My Resurrection Story - Believe

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Good morning, Crossgates. Would you stand and worship with us this morning? ♪♪ There's no other God like Jehovah. Father, we're just so thankful to be in Your presence this morning. We just give You our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let's lift our voice to Him this morning. Come on. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Good morning. How's everybody doing today? That was terrible. Good morning. How's everybody doing today? Yes, you are awake. You know what? Just for you, I checked the calendar this morning. It is mid-April, despite how it feels like outside. What in the world? What is going on with the cooler temperatures? Although most of you are probably saying, yay, this feels fantastic. I see you nodding your head. I see you nodding your head. We are so glad you are here today. Thank you for coming. Whether you're a member or a visitor, we are so glad that you decided to come and worship with us today. It's so much fun to do it together. If you are a first-time guest, we are honored that you chose Crossgates today. If you will, we'd love to have a record of your visit. There is a Connect card on the seat back in front of you, if you'll grab that and fill that out. Or you can take your phone, and that little black circle that's on the seat back in front of you, tap that, and you can have the same card online, fill out that same information, just to let us know you're here. We would love to come alongside you and take this journey with you. We're glad you're here. Please join in and worship with us today. Crossgates members, you've been so faithful in your Firstfruits giving. If you came ready to give today, those envelopes are in the seat back in front of you. Both the Connect cards and those envelopes, you can drop in the red buckets on the way out the door. Or as you know, you can give online on the Church Center app. If some of the things I'm talking about, you're going, I have no idea what she's talking about. You know what we have? We have a Next Step Center right out here in the foyer. And those people are so smart, they can answer any question you have. Well, that may be a little much, but almost any question you have. So if you've got any questions about, how do I join a group? How do I join a team? What is the Church Center app? If you'll check out the Next Step Center, they'll be glad to help you do that. So let's Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah. Let's step in and continue to worship together. Psalm 34, 1 says, I will extol the Lord at all times. His praise will always be on my lips. I don't know what you're walking through right now. Could be good. Could be not so good. But what

I do know is Jehovah God is big enough. He's big enough and he's right there to walk through it with you. All right, let's pray. Will you just right now say the name Jehovah with me? Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah. Jehovah, we worship you today because you are worthy of our worship. Will you meet with us today? Will you speak to us today? Each person. Father, you've got a word for each of us. Father, we're ready to tune in. We're ready to hear. Holy Spirit, will you fill us? Jehovah, except for you, we have no hope. So thank you for loving us. Thank you for providing a way through Jesus Christ. May your kingdom come. May your will be done. Amen and amen. Amen. We started learning this song last week, church family. It allows us to testify, to sing a resurrection story, to sing about the great love our Savior has for us. So let's sing this again together. I was buried with my remembering. Lost without hope of redemption. Blind to my need for a savior. Oh, but God. I was crushed by the weight of my failings. Living the lie I created. Digging my grave without knowing. Oh, but God. Rich in mercy. How you love me. Too much to let me stay lost. My salvation. Sent from heaven. Nailing my sin to the cross. Oh, but God. Oh, you gave me a truth worth believing. I traded my chains for your faith. You were the one that I needed. Oh, but God. Resurrected my heart from the bruises My rescue came through like a warning And this is my sure testimony Oh but God, oh but God Rich in mercy, how you love me Too much to let me stay lost My salvation sent from heaven Nailing my sin to the cross Oh but God Oh and all the wreckage Of my choices You have turned to Light from ashes Lifted from death Raised with Him

And now I stand in confidence Cause I know that All the wreckage Of my choices You have turned to Light from ashes Lifted from death Raised with Him And now I stand in confidence Rich in mercy, how you love me Too much to let me stay lost My salvation sent from heaven Nailing my sin to the cross Rich in mercy, how you love me Too much to let me stay lost My salvation sent from heaven Nailing my sin to the cross Oh but God Oh but God Oh but God Oh but God For His salvation, for His great love for us How He sought us, pursued us To set us free Let's sing about His faithfulness this morning As we continue to worship Him I call you faithfully For the promises you've kept And every need you've met Lord, I'm so grateful

