Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - A Way Out, Part 2: Fighting Temptation

Episode Date: August 15, 2015

Temptation is the seductive little voice that twists what you want into what you need. It distorts your thoughts until you’re trapped—and when you’re trapped by temptation, it’s not the time to listen to yourself. Put your trust in someone who kno... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I love that you've joined us for worship today at all of our churches. We're in part two of a four-part message series. Dealing with temptation, all of us are tempted in different ways, and we're calling this message series a way out. Next week, part three, I think is my favorite of all the weeks. We're going to talk about the Holy Spirit's role to give you strength to find a way out. And then in the fourth week, we're going to look at the reality that whatever you feed grows, whatever you starve, dies, how do we feed ourselves spiritually to have the strength to overcome

temptation? And what I'd love for you to do today at all of our churches, if you would, would you just prayerfully listen to this message through the lens of maybe your top one or two greatest temptations? And this is really important. I want you to listen to and experience this teaching through the lens of a good struggle for you. And so if you're comfortable in writing down what your greatest temptation is, I'd love for you to do that. If it's like really nasty and hairy and you don't want the person next to you going, you know, you're going to have to do it.

But if you're comfortable, write down what is your greatest temptation. I'll give you a few just to kind of get your minds rolling. For example, some of you would say, honestly, you know, I'm really vulnerable to overeating or I have an addiction to sugar or whatever. Some of you, it would be overspending. You know you shouldn't buy anything else, and yet when it's on sale, you lose all power of resistance, and you tell yourself you saved money, and you tell your spouse you saved money, and you know you lost money, but you'd tell yourself that, and you end up overspending and

buying things you didn't really need with money you don't really have. For some of you, it might be a substance, and this is incredibly common, as we all know today, that there's something in a bottle, or there's something that you smote, or there's something that you shoot, honestly, that just seems to have more power over you than you have the ability to resist it. And you literally can't go much time at all without this substance that carries you. Some of you, you're battling with lust. And the reality is, according to so many studies, that would be a big percentage of people,

that you're looking at things that just kind of fuel this raw, wrong energy in you. you're acting out on it. Some of you, you hate it, and yet you still do it, and you don't want to, but you end up doing that. Some of you, you're just tempted to criticize. I mean, it's almost like you've taken it criticism to a spiritual gift. You are so good at it. You can pick anything apart. You've already found 14 things about this church you don't like, and the service didn't even half over yet, and you're just getting going. Some of you, you're going to kick back and go, you know what, I'm glad old so-and-so's hearing this message, because they're Jack. up and I don't have any temptation. I don't have any weaknesses. You write down pride right now,

the capital P in your notes because we all are vulnerable somewhere. And honestly, I really hope you'll listen to this message through the lens of what is perhaps your greatest temptation. And I want to revisit again today our key text. We looked at it last week, and we'll look at it in every week in this series from 1 Corinthians chapter 10, a verse that is very truthful and gives us hope. Here's what Paul said. He said, so if you think you're standing firm, for those of you who say, I don't have a problem, this is easy.

If you think you're standing firm, be careful that you don't fall, because we all know that pride comes before a fall. He says, no temptation has overtaken you except what, let's all say it aloud, except what is, common to mankind. In other words, to be human is to be vulnerable to temptation. And don't ever think you're above it. The moment you think, I couldn't be tempted here, is when you often will be. For example, I think I actually slipped into some pride about my more disciplined eating. I'll give you the backstory. Years ago, I ate anything and everything I wanted all the time, anywhere. It was nothing for me to down four crispy cream donuts. And,

not even break a sweat, and I did that often. Then one day I woke up, like, wow, I can't do that anymore. Who knows what I'm talking about? You've been there? And so I recognized I need to change my eating habits. And what I'm going to tell you is this is just the dead truth. It was with the help of God, because God really gave me the strength to do this, that I believe he renewed my mind, changed my appetites.

And so now it's nothing to go, I go a year without a dessert. I, you know, no hamburger, cheeseburgers, you know, it's really not a big struggle for me. And so I kind of just internally like, yeah, you know, I got this thing down. Until Amy brought home a massive bag of M&Ms, okay? Who knows the size of the bags I'm talking about? You can put one in each hand and do a massive cruel workout. They're massive M&M's. And one of the reasons why I don't think I'm vulnerable to eating bad stuff is because Amy just doesn't bring unhealthy

food into our house. I get nowhere to be found, nothing at all. That's why my kids love going to your houses. They do. They're like, they're come home like, Dad, they've got marshmallows in their cereal, and they've got drinks that are red. Okay, they love that at a house. There's none of that stuff. So I open up the cabinet, and in there, there's these M&Ms, and I swear to you, there's a light shining on it somehow, and this aura, oh, and they're like, no! And I slammed the door, I'm literally going across the house into my bedroom thinking, get behind me, M&Ms, I'm not going to eat. Next thing you know, my mind is in fantasy land.

