Foundations of Leadership | Building a Legacy That Outlives You

All right, good morning, everybody. Good morning, everybody. Good. So glad that you guys are here today with us, and I want to give a shout-out to our family. We have a team that's down in Zimbabwe right now, and so I want to give a shout-out to them and to the church celebration there in Zimbabwe. And everybody that's joining us online at all of our locations, would you put your hands together? Let's welcome everybody. Thank you for joining us. We are concluding our series this week on the foundations of leadership, and we have been actually going to Moses University throughout this series, talking using Moses' life as the example of leadership. And then the first week, I had the privilege of kicking it off, talking about identity of a leader, and then Pastor Randy talked about the posture of a leader. Then last week, Pastor Willie did a phenomenal job talking about the position of a leader. And this week, I'm going to conclude by talking about the legacy of a leader. And as I get ready to talk about this, I first have to give a shout-out to the legacy that was passed on to me by my father, Bernard Scott. And I have a picture of him, and he is such a man of God. He lives up in Niagara Falls, New York with my mom. And that man right there, really what you get to experience on a daily, weekly basis is really a product of this man. He was faithful, still is very faithful. The way he treats my mom, I learned how to treat my wife. Honestly, people give my wife credit for dressing me, but you know what? My dad taught me and my mom taught me how to pick out my own clothes, how to iron, how to press my clothes, you know, how to wash them, how to clean. My dad taught me how to clean a car.

Now I live on a dirt road, and it's hard to keep a clean car, but I make my wife take her car to the car wash. She said, but we're driving on a dirt road. I don't care. We're going to have a clean car, right? The earliest age I can remember, he had me scrubbing the white walls. That's when white walls was a big deal, you know, with a Brillo pad. It had to be right, right, vacuuming out of the car. But he taught me some things. That man's been leading worship my whole life. For years, he led worship at church without a paycheck as his faithfulness and his service to God. He's taught me how to be faithful. He taught me good work ethics. He's taught me how to always include and keep God first in my life. He taught me how to be respectful, how to be a gentleman, how to honor people, how to honor God, and I am so thankful for that man and his investment in my life. That is the legacy that I celebrate today in my father. Happy Father's Day to you, dad. Shout out to you. And again, happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there. As I talk about legacy today, I want to read an opening portion of scripture, and I'm going to ask that we would all stand to honor God's word as I read this first portion of scripture found in Psalm 78, in verse 4. It says this, we will not hide these truths from our children. We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. Father, I ask that you would give me the words. May they come forth with clarity, conviction, power, transformation. I ask that you would remove every hindrance and every distraction.

You'd be glorified in our midst as we become the sons and daughters that you've created and redeemed us to be. In Jesus' name. And everybody said. Amen. You may be seated. Here's the big idea in today's message. Your legacy is not what you build. It's what continues when you're gone. This is the big idea, the overarching theme for today's message. Your legacy is not what you build. It's what continues when you're gone. So let me start with this. Have you ever inherited something that immediately you realize this is bigger than me? Maybe it was a responsibility, a role, a family situation, and you felt the weight of that thing. Well, this happened to me several years ago. I was moved back to Tampa. My wife and I moved back to Tampa from Minnesota. We were up there for a short stint. We moved back to Tampa, and while we were in Minnesota, we were a part of this little church, and that church planted a campus in Tampa, and so we came to Tampa to kind of help that church. And next thing you know, I was bivocational at that time, and so I was working in a furniture store, and I'm there working, and two elders from the church in Minnesota come walking into the store. It was kind of surprising, and they said, hey, can you take a five-minute break? And so I asked my boss, can I take a break, talk to these guys, and so I take a break, and these guys tell me, hey,

the pastor has had a moral failure, and so we're gonna go deal with the church in Minnesota, you deal with the church here in Tampa, you are now the pastor of this church in Tampa. I was like, what you talking about, Willis? I mean, I was seriously like, what do you mean? They said, yeah, you deal with it, and then they left. And I was here with this church, had no idea what I was doing, didn't know what to do next. I had to get up the next service and say, hey, I'm now your pastor. It was one of those moments where all of a sudden I felt the weight of being a pastor of something that I didn't start, never intended on being. And maybe you've been in that situation before, but I want you to flip this idea. I want you to flip it for a second, and think about this. One day, you will be what someone else inherits. Your faith, your decisions, your obedience. These will become someone else's starting point. So, here's the question. What are you leaving behind? In week one, we talked about Moses in the burning bush, and he was asking the question, who am I? He was making up excuses, and he's saying, God, I can. And he was saying, God, choose someone else.

