Face the Fear | Moxy

The world trains us to blend in, stay quiet, and keep everything under control. We’re going after a different kind of courage: moxie as holy grit, the stubborn decision to trust God when fear is shouting and the future feels unknown. Pastor J gets practical about why so many of us feel anxious, why we grip so tightly, and what it really means to “face the fear” without pretending we’re fine.

We talk identity in Christ in plain language: when your job changes, your bank account swings, your plans collapse, or your past comes back to haunt you, your value doesn’t move. The cross reshapes the way we see ourselves and other people, and baptism becomes more than a moment, it becomes a marker that says the old life doesn’t get the final word. If you’ve been carrying shame, unforgiveness, or the need to manage everything, this message is a reset.

Then we step into Exodus and follow Moses from a complicated beginning to a devastating failure to a surprising calling at the burning bush. God redeems him, sends him to Pharaoh, and leads His people through plagues, Passover, and straight into the impossible wall of the Red Sea. That’s where the theme gets personal: sometimes the only way forward is for God to make a way, and our part is surrender, obedience, and trust.

If this helped you, share it with a friend who’s trying to hold it all together, subscribe for more messages on faith and courage, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast. What’s one area you need to hand back to God today?

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Transcript

Moxie And Holy Grit

SPEAKER_03 0:00

We live in a world that tells you to blend in, to go with the flow. Stay quiet. But there is a different kind of spirit, a holy grit. They call it Moxie. It's the audacity to believe when the world says give up. It took Moxie to raise a staff against the might of the Red Sea. And watch the deep give way to dry ground. It took Moxie to trust that a shaft could level a fortress. And watch the impenetrable crumble to dust. It took Moxie to stand tall when a king demanded you bow. Keep your cool in the heat of the fire. And it took the ultimate Moxie to face the betrayal, endure the thorns, and prove that death itself has no power. Moxie isn't just an ancient story. It's a modern choice. It's the nerve to love the unlovable, to swim against the current, to live for something greater than yourself. You have the moxie to live for Christ.

