1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:05,800 Come on baby. Oh, crossing Nation, go ahead 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,360 and have a seat. I am so glad that you are here. 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,520 This is my this is the closest I'm going to get to being 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:17,040 ripped. Got my bubble wubber. 5 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,640 It's going to be a good day. I want to welcome those of you 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,360 joining at all of our different locations, those of you watching 7 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,680 online and inside. We are so stinking glad that you 8 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:32,400 guys are here. And our hope today is very 9 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,520 simple. We're hoping that today each and 10 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,360 every single person here will grow closer into an intimate 11 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,120 personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 12 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,040 I'd like to welcome those of you who are new here, whether it's 13 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,840 your first time or your first time in a long time. 14 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,400 And my hope is that before you leave today, you would spend 15 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,000 just a little bit of time at the New here booth in all of our 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:54,880 lobbies. The other thing I would like to 17 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,280 do is I would like to welcome Mr. Samson. 18 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:59,360 Would you guys give Samson a round of applause? 19 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:06,000 We got a shot of Samson. Oh, Samson, you are going to do 20 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,080 a mighty, mighty work. You know, when Jesus was 21 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:13,240 teaching, he used parables. He used the power of a story to 22 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,080 release a profound spiritual truth. 23 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,360 And in just a few moments, that is exactly what is going to take 24 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:25,240 place in this round pen. The horse, Samson is going to be 25 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,120 us. And it is going to be an 26 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:31,320 opportunity for us to see a horse navigate what it means to 27 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:34,800 actually trust, obey, and surrender. 28 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,640 And my friend Todd, he's going to personify God who is trying 29 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:43,880 to woo Samson into a meaningful, trusting relationship. 30 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,240 And this horse's life will never experience its full purpose or 31 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,200 potential until it yields to Todd. 32 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,520 And you and I will never experience our full potential 33 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,960 and purpose until we yield our lives to God. 34 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,440 So would you guys give a warm crossing Welcome to my friend 35 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:09,289 Todd. Todd, I cannot tell you how 36 00:02:09,289 --> 00:02:13,570 thankful I am that you are here. You have brought a lightning rod 37 00:02:13,730 --> 00:02:16,530 of excitement. Oh, thank you Samson and Grace 38 00:02:16,530 --> 00:02:19,440 to this church and what I want to do is I'm going to ask 39 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,320 everybody would you if you're at if you're here at 48th St. would 40 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,480 you extend your hands towards Todd If you're at one of our 41 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:26,640 locations would use this thing your hand towards the screen and 42 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:30,240 we're going to pray God, I ask that you would use the next 50 43 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:35,480 minutes in a mighty powerful transformative way and your name 44 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,360 I pray Amen. You ready bud, get to it. 45 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:43,720 I don't know if you are on or not, but if I reach in there, 46 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:44,960 they're going to remember that too. 47 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,480 How about now? There you go, giddy up. 48 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:55,080 Apologize sound guys, I can't seem to get that part right. 49 00:02:55,880 --> 00:03:06,890 Good morning y'all. We're family right? 50 00:03:07,010 --> 00:03:10,610 I know y'all don't know me yet, but there's just something about 51 00:03:10,610 --> 00:03:12,970 being human that makes it to where we have a whole lot in 52 00:03:12,970 --> 00:03:15,490 common. But there's something about just 53 00:03:15,490 --> 00:03:18,290 gathering together for one reason, and that is that we all 54 00:03:18,290 --> 00:03:21,920 want to have our life significantly impacted so that 55 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:23,960 we can become better versions of ourselves. 56 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,200 And you maybe didn't have that language coming in here this 57 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:28,840 morning. It might have been more just 58 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,800 another day that you're trying to get together with some 59 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,120 people, maybe see something that's interesting. 60 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:49,120 But I think this is a unique gift that I have that I have 61 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:53,200 such high expectation that comes with so much gratitude of what 62 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:54,800 it is that God's done in my life. 63 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,040 But I just know that this song that we just sang, that there 64 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,880 was something about me that is always just saying that I know 65 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,200 that I'm made for more. I can learn how to love better. 66 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,560 I can I can tend to my wife and demonstrate the heart of God to 67 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:15,360 her better. I can interact with my sons in a 68 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:17,279 way that makes them feel more powerful. 69 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,160 And so if you're a man here today, I'm going to just single 70 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:23,560 out the men because I just really feel very little 71 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,480 permission to speak directly to women, especially in the context 72 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:32,600 of this. So it's not a sexist thing. 