Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Small Things Big Difference, Part 1: Your One Word

Episode Date: January 5, 2014

Major resolutions and huge goals. We want big change and we want it now. But maybe taking life in a new direction has a lot more to do with the little things. Let's learn how to embrace intentionality in Small Things, Big Difference. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I can't do anything right. No wonder my boss won't promote me and my wife doesn't respect me. God's not finished with me yet. I can be the man he created me to be at work and at home. I can't believe he's acting like that. What a jerk. He must be having a really hard day. Maybe God put me here to make a difference in his life.

I just can't stop doing this. I'm so frustrated with myself. I will always be this way. I can do this through. Christ's strength. He will help me overcome. Succeeding at the big things has a lot to do with the little things. Thoughts, words, actions. Well, I'm so glad to have all of you with us today as we launch into a brand new year. Welcome at all of our life churches, all of our network churches. Those of you may be around the country snowed in on the other side of computers watching at church

online. We love you guys. What we're doing today is we're launching a brand new four-part message series called small things, big differences. And I don't know about you, but there's something about this time of year that I really love because I always have a real sense of optimism and faith and hope that this year there are some things about my life and the lives of those that I love could actually be different. There's always this sense in the new year that this is the year we could make some changes. So I don't know about you, maybe some of you would like to, get in better shape or lose some weight, eat better, maybe be more spiritually focused this year,

perhaps spend more time with your kids, maybe some of you want to get better with your money, or quit some kind of annoying habit. I don't know what it would be, but I pray that God would give you the power to achieve those goals this year because there's something about starting a new year that just brings hope. I don't know why it is. I guess it's almost like a psychological thing because we can change it any time, But I don't know anybody the week before Thanksgiving that just says, wow, now's a good time to start a diet. It just doesn't seem to go that way.

So when I look at the lives of those who have it together in some area of their life more than I do, I don't know about you, but sometimes that kind of intimidates me. I'll look at their lives and say, they are so much better than I am in this area. I don't even know what big things I need to do to get those results. I've got no idea all the big changes that I would need to make. I want to bring some good news to you today if you've ever felt that way because I really believe that it's not often the big changes that we need to make, but if you're taking notes, here's our key thought for the message series, that it's often the small things that no one sees that result in the big things that everyone wants.

Let me say that again because I really believe there's power in this thought, that it's not the big things, but it's often the small things that no one sees that result in the big things that everyone wants. Let me give you some examples. There was a guy years ago that I really admired the way he walked with God. I don't know if you've ever known anyone like this, but he didn't just call himself a Christian. You could just tell that this guy was very prayerful. when he would respond, he would be searching for scriptures in his mind. You could just really sense this guy was being led by the spirit and everything that he did. And I ask him, man, what's your secret?

Like, what are the big things you do to have these results? And he said, well, I honestly think things changed for me 17 years ago when I started reading through the Bible every year. Just each year I'd read from cover to cover through the Bible. And that really helped me be grounded in the things of God. I was like, oh, well, of course, 17 years reading them. I could never do that. That's such a big thing.

And he said, no, no, no, no. Really, it's not. He said, think about it. It takes me about 15 minutes a day. And if I'm just faithful in that small thing over the course of a year, I actually read through the Bible. A 15-minute discipline changed his life. I thought, you know what?

I can do that. I can devote 15 minutes a day. And so for me, over the last 14 or so years, I've read through the Bible, 15 minutes a day. And honestly, that small change has made a gigantic difference in my walk in relationship with God. Give you another example. I've worked out in the gym for probably 20 years. And I'm one of those guys. I go there.

I didn't see any changes. Like, what's wrong with me? And so there's this one guy like, look at him going, you're ripped. I'm not. what am I doing wrong? Give me some advice. What are the big things you do? He said, really, it's not big things.

I just work out four days a week. I'm like, four not 70. No, four is enough. Like, how long are your workouts? Two hours long? He said, no, 20 minutes of weights and 20 minutes of cardio. Like, you're kidding me. 40 minutes, four days, yeah, that's about it.

He said, what about your diet? He said, well, low carbs, high protein. Like, what else? What else? Nothing? That's it. Like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Low carbs, high protein, 40 minutes, four days a week.

He said, yeah, that's about it. And so I thought, I think I can do that. And so for the past year, I did about four workouts a week, low carbs, high protein. My waist is backed down to where it was in college. My wife is kissing me more. I don't know what happened, but a small thing made a really big difference. It's crazy.