Identity Rooted In Christ

Why We Fear The Unknown

The Remote Control Problem

Jason Brown 1:01

How many people would say yes to that? I have the Moxie to live for Christ. Today we're talking about this idea of Moxie. And our focus is this concept of face the fear. You know, our identity is wrapped up in a lot of different things, and it really ties us to who we are. Have you ever had a friend that they switched their identity based on what activity they're most enjoying at the time? Anyone know what I'm talking about? You know, so I had friends like that that would kind of chameleon from one thing to the next. And I always thought that was interesting. I was like, man, okay, wow, you are a cowboy, and then now you're a goth, and then now you're a punk rocker or whatever you're doing. And I was like, okay, wow, you're really shifting gears here. And it's interesting as people talk about their identity because they attach it so many times to maybe who they are and where they are or what they're doing. And there's an identity that goes deeper than that. It's our identity as us as a child of God, as those who live for God and have his plan and his purpose as our identity for our life. And the reason why that's important is because whenever your occupation changes, your identity does not change. Whenever your circumstances change and maybe you don't have as much money in your bank account, or someone came and took all the shiny stuff you bought, guess what? Your identity doesn't change because you're no less valuable because your stuff is gone. And the reason I know this is because we gave all of our stuff away multiple times to go and move across the world. And guess what? I got a bunch of pile of stuff in my garage today, friends. It comes right back. It's like a boomerang of stuff. You're like, I gave it all away. They're like, here's more. Here's some more stuff. I'm like, great, great. Let's find a place to put the stuff. What I'm saying is that these things are not what our identity is. Our identity is tied to who we are in Jesus Christ. Who we are as a child of God as someone who has a plan and a purpose for our lives because we are walking in step with him. Now, Moxie, we chose in this uh spelling with M-O-X-Y. You can also do M-O-X-I-E, but it means courage, nerve, determination, grit. It's someone who has that passion, that spunk, that fire, that they're not gonna give up easily. How many people know what I'm talking about? And there's something about that because often we are pushed to be those that want to give up. There's so much that we can't control, that we can't deal with. We're all going to face challenges. How many people know that's true? If we're all gonna face challenges, that's even what the scripture says is that we are gonna be those that experience challenges. It says not that you, when you accept God, that you wouldn't have challenges. No, it says that He won't leave you or forsake you in the middle of the challenge. And so when we start talking about the cross and we start talking about the power of the cross on our lives, it's something transformative. It's something that it changes us and who we are on the identity level. And that's what it means whenever we get baptized, is we're saying, listen, I'm no longer this other person. I'm a new creation in God. And I belong to Him. And so it's hard because I know we treat each other based on, you know, we treat others on based on their actions. We treat ourselves based on our intentions. I mean, I meant to be nice and not say the mean things I did, so I'm nice. They're like, no, but you said all that mean stuff. Yeah, but I didn't mean to. But you, I mean, you looked at me dirty. I'm pretty sure you were looking at me dirty, therefore I'm judging you like that. Anybody? Nobody. Great. Okay. So, but this idea is that as we come to the cross, that's the very kind of stuff that Jesus wants to die. He wants that stuff to die in us. Why? Because he paid the price for it to be dead. It said that he died to sin and he took all this sin upon himself, and he died to those things. And as we are aligned with him, so that sin is dead out of our life as well. And so we're working on our character to have an identity that is tied to Jesus and to nothing else. And the reason that we say that is because that what happens is whenever we experience the pressure of life and we experience our shortcomings and we're going to experience that, then our identity doesn't change because we are connected to the Savior. And we are those that are walking according to his will and according to his way. Does it mean we're going to make mistakes? Yes, we were going to make mistakes. What it means is that as we realize we're making mistakes, we say, Lord, forgive me of where I've fallen short. Lord, forgive me of my sin, forgive me of my brokenness. Lord, I I want to ask you to forgive me of these things because I don't want to do them anymore. I don't want to be forgiven just for today to do it tomorrow. I want to not do it anymore. I want to walk according to you and have an identity that's tied in Jesus Christ. Somebody say amen to that. You know, the thing that's hardest so often, I think the reason that we fight God on our identity is because of the unknown. Because we have a real fear of the unknown. I think that's the thing that we're most afraid of in life is the unknown because we can't control it. And let's be honest, all of us are slightly a control freak. And you can know because everyone on the freeway in Arizona is driving in their own car, taking up all the lanes. I'm like, in somebody else's carpool and get out of the way. I'm driving by myself. Move. Now I grew up, this is gonna be a crazy number, in the 1900s. That's when I grew up. It was a long time ago. Mini moons. And you know, we talk about control. You know who has control in your house by who has the remote control to the TV. That's how you know. That's how you know who has it. If somehow a younger person has the controller, you're like, yeah, right. And you walk up and you take hold and you siege the controller and you take it with you to where you are going to control what is on the big screen. I, in the past, I was the controller because my dad would be like, Hey, JT, go change the channel. And I had to get up and I had to walk over and be like, click. No, not that one. Okay. Click. Anybody remember this? Nobody remembers this. All the younger people were like, what are you talking about? It's on your phone. I'm like, forget you. This is the thing I was dealing with. And I would sit down and I'm like, okay, cool. He wants to watch this. No, get back up. All right, here we go. Click, click. And the bad part is as soon as we got a controller, now it's the infinite changing of the channel where we're not ever stopping at a channel and people just keep going. How many people have this person in their life? How many people is this person in their life? They're just like, no, we're not watching that. They're like, no, no, no, God like that. No. No. How many people just live on the they're just living on the menu of what is showing? They're not even watching anything. It's just going down a menu. I'm like, are you controlling something here? They're like, I just want to see everything that's available to me.

unknown 8:02

Okay.

