Happy post-Thanksgiving weekend. Y'all have a good Thanksgiving? Did we make it through all of the dinner table conversations? Y'all are here. You are alive and kicking, and I absolutely love it. We spent some time as a family just talking around the table about the things we were thankful for, and I was so grateful that this is the first year we were able to talk about y'all. I just want to say thank you to this church community, to a group of friends who have truly become family. We're so grateful for you. And to all of you who are watching online, our church family, we love you.

Today we're talking about a topic that I think many of you might hear and say, "Man, why didn't we talk about this last week? I really needed it leading up to Thanksgiving." We're in the series entitled Life by the Spirit, and we are learning about the fruit of the Spirit. Today we are on number eight, which is the fruit of gentleness. How many of you needed some gentleness this week when someone wanted to bring up that topic at the Thanksgiving table, and you're like, "No, we're not going to do that here"?

We're talking about gentleness today, and I actually think it's one of the most misunderstood things. But here's what I want you to know before we even get into it. What we've been learning is that the fruit of the Spirit is evidence of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. It is the proof that the Holy Spirit is doing something.

Why is the fruit of the Spirit singular?

And what we need to understand is that it is fruit. It's singular. It's not fruits. It's not like I've got some apples, some pears, some oranges, some kiwi, or whatever fruit you have in your fruit bowl. It's singular. And what that means is that you can't say, "Well, I have eight out of the nine. Eight out of nine ain't bad. I've got some of them, but I don't have all of them." No. It's singular, and we're supposed to have all of the attributes.

Which means you can't say, "I'm good with love, but I just don't want to be patient. It's not who I am." Or, "I'm not going to be joyful. It's just not who I am." Or, "I'm good with peace, but I ain't going to be loving. It's not my personality."

You need to understand this: God cares far less about your personality. What He cares about is your transformation. What He wants to do is use your personality, so that the Holy Spirit can work within you, and within your personality, fruit can become present. "I'm just aggressive. It's just who I am. I'm an Enneagram 8." And if you're laughing, you know an Enneagram 8. "I'm just an INTJ. I'm an ENTJ. I'm an ABCDEFG. That's why I am the way I am." God cares far less about your personality. What He cares about more than anything is who you are becoming.

So often, before God is going to work through you, He wants to work in you. Some of you are wondering why God isn't doing the thing in your life you expected Him to do. Maybe in this season, what He's trying to do more than anything else is produce something in you, so that you will have the fruit, you will have the character, so that when the demand is placed on you, you will bear the right fruit.

As a culture, we get it wrong. We're like, "Just be you. Just do you. Just be you, boo-boo." No. Don't just do you. Be Him. Amen. The Holy Spirit isn't trying to make you you. The Holy Spirit is trying to make you Him. Jesus didn't die so that we could be us. Thank God. He didn't die so that Brad can just be Brad. He died so that Brad can become a version of Him.

Do you know fruit needs to be consumed? It's not just there for show. So my question is this: when someone eats your fruit, what do they experience? Are they actually experiencing what God wants them to experience? Or when I eat of your fruit, is it bitter, because you've got eight of them but not nine? You've got some of them but not the others? God wants to give us all of His fruit.

I'm excited about today as we talk about gentleness, because I think it's one of the fruit we understand the least, but it has the ability to heal our relationships the most. Which is why it's awesome that it came after Thanksgiving. God did that. That wasn't my good planning. It's one of the fruit we talk about the least, but get this: it can bring the greatest blessing on your life. It can bring life to everything if you can just get this.

Let's read our theme verse, Galatians 5:22–23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is," in other words, having the Holy Spirit in your life will produce this kind of fruit, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," and today, "gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

So Father, I pray that You will speak to us today. May You bring about the fruit of gentleness in our lives. And all God's people said amen.

What does "blessed are the meek" mean?

