Hell | Clayton Hentzel

Man, it is good to be with you. I'm so glad we get an

opportunity to hang out today. I want to welcome all of you

guys. Joining those of you here at

48th Street, those of you in Macomb, Kirksville 929, Pike

County, Hannibal Lima, Mount Sterling Keokuk, mom, with

Jacksonville online inside. I am just so thankful to be a

part of this church with incredibly awesome people like

you watching the baptism video and just seeing all the

incredible work that's happened you just Can't help but be

grateful to God and be grateful to be a part of this church in

my alone in that. Okay.

You guys are awake. All right.

Hey listen. It's been a hot week, but it's

been raining today. So, you should feel a little bit

better about yourself if you're brand-new to the crossing.

I'm so glad that you're here. Make sure that.

Before you leave today, you spend some time.

Connecting with the campus, pastor, and one of our

incredible staff members difference makers at each of our

location. If you want, you can click on

that QR code. That's in the seat in front of

you. It might be on one of the

screens. And you can click on that and

it'll give you an opportunity to connect with us.

So that way we can help graph g into the family.

You can realize what an incredible group of people you

get an opportunity to be surrounded by because they will

love you. Well, now before I get into the

message, I got to do a little bit of housekeeping with you.

In a couple of weeks, we're going to start a sermon series

on the weekend of Thursday, the 21st and Sunday July 24th.

We're going to start at 12 weeks.

I mean series called weeds in my garden a series on being honest,

about mental health and we are going to spend and I've said

this already that, I believe that these 12 weeks could be the

most important 12 weeks of the year for our church.

And during that sermon series, we are going to be talking

about. Well we're going to be talking

about suicide, we're going to be talking about self-harm, we're

gonna be talking about stress anxiety, burnout, low

self-esteem and depression. It is going to be a

transformative 12 weeks in the life of our church.

It's going to be transformative in your life and it can be

transformative in the life of the people that you love.

And I want to give you three things that I'm going to ask you

to do. Is we prepare for that sermon

series one. I want you guys to continue, I

brought this up a while back. Would you guys keep praying for

Jerry? And I as we're preparing those

messages second thing would you pray for our staff as they're

going to be no doubt feeling lots of questions and

challenging conversations the third thing and I mean this this

is Is going to be an incredible sermon series for you to invite

your friends, your family members, your neighbors, and

your co-workers. Because every person, you know,

Is either dealing with one of those things or has somebody

that they love who is and this sermon series is designed to

give us some help to give us some hope and some put some

tools in our toolbox to help us navigate the days we have

between now and when we get to meet Jesus and it is going to

require our help to be able to do the most good all across this

region. I want to make a special

request. If you are watching this sermon

series from wherever, you're Joining from and you are a

counselor or a mental health professional, would you click on

the QR code that's either on the chair in front of you or it's up

on the screen right here and if you would click on that and when

you do that, there is a it's going to pull up our link tree.

And one of those things in there is counselor info form.

I want you to click on that and I want you to fill out your

information and we Are going to send you an e-mail this week.

That's going to give you a little insight into where we're

going and actually give you the opportunity to help us as we

prepare for that series. I have a team of people that are

all mental health professionals that are going to help guide me

through this sermon series. But we want to give you guys an

opportunity to go on the journey with us because we would greatly

appreciate your help. That being said, I want to give

you a heads up. If you're a parent and you love

bringing your kid to church with you and you love bringing your

kid into the auditorium. Here's what I'm asking is in two

weeks when we start that sermon series, I'm going to encourage

you to not do that. I'm going to give you a couple

reasons why if you have, you know, kids that are in sixth

grade and down. We have incredible programming

at all of our different locations.

If you have a fuse that meets on Sunday morning, I want you to

take full advantage of that and I'm asking you to not bring your

kids for three reasons, one, I don't want to put ideas in your

kids as mind when you haven't been may be prepared to leap

through it, okay? So I'm just, I'm telling you up

front, I don't want to Tucked you in that.

Second thing is your kids will always learn way more in our

kids programming than they ever will hear learning from Jerry.

And I, if you think that they learn more in here than just

pull them out of grade school and just send them straight to

John Wood or Western Illinois or Truman State, but you and I both

know that this is not the best environment for them to learn.

And if you want your kids to learn about Jesus, you want to

put them in the very best possible place.

Place for them to learn about Jesus.

