David- The Fugitive

Such an honor and a blessing to be able to speak into your life. They're on the PANDO app on your tablet. What a blessing that is. Again, my name's Logan Williams. My TDC numbers 1490218. That's not the only number I have. I've got four more numbers after that. Round and round and round in the system, the criminal justice system, drugs, crime. Just kept leading me back, leading me back, leading me back. And many of you know that isn't your first time there that once you go, it's really easy to go back, man. And it's just what happened to me over and over and over again. That understand the frustration, the disappointment, the anxiety, the, "Gosh, here we go again." Like, "Is this it?" Like, "Is this, am I ever gonna figure this life thing out?" And I wanna encourage you, man. No, the answer's no. You're not gonna figure it out. But he's already got it figured out. He has a plan and a purpose for your life that's greater than anything you can think, ask or imagine. All you have to do is say yes to him and get all the way in. Get all in. It doesn't do any good to get in 90%.

That's what I found, because I tried that. He needs all of us to, we all have a plan. We have a calling on our life. Guys, every single one of you have a calling on your life. Whether you believe that or not. It says the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable in Romans 11, 29. That means that calling that he has, it can't be revoked, it's irrevocable. It can't be trans, it can't be taken away or edited or changed or it's not like he changes his mind. But we have to step into that calling. We have to get all in. I wanna tell you, man, that you can do this. You can do this. Hey, tell your friends and family. They can download the same Pando app on their phone that you watch. You can watch the same teachings, the same church services. Read the same books. The chosen is on there. The Bible recap is so many amazing things are on there. They didn't have the Pando app when I was locked up, but man, what a blessing it is for you guys. So you can tell your friends and family and y'all can watch the same things and you can talk about it. When you see each other in visitation or when you're on the phone or, you know,

take a few minutes. Hey, what did the Holy Spirit say to you about that message? And y'all can do this thing together. We're never meant to do this walk alone. And so I want to encourage you in that. We love you guys. And I know you've heard many pastors up here say, "You're not just a project to us. You're part of our church family." Man, we believe that. And we mean that. And any of your prayer requests that you send in get prayed over by two or three different prayer teams that meet and specifically pray. We spread them out up here on Saturday mornings at seven o'clock for a prayer meeting. And it's just like two hours. People walking all over the church, walking all over the sanctuary, just praying. And many times they'll come up and just lay their hands and pray over your prayer requests as well. I want you to know that, man. We're really invested. And so if you get out and even though you don't live here but you're anywhere near the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex on a Sunday, man, we would love to just meet you. We would love to introduce you to everyone and man, get you a coffee, take you to lunch, whatever. We just want to do life with you. And man, it's like eight or 10 in a row.

I've gotten to meet one of you guys that have come. And it's such a blessing. It blesses us so much, man. So please come find us at Life Fellowship, Church in McKinney, man, I want to encourage y'all. Man, the Word of God is just, it's amazing. It's just that double edged sword that it talks about. And I don't know how it really works for you, but God will have me in a certain set of scriptures. And he'll just have me there for a while. And the past week or so, it's been John seven after I got to teach to the young adult group. Man, I've just been steady in those verses. And I just wanted to share a few of them with you today 'cause I think they'll help you. I'm gonna start in verse 10. So Jesus goes down to the feast of tabernacles in verse 10, it says, however, after his brothers had gone up to the feast, he also went up, not publicly, but secretly. Remember, they're trying to. at the pool of Bethesda that had been laying there paralyzed for 38 years and like forget all of that. They're just mad because it happened on the Sabbath and he actually told this man to pick up his mat and walk. And so they totally look past the fact that some dude that had been laying there and couldn't move for 38 years is now healed. Forget that he's actually carrying his bed on the Sabbath. Who told you to do that? And so that began this conspiracy to try to kill Jesus man and so he's going secretly because he don't want to get killed. It wasn't his appointed time. Says then the Jews looked for him at the feast and said where is he? Verse 12, "There was much complaining among the people concerning him. For some said he's a good man. Other said no. He deceives the people. Yet no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews.

They don't want to get out there. The government wants to kill this guy. So I ain't saying nothing about him. I don't want to get on their hit list. So he goes, people are talking, some say he's a good man. Some say he deceives people to strike. That's just like today, right? Probably just like in the facility that you're at. I don't know where you're at. We're in two million tablets across America and I think we're even in Philippines now. But there's good places and there's well, there's bad places and there's worse places and hopefully you're not in one of the worst places. But maybe you are. But wherever you're at, you're going to have people that are saying the same thing. They're going to have opinions about him. So we're going to say, yeah, he's God. He's the Messiah. He's a good man. Others are going to say, "Man, it's smoke." He's a seized people, whatever. Just like today, it was happening back then. Same Jesus, same miracles, same words, same teachings, different opinions. And so it's important because if we're going to follow Jesus or if we're thinking about following Jesus or... And I'm just going to tell you, if you're watching this video today, like the Lord is after you, okay? It's not just a coincidence that you're watching this today and a doubt you're going to get away because when he's after us, he comes after us. But it's important, man, to ask that question, what do you believe? Because we live in this world filled with competing voices, right? Some people say he's good. Some people say he's not. I mean, you're going to have Muslim friends that are going to say, "Oh, yeah, we know Jesus, but we like Jesus, but he's not God." You know, all these things. He was just a good teacher. Christianity's outdated. You can't trust the Bible, all that. But you know what? Some are going to say he Jesus is Lord. Some are going to say that. So eventually, everyone has to decide. The people that it was just writing about have to decide, just like I had to decide, just like you have to decide. Are you going to build your opinion? Are you going to build your understanding of Jesus on popular opinion? Or are you going to build your understanding of Jesus on what Jesus actually says about himself? And so, look, let's just get this out of the way. Do you believe that the Word of God is the truth? You've got to answer that question. Is this truth? And am I willing to get all in with this? Because the first hurdle is just believing that it's the truth. But then it's like, "Man, let's get all in, man." It's actually wage war against my sin to actually lay it all down. That's an entirely different thing. But so, is this the truth? If the answer is not yes, pray about it. God, give me revelation. Help me. I want to believe. Help my unbelief. That's in here. I got prayed that. So what are you going to build your understanding