In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus preaches the most important sermon that has ever been preached: the Sermon on the Mount. He starts it with the Beatitudes, all the things we need to be. And He says something in Matthew 5:5 that's insane. It's completely contrary to the world's wisdom: "Blessed are the meek." Say "meek."

The Greek word is praus. It means humble, gentle. Some translations say, "Blessed are the gentle." Why? Because they will be trampled on? No. Blessed are the gentle, because they'll be walked all over? No. Blessed are the gentle, because they will be taken advantage of? No. "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." There is so much blessing that comes with gentleness. But so often we don't understand what it actually is.

Because the second I say gentle, something comes to your mind. And the world says something completely opposite. What does it say? Nice guys finish last. Blessed are the powerful, because they will become powerful. Blessed are the aggressive, for they will never be out-aggressed. Blessed are those who go hard, who burn the candle at both ends, who hustle, for they will never be out-hustled. That's what the world says.

So it's a hard truth for us to actually understand. There's a part of me that doesn't want to believe it, but I have to believe it. Why? Because Jesus said it. John 14:6 says He is the way and the truth. In other words, if He said it, we can believe it.

So what is He saying? You don't have to fight your way to the top. Imagine that. You don't have to fight your way to the top. You don't have to win every argument. And all God's people said amen. You don't have to be the loudest person in the room. You don't have to force your agenda.

Let me say it this way: you don't lose by being gentle. In fact, it's the opposite. Gentle leaders have more influence, not less. Gentle spouses build stronger marriages. Gentle parents build safer homes. And gentle pastors form healthier churches.

What Jesus is saying is this: "I will give the meek what the proud try to steal." Because pride tries to get status, control, territory, influence, and blessing. But while pride will eventually collapse, those who are gentle will eventually receive.

Prove it? Gladly. James 4:6: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." Say "favor." How many of you want favor? The way you receive favor is by being humble. Matthew 23:12: "For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

That's why Peter says in 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves." You do it. I do it. We do it. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." Why? The previous verse says it, verse 5: because "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." We get a choice. Either we can humble ourselves, or God can do it. And I don't know about y'all, but I'm going to be a lot easier on myself. I'd rather humble myself.

What is gentleness in the Bible?

The hard thing about this is that in order to learn it, you actually have to unlearn it. Before I can even describe what gentleness is and what God is trying to do in your life, I have to help you unlearn what culture has put in you. Because when you hear the word gentle, there is a picture that comes to your mind. It's squishy. It's soft. It's someone who gets walked over. It's not a man's man. "Man's men are not gentle. I drive a truck. I have a gun. That's not gentle." We have a picture of what gentleness really is.

But I want you to watch this. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened." You tired? You feeling broken? "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." And He's about to describe His strength. Watch this. "Take my yoke upon you." He's talking about Himself as an ox, something strong, something that carries a yoke. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle." How does He describe His strength? Gentle. So if Jesus chooses to describe His strength with gentleness, could it be that we're missing something? "For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." That is what gentleness is.

What gentleness is not

So let me tell you some things it's not, and then I'll show you what it is, because we have to unlearn before we learn.

Gentleness is not passive, like Adam in that moment: I say nothing, I do nothing, I let people walk over me. That's not gentleness. Gentleness is not being weak: having no backbone, no courage, no conviction, letting people walk over you. It is not soft or timid. It's not someone who avoids tough conversations. It's not being quiet because you're afraid.

It's not people pleasing. "I'm being gentle." No, you're not. Never saying no, just going along with it, having no boundaries, that's not gentleness. Gentleness is not being emotionally fragile: being hurt easily, being offended easily. In a culture where everyone's getting offended, that is not gentleness. That's weakness.

It's not being non-confrontational, avoiding the truth just so you don't ruffle feathers. It's not being indecisive. "Where do you want to go eat?" "I'm being gentle." No. "What do you want to do?" Okay, that could be kind. It's not gentle, though. It's not being a pushover, letting others set the tone, direction, and atmosphere. So if you hear the word gentleness and you're going to reject it because you think that's what it is, that's not what it is. You have to unlearn before you learn.

