This morning's message is entitled The Spiritual Vision Test. And I want to
introduce you to someone that many of you may already know. One of the most
popular figures of all the 1800s, probably studied him in school. Uh, you know
him, it's Doctor Herman Snelling. No, no, it doesn't ring a bell for anybody.
Uh, he's described as the Tom Cruise of the 19th century. I mean, you can tell
he's quite the stud right there, just never ages, right? Um, never ages. A side
note, if you've seen the new movie, like, how is that man still doing those
things in his 60s? OK, the stunts, OK. No, Herman Snelling. While you might not
recognize the name, I know you recognize his, his discovery, his creation,
because we still use it today. You see, in 1862, Doctor Herman Snellen created
the Snellen eye chart. So this is the chart that you see in doctors' offices and
and eye doctor's offices everywhere, and he was an ophthalmologist who wanted to
create a standardized way to test and measure visual acuity. And so the idea
behind having 20/20 vision is what the average person can see from 20 ft. And so
we had like certain letters that block style and went in and then you you're
supposed to just so you know, be able to read down to the 8th line for those
that are trying to do the eye chart right now. I see like everyone's eyes going
into the screen and even the TV right here looking next to me, they're, they're
all trying to read it. So, uh, line 8 is, is means that you have a 2020 vision.
And some of you are trying to see how low you can go, or if you're like me, if
you get into the room before the eye doctor, you get real close and you try to
memorize the letters real quick. If you're laughing, you've done this, and I can
appreciate it, um, so that when you go back and you're like start reading the
bottom line as if like you have like almost X-ray vision, um, and go through.
And so no, they created this chart that's now used all around the world. It's
been used for the last 175 years to measure, uh, really someone's visual acuity.
And so the idea here is that the chart doesn't change, but it's your vision that
is in or out of focus. But what do you do? When your life seems a little blurry.
You know, when life and relationships or finances or health feels a little out
of focus. See, more important than a physical eye test is the spiritual vision
test. And what we want to do today is as we jump into a new book of the Bible,
and we're gonna spend the summer in the 1st 3 chapters of the Book of
Revelation. I believe Revelation chapter one can serve as a spiritual vision
test for you and for me. And so if your life feels a little out of focus,
today's message here is for you. And you're taking notes, I encourage you to
write this down, that a clear view of Jesus brings clarity to everything else. A
clear view of Jesus brings clarity to everything else. You see, the way that you
view Jesus shapes how you see everything else in your life. Thinking back to
elementary school, uh, it's so funny to me that, you know, kids, we have to tell
them over and over, don't stare at the sun. Like if you stare at the sun, your
eyes are gonna burn out, right? Except when there's a solar eclipse, then the
entire school goes outside and we tell kids, stare at the sun, right? But in
order to do that, you gotta have like special solar eclipse glasses. Right? And
if you don't order them off Amazon in time, you, you can make something out of
like a cereal box, right? Anyone remember doing these things? Right? And so you
gotta wear these glasses and you look ridiculous, but it is really cool when you
can look up and get, because it's filtered because you can't look directly at
it. But when you see the solar eclipse, it's pretty incredible. I was curious,
so I looked it up. The next one, by the way, is, is coming up September 21st. So
this fall, September 21st, maybe on that day. You'll remember this message and
maybe order your glasses now, because you're like me, I don't think about
ordering the glasses till the morning of, and then I get mad that Amazon Prime
doesn't get it to me in time. Uh, we're spoiled. But, so here's the thing is
that with the solar eclipse, you have to have a certain lens through which you
can look up and see something that's miraculous. In the same way, Revelation one
provides the lens that gives us just a little glimpse into the very glory of
God. And my prayer and hope is that even more than solar eclipse glasses, is
that maybe for some people in this room today, this message will serve as almost
like a spiritual LASIK surgery. Right, and just how you can have laser surgery
now and correct vision, uh, that's the hope here is that we can have a clear
view of who Jesus is because if we have a clear view of Jesus, it brings clarity
to everything else in our lives. Now, before we jump into the book of
Revelation, let's give a little bit of background to the the book of Revelation.