And we spend a ton of money in our church employing, a bunch of

awesome people and buying a bunch of great tools to make

sure that your kids experience is the very best.

It can be for them to learn about Jesus and for them to be

able to have friends that can help them grow with.

Jesus, third reason, I said there was three and I'm a man of

my word. Third reason is I want you to be

a good neighbor. And when your kid is jacking

around in the service, I need you to hear me, there's people

around you that are going to be hanging on for dear life during

that sermon series and they are going to be doing everything

they can to learn, as much as they can.

So they can go home and make a difference in their loved ones

lives, and your kid could be a distraction from that moment.

So, I want you to be a good neighbor.

Now, I'm not saying that today, you know, I love having my kids

come to church, they love coming and Listen to Jerry, just like

my wife got no home team, and I When my kids want it, it's

great. I let them do that after.

They've already been to church because I want them to learn in

an age appropriate environment. We all good, nobody hates me yet

because today we're talking about hell and I wanted to have

everybody on my team. When I did I'm being serious,

okay. We're in a sermon series called

the other side and we're going to be talking about what happens

after you die last week because I love Jerry.

I let him talk about heaven. This week is hell.

And next week, we're going to talk about the two judgments

that every single one of us is going to face.

Whoo, it's been hot this week. Let's just keep it going.

Now, some of you might be wondering why are we talking

about hell this week of all the weeks this is the week.

I was finally able to bring a friend to church.

I get it you might be going some of you just wandered off the

street. You lost a bet at work and here

you are you're just looking for some AC cuz your air

conditioners out and you Load up here.

Listen, I want you to hear me say this.

This is an incredible weekend for you to be in our church.

This is going to be a great message for absolutely every

single one of you to hear. And if you can put up with the

first 20 minutes of this message, and we're already eight

minutes and you only got 12 minutes left of the tough stuff.

The last 10 minutes are going to be life-giving, they're going to

be powerful, they're going to be life-altering.

I is the reason I'm talking about hell is because the Bible

talks about it, And if we are going to be Jesus people, if

we're going to be church people, if we're going to be people who

believe in the word of God, then we have to believe that when the

Bible says that, everything in scripture is useful that us

looking at hell, and expand seeing, what the scripture says

about it is going to be useful to our lives, that we need to

submit Our Lives to God's will God's purposes and God's word.

And if I'm going to be a good pastor, I've got to make sure

that we spend some time talking about all the things.

Things that God talks about and some of you you may be grew up

in a church that talked about hell.

A little too much like it was, you know, he'll all the time and

it was really got around to Heaven.

It was all law and no Grace. You may have had to go to an

old-school. Revival, raise your hand.

If you went to a Revival, my parents took me didn't work but

I went. Yeah.

And you heard that he'll was hot and Eternity was long and you're

like no we got to get out of here.

Okay, however it may be it has been overdone but My worry is

that We probably don't talk about it enough and I just

wanted to at least level the playing field and have an honest

dialogue about it, because there is a lot of confusion not just

in the world but in Christian circles about hell, I'll hear

good, well-meaning Christians say things like well you know

more of a new testament, Christian person, a more of a

love and grace guy and I you know hell and all that wrath.

That's Old Testament. That's cute.

It look good on a bumper sticker.

Might make for a good Christian, Jesus.

And shirt for you to wear to your new Christian band that you

like to go to. But hear me guess who talked

about hell more than anybody else.

Jesus whoa. Yeah, check this one out.

Guess who talked about it more than everybody else combined?

Yeah, that new testament. Guy were a big fan of Jesus.

If it was important to Jesus, the probably ought to be

important to us. Now there's a lot of ideas

floating around from atheists and religious people about what

happens after we die. So, we're going to spend a

couple minutes, just going through all of them, The

Atheist, they believe they're Bound by Evolution and so they

believe that when we die, that's it game over.

There's nothing after it, they have to become a naturalist,

there's no way away from it for them.

However, An atheist believes that there is ultimately no

right? And ultimately no wrong.

There is no higher power and there is no higher purpose.

If a person is an atheist, their moral High Ground is either

grounded in the worship of self. Whatever is good for them or

popular opinion, whichever group is in power.

The problem with the atheistic worldview is that it reinforces

a philosophical A belief in survival of the fittest.

That means that at some point in time, in order for you to

advance in order for you to win, in order for you to get head

eventually You will have to be the fit one.

Which means that you will have to step.

An advance on the weak and the marginalized, the oppressed.

