Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Bad Advice, Part 2: How To Become An Addict

Episode Date: June 19, 2016

“How did I end up here?” Behind every mess of harmful habits and rough relationships, we can look back and see where we got on the wrong track. Let’s untangle our lives by learning how to avoid Bad Advice. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We are Life Church, one church meeting in multiple locations and reaching around the world through church online. If you have any questions, you'd like to learn more about us as a church. You can always check us out online simply by going to life.church. Coming up to date, we'll see how when we rely on ourselves to keep us from the earthly desires that so often draw us in, we often find ourselves in the middle of an addiction. And today, Pastor Craig Rochelle will teach us how to avoid it. In part two of his message, bad advice. I know a lot of you are scratching your heads going, why do I want bad advice?

Well, truthfully, you don't want bad advice. But let's be honest. If we were to look at our lives from the outside, sometimes we'd have to say, you know, the way that you're living, the way I'm living, actually looks like I'm living based on bad advice. What we're doing in this message series, we're taking four very important themes, and we're actually talking about some really, really, really. bad advice about these themes. When you hear this in the context of a church, it makes you realize

that's really bad advice, and yet often I'm doing those things. Then what I want to do is I want to take God's word and let it be godly and good advice, and we believe that we can make a big difference. So, at all of our churches, who's ready for a little godly advice after some bad advice? Let's dive in to date. All of our churches, I know you would agree. nobody ever wakes up and says my life's going so great today i think i'm going to mess up my life nobody ever thinks that right nobody ever says i'm tired of being blessed so i want to do something stupid okay maybe i can get addicted to something maybe some smoking it'll give me lung cancer and i can die one day and not watch my grandkids grow up maybe i can get addicted to some sexual addiction and i can

end up losing my marriage and my kids really disrespecting me nobody says hey i think i'm going to go out with some buddies and we'll place a little bet, maybe bet on a horse, maybe play some cards, and then one day I'm so in debt that there are four large men coming with baseball bats ready to break my knees. Nobody ever says, I want to become an addict and really mess up my life. And yet, wouldn't you agree that this happens all the time, right? Scripture tells us this, 1 Corinthians 612. Paul said this. He said, I am a very, I am a have the right to do anything. There's a lot of freedom in Christ. He said, I have the right to do anything, you say, but not everything is what? Not everything is beneficial. He said, I have the right

to do anything, but then Paul said, I will not be what? Let's all say this aloud. He said, I will not be mastered by anything. I could do this, but I don't want to be owned by it. I don't want to be mastered by anything. If you'll look in your notes, there's the Greek word that's way too hard for me to try to pronounce that's translated as mastered. This word actually also means to be controlled by or enslaved. It means to be brought under the power of something. What happens? Many of us will say, I know I shouldn't eat the whole thing. I know I shouldn't eat the whole thing. I can't believe I ate the whole thing. I'm mastered by it.

I know I shouldn't overspend. I know I shouldn't overspend. But look at all the money I saved because it was on sale when I overspent. I know I shouldn't look. I know I shouldn't look. I can't believe I looked. I might as well look again because I just looked. And suddenly you wake up one day and go, oh, I'm mastered by something.

What I want to do is kind of throw a hard punch early and try to challenge you to be really honest at all of our churches and think about what has mastered you. What's mastered you? And I made a list of my notes of some things just to get your mind thinking because a lot of times we may not recognize that we might actually mastered by caffeine.

Sorry to step on your toes. But I can't start the day without my cup of whatever. I've got to have it. I've got to have it. I gotta have it. And wait, you may be honest. I'm actually mastered by caffeine. Maybe it's by dipping.

Maybe it's by smoking. Someone said, Craig, will smoking send you to hell? No, it'll just make you smell like you've already been to hell. Did I just say that out loud? You know, no, it won't send you to hell, but, you know, it may go to heaven or hell earlier if you just smoke too much. You may be addicted to smoking cigarettes. You may be addicted to smoking dope.

You may be addicted to smoking crayons. I don't know what it is, but, you know, you might say I'm asking. actually mastered by this. It could be social media. You know, I can't, I can't, I'm a, I can't miss the cat video. There might be a cat video. Whatever, you know, what did she post?