Uh, it's, it's commonly said, and so I'm not gonna bash you for it because even
I say it at times, but it's revelation, singular. We always say revelations, uh,
but it's revelation. And the reason it's good to clarify that is because the
opening words of the letter is actually the revelation of Jesus Christ. And so
this idea of revelation comes from the Greek word apocalyptus, which is where we
get our word apocalypse, but it actually describes imagery even in the Old
Testament, uh, that you see and so the the definition of apocalypsis is this
idea of a disclosure of truth or the manifestation or appearance of someone or
something. Which makes sense in common day language, right? Like if you, if you
come to understand something as true, you've received a revelation, right? Or if
somebody shows up, right, there's a manifestation or the appearance of someone
or something. But the key distinction I want you to understand is that it's the
revealing of something that's already there. And so that's very, that's
discovery more than it is invention. Right? In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean
blue, right? That, I don't know, I'm just going to elementary school references
today, I guess. But if, did I get that right? I'm just throwing this up. Yes,
OK, you guys looked at me like, wow, he's way off, or he's just weird, which I
get the weird part, but When Columbus sailed, he didn't invent America. Right?
It was revealed to him when the boat hit the land. Right? It, it, it was, or if
you think of those game shows where you want, you gotta pick which door or which
curtain, right? I want curtain number 2. The prize is becomes visual when the
curtain gets unveiled. You're not inventing it, you're discovering it. So it's a
revelation. That's important because God exists and it's all powerful and all
knowing whether you believe in Him or not. And the reality is God's doing just
fine. But to have a revelation of Jesus in your life. To have a clearer view of
who Jesus is changes how you see yourself and changes how you view the world.
And so we're gonna use Revelation one as the lens, as the eye test to get a
glimpse into the glory of God and see what happens. But to understand the book
of Revelation is to know. That it's, it's really a, a highly debated book,
right? Because there's over like 500 illusions and, and symbols and, and images
and depending on how literal you take these and how how figurative you take
them, right? There's a lot of discussions of when Jesus is coming back, how he's
coming back, what is this kingdom, what's new heaven, new earth, what is the
tribulation, what is the rapture? And to give some background before we jump
into it is to know this. That prophecy wasn't given simply to satisfy curiosity
for the future. But it was written to give courage for people today. I can say
that because the author of the book, it is a little bit debated, but it's most
scholars agree that it was John the Apostle, one of the early disciples, the
disciple whom Jesus loved. And it was written when he was exiled to the island
of Patmos. And it was written around the time of 95 to 96 AD and John writes it
originally to seven churches there in Asia Minor. And in these 7 churches. The
early Christian, the believers are being persecuted for their faith. And so what
we can take from this writing is that Revelation was written to churches then,
but also written for us today. And so, put yourself in John's shoes for just a
moment. If the letter dates at like 9596 AD, that's roughly 60 years after the
resurrection of Jesus. And at this point, he is the last living disciple. John's
important too for the, the canonicity of the Bible because he discipled a guy
named Pollycarp, great name, who then discipled a guy named Orhenius, another
great name. But Orhenius actually didn't die to the year around 202 AD. So you
actually have from 3 generations, you can go from Christ all the way to 200 AD
with the validity of letters and scriptures written, which is pretty cool, I
think. But here is John, who in Mark chapter 3 gets called the son of thunder,
right? You know he was a miss, you know he was a badly behaved kid. Right, him
and his brother James, like to get the Sons of thunder, like there's like, it's
not like the Sons of calmness, but it's like the son like, you know, that's the
kid that's just jumping off couches and chairs and just like causing havoc,
right? And uh, and, and they were fishermen, so they were probably just like
this, they're probably jumping off the boat, they're probably like throwing fish
hooks at each other as kids, you know what I mean? Like, you know, John wrapped
me in the fish net again, uh, like, like, you know, they were crazy behave. But
yet they have this encounter with Jesus. They become his followers and his
disciples. And then it refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And I
don't think this was like a bragging thing, like I was the most loved by Jesus.
Although in Mark chapter 10, he actually asked Jesus, hey, can I sit next to you
in heaven? He's like, I, I know we're all close, but can I be like more close?
And he's seen as one of Jesus's inner circle. And so I don't think he was
bragging, but what I think he's seen is like, just how much his life has
changed. That he is the disciple whom Jesus loved. I don't think John ever got
over the fact that Jesus loves him. And that's why when he writes letters like 1
John 2 and 3rd John, he writes and addresses the church is like, oh, beloved.
