1 00:00:01,720 --> 00:00:05,720 Oh, crossing family. It is so good to be with you. 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:08,480 I hope somebody's already told you this past week, but if they 3 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:10,080 didn't, I want you to know I love you. 4 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,880 God loves you, this church loves you, and we are so thankful we 5 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,040 get the opportunity to gather together every single week. 6 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,680 I want to welcome those of you joining in our physical 7 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,560 locations and I want to welcome those of you who are watching 8 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:27,160 online, and I want to send a special shout out to all of you 9 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,360 who are part of the crossing inside. 10 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,600 Yesterday morning, I got invited by a group of wonderful 11 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:38,000 volunteers out of our Hannibal campus to go to the Vandalia 12 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,600 women's prison, and I got to preach the Easter message for 13 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,480 three different services. There's over 200 women that were 14 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:47,800 in there, and they are part of our church. 15 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,040 And when they worship, when they listen to the sermon, when they 16 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,200 are taking their communion, it just helps you realize how good 17 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,480 our God is that no matter where you are, no matter what you've 18 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,840 done, no matter what you're going through, our God has not 19 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,400 and will not give up on you. And I'm so thankful that I get 20 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,519 to be a part of a church with people like you who are making 21 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:08,720 sure that moments like that maintain a reality that even if 22 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,920 you're in jail, well, the gospel of Jesus Christ will find its 23 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,080 way to you. So the Hannibal crowd, we want 24 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:15,640 to give you a big round of applause. 25 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:17,800 Thank you. Thank you, thank you. 26 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,040 And to all of you who serve in our inside ministries, God bless 27 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,040 you. You're doing a very special 28 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:26,240 work. I also want to welcome those of 29 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,240 you who are joining our church for the first time or the first 30 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,080 time in a long time. And one of the things I want to 31 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,320 constantly remind you of is anytime you come to our church, 32 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:37,080 take advantage of that QR code on the seat in front of you. 33 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:39,880 It'll give you access to lots of different ways for you to 34 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,560 connect to our church, but also join us in making a difference 35 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,040 in this region. And Speaking of making a 36 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,360 difference, this upcoming week we will be celebrating Easter. 37 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:51,880 And if you want to figure out which service time, you should 38 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,160 attend because we're going to have a lot more service times at 39 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:58,000 all of our different locations, There it is, 40 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,520 crossing.net/easter. We're going to be having 36 41 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:03,440 services that are different locations. 42 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,640 We're going to be having five online services and depending on 43 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,800 your campus, your service times, maybe not just having an 44 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,640 additional one, but they might be moving the time you normally 45 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:16,760 go to. And as we're preparing for 46 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,800 Easter, there's four things bring someone park far away, 47 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:25,160 serve somewhere and pray. I finished up the Easter message 48 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,360 on Thursday. I'm going to probably retool it 49 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:29,680 a little bit, but you can be praying for the message. 50 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,560 You can be praying for all the people who are going to be 51 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:33,960 making invites. You can be praying for people 52 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:36,360 when they're walking in. And you might be going Clayton. 53 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,000 Why do you guys make such a big deal about Easter? 54 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,400 Well, it has to do with our mission as a church. 55 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,800 Our mission is to help people find an intimate, personal 56 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,520 relationship with Jesus Christ. We believe to the very core of 57 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,880 our being that there is nothing better than finding and 58 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,720 experiencing the love of God through Christ Jesus. 59 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,800 And on Easter weekend we get a chance as a church to minister 60 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,520 to more people than any other weekend of the year. 61 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:10,160 Many people, many people that you know, that you love, that 62 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,880 you care about, are going to give church a try on Easter 63 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:14,840 weekend. They're going to give God a 64 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,400 chance and they're going to say yes when they would otherwise 65 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,560 say no. And when they walk into our 66 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,240 different locations and they see it full of people just like you 67 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,400 who look like them, and it will encourage them and it will 68 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,360 inspire them and help them realize that there really are 69 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,600 people all over our communities and region who are having their 70 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,880 lives changed by Christ. So that means that the way we 71 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,560 worship, the way we engage in the message, the way we storm 72 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,200 the steps in prayer, sends a message to their heart that 73 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:49,800 there is hope in this world and that hope is Jesus Christ. 74 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,560 And we want to make sure that as a community of believers, we are 75 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,800 ready to love them and care for them. 76 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:57,760 You've heard us talk about the spiritual spectrum before. 77 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,280 We had to kind of switch it up because we flipped the TV 78 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,880 around. But God loves absolutely 79 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,560 everybody on this spiritual spectrum, whether you're a -, 5, 80 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,360 and let's say you hate God and you're a + 5. 