Victory In Between (Luke 17:11-19)| Rev Josel Fortaleza (Sermon)

What do you do when you are caught between the prayer and the answer, between the pain and the promise, between the beginning of the miracle and the full testimony?

In this powerful and deeply moving sermon, “A Victory in Between,” Rev. Josel Fortaleza ministers from Luke 17:11-19, the story of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus.

This message reminds us that sometimes the miracle does not happen at the beginning, and sometimes the full testimony is not seen at the end — but there is still victory in between.

Through the story of the ten lepers, Rev. Fortaleza encourages us to trust Jesus in the middle of pain, uncertainty, loss, and unanswered questions. We are reminded that Jesus can meet us on the road, heal us as we go, and teach us to worship before we see the full outcome.

In this episode, you’ll be encouraged to:

✅ Keep believing God in the middle of your situation
✅ Worship even when the answer has not fully come
✅ Trust Jesus through pain, loss, and uncertainty
✅ Recognize that obedience often comes before manifestation
✅ Give thanks before everything makes sense
✅ Believe that God is still working while you are “in between”

Rev. Fortaleza also shares personal testimony from seasons of deep trial and loss, reminding us that real faith is not only proven when everything works out — it is revealed when we still choose to praise God in the middle of it all.

If you are walking through a difficult season, waiting on God, grieving a loss, or believing for a breakthrough, this message will strengthen your faith and remind you:

There is victory in between.

📖 Scripture: Luke 17:11-19
🎙️ Speaker: Rev. Josel Fortaleza
📍 New Life Pentecostal Church – North York
🎧 Podcast: New Life Now

🔔 New Life Pentecostal Church – North York
A Spirit-filled church where Jesus transforms lives, strengthens families, and restores hope.

📍 65 Irondale Drive, North York
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🕊️ 👉 For more sermons and resources, visit New Life Pentecostal Church
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— New Life Now Podcast | New Life Pentecostal Church

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Luke chapter 17 verse 11. Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance. And they called out in a loud voice, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said, Go, show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? Then he said to him, Rise and go. Your faith has made you well. Praise God. If you'll allow me for a moment this morning to preach on this title, A Victory in Between. A victory in between. If you'll lay your Bibles down, amen, and just begin to lift your hands to heaven. Before we get into the word, let's just begin to call upon the name of Jesus and allow his spirit to move in every word, in every moment of the remainder of this service. Heavenly Father, we declare your power, your might, and your spirit right now in this place. We pray, Lord God, that your will be done, Lord God, in this moment. Cast aside every distraction, Lord Jesus. Use these lips, Lord God, to deliver, Lord, your word and your will for this uh sanctuary today, Lord God. And I pray, Jesus, that we would leave, Lord God, victorious, Lord, regardless of our situation, regardless of what is happening in our lives, God, that we would recognize, Jesus, that in the middle of the chaos, in the middle of what's happening, God, you are still to be glorified, you are still to be lifted up in our lives, God. And so we magnify you in this place and we give you all the glory and all the thanks. In Jesus' mighty name, we pray. Can we clap our hands one more time and just thank God in this place?