73 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:36,240 I promise you that my wife beats me up all the time. 74 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:44,000 So I but man, if you're here this morning and, and you want 75 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,920 to become a better man, raise your hand. 76 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:52,680 I hope everybody rose their hand. 77 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,520 You're going to get a elbow on your ribs if you didn't. 78 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,560 But this I, I have never met this horse. 79 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:03,920 I first time I saw it was when I came in here. 80 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,520 And you can tell that he's been working way harder than any of 81 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,320 us this morning. I think that one, he's just a 82 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,680 super enthusiastic horse and two, this is a really unique 83 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,640 environment for him. He's only seeing a few people at 84 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:23,160 a time and there's a lot of y'all and he's in a building and 85 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:30,320 there's lights and noise. But because I'm like to the core 86 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:34,240 who I am, I'm an animal lover. And I promise you that we're not 87 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:39,160 going to do anything but take care of this dude and that Sam 88 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:42,360 has stood in the middle of thunderstorms and wind storms 89 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,840 and lightning storms, and he can handle it. 90 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:51,280 He was built to to deal with adversity that very few of us 91 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:55,720 will ever experience. And so the invitation for Sam 92 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:57,920 this morning was that Samson, is that what I heard? 93 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,320 I love that. Is that Samson? 94 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,080 You've spent your whole life doing what you're doing right 95 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:11,600 now, which is beautiful. You're full of life and ambition 96 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,360 and you've understood what it's like to be around people. 97 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:26,600 So I love that she can stand right here in the middle of this 98 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:33,200 whole thing. But there's going to be an 99 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:39,680 invitation for you and I've, I won't force it on you, but if 100 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,160 you decide you want to, I want to show you something that's so 101 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:49,920 special and so sacred that it's going to give you a brand new 102 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:53,360 vision for what it is that you're capable of. 103 00:07:04,530 --> 00:07:10,810 Is life not just like this, guys, We're, we're just cruising 104 00:07:10,810 --> 00:07:15,160 through life and there's all sorts of activity and things to 105 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:19,320 do. And I think he's actually even 106 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,360 getting a little bit tired just because he's imposed so much 107 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:24,640 pressure on himself. And 108 00:07:35,340 --> 00:07:42,290 I'm not sure where your pressure is coming from or why it is that 109 00:07:42,290 --> 00:07:45,850 you put so much pressure on yourself. 110 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:58,280 But I want him to just feel for a second that for a moment, when 111 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:02,240 he changed directions right there, he looked at me and he 112 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:07,000 asked a question for the first time, first time ever for me. 113 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,960 It's the first time he's ever asked me for anything. 114 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:19,440 And it wasn't even something that he could well, he don't 115 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,040 have many words anyway, if you hadn't noticed. 116 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:29,280 But the thought that would go through his mind is, what do you 117 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:33,200 want from me? And every one of us are sitting 118 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,840 here in this room, And it's a question that we're all going to 119 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,600 have to figure out is really God, What is it that you want 120 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,920 from me? And religion has done so much 121 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:56,440 damage to that, that it's almost like one of the most violent 122 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:03,880 forces on the planet. It's not the enemy that's out 123 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:09,680 there that's invading our country or what's coming through 124 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:12,920 the Internet or all of the other threats. 125 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,040 To me, it's something that would look so close to godliness, but 126 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,640 it would deny the power of God that we would get trapped in a 127 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:32,600 thinking that looks like a religion that keeps God at a 128 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:37,240 distance and keeps everybody feeling shame and control. 129 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:45,200 And Jesus walks onto the scene after thousands of years of 130 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:47,320 people thinking that they knew what God wanted. 131 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,080 And then Jesus presented it to them in such a different way 132 00:09:54,080 --> 00:10:01,680 that he said, I am those words that you've been reading made 133 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,720 flesh. And I'm going to present myself 134 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,280 to you in a way that you're going to finally understand the 135 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:12,920 significance of why it is that the law was what it was. 136 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:18,520 He wanted to guard our heart in perfect peace. 