Jesus and the Coward | Sunday Message (Pastor Jonathan Laurie)

A New Beginning presents a new book from Pastor Greg Laurie. We are offering a brand new resource called The House of David Devotional and it's based on the great Psalms of David as well as the life of David. So I'm going to put this brand new devotional in your hand so you can learn from this man of God. Or your gift of any size at harvest.org. It's the official companion resource for the new Amazon TV series also called The House of David. 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 are continuing in our series Jesus and You. This has been a fun one where we talk about all the different characters of the Bible that Jesus interacted with. Not just in the New Testament. I'm hoping we're going to go maybe back to the Old Testament and look at some Christophanies.

Before Jesus was born of Mary he did make some appearances in the Old Testament. Maybe we'll look at those in the coming weeks. But today we're going to be looking at an interesting character that I'll tell you more about in just a moment. But before we do that, how many of you, quick poll, have been watching House of David?

Let me see your hands. Awesome, that's a lot of you. A lot of you. You guys been enjoying it? Honestly it's incredible. It really is. I feel like what the music was to the Jesus movement in the 1960s and 1970s, I feel like this is a whole new expression of amazing Christian art for this generation being shown. I mean these Bible stories being told in such a beautiful way, such an accurate way, I mean so much of the dialogue is literally straight from scripture.

You can read along in your Bible as the interactions happen between Saul and Samuel and so forth and so. It's been a lot of fun. Love that series. Looking forward to seeing the season finale this week and a very special announcement. This Wednesday we are going to be having a premiere of the finale to House of David here at Harvest Riverside, Harvest Orange County, and yes Harvest on the island of Maui. We're going to be showing it. It's ahead of time so you're going to be getting a sneak preview. You can watch it before all your friends. You can tell them exactly how the story of David and Goliath ends. You know we're all dying to know how that one turns out. But you know what?

I've seen the finale and it is amazing the way they captured it. So you don't want to miss this. This is going to be happening here at all of our campuses. Come and join us.

It's going to be a lot of fun and we look forward to seeing you there. Well I love watching historical shows. I really have been enjoying the House of David, The Chosen, but I don't know what it is about the fact you know many of you know that last week it was my birthday.

I turned 39 years old, yes, on Saturday. And so now that I am getting old and in my late 30s I don't know what it is, but I have just been more drawn than ever to like World War II movies, right? I've always liked World War II movies and so I don't know there's maybe just like now that I cross this invisible threshold into my late 30s now I like them just that much more. I think I like them because they're not just great stories but they're true stories, right? They're true stories. They're amazing stories of heroism and I just am blown away every time I hear about one of these young men or young women who at such a young age 17, 18, 19 years old heard the call of duty and enlisted to go defend America in this great world war. Absolutely incredible. I think I liked it also because it was so clear who the good guys were and who the bad guys were of course. I think that really helped a lot but I've always liked these movies but I think they just hit differently now. There's this deeper pull along with you know wanting to buy clothes at Costco now.

That's also something I'm doing. It's like hey that's like a really good deal and this is nice. Also bird watching like yes son that is in fact a yellow-rumped warbler in our tree and I've been waiting for him and I don't know what it is. Just something you cross this line and World War II movies, clothes at Costco, yeah you get the picture. But some of the movies that are just so great are Saving Private Ryan, The Band of Brothers series, Enemy at the Gates, The Great Escape with Steve McQueen, Valkyrie, Schindler's List, The Pianist, Pearl Harbor, Hacksaw Ridge, Dunkirk, Unbroken. So many incredible stories and again they're all great stories not just because they're dramatic or well made but because they tell true stories of young men and women who heard the call of duty as young as 14 years old. 14 years old.

Did you know this? There was a young man named Jack Lucas who was 14 years old and when he this is when Pearl Harbor was bombed he was 13 years old and when he came home from military school at age 14 he went and enlisted at age 14. Now you couldn't enlist until you were 17 and you had to have a parent's signature so what Jack Lucas did he was a big kid for his age he went and he forged his mother's signature and then he bribed a notary. How does a 14 year old even know what bribery is? He bribed a notary to confirm that he was 17 and he enlisted into the Marines.

