 God is good, amen. I can't hear. I said, God is good. And all the time, amen. Turn to your neighbor and tell him, you look good. Come on, say it with confidence. You look good. Okay, we're going to get straight into the message. Straight into tonight's message. It's going to be a short message, but I believe out of every message that we hear, we can get something out of it and it can change our life if we choose to. God is speaking something all the time, but it is us. If we are listening, we can change our lives, because God's word, it says that it never comes back void. So if we pay attention to God, if we open up our hearts tonight, God can speak a word into your life that can change a part of your life or your whole life if you give it a chance. Amen, church. How many guys are going to open your hearts today to God's word? Amen. Amen. Let's open up our Bibles. If you have your Bible open to judges six, verse 11, judges six, verse 11, and we have the words on the screen. So you can just pay attention to follow with me. It says, now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the turbid tree, which was an offra, which belonged to Josh, the Abbas, Abbas writes, while his son, Gideon, trashed wheat in the wine press in order to hide it from the being at nights. And verse 12, and the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, the Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor. And the message title for tonight will be mighty man of valor. So if you have your notes with you, you can write that down. We live in a generation which suffers with this disease called identity crisis. Many people do not know who they are, what they can do, what God said about them. So they begin to go from one point to another one, searching into who they are. They follow crowds, they follow opinions, they begin to make choices depending on greed, depending on fear, depending on desperation, depending on loneliness. And every single person around us is looking for the worth, looking who they are. For example, myself back in the day, I almost became a rapper like it or not. I almost did. That was this picture. I'll go back through some of our pictures back in the day. I had this beanie, this wife beater, and these huge headphones on the, going to camp on this rock throwing gang signs. I'm looking back, I'm like, Jesus, thank you for pastors and mentors. I didn't know who I was and I was searching for that. Almost five years ago, I, true story, I almost got married. It's no immense that. So it's because we look, we look for who we are in people. We look for opinions. We look into our friends to tell us who we are. We look at what the crowd is doing. We're following because we do not know who we are in Christ Jesus. Many choices are made because of fear, because of loneliness, because of desperation, because we are lacking to know and to see what God says about us. And here we read in the scripture, Gideon, he's, he is just basically somebody who's flesh and wheat and the angel of the Lord come to him and says, the Lord is with you. He says, you mighty man of valor before getting does anything before getting wins a war before getting conquers or has his achievement for defeating an enemy. God begins to tell him that you are a mighty man of valor. We have to understand before we can accomplish anything in life, before we can do anything. We have to understand our worth, who we are in God, what God says that we have and what God says that we can do. God comes to get in before he does anything before he asks, Hey, what are you doing with this wheat? Why are you hiding for people? God tells him, you are a mighty man of valor. You are not your position. You are not condition or an opinion of others. We have to understand that we have a generation that is running behind people's position. They think they are what they have accomplished. We see many people who get a degree and they begin to walk with their shoulders squared up and saying, Well, I am because of what I achieved. Many people begin to think because many are saying, Oh, you're good, you're a good soccer player, you're a good speaker, you're a good listener. So they begin to label them as somebody great. So they live their life thinking that there's something that the people and opinion of people, opinion of others, people begin to label themselves because they make six digits income. That's why they begin to feel great. People base their identity upon their position, upon their condition and opinion of others. And this is what gets many people into trouble. And then many people that I come in contact with that I talk with, they made so many mistakes because of this same issue that they base their identity on what they have and how they feel and what people say about them. And one thing that we have to understand from this scripture is that God says that you are a mighty man of valor before you can do anything. We have to understand and realize our worth before we can do anything for God. Before we have these these amazing dreams for God, before we want to become a doctor, before we want to become a basketball player or just a family man, we have to understand who we are in God. We have to understand and find out what does God say about me? Who am I? Am I what people say or why what God says about me? Am I who God says that I am? What I can do and what I have or am I the opinion of others? You have to find out who you are in Christ Jesus. And we know God's