Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Travel Light, Part 5: Letting Go of Your Past

Episode Date: December 30, 2018

When the weight of the world is on your shoulders, it can feel like you’re going nowhere in a hurry. Shake off the burdens of stress, worry, and regret and find the freedom that comes when you Travel Light. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, thanks for joining us here on Life Church, where we are one church meeting in multiple locations and reaching around the world thanks to what God is doing at Church online. If you ever have any questions, or you want to learn more about us as a church, you can always check us out online simply by going to life.church. We'd love for you to stay connected throughout your weekend, everywhere you go with the Life Church app. It's free and available wherever you download your apps from. With that said, let's go to this week's message. Well, welcome to all of our Life Church locations and Church Online, no matter where in the world,

you are joining us from, you are a part of our church family. We love you and we thank God for you. My name is Tim DeRemis and I'm the pastor of the Life Church, East Wichita, Kansas location, and I am honored to get to be here with you as we finish up what's been an amazing series called Travel Light as we talk about letting go of the things that can hold us back in life. And our pastor, Pastor Craig, has done a phenomenal job and he is an unbelievable. communicator, but he's even a better person. And I thank God that he is my pastor. And I'm sure you would say the same thing. And I heard him talking about the series that starts next week habits.

I'm excited about it. He's excited about it. You don't want to miss that. That starts next week. We're at a really interesting part of the year because we are closing the door to 2018 and we're getting ready to step into 2019. So it's a natural time of year for us kind of to reflect on 2018. People are going, man, it was a great year. Others of you are saying, you know what, good riddance, 2018, I'm ready to start a fresh in 2019, and we're looking forward to what God may have in store for us for this year. But here's what we're going to talk about today. The truth that we're going to talk about is this.

Although we can't change our past, God can change our future. Right? It's although we can't change our past, God can change our future. So a little over 12 years ago, my wife was pregnant with our first child, Olivia. We lived in an apartment at the time, and I came home one day, and she was in the bedroom, and I walked in, and she was standing in front of this bay window, and it was like the cover photo of a maternity magazine. She had turned sideways, so it was, like, perfectly profiled.

The sun was backlighting her, so she was just a shadow, and all you could see was her outline. She was about 487 weeks pregnant at that time. And so I thought of my mind, I was like, look how beautiful my wife looks. Look at what an incredible job she's doing, nurturing our unborn child. But somehow, the words from my brain to my mouth got a little bit out of order, and instead what I said was this. I said, wow, you're huge!

Went over about like you would expect. She snapped her head at me and gave me a look that reminded me that pregnant, praying mantises have been known to rip the heads off their mate, devour their body in order to give further nutrition to their unborn offspring. So without making eye contact, I slowly backed out of the room, left the house, and did not come back until I had to go to sleep that night. here's my question for you. That was 12 and a half years ago.

Who thinks in the past 12 and a half years I may have ever heard about that again? Like, hey, remember that time? Yeah. Because the funny thing about our past is that it doesn't always stay in our past. Right? The funny thing about our past

is it doesn't always stay in our past except for sometimes it's not that funny. Maybe for you, it's that you have a problem losing your temper. And you've said some words to loved ones that you wish you could get back and they'll never forget. Or maybe for you,

it's the maddening, reoccurring cycle of ongoing sin where you say, I won't, I won't, I won't, I won't, I don't. I did. Or maybe for you, it's that you betrayed a spouse and no matter how many steps you take, you can't ever seem to move forward.

Or maybe it's the expectations that you had for yourself years ago of how life would look, but you woke up today and life looks so much different and not in a good way. Because the past doesn't stay, in our past. It's almost like it's a door, and although we can't walk back through that door,

it's like a bitter cold wind from winter blowing in as we're reminded of what we've done. If anybody ever understood what that was like, it was Peter, one of the disciples. And some of you're going, wait, isn't Peter the one who got out of the boat in week two of the series and walked on water because he was focused on Jesus? Yes, that Peter. He was with the rest of the disciples at the Last Supper, the night that Jesus was betrayed, would go to trial and later be crucified. When Jesus looked at his disciples and said, some of you will deny me and some of you will desert me. But Peter, who was never slow to speak, said what? He said, no, Lord, even if all of these other people betray you, deny you, not me, even if I have to look death