Another example is I was talking to a marriage counselor, and I said, you know, you've worked. with marriages for years, what do you think is for a Christian marriage one of the most important things you could do? He didn't hesitate. He said, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you want to have a great marriage, pray together every day. Like, okay, what does that look like? Like a hour long prayer meeting? He said, no, no, no, no. He said, just every day, maybe before you go to work, maybe at the end of the day, it might be a 30-second prayer, it might be 30 minutes, whatever's comfortable to you, just pray together every day. Like, what could that do? And he said, well, think

about it. If you're praying together, you're probably talking. If you're praying together, you have a spiritual connection, and it's really hard to pray with someone you hate. And so you have to work through things. And I'll like, you know what? I can do that. I can pray with Amy for just a little bit every single day. And this one small discipline has made a big difference in our marriage, and I came to tell somebody today that I believe with all my heart, you can have a very different year, and chances are it's not the big things that you think, but it's often the small things that no one sees that result in the big things that everyone wants. And so what I want to do today is build a foundation. We're going to start in Zechariah chapter four. If you want to go

there in your Bibles, which is a really good reason to use the U-Version Bible up, because you don't have to find Zechariah flipping through the pages. You can just type it in. I don't know if you ever, that's why I have tabs on my Bible, because some of the books are hard to find. So Zechariah, chapter four, and then what I want to do is tell you where we're going to go in the message series. Then I'm going to break it down and give you one very specific,

one very direct, one very focused assignment to focus on one small thing that I believe can make a very big difference. So let me give you the context of Zechariah chapter four. During the time when this was written, the temple was destroyed and God's people were in captivity. So it was a low point in history. We don't have a house for God and we're not even in the place that we're supposed to be. And so people were very depressed. In the year 537 BC, Zerubable led a remnant of people back to Israel.

And so there was some hope. We're back in the land that we're supposed to live. And then 18 years later, God spoke to King Zarubable and said, I'm going to give you the power to rebuild the temple. So let's start in verse 6 of Zechariah 4, and we'll read it and let it speak to us. This is what the Lord said to Zerubable. It's not by force nor by strength. In other words, the temple's not going to be built in a way that you get credit for it. But it's going to be by my what?

Everybody don't say it aloud. It's not by force, not by strength, but by my spirit, says the Lord of Heaven's armies. Here's the thing. You can try to change, and you can try in your own power, and you can make some incremental improvements by your power. But if you'll tap into a power greater than that which you possess, If you tap into the power of the Holy Spirit, his spirit is made perfect in your weakness, and not by our effort, not by our might, not by our power, but by His spirit, he can transform you.

It's like when I was trying to hang up a really big mirror at my house, and I can't, I don't fix anything. I can barely fix a sandwich. And I was fighting with this little screwdriver, it was much too small, trying to get this thing screwed into a stud, when suddenly Pastor Kevin Penry appeared at my front door. Why Pastor Kevin appeared at that time? I think I know. I think my wife Amy called him and said my husband might need help. She says she didn't, but I think she's lying and confessing her sins so that she'll be forgiven.

Pastor Kevin walks in and says, hey, need any help? Like, well, sure, if you want to help. He walks out to his annoying car, brings in an annoying power drill, moves me out away, points it right there and goes, then takes the other one and goes, mm-hmm. For 30 minutes, I was fighting and not saying a cuss word

because I'm a godly man and doing everything I could do. He walks in there, then he takes out this little thing and it's got a bubble in it. Like, I never knew what it was for. It's a level. And so it's just right.

Three minutes later, Amy walks in and she said, Craig, did you? I said, no. She said, Kevin, did you? I said, yes. And she said, I thought so. Okay. Bottom line is, I can find all day long in my own strength, but every now and then you need a little

Pastor Kevin Power Drill Strength, okay? You can try your best all day long to make all your changes, but when you tap into the Spirit of God, there is a strength beyond what you can muster up on your own. Some of you've tried for years to change something, to improve something, and you cannot do it. This is the year that it will not be by your might, nor by your power, but by His Spirit says the Lord. God says, I'm going to give you my power to rebuild this temple. Verse seven says, nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubel's way. It will become level plane before him. In other words, when God calls someone to do something, there is no force on earth that can

stop the power and the will of God through that person. He goes on to say, and when Zerubable sets the final stone of the temple in place, the people will shout, may God bless it. May God bless it. I love the fact that before the construction starts, God already sees the end. Before you even attempt to do what God puts on your heart, God knows what the result can be if we surrender to the power of His spirit. Verse 8 says, then another message came to me from the Lord. Zerubable is the one who laid the foundation of this temple. and he will complete it. If you'll pause there for a moment,

I did a little research on kind of the background of this story, and what I found is that the initial phases of the construction was actually very awkward. It went rather slowly, and if you read in Ezra, there were times when people visited the early stage of construction and they actually cried. They cried. This debatable as to why they cried.

