Praise God. Well, more of you came than I thought
would be here this morning. So I'm glad that
you're here. We've got a great online community
this morning as well. So I want to welcome all
of our people online. Can we give a big shout
out to our people online today? All right. All
right. We have more than usual there. And if
you are online at home and you have a prayer
need, type that in and just type it into the
feed. We're going to pray for people this morning.
And so we're glad that you're here. We already
read the verse from Luke chapter 1, but I would
like you to go there to Luke chapter 1 and verse
39. Luke is the third book in the New Testament.
And so Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Luke was not
one of the 12 disciples, Luke was a physician,
and Luke wrote the book of Luke, and also the
book of Acts. In fact, the number of verses in
the New Testament, Luke wrote more of the New
Testament than even Paul. Think about that, verse
by verse. And so that's pretty cool. And so his
account of the history of the New Testament,
the life of Christ, Christ, the ministry of Christ,
and then the life of the New Testament church
is incredibly vital. His perspective is unique.
And so he records more of the birth story of
Christ than any other author. And so a lot of
things in the book of Luke that are really, really,
really important. Talking about we're beginning,
I have the privilege of beginning this season,
this Christmas season, talking about hope. These
are going to be the next four Sunday themes that
are on the wall. And so we're going to be looking
at hope this morning. I want to just pause a
moment and I want to pray and I want to ask the
Lord to just help me right now. Father, we just
come before you. And I thank you for your word.
And I'm just acutely aware this morning that
you want to speak to people right where they
are. God, I believe that you have something for
every single person, whether they're here, whether
they're at home because of the weather or wherever
they are. Lord, I ask in Jesus' name that you
would speak. to our hearts. We thank you for
your word. And everybody said together, amen,
amen. So there was a woman named Florence Chadwick.
This is not a joke, Brother Dale. He's waiting
to see if I'm going to turn it to a joke. Florence
Chadwick in 1952 was an amazing swimmer. And
she swam the English Channel several times. And
she was attempting to swim in the Pacific Ocean
off the coast of California, a 26 -mile swim
from Catalina Island to the California coastline.
26 miles in good temperatures. is nearly impossible
for most of us. I'm sure there's probably not
anybody in this room that could accomplish a
26 -mile swim. But she was trying to accomplish
it in the Pacific Ocean, where the temperatures
were frigid. There were boats around her to watch
for sharks and dangers in the water. While she
was swimming, a fog rolled in, and she could
not see more than just a couple hundred feet
in front of her because of the fog was so thick.
On a normal day, she could see the coastline
from miles and miles away, even swimming low
in the water. And the fog was so thick, not being
able to see, she began... to lose hope. And she
began to think, I am never going to make it.
And after 15 hours in the water, she did something
that she rarely ever did. Florence gave up. She
gave up. And they pulled her into the boat. And
she was devastated when she realized something
that was heartbreaking because the shore was
less than one mile away. She had swam over 25
miles and she gave up. Less than one mile away.
And in a later interview, she said, I think if
I could just have seen the shore, I would have
made it. It's a powerful story, isn't it? I think
if I could just have seen the shore, I would
have made it. Hope. Hope is a precious commodity.
I was on Friday with my dad watching the Bears
game. Oh, hallelujah. Somebody say amen. Dale
and I rarely agree, but we do agree about the
Bears. And I was watching the game, and the Eagles
at one point scored a touchdown in like five
plays and 92 yards. And my heart began to feel
the momentum shift. And in sports, one thing
that you try to do early in a match or a game
or whatever you're playing is you try to eliminate
the hope that the other team has. If you're ahead,
you try to get far enough ahead to make the other
team feel like they cannot win. There's no way
that you can come back. Once the opponent that
you're playing against gets a spark of hope,
everything can change. Isn't that right? Everything
can change because of hope. You've probably heard
of the rat in the water experiment that was conducted
by Kurt Richter in the 1950s, demonstrating the
power of hope. He was drowning rats in water.
And he found out that after 15 minutes, the rats
would give up and die. But he noticed something.
