WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 Faith is more than a feeling or a theory. It's 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:06.059 a decision that moves your feet, opens your hands, 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:09.019 and activates God's promises. In our brand new 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.820 book, Faith Act, Jeffrey and I take you on a 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:13.839 powerful journey through some of Scripture's 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:16.800 most transforming moments, where ordinary people 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.699 dared to obey and saw heaven move on their behalf. 00:00:21.059 --> 00:00:24.160 Order your copy of Faith Act today on Amazon. 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:29.160 Week number eight in our series. that we entitled 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:33.539 not mine, but God's. Everybody say that with 00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:38.759 me. Not mine, not mine, but God's, but God's. 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:44.380 And because mine looks like this, right? Natural, 00:00:44.539 --> 00:00:47.719 in the natural, mine looks like this. But God 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:51.859 wants us to exchange our natural for his supernatural. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:59.490 So it looks like that. Not mine. but God's. Now, 00:00:59.509 --> 00:01:03.130 over the last three weeks, we have focused on 00:01:03.130 --> 00:01:06.969 the advent, on the coming. Everybody say the 00:01:06.969 --> 00:01:11.269 coming. See, long before Gabriel spoke to Mary, 00:01:11.409 --> 00:01:15.390 long before angels visited the shepherds, long 00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:18.109 before the wise men saw a newly formed star, 00:01:18.310 --> 00:01:23.090 God planted a promise in the hearts of his people. 00:01:23.849 --> 00:01:27.209 And here's the promise. The Messiah is coming. 00:01:27.909 --> 00:01:33.250 The Savior is coming. The Rescuer is coming. 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:38.469 He planted that promise in His people. He actually, 00:01:38.590 --> 00:01:43.090 you can find it even in Genesis. Immediately 00:01:43.090 --> 00:01:47.590 after the fall of man, after the sin of Adam 00:01:47.590 --> 00:01:52.750 and Eve, God already started talking about a 00:01:52.750 --> 00:01:56.640 Savior who was going to come. Thousands of years 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:02.239 before he actually came. I believe the two most 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:06.840 important events in all of human history, all 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:09.479 of the history of the world, two most important 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:14.460 events are the incarnation, everybody say incarnation, 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:21.500 and the resurrection. Now, I'll remind you again, 00:02:21.539 --> 00:02:23.639 the Bible, because some of you haven't been here 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:27.569 during this series, but... The Bible never specifically 00:02:27.569 --> 00:02:33.610 tells us to remember and talk about the birth 00:02:33.610 --> 00:02:37.490 of Christ. It doesn't give a specific command 00:02:37.490 --> 00:02:40.250 to do that, but it does record it. So anything 00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:45.930 the Bible records is worth our attention. Amen? 00:02:47.150 --> 00:02:50.210 But I believe the incarnation is vitally important 00:02:50.210 --> 00:02:56.180 because without it, You would be hopelessly lost. 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:00.719 I would be hopelessly lost. There would be no 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:05.060 redemption. There would be no salvation. And 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:08.979 a lot of people have trouble understanding and 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:13.939 believing that a virgin could give birth to a 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:19.180 child. But it had to be that way. Had to be that 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:23.500 way. You see, if Jesus would have had a natural 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:27.840 father, he would have been born in sin, just 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:33.699 like us, born in sin. And if he would have been 00:03:33.699 --> 00:03:39.180 born in sin, he couldn't offer his life as a 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:42.819 substitutionary sacrifice. He could not lay down 00:03:42.819 --> 00:03:46.840 his life for you and for me, because if he's 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:49.659 born in sin, then he's guilty and he has to die 00:03:49.659 --> 00:03:53.379 for his own sin. Because the wages of sin is 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:58.620 death. The Bible says at just the right time. 00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:01.259 Everybody say, just the right time. At just the 00:04:01.259 --> 00:04:08.719 right time. Jesus, who is known as the Word in 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:15.919 the Old Testament, He's eternal. He existed before 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:20.370 time as we know it came into existence. And at 00:04:20.370 --> 00:04:23.790 just the right time in the timeline of human 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:28.370 history, he stepped down out of heaven and he 00:04:28.370 --> 00:04:36.050 added humanity to his deity. He's all God, everybody 00:04:36.050 --> 00:04:41.410 say all God, and all man. Now the math doesn't 00:04:41.410 --> 00:04:46.800 work, right? Because we think... It's only 100%, 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:51.379 right? So it's got to be 50 -50, but no. He's 00:04:51.379 --> 00:04:56.439 all God and He's all man. He added humanity to 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:59.220 His deity. That's what the incarnation is all 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:07.420 about. God, in His great love, stepped down because 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:12.220 we were helpless and hopeless without Him. And 00:05:12.220 --> 00:05:15.870 then the resurrection. I mean, you know how important 00:05:15.870 --> 00:05:19.430 the resurrection