God's Word | Pastor Michael | The Calling Church

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.

Alright, so we're gonna begin a new series today, and I'm so excited about it.

My I got a degree in it.

It's my passion, biblical studies, interpretation of the scripture.

You know, the Bible is one of the most, uh, if I would argue, the most sold book in the world ever.

It is translated into many languages, it has reached many nations.

And let me just tell you something.

If the Bible was not powerful, then why is it illegal in over 200 countries?

Do you know that you can't even hold a Bible?

Some people, some Christians have, a lot of Christians have smuggled Bibles into other countries.

The Bible, the Bible in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12 says, it is alive and it is active, it is sharper than any two-edged sword.

Hebrews 4:12

We're gonna get into that today.

I don't know about you, but if you're looking for some guidance in your life, and by the way, if you brought your Bible, come on, raise it on up.

All right, raise it on up, all right?

What I want you to do over the next four to five weeks is bring your Bible, okay?

Bring your Bible, and we also have free Bibles right outside for you, okay?

But if you need light in your life, if you need wisdom, I mean, how many of you alone just need some wisdom in your life?

If you need understanding, if you need guidance, look no further than the scriptures.

You know, the very first Bible, very first book printed was the Gutenberg Bible.

I wonder why.

You know, the word of God is considered to be a light, a sword, a mirror, a hammer.

In scripture, the Bible it symbolized as honey, fire, water, bread, seed.

In other words, the word of God directs us like a lamp, it nourishes us like bread, it transforms us like fire, it breaks through us like a hammer, it grows within us like a seed, it searches us like a sword, it reveals us like a mirror and cleanses us like water and satisfies us like honey.

Some of you, I have faith and I have prayed for us that for some of you, your life is about to change, even if it's just one of you dramatically.

Why?

Because for the first time ever, you are gonna open up this book and realize that God has something to say.

Can I just stop right here for a moment?

Let me just make this point very clear.

God has something to say to you.

God wants to speak to you.

We don't serve a God or believe in a God who is up in heaven doing nothing, just maybe tending to the angels and just sitting on a throne doing nothing.

No, God has a daily word for you.

Somebody say amen.

No, God has daily encouragement for you.

God has daily fresh bread, fresh inspiration to speak to you, to help you, to transform you, to heal you, to give you freedom.

Somebody say amen.

You guys with me?

So, my first point is this the Bible is alive and it's active.

It speaks to us every day.

Look what Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12 says.

Hebrews 4:12

And by the way, let me just share this story.

I will never forget a few years ago, there was a family, young family in their 30s in our church, and not at this site, the last site that we were at, um, young family, family of three, sweet family.

They since moved to uh Michigan, but they're from Monrovia, Pasadena area.

And their little girl, who was six or seven years old, had developed cancer, and they were distraught.

And I gotta pray with them and kind of walk with them through the situation and speak with them.

And I'll never forget the wife's reaction to the situation.

She was a little nervous, of course, and scared.

She was strong for her little girl and her family, but the woman rememorizes scripture in the book, I believe, of Psalms.

And of course, she her mind is racing and pacing about the well-being and the life and the journey of her little girl.

Always prayed to have a little girl and want her to, you know, grow up and get married and all of that.

And you can imagine their mind was racing about their daughter, and she shared this scripture with me that she held on to.

She said in the Psalms it says, God is within her, she will not fall.

And that was talking about Jerusalem at the time, but she believed that God was using that scripture to anchor her life down that her daughter is gonna live and she's gonna be okay, because in uncertain times she knew that she can go to the scripture for certainty and foundation and strength.

And I'm here to tell you today, her daughter is like 15 years old and been cancer-free in the name of Jesus.

That's what scripture can do for you.

Scripture in itself is prophetic.

Say prophetic.

It is prophetic in the sense that, yes, when we interpret the Bible, there was an original audience, there was an original writer, all right, that God spoke through the writer.

The Bible says that yet God used a man to write the text, but it what what inspired the man was the Holy Spirit.

The author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit.

That's why when you open up your Bible every day and have some coffee, all right, the Holy Spirit, the one who authored the Bible, will sit with you and inspire you from the very pages of the Bible with what you need to hear and what you need to know in the right now.

Amen.

It's powerful.

And so, and I lost my train of thought because I went off on that.

But the Bible is alive and is active.

I believe there's a scripture for everything that you might be facing.