Right? When you have that title beloved, it's the idea of be loved, receive the
love of God. And it's not so much how much John loved him, it was recognizing
and identifying just how much Jesus loved John. He saw the glory of God on the
mount of transfiguration in Luke chapter 9. He was so close to Jesus that in the
Last Supper there in John 13:23, he actually sat next to Jesus and rested his
head either on the shoulder or on the chest of Jesus himself. Like that's how
close of a friendship they had. He was the first disciple to the empty tomb.
Right? They started preaching the resurrection of Jesus. So he's described as
bold in Acts 4:13. But now, 60 years later. It's a long time. 60 years since you
interacted with Jesus. All your friends are dead and gone. The temple in
Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, meaning 25 years since the temple was
destroyed. Rome is still in power. The churches are being persecuted. He's
isolated on an island left to die. And God comes to him. And he gets this
vision. Here in verse one of Revelation chapter one. The revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take
place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore
witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ even. To all
that he saw. Now notice this verse is a key verse here in verse 3. Blessed is
the one who reads aloud the words of prophecy. Oh, I guess right now that's me.
All right, I'll take it. Blessed are those who hear. Congrats. and who keep what
is written in it. I don't know about that last one. For the time is near.
Blessed are those who read the word. Blessed are those who hear it. But blessed,
most importantly, are those who keep the word. And so when everything was going
against them, when everything was on the line. At the end of his rope, at the
end of his life, friends are gone, titles are gone, leadership is gone, hope is
lost. Jesus reveals himself. To the disciple whom he loved. And it's so powerful
that it changes lives and it is still changing lives today. So just a few verses
later, God is described this way in Revelation 18, it says, I am the Alpha and
the Omega. Says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come the Almighty.
God is the author of our story. He is the perfecter of our faith. He is the
finisher of our faith. Not only did he speak the world into existence, he holds
the world in his hand. And there's going to come a time. Where there's new
heaven on earth. And we'll be with him face to face. And so for those who are
tired, who are experiencing grief, who are experiencing loss, May we just get a
renewed vision today, just a glimpse of his glory because if you do that, it's
gonna change how you see your life and everything around you. He goes on to
describe this vision here in verse 12. He says, then I turned to see the voice
that was speaking to me, and on turning, I saw 7 golden lampstands. And in the
midst of the lampstands like a son of man, um, like a son of man clothes with a
long robe with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white
like wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like
burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many
waters. In his right hand he howled 7 stars from his mouth came a sharp two-
edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining full strength. And when I saw
him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me,
saying, fear not, I am the first and the last. And I am the living one. I died
and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and Hades.
Right therefore, the things that you have seen, those that are and those that
are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the 7 stars that you saw in
my right hand and the 7 golden lampstands, the 7 stars are the angels of the 7
churches, and the 7 lampstands are the 7 churches. Now, a few notes on this
description is that this description is a is an entirely different picture of
the Jesus that John knew. You know, the 7 is, is seen as a picture of
completeness, wholeness. In fact, over 50 times in the book of Revelation you're
gonna find the number 77 stars, 7 lampstands, 7 churches later there in the book
there's 7 trumpets and bowls and and and all kinds of things, but this idea of
completeness around God's perfect plan. Angel literally means messenger and so
most likely to John there was an angel of the Lord created to be God's
messenger. You think about the Christmas story, right? Announcing the coming of
Jesus, you think about the angel at the tomb saying he's not here, uh, when he
talks about the angel over these churches because it is messengers, some
interpret it as an actual angel over those churches, which is a cool picture. It
could also be the messenger or leaders of those churches because it was written
to them. But either way, we see this majestic picture and so there's all these
references actually to Old Testament stories. So for example, the Son of Man was
the heavenly Messiah claim from Daniel 7:13. The robe and the golden sash was
actually worn by priests in Exodus 28:4. The white hair was described in Daniel
7:9 as someone who rules all throughout the Old Testament you see blazing fire
as a form of judgment or bronze feet described in Ezekiel and Daniel as the
brightness of God. You see the rushing waters, uh, explained in Psalms and
Daniel and Ezekiel. The right hand of God was always seen as a place of power
and safety. The tongue is described there in Hebrews 4:12 is the word of God.