on verse 14? Now about the middle of the festival, Jesus went up to the temple and began teaching. The Jews marveled, saying, "How has this man become educated? How has this man become educated having never been taught?" So he's being profound. He's saying some amazing things. And they're like, "This dude ain't sat under no rabbi. This dude ain't been trained. How in the world is he speaking like this?" The religious leaders are amazed. How does he have such learning? Because he's never been taught. And so back then, you know, you would have these rabbis that would preach or speak or hear one rabbi I mean look you guys some of you are leaders in the church in the in the in the facility that you're at sometime you you'll go on panda you'll hear somebody say some really profound statement about a scripture man that's good and so you'll repeat it you know it's the same thing that they're doing back then you know we all do that you know because I grant you whoever you repeated it from he's just repeating it like no one nothing's original right and so but they're repeating what these rabbis they would hear them teach and then they would say something else and then maybe another rabbi would hear that and they would repeat it that's kind of how they they they sharpened each other is that way but see the thing is Jesus didn't quote any of the rabbis none of them he wasn't a product of their religious educational system his answer was powerful when he heard them saying this he said my teaching is not of my own it comes from the one who sent me that's verse 16 says Jesus answered that my teaching is not mine but he who sent me if any man desires to do his will he shall know whether the teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own authority I want to go back to 16 my teaching is not of my own it comes from the one who sent me I'm just do you guys ever do this I always envision myself like back in the day like if I just happened to been born 2000 years ago and I'm rolling around I'm just a regular dude right a shepherd or a you know pot maker or whatever it is that they do and here comes Jesus and he starts speaking and I think to myself man what I believe what I'd be one of those that believed I would like to think that I would especially after witnessing all the miracles but but but we really don't know because there seems to be so many people that don't do you ever ask yourself that question and so when you if you heard him say that my teaching is out of my own it comes from one who sent me if you were living back then and heard that okay how would you respond to a statement like that would you believe would you believe that God sent him it's how would you respond how are you responding right now because that's all that matters guys is how we're responding right now in this moment it doesn't matter how we responded last month last week last year but today the

word of God today how am I responding to it and and if you're not sure verse 17 gives us a really tremendous principle it says anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God another translation of that says anyone who wants to do the will of God wants to do the will of God will find out whether it comes from him so it's like do you want to do the will of God it's back to my question of are you willing to get all in do you want to do the will of God and I know for us man like look at the order that Jesus puts it in it's like for me I want to sometimes get I want to understand everything I want to get it all figured out get it all lined out okay now understood now I'm going to hear it now I'm going to trust now I'm going to believe after I've already got it all understood and what Jesus is saying no no no trust me obey now and then the understanding will come it's backwards from what our our fleshly brain wants to tell us and I want to encourage you today with that man what is he asking you to do what is he asking you to lay down according to the scripture we're going to get the understanding after we obey anyone who wants to do the will of God will then understand so I want to encourage you man he's saying trust me obey and then you get your understanding oftentimes these things man excuse me they don't make sense to us I know when I came back off of a horrible drug run man and God called me out of that hotel room many of you heard my testimony and I took that step and gave away a bunch of drugs man which is so hard for a guy like me to do with the enemy screaming at me man you know you're gonna not stay clean why are you giving those away you're wasting it you're stupid you're I did that man I thought wow I just did something amazing and then he hits me like a week later with I want you to lay down sexual sin I want you to stop having sex with this girl that you're not married to because that's my beloved daughter and you're leaning her down a path of destruction and all and he's wasn't happy about it and I'm like that didn't make sense to me in my mind. And to lay this other thing down is going to even make that thing harder, I thought. And so I'm like, man, what is happening? It doesn't make sense. But are you willing to obey in the moment to the things that don't make sense to your brain, to your human brain, your fleshly brain, that doesn't make sense, then the understanding comes. Because when I did say yes to that, the thing that pushed me over that cliff, because when

we make these hard decisions, I don't know about you, but for me it feels like I'm jumping off a cliff sometimes, it was imagine what your life could be like if you just got all the way in with me one time. Imagine what your life could be like, guys, if you just got all the way in with him one time. Without guessing, since you're sitting in the place you're sitting, you've never been all in before. You may have thought that you had, but you always hung on to something. God doesn't want 90% of us. He wants 100% of us. He wants all of us. And that goes back to that calling I was talking about. Imagine what your calling could actually be. The Bible says, "Acceedingly and abundantly above all we can think or ask." Do you believe that? But it's going to take us getting all in and making those difficult decisions before we can necessarily understand it. Does that make sense? So I want to encourage you with that. Those verses 17 being the key one, "If any man desires to do the will of God, he shall know whether my teaching comes from him." Man, have a moment with God, ask him what you're hanging on to. Ask him to search you out like David did and to know you and anything that offends him to bring it to the surface, into the light where he can sever that thing from you, where he can heal that stuff from you. Because imagine, guys, what your life could be like if you just got all the way in one time, man. He's got an amazing plan for you. I don't care where you're at. I don't care how big of a sentence you have.

He can use you, man, right where you're at. And he has a plan for your future that you can't even imagine, but it takes making those difficult decisions right now. "Father, we love you, and I pray for all of these men and women who are watching God." I pray that, man, your Holy Spirit would just have a moment with their hearts this week, that you would just reveal, man, that you would just convict. I just feel like there's many people that were just like me when I was in prison. Yeah, we went to church, and yeah, I checked the boxes, but I just wanted to be comfortable so I could just get through that difficult time, and I just feel, God, that there's many that are right there on the edge that have given 90%, but they haven't given their all. So God, I pray, man, for those people that they could somehow find a way to get all in, that they could somehow get a glimpse or a vision from you of what their future could be, of how the amazing things you want to do to use them, man, to make much of your name and to enlarge your kingdom, and how awesome that is, how just that feeling can't be touched, like that joy of being in the lane that God designed you to be in. So God, I pray that if anyone is watching that is losing hope, God, I pray that you would just restore that, man, I pray that you would light a fire in them to let them know that you're not finished with them yet, that of all the friends that they have, all the friends that I have who've overdosed through who have been shot or are dead, man, I should be one of those, but for whatever reason, they're not. And God, I just know that you're not done, you're not finished. As long as we're fogging a mirror, you still have a plan and a purpose for us, and God, I pray that that encourages somebody today. So we love you, God, and we praise your name. We thank you just for this technology and just for the ability to all come together and speak life to one another. God, I pray that you would bless their families while they're gone, that you would be a provider to their families, their friends, their loved ones, their kids, their elderly parents, all the things that we worry about when we're locked up, and God, I pray that you just remove that anxiety that they could focus on you, that they could just fix their eyes on you

