The Far and Near

Hey man, let's all stand together. How many have enjoyed that so far? Well, just wait just a few more moments and we're gonna get ready to do the finale for you But I want to do my best over these next few moments to tie just a few things together But first as we always have to do every single sunday is welcome All those that are watching around the country and around the world live with us We want to just welcome south africa and uganda. We welcome ghana and japan. We say hello to malaysia and and India, new zealand. We welcome the united kingdom. Wales, northern ireland, romania, hungary, the netherlands We welcome austria, lithuania, france, canada, mexico, panama, trinidad and tobago Jamaica, saint kitts and nevis, belize, brazil, bolivia, peru, argentina Dominican republic and puerto rico. Would you welcome all those that are watching and the 31 states that are watching? I want to tie things together in just a moment I'm going to pray and then we're going to come back to our finale It was c.s lewis the atheist who became a christian there at oxford university He said only once in our world's history did a stable have something in it that was bigger than our whole world Jesus was born Into a world he created He was held by hands that he made exist He was even crucified by people That he knew in their mother's womb before they were born something Truly bigger than the world was in that manger. It was a gift from god. Let's just be clear today giving During this season was not started by retail. It was started by heaven heaven came And really heaven went on a giving spree by giving us the greatest gift and that is giving us jesus So I want to believe today That just as this world was changed 2 000 years ago. You will be changed in just the next 15 20 minutes Let's pray father in these next few moments As everything gets tied together We were told god and we heard it in lyrics and we heard it in monologue that father you are here. You are Emmanuel

God with us So lord, would you just move in this place? Not only here at 51st and broadway But god i'm going to pray around the world that your holy spirit would move from mexico city Over to san salvador that god you would move in ukraine move in russia move in jerusalem and move in gaza Move lord god i'm praying right in south africa And over in jordan let the holy spirit do something special in people's lives today in jesus name and everybody said amen You may be seated. Just give me a few moments and then we're going to do our finale Make no mistake about it today. Everything we said saying about today is about one person and that's jesus christ Um, I want to read to you the real christmas story the one that will exclude a man in a red suit and a white beard So I want to exclude that for just a moment But when I do think about santa it's always important because I gauge my life by santa There's four stages of life for those that know santa and that's this stage one is you believe in santa Stage two you don't believe in santa stage three. You are santa And stage four you look like santa I'm getting to stage four anybody else with me on that The gospel of matthew records the real christmas story and it goes something like this And you're going to see here these two things you're going to see the close That are very far away And the far that are very close. Let me read to you matthew's account Of that special night that holy night now after jesus was born in bethlehem of judaah the days of herod The king magi from the east arrived in jerusalem Saying where is he who has been born king of the jews for we see his star In the east and have come to worship him when herod the king heard this he was troubled and all jerusalem with him Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people He inquired of them where the messiah was to be born They said to him in bethlehem of judaah for this is what has been written by the prophet He's speaking of micah And you bethlehem land of judah are by no means the least among the leaders of judah for out of you Shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people israel verse 7 Then herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared

And he sent them to bethlehem and said go and search carefully for the child And when you have found him report to me so that I too may come to worship him After hearing the king they went their way And the star which they had seen in the east went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother. They fell to the ground and worshiped him. Then opening up their treasures, they presented to him the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Every time I read this section of Scripture and it ends with those three gifts that were given to Jesus, my mind always goes back to my son's first grade class. We just celebrated my son's 25th birthday, so I wanna go back some 18 years when he was seven years old, and they had a tradition in the class at his school that whenever it was your birthday, the parents got to bring in dessert. So Cindy tasked me with bringing cupcakes, so I found the biggest cupcakes in the city and would bring those cupcakes in. The teacher knew I was a minister and said, well, Reverend, since you are here, why don't you tell the kids or speak about the Christmas story

since it's December 18th, your son's birthday. You can hand out the cupcakes and then give us something about the Christmas story. Well, to do that on the fly with seven-year-olds was gonna take something, so I just decided to ask this question. I said, the three magi, those three wise men, what did they give Jesus? And this, I thought, I was with a really smart class, I thought, and it started off great. That one shouted, mer, and I said, absolutely, and I got excited that we had our kids in a good school. Then all of a sudden, the next child said, gold, and I said, fantastic, and then we got to the third one that they could not get frankincense. Nobody in this, not even my son knew frankincense, so I had to help them. I said, it starts with an F, and all of a sudden, they started guessing. The first one said, french fries. I said, nope, that's not true. The next one said, a fur coat, and then I said, that's not true either, and then we had problems. The last one said this, a phone. I said, phone starts with a P, a P, so I have to go home and tell Cindy we have our kids in the wrong school at that moment, but it has to be my favorite. When I was reading about the Christmas story