Handing God The Controls

Cornerstone Mission And Direction

Moses Enters The Story

From Privilege To Failure

God Redeems A Messy Past

The Burning Bush And Calling

Plagues Passover And Deliverance

Red Sea Fear And Trust

Anxiety Peace And Victory

Responding At The Altar

Salvation Prayer And Commitment

Jason Brown 8:04

I also grew up in the era of everyone that was a gamer. How do you people that were a gamer as they grew up? I know you're supposed to like no longer no, we no, no, not anymore. Yeah, I definitely have an Xbox at my house, so don't worry about it. But you know, it's this thing that we, you know, we start getting into this thing. There's like three point something billion gamers, so don't act like you've never played a video game. So the idea is like this is how it works. And maybe your controller doesn't look this, maybe it's the next controller, it looks like this. And you're someone that is in there like me when I was newly married. I was used to going out being a late-night person. My wife, she's an early morning person. So when we were first married, I realized I can't just leave my wife and go off and do stuff at nighttime. That's not gonna work. So I was there at my house, just bored out of my mind. And I'm like, you know who needs to hear from me? All of the online community that's gaming right now. That's who needs to hear from me. It's I'm gonna put a microphone on. My wife woke up out of a dead sleep. I'm yelling at preteens, like, you're neck, we're gonna win. We are gonna dominate you. She's like, Who are you yelling at? I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. But there's a real, a real fear of losing control. There's a real fear of losing control. And I think the reason that we're called to be those that face the fear is because the Lord knows that listen, if you're the one that's in control, things are gonna go bad. But if you trust me with the controls, guess what? I'm gonna navigate you through things that you would never navigate yourself. You're gonna end up in the pitfall and the fire and the thing that's gonna eat you on the video game. I don't want that for your life. That's what the Lord says over us. What does he say? He says, I will not give you something that's negative. I'm not, you're not gonna ask me for bread, I'm not gonna give you a stone. You're not gonna ask me for a fish, I'm not gonna give you a snake. What is he saying? I have good intentions towards you. Someone needs to hear that today that God does not want to smite you. God wants you to walk in alignment with him in the blessing of a relationship with the living God. And so that's what it means to face the fear is the willingness to let go of the control and give it over to God. And I can tell you, as someone who's gone through this up and down of this thing of trusting God, sometimes it's very hard to let go of the control. Sometimes we've given the control to the Lord, and then we walk right back in there and snatch that controller away from God. And he's like, What are you doing? You you just went through this whole process to hand me this control, and now you're gonna steal it back. I know I'm talking to somebody. Oh, that person is me. That's right, that's right. And the reason is, friends, that we have to be those that are willing to face the fear that we have to trust God, give up the control, and walk in step with Him. Friends, to face the fear, it's gonna take moxie. It's gonna take courage, it's gonna take guts, it's gonna take a tenacity that's not easily shaken. It needs to be those who will step up as men and women of God and say, no, I'm gonna trust God, I'm gonna give him control, I'm not gonna try and steal it back. That's what we do when we face the fear. Maybe you're like me, and the thing that you keep trying to control is not where God is leading you. It's how you feel about stuff that you've given to him, like maybe unforgiveness. Maybe you're somebody that gets sparked on something, and all that unforgiveness, you just see it laying on the ground and you want to pick it right back up and hold on to it. Friends, that brokenness, that thing, that old mistake, that old habit, don't go back to it. Be free of it in the name of Jesus Christ. Be free of that, let go, forgive, and leave it to be forgiven. We were reminded of the words of Jesus last week as we talked about it, as he was there on the cross, and they came to the place that's called the skull. They crucified him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they they know not what they do. Friends, he's willing to forgive us to be those that walk in freedom. We need to be those that turn the control of our life over to the living God, trust him and face the fear that we're really dealing with. Here's the thing: we don't have to live in fear, we are already victorious because of Jesus. We are already victorious from the circumstances in our lives. So we are called to be those that face the fear, walk in the moxie of God. If we haven't had a chance to meet, my name is Jay, and it's a blessing to have you with us today at Cornerstone. You know, here we we are very much people on a journey after Jesus. We talk about it and use this imagery of Christ walking with his disciples because that's how we view ourselves. We view ourselves as those that are following Jesus where he's leading us to go. None of us have arrived anywhere. We're still following him where he's leading. And I'm so thankful for this because our ambition then is to be more like Jesus. Say with me, be more like Jesus. That's why we love God. It's why we make disciples, it's why we reach the world. And so that's why collectively we're about these things, to learn and know more about what God says to us. Well, today in Moxie, we're gonna be taking a look at the scripture and going back into the Old Testament, looking at the book of Exodus, one of the giants in Scripture, a character that many of us may know about, and that's the person of Moses. Now, Moses is an interesting character, and if you've ever been to Rome, you might have been