The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 3: Pastor Albert Tate

Episode Date: November 7, 2021

1122. Come on, y'all. Let's give God some praise in this place. Anybody excited about his glory? Hallelujah. Oh, it's a blessing to be here. I tell you, I am peacock proud and hyena happy to be here with y'all today. I, uh, they lost my luggage.

So I had to go in the pastor, Jovey's closet, and borrow a pair of pants. He's never worn him before. I was wondering why not. But I think I'm going to keep him. I think they fit me more than they better than they fit him. Could y'all imagine him in these pants? Not at all. And I'm just trying to figure out,

because I'm working through my beard and the coloring and stuff, how does he get like those two lines? Like, is he getting that colored like that? Or is that just naturally? I don't know. So I got to ask him when he gets back from sabbatical. to, I want to get that hookup, that two-line deal. I don't know how to do that in L.A.

I got to figure out how to do that. Yo, I'm so grateful for my friend and your pastor, and I'm grateful for you as a church, allowing him time to rest. I just can't tell you how valuable that is and to model that to pastors across the country, to take time, to care for your soul, in a congregation that's excited about their pastors, soul care, and being able to rest.

So thank you for taking such good care of your pastor. Give yourselves a round of applause, I'll tell you. I've got an interesting assignment today. I'm doing something a little risky. I'm just going to tell you right now. I'm doing something a little risky that's more risky than the pants. There's a greater risk ahead. I'm going to take you to a very familiar pastor.

scripture. As a matter of fact, it's so familiar that I'm going to risk some of you checking out on the message, because you're going to be like, I heard this before. But I'm praying that you would stay with me and ask God to give us fresh ears and fresh eyes to hear and see these ancient words again as though it were the first time. Having said that, would you. Would you, grab your Bibles or open up your Bible apps and meet me in the book of John chapter 3 verse 16 John chapter 3 verse 16 growing up there in my old school holiness church we read the King James version which which I like the affection to call King Jimmy King Jimmy's words capture it so in my memorization

I kind of vacillate between different versions. But hear these words of God from the book of John. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, his one and only son, that whosoever would believe in him, would not perish, but have everlasting. Let's pray together. God, thank you so much for this moment. Thank you for this great church. God, we pray that in these next few moments, you would speak, O Lord, like only you can. Your children have gathered to listen. Tune our ears to your voice so that we might hear you ever so clearly. Turn our hearts toward you so that we might experience the fullness of all that you have for us. God, it's to that end that I ask that you stand in my body, think through my mind, speak through my vocal cords, those things you would have us.

say no and do. May the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight. O Lord, you are my strength. You are my redeemer. Get glory in this place. In Jesus' name, amen. My wife and I

aren't originally from Los Angeles, California. That's where we live now. We planted a church there right at about 10 years ago. But before we moved to California, we were from Mississippi. So we grew up born and born and raised Mississippi. So we left Mississippi, came to California. No kids or anything. Y'all first two weeks in California, my wife got pregnant. First two weeks, we didn't have no cable or internet hooked up, and that's just kind of what happened. Four kids later, we didn't figure out that was the problem.

I was like, before we move anywhere, cable got to be on first, internet got to be on. We ain't going in that house till it's on. Yo, man, we got so many kids. It's crazy. And they all spread out. Listen to this, y'all. We got a 15-year-old daughter, 13-year-old daughter, 10-year-old son, and a three-year-old son. The third one, named him Micah.

We almost named him Tequila. We settled on Michael. He was like, let's just tell the story of how he got here. No, I'm just, I'm serious. actually. That's exactly what happened. No, we first moved to California with that first kid, y'all. We moved to California, and it's a new culture, new area, new, it's everything new. So I, our anniversary was coming up, and I was like, new job, new city, new church, new baby. I got to do something special for my wife. I got it, you know, I got to hook her up. I'm sorry, hook her up,

to bless an abundance above and beyond a normal execution of gift giving. I got to hook her up. Sorry, yes, you're welcome, sir. So I go to my new California friends, and I'm like, yo, you want to hook your wife up? Where do you go? Like, I need to give a next love gift. Unanimous. They said, oh, Albert, you got to take her to Tiffany's.