137 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:28,280 He wanted us to understand that there was something about it 138 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:32,680 when He created us that He made it to where we're never going to 139 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:40,200 be whole apart from Him. And that wholeness becoming what 140 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:42,920 it is that we were designed to become was only going to come 141 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:52,720 when we embrace this, this God of wonders who presented himself 142 00:10:52,720 --> 00:11:07,420 in the form of Jesus. And Jesus didn't just show up in 143 00:11:07,420 --> 00:11:18,120 a lightning storm doing, I don't know, the genie out of the 144 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:24,160 bottle thing. Jesus showed up as this kind, 145 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:31,880 gentle, capable man that knew how to work hard, knew how to 146 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:37,080 engage with people and enjoy sitting around a table, would do 147 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:40,880 common things, but have normal conversations. 148 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,120 He'd walk into the bar and hang out with the folks. 149 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,720 He'd go into the churches and they'd usually kick him out. 150 00:11:56,560 --> 00:12:02,200 But he presented himself the way He said that he made us. 151 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:09,400 He made us in his likeness, male and female, both, that he 152 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:11,560 created us in the likeness of God. 153 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:20,040 And then he presented himself to us again as God that looked very 154 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:25,400 much like just a man. But then this man started doing 155 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:31,160 things that they didn't know what to do with, like crazy 156 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:36,520 stuff. He started healing the sick and 157 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:43,040 raising the dead and talking about a Kingdom, A Kingdom that 158 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:47,240 was going to last forever. And people kept putting it into 159 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,760 just like what sort of imagery that they could put to it, but 160 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,760 they just really weren't getting the point. 161 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,440 I see you. I do. 162 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:36,880 So they're beautiful. Because every one of us were 163 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,600 broken apart from God. Jesus was going to model to us 164 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:42,000 what it looked like to be whole, and then he was going to invite 165 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,560 us to become just like him. And that's something that 2000 166 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:51,640 years later, we're still fascinated with the reality that 167 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:55,720 there's something inside of me that it's like heavens inside of 168 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:57,200 me. And it's wanting to come out. 169 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:09,040 There's an anticipation that I can, I can be more than this. 170 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:13,840 Like I'm going to learn how to love to such a degree that no 171 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:17,400 matter what's going on outside of me, what's going on around 172 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,960 me, that my heart's going to stay steady. 173 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,240 And it's what I love to be able to demonstrate right here. 174 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,640 And I hope you never can get like, I hope you can't Unsee 175 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:34,320 this because nothing that he's doing is causing a reaction from 176 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,960 me. I'll respond to him with love, 177 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:41,720 but I'm not going to react to his anxiety. 178 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:46,000 And what he's finding is that in every other realm that he's 179 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,240 lived in, people responded to his anxiety. 180 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,880 If he got anxious, the horse next to him got anxious. 181 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,080 If the horse next to him got anxious, he got anxious. 182 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:00,320 It was just a vicious cycle and it's how they controlled each 183 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,200 other, it's how they felt safe, it's how they moved each other. 184 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:12,640 But he's settling in to me. He's living in response to 185 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:18,320 what's going on inside of me. And this is exactly what Jesus 186 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,200 did. People would be just so chaotic 187 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,920 and losing their minds, and Jesus just didn't move. 188 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:30,160 He was the same. Now I'm not saying that he 189 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:35,240 didn't express crazy emotion. Like he laughed and he cried and 190 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:42,560 like wept. He got angry without sin and 191 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,840 turned some tables over just to make sure that people realize 192 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,360 that this can't stand. Not in my house. 193 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,960 You can do whatever y'all want to do out there, but in my house 194 00:15:53,960 --> 00:16:02,280 you don't get to do that. And it wasn't bullying somehow, 195 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:04,360 and I don't, I haven't figured out how to do it yet. 196 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,840 If I tried to run y'all out of here with a whip, I think 197 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:08,480 someone accused me of being a bully. 198 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:11,760 But Jesus did all of that without sin. 199 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:16,920 It was like a beautiful expression of love. 200 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:25,440 And I don't think I got time to get into it right now, but I've 201 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,640 got some really dear friends that worked with a ministry 202 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,360 called the Free Burma Rangers. Anybody ever heard of them? 203 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,600 Look it up on Prime Video and watch the Free Burma Ranger 204 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,160 documentary. You're going to understand what 205 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:42,400 I'm talking about. It's what it's like to stand in 206 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,680 the middle of a place where there's a whole bunch of 207 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:51,040 enemies, people doing horrible things, and rather than hating 208 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:55,480 them, you love them. But sometimes that love requires 