I mean, I'm seeing red and green. I'm seeing all these. I literally am thinking, they melt in your mouth, not in your hands. How freaking cool is that? Amazing. And so in my mind, I just literally, I mean, this is crazy. This is what I thought. I'll just go back in there and see if they're still in the cabinet.

As if they're poof, they're gone. Literally, that's in my mind. I went in there. And then I'm looking at it. I'm just looking at it. I'm just kind of like, there they are. And I just thought, well, I always want to model servanthood. And so this bag's not open.

So I'll just be a help to Amy and be a role model of the kids that you do think. for others. So I just kind of open it up. Well, the next thing you know, literally, this is what I'm thinking. I'll just put my fingers in there and let them run through. I've got the discipline. I'll just watch them fall through my fingers. Well, 20 minutes later, Amy discovers me in the closet, and I'd eaten about 60% of the bag. Don't judge me over there. I'm being honest. Work with me. Anyway, I could have eaten the whole thing had she not stopped me. The moment you think you're standing firm is when you are very, very vulnerable to sin. Those who say, I don't really need this today.

You need it the most of all. And the reality is so many times people feel incredibly guilty just when they're tempted. Oh, I'm such a failure as a Christian. I was tempted again. Listen, to be human is to be tempted. Coming to Christ does not mean the absence of temptation. It means declaring war on the temptation that is already there. And the good news is you do not have to fight alone.

This is what Paul said in verse 13. He said, and God is what? Somebody helped me out. He said, and God is faithful. Even when we are faithless, our God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can. bear. This is amazing news. But when you are tempted, every single time you are tempted, what will our God provide somebody said? Our God will also provide a way out so you can

endure it. And quite honestly, this is why many of you are here today. Because you've been gripped by something that seems to have more power than your ability to resist. And God is going to minister to you hope and faith today that every single time you're tempted, our God will always give you a way out. So I want to talk today about how we resist temptation. And in order to understand how to resist, I want to start with the process of temptation. I read an article that talked about the five steps that happen every single time before someone does the wrong thing. And these steps can take days, weeks, months, or even years, or literally you can go through all five of these steps in a matter of moments. If you're taking notes, and I hope you are, these are the steps toward temptation and sin.

The first is a thought. It starts with a thought. Then it moves into imagination, then some form of justification, then we make a choice, and then we sin. Thought, imagination, justification, choice, sin. Thought, I'd like an M&M. Imagination. I can taste the chocolate as it crunches in my mouth.

Justification. I haven't had anything in a long time. I've been working really, really hard. A few Eminemes aren't going to hurt me anyway. Choice, I'm going to run my finger. through the bag. Half the bag is gone. How did that happen?

Thought. Maybe for you, buying another outfit would be sin. Obviously, buying an outfit's not a sin, but you've got 18. You've never worn. You're in debt, and you've made a promise

not to do anymore. Thought. I feel kind of alone right now and empty on the inside. Buying an outfit would make me feel so good. Imagination. I can see the Instagram post now.

Ooh, girl, you look so good. Smiley face. Kissy. Faye, heart, heart, heart, heart, fire. Justification. I haven't bought one since Wednesday. Choice, let's go online and see if there are any sales. Oh, there's one for 25% off.

Oh, glory to God, he provided savings for me. Sin. Thought. I'm bored. I think I'll see what's on my phone. Imagination. I saw something last week that got me excited. justification. No big deal. Everybody else looks. I mean, what nobody knows is not going to hurt

them. And besides, my wife's not meeting my knees the way she should. So, hmm, hmm, hmm. Okay, choice. I'm just going to look. Click, click, click, click, click, click, send. Where does it start? It always starts with a thought. And we need to recognize that what happens in those first critical moments of temptation, they're far more important than you could ever imagine. So what we're going to do is we're going to decide ahead of time, knowing that we will be tempted. We're going to decide ahead of time how to resist temptation so that we do not fall into something that hurts the heart of God and is destructive to us and to others. How do we fight our way out?