there at the Vatican, you've seen this sculpture of him. It's pretty amazing. As you walk in, you're like, wow, that is a stunning sculpture. It's showing the anointing of God that's coming off of Moses' head. And it to be the marble is remarkable to this idea of this person that had a tenacity after God. But what we know is that it didn't start that way. It actually started as a mess. And it was somebody that he himself was fighting this very thing that we're fighting in giving control of his life to God. Now, we can't go into all of Moses' life today because we will be here till next week. So we're not gonna do that. And so we're gonna jump through it today. But I'll tell you, if you don't know the narrative, it's a very interesting story to read. There are lots of amazing high points in his life, a lot of challenges as well. And we're gonna go just for a few highlights today to talk about what it means to have Moxie to be those that face the fear in our lives. Now, Moses was someone who started out as a basket baby. And that sounds like a very weird concept. But if you were to go back into the scripture, you pick up with this story where because of everything that's happening at the time, Pharaoh, they were all in Egypt, the the Israel, Israel and all the Jews were there as uh people who were actually slaves working for the Egyptians. And that had happened because Joseph and his family came down in a time where they needed food, there was great famine, and the Lord rose up Joseph to make salvation, not just for Egypt, but for his people and his family who would come and be there. It said the Lord blessed them and they multiplied and they became they started to outnumber the Egyptians. So Pharaoh was afraid that there would be an uprising, they would take over his government. So he started to put to death every new male baby. And this is a terrible thing. This is a horrible thing. And in doing so, he was ending the possible people who would fight and uprise against him. Well, obviously, Moses was born in that day, and so the setting happens where his mother and everyone they try to make a way for him, and when he was someone that he couldn't they couldn't conceal him anymore because of his age, they came up with this concept. They're saying, What if we put him in a basket and we make the basket to float and we push the basket out into the Nile? Maybe it'll get him down to safety. But also an amazing thing happened there where they realized that the princess of Egypt, Pharaoh's daughter, would actually be there. That's where she actually would go down to the Nile and take a bath. And so they push Moses out and he drifts towards the princess, and she finds Moses as a baby in this basket. She realizes that he's one of the Jewish children. She realizes it straight away. But God moves upon her heart, she has compassion, and she brings Moses to herself. The scripture says in Exodus 2, verse 5, Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. While her young women walked beside her at the river, she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. Now you can imagine anyone who has any compassion, if you were to see an innocent baby laying in a basket, you're like, Oh, it's a baby. Go get the baby. And so she brings the baby to herself. It picks back up in scripture. It says in Exodus 2 10, when the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She called him Moses because I drew him out of the water. This is the first of those symbols that we would see here that's a precursor to the salvation of what would be Jesus showing us the way that he would have us to be baptized. What we saw today of those that were going under the water in the same way that Moses was drawn out of the water later as the children of Israel went through the Red Sea and out of the water. And you see that theme again and again in Scripture as a type and a shadow of the things that God was communicating. Now it's amazing because if you go into this story, obviously it's, you know, uh Pharaoh's daughter, the princess, she actually asks, asks for the for Moses' sister to actually care for the baby and to bring him up. So she gets to actually take Moses back to her mom and gets them to get raised up. And when he's of that age, then they bring him in, and now he's getting risen up and educated in Pharaoh's house. And so he's an interesting one because he's a slave person being brought up as Pharaoh's grandson. And so it's it's a dichotomy of these two ideas in that he doesn't belong in either realm, but he does. His identity is confusing because he's not out making bricks, he's not out in the sun, he's actually being educated and walking around with royal connections and all the things that are happening. He's in a different world, but he's not an Egyptian in their world. So he doesn't belong with them, he doesn't belong with his people. So he starts to have these identity issues tied to how he's growing up. Now, here's the amazing thing about it is that he didn't realize that God was using these very things about being someone who understood what it meant to rule and reign, be someone who knew what it meant to lead people, saw how his grandfather and those around him would direct and do these things because God would use him to do the same thing, but he had no idea. Now he knew he would never be Pharaoh, he wasn't in the bloodline, it wasn't gonna happen, but he had power and he had privilege and he got to do things that other people weren't. And so he happened to be out and he saw some of the project that was happening. He he sees that one of the Egyptians was was uh was beating one of the slave people, one of the Israelites. And as they were doing so, he kind of looks around, it says in scripture, and he decides that he is gonna take the life of this Egyptian and get even with this person that's beating on his people. But friends, he takes that into his own hands and he becomes a murderer. He becomes a murderer. It picks up here in Scripture, and it says, one day when Moses had grown up in Exodus 2, verse 11, he went out into his people and looked on their burdens. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people, and he looked this way and that, seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Now he thought that he got away with it. Don't we? So many times where we're making mistakes or messing up or doing something, we're like, ah, it's okay, I'll get away with it. But man, let's be those who are repentant and not trying to cover things up. How about we just come to the Lord and say, Lord, I'm broken, please forgive me of where I'm at? I don't want to make that mistake again. I want to walk free of it in the name of Jesus Christ. But so often what we start to do is we we actually are like, no, I'm gonna actually cover this up and I'm gonna do what I want. And that's what happens with Moses in the situation. Later it says that he would go and try to break up a fight, and they're like, Oh, why don't you want us to fight each other? Are you gonna kill us too, like you did the Egyptian? So people knew about what was happening. They knew that he had done something. He realized that this was gonna unravel quickly. So Moses, it said he fled for his life out of the country. He became a fugitive from someone who was saved as a baby to being risen in Pharaoh's house. Now, as a fugitive for his own life, he runs away to Saudi Arabia. And there he looks for an opportunity. It says that he ends up becoming a shepherd. And as he does, he's there for many, many years, and he thinks his story is over. If you were to read it, you would say, Oh man, such a shame. It's such potential. But he, man, he just ruined everything. But see, God was not done with money. Moses. Friends, I think some of us are here and we know we know what our history is. We know the mistakes we've made. We know the words we've said out of our mouth. We know the actions that we've taken against other people, and we know that we don't deserve it. We don't deserve the love of God, we don't deserve forgiveness, we don't deserve a second chance. Friends, here's the here's the here's the news. None of us deserve it. But it says that even though none of us deserved it, Jesus loved us enough that he came all the way to us to redeem us, to make us a new creation, to wipe away the sin and the shame and our history. Do you know you don't have to live in the shame of your history? You can walk in the forgiveness and the opportunity in the Lord in the future of where he's taking you to be. That's exactly who we're called to be those who walk according to his will and according to his ways. As he's going about what he's doing in Exodus 3, 2, it says that Moses came upon this amazing sight. It says the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame out of fire in the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bur the bush was burning, and yet it was not consumed. The Lord used this symbol of a burning bush because he's out in the desert. It's something that you could see from a long distance off. He uses this burning bush to speak to Moses, to command him and what he would have him to do. It says there in Exodus 3:5, and he said, Do not come near to the bush. Take off your the sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. Friends, this is what I love about our living God is that as Moses goes, he's working as a shepherd and doing these things as he goes to approach, the Lord says, No, listen, this thing that I have, this normal place, I have made it holy because my presence is here with you. In the same way, friends, the Holy Spirit is in and upon your life, and that's the same message he has for you is that listen, don't take this lightly. My presence is here with you, and I make these things holy. So we can be those that walk according to the will of God. And so the Lord says to Moses, Listen, I have this thing I need you to do. And Moses is like, What? Maybe you don't know. I murdered a guy? But that's not what he says. Instead, the Lord talks to him about being the spokesman. This man who has a stutter is gonna go be the spokesman to Pharaoh to ask for Pharaoh to let go of all of his slavery that's building all his projects. And in doing so, the scripture says in Exodus 3:10, come and I will send you to Pharaoh. You may bring out my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children out of Egypt? Later, God would say, God said to Moses, I am who I am. See, Moses asked the Lord, he said, How can I do it? Who should I even said sent me? He said, Tell them that I am sent you. That the I am, the God, the living God, sent me to you. Friends, that's the same thing that I my message to you today is that the I am sent me to you to tell you that you're called to face your fear. You're called to turn to Jesus with everything you have. That you're not gonna be held back by your past, but you're gonna say, Lord, forgive me. I want to be someone who walks in step with you. And then you are gonna be sent out as the spokesperson, as the spokesman, as the spokeswoman to the people around you. And you're gonna live what it means to be a Christ follower, and you're gonna say, Listen, the I Am sent me. And I want you to know the living God as well. Friends, that's what he's called us each to do is be those that face the fear and walk where he's leading us to go. Now he calls them to be this liberator, and so through a series of events, Moses goes and he meets with Pharaoh and he starts to talk with him. Now he knows, obviously, Pharaoh knows who he is. He was in his own house. And so he's talking to him, and and this is a big moment. And he's saying, You need to let these people go. He has no army, Moses has no army, he has no leverage against Pharaoh. Pharaoh was like, What? But see, the Lord is with Moses. And so the Lord starts to work miracles and show the hand of God is with Moses. It's not Moses' doing. Moses didn't go to a magic class and start pulling off amazing tricks. No, what happens is that the Lord is on his side. And because the Lord told him to go do it, then the Lord opens the door for him to go and do it. And whenever, whenever