Hi Partners and Friends!

Last time I was here, we began a series we are calling Be the One. If you did not read my last post, I would highly recommend you doing so!

We left off with encouraging you to press through the things of life to your promise found in Jesus. I had shared with you the story of the woman with the issue of blood, and we left off with her pushing through the crowd.

In Mark 5:24-34, we see the scene of a woman that had done everything she knew to do in the natural and spent all she had, but she had grown worse. This woman was probably at the place in her life of feeling hopeless, but that day she had heard of Jesus. That day her hope changed from hopelessness to hope! And because of this new found hope, she began pressing toward Jesus to receive what she was needing: a healing. But! There was something in between her and Jesus - a crowd. The Word tells us many times that this was not just any crowd; it was a multitude. In other words, this is a massive crowd!

Have you ever been to an NFL football game, NHL hockey game, or a concert and had to sit at the top of the stadium in the “nosebleed” seats? Imagine being able to see all of the people there. This is the type of crowd we are talking about! Not only was the crowd massive, the Word tells us that the disciples said to Jesus, “You see the multitude thronging thee…” This word thronging means to press against and keep pressing. So, in other words, there was a massive amount of people there, and they were all pressing on Jesus.

Despite that, this woman was letting go of all of her weaknesses, pain, heart aches of the past, and pressing through this massive crowd.  I want you to get this visual image because a lot of times in life, we feel like the “crowd” is pressing on us. She could have stopped two steps into this journey, she could have stopped half-way there, she could have stopped three fourths of the way there, she could of stopped two feet before she reached Jesus; but she did not! All this time she was saying to herself, “If I could just touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made well.” She pressed through to the end, until she touched his garment!

Now, here’s my question to you: What about the massive crowd that was pressing on Jesus? Why didn’t they step out just like this woman did and choose to BE THE ONE and receive from Jesus? All these people surrounding Jesus had the same opportunity to receive from Him that she did! But, she chose to BE THE ONE! Any one of those people standing right next to Jesus could have done the same, but she was the only one who chose to BE THE ONE!

See, in that moment of time the woman with the issue of blood chose to no longer be the one with the issue of blood. She chose to be the one to press through the crowd and receive.

It didn’t matter what her past was… be the one.

It didn’t matter what the doctors had said… be the one.

It didn’t matter how big the crowd was… be the one.

It didn’t even matter how scared she was… be the one.

It didn’t matter what she had lived with before… be the one.

It didn’t matter how much money she had already lost… be the one.

Anyone could have received from Jesus that day, but she chose to be the one!  Now, I want to encourage you today, instead of being like all those people thronging Jesus and not reaching out and receiving anything, you be the one who chooses to press through, reach out, and receive! You be the one!

What’s surrounding you? What’s pushing against you and holding you back?

Be the one who presses through those circumstances of life, presses through the past, presses through what others may say.  Don’t be like the rest of the crowd, having the opportunity but not taking it.

It doesn’t matter what YOUR past was… you be the one.

It doesn’t matter what the doctors said to you… you be the one.

It doesn’t matter how big the crowd is… you be the one.

It doesn’t even matter how scared you are… you be the one.

It doesn’t matter what you lived with before… you be the one.

It doesn’t matter how much money you have already lost… you be the one.

It’s time for the Champion Church to rise up and say, “I am going to be the one.” Keeping pressing, keep choosing to be the one, and join us next time as we continue with this series.

- Coach Brim

Hey Champions!

We just started preaching a new series at our church entitled Be the One. I felt led to share that with you in this week’s blog.

The story begins in Mark 5:24-34 where you see Jesus and the woman with an issue of blood crossing each other’s path. If you remember the story, this woman had an issue of blood for twelve years. She had done everything she knew to do. She had been to every doctor possible, and she had spent all her money doing so. This woman had gone to great lengths to find a way to be healed of this plague.

You might feel this way with things you are going through in life. Maybe you’ve tried everything you know to do, you’ve been to every doctor, or you work two jobs just to make it. You have moved several times to make new friends, only to find out that it didn’t work again this time. You’ve been to every counselor in the book, and you are still not happy. It seems like you are at a dead-end street. I think we all go through one of these situations at some point in our lives.