209 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:57,920 you to do things to stop them from doing what's evil. 210 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,480 And if we're going to heal, so many of you are in this room 211 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,920 right now. You've got bitterness and 212 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:14,280 anxiety around your own past and the people that have hurt you, 213 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:19,359 the ways that you've been deceived and lied to, the ways 214 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:24,359 that God's been misrepresented to you, the times when someone 215 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,760 that should have been taking care of you abused you. 216 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:36,280 This isn't small stuff. It impacts us and it makes it 217 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:43,120 where it's in the way. And I believe by the power of 218 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:46,760 the Holy Spirit, that is when within me and within so many of 219 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:51,600 you, that we're going to get some breakthroughs today and 220 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:54,560 that the past and the experiences isn't going to 221 00:17:54,560 --> 00:18:00,640 continue to control your story, impact your life to this degree. 222 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:38,070 Especially I was trying to talk to you about that a minute ago, 223 00:18:38,430 --> 00:18:45,470 that you weren't listening because I can have some 224 00:18:45,470 --> 00:18:49,350 influence from here. Jesus had influence. 225 00:18:49,830 --> 00:18:52,430 People listen to his teachings and we're still reading his 226 00:18:52,430 --> 00:18:55,430 teachings and we're influenced because what he's saying is 227 00:18:55,430 --> 00:18:57,990 true. And it's really good that we get 228 00:18:57,990 --> 00:19:01,120 the information. And there is such a thing as 229 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:03,200 people perishing for the lack of knowledge. 230 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,120 But in an age where we've put such a high priority on 231 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:10,640 information, we've missed the encounter. 232 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,480 And it's kind of like reading a menu but never eating a meal. 233 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,200 It's like reading a romance novel but never falling in love. 234 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,400 And I can't stand the thought of him thinking that this is what I 235 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,160 want to do is simply influence him. 236 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:30,680 I don't. I want to consume him. 237 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,600 I want him to know what it's like to become one. 238 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,640 And that's what Jesus said. It was all worth it for him not 239 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,520 to start a religion or a movement or a new belief system. 240 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,160 He wanted us to understand that we were created to carry his 241 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:56,840 power and that it's something different than what we thought 242 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:02,960 it was. I don't know if you're going to 243 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:08,800 let me get on you, are you? It's all right. 244 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,040 I don't know if you can see how wide his eyes are, if you can 245 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,360 see the white around their eyes. It's kind of like a Oh my gosh, 246 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,920 this is really exactly just like that. 247 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:34,280 I know, man, it's wild. I promise you, you're going to 248 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:39,840 love it. And this trust thing, it's, I 249 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:44,200 get it, Like all of your experience, all of your 250 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,520 instincts are all saying no, but your heart's saying yes. 251 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:35,600 That's good. All need to me for I have drawn 252 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:46,880 me to you. Pull on the strings in my heart 253 00:21:48,040 --> 00:22:05,920 for I long to respond to you. Draw near to me, for I had drawn 254 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:21,760 near to you for long straight in my life, for I long to respond 255 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:36,280 to you. All my love is for you and all 256 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:50,960 my love is yours. All my love is for you. 257 00:22:51,000 --> 00:23:07,800 All my love is. No steps away, licking his lips 258 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:10,640 the best way he knows how to communicate. 259 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:16,080 It's just like a great big deep sigh. 260 00:23:24,630 --> 00:23:30,270 He needs to know that I am and that I'm a rewarder. 261 00:23:31,270 --> 00:23:37,680 I'm good. It's exactly what the Bible said 262 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,320 is he said. If anyone's going to come to me, 263 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,560 they're going to have to first of all, know these two things. 264 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,920 And you might even be struggling with the reality that there is a 265 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:48,240 God and you've got lots of reasons to doubt. 266 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,400 It's OK. And I promise you, you don't 267 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:57,360 have to believe what I believe for me to love you, for me to 268 00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:01,280 believe in you. Right now, he doesn't believe 269 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,160 the way I believe. It's not going to change the 270 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,200 fact that I've got an opportunity to have an 271 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:12,360 interaction with him. And I hope that he understands 272 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:21,160 to the degree where he'll he'll become a new creation. 273 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:31,160 Because a horse with a rider is not not just two things, you 274 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,880 become one. And over time he learns to see 275 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:40,400 what I see and love what I love. And it all comes with me 276 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,400 releasing these things that are inside of him. 277 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:38,040 I've got three sons and I used to think that it was like I 278 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:43,080 didn't like the word ADD, but whether I like the word or not, 279 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:52,680 I was going to figure out what to do with sons that had so much 280 00:25:52,680 --> 00:26:07,760 more energy than. That was good. 281 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:15,640 I don't normally ride like that, but that was a lot of fun. 282 00:26:23,310 --> 00:26:41,000 Good, same side. I remember this guy, his name 283 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,720 was John Mitchell. Isn't there a John Mitchell 284 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,920 here? For real, this dude's name was 285 00:26:49,920 --> 00:27:01,320 John Mitchell. No. 286 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:09,200 Well, if those hit me, it hurts me, OK? 287 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,240 You can't kick me like you can your brothers and sisters. 