Minor Prophet; Haggai | What to Do in Difficult Seasons

Well, welcome, church. Welcome, everybody. Now, we live in a wonderful time of the year and a time of history where we're connected. Different campuses, we're one church in many locations, whether it be a prison or a penitentiary or a campus or at home or on-demand. Can we just greet one another that we're in one place, one God, we're following the Lord together. Come on. Welcome, everybody. Glad you're here. My name is David, and I get the privilege to serve under the leadership of Pastor Randy. And if you came this weekend thinking this was Tim Tebow weekend, I'm sorry. I mean, I got the biceps, but no, if you haven't, if you've been coming for a while, I'm just part of the team here at Bayside, and today I get to open God's word and to serve under the leadership of Randy and Amy, Pastor Randy and Amy, and it's just a wonderful place to be. And we get to open God's word. So let's pray as we've been worshiping. Let's pray and let's thank the Lord. Lord, thank you. Lord, we are humbled by the privilege to praise your holy name. You are worthy. You're the only one worthy. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, try you in God, as revealed in

the word of God. So Lord, as we open now your word, thank you for this manuscript, this library of history and eyewitnesses' account of who you are and what you do. So Lord, I pray that if anybody's discouraged today, Lord, may you encourage them. If anybody's comfortable today, may you awaken us. Lord, we just don't want this to be a weekend thing, but what your word says today, by your spirit, will impact our life. In Jesus' name, amen. If you grew up in church, if you go to Sunday school or you went to Sunday school or a children's event or an Iwana club, we teach Bible stories. Stories like Adam and Eve in the Bible. Oh, great. We sell stories like Noah and the? Ark. Good, Noah and the Ark. Campuses, you better be responding. North River, you better be responding. You know, what about Moses and? Well, Moses could be Ten Commandments, Red Sea, could be. Like most, we have a lot of Bible stories about Moses. Joshua and? Jericho, walk around Jericho, walk around. And the walls came tumbling down. Last week, we did Jonah and the? Or the big fish, as the Bible says. Samson and? Ooh, Delilah.

Teaching that one to children, that was interesting. Haggai and? Haggai? What, is Haggai in the Bible? Did I, is that seriously a book in the, oh, Haggai, Haggai. H-A-Gaggai. Actually, it is in the Bible. It's a really, really small book in the Bible with a massive punch. Just telling you up front. Let me give you the context. Because last week, we did a minor prophet Jonah. This week, we're doing this minor prophet Haggai. But let me put you, talk about the language of this, even minor prophet, major prophet, what does that mean? The Old Testament is the Hebrew Scripture. In other words, it is taking us up to right 400 years before Jesus. Then the New Testament is the eyewitness accounts and the teaching of Jesus. The Old Testament, if you were to divide the Old Testament, you would divide it in different numbers. 5, 12, 5, 5, 12. 5, 12, 5, 5, 12. If you were my college class, I would make you like drill it into your song, whatever, to try to get it into your head. 5, 12, 5, 5, 12. The first five is the first five books of the Bible, the Torah, the Pentateuch. Then 12 are the 12 books of history. Then you've got five books of poetry.

Psalms, Proverbs, in there, they're all in there. Sons of Solomon in there. Then you've got the five major prophets, and they're only major because... because they're big, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, all the big boys. And then you've got 12 minor prophets, but minor because of their size, not because of their importance. So you've got 512, 5512. If you take the poetry books, if you take the major prophets and the minor prophets, and you pick them up, and you just dump them into the history, that's the whole line of the Old Testament right there. You can all go home, well done, exam next week. We're gonna look at, no, no, no, don't go anywhere, sit down, sit down. What we're gonna look at, it's the 10th minor prophet, the book of Haggai. Actually, if you have like a real Bible, not like a digital one, I mean, the digital one is real Bible, okay. If you've got one that's made of paper, go to the end of the Old Testament, take a couple back, and there it's there. You could miss it, it's only 38 verses, 38 verses. It's actually the second smallest. And as we're gonna read today, we're actually gonna read it.