81 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,000 And you know you were with him when he created the heavens and 82 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:12,920 the earth, right? You were just, you've just been 83 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,880 walking with Jesus that long. Everybody on this graph matters 84 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,920 to God. Every person on this graph God 85 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,200 loves. And then as a church, we need to 86 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,640 make sure that we are doing our part to help move people. 87 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,040 So no matter where they're at on the graph, if if +6 is where 88 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:34,000 Jesus is, any time someone is taking a step as a church, we 89 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,280 want to be rooting them on. Every time they're getting ready 90 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:39,640 to take a step, we want to be guiding them and helping them 91 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,400 and directing them to move in the direction of Jesus. 92 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:49,000 You might know somebody who's a -, 5 and they don't believe in 93 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,400 God at all. Or you might know somebody who's 94 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,800 a -, 4 and they know about God, but they're not, You know, they 95 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,560 don't really care all that much. Or a -, 3 might be somebody who 96 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,000 knows about God, but they're not really interested in spiritual 97 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:04,640 things. It's just kind of a back burner 98 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,480 dealer. You might know somebody who's a 99 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,520 -, 2 and let's say a -, 2 is someone that believes that God 100 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,960 exists, but they really wrestle with what it means to trust him. 101 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,800 We can relate with that. Or maybe they're a -, 1 and they 102 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,920 believe that God exists, and they believe that God loves 103 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,800 people. They're just not sure if he 104 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,080 loves them. And then maybe a person who's a 105 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,760 zero is a person who's just starting to really place their 106 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,960 faith in Jesus Christ. Or perhaps A + 1 is someone 107 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:36,600 who's taking their first baby steps. 108 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,960 You know these these are people who who they know a little bit 109 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,480 about God. They obey a little bit, but they 110 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:44,720 share a lot. Like they're always telling 111 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,280 people about Jesus. Or a + 3. 112 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,080 It might be somebody who knows a little more, obeys a little more 113 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:55,800 and shares a little more. Or a + 5 might be somebody who 114 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,960 has a really long spiritual journey with God. 115 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,560 And not only are they obeying a lot and knowing a lot and 116 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,000 sharing a lot, but they've helped other people to do the 117 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,480 exact same thing as a church. When we talk about discipleship, 118 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,880 what we're really talking about is moving people this way, 119 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:20,280 helping them take their next step of knowledge, obedience, 120 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,360 and sharing and passing that on to other people. 121 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,160 The reason why we have to do this, or the reason we have to 122 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:32,560 share this, is because our love for God and our love for people 123 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,720 compels us. The very beginning of every 124 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,480 discipleship journey starts with someone sharing the good news of 125 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,240 Jesus Christ being an evangelist, evangelizing, 126 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:47,360 telling people the good news. Look what it says in Romans 127 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,760 chapter 10. Everyone who calls on the name 128 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,000 of the Lord will be saved. How does that happen? 129 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,720 Well, how then can they call on the 1:00 they have not believed 130 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,400 in, So you can't call until you believe. 131 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:04,040 And how can they believe in the one in whom they have not heard 132 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:06,000 well before? You can believe, you have to 133 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,200 know. And how can they hear without 134 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,960 someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless 135 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,320 they are sent as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of 136 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:23,080 those who bring good news, the beginning of every discipleship 137 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,160 journey, of everybody taking a step of faith? 138 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:30,800 It begins when someone who looks exactly like you and exactly 139 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:36,600 like me takes seriously our part in God's plan to tell the people 140 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:41,360 around us about what life with Jesus looks like when we take 141 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,480 seriously the gospel message and we tell people what God has done 142 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,560 on our behalf and on their behalf as a church. 143 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,320 If we are going to be people about the Great Commandment and 144 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,680 the Great Commission, this is inescapable for us. 145 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:57,440 Because what are the Great Commandment and the Great 146 00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:59,200 Commission? Tell us you already know this. 147 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,360 Mark chapter 12. Love the Lord your God with all 148 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,240 your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all 149 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:07,880 your strength. The 2nd is this. 150 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:12,120 Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater 151 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:13,880 than these. And remember what it says in 152 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:17,360 Matthew chapter 28. Then Jesus came to them and said 153 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,920 all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 154 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:24,960 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them 155 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,160 in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and 156 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,840 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely 157 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,280 I am with you always to the very end of the age. 158 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:40,080 How can we as Christians possibly say that we are loving 159 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:44,360 God with our all? How can we say we are loving our 160 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:49,440 neighbors as ourselves if we keep silent about what God has 161 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:53,120 done for us and what God wants to do in others? 