in a way that they never have before, God. [Music] Good afternoon, life fellowship family. Come on. Why don't you stand on your feet? It is a great day to be in the house of the Lord. His name shall be exalted forever. He reigns forever more and so that's what we gather here to do. Come on, put those hands together. This is where worship starts. Here in the temple of my heart. Remembering who you are and all you've done. This is your majesty. All I have tasted and I've seen. Remembering who you are once again. I see the Lord forever glorified, exalted and lifted high. And all of the kings of it crown you are. You are the Lord. You are the Lord. This is eternity. Keep calling deep inside of me. I'm right where I'm meant to be. Here with you. And this is your family. Switching as far as I can see. I'm right where I'm meant to be. Watch again and dance Jesus forever glorified, exalted and lifted high. And all of the kings of me crown you are. You are the Lord. I see it upon the throne. The God who is three in one. The Father, the Spirit, the Son you are. You are the Lord. Yes you are the Lord. You are the Lord. You are the Lord. You are the Lord. You are the Lord. You are the Lord. And all of the kings of me crown you are. I see it upon the throne. The God who is three in one. The Father, the Spirit, the Son you are. You are the Lord. ♪ You are the Lord ♪ ♪ You are the Lord ♪ ♪ I'm the Lord ♪ ♪ Jesus is your Lord of angels ♪ ♪ Not your strong tower, Lord, we keep trusting you ♪ ♪ Your so faithful God ♪ ♪ Would you just lift up your hands ♪

♪ Just as a sign of gratitude to Jesus this morning ♪ ♪ O Jesus, you're a firm foundation ♪ ♪ We put our trust in you ♪ ♪ Oh, you once left for the truth ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Listen to your lips ♪ ♪ Jesus is mine ♪ ♪ He's been my fourth man in the fire ♪ ♪ It's time after time ♪ ♪ Born of his spirit ♪ ♪ He washed it in his blood ♪ ♪ And what he did for me on Calvary ♪ ♪ It's more than hell ♪ ♪ Whoa, so I trust in God ♪ ♪ My Savior is the one ♪ ♪ Who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ I trust in God ♪ ♪ My Savior is the one ♪ ♪ Who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ Perfect submission ♪ ♪ All is at rest ♪ ♪ And I know the honor of tomorrow ♪ ♪ Oh, my Savior ♪ ♪ Whoa, so this is my story ♪ ♪ And this is my song ♪ ♪ I'm praising my reason ♪ ♪ We have Savior ♪ ♪ I'm gonna take it all over ♪

♪ So I trust in God ♪ ♪ Whoa, my Savior is the one ♪ ♪ Who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ I trust in God ♪ ♪ Whoa, my Savior is the one ♪ ♪ Who will never fail ♪ ♪ Who will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ Oh, oh ♪ ♪ I've seen it for myself ♪ ♪ Your goodness ♪ ♪ And Your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Jesus loves ♪ ♪ Whoa ♪ ♪ You count on me ♪ ♪ Come on, come on, come on ♪ ♪ Just think back over your life ♪ ♪ And just remember those times ♪ ♪ Where Jesus consistently came through ♪ ♪ He met every single need ♪ ♪ He provided everything that you need ♪ ♪ And God, we thank you that you are strong in time alone ♪ ♪ Come on, we sing this out together, let's sing it out ♪ ♪ I saw the Lord and He heard ♪ ♪ And He answered ♪ ♪ I saw the Lord and He heard ♪ ♪ And He answered ♪ ♪ I saw the Lord ♪ ♪ Come on church ♪

♪ That's why I trust Him ♪ ♪ Oh, I saw the Lord and He heard ♪ ♪ And He answered ♪ ♪ I saw the Lord and He heard ♪ ♪ And I saw the Lord and He heard ♪ ♪ And He heard ♪ ♪ I saw the Lord and He heard ♪ [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING]

[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ That's why I trust him ♪ ♪ That's why I trust him ♪ ♪ God, he is my savior ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ Oh, I trust him God ♪ ♪ Come on, would you mind your soul this morning ♪ ♪ He will never fail ♪

♪ He will never fail ♪ ♪ Thank you, Jesus ♪ ♪ Come on, come on, give it up for Jesus ♪ ♪ Thank you, God ♪ ♪ You're a firm foundation Lord ♪ ♪ We can put our trust in you ♪ ♪ You are free ♪ ♪ You are free ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ You are free ♪ ♪ Thank you, Jesus ♪ ♪ We love Jesus ♪ ♪ At a night ♪ ♪ In love He ♪ ♪ The great I am ♪ ♪ He lives in me ♪ ♪ And shall I ♪ ♪ Peace of peace ♪ ♪ In many a world ♪ ♪ You and me ♪ ♪ Your faith is great ♪ ♪ And great ♪ ♪ To be twice your name ♪ ♪ It is great ♪ ♪ And greatly ♪ ♪ To be twice your name ♪ ♪ High on light ♪ ♪ Hello here ♪ ♪ The great I am ♪ ♪ Lives in peace ♪

♪ There shall lie ♪ ♪ Prince of peace ♪ ♪ Where you will ♪ ♪ Hear in me your name ♪ ♪ Your name is great ♪ ♪ And greatly to be praised ♪ ♪ Your name is great ♪ ♪ And greatly to be praised ♪ ♪ Your name is great ♪ ♪ And greatly to be praised ♪ ♪ Your name is great ♪ ♪ And greatly to be praised ♪ ♪ Oh, where you are ♪ ♪ And we love you, Jesus ♪ ♪ Your praise will forever be upon thee ♪ Come on, guys, give it up. ♪ It's worthy you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ Where you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ Where you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ Where you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you are ♪

♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ Where you are ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ Forever young ♪ ♪ Forever young ♪ ♪ You're so worthy to you ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪ ♪ It's worthy you will be forever young ♪

You're worthy of, you're worthy of, you're worthy of, you're worthy of your name. It's great, and greatly, to be right your name. It's great, and greatly, to be right your name. It's great, and greatly, to be right your name. It's great, and greatly, to be right. Thank you, Jesus, for what you've done for us. Thank you for who you are, God. You are so worthy, God. You are so holy. Even when we don't feel like it, even when we're down low, God, you are worthy to be praised God. May your praise continually be on our lips, Jesus. We love you, God. We thank you. And we pray that you would meet us here in this morning, Holy Spirit. We love you, Jesus, and your name and pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, worship team. You know, God's Word tells us to enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. So thank you for leading us in worship to do that. You may be seated as you're seated. Shake someone's hand, give them a high five, and just say, "Hey, I'm glad you're here." Because we're thankful that you're in the house of the Lord. You know, one of the other things that we're thankful for as a staff is just your sacrificial giving. That could be your time, talent, or your treasure. And we're so grateful because there's so many things we get a chance to do to come alongside people and see lives changed. And so next Sunday, we're going to share something with you called the Impact and Stewardship Report. It's going to be a snapshot of the last 12 months. All that God has been doing at Life Fellowship because of how you support Life Fellowship and give to the kingdom. And I'll give you a sneak peek past Dave, gave me approval to give you one data point that I got really excited about. And that is, in the last 12 months, through Life Fellowship, you're giving your sacrifice, your bala, tiering, and our staff.

We came alongside five hundred and five people who gave their life to Jesus. All right, so how do we feel about that? It's amazing. You know, God's Word tells us with one life saved, there's cheering and rejoicing in heaven. We had five hundred and five people. And we can't do that without your giving. And you know what? Here's the great thing about giving is you get to rejoice in how you impacted somebody's life for eternity. And that feels so good. But what I get excited about too is the blessing that comes on you when you give. And so I remember my own journey. You know, I've been in business for several decades before I got on staff here at Life Fellowship. And in 2001, my wife and I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And our pastor at that time gave a sermon series on tithing. And honestly, at that stage of where I was in my relationship with the Lord, that was an area I struggled. I was not tithing. I was not consistently giving. And the Lord was working on my heart in that area. So I went to Him in prayer, and I read Malachi 310. And so I want to read Malachi 310 to you because you don't have to take my word for it. Let's listen to what God tells us about giving. So in Malachi 310, God says, bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this as the Lord Almighty. And see if I will not throw open a floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it. Praise God for His word and the promise. And do you know there's nowhere else in the Bible where God says, "Test Him"? Just in this area. And so in that moment in 2001, early in the morning, son, hadn't risen, spent in time with the Lord. And I was like, "Lord, I can't afford the time. I can't do this. I'm a young man trying to grow a family and build my career, and I don't have any money."

And God asked me a question. He said, "Do you trust me?" And then he said something I'll never forget. He said, "Then prove it." And I read that again, and I said, "Okay, Lord, I'm gonna step forward in faith." Your word says that I'll have more than enough. It doesn't mean it's perfect. Doesn't mean there's always an abundance, but I always had enough. And many, many times overflowing. And so for 25 years, my wife and I have been faithfully doing not just, all we're doing is following God's Word, and we've seen the blessing in our lives. So for many of you, you've already seen it in your lives, please share that with somebody to encourage them in God's Word and promise. And if you haven't taken that step, my hope is this story might encourage you to take that next step with the Lord and see how He blesses you. Well, this Sunday, we're excited to have Pastor Dave back in the house to preach the David series. Can we give it up for Pastor Dave? I know Pastor Daniel was great last weekend, but we're so grateful for Dave to be here again. And so as we get ready for the message, let's just let's prepare our hearts to be impacted today. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)

(upbeat music) - Hey everybody, welcome back to Life Fellowship. I'm glad to be here again today, and so glad to have all of you and everyone watching online. And our friends at the Texas Department of Corrections, so glad that you've joined us today. Come on, let's give it up for everybody. Watching everybody participating, part of our church family that can't be present in person with us. And I just want to say somebody watching online or wherever you're watching from. Philippians 1.6 says, "Be confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus. He is doing a good thing in you. The Bible tells us that we are God's masterpiece, and He is working out His masterpiece as we trust Him and surrender our lives completely to Him. I don't want to encourage you to continue to trust and know this, that while you are waiting, God is working, can somebody say, "Man, while I'm waiting, God is working, and He's working out His masterpiece in our lives." We're in this series, David, and in week one, we talked about David the shepherd. And I talked to you about the importance of cultivating a shepherd's heart. And last week was week two, I hope you enjoyed Pastor Daniel.

I know you did, I heard some people say, it was fire, had somebody else say it was Fuego, and I had to look it up and see what Fuego meant. The same thing, but so glad that Pastor Daniel could be here with you. He's one of my spiritual sons, and so, so excited to see how God is using Him there in Atlanta at our church that we planted many, many years ago. And so, today I want to also show you that David was also a poet. He was a songwriter, and we're gonna start today by highlighting one of the promises of God that David actually penned. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit, I know, but God used Him. He was the anointed leader to come, the king to come. But during this season, He was going through incredible trouble. Somebody say trouble. Anybody ever received, had a little trouble with a capital T? David walked through some big time trouble. And so, here in Psalm 34, 19, he writes this. He says, "The righteous person, or a righteous man, may have many troubles." Watch this. But the Lord delivers Him from them all. How many of you can say this? You can say that again.

