You Asked For It III Week 1

Welcome to Freelife Chapel, where we help you discover and live the free life in Christ. My name is Kayla, and I am so excited that you decided to tune in with us today. Why? Because you're in for a treat with today's message. But first, go ahead, check out our website at freelifechapel.org, so that way you can see what we're all about here, which is faith and fun. And because you're watching this right now, that means we're family. And here at Freelife Chapel, we love family. So if you ever catch yourself in the Central Florida area, go ahead, stop by, so that way we can connect with you right here on campus in person. But like I said, you're in for a treat with this message, so go ahead, sit back, relax, and I hope today's message encourages you just like it encourages me. We're going into a series for the month of June called You Asked For It, but this is our third round with this series. We've done this now for the past two years, this is our third year. And the reason we're back is because the questions keep coming in that are so strong. It's the series you decide. You are the one who has sent in questions. By the way, you can still do so. You can scan the QR code and let us know that you've got a question. What about this? What about that? Everything from politics to relationships to sex to money to church, theology, you name it there. And so you're welcome to send those in. We've done this for the past couple of years. And over the years, we've touched on a lot of topics and our team has taken those topics from those messages and broke them down into individual, when I answer this question, answer this question into a video resource page on our website. And I encourage you to go check out the website because there's a lot of questions that I

won't be addressing that have come in because we've already addressed a lot of them. Some will be addressing an aspect of those, but you can go check this out at any time to help you understand what does the Bible say about this. And so I encourage you to check that out. I think it will help you as we're all pursuing Jesus together. Well, let's get into, let's get into this, kick off this series for this year. You asked for it. Matthew chapter 7, verse 14, I think is critical that we address this and lay the groundwork for it. Here's what it says. In fact, read it with me. The gate. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Matthew chapter 7, verse 14. Read it with me. Here we go. The gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it. God's plan for our life starts as a five lane highway. Everybody's welcome. But the longer you travel that, it gets more and more narrow. In other words, every opinion is not right. Every perspective and all truth is not all truth. There is a way to do life and to do it right. It's beyond my pay grade to decide it. It's beyond yours. We have God's word that lays this out very simple, very plain. And the Bible says it's hard to follow. Why is it hard? Because you and I get attitudes with God and we actually think that our opinion is equal

to his. But I came to tell you today that where God has an opinion, my opinion and your opinion is irrelevant. You can hold on to it and you can work it. I've tried it. I've tried to do it my way. Me and Frank, we tried to do it our way and it doesn't work. I got to do it his way. It's narrow. We got to do it that way. Let's jump into some of these questions and talk about God's way of looking at life where we live. These are questions that came in straight from you, not mine. Number one, is a cross considered a graven image? Graven image, in case you're wondering, is a King James version, a descriptive, basically is it an idol? Is it an image? It comes out of Exodus chapter 20 verse 4 where God is giving us the Ten Commandments and God says, don't let there be any idols, any images that are trying to represent me out there. Don't try to put me into a carved piece of wood, stone or gold. Don't do that. But I want you to understand, is the cross considered a graven image? The cross is a symbol of God. It is not an idol. It's something that brings our heart and our mind back to thinking about what Jesus did but it is not an image or an idol in that capacity. But here's what I want you to understand. We wear the cross as a witness, not as a decoration. If you're wearing that cross around your neck,

then our lifestyle, the life that is behind that cross, should be representing that cross. Let me just put it this way. If you have a Free Life Chapel bumper sticker on your car, please do not be cutting people off on Florida Avenue and saying, God bless you as you represent. Don't do that. You need to rip the sticker if you want to wear it. You all understand what I'm saying? If we're going to wear the cross, then I want my lifestyle to rep the cross that I'm wearing. The cross is not decoration. Ladies and gentlemen, do you understand what the cross is? Wearing the cross is the same today as wearing an electric chair around your neck. It was an article of execution. We wouldn't imagine, we wouldn't even think about wearing an electric chair around our neck, but that's exactly what it is. The cross was the worst way to die in first century Judaism, that Jesus died on that cross. The word excruciating is where, the word cross is what gives us the word excruciating. It's all together. It is the worst form. It was heinous. So for you and I to wear a cross around our neck today is that we are celebrating that because Jesus died on it and life came from it, we celebrate that he took our place on that cross.