You were with me every step And I never will forget When I think of how you blessed me How your hand has never let me go You've never let me go You have been so good to me And God, I can't believe how you love me What a friend you have been So good to me And God, I can't believe how you love me What a friend you have been Yes, we thank you I call you Savior For the blood that washed me clean For the wrongs that you redeemed I know you're able And my eyes don't have to see One more reason to believe When I think of how you blessed me How your hand has never let me go You've never let me go You have been so good to me It's so good to me. God, I can't believe how You love me. What a friend You have been. It's so good to me. God, I can't believe how You love me. What a friend You have been. What a friend I've found in Jesus. I've met no one like You. There's nobody like You. I'm beside You, Jesus. For every morning, for every open door, I call You faithful and I just wanna thank You, Lord. For every mountain, for every time You've brought me through, I call You faithful and I just wanna thank You, Lord. For Your forgiveness, for how You never turn away, I call You faithful and I just wanna thank You, Lord. For Your salvation, You paid the price I couldn't pay, I call You faithful and I just wanna thank You, Lord. And I just wanna thank You, Lord.

It's so good to me. God, I can't believe how You love me. What a friend You have been. It's so good to me. God, I can't believe how You love me. What a friend You have been. Hey, I want us to take a second here and just turn our faces toward the heavens for a second. And I just want you to think about the faithfulness of God across your life. From your conception, to your birth, to every season, era of it, and moments that you could see clearly He was faithful and moments that you can't. Why don't you just thank Him? Just take a moment. Thank Him for His goodness, His mercy, His pursuit of us when we didn't pursue Him back. In the height of our rebellion, His faithfulness. Just praise Him for a second. Worship Him. So, Father, we just say, Lord, there is none like You in the heavens and on the earth. That there is no God that is faithful like You or ever will be. Lord, You're the one that is passionate and perfect. Lord, You're the one that has power to actually do on our behalf what we could never do for ourselves. When we didn't love You, You loved us. When we didn't even want You, You wanted us. When we continually rebelled, You came after us, Lord. God, we thank You for Your faithfulness, Lord. And we just say, Lord, glorify Your name today. Help us to rightly see the goodness of our God in every season of our life. That we might give You what You so rightly deserve, honor, glory. We pray all these things in Jesus' mighty name. All God's people said, Amen. Hey, can we give Him praise this morning? Come on. Amen. Man, listen, go ahead and get you a seat. So glad that you're here this morning. It's been a powerful, powerful morning. I hope you're anticipating God speaking to you about your personal story. I'm gonna be in several passages of Scripture. Really only have three major principles that we're gonna look at in a lot of this series. But real quick, one, man, I was out last weekend. I did see the service. Had the privilege of preaching a couple different places last weekend and seeing the Lord do awesome work. Matter of fact, I got to go back to where Katie and I were for 10 years and preached for the first time in the new facilities of a church that we actually had the privilege of planning, but bought 34 acres. They moved into it and got to see a lot of people whose lives changed. 31 people baptized last Sunday in Conway, Arkansas, which was awesome. Really, really cool, man. But then watch this service. And man, can we just give God some glory for Ben Boyd? And his gifting, man, walking into the Word, powerful. Powerful, powerful start. And he really kick-started this series. And it came out of the thought, man, we landed Easter,

and if you weren't with us Easter, just to give you a little sneak peek of what God spoke to us, the truth is this, is that every one of us, every body, every physical body will one day rise. That there will be the resurrection of this earthly tent, and what will happen in the return of Jesus Christ, we'll give a right account for what we did in our time and space on planet Earth. And it sort of generated the thought, man, let's take some time and think about our resurrection story. Let's make sure that we have a good understanding of our spiritual story, like before we knew Christ, the state in which we were in, when we came to know Christ and were made alive, and then since that moment we were born again, what it looks like for us to now live by the power of the Spirit, which will be next week, and so that you might have a season, and here's the heart, slow down for a second, that you would take some time to really capture your spiritual story, to know where you were and what life was like before you met Jesus in a personal way, to take some time to think about and consider when did you come to saving faith in Christ, when were you made alive on the inside, which promises life for all eternity, and what does that journey look like since?