I'm gonna read and make comments as I go along. The context of this is that the people of God had disobeyed God, had repeatedly disobeyed God. God had warned the people of God. In doing so, because of their disobedience, God removed his people from the land. He had given the land flowing with milk and honey, the land of Israel. They lost the land. They were taken in captivity by the Babylonians. The Babylonians were beat up by the Persians. This is history. The Persians' way of dealing with their people that they conquered, and actually in line with God's direction, brought the people of God, the Hebrew people, back to the land, and gave them the responsibility to build life again. One of the things you need to understand very clearly is that the temple of God in Jerusalem had been destroyed for 70 years. And the first group of returnees, people had gone through adversity. People had gone through tough times. People had gone through dangerous times. And now they were beginning to come back to the land that was still in adversity, that was still in danger. And Haggai is telling,

there's four messages that we will see that he gives in just a three-to-month period. That's all. That's all what we know about Haggai. And the purpose was he urged God's people to rebuild the temple. Why? Rebuilding the worship of God was important. In those days, in society and culture in those days, the temple reflected the God. And God told his people, now it's time to build my temple, Temple to Yahweh. This book reveals what potentially could happen to people who are either in hard times or coming out of hard times. And I don't need to be a prophet to say, if you're human, you might be a hard time or you're just coming out of a hard time. So this book is not written to us, it's written for us. It was written to a specific people, a specific time. And as we read in the context, wow, it actually is a really small book, but it has a very big modern punch. So let's read it together. And let's see what it says. And as I read, then I'll make comments as I go along. I'm just gonna sit down like I would in my classroom. So you're joining my classroom today, okay?

You're with me? Don't sleep, and if you do sleep, don't snore. In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, son of Jehoshaddak, the high priest. Ladies and gentlemen, those are wonderful baby names. You imagine Zerubbabel, that's a strong name. Haggai's really good at giving us the exact timing. Why? Because the timing is gonna be important for us. So this is the first month of the sixth year of the reign of Darius, who was the Persian king at the time, well-known historically. Okay, it was written, the word came to these two guys, the leaders, Zerubbabel and Joshua. This is what it says. This is what the Lord Almighty says. These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord's house. Then the word of the Lord came. came through the prophet Haggai, is it time for you yourselves to be living in panel houses while this house remains in ruins? Now this is what the Lord Almighty says. Give careful thought to your ways. Pay attention to what you're doing. Wakey, wakey to what you're doing in your life.

You have planted much but harvested little. You eat and never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes and are not warm. You earn wages only to put them into purse with holes in it. This is what the Lord Almighty says. Give careful thought to your ways. Repeat it twice. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why, declares the Lord Almighty? Because my house, which remains in ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. Therefore, because of you, the heavens have been withheld their dew, the earth its crops. I call for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the olive oil, and everything else in the ground produces, on people and livestock and on all the labor of your hands. Wow. Challenge number one. Danger number one, pitfall number one. When dealing with adversity, you're building your house, you're building your home, you're getting your clothes,

you're worried about your wages, you're worried about your agenda, but you've neglected God's ways. You've got mixed up priorities. There's nothing wrong with your business, there's nothing wrong with having a house, there's nothing wrong with having a car, there's nothing wrong with having a wardrobe, but there is something wrong when they become the idol instead of God being the one who worship. This mixed up priority, when your personal life becomes more important than your worship life. Dangerous. Nothing wrong with having the things, but when the things have you, we have a problem according to God. So you see, we live in a time, we are drowning in stuff. We're building more storage units than homes. Well, at least where I live, they are. We want the latest gadget, the latest car, the latest home. When we say to someone, how are you doing, we answer with busy. It has become like a badge of honor in our society. I don't wanna be seen as lazy, I'm busy. We're running around from sporting event to taking vacation to big of this, that, the other, and all of a sudden, we're empty.

It doesn't satisfy. In a society that we live in, we tell our young people, in time, get a boyfriend, get a girlfriend. After a while, you marry that boyfriend and girlfriend. Make sure it's, anyway, yeah, you know what I mean. Then we tell that couple, have a baby. Then we tell the couple, have another baby, get a better house, get a better job, get better benefits, better wages, better car, better house, better vacation. Better retirement. We've got wardrobes full of clothes and nothing to wear. Why, because it never satisfies. Haggai is reminding the people then and us today, you've got your mixed up priorities. You're misplaced in your focus. They were told, hey, the worship of God should be first. And I don't mean just coming to your church and worshiping. In those days, it was to build the actual temple, the building. In our days, it's where is the worship of God in your life? Is it an amendment? Is it something that if it just fits your life? If it's just something that if Disney or the beach or the weather doesn't get me right, ah, no, I go to church. Is it in my business? If it's, is it a secondary thing or is it actually a guiding thing? You know, you realize, no, wait a minute.

