WEBVTT 00:00:10.689 --> 00:00:14.250 Then they took Jesus to Caiaphas to the governor's 00:00:14.250 --> 00:00:17.730 headquarters. It was early morning. They did 00:00:17.730 --> 00:00:20.050 not enter the headquarters themselves, otherwise 00:00:20.050 --> 00:00:23.250 they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover. 00:00:23.989 --> 00:00:27.670 Then Pilate came out to them and said, What charge 00:00:27.670 --> 00:00:31.170 do you bring against this man? And they answered 00:00:31.170 --> 00:00:34.250 him, If this man weren't a criminal, we wouldn't 00:00:34.250 --> 00:00:37.619 have handed him over to you. So Pilate told them, 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:41.359 Take him yourselves and judge him according to 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:44.500 your law. It's not legal for us to put anyone 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:48.600 to death, the Jews declared. They said this so 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:51.560 that Jesus' words might be fulfilled, signifying 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:55.340 what kind of death he was going to die. Then 00:00:55.340 --> 00:00:57.439 Pilate went back into the headquarters, summoned 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:01.020 Jesus, and said to him, Are you the king of the 00:01:01.020 --> 00:01:05.719 Jews? Jesus answered. Are you asking this on 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:09.819 your own or have others told you about me? I 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:13.739 am not a Jew, am I? Pilate replied. Your own 00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:16.140 nation and the chief priest handed you over to 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:20.319 me. What have you done? My kingdom is not of 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:23.859 this world, said Jesus. If my kingdom were of 00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:26.799 this world, my servants would fight so that I 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:30.159 wouldn't be handed over to the Jews. As it is, 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:34.200 my kingdom does not have its origins here. You 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:38.140 are a king then, Pilate asked. You say that I 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:42.719 am a king, Jesus replied. I was born for this, 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:46.560 and I have come into the world for this, to testify 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:51.280 to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:56.060 to my voice. What is truth, said Pilate. Let 00:01:56.060 --> 00:02:01.280 us pray. God, we come to you this morning and 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:05.480 I pray that in these few minutes that your Holy 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:08.900 Spirit would be in this place, God. There is 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:11.139 not a good word that can come from my mouth, 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:13.860 dear Lord, if it does not come from you. There 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:16.219 is not a word that we will hear today, dear Lord, 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:19.699 if we do not open our ears and open our hearts 00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:24.439 and allow your Holy Spirit to work in us. So 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:27.900 whatever sin or whatever worry or whatever stress 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:31.199 or whatever distractions that we have brought 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:35.180 into this place, I pray, God, that in this moment 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:39.000 that we would give those things to you. God, 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:42.120 I pray that you would keep us free from any attacks 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:46.159 of the enemy, dear Lord, that today your word 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:49.580 would speak to us, that today, dear Lord, Jesus 00:02:49.580 --> 00:02:52.080 would be glorified. I pray that you would... 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:54.580 Hide me behind the cross, dear Lord, that I would 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:56.659 preach and teach in a way that brings glory to 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:59.500 you, that you take away any pride or fear that 00:02:59.500 --> 00:03:02.020 I have, dear Lord, and that you just do a mighty 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:05.419 work in this place today. And so I pray that 00:03:05.419 --> 00:03:07.520 in these few minutes, God, you would bless us. 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:12.120 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:18.099 Before this event took place, Jesus had spent 00:03:18.099 --> 00:03:21.969 about three years of his life. ministering, going 00:03:21.969 --> 00:03:26.530 all over, covering miles and miles, and really, 00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:30.069 really pouring into his 12 apostles who were 00:03:30.069 --> 00:03:33.409 with him everywhere he went. And he was teaching 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:35.449 them, and he was preaching to them, and he was 00:03:35.449 --> 00:03:37.689 showing them, and he was helping them to understand 00:03:37.689 --> 00:03:41.370 things that weren't always easy to understand. 00:03:41.409 --> 00:03:44.949 And Jesus had done this because this was his 00:03:44.949 --> 00:03:48.599 mission. This is what he was sent for. This is 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:52.479 what he was called to do. But Jesus also knew 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:56.960 that his mission was soon drawing to a close. 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:01.439 It wasn't long before this that Jesus had had 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:05.620 the final supper with his apostles, that he had 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:08.300 prepared them for what was about to take place, 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:11.740 that Jesus had left them with the most beautiful 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:15.919 example. of humility and love that I think we 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:18.300 see in Scripture apart from His death and resurrection. 