That's right at 14 years old it's crazy. At the battle of Iwo Jima three years later Jack Lucas found himself there in a trench with his fellow Marines and something terrible happened. While they were in the trench fighting the enemy two enemy grenades landed in the trench next to them. Now Jack Lucas had a decision to make in that moment he had to decide whether he wanted to die by himself or if you wanted to have everybody die with him in that trench because nobody else knew about these grenades.

Well that wasn't a real question Jack Lucas grabbed both of those grenades dove outside of the trench brought them underneath his body and they both exploded. Somehow Jack Lucas at age 17 survived this he survived this and went on to become the youngest person ever to be awarded with the medal of honor. For the rest of his life there remained about 200 pieces of metal yep it's worth a round of applause true heroism.

For the rest of his life there remained about 200 pieces of metal and shrapnel some the size of 22 caliber bullets in his body which frequently set off airport metal detectors. Jack Lucas went on to live to the age of 80 years old incredible incredible but not every story yep not every story from World War II is about courage and bravery. Of course with any story of war any story of battle there's also going to be stories of cowardice of cowardice. Now today we don't really like the word cowards maybe you don't like the word cowards I'm fine with it but you might think it feels harsh oh to call somebody a coward that's so harsh right you might think it sounds harsh or maybe unfair or maybe it's insensitive but it does exist no question cowards do exist.