My business is for God. My home is for God. My car is for God. My family is for God. My time is for God. My body is for God. I am the temple of the Holy Spirit. It's for God. Therefore I adjust my life to him, not the other way around. Challenge number one, mixed up priorities. Let's see what they did quickly. Let's see what they did. Read verse 12. Let's go. Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, Joshua, son of Zadak, Good luck to you too. You're all laughing at me. Get up here and try to do that. The high priest. And the whole remnant of people obeyed the voice of the Lord, their God, unto the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord, honored the Lord, respected the Lord, had high value in what God said. Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people. I am with you, declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, son of Zadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord almighty, their God, on the 24th day of the sixth month. 24 days later, they began to change their priorities and began to put God first in their life and started to focus to create in their life a place for the worship of God. They start to get their priorities right. And what we can learn, there's an our part and a God's part. Because he said, if you do this, I'm going to do this. Our part, our part, our part. That's such an Irish way to say it. I'm sorry. Our part. Put it on the screen, guys. Let them read it just in case. Put God first. God's part. He'll give you the grace to succeed. But my feelings, but my people, but my agenda, Lord. No, no, no. I'll do it your way, God.

Lord, I'll start to figure out what your word says when it comes to finance. And I'll start to see what your word says when it comes to sexuality and marriage and parenting. Lord, I'll start to do it your way. And God said, stir it up. He gave them the strength. He gave them the grace to begin the process. You have a mixed up priority? Start to put God first again. Let's continue reading chapter 2 because we've got to face another 2 or 3 here. Chapter 2, verse 1. In the second year of King Darius, on the 21st day of the 7th month, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai. So that's just under a month. They're starting to get their act together. They're starting to change their agenda. They're starting to change their weekends. They're starting to change their finances. They're starting to change their timing of, you know, kids' sport and kids' agendas and all this that's coming our way. By the way, I don't know what I've told you, but my child was told that if he joins the travel team, he will be the next Messi. The next Ronaldo. But just by the way, their weekends are gone. Their weekend's gone. You know about another king. Oh, priorities, parents. Let's get reading. Oh my goodness. Verse 2. Speak to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua, son of Zadadak, high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? Just give you context of this. The temple had been destroyed.

They now start to begin a temple. And into that, voices started to say, it's not as good as the last one. The church is not as good as the last one. The preacher's not as good as the old one. The songs are not as good as the old ones. And that started to discourage people. You're not doing the Christian thing right. Your business is not going all right. You're not doing it the right way. And that negativity and comparison began to infiltrate, and the people stopped working. So God sent the word, verse 4. But now, be strong, Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, Joshua, son of Zadadak, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord, and work. For I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty. This is what I covenanted with you when I came out of Egypt. And my spirit remains among you, so do not fear. This is what the Lord Almighty says in a little while. I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. will shake all the nations, and what is desired by all the nations will come. And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. The silver is mine, the gold is mine, declares the Lord. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord Almighty. And in his place, and in this place,

I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty. Hey, guys, you've got an incorrect perspective. There was people in their midst who looked at the new way of worshiping God, and they said it's not good enough. And they discouraged the people. And they started to compare, and they were negative. And people started to wonder, is this Christian thing, is it working? I'm not doing it right. Why? Because they were hearing wrong perspectives. God said, be strong, work. Keep working on your marriage. Keep working with your parenting. Keep working on your finances. Keep working in your business to honor God. Keep working with the things that God has given you. Don't give up. And it says, listen, the gold and silver is mine. I will shake things up. I will give you peace in the middle of it all. God said, don't give up. So don't compare, especially if you've grown up in church, don't compare God's work in the past with what he's doing in the present. Don't discourage people in their walk with God. Encourage them in their walk with God. God says, be strong, keep going. When you have a proper perspective of God,

and you've got a proper perspective of his work today, then he provides peace. So what's our part and God's part? Our part is don't give up. Don't give up. You don't know if, like, am I doing this Christian thing right? I mean, don't give up. I mean, I wanna go through, I wanna take the next step. Do I go through growth track? Keep going, come on, finish it. Get through the freedom. That's terminology here at Bayside. Go through the freedom classes. Some of you is, hey, I don't know. I don't know if I have the time. I'm trying to adjust my time. No, it's time to step up and be part of what God is doing with a serve shirt or something like that, or serve week and doing something. Why? Because God is calling you to do it. But if you start hearing the negative voices saying, ah, you're not good enough, it's not good enough, it's not gonna change anything, forget it. No, even one person, one random act of kindness, don't give up. Do your part. Why? Because God will provide and his presence,