it says that he was improving something here, and it's pretty amazing. There's a lot of theologians that go into what starts to happen as these plagues start to happen in Egypt. As Pharaoh, it says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, means that he just turned him away from considering to let go of the people. And in doing so, the Lord starts to just release these plagues upon Egypt, upon all the people there. And many theologians will tie that to actually the deities that they were worshiping in that day. So God is actually smacking around these fake, these fake gods that they're worshiping every day. He's like, Oh, your God does this? Cool. How about frogs? What do you know about frogs? What do you know about locusts? How's this going for you? Are you a big fan of boils? How do you like scratching all night? You like it? Here you go. Has some of that. And each one of these things, it's just more and more. And they're like, I thought our gods are gonna save us. He's like, nah, your gods don't have any power here. I'm sorry. And so he starts to do these things until finally, which we know from the Passover meal, the very thing that becomes communion for us, is that they have that meal as the angel of death passes over all those in Egypt. And those who are aligned with the Lord, they go and they make a sacrifice for everyone in the house. So they take of the unblemished animal and they make a sacrifice to God and they use that to cover their doorframe. And in doing so, it makes a way for them to be passed over where they don't experience the death and the judgment that God had brought. So ultimately, Pharaoh lets them go. He releases his hand from them, and the children of Israel leave. And it's an amazing thing. They don't just leave empty-handed, it says that actually that people gave them gold to get out of their house and go on their way. That's how motivated the Egyptians were to get rid of them. They're like, listen, get out. Here's some gold. I don't know. Here you go. Take this, take this. And so they're sent out. And now they're liberated, they're on their way to freedom to this place where God is leading them, but it runs them directly into the Red Sea. And so now they're free from being back in the capital, being there amongst the Egyptians, but now they're out. There's many, many, many people. There's so many people, and there's not resources for them. And they're trying to get to a place, and everyone is frantic, and then now they're being blocked in on this side by part of the mountains, and back where they came is the army of the Egyptians, and now they've ran into the Red Sea. And in Exodus, it picks up here, and it says in Exodus 14, 9, and the Egyptians they started to pursue them. And all of Pharaoh's horses and chariots and all his horsemen and all his army and overtook them and camped at the sea. And you can imagine if you see what it looks like on the globe today, what this would have been like as they left, they would have made their way up and out of what is modern-day Cairo, which is here, you see the Nile River, and you see this Red Sea that's here on the right, and this small passage that's up here on this other side, as they would have crossed over and across into would have been there. It was been something amazing because they had no place to go. And as it did, it says that they were starting to catch up and they realized that they let them go, but now the army is coming. And you took us out here just to die, Moses. What are you doing, man? Friends, how many people know that just because that you were liberated from a previous situation doesn't mean that the enemy's not going to try to attack you again. And I can tell you that, man, in this last season, I don't know what it was, especially into last year. I felt like the enemy was trying to attack all he could, anyone he could. It says in scripture, the enemy is walking around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. And so the enemy of our souls, Satan, is he's actually someone who doesn't want you to thrive. He does he want you to be good. And it's not him in person, but in the spirit realm, the dark, meaning that they would push and pull and do all these things to try to get us to not be those who align with God, but try to do it ourselves. I don't know about you, but my default thing is that as soon as I get into a jam, I want to grab control of the situation because I'm motivated by fear. And the unknown is fearful, and therefore I'm trying my best to control what's going on. And I think many of us that we understand that that's how the enemy attacks us he starts to mess with our peace, he starts to mess with where we are, and it starts to be something that attacks us in the depth of who we are. And so as we start to understand this, we could understand an enemy attacking and coming against us, much like they were experiencing in that moment. All of this miracles, all these things have happened, and now they're out here, and the enemy's gonna kill them at a beautiful seaside. And I've sat right there at Sharma Sheikh, I've sat right there on the edge of the Red Sea at Hurgadah and other places, even down in Sudan, and looked across the water towards Saudi. And as you look there and you see the beautiful water, you realize this isn't a puddle that they had to cross. This is a sea, a proper shipping lane that they use for the majority of boats that come this direction. It is a massive piece of water. And so there was no way for them to try to problem solve or control their way out of it. And so there was a real understanding that the only way that they were going to survive this circumstance is if God makes a way for us. And friends, they were forced to face the fear of letting the control go and trusting the Almighty God that He would be the salvation for them. They had to be the one that says, As for me and my house, we will believe the Lord. As for us, that you know, as modern day, we get to be on this side of Christ. As for us, we're gonna believe in the power of the cross. That my sin is dead