I said, who is Tiffany? They said, oh, yeah, yeah, trust me. You just got to just go see, go to Tiffany's. And so I was like, cool. but a thing? I walk up in Tiffany's. I see them prices. I walked out. I said, is there a Tamika or a Tasha I can go see? Because I can't fool with it. Is there a Tarja Nade? Somebody. I came fool with Tiffany. I can't afford her. They said, Albert, trust me. I'm telling you, if your wife see that blue box, it's going to be worth it all. I went back. I said, hey, Tiffany, give me a

blue box, girl. Just give me one of them boxes. Let me go to Walmart, put something in it. Come on now So all right, all right Okay, so I just, I look around I look around. You ever You ever been in the store And you just got

You just ain't got no business being in there According to your wallet. You know what I mean? I'm walking around Tiffany's My wallet is saying, I don't know what you doing up in here We can't afford nothing in here I don't know you shouldn't even pull me out in here I might burn up up in here

But I'm in there looking, I'm looking, I'm looking. And I got comfortable. I got relaxed. I kind of, you know, I kind of got relaxed, and I forgot where I was, and I saw that. Y'all, things had $12,000. I wanted to say, have you lost your mind? But I couldn't say that, so I tried to play it off

like I was supposed to be there. I was like, maybe a different color. I'm just going to keep looking around. I'm just keep around. And y'all know what I'm looking for. I'm looking for the sale rack. I'm looking for the clearing section, you know, the half off, the floor model, why I could just buy a damaged one.

I'm looking for something, you know, like that. Finally, I see a little bracelet, had a little heart trinking on it. I did it. Y'all, I got it. I was like, I'm going to hook my wife up. I got it. I bought it. Y'all, that was, I don't know, 16 years ago, y'all, we got six more payments and we

going to own that thing, y'all. Telling you, God, it's good. You just trust him and hold on. That thing going to be paid for. So, so I get it. It's in the blue box. I get it all, y'all, and I'm just going to tell you, you shouldn't do this. You should not

do this, but I did it. I did it. I'm giving her this gift, and y'all, I'm going to be honest. You ain't supposed to do this, but I'm going to be honest. I expect a response. I want a response. No, not no regular.

Oh, that's nice. No, I want tears, Jack. And I don't even want regular tears. I want that ugly cry. You know, the snot bubble come out, you know what I mean? Come on and hear somebody. I want a reaction. I want a response.

So, y'all, I give her the Tiffany's. Hey, let me tell you some. Husbands, if you want to bless your wife, go see my girl, I'm telling you. I pull out just in my wife all she sees is the blue box just the blue box and she's already excited She I can see a little tear trickling down and I all got excited I was like baby baby that's just the box Open the box it's something in the box it's not like last Christmas it's something in the box Y'all she opens up the box and she sees that gift can I just tell well I want to be appropriate I was because kids are

in the room. Let's just say, on that night, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Okay? And the priest could not stand to minister. It's just, the lady in the back doesn't lean over to her husband and said, I don't get it. He was like, I know, I know. I know you don't. I know you don't. I guess what I learned is, I know, I know you don't. I guess what I learned And there's a lesson there, and it is this, every great gift demands a great response. Every great gift demands a great response. For God so loved the world that he gave. He gave.

He gave the greatest gift that could ever be given. He gave the gift that brings hope, that brings despair to hope. He gave the gift that brings death to life. He gave the gift that brings hope and transformation to every last one of us. He gave the greatest gift that could ever be given. And I have come today to ask you the question, what is your response? What is your response? It is the greatest gift that's ever been given.

What is your response? For God so love the world that he gave. He gave his only begun son. He loved the world so much that he gave his own. only begotten son. It's the idea of my friend. My friend tells the story of being at home and he's just clicking watching the game on Saturday and he just having a good time watching the game. And his son is playing out on the monkey bars outside. And in the midst of him watching the game, he's sitting on the couch, he's just chilling watching the game. His son is screaming from the yard,

help, help, daddy, I'm stuck. And like any passionate father concerned about the cry in the plea of his child, he immediately leans up and says, and he begins to try to wrestle through, how can I help my child without getting up out my chair? Y'all know what I'm saying. So he says, Daddy, Daddy, I'm stuck. He tries to instruct him out. Turn to the left.