there will be peace. There will be peace in your home. There will be peace in your marriage, says the Lord. Just get your priorities right, get your perspective right. And then we continue, verse 10. On the 24th day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai. So this is three months after he started speaking. This is two months after they were working and they got discouraged and they got the wrong perspective. Now they're getting the priorities right. Now they're getting the perspective right. Praise the Lord, things are good. Uh-oh, this is what the Lord Almighty says. Ask the priests what the law says. What does the Bible say? What does God's word, because by the way, the law was their word, their Bible. If anyone carries consecrated meat to the fold of the garments, and that fold touches some bread and stew, some wine, olive oil, or other food, does it become consecrated? The priest said, no, that's what the Bible says, that's what the word of God says. Then Haggai said, if a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled? Yes, the priest said, the word of God says,

it becomes defiled. In other words, they went to the word of God to see what the word of God said. Verse 14. Then Haggai said, so it is with this people and this nation in my sight, declares the Lord. Whatever they do, whatever they offer, there is defiled. Now give careful thought to this from this day on. Pay attention, underline it, put it on the side. Remember this, consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord's temple. When anyone came to heap up 20 measures, they only had 10. And when they went to the wine vat to draw 50 measures, there was only 20. I struck all the work of your hands with blight, milled you, hailed, yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord, from this day on, from this day on. This 24th day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid. Give careful thought. Is there yet any seed left in the barn until now? The vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. From this day on, I will bless you. You know what was happening? They were saying, God, I'm starting to go through the growth track. God, I'm starting to serve in church. God, I'm starting to get my finances in order.

I'm honoring you. God, I'm starting to get my business in order. God, I'm starting to see my home, my cars in order. God, I'm starting to, those perspectives of people who are being negative, I'm not listening to them anymore. But God, why have things not changed? Why are things not happening yet? And God reminds them that they have these unrealistic expectations. They thought that because they took a step, God in his timing was gonna do it immediately. But in their act of obedience, this is what the problem was. They did the right thing with the wrong motive. They were doing the right thing, but they weren't doing it for the, because God said they did it because they wanted the blessing from God. God, where's the wine? Where's the pomegranate? Where's the, it's an agricultural society. It revealed the heart. By the way, this expectation, I do this all the time. I have a salad, I go to the gym once, and then I say, why have I not lost 10 pounds? I mean, anybody else like that? Anybody have that problem? We have this expectation that's wrong. When God says, start serving me, do it my way.

Honor me, and in time, in my time, says the Lord, I will bless you. Remember when the foundation of the change in your life began. Make a note of that, write the date, because you will see before my hand was not on it. Afterwards, my hand will be on it. When you get your motive, connect it to the right actions according to God. So what's our part, and what's God's part? Our part is to obey the word of God. All of the word of God. God's part, he will bless that in his time. He will bless that in his time. You will start to see a difference in your life. You will start to see a difference in your business. You will start to see a difference in your marriage. You will start to do a difference in your children, in your finances, in your singleness, in your sexuality, when you take the step of obedience to what God has already said. Change your priorities. Get your perspective right. Get your expectations in a godly way, in God's agenda. And let's see how this ends. Verse 20, chapter two, the word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the 24th day of the month, which by the way, that's exactly the same day that the last was.

He got two messages in one day. Tells the rebel governor of Judah, I'm gonna shake the heavens and the earth. That's twice, he's mentioned that twice. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of a foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and drivers, horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. And on that day, declares the Lord Almighty, I will take you, my servant, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and I will make you like my signet ring, for I've chosen you, declares the Lord Almighty. The people were beginning to get their life in order. They were starting to get their priorities in order. They were starting to say, okay, God, I'm gonna do it your way. It started to take time. They started to get their perspective in order. How did they do it? They kept to the word of God. How did they do it? They did it in community. They were helping one another. They were growing together. They were, oh, by the way, things that we say we should do in Bayside. Hey, get involved, get in community. They started to get together.

