Our First Service — Overcoming Fear

Welcome guys. Welcome to our church. Um I am so thankful that all of you guys came out. I uh was hoping for, you know, 20 people and um I think we got a few more than that.

So that's good. And there may be some some people walking in. So um I really appreciate you guys. This is a first um our first time our launch, okay?

So um do not despise the little things. It's um it's a uh a neat adventure that we're starting here and um I'm so thankful that you guys came. I appreciate you. Um this church, I want it to become a place where ultimately um it's a place where we can come get, you know, feel community, get fired up, go back into our own individual um spheres of influence because your ministry is the workplace and and your family and and that stuff.

And I want you to get encouraged when you're here. We want to stick to the truth of God's word and we want to um just uh glorify him and hopefully uh his spirit will be here today. Can everyone hear me? Okay.

>> Okay. Perfect. So the mics that's one thing you know I'm nervous about you know. So uh let me pray real quick and then Gabriel is going to lead us in some worship and um we'll get going.

Heavenly Father Lord I thank you so much for this day. I thank you for the rain slowing down here as we're about to start. Lord, I thank you for these beautiful people. Some I haven't seen in 15, 20 years.

And uh they just showed up to affirm and um support and and it's just very beautiful that they came. Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit is here. I pray that you move in power um and that you um change lives and hearts today, Lord. And um please work through your servants here in Jesus name.

Amen. >> Amen. >> Go my man. Can you hear me?

Can you hear me? >> Yep. >> Okay. >> How about a hand for Gabriel?

He uh So, I don't know if you know, but it is nearly impossible to find music people when you start a church. Okay. I had no idea. Um I'm thinking it's, you know, going to be no problem.

Do you realize that most of the people that you see at these mega churches are actually gig musicians? like they don't they don't a lot of them don't even go there. They're just paid, you know, to play the gig. And and so, uh it's tough to find music people, you know, and so Gabriel stepped in.

He's um all this AV he all that up. I mean, I I don't know any of it. And um he did everything. So, um I really appreciate you.

You really uh you really have helped me a lot. Um today, I'm going to talk about putting away fear. Okay? And um I just want to pray real quick for the Holy Spirit to to move in what we're going to do here.

Lord, I just pray that um your spirit move, Lord, today. I know a lot of these people here, but you know what's in their hearts and what's on their minds. And Lord, I just pray that um they get they get the message today that you want them to hear. And Lord, just use your servant here, Lord.

And uh let let your Holy Spirit come upon this place in Jesus name I pray. Amen. So, we're going to learn from Moses um today. Moses was one of the players of the Old Testament.

Okay? He he um he uh wrote the first five books of the Bible. Okay? Only um Paul wrote more.

He led the Israelites out of Egypt. He ten Commandments. They did a movie about him, you know. And um and when Jesus was transfigured, it was Moses and Elijah who came to to be there.

Okay, so Moses is one of the biggies. And yet we're going to learn here that Moses had fear just as well. The passage is in Exodus 3, and this is the burning bush. Um which which many of you know there was a bush that was burning.

Moses is out there working his father-in-law's stuff, and a bush is burning, but it's not being consumed. And Moses steps aside to look at it. And God is going to call Moses to his purpose for his life. Okay?

And God has a purpose for each one of the lives in this room. Okay? See a lot of young people here. Fastest growing group in America are young men.

And there's a lot of young 20 to 24 year old men I see in this place. So that's beautiful. Um, [Music] and God has a plan for you. Jeremiah 29:11 says he he knows the plans he has for you.

Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Okay? So, just like he's calling Moses here, there's a purpose. Everyone in this room, there's something that God wants you to do in your life.

And so, hopefully we're going to get something from this that'll help you on your journey um alone. We're at Exodus 3 and I'm going to begin reading in verse 7. Man, it's up there. The stuff's working so far.

This is good. I don't want to jinx it, but this is, you know, good. Our jumbotron, you know, you like it. It's good.

You know, how about the Christmas tree, >> right? >> Christmas all year round. This is just this is a beautiful place. Glenn, thank you for letting us um uh be here.

So, Gen Exodus 3 verse 7. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt, and I've heard their cry because of their task masters. For I know their sorrows. So I've come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land to a land flowing with milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the parasites and the Hippites and Jeepites.

Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel have has come to me and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. So that's his mission statement, right? That's that's God calling him to his purpose.