288 00:27:18,110 --> 00:27:20,590 And he came to me and he said, did you know that God loves you 289 00:27:20,590 --> 00:27:23,470 and that he has a plan for your life? 290 00:27:25,870 --> 00:27:33,560 And it wasn't like a man told me that when I heard those words, I 291 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,720 couldn't unhear them and I couldn't find a way to hide from 292 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,360 it. If I could have forgot it, I 293 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:51,200 would have because I was a really happy alcoholic and had 294 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:57,920 a, you know, everything. That 19 year old kid at 1:00, 295 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,040 that's a lot. That's a lot. 296 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:11,880 But because I couldn't unhear it, I had to decide what I was 297 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:17,840 going to do with it. And it was scary because 298 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,960 everything about me was not like Jesus. 299 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:34,360 It was going to cost me everything to call of Jesus, and 300 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:36,880 that's what Samson feels like right now. 301 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:39,640 It's going to cost him everything. 302 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:47,480 But when he understands the reward in it, the joy that comes 303 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:55,240 in it, don't hold your breath, Not now. 304 00:29:27,750 --> 00:29:30,390 What you anticipated at that time, that wasn't fair. 305 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:46,840 This is where I wish that we had a little bit more time because 306 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:54,240 when he comes, when he gets it, he's going to come so fast. 307 00:29:55,560 --> 00:30:16,000 He's going to go so far. And to him, this is still just 308 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:44,990 playful. Got an itch? 309 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,520 You're going to do it. You're going to do it. 310 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:13,400 If I were to say, if only to whisper mountain sheep. 311 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:17,800 Jesus, I hope and straight that's. 312 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:25,880 When? You made a way. 313 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:35,720 You unlock these chains here in your present strongholds, freed 314 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:45,520 by the Lord, you gay. We give you the highest. 315 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:53,640 You deserve it all. You deserve it all. 316 00:32:54,680 --> 00:33:01,960 We give you the highest. You deserve it all. 317 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:13,120 You deserve it all. There on a tree, merciful King, 318 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:18,840 broken and shamed for all to see. 319 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:34,520 The Father lay down his son. Darkness to light, death lost to 320 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:42,120 light, Heaven and earth will join and sing. 321 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:52,080 Jesus has overcome. So we give you the highs phrase. 322 00:33:55,400 --> 00:34:38,159 You deserve it all. Jesus, so with every left that's 323 00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:51,719 in my lungs, my heart cries out to you belongs the glory, the 324 00:34:51,719 --> 00:35:02,680 glory. To every loss, O victory, my 325 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:08,480 soul will rise to only bring you glory. 326 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:27,160 Bring you glory. Wow y'all are stubborn. 327 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:34,600 I love it. The most beautiful thing about 328 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:41,240 people that are like this is it. Once they get it, it ain't 329 00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:48,840 getting undone. These are the kind of men that 330 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:50,880 Jesus went after. The kind of women that Jesus 331 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,440 went after. Everybody else gave up on him. 332 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,400 Everybody else said that they're unqualified. 333 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:00,320 All they can do is just go make money. 334 00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:11,760 That woman ain't worth it. And Jesus gathered those people 335 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:15,800 up. These kind of people that fought 336 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:20,640 against every system. They'd been hurt enough or fire 337 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:24,280 and enough fire inside of them that they weren't going to just 338 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:27,600 say yes, ma'am, yes, Sir, and play the game that everybody 339 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:30,960 else was playing. And I'm speaking to you today 340 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:35,760 because we ain't going to let this just be a horse that's this 341 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:37,200 way. He's representing something. 342 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:46,920 And when we pray diligently into what horse to bring, Papa picked 343 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:51,000 the perfect horse for that person so that they don't miss 344 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,360 it. We can't stand the thought of 345 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:56,160 somebody walking out of here, missing it. 346 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:05,160 And just because the world has said no to you, I'll do this all 347 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,040 day long. Well, clearly I won't. 348 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:15,800 I got 15 minutes, But I would. Until he learns to relax. 349 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:23,800 Until he knows that this is actually the safest thing in the 350 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:28,880 world for him, just for him to become one with me and I can 351 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:32,680 turn him loose and just let him go do his thing again. 