162 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,840 I know many times we have this desire to talk to people about 163 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,880 starting relationship with Jesus and then all of a sudden our 164 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,240 feelings take over. Maybe from time to time you've 165 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:07,120 said something like this. Man, I really want to talk to 166 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,800 them, but I just don't feel like it. 167 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,280 I don't feel like I'm ready. Or, man, I really want to talk 168 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:16,360 to them, but I'm nervous about what they'll say. 169 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:19,880 You've had the desire to talk to your friend about Jesus, but 170 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,840 you're worried about what they might think about you. 171 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,240 You want to talk to somebody about Jesus, but then you're 172 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,400 concerned that you might not have the answers to some of 173 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,840 their questions. All of a sudden, we have this 174 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,880 desire to do something for God, And then our feelings take over. 175 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:40,880 Our emotions take over. But I've been hammering this 176 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,120 home During this series, Steve Weatherford taught us this. 177 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:47,320 Amateurs make decisions based on their emotions. 178 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,720 Pros make decisions based on their commitments. 179 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,520 If you and I want to go pro in our faith, we're going to have 180 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,640 to make a commitment that I'm going to care more about the 181 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:00,960 eternal destiny of the people around me than about the 182 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,960 temporary feelings I might have about sharing my faith. 183 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,200 Because if we are going to be governed by our emotions, we 184 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,040 will never make the difference that we were called by God to 185 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:12,520 make. We will never make the 186 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:15,160 difference that you and I were created to make. 187 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:18,480 However, if you and I were to make decisions based on our 188 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:22,080 commitments to Christ and our belief that God is real, Jesus 189 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,320 alive in the Bible is true. There is no way that we could 190 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:27,560 keep silent. We would be praying. 191 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:31,240 We would be looking for opportunities every single week 192 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:33,120 at our church. You guys get to see the baptism 193 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:36,000 videos and we tell you every single week that behind every 194 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,480 single one of those baptisms there is an incredible story. 195 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,320 And today what I want to do is I want to zoom in on just one of 196 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:45,240 them. So that way you can see the 197 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:49,920 power of 1 Invitation and how God can take a small sea that's 198 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:52,920 planted and produce an incredible harvest. 199 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,920 I'd like you to watch the baptism video of Colin Clay. 200 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:01,360 Hi Church, this is my friend Colin. 201 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,560 Today he's, he's taking that step, he's taking that step out 202 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:08,600 of darkness and into the light and he's ready to start taking 203 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:09,720 ground for the Kingdom. So. 204 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,240 That's why I give the. Name of the father of Son. 205 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,800 Isn't that great? So Colin was going through a 206 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,920 rough time and he was kind of posting some stuff and somebody 207 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,840 saw it and they reached out to their brother and said, hey, I 208 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,240 think we should talk to him about Jesus. 209 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,440 And so Colin came to church and he ended up getting collect 210 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:51,480 connected to our college age ministry and eventually our 211 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:56,840 college age ministry collective had him hop on stage and share 212 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,800 his testimony. And I would like you to hear 213 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,800 Colin's story and Colin's own words. 214 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,080 Would you watch this video? Thank you, Sir. 215 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:09,640 So good evening. I'm Colin Clay. 216 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:13,240 As he said, and I'll just get right into it. 217 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:17,440 So before I found Jesus, I was always a believer in God. 218 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,720 I never lived though the way he intended. 219 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:25,040 My life was full of sin, such as wild parties, drinking, lying 220 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,960 and other sinflax. These led to depression, anger 221 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,000 and even suicidal thoughts, causing me to lose things such 222 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,000 as my home when my parents kicked me out because I was 223 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:41,120 turning into a man they could not control and my family not 224 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,640 happy with the example I'm creating for their children. 225 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:48,560 And even promises, empty promises that I was making, even 226 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:50,840 friends, started to question the man I was becoming. 227 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,320 I was out of control and I was on the verge of losing 228 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,560 everything. That all changed one day when I 229 00:12:56,560 --> 00:12:59,680 ran into an old friend. He asked me how life is going 230 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:04,840 and I couldn't lie to him. The man I was, not, the man I 231 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:09,680 was, not someone to be proud of. Instead of pushing me away, he 232 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:12,240 asked me if I would like to go to church with him and his wife. 233 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,600 At first I thought church was not a place for a man like me, 234 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:19,480 but I also thought, what do I got to lose? 235 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:23,240 So I attended The Crossing in the winter of 2022. 