Did she get new shoes and what did he say? You know, and you're literally addicted. It could be your appearance, you know, so into your body. You know, everything's, I got a workout, work out, work out, haven't had a carb since 2012, whatever it is. You know, I'm totally addicted to, you know, physical, my appearance, however you might describe.

that it could be drugs, it could be prescription drugs. An incredibly common problem today with someone who is in good health, has a surgery, take something and, oh, well, now I need this, I need this, I need this, I need this. It could be pornography or some other lustful addiction that the statistics are horrifying, how many people are impacted by this and the number continues growing. It could be gambling.

It could be like computer games, literally, you know, you just play and play and play and play. It could be shopping, you know, literally shopaholic, spending yourself into debt. It could be tanning. I know a lot of people that are so tan, like, I'm not tan, like you look like a suitcase, but, you know, I need to get, you know, it could be anything like this.

And what I want to, sorry if you're a suitcase, I didn't mean to offend you, but look in the mirror, all right? Look in the mirror, you're tan, okay? What I want you to do is take a moment, and be honest about something that may have mastered you. Now, you can write it in your notes, but you may not want the person sitting next to you. The most important thing is have it in your heart,

and I want you to listen to the message in light of what may have mastered you. We need to recognize when we are addicted to something, that that which we're addicted to is often a symptom of the real problem. Do you recognize that? A lot of times it's a symptom of a real problem. In fact, a lot of counselors that I've talked to

said that addictions are really a form of idolatry. What it is is we're actually taking something that is maybe even neutral, maybe bad or dangerous, and we're putting it in the place of where God should be. It becomes a God-like something in our lives. We need God to live. We need God to thrive. We need God to breathe and live.

And suddenly something else is in the place of God, and many people call it idolatry. In fact, there's a really powerful little chunk of scripture that I bet most of you have not even seen or thought of in this light. But in seminary, I remember reading Isaiah 44, and my professor said that many scholars believe this is a poetic look at addictions. Not necessarily true, but if you look at it, you could possibly see. This could be a poetic look at addictions. And what it talks about is a carpenter who had some wood, and he did some good things with it. He made a fire, cooked some food, it kept him warm.

and then he took the very same wood that could be used for good, and he fashioned it into something that became idolatry. Let me show it to you. It says this in verse 14 about the carpenter. He cut down cedars, or perhaps took cypress or oak. He used it for fuel for burning. That's something good. Some of it he takes and he warms himself.

That's good. He kindles a fire and bakes bread. That's good. But he also does what? Say it aloud. He also fashions a God and works. worship sit. What does he do? He makes an idol and bows down to it. He prays to it and says, save me, you are my God. Save me. You are my God. So many addictions that we have can be things

that are neutral, not even that bad. But when it becomes a God in our life, suddenly like, I need you to survive. I need what's in a bottle. Save me. What's in a bottle. Save me. in the bottle, save me what's in the container, save me what's out there. You've become a God to me, save me, we say again and again. In your notes, I put a statement that I hope will grab your attention as it does mine. Here's the challenge with so many of our addictions. What are we doing? Essentially, we're seeking to find what only God can provide. We're seeking to find something that only God can provide. Let's say you're stressed out, you're overwhelmed, okay?

Where do you go for peace? Where do you go for Saul? Who gives you a peace that surpasses all understanding? Our God does. But what happens? What a lot of times people do? Well, I just need a drink, okay? I just need a hit.

I just need an escape. I just need a pill. This just helps me cope. This just gets me through the day. This is what I need. This is just my thing. And what are we doing? We're seeking to find some meaning, some peace,

to find something that provides what only God can truly give. And this is one reason I believe that our spiritual enemy loves to tie us up into bondage and cause us to worship something, need something other than truly pursuing God. So, again, if you ever get tired of being blessed, God's presence is so real. You're full of joy.

You sense the presence of God with you. God is using you to make a difference. Every day you wake up with divine purpose, passion, and meaning in your life. If you ever get tired of that, let me show you some bad advice. What I want to do is show you how to mess up your life and become an addict. Are you ready for this? Because you want to take good notes. There may be a time when life is.

is just going so well, and you are so blessed that you just decide, I want to jack it all up. And here's some easy steps to become an addict. Are you ready? Number one for some bad advice, okay? Number one, don't ever admit you have a problem. Whenever you start to think that you might just deny it, deny it, deny it.

Jeremiah 313 tells us this, that we are to only what? Let's say it aloud. We're only to acknowledge your guilt. We're to admit whenever we've rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshipping idols. There's a word again. We're told to acknowledge our guilt and admit when we've done it. But I'm going to tell you, don't ever do that if you want to be an addict.

