Throw off the Weight | Pastor Grant Ethridge | Liberty Live Church

I am saying, one time, one time, one time I am saying, one time, one time, one time I am saying, one time, one time, one time I keep saying, one time, one time I am saying, one time, one time, one time I am saying, one time, one time, one time I hear him say it, one time, one time I hear him say it One time, one time I hear him say it One time, one time Time You're not keeping track of my mistakes Even when I struggle to obey you The love I know is the love that runs away But your kind of love's the kind that always stays It's not a feeling, not self-seeking This is a God-played love It's boneless, your love is fearless This is a God-played love Yeah, this is a God-played love This ain't the pounding heart or the butterflies More like the steady sacrificial kind And there's no loss, me or not The break in my heart, the tangling me up inside This kind of love would die to give me life Cause it's not a feeling, it's not self-seeking This is a God-played love It's boneless, your love is fearless This is a God-played love

Yeah, this is a God-played love It's practice, not passion It gives no commissions Against every instinct Ignores inconvenience It's risky, it's costly Thank God that you love like that No, you won't turn your back Can't believe that you love like that It's not a feeling, not self-seeking This is a God-played love It's boneless, your love is fearless This is a God-played love Yeah, this is a God-played love It's not a feeling, it's not self-seeking Yeah, this is a God-played love It's boneless, your love is fearless This is a God-played love Yeah, this is a God-played love Yeah, this is a God-played love Yeah, this is a God-played love The Father, Son, the Holy Planet, Eternal One, born unto man. Invisible God, revealed here with us, You came to save. Jesus, thank You. You paid our debt. You paid with blood. Wounded by men, wounded by God. The wrath we deserved poured on You in return. You took our place. Jesus, thank You. To God be the glory. To God all the glory. For the things He has done, the things yet to come. To God be the glory. Then on the third, that glorious day, You crushed the snake, consumed the grave. With forgiveness of sin, You rose up again. You broke the curse. Jesus, thank You. My Savior lives. Jesus, thank You. To God be the glory. To God all the glory. For the things He has done, the things yet to come. To God be the glory. You will return. Wipe every tear. This world of pain will disappear.

What endless delight when our faith becomes light. When we will sing hallelujah. My soul will sing hallelujah. To God be the glory. To God all the glory. To God be the glory. To God all the glory. For the things yet to come. To God be the glory. To God be the glory. To God all the glory. For the things yet to come. To God be the glory. To God be the glory. To God all the glory. For the things yet to come. To God be the glory. For the things yet to come. To God be the glory. Good morning. Welcome to Liberty Live Church. We are so glad you decided to join us. Today's your first day at Liberty. We'd love to meet you. So text CONNECT to 40371, tap the seat back in front of you, or visit us at one of our next step centers after the service today. We can't wait to meet you. Si hablas español, nos encantaría que nos acompañaras a nuestros servicios todos los domingos en nuestro campus de Hampton. Para más información, favor de mandar la palabra ESP al 40371, te esperamos. Because of your generosity, lives are being changed right here in Hampton Roads and around the world. When you give, you partner with us to help change lives, communities, and the world for Jesus Christ. You can give through our website, tap the seat in front of you, or through an envelope at your campus today. Thank you for investing in all that God is doing through the work here at Liberty. You know, God is moving in so many incredible ways here at Liberty, from kids to students to young adults to senior adults. There are so many ways for you to find community, discover your purpose, and grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus. So right now, let's look at some exciting things coming up. Don't miss what's happening all throughout the week, so follow us on social media and

connect with your campus Facebook group. Thanks again for being here today, where it's not just church, it's life. Good morning, Liberty! What a great day to be in the house of the Lord. We are so glad you're joining us here on this Sunday. It's an exciting time to be here at Liberty, and no matter where you're streaming from right now, we love you and you're a part of the Liberty family. That's right, and we would love to meet you. This is Kyle. I'm Jenny. Leave your name in the chat. Let us know where you're streaming from. And if today is your first time ever, we did have a first timer last week, shout out Shelly. She was checking us out online, trying to find a church home. So we just want to say welcome to Liberty. We hope this is the place for you and your family. You can text LIFE to 40371 and let us know you're new. Or you could scan this QR code right here on the screen. We'd love to send you a free Bible and a free gift. If you come into one of our campuses, you get a first time guest bag. We're going to put a first time guest bag in the mail for you just to say thank you, but you got to scan that QR code or text LIFE to 40371. Yeah, it's a good time, Jenny. It is a good time. You know what else is going to be a great time? What's going to be a good time? What's coming up? What's here right now? Today is day one of 21 days of prayer. If you've never joined us for 21 days of prayer, it is an awesome time that we do here, a thing

we do here at church. Yes. Yes. 21 days of prayer and fasting, Sundays, regular service. Yes. We do have an extended prayer time at the end. That's right. Monday through Friday, 6am. It's about to get real, folks. It's about to get real. And then Saturdays at 9am. And of course here online. Jenny, tell them a little bit about what 21 days of prayer is. 21 days of prayer is one of the biggest events in the life of our church. Like Kyle said, if you're new, if you're just checking us out today, you've never heard of it. This is kind of like a spiritual reset for us, right? We want to seek the Lord at the beginning of the year. So we do one in January. We want to seek the Lord faithfully before we head into the fall. Not just asking the Lord for what we want for ourselves and for our church, but asking what God wants for us. Seek his direction, seek his wisdom. So that's why we do this for three weeks straight. Sundays during our services, first thing in the morning, we get you out within an hour so you can get to work, get your kids to school if they're already going back to school. It's just an incredible time of refocusing our minds, dying to ourselves.

For some of us, this involves fasting and we really wanna encourage you, God has more for you, he has more for your life. Really challenge yourself during this season to find out what that more is. So it's gonna be an incredible and hard, but good three weeks. Yes, and if you join us right at the right time, it is day one. It's day one. So you're jumping right in at the beginning. And if you're seeing this maybe later, it's never too late to join us. That's right, never. Always hop on the journey with us and you won't regret it. That's right, so excited for it. So excited for this new sermon series we're in, Look to Jesus. It connects directly with this season of prayer we're getting ready to get into. So we pray it blesses y'all today. Yeah, it's gonna be an awesome day. We're so glad you're here for service. We love you and we'll see you later. Good morning church. It's day one of 21 days of prayer. You're excited to be in the house of the Lord this morning. Look if you're expecting and believe the Lord has more for you this year. Come on, let's clap our hands like this, come on.