word says that we are more than conquerors. We know God's word says that we are sons and daughters of the most high God. We know that God's word says that we're kings and queens destined to reign, that we're chosen generation, we're peculiar people, that we're not our mistake, we're not our issue, we're not our past and we're not the opinion of others. Amen church? Who are you in Christ Jesus? If you do not know it will be easy for somebody to give you that label. If you do not know who you are in Christ Jesus, you can easily be swayed by opinion of others that saying you should choose this, you should do this, you should marry this person, you should choose this career and the opinion of others will begin to sway you. The pressure of other, the pressure of your peers, the pressure of this society will begin to make a toll saying you need to get this kind of car or you need to dress like this or you need to do this because you do not know who you are in Jesus Christ. I remember back in the day I used to do, I used to trade stocks and Nozzar you feel me bro? So back in the day I used to do financial things and I remember one day I was just like racking up some serious money, I think it was like one day we made like $20,000, I'm just like for real, for real, like I can't even show you the bank statements, you know, I'm not lying. And then I was just like bam, I'm doing it, I'm like get out of the house, I get in the car with style, I just slowly drive through the dealers, I'm like that wouldn't, I even go test this BMW car, get in the car and then he's like you know how I drive, I'm like put it in the first gear, start peeling, you know I'm like tomorrow you know I'll come pick up the car. The next day I find out that the bank account gets closed, that we were dealing with this Ukrainian bankers and that's when the market collapsed and all the banks closed and we lost $20,000. Then from then on I got back humbly with my niece in central, I'm like I like this car. It was so easy for because I did not know who I was in Christ Jesus, that position, that the things that I acquired made me feel like I'm this this guy who like is on top of the world whereas I'm basing my identity on things that can easily disappear. This generation they begin to mark themselves and they begin to attach their identity to material things that can easily disappear. I remember one of my friends we were talking when it was back when we were doing this whole financial thing and then you know when this whole collapse thing happened you know we I got out it was couple of like few weeks of depression you know we got back on our feet but I remember one guy that I was listening to and he was in the same thing that we were doing. The next morning what we heard a news from from all his friends is that he lost everything he had like I think it was like $500,000 and that day like he lost everything and that week we heard from his family that he just stood in front of the train and just killed himself. People in this world that attach their identity to material things that can easily disappear. Relationships, degrees, health, they begin to attach to what they acquire instead of what God says about them so they begin to make mistakes they begin to influence their life and they begin to derail from the purpose that God has created them amen. We are who God says that we are. We can do what God says that we can do and we have what God says that we have. Amen church come on put your hands together for Jesus Christ. We have to understand that tomorrow is a mystery and that we cannot base our identity on things that can easily disappear. Today we have it tomorrow we don't. Tomorrow is mystery just like in Job's life we can clearly see that if Job has tied his identity to the possession that he had one day would have wiped his name out of the face of the earth. The one day came just like that but we know that he said and he knew that tomorrow is a mystery that God only is the one that knows tomorrow but he put his trust in God it says blessed be thy name in good times and in bad times alike. We as the people of God we need to first of all know our identity in Christ Jesus who we are in God and not attach our identity to things that can easily disappear. Amen church we see another thing that we read in verse 11 that getting trashed wheat in the wine press in order to hide it from the Midianites. Getting was basically hiding. He was hiding from the enemy just living a life of survival mode living a life where he can just just do the bare minimum and we know that this is not the life that Jesus Christ died for. If God wanted you to have a life of survival he will never have to live a brutal death he didn't have to go on the cross and die the type of death that he did. Many people say well I do not want to be radical I don't know these whole dreams the whole vision that you guys have to pursue to be somebody great in life I just want to chill I just want to relax little do they know that this whole chill period is never chilled that they're going to become radical in one way or the other you cannot stay in the middle that you can't have gray you either have white or black you either be passionate for God and go all out for God or you're going to be very passionate in depression you're going to be very passionate into drugs you're going to be very passionate into party life in things that can destroy you but you cannot live a life that is just chill you cannot there