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. We praise your name, God. We praise your name, God.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. You can be seated, church. Thank you for standing. Amen. The story of ten lepers being healed, found only in Luke's gospel, and represents an event that takes place as Jesus and his disciples are traveling toward Jerusalem. Now, this particular account in Scripture is not very long, mainly because this was not exactly their final destination. Rather, it was a place in the middle of their journey. There's not a lot of geographical recollection of the region in between Samaria and Galilee. And to many that might read the scripture, this part might not even have much meaning. However, the region that Jesus found himself traveling, it holds much more meaning through its history leading up to this moment. The land between Samaria and Galilee at one point in time was actually considered to be one land. A long time ago, amen. However, the nation had been torn apart, it had been destroyed. You have the northern kingdom that had been destroyed first, that somewhat left a remnant behind, and then you have the southern kingdom. The people of the southern kingdom who came eventually to be called the Jews were plucked up and exiled for decades. And so, over the grand scheme of time, they had only recently found themselves going against that remnant and living in the region of Samaria. And so, to give you the long history short, if you will, a man. Jesus was essentially traveling along a land with a history of exile. A history of a people that had turned against themselves and turned against one another. There was turmoil, there was destruction, if you will, and it had left a mark on both kingdoms. This was the place, church, where grudges grew old. This was the place, amen, in between, that they have found themselves. And believe it or not, church, this is the place where many people in this world also find themselves. This was a place where people were unsure where they belonged. This was a place where there was a lacking of identity. This was a place of uncertainty, a place of distrust, and even a place of fear. This was a place where the customs and the rules did not apply. And they did not fully know their place. And this is exactly where we find Jesus today in the scripture. And the place where, again, many people in our world seem to find themselves as well. This might even be the place that you find yourself traveling every single day. A place of uncertainty, a place of not knowing what might happen next or how you'll figure out the next situation. Amen. It's the place where we might find ourselves, not knowing where we belong, trying to navigate and figure out in the middle of chaos, in the middle of politics, in the middle of government rules, and the middle of culture. This is where we find our world, and this is why we find so many souls slave to the things of this world, because they are searching, church. This is why we find so many people bound by the wrong things because they've gone from one thing after another, one substance after another. Amen. One thing to try and fill up the void where Jesus can only fill. Church, they find themselves in the in-between. And it's so sad to see that they've allowed public figures to influence them, they've allowed, amen, certain voices, amen, with uh certain titles and power to speak over their lives and to brand them and to tell them who they think they are. This is why there is so much division in our government, there's so much division in culture, amen. Because we have a world that has found themselves in the midst of destruction and the in-between. But believe it or not, church, this is exactly where God has called us to be. It might not sound good, church, amen. No one wants to be in the middle of chaos, Pastor. No one wants to be in the middle of uncertainty, but believe it or not, this is exactly where God is calling us to be, amen. Because he knows that if he can put us in the middle of this chaos, he can use us as a light to let the world know that I know you are living in uncertainty. I know you are living in chaos, but there is a light that shines brighter in the darkness. There is a light, amen, that can lead the way, that can guide you to the place that you need to go in your life. Church, I'm thankful I don't know what I'm doing in my life because I know I can lean on the one who has my life in his hands. I know that I can lean on my heavenly Father, amen, in my time of uncertainty, in my time of trouble. Jesus is calling us to this place because this is the same place where he encounters the ten lepers. The reality is that the people that need Jesus the most, they're not always in our comfort zones. We might feel comfortable in the house of God. I don't know about you, Pastor, but I feel right at home here. I feel right at home. I know my saints from CCD. We love how you worship. We feel right at home. Amen. We know that when we come together with those of like faith, we can worship the same God. We might sing different songs, we might worship a different way, but we serve the same God, amen. The God that's in Winnipeg is the same God here in North York, Ontario. Praise God. But what we feel in this moment, amen, it might feel comfortable for us. And I'll be very transparent and real that if we're not careful, we might contain the presence of God inside these four walls. We might get too comfortable with the worship, amen, with the routine, with the events, that we keep what God is doing inside this building, but God is saying, Hey, you've got to go out these doors and get into the in-between and recognize that there is a whole community out there that is lost and confused and needs to feel what you feel in this place. We believe in revival in our community, church. We believe in revival in our