And it flies in the face of what Jesus says in Mark chapter 10,

Mark 10 · chapter mention

if you're a Jesus person, this is where we draw our inspiration

from Jesus called them together. And said, you know, that those

who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles, Lord it over them

and their High officials exercise authority over them.

Not so with you. Jesus people instead, whoever

wants to become great. Among you must be your servant

and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all and you're

going well that would be really hard for me Jesus because I'm a

pretty big deal. We'll check out what he says.

Let's keep going for even. Oh Even Jesus, the son of man

did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a

ransom for many Christian. He flies in the face of survival

of the fittest. It's the fittest loving the

least. Now some of you might be going.

Okay, that's cool but I'm not an atheist fine.

You heard some people? Talk are you've heard maybe

heard some people talk about reincarnation that after you die

you come back as something else. And if you are really bad, you

know, you come back as a as a, you know, a fat white guy who

doesn't have a lot of money and if you were really, really bad.

You come back as lettuce, which is why, you know, I don't eat

salad. And if you were pretty decent,

if you did a pretty good job, you come back as an attractive

wealthy person. If you were fantastic, you come

back as somebody who's, you know, famous and popular and

Steve Job. That's what happens.

The problem is the Bible flies in the face of that because you

don't just keep dying over and over again and coming back to

life and never realizing it, which is the general thrust of

reincarnations because Look, what Jesus says, remember, Jesus

Matthew chapter 25, then they will go away to Eternal

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

punishment but the righteous to eternal life when it's over.

There's no do-overs. Your destination is cemented,

eternally. You don't get a second chance.

Since you don't get a do-over you don't get to try it out all

over again. When you die, you're done.

That's what Jesus says. There's some who believe in

universalism and man all roads lead to Heaven.

Come on, bro. They usually have like a hemp

sticker somewhere on their car. I get it.

Peace man, everybody I get it man.

It sounds fun, fantastic everybody.

There's no right? There's no wrong man.

I get it. I'm not even being mean they

seem like super cool. People wouldn't let him watch my

kids but they sound like they'd be a lot of fun.

And they just think that everybody eventually ends up in

the same place, the problem with that, this pesky guy named,

Jesus, look what he says for God.

So loved the world that he gave his one and only son that

whoever believes in him, it's not whoever believes I believe

in a heaven, I believe in a better place.

That's not what gets you there? Whoever believes in him, him,

being Jesus, shall not perish. But have eternal life.

Look what it says in Matthew chapter 7, enter through the

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

narrow gate for wide is the gate and Broad is the road that leads

to destruction and many enter through.

It universalism really wide Road.

Everybody gets their really wide gate.

Everything there's room for everybody here no matter where

you're at no matter what you think.

Come on in Jesus is saying no because that road leads to

destruction but small is the gate and narrow is the road that

leads to life. Only a few find it.

The narrow road is only as wide as Jesus Christ, unless you go

through him, you're not getting in.

Now, there's some people out there, who believe in

Annihilation ilysm. You might be going Clayton, we

don't believe any of these things, but you'd be surprised

to show up. This is a belief that

unbelievers will not experience eternity in Hell suffering, but

they will just be extinguished. Like remember when you got

grounded your parents like you're getting grounded for a

week and if you're a really bad, you're grounded for two weeks.

The functionally when you die God, just grounds you.

And he just burns you inhale for a little bit until you've burned

up enough and then he extinguishes you and you

disappear. And after a long period of

Torment there just no more. And they argue that the word

Eternal in scripture should be translated a Jory on.

That mean you're just gonna you're just gonna be in hell for

a little bit and then it'll be over the huge problem with that

is the Bible. The reason why there's a huge

problem is because when the Bible talks about hell, it talks

about day and night forever and ever already showed you this

verse, but let's look at it again, Matthew chapter 25, then

Matthew 25 · chapter mention

they will go away to Eternal punishment.

But the righteous to eternal life, the word that they want to

translate a jury on, which is a perfect fought, which is a fine

interpretation, you can't go. It's just a short period of time

for Eternal punishment but it's forever and ever for those.

We're going to eternal life. If this is temporary, then this

is temporary. Doesn't make sense, no matter

how you measure it. Heaven would only end up being

for a short period of time. Some of you may have grown up in

a church where you heard about purgatory.

Those who believe in purgatory, believe that you it's a place

where you go to pay for your sins before you go to heaven.