A coward isn't just the person who desserts his friends on the battlefield though or defects to the enemy a coward all it takes for someone to be a coward is for someone to do nothing when it requires action for someone to stay silent in a moment that begs for truth it delays it rationalizes it chooses comfort over conviction this is what cowards do they choose comfort over conviction. Another story during World War II or rather a year before World War II started in 1938 Adolf Hitler leading Nazi Germany threatened to take over the Sudetenlands and Czechoslovakia was a mountain range that bordered Germany and he had already marched into Austria breaking international law had invaded Austria and basically taken it over and expanded military Germany's borders there and he had been rebuilding Germany's military in violation of the Treaty of Versailles which ultimately ended World War I. So Hitler was on the move people didn't quite know what his intentions were yet but ultimately his hateful ideology was not a secret he had published it publicly and openly in his manifesto Mein Kampf he wasn't hiding who he was any longer he was a tyrant and he would ultimately go on to take the lives of 11 million innocent Jewish Polish and disabled people basically anyone he deemed beneath what his standard was men women and children these are non-combatants that he ultimately murdered during World War II but again before World War II broke out and he had invaded these territories British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain saw the threat that Hitler posed and saw the threat that Hitler posed and he knew he had to address it and so he went and he met with Hitler but instead of standing up with him he tried to make peace by appeasing him he basically said okay Hitler you can have the Sudetenlands that territory in Czechoslovakia but just stop there we'll pretend that you didn't just invade Austria we'll pretend that you haven't been building up the arms of Germany and building up the military you breaking the Treaty of Versailles we'll look the other way on that we'll give you what you want just promise that you won't go any further this meaning is known as the Munich Agreement the idea was that they could give the tyrant a little bit of what he wanted and that would make him more reasonable what Neville Chamberlain should have remembered were the words of Thomas Jefferson whose motto boldly declared disobedience to tyrants is obedience to God but whenever Chamberlain came back to London he came back to great fanfare he came back to celebration he had stopped Hitler he said to the crowds I believe it is peace for our time now you can go home and sleep quietly in your beds Winston Churchill who was not afraid to speak up scolded parliament for this agreement he said you were given the choice between war and dishonor and you have chosen dishonor and now you will have war six months later Hitler took all of Czechoslovakia and then he invaded Poland and officially World War II began never Chamberlain showed cowardice in the face of tyranny he was not a stupid man no question Neville Chamberlain was not a stupid man he was not an incompetent man and by all means he was a decent man trying to stop World War II from taking place but when the moment called for courage he offered compromise when evil needed to be confronted he tried to negotiate when he needed to bite he blinked by definition a coward is someone who lacks the courage to face difficult or painful things this is what Neville Chamberlain did and that brings us to the next part of our series Jesus and you one man in particular very different from anybody else that Jesus had spoken to a man who stood face to face with Jesus who stood face to face with truth itself and he blinked this man was the highest ranking human official Jesus would speak to during his earthly ministry he had the power to right wrongs he had the power to protect innocence and deep down this man knew the right thing to do but in the end ultimately he saw an angry crowd that threatened his position and he chose comfort rather than confronting truth he was more afraid of the consequences than he was of God and to this day he is remembered as the man who tried to wash his hands of Jesus his name was Pontius Pilate and my message title today is Jesus and the coward Jesus and the coward and we'll be looking together at John chapters 18 and 19. How's that open it's all right okay so now we're going to read John chapter 18 starting in verse 28 and so they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the oh my dad told us all to bring our bibles last week didn't you how many of you brought your bibles let's see hold them up hold them up hold them up hold them up awesome I love that good job I brought mine too but I'm still reading from my ipad so I don't know does that does it really count it counts I'll turn to my bible too John chapter 18. All right John chapter 18 starting in verse 28 then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium and it was early in the morning but they themselves did not go into the Praetorium lest they should be defiled but that they might eat the Passover I just for a moment I just love the absurdity of the religious leaders Jesus said that they strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel here they were delivering Jesus a prophet at the very least a miracle worker at the very least but in reality the son of God and they didn't want to defile themselves by entering the threshold of Pilate's home and so they stayed outside they're delivering the son of God to be executed but they didn't want to defile themselves so they didn't cross the imaginary boundary that the Talmud told them that they shouldn't absurd and ironic let's continue verse 29. Pilate then went out to them and said what accusation do you bring against this man and they answered and said to him if you were not an evildoer we