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:22.060 And that was when He washed His disciples' feet 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:25.420 and He humbled Himself and He said, this is the 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:28.399 way that you live, that you humble yourself, 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.769 that you become... a servant of all and he he 00:04:31.769 --> 00:04:34.910 left this last message with them and and soon 00:04:34.910 --> 00:04:37.629 jesus would go into the garden of gethsemane 00:04:37.629 --> 00:04:40.029 and he would begin to pray and he would begin 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:43.709 to seek god in the most difficult hour of his 00:04:43.709 --> 00:04:47.149 life which is something that you and i need to 00:04:47.149 --> 00:04:50.689 do Sometimes we fail to realize that. Sometimes 00:04:50.689 --> 00:04:54.589 in the midst of our darkest times, we get so 00:04:54.589 --> 00:04:56.670 caught up in the worries and the stresses of 00:04:56.670 --> 00:04:59.110 what we can do that we forget that we serve a 00:04:59.110 --> 00:05:02.449 God who is in control. And it's not our will, 00:05:02.629 --> 00:05:05.790 but it's God's will. And Jesus went and he poured 00:05:05.790 --> 00:05:08.189 his heart out to the Father. And he prayed that 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:10.730 if there was any way that God would deliver him, 00:05:10.910 --> 00:05:13.189 that he could deliver him, that it would happen. 00:05:13.870 --> 00:05:17.779 But it was not the will of God. And Jesus prayed 00:05:17.779 --> 00:05:20.600 such, God, not my will be done, but your will 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:25.740 be done. It wasn't long after Jesus prayed this 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:29.519 prayer that he was arrested. And soon those who 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:33.180 were closest to him were all gone. They all deserted 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:36.129 him. You would think that the apostles would 00:05:36.129 --> 00:05:39.290 be those who would be standing beside Jesus, 00:05:39.490 --> 00:05:42.629 who would not be afraid of a single thing. They 00:05:42.629 --> 00:05:45.449 had seen Jesus' miracles. They had heard his 00:05:45.449 --> 00:05:48.670 word. They knew who he was. They believed who 00:05:48.670 --> 00:05:51.490 he was. They trusted him and had faith in him 00:05:51.490 --> 00:05:54.129 apart from Judas. And you would think that this 00:05:54.129 --> 00:05:57.750 group of men, of all people, would have stood 00:05:57.750 --> 00:06:03.079 by Jesus. But they all fled. In Jesus' deepest, 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:08.839 darkest hour, they all fled. And Jesus was left 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:12.920 alone to face a mock trial. It was a mock trial. 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:15.759 There was no question as to what the verdict 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:19.759 would be. It had been decided years in advance. 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:22.980 It had been decided that Jesus was a problem 00:06:22.980 --> 00:06:26.509 for the religious people. He was a problem for 00:06:26.509 --> 00:06:29.149 the chief priest. He was a problem for the Sanhedrin 00:06:29.149 --> 00:06:32.389 and the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He was a 00:06:32.389 --> 00:06:36.149 problem because he came and began to preach a 00:06:36.149 --> 00:06:39.709 gospel and a message that differed from what 00:06:39.709 --> 00:06:41.649 they believed and what they wanted to believe. 00:06:42.949 --> 00:06:45.189 They had the word of God. They knew the word 00:06:45.189 --> 00:06:46.930 of God, but they really didn't know the word 00:06:46.930 --> 00:06:50.230 of God. And Jesus had come and he had begun to 00:06:50.230 --> 00:06:52.709 preach to them and to teach to them. to try to 00:06:52.709 --> 00:06:55.170 help them to understand what the word of God 00:06:55.170 --> 00:06:57.550 meant. And for three years, they had completely 00:06:57.550 --> 00:07:00.769 and totally missed it. After all the miracles 00:07:00.769 --> 00:07:05.029 and after all of the teachings, many of God's 00:07:05.029 --> 00:07:09.290 very own people were those who had chosen to 00:07:09.290 --> 00:07:13.709 put Jesus to death. After he stood his trial, 00:07:13.870 --> 00:07:17.389 he was mocked and beaten, and he was taken to 00:07:17.389 --> 00:07:20.939 Pilate. And we see that in our... story that 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:24.379 we have read today in these verses. Pilate was 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:28.920 a Roman governor at the time and the Romans didn't 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:31.439 care too much about the Jewish way of life. It 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.120 wasn't a real big issue. They knew that the Jewish 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:36.879 people had their ways but it wasn't a big issue. 00:07:37.019 --> 00:07:39.019 The Romans just kind of let the Jews do their 00:07:39.019 --> 00:07:42.379 thing and as long as they all kind of pledged 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:45.199 allegiance to Caesar there wasn't going to be 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:49.870 any problem. And the Jews didn't want to kill 00:07:49.870 --> 00:07:53.370 Jesus themselves, and so they took him to Pilate. 00:07:54.310 --> 00:07:57.370 And here we see in the Scriptures Jesus' interaction 00:07:57.370 --> 00:08:00.949 with Pilate. Pilate really doesn't care one way 00:08:00.949 --> 00:08:03.410 or the other about Jesus. It's of no concern 00:08:03.410 --> 00:08:07.389 to him. He tries on multiple occasions to get 00:08:07.389 --> 00:08:10.129 the Jewish people to drop the charges, so to 00:08:10.129 --> 00:08:12.449 speak. Let this man go. He's done nothing wrong. 00:08:12.589 --> 00:08:15.899 But the Jewish people are very persistent. that 00:08:15.899 --> 00:08:18.139 there is only one outcome that is suitable for 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:22.920 Jesus, and that is for Jesus to die. So here 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:26.420 we see Pilate and Jesus talking with one another. 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:31.579 And Pilate asked Jesus, Are you the king? Are 00:08:31.579 --> 00:08:37.539 you a king? Jesus says, You say that I am. And 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:40.080 as Jesus continues on, he says something that 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:45.100 I think is interesting. He says, I was... born 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:50.179 for this. I was born for this. Jesus knew exactly 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:53.379 what his mission was. This did not come as a 00:08:53.379 --> 00:08:57.740 surprise to Jesus. Jesus says, I am here before 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:01.860 you, Pilate, not because of your authority, not 00:09:01.860 --> 00:09:04.940 because of the Jewish people's authority, but 00:09:04.940 --> 00:09:09.750 I am here before you under God's authority. I 00:09:09.750 --> 00:09:13.009 am only here because this is the will of my Father. 