♪ Louder in the back ♪ ♪ Trusting that he's gonna lead you today ♪ ♪ Sometimes you gotta welcome the wonder ♪ ♪ Pray for the answer ♪ ♪ First you put your hands in the air ♪ ♪ I'll praise you when you wear the grave ♪ ♪ Give him praise, give him praise, give him the highest praise ♪ ♪ Give him praise, give him praise, give him the highest praise ♪ ♪ He's worthy, yes he is ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all of the praise ♪ ♪ He's worthy, sometimes you gotta praise him crazy ♪ ♪ Cry out to heaven, shout it to the door and swing wide ♪ ♪ Sometimes you gotta stand up and strangle him ♪ ♪ Praise him in the battle, worship with your hands held high ♪ ♪ I'll praise you when you wear the grave ♪ ♪ Give him praise, give him praise, give him the highest praise ♪ ♪ Give him praise, give him praise, give him the highest praise ♪ ♪ He's worthy, yes he is ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all of the praise ♪ ♪ Give him praise, give him praise, give him the highest praise ♪ ♪ Give him praise, give him praise, give him the highest praise ♪ ♪ He's worthy, yes he is ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all of the praise ♪ ♪ He's worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ Let everything that hurts, we'll praise the Lord ♪ ♪ We'll praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Blessings day and night, countless reasons why ♪ ♪ I'll praise you when you wear the grave ♪ ♪ Every promise kept, goodness every step ♪ ♪ Each and every breath, I'll praise you when you come ♪

♪ Sing faithful all my life, blessings day and night ♪ ♪ Countless reasons why, I'll praise you when you wear the grave ♪ ♪ Countless reasons why, I'll praise you when you wear the grave ♪ ♪ Every promise kept, goodness every step ♪ ♪ Each and every breath, I'll praise you when you wear the grave ♪ ♪ Give him praise, give him praise, give him the highest praise ♪ ♪ Give him praise, give him praise, give him the highest praise ♪ ♪ He is worthy, yes he is worthy of all of the praise ♪ ♪ He is worthy of all of the praise ♪ ♪ With your praise and with all your love ♪ ♪ With your praise and with all your love this morning ♪ ♪ We sing, I'll praise you when you wear the grave ♪ We'll praise the God you've raised. We'll praise the God you've raised. We remember your name, oh Lord. I'm not a fool, Lord. All your mercy never fails. We'll praise your name. All my days, I've been held in your grace. From the moment that I wake, until I lay my head, I will sing of the goodness of your grace. Come on church, let's remember his faithfulness. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been faithful. Every breath that I inhale, I will sing of the goodness of God. We remember, we remember. We remember, we remember. Sing I love you more. Of your glory. You have led me through the fire.

In darkness, you are close like no other. I've known you as a father. I've known you as a friend. And I have lived in your name. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good. So good. With every breath that I inhale, I will sing of the goodness of God. We remember your faithfulness, God. We call to mind, we call to mind your faithfulness, Lord. Your goodness is running after, come on. Your goodness is running after. Every day, with my life laid down, I surrender now. Your goodness is running after. All the days of my life. Your goodness is running after. All the days of my life. Your goodness is running after, running after me. With my life laid down, I give you everything. Your goodness is running after, running after me. All the days of my life. I'll sing all my life. All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I inhale, I will sing of the goodness of God. One more time. All my life, all my life you have been faithful. Oh, every day, all my life you have been so, so good.

So with every breath, with every breath, I will sing of the goodness of God. Sing your goodness. Your goodness is running after. With my life laid down. ♪ Every night I give You everything ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running out, running out ♪ ♪ Oh, thank You, Lord, thank You, Lord ♪ ♪ We will sing all Your faithfulness now ♪ Come on, praise Him, praise Him this way. We remember Your faithfulness. We remember. Oh, we sing, we sing, too. ♪ I am an instrument of exaltation ♪ ♪ I was born to lift Your name above all names ♪ ♪ You hear the melody of all creation ♪ ♪ But there's a song of praise that only I can sing ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, no one is more worthy ♪ ♪ Is more worthy, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, there is no one on the earth ♪ Sing, You are. ♪ You are the infinite God of the angels ♪ ♪ Yet You chose to make my heart a dwelling place ♪ ♪ You healed my brokenness, You showed me Your glory ♪ ♪ I have songs of faith, not even angels sing ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, no one is more worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else will hold on and recognize ♪

♪ There is no one, only Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, only Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ No one else, there is no one, only Jesus ♪ Come on church, sing it out. ♪ The living God, come on, was and is and is ♪ ♪ Seated on the throne of heaven, holy is Your name ♪ ♪ Christ is one, You proved to us the Father's love ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, oh we lift Him up, He's holy, He's holy God ♪ ♪ The living God, anointing what was and is and is ♪ ♪ He's seated on the throne, holy, holy, worthy is Your name ♪ ♪ Christ is one, You proved to us the Father's love ♪ ♪ Oh we sing, holy is our Lord, the living God, oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ He's seated on the throne, holy, holy, worthy is Your name ♪ ♪ Christ is one, You proved to us the Father's love ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus Christ, we lift You up, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, there is no one, no one more worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else in all the earth, there is none, only You Jesus ♪ ♪ There is none, there is none, only You Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one, only You Jesus. ♪ Only You, only You. Come on, give Him praise in this place. Only You, only You. Only You, only You. Only You. Aren't you thankful for Jesus this morning? I'm telling you, Jesus is so faithful in all of our lives. And I have Tyler here with me.

And he said that he grew up in church and actually was saved at 11 years old. But he said after he joined the military, he got away from the things of God and started going in the wrong direction. And just a few Sundays ago, I was down at the front at the end of one of the services and he came up with tears in his eyes. He said, I'm coming back to Jesus. Woo! So upon that testimony, it's an honor to baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We're buried with Christ in baptism and grace to all. You can do this in life. I'm telling you what God did for him, he can do for you. And so many of us have the testimony that we grew up being raised in the things of God, but for a period of our lives, got away from Him. And just like the prodigal son, I'm telling you that God is waiting for you to come back home. And I'm asking that he would reveal to you, even this morning, that now is your time to come back to Jesus. My name's Daniel, I'm the campus pastor here at Hampton, and we're so glad you're joining us. And I wanna tell you, if you're here for the first time, welcome home.