is no neutral ground you cannot sit on the fence in this life you might sit in the fence for one day but it will never last more than a week you either will go all the way for God or sooner or later you're going to go all the way for depression for sickness for anxiety for fear for those things that will destroy your life and we see in the scripture getting was just hiding the light was just was just wanting to survive was wanting to live a life that is just normal but God comes to him and he says you are a mighty man of valor before he did anything he had to realize that I am more than an overcomer in Christ Jesus I can do all things through Christ who give me strength I am a chosen generation I am a destined queen for God's glory can somebody put your hand together for Jesus Christ I am not my appearance I am not my mistake I am not my past I am not what my parents labeled me as I am not what other people think of me I am I am what God says I am and that change is not because God's word says that heaven and earth will pass away but my words will always remain the same that means if God says that you are an apple of his eye that you are his beloved that you are his child that means that does not change you have to see yourself the way God sees you in order for you to accomplish the things that God has for your life God has placed a dream a vision as something beautiful in each one of us when in order for us to access that we have to see yourself the way God sees the same man church another thing that we cannot expect a lot from people and expect a little bit from God it has to be different way around we have to expect a lot from God and little from people we have to expect and get our strength and our energy everything from God than from people because we know one thing is sure and certain with people is that they have the tendency to disappoint they have the tendency to disappoint don't expect a lot from people from your family maybe from your friends maybe you're looking for the acceptance from people except expect it from God maybe you're looking for the acceptance from your work or or your degree or everything that you're looking for look for that acceptance in Christ Jesus because he is our hope he is our strength and he's our joy in Jesus name and man church another thing that we see we can get from this scripture is God comes to Gideon and he says in verses did we read verse 14 no we did not read verse 14 let's read for verse 14 real fast judges six verse 14 is just it goes later on it says that then the Lord turned to him it says go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midinites have I not sent you so he said to him oh my lord how can I save Israel indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I'm the least in my father's house and the Lord said to him surely I will be with you and you shall defeat Midinites as one man after God comes to Gideon he says that you are a mighty man of valor the second thing that he says he says go and rescue my people go and fight for the people of Israel after we find out our identity in Christ Jesus we need to realize another thing is that God wants us to be fighting for his people many people think that you know it's like we're talking about our lifestyle has to be only winning people we can't work we can't have a job we can't do anything that we like we just have to be bringing people to church and that's all we have to do no there's a difference between a purpose and a calling there's a difference between a career and a calling career is something that you choose in school something that you like to do for example if it's you know being a technician or is it being car mechanic is it being engineer is it be a soccer player is it be just a driver or whatever it is going to be that is your career that's something that you love to do something that you get money for and something that will not hurt people that is your career but your calling is chosen for you it's chosen when Jesus Christ has that in the cross and you accepted him into your life and you say God I belong to you that is your calling is to fight for God's people so career it's something that you can change anytime you can start off being a rapper like me and ended up being I don't know what I am now but I'll let you guys know or you can you know become a just a family man or somebody that just loves to do bare minimum that is your career and that's something that you can change anytime but your calling can never change your calling is one thing and that's the instruction that Jesus Christ has given to us he says go into the all world win souls and make disciples baptizing name and the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to do everything that I've told you that is your calling that's something that can ever change that's something that we're obligated to do as a Christians and God comes to you get in he says go and fight for my people we as people we need to understand that many things many dreams many many talents will be unlocked when we begin to reach out for God's people I talked about a message one time is that how David reached the throne how David became a king was his first desire was to fight for God's people he did not even have in mind I'm I'm gonna go fight for these people I'm gonna become a king no David said first that I want to rescue God's people and the rescuing God's people has led him to his throne same thing with our with our lives many of us we have