Discover a RADLIFE Pt. 6 | Chris Gross | Radiant Life Church

Let's go. God is good. He's good. He's

good. It's so great to be here with

everyone on this Labor Day weekend. And

uh man, what a great service we've had

already. And uh just so we know if

you're new with us, you can always

follow along. Notes QR codes going to go

up on the screen or you can go into the

church center app. We talk about it a

lot. Everything we do here at Radiant

Life can be run through there, but you

can go into your church center, tap on

the three lines in the bottom right

corner. You can go to sermon notes every

Sunday morning to get the notes and to

be able to follow along with us if that

is a blessing to you. Well, this

morning, as was mentioned, we're going

to be talking about our value and the

value of missions. We share Jesus both

locally and globally. This is a huge

heart of Radiant Life Church. In fact,

Pastor Dave and Kay are sitting right up

here on the front row. And there's

something from the very beginning that

we're going to serve. We're going to

give. We're going to go in missions to

reach the world for Jesus. As many of us

in this room have said, "Hey, I yes, I

want to say yes to Jesus." At some point

in our life, we want to then share that.

That's what the commission of the Bible

is all about. Now, I have to uh just

share this is kind of a crazy story, but

this week I was out running and so I try

to run four times a week. That's my

goal. And normally the first two times,

Monday and Wednesday, I run two miles,

two and a half miles. And then on

Thursday and Saturday, I try to run five

miles. And uh if you want to know what

hot was Thursday, it was 88 degrees at

like 900 a.m. And I thought I was going

to die. In fact, I called my wife and I

was like, "Hey, Rachel, can you come

pick me up? I think I am I've hit the

the limit that I'm to the end of it."

But on Tuesday or on Monday, I believe

it was awesome. It was great weather. I

was out running the two-mile run and I

was feeling pretty good and I all of a

sudden noticed that there was a guy on

the the side of the road and he had been

working on like a retaining wall so that

his driveway didn't fall into the the

creek. And so I said hi to him and he

had a Jeff Gordon hat on who back when

Jeff Gordon in NASCAR if you didn't know

he was one of the big-time drivers. He

was my favorite driver. And so I was

like, "Hey, go Jeff Gordon." And then

I'm running. I'm like, "What? Of all the

things I could say, that was so bizarre.

He doesn't race. Hasn't raced in a long

time." It was just a weird comment. And

so I'm just jogging on, not thinking

about it. And then all of a sudden, I

just had this feeling like, "You need to

go back and just talk to the guy." Now,

if you've been around here for a while,

I've told the story a few times. When I

was in college, and I felt similar. I

was driving back from church, actually

been praying, "Lord, use me. speak to

me. Driving back to college, I had a car

full of people and I saw this guy mowing

his yard and I just felt so strongly I

was supposed to stop. In that moment, I

talked God out of me doing it. Actually,

I talked myself out of obedience is what

I did. And I was like, I all these

people are with me. Like, I can't stop.

And literally from then till now, I'm

like, Lord, I wish I would have just

done what you said. It's not that hard.

Like you said, I know you did. It's not

that hard just to do it. But then, can

you believe it? I'm running down the

road. I will say I didn't have my shirt

on. I was sweaty, kind of disgusting. I

had just worked out and I was like, I

that's that would be super weird if I go

back and talk to this guy. But I am a

couple decades older and I've walked in

the Lord and I've learned if you feel

the Lord says something, you don't not

do it. Like that doesn't make sense. You

do it, right? So, I ran a little farther

than I should have before I decided, you

know what? Yes, I'm going to be

obedient. So, I turn around and I go

back and I I I walk back to the guy. It

had to be weird. He saw me walking back.

Like, what is going to happen? And so, I

just I said, "Hey, you know, I live down

the street. Just thought I would

introduce myself. I saw you out here and

I saw you out last week working on

this." And he asked me advice on this

concrete retaining wall. I'm like, "If

my dad was here, maybe he could help. I

have no clue. Uh, it may or may not fall

over." That's bas I'm not sure. And for

the next hour we talked. I somehow I was

at Wy. It was crazy. I got a tour of

their barn, of his wife's like TV

viewing area in their barn, of their

gardens, of all of this stuff that was

happening. We talked for an hour. It was

really amazing. One of the weirdest

things ever. I was like, I wish I had my

shirt, but I didn't. So, it just was

what it was.

And it was one of those moments where

you're like, "Lord, I'm so thankful that

instead of doing what I wanted to do,

which was keep running, I did what you

asked me to do." And I just simply

stopped and talked to this amazing guy

and got to just hang out with them, got

to talk with them, got to encourage

them. It was such a fun hour or so that

was entirely

unexpected. Now, I don't know about you,

but maybe you've been in places or times

or moments where life was going one way.