That's why we wear it. It's not an idol. We don't worship the cross. We worship the one who hung on the cross in our place and give him thanks, and that's how we live our lives there. But we want to make sure that our lives are aligned with the symbol. That means I also am crucified with Christ. That means I don't live the way I want to live. I don't get to choose my own way of lifestyle. I don't get to choose. No, I follow his example. That's why Galatians chapter two, verse 20, puts it this way. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I live in this life pointing my heart, my life, my attitude, relationships, money, all of that towards doing it the way that Jesus said to do it because I am a Christ follower. And so this is what it means for you and I to live our lives, that when you wear that cross, it's not only Jesus who died, but you and I also. Our lives are crucified. Our will is crucified. It died on that cross, and now we live following his example.

This other question came in related to this, so I will go ahead and throw this in for what it's worth. Why doesn't Freelife Chapel have a cross in the sanctuary? Well, understand this. Displaying a cross is a preference. It's not a command. So nowhere in the Bible does it command us to wear the cross or to display the cross. In fact, just because you display the cross doesn't mean you are living the cross. So here, I would prefer us to display the power of the cross in our worship and to display the power of the cross in our preaching, in our community, in our lifestyle. I would rather us live it so that people identify us as Christ followers, not because of a symbol we're wearing, but because of how we're living, because our attitude is so Christ-like. I'll tell somebody, he's talking to you right now. Now he's talking to you. It's most important for the cross to be on our hearts. Question number two. In today's political climate, how do we make the right decisions as Christians? Ooh, how many of you know we're living in a crazy political world right now? Uh-huh. Yes or yes? Yes. It is nuts right now. Everyone's got an opinion. Everybody. In fact, a lot of folks have, too.

There's opinions everywhere as to what's right and what's not. How do we deal with it as Christians? Here's the reality, folks. This question of, in today's political climate, how do we make the right decisions as Christians, this is easy to answer. It's just hard to live. Hang with me. Here's the question I would ask you. Can you, as a Christ follower, have a political view that violates the Bible? And I would state no, not as a Christ follower. If this is my way, the constitution for my life, how I treat people, the standard that corrects me and pulls me into alignment, I don't need Washington, D.C. to vote on something before I do it if the Bible says that I do it before Washington comes around because Washington may never come around to me. to voting on something that's good in my life. I have to depend on this word. So I can't violate this in order to make sure that politics is major in my life. Faith should inform my political view, not be altered by it. In fact, let me just speak two things real quickly. Number one, don't let politics hijack your relationship with Jesus. Right. Now, this might seem simple, but let me just kind of put it this way.

If politics is deciding, dictates to your emotions, your relationships, hope or despair that you have in your life, then you've turned politics into an idol in your life. Politics owns you. And ladies and gentlemen, it's a dangerous, scary thing to know that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has the ability to be worshiped by a human being, that it can alter your day. It decides if you're gonna be happy today, joyful today, hopeful today, angry today, if you win or if you lost is based on what they voted. Please, ladies and gentlemen, don't let a party decide your convictions. No, one greater than a political party died for me. Now, study the issues, engage the process. You're an American, you are a part of this society and your voice and your vote, they matter tremendously. It's an honor to cast our vote, but keep Jesus as the priority and trust God to lead your life. Don't spiritualize your favorite party, calling your party righteous and the other one not righteous. Be really careful on that. I don't know any political party that I 100% align with. I don't know any of them. I don't know any of them. I don't know any political leader today

that I look at and go, woohoo, I'm not there. Excuse me, Jesus, woohoo. But everybody around, they're men and women. The climate that we're living in today would have us look to people as our source and our answer and we've got to make sure that Jesus is the only one who leads that. Ladies and gentlemen, do not let anything precede your Christianity. You're not a Republican Christian. You're not a Democrat Christian. You're not an independent Christian. Do not let anything modify your Christianity. You are a Christ follower that engages the process of being a citizen of the United States of America. And I look at it and I study the issues and I move based on that but God's word is the lamp unto my feet and the light to my path, the direction from my heart and that's how I live my life. Please allow me to remind you that a lamb died for you, not a donkey or an elephant. You'll get that over lunch. I'm grateful for our leaders, I just don't worship them. I'm grateful for them, I just don't worship them. Romans chapter 13 and 1 Peter chapter two tells us to pray for your leaders. It tells us, breathe deep, the road is narrow. Honor the leaders, all of them, honor the leaders. Honor them, that's exactly right. And the Bible then tells us to submit