352 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:40,200 But at best, he's going to live to be 30 years old and fat and 353 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:43,280 ate a lot of grass. He ain't even got any tools to 354 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:47,600 breed anymore. So I don't know what he's going 355 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:52,720 to do this time, but it'll be a wasted life. 356 00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:57,200 But by God, he'll have it his way. 357 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:02,280 Pretty soon. We realize that that's not 358 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:16,360 working for us. The reason I keep coming right 359 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:21,480 back to him is I don't want him to feel separation based on his 360 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:25,360 reactions. I need to stay close to him. 361 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:29,240 I don't want him to run off too far to where he feels like he's 362 00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:32,720 alone again. And this ruthless pursuit of God 363 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:36,840 on us, it's like we can do whatever we want to do. 364 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:39,880 Literally, He gives us permission to do whatever we 365 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:44,720 want to do. But I'm never going to leave 366 00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:46,080 you. I'm never going to forsake you. 367 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:54,360 Don't make a theology out of it. But even death itself can't 368 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:56,000 separate you from the love of God. 369 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:45,360 I don't want them to forget this. 370 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:51,720 Like it's that time that God just revealed that I actually am 371 00:40:51,720 --> 00:40:54,520 good. And I'm sorry for all the pain 372 00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:57,400 that you've been through. I'm sorry for the confusion and 373 00:40:57,400 --> 00:40:59,800 the fear that seems to keep gripping your heart. 374 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:08,600 I promise I didn't do that. But if I love, I'm going to have 375 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:14,160 to give you guys freedom that you're being called into this. 376 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:16,440 This is your moment. It's 377 00:41:29,030 --> 00:41:45,590 OK, right here. It's a little bit hard to watch, 378 00:41:48,270 --> 00:41:52,510 but consider yourself, where are you in this? 379 00:41:53,670 --> 00:42:02,480 Thank God you're right there. You've even said yes to him, but 380 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:12,630 it still feels like this. It's cute. 381 00:42:14,190 --> 00:42:18,630 It's cute until it hits me. And here you got my blouse all 382 00:42:18,630 --> 00:43:27,040 dirty. There's not another way, and if 383 00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:36,120 it was maybe with someone else and the Todd Pierce that would 384 00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:40,400 have presented himself to this animal, I would get him to obey. 385 00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:49,560 I promise you I know enough tricks with ropes and that I can 386 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:51,600 make him do what I asked him to do. 387 00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:59,080 All of this is an invitation that I'm going to keep extending 388 00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:07,740 to him because soon as he loses the idea that this is his 389 00:44:07,740 --> 00:44:13,060 choice, then he just has another Master. 390 00:44:14,620 --> 00:44:19,180 And although Jesus is my Lord and my Master, first of all, I'm 391 00:44:19,180 --> 00:44:22,940 his Son. And it's a huge difference 392 00:44:24,580 --> 00:44:29,720 because that's His Son. I've got permission to access 393 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:34,560 him whether I'm falling apart or whether I just won the biggest 394 00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:39,320 game of my life and he just never moves. 395 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:55,000 I want him to enjoy that freedom because he's not my slave and he 396 00:44:55,000 --> 00:45:01,760 won't be my servant. Primarily, He will be a son, 397 00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:05,360 someone that gets to do what it is that Jesus did. 398 00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:08,680 And he said, I found all my delight in only doing what the 399 00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:47,260 Father says. Peace. 400 00:45:47,260 --> 00:46:15,500 It's OK. 401 00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:25,840 It's OK. It's OK. 402 00:46:25,840 --> 00:46:30,520 Don't clap. I'm glad I did My abs. 403 00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:39,080 Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. 404 00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:53,760 Yes, Sir, I love you, I promise you. 405 00:47:55,200 --> 00:48:00,920 If you think that following Jesus is boring and that His 406 00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:04,520 ultimate goal is to get you to just figure out how to sit down 407 00:48:04,520 --> 00:48:11,840 and keep your mouth shut, get some good manners. 408 00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:23,640 You missed Jesus, I promise you. You know what it required for 409 00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:28,080 his disciples, both male and female, to follow Him. 410 00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:34,800 It wasn't a game to them for sure. 411 00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:42,480 For the sake of the children in the audience, I won't describe 412 00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:51,320 what happened to those people, but it was more than losing 413 00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:55,760 their job over the deal or having family members not like 414 00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:59,640 them. It cost them everything, 415 00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:37,180 including their own lives. Has he got Arabian in him? 416 00:49:41,220 --> 00:50:02,400 This is. From here you can see the world 417 00:50:03,840 --> 00:50:07,880 from eternity, and I'm going to show you things that have never 418 00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:11,960 crossed your mind and that you will become the exceedingly 419 00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:16,400 abundantly above anything that could be hoped for, imagined. 