Hey this is pastor John Ryan Cantu from PNEUMA church in Houston texas thank you for listening

to the message today i hope that it blesses you and all those that you share it with god bless you

Praise God.

Can I tell you that I think every time we gather, Sunday after Sunday,

it's another reminder to the enemy that he's lost.

He was hoping he didn't show up today.

He was hoping that you finally threw in the towel.

You got to that point, you said, you know what?

God's not for me.

But you showed up in the house of God with your hands raised

and your eyes towards heaven.

Singing, he is worthy.

Praise God.

God is good.

All the time.

Amen.

Praise the Lord.

Man, what a beautiful spirit this morning.

And I don't want to disturb it.

This morning, I have the privilege of receiving today.

I'm going to be receiving the word today.

It's my first break since December.

and I praise God because I know that there's this woman of God who's going to bring the word.

And if you don't know, if you don't know Sister Claudia, Claudia does so much for our church.

She does it all for free and she does it with excellence.

But I also know that there is a word in her.

There is a fire in her.

In fact, that's the first time we met her was her singing and bringing the word.

And that's when Joelle knew that he had to have, he had to make her his.

But she's got a word this morning that I believe is anointed.

And I want to pray over you, Claudia, real quick.

Over this word that I know that God spoke to you and you spent time yesterday on your birthday preparing.

Happy birthday, by the way.

If you would extend your hand.

Holy God, I thank you, my God, for my sister, Lord.

I thank you, my God, because you have anointed her, Father God, to bring this word, Lord.

And I pray that everything that is said today would not be from her lips, my God, but from your mouth, Holy Spirit.

I pray, Father God, that you would bring conviction and restoration through this word, my God,

that you would bring salvation this morning, Father God.

You draw people into you, Father God, that people would say yes to you this morning, Father God.

Prepare our hearts as we receive your word this morning, my God.

We give you honor.

We give you glory.

In Jesus' mighty name, amen and amen.

Hallelujah.

I almost thought I wasn't going to preach this morning.

Holy Spirit moving in this place.

Hallelujah.

I give thanks to God first and foremost for allowing me this opportunity.

And of course, my loving pastors for this opportunity.

It's a privilege to give the word of God to you this morning.

So I want to go ahead and get started.

If we will turn in our word to Deuteronomy 31, 1 through 8.

And when you have it, you can just shout aloud, amen.

Amen. Praise God.

Deuteronomy 31, 1 through 8.

And it says, when Moses had finished giving these instructions to all the people of Israel,

he said, I am now 120 years old and I am no longer able to lead you.

The Lord has told me you will not cross the Jordan River,

but the Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you.

He will destroy the nations living there,

and you will take possession of their land.

Joshua will lead you across the river just as the Lord promised.

The Lord will destroy the nations living in the land

just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, the king of the Amorites.

The Lord will hand over to you the people who live there,

and you must deal with them as I have commanded you.

So be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid and do not panic before them.

For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.

He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

That's 42 right here.

Then Moses called for Joshua.

And as all Israel watched, he said to him,

Be strong and courageous.

For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them.

you are the one who will divide it among them as their grants of land do not be afraid or

discouraged for the lord will personally go ahead of you he will be with you he will neither fail you

nor abandon you hallelujah you can go ahead and take your seat this morning i was going to pray

but pastor prayed for me so i'm going to take it

And I will warn you, this was a difficult preaching message for me.

So I might need a box of Kleenex up here, somebody.

I've titled my message this morning, Strong and Courageous.

Hallelujah.

How many of us can say that this morning?

Strong and courageous.

And so before I get into the word, the scripture that we just read, I kind of want to start off by giving you a little bit of an intro of, I guess, how I got this word, how God impressed this word on me.

And I would like to do that by honoring the legacy of someone very special in my life.

So recently, I lost someone very special to me.

She was a true woman of God.

I told you.

A person who left an undeniable impact on her family, her church, her community, and on me.

She took care of us for many years, and eventually we started calling her grandma.