So all of us, what I love about the Lord is the Lord knows every person, pretty crazy, right? He knows every plot, he knows every plot twist, right? He knows every season, he knows every generational line, and yet, though we all have different stories, we all come into the story of God at the same place, and so what we wanna do is help you capture your resurrection story. Now, I wanna say on the front side, I got homework for you, all right? You're like, dang it, I do, I know. I'm asking you, would you be courageous, and would you give God 20 minutes this week? We actually have created, through our church center app, you'll see a QR code that's up here, I believe. You can do that, QR code that now, even if you wanted to. If you don't now, we'll post it in other places, our website, all those things, because what we wanna do is help you rightly articulate these three phases of a spiritual life. If you're a follower of Christ, a season where you recognize your brokenness, a season where you came to believe in Jesus' word, and what you've been becoming since then, and by the power of the Spirit, and listen, if you don't know your story, the enemy will lie to you about it. It's a big statement. If you don't know your spiritual story, the enemy will lie to you about it.

I'm gonna say this a couple times. One, if you're a believer, the enemy, if you can't articulate your story, he'll try to make you insecure in it. If you're a unbeliever, he'll try to make you secure in your life without Christ, and either one of those are problematic. So what we wanna do in Jesus' name is rob the enemy from any authority in our resurrection story, right? So three things that you gotta rightly understand, I'm gonna sort of set it up today for us. One, each and every one of us has to come to a moment in our life that we are made aware of our brokenness, made aware of our brokenness. Ben showed us this last week in the story of Jacob. By the way, does anybody else read the Old Testament? I think he referenced this last week, and be like, man, I thought my family was whacked out, like right, like golly, man, it's so encouraging when you look at the, really, honestly, the forefathers of our faith and how many twisted moments there was, and the truth is this about Jacob. The reason why he was a deceiver is because he's a sinner. The reason why he was continually deceptive is because he was broken on the inside, and he needed a moment where he came face-to-face with God and was touched by God, and his name was changed,

his future, it has some gospel echoes in that. Now, here's the truth for every person that has ever breathed a breath on planet Earth. No one is truly saved by a cross until they come to recognize that they're sinful, till they're made aware of their brokenness, that I need, we need, you needed someone to make you clean because we're continually in ourselves dirty, that we have this tendency toward rebellion, that tendency toward brokenness, that we were dead and we needed somebody to make us alive. That's what Ephesians 2, one tells us, and you were, and that you were is universal, like everybody, and you were dead in the trespasses and sins. It didn't say that you were bad, it says you were dead. Didn't say you was having a bad moment, he said it was that you were a dead man or woman. You were incapable of making yourself spiritually alive, reconnected to God and ready for eternity, but in some season, some shape, form, or fashion, you might not have had the words, but you did have to have the awareness. Didn't have to know how to articulate it But you did have to be aware of the fact that you needed someone to do for you, but you could never do For yourself that none of us can make ourselves right with God That's what Romans 3 10 tells us as it is written. No, none is righteous. No, not one That there's never been a person listen to me that that lived perfectly enough to make themselves right with God Every human being before they're born again in some way shape form fashion by the work of the Holy Spirit

Has to come to this place of revelation that they realize that they need righteousness that they can't earn That they need righteousness that they can't work their self up into no matter Where listen to me no matter when you come to that realization Katie was in the first service By the way, she's gone to Mexico this week on a mission trip. Glory to God. She's back I just want to say that Hallelujah. I was on a mission trip. I was just here keeping five kids alive, right and we did it That's the power of the Holy Spirit people I'm just saying if you don't believe that the Lord is work it happened at my house this week I just felt like it needed to be said. All right But Katie man by God's grace she came to awareness in her early years of life and her need for a Savior and It means it was beautiful about that and we should never like underestimate that it saved her from many other things I came to know Christ at 19 years old man was saved from my rebellion brother David in his early 20s man came and honestly was saved in many ways from religion and Each one of us had to have the same thing a moment where we realized I can't make myself right with God That there's a sin problem and it's not listen. It's not outside of me. It's in me That I'm incapable of making this right with God and I became broken over that and that looks different from every person That's not it doesn't have to be necessarily an emotional experience, but it has to be something that you came to know That I need a Savior Broken is broken no matter how you Come to that awareness. No matter what age you come to no matter what the nuances of it. No matter what the the tangible realities of that broken is what thing you was trying to find life in regardless of this before Christ all of us were dead Different plots different people different places same starting point broken Now for some of us here listen to me We recognize when that season was and this is what I want We want to help each of us know how to do how could how will you articulate that season before Christ? Because you need to know it. Let me tell you let me say something. I want for each of us Man brother David and I are pastors and team