James chapter 4 verse 7 basically shows us to do two things. And the first thing, if you're taking notes, is this. How are we going to fight? We're first going to fight by submitting to God. The first thing we're going to do is submit to God. And that's exactly what James says. He says, submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Now, what's interesting is I always thought of resisting the devil as the first thing you do. You've got to fight against it, fight against it. But James says, no. the first thing you need to do before you fight against temptation is you submit to God. Why? Because you don't have the strength on your own. Your fleshly sinful nature is too weak. You are not designed to live the victorious life alone. You need the help of Christ. That's why every temptation is an invitation to depend on Christ. So we submit to God. Now, what does that mean to you? It could mean a lot of different things. How do you submit to God? Some of the

of you, what you need to do to submit to God is you need to acknowledge that what you're doing is wrong and sinful. And that's where you need to start. Because we live in a society of masterful justifiers. Well, everybody else does it. Well, it's just kind of the way it is nowadays. Well, I mean, this is just the way God made me anyway. I mean, if I didn't have this desire, if God didn't want me to have this desire, he wouldn't have it to me so God understands. Anyway, I mean, I deserve it. Nobody else knows. This is just my one little thing. thing, listen to me carefully, if you're doing anything inconsistent with God's word, that is sinful behavior, and some of you need to start there by acknowledging it. This is wrong.

Some of you know it's wrong, and you're too proud to get help. Some of you need to submit to God and say, yes, I need help. Others of you, it'll be a deeper level of submission, and I do not know what that means to you, but I will tell you what it means to me. submission to God, very honestly, is a daily decision that I must make, and I must make it daily. Why? Because I am so easily distracted. I can be like, oh, man, I'm all into God. God, I'm here for your glory. God, I love you so much. Shiny thing. Shiny thing, shiny, shiny, you know, because that's the way I am. I am so easily distracted. And so for me, it is a daily, every single day, every single day without exception, decision to submit to God.

And I'll tell you, this is what I do. Every day when I wake up, first I go to the bathroom because that is the way God made me and he understands. Then I do my U-Version reading plan, my Bible plan, before I ever leave the house, and then I have prayer time. And I pray for things that are in a list of things that I'm praying for, and then I have a personal prayer that I pray every day, and it's a prayer of submission. And I've prayed this for several years, and it's a daily prayer. And it's very close to this almost exact words every day.

I just let it come from the heart. And every single day, I say, God, I choose today to submit my whole being to you. I submit my mind to you. God, give me the mind of Christ. Help me to only think on things that are excellent, pure, admirable, and excellent. God, give me the power to think on things consistent with your truth. God, I submit to you my ears today that I would only let into my soul that which is consistent with your truth. Give me the wisdom not to let lies in, but only to believe the truth. God, I submit my eyes to you. That they would only look on things that are pure. I submit my mouth to you. That my words would be pleasing to you. That they would bring you glory in what I say and build others up. I give my heart to you, God, and submit it to you,

acknowledging that it is deceitful in all ways. So God, give me a pure heart. May my motives be pure to serve you and to bring glory to you and all that I do. God, I submit my hands to you. That they would be used to build people and to build your church and to build your kingdom. I submit my feet to you. That I would only go to places that are pleasing to you. God, I submit every part of my body to you today. My life is yours. Use it as you see fit. And that is a daily prayer because honestly, I need it daily. And let me just be real honest with you. When I am submitted to God like that, it is easier to resist temptation.

When I am not submitted to God, I am as vulnerable as the worst person you know and can give into temptation like that. I must daily submit to God. Here's what happens. What is temptation? Remember last week? Temptation is anything that promises satisfaction at the cost of obedience to God, right? Anything that promises, oh, if you do this, if you smoke this, if you take this, then you're going to be satisfied. But it is inconsistent with God's truth.

Anything that promises satisfaction at the cost of obedience to God. So what happens? You have a choice upon what you will rely upon. You have a choice. I can rely on what is in a bottle. This medicates me. This helps me feel good. Or I can rely on God.

I can rely on something that I smoke because this just helps me. Or I can rely on God. I can rely on food. Oh, this tastes so good. This is my reward. Oh, this brings me comfort. Or I can rely on God. I can take a legitimate sexual need, meet it in an illegitimate way, and rely on it.

or I can choose to rely on God and his standards. I can rely on that which promises satisfaction, or I can rely on the only one that gives true satisfaction and joy, and you make that choice. That's why daily I have to submit myself to God because the lies and temptations of this world can be so appealing. Therefore, God today, I give every part of my being to you. and when I am submitted to God, it's easier to resist temptation.

