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What If You Couldn't Fail?

• Westside Community Church

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What if you already had everything you needed to step into what God is calling you to — and the only thing in the way was you waiting for permission to start?

In this episode of Midweek Motivation, Jess shares a hilarious story about her kids turning Fear Factor into a DIY living room challenge — and uses it to unpack a powerful truth: we don't have to wait to live out our faith. The Kingdom of Heaven isn't something we experience later. It's something we participate in right now.

Discover:

  • Why we tend to hesitate instead of stepping into what God has already commissioned us to do
  • What the Lord's Prayer reveals about heaven on earth — today, not someday
  • How the Great Commission applies to your everyday life — at home, at work, and in your relationships
  • The incredible power available to every believer through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:19)
  • Practical next steps to stop waiting and start walking with Jesus moment by moment

Reflection: You were worth the sacrifice Jesus made — and that truth isn't just something to believe, it's something to live from. When you understand that God is already with you, already equipping you, and already walking beside you, waiting starts to feel less like wisdom and more like hesitation. Today is the day to take a step. Not a perfect step. Just a faithful one.

Key Takeaways:

  • Jesus didn't say "wait until you're ready" — He said "go" (Matthew 28:18-20)
  • The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you right now (Ephesians 1:19-20)
  • Fear, insecurity, comfort, and the need for control are the real reasons we hesitate — not lack of ability
  • Heaven on earth is a present-tense reality, not a future promise
  • Walking with the Spirit means letting Him lead in every part of your life — moment to moment (Galatians 5:25)

Question for you to think about: If you believed you couldn't fail and wouldn't be rejected — how would you engage differently at home, at work, and in your relationships?

Call to Action: If this encouraged you, drop a comment and let us know — what's one step you're taking today? Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode, and share this with someone who needs the reminder that they don't have to wait. We'd love to see you at a Westside service this weekend!

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SPEAKER_00

So when my kids were little, they loved watching the show Fear Factor. And it always kind of gave me the e BGBs a little bit, but they absolutely loved it. And my kids were always like, hey, I want to like join this contest or do this thing, you know, the things that they saw on TV. Um, and so they watched the Fear Factor. And um, then my husband and I, we would go run errands or we would go on a date night or something like that. And they would actually like invent these fear factor type type experiments for each other, these fear factor type challenges for each other. And and like to paint a picture, like we got a phone call once um that our kids' fingers were zip-tied together and they couldn't get them apart to come and and we needed to come and save them because they were doing these experiments. They probably are not happy that I'm sharing this story right now, but it serves a purpose, right? The thing is, is that they didn't wait. They didn't wait to jump in and um participate to join in to something that they were really excited about.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome to the Midweek Motivation Podcast, where we bring practical help for your faith and life. Here's today's episode.

