Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast.
We hope today's message is encouraging to you.
This summer we're starting a series called The Seven Habits
of Jesus People. Not joking.
This entire summer we are going to spend learning what it means
to be a Jesus person. I say Jesus, you say people.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus people. Jesus people are empowered by
God to transform the world and all that live in it.
Everyone around them, everything around them can be transformed
by a Jesus person. When there's lost and broken
people, it is Jesus people that bring them from death to life.
When outcomes look impossible, it's a Jesus person that shows
up and brings forward what's possible, what all hope seems
lost. It's Jesus people that come in
and with their faith and with their prayer, their belief and
their activity in the things of the Kingdom, they turn the world
upside down. When Jesus excuse me, when
people are in need, when people are homeless, when people are
widowed, orphaned, imprisoned, you name it, it's Jesus people
that show up and make a lasting difference.
Jesus people carry the same power that raised Jesus from the
grave in their bosom. So wherever a Jesus person goes,
they bring the hope of God with them into every situation, into
every relationship, The power of God present through a Jesus
person. So this summer, let's be Jesus
people. And you say how the seven habits
of Jesus people, you ever had a Jesus person in your life?
Anyone. If my hand's up, and your answer
is yes, your hand should go up too.
Do you ever have a Jesus person in your life?
How about you online? Somebody who lifted you before
the Father, Somebody who gathered you to the Father.
Somebody who corrected you, rebuked you, prayed for you,
helped you, served you. When everyone else left, they're
still there, like you're still here.
Jesus people bless people. I married a Jesus person.
I got many Jesus people. Many not multiples.
Well, three is multiple Jesus people that live in my house
with me, my kids. I work with Jesus people.
Can I get an Amen? I live my neighbors to my left,
my neighbors to my my right, my neighbors over there just a few
strand my neighbors over there and I can see them in my I live
near and do life with Jesus people and I say that to say
help us. And by the way, I when I read
the scriptures, I meet lots and lots of Jesus people.
My best friends I find in the Bible are Jesus people.
I say all that to say, I know what Jesus people look like.
I know what they smell like. I know how they operate.
And when I get around them, I feel my life buoyed, abundant,
different than when I'm just banging around, bumping into the
world and it's empty promises and it's frustrations and it's
joylessness. But when I'm around a Jesus
person, it's it's different. So I say to you again, let's
learn how to be Jesus people. And you say how I'm glad you
asked the seven habits of Jesus people that we're going to be
looking at this summer. The first message in this series
is called peculiar people. Everyone say peculiar dads.
Today I want to invite you to be a peculiar dad.
What does that mean? Let's talk about it.
The main idea of this message can be summed up in one verse
we're going to find in the book of Acts.
If you want to open your Bible, some of you got them on your
laps. We're going to be in Acts
chapter 2. If you need a Bible, raise your
hand and one of the ushers will bring one to you.
Acts chapter 2. The book of Acts is really the
story of the beginning of the church, the launch of the
church, the birth of that which we are still in today.
And Jesus did this. You'll never believe how he
birthed the church through Jesus people.
Peter, the rest of the disciples, Paul, Lydia,
Barnabas, Priscilla, Timothy, Tabitha, all of these people in
the book of Acts are Jesus people.
And watch this 2000 years later we are swimming in the current
of what God started in the headwaters of the original Jesus
people. The movement still goes forward
because of Jesus, people. And if it's true then, it's true
now because God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Would you believe with me that He can do now in our day and age
what He did 2000 years ago? Say yes, you better believe it.
He is doing it. The verse that summarizes series
has found the very day that the church is said to have begun.
It's called the Day of Pentecost.
It wasn't named Pentecost because the church began.
It was already Pentecost and then this happened on Pentecost.
Pentecost, also known as Shavout.
SHAVOUT is one of the festivals that the Hebrew people are
commanded by God to celebrate. This one happens to be
celebrating the end of the harvest. 50 days Penta. 50 days
after Passover, there's to celebrate this feast.
