TIME | Part 2 | Resurrection Sunday | "Ready" Isn't A Feeling

Heat. Heat.

Hallelujah.

>> Hey guys, we made it.

>> It's resurrection Sunday.

>> Isn't that the good news?

>> You guys ready for the word of God

today? Amen.

>> Hey, if you're a guest with us today, my

name is Ben and have the opportunity to

serve as lead pastor here. And uh man,

it's just a good day to be alive.

>> You know, historians uh a lot of

historians, there's a little bit of

division in it, believe that today is

actually the day uh all those years ago

to remember this is the the calendar

lined up this year uh that today is the

day of the resurrection. And so, we have

a lot to celebrate. Would you bow your

heads and bow your hearts as we open

with a word of prayer?

Father, we thank you, Lord, for revival

living on the inside of us. Father, for

the resurrection power of Jesus Christ

being in this space, in this room, Lord,

we came, Father, to hear from you,

Lord. We pray that we wouldn't simply

hear words from men, but God, Lord, by

the spirit of the living God, that we

would receive divine

understanding and revelation,

divine impartation of grace. Father, I

pray, Lord, that you preach today, God,

that you deliver to your children the

word that you have for us today, God.

So, Lord, I thank you for every soul in

this room. Lord, I do not believe in

accidents. I believe that we are all

every one of us in this room on purpose

for this moment in time. And Lord, you

have our attention.

We thank you for it, Lord, in Jesus

name. Amen.

>> Amen.

>> You know, it's always a fun time of year

to be in church. And today, we're not

just celebrating Easter. Uh we're

celebrating so much more than that. It's

historical. Uh, it's the physical

undeniable events of the resurrection of

Jesus Christ. Amen. Yeah. I think about

uh I love history. I kind of geek out on

it sometimes, but uh I think about that

he appeared to 500 after the

resurrection. He's he's dead. He's in

the tomb and then three days later, this

is the good news, right? He raises from

the dead and then he appears to 500

individuals. Do you know that a lot of

them were beaten, imprisoned, and

martyed just because they wouldn't deny

that they saw the risen Jesus? Do you

know that sane people don't die for a

lie?

>> Amen.

>> Uh they don't I'm not going to be

separated from my family and be put in

prison for a length of time uh to to

confess a lie.

We lie so we get out of jail. I wasn't

always saved. You know what I'm talking

about. We lie so we don't get in

trouble. We don't tell the lies so we

can get into trouble. So man, we're

celebrating the historical, physical,

undeniable event that Jesus Christ

though on Friday he died on a cross, was

crucified to take away the sins of all

mankind.

That three days later, say three days

later.

>> Oh my goodness. This is the reason we

have church. This is the reason we have

something to believe in. That three days

later that man Jesus got up out of the

grave and rose again.

>> Amen.

>> Thank you, Jesus.

>> Matthew 28 and verse one

says this. It says, "Now after the

Sabbath,

toward the dawn of the first day of the

week, which would be Sunday, Mary

Magdalene and the other Mary went to see

the tomb."

Have you ever wondered why we worship on

Sunday and not Saturday?

This is why. Right here, first day of

the week, Mary Magdalene and the other

Mary went to see the tomb. And behold,

there was a great earthquake.

For an angel of the Lord descended from

heaven, and came and rolled back the

stone, and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning, and

his clothing was white as snow.

And for fear of him, the guards

trembled,

became like dead men.

But the angel said to the woman, "Do not

be afraid, for I know that you seek

Jesus, who was crucified.

He's not here, for he is risen, as he

said. Come see the place where he lay."

I want to kind of help paint the scene a

little bit. This was very early Sunday

morning. Uh, still dark out. These

women,

Mary Magdalene

and the other Mary,

are walking to the tomb

carrying their items. They're not

walking with faith and expectation that

Jesus has rose from the dead. They're

bringing items to prepare the body for

burial.

They're not walking in faith. They're

walking in grief.

They just watched him die on Friday.

I can't imagine standing at the foot of

that cross.