and it's not coming back. And so, because of that, I can trust the Lord, I can walk free in who he is. That I don't have to be the one that has to fight every battle. No, I'm gonna walk connected to the Lord, and He is my protection. He is the one that is my provision, he is the one that's gonna make a way for me and for my family. He is the one that as I trust him, as I'm obedient to him. I can't just say, Oh, I'm trusting God and do nothing. No, we have to be about the business that he puts us on, the purpose that he gives to us to walk in step with the living God. Friends, it takes moxie to live for Jesus. Moses had the moxie to trust God that he would take someone who had every opportunity, every privilege, every every opportunity to be someone great. And Moses threw it away in a fit of anger and rage. But God saw past his mistake and past his shame, and he took him and he made him into someone new. And the very person who was kind of the posture child of what not to do, God used that person to come and be the liberator for the people of God to make a way for others to have salvation. As he stood there at the beach of the Red Sea, Moses himself had to trust the Lord and say, Lord, there's no way I can do anything about this army. I can't do anything about our circumstances, but what I can do is I can trust you. And so, Lord, I'm gonna place my faith and my trust, I'm gonna face the fear, and I'm gonna stand here as you commanded me to do. And friends, as he did that, the Lord opened up the sea in front of them. The thing that was the most impossible became the salvation for them. In your circumstances today, whatever you're going through, God knows. He's not surprised. You're not taking him off guard. He knows exactly what you're walking through. He knows the season of life you're in. And so we're called to be those that don't just sit shrink back, but instead we say, Lord, I'm gonna come to you. I'm gonna take my anxiety and my stress, I'm gonna take all those things and give them over to you. I'm gonna face the fear of the lack of control, and I'm gonna give over the control of my life to you because you are my source, you are my strength, you are my salvation. And so I will walk trusting the Lord. So we ask you, Holy Spirit, to give us moxie, to give us courage, tenacity, grit to stay after the things that you ask us to do. Not to give up easily, but instead to trust that your plan is better than mine. Today, as we come to the altar, we have this opportunity to respond to Christ. And here in just a moment, we're gonna open up this altar. And I'm gonna just challenge you now that you would be someone that comes and makes an altar with God. What does that do? Well, I tell you this there's something about getting out of where you are that's action. It's saying, Lord, I am trusting you, I'm taking a step towards you and what you want for me. Maybe you're someone that you deal with anxiety, you deal with stress. I could tell you this morning, man, I'm so thankful for our prayer team. How many people are thankful for our prayer team that prays over every single service? In praying this morning, as praying with Celeste before we got here, was praying with the team this morning, praying for the peace of God, for the word of God. You know, I'm not immune to this stuff. I am talking to me first, not to you first. And as we walk this thing, we have to trust God and say, Lord, I give these things over to you. I give them over to you. I'm gonna face the fear, give up the control to the one who really knows how to control things. And I'm gonna walk where you're leading me to go. So for all of us today, I'm gonna challenge you that you would come and make an altar with God. That you would come and you would say, Lord, I just want to draw near to you in this season, in this season ahead of what you want me to do, and I trust you. I give these things over to you, Lord. You know exactly what I need. Lord, I seek your face first. Lord, and everything else comes as I draw near to you. The healing, the wholeness, the provision, the opportunity to open doors, all those things come when we draw near to Jesus. Today you might be here and you've never had an opportunity to respond to the message of Jesus Christ. Each one of us has to answer this question of have you embraced Jesus? No one can make the decision for you, not your friend, not your neighbor, not the person that brought you. It has to be you. When we see the symbol of the cross, it's something of transformation for us because what we see is that Jesus, though he didn't commit any sin, he took all of our sin and all of our mistakes, he took it upon himself. And when he did, he died with that sin upon him on the cross. And so, as we read in scripture today, it says that sin is dead, it is no more. It means that he paid for your sin, he paid for my mistakes, he paid for all of it once and for all. And so the symbol of the cross, though it was supposed to be gruesome and fearsome and a symbol of power for the Romans, it actually becomes flips upside down. It becomes about a kingdom of righteousness and a king who took my place in Jesus. Because of the cross, we are made in right standing with the Father. What does that mean? Because we can't earn our way in, we can't buy our way in. It's not possible. What can I offer a holy God? I'm not a holy person. No, it's only by his righteousness that we are made in right standing. It says, as we go into eternity and go through that door called death, that we, as we go and we approach, it's Jesus that the Father sees, not us. And so we are entered into a relationship because of what Jesus has made on our behalf. The Apostle Paul, he writes to the church at Rome, he challenges us and says, This, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Friends, today is your opportunity to say yes to Jesus, to invite him into your heart and life, to say, Lord, I'm gonna face the fear, I'm gonna give up all these things, I'm gonna go to you. I want you to be the Lord of my life.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

