I know it has been mentioned how grateful I am
for everyone that's here and for every guest.
Don't we love when guests come to Heaven View?
You are a guest here today. We are honored that
you would come and worship Jesus with us and
we want you to respond to his presence in whatever
way you can by giving your heart to him in praise
and even in response to his word and believing
that he can give you a miracle before you leave.
that he knows you, he knows exactly what you're
facing, and he will respond to your need if you
respond to his presence. I want to mention something
I mentioned in the first service, and that is
there is a need in Sri Lanka. This church family
has partnered with CSI to be a blessing. They
had a cyclone a number of weeks ago, and we did
give, but I got a note from the missionary this
week. The need is still very great. In fact,
if you wanna go back at the beginning of the
last service, then the message, you'll be able
to hear more details. Even that message would
be worth your time and attention. Galatians chapter
two and verse 20, it's just one verse. I believe
we're gonna see it here from the New King James
Version. Why don't we read it out loud together?
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer
I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith
in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself
for me. We'd like to preach for just a little
while from this thought a happy now year, happy
now year. There are some things we cannot predict
about 2026 that may not. make it a happy new
year. It may be a year of struggle. It may be
a year of challenge, but you know what? There
are things we have in God right now that are
not fluctuating based on circumstances or emotions,
and we're gonna focus on those things and be
what God has called us to be now. Let's pray
together. Lord Jesus, I thank you for. I thank
you Lord Can you say in Jesus name? You may be
seated. There was not many people gathered in
the sanctuary on this particular day and just
a couple of family members and they were paying
respects to a man in the casket and to be really
truthful, he had not lived quite a good life.
In fact, his life was anything but good and even
his own family had suffered from his poor decisions.
but out of respect for God and for life, they
were there. And the preacher did not know the
man. The preacher was just trying to be a good
preacher, trying to say some nice things, trying
to encourage the family. But apparently as he
was speaking about the man that he did not know,
his wife was sitting right here on the front
row. She was there with her son and he started
saying so many nice things about this man. that
finally the lady couldn't handle it anymore.
She said to her son, could you go see if that's
your father in the casket? That's an old preacher
joke, but it fit in right here with where we're
going today. Some of y 'all are like, I wasn't
here for that funeral. Oh, you probably were,
we just hid it. We hid it from you. Can you imagine
if you could die? before the rest of 2026 begins.
Now I know that may be a sad thing to consider,
but what are some of the good things that would
happen as a result of your death? You would never
have to pay taxes anymore. Now that may not be
worth dying, but I'm just saying, try to look
at the bright side. If you were not gonna live
through 2026, you were going to pass away suddenly.
If you hate school and you're in school, you
would never have to go back to school. I'm not
suggesting that we become a cold and drink Kool
-Aid. I'm just saying that there could be a few
things about living that would not be worth living,
and if you could die, you could escape those
things beyond taxes, beyond the opinion of others.
Boy, we get a lot of that, don't we? You know,
if you died, you wouldn't have to worry anymore
about likes on Facebook. or people thumbs -upping
on Instagram, whatever they do on Instagram.
If you died, you wouldn't have to worry about
anybody else liking or not liking your life that
you were making up to try to impress them. Now
there's other things a little bit more serious.
What if somebody was addicted to alcohol or drugs,
things that were destroying their body, destroying
their relationships? And if they died and they
were in the casket, you could bring, let's say
it was an alcohol addiction, severe alcohol addiction,
you could bring whatever was their beverage of
choice and you could just shove it in their face
and because they're dead, they would no longer
be tempted. It would not even impact what if
somebody had a horrible addiction to pornography
and you took every video or every YouTube spot
or You know clip that that maybe that used to
get them all stirred up and you could put your
phone in their face for hours and They would
not be driven to lust like they had been all
the time that they were living I'm just saying
there are a lot of negatives to dying, but there
could be some positives too And this is a little
bit of a more to start a message, but I think
you get my point. That one thing about dying
is there's no more self -centeredness. There's
no more immorality. There's no more ungodliness.
Of course, if I'm dead, I also miss all the joys
of being alive. And thank God life is so much
more than the things that we despise about life.