is, right? Because the resurrection 00:05:19.430 --> 00:05:22.709 is what, like, stamped everything that Jesus 00:05:22.709 --> 00:05:26.970 said, everything that Jesus did. The resurrection 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:29.889 was like a big exclamation point and a stamp 00:05:29.889 --> 00:05:34.209 of validity to everything he said and everything 00:05:34.209 --> 00:05:39.069 he did. So I believe those are the two most important 00:05:39.069 --> 00:05:44.029 events. I've never... really knew what Advent 00:05:44.029 --> 00:05:49.670 was until, I don't know, 14 years ago. Some of 00:05:49.670 --> 00:05:51.910 you grew up in churches where they had a wreath 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:54.329 and candles and would light different colored 00:05:54.329 --> 00:05:57.470 candles the different weeks of Advent. I didn't 00:05:57.470 --> 00:06:00.689 grow up that way. Even though my dad was a pastor, 00:06:00.889 --> 00:06:04.670 it just wasn't something that we grew up doing 00:06:04.670 --> 00:06:08.269 in the churches that I was a part of. But when 00:06:08.269 --> 00:06:11.069 I went to Myrtle Beach and had a lot of people 00:06:11.069 --> 00:06:14.670 from a lot of different religious backgrounds 00:06:14.670 --> 00:06:17.970 and church backgrounds, when I went there, I 00:06:17.970 --> 00:06:21.009 found out about Advent. And that word Advent 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:24.550 just means the arrival. Everybody say the arrival. 00:06:25.389 --> 00:06:31.370 It's the arrival of someone or something that's 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:36.230 going to make a big difference. Right? A big 00:06:36.230 --> 00:06:40.029 difference. How many of you can look and see 00:06:40.029 --> 00:06:42.209 that Jesus made a big difference in the world? 00:06:42.870 --> 00:06:47.709 His advent, His coming, His arrival. And with 00:06:47.709 --> 00:06:50.970 His coming, He brought some things. He ushered 00:06:50.970 --> 00:06:55.009 in the kingdom of God. I was looking for at least 00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:58.569 an amen or a nod or something. He ushered in 00:06:58.569 --> 00:07:03.509 the kingdom of God. And with the kingdom of God, 00:07:03.569 --> 00:07:07.639 ultimately came everything. that is available 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:16.600 to us in Christ. Advent, the arrival of a notable 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:21.399 person or thing. See, over the last three weeks 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:24.980 and to day four, we're preparing our hearts to 00:07:24.980 --> 00:07:29.060 celebrate the birth of Jesus. Because you can 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:31.660 live in our world today and go through the holidays 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:37.170 without even thinking about Jesus. So we're preparing 00:07:37.170 --> 00:07:42.470 our hearts to celebrate his birth and also to 00:07:42.470 --> 00:07:45.529 receive some things that he's made available 00:07:45.529 --> 00:07:49.709 to us. His advent made available to us. Week 00:07:49.709 --> 00:07:51.470 number one, we talked about hope. Everybody say 00:07:51.470 --> 00:07:57.170 hope. See, he brought hope with him. Hope for 00:07:57.170 --> 00:08:01.490 mankind. Hope for you. Hope for me. He brought 00:08:01.490 --> 00:08:05.589 peace. Just a different level. I'm not saying 00:08:05.589 --> 00:08:08.209 that hope didn't exist before Jesus, but all 00:08:08.209 --> 00:08:10.509 of a sudden it bumped up a big notch. I mean, 00:08:10.529 --> 00:08:14.389 it moved from natural hope to supernatural hope, 00:08:14.470 --> 00:08:17.870 from natural peace to supernatural peace, from 00:08:17.870 --> 00:08:21.730 natural joy to supernatural joy. All those things 00:08:21.730 --> 00:08:28.610 came with Christ. And they're available. It's 00:08:28.610 --> 00:08:34.559 available for us to exchange natural. For supernatural. 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:39.799 But we have to receive it by faith. It doesn't 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:42.980 just automatically plop on us. Just because it's 00:08:42.980 --> 00:08:47.940 available doesn't mean that it's ours. We have 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:54.480 to receive it. We have to take hold of it. Who's 00:08:54.480 --> 00:09:00.340 expecting some gifts on Thursday? Anybody expecting 00:09:00.340 --> 00:09:08.080 some gifts? I've wrapped a lot of presents. Yesterday, 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:10.399 I think it was yesterday, wasn't it? Ganna wrapped 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.080 some of her own presents. So if you're not expecting 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:14.960 a gift, just go ahead and buy yourself something 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:18.340 and wrap it so that you'll have something. Okay? 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:23.779 Wrap your own. I told her to wrap me up some 00:09:23.779 --> 00:09:30.940 Q -tips. Awesome. One at a time. I'm going to 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:39.990 have a lot of presents. Listen, I know I've shared 00:09:39.990 --> 00:09:42.269 this story, but some of you haven't heard it. 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:46.769 I can't even remember how many years ago it was. 00:09:48.210 --> 00:09:53.529 Probably 30 years ago, maybe 25 years ago. We 00:09:53.529 --> 00:09:58.269 bought some presents, and we wrapped them up. 00:09:58.330 --> 00:10:01.570 They were for family, like extended family, not 00:10:01.570 --> 00:10:05.070 immediate family, but extended family. Bought 00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:08.649 some presents, wrapped them up. Ganna cooked 00:10:08.649 --> 00:10:16.210 chicken and dumplings from scratch. If you haven't 00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:18.250 had her chicken and dumplings, I can't make her 00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:21.649 cook them because I don't know if they're as 00:10:21.649 --> 00:10:23.509 hard as she makes them look because she throws 00:10:23.509 --> 00:10:27.169 flour all over the place. I mean, it looks like 00:10:27.169 --> 00:10:31.110 a serious task, but maybe someday we can make 00:10:31.110 --> 00:10:34.669 some chicken. I don't know. Got to borrow a house. 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:39.429 She'll bring her own pot. All right. Yeah, you 00:10:39.429 --> 00:10:43.129 do. Mike said you could cook them at his house. 