It's one of the three pilgrimage feasts found in the Bible, which
means all of the Jews and all of the converts to Judaism would
gather together in Jerusalem to celebrate as a command from the
Lord. We still celebrate Pentecost in
the Christian Church. It's 50 days after Easter.
It was last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday.
As we read you're going to hear about of them and them are they
is this group of disciples of followers of Jesus who have
gathered together as God has commanded them, waiting for the
power of the Holy Spirit to arrive.
And in Acts chapter 2, the grand moment happens verse one when
the day of Pentecost came they were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came
from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
I know hurricanes are kind of they're scary, they're daunting.
When you hear one's coming, everyone kind of clinches up,
runs to the store, we start whatever.
And then the night comes and the storm passes and you hear that
wind. I know in Florida, maybe more
than anywhere else, we know what a loud, violent wind sounds
like. Amen.
They're hearing this wind. They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire. Look, it's all together and then
it separates. So one Spirit separates and
comes to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit
enabled them. Now they were staying in
Jerusalem, God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in the
bewilderment because each one heard their own language being
spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked,
aren't all these who are speaking Galileans, meaning
obviously they shouldn't be able to speak our language?
Like I can't speak Portuguese or Spanish.
I wish I could better, but these Galileans shouldn't be speaking
all these languages. Then how is it, verse 8, that
each of us hears them in our native language?
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea,
Cappadocious, Pontus, Asia, Persia and Pamphila, Egypt and
the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews
and commerce to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs and Oklahomans and
Texans, all of them we hear them declaring, declaring the wonders
of God in our own tongues. Amazed and perplexed, asked one
another, What does this mean? Some, however, made fun of them
and said they have had too much wine.
They drunk. And verse 13 is the one I want
to point out to you to begin there it is.
Something is so odd about the behavior of these Jesus people
that they categorize them into a group and then they begin to
make fun of them. They're so peculiar, so
different, and they say they are out of their minds.
I mean, they say they've had too much wine, which means they're
drunk, which when somebody's drunk, they're out of their
mind. They've lost control of their
faculties. They're out of their mind.
They're so odd, so peculiar, out of your mind.
You're drunk too much wine this morning.
I want to ask you if you've ever been accused of the same.
Yes. Has anyone looked at your life
and thought how odd, How peculiar is it that you pray
like you do? That's different.
How peculiar it is that you on every Sunday morning, instead of
going to the beach, going to Disney, going to the ball fields
on some sports tournament, they're there.
You decide to go to church. That's odd.
Remember when Owen was playing travel baseball?
We told him we're not playing on Sunday mornings and he wouldn't
show up and like, well, that's weird.
You drunk? Are you out of your mind?
Your account? Never look at you.
You're like account, I don't got account.
I am the accountant. Do you ever look at you and say,
wow, it's really odd that we give this much money to the
church because we could do XYZ. It's odd.
You're out of your mind. You're peculiar.
The way that you speak is peculiar too, because the rest
of us use all sorts of language. You don't, or the rest of us
never talk about God, and you do.
How odd, how peculiar. Has anyone ever accused you of
such? If not, you're in the right
place. Don't take any condemnation.
Take invitation from the Lord. He's calling you higher.
Take me to the rock that is higher.
He's elevating you. He's growing you from glory to
glory. He's maturing you and inviting
you to be a part of the series, to become a peculiar person in
your schools, in your workplaces, all over the place.
But if you are already considered as odd, then let this
be affirmation and a recommitment from you to shine
like stars in the darkness so the world may see His glory.
What I want to show you here is what happens to you if you will
follow these 7 habits of Jesus people.
The outcome of it. And I'm going to put some puzzle
pieces together so they may seem not connected at first, but
follow along. Put your big brain on and follow
me. Are you ready to say yes?
You big brain on? Say yes.
I'm speaking that over you. There's a man named Jim.
