Opposition | Jerry Harris

All right. How's everybody doing, well?

It's good to see you Crossing Church.

I hope you're doing well. It's exciting to be in the house

of the Lord, with the people of the Lord were celebrating two

anniversaries today Mount Sterling, nine years thankful,

father for that and Hannibal, 11 years.

So we're thankful for both of you all the impact that you do

in the communities that you you serve and together as a body of

Believers, we get to serve 10,000 square miles of

communities and it's just absolutely incredible.

It's incredible to be part of this church family.

I'm so glad that you're here. We want to welcome your Insider

online as well and that together we can be one body serving the

lord and learning from the Lord together.

So on Thursday I Preach this message and it began with

talking about people being canceled and there was this look

on people's faces and I don't know you.

I don't know if you know what this feels like but I'm standing

up here and I'm saying stuff and people are kind of looking at

me. And I'm like and I as I'm going

through this and I'm going to do, you know what it means to be

cancelled. And how many of you don't know

what that means? And there's a bunch of hands

that actually went up. So I want to explain it so that,

you know, you're with me on the front end so American culture,

maybe culture in general World culture.

If you do something that you shouldn't do or these the

culture perceives that you shouldn't do or say something

that you shouldn't say that doesn't fit in with like

whatever the culture. Saying the norm is then there is

like a, there's something that culture can do to you.

And that is cancel you, which is which means that that, you know,

you'll lose your job, you'll lose your.

Whatever means that you have to communicate with other people,

you may be eliminated from social media, you know?

And all of those things together would be defining what being

canceled is, okay. Okay, and it's happened a lot in

our culture and people do get cancelled for all sorts of

reasons. And right now, if you're

watching TV and you maybe into this, you may not be into this.

There's this big trial going on between Johnny Depp and Amber

Heard and it's a 50 million dollar defamation lawsuit.

That Johnny Depp is bringing because allegations were made on

social media that he was. Abusive to his former wife,

Amber, and because of that, he lost opportunities to be able to

star in major Motion Pictures and now all the stuff is coming

out and it's cray-cray, right? It's like whoa.

Like the the stories that if you're listening to any of that

the stories that you're hearing is like wow and it all goes back

to Johnny Depp being cancelled but there's a lot of people

famous people that have been old JK Rowling was the the author of

all the Harry Potter and Potter novels was canceled because she

made comments about trans culture, Ellen DeGeneres

canceled because of a toxic work environment.

Lots of people cancelled over sexual misconduct like Harvey.

Weinstein are Kelly, Louis, c.k. Kevin Spacey Bill O'Reilly

Justin Timberlake, you go on and on and on people being canceled

for that sexual misconduct even a former president was Canceled.

So, and when you think about this cancel culture, some of

these, I think, for many of us are very understandable, but

some of them, we might have different opinions even argue

about it because you'll have an opinion about whether or not

someone should have been or should not have been canceled.

Now, we live in a, in a, in a culture in an age where this is

the reality and it kind of goes along with political

correctness. Correctness and doxing you can

look that if you don't that is gaslighting that to political

and class polarization. And we might be want to be very

careful about what we say or what we post because we don't

want to upset the wrong people, right?

And if we do upset the wrong people what might happen to us.

Yeah, you might get cancelled and nobody wants to be

cancelled, right? And with social media, it is

pretty easy for people to say, all kinds of things about you.

That may or may not be true, right?

And then, if they do on social media, there really is very

little, if any recourse to defend oneself, it's just

something that you have to, you have to put up with I mean,

wouldn't we all agree that there's a lot of trolls on

social media? And you don't want to get into a

fight with a troll, you don't want to get into a match with a

skunk because you're going to end up, stinking, right?

And so, what do you do? How do you respond?

Even this church is not exempt from forms of canceling, or

doxing, or gaslighting. We endured incredible opposition

last year. When a covid outbreak happened

at our camp, every major news Outlet carried stories about us.

Now, that was happening at camps all across the country, but we

were the ones that got all this coverage and it was hard.

I mean, people, I mean saying all kinds of evil things.

I mean you can't even imagine some of the emails that we

received as a church because of that.

But before I paint this Church as a victim in full disclosure.

I want you to know that there have been times in the past

where this church is cancelled people.

What Yeah, there's been times when we've had a sincere belief,

that there was a legitimate physical danger, that someone

would pose, if they came in, like, we've been threatened, or

something like that or there were people that were seeking to

divide us with false teaching or something.

