Are you guys excited to be in church today? That's awesome. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to John chapter 5. We're jumping straight in today. Y'all can go ahead and grab your seats. If you have a physical Bible, amazing. If you have a glowing Bible, that works too. It doesn't matter how you read the Word. It just matters that you read the Word. The Word is good no matter how you read it.

Last week we started a brand-new series called Made for More. We talked about how there are four "mores" God has for your life. When you walk in, you'll see them on the walls: God wants every single one of us to know Him, to find freedom, to discover purpose, and to make a difference. Last week we talked about knowing God, that we were made to know Him. We were made to have intimacy with God. If you weren't able to watch that, I encourage you to go back to our YouTube channel and catch it. But this week, we're talking about the fact that we were made for freedom.

Let me just say, if you're here today and you feel like something has you stuck, something you've been trying to get rid of, something you've been trying to get out of, but you're just stuck in it, stuck in an addiction, stuck in an emotion, and you're like, "No matter what I try, it's like sinking sand, and I can't get out," then I believe the Bible is going to encourage you in a profound way today.

Do you want to get well?

John 5:1 says this: "Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people, blind, lame, or paralyzed, lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years."

I wonder how many of us have been struggling with something for a long time. Sick for 38 years. "When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him..."

Now, before I read what Jesus said: have you ever read the Bible and seen Jesus say things, and you're like, "How could He say that?" I almost wish we could get His tone. Like in the Bible app, you could just press play and see His facial expression, and He'd say it the way you'd want Him to say it, and you'd be like, "Oh, Jesus, that's what You mean."

A couple of chapters earlier, in John 2, Jesus was at a wedding, and they ran out of wine. Jesus' mom comes up to Him and says, "They have no more wine." And Jesus says, "Woman, why do you involve me?" And I'm like, I have no idea how He said that, because if I had said that, I wouldn't be here right now. Anyone ever had a mom like that? You could understand her through her gritted teeth: "You just do that again." And your friend standing there is like, "What did she just say?" "She said when my dad gets home, he's going to kill me. And if you stay here, he's going to kill you too."

So Jesus says this thing to the man at the pool, and I wish I knew exactly how He said it, because there are a couple of ways you can read it. One way is, "Brother, do you even want to get well? Oh my gosh, how long are you going to be here? We've talked about this." You could read it that way. Which is why I said last week that it's so important that you know God, because your view of God determines everything. A.W. Tozer said that. If you see God as an angry God, that's how you're going to read it: "Brother, do you even want to get well?"

But the truth is, there's a different way Jesus could ask it. He could come up to the man and say, "Hey, do you want to get well?" And you might be like, "That's crazy. Why would Jesus ask that?" Here's the thing: because sometimes, if Jesus makes you well, everything about your life has to change. We would assume, "Of course he wanted to get well." Maybe not. So Jesus is actually asking him, "Hey, do you want to get well?"

Verse 7: "'I can't, sir,' the sick man said, 'for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.' Jesus told him, 'Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!' Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!"

I want to talk from this title today: Made for Freedom. We were made for freedom. Father, I pray that You will move today. Lord, may You do what only You can do. We love You and we praise You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Why do we stay stuck?

Like I said, we're talking about the four mores God has for your life. And one of the dreams He has for us is that we would find freedom. From the beginning, if you look at the garden, it was always God's intent that we would be free. But even though that's His intent, it doesn't always mean we live in freedom. Sin can happen. A lot of things can happen. And it starts getting us to a place where we feel bound.

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles." We have to get to a place where we say, "Man, I am tired of living with this thing attached to me." Anyone else ever felt like that? I'm tired of having that addiction, that emotion, that lingering sin attached to me. I repent from it, but even though I repent, it doesn't feel like it ever goes away. And that habit is starting to mark me. It's starting to become my identity. I'm starting to hide it. I'm starting to make excuses for it. I'm losing things in my life. And everything inside of me wants to say, "I've got this." But you don't got it.

