What Is The Gospel? | Pastor Michael Alfaro

Hi, calling family.

This is Pastor Michael, and welcome to our church podcast.

I'm so grateful for you tuning in today, and I believe today's message is gonna strengthen your faith in Jesus.

So the title of my sermon today is What is the gospel?

What is the gospel?

This is very uh paramount news, very paramount information.

What is the gospel?

And I hope in this sermon I can help to um alleviate what it is not.

You know, there's a lot of non-Christians or the world world who's heard of the word gospel, um, but they don't know perhaps what it is, maybe some.

But there is a significant amount of Christians and believers who believe Christ, but who cannot articulate what the gospel is.

All right, and let me just stop on that real part real quick.

They cannot articulate what the gospel is.

As Christians, we watch, watch this now.

And if you take notes on your phone, do not watch ESPN or God's mom will catch you.

Come on, somebody.

All right, you can take notes on your phone.

This is important or catch it later on YouTube.

All right, but it's important as Christians that we can articulate what the gospel is.

It's important that we articulate it.

Why?

And we understand, watch this.

We understand gospel, we can articulate gospel now.

Why?

So you can share the gospel.

Someone say amen.

Let me say that one more time.

But God, yeah, you can give the Lord a clap for that.

That's okay.

You can clap in church.

Come on, somebody, all right.

God wants you to understand, say understand.

He wants you to understand the gospel.

He wants you to be able to say articulate, articulate the gospel.

Why?

So you can share the gospel.

Now I'm gonna challenge you for a moment.

There's a lot of people who can um articulate football.

There's a lot of people who can articulate baseball and the Dodgers and you know, uh the players and the positions.

There's a lot of you who can articulate fashion and and this and Gucci that and whatever this and whatever that.

There's a lot of people who can articulate this and that or whatever.

But God, what how most how how uh important is it to articulate our own salvation?

It's important that we articulate our own salvation.

We ought to know what we believe.

Someone, you guys with me?

We ought to know what we believe and why we believe what we do.

In simplest terms, the gospel is this.

It means good news.

The good news, say good news.

It's the good news of what?

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

That's in a broader term.

The the it the gospel means the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

And really essentially, it means that God has sent his one and only Son to the world to die for sinners on the cross, offering salvation and forgiveness and being raised in three days.

That's it right there.

That's the meat right there.

Is that God sent his one and only son to die on a cross for sinners, to forgive sinners, and be uh uh uh offer salvation to the world, and also being raised in three days.

All right.

So, in essence, the gospel means good news.

The world is filled with a lot of bad news.

The world is filled with shocking news, TMZ, scandalous news.

But I have great news for you.

The Bible and the message of Jesus is always good news.

Someone say amen.

There's always good news, it's always good news.

Why?

Because Jesus has won the victory over darkness and sin and death.

Someone say amen.

That means that whatever you are facing this morning, God can help you through it.

Someone say amen.

We are not abandoned to depression and disparity, all right?

Because why?

The good news is that Jesus come to die on a cross and not only stay in a grave but raise, be raised from the grave.

All right, a person said this, A.B.

Simpson said this, is reported to have said, the gospel tells rebellious men that God is reconciled, that justice is satisfied, that sin has been atoned for, that judgment of the guilty may be revoked, that condemn the condemnation of the sinner is canceled, the curse of the law is blotted out, the gates of hell are closed, the portals of heaven are opened wide, and the power of sin is subdued, the guilty conscience is healed, the broken heart comforted, the sorrow and misery of the fall in Genesis 3 is undone.

That's good news.

Someone say, Amen.

Give the Lord a clap for that.

That's great news.

Alright?

So my first point is this the gospel literally means good news.

It comes from the word evangel uh I always butcher it.

It sounds like the word evangelion or you evangelion, it's where we get the word evangelize, all right?

And this word was used in ancient Greece, it was a it's a Greek word, and it was used in uh ancient Greece gospel when the Greeks would go to the war go to war with a different country, and when there is victory in that war, they would send a runner, a messenger ahead of the military campaign back home to report what the good news.

And what is the good news?

The good news is that we won the war.

We are not gonna be slaves, we are free people in our society.

We are we we've won the war, we've triumphed over the war.