we oftentimes get to walk life out with a lot of people and We get to stand in and some of your best days and some of your worst days and one of the one of the things that makes the hard days better is When we stand let's say with somebody at a moment a memorial we stand at a funeral is when the family Knows their father their grandfather their grandmother their their child even when they know their spiritual story Where they ain't listening where they're not trying to figure it out But because this been so understood that me know what my granddad came to saving faith in Christ in this season And I know his spiritual story It brings peace in the midst of pain because we know what's true of them What's true in that moment, so we want to help you take some time To be able to articulate your story listen to me one so when the enemy comes in lie You can say you're a liar, dude. I Know my story in Christ also that you might be able to share it So let me give you some illustrations of that before Christ. I was trying to find life in a lot of lifeless things I Want to tell you something about your testimony don't glorify sin I? I Hear some people tell their testimony They'll give us 20 minutes of all the bad stuff There's doing in two minutes about how Jesus saved him and I'm like listen I understand I'm grateful for what all you came from but just let's let's condense it down to a fact I was trying to find life in a lot of lifeless things Some of that was relationships some of that was alcohol drugs things like that some of that was these things That was who I was before Christ That was me and part of my story. I could assure it that way now Kid around brother David does a great story about some kid that got up was sharing his testimony Hey came to know Christ how broken he was how evil he was how angry he was he says and then it's six years old Like dang, bro. You had a rough six years So you don't have to make it something that it's not. Because here's a trace from my wife at an early age.

You know what she had to come and recognize? I was separated from God. I was sinful. I was broken. I came to this realization that I needed someone to bring me back into relationship with God. Maybe for some of you, man, you had a season in your life where you realized that you just didn't have any peace. You couldn't find peace in anything on this planet. Maybe for some of you, I was in a season of wonder and I could never find purpose. I could never find an anchor. I could never find anything that could stabilize me in this before Christ, I was hurt. I was angry. I was deeply wounded by things in my life. I don't know what your story is, but you should. I know a God that knows, but you should be able to sit with him long enough to just know where you were and what life was like before you met a king. Before you met the savior of your life. So I'm asking you to do that because the Holy Spirit wants to help you. If you've come to know Christ, he helped you come to your awareness of that need. It's what Jesus says in John 16, eight. When he comes, talking about the Holy Spirit, he will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and justice.

I remember when the hound of heaven came after me. It's like I couldn't escape him, man. I was in that season. I had a baseball coach here. I walked into a gathering like this and experienced the presence of God. And then I had all of me in me. All the things that was in me, there's anger, there was frustration, there was hopelessness. And the spirit of God was making me aware of the fact that I needed help. I needed him. I needed the saving work of Jesus Christ. I know my story. We want you to know your story. So what was life like before Jesus Christ? For some of you, that's what life is like right now. Because you're still in the BC part of your life. The before Christ. Good news is you don't have to stay there. You had some people in the first service that was BC that now they have met Christ, all right? Yeah, come on, right? What about you? What about your life right now? Do you know, can you articulate before? But that's not where the story is. You have to be made aware, and the spirit of God is making some aware even right now, made you aware at some season of life.

But you move from that awareness of your brokenness, that's bad news, and at some point in there, listen, you are made new when you believe, made new when we believe. The beauty of the gospel is at some point, man, somebody, somewhere, somehow, got the good news of Jesus to you, and you are made new when you believe. I'm gonna give you some passages that help articulate that truth. Jesus says in John 11, 25, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet they shall live. Jesus is saying, this is what I do. I have authority, and I bring dead things to life. He said, you know why I do that? Because I am life. Like literally what Jesus is saying is emanating from me is life. I take broken things, and I bring them to restoration and renewal. I take dead things. I take dead people, and I make them alive, spiritually and then eternally. That's why he can say in John 14, six, I am the way, the truth, and the life. There's not multiple ways to life. There's one, and no one comes to the Father except through me.