My question is this: what is the thing in your life that, if it left, everything in your life would get better? Because if you believe God doesn't have the ability to change it, let me just say that is a lie from the pit of hell. It says, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Jesus has the ability to set us free from the things we're stuck in.

In this story, there's a man who has been lame for 38 years, and he finds himself at a pool. I have to believe that the first time he ever got to that pool, it was because he heard about the pool of Bethesda. The belief was that angels would come and stir the water. Today we believe it was probably just a natural spring, but they were superstitious, and they believed an angel would stir the water, and whoever got in first would be healed.

I just have to believe that if you put yourself at this pool, it's because you believe you can get in. I don't know about y'all, but if I were lame and I knew getting into that pool would heal me, do you know where I would be? Right next to that pool. "You'd better not get in before me. I will get in this water, get my legs back, and kick you."

I don't know what happened, but I have to believe he was right at the edge at some point. And eventually maybe he was sleeping, I don't know, and someone else got in before him. And he goes, "Man, I'll try again." We don't know if it was a day later, a week later, a month later. But we do know this: it got to a point where, when Jesus found him, He didn't find him by the water. Where did He find him? On the porch.

There comes a point where you're like, "Man, this Jerusalem sun," which is kind of like the Phoenix sun, "I'm going to retreat to the porch." And the porch is where we give up. The porch is where we feel like nothing's ever going to change. Not only that, the porch is where we get comfortable. We start making friends on the porch. "Yo, what's up? What are you going to do?" "Hang." "Yeah, me too." The challenge is that now you're making friends who are stuck with the same thing you're stuck with, and they can't help you, because they're helpless themselves. "We're just going to be stuck here together. If we're going to be stuck, at least we're in it together."

That's why we always talk about getting into a group. We're launching groups here at the church in January. But until then, find someone next to you. Say hi. Build a relationship. Join a team. Jump on the Dream Team. Do something so that you can get into community with people who actually have the ability to help you up.

So he's stuck in this place. We don't know much about him. We know he doesn't have any family around. We know he probably doesn't have any income, because he can't work, so he's probably begging. And here's what happens. When I started, I had a belief. I believed I could get in, that I could be free. Then I accepted that maybe I can't. And now I'm comfortable. Maybe now I'm even complacent. Just content. It is what it is.

So Jesus comes and asks him a question: "Do you want to get well?" Because if I take that thing away from you, everything about your life is going to have to change. You're not going to have the same friends anymore. You're not going to have the same excuses anymore. You're going to have to work, because now I'm taking away your livelihood, which was begging.

And I think today Jesus is in this place asking us that exact same question. He's saying, "Do you actually want to get well? Do you actually want to be free?" And we're like, "Jesus, how can You be so mean? Of course he wants to be." Maybe not. Later Jesus actually finds the man and says, essentially, "Now that you're healed, go and sin no more, or you may end up in a worse situation." He's saying, "Don't go back. Everything about your life has to change."

Pick up your mat and walk

The funny thing about Jesus is what He eventually says to him in John 5:8: "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk." Because sometimes Jesus has the ability to heal us, but we actually need to pick up our mat. I wish we could just say a prayer and the thing we're addicted to would just fall off. But no. "You're healed. Pick up your mat and walk." There is often something we need to do. We have to take action.

The Bible has spiritual disciplines, and they're often prescriptions for something we're struggling with. If I were a doctor and you had a physical ailment, I would write you a prescription: "Take this, and you're going to be fine." Well, in the same way that I can write a physical prescription, God actually writes spiritual ones, and they come through the spiritual disciplines.

If you're in this place and you're like, "Man, I struggle with lust, materialism, pride, addiction," the spiritual discipline attached to that is fasting. Why? Because we're killing the flesh. If it's self-reliance, self-centeredness, or fear, then you should pray and recognize your dependence on God. If it's distraction, restlessness, or anger, silence and solitude is a spiritual discipline. If it's self-doubt or the lies of the enemy, we need to get into the Word. If it's selfishness, greed, or apathy, then we need to serve. We need to give. We need to give of ourselves. If it's guilt, shame, or broken relationships, then confession of sin is the discipline. If it's anxiety, stress, and worry, then it's Sabbath. There are spiritual disciplines that are prescriptions for the things we're facing.

