Almost | Selvin Cortez

What if “almost” is what’s holding you back? 

Almost obedient. Almost surrendered. Almost trusting.
Sometimes we take steps of faith… but stop just short, settling for less than what God had in store.

In this message “The Danger of Almost,” Pastor Selvin Cortez reminds us that partial surrender can limit what God wants to do in our lives. Wherever you are in your journey, God is inviting you to go all in and trust fully. 

Step into the victory He has prepared for you! 

REFERENCE : 2 Kings 13:14-18

Transcript

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God bless you, church. How are you feeling? It's one of those days. I am excited as as every Sunday. You have no idea how great it is to be with you. I look forward. This is my favorite day of the week. Mondays not so much. But Sunday is New Life Church Sunday. And yes, the message today is called almost. And in that almost, it's a great word. It's a powerful word, but it's also one of those words that's very dangerous. And as I was thinking about this message, there's an urgency inside of me. And if you've been around church for a while, maybe you feel it too. I feel this urgency to share the word of God, to speak the word of God. And not just not just from a stage, but everywhere I go, I want to I want to speak God. I want to speak the name of Jesus. We sing that name. And we did just uh an amazing, the the worship team just led us in an amazing moment where we can say, who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? Uh there is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy of our praise? Who else is worthy of our time? Who else is worthy of our energy? Who else is worthy of our of our worship? Who else is worthy to receive all majesty and praise and honor and glory and riches and power and strength and might and kingdom and praise forever and ever? Who else is worthy? There is this urgency inside of me that man, oh man, it's it's I can't shake it off, I can't pray it off, I can't, I can't, I can't wash it off. It's just we're going to see him, church. We're going to be in his presence. And this right here that we're doing is just training. We are training for that moment. We are training our our hearts and our minds and our lives for that amazing, incredible, awesome moment where we're going to see him face to face. And I can't wait. I can't wait. I will I will shout till I have no more voice. I will shout until my my my throat comes out of my mouth. I I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm just going to praise his name. And man, I I don't know. This isn't part of the message. I'm just so so moved by his presence in this room and what he's going to do. And he's not an almost God. He's not a God of almost. He went to the cross all the way. When he saw you, he saved you all the way. When he restored you, he restores you all the way. When he heals you, he heals you all the way. When he loves you, he loves you all the way. And we live in a society where you're in a conversation and and it's a great conversation and and the phone buzzes. And you lose track track and your train of thought in the conversation. And some of you have been to see me in my office, and and I would invite you. I mean, there's only 24 hours a day, and uh, but I want to see you all. But sometimes some some of you have come into my office, and and in that moment we we're praying and we're talking about God, and this is what I do. I have to, I have to take off my watch. As much as I love Apple, and as much as I love uh the company, and uh I'm investing in the company, and I'm just I'm praying for the company. They just switch CEOs and I'm praying for the new CEO of Apple. Um and and as much as I'm all in with Apple, sometimes I just gotta take off the notifications. And I love my watch, it tells me everything. It tells me my heartbeat, it tells me how many steps I've taken, it tells me how many kilometers I've run, it tells me how many calories I've consumed, it tells me how deep and how far I've swam. It tells me everything I need to know about me except what God says about me. And sometimes I just gotta turn, I gotta take it off. I gotta leave it off to the side and listen to the voice of God. I've got to allow God to interrupt my life. And that's my prayer. And that's, guys, I don't know how long we're gonna keep on this message and we're gonna keep on this word, but God is calling for an interruption. God is wanting to interrupt your life. He's wanting to come and and and just whatever plans you have, that's great. Whatever investments you have, that's great. Whatever, whatever goals you've you've set for yourself, awesome. Be prepared. Tomorrow's coming, yes. Let us let us be diligent, let us be wise and see the times and know what's happening or in and around us. Yes, but at some point, man, oh man, we need that interruption, and that interruption might not be safe, but he is good, and you may have heard this phrase before. There's I I know you probably don't like science fiction movies, and and that's okay. That's okay, sci-fi and and fantasy style movies. If you don't like them, that's okay. But I want to invite you at some point, put the put the dislike of of fantasy movies aside, and I want to invite you to watch Narnia. Just for one single phrase, and and I'm not gonna tell you where it comes in, so so you gotta watch the whole movie. But there's one phrase that I want you to be watch out for, and and it's the little squirrel is not a squirrel, it's a a beaver. Thank you, thank you, Mick. Um, the little beaver, the little beaver says to uh Ashley, no? The girl? The little girl?