That's what the Greek messenger would say, the gospel to the to the homeland.

Well, it's the same for the believer today.

Is that what Jesus Christ has won victory?

Why?

Because he's not watch this, he we have the victory, Jesus has won the victory.

Why?

Because there he's not buried, he's they have not found his bones, he is raised from the dead.

Amen.

Someone say amen.

And this is why you have victory today.

Why?

Because your Savior came up out of the grave.

And if he came up out of the grave, why are you not walking out of your depression?

Come on, somebody.

Why are we sitting in discouragement?

Why are we looking on the past?

It means that because Jesus has walked out of the grave, you too can walk out of your disparity, your depression, your discouragement.

Someone say amen.

You know, just to give you an example of this, too.

Maybe you don't have the wherewithal and the power to walk with walk out of depression.

And I would say, I believe you.

There is another power, there is another person called the Holy Spirit who will help you get through that in Jesus' name.

How many of you believe that today?

I believe that with all my heart.

In fact, I don't know his name, but I see this one dude who goes into these gyms and he he pretends it's a prank.

He pretends to clean, and he's wearing like a jumpsuit, um, and he's he pretends to work at the gym, like he's a he worked there to clean, he has a mop.

And he, there's these dudes like uh deadlifting, like, you know, five plates.

I mean, like, wow.

And this one dude, he doesn't look like a humongous guy, but he says, you know, can I move your, your, your dead, your, your, uh, can I move the weight?

Can I move?

And they look at him like, you can't do this, you're crazy.

Look, you're puny, you're not strong.

And they say, you know, get out of my way, go clean somewhere else.

And this dude who is not like physically looking like them, these huge Arnold guys, he goes and gets uh the the he gets the barbell and he pulls it on up, and to their dismay, they are blown away.

How do you do that?

You you I mean, oh what?

You don't look like you can do that.

He has such power, he can do it.

It's amazing.

You ought to look it up on YouTube.

I believe the Holy Spirit just spoke to me the other day.

He says, Michael, that's me in your life.

You don't have the wherewithal to do the certain things in your life to get over bitterness and disparity and discouragement and to forgive, but I can help you because I am a powerful person, I'm God, I can help walk you through that.

That's what the Holy Spirit wants us to do, or what he wants to help us in our life get through those things.

Someone say amen.

All right, and he will.

Addiction, pain, hurt, and he will.

My first point is this the gospel literally means good news.

In a world filled with bad news, we need to be reminded that there's always good news in Jesus.

Always good news.

When's the last time you heard good news?

Some of you maybe have heard a bad report.

Some of you heard a bad doctor's report.

Maybe you've got a bad report at your job.

Maybe your wife says something, your husband said something to you to you, and it was a bad report.

When's the last time you had good news?

When's the last time you heard something wonderful?

That you saved money, that you got promoted, that a family member got accepted to a college or a college, a school, whatever it might be.

God wants you to understand that the gospel, before we can articulate, he wants us to understand that the gospel is good news.

And here's why.

Alright?

Because a savior, God sent us a savior 2,026 years ago.

By the way, we measure our time because Jesus walked in his chanclaws in Israel and he split up time.

What other person has done that?

Come on, you can say whatever you want, but because this person has walked the earth, wow, you measure your birthday by him walking this earth.

Someone say amen.

All right, that's the truth of the fact.

You can't get around that.

This is good news because God didn't stay in heaven and leave and abandon the world to its destruction and humanity.

No, God sent Jesus, his only son, to wrap himself in human flesh, a savior to the world, to walk among us.

I love what some translations say, is some translations will say, he moved into the neighborhood.

In other words, he lived among his own creation to walk with us, to talk with us.

What if God was one of us?

I sound pretty good right there.

Come on, y'all.

Hey, what just a one of us, you remember that song?

How many from the 90s?

Come on, somebody, amen.

All right, just a little bit of you?

I know there's more of you.

Don't it's all right.

Jesus, God lived among us to teach us how to forgive.

He came to show us how to walk through betrayal.

You know, our Savior was betrayed by a kiss, with a kiss.

Jesus was lied on, Jesus was spit on.

But all the while, Jesus never lost his cool because Jesus knew who he was, and he knew what he had come to do.

Somebody say amen.

