It is so good to be with each and every single one of you, I'm
coming off of a fantastic week for Hensel Nation, we got to do
a little mini getaway vacation for a couple of days and then
Jennifer and I got to be able to hang out with all of our staff
and some key part timers and difference makers from all
across our locations for a two-day all staff Retreat on the
heels of that. I had to go pick up my boys from
my parents house. And on the way home, you know,
they're debriefing it apparently to pass time.
My mom was telling stories to my kids about me growing up and my,
you guys know this, the I can eat some context.
First, my dad was a veterinarian.
He did large and small animal, he's very Hands-On.
Father, took me to hang out with him on a lot of his business and
all of a sudden in the car my boys start telling the story to
me of my first day at kindergarten And this is what my
mom decided to tell my boys. Which was you know like a
judgment on her part. When my mom picked me up from
school on my first day of kindergarten she goes how was it
today and I said I didn't know my one, two threes.
And I didn't know my ABCs. But they didn't know anything
about the uterus of a cow and so I'm, that's what my boys are,
like, just laughing. And I'm like, do I have to
explain uterus now like, I don't know, I don't know what we do
here now. Why am I telling you that story?
Well, I have no clue what your last week was.
Like, I don't know what kind of baggage, you're navigating, what
kind of hurt or harm your trying to work your way through.
Rue. I don't know any of that, but
what I do know, Is you picked a great place to be today.
That anytime you gather with the people, the Lord, in the house
of the Lord, expose yourself to the word of the Lord, by the
spirit of the Lord, you will be blessed.
If you are brand new to the crossing.
We are so glad that you're here. I hope that at some point in
time during the service, you'll either click on the QR code, or
maybe at the very end of the service.
You'll go and meet one of our campus Pastor staff members,
incredible difference makers and get connected at one of our
connecting. Using one of our lobbies and you
have no idea what God could do with just that one, small Act of
Faith. We are in week 3 of a sermon
series called weeds in my garden a series, about being honest,
about mental health and week. One, we learned that in order to
live out the second greatest commandment, we given to us, by
Jesus. We need to destigmatize issues
surrounding Mental Health. Right behind.
Love the Lord your God, with all your heart mind, soul, and
strength is the command to love your neighbor as yourself.
And when we fail to love people, well, it impacts our
relationship with God, our relationship with them.
Their relationship with others. And if we're Christians, it can
impact their relationship with God.
Now, it impacts their relation, are our relationship with God,
because we end up treating people poorly.
The very people poorly, that Jesus died to save and commanded
us to serve that impacts our relationship with them because
they're not going to feel comfortable, being honest with
us. And they'll push away.
They'll start just giving us roses.
So we don't see the weeds in their garden and as they pull
away from us, it will be harder for us to offer the help and the
help that they Desperately need the further, they pull away, the
less bright, our light will shine.
This creates even more isolation and can leave them destitute and
vulnerable. It can impact their relationship
with God. Because they will judge God by
our actions. It's not right, it's not fair.
But it's real if you and I are to be the very hands and feet of
Jesus, the expression of God to a hurting world and we handle
that glorious Mission poorly. It changes how they see?
God, this culminates in them having a hard time being in
relationship with others because if Christians can't be trusted
if God can't be trusted then who can And they Retreat further
into themselves as loneliness sets in the isolation leaves
them, vulnerable. And one of the areas where we
have Christians have struggled is being too narrow-minded when
it comes to mental health issues.
Now, when I say mental health issues, I'm trying to use broad
Strokes, okay? And one of my prayers during the
sermon series is that you guys would have grace-filled ears as
Jerry. And I talk through this stuff
because you know, some people could could Take an unflattering
approach to certain things we say or don't say.
And so, when I say mental health issues, I'm also including in
that strong and powerful emotions that are difficult to
navigate and control. So there might be some of you
who are dealing with depression but you wouldn't go on, you
know, I don't have mental health issues or some of you might be
dealing with strong and powerful feelings of sadness, but you
wouldn't necessarily see them. I'm just using broad Strokes
when I say mental health issues, I'm talking.
The broad broad strokes and mental health issues are
composed of four main categories or large buckets.