Some people believe they cried because they were happy happy that the temple was being rebuilt. More people actually argue that they cried because they were embarrassed because it was so unimpressive. They're like, this is so small and so pathetic. There's just a few rocks there. This isn't going to amount to anything. And the reality is, that's the way we often feel. You go to the gym, you're on the treadmill, and you're thinking, I've got to lose all this weight, and I've only lost one pound. There's no way. I'm going to get anywhere. I've got to make all these changes that I try so hard and I go three days and I fall back into it. And we get so embarrassed so often by the small beginnings. In fact, today, quite honestly,

is rather emotional to me because it was 18 years ago on this weekend that we met for the first time on a snowy Sunday in a two-car garage with about 40 people. And there was this voice in the back of my mind going, but this is never going to be a real church. I mean, there's only 40 people here, and there are every friend you have. You don't have any more friends, and this isn't going to happen, and all this kind of stuff.

And I just sit back today and think, look what God did out of that very small beginning. Verse 10 says this, and I hope this will encourage some of you. Do not despise these small, beginnings. For the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. You've got to put one stone before you put a second stone. You got to start somewhere. And God rejoices to see you be faithful in the small things. One of the challenges is so often we look at people and we see their highlight reels and we know our

behind the scenes and we get so intimidated. You look at people in the Bible and you're like, look at David. He was a man after God's on a, he took down Goliath. I want to take down my. giant, but we forget that he was faithful for years in the fields tending sheep, and whenever a wild animal would come up, he would run the animal off or he would kill the animal. What was happening? He was learning to be faithful with the small things so God could trust him with the big things. People look at Ruth and Boaz, girls all the time. I want a husband like Boaz. Boaz just sounds handsome. You forget, Ruth was faithful to Naomi when she didn't have a husband. I don't have a husband. I don't. You forget, Ruth was faithful to Naomi when she didn't have to be, when it would have been easier not to be.

She was faithful out in the fields for years and years, for time after time. And it was that faithfulness that opened the doors of God's blessing through Boas. It was the things that no one saw that resulted in the marriage that everyone wanted. We look at Daniel in the Bible like, oh, he's got such great faith. I mean, he's standing in a lion's den, and his faith is unwaver. I want faith like that. Well, we forget that three times a day, year after year, you know what Daniel did? He stopped whatever he was doing, knelt down three times a day, and sought the Lord in prayer.

What kind of faith do you think you would have if you devoted three specific times a day, every day, to seeking after God? It's the things that no one sees that results in what everyone wants. I read a book this year called Wooden on Leadership. It was about John Wooden, one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. He coached for UCLA 10 NCAA titles, seven consecutive titles unheard of between 1967 and 73. You know what? The first practice consisted of for Coach Wooden? He brought the players in, didn't run drills, didn't run sprints, didn't practice free throws or passing.

The very first practice consisted of sitting down, putting your socks on, and putting your shoes on very, very carefully because he found that no one ever thinks about how you put your socks on, and therefore you get blisters. And he made a very important point that we're a team that cares about the details, because the details matter. In fact, John Wooden said this. It's the little things that are vital. Little things make the big things happen. I love that. It's so often the small things that no one sees that result in the big things. that everyone wants. So here's what we're going to do in the upcoming weeks. We're going to focus on three very important areas. We're going to focus on our thoughts, our words, and our habits.

Somebody said this, and I want you to think about this. Why are our thoughts so important? Our thoughts are important because our thoughts become words, our words become actions, our actions become habits, and our habits create a destiny. Next week, we're going to make some small changes in our words. Write that down. We're going to talk about our next week our thoughts because as a person thinks in his heart, so he becomes. You want to change your life? Start by changing your thoughts. Week number three, we're going to talk about our words because there's the power of life and death in our words. You want to change your life, change the words that you speak. You want to change the way you live, change the words that you speak. Week number four,

we're going to talk about our habits. Why? because we become what we repeatedly do. You want to become a different person? Change your habits. We're going to make some small changes in the way we think, in the way we speak, and in the way we behave. And it's in these small changes that maybe no one else will notice will bring about the results, I believe, that we've always wanted.