Move to the right. Now dip, baby, dip. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's the wrong. It's the wrong message. Tried to instruct him out. It didn't work. Daddy, daddy, I'm still stuck. I'm stuck.

I'm stuck. And then since he couldn't instruct him out, he said, he tried to encourage him out. You can do it. Try a little harder. Come on, you got it. That didn't work. Daddy, daddy, I'm stuck. Daddy, daddy, I'm stuck.

And then, then he got mad and tried to condemn. him out. What was you doing out there anyway? Didn't I tell you about being out there? Tries to condemn him now. That don't work. Daddy, daddy, I'm stuck. So finally, dad had to get up off of his comfortable seat, put the remote down, walked outside, and saw, huh, yeah, you stuck. He did got himself so far in there that he literally had to climb. through, get up under and in the monkey bars, get the boy unstuck, and then carried him out and brought him out to safety so he could be free from the monkey bars. If you get it early, I won't have to preach as long. For God so love the world. I love it. That when we were

stuck in the monkey bars of sin of this world, when we were. When we were, we were stuck, when we were We were stuck and we couldn't get ourselves out when our humanity was crying out to our Heavenly Father. Daddy, Daddy, I'm stuck in pornography. I'm stuck in greed. I'm stuck in selfishness. I'm stuck in my flesh. I'm stuck in my ways. I'm so glad that we didn't have a God that just tried to instruct us out.

Follow this rule. Follow that. No, we didn't have a God that just tried to encourage us out. Work harder. Do better. and we didn't have a God that tried to condemn us out. What was you doing down there anyway? No, y'all, we got a God who got up off of his throne in glory.

Put on flesh, dwelt among us, got down in the monkey bars, y'all, and he died. He was crucified for our sins, crucified. The Bible says they hung him high. They stretched him wide. He bowed his head for me. He died. And then he died. He died all night Friday night.

He was dead all night Saturday night. But all if I could act a little Baptist in here, early Sunday morning, he got up with all power in his hands to set us free. For God so loved the world. If you've ever been stuck in sin and God came and got you out, you ought to tell him thank you this morning. You ought to give him praise this morning because he got us out. He loved us enough to bring us up, bring us out in his resurrection power.

Oh, come on and give him glory. He got with all power in his hands. For God so loved the world. Y'all that he gave his only begotten son. Then, whosoever would believe in him. Believe, belief, belief, belief. Believe is more than just coming to a converse. conclusion in your mind. Belief is more than just taking the thoughts and the ideas and cognitively

concluding that I agree with the doctrine. No, no, no, no, no. Belief is more than that. And watch this. Belief is more than you just changing your behavior. It's more than the consent of the will. It's more than the assent of the mind. And it's more than the consent of the will. Some of us belief is just, well, I used to do that. Now I'm going to do this because I believe. No, no, no, no, no, it's more than just modified behavior. It's more than you just changing, surrendering your will over him. The belief culminates and not just the ascent of the mind, the consent of the will, but belief culminates in the reclining of your heart.

Ah. Belief equals rest. Belief is the idea that your heart can rest. The gospel is about what you do. gospel is about us resting in what he has done. It's about what he is done. So it ain't about us getting in here trying to work harder. No, it's us resting harder in the work that he's completed.

Belief culminates with rest. Your ability for your heart to recline in who Jesus is, not what you do. It's kind of like this. My granddaddy was a pastor for over 40 years. He was a short man, but a proud man. He's a short man, but he loved big cars for some reason. I remember I was a little boy. My granddad, a little short granddaddy would drive the big, like the big Cadillac.