If you will, there is situational biological, our
clinical and spiritual situational, might be the loss
of a loved one or experiencing a season of high change in
high-stress. A subcategory to that might be
behavioral that you have a hard time.
Navigating are regulating how much time you spend on social
media Not making the time to invest in deep and meaningful
relationships. Biological is how you are
hard-wired, some of us have kidney issues.
Some of us, have insulin issues, some of us are allergic to bees
and some of us have chemical malfunctions and then clinical
issues are the things that need to be addressed professionally.
It could be areas that need to be examined sifted diagnosed
treated prescribed this could relate to situational trauma of
the past chemical malfunctions of the present.
But we We need an outside doctor to help us work our way through
it in the final bucket, is the spiritual bucket.
And this relates to issues of faith and sin, and how we, as
Christians navigate mental illnesses or as Christians,
trying to live with those navigating, mental illness, has
a narrow minded, approach is going to limit our ability.
To access the help, and the hope that people desperately need.
Now I want you to hear me carefully because I feel like I
didn't do as good of a job in week.
One setting this up. So let me say this.
Everything is spiritual Everything is spiritual.
There is not an area of your life that does not have
spiritual meaning, purpose, or Consequences.
However, not everything in your life is exclusively.
Spiritual that makes sense. Everything in your life is
spiritual, but not every area of your life is exclusively
spiritual and out of these buckets, there is this huge
filter and on the other side of that filter is how we feel.
How we operate and how we live, why does this matter will?
Last week, Jerry talked about how we have an enemy, a very
real enemy who opposes Us in all four of these buckets and then
he attacks the filter that determines how you and I are
going to ultimately behave. He attacks you spiritually by
getting you to ignore biblical truths or to believe things to
be true that are not biblical for instance.
You might be thinking that you're too messed up.
For God to love you or you might think that you have to get your
life together. First before God will accept
you. He attacks you in the
situational bucket by getting you trapped in sinful patterns
or pushing people around you to sin against you.
He gets you to think that perhaps Financial provision is
more. Important is the most important
thing you can give your kids when what they really need is
your presence and spiritual encouragement and engagement.
He can attack you biologically and clinically by getting you to
avoid, seeking help or counseling, or perhaps
convincing the people that you rely on.
To downplay your battle. Look what happens in John
chapter 8, Jerry, mentioned this last week.
Jesus is talking to a bunch of religious leaders.
This is Jesus talk and he says, you are you belong to your
father, the devil and you want to carry out your father's
desires. He meaning, Satan was a murderer
from the beginning, not holding to the truth.
For, there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his
native Language for, he is a liar and the father of Lies.
Satan, every time he speaks is lying to us.
Every time he speaks, he is trying to pull you from the
truth. Jerry mentioned, Jim Putman.
Last week, Jim Putman describes Satan as the lawn mower.
There was a time when I had a push mower.
And if you guys have ever had to push more, the I had one and I
was like, I don't want to be that skinny.
And so, I got a riding lawn mower.
And, you know, how you have to, you have to pull start one of
those. And this is how Satan kind of
comes along side of us is Satan comes up and he starts pulling
the mower, and he'll say, he'll start saying you're worthless,
you're worthless, you're worthless.
And then what happens is? We take Over.
So it goes from and notice the difference, you're worthless,
you're worthless to. I'm worthless, I'm worthless and
then we start the mower and then it moves up, everything every
relationship, every financial decision in our life, it just
Mo's it all down. Satan just has to get you
started. Believing the lie and we will
mow down all the rest last week. Jerry talked about the very
first lie that Satan tells us. He tells us that we are
meaningless and that we are worthless because of the
battles. We Face the feelings.
We We feel that our value meaning and significance have
been reduced diminished or worse yet?
For some of us, we think it's been extinguished past tense.
The truth is though that God Made You, he made you in a
significant and personal way and he knows you this week.
I want to talk to you about another lie.
That Satan tells us It's that we are ruined.
This slide shows up in various forms, it could show up in the
biological bucket as you come to grips with the reality that you
were just put together differently and that your
struggles are going to ruin you. You'll never be able to be the
person that God created you to be.
You'll never be able to live out your purpose like other people.
