Waking Up to the Holiness of God

All right, Happy New Year Cross Church. Come on, stand up all over the room. Whether you are on campus or online, we're so grateful that you've chosen to join us today for church. Last year was an incredible year. We're grateful for all that God did. We're excited to see what He's gonna do this year. We've all got great stories to tell of God's faithfulness in our own life. So let's join our voices this morning as we worship Him. Come on. ♪ Our God has been faithful to all generations ♪ ♪ We've all got a story to tell ♪ ♪ Stories of rescue, rebirth, and redemption ♪ ♪ We've all got a story to tell ♪ Come on, sing it now. ♪ If He's been faithful, if He's been good ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ If He's been able when no one else could ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus ♪ ♪ Let the redeemed of the Lord lift their voices ♪ ♪ Remember the things He has done ♪ ♪ We've heard from our fathers and we'll tell our children ♪ ♪ The wonderful things He has done ♪ ♪ If He's been faithful, if He's been good ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ If He's been able when no one else could ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪

♪ We remember your faithfulness, God, in this place ♪ ♪ For He is good, His love endures ♪ ♪ Now and for eternity, yes, He is good ♪ ♪ His love endures our history and our legacy ♪ ♪ Yes, He is good, His love endures ♪ ♪ Now and for eternity, oh, He is good ♪ ♪ His love endures our history and our legacy ♪ Come on, sing it now. ♪ He has been faithful, He has been good ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ He has been able when no one else could ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ If He's been faithful, if He's been good to you ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ If He's been able when no one else could ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah ♪ Oh yes, you're faithful to the street, just through generations, generations. Oh, come on, put your hands together and worship the faithful God. Thank you. Well, good morning, everybody. Happy New Year 2026. That's hard to say out loud, y'all. But we are so thrilled that you are here. I wanna welcome everybody across the Cross Church family, all of our campuses to a 21-day journey we call 21 Days of Prayer. And we have begun doing 21 Days of Prayer all together. And so all campuses on the same page for these 21 days.

I did the eight o'clock service at Fayetteville, for those of you down at Fayetteville, and I just traveled up here to Springdale. So we're thrilled. Wherever you are, welcome at Fayetteville, here at Springdale, there at Pinnacle Hills. And we're about to say they're at Highway 62 in about a month, really three weeks. And so we're thrilled about that and all that God is gonna do there. If you're brand new today, welcome to you. We're really excited that you are here. And you may have thought, well, man, I didn't know I was stepping into some 21-day deal. Here's what I would tell you. You didn't have to. prepare anything today. In fact, I think many of us who are cross-church people, like this is our home, many of us have been consumed with the holidays, forgot all about 21 days of prayer, and you've shown up today and thought, oh man, I'm not prepared for this. Here's what I would say, I'm gonna help you get there today. All you gotta do today, this is one goal for today, let's turn our hearts towards the Lord. It's all you gotta do today, and that will be a success. And so if you've got a Bible, I want you to grab a Hebrews chapter 10,

it's where we're gonna be in just a moment. And as Ryan said, we are thrilled about Highway 62 launching, and on that day, across our campuses, we're gonna make that a special day. That is really the end cap of 21 days of prayer. And that final week, we're gonna fast and pray for those that we wanna see won to faith in Christ, and we're gonna encourage you to bring somebody with you on that day who needs to know Jesus. We will be clearly sharing the gospel on that day, clearly giving people an opportunity to respond, and so hope that you will join us in that effort to see people won to faith in Christ, okay? I'm calling this series 21 Days to Spiritual Awakening, okay? In the 1730s and 1740s, some of you were around back then. Just kidding, all right, bad joke, I apologize. Back in that day, we experienced as a nation what was called the First Great Awakening. This same movement jumped the pond and it reached over to England as well, and both of those areas were never the same because of what was called the First Great Awakening, just a massive, sweeping movement of the Holy Spirit of God. When I say the word awakening, that's often what you think about. It's okay, that's something like a big movement, or when we say the word revival,