He loved Cadillacs. He drives the big Cadillac. Not these little cute Cadillacs, you see now running on the freeway. No, no, no, no. It is a Cadillac, man. The car, it started back there to that wall and went all the way back to that. wall, you know what I mean? You couldn't drive it like this. You had to drive it like this. You know what I'm saying? I'm talking and it had no seat capacity. You could put as many kids and

as many people on that back row as possible. You didn't even need a seatbelt. You just needed your grandmama's arm just to come up. It was just like a bar that'll just hold you. You didn't have baby seats back then. You just put the baby in the back window, flip him over every 15 minutes so he don't burn up. Can I get a witness? Anybody know what I'm talking about up in there? So he had this big old car man and we drive. and we're driving and we driving up to Virginia. From Mississippi, some of my granite, he was proud. He believed in the Holy Spirit, too,

and he would pride himself on how quickly he could get somewhere and efficiently. He said, we're going to get from Mississippi to Virginia. Ain't even got to get no gas. The spirit going to take us all the way there. You know what I mean? So you can imagine my surprise when he calls my name. I'm Albert, but I'm a junior,

but he couldn't get enough energy for the second syllable. So he just called me June. He said, June, I'm going to sit back there and I'm going to, I'm going to shut my eyes and I'm going let you drive. Y'all, I'm 16, 17 years old. And my dad's about, my granddad is about to let me drive, the Cadillac. So he gets out, y'all, he gives me the keys and I get in there, y'all, and I'm driving. I'm just, you know what I mean?

Watch me whip. Watch me, Ney, hey. Watch me whip, whip, watch me do it. Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I got to look. Once you started, you got to finish it. You know what I'm saying? Come on, yeah. Another thing that Joby would never do.

So this is your first time here, you're seeing stuff that you'll probably never see again. These pants and these dance moves, you know what I'm saying? Watch me wear, eh, watch you name, eh. Okay, all right. This is one time only. This is it. After that. Um, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, Jesus. Okay, Jesus. So, so, so I'm driving and y'all, I've been driving now for about 30, 45 seconds. And, um, and my granddaddy said, June, boy, speed this thing up. We want to get there before sunrise now. Come on now. I said, okay, granddaddy, so I speed up. Y'all, another, another two minutes or so.

June, boy, slow this thing down, son. You ain't running no race. Okay, granddaddy. So I'm driving another minute. There he go again. June, by this time, my grandmother's over to pass her seat. I could hear her getting irritated and frustrated in her sanctified soul. I could just hear her.

She, when he said that the third time, she turned back and she put her hand up on the thing. She looked back and she said, oh, I thought you said you was going to shut your eyes. See, my granddaddy decided in his mind he wanted me to drive. He gave me the keys so I could drive. But in his heart, he was still driving. Sometimes I wonder if God peers over the balcony of heaven and looks at us and says, I thought you said you was going to shut your eyes and trust me. I thought you was going to trust me with your life.

I thought you was going to trust me with the kids. I thought you was going to trust me with the marriage. I thought, remember, I thought you said this year you's going to trust me with the finances. I thought you said she was going to trust me with that situation that you'd just been burdened down about. I thought you said that you was going to trust me. I thought you said that you was going to trust me. I thought you said you was going to shed your eyes and trust me.

Sunday after Sunday, prayer after prayer, devotional after devotional, you give it to me, but then you go back and you pick it right back up again. I thought you was going to shed your eyes and trust me. Trust is about shedding your eyes. It is about resting in him. A lot of us talk about trust in him, but you ain't resting in him. And I'm telling you, if you think you trust in him, but you ain't resting in him, then you ain't trusting in him. Because to trust in him is to rest in him.

Shut your eyes. See, the problem is we've got too many backseat drivers. my wife, my wife has the spiritual gift of backseat driving. It's a gift, it's a gift. At least that's what our therapist has said we need to choose to say. He said, Albert, you need better words. So it's a gift. It's a gift from Satan.