Jesus marred beyond the image of a man,

watching him after all the miracles, all

the signs, all the wonders, all of the

love, watching him die on that cross.

Three days later, they come just like we

would go to a cemetery to remember our

loved ones.

But as they show up,

an earthquake,

an angel that appears like lightning.

I would have liked to seen the look on

the Roman soldiers. Those guards says

they were like dead men. They were

paralyzed.

What is going on? What happened? Right?

There's an angel sitting here in an

earthquake.

The stone is rolled away. And the angel

looks at these two women and says, "Do

not be afraid.

I know that you're looking for Jesus.

He's not here. He is risen just like he

said he would."

The tomb,

it's empty. That's the good news. What

they came to grieve was gone.

And what they thought was the end of the

story, catch this, was just the

beginning of the story. I want to tell

you this morning, whatever God's doing

in your life, somebody in here thinks

it's the end of the story for you.

Thinks that uh the struggle is too much

for them. There's this mindset that we

get at when we're walking in our own

humanity, our own flesh, that we go,

"Well, I just settle because because

this is the best that I can do." C can I

tell you this is today the beginning of

your story?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ changes

everything. 1 Corinthians chapter 15,

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

a couple of scriptures.

Verse 55 says, "Oh death, where is your

victory? Oh death, where is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power

of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Yeah, I love the Apostle Paul. He's

echoing some Old Testament stuff here,

but he's writing a church uh writing a

letter to the church of Corenth. And my

goodness, in this uh he's standing face

to face with death and trash talking,

right? Death, where is your sting? Hey,

death, where is your victory? Because

the death, the reality is is that death

is chasing us all. The devil came to

steal, kill, and destroy you and me. I

don't know if you felt it, but I have.

The devil is trying to kill us.

And Paul says, "Hey, death, I got a

couple questions first." He starts

interrogating death. Death, where is

your victory? I I believe this. We need

to be asking the same question that Paul

asked death because the enemy will not

relent trying to chase you down to

steal, kill, and destroy. And and when

the enemy comes in, the Bible says, when

the enemy comes in like a flood, the

spirit of the Lord raises a standard

against it. And when the enemy comes

into my life, I stand face to face with

it like Paul did. And I and Hey, death,

I have a few questions to ask you.

Where is your sting?

Where is your victory?

If Jesus was still in the grave, death

wins.

But thanks be unto God who gives us the

victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ. The truth

is on that day, death lost

and it's been losing ever since.

>> Hallelujah.

>> I'm preaching to somebody this morning.

On that day, death lost and it's been

losing

ever since. I believe this for the life

of a believer. I believe it for all

people. It's time to start interrogating

the death that's in pursuit of your

life.

I want you to say this out loud. Say,

"God, you're right on time."

>> You ever had that feeling?

You're running late for something.

>> You know that feeling?

>> Carla, have you ever felt it?

>> They know you, too.

>> We like to pick on Carla. She's going to

be late for her own funeral.

>> I hate being late. I hate running late.

I hate that feeling. U I'm getting old

enough now where I leave way too early

for stuff. Old guys, where are you? Come

on.

Yeah. I'd rather get there and wait in

the parking lot than be feel that

feeling of, you know. Yeah. Feeling of

rushing around. And why is it every time

that you're running late, you can't find

your keys?

>> Or now it's your cell phone. It's like,

where in the world? And and and every

time it's right where I left it. That's

where I find it. It's right exactly

where I left it. But somehow that

anxiety, that that emotion, it's like,

man, I'm running late. I feel this this

urgency. Have you ever been running late

and having all of that and you drive

like a maniac through traffic and while

you're driving it's like every old

person in a Buick happens to be right in

front of you.

You're like you're doing 15 miles an

hour under the speed limit. I have to

I'm running late.

You're watching the light turn from

green to yellow and you're hoping you

can make it, but of course you don't

>> because you're running late.

You ever been running late like that and

you finally get to the place that you're

supposed to get and you walk in and it's

like you're right on time like it's no

big deal and you're like what was this

chaos for the last 20 minutes but what

was that feeling? I want to prophesy a

little bit to you this morning.

