“The Beginning of Wisdom” by Pastor Daniel Floyd

Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast.

Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message.

Okay, welcome to church everybody.

Come on, let's put our hands together at every location.

Oh come on, you can do better than that and NFW.

Come on, North Richmond Hill.

Give Jesus our very best.

We're kicking off a brand new series today, and I'm so excited to get into it.

But before I do, I want to share a few things with you.

One, last week we had baptism at every location, and listen to this.

401 people went public with their faith through water baptism.

Oh come on, you can do better than that.

That's life transformation.

That's why we're here.

To lift up Jesus, preach the gospel, and disciple people.

And that is a great first step.

So every one of you, we just congratulate you and honor you at every location.

401 people.

You know, we should be grateful as a church because if stats are true, many churches of America will never baptize anybody in one whole year.

And the fact that God would grace us, it's not by our best effort.

It's because of the grace and goodness of God on our church and what a gift that is.

We're grateful for it.

And all of us should exercise our gift, and we should all should be a part of serving and participating in some way, so that the body of Christ is built up and the gospel is advanced.

And I want to make you aware of one way that you can do that next Sunday, a very easy way that all of us can participate, every location, um, every uh gateway gathering.

Matter of fact, we're gonna encourage you to participate in this too.

Our partners locally have made us aware that the demand for food is growing and the supply is decreasing.

Matter of fact, one of our campuses went to have a food drive, was planting one, and went to the food bank, and there wasn't adequate food to be able to even have the food drive.

And so there's no way that we as a church can be in our community and not meet that need.

It's a very simple need.

And so here's what I'm gonna encourage you to do is next Sunday, bring with you a bag of groceries.

Bring a dry good, a canned good.

And how about we just stock our food pantries locally so that these needs are met for people that are food insecure?

And really you think about the children that um that may be going out without meals or on the weekends because they're not in school and they don't have free lunch in school.

And I just think as many of us as there are, we can make a big dent in that together.

And uh so even if you're not a part of Gateway, if you're just visiting this weekend, come back next weekend and bring groceries with you, all right?

And your campus pastor will give you instructions on what to do with those and where to take them.

But I'm just praying that we bring tens of thousands of pounds of food and we meet that need, make a massive difference in our community.

So I have high expectations for you, okay?

This is our first time doing something like this together, all right?

Don't disappoint me.

Okay.

We're beginning a brand new series today called How Not to Ruin Your Life, walking through the book of Proverbs.

And uh, we're gonna be doing a Bible reading plan together on this.

And so if you want to text Proverbs to 7, 10, 10, then we will send that to you each and every week.

You can do that right now, Proverbs to 7, 10, 10.

And uh, it's gonna be really simple, everybody.

There's 31 chapters in Proverbs, you read one a day.

And then we want you to go through the soap method, and that simply is an acronym that means scripture, observation.

What did you observe in the text?

What jumped out at you?

Application, because how many of you know that just reading the word isn't enough?

You've got to apply it to your life and work that out.

Faith without works is dead.

And then I want to apply it.

Then just P is I want to end with a prayer.

And so if you're not in the habit of having a daily time with God, then this is a great opportunity to begin that habit.

I think you'll find it so fruitful in your life.

I promise you, you'll get to the end of this month and say, look what all God spoke to me.

A lot of people say, God doesn't speak to me.

And I'm like, you gotta open his word, and then he'll speak to you.

And uh so if you're in need of wisdom, then what a great time to jump in together.

All right, you ready for the word today?

Let's pray and then we'll jump into it.

Lord, we're here to hear from you, so speak to us.

Our hearts and minds are open.

We believe that your word has the power to change us and we'll never be the same because of it.

In Jesus' name.

Everybody said, Amen.

Amen.

Uh I was Googling um how many things get Googled.

Are you with me?

Did y'all track with that?

I'm Googling how many things get Go.

Okay.

I found this out that um that 14 billion searches are done every day on Google.

That's with a B, everybody.

Not million.

I didn't misstate it.

14 billion with a B get searched every single day.

It's about 9.5 million every minute.

Think about that.

In the time that we've been talking, more than 40 million searches have been done on Google.

People are looking, they're they they want to know things.

We are searching for knowledge.

We're a very knowledge-craving society, and we have more knowledge at our fingertips than we've ever had before.

You know what one of the top searches was in the Google search?

One of the top searches globally around the world, one of the top questions was, What is love?

Baby, don't hurt me.