The Bible even states the woman was dealing with a “plague.” This word comes from the Greek word, mastigos, which means torture. It’s like a person beating another person, allowing them to mend, and then beating them again - keeping their subjects in constant pain. This had been this woman’s life for 12 years. This is also a tactic Satan likes to use on us. He likes to push us past our limits until we just completely give up on believing God. See, his whole purpose is not so much the pain or hurt we are in, but his purpose is to draw us away from believing in God. If Satan can make us believe this lie, he has won!

Now, let’s go back to the story of the woman. This is the place she was in her life: alone, scared, no hope, and she lost all her family and friends. She had done all she knew to do, but instead of getting better, she had grown worse… until the day she heard of Jesus. This gave her hope!  She moved from hopelessness to hope, from not knowing what to do to knowing. Just like He was for this woman, Jesus is our hope!  We may feel we are at the end of our rope, and we have tried everything. Don’t give up, we still have one more step to take - trust in Jesus. Keep pressing forward just like the woman with the issue of blood. She didn’t give up, she kept pressing forward through the crowd, in her faith in Jesus.

We must do the same thing this woman did. We must not rely on faith in what we can do but have faith in what Jesus has already done. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we could live for eternity in covenant with Him, He provided all. He provided salvation! In that salvation is peace, joy, health, and prosperity. All of these avenues in our lives are provided when we accepted Him, but we must keep pressing into Him! Just as the woman with issue of blood pressed through the crowd, we have to press through our situations. We have to hear about Jesus (keep the Word of God before our eyes) and keep pressing through. Keep pressing through your “crowd” to the answer - Jesus.  

This week, I encourage you to find a scripture that deals with your situation and press through the “crowd” with that scripture. If it's healing, then grab ahold of the hope found in Isaiah that states, “by His stripes we are healed.” Press through speaking the Word of God over yourself and your situation. You may be to the place you feel like giving up, but don’t do it!  Look to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, and press through.

- Coach Brim

Welcome back partners and friends!

How did your time seeking God go last week? It went well for me! Of course there are always times when we all could put down the remote and spend more time with God, but I was able to spend quality time with God and it blessed me!

Today, I am sitting in the airport waiting on my flight to leave out of Boston. My wife Candace and I are heading home after ministering in a town outside of Boston, Norwell Massachusetts, and we are thanking God for a wonderful trip. We saw many things while we were in Boston. We watched people’s lives changed as the Word was preached and were blessed to be part of several people confessing Christ as their savior for the first time! Praise God!

We were also able to take a day to tour Boston. On our tour, we took a trip down the “Freedom Tour” of historical events that founded of our nation. We saw Paul Revere’s house and ate in little Italy. We also sat in seats of one of the oldest baseball stadiums in the United States - Fenway Park!  We had a great time walking the streets of Boston and visiting all these sights, but the thing that touched me the most was all the people there are in this world! Everywhere we walked, we saw so many people and it made me think of the scripture, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” Every one of those people we passed is a life God is concerned about. They are a life Jesus died for, and they are a life that we should be witnessing Christ to! Whether we witness in word or deed, we should be representing Christ to them in all we do.

One time the Lord told me, “the world can’t see Me (God) but they can see Me (God) through you!!” That’s a powerful statement! As we walk around in our daily life, we are representing Christ. I used to tell my ball players, “You are representing the school and the team wherever you go, on and off of the field”. It’s the same with us! We are representing Christ whether we are in church or out of church. Wherever we go! Christ is in us and He is wanting to daily add more to His family. Our witness of Him helps to add daily to His kingdom. If we respond in love, we add a witness to the kingdom of God. When we help someone out at the supermarket, we add a witness to the kingdom of God. When we smile at someone, it’s a witness of Christ. The seeds we plant in strangers’ lives add a witness to Christ and His goodness. I want to encourage you in the upcoming weeks to be that witness of Christ wherever you go. You never know, you may be the one to change that person’s life for the kingdom of God!

 -- Coach Brim