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I know the animals.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

I know the animals uh says to Lucy, who said Lucy? Yes, uh the the little beaver says to Lucy, Lucy wants to meet uh Aslan, and Aslan is the lion, and he he represents Jesus in the movie, and she wants to meet him, and she's dying to see him and speak to him and and and and know, you know, just go up to him and give him a hug, and and but it's a lion. And the beaver says to Lucy, he says, He's not safe, but he is good, and so I just want to I want to speak that word over your life. Maybe the interruption may not be safe, but it is good, and it is going to be good for your soul. It's gonna be good for your life, it's gonna be good for the plans and the purposes that God has for you. It may not be safe, it may be a moment where you're like, boom, everything flips on its head, everything might turn upside down in your life. It may not be safe, you may not know what the next step is after this one, but he is good. He is good, yeah, yeah, he is, and I'm afraid then, with all the noise that's going on around us, that we could come in and just be accustomed to and and used to hearing all the noise that we swipe across moments, that we that we that we noise cancel everything else, including God's own voice. And that's my deepest, my deepest fear, I guess, would be would be to not just miss moments with with each other, when when we when we meet up, when we speak, when we look at each other in the face and speak about God, not only to miss out on these moments, but also miss out on the word of God, miss out on the moment that God is coming in to interrupt. And that interruption can come in uh very, very quickly and swiftly, and it could be something that could be very, very uh uh uh world-changing in your life, just flip upside down. Or it could be a whisper that if we're not attentive, that if we're not listening close enough, we may miss it because of all of the noise that's going on around us, and we're just so used to the white noise around us that we don't have a moment in the presence of God anymore. We've we've come to a point where where I don't I I can't even recognize his voice. When is he speaking? When is it my voice? When is it the enemy's voice? When is it God's voice? Or sometimes we ask this question God, where are you? I'm I'm in it right now. And I don't know where you are. What when are you going to speak to me? And he is speaking. You see, oftentimes we we think that that the prayer should be, God, deliver me from. And for me, those that the look, when you read the word, please, please, please, just pay attention to the little words, the tiny prepositions from and in. Very powerful. God, free me from this, deliver me from this moment. God, where are you in this moment? Deliver me, and he's saying, I don't, I'm not gonna deliver you from the moment, I'm gonna deliver you while you're in the moment. And so we see this interruption happening, and in the word of God, there's this story of a man who almost, almost steps into what God had for him. Just about, and and listen, I I don't want to get political, and I don't know if I'm gonna say it, and having said that, I think I feel like I have to say it now. Um, but can I tell you this? This man, had he gone all the way with God, Israel would not have the enemies it has today. I don't want to get too political on you, but because one man decided to almost listen to God. Today, the wars that are happening against Israel right now, right now, is because this dude was an almost dude, and he wasn't an all the way dude. And we see this story of a prophet named Elisha, and this prophet, amazing, he is the successor to Elijah. I know it's it's crazy, it's it's easier in other languages, um, but Elijah was the old man, Elisha is the successor. Okay, so just a little bit of context. Elijah was a powerful, powerful prophet. He made he made fire come down from heaven and consume the the the offering. He was he was so powerful, he went on a 40-day fast. He he called he called the the rain to stop and it stopped for three years. That's how powerful he was. And in all of the all of the uh miracles that he did, he did seven great miracles. Elijah, Elijah gets taken up in a whirlwind, up to God, up to heaven, doesn't die. Elisha, his successor, sees him and cries out, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. It's a cry out like he he lost his mentor. But Elijah, before leaving up to heaven, he says, If you see me being taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot of fire, if you see me taken up, a double portion of my anointing, of my presence, the presence of God, a double portion of what God has given to me will be placed on you. And he sees him go up. How many miracles did Elijah create? How many did Elisha do in his life? 13. That's right, double. Uh you're like, whoa, hold on a second, Selvin. 