itself in the face, I won't deny you. But Peter didn't have to look death in the face to deny Jesus. It simply took a powerless young slave girl warming her hands by the fire with Peter to say, hey, wait, don't I recognize you? And Peter said, no, no, no, no, you must be a snake, and I'm not with Jesus who's on trial right over there. Somebody else said, no, I'm pretty sure you're one of his followers. And Peter said, no, no, no, no, I think you've got something confused. I'm not with him. I don't even know him. A third person said, no, I know that you were with Jesus, who's on trial right over there, and Peter said, no, no, you're mistaken. I don't even know him. And here's what happened next in Luke chapter 22, verse 60. It says in verse 61, that at that moment, the Lord

turned and looked at Peter. I want you to imagine for a second that you're Peter. And the son of God, who's standing trial for something he didn't do, who was going to die on a cross for sins he didn't commit in order to save people just like Peter, who Peter had walked with for three years. Peter had seen him perform countless miracles, and yet Peter had just denied even knowing him, not once, not twice, but three times. Jesus turns and looks him in the eye. What did Peter have to feel? Guilt. I can't believe I just did that. Shame. What if the other disciples find out what I just did? Regret. I wish I could take it back. And while you never have seen the that look from Jesus, many of us have seen that look before, haven't we? It's a loved one that we let

down. It's somebody at work that we talked about and they found out about it. It's somebody that we go to school with that we didn't stand up for when we should have. You see, because our past, although we can't go back to it, continues to speak to us and our enemy uses that, doesn't he? Because he reminds us of what we've done and our enemy says about our past three things. The first thing he says is this, because of what you've done, you are unforgivable. Right? You've done too much. Or you didn't do enough. Or that failure that you were a part of has affected so many people. You've done too much. You're unforgivable. But he doesn't stop there. He says, not only are you unforgivable, you're also unlovable. Because if people really knew, if the people who were

sitting next to you really knew that you were full of spiritual doubt, if people really knew what you said to your spouse. If people really knew they wouldn't love you. See, because you're unforgivable, you're unlovable, and also because of what you've done, your enemy says that you're useless. Because of what you've done in the past, you have no future. God couldn't ever allow you to be a part of a healthy, striving family because of what you did in your family in the past. God couldn't allow you to have your physical body be well because of some of the choices that you've made in the past. God couldn't ever use a person like you because of what you've done. Our enemy continues to whisper these lies to us, doesn't he, from the past, like a cold,

bitter wind blowing in on a winter day. And here's the problem. The problem is if we can't let go of our past, we can't take hold of the future that God has for us. Right? If we can't let go of our past, we can't take hold of the future that God has for us. And yet the good news is that Jesus doesn't leave us holding on to our past. instead he comes to us when we need it the most.

How do we know that? We know that because he did it with Peter. He came to Peter after Peter denied him, after Peter deserted the call that he had put on his life. Peter and some of the other disciples went back to what they were doing before they met Jesus. They went back to fishing. Jesus appeared to them on the shore one day.

They didn't know it was him, and he called out to him, hey, throw your nets out on the other side of the boat. They hadn't caught anything, so they threw their nets out. They caught so many fish they couldn't pull them back in, at which point Peter recognized that's Jesus. So he didn't walk on the water, he jumped into the water, pulled his best Michael Phelps, and swam to shore, and had what had to be one of the most awkward meals

in the history of the world as he sat with the risen Christ who he had denied knowing, and there's no record of them talking at all. Until, right, until Jesus finally speaks. And here's what Jesus says to Peter, when Peter was full of guilt, shame, insecurity, and regret. Luke chapter 21 in verse 35, it says after breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, Simon, son of John. Notice what name he used.

He didn't use just his first name, Simon. He didn't use the nickname he gave him. Peter. Instead, he used his full name, didn't he? Simon, son of John. It's like when you were playing outside as a kid and your mom would open. in the back door. Sometimes she would use your first name, wouldn't she? Tim, you'd listen. Maybe it's time to eat. Sometimes she didn't use your first name, though, did she? She used your

full name. Timothy Oliver DeRemis, and you knew what? I better not just listen. I better get up and I better go because I am in trouble. That's when your full name is used and Jesus used Peter's full name and he had to be thinking what? Here it comes, right? Here it comes. Peter, are you ashamed of yourself? Do you feel guilty for what you've done? Do you realize who I am and what you've set up? about me. Peter, I need you to go do these things to make yourself right so that you can come back and have a relationship with me. But that's not what Jesus said to Peter. He said, Simon's son of John, do you love me? A simple question, do you love me? But Jesus didn't ask just one time. He asked again. The whole passage says this. Yes, Lord, Peter replied in verse 15,

you know that I love you. Then feed my lambs, Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, Lord, Peter said, you know that I love you. Then take care of my sheep, Jesus said. A third time he asked. Do you think it went unnoticed to Peter that he asked three times? Do you think Peter had forgotten just a few days earlier?