And when I'm not submitted to God, it is incredibly harder to resist temptation. So what do we do? Before we fight, stay away. The first thing we do is submit our whole lives to God. We submit ourselves to God. The second thing we do, if you're taking notes, is obvious. We resist the devil. We submit ourselves to God, and we resist the devil.

How many of you ever heard someone say, Well, I just couldn't resist. I just couldn't resist. How many have ever heard somebody say that? Listen to me. With Christ, you can resist. Okay? Let me say it again.

Anytime you want to say amen or act like you care, it will make my feelings feel really, really good, okay? With Christ, you can resist. This is what James says. James said, submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Resist the devil. I illustrate it like this. years, I've been telling everybody that I see bobcats and mountain lions out where I live.

Everybody's like, there's not mountain lions where you live. There's not, yes, there are. In fact, I got a video of a bobcat out at the back of my garage. It's hard to see. If you look kind of carefully straight, like in the middle of the screen right there, that, my friends, is a bobcat. Watch the bobcat tail. Watch it go. Look at me.

Here it goes. There it is. Ah! Bobcat tail. Freaky, freaky, freaky. I actually saw a bobcat in my driveway and scared to live and fire out of me. It might have been that one. It might have been his evil cousin, sister's twin.

I don't know what it was. But he was looking at me about 15 feet away. I'm looking at it. I'm thinking to myself, if I turn and run, I'll get claws from behind. If I climb a tree, I would get clawed up a tree. And so I just thought, I'm going to get my bluff in. I was really scared, like peeing your pants scared. But I just thought, he's this big.

I'm this big. So I just looked at him. and by the grace of God, he turned and ran the other way, which I thank my God in heavens for, because this story would not work if I was in the hospital right now, healing from bobcat claws all over my face. And in a very real sense, this is what you do when you are attacked by the evil one. You're already submitted to God, so your confidence is not in yourself. Your confidence is in Christ inside of you. and whenever temptation comes in the form of a bobcat or a lion,

because Satan comes at you like a roaring lion. See the tie-in right there? Don't you tell me cats are not of the devil. And so whenever you see that enemy come up, with every bit of faith inside of you, you essentially, la-la, okay? Greater is he that is in me than he that's in the world. And I just quoted scripture to you right there. And you recognize that we're within, that Christ in you

is stronger than the wrong desires in you. And then you acknowledge and recognize that we are actually in a war. Christianity is not a playground. It is a battleground. Ephesians says that we battle not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities of this dark world. And so what we do literally is we fight with weapons that are not of this world, scripture says,

but our weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds. What are strongholds? Those things that have held you hostage for years. You have divine, powerful weapons. What kind of weapons do we have? We have the power of prayer. We can petition our good God who hears us. We have the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteous,

the shield of faith which we can quench the fiery darts of the evil one. We have the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. We have the belt of truth. Our shoes are prepared with the gospel of the readiness of peace. And so whenever temptation comes our way, we're saying, oh, I was expecting you. Greater is he, that is in me than he that is in the world. And then you fight back. You've been prepared.

You already sought God and you know his strength is with you. His word is hidden in your heart that you might not sin against him. And you stand your ground. I've already submitted to God. God is with me today. I've already made it. I've pre-decided not to give in to God. I know that his strength is with me.

And then you fight back. And then here's a really powerful thought. If you're taking notes, you could jot this down, that one of the best ways to resist temptation is to eliminate it whenever you can. That's really, really good. I'm going to say it again, okay? One of the best ways to resist temptation is to eliminate it whenever you can. For example, this is what Solomon was saying to his son, giving him advice in Proverbs

chapter 4, verses 14 and 15. These verses crack me up because this is a father telling his son this. Here's what he says. Basically, stay on a temptation. He says, do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Okay, what's he saying? Don't even set your foot on the path. Okay, don't even do that.

Stay away from it. Now watch this. Okay, son, in case you're not paying attention, I'm going to say it to you in a few different ways. Avoid it. Do not travel on it. Turn from it. Go your own way. Hey, you're listening to me?

Hey, stupid. Listen to me. I'm going to say it again. You know that path that leads to evil? Avoid it. Don't travel on it. Turn from it. Go your own way.

I got it, Dad. I got it. No, I don't think you can listen to me. So I'm going to tell you again. Get your butt out of Dodge. Run, force, run. Stay out of the path of it. You get away from it.