well, that's something that my church does, or my city saw an awakening, and yet I would say that's the wrong way to think about revival, it's the wrong way to think about awakening. Revival cannot happen on a large scale if it's not happening on a small scale. It cannot happen in my church if it's not happening in me. Revival and awakening cannot happen in my family until it's happening in my own life. This word awakening is an interesting word. Its base meaning is just to wake up from sleep. So let's have an honest time of confession today. How many of you, when your alarm went off today, you could have gone back to sleep? All right, I definitely could have, all right? Meredith and I and our kids went to Florida right after Christmas. Meredith's from Florida, Central Florida right there. Think country pastures, not beach, all right? And so we went down there to see her family right after Christmas, and had a great week, and we were flying out Friday. And so Thursday night was the playoffs, college football, Georgia, Ole Miss. So I stayed up late hoping that both teams would lose, and they didn't. I stayed up and watched that game, then watched some of the post games. I want Eastern time, which is a beat down, by the way.

And so I think I turned off the TV at like 12.20 a.m. We need to get up at 4.15 a.m. for our flight. That's the day when you just wish you could go back to sleep, right? It's another thing when you're like jolted awake from sleep, whether that is a bad dream that scares you, or it's a noise outside your window, or if you have younger kids, it's a kid who slapped you in the face and said breakfast. Breakfast, all right? This word awakening also means that. It means to become suddenly aware or conscious of something. Now that can be a harsh reality. You can wake up to the reality today that your family is broken, even though you never intended it to be that way. Or you can wake up to the reality that your finances are not as you wish they were, and you're in quite the hole, and you're not sure how to get out, okay? All of those types of things, they take a process. But often there's a suddenness to waking up to what is a very real thing, a very true reality in your life. And so we're gonna talk about this big grand idea of awakening. But my goal is to make that very personal over the next four Sundays together. And we're gonna do what we always do. Every Sunday that you come to Cross Church,

we will open up the Word of God. We will teach you what it says. And so we're gonna look at Hebrews chapter 10 today, as I mentioned. And it's gonna be a mirror, really, to our souls. As we do this, and we'll look at several passages over the next four Sundays, in the background of this series, I'm gonna teach you about the first great awakening. I think it's important to look back in history and look at major moves of God. We did that last year at 21 Days of Prayer, looked at the Hebrides revival. And so during these four weeks, I wanna introduce you to four different people whom God used in a major way during the first great awakening, and looking at their lives, see how God may use us as well. Today, I wanna talk to you about a guy named Jonathan Edwards. How many of you have ever heard of the name Jonathan Edwards? You see his picture up there? He's got quite the curls going on. Edwards was born in Connecticut, and early on it was obvious he was a brilliant, brilliant guy. He graduated from Yale at the age of 17 years old. What were you doing at 17, all right?

He would eventually become a pastor. He would even do missions reaching Native Americans, and he eventually would become the president of what we now know as Princeton University. In the history and fabric of our nation, he is known as one of the most significant thinkers and theologians that we've ever had. Now, in July of 1741, got that? July of 1741, Edwards preached what is now known as the most famous sermon ever preached in American history. And guess what passage it was on? Hebrews chapter 10. You wanna know the title of it? "'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.'" How's that for a title? You imagine being a first-time guest that day, and he's like, all right, everybody, welcome. If you're new here, here's the title of the message, "'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.'" And what's interesting is that he had actually used this message before. He had preached it at other places to no big response, but for whatever reason, when he gave this message with this group of people in a place called Enfield, Connecticut, God used it to become one of the defining moments of the first Great Awakening. And here's what it was ultimately about. It was a message about the holiness of God. Today, the title of our message is simply