See you getting all mad because people are saying things about you at your job and your and the family, but you need to realize, like Jesus, who you are.

Come on, someone say amen.

I don't even got time to go into that message, all right?

You need to realize who you are and what your assignment is because when you realize those things, they would just opinions don't even matter.

Someone say, Amen.

Jesus lived among us to show us the way to the Father.

He was the embodiment of reconciliation.

There is the Bible, Jesus would say there is no other way to the Father but through Him, the Son.

In this world and the different religions, many people are looking how, looking for and searching for, how do I get to know God?

What must I do to be right with God?

And many religions will say this, and this is a false gospel, will say this.

You have to perform your way and earn your right to uh have a ticket to heaven.

But the gospel is good news in this that it's not what you do or what you have done, it is what Jesus has done on the cross for a broken humanity.

He died on the cross.

In fact, we call that a substitution, uh uh substitutionary death.

In other words, it means that you and I should have died on the cross.

Why?

Because we all have fallen short, but Jesus took that debt and paid it for us so that we can have be made right with God.

Someone say amen.

That's good news.

That's good news.

So, number one, to understand gospel, it's this that God had become one of us to show us the way.

If you have questions about God, what is God like?

What would he say in certain scenarios?

Why does he do what he does?

Look no further than the person of Jesus, because he role modeled in this life what it means to please God and obey God.

It is important to know that Jesus was completely sinless.

There is no perfect person other than the person of Jesus.

Everyone falls short, but Jesus being 100% God, 100% man, he lived an obedient life and fulfilled the will of God.

Jesus was even tempted by Satan.

All right, but he has over he had overcome those temptations.

So Jesus is the role model that helps us live out our faith.

What are you facing today, and how can you follow Jesus' Jesus' example?

The gospel is the good news of Jesus' life, and what are you going through?

Jesus wants to help you with that.

You might be going through betrayal, you might be going through pain, you might be going through hurt, you might be going through confusion.

Well, if you open up the Bible, Jesus, we you'll read how Jesus went through those things to help us.

My third point is this the good news regarding the death of Christ.

Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

So this is gonna be a little bit of teaching, so stick with me.

All right, stick with me.

Romans chapter 3, verse 23.

Romans 3:23

Or let me go back for a moment.

A false gospel.

Many Christians, not just the world, many Christians believe this.

That you have to pay a price, or that you have to uh work and earn your salvation, that you have to do good in order to get to God, and that you have to do good in order to go to heaven.

And that's not gospel.

The gospel says there's no, because if you try to do good works to get there, that would be based on your merits.

And according to God, God says you can't do anything to earn your way to heaven, it's through what my son has done for you.

You can't pay your way to heaven, you can't do good enough works because that's you justifying yourself.

And the only person that justifies you is the Lord Jesus Christ and his atonement on the cross.

Someone say amen.

So we can't pay for it, we can't earn it, we can't work for it.

Rather, because we are saved, God wants us to perform, how should I say it?

Not perform, God wants us to do good works.

So we got to get that straightened out.

The gospel is this you don't have to do good works to earn salvation.

No.

All right, the gospel is this because Jesus done the great work of dying for me, I am I am convinced that you know I'm touched, I'm inspired, I'm transformed.

Now I want to do good in my community.

Now I want to be transformed.

Now I want the Holy Spirit to live in me.

Why?

Because He paid my debt.

Someone say Amen.

And by the way, it is Bible.

If we have faith, we should have fruit.

Someone say amen.

If we should, if we have faith, we should have fruit.

If we don't have fruit, then we need to check the root.

Come on, somebody.

Are we truly saved?

And do we really believe in the cross of Christ and the victory of his resurrection?

You guys with me?

Someone say amen.

Look what it says in Romans chapter 3, verse 23.

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace.

Say grace.

This is a gospel of grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

So, in other words, every person has fallen short, everyone has sinned, everyone has fibbed, even your sweet little auntie or your old little grandma.

Come on, somebody.

Even the most, the best among us, and we have some amazing people here, even the best among us are not perfect.

You might say to me, Pastor Michael, why walk old ladies across the street?

Why I donate to the goodwill?

Well, I buy groceries for the the elderly.

Let me tell you, that's all based upon your work.