You were meant to be here with us and you could not be joining us at a better time in the life of our church because today is day one of 21 days of prayer. And they're excited because they know what God does in this season. We're entering into a time of prayer and fasting for the next 21 days. We'll actually be gathered right here every single morning at 6 a.m. for a prayer service to seek God together. And I want you to go on this journey. If you've never been through a 21 days of prayer with us, I'm asking that you would take this season to fast and to pray and to seek God and ask him to do what only he can do in your life. And I would love the chance for our staff to be able to pray with you over the major things that you're praying this 21 days of prayer. And so there is a sticker on the seat back in front of you. It actually is a way for you to connect with us. If you have a smartphone, you can literally tap that sticker on the seat back in front of you. But let us know, there's a place for you to tell us what you're praying for this 21 days. It'd be such an honor to be able to pray for you and your family as y'all go through this next season together. I wanna tell you, we had a pretty big surprise. We were keeping, and I don't know if you know it,

but over the weekend, we released a brand new worship album called Still Waters. It is unlike any other project we have ever done. In fact, the entire album is made for you to have an hour long experience with God. And every song stands on its own, but it's intended to be listened to from beginning to end with no stop. And I would encourage you, if you're looking for a resource this 21 days, I cannot point you in a better direction. You can go on any streaming service, Liberty Live Worship, and click on our brand new album, Still Waters. And all of those songs will take you on a journey of prayer as you seek the Lord. And I don't want you to miss it. I want you to say hi to somebody around you. Give them a high five, a handshake, and tell them you're glad to see them in the house of God this morning. You can be seated and turn your attention to the screens. Well, good morning, Liberty. Anybody glad to be in church today? I want to welcome all the Liberty family at every location. And those of you who have joined us online, whether you're away on vacation or military family, missionary family, or the men and women in the correctional facilities, it's a joy to study the Word of God together. I want you to get your Bible. I want you to find Hebrews 12. And right now, can we at every campus just put our hands together and welcome all the

family? Today is a very special day for two reasons. One, it is day one of 21 days of prayer. And I know your campus pastors already talked about it, but I want to make sure that those of you online go on the journey with us as well. Today and next Sunday and the third Sunday in 21 days is three Sundays. And so we always pray at the close of the service at the altar. So your campus pastor at the campuses will have an altar call today and pray over you and pray with you. And then tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., we will meet at all our permanent campuses every day 6 a.m. And I promise you, people come. You won't be by yourself. If you've never experienced it, you owe it to yourself to get in the room. And it is a one-hour prayer service from 6. I promise we never keep you past 7. We send you out. We've got coffee, and you can head to work or wherever it is that you need to be starting tomorrow morning. But it is a prayer service. It is very intentional. It is very organized. And yet, we want to just go on that journey with you. You'll have some time to pray by yourself. We will pray together corporately. I'll explain it tomorrow morning. You just be there, all right? 6 a.m. And then on Saturdays, it's at 9 o'clock. We let you sleep in on Saturdays.

That's right. And if you have never done that, go on the journey. If you've been to every one of them, I can't wait. I'm excited to meet with you. And it's going to be a great 21 days of prayer. And if you cannot get to one of our campuses, follow along online. People from other states follow us and actually experience 21 days online. And so I hope that you will join us. If you got it, say amen. I said it's a special day for two reasons. One, it's day one of 21 days of prayer. And number two, it is our anniversary. I want you to know that the love of my life, my bride, the First Lady of Liberty Live, we're celebrating 41 years of marriage today. Today. And, oh, she's going to have an extra star in her crown for having to put up with me for 41 years. Amen. I tell you, it's been an incredible journey. And I'm glad that God chose us to do this together. And one of her favorite places to go is to Israel. We got just a few spots left. You say, are y'all really still going? Yes. Now, listen, that can change. Yesterday it was all out, we're going to attack. Today it's we're pausing, we're going to hold off. We play this game every day. All right. Y'all know it. We can't control what's going on in the world.

But people are already going. And I want you to know that we have people there. The group that we're going with, they're there. And we'll be continuing to go before we get there. And if something happens, they'll cancel the trip and you'll get a full refund. We've done that twice. All right. So, listen, if you've ever thought about on your bucket list going to Israel, we'd love for you to join. We've got a great group going. And that's October the 5th through the 14th. Well, today we began a new series, Look to Jesus. For three Sundays during these three weeks of 21 days of prayer, we're going to be at Hebrews chapter 12. If you'll turn and find that, Hebrews chapter 12. And we're calling it Look to Jesus because that's exactly what these verses tell us to do. Hebrews chapter 12, you follow along as I read. Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin. Notice the distinction between the two. There are things that weigh you down in life that may not necessarily be a sin. And we know that sin weighs us down, right? Which cling so closely, let us run with endurance the rays that set before us. How do you do that? Looking to Jesus. That's the title. the series looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter King James said the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God and what does the Bible tell us that Jesus is doing at the right hand of the Father he's making intercession for us you talk about encouragement to pray in these 21 days of prayer now he starts off by saying therefore anytime you see the word therefore you need to find out what it's there for all right and here

it is it's tying chapter 12 and 11 together there's a connection in these verses and with the Faith Hall of Fame that we have just studied you do know that the Bible was not originally written with chapters and verses it was written as a solid text for each book and later men came back and put chapters and verses so that we could locate easily particular passages and so technically chapter 12 is part of chapter 11 it is the end of chapter 11 everything's been building up to this moment it's been building up to Jesus and so today I want us to think about running the race those that we have been studying in chapter 11 these men and women of faith they were human they were not perfect they were flawed yet they ran their race by faith and now the baton has been passed on to you and to me and we're to run our race well if we're going to run our race at our generation week one you're gonna have to throw off the weight that's that's the title of today's message throw off the weight all right then next Sunday the sermon is going to be throw off the sin and then week three we're going to run with endurance we're going to come out of these 21 days of prayer ready to run our race because some weight that's been hindering us and and sin that's been hindering us has been thrown off cast off laid aside and now we're closer to Jesus and we're going to be faithful to the finish can I have a good amen now you can't do these three or let me say it like this you can only do these three if you're looking to Jesus looking to Jesus we cannot live the Christian life apart from the life of Jesus you can't live the Christian life apart from the life of Christ that's why Paul said it is Christ in you the hope of glory now let me kind of give you the backdrop of this passage the image is that of a relay race passing the baton and the Old Testament Saints the men and women that we've been studying they ran their race and they finished well and they are waiting for the rest of the team that's you that's me to finish our race a relay race is not finished after the first person goes on a lap or the second person or the third one no you're waiting for the final one to cross the finish line and they're waiting on us to finish our race and to cross the finish line now they are referred to as a cloud