waking up to the holiness of God. If you were at one of our Christmas Eve services, you know we talked about the holiness of God on Christmas Eve. When I say the word holy or holiness, you may say, well, isn't that something we talk about in church or something we sing about like we've already sung about today in our worship services? But man, it has no real personal meaning or effect on my own life. And yet here's what I would tell you. When you as a follower of Jesus really begin to grasp the holiness of God, it changes everything about the way that you live. Like what is it about God that the heavenly creatures look at him, and here's what they say. Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy. Like for all of eternity, what is it about God that those creatures respond in that way? So as we dive into Hebrews chapter 10, again, this whole passage is about the holiness of God. Listen to me very carefully. This passage describes people who can define what the gospel is, and yet they walk away from the gospel. This said in a very simple way, they have no respect for the holiness of God, no reverence for the holiness of God. They can look at the things of God and walk away in callous rebellion. How's that for an intro, right?

Look at verse 19 of Hebrews chapter 10. Let's see what it says together. Therefore, brother, since we have confidence to enter the holy places, by what? By the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Amen, church. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Now, pretty encouraging passage so far. Here's the thrust of it. We have direct access to God because of Jesus. One of the greatest things in our faith is that simple statement right there. We can go directly to Jesus, we can go directly to God because of what Jesus has done for us, because he is our great high priest. What this means is this, you don't need me to talk to God. You don't need a pastor, you don't need a priest, you don't have to confess to me,

you don't have to confess to a priest, you can confess straight to God because Jesus is our great high priest. So the passage is saying this, let's hold fast to him. Let's hold fast to Jesus. Let's stay faithful to gather together like you're doing right here at all of our campuses. Let's not be skipping church, but man, let's join together. And all the more as you see the day drawing near of Christ's return. So first six verses, positive vibes, is it not? Like everything's going well, he's made us away, he's our priest, let's draw near to God, draw near to one another. It's an encouragement to lean into Jesus and to keep on leaning into Jesus. And then the whole script gets flipped. I want you to look at verse 26. He says, for if we go on sinning deliberately, After receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of what? Of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Paul's there, and he said, what in the world do those two verses mean? Well, here's what I would say. This passage in Hebrews 10, right alongside of Hebrews 6, four chapters earlier, are two of the more controversial passages

in all of the scriptures. The first question we gotta wrestle with, is this written to believers or unbelievers? Well, if you read the whole of the book of Hebrews, it's very clear this is written to Christians during that time, and so that answers some questions, and I believe it raises some others. If it is really written to Christians, then it appears on a surface level reading that you can lose your salvation as a believer. Now, only problem is, is the rest of the Bible doesn't jive with that. And so, even look at like John chapter 10, look at the screen. Jesus says, it's my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all. And again, he says it, no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. So in other words, you can't be saved and then lose your salvation. Romans chapter eight, the book of Flehmen, the book of 1 Peter, all join John, making it very clear Christians cannot lose their salvation. I often say it like this, you didn't do anything to earn your salvation, so what in the world could you do to lose your salvation? It's an easy way to think about it right there, okay?

Now, for those of you who are newer to the Bible, which at every campus, there are new believers who you think, man, this is a big thick book, lot of things in there, a lot of truth. And here's a little Bible pro tip for you. If you ever get to a passage like this, and you think to yourself, well, I don't know exactly what that means. We let scripture interpret scripture. So we look at the book of John, we look at Romans eight, we look at Flehmen, we look at 1 Peter, all of those teach us you cannot lose your salvation. So Hebrews must go in accordance with that doctrine, meaning you cannot lose your salvation. So what does this mean? This is speaking to Christians as a warning to heed, to continue in the faith, and to persevere in your relationship with Christ, okay? It's cold outside right now. You ever notice the signs before you get to a bridge that says bridges may ice over in cold weather? When Meredith and I, this was probably seven or eight years ago, we were at a Christmas Eve service, it was when we were still doing them at the different campuses. We were at the Fayetteville campus, I was leading those services, and we had a family come up to us after the service. And it was one of those, like, we were loosely friends. I was friends with the guy,

