Mark 3:7-35 || The Book of Mark || Pastor Joel Holm

Welcome to the ALC Podcast. Here at ALC, we seek the loss,

teach the found, and send the disciples. We truly hope you're encouraged by

this week's message. We're studying the Gospel of Mark, and you know,

there are these four Gospels, and Mark is this kind of raw writer.

He writes very different than Matthew and Luke and John. He does not pull

any punches whatsoever. And what he's gonna teach us tonight is relevant for every

one of us in here because in Mark chapter three he lays out for us

what's gonna define your relationship with Jesus. I would say most every one of

us in here has a relationship with Jesus. But what's actually gonna define it?

What will make it look like it? You know, what's it gonna

look like. I remember when my wife and I were thinking about getting married

forty years ago, and we went to premarital counseling beforehand, which is what

people do, and in premarital counts, and you kind of answer these questions,

you know, and some of the questions where well, here's what I'll

do and here's what you'll do. And as we walk thro those questions,

all of a sudden, I realized, Oh, she was thinking different than

I was. I thought you were going to do that stuff. You thought

I was going to do that stuff. What are you doing? What am

I doing? That's kind of what happens in our relationship with Jesus. What

are you doing? What am I doing? What's my role? What's your

role? And what will define our identity with Jesus? And Mark kind of

lays out for us some of the options that are before is that if we're

not careful, we'll slip into In Mark chapter three, you can just be

a fan of his, where your relationship with Jesus is defined by one thing,

what he does for you, and just what he does for you.

Now he wants to do things for you, But if that's what defines you,

you're gonna miss out on so much more. Or your relationship with Jesus

could be defined by fear. You're always one wondering did I mess up again?

Does he still like me? And fear becomes there. Your relationship could

be defined by religion. If I do the right things, if I behave

in the right way, then I'm okay. And Jesus is saying Mark is

saying listen, I want you to know exactly what defines your relationship. So

Mark chapter three, we're going to start in verse ten, and here's the

first one who says, here's what happens in Mark chapter three, starting verse

seven, Jesus withdrew through his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd

from Galilee followed when they heard about all he was doing. Many people came

to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Oudma, and regions across Jordan around Tyr

and Sa'adan. Because of the crowd, he told the disciples to have a

small boat ready for him to keep the people from counting him, for he

had healed many so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

This happened a lot to Jesus. Everywhere he went, people followed him and

people wanted something from him, and you can't hardly blame them because he was

doing miracles. But then what you discover is later on in his three years

of ministry, all those people left him. The moment he started speaking about

the Cross, they weren't found anymore. Actually, when you read most of

Mark near the second half, they're the ones who start beginning to yell out

crucify him, crucify him. Here's the challenge of being a follower of Christ.

We have a Lord and savior who wants to meet our needs. He

just doesn't want our relationship to be solely defined by that. If your prayer

life is nothing but a list of needs that you want him to meet.

If you define your identity by him, by him meeting your needs, which

means you go through a season when he doesn't seem to meet your needs,

and all of a sudden you're not in church anymore, or you could praying

because the answers don't come, or you find yourself as just kind of this

fan. What happens is you actually miss out on something far greater He has

for you. Because the needs we have are real, financial, physical,

relational. They are real, and He wants to meet those. But the

real needs we have are needs of our heart and our soul, the need

that we have to be loved, the need that we have to be wanted,

the need that we have to see our life be meaningful in some ways.

And when you're only focused like the crowds, I got a problem,

Will you fix my problem? You will miss out on so much more.

And Marcus saying listen, that's a choice that's there, and the enemy may

even work to kind of highlight that choice. There is recently, if you

follow digital technology, this thing called AI that has just taken off. It's

quite fascinating, the ability of computers to be able to do whatever you need

them to do. I speak all over the world. I don't travel all

over the world as much, but when I'll preach, they'll send my message

to Russia, and they'll send it to India, and they'll send it to

the Middle East. And with one click of a button, I become an

Arabic speaker, fluent, my voice in Arabic, intonations, everything, my

lips matched the Arabic language. It's all done by AI. You basically can

tell it to do anything and it will do for it's writing books, it's

writing newspaper articles, it's doing all this stuff. And all you have to

do is just tell it what you want it to do, and it does

it for you. God is not your AI. You don't just tell him

what to do and he'll do it for you. And that defines it.

