← Church of the Highlands - Sunday Messages - Audio
Church of the Highlands - Sunday Messages - Audio
Better Than I Expected
00:45:55
Part 4 of Different to Make a Difference
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What a miracle. What a miracle. As I said earlier, we're gonna finish out our different to make a difference series today. And my heart is so full, but my voice is so weak. So I'm not gonna make you endure that. In fact, we've invited one of our emotion speakers to stay over and to preach today. But he is way more than just a speaker. He's one of the most anointed communicators of the gospel in this generation. His resume, if I read it, it would take all of our time. Today, he's. He and his wife Onika, lead a beautiful church in the Dallas area called Shoreline City. He's an unbelievable leader, husband, father. I look up to him in every area of his life. He's written books. I could go down the resume, but I think for me today, the most important thing for you to hear is that Pastor Earl McClellan is my friend. He and Onika mean the world to Jill and I. In fact, they were some of the first people that we shared about the transition of roles here at Highlands because we knew they would encourage us, pray for us. And I just want you to know your pastor has friends who are. He literally is dropping me text messages and voice texts, and we're talk, and he's lifting our arms, and we're doing our best to lift theirs. I'm grateful for this man. And you're going to receive today. Can you stand to your feet? And welcome to the platform Pastor Earl McClellan. Come on, make him feel welcome.
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All right, come on. We ready for a great day. Church. Hey, let's give God some praise. Clap our hands. Hey, you may be seated. My friends, I'm so incredibly overwhel and excited about being here at church of the Highlands. You're a great place, great church, filled with great people. And this weekend at Motion was so next level. I. I sent my wife a video this morning of. It was basically some youth jumping around and worshiping. I said, honey, I think I'm now a teenager again. My heart was set on fire. And this did not make it into the recap video. But your pastor, Pastor Mark had a moment at the end of conference, and he said, oh, I'm not preaching a sermon. It was a sermon, and it was amazing. It marked me so much, I was weeping uncontrollably. He had a cross on the platform, and he was sharing the story about a young man from Japan who was 12, 13 years old, who was a martyr. And. And when he was about to be put on this cross, this little 12, 13 year old boy said, show me my cross, did not turn his back on Jesus, but decided, I'm willing to die for Christ. Your pastor just stewarded that moment so beautifully, and I'm just so thankful that Highlands is led by a leader like Pastor Mark. Can you guys put your hands together for him? And obviously, we love him so much, but we like Pastor Jill more. She is the best of the best. And these two together, God loves you a lot. He really does. To give you individuals that will care about you, love you, have your back. And the way PC Just passed the baton so beautifully and with grace and humility and fire and encouragement. It's just been beautiful to watch what God is doing here at Church of the Highlands. And I just can't wait to see what the future holds. And today I am believing that God is gonna grab ahold of our hearts. All right, are you guys with. I'm believing that today is gonna be a day we're gonna be pushed forward. I recognize on a baptism Sunday, some of you have some friends that you invited to church. And y' all haven't been to church in maybe forever, right? You're like, okay, I'll go watch you get baptized. But is that church gonna fall in on me when I walk in? Cause I'm a sinner and I'm not holy. You don't even know this, but the whole church is filled with sinners. That's all that's here. But we have been changed and transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ. We are not a perfect people at all. But, man, God has impacted our hearts and our souls. So you don't have to wonder if you already fit in. You do. We love you. We've been praying for you and asking for God to do something significant and powerful in your life. Today we are in a series. It has been going for the last three weeks. This is the last week of the series. At least at our Grants Mill campus, we've got a little sign of it up on the wall. It's different to make a difference. And we're not just different just to be different. We're different to make a difference. There's been a verse of scripture we've been looking at over these last few weeks. Go with me if you have your Bibles to the Book of Peter. First Peter, chapter two, verse number nine. First Peter, chapter two, verse number nine. If you didn't bring your Bible, we're gonna put the verses on the screen so that you can follow along with us. First Peter, chapter two, verse number nine. It says but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, holy nation, God's special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. What a beautiful verse. This is just reminding us of our identity. Reminding us who we are when we give our hearts and our lives to Christ. We're not who we