Meredith was friends with the girl, and then they had kids around our ages, but we weren't close with them at all. But they came up and we're just making small talk, and I said, well, what are y'all doing for Christmas? He said, well, our family, like a relative, has a home in New Mexico, and so after Christmas, we're driving out there to go skiing as a family. And I'm just being stupid, just talking, which is normal. And I just, I make a joke, and I said something like, well, hey, we'll go skiing with you. And he's like, yeah, y'all should. And we kind of ended it, and he went home. He calls me Christmas Eve night, and he's like, hey, y'all should go with us. And so I'm like, oh, okay, let me talk to Meredith. I mean, and so Meredith and I talked, and we just went for it. And we ended up driving all the way to New Mexico, which is through Oklahoma, which was horrible. No offense, all you Oklahoma people. Then we got through the Lord's country of Texas, until you get to West Texas. Sorry, my mom is from West Texas, I apologize, Mom. And then finally we got to New Mexico. We pull to New Mexico, and a blizzard starts. I almost didn't make it to our home. It's for a different sermon at a different time. But we go through, have a great week with this family, still love this family to this day.

And then we're driving home, and I'm going back through the ugly part of West Texas. Dreary, freezing cold, nothing there. Just flat, nothing there. And it begins to sleet. And what I didn't realize is that not only do bridges ice over, but did you know that interstates can ice over as well? And at one point I am driving 70 miles an hour, and I realize that I am not in control. as the scariest I've ever been when I was driving. Now, thankfully, we made it, but I should have heeded the warning. When you don't heed the warnings, you get in trouble. Like, especially driving, when you don't heed the warnings of Scripture, it is much, much worse. Here's the spiritual warning, the spiritual message of Hebrews chapter 10. For those who do not heed the warning here, for those who commit what we could call apostasy, meaning they leave the faith, they abandon the faith, here's what it is a sign for. It is a sign that they were never a genuine believer and that they are still under the judgment of God. Now, knowing that, stay with me. Let's go back to verse 26. Look at it with me. He says, if we go on sinning deliberately, this means ongoing and willful sin.

In other words, I know it's wrong, but I just keep on doing it. He says, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, these are people who know the gospel, understand the gospel, but have willingly with their life rejected the gospel. Makes sense so far? They look like Christians, act like Christians, played the Christian game at church every time the doors were open, but they fell away and it showed that they were never genuine believers. They did not endure till the end. James MacDonald writes it this way. He says, you don't get saved by enduring, but the ones who are truly converted are enduring. By God's grace, they do not give up. So here's what you gotta understand. Did you know that you can intellectually believe in Jesus and still go to hell? By the way, even the demons believe in Jesus. What we're talking about here is not an issue of knowledge, it's an issue of lordship. Something that every single person on every single campus today, all of you at Fayetteville, everybody here at Springdale, everybody at Pinnacle Hills, everybody watching at home today, you've gotta wrestle with this. Is Jesus Christ Lord in my life?

Is he Lord? See, the issue here is surrender, not knowledge. The issue here is turning your life over to Christ, not knowledge. You've heard the same before. Some people go to hell by the distance of about 12 inches. They knew the truths of the gospel in their head, but it never reached their heart. If you're really tall, maybe 18 inches, okay? Just gotta figure that out on your own, okay? The point that the author of Hebrews is making is this. You can be in church every single day of your life, you can recite all the passages about Jesus, but if you know all of this and you forsake Jesus, you remain in your lostness and you keep on living in your sin, there is nothing that can be done for you. There is the willing sacrifice of Jesus for your life, but you have rejected it. Now, look at the consequences for this type of person. It says, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but what? But a fearful expectation of judgment, a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. This means if you have rejected Jesus, there is no other option for your sins to be dealt with. There is no other way for your sins to be forgiven. You will face the wrath of God's judgment. So this is a warning sign. Everybody listen loud and clear, a warning sign.