Ron ROHN. Jim Rohn.
Somebody helped me in the first service and told me the right
way to pronounce it. And I've already forgotten.
It's either Ron or Rohn. It's ROHN.
Anybody know Ron? Ron.
I see not Jim Rome, that's a sports guy, Jim ROHN.
He's considered the godfather of personal development.
And to that I say they forgot about another guy named Jesus,
who is the father of all development of any human, but
he's considered he was, he's in the early 1900s alive.
He died in the 1900s, late 1900s, but he's considered this
godfather of personal development.
There's another man named Tony Robbins.
You might have heard of him. He was mentored by Jim Rome.
He learned what he learned from Jim Rome.
Jim Rome would speak in front of groups of five, then 10s, then
hundreds and thousands. He wrote so many books.
He he also inspired and mentored another guy named Jack Canfield.
Anyone remember this name? This guy was the guy who started
the empire known as Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Yeah, yeah, that guy, if, if you never heard of him, that means
you're just younger. This guy wrote or his team wrote
thousands and thousands of scenes of books and little tiny
parables and teachings, all called Chicken soup for the Soul
or Chicken soup for the mom, Chicken soup for the Dad,
Chicken soup for Teachers. You name it, they wrote it and
they sold them like hotcakes. All inspired by Jim Rohn.
I tell you all this to say, Jim Rohn has vast experience,
multiple layers of leading and teaching in the in the business
world and personal development. And he basically has this one
quote that summarizes almost all of his teaching.
If he could teach you one thing, this is be what he would teach
you. And you may have heard this
quote before. I had before.
I didn't know whoever it came from, but I did the research
clearly. Here's the quote.
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time
with. Anybody ever heard that before?
Yeah, he goes on to say there's no bigger life hack in the
history of the world from getting where you are today to
where you want to be than the people you choose to put in your
corner. So choose wisely.
The people around you most change everything.
It's a proven fact. But it's also biblical.
Biblical First Corinthians chapter 1533 says do not be
misled. Bad company corrupts good
character. We've turned this into the same
one. Bad apple ruins the bunch.
Anyone heard that before? Have you heard that before?
Right. If you put all this together,
what I'm trying to say is that what we can learn is in your
circle, that may be somebody in your circle who's bringing the
entire circles average down. And if you're part of that
circle, then your whole circle is going down and so are you.
A person is dragging you down. OK, this series, the reason I
believe God put it on my heart is to train up a church that
you're the kind of people that no matter what situation, no
matter what circle that you enter personally, you are the
kind of person that brings the average up.
Look at your neighbors say up, it's time to go.
Listen to me. Peculiar teachers bring their
classrooms up. Peculiar neighbors bring their
entire neighborhood. Yeah, peculiar employees or
employers bring their workplaces to kill.
Your dad's bring their whole families up.
Oddball drunk on Jesus Dads bring their families up.
So ask yourself this question at the beginning of the series, a
little bit of introspection. Again, this is not for
condemnation. This is just to check where you
are so the Lord can invite you deeper.
Are you the kind of person that when you enter a room, you bring
the average down or do you bring the average up And if you're not
sure, ask somebody and tell them don't lie to me when I enter the
room is people like or people like, man, I'm so glad that you
showed up right and guarantee you eventually may not happen at
the beginning of it. People will be happy that Jesus
people show up at first, they may resist the first thing they
make fun of you say you're too drunk, you're on wine, you're
crazy, you're weird. But eventually it'd be like, I'm
so glad you're in my corner. What I want to show you today,
just briefly, is three ways and you could probably list hundreds
that peculiar people behave to give you a taste of what it's
going to look like at the end of Seven habits of Jesus.
People, how will we're different from the world when we follow
Jesus the way that Jesus people do?
Instead of degrading a relationship or a situation in
the chaos, you will enter the space and bring order as you
follow Jehovah Shalom, which means God of order.