Sometimes you have many trouble. In fact, let's just repeat that out loud together. Say it with some confidence that you believe it. And if you don't quite believe it yet, I hope you'll believe it by the end of the message, all right? So look at it and let's just say it out loud. "The righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers Him from them all." So that's our key verse today. Yeah, go ahead and put your hands together on that. Go ahead and clap your hands and say, "Lord, thank you for that incredible promise." Now, I want to catch you up a little bit on David's journey. Some of it we've talked about. Some of it we haven't talked about. But I want to show you how David got to this place in Psalm 34 verse 19. From his anointing in Bethlehem by the prophet Samuel, that was week one, to this point in Psalm 34. From his time-- He was still tending the sheep at his family's ranch, and yet he was invited into Saul's court as a musician. I touched on that in week one. Why was he invited into Saul's court as a musician? Because Saul was dealing with an evil spirit that was tormenting him. So David is brought into the royal court to play the lyre or the harp, to provide relief for Saul. And during this time, and during this season, David goes out, and you heard the story last week,

where he defeated the Philistine champion, Goliath, in the Valley of Elah. This propelled David into national prominence, and during this time, David formed a covenant with a friend, a friend named Jonathan, who happened to be the king's son. And Jonathan recognized God's hand upon David's life. He recognized, I mean, once David was anointing, everything changed for David. And Jonathan recognized God's hand and God's anointing, and God's destiny on David's life. But you can imagine all of this meant trouble for David, because now, after the victory over Goliath, and David's string of battlefield winds as a senior officer in Saul's army, in fact, Saul had promoted him to lead 1,000 men. And so David goes out into the battlefield, and he's winning battle after battle after battle, so much so that the women are now singing, Saul killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands, which sparked all kinds of paranoia, all kinds of jealousy from King Saul in a huge way. So what does a jealous king do when you have someone that you're threatened by that might take your throne? What does he do? Well, he's gonna take him out. He attempts to assassinate David by spearing him, while David is playing music for him. Now, how many of you know that's a bad day? How many of you know that is some trouble?

A righteous man may have many, yes, many troubles, but the Lord does what? Delivers him from them all, but that's only the beginning, that's only the beginning. Later, Saul demands 100 Philistine four skins as a bride price for his daughter, Macau. Now, that's weird. But he does this hoping that David will die in battle. Instead, David succeeds, but he doesn't kill 100 and get 100 of them. He gets 200, and he marries the king's daughter. So all of this now, the jealousy is all, the paranoia, it's just increasing. So David finds out, obviously, the spears are coming. So David runs, and he runs, and he seeks refuge. And where does he go to seek refuge? Now, this is part of the story that I'm just like, my jaw still drops when I read it and I even tell it, but he seeks refuge in Philistine territory. How many, how many of you know that's more trouble? Why is that more trouble? Because the Philistines are Israel's greatest enemy, and David himself has just killed the Philistine champion. So David's known for killing Philistines, so he shows up in Gatt, the major city of the Philistines. So I'm thinking, I'm reading, I'll say, "David, what are you doing in Gatt, man?" Listen, sometimes when you're running from something, you can find yourself in the wrong place. I'm David, these people don't like you.

This is Israel's prime minister hiding out in Iran. I mean, you just don't do that. The Bible says, in first Samuel chapter 21, verse 10, that day David fled from Saul, he's on the run, he's a fugitive, and he went to Akish, king of Gath. King Akish, also known as Abimalek, Abimalek was like a ruling title, like a pharaohs, I'm teaching here a little bit, it was like a ruling title. So this is where David finds himself standing before Abimalek, the king, king Akish, and he's standing before him, and I want you to look with me at first Samuel chapter 21, verse 11, look at it with me. But the servants of Akish, king Akish, said to him, no, wait a minute, isn't this David? Wait, isn't this the king of the land, which he wasn't a king yet, but he was anointed as king? Isn't he the one that they sing about in their dances? Saul has slain his thousands, and David is 10 thousands. Isn't this him, this is Israel's hero here. Verse 12 says, David took these words to heart, So we pretended to be insane in their presence, and while he was in their hands, he acted like a mad man, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. I mean, you have to be having a pretty bad day when you're pretending to be insane just to save yourself. Look at verse 14, "King Aikish said to his servants, "'Look at the man, this man is insane.

"'Why bring him to me? "'Am I so short of mad men that you have to bring "'this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? "'Must this man come into my house?'" So after David's Academy Award-winning performance, they release him. In chapter 22, verse one, the first Samuel says, "David left Gath, he's free to go, "and he escapes, he's still on the run. "He escapes to the cave of a doolum, "and there in this cave, "he writes this promise in Psalm 34. "He writes the whole Psalm 34 in this cave, "and that's the promise that we started with today." Now, let's talk about this psalm for just a minute, because I want you to see a little bit behind the scenes here. It's called an acrostic psalm, Psalm 34. You don't write an acrostic psalm without giving a lot of thought and a lot of prayer about it. Why? Let me explain, because in an acrostic psalm, each verse starts with the next letter in the alphabet. The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, and there are 22 verses in the psalm. So he takes one letter from the Hebrew alphabet, 22 times, 22 verses. And I point this out because David wrote it prayerfully and carefully, and these are God's words for us. So I want you to get that. These are God's words.

It's a promise for us today. We know that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's profitable for doctrine for us. So we learn it, and we hear it, and we believe it, and we hold onto it ourselves. So I think this is very interesting, because in this cave is David writes, Dave writes, I shouldn't call him Dave. David writes Psalm 34. It has two main parts. In the first part, David is a joyous singer. He's a worshipper. So we're gonna look at that in a moment. But think about where David has been. I mean, he's up to here in trouble. He's immersed in him. He's running for his life, but now he's writing from his heart. Think about it. He's running for his life, and he's writing from deep within his heart. And he says this in Psalm 34 verse one. He says, I blessed the Lord. I will bless the Lord. I will extol the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. One of the worship leaders, just a moment a moment ago, said that Lord, let our praise continually, let your praise be continually in our mouths. And then verse three says, glorify the Lord with me.

Let us exalt his name together. He's writing this from the cave. Verse four, I sought the Lord, and he heard and he answered me. Oh, we just sang that, yeah. That came right out of Psalm 34. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord. Oh, you can say, I sought the Lord. That's why I trust him. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered, verse seven, the angel of the Lord and camps around those who fear him. And he delivers them, tastes and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man, the woman who trusts in him or takes refuge in him. David is in a cave on the run and he's writing these kinds of words. Now, in the second part of the Psalm, I want you to see this. He's now a serious teacher. So he's this worshiper, this one that's exalting the Lord that even in the midst of his trouble, now he's taking time and he's teaching, inspired of the Holy Spirit. He's teaching, he says this in verse 11. Come, my children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.