Now. God wants to meet your needs. Don't misunderstand me, but you

gotta do some inventory marks laying out here and saying, if that's what defines

you, you're actually gonna miss out on so much more. Now, look

at verse eleven and twelve. He gives us another group. In verse eleven,

whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried

out, you are the son of God. But he gave them strict orders

not to tell others about him. Here's you got this group that shows up,

and these are these demons. And you see this happen over and over

again. Where Jesus would go into a village, there'd be all these crowds,

and inevitably some of people would be possessed and they would come forward,

and the demons would know who Jesus was, even more than the people,

and they would shriek in fear, and sometimes they would give language to this

fear. And Marx says, Okay, there are these fans who are defining

their identity by what Jesus will do for them. Then there's this other group,

and their identity with Jesus is completely defined by fear. And it illustrates

for us, or sometimes we can fall into James talks about this when he's

talking about a living real faith. And he says, listen, demons believe

and then they shudder. What following by Jesus is just defined by fear.

This word shudder. Where James has listened demons believe in they shudder. It

means a terrifying fear when you encounter God. And Mark wants us to know

listen, if you are a follower of Christ, a terrifying fear should not

define that. Christians don't shudder. We don't have this terrifying fear when we

talk about Judgment Day. One day there would be this judgment Day for Christians.

You know what, we say, that is the most glorious day that

will ever come. Bring it on. I can't wait. Now. Many

people, even people who don't have a faith, you talk about Judgment Day,

they get really nervous. Some of you may get really nervous. If

I said, if we knew without a doubt, December thirty Fir twenty twenty

four, that's it, It's done, that's Judgment Day. How would your

year change? Would you run home and think of all the things you need

to fix? Being generated by a fear. The reason why we don't have

fear because we know that when we stand before the Lord on judgment day,

he is going to look at us with a final declaration and say, Joel,

you are righteous, you are holy because of what Christ has done.

You are holy, and I'm going bring it on. I can't wait for

that day. But Mar says, be careful that fear doesn't define your faith.

Be careful that you're not consumed with how you rank before God, and

you're trying to do things that will enable you to kind of assuage his terror.

Christians do not shudder. And then he gives us a third group down

in verse twenty. Look at this and down in verse twenty of Mark three.

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, and the

disciples were not even able to eat. And when his family heard about this,

they went to take charge of him, for they said he's out of

his mind. And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem,

said, he's possessed by bells above, by the prince of demons. He's

driving out demons. So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak

to them in parables. How can Satan drive out Satan If a kingdom is

divided by itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house divided by itself,

that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided,

he cannot stand. His end has come. In fact, no one can

enter a strong man's house. Th I'll first tie him up, then he

can plunder the strong man's house. Truly, I tell you, people can

be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter. But whoever blaspheoms against

the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. They're guilty of an eternal sin.

He said this because these religious leaders were saying he has an impure spirit.

Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrive standing outside. They sent someone in to call

him. A crowd was sitting around, and they told him, your mother

and brothers are outside looking for you. Who are my mother and my brothers?

He asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him,

said, here are my mother and brothers. Whoever does God's will is

my brother and sister and mother. What's he talking about? Mark says,

here's another group of Pharisees. They're religious, devoutly religious, and they come

in front of Jesus. They have this definition where they are defined by religion

and they're gonna control this situation. Jesus is upsetting their idea of religion.

And Mark lays out for us a story, and in that story he actually

includes his natural family, and Jesus goes, no, they're not actually my

true family, and he gives us this other category of people who religion defines

their identity with Jesus and there may be some of us here tonight, and

we realize, no, I'm not a fan. I realize that there's more

to Jesus than just what he'll do for me. I don't have this fear

necessarily, but religion creeps in or how I live about my religion and how

and what I do that actually is more important than my relationship with Jesus,

and it becomes an obstacle. And Mark kind of lays out these groups of

people because what he wants in the middle of this is to show a contrast.

We're not called to be fans, we're not called to have fear,

we're not called to be religion. What we are called to do is be

disciples. And he defines that for us, and that's what we're gonna study.

So look at Mark chapter three, because here's where we get to kind

of the nuts and bolts of what Mark wants to ring. In verse thirteen,

he gives us a picture of how Jesus calls you. Now, the

picture is how he called the twelve, but you are in this story,

and he gives for us this is how Jesus wants to define his relationship with

you, and this is how he wants you to define your relationship with him.