And and so what I want to learn from this is is is see Moses's response to God calling him to his purpose. So in verse uh I think it's 13 there. But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Okay, first thing is, "Who am I?"

Have you ever been there where you're like, "God, I know you want me to do this, but who am I?" Um, preach, you know, I'm not a preacher, man. Um, and God here affirms him. He says, "So he said, I will certainly be with you, and this will be a sign that I have sent you when you have brought the people out of Egypt.

you shall serve God on this mountain. So he affirms him. Then Moses said, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent you." And they say to me, "What is his name?

What shall I say?" So another objection. And God says to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you."

And the rest of chapter 3 there, God actually describes to Moses exactly what's going to happen. the plagues even that they'll come out of Egypt with all of their their jewel jewelry and stuff. He he explains everything to him. Okay.

So now Moses knows the story how it's going to roll. Okay. And in verse four in chapter 4 verse one, we see Moses's response to being told exactly how it's going to go. Then Moses answered, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice.

Suppose they say the Lord has not appeared to you." Again, so much doubt, right? Have you ever been there where you're like, "Well, what if what if what if they don't listen to me? What if what if I fail?

What if, you know, they they they ridicule me?" Um, and so the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod." And he said, "Cast it on the ground."

And so God now gives him three signs. He casts a rod on the ground which becomes a snake. He then grabs a snake and it turns back into a rod. He tells him to put his hand in his lapel, bring it out.

He has leprosy. put it back in. He doesn't have leprosy. And then he tells him to pour water on the ground and it will turn to blood.

Okay? And so God gives him three signs. And down here in chapter 4:10, we see Moses's response. Oh my Lord, I'm not eloquent, neither before nor since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.

Now, at this point, man, he's just doesn't want to do it, right? He's just scared, man. Moses the great, you know, is scared. And God's starting to get a little agitated with him.

He goes, so after he says, "I'm slow of speech and tongue," the Lord says, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf and the and the seeing or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go and I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say."

It's pretty much saying, "Dude, got to listen to me now. All right, go." Um, and Moses says, "Oh my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send." Basically, he says, "Dude, pick anyone but me."

And then God, this should scare anyone. Um, verse 14, it says, "So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses." Okay, you don't want to be in a place where God is mad at you. Okay, and that's that's what he got to.

Now, ultimately, he sent Aaron with him and Moses did did obey. But what what the message here is is that that fear is a common amongst all of us. Everyone comes up against fear at some point in time in their lives. Okay?

Especially when we're called Hoping this is working. especially when they're called to do something for the Lord, it's often fear can can creep in. Okay? If you don't do what God says because of fear, then you don't really trust the Lord.

Okay? Let me say that again. If you don't do what God says because of fear, then you don't really trust the Lord. >> So, so we have to be very careful.

And before we criticize Moses, let's take a step back and and and look at ourselves. Okay? So Moses is being told what to do from a burning bush. So God's outside of him.

If you're a New Testament believer and you've asked Jesus into your heart, then you've got God inside of you. Okay? And so that's better. Is it safer inside the house or outside the house?

It's better inside. Okay? So we've got God inside of us. Okay?

So we got an edge over old Moses. But then God affirmed Moses. He told him in chapter 3, "I will certainly be with you." Well, God affirms us in Matthew 28 verses uh 18.

Man, you are on it, Gabriel. Um Jesus now God says, "All authority has been given to me on heaven and earth and under the earth." Um go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you. and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Okay, so God tells Moses he'll certainly be with them. God tells us he'll certainly be with us. Okay, that he'll always be with us. All right, he told Moses then after he affirmed Moses, he gave Moses the plan.

What would happen? He gave us the plan. We know how the story ends, right? Spoiler alert, we win.

Okay. Um, we end up in heaven. Satan ends up in the lake of fire for all eternity, right? So, we know how this story ends.

There really should be nothing to fear. And how many people, and you got to raise your hand here, how many people have seen God do something in your life, answer a prayer, do anything in your life? Okay, everyone in this room pretty much. All right, those are signs.

Okay, the signs he gave him, he also gave us. When God answers a prayer for you or God does something in your life, that's the creator of the universe, okay, saying, "Hey, I exist and you're important enough for me to answer this prayer or to move in your life." How cool is that? The creator of the universe cares enough about you to move into your little everyday little life.

And that's a beautiful thing. So despite having God inside of us and God affirming us and God telling us how the story ends and him giving us signs, we often are still afraid. So the answer is why. Okay, I want you to write this down if you got a thing because this came to me.