420 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:30,720 Don't ever lose your fire. Just decide what you're going to 421 00:50:30,720 --> 00:50:33,560 do with it. They're 422 00:50:46,400 --> 00:50:51,320 still there. He got caught up in the 3rd 423 00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:54,160 heaven. I don't know what that was like 424 00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:56,880 for Paul, but he talks about a time when he had an experience 425 00:50:56,880 --> 00:51:01,160 where he doesn't know if he was actually still in his body or 426 00:51:01,160 --> 00:51:07,400 out of his body. But it was so surreal to him. 427 00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:09,760 It was as though eternity is not that far away. 428 00:51:09,800 --> 00:51:17,360 It's actually within me. We're spiritual beings, and 429 00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:22,960 you're either filled with just the spirit of man or worship a 430 00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:27,120 foul spirit, or you're filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit 431 00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:30,720 of God. And Jesus walked around carrying 432 00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:35,720 his spirit, and then he came back and he breathed into his 433 00:51:35,720 --> 00:51:38,520 people. And they went from just normal 434 00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:42,480 dudes, normal ladies going about their business, trying to do 435 00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:46,600 their best to people that had a power that nobody could stop 436 00:51:46,600 --> 00:51:48,840 them. You, you can't even kill them. 437 00:51:48,840 --> 00:52:13,840 Oh man, I really want to walk with him, 438 00:52:13,840 --> 00:52:23,080 but we're out of time. If you want this radical 439 00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:29,640 conversion, transformation, no longer just a man or a woman, a 440 00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:34,240 child of God, a son or a daughter that gets to be endowed 441 00:52:34,240 --> 00:52:39,080 with His power. You may have been saved for a 442 00:52:39,080 --> 00:52:42,160 long time, but if you want that, I want you to stand up. 443 00:52:46,480 --> 00:52:51,440 Maybe you didn't hear me. If you don't want this, stay 444 00:52:51,440 --> 00:52:55,800 seated. How about we say that, and I 445 00:52:55,800 --> 00:52:57,760 know there's a bunch of there now you got to stand because 446 00:52:57,760 --> 00:52:59,960 it's peer pressure and I'm going to be the stupid guy that's 447 00:52:59,960 --> 00:53:03,400 still sitting down. Not you, Sir. 448 00:53:08,360 --> 00:53:10,960 But we got to look around the room and just decide, OK, there 449 00:53:10,960 --> 00:53:13,960 is a natural battle going on. There's a war and it's trying to 450 00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:17,400 destroy lives and it's deceiving people and it's making it to 451 00:53:17,400 --> 00:53:20,160 where tolerance looks like love and it's not. 452 00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:25,880 But neither is your aggressive accusations and punishment and 453 00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:29,520 shame that you're using to try to get people to modify their 454 00:53:29,520 --> 00:53:34,280 behavior. You want to stand against woke 455 00:53:34,840 --> 00:53:40,920 love? Somebody figure out a way to do 456 00:53:40,920 --> 00:53:42,920 it to where you're not making it to where you're the one that's 457 00:53:42,920 --> 00:53:46,600 right and they're wrong, that you're going to use your shame 458 00:53:46,600 --> 00:53:49,200 and your manipulation to get them to come into your camp. 459 00:53:50,040 --> 00:53:53,680 It's illegal and even Jesus refused to do it. 460 00:53:53,880 --> 00:54:00,320 He would let people walk away. Hey bro, I know, sell everything 461 00:54:00,320 --> 00:54:03,280 you have and come follow me. And he left. 462 00:54:05,600 --> 00:54:08,280 He wasn't doing that because Jesus needed his Dang money. 463 00:54:08,880 --> 00:54:13,280 He was doing that because he knew that he was a slave to his 464 00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:18,040 own self provision. He loved him enough to challenge 465 00:54:18,040 --> 00:54:23,680 him, but he let him walk away. Can we be the church that does 466 00:54:23,680 --> 00:54:28,000 this so that we can have this good land? 467 00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:40,150 You're wet, dude. Come on, boss. 468 00:54:58,440 --> 00:55:00,440 Man, I had a lot of emotions watching that. 469 00:55:02,160 --> 00:55:04,720 I don't know how many times I've prayed for a horse, but I prayed 470 00:55:04,720 --> 00:55:06,680 for that horse a lot during this service. 471 00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:11,200 Don't just let him, just let him in. 472 00:55:12,760 --> 00:55:16,360 Because I kept thinking about all of the people in this room 473 00:55:16,360 --> 00:55:19,760 and all of our different locations and everybody around 474 00:55:19,760 --> 00:55:24,640 you has just been waiting for you to finally say yes to Jesus, 475 00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:29,000 going let him in, stop settling from him being so far apart. 476 00:55:29,280 --> 00:55:32,840 Actually have your genuine encounter and turn your life 477 00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:35,360 over to him. And it gets so much better. 478 00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:38,320 And I'm looking at this horse and I'm just thinking of name 479 00:55:38,320 --> 00:55:41,200 after name after name after name going. 480 00:55:41,200 --> 00:55:45,520 Would you just stop bucking? Would you stop kicking? 481 00:55:46,000 --> 00:55:52,360 Would you just trust him? That is all Samson knows horse 482 00:55:52,360 --> 00:55:54,680 does is getting on his nerves. He bites. 483 00:55:55,560 --> 00:55:59,240 Things aren't going well. He kicks, he gets scared, it 484 00:55:59,240 --> 00:56:01,360 gets hard. He runs. 485 00:56:02,040 --> 00:56:09,560 It's just bite, kick, run, bite, kick, run. 486 00:56:09,760 --> 00:56:13,040 That's all he knows. And some of you, that's the 487 00:56:13,040 --> 00:56:18,080 world you've been living in. Your marriage gets hard, you 488 00:56:18,080 --> 00:56:21,440 kick. Parenting gets tough. 489 00:56:21,680 --> 00:56:24,920 You bite. Stuff at work gets hard. 490 00:56:25,400 --> 00:56:28,560 You bite. Things don't go the way you want 491 00:56:28,560 --> 00:56:31,120 them to in your extended family. You kick. 492 00:56:31,840 --> 00:56:35,600 And some of you, you did way more than biting and kicking. 493 00:56:35,800 --> 00:56:39,800 You ran. And so that's just the story of 494 00:56:39,800 --> 00:56:42,360 your life. Things get hard, things aren't 495 00:56:42,360 --> 00:56:44,000 going the way you want them to go. 496 00:56:44,280 --> 00:56:49,800 And you run and everybody is looking at you sweaty and 497 00:56:49,800 --> 00:56:52,760 lathered up and going. Just stop. 498 00:56:54,160 --> 00:56:58,760 Stop running away from everything and run to Jesus. 499 00:56:59,640 --> 00:57:03,440 I just got to ask you, how is all the biting and kicking and 500 00:57:03,440 --> 00:57:09,960 running going for you? How's that working out? 501 00:57:09,960 --> 00:57:16,400 A wild horse is always trying to survive. 502 00:57:17,080 --> 00:57:18,920 It's trying to stay away from the predator. 503 00:57:19,200 --> 00:57:22,640 It's trying to get itself some water and find itself some some 504 00:57:22,640 --> 00:57:26,120 food. But once a horse surrenders 505 00:57:26,120 --> 00:57:30,280 itself to the cowboy, it doesn't have to worry about those things 506 00:57:30,280 --> 00:57:32,600 anymore. Who takes care of the predator? 507 00:57:33,200 --> 00:57:36,600 The cowboy does. Who takes care of providing the 508 00:57:36,600 --> 00:57:40,960 food the cowboy does. Who makes sure he has water? 