Get to live out their purpose. It could show up in the clinical
bucket. As you deal with the weight of a
diagnosis, the life you were hoping to one day have suddenly
slips through your fingers. For others.
It shows up in permission slips. Satan gets you to make your
diagnosis bigger than your choices.
And sometimes bigger than your God, sometimes Satan will show
up in this way by getting you to take ownership of your
diagnosis. This is what I mean.
If I were to you know, when you're talking about certain
things, you're getting ready in the morning and you turned your
wife and Mike, have you seen my wallet?
Have you seen my shirt? If you seen my pants, you've
been there. What happens is this?
He's gets you to take ownership of your diagnosis.
My anxiety, my depression, my chemical malfunction.
My schizophrenia, the problem though, is when we start
attaching the word, my to it, we don't treat it with the same way
we treat our wall because you would never say that you are
your wallet. You would never say, I am my
pants. You wouldn't even introduced
yourself like that way to people.
Yeah, my name's Clayton and I'm my pants just win.
Do it. But you will hear people talk
about my anxiety, my depression and they will see that as their
identity, hear me. Your identity is not your
diagnosis. Those are two separate things,
you may have a diagnosis but your diagnosis does not have
you. Your value is not determined by
your diagnosis. Your worth is not determined by
your diagnosis. It could show up in the
situational bucket as coming to grips with the weight of your
actions. You've done something wrong for
so long, under the cover of Darkness, that now it's coming
into the light and people are going to look at you.
They will judge you, the mask is being removed and people are
going to finally see you for who you really are, and this is
Satan's playground. It's here that he removes all
light, all help. All hope he pushes in he doubles
down and he gets you to start thinking.
People would be better off if you're not here.
No one will ever allow you to get over this?
There is no coming back. For others.
It's the result of incredible pain and Damage Done To You by
others because others have a low view of you.
You eventually begin to have a low view of yourself.
You begin to believe the lie, no one could ever love me.
I deserve this life. I deserve to be treated this
way. Look at how much ground Satan
has taken. And I haven't even talked about
this, the spiritual bucket. But you could see the spiritual
implications and every single one of the illustrations I just
told you. He begins to tell you that God
couldn't love you, either. You are too far gone.
You are too messed up. Your situation is bigger than
God, your situation is too small to bother God.
And then some of you, you know, people who are in this category,
they start going as they're listening to Satan.
I've been going to church my whole life I've been following
God my whole life and this is how my life is turning out.
It must not work. It must not be real anyway.
That is the deconstruction movement that you sometimes see
happening on social media as people are deconstructing their
faith. And the hardest part of what
we're talking about here is the very part of our body that is
being attacked by Satan is the same part of our body that has
to make the decisions about how to move forward.
It's like Satan tries to grab a hold of the steering wheel, the
gas and the brake all at the same time.
Who cares about whether or not the doors in the wiper fluids
work? He's got control of the car.
So these are the lies that Satan is telling us what are the
truths and if you're here today and you need a little bit of
Hope and a little bit of help, this is critical to our path
forward as Jesus people. I want to give you five
spiritual truths to combat the lie that we are ruined.
First one God is not surprised by your struggles.
God is not up in heaven. Going what?
I did not see that happening. Holy Spirit.
You couldn't give me a heads up. He's not afraid of our
Brokenness. He's not allergic to your pain
or your misery. When Jesus came to Earth, he
came to help and to heal read through the gospels and you will
see over and over again. How much time Jesus Took to
minister to those who are dealing with pain from one of
the four buckets. I'll just give you four.
He treated a situational issue with the woman caught in
adultery. She was set up an oppressed by
other people and Stopped and took no and addressed it.
He also helped those who are dealing with mental challenges
with the demon-possessed, man. And after Jesus is done with
him, he's sitting there dressed, and the Bible says, in his right
mind, he stepped in the spiritual Waters, with the man,
on the mat, which I'm going to talk to you about in just a
second, and he dealt with biological issues with the woman
with the flow of blood. Look what happens in.
Luke chapter 4 verse 16. He this is Jesus went to
Nazareth where he had been brought up and on the Sabbath it
was there Saturday. Think of it as like church day
and he went into the synagogue think church.