And as we talked about identity, week two, we talked about the posture of a leader, and the practice of a leader. This week, we're talking about the end of Moses' life. And the questions change. It's kind of like, it's no longer, who am I? But the question is, who comes after me? And we're gonna talk about the legacy of a leader. But I want you to watch this for a second. Identity is about who you are. Legacy is about what you reproduce. Identity is who you are. Legacy is about what you reproduce. So, the first thing that we gotta understand about legacy, everybody say legacy. All right, here's the first thing we gotta understand, is that legacy is sustained through community. Legacy is sustained through community. Now, what do you mean by that, Bernard? Well, we're gonna read here in Exodus chapter 17, beginning in verse 10 through 13, it says this. So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses' arms soon became so tired

he could no longer hold them up, so Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset, and as a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle. So here you have the context. Israel's in battle, Moses is on a hill, and as long as his hands were raised, they were winning. When his hands dropped, they were losing. Now, we gotta be honest, because we know that that has to be exhausting. Eventually, Moses gets tired. Just think about it, having to hold up your hands long enough for them to win. Some of us have a hard time holding our hand up for five seconds in church worship. Keep moving, Bernard. Okay, so here's the moment where Aaron and Hur, they come alongside of Moses, and they hold up his arms. Now, these guys, I have a nickname for these guys. They're holding up both of his arms, one on each side. I call them the pitmasters. Ha ha, right? These were the original pitmasters, why? You know, these guys, listen, they held it up so that they could win. And here's the legacy lesson, number one, that I want you to understand. You will never sustain what God called you to carry alone.

You will never sustain what God called you to carry alone. What God does through you will eventually require others around you. All of us are called to be leaders. We establish that throughout this series. We're all called to be leaders, but you're not supposed to do it alone. Moses had power and authority, but he didn't have endurance by himself. He needed other people. He still needed people. You still need people. Despite contrary thought in our culture today, people think, man, it's me, me, me, me, me. And I want you to know, it's not about you. If you want to leave a legacy, it cannot be all about you. Let me say it like- This, if your leadership doesn't make room for others, your legacy will die with you. You can't, you can start alone, but you cannot finish alone. If Moses refuses help in this situation, Israel loses. Not because God wasn't powerful, but because Moses couldn't share the weight of his life. Let me give you an illustration. Have you ever heard of a redwood forest, a redwood tree? I have a picture, check out these redwoods. Now, redwood trees, what's interesting is these trees grow up over 300 feet tall. But here's what's interesting,

the roots are only six to 12 feet deep. 300 feet and the roots are only six to 12 feet deep. Well, here's what's fascinating, because you have to ask the question, how do these trees stand? Well, their roots, underneath the ground, they intertwine with other redwood trees. They literally hold each other up. So a storm that would come and normally blow other trees down, redwoods stand, why? Because they're intertwined and connected together beneath the surface that no one else can see. There's a huge network underneath the ground that helps these big, tall 300 foot trees stand and withstand any storm that comes its way. Here's the lesson, great leaders don't stand because they're strong, they stand because they're connected. They don't stand because they're strong, they stand because they're connected. Moses had Aaron and her, Paul had Timothy, Jesus had his disciples. Legacy, family, isn't about building something tall, it's about building people who can stand when you're gone. Legacy, everybody say legacy. Your greatest legacy won't be how high you climbed, what you achieved, what you built. It's honestly gonna be how many you rooted and connected with. And here's the tension, some leaders, they wanna be needed more than they wanna be effective.

And they carry everything, they do everything, they control everything. But legacy, family, is not built on being impressive, it's built on being supported and sustainable. People are striving so hard to be impressive. Ooh, me, look at me, see me, see me. And if you die and there's nothing to pass on or move on, and I'm not just talking physical things, you know, I think about it this way. Anybody ever think about the current generation and their current work ethic? Are you dealing with any young people in your house? We're cleaning the room, it's like World War III. You know, people go, well, what happened? Because our generation, you know, we worked hard, we have good work ethic. But you know what happened? It's somewhere down the line, we felt that some of those things were too strict and we let, we kind of lightened up on our kids. Now our generation, they feel more entitled than they do empowered. And so we have to take some responsibility because you start to realize that the only reason that there's not a good work ethic is because we didn't carry our legacy responsibly. If your leadership doesn't include others, your legacy will end with you. So some of us are trying to be everything. We're trying to be strong, we're trying to be available,