would not have delivered him up to you and then Pilate said to them you take him and judge him according to your law therefore the Jews said to him it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death that the death of Jesus might be fulfilled which he spoke signifying what kind of death he would die this reminds us Jesus was always in control verse 33 and so Pilate entered the Praetorium again he called Jesus and he said to him are you the king of the Jews and Jesus answered are you speaking for yourself about this or did others tell you this concerning me and Pilate answered am I a Jew your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me what have you done and Jesus answered my kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews but my kingdom is not from here Pilate therefore said to him are you a king then and Jesus answered you say rightly that I am a king for this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth everyone who is of the truth hears my voice and Pilate said to him what is truth and when he had said this he went out again to the Jews and said to them I find no fault in him at all let's pause there it brings us to point number one the prefect meets the perfect the prefect meets the perfect here we see Jesus the perfect son of God standing before Pontius Pilate the Roman appointed prefect governor of Judea Pilate was a prefect governor a prefect is an administrator meaning he was not just there to oversee the financial prosperity of Judea he was there to make sure that everything stayed under control he was a military focused governor these types of governors had the specific responsibility to oversee Pax Romana you know what Pax Romana is if you're a student of the Bible you will know that under Roman authority Israel had to follow Pax Romana what that simply meant was Roman peace and what Roman peace meant peace through strength peace through superior firepower peace because we said so not because it's mutually agreed upon but because you're outgunned and outmatched and so Pontius Pilate's responsibility was to oversee the peace in Judea now even though Pilate is mentioned in scripture and by secular historians Tacitus Josephus and Philo of Alexandria these were modern day in the time of Pilate historians that recorded information about him many skeptics later into the 19th century and 20th century doubted Pilate's existence they doubted that this man did not exist even though we read about him in scripture as well as in secular history books recorded by modern historians why is that well to be fair there were no coins with Pilate's picture on them if he was in charge of all of Judea certainly he would have been a notable figure he would have had a coin dedicated to him there were no coins there were no Roman records that were discovered there were no inscriptions that they found that is until 1961 at the Mediterranean seaport called Cessarina Maritima a large carved piece of limestone was discovered bearing an inscription dating back to the first century the time of Christ and Pilate and inscribed in Latin it said Pontius Pilate prefect of Judea well that certainly silenced any critics who doubted Pilate's existence before that that's good right here's a picture of the pilot stone that one of our photographers took on our trip there pretty cool right here's a picture of my dad with the pilot stone next there he is leaning on it that's pretty cool here is a studio ghibli image of myself leaning up against the pilot stone and pointing to it because I didn't have one of myself so there you go I'll get that picture next time I go but it's interesting that this man Pontius Pilate who was known for being a harsh governor for being a Roman soldier ultimately and for using his power to submit people now becomes hesitant and weak in the face of Jesus Pilate asks him the famous question and it appears to catch him off guard in verse 38 he says what is truth what is truth now the irony of course that Pilate was asking Jesus this question what is truth is so great and so fantastic because Pilate stood before the very epitome of truth didn't he Jesus words in the upper room that he had spoken just hours earlier with the disciples at the last supper he said I am the truth words that would be echoed and for all of eternity Jesus proclaiming I am truth Pilate stood before the very epitome of that question now the bible doesn't tell us about Pilate's gestures here the tone of voice or facial expressions was he sarcastic what is truth was he sober what is truth what what is truth we don't know for sure but we do know Jesus was the incarnation of truth look back at verse 37 pilot therefore said to him are you a king then and Jesus said you have said rightly that I am a king for this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth everyone who is of the truth hears my voice Jesus came this was his purpose he declares so clearly for this cause I was born and for this cause I've come into the world that I should what I should bear witness to the truth Jesus came to bring truth he came to bring truth and truth by nature divides it causes controversy it stirs debate and it often provokes strong reactions that's why many today avoid it they fear the polarizing nature of truth but the fact is we all stand in a position similar to Pontius Pilate we all must make a decision regarding Jesus neutrality is not an option neutrality is not an option after all Jesus himself said he who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad you were either for me or against me Jesus said those words to be undecided is to be decided and we see after careful consideration and the investigation of Jesus Pilate proclaims that Jesus is innocent I find no fault in him at all no truer words were ever spoken by Pontius Pilate than those right there I find no fault in him at all Jesus was perfect he was sinless he was innocent the perfect meets the prefect