Don’t Be Afraid | Message from the 2022 Boise Harvest

Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie, encouraging you.

If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. We have so many folks coming down on this floor, making a commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Over 1,600 of them came down.

That was just incredible. How many of you were here last night? Raise your hand if you were here last night.

Repeat offenders. Good. How many of you are here for the first time tonight? Raise your hand if. Lots of you.

Lots of you. Great. I said this last night. I will say it again. People, I am here to evangelize all the Californians that have invaded your state. What do you think? Then I am going to take them back to California with me. I don't know if they know that yet.

The Californians are not clapping. What a great place you live. We went to the zoo today. The Boise Zoo. I think it is called Zoo Boise. There was this really cool little exhibit of these monkeys.

They are communicating with each other and swinging back and forth. It reminded me of a story of a guy that was desperate for work. He heard they were hiring down at the local zoo. Maybe it was this zoo.

I don't know. He went down and applied. The guy in charge said, there are no openings right now. Then looking at this man who was very large the zookeeper said, I don't want you to be offended by this but our gorilla died the other day. We have ordered a new one. He is on his way. Would you be willing if we made you a custom gorilla suit to put it on and pretend to be the gorilla until the real one arrives? Then he told the man how much he would pay.

The guy said, I am in. They put him in the gorilla suit. He felt very self-conscious.

He thought, no one is going to believe it. He went into the cage and a big crowd formed. The people were excited. He moved around a little. By the second day he is swinging back and forth.

He is pounding his chest having a great time. He got a little too excited as he was swinging and swung right out of the gorilla cage into the lion's cage. Now he had a dilemma.

If he cries out for help everyone will know he is a fraud. The lion is approaching quickly. Finally the guy in the gorilla suit can't contain it any longer and he says, help.

The lion says, shut up or you will get us both fired. You know there are people running around today. They say, I am a Christian. I have a relationship with God.

But they don't. You know the Bible says, check up on yourself. Are you really a Christian or are you just pretending to be a Christian when you aren't at all? You know religion cannot save you. Going to church cannot save you. Doing things out of obedience even to how you think God wants you to behave won't save you. Only Jesus Christ can save you.

Only Jesus. Hey if you brought a Bible you can turn to John 14. And the title of my message is, don't be afraid. Let's pray together. Father as we sit here in this comfortable place we think of the people of Ukraine right now and all that they are going through. So many have lost their lives. So many are running for their lives.

Lord put your hand on them. Protect these people. Bring an end to these hostilities we would pray. And Lord I pray for every person in this room and every person that is watching. There are many that are so frightened, so alarmed, so scared, so freaked out. And yet Jesus has said, do not be afraid. So speak to us from your word we pray now.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Ok so we are living in crazy times right now. Just when you thought it could not get any worse it did. I mean we are coming through the worst pandemic in modern history and now it seems like the world is on fire. We see this blistering attack by Russia under President Putin on Ukraine. It is a powder keg that literally threatens the whole world. And now Russia has even threatened to use chemical and biological weapons and even nuclear weapons. In fact President Putin of Russia recently posted they have developed a brand new missile that can fire 12 nuclear warheads at once and they fittingly call it the Satan missile. I just read this today. And this is scary. I mean we haven't heard talk of a potential nuclear conflict in a long time. I remember hearing it when I was a kid in elementary school in the 60s. And they told us if there is a nuclear blast everybody get under your desk.

That would have done a lot of good right. It is ok. I am under my desk.

This will protect me for sure. So with all that is going on in our world we have a lot of people afraid in America. Many are filled with stress and anxiety which is understandable. We have COVID. We have inflation.

We have this conflict that is happening in Ukraine. And something is new that psychologists have coined a phrase for. They call it doomsday anxiety. Doomsday anxiety. It includes the fear or worry about the end of the world or life as we know it. It involves symptoms like chronic nightmares, an underlying feeling of fear, and an obsession with the news as they doom scroll through the online post.

Doom scrolling is what they call it right now. So how are we reacting? Well in America a lot of kids are just on spring break. They are partying away. Crime is up. Shootings are up. Last week and ironically when we celebrated Christ rising instead we see crime rising and we see people partying like there is nothing to worry about. I think they are taking the advice of Prince. Party like it is 1999.

No folks. Don't party like it is 1999. Pray like it is 2022. We need God's help. I wonder if I am talking to somebody right now that is stressed out to the max. It seems like what could not go wrong just went wrong.

