Well, I'm so glad that every single one of you guys are here
today, when we began this sermon series, I told you that I was
more than a little nervous. There are all kinds of people
who've been helping with this sermon series.
There have been people who've been praying for this sermon
series and I am just so amazed at the faithfulness of our God
through it. So far, the very first weekend
that we launched the sermon series, our attendance jumped by
10% and I thought it was for sure.
Going to go the opposite direction.
Yeah, and got amazing. We have already had 88 baptisms
across our different locations during this sermon series.
You guys know that. I am a hardliner when it comes
to social media it. But if you're going to be on it,
you at least might as well follow what our church is doing.
Because people who are sitting in the road, next to you are
working with our media team and they're filming unbelievably
powerful stories that will encourage you and help you
realize. What God can do.
And to those of you who are sharing your story, they are
heartbreaking stories, but they are powerful and they are
encouraging my favorite one. This is just our church.
I got a very sweet email this week from a lady who goes who
watches online and she was telling her story and I mean, it
was awesome. And her shirt said, heifer, I
will put you in the trunk and I was like, like that's our
church. Like we're just being completely
if we're real that's us and like of course it is.
What sure what other shirt would you wear?
What you do? It just like, praise God for
this. I love, I'll absolutely love
that. Our church is like that.
For those of you who've been emailing me, hear me.
I'm doing my best to keep up with your emails, but you are
emailing faster than I can read return, an email and still do my
job. So I'm going to get to a mall,
just be patient, but the courage that you You guys have had to
share. Your thoughts has been
incredibly precious to me. I know that there are some of
you across all of our different locations, who may not be
inclined to this sermon series and I just want you to know that
I am incredibly thankful for you for loving and leading.
Well through this series, one of the signs of spiritual maturity
is the ability to be others focused when you can say, it's
not about me and I do hope that you will continue through
continue to lean in through the sermon series.
Because all of you and all of our locations are going to
interact with people that you love and care for that, have to
wrestle with one of these issues that were talking about and I
want you to be prepared in that moment to be a light in a dark
place. I want you to be ready to love
and Lead. Well, I want you to be prepared
to offer solid Council. A Biblical framework and above
all. Hope, one of my favorite things
that we've done during the sermon series is create
additional resources. Where Cinnamon our social media,
as well as our website. There are testimonies there is
new released. This week are is video teaching
from a dear friend of mine and Difference Maker at ARC Macomb.
No are Keokuk campus. Mike Maher who is a professional
counselor and you can watch those videos and they will put
you in a position to provide hope and help for the people
that you love. The other thing that we did is
biscuit here at our 48th Street campus who works on our Tech
Team created a Spotify. A playlist called weeds in my
garden, and I listened to those songs on Non-Stop.
It's the only thing I have listened to when I've been
writing the sermons. They are the soundtrack to the
sermons that I have been preaching and I promise you you
will enjoy listening to those songs.
I want to welcome all of you who are joining here from our
different locations online. Inside I want to offer a
special, welcome to those of you who are joining us for the first
time, we are so glad that you are here in At any point during
the sermon, you want to connect with our church, or maybe take a
next step or learn more about our church or take a step of
Faith. You can either use the QR code
on the chair in front of you or you can talk to someone after
the service. In one of our lobbies, I want to
encourage you to make contact with one of our campus pastors
staff members, or difference makers.
They are some of the very best people on planet Earth, and I am
so thankful that I get to do ministry alongside of them.
And to those of you who are new, we are In a sermon series, about
being honest about mental health, called weeds in my
garden, it has been a more somber and serious collection of
messages. But a survey we did internally
at our church revealed to us that we desperately needed to
speak into these issues. And it also showed us that there
are so many people that we love and care for that are having to
navigate weeds in their Garden. If you want to get caught up on
this sermon series, you can watch them on our website or a,
perhaps an easier place for you to get caught up is for you to
go to YouTube, look for our logo, and then, all of those
sermons are posted there. This very well may be the most
difficult message. I'm going to preach this year.
You'll notice about anytime Bring this bad boy, out needing
Jesus to help me. And I've got all of the words
I'm supposed to stay right here because I don't want to say
anything wrong. So if you were going, hey, you
should really come hang out and here, Clayton, preach this
weekend. He's, he's young, he's hip, he's
fat. And he's funny.