This shining face represents his glory. And so Jesus is not depicted as the
humble, gentle Jewish carpenter. But he is the risen, glorified prophet, priest,
and king that has come back with the keys to life and then also judgment in
Hades. He is all knowing, he is all powerful. And the response to God and His
glorified state is not one just of adjacent friendship. Like we live in a
culture that doesn't deny his existence, but rather diminishes his authority.
Right? We, we go, we go into the Bible and we're like, I like this page and I
don't like this page. Um, I like this page, but I don't like this page.
Actually, one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, was described as he
literally just tore out parts of the Bible he didn't like. OK, if you can do
that, then who is God in your scenario? You are. And this God came down, humbled
himself in the form. Of a servant, fully God, fully man. But he did so to die on
the cross as payment for your sins and for mine, so that when he rose again, he
defeated death itself. And it's only through Jesus that we can experience the
forgiveness, the cleansing of sin. It says in 1 John 1:9, that if we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of all unrighteousness. See, the
cross is the perfect picture, the meaning of God's wrath and God's mercy, God's
justice and God's grace, meeting on the cross, so that when you put your faith
in Jesus as God, as savior, that not even the wrath of God can separate you from
His love. Amen. But our culture is like, oh yeah, Jesus is nice. Oh. Right? Some
people, we, we joke about it in movies like Little Baby Jesus, like Ricky Bobby
or something. But yet, we do that realistically, right? We, we limit Jesus to
jewelry. Or a decoration. Or a bumper sticker. But a bumper sticker can't save
you. A decoration is not there when you get the call that you have cancer. When
you lose everything you have. Little cradle baby Jesus isn't gonna comfort you.
See, he came in the cradle, but he came for the cross. And now he sits on top of
the throne with a crown, reigning and ruling over the entire universe that he
spoke into existence. He holds it in his hand, and every day he waits to come
back. It's actually an act of grace. He says, Nope, I want more in my kingdom.
And so that's why I firmly believe that John the Apostle wrote this because who
else could write this? The person that was like the best friend of Jesus, the
beloved one, the one that put his head on his shoulder on his chest, the one
that knew him that was on the mount of transfiguration, that was with him, that
wasn't just one of the 12, he was one of the three that at the end, the one that
Jesus looked down at him at the cross on the cross, said John, I trust you to
take care of my mother. The closest possible person when he gets the glimpse of
Jesus, it falls to his face. That is the only response when you encounter the
holiness of God. It's because when you see His holiness and his perfection and
his glory. You cannot help. But recognize the sinfulness of your soul. A bumper
sticker is not gonna help you in that moment. Jesus isn't simply your homeboy
anymore. Right? But what I love. Is that Jesus is both powerful and personal. So
the question is, how do you see Jesus? It is the most important question you can
ask in this life because it impacts how you see everything else. And it is the
one question that's going to determine. How you spend eternity in the next. And
what I love about that is that when John falls to his face. Jesus, risen,
prophet, priest, king, ruler of the universe, Jesus. Walks over, right hand,
hey. Don't fear. I'm with you. I'm for you. You can trust me. The freedom that
brings. It's so incredible. Over the next 7 weeks, we're gonna study his letters
to the 7 churches, and we're gonna see. How Jesus sees the church, but I wanted
to start the series by understanding and asking this question that how you see
Jesus. Impacts everything in your life. Because when you see him, As perfect, as
king, as priests. Then you can come to him with your sickness, with your sins,
with your doubts, with your struggles. John is isolated. Grieving, hurting,
broken. And just one little glimpse and revelation of Christ. And not only did
it encourage him to finish strong, that is still blessing us 2000 years later,
Amen. So to give a little preview of the of the coming 7 weeks. Let's just think
about for a moment, for a few minutes. How is it then that Jesus sees his
church? How does Jesus see the church? The word church as we understand it,
comes from a Greek word Iglesia, which means a gathering of God's people called
out for a specific purpose. We get the word as we understand church from a
German word kirch, which meant the building, but then we've kinda mistakenly put
it in that label only. Now I'm practical, right? Like when you say, oh, I'm
going to church, right? Like because what else are you gonna call the building?