we're trying to be perfect, we're trying to be all, all of that. But legacy is not built on independence, it's built on interdependence. We need each other, you cannot do this alone. Don't try to do it alone. Stop holding on as if everything falls on you. It doesn't fall on you. Share that responsibility and invest in others. So here's the second thing we learn about legacy. Legacy is built in God's presence. This is what we learned from Moses. Legacy is built in God's presence. So this is where it starts, Exodus 33. We're gonna look at Moses here, beginning in verse 12. It says, one day Moses said to the Lord, you have been telling me, take these people up to the promised land, but you haven't told me whom you will send with me. You've told me, I know you by name and I look favorably on you. If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people. The Lord replied, I will personally go with you Moses and I will give you rest. Everything will be fine for you. Then Moses said, if you don't personally go with us,

don't make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me, on me and on your people if you don't go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the planet. His presence in your life sets you apart. This is so huge because legacy is built in God's presence. Now Moses says, if your presence doesn't go with us, don't send us. Now this is a totally different Moses than from week one when he was like, who am I that I should lead these people into freedom? Moses says, if you're not with me, I don't want it. What took place? Maturity. How did this change happen in Moses? How did he go from making excuses to not obey God to suddenly saying that I will only go, God, if you go with me? You know what changed? The key was that Moses would meet with God every day in the tent. He would speak to God as a friend. It says in Exodus 33, verse 11, inside the tent of meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend. Afterward, Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua, son of Nun, would remain behind the tent of meeting,

inside the tent of meeting. So listen to this. The more that you're in God's presence, the more you can trust him because you know him. The more that you're in God's presence, the more you trust him because you know him. But here's what most people miss. Moses at the tent, Moses leaves the tent, but Joshua stayed in the tent. And I often wonder, I'm like, God, what did Joshua do? Because he's watching his fearless leader go in every day and meet with God. And Moses leaves and Joshua decides to stay. I wonder what kind of questions he asked God at that moment. I wonder if he's like, God, would you talk to me like you talk to Moses? God, what are your plans for us? God, would you speak to my future? Am I always just gonna assist Moses? I just wonder what that conversation was like. But here's what's interesting. Moses encountered God, but Joshua remained with God. Some people settle for an encounter, but God doesn't want you to just settle for an encounter. He wants you to be with him. Allow his presence to be with you, to remain in his presence. So here's legacy lesson number two. Legacy is not what you experience, it's what you model. Legacy is not what you experience, it's what you model. Moses would go to the tent and he modeled this for Joshua

and Joshua would remain. People just don't remember what you taught, they replicate what you practice. You can say one thing and live a different way and what people are gonna catch is how you live, not what you say. So legacy is caught by how you model it. That's why I'm thankful for my father because he modeled what a man of God should look like, what a faithful man should look like. He modeled that for me. Not a perfect dad by any means, but he modeled something that I grabbed a hold of in my life. And so here's the third thing that we can learn about legacy is legacy requires access, not just instruction. Okay, it requires access. Now this is really important because sometimes we don't wanna give people access because we feel threatened by their giftedness. I have had this experience on other leaders where they don't give you access because they want it to be all about them. You know what I mean? Exodus 24 verse 12 and 13 says this, then the Lord said to Moses, come up to me on the mountain, stay there and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people. So Moses and his assistant Joshua set out

and Moses climbed up the mountain of God. Now the thing about this, Moses goes up on the mountain but he doesn't go alone. He takes Joshua part of the way with him. Now this is a powerful principle. Moses could have said, stay here, I'll handle this. I got this. But instead he brought Joshua into proximity. He's going to meet with God, but he brought Joshua into proximity. Which by the way, I just want to say thanks to all of the fathers who decided to come to church today because you're modeling something for the next generation that God is a priority and number one in your life. So thank you for being here today. Let me help the leaders in the room. Legacy lesson number three, you don't build legacy by protecting your position. You build it by preparing your replacement. Should I say it again? You don't build legacy by protecting your position. You build it by preparing your replacement. Don't feel threatened by the next greatest talent. Invest in it because there's a principle. That God has created, man, give and you shall receive. If you pour out, you're never gonna be able to out give God. Invest, invest in the next. Pour into the next because that's legacy. Something that's gonna live far beyond you.