Because it's impossible to describe the power of a focused life. When you focus on one thing, it's amazing what you can accomplish. In fact, years ago, I did a study on the words, one thing in the Bible, and I found that it's actually a fairly common phrase. David in the Old Testament, King David, was known as a man after God's own heart. Do you know what, the one thing he wanted, above anything else? You can read it. He said, the one thing I want, the one thing I desire is to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

That's it. If your number one thing you desire is to be in God's presence, guess what you could be. You could be described as a man or a woman after God's own heart. There's power in focus. Paul in the New Testament, who is the greatest apostle of all time, if you remember he had a really hard past, not only as a non-Christian at first, but then as a Christian, he faced massive persecution. He was beaten, shipwrecked, left for dead, snake-bitten, he was hungry. He was stoned many times and not recreationally speaking.

You know what I'm saying? Like, oh, I didn't know we could do that. Okay, let's go to Colorado. Meet you there. No, no, no, no. Not what I'm talking about, okay? No, no, no. We're talking about the guy endured some massive pain.

And you know what he said? Rather than saying, oh, I'm going to think about my past. Oh, it's been so hard. You wouldn't believe how mean they are to me. Oh, they persecute me all the time. Oh, I can't know. You know what he said? He said, this one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining on toward what

is ahead, I'm not going to let my past define my future. God has something more for me. So this one thing I do, I let go of all that, and I'm moving forward because God has something else for me. This one thing, when you focus on one thing, it's amazing what God can do. But when you miss your one thing, it's amazing the problem. blessings you can miss. Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha in Luke chapter 10, and Mary was enjoying the presence of Jesus, and Martha was wiggin out. The keys lukewarm, the dishes don't

match, whatever. I don't know what she's doing, but you use your imagination. Jesus looked at her and said, Martha, maybe you're upset about so many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary, who is sitting at the feet of Jesus, has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from it. You missed the most important thing. Jesus encountered a very wealthy, successful young business person. And this guy wanted to follow Jesus. Like, hey, I want to be on your team. And the problem was the material possessions were so important to him

that he was missing the true blessings of becoming a follower of Christ. And so Jesus said, hey, you only lack one thing. Only one thing, just one thing. You get this one thing right and you can help change the world. You lack one thing. Go sell your possessions. Give all that stuff away. Don't let it weigh you down.

Then come follow me. But you know what happened? The guy went away, sat because he was unwilling to do the one thing that would change his life. It's amazing what a life of focus can actually bring. It's often the small things that no one sees that result in the big things that everyone wants. Here's your assignment. Very simple. I'm very focused, very direct, and very doable. What I'm going to challenge you to do is get as focused as you can. Don't give me a New Year's resolution. If you have three, you're going to do none. Don't even give me one New Year's

resolution. What I want to do is I want to ask you to seek God for one specific word that will define and direct your year to come. One word. And then you can also put a verse to it because this is not going to be by our might or by our power, but by God's spirit that he will empower us to move forward. And you will not believe how different your year and your life can be when you focus on one God-breathed word that can help direct your decisions and guide your life. Let me just tell you how I've used this in my own life and in the church's life. Last year, I met with our church staff and said, our word for the year is the word

strengthen. And let me tell you why. Our church had grown significantly in attendance, but I did not feel like we were growing stronger spiritually. Just because there's a crowd coming doesn't mean that we're going deeper in our faith. And I noticed even on our staff, we had a lot of very much. young staff members, young Christians that were getting trapped up and doing the wrong things. We had marriages all throughout our church that are really struggling and some on our staff.

Our student ministry, we were sending kids off to college and they were getting beat up in their first Biblic class and walking with God for two days before getting overwhelmed by the temptations in college, all this stuff. So strengthened was really a word I believe God gave to me for our church. and that we let it direct us through the year. The verse that I chose, I actually love this verse from Isaiah 54, too, because it shows the desire for growth, but the importance of roots.

It reads enlarge the place of your tent. Stretch out your tent curtains wide. Do not hold back. I love that motivation. Lengthen your cords, but also what do you need to do? You need to strengthen your stakes. In other words, if you want your influence to grow larger, you also have to make sure your roots grow deeper.