Don't get close to it. One of the best ways to resist temptation is to avoid it and eliminate it whenever you can. In fact, I'll just be real honest with you. And I hope this doesn't like, you're not disillusioned by this. But I'll tell you just the truth. I've got people that can verify this is 100% true. Long before I was a pastor, I actually used to be a man. Dead true.

100%. I was a human. Before I glow in the dark and, you know, my Bible hoverses above my desk, I was actually a human being. You guys aren't any fun. You're not any fun at all. You are so pathetic. You are so, you are so not fun. You should go, go to a boring church and just sit there. You're not any fun, fun, fun. Listen to you. I am, I am, I am man, I am vulnerable, I am capable of sin. I don't know if you know this, but guys can be vulnerable visually. Everybody can be, but for whatever reason, we're like, oh, how'd that happen. And so I know that as a man, I could be vulnerable to looking at the wrong things. So I just decided ahead of time to eliminate whatever temptations I could in the future.

For example, when the computer came out, I don't know, it was 10 or more years ago, I got a software on my computer that every click I make goes in detail to two different people who have the authority to fire me from my job. Wow, can you believe I've never been tempted to look at something bad on the computer? How that happened? I don't know, okay? These things, okay? You have one of these things or one of these things right here?

Okay. I heard someone call this mobile device, smartphone? I heard him call it porn in your pocket. What's you got there? I got some porn in my pocket. Got some porn in my pocket. So what do you do? Get one for your 12-year-old.

Say, hey, kid, have fun. See you. Good luck. Teach me how to work it. Wow, you can get to that. I had no idea. So, because you can see anything here you'd ever want to or never want to, I just decided ahead of time knowing that one day I might be vulnerable to eliminate that

possible temptation. So my device doesn't do everything your device does. I can't download apps. I don't have an unfil. filtered browser. I don't even have certain forms of social media because there are certain things on there I don't want to see. So I just tell my assistant posts this for me and someone else post it for me. Go, oh my gosh, Pastor Craig, are you really that week? That's one question you could ask. Someone else might say, ooh, I had no idea. Our pastor was so wise. Okay?

Because honestly, I love my wife. I love my calling. I got a lot to lose. And I know that one day I could be vulnerable. So what I'm going to do is ask myself this question. Why in the world would I resist temptation in the future if I have the power to eliminate it today? Okay? Why would I resist? Listen, and some of you, this is your moment. This is a game changer for you. Why would I resist a temptation in the future if I have the power to eliminate it today?

So how does that play out in your life? You eat chips. You can eat like nine bags of chips. So when you're in a grocery store, you skip the chip aisle. You go straight to the toilet paper aisle because you can't get in no trouble on the toilet paper aisle. That's what you do. Okay? You got a problem with alcohol?

You don't go to the bar. When you go to the gas station, you pay outside and you don't walk in where there's alcohol. If you're overcoming drugs, you don't go around with people who smoke and shoot stuff. That's just kind of what you do. If every time you go to the gym, you're tempted to go, oh God, yoga pants, yoga pants. Okay, then listen to me. You don't go to the gym. You work out at home to an app, right?

You're at work and you're about to give in and to do something wrong and to have an affair with somebody and you know you're vulnerable. You switch departments. Or guess what? You switch jobs. Are you that dead serious? I'm that dead serious. You get yourself out of the place.

If you are, if you're like a technological freak and you know how to get around the safeguards that I don't know how to get around and you're really vulnerable to look in the wrong stuff, guess what? You don't have a smartphone. You've got a dumb one that flips open. Why? Because why would you resist any temptation you have the power to eliminate? We decide ahead of time. I'm going to distance myself from this. I'm going to distance myself. One of the best ways to resist temptation is to eliminate it when possible. But what do you do when you do when you open up the cabinet and there's M&Ms. Ha, ha, ha, didn't expect that.

What do you do then? Well, we're going to talk more about what to do in the upcoming weeks, but several things you can do is you can throw them away, you can run away from them, you can start quoting scripture, which actually is a really, really effective tool. We're going to talk about it in week four. What I often do is I always call somebody and tell them.

I'm vulnerable here because sin grows best in the dark, and so I bring it to the light. And when it's in the light, suddenly it doesn't have as much power. and I always take it to Jesus. The moment it becomes a thought, the moment it becomes a thought, I've already prepared. My mind is already submitted to Christ today. I've already agreed not to look at something, say something wrong, act in some wrong way.