So the question I think we should answer today is when did that life enter your life? When did that life, his life, make you alive? When was that season in which God in a powerful way reached down and made you new? If not, you can today. If so, listen to me. If so, you need to be able to have security around that so when the enemy comes to lie, you say, shut up. So that you'll never move back from that. You're so captured and secure, not in merely a decision you made, but listen to me, but in a person that has saved you. In the power. the one who can listen several ways that you come to that several ways in which God works and and say everybody's salvation story may be similar but it's specific to you Romans 10 this had to happen in some way Romans 10 10 through 13 for with the heart one believes there was a season in your life specific moment that maybe your heart was awakened to the fact that Jesus is King and you believe in you're justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved for script as the scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame I love when it puts this for there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek what he's saying there's no distinction between anybody anywhere ever the only way anybody's ever saved listen to me is that they have rightly believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and confessed him as their King it's the only one way that anyone has ever been made new for the same Lord is the Lord of all bestowing his riches on all who call on him for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved there's millions of ways that this story is played out across redemptive history but the simplicity of it is at some point you've and actually the word believe in our English it lacks it lacks

the power it's hard for us to get it because the man like I I can believe a lot of things but it doesn't mean I put trust in it I can believe in a lot of things but doesn't mean I put my faith in it it's like I believe that this chair will hold me up right I tell them every time a man when I use illustration like is this chair breaks is gonna really ruin my illustration all right but I can but I can believe let me tell you this I if this chair was a family heirloom and it's not I can believe let's say it was let's say it goes back generations in Reno the line I can believe that it once held my great granddad I can believe that it's held my granddad I can believe that it's held my father but until I've put my weight on it until I've rested in it and so at some point 19 years old for me when for you did you come to a place that the Spirit of God helped you come to realize that you're dead in your trespasses of sin you couldn't make yourself alive that you are far from God and capable making yourself right but at some point the finished work of Jesus Christ was so clearly presented to you and the Spirit of God was making you aware that Jesus really did live the life you can't live he really did die the death you deserve he really did defeat death in his powerful resurrection and he really doesn't want to save you and that you come to a place that you put all your trust and faith in it that you just didn't sit around it or walk around it that you rested in this and listen you said I believe in my heart that you're the rock I believe in my heart that you're the cornerstone I believe that in my heart that you're the way the truth in the life and I listen from that belief make this confession Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior have you ever done that if you have you you need to know enough to know how to articulate that you need to be able to look back you ain't got to come back and have a certain time a certain date stamped like yeah you got to have all those things what you do have to know is that you're alive I love it see I know moment specifically I could take you literally to a place and tell you where I was born again that's my story for others man you don't know this and there's a season God was working man I was coming to the end of myself and I had this person at

my work that was sharing this with me and I and finally man I just I knew in my heart I need him and somewhere in there I cried out for him to save me and I don't know exactly the moment I just know I'm alive I love what CS Lewis said man for some they know an instantaneous moment for others it's like when you had a good night's sleep and you don't know exactly when you woke up you just know you're awake for some of you you might not know exactly when you you're awakened when you are made alive you just know you are alive well you need to know how to capture that and articulate it in such a way listen to me one that you could pass it on and two you could rest secure that this at some point has happened in me maybe by God's grace you had some great parents that looked you in the eyes and told you over and over again Jesus is passionately in love with you he's in passionate pursuit of you but he's relentless and at some point you finally believed it hallelujah right I'm praying that for every one of my babies all them Reno's that will one day they're gonna come in minutes a couple of them have but the others will at some point come to a place where they don't believe just what dad says mom says They believe because he is king. Maybe God brought a coach or somebody of influence in your life and they loved you and they shared with you or somebody just showed up somewhere at some point, moved into your neighborhood and started sharing the love of Christ and it changed the trajectory of your life. Maybe somebody brought you to a gathering much like this one day and you found yourself in the presence of God and you heard this gospel and it was like Jesus was speaking to you personally and you said, I need him.

