Kingdom Come - Come to Jesus - Jim Parks

Man, Reggie and the team, just incredible time leading us before

the throne and singing and worship, lifting up the Lord today.

Just thank you guys so much for what y' all do each and every

week. And by the way, worship doesn't end just because we've stopped

singing. Like, this whole time this morning that we're spending

together is a time of worship. Even as we've said to the Lord, great

are youe, Lord, there's none that compares to youo, God. Today

we surrender our all to youo, proclaiming great are you, Lord.

It's just a reminder. God brings blessings into our lives.

We need to surrender those to him as well. So I just want to remind

you, each time when we come into our church, we want to be faithful

in our giving to the Lord. Our voices, our bodies, our finances,

all that we are. You've been faithful this summer so far, giving

to the Lord. And thank you, church. Thank you for those of you

that are joining us online. By the way, you can give online real

easy. You've heard us say this week after week, my family and I

gives this way you can go to filter.org give or go to that same

connect code we had earlier and there will be a place there you

can select to give. But join us in furthering the gospel, the

work of Jesus Christ. Our students are at camp right now. I

told you that earlier. By the way, when you give to the general

fund, it helps to support them to be able to go offsets the cost.

We have people around the world right now sharing the goodness

of the gospel. And. And it's because of your faithfulness in giving.

So continue to give so that the Lord can do his work around the

world. Okay, Are you tired? It's Sunday morning. Did any of you

stay up way too late last night? Y' all are liars. Most everybody

probably stayed up Saturday night longer than you were supposed

to. Okay, two weeks ago, and I'll tell you a little bit more about

this, our church went in on a trip to Columbia. And. And that's

the country of Colombia, by the way. South America. So just to

be clear, on the way back, the flight was from 12:30am to 6:30am

to get here to Texas. Okay. I'm not young anymore. Like, there

was a day where I could do that and then be right back up and

be about things. But, man, I was tired from that. Like, it took

me. Well, today I fell back in order. Two weeks later. Did you stay

up on social media? Some of you did video games. Some of you

just said, I Was supposed to go to bed at 9, but then my movie

came on. Whatever it was. You just feel tired, by the way. There's

another kind of tired that a lot of us feel. It doesn't matter

how much sleep you get, how much time you can spend in resting,

but there's just weight that's always there, this pressure that

you feel that you just can't seem to get over, like something's

on your shoulders all the time. But this burden that just won't

let go, that's a different kind of tired. Jesus is actually

going to talk about that today in the passage that we're going to

study. We're in the book of Matthew. So if you have your Bibles

with you, take them out. Matthew, chapter 11. We're going

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

to start in verse 20. If you're just joining us, every week

we go through verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We're walking

through Matthew. So we're following up in chapter 11 here.

While you're looking that up, let me remind you a little bit of

the background from last week. So last week we learned that John

the Baptist actually questioned, is Jesus the Messiah?

He's trying to figure it out with all that's taking place. And

Jesus explains to him, look. Look at all the things I've done,

all the places I've been, all the miraculous work that has happened.

John, look at who I am. Jesus has healed the sick, raised the dead,

made the blind see, preach to those that needed hope. He is the

Messiah, and he's proved himself over and over and over. So

today, as we approach this scripture, Jesus has said, I'm it.

There is nobody else. I'm the Messiah. Look to me. And as the Messiah,

there's certain things that come along with Jesus. By the way,

you're going to discover today that he's a righteous judge as part

of being Messiah, but also as part of being Messiah, he wants to

show us the way to find healing and wholeness in God the

Father. He wants to point us to who God is in our life. So we're

going to define that out in the passage that we're going to read

this morning. Matthew, chapter 11. We'll start in verse 20. This

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

is Jesus here. Then he began to announce the cities where most

of his mighty works have been done. Remember, Jesus is now coming

as judge because what they did not repent. Woe to you, Chorazin.

Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works done in you had

been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented. Long ago

in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable

on the Day of Judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And

you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven. You will be brought

down to Hades, to hell. For if the mighty works done in you had

been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But

I tell you that it will be more tolerable on that Day of judgment

for the land of Sodom than for you. Man, Jesus, like, he doesn't

hold any punches back. Like, he goes after these cities, and there's

a reason for that. And you may be going, man, Jesus, you're a little

harsh here. What's the reason for it? So if you remember last week's

message, Pastor Jared, by the way, brought the word last week,

did a great job. And in case you're wondering past, Pastor Jason

is still on his mission trip today, so I get the privilege of

joining with you this morning, sharing God's word. Last week, Pastor

Jared shared with us that to doubt is not the sin. To doubt is

not the sin. It's what you do with that doubt. It either leads

you to faith in Jesus Christ or it leads you away from faith in

Jesus Christ. When it leads you away, that is the sin. Jesus

is now coming to these cities, going, I'm trying to tell you there's

something different in me. I am the Messiah. I've shown you a

different way of life. And yet they have chosen, as this passage

says, to not repent. What does repent mean? Some of you have heard

this word before. You've come to church. It sounds like a churchy

word. It literally means, if you're walking in one direction,

this is my way. I'm heading down this path where when you repent,

you turn completely in the opposite direction. I'm no longer

going that way. But now Jesus life, I am following after you. That's

what to repent means. And here you've got these cities that have

seen Jesus do this work. They've seen him do miraculous things,

and yet Jesus says specifically they did not repent.

Two of them he lists up at the front, Chorazin and Beth. By the

way, if you add Capernaum, some of the scholars would even call

these kind of the gospel triad. Like, Jesus went to each of

these cities to proclaim the gospel over and over again. These

two, Chorazin and Betha, he compares to two other cities, Tyre

and Sidon. Now, who in the world are those cities? I know you

know these things Backwards and forwards. But just for those

of you that don't, Tyre And Sidon are two cities that 600 years

earlier, God Almighty destroyed them, wiped them off the

face. They were Gentile cities, people who were not following

after God. As a matter of fact, they worshiped a God named

Bel. If, if any of you have read the Old Testament, you may have

heard of that God before. These were the cities that worshiped

other gods. And Jesus went to them to tell them about the good

news of the kingdom of God. He did miracles in their cities. And

then they still chose in the midst of all that to not follow after

him or to repent. So Jesus says these words right off the bat,

woe to you. Literally meaning warning of judgment and doom is coming

upon you. Not just a word when you translate it literally from the

Greek, it is a warning that Jesus says, you're going to face

judgment, you're going to face destruction. It is coming to you

because you have chosen not to repent. It's better for these other

cities than it is even for you. Jesus wants to say two things

as he's beginning to talk about these cities. The first one

is what we've seen in Bethsaida and Chorazin. The unrepentant

are liable to judgment every single time. When you are unrepentant,

when you choose not to repent, when Jesus calls upon you, you recognize

him and you don't repent. In that moment, you're saying, jesus,

I reject you, and there will be judgment that will come. Recognize

the warning that Jesus gives for those of you in your life. You

may have never chosen Jesus to follow after him. You've heard about

him, you know about him. And Jesus is saying, just like these

cities, be warned, there's judgment coming upon you as the Messiah,

he sees that in your heart and knows that. There's this other city

called Capernaum. Here. Capernaum they recognize as the place

that Jesus did the most miracles of any city. It was the

place that literally they were able to see the blind see again.

They were able to see the paralytics get up and walk when he

called out. They were able to hear the good news. The poor that

didn't have any hope, they heard it from Jesus over and over

again. And even the miracle of a resurrection took place in Capernaum.

And yet Capernaum kept about their daily business, chose not to

follow Jesus. And they had a different sin than unrepentance.