neighborhoods, amen. In our school districts. We believe in revival in those places. The thing that we must never forget as the church is that God's mercy is for all people. It's not just for those, amen, who have it all together. It's not just for those, amen, who are inside the church, but God's mercy is for all. Amen. It's for those who have constantly found themselves even in their struggling moments. And I'm thankful, church, that the mercy and grace of God and the Spirit of God is not just available to one demographic. But every tribe, every tongue, every nation can receive what God has for us. Amen. This is for everybody, church. That's why we we don't believe in just one type of church. Pastor Kelvin. Amen. I don't I uh we at our church back home in in Winnipeg, we have a predominantly Filipino church, a lot of Filipino uh uh members, but we don't call ourselves a Filipino church. We are the church. Amen. We are the church of the living God, and we need to identify ourselves as such as we walk into this place and as we walk out into our communities, amen. We're here to reach every soul that is willing, amen. Every soul that is hungry, every soul that is searching for a savior. And we see this proof among these lepers as well. They were excluded from their community life because of their condition. If you understand anything about amen, the culture and tradition and history of this culture in this day and age, if you had a sickness, you were exiled. You could not belong to society, especially something like leprosy highly contagious, a dangerous amen sickness. They didn't have the medical system that we have, they don't have that those kind of resources that we do now. Amen. And so they had to make sure that this was cut off, otherwise it would spread. And so they they were already excluded from their community because of their condition. But there was one who was doubly excluded. Not only was he a man with leprosy, but he was also a Samaritan. He was also a Samaritan. And the Samaritans, again, were exiled and they didn't like each other, but the Samaritans and the Jews. Because again, of all the history that had happened, because of all the destruction and all the separation, amen, they did not like each other. Samaritans were not welcome in Jewish homes. And so this is where this one individual found himself. As verse 12 says, as he was going into the village, these ten men who had leprosies met him, and they stood at a distance, and they called out with a loud voice, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. It's interesting that the scripture outlines that they had stood at a distance. They understood what their situation was, and they had allowed it to become their identity. Keeping at a distance, calling out to Jesus. And it's also interesting to note that they didn't specifically ask for a healing. But instead they said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. This moment right here shows and identifies two things, church. They recognize their illness both in their action by keeping a distance, but also in their statement. And secondly, they recognized in this moment that Jesus was the only one that could heal them. They recognized that Jesus was the only one, amen, that could touch their bodies and make them whole once again. They recognized him because they called him out by name. They called him out by name Jesus Master, which means that they have had some previous knowledge of him. They also called him master, a word that only occurs in Luke's gospel and had only been used by Jesus' disciples. This right here, church, was a step of faith for these individuals. It was a step of faith, amen. A move that not many people would be familiar with, amen, similar to the woman with the issue of blood. Let's be real, they don't have social media. They don't have the ability to scroll through, amen, someone else's page and see what God is doing in other parts of the world. And we're thankful I can go to a church in Thailand and see what God is doing in a church in Thailand. Yet for some reason, we still have a hard time believing, Pastor Shaw. We see it all around us. We hear the reports, we hear the testimonies. But I fear, amen, we get so familiar that we just are no longer moved by what God is doing around us. Church, we better stop for a moment and recognize that it's still Jesus. It always has been Jesus, and it will forever be Jesus. He's the only one that can work, he's the only one that can move, he's the only one that can heal, he's the one that we gotta recognize, it's the one doing the great things all around us. It's not by my mind, it's not by my power, but it's by his spirit of God that is working and moving in us. I gotta recognize that he's the God of us, Jesus Master. Have mercy on us. Come on, you gotta recognize your struggle, but but also you gotta recognize the one that can take you out of it. You gotta recognize that you need healing, and then you gotta recognize who the healer is. You gotta recognize the sin in your life and recognize the one who can deliver you from the bondage of sin. Amen. You gotta recognize the one who is able. Jesus, you're the one. Jesus, you're the one. Whatever you are looking for in this place, church, I promise you, you will find it in that name of Jesus. There is nothing else, amen, that can save. There is nothing else that can heal. I'm thankful for the medical uh medical doctors that we have, I'm thankful for the resources that we have, but I'm more thankful that we have a God whose power is greater than anything that we can see materialistically in this world. He's greater than any darkness, he's greater than any sin, he's greater than any background. I'm thankful for a God, and his name is Jesus. Come on, his name is Jesus. One time, shout that name Jesus. Hallelujah. Praise God. And guess what, church? He's one