Tag! You're It! - Pastor JD Davis

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We hope this powerful word from City Center Church transforms your mind and improves your relationship with Jesus Christ.

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Thank you for joining us, and let's get into the word of today.

Um, I need y'all to talk back with me today.

Uh, listen, I remember playing games as a kid.

Y'all remember being a kid?

Come on, some of y'all haven't grown up yet, amen.

I remember being a kid.

If we was playing games, we would always do some fun things.

Listen, this was before iPads.

Do I do I have any real ones in the room?

This was before Roblox, whatever that is, this was before this was before Fortnite.

We had advanced technology when I was a kid.

We had something called outside.

Y'all remember what?

Wave at me if you remember outside.

These kids don't know nothing about no outside.

In fact, in fact, when you didn't just play outside, you smelled like outside.

Where are my witnesses at?

Y'all know what I'm talking about?

We didn't need Wi-Fi.

You didn't know you didn't need no passwords?

Nope.

No face recognition?

No.

What we needed was a group of friends in somebody's backyard.

And we played everything.

Didn't we play everything, y'all?

We we we we we played hide and go seek.

Amen.

Hey, we played red light, green light.

But y'all know about that.

Y'all don't know nothing about no red light, green light.

We played Catcher the flag.

But we played this game, y'all, that I want to talk about here today.

It's a game that everybody knew how to play.

Now, not everybody was good at the game, amen.

But everybody knew how to play this game.

It's a game that came with a phrase.

You would you you would chase somebody down, you'd reach out your hand, and you would touch them.

And then you would say, tag.

What would you say?

I want you to say it with your chest.

In other words, you would be saying, Tag, yo, it is your turn.

In fact, I think that the sermon title today is actually gonna be tag you it.

I want you to slap your neighbor right now and saying, tag you're it kids.

If you're taking notes today on your sheet of paper, I want you to write this down.

Tag you're it.

No takers or world changers.

I hope that you're gonna be taking notes with me here today.

Can we pray?

So, Father, in this moment, we come before you now simply just to say thank you.

Thank you for this word.

Thank you for your word.

Father, I pray that you will preach this word with me.

Holy Spirit, have your way in this place.

Open up hearts to receive ears to hear, and I just pray that something is said or done.

Whoo, that's gonna change somebody's life here today.

We give you all the glory in Jesus' name.

Come on, if you believe that we say amen.

Amen.

Kids, I need you all to follow along with me.

Take some notes here today.

What you need to understand about the game of tag is that the second you get tagged, your responsibility changes.

I'm already preaching and I haven't even started preaching yet.

You you didn't just stand there.

When somebody tagged you, you started chasing somebody else.

And many of us were real serious about tag.

Y'all know them people?

We took it a little too far, man.

It's just a game.

And and and and and you would cut through yards and and you would jump over stuff.

Amen.

You would you would find that one who was slower than you.

Don't leave me up here by myself.

You knew you'd chase that person that was slower than you.

But but but because once you're it, you would find somebody to chase in church.

I wish, I wish that we would chase people for Jesus the way we used to chase people for tag.

But here's the thing: before you start running around trying to tag everybody else, you need to know what you have actually been tagged with.

So today, I'm gonna use up as much time as I can.

I didn't wear my watch today, so hey, uh, we're gonna use as much time as we can, and we're gonna talk about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

And before I can talk about giving Jesus to somebody else, I have a question that I'd like to pose to everybody here today, maybe even watching online.

Do you have Jesus for yourself?

Because you can't give away something that you have not yourself received.

Let me just paint a picture for everybody in the room.

Are you ready?

How many of you ever flown on an airplane?

Wave at me if you've ever flown on an airplane.

Does anybody love flying?

Wave at me if you love flying.

Does anybody pray in Holy Ghost tongues when you've had okay?

Uh be now before an airplane takes off, the flight attendant always gives you instructions.

Now I know that many of us have we don't pay attention to those instructions.

Usually at this time we we're listening to everything except that we're putting in our ear pods or whatever it is, but there's but there's one instruction that they always give that has always intrigued me.

It always seems like it's actually backwards the way that they're saying it.

What they tell you is that in the event of a loss of cabin pressure, that oxygen masks will come from above you.