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:47.649 Anyway. It looks like we're going to everybody's 00:10:47.649 --> 00:11:00.360 house to cook some chicken. But anyway. We bought 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:03.240 presents and we wrapped them up and we took them 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:08.639 for a family Christmas party. We used to get 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:10.980 together on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.039 but because of the conference that we were doing, 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:16.039 we couldn't do that anymore because it'd be impossible 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:19.679 to pull off a New Year's conference with 1 ,900 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:23.139 people coming and only showing up, you know, 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:24.820 two days before it starts. That would have been 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:30.740 insane and, I mean, just beyond. our ability 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:34.399 because it was all we could do to start on the 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:39.419 morning of the 26th wide open but anyway we wrapped 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:42.639 those presents we some of the family members 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:45.220 did not come they choose they chose not to come 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:49.679 has anybody experienced any family drama anytime 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:55.700 has anybody ever had any family drama if not 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:58.639 you're blessed and highly favored if you've never 00:11:59.680 --> 00:12:04.259 experienced any family drama whatsoever. But 00:12:04.259 --> 00:12:06.000 they decided not to come. I mean, we thought 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.600 the chicken and dumplings would get them there, 00:12:07.700 --> 00:12:13.059 you know. So we left the presents under the Christmas 00:12:13.059 --> 00:12:17.960 tree only to come back in January and find those 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:22.080 presents hidden behind the couch in the entertainment 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:26.700 console, which was huge. It was as big as four 00:12:26.700 --> 00:12:28.779 of those chairs. It had a record player and speakers 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:32.080 and a radio in it. Some of you know what I'm 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.720 talking about. It's like a piece of furniture. 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:40.320 But the presidents were hid behind those things. 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:45.679 So an expression of our love because giving is 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:50.039 an expression of love. Universally, worldwide, 00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:54.279 giving is an expression of love. So the expression 00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:58.440 of our love was rejected. And all the reason 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:03.220 I share that is because Jesus brought all of 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:07.759 these things and made them available to us. But 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:12.259 we have to receive them. Have to receive them. 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:15.600 And you might say, well, I've never rejected 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:21.080 them. Well, it's one thing to reject them, but 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:25.250 you still have to receive them. If I give you 00:13:25.250 --> 00:13:27.909 a present and you leave it wrapped up, even if 00:13:27.909 --> 00:13:30.370 you take it home, you will not experience the 00:13:30.370 --> 00:13:33.269 present till you receive it, till you unwrap 00:13:33.269 --> 00:13:40.529 it and take hold of it. So we receive this supernatural 00:13:40.529 --> 00:13:45.330 hope, supernatural peace, supernatural joy. We 00:13:45.330 --> 00:13:51.929 receive it through faith. And we receive it by 00:13:51.929 --> 00:14:00.580 our spirit. Man, you know, natural comes from 00:14:00.580 --> 00:14:05.000 your soul, your mind, your thought life, your 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.639 will, your desires, and your emotions. That's 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:14.580 what natural life is based in. But in this series, 00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:17.879 we found out that to receive the things that 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:20.899 God has given for us, made available to us, we 00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:25.730 receive them by our spirit. through our spirit. 00:14:26.250 --> 00:14:29.129 And then here's the connection that we often 00:14:29.129 --> 00:14:36.529 miss. We let our souls control every part of 00:14:36.529 --> 00:14:38.250 us because that's the way we grow up and that's 00:14:38.250 --> 00:14:41.289 what we learn to do. We let our thought life 00:14:41.289 --> 00:14:47.149 and our desires and our emotions guide us. But 00:14:47.149 --> 00:14:50.309 we are spirit beings. We have a soul and we live 00:14:50.309 --> 00:14:53.679 in a body. And we have to learn to be spirit 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:57.419 beings, and the spirit being will stand up in 00:14:57.419 --> 00:15:01.379 the truth of God's word when the soul is spiraling 00:15:01.379 --> 00:15:06.360 by what it sees, by what it thinks, by what it 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:11.759 feels. Our spirit beings, we are a spirit, so 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:15.159 our spirits stand up and say, not today, soul. 