But the question is this: do we want to do them? Do we actually want to get well?

I've talked to guys who say, "Man, I'm struggling with pornography." And I'm like, "Okay. When does it happen? What triggers you? Before the thing happens, what happens before that?" And they're like, "I'm normally on Instagram." I'm like, "Great. Delete Instagram." And they're like, "No." And I'm like, "Why?" "That's where my friends are." And I'm like, "No. You just told me you're not strong enough right now to be on that platform." The Bible says that if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It's hyperbole for "Get rid of the thing." But we don't want to get rid of the thing. We're like, "I know God's telling me to do it, but then I'd have to do this, and I just don't want to." We want our lives to change without our circumstances changing. In other words, we want everything to change without me having to change. And Jesus is saying, "No, you can walk in freedom, but you actually have to do something with it."

What does a follower of Jesus do when they fall?

Here's the thing: I'm not judging you. I've struggled with things as well. I'm not up here as a perfect person. Growing up, I struggled with pornography, and I felt like, "Oh my gosh, I can't break free from this." I've struggled with a prideful heart. I've struggled with all these things. But what we say is that we are followers of Jesus.

And do you know what a follower of Jesus does? You get saved, and you say, "I'm going to start following Jesus." And inevitably, while you're following Jesus, you're going to make a mistake, which means you're turning away from the way of Jesus. I do something wrong, and the next thing I know, I'm back here. But do you know what a follower of Jesus does? They repent. "Father, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that." And then we start walking again.

And you know what happens? It happens again. And what does a follower of Jesus do? "Father, I repent. I see what happened. I see what triggered it. I'm going to remove that from my life. Forgive me." And now I'm actually walking further, because I'm being sanctified. I'm removing things from my life. And then it happens again, and we're like, "I'm so frustrated. It keeps happening." Yeah, but you're not where you used to be. You're further. You're better now. As we work out the things God wants us to do, that's the point.

The challenge is that so many of us are walking, and it hits us, and we're like, "Well, it happened there, and it happened there. I guess I'll just sit here. I won't repent. I won't try again. I guess I'll just make my bed here. This is just the way it is. This is just where I'm going to be stuck." That is not what a follower of Jesus does. We say, "Though I fall again, His grace is sufficient. His mercies are new every morning. I will get up, I will say, 'Father, forgive me,' I will repent, and I will keep walking the way I need to walk." So I don't judge you, because I have fallen too. But what separates us is that we actually make a change.

"Brad, I know we're sleeping together, but it's just so comfortable. There's this thing called rent, and it's really expensive right now, so us staying together just makes sense." No, it doesn't. I love you. No, it doesn't. Or you're like, "But debt. Why wait for stuff when I have a credit card?" You can't afford it, which is why you put it on the credit card. And then we wonder why we're stressed. "The Bible calls me to be generous, but I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to trust God with anything."

You need to understand this: God's Word is actually life. It's not just law. And when we follow it, we experience the blessings that come with it. But we actually have to do it. And on the other side, we realize, "That's why You said that. It's because You were actually looking out for my best interest." If you do it, your finances, your relationships, your marriage, everything begins to change.

So Jesus is in this place, saying, "Do you want to get well?" And I'm asking you that question today, from the bottom of my heart: do you actually want to get well? And if that's the case, stand, pick up your mat, and walk.

How do you find freedom in Christ?

You might say, "Okay, Brad, how do we do that?" In the last couple of minutes, let me help you with how we actually get free from the things we have.