And in the past, there have been times for the safety of our

congregation, we've actually canceled P.

We said you can't come to any of our locations, and I would say

that in the past 25 years, that's happened, less than 20

times. Times, but it has happened.

All that to say, we are what we should be.

Well, aware of this reality, this, this reality of cancelled

culture. So, with that in mind, today, I

want to talk to you about the most famous person of all time

that was canceled. And cancelled, literally in

every way a person could be canceled and what that

cancellation means to you. Jesus was canceled.

You follow and I follow. The one person who was cancelled

above all others in this series, that we're going through right

now, it's called surrounded. And what we've been exploring is

the various groups or individuals that surrounded

Jesus in his ministry and like last week when Clayton was

preaching was talking about his disciples and you know I think

that's kind of a positive look, but I'm taking the opposite of

that today and taking a look at the negative because This was

also surrounded with people who opposed him.

He was surrounded by opposition. And I don't know if we ever let

it sink in just how saturated Jesus is environment was

constantly with opposition and I'd like to start by kind of

proving that to you, okay? So Jesus was opposed even before

he was born. I mean, how many of us can say

that that we were opposed before we were born?

If you look back at the gospel narrative, what you'll find is

that Joseph and Mary. Endured all of this opposition

from family, friends, and neighbors while she was

pregnant. Now, some of that may have been

understandable at the time, because he or she is a girl of

fourteen or fifteen, she's betrothed to Joseph and then she

turns up pregnant and she tells her family.

It's by the Holy Spirit. Now, I'm sure that that would

have been a hard one for them to believe.

As a matter of fact, they didn't believe it.

If you look at the inference of the rest of the Gospel

narrative, you'll see that they actually didn't believe in it

and I'll tell you why, because they went to Bethlehem in order

to register for the census in, Jesus was born there.

So she was in her. Third trimester was late term

when she had to make that trip. But it would that that census

was for everyone. Who was of the house and the

lineage of David, the king, and both, she and her family, and

Joseph. And his family were of that

lineage. Which means their entire Clan,

their entire family would have had to go from where they were

living up in that area of Nazareth, all the way down to

Bethlehem to register for the census, which means they should

have traveled together. But when you read the gospel

narrative, you find that Mary and Joseph are alone.

And when they get down to Bethlehem, they can't find

lodging. Why are they alone?

Why wouldn't a girl of fourteen or fifteen?

That's getting ready to deliver a child want to be with her

family to help her in that delivery?

The inference of God's word is that they had been completely

canceled. By their family.

Jesus was opposed when he was still in utero opposed when he

hadn't even been born yet. Jesus was opposed at his birth

and as a baby how are you opposed?

I mean all babies are just, you know, they're beautiful cute.

Right, how could you be opposed as an infant?

Well, you may recall that the wise men came soon after Jesus

was born and they went to Herod the king and they said, where is

he? Who is born?

King of the Jews? Herod's thinking to himself?

What? The king of the Jews?

And they start talking about prophecy and all sorts of

things. And, of course, hair in the back

of his mind is going, I don't want anyone usurping, the throne

from me. And so, Jesus is still an infant

Harrison's out this decree to Bethlehem, every child under two

years old is to be killed. So there's this massacre That

happens in Bethlehem but Joseph's warned in a dream

before this happens and so Mary. And Joseph, and the little baby

Jesus end up going to Africa to Egypt to hide.

To survive. Jesus was opposed even as an

infant, Jesus was opposed by his own people.

In Nazareth, when he reached the age of 30, it's a matter of

fact, it's recorded that in his first sermon.

The outcome was not what you would really want an outcome to

be. If you were preaching to people,

he laid it out in his first sermon this opposition and he

would have died at that very moment.

If it wasn't for divine. Prevention.

This is a long scripture but I want you to read through the

story with me to Luke chapter 4, it says Jesus returned to

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Galilee in the power of the spirit in the news about him

spread throughout the whole Countryside, he was teaching in

their synagogues and everyone, look, everyone, praised him,

that doesn't sound like opposition, they all appreciate

it was re must have been really good with his preaching and

speaking. So he went to Nazareth where had

been brought up. In other words, this is home,

right? And on the Sabbath day, he went

to the synagogue as was his custom and he stood up to read.

And the scroll of the prophet, Isaiah was handed to him

unrolling it. He found the place where it was

written. The spirit of the Lord is on me

because he has anointed me to Proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to Proclaim freedom for the prisoners and

recovery of sight for the blind to set the oppressed free and to

proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

And then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the

attendant and sat down the eyes of everyone in the synagogue

were fastened on E. They began by saying to them.

Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

All spoke well of him. Well, that doesn't sound like a

posed and were amazed at the gracious words that came from

his lips. Everything on that.

He sang. That's so nice that everybody

agrees with, right? And then there's this statement

Oh this statements a lot bigger. It falls a lot harder than you

might think. Isn't this Joseph's son?

They asked which means what isn't Jesus?

A oh you know the word. and all of a sudden, the sermon flips

180 degrees Jesus said to them, surely you will quote, this

proverb, to me, physician heal yourself words from the cross

and you will tell me do here in your hometown.

What you've done, what you've heard that you did in Capernaum.

Truly, I tell you he continued. No, Prophet is accepted in his

hometown. I assure you that there were

many widows in Israel in Elijah's time when the sky was

shut for three and a half years. And there was a severe famine

throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any

of them but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of sidon

and there were many in Israel with leprosy.

In the time of Elisha the prophet yet.

None of them was cleansed, only Naaman, the Syrian, and all the

people in the synagogue were. Look at that word.

Furious. When they heard this and they

got up drove him out of the town and took him to the brow of a

hill on which the town was built in order to throw him off the

cliff. I hope none of my sermons in

this way. There's not very many Cliff.

You have to go anyway. But he walked right through the

crowd. Now there's the divine

intervention, he walked through the crowd and went on his way.

Jesus was opposed by the people in his own Hometown.

The people that he grew up with You know, Jesus was also opposed

by the entire religious establishment of Israel as he

began to do his ministry. He was constantly and

relentlessly opposed. He was opposed because of his

associations. He was called a friend of

sinners, he would actually eat meals with tax collectors and

prostitutes people that the rest of his culture had already

canceled had already dismissed as basically worthless trash.

and he wanted them to understand that the healthy don't need a

doctor, but the sick, even though they were really all

sick, And so he told them Parables to try to help them

understand what he was actually doing.

He told the parable of the lost sheep that the shepherd went to

go get that one lost sheep, even though the 99 were safe, he told

the story of the woman searching for the Lost coin, even though

she had nine, she wanted to find that one coin she lost because

it has so much meaning for her. And then he concluded with the

story of the lost, son. The Prodigal Son.

And so he saw the world as prodigals as lost boys and girls

that needed to find their way home to their father.

But the religious establishment, did not believe it.

Didn't follow it. They, they opposed him.

They opposed him when he healed people.

Can you imagine why would you oppose a person whose healing

other people? Well, because he did not fit in

to all of their social norms all of their rituals and not the

law. He never violated the law, but

they had all these Traditions, that surrounded the law that he

did not subscribe to. So, He healed the leper and

actually touch the leper and buy their oral Traditions.

That made you ceremonially unclean, but he did it anyway.

He showed his love, not just by healing from a distance, but by

being up close and personal, he healed the woman with the issue

of blood because she thought of all you need to do is Touch the

Hem of His Garment and I'll be healed and she was And of

course, those Jewish religious leaders would say well, that

makes you ceremonially unclean because she touched the Hem of

your garment. Jesus is going.

She's healed. She's a daughter of Israel.

There was a paralytic that was let down through the roof.

And Jesus said, before he healed him of his paralysis, he said,

my son, your sins are forgiven. People got so angry.

They didn't really care. That he was physically healed

after Jesus said, which is it easier to do tell?

This guy is sins are forgiven or to tell him to take up his bed

rise and walk. And this amazing Miracle happens

in front of them, but the religious leaders can only think

that he said that his sins were forgiven or the demoniac in

Gandhara when he crossed the Sea of Galilee to get some quiet.

And peace, here comes a man filled with demons naked running

at Jesus that would be frightening in and of itself.

Jesus recognized what was going on, stopped him, ask him his

name, the Demons Inside of him answered.

Our name is Legion for. We are many wasn't possessed by

a demon. He was possessed by a multitude

of demons, and when he cast the demons out, they went into a

herd of pigs who immediately, ran off a cliff and killed

themselves and the people of that town, instead of having a

parade, For Jesus, who completely healed this

frightening, man that had terrorized their Community

begged him to leave. Their Shores.

He was opposed. He was opposed by them because

of what he taught in forgiving sin, they said he broke the

Sabbath even though he never did.

What he did do, though, was something against their

Traditions. They can, they thought he was

guilty of ceremonial uncleanness When asked, who is my neighbor?