every person must make an evaluation of Jesus and his claims now many today would like to hold to the belief that he is just a good man a moral teacher and a rabbi but Jesus doesn't give us that option C.S. Lewis a famous scholar and writer and theologian who is now with the Lord said a man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus would said the sort of things that Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher he would either be a lunatic on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the devil of hell you must make your choice either this man was and is the son of God or else a madman or something worse Jesus does not give us the option to remain neutral on who he was we are either for him or against him Pilate tries to remain neutral he was in a pressure cooker of a situation no question what he knew and what the crowd wanted were two very different things let's continue now and see after Pilate has stated his innocence that he would now attempt to appeal to them logically in an attempt to get Jesus released in verse 39 Pilate says you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover do you want me therefore to release to you the king of the Jews and then they all cried again saying not this man but Barabbas now Barabbas was a robber now into John 19 verse 1 so then Pilate took Jesus and he scourged him and the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on his head and they put on him a purple robe and they said hail the king of the Jews and they struck him with their hands Pilate then went out again and said behold I am bringing him out to you that you may know I find no fault in him and Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and Pilate said to them behold the man therefore when the chief priests and officers saw him they cried out saying crucify him crucify him and Pilate said to them you take him and crucify him for I find no fault in him that brings us to point number two Pilate blinks Pilate blinks our message today is Jesus and the coward just like Neville Chamberlain blinked in the face of tyranny Pilate blinks in the face of truth he blinks in the face of truth he knows that Jesus is innocent he knows he has done nothing wrong he declares it before the crowd more than once but instead of releasing Jesus he tries to placate the people and he did the same thing that Chamberlain did to Hitler maybe if I just give them a little bit of what they want they'll change their minds they'll stop in their tracks they'll let me go free here and I don't have to sentence this innocent man to death but instead again he tries to placate them he says you have a custom during Passover you have a custom during Passover and Pilate offers them a choice Jesus or Barabbas now Barabbas this was a bad dude he was a bad guy he was a robber we just read in John 19 but parallel gospels point out that he was actually more than a robber he was a murderer he was an insurrectionist a dangerous and publicly known evildoer who was likely headed to crucifixion that very day Barabbas was guilty he was guilty he had been judged he had been sentenced and he was awaiting execution now it's likely that Barabbas was in a nearby cell awaiting his execution probably even knowing it was hours away this was the day he was going to die who knows what was happening and going through the mind of Barabbas we can speculate all day long but we can know pretty certainly that Barabbas was being held behind bars pretty close by to this location and as he's sitting in his cell he begins to hear what his name Barabbas Barabbas and then he's hearing crucify him crucify him and he's probably thinking oh great not only am I going to be crucified now there's an angry mob that wants to all watch me be crucified and the next thing he knows a Roman soldier comes brings him out of his cell and says to him you've been released I don't think there's any better picture of the gospel than this right here think about that Barabbas was guilty he was headed for execution he deserved to be killed for his son his his uh his crimes according to the Roman law and yet what happened Jesus took his place literally Jesus took his place in the same way we have committed a crime we are guilty and Jesus is innocent we have violated God's commands and the penalty is death but God made a way for us to be delivered out of our death and our guilt and that is what Jesus did on the cross for us as well second Corinthians 5 21 says he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him Jesus took Barabbas place on that cross now we don't know what happened to Barabbas if he was smart he would have made Jesus not only his savior for that day for the rest of his life and he would have made him his lord we don't know for sure again we can speculate that'd be a good thing to do but we don't know what happened to Barabbas if he was speculating that'd be a nice little story if Dallas Jenkins is listening maybe you can do a spin-off series on Barabbas that would be nice Pilate didn't need any Passover custom to release an innocent man he was the governor of Judea he could have snapped his fingers and it would have been done he could have stopped that angry mob told him deal with it go back but we all know what Pilate's role was Pax Romana he feared the Jews because of their uprising he knew that they could stir up a tumult that would ultimately look bad on him they would have to be killed or stopped and that just wasn't good Pilate wanted to maintain the status quo he wanted to be comfortable in his position he didn't need that Passover custom to release an innocent man he just needed to do what was right when the crowd decided against Jesus he thought he might have one more trick up his sleeve and so again after he releases Barabbas he goes and what does he do he scourges Jesus he scourges him scourging or flagellation often would kill a man before they ever got to the crucifixion Jesus