that was being done by children, and they came to that part with the three magi, and they're presenting it, and they came down, and their problem with frankincense went like this, so the first grader came down, presented his prop at the manger, and said, gold, and the parents cheered. The next one came and said, mer, and everybody cheered, but that third kid, it's always frankincense that stumps us. The other kid, the only thing he could say was this, Frank sent us, and that's the only thing he could come up with, so I think that's why we have to tell the real Christmas story today so we can get it right. Matthew 2.1 says, now, after Jesus was born, this is such an important part. It was the great 19th century preacher, Charles Spurgeon, from the London pulpit of Metropolitan Tabernacle that said it like this. Now, after Jesus was born, he said, a stir begins as soon as Christ is born. He has not spoken a word, he has not worked a miracle, he has not even proclaimed a single doctrine. Before he mounts the throne, friends bring him presents, and his enemies plan his death. It may have been a holy night, but it definitely wasn't a silent night. There was things that were happening. Life and death were being planned on that night, and this is so important.

Think about it, it's mind-boggling how the simple, unassuming birth of what many would call a peasant boy 2,000 years ago in a stable in the Middle East has caused such commotion. His birthday would cause traffic jams in New York City to Rio de Janeiro to London. His birth would make governments vote against using his name on this day, or even his birth has enacted laws banning things he has said to be used in certain public places, even presently today. Make no mistake, the hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable. We look at our calendar that way, before Christ, after Christ. But to define what Christmas is really all about, if you wanna ask the question, what is Christmas? It is simply this. Christmas is when God came down the stairs of heaven with a baby in his arms. That is the greatest gift that has been given. God's love and generosity is amazing. It's more than amazing. It's absolutely mind-boggling when you think what God has given to us. That's why we announce joy to the world. But I think what has to be even perplexing, I wouldn't even say that it's amazing. but perplexing on this incredible generosity of heaven are the reactions of two groups in the story I just read.

There's two groups here, the magi and the priests and the scribes. You have these people from afar and these people from close that I want to talk to you about. And that's where I want you to understand that the close are really very far and the far are very close. Let me just tell you what I mean, just in two quick thoughts. The far are very close. That's the three magi. That's what it says after Jesus was born in Bethlehem that the magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem. This is considered to be three because there were three gifts that were there. Someone once said, they said, what if it wasn't three men that came to the stable? What if it was three women? It would have looked like a whole different scene in Matthew 2. Number one, they wouldn't have followed a star. They would have asked for directions. If it was women, they would have helped deliver the baby. Number three, if it was women, they would have cleaned the manger and the stable. And number four, they wouldn't have brought useless gifts. They would have brought baby formula and diapers for Jesus at that time. I know that these are three men that amaze me for two reasons. Let me just give them to you today. Number one, these are not just three guys from around the block. These are men that are very far from this manger geographically. Historians tell us that when they came, they came from Persia. They came from Babylon. Think about this for a moment, those that are listening. They were a thousand miles away from Persia, Babylon, to that Bethlehem stable. It's literally a thousand miles. Historians tell us that they wouldn't even be traveling as three people. There would be an entourage of some 300 people that were coming with camels and gifts that were all going through the desert with these three men. And they were coming from the most advanced nation, Babylon, on the planet.

Where the best of minds of the day, the intellects, and even the scientists existed. That was the place to be. That was the epicenter of the world, Babylon, Persia. Or what we would know today as Iran. It was that section that these three men came from. But what amazed me was what they saw and how they responded. That, to me, was the astounding part. Let me explain. Were the three wise men, I'll ask it in a question. Were the three wise men disappointed when they got to the manger? A thousand miles! And you show up and there's a husband and a wife that are there amongst the animals. That are there because there was no room at the inn. And they see this child. A thousand miles and that's what you saw. And what's incredible is that Babylon knows kings. Babylon has had countless kings on the throne. These magi have seen kings. They've bowed before kings. They have spoken to kings. And now they're in Bethlehem and they see a baby. He did not look like a king. There was no castle but a stable. There was no scepter, no throne, no royal garb. He couldn't even walk or talk. But they knew that this was the king. Somehow, above all the kings that they saw, they knew they must bow before that little child. They saw beyond the manger. They saw beyond the present into the future.