00:09:13.129 --> 00:09:16.470 I was born for this. I am here because this is 00:09:16.470 --> 00:09:19.570 my mission. This is what I was called to. This 00:09:19.570 --> 00:09:22.850 is what my Father has prepared me for. And this 00:09:22.850 --> 00:09:26.289 is what I come for, is to do the will of the 00:09:26.289 --> 00:09:31.649 Father. This is what I was born for. I was born... 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:36.840 To tell the truth. I was born to speak the truth. 00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:41.519 I was born to teach the truth. And Pilate asked 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.500 him a really good question. Pilate says, what 00:09:44.500 --> 00:09:48.399 is truth? That's a good question for us to answer 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:51.179 today. We seem to have trouble in our society 00:09:51.179 --> 00:09:56.559 of figuring out what truth is. Our society doesn't 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:59.580 really understand what truth is. In our society, 00:09:59.740 --> 00:10:03.740 truth is whatever you want it to be. There's 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:05.379 this phrase, you've probably heard it before, 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:08.460 my truth. You ever heard that before? You ever 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:12.179 said that before? Well, that's your truth. Sometimes 00:10:12.179 --> 00:10:13.820 we'll say something to somebody and they'll say, 00:10:13.899 --> 00:10:15.940 well, that's your truth and this is my truth. 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:19.980 Well, that's not the way that truth works. Truth 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:23.700 is truth. Now, we don't always like it. We may 00:10:23.700 --> 00:10:29.559 not agree with it. But there is a truth. There 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:31.980 are things in this world that are true whether 00:10:31.980 --> 00:10:34.700 we choose to believe them or not, whether we 00:10:34.700 --> 00:10:39.620 agree with them or not. They are true. And Pilate 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:43.200 says, what is truth? And I'll tell you today 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:45.899 the answer to that question. And the answer to 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:51.190 that question is Jesus. Jesus says, I am the 00:10:51.190 --> 00:10:59.549 way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is truth 00:10:59.549 --> 00:11:04.070 today. It is God's word that is truth today. 00:11:04.889 --> 00:11:07.830 Don't get caught up in the lies of the world. 00:11:08.009 --> 00:11:10.809 Because the world will tell you a lot of lies. 00:11:10.950 --> 00:11:14.070 They will feed them to you as if they are truth, 00:11:14.289 --> 00:11:18.620 and they are not. Our world... has compromised 00:11:18.620 --> 00:11:21.899 things that God has said, these things are sinful, 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:25.139 these things are bad, and this is truth. But 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:27.460 our world says, we want to do these things. We 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:29.700 want to live in these sins. And so therefore, 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.740 we begin to get lax and we begin to give in a 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:35.440 little more and a little more and a little more 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:40.340 into sin as individuals and as a world. And look 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:43.980 at where this gets us. It always gets us into 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:48.230 the same predicament. Every time we cave and 00:11:48.230 --> 00:11:52.110 we begin to live and believe a lie and we sacrifice 00:11:52.110 --> 00:11:56.210 the truth, it affects us. It hurts us. It breaks 00:11:56.210 --> 00:12:03.250 us. And we fall into this trap. We fall into 00:12:03.250 --> 00:12:07.210 this trap of saying, man, it's 2025. Man, things 00:12:07.210 --> 00:12:11.669 have changed. Man, God's word says this, but... 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:14.019 Surely he didn't really mean this, or surely 00:12:14.019 --> 00:12:16.559 he didn't really mean that. And we begin to see 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:18.980 the way the world lives, and we begin to see 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:21.700 that the world lives in a lie, and we begin to 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:25.000 accept that lie as truth, and we begin to live 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.740 a lie. And we begin to replace the truth with 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:30.120 a lie, and it leaves us broken, and it leaves 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:33.100 us empty, and it leaves us just completely drained. 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:37.399 And we don't know why that is. It's because we've 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:42.379 traded in the truth for a lie. God does not change. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:47.120 We've changed a lot as a people. We've changed 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:50.259 a lot as a world, but I can guarantee you this, 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:55.200 God has not changed. And what God says is good 00:12:55.200 --> 00:13:02.460 is good, and what God says is sin is sin. But 00:13:02.460 --> 00:13:08.539 it's 2025, man. I don't care what year it is. 00:13:09.769 --> 00:13:14.370 God's word hadn't changed. Divorce is still wrong. 00:13:16.330 --> 00:13:18.850 God still expects a man to stay married to his 00:13:18.850 --> 00:13:20.789 wife and a wife to stay married to her husband. 00:13:22.049 --> 00:13:25.330 God still expects children to honor their parents. 00:13:25.789 --> 00:13:29.309 God still expects parents to love their children. 00:13:29.820 --> 00:13:33.440 God still expects us not to lie, cheat, and steal. 