We say God of peace, but it really means God of order,
everything as it should be. I want to share with you three
things and they come in the form of couplets.
The beginning of the couplet is what's normal, regular for
regular people in the world to do.
And the second-half of the couplet is the distinction that
peculiar people bring. Jesus, people bring.
Do you understand? Say yes.
And the mezzanine. Are we good?
Say hello. For instance, here's the first
one. The world will say this word.
I hope they say it. I forgive you.
We in the church, we say I forgive you.
That's fine. But what about the rest of it?
I forgive you and I won't hold this against you.
That's the distinction for a peculiar person.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 31. Get rid of all bitterness, rage,
anger, brawling, slander, along with every form of malice.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other
just as in Christ God forgave you.
Paul saying there's a way that the world and humans give
forgiveness but don't forgive that way and there's a way that
our Father forgave us in Christ Jesus.
Forgive that way. Do it the way of heaven.
Humans, we say we forgive you, but later I'm going to rub your
nose in this when it's convenient for me to rub your
nose in this, God says I ain't got nothing to rub your nose in
because I have willfully forgotten it.
Psalm 113 as far as the East is from the West.
He's throwing our sin away from us.
Romans chapter, not Romans. Hebrews chapter 8 says that I
remember your sin no more. God's never going to sneak up in
you and say I know what you did last summer.
He's not making a list and checking it twice.
He has no list. It's erased when I do weddings,
of course, I speak about First Corinthians chapter 13, which is
the chapter of love, and it says love is patient and love is
kind. Except I take out the word love
and put in the name of God because God is love.
So anywhere you see love in the Bible, you can put the name of
God. So God is patient, God is kind.
I did your wedding and we did this at your wedding because I
want the couple to know that this is what God's bringing to
the relationship. If you call him to be a part of
your marriage, the covenant marriage, this is who God is.
And then we get to the part of the this verse that says, and
God keeps no record of wrongs. It's either true or not true.
And it's true. You've remembered more of your
sin than God has ever forgotten. You keep reminding God of things
he's forgotten. You keep stewing in the things
of the past. And God says, I've forgiven you.
I don't even remember it. I've forgotten it and Paul's
telling us in Ephesians forgive like that.
I don't have AI wrote it this way.
Peculiar people don't hold grudges.
Your friends are going to think you're drunk man.
He owes you because of this, this this this.
Remember that he did that wrong and that wrong and that wrong.
Or maybe you're looking yourself in the mirror like you did that
wrong and that wrong and that wrong.
You're a disqualified for anything ever in your life and
guys like I don't know what you are talking about.
I have plum forgotten on purpose and will not hold this against
you. That's what peculiar people do.
I forgive you and besides talking about this to learn and
how we can get better. I'm not going to mention it
again. I'm not going to bring it back
up later in a fight. It's forgotten #2 I'm sorry,
says the world. I hope you say I'm sorry, but
peculiar people say, And here's the change that I'm making.
And notice it says making not here's the change I'm going to
make somewhere in the future and some Lottie doll time months
from now. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll
change. But right now, here's the change
I'm making. 2nd Corinthians Chapter 7 says godly sorrow
brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.
But worldly sorrow brings death. Worldly sorrow is man.
I'm sorry I got caught, got to pay the consequences.
Verse 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you.
What earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what
indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what
readiness to see justice done. At every point, you have proved
yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
When somebody's apologizing to me, I don't really want them to
feel sorry. Suffer, wallow and grovel,
right? It's it's kind of pointless to
me. What I really want when
somebody's apologizing to me is that they make the change so
that this don't happen again. Like let's not circle this
mountain again and be right back here next time.
And I'm a human. How much more, Heavenly Father?
I don't think the purpose is the pain.
Would you agree? The purpose is the
transformation. I'm not just going to say I'm
sorry. I'm going to do something so
that I don't return this evil upon you again.
Peculiar people repent until change.
They're going to think you're drunk when you actually change.