When it couldn't get any worse it actually got worse. Let me ask you the question. Do you have kids? Let me rephrase the question.

Do you have teenagers? Then you know what I am talking about right? Now we have these little devices. We all carry the cell phone right? This only adds to the stress.

This only adds to the anxiety. I remember when cell phones first came out I was so excited. They were about the size of a World War II walkie talkie. It was fittingly called the brick made by Motorola.

It had a battery life of like nine minutes. You carried them around. You thought you were so high tech. I have got my cell phone.

Then they got smaller and smaller. Now in many ways they control our lives. I have a way for you to get rid of your stress tonight. Are you ready? Pull out your cell phone. Pull it out.

We are going to get rid of your stress. Put it on the ground. Stomp on it. No don't. I did however drop my phone in the toilet yesterday.

It was a clean toilet if a toilet can be clean. But still it wasn't this phone. But a lot of stress comes from this little device that we carry around in our pocket. Let's do something good with it right now. Take out your cell phone and I want you to shoot a text out to somebody. And just say go to harvest.org right now for a message that can change your life. You can text it. Hashtag Boise Harvest. A message that can change your life.

Is that really true? You might say, Greg who do you think you are with a so-called message that can change someone's life? It is not my message. It is God's message. I am just sharing it with you. It doesn't originate with me.

It is the message that the Bible calls the gospel. When I was a kid I was a newspaper boy. So I rode around in my super cool Schwinn Stingray. And by the way I had a stick shift on it. They don't make those anymore because they were unsafe. But still.

I would ride around. I got pretty good at throwing those papers. The sideways throw. Over the hedge throw. Underhanded throw.

Get it up on the porch. My job was not to make the news. My job was not to write the news. My job was to deliver the news. And my job has not changed. I am here to deliver the good news of Jesus Christ to you right now.

And yes it can change your life. I remember the story of a man named Earl. This is years ago when we were doing one of our crusades in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

We were in a venue that was called The Pit of all things. And so this guy Earl was born in Turkey. He was a Muslim. He came to America. Pretty much abandoned his roots and married some American girl.

They got divorced. He got heavily into drugs. And one night he decided he was going to take his own life. He went down to the bank. He emptied his bank account.

Had all of that money. And he was going to buy as much cocaine as he could and overdose on it. As he was on his way to the destination, his drug dealer, he was looking for some dark creepy music to listen to. And he comes across a Christian radio station. And they are playing a Christian song.

And the announcer said, and that band is playing tonight at The Pit at the Harvest Crusade. He looks out his window and he is literally driving by The Pit at that very moment. So Earl pulls into the parking lot. Gets out of his car. Walks into the arena.

Very similar to this one. Takes his seat. Listens to the music. Hears me preach the gospel. He got up and gave his life to Jesus Christ. And his life was changed forever. He is serving the Lord today in Chicago.

He is actually on a church staff. God can change your life. I don't know what motive brought you here.

I don't know why you are here. But I know there is power in this message. Let me read you now the words of Jesus from 2,000 years ago. But they ring so true for all of us.

John chapter 14 Jesus says, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself that where I am you may be also. And where I go you know and the way you know.

Thomas said, Lord we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no man comes to the Father except through Me.

It is right here in the front of the stage. Isn't it? Let's all say this together. I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no man comes to the Father except through Me.

That is it. Now here is the first thing Jesus says. If you are troubled. The word that He uses here let not your heart be troubled means don't let your heart shudder. If you are filled with anxiety because of doomsday scrolling. If you are filled with fear right now. If your heart is shuddering. Here is the first thing Jesus says. His cure for heart trouble if you will.

Number one. Believe what God says in His Word. Believe what God says in His Word. Do you believe in God?

You know you are very responsive people here I tell you. Now you can know about God and not know God. You know you can have things you have learned about God but have no relationship with God. Some years ago I was in a mental institution. Not as a patient. I was visiting. I was with a friend of mine.

I had really long hair and a beard at that point. Some people said I looked a little bit like Jesus. I walked into this mental institution and my friend said to this patient, Have you ever met Jesus Christ personally? And the guy turned to me grabbed my hand and shook it and said, Jesus good to meet you. I said, I am not Jesus buddy. I am just Greg. But have you met Jesus Christ personally? I ask you that now. Do you believe in Him?

Listen. Everyone believes in something. Some people believe in themselves. Others believe in money. Others believe in government.

God help you. Some believe in technology. Technology is going to answer all of our questions.

It is going to solve all of our problems. But when that day comes. That final day of your life.