Theirs was indifference. They just didn't care. Jesus impacted

a few, but they said With Jesus, I just don't need you. I know

many of you. You come every single week. Praise the Lord. I know

you're online every week. I know you. Most of you don't. You're

probably out and about on the other Sundays. By the way, on occasion

we get to preach at different campuses. So I get to see like Sunday

morning, 11 o', clock, what the rest of the world is like. You

know, when you're not here, the world just keeps going. It is

indifferent to Jesus Christ. There's no care, there's no worry,

there's no concern. The world keeps passing by. By the way, the

warning that Jesus gives here to Capernaum, me and you, we often

hear the United States called a Christian nation. We're more like

Capernaum than we want to believe or realize. Jesus has revealed

himself to us and we're just like Capernaum. Worse than Sodom,

the city. Some of you have heard about that city. It was also

destroyed completely by God Almighty. And Jesus is saying here,

it would have been better for Sodom, who didn't hear of the gospel,

than Capernaum that did. And then chose to just ignore Jesus.

By the way, you can't ignore him. You can't be indifferent with

Jesus. There's always a choice. There's always a reality

to who Jesus is. And that'll bring me to the first truth that

I want you to realize today. Jesus is saying to each of us, indifference

towards Jesus is rejection of Jesus. Indifference towards Jesus

literally means you're choosing to reject him. When you

say, I can do this in my own ability and my own authority and

my own power. I don't need you, Jesus, I'll get to you on Sunday.

You're choosing to reject him. You're choosing to say, jesus, I'm

going to stiff arm you. I can do things better on my own. That's

exactly what the city of Capernaum was dealing with. And walking

through that, they had become prideful that they had a desire to

be independent. By the way, we do too. It's the American way. And

Jesus is going, you've ignored me, you've missed me. The Messiah

was in your presence and you still didn't choose me. Stark warning

from him hit me hard while we were in Columbia there, By the way,

it's Third World poverty. It's homes that are sticks, literally.

You can see right through the walls, dirt floor, it's corrugated,

metal roofs, and there's no insulation. None of that, just survival.

The rich have their areas of the part of the country and they've

pushed away the poor into these parts of the country that are

just. It's just horrible. It's horrible to look at, to see what

they're living through. I went as a part of Compassion to go and

meet one of our sponsored children. It's a boy there that we

sponsor. We sponsor other children too. But specifically while

I was there, I got to meet this boy again. I've written letters

to him and been able to spend time. I actually got to see him in

2019. He was seven. Now he's 13. So like, you know, he's grown

up. It's big deal. I got to spend an incredible day with him,

just getting as best I could and mi espanol, which is no good,

trying to talk with him through translators the whole time

and enjoying my time with him. There was a moment that his dad came

to pick him up and I got to, as a pastor, just talk with his dad,

just tell him I'd love to pray for him. I'd just given some gifts

to this boy and you know, it's a backpack, a toothbrush, which,

you know, 13 year old, so excited over. I did give him an American

football, by the way, and he had never, and even the adults never

thrown an American football. So it was fun showing them how to

do that. Gave him a soccer ball, a few other things. And here

this dad's seen that. I'm talking to his dad and his dad's

going, you know, I was trained as a butcher growing up, but there

is nothing here for me to do. I have no work, I have nothing. I

have a one room house. And I'd love to add on another room just

so we could have a separate place for a bed versus a kitchen

or other things. But I have no money, I have nothing. I have no

hope, no place. And he's desperate. And as a dad, I'm listening

to him tell about the things that he wants to do, how he wants

to step in, and man, my heart just begins to break. And the more

we talk, all of a sudden big tears just start rolling down his

eyes as he's looking at his son. He's thinking about his family,

how he could provide for them. Just like a knife, man, the Holy

Spirit begins to speak to me. Jim, you see the desperation that

this man has back in America, where you live, back here, you've

got it all figured out, by the way. I do. I can get in my car, I

can press the on button now. I can get the car rolling. It's got

gas in it air conditioning. Praise the Lord. Right now in Texas,

I go to a house, I pull in the garage. I walk in and I can open

a refrigerator. I can pull out food and eat the worst thing. You

know, a washing machine breaks. It's like the devastation

day. Oh, the washing machine breaks. I have a washing machine.