You know someone is special when they earn a title like that.

her passing just days before Christmas has been something that I've deeply reflected on

she lived a life firmly planted on Christ the solid rock no circumstance moved her because her faith was unwavering she didn panic or doubt she prayed Her favorite place to be was on her knees

She taught me how to pray at a young age,

how to read the Bible in Spanish,

and I'm convinced that because of her,

I was filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit

and baptized in water at 12 years old.

I don't believe in coincidences, and I've told you guys that before.

And last week when pastors spoke on prayer, even though we were on vacation, we heard the preaching.

I couldn't help but think of my grandma.

She was a true prayer warrior.

Every morning she woke up early to pray.

She lived loud and proud for Jesus.

She read the word, listened to preachings, worshiped, and most of all, she prayed.

When she went to church, you hardly ever saw her sitting in her bench.

From the moment she arrived until the moment service ended, she was on her knees in prayer.

She wasn't someone people went to just for godly wisdom and advice.

People sought her out for prayer because when she said she was praying for you, you knew she meant it.

We even had people say that at the funeral, like she was one of the few that when you went to her, you know, some people say like, I'm praying for you.

And you're like, yeah, yeah.

She wasn't one of those.

She was one of those hermanas that you could count on.

Losing grandma hit me hard.

It still does.

And yet, even in her absence, God continues using her life as a testimony.

And I praise him for it.

I even remember as she was in the hospital, she had already received her news of what was going on with her.

She was in there still talking to the nurses and, you know, witnessing to them about Jesus.

At grandma's funeral, I spoke with the pastor, and she said something that hasn't left me.

She told me she wasn't doing too well because her prayer warriors were passing away.

That really saddened me.

but I also believe God has impressed that moment on me for a reason.

For weeks, God has been speaking to us about holiness, revival, prayer,

and I believe he continues to speak to us today.

As the days have gone by, I've realized that this pastor wouldn't have felt such a loss

if spiritual pillars like my grandma were still around.

That made me ask, where are the ones who will take their place?

And before I continue, don't get me wrong, we have spiritual pillars,

but there simply aren't enough of them.

We have a need for more of these.

I remember a while ago someone had a dream about a few counted pillars in our church this was years

ago I've been here 10 years and a few is not enough it made me think about pillars that are

needed for a building so I looked it up for an average size house I think it was like 1500 square

feet. It needs between six and ten pillars. And we know it's comparing, we're not comparing the

same thing, right? But PNEUMA Church is way bigger than the average house. We need more pillars to

sustain the house of God. So this is where we get into recognizing the need. And we're going to talk

about Moses and Joshua. The passage we read talks about Moses in his old age, no longer being able

to lead Israel. Who was Moses? Moses was a spiritual pillar in Israel. He was their founding

leader, the first known writer of scripture, the one who should have been killed as a baby,

but God's hand over him allowed him to live.

He was the one who God revealed himself to in a burning bush.

He led Israel out of slavery.

He received the law of God.

Deuteronomy 34, 10 through 12 says,

There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses,

whom the Lord knew face to face.

The Lord sent him to perform all the miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land.

With mighty power, Moses performed terrifying acts in the sight of all Israel.

Moses was the one who stood in the gap between the people of God interceding on their behalf

leading them even when they were stubborn rebellious and ungrateful he was a leader

a teacher and a man of deep communion with God when I think of Moses I can't help but think of

my grandma. She too was a spiritual pillar, not just in my life, but in the lives of many.

She interceded for our family relentlessly, just as Moses did for Israel. She was a leader,

not by title, but by example. She didn't need a title to lead. Her wisdom, strength,

and deep connection with God impacted everyone around her.

But just like Moses, her time came.

And we all have a time, right?

You might be thinking, why is she talking about her grandma?

We all have a time, and our days are counted.

So I think sometimes we take it for granted that we're going to be here.

We looked it up the other day, right, babe?

We had a quiz of how long are you going to live?

and they take into like some health statistics and it'll tell you like you're going to live to be 83.

That was mine.

But there's no guarantee.

There's no guarantee.

And now I lost my spot.