Gentleness is strength under control

So what is gentleness? Let me show you a biblical definition. The Greek word, like I said, is praus. And it means this: strength under control. You're not weak. You're strong, but your strength is under control. Gentle people don't overreact. They're not driven by their emotions. They're not moody. They don't fly off the handle. Their strength is under control.

Has anyone ever gone out into deeper Arizona and gotten to see wild horses? If you see a wild horse, I don't know about y'all, but they terrify me, because I know that if I startle that thing, it can kick me, and the life that I have will be lost. Horses are crazy. But if you take a wild horse and you tame it, now you can ride it. Is that horse any less powerful? It's still strong. Can it kick you? Yes. Can it kill you? Yes. But its strength has been brought under control.

That is the picture of gentleness. I'm not weak. I'm strong. But I'm so strong that in that moment, my strength is actually under control. That's how the Greeks would use that word, praus: your strength has been brought under control for your master's use. I'm not flying off the handle, always mad. I'm also not being weak and insecure. No, I'm gentle. What does that mean? I'm strong, but my strength is tamed. I have control over my strength. So the word is not "be weak." It's "be strong," and take that strength and contain it for the Master's use. That is what gentleness is. It's completely different from what everyone would say. It's not weakness. It's strength.

What does gentleness look like in marriage?

As I was praying about this week, I really felt like what I wanted to do more than anything as I talk about gentleness is actually talk about marriages for a minute. Can I do that? Praise God. We're going there. We'll do a marriage series next year, but today we're just going to swim here for a little bit. Because, like I said, gentleness is actually the secret to healing so many marriages. And if you're single and you're like, "This doesn't apply to me," no, it does. Because right now you can start becoming a person who is gentle, so that when God gives you a spouse, you're able to step in and not have to deal with the things all of us have had to deal with.

We can have a misunderstanding of what gentleness is. "Men, be gentle." If we see that as weakness, there are two extremes in culture. One: "No, I'm not going to be gentle. I want to be strong." And we can become domineering, chauvinistic, abusive. "I'm strong." No, you're weak. Because gentleness is strength under control. If it's not under control, it's not strength. It's weakness.

The other extreme is, "I need to be gentle," so we become passive. The sin of Adam. We don't lead our homes. Whatever goes, goes. We have no conviction. We have no backbone. That's not gentleness either. That's weakness. On either side, there's weakness. "I'm not domineering, and I'm not passive. My strength is focused, under control."

It's the same with wives. If you think gentleness is weakness, then what you're going to say is, "I need to take charge. I've got to be a boss, babe. I don't need no man." You hear that in the culture: "Just go for it. You don't need no man." So now we're stepping into relationships like, "I'm going to take charge. Why? Because I'm strong." No, you're not. That's weakness. The other side of it is, "I'm going to be gentle, which means I'm going to be walked over. No opinion." No. That's passive. It needs to come to the center. Does that help anyone?

Husbands: strength that lays down its life

Let me show you a couple of things, because I think this is important. Jesus is the ultimate picture of a man. He's a man's man. If you want to know what a man looks like, look at Jesus. He is so strong, He's such a man's man, that with all the power in the world, He laid down His life. That's strength. "I have the ability not to, but I choose to." Strength.

The Bible talks about it in 1 Peter 3:7: "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."

Did you know the way you treat your wife can hinder your prayers? "Why is everything going wrong?" Take a look at how you're treating your wife. What do we need to do? We need to lay down our lives for our wives. You're strong enough not to have to. You can throw your weight around, but you choose to lay it down. Your strength is under control. That is gentleness. And that's what your wives want from you. And all God's ladies said amen.

What does it mean for wives to submit?

And girls, now I'm coming for you. Actually, the Bible is. I'm not. I'm just here to say what it says. That's what I do. That verse says "husbands, in the same way," because the passage actually spoke to the wives first.