Forgive me of my sin.

Jason Brown 40:07

I'm asking to stand to your feet if you're here in the room and if you're online, wherever you are, take a break, take a pause for what God wants to do in your circumstance. You too can respond to the Lord today wherever you are. As heads are bowed here in the room and Christians are praying, friends, if that is you, and you're someone that says, I want to be included in that prayer today, Pastor. I need to invite Christ into my heart and life. Or maybe you're here and you have made a decision in the past, but you haven't been living for Christ. And so you need to recommit your heart to God today. Either one of those two, if that's you today, as Christians are praying, if you just raise your hand right where you're at, say, Pastor, that's me. I just need me to make that commitment to Jesus today and invite him into my heart and life to make a commitment to living God.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. See the hand that's there, hand that's there, hand that's there, hand that's there. See those hands in others as people are making decisions for God.

QR Code Baptism Next Steps

Jason Brown 41:08

Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Friends online, wherever you are. I'm gonna ask if everyone would if they'd pray this prayer out loud after me. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. Amen. Friends, we rejoice with those that made a decision for Christ today. Praise the Lord. Hey, if that was you, take a moment, take a shot at this QR code. Want to put some resources into your hand to be successful in living after Jesus. Also, if that was you and you want to follow Jesus in water baptism today, I'm gonna challenge you to come and sign up for next service to say yes to him and join with the others that are getting baptized today. Amen. Amen. Can we have one more hand for those that got baptized today? And we're gonna do this. I'm gonna give you this prayer and give you an opportunity as we sing this worship song to come to this altar to say, Lord, I'm gonna face the fear. I'm gonna turn over control to you. I'm gonna walk, Lord, in the trust and the peace of God that is only mine as I walk in you. Lord, we thank you so much for your word today. We thank you, Lord, for the example of Moses as someone who had moxic, courage, Lord, to believe you. Lord, though he had a past and it was a mess, Lord, you redeemed him, you made him a new creation, you challenged him and used him for your glory. Lord, and as he continued to walk and trust after you, amazing things happened because he would face the fear and he would trust the living God. Lord, today as we come to this altar, as people come and make a place with you, Holy Spirit, we ask for your impartation to meet us here today, Lord, for your peace that passes all understanding to pour out upon your people. Lord, that you would give us insight and wisdom and Lord, all of these areas, Lord, you know exactly what we need before we even come. But as we come, we do so as a step of faith, Lord, to say, Lord, I trust you. Lord, I believe you, I'm gonna face my fear and turn these things over to you, Lord. Lord, we thank you for meeting us here. We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Celeste Brown 43:46

Today, after our second service, if you are a scriptural member and you serve on one of our serve teams here at the church, we have a luncheon that will be happening. Be back about 12 30. Um, it's gonna be amazing, and we just want to honor you and say thank you. Thank you for all that you do. Um, so it'll be in the multi-purpose room. Again, if you're a scriptural member and you serve on one of our serve teams, you are invited back today at 1230.

SPEAKER_01 44:09

Amen. Before we go, I want to pray this blessing over us.

Jason Brown 44:16

The Lord bless you and keep you. Or make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Or lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

SPEAKER_01 44:31

Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. Lord, you will pour your spirit out upon us to live your love out to those around us.

Jason Brown 44:40

Pray this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Know this. We love you very much here at Cornerstone. God bless you and have a great week.