of witnesses miss Tammy put on the bookshelves in my study pictures of everyone who has ever preached for me over the last 42 years really starting with my home church when I was a little boy and the men that came in revival and preached I have pictures of it in my home church and she's lined all the shelves that way I call it my great cloud of witnesses literally half of them are in the cloud they're already with the Lord so when I go in to study I see those who have finished well and they encourage me I see those who are still living who are continuing their race and it encourages me as Christians I've got good news for you today are you listening say amen we are not called to be judge nor are we called to be prosecuting attorney we're called to be a witness everybody say witness a witness simply tells what they have seen what they've heard what they have personally experienced you just tell your story that's what Paul did over and over again in the book of Acts he just kept telling his story it's only encouraging these 21 days build out your story what I mean by that just write it out if you had 10 minutes to tell your story how would you do it I'm glad you asked 25% tell about your life before Jesus I mean talk about the struggles that you had talk about what was missing in your life talk about the loneliness talk about the lostness just start out what was it like before you met Then 25% how you came to Jesus, who was it that God used in your life, what circumstances did he use to get your attention and bring you to himself, at what moment did this faith become real to you? And then 50% just talk about life now with Jesus. Talk about the love and the joy and the peace that you have now because of Jesus. Talk about the change, the difference that he has made in your life. You talk about the purpose, everybody say purpose. See there is a race for every one of us to run. And you're not called to run somebody else's race. You run your race and you find your purpose and you talk about that in your story. And I encourage you to not only write it out in these 21 days but share it with somebody.

Tell them about the prayer journey that you're going on. Tell them that you're praying for them. There have been at least three, I think I'm counting correctly, that I have texted this morning saying today is day one of 21 days of prayer and I'm praying for you. And so I want you to let people know that you're praying for them and tell them what God is doing in your life. The Bible says in Ephesians 2.8, for it's by grace that you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, it's the gift. Everybody say gift. Every campus say gift. It's a gift from God. It's not by work so that no one can boast for we are God's handiwork. You're a masterpiece created in Christ Jesus to do good works, and here it is, which God prepared in advance for us to do. There's a race for you to run and God's already laid it out even before you were born. The psalmist said, Psalm 139, all your days are written in his book before you lived one of them. There is a race for you to run. Now we're not running that race to get to heaven, I just read to you that that's a gift. So you're not running to get to heaven, no, you're running to fulfill your purpose for which God put you here on this earth. Paul put it like this, my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. And that ought to be our prayer in these 21 days. Now I pointed out to you, there's a clear distinction between weight and sin. Next week we're going to talk about the sins that entangle us, that trip us up, that cause us to stumble. But today we're going to talk about the weights that encumber us, they hinder us, they hold us back.

It could be habits in your life, it might be people in your life, it may be debt. You want to be generous, but financially it's holding you back, debt is. It could be sports, it could be entertainment, it could be recreation. Now listen, none of those things in and of themselves are bad, friends are not bad. The Bible doesn't say you can't borrow money. Sports, certainly not bad, football season's coming, amen, I mean I think about it every day of my life. But if I get too carried away with it, it's a hindrance. It's a hindrance. And so none of these things, recreation, listen none of these things are bad in and of themselves, but during these 21 days of prayer, here's what I want you to ask God. Ask God to help you distinguish not only between good and bad, weight and sin, but also between better and best. Between better and best. Let me put it to you like this, something doesn't have to be sinful to be slowing you down. What is weighing you down? What is slowing you down? The word weight here in this passage, this is the only time it is used in the New Testament, and it means a mass or bulk. Now I thought about that, you know, athletes will literally take weights, massive bulk, and they will lift it and press it, and they'll put weights on their legs. I saw a guy running the other day, literally yesterday, he had on this big weight, this heavy weight all around his chest and his arms, and so they train with weights. Watch this. But those football players never go out on the field and play the game with the weights. And the runners don't go run the race with the weights, alright? You have to lay them off, you have to lay them aside. One pastor put it like this, talking about weight and sin, he said the key question for you to always ask is, not is this a sin, but here it is, is this going to help me run the

race? Some things in life may not be a sin, but you need to ask the question, does this help me run? Sure, for some believers, they're living in sin. Some are running from God. We'll talk about that next Sunday. But hear me, for a lot of people, it's not immorality, it's inefficiency. I'm saying to you that for a lot of people, they're just not in the race at all. They're not even running the race. Let me illustrate it to you like this. There are two kinds of people who wear a jersey. Those who play the game and fans. The players and the fans. And there's a big difference between the two. The players are disciplined with their diet. The players, they're disciplined with their exercise and their weights and their training. But the fans, no, I'm a fan, not a player. So let me tell you, I have expert knowledge of what it means to be a fan. I put on the jersey eating my nachos, popcorn, and Diet Coke just to balance it all out. Amen. You know, I don't have this strict diet before I will watch the game. I don't have this strict exercise regimen that I go through before I watch a game. No, you know why? I'm a fan rather than a player. And I am saying to you today, are you awake, say amen. Jesus did not endure the cross despising the shame just for you to be a fan. He wants you to get in the game. He wants us running the race, and that's what Paul is saying here. We are called to run the race. Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, so that what? You can join God's team. You can be saved.

You can become a child of God. But not only that, that you can put on the jersey. And you've heard me say before that baptism is putting on the jersey. It is letting everybody know whose team that you're on. And I want you to know that He not only wanted you to be part, join His team, and be baptized, but to bear His name and run your race. Now what are the weights, the hindrances, that we need to throw off today? You ready to find out? Well, you want me to just stop? Y'all ready to find out? All right, here it is. Number one, the weight of distraction. The weight of distraction. How are you stewarding your time? How are you stewarding your talent? How are you stewarding your treasures? People are more distracted today than ever before. Surveys have shown that the average American, all right, the average American worker is distracted three hours of every day, which equals 60 hours in a work week, which equals 720 hours per year. And if you don't think that's a big deal, multiply that times the number of employees you have. We live in a time of distraction. I think the number one distraction is the cell phone. I mean, we can't go anywhere without it. I mean, the reason it takes people so long to get out of the bathroom today is they're in there on their phone. I'm just being honest with you, all right? Leave your phone out.