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:37.360 God still expects us not to gossip. God still 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:40.840 expects us not to do a whole host of things that 00:13:40.840 --> 00:13:44.779 we have considered and thought to ourselves that 00:13:44.779 --> 00:13:47.799 they are acceptable because everybody else is 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:50.279 doing it. And some of you grew up in the church, 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:53.279 and we find ourselves living in sin, and we try 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:56.159 to justify it, and all the while we know we are 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:00.129 living in sin. And it's time for us to wake up 00:14:00.129 --> 00:14:03.789 in our life possibly and stop living a lie and 00:14:03.789 --> 00:14:06.950 stop believing a lie and say, God, I hadn't been 00:14:06.950 --> 00:14:09.730 listening to your word. I know it and I need 00:14:09.730 --> 00:14:12.090 to accept that it's truth and I need to live 00:14:12.090 --> 00:14:17.809 on that truth. Truth is Jesus Christ. There's 00:14:17.809 --> 00:14:19.529 a lot of things that people will tell you in 00:14:19.529 --> 00:14:23.360 this world that are lies that are not true. But 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:25.100 I can tell you one thing today that is true, 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:28.139 has been true, and will always be true, and that 00:14:28.139 --> 00:14:33.940 is Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And He came 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:36.259 into this world to die on a cross so that your 00:14:36.259 --> 00:14:39.000 sins could be forgiven, not so that we could 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:43.980 continue to live in them. And Jesus says, I'm 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:46.899 ready for my mission. He says, I was born for 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:50.490 this. I was born for this, Pilate. I was born 00:14:50.490 --> 00:14:53.889 to bring truth into the world. I was born to 00:14:53.889 --> 00:14:57.529 bring a light into the darkness. I am ready to 00:14:57.529 --> 00:15:02.149 do what my Father has called me to do. And praise 00:15:02.149 --> 00:15:06.009 God for us that He was. Because we have a big 00:15:06.009 --> 00:15:10.649 problem. And we are big sinners. Every one of 00:15:10.649 --> 00:15:16.710 us in this room, we sin and we sin greatly. Often, 00:15:16.730 --> 00:15:19.649 maybe every day, maybe multiple times a day. 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:25.649 And Jesus said, even though you're a sinner, 00:15:26.350 --> 00:15:29.330 he said, I will pay the price for your sin. You 00:15:29.330 --> 00:15:31.090 may say, well, why did Jesus even have to do 00:15:31.090 --> 00:15:36.269 that? Because the wages of sin is death. That's 00:15:36.269 --> 00:15:38.669 the punishment for our sin. You read through 00:15:38.669 --> 00:15:40.490 the scripture, you read through the Old Testament, 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:45.279 the punishment for sin is death. The only way 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:47.360 death can be covered is with life. That's why 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.000 in the Old Testament the sacrifices had to take 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:53.940 place. That's why the animals were killed. The 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:56.659 scripture says the life of the creature is in 00:15:56.659 --> 00:16:00.519 its blood. And therefore, when we sin, our sins 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:03.019 are deserving of death, and therefore they need 00:16:03.019 --> 00:16:05.700 to be covered in life. And so in the Old Testament, 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:08.539 God said you can sacrifice animals and sprinkle 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:11.580 that blood, and that blood can bring life to 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:14.740 you and atone for your sins, but only momentarily. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:18.700 Because the people would continually sin again. 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:22.960 And so it's already written, it's already established 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:29.840 that God is a just God, deal with sin. It must 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:32.840 be dealt with. He cannot sweep it under the rug. 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:36.679 That's not the way justice works. Justice works 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:41.539 by a crime being dealt with, by the proper punishment 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:45.039 being given for the crime that was committed. 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:48.980 God cannot just pretend like sin does not exist. 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:52.899 It does exist. He cannot sweep it under a rug. 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:56.769 He has to deal with it. Death has to occur. There 00:16:56.769 --> 00:17:02.950 has to be punishment for our sinfulness. Now 00:17:02.950 --> 00:17:07.930 God had two options. Option one, he could just 00:17:07.930 --> 00:17:12.910 let us all die. He could kill us. He could say, 00:17:13.049 --> 00:17:16.769 done. You're on trial. Did you sin? Yes. You're 00:17:16.769 --> 00:17:21.329 guilty. What's the punishment? Death. Next. Adam 00:17:21.329 --> 00:17:24.430 and Eve came into the world. God took them to 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:26.490 the Garden of Eden, told them what not to do. 00:17:26.529 --> 00:17:28.910 They didn't listen to him. Sin entered the world. 00:17:29.049 --> 00:17:32.109 The effects of sin began to reign. Death began 00:17:32.109 --> 00:17:36.930 to reign. Here is the problem. That was option 00:17:36.930 --> 00:17:39.970 number one. God could have just let death reign. 00:17:40.369 --> 00:17:42.650 God could have just let us live in our sin and 00:17:42.650 --> 00:17:48.670 die in our sin. Or option number two. God could 00:17:48.670 --> 00:17:51.849 atone for our sin. Because there's no way that 00:17:51.849 --> 00:17:54.619 you can atone for it. Now you may be trying to, 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:58.000 but you can't. You may have come to church today 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:00.140 thinking you're going to atone for your sin. 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:03.799 You're not. God sees through that. God sees through 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:06.259 all of them. They didn't go to church every Easter, 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:07.940 so therefore that's good enough. That's not the 00:18:07.940 --> 00:18:10.839 way God works. He's not going to look at your 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:14.460 life history when you get to heaven and say, 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:16.240 well, they went every Christmas and every Easter, 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:18.940 so at least they made an effort. That's not the 00:18:18.940 --> 00:18:24.220 way God works. We cannot atone for our own sins. 