None of those things will save you. The author of a biography about Steve Jobs. Remember the conversation he had with Steve. He says, I was sitting in the backyard with Steve and the subject of God came up. Steve Jobs said, and I quote, Sometimes I believe in God. Sometimes I don't.

I think it is 50-50 maybe. Ever since I have had cancer I have been thinking about it more. But I find myself believing a bit more. Steve Jobs says, I want to believe in an afterlife that when you die you don't just disappear. Then he paused for a second and he said, Yeah. But sometimes I think it is like an on and off switch. Click and you are gone. He said. And paused. And then he said, And that is why I don't like putting on off switches on Apple devices. End quote. Kind of a scary thought. Click and you are gone. Before I was a Christian when I was just a kid.

That is what I thought. I thought one day I will just cease to exist. But then I thought, How can I no longer exist?

How can I no longer be me? And I was terrified of death. Are you afraid of death right now? But I can tell you I am much older.

A lot older. And I am no longer afraid to die. Because I have hope of life beyond the grave.

You see. Because of what Jesus said. Jesus says, Do not be afraid. I am the living one. I died.

But look. I am alive forevermore. I hold the keys to death in the grave. He says, Don't be afraid.

By the way. I am glad Jesus has the keys. Because if I had the keys they would have been lost by now.

I am always losing my keys and my wallet and other things as well. Now I am not saying I look forward to death. But I look forward to going to heaven. Because I have this hope that has been given to me by Christ who said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

And I will tell you what. As you get older time passes so quickly. I mean my life is just flashing before me. I mean I was born in the 50s. I lived through the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. I have Sirius XM radio and I see 60s on 6. 70s on 7. And I go through these things and these are decades of my life that I actually lived. And now my generation, the baby boomers, we love to sing the anthem forever young.

Not anymore. We have gone from acid rock to acid reflux. The Rolling Stones are still touring I see. And Mick and Keith are singing Time is Still on My Side. Have you looked at Mick and Keith lately?

Guys I don't think time is on your side though. Who is still out there playing? Instead of playing that song talking about my generation they have updated it to talking about my medication. These are the jokes people. Ok. Ringo Starr from the Beatles had the hit. A little help from my friends.

Now he has updated it to a little help from Depends. You know. But you know there are signs you are getting older. You know you are getting older when you shop at Forever 21 when you are 66.

You just need to stop doing that. You know you are getting old when you sink your teeth into a juicy steak and they stay there. You know you are getting old when you are pulling up your socks because there are wrinkles and you realize, oh no I am not wearing socks. You know you are getting old when you drop something on the ground and you reach down to get it and you wonder, what else you can do while you are down there right? Is that resonating with someone out there?

So people are in denial. Well I will have some surgery done. You pull this. You nip that. You talk.

You inject other things. You have so much Botox in your face we don't even know what you are thinking anymore. We don't know if you are mad. If you are happy. We just know you look perpetually surprised.

Right? Listen. You can get all the potions and the lotions and eat all of the kale and the tofu. You are not going to extend your life one single day. Because God determines how long you will live. I did read about a 105 year old woman from Texas who had seven children. Her name was Pearl Cantrell. She was asked, what is the secret to your long life?

Her answer was simple. She says, I love bacon. I eat it every day.

Go figure. Bacon. I like her. Speaking of that I was talking to my granddaughter Ally a while back and she said, Papa.

That is what she calls me. I am a vegan now. While she was eating bacon. I said, honey you cannot be a vegan and be eating bacon. She says, well I can't help it.

I just like meat from a pig. Yeah. I understand.

She will probably live to be 105 years old as well. Listen. Life is going to have a beginning. It is going to have a middle. It is going to have an end. But listen to this. Death died when Christ rose.

You say, Greg are you delusional. You don't think you are going to die. Oh I know my body will go into the ground. But my soul will live on. My soul is eternal. Then I enter the afterlife and I determine in this life where I will spend the afterlife. Let me just give you a hint of what is coming. You have two choices. Heaven or hell. Another way to put it.

Smoking and non-smoking. Ok. So it is up to you. But it is no joke. It is real.

You make that decision. Here. I read about a man that was walking through a cemetery. And he saw an inscription on a tombstone that said, Pause now stranger as you pass by. As you are now so once was I. As I am now so you shall be. So prepare for death and follow me.

After reading that the man was overheard to say, To follow you is not my intent until I know which way you went. So which way are you going to go? You say well heaven. Because I am a good person.