But the reality is, is that church, as Christ describes it, Iglesia is not a
building to come to, it's a movement and a family to belong to. I like to think
of it this way, like there's 5 kind of components of the church, OK? It's a
movement of God's people. Right? There are more Christians today than ever
before, and it's crazy to think about that, started by 11 disciples because we,
we won't count Judas. But 11 disciples who were locked in a room days after the
crucifixion and terrified. They had no money, no power, no, no land. No
authority and yet. We're in the year 2025 because the year. AD in the year of
our Lord, like, we mark our calendars on the life of Christ. Like the Bible is
the most circulated book in the history of the world. Like there's more evidence
in the Bible historically than any other literature work ever. Like Jesus is the
most talked about person ever. It's not even close, most written about, most
songs about, like it literally literally changed history. This this carpenter
born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, like, like that these fishermen and and
eclectic group of people launched the largest movement ever. That's the church.
Or, or movement with what? We're a movement with the uh message. What is the
message? The message is that salvation comes through Christ alone, that he is
Lord, that he's savior, that he died on the cross as payment for our sins, that
when he rose again, when we believe in Him. We can be saved. Right? When you
think about Jesus, that's why he was killed by the way, cause he was going
around telling people, your sins are forgiven, your sins are forgiven, and
people were like, whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't forgive sins, only God can forgive
sins. He goes, exactly. So we're a movement with a message, then on a mission.
This message is too good to keep to ourselves. Right, that's why it's the good
news and so our mission is to go and make disciples, to be as witnesses to the
ends of the earth, to. And then we have this mission to go and make disciples.
Then it's modeled by Jesus because Jesus said, I'm gonna show you how to do it.
And then it's motivated by love. So the greatest commandment is what? Love the
Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your
neighbor as yourself. So it's a movement with a message on a mission modeled by
Jesus and motivated by love. It is the greatest, largest movement in the history
of the world. Never be ashamed that you're a part of Jesus Christ. Can I tell
you that? We live in a world that's like, oh, you're a Christian, like, cool,
got me, uh. Uh, side note, but this, this thing about like, like people knock,
like the, the virgin birth of Jesus, like how can you believe that? Oh. Do you
understand that if you don't believe in God, you believe in the virgin birth of
the universe? Which seems more unlikely. Like, never be ashamed, never back down
from the authority of God's word and His power, because part of the reason why
we have this book is to know at the end, he wins. So how does God see his
church? He describes it in three ways. Number 1, he describes the church as his,
we are His body. It's found in Romans 12. 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 1,
Ephesians 4, Colossians 1:18. A ton of references. Let me just read one of those
to you found in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Look at verses 12 and 13 and then also
verse 27. It says for just as the body is one, as many members and all the
members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. It says,
for in one spirit, we are all baptized into the one body. Jews are Greeks,
slaves are slaves are free, and all were made to drink in one spirit. And now
that you are the body of, now you are the body of Christ and individually
members of it. If Christ is alive, his body is alive. And what that should tell
us is that we need each other. And so the application of being God's body is
that one, God is the head, but two, that we need to live connected, that we need
each other. What if we spent more time supporting and loving each other than
fighting? Like we create these us versus them scenarios. When It's, it's one
body. Right? You're not like, oh, can you believe the right hand? Oh my
goodness. I can't believe those kidneys. Oh. Like, and I'm like, look. Our
bodies are breaking down, like I'm experiencing this in real time. Like, I, I,
I, I wish we could take the energy of our youth, right? You're tracking with me,
right? Like now if you sneeze too hard, I could, I could be hurting for two
weeks, you know what I mean? Like I played college sports, like I love it, and
now I'm just like, like, oh, I mowed the lawn yesterday, gotta be careful. You
know, like, like your body is breaking down, but as a body of Christ, we need
each other. We need to be connected. Second description of the church. We are
God's building. It's found in 1 Peter 2 and Hebrews chapter 3. Let me read the
first patter, uh, 1 Peter chapter 2. It says, as you come to him, a living stone
rejected by men, but in the sight of God chosen impressors. You yourselves, like
living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood,
to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. If we are
the body of Christ, we need to be connected. If we are the building of Christ,
we need to be anchored into the foundation with Jesus Christ as our cornerstone.