Verse thirteen. Jesus went up on a mountain side and called to him

those he wanted, and they came to him, and he appointed twelve that

they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach

and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelves he appointed

Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter James, son of Zebedee,

and his brother John. To them he gave the name Bonergis, which means

sons of Thunder. Andrew, Philip Artholomew, Matthew, Thomas James, son

of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon Zelp and Judas Iscarritt, who betrayed him.

Now there's a lesson in this when you read scripture. Sometimes if you read

it really fast. It seems like, ah, there's nothing in there.

Let's move on to one of the good verses. Look again, carefully at

this because it shows us what Jesus did for them and how he wants to

have a relationship with us. It says this in verse thirteen. He went

up on the mountain side, and he called to him those he wanted.

Do you know what Jesus wants you? He wants you. He didn't called

them those who were most qualified, he didn't call them those who were most

spiritual. He called them those he wanted. I got two grandsons. They're

six and five, two boys. They're utterly hopeless. They are utterly hopeless.

They cannot do anything. They break everything in my house and they have

no money to pay to fix it. They eat all of my food,

and they're too young to work, so they can't contribute to the grocery bill.

They are absolutely hopeless. They are not needed in any way to lift

our family, but they are desperately wanted. And this is what Jesus is

teaching. Honestly, I don't know if he needs you, but I do

know he wants you, and that's how he wants to define the relationship because

we have a tendency to define our relationship. Well, I'm needed, I'll

serve, and I'm needed. You weren't created because you were needed. You

were created to be loved. And the world will say that your value comes

from your contribution, out of the need, and Jesus has no Your value

comes because I want you, because I love you. That's why you're here,

and that begins to define us. Otherwise, you know what will happen.

You'll always fall into the trap of saying, I'm just not good enough.

These other people they're more needed than I am. They have better skills

and better gifts than I have. Jesus says, I'm not calling you because

I need you. I'm calling you because I want you. And you know

this because he names them. He actually lists out the names. And you

know, relationships are tight when you have nicknames. He gives them nicknames.

I got a couple of close friends and they give me nicknames. You know

what means. It means we're really close. I'm not just Joel. I'm

definitely not pastor Joel. I'm a nickname to them. He goes, you

know what, You're gonna be the rock and not the guy who makes the

movie You're gonna be the Rock Peter. You brothers, You're gonna be sons

of Thunder. He wants to give you a nickname. But here's what happens.

We listen to too many other voices naming us, and when we listen

to the other voices name us, we do not realize that Jesus wants to

name us as well. Some of you have listened to your parents name you.

You are utterly hopeless. Some of you have listened to your teachers name

you. You will never amount to anything worthwhile. And what you need to

do is listen to Jesus name you, and he says, you are my

beloved, You are my power, you are my authority, You are my

child. You are my brother. He names them, but we forget that

he declares this new identity over you through a name. This is illustrated by

Jesus himself because he goes into the wilderness and he's tempted by the enemy before

he starts his ministry to shift well, how he's going to define who he

is and his relationship with God, and Satan comes to him and he says

this, if you're the son of God, take these stones and turn them

to bread. What's the sin in that he did all kinds of miracles with

food. Where's the sin in that? If you're the son of God,

prove yourself. You got that title. Prove it? And that temptation comes

to us, call yourself a Christian, prove it. If you're a Christian,

prove it. And Jesus's response to the enemy is this, No,

you only live off of every word that God speaks over you. And he's

not being generic. You know what he's referring to just a chapter earlier.

It's his water baptism, and he's baptized, and he comes out of the

water, and the Father speaks over the son. He says, this is

my son. The Father names him, He says, this is my son

whom I'm loved. And Jesus saying this Satan, No, No, I

don't have to prove anything to you. I have been named by the Father.

You have been named. He called those he wanted, and he named

them. And some of you are here tonight, and you're right on the

edge of flying into a lie that says you got to prove yourself. You

gotta show that you're needed. Jesus, I don't want you to define it

that way. I want you to define your identity with me by the fact

that I call those I want. And you know you're in that list.

When you look at that name of the T twelve, that's you in there.

I mean, there's some interesting people in there. Peter Peter who is

always wrong and always fighting, but always making mistakes. He's always arguing,

never could get it right. Do you feel like you can never get it

right? You're just making one mistake after another mistake. Jesus is no,

no, no, I want you, Peter. There's room for you here.