And then they say, put your mask on first, which is gonna lead us to our point number one.

Students, kids, if you're taking notes here today, go ahead and leave that up there so that they can take the note.

Uh, I want you to write this in your notes.

Put your mask on first.

Don't that sound selfish, though?

It sounds selfish until you understand why it is why they're doing it.

Because you can't help somebody else breathe if you can't breathe.

Church, I think that there's something spiritual here when we think about it, because before you start putting spiritual oxygen masks on everybody else, we need to make sure that you yourself can breathe.

Because you can't introduce somebody to a savior that you don't know.

And I have parents in the room here today.

Parents, I'm talking to you too.

Don't think that this message is just for our kids.

Parents, you cannot disciple your children into a relationship with Jesus when you refuse to be yourself in a relationship with Jesus.

Our kids don't just need us to point them toward Jesus, they need us to they need to see us walking with Jesus.

Because our children are learning what it looks like to follow Jesus by watching you and me.

They need to discover that Jesus isn't just somebody we talk about on Sunday.

That that between the hours of 9 a.m.

and 11:30 p.m., depending on who's preaching, I said P.M.

didn't I?

Jesus is the oxygen of our home.

And I say that because y'all listen to me, the pressure is real.

Did you know that?

The pressure that our students are experiencing, our kids are experiencing, is real.

And see, that's the reason why those masks fall on an airplane.

The cabin has lost the pressure necessary for the people on the plane to have safety.

And church, our kids are growing up in pressure.

Which means, parents, this is not the time for our homes to run out of oxygen.

Not with the pressure that our kids are experiencing, pressure to fit in, pressure to make somebody like them, pressure to weigh to do all these things.

Not with the voices that are fighting for their attention, not for the world that is trying to tell them who they are.

They need Jesus.

They need a house where somebody prays.

Hello, parents.

They need a house where somebody opens up the word of God.

Hello, parents.

They need a home where somebody is worshiping the Lord.

You can listen to that music and bump all day, but you can't raise your hands and worship at home.

They need a house where somebody can say, As for me and my house, we will serve, hey, we'll serve the Lord.

This is not the time for us to know about Jesus and not talk about Jesus.

I feel like I'm not preaching to anybody in this room here today.

We this is not the time to buy expensive Bibles so that they can sit on your table as decor and you don't ever open up the Bible.

So, what am I trying to say here today?

If I'm saying anything, you need to put on your mask, you need to get into the Word of God, you need to spend some time with Jesus, you need to hide his word in your heart, and you need to allow the Holy Spirit to fill you, and then that's when you go and help somebody else.

Because listen, Jesus didn't help you breathe so that you could watch everybody around you suffocate.

I said a word, didn't I?

If you found hope, you need to share what you found in that hope.

If you receive grace, hey, you need to show some grace.

If you've been redeemed, you need to tell somebody about the freedom that is available to them.

Don't keep Jesus to yourself because sooner or later somebody is gonna have to go.

Somebody is gonna have to be it.

And that brings me to my second point.

Second point is this stop saying not it.

Can I work this one?

Write this in your notes, kids.

Stop saying not it.

I ain't never said that, JD.

Oh, you said it in your mind.

You might not have said it out loud, but here's the thing, kids, where you at wave at me one more time, I'm gonna make sure you have your attention.

Kids, kids.

I see some adults waving their hand.

I don't I don't understand.

Okay.

Kids, kids, let me let me ask the kids a question.

This is just for the kids.

Kids, can you play tag when nobody's it?

No.

There, in fact, there is no game of tag unless there's it.

Everybody knows that before a game of tag is played, there's one very important question that we have to address.

Who's it?

Who is going to be it?

And this is the problem.

Everybody wants to play tag, but don't nobody want to be it?

Let me just stick to what I'm saying here.

Because being, because being it means that you have to do something.

Being it means that now you have an assignment, so we need a way to decide who's it.

And I remember being a kid, y'all we had this very sophisticated, very extremely accurate process for deciding who's gonna be it.

It sounded a little something like this.

Any meanie, you ain't heard it.

Stop stop repeating it like you know what I'm talking about.

Any meanie, my name, don't leave me up here by myself a dose, y'all know what I'm talking about.