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:25.350 Not today. Because here's what God says. And 00:15:25.350 --> 00:15:28.629 my spirit is my connection with God and God's 00:15:28.629 --> 00:15:34.149 truth. So our spirits stand up and take charge 00:15:34.149 --> 00:15:43.070 and rule over our souls. That's when you're going 00:15:43.070 --> 00:15:48.269 to take hold of it. And then today, we're going 00:15:48.269 --> 00:15:52.360 to talk about the love of God. And I'm telling 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:59.000 you, love was in the world and God had this supernatural 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:01.820 love. All these things are eternal. Supernatural 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:04.840 hope and peace and joy and love. They're all 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:07.460 eternal with God because they're part of his 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:14.340 person. But when Jesus came, a whole different 00:16:14.340 --> 00:16:20.279 level of love came to this earth. Whole different 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:23.340 possibility. If you read through the Old Testament, 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:31.179 you don't read a whole lot about how love works 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:34.440 and how the love of God works and how it's supposed 00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:37.679 to work in His people. God's people in the Old 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:40.879 Testament, I don't see anywhere where they were 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:48.759 known by their love. Do you? But under this new 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:54.600 covenant in the kingdom of God, God's people 00:16:54.600 --> 00:17:01.019 are known by their love. Because it's a different 00:17:01.019 --> 00:17:02.980 kind of love. It's not a natural love. It's a 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:10.680 supernatural love. Somebody smile. I believe 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:13.240 if we listen with expectation, we might just 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:16.519 hear the voice of God calling us out of the noise. 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:24.180 Again, we have a wonderful time celebrating Christmas 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:27.359 and everything. I mean, how many of you have 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:29.480 a tree in your house? How many of you have lights 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:32.660 and decorations and different? We enjoy all of 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:38.799 those things, right? But. If those things are 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:41.220 what's most important about this season, then 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:47.160 we're just wrapped up in the noise. And God wants 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:51.180 to call us out of the noise and into his life. 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:58.559 Into his life. The arrival of Jesus, the advent 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:04.960 of Jesus, was the advent of a supernatural love 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:11.490 for God's people. Let's read. I encourage you 00:18:11.490 --> 00:18:15.329 to read this story again. Whether you read it 00:18:15.329 --> 00:18:18.250 by yourself out loud in your home or whether 00:18:18.250 --> 00:18:22.309 you get together with whoever's there, I encourage 00:18:22.309 --> 00:18:28.710 you to read this. Luke chapter 2, starting with 00:18:28.710 --> 00:18:32.190 verse 1. At that time, the Roman emperor Augustus 00:18:32.190 --> 00:18:35.769 decreed that a census should be taken throughout 00:18:35.769 --> 00:18:39.430 the Roman Empire. This was the first census taken 00:18:39.430 --> 00:18:43.750 when Quirinius was governor of Syria. All returned 00:18:43.750 --> 00:18:48.210 to their own ancestral towns to register for 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:51.849 this census. And because Joseph was a descendant 00:18:51.849 --> 00:18:55.670 of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, 00:18:55.670 --> 00:18:59.809 David's ancient home. He traveled there from 00:18:59.809 --> 00:19:02.829 the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with 00:19:02.829 --> 00:19:07.349 him Mary, to whom he was engaged. who was now 00:19:07.349 --> 00:19:11.089 expecting a child. And while they were there, 00:19:11.269 --> 00:19:15.609 the time came for her baby to be born. She gave 00:19:15.609 --> 00:19:19.170 birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly 00:19:19.170 --> 00:19:23.890 in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because 00:19:23.890 --> 00:19:28.109 there was no lodging available for them. That 00:19:28.109 --> 00:19:30.509 night, there were shepherds staying in the fields 00:19:30.509 --> 00:19:33.599 nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. suddenly 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:36.839 an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:39.940 the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:43.960 They were terrified, but the angel reassured 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:48.019 them. Don't be afraid, he said. I bring you good 00:19:48.019 --> 00:19:52.420 news that will bring great joy to all people. 00:19:53.420 --> 00:19:57.279 The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:01.710 born today in Bethlehem, the city of David. And 00:20:01.710 --> 00:20:03.990 you will recognize him by this sign. You will 00:20:03.990 --> 00:20:06.609 find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, 00:20:06.829 --> 00:20:13.230 lying in a feed trough in the barn. Suddenly, 00:20:13.269 --> 00:20:17.410 the angel was joined by a vast host of others, 00:20:17.470 --> 00:20:20.529 the armies of heaven, praising God and saying, 00:20:20.710 --> 00:20:26.690 Glory to God in highest heaven and peace on earth. 00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:33.359 To those with whom God is pleased. When the angels 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:35.200 had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:39.119 each other, let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:41.500 this thing that has happened, which the Lord 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:45.079 has told us about. They hurried to the village 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:48.519 and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the 00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:54.880 baby lying in the manger. After seeing him, the 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.740 shepherds told everyone. what had happened and 00:20:57.740 --> 00:21:00.519 what the angel had said to them about this child. 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:05.859 All who heard the shepherd's story were astonished. 