God. He's one God. I might go on and preach a oneness message real quick. Come on, I'm thankful that I call upon the name of Jesus, I get the Father. When I call upon the name of Jesus, I get the Holy Spirit. When I call upon the name of Jesus, I get the Son. I don't gotta go through three different ones. I just gotta go to one. Whatever you need, church, you just gotta call upon that name of Jesus. Woo! Hallelujah. I told you I feel at home. I told you I feel at home. Praise God. This was a faith move. These lepers were going off someone else's word. They'd never met or witnessed with their own eyes what Jesus could do. Praise God, but their faith, it was shown. And furthermore, shown, amen, before they were even healed. And Jesus simply just told them in response to their requests. He didn't even give a confirmation, Sister Simone. He just said, Go show yourselves to the priest. It often takes a step of obedience before we see God's mercy. The lepers first, they first had to make that step of obedience before they can see the healing. Now, Jesus, we gotta recognize what Jesus did here. Jesus is making them do something that is very uncomfortable. They've still got their leprosy, church. All the stuff that comes with it. If you've seen some of the leprosy, it's it's rough. It's not something you can hide. It's a very visible sickness. And so for Jesus to immediately tell them to go show yourselves to the priest. Let's be honest, they're gonna think twice about that. Sorry, Jesus, I didn't catch that. He said, He said, go. I mean, is my nose back, brother? How do I look? Go show yourselves to the priest. He didn't again, he didn't give a confirmation. He didn't say, Alright, you're good to go, brother. He just immediately gives them a command to go. And they had to make that step because of their faith in who Jesus was. They did. They took that step, and before they even reached the priest, they had already been healed in Jesus' name. They had already been made whole. Some of us got to realize that it's just that first step. You might not have the confirmation yet, you might not have the good report yet. You might not be able to go back to the church and say, hey, I've got some good news, but hey, I've got a step that I can take in faith. I've got a step and I gotta believe in faith that God is gonna work as long as I obey his word, as long as I obey what he called me to do, I will take that step. We gotta believe for that first step. Amen. Because God can do a work in the middle of it all. Praise God. But here's what we have to understand as well, church, that despite all that, obeying God's commands requires a little bit more. It's more than just Doing good things, church. There are a lot of people that live in this world that maybe they read a portion of scripture, they read some parts of the word, and they try to follow it best they can. You've probably met some people like that. They say they're Christian. They grew up Christian. They know what they know who God is, they know what He's all about. But there's something that they have yet to do to get all the way there. Us here in church, we've got to be mindful of this as well. Because you could sit in these chairs and not be fully saved. You might attend church. You might be a part of the fellowship. You might be a part of what God is doing here. Amen. But God is looking inward. God is looking within. Being a good person and doing good things, it does not bring salvation, church. But the first step was done. The ten lepers, they obeyed the word of God. But here's the reality: only one would be fully healed. Out of the ten, only one would receive a full healing. Verse 15 of the scripture that we read in the text we read, one of them, when he saw he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him, and he was a Samaritan. Now here's the thing: I believe that the word of God does not have any accidental words. He didn't just throw some stuff in to fill in the voids. Amen. But I believe that every word that comes from this Bible means something for us. Why is it important that he identified, and he was a Samaritan? And he was a Samaritan. Now, Jesus, he responds to their cries for mercy by drawing them from an act of faith, amen, that results in their physical healing. But only the Samaritan that turns back to praise God and the scripture outlines falls at his feet and thanks Jesus. Follows up, amen, with a rhetorical question from Jesus Himself. Verse 17 We're not all ten cleansed. Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise except this foreigner? Now, here's the thing: this questioning was not designed for the missing nine. They're gone. They're long gone. This is not for them. They already missed it, church. This questioning was not even for the Samaritan. But the consideration of Jesus' disciples and also the curious onlookers. How often, church, have we found ourselves no better than the nine? I want to stop for a moment, church, because I think it's important for us to recognize how important it is for us to thank God. In everything that we do in our lives, in everything that happens, good or bad, we got to be able to get up each morning and say, God, thank you for another day. Thank you for another breath in my lungs. Thank you, God, for another opportunity to serve you and to live for you. Church, don't get comfortable just doing the things of God and being a part of what has happened. You've got to recognize who we are doing it for. Amen. Everything that we do in the house of God and in the kingdom of God, it's all for his glory and his glory alone. We can't be shy. We can't be timid when it comes to our thanks and gratitude for God. We got to show it in everything that we do, in how we worship shows, how much we love and appreciate God for all he's done. But I understand at the same time, church, that there probably have been many