1 Peter 3:1–2: "Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word," in other words, they're not Christians, so it's saying submit even to someone who isn't a Christian, "they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives."

Now everyone who has been formed by culture is like, "What?" What's that verse saying? It's saying that when you submit yourself, even when he's not worthy of submission, he's going to see fruit in your actions, and your fruit will convince him more than your words ever could. I'm just going to let that sit.

We struggle with the word submit. And we struggle with that word because of chauvinistic men saying, "Submit." That's not what the Bible says. Submission. What is that? Sub means under. Mission, from missio. It means I am coming under someone's mission. Wives, the Bible says to bring yourself under the mission God has given your husband, even if he's not a believer, because by your actions you can win him over.

Now men, wives get to decide to do it. You don't get to force it. But it's also easier for them to do it when you lay down your life. Girls, you don't only submit when they lay down their lives. You do it regardless. And men, even if they don't submit, you lay down your lives. Still love. Either way, I'm laying down my life. Whether you do it or not, I'm submitting no matter what. And if you're thinking about other people during this sermon, just stop, and think about yourself and what God is trying to do in you. This is for you.

And girls, if you're ever like, "Man, it's so easy for you to say. You don't have to submit." What am I? I'm the bride of Christ. I am submitted to who? Jesus. The Bible talks about this in 1 Corinthians 11:3: "But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ." Men, you become a whole lot easier to submit to when you submit to Christ.

So those things that have been devastating your life, those addictions, those pains, deal with them. Get someone in your world, in this church, who can love you and pray for you. Confess your sins to one another so that you might be healed. Don't do this by yourself. In every behavior, submit yourself to Christ. Lead strong. Become gentle. Watch your marriage begin to flourish. Wives, become gentle. You're strong enough to take control, I know. But you're bringing yourself under the mission. That's gentleness.

So often we get it out of order. That's what happened in Genesis 3. Eve ate of the fruit. She took a leadership position and then gave it to her husband, who was with her. It was a reversal. Eve took charge, and the husband was passive. None of that is gentleness.

Last week we talked about Elijah and Ahab and Jezebel. People talk about people who have a "Jezebel spirit," and people can get all crazy with it. What that means is a person who is taking things out of order. Jezebel would mock Ahab all the time. There's actually a verse where "Jezebel his wife said, 'Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard.'" She mocks him, shames him, commands him, and then commits murder. That was not submission. He pouts, and she acts. He sulks, and she schemes. He tolerates, and she dominates. He abdicates, she dictates. Wrong direction.

So what God wants to do in every single one of our lives is bring about gentleness. Husbands, you can be someone who is so easy to follow as you follow Christ. It takes all of us. And even if the other person is not willing, you do it. And all God's people said amen. Wives, you're strong enough to take charge, but you're submitted. Men, you're strong enough to dominate, but you lay down your life. That's gentleness. Strength under control.

The gentle people are the strongest people in the world. Weak people are arrogant, angry, manipulative, controlling, pushy, rude, and mean. Weak people gossip. It's the gentle who don't.

How does the Holy Spirit grow gentleness in you?

So in my last couple of minutes, I want to show you three ways the Holy Spirit is trying to bring about gentleness in your life. This is going to apply in all areas. The first is in your words. The second is in your will. And the third is in your ways.

1. Gentleness in your words

Let's deal with it. The first is your words. Are your words gentle? Think back on Thanksgiving, because that's when the pressure's on. You're trying to get the food ready. All the things are happening. Were your words gentle? When your boss walks in, you know that boss, not that boss, that boss, are your words seasoned with gentleness, or are they seasoned with bitterness? How are your words?

Because it's a heart issue. Luke 6:45: "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Another version says, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

If there is bitterness in your words, there is bitterness in your heart. If there is anger in your words, there is anger in your heart. If there is manipulation in your words, there is manipulation in your heart. If there's divisiveness in your words, there is divisiveness in your heart. If there is gossip in your words, there is gossip in your heart. How's your heart? Your words are an indication of how your heart is doing. I don't need to know your heart. I just need to know your words, because your words betray you. They show what's actually in the heart.