The heart of fear is self. It's self. What if they don't listen to me? What if I fail?

What if they don't hear me? Me. Okay. But I'm afraid.

What did Moses say? You know, send anyone other than me. Okay. Uh what if they don't believe me?

All right. When when we when we back away from something that God's told us to do, it's it's because we're focusing on self. When Jesus was walking on the water, okay, and Peter wanted to go out and walk with him. He said, "Come."

And Peter starts walking on the water. All right? But because he was looking at Jesus, but then he started looking around and he started sinking. Why?

He took his eyes off of Jesus. The the the the way to overcome that self is to focus on Jesus. Okay? When we focus on Jesus, that takes care of that fear or it should.

Okay? We focus on the Lord and we step forward in fa faith. It was July one. I had already put out there that we're going to launch August 3rd and uh I was having a meltdown, man.

Uh I couldn't find any music people, okay? Um I I didn't even have a website. The guy was going to have do my website said, "I'm too busy." So like I don't I mean I'm supposed to launch a month.

I got nothing. Okay. I don't have music. I don't have The only thing I had was I knew a place, you know?

Um and God got all over me and said, "It's not about you, >> okay? It's all about me." I'm the one who launches this church, not you. You're just a tool.

>> Okay? And >> and from that point on, I wasn't as worried about it. Now, I'll be honest, there's periods of nervousness, right? What if no one shows up, right?

You know, you know, but but I would have to remind myself the people will show up that are supposed to be here. Okay? So, everyone here was supposed to be here and I'm very thankful for those that are here. Did Moses part the Red Sea or did God?

All right. God parted the Red Sea and God started this church. There's been so many little things like I wouldn't have met Gabriel if my daughter hadn't been sick and we hadn't gone up to the North Georgia mountains. Like that's I couldn't have orchestrated that, you know?

Um calling Glenn and saying if he had a a if he could use this location, him going why you want to start a church? That's okay. Affirmation, right? And just it all from July one to now everything came together.

It's just amazing just in one month. you know, he he at the start of the year, I had no idea I was going to start a church. It wasn't in my plan. Okay?

And so, God will sometimes call you. And so, I want to ask you, what are you afraid of? Okay? Are you called to serve somewhere and and you've hesitated because of time?

Are you called to witness to someone at your work and you've kind of hesitated because of fear? Have you um felt led to begin to give more to something and and you you've held back because you're concerned about money and you may not, you know, be able to afford your finances. What is it that you're afraid of? Maybe God's telling you, maybe you feel led to to move forward in a relationship.

Maybe you feel led to leave a relationship. Maybe you feel maybe you're afraid of the end times, which I think are are are coming soon. Okay. Um maybe that that that scares you.

Maybe you feel the tug of Jesus calling you to ask him into your heart and you are a little bit afraid of doing that. Hey guys, welcome. Sorry to make a whole big scene about you. Come on.

So, these are the things I'm going to learn as I go, right? You know, you don't have to call people out. Hey, thanks. Right.

What do I know? This is my first time. So, but there's really nothing to fear as a Christian. Okay.

Romans 8:28 says that all things work for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Okay? All things. That means even if this church ultimately fails, just the having gone through opening it up, the growth I've had over the last month or two, it's a success because of what it's preparing me for.

Because we've got to realize that once we get to heaven, we're going to have jobs up there. Okay? We're not going to be sitting on clouds playing harps for all of eternity. Okay?

That's that's a cartoon thing from the 70s if you used to watch like Bugs Bunny. Um but but that's not real. We we really are actually going to have jobs and we'll get rewards for things we've done here. And God knows what role he wants us to play up there.

We don't, right? And so if God's telling you to do something down here, it's because he's preparing you for that. And and the best thing you can do is say yes, Lord. You know, be like Forest Gump because you told me to drill sergeant, right?

Just just just do exactly what he says without risk. Okay? And and we may think we're being humble by saying, "Well, maybe, you know, we're not." But but actually, it was very insulting to God, okay, that Moses kept saying, "No, because he's basically telling God, you don't know what you're doing, bro.

You know, you you're picking the wrong guy. You don't know what you're doing. You can't tell the creator of the universe he doesn't know what he's doing. It's not a smart place to be.

And so I can pump up and and try to get you motivated, but at the end of the day, it's something that you guys have to break through. Okay? Maybe you say, "I'm not sure if it's in God's will that I should do this or that." Okay?