And really for every believer, I'd say it differently. It's a reminder sign. Like I just reminded everybody, you were saved by Jesus. Your sins were forgiven by Jesus. Your hope is in Jesus. So don't abandon Jesus. Make sense? Now, for the sake of time, I'll have to just kind of sum up the next few verses for you, encourage you to read that on your own. But it begins to speak about the Mosaic Law, which was the Old Testament known as the Old Covenant. And he talks about how, man, it's gonna be bad for those who have rejected the Old Covenant, but how much worse for those who have rejected the New Covenant, who have trampled upon the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and who have profaned his blood. Here's what this is saying to us. How much worse will the judgment be? How much worse will the punishment be for those of you who you were close to the things of God? You knew about God. You could rightly define the gospel, but with your life, you rejected it and turned away. These are the people who, according to the Bible here, they trample upon the holiness of God. They are hard-hearted towards God himself. Heavy passage, church, is it not? Heavy stuff. All of this sets up where Jonathan Edwards landed

some 300 plus years ago. What does he say? Verse 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. What a simple yet gripping verse about the holiness of God. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Twice in Hebrews chapter 10, he has quoted Deuteronomy chapter 32. Anybody know what Deuteronomy 32 is? Probably not off the top of your head, right? Deuteronomy 32 is a gripping passage about that vividly portrays God's judgment. So we could say God is merciful, God is love, God is patient with us, he is kind, but he is also the judge. And in verse 31, the author of Hebrews says, you should be afraid to fall into his hands. One commentator said it this way, that the hands of God are against those who through their actions or attitudes have placed themselves outside of the mercy of God. Can I give you some context as to maybe why God used this message with this group of people? Like, let me give some context to the church here in Enfield, Connecticut. By this point in July of 1741, the revival of the great awakening, the awakening of the colonies is like

spreading like wildfire. It is known to be hitting church after church after church, city after city after city, and yet this church, this group of people in Enfield, Connecticut, listen to me, were strangely resistant to the work of God. Strangely resistant to the work and the movement of God. One article describes the setting as, as a spring passed in the summer of 1741, no one could well keep track of the number of places which were also witnessing the revival. Churches which in some case had been cold and dry at the beginning of the year were transformed before the end. It is astonishing, wrote Edwards, to see the alteration that there is in some towns where before was but little appearance of religion. So even Edwards notices, man, God is moving like crazy all over the colonies, all over early America, that church, that church, that city, that city, and yet the place where he was preaching was known as a place who was rejecting the movement of God. How about that? Can I just pause here and ask, is that you? Are you strangely resistant to the move of God in your life? Are you someone who is pushing back on what God is saying to do? Are you someone who you are around the things of God, even feeling the conviction of God, but so far up to this point, your answer to God has been,

no, I don't want that. It was to this group of people that Edwards spoke about the holiness of God. Let me define holiness for you. J.I. Packer says it this way. Holiness is God's absolute moral purity and separateness from sin. Combined with his absolute perfection and otherness. Do you know otherness is a word? Otherness, okay? When I think about holiness, that's what I think about. God is separate from me, his otherness is magnified. He is not like me, he is not like you. He is perfect, he is sinless, and it means when you really get a hold of the holiness of God, you begin to see how wicked you really are. Many people think those things go backwards. They think, well, man, the closer I get to Christ, the better I'm gonna feel about myself. And in one sense, I understand that. There's an identity thing that we could go off on, but I think it's the opposite. The more you come in tune with the holiness of God in your life, the more you're like, man, I am not worthy to even be in the presence. Anybody experience that in your life? Edwards wrote of the holiness of God like this. He says, the holiness of God is that

which makes the soul amazed and astonished in his presence, and the essence of his perfections which demands the punishment of sin. So it's the element that I just mentioned, his separateness, his otherness, his perfection compared to our sinfulness. What does it do? It stops us in our tracks. In that message in July of 17. In 1841, Edward spoke about the holiness of God, and then he spoke about two specific aspects that I think both flow from the holiness of God. And with this, we'll close. He speaks, first of all, about the wrath of God. The wrath of God. Many people wrestle with the idea that God is a God of wrath. In fact, you may be at any of our campuses today, and you're hearing me say that, and you're like, dude, I don't know. I don't know about that. God's a God of wrath? We struggle with that, because we often don't have a category to put that in. We can think that God is good, God is loving, God is kind, and those things we have, we got files to put those in. When I say God is a God of wrath, we think, man, I don't know about that.