was whipped his back ripped open he was punched he was mutilated all in hopes that this would satisfy the bloodthirsty crowd he also tried to put a he decided to put a purple robe on Jesus and a crown of thorns and they punched him repeatedly and then Pilate brought Jesus out one final time saying behold I am bringing him out to you that you may know I find no fault in him behold the man this was Pilate's version of appeasement he thought that if he gave the crowd a little bit of what they wanted they would be happy that they would change their minds that they'll reverse course and Pilate blinked he blinked he knew what was true he knew that Jesus was innocent he thought though he could use diplomacy and compromise to get himself out of a difficult position like he had done so many other times in his political career but the fact is compromise didn't calm the mob it fueled it the more that he did to Jesus the scourging the releasing of Barabbas it fueled them and the chance grew louder crucify him crucify him now for all of us today compromise is part of life right we all have to compromise uh in in uh in politics politicians have to compromise to make deals they have to reach across the aisle in parenting you have to compromise with your kids right make a deal with them please yes I will give you all the candy you want if you will just go to bed right that doesn't work out so well in marriage we have to compromise right your wife wants to go to that cute little restaurant on the corner where the portions are appropriate for a bird and you want to go to the Mexican place where the burritos are the size of your forearm and so what do you do you compromise and argue in the car for 45 minutes instead compromise is a part of life it is sometimes how society moves forward in order to see progress but let's make it very clear here today when it comes to the truth when it comes to Christ there can be no compromise it can never be part of the equation Jesus teachings do not change his virgin birth is not a myth his miracles are not symbolic his death and resurrection are not metaphorical they are historical and they are literal and this is where many religions part ways from Christianity Mormonism they will say that Jesus is a son of God and not the son of God the Jehovah's Witnesses will say that Jesus was created Islam says that he was a prophet but he was not crucified progressive Christianity says he was a moral teacher culture says he's whatever you want him to be but the Bible says that he is the image of the invisible God the Bible says that he is the force born over all creation that he is the alpha and the omega the lamb of God the lion of Judah the king of kings and lord of lords to compromise on who Jesus is is to invent another Jesus to compromise on who Jesus is on any part of his character is to invent another Jesus and only the real Jesus saves Pilate's appeasement of the crowd is not just a political failure it's a picture of what happens when leaders when Christians and even churches try to compromise truth to satisfy the demands of culture when we play both sides offering a little truth uh softened by a lot of concession right oh this is true but I understand some people are like this and you mix in some human empathy what do you end up with the same position Pontius Pilate was in now and we see what do they want crucifixion Pilate was trying to give them okay I'll concede to you I'll give you a little bit of what you want please just settle down please stop stop attacking stop moving forward stop advancing but instead he ended up with the crucifixion a complete and utter rejection of everything Jesus is and was that was what happened when Pilate compromised now make no mistake for us today Jesus doesn't need you or me to defend him he doesn't need us to stand up and say he is true this is reality this is the truth but for the sake of ourselves our families our nation our communities and our world we cannot untether empathy from truth so many today want to offer empathy they want to con you know be conciliatory towards those who are offended by the gospel and say well yes you can come and you you can be this way you can keep your sin and follow Jesus it's okay to do that we have empathy we have empathy but when we untether empathy from truth that is where we cross into heresy just because someone feels a certain way does not mean we abandon truth as Christians we are called to offer comp excuse me no we're not as Christians we are we are called to offer compassion and not compromise compassion but never compromise and so let's bring this message to a close now in verse 12 of john 19 from then on Pilate sought to release him but the Jews cried out saying if you let this man go you are not Caesar's friend whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar they knew exactly what they were doing they were putting Pilate into a corner and when Pilate therefore heard that saying he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement but in Hebrew Gabatha now it was the preparation day of the Passover about the sixth hour and he said to the Jews behold your king but they cried out away with him away with them crucify him Pilate said shall I crucify your king and the chief priests answered we have no king but Caesar then he delivered him to them to be crucified and they took Jesus and they led him away that brings us to point number three judging the judge judging the judge that's what Pilate did here we see the ultimate irony a man judging God he doesn't believe he's guilty in fact he knows he's not guilty he doesn't even want to crucify him and yet he does why because he feared man more than he feared God Pilate feared man more than he feared God and Pontius Pilate does what he condemns the sinless son of God he had the opportunity of a lifetime he stood face to face with God incarnate he asked the right questions he had the authority but like the