So a rat was about to drown, and just at the
brink of pulling it out of the water, just at
the brink of death, he would pull it out of the
water. And the rat realized that just at the
point that I thought I couldn't go any longer,
rescue is coming. They would take that same rat.
and they would put it back in the water after
it had recovered, and that rat would tread water
for nearly 60 hours. Why? Because it thought
it was going to be saved. That's crazy, isn't
it? This morning, I don't want to talk about
hope for winning a... or hope for a rat, I want
to talk about hope in life. For things that really
matter, because games come and go. I've got sports
stories. from my past that I still talk about,
times I lost that I knew looking back I could
have won, times where I could have done something
different that I wish. How many of you dream
about moments like that still in your life? You
dream about things, oh, if I just would have
made it five more yards. I have things like that
that I still. dream about that I wish that I
could have done differently. But you know what?
Those things do not matter. I want to talk about
hope that matters today. And the life story of
Elizabeth, I want to read it again in verse 39
of Luke chapter 1. Mary arose in those days and
went into the hill country with haste to a city
of Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and
greeted Elizabeth. And it happened when Elizabeth
heard the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped
in Elizabeth's womb. And Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit. And she spoke out with
a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among
women speaking to Mary, and blessed is the fruit
of your womb. But why is this granted to me that
the mother of my Lord should come to me? For
indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting
sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb
for joy. Blessed is she. who believed. For there
will be a fulfillment of those things which were
told to her from the Lord. Thank you, Father.
So this is an incredible story that relates to
hope, and it connects with every single one of
us because Elizabeth was a real person. She lived
in a real world with real problems. She was a
Jew living in a nation that was occupied by Rome.
It was not an easy time for anybody to be alive.
She had personal issues, and she had personal
struggle. She was barren, and to be barren in
a time like that was more than just not having
a child. It was to be viewed as being cursed.
It was to be viewed as a person that had done
something wrong in the eyes of God. And so God
would not allow you to have children. And so
Elizabeth and Zachariah lived with a lot of pressure
and a lot of difficulty swirling around them.
Our situations in our time might be a little
bit different. The perspectives that people have
on these types of issues are not the same in
our culture. Perhaps your situations are different.
Perhaps the stuff that you are walking through
is very different. But Elizabeth was transformed
by the power of God. and she was transformed
by the power of God because she placed her hope
in him. Amen? And so... I am believing this whole
Christmas season that God is going to do some
things in your lives. I believe that God, this
Christmas season, is going to draw you nearer
to himself. The devotional that Cammie wrote,
she said, we prepared a devotional. And she used
that plural, and I could stand up here and take
credit for that. But she has been writing this
devotional for about two months now. putting
it together. And so it is not a we thing. It
is something that she put together. She probably
didn't want me to say that. But this is... Why
do this? Because corporately, we're seeking to
draw nearer to the Lord than we've ever been
before. Amen? And I'm believing that this Christmas
season is not going to be about decorations primarily
and presents, although I love decorations and
presents. I love all that stuff. I think it's
a great addition to our celebration. But primarily,
I'm believing that you are going to draw near
to Jesus this Christmas. season. And that you're
going to look back on Christmas 2025 and you're
going to say, that's a season that God did something
in my life. That he worked in my life. Amen?
And so we are believing that we together are
going to draw closer to the Lord. We are secondly
believing that as we look at these scriptures,
this one particular in Luke chapter 1, that as
we look at them, that we talk about his first
coming. that it is going to propel you to talk
about, to think about, and to look forward to
his second coming. Because Jesus came the first
time as a baby in a manger. He is coming back
again as King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen?
And so it is, you know, we have a manger up here
as part of our decoration in our scene. We are
not worshiping a baby that is still in a manger.
We are worshiping a king that is at the right
hand of the Father, that is alive forevermore,
that is working in your life and in my life.
We worship the King of Kings and the Lord of
Lords, and he is preparing to return to the earth
again. Hallelujah. We believe that with our whole
heart. I want to declare something that's not
in my notes right now. I am not... a Christian
because I just couldn't make it through life
any other way. I am not a Christian because I
needed a crutch. I couldn't survive life on my
own. And so things got so bad. I just needed
something in my life. That is not why I'm a believer.
I want to thank God for difficult seasons in
people's lives because it is often the difficult
season that wakes us up to the important things.
But I am not a Christian because I went through
a difficult season. I'm a Christian. Because
I came face to face with Jesus. And I realized
that I had stuff in my life that I was not right
with God. And I needed a Savior to do what I
could not do. Cross the bridge, the divide that
was created by sin. Right? Because we're all
separated from God because of sin. Can you imagine
Saul on the road to Damascus saying, life is
just so hard, I need a savior? You can't imagine
that, can you? Because he was a... He was a strong
individual. He was a strong person. He was putting
Christians to death for their faith, thinking
he was doing God a service. He was a strong person.