And and and we would say, catch a tiger by his toe.

And depending on how where you grew up, you had a different saying for the can I share you what I learned?

It said, if he hollers, make him pay.

See, some of y'all are saying something else.

See, fifty dollars every day.

That's a lot of money.

Now, depending on what neighborhood you grew up again, you you had a different version of the song.

Everybody had their own version, but somehow, some way, depending on what neighborhood you went to, you knew that this song, right here, this one was gonna determine who was going to be it.

You were counting on somebody to eventually be at the very bottom and that they would not be it.

Now, depending on where you grew up, what neighborhood, the very ending of that song would say, and my mama told me to pick the very best one, and you slap your neighbor and say he's talking about you right now, and you, but hold up, but hold up, or not it.

Because here's the thing that was the goal of the entire nursery rhyme.

Not me, not me.

Let somebody else be it because I want to play, I just don't want the responsibility.

And church, if we're not careful, this is how we'll treat the gospel.

I wish my microphone was just turned up.

Two more decimal.

Uh, we we treat the gospel like this.

We don't, not me, not it.

We want Jesus, we want heaven, we want our prayers to be answered, but don't ask me to be it.

Somebody should tell that co-worker about Jesus, not it.

Somebody should tell them teenagers about Jesus.

Well, Pastor JD's in there, not it.

Somebody should, somebody, somebody should uh uh spend some time with that person who is sitting by themselves, not it.

And we spend our whole lives playing spiritual, eeny meeny, miny moe, uh trying to decide who is gonna help that person.

But here's the problem Jesus never gave us an eny miny miny mo gospel.

He looked at his disciples and he said this Matthew chapter 28, verse 18 through 20.

Matthew 28:18–20

Kids, write this in your notes.

Matthew chapter 28, verse 18 through 20.

Matthew 28:18–20

And then Jesus came and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore, hey, go.

Somebody say go.

Don't say it, shouted, go, go and make disciples of all nations, not just the ones, the people that look like you, not just the people that work at your job, not just the people in your house, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, hey, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.

Listen, what am I trying to share with you right now?

If you follow Jesus, you are it.

If you receive the gospel, which you're gonna receive it here today, you are it.

If Jesus has changed your life, I wonder if I do have any witnesses in this place that Jesus just changed.

Hey, hey, wave at me, you're it.

And here's what I really got to me in Romans chapter 10, verse 14.

Romans 10:14

Kids, write this in your notes.

Romans chapter 10, verse 14.

Romans 10:14

It asks this everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But watch this.

How then can they call on the one they have not believed in?

And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

And how can they hear, watch this, without somebody preaching to them?

In other words, how is anybody outside of the walls of this church ever going to hear about Jesus unless you open up your mouth and say something about him?

And now maybe you're sitting here thinking, Well, uh uh JD, I just don't know a lot of things about spiritual self.

Well, let's tell them what you do know.

Somebody's in here saying, Well, I'm not a pastor.

Well, you know what?

Good.

The world don't need no more pastors.

We got enough pastors.

What we don't have enough of are people who are willing to open up their mouth and proclaim the word of God.

You might not ever hold a microphone and preach up on this platform, but I would rather proclaim Jesus with my life than hold this microphone in my hand.

You remember what I told you earlier?

I said that the second you got tagged, your responsibility changed.

Somebody brought you the gospel.

JD, I never heard the gospel.

You gonna hear it today?

Huh?

Somebody brought you the gospel, and the question is now that the gospel has gotten to you, will it get through you?

Okay, I'm gonna have to take my jacket off.

Y'all, okay.

Now that it's gotten to you, will it get through you?

Kids, I need y'all to focus up with me.

Kids, wave at me real quick.

Let me make sure I have your attention.

All my kids, kids, okay.

Because this word is for you today.

I want to tell you a story.

Now, this is not uh a children's biblical story in the Bible that we just so happen to come upon.

No, this is not one of those stories that begins with once upon a time.

No, it's the greatest story that's ever been told.

And guess what, kids?

You're in the story.

My God.

And it begins with the greatest love that the world has ever known.

Can I show you in scripture?

John chapter 3, verse 16 through 17.