Say, why is that? Often, whenever people think about God, whatever they think in their mind, they think is right. And they think it's true. Let me remind us, what you think about God is not truth. What God says about God is truth. And the Bible here clearly says God is a God of wrath. Yet His holiness, His perfection, His separateness, otherness, demands that sin and wickedness must be punished. In other words, think about it this way. Holiness and sin cannot coexist together. There's no sin in God whatsoever. And by the way, in your life, it's also true. Holiness and sin cannot coexist together. On that day, Edwards used two illustrations that I think are super powerful to describe the wrath of God. One was a bow and arrow, and he says that literally the wrath of God is a bow and arrow pointed at each and every one of us who are sinners. He gives a second illustration of a spider. Anybody else hate spiders? I think I'd rather see a snake than a spider. I can't do it. He gives a picture of a spider on a thin thread over a fire

to show the wrath of God that hell is right beneath us. He said, well, Nick, how did the people respond on that day hearing all of this about the wrath of God? Historical records show us that the preaching of the gospel that day shook these people. Some began openly weeping. One account even mentioning that people were moaning, asking, what must I do to be saved? I am going to hell. Others were known to be gripping the pew in front of them as if the earth was giving way beneath them to hell. You may hear that and say, man, that sounds like some weird kind of church stuff. I don't know what I would think about that. Could it be that just there was a congregation of people who, for the very first time, were coming to grips with the holiness of God? And it freaked them out, and it rightly should. Talked about the wrath of God. He also talked about the mercy of God. He says that both these pictures of the bow and arrow and of the spider over the fire are both not only show the wrath of God, but also the mercy of God, that it is the mercy of God that is holding back the bow from being shot. That God is, the mercy of God is the thin thread upon which the spider is walking. Edwards said it this way,

now is the time to flee to Christ. Now God stands ready to pity you. He is giving you time to repent. He's giving you mercy, even when you don't even realize that you need mercy. It's a big theological word that we use when we talk about these things together. It's called the word propitiation. Propitiation is the word that we use for propitiation. Propitiation, and it means this. It's the satisfaction of God's wrath. I don't know if you've ever been by a campfire. Meredith and I were with her family this week, as I mentioned. She grew up on a cattle ranch, and so we were out there playing, doing different things and four wheelers and all that you do out there. And a lot of time we spent around a campfire, and you know, you ever been around a campfire and it's the end of the night and somebody has a water bottle and they come and they just pour it on the fire? What do you hear? As the fire's extinguished? The wrath of God is the fire. Jesus Christ is the water that puts out the fire. Jesus Christ is our propitiation, according to 1 John chapter two.

He said, well, why did God send Jesus? Because the wrath of God demands that something be done about sin. And in his mercy and in his love, God sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and pay for our sin. What kind of God does that? Our God does that. Jesus is the way to escape the wrath of God. Look at the way that John wrote it. He combines these things together. He says, whoever believes in the son has what? Eternal life. And whoever does not obey the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. How do we close a message like this? Well, I think it's twofold. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, here in the room at Springdale, maybe down south at Fayetteville or up north at Pinnacle Hills, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, I wanna bring you back face-to-face with the holiness of God. I want you to be gripped afresh by the otherness of God. Can we use that word again? The separateness and the purity of God. I want you to wake up to the holiness of God. What this means is if you're a Christian today, you do not persist in sin with no thought of it.