I want you. Then you got these brothers, James and John,

two of the most insecure people on the planet. Why because there's a story.

When they feel like they're not getting the credibility they want with Jesus,

they send their mom to go talk to Jesus. You know you got problems

if you got to get mommy to talk to your on your behalf, to

your boss. Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever feel insecure?

Really insecure? And you go, maybe there's no place for me and

Jesus. No, no, no, James and John, there's a place

for you. You may be insecure, but there's a there's a place for

you. Then you got a guy like Andrew. Andrew was the coolest guy.

Andrew is the guy who go gets Peter and brings him. Andrew is

the guy who first brought gentiles to Jesus. Remember the fishes and the loaves

that got multiplied. It was Andrew who went and got the little boy.

Andrew doing all this cool stuff. He gets no credit for it. Nobody

knows, they don't read about that. Do you ever feel like nobody recognizes

you, like you get no credit and find and go, and then you

feel guilty about feeling bad about that, and Jesus goes, no, no,

I still want you. I still want you. Then you got a

guy in the lists named Bartholomew. Do you know what Bartholomew is recorded and

doing in the New Testament? Nothing? Do you ever feel like you're not

seen? Like you come in and you leave and nobody even knows you exist?

And you begin to wonder is there even a place for me? And

Jesus says to you what he says to bartholowing you, I see you and

I want you. Marks being really clear here, he said, listen,

you define your relationship and being a disciple by Jesus, not by the fact

that you're needed, but by the fact that you're wanted. You put Judas

on that list. Do you ever feel like you betray Jesus at times by

your words or your actions? And you go, I must have disqualified myself

and Jesus. No, no, no, no, I want you.

If you don't hear anything else tonight, hear this. You are desperately wanted

by Jesus, and that's what he wants to define your relationship by. Do

not forgeit that he names you, and his naming over you is what you

hold on to. Then it says, as you go on through this passage

that he appointed the twelve. Now this word appointed, it's a bad English

translation. It literally means he creates you. It comes out of the book

of Genesis. It literally means he made them. So he wants them.

So he gathers them together. Right, He's on this mountain and he says,

Okay, now I'm going to begin to create you. He begins to

form a new community, so much so that later in the chapter, when

his real mom and brothers are there, he goes, no, no,

no, they're my family. He wants to define a relationship with you by

the fact that you're wanted, and he wants to define a relationship with you

by the fact that he is creating you into this new community. That being

a disciple of Christ is never an isolated individual thing. It is what we

do together. And he wants you to define your relationship with Jesus not just

by yourself, by those who you are in church together with doing community.

To think of it this way. Think of I said, hey, come

over to my garage. I just bought the most latest Tesla and it is

the coolest car in the world. So you come over to my garage and

you walk into my garage and you get this strange look on your face.

You're going to I don't get it. Because over in this corner of the

garage you see some headlights sitting there, and then over here you see a

big battery leaning against the wall, and then you see some fenders here,

there's a few tires over here, a couple of tires over there, And

you go, Joel, where's the Tesla. I said, well, it's

all here in the garage. I've I've gathered all the things together here.

The Bible says do not forsake the assembly of the Saints, that we are

to be assembled together. It is not enough to be a piece in the

garage. You got to be assembled together. And if you're not assembled together,

you will miss out on what God has for you. When you are

assembled together, you discover so much more of what God ask for you.

This just happened to me. I'm speaking at a church and this lady comes

up to me, a young lady, and at this service, she goes,

I don't think I'm saved. I said, why don't you think you're

saved? And she goes well. And she had taken copious notes of the

message, and so I asked her some questions, and she began to indicate

a few things she had done. She had invited a coworker to church.

There was no doubt she was saved. But because she was doing her Christianity

alone, she couldn't see how Christ was working in and through her. When

she's assembled. You got people around you, and they see Christ in you,

because we are our worst critics, and you will allow the enemy to

whisper doubts into your ears. When Jesus is doing all kinds of stuff in

you and through you, you just can't necessarily see it on your own,

and you miss out. But when you are assembled, all of a sudden,

you've got good spiritual friends who affirm you and they say, see Jesus

in you. And then sometimes when you screw up, they go, I

gotta talk to you about this, and they help you get back on track

again. He said, listen, here's how I want to you to define

my relationship. I am appointing literally, I am creating you. Peter says,

he's literally building us as a house. And if you are here and

you're walking this walk of faith alone, number one, it is really risky.