So Jesus got up on technically. Saturday went to church as was
his custom. So if Jesus goes to church,
What's your excuse? Okay, he stood up to read and
the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him Old Testament.
Okay? Keep going unrolling it.
He found the place where it was written.
The spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to
Proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to Proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind
to set, the oppressed free to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor. Then he rolled up the scroll.
Gave it back to the attendant and sat down the eyes of
everyone in the church were fastened on him.
And he began by saying to them. Today, this scripture is
fulfilled in your hearing. Jesus goes to church.
He opens up the Old Testament. He reads it and goes, you know,
that thing that you've been waiting for that time.
You've been longing for The arrival upon the of the one who
would heal the broken and bind up the wounded.
It's fulfilled. I'm here.
This is why I came truth number two.
God is not surprised by our sin. From a spiritual perspective.
God knew that we were ruined. That's why he sent Jesus in the
first place. If you become The Crossing for
any period of time, you've heard us talk about this first before,
Romans 3:23 for all. Have sinned.
And fall short of the glory of God.
I mean from a spiritual perspective, every single one of
us are ruined. But the problem is, is we spend
all of our time comparing each other in non-spiritual ways.
So some of you, you know, you make more than others, some of
you have nicer houses than others, some of you go on better
vacations than others. Some of you have nicer clothes
than others, some of you, your clothes fit, better than others.
But listen, from a spiritual perspective, you're ruined.
Your clothes just might fit better.
You might have more spots for your cars to park in your
driveway but spiritually speaking, we are all destitute.
We're ruined. We were done in.
There was no hope, but God stepped into that very space.
He came to deal with our greatest need, which was sin.
Now, I'm going to show you a super cool passage of scripture.
If you've been a part of the crossing, you've heard this one
before. So Jesus was doing his ministry
and there was a group of friends that had a paralyzed friend, and
he had been laying on a map for his whole life and so four of
them picked up there. A wise man on a mat and they
were taking him to go see Jesus. And when they got to the house
where Jesus was there, couldn't get him because the place was
packed. And so their solution was, let's
just climb up on the roof and cut a hole in the roof and lower
him down. And right in front of Jesus.
And, you know, well, let's pick up the story when Jesus saw
their faith. So Jesus like looks up sees
foreheads poking through the roof.
He said to the paralyzed, man. Son, your sins are forgiven.
What did Jesus Jesus? He's paralyzed Jesus.
He can't walk. How did you?
Why did we make a hole in the roof?
If Jesus was going to forgive his sin?
We brought him here because he can't walk.
Right. Son, your sins are forgiven.
Now, some teachers of the law were sitting there thinking to
themselves. Why does this fellow talk like
that? He's blaspheming, who can
forgive sins, but God Alone, We'll keep going for a second
immediately. Jesus doing a spirit, that this
is what they're thinking. Oh, I mean, everybody thinks
they like to hang out with Jesus, but are you sure?
Because I mean, you've been at church and you know some of the
things you've been thinking already Jesus is not a safe
person, okay? Fellas.
You wouldn't take Jesus to the bar.
Okay? Yeah.
Like how many of you had and you'd say your number you'd be
like, no, no, you haven't, you've had four in the one that
you have isn't yours, right? Okay.
Why he says to them that was catchy you guys will appreciate
that later. If your Bible nerd, why are you
thinking these things? Which is easier to say to this
paralyzed. Man, your sins are forgiven or
to say get up and take your medicine.
And walk. But what I want you to know is
that the son of man has Authority on Earth to forgive
sins. So he said to the man I tell you
get up take your mat and go home.
Let's keep going, he got up took his mat and walked out in full
view of them. All this amazed everyone and
they praised God saying we have never seen anything like this.
A paralyzed man gets dropped in front of Jesus and Jesus heart
immediately goes to the sin. What's the point in having a man
who can walk walk straight to hell?
Jesus sees the paralyzed man and everybody else can just see the
physical, but Jesus sees the greatest need the spiritual and
he forgives his sins. And then when everybody's like,
well, hold on a second, nobody can forgive sins.
Jesus was like, oh, you want to know what kind of power I have?
We'll just so, you know, that his sins are forgiven.