I always wonder why.

We all have questions about humanity, and by the way, we're having more and more questions about our humanity with the rise of technology and AI.

Let me tell you, go to the Bible, it has a lot of answers about our humanity.

We are married and some of us are going through marriage problems.

Well, let me tell you, look no further than the Bible.

There were a lot of married people in the Bible, a lot of people in the and by the way, can I just say this?

The Bible is not, let me just say this real quickly, to get these cobwebs out of the way.

The Bible is not filled with perfect people.

Come on, somebody.

There's only one the the only perfect person in the Bible is Jesus.

But the Bible, why I love it, is because it is filled with a bunch of imperfect, broken, messed up people and families who all were in need of God because they were stuck with their humanity and God used them to do powerful things.

I don't know about you, but I am so grateful that God uses an imperfect person like me to do his work, and he will do it through you too.

Somebody say amen.

The Bible is it is honest, it is honest and it is real.

And I don't sometimes I don't know why people don't engage it because it is so brutally honest about our humanity.

There is some crazy stories about adultery, about about David killing a giant, about the water splitting right open and God's people walking right through.

There is there's a story about Peter walking on the water.

I mean, like, what the story about creation and the first seven days of existence.

Like, wow, let me just tell us, folks, the Bible is interesting.

And if the Bible is not interesting, and if the Bible is not powerful, then why is it illegal in 200 countries?

Why are TV shows made about it?

Why are why is Hollywood want to make movies about it?

Why?

Because it's more relevant today than it ever was.

Somebody say amen.

I believe that with my whole heart.

So the Bible is alive and it's active.

Look what Hebrews 4 12 says.

For the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.

It penetrates, even dividing the soul.

Now pay attention to this language.

It penetrates and even dividing the soul and the spirit.

Just think about what like how do you even this like wow, that is that sharp.

Joint and marrow.

We have some medical people in the medical professional field field in our church.

Just think about joint and marrow, how close that is together.

It judges the thoughts.

Watch this now.

It judges the Bible.

When you read it, it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the hearts.

So let's go back into that.

The Bible says that it is sharper than any double-edged sword.

The Greek word, the New Testament, was written in Koine Greek.

All right.

And the Greek word for sword is the word Makira.

Say Makira.

Say with me, Makira.

It's a Macaira.

The Greek word for sword is Makirah.

And the Makira is an ancient Greek sword.

It is no bigger than a foot or a foot and a half.

And it is described as a dagger.

Not, I just watched Braveheart the other day.

Sorry if that offends you.

I don't care.

But it's an awesome movie, alright?

And William, um uh, why am I blinking out his name?

William, all right.

It's William uh I'm for blind, I'm just there we go.

William Wallace.

You guys remember his sword?

How big is his sword?

It is humongous, it is a barbarian.

Remember Conan, all right?

Conan had a huge old sword.

But ancient Greece, they would just they would have a sword like this.

It was a dagger.

And this dagger was used for close-up battles, and it was so sharp.

And meant that that meant when you're gonna go to war, the Greeks would they're they're fighting, it was to come up close.

The Greek word Makira also is used as a scalpel.

Say scalpel.

How many know you had surgery before, and the doctor has to use their scalpel very, very carefully.

And in the Bible, it says that the Bible is so sharp, it can cut between joint and marrow.

More deeper than that, it can cut between soul and spirit.

Wow.

In other words, what the Bible is trying to say, it will go places, no other person, no other thing in the world, not even AI will go into your life.

Okay, so it's alive.

And what the word of God is it says here in the scripture, it's meant to cut away anything in our life that obscures truth.

And by the way, when the devil is in your face and he's lying to you, and you're going through a season in your life where it's a trial and you're going through temptation, and the battle gets close, and you're fighting for your marriage, and you're fighting for your health, and you're fighting for a sound mind, and you're fighting for a family, get your Mekira out and show the devil who he is.

Come on, somebody, and who God says you are your sword.

The Bible is likened to a sword.

Remember, Jesus was tempted by Satan, and he kept convoluting the scripture and taking out of context and tempting him.

And Jesus used the scripture every single time to say, No, devil, it is written that man shall not live on bread alone, but every word that comes or proceeds from the mouth of God.

Talking about how the word the sword, uh, the double-edged, the word is a double-edged sword.