You're swimming in a big ocean all by yourself. But number two,

you are missing out on so much because a tesla that is only gathered doesn't

go anywhere. But a tesla that is assembled, I think, can get

up and go. God wants you to be able to get up and go.

But he says, listen, I got to create you in this way.

How do you measure to this? Just like when he said I want

you, and some of you are going, wow, I need to redefine

my identity. And there is a big smile that comes with he wants me

and some of you who may be here and I'm so glad you're here,

but you're going no, I don't really have spiritual friends here at a LEFC.

So I'm trying to figure this out pretty much on my own. And

wow, Jesus is actually creating me a living stone into the church or I'm

gonna discover so much more of who he is by being appointed in this way.

I'm going to discover that when I feel like I'm not saved, I

actually really am saved. I'm going to discover that when I need wisdom,

I've got really good friends who will speak wisdom into me. I'm going to

discover there's so much more that comes from Christ if I define myself by the

fact that I'm wanted, by the fact that I'm being created in his church.

And then there's one more. It says in this passage that he sent

them out part of the vision here at ALFC, Jesus sends you. He

literally gives you authority, and he sends them together. He's saying, listen,

I need representation out there. Will you go on my behalf. In

the life of a Christian, there's always two conversions. There's the first conversion,

where you see Christ through the lens of your own need. You're a

sinner, you're lost, and you need Christ, and you receive Him and

you discover life and all that comes with it. Then there's a second conversion.

The second conversion is when you see Christ through the lens of other people's

needs. Oh, my neighbor is lost. And your identity with Jesus isn't

just defined by what he does for you. Your identity with Jesus is what

He will do through you for somebody else. And Mark is saying, listen,

you gotta have both these conversions. Years ago, I used to live

in Chicago. My wife and I were downtown Chicago and we were going to

a restaurant for lunch. And I parked across the street and she walked across

the street. Was going to the restaurant, and I could see it out

of the corner of my eye. This big guy, young kid starts running

and he runs into my wife and grabs her person takes off running, So

I start chasing him. So we are downtown Chicago skyscrapers and he's running and

I'm a block behind him and I'm yelling at him, drop the purse,

drop the purse. My wife has gotten up and she's a block behind me,

and she's chasing me, and she's yelling at me, stop chasing him,

you idiot. He may have a gun. Stop chasing me, and

me have a gun. And we are running down the streets of Chicago.

Drop the purse, and this crazy thoughts go through your mind. I thought,

what if he stops? What if I catch him? I mean,

I don't lose fearing people. I thought, what if he turns around and

starts to run at me? And I knew exactly what would happen. Then

I would turn and run up my wife and we would just all go the

other way. I didn't catch him. We had to go to the police

office station. And I'm sitting in the police station and I'm mad. I

mean, I am feel me man, who does this bunk? Think he

is knocking over my wife taking the purse? And I'm just really angry.

And God begins to speak to my heart this Thanksgiving week, Joel, what

do you think happens in the life of a young boy that will take him

from a happy four or five year old boy to a sixteen year old young

man who knocks over women for their purses. Joel, when you sit around

with your family at Thanksgiving, do you think he'll be sitting around with the

family talking about good family memories? And in that police station, God just

begin to break my heart. I begin to cry, literally weep. My

wife kind of nudged me. He goes, Joel, it's just a purse.

Do you know what was happening. I was having a second conversion.

I begin to define my relationship with Jesus not just through my own need,

but through the lens of somebody else's need. And Mark says, listen,

you want to be a disciple. He wants you, and he names you.

Whether you're needed or not, it's not significant. You're wanted. He

creates you together so you are not alone. It puts you in a church

with spiritual friends, and you discover so much more of him. And then

he gives you an authority and he sends you. And the amazing thing about

him sending the disciples was he trusted them. Jesus trusts you. You're going,

oh, how could he trust me? Because Jesus never delegates. He

partners. We think he delegates, which means he gives us an assignment.

And then we have to go off and do it all on our own.