Come on, y'all, amen.

What we must do is believe on the Lord Jesus for salvation.

But but going back to all have sinned, all have sinned.

And why is that important?

Why is that important when it comes to the gospel?

I think we don't often realize this, especially in the world in the convoluted world we live in.

God is absolutely holy.

The Lord is holy, and there is no sin in heaven, there is no darkness, there is no evil in heaven.

That's why God hates evil.

That's why God hates sin.

Because sin was never part of the plan.

And what sin does is it separates humanity, his beloved creation, from himself.

That's why God sent Jesus to walk among sinners and eat at the table with sinners and heal sinners.

Why?

God is holy.

In fact, the apostle Paul, who wrote this letter, he would say that the risen Lord appeared to him.

And in one text, I believe in Acts, maybe 16 through 18, he would say, When he appeared to me, it was a light so bright, brighter than the noonday sun, and it actually blinded him.

Oh man, once you see the power of the light and the majesty and the holiness of Almighty God, you will not fear the dark.

Someone say, Amen.

Come on, y'all say amen, like you believe that.

You out there.

Sometimes our mind is way somewhere else, but we serve a mighty God, a holy God.

Demons were scared of Jesus.

He cast demons out with the p his pinky finger.

They would say to him, Please do not destroy me.

Do not send me to hell.

They would say those things.

We have a mighty God.

And this is why sin must be paid for.

This is why.

Because it's justice.

I don't think I'm a bad person.

But I once got a street parking ticket.

And uh I hated that thing.

And my wife was so upset with me because I was supposed to move my car at a certain time.

And you gotta love, you know, no, you gotta pray for those street parking people.

In the name of if you're a street parking person, we're gonna pray for you, lay hands on you in Jesus' name.

Get saved.

Alright.

We I there was I got a ticket, and I was so upset because I missed the time.

And the same person, the very next week, I think purposely gave me a ticket again.

And my wife is now livid.

What is wrong with you, bro?

And I'm just I'm so sorry, you know, I that's my fault, whatever.

And and uh I got two tickets now.

With everything inside of me, I did not want to pay that ticket or those tickets with everything inside of me.

I was mad, I was angry, I was angry at them, I was angry at the city, you know.

You know, I paid taxes, you know, why you bother me for?

I'm a I'm a pastor, I'm doing my good.

What do you what do you want with me?

No matter how much I preach about the fine, the fine needs to be paid.

At the end of our lives, you can preach to God by the way, I don't think you will, but you can say to God and the angels, all you want.

I did this, I did that, and then Jesus is gonna look at you and say, You know what?

I never knew you.

I had the opportunity to pay your fine, but you didn't believe in me.

And so I let go of my pride with those street parking tickets, and I had to pay the fine.

That is justice, that is right, that is righteousness.

In this life, our sin has to have payment.

Back in the Old Testament, Israel time, they would pay with the the the with animal sacrifices, which was honestly temporary sacrifices.

They had to do it over and over again.

But the watch this when Christ died on the cross, he died for our sin once and for all, covered by his blood.

Someone say, Amen.

It justifies us, it justifies us.

What God wants you to know, what gospel is, is that Jesus has come to pay your fine.

Come on, somebody.

Because if you humble yourself and you dig deep within you, you know there are errors in your life.

You know you need a change.

Your wife tells you you need a change.

Your husband needs tells you you need a change.

The law tells you you need a change.

You know that deep down inside of you, you need transformation.

But thanks be to God that He sent His one and only Son to pay your debt.

Someone say, Amen.

That is good news.

That's wonderful news.

It's important to know as well when it comes to gospel that Jesus is not a moralist.

He's not just, you know, there's a lot of people in society who out there, you know, he's a good dude, man.

He's he he did he did a lot of nice things for people.

He's a good moral person.

There's a lot of people out there, even different religions, that would say he's a great, uh, a great prophet, man.

He could do mighty miracles.

He he could he could walk on water.

Wow, he's an amazing prophet.

Some other people would say, you know, he's a great psychologist, man.

He had a way of compassion with the people.

Wow.

Some would say, man, he's a great teacher.

His teachings are amazing.

Jesus is not just a great teacher, he is more than a prophet.

Jesus is greater than a moralist.

Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.