Are you? Are you really a good person? And to the point being a good person will not get you to heaven. Heaven is not for good people. Heaven is for forgiven people.

You see. But I think about heaven quite a bit. Because 14 years ago an unspeakable tragedy happened in our home. Our oldest son Christopher was unexpectedly called home to heaven.

He died in an automobile accident. When I heard that news that my son had died. I felt like time stood still. That all the air went out of the room and I literally thought I could die. Not from taking my life but just if words could kill you.

I felt like those words could kill me. But here is the hope that I have. I still miss him. I still grieve over losing him. But on the other hand I know I will see him again in heaven. Because of Jesus Christ. Not because he was my son but because he believed in God's son. Who forgave him of all of his sins.

Just as he forgives each of us if we put our faith in Christ. Maybe I am talking to someone who has had a loved one die recently. Or if you have received bad news from a doctor. Or your marriage is falling apart. Or your parents are divorcing.

Or too many Californians have moved into your state and are driving prices up. I don't know. But you find yourself helpless and hopeless. But I am saying you don't give up hope. It has been said man can live 40 days without food. Three days without water.

Five minutes without air. But only one second without hope. Have you lost hope tonight? Don't lose it because Christ is here. Help is on the way.

Hope is on the way in a relationship with him. Believe in God. The second reason your heart should not be troubled or agitated according to Jesus is because if you are a Christian you are going to heaven. He said, and my Father's house are many mansions.

Listen to this. Heaven is a real place for real people to do real things. Now the problem is Hollywood is sort of caricatured heaven. And we think it is this really strange place where we sit around on clouds and pluck harps and little fat babies with wings hover around us. That is not heaven. Think of the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Think of the beauty all around you.

Here in this state that you live in. That is just a glimpse of greater things to come. Heaven is not the watered down version. Heaven is the real version. Here on earth we just see sort of the imitation of greater things to come that God has for every follower of Jesus Christ who have believed in him. That is why we need to look to the Lord. But the nonbeliever does not have the promise of heaven.

I heard the story of a Christian father who was dying. So he gathered his three sons by his bedside and to two of the sons he said, Goodbye sons. I will see you in the morning. And the third son said, Dad why did you say that to them? What are you going to say to me? He just said, Goodbye son.

Wait. Goodbye son. Why can't I see you in the morning? The father said, because your brothers have put their faith in Christ that we will be reunited in heaven in the afterlife. He said, but dad I want to see you in the afterlife too. He said, son you need to believe in Jesus and you will. And that boy believed in Jesus at that very moment.

And we need to do the same. You see. When Jesus says, and my father sells so many mansions. I don't know if he is talking about actual buildings. I did hear about a minister and a New York cab driver who died on the same day. They went to the pearly gates and Simon Peter met them of course and said to the cab driver, Ok that is your mansion right over there.

You have gone over there now and enjoyed it. It was a huge palatial mansion. The cab driver was very excited and went to his mansion. The minister was watching thinking, wow he is a cab driver and he gets a mansion.

Think about what I have. I am a minister. I have helped people.

I have pointed people to God. Peter says, Ok hey there is your little shack there in the valley. Go to your little shack.

He says, wait. Why do I get a shack when a New York cab driver gets a mansion? Peter said, because when you preach people slept. When he drove people prayed. So I don't know if these are actual mansions.

They could be. Again heaven is a real place for real people to do real things. Maybe it is referring to our new body. God is going to give you a new body. People ask, well what will that body be like? It will be better than the body you have right now.

It will be the radically upgraded version of you. So if you are looking for me in heaven look for someone with probably an afro or something you know. Then again maybe we will all be bald in heaven. Have you ever thought about that?

Yeah. That is not a very good thought is it? I was talking to two of my granddaughter Stella and Lucy. They said, Papa how old will we be when we get to heaven?

I said, girls I don't know. Maybe 33. They said, why 33? I said, well that was the age Jesus was when He died. Then Lucy my granddaughter said, I want to be three when I am in heaven. I said, three? Why do you want to be three?

She said, I miss the old me. Well this body we are in right now is breaking down. Experts tell us as we get older the number of nerve cells in the brain decrease. We start with around 100 billion brain cells. But then in our 20s the number starts to decline. At 40 we are losing up to 10,000 brain cells a day.

You have probably lost 5,000 brain cells listening to me tonight. But there is a hope of another body. A newer body. So if you were disabled on earth you won't be in heaven. If your body has cancer here it won't be then.

If your body is worn out here it won't be then. So let not your heart be troubled. It is good news.