There is an instance where Peter preached a very first New Testament sermon, right when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles or the disciples on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell and they were all speaking in tongues.

And Peter went outside, it was Passover, and there were thousands and thousands of people, and he uttered a message.

And the Bible says this that the audience was so, by the way, 3,000 of them uh um committed their life to Christ and said, What must we do to be saved?

That's how powerful the sermon was that Peter gave right after Jesus went to heaven.

And the Bible says that they were cut to the heart.

I like that illustration because that shows the power of what the word can do in our heart and our life.

It'll, it'll, it can go deep within us to transform us, to change us, to heal us, to give us hope and inspiration.

You know, Martin Luther, the great reformer, says this the Bible is alive, it speaks to me, it has feet, it runs after me, it has hands, it lays hold of me.

The Bible is not static, it isn't dead, nor is it passive, but it is life-giving.

And so, what I want to do today for the rest of the sermon is I want to teach you a method of how to study the scripture.

I don't want to assume that all of us know how to study the Bible.

So I have an acronym up here.

I learned this in church and I later went to school, and there's several different uh acronyms to help us study.

Now, write this down in your phones or your notes, but this word is, what does it say?

Soap.

All right, and it's an acronym.

And if you got you can use this every day you read the Bible.

And by the way, a great place to start.

My first place where I started when I read the Bible was the book of John.

The book of, I mean, you can start wherever you want, but the book of John is a really great starting point.

And and and John is just a wonderful, wonderful book.

And by the way, you can read it in a week.

You can read it less than a week.

It's 20-something chapters long.

It's an amazing book.

But this is a method, say method.

This is a method of how you can study.

It's an easy, rememorable method.

Now it's an acronym.

We can bring the next slide, all right?

And I'm gonna break this down a little bit.

So SOAP stands for script, say it with me, scripture, scripture, observation, application, and prayer.

And I'm gonna break this down.

Scripture.

So every every chapter we read, and by the way, uh, you know, you can read a chapter in one sitting, you can read a whole book of the Bible in one sitting.

By the way, a whole book can be three chapters long, four chapters long.

You can read however amount you the Holy Spirit gives you passion to read.

But while you're reading, God wants you to comprehend it, and God wants you to understand what you're reading, and He wants to touch your life by what you're reading.

And this is a method that will help you.

And by the way, there are other methods.

There's an Oika method that's very similar to this, but the first one, when we're studying the scripture or the Bible, is scripture.

Say scripture.

What God wants to do is speak through to you through the scripture of the Bible.

And let me give you an illustration, or let me give you an example.

When I first got saved, I was in the age of 20, 21.

I already went through a hard time in my life.

My my parents were in and out of prison.

My dad, my dad was on very bad drugs, and it was uh it was I did not have a normal upbringing life.

I was already hooked on alcohol way before 21.

Smoked my first cigarette when I was 13.

I was already in the world.

I knew about Jesus.

I I wanted to um walk with Jesus, but I was going through a well of pain in my life.

I had dated a girl at the time, and that didn't go well.

And baseball, I for the first time in my life at the age of 21, I was never cut from a team.

I was cut from my college team.

I was going through an identity crisis and I was calling out for help.

I was calling out for help.

And I will never forget, I started reading the Bible.

I started reading the book of Jonah.

Say, Jonah, how many of you heard of Jonah?

And this verse just really touched my life.

I went through a very hard time in my life.

In fact, when I was at the age of 21, I didn't want to be here anymore.

I I didn't want to be here because I didn't want to face any more pain that I already had been going through in my life.

And I'll never forget, it makes me a little emotional.

I'll never forget.

When I opened the book of Jonah, chapter two, there was a verse that just really just like just got my collar, and just I felt like no, that's not a good illustration, just really touched my heart as if God was the very one, as just God was speaking to me.

And it's this verse, Jonah chapter 2, verse 2.

Jonah 2:2

It says this, in my distress, I called to the Lord and he answered me.

Out of the depths of the grave, he heard me and he answered me.

Let me say that one more time.

Jonah 2, 2, in my distress, I called to the Lord, and he answered me.

Out of the depths of the grave, he heard me and he answered me.

Why did this touch my life?

Because I felt like I was just like Jonah.

I felt like my life was sinking and ebbing away.

I felt like I was, I felt just you know, I didn't feel I felt very low in my life, very depressed, very discouraged, and I felt as if the Lord gave me this scripture to tell you, look, uh memorize this scripture, write it down.