Go back to verse 12. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, watch what he says, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies, he's teaching. Verse 14, turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. Keep your eyes on the Lord. His eyes are on you and his ears are attentive to their cry. In other words, he hears you when you pray. Verse 16, he's still teaching. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Verse 17, the righteous cross. the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. And then verse 19, here's our verse again, "Say it out loud with me. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." He even repeats his promise back in verse 17. He's trying to get it in the hearts of those that are hearing him. So in this acrostic psalm, David's joy overflows for God. And it appears that he's received this overflow of God's comfort. So if you're taking notes or if you're leaning in with me right now, I want you to see three important things that David experiences as a fugitive, as he's on the run, that we can learn from all of this. The first one is this. The Word of God says, and you've just quoted it several times, a righteous person may have many troubles. Here's what I know, and I don't even have to tell you this, but on this sin-soaked planet, trouble comes. Trouble happens. David was God's man. I mean, David was appointed. He was anointed, but David now, through this season, had lost everything that he depended on, everything that he had. I mean, trouble with the capital T. He had lost his position. He'd lost his partner. He'd lost his pastor. He'd lost his pal. He'd lost his pride. I mean, he'd lost self-respect. Think about it. This is the man who had already been anointed king. He's won great battles as a battlefield commander. He's at the king's, he's eating at the king's table. There's a king's ship inside of him, but now he's having to act like a madman. That's crazy. This is trouble, but God sees

and God knows and God sees and he knows when you have trouble. It's in times like this, though, that we can know that God will give us a word. Maybe he'll give us a song like he gave David, or maybe he'll give you a friend to walk through it with you. And out of David's personal experience, he carefully crafts this acrostic song and he wrote a righteous man. They have many troubles, but the Lord, the Lord delivers him from them all. Now, what is that? What is that? I want you to hear me. That is hope. That is hope. Jesus gives us hope. He said, Jesus himself said this in John 1633, I've told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have, in this world you're going to have trouble, but take heart. Jesus said, take heart. I've overcome the world. The team sang it. I trust in God, my Savior, the one who will never He will never. I trust in God. We just came to sing today. My Savior, though, who will never fail. He will never fail. David had reached such a low point. He was homeless, but listen, he wasn't hopeless. Because in this dark moment, what? David reached his deep down into his relationship with God. That deep relationship was formed where it was formed in the pasture with the sheep. It was developed in the great victories on the battlefields. He saw God show up. He saw God help him win those battles. And then when God delivered him from King Akish through all of this, he finds God's grace, God's help, and hope. So here's the second important thing I want you to see. Number two, God will deliver you from all your troubles. The only way I can say this with conviction and confidence is because God's Word says it. And I take God's Word and I live it by faith. And I've told you this already. Let me repeat myself. Faith is action. Faith is belief sustained by a confidence that what God's Word says is forever settled in heaven, someone 1989. His Word is forever settled in heaven. So if God's Word says it and I believe it, I appropriate my faith in God's Word, I have to have confidence that he will do it. So this is where spiritual maturity is seen. And this is where we want to grow ourselves up in God. This is where we grow in faith. Where the Word now, watch this, the Word becomes our reality and it needs to become more real than our troubles. Personally, as a family, as a church family, And when it takes hold, and then we know it to be true. And we know that we know that we know, I like to say it this way, that we know it in our knower. I have a knower, and in my knower, I know it to be true. We know then before fear and doubt can set in,

we know God's Word is true. Can I get a little help this morning? Before fear and doubt sets in, before depression or defeat sets in, I know God's Word is true. When Cindy and I planted the church in Atlanta, founded the church, Chapel Hill Church, 25 years ago, we had leased or rented the high school auditorium to have our Sunday worship experiences in. But we also, a few months later, leased some office space in another part of town. Do you know why we leased the space in another part of town? Because it was cheaper, all right, so that's why we did that. But during that season, I had fear come all over me. Because we now had a rent payment at the high school. We had a lease payment at this office space. We had a very, very small congregation at that time. We were just trying to get this little baby church about at the ground, and we were living not month to month and not week to week, but we were literally living day to day. But God gave me a word. And I said that word over and over again. That word is Isaiah 41, 13. And I would say this, over and over again, "For I, the Lord thy God, will hold your right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, for I will help thee. I will help thee. For I, the Lord thy God, will hold your right hand, saying unto you, fear not, for I will help you." So I guess it got to the point, Lord, I see you holding my hand. Lord, I can't do this without you.

You know, one thing I've learned about church planning, God loves to do miracles. He loves church planning. And I saw God do miracles as I was holding his hand. I told the earlier services that Cindy and I were on vacation with our adult kids this past week. And one night we were walking to dinner. In fact, we did every night, but one night I was holding her hand, which I often do when we're walking together. And she looked up and she said, "I love when you hold my hand." And I don't think she'd ever said that to me before. And that just made me feel so good. I'm like, I'm going to hold your hand. And I thought to myself, I love it when God holds my hand. And I don't know if I've ever told God how much I love him holding my hand. God, thank you for holding my hand. How many of you know God holds your hand? How many of you have sometimes where you-- you and I don't get through this if God doesn't hold your hand? So sometimes we need to walk out with our right hand stuck out. God, so here's my hand today. Hold my hand. God, I love it when you hold my hand. See, the enemy was trying to abort our baby church by allowing fear to begin to overwhelm me. But I found a promise. And this is what I want to say to you. When you're going through trouble, find a promise. Find the Word of God. The Word of God is more alive and more real than your right hand.

The Word of God is real. It's alive. Find a promise and begin to appropriate that promise. I mean, this is a promise. I sought the Lord. And he heard, God, you promised that you'd hear me when I cry. The eyes of the Lord over the righteous and his ears are open to our prayers. That's a promise. Lord, I know that you see me. I know that you know me. I know that you hear my heart. David learned to pray the promise. He learned to sing the promise. And you can learn to say it. Maybe sing it if you want to. Put it on the fridge and see it and say it. Put it in the mirror in the bathroom. Put it on as a screen saver on your phone. Just as the promises of God. The promises of God are yes and amen. And I need to know them. And there are seasons that when you're walking through, you've got to know them more than other seasons. And you've got to say them and sometimes maybe even sing them. And not only will God deliver you because he promised you would. But you also have to know this. Number three, you aren't destroyed by troubles. But you are refined by them. God refines us in our times of trouble.