amazing dreams that God has placed inside of us our calling has to usher us into our dream winning people fighting for God's people rescuing God's people has to usher us to become what we want to be to be in our career you can be a doctor still you can have a place and a time where you can fight for God's people you can be just a housewife or you can be an engineer you can be a stalker player but in that career that you're chosen you are still obligated to do what God has called you to do is to fight for God's people we have to do what matters to God the most we have to make what matters the most matter to us is rescuing God's people saying that God I will fight for them we are called for one purpose only is to see souls being changed to see people get out of their addictions to see people who are bounded by drugs being set free to see people who are under the curse of sickness seeing them being healed seeing lives being changed that is our calling and that is what God wants us to do doesn't despite our career so I remember there was a time in our church where we literally didn't know the difference between career and a calling we did not know I remember a surgery a poor guy I was like counseling him I don't know what I was doing to him we were talking I was like remember he was like man I don't know what God wants me to do for you I'm like let's fast bro we like fast for like seven days I think he did I just did like two or one I'm like I don't know bro we were just plagued with this thing is what does God wants us to do like it's for sure has to be something with holding the mic preaching being a worship team or flipping we had these like paper slides for worship you know how you guys have so you would like put in this projector and that would be up on the screen so that was one of the callings and we were like we have to do something in church this is our life you know we did not know the difference between career and a calling and tonight we have to let you know that career is something that you love doing something that does not that does not hurt people something that you get money for but your calling can never change because that's what God has chosen when he went on the cross to see people's lives being changed for the glory of God and man church and one thing that we see in verse 15 that getting tells to God before before God's like okay you go do this getting is like hey how can I save Israel indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my father's house before the getting is like it's not even thinking about about rescuing God's people he's like hey my family is like weak I don't I'm weak I don't know I'm the weakest I don't know what to do I don't know why do you've been chosen me to do these things and I was thinking about that it's like sometimes God is he works in such a mysterious ways if you look throughout the Bible God always chose people because of the weakness if you see anybody that God comes to Moses and he's like Moses can't even speak he says you're gonna lead a nation out of out of the strongest empire in the world this and Moses like you know he can't even speak right I mean if you really think about logically if you think about it it did not make sense God comes to anoint David to be king and and David's not even in the house where the where the thing is going supposed to have David is not even considered as a son of Jesse before he gets anointed David is just a young young boy who just spends time with sheep and and God says that you will be the king we see Paul and Peter you see their lives how the weaknesses were so big who Paul was a murderer and God says to him that I'll you'll be the one to who have the foundation of the church Peter you're the rock and Peter's just like I'm far from rock I don't even know what you're talking about rock I can't even make up my mind and God begins to choose people not because of the strength but because of the weakness begins to say because God knows that if we rely upon God's strength our weakness becomes perfect in his strength our weakness begins to turn to strength our fear begins to turn into strong faith when we rely upon God God begins to take us from somebody that is so weak into becoming a man of valor just like we read in the bible we cannot be able to identify our lives according to our weaknesses according to what we've done or the mistakes or the things that we left undone because God says my strength will become perfect in your weakness my courage will become perfect in your cowardice because all your strength all your might will come from me and I do not change I am the beginning and I'm the end I am the often I'm the mega and I do not change we cannot look at our lives according to our weakness but know that our weakness can be turned to strength if we give it a chance for God amen church I mean if you look at this story it's ridiculous because the task that God had I mean thank God like God is like okay you're gonna deliver this you're gonna go against an army with 300 people against like this vast I mean probably getting it would have lost his mind and continue treaching the wheat or whatever he was doing you know if God just begins to tell him that hey this is you you're a mighty man and and he's like I'm weak I don't know if I can do it and God's like no my strength will become with you you you walk with me I'll give you directions and you will conquer this city we've seen in this this bible is is the less the