Don't be intimidated, don't be threatened. Celebrate, even if you don't get to participate in the promised land. Celebrate it because God brought you someone and he's trusting that you won't hold on to what you have but you will pass it on to others. And this is where many leaders fail. We teach publicly but we don't disciple personally. We love to talk noise. I mean, especially now on social media it's real easy. There's a lot of teachers but there's not a lot of disciples. Moses gave Joshua access, not just sermons. He gave him moments, moments. Think about all of the moments that we miss in our life because we're so busy trying to achieve and to build and to accomplish that we miss moments. Guilty, I've been there. God is saying, don't waste the moments that I'm trusting you with because legacy is being built. Do you realize that the father who's the alpha, the omega, the beginning and the end, he knows the end from the beginning. You're just a blip on this whole thing called time. You're just a little blip on this timeline. But we live like this little blip is everything and we forget the moments. And I want you to know that long after you, God's timeline is still going and there's still a future that he still has planned for people.

And he's trusting you to steward what he's giving you so that it could be passed on. The only reason why we're gathered here today is because our early disciples and believers from generation after generation passed on this legacy of faith in Jesus Christ to us. Amen. So here's the fourth thing we learned about legacy. Legacy is transferred intentionally. It's transferred intentionally. Now we move on to numbers 27. And God tells Moses to climb one of the mountains and look over the land that he has given to the people of Israel. Moses goes up and he's looking at it. But then he tells Moses, he's like, after you've seen it, you will die like your brother Aaron because you rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness. So he's telling him, you can see the promised land, but you ain't going in it, Moses. Then he asks Moses, he says, Moses asked God, he says, to appoint a new man to be the leader of the community. Now, can you imagine God takes you up and he tells you to look at the land, you ain't going in it. And then Moses had enough wisdom instead of pouting like a baby, like God, I want to go to the promised land. Instead of doing that, he's like, okay, I understand.

Well, can you at least help me raise up? Can you show me who the next leader is so that I can actually be intentional about handing it off to them? And so he does that. And we pick up here in 27 verse 18, the Lord replied, take Joshua, son of Nun, who has the spirit in him and lay your hands on him. Now I thought this is a very interesting scripture because God says, now remember when Joshua was staying back in the tent, when Moses would leave in the tent of meeting where God and Moses would meet face to face as a friend, Moses would leave, but Joshua would stay. These words are really important because he says to Moses, God says, I want you to take Joshua, son of Nun, who has the spirit in him, not on him, but in him. I wonder if that happened when Joshua stayed behind in the tent of meeting, that he was filled with God's spirit and God selected him because of his faithfulness to stay in God's presence. So he lays his hands on Joshua and this is the transfer moment. This was the big moment. This wasn't accidental. This wasn't assumed. This was very intentional by Moses. He lays hands on Joshua. And it's like Moses, he didn't just start well

and lead well, he actually finishes well, sort of, even though he failed to go into the promised land because of the rebellion in his life and the disobedience in his life, but he did have enough sense to lay hands and to transfer legacy to the next who would take the children of Israel into the promised land. So, here's the legacy lesson number four. A great life is not just how you start, it's how you finish. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. Now, Moses, he publicly affirms Joshua. He empowers him, releases him. But here's the truth. If you don't release what's in your hand, it will die in your hand. So, that leads me to legacy. Another thing about legacy is legacy requires letting go. Let it go, let it go. I don't know the rest of the words, but let it go. This is the hard part, right? Moses doesn't enter the promised land, Joshua does. Imagine that. You pray for it. You fought for it. You led toward it, but someone else steps into it. Let's be real. That's a test of your heart. To actually invest in your children so that they can be a part of something or accomplish something that maybe you'll never get to be a part of. Moses doesn't just resist. He doesn't resist.

He actually releases. He releases. Here's a great illustration. One of my favorite events in track and field in the Olympics, track and field, and I love watching, you know, the relay races and things. And I have a picture here. In a relay race, the fastest runner can lose the race if they fail this moment right here, which is the handoff, the baton exchange zone. This is what these guys practice over and over and over again, because it doesn't matter how fast you are. If you mess up this exchange right here, you will lose the race at the exchange. Nobody celebrates the runner who refuses to let go of the baton. You got to let it go so that the race can continue. The next runner can run his portion. Imagine a runner crossing the finish line and still holding on to every baton from every leg of the race. That would be absurd. Yet many leaders do the same thing. They won't release responsibility. They won't mentor. They won't trust. They won't pour into the next generation. And here's the lesson. Success is running your race, yes, but legacy is handing off the baton. If you're still carrying everything God gave you 20 years ago, you're not protecting the mission, you're slowing it down. Ayee. That's maturity. That's surrender. That's the kingdom.