The truth sets you free

The truth sets us free. John 8:31: "Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.'" We are people who follow Jesus. Our vision is a world following Jesus. "If you hold to my teaching." Not if you hold to some of it. Not if you hold to just the parts you like. If you hold to all of it, then you are My disciples. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

"They answered him, 'We are Abraham's descendants.'" In other words, "We're religious. We're doing the church thing. We're doing all the stuff. 'We have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?'" That's where self-denial happens. "Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'" That's who we are before Jesus comes. "'Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free,'" everyone say it, "'you will be free indeed.'" Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Jesus sets us free. The challenge is that so often, when we start walking with Jesus, we still have bad behaviors and patterns. So we're free, but we still have habits. And Jesus helps us walk it out: to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and create new patterns, so we can actually follow the things Jesus has for us.

It's almost like training elephants. I saw this once. You can put a massive chain around a young elephant's leg, and it can't break it. And over time, you can take off the chain and tie on a rope, a string, twine, and the elephant won't break it, because it now believes it can't be free, even though it has all the power in the world to just snap it. God has set us free from sin. But so often we misappropriate the freedom He's actually trying to give us, and through our decisions we get back into the exact same things.

And if you think you're the only one, Paul struggled too. Romans 7:15: "I don't really understand myself." I love Paul. I feel that every day. I wake up like, "Babe, I just don't get me today." "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." Verse 21: "I have discovered this principle of life: that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong." Anyone else ever feel like that? "Yes, amen, Paul, you get me." "I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin."

At this church, we have a process for freedom. In January, we're launching what are called Freedom groups. If you've never gone through a Freedom group, go through one. It's built to help you get rid of some of the stuff that's stuck in your life, because you can't run after what God has for you tomorrow when you're still stuck in your yesterdays. That's why we have to know Him, find freedom, discover purpose, and then make a difference. It's a process we all have to go through.

Confess to God for forgiveness and to people for healing

So if we really want to get out of this, what do we do? Let me show you in Proverbs 28:13: "Whoever conceals their sins..." In other words, "I'm going to handle it. I've got it." "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses," in other words, I'm going to let God know and let others know, "and renounces them finds mercy."

"Renounce" is important, because you can't just say sorry. Imagine I hit someone. "Sorry." Hit them again. "Sorry." I wasn't sorry. We have to confess and renounce. And the Bible says that if we do that, we will find mercy.

There are two places we have to confess. The first is to God. Are we confessing to God daily? 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Purify means He removes the stain. "All unrighteousness" means every place that isn't right.

But that's not enough. We're not only supposed to confess to God. We're also supposed to confess to people. James 5:16: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be..." healed. So the way we say it is this: you go to God for forgiveness, but you go to people for healing.

And so often we're so good at going to God. "God, forgive me. God, forgive me. God, forgive me." But we never go to people, and then we wonder why we're still stuck in the same things. It's because it's in the dark. No one knows about it. No one can help you. No one can pick you up. That's why we say you need to get in a group, with people who are saying, "Man, we're following God together." There's accountability. It's a place where you can take off the mask and say, "This is who I really am."

Like I said, we're launching groups at the beginning of next year. And if you're here today and you're passionate about helping people find freedom, I want to encourage you to tap the disc right in front of you, and there's an area called Lead a Group. If you want to lead a group when we launch, tap that and fill out your information, and we'll get in contact with you. It can be a Bible study group. It can be an activity group. I don't care why you group. I care that you group. If it's pickleball, great, because at some point during those pickleball conversations, someone's going to say, "Here's what I'm struggling with," and then ministry is happening. We have to get into a group where we can confess to God and to each other. Why? Real life change happens in relationships.

Real life change happens in relationships

I want to show you something real quick called the Johari window. In fact, I have a picture of it. It was made by two guys named Joseph and Harrington, two American psychologists, and it's a way to understand ourselves and our relationships with others better. There's a quadrant for what is known to yourself, what is not known to yourself, what is known to others, and what is not known to others. And I think when it comes to freedom, we need to understand all of these.