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.200 You cannot do enough good works. You cannot go 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:30.319 to church enough. You cannot put enough money 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:34.119 in the offering plates. You cannot do that. You 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:40.460 cannot buy God's forgiveness. So God had to come 00:18:40.460 --> 00:18:43.329 up with a solution. If we're going to have our 00:18:43.329 --> 00:18:45.769 sins atoned for, if he's not just going to let 00:18:45.769 --> 00:18:48.630 us die and rot in hell, then God had to come 00:18:48.630 --> 00:18:52.049 up with a solution, and the solution was Jesus 00:18:52.049 --> 00:18:56.410 Christ. The solution was that he would send his 00:18:56.410 --> 00:19:01.630 only son. He would send his only son to live 00:19:01.630 --> 00:19:05.329 a perfect and sinless life. You know why Pilate 00:19:05.329 --> 00:19:07.410 couldn't find anything that Jesus was guilty 00:19:07.410 --> 00:19:10.009 of? Because Jesus wasn't guilty of anything. 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:13.970 And when he asked the Jews why they brought Jesus, 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:16.930 what did he do? They said, well, he must have 00:19:16.930 --> 00:19:18.410 done something or we wouldn't have brought him 00:19:18.410 --> 00:19:21.809 to you. Now, what kind of response is that? They 00:19:21.809 --> 00:19:24.410 didn't even have a reason why. Just take our 00:19:24.410 --> 00:19:26.549 word for it. We brought him to you. He must be 00:19:26.549 --> 00:19:29.150 guilty. We wouldn't bring an innocent man. And 00:19:29.150 --> 00:19:31.049 Pilate questions him and he says, look, this 00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:34.930 is an innocent man. Praise God for us, he was. 00:19:36.349 --> 00:19:40.279 He was perfect and sinless in every way. Because 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:46.000 you and I were not. So he had to be. And when 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:50.779 Jesus was taken from Pilate, he was beaten, he 00:19:50.779 --> 00:19:56.579 was mocked, and he was nailed to a cross. And 00:19:56.579 --> 00:19:58.539 you need to think about that sometime if you 00:19:58.539 --> 00:20:01.039 hadn't thought about it. And you need to really 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.619 think about that. We may hear it so much it just 00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:06.920 goes in one ear and out the other. Oh, Jesus 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:10.700 was nailed to a cross. You think for just a moment 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:17.359 how excruciating that whole process was. That 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:21.079 he was ridiculed. That a crown of thorn was shoved 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:25.500 onto his head. That he was beaten mercifully. 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:32.980 Mercifully. He was forced to carry his own cross 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:37.019 as far as he could. And then he was nailed to 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:42.519 it. And why in the world would somebody do such 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:46.420 a thing? Why in the world would somebody suffer 00:20:46.420 --> 00:20:50.500 in such a way? He did it because he loves you. 00:20:51.900 --> 00:20:56.599 He did it. He knows your sin. He knows what you 00:20:56.599 --> 00:20:58.559 were guilty of. He knew what you were going to 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:02.299 do. And Jesus took all of that because he loves 00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:06.400 you. And that day, Jesus became the sacrifice. 00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:09.660 Far greater than the sacrifices of the past. 00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:12.440 Yeah, they sacrificed those animals in the past, 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:15.059 but God's Word says that the blood of goats and 00:21:15.059 --> 00:21:17.759 bulls would never be sufficient to cover the 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:23.640 sins of humanity. Only the precious blood of 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:28.339 Jesus Christ. A sacrifice had to be given. Death 00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:32.200 had to occur. The punishment for sin had to be 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:37.430 carried out. And God could either allow us to 00:21:37.430 --> 00:21:41.470 carry the burden of that consequence or he could 00:21:41.470 --> 00:21:47.490 carry it for us. And he did just that. Jesus 00:21:47.490 --> 00:21:51.549 died on a cross because he loves you. Jesus died 00:21:51.549 --> 00:21:53.869 on a cross because there is no way that your 00:21:53.869 --> 00:22:00.849 sins can be forgiven today apart from him. There 00:22:00.849 --> 00:22:03.700 is no more important truth. than you will ever 00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:06.980 hear in your life, than that of Jesus Christ. 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:12.519 That He is the Son of God, crucified, and most 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:19.220 importantly, resurrected. That through Jesus 00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:22.180 Christ, we can gain victory over our sin, and 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:26.779 victory over death today, because Jesus was victorious 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:31.059 over sin. And Jesus was victorious over death. 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:34.799 And that is the truth. And you might not believe 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:38.920 it. I can't make you believe it. Maybe you've 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:41.019 heard it a million times before you came in here 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:43.619 today. It's the truth. It's still the truth. 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:47.619 And the question is, are you going to believe 00:22:47.619 --> 00:22:52.680 that truth today? Are you going to really give 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:55.470 your... to Jesus Christ? Are you going to live 00:22:55.470 --> 00:22:56.890 for him? Are you going to put your faith and 00:22:56.890 --> 00:22:59.029 trust in him? I'm not talking about just coming 00:22:59.029 --> 00:23:01.609 to church. It's easy just to come to church. 