There's somebody in here that you think

you've been running late for God.

You might have thought that you've

missed it. You're late getting free.

You're late getting serious about God.

Here's the word of the Lord today. God

says, "You're right on time."

Look at your neighbor and say, "You're

right on time."

Somebody walked in here today with

something heavy on their heart. Heavy in

their life. Something very real.

Situation that you've been sitting with

for months, if not years.

You have that question that God hasn't

answered yet.

and that struggle that you can't seem to

break free from.

Can I say this? If you're struggling

with addiction, God says today

is a way out for you.

If you're struggling with depression, if

you're struggling with suicidal thoughts

or tendencies,

if you're struggling with that weight,

there's a solution in this room. His

name is Jesus. The Bible says, "He who

the Son sets free is free indeed."

All you have to do is believe it. All

you have to do is receive it today. God

says, "Now is the time.

Now is the time." Not because it's

Easter.

It's because the same God that

circled that Sunday a couple thousand

years ago circled that Sunday on the

calendar and said, "That's the day for

my son to rise from the dead. That's the

day for the sins of all mankind to be

washed away." When God circled that on

that calendar, he also knew you and

thought of you and thought of this day

and circled this day on your calendar

that you can leave this place free

through the blood of Jesus Christ.

H

devil keeps whispering you're not ready

that dumb devil.

You know what I hope? This isn't in my

notes.

I hope on our way to heaven when we pass

from this life into the next. Um I I

hope we get to walk right past Lou

Cifer.

I hope we get to walk right. I hope we

get to take a couple of good swings at

that guy.

>> I mean, all of the death, all of the

murder, all of the evil, everything is

because of that punk. That's

>> right,

>> man. I remember I'll date myself a

little bit. When I was young, I used to

like that movie Kickboxer.

Yeah. And they would wrap their hands

and they would dip it in like something

sticky and then they would dip it in in

the glass. Anyone know

>> before they'd go and fight? Man, I want

to I want to walk right up and dip my

hands in the blood of Jesus and be like,

"Come on, devil.

Yeah.

>> Tell you this. If you're going to stay

saved, you need a backbone in the

spirit.

>> If you're going to stay saved, you got

to walk in the victory that was already

won for us. The blood of Christ, the

resurrection of Jesus.

The devil will whisper in your ear even

today. You're not ready.

You look at your life and you go,

"You're right, devil. I don't feel ready

to make any decision like this.

You know what I've learned is that

you'll never feel ready.

>> You'll never feel ready because ready is

not a feeling.

>> Ready is a decision.

>> Somebody needs to write that down and

take it to the bank.

>> Heard it so oh so many times over the

years. I just don't feel ready. You're

never going to feel ready to do the

right thing in Christ.

you're never going to feel ready because

unsaved, we're driven by our own

humanity, our own flesh, our own will.

Making a decision for Christ isn't

saying, "I'm finally ready. I think I'm

good enough now." It's saying, "Lord, I

I'm not ready. I'm a train wreck. I'm a

mess. And I need you to save me."

So, death is defeated. The tomb is

empty. The stone is rolled away.

Title of the message today is God is

always on time.

God is always on time. Number one in

your notes,

everything hangs on this moment.

Everything in all of humanity,

everything in your life hangs on this

moment. You know, the Apostle Paul, he's

one of the most powerful men who ever

picked up a pen, wrote most of the New

Testament. He sits down and writes

to the church in Corinth and he gets

brutally honest.

I'm sure the church was uncomfortable.

He says this in 1 Corinthians 15 verse

1 Corinthians 15:17

17. He says, "And if Christ has not been

raised, your faith is futile.

It's empty. It's in vain.

Your faith is futile and you are still

in your sins."

Then those also who have fallen asleep

in Christ have perished.

If in Christ we have hope in this life

only, we are of all people most to be

pied.

Hear this. He says, "But in fact, in

fact, Christ has been raised from the

dead." Do you know that those three

words changed everything?