Okay, no, I'm kidding.

That wasn't it.

It was just it was what is love?

It really was.

It was up there with uh how do I get Taylor Swift tickets and who is she dating?

That was also very high in the search columns.

Then I went to Chat GPT.

I know some of you may think AI's the Antichrist.

I don't.

Um, but I went to ChatGPT and I said uh I found out that it has between 1.7 and 2.9 um billion searches every minute.

Some kind of query is going in there every minute, about 1.7 to 2.9 billion.

It was in that range.

And I asked Chad, I said, what are some of the most the top questions you're asked about life?

And it was kind of sad to me because the questions were like, what is the meaning of life?

And what is my purpose?

Why do I feel so alone and afraid?

And so I I want to propose people are searching for answers.

It's not that people aren't searching for answers, they're looking in the wrong place for the answers.

And as much knowledge as we have at our fingertips, it doesn't mean that just because we have knowledge, that we have wisdom.

We have more knowledge than we've ever had, and we have more experiences than we've ever had, but experiences doesn't equal wisdom.

Are you with me?

Say amen.

Matter of fact, I would say experience doesn't equal wisdom because if it did, everyone that was older would be wiser.

And that's not always the case.

Evaluated experience leads to wisdom.

When I stop and go, what did I learn from this?

What is God trying to say to me in the middle of this?

Then I gain some wisdom.

And it's so important for us not to just get knowledge, but it's important for us to get wisdom because according to Proverbs, wisdom is the greatest thing that you can get.

Matter of fact, in Proverbs, it says this.

You could write this down.

It says, wisdom is, everybody shout that word with me, every campus, wisdom is supreme.

It's the top thing.

It's of highest value.

Obviously, your salvation and all these things, but as a Christian, one of the greatest things that you can get is wisdom.

Therefore, get wisdom and look at the look at the lengths to which it says you should go to get wisdom.

It says, though it cost all you have, get understanding.

So what the scripture is trying to show us is no matter the price you have to pay for wisdom, pay it.

Because that's how valuable it is in your life.

That's how much you need it in your life.

You need it more than you need wisdom.

You need it more than just you need to know how to do the next thing.

You need wisdom, and I would say I'd categorize it godly wisdom.

You're desperately in need of it in every area of our life, and no matter our age or stage in life, no matter our age or stage in our Christian journey, we always need more wisdom.

Are you with me?

We need wisdom in our life.

The word wisdom here isn't just the word of gaining facts and figures, but it's this idea in the Hebrew is the ability to apply knowledge.

So just because you have knowledge doesn't mean that we have the ability to apply the knowledge.

And so wisdom goes, I've got all this information in my head, I've got all this knowledge, or I can Google it, or I can AI it and I can get all that I need and I can learn all these things, but just because I've learned it doesn't mean that I know how to apply it in every area of my life.

Matter of fact, the idea of wisdom here is that I know how to apply knowledge, both morally, ethically, relationally, financially, into every area of my life.

And some of you say, well, I just don't have the gift of wisdom.

Well, there is a gift of wisdom, but just because you don't have the gift of faith doesn't mean you don't have faith.

And just because you don't have the gift of evangelism doesn't mean you shouldn't be sowing seeds of the gospel everywhere you go.

Are y'all tracking with me?

And so we all need wisdom in our life.

We desperately need for God to give us wisdom.

And so we're gonna be looking, not chapter by chapter in the book of Proverbs, but thematically over these next four weeks at different ideas that will help us glean wisdom.

And then honestly, I want you to read Proverbs every day.

And the Holy Spirit will preach a better message to you than I could ever preach to you if you'll just open your word.

Come on, I know Frisco's amening.

All right.

So I want to talk to you around this title of the message.

It's called this, the beginning of wisdom.

If you don't know it taking time, write it down.

If not, write it down anyways, okay?

The beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs gives us four types of people in the book of Proverbs.

It repeatedly talks about four different types of people.

We're gonna walk through those four different types of people.

The last one, just spoiler alert, is called the wise.

And it tells us where to find wisdom and where it begins, and then we're gonna spend a little bit of time on that, and then we'll wrap up today.

If you're with me, say amen.

All right, type of person number one that none of us want to be is this.

It's called the fool.

It's Mr.

T.

I pity the fool.

Okay, any A Team fans?

Okay, I'm showing my age.

That was a great show.

All right.

I title it this the resistant one.

The resistant one.

The Bible says this in Proverbs chapter 1, verse 7.