It's going to be dirty, all right? Don't take it to the bathroom with you. Come on. I want some clean Christians. Amen. Hey, we're always texting, messaging. There's all these notifications coming in, scrolling, constant pinging, noise. And not only are we interrupted throughout our work day with the phone, but you're interrupted by the lovable slacker who wants to go down the hall, come in your office, and chat for a while. I don't know if they have nothing to do or if they're just gossips. They just want to come tell you what they've heard or they want to pick you for more information. You know, it's the meeting after the meeting. Y'all know what I'm talking about. They're those people that just interrupt you. We live in a world of constant distraction. We are the ADHD generation. Overstimulation is the air that we breathe. Every app on your phone is designed to keep you scrolling. And here it is. Distraction dulls. Listen now. Distraction dulls our spiritual senses and derails our spiritual focus. That's why fasting is important. Fasting is giving up something that you love for something or someone you love more. Fasting helps you disconnect from the world and it helps you connect with God. We want you to go on a fast in these 21 days of some kind. And it doesn't matter what somebody else is doing. Did you hear me say that?

Say amen. Amen. Alright. You do what you feel led to do. Now, complete fast is liquid only. Selective fast means you're going to give up certain foods. It could be bread. It could be sweets, desserts. It could be caffeine or soft drinks. You know that when I came to be your pastor 20 years ago, I drank Mountain Dew and called it the dew of heaven. That's the truth. And I mean, I drink three a day, probably just in the morning. I went on fast, I don't know how many years ago, and I stopped and I hadn't had one since. We had somebody on the praise team one time said their mate was an alcoholic and they challenged him, why don't for 21 days you stop drinking alcohol? And the mate said, you know I can't do that. And they said, well, why not just try? They stopped drinking for 21 days. Hey, and they're still not drinking alcohol. Listen, that's a big deal for an alcoholic in 21 days to be set free. So you figure out what it is for you. Daniel fast, that's just vegetables and fruits. The Jewish fast, that's just one meal a day. And it doesn't matter if it's at lunch or at the end of the day.

I know with meetings and so much going on, our social lives revolve around food, do they not? And so, you know, you can do one meal a day. Or a soul fast where you're off of social media or maybe you're not watching television or cable news or secular music. I'm not saying all secular music is detrimental to your faith, but if that's all you listen to. Hey, you need to get the right kind of music in your car and in your home and in your life. That's what we love about this new album that's come out by our team. Give it up for our worship team that's just produced this new prayer album. It's gonna bless you in these 21 days. And if you'll listen to the music that they have put on that album instead of listen to secular music. I mean, do you honestly think when you go into prayer time, if you are listening to, just came out of listening to or going into, ♪ Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee ♪ ♪ Me and my girl, we do the hoochie coochie ♪ ♪ Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee ♪ That's probably not gonna get you in the right frame of mind to pray. So you get the point. If you got it, say, I got it.

That wasn't in my notes, but hey, I thought that would help you out, all right? Listen, focus is what we're talking about and not being distracted. You move toward what you're looking at. That's why the series is called Look to Jesus. You move closer to Jesus when you focus on him. If you're driving down the road and you look to the right, you're gonna drift to the right. If you look out to the left, you're gonna drift to the left. That's why we gotta look to Jesus. Christians can be distracted. Can I also tell you, churches, many, many churches can get distracted. And that's why it's so important that we stay focused on the right thing. Now hear me, out of 42 years of ministry, here's what I've seen. Churches get distracted not with bad things, but by many, many, many good things that keeps them from the main thing. That's why vision, everybody say vision, is so important. We're unveiling, rolling out the new seven-year vision. And the purpose of the seven-year vision is it keeps us focused on the main thing, the race that God's called us to. You know, there are seven letters to seven churches, and so every church has a specific calling for their community and their context. And I want you to know, after a year and a half of praying,

we believe that God has given us a letter for our church, that he's given us a seven-year vision, and that's why I want you to hear it. If somebody contacts you and says, hey, I'd like to talk to you about it, just give them the 30 minutes, your campus pastor or whoever, just to hear it. Jesus had the three, and then he had the 12, and then he had the 72, and then there's 120 in Neperom, and 3,000 in the early church. And so you see it in scripture, how oftentimes God will work, starting with just a few people. And then ultimately, we wanna take it to everybody. And I want you to see here, we're gonna have some vision and worship nights. You see the date, the 28th, the 29th, and 30th, the 18th, and 19th, and 20th of September, and all these different locations. If you haven't heard, we want you to come here. Bring your small group. Somebody told me the other day, we're gonna bring the whole small group. That, bless me, I'm going to do every one of them back to back, alive, at those campuses. And so I want you to be there. And I wanna share the vision with you. Why, because God wants his children, watch this, to be focused, he wants us to be faithful, and he's called us to be fruitful.

And I believe that staying on vision helps us keep from getting distracted. Let me tell you another distraction. You ready? Comparison. Comparison. Get your eyes off of other people and run your race. Oh, that was a good place for an amen. You can't run the race looking at the runners on each side or behind you. Run your race. When runners run, and I'm getting this from the testimony and lived experience of those who are runners, your pastor is not a runner. I'll say more about that in a moment, but listen, they tell me you don't look at your feet when you run. You don't look at the hurdle when you run. You look at the finish line. You got to be looking ahead, and that's the way it is in the Christian life. Listen, when we teach, when we taught our children, and now we're teaching our grandchildren how to water ski, we always have this line, arms straight, knees bent, and your eye is on the tip of your ski, and I'm just telling you, it's the same way in the Christian life. You know what? You don't look to Jesus. You run your race with your arms straight. You worship God. Knees bent. You run your race looking to Jesus on your knees. You're never stronger than when you're on your knees. Knees bent, and then you keep your eye on the prize. You keep your eye on Jesus, and so it's important that you're not looking around at other people. Hey, we are not racing against each other.