to the laws of the land. That's right, there it is. If you don't like it, I get it. There's a process that we have of addressing it but obey the laws of the land. Micah chapter six verse eight actually becomes the foundation for you and I, especially when it comes to relating with culture. It tells us this, this is what the Lord requires from you. Read this with me. To do what is right, to love mercy and to live humbly with your God. We treat people right. We live our lives with mercy. We walk in humility. This is what we do. I didn't say you walk weak, I say you walk in humility. Meekness is strength under control. I can't be triggered by somebody going off or I can't be triggered by what comes across the news or what I read on social media. I see it, I can be concerned but I'm not triggered because my hope is not in people or politics, my hope is in God. That is how we live our lives. It's critical that we understand this. Two, don't let your politics violate the Bible. The Bible is the source. Either the Bible is opinion or it is the direction for your life

and we find out real quickly what level it takes of importance. I don't want to twist God's word. Fit my politics, it doesn't work that way. Cherry pick scriptures to try to create my own, that doesn't work. I've gotta make politics bow to the word of God in my life. And that's how I move forward. Acts chapter five, verse 29 says this. We must obey God rather than men. That's a good tattoo right there. Get that down your thigh. That's a good one, make it big and bold. Obey God over men. We need to know God's word so that we'll know how to stand and rep Jesus in this culture. Ladies and gentlemen, I need you to understand something. As we're talking through these pieces and these questions and we're talking about what's God's answer, what's God's hack, his key for dealing with issues in life, more important than knowing the hacks is knowing him yourself so that he can convict and lead your life. Because here's the deal, when the issue is black and white, up, down, yes, no, in, out, those are easy, easy decisions to make because it's clear where we need his leading is when the area gets gray. And I see a little bit of this

and I see a little bit of that and I'm not sure what to do. You can't just go to a hack. You need to go straight to the one who can guide and lead your life. And that's why relationship with God is everything. So keep Jesus as your God and keep the Bible as your guide. Worship him only, keep the word of God leading and guiding your life. And that will set you for the course that you need to live. Don't you let politics bust up your family. Don't start unfriending people left and right. Well, they just believe different and that's healthy. The fact that we're living in a culture today that we can't be around people who disagree with me is a scary place and it shows the lack of maturity, the lack of rest, the lack of peace, the lack of intellect that we're actually dealing with. Because intellect invites dissenting thoughts because I can learn. There's things that I can glean from a different perspective. Talk to me, help me understand. We're living in a culture today where we need God's word to help grow us up that we can have some standard bearers in culture today. Amen, I'm so glad I came today. Let me just keep on going. Question number three, how do you tithe when you're not working

but you own a business? Now, again, I take these questions and I give them to you just the way they come to us so I'm not altering anything and so there's a couple of ways I can read this question. Number one, my business ain't making a lick of money. I own it but I'm not making, so that's one way. And another way is I own a business, I'm not working it but it's making money for me. And I like those kind of businesses. I highly recommend that right there. That's good stuff right there. Let me help you with this. Let me kind of boil it down to a principle. You and I, according to God's word, are commanded to surrender the first tenth of any increase that comes into our life. It's narrow. Well, I don't like that. Deal with him, not me. I'm just the mailman. He's the one that wrote the letter. God said bring one tenth of everything that enters your life, of all your increase, bring it in and it will become a covenant, a relational connection tying me into you, you into me and I will release covenant promises and blessings connected to that. Deuteronomy chapter 14 verse 22 says this.

Set aside a tithe, a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. So watch this. If you've got an Airbnb that's out there working for you and producing while you're sitting at the house, good for you. Bring in your tithe. I ain't working it, but it's increase. If you had a birthday and everybody threw money at you, that is awesome. Pay your tithe. Because if it was increase that came into your life, it all goes into covenant with God. God is the source and supplier of my life. I wanna honor him with that. That's what we do. When you get paid, you get a paycheck. You know how we teach here that the first tenth belong, not the leftovers, the first tenth, God, I bring it to you. I honor you with this. So tithing is based on income, not work. Whatever enters my life. When I was growing up, I went out and I mowed lawns in our trailer court for five bucks a piece and I would come home and buy $15 and the first thing when I walked in the door, my mom would meet me at the front door. She'd give me something to drink. She goes, how much is your tithe?

How much did you make? I made $15. What is your? I knew at the age of four how to figure out a tithe because my mom and daddy put it in. Anybody else raised like that? You grew up like I did in church, like, man, I knew, buck 50, buck 50. And what's your offering? What can I get? away with like I cuz that's a lot of money like I didn't say but I knew I was raised this way but it was it was God's Word it's God's Word question number four how do we deal with family members when they're hurting us not physically hurting us now this could be emotionally this could be causing all kinds of tension I guess in multiple ways this is how the question came and so I'm just giving it to you the way that it came and I want to I want to address it in general that capacity can I tell you I love the fact that we we have a Bible that talks real about life do you know that all the people that we celebrate as the heroes of our faith in the Bible they were all just as jacked up as we are yeah no like dysfunctional family like nasty dysfunction crazy King David the man after God's own heart yeah he was a mess he was such a he was such a horrible father his son Absalom was chasing him trying to kill him to take over his kingdom it had made a great Netflix movie do you understand like it's it's like it's just twisted crazy stuff going on out there in fact the father of our faith father Abraham had many sons and many sons had father Abraham and I am what never mind yeah I didn't grow up in church like I did that's okay father Abraham he had a nephew named lot and lot was a lot they were journeying doing some life together and they came to a place and and Abraham looks at him goes yo nephew you are on my last nerves right now we