Proverbs 1:7

It says, Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

So the the fool, and you're like, wow, that's a harsh word.

I'm that's just what the Bible calls it, okay?

Don't shoot the messenger.

I'm just delivering the message, okay?

It says it despise wisdom and instruction.

So the fool is one who knows or has some idea of what is right to do, but chooses not to do it anyways.

They kind of have a concept around it, but there's a pridefulness about this type of person that just says, I kind of understand what I should be doing, but I'm gonna choose to not do what I should do anyways, because I want to make my own choices, I want to make my own decisions.

And here's the thing about a fool is you can't you can't talk a fool into being wise.

Are y'all with me?

The scripture says this in the book of Proverbs.

It states it this way: do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.

In other words, wisdom falls on deaf ears whenever you're talking to someone that's foolish.

It it doesn't get through.

Matter of fact, one scripture says that the fool enjoys their foolishness.

In other words, they kind of like it, they're kind of having fun in it.

They're the people in your life that go, hey man, let's try this.

Come on, somebody, are y'all with me?

Let me, okay, Proverbs 19.

We'll give you a scripture for it.

It says this walk with the wise and you become wise, but a companion of fools, what?

Suffers harm.

It's the people that you surround around you.

It's the influences that you put into your life.

This is why we're all the time like get into a small group.

You need to surround yourself with godly people, with with godly wisdom students.

You need to be at youth on Wednesday nights.

Why?

Because you need to be around godly people and not foolish people speaking into your ear, going, hey, let's try this or come down this road with me, because a companion of fool suffers what?

Suffers harm.

And so there's the fool, and here's the reality is you can do all the church stuff, but be living like a fool.

Matter of fact, I think sometimes a fool can find themselves comfortable in a church because they think I know all this stuff, but I leave the doors and don't live all this stuff.

The Bible says that's a fool.

Aren't you glad you came to church this weekend?

Such an encouraging message.

This is so uplifting, Pastor.

We're gonna get there.

Number two, second kind of person is the scoffer, or some translations call this the mocker, depending on this is the prideful one.

Proverbs 21, 24 says this a proud and haughty man, a scoffer is his name.

He acts with arrogant pride.

He acts with arrogant pride.

So this is the fool on Red Bull.

Y'all tracking with me?

Like this is this is the fool times 10.

This isn't just pridefulness, I know what I should be doing.

This isn't just, I don't want to hear what you have to say.

This the mocker is antagonistic towards you living a wise life.

The mocker wants to tear you down.

The mocker is one who wants to make you small and them great.

The mocker can't be argued with, can't be debated with.

The mocker is one that you're not gonna change by just giving them more facts and figures, and if you can just get them to listen to you.

I think if Solomon was writing it today, he'd say a proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name, he acts with arrogant pride and has a blog.

Like you can't debate them.

They enjoy you getting lost and getting upset and your blood pressure rising.

That they actually live for that moment.

Are you following me?

This is the scoffer.

Matter of fact, the Bible says they resent correction.

A mocker resents correction, so they avoid wise people.

They don't even want wisdom around them because they re they resent.

So when you come in and go, man, I I just think there would be a better way about this, and you get attacked for wanting to offer a little bit of wisdom, you're dealing with a mocker.

And they don't even want to hear it.

Because the pride is so high.

And all you can do is give them to God because it'll be the work of the Holy Spirit that softens their heart.

And there may be some of you today that you've allowed bitterness to take such a root in your life that cynicism is the lens through which you see life, the church, everybody.

And the good news is, is there is not a heart so hard that the Spirit of God can't soften it.

And by His grace, turn you into one of wisdom.

If you're with me, say amen.

Now, number three, it's getting lighter now, everybody.

We started down, we're coming up.

Number three is the simple, and this is simply the immature one.

Proverbs 14, 15 says this the simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.

The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.

The simple isn't bad, just immature.

The simple hasn't had enough experience in life or evaluated experience in life to grow into wisdom.

The simple hasn't had enough time in life often to grow into wisdom.

So simple isn't bad.

Simple just has an undetermined future.

Because the future will be determined by the decisions they make and the people they listen to and the community they surround them with that will begin to influence the way that they think and the choices that they make.

Are you with me?

Whenever you are in the simple phase, and maybe you're like, yeah, I just haven't had enough experience, or or I haven't evaluated my experience enough, or I haven't lived life well up to this point, and I find myself in a place where I'm not making the best decisions.