I was texting other pastors in the area today, and they were texting me, and pastors in other states, and if I added all that up, that'd be another dozen people I probably text this morning, just saying, I'm praying for you today while you preach the Word. I'm praying for your work. I'm praying for your church. We'll be praying for you in these 21 days of prayer. Hey, it's important that we understand we're not racing against each other. The race has already been won. Jesus is the one. That's why everything builds up to Jesus. Here in chapter 11, going into chapter 12, he won the race. One preacher said, comparison is the land of er. The land of er, because you want to be better, stronger, prettier, richer, greater than somebody else. Now, we're not living in the land of er. We're living in the promised land. Hallelujah. Now, social media, I really think, magnifies this and makes it even harder. Comparison. But the disciples struggled with it, too. Look at John 20. Peter and John were competitive. They're in the inner circle, but they're competitive. After the women saw the resurrection, that the tomb was empty, she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. Now, John is writing it, referring to himself as the one that Jesus loved. That would get under your skin if you're one of the other disciples. And he says it over and over and over again. He says, both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter. He's talking about himself.

I outran Peter. I reached the tomb. Everybody say it. First. Then Simon Peter came along behind him. Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. At least four times, he points out that he beat Simon Peter. He outran him. This is the same bunch that argued over who's going to be the greatest. This is the same bunch that argued who's going to sit on the right and on the left when Jesus entered into the kingdom. But let me tell you what Jesus said to them in John 21. Peter turned to him and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved. He just says it over and over again. Listen, number one, don't talk about yourself in third person. And number two, don't go around like you're the only person that Jesus loves. When Peter saw him, he asked, Lord, what about him? What about John? Jesus answered, if I want him to remain alive until I return, Peter, what is that to you? What is that to you? So stop comparing your race to others. You do you. And you let them be them. And everybody said? Amen. Runners know that the least weight is better. That's why we've got to cast off, lay aside, throw off the weight. Did you know that Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby is run, and they have the horse race that they for years had basins, heaving bowls they were called, where jockeys would throw up to lower their weight.

It's a dangerous practice and reforms have been put into place to stop it. But they would purge themselves. The point is this, they wanted to be as light as they could. This past week. We, Danny Akin, who served for years as president at Southeastern Seminary in North Carolina, he retired. And he's preached here in this church before. And he tells the story that when he was young and in the pastorate, going to seminary, that he ran marathons. That is one testimony you're never gonna hear from this pastor, are you listening? He ran marathons. And he told that after he preached on Sunday, he rushed home, got off of his suit, put on his running clothes, just a light t-shirt, and his running shorts, and his youngest child, four years old, was watching him. And he said, dad, why'd you take off your underwear? And he said, because running shorts are like swimming shorts, underwear's built in. And the little boy said, let me see. And so he showed it to him, and the little boy said, dad, I don't see any underwear. And like parents do, he said, just take my word for it. It's there. Well, four weeks passed, and they get the kids ready for church, and unbeknown to them, the four-year-old slipped upstairs, took his shoes off, took his pants off, took his underwear off,

put back on his pants, put back on his shoes, got in the car. They dropped him off at children's ministry, and the teacher hugged him and said, how are you doing today? He said, I'm doing great. I'm not wearing any underwear, and my daddy doesn't wear any underwear either. Well, when the teacher told that story, of course, they were embarrassed. And the moral of the story is this. Runners strip down to the bare minimum, unless there be any miscommunication today. I want you to know, your pastor's not a runner. I am wearing underwear. You will have to believe that by faith and not by sight. And if you ever see your pastor running down the road, you know one of two things has happened. One, my vehicle broke down. Or two, somebody's chasing me, and either way, I need help. Pull over, all right? You get the point here about distractions, and you get the point here about weight, and it's so important that we get rid of excess baggage. Good things become bad things when they keep us from the best things. What's still in your focus? What's slowing you down? Number two, and these last two points are short,

the weight of discouragement. Did you know that the Bible says in Isaiah that God's given us the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness? And I realize that there are many going into these 21 days, and you're carrying a spirit of heaviness. Tammy and I attended a conference last week, and John Maxwell was there. He was reflecting on 50 years of ministry and lessons that he had learned, and here's one of the lessons that he gave. Embrace the hard. Fall in love with the hard. Everything worthwhile is uphill. In his words, suck it up, buttercup. Here it is. Some of you complain like the rest of us wanna hear it. You don't coast into your dream. You climb into your dream, and I believe the number one weapon that the enemy uses against the people of God is the spirit of heaviness, discouragement. What are you discouraged about today? I read it in my devotion just this morning. God's word to Hezekiah was be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. It was his word to Joshua, and it's his word to you today on day one of 21 days of prayer. I know many of you, you're going into this prayer season

with the weight of a discouragement, weariness of parenting, worries of finances, waiting for unanswered prayers, and I'm telling you, if you feel like the weight of the world is on you, remember the words of Jesus. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you, everybody say it. Rest, rest, rest. I think another way that the enemy discourages us is through people. Birds of a feather flock together. Answer this question. Do the people that you hang out with leave you feeling worse or better? Friends are like buttons on an elevator. They'll take you up or they'll take you down, and I'm telling you, people can drain you. People can suck the life, the joy right out of you. So my encouragement to you is this. Be a fountain, not a drain. People travel the world to say. fountains, nobody travels to see a drain. Be a plus, not a minus. Plus plus people, they say, I can do it, you can do it, let's go get it done. Plus minus people say, I can do it, you can't do it, get out of my way. Minus minus people say, I can't do it, and you can't do it. Who came up with this idea to begin with? I'm telling you, be a plus plus person and be an encourager, not a discourager. And everybody said, there's the last one, the weight of disbelief. This, I think, is the key verse in understanding all of 11 and 12. Now without faith, it's impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Remember, faith