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:11.299 But Mary kept all these things in her heart and 00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:14.779 thought about them often. The shepherds went 00:21:14.779 --> 00:21:18.160 back to their flocks, glorifying and praising 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:23.200 God for all they had heard and seen. It was just 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:29.660 as the angel had told them. Again, I encourage 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:31.960 you to read that again. Read it on Christmas 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:36.200 Day. Read it on Christmas Eve. Today we're focusing 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:39.940 in the advent of love, the coming of a supernatural 00:21:39.940 --> 00:21:45.319 love, and love was the force behind Christmas. 00:21:48.980 --> 00:21:54.559 Love was the force behind the incarnation. Love 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:58.880 was the motive. You know, a lot of times we're 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:02.240 like, well, what was the motive of this person 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:05.160 doing this? What's their motive? Well, the motive 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:10.420 is love. Everybody say love. And what's the reason? 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:15.319 Why did Jesus step down out of the eternal throne 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:20.000 room and add humanity to his deity and take on 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.019 flesh and become a man in this broken world? 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:30.349 Why? Because of his love. Because of his love. 00:22:31.829 --> 00:22:34.549 There's different words for love in the Bible. 00:22:35.869 --> 00:22:40.130 But the God kind of love. When the Bible says 00:22:40.130 --> 00:22:46.970 God is love. When the Bible tells us that we 00:22:46.970 --> 00:22:50.269 are known to be Christ's followers by our love 00:22:50.269 --> 00:22:56.980 is this love. It's agape. It's the Greek word. 00:22:58.460 --> 00:23:03.920 And here's the definition. It means love. It 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:09.819 means affection. It means benevolence. It means 00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:15.119 a love feast, which is, every time I read that, 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:20.200 I kind of go, a love feast? But that's what the 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:24.180 word means. Now, we think we have an understanding 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:27.700 of the word love, but let's take this love to 00:23:27.700 --> 00:23:30.700 the supernatural level, even greater than we 00:23:30.700 --> 00:23:37.200 can know naturally. It's also affection. Has 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.960 anybody in the room ever said, well, I love you, 00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:45.279 but I don't like you right now? Has anybody ever 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:49.099 said that? I love you because God told me I had 00:23:49.099 --> 00:23:51.559 to love you, but I'm not liking you right now. 00:23:55.210 --> 00:24:02.269 Well, the God kind of love is affection. So if 00:24:02.269 --> 00:24:05.470 we are walking in agape, there'll never be a 00:24:05.470 --> 00:24:08.069 time when we say, I love you, but I don't like 00:24:08.069 --> 00:24:11.029 you right now. Because when we do that, we're 00:24:11.029 --> 00:24:14.829 not walking in this supernatural love. Affection 00:24:14.829 --> 00:24:20.609 is a feeling of fondness or liking. So to really 00:24:20.609 --> 00:24:25.359 love, to love like God loves, You got to like 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:29.440 them too. And that tells us something about God. 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:33.519 God didn't just like say he loves you. He likes 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:39.539 you. I mean, let that soak in a little bit. God 00:24:39.539 --> 00:24:46.839 likes me. God likes you. Now, when we say I love 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:48.519 you, but I don't like you right now, it's because 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.019 of somebody's actions that have kind of spun 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:54.900 us off a little bit. And we're like, I don't 00:24:54.900 --> 00:24:56.900 like you right now. I want to smack you in the 00:24:56.900 --> 00:24:58.940 face. I want to smack the taste out of your mouth 00:24:58.940 --> 00:25:06.319 right now, but I love you. It's like Herb was 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:08.700 saying he was behind somebody with a relations 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:10.559 sticker on the back of the car and he was beeping 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:15.619 the horn. Try to get their attention. Most times, 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:17.619 beeping the horn kind of makes you not like whoever 00:25:17.619 --> 00:25:20.730 it is that's blowing the horn, right? You don't 00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:23.109 think they're doing it out of friendship. You 00:25:23.109 --> 00:25:26.130 think they're doing it because they want you 00:25:26.130 --> 00:25:28.130 out of their way. You think they're disgusted 00:25:28.130 --> 00:25:30.170 with you. And sometimes you say, well, if you 00:25:30.170 --> 00:25:34.789 keep blowing that horn, I'm about to stop. You 00:25:34.789 --> 00:25:40.009 wanted them to stop. We don't know who it was. 00:25:40.369 --> 00:25:44.269 Hallelujah. But I said, if somebody's blowing 00:25:44.269 --> 00:25:47.029 the horn, all of a sudden I'm just like. I try 00:25:47.029 --> 00:25:48.910 to become invisible when somebody's blowing a 00:25:48.910 --> 00:25:55.509 horn at me. But when we like someone, it's a 00:25:55.509 --> 00:26:01.089 feeling of fondness. Benevolence is a display 00:26:01.089 --> 00:26:08.089 of kindness. It's looking out for somebody's 00:26:08.089 --> 00:26:13.069 well -being, being concerned. Being concerned 00:26:13.069 --> 00:26:15.910 to the point that you display your kindness. 