used to be anymore. We've come out of the darkness into the marvelous light. You are a church, chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. And today I believe that God is going to do something powerful in all of us. If you like to take notes, I have a title for today's message and it is this. Better than I expected. Better than I expected. I've got a picture of my family because this is better than I expected. This is my beautiful wife. We've been married now for 29 years. It has gone by so fast. I call her my sexy piece of dart chocolate. I'm gonna continue to call her that forever and ever. If that offends you, too bad. She's my best friend. I love her so much. We met each other in college all these years ago. I remember walking down to basketball practice and seeing the finest girl I'd ever seen in my entire life walking towards me. I gave her a little. I didn't do this. That would be no game. I had a little bit of game. I was like, I lick my lips first. Kept on walking and I got down to practice and melted. I was like, I've seen the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my entire life. But we've been married these 29 years and have our three great kids again. Better than I expected. We love our oldest son. He just got married. So now I am a father in law. I don't know how that happened. So I've officially reached unk status now and love her so very much. Her name is Angel. We have our middle son, Grayson, and then we have our daughter Elle. And Grayson and l are just gifts. Better than I expected. Even being here with you today. Better than I expected. And I think we're going to read a story in the Bible right now that is a guy that received something better than he expected. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of Acts, chapter three. Acts, chapter three. The same person who wrote first Peter is the same one we are about to read. The same person we're about to read about in the book of Acts, this same Peter. He's one of Jesus disciples. So we got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Acts, chapter three, beginning in verse number one, it reads, one day, Peter and John were going up to the temple. They were heading to church at the time of noon, at the time of prayer at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, look at us. So the man gave them his attention. Expecting. Everybody say expecting. Expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, I don't have any money on me. And I don't think you take Venmo. Silver or gold, I do not have. But what I do have, I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Oh, man, I love this story so much. This guy has been sitting there for a long time. We find out in chapter four that he actually has been lame. Not only from birth, but for 40 years of his life. He has been lame and he has not been able to walk. And every day he has been put at the church. He's been put at the temple gate, and he's there and he's begging. This is a guy that would be a panhandler. This is someone that we on the corner, right, with a sign that says, you know, we'll work for food or anything will help or hey, I need money for beer. I appreciate when they're honest on the corner too. And he's sitting there and he is. He's asking for money. So he sees Peter and John coming, and he's like, hey, I'm gonna get some money from these guys. And he asked them, hey, hey, can you give me something? Peter, the same guy that read who wrote First Peter, Chapter two, verse number nine, reminding you and I of our identity and our purpose. That same Peter is the one that is walking with John. They're on their way to church. They're like, I don't have any money on me. And I know there's no tap to pay with this individual right here. So what I'M going to do is I'm going to give this guy something that's better than he even expects. And I'm not going to give him me. Who I'm going to give him is Jesus. This moment. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I know you've been sitting for 40 years. I know you've been lame your entire life. I know people have walked past you time and time again. But on this day, your life is about to change in a way you never even thought possible. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you get up and walk. And he speaks those words to this man, and his life is changed in a moment. This is what God does. He changes lives in a moment. He's done it in me, and I know he's done it in so many of us at all of our locations. He has impacted you. How many of us? We were sitting there lame, and we didn't know which way was up. But Jesus Christ, he met us exactly where we were, and he made us brand new. Oh, man, I love that Peter, when he's talking to this guy, he doesn't say, in the name of Peter, get up and walk. He doesn't say, in the name of my church, get up and walk. So here at Church of the Highlands, just so you know, we're not trying to just lift up Pastor Mark, though he is wonderful. And we're not just trying to lift up Church of the Highlands, though I love this place. We are trying to lift up Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. And as we lift up Jesus, he draws men and women unto himself. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Now, when I read this story for years, I always read that the guy started walking. I always read it that he jumped up. The Bible says he went into the temple courts dancing and jumping and praising God. I always saw that Peter said this to him, and he got up and, like, immediately began doing the electric slide. Y' all don't think I know it? Oh, I know it. He is. He is. I always saw that. Immediately, he just started dancing. Immediately he started moving. Immediately he started jumping. But that's not what the Bible says. Look at this. Verse number seven. Look at this. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up. Wait. Peter speaks a word to this man. The man is healed. The man is whole, but he doesn't get up right away. Peter reaches out his hand and then he helps the man up. So I started thinking about us, started thinking about Church of the Highlands. What a special place this is. Not the buildings and the buildings are wonderful, but the people. Because that's what makes up the church. It's the people. I started thinking about the faith and the generosity and the kindness in this church. And, man, it's on another level. But then I also thought, I bet you there are some people in our church who have experienced Jesus Christ impacting your life. You've been touched by his powerful name and his wonderful grace. You're actually healed, but you're still sitting. That you had an encounter with him. He changed you. He brought you from darkness to light, brought you from lost to found, brought you from blind to seeing. Yes, that happened in your life, that the miracle took place, but you're still sitting. And here is this man we see right here that has had this interaction with Jesus. His life has been impacted by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And even though his life has been impacted, he's still seated. And it takes Peter going, hey, my man, now that you've been impacted by Jesus, I cannot let you stay where you are any longer. You can't sit here, because now you're a different man. Come on, it's time to get up. And can I say, from every location, I don't care, from the oldest person to the youngest person, from bald heads to comb overs to Afros to everything else in between, I need you to know that if you've been impacted by the King of Kings, if Jesus Christ has touched your life, if you've been redeemed, if you've been saved, if you've been made brand new, you cannot sit any longer. It is time for you to get up from where you are and begin to dance and sing and work and worship and touch the world that's around you. You were born for such a time as this, and we're here to help you get up. We're not having church on Sundays just so that we can all feel good about ourselves. And I want you to feel good about yourself. I think that's wonderful. But we're not here just to try to help you feel good about yourself. Why are there people in the parking lot? Why are there people on the dream team? Why do you have your campus pastors? Why do you have pastors that love you and pray for you? Why does the worship team show up early and stay late? Why are there ushers? Why are there all these people? What we're doing is we're rolling out a red carpet to let you know that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is saying, I am here to Help you up. It is a right hand helping you up time and time and time and time again. That's what's happening. So it takes Peter going over to this guy. So now that you've been touched, you can't stay seated any longer. Your life has changed. Now. Come on, I got you. This is church. I got you. You don't know how to be a father. Don't worry, I got you. Come on. You don't know how to be a husband. I got you. Come on. I got you. You know how to be a Christian leader in the marketplace. Come on, I got you. I got you. I got you right here. I got you. I got you. You don't know what it means to leave your old life behind and to still love your friends that you used to run with, but still be somebody brand new. Don't worry, I got you. I got you. I got you. And Peter here reaches out his hand. He's like, hey, come on. Come on, Come on. You've been touched by Jesus. Let me help you out now. Now, Peter knows something about being seated, though maybe not physically, definitely emotionally and spiritually. Peter experienced what this man is navigating. Peter is the one that would say all types of crazy things. And I appreciate that he's in the Bible because he gives me hope for myself. He says things and Jesus is like, are you kidding me right now? Get behind me, Satan. I'm like, okay, I can mess up like Peter. I can do that. But not only is Peter the one that messes up, he messed up in such significant ways that he actually turned his back on his best friend when his best friend was in the hardest moment of his life. And you can read about it in the Gospels that even when the rooster crows and Peter has denied Jesus, he catches Jesus eyes and the Bible says Peter, Peter goes out and he weeps bitterly. His heart is broken because I just told Jesus, I'm with you 10 toes down. No one can get me off of our relationship. I'm in this with you forever. Now he's turned his back on his best friend and the Messiah, he's weeping bitterly. Jesus is put on a cross and in the grave, Peter's nowhere around. He goes back to his old life. But