I think J.C. Ryle, an old preacher from the past, said it best when he said, No greater faith in the Bible than a thief on the cross. One thief saw him dying and called him Lord. The other was when three men, magi, saw him as a baby in a mother's arms and bowed and worshipped him. Think of that for just a moment. One saw him dying in a sense as a criminal and said, You are the Lord. Let me be with you in paradise today. And three men from the east saw a baby and called him king. Which is so important. It tells me that making Jesus king of your life doesn't need every question answered. It does need a step of faith. It does need for us at moments to go, I don't know how this works, but I see further. You are the king. You are the Lord. And I want to prepare you room today in my heart. Think of this for just a moment. A thousand miles away, a thousand miles away, are these three men. Some of you are sitting in this place may feel 1,000 miles away from God today. Maybe something you've done, maybe a life that you've lived, maybe addiction that you struggle with, maybe failures of the past,

and to be here in a place like this, you're going, this is nice, and I was invited here, but I feel, or invited to watch, or sent a link from different parts of the world, and you feel 1,000 miles away. I wanna give you some good news, and I wanna tell you a story of someone who sat in a church that felt 1,000 miles away and was brought close. I was reading the story of a church much like this, of a pastor that soon, in about six months to a year, that was going to retire, and the church watched him raise his son in that local church, and one day, that boy grew to be a man, and one day would begin to become the new pastor, but it was still some time. But in the pastor's last year of pastoring that church, he saw some wonderful things take place. One of those was a young lady that came to Christ. It was a woman that came out of prostitution and drug addiction. It was a real miracle story. They watched this woman literally just flourish in the things of God. She not only was set free, she started to grow as a Christian. She started to serve in the children's ministry. She started to be such an amazing member of this church, and everything was fine until one thing took place.

The son fell in love with this young lady, and all of a sudden, now there was a problem. How can our new pastor-to-be begin to have a wife who came out of prostitution and drug addiction? And now there was a church fight. There was a fight to say, you can't be the pastor of this church to have a woman that came from the streets, these local streets, these streets, that they've known her name and they've known what she has done. And now our pastor is gonna step down and give it over to his son, but we're gonna have to know that the past of his wife, this young wife, is now gonna be tainted, and our leadership will be tainted. Then the problem began to grow, and they even called a church meeting. A whole church came together, and all of a sudden, it was literally divided. The people made their arguments and tensions increased. The meeting was getting completely out of hand as the pastor, the pastor's son, and even his fiance sat there. Eventually, the young woman became so upset that she just ran out of there as her past was being brought up that she was forgiven of and causing her such pain. And finally, the son stood up as his fiance ran out of there,

and this is what he said. He said, my fiance's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. And today, you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So I have one question. So does it wash away sin or not? I can answer that question today by quoting that old hymn. And it goes like this. What can wash away my sin? And you would answer, nothing. And I'm here to tell you, you may feel 1,000 miles away, but we have a God who's called Emmanuel that has come to forgive you, set you free today, right now. Hallelujah. What gets you close to God is not your promises. It's not your goodness. It's still nothing but the blood of Jesus. When you say the blood of Jesus on a day like today, you're speaking about the birth of Christ that had a mission. You sang about it in that song just before I came out with that song that said, Jesus, Jesus, that's what we call you. Manger born, don't stop the story, but on a tree, you died to save humanity. You are the living word, hallelujah. That was his mission, which meant the far can come close.

Those that feel 1,000 miles away can come close to God. But let me finish with this, that in this story, the close are far away from him. That's the scribes, that's the priests. It's the religious people. Listen to it. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. He gathered together. These are the wisest, these are the men that knew the most about religion. He brought together the chief priests and the scribes and inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. And without batting an eyelash, they said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea. The Danish theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, said these powerful words. He said, it is so much easier to become a Christian when you are not one than to become a Christian. when you assume you already are. That's sobering. Because when Herod asked the religious people where the Messiah would be born, think of this for just a moment, right here, those that are listening online, in person, Annex, Jersey campus, think of it for just a moment. When Herod asks the question to the most astute religious people where the Messiah would be born, they didn't even have to Google it.