We don't come to Christ just because we've become
so weak we can't get by any other way. But Saul,
on the road to Damascus, in Acts chapter 9, you
can read the story, came face to face with Jesus.
And more than anything else, I'm believing in
our city, I'm believing in our culture, in our
time, that people will come face to face with
Jesus. Hallelujah. And I realized I need a Savior.
I worship Jesus not because He's my crutch in
life, but because He is worthy of my worship.
I worship Jesus because He carried the cross
for me. He paid the price for my sin. Hallelujah.
And He's forgiven me. And I've met Him. And He
walks with me. And he talks with me. I think
about men of God particularly in the Bible because
I view, you know, being a man, I view the scriptures
oftentimes through the lens of and looking at
other men in the Bible. And I think about King
David. And I think about the strength that David
carried. They sang of him, Saul has slain his
thousands, but David his tens of thousands. David
was a warrior. He was a magnificent person. He
was strong. And he served the Lord, not because
he was weak. He was so weak he needed a crutch.
And that's how people often view the church.
But David was a man's kind of man. And can I
tell you something? It's a reflection of Jesus.
When Jesus walked the earth, he walked the earth
with strength. He stood up. to religious and
sometimes political figures, he stood up with
strength. Remember when he stood before the religious
leaders and he said, you brood of vipers. And
they all wanted to stone him, but Jesus, in the
power of the Holy Spirit, walked through the
crowd. And they couldn't lay a hand on him, even
though they wanted to. And everybody eventually,
by the end of his ministry, all the political
people had united against him. And they were
looking to kill him, but still he taught openly.
He was a strong individual. He was worth following.
He was worth following. kind of overplaying the
Bears illustration here, but I love watching
the locker room videos they show after the victory.
And Ben Johnson, I don't think he's even a believer.
I don't know, but he has this thing he does with
the Bears, and he says, good, better, best. And
in fact, that's getting real popular. How many
of you have heard that? Good, better, best. Never
let it rest till your good gets better and your
better gets best. And all these men in the locker
room following their 39 -year -old coach because
he is viewed as a man's kind of man. And they're
all following him and yelling and screaming for
a game. But can I tell you, Jesus was a man's
kind of man. Jesus stood strong. Jesus was not
weak. He was not unsure of himself. He was a
leader of leaders. And he's worth following.
The King of kings and the Lord of lords that's
coming back again. Let me come back to my notes.
Hope is a precious... Commodity. When you lose
hope, despair and defeat set in. When you lose
hope, you want to give up. When you lose hope,
you forfeit your harvest. You lose your race.
If you have no hope, your life begins to spiral
into apathy. You drop your face. You isolate.
You turn inward. You begin to merely exist. But
I have good news for you today. That God wants
to restore hope. The hope that Elizabeth was
living in in this scripture, and really you sense
a lot of things in this verse overlap in joy.
You see great joy in these verses. We're going
to preach about that in the coming days. But
the hope that she had, culminating here in the
birth of her child, was cultivated in her life
all along. Did you know that suffering well produces
hope? Did you know that? We're going to see that
Elizabeth positioned her life in such a way so
that hope was her portion. Hope belonged to her.
Hope starts with walking through difficulty well.
And I've already described to you her life. And
to have such hardship and such difficulty and
still persevere through it and not give up, it
produces hope. Let me read to you a verse from
Romans. Just so you're not looking it up, I'll
give it to you at the end of my reading of it.
It says this, we glory in tribulation. This is
kingdom talk right here. People that are normal
don't say, I love it when I'm persecuted. I love
it when I go through hardship. But this is what
Paul said in Romans. I glory in tribulation.
And Christian, you need to learn how to suffer
well if you're going to walk in hope. I glory
in tribulation. Now it goes on. Knowing that
tribulation produces... And perseverance produces
character. And character, hope. Hope. But where
does it start? Tribulation. Now when you're suffering,
you have a choice in how you're going to respond
to that suffering. We typically do one of two
things when we suffer. The first thing we do
is we say, woe is me. I'm going through something
nobody else has ever gone through. Life is so
difficult. But the other response that is a response
gifted to you from heaven, I believe. God will
help you in it if you will take up this response.