Why? Believe God's Word. Believe what God said in His Word. Number two. You are going to heaven if you are a Christian.

And number three. He has shown us the way to heaven. I was told that this arena we are in right now.

The extra mile arena. The first person here was not a sports team or a rock band or anybody else. It was Billy Graham who did an eight night crusade.

Isn't that great? I got to know Billy Graham quite well. In fact I wrote a book about it called Billy Graham. The man I knew. A man I knew. And he was a wonderful man.

A godly man. I heard the story of when Billy was in a town to do one of his crusades. He wrote a letter to his wife Ruth. But he didn't know where the post office was. So he was walking around looking for it. And he saw some young man there. And he said, young man can you tell me where the post office is? The little guy said, yeah just go up the street here. Turn right.

And that is the post office. He goes, that is great. By the way, he said, I am speaking here in the stadium tonight. And maybe you would like to come and hear me. And I will show you how to get to heaven. The little guy said, why should I go hear you?

You don't even know the way to the post office. How do you get to heaven? How can you know you will go to heaven when you die? Jesus gives us the answer. He says, where I go in the way you know. And I love how Thomas said, we don't know where you are going. And we don't know the way. I think a lot of times when Jesus spoke to His disciples it went right over their heads.

He talked about dying and rising from the dead. They just didn't understand that at all. And when He would talk about things like that they would probably nod their heads in unison. Oh that is so deep. They were clueless. It is like a teacher in a class doing some complex equation up on the math board or up on the blackboard. And they say, do you all understand it?

Everyone says, yes. And no one understands. So Jesus says, where I go you know in the way you know. Thomas says, we don't know what you are talking about.

We don't know the way and we do not know where you are going. But I am glad Thomas asked that question because Jesus then said, I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to the Father but by Me. You know Thomas has been described as a doubter. We call him doubting Thomas. He was more of a skeptic.

He didn't let other people make his decisions for him. When I became a Christian at the age of 17 I was a skeptic. I lived a hard life.

My mother was married and divorced seven times. She was a raging alcoholic. All I saw was bad behavior of adults fighting and passing out at night. So I tried drinking for a while and was disillusioned with it. I got into drugs for a while. By the age of 17 I felt like I was 70. I was wondering, what is life all about? I don't see any adult that I know that I want to be like. These kids that I hang around with they don't know any more than I know.

I was searching and I transferred over to this high school called Harbor High School in Newport Beach, California. There were a lot of Christians there because the Jesus movement was in full swing. One of my friends warned me, Greg stay away from the Jesus freaks. I said, the last thing Greg Laurie will ever do is become a Jesus freak. Yeah.

Famous last words. I thought they were a little nutty. I thought they were a little weird. I thought, where do these people come from?

I thought they were like one taco short of a combination plate maybe. One day I went across the campus and there was a group of Christians sitting there singing their songs about God. I sat close enough to hear what they were saying but not so close that my friends would think I was becoming a Christian. That was the first time I heard this evangelist named Lonnie speak. He said, Jesus said you are for me or against me. I looked around at the Christians and I thought, well I am not one of them. Does that mean I am against Jesus?

I don't want to be against Jesus. I have always acknowledged He existed. I have always sort of believed in Him or what I knew of Him. I had seen all of His movies. But it was the first time that the idea of having a relationship with God was presented to me.

Lonnie gave this invitation for people to come to Christ. Kids got up and walked forward on a high school campus. I thought, there is no way I would ever do that. I sort of hung my head down. My hair was hanging in my eyes.

Use your imagination. Next thing I knew I was up there praying. That was the day Christ came into my life. I have never regretted making that decision.

I am going to ask you to make a similar decision tonight. Maybe you came here as a skeptic. Someone that wasn't sure if this was all true.

Maybe your friend bribed you with food afterwards. I don't know what. But you are here. And I want you to think for yourself. Be like Thomas. Be a skeptic. Say, yeah, well I am not sure.

I am not going to let somebody else think for me. We engage in sort of group think. What is popular? What is cool? What is the trend? Think for yourself. Because I believe God is speaking to some people's hearts right now.

And this is what you have been looking for. Not religion. Not a bunch of rules and regulations.

A relationship with God that you can have. Just like the 1600 people that came down on this floor last night and prayed that prayer committing their life to Jesus. The same thing can happen for you tonight.

It is true. But what do you need to do? Number one you need to admit you are a sinner. The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Every one of us have sinned. A sin means to cross a line.