I can tell you there are seasons that I've walked through that I can tell you have changed me more than any other season of things going well. It's the trial. It's the test that I walk through with God holding my hand. And I get through that. And something inside of me has changed. Let's explore the cave a little bit at a doolam where David writes this across the Psalm. Look at 1 Samuel 22, verse one, it says, David left Gath and escaped to the cave of a doolam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. Now, look at verse two, so interesting to me. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, gathered around David. And he became their leader. About 400 men were with him. Now, what kind of men had gathered around David? Men with troubles, troubles. Those who were in distress and debt and discontented. I mean, what if that was your new friend group while you're going through trouble? I mean, you're wanting to find some people that, hey, we can help you. I mean, these guys didn't have any help to offer David other than God allowed them to be there for David, with David, and it's so cool how God took David's most troubled time, surrounded him with troubled men that he could lead and serve.

Is that a mere coincidence or is that just really cool of God to do that? And guess what, David didn't run from that. David embraced it because you know what? It's most often in our troubled times. It's in our troubled times that the we as individuals, maybe even we as a church going through a troubled time that even others can still benefit from us and maybe benefit from us more than at other times. And I find that to be true in my life. And I don't know if you believe that, but how is it that David finds a cave at a doolom? And in that cave, he writes three songs. He didn't go into a cave and just try to hide. He went into a cave and connected with God and God downloaded three all-time Psalms in his heart. Psalm 34, Psalm 57 and Psalm 142. And God sent 400 troubled men for David to train. Logan, that's God, you're awesome. See, sometimes we want to wait until all our troubles are behind us before we'll even acknowledge God or before we'll even serve God. I'm sure not gonna sign up to serve in a ministry at the church when I've got all this trouble going on. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That may be just the time you need to do it. If we learn from David that even in his most troubled time, he began to serve 400 men in ways beyond what we could imagine. Author Randy Alcorn says this, he says, "Reaching out to others in need

"is one of the greatest cures for loneliness and depression." Maybe that's time for you to do that. Maybe it's just time to find someone that you can begin to pour into, even in your time of greatest need. Can I keep going? Second Corinthians chapter one, liquid Paul wrote. He said, "Praise be to the God and Father "of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, "and the God of all comfort, who comforts us "in all our troubles so that, don't miss the so that, "so that we can comfort those in any trouble "with the comfort that we ourselves have received from God." You go, David, that's exactly what David did. And I think it's as simple as this. David was just saying things. He was speaking things. He was singing things that overflowed from his relationship with God. And those people who are around here were experiencing trouble also, but they were attracted to those words. They were attracted to those songs. They were attracted to David because they saw something in David that they needed. The Bible says in Proverbs 18, 21, and I think this is what they heard. Proverbs 18, 21, says, "Death and life "are in the power of the tongue, "and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

David's words were attracting and changing the lives and actually feeding those who were distressed in debt and discontented. Can I tell you, you can go out to your work week this week or into school wherever you're at, and your words can set people on their feet. Your words can lift people up. Your words can actually feed people who are discontented, who are in trouble. Philippa verse 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 5, it says, "For just as the sufferings of Christ "flow over into our lives, "so also through Christ our comfort, troubles, but they do need to hear the overflow, the God comfort that you have in you. Jesus said, "He said out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." Come what's in my heart that can flow over to others? Picture this. During this during David's own time of trouble. Now in a cave with 400 troubled men, David is teaching. He's instructing this ragtag band of warriors how to shoot the bow. He's teaching them how to handle the sword, and I can imagine him saying from Psalm 34, "I will bless the Lord at all times." Yeah, hey, yeah. When you shoot the bow, do this, but also say this, "Oh, magnify the Lord with me. Let's exalt His name together." Yeah, when you handle on the sword, make sure you handle the sword this way, but remember the righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. I think he was speaking words of life to them even as he was instructing them and teaching them how to handle the weapons. Some of you, you may be still asking why the test, why the trouble, why am I going through all of this? One more scripture as I close. Isaiah 48, 10 and 11 says, "See, I have refined you. Though not as silver, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another." God said, "For my own

sake, for my own sake." Now, don't miss this. Don't miss this. Out of your greatest trouble, watch this, can come the moment for God to receive the greatest glory. And I want to encourage you, let God get the glory from our response to this today, because as you go through trouble, just know that God will allow that time and he will walk with you holding your right hand. So on the other side, he gets all the glory for what you've walked through, for what you've experienced. Would you bow your heads with me? I want to ask, how many of you are facing trouble? How many of you are walking through some things today, and you just say, "Pastor Dave, I need God's help. I need him to hold my right hand." In fact, would you just slip up your hand or just nod at me, look up at me, just slip? Yes, there's trouble represented all over this room. Why? Because we're in a place where sin abounds, this plan of sin abounds, trouble is part of this life, but God says, "I've got something for you. I'm going to give you myself. I'm going to give you the Holy Spirit. I'm going to give you the comfort that you need through this time." He says, "I'm going to give it. I'm here for you. I'm with you." But he also gives us promises that we can hold on to. He wants to show up on the other side of your faith as you declare the promises of God. I saw your hands go up. Some of you looked up at me a moment ago and I sensed that I know my family. We've had a family member that's gone through several years of just some deep trouble. We're like, "God, how long? How long is this going to go on?" But here's what I know. We are refined. We are being changed in this season. God is receiving glory in it. We are... I have never gone through seasons of trouble without being changed more into the image of Christ. That is true in our situation. It is true in yours as you trust in God, your Savior, the one who will never fail. Never fail you. You lifted your hand. I want to pray for you right now. Father, in the name of Jesus, we put our trust and we put our hope in you. You are Savior and Lord, our King, our God, and you will never fail us. Can you just say this with me if you lifted up your hand or you're walking through trouble? Maybe it's one thing. Maybe it's five things right now. But can you just say kind of just softly to the Lord, "Lord, my hope is in you." My hope is in you.