Well, that's weird. I thought you were set in stone
and all I was going to get is you the way that you are for the
rest of our lives. But here you are being
transformed in the likeness of Jesus Christ and it's beautiful
to see. Hey dads, it's one of the
greatest things you can do is apologize to your kids.
Say hey kids, I'm I messed up. Take ownership.
I'm not perfect. I spoke out of turn.
Haven't spent enough time with you.
I've been too focused on XYZ. It's one thing and an important
thing to go say Kell, I'm sorry. But more importantly is to make
a change. And the next time you're angry
at your kids and they're ready for the belt to come off and the
yelling to happen or whatever, instead they get a man sitting
before the children say, listen, there's some corrections we're
going to make in your life because I love you.
So let's talk about them. We're not going to fly off the
hand and be shouting at you. Bit really dads, all parents, we
get angry and start yelling because we're afraid and feel
out of control. And then we like maybe just me.
You're perfect. I'm not good.
I got it. Or if you say, hey, I'm sorry,
we haven't been spending any time together 2 years from now,
we're going to take a trip. No, you got me by the handset.
We're going out right now. Yes, we're going to spend time
together right now, just you and me.
I'm going to put my cell phone in the bottom of the ocean and
pay attention to you. You're kind of giggling because
you're uncomfortable. Here's the last one.
I'm going to pray for you, says the world.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.
Have you heard that before? Peculiar people say I'm going to
pray for you and I'm going to do whatever God says to help you.
James Chapter 2 Suppose a brother or a sister is without
clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, go
in peace, keep warm and well fed, I hope you get some food.
But does nothing about their physical needs.
What good is it? What goodwill we do?
I don't. Yeah, maybe I've been there.
You've probably been there too. You're in a rough spot.
You're going through something. You pour your heart out with
somebody and you're like, I'm going to pray for you.
You're like, all right, now listen to me.
I don't want to minimize prayer. The power of prayer, absolutely
pray for God alone is able and we need to invoke his name and
his power in every situation that we have in our lives.
Yes, pray, but also act without asking.
Here's what I mean. If somebody's going through
grief, struggling in something and you say them, I'm going to
pray for you. And then we say this all the
time and let me know if there's anything you need.
Anyone ever said that? Come on, it's OK to confess.
Let me know if there's anything you need while you're going
through the worst part of your hot the entire life and your
suffering. Make sure that you are putting
the onus on you, the responsibility on you to do more
stuff in the midst of your suffering to call me with your
list so that I can do something for you.
You're welcome. And then you go to your house
and like, I hope they don't call me and ask me for anything.
I was just kind of saying that to placate them, but I really
don't want to do anything because I got golf to watch.
If we pray to the Father who knows their needs before they
even ask them, don't you think he'd be able to tell us what
their needs are and I can do them without even asking them?
I'm just going to show up with the food.
I'm just going to show up and fix the thing.
I'm just going to show up and pay for the I'm just going to
show up. I know you didn't ask for me to
be here, but I'm here even if I'm in the waiting room for six,
7-8 hours. If that's what the Holy Spirit
when you pray says the do, then just do it.
Don't ask their permission. Put in a sentence to kill your
people. Don't do pleasantries.
They do. Acts of kindness.
Had a miracle happen this week. First service did not respond as
as I thought they might, so I'm giving you all a heads up.
I'm expecting Thursday, June 12th.
Little Peter James Molina was born at 2 lbs seven oz 11 weeks
early. Here he is.
It's a miracle because baby and Mama might not have lived
without the miracle of medicine and God leading them to the
right people at the right time and the right answer.
And here's a picture of Mama and Baby next.
He's hanging out in the incubator there.
Zara. They had to take the baby 11
weeks early because of preeclampsia and all those
things. Some of, you know, very familiar
with all of that. And there was concern for mom,
there's concern for baby. And now both are healthy and
recovering and got to grow. Baby's got to stay in the
hospital. Peter James is his name until
he's viable on his own. Yep.