236 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,760 I sat in the farthest chair from the stage and didn't talk to 237 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,040 anyone. But it's hard to walk around 238 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,120 here and not talk to anyone due to the amazing staff and the 239 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,760 volunteers we have here. We were doing the Reclaimed 240 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:38,840 series and some of you might remember the motto was restoring 241 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,640 what what was lost and fixing what is broken, and I was both 242 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:44,840 of those. Slowly I started to get more and 243 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:48,280 more comfortable and eventually got baptized by the same man 244 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:52,000 that invited me here. But I was still not 100 with 245 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,680 God. And all that changed on January 246 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:58,640 25th of 2023. That morning I was involved in a 247 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,920 bad car accident after hitting a tree at 50 plus miles an hour, 248 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,840 an accident I shouldn't have walked away from, but something 249 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,520 greater than me was watching over me and I walked away with 250 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,280 only a bruise. This led me to not only believe, 251 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:17,960 but to know that God was bigger. God had bigger plans for me and 252 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,080 it was time I walked with him and not only live the way he 253 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,480 intended, but also to spread his word and becoming a follower. 254 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,800 This took away all the bad, the depression, the anger, the 255 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,720 suicidal thoughts. I quit the drunken nights and 256 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,880 all the other sinful acts I had been involved in and when I feel 257 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:37,680 those feelings I turn to God and I pray. 258 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:41,440 I pray daily. I can honestly say now I'm a man 259 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,280 that my friends and family can be proud of and someone they can 260 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:47,200 go to for help. I'm hoping I can help others 261 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,360 find Jesus the same way that I found him. 262 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:53,520 I pray that someone hears this and knows it's OK to not be OK. 263 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:57,200 Give your life to him and I promise God will turn it around 264 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,280 because if he can forgive a man like me, he can forgive anyone. 265 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,960 You just have to turn to him to close this out. 266 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:10,040 Some people ask me, I wish there was a playbook to life on what 267 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,200 to do and how to do it. And my reply is it's called the 268 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:15,040 Bible. It'll tell you everything you 269 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,640 need to know. God can move mountains. 270 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,760 God can part the sea. You just have to believe in him 271 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,520 and talk to him. Walk with him and you and him 272 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,080 can do anything. Because like Clayton always 273 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:37,200 says, God's way is the best way. So I would like to introduce you 274 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,080 to the person who invited him. This is Colt Doyle. 275 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:42,080 Would you guys give Colt a big, warm welcome? 276 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:49,560 So Colt is one of my favorite people at The Crossing, and I'll 277 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:50,920 tell you a couple of reasons why. 278 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,160 One, he goes to us on a lot of our uncommon conferences. 279 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,760 He's been to South South Carolina. 280 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,520 He's been to Indiana twice. We just got back from doing one. 281 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:02,800 Our team won in football. For those of you who are 282 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:04,800 wondering, when we were at that men's conference, we won. 283 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:09,040 And then, But one of my favorite things about him is he has a 284 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:12,800 serious heart for the Lord. And every time when Jerry or I 285 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,760 get done preaching, Colt goes to the steps and he doesn't leave 286 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,080 the steps until the first song is over. 287 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,160 And no matter how bad the sermon is, he's there praying for the 288 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:24,960 next service. For Clayton not to suck as bad 289 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,520 as he did the previous service, that's not the real reason he's 290 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,440 up there. He's up there because he wants 291 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,160 to humble himself. He's up there because he wants 292 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:36,360 to have that time with the Lord. And God has been doing a very 293 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,160 special work in Colt's life for the last couple years. 294 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,200 I had an opportunity to be with him on the highest of highs and 295 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:45,360 the lowest of lows. And when I'm working on sermons, 296 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,960 I think of different people in our church in a positive way. 297 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,520 And I always am making sure that I'm writing a sermon for the 298 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,560 people that Colts can be bringing into our church, 299 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,720 because that's what Colts trying to do. 300 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,200 He's trying to help people find an intimate, personal 301 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,520 relationship with Jesus. So, Colt, tell me, what was it 302 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:06,160 like baptizing Colin? Yeah, so this was the first time 303 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:10,760 baptizing a non family member. And you know over the last four 304 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:14,160 years, you know our family's gotten really serious in our in 305 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,680 our walk with Christ and resulting in my mother, my 306 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,800 sister, my two brothers, my wife and I all being baptized. 307 00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:27,839 But this was, this was different from being baptized to to 308 00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:32,600 baptizing someone. It was real and it was like 309 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,080 almost didn't feel worthy. But that was Colin's decision, 310 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,200 and I had the the privilege to walk alongside him and see the 311 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:40,720 story that God was writing in his life. 312 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,120 And when you think about it, I mean you you went from reaching 313 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:47,120 out to him to making sure he was OK to inviting the church. 314 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,240 And you probably never thought that you'd be getting the phone 315 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,920 call to like, hey, I want you to be the one who baptizes me. 316 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,240 Well, I also know you've invited people to our church. 317 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:58,600 How many people do you think you've invited to church? 318 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,840 A lot. I try to do it as often as I 319 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,680 can, to the point now where I I feel guilty if I if I pass up, 320 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,000 you know, an opportunity, is it going to be awkward? 