That's the only joke you're getting this week, okay?
Because we were going to be talking Well, for two weeks I've
been trying to figure out the best way to actually talk about
this in a meaningful way and in a conscientious way because
today we're going to be talking about suicide and there may be
some of you who are going. I'm not suicidal and I want you
to hear me most people who died by Suicide at one point in time,
weren't thinking about it either.
There are some of you who are going but I'm not going to do
that and I want you to know that most people who die by Suicide
at one point in time didn't think that they were either and
you might be thinking this will never happen to me and I want
you to know that some of the people out there who died by
Suicide, who are one point in time.
Numbered among you weren't thinking it was going to happen
to them either. And as I preach this sermon,
there are three groups of people that I cannot stop thinking
about. I keep thinking about those of
you who are Christians, you love God.
And you want to love people, well you care deeply for the
people around you and you know that some of them are dealing
with deep battles. You can hear the darkness and
their words and in their voice. You can see the pain in their
face. You want to do something, but
you don't know what to do. You want to say something, but
you're not sure what to say. You want to help but you're not
sure what that looks like. I'm thinking about those of you
that have lost a loved one to Suicide.
There isn't a hole in your heart, your heart is not broken,
it is shattered. There are so many pieces and so
many different places that you cannot even begin to articulate
the pain. It comes in waves.
It could be in a man your ISM that you see in a stranger at a
grocery store the smell of a deodorant cologne or perfume
that they used to wear. It shows up when their favorite
band comes over the radio or when you're at a friend's house
and they unknowingly make their favorite meal.
It could be when you walk down the hallway, past the room, that
is left exactly the way it was. It shows up when you look at the
pictures on the wall or during a celebration of their favorite
holiday, It happens during the changing of the seasons.
As you enter the one that they enjoyed the most It shows up as
guilt and shame, when you finally have a long-awaited good
day and then you feel guilty and horrible for having one in the
first place. I'm also thinking about those of
you right now, who are self harming or inundated with
suicidal thoughts, Your mothers fathers, husbands wives, Sons,
daughters and behind the smiles, are long showers never-ending
fatigue and the endless are erosion of Hope the thoughts
become Whispers, The Whispers become shouts, except when you
cover your ears, it only gets louder.
Because the noise is coming from the inside.
Suicide is now the third leading cause of death for teens and
young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. 25 percent of adults
between 18 and 24, reported having seriously, considered
suicide in the past. Month.
Eighteen percent of high school students reported seriously
considered suicide in the past year. if you want to understand
how big of a problem, this is when you hop on Zillow to find
out where you're going to go live and where you want to move
and you worry about the crime rate in the murder rate, there
were 24,000 homicides in America last year and there were 45
thousand suicides. Which means that in America you
are twice as likely to die from suicide. and by homicide, There
is a suicide death in America, every 11 and a half minutes.
And there is one death for every 25 attempts.
That means that there is an attempted suicide, every 27 and
a half seconds. That means from the moment, our
service started at 6 p.m. on Thursday until our services and
on Sunday at noon, 66 hours, later there will be 8640
attempts in the United States of America.
If we bring this closer to home when we did the survey here at
our church 1 out of 11, people in our church struggle with
suicidal thoughts, and self-harm 1 and 11 were women and 1 in 12
or men. 20% were in their teens 22% in their 20s 24% were in
their 30s. That means that 66% of the
people in our church who struggle with thoughts and
ideations about suicide are under the age of 40.
So today what I want to do is I want to answer some very simple
and basic questions surrounding suicide and self-harm.
The first question is, does the Bible talk about suicide?
The answer is yes, depending on how you count, they're either
six or seven suicides mentioned in the bible.
There was a bit Melech and Judges chapter 9, he was an evil
King. He had burned down a temple with
a thousand people in it and they died.
He went to another town and as he approached the tower to set
it on fire, a woman dropped a huge Millstone on his head and
At his skull unwilling to Bear the humiliation of being killed
by a woman. He ordered his armor Bearer to
run him through with a sword. There were same sin in Judges
chapter, 16 some consider his act of suicide and others do
not. Which is why there's a
discrepancy between whether there were six or seven but his
final Act was that he wished to die with his enemies who had
captured him, blinded him and humiliated him.