Jesus picked the one person that they would all hate in unity,

and that was a Samaritan because all the Jews hated Samaritans.

So, he told the parable of the Good Samaritan where he's the

hero and the priest, and the levite, the higher-ups in Jewish

religious culture there, the villains that didn't want him a

lot of friends or influence a lot of people positively.

And maybe the cherry on top was, when he told The Story of

Lazarus and the rich man, some of you may remember a story in

the Bible where there was a poor man named Lazarus Lazarus, who

was sick. And he had he was covered with

sores and he begged at a rich man's gate.

But the rich man would go in and out of his property and never

take notice of him and eventually Lazarus dies.

The Bible says that he was gathered to Abraham's bosom,

basically heaven and it says, later on the rich man died and

he was in the fires of hell. And the rich man could see

Lazarus way off and begged him to dip his finger in some water

too. Place it on his tongue because

of the torment that he was under.

What you may not know, is that the description of the rich man

is exactly the description of a man named Caiaphas?

Who was the high priest at that time?

So Lazarus, the story may have been a real person who died at

the Gate of the high priest. Not exactly a story.

You want to tell if you're trying to make points with the

religious establishment he was opposed By the religious

establishment. He was also opposed by the

Romans. Now, the Romans really didn't

care anything about Jesus. To him, he would that to them.

He was just another religious zealot, but when his own people

turned against him, pilot was worried that there would be an

uprising and so sentence him sentenced him to death on a

cross. So to the Romans, he was just

another criminal a religious zealot who was stirring up

problems. and so they crucified him and even when Jesus was on

the cross, And there were thieves on either side of him

that were being crucified along with him.

One of those thieves opposed him.

Jesus, if you're the Son of God, save yourselves and us he said

in his own Agony, the other Thief argued against that

they've saying, don't you fear God this man has done nothing

wrong. He was opposed at every turn and

you know what? I haven't even mentioned Satan

yet. The fact, is that every moment

of Jesus life, every moment of his life he was facing

opposition, he was surrounded by opposition.

It was the kind of opposition. That's a lot worse than social

media. It was the kind who would leave

him and forsake Him and reject him and hate him, and wish him

dead and curse him, and torture, him, and kill him in the most

ruthless way without even an ounce of Mercy.

And you, and I can see him inside of our minds right now.

Suspended Between Heaven and Earth and nailed to that cross.

He's bleeding, he's sweating, he's dying in agony.

He's been rejected by mankind because of his love and his

compassion, he's been rejected by God because of all the sin

that he's bearing for the whole world. and in that moment of

suspension, You see the most violent picture of cancellation

and when he took his last breath and died on that, cross, a Roman

soldier made sure of it by putting a spear up underneath

his rib cage into his vital organs.

When they were sure he was dead. They took him down and pride his

body off of that, horrible cross and entombed it.

And they said there, he's canceled.

Oh, but three days later. There was a rude awakening

coming. Because they have this whole

cancellation thing, all wrong. Jesus wasn't canceled, he was

doing the count, the canceling, he was doing it.

Listen, he canceled his own death, who does that Oh yeah,

you cancel me. You killed me.

Watch this, boom. He rose from the dead, he

canceled the stripes that were on his back, those stripes

forget it. They're gone the wounds from the

crown of thorns that were on his bride canceled those, he

canceled the curses that were shouted at him.

He canceled the Roman Authority. He canceled the Jewish relators

judgment upon him. He only kept the nail prints in

his hands and his feet and the and the scar on his side to

prove who he was. And he wore them like Badges of

Honor, he canceled, the separation between God.

And man, that was in the temple that nine inch thick Veil

ripped. From the top to the bottom

canceled. That separation between God and

him and God in you. He canceled the payment.

For all of your sin, he canceled the power of the law over you.

He canceled the power of sin in your life.

He canceled. Listen, your death, he canceled

your hell, he cancels, Satan himself.

You know what he did? He canceled our cancellation

That's what sins done to us. Spiritually speaking.

It canceled us all Turned us into hopeless people.

But like we sang a little while ago, Jesus Is Our Hope.

And he canceled that cancellation.

Now, some of you said, oh let's pray and sing, it's time that

sermons over. Oh no, it's not.

I'm just getting started. Listen, Jesus knew this was

going to happen. It had been prophesied, Isaiah

prophesied, that he would be opposed.

Look at Isaiah 53:3. He was despised has 700 years

Isaiah 53:3

before. Jesus was born.

