunity right now to take
up your cross and be empoweredwith courage by God to walk into
the scope of obedience to whichhe's calling you right now, to
which he's leading you Right.
(27:18):
So I hope that makes sense,because the thing is, the enemy
is the one that's throwing thefear at you on top of the fear
you may already have.
So you really need to beequipped, you need to be ready
to face that battle, and nextweek we're going to be having or
next week next episode, I guess, is going to be another episode
(27:39):
yes, well, anyway, next weekwe're going to have another
episode about how to be equippedhow to be equipped to face the
spiritual battle that we're in,to recognize the warfare that
we're facing and to really meetthat warfare, to face it in the
way that God calls us to.
And we're going to be exploring, you know, what does it mean to
actually be equipped by thearmor of God, and how do we take
(28:02):
on that battle and how do weface it.
Blah, blah, blah.
So tune into that next week andpay attention, because that is
going to be another one thatyou're not going to want to miss
.
That is another sermon clipthat we're going to explore
again next episode.
Again, I hope that that will bea huge encouragement to you.
I trust it will.
But why is it important that wetalk about that?
(28:22):
Well, because the enemy is notconcerned about your past.
He's not concerned about youknow your potential and,
necessarily, in terms of thethings that you could do if you
said yes, he's concerned aboutwhether or not you're going to
say yes right now.
He's concerned about whether ornot you know.
He is worried that if you sayyes, that potential will be
(28:44):
realized.
Today is the thing that he'sconcerned about.
He wants to keep you stuckthinking about the future or
stuck thinking about the past.
So anyway, I've harped on thatenough.
The bottom line is this Say yesto Jesus today.
Take action on what God hascalled you to do, because that
dailiness, the grace that isoffered you in that dailiness,
(29:05):
that is something that today isavailable to you.
The Bible says in the book ofHebrews as long as it is called
today, continue to spur oneanother on to good deeds.
Friends, do not be discouraged,Do not be afraid.
The Lord is with you.
It doesn't matter what happenedin the past.
The Bible tells us in Isaiah,chapter 41, do not fear, for I
(29:27):
am with you.
Do not be dismayed, for I amyour God.
I will strengthen you and helpyou.
I will hold you up by myrighteous right hand.
My friends, do not bediscouraged, Do not be afraid.
The Lord is with you.
Take up your call.
Say yes to God.
Be that chain breaker and don'tlet another day go by, and
(29:51):
don't let another moment go by.
If there's a right now that youhave to handle, do it, but
don't be discouraged.
He is with you.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me for this episode of
the In Rest podcast.
I really hope that you areencouraged by this content and,
if you are, I hope that you'refollowing us on social media.
(30:12):
On Instagram, it's inrestinstah, so I'd encourage you to follow
us on Instagram.
In addition, we have a websitecalled inrestlivingcom, so
inrestlivingcom.
You're going to find mostlyjust information about coaching
and speaking from me.
If you're interested in beingpart of one of my group coaching
programs that's coming up thisspring, you're going to find
(30:35):
information about that in thecoming days.
There's going to be moreinformation about that as well
throughout some of the otherpodcast episodes that are to
come.
In that.
There's also our Facebook pageas well, so inrest I think it's
facebookcom slash inrestcoaching, and then, of course,
(30:56):
there's facebookcom slash inrestpodcast and whatever platform
you're listening to this on, I'dreally encourage you to just go
into the Spotify thing on theshow app, Not the show app.
What am I trying to say?
The show.
If you were to go to the Inrestpodcast page on Spotify, just
(31:17):
like it, Hit the five star thing.
If you're listening to this onYouTube, hit the like button and
subscribe, follow.
If you're listening to this onSpotify.
It's so important to get thismessage out because I want more
people to hear about Jesus.
I want more people who areChristians to be encouraged in
their faith.
I want people who arestruggling with fear to overcome
(31:39):
and have courage.
And if you want that too,please share this and help
somebody else experience thismessage of the life changing
power of the gospel of Jesus.
He is so amazing.
So, anyway, sorry, yes,continue to share in rest Would
love that and leave a review.
That'd be awesome.
Check us out on socials, Followus.
(32:00):
That'd be great.
In any case, thank you so muchfor listening to the end.
If you have, this is, you know,welcome to the end of the
episode.
You're awesome.
Thank you so much for joiningme for another episode of the In
Rest podcast Tune in next weekfor Be Equipped, for being
equipped, to face the spiritualbattle that we're in.
Until next time, may the Lordbless you and keep you and give
(32:24):
you his peace, and may he giveyou courage to live the life
that you're called to live inJesus' name.
Okay, Let me pray for you,Father.
God, I pray for the listenerthat's on the other side of this
Spotify screen, the personthat's on the other end of these
speakers.
I pray, Father, for whoever islistening to this, that he or
(32:49):
she would be empowered withcourage in this moment and a
profound peace that they havenot felt in a very long time, so
that they may live the lifeyou've called them to live.
I pray that whoever islistening to me right now,
whoever is under the sound of myvoice, that they would be
(33:09):
encouraged and empowered andenlivened to live out the life
of a follower of Jesus Christ,One who is not only bearing
their cross daily, but doing socourageously.
I pray that you would give themhope for the future, for one
day, they too, just like Pauland Jesus and so many others,
(33:34):
made it to the end of the raceand received the crown of
righteousness waiting for thosewho love you.
Let them receive it, Lord, andlet them be encouraged and
rejoicing in hope because ofthat day.
So bless them and keep them andhelp them to say yes to you
today.
Help them to take action inwhat you've called them to do,
(33:57):
In Jesus' name, amen.
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