509 00:57:41,240 --> 00:57:45,800 The cowboy does and Jesus says to me, come to me, all of you 510 00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:49,160 who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 511 00:57:49,400 --> 00:57:52,400 I'll be your living water. I'll be the bread of life. 512 00:57:52,640 --> 00:57:56,160 I will go into the valley with you and you will fear no evil 513 00:57:56,160 --> 00:58:00,600 because I'm there. So for those of you here in this 514 00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:04,000 room and those of you at one of our locations, if you have never 515 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:07,600 started an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, 516 00:58:07,960 --> 00:58:11,120 can I just have a quick moment of your time and tell you my 517 00:58:11,120 --> 00:58:15,280 story? The single greatest decision 518 00:58:15,280 --> 00:58:18,720 that I ever made was making Jesus Christ, the Lord and 519 00:58:18,720 --> 00:58:21,320 Savior of my life, and beginning an intimate personal 520 00:58:21,320 --> 00:58:26,720 relationship with Him. And my biggest regret is that I 521 00:58:26,720 --> 00:58:30,880 didn't do it sooner. And you might be thinking, of 522 00:58:30,880 --> 00:58:32,200 course, Clayton, that's just you. 523 00:58:33,320 --> 00:58:35,840 Let me tell you, I'm not the only person who believes that. 524 00:58:36,160 --> 00:58:38,880 If we can get a wide angle shot and those of you at all of our 525 00:58:38,880 --> 00:58:41,280 locations, if you could help me out, those of you in the chat, 526 00:58:41,280 --> 00:58:44,320 if you want to type, you agree. But if you would say that the 527 00:58:44,320 --> 00:58:46,720 single greatest decision that you ever made was starting an 528 00:58:46,720 --> 00:58:49,040 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, would you 529 00:58:49,040 --> 00:58:51,520 just put your hand up? See, it's not just me. 530 00:58:52,160 --> 00:58:55,800 And would you also back me up that your biggest regret is that 531 00:58:55,800 --> 00:58:58,080 you didn't start it sooner? If you would agree with that, 532 00:58:58,080 --> 00:59:00,400 would you put your hand up? It's not just me. 533 00:59:00,680 --> 00:59:03,400 It's the people in your row, people at your work, people in 534 00:59:03,400 --> 00:59:06,080 your family, people in your neighborhood who tell you that a 535 00:59:06,080 --> 00:59:09,640 life turned over to Jesus is better than you can possibly 536 00:59:09,640 --> 00:59:12,600 imagine. If you were here today and you 537 00:59:12,600 --> 00:59:18,400 were watching this and you could see yourself in Samson and 538 00:59:18,400 --> 00:59:20,880 you're going. I've been kicking God for too 539 00:59:20,880 --> 00:59:22,680 long. I've been running from God from 540 00:59:22,680 --> 00:59:25,480 too long. And today I'm ready to stop. 541 00:59:25,960 --> 00:59:28,160 In just a few moments. The people around you are going 542 00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:30,840 to stand and sing, and some of them are going to go to the 543 00:59:30,840 --> 00:59:32,680 steps and pray. And what I would encourage you 544 00:59:32,680 --> 00:59:35,960 to do is if you go next to the baptistry at any one of our 545 00:59:35,960 --> 00:59:37,960 locations, there will be somebody there who would love to 546 00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:41,640 talk with you and pray with you. There are some of you. 547 00:59:42,560 --> 00:59:44,880 You've been LED around by God for a long time, but you've 548 00:59:44,880 --> 00:59:47,760 never yielded to Him and been obedient in the area of baptism. 549 00:59:48,160 --> 00:59:51,840 And maybe today is your day, and I want you to know we have 550 00:59:51,840 --> 00:59:54,160 everything we need to be able to make that happen. 551 00:59:54,720 --> 00:59:56,880 And you're going, you know what? We've been putting it off for 552 00:59:56,880 --> 00:59:59,320 way too long. I'm going to encourage you to 553 00:59:59,320 --> 01:00:02,840 walk over next to the baptistry, find the staff member there and 554 01:00:02,840 --> 01:00:06,200 talk with them and allow them to pray with you to the rest of the 555 01:00:06,200 --> 01:00:09,760 people in the room, to those of you who are hanging out and kind 556 01:00:09,760 --> 01:00:13,600 of watching from the outside, maybe you're already a follower 557 01:00:13,600 --> 01:00:16,520 of Jesus. The Bible says this, that the 558 01:00:16,880 --> 01:00:20,040 the Lord is spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there's 559 01:00:20,040 --> 01:00:21,280 freedom. That's second Corinthians 560 01:00:21,280 --> 01:00:24,480 chapter 3 verse 17. And the only way you will 561 01:00:24,480 --> 01:00:27,960 experience true freedom in Christ or experience true 562 01:00:27,960 --> 01:00:30,840 freedom is when you have your life found in Christ. 563 01:00:31,280 --> 01:00:33,360 But to those of you who are Jesus followers, Proverbs 564 01:00:33,360 --> 01:00:37,040 chapter 3 says trust in the Lord and lean not on your own 565 01:00:37,040 --> 01:00:41,840 understanding in all your ways. Trust Him and He will make your 566 01:00:41,840 --> 01:00:44,880 paths straight. You could see the entire time in 567 01:00:44,880 --> 01:00:49,360 the round pen that Todd was trying to lead and love Samson. 568 01:00:50,520 --> 01:00:53,640 And you could keep you watched him keep kicking away and moving 569 01:00:53,640 --> 01:00:56,240 away from the things that he was trying to do on his behalf. 570 01:00:56,960 --> 01:00:58,840 And every single one of us were sinful people. 571 01:00:59,320 --> 01:01:02,520 There is an area in your life where you are not leaning on 572 01:01:02,520 --> 01:01:04,320 God's wisdom, God's understanding. 573 01:01:04,880 --> 01:01:07,080 There's an area of your life where you are not trusting that 574 01:01:07,080 --> 01:01:10,160 God's way is the best way. And what I would encourage you 575 01:01:10,160 --> 01:01:15,000 to do because in a moment of like holy surrender, to go to 576 01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,760 the steps wherever you're watching from and spend some 577 01:01:17,760 --> 01:01:22,000 time saying, God, help me to trust you in this area of my 578 01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:24,400 life. And to those of you who have a 579 01:01:24,400 --> 01:01:27,600 heart for people who don't know Jesus, maybe you go to the steps 580 01:01:27,600 --> 01:01:30,840 and you pray that they would finally surrender to him at some 581 01:01:30,840 --> 01:01:32,440 point in time. Would you guys stand with me? 582 01:01:33,760 --> 01:01:36,240 Heavenly Father, I thank you for this moment right here. 583 01:01:36,680 --> 01:01:39,120 I thank you for the work that you're doing in our hearts and 584 01:01:39,120 --> 01:01:40,960 our lives all across this region. 585 01:01:42,640 --> 01:01:44,920 And God, I'm praying that over the next couple of songs that 586 01:01:44,920 --> 01:01:46,920 you would begin to write a brand new story. 587 01:01:46,920 --> 01:01:54,200 For many people, Satan's been trying to keep them from you. 588 01:01:54,240 --> 01:01:57,240 Their sin and their shame and their guilt has been trying to 589 01:01:57,240 --> 01:01:59,400 keep them from you. But God, I pray that today they 590 01:01:59,400 --> 01:02:06,880 would realize that you're good, that you can be trusted, that 591 01:02:06,880 --> 01:02:11,320 you are absolutely everything our soul has been longing for. 592 01:02:13,920 --> 01:02:17,960 So Heavenly Father, I'm asking you to do something that only 593 01:02:17,960 --> 01:02:22,200 you can do in a way that only you can do it. 594 01:02:24,640 --> 01:02:28,720 God, that every person that can hear my voice right now, that 595 01:02:28,720 --> 01:02:31,800 you'd pour cement on this moment, what we're feeling and 596 01:02:31,800 --> 01:02:37,280 what we're thinking. God, that our desires would be 597 01:02:37,280 --> 01:02:42,520 for you and for your Kingdom and for those far from you to be 598 01:02:42,520 --> 01:02:44,960 found in you. In your name I pray. 599 01:02:45,400 --> 01:02:45,840 Amen.