is a gift. I want you to do this starting on day one of 21 days of prayer. Are you ready? Are you listening? Pray for the gift of faith. Pray for the gift of faith. I told you, salvation starts with the gift of faith. God gave it to you. And I want you to know, little thinkers are big stinkers, and as you pray, you can't leave God out of the equation. We're not praying about what we can do, we're praying to see what God can do. Our prayer promises, Ephesians 3, 20 and 21, now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. Listen, the sealing of your prayers is not the power of God. He's able to do far more. The sealing of your prayer is your petition. He said, you've got to ask and think. What are you asking for in these 21 days? What are you thinking about in these 21 days? God doesn't have a speaking problem, we've got a hearing problem, a listening problem. Why? We're distracted and we're discouraged by the noise of this world. God says, call unto me and I'll answer and I'll show you great and mighty things that you know not of. In Hebrews 11, he said, now faith is the reality of what is hoped for and it's the proof, the evidence of what is not seen. For by this our ancestors were approved. Let me tell you, fear says it's never going to happen. Fear says my situation is never going to change. Faith, everybody say faith. Faith says it's closer than you think. Hebrews 12, consider him who endured from sinners hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint hearted. Now here it is, as we come to the altar. In a moment, we're going to stand, we're going to sing, your campus pastor is going to call you to the altar at our campuses, but right now I want you to remember before you even get there, this verse, therefore do not throw away your confidence. Don't be filled with disbelief, doubt. No, your confidence has great reward for you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. When you come and pray, starting today on day one, are you listening? Say amen. You pray the promises of God. You pray the word of God. You pray to know and do the will of God. You pray for endurance and you pray for confidence and blessed assurance and you reject the spirit of doubt and the spirit of disbelief and a spirit of discouragement and distraction and all God's people said amen. Now hear me, you are just one heartfelt prayer away from leaving this service knowing that all of your sins are forgiven, that you're part of God's team,

that you've been made part of his family. Don't you want to know him? Don't you want to know the one who loved you and made you the one who sent his only begotten son to die on the cross and rise from the dead so that you can be forgiven, so that you can have a relationship with God? That's what Christianity is. It's not rules. It's a relationship. Bow with me for prayer. I want to invite you right where you are to pray something just like this. Just say, God, I don't understand it all, but I believe by faith that Jesus, you are the son of God, that you lived a perfect life I cannot live, that you are the once and for all sacrifice for sin, that you died on the cross to pay for my sin and rose from the dead and that you live forever. Be my Lord, be my Savior. Take charge of my life. I give you everything. me to throw off every weight, every sin, everything that's hindering me from receiving your best. In Jesus' name, and everyone say it, amen. Amen, we're entering into the most important moment in the service, and it's where we respond to what Jesus has spoken. Right where you're at, maybe you're watching online or right here in the room, I'm asking, what has God said to you? What is God speaking to you about? What weight in your life do you need to release to Him? When we think about distractions, we have to ask, especially going into a season of fasting, what things do we need to let go of? What things do we need to abstain from, especially in this season? I wonder just so practically, what are you fasting from this 21 days? Do you have clarity of what's holding you back, what weight is holding you down?

But when we think about the gift of faith, I'm really asking, what are you asking God for? At the end of this 21 days, what on your prayer list would let you know God showed up and He really moved? Let me ask it another way. We've been doing this for six years now in two seasons. If God answered every prayer you have prayed, what would the world be like around you? What would your life and your family be like? This 21 days, what are you praying for? In this season, we do something very specific. You're gonna see it every morning at 6 a.m. I wanna invite everyone to stand all over the room. But we invite people down to the front, to the altar, and I wanna invite you even now, if you're willing, if you're able and you're comfortable, I wanna invite you to the front. And we move to the front just as a physical symbol to the Lord. God, we're changing things. Even getting in another posture, another position to let you know we're serious during this 21 days as we seek you. I want you to make space for those still coming. You can kneel or stand where you're at. If you can't make it all the way to the front, that's okay. We'll spread out among the aisles. But wherever you're at, all over this place, I want you to take a posture of prayer.

I'm gonna pray, and then we'll go into a time of worship together, and pastor will come up, and we'll pray corporately all together to end. Jesus, we need you. What a freeing admission, we need you. And we pray like the psalmist. Jesus, there's nothing else we want besides you. So I'm praying even right now as we seek you that you would make it so evident what we need to give up, what we need to fast from in order to take a step towards you and to seek you more. Even right now, would you bring to mind the things that are holding us back? God, we lay the weight of discouragement at your feet. You said, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. And so God, we're coming to you, laying our problems before you, believing that you're able and you're capable to bear the weight that we cannot bear. To bear the weight that we cannot bear. God, I pray even right now that you would just pour out your rest on your children. God, I thank you just for this visual picture of those at the altar, those who are making room to seek you. And all over this room, in the hearts of your children, I pray that you would be the prize of our lives, the thing that we're aiming at,

the thing that we're chasing after. And I pray right now that you would impart a gift of faith on all those who are seeking you. And I pray that we would begin to seek you again for the impossible. I'm praying that you would show up in this 21st century and you would show up in this 21st century days in such a way where everyone would know that only God could have done it. Only you could have met us at our point of need. Only you could have healed us. Only you could have saved us. Only you could have freed us. Only you could have given us purpose and strength and provision, calling. And so God, we're coming to the altar, seeking you the best we know how, and I'm praying right now in this moment that you would meet us right where we're at. It's in your holy, precious name, the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. As we worship, let's just seek the Lord together. I'm removing all of the things that would move me further from you. Thank you cannot be enough. It's not lost on me what you saved me from. I'm running, stumbling, I know, but I'm coming to give you this offering. My worship, I'll never withhold. Broken, but you call it beautiful. Where the tears of the desperate reach the feet of the Savior. Nothing I wouldn't offer. There's no waste at the altar. Where the heart of surrender meets the hands of the maker. Nothing I wouldn't offer. There's no waste at the altar. You gave me everything. Things I prayed. I couldn't come close to your presence. Grace upon grace, we could mend. No, nothing could mend. I'm returning out to the one I am praying. To give him my life. He took a sinner like me. He washed me with grace and then set me free. Where the tears of the desperate reach the feet of the Savior.