Just say, "I trust in God. I trust in you, Lord." Lord, I pray that you would deliver me in your time. I pray that you would move this obstacle out of the way. Move this mountain out of my way. But Lord, no matter what, I'm going to trust you. For I the Lord thy God, you said you'd hold my right hand. Throw your right hand out there and let him hold it for a moment. Lord, just take my right hand, or just slip your right hand. Thank you for walking with me through it all, through it all. I'm learning to trust in you, Lord Jesus. Lord, you promised that your grace is sufficient for us in our time of trouble. So Lord, we let's lay a hold of your faithfulness and your goodness and your grace. And we just take the words of the Lord that says, "I sought the Lord." And He heard and He answer me. Lord, today we seek you. We need you. We just cry, "Help Lord. Help us today." That's why I trust you. Because when I seek you, I know that you hear me. You said, "Seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all of your heart." Let's just seek Him for a moment with all of our heart. I sought the Lord. Yes. I sought the Lord. Yes. That's why I trust you. That's why I trust you. Boy, hold our right hand today. Take the hold of our right hand today, Lord, and take us through it. When you pass through the water, He said, "I'll be with you." And through the river, they shall not overflow you. That's why I trust you, Lord. I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered. I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered. I sought the Lord. Sometimes your only prayer is held. Help me, Lord. I trusted God. I sought the Lord and He answered. I sought the Lord and He said and He answered. That's why I trust you. That's why I trust you. God, my Savior, the One, who will never fail. Say it, Lord, I know you will never fail. You said you would deliver me from all of my trust. That's the Lord at all times. Go back to find the Lord with me. Let us exalt His name together. He will never fail. My Savior, the One, who will never fail. He will never fail. Whether you're standing seated, if you would just bow your heads with me for just a moment, I believe God's here in your heart cry. I believe God has heard you from senior faith this morning already. But don't stop here. Press your, press your, speak the word of the Lord, speak the promises. The promises of God are yes and a man so be it. So we trust you. We trust you. We give you the praise and the glory that's due His name, but we all do your name, but we also know that we know

that your word is true. Thank you, Lord, to know today that a righteous man or woman has many troubles, but Lord, you promised to deliver us from them all. You may be here this morning today and you say, Pastor David, I'm not right with God. It's hard for me to trust God when I know I'm not right with God. Well, let's address that right now. You could be right with God simply by crying out to Jesus. The Bible says it's as simple as whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord can be saved. God became man in human flesh. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, became a man in human flesh. He lived the life that we should have lived and he died at death, that we should have died in our place. And on the third day, he rose again, proving that he's the Son of God and offering the gift of salvation to everyone, anyone who would repent and believe and call upon his name. So with your heads bowed, your eyes closed, how many of you are ready to believe and repent and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus so that you can be saved, so that you can be in a right place with God, so that you can trust God with confidence that he is delivering you from your troubles. On the count of three, just slip back and say, "Paste today, pray with me. I want to be right with God today." One, two, three. All over this room, just slip up. I'm going to pray a simple but a powerful prayer. I want everyone to join with me. Join with those who lifted their hands so they're not saying this alone. Let's all say it together in faith. Dear Lord Jesus, if you lifted your hand, say it again. Dear Lord Jesus, I give you my life. I know that I've sinned. I know that I've gone my own way. And I need forgiveness. And I ask you to lift the burden off of my shoulder. I ask you to wash me and cleanse me. Make me a brand new person on the inside. So I repent of my sin. And I turn to you Lord Jesus. Jesus, I believe you died on Calvary's cross. You died for me. That my sins could be forgiven. And not only forgiven but washed away. I also believe that you rose again on the third day. And today you live. And your Holy Spirit can come and live in me. So say this with me right now. I receive you Holy Spirit. I need you in my life. Change me from the inside and help me to follow Christ. I'm a new creature right now in Jesus name. Come on, put your hands together and praise Him and thank Him right now. Hallelujah. Thank you Jesus. We bless you. We praise you. Yes, He hurts. He hurts you. That's why I trust Him. That's why I trust Him. I saw the Lord. He hurt. He answered. I saw the Lord. He hurt. He answered. I saw the Lord. He hurt. He hurt. That's why I trust Him. That's why I trust Him. I trust Him. I've saved your life. We will never fail. We will never fail. I trust Him. I've saved your life. We'll never fail. Let's put our hands together for those that recommitted their lives to Jesus today. Maybe you committed for the first time, but I saw several hands in the sanctuary. Praise God. There is rejoicing in heaven.

And if you made that choice, maybe you didn't raise your hand, but you made it in your heart, then I want you to do one of two things. We're going to have the prayer team come forward if you would, and we'd love to pray with you. We want to walk alongside you in your relationship with the Lord. So please come forward. We'd love to pray for you. Even if you didn't make that choice today, you've been walking with the Lord, but you're struggling with something we want you to come forward for prayer. It should not be a unique thing. It should be a daily thing. Or you can also go to Growth Track. Growth Track is the first and second Sundays, and so sign up online, go on our website, and we'd love to see you in Growth Track. That's not just for new believers, but also if you just want to be more connected in life fellowship, we'd love to have you show up at Growth Track. And so I also want to share with you. I got to be transparent. There's something in the message that Pastor Dave shared that spoke to me, and maybe you felt the same thing or something different. But you know what I was reminded of is that when I have troubles, a lot of times I'm going to go to the Lord with my request, and there's nothing wrong with that. But you know what I forget to do is I forget to praise him in the cave. To be in that moment and just declare God's word into my situation and praise him and know and trust him is something I was reminded of today. So maybe that spoke to you, but I wanted to share that with you as well. The last thing I want to share with you is next Sunday night at 6 p.m. we have Pursuit Night. Alright, so raise your hand if you've been to a Pursuit Night. Anybody in the sanctuary? Alright. Alright, if there's somebody beside you that's never been to Pursuit Night, I need you to spend some time and share with them how great Pursuit Night is. It is not just another Sunday message, it is an encounter with the Lord. We soak in worship and prayer all night long. And so if you've been, you know what it's about. Come back out next Sunday night at 6 p.m. an encounter with God. I believe that you will. So let's close with a blessing and please, if you need prayer, we really encourage you to come forward. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord turn his face, make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face towards you and give you his peace. Amen. Have a great week. Thank you for being with us here this Sunday.