Rise Up!

What this episode covers

Pastor Tim Johnson opens with a simple but weighty challenge: write down two words — rise up. Drawing from Psalm 20, a battle hymn sung by Israel before marching into conflict, Pastor Tim makes the case that God is calling His church to rise above fear, discontentment, and the trap of self-reliance. He defines discontentment as "a feeling of unhappiness, dissatisfaction, or a restless desire for better circumstances," and argues that its true opposite is not satisfaction, but surrender. God, he reminds us, did not create us for comfort or contentment — He created us for conformity to His purpose and His will. From there, Pastor Tim unpacks an acronym built around the phrase RISE UP. To rise, we must first reject false confidence — identifying whatever we've been leaning on besides God, whether reputation, finances, intelligence, or the hope that circumstances will simply change. We must then invest our trust in the Lord, boasting not in chariots or horses but in the name of the Lord our God, as Psalm 20:7 declares. We are called to seek God's presence, because as Pastor Tim puts it, "purpose is found in presence." We must endure with expectant faith, even when — especially when — life is painful and nothing seems to be moving. We are to understand where our victory comes from, recognizing that the people of God rise not because they are stronger, but because God is their defender. And finally, we must persevere and rise, remaining steadfast through hardship rather than merely surviving it. Pastor Tim closes with a stirring call to action rooted in Psalm 20:5 — "We will sing for joy over your victory" — a declaration made before the battle was won. He invites the church to stand and raise a banner, claiming the name of Jehovah Nissi, God our banner, over every fear, frustration, and impossibility. Victory, he reminds us, has already been established in God's heart and mind. The invitation is simply to trust Him enough to believe it.