When just like Moses, her time came and just like Israel needed Joshua to step up,

I believe God is asking who will rise to take the place of those spiritual giants.

At my grandma's funeral, when the pastor told me she wasn't doing too well because her prayer words were passing away,

I felt the weight of that statement.

It wasn't just grief.

It was a call.

For so long, we've relied on people like Moses, like grandma.

we took comfort in knowing they praying they believing they interceding but now god is asking are we ready to step into that role And I going to stop here too because you might be thinking like I don have that like I don have somebody like that that passed away

No, but maybe God's calling you to be that person.

The calling. God is calling for new leaders to arise.

Strong and courageous like Joshua.

When Moses dies, God calls Joshua to take the stand and gives him this charge in Joshua 1, 1 through 9.

Joshua 1, 1 through 9.

After the death of Moses, the Lord's servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' assistant.

He said, Moses, my servant, is dead.

Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.

I promised you what I promised Moses.

Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you.

From the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north.

From the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

Including all the land of the Hittites.

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.

for I will be with you as I was with Moses.

I will not fail you or abandon you.

Be strong and courageous

for you are the one who will lead these people

to possess all the land I swore their ancestors

I would give them.

Be strong and very courageous.

Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you.

Do not deviate from them

turning either to the right or to the left.

Then you will be successful in everything you do.

Study this book of instruction continually.

meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it

only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do this is my command be strong and courageous

do not be afraid or discouraged for the lord your god is with you wherever you go

so when moses passed joshua was ready maybe maybe because the bible says be strong and courageous

quite a few times. Maybe he was afraid, but having walked with Moses for 40 years, he had received

all the training he needed. And just like Joshua, God is calling us. Are we following in a way that

prepares us to lead? Or are we assuming those leaders will always be there? Have they become a

crutch? Have we taken for granted the spiritual giants God has placed in our lives? Have we had

access to a Moses, but we're not ready to be a Joshua? Having received this charge from God,

I can't imagine what Joshua felt. God, you're asking me to take the place of the one who saw

you face to face? The one who led Israel out of Egypt? The one who mediated and interceded for a

stubborn people? The one you gave your holy law and commandments to? I'm sure he felt afraid,

but God reminded him repeatedly, be strong and courageous. God's response was clear. Yes, you.

God is not looking for the most talented or the most qualified.

He uses those who are willing.

1 Corinthians 1.27 says,

Instead, God chose the things the world considers foolish, that's me,

in order to shame those who think they are wise.

And he chose things that are powerless, again, that's us,

to shame those who are powerful.

So don't be afraid. God goes before you just like he did with Joshua.

I know it firsthand that stepping into God's calling can be scary.

Leading worship isn't easy, at least it's not for me.

And for a while, I had a lot of questions.

But through my time with God, he has revealed things that no one could ever tell me.

right, babe? Pastor would be like, ask Joel, but sometimes we're just not there yet, right?

Some of the answers that he's given me might seem silly or might seem small to other people,

but I now realize that I needed to be in communion with God for him to show me the things

I needed to do. They came through prayer and seeking, and we talked about this a little bit

in life groups on Friday. Thank God for his mercy and grace that he meets us where we are.

And I'll use this opportunity to make a plug for them as well. If you're not connected,

you're not as connected as you'd like to be, you need to join us for life groups once a month

across the city of Houston. I will be the first to let you know, pastors are my witness,

that especially when we lead worship on Sundays

and it's been a long day,

we got our two little ones with us, two and six,

I just want to go home.

So I don't always stick around

for a long time after service.

Actually, my husband's the one that I'm like,

what are you doing?

He's talking and he's not the talker, it's me.

But this being the second month doing life groups

has been so nice getting to know more of you

and spending time with you doing life and studying God's word together.

So get plugged in.

Pastor Heather over here.

For worship, I've had to realize that if he called me to it, he would lead me through it.

I don't need to be anything other than what he's called me to be.

Today, we remember the Moses in our lives.

The spiritual giants.

A grandparent, parent, pastor, friend who prayed for us, guided us, and set the example.

But what happens when they're gone?