You thought it was going to happen this

way, and then all of a sudden it

changed. Maybe it was a conversation.

Maybe it was just an hour of your time.

Or maybe it was like, "I thought God,

you had this for me." Or maybe it was

preod,

not but preheim, but that you were

listening to him and you were going and

life just blew up and you're like,

"What? What happened? Why?" whether you

were serving him or not, like why? What

happened? What? I I was doing what I

thought I was supposed to be and then

something else took place.

And this morning, one of my I I love it.

I talk out of it periodically. One of my

favorite passages of of a scripture is

in Acts 12, and we see this amazing

story where Peter is put in prison. He's

in a a place where you don't want to be,

and it's not ideal in any means. and he

had just been serving the Lord and

following the Lord and doing what the

Lord had. But all of a sudden, what

seemed like the right thing and what

seemed like good, all of a sudden, if in

our world and and our uh maybe worldly

eyes would be like, "Well, he's in

jail." And I just want to say real fast,

I'm not going to take a lot of time, but

the jails back 20,000 years ago are not

like our jails. There was not any cable

TV or Wi-Fi or workout facility. No, it

was a dark, terrible dungeon place.

Dingy and dirty and disgusting. And I

don't even think most of the places if

you had to go to the bathroom, you just

had to go to the bathroom. Like you

didn't get to go to a b like that. What

was it was all together. I just getting

the feel. This was horrible. It's not

like, oh, well, be here for a few weeks

and we'll get out a few days or few. No,

this was horrible.

But God moves right in the middle of

those moments. And as we think about our

our value of missions of we share Jesus

both locally and globally I think

sometimes what we want to happen when we

think about sharing Jesus and the

response or what we see happen it

doesn't always line up perfectly. In

fact, I mentioned that stopping at my

neighbor uh introducing myself normally

do and it didn't turn out in a way where

you left encouraged and build up and

your wife is calling like, "Hey, are you

alive? Like, what happened to you?"

Right? Yeah. Yeah. This is wonderful.

Doesn't always go how we think. Fact,

Pamela, you mentioned, you know, train

up a child and the way they should go

and when they're old, they're not. And

guess what? In the end, that's going to

be the case. But there's a series in the

middle where it's like, Lord, what is

happening? How, why? This is hard. So

today, as we look at the word of God in

Acts chapter 12, I encourage if you are

Acts 12 · chapter mention

a follower of Jesus, I think you can be

encouraged. Maybe you're here and you're

like, "Hey, I'm just here for some

shaved ice afterward." I encourage you

listen to what the word would say. And

more importantly than me or what I would

speak, what the word and what God would

speak to you because I think every

person in this room that's watching

online or later on, I believe that God

wants to speak something to us about his

heart, about his love, about what he can

do, about who he is in our life.

Now, we think of this once again, Peter,

he's locked in prison. He's in a place

that he really would prefer not to be.

But so often it seemed like in the early

church it's where followers of Jesus

ended up. It was painful. It was

difficult. In fact, recently before uh

James had been killed by the end of the

the gospels, we see most of the

disciples, the followers of Jesus that

were close with him were martyed in some

way or another because Herod is trying

to silence gospel witness by attack

attacking gospel messengers. And so when

we get to this point that be has begun

to be happening and all of a sudden the

church knows that it's dangerous. It's

not just easy and fun but it's dangerous

to even share Jesus. But that's where we

are. And so when we dive into Acts 12,

we'll start in the first five verses.

Says about that time Herod the king laid

violent hands on some who belong to the

church. He killed James the brother of

John with the sword. And when we or when

he saw that it pleased the Jews, he

proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was

during the days of unleavened bread. And

when he had seized him, he put him in

prison, delivering him over to four

squads of soldiers to guard him.

Intending after the Passover to bring

him out to the people. So Peter was kept

in prison. But earnest prayer for him

was made to God by the church.

Now when we look at this moment, it

doesn't look good. James has just been

put to death. Like this is not good.

It's not this the moment or the the

place that you would want to be. It

seems like everything is going wrong.

But the last verse that we read there is

so important. Peter was put in prison.

But earnest prayer for him was made to

God by the church. Victor and Pamela,

guess what? Earnest prayer was made to

God by you. And you asked others to

pray. The church was praying for your

son. And guess what? God can reach

places that feel locked. He can still

reach people and situations. And I want

someone to hear today that when life

feels locked, Jesus can still reach you

as well. Whatever the situation of your

life is, whatever the moment is, no

matter how easy or how hard, especially

if you're in those moments of

difficulty, I want you to hear today

that God can still reach you. He can

still find you. He knows where you are.