He is the savior of the world.

Come on, y'all.

And unless he died on the cross, sin would not be completely taken care of.

So the good news is that Jesus died on the cross for you and for me.

And let me tell you, you maybe already know this.

That payment was no small payment.

His death on the cross was no small payment.

Jesus is the best of us.

Even from the cross, as they're nailing his hands in the cross, in the beam, saying, Lord, forgive them, for they don't know.

Wow.

If you're from Ballin Park, you say, No, homie, what?

No, what?

He's saying, forgive them.

They know not what they do.

It was a grand payment.

His mother had a watch and crucified, which is horrendous and torturesome.

You know, at his false trial, they would lie on him.

They would accuse him of false things.

And Jesus still kept his composure.

And he didn't give in to their darkness.

No, the payment was powerful.

And that's why it completely satisfies the debt of sin.

And let me just say this real quick theology for you.

When I think of Jesus on the cross and the road to the cross, do you know that Jesus was broken?

Stripes on his body, cat of nine tails, spit on, slaps, beaten.

He was broken so that you don't have to live broken in this life.

Someone say amen.

That's he went through that on purpose so that you don't have to be subject to depression and subject to disparity.

No, he took the stripes on his body so that you don't have to be broken.

Someone say amen.

There is power in the name of Jesus and the cross.

In fact, the cross is one of the most powerful symbols in all the world today.

So Jesus took our place on the cross so that we can be made right with a holy God.

A holy God.

I don't know about you, but the further I go into my relationship with Jesus, I realize how holy He is, how great and grand God is, and how small I am.

And that's why it's important to be humble before the living God.

I heard one of our brothers say this if you're humble, you will not stumble.

I like that.

If you're humble, you won't stumble.

Thank you for that.

I'm gonna use that.

Last but not least, the good news of the gospel is this, most importantly and chiefly with a cherry on top.

I promise you we're gonna close soon.

Is this that Jesus was raised from the dead.

Jesus walked out of the grave three days later, and that is a powerful thing.

Theologians and scholars believe if Jesus still stayed in the tomb and in the grave, all right, it wouldn't matter.

Our sins will be stuck on us, there wouldn't be no great hope.

But because he walked out of the grave, there is hope for you, there is hope for me, there is hope for the community, there is hope for the world today.

Because Jesus was raised on the third day, it means this that our pain is not permanent, that failures don't have to be final, that there is fresh hope today, and there is lasting peace for tomorrow.

Somebody say amen.

Because Jesus is alive, watch this.

He is alive.

You can face tomorrow with hope, even when today is hard.

Let me say that one more time.

Because Jesus is alive, you can face tomorrow with hope even when today is hard.

So let me utter this to you before we end our time.

What are you facing today?

There is hope for you today, there is healing for you today.

The Holy Spirit wants to live inside your heart.

He wants to help you with your troubles, and he wants to help you become more like Jesus in this life.

The resurrection, the gospel, meaning Jesus raised from the dead, it means this new life.

Can you say with me?

New life.

Say with me, new life.

We don't have to live like yesterday when God offers us fresh life today.

Let me say that again.

You don't have to live like yesterday, out of your pain, out of who hurt you, out of your darkness, out of your addiction.

Why?

Because God has new life for you today.

Somebody say amen.

Fresh life, real purpose, real hope.

And watch this.

Most importantly, so we God wants us to understand gospel.

He wants to articulate us to articulate gospel so we can share the gospel.

And so, what is the gospel?

That God sent his one and only Son to die for our sin, to offer us forgiveness and salvation.

Because he raised from the dead three days later.

And this hope can bring healing to ever anyone's life and our community, your family in Jesus' name.

So let me end with this.

Mark chapter 16, verse 15 says this.

Mark 16:15

All creation.

I heard a story about an amazing violinist.

Um, what is his name?

His name is Fritz Chrysler from the night uh late 1800s to the mid-1900s, 1962.

The world-famous violinist earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of all of it away.

So when he discovered an exquisite violin one on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it.

Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the cellar hoping to purchase the beautiful violin.

But to his great dismay, a collector actually bought this violin.

And this collector took it to his home and put it behind a case.

And uh Chrysler was so uh bothered by that, disappointed by that, that he went to uh he asked to go to the home of the collector, and he said, Well, can I see it?