He didn't deny him one time. He didn't deny him two times. He denied him three times. And a third time, Jesus asked him. him, Peter, do you love me? Here's what the Bible says next. It says what? Peter was hurt that Jesus would ask him a third time. As I read that, I was struck of how kind and caring it was for Jesus to hurt Peter by asking him three times. Because here's what Jesus could have done. He could have ignored the past. Hey, let's just not worry about that. Let's act like it didn't happen, but instead he brought it up,

asking not once, not twice, but three times. Why? Because God is far more concerned with lasting healing in our life than short-term feelings in our life. Jesus understood this, that when you have a wound in your life, you need to clean it out so that it can heal properly. It's like when you would cut yourself as a kid and you were at your grandparents and they'd get the hydrogen of peroxide and pour it and it would sting and it would bubble and they would blow on it. Never did anything when they blew on it. It was just to distract you. They would blow on it. Why? Because they understand. you have to clean out the wound for it to heal properly. Jesus came to Peter and said, let's clean out the wound so that you can heal properly.

So how do we let go of our past? Because although we can't change our past, God can change our future. The first thing that we do to let go of our past is this. We close the door. Right? We close the door. How do we close the door of our past so the enemy can't, continue to speak those lies into our life of your unforgivable, you're unlovable, you're unlovable,

you're unusable. We accept this truth that God's grace is bigger than our sin. Right? God's grace is bigger than our past. God's grace is bigger than our sin. How do we know it? Because the Bible tells us, 1 John, chapter 1, verse 9, but if we confess our sins to him, him being God, if we confess our sins to him, he is what? He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. He doesn't say if you beg, if you feel guilty, if you're ashamed of yourself, if you lie on a bed of nails for three days so that you can feel some pain that you've inflicted to other people, he doesn't say any of that.

He simply says if you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive you. Why? Because his grace is bigger than your sins. And ultimately, our standing with God is determined by our. relationship, not the rules that we've broken. Right? Our standing with God ultimately is determined by our relationship with Christ, not the rules that we've broken. So I heard a commercial the other day, and it said that 94% of drivers would say that they're an above average driver. Right? 94%. The first year I was driving, I knew I was not an above average driver because I had three wrecks within a year.

All my fault. After the third one, my parents did what you would expect. they sat me down and they said, Tim, we're not wealthy people. Like, we can't keep doing this. Every time you're in a wreck, our insurance goes up. We have to pay to fix your car. Then we have to pay to fix the other person's car. They said, the next time this happens, you're on your own. You're going to have to figure it out. We can't keep doing this. So for a while, I was a pretty good driver because fear is an awesome short-term motivator. Right before I put it in reverse, I wouldn't just check once. I'd check like three times in the rearview mirror. And so for a while, I was a pretty good driver. And so, year and a half, it went pretty well until.

Until one day, me and my friend Josh decided to go fishing after school, but I didn't have a truck. He didn't have a truck, but you know who had a truck? My dad had a truck. So I borrowed his truck. We went, we had a great time, and we almost made it home. Right? Like we almost made it. We were turning into the neighborhood, but turning out of the neighborhood was this four-wheel drive, black, four-door, Toyota Tacoma, every 18-year-old boy's dream truck. And so we were mesmerized by that truck looking at it, not looking at the road, not seeing that I drifted into oncoming traffic. The image that's burned in my mind right before we collided with that other car was there was a three-year-old little girl standing in

the back seat of that car holding on to the headrest in the front seat. Our cars collided, and if you've ever been in a wreck, it is one of the worst feelings in the history of the world. you get that pit in your stomach. Even more so if you know that the wreck was your fault. Everything went silent for a minute, and I got out of the truck, and I was trying to figure out what was going on until the silence was broken from that little girl's screams, and I looked, and she had blood pouring out of her mouth.

There was nothing we could do, so we just waited. We waited for the police to show up. We waited for the ambulance to show up, to take her to the hospital, didn't find out until the next day that she was okay. Then we had to wait for the tow truck to pull the vehicles apart from each other, while traffic stacked up for miles, people just waiting for us to get out of the way so that they can go on with their life.