But what if we could die? to everything we don't
like about life, but still live for all of the
joys of life. That might be worth dying for.
In other words, I'm still gonna be breathing,
I'm still gonna be enjoying my family, I'm still
gonna get all the benefits of being alive, but
I'm literally gonna crucify those parts of life.
That just pulled me down. That's literally what
the apostle Paul is promising us through the
word of God in Galatians 2. I have been crucified
with Christ. He was a man that consented to the
punishment the imprisonment and the death of
Christians He must have lived with some of those
shameful memories of his past the only way he
could overcome Living a life of shame and guilt
for everything about his sin that made him feel
so horrible was he was crucified with Christ
And he said, it is no longer I who live, but
it is Christ who lives in me. And the life which
I now live is not just gonna get better when
I get to heaven, but the life which I now live,
I live in the flesh, I live by the faith in the
Son of God who loved me and gave himself for
me. I used to be religious, he could say, but
my religion was driving me away from Jesus Christ.
But then when I met Jesus Christ, and I surrendered
my life to him, he gave me the privilege of being
crucified with him. I didn't die physically,
but I died out to my past, and I died out to
my sin, and I died out to my shame, and I died
out to my guilt, and now the lie. which I live
right now, not just when we all get to heaven,
but the life that I live right now. I live in
the flesh, there's still temptations, there's
still struggles, but I live by faith in Jesus
Christ. Anybody can relate to the funeral that
you had, maybe. anybody can relate to the day
that you made it to the altar and you died out
to your sin, you died out to your past, you died
out to your lust, you died out to your selfishness,
and you can say with the Apostle Paul, I have
been crucified with Christ. I am dead, but I'm
very much alive. I am dead. But I am very much
alive If you are new to Jesus Christ in his gospel
maybe perhaps You are a churchgoing person whether
it's this church or another church and you know
That Jesus is your Savior you believe with all
your heart He died for your sins He rose again
He's coming back for you soon. I want you to
know one of the greatest things about the gospel
is that we are offered an opportunity to die
so that we can live. To die to our life without
him. To die to our life before him. And we can
live with him and in him. Not in the sweet by
and by, but now. That's a happy now year. Romans
chapter six says it this way. What shall we say
then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may
abound? Certainly not. The old King James says,
God forbid! How shall we who died to sin live
any longer in it? Or do you not know that as
many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus,
were baptized into his death. Therefore we were
buried with him through baptism into death. that
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life. For if we have been united
together in the likeness of his death, in a death
that's kind of like his death, only it's a spiritual
death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness
of his resurrection. If we unite together in
the likeness of his death, how do we do that,
preacher? Well, once you put your faith in Jesus
Christ, it is essential that you repent of your
sins. It's essential that you come to Jesus and
say, Jesus, forgive me for everything in my life
that lends itself to the sin and the lust and
the corruption of this world. I want to die to
those things. In fact, beyond repentance, it
is essential, it is critical that you would be
baptized in Jesus' name. I promise you, I'm not
talking about just joining a church. In fact,
around here, we bat - baptize people all the
time that are not members of this church because
baptism is not about church membership. It is
about identifying. It is about dying in the likeness
of his. It's about uniting with the death of
Jesus Christ through repentance and baptism by
immersion, calling on the name of Jesus. I want
to beg somebody today that you can start 2026
like our new friend Mel did in the first service.
He came out of that baptismal. He got back in
his clothes that he brought to church. He wore
dry clothes to church. We had a robe that he
got all wet. We kept the wet robe. We gave him
back his dry clothes. He came out to the altar
and he said, I just figured it's a new beginning.
I might as well have a new life. That's the grass
gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the promise of
Jesus Christ. That's what happens when you unite
with the death, the burial, and the resurrection
of Jesus. If you've been following Jesus, serving
Jesus, living for Jesus, believing for Jesus,
but you have not been baptized in Jesus' name,
you are not united in the likeness of his death.
And because of that, you cannot possibly be united
in the likeness of his resurrection. You may
keep coming to church because you know it gets
your family off the back. You might keep coming
to church because you know you got a few friends
and you might get in a bad spot sometime. You
might need a few friends, but if you will unite
in the likeness of his death through repentance
and baptism in Jesus' name, I guarantee you,
you can unite. in the likeness of his resurrection.