I don't know, but it's, don't tell I said that. It's a gift. It's a gift. And I wrestle. I'm just going to be honest. I'm not perfect, y'all. I struggle with appreciating her gift. We was in a car the other day, and we driving, and I'm just trying to mind my business,

and I'm driving, but, you know, we're driving. I'm working on my language and words, and so we're driving, obviously, and she begins to get a stirring of an utterance, an instructional utterance. If you got a spouse that does that, just look straight ahead, look at me, and nobody will know it's you. Nobody knows you. So she starts to get a little utterance, and y'all, I failed. I failed miserably. Husbands, don't follow this example.

I fail miserably. You ever say something in your head, but your mouth didn't get the message that it wasn't supposed to go out? You ever have it all not work together? Like, we got a deal. I got my head, what I say in my head, and lips, you only move when I'm going. tell you to, but where the lips got happy. The lips got happy. And I said it in my head and my lips was like, blah.

And I was like, what? Who told you to move? And he was like, I thought were you supposed to? I didn't know. Nobody tell me. So you ever had that fight with your head and your mouth? Y'all, it happened to me in the car. We're driving.

And my wife says, ain't that the turning lane? And I said, ain't that the passenger seat? Like my body, I was like, no. I couldn't bring the words back in. But don't feel bad for her when we got home. She was like, ain't that the couch? I was like, too-shay, my dear, too-shay.

I guess what I'm saying is some of us have gotten too comfortable in the role of backseat driving with Jesus. And you need to understand what he said he's going to do, he's going to do it. Who he says he is, he is. So we don't need you in the backseat questioning his driving like he's some underage. 16-year-old or 17-year-old. My brothers and sisters, you need to shed your eyes and trust him. Why? Because he's the king of kings. Why? Because he's the Lord of Lords. Why? Because he's the beginning and the end. The Alphen Omega, the first and the last. He is the Rose of Sharon, the Bright and Morning Star. He is the Lord of Lords. He is Jehovah Jira, my provider. He's a waymaker, miracle worker,

a heart-fixer, mind regulator. He's a lawyer in the courtroom. He's a doctor in the sick room. Does anybody know who he is today? If you know who he is, you ought to shut your eyes and trust him. Some of you in a rough season right now. Some of you in a challenging season, some of you are carrying heavy burdens right now. And I'm telling you, God has sent this black brother from L.A. with a tablecloth for pants on the tail you. Trust him.

Shut your eyes and trust him. I know it's hard right now, but you need to shut your eyes and trust him. Some of you, you've got a bad doctor's announcement report. Shut your eyes and trust him. Some of you, this is the hardest season you've ever been through in your life. Shut your eyes and trust him. He's been driving a long time. This ain't his first rodeo.

He's finally a reference that Joby would use. You probably hear that again. This ain't this ain't its first rodeo. God's been here before. He's gone before you. Shut your eyes and trust him. Believe. It's not just the assent of the mind.

It's just not the consent of the will. It is the reclining. It is the reclining of the heart. It is the reclining of the heart. For God so loved the world. That he gave his only begotten son. whosoever will believe in him will not perish perish perish perish perish the word perish there is a lot of time we think that's about dying going to hell oh no no no no it's so much bigger than that

the word perishing is it's bigger than that the world perishing number one it doesn't start after death perishing starts right now it is the enemy's greatest strategy to snatch you from god's purpose and his plan but watch this he does it on a slow fade perishing isn't something that happens immediately. It happens slowly over time that he pulls you out of the light and the purpose and the promise of God until he pulls you all the way out of the frame. And you find yourself standing outside of the purpose, the promise, the promise, And the plan of God, you find yourself in the absence of who you've been created to be.

Friends, the worst thing about perishing is how amazingly quickly your eyes adjust to an empty stage. When I first started walking off, the camera guy started freaking out, where's he going? Which way he's going? Oh, no, he's off the stage. What we're going to do? But eventually they just set the camera, get a focus, and our ears adjust to an empty stage.

That's what Satan desires for you to get so used to his absence that your life will adjust to an empty space where only God can occupy. that's perishing. Jesus says, if you trust in me, if you believe in me,

then you don't have to perish. You don't have to live outside of the hope and the promise of God. You don't have to live outside. You can be where you were created to be and that is right here. Woo, there it is, the light, the light of God, the purpose of God, the hope of God,

the promise of God. You don't have to live, like this anymore. Walk into the light. Just walk into the light. What sin wants to do? Sin wants to slowly take you where you didn't want to go. Make you stay longer than you plan to stay and make you pay more than you can afford to pay.