And he pushed with all of his might and the temple pillars,
collapsed around him and he killed all of those.
In it and around it. There was King saw the very
first king of Israel, he was the one who brought David into the
palace. He was the one who gave David
permission to go and fight Goliath in a battle.
He was wounded with arrows and he ordered his armor Bearer to
run him through with a sword. But his armor Bearer refused.
And so Saul fell on his own sword.
One verse later and first Samuel chapter 31 verse 5, the
armour-bearer sing that Saul was dead.
Fell on his sword. And so, he died alongside of
him. In second, Samuel chapter 17,
verse 23, where he read of the death of ahithophel.
A one-time companion of David, whose relationship with David
turned sour and he ended up fighting against David and tried
to overthrow David by installing David's, son, Absalom as king,
he became distraught over the events of a battle and his vice
was not being heated. And so he went home, put his
house in order and then he hanged himself.
First Kings chapter, 16 verse 18 tells of an evil King by the
name of zimring who plotted his way to power through deception
and betrayal. When it all caught up to him, he
went to the palace and set it on fire around him and then there
is the most famous suicide of all.
Judas, who betrayed. Jesus, Matthew chapter 27, verse
1, through 5 early in the morning, all the chief priests
and Elders of the people made their plans to have Jesus
executed, so they bound him. Led him away and handed him
over, to pilate the governor when Judas who had betrayed him
saw that. Jesus was condemned, he was
seized with remorse and returned.
The thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the
elders. I have sinned.
He said for I have betrayed innocent blood.
What is that to us? They replied that's your
responsibility. So Judas threw the money into
the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged
himself. Second question is suicide a
sin? The answer that question is yes.
Exodus 20:13 States. You shall not murder.
This is the sixth of the Ten Commandments that God gave to
the people of Israel. And suicide is self murder.
We are told in the Psalms that God is The Giver of Life.
Some 36 9 says for for with you is the Fountain of Life, in your
light. We see like God is the giver,
the Breather of life that you and I have.
We are also told that our days belong to him.
That's what it says. In job Chapter 14 verse 5, a
person's days are determined You have decreed the number of his
months, you have the set the limits that he cannot exceed.
Suicide is a sin because suicide is against the will of God and
it robs us of our potential and Christ and participation in his
glorious Mission. There's no doubt about it.
Suicide is a sin. The next question that I'm going
to answer is one of the most common questions that I get from
people. It is easily in the top 20.
If you invite me over to your house to answer, all of your
questions, I will place all the money in my bank account that
somebody in there, will ask me this question.
Is suicide and unforgivable sin. The answer to that question.
And if you only take one thing away from this message, the
answer is no. Is suicide an unforgivable sin.
The answer is no. I am absolutely amazed at how
well this lie has creeped into our hearts and Minds that people
think that a person who committed suicide is not worthy
of the grace and forgiveness of God and shame on anyone who has
taught this. Or spoken this over you.
I can't imagine looking at a family who are trying to pick up
the pieces of their lives and speaking something that is so
foreign to the Bible and the gospel message.
I'm listen to me. the reason people say this, Is because they
say you can't repent of the sin of suicide.
And maybe they're saying hey, make suicide, the unforgivable
sense that people will be worried about committing suicide
because it will put up a barrier but lying to people is not how
you treat people. When people say that suicide is
an unforgivable sin because you can't repent of the sentence
suicide. Listen to me.
We are not saved based on our repentance of each of our sins.
There are sins. You commit every single day that
you do not repent of some of them.
You are aware of. And some of them, you are not
aware of. We are not saved based on our
last act on Earth. We are saved by the blood of
Jesus. We are not saved.
Based on our sinless state. We are saved by a sinless,
savior. The Bible is clear.
There is only one sin that is unforgivable.
And so, I'm going to teach this to you.
So, that way, when somebody says something like this, you can
address it. Matthew chapter 12 verse, 31, to
32, and so, I tell you, this is Jesus, talking.
Every kind of sin, and slander can be forgiven.
Blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven.
Anyone who speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven,
but anyone who speaks against the holy spirit, will not be
forgiven either in this age or in the age to come.
What kind of sin can be forgiven?
Every kind of sin? And suicide is a kind of sin
which means suicide can be forgiven What cannot be forgiven
is when the Holy Spirit who convicts us and Wu's us and
draws us to the heart of Christ, exposes us to the gospel,
message and Christian Community, and reveals the truth of God's
word in our life. And a person says, I don't want
anything to do with that, that is the unforgivable sin because
that person refuses to accept the Forgiveness that God bestows
upon them. They See refused to receive the
gift of God's forgiveness. That's why it's unforgivable
because I never take hold of the forgiveness in the first place.
Listen to what Paul who wrote a majority of the book in the New
Testament wrote In First Timothy chapter 1, even though I was
once a blasphemer and a persecutor and violent, man, I
was shown Mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief the
grace of our Lord was poured out on me, abundantly along with the
faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Paul committed egregious sins and blaspheming against God and
the Holy Spirit. But then Received and responded
to the wooing of God's grace. So what do I do?
If I know if someone I know is struggling with suicidal
thoughts, take it seriously. It is never a joke.
It is so much better to be safe than sorry.
Talk about it. It is a myth that asking a
person about suicide will encourage the person to attempt
suicide. The exact opposite is true.
Think about the work that Satan has done wonder, how many of you
would have raised your hand that talking about suicide increases
the chance of a person committing suicide.
So Satan actually comes in gets us to believe a lie that
actually makes matters worse. Do you see the work that he is
trying to do in our communities and in your family's asking,
somebody directly about suicides are directly about their
suicidal feelings, will lower their anxiety, level and act.
As a deterrent your openness and concern and asking about suicide
will allow the person experiencing pain to talk about
their challenges. This may allow the person with
suicidal thoughts to feel less lonely, less isolated and
perhaps a bit relieved. This is an a little side note.
When you talk about it, talk about it carefully.
This is when you are not ministering to a person who is
struggling with the idea of suicide, but people who have
been impacted by the suicide of a family member or a friend.
Don't use terms like committed suicide or killed themselves,
refer to it as death by Suicide or simply that they died.
And I know for some of you that might seem incredibly trivial
but words have power and we want to use our words to bring hope
and help and not push people away in pain when they need
Community. The most when you are talking to
somebody who has struggling with Suicidal Thoughts, talk about
it. Directly.
When you notice warning signs of suicide, it's important to ask
direct questions. Don't ask.
Are you planning on harming or hurting yourself?
That may be too vague and the person may not be sure what you
mean, ask are you thinking about killing yourself?
Are you thinking about suicide? If they say yes, have you
thought about how you would kill yourself?
Have you decided when you would do it?
Have you done any, have you done anything to get the things you?
Need to kill yourself. And if they answer yes to any of
those questions, call 911 tell the dispatcher.
That the person is at risk for suicide.
If available ask for a mental health crisis, professional, and
you stay with them until help arrives, I want you to love
them. The way you would want to be
loved, I want you to fight for them the way you would want
someone to fight for you. Mark 12:31 the second greatest
Commandment that was given to all of us to live out, is to
love your neighbor as yourself. How would you want to be loved
in that moment in those moments? We, as Christians must rise to
the occasion and being all in friend.
I'll go with you. I'll check you in.
I'll make the call, I'll mow the lawn, I'll help out.
It is better to save a life than worry about what they might.
Think about you, or them being offended about you get Over
yourself and focus on them. I would so much rather us be
safe than sorry. Look what it says in first John
3:18, dear children let us not love with words or speech, but
with actions and Truth, our love must motivate us into action,
Galatians 6:2 calls, each? And every single one of us to
carry each other's burdens. And in this way, you fulfill the
law of Christ. What is the law of Christ?
The first one is to love the Lord, your God, with all your
heart, mind, soul and strength. And the second one is to love
your neighbor as yourself when you carry somebody else's bird.
You are fulfilling the command to love, God, and love people.
I want you to remember it is not a sin to be sick.
No looks of disdain. They are in a fight for their
life and Satan is trying to take the gift of Life.