And that's what I did.

I cut it on, kept it on my desk, all right, and it just really touched, it cut me to the heart.

The next the next thing that we have on there is not just the scripture, but watch this.

We have on the SOAP acronym, we have observation.

Say observation.

Observation, say observation.

You guys with me?

You guys with me?

All right, observation.

Now, this is so important.

This is so important when we study the scripture.

We want to observe what's going on around the text.

Okay, and here's why I say this.

Because a tech a text without a context is a con.

A lot of people can flip, and by the way, this happening, it's always happened in history, but it's happening a lot, especially on YouTube and podcasts.

A lot of people, and it's why I went to school to study and interpret the Bible correctly.

A lot of people can flip through the Bible and grab something and preach it or say something, and it doesn't mean what it was originally intended for.

You guys follow me on that?

We have to be very, let me tell you, I believe we're living in these last days, and we're as we're living in these last days, many are being deceived, and many more will be deceived.

There are there are beliefs out there that are just wild, and it's like, how can you believe that?

The Bible is right here, plain.

Look what it says, and that's why we need to study it and understand the context, because a text without a context is just a con.

And as I study Jonah and I realized that he was running from God, he was he grew up in church, he was a prophet of God, he grew, he he knew the Lord, and the Lord told him to do something.

And what did Jonah do?

He went the opposite direction and ran away from the Lord.

I was 20, I was in my younger years, I was running from God, I was doing my own thing, I was running with the pain in my heart until finally, like Jonah, he reached me at my darkest and lowest place.

And let me just say this: if you're in a dark place and a low place in your life, there is no pit that Jesus will go down, there's no pit too deep that Jesus will not go down there to get you out.

Somebody say amen.

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

He did it for me, he did it for many others in this church, he will do it for you.

Someone say amen.

All right.

So observation.

We need to observe what the text is saying.

What does it mean?

What's going around, what's going on around the text, who is Jesus, who is the audience, who is uh the writer, what language, what culture?

And let me just tell you something.

Honestly, uh you can spend, I mean, weeks and weeks just on one chapter because there's so much there.

I mean, when we study, when when we call it hermeneutics in theology, say hermeneutics.

It's called hermeneutics.

It's the science, and it's ironic, but it's the science of studying the scripture.

And when we study, you're almost like an archaeologist where you're excavating the text, you're studying the language, you're watching, let me, can I just share with you how to and not to intimidate you or put pressure on you, how to properly get um the right interpretation of a text.

There is a series of things that need to be done first before come coming to a proper interpretation.

Now, here let me share, and I do this every week when I, by the way, when I sermon prayer.

All right.

We have to study the language.

We have to study the culture.

We have to study who's the author.

We have to study who's the audience.

We have to study whether it's New Testament or Old Testament.

We have to study what is the geo uh what uh what is the um uh I'm gonna say geography or where where where is the location of what what what's being talked at where the audience is, and and after we do all of those studies, then it properly gives us the right interpretation.

But a lot of times what we see on TV and podcasts is no one's doing any of that, and we just say some some things that we don't mean.

That's not to mean that you have to do all that, but this is a simple method to help us get along the way.

Amen.

You guys with me?

So scripture observation, a little bit different sermon today because I want to practically teach us.

Okay?

Scripture observation.

The next one is application.

No, I like this one.

Say application.

I like this one, application.

Look what the Bible says in James chapter 1, verse 22 through 25.

James 1:22–25

It says, Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.

Look what it says.

Do what it says.

Say it with me.

Do what it says.

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is look at this analogy.

It's like someone who looks at his face in the mirror and looking, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

What an interesting analogy.

But whoever looks intently, say intently, whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they've heard, but doing it, they will what they will, oh my gosh.

They will say this with me.

They will be blessed.

They will be blessed in what they do.

Okay, let's just stop this, right?

We could spend two weeks on that alone.

Watch this.

How many want blessing?

How many want blessing in your life?

How many believe you're blessed?

But how many want blessing in your life?

I want blessing in my life.

Now the Bible says very clearly how we obtain blessing.

We obtain blessing when we look intently into the Word of God.

And when we look intently, the Bible says it is like a mirror.

Say mirror.

What does a mirror do?

A mirror is supposed to give you information about what you look like.

Alright?

And hopefully every single morning before we go to work, we look.