You don't casually dabble in wicked things. And if that is your life, one of two things is true. You have no perception of the holiness of God, or number two, you are lost and you've never been saved. We heed the warnings of God that sin has a cost. We heed the warning that we have an enemy who is dead set on our destructions. And so Christians, we gotta wake up to the holiness of God today. Maybe you're here today and you've been resistant to the movement of God in your life. And I really believe that as soon as I say that, you've been strangely resistant to the movement of God. The Holy Spirit of God is penetrating some of your heart saying, that's you, strangely resistant. When God says, do this, you say, no. When God says, move here, you say, no. Strangely resistant to God's movement. If that's you, I'm gonna ask you to get right with God. Today I'm gonna ask you to come to the altar at any campus today and just confess that to God. Maybe you're here today and you've been casual in your walk and the holiness of God is compelling you back to where you need to be today. I'm gonna ask you just to come and get on your knees today. Just get right with the Lord. Maybe you're living in sin, could be private sin, could be public sin, and you're just convicted. And you just need to get right with the Lord. I'm asking you to come today.

We're entering into 21 days of prayer and for some of you, you're like, I don't really know what to do. I don't know what to pray about. Can I give you two things to pray about? Let's just take the first seven days. I promise you if you pray these, God will move in your life. In fact, I would say, don't wait for tomorrow. Pray this right now. Some of you need to make your way to the altar and you need to pray this. Lord, awaken my heart, awaken my heart. Some of you have been in a spiritual slumber. Some of you have been in a spiritual slumber and you need the mercy of God to wake you up today. The second thing is this, just pray this. Lord, help me to be responsive to you. Lord, awaken me and help me to be responsive to you. By the way, it doesn't matter if you wake up if you don't respond to God. Here's my encouragement to us as a congregation at all of our campuses. The next four Sundays, let's come responsive to the Lord. Let's be responsive to the movement of God in our lives. Every Christian, let's be responsive. If you're not a Christian today, maybe you've realized that listening to this message. The reality is that you're on your way to hell. The reality is that you are still under the wrath of God. You are that spider, the arrow of God

pointed directly at you. It's a hard message to hear. The good news of that message is the grace, mercy and love of God is ready to save you and to change you today if you will let him. We had a woman saved at the eight o'clock service today at Fayetteville. Who in these three rooms needs to give your life to Christ today? In just a moment, our staff is gonna line up across the front of every campus. They're here to pray with you about anything in your life, but specifically they're here for you. If you need to trust Christ, I'm gonna ask you to come. Take the man or woman by the hand and all you gotta say is this, I need to give my life to Jesus and they'll help you do that. At all campuses, can we just bow our head and close our eyes as we wrap up today? Again, our staff is making their way to the front of each aisle. Again, if you need Christ, if you are convinced, Nick, that is my decision I need to make. I'm gonna ask you to come and just take the hand of one of these men or women and just say this, I need to give my life to Jesus. In a very private moment, they'll lead you to faith in Christ. The reality is there are many of us

who are Christians across these rooms who it's a time to be responsive to the Lord. Maybe you're here today and you're just not where you wanna be with the Lord. I'm gonna ask you to come. Maybe you're here and you're just desperate for God to move in your life during 21 days of prayer. I'm gonna ask you to come. We often give you things to pray for or we identify, hey, identify your biggest burden and pray about that. That's good. Meredith and I are doing that. I hope you'll do that as well. But these 21 days, let's not try to get something from God and miss just getting God. You just need more of the Lord. Just want a fresh touch of God in your life. I'm asking you to come. Just get on your knees before the Lord and just cry out. He'll meet you in that place. Lord, at all of our campuses, we just wanna be responsive people. We just wanna say yes to you. So Lord, would you draw Christians to moments of obedience? Would you be specific with us about things that need to change in our lives? And Father, I pray for lost people in these rooms who need Christ and who are struggling in the moment right now of are they gonna come or not come? I pray that Lord, you'll give them a boldness

like they've never had before. Would you do that now? It's in Christ's name that we pray, amen.