John 3:16–17

Often quoted, many of us have it as a wall decor on our walls, but this is going to be the central focus of our message here today.

For God so loved you, the world, me, you.

For God so loved us that he gave his one and only son.

What's his son's name?

Say it like you mean it.

And whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

You know, we oftentimes just like to stop right there at that period, but there's actually a little bit more in this context.

If you look at it, the Bible says for this, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world.

That's not why he came.

The Bible says that he sent him to save the world through him.

And what I love about this is remember that airplane analogy that I gave y'all other earlier?

In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, watch this, oxygen masks would drop from above, which caused what causing the mass to pop down is a loss of pressure.

Something happened in the atmosphere, something was lost, and because of what was lost in humanity, something had to come down.

And it wasn't a something, it was a someone.

Jesus Christ, he stepped out of eternity, excuse me, excuse me, and he stepped into humanity.

Jesus touched people that nobody else would touch.

He he loves people that everybody else would reject.

Jeez, just like the oxygen mask, y'all on a plane, they would come down.

Those people that are in our lives, there is something that's happening, and there is a loss of cabin pressure.

And Jesus came down because we had a sin problem that we could not fix by ourselves.

We needed a savior in Romans chapter 5, verse 8.

Romans 5:8

Romans chapter 5, write this in your notes, kids.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 8, 5, verse 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

But God demonstrates his own love in this for me and you.

That while we were, depending on what translation you're reading, yet sinners, or while we were still sinners, Christ, my Lord and Savior, my lily in the valley, my bright and morning star, Jesus died for us.

I don't I don't want you to miss these words.

While we were still sinners, don't look at your neighbor right now.

Don't tell him you're still a sinner.

That's not where we're going right now.

Jesus didn't wait for you to clean yourself up.

Jesus didn't wait for you to get everything right.

No, he died for you.

You know what?

Isn't anybody thankful in here for his amazing grace?

Oh, how sweet the sound.

If I could sing, I would sing.

It saved a wretch.

You don't want to know what I was like 20 years ago.

A wretch like me.

Do I have any witnesses in this place that his grace saved you?

And I don't know if you have this testimony.

I once was lost, but now I'm found.

I was blind, but now I can see.

He knew your failures, he knew your mistakes, he knew every sin, he knew, and he went to the cross, anyways.

And he hung up on that rugged cross, didn't he, church?

And Jesus declared, it is finished.

He didn't say, I'm finished.

He says, It is finished.

In other words, what he was saying was the debt that we couldn't pay had been paid.

The spotless Lamb of God had given his life for you, for me, and for us.

The Bible tells us that he died.

I have to give you the gospel message.

They placed him in a borrowed tomb.

It wasn't even his tomb.

They rolled a stone in front of it, and Jesus laid in the tomb.

And on the third day, early on Sunday morning, something happened.

And the stone was rolled away.

Jesus got up, and I have some good news for you.

The tomb was empty then, and it's empty still.

Death couldn't hold him, the grave couldn't keep him, the stone couldn't stop him.

Because when the fact that he lives, we can have life.

Because he set us free, we can be free indeed.

And that's the gospel message in church.

That's what somebody told me.

That's what somebody has already told you.

And I'm telling you again.

This is what somebody has already carried to us.

This is what somebody refused to let stay with them.

And generation after generation, this story has continued to be told until one day it reached you.

One day, and and now here we are over 2,000 years later.

We're still telling the story.

We're still preaching about the story.

We're still believing the story.

We're still being saved by this story.

We're still being changed by The story.

Why?

Because the gospel has not lost its power.

The blood of Jesus still works.

Jesus is still saving.

And my name is JD, and I approve this message.

And now that you've heard the message, guess what?

I hope you're ready for it, church.

Tag you're in.

Let's write this down.

Tag somebody.

Tag somebody else.

Write this in your notes.

This is point number three.

Tag somebody else.

Now I want you guys to watch this.

I want to show you a scripture because Paul says something in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that sounds a lot like tag.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

Can I share it with you?

1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

Verse 2 through 4.

By this gospel.

What gospel are you talking about, JD?

Oh, the one you just received.

By this gospel, you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preach to you.

Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Watch this.

For what I received, I passed on to you.