religious leaders who were also confronted with Jesus they wanted to maintain they wanted to maintain the status quo they were comfortable in their lives they were comfortable in their positions in their teachings and their beliefs and they didn't want to change because of their stubbornness Pilate was the same way Jesus threatened to disrupt Pilate's cushy role and so he gave into peer pressure and he judged the judge at Gabatha the righteous judge was judged by Pilate if you fast forward to revelation 20 at the great white throne judgment we see the tables are turned and the judged will face the righteous judge it won't be a courtroom in Jerusalem heaven and earth will have passed away there's only a great white throne blazing with glory and the judge is that same Jesus no longer beaten and bloodied and bound but crowned and radiant surrounded by a host of angels Pilate symbolically washed his hands of Jesus I want to tell you today you cannot wash your hands of your sins you cannot wash yourself of your sins you cannot wash yourself of Jesus you cannot remain neutral when it comes to Jesus in his life and death and resurrection Jesus said you're either for me or against me you either receive him or reject him let me ask you in closing have you made your decision about Jesus have you acknowledged him as more than just a moral teacher and a prophet and as a good example have you trusted him as the savior and made him the lord of your life the courage that Pilate lacked you can show today Jesus said if you acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before the father and the angels in heaven and as we bring this service to a close today I want to extend to you any who have not yet put your faith in Jesus Christ any who may be undecided about Jesus Christ to put your faith in him as your lord and savior you and me we're like Barabbas we're like Barabbas guilty and headed for judgment but Jesus came in not accidentally not coincidentally but intentionally and he took that punishment that we deserved and he died on a cross for our sin and so I ask you would you like to put your faith in Jesus Christ today would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven would you like to know that your sins are forgiven respond to this invitation now let's pray father I thank you for every person that is here I thank you that you know each and every one of our stories you know the things that we struggle with you know the things that we're drawn to but lord I thank you that you meet us where we are at you invade our territory you come to us you find us lord we don't have to go searching for you you invade lord you come in you knock at the door and if we hear your voice and open it you will come in lord we thank you for your love for us we thank you that you were willing to lay down your lives for us like that soldier Jack Lucas who dove on those grenades Jesus that's what you did for us you dove on top of our sin and you absorbed its wrath fully into your life you laid down your life for us lord we thank you we thank you that we have that well our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying here today if you would like to have that hope if you would like to have your sins forgiven if you would like to know that you're going to heaven when you die would you just raise your hand up and I want to lead you in a prayer wherever you are here in the sanctuary at harvest up on the balcony out on the courtyard at harvest orange county on the island of Maui just raise your hand up wherever you are and I want to lead you in a prayer raise it up high where I can see it god bless you right here in the middle god bless you right there anybody else raise your hand up where I can see it god bless you up on the balcony god bless you anybody else raise your hand up you're saying yes to Jesus you're saying you want your sins forgiven you're making that decision today you're not remaining neutral remember to be undecided is to be decided you're either for me or against me Jesus says you cannot remain neutral what's holding you back any sin any temptation any lifestyle choice none of it is going to pay off in the end it's going to leave you empty it's going to leave you alienated from God and it's going to lead you to hell this is why Jesus came to bring truth and to deliver us from our sins so anybody else you raise your hand up and we'll pray together god bless you god bless you all right for those of you that raise your hand I'm going to ask at all of our campuses wherever you are just stand up stand up wherever you are you raise your hand even if you did not you want to put your faith in Christ today stand up and I'm going to lead you in a prayer that's right you heard me stand up some of you raise your hands you're not standing yet you need to stand today Jesus said again if you acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before the father and the angels and heaven make a stand for him today wherever you are god bless you awesome okay anybody else stand now okay for those of you that are standing I'm going to lead you in a prayer and this is a prayer of repentance a prayer of you calling out to God recognizing what he has done for you and you declaring that you're putting your faith in him there's no magic in these words it's up to you to mean it and to follow through with it I'm just telling you what to say and helping you so pray these words now pray this dear God I know that I'm a sinner but I know that Jesus is the savior who died on the cross for my sin and I turn from that sin now from this moment forward fill me with your holy spirit make me a new creation give me a new spiritual nature in Jesus name I ask amen hey everybody thanks for listening to this podcast to learn more about harvest ministries follow this show and consider supporting it just go to harvest.org and to find out how to know God personally go to harvest.org and click on know God