times that God has showed his mercy in the midst of the things that we are going to through. I understand that there is things in life that we deal with and that we struggle with, and that also causes us to cloud our vision from what God is really doing. Amen. I've got a few more notes here, but if you allow me to share a little bit of what has happened in my personal life. Amen. Four years ago, now, if you don't uh just to give a bit of context, my wife and I, we have uh a beautiful son back home, a six-year-old boy. His name is Elijah. And uh he he wish we wish he could be here with us, uh, but we got to take care of 30 other kids uh this weekend. Just kidding, they're all grown. They're all adults, they can handle themselves. Uh we've got a we got a beautiful son back home. But about four years ago, my wife and I uh received uh incredible news that we were gonna have a second child. Amen. And uh, you know, our our our eldest son has you know, we he's been we've had him for a couple years already. We're we were looking forward to another child, and uh we were excited. And uh a few months into uh my wife's pregnancy, uh, once we started doing the blood works and started to get checked, uh check the baby out, uh, we received news that our child uh had something called trisomy 13. Uh trisomy 13 is is a condition uh that uh has uh cause that caused a couple defects in our in our baby's uh body and its development. And uh statistics show that uh majority of babies with trisomy 13 don't typically live outside the womb. So, of course, this was heartbreaking news for us, Pastor Shaw. This was heavy news for us. And about a couple more months later, uh and and and throughout this season, we're we're my wife and I are living in the in-between. I want you to know that I'm preaching this because I know what it feels like to be there. My wife and I are living in this in-between, and we're living in uncertainty, brother. We're not sure what's gonna happen, and and and I'm thankful for people that prayed with us and and encouraged us and continue to lift us up, amen. Some of them, a lot of them are they're they're all here today. They they're they're praying with us, amen, and believing that God would do a great work. And so we we we're so full of faith. And and and my wife and I, we we decided to uh uh name our daughter Early is a girl, and we we decided to name her Early. We named her Amari, which means promise of God. And uh her middle name, we named her after my my younger sister, Jessica. Uh we named her Amari Faith. My sister's name is Jessica Faith Fortaleza, so we named uh our daughter Amari Faith Fortaleza. And uh that was that was for us kind of declaring that we have faith in in what's happening. Amen. A couple months later, uh in December, uh this was probably the the the most difficult time in our family, uh, but we we got a call um from uh a friend that was with my younger sister, Jessica, and uh she had been rushed to the hospital, my sister. And uh she she had had an allergic reaction. That's basically what had happened. And to us, you know, we she we've had these moments in the past where she she'd eaten something that she shouldn't have and uh was rushed to the hospital and and she was okay after they'd given her a needle. Um we we didn't realize what the situation was in that very moment. Uh and a couple hours had passed. This was the the night of our Christmas banquet at our church. And uh we were getting ready for our Christmas banquet, and uh we get a call from my mom and my dad, who had gone to the hospital to to make sure she was okay and pick her up after she was cleared to go. Uh well we got a call from my mom, and she was just in tears. We couldn't understand what she was saying. And and immediately the the worst thing in our mind just come comes up. And and it and it turns out that uh she had passed away uh in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Amen. Without going into the details, i it was uh she had gone into anaphylactic shock essentially. And she had passed, uh and they they had spent over an hour trying to resuscitate her. They they'd done the best that they could, and I of course I honor still uh the the the medical team and those that did their best. But uh we got to the hospital and and and I just see my parents, my my father, amen. They're they're just they're just weeping and and crying, and and I couldn't believe it, church. I couldn't believe it. She was uh she was the worship leader at our at our district, amen. She had a heart uh our saints that are here know her very well. And we just couldn't understand why this happened. And I'll admit to you today, church, that I I I I wrestled with it in the middle of all this, amen. And I struggled with with that pain and I struggled with that loss, and I thought to myself, God, we're already dealing with this news of our daughter to come, and and we even named her after my sister, and then you take her away. I'm trying to understand what is happening right now, God. And we're sitting in this in this room that they bring family into after uh they lose someone at the hospital. And I remember sitting there and we're all shocked and we're all crying. My my my mother is crying, my my wife is crying, and and and two of her friends that were with her in the moment, amen. One of them was holding her in her arms as she slowly, amen, lost her life. And then we're we're we're so confused, Pastor Shaw. And in the middle of all of this, my father, my pastor, his only daughter, that just passed. And he and he gets all of our attention in that moment, and he said, Right now, we need to thank God. Right now, he just lost his daughter. Right now, we just need to thank God. We just need to take a moment and worship God. And I'll admit to you, church, amen. I was so I was struggling so much. I struggled to to to even obey his what he's