No one looked on their phone. They knew exactly, and where not only he would be born, they knew exactly what part of the Bible it was in. Immediately, the scribes and the Pharisees, the priests, the most knowledgeable people knew all the answers, said, oh, we know that, Micah 5.2, and he would be born in Bethlehem. Now, folks, listen to me. This is the important part. This is the part I don't want you to miss. And then what happens next is mind-boggling. Because once they identified, where is the Messiah to be born? Oh, Micah 5.2, he's gonna be born in Bethlehem. Here it is. What happens next astounded me, because what happened next, here it is, is nothing. Nobody moved. No one ran. No one went to Bethlehem. No one bowed. No one brought gifts. No one worshiped. No one did anything. They knew the Bible. They knew the Bible verses. They knew the religious concept. And here's the amazing thing. The journey wasn't 1,000 miles. They were five miles away, and no one went there.

No one even went. They knew all the answers, and never experienced the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. They knew the facts about Jesus, but never experienced the presence of Jesus. It's like flying to the West Coast over the Grand Canyon, looking out a window and going, oh, there's the Grand Canyon. And to say that you've experienced would be a fallacy. You flew over it, but you never took it all in. Knowing about doesn't mean you experienced it. Knowing the Psalms about Jesus doesn't mean you've experienced Jesus. You could grow up in church. You may be sitting here today, five miles away, five rows away from an opportunity for your life to be changed, and walk out of here realizing that I know the answers. I knew that verse. I knew this part. I've read that chapter. Knowing everything that's there, but never experiencing who he is. You may have experienced church. You may have experienced religion. I've even had people say, I've tried Jesus, and it just didn't work for me. I would say, stop right there. You may have tried a church.

You may have tried a religion. You may have tried a denomination. But here's what the Bible says. Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed. And so I tell them, you may have tried church. You could even try a pastor. And let me just tell you something. Church will let you down. Denominations will let you down. Religion will let you down. And let me speak about me. Pastors, especially this one, will let you down. But there's one person that will not let you down. His name is Jesus. So let me finish here and tell you this story. I was kidding with our orchestra, and I was talking to, especially our two cellists back there, and I was talking to our violins. I said, I couldn't believe the story when I read it out of the Chicago Tribune, written by a man back in 1999, Greg Asimopoulos, who told a story about someone who lost a $2.5 million cello. Can you imagine that? Man, I'm a little out of sorts if I lose a $20 bill. Anybody with me on this? Hey, where's that money from? Where did that money go? $2.5 million, and it was the story of Yo-Yo Ma,

who's playing just down the street here at Carnegie Hall. He's playing at Carnegie Hall in 1999. Cell phones were just kind of getting in the groove. There was no Lyft, there was no Uber. There's something we have here in New York, which we love, and that's called the yellow cabs. He got in the yellow cab, put his $2.5 million cello in the back of the trunk of a cab. They took him to his residence on the Upper East Side as he played here in Midtown Manhattan. Yo-Yo Ma got out of that cab and went up to his room to relax after a riveting performance at Carnegie Hall. and then remembered, I forgot the cello. And all of a sudden, he became frantic and went on a search. The one good thing that the story said was, he had his receipt so he can turn it in, and on the receipt was the cab number and who picked him up. And he found out, in Queens, New York, in a lot of yellow cabs, one of those cabs was a $2.5 million Vienna cello in that cab. They located it, and the two were reunited that day. And this is all I thought about. That man did not go to sleep until that thing was gotten. He wasn't going to bed that night until he knew where it was and how he could retrieve it, that it was identified, which cab, which lot, and I'm telling you, that virtuoso was going to Queens

as soon as it was identified, and he was gonna retrieve the most valuable thing to him. That's exactly what God has done for you. God, 2,000 years ago, looked at every single one of you. And can I give you good news? You're worth way more than a cello. You belong to God. And he didn't go to Queens, which he had to go to Queens, but he came to this entire planet to redeem you and to set you free. God would not rest until he went on a rescue mission for you. That's why Christmas began in the heart of God, and it is only complete when it reaches the heart of men and women. That's when Christmas comes together, when those two things happen. And here today, as we get ready to close, there is a gift exchange. That's what Christmas is about. It's a gift exchange. What happens on this, Pastor Tim? Here it is, to make it as simple as I can. God went first on the Christmas gift exchange, as the gift of God to man would be his son, Jesus Christ. Born on this day, angels heralded him. A king named Herod wanted to kill him. Wise men from the east, 1,000 miles away, bowed before him. The religious wouldn't even give him the time of day. But I'm telling you, it was a rescue mission. It was, Jesus did not come to establish a holiday.