He knows the situation of your life. And

maybe we're asking, Lord, would you if

you just do this thing for me, then I'll

believe. And maybe it probably was not

losing your job. But God knows what we

need. And he'll work miracles on our

behalf. And it only takes a people, a

church, a family member, someone to be

praying, to be asking, "Lord, would you

do this miracle that I can't do on my

own? Would you accomplish this thing in

my life? Lord, would you do it in my

kids or my family or my grandkids? Lord,

would you show up? Because it feels

locked. It feels like there's no chance.

It feels like, yeah, James was just put

to death and now Peter, the one that's

leading this whole thing, it seems like

it is over.

But when Jesus moves,

something happens.

And I think it's important to realize

that if the gospel did not matter, there

would be no reason to resist it. In

fact, opposition often reveals

importance. And if we expect everything

to be easy, maybe we haven't shared

Jesus enough. We haven't talked about

him enough. Why would there be

opposition to something that we don't

even get public with who he is? But as

we see in the New Testament, as we th

see throughout history, when the church

moves forward in the power of God, when

prayer happens, when the things of God

happen, opposition so often comes.

Maybe my question to some people in this

room is maybe there's people in your

life or maybe maybe your own situation,

but maybe there's a question of where do

I feel locked up?

Where have I run out of answers?

Or I don't know what to do. Sometimes

the first step towards Jesus is simply

admitting there may be more going on

here than I realized. And I don't care

if you've known Jesus your whole life.

Or maybe if you're just on the pre

trying to figure out Jesus and walk with

him in relationship. Or maybe you don't

even really care at this point. I just

want to throw it out there. If there's

places where you feel locked up like

Peter was and you feel like there's no

chance, you feel like nothing is going

to come good, it might be time to look

to Jesus because one more time with what

feels locked to you, it's not locked to

Jesus. And he wants to do something in

your life, in your situation, just like

we're about to see in the life of Peter.

In fact, as we continue on in verse 6

through 111, it says, "Now when Herod

was about to bring him out on that very

night, Peter was sleeping between two

soldiers bound with two chains and

centuries before the door were guarding

the prison." Now, I just want to throw

out here real fast before we continue

on. Maybe you've walked with the Lord.

Maybe you've uh you you've known him a

long time or just a little bit of time.

I feel like this verse sometimes is how

the Lord likes to work. What did it say?

Now, Herod was about to bring him out

that very night. Anybody ever been with

the Lord? Like, Lord, you could show up

slightly earlier. Just slightly earlier.

I That would make it so much easier on

our anxiety and on our our worry. Like,

Lord, I know you're going to do

something, but could you show me what

and before the night before something

really bad could happen? Like, Lord,

okay, I just had to throw that out

there. Sometimes we have to be patient.

But verse 7 says, "And behold, an angel

of the Lord stood next to him, and a

light shone in the cell. He struck Peter

on the side and woke him, saying, 'Get

up quickly." Now, this is super free,

but he must have been a heavy sleeper.

I'm just saying if all of a sudden

there's lights and crazy and the angels

before him, and the angel has to be

LIKE, "HEY, BUDDY, WAKE UP. LIKE, I'M

HERE. It's time." But, you know, I I

hope when you read the Bible, you read

it and you're like, "That is such an

interesting thing." like the angel is

bright light right there. But Peter

needs some help, but get up quickly.

And the chains fell off his hands. And

the angel said to him, "Dress yourself

and put on your sandals." And he did so.

And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak

around you and follow me." And he went

out and followed him. He did not know

that what was being done by the angel

was real, but thought he was seeing a

vision. That's my kind of miracle from

the Lord. Like, God, this is SUPER COOL.

WHAT AN AWESOME WHAT AN AWESOME VISION

or this is a great dream. Like didn't

even realize it was there. And sometimes

when we're walking in the Lord, we get

to be at a place where we're like, God,

I I didn't even know that was real. I

thought this was something that was just

in my imagination. And nor you did this.

This is real life. When they had passed

the first and the second guard, they

came to the iron gate leading into the

city. It opened for them of its own

accord. And they went out and went along

one street. And immediately the angel

left him. When Peter came to himself, he

said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has

sent his angel and rescued me from the

hand of Herod and from all the Jewish

people were expecting."