That's your story, awesome. Get to know it, amen. Learn how to write it down and articulate it. We got brothers and sisters all over the planet Earth that come to know Jesus in millions of different ways, some through dreams, some through visions, some through proclamations, some through evangelistic crusades, some all by themselves. You just need to know when you came to know Christ. Ephesians 4, four through eight says, but God, if you got an amen this morning, I'm warming up, okay, look. When I get to the end of these verses of scripture, it's time for your amen, okay? I warned you, you're gonna let me down. Last service, I gave them the same thing and they still half-hearted did it. Okay, here we go. But God being rich in mercy because of the great love which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive. Together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him, seated us with him in heavenly places so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus for by grace you have been saved through faith

and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God. Amen. That's the gospel. The gospel is this. Jesus through his finished work extended mercy to us. You know what mercy is, I'll tell you again though. Mercy is when we don't get what we do deserve and what we deserve is judgment. What we deserve is eternity separated from God but he not only doesn't give us what we do deserve, he comes after us with grace. The grace of God's going not only am I not gonna pour out wrath on you, I wanna make you alive. I wanna move you from dead to alive, from far from God to the family of God and that at some point in your life that you reached out by faith. This is our part, listen to me, not that we work for it but the faith part is that we receive. That you reached out and said Jesus, I do believe that you are my Lord and Savior. I receive from you a gift I cannot earn. I receive from you. You're made alive. When was that? Man, you need to know that. You need to be able, so when the enemy comes to lie, you go man, I ain't hearing that.

When the neighbor comes and they need to hear, you're ready to tell that. That you're really willing to share that. 2 Corinthians 5, 17, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is passed away, behold, the new has come. He didn't make you better, he made you alive. Became a whole new person. Do you know you're made new story? You ain't gotta, listen to me, you don't have to have all the right words, verbiage around it all. You ain't gotta be able to connect theologically all the time, what you need to know is that you're alive. That you've been made new. One of the greatest evidences of that is, listen to me, he started changing you. He changed you, your state forever, eternally, but now he's changing your everyday. I love what Romans 8, 14 through 17 says, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. If you wanna know you're in the kingdom, listen to me, you don't have merely God out there, this is what happens. I'm about to blow your mind, you ready? When you put faith in Christ's finished work, it's not just God out there, it's God in here. God living, residing, empowering, changing, transforming. I don't have just a religion, I got the real power of God taking residence in my being. I don't have God cheering me on,

I have God giving me courage within. For we do not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons. We cry out, Abba, Father. You know what happens the moment you believe on the finished work of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God is born. God awakens in you an Abba cry. Man, ain't that good? Awakens that cry in you, you go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. God is my father. Come on. That's what happens at salvation. God awakens in you the thing you've been longing to say your whole life. I have a father. Hm, I have a family, forever. I'll tell you what the enemy loves to do. He loves to torment the believer and make you insecure in those promises that have been sealed and delivered. Torment, oh, that's not true for you, it's not true for you, it's not true for you. And it's, I've walked with so many people that's found freedom from that and on the other side of that, they get to help a lot of people. So look at me today, in Jesus' name, there will not be confusion one in this room.

God's kids are gonna know that they're God's kids. The spirit of God, even right now is going, man, you in, you didn't earn it, you in. Throw your head back and go, Abba, father. Now, on the other side, the enemy tries to make the unbeliever secure. Now, you're good, you'll be all right, you know all the stuff. And what the Lord comes and does, that he just brings certainty, clarity, no confusion. So I would simply ask this this morning, this moment, and would ask of you even today, would you take enough time to think through your spiritual story? I'm gonna tell you this, if you're too busy to do that, you need to rightly reorient your life. You are not that busy to sit down one click away and think, before Christ, this is what life was like, and just such a way. When I met Christ, this is what was, what happened in that season. I can't say it all, but man, somewhere in there, Jesus saved me, made me alive. Let me tell you what I love about the gospel of Jesus. It's not like you just break through that faith line and then you're finished waiting for heaven. Once you're made new, it's time to live. That's what we're gonna look at next week. The third part of that story

that every follower of Christ has, is listen, then you're made distinct through who we become. You're made distinct, you're made different. But the Spirit of God now starts working on you from the inside out, freeing us from our flesh, fleeing us from the lingering effects of our old man. That's why Paul would say in Romans 6, 1, what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound? You lost your minds, what it says. No, it doesn't. It's a Kyle version, but it's what he meant. By no means. For can we who have died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism, with him by baptism in death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. What Paul is saying to the church in Rome, which is true for the church in Brandon, Mississippi today, is on the other side of the life of God coming to take residence in you, listen to me, is now us cooperating with that life, changing our lives. Let me tell you what I love about it, man, that the Lord Jesus didn't leave me where I was at 19, that in every season of my life,