three days later, when Jesus is miraculously and gloriously defeats death, hell in the grave, the angel says to the disciples, he says, hey, make sure you let everybody know I'm alive. But make sure you let Peter know I'm alive. And Peter is restored and Peter is brought back to life. So I think I wonder if when Peter saw this man at the gate, he's like, hey, I've never been like this physically, but I definitely been like this spiritually and emotionally. I know what it's like to be sitting. I know what it's like to be begging. I know what it's like to be disappointed. I know what it's like to not have it all together. I know what it's like to feel like you're messed up. But in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. Because Jesus did it for me. Jesus can definitely do it for you. This is church. See, sometimes you see people that look really, really good, and you think that they always look good. You don't know how ratchet we were. Come on. If you saw us in college, if you saw us in high school, if you saw us back in the day, it was before we got cleaned up real nice. It was before that we knew the songs to the worship. Before we knew to raise our hands. When we raised our hands, we were in the club. But now we're raising our hands to lift up Jesus. There was a day you're looking at me, you're looking at me, and you think I don't know where you are. But I do know where you are, because I used to be where you are. But Jesus Christ touched me when I was where you are. And he use somebody to help me up, to pull me up. So the devil tried to lie to you and tell you, oh, you're the only one. There's nobody else like you. Nobody else gets you. Nobody else has a struggle like you. Nobody else has a problem like you. Nobody else is battling what you're battling. And I'm just telling you that's a lie from the pit of hell. All of us in here have navigated thing after thing at every location. We have been through the highs and the lows of life, but Jesus Christ grabbed all hold of our hearts. But when Jesus grabs a hold of this man's heart at the gate called beautiful, Jesus uses one of his followers to do it. It's the church being the church. This is a picture of church. Here's my hand. I got you. Come on. I got you. I know you never walked before. I got you. I know you've never done this before. Come on. I got you. I got you. Yeah. What church is not. Is not chick fil A. And I love chick fil A. Okay? I want to make sure that's known. It's Jesus, chicken. We all know this. Now we're not having any today. And we can pray that they change that. I don't think they're going to, but I'm praying. Maybe just a couple hours, you know, like 12 to 2. You know, I love Chick Fil A, but when you go to Chick Fil A, you place an order. You're in line, you place an order and you're like, hey, let me get number one. And. Oh, okay, yeah, make sure. Yeah. I want extra Chick Fil A sauce because I'm a Christian. And I don't want any salad because that's for communists. And then I want to. I don't even know why that came to me. This is what I want. This is what I want. This is what I want. And if we're not careful, we treat church the same way. You're single and you come here for an order. Give me a man large. Okay. I don't want no medium fry. Okay. I want a large fry. Okay. I want this. I want this. I want this. I want this. I take it and I leave. For my kids. I want this. I want this. I want this. I take it and I leave. It's not church. This is church. This is church. I got you. I got you. I got you. We reach out our hands. I'm not taking and leaving. I'm actually reaching out my hand to help some other people up. We're not a convenience store. It's not church. It's not church. Okay. I'm all for a convenience store. I'll hit a 7 11. Yeah, go ahead. Grab a little taquito, whatever those things are. Get. Go ahead and, you know, get your eggs and get your milk and grab your beef jerky stick or whatever you need to go. For sure. But that's not church. We're not a convenience store. We're not. We're not, like, trying to. I'm not. You gonna go to 7 11? I'm gonna Celsius. I'm gonna get my. I mean, my hit church. You're not coming here to get a hit. I hope they sing my song today. Oh, they didn't sing my. I hope that. I hope. My favorite worship leader. Oh, she's not there. Or he's not there. Okay, well, I'll just. No, no. That's not church. Don't. In our world, we want it faster, easier, quicker, more comfortable. And if we're not careful, we start making the church Faster, easier, quicker, more comfortable. But that's not what we're. That's not church. No, no, no. You're not here to Get a hit. We're not a convenience or we're a cause. We're mission. We've been called to make it on earth as it is in heaven. We the hands and feet of Jesus in our generation. And there are people seated lame. And this is us. I got you. I got you. I got you. Yep. Now, this is a New Testament story about somebody being pulled up. Let me show you an Old Testament story about somebody being pulled up. This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Okay, go with me to Jeremiah, chapter 38. Again, if you didn't bring your Bible, we're gonna put the verses on the screen so you can follow along with us, make sure we're not making anything up. Jeremiah, chapter 38. I'm gonna