He will fill you with his Holy Spirit. And the
Spirit that raised up Christ from the dead will
raise you up to live a new life in Jesus Christ.
And then if you die in this life when the trumpet
sounds, you're gonna live again forever with
Jesus Christ. Because if the Spirit that raised
up Christ from the dead dwell in you, he'll make
you alive. Even after you die, I cannot say enough
about the importance of repentance at the start
of a new year. I cannot say enough about the
importance of baptism by immersion in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins
at the start of a new year. I cannot say enough
because we hear so much. philosophy and misconception
in the world today, especially because of technology.
There are people that will say that the Holy
Ghost is not real, or the Holy Ghost is not important,
or people don't get filled with the Spirit the
way they did in the Bible, or maybe that's just
a select group of people that are really zealous
for Jesus. That is not true. Anybody in this
sanctuary can be filled with the Spirit of God
just like they did in the Bible. You can literally.
I cannot say it enough. You can speak with other
tongues as the Spirit gives you the utterance,
but you've gotta be willing. You've gotta be
willing. God's not gonna force you. God's not
gonna beg you. I might beg you, but he won't
beg you. You've gotta be willing to unite in
the likeness of his death. And after you unite
in the likeness of his death, you can unite in
the likeness of his. resurrection. If you've
ever repented of your sins or been baptized in
Jesus' name or been filled with the Holy Ghost
speaking with other tongues, could you wave your
hand almost like you're sticking your hand in
the air, like you just don't care, like you're
not ashamed, like you're not looking at other
people worried about what they think. All you
know is that you once was dead, but now you're
alive unto God. You once was dead, but now you
live in Christ. Oh, that's a good reason to shout.
That's a good reason to wave an arm. That's a
good reason to clap some hands. Come on, I'm
talking about a happy now life. Not six months
from now, but today is the day of salvation.
Today is the day to give your life to Jesus.
Praise God. Thank you for being so. supportive
and encouraging. I hope you will respond with
the same fervor when I make this next statement.
Jesus made it obvious to everyone that would
be a part of his kingdom that uniting in the
likeness of his death was not just a one and
done experience. He said, whoever is gonna come
after me, Let him deny himself. Take up his cross
daily and follow me. I'm glad we shout about
repentance, baptism, the infilling of the Holy
Ghost, speaking with other tongues, but we ought
to shout about praying and fasting until our
flesh is submitted. We ought to shout about reading
the Bible until the Bible reads us. We ought
to shout about, hey, I don't just go to church.
I have become the church. You know why? Because
when I started to follow Jesus, it wasn't just
a one -time experience. And if I make it to church
a few Sundays a year, then I'll be on my way
to heaven. My God, you're never going to overcome
your flesh living for God that way. You're never
going to experience a happy now year living for
God. based on something you did when you were
a kid or something that happened a long time
ago, somebody's got to shake themselves and say,
by the grace of God, I am crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me and the life which I now live. I live by
the faith of the Son of God, faith in the Son
of God who loved me. and gave himself for me.
Can I say that a happy now life is not just you
and I trying to be better at being us. A happy
now life is about you and I learning how to yield
to the greater He that is in me How many of you
that have the Holy Ghost believe that's Christ
in you That's good, that's most of the people
that were waving their hand before So if you're
gonna have a happy now life if I'm gonna have
a happy now life It's gonna have to be more than
just based on circumstances. It's got to be more
than just based on all the other things that
people think make a happy life happen, I'm gonna
have to yield to the Spirit of God inside of
me and believe that as I die out to me, then
He is gonna be formed in me. He's gonna live
through me. And the reason why I can have a happy
now year is because greater is he that is in
me, and he's getting greater every day. No, he
doesn't have to change, but I have to change
to surrender my life, to put my life on the altar,
to crucify my flesh, to pray a little bit, to
fast a little bit, to get in the Word a little
bit until he reigns in me. Praise God. Praise
God. I don't think it's easy to crucify your
flesh. All of us try to start the year with prayer
and fasting. I don't think that's easy. I have
had seasons where I have fasted and fasted and
fasted. The older I get, the harder it gets to
enter into those seasons. You'd think it would
get easier. But you know what the problem is?