Now, here's a little extra little note for you, because I don't have time to go into it, but remember, God told Moses he wouldn't see the promised land. He wouldn't be able to lead his people in. Joshua got to lead them. So Moses dies without ever going into the promised land. But did you know that Moses did end up going to the promised land? You know when? In the Gospels, the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, but in Matthew 17, on the mountain in Israel, it's called the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus goes up, Peter and John are witnesses, and he's on this mountain, and he gets transfigured. There's light coming from his face, all this, and there's two people there on that mountain in Israel, the promised land. And you know who it was? Moses and Elijah. And this is what we got to understand, is the promised land represents a place that God the Father is preparing for each and every one of us. And it's a place that he's preparing, and I'm not talking about Israel, I'm talking about a place in God's presence that he's preparing for each and every one of us. And his intention is that every single person would make it into the promised land. And so, we land in Joshua 1, and beginning in verse 1, it says, after the death of Moses, the Lord's servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' assistant, he said, Moses, my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. Now, because legacy doesn't pause when a leader is gone, it has to continue. And everybody here is a leader. And what does God tell Joshua?

He tells him to be strong and courageous. Now, where did he learn that? Watching Moses. Even when Moses was confused about his identity, even though Moses had excuses, even though Moses didn't think he could do it, he still ended up following God and leading the children of Israel to a point where he also handed... bit it off so that Joshua can lead them into the promised land. Now, success asks, how far can I go? But legacy asks, who am I bringing with me? Who are you pouring into? Who has access to your life? Who is watching your faith up close? Because one day, someone's gonna stand where you once stood. Someone that God has trusted you to steward the influence that you have. Someone's gonna step forward where you left off. Are you gonna be intentional? Week one, he's asking, who am I? Week four, he's answering with his life. We know that Moses was a deliverer. We know that he's a leader. We know that he was a friend of God. But more than that, he was a builder of people. He poured into Joshua, and Joshua was able to take them into the promised land. That is legacy. Now, right here, got a bucket.

Y'all know what this is, right? Bucket, y'all know what this is? A pipe. A bucket can carry water. A pipe can transfer water for miles. A bucket holds something. A pipe passes something on. Many believers become buckets. We receive wisdom, we receive blessing, we receive opportunity, but it stays here. But legacy people become pipes. They pass on what God has given them. It doesn't stay here. It's passed on to others. This is legacy. Are you a bucket or a pipe? I hear people all the time. Me, me, me, me, me. Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. But legacy says, I'm just a conduit. I receive so that blessing can flow right through me. Thank you. Thank you. God never intended you to be the destination of blessing. He intended you to be the distribution center. He never intended for you to be the destination of blessing. He intended you to be the distribution center. And the more faithful you are in stewarding that opportunity, the more blessing that will come your way because God trusts those that don't hold onto, but releases.

Releases. Some of you are so focused on what God is doing through you, you've forgotten what he wants to do beyond you. And so here's my question. If you want your life to matter beyond your lifetime, if you want to build something that outlives you, I would like to invite you to stand on your feet with me. If you want your life to matter beyond your lifetime, if you want to build something that outlives you, I want to invite you to stand with me. And I'm going to speak something over you. As I was preparing for this, the Lord gave me very clear word. And it was so clear, I wrote it down. And I'm going to trust that he will fill in the blanks because every service is very unique. But I just want you to open your heart and I want you to receive this. If you felt like, or feel like a Joshua, you've been living like an assistant, you've been faithful, you've been present, you've been serving in the background, but something in you has been wondering, when is my time? Maybe you felt like, God, I've been waiting, nothing's happening. This is what the Lord says. You're not waiting, you're being witnessed. That heaven's watching and the people around you are watching. Joshua didn't just step into leadership,