13 is not double seven. In his lifetime, Elisha did 13 miracles. And then he dies. This is the moment where he's about to pass away. He gets buried. And once he gets buried, then they forget they forget about him. They forget where his burial site is. Remember, he did 13 miracles. He's supposed to have a double portion, right? He's supposed to do 14. They they take another dude's body and they forget that Elijah was buried right here. They bury him on top of Elijah's bone, and the guy comes up to life. 14 miracles. Double portion. God is a God of promises, and he will always keep his promise. So Elijah is on his deathbed, and King Joash. Um, now I'm gonna pronounce it Joash this whole time, even though on the screen you might see a different pronunciation. Uh Jehoash is another way of saying it. It's just easier for me to call him Joe. Uh so we're gonna call him Joash. Joash is the king of Israel in this moment, and and he's been an okay king, he's been a mediocre king. Uh, he hasn't brought back the people to, he's in fact, the Bible says he did evil before the eyes of the Lord because he didn't bring back the people to true repentance. He was just kind of treading water. He wasn't going anywhere, he was just doing the egg beater in the water. He wasn't moving anywhere, he's just keeping his head above water, he wasn't doing anything. But in this moment, he knows that Elijah is about to pass away. And so he goes to see him in a moment of despair, in a moment where he's like, I have to honor him. So he goes to see Elijah in 2 Kings chapter 13. It says this when Elijah was suffering from the illness from which he died, Joash, king of Israel, went down to see him. Joash, king of Israel, went down to see him, and he wept over him, and he wept over him, and he said, Watch this, this is a king saying, repeating the same phrase, my father, my father, he cried, the chariots and the horsemen of Israel. In this moment, he was he was grieving, he was mourning the death of the great prophet Elisha, and him not knowing what step to take next. Because in this moment, the armies are coming up against Israel, and he hasn't been a powerful king. In fact, he's left with ten chariots only, about 3,000 men, that's it. He doesn't have any more army. This next battle, this next war that is lifting up, that is rising up against Israel could be their last. And in that moment, he's crying out and he's weeping over the death of the one man that he knows he can get rescue from. And in that moment, interruption happens. He's crying out, he's weeping over Elisha, and Elisha says this to him. Instead of saying, like, thank you for coming, I want to pray for you. I'm gonna bless you. You know what? You haven't been a good king, but but you can finish off by being a good king. It's it's it's not how you start the race, it's how you finish it. And watch this. I'm gonna pray over you and you're gonna finish strong and don't worry about it, it's gonna be okay. And I'll give you the the next steps, the next steps into what's going to happen tomorrow. If we go back to our Apple uh company example, when Steve Jobs passed away, uh it it it rumor has it, or rumor in his book, he writes down the next 10 years of Apple products. He writes down the next 10 uh the next 10 products that Apple needs to design and build after he has passed away. And I think that Joash is waiting for Steve Jobs to tell him, hey, uh, this is the next steps. You got 10 more steps, 10 more years. I want you to do this, but nothing of that happens. In that moment, there's an interruption of weeping, there's an interruption of lament, there's an interruption of purpose over Joash's life. And Elijah says, Get a bow and some arrows, get a bow and some arrows. And he did so, and he took the bow in his hands. He took the bow in his hands, and watch this. He said to the king, uh he said to the king of Israel, When he had taken it, Elijah put his hands on the king's hands. So Elijah gives him an instruction. He says, Take a bow and take some arrows. In his weakened state, he tells Joash, grab, grab this weapon of war. And he puts his hand. Now, this isn't customary, but but he grabs the bow, and as he's pulling on the bow, Elijah puts his hand on top of the king's hand. The presence of God in Elisha is now on top of the king's hand. And that that moment right there is an interruption to his life. I haven't been good. I haven't done what's right before the eyes of the Lord. I haven't done what God has asked me to do, and I'm here and I don't know what next to do. But your hand on top of mine is giving me the strength that