Hi, my name is Joaquin Evans and I am the senior leader of Bethel Church in Austin, TX. I want to welcome you to God Today. I want to talk to you today about pressure-free ministry. In Hebrews 11:6, it says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For, he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
We love to quote that part that says it is “impossible to please God without faith.” But I love to look at the fact that God actually qualifies that statement with, “that looks like we must believe that He is.” Meaning, believe that He is who He says that He is and He can do what He says He can do. It also says He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Meaning that we believe in our hearts that when I pursue God, He is the rewarder and He is going to reward me in kind.
What is important to realize there is that neither of those things is external realities first, but rather internal realities. Faith doesn’t first manifest itself as an external breakthrough, but rather as an internal reality. In the same way, that tells us what most pleases God is not the external breakthroughs, but the internal breakthroughs. We so set ourselves on this path of looking for the external breakthroughs, thinking that is what God pleases God. But really, when we look at this, this tells us what pleases God is that internal place of faith. And that internal breakthrough first.
When we learn to appreciate that and celebrate that with God, these internal breakthroughs, become fuel or keys for the external breakthroughs happening in our lives. I want to propose this to you. We have seen God do lots of amazing things, lots of miracles in public places, 2-hour miracles breaking out in restaurants, miracles at bus stations, and you name it. But let me ask you this. If you are walking down the street, and you come up to a crowded bus stop with lots of people there, and you have that tug in your heart that says, “Man, these people need to know about Jesus.” And you have that little wrestle inside that says, “Should I stop? Should I follow that internal voice? That prompting?” And you look at your watch and say, “But I have to be somewhere. I don’t have much time. Should I? Should I not?” That moment you choose to break past that fear, to step over the line, you simply approach the first person. You say, “Excuse me…” That is the moment that God is most pleased.
I tell you, your heavenly Father’s heart is exploding with pleasure at that moment. That is the moment that you overcame that wrestle and you chose to believe that He who is a good Father, that He is who He says that He is and He can do what He says that He can do. I tell you, whatever happens beyond that point is just overflow.
When you step out if 5 people get healed, and 10 people at the bus stop get born again – those things are all so amazing and Heaven celebrates those things. But the moment that God was most pleased was when you simply stepped over that line of fear and said, “Excuse me…” That is the moment that God is celebrating in Heaven. That is what we can capture and understand ourselves. That faith that pleases God comes from an internal place. We can have internal breakthroughs and internal victories. When we celebrate that, they will become external breakthroughs. I tell you, I have had lots of times where I have gone out and stepped out in faith. I have taken risks and I tell you, I have had whole days where I have trained myself in this and praying for people in public. I have gone whole days where I am praying for people and nothing happened. No breakthroughs, no miracles, no salvations. But yet, this reality tells me that I can go home, and I have literally done this, I can go home and I can put on worship music and I can dance and celebrate and praise God like we saw the most amazing breakthroughs ever. God is celebrating with me and I can feel His pleasure and the overflow of His love and goodness. Why? Because it is impossible to please Him without faith.
I chose over and over again that day to step out and to move in faith. I can feel the Father’s pleasure on that place. The reality is that when we do that over and over again when we don’t get caught up in the “God is only pleased if the person gets healed, God is only pleased if somebody gets saved,” and that place just becomes a cycle where we beat ourselves up. We are not excited to take risks. We stop trying. And then nothing’s happening. No breakthroughs manifest in our lives. When we realize how pleased God is in when we simply believe Him, when we simply step out in faith, when we lean in and we can hear His voice encouraging us, and we can feel the celebration happening on His end in Heaven, we are encouraged. There is no more pressure. It is like, “Hey, I get to step out, I get to celebrate that victory with God. Whatever happens beyond that is an overflow.” In that place, taking risks becomes easy. The ministry becomes easy. The pressure falls off. We can operate and move in the freedom that God has intended for us from the very beginning.
I’d like to pray for you. Father, I thank you for these people that are watching this because they are hungry. They want more of you, God, in their lives, and they want to see more of you manifested through their lives. Father, I thank you that your intent is not for us to carry around pressure and heaviness, but for us to live in the freedom that you have provided. God, you want it to be easier than we ever realized it could be. Father, I pray for grace, God, to manifest in every life and every heart watching this. And for the pressure to fall off and for the joy and the celebration that you have in their internal breakthroughs, God, to come upon them, right now, in Jesus’ name. I bless you with this and the breakthroughs that follow. In Jesus’ name. Amen.