The great thing about being in the simple is that if you surround yourself with godly people, then godliness um will get on you.

The Bible says it this way: bad company corrupts good character, but the opposite is true as well.

That you get good company around you.

Students and young people, listen to me.

This is why you need to listen to your parents.

I mean, I know you don't love to hear that.

I figured a better amen than that from the parents, but I I was I was teeing that one up.

I mean, on a serious note, though, there's a lot of experience.

And if they'd be transparent enough, there's a lot of failure that taught painful lessons that they're trying to help you avoid.

The danger of being immature or not having enough life yet, and I I know you're like, you're the guy and you're 49, tell me I'm trying to live, you're trying to keep me down.

No, no, no.

I'm just saying, if you'll have a heart of correction that's open to correction, that really embraces correction, you will go a long way in life.

If you have a heart that goes, no, I don't just listen, I invite correction.

Hey, tell me where I'm missing it.

Tell me where I'm not seeing it right.

I to this day, I had a corrective phone call this week with a mentor in my life.

I'm 49 and I still say, tell me what you're seeing.

Tell me where I need to get better.

Because if I'm not seeing it, I'm blind to it.

And unless somebody shares it with me, I won't get better in that area.

Are y'all tracking with me?

So whenever I was 19, I think I'm telling this right.

It's either 19 or 20.

I had an internship in Greenville, Tennessee.

I grew up in East Tennessee.

Greenville is a little bit about an hour south of where I grew up.

I had an internship at this um Little Baptist church.

It was four or five hundred people.

So it was uh anyways, relative, right?

It's all relative.

But I was serving at this church.

I had an internship, I had a desk, everybody.

Your boy had arrived.

I was like, I got a desk.

It was out in this open area, it wasn't an office, I wasn't that bougie, but I had a desk.

You know, at 19, you're like, man, look at me.

I've arrived.

They should make me the senior pastor.

I have a desk.

Right?

Yeah.

I was simple.

I was simple, everybody.

I was living the immature life, right?

So I had this desk, and uh, and I it was a great summer, and the the youth pastor was was wonderful and let me try a lot of things and lead a lot of things, and it was a great summer.

But I wasn't as disciplined as an individual as I am now.

I'm somewhat disciplined.

I'd love to be more disciplined, but I'm somewhat disciplined, but I'm pretty routine.

I wake up at the same time within 15 minutes every morning.

I make the same cup of coffee.

I go read the Bible plan, I write in my journal, I go to the gym, I get a shower, I go to the office, I go home.

I just, I'm not fun to hang out with.

I'm pretty boring.

I just do the same thing every day.

I do the same workout on Monday, the same one on Tuesday, there's a Wednesday workout.

Are y'all following me?

Like I just I pretty live pretty regimented this one life now.

But I wasn't then, and I would oversleep all the time.

I mean, I could snooze that thing like for an hour.

And so one day I come into the office, and the youth pastor had left me a sticky note, and he had a proverb on it, and he said, Daniel, be on time next time and read this proverb.

And this is the proverb that he gave to me.

Go to the ant, you sluggard.

So anybody want to attend the internet gateway?

Just know if you show up late.

No.

Consider its ways and be wise.

It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provision in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there?

You sluggard.

When will you get up from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come on you like a thief, and scarcity like an armed man.

I wasn't late anymore, y'all.

Young people, listen to me.

If I'd have been like, who do you think you are telling me?

I wouldn't be your pastor today.

But because someone loved me enough to correct me.

And by God's grace, I had a moment of maturity and could receive it.

God used it.

And I didn't have to stay simple.

So be open to correction.

Be open to guidance by people that are in authority in your life.

And God puts them there for your care and your protection and for your guidance.

Can I get a good amen?

Alright.

Alright, the final one.

Let me give you the final one, and it is the wise.

This is the seeking one.

The Bible says this in Proverbs 9, verse 10.

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the Lord, this we're going to spend the rest of our time, is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

So the word beginning there has the idea of this, the origin or the starting point.

So in other words, you can't have wisdom in your life without the fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is the starting point.

It's, it's, you're not even, you're not even running the race of wisdom yet if you haven't crossed the line of fear of the Lord.

So here's what I want you to see, though, because I grew up thinking that the fear of the Lord is that he had this heavenly taser gun and he was just waiting to zap me.

And the moment I made any little mistake, I was gonna have to get zapped, and then the next Sunday I needed to get saved all over again.

Anybody else?