If if Jesus Christ didn't get out of

that tomb and didn't raise from the

dead, our faith is empty. Coming into

this room and singing those songs,

it's just making noise. We might as well

be at the bar doing karaoke.

Reading this book, empty, vanity,

worthless.

Joining a good church like Grace Summit

Church,

letting people love it, it's all vanity.

He says, "If Christ wasn't raised from

the dead, your faith is futile."

But in fact,

but in fact, Jesus Christ did rise from

the dead.

>> I'm a testimony of a risen savior. Do I

have any other testimonies in this

house? I am a testimony of a risen

savior. I I was dead in sin, but now I'm

alive unto God. I was overwhelmed and

steeped in addiction and hatred and and

depra. I was I was in this camp. AND

BECAUSE I PUT MY FAITH IN THIS risen

savior, he crossed me over from death to

life.

>> I got a testimony.

You have a testimony.

My faith isn't worthless.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

See, before the resurrection,

death had dominion.

After the resurrection,

death was declined. Say declined.

>> I've been broke a few times in my life.

Anyone in here ever been broke?

Yeah.

Still not too far from it. Hallelujah.

four kids and pastors pay.

>> You ever had this experience where you

got you got the cart full of whatever.

You're going up and scanning the items

and then it comes time to pay.

You're feeling pretty good about life.

Put the card in and it says declined.

Isn't that the worst feeling on earth?

You ever had it happen? You're like, I

know I got money in that account. Well,

obviously you don't. You bum.

And it says decline. And what do you do?

You scr You look for the second card.

You know the second card's worse than

the first. What are you even looking

for?

Yeah.

Standing there, man. It's so

embarrassing. And you just feel like an

absolute dork. Look at your neighbor and

say, "Dork." Didn't think you'd do that

on Easter Sunday, did you?

Ma'am, can you run it again?

She looks at you like, "Okay."

Declined.

Declined. You want to know what my

ambition is in Christ? Is to make the

devil have that feeling over and over

about my life when he comes to cash in

on my life and run the charge of guilt.

Declined.

>> Amen. Amen.

>> Decline.

Decline. The devil came to steal, kill,

and destroy, but Christ came that we

might have life and have it more

abundantly.

>> When the devil tries to kill you,

card says decline.

Enemy brings up your past, that

addiction that you can't shake, that

shame that you've been nursing for

years. He's trying to run a transaction

on a closed account.

Man, you can write that down. The

devil's trying to run a transaction on a

closed account. It was closed 2,000

YEARS AGO. DEVIL, WHY ARE YOU EVEN

STANDING HERE WITH YOUR STUPID LITTLE

CARD?

>> DECLINE,

MAN. We got to get that in us.

>> Devil comes in, he's not going to stop.

He's going to keep coming in like with

that confidence like this thing's going

to work. Blood of Christ, resurrected

Christ. Decline. Devil declined. You got

to get some declined on the inside of

you.

Almost started preaching right there.

Hallelujah. Carl, I will do a victory

lap. Mhm. Somebody's watching online.

I'll end up in their living room if I

get two. Ah,

yeah.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That

means that your faith has value.

That means that your card in heaven

>> has worth. Amen. Hallelujah.

>> Yeah. I was thinking about that thief on

the cross next to Jesus.

I'm preaching. I didn't even preach this

first service. I'm just preaching to

you. Is that okay?

>> I was thinking about that thief on the

cross next to Jesus. And uh the guy

didn't have a whole lot of time,

you know, and uh I just picture that

moment. Jesus says, you know, today

you'll be with me in paradise. This

guy's just hanging there, you know.

But I picture them going into heaven. I

think Jesus made it there first. I don't

know. But I just picture that

whoever's gatekeeping up there. Is it

Peter? That's what everybody thinks,

right?

Go. Hey, who are you?

Who are you? He goes says his name. We

don't even know his name. I'm the thief

on the cross.

Why are you here? What?

What are you doing? you can't

by what right do you have to come in

here and he says I don't know the man on

the center cross said I could come in

I don't know that I think they called

him Jesus he said I could come in I tell

you that your faith has value to open

doors man that guy was never baptized in

water he never spoke in tongues he never

joined a church

he's a thief hanging on a cross that

looked at Jesus and believed he was who

he said he was

and he made it into paradise.