I have a roof over my head. I have a floor that's not dirt. When

things break, you know what I do? I don't ask the Lord about it.

I go to YouTube and try to figure it out. Any y' all do that,

too? A few of you, like, if I can get it fixed, I'll take care

of it. I don't want to pay somebody. That's because I know how

to do all this stuff. I know how to take care of things. And Jesus,

in that moment, as I'm sitting there with that dad, watching him

in desperation, knowing he had nowhere else to turn, God began to

speak to me and say, when have you been desperate for me? You got

it all figured out. Have you been indifferent towards me? Have

you ignored me instead of coming to me? And he's right. I have

been. And I'm a pastor. I can't imagine for you guys that are

on the daily life, you're trying to figure out life every single

day, and you're figuring out how to do it on your own. And Jesus

is going, you're forgetting about me. Warning, come back. I'm

trying to call you back again. Remember, he's a righteous judge

as Messiah. And he knows your heart. He knows what you're going

through. He knows you. Jesus is trying to tell us today, Stop

your prideful arrogance. Let it go. Come before him. He wants

to point us to God Almighty, the Father Himself, to show us there's

a better way of living. And that pathway points to Jesus every

single time. Let's continue. Matthew 11, starting back in verse

25. And Jesus will tell us about what this means, to take a

next step with God and who he is. At that time, verse 25, Jesus

declared, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you

have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and you've

revealed them to little children. Yes, Father. For such was

your gracious will, all things have been handed over to me by my

Father. And no one knows the Father except the no one knows the

Son except the Father. And no one knows the Father except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. So what's

Jesus talking about? This is a little confusing. I mean, do we know

Jesus or Don't we? Because here it says, only the Father knows

the Son and only the Son knows the Father. What Jesus is explaining

here is they have a unique relationship. Jesus and the Father

are one. So my wife and I, by the way, she's at camp this week

helping out with the students there. So praise the Lord. I'm so

thankful. Love you, honey. You might watch this later. Keep going.

Get some sleep, please. I know you know it. Yeah. So my wife is

there helping. We've been married in August. 33 years. 33 years,

dude. It's okay. Please. Somehow she survived me. I don't

know, you know, it's like she made it through, so praise the Lord

for that. But 33 years. So I've actually lived with my wife,

married longer than I have been by myself, growing up with my

parents. 18 years at home, 4 years in college, 22 years. My wife

and I got married right at the end of college. So I have actually

been with her. You think I know her? I actually know her better

than anybody else. And you know what? She knows me. We've poured

into each other's lives. We walked each other together through

ups and downs, all of life's journeys. And now imagine Jesus Christ.

There's an eternal side to Jesus, and there's an earthly side

to Jesus. The eternal side. Jesus has been with the Father since

the beginning of time. Jesus and the Father are one. You don't

think that Jesus knows the Father better than anyone else and

that the Father knows Jesus better than anyone else? They have

a relationship that is more intimate, more unique, more special

than any relationship we could ever define. Like, you and I know

that's the kind of relationship that he's talking about

here. And then Jesus reminds us, look, God gave him Jesus all

authority, all power. The same power that God Almighty has. Jesus

has. Praise the Lord for that. Their relationship is that close.

The book of John reminds us of this. You don't have to turn there,

but in John 1, if you ever want to read it, it's a powerful

statement about the journey of seeing Jesus come to this earth.

The first part of it says, in the beginning was the Word. It's

referring to Jesus there. And the Word was with God, and the Word

was God, it says. And then a few verses later, it says, and then

the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. That passage is reminding