Okay, I'm the only one that grew up in that church.

Okay.

I didn't see any of y'all there.

It's like I just thought I was gonna get crushed and God was gonna hate me forever, and that's what it meant to fear the Lord.

And so, how could I ever have wisdom because I didn't correctly understand the fear of the Lord?

Here's what I want to point out that Proverbs is teaching us is that how you view God is the starting point of having godly wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is the lens through which you see the Lord.

It's the way you look at him.

One great scholar and theologian says what you think about when you think about God is the most important thing about you.

Because how you view God is how you relate to God and how you understand God.

So the lens by which you see God has everything to do with how your Christian faith is lived out.

If you see God as an ogre up in heaven that's just waiting to zap you, and that the moment that you mess up, he's just gonna wipe you out, then you'll live in a distant intimidation.

I want enough of a fire insurance to not go to hell and go to heaven, but I don't really want to ever have intimacy with God because I don't want to know the God that's gonna zap me.

But if your lens through which you see God is the proper view of the fear of the Lord, which I'm gonna show you in a minute, then you'll have this intimate relationship that is balanced with this holy reverence, and it's there that wisdom starts.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

It's not, God is gonna get me, I'm afraid of him.

Are you tracking with me?

And there's so many benefits to the fear of the Lord.

The Proverbs teaches us, it says, instruct the wise and they will become wiser, teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

So you're gonna grow, you're gonna get better if you're in this wisdom, this wisdom category.

And it says, Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress.

Listen to this.

And for their children, it will be a refuge.

In other words, parents, if you have the fear of the Lord, it's good for your kids.

So, three ways I want you to learn about the fear of the Lord.

Number one, what is the fear of the Lord?

Number one is I recognize his greatness.

It's all gonna make sense in a minute, so track with me.

I recognize his greatness.

The word says this in Psalms 145.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.

His greatness no one can fathom.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.

God is great.

The fear of the Lord begins with having a right view of God, and a starting point would be the greatness of God.

Now, I want to say, time out.

Does it result in some behaviors?

Yes, it will.

David, even, if you go read where David said, now come here and let me teach you the fear of the Lord.

He talks about behaviors.

Don't speak evil and the way that you act towards one another.

But if you begin with behaviors, then that'll last you as long as you have strength.

You have to start with a greater why.

And the greater why is this love relationship I have with God, and I fall in love with God because He is great and He's greatly to be praised.

When I remember I'm not afraid of God, I just have a reverence for the greatness of God and the honest of God and the wonder of God.

God is wonderful.

Are you following me?

I heard someone say it this way.

What is wonderful means?

It means God does things that make you go, man, I wonder how he does that.

And he's full of those things.

He's full of the things that make me wonder and make me go, how did God do that?

How did God soften that heart?

How did God heal that body?

How did God restore that marriage?

How did God bring that prodigal back home?

He is wonderful, he does wonderful things, he's great.

Now, here's the tension that you and I have to live with, and it is a healthy tension to live in when it comes to the fear of the Lord.

Is this that we can swim the pendulum because God is relational, but God is great.

God is my father and God is my friend, but God is great, and he is God Almighty, and he is seated on the throne.

God is intimate and he is closer than a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

But he rules and reigns and judges the earth with an iron scepter.

Are you following me?

And so if we swing to one extreme or the other, then we lose the fear of the Lord.

If we swing to, he's my homeboy that I'm chilling with on the weekends, then we've lost the reverence of God.

But if we move to, he's a judge that is going to judge the living and the dead, then we could live in an unbalanced afraidness.

That's not a good grammar, but you get what I'm trying to say.

I am well educated.

I understand I did a grammatical, but it was for the emphasis of speaking.

Okay.

Are y'all tracking?

So we live in the tension of he's my friend and father.

But man, he is great.

And he's greatly to be praised.

So how do I live in the fear of the Lord?

I recognize the greatness of God.

Number two, I recognize not only his greatness, but I recognize his holiness.

He is holy.

The scripture says, Exalt the Lord our God, bow low before his feet, for he is holy.

In other words, there is no injustice in him, there is no unrighteousness near him.

He is altogether other than us.

He is nothing like us in his holiness.

And so we stand in an awe and a reverence of that.

A healthy God, I recognize that you are holy and I am not.

It's this tension of He loves me.

This I know, for the Bible tells me so.

But no flesh can glory in his presence, for he is holy.

And so I live in the tension, I don't resolve that tension.

Because I revere him and I love him.