I need, the power that I need, the answer that I need, even though my life has been a mess. But your hand over mine is what I need in this moment. And so the prophet puts his hand on top of the king's hand, much like God putting his hand over your life. And in fact, God puts his hand over your life and under your life. And he looks at his own hand and he declares this every single one that is the hand that is in the hand of my father will not perish. And I feel like God closes his hand and protects us and leads us. And guides us, and whenever he looks at his hands, he sees you and he sees me. And in that moment, Elijah, Elisha put put places his hand on top of the prophet's hand, and he gets the bow and the arrows. And when he had taken it, he puts his hand on it. And before anything happens, God had already gotten involved. Before he pulls on the cord and releases the arrow, God was already there. And in fact, we're going to see in a moment that God was already in the moment with him. Before Joash ever fights, the fight isn't at his doorstep right now. He's in the presence of the prophet, which represents the presence of God for our lives. God had already decided that there was going to be a victory. Before Joash ever steps forward, God said, I've got a victory for you. And here's the moment the arrow is not the victory. It was the declaration that comes in that moment. And this is what God is calling us to do. That thought that you didn't expect, that moment, that feeling you didn't expect. That's God interrupting. That's God putting his hand over your life. Can we be real for a second? Just one second. Have you ever been online? And all of a sudden the Wi-Fi cuts out. Yeah. I believe that's God. And you can fight against Bell or Rogers or whoever your internet service provider is. But I believe that's God interrupting the wavelengths. The connection. Here's another one. Here's another one. Have you ever been hungry? Maybe you're hungry now. And I want to tell you this that sometimes your physical hunger could be a sign, an antenna that God is putting over your life to say, hey, it's not actual food you need, it's my word you need. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the Father's mouth. So that interruption, as little as it may sound, man, I need a Snickers bar right now. Oh hungry. No, oh Bible. No, don't go for an O Henry bar. Go for the Bible and see what God is saying and speaking to you in your life. And in that moment, listen, God is already in there. And God was with him in the moment where he put, where Elijah put his hand over the king's life, over his hand. God is also with you in that moment. So God interrupts and he places his hands on your hands and he declares something greater. The question is what is that declaration? And so the prophet tells the king to move to the window. And the window is on the east side. Let's go to the verse chapter, chapter 13 again, 2 Kings chapter 13. Look at this. Now Elisha had been suffering from illness from which he died. Let's go back, get a bow, and Elisha put his hands. Let's go to the next verse. Coming up. There it is. Open the east window, he said, and he opened it. Shoot. Elijah said, and he shot. The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram. Elisha declared, You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek. Did you catch it? He said, Open the window. Open the window. Grab an arrow and shoot it out the window. Open the window. What side is the window on? The east side. The east side. The east is the direction of movement. We a couple of weeks ago saw that Jesus left Jerusalem on the east side. The Garden of Gethsemane is on the east side of Jerusalem. Yes? And so Jesus, Jesus shows us that the east is really, really important. On the east, the sun rises. Sunrise. It's a place of motion and movement. And and before even advancing, the prophet says, shoot an arrow on the east side. Now, now, now, now, now. Watch this, watch this. Do you know where East is right now? Yes. East is that way. Geographically, right now where you're sitting, East is over there. And when Jesus is on the cross, Jesus is facing west. He's looking this way. And as he's looking this way, we see him on the east side. Now watch this. He says to the king, shoot an arrow towards the east. And in the shot of the arrow, the declaration happens. And the declaration is this the Lord's arrow of victory. The arrow of victory over your enemies. So what God is saying is open the window. Open the window. Look towards the east. And when you see the east, that's where your victory is. What is he supposed to be seeing? What are we supposed to be seeing when we look to the east? The cross of Jesus. Now you won't be able to see that cross if you don't open up the