Here's the thing, Manny and Zara didn't know anybody when they
came to this church. And this week, Manny and Zara,
this is years ago. This week, Manny and Zara are
surrounded by people in this church who didn't ask, how can
we help you? What do you need?
They just showed up. They just food, presents,
prayers, all of it, taking care of the kids, whatever, whatever.
Not like, hey, is there anything we can do for you?
We just, they just did it. That's what peculiar people do.
That's what you oddballs who follow Jesus can and should do.
That first day the church began and Jesus people were arriving
on the earth. They're not arriving on the
earth, but they're becoming Jesus people.
An interesting thing happened first day.
They had a church service and they were preaching and no
matter what language they were preaching in, the language of
the hearer was being heard. So I could be speaking English
here and those of you that are Brazilian would be here in
Portuguese, Felice Gia dos Pais, that means Happy Father's Day in
Portuguese. I practiced for hours to mess it
up that bad. Thank you, Pastor.
Valdemar Obrigado. Does that mean thank you?
I am Brazilian. Thank you, Pastor.
I'm telling you, this is not a knock on Americans, but
Brazilians are the nicest, happiest people.
I don't know what it is so nice. Maybe I just know the Arnezi's
and that's enough. Where was I?
Oh so they had their first church service and they did an
altar call. If you read later in Acts
chapter 2 you remember what happens.
The first altar call in the church's history and 3000 people
get saved. 3000 lives changed from the damnation of hell to
the glory of heaven because of Jesus people.
That's the power of what Jesus people have done, are doing, and
can do. But I want you to know the
habits won't do that by themselves.
You personally can't forgive, you can't repent, you can't
serve others just through the habits.
There is one essential ingredient, ingredient that
makes all the difference. That's the beginning and the end
and the middle and all spaces of what it means to be a Jesus
person. It's the Holy Spirit, it's the
Holy Spirit. Jesus people are Jesus people
because of the Holy Spirit. Jesus people without the Holy
Spirit are just a bunch of people going to church.
And we don't want to be that kind of church where all we do
is show up for ourselves, show up to personally get something
from it, be educated, be rescued.
These are decent and good things.
But Jesus people take on the gift of the Holy Spirit that's
been given to us by God himself and are empowered by that Holy
Spirit. And everywhere they go, people's
lives are being changed from death to life.
The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the mute speak,
The hungry get food. The lonely are placed in
families and the lepers are welcomed and not turned away.
Let's be a Jesus people full of the Holy Spirit kind of church.
Amen. Pastor Drew, you back there?
This is kind of a surprise in the first service, but it's not
a surprise now. In the first service.
He didn't know I was going to do this.
Now you do. I want you to meet a strange
guy. What an odd ball.
What a what a what a peculiar man Pastor Drew is.
Something's different and and you may just think he's weird.
I'll tell you the secret. It's not because he went to
Bible college, been a minister all these years, not because
he's a pastor. It's not because he's got a
fantastic family. It's because he's friends with
the Holy Spirit. And when you're a friend of the
Holy Spirit, you're going to start looking weird, talking
weird. Do you ever notice when Pastor
Drew speaks, he speaks passionately.
You ever notice that? You wonder why that is?
He's peculiar. He's drunk on spirit and because
of it, you're a fantastic husband.
But on Father's Day, I want to say you are in a very peculiar.
Can't get the words out. You are a very peculiar father.
Thank you. I see it in Tristan down there.
Look at this kid. He's beaming.
Liam Jackson. Is that for him or for me?
That's for him. Can I get one too?
It's a blessing. Can I say more?
Paul says follow me as I follow Christ.
And the way you can read is like, be weird, like I'm weird.
Be weird like he's weird. Amen.
I got more to say, but you can stay here.
You going to go? What do you want to do?
You going? He's OK.
That whole exchange was peculiar.
See you in a minute. Yeah, If you're the average of
the five people you hang out with, then let one of them be a
Holy Spirit. Because when you hang out with
Holy Spirit, your average is going to spike.