Aside from the fact that nowhere is, this is Purgatory, mentioned

in scripture nor is anything remotely close to it.

Alluded to in scripture the main text that they use is First

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

Corinthians. Chapter 3 verses starting with

verse 12. This is, this is the Purgatory

verse in the Bible. If anyone Builds on this

Foundation using gold silver, costly Stones, wood, hay or

straw. Their work will be shown for

what it is because the day will bring it to light, it will be

Old with fire and the fire will test the quality of each

person's work. If what has been built survives,

the Builder will receive a reward.

If it is burned up, this is the Purgatory.

Verse verse 15, the Builder will suffer loss, but yet will be

saved, even though only as one escaping through the flames.

This is the Purgatory verse in the Bible that you be saved, but

only is one escaping through the Flames.

However, the context of this verse is about how we build our

faith and the quality of the work of our faith.

In other words, what is built on the solid foundation of Jesus

Christ, the solid rock of him. That quality material, it will

last, but that which is of poor quality and poor material will

be burned up. You're going Clayton, you have

not made sense yet. Keep going.

Here's what he's saying. Our faith will be intact, but

the flaws in our theology, the shortcomings of our belief

system. The errors in our walk will be

consumed by the fire. It is not the believer that

passes through the fire but our works.

Furthermore to believe in purgatory is a wretched assault

on the work of Jesus Christ in the very same book that I just

read from. Paul is writing.

Look what he says in chapter 15 for what I received.

I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for

our sins, according to the scriptures that he was buried

and that he was raised on the third day, according to the

scriptures. That Christ died for our sins.

If Christ died for our sins. Then what are you paying for in

purgatory? What's your functionally saying

is that Jesus could afford the bill but he couldn't afford the

tip. That somehow he needs you at the

end of your life to make up the difference.

That's wrong. We sing about the death of

Jesus, on the cross. We sing songs, like Jesus, Paid

It All. Furthermore, we have these words

of Paul in Colossians, same author, but now he has

reconciled You by Christ's physical body through death to

present you, holy in God's sight without blemish and free from

accusation, if you continue in, your faith, established and firm

and do not move from The Hope held out in the gospel.

This is the gospel that you heard and that has been

proclaimed to every creature under heaven.

And of which I Paul have become a servant nowhere in that burst

does. It talk about you?

Making you, holy in God's sight. The thrust of the Gospel message

is that Jesus made us right with God?

It is not of our own. It's something that he did on

our behalf. Okay.

So what's hell? You have four more minutes?

Hang on and we get to the good stuff.

So what is hell? Hell is described all throughout

scripture. As a place of eternal torment,

unquenchable fire. It's a place where the worm does

not die, where people gnashed their teeth in anguish and

regret. It is a place where people go

and they do not return, even to warn loved ones.

It is a place of outer Darkness. One of the descriptions that

Jesus uses is that of gehenna, we're going to be going to

Israel late next year. And if you go, you'll get to be

you'll get to see it. It was This place on the

outskirts of the city of Jerusalem that had previously

been used for child sacrifice and it was deemed as an

uninhabitable place and so, because of the Steep edges on

the walls of Jerusalem, it became the trash dump.

And people would go to the edge of the city walls and they would

dump their trash over the top and it would fall down and they

take dead bodies and it would fall down.

And then they would keep the fires burning to keep the smell

down and to keep the bacteria and the disease from spreading

and all day long. Smoke rose out of gehenna.

And when Jesus got talking about hell, he says that's what it's

like. It's a place where God is absent

and all things God are absent. I know, I know it's fun.

Sometimes we're talking about oh yeah, you know, I'm going to

hell and I'm just going to keep on partying when I get there.

I'm just going to keep on Dancing.

Keep on having sex keep on partying.

When I'm in hell, hear me sex? And music are both gifts from

God. They won't be there.

I know it's catchy to, like, when someone dies at their

funeral to play, you know, if you get to heaven, give Heaven a

little hell? No, no.

The one thing you won't find in heaven.

There's a little bit of hell. I want to be very clear.

So what will happen? Some of you might be wondering,

will who goes to hell? You've obviously said it's a

place. We don't want to go.

So who goes there? Well John 14:6 tells us who goes

John 14:6

there. Jesus answered.

I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the father, except through me.

There's only one of two places for you to go.

You can either go to be with the Father, which is what heaven is,

or you can choose to not go to the father and the absence of

the father, we've already established.