skip the first four verses. There's a lot of names in there like Shepherthiah and stuff that we're not gonna read through. Verse number four. Jeremiah, the prophet called by God, has been speaking God's word. And the officials and the leaders don't like what he's saying on behalf of God, so they take matters into their own hands. Verse number four. Then the officials said to the king, this man speaking of Jeremiah should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in the city, as well as all the people by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of all these people, but their ruin. He is in your hands, King Zedekiah answered the king, can do nothing to oppose you. So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern. It had no water in it, only mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud again. Jeremiah is doing what God called him to do, and he ends up in a spot that we would think is inconsistent with somebody who's actually following and doing what God has asked him to do. God, I'm doing your will. You told me to take this job. You told me to marry this person. You told me to go to this school. Why am I now in a cistern sinking down in mud? This doesn't make sense. One commentator says he wonders if Jeremiah sank down all the way up to his neck. There's no water in this cistern. They lower him down by ropes, and he just is in this mud, and he sinks and he sinks and he sinks, and before he knows it, he's up to his neck in mud again. Church of the Highlands. This is not a Church for people who have it all together. Don't believe that lie. No, no. We're a church of everyday people. People who have been through some real issues in life like divorce and bankruptcy and alcoholism and broken hearts, been through disappointments and, oh, yeah, we've had some mountaintop experiences for sure. And graduated first of the class. And the business did better than it ever did before. And my family's clicking on all cylinders. Yeah, we got those people, too. And those people also have times when you walk into church and you are up to your neck in mud. The difficulty is you can look at somebody and you can think they're not dealing with any mud because their car or their clothes or their smile, you can think, oh, they got it all together. But you don't know what's going on inside somebody's heart. You don't know what they're navigating at home. You don't know the demons they've been dealing with. So that's why we're intentional here, to make sure we lift up Jesus and sing songs to Jesus and have ushers that are standing there ready to help you get to your seat and greet us at the door. Because we recognize there's a lot of us even today that are up to our neck in mud. This is where Jeremiah finds himself. So then the story continues on and it gets good. Look at this. Verse number seven. But Ebed Melech, everybody say, ebed Melech. What a name that is, huh? A little bit odd for us, but Ebed Melech, a cushite. An official in the royal palace heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern while the king was sitting in the Benjamin gate. Ebed Melech, there is his name again. Went out of the palace and said to him, my lord, the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern where he will starve to death when there is is no longer any bread in the city. Then the king commanded, ebedmelech The Cushite, take 30 men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies. Now, the name Ebed Melek, when we are reading that, we just read through it makes sense because it's just another name in the Bible. But this name means something very interesting. It's two Hebrew words meaning servant and king. So now we recognize that what's happening here in Jeremiah chapter 38 is not just something that is happening in that moment. It's a type and a shadow and A picture of a servant king that's going to come into the world one day and his name is Jesus. I'll show you real quick of Mark, chapter 10. You don't have to turn there. We'll put it on the screen. Mark, chapter 10, verse number 45. It says, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Here is Jesus speaking of himself, saying, I'm the servant. And then when you get to revelation chapter 19, I think it's number 14. It talks about how he has written on him the name King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that Jesus Christ is our servant and our king. And what Jesus is doing and when we are up to our necks in mud as he is fighting for us on our behalf in ways we don't even know, he's fighting on our behalf. And he is on his way back to pull us up and rescue us out of the places that we find ourselves in. This is what the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is. It is him finding us in our mud. It is him finding us in our sin. It is him finding us in our brokenness. Saying, I'm not gonna let you stay there any longer. I've got a plan to be able to pull you out. And now watch what he uses to pull them out. Watch this, watch this. You can bring out my rags. Verse number 11. So Ebed Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags, worn out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah. And the cistern. Ebed Melech, the servant king, the cushite said to Jeremiah, put these old rags and worn out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes. Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the corner courtyard of the guard. I want you to see that the servant king went to the treasury. And what he grabbed to, what he chose to use to pull Jeremiah out of the pit was not clean racks, they were not perfect racks. They were old, worn out rags. And he says, I'm going to take these old worn out rags and this is what I'm going to use to pull Jeremiah up out of the mud. And I want you to know this is still who Jesus uses today. He uses old rags and worn out clothes. So if you feel like you don't measure up, if you feel like you don't have it all together, if you wish that you were a better person. I need you to understand that Jesus Christ has always used old rags and worn out clothes. And today he is saying, church of the Highlands. Are you. You willing to be an old rag and a worn out cloth in my hands? Because if you are, I'll use you to pump somebody up out of a pit. Because this is what our God does. You and I have been sitting on the sidelines so long waiting for our lives to be perfect. Waiting for everything to be in order. Waiting for our schedule to be just right. But your schedule will never be just right. What. What we need is for you just to say, here am I, Lord, send me. I know I don't have it all together. I know I've got some secrets in my life right now, but I thank you that you still love me and you still know me and you still save me and you still want to use me. This is who Jesus has always used, and this is who he wants to use today. I can be this. I can be this. I got you. I got you. Come on. I got you. I got you. I got you. Yeah. I got you. This church. So we talk about being on the dream team. It's a handout. Pull somebody up. Talk about generosity. This is the picture. This is church. We talk about being in groups together, connecting, knowing each other's names. Not just sitting shoulder to shoulder, but sitting face to face. What we're saying is, hey, hey. Here, come on. I got you. I got you. Old rags, worn out clothes. My dad was not around when I was growing up, so my mom raised me and my little sister all by herself. And it was the men of the church that would pick me up when I was 11, 11, 12, 13, pick me up at 7:30 in the morning, bring me to a men's Bible study. I'm eating my donut, listen to these guys talk about taxes and Jesus. I'm like, I don't know what's going on here. But they were helping me up. They taught me how to be a father, they taught me how to be a husband. I learned from them going to these Maximized Manners meetings that being a male is a matter of birth, but being a man is a matter of choice. I learned in those meetings that manhood and Christ likeness are synonymous. I learned in those meetings that you honor your wife and you love her like Christ loves the church. I learned that stuff. These men came into my life and they lifted a hand out and they're like, hey, I got you. I got you. I got you. That's church. That's church. It's not Chick Fil A, though. I love it. It's not convenience store. I love them. This is mission different to make a difference. And God wants to use you. Even when you feel like you're one of these, he still wants to use you. So whenever Pastor Mark or Pastor Jill or any of your campus pastors, when they talk about groups coming up here soon, talk about serving, we're not going to be a church that has our arms folded and our hearts closed off. No. Unfold your arms, open up your heart and reach out your hand. Because this is church. And this is church of the Highlands. If you wouldn't mind, bow your heads at all of our locations. I ask you to bow your heads not because it's mystical or magical, but just so that you can focus for just a second. If you're under the sound of my voice and you've never made Jesus Christ first in your life, you never made him first, you never made him number one. The Bible uses the word repent means to turn. You never turn from going your own way. And you're under the sound of my voice right now. You're saying, I don't want to go my own way. I want to go his way. I don't want to be first. I want Jesus to be first. On the count of three, I want you to do something simple but bold. I just want you to throw your hand in the air and say, yes, that's me. I'm going to give my heart and my life to Christ right now. 1, 2, 3. Just throw your hand up in the air saying, yep, that's me. This is beautiful. I know we got friends here, friends at all of our locations, saying, yep, this is me. This is me. I want to give my heart and my life to Christ for the first time, or to rededicate my life to serving Jesus. The grace of God is here. The mercy of God is here. He's here to change and transform you and turn you into the man and woman he's called you to be. I'm asking everyone to put your hand over your heart, if you would not mind. At every location, let's put our hand over our heart. And I want all of us to repeat this prayer out loud after me say, dear Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of all my sins. I admit I made mistakes. And today I give you my heart, I give you my life. Give me the power to live for you in Jesus name, Amen. Can we all lift our heads up, clap our hands with joy and enthusiasm as you celebrate what God is.