That is one definition of it. To cross a line. God has given us the Ten Commandments. You shall not steal. You shall not lie. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain.

On the list goes. We have broken those commandments. Some of us have broken all of the commandments. And yet the Bible says if you have been in one point of the law you are guilty of all of it. So don't tell me you are a good person and you don't need God. You have broken those commandments. And the Bible says the soul that sins will surely die. So we are all separated from God by our sin. Good works won't help you get to God. Going to church won't help you get to God. Start by admitting you are a sinner.

Then number two. Recognize that Christ died on the cross for you. Why did He suffer and die 2,000 years ago? Why did He let them whip Him with that most likely cat of nine tails tearing into His back?

Into His skeletal tissue. Why did He let them nail Him to a cross? Because He died for your sins. Only Jesus is qualified to bridge the gap between a holy God and sinful humanity. With one hand He took hold of God. With the other hand He took hold of humanity.

And they put spikes of those hands and it was not nails that held Jesus to the cross. It was love for you. God loves you.

Jesus put it best when He said, For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Then thirdly you need to repent of your sin. You say, well I don't even know what that means.

I don't think I have even pented. How do I repent? Well repent means to change your direction.

It is a military term. So I was going this way. I repent.

I turn around and I am going this way. So you let go of that old sin. You turn your back on that old life and you take hold of Jesus Christ.

The Bible says God has commanded everyone to repent and times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord. And then you must receive Christ into your life. Jesus says, Behold I stand at the door and I knock. If any man will hear my voice and open the door I will come in. Only you can say, Jesus come into my life.

Forgive me of my sin. Are you certain right now that Christ is living in your life? If you would say, well I am not sure then I would tend to think maybe He isn't.

I mean if someone moved into your house in the middle of the night and they were cooking fish in your kitchen do you think you would know? I am not suggesting Jesus is doing that. But my point is if God Almighty the Creator of the universe is taking residence in your heart you will know.

And if you don't know maybe He is not there yet. Maybe you need to say, Jesus come into my life and forgive me of my sin. And then you need to do it publicly.

That is why I am going to ask you to do what so many did last night. In a few moments I am going to give you an opportunity to make a public stand for Christ. Jesus said, if you will confess or acknowledge Me before people I will acknowledge you before the Father and the angels in heaven. But if you deny Me before people I will deny you before the Father and the angels. So by coming forward you are making the public stand.

You are saying, I don't care who sees. I want this relationship with God. And lastly you must do it now. Now. You say, well maybe next Sunday. No not next Sunday. Maybe tomorrow.

No not tomorrow. You may never have another moment like you have right here. Right now in the extra mile arena. This is your moment to come to Christ.

Don't miss it. Jesus is passing by. He is here.

He is ready to forgive you. But you must call out to Him. The Bible says, whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But some of us. Some of us are too proud to call on the name of the Lord.

We don't think we need to be saved. You met my son Jonathan earlier. When he was a little guy I took him out in the water. I was helping him catch some waves. And I lost my footing and I was caught in a rip tide. And the irony is I wasn't that far from the shore but I couldn't get my feet on the bottom there of the ocean.

And so I am getting pulled. And I am trying to keep him above water. And there is a lifeguard.

She was a lady sitting there watching us. And she starts running toward us with her flotation device. And I am thinking, I don't want to be saved this close to shore. I was embarrassed.

And she is swimming out toward me and I finally got my footing. I said, I am ok. Thank you though. That is how a lot of us are. Oh I don't want to call out to God.

That is a sign of weakness. Christianity is a crutch. Oh listen Christianity is not a crutch.

It is a whole hospital. And you need it. He will save you. He will forgive you. This can be the night that you change your eternal address from hell to heaven. He is just a prayer away. In a moment we are going to pray. And then I am going to invite you to put your faith in Jesus. I am going to invite you to have Him forgive you of your sin. I am going to invite you to call out to the Lord. And He will hear this prayer. And He will answer this prayer.

And this will be the moment your life changes. I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. This is where you are asking Jesus to come into your life to be your Savior and Lord.

I mean it from your heart. And God will hear and answer. So again as I pray. Pray this out loud after me. Ok. Let's bow our heads.

Pray this now. Lord Jesus I know that I am a sinner. But I know that you are the Savior. Who died on the cross for my sin. And rose again from the dead.

Jesus I choose to follow you. From this night forward. As my Savior and Lord. As my God and my friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer. And answering this prayer. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. God bless each one of you. God bless you.