She's saying, "Lord, I know that you

sent an angel. I know he came. I know he

delivered me. I know that what the

people thought was going to happen, I

was going to get put to death. No, it's

not going to happen because the angel of

God showed up in the exact moment

to accomplish what only he could

accomplish.

He was bound. He was sleeping between

two soldiers centuries guarding the

door. He was no way was he getting out.

Humanly speaking, Peter is locked down

from every direction, every side, every

possibility. It was no good all the way

around except when Jesus sends his

angel. When Jesus moves in our life,

anything is possible.

You know what I love about the power of

God in our life? What we see through his

word is church, God does not need

Herod's permission to accomplish what he

wants. God didn't have to go and say,

"Hey, Herod, uh, I think we should let

Peter out tonight." Uh God doesn't have

to come to your situation and be like,

"Well, we're going to haggle for this

this moment or this time." No. When God

shows up in your life, in your

situation, right where you are, he does

not need permission to open the door.

And I love even that moment that that uh

that it tells us that that the door

opened by itself. Because when God steps

into our situation, all of our prayer

and our talking and our Lord Jesus, what

are you doing? And all of a sudden,

Jesus shows up to our family member, our

loved one, or in our life and does what

maybe we could never possibly do. That

is the God that we serve.

George Jesus opens doors we cannot open

oursel. He doesn't need permission. Then

angel appears, light shines, Peter is

awakened, and the chains just fall off

his hand. Everything changes

when God shows up.

And you know, I think something that we

as humans, we want to do, we want to

make happen is we're like, we have to

figure it out. We've got to put all the

effort in. If only I try harder. If

maybe even I pray harder. If I just

could figure out a way to believe

harder.

You know what? When Jesus shows up, it's

not normally because of how hard we

tried or how great we think we are or

how great we think we did.

Here, Peter did not break the chains.

God is the one that broke him. God is

the one that moved. And all that Peter

had to do is when he said get up, he had

to get up. And when he said get clothed,

he had to get clothed. When he said

follow me, he had to follow him. And

church, sometimes I think we want to be

the one that has the strength and the

power to accomplish the work. And what

we need to do is pray and believe and

cast our cares upon the Lord. Bring

those things to him and then ask him,

"Lord, whatever you have for me, I will

do.

>> I'm simply going to say yes.

So Lord, if you ask me while I'm running

down a street and I'm disgusting, if you

ask me to go talk to the guy that's on

the side of the road, I'm going to go do

it. Lord, if with my family member, all

that you're having me do is pray and

you're not giving me the the permission

to speak because it maybe it's not going

to be the most beneficial. Lord, all

I'll do is pray. I believe, Lord,

whatever it is, I'm going to do what

you've called me to do. And then I give

the results of the conversations of the

prayer of obedience, I give them to you

cuz you are God.

And if you ask me to step out, I'm going

to step out. If you tell me to hold on,

I'm going to hold on. I just want to be

obedient and let you open the doors that

I cannot open on my own.

This is a big moment.

In fact, when I think about our value of

missions, I think so often we can get

ahead of ourselves, whether it's local,

whether it's people we love and care

for. Maybe maybe people in in the room

that man, God is doing something

special. And we're like, Lord, I'm not

sure how to do it. Well, what all that

we're called to do is to pray. We're

called to obey. We're called to follow.

And when God opens the door into homes

and neighborhoods and nations and

hearts, then we step through the door

and we take a step forward into the

things of God.

I've been in the last few weeks, I've

been reading some books that have been

so challenging. They've been so good.

One was called The God Smuggler, just

about how they smuggled Bible Bibles and

did amazing things in places that they

weren't allowed to or able to. Another

one is the next one I read is called The

Insanity of God. The amazing stories of

miraculous things that took place over

and over and over again. And then the

followup to that book was called The

Insanity of Obedience.

That when we are willing to truly say

yes to what God has and not have to rely

on our strength or understanding,

everything in life changes.

Because you don't have to be smart

enough or good enough or have all the

connections you need. You don't have to

have anything besides, Lord, I'm going

to listen to what you say. Because then

when you need wisdom, he'll give it to

you. When you need strength, he'll give

you the strength that you need. When you

need connections, he'll put the people

in the place at the time for you to

accomplish. Because it's not you trying

to figure it out. And that goes from

missions overseas. It goes from missions

of us living on mission, doing what God

has called us to do. It goes to us just

doing our best. Lord, we want to serve

you and we want to honor you. We want to

give you glory. We want to live for you,

Lord. I need your help. And church,

we've got to stop trying to be the ones

that accomplish everything. And instead,

let God be God. Let God show up. Let God

give us wisdom. And all we have to do is

take a step where he's telling us to go

and accomplish that little thing and

say, "Lord, I get to take off the cares

and the worries and the anxieties of

trying to be God in my life because I

can't be. I want you to know you cannot.