Jesus came to set people free. Free. Now, here's the important part. The gift of God to man was his son, Jesus. Man's gift to God is our hearts, our sinful hearts. And God loves receiving that gift today. He came on a rescue mission for you. He came looking for you. As passionate as Yo-Yo Ma was to look for a cello, God is infinitely passionate that he would send his son to rescue you today and work a miracle in your life. He didn't come 2,000 years ago to get you to church. He didn't come 2,000 years ago to get, so you can give up your Sundays by sitting in a chair in a church. He came 2,000 years ago to get you to heaven and to get you to eternity. That's why he came. And that can happen today. So the question is this, well, how does that happen? If I was to ask you, how do you get to heaven? What's amazing is this, is we hundreds of people that are just sitting here at 51st and Broadway would come up with answers. Thousands that are watching online would have all different answers. And every time I think about that, it's amazing to me on how sure we are

on how to get to heaven. And here it is. None of us have ever been there, but we know how. Here's what we think. Well, you have to be good. Well, you can't hurt anybody. Well, you have to take care of your family. I'm a good person. All those things are great. I've heard them all. I've heard everyone. I've heard it from business people to athletes. I've heard it from homeless to those in a shelter. I've heard it from single moms, and I've heard it all the way down to law enforcement and those in the military. I've heard every answer about how to get there. And it's amazing to me that everybody knows how to get to Jesus's home, but none of us have been there. So why not listen to the one who came from heaven to earth and then went from earth to heaven? And this is what he said. Here it is. Jesus's words. No one can see the kingdom of heaven unless they are born again. Not my words, Jesus's words. Here's a thought.

All of us, somebody here, let me, let me, let's do a survey. How many have lied at some point in their life? Would you raise your hand? If the person doesn't have their hand up, look at them and say, you got one now on your record. Just tell them that right now. We've all lied. Jesus, who has never lied, always tells the truth, says, here's how you get there. You must be born again. What does that mean? Jesus was saying, just as you had a first birth, physically, born in a hospital, many of us, we have a birth date in our life that, that we could say, this is the day I was, I, I was birthed. Jesus said you need a second birth date, a spiritual birth date. That can happen right now. So the question is this. Have you been born again? I didn't ask if you came to church. I didn't ask if you're religious. Do you have a second birth date? Because those are Jesus's directions. Here's the good news. Ready for this? Perfect people, because some of you are sitting here going like, no, no, no, you don't know what I've done. I've got to get some things right. The good news is this. Perfect people don't go to heaven. I know that astounds some of you.

You know who go to heaven? Forgiven people go to heaven. That can happen today. How does that happen, Pastor Tim? It's as simple as ABC. We tell that to children growing up. Learn your ABCs. These are the most, these three letters that I'm about to tell you, the most important ABCs. Here they are. It's A, admitting that we're sinners. We're broken on the inside. We're born with a brokenness. I'm born in sin. The Bible tells me that. And some people who always tell me that, I don't believe that. I always tell them, I said, well, you've never had children. I can promise you, because the first thing a child does is no. I said, Judas, I said, you could see that sinful nature in children. You don't teach, how many of you have had to teach your children to steal or to lie? You don't have to teach them that. It just comes. Did you take that cookie? No. Did you teach them that? This is how you lie. None of us have done that. This is how you are selfish. Let me teach you how to be selfish. I want to teach you that. So when I ask you for this, I want you to learn these words. Mine. Learn those.

Have you taught your kids that? How do they learn that? It's in us. And what's scary is when we get older and it's still in us. The selfishness. The pride. The people that may be sitting here that say, I know these answers. I've been in a church. I know this religious stuff. Those are the ones that could be five feet away. Five rows away. And miss God. Sit in a church and experience songs but never experience Jesus in their lives. It's A, admitting that we're sinners. That there's not a promise, a prescription, a program that can ever fix that condition. That we need an answer. I don't need a second chance. I need a second birth. How does that happen? That's B, believe. Believe that God sent his son 2,000 years ago to be born. That we're going to celebrate to fix my sinful condition. That he would die on a cross. Die the death. Be my substitute. Die a death I was supposed to die from my sin. I'm supposed to be responsible. But God says I'll make him responsible. Live a life I couldn't even live.