Today you can make that same choice and

as a life of a believer you get to make

that same choice day by day that today

I'm just going to believe on Jesus.

Luke 22:31, Jesus speaking to Simon

Luke 22:31

Peter. He says,"Simon, Simon, behold,

Satan demanded to have you that he might

sift you like wheat,

but I have prayed for you that your

faith

may not fail."

You I read that my hope is,

"Hey, you know, Satan came and said, I

want to take you out, Simon." My hope

with Jesus would be like, "Hey, I I

stepped in front. I took the bullet for

you. I I I kicked him out." And Jesus

doesn't say any of that. He says, "Satan

has demanded to have you, to sift you

like wheat." And Jesus says, "I stepped

back and I pray that your faith would

not fail." Do you know that your faith

is power?

>> Your faith is valuable. Your faith alone

in Christ is enough to demolish the

powers of darkness.

faith in Jesus. It's believing in the

finished work of Jesus Christ. It's

believing in the resurrection power of

Jesus Christ.

Here's what I've learned. I've served

God a long time now.

If I believe God for nothing,

I will 100% of the time get nothing from

God.

Amen.

What's the risk of trusting God,

believing God?

If I consistently don't trust him for

anything, believe him for nothing,

you'll get nothing.

What do you believe in God for?

Number two, in your notes, this moment

changes your name.

This moment changes your name.

Galatians chapter 4, Paul uses a word

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

that I really want us to grab hold of

today. He says this in Galatians 4:4,

Galatians 4:4

"But when the fullness of time had come,

God sent forth his son, born of a woman,

born under the law, to redeem those who

were under the law, so that we might

receive adoption

as sons."

That word for fullness of time is

playma.

It means the appointed exact god-ord

ordained moment in time. We're stuck in

this calendar timeline here. There's a

whole different calendar and timeline in

heaven. Amen. God has an appointed time

for your life. God had an appointed time

for Jesus to come. Not approximate, not

close enough, not almost the right time,

the precise moment. And man, we talked

about this Friday that uh this

crucifixion and resurrection wasn't

God's plan B. It wasn't God doing damage

control for the devil. Before Rome ever

forged a nail, before they ever took

trees and shaped it into a cross, before

the tomb was ever carved out of the

rock, before Pilate ever showed up, God

had already circled that Sunday on his

calendar for his son to remove the sins

of the world.

I think there's some in this room that

God has circled this Sunday on your

calendar

to remove your sins and redeem you that

your name might be written down in the

lamb's book of life and that when you

cross over just like that thief on the

cross, we get to enter in with him

forever.

Amen.

I don't want you to miss the why behind

the what

the fullness of time had come. What's

what's the reason why Jesus did all of

this at that moment?

He didn't just come to rescue you. He

came to adopt you.

It says so that we might receive

adoption

as sons.

We see a very similar

scripture in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

receiving the spirit of adoption. Let me

put this in context for you.

Paul isn't talking about our modern

version of adoption.

We have the idea of infant adoption,

young child adoption. Uh Roman law was

of adoption was for adults

13 and older.

Teenagers don't get any ideas. In that

culture 13 was grown.

Our culture is a little different.

There were some laws around it.

Roman law said that the adopted son's

old family and old debts were dismissed

and cut off from the adoptee.

That whatever debts your father had, you

didn't carry on. When you were adopted

into the new family, you owed nothing.

He stepped in fully under his new

father's name,

authority and inheritance.

The moment that we trust in the risen

Jesus, our old debts are gone.

Your new father's name is on you.

The cross paid your debt. The

resurrection gave you his last name.

Also in Roman law,

very bizarre. They had this idea in Rome

at the time that you can't choose your

family. Sometimes we live with that,

right? Go to the family reunion, you're

like, "Uncle so and so's at it again."