You're you're a terrible God in your

life.

We're terrible gods in our own lives and

definitely when we try to be God over

others. No, we can't do it. And instead,

Lord, you created us. You made us. You

know us. You knit us together. No one

knows us, our health, our situation, our

finances, anything about us better than

the God who created us. And when we all

of a sudden let God be God in our life,

everything changes.

I want you to hear. If Jesus can open a

prison door, he can open a way home for

you. He can give you exactly what you

need. Whatever that is today, he can do

it. Peter was in the place about above

any other. You would not want to be a

follower of Jesus with Herod putting him

to death with centuries and chains and

all things. He was not getting out of

there until God showed up. And I think

someone needs to hear today. Maybe

you're not going to get out of your

situation or get to the other side

except for God showing up. And I think

the Bible would tell us that's a pretty

good place to be actually. Lord, I'm

just going to do what you've called me

to do. I'm going to keep moving. I'm

going to keep being faithful. I'm going

to keep stepping forward. And Lord, I

know I can trust you. And I don't care

if you're a student in the room, if

you're a little more seasoned in life,

maybe you're on the other side. Wherever

you are, you can trust God to accomplish

his purpose and his work in your life.

And there's nothing quite like living

that kind of life with him.

Jesus is the one that opens a way home

for you.

As we continue this morning and head

towards the end of our our time together

here, the last several verses go on in

verse 12. when he realized that he or he

went to the house of Mary, the mother of

John, whose other name was Mark, where

many were gathered together and were

praying. And when he knocked at the door

of the gateway, a servant girl named Roa

came to answer. Recognizing Peter's

voice, in her joy, she did not open the

gate, but ran in and reported that Peter

was standing in the gate. They said to

her, "You are out of your mind." Now,

real fast, I just I love this. Like I

love the Bible. Just the details.

Sometimes you want more. But then I love

the ones they give. The girl knew it was

Peter. She recognized him. They had been

together. Like she knew this and she

leaves him there. Like hopefully you're

safe for a little while longer. It's

fine. Just stay out there. But then I

feel like sometimes this is what we do

as Christians, followers of Jesus. We

believe in the power of prayer enough to

be praying inside. We're having a prayer

meeting for Peter to be released. And

she says, "Peter's here." And they're

like, "No way. You're out of your mind.

That's crazy talk." Right? Anybody like,

"Lord, help me with my unbelief." Like,

"I believe, but also help me with my

unbelief." Cuz sometimes we're like,

"Peter is here. I'm going to leave

because you know, I'm going to tell

every impossible." Like all the things

of how we live. And sometimes we know,

but we struggle to to walk in it. But

thankfully, God is good.

She kept insisting that it was so. And

they kept saying, "It is his angel." But

Peter continued knocking. And when they

opened, they saw him and were amazed,

but motioning to them with his hand to

be silent. He described to them how the

Lord had brought him out of prison. And

he said, "Tell these things to James and

to the brothers." Then he departed and

went to another place.

Jesus opened the door so one more person

can come home. I just find it amazing

Peter his life he goes he says hello

basically hey you can stop praying for

this situation I'm good and what does he

do he then departs and goes to another

place he gets right back on the road he

gets right back to sharing who Jesus is

he gets right back to talking about the

power of God why because a little bit of

persecution

even being on death's doorstep it felt

like and it seemed like besides the

power of God when God calls us we keep

taking steps. We keep moving forward. We

keep saying, "Lord, what do you have me

to do?

What's my next step with my family

member? I love them. I want them to know

Jesus. What's my next step? Lord, I'm

trying, but I'm just struggling in my

life or my own walk with you, Lord.

There's these addictions. There's these

things. I don't know what to do. But

Lord, would you help me?" Guess what,

church? Jesus can show up. Jesus can

move. Jesus can open the door. Jesus can

give you exactly what you need in the

moment you need him. And I want to

encourage us. Let's let the Lord build

us a little bit of faith in us that we

say, "Lord, when you knock on that door,

I'm opening. I'm not going to think

about it. I'm not going to question it.

Lord, when you ask me to go talk to

somebody, I'm just going to do it."

Like, what's the worst that's going to

happen? I'm going to do it. Lord, when

you give me a word and it seems just a

little too much, Lord, I'm just going to

obey what you would say. It lines up

with your word, so I'm going to do it.