How many you look at that mirror before you go to work?

Come on, somebody say amen.

You look at that, none of you.

Wow.

All right?

None of you, not one person raised their hand.

Wow, okay.

Well, not my fault.

He got stains on his shirt, his hair's not done, all right.

You look, you look in the mirror.

Some of some of no, I was gonna say something I should not say.

All right, I'm just not gonna say it.

Bad pastor, okay?

We look in the mirror on purpose so we don't show up to our kids' school and embarrass them.

So we don't go to work and embarrass ourselves.

We look on the in the mirror when we go on a date with our wife or on a date.

Why?

Because we want to look pleasant, all right?

But watch this the mirror reveals to us what our reality is.

And the purpose of the mirror is to show us something to make adjustments.

Meaning, yes, you need to brush your teeth.

Yes, you need to comb your hair.

Maybe you need to take a bath.

It's been a while, all right?

It helps reveal to us what we look like.

When we open up the Bible, what it is saying is that when we look intently into this word, it will reveal our thoughts and our attitudes and our motives in our life.

And it will help us make the adjustments that we need to make in our life.

And by the way, if you want to know the Lord and you want to grow with the Lord, you it can I say it this way too?

You cannot be strong in the Lord and have an intimate relationship with the Lord unless apart from the Bible.

It requires the Bible.

You need you need the Bible, the living word of God.

It is a living word, all right?

And so my hope over the next four weeks is that we cr is that you go to search your your search your basement, open, open, take it off the bookshelf, blow the dust, blow the dust off of it, and start opening it.

Because let me just share this with you.

You have a purpose.

You're here for a reason.

You are not a mistake.

God loves you.

And you think that this life is just this life?

You think life is just about this side of heaven?

No, let me tell you, folks, there's an eternity on the other side of heaven that is waiting for us.

This is just the beginning.

Uh, this life is about the next life.

Come on, somebody.

And if we want to attain the blessing and we want to attain peace, and we want to attain wholeness in our life, and watch this.

If we're struggling with anger, if we're struggling with stress, if we're struggling with our marriage, if we're struggling with our mental health, it's time to open up the Bible and look intently into the mirror and let it help us with what we look like so we can transform into the image of Christ.

Someone say, Amen.

You guys with me?

I know it's really quiet in here, and that's okay.

It's so awkwardly quiet.

All right.

When I first started preaching, I used to be like, Corina, did I do something?

No, it's that we're chewing on it.

We're chewing on it.

It's getting real, and that's okay.

It's truth.

Matthew 7 24 says this.

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

There are so many scriptures that what God wants to give us.

And I'm so excited for some of us here because when you open the Bible, it's gonna give you what you need to hear.

And it's gonna give you, watch this, give you new strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

The last one here is prayer.

Say prayer on our on our our method.

So we want to put it, we want to write a scripture down, we want to observe that scripture.

We uh let me go back to application, sorry.

In other words, if what is the use of opening up the Bible?

What is the use of listening to the word and not applying it?

All right, it is all about application, and when we apply it, the Bible says we will have blessing in our life.

I heard a pastor once say this No, you don't break the Ten Commandments, they break you.

Why?

Because it's not just about it's if you follow them or not, you'll be blessed when we follow them.

All right, but here and here's the last one prayer.

Last one, prayer, and we're gonna we're gonna wrap up soon.

Prayer.

After you written down a scripture, after you have observed the scripture, after you have uh, how are you gonna apply the scripture?

You make that note, and last but not least, you pray it.

And here's my prayer.

I don't I'm I'm a pastor.

I went to Bible school, I love theology.

Watch this.

I'm not gonna lie to you.

When you open the Bible, don't get bitter.

When you open up the Bible, don't in your anger, do not sin.

When you open up the Bible, do not lust.

When you open up the Bible, live like Jesus, and you wrestle with it, you wrestle with it, and last but not least, you pray it, Lord.

I don't want to get bitter, Lord.

I do want to be better.

Lord, in my anger, I do not want to sin.

So what do we do in prayer?

We say, Lord, help me, assist me, give me the strength to do what your word tells me to do.

God, I'm tired of living my own way.

It's time, God, I'm I'm living for your way.

And I've lived God's way for 20 years, and every still now and then, still, my wife will tell you, every now and then I still get my way and and I mess, I mess it all up.

Come on, somebody, amen.