Can't pick your family. They had this

really strong idea in Rome at that time

that you can't choose your family. So

Roman law said that a father, a

biological father could disown his own

biological son if the son didn't meet

the standards of the father.

somewhat of a common practice of the

day. But Roman law also said that the

adopted son that was now put into the

family could never be disowned

because you chose him. Isn't that

interesting? Do you know that when

you're adopted in as a son of God,

you can never be disowned? You can never

be removed.

Romans 8:37 says this,

Romans 8:37

"Know in all these things we are more

than conquerors." Man, that's a good

word right there.

More than conquerors through him who

loved us. For I am sure that neither

death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers,

nor things present, nor things to come,

nor powers, nor height, nor death, nor

anything else in all creation will be

able to separate us from the love of God

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I want to get personal for a minute.

Some of you think you came to celebrate

the holiday Easter today.

Might have came for the music. Man,

Pastor Mark worship team has some good

music.

Some of you came just because grandma

made you

came because it's tradition. We do this

every year around this time. And I love

that you're here.

But I need you to understand something.

You're here today because God circled

this Sunday on your calendar.

His greatest desire for you is not that

you would become more religious. His

greatest desire is that you would be a

son or a daughter of God. That you would

be adopted. Salvation is not praying a

prayer. Salvation is a legal spiritual

adoption from heaven.

It's forsaking all of the other things.

is forsaking the old fleshly worldly

name

inheritance because in that camp our

inheritance is eternal death. It's

leaving all of that behind and accepting

Christ in such a way that we receive the

new name, the new authority

and the new inheritance. It's from

orphan to son,

from outsider

to family.

Look at your neighbor and say, "Now is

the time."

Christ came. It was the fullness of

time. God-appointed, God ordained moment

in history,

resurrection of Christ. As far as

history is concerned, everything hangs

on that moment.

Everything in all of history hangs on

that moment.

I believe this that every moment in your

life

hangs on the decision of making Jesus

Christ savior. I believe it hangs on

that moment of receiving the fullness of

the resurrection power of Christ. Your

marriage hangs on it. Your mental health

hangs on it. That thing that you've been

carrying,

that you brought right in here that

nobody else knows about

hangs on it.

Paul said, "If Christ has not been

raised, your faith is futile."

Let me flip that for you. If Christ has

been raised, your faith is not futile.

It has power. Number three in your

notes. This moment changes your life.

This moment changes your life. You can

believe that he rose from the dead and

still be living like he didn't.

You can celebrate on Easter the

resurrection

and never experience the resurrection in

your own life.

Believing that the resurrection happened

and living in resurrection life are two

completely different things.

Do you know that the power of God is

available for you?

Romans 6:11, Paul said this. He said,

Romans 6:11

"So you must so you also must consider

yourselves

dead to sin and alive to God in Christ

Jesus."

So we consider ourselves dead to sin.

But there's a second piece of that. We

consider ourselves resurrected with him,

raised with him.

That's not a feeling that you wait for.

That's a faith move that you make that

you decide.

So, you've been waiting for a feeling

to move you toward God.

God is waiting for your decision so he

can move toward you.

Resurrection

of Jesus Christ is the most important

moment in human history.

But the most important moment in your

history is choosing to receive him as

savior.

Before the resurrection, death had

dominion.

After the resurrection,

death was declined.

The devil comes knocking on your door

with death.

We look at the devil and say, "Dec

serve an amazing God."

Anyone in here, Ben? Most most of you

have

been to a place that has long lines like

Disney or Cedar Point or DMV.

I want you to picture with me a scenario

like that.

You have your little ticket and you're

waiting in your line and the line's long

and

finally line keeps moving up and keeps

moving up.

Finally, your opportunity to get into

this thing that you're excited about.

The man takes the ticket and looks at it

and says, "Whoop! This is the wrong

ticket.

You have to go over there."

You know, there's so many that are going

to be crossing from this life into the

next. And we have this anticipation

because we did good and and man, we we

were okay at this and we weren't that

bad. We weren't as bad as that guy. We

have this anticipation that that when we

die, I've been to a ton of funerals.

Everyone thinks they're going to heaven.