window. You can't shoot an arrow inside of a building. You've got to open up the window. You've got to allow the opening up the window means this. It means exposing yourself. It means allowing the light of God to enter into your life, into the dark areas of your life. Open up your windows. Open up those areas that you don't want anybody to know. Open them up to God. Open up the window. Shoot the arrow and declare the victory. When you shoot the arrow to the east side, what he's saying there is, look to Jesus. That is where your victory lies. That's where the victory lies. And I bless Nouvelle Vie for putting that cross on the east side. And allow the cross to shine a light inside of me. And whatever I'm lacking, whatever I'm missing, whatever needs to be exposed, expose at God in my own life. But I'm not going to live with this. I'm going to shoot my arrow towards the east side. And as I shoot the arrow, I'm going to declare victory over this situation, over my life, over my family's life, over the future of my children, over my wife's life, over my descendants, over everyone, over this church. I'm going to declare victory. That the name of Jesus is greater. And again, I don't want to offend anybody, but the name of Jesus is greater than the Montreal Canadians. No matter what happens tonight, the name of Jesus is greater than the name Cancer. The name of Jesus is greater than death. The name of Jesus is greater than anything. We've been looking at Jesus does not equal religion. Well, guess what? Jesus is greater than anything. And everything. And that's the name that we're going to declare. And so we're going to open up the East window. And we're going to declare. And in that declaration comes this mighty, mighty phrase where he says, the victory is yours. Victory is yours. Great. Selvin, that sounds great. I love it. Awesome. Cross, East Side. I got it. Open up, open up my heart. I'm going to do it. It's awesome. Let's uh all right, Monday. Then Tuesday, then Wednesday, then Thursday, then Friday. Finally, Saturday. And we're ready for a new one. Ready for a new message. What's the fresh revelation for this Sunday? For next week. What are we talking about? Next week is Mother's Day, and we've got a great message coming up from Marie José Mann. She's awesome. She's gonna be great. We're expecting God to do something awesome. What am I going to do with today's message? And so the prophet Elisha says to Joash, grab the arrows. Now grab the arrows and strike the ground. Take the arrows in your hand and strike the ground. And so he had just shot the arrow out the east window. And so he grabs the arrow and strikes the ground. One, two, three. Looks up. What does that mean? He struck the ground three times. Elijah never told him to strike it three times. There was no number given, no specific instruction as to when to stop striking the ground. He didn't refuse to strike the ground. He just stopped. The arrow out the east window is the declaration that God has over your life. You have victory in his name. You have power in his name. You have authority in his name. You have dominion over his name. Through his name. What you do with that is how much faith you have. And so this man he strikes the ground three times and stops. And Elisha said, What are you doing? Why did you stop at three? Why did you almost continue? Why did you, why did you almost, almost believe me? This is almost like a like a paint by numbers situation. I've got all the numbers, I know what the numbers correspond to, the colors, and I'm done painting. And what does this look like? And this is King Joash in this moment. I didn't expect this moment to happen, but now that I'm here, I followed your instructions, and I'm just gonna I'm gonna do whatever you say. And if you say strike the ground, I'll strike the ground. You see, he failed to see that the victory God had already given to him. He just declared it a moment ago. As he shot the arrow through the east window, he said, Victory is yours. God has delivered you from your enemies. Now strike the ground. And that's what we're saying today. God has delivered you from your enemies. Now strike the ground. What does that look like? That looks like the arrow is pointing up into the sky. God. The ground is me hitting it and taking steps forward into what He has called me to do. The urgency, the urgency that is inside of me is to hit the ground running. The urgency that I feel is this moment of saying, God, uh you have given us victory. Now, what's the next step? And let me take the next step, and I'm gonna take one more step and one more step, and no matter how the week goes, I'm gonna take another step, and I'm gonna stand on your word, and I'm gonna stand in your faithfulness, and I'm gonna stand on you, and I'm