But watch this.

How many of you are tired of doing it your way?

And how many of you want to live God's way?

How many of you want blessing?

How about this?

How many want to sleep at night?

How many of you want kindness in your life?

How many of you are tired of being the angry person that you you've been in your life?

It's time to crack open the Bible and say, God, prayerfully, I'm tired of doing it my way.

And let me tell you folks something, us believers, something.

This is what it means for Jesus to be Lord of your life.

That you are not doing it your way.

When Jesus says, when you make my Lord be my Lord and Savior, it means, hey, Lord, I'm you're my Lord, and I'm gonna do it your way, not my way.

Come on, somebody say amen.

And you know what?

When you do it God's way, you need to pick up your cross and then you need to lay your flesh aside and say, you know what, God, I know I I want I want to get even.

I want to back, I want to backbite, I want to talk about this person.

They hurt me, but Lord, I'm going your way.

Come on, somebody, Lord, I'm gonna I'm gonna forgive that person.

Why?

Because that's what you say to do.

Lord, what you said to do is in your anger, do not sin.

So, God, I'm gonna give you my anger.

Help me deal with my stuff.

You guys with me?

And I promise you, calling church, when we do it God's way, you're gonna achieve such peace and freedom.

That scripture we just read in James talks about freedom.

Freedom.

And I'm gonna close with this.

I'll have the worship team come on up here.

It says this one of the most prolific preachers in history, CH Spurge C.

H.

Spurgeon, some of you may know who he is, he said uh a quote that I want to end with.

He says, drink at the well and not at the tank.

And at first I had to study that.

Like, what is it?

What does the brother mean?

You know, he's from England, late 1800s.

He says, drink from the well and not the tank.

In other words, what Charles Spurgeon says we all drink from plastic bottles.

But he says, you all have, we all have the opportunity to go to the source of inspiration.

And how do we do that?

The source is God's word.

Some of you are questioning God.

Some of you are asking God, where oh come on, somebody.

I feel this in my spirit.

Someone's saying, God, where are you?

I've been calling out to you, crying out to you.

He's right here.

He's right here.

Some of us are in a difficult season.

We're in a storm in our life and we're thinking, are we gonna make it?

Some of us were in an okay season.

But some of you feel the hunger, you're hungry for more truth.

And let me tell you, we live in a society that is filled with a lot of mistruths.

But go to his word.

So watch this.

This week we have an appointment with God through his word.

And we need to open that book of John and let and just start seeping into it, start reading into it, diving into it, and allowing God to transform us from the inside out.

I'm not gonna preach on it this week, but the Bible says that his word is a light unto our feet and a lamp unto our feet and a light for our path.

Do you know that God's word can help you make the right decisions in your life?

Some of us need wisdom in our business, some of us need wisdom in relationships, some of us need guidance on where we're gonna be at in the next 10 years.

Well, first seek the righteous uh the kingdom of God and his righteousness, he will guide you, he will show you the way.

And he wants to he wants to do that for us this morning.

So you have an appointment with his word.

And watch this.

You know what excites me about this?

As you go to his word this week, you're gonna find answers.

You're gonna find answers in the text.

So I'm so excited about that.

I'm gonna have every head bowed and every eye closed really quickly as we close our time out here this morning.

I just want to pray for two groups of people.

Number one is this no one's watching you, no one's looking at you, even online.

This is for us too.

You're gonna say, Pastor Michael, what you're saying is interesting.

I have an interest for God's holy word, I have a hunger.

There's nothing in this world that is satisfying to me.

But if you're honest, you haven't been maybe passionate about God's word.

Maybe you don't know how to open up the Bible, maybe you don't even have a Bible.

So you say, Pastor Michael, pray for me.

Pray that I would have a passion to go to the scriptures, pray that I will have a hunger to sit down with God and open up the Bible and to hear from God.

Because right now, and honestly, some of us we are lulled into distractions.

We are more interested in sports or we're more interested in our girlfriend or or what's online, we're more interested in the things of the world.

So, Pastor Michael, pray.

Pray that internally I would have a hunger for God.

If that's you this morning, no one's watching you.

I just want to pray for a group of us here this morning.

You won't be the only one, I promise.

You just raise your hand.

Pray, Pastor Michael, that I have a fire, amen.

I see you over there, brother.

God bless you.

One, two, three, four.