But there's going to be this moment when

we're standing at the gate and you

either have your ticket or you don't.

And what I never want to happen is for

you to think you have your ticket

to make it up there for someone to look

at that ticket and say, "Uh-uh, it's the

wrong ticket.

Good works doesn't get you in.

Nice guy doesn't get you in.

You have to go that way.

You can see all the splendor and all the

glory of heaven on the other side. those

loved ones that have passed on before

you and you have to about face and go

the other way because you have the wrong

ticket. I don't want you to miss heaven

today, saints.

God spoke to me very clear. Somebody has

this Sunday circled on your calendar to

give your life to Jesus Christ.

Let's stand to our feet all over this

house. I'm going to ask the worship team

to join me up here.

John 5:24 Jesus said, "Whoever hears my

John 5:24

word and believes him who sent me

has passed from death to life."

Would you pray with me? Father, we thank

you, God.

We thank you, Lord. Father, we know that

this life is very short, very brief.

That tomorrow isn't promised to us.

Father, we know that this life is but a

midst or a vapor in the eyes of

eternity.

And Father, I pray now over every soul

in this room, God.

Salvation, deliverance, and healing to

be theirs now in Jesus name. Father, I

thank you that you've called us for such

a time as this.

Thank you for freedom.

Thank you for power.

thankful that we're no longer under the

clutches of sin.

Saints, could you just begin to say

thank you to your Jesus?

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you that you're a risen savior.

Thank you, God, for pulling me out of

that mess. Thank you, God, for the life

that you've given me today. I say,

"Thank you, Father.

Praise you, Jesus.

Thank you, Lord. Father, we honor you

today.

We're going to continue with eyes closed

and heads bowed. If you're in this house

and you're the one that God has been

speaking to today

and you know that today is the day for

you to surrender your life to his

lordship, to confess that Jesus is Lord,

to lay down the past and walk in newness

of life. If that's you today, I'm not

going to embarrass you. I'm not going to

call you up front.

I'm going to ask you to simply raise

your hand and say, "Pastor, pray for me.

Thank you.

Thank you." There's hands going up all

over this room.

And I don't want you to miss this

moment. And I want you to leave here

with regret.

There's others in this room. Raise your

hand now. Say, "Pastor, pray for me.

Thank you.

Thank you." Wow.

Wow.

Praise you, Jesus. You can slip your

hand down.

Father, I thank you for those that took

a step of faith and raised their hand.

Father, I thank you, Lord, for those

that you're speaking, ministering grace

under their spirit right now.

Father, I thank you for the authority

you've given me through the blood of

Jesus Christ. Father, that nothing would

hinder divine, authentic, born again

experience for every hand that was

lifted in this space.

Lord, we're thankful even now as the

band of angels prepares themselves to

rejoice over a sinner coming home.

Praise you, Jesus.

In just a minute, we're all going to get

saved again because we're all going to

pray a simple salvation prayer together.

And if you raised your hand and you

really believe it in your heart today

when you pray this prayer,

you're being saved by Jesus.

The Holy Spirit will fill your your

heart and your mind

and your life will be new.

Saints, could we all in this room pray

this prayer together? Would you follow

me and say this? Say, "Father in heaven,

>> Father,

>> I'm a mess. I'm a mess.

>> I confess

I'm a sinner.

>> I fall short.

>> I'm thankful

>> for the blood of Jesus.

>> Today,

>> I make Jesus Lord of my life. Lord of my

life. I take the payment of the cross

>> for my sins. And when I die,

>> I get to be with you.

>> So, Father,

>> receive me now.

>> Receive me

>> as your son

>> by legal adoption

>> in the spiritual realm.

>> In Jesus name. In

>> Jesus name.

>> Amen. We celebrate the work of the Lord

today.

Praise the Lord. Just after this

service, our prayer team is going to be

down front here. If you need prayer for

anything on this resurrection Sunday, I

want to encourage you to come forward

and let us pray with you. If you prayed

that prayer today, I want to say,

"Welcome to the family of God." Amen.

Can we celebrate those that prayed that

prayer?

Praise the Lord.