Here's what you do. Just tell yourself if you might have a problem. you can quit at any time. This doesn't have power over you. I mean, maybe you've tried for years and years, and you know, you've been saying that for years and years and years, but don't, no, no, no, no, no, no, let's slow you down. Just tell yourself, I can quit at any time.

If everyone else tells you you have a problem, I mean, the people who love you most, I mean, your close friends, your spouse, your small group, your children, don't listen to them. Distance yourself from those students. stupid people who know you best and love you most. Don't ever believe those who care about you and want you to get better. Make excuses. Tell yourself you're just a victim. You're powerless to change. This is just the way you are. This is just the way God made you. And besides, you deserve a little

something. It's not that big of a deal. It's not hurting anyone. The bottom line is, you don't have a problem. Here's some really bad advice. Do you want to become an addict? I love it. You can't say amen when I'm preaching like this because I'm giving you bad advice. And you don't know what to do. It's so awkward. He's like, oh, I can't say anything to that because it's really bad advice.

You want to become an addict? Don't ever admit you have a problem. Number two, I want to encourage you to gratify your fleshly desires. This is so powerful. Paul told the believers in Galatia. Galatians 5 verses 16 and 7. He said this. He said, so I say, walk by the spirit.

And what happens when you walk by the spirit? This is bad news. What happens? You will not gratify the desires of your flesh. Then he says, for the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit, what is contrary to the flesh, they're in conflict with each other so that you do not do whatever you want. This is so important.

For those of you that are Jesus followers, there's a war going on inside of you. When you call on the name of Jesus, your sins are forgiven, and you become a new creation. in Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells within you and the Spirit of God wants to lead you into life and righteousness. The problem is you still have a fleshly nature that Paul says you have to crucify. In other words, you have to say, shut up flesh. I'm not listening to you. If you want to become an addict, you don't listen to what the Spirit of God says because the Spirit of God will convict you,

will lovingly draw you toward life. And you say, no, no, no, no, no, no. I want to do whatever my flesh wants. follow my lower nature. If my flesh wants it, baby, we're going to have a party, and that's just the way it is. So what you want to do is you want to gratify your fleshly desires. If you see something your flesh wants, buy it, eat it, smoke it, chase it, grab it, act like a spoiled two-year-old child in a grocery store, I want a candy bar. Throw up there, I want it. This is my I'm not leaving until I get it. You can do that. You've done it before.

You can do it again. It's inside of you. Just act like a spoiled two-year-old. And then make sure you have access to whatever you're addicted to. This is so important. If it's porn, make sure you have your phone unblocked, unguarded, your iPad available, and your computer completely without any source of accountability. If it's drugs, make sure you got the wrong friends and some cash on hand.

so you can get whatever you want. If it's eating junk food, oh, for the glory of God, or at least Satan. Keep donuts, junk food, and ice cream everywhere. You go. Keep access to whatever it is that tempts you. What's some bad advice. If you want to mess up your life and become an addict, never admit you have a problem. Gratify your fleshly desires.

Number three, keep your addiction a secret. Don't tell us. anyone, especially people who care for you and love you and will support you. Because Proverbs 2813 says, whoever does what? Let's say this aloud. Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper. In other words, if you hide it, you're not going to be blessed or prosper. And that's the goal if you want to mess up your life. But on the other hand, whoever does what? Whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. You don't want that. You want to hide it. because then you won't prosper.

Remember this. Sin grows best in the dark. So that's where you want to keep it. You don't want any light coming in on your struggle. You want to battle it alone and don't tell anyone else about it, especially annoying Jesus followers. They're the worst.

They'll pray for you and encourage you in the Lord and holds you accountable and lift you up and things like that and you ain't got no time for that. Okay, you don't want any of that keeping you away from the thing that you idolize. Okay, also, you don't need rehab, never.

That's only for people who want to get well. But not you. You don't need that. You're going to keep it a secret. Remember, if you just walked into church, this is actually bad advice. It'll make sense in a little while, just hang with us, okay? Number one, if you want to mess up your life, don't admit you have a problem.

Number two, gratify your fleshy desires. Number three, keep your addiction a secret. And number four, above all else, depend on your own power, never ever gods. Depend on your own power. Never, ever, gods. I'm going to stop right there being sarcastic. Okay. That's always hard.