1. The public arena: I know, and you know

The first is called the public arena: I know, and you know. How many of y'all have a public face? You look all good. You've got the Mary Kay makeup on. "What's up?" You've got the nice shoes on. We all have a public side that we show. The challenge is that we're often bigger on the outside than we are on the inside. There's an image I'm trying to create.

And that's exactly what the religious leaders did. Matthew 23:5: "Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels." What were the tassels for? They were a reminder to keep God's law. But theirs were super big, because they were saying, "I'm really good at doing this." Everything was for show.

But Jesus says this: "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity." If you try to get to God through religion, it will always fail. We only get to Jesus through relationship.

So let me say this. That public side of you that feels like you've got to have all your stuff together: this is a church where it's okay not to be okay. It's okay for you to come as you are. Our prayer is that you won't stay there. God loves you as you are, but He didn't die to leave you where you are. He died so we can grow. He died so we can follow Him in greater and greater ways.

2. The mask: I know, but you don't know

The second is the mask: I know, but you don't know. Not everyone has to know. But my question is this: does someone know the thing you're struggling with? Because if not, we need to find people. Get in a group. We need people we can say to, "Hey, this is what's really going on. This is what I'm really struggling with." Why? Because you'll always be as sick as your secrets.

Look at how David says it in Psalm 32:3: "When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long." You can feel the drain on his body. But then he says, "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin." And if you keep reading that chapter, he is so happy. Why? Because he confessed it.

Anyone ever grow up in the Baptist church? They'd have a time where someone says, "I have a prayer request." "What's the prayer request?" "Unspoken." Y'all are laughing because you've heard it. "Prayer request." "Yes, sir, what is it?" "Unspoken." That's the problem. Speak it. Tell someone. You'll always be as sick as your secrets.

C.S. Lewis said this: "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" That's where true friendship comes from. The backbone of our church will always be community. So find people. We'll help you with that. Jump on a team. Jump into a group in January.

3. Blind spots: I don't know, but you know

The third area is blind spots: I don't know, but you know. We all have some of these. It's like the time you had spinach in your teeth. Someone comes up to you and says, "Hey, you've got spinach in your teeth." And what do you say? "Praise God. Thank you." But so often, when it comes to other things, we're not like that. "Hey, you've got some spinach in your teeth." "How dare you tell me there's spinach in my teeth!" And they say, "Okay, I'll never do it again." So now you walk around your whole life with spinach in your teeth. Everyone knows, but you don't, because the one person who loved you enough to say something, you rejected.

We need people who love us enough to say the things that need to be said, and we have to be humble and listen. The Bible talks about it. Proverbs 27:6: "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." We're not here to multiply kisses. It might wound you for a bit, but it's for your best interest that I'm saying, "Hey, that's not okay. The way you said that was not okay. The way you handled that was not okay. That did not look like Jesus."

Hebrews 3:12: "See to it, brothers and sisters," that's all of us, "that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." That means holding each other accountable. How do we become hardened? When someone calls you out on something and you reject it, your heart becomes hardened.

4. Potential: I don't know, and you don't know

The fourth is potential: I don't know, and you don't know. We all have parts of our lives filled with potential, and we don't know what God has for us. Only God knows. But the Bible does have a system for that. Proverbs 27:17: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." What am I trying to say? We're better together. As a church, we are better together.

How does the enemy keep people bound in sin?

I want to read one last thing before I pray for you. I was talking to ChatGPT this week. Some of you are like, "He might be the devil." I asked ChatGPT, "If you were the devil and you wanted to keep people bound in sin, what would you do?" And this is what it said:

"If I were the devil, I would normalize small compromises. I would make tiny sins feel normal so they add up over time. I would turn truth into legalism. I'd make people believe that God's love is earned by performance or lost by a slip. I would promote isolation. I'd keep people lonely so there's no accountability or encouragement. I would distract them with good things. I would fill their lives with legitimate busyness so they never pursue God. Shame and condemnation: I would keep people hiding by convincing them that they are beyond hope and that they're the only ones who struggle. I would lie about their identity. I would whisper that they are defined by their failure, not loved by God. I would weaponize their relationships. I would encourage unhealthy loyalties that pull people away from God. I would make the future feel hopeless and convince them it's impossible to change. I would twist Scripture and give them half-truths so they justify their sin or excuse their passivity. And then I would encourage secret habits. I would protect hidden patterns so they never get exposed to the light."