I'm going to show you by tell him this man to get up and
walked in the man got up and walked.
Not only did he get physical healing that day?
He got spiritual healing that day.
This was Jesus mission to take care of our biggest need.
Look at Mark chapter 2, verse 17 later in the same chapter on
hearing this, Jesus said to them, it is not the healthy who
need a doctor, but the sick I have not come to call the
righteous but sinners. In other words, if you are here
today watching online part of the crossing inside, And you're
not righteous. You've got some spiritual bumps
and bruises. I want you to hear me.
Say this. Jesus came for you.
That's why he came and there is nothing too big for him.
He came on purpose to save you from this ruined State truth.
Number 3. Nothing is too small for God.
Satan would have you believe that God's only good for the big
things don't bother him. He's incredibly busy, just call
him and things get really out of hand and light of all the
problems in the world. And in light of all the
challenges that are happening at different continents, and all
the geopolitical issues, you really shouldn't bother Jesus
with the little things in your life.
You've heard me tell this story before.
I can't run a bead of caulk to save my life, can't do it.
I bought the little infomercial stuff where you put the little
spatula on your finger and I've done all the and I am horrible,
I start. And then what happens is after I
do it, I punch a hole in my shower and and I say that
because it's happened twice, two different homes and I fixed the
one that are at the Macomb house, but the one in our house
now is not fixed because Not ready to fix update my bathroom
yet. So there's just pink duct tape
in a cross pattern. That reminds me that Jesus paid
for that and When I took a shower today, I stared at a pink
cross that is covering a whole. And the reason why is is even
though I'm only trying to run that bead of caulk for like 24
inches, I think to myself, I cannot call in a favor.
I'm a man, I got this, this will not be a problem and then what
happens is, I started I get frustrated and then sometime
after that, there's a hole in the wall and then I go get the
duct tape. And then I've taken a very small
problem and I've turned it into an embarrassing problem.
And then I'll finally call somebody who's a professional
and I say, hey man, I need you to come over and do this and
then they're stupid. But shows up All right, man.
Should be good now, you just you okay.
I wouldn't have pink duct tape in if I would just call the
professional. So yeah, I know this is this is
going to seem like nothing but it's a lot to me.
We have this mentality. When it comes to Jesus, that our
problems have to be gigantic and significant, if only you would
call a professional, God, I know you have a lot going on, but
Well, look at this, Luke chapter, 12 are not five
sparrows. Sold for two, pennies yet, not
one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs on your
head. Are all numbered.
Don't be afraid. You are worth more than many
sparrows. When you pray, you are praying
to a God who knows? Just how much of you you left
behind the shower today. Ladies.
He knows he knows that there is a rat nest of your hair in the
drain and he can tell you just how much is there.
Some of you older fellows. You took a shower today and
nothing changed, okay? There's just use body washed
head to toe now. Okay?
And he knows and a God who keeps track of the hairs on your head
knows exactly what you're going through and means you can cry
out to him. God, I'm having a hard time
getting out of bed today and I need you to help me.
It's other small prayers. God I have a hard time being on
social media too much. Would you give me the strength
to just leave my phone face down a little bit longer today.
God, I don't have the energy to get up and do some of the things
that my family needs. But could you just give me a
little breath of fresh air for, for just 20 minutes?
You can go to God in the Small Things.
The problem is, we don't go to God with the small things and
the small things start. Piling up until they become big
things, which isn't a problem for God.
But it is a problem for us and all the people we love because
it makes the path back on Earth so much harder than it had to be
that's why we work so hard. Hard to get the love and ethics
of Jesus into our kids at a very young age, so they don't have to
start living for Jesus, after they have created so much - and
nurse shh here on Earth. Truth number for God, has the
power to restore that which is broken and ruined.
And he does this in one of two ways.
The first way that he does it is, sometimes he does it in the
here. And now for his purposes for his
glory, to demonstrate his healing power, I know people who
have been healed of issues of depression, anxiety, and
Suicidal Thoughts. Some of you may know people like
that too. And it is a beautiful and
wonderful thing to behold And when we do, we're like, oh my
goodness, isn't God. Good.
And sometimes God chooses to bring about the healing and
restoration upon his second coming, when he makes all things
new. And I know that some of you who
are listening to me right now went not cool man.