he was formed to be a leader. He didn't just step into leadership, he was formed in proximity to leadership. So my encouragement is stay in the presence of God and stay faithful in your leadership. Joshua watched Moses pray, he watched him lead, he watched him struggle, he watched him obey. And this is what I really felt as I was preparing this message. There are people in this room today, you think you're in a quiet season, unnoticed, not appreciated, but heaven is documenting your faithfulness. He's paying attention. Every unseen moment, every obedient yes, every time you stayed when it was hard, heaven's paying attention. God is writing a legacy through your consistency. And I felt this very specifically for somebody in this room today. There are some of you, you're about to step into spaces that you didn't build, carry responsibilities that you didn't start. And some of you are gonna walk into doors that you didn't open. And when it happens, hear the word of the Lord, do not shrink back. Don't question it, don't say, am I ready? Much like in my own life, when that church was handed off to me, I felt underqualified.

I felt there's no way that I could do this, but yet it was handed to me. You know what I did? I did the best that I could with what I knew. So don't shrink back, run after it, because the Lord's getting ready to break some doors open. He's been seeing your faithfulness and he's gonna break some doors open. So you just walk through. And like he told Joshua, be strong and courageous. God is raising up leaders who don't need credit. He's raising up voices that don't need validation. He's raising up people who care more about legacy than spotlight. I want you to know this, family, you are not behind, that you are not overlooked. God sees you, he's prepared you, maybe in your wilderness experience, he's been forming you, because there's a legacy that he's needing you to deposit and leave behind for the next generation. You are being prepared for something that will outlive you. So let me pray for you. Father, in Jesus' name, I pray for every person standing. In response to this message, they're saying, yes, I wanna be an effective leader. I wanna be one that leaves a legacy. So Lord, I thank you for seeing them. I thank you for knowing them. And I thank you for making a way.

Lord, thank you for causing them to remain steadfast and movable and always abounding in the work of God. God, I pray for your encouragement in their life today. I hear the Lord saying, for many of you, he's very proud of you. Even though that you feel that you're not progressing, you're still leaning in, you're still attending, you're still coming, you're still staying in the game. And God says, thank you. For some, it's been very tough. It's been a tough, tough, tough season. And I just feel so strongly, I just feel so strong that the way is gonna be a little bit easier, that your eyes are gonna be open now to his presence, because if God is for you, who can be against you? So God, bring breakthrough into their life. And with every person, head bowed and eyes closed, if you've never made a decision to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land. Joshua's name is actually Yeshua. That's, we also know another Yeshua. That's, we also know another Yeshua, which is Jesus. Jesus desires to take you into the promised land, which is the Father's presence. And so if you're ready to make that decision to surrender your life to Jesus and be brought into the promised land in relationship with God, reconnected with your creator, your sin's forgiven,

and the penalty of sin, which is eternal separation from God, removed. If you wanna say yes to Jesus on the count of three, within the sound of my voice, lift your hand courageously. One, two, three, that's it. Lift your hand all over this room, online. You're wanting to say yes to Jesus. You wanna surrender your life. Thank you, thank you. Hold it up high. Fantastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you. All right, you can put your hands down. If you lifted your hand or you desire to lift your hand all over this room, we're gonna say this simple prayer with you as an affirmation of the decision you just made in your heart. Say these words with me. Father God, I believe Jesus died for me. That he rose again. So I make a choice to surrender my life. I say yes, and I invite you to be my savior. my Lord and my Savior. And I thank you for saving me. In Jesus' name, everybody say amen. Come on, can we celebrate with those that made that decision? Thank you. If you prayed that prayer for the first time,

give your life to Christ, you don't have to do it alone. We wanna help you take your next step, which would be maybe water baptism. So let our team know, and we'll come alongside you, help you get set up to be water baptized. And if you need prayer for anything today, there's gonna be some prayer partners here at the front. Please come and see them, allow them to pray with you. And I wanna say once again, happy Father's Day to all the dads. Go get you a steak, some ribs, something good. All right, God bless you. Let me pray a blessing over you. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he turn his face towards you and be gracious to you. May he smile upon you and bring you peace, favor, rest, strength, courage, hope, and love. I pray that in your life, nothing would be missing, nothing broken. That you would have everything that you need that pertains to life and to Godliness. That you and your family would be protected physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Thank you, Father. No weapon formed against them would prosper. And that this week, may the Spirit of God continue to build the legacy in you and cause you to be strong and courageous as you leave a legacy for others. In Jesus' name, and everybody said, amen.

Hey, God bless you.