Oh, you missed it.

Let me say it again.

For what I received, I'm passing it on to you.

Don't that sound a lot like tag?

Of first importance that Christ died for our sins, according to scripture, that he was buried, that he was uh raised on the third day, and that according to scriptures, he is still alive and alive in me and you.

I love this scripture because if you watch what he's saying, he says, What I received, I passed on to you.

My charge to everybody in this room and everybody watching online, what you are gonna receive today, now you need to pass it on.

But wait a minute.

Somebody say, Hold up.

Because if you know the game of tag, you've probably found a loophole in what I'm trying to teach you here today.

Somebody who really knows how to play tag, some of us know how to really play tag, know that when you tag somebody else, you're not it no more.

I was wrestling with this, I ain't gonna lie.

I said, Lord, you really want me to share tag and not share this?

And once you tag somebody else, you're not it anymore.

Uh you tag them and then they're it.

And what do you do?

You run away.

Because the whole point is, I'm not it anymore.

But here is what I want to charge everybody under the sound of my voice here today.

We're gonna change this because the gospel actually changes the game of tag.

Once you're it, you're always it.

You don't retire from being a witness, you don't graduate from the Great Commission, and when you tag somebody, you don't stop being it.

Now they're it too, and that's how the kingdom works.

We don't transfer the calling, we multiply the calling.

That's how the gospel has continued to be spread, and that's why you can't shut it down.

Generation after generation, they keep hearing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But we've got to get better about talking about this man named Jesus.

Because isn't it amazing what we'll tell people?

We find a restaurant and we're like, ooh, you gotta try this place.

You find a you you find a show that's really good, you tell people, ooh, you gotta go see this show.

You find a sale, you say, girl, I'm gonna send you the link.

And we find a product, you say, Listen, this product changed my life.

Changed your life, really?

No, it just made your skin feel a little bit softer, but apparently it changed your life.

No, Jesus is the one that changed your life.

And we'll tell all these people about this product, but we won't tell anybody about Jesus.

And don't even get me started on our opinions.

Because we love telling people about what we think.

We and most of the time, didn't nobody ask you what you thought.

Nobody asked you, but you know what?

You're gonna tell everybody, anyways.

Uh, do y'all know anybody like that who always be telling their opinion?

Come on, if they're sitting next to you, just wiggle your pinky toe, wiggle your pinky toe.

We we we tell people our opinion on something that's happening in the world.

We share our opinion with how you should raise your kids.

And they ain't even got a kid.

Oh no, we're not gonna go there.

We're not gonna go there.

We'll we'll boldly share our unverified opinion with somebody who didn't even ask, but we will go silent when we have an opportunity to share the truth that can change somebody's eternity.

Come on, church, there's something wrong with that.

And listen, I understand, sharing your faith is not easy.

Can I just be real here today?

Sharing your faith is not always easy.

Sometimes it's actually uncomfortable, but just because it's uncomfortable doesn't mean that it's optional.

I get it that you're uncomfortable.

It's hard going up to people in a grocery store telling them about Jesus.

But can't you be thankful that somebody sought you out, told you about the gospel, gave you the story that changed your life?

Why would you keep that to yourself?

And the good news is Jesus didn't just tell us to go and make disciples all by ourselves.

Let me show you in scripture Acts chapter 1, verse 8 through 9.

Acts 1:8–9

Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

Write this in your notes, kids.

Verse 8 through 9.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you slap your neighbor right now.

Say he's talking about me now.

He's talking about me right now, and you will be my witness in Jerusalem.

Well, JD, I don't live in Jerusalem.

In all Judea, I don't live in Judea, in all Samaria, I don't live in Samaria, okay?

And even to the ends of the earth.

And I believe that talks about you.

And this is what I love.

You aren't doing this by yourself.

This is one of those things that you get to do alongside the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will help you be a witness that listen, there are too many people in our lives today that do not know the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There's too many people who are lost and bound for us to stay quiet.

Somebody at your job needs Jesus.

Somebody in your household and your family needs Jesus.

Kids, wave at me.

Kids, somebody at your school needs Jesus.

Somebody in your neighborhood needs Jesus.

Somebody on your sports team needs Jesus.