You're frustrated by that statement. because if you were
being honest, who wants one day, healing someday healing, I
think, every single one of us would choose, I want the now
healing, Jesus, if I have a choice between today, and
Someday I'm choosing today, but if I can be honest with you,
Someday healing is the one that I love the most.
It's the people who turn their struggle into a story.
It's the people who turn their tragedy into a testimony.
While other people may have a shallow understanding of the of
living in the strength of God. These people have a deep
understanding of dependence. That even in my worry, I will
trust even in my anxiety. I will choose to follow, even in
my depression, I will give him glory.
Even in my pain. I will still praise and God uses
these faithful stories to create faith and others than the
problem is, it never happens unless we are honest about not
being honest and never happens until we start telling the
people around us what were actually going through and we
keep the story to ourselves and we keep our struggles hidden and
everyone else around us thinks that they're the only one when
in reality they are surrounded by people who are in the same
boat my favorite story Free. I hope this ministers to your
heart. My favorite story of this, is
the Apostle. Paul, if you read in the book of
Acts, Paul was healing people. He had the ability to heal those
who were Afflicted. In fact his healing was so
fantastic that if he could tell he would take a handkerchief and
he would touch it and then they would take that handkerchief and
they would pass it through other places and anybody who touched
the handkerchief would be healed.
But you read in second Corinthians.
And Paul cries out about a thorn in the flesh.
He says and three times, I Cried unto the Lord.
God said, one day what? Come on, Jesus.
You mean I can heal other people I can be used to bring healing
and other people. Can I touch my own handkerchief?
How come the thing? I touch is good for everybody
else but it doesn't work on me. Jesus says one day.
And Paul didn't use that to stop declaring the faithfulness of
God. He continued to fulfill his
calling. He pushed through the pain that
he wasn't going to get the today.
Queuing even though God was going to use him to bring today
healing to others. if we're going to be a church, that's
being honest. About being honest. if we're
going to be a church that loves people for the weeds in their
Gardens, we're going to be a church.
That wants to offer a little bit of help and a little bit of
hope. We're going to have to cling to
those truths. We're moving to a time of
decision. Now, some of you, your teachers,
your getting ready to go back in the classroom and you're like
Clayton, you said five truths. And that was four and I took
notes. And now I've got this spot on my
page. And what am I going to do with
it? Fifth truth.
It's never too late. It is never too late to turn
things over to God. It is never too late to seek
him, no matter how bad the situation is, no matter how bad
the diagnosis is, no matter how much the pain is, no matter how
much the frustration is no matter how many small decisions,
bad decisions you've made that have turned into a big decision.
It is never too late to approach your heavenly father Sunday
night 10:30 at night. I'm working on the sermon and I
saw something. Now, those of you who've been
grown up in church, your whole life, you're going to like
Clayton. How did you not see this?
I mean, i-i've seen it. I knew it.
I just I just didn't put it together the way I did at 10:30
on on Sunday night and I could not wait for this moment with
you. In Matthew chapter, 27 verse 44,
you can go home and check this out.
This is what it says in the same way the rebels or criminals who
were crucified with him. Also heaped insults on him.
So you get this picture, there's Jesus in the middle being
crucified and one on his right. And one on his left are heaping
insults at him. That's Matthew chapter 27.
If you go to Mark chapter 15 verse 32, go home, check it out
this, what it says, those crucified with him also heaped
insults on him, Here's the picture one on his right.
One on his left are heaping insults on Jesus and some of
your going. Hold on a second Clayton.
There's a story inside of this. I know this story.
Yeah, the story, you know, is from Luke's gospel?
This is what it says. Starting in verse 39, in chapter
23, remember 39, one of the criminals who hung there hurled
insults at him, aren't you the Messiah, save yourself and us
but the other criminal rebuked him.
Don't you fear God? He said, since you are under the
same sentence, we are punished justly for.
We are getting what our Deeds deserve, but this man has done
nothing wrong. Wrong.
Then he said, Jesus. remember me, when you come into your
kingdom, And Jesus answered him. Truly, I tell you today.
You will be with me in Paradise. You see it?