00:23:01.670 --> 00:23:05.109 It's a lot harder to live for Jesus. It's hard 00:23:05.109 --> 00:23:07.509 to live by the word of God. It calls us to things 00:23:07.509 --> 00:23:10.609 that we don't want to do. It calls us to things 00:23:10.609 --> 00:23:14.069 that wage war against our flesh and our desires 00:23:14.069 --> 00:23:17.990 in this world. It is hard to follow Jesus. It 00:23:17.990 --> 00:23:20.150 is hard to love our enemies and pray for those 00:23:20.150 --> 00:23:23.220 who persecute us. It is hard to do the right 00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:26.220 thing sometimes. It's hard to love our neighbor 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:32.140 as ourselves sometimes. It's hard. Going to church 00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:36.160 is easy. But living for Jesus is not, and that's 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.420 what he calls us to. He calls us to live for 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:42.579 him. He calls us to put our faith and trust in 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:48.440 him. The question is, will you follow Jesus today? 00:23:50.250 --> 00:23:52.509 When Jesus was nailed on the cross, there were 00:23:52.509 --> 00:23:55.410 two criminals beside him. One on either side. 00:23:56.269 --> 00:23:59.329 In the gospel accounts, we see that both of those 00:23:59.329 --> 00:24:01.970 men who were crucified beside him were mocking 00:24:01.970 --> 00:24:05.529 him. Somewhere along the way, something changed 00:24:05.529 --> 00:24:11.549 though. One of the men changed their heart. In 00:24:11.549 --> 00:24:14.789 Luke chapter 23, you can go and read that story. 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.400 I'll read you a portion of it this morning. If 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:21.740 you want to turn there, you can. Luke chapter 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:32.640 23, verse 39. Luke chapter 23, verse 39. It says, 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:35.359 Then one of the criminals hanging there began 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:39.079 to yell insults at him. Aren't you the Messiah? 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:44.579 Save yourself and us. Now, let's pay attention 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:46.619 to these two criminals here and their response. 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:49.240 In the other accounts, we see that they mock 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:51.720 Jesus, and we don't really have any detail. But 00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:55.440 here, as the hours are winding down on their 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:59.339 lives, we see some information about these two. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:03.259 Now, while Jesus is hanging on the cross, he's 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:06.500 been mocked this whole time. He has been mocked 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:08.920 by those who are there with him, in front of 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:11.640 him, and they are saying things like, if you 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:15.200 really are the Son of God, come down from that 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:19.579 cross. If you are so good, if you're the Messiah, 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:25.759 then show us your power. And listen to what this 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:30.740 criminal hanging beside him says. He says, aren't 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:33.099 you the Messiah? Well, that's a pretty good response. 00:25:34.289 --> 00:25:36.710 Maybe he does believe that Jesus is Messiah. 00:25:38.150 --> 00:25:42.190 But I think not. Aren't you the Messiah? Save 00:25:42.190 --> 00:25:48.029 yourself and us. Now this criminal doesn't seem 00:25:48.029 --> 00:25:51.150 to care about Jesus really at all. Other than 00:25:51.150 --> 00:25:54.269 the fact that if you have the power, could you 00:25:54.269 --> 00:25:58.289 just save me? Hey, why don't you just get me 00:25:58.289 --> 00:26:01.400 off of this cross? Whoever you are, if you are 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:03.819 the Messiah, why don't you just do this thing 00:26:03.819 --> 00:26:05.980 that they're mocking you about? Why don't you 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:08.119 come down from this cross and why don't you just 00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:12.900 get me off the cross too? Now as we continue 00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:16.279 to read this text, it seems pretty clear that 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.539 this criminal's heart was not in the right place. 00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:23.680 What this criminal wanted was not a Messiah that 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:26.720 he could serve, but a Messiah who would serve 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:29.630 him. He didn't care about Jesus being the Messiah. 00:26:29.730 --> 00:26:32.309 He cared about getting off the cross. And if 00:26:32.309 --> 00:26:35.230 Jesus could get him off the cross, then so be 00:26:35.230 --> 00:26:39.009 it. Listen to what happens as the scripture continues 00:26:39.009 --> 00:26:44.509 in verse 40. But the other criminal answered, 00:26:44.750 --> 00:26:49.589 rebuking him. Don't you even fear God since you 00:26:49.589 --> 00:26:53.190 are undergoing the same punishment? Now the other 00:26:53.190 --> 00:26:56.420 criminal knew what was going on here. He rebuked 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:58.920 this first criminal. He said, hey, why are you 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:02.319 saying these things? Why do you have this heart? 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:05.799 You need to recognize what has taken place. Don't 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:09.059 you fear God? If this man really is the Messiah, 00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:11.259 shouldn't you be acting a little differently 00:27:11.259 --> 00:27:13.539 toward him? Shouldn't you be treating him with 00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:17.039 some reverence here? And the other criminal rebuked 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:20.519 him. And listen to what he says in verse 41. 00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:25.240 We are punished justly because we are getting 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:30.799 back what we deserve for the things we did. You 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:34.259 know what that criminal did right there? He just 00:27:34.259 --> 00:27:37.599 confessed his sins. Right there on the cross, 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:41.859 he just confessed his sins. He knew two things. 