Well, I knew I didn't want to pay for a tow truck, so I had the brilliant idea. Let's just push my dad's truck off the side of the road, which is a great idea, except for they would see the truck before they ever saw me, and I would have a chance to explain. I went home, and I waited, and I waited, until my parents came through the door, and my mom, who's verbally expressive like me, came through the door, and she said, do you have a problem with your eyesight? And I said, well, I'm fine. And she said, no, no, no, no.

I can see just fine. What I want to know is, can you see okay? Because apparently you can't see these vehicles you keep running into. My dad's reaction was the complete opposite. He just walked into the kitchen, folded his arms, and just stroked his beard. Which is worse. That's so much worse. finally the tension got to be too much for me right i didn't know if this little girl was okay and i knew it was

my fault that i heard a child i was costing my parents money my dad didn't have a truck to go to work in to make money to come home from and it was my fault so i walked out the back door to try to collect myself and after a few minutes my dad walked out and i knew it because i could see his shoes because I was staring down at the ground, and he walked up right in front of me, and I thought, here it comes. Right, like, here it comes. And when he got to me, he said, Tim, pick your chin up. And so I looked off to the side, not wanting to look him in the eye, and he said, look me in the eye. And I turned, and I looked him in the eye. And he took a little step forward, and he put his hand on my shoulder and said, Tim, you're my child. And I love you. And there's nothing that you ever

will do that will change that. As a grown man, that story still makes me emotional. Why? Because to be fully known and to be fully loved is a powerful thing. Right? To be fully known and to be fully loved is a powerful thing. And yet what I know is that there were some of you who walked into church today or came to church online today, and maybe not outwardly, but inwardly you were looking down because you were thinking, I can't believe I. And I wish I hadn't. And if these people really knew what I've done, there's no way they would accept me. And yet what you need to hear today is you need to hear God say, pick your chin up. Right. Pick your chin up and look me in the eye because you are my child, if you are in Christ, and I love you, and there's nothing that you will ever do to change that. Pick your chin up.

And yet some of you are still recoiling and going, but if you really knew, if you really knew what I did 15 years ago, and there's not a day that goes by that I don't regret and wish I could change what I did. If you really knew what I did this past weekend, if you really knew. And yet Peter, after the third time, Jesus said, Peter, do you love me, exclaimed what we would do well to exclaim, which is Jesus, you know everything, right? You know everything.

And yet he still simply asked, do you love me? we would do well to give ourselves the same grace and forgiveness that God has already extended us through Jesus Christ. You see, because the door is no longer held open by anything, because Jesus broke the power that holds open the door of our past and our sin when he died on the cross. We simply have to make the decision, am I going to close the door to those lies that I continue to hear why? Because you are not what you've done. You are who God says you are. And if you're in Jesus Christ, who you are is you are forgiven, you are loved, and you are a child. of God. You are forgiven, you are loved, and you are a child of God. Here's what it says in

John chapter 1 verses 12 and 13, but to all who believed in who, in Him, in Jesus Christ and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. And when you are someone's child, your relationship's not based on the rules that you broke, it's based on the relationship that you have with a parent. You will become a child of God. They are reborn, not with physical birth, resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. You see, you are not what you've done. You are who God says that you are. And he says that you are his child, that you are forgiven, and that you are loved.

How do we let go of our past? We close the door. Right, we close the door. We don't have to listen to those lies anymore. The second thing that we do is this. We not only close the door, we step into our future. Right? We step in to our future.

because God saves us from our past so that we can step into the future that he has for us. He saves us from our past so that we can step into the future that he has for us. Why? Because God loves to use imperfect people to impact his world. What did you do with Peter three times? Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, Lord, I love you. Three times Jesus said, then feed my sheep, then take care of my lambs.

He put the call of God back on Peter's life, and he's called every single one of us who've been saved from our past to step into the future that he's put. on us with a call on our life. Maybe for you, it's, you know what, I know what it's like to be a single parent, and God can use me to show the love of Christ to people who are in the exact same situation. I know what it's like to grow up in a home where I'm not surrounded by love, and so God can use me in my home to open its doors to foster kids and show the love of Christ to them. Maybe it's simply, you know what, God can use me to show up to school on Monday and to love the

people that I don't even like. Because God calls us to step into our future. When I talk about that, I think about my new friend Zach. I brought a picture of Zach with me today. Zach walked into our church about two or three months ago. But Zach's story starts long before two or three months ago. You see, when Zach was growing up, he said addiction was just normal in his household. He said he thought everybody's house was like that. In order to be accepted by his dad, who was an alcoholic,