gonna keep on going. And Joash didn't do that. He was, he was, he, he hit the ground, he hit the the he struck the ground three times, and in those three times, the prophet says to him, had you struck it five or six times, I would have given you, the Lord would have given you victory over your enemies forever. But because you only struck it three times, you'll have three victories. Because you didn't believe fully the word of God over your life, he says to Joash, you're going to have three victories. But if you'd have gone five or six times, you would have reigned over them forever, you would have destroyed them forever. But you didn't. And that nation is Syria. That nation that God said he would deliver the Israelites from Syria. And this one man, because he didn't fully believe what the prophet was asking of him, and believe the word of God over his life, he got victory, but it was almost a victory, almost a full victory. He wasn't quite there, wasn't quite ready. And I'm reminded of a young man, a rich young man. His heart was in the right place. He had done everything he needed to do, he had kept the commandments, he had walked with God, he had seen Jesus, and he goes up to Jesus and he says, Jesus, what do I need to do to inherit the kingdom of heaven? I have kept all the commandments. But he left the presence of Jesus saddened. You see, he had done everything that he had to do that he thought was right, that he thought would lead him into the kingdom of heaven, would lead him into heaven, would would buy, he would, he essentially was buying his salvation. And Jesus said, Sell all that you have, because you see, of all the commandments, he didn't keep the first one, which is love the Lord your God above everything else. He couldn't keep that one. And so he left sad. And this disciple, this rich young ruler, the Bible says that Jesus loved him. He could have been the 13th disciple, he could have changed the world, he could have done so much for the kingdom. And we would all know his name today, and we would be preaching about the feats that he did in the power and then the presence of Jesus in his life, and the testimony that he gave and the messages that are written. He could have written, he could have written the gospel according to him. His name was probably Larry. The gospel according to Larry. Because he almost became a disciple. So my question tonight is this God wants to interrupt your life. Whether by flipping it upside down or a still small hand over your hand. He wants to interrupt your life. And in that interruption, he's calling you. In that interruption, he's leading you. In that interruption, he's saying, I'm giving you victory over the things you never thought you could have victory over. That one thing that you think is just part of you that you'll never overcome. Yeah, he already did. And as he already did it, he's calling you to believe it. Not halfway believe it. Not almost believe it. Believe it fully. Listen, I'm not into the this idea of the prosperity gospel where if you give God a hundred dollars, he'll give you a thousand dollars back. I don't think that's how he works. But I am a I am for a God that is a provider. I am for a God that is a healer. I'm not a healing evangelist. I don't think that you should come up here and put pour your offerings down and expect God to heal you in this instant. That's not that's not what we're doing here. But I am one that believes in healing. And I am one, I'm not a I'm not a prophet. Okay, I'm not a prophet, but I am one that believes in speaking the word over your life as prophecy over your life. I am one that that that is not on on the on the positive uh mind. You you have to you have to be you you have to have uh self-worth and you have to love yourself and you have to forgive yourself and you have to look inward to to heal yourself. Like all that fine, great, awesome. That's not who I am. I am a person that wants to be here and declare that in him there's healing. In him, there's mental health. In him, you can have freedom from stress and anxiety and oppression and depression in him. Why? Because his word says that we have victory over him. We have victory over the enemy in him and through him. And so watch this. The king strikes the ground three times. One, two, three. And stops. Maybe he ran out of strength. Maybe he ran out of things to do. Maybe he ran out of calling. Maybe he he he did this and didn't know what to do next. Maybe he was doubting. He ran out of action. And then I see this verse that I've been praying over you for a couple of weeks now, and we've we've declared it, but we've declared it in a powerful music, everybody worshipping moment. I wanna, I want to quietly declare this word over you. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope, strike one, to which he has called you. The riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, strike two, and in his incomparably great power for us who believe, strike three. And Paul doesn't stop there. Paul says this the power is the same as the mighty strength that he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead, strike four, and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly realms, strike five, far above all rule, six, and authority seven, and power eight, and dominion nine, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. Ten strikes, victory, victory, victory, and we we're not gonna stop. We're not stopping at three. We may run out of words, but we will not run out of actions, and so lead us, God, and I want to invite you to stand to your feet. He's not waiting for you to have it all figured out, he's not waiting for you to have everything, every detail of your life ironed out. He's not waiting for that, he's waiting for a response today, right now. What are you going to do with the victory that is in your life, in your hands right now? What are you gonna do with it? What are you gonna do with Jesus? He's not waiting for you to be ready, he will make you ready. He's not waiting for you to get prepared, he will make you prepared. And last week I was I was with the youth, and this is what I was telling them the exact same thing. He's not waiting for you to get ready, he's calling you today, right now, and in the handwriting of a teenage girl on the bus, she wrote a message to one of our members, and in that message, she had no idea, never met one of our members ever in her life. She's finishing school on the bus, sees one of you sitting there, and in that moment, she writes a little note and says, I don't know what you're going through. But God is with you. I don't know what you're living, but you are not alone. He loves you, Jesus loves you, and he is with you. The handwriting, and I'll show you the picture, not today, but I'll show you another day. The handwriting of a teenager filled the heart of an adult, strengthened this person, made her take one more step forward. God is not waiting for readiness, he's listening out for willingness. Are you willing? Are you willing to strike the ground five or six times? Are you willing to take that step and say, God, here I am, use me? Are you willing to allow your life to be interrupted by his plans? Is this what you want? And I say amen to that. I say, Yes, Lord, interrupt my life, even though it may not be safe, but you are good. It may not be safe, but you are good, and I will trust that you have my life in your hands, and that your hand is over my life. I will trust in you, and I will worship you, for you are good, and forever will be good. That's the God we serve, the God that has called victory over your life, the God that has given you power and dominion and strength over the enemy, over the thoughts, over the pain, over the unforgiveness, over the brokenness. That's the God that we serve. He's given us victory. What are we gonna do with that victory? And today I invite you to open your heart, open the window of your heart, open the window of your heart and allow God's light to come in. And as you look out the window of your heart, see the cross. It is the cross that has given us the victory, the sacrifice on the cross that has given us victory. Will you strike the ground? Will you strike the ground? Will you move forward? God is calling you right now. He has put a seed of his purpose in your heart. You have no idea the things, the plans, and the thoughts that he has for your life. I never imagined being up here. Ever in my wildest thoughts. God has great plans and a great victory for your life. And I wish I could put my hand over all of your hands prophetically and declare God's victory over your life. I can't, but I'm gonna just raise my hands right now. And if you feel led, if you feel led to come up to the front because God is moving your heart right now, because there's something great that He is depositing in your life, I would invite you to come to the front right now. We're gonna sing this victory song with the worship team. But if you feel God is leading you, He's calling you, He's put a seed in your heart for something great. Yeah, yeah. Come forward, come forward. I want to pray for you. And even if I don't declare words over your life, I just want to touch your hand. I want to touch your hand because God is putting his purpose and his life in your life. Come forward, don't be afraid. Just come forward, come forward. God is calling you right now. He has called you, he has called you, he has called you, and he has given you victory. Let's sing the victory, let's sing this song together. Jesus, you're good.