And then give me a reward I don't even deserve. Called forgiveness in heaven. Only God can do that. It would be ridiculous to say, well, here's what you gotta do. God's gonna send his son down here. We're gonna beat him. We're gonna put him on a cross. But I'm gonna tell all of humanity, you gotta be good to get to heaven. Doesn't even make sense. It'd be the worst case of child abuse in human history. To say, be good, but the death of Jesus doesn't matter. It does matter. He's my substitute. And I have to believe that. And then finally, C, confess him as Lord. That's the tough part. Because confessing Jesus as Lord, that's a big word. Romans 10, 9, and 10 mentions that. It's a word which means you're in charge. It's a word which means you're the boss. It's a word that means you can veto anything. Because you know better than I do. To make Jesus Lord turns it from a religion to a relationship. Religion says show up on Sundays and maybe God can speak to you. Relationship says God wants you Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. He wants you every single day.

And can I tell you? Starting with this church, there is not a religion that can set you free. But there is a relationship with Jesus. that can set you free today in this place. Those that are listening, balcony, main floor, listening around the world and around the country. Those that are listening from Maine all the way over to California, from Florida to Michigan, Texas all the way up to Illinois, listen. He's got something. He wants to change your life. Don't be five miles away and do nothing. Don't just come and listen to music and do nothing. God can change you today. Would you bow your head and close your eyes? I want to ask you the most important question. The most important question of life is have you been born again? It's the most important question. It's the question that can change you. It's the question of not just being in a church, a mosque, a synagogue, or a religious place. It's a question of eternity. It's a question of going, I want God in my life. It's a gift exchange. I want God to come in and change me from the inside out. There are people here that are going, I've got to fix some things in my life. You don't get good and come to Jesus. You come to Jesus and he makes you good. So you could be here today and feel a thousand miles away and I want to say to you, he is Emmanuel, God with us. You can come here today and be so close and have all the answers, but yet your life is broken. You can talk to people about religion back and forth and talk about your worldview from atheism to agnosticism. But never once admit my life is broken. And that's where it starts. I need help. I need a miracle. I need Jesus. And today I want to invite you to start on that journey with God. I'm gonna invite you in just about one minute, if you're here today, those that can hear my voice online and in person. This is the most important question. I'm gonna pray a born-again prayer that starts a journey with God.

It's not a magic prayer, but it just simply says, God, I need you in my life. I don't want religion. I want a relationship with you. I want you every single day. I want you part of my life. I want you to take over my life. Not part, but over my life. And if you're here today and say, Pastor Tim, I want that in just a moment. Because I want you to get ready for this. I'm gonna ask, I'm not gonna make you stand. I'm not even gonna make you come forward. But today, if you want that in your life, I'm gonna ask you in just a second to raise your hand. And if you're here, balcony, main floor, annex, around the world, you're going, I want God in my life. I want to be born again. I want today to be my second birthday. I want to lead you in a prayer that just starts the journey. Starts the journey with God. If that's you, and say, Pastor Tim, when you pray that born-again prayer, would you put me in that? Would you make me part? I want to start a journey with God today. If that's you, with no hesitation, say, put me in that prayer. Would you just raise your hand? Just say, put me in that. Hold it up as high as you can. I want to see those hands. Come on, put them up. I want to start over here and see those hands. Hold them up high. Hold them up high, so I can see. Yes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Hold them up high. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. I want to make sure I see. And balcony, hold up your hands. I want to make sure. Hold them up high. 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37. I've got you all the way back. 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52. You can put your hands down. Could we thank God for those hands that went up today? Here's what I'm going to ask you to do. Would you all stand with me? I want to join not only with those 52 hands that went up, and I don't know the hands that went up in the annex, and those that are watching online. Type the word, decided in, into that chat line, so we know that you're going to start a journey with God. Can we get ready in just a moment for the finale? But let's all pray this together. Come on, join with me and pray this. Say these words out loud, everybody. Say, Dear Jesus, I believe you're the Son of God. I believe that on the cross, you took my sin,

my shame, and my guilt, and you died for it. You faced hell for me, so I wouldn't have to go. You rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your Father. Today Lord Jesus, I turn from my sin to be born again. God is my Father, Jesus is my Savior, the Holy Spirit is my helper, and heaven is my home. In Jesus name, and everybody said amen and amen and amen. Now listen, I want to encourage you to do something. If you prayed that prayer would you just look at the screen. You can text the word decided to 51,000 and if you're watching online you can begin to email decided to growth at TSC dot NYC. We thank God for those hands that went up today, that made that decision. Could we put our hands together one more time for those that have done that?