Nothing I wouldn't offer. There's no waste at the altar. Where the heart of surrender meets the hands of the maker. Nothing I wouldn't offer. There's no waste at the altar. Just bring it on to the Father. Nothing is at the altar. You're not listening to me. You're talking to God. And you're listening to his voice. And it says, I pray these scriptures. You just pray as the Holy Spirit impresses upon you to apply it to your life and your situation. Father, we come in the mighty name of Jesus. And I thank you for the altar. That there in heaven on the mercy seat, the blood of the once and for all sacrifice for sin has been sprinkled so that our sins have been forgiven. And we have the privilege of coming boldly before the throne of grace to tell you, Father, we love you. Jesus, we love you. Holy Spirit, we love you. And we thank you that you welcome us into your presence. We count our blessings. You've been so good to us. God, we pray not just for ourselves, but we pray one for another. And Lord, we commit ourselves, standing at the altar. We present our lives a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, and pleasing in your sight. And Lord, we pray scripture against the weights that hinder us. I thank you that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And we throw off, we reject shame and guilt in the name of Jesus. I thank you for the promise, if anyone's in Christ, that they're a new creation. All things are passed away. All things are becoming new.

We throw off the weight of our past. I thank you that the devil can't use anything in our past, present, or future to hold us back. We reject it in the name of Jesus. Lord, we pray like the one who said, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. We reject the spirit of doubt and disbelief in the name of Jesus. Thank you that you are near to the brokenhearted. And we pray for those who grieve today. And we reject the spirit of heaviness in the name of Jesus. Lord, you've said he who walks with wise men will be wise, and a companion of fools will be destroyed. So we reject unhealthy relationships and influences in the name of Jesus. Jesus, you said, come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. So we reject the hindrance of no margin in our schedules, just running with no rest, no Sabbath, no stop, no pause in our life. God, help us to get control of our schedules in the name of Jesus. We praise you because we're fearfully and wonderfully made. And so we reject the hindrance of comparison in the name of Jesus. God, we wanna run the race you've set for us. Thank you for the cloud of witnesses, those who ran their race and finished well. God, help us in our generation to run our race,

to finish well. We fix our eyes on the author and the finisher of our faith. Thank you that you're still writing our story. Lord, help us to share with others the story of grace you've given to us. Just hold your hands out before God. God, right now, we're praying. You know what we need, even before we ask. I pray for salvations, for the names of those that'll be prayed for, family members and friends and neighbors and coworkers who need Christ. I pray you'll bring back the strays, those who knew you but they've wandered away. I pray for prodigal sons and daughters to come back home. I'm praying for miracles. I'm praying for healings. I'm praying for breakthroughs. I'm praying for supernatural blessing. God, help us to keep our eyes on you. Thank you that you are at the right hand of the Father and that Jesus, when we say amen, you'll still be praying for us. When we join you in the morning, you'll be right there at the right hand of the throne of God, interceding in our behalf. So use these 21 days, I pray, to draw us close to you, close to one another, to help us to be focused, to be faithful, to be fruitful, for your namesake and for your glory.

If you believe it, receive it. Say amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. ♪ Don't make it perfect, just let it be ours ♪ ♪ He can use anything, sit back and watch ♪ ♪ There's no waste at the altar ♪ ♪ Comfort your broken dreams at the altar ♪ ♪ End every victory at the altar ♪ ♪ Fear and anxiety cannot live here ♪ ♪ There's no waste at the altar ♪ ♪ Let your heart sing out in telling you love ♪ ♪ Don't make it perfect, just let it be ours ♪ Oh, You can come lay it all down, lay it all Everything You have, lay it all down, lay it all down There's no waste at the altar Lay it all down, oh, lay it all down Oh, bring all You have, bring all You have Oh, there's no waste, there's no waste at the altar Lay it all down, lay it all down

Lay it all down, lay it all down Lay it all down, lay it all down He can use anything He can use anything He can use anything There's no waste He can use anything He can use anything He can use anything There's no waste at the altar There's no waste at the altar There's no waste at the altar Liberty Family, thank you so much for joining us as we kick off 21 Days of Prayer. Such a great message. And if you made a decision today to believe and follow Jesus for the very first time, let me be the first one to tell you congratulations. Such a great decision. The best decision you'll ever make. Text LIFE to 40371 so we can connect you to our church family. And we even want to send you a free Bible, so don't forget to text LIFE. And hey, we are kicking off this journey. And it brings me to this verse in Jeremiah 29, 13, which says, You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart. We're going into a journey of prayer and fasting, intentionally chasing after Jesus and what he has for our lives. So that's the verse I'm praying over myself. That's the verse I'm praying over us as our online family, that we're going to seek Jesus with all of our heart as we dive into this journey together. So, hey, we will see you right back here online at 6 a.m. Monday morning. Here we go, church. We'll see you then. Is that wrong? Yeah.

One, two. One, two, three. I can testify to more love, more grace, goodbye to my shame, more joy, more peace, more of what was meant for me. I've been plunged in the flood of the blood of Jesus, rising up alive with the one who came and called me saved. a soul in the grave and now i'm dancing on the dark in the light of jesus death is dead in the name of jesus fear falls with the sunset and hopes and the horizon don't you be surprised if you don't recognize me i have been redeemed i'm washed and clean and now i'm living in more love more grace goodbye to my shame more joy and more peace more of what was meant for me yeah i've been plunged in the flood of the blood of jesus rising up alive with the one who came and called me safe it's one less soul in the grave and now i'm dancing on the dark in the light of jesus death is dead in the name of jesus fear falls with the sunset and hopes and the horizon more love more grace goodbye to my shame more joy and more peace more of what was meant for me um Yeah, yeah Oh, that hope's from above Oh, I've been punched in the foot of the vine And Jesus rising up alive With the one who came and called me save That's one less soul in the grave, in the grave, in the grave And now I'm dancing on the dark and the light And Jesus, death is dead in the name of Jesus That fear falls with sunset And hope's on the horizon Yeah, yeah That hope's on the horizon Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh Oh, oh, oh, it's more than a feeling

Oh, oh, oh, it's something new Like every breath I breathe is a reason to praise you Oh, oh, oh, I'm walking with meaning With each step I see you move Every day you give me a reason to praise you There's never been a moment that you left me at my lowest No, you never even thought to walk away But I came home to a ring and a robe I'm amazed by amazing grace All my debts forgiven I'll waste a minute Throwing all my yesterdays Beauty from my broken sea Words in motion I will never be the same Oh, oh, oh, it's more than a feeling Oh, oh, oh, it's something new Like every breath I breathe is a reason to praise you Oh, oh, oh, I'm walking with meaning With each step I see you move Every day you give me a reason to praise you I've got a reason A reason to praise And I've got a reason A reason to sing I will dance in the house from the road Cause I'm not who I was before