Lord, I'm going going to listen to what

you have

because Jesus, you keep opening the

door.

Jesus, you keep guiding. Jesus, you keep

directing.

And when we think about missions, it's

not about expanding our church. It's not

about what we get, but missions is about

God extending God's invitation to one

more person and getting to do it over

and over and over again. so that one

more person that needs him can know him.

Cuz church, if you know Jesus, you know

that's the greatest thing. He's done so

much. And even while we're figuring out

how to walk in him and to be who he's

called us to be, it's the best. And we

want to let one more person know about

who he is.

And whether that's local and we're

sharing him right across the street,

community partners near us, people that

are are right here, us just taking the

gospel to our world. We need to let

people know that he matters. We need to

let people know who he is. Whether it's

global and it's literally on the other

side of the world and maybe we're never

going to get to share with those people.

We're never going to get to see them,

but we get to see them through

missionaries and through sending and

through giving and through praying.

Whatever it is, Lord, we want to see

that one more person cuz you keep

opening the door. And we want the

invitation to go to one more person.

We want the invitation to be spread so

one more person can know who you are.

You know, when I think about this

message and I think about Peter and I

think about the faith that he had and

the faith that the church had to pray

for him, but also like us so often than

to say you no, the miracle couldn't have

happened. Church, it's time for us to

rise up and say, "Lord, what we're

praying for, what we're giving to, what

we're believing for on the other side of

the world, it's going to happen. And

Lord, what we're believing for and

asking for and praying for right here in

Dublin, Ohio, it's going to happen

because you, God, in your power, in your

grace, in your goodness, you're the one

that makes it happen. You're the one

that opens the door. You're the one that

brings freedom to the captive. You're

the one that comes and helps us and

helps others know who you are.

He's the one.

There's nothing quite like it.

This week, I mentioned just running and

getting to talk to this guy and his

wife, but there were some weird things

that happened this week at our golf

league on Sunday night. One of the guys

that was a friend of somebody that

attends our church, he he had a stroke.

Like, we had to call the ambulance right

there. And John Penrose, you can keep

him in your prayer, but he had a stroke.

And by the grace of God, he is almost

100% like today. And Eddie and some

others that were out there golfing with

him called the squad immediately. They

were there in less than 5 minutes. Like

God did a miracle. It was amazing. Like

God is doing things right. We prayed. We

believed. And the doctors like it's

amazing that he's had this stroke. He's

a little older. He's had some heart

issues, but God has did something in

him. church on Monday night. This is

crazy. But right out here in our soccer

fields, one of the coaches had a heart

attack or a something horrible. And for

20 minutes, they were doing compressions

on him. They couldn't get his pulse. And

I want you to pray with us that this guy

that Justin York, he is at Riverside

fighting for his life. And could we

believe, but the fact that he even got

to get to Riverside is a miracle. The

doctors, I can't believe that he's back.

And could we pray that he

is fully healed and restored. And I'll

tell you what, that would be nothing

short of an absolute God miracle.

And you know what? Maybe in your life,

it's not health. Maybe it's something

else. Maybe there's a situation. But I

want you to know God is still healing.

He's still touching people that when

they have strokes and they're already

having some health concerns that God can

still save and protect and bring

somebody through. when someone has a

heart attack and they didn't think we're

they were going to get him back at all,

but all of a sudden he he's doing better

and squeezing hands and things are

happen. It's like, Lord, we don't know

how, but you're working and miraculous

and I want you to know that maybe today

your thing doesn't seem quite that big,

but God sees you. He knows you. And

there's not big and small with God.

There's people that he loves and people

he cares about, and you are one of them.

And today, before we go have some shaved

ice, before we have a just a time of

hanging out, hopefully you can stay and

spend some time. I want to give a few

opportunities this morning

that we would first of all, maybe you're

here and you'd say, "Man, I've never

given my life to Jesus. There's nothing

better." That's why we are here as a

church family is Lord. We want one more

person to know you. That's why we're

here. That's why we come to church.

That's why because it's what we are

called to do in the word of God. the

commission that Jesus gave us. And if

you're here and you say, "I feel the

Lord is speaking to me. I believe he

died. He rose again." What we celebrate

around Easter, that's not just something

that we do, just a holiday, but that's

our Jesus. He did that for us. He took

our sin and our shame. And if that's you

today, you can say yes to him.