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:25.519 Display. Everybody say display. Because talk 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:33.599 can be cheap. Right? There's been a lot of people 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:37.259 that told me that they love me, but then I found 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:46.069 out what they were saying behind my back. But 00:26:46.069 --> 00:26:50.789 the God kind of love is a display of kindness, 00:26:50.829 --> 00:26:54.230 and you're looking out for the well -being. And 00:26:54.230 --> 00:26:56.650 then love feast is like fellowship meals. It's 00:26:56.650 --> 00:27:06.089 like chicken and dumplings, hallelujah. But it's 00:27:06.089 --> 00:27:09.130 wanting to get together. It's wanting to share 00:27:09.130 --> 00:27:13.710 life together. It's wanting to share a meal together, 00:27:13.950 --> 00:27:18.480 right? Because that means something, you know. 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:20.400 It's one thing to come here and gather together. 00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:24.039 It's another thing to want to get together outside 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:34.160 of church. Right? So that's the love of God. 00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:38.920 See, God's concerned about your well -being. 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:45.259 God likes you. God wants to fellowship with you. 00:27:46.190 --> 00:27:51.930 Spend time with you. He wants you to know him. 00:27:52.349 --> 00:27:58.049 He wants you to seek him and find him. Experience 00:27:58.049 --> 00:28:05.710 him. See, our natural love is limited. Our love 00:28:05.710 --> 00:28:09.509 apart from Christ and apart from agape, our love 00:28:09.509 --> 00:28:15.000 is limited. But God's love is limitless. It's 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:24.440 limitless. Natural love is always reactive. Everybody 00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:29.619 say reactive. When someone shows love to us, 00:28:29.700 --> 00:28:34.539 we show love to them. If someone rejects our 00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:38.519 love, we decide we're not going to display love 00:28:38.519 --> 00:28:41.299 and show love anymore. We're reactive, right? 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:51.220 It's natural love. Jesus talked about this in 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:55.079 Matthew 5, 43. He said, because this was a common 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:59.039 saying in his day, you have heard the law says, 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:03.920 love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:10.140 say, love your enemies. That's going to take 00:29:10.140 --> 00:29:14.240 some supernatural love for you to love the people 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:18.529 who you know they don't like you. Right? You 00:29:18.529 --> 00:29:21.009 know that they don't like you. You know that 00:29:21.009 --> 00:29:24.329 they don't want to, you know, they wouldn't spit 00:29:24.329 --> 00:29:31.230 on you if you were on fire. But I say, Jesus 00:29:31.230 --> 00:29:36.750 said, love your enemies. In verse 46, he goes 00:29:36.750 --> 00:29:39.890 on to say, if you love only those who love you, 00:29:40.029 --> 00:29:46.670 what reward is there for that? Look at the person 00:29:46.670 --> 00:29:49.269 beside you and say, that's not a big deal. That's 00:29:49.269 --> 00:29:51.329 not a big deal for you to love the people who 00:29:51.329 --> 00:29:58.269 love you. That's natural. And then he says, even 00:29:58.269 --> 00:30:06.069 corrupt tax collectors do that much. Now, this 00:30:06.069 --> 00:30:08.869 said something totally different to them than 00:30:08.869 --> 00:30:11.490 it does to us, even though most of you don't 00:30:11.490 --> 00:30:16.829 like paying taxes, right? When he says even corrupt 00:30:16.829 --> 00:30:21.150 tax collectors, you see, there were Jews that 00:30:21.150 --> 00:30:25.009 were working for Rome and collecting taxes from 00:30:25.009 --> 00:30:30.210 other Jews. And when they did that, most of them 00:30:30.210 --> 00:30:32.509 were very corrupt. They were taking more than 00:30:32.509 --> 00:30:41.289 they should take. But here's the deal. The people 00:30:41.289 --> 00:30:48.539 who were doing that, Society looked at them below 00:30:48.539 --> 00:30:58.480 a dog. They didn't even consider them to be humans. 00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:03.859 And Jesus says, look, if you just love people 00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:07.240 who love you, even the people who you think are 00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:11.279 below the level of a dog, even they do that. 00:31:15.529 --> 00:31:20.410 And then he says, if you're only kind, if you're 00:31:20.410 --> 00:31:24.809 kind only to your friends, how are you different 00:31:24.809 --> 00:31:30.130 from anyone else in the world? Natural. Everybody 00:31:30.130 --> 00:31:37.470 say natural. Even pagans do that. Even pagans 00:31:37.470 --> 00:31:43.039 do that, Jesus said. See, God's love is not natural 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:47.740 love because God's love is initiating. It's taking 00:31:47.740 --> 00:31:53.680 the first step. It's reaching out. It initiates. 00:31:54.140 --> 00:31:57.900 It doesn't just go with whatever is given to 00:31:57.900 --> 00:32:02.299 it and respond accordingly. Like natural love, 00:32:02.500 --> 00:32:10.359 it's initiating. Here's one instance of God initiating. 00:32:10.730 --> 00:32:17.470 His love. 1 John 4, 9 and 10. God showed. Everybody 00:32:17.470 --> 00:32:20.930 say demonstrate it. Everybody say initiate it. 00:32:21.309 --> 00:32:26.769 God showed how much He loved us by sending His 00:32:26.769 --> 00:32:31.289 one and only Son into the world so that we might 00:32:31.289 --> 00:32:39.900 have eternal life through Him. This. Is real 00:32:39.900 --> 00:32:46.759 love. Initiating love. That's real love. Not 00:32:46.759 --> 00:32:51.279 that we love God. So it wasn't reciprocating 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:55.380 our love for him. No, he initiated it. It's not 00:32:55.380 --> 00:32:59.799 that we love God, but that he loved us and sent 00:32:59.799 --> 00:33:04.119 his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:11.559 That's real love. There's another verse. I don't 00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:14.319 have it in here, but you've probably heard it 00:33:14.319 --> 00:33:18.680 before. Greater love has no one, no man than 00:33:18.680 --> 00:33:21.859 this. Then he laid down his life for his friends. 