Zach started drinking with him in high school. And he said before long, he also became an alcoholic. But when he graduated from high school, he graduated from alcohol to drugs. And he started using prescription drugs, and then hard drugs. And then he started using IV drugs. I have a picture of Zach, which is actually his mugshot, which is where his drug use landed him. And he said, Tim, for a long time, I knew that I needed help.

but it wasn't until God spoke through my little sister because one day she sat me down and through tears she said Zach I don't want to lose my big brother like this and he said that was the day I decided not only did I need help I wanted help and so Zach checked into a treatment program and the first week at that treatment program he walked into a life church because that's where the people in the treatment program went to church and he said I sat there in church and I can still remember it

and what I remember is this thinking if I'm going to step into the future that God has for me. Something has to change in my life. And he said, what needed to change was that Jesus Christ needed to be the center of my life. So Zach made that decision that day. And Zach, with God's help, was able to close the door to his past three years, 11 months, and 10 days ago the last time that he touched any of those substances. But here's the crazy part, is that's not the end of his story. Why? Because God doesn't just save us from something, he also saves us for something. And he saves Zach for something. He was sitting in his twin bed one day in a residential house of one of our local mission partners called Hope is Alive that helps

people with addiction. And he said that day, Tim, I can remember God saying two things to me. First, he said this, Zach, I want to break the cycle of reoccurring addiction in your family. And he said, if that wasn't enough, he said something else. And what he said is this. And I want to use you to help make that change. in other people's lives as well. So I met Zach a few months ago when he walked into Life Church in the city that I live in Wichita, Kansas. And he was there because he was starting

a new house for Hope is Alive, not as a participant, but as the leader. I have a photo of the group this Christmas in our lobby. In the upper left-hand corner in the black shirt is Michael. He was the newest member of the house in this picture, and with God's help,

using who? Using Zach. Michael was able to close the door to his past three months ago, as he's been sober since then. Why? Because Zach understands something, and what he understands is this, that God loves to use imperfect people to impact his world. And the only qualification to be used by God is not a perfect past is the presence of Jesus Christ in your life. Right? The only qualification for God to use you is not to have a perfect past, but instead to have the presence of Jesus Christ in your life. So what's the call that God has for you? We all have one.

Here's my challenge to you this week. Get a sticky note and write down what God is calling you to in 2019. And some of you, you already know it. And if you don't know it, you can just write God's call as you're listening for that in your life. And take that sticky note and put it on the door that you walk out of every single day. and here's why because this week when you step out of the door to go to work when you step out of the door to go to school

when you step out of the door to go meet a friend for coffee here's what you're going to realize I'm not just going to work I'm not just going to school I'm not just going to coffee I'm stepping into the call that God has on my life because he wants to use me as an imperfect person to impact his world why because God has put a call on your life but something has to change for that to be lived out you see because there's a key to the story that we've been talking about with Peter. I was reading the story over and over and over, and here's how I read this story. It's about Peter's past, right? It's about Peter's failure.

It's about Peter denying Jesus. It's about Peter deserting the call that God had on his life. But finally, I realized I'm reading the story wrong. It's much the same way that we get a photo posted of us on Instagram, and there's eight people in the picture, but how do we determine if it's a good picture? It's how I look. right if I look good it's a good picture if I don't it's not a good picture right it's a story about peter until I realize that ultimately it's not a story about peter it's a story about jesus christ

you see it's not a story about what peter has done in his past it's a story of what jesus christ has done for us on the cross is a story of what he's doing and it's a story of what he wants to do you see when I get it right, and I don't get it right every single day. But when I get it right and I look to my past, you know what I see? I don't see my own failure. I see God's faithfulness in my life. And when I get it right and I look to the past, you know what I see? I don't see how bad I was. I see how good God is in my life. And when I look to the past, I don't see defeat in my life. I see God's victory in my life. And for you, I don't know what's in your past, but I do know what God wants to have in your future. And it's this. He wants to write the greatest story that's

ever been written, and it's the story of Jesus Christ, what he's done in your life, what he's doing, and what he wants to do through you? The question for you is this, what's 2019 going to be about? Is it going to be a story about me? Is it going to be a story about my past? Or is it going to be a story about what Jesus Christ wants to do through me? May we be a people this year who say, God, my life is a story ultimately about you. I want you to be the center of my life. Paul, the apostle, says it this way in one of my favorite passages of scripture in Philippians chapter 3 verses 12 through 15, and I apologize if I get a little excited when I read this. The apostle Paul says this, I don't mean to say that I've already achieved these things