It's like preaching an opposite day. It's opposite day in church. Some people are going, ooh, I've heard about that church. It's all true, you know. Okay. Enough of that. What I want to do is I want to look at the next text, the next portion of God's Word, and I want to look at it from a more serious perspective

and let the power of it speak to some people today, as I believe God wants to do. Second Corinthians chapter 10, verses 3 through 5. Paul was telling the Corinthians who really had some massive problems. You want to talk about some addictions. You want to talk about some strongholds. You want to talk about people locked in deception. However you think you may be struggling now,

their struggles were every bit of what you have and weigh more. If we got into detail about it, you'd be like, oh, really? Oh, really, okay? And this is what Paul is saying to them. He says this, though we live in the world. In other words, we have challenges because we live in a fallen world. He says, though we live here, we do not wage war as the world does. If you're a Jesus follower, he's going to say, you have power that is supernatural,

it's not just limited to what you see in this world. He goes on to say that the weapons that we fight with, those of you who are believers, our weapons are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, our weapons, what do they have? They have divine power to do what? To demolish stronghold. Say it again, what do they have? We have divine power to demolish strongholds.

The Greek word for power is the word dunamis. We get our word dynamite from this word. We have the explosive, miraculous power of God dwelling within us. The power of God doesn't just, like, hurt, but it demolishes strongholds. The Greek word translated as stronghold is the word Akamora. And it literally means a prisoner locked by deception. If you can imagine a castle putting a prisoner in there, that's essentially what Acomora was. It's a prisoner locked by deception.

It's someone who's believing a lie. The power of God explodes, demolishes the lies of our spiritual enemy. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. They have divine power to demolish strongholds. He goes on to say that this is what we do. We, with the power of Christ, demolish arguments and every pretension that, sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought, and we make it obedient to Christ. I need to tell you this, that if you're a Jesus follower, you've got some

weapons that the world doesn't have. What do you have? You have some spiritual armor, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith. You have the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, the belt of truth, the shoes that are prepared with the gospel, the readiness of peace. You have the ability to pray in the spirit that God can hear you in a way that goes beyond your ability to understand. You have access to the very throne room of God. You can enter boldly before the throne of grace in your time of need. Somebody's going to get into this in a moment because you're not fighting with your own power,

but you've got the power of God dwelling within you. Greater is the one who is in you than he that is in the world. Greater is the one that dwells within you than any addiction that's held you bondage. Greater is the truth of God in your spirit, fed by His living word, than any lie Satan has ever told you because we have divine power that demolishes strongholds. We take every thought captive and we make it obedience to Christ. That's why if we're struggling, we never fight with our own power. We're just too weak. We're all vulnerable to addictions, to strongholds, and to lies, but we don't have to fight on our own.

We have the power of Christ dwelling within us. So let me go back and look at those thoughts that we talked about in the bad advice. Don't ever admit you have a problem. Listen, some of you, this is where you start. Today, you open up to somebody. I'm hurting. I'm in trouble. I need help.

Listen, when you're weak, his strength is made perfect. You start with acknowledging, I believe something, I got in trouble, I need help. Listen, if you hear that type of confession today from a husband, a wife, a friend, someone in your small group, you receive it with compassion. Even if it surprises you, whatever, you receive it with compassion seeing someone who's been in bondage who wants your help to get out. I need help. I'm in trouble. Gratify the fleshly nature.

No, no, no, no, no. No, no. We've been crucified with Christ, Paul said. We take our flesh and say, I don't let you rule me. By the power of Christ, you no longer control me. I will be led by the spirit of God.

What does that mean? Every time that we believe God is speaking to us, we say yes to him. Every time he's leading us, we say yes to him. Every time our flesh rules up, we say no to our flesh. If we give in to our flesh, we say, well, Jesus, forgive me, and then we don't do it again.

What else do we talk about, keeping it a secret? No, no, no, you're already dealing with that. We are confessing and renouncing our sins. Why? Because we find mercy. And then we never, ever depend on ourselves because we simply don't have what it takes. What is the addiction? This idolatry is putting something else in the place of where God wants to be.

Now, you may say, Craig, what's mastered you? Throughout the years, there have been different things. And by the power of Christ, I've overcome so many of the things that have held me captive. One of the ongoing challenges for me, and I've been to counseling two different times, when I tell you this, you may be like, well, that's kind of like the guy in the interview that says, what's your weakness, and your weakness is you care too much. Okay, it may sound like that, but this is a real deal for me. I've been counseling two different times for being a weak.

alcoholic. And the second time I went, my counselor said, you have a very serious addiction and you're addicted to adrenaline. Okay. And I need that to function. So like, let me just kind of give you an idea of this week, okay? Vision night out of town a few days ago, preach Saturday, preach Sunday, Monday, two messages, Tuesday, two messages, get on a plane Tuesday afternoon, fly to another city, do three messages at a leadership event all day, fly back Wednesday night, Thursday, host two people in town, nine different messages over a six-day period, that's not easy to do. And I said yes to that, okay? And there's a part of me that hates it, and there's a sick part of me that goes, ha, okay? Okay, because I often think I can do more than what I can really do.