SPEAKER_00

I was thinking about this today as I was prepping for this, and I was thinking, you know, that's really the type of attitude that we need to have when it comes to our faith. Um, I think we anticipate a lot when we when we are excited about something. We we uh maybe when you're a kid, you were gonna go to Disneyland and you anticipated the trip. Um, I know we would anticipate as kids going on road trips with our family. We always had so much fun doing that. We anticipate a lot. Sometimes we anticipate negative things like maybe um a conversation that we have to have with somebody that we're positive is gonna turn out bad. Sometimes we anticipate good things like a new relationship or a marriage or a new job coming up. Um, but the thing I think that I can highlight, highlight is that there is a human pattern that we have when we are anticipating something, and that it it and that is that in the anticipation, we wait. And um I think that we can look back at my kids and their excitement about fear factor and be just really impressed by the fact that they didn't wait, that they saw the opportunity to participate and to engage right then, and they did. And they had a lot of fun and they made really, really great memories because of that. Um, but really the the takeaway from that is that sometimes when we're waiting, we're waiting when we don't actually have to wait, right? And so um that's what we're talking about today. We're talking about how we can um recognize that today we don't have to wait to participate. We're not waiting to get to heaven to actually participate in our faith. Um, as a matter of fact, in uh Matthew 6, 10, Jesus is talking to um, you know, a crowd of people and he's teaching them uh how to pray. And he says, pray like this. He says, Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy, may your kingdom come soon, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food that we need and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us, and don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. And I am struck by that verse 10. It says, May your kingdom come soon, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so, right there, Jesus is encouraging us to pray that the earth uh that that God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven, right? And so on Sunday, Pastor Gabe taught an incredible message that encourages us to know and understand that Jesus um paid the price for us and that we in accepting Jesus are um reconciled with God, right? And that we were worth that price. And so my encouragement for us today is that we should live like we were worth it, like we are worth it. And so in Matthew 28, 18 through 20, Jesus encourages us. He says, Jesus, uh the uh Matthew 28, 18 starts. Jesus came and told his disciples, this is after he's risen, right? And he he comes and he meets his disciples and he says, I have been given all authority in on excuse me, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus has been given all authority, right? Therefore, go, he's telling his disciples, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all commands I have given you, and be sure of this. I am with you always, even to the end of the ages. And even to the end of the, excuse me, even to the end of the age. And so we can see right there that that Jesus, He's He has um, He, He has reconciled, He's restored this relationship with that we have with God, and He's saying, Don't wait. He's saying, go and do it right now, right? And but that's our hesitation sometimes is we decide that we need to wait. Maybe for a couple of different reasons, but we don't have to wait because God's already here, He's with us in Christ, and He's with us in the Holy Spirit. All right, so um maybe the truth is that we aren't choosing to wait, but we're we're choosing to hesitate when we pause and and don't participate. And so um there might be a couple of things that can cause that. Maybe it is that um I don't actually know what it looks like to for the kingdom of heaven to be on earth. And that's a valid concern, right? That's a valid uh feeling. Maybe it's maybe it is that I know, but I want to be comfortable, and so I'm choosing not to step into the commissioning that Jesus gave us when he gave us those words. Maybe we hesitate because we're afraid, maybe we hesitate because we're insecure, or maybe we we hesitate because we want to maintain control of a situation. But I want to remind us, even um the message on Sunday touched on this is that um God is with us now. He's he is with us because of that restored um relationship, right? And in Matthew 20, 20, it says, Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this. I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And the fact that we can rest in knowing that Jesus is with us should maybe put at ease all of those fears or all of those things that get in the way of us taking a step into participation in the kingdom of heaven on earth as it is in heaven, right? All right, so Ephesians 1, 15, 23 is uh an awesome scripture, and it's Paul talking to the Ephesians, and he's praying for them. And he says in um in Ephesians 18, I apologize, um, I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called, his holy people who are rich and glorious are his rich and glorious inheritance. Um, I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler, ruler, or authority, or power, or leader, or anything else, not only in this world, but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body and is made full and complete by Christ, who feels who fills all things everywhere with himself. And I love this prayer that Paul prays. It's so encouraging to lean into and know and understand that God is with us. And I think really that challenging verse in there to me is 19, it says, I pray also that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe in him, that we have that power, that this is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. So, what is it that we need to do to grab a hold of and believe and actually act in the power that God gives us through the Holy Spirit? So it's maybe not what you don't know. It's not maybe not that you don't know what to do, but that it is what it is that you're waiting to be ready or ready or waiting to be equipped. And if that's the case, then there are things that that we can do, and really it is just to accept the commission that Jesus has given us and then follow him, like walk with him, right? Let him be our apprentice, right? All right. So my question in all of this is if you believed that you couldn't fail, if you believed that uh that you wouldn't be rejected, if you believed that uh that whatever it was that you were striving for or reaching toward or trying to build up would be successful, how would that change your life? Um, what would it look like at home for you to participate in uh heaven on as it in heaven as on earth as it is in heaven? What would it look like to participate in on earth as it is in heaven? What would that look like at home? What would it look like at work? Like how would you engage differently in your job, out uh your work? How would you handle stress if that were the case? Um, what what would your relationships, what would your engagement with people look like? How would that change? Um, in Galatians 5.25, we can see an encouragement to walk with the Spirit. Um 5.25 says, since we are living by the Spirit, which means that we we have the Holy Spirit in us and we're sensitive to it and we're follow its leading and its teaching and its convictions. Um since we're living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. And that Galatians 5 really expounds on that. And I would encourage you to go read it, but but um I think that that's an awesome thing to lean into and understanding that God's with us and walking with us in all of those things. And so from a moment-to-moment uh engagement type situation, the Holy Spirit leads us in how we engage. Um but we can understand and know that heaven on earth, it's not later, but it's actually right now. And so we can then participate and engage in that right now. All right, so what does it look like for us to take a next step in this? Um, to I I think that number one, it is to receive the commissioning that Jesus gave us and that he gave the disciple, the 12 disciples, but he also gave us, and that is to go make disciples. That is to go out and to share the good news and to engage with people and be a demonstration of what heaven looks like on earth. Um, and so uh we can do that in confidence, recognizing that God is actually with me today, right now, and I've got that power right now. What does it look like from a day-to-day practice? Uh, maybe you can take one action today. Maybe you can uh uh walk with somebody, you can pray um with someone today, maybe you can encourage someone today. Um, maybe in a stressful moment you can uh you can uh recall the scripture and and decide to choose to be patient, take a couple of deep breaths, whatever that looks like to you, right? Um but uh but all in all, what that looks like is um showing people what Jesus is like. And so we do that by following Jesus, by apprenticing with him, by walking with him through the gospels and learning what it is that he said the kingdom of heaven was like, and then demonstrating that here on earth. And so really to wrap all of it, wrap all of this up, I would say um, you don't have to wait to live this out. That Jesus has called us to leave live these things out today, moment to moment, day by day. And so we don't we don't have to wait. Um, and just a reminder that Jesus' sacrifice shows us that we are worth it. Everything that Jesus went through to pay our debt and to restore our relationship shows us that we are worth um that sacrifice. And today, out of gratitude, it's our job to accept that commissioning and to walk with Jesus in living out what it looks like to have heaven on earth. So my encouragement for you today is to remember that you don't have to wait to live this stuff out. As a matter of fact, you shouldn't, because you've got the power of God with you and you're worth it. And so you should step on step into that for sure. All right. I am praying for you as you take your next steps, as you decide to follow and apprentice Jesus through the gospels and his scripture, and as you apply this to everyday life. And we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_01

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Midweek Motivation. To make sure you don't miss any content in the future, please subscribe, share, and if you enjoyed this, give us a like and consider popping by a Westside service some weekend. You can find out more at Westside Community Church.com.