And then for everyone, I also want to

give the opportunity. Maybe the Lord is

doing something and you say, "I'm

struggling. There's there's a need in my

body. There's a door that needs to be

opened. There's a addiction that I want

to be set free from. There's a kid or a

family member that I'm praying and

believing for you. Whatever it might be,

my finances, Lord, I'm trying, but I

don't know. Whatever it is, today we're

going to pray that God will do a work in

your life, in your situation, that he

will open and he will close, that he

will give you what you need because,

church, he's still a miracle working

God. And then we're going to close just

by praying for our mission partners

that we get to be a part of supporting

and building up and we get to be a part

of of giving and we get to be a part of

all of these elements. Church, there's

people all over the world that right now

because of your faithfulness and your

support, local and global, they're going

to carry the gospel to maybe places that

we could never go. And I specifically

want to lift up our Ohio State

University team, several that are in the

room that are our missionaries to Ohio

State that God that the group just gets

bigger and bigger and being with you

guys uh maybe two weeks ago and seeing

80 90 students that were there for a

welcome event getting to cook them some

hot dogs and hamburgers like it was so

much fun. God is moving and let's pray

and believe that OSU there would be an

absolute revival and things that have

been happening and moving that it just

continues to flourish.

And so first today I just want to give

the opportunity if you say you know what

I want to give my life to Jesus. I want

to make him Lord of my life. In fact

maybe if we could just bow our heads and

close our eyes not because we have to to

pray but just to focus in on Jesus.

If you say you know what I want to make

Jesus the Lord of my life.

What we read about in scripture who he

is. I want him to be my God and my king.

and I want forgiveness of the sin that

has been done to me and that I have

caused or committed against others.

If that's you, I'm just going to ask you

to be real bold. And right now, would

you just raise your hand all over this

room? I just want to see your hand. I

want to uh be able to pray with you. And

on my left side, your right side, is

there anybody you say that's me? That

you say, I want to raise my hand and

just say that's me. I want to pray and

give Jesus my life. Is there anybody

over here? What about on my right side,

your left side that you say that's me?

Anybody? I don't want to miss it. This

is the most important thing that we

possibly can do.

Jesus is so good. Jesus is so good.

And I want to encourage you if after the

service, uh, Pastor Matt, he's standing

over here to my left and he would love

to to pray with you, to encourage you.

But if you, that was you, or maybe

you're at home and you say, "All I want

to make Jesus Lord." All you have to do

is pray, "Lord, forgive me of my sins. I

make you the Lord of my life. I want to

serve you for the rest of my life. Would

you help me? Thank you, Jesus. In your

own way, whatever word you would use,

repent and ask him to be Lord, and he

welcomes you. And now, if we, if you're

able, can we just stand to our feet this

morning?

And if you have a need in your life, you

have someone you're believing for,

someone you're asking God for, we're

going to pray. We're going to ask him to

do a work in your life that is

transformational, that does something

special, maybe healing in your body,

that a loved one would come to know

Jesus. We've talked recently about for

the one. Who's your one? Who's the

person you're praying and believing for?

Victor and Pamel, you might have to find

a new one. That's what we want. They've

got it. I I figured you did. Right. One

down. Lord Jesus, do it again. Let's

pray and believe. And then we're going

to close just by praying for our

missionaries. So Lord, right now I'm

thankful for this church. Lord, I'm

thankful for a people that want to grow

in you and be more like you, Lord. that

want your word not only to be something

that we think is good, but Lord, that

literally transforms our lives that we

live on the power of your word. And

Lord, we pray this morning that the

needs and the situations that the prison

walls that need to be opened, Lord, that

maybe we need you to show up and to help

us and to guide us, Lord Jesus, like the

story we heard that you showed up and

the the young man gave his life to you

and repented and has been in church and

bringing his kids to church. Lord, we're

thankful that you still move and

whatever the needs would be in this

room, we ask you to work in miraculous

ways to bring healing, to bring

wholeness, to bring finances into

alignment, to bring a relationship

issues back together as they should be.

Lord, we pray for those that are lost

among us, our family, our friends, our

co-workers. Lord, the ones in our life,

Lord, would you bring healing and

wholeness to them and to their their

hearts and who they are? Lord, we ask

you for your move. We ask you for your

grace. We ask you for healing, Lord. We

pray for Justin York, who Lord's

fighting for his life right now. We pray

his heart would work, but we pray his

mind. Lord, we pray that there would be

no damage. And that by an absolute

miracle of you alone, God, we pray that

he would be healed and he would be

whole. And Lord, what you've only done

would only be the beginning, God. Lord,

we're thankful. We're thankful for John

Penrose, Lord, that that stroke didn't

cause crazy damage. and we pray that any

damage that has been done would be wiped

out and you would heal him and make him

whole. Jesus. Thank you for sparing him.