he's been changing me from the inside out. He's been changing my desires, changing my motives, changing my mindset, changing what I care about. And look at me, I am still under construction. And if Jesus carries and I live another 40 plus years till my dying breath, I'll be becoming what God always intended for me to be by the power of the Spirit. The question is, will I cooperate with it? So on the other side, three parts to your story, who are you becoming? That's the Ephesians 2. We love stopping at verse 9, but there's verse 10's awesome. For we are his workmanship. New Living Translation says masterpiece. I'm telling you, if you could just see yourself as you are, if you're a follower of Christ, you're a masterpiece of God. You're the workmanship of God. You're the activity of God. You're the expression of God's power and care and love. God pushes you out and says, look at that. That's what you do with a masterpiece. The master behind that piece pushes it out and says, look at what I did. That's what God says about you. Ain't that awesome? Man, don't think too lowly of yourself. God pushes you out and says, ain't they pretty? Look at them. God pushes you out front and goes, that's my son, that's my daughter, that's my child, that's my heir, that's my warrior, that's my kid. Not that you'd be a relic in a museum. Created in Christ Jesus for good works. We're a working masterpiece, moving masterpiece, which God prepared beforehand that we what? Should walk in them. You see that? Should walk in them. That's what God wants. That's who you're becoming. So here it is for the cross follower. Three parts to every cross follower's spiritual story. There's the broken. Recognize, made aware of your brokenness. There's the moment that you've rightly believed. And then there's now who you're becoming. See, I just look at me for a second. If you spend the time to clarify how God has moved in your personal story, it's gonna give you great

confidence, give you great clarity. But for some of you here today, you're still living in the broken. Because you never really come to a moment that you fully believed. And I just tell you, there's no better day to be made alive than today. The best day to believe is today. So when we do this, just bow your head for a moment. Our prayer leaders are here. We pray with people every Sunday about a myriad of things. It doesn't have to do with a message every time. Maybe you're here and you got hurt. Maybe you're going through a really tough time and you need some help. We needed to bring something before God. Our prayer leaders will be here in a moment. We're getting you out of here early. So man, you ain't got nowhere to be. Give us a few more minutes here. If you need to be prayed for, let us pray for you. If you want to come do business with God, come to the altar. You can do that. Is there something special about up there? No. Seems like movement matters though. If you're here and you're a follower of Christ, man, just take a moment. Start praying. If you're a follower of Christ, say, thank you Lord. Just thank Him for your story. Thank Him for making you alive. If you know that's true for you, thank Him. And why don't you ask Him this? Say, Lord, would you help me to really clarify the ways that you've worked in me? Maybe go ahead and surrender on the front side and say, hey God, when I see it on that website, or they send it out in the email, or I'm gonna take the time to write down my story. Take me 20 minutes. I'm gonna do it, Lord. Maybe even say, Lord, as you show me, I'm gonna share it too. Now in the silence of this moment for a second, hey, if you're here and the Spirit of God's helped you come right now to the recognition that you need a Savior, that you know that you're broken like all of us, you know that you've broken God's law, that you've had missed moments and missteps, and you embrace that, and you know today that you want to believe on, throw your whole life on the finished

work of Jesus. If you're here today and you need Jesus to save you, make you a part of His forever family, I ain't gonna embarrass you, and I'm only gonna ask you once. If you need that to happen today, I'd love to help you, but I'd like to know who you are. If you need Jesus to save you, would you just look at me and raise your hand real quick? Say, Kyle, that's me. I need that this morning. You got to be bold enough to do it. The Scripture says... Believe and confess. Would you just say, Kyle, that's me. I need that. I'll wait for you. Just do it. Say, that's me. Right now, right here, I need Jesus to make me a part of his forever family. Awesome. You can put your hand back down. Others here say, I need that. I need Jesus to make me new, to make me new. Well, listen, looking at me won't save you. Raising your hand won't save you. But it's an awesome first step. From your heart, would you say this to him right now? Lord, here I am. I confess my brokenness before you today. Confess my sin, and I put trust. Right now, I am trusting in your work on my behalf, your life, your death, and your resurrection. And I am reaching out by faith