321 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,360 Do I get nervous 110%? You never know. 322 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:15,320 I mean, again, we don't want to be told no, right? 323 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:19,320 But you got to keep coming back. But it's my responsibility to to 324 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,240 to reach out and to ask that person and and to get them, you 325 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,520 know, get them connected with with the church or with Jesus. 326 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:26,920 But it's their responsibility to, you know, they got to make 327 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:27,840 the decision. What's next? 328 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:30,720 That's exactly right. It reminds me of the story of 329 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,440 Lee Strobel, who many of you guys have probably heard of his 330 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,160 books. He wrote Case for Christ, Case 331 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,600 for Creation and The Case for Easter. 332 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:42,960 He used to be a a journalist for the Chicago Tribune and he was 333 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,480 an atheist and he went on this journey and he became a 334 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,800 Christian and one of these days he was getting ready for Easter. 335 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,960 He really felt a prompting from the Holy Spirit, from God, to go 336 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,280 into the business office and invite his atheist friend to 337 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,280 church on Easter weekend. And he's thinking, oh man, this 338 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,360 is going to be great. God's obviously leading me in 339 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:04,680 this direction. And so he walks into the 340 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,880 business office and he turns to his friend and he says, hey, how 341 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:09,880 are you doing? And his friend goes, I'm doing 342 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:11,720 great. And he was going, oh, I was 343 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:13,880 hoping that maybe his life would be falling apart and I would be 344 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,160 swooping in at the right time. But his life was doing great. 345 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,440 And I said, well, listen, I want to invite you to my church for 346 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,800 Easter. And he goes, Lee, you know, I'm 347 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,920 an atheist. I don't believe in the 348 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,960 resurrection. And then Lee goes, well, I 349 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,360 happen to have a lot of evidence to believe in the resurrection 350 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:32,480 of Jesus Christ. And he starts to walk him 351 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,200 through that evidence, And his friend looked at him. 352 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,480 He goes, I'm not going to your stupid church. 353 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,200 And Lee walked away distraught and frustrated. 354 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:44,880 He tried to present the gospel to him. 355 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,840 His friend kind of shut him down, and he walked away kind of 356 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,640 bummed. And to this day his friend is an 357 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,920 atheist. And Lee wondered, why did God 358 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,960 lead me in there to have that conversation with my friend only 359 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,440 to get shut down? Well, years later, Lee is a 360 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,680 pastor at a church. And after the service, someone 361 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,280 comes up and says, I just want to shake your hand and thank you 362 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,440 for the profound spiritual impact you've had on me and my 363 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,720 family. And Lee looks at this guy in 364 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,280 front of him and goes, OK, that's great, but can you tell 365 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,800 me who you are? And he goes, Well, years ago I 366 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,680 had lost my job. And I was worried about whether 367 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,520 or not I was going to be able to keep my home and keep my car. 368 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,680 And so I reached out to a friend of mine who worked at the 369 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:32,600 Chicago Tribune and I said, I need some work. 370 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:34,480 And he goes, well, can you, what can you do? 371 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:36,680 He goes, I've got some tile work that needs done. 372 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:38,200 He goes, yeah, I've, I can lay tile. 373 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:42,200 And so I was in the business office one day on my hands and 374 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,320 knees behind this really big desk, fixing some tile. 375 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,640 And you came in and you started witnessing to the guy who was 376 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,280 working at that desk, and you couldn't even see me. 377 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:56,480 And he was shutting you down. He goes, But as you were talking 378 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,960 about God and the reason to believe in the resurrection, I 379 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:03,600 started going, I need God. And my heart started beating 380 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,160 really, really fast. And so you walked out of there. 381 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,040 And I called my wife up on the phone. 382 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,560 I said, honey, we're going to church this Easter. 383 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:12,880 She goes, what? He goes, we need God in our 384 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,440 lives. And she goes, OK, And so we went 385 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,120 to church that Easter at your church. 386 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,480 And I got baptized, and my wife got baptized, and my teenage son 387 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,280 got baptized. When you were witnessing to that 388 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,080 guy, you had no idea that you were changing our lives. 389 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:31,840 And when he took that step of faith, it's like Ricochet 390 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:34,760 evangelism. He just reached out to one guy, 391 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,640 but God used it to point another person to Jesus Christ. 392 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,840 And when we say no for somebody by not inviting them, we never 393 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:45,680 give them the chance to say yes. But when we invite people, we 394 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,400 give them at least the opportunity to say yes. 395 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,480 So let me What advice would you give to the people at all of our 396 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,120 different locations when it comes to talking to people about 397 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:55,680 Jesus or inviting them? Absolutely. 398 00:21:55,680 --> 00:22:00,040 So first of all, never pass up an opportunity to to acknowledge 399 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:01,960 someone. A simple hello. 400 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,200 Whether you're open a door or just in passing, just saying 401 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,800 hello, that's the end is going to lead to your next opportunity 402 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:09,720 of, hey, how can I impact that person? 