And so we set out behind the scenes to strengthen the church. And I need to tell you that that one word directed us all year long. And the results were truly amazing. The marriages on our staff, although not perfect, are exceedingly stronger than they were 14 months ago. Our student ministry, we went in and we kind of overhauled, we call it switch at our church. and I cannot tell you how thrilled I am and what I'm seeing in our student ministry. Instead of just having big crowds, we really focused down into small groups into disciplining, into disciplining, mentoring, and strengthening.

I'm going to tell you right now, the strength of our church is not what you see on the weekends. The strength is full of 15, 16, 17-year-olds who are leading the way with passion and evangelistic fire. I mean, it's like a revival is being born up from our students, and I appreciate that little golf clap because you don't know really what's going on there. I mean, it's truly extraordinary. If you've got kids or you are a student and you're not involved, you're missing out on one of the most special parts of our church. And that transformation took place in a year focused by one word.

Our life groups, we were way behind. We didn't have enough. They weren't strong. And we have massively created improvement. If you look back at the messages I preached last year, they were prayerfully designed to strengthen the church, the series, I am Jesus, the I am statements of Jesus, helping people get grounded in who Jesus is. Bless this home, strengthening families.

Elisha, strengthening our faith to obey God, friending, strengthening relationships. You are who you run with. Show me your friends and I'll show you your future. Necessary sin. Strengthening us in personal righteousness. And the vast majority of the message series last year were planned specifically to strengthen. It's amazing what God can do when you focus on the, very direct and one word. So my personal word for the year, it's not the church word,

but my personal word for the year God gave me is what I do not like. Don't like it. My word that I prayed and God gave me the word rest. I'd rather something like conquer, destroy, you know, take over. I know that's two words, but I like it, you know. And so Mandy, my daughter's like, dad, if you don't like it, it probably means God gave it to you. Yes, I know, Mandy, thank you. I know he did. Because I just went way too hard last year. And it doesn't mean I'm going to take more time off. As much as it is, I want to find rest in my soul. Jesus said, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. I'll give you not just physical rest, but I'll give you rest for your soul. So I prayed, God give me a word, rest, this annoying word pops into

my brain. I told you I read to the Bible every day, right? I pulled up my U-version Bible app, and before the foundation of the world, God knew that Hebrews chapter 4 would be on my reading plan, the day rest came into mind. So I read this annoying verse, Hebrews 4, 9, and 11. It says, so there is a what? There is a special rest. Crap.

Okay, this must be my word. Waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested for their labors, just as God did after creating the world. so let us do our best to enter that rest. So I'm joking about not liking that word as much as I think about the truth is, I wonder what I can accomplish from a rested soul

with physical strength and depth of character. And so actually I'm really optimistic about it. I would ask you, what's your one word going to be? When you pray and seek God, let me tell you how it's going to start off. When you hear and believe God has spoken to you about a word, guess what? You've got confidence.

You can hear from God. If you can hear from God about that, you can hear from God about something else. Suddenly, you've got some spiritual momentum, and you've got a word. Then you take your word, I don't know what it is, faith, believe, focus, healing, discernment, generosity, serving, whatever. Then you type that in Google and type in serving on the Bible. Just do that, serving in the Bible. And then there will be verses that come up, and then you pick you a verse, and then you write it and lipstick on your own. mirror, you may get it, I can say get it tattooed, but that would be a bad idea 18 years later

because you have 18 years. Don't do it. But you know, you get it framed and you put it somewhere that's important to you. And suddenly when you wake up, there's a verse and there's a word that's focusing you throughout the year. Discipline. And suddenly you're discipline. You're making wise choices. Extra. You're making a little extra effort in all that you do. Details. You're following details. Relationships. You're sitting there serving people in relationships. And then at the end of the year, someone's going to come in to say, hey, what's up with you? I don't get it. I don't mean to be rude, but you weren't in such good shape last year.