This flesh has been around 58 years, and it's
got 58 years worth of experience to bypass the
will of God, to prop up my own good works so
I can say, well, I don't do this, but I do that.
I may not have it right here, but I got it really
good better than others over here. Well, if you
live for God that way, you're never gonna crucify
your flesh. In fact, you're gonna start to think
that your own good works is responsible for your
free ticket to heaven. If you live that way,
you'll say, well, you know what? I haven't obeyed
some of the Bible, but I still help the poor.
I still feed the hungry. I'm sure he's gonna,
my goodness, I wouldn't wanna live for God that
way. I would rather live for God as though my
past is in the casket. My good deeds is in the
casket. My best efforts is in the casket. And
every single day I wake up with a desire less
of me and more of you. Praise God. Praise God.
Praise God. 1 John 3 says, I hope, now when I
say I hope you shout about this. You don't have
to make any noise, but I hope inside your soul
says yes Because this is amazing Behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon
us That we should be called the children of God
Yes You don't have to say it out loud. I'll do
it for you, but you can't the world doesn't know
us They didn't know Him. They don't look at us
like we're the children of God. They don't say
anything different about us. I mean, they should
see some differences about us, but that's a message
for another day. But anyway, beloved, now we
are children of God. Yes! And it has not yet
been revealed what we shall be. But we know when
He shall reveal, when He is revealed. We shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Yes,
yes, yes! I'm already a child of God. Yes! But
he's not finished with me yet. Yes! I'm on my
way to becoming like him. Yes! That's a lot to
shout about. I'm glad you've remained comfortably
seated because I don't think you could keep up
with all the shouting that's happening in those
few words. So I know I'm a child of God. I know
when he gets done with me, I'm gonna be just
like Jesus. Wow. There's a chart they're gonna
show you that kinda makes this all theological.
We got justification, sanctification. and glorification.
Say that with me, justification? Sanctification?
Glorification. What is justification? We are
now the children of God. How we get to be the
children of God? He shed His blood for us. What
an awesome God. Yes! I sound like I got Tourette's.
But if you lost your job in 2026, if you lose
your family in 2026, if you lose your home in
2026, but you're still a child of God. Yes! That's
a happy now year. Because right now I'm covered
by the blood of Jesus right now I live in the
mercy of the cross right now I'm on my way to
heaven not because of me, but because of Jesus
But with this I feel like I'm selling a timeshare
with this package You get more than justification
You get glorification I'm gonna get back to the
the middle one the present we got the past what
Jesus has already done for us We've got the future
what he's gonna do for us Because that verse
says when we see him we shall be I Don't know
if you really get that when we see him That doesn't
mean we're just gonna like them or Well by the
time we all get to heaven I'm gonna be a little
bit better me than I have been no, that's not
what glorification means When we see him I'm
talking about the sweet woman of God That's lived
for God for so many years been faithful Been
been been obedient to the Word of God. Thank
God for that That person's gonna be like him
That's glorification But you know what's so awesome
about God? If you just started living for God
not too long ago and Every day for you is one
step forward and two steps back one step forward
and two steps back But the funny thing about
it is every time you fall you get right back
up right back up I keep falling back, but I'm
not giving up. I'm gonna keep moving forward.
Is there anybody that would be brave enough to
say, I know when y 'all look at me you think
I'm a super Christian, but I've fallen a bunch
of times. You'd wave your hand. You put your
hands down anybody that's really living for God
today But you'd be brave enough to say I failed
the Lord a bunch of times just wave your hand
I'm not waving my hands just to say hello. I
failed the Lord a bunch of times I've fallen
a bunch of times But what this verse promises
us that there's coming a day when we're gonna
see him and when we see him we shall be like
him. That's beyond justification. That's glorification.
In other words, the suffering of this present
time are not worthy to be compared to the glory
that shall be revealed in us. When I have a need,
I bring the need to Jesus. But if God doesn't
answer the prayer the way I think he should,
I've got to step back and say, thank God. He's
not doing it my way, but he's doing it his way.
This is part of him. getting me ready for glorification.