Lord, we just are thankful for your

goodness. Whatever these people, each

one of us need, God, would you move in

us, through us, and we pray we'd be able

to see it. And Lord, as Pamela said, I

pray that you would give us patience.

Lord, it might have been six years.

Sometimes we have to be patient to wait

for that miracle. And Lord, let us be

steadfast in prayer. Let us stand on

your word. Let us believe it. And Lord,

we know you are going to answer. So we

thank you today. And Lord, as we close

this time, we think of our missionaries.

We think of missions, Lord, local and

global. We think of Revive Church

Hilltop who's having service right now.

Just got kicked off, I think, at 11:00.

We pray for our brothers and sisters,

Lord, that you would move in them. Lord,

for global missionaries, our partners,

all 75 of them. God, we ask you that you

would move. there would be breakthrough,

that your power and your goodness would

flow, God. Lord, we're thankful that we

don't only do church on Sunday, but we

meet with you, God. And then, Lord, we

get to be a part of seeing our world

come to know you. And God, we stand on

it. So, we thank you for we're thankful

for our missionaries, for the leaders,

Lord, literally all over the globe, God.

And we ask you to pour your spirit out

in a mighty and in a powerful way. And

Lord, we're thankful for our Ohio State

Kai director, for our team that's here

today. Lord, we pray for the near

hundred or so students that are a part

of Kypha. God, we pray for the 30some

student leaders that are a part. God, we

ask you for the the supernatural work of

your spirit. We pray for revival on the

Ohio State University campus, God. Lord,

we pray for more students, for more

leaders, for all the finances, for

whatever they need to accomplish the

work that you've put them to accomplish,

God. Lord, we're thankful for them.

Lord, we love you, Lord. We glorify you,

Lord Jesus. You are everything and you

have it. So, Lord, pour your spirit out

on them. And though we pray we would

hear of testimony after testimony after

testimony after testimony, God, of how

you showed up and you opened doors that

were locked shut, but God, nothing's

locked with you because you don't need

permission. So Lord, we thank you and we

praise you today. You are everything.

Lord, I'm so thankful for this church.

I'm so thankful for this family. Lord,

the Rad fam, Lord, let us grow in you. I

just feel today that you are proud of

these people, Lord. Maybe we're not all

perfect. We're figuring it out. But Lord

Jesus, we're taking a step towards you

and we're thankful for it. We love you.

We thank you and we praise you, Jesus.

You are so good. You are so good. In

your name we pray. Amen. Come on,

church. Our God is good this morning.

He's good.

And as I mentioned, Pastor Matt, he's

going to be right over here. And if you

just want more information about Jesus,

you want prayed for, he would love to

encourage you and build you up. But one

more thing before you leave is in the

foyer, we have our life group fair. We

have lifeg group leaders. In fact,

they're leaving all over the room.

They're going to get in position. And we

believe in family here. That's one of

our values. One of our grow steps in how

do I grow is by joining a life group.

And we have special groups. We have

groups for ladies. We have Bible studies

for men and for women. We have life

groups that are in homes that are are

with people. We have uh uh grief share.

Maybe you've walked through some pain,

some grief in your life, maybe in the

last weeks or months or maybe years. But

you see, I want to I want someone to

help me walk through it. Monday nights

is grief share. There's various

different groups. And I want to

encourage you. Would you take a few

minutes? Would you stop by the life

group fair? Would you get signed up? If

you're not connected here, there's no

better way. Get connected out there.

It's going to be powerful. And then

there is shaved ice uh outside and it's

going to be just a great time. So just

encourage you spend some time, hang out

a little bit and let's go after Jesus

even as we're just encouraging. Maybe

pray for one another. Meet somebody new.

Be bold today. This is a great way to do

it. Hi, my name is and you would assume

that you can then follow up with your

name, right? Like let's make it happen

out there. Last thing, Wednesday night,

altar revival. It's going to be

powerful. Be here 7 o'clock. You do not

want to miss it. We're going to have a a

short word I'm going to give at the

beginning. Then we're going to spend at

least an hour of worship and prayer

going after Jesus. And we know he's

going to work believing for miracles for

the power of God that he's going to

speak to his church this Wednesday.

Altra revival. Love you all. Radiant

Life, you are amazing. Have an amazing

uh Labor Day tomorrow. A great week and

we can't wait to see you Wednesday night

uh and all that God is doing. But this

week, Rad Life, be careful what you

watch, be careful what you listen to, be

careful what you talk about. savor the

presence of Jesus. Have a great week.