Proverbs 15:4 says, "Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." Proverbs 25:15: "Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone." What is that? Someone who is firm, someone who is stubborn. Gentleness is what can actually break through.

Proverbs 15:1 is my life verse here: "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." You ever seen that in fights? "Oh my gosh, you yell? Well, I'm strong, so I can yell louder." "Oh yeah? I can yell louder." And we're all trying to show our strength. That's not strength. It's weakness, because my strength is not contained. But if I can actually humble myself, a gentle answer turns away wrath.

In our brains, we have something called mirror neurons, which means whatever you see, you do. So if I yell, you know what you want to do? Yell. And you unload, and then they unload, and the next thing you know, everything blows up. It just takes one. A gentle answer turns away wrath. Count to five. "Hey, I'm so sorry. I am so sorry." Eventually the other person just feels like a fool if they keep yelling. It just takes one. And those mirror neurons work both ways. When you bring it down, watch them bring it down. It only takes one. So who's it going to be? Who's going to lay down their life?

How were your words this past week? How do you talk to the people you love? How about this: how do you talk to the people you dislike? How do you talk to the people you serve? "Man, I'm so tired of serving you." How do you talk to the people who serve you? Can we talk about that? Because so often that shows what's in our heart. If someone serves you and you think they're less than you, it's going to come out in your words.

One of my greatest frustrations is watching Christians deal with waiters. Everyone who's laughing has seen it. That person has to talk to you, and this is the most beautiful time we get to actually show them Jesus. But we're so angry that our fries aren't right. They didn't control the fries. Chill. It's just fries.

My wife the other day was working with an electrician, and she was talking to him. He literally stopped her and said, "Thank you for talking to me this way, because everyone just treats me like I'm dirt." And then he said, "What do you do?" Thank God. She's like, "Oh, we just planted a church." And he said, "I think I want to come." He tasted fruit, and he was like, "I like that fruit." Can you imagine if she had responded any other way? "You're just an imbecile." "What do you do?" "Well, my husband and I, we lead a church." He'd be like, "I'm never coming to that." It matters, y'all. It matters. How were your words this week?

2. Gentleness in your will

What about your will? What spirit are you carrying? When you walk into a room, do you freeze the room? Does everyone get tense because of your unbridled anger? Or when you come in, does your presence put people at peace, because they realize it's strength under control?

Going back to that, ladies, they're not looking for a crazy, strong horse, and they're not looking for a horse that has no power. They're looking for strength that is under control. Your workplace is looking for the same thing. "I have strength to lead, but my strength is bridled." That's what it needs to be.

When you get to a place where you're able to embrace gentleness, where you're able to just stop and think about what's going on and analyze the situation, you'll realize that most of the arguments we get into actually have very little to do with us. Sometimes it has to do with the fact that the thing you said just pricked something in their life, something from their childhood that happened, and then that happened, and then that happened. When we're gentle, and we can just stop and have compassion and empathy, now we can actually deal with what's going on, instead of just fighting. "Yeah, I have the power to match you, but I'm not going to. I'm going to allow the Holy Spirit to bring about gentleness in everything I do."

Paige always says this: "Do I want to prove that I'm right, or do I want to improve the relationship?" Because I can't do both in that fight. Do you really want to prove that you're right, or do you want to improve the relationship? If you want to improve the relationship, go say sorry. "But they started it." Great. Finish it. I'm not asking if they started it. If they were in here, I would talk to them. I'm talking to you.

Gentleness actually requires such humility, which is why the two are so often tied together. And if we're unwilling, it means we're not allowing the Holy Spirit to work that fruit in our lives.

3. Gentleness in your ways

The last thing is your ways. If we're gentle in our words, and gentle in our will, we can be gentle in our ways. I love James 3:13–18. I just want to read it over you:

"If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others." Willing to yield to others. That's gentleness. "It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness."