I often do it to please people and not please God. I often do it. I often do it. to try to prove myself in some sort of sick way. And what I have to recognize is that if left unchecked, this can be a serious problem for me. In fact, I put in my notes what I came up with my counselor, and this is my problem, is this. I'm trying to prove my worth by my performance and production rather than in Christ alone.

Okay, let me say it again. And this is what I have to say. I am wrongly trying to prove my worth and what I produce and what I do, rather than my worth being in Christ alone. And so what I have is, Amy, who has permission to speak into my life, my team full of leaders that have served with me

for 18 years who speak into my life, my assistant who can say, you're going too much. And so when we did this week, we looked at it and said, well, that's really the only choice. That's the wise thing to do. You've got time coming off next week and you can actually make that work.

And so I have to submit myself to those around me. because I recognize I need help in this. What I want to do is I want to just encourage you to find whatever that is and say, I actually might need some help in this. I need some help. And an image that really works for me is found in the Old Testament. And this, even if you're not a church person, you might know a little bit about David and

Goliath. David was a little shepherd boy. Goliath was a massive giant. All the Israelites were afraid of this massive giant. David comes up one day after taking care of the sheep in the field, looks at the giants. Who are you to come against the armies of living God? I think my God can take you. Everybody else is afraid.

But here's what David did. I loved it. David looks at the giant and then essentially looks at his God. Looks at the giant, looks at his God. Looks at the giant that everybody else thinks is too big to defeat, looks as his God and thinks that giant's too big to miss. What do you have, giant, that my God doesn't have? What do you have that my God doesn't have?

What do you offer that my God doesn't offer? What do you provide that my God doesn't provide? When I ask you what is it that's mastered you, I want you to look at it, think about it, give it a name, and then look toward God, whatever that means to you. Look toward your Heavenly Father. Look toward Christ who gave his life for you. Look at the pill and look at Jesus and ask the pill,

what do you offer that my Christ doesn't offer? Look at what's in the bottle and ask, what do you offer that Christ doesn't offer? Look at that which feeds your lust and ask, what do you offer this really meaningful compared to what Christ offers? Look at the materialistic addiction. and ask, what do you offer that Christ doesn't offer?

Look at a love for food and say, you look pretty good, cake, but what do you offer that Christ doesn't offer? Who are you to come against the armies of the living God? Everyone else thinks you're too big to defeat, but with a rock and a little bit of faith, and the help of my God, you're too big to miss. Giant, you're coming down. Giant, you're coming down.

Giant, you're coming down. Somebody say it with me. Giant, you're coming down. Giant, you're coming down. You're coming down. You're coming down. Pornography, you're coming down. You don't rule me.

Addiction, you're coming down. You don't rule me. What's in a bottle doesn't rule me. What's inside of me is greater. Christ in me is greater. Christ in me is greater. He who dwells within me is greater than he who's in the world. Christ in me is greater.

What do you offer that my God doesn't? an offer, my God is greater. My God is greater. Giant, you're going down. Giant, somebody's going to get it. You're going down. You're going down. You have no power over me. You've been an idol, but you're not an idol anymore. I love what Paul said to the church in Galatian, Galatians 5-1. He said this, is for what? Say it aloud. He said, it's for freedom. Say it again. somebody, all of our churches, what is it for? It's for freedom. One more time, what is it for? It's for freedom that who has set us free, that Christ has set us free.

So what do you do? When Christ sets you free, you are free indeed. Therefore, you stand firm then, and you do not let yourselves be burdened again by what? By the yoke of slavery. Because he who the son, he who the son, he who the son, Jesus sets free, is free indeed. John 832, and you will know the truth. and the truth will set you free. The truth is we're all vulnerable to different types of addictions. We're all vulnerable to idolatry.

But when we look at that which holds us and we look at the one who saves us, we recognize that that which holds us does not have the power of the one who saves us. And we will know the truth, and I believe today you've heard the truth. You've heard the bad advice, and many of us have lived the bad advice.