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:46.259 That Jesus was the Messiah, and he knew that 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:48.640 he was a sinner. And he said, look, to the other 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:51.619 criminal. He said, you are mocking Jesus just 00:27:51.619 --> 00:27:54.799 like these other folks. He says, you need to 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:58.779 fear God because, look, we should be here. We 00:27:58.779 --> 00:28:01.140 don't have anything to complain about. We deserve 00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:04.420 to die. We have committed horrible crimes. We 00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:07.059 have sinned in horrible ways and done horrible 00:28:07.059 --> 00:28:11.259 things. We deserve to be here. And there in that 00:28:11.259 --> 00:28:14.099 moment, in the last moments of this criminal's 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:18.369 life, he confessed his sins. He knew that he 00:28:18.369 --> 00:28:21.309 was a sinner. And listen to what he says going 00:28:21.309 --> 00:28:26.970 forward. But this man has done nothing wrong. 00:28:27.869 --> 00:28:32.910 Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come 00:28:32.910 --> 00:28:37.109 into your kingdom. Isn't that a beautiful story? 00:28:38.049 --> 00:28:40.930 Two criminals both mocking Jesus at some point 00:28:40.930 --> 00:28:44.640 in time. One of them has a change of heart. One 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.359 of them just wants a Jesus who will do what he 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:48.980 says. I don't really want to follow you, Jesus. 00:28:49.079 --> 00:28:50.859 I don't really care about you, Jesus. I don't 00:28:50.859 --> 00:28:53.039 know if you're the Messiah. I don't care if you're 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:54.920 the Messiah. But would you just do something 00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:59.099 for me? And isn't that the kind of Jesus that 00:28:59.099 --> 00:29:02.599 some people want today? I don't really care that 00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:04.859 much about Jesus. Yeah, maybe he's the Messiah. 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:08.660 Maybe not. I don't know. But would you bless 00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:12.970 me anyway? Would you just do good to me? I don't 00:29:12.970 --> 00:29:15.690 want to do anything for you, Jesus. I don't want 00:29:15.690 --> 00:29:18.490 to sacrifice any of my time to serve you. I don't 00:29:18.490 --> 00:29:20.549 want to sacrifice any of my money to serve you. 00:29:20.589 --> 00:29:22.970 I don't want to go to church to praise you. I 00:29:22.970 --> 00:29:24.630 don't want to help other people. I don't want 00:29:24.630 --> 00:29:26.690 to pray for my enemies. I don't want to do any 00:29:26.690 --> 00:29:29.230 of that. But Jesus, could you just do stuff for 00:29:29.230 --> 00:29:33.009 me? And that's the heart of many people in our 00:29:33.009 --> 00:29:37.509 world today, and maybe some in this room. We 00:29:37.509 --> 00:29:39.609 want to serve a Jesus that just serves us and 00:29:39.609 --> 00:29:43.269 does for us. But that's not what Scripture calls 00:29:43.269 --> 00:29:47.349 us to. And if that's what our heart is, then 00:29:47.349 --> 00:29:51.089 we don't know Jesus. Because when you know Jesus, 00:29:51.210 --> 00:29:54.650 you want to serve Jesus. When you know Jesus, 00:29:54.890 --> 00:29:58.049 you're like the other criminal. When you know 00:29:58.049 --> 00:30:01.509 Jesus, you fear God. When you know Jesus, you 00:30:01.509 --> 00:30:06.390 say, look, Jesus, I have sinned greatly. You 00:30:06.390 --> 00:30:09.289 have done nothing wrong. You are the Son of God. 00:30:09.450 --> 00:30:12.670 You are the Messiah. Would you remember me? Would 00:30:12.670 --> 00:30:17.589 you allow me into your kingdom, Jesus? That's 00:30:17.589 --> 00:30:21.630 the heart that God wants us to have. It's a heart 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:24.670 that seeks the man who has died on a cross for 00:30:24.670 --> 00:30:29.769 us. And there is hope for us today. Not if we're 00:30:29.769 --> 00:30:32.730 like the first criminal. Not if we're simply 00:30:32.730 --> 00:30:34.970 seeking a Jesus who will do what we want. Jesus 00:30:34.970 --> 00:30:39.759 is not a genie in a lamp. Jesus is the Son of 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:42.880 God. He did not exist to grant our every wish. 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:49.740 He came for one purpose. He knew what that purpose 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:53.779 was, and he told Pilate, I was born for this. 00:30:55.240 --> 00:30:58.779 He was born to die, and he did so willingly so 00:30:58.779 --> 00:31:01.579 that you and I could be like that second criminal 00:31:01.579 --> 00:31:06.960 and say, Jesus, I've sinned, but can I be in 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:09.420 your kingdom? And listen to what Jesus says to 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:16.819 him in verse 43. And he said to him, I assure 00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:22.420 you today you will be with me in paradise. It's 00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:26.539 never too late. It's never too late. That criminal 00:31:26.539 --> 00:31:30.680 didn't have many breaths left in his lungs, but 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:34.059 he had enough breaths to call out to Jesus, what 00:31:34.059 --> 00:31:39.960 about you today? What about you today? Maybe 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:41.920 the Holy Spirit's been convicting you today. 00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:44.920 Maybe He's been convicting you for a few weeks 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:48.819 or a few months or a couple of years. Maybe today 00:31:48.819 --> 00:31:50.920 you realize there's some sin in your life and 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:52.460 you've been okay with it. You've been living 00:31:52.460 --> 00:31:54.400 the lie and you've been believing it and you've 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:56.960 been sacrificing the truth for a lie. But I want 00:31:56.960 --> 00:31:59.259 to tell you today that Jesus Christ is the truth 00:31:59.259 --> 00:32:03.440 and in Him there is forgiveness of sins. If we 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:07.160 would just call out to Him today. If we would 00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:09.559 just confess our sins and ask Jesus to forgive 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:14.920 our sins, he'll do so. And he can do so. And 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:18.339 he alone can do so. Because he died on a cross. 