and asking you to save me. I receive the gift of salvation. I asked you this morning, biggest moment of your life, greatest day of your life. Welcome to the family of God. Now, your faith family wants to know, and we have people do this every week, and I'm gonna ask you, even right now, would you surrender to take the next courageous step? If you just received God's life in you, we wanna help you take next steps. And this is how simple it is. When we dismiss in a moment, you're gonna walk past the next step center. Nobody else is looking except those that just put faith in Christ. Nobody else is looking. If you just put faith in Christ, you can look at me. When you walk out of this room, next step center right out these doors, somebody's gonna be standing there with a box. And all we wanna do is celebrate with you and help you get going. But you gotta be bold enough to walk by that next step center and say this one statement, hey, I need a box. If you'll say that, take it from there. We'll take it from there. We'll go crazy about the fact that Jesus just made you a part of the family

and help you take the next one. Father, we love you. Thank you for your presence this morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the clarity of the gospel. Thank you for the clarity in this room. I pray now that we would worship you as king of kings. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Hey, let's stand. This song helps us give him the praise he so rightly deserves. So let's give him our best praise. If you need to be prayed for about anything, we would love, love, love to do that right now. ♪ In the darkness we were waiting without hope ♪ ♪ And without light to from heaven you came running ♪ ♪ There was mercy in your eyes to fulfill the law and promise ♪ ♪ To a virgin came the word from a throne of endless glory ♪ ♪ To a cradle in the dirt ♪ ♪ And praise the Father, praise the Son ♪ ♪ And praise the Spirit three in one ♪ ♪ Your God of glory and majesty ♪ ♪ Praise forever to the King of kings ♪ ♪ Praise forever to the King of kings ♪ ♪ To reveal the kingdom come and to reconcile the lost ♪ ♪ To redeem the whole creation you did not despise the cross ♪ ♪ For even in your suffering you saw to the other side ♪ ♪ Knowing this was our salvation Jesus for our sake you died ♪ ♪ So praise the Father, praise the Son ♪ ♪ And praise the Spirit three in one ♪

♪ Your God of glory and majesty ♪ ♪ Praise forever to the King of kings ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ When the woman that she rose, all of heaven held its breath. ♪♪ ♪♪ Till that stone was moved for good, for the Lamb it conquered death. ♪♪ ♪♪ And the devil struck their tombs, and the angels stood with it all. ♪♪ ♪♪ For the soul, all who come, is to the Father all who serve. ♪♪ ♪♪ And the church of Christ was born, and the spirit proclaimed. ♪♪ ♪♪ Now this gospel truth of old, shall not kneel, shall not faint. ♪♪ ♪♪ By His word and in His name, in His freedom I feel free. ♪♪ ♪♪ For the Lord Jesus Christ, who has resurrected me. ♪♪ ♪♪ Praise the Father, praise the Son. ♪♪ ♪♪ Praise the Spirit, three in one. ♪♪ ♪♪ God of glory and majesty, we praise forever to the King of kings. ♪♪ ♪♪ We praise forever to the King of kings. ♪♪ Crossgate's family, in light of what Cal has just shared this morning about each of our resurrection story, from brokenness to believing in the one that empowers us to become, allow me to speak this blessing over you. I bless you to see your life through the lens of redemption and not regret. To know that in every part of your story, God has been right there. I bless you to walk free from shame, anchored in His grace. I bless you to be filled afresh today with Holy Spirit, overflowing with power and wisdom, hearing His voice clearly, and the faith to follow His leading with assurance that what He began in you through Christ, He will complete it. And I bless you to carry His presence into every place you go, bringing light and life and shifting atmospheres for His kingdom to manifest. I bless you with bold, unshakable faith that rises above fear and religious limitations. So I bless you again to believe for healing, for breakthrough, for miracles. I bless you to step into every promise and calling that's been spoken over your life, walking in your divine authority and seeing God's faithfulness revealed in your life again and again and again.

And finally, I bless you to become, yes, become all that you were created to be, whole, strong, and fully alive, sons and daughters of the Most High God. Thank you for coming today, guys. We'll see you this Wednesday night or either Sunday morning.