Oh, would you thank the Lord for that promise?
Right now, we are the children of God. Right
now, we're justified by the cross of Christ.
Right now, we have this amazing hope that in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, a trumpet's
gonna sound and we shall be changed. Yes! But
somewhere between justification and glorification
is a process that theologians call sanctification.
My sweet mother, my sweet mother -in -law asked
me a couple times in the last three weeks in
talking to me about heaven. She didn't say it
the way I'm gonna say it, but these are the words
just not the same passion. She said She don't
yell at me she taught her daughter how to do
that no no no That wasn't right Y 'all see what
happened right there right in front of God and
everybody I took one step forward. I took I took
seven steps back That's what I did But I'm gonna
get up. I'm gonna keep trying But in the present
distress This is what happens verse 3 and everyone
who has this hope in him Purifies himself just
as he is pure So everybody that's been justified,
I mean you've been blood balled. Are you hearing
me? You have been buried in the likeness of his
death. You put your faith in Jesus. You've repented
of your sins. You've been baptized in his name.
You've been filled with his spirit. And now you're
living a resurrection life. You've got something
inside of you that at least doesn't want to sin.
You may be tempted and sometimes you sin. But
when you sin, you go right back to the altar
and you crucify your flesh one more time and
say, Oh God have mercy on me a sinner. And guess
what he does? He forgives you the next time like
he did the first time. Do we sin that grace may
ab - God forbid, but when we sin we have an advocate
Jesus Christ the righteous and so we know in
this world There is a process. It's called sanctification
We are pure because of his blood, but we are
moving forward in that purification But all the
while the reason why we keep on going is we have
a hope soon and very soon We are going to see
the key and when we see him we shall be Praise
the name of the Lord. And really, really, if
you live for God that way, on the days that you
crucify your flesh, it's like you're having a
funeral and you're the one in the casket. And
if you crucify your flesh the right way, we can
throw some of those besetting sins that used
to always drag you away from God. We can shove
them in your face in the casket and they're not
gonna pull you away anymore from the Lord because
you're dead to sin. Now the reason why you gotta
die every day is because the devil is a sly old
fox. There's some things I used to repent about
every day. I haven't repent about him for years
Jesus delivered me Furthermore, I got married
that helped a lot too. I'm just saying I think
we ought to live in the real world But I got
a bunch of stuff a bunch of stuff. I've got to
crucify every day every day But can I tell you
a little secret as you're on your journey to
be more like Jesus? I mentioned a few things
before not to judge anybody just because they're
examples of Things we can identify in the real
world If this old fella was addicted to alcohol
when he's dead No more trouble with that If this
old fella was addicted to pornography when he's
dead No more trouble with that and I know but
that's part of that sanctification. I know that's
part of that process of purification. I know
I'm pure, but I'm still moving forward. But you
know what the hardest thing to crucify? This
guy, you know what he's gonna struggle with more
than addiction or lust? He's gonna struggle with
His own desire for what he wants You say are
you sure I'm I'm certain because from the manger
To the tomb Jesus was tempted in all points like
as we are yet without sin But you know what got
him what came close to ruining everything is
when he was in that garden and he said, oh God,
let this cup pass. I've done everything as a
man that I was called to do. But here I stand
and the real purpose of my life is gonna demand
that I say not my will, but your will. And we
got churches filled with people that overcome
pornography, overcome alcohol, overcome drugs.
And the Lord says, my goodness, this sanctification
stuff really works. But then he brings you to
an area in your life where he says, can you really
say, not my will, but thine be done? And my goodness,
spiritually, we get out of that casket And we
walk around like, hey, wait a minute. It's my
life. I'm gonna do what I want with my life.
I'm gonna be what I want with my life. I'm gonna
go where I wanna go with my life. I'm gonna be
with whoever I want in my life. But it really
is a crisis of surrendering your will. That's
why you're in the church. Pastor Brian, we give
people a thousand different ways to surrender
their will. every single day. Don't we? Hey,
would you like to be on the Martha ministry?
Well, not really. You don't really want to clean
toilets? Not at all. Well, here's a little secret.