If he is building us up, then no amount of persecution, loss, grievance, or
struggles can tear that building down. It is a structure that's gonna last for
eternity, and we're a part of it. The last picture he gives us here is that
we're described as God's bride. It's found in Ephesians chapter 5 and then
Revelation 19, right before the end, right before the battle of Armageddon,
which really wasn't even a battle. God basically snaps his fingers, says, OK,
Satan, you're done. Right before that though, in 19 Revelation 19:7, it says,
let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb
has come, and his bride has made herself ready. The fact that we are God's body
means we are connected. The fact that we are God's building means that we are
anchored to Him, and the fact that we are God's bride is that we are loved. We
are not perfect, but we are precious to him. And we have to be careful about
bashing the bride of Christ. Like if you make fun of me, I'm probably gonna
agree with you. Like, oh, John, you're this is this. I'm like, oh you missed a
few actually. I'm also this, this is like, like I'm fine. But you make fun of my
family. It's go time. You know what I'm saying? Like, we need to not be so quick
to bash the church. I get that we're imperfect, but Jesus loved the church so
much that he gave his life for it. And as the bride of Christ. We are loved And
we struggle so much to try to determine our love for Jesus, that the gospel is
not our love for Jesus. The gospel at its core is understanding and just
receiving just how much God loves you. You know, my heart is heavy this weekend.
Uh, yesterday was the memorial for a pastor, uh, that I worked for for 5 years,
uh, Pastor Mike Burnage. Uh, served here in the community for decades. And you
know, I, I resonate just for the fact when he was tall, appreciate that, you
know, full career in ministry, 3 kids, 2 boys and a girl, and he got and he got
to the end of his race and he loved God more than when he started and he loved
his kids and his kids love Jesus and I just see that as OK, someone who finished
well. But we're not promised tomorrow. I got word yesterday as well that a
friend of mine, his name was Wade. He was an executive pastor at Christ Culture
Church, one of the churches we helped support. Um, he had stopped serving in
that role because of brain cancer. Um, he got a seizure from a new tumor and
yesterday afternoon passed away. But see, as Christians. A clear view of Jesus
brings clarity to everything else. See, because of Jesus, when you're hurt, he
says we have hope. When you experience persecution, Jesus says, I am your peace.
When you're surrounded by darkness, Jesus says, I am the light. When you are sad
and experience sorrow, he says, I am joy. That's why as Christian, we can say
we're perplexed, but we are not defeated. You know, because while we grieve
those that are lost, They're standing with Jesus face to face today, cancer-
free, fully healed. And whether you live 7 years or 70 years, you have to decide
for yourself at some point who is Jesus. Because if you have just even the
glimpse of who he is, it changes everything in your life because it prepares you
for the next. That in every situation he can have the glory. And that the church
is not perfect, but it's precious. And that God is actively walking among and
working through his people today. So that when we see things like loss, we know
that that is temporary, but only for those who put their faith and hope in him.
So who do you see Jesus is today? That's the most important question you can ask
in this life. Who is Jesus? I want to give you a chance to respond to that.
Maybe it's the Holy Spirit giving you the nudge. And I understand that no one
comes to the Father except through those he draws to himself, but we wanna give
you that opportunity this morning. So I ask if you just bow your heads and close
your eyes for just a moment. And if you're hearing this message today, maybe
you've heard it for the first time, maybe this heard it for 1 1000 times, but
it's hitting different today. You're feeling the Holy Spirit kind of dug nudge
tug tug on your heart. And you said, you know what? I need to put my faith in
him. Jesus is more than just a teacher, he's more than just a nice guy. He's
more than just someone we come to church on Christmas and Easter. I need him to
be Lord and Savior in my life. If that's you and you wanna put your faith, you
wanna commit your life to Jesus right now with no one looking around. Would you
be bold enough to raise your hand high? Let me know so I can pray for you. Raise
your hand. Yes, please hold them up so I can pray for you. Yes, amen. Amen. Yes,
raise them high so I can see that. Pray for you. Amen. Amen. Amen. There's hands
up all over. Amen. Amen. Amen. Please hold for just one more second here. I just
wanted to see so I've been praying for each hand. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. A man,
put your hands down. If you raised your hand with me just now, I ask that you
would pray along with me. Again, it's not power in these words, it's what you
confess and believe in your heart, and the God you're praying to. Will you pray
with me? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner. God, I know that I can't make it to
have it on my own. We gotta believe in your Son Jesus, that he is God. That he
is savior, that he died on the cross as payment for my sins. That when he rose
again, he made forgiveness possible and he offers us eternal life. I put my
faith in you. I receive your gift of forgiveness. I repent of my sin and I turn
to you and I commit my life to you. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for
loving me. May I live my life in response to your salvation. We love you God and
your sons, and we pray. Amen.