us Jesus and the Father are one. They think the same. They know

each other so well. And Jesus is saying here, if anybody can reveal

you to the Father, it's me. I'M the only one. I know the Father

better than anyone else. And if you notice, the passage says,

whom Jesus chooses to reveal the Father. So who does Jesus reveal

the Father to? Well, praise the Lord. He wants to reveal him

to everybody. He wants you to know the goodness of who God is,

the gospel story. He wants you to know the grace that is given by

God. He wants you to know the Father. See, when we sin, the relationship

with a holy God, God the Father, when we choose to rebel against

Jesus, that sin separates us from a holy God. And Jesus has come

to say, I can right that relationship. I have come to show

you how to live a life that can honor God Almighty. If you would

just put your faith and your trust in me. Only those who want

to know the Father, who desire to pursue him, Jesus says, that's

the kind of person that I'll reveal things to. As a matter of

fact, in verse 25, Jesus praises God Almighty from hiding

these things from the wise and understanding because he knows what

we do. We try to figure it out. We will try to build our way

up to make things right with God on our own. And we can't. You're

not perfect, I'm not perfect. We can't encounter a holy God. Jesus

says, come like a child now, it doesn't mean you have to become

eight years old again. Some of you are eight years old. You can

come to know Jesus if you are. Praise the Lord. It's not about birth,

age, it's about a heart attitude. Before Jesus, it is saying,

God, I come with open arms, all that I have. Jesus, I choose

you. I believe in you with all my heart. I give everything I have

to you. Jesus, I surrender my all to you. And just like a child

coming to a father, Jesus is saying, if you'll come to him humble,

you come to him with open arms, surrendering all. You will

find God in your life. Jesus tries to remind us of that in this

passage. As a matter of fact, that's the next truth that I want

you to recognize today that Jesus refills the Father to the humble,

not the self reliant. Jesus reveals the Father to the humble,

not the self reliant. The heart is this. Come before Jesus

with open hands and open arms. When you go on your own, you try

to do things on your own. That's when Jesus will say, I see

it, I know it, and you're choosing to reject me. You're choosing

your own way. You're choosing your wisdom, your understanding,

and that will never get you there. Jesus knows what Each of us

needs and how we can pursue the Father. You see, we like things

being independent. We like things being self made. We like to

do things on our own. That's who we are. I thought about the some

years ago the army came out with a slogan. It said be all that

you can. Yeah, in the army. Well, if you heard that slogan, that

that's our fault. It's. I get what the army is trying to say. We

want to help you to be a better person, do these things. We

can train you, we can teach you. You can be a better person.

Be everything that you can be. God says, that's not my way. My way

is be everything Jesus can call you to be. There's so much more

power. There's so much more life. When you surrender to Jesus

and let him work in your life, the things that were once possible

will with God, all things are possible is what the scripture tells

us. Choose Jesus in your journey instead of your own abilities

and your own authority of your life. No hard work, not in strength,

not in your own power. Simply getting to a place that you say I

surrender. So if you're in that place like I was referring to

earlier, you just feel that weight in your life. You know, I'm

carrying some things that I can't just get off my shoulders.

No matter how much I try and do. That's a sign that you're starting

to become self reliant. You're trying to do it on your own. And

Jesus is calling you to something different. He actually

then addresses one of the most famous passages. Many of you know

this, starting in verse 28 of Matthew, would you look there with

me? Jesus says these powerful words to us. Come to me, come to

me. He says, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give

you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me. For I am gentle

and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For

my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Most powerful words that

Jesus could have said. He didn't say, go out and do a bunch

of work. He didn't say you have to learn a bunch of stuff. He

says, come to me. Different than any other religion out there,

all the other religions. You have to work order to gain glory.

Jesus says, no, I've already done it. Come to me, find rest in

me. Let me show you. I can point you to the Father. I can bring

all of this power and authority that I've been given and

pour it into your life if you would just simply come to me. And

then he says, I will give you rest. Not just physical rest, but

rest for. For your soul. He can remove those burdens and he can

place it on his own shoulders. As a matter of fact, he's trying

to say, you know, come at this time into my life. Come to me. And

you may be going, hey, you know, these cities, they actually

saw Jesus walk through. So what. What does it mean to actually

come to Jesus? How do I come to him when he's calling? Well, like

I told you earlier, come with open arms and say, jesus, I choose

to give you my all. I choose to surrender everything. I'm laying

my life down before you. But also Jesus says, come and take my

yoke upon you. Now, this is not yolk. It's spelled differently

than an egg. This is a different kind of yolk. I know we're

in Texas. Some of you may know what a yoke is like. But just in

case, let me show you a picture of what Jesus is talking

about. This is a yoke. It's right now put between two cattle.