But when you hear the truth, the truth will set you free. The giant is going down. Father, I pray today that your power would do a work in hearts in all of our churches. God, for those who may be held hostage for many years by something that seems beyond their control, God, I thank you that the cigarettes go in the garbage on the way out the door and they no longer hold us hostage. God, I thank you today. There are those who will confess to others.

I need your help. am weak. God, we thank you that whoever confesses and renounces their sins finds mercy, and we believe that will happen today. At all of our churches, nobody looking around, this is really important, nobody looking around. Those of you who would say, there is something that's held me back, held me down, and has kept me from being everything that I know God wants me to be. I want that giant to go down, and by faith today, I believe my God is bigger. If that's you today would you lift every hands right now? All of our churches and say yes. All of our churches, I pray God, right now for everyone with the lifted hand that by the power and the grace of Jesus,

Jesus would be bigger than that which holds us. God, I thank you that today, that at life groups in all of our churches, we will confess our need. I thank you, God, in marriages. We will ask for help. God, I thank you. There will be friendships for them. God, I thank you. There will be people that will not leave the church before they confess and sit in the seats and pray. or ask for help at church online. God, I thank you that in your presence, even now, you will set people immediately free. And for those, God, that might need more of a process,

I thank you for those who have the courage to check into rehab, those who will get help, those who will receive counseling and knowing above all, you are the author of healing, you are our strength, you are the truth, and we believe that Jesus will set people free. by the grace of God, may these giants come down. As you keep praying today, at all of our churches, many of you, you're going to recognize a very deep need right now.

If there's only one good thing about our sin, guess what? It reveals to us our need for a savior. At all of our churches, there are many of you, you recognize I am lost, stuck, dead in my sins. If there was anything that God did with my sin years ago, it made me hurt so bad and recognized I couldn't stop, and I needed help.

And when I found myself addicted and in bondage, I called out to Jesus. Jesus, if you're real, if you're there, save me, change me, take my life. And guess what? He was real, he was there, he took me, and he changed my life. Even though I didn't deserve it because of his perfection,

he forgave every sin that I've ever committed and he made me completely brand new. I am a different person, and there are those of you that God brought here today to make new and different. When you turn from your sins and you call on Jesus, he will hear your, prayer and make you brand new. At all of our churches, there are those of you, you are here for

this moment. You recognize it. When you call on Jesus, he will transform you. You become a new person. The old is gone. And everything becomes new. And all of our churches, those who say, yes, I'm stuck, I'm dead, I need his help. I need forgiveness. I need his grace today by faith. I give my life to him. That's your prayer. At all of our churches, lift your hands high right now and say, Yes, Jesus, I surrender. Lift your hands and say, I give my life completely to you. Church online, you click right below me, and together we will pray aloud. Join those around you, praying Heavenly Father, I surrender and give you my life.

Forgive me of all of my sins. Make me brand new. I need your spirit to empower me, to know you, and to follow you. My life is not my own. Jesus, I give it to you. Thank you for new life. Now you have mine. In Jesus' name, I pray.

Would you guys join me in worshiping God? We are honored to play a very small part in all that God is doing in and through your life. And we would love to continue with you on that journey. To find out what your next steps could be in your relationship with Christ, just go to life. church slash next. You know here at life church we love leveraging technology to reach the world and one of the ways we've been able to do that is through the uversion bible app a free app that's been downloaded more than 225 million times on mobile devices around the world and stories of life change continue to pour in. One of my favorite stories is from Javier Cordova who lives just outside of

Los Angeles, California and uses the Bible app to not only grow in his faith but also to share his faith. Eight years ago, I was a new believer and I had a hunger for God's word and know more about God. I traveled to work every day, 45 minutes to and from work on the train. I had a smartphone, so I started searching apps and then I ran into the U-Version Bible app. It had many features that I liked. You know, I was able to look at it, highlight different verses and I also used it as a ministry for me and I had many brothers at church that I could forward with daily verses and they would get back to me saying wow that verse really really hit home although we're in different places it's almost like we come together I am very grateful to

life church for providing this Bible app for free 200 million million plus downloads. That's God working through your church. And I am very grateful. And I'm sure most of the world feels the same way I do. To download the U-Version Bible app, all you have to do is search inside of your favorite app store or you can go to Bible.com slash app. Here at Life Church, it's our mission and our passion to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. And we do all of it because we believe whoever finds God truly finds life.