Now you're in good shape. They're saying, I don't get it. You know, you weren't really involved in the church. And now you're like, Mr. Church guy or Miss Church lady, you're there all the time, and you're full of joy because you're making a difference. You know, I mean, you didn't seem to even have a very good marriage. And now you're like newlyweds. You're like honka, honka, honka, la, blah, la.

and love it, love it all the time. What happened to you? You weren't even that close to God. And now all you talk about is how great it is to be used by God. And what happened to you? What big things are you going to say, you know what? I got to be honest with you. Wasn't anything really big, but it was God put something small in front of me,

and I just decided to be faithful in the small things over time. Because you know what? God loves, God loves when you're faithful in the small things. He says, well done, my good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in the small thing, so guess what? You are promotable. Now I can trust you with even bigger things. And when people look on and wonder, how is your life so different? What? I can't even fathom. And you just say, you know what? It's really not the big things, but it's the small things that God put on my heart. God, God, gave me a word. One word. One word. Last year the word for the church was strengthened. And our church

has still got room to grow, but I'm telling you, it's a heck of a lot stronger than it was a year ago. Because when you focus on one thing, it's amazing what God can accomplish through you. Don't let anybody fool you. It's not the big things. It's made up of faithfulness in the small things over time. It's often the small things that no one ever sees that result in the big things that everyone wants. So God, we pray that you would help us to be faithful, even when nobody's looking, be faithful in the details, be faithful with what you put in front of us. God, we want to be faithful with the small things so God you would trust us with even more. As you're praying today at all of our different churches, this is a real easy, real direct assignment. And I want to just ask, as point blank as I can, how much?

many of you will commit to seek God for one word and one verse that will help direct your year. If you would do that, would you just lift up your hands right now? All of our different churches just lift up your hands. Man, fantastic. It's going up all over the place. God, thank you so much. For a strengthening church, God, full of people that are being conform to the image of your son, Jesus, who truly want to serve you.

God, I pray that as they seek you, God, I pray that you would give words that would stretch us, direct us, focus us on the things that matter most to you. God, I thank you that we'll talk about these in our life groups. We'll share them on social media. We'll pray about them in our marriages and we'll share these words with those who can encourage us, direct us, hold us accountable, and God help us to live a very focused life out of the God-breathed, spirit-empowered direction that you would give us. And God, even by faith, faith, we thank you that you can see the end before the beginning starts, and we will not despise the day of small beginnings, because God, we know you rejoice to see the work begin.

As you keep praying today at all of our different churches, let me just give you a hint, some of you what your word is going to be. Some of you, when you hear this God talk, you recognize that you're really not walking with God. You're not really serving. him, but there's something that's drawing you toward him. And it's almost like there's a supernatural something that's giving me this spiritual hunger or this interest. Let me tell you what that is. That is a supernatural something, okay? That's the Holy Spirit that is drawing you toward God. And I can tell some of you what your word might believe. It might be believe. You've had questions and doubts, but when you believe on the Lord Jesus,

Christ, you will be saved. Some of you, your word is believe. Some of you, it's confess. You confess the lordship of Christ. You're no longer the Lord of your own life, but you're confessing that you need him and want him to rule and direct and guide your life. And you confess the Lordship of Christ, and when you do that, you'll be saved. Some of you, your word might be to turn, or the Bible version of that word is to repent. That means you've been going your own way. You're going the wrong way. You're doing the wrong things. You're sinning. And repent means to turn away from your sins and turn toward Jesus. And when you repent of your sins, he will forgive you and he will make you new. At all of our churches, there are those of you that God is showing you a word, and it

implies that you need to surrender fully to him. Some of you, your word is surrender. That's surrender. It's no longer my will. I surrender to him. I want to give my life to him. What is Jesus all about? Jesus is the son of God who was without sin, died and rose again so we could know God, serve God, be forgiven, and glorify God on earth. And all over different campuses, those of you, you recognize, it's time to believe, it's time to confess, it's time to repent, it's time to surrender. In short, it's time to give your life completely to him. I need his grace, I need his forgiveness, I confess my need of God through his son, Jesus. today by faith, I give my life to him. That's your prayer at all of our churches.

Would you lift your hands right now? Just say yes. Lift your hands up and say, yes, I surrender to him. Right over here in this section, both of you right back here. God bless you guys over here on this side. Right back over here. Praise God for you. Way back over here in this back.

I just want to meet you eye to eye. Just way back over here in this section. Praise God for you. Others of you who say, yes, Jesus. I surrender. I need your grace. I give my life completely to you. If you would join your prayers with those around you.

Everybody just pray at loud. Pray Heavenly Father, I am a sinner and I need a Savior. Jesus, forgive me. Make me brand new. I believe that you died and you rose again so I could live for you. Fill me with your spirit so I could know you, serve you, and follow you for the rest of my life. my life is not my own today I give it to you thank you for new life now you have mine in Jesus name I pray with somebody worship big thank God welcome both born into the family of

God today