The presence of fear in your life is an indication that that's where you need to be walking into. Okay? With the exception of the fear of the Lord, every other fear shouldn't be there. So, if you have a fear in your life, you feel like you need to be doing something, but you're afraid to take that step, okay, that's a great indication that that's exactly the step you need to take because God's going to be with you and that's who's calling you to do that thing.

Okay? So, if you're sitting here and you're curious about that, understand that the presence of fear in an area of self that God wants you to move through. Okay? So, what are you afraid of?

What's in your mind right now as I'm as I'm saying these things? What's the thing that you're thinking about um that you know God wants you to do and you're holding back from it? Okay. God wants you to trust him, not you.

Okay? He wants you to trust him. Put down the fear and move forward. Remember, we were commissioned.

Okay? That I read it the minute ago, the great commission. We were commissioned. We we go with God's power and authority if we'll just step out in faith, okay, and do what he tells us to do.

First John 4:18 says, "Perfect love casts out fear." Okay? Perfect love was Jesus. So, we just have to focus on Jesus.

Okay? And that will cast out that fear. All right? And then we can move forward with it.

So, Gabriel, come on up. So, I want to ask, what is it that you're afraid of? All right. Um, what is the thing that you're sitting there thinking, man, I know I know God's telling me to do this and and I I'm just not doing it.

I want you to to let today be the day you make a real decision to throw that fear down. Okay? come on up here and and throw that fear down. Let me pray over you and and and stand up and walk out of here, okay?

With more power and authority to do the thing that you want to do. And you may say, "I can do that from my from my chair." When you bring it up here, you make it symbolic because it's one thing to be brave here. It's another thing on Monday morning when you're going to witness to that person, okay?

to say, "Hey, and you can remember in your mind, hey, I laid it down right here. Okay, I don't know where you stand with your relationship with Jesus Christ." Okay? Um, you know, my six kids were the people who greeted you at the door.

I'm their I'm their dad, right? But for God, there are times where I feel literally like he is kind of cradling me at at those tough times. Okay? I might be their dad, but I'm his little boy.

Okay? I'm God's little boy. And and he loves you the same way. Okay?

And you need a relationship like that in your life. You just do. You need someone who's bigger, stronger, you know, knows everything. You just need that relationship in your life.

I don't know how people go through life, honestly, without it. Life is hard, man. I don't even know how you do it. And so if you've not asked Jesus into your heart, man, I beg you to come on up and let's settle that, man.

Let's bring it up. Let's Let's not be afraid to come up. We're talking a fear message. Not be afraid to come up because you don't want to take that step.

Today's the day of salvation. >> Let's bring it up now. Okay? If there's something you're afraid of, bring it up now.

Maybe you're sitting there still with guilt and shame from things you did 10 years ago. Okay, I know there's people in here like that. All right, put it down. You're not accepting God's grace.

See, when the power of grace is the power to remove the shame and the guilt to bring you out of the light so that the devil has no ability to mess with you as long as you're in the the light. It's when you're in the darkness and that shame and guilt keeps you in the darkness. Okay. But when you accept his grace and really move through it, you don't have to have, okay, shame or guilt anymore.

That thing is gone. And that's a beautiful thing. It's it's so beautiful. And so freedom is on the other side of that fear.

Okay? The thing God has for you, the purpose he has for you, it's on the other side of that fear. Okay? and and the way to move through that fear and the way to go through it, okay, is to just step out and focus on Jesus.

Okay? So, anyone want to come forward, be bold? You want to, you know, do um and uh and lay it down. I'll go ahead and pray for all of us, okay?

And um and then we're going to do two neat things before we leave. So, heavenly father, I know there's people in this place that needed this message because you gave me this message, Lord. And I know that there um maybe not want to come forward because of that fear that we're talking about, Lord. But I just pray that you will break through that fear.

I pray that whatever it is that you're calling everyone in this room to Lord, that you will move in it and through it, Lord. I just pray that you will help them to keep eyes focused on you, Lord. And if there's someone here, Lord, who needs to know you, Lord, I just pray that they'll come up afterwards and talk to me.

And um Lord, I just pray that your will be done in each person's life here and that you'll move with them this week so that they can make a difference in their families and in their communities and touch the people that I can't. And Lord, I just thank you in advance for all that you're doing and all that you're going to do in these people's lives in Jesus name. Amen.