Wow. Because when I look at that, I'm like, that is his playbook. That is the enemy's playbook.

So what is the counter? Instead, we have to stop small things early. We have to confess quickly, get up quickly, say we're sorry quickly. "Father, forgive me. I've repented. I'm turning away from that thing." We're going to teach grace, not performance. We're going to show that Jesus finished the work on the cross, and that theology will free our behavior. We're going to build community, because regular, honest friendships, small groups, and accountability make secret sins hard to sustain. We're going to reclaim rhythms like Sabbath and prayer and Scripture and silence and solitude.

We're going to replace shame with truth. Shame says you're bad, but the gospel says you are loved and you are being healed. We're going to help people who are struggling with their sin. We're going to remind them of their identity: they are children of God, and they can be transformed by the renewing of their minds. We're going to repair relationships so they can live at peace with everyone, and any friendship that's going to pull them away from God, we're going to put boundaries around it. We're going to cultivate hope and small wins.

We're going to teach the whole Scripture, the whole Bible. We're never going to shy away. If it's in this book, we're going to say it. If it's in this book, we're going to live by it. There is nothing in this book I'm afraid to say. There is nothing in this book this pulpit is afraid to speak. And there should be nothing in this book you're afraid to come into alignment with. Why? Because the truth will set us free. We can be free indeed. But we have to come against the lies of the enemy, and we need to bring the darkness into the light.

Today you can be free indeed

Here's what I want to do today. I want to pray for you. And for some of you, you have a decision to make. For some of you, that thing that has been in your life, today is the day that when you walk out of this door, you say, "It's gone."

My encouragement is to get into a small group. Get into a place where you can build relationships with people. Meet people here. Hang out in the lobby. Get to know people. Decide to lead a group when we launch in January. But if you're in this place and you're like, "Man, I don't have that quite yet," that's okay, because at the end of the service, we're going to have our prayer partners right up front. If you need someone to stand with you, to hear you, and to agree with you as you say, "I'm laying this thing down," our prayer team would love to do that for you. If you're a guy, find a guy. If you're a girl, find a girl. And just say, "Hey, I don't have anyone to say this to, but I need to tell you this is what I'm struggling with." You will be met with grace. You will be met with love. And you'll be met with prayer. Today's the day we can be free indeed.

Father, I want to thank You for every single person here. Lord, I don't know what people are struggling with. I don't know what's going on in their lives. But Father, I pray that right now You will show them that through the cross, they are healed. And Lord, show them how to pick up their mat and walk. It's a two-part process. Lord, You have freed us from things, and sometimes they go away completely, immediately, and God, I thank You for those moments. But other times, God, there is a process we have to walk through. And Father, I pray that You will give us the ability to do exactly that. Lord, we love You and we praise You.

With every head bowed and every eye closed: if you're here today and you've never actually taken the first step into freedom, which means you've never given your life to Jesus, you haven't decided to follow Him with everything inside of you, then today is your day. Today is your moment. The Bible is simple. It says every single one of us has sinned. We've all fallen short of God's glory. But God, in His infinite wisdom, sent His Son Jesus, who died on a cross for the mistakes we've made. And the Bible says that if we believe in our heart that God raised Christ from the dead and declare with our mouth that He is Lord, we will be saved.

If you're here and you've never done that, we're going to give you that opportunity right now. We're going to pray a prayer, and I pray that all of us will pray it for the benefit of those saying it for the very first time. Repeat after me: "Dear 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. In Jesus' name."