James says when sin is finished with you, it leaves you for dead. He says, Satan's greatest strategy. It's to slowly draw you back outside of the light and purpose of God, outside of the promise of God. Perishing is simply going the wrong way, going the opposite direction of who God has called you to be. For God to love the world that he gave his only begotten son

that whosoever would believe, believe, shut your eyes and trust him. You will not perish. you will not slowly drift the wrong way, but you will have everlasting life. Everlasting life, everlasting life, everlasting life, everlasting life. If perishing is bigger than dying and going to hell, then everlasting life is much bigger than dying and going to heaven. It's bigger than that. Number one, it doesn't start after death. Everlasting life starts right now. Eternal life starts right now. He says, if you believe in me, you begin an eternal relationship, an eternal life, a relationship with God that begins now but culminates in eternity,

his presence. In between now and then, what is he doing? He's making you more and more like your father. Jesus is making the Holy Spirit. He's making you look more and more like God. So every day you walk with him, eternal life is pulling you to promise, pulling you to purpose, pulling you to authority, pulling you to power, pulling you to his likeness. He's pulling you and making you into God's image, the Imago Day, who you were created to be. So every day you become more and more like Jesus. Today I ain't like him fully, but check me out tomorrow, I'll look even more like it. Check me out next week. It's kind of like this.

My oldest order, 15. Her name is Zoe. With Zoe was a little girl. One of the worst things you could say to Zoe was this. People at church used to do it all the time. They'd go up to her and say, girl, you look just like your daddy. First of all, my dad is a dude with a beard. I do not look like a dude with a beard.

But she couldn't help it. She looked just like me. When she was first born, looked just like me. First year birthday, we look at the pictures, she looked even more like me. Second grade birthday, she got glasses, OMG, SMH. She looked even more like me. Oh, my God, shaking my head. Now that she's 15, the girl, y'all, I'm telling you, I knew I was cute.

I didn't know I could be cute as a 15-year-old girl. That thing translates, y'all. I look gorgeous. Oh, my God. I look beautiful. Every year, she looks more and more. like her father. That's everlasting life. That's eternal life. Today, I look as much like him as I can. Next week, I'll look even more like him. Next year, I'll look even more like him. Every day I'm

looking more and more like my father. It's not perfection. You ain't going to get perfect. It's kind of like what my bishop tells me, my mentor, Bishop Kenneth Omer. He says this. He says, he says, old man used to say this. He says, Albert's son, an old man used to tell me this. He says, old man will come and he said, back in the day, I used to cuss at the drop of a hat. But now that I've been walking with the Lord, I don't cuss quite that fast no more.

Take longer to get cussed out by me. Hallelujah, thank you, Jesus. Why? Because the Lord is working on me. Oh, don't look at me like the Lord ain't working on you. Come on and hear somebody. You ain't what you want to be, but you ain't what you used to be. God is working on you.

Can I get a witness up in here, up in here? He's working on me. So what he's saying is when you believe, when you rest in him, every day, I'm letting God do the work that brings me into his purpose. I'm letting God do the work that allows me to walk on his promises. I'm letting God do the work that unleashes his power in my life. I'm saying when you believe and when you trust him, let God do the work. Let him do the work.

For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son that whosoever would believe, believe, believe in him, would not perish, would not perish, but will have ever last. Lasting life. Every great gift demands a great response. God says, I've given you the greatest gift that could ever be given. What's your response today? Are you believing? Are you resting? Are you perishing? Are you going the wrong way? Or are you sitting in the promise? And that's walking in everlasting life. Would you join me in prayer all over the room, every head bowed, every eye closed? I want to just take a moment here. And I just want to pray for those that if you're in this room, you say, Albert, I am,

if I'm honest, I'm going the wrong way. When you walked off the stage and started talking about perishing, Albert, if I'm, if I'm honest, I'm going the wrong way. I'm perishing. I'm walking outside of God's purpose, outside of God's will. I've allowed sin to come in. And I know we all do, but no, no, no, no. I've allowed sin to come in and Albert, it's stayed in. And sin is marking my life and the wages of sin is death. And Albert, my life is cash in that check every day. And I'm telling you if you're in here, you're perishing, you don't have to be. By God's grace, you don't have to perish.