more the more weak we are the more strength God can give us the more perfect we are the less available and the less surrendered we are to God we read in the scripture and we see a young ruler who's like Jesus he comes to Jesus and he says God I've did everything I'm like you know you picked your disciples who are fishermen you don't even know what to do we don't even know the law they're just like stink like fish and they they don't know what to do with these nets and they they can't catch a fish you know I fulfilled all righteous I did all this law I know how to love God I know how to love my neighbor but Jesus says give up everything and follow me it seemed like he was a perfect candidate for God's ministry for to become the 12 disciples to become this this rock who God's gonna build this church but yet he could not surrender his life to Jesus the more perfect we are the less surrendered we become to God's will the more strong that we think that oh I have these things I'm gonna use for God the less surrendered that will become to God's will we see that our our weakness begins to turn to strength if we give our lives to Jesus Christ God is not looking for perfect God is not looking for strong but God is looking for availability God is looking who is available to go and to do what I have called you to do this is my people are being suffered my people are being destroyed under the hand of midden eyes they're being struck down in drugs that generation is being swiped by by media by all these things by sickness by witchcraft by adultery by all these things and God is looking not for perfection God says who is willing to go who is willing to answer my call who is willing to stand in the gap and fight for my people we cannot look we cannot look at what we cannot do we cannot look that we cannot speak or we cannot do this or do that we just have to look that God says my strength will become perfect in your weakness you mighty man of valor looking back when we when we first begin we started this church when we first when our pastor had a vision to to be able to see thousands saved to see people being healed being delivered I mean if you looked at our group it's just it's pitiful I mean you see a grown man 35 a pastor just looking a bunch of teenagers saying you're gonna win the city for Jesus so we're like guys we're gonna rob Goodwill next week literally that was our minds were like man this is a Schwinn bike came out you know it's our Goodwill right now or rob that story I mean that was going through our mind if you logically if you look at that I mean I thank God for pastors for come on give it up for our pastor that's who didn't give up on us and I mean seriously just looking at our lives it's when we were at that point on the beginning and that's I can relate it to the the story of Gideon from the story of Gideon because that's what God saw I mean he saw a guy who was hiding from people guy who's weak who comes out of the weak family weak clan and God sees in him and he says you are a mighty man of valor God says I my strength become perfect in your weakness you can rescue generation you see people being saved you see people being healed being delivered you see to your center being filled for the glory of God will be packed with services you see that this place will be too small you'll see people being healed from a curable diseases these things will happen to you but you have to realize that your weakness is not a hindrance to God because he says that my strength become perfect in your weakness amen church how many of you guys gonna answer the call that God has for us and next week we have is coming up a miracle catch this is a perfect way a perfect opportunity for us to be able to answer the call and to be able to fight for God for what God has has given us as a as a call I see people saved I see this generation being rescued from the hand of the enemy to see generation being rescued from the grip of drugs of sickness of immorality all these things are how can we answer the call that God has for us is inviting people reaching out to people how the we just shared a wonderful word there's no better way to be able to describe it and to tell you how you can reach out to a lost generation there's no better way last week I had a chance to be able to go visit a guy in the hospital who's just who's suffering from drugs from from just so many bad choices and you see his life and it's just Satan is just destroyed it completely you know and had opportunity just an hour just to share with him what you know what kind of plans that God has for him you know it just I'm like hey my God loves you God wants to see you delivered from these drugs from all these things the same just destroying your life you know God can help you and to see in this is his eyes and he's like man I hate this life he's like I wanted to take my if I want to commit suicide I just I hate this life somebody help me how many people are like that in Tri-Cities how many people are that like that in your in your circle of friends on on Facebook on Instagram and your college place where you work out at so many people are just surrounded and they're just brought down by this by this meeting that's by Satan who has captured them and he's holding them down many people are in this place can testify that they were once in that position but somebody said God I will go I will fight for your people and that's where your result in your sitting here today but how many people