Are we ready to step in those big shoes like Joshua?

Have we simply been walking alongside them, never realizing that one day we too would have to lead?

just as Joshua had to rise and lead Israel forward,

we must be ready to take the mantle of faith,

prayer, and leadership that has been passed down to us.

Will we answer the call?

The time is now.

It's our turn to stand in the gap

for our friends and family,

to be the prayer warriors,

and to be the ones who will keep the faith alive.

Are we ready?

Are we willing to pray like grandma day and night?

Are we willing to go to our knees

when everything around us seems to be falling apart

with no good news in sight?

Are we willing to fight for our children on our knees when they decide to go their own way Are we willing to stand in the gap for a people who complain even after seeing God goodness in marvelous and extravagant ways like Moses did

Are we willing to keep the faith and believe even when the promises God made seem like they'll never come to pass?

joshua answered god's call not just for himself but for the future of israel

in the same way stepping into leadership isn't just about us it's about the future of our church

our families and the next generation it's not just an invitation it's an urgent need

we need more volunteers

more hands

more willing hearts

we praise God for our growth

how many of us praise God for the growth in this place

hallelujah

but

it takes people serving

to move forward with excellence

if we don't step up

who will

a couple of weeks ago

we held our very first

give and grow event

Praise God, we had over 70 people sign up to serve.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you.

But there's still work to be done.

So if you haven't signed up yet, let this be your encouragement.

We need people in every ministry.

Hospitality, outreach, children's ministry, worship, prayer.

and if you don't think you're ready because I heard some of that if you don't think you're ready

pray the Holy Spirit can prepare you I know we have a certain area hospitality

that needs help and we've heard that like not friendly

pray pray because we all know it didn't we fasted three weeks and I know my husband can tell you I

was a little different. We need more of that. We need more of that. The Holy Spirit can prepare you.

God is calling us to step up and be used by God in a mighty way. As much as we all need

a Moses in our lives, somebody's out there waiting for you to be their Moses.

yesterday

pastor said it I celebrated a birthday

42 thank you Jesus

as I prayed

I reflected not only on God's goodness

but on the legacy

I want to leave

I don't want to be known for anything else

but being

a woman of prayer

full of wisdom, courage, and faith.

I want to be a Moses,

preparing the next generation,

and I want to be a Joshua,

ready to lead when the time comes.

After Joshua, the Bible tells us something tragic

in Judges 2.10.

It says, after that generation died,

another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord

or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.

The people who came after Joshua had no leader.

They forgot God.

That's not the future we want.

If we don't step up, if we don't lead,

if we don't pour into the next generation,

there will come a day when no one is left to carry the torch of faith

we must do our part and i know i know we've had some losses in this place i know

moving forward can be hard it's painful to step into what god is asking us to do

when the ones we love are no longer with us.

We miss them.

We long for their wisdom, their prayers, their presence.

But God is with us.

Moses led us.

He taught us along the way.

And now we are more than capable of stepping into the leadership role of Joshua.

Not just for those who are watching us.

not just for those who will come after us

but to honor God

to be obedient to his call

and to leave a lasting legacy

that will outlive us

little did I know

that the life grandma lived

was a preparation for me once she was gone

but what an honor

to have trained along her side

so that I

along with everyone

she impacted could continue with God's plan. Today my question to you is, will you rise up?

It's our turn to lead. Will you be the prayer warrior, the leader, and the pillar that this

generation needs. The time is now, church. God is calling. Will we answer? Will we answer?

Hallelujah. You can go ahead and stand this morning.

That was the word that God gave me.

I'm going to ask our prayer warriors

to come up this morning

and if you felt so impressed

on your heart with this message

the way that God impressed on my heart

that we need to rise up

I'm going to encourage you

to come up this morning

because we need you.

We need you.

And I'm going to ask the worship team

to lead us in something

as we get into this time of prayer.

Hallelujah.

Thanks for listening.

If you'd like some more information on PNEUMA Church,

visit us on our website at mypneumachurch.org.

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you can subscribe or share it with your friends

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Thanks again and God bless.