403 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:13,800 You got to be real and you got to build relationship. 404 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,480 You know there's going to be, there's going to be people that 405 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,160 you're comfortable with. There's going to be people that 406 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,680 God places on your heart, and there's going to be people that 407 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:26,880 God puts in your path. And each one of those 408 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,440 individuals, they deserve to know that that God loves them. 409 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:31,840 So we've talked about this before. 410 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:33,040 Talk about the strike. Zone. 411 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,480 Oh, yeah. So, absolutely. 412 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,800 So we've got to open up the strike zone a little bit also 413 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,280 because again we got to give people time and I know you've 414 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,840 preached about it before, you know time and there's biblical 415 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:45,600 time and this, that and the other, but we got to give people 416 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:47,600 time because they've got to make the decision. 417 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:49,840 It's not, it's not, you know, we don't make the decision for 418 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:50,960 them. Again, we it's our 419 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:52,680 responsibility to get them here. They've got to make the 420 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,120 decision. When when he talks about opening 421 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:56,880 the strike zone, I think sometimes there's a really 422 00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,480 narrow strike zone that we think of people who are ready to say 423 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,440 yes to Jesus, but we don't get to know people's hearts, only 424 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,080 God does, and we open up the strike zone. 425 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,280 We give people an opportunity to make the decision for themselves 426 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,800 about whether or not they want to start a spiritual journey, 427 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:18,480 and you have no clue how God can take one simple act of obedience 428 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,360 on your part and transform somebody else's life. 429 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:27,760 This isn't especially true in this story because in a tragic 430 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:33,360 twist of fate in on February 20th of this year Colin died in 431 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:38,120 a tragic farm accident. And so two years ago he didn't 432 00:23:38,120 --> 00:23:42,040 have faith in Jesus Christ. And two years later he goes to 433 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,320 be with Christ and the family reaches out. 434 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:47,560 And they don't ask one of the pastors to do the funeral. 435 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,760 They ask you, talk to me. What was that like? 436 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,080 It was the IT was the hardest, easiest thing I've ever done. 437 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:02,400 Hard because he's gone, but it was easy because I knew where it 438 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:03,600 was going. Yeah. 439 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:11,800 A real thought that I had that I wrestled with as I was leaving 440 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:18,680 the gravesite and driving down Hwy. 79 is that I I got to tell 441 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,280 everyone that I love. Please don't ever put me in the 442 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,560 position to do your funeral and not know where you're going. 443 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,120 Colin loved being a part of this church. 444 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,760 And as Colt was getting ready to do the funeral, his family 445 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:42,200 brought Colin's 50 for 50 book. Colin had started the journey 446 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,280 with us here on earth and he got to finish it in heaven. 447 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:48,280 And these are some of the excerpts from his book. 448 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:50,920 One of the things I love, he says this is right here. 449 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,680 This is day one, that my relationship with God could be a 450 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:55,480 lot better. How many of you would agree your 451 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:56,920 relationship with God could be a lot better? 452 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,600 Yeah, Colin was one of us. I fight temptation and lust and 453 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:04,280 drunkenness and then he says something incredibly vulnerable, 454 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,760 something that I've said myself I want to be someone God can be 455 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,280 proud of. That was Colin's heart. 456 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:14,080 That wasn't his heart 2 1/2 years ago, but because someone 457 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:16,800 was willing to take a risk and make an invite. 458 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:19,600 That's what Colin was saying before the Lord. 459 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:24,280 Look at page 2. The challenge was that day is he 460 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:26,480 reached out and he talked to an atheist about God. 461 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,080 He was looking at the people around him and he was giving 462 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,320 them the same grace that Colt had given him, that he wasn't 463 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,120 going to say no for him. He was going to talk to them 464 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:37,840 about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. 465 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,240 Look what it says on the next page. 466 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,960 God put air in my lungs. God did not turn his back on us. 467 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:50,360 That God loves me for me. And then there at the bottom, he 468 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:54,960 wants to follow Jesus's word and spread and prepare people for 469 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,960 Jesus coming back like he wanted to start passing on the very 470 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:02,520 blessing that Colt gave to him. But perhaps my favorite thing is 471 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:09,040 what he wrote here is that my hope is in a blood stained 472 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,640 cross. So when Colt got up to preach 473 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:16,000 that funeral message, he was standing over a person whose 474 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,120 salvation was in the precious hands of Jesus. 475 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,880 And he was able to stand there and look at that family and 476 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:27,080 friends and tell them beyond the shadow of a doubt, where Colin 477 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:29,240 was. Because Colin's hope wasn't in 478 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,720 himself. Colin's hope is in Jesus. 479 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,080 And someone came up to you and told you something pretty 480 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:37,600 powerful before you did it. Talk to us. 481 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,480 About that, So the mother of one of Colin's close friends. 