And as you're going up, reach out your hand and bring others
along. You may hear the scriptures that
says do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character.
And think to yourself, well, I need to cut everyone out of my
life. That's bad character.
Well, then who's going to help them right now?
Be smart, be wise, be careful. If someone's abusing you
mentally, physically, emotionally, there may need to
be some separation. But if you just got a guy that
kind of bothers you or a woman in your life, really, this is
not license for you to say God said cut you back because I
don't want my average to go down.
This is for you to walk with spirit, be LED of spirit and
bring everybody's average up. The Marines say best leave no
man behind. Is it just the Marines?
Is that a bunch of people? Army, Air Force, everybody?
Yeah. Dads, if there's any gift as a
church that we could give you today, it's the knowledge that
you could father with the power of the Holy Spirit, which means
you have a chance to do it over. Maybe you've been fathering in
your flesh and you need to go to your children, whether they're
10 or 60, and say to them, will you give me another chance To
father being led by the Holy Spirit to discipline you under
the counsel of the Word, to discipline you with speaking the
truth in love, not speaking the truth at a volume that separates
your eyebrows. I guess they're already
separated. So whatever.
Let me father you in a way that I can express to you the love of
my Father, my heavenly Father to you.
And that just isn't for dads. That's for anybody here in the
room today to be led by the power of the Holy Spirit so that
the world will look at you and say you are out of your mind,
you are peculiar, you are drunk. And you say back to them.
Absolutely nailed it. And then finished with this one
last question. Want some?
You want to drink, Come on in, Let's pray.
Lord, we bless you. We thank you for your word.
You are Father, and you are good, and all you do is good,
and we honor you today. Father, I pray now that you
would speak to every person in the room what it is that You
want them to do in this moment. For you have not brought us here
just to hear a flapping of words, but to be moved by Your
word unto action. If you're here today, Church,
listen as you're praying, just with your heads bowed, your eyes
closed, and you've never received Jesus.
It means you've also never received Holy Spirit.
And so this power is a gift waiting to be received by you,
if you would receive the invitation of Jesus to allow him
to be your Savior, to save you from your sins for the
forgiveness, the wiping away. I remember them no more.
I hold your sins not against you, no record of wrongs and to
be saved unto eternity in the presence of Almighty God.
If you want to be saved today, then pray this prayer out loud
with me. In fact, church, the whole
church, would you pray it with me, every voice out loud saying
Jesus, I recognize that I am a Sinner in need of a Savior.
And I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that Jesus
is Lord and Savior. I receive you today as my
Savior. Come and take over my life and
help me to live according to your purposes.
Just take a moment. Let that sink in.
Speak your own words to the Father receiving salvation.
If you've done that today for the first time, I'm going to ask
you to do 1 important bold thing.
I'm going to count to 3. And if you prayed that prayer to
receive Jesus as Savior, I'm just going to have you slip your
hand up as high as it can go at the count of 3123.
Anyone here today? Come on.
Whole family's raising their hand right here as well.
Anyone else right here in the middle?
I see you, my, my brother, we're coming to you.
Just keep your hand up back here in the back.
I see you right back here. Any others, just keep your hand
up till we get to you. We're going to bring you a card
that's very important. And Pastor Drew, in just a few
moments, we'll give you some instruction.
You've made the best decision you could ever make in your life
right here in the middle as well.
We're coming to you. Everyone else, if you just put
your hands on your lap, open in front of you, just repeat this
prayer after me. Father, I thank you for the gift
of Holy Spirit that you gave me the day I put my faith in Jesus.
Today I open this gift and employ the power and the person
of Holy Spirit. Guide me, prompt me, lead me to
be a Jesus people in Jesus name. Thanks for joining us today.
We hope God is speaking to your heart through this message.
If you'd like to connect with us, you can text connect to
407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate dot church.
Have a great week.