I see a handful of people that I have a hunger, that I want and I get to know God more through his scripture, through his word.

Amen.

So powerful, amen.

I see over there, all kinds of different people from this one aisle to the next.

Amen.

Our hands down, let's pray.

Dear Jesus, we just come before you and we thank you, Lord, for your word that gives life and lights and healing.

And for those online and those here in person, Lord, we um we ask for actually all of us, whether we raise our hand or not, we thirst for something more meaningful in our life.

Some of us are hungry for hope.

Some of us are thirsty for freedom.

God, fill us with your truth of your scriptures.

Help us, God, to get rid of the distractions that are all around us so that this week, God, we can sit down with you and hear from you.

My prayer, Lord, is that those, God, and all of us that open the scripture this week is that we find answers that we're looking for and that we're searching for.

For some of us, God, we're not even searching.

For some of us, God, we're not even desiring.

But God, I pray that there would be something in this week that will help just get them to go to your word, Lord.

Help us understand there's nothing in this planet, nothing in this universe that will satisfy us the way you do.

We love you.

I'm gonna pray another prayer.

Maybe you're here in church for the first time in a long time.

Maybe you've never been to church, maybe honestly, you never known Jesus, you never seriously walk with Jesus.

Maybe you've heard about him, maybe you've seen family members talk about him and the way that he's moved in their life.

But what about you?

What about you?

You know, there is an eternity, there is an eternity with God, and there's an eternity apart from God.

Heaven is real, hell is real, angels are real, and demons are real.

That is the truth, and that is a reality no matter what the world says, that is what the Bible says.

And it has been here for a long, long time and it's not going anywhere.

But where do you stand with God?

If you were to pass away to get today, would you stand before God and would he be your judge?

Or would God be your savior, Jesus Christ?

The Bible says in John chapter 3, verse 16, that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son to die in our place, that whoever would believe in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Here's what that means, friend.

God loves you.

You say, Yeah, yeah, that's what that's what pastors say all the time.

No, I'm not make no bones about it.

I was lost, I was addicted, I was an alcoholic, I smoked cigarettes, I walked in the ways of the world, and let me tell you, Jesus found me and He saved me.

And he not only He saved me, watch this, He healed me.

And if I could only sit down with you for an hour and tell you what I've been through, let me tell you the power and the love and the majesty of God is for real.

There will be a day where God comes back to judge the evil, but those who know Christ will not have to suffer his wrath.

Watch this.

What does that mean that Jesus died for me?

Watch this.

It means that Jesus took the punishment that you and I deserve, and that we should have been whipped and beaten and died on that cross.

But God so loved us, Jesus took our Jesus took our punishment and our wrath so that we could be with Him forever and not just in eternity, be have true life right now, true peace, true hope.

I feel like there's just maybe a few people here today, feel like God talking, there's a few people here today, and you've come and you feel like God is just moving right now in your life, and and why not make the choice to make Jesus your Lord and try it his way.

What I'm gonna do is I'm not gonna put a spotlight on you, I'm not gonna put a mic in your face, I'm not even gonna ask you to the pulpit or nothing like that.

Simply, with every head bowed, every eye closed, I'm gonna ask you to raise your hand on the count of three to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Say, Pastor Michael, that's me.

Say no more.

So here we go on the count of three.

One, two, three.

Anyone in the house?

Amen.

I see you, sir.

God bless you.

I see you over here in the front, God bless you.

See over there on the side, God bless you.

See over there in the back on the side, God bless you.

On the way left, God bless you.

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

Anyone else?

You're not the only one.

Seven, eight, awesome.

God bless you.

Hands down, all right?

Heads up, eyes open.

Come on, give the Lord a mighty clap, so good.

Come on, give him a mighty clap, so good.

I'm gonna have you guys stand with me just for a moment.

All right, and we're gonna conclude the service and we're gonna pray a prayer together, all right?

Even if you didn't raise your hand, this is for all of us.

Can you repeat this prayer after me?

Say, dear God, thank you for sending your son.

God, say aloud, thank you for sending your son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins.

I believe I'm a sinner, I'm in need of a savior.

Lord, come into my heart, make me new.

I want to live for you.

I want to do life your way.

I'm done trying my way.

Your way leads to life, your way leads to peace.

I give you the keys of my heart.

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

Come on, give the Lord a mighty clap so good.

Amen.

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

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