Put in them by God himself, there are chemical malfunctions
situational trauma and clinical challenges that are all crashing
down on them. The last thing they need is your
condescension. They just need your help.
What do I do? If I lost someone, I love to
suicide. One remember that God knows what
it's like to lose a child. He's been through the pain and
he knows the pain of death and the beauty of the Resurrection.
You can trust him. To, I want you to remember that.
God is closed. Cling to these words, Psalm 34
Verse 18. The Lord is close to the
Brokenhearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit and I
can't think of a more broken. Hearted crushed in spirit
circumstance than coming home to a letter or getting the
unforgettable phone call or discovering the body of a loved
one. God is close to you and his
strength will get you through. Third thing.
Let go of any guilt or shame that you carry, it was not your
fault. Any guilt or shame that you feel
is not coming from God. It is coming from Satan and he
is using the terrible choice of a loved one.
And the horrible pain that you feel to isolate.
You deceive you and Rob you of Joy purpose and a future.
You did what you thought was best.
If you knew then what you know now of course you would have
done things differently. But you didn't know then what
you know now And even if you did something wrong, God's love for
you and Christ has conquered it. Isaiah 43:18 says forget what
happened in the past, do not dwell on events from long ago.
Proverbs 3:5 and 6 trust in the Lord, with all your heart, and
do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths, you
are in a horrible spot, a gut-wrenching life-altering spot
and you cannot rely on your own feelings and you cannot rely on
your own strength to get you through.
You are going to have to trust fully on the word of God and the
spirit of God and the strength of God to pull you through.
Otherwise you will make decisions that will only make
matters worse. He will take a suicide in your
family and turn it into a divorce financial problems.
Relational woes, you are going to have to cling to the Good
Shepherd and he will pull you through.
I believe we serve a God. Who loves you cares for you and
has a purpose for you. I believe that we serve a God
who can bring Beauty out of ashes and strength from
weakness, I believe we serve a God who makes all things
beautiful and his timing. I'm not asking you to forget
them, or stop mourning their loss or hurting in their
absence. I am telling you not or am
telling you to stop carrying the guilt and shame that Satan is
trying to put on you to expand the devastating toll, that he
already levied on your family. Finally.
Clayton. What do I do if I'm struggling
with self-harm or Suicidal Thoughts?
One. Call the new hotline number
effective January or July 16th of this year.
The number is nine eight eight. You call that number.
Hear me. Suicide is a permanent solution
to a temporary problem. Rick Warren.
Who lost his son to Suicide says that this way.
Most people don't want to die. They want out of their pain.
And I want you to hear me say this, you don't have to end your
life to end your pain. Suicide is using a nuclear bomb
to get rid of the mosquitoes. No emotion lasts forever, they
come in waves. They come in, they crash and
then they dissipate and fall away.
No matter how, intense the pain, no matter how intense the
struggle it cannot last forever. So, never make a permanent
decision based on a temporary feeling.
Realize you are not thinking clearly It is not possible to
think logically when you are deeply, depressed, overwhelmed
and exasperated. It is a lie.
It is a lie to think that those around you would be better off
without you. if you had to sit in the homes
of the people that mourn you It is a lie.
It is a Lie from Satan. Your family wants you don't ever
doubt that recognize that Satan is trying to use this moment to
rob you and your family. God has placed you in your
family. You are one of God's gifts to
them. Don't let Satan win.
Get in community. You are never meant to do life
alone. We Are Better Together.
You need the safety. Net of God's Community.
Joy is doubled in community and pain is cut in half.
And finally you cannot fight this fight on your own strength.
You may need counselors. You may need medication.
You may need a support group. You may need therapy and for
sure, 100%, you are going to need the power of Jesus, and the
work of the holy spirit in your life.
They're going to be dark days, devastatingly, dark days.
And we don't get to pick when they come.