And listen, you you kids, I love y'all.

You guys are amazing.

People call you the church of tomorrow.

I and I used to say that too, and it's not wrong, but I need you to know that you're not just the church of tomorrow.

You're actually part of the church right now.

You don't have to wait until you're 18 years old to tell somebody about Jesus.

You don't have to wait till you graduate high school.

You can follow Jesus right now.

You can tell somebody about Jesus now.

You can live a life differently right now.

You can make different choices now.

I had to Google it because I really didn't know.

But apparently, there's about a hundred thousand public schools in the in the United States, all across this nation.

A hundred thousand schools.

And sometimes, as a church, we'll say, Well, we need to get more Jesus in our schools.

Not saying that's wrong, but can I throw something back at you?

We already have Jesus in our schools because we're sending our kids into those schools and they can change the school from within.

Which is why you need to send us these babies because Pastor Alicia and Eric and Missy and their entire team, we want to give them the gospel of Jesus Christ so that they'll go and share with somebody else.

These kids don't need a microphone, they don't need to know how to answer every single answer in the Bible.

What they need is to know that Jesus Christ is their Savior.

That they were once lost, but now they're found.

They were dead in their sin, and he made them alive.

There is no more eny meeny minimo spirituality.

Because Jesus already decided who he was gonna use and he chose his church.

So I have a public service announcement for you, you might not like it.

Parents, you're it.

Grandparents, you're it.

Young adults, you're it.

Teenagers, you're it, kids, you're it.

And if you believe it, say I'm it.

Say it again, I'm it.

Because I'm it.

I want to be careful here, and probably the adults are the gonna be other ones understand what I'm about to say.

You're not it, you're it.

What I mean by that is too many of us are putting ourselves before God, making it seem like we're the ones that help somebody come to know Jesus.

We we should get all the credit.

What I want to do is I want to pray for us to decrease so that he may increase.

I need him to show up and show out in my life.

It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him.

So let me lay in this plane.

Let me close this out.

Charles, you can come if you're here.

Here's my question.

You ready?

Now that you're it, who are you gonna tag?

Are we gonna continue keeping this to ourselves?

Because everybody in the room, even our kids, understand that you can't play tag standing still.

You have to go after somebody.

And I wonder if there's somebody that God has already put on your heart.

As I've been up here preaching, the Lord has been showing you somebody's face.

Don't ignore that, church.

If the Lord has impressed somebody on you on your heart here today, you need to make sure that you tell them He's giving you that on purpose.

But just start somewhere.

Can we love people better?

Can we invite them, not just to the church to hear the worship, but can we invite them into a space that will change their life?

Tell them what Jesus has done for you.

Listen, I want to tell them myself for just a quick second.

Can I tell them myself?

There's often times where I'm gonna go to Casey Donut and I'm gonna get myself a couple of donuts.

I'm I'm just gonna I'm just gonna say what I'm gonna have to say.

Amen.

And and I get one or two because you, if you get one, you know, that one just gets gobbled up real quick.

At least the second one, you can taste it.

Okay, there's a method to my madness.

Stay with me.

But oftentimes when I go get my two donuts, I come into the office.

Uh the staff is gonna hear this for the first time, so I'm just gonna have to apologize.

I close my door when I arrive.

I put a sticky note on my door that says, Do not disturb.

I am sermon prepping.

I am not sermon prepping, I'm eating my donut.

Why?

Because I don't have enough for everybody to give out.

Don't judge me.

Because these donuts are too good to give out.

But Jesus is too good not to share.

You're never gonna have to worry about running out of Jesus.

There's plenty enough of Him to go around.

There's enough grace for you, and there's enough grace for that person that you're thinking about right now.

There's enough mercy for you, and there's enough mercy for them.

Thank God there's enough forgiveness for you.

But the reality is also there's enough forgiveness for them.

There's plenty of Jesus to go around.

Come on, the Bible tells us from everlasting to everlasting, He is God.

So you don't have to be like a JD and put a sign on your door.

In fact, the Bible tells us in Revelation 3.20, Jesus says, Here I am.

Standing at the door knocking.

Jesus is standing at the door and he's asking, Will you let me come in?