Sometimes they'd use oxen. It was a place to be able to see power

and strength beyond just what one could do. So plowing a field,

pulling a cart. The people at the time knew exactly what Jesus

was talking about when he talked about a yoke. Now, here's

the thing you may not realize, because they could pull together

stronger, There was usually one of the animals that was stronger

than the other. That stronger was the lead. They would put another

animal with them that was not as strong. And when they yoked together,

the two of them could carry more than the one by themselves.

The stronger, by the way, would know the Master's voice. The

stronger knew the Master's commands. The stronger knew how to

go to the places that he would say go and how to stop when it was

time to stay still and time to move. And you get the illustration

here. That stronger carrying the load alongside the weaker that's

coming along. Jesus is saying to us, take, take my yoke upon you.

Let me be the stronger in your life. Let me carry those burdens.

And notice this with you. Sometimes we think when Jesus says,

come and lay the burdens upon him, that all the burdens go away.

That's not what he says here. He actually says he's going to make

your burdens lighter. It doesn't mean you're not going to

have hard times. If you're a Christ follower, you already know

that's true. If you're not a Christ follower, even more so. The

Struggles that you face day after day after day keep piling up.

And Jesus is going, come to me. Let me take those burdens from

you. Take my yoke upon you. Jesus reminders to us is simply saying,

let me be the stronger in your life. I can carry you through, I

can get you through this. I am the way. And when you surrender to

me, your life will be forever changed. You need to realize in this

moment, he's talking to Sadduce. People that have been like

harped upon by these folks called Sadducees and Pharisees. These

were people that owned the law of the day, the religious leaders

of the time. And more and more, these religious leaders knew

the laws of God. They knew the commandments that had been laid out

by him. And they actually added more laws on top of that to

try to keep you from failing in these laws. The more laws they

added, they had to add more and more and more and more until

where the people, there was no way they could ever fulfill the laws.

The sad thing, Jesus rails against the Sadducees and Pharisees.

You've got just a quick moment. You can Turn to Matthew 23

talking about what the Sadducees and Pharisees do. These

people that have put all these laws on the people. He says, the

scribes and the pharisees in verse 2 sit on Moses seat. So do

and observe what they tell you, but not the works they do. For

they preach but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens,

hard to bear, and they lay them on people's shoulders, but they

themselves are not willing to move with their fingers. Jesus knows

that these religious leaders have been pouring burdens over and

over again and knows that the people can't fulfill the law. There's

no way too many to carry. And Jesus is saying, you know what? Only

one could fulfill the law and fulfill it perfectly. And that's

me. Jesus is trying to say to each of us, he's the only perfect

one, the perfect Son of God, the Lamb of God that came to take

away the sins of the world. And sins are when we break those

laws. Jesus is trying to point us to him just to be reminded of

what we deserve. And we deserve judgment. Any of you tried

to memorize the Sermon on the Mount with us? We went through it

several weeks ago. Matthew 5, 7 Matthew 5. Jesus turns the tables.

It's not just the law. It's actually if you think it or you believe

it in your heart, whether you actually do it or not. Jesus says

the fact that your heart believes it you still have sinned

in the same way. And in Matthew 5, it tells us that you deserve

judgment being brought before the council. Even the hell of fire

itself is what you and I deserve because we can't fulfill

that law. Jesus is the only one. Jesus is saying here, come to

me, no one else. I'm the only one that can relate that relationship

with God the Father. So you've tried it. You've tried to do things

on your own. You've tried to say to Jesus, I got this. And all

we keep doing is rejecting him over and over. And this is the last

truth that I want you to remember today. Jesus calls us away

from dependence on our own work to rest in his work. He's already

done it. He's already gone to the cross for you and for me. He's

already died for our sins. He has come. He shared the good news

of the gospel with you and with me to be able to tell us Jesus

is the way, the truth and the life come to him today. Jesus has

done the work for each and every one of us. Praise the Lord.