are still waiting for you to go how many people are still waiting for you to step out and say God I know weak I know I'm not perfect I know I have faults I know I messed up I know I have a past but I'm saying yes I'm willing to go I'm willing to fight I'm willing to stand and to see a generation being rescued from the grip of Satan I'm seeing I'm willing to stand in a gap and say that God my generation will be a generation that will seek after your face they will not seek after drugs they will not seek after morality and pride and greed and all these things but they will seek under your face God I'm choosing to say yes God I'm choosing to go forward God I'm gonna fight I don't know how I'll do I I know I'm weak but God I know that you said that I am a mighty man of valor I believe it I believe I'm gonna go I'm going to do it God is looking for you to step out and say that God is looking we have many people I mean we're talking on Facebook how many people are waiting for that encouragement word or we're talking about when we go to the gym or we're talking about when we go to the park or things like that people are being destroyed by Satan and there's somebody is waiting for you to step out and to do what God has called you to do and the last point I want to talk about is that God said to verse 16 he said to Gideon and the Lord said to him surely I'll be with you and you shall defeat the Midinites as one man third point is our relationship and not our work we have to understand in order for us to go with God in order for us to be able to to do what God's called and you have to have the relationship with God we have to have the relationship with the Holy Spirit you cannot be with one person for such a long time and not to get to know them and when God says I got God says to Gideon I will go with you he met the look I'm going to guide you I'm going to give you instructions I'm going to give you how you're going to defeat your enemy but you have to be willing to know and to understand and to obey our relationship with the Holy Spirit is not something that we just say that our I know the Holy Spirit it has to be that the Holy Spirit knows us our life does not begin when we get Holy Spirit but when Holy Spirit gets us many people can proclaim and profess that you know they know the Holy Spirit but how many people does Holy Spirit know how many people that when they walk and they speak the Holy Spirit backs up on what they speak our relationship with the Holy Spirit has to be the fundamental because we see the victory for getting came only when he obeyed the instructions of the Lord we can only conquer this generation and to be able to see people save to see miracles to see signs of wonders like it says in the bible when we developed our relationship with the Holy Spirit when we get to know and when we obey his voice want the first thing first few I want to just give you a few points on how to get to know the Holy Spirit number one is make a decision to stay with the Holy Spirit forever because Holy Spirit has made a decision to never leave you or forsake you number two is make time in your daily schedule for the Holy Spirit this is a wonderful opportunity that we have in our church and I just thank God for a church because I have not heard a church around here that has morning prayers from from as early as even three in the morning where you can come and you can develop that relationship with the Holy Spirit gives you an opportunity so we want to challenge our vision and our goal is actually to see a 24-hour prayer being offered here at church the prayer never stops if we're going to see right now I mean before for us was like when you said 430 in the morning I was like 430 in the morning I'm like it's but now it's like five in the morning it's easy became easy now we're pushing further because we have a generation that is dying and we know that unless we get to know the Holy Spirit unless we have Holy Spirit with us we cannot accomplish and we cannot see the victory that God has for us number three is come back when you make a mistake it's very important that when we make a mistake which we all will do that will be first ones to run to God before Satan does when we make a mistake which we all do that will be the first ones to run to God before the devil does and number four is obey the Holy Spirit obey his voice we see from the life of getting that getting he makes a history he makes it change he transforms a nation of Israel because he chooses to obey the instructions of the Holy Spirit he rewrites the history of his family he rewrites the history of his generation becomes to accomplish things that it's not even impossible to understand how he accomplished it but because with Holy Spirit he obeyed the instructions of Holy Spirit he became a man of valor it became a one who made a difference in his generation and has changed the history of Israel we tonight as people of God as Christians as believers when we choose to obey the Holy Spirit we begin to know the Holy Spirit we'll be able to see a generation that is saved we'll be able to see our friends our family being rescued from affliction from bondages from sickness from drugs we'll be able to see a generation being saved from the grip of the enemy we'll be able to see our lives being changed for his glory but we have to answer the call that God has for us saying that God I will go and to begin to go and to be able to develop that relationship with the Holy Spirit