asking us to do. A few moments later we went to see the body of my sister, which is the hardest thing I think I've ever had to do. And we stood around her, amen, and and he'd asked me to pray, and I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it. If I could be transparent with you today. And for those months, amen, as we dealt with the loss of Jessica and the grief, amen, that came with it, which by the way is a very real thing. It's a very real thing. My daughter Amari was scheduled to be due about a month later. A month later. And of course, all of this is still weighing on us, and you know, it was hard on my wife, of course, dealing with that. And it was finally time for her to give birth. So we get to the hospital, and uh uh she goes to the process. The the labor uh I shouldn't be the one to say it went smoothly because I'm not the one in labor. She did great. I honor my wife, she did amazing. Last time I I said that, she gave me a look, and I was like, Yeah, my bad. Hey man, and and and she gave birth to our beautiful daughter. She came out, the the the woman, all the things that the doctor had told us uh through the ultrasounds, she had a lot of uh physical uh defects with her body. And one of the biggest things with trisomy is that the the newborn child essentially um their brain doesn't register and they kind of just don't know how to breathe. So that that that that's kind of just what happens. And um you know, we we we we had prepared for we we we were believing and we continue to pray and and hope but but we we we had brought all of our family in, my side and and my wife's side, and and and they got to all meet little Amari and and my our youngest son, our oldest son got to meet her and uh my my father was able to dedicate her in in that hospital room and and after seven hours um she I I was holding her in my arms and I could I could literally feel her not breathing. It was it was it was literally like church. Um I could feel the the the her like the life of her slowly leaving her body. And she would uh there would be moments where she would just uh gasp for gasp for hair as if she was holding her breath and her brain kind of triggered and remembered she has to breathe, and and she would have those moments all the way to the point where uh I could no longer feel her heart rate. And and let me tell you this, church, as I sat in that hospital room, my wife right next to me, and we're both crying, and and I'm holding my dying daughter in my arms. I remember that moment in the hospital room with my father. I remember that moment, and all I could think about, church, was this one song. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so good with every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. And we sang that in that hospital room, just me and my wife and my daughter. And although she didn't she only lived for seven hours, we were reminded, amen, of the goodness of God. And I and I I'll be honest with you, church. I wish that I could stand here and tell you that that was the last of it. That was four years ago. Two years later, amen, my wife and I, after much time of healing and much time of amen, just going through the process, we uh uh we found out the news that she was pregnant again. And just uh just to kind of make the long story short, amen. We we went through the process, same process. And I remember, brother Shaw, I was at midwinter youth in St. Louis, and my wife was there with me, and she had gotten uh uh another call from the doctor after we did the blood works before we went on the trip. Amen. And and and and we receive, thank you we received a call from the doctor with the exact same news. She told us that we were having a boy. Amen. And again, our child was diagnosed with trisomy 13. Amen. And and I I don't I don't know what to tell you, church. This time it felt a little bit different. We had gone through the fire, we had gone through the struggle, and and there was moments where we just decided, God, we're just gonna place him in your hands. Whatever your will is, God. Amen. And and and we went through the process and we believed we prayed. He was born again. We had the family in the room. It was the same room, Pastor Shaw. It it it almost felt like deja vu. We prayed together. My father again dedicated, we named him Enzo. We named him after my brother, my my younger brother Jason. We named him Enzo J Fortaleza. And he lived for about two hours after the woman after birth. Just just a f just a day. And this was um this was on Mother's Day. The day after Mother's Day, and and we so we had just celebrated one year uh of his life in heaven. And there are many people that come to that that that you know and and and and I I like to share this story um where I go to preach as much as possible, and I like to bring it up because I I want I want you to understand, church, that the only reason I am able to stand before you here today. The only reason that God has given me this word to share with you today as a church is because of his grace, because of his mercy. I'll tell you what, church, there were days, amen, that we felt like giving up. There were days where it would have been easy, Pastor Shaw, to just walk away and just blame God for everything that had happened, continue to be angry with God, continue to be upset with all that had happened. It was easy for us, church, to do all that stuff. But every time I'm reminded, amen, I'm reminded of people throughout the scriptures, people like Job, who had lost everything, lost all his family, lost all his belongings, lost his household, amen. But he's still able to bless the name of the Lord. I had to remind myself that in the middle of this pain, in the middle of this struggle, in the middle of this loss and this tragedy and this heartache, amen, as I watch my wife go through what she has to go through and watch our family