482 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,960 So they were at the Hannibal campus and they were visiting 483 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:51,520 and Colin had had told her. My goal is it is for all of my 484 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,160 friends to feel the way that I feel. 485 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:57,120 So Colin had started this relationship with Jesus and all 486 00:26:57,120 --> 00:27:01,120 he wanted was for everybody close to him to find what he has 487 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:04,480 found in Jesus Crossing family. You've heard me say this a 488 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,960 bunch, that we want to make this region the hardest place on 489 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:09,400 planet earth to get to hell from. 490 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,160 And in order for us to become that kind of church, it requires 491 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:16,280 people that look exactly like you, exactly like Colt, and 492 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,440 exactly like me. Having the faith to share our 493 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,320 story, having the boldness to share our story and allow God to 494 00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:26,320 use that to transform a person's life. 495 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:32,280 Colin's eternity would have been drastically different if Colt 496 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:36,360 hadn't had the courage to talk to him and a life was 497 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,080 transformed and an eternity is forever different because of 498 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,160 that. Charles Spurgeon had this 499 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,920 prayer, and I read it recently and it kind of shook me. 500 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,360 I'm trying to figure out if this is going to become my next 501 00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:49,840 tattoo. This is what he says. 502 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:54,280 If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our 503 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:58,040 dead bodies. If they perish, let them perish 504 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,600 with our arms wrapped around their knees, imploring them to 505 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:04,920 stay. If hell must be filled, let it 506 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:09,600 be filled with the teeth of our exertions, and let no one go 507 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,600 unwarned and UN prayed for crossing family. 508 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:20,280 God wants to do a work in us, to partner with us and His saving 509 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,760 work. I'm not just talking about this 510 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,680 Easter, but especially this Easter. 511 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:28,200 And every week after that, you are going to have opportunities 512 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:33,040 to share, to talk to someone, to invite them to pray for them. 513 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:37,440 And God will use those small seeds of faith to produce a 514 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:39,960 beautiful harvest in our presence. 515 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:45,920 I got a phone call on Friday and one of our the our Lima campus 516 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,640 pastor he from time to time he he drives Lyft and he picks 517 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,200 people up. And so he flips on his left and 518 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:57,760 he picks up somebody and she hops in the car and they start 519 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:02,640 having a conversation and then she and says where are you going 520 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:07,000 for church on Easter? And he started to answer the 521 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:09,000 question. They go back and forth and he 522 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:10,520 goes, well where do you go to church? 523 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,840 And she goes, I go to the crossing and he goes, well, 524 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,960 that's where I go, that's where I work. 525 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,200 She goes, well, you are my first invite. 526 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,520 I went to church on Thursday, and I made a commitment that I 527 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,720 was going to tell the people I know about Jesus and I was going 528 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,400 to start by inviting them to church on Easter. 529 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:31,480 And she goes, my first Test was going to be this lift ride. 530 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,200 And little does she know that the person she was inviting 531 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,480 already worked on staff at our church. 532 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:40,160 But I love the fact that she wasn't just moved by the 533 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,640 emotions of the message or Colin's story. 534 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:49,440 She made a commitment that the people she runs into need the 535 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,560 hope of Jesus in their life. They need to know where they're 536 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:57,880 going to spend eternity. And as a church, we must care 537 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,200 about them. I'm asking you guys, would you 538 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:01,720 join us in this beautiful mission? 539 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:03,720 We're moving to a time of decision. 540 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:14,040 I know there are many of you in this room right now or watching 541 00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:18,120 online, and you have not yet started an intimate, personal 542 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:22,320 relationship with Jesus Christ. Maybe you've been around for a 543 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:26,480 long, long time, or maybe this is your very first time and 544 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,800 you're here today and you're wondering in the back of your 545 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:33,960 mind whether or not you are ready, whether or not you are. 546 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,920 Have all your questions answered so you can start a relationship 547 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,360 with Jesus Christ. And I want you to know it's 548 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:45,400 completely OK and normal for you to have questions and doubts and 549 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:51,680 concerns and worries. But I want you to know that 550 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,200 there's nothing keeping you from starting that relationship 551 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:58,240 today. And if you're here and you don't 552 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:03,760 know where you're going to spend eternity, it is impossible for 553 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:08,280 you to have peace. And if you're here today and 554 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:10,880 your family doesn't know where you're going to spend eternity, 555 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:14,240 you are robbing them of an incredible gift. 556 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:19,520 Your family deserves to know that when you die, you will be 557 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:25,800 in heaven waiting on them. And may Colin's story serve as 558 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:31,760 an inspiration and as a warning, that if we don't have a 559 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:36,480 relationship with Jesus Christ, hell is our future. 560 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:42,560 And you and I do not know when we will take our last breath. 