And he says, you know, you can see it, but it's mine.

It's staying behind this case, all right?

Behind this, you know, it's gonna be my prized possession forever.

And he was so disappointed.

And I've heard that with violins or instruments that if you don't play them, especially because of the wood, if you don't play them, they will rot, they will break.

And so Chrysler said, you know what, can I just play it?

If you won't sell it to me, if you won't give it to me, can I just play it one last time?

And so the collector gave it to him, and there Chrysler goes, playing the most sweet melody on this violin.

And to the collector's amazement, his jaw drops, his eyes open.

He is amazed and astonished about uh uh regarding how great this little performance was.

He felt so bad.

He says, you know what?

I'm gonna give this to you so that you can share it with the whole world.

Why keep it behind this uh this, you know, this this word?

I'm gonna keep it closed up forever.

It's meant to be shared.

This is a gift.

I have news for us today.

The gospel is such good news, we're not just meant to retain it and keep it and hold on to it and do nothing with it.

We are meant to share it in the name of Jesus.

Why?

Because your coworker has cancer.

Why?

Because your neighbor is going through a hard time in their marriage.

Why?

Because someone's child is in the hospital and we have the good news and the hope of Jesus Christ that can heal lives and save lives and bring people back from the dead to being found in Jesus' name.

Someone say amen.

I believe that with all my heart, all my soul.

If I did not believe that, if I did not know that, I would not be standing before you today.

You know, every sermon, by the way, I give a message or a study on a scripture, and at the very end, I give a gospel invitation.

This message is all about gospel and what it means.

It's important to articulate your salvation.

And if we can articulate baseball, man, I can I can articulate Dodgers, man.

Come on, y'all.

I love Dodgers.

If we can articulate football, if we can articulate fashion, I mean most importantly and assuredly should be able to articulate what Jesus has done for us.

You know, I'll share a story real quick.

Um for for some time I invited my neighbor to church, and he knows I'm a pastor, and he's my age, and he has a family, and he's a nice guy, and not very religious at all.

But one day I just said, Hey, you know, I'd love for you to come and just bring your family, and and uh actually it was during Christmas, I said, Hey, come out, we're gonna have you know a great time, we're gonna have a tamalis.

We usually have tamalis during Christmas time.

Come on, y'all, that's amazing stuff right there, all right?

And uh we'll have a good time, and we'd love for you to come out and bring your family.

And so um I invited him, and I I never knew, I didn't know what happened.

I didn't know if he came or not.

And a year later, my neighbor tells me, a year later, I don't know why he waited so long.

We get along well, and he just said, Oh, you know, I did go to church on on uh I did go to church and I loved it.

It was really, really great.

And I said, bro, why did you wait a whole year telling me that you came to church?

He loved it.

He gave him something to think about.

I don't know if he put his faith in Jesus, but to be honest with you, gave him something to think about when it comes to life and salvation.

We have many people here who are invited by family members and co-workers.

God is doing something special in this church.

Why?

Because we're sharing the gospel.

God has a calling on your life.

Heaven is real, hell is real, and God has a purpose and a plan for you.

You don't have to live in defeat.

Come on, somebody.

You don't have to live from the past, you don't have to live out of your depression.

Why?

Because hope is here.

Why?

Because the gospel, Jesus was alive, he conquered the cross, he conquered the grave, and he is now raised forever to new life to life.

And he has this new life for us this morning.

Can I have every head bowed, eye closed just for a moment as we wrap up our time?

I have a very important question to ask you.

Is your life right with God?

Maybe you're here today because you used to go to church, and for some reason you're going through a trouble right now.

You know you're in the house of God because you know you need God.

And I would say that's fantastic.

That's a blessing.

That you've humbled yourself.

But if you're honest, you're not sure where you stand with God.

You're not certain you'd go to heaven.

For some of us, we've never been to church.

For some of us, we're we're not religious, we didn't grow up religious.

Some for some of us, maybe we even mock religion, maybe we mocked Christianity, but now we've humbled ourselves to know we're in church today, we're watching online because we know there is something greater out there.

His name is Jesus.

And here's the gospel.

Jesus came in this world to die for our sin.