00:32:19.700 --> 00:32:23.299 And Jesus says to that criminal, you'll be with 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:27.000 me in paradise. You'll be in my kingdom. And 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:30.220 so it is for us today. That if we would trust 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:33.519 in Jesus Christ today, that we would enter the 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:38.299 kingdom of God. It was a dark day that day that 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:41.960 Jesus was nailed to a cross. But it was a beautiful 00:32:41.960 --> 00:32:44.099 day three days later when Jesus rose from the 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:48.960 grave. And that's why we're here today. That's 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:52.740 why every year at this time we come and we remember 00:32:52.740 --> 00:32:56.259 this event. That's why every Sunday we come. 00:32:57.039 --> 00:33:01.109 Year after year of our life we come. And we sit 00:33:01.109 --> 00:33:03.710 on these pews day after day. We read the same 00:33:03.710 --> 00:33:06.490 words that we have read time and again in God's 00:33:06.490 --> 00:33:09.150 Word because there is no strength, there is no 00:33:09.150 --> 00:33:12.549 guidance, there is no help in anything else other 00:33:12.549 --> 00:33:16.910 than Jesus Christ. And so we come today and we 00:33:16.910 --> 00:33:20.490 rejoice in who Jesus is and in what He's done. 00:33:22.849 --> 00:33:24.950 If you don't know Him today, I pray that you 00:33:24.950 --> 00:33:28.829 would. If there's sin in your life today, I pray 00:33:28.829 --> 00:33:33.680 that you would confess it. I pray that you'd 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:36.140 trust in Jesus Christ before you leave. Let's 00:33:36.140 --> 00:33:40.900 pray. God, we come to you. We thank you for your 00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:46.000 word. We thank you for who Jesus is. We thank 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:48.700 you that, God, he was so willing to be faithful 00:33:48.700 --> 00:33:53.339 to you, that he was willing to serve you and 00:33:53.339 --> 00:33:55.700 to humble himself all the way to death, death 00:33:55.700 --> 00:33:59.740 on a cross, dear Lord. And I pray today that 00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:02.759 we recognize the significance and the power and 00:34:02.759 --> 00:34:06.980 the importance of that. God, maybe there are 00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:09.579 some in here today and they do not know who Jesus 00:34:09.579 --> 00:34:12.739 is. They know about him, but maybe they've never 00:34:12.739 --> 00:34:15.280 confessed their sins. Maybe they've never repented. 00:34:15.340 --> 00:34:17.360 Maybe they've never trusted him and put their 00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:21.019 faith in him. God, that's what you call us to. 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:24.420 We are saved by faith, dear Lord. We're not saved 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:27.199 by coming to church on Easter or any other day. 00:34:28.309 --> 00:34:32.269 But we are saved by faith. If we would just confess 00:34:32.269 --> 00:34:36.190 our sins, dear Lord, it's not too late. God, 00:34:36.230 --> 00:34:37.809 maybe there are some in here today and they wonder 00:34:37.809 --> 00:34:39.550 if you love them. I pray today that they would 00:34:39.550 --> 00:34:42.869 know that you do. If they question it, let them 00:34:42.869 --> 00:34:44.989 just look to the cross and what Jesus has done 00:34:44.989 --> 00:34:48.349 for them. God, maybe there are some that come 00:34:48.349 --> 00:34:51.469 here today and they are seeking truth. I pray 00:34:51.469 --> 00:34:54.750 today that they know that there is no truth except 00:34:54.750 --> 00:34:58.599 for your word, dear Lord. There's no truth greater 00:34:58.599 --> 00:35:02.219 than Jesus Christ. If we need to find truth, 00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:04.559 dear Lord, let us look no further than the cross 00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:09.059 and the pages of Scripture. God, maybe there 00:35:09.059 --> 00:35:13.320 are some here today and they're yours, but dear 00:35:13.320 --> 00:35:17.480 Lord, we get off track sometimes and we begin 00:35:17.480 --> 00:35:20.260 to believe the things that the world says are 00:35:20.260 --> 00:35:23.019 okay. We begin to justify them and we begin to 00:35:23.019 --> 00:35:27.659 accept a lot of lies. Dear Lord, I pray today 00:35:27.659 --> 00:35:29.460 that we would stop that. If there's some of these 00:35:29.460 --> 00:35:32.420 things going on, that we just would give those 00:35:32.420 --> 00:35:34.300 things to you, that we would repent of those 00:35:34.300 --> 00:35:37.719 things, God, and that we would just seek your 00:35:37.719 --> 00:35:39.980 word and seek to live by your word and seek to 00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:43.400 live by your will and seek to live by your truth. 00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:47.800 So God, I pray that as we have this song of invitation, 00:35:48.119 --> 00:35:50.119 if there is one here today that does not know 00:35:50.119 --> 00:35:52.760 Jesus Christ, that maybe even in this moment, 00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:55.119 God, they have confessed their sins and they 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:58.739 know their need for a Savior. I pray, God, that 00:35:58.739 --> 00:36:00.880 if any has made that decision today, that as 00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:03.760 we sing, they would come forward. And let us 00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:05.920 know that, that we can rejoice with them. God, 00:36:06.019 --> 00:36:08.440 maybe there are some that just need to go before 00:36:08.440 --> 00:36:10.440 you now and pour their heart out. Maybe they 00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:12.480 need help. Maybe they need to repent. Whatever 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:15.019 it is, God, I pray that they would take this 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:18.420 time to respond to you. God, if anybody needs 00:36:18.420 --> 00:36:21.079 prayer, I pray that they'd come forward, dear 00:36:21.079 --> 00:36:22.940 Lord. I'll be glad to pray for them. But I pray 00:36:22.940 --> 00:36:26.780 right now that everybody that's here will know 00:36:26.780 --> 00:36:30.809 the truth of the love of Jesus Christ. And I 00:36:30.809 --> 00:36:33.889 ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.