If you will say, you know what? I know this is
tough. I know this is difficult. But I am still
going to do the right thing. I know this is difficult.
I know this is tough. But I know, even if I don't
have them in my life right now, I know that there
are others walking through more difficult things
than me. And they are surviving, and they are
thriving, and they are making it. And so do you
know what I'm going to do? I'm going to press
through the tribulation. And you know what's
happening right now? You, like in a pressure
cooker, you are forming the diamond of character
in your life. And that character is starting
to come through. I can make it. I can get all
the way to the end. I can come through this.
And you begin to encourage yourself in the Lord.
Your tribulation produces the perseverance that
you needed to face your own limitations so that
you could push beyond them and become what God
had created you to be. Character. And when you
have that kind of character, it does something
in you. It changes your outlook so that you look
at a nation called America and you say this,
America is not going to fall to pieces and fall
to the ground and become nothing. I'm telling
you what, I have more hope for America than I've
ever had. I believe that her best days are still
ahead of her. I believe that there is revival
coming to the United States of America. I believe
that the church is going to thrive again in the
United States of America. I believe it with my
whole heart. I have hope. Now, does that mean
I believe that it's perfect? No. Does that mean
I agree with everything happening? No, but I
have hope. That's what character gives you, a
new perspective. That out of these ashes, God
can do something great. That out of this difficulty,
something good can come forth. And I've been
relating everything with Isaiah chapter 61. This
is what it means that God gives beauty for ashes.
He takes ashes and he makes something beautiful
out of them. And do you know that's where diamonds
come from? Ashes? Carbon. Squeezed and pressed
together. In verse 5, this is Romans chapter
5, by the way. Verses 3 through 5. It goes on
and it says this. And hope never disappoints
us. Because the love of God has been poured out
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Who was given
to us. Going back to Luke chapter 1. You'll notice
something. In verse 13. Now this is a part of
the story we haven't touched this morning. And
I'm not going to touch it a lot. Except that
Elizabeth became pregnant by miracle. She was
beyond the age of childbearing, just like Sarah
in the Old Testament. Elizabeth was the same
way. And even though she was beyond the age of
childbearing, she and her husband, Zechariah,
did not quit believing God. And so I want you
to look at verse 13. We're not going to talk
about this whole story. You can read the whole
story because Zacharias, later on, he did have
doubt and so forth. We're not going to talk about
that as part of another message for another day.
But look at verse 13. The angel said to Zacharias,
do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer
is heard. and your wife will bear you a son.
Think about that. So this is Elizabeth and Zacharias
together. Elizabeth passed the age of childbearing,
and yet they are still standing in the place
of prayer, believing God for a child. Do you
know what that tells me? That even though others
thought their dreams were shattered and others
thought that they were cursed, that they were
still standing in the place of hope. That Elizabeth's
hope was not born the day she became pregnant.
Elizabeth was standing in hope. All along her
journey. Why? Because she had produced character
in her life. That stood strong. And hope does
not disappoint. Hope comes from suffering. Anybody
out there in the midst of tribulation. Don't
say woe is me. Don't say, oh, what's happening
in my life? I'm not saying that the tribulation
is fun. That fun is just an emotion. I'm not
saying that you have to get ascetic about it
and say, oh, just see how much I can take. I'm
not saying that you have to be like that. But
I am saying this, make a decision today. That
in the midst of the tribulation that you are
walking through, that you are going to allow
God to work in your life. And in the midst of
it, shape you into the person God created you
to be. God created you for victory. God created
you to come all the way through. God created
you. He wired you. He wired you. He wired you
for overcoming. Tap into that. Lord, thank you
for helping me. I am coming all the way through
this thing. In Jesus' name. Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. He said, you shall
call his name John, and you will have joy and
gladness. That's the word of the Lord. And so
the first thing that joy comes from is suffering.
I'm going to wrap this up pretty quickly here
and spend less time on these next points. But
hope is rooted in trial and difficulty. Number
two, hope comes from believing the promise. When
the promise is given to you. Now this is where
Zacharias failed, if we would follow through
his story. Zacharias expressed doubt given the
promise. But when he came home and could not
speak, and he sign -languaged everything to Elizabeth,
and she finally understood what the angel had
said to her, maybe Zacharias wrote it all down,
Elizabeth didn't respond with doubt. Elizabeth
responded with hope. She responded with faith,
believing the promise. And, friend, When God
speaks to you a promise, then you have another
choice to make. Your first choice was in the
suffering and in the lack and in the time of
difficulty to persevere and produce character.