He was despised and rejected by mankind.

A man of suffering familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and

we held him in low esteem, the Bible calls him, the stone that

the builders rejected. Look at Mark 12, the stone, the

builders rejected has become the Cornerstone.

That's the most important Stone. The Lord has done this and it is

marvelous in our eyes. He's become a stone of stumbling

for those who would oppose him in First Peter chapter 2.

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

It says, now to you, who believe this stone is precious.

Amen. But to those who do not believe

the stone, the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone and a

stone that causes people to stumble.

And a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they

disobey the message, which is also what they were destined

for. But you know what?

That was all part of God's plan. Because saving you?

That was his plan. He endured the cross because of

the joy of seeing you come back into relationship with your

heavenly father and now listen here's where we're going.

He calls you to follow him in that opposition?

What? What I thought, if I accepted

Jesus Christ, as my savior, everything is rainbows and

butterflies. I thought if I accept Jesus

Christ, as my savior, it's all going to be great now.

Well, depends on your point of view.

Jesus said that if you would follow him, you would be opposed

that. You'd be hated that.

You'd be persecuted. Listen to his voice in Matthew

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Chapter 5 blessed are those who are persecuted because of

righteousness that's following him for theirs is the Kingdom of

Heaven. Blessed?

Are you when people insult, you persecute, you falsely, say, all

kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven.

For in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were

before you, wow, He said that no student would be above his

teacher, that if the teacher endured it, the student would as

well. This is in Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

It says, the students not above the teacher, nor the servant

above his master. It is enough for students to be

like their teachers and service to be like their masters.

If the head of the house has been called, this is another

word for Satan. How much more the members of his

household so do not be afraid of him.

For there is nothing concealed. That will not be disclosed or

hidden. That will not be made known.

He said they hated me, they'll hate you.

That's in John 15:18. If the world hates you, keep in

John 15:18

mind, it hated me first. He said, pray for people who

persecute you on account of me. Look at Matthew 10:35 for.

Matthew 10:35

I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter

against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her

mother-in-law me. This is going to get it.

This could get in your own family, right?

This opposition, a Man's enemies will be the members of his own.

Sold some of you have experienced that.

Some of you, that's part of your testimony right now, anyone who

loves her father and mother more than me is, not worthy of me.

Anyone who loves their son, or daughter?

More than me is. Not worthy of me.

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me not worthy

of me. Wow, opposition, Jesus was

encircled by it. And when we step into his

Circle, We step into opposition. There's not a place here where

there's Middle Ground. I know a lot of us.

We go we kind of like if this was the line like how well

here's here's Jesus Circle and here's kind of my worldly life

and you're kind of living a schizophrenic spiritual life

where you're trying to be in both places at once.

It really doesn't work out that way to step into Jesus circle is

to step into opposition, to be surrounded by opposition.

And you got to ask yourself if you're not.

It opposed, because of your faith.

Are you standing in the right place?

Are you standing in the circle of Jesus?

Some of you are going. Wow you had me going there right

up until you know you canceled our cancellation.

And now I'm kind of going man. It's all supposed stuff.

Why would I want to go and step into that Circle?

Because that doesn't sound like a good place.

Oh oh! Yes!

It is. Salvations in that Circle.

You want that? That's where it is.

Salvation is in a circle Grace is in that Circle.

Piece is inside that Circle, hope is inside that Circle and

purpose, and joy, and meaning and understanding and truth and

love and light. And every other good thing

because that is where Jesus is. And when you're with Jesus, all

of those things are realities, but you have to be inside his

Circle outside of that circle is where all those who attempt to

cancel Jesus. It is the place of opposition.

I stand inside the circle with Jesus.

But I don't stand alone. Anybody here standing with me,

anybody in this, anybody across all our locations standing with

me. Stand inside that Circle.

You know why I stand with my savior?

Do you stand with him? I can't hear you.

Do you stand with him? I stand in the Heavenly light of

my heavenly. Father, do you stand in that

light? I do too.

It's awesome. I stand empowered by the Holy

Spirit. Do you stand empowered by the

Holy Spirit. Praise God for that.

I Stand surrounded by a spiritual family who has crossed

over that line. Isn't that awesome?

Say man, I stand with my armor on and so should you but listen

I stand stepping as close to the edge of that Circle, as I can

get without crossing over so that I can grab ahold of a hand

in the form of a fist set against me.