So many of us, the reason we're not gentle is that we're trying to take vengeance. But God says, "Vengeance is mine." You don't have to cut them. You don't have to say anything. Vengeance is God's. What do you do? Forgive. What do you do? Be gentle. What do you do? Finish it. Even if you didn't start it, finish it.

Galatians 6:1 says, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin," and that's not just you catching someone in sin. That's part of it, but part of it is that some people are just caught in sin. They're entrapped in it. Are you gentle in your ways? What do you do when you find someone who is caught in sin? Because the world wants to tell you a whole bunch of things you should do. "If someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should," the world will say, rebuke them quickly, condemn them harshly, gossip about them profusely, or destroy them publicly. Here's what the Word says: "You who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted."

Y'all, we have to come to a place where we realize we need to be gentle with others because Jesus was gentle with us. He had such strength that even in our sin, while we were still sinners, He laid down His life.

And it's amazing to me, looking at the people in the Bible who followed Jesus. Like Peter. Peter was crazy, y'all. He was angry. He was all kinds of things. Jesus was like, "I'm going to the cross." And Peter's like, "No, they'll have to go through me." And Jesus is like, "Well then, get behind me, Satan." When they came to grab Jesus, Peter took out his sword and chopped off someone's ear. He wasn't aiming for the ear. The guy ducked. Jesus heals the ear and says, "Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will put at My disposal twelve legions of angels?" Seventy-two thousand angels. "You don't think I'm powerful enough to stop this entire thing in a second? No, no, no, Peter. I'm laying down My life willingly. Why? Because I'm gentle."

And it's crazy watching the transformation that happens in Peter. In Acts 2, he receives the Holy Spirit. And by 1 Peter 3, he's in this place where the Holy Spirit is working within him, and he says, "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble." You're like, "Peter? Peter?" You keep reading it, and it's insane just watching the transformation that happened in his life. Why? Because he allowed the Holy Spirit to start producing fruit.

Holy Spirit, show me, change me, fill me

So my question is this: where do you need to be forgiven? Lead the way. Go say sorry. Where do you need to forgive? Surprise, surprise: lead the way. Go say sorry. Where in your life this week did God try to produce gentleness, but we allowed pride to stop it?

So what do we do? The prayer we've been praying this entire series. Holy Spirit, show me. Show me where I haven't been gentle. Show me the relationship I need to heal. Show me where I need to apologize. Holy Spirit, change me. Can You prune that off my life? He uses situations to show us where we're bearing fruit that needs to be pruned. And then, Holy Spirit, fill me. Make me like You, so I can have strength, but a good kind of strength. Strength under control. And all God's people said amen.

Can I pray for you? God, I want to thank You for every single person here. Lord, I want to thank You that in us, You're trying to create gentleness. And Lord, I pray that we will allow You to do the work You want to do. Lord, I want to pray for marriages right now. I want to pray for relationships right now. Lord, anywhere we've allowed pride and arrogance to step in, and as a result things are broken, I pray that we'll be able to step into gentleness. Lord, may we have such strength under control and show the ultimate kind of humility. Lord, we thank You for what You're doing. We pray that You will show us, that You will change us, and that You will fill us.

With your heads bowed and eyes closed: some of you here feel a million miles away from God. You've heard about this God, about Jesus, who laid down His life willingly. He was gentle. He didn't do that for nothing. He did it so that you can have a relationship with God. And the Bible says that if you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Not might be saved. Will be saved.

Some of you in this room feel far away from God, and your heart's beating right now. That's the Holy Spirit pulling on you. That's the Holy Spirit calling you, saying, "Come home." If you're here and you've never made the decision to follow Jesus with everything inside of you, I want you to whisper this right now. Just say, "Lord Jesus, I believe that You're the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I believe You came to this earth, You died on a cross, and You were raised so that I may have life. And right now, I make You my Lord. I make You my Savior. Change me from the inside out." In Jesus' name we pray. And all God's people said amen.