It starts off with Jesus, in the Middle with a thief on his
rightness, thief on his left. And both of them are hurling
insults. And it ends.
With one of them going. I don't know.
Would you what? Caused the change?
How did he go from hurling insults at Jesus to defending
Jesus? And shooting his shot.
I said, remember verse 39, I want you to go back seven verses
in Luke's gospel. This is what he says in verse
32. Two other men.
Both criminals were let out to be with him to be executed when
they came to the place called the skull, They Crucified him
there along with the criminals, one on his right and the other
on his left. And then Jesus said father,
forgive them for, they don't know what they're doing.
Do you see it? A criminal's, hurling insults at
Jesus. And Jesus is hearing the insults
from the criminals. He's looking at the people who
shouted, crucify him, crucify him.
He's looking at the people who shouted Barabbas, he's looking
at the people who are nailing him, he's looking at the people
who mocked him and Jesus on the cross cries out to the father.
Father, forgive them for, they don't know what they're doing
and the criminal goes. Hold on a second here.
Do you think that forgiveness? Could be for me, too. and so, he
says, Jesus. Do you remember me?
And she says, says, today you will be with me.
Can you imagine this guy showed up in heaven?
Hey, what are you doing here? Don't you have the guy next to
Jesus? Yeah.
What you? The one throwing insults at him?
Yeah. Did you go to church regularly?
No. Never.
Did you ever take communion? Not once.
What are we talking about here? Did you serve in the ministry?
Nope. Did you clean up after yourself?
When you went to the bathroom at church?
Nope. Did you wash your hands out?
No, didn't do any of those things shook?
A lot of hands that nope, didn't do any of that.
Did you you didn't volunteer? Were you in a life group?
No. Did you fold your favorite
worship song? Don't have one?
What service did you go to? I don't go to a service.
Why are you here? because I asked the man on the
middle cross, He said, I could. He said his blood was shed for
me. I'm here because he said, I
could be That is the Heart of Jesus.
It's never too late. And there's some of you watching
online or in this room and you've never started an intimate
personal relationship with Jesus Christ, cling to this truth.
It is never too late, no matter how dark your circumstances, no
matter how messed up, things might be, Jesus is ready to take
you today. All of your sin.
All of your baggage, all of your mistakes.
You don't have to get everything, right?
You don't have to get off your cross, you just have to come to
him. And you can come to him because
he said so he accepts you in your ruined State no matter what
like Satan speaks at you or over you.
It does not Trump the truth and the power of Jesus that was
claimed for you during his death.
Burial and Resurrection you have access to him, you are accepted
and if God accepts you So does this church and if God accepts
you, so do I? You are not ruined.
You are accepted, and I hope I hope you will walk in that
acceptance. And so today, when people around
you, stand up to sing, if there's some of your going, you
know what I need to? I need to step into that except
in certain be somebody right over by the baptistry, who wants
an opportunity to talk with you and pray with you and maybe
answer some of the questions. You have to the rest of you in
the room. Maybe you're navigating.
Eating something in one of the four buckets or you're a person
who loves one of the people who's navigating something, the
four buckets. We have got to be a church that
loves people well and I'm going to encourage you to get down on
your knees and said God how can you use me?
How can you use me to speak truth into people's lives?
How can you use me to be honest with other people.
So they can hear about my struggle, and they can see how
you're working in my life. Because deep down inside, I
think, every single one of us wants to be a part of a church
where people can be honest, where people can find Hope and
healing. But that church doesn't happen
that church doesn't take place until you and I both take our
part in it. But you guys stand with me,
Heavenly Father, used this moment right now.
To bring serious change in every single heart and every single
life. God, remove the lies of Satan
Seer into our conscience, your truths.
God. I know that there's going to be
a battle right now with people thinking, all kinds of things in
their head, someone to make a move in some, not wanting to
someone to take steps closer to you and others are battling
whether or not they should. And gotta I know which voice is
yours. And so, do they We gotta pray
this prayer before I'm just asking that right now, you would
win the war in their mind. That we would recognize the
power of your truth and we would walk in it and that you would
silence, Satan silence, any voice that is, keeping them from
moving closer to you and your name, I pray.
Amen.