And I'm close to him.

But I honor who he is in my life.

He's great and he's holy.

Number three, how do I practice the fear of the Lord?

Final thought is I submit to his word.

Psalms 19:7 says this the instructions of the Lord are perfect.

Psalms 19:7

They don't need culture to define them, they don't need culture to rewrite them.

They are perfect and always have been.

They're reviving the soul.

The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy.

And look what they do: they make wise the simple.

The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.

Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.

The laws of the Lord are true.

Each one is fair.

They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.

It says they are sweeter than honey.

Can I tell you something?

If you've been walking with the Lord for a minute and you have fallen in love with his word, you know this is true.

They're sweeter than honey.

Honey dripping from the comb, they are warmed to a servant.

A great reward for those who obey them.

We submit to his word.

If there's two opinions, everybody, God's word's always right.

If there's two perspectives on a situation, listen to me, young people.

God's word's always right.

Yeah, but what about this and what about that?

I understand life is complicated, but God's word's always right.

And the fear of the Lord says this.

I may not agree with it, I may not understand it, but it doesn't negate the fact that it's always right.

And I would add, if you're reading the Bible and it always agrees with you, you've made a God of your own liking.

Because there should be times you open the word of God and go, ugh, ouch, that's stung.

I'm slipping to another chapter.

But whether it stings you, encourages you, corrects you, builds you up, it does not matter.

It's always right.

And when I fear the Lord, I recognize his greatness, I recognize his holiness, and I submit to his word.

So let me give you the Daniel definition of wisdom and the fear of the Lord.

It's living with reverence for the greatness and holiness of God that reveals itself in a life submitted to God.

So what does the fear of the Lord look like on your life?

A reverence for his greatness and holiness that results in your life being submitted to him fully.

Because he's God and we're not.

He's in control and we're not.

And it's there, Solomon says, You begin to get wisdom.

And here's the fruit.

How joyful are those who fear the Lord, all who follow in his ways.

You want joy for living?

Get wisdom.

You want wisdom?

It begins with the fear of the Lord.

And the fear of the Lord isn't you cowering in a corner, afraid of God.

It's seeing his greatness, recognizing his holiness, and submitting every day to his word.

You receive the word of God today.

Is that helpful?

Let's pray together at every location.

Head bowed and I, your head bowed, your eye closed at all of our campuses and at our prison campuses, our gateway gatherings.

I believe the Spirit of God is speaking to so many of you.

With your head bowed and your eye closed, and just in a moment of letting God talk to you.

You've done church, but you've never realized your need of a savior.

Realize that your sins have separated you from a holy and a loving God.

Who can't be around sin or look at sin.

But he sent Jesus, his only son, into the earth to die the death you and I deserved.

To be the payment for our sin.

And today he offers the free gift of salvation, the forgiveness of sins, a brand new beginning according to Corinthians.

It says, if anyone is in Christ, they're a brand new creation, all things pass away, everything becomes new.

Today can be a day of brand new beginnings in your life, and many of you need it today.

You know, if it was just me and you over a cup of coffee and I were to ask you, do you know God?

You would say, Yeah.

But if I were to say, is he far from you?

Many of you would say he feels a million miles away.

Then can I tell you something?

He didn't move.

And he stands waiting at the door of your heart knocking, and today he says, if you will open the door, he'll come in.

So if you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, I want to give you a moment to do that.

We're gonna pray together in just a second.

There's nothing special about the words of my prayer, it's just me helping you communicate to God that today you're returning to him, or today you're surrendering your life to him.

And if that's your desire, when I count to three, I just want to know who I'm praying with, myself or the pastor at your campus.

I just want you to shoot your hand up high enough, long enough for one of us to see.

No one's gonna come to you or embarrass you, and then we're gonna pray together.

But if that's you, on the count of three, you just shoot your hand up high, and we're gonna pray together.

One, two, three.

Just shoot it up high.

God bless you.

God bless you.

You can put it down.

Church, let's pray this out loud for the benefit of those who just slip their hand up, say, Jesus, I need you.

I ask you to forgive me of all my sin.

I believe you died for me.

I believe God raised you from the dead.

Today I make you my Lord and Savior.

Thank you for a brand new beginning.

In Jesus' name.

Everybody said a big amen.

Amen.

Can we celebrate those who made that decision?

Thanks for joining us today.

If you'd like to connect with us, text Connect to 71010 or visit gatewaypeople.com.

We hope you have a great week.