So I want to pray for you if you say, Albert, I'm perishing, but I don't want to be. Albert, I'm perishing, but by God's grace, I don't have to be. God has provided a way. God loved me so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to die for me. I don't have to live like this anymore. So if that's you and you're in this room, I'm going to ask you to do something. It's going to require a little courage, a little strength. But I want to pray with you.

I want to pray for you. If you say, Albert, I'm perishing and I don't want to be. I'm perishing and by God's grace, hallelujah. I don't have to be. I'm going the wrong way. But I'm ready to turn around. I'm ready for the spirit of the living God, his power, to turn me around. If that's you and you're ready, if that's you in this room, I want to pray with you.

I want to pray for you. If that's you, just stand up right where you are. Just stand up right where you are. Albert, I'm going the wrong way. I'm perishing that I don't want to be. Just stand up right where you are. Don't worry about anybody else in this moment. The most important people in this room right now is God, the Father, God, the Spirit, and God the Son.

And he deeply longs to be with you right now in this moment. So if that's you, just stand right where you. you are. Stand right where you are. Can I just tell you as someone who's wrestled with God many times? Can I just tell you as someone who's fought with God many times? Let me just tell you, you don't fight this God. He's too big for you. You don't fight this God. You follow this God. You don't fight this God. You rest in this God. So if that's you and you're fighting, what would it mean for you to wave the white flag and say, God, I'm not going to fight you this time. I'm going to surrender to you. If that's you, just stand up right where you are.

are. I'm going the wrong way. I'm perishing. Stand up right where you are. We're going to pray. Not going to take long. 20 seconds. 20 more seconds. And then I'm going to pray. If you, if you had 20 seconds to turn it around, would you take the 20 seconds? 10 seconds. I'm going to pray. If that's you. Say, Albert, I'm going the wrong way. And I don't have to be another day. If that's you, just stand up right where you are. 10 seconds. So we're going to pray. Five more You can get a yes out and change all eternity in five seconds. Five seconds and we're going to pray. If that's you, just stand right where you are.

Those you that are standing all across the room, would you just lift those hands up towards heaven as high as you can get up? Just lift those hands. Lord Jesus, thank you so much for a grace, the grace that could grab us on a day like today, the grace that can come in the room on a day like today and snatch us from going the wrong. way. You can turn our hearts, turn our minds. And Lord, by the power of your spirit, that's what we

invite you to do right now. We confess our sins. Lord, you said, if we were faithful in just to confess our sins, Lord, we believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. We believe in his power, and it is that power, his resurrection power, that now gives us the ability, the right to stand in the authority, stand in that power, and declare we will never be the same again, eternally transformed because our sins have been washed by the blood of the lamb. It is that power. It is that cleansing that we now stand as new creatures born again, washed by the blood of the lamb, no longer perishing, but walking in the everlasting life.

We believe not just in our minds. We believe not just in our hands, but Lord, we believe in our hearts. The Lord Jesus, we rest in you and we walk in everlasting life. I look more like Jesus. Tomorrow I'm going to look even more like him. Next week, Lord, have mercy. I'm going to look even more like you. So, God, I thank you for your saving power.

I thank you for your authority. God, every great gift demands a great response. And this is my response. Yes, Lord, yes, Lord. I say yes to your will. Yes to your way. Yes, Lord, I'll obey. This is my response.

In Jesus' name, everybody shouted, amen. Amen. If you believe that, put your hands together and give God glory in this place. Oh, if you believe it, open up your mouth and acknowledge the king of kings, the Lord of Lord. Every great gift demands a response. Lord hears we give you glory.