And now here's your second choice. Your second
choice is this. When you're given the promise,
are you going to believe the promise or are you
not going to believe the promise? And that's
the choice. And a person that has produced character
in their life, that is walking in perseverance,
a person that is walking in hope, a person that
is walking in faith, will rise up and say, God,
I believe your promise. Hallelujah. I believe
your promise because hope is birthed in the promise
of God. Hallelujah. Glory to God. And so in Hebrews
chapter 11, in Hebrews chapter 11, I can't believe
this isn't in my notes. I'm going to turn there
real quick. Hebrews chapter 11. This is so good.
It says this. Now faith is the substance of things.
Hoped for. Wow. The evidence of things not seen.
And so faith and hope are coupled together. They
are eternally coupled together. Faith and hope.
And so because I'm standing in faith, I have
hope. Yeah, but pastor, you don't understand.
I'm in stage four. Faith is the substance of
things hoped for. Hallelujah. And so the evidence
of things not seen, For by it, the elders obtained
a good testimony. They carried faith in their
heart, belief in God that he would come through.
And so they obtained a good testimony. Think
about Elizabeth's life. She had faith in God.
She hoped in God. She hoped against everybody
else's hope. I'm going to stand believing God.
I'm still believing God for a son. I'm still
believing God for a son. Everybody's cursing
me, but I'm believing God for a son. And she
hoped against all hope. And guess what happened?
Her story is recorded in this book. Her story
is recorded in the New Testament for people to
read for all of time. As an example of a woman
that stood strong. She obtained a good testimony.
You know what else she did? Verse 6 says, without
faith, it is impossible to please God. She became
somebody that brought pleasure. To the Lord.
Faith and hope. They're linked together. You
know what God delights in? When the circumstances
of life should snuff you out. The circumstances
of life should just get you to quit. But you're
still standing in faith, believing. You've not
received the answer. And God is receiving the
aroma of that faith. And it is making him happy.
And that's what Elizabeth did. Look at her. She's
still believing me. I want God to say that about
me. Look, there's my son. He's still believing
me. There's my daughter. I haven't healed her
yet. But she's still believing me. There's my
child. I haven't worked that miracle out yet
that he's believing for. But they're still believing
me. Oh, and when God looks down and he sees that,
the answer hasn't come yet. But you're still
standing in faith believing. Oh, he begins to
take delight in that. That becomes a worship
unto him. That becomes an aroma that is pleasing
to him. Without faith, it's impossible to please
God. But with faith, I can be one that brings
pleasure to the Lord. This is what hope is all
about. This is what hope is all about. This is
what faith is all about. Do you know more than
receiving the answer at the end, which I thank
God happens, but more than receiving the answer
at the end of it all, I get to bring pleasure
to the Father. And I'm believing that this Christmas
season, that this story of Elizabeth would become
very real in your life. And that you will become
a person of hope. That is not dependent upon
your situation and how much money you make. But
it is dependent upon you standing in faith, believing.
Young people, stand in faith, believing God for
your friends to come to Christ. Stand in faith,
believing for the answer, for the miracle to
come in the name of Jesus. Faith produces pleasure
in God. God, I have the opportunity to bring
you pleasure. The opportunity to stand in faith.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Glory to
God. Praise the Lord. Faith. produces hope, believing
Him. You know, just say one more thing here.
When Mary entered the home and Elizabeth, her
baby side of her, Elizabeth's own description
is, He leapt in me. He leapt in me. And many
of you women know what it's like to have a baby
in your womb and you feel that baby move. I could
later on in Cammie's pregnancies feel the baby
kicking, moving, but she could feel it obviously
in a totally different way. For her to describe
that as the baby leaping, jumping. And in that
moment, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
It's powerful. Filled with the Holy Spirit. All
of that happened because Mary came into the house.
But it was more than that. It wasn't Mary so
much. It's that it was the child that Mary was
carrying. It was Jesus as an infant in the womb
coming in to Elizabeth's house. And even as an
infant, the power of God expressed through the
life of Mary, the power of God came into Elizabeth's
home and impacted the baby Elizabeth was carrying
and Elizabeth. And she recognized without Mary
even saying anything, she had a word from God.
You are carrying my Lord. That's what she said.