That's actually the good news of the gospel for you and for me.

When we try to take this life and do it on our own, you're right,

you get worn out, you get tired. You won't be able to make

it. Jesus is the one saying, stop that. Come to me, all you are

weary, heavy laden and burdened. And I will give you rest

when you choose me. You see, when we get Jesus, we get all that

God Almighty gave to him. So right righteousness. We get through

Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God, we get through Jesus Christ.

We get pardons for sin, we get peace from Jesus, all that power

and authority that God gave, Jesus himself has. Jesus also says,

there's a part of this that you need to learn from me. Learn

the way that I lived. Learn the way that I walked with my Father.

That word learn that Jesus used here is the same word as disciple.

In Matthew 28, where Jesus says, go make disciples, it's the

same word, learn from me, Jesus says, and I will show you how

to find rest. So my question to you today is, I know you've been

working hard. I know you've been trying to keep up with everything

there is to do. I know you're pursuing the things that make you

happy. Where is Jesus in that picture? Who are you dependent on?

Are you dependent on yourself? Are you dependent on Jesus? And just

like we learned about earlier when we saw those cities that Jesus

came against, if you're Dependent on yourself. You're rejecting

Jesus. If you're dependent on him, you're surrendering in humility

before him. Search your heart this morning. Have you gotten to

a place that you've gotten so comfortable in the way you can do

things on your own? So tired, so worn out, with no other place

to turn, no hope to find. Jesus is speaking to you now, saying,

come to me. Would you lay it before me? Would you let me take

you and be the stronger in your life? Prayer is a powerful way

of turning that over to Jesus. I know many of you will come forward.

You come week after week seeking the Lord. Some of you, though,

choose not to even come, saying, I got this. Remember, Lord,

I could take care of this on my own. Prayer is a sign of dependence

on the Lord. It's. It's not saying some famous words that you

get things right. It's coming to Jesus saying, I have nothing.

I need you, Lord. Would you choose him today? For those of you

that have known Jesus, maybe he's reminding you you've gotten

off that course and you're trying to live it on your own. You've

become dependent on yourself instead of dependent on Jesus. This

Independence Day, would you choose dependence on Jesus? Just

a moment. Our pastors will be down front. The altar will be open.

Maybe you just need some time to say Jesus, I've tried it too long.

Please, please, Lord, today, take it from me. Would you want to

come in just a moment to do that? Have others to join you in

prayer to say, I need to turn it over to you. And then there's

some of you today that you have never chosen Jesus in your life.

You've rejected him all along the way. You've never had that moment

to say, jesus, just like a child, I come before you and I surrender

all. You choose to surrender all to him today. It is the beginning

of a new life for you. Jesus takes those burdens and he will guide

you and show you how to live a life that is honoring to God Almighty.

And your life will never be the same again. Again. Are you ready

for that today? Same way these pastors will be here ready to talk

with you, a prayer team will be here ready to talk with you and

share with you the goodness. By the way, have you noticed what

the words are when we have baptism at the end of our service?

It's exactly what Jesus was teaching. Jesus in my place. Place.

That's what he's saying here. Come to me. If you come today and

you surrender, the baptism is ready right now. It's a testimony

of what God would do in that change of heart that you'll have

in just a moment, giving your life to Jesus. We have a shirt ready

for you. We have shorts ready for you. You can come and be baptized

today and surrender your all to Him. The heavens will rejoice

and we will rejoice with you. Is it time to surrender? Time to

let go? Time to let Jesus take that for you. Pastors are coming

now. Prayer teams are coming now. Ask the Lord, who am I dependent

on today? God? Am I ready to lay it all down before you? Stand

with me. Let's join together. You come and seek the Lord this morning.

Come, lay it down before him. Come, say Jesus. I give it all to

you. I surrender everything simply in Christ alone. I give it

all to you.