This is hell. And the only way to get to the

father is through the son, Jesus Christ, and there might be some

of you going. Well I don't know about that

hear me. Unless Jesus is the source, the

foundation, the power of your faith and of your salvation, if

you are not going to heaven, That means woke.

Leftist ideology, won't get you there.

It means, conservative nationalism won't get you to

heaven. You won't get in for being a

republican. You won't get in for being a

Democrat. It means that if you're an

atheist, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Mormon, your life is

in peril. There's some of you who are

going. Whoa, I thought I like this

place. Hear me.

You might be on Clayton. We, we really do.

We like this church, but that does not seem fair.

I couldn't agree with you more. It's not fair.

It's not fair at all. However, I want to say a couple

things to you regarding the fairness of God, one, we live in

a world that has been so covered in the grace of God, that we can

forget his Justice. We live in a world that has been

so infused with his Mercy that we can lose sight of his

holiness. So for those of you who be gone,

this does not sound fair. This does not sound like a god

that I can get behind. Let me, let me speak to that.

First thing I would say to you is that it's not about fair and

then he's not being closed-minded and he's not being

exclusionary. When we say that Jesus is the

only way to the father. What we're actually saying is

Jesus is the only one who He's the only one who he's, the only

one who left heaven and came to Earth.

He's the only one who lived a perfect life.

He's the only one who paid the ultimate price on the cross.

He's the only one who perfectly demonstrated the love of God.

He's the only one who destroyed the works of the Devil.

He's the only one who healed this with his wounds.

He's the only one who had the iniquity of us all placed on his

shoulders. He's the only one who saves

because he's the only one who could he's the only Who did he's

the only one who died in my place.

He's the only one who was buried and three days later rose from

the dead. He's the only one who ascended

to the father full of grace and mercy, when we say that Jesus is

the only way to the father. It's because Jesus is the only

one who saves. That's it.

We're not saying that he's hateful.

We're not saying that he's exclusionary.

He's saying I'm the Lifeboat and there's not another one.

I'm the only boat in these Waters, reaching out his hand

asking. People do you want to be saved?

It's not exclusionary. I'm just the only one here.

Second thing. We don't want Fair.

Right? If you believe In fairness,

you're a bad parent. Do you know this in your heart

when your kids come to you? That's not fair.

Do you go? You're brilliant.

Oh, I know you've got some catchy parenting tip.

Well, life's not fair. Sometimes kid question.

If things aren't fair in your house, raise your hand.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Life's not fair.

Because we only want fair when we stand to benefit.

We don't want fair when we stand to lose.

We want fair when it's in our favor.

But we don't want fair. When it's time to pick up the

tab. Husbands.

When your father-in-law when you were dating, the, his daughter

took you out for a meal and he offered to buy.

Did you go? That's not fair.

You're broke. But said Thank God.

That's what you did when, when your kids come up to you and go.

That's not fair. It's only when you're talking

about who gets to watch what on the TV and who gets to play for

how long on the gaming console. But when the bill show up at the

house, no one's going, hey, that's not fair.

I didn't get to pay for the car this month.

No. Did that right there?

That's your kids aren't showing up dead, Mom.

It's not fair that you guys work so hard to pay for this house.

We want to get jobs to never heard it.

Not once in my entire life, have they gone to the store and said,

oh my goodness. These groceries are getting

expensive. Can we help out?

Right. Imagine going home and send, you

know what kids it's been pretty unfair around here.

Your mom's been doing a Lion's Share of the laundry and I've

been doing a Lion's Share of the yard working.

We've been doing it for his by. We can count your entire

stinking life. So we're going to take the next

12 years of your life, and we're going to kick back.

Christians. We don't want fair when it comes

to the goodness of God. Because there's only one thing

you and I deserve in a fair world and it's hell.

When we look at God's saving work, the question that doesn't

come to our mind. Is not.

How does anybody end up in? Hell, what blows our mind is

that anybody shows up in heaven, How could, how could you?

And I have ever get there. Because every single one of us,

myself included, we deserve hell.

And we know this internally because when I sin, I sin

against an eternally, perfect God.

And so, do you and Justice is always determined by the offense

of the person. Let me explain if I come to your

neighborhood tonight and I kill all the Flies.

You know. You guys are going to do put

palm branches in ago. This guy rocks.

If I kill all the mosquitoes. Pete is not going to be walking

down your neighborhood going. This guy's got to be stopped.

He's a monster. He kills animals, right?