00:33:24.900 --> 00:33:31.819 See, natural love is broken. But God's love will 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:36.819 bring healing and restoration. Natural love is 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:42.130 inconsistent. It's up and down, right? Natural 00:33:42.130 --> 00:33:46.230 love is conditional. You know, if you do this 00:33:46.230 --> 00:33:49.589 or make me feel this way, then I will love you. 00:33:49.650 --> 00:33:56.009 If not, I won't. Natural love can run out. Can 00:33:56.009 --> 00:34:02.630 run out. Human love says, natural love says, 00:34:02.829 --> 00:34:06.509 if you make me feel loved, everybody say feel. 00:34:06.910 --> 00:34:09.989 Everybody say feelings. Whoa, whoa, whoa, feelings. 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:14.960 Y 'all remember that song? Feelings. Whoa, whoa, 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:21.679 whoa, feelings. Whoa, whoa, whoa, feelings. If 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:27.320 you make me feel loved, then I'll love you. That's 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:33.659 natural. And then sometimes, after you've had 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:37.340 the feeling of love, and then you show love back, 00:34:37.480 --> 00:34:41.139 then all of a sudden it can move again. A goalpost 00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:44.019 can sometimes move. It can keep moving. You don't 00:34:44.019 --> 00:34:46.800 know that it's an actual 100 -yard field. All 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:52.059 of a sudden, it can be a 200 -yard field. Because 00:34:52.059 --> 00:34:56.559 it can move to a place that if you change, if 00:34:56.559 --> 00:35:02.519 you change, I'll continue to love you. But if 00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:07.119 you don't change, my love is done. If you don't 00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:14.730 make me feel loved. then I won't love you. Romans 00:35:14.730 --> 00:35:19.550 5, 8. But God, everybody say, but God. But God 00:35:19.550 --> 00:35:24.690 showed his great love for us by sending Christ 00:35:24.690 --> 00:35:31.469 to die for us while we were still sinners. We 00:35:31.469 --> 00:35:33.610 weren't acknowledging God. We were living our 00:35:33.610 --> 00:35:37.010 lives on our own. We could spit in God's face. 00:35:37.090 --> 00:35:45.869 We don't care. But God showed his love. He didn't 00:35:45.869 --> 00:35:48.909 just say he loved us. Because talk can be cheap. 00:35:49.250 --> 00:35:55.590 He demonstrated his love. My dad, I could count 00:35:55.590 --> 00:35:58.170 on one hand how many times in my entire life 00:35:58.170 --> 00:36:05.090 that my dad told me he loved me. But I never 00:36:05.090 --> 00:36:11.380 doubted that he did. Never. There was never a 00:36:11.380 --> 00:36:16.659 moment in my life when I doubted my father's 00:36:16.659 --> 00:36:20.659 love. If that's not your experience, I'm sorry. 00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:25.059 But my dad didn't have to tell me every day that 00:36:25.059 --> 00:36:28.400 he loved me for me to feel loved. I mean, I believe 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:30.739 it's important to tell people that we love them. 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:34.699 But my dad constantly demonstrated his love for 00:36:34.699 --> 00:36:40.630 me and I never doubted his love. And God, My 00:36:40.630 --> 00:36:46.190 dad's just a shadow of a father compared to God. 00:36:48.309 --> 00:36:52.650 God showed his great love for us by sending Christ 00:36:52.650 --> 00:36:55.690 to die for us while we were still sinners. God's 00:36:55.690 --> 00:37:03.269 love says, I love you. There's not a person who's 00:37:03.269 --> 00:37:07.269 ever lived on this world that God didn't love. 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:12.440 Even the people you have a hard time loving, 00:37:12.559 --> 00:37:18.039 God loves them. Even though the historical figures 00:37:18.039 --> 00:37:20.860 where you say this person was just pure evil, 00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:28.179 God loved them. Christ died for them. Though 00:37:28.179 --> 00:37:32.719 their mistakes and their character was greatly 00:37:32.719 --> 00:37:40.159 flawed, God loved them. God loved them. Even 00:37:40.159 --> 00:37:44.280 though they rejected him their entire life, even 00:37:44.280 --> 00:37:46.679 though many people have cursed him their entire 00:37:46.679 --> 00:37:57.900 life, God loves them. John 13, 35. I've alluded 00:37:57.900 --> 00:38:03.360 to this, but here's the verse. This is Jesus 00:38:03.360 --> 00:38:06.699 talking. He says, your love for one another. 00:38:08.079 --> 00:38:13.380 Your love for other people will prove to the 00:38:13.380 --> 00:38:22.219 world that you are my disciples. That's the proof. 00:38:24.179 --> 00:38:32.920 That's the proof to the world. This is why, you 00:38:32.920 --> 00:38:35.840 know, the world experiences natural love, but 00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:40.059 in Christ we need to, be walking in his supernatural 00:38:40.059 --> 00:38:44.820 love. Because if our love just looks like everybody 00:38:44.820 --> 00:38:52.579 else's love, what's the big deal? What's the 00:38:52.579 --> 00:38:59.039 big deal? Even the pagans love like that. Even 00:38:59.039 --> 00:39:00.820 the tax collectors love like that. That's what 00:39:00.820 --> 00:39:04.199 Jesus said, right? I'm not saying these words. 00:39:04.280 --> 00:39:06.219 These are Jesus' words. I'm just repeating them. 00:39:11.019 --> 00:39:14.280 So we need to walk in the supernatural love of 00:39:14.280 --> 00:39:19.760 God. Jesus came to bring it, but we have to receive 00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:22.380 it. We need to receive it for ourselves, but 00:39:22.380 --> 00:39:24.320 then we need to receive it for the way we live. 00:39:25.179 --> 00:39:28.579 We need to walk in it, just like we need to walk 00:39:28.579 --> 00:39:32.679 in hope and walk in peace and walk in joy. We 00:39:32.679 --> 00:39:38.099 need to walk in love. Natural love costs something, 00:39:38.260 --> 00:39:43.800 right? It costs something, but God's love costs 00:39:43.800 --> 00:39:48.280 him everything. You probably know this verse, 00:39:48.380 --> 00:39:53.639 John 3, 16. For this is how God loved the world. 00:39:54.579 --> 00:39:58.159 He gave his one and only son so that everyone 00:39:58.159 --> 00:40:01.599 who believes in him will not perish, but have 00:40:01.599 --> 00:40:11.460 eternal life. True love always gives. Always. 