I'm talking to somebody here in this room here today because maybe you're here thinking, but but Jesus, I'm telling you, you don't want to come in here.

It's a mess in my life.

I'm too far gone.

I've made so many mistakes.

I'm broken.

Things are really dirty right now.

There could be a kid in this room saying, I I've disobeyed my parents so many times.

I've gone outside of the way that they've wanting to raise me.

I've told too many lies.

Jesus, you you don't you don't want to come in here.

And Jesus is saying, Hey, I know all that about you.

That's why I'm here.

You don't have to fix yourself before you let him in.

Just open the door.

Let him into your mess.

I'm preaching to somebody right now.

It's Bessie.

Let him into your mess, let him into your brokenness, let him into your hurt, into your pain, let him into your shame, let him into the places that you have been trying to hide.

What Jesus is saying is he's saying, I'll meet you there, but I love you too much to leave you there.

And he's here in this place, and Jesus wants access to every part of your life.

Too many of us, we only want to give him a few things.

Once you open the door to your life, to let Jesus come in, just hold the door open for somebody else to come through, too.

Because no matter how you look at it, after today, tag you're it.

It's time to go out of these walls and tell somebody about Jesus.

Tell anybody everybody about Jesus.

So every head bowed, every eye closed in this place here today, with it being Family Sunday.

I wanted to make sure that as a family, one of our core values here at City Center Church is we are family.

And I just believe in my heart of hearts that there could be a family that's here today.

There could be an individual that's here today.

You have not fully surrendered your life to Jesus.

You're wondering, is this ever gonna change?

Is my life ever gonna get better?

Will I ever get out of this pit that I have been in?

Will I ever uh be able to handle or get through this bullying that I'm receiving at school?

Will will I ever be able to overcome this peer pressure with hanging out with my friends?

And I just believe that there's a time when we get tired of doing this all by ourselves.

And we want to invite the Lord Jesus Christ into our heart because he's knocking.

If that's you here today, every head bowed out, your eye closed.

If you're here today and you're saying, JD, today I want to give my life to Jesus Christ.

I'm tired of doing this thing called life all by myself.

I want to lead my family better and make sure that I'm not doing this by myself.

I want to be a better husband, a better wife, I want to be a better parent.

And I have not fully surrendered my life to Jesus.

And I need to open the door for him.

If that's you, this is not to embarrass you.

Will you lift your hand just long enough for me to recognize it right now?

I have, there are kids' hands in this room.

I have hands to my left here in the center.

There's a bunch of hands up in the balcony.

We have some hands up here in the front.

Over to my right, y'all.

There are children that have their hands up.

Is there anybody else?

I see far up in the right balcony, right here in the back.

I see you.

My young people, I see you all.

Is there anybody else?

I need Jesus to come in.

I see another hand that's gone up over here, far over to my left.

Y'all, our kids are responding.

Is there anybody else?

I see some in the front here.

Praise God.

We'll wait for you.

I see you in my front row here.

Anybody else?

There's more hands that are going up over to my left.

Oh, I see more hands up in the balcony.

Is there anybody else?

I see more hands in the back.

Is there anybody else?

Okay.

Right here in the middle?

Praise God.

I see you.

You can put your hands down.

This is what I want to do.

I want to pray a prayer together as a family.

And listen, I don't want you to feel obligated to pray this prayer.

But if you're in this place here today, or maybe you're watching online and you and you're saying, JD, as of today, I want to enter into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

This is where it can start.

Maybe you're here today, and also some things have just happened along the way.

You've been in church for a long time, or maybe you know you've known the Lord, but hey, some things have happened.

Okay, hey, let's put that under the blood of Jesus Christ.

Let's start over right here, right now.

Pray this prayer with me.

Say, dear Jesus, I love you.

Be the Lord of my life.

I believe in my heart, and I confess with my mouth that you are my risen Savior.

You are King of Kings, you are Lord of Lords.

Thank you for dying for me.

Thank you for saving me.

I confess my sin to you today.

And the Bible promises me that what I confess, you forgive.

So as of today, I stand forgiven, I stand renewed, I stand redeemed.

In Jesus' name.

We make some noise for Jesus right now.

Can we make some noise for Jesus?

Thank you for joining us today.

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