But then what happened was, they started to turn their attention to the other nations around them. And they're like, wow, but they're bigger, they're stronger. Oh my goodness. Lord, have you been to the shop recently? I can't even afford to buy things anymore. And Lord, there's a war going on right now and the gas prices are, and if you turn on the news, it's like, but for fear, don't eat that, don't eat that. Woo. Don't eat that, don't eat this, eat this. Oh, and it's fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. And when you're trying to get your life and do God's way, all of a sudden, there's this unnecessary fear that could potentially be thrown at you. And God tells Cerubbabel, Cerubbabel, I'm going to use you. A signet ring, by the way, was a sign of authority. And he says, Cerubbabel, at that time, to those people, you're going to carry my authority. Jesus comes along, the last thing Jesus says to his disciples, all authority is given to me, and I give you authority, go make disciples of all nations. We become the signet ring of God's work in this world. And he tells them, hey, be patient, I'm going to, see all those enemies, see all those things that you fear, I'm going to conquer it.

Actually, Cerubbabel, it's a foreshadow. It gives us a little insight on, later on, on who Jesus was and what Jesus did. What's my part, what's our part? Be patient, trust God. You know, when the news tells you this and the doctor tells you this, it can cause fear. You know, by the way, you know one of the things I fear? Fear is when you give a 16-year-old a car and you let them drive by themselves. Talk about fear. Fear, fear is when a young man comes to your door and says, can I take your daughter out for a date? That's fear. Fear, fear is when the boss is looking for someone and you're, I hope it's me. Fear is when the market is up to Tom Saturbey and then you don't know, am I going to have to pay the bills? Can I keep my employees? That causes fear. And the world has given us ample opportunity to have fear. The doctor calls, the feel, that lump on my neck. All these things, fear, you need to remember today. God says, not only did he say it in the book of Haggai, he says it also at the end of the book, the book of Revelation, that fear is when you give a 16-year-old a car in the book of Revelation, that he will wipe away all tear. He's going to bring justice to this world.

He's going to make all things right. I don't know how he's going to do it. But when we have our eyes on the resurrected Jesus, if he could rise from the dead, there's still hope in your marriage. If he rose from the dead victorious and there's over 500 witnesses to this account, then your business can't belong to God. Then your parenting can't honor God. Then we have to learn what God says and how God does it. Why? Because if I get my priorities right and I have a right perspective and I have a right expectation, then fear disappears and I can honor the Lord. Had I, it's a small book with a big punch. It was written to a people all those years ago, but it could have been written to us today. So when your priorities are out of order, just come and say, okay, Lord, I want to do it your way. By the way, as a church, this is just a practical way we do this. We say, people, get into the growth track. Start walking through who we are, who God has wired you. Go through freedom. What is, for God to be able to clip away, prune things in your life. For some of you, it's, you've been coming along.

This is your church. I love Bayside, yeah. You heard Pastor Randy on the radio this week. That's my pastor, yeah. Okay, well, get involved. Roll the sleeves up. Be part of what God is doing. You're trying to build your agenda and you're actually fighting against God. It never satisfies. For some of us, it's just when you lose your perspective. I get this. I get this all the time. I start to hear the negative voices. Dave, that's not good enough. We start to compare with, oh, that family is godly. Look at them. They seem to have it all together. Yeah, you don't know someone until you go behind the closed doors or you walk in their shoes. So no comparison. God says, keep at it. Be strong. Don't give up. Let me pause here for a minute. Don't give up on your marriage. If you're coming in before God, do it God's way. Come, get help. Don't give up on your kids.

Keep praying for them. Keep praying for them. If you don't do so, someone will win them. The enemy wants this generation. That's why he will attack the baby in the womb. But we're gonna say, no, Lord, we're gonna pray, we're gonna get involved, we're not gonna give up, it's gonna be discouraging, it's not gonna give up. But my expectation is, Lord, I don't know, your timing, Lord, your timing, Lord, your timing, Lord. And Lord, when fear comes, and it comes, I'm gonna be patient, and I'm gonna remind myself of what your word says, that one day, you're gonna come back as king of kings and lord of lords. And every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess, whether they like it or not, that Jesus is Lord. So Haggai, that maybe none of us even knew was there, there's a small book with a big punch. So would you mind just closing your eyes and bowing your head for a second, wherever you are, wherever you're listening? And the reason we do this, guys, is just so we can concentrate. This is nothing spiritual or holy, it's just a time to concentrate. Holy Spirit, what do you want us to learn today? Holy Spirit, have I got a wrong priority? Am I putting emphasis on things that are not you, God, and they have become an idol in my life?