There's a difference between me killing all the Flies and

mosquitoes and me killing all the neighborhood, dogs.

That'll raise some Flags, right? There's a difference between

speeding on the highway and speeding in a school zone.

because there's a difference between an offense against

18-wheelers and small children at play, there's a difference

between killing the neighborhood cat, and taking the life of a

human being and our justice system is built on who the

offense is against So what do you think?

You and I should get when our sin is an offense against a holy

and an eternal God. What would seem fit?

Eternal. Punishment.

It's when we understand the reality of God's holiness and

Perfection and the sinfulness of Our Lives that we are left to

ponder this question. How does God allow anybody into

heaven? And I'm going to tell you.

Second Corinthians, five verse 21.

This is how he does. It, God made him Jesus who had

no sin to be sin for me. And you so that in Jesus, we

might become the righteousness of God.

How do I get into heaven? How do you get into heaven?

He took all of your sin, all of your iniquity and he laid it on

Jesus. And in that moment, Jesus became

my sin and I became his righteousness.

When God set out to solve the problem of hell, he did it

through the work of Jesus. Think of all the sins that you

could ever. Think of that you've committed,

they were laid on Jesus. Jesus became an adulterer, a

cheater, a liar, a coveter, a Steeler, a murderer, a molester,

a pedophile. He became all of those things.

So you and I could be the righteousness of Jesus, we

became the 33 year old man who lived a perfect and sinless.

Life, we became his righteousness and he became our

guilt. He became our shame, he took up

our penalty, we get the mercy of Jesus and he gets our mess.

We get the good works of Jesus and he gets our sins, we get the

perfect life of Jesus and Jesus gets pierced, we get the

righteousness and he gets the unrighteousness.

Don't ever doubt the love of God, because look what it says

in 2nd Peter. The Lord is not slow, in keeping

his promise as some understand slowness.

Instead, he is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish,

but everyone to come to repentance.

That's the desire of Jesus. That's the desire of God that

you and I would come into fellowship with him.

We're hell no longer becomes an issue because you are in right

standing because of Jesus. So what should you and I do?

Well, the Bible's really clear when you come to the knowledge

of what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross, you're supposed to

do three things. You're supposed to believe that

what Jesus said, and what Jesus did he did and he is second

thing you repent. You recognize, hey, I got to

stop living for me. I got to start living for him.

I'm done being in charge. You're in charge and then you

get Baptized, you make him your lord and savior.

Lord means you live for him. Now, you're no longer in charge

and some of you you might be going.

But Clayton, when it comes to get baptized, what do you mean

by that? I mean that you symbolize what

Jesus Christ did on the cross, you are buried in your sins and

you are raised to New Life in him and you might be going.

But Clayton, I was baptized as a baby.

That's great, but that's nowhere in scripture.

You might be going every time. Baptisms talked about in

scripture. It's your decision.

You don't get saved because your parents wanted you to be a

believer. That was a wet baby dedication.

That's what it was. Listen if baptism against

somebody's will worked. What should we do today?

We should get a bunch of people drop drunk, take him out to the

Mississippi, dip them and bring them back up and go see you in

heaven, man. Like what happened?

I well, you just got dumped. You got baptized right, okay?

That clip is going to live in the wrong ways and I apologize

for that. Okay, they look at me like I

knew that church was jacked up. Listen.

Listen, if you can't take a person against their will and

baptize them in that count, how can you take a baby and do the

same? Now, listen, there's nothing

wrong with. That means your parents loved.

You means that they wanted you to grow up in church, and means

that they wanted you to grow up and make a decision to follow

Jesus Christ, on your own accord.

And what better way to fulfill that prayer then for you to do

it yourself and some of you might be going to Clayton, I've

been following Jesus and coming to this church, for a really

long time. And if I get baptized, people

are gonna be like what's wrong with that person that they took.

So long, listen, this church will never get frustrated at

people being obedient never will cheer just as loud.

You might be going to clean. Its give me a little awkward

because I mean I've been a small group leader, I've served at

this church. Listen, this church will never

get frustrated at people being obedient, because guess what?

I'm going to learn some about Jesus next week where I screwed

up. And I bet you want me to be a

person who goes, I got to fix it.

That's what happens. Is.

We continue to follow? Jesus.

Hear me. Those of you who are already

have a faith, I want you to pay attention to me.