00:40:11.460 --> 00:40:15.119 Everybody say always. True love always gives. 00:40:16.780 --> 00:40:20.139 True love always sacrifices. There's always a 00:40:20.139 --> 00:40:24.380 sacrifice involved. And true love always moves. 00:40:27.900 --> 00:40:34.000 True love is taking that first step. Not just 00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:38.690 waiting to see. If somebody's going to show love 00:40:38.690 --> 00:40:41.050 to you, but you've taken the first step to show 00:40:41.050 --> 00:40:45.670 love for them. Before we have our communion together, 00:40:45.829 --> 00:40:55.329 I want to make sure. Make sure that you've experienced 00:40:55.329 --> 00:41:01.329 this love from God. Make sure that you've opened 00:41:01.329 --> 00:41:07.389 the gift. Because so many people, Have heard 00:41:07.389 --> 00:41:11.269 about the love of God. So many people have heard 00:41:11.269 --> 00:41:17.949 about his sacrifice. And a lot of people have 00:41:17.949 --> 00:41:20.070 heard about it, but they've never received it. 00:41:22.170 --> 00:41:25.070 So I want to ask you a question. Have you received 00:41:25.070 --> 00:41:28.949 it? Have you received his gift of eternal life? 00:41:30.389 --> 00:41:34.489 Have you received it? Have you received his love? 00:41:41.550 --> 00:41:43.769 You might say, well, how do I open up this gift 00:41:43.769 --> 00:41:47.869 of eternal life? The answer to that is easy. 00:41:47.909 --> 00:41:52.409 It's found in the Bible. The Bible says that 00:41:52.409 --> 00:41:55.909 you have to believe a couple of things. You have 00:41:55.909 --> 00:42:01.409 to believe that Jesus is God. You have to believe 00:42:01.409 --> 00:42:08.519 that he died on the cross for your sins. You 00:42:08.519 --> 00:42:10.539 have to believe. I don't say you have to understand 00:42:10.539 --> 00:42:14.579 it, but you have to believe that he was raised 00:42:14.579 --> 00:42:18.280 from the dead. That he is alive. He didn't stay 00:42:18.280 --> 00:42:20.980 dead in the tomb. No, the resurrection happened. 00:42:21.119 --> 00:42:26.260 He is alive. So you have to believe those three 00:42:26.260 --> 00:42:31.000 things. But then there has to come a time, the 00:42:31.000 --> 00:42:35.000 Bible says, if we confess our sin, he is faithful 00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:40.769 and he's just. to forgive us and to cleanse us 00:42:40.769 --> 00:42:45.829 of all unrighteousness. So you have to come to 00:42:45.829 --> 00:42:47.590 a point where you realize that you're a sinner 00:42:47.590 --> 00:42:49.809 and that your sin separates you from a holy God. 00:42:51.829 --> 00:42:54.690 So you come to him acknowledging that he died 00:42:54.690 --> 00:42:57.750 in your place for your sin on the cross. You 00:42:57.750 --> 00:43:02.329 ask him to forgive you and you thank him for 00:43:02.329 --> 00:43:06.570 washing you clean. And there's one more. Everybody 00:43:06.570 --> 00:43:09.809 say one more. One more. The Bible says if you 00:43:09.809 --> 00:43:15.170 call on the name of the Lord, you'll be saved. 00:43:19.210 --> 00:43:21.610 A lot of people make it through those first few 00:43:21.610 --> 00:43:24.349 things that I said, but they never come to this 00:43:24.349 --> 00:43:27.130 point where it says if you call on the name of 00:43:27.130 --> 00:43:32.530 the Lord, you'll be saved. Lord is more than 00:43:32.530 --> 00:43:37.849 a name. It's a title. Lord means master, boss, 00:43:37.949 --> 00:43:42.349 the one in charge. So I believe according to 00:43:42.349 --> 00:43:44.369 Scripture, there has to be a time in your life 00:43:44.369 --> 00:43:47.070 when you say, Jesus, something like this. Not 00:43:47.070 --> 00:43:49.070 these exact words, but there has to be a time 00:43:49.070 --> 00:43:51.889 when you say, Jesus, up until today, my life's 00:43:51.889 --> 00:43:57.550 just been about me. But from now on, I want to 00:43:57.550 --> 00:44:07.380 live for you. I want to know you. Jesus, be my 00:44:07.380 --> 00:44:17.739 Lord. I surrender to you all that I am. Be my 00:44:17.739 --> 00:44:26.219 Lord. I want to follow you. So here's my question. 00:44:27.960 --> 00:44:30.360 Have those things happened in your life before 00:44:30.360 --> 00:44:36.769 today? If they have not, I have some amazing 00:44:36.769 --> 00:44:50.250 news. Some great news. Today's the day. While 00:44:50.250 --> 00:44:52.150 you're here, while the Holy Spirit is speaking 00:44:52.150 --> 00:44:56.489 to your heart, today's the day. Don't put it 00:44:56.489 --> 00:45:01.050 off. If you would, I want everybody to bow your 00:45:01.050 --> 00:45:03.489 head and close your eyes just for a moment. I 00:45:03.489 --> 00:45:05.789 want you to be alone. I want you to look back 00:45:05.789 --> 00:45:07.650 over your life and see if those things have happened. 00:45:08.010 --> 00:45:10.230 Have you believed those things that I said? Have 00:45:10.230 --> 00:45:13.550 you surrendered your life to Jesus, asking him 00:45:13.550 --> 00:45:16.570 to be your Lord, confessing him as your Lord? 00:45:17.510 --> 00:45:22.750 If you have not, I ask you to pray with me. Nothing 00:45:22.750 --> 00:45:26.650 magic about the words. We can teach birds to 00:45:26.650 --> 00:45:29.090 repeat words after people, so it's not just about 00:45:29.090 --> 00:45:35.000 the words. I want to lead you in a prayer. This 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:36.800 is what you want to say to God, I ask you to 00:45:36.800 --> 00:45:41.159 pray with me. I prayed a prayer one Friday morning, 00:45:41.199 --> 00:45:43.280 went kind of like this, and I've never been the 00:45:43.280 --> 00:45:47.480 same since. Jesus, I believe you are the son 00:45:47.480 --> 00:45:50.480 of God. Tell him that. I believe you died on 00:45:50.480 --> 00:45:55.079 the cross for me, in my place, for my sin. I 00:45:55.079 --> 00:45:57.019 believe you rose again from the grave, just like 00:45:57.019 --> 00:46:02.000 the Bible says. I realize that I am a sinner. 00:46:03.039 --> 00:46:09.480 I've messed up. Jesus, thank you for dying for 00:46:09.480 --> 00:46:17.679 me in my place on the cross. For my sin. I ask 00:46:17.679 --> 00:46:24.880 you to forgive me. Wash me clean. Jesus, up until 00:46:24.880 --> 00:46:29.579 today, my life's kind of been about me, but from 00:46:29.579 --> 00:46:33.400 now on, I want my life to be about you. I ask 00:46:33.400 --> 00:46:36.780 you to be my Lord. I surrender my life to you. 00:46:36.840 --> 00:46:39.679 I want to know you and I want to follow you. 00:46:40.860 --> 00:46:43.639 This online worship experience was brought to 00:46:43.639 --> 00:46:46.280 you by the friends and partners of Elation Church.