If you do what you don't want to do, you're going
to practice crucifying your flesh. I'm on the
Martha ministry. You know why? Because I'm at
a point in my life at 58 years of age, where
I got a lot of people patting me on the back
saying, man, you're really somebody. And it scares
me that if I don't find ways to crucify my flesh,
if I don't find ways to get this flesh to do
what it don't wanna do, I can't finish the journey.
I'm not worried about alcohol. I'm not worried
about pornography. I'm worried about not my will.
But dine be done Let me tell you about that don't
feel sorry for me Because it's a happy now year
It's a happy now life Living for you are there
times that I don't crucify my flesh Absolutely,
and you know the result of that ultimately I
am not very happy with myself with my life with
anything I ain't drinking and doing drugs and
all that, but I'm not happy. But when I surrender
my will one more time, when I say not my will,
but thine be done. Oh, the joy. Somebody reminded
me that happiness and joy are two separate things.
You know, we don't say joy new year, we say happy
new year. That's why I've been using happy. Oh,
the joy of serenity. I surrender my life to you,
Lord, one more time. And please don't misunderstand,
I have so much farther to go on this journey.
There are so many places where I need to say
not my will, but thine be done. But I can guarantee
you it's a happy now life. When you find a way
to go in that garden and one more time say, I
am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life
which I now live. It's a life that's propelled
by the reality that I'm already justified. and
soon I'm gonna be glorified. So in the meantime,
I'm gonna allow life and circumstances and most
of all the word of God and the will of God to
help me to enjoy sanctification, that process
of purifying myself even as I am pure. But the
thing that's gotta be purified the most is my
own will, my own flesh. If there's a young person
in this room that wants to have a happy life,
start saying no to your flesh. You'll never regret
it. You say, that's crazy. You will never regret
it. Here's a way you can practice. Are you ready?
If you still live at home, obey your parents.
Your flesh don't want to obey your parents. They
may ask you to do something that you're thinking,
that's crazy. Do it anyway. If you want to go
really crazy with this, obey your pastor. It's
a little bit harder to obey your pastor. Your
parents kick you out of the house. You've been
living on the street. Your pastor's like, oh,
it's okay, buddy. We love you. It's going to
be all right. But you'll never have a happy life.
Just being surrounded by people that pet your
flesh. Oh you good boy. Good boy. Good boy. Oh
My goodness find somebody that's encouraging
you to realize I am crucified with Christ. It's
not what I want. It's what — if you've got a
grandma or a grandpa that helps you crucify your
flesh, you ought to thank God every day for them.
If you've got a mom or dad that helps you crucify
— you ought to thank God. If you've got a pastor
that still preaches, you ought to take up your
cross every day and follow — you ought to thank
God for that pastor. If every now and then you've
got an opportunity to say no — to you and yes
to the will of God and the purpose of God. You
know what we're doing? We're keeping you in the
casket one more day so that you can rise to walk
in newness of life so that you can be everything.
Would you stand? Man, I took so much time. We
just don't have time to pray. We're just gonna
have to dismiss and go get something to eat.
Well, let's just go over time When it gets into
overtime that means the game is really going
good That means you're getting more than your
money's worth How many of you would be at a football
game today and they go into overtime and you'd
be cussing about it oh Man the games going longer
than we supposed to go. Oh, no you wouldn't not
a chance This service is about to go into overtime.
Yes! We're having fun. Well, a couple of us are
having fun. Would you bow your heads with me?
Lord Jesus, in this room right now, there are
some individuals that have lived What I have
preached Better than I could ever preach it And
I pray that the favor and blessing of God would
rest upon their lives God some of them are some
of our most senior saints and they are still
Taking the plow and not looking back They're
living like heaven could be. The next breath
they breathe is on streets of glory. And I pray
that you would bless them, that you would open
up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing
on them. Give them strength. Add strength to
their days so that until you take them to be
with you, they are able to be an example to us
of godliness and righteousness, having been justified
and getting ready to be glorified. They're enjoying
this walk of being sanctified. Bless them, Jesus.