561 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,320 Our days are numbered. We just don't know how many 562 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:50,400 numbers there are. And so don't put it off. 563 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:56,080 I say this frequently, but I'm I'm just becoming more and more 564 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:59,600 convinced of it during this invitation time. 565 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:04,040 This is a battleground for your soul and there are thoughts that 566 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,840 come running through your head. And some of the thoughts that go 567 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:12,680 through your head are maybe next week, maybe next month, or you 568 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,960 start going well after I get this figured out, after I get 569 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:20,040 through my divorce, after I kick my addiction, after I navigate 570 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:22,600 this habit. And I just need you to know that 571 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,160 all of those things that are going through your head are not 572 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:30,160 of God, they are of Satan. Because Satan wants to prolong 573 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:33,680 and put off you coming to faith in Christ. 574 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:39,560 But the voice inside of you that's saying right here, right 575 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:45,400 now, that's the voice of Jesus, he says Come to me, all of you 576 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:48,680 who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 577 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:52,080 And if you're here today and you're thinking, man, I've 578 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,600 messed up so bad, there's no way that God could love me. 579 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:59,160 I'll just tell you, there's just too many testimonies, too many 580 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:02,960 stories of people who are as jacked up as you could possibly 581 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:07,920 be, who were transformed by the power of God's love and the 582 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:12,040 indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You are not supposed to change 583 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:15,160 you. God is the one who makes you 584 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,720 new. And if you're here today and 585 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:20,520 you've never started an intimate, personal relationship 586 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:25,240 with Jesus Christ, I implored, you don't put it off. 587 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,160 And in just a few moments, the people around you are going to 588 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,160 stand and they're going to begin singing, and some of them are 589 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:32,560 going to come to the steps and pray. 590 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,400 And I want to encourage you to walk right over there by that 591 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,640 baptistry. Underneath that screen, people 592 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:39,400 won't be able to see you. And there's going to be people 593 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,400 over there who'd love to talk to you, answer some of your 594 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:46,680 questions, pray for you, and help you begin that relationship 595 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,520 with Jesus Christ. To the rest of you in the room, 596 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,880 those of you who call yourselves Christians, it's time for us to 597 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:55,760 pray. It's time for us to storm the 598 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:59,480 gates of heaven on our knees, begging that God would open 599 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:01,960 doors into the lives of the people that we care about and 600 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,160 that we love. But I want to encourage you to 601 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:06,000 do something that the early church did. 602 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:09,639 The first church, did you know what their number one prayer 603 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:11,880 was? Boldness. 604 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:17,080 The people who were standing and proclaiming God's word in the 605 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:19,760 midst of opposition, you know what they were praying for? 606 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:24,280 They were praying for boldness, and we should probably be 607 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:27,560 praying the exact same prayer that at times when we don't have 608 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,199 the answer, we pray that God would give us the boldness to 609 00:34:30,199 --> 00:34:33,159 share the gospel anyway. The times when we feel a little 610 00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:36,080 uneasy stepping into a conversation, that we would be 611 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:38,719 praying for boldness. That we'd step into it knowing 612 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:42,320 that God would hear us and answer our prayers and help us 613 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:46,560 navigate those conversations. But this week, as you go out and 614 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:49,840 you bump into people, every person you bump into, every 615 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:53,840 person that you lay your eyes on, is a person that God sent 616 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:55,880 his Son to die on the cross. For. 617 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:58,800 There is good news. There's not a person you've ever 618 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,320 looked at that God doesn't love, that God doesn't want to be in 619 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:04,800 heaven with him. And we have the glorious 620 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:09,160 opportunity to taking their hand and bringing it to God's hand 621 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:11,880 and helping them find the relationship that changes 622 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:14,400 everything. There has to be a place that's 623 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:17,640 committed to helping people who are far from God find God. 624 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:20,600 And I say it's here. I say it's with you. 625 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:24,080 I say it's with us. Would you join me in praying for 626 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:24,880 that? Would you stand? 627 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:29,480 Heavenly Father, I'm asking you to move in a mighty way in this 628 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:36,080 church right now. Gather you would shift our focus 629 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:40,040 from our feelings to our commitments. 630 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:46,280 God, that we would be overcome by the depth and width of your 631 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:49,840 love. And God, that we would make sure 632 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:52,560 that we display it and tell people about it. 633 00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:01,160 God, you've always done great things with just a little With 634 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,960 just a little bit of bread and a little bit of fish. 635 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:09,200 You fed 5004 thousand God with faith the size of a mustard 636 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:11,120 seed. You said we can move mountains 637 00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:15,240 and God through Colton Collins story. 638 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:20,200 We've seen what you've been able to do with just one invite God. 639 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:24,120 I pray that you would take our prayers for boldness and you 640 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:27,080 would do a mighty work. And you name my pray. 641 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:28,000 Amen.