God loves you and He knows your name, and heaven the heavens know your name.

And the truth of the fact is this that there will ever there will be a great, they call it the great judgment, great white throne judgment.

Everyone will stand before Almighty God one day.

There is an afterlife.

Absolutely.

You know what?

And in the afterlife, makes me a little emotional.

There's people waiting up there for us.

There's people waiting up there for us.

You got Jesus up there waiting for us one day.

But at the end, the Bible says, It's appointed once for a man to die, he'll face the judgment.

Will you you he might say, I did good things, Lord?

I'm a good person.

That won't suffice.

Well, how what will suffice?

Do you know Jesus as your Lord?

Because He has come to pay your debt and your fine and your penalty.

For those that say, Yes, I believe that Christ is Lord.

I believe there's way more to this life than I realize.

And I humble myself to accept that Jesus Christ walked among humanity, died on the cross for me, rose again on the third day to empower me, strengthen me to come home to live for my purpose.

You say that?

You say, Pastor Michael, I'm ready, come home.

I would say, Great, that's a wonderful thing.

Other people will stand at the judgment and they will not know God, and that will be a terrible thing.

And I just want everyone to understand this God never sends anyone to hell that shouldn't be there.

Come on, in Jesus' name.

Hell is locked from the inside, not the outside.

What that means is that everyone has the opportunity.

God is just, He gives everyone the opportunity fairly and justly to come home.

People go to hell because they reject God, they are filled with pride.

And so he gives us the opportunity to repent.

So you say, Pastor Michael, I want to accept Christ as my Savior.

Here's what I'm gonna do.

I'm not gonna put a spotlight on you.

I'm not gonna ask for your information, I'm not gonna ask for your phone number.

I'm just gonna want actually, honestly, I just want you to, we're gonna count to three and just stand up for Jesus.

No one's gonna watch you.

We're still bowing our heads, closing our eyes.

I just want you to be bold and say, you know what?

I need forgiveness of sins.

I want his purpose for my life, I want his healing for my life, I want to know him more.

So here we go on the count of three.

I want Christ.

I want this gospel on the count of three.

One, two, three.

Even if it's just one of you, stand for the Lord.

Every head is bowed right now.

Amen.

I see you, brother.

God bless you.

I love you.

Wow, I see you, brother.

God bless you.

Love you.

I see you.

A lot of men, young men in the church standing for Jesus.

Let's go.

That's what it's about.

Thank you, Lord.

Hallelujah.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Make your stand.

Come to Christ.

You know what?

Jesus stood for us.

He took our judgment, he took our punishment, he took our wounds and our be.

I see you there too, young lady.

God bless you.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

God bless you, young man.

Amen.

That's what it's all about.

You know, the Bible says that when you give your life to Christ, when you come home, the angels right now are rejoicing and having a party.

Wow.

We thank you, Lord.

Amen.

Every head up, every eye open.

Let's stand with our brothers and sisters.

Come on.

Let's stand.

Give them a mighty clap.

So good.

Amazing.

Give them a bitter clap than that.

So good.

Proud of you.

Proud of you.

Let's pray this prayer.

Let's mean it from the depths of our heart.

You can fake me out.

I promise you, you can no one can fake God out.

Let's mean this from our heart.

You know, after you pray this prayer, let me just say this.

Salvation.

Say salvation.

Salvation is the beginning.

Salvation is just the beginning.

Discipleship is what's next for the rest of our life.

Walking with Him.

There are people here, by the way, who would love to help you walk with Jesus.

Let's say this prayer.

Say, dear God, thank you for sending your Son to die for my sins.

I believe I'm a sinner.

I'm in need of a savior.

Lord, come into my heart.

Lord, heal me.

Lord, make me new.

I want to live for you.

I don't want to live for the devil.

I don't want to live just for me.

I want to live for my purpose.

I want to live for you.

Give me new life, Holy Spirit.

I confess with my mouth and I believe with my heart that Jesus Christ is Lord of my life.

Come on, give the Lord a mighty clap.

Come on.

Come on, let's give him a mighty clap.

So good.

Amen.

Thank you so much for tuning in to today's message.

Our mission as a church is choosing Jesus, chasing freedom, discovering our gifts, and serving Jesus.

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