Bless them, Jesus. Bless them, Jesus. And Jesus,
scattered among those that I have just prayed
for are some that literally feel the agony of
wishing they could be better. at being whatever
they're supposed to be. But Jesus delivered them
from that burden today, and they would just surrender
to the reality that now we are the children of
God, that now we stand redeemed by his blood,
and that their focus in the last few moments
of this service would not be just confessing
and crying about their failures. They would be
celebrating your glory and what you have done
to make all of us your children and Jesus in
a crowd this size There are at least a few But
even though they have claimed you as Savior They
have never repented of their sins or they have
yet to be baptized in Jesus name And they never
even thought that they could be filled with the
Spirit like they were in the Bible. They've heard
so much from so many that they even wonder if
it's real. But Jesus, let hope spring in their
hearts today that they will head for that water
of baptism and they will come out of that watery
grave and newness of life. Resurrection power,
God, in Jesus' name. And God, I pray for those
of us that feel the tug of your spirit that we
would recommit for a new year to a little bit
more prayer and a little bit more fasting and
a little bit more time in your word, not just
to be good religious card -carrying members of
the church, but because we know we are crucified
with Christ. and yet there are still some parts
of our will that have not been surrendered to
you. And we see a joy that can only come when
the seed falls in the ground and dies. We see
a joy that can only come when we say, not my
will, but thine be done. We see a joy that can
only come when we bend our will. around that
tree one more time. And we pray, Jesus, help
me to take up my cross daily and follow you.
In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, if
you have the Holy Ghost right where you're standing,
would you pray in the Spirit because there are
destinies that will be changed in this sanctuary
because someone says, though none go with me.
still I will follow. Even though everybody's
touting a better way, an easier way, I'm gonna
take up my cross and follow Jesus. Even though
I have found a way to excuse areas where I'm
inconsistent, and areas where I have not allowed
myself to truly surrender my life for a cause
that's bigger than myself, but I hear the call
of God today and I will pray not my will, but
time be done. and whatever trial I'm in right
now, whatever struggle I'm in right now, whatever
search for significance I'm in right now, I will
surrender it all that I might walk with Jesus.
I will surrender my own hopes and dreams that
I might obey the pull of the Spirit to say no
to my flesh and no to my dreams and yes. to Jesus,
knowing full well I cannot predict how this journey
will end, knowing full well that I can't tell
which way he will lead me to the left or to the
right. But I do know that when I see him, I shall
be like him. And if everything between now and
then is a little bit of suffering and a little
bit of sacrifice, oh, I will rejoice on that
day and I will say the suffering. of this present
world cannot be compared to the glory that has
been revealed in me. I'm a short boy I know you've
been standing for a while, but could you raise
your hands as if to say, I just surrender to
whatever you have for me, Jesus. I just surrender
to whatever you have for me, Jesus. I don't know
everything I'm feeling right now, and I don't
know exactly what my response is gonna be to
this message, not just in these next few moments.
but in the days ahead, but Jesus, I'm gonna lean
into a little bit more prayer and a little bit
more fasting. I'm gonna lean into a little bit
more word, Bible study time, not just to say
I read a few chapters, but to hear your voice.
I don't know where it's all gonna lead, Jesus,
but if it leads me to a garden where I pray as
it were and sweat great drops of blood, I pray
that you will give me the courage and the conviction
to say not my will, but thine be done. to say
not my will but thine be done, because you have
laid before me in 2026 a happy now year. You
have promised me through the voice of the Spirit
that I don't have to be like a double -minded
man, unstable in all my ways, going to the left
a little bit and going to the right a little
bit, heading forward a little bit, but then heading
backwards a little bit. Oh no, God, that's not
for me. Now, now is my time. Now is my time.
Now! That is the day of my salvation. I am crucified
with you, Lord. Nevertheless, I live, yet not
I, but you live within me and the life which
I now live. I live it right now, God. I'm your
child now. I live for your purpose now. I'm surrendering
to your will now. I want everything you have
for me right now. If that's you, would you come
and just stand at the altar and raise your hands
and say, I receive everything that you have for
me right now. And I laid down my life. I laid
down my dreams. I laid down my desires. I'm gonna
put them on the cross one more time. Come on,
I know it's a little bit later than it usually
is, but I beg you, I beg you, please, please
hear the call of God today. Don't think this
is just a game. Don't think you could just go
through the motions.