Me, this is why we give, this is why we serve, this is why we

lead life groups. And D groups is because we see

our lives, and our hardships, and our struggles and our

opportunities. As ways.

To point people to the goodness of God, and point them to the

realities of heaven and turn them away from the possibility

of Hell Christians. What would happen if you saw

your life in between these two Cosmic realities Heaven and

Hell, could you deal with people being harmed?

Do you if you knew that the way you operated might show them a

little Jesus and it might lure them into his ways.

What if you were to change the way you posted because you

wanted to make sure you always had an opportunity to point

people to Jesus and said of turn them away and if you turn them

away, there's going to be less people to show them the ways of

Jesus. What if we saw our hardships and

our struggles as opportunities, to reflect the goodness of God,

and how we endured that hardship as an opportunity.

T to point people to Jesus, what we should be the kind of people

that Overlook offenses in order to make inroads to point people.

To Jesus. Christian should be so full of

grace. So full of Mercy, because we

have a deep longing desire to turn people away from hell and

point them to Jesus, who's the only one who can save and I hope

you will join me in that mission.

We're moving to a time of decision.

I went long. Okay, I shave 25 minutes, out of

my sermon and I'm still long, so pay attention.

We're going quick. I want you to just say the word

win, say it a little bit louder. Okay?

If you were to come to me with marriage counseling, and you'd

like a, we've been getting in a fight, but he said he was sorry,

I would say. When did he say he was sorry.

Why? After he got caught, if you were

to come to me and you were to be hanging out with me and you were

to say, you know, we've been having problems with our kids

and we had a fight and a big deal and but he said he was

sorry and I would say will win. Well after I went to him and I

said I was sorry. That's when my kids said that

they were sorry. Timing matters.

Give me the word one more time. So when did God move on your

behalf? We live in a world where it's

always after. I'll be good to my wife, after

she's good to me. I'll be work hard for my boss

after. He pays me.

What I'm worth. We live in an after culture, but

when did Jesus move on your behalf?

When did he do it? That would be interesting.

Where does this scripture talk about?

When God moved on my behalf, you better believe.

It does top 5. Favorite verses of the Bible.

Get the tattoo on your neck, for all I care.

Romans 5:8 while. That's when he moved.

Romans 5:8

Not after. While Romans 5:8 while we were

Romans 5:8

still Sinners. When did he move?

He moved while. You keep thinking, gotta love me

after I get baptized you keep thinking, God will love me after

I get my life, right? You think God will love you

after you come to church enough times, you think God will love

her after. You serve enough after you sing

enough songs after you give enough money but the Bible is

clear while we were still Sinners. when you were cheating

on your wife, God demonstrates, his love for us in this while.

When you're beating somebody. Stealing from somebody robbing

somebody bullying. Somebody posted on somebody

while we were still sinners. That's when he moved.

He moved in your behalf. Wow, you were doing an assault

against his character. he moved while you were sinning against

him, while you were racking up a bill not after He saw you and

you were worth it. God was at his best when you

were at your worst. When did he move?

He moved Wild. And if you're here today, and

you're watching online, And you've never started an intimate

personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Don't put it off. It's just a few moments.

Everybody's going to stand around you for watching online.

There's maybe some that's going to pop up in the chat.

There's any people over here that would love an opportunity

to talk with you about starting an intimate personal

relationship with Jesus Christ. There's some of you, you've

never been baptized, there's some of you that may have been

sprinkled, but never have been immersed, as the Bible teaches.

Listen, we want to celebrate with, you will stay until we're

done. If you're going, you know what

he's talking about me. It's not Clayton talking to you.

That is the spirit of God, drawing his children back home.

and our church will celebrate that Now, you're already here

and you're a Jesus follower. I want us to live our lives in

light of these two realities. There is a very real hell and

there is a very real heaven and how we live our lives changes.

The population of both at the beginning of the year, when I

cast a vision for this church, I said I want us to make this

region the hardest place on planet Earth to get to Hell

from. And the way we give and serve

and love and lead and handle offense and hard shift will show

people the love and the power of Jesus Christ.

And maybe some of us need to spend just a little bit of time

on our knees going. God, I have not been a

reflection of you to a watching world and I need some help and

let's just be a church that's real about that stuff.

Okay, stand up and we pray for you.

God, we need you right now in every heart and every life and

ever seen one of our locations, while campus pastors Elena in

the plane got I'm asking that you would move in this church.

Solidify in us a desire to live in light of your truth.

Your And I pray, amen.