The moment it becomes a thought, I immediately go to Jesus because I know, Hebrews 218, that Jesus himself suffered when he was tempted. And because of that, he is able to help those of us who are being tempted. My Jesus is not sitting at the right hand of God the Father going, oh, he tripped up again. My Jesus is sitting there saying, I'm here to help him get out. Because Christ in me is stronger than the wrong desires in me.

And instead of feeling shame, condemnation, or guilt, we should feel hope. Why? Because our God is faithful. And he will never let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. And when you are tempted, our God will always, provide a way out.

Father, I pray today that in your presence, your Holy Spirit would equip us to serve you faithfully and to take the way out. All of our churches, as you're praying today, let me just tell you the question I'm going to ask you so you can think about. The first one I'm going to ask you, and I hope you're going to be honest

because you are only as strong as you are honest. Is there some reoccurring temptation, some vulnerability, some weakness, that you need God's help to overcome. That's the first question I want you to think about it. Pretty much if you're alive, the answer is probably yes to that. Second question. Is there some way that you can do something today to eliminate

or at least distance yourself from that temptation? Is there something you can do to create distance between you and that point at which you're weak and vulnerable? First question, I'll ask you to participate by raising your hands. Those of you say, you know what, there is something I'm human. and I need God's help to overcome this. I really need his help. Would you lift up your hands right now?

Man, thank you, God, for honest people who want to serve you in every way. Now, you recognize there's a potential vulnerability and there's also something that you can do to eliminate a future temptation or at least put distance between you and that temptation. If you recognize that today, would you just lift up your hands right now? All of our different churches,

fantastic. Do you see what you just realized? There is something you can do today to help prepare you for victory tomorrow. Now, Father, I pray for every person here. And God, I thank you for those who are honest and desire your power to help them be free. God, we thank you that He who the Son Jesus sets free

is free indeed. We thank you, God, that Christ in us is stronger than the wrong desires in us. Father, I pray that we would be people submitted to you daily submitting our whole lives to you, knowing that when we're submitted to you, it's even easier to resist temptation. And when we're not, we are more vulnerable. God, we submit to you.

God, I thank you that you've shown us, many of us, something we can do to eliminate or at least distance ourselves from temptation. Some people might wonder, are we so weak that we need to do that? We're just going to tell ourselves, well, we might be weak, but we're all. also wise, and we're not going to fight something that we can eliminate. So God, thank you today that we've already shown us something we can do to help find the way out. As you keep praying today, I believe God's going to do really life-transforming work just as His Holy Spirit ministers. And there are those of you, you're going to recognize something right now that you have a deep

need for God. You truly need God. What's so interesting as you can take people who don't believe in God. I don't believe God exists. I don't believe God exists. And yet they'll often feel guilty when they do something wrong. Why is that? Where does that come from? I believe God put within all of us a conscious to recognize. There is some thing that's right. There are some things that are wrong.

We do something wrong. Why do we do this? Because God put in us this moral compass. Why is it that we feel this need? God, I want to know, do you love me? It's because we are created with a vacuum knowing that we need the love of God at all of our churches. There are those of you, you recognize, I truly do need God. We tend to think, well, maybe if I work hard and stop doing bad things and start doing good things, then God will love me.

We need to recognize that God loves you as you are. He loves you. Love is not just what he does. Love is who he is. And because he is love, he became one of us in the person of Jesus. And here's what's so important. Jesus was born without sin. Jesus never sinned. He was tempted in every way that we're tempted, but he never sinned. That's why when he died on the cross and rose from the grave, he said, scripture says, anyone who calls in his name would be saved. Anyone. That's why many of you are here today, and you know it. You need his grace. You know it. That's why you're here today. You know it. I need his grace. That's why you're here today. Call on him. Jesus, I give you my life. Save me. Today, I surrender to you. That's your

prayer. Lift your hands high right now and say, yes, Jesus, I submit to you, both of you, back over here, right back over here to this section over here as well. God bless you. Here in this section, way back over here, God bless you guys. Right back over here as well. Others way over here to this side saying yes. Right back here waving high, God bless you. Church online, you click below me right here. Hands up high. Praise God for you. Others of you today say, I need his grace over on this side. But you pray aloud with those around you. Pray Heavenly Father, forgive me of my sins. I surrender to you. Be the Lord of my life. and be my Savior.

Jesus fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can serve you, God, every day of my life. My life is not my own. Today I give it to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Would you all worship big, loud, welcome those born into God's family today,

new creation in Christ, Jesus.