And And my heavenly father and my savior so that I can grab

that hand and pull them into the orbit of my canceled Savior, and

Lord, who dies, and lives again, to break through that hard heart

and fill them and me with life. That's what it's all about and

if standing in opposition is the price to pay for pulling people

into the orbit of Jesus will then, come on.

Because there's nothing more beautiful in this world.

Then finding a person who finds their heavenly father and

experiences the joy of a savior. We're moving to a time of

decision. Hahaha.

So I still got to preach an Easter Sermon.

I just did it today because that's what it's all about.

That's the joy of it. so I'm going to ask you a hard

question, Can you say? That you have stepped Over The

Line. Into an intimate personal

relationship with Jesus Christ. And I know that some of you

might be thinking, well, that line you're talking about

Jerry's kind of a metaphorical. It's kind of like a nebulous

kind of spiritual thing, not really.

Not really. Jesus, gave us some very

concrete things to do to Define that because he knows we need

those kinds of concrete things that we're kind of tactile

people were, you know, senses people, right?

And that's why he, that's why he said, unless you confess me

before others, I won't confess you before my Father in Heaven.

Some people may Wonder because there's a lot of churches that

don't do what we're doing right now and that is offer an

invitation Like in a minute, everybody's going to stand up,

we're going to ask people to come up.

And respond to an invitation. An invitation to do, what an

invitation to confess, Jesus Christ, as Lord.

There's going to be somebody standing right over there at

that baddest tree. And if you've never made that

decision, you could confess that today, you know what you're

doing when you do that. You coming up that line, you're

taking a hard look at that line. And you're going stepping over

the line. It's a physical tangible way,

right? You know what's going to happen?

Then they're going to dress you up and some clothes that are

they're going to get wet. You're going to get in that

water. Well, that's going to be

uncomfortable. I don't look good wet.

You're gonna get in that water, and you're going to confess

Christ, publicly, and openly, I believe that Jesus is the

Christ. The son of the Living.

God, I want him as my personal Lord and Savior stepping over

that line. And guess, what's going to

happen? This was going to happen.

They're going to lay you down in that water and they're going to

raise you back up out of that water.

There was a line, you stepped, over long time ago, it was

called birth. You know that as pretty big

moment, your life, right? Birth.

You know, Jesus told Nicodemus, in the Book of John you must be

born again. He said, how can I enter back

into my mother's womb and come out at this?

Make any sense to me, he goes you need to be born of the water

and the spirit you need to be spiritually.

Born, you know what you're experiencing.

You're experiencing a birth. Not only that in Romans chapter

Romans 6 · chapter mention

6, it says, when you're laying down in that water, when you go

down in that water, you are uniting with the death of Jesus

Christ. Like they lay you down in death.

Under that water buried, that old person of person used to be

buried you come up out of the water just like Jesus raised

from the dead, you raised to newness of life.

Stepping Over The Line. I invite you today.

Everyone here in this room, everyone online.

I invite you to take advantage of stepping over the line today.

Some of you are going already stepped over that line, Jerry.

Well good. Praise the Lord.

How many of you are struggling with one foot on either side of

that line? How many of you?

Are struggling with the idea of opposition.

It's you just want everybody to get along.

And so you won't stand up for your faith.

You'd rather kind of be stealthy.

Kind of under the radar. You don't want people thinking.

That you might actually be one of those crazy people that

actually take God at his word. Some of you may be committed to

your faith in Jesus Christ, but you're carrying the burden of

someone else. That's losing their way.

And you need God to put you in an opportunity where you can

share make a difference. You know, the steps are all

around this stage and all of our stages at all of our locations.

For Christian people to come up and do business with God.

And there is never a time that you were.

You honestly bend your knee to your heavenly father That he

doesn't provide more than you ever could ask or imagine and he

will today. Regardless of what burden you're

carrying that you need to lay down.

I'm telling you you're going to meet your heavenly father up

here. And he's going to make a

difference. Would you stand with me?

Let's pray together in Jesus name, Heavenly Father.

We come before you. And we realize that in and of

ourselves we couldn't have done any of this, but it was all

accomplished. Completely.

And amazingly accomplished when your son died on the cross and

rose from the dead and I pray. Father in this moment that

whatever you may be saying to our hearts as you speak in that

quiet voice. That we would listen.

And then we would obey. I pray, God, give us the courage

to move. Even if it means moving into a

circle, we're on the outside of that Circle.

There's opposition for the sake of the one who endured all the

opposition of the world. So that we could live and move

in his Circle. In Jesus name, amen.

In Jesus name, amen.