or that I've already reached perfection. Paul's saying, I don't have a perfect past. But he continues. But I press on to possess the perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me no dear brothers and sisters. I've not achieved it. He says, I'm not there, but I focus on this one thing. The apostle Paul says, I focus on this one thing, forgetting what's past, forgetting what's

past, closing the door to the lives of the enemy, forgetting what's past and what, and focusing on what lies ahead? And what is it that lies ahead of us if we are followers of Jesus Christ? Here's what it is. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling me. You see, you, my friend, are not what you've done. You are who God says that you are.

And when you are in Jesus Christ, when you're in Jesus Christ, you were His child. You are forgiven and you are called to step into the future that he has for you. The question for you is, what's 2019 going to be about? Am I going to allow the enemy to hold me back by being unwilling to let go of my past? Or am I going to close the door? and step into God's call that he has on my life. You see, the truth is this. We can't change the past.

And Lord knows there's things in my life. I wish I could walk back through that door and undo. But we can't. But God can change our future. May we be a people who step into the calling that God has placed on our life in 2019. At every life church location, if you will bow your heads and close your eyes

in a spirit and attitude of prayer. I know that there were some of you who walked into church today or logged into church online and you're holding on to your past as you feel the feelings of guilt and of shame and of regret. And yet the good news for you is that if you're in Christ Jesus, you don't need to feel those feelings. Instead, you can feel the feeling of being loved

and forgiven and a child of God. If you're here and you're saying, you know what, Tim, I want to step into 2019 and have a story written, not about me, but about Jesus Christ. I want to be about him this next year. I want to be about what he has called me to this next year. Just go ahead and raise your hand with mine.

Tim, that's me. I want 2019 to be about Jesus Christ. My hand's up with you. Let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, thank you so much that you are a God of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Thank you that you are bigger than our past, that the power of the cross is stronger than the power of what we've done. Lord, we pray that you would help us this year focus on,

on Jesus. Focus on what he has done for us, what he's doing in our lives, and what he wants to do this next year. Lord, help us to step confidently into 2019 knowing that you're calling us to be used as an imperfect person to impact the world around us. As we continue with every head bowed and eyes closed in a spirit and attitude of prayer, there's others of you today who may be thinking, you know what, Tim, you said if you're in Christ, you're forgiven, you're loved, you're a child of God. But honestly, I struggle with guilt and shame and regret. And I don't know that I am forgiven. I don't know that I have received God's mercy.

Here's what God's word says to us in Romans. It says, for the wages of sin is death, right? Our past, what our past leads us to is to be eternally separated from God. But God and his goodness didn't leave us that way. He stepped in and intervened through Jesus Christ, through Jesus Christ, going to the the cross for sins he didn't commit, but for sins that we've committed. But Jesus didn't stay on that cross when he was crucified. Instead, God raised him from the grave because God wants to write a story, not of your defeat, but of God's victory in your life. If you're here today and you're hearing

these words and you're saying, you know what, I'm ready to receive today God's mercy, his grace and his forgiveness in my life. And today I'm ready to make the decision to turn for my sin and to follow Jesus Christ. At all of our life churches, I'm ready to turn for my sin and follow Jesus Christ. I want you to raise your hand right now with me, saying, Tim, I'm ready to turn for my sin and follow Jesus over here on the far right. I see that hand. Praise God for that. Back in the back, another hand going up. Church online, you click right here below me. I'm ready to start a relationship with Jesus Christ. Back here in the back, another hand going up. Praise God for that. Life Church, if you'll pray out loud with me, every voice together because nobody

should pray alone when they're at church. Pray out loud with me. Heavenly Father, I'm ready to receive your grace, your mercy, and your forgiveness. Because I know that I'm a sinner, but I believe Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the grave so that I can be forgiven. I'm ready to follow Jesus with everything I have. And it's in Jesus' name that everybody said, amen, Life Church, why don't we worship and worship God big? As a church, it's our honor to play a 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, all you have to do is go to life.church slash next. You know, here at Life Church, it's our mission to lead people

to become fully devoted followers of Christ. That statement drives everything we do as a church, all because we know and we believe whoever finds God finds life.