Lord, have I got a wrong perspective? Lord, have I got a wrong expectation? Lord, I'm doing the right thing, but the word of God has just exposed my wrong motivation. Lord, is there fear in my life? Lord, what are the voices that I'm listening to? For those who follow Jesus, Holy Spirit, would you teach us this week, this week, what do you want us to do, Lord? What's the one step? What's the first step? Lord, for those of us who follow you, forgive us, Lord. We've got distracted. We've got discouraged. Lord, we commit again, Lord, to put you first in our life. You're on the throne of our life, Lord. We pray that our time and our energy and our focus will be for you, Lord. And Lord, thank you that our homes and our cars and our jobs and our walking and our talking and our food and our wardrobes can all bring glory to you, Lord. Lord, we can bring glory to you in the car line at school. We can give glory to you, Lord, as we shop. We can give glory to you as we make business decisions. We can give glory to you and worship you, Lord. Thank you. You may be hearing my voice and you've never given your life to Jesus.

You're trying to do it your way. You're the king of your own life. You're trying to come up with the answers. Yes, sure, you come to this religious place every so often and it makes you feel good. But you know what? Deep down, you're pursuing your own agenda. And I'm telling you right now, according to what God says, you will never be saved. God says you will never be satisfied. Why? Because the Bible tells us that you have a problem called sin and that sin separates from God and that sin is influencing everything we do. And religion tells you what you have to do to tick a box to be right with God. But the Bible tells us what God did. He stepped into time and place and Jesus took on the sin and Jesus was butchered for my sin. And on that cross, he cried out, it is finished. That was a legal term to say it's paid for. And he rose from the dead victorious and he offers life and he offers forgiveness and he offers purpose and he offers satisfaction in life. But you need to repent. You need to recognize your problem.

I need to recognize the Savior. So you might be sitting there saying, Lord, I don't know how to do this. Steve, would you help me? I'm just, I'm praying. But you use your words. I'm just gonna guide you gently. But if you've never given your life to Christ, if you come of a religious thing, but you're a good person, okay, you're a good person, yeah, but what about your sin? Who pays for that? When you stand before the Lord, is he gonna let you in because you were good or are you gonna let you in because of what Jesus did? So today, get right with God. Say something like this. Dear Jesus, forgive me. I recognize my problem and I recognize that you're the solution. Thank you. I don't want to live against you. I don't want to live in rebellion against you. I want to do it your way. Forgive me. Be the Lord of my life. And from this day on, I want to lay a foundation of worship to you. If you pray like that, I'm going to ask you to be bold. I'm going to ask you to raise your hand wherever you are. Campuses, online, in this building. If this is you, just raise your hand. Today, you said, I'm going to live for Christ from this day forth.

Was that you from the first time? Just raise your hand right up. May the Lord bless you all. Oh, may the Lord bless you. Thank you, Lord. Let me challenge you, believer. Make a commitment in your heart today. Put the worship of God in everything you do first in your life today. Honor Him with your speech. Honor Him with our actions. Honor Him in our driving. Honor Him in our eating. Honor Him in our workplace. Honor Him in our talking. Because when we do that, Lord, you'll give us the right perspective. You'll give us the right expectations in your time. And Lord, fear will not be part of it. So, Lord, thank you. Give us an opportunity this week to show the love of Christ to someone. Give us an opportunity this week to show the love of Christ to someone. And Lord, I pray you will be glorified. We love you, Lord. We love you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen, amen. Church, can we thank the Lord for the lives that were transformed? And before you leave, before you leave, one more thing. I want to pray for you. But if you trusted Christ, do not walk away. There's a sticker. There's a prayer team. There's people with blue shirts that are going to here to help. There's a connect center. It's not just a raising a hand. It's a life. We want to help you.

And those who follow Christ, if God did something and you want to pray for something, the team is here. Would you stand with me, please? And let's pray as we all want to get our lunch. I get it. But let's pray and get our priorities. Lord, thank you. Bless us this week to be a blessing. Lord, I pray that our priorities will be yours. We honor you. We thank you. And in Jesus name, we pray. Everybody said. Lord bless you all. See you all next week. Thank you.