go through what we have to go through, amen. I just gotta recognize my God, you are still on the throne. I'm gonna tell somebody You might be in the middle of it all. You might be in the middle of her pain right now as you You might be dealing with hard You might be dealing with loss, you might be dealing with depression anytime. I'm gonna tell somebody I God is gonna kill you. It's easy to worship God when it's all of you can come in the middle of it all. I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. And worship you. I'm gonna be in the middle of your situation. Oh my god, I do it, lift up your hand of my gun, lift up my hand. Oh my god, I'm gonna lift up my voice to you. I'm still able. I know what it's like. I know what it's like to wake up one morning and it's still a problem. I go to bed and I wake up the next morning and it's still a problem. I wake up any minute and I go to bed and wake up the next morning, and it's still a problem, and it's a problem, I'm on now. Any minute pushing up and be able to I'm not feeling right now. Any minute to lift you up, but I'm gonna push you. I know. You're gonna keep me gonna keep me. God's mercy. God's mercy. God's grace. It's for everybody in this place. Come on, I don't know about you. Oh God, it's been so grim. God has been so good despite all that's happened in my life and I'm thankful I'm thankful even though I didn't even though it wasn't what I expected I wanted to be able to have my two babies with me here in this life it would have been an incredible experience to fill up that SUV fill up that eight theater with all the babies but he's still God you see the Samaritan the Samaritan's return allows Jesus to demonstrate that no one not a leper not a Samaritan is beyond God's mercy anyone can experience it it's one thing to get the healing physically church but we need a healing within our hearts here's the here's the thing church about worshiping in between that what when you're able to lift up your hands in the middle of uncertainty regardless of the outcome you will remain strong in your faith it could be a positive outcome it could be a negative outcome whatever God's will is if you are able to lift up God and lift him up in the middle of all that uncertainty you will get through it in Jesus' name I declare that in this place that you will overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony I always wondered Pastor Shaw what what was the whole purpose behind that I mean I'm I'm thankful that I I believe that my wife and I have the strongest bond that we've ever had in our marriage and the strongest faith that we've ever had in God after all that's happened. I can say that in confidence and in and in faith that what God has brought us through has made us stronger. But I always wondered uh beyond that you know God what what what more did you want to do through this? Because sometimes it's easy just to ask God why why God why did this happen? We started asking the question God how can you get the glory from this how can you get the glory God a few months had passed amen after our first daughter was born I'm sorry to make you stand I'm closing it far music yeah they're already playing they're good they're locked in a few months after the passing of our daughter we had received uh some really good news about from our best friend our best friends Sherwin and Amy amen had uh the good news that they were gonna have twins praise God amen they announced this and we were so excited for them we were so excited uh for this news uh of of of twins and um a few a few months had passed and uh Amy and I we we worked together in the same workplace and she didn't show up to work one day and so I text I text her said Amy I hope everything's alright wonder where you are and uh turns out they had been rushed to the hospital uh because of a an issue complication with uh her babies and uh she called me later and and and she called me and my wife and and basically what had happened is one of the one of the babies uh had passed away in the in the womb they passed away in the womb and uh they they were heartbroken and and and my wife and I immediately we knew we gotta get to them tonight so when they got home from the hospital we went to them and and we were able to pray with them and encourage them and and and and and I'm just so thankful that God had uh allowed us to to have that opportunity to to minister to them I'm not about saying it to brag it's not about us amen but God has you used our experience to be able to use that amen a couple years later another one of our best friends amen was expecting a child and had a miscarriage and again God spoke to us amen say hey I've positioned you in this moment you have to understand church that what might have been a tragedy in your life God is gonna use God is going to use as a testimony to impact someone else's life don't just tell your story short it might have been the hardest thing that you've ever gone through in your life but I promise you God is gonna use it amen for good God is gonna use it for his glory God is gonna take that pain he's gonna take that mess and he's gonna turn it into a message God is gonna take your task and turn it into a testimony in the middle of it all I believe right now that God is challenging someone in this place in the middle of what you are dealing with. It's time for us to begin to call upon the name of Jesus I wonder if we can gather all over this altar. If you've got a situation that you are dealing with right now I encourage you to come if you're somebody with uncertainty in your life right now I'd encourage you to come to this altar and we're gonna pray together we're gonna see the face of God together and more importantly we're gonna worship our heavenly father for his goodness in our lives oh hallelujah Jesus hallelujah Jesus come on declare that in this house declaration