You're carrying my Lord. And you're blessed because
you are his mother. Just thinking about this,
the times later when Jesus, would enter homes
in his ministry. It was in a home celebrating
a wedding where Jesus turned the water into wine.
It was in a home, Peter's home, that Jesus came
in and the fever left. And Peter's mother -in
-law began to get up and serve them all. It happened
in a home. Jesus came in the home. It was in
a home that Jairus' daughter, the Roman soldier,
his daughter was dead. And when Jesus came into
the home, everything changed. And that daughter
who was dead, came to life. It was in a home
that the crippled man on a mat that was, remember
they dug through the roof, the thatched roof,
they dug through and they lowered that crippled
man down into that home. And that man stood up
to his feet and was healed. And it was because
Jesus came into a home. It was in a home where
Mary sat and worshipped and poured perfume on
Jesus' feet that was worth a year's wages. Think
about what you make in a year. She poured that
out at the feet of Jesus in one act of worship
in a home. Zacchaeus. In Zacchaeus' home, salvation
came to him. His life was turned around. And
after the resurrection, Jesus walked on the road
to Emmaus, and there were two disciples that
he started walking beside, and they didn't know
it was him, and they invited, they compelled
him. They didn't say Jesus. They didn't know
it was him. But they said, come into our home.
They compelled him to stay. And in their home,
Jesus ate with them and talked with them. And
when he revealed himself as the Christ, he disappeared.
And the two disciples were left looking at one
another. And they said, this were not our hearts
burning within us. It happened in a home. Here
in Elizabeth's home, she's filled with the Holy
Spirit. In Revelation chapter 3, Jesus said this,
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Knock.
And Jesus said this, if any man hears my voice,
he's calling out. He's calling out your name.
And if any man will open the door and let me
in, I'll come in. Who knows what Jesus will do.
He raises the dead. He fills people with the
Holy Spirit. He turns water into wine. He makes
provision where there was none. If you will open
the door and say, Jesus, come in. Will you allow
him in? Will you open the door of your home?
Will you open the door of your heart? Elizabeth
positioned herself. God, you're doing things
in the hearts of people around this room right
now. You're doing things in the hearts of people
at home right now. There's some here that have
lost hope. Do you want to restore hope to them?
There's some here that... The need for you to
come and just touch their heart. But there's
some here that, Lord, you want to come alongside
and you want to cheer on and you want to champion
because they are living Elizabeth right now against
everything. They are standing in faith, believing
God. So I'm going to, in a moment, just ask you
to stand. And I want you to stand for a couple
of things. One, I want you to stand if you're
here today, you're saying, you know what, I want
to open up the door to Christ. I have never opened
up my heart to Him. And this morning, I hear
Him calling me. He wants to do a work in your
life. And in a moment, if that's you, I'm going
to ask you to stand and say, yes, that's me.
If you're here this morning, and you're in the
midst of a tribulation, and you're saying, I
am standing. I am standing, but I want... I want
you to pray for me because I have been tempted
to lose hope. I have been tempted to not believe,
to throw in the towel. In a moment, I'm going
to ask you to stand. Some are already standing.
Because I want to pray with you. And I want to
cheer you on in your faith journey to stay strong.
If you're here this morning and you're just saying,
I want to grow in my faith. I want to grow in
my faith because I want to bring pleasure to
God. Then I want you to stand. So whatever the
reason this morning, if one of those things applies
to you, Just before the team begins to lead us
in a worship song, I want you to stand right
now in the name of Jesus. Say, yes, Lord, that's
me. Here I am, God. I want you to do that work
in my heart. I want you to do that work in my
life. In the name of Jesus, people all over this
room, thank you, Father, standing. Thank you,
God, for the courage that is in this room right
now. For people saying, you know what, it doesn't
matter what everybody else thinks. This is me
and you, Jesus. And I'm standing in faith, believing.
I'm standing in the midst of my trial. I want
to be a son or a daughter that brings pleasure
to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You at home right now,
if you want to stand up in your living room right
now, come on, just stand up right where you are.
And just begin to say, God, I want to be that
person. I want to be that son. I can't do it
without you, Lord. In and of myself, I'm nothing,
but I know that with you, I can stand. And I
thank you for the character that you're forming
in this room right now. I thank you for what
you're doing right now in Jesus' name. I thank
you, Father, for your goodness. Hallelujah.