He kind of goes and does something else. He never delegates. He said,

I'm sending you to your neighbor and I'm gonna go along. I'm sending

you into your workplace and I'm gonna go along. And when you discover the

authority you have and the fact that he trusts you, you walk with such

a step of victory and expectation. Because he trusts you. His chapter's fullest

good stuff, and I encourage you to read it. But tonight, what

Mark wants to do is say, listen, I want to ask you a

question. How do you define your relationship with Jesus. Is it predominantly defined

by the fact that you're a fan and what he'll do for you? Is

it predominantly defined by fear? Is it predominantly defined by religion and jumping through

all the hoops? Mark says, let me tell you how Jesus called the

disciples, because that's how he calls you tonight. There is this gracious reminder

from him that for many of us who hear need to hear, I am

wanted, I am being created, I am trusted. Because these other influences

are subtle and they'll just kind of weave their way in. And that's why

Mark puts this story in there so we would know. Wait a minute,

I gotta be clear on how I define and how Jesus defines his relationship with

me. So we're gonna take a moment. I'm gonna give you a moment

with the Lord right here, right now to respond to him. I want

you to just close your eyes and bow your head and take a moment with

Jesus. There are some of you here tonight and you just needed to hear

you are wanted, and in this very moment, if you listen with your

heart, he will declare a name over you, just like he did the

disciples. Some of you he wants to declare you are beloved, you are

forgiven, you are empowered. Some of you he wants to name you beautiful,

lovely. Some of you he wants to name you authority, Truth.

Listen and let him name you. Mark says, Jesus defines it by creating

us. If you're here tonight and you are for the most part journeying alone,

there is no condemnation, but there is this gracious reminder and promise you

are missing out. Just make a commitment to him, whether it's one of

the events that was the announcements, whether it's a small group, whether it's

a ministry team. Lord, lead me to be assembled with spiritual friends.

Lead me to be assembled. So I discover so much of you. And

there are some of you who are here tonight, and it boggles your mind

that Jesus trusts you, but he does. And if you will step out

in faith in your neighborhood, in your workplace, you will discover a side

of Jesus working through you with an authority, just like he had for the

disciples. Lord, I pray right now in this moment, so we have

opened your word. Lord, would you now buy the spirit of God.

Minister directly and uniquely to each person here, Name them, form them,

let them know how wanted each one is the spirit of God. Help us

to believe, truly believe you trust us that we would walk in that authority.

Lord God, with every head bout. If you're here tonight and you

honestly don't really even know if you have a relationship with Jesus and what that

means, let alone how it's defined. I would consider it a great privilege

if you would let me pray for you. Paul wrote it really simply if

you believe in your heart, which means you say, I don't fully understand

all this, but I know God is tugging at my heart right now,

and I know I am not right with him. If you believe in your

heart and you confess with your mouth, not to me, but to him,

then you will be saved and you will have a new new life.

And that confess with the mouth is basically saying three things. You say,

Lord, I believe. I don't fully understand it, but I believe that

you are God, and that you love me, and you sent your son

to die and resurrect. You say, I believe, and then you say

I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I have been master over my life. I

want to give my life to you. It is the most glorious exchange.

You give your life to the Lord and he gives you his life. And

then you say, I am ready. I am ready to be wanted,

I am ready to be created. I am ready to be trusted and sent

with every head bowed. If you're hearing, say Joel, would you pray

for me? Would you pray? Because God's tucking at my heart and I

believe in my heart, and I will make that declaration of I believe.

I'm sorry, I'm ready. Would you just lift your hand just so I

can see it. Just hold your hand up. Thank you, Thank you,

keep holding it up. Great, great hands in every section. Great

great. All right, But everybody stand to their feet, and I'm gonna

lead us in a prayer. And I want all of us to join with

the many who raise their hands and repeat this prayer after me. And let's

just make this commitment. Repeat this prayer after me. Heavenly Father, I

love you. Thank you for loving me first. Thank you for sending your

son to die in the cross and resurrect so I could have eternal life.

I believe. I'm sorry and I'm ready. Thank you for wanting me.

Thank you for this church. Thank you for trusting me. I give you

my life and I receive your life. I pray this in the name of

Jesus. Amen. We really hope you enjoyed the message, and if you

said yes to Jesus, we just want to say congratulations and give you a

free devotional to help you walk out your faith. Click the link in the

description or head over to grow dot Faith to download your devotional. Oh and

be sure to subscribe and share this podcast with your friends. Thanks for listening

to ALSC podcasts, and we hope you tune in again