But when they come, I want to make sure that you have
everything you need. And the most important thing
that you're going to need is the spirit of God working in your
life and you can have that, you can have that Holy Spirit a lie
when you are in an intimate personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. Were moving to a time of
decision. so to those of you who are in this room here at 48th
Street, and there are those of you who are watching online, I
know that some of you this was way too close to home and for
some of you this was like, why why this It's because suicide is
on the rise. So while your generation, Maybe
not, maybe not, have navigated it by the time, your grandkids,
or your great kid, grandkids, get around, it will have
multiplied drastically. And so, you're going to have to
be prepared, to be the hands and feet of Jesus, you're going to
have to be prepared to know how to walk, and navigate and love
and Lead very well. And there's some of you in this
room that have never started an intimate personal relationship
with Jesus. And I believe, I believe that
Jesus is the first answer to every question.
I just do. and, And the lies that Satan has woven into the
fabric of your life. You will never be able to fight
those on your own power, and on your own strength.
And so, if you are not in an intimate, personal relationship
with Jesus Christ, you are a sheep without a shepherd and the
wolves are coming. Here's the Story of My Life in a
nutshell. I will make 999 really great
decisions. And then I will make one bad
decision. That is so, blatantly stupid and
out of character. You'll be like, how does this
guy put his pants on? Like, how could you be so dumb?
And when I was in high school I you know 99 good decision 998
and then good decision 999 and then it was my turn.
And I made an absolute mess of my life.
And I was not convicted of my sin.
I was didn't really give a rip. I was worried about the
consequences. And I didn't want to be around
for what was coming. And I remember that whole night
having unbelievably deep dark thoughts.
And I remember going in high school, this is it.
And I was like you know I can't I can't necessarily do that.
I can't do what I'm going to do without my family notice and
I'll have to just get up in the morning.
I don't know how serious I really was in my heart and in my
mind that night but but I can tell you this, I woke up in the
middle of the night thinking that I was going to go do the
unthinkable and my mom was at the core at the edge of my bed
holding my ankle I think about the marriages, I've been able to
be a part of and the counseling. I've been able to provide in the
baptisms, I've been able to minister to in the sermons.
I've been able to preach, then Satan could have wiped all of
that off the map. Because he got me to think of
just my situation. And not my savior.
God did a mighty redeeming work in my life and I would tell you
that that's the, I wish I could tell you.
That's the only time I've had that but I would say like, I
don't know how many years ago I went through like a 3-day spell,
where I wasn't highly suicidal, but I started just hearing over
and over again, main things would just be better off if you
were And I know that there's some of you that you're going
Clayton, three days. Sounds like a vacation of that
because I can never Escape it. I can't shake it.
I can't get away from it. I can't get rid of.
It is just knocking on the door of my head all the time.
And what grounds me? What pulls me through is that.
I'm spending time with the word of God, having the spirit of
God. The people of God around me.
My intimate, personal relationship with.
Jesus makes not just made makes all the difference if you have
questions about that. Or what that is.
I want to encourage you to today, come over, find someone
talk to them about what it means to start that intimate personal
relationship to those of you. In this room who are Christians,
you have family members who are hurting and suffering, would you
be willing to just get down on your knees and lift them up?
You know, people who are going through incredibly difficult and
dark times right now, and maybe Been dismissive.
Would you just bombard the Gates of Heaven on their behalf?
Maybe some of you would be willing your teachers, your your
service providers and you hear on a regular basis, people
around you who are struggle? Would you just get down on your
knees and say, God help me to be a support system for those who
are hanging on. Be on one us to be a church that
wants to help and wants to point people to Hope.
And I hope you guys will join me in that mission.
Would you guys stand with me? God, one of the things I don't
understand about you. Is how you see?
All the pain in this world. How you're there for every hurt?
I don't get it. I don't know how you manage.
Car crash, after car, crash train, wreck after train wreck.
At the same time. Rejoice with those who rejoice.
But while I don't understand how you do it, God, I'm so thankful
that you do. I'm thankful that you are there
for every hurt for every trial for every dark thought.
God, I'm thankful for your son, Jesus, who died on the cross,
who conquered the grave and made sure.
That this is, that all there. Is that there is something
coming. Something better something,
brighter, something beautiful. And God, we await that day where
you wipe every tear from our eye.
But until then, God, Give every person within the sound of my
voice, the strength to carry on the wisdom, not to fall victim
to the lies of Satan in the courage to help and hope those
are giving give hope those to those around us.
You never pray. Amen.