are splitting this thing up I ain't hanging with you no more you call some problems in my head I'm sure I'm probably causing him in your head and Abraham goes look here's we standing right here and it's a wide open world you tell me are you gonna go left or right cuz I'm going the opposite way of you and he did and lot chose like a young nephew would well I won't take the nice green grass I'm gonna go to the the best-looking land he chose the best and Abraham was so ready to separate from lot he said I don't even care take the best I'll take the leftovers I just need you out of my face right now in Jesus name family can be difficult I do not look at your family members right now do not just keep your eyes and facing straight ahead how do we deal with family members when they're hurting us let me give you three points as a structure this is not a end-all but it becomes a structure that you can begin to lay as a template on top of a lot of issues and work your way through number one how do you deal with this situation first check yourself are you contributing to the problem I know you never considered that did you no I'm the one that's right everyone else is wrong okay well your halo's crooked take that off for a second because you got a horn poking through like we've all got our issues that we contribute and so first of all check yourself in the process you got to stay Christlike is your attitude an attitude okay you just just keep looking this way I own your part family can be messy because people yet family sees you before coffee family sees you at your worst before everyone else sees you at your best when you walk out the door the makeup is on the hair is fabulous and the heels are high but where everyone else is dealing with that that robe and all that kind of stuff and then they turn into Christians when they leave one out where's that person and it's not just the ladies I'm just here to tell you so we have issues inside of our homes number one check yourself am I contributing to the issues number two inside of a difficult relationship you've got a fight for unity and healing you got to fight for it why because the natural progression of life moves towards chaos things break down naturally they don't stay together

naturally a marriage requires maintenance I told her I loved her 20 years ago if it changes I'll let her know that's not good enough that doesn't work that way you got to date her you're gonna have to take her out love on her celebrate her a buyer a card buyer a shotgun from show yeah not no I mean just yeah buyer you got a fight for it so watch this in a difficult home situation how do we deal with it someone's got to be an adult in this and call a family meeting we got to sit down have a talk we'll order the pizza later but let's sit in the living room and let's talk and I need to be raw and honest with you, using the right words, not emotionally fueled, I'm hurt. What you said and what happened at the family reunion broke my heart. You criticized my barbecue ribs. I thought they were really, no, you said much more than that. Like, you hurt me that you said that. And I want you to know when you do this and when you respond that way, it makes us back up, it flinches, it makes us wanna walk away. And I don't wanna walk away. I want our home healed. I want our family laughing together. But you gotta understand that what's going on right now, how we're communicating is not working. Somebody's gotta be an adult in the room and express that. And we don't retaliate. We're not just, we get into just like knocking the ball back across the fence again. That's not what we're doing here.

We're speaking truth in love, but somebody's gotta reach out and invite all the adults into the room to arrive to a conclusion. Most families today, most families today, no one is strong enough to call a family meeting. And the issues just continue to progress without anybody saying anything. And the dysfunction gets worse and worse. Everyone goes to their home, they gossip, they chew each other up behind closed doors. We get around them, we start smiling again like everything is okay. We go back and we chew them up again. And we've got double lies. We've got Jekyll and Hyde going on inside of our homes. And we can't wonder why there's no peace in our heart. Because when the phone rings and their name pops up, oh my God, Satan's sister's on the phone, you pick it up. Like you can't, no, we can't do that. Somebody's gotta call a meeting and bring healing. But you gotta fight for it. It doesn't come natural. So number one, check yourself. Number two, fight for unity and healing. And number three, if that doesn't work after you've shared your heart and communicated it, then you need to separate from the dysfunction. I love you, but you got to go left or right and I'm going the other way.

I'm not hanging out in dysfunction. There are these things called boundaries in my life. And we're either going to work well in them together, but if you're outside of them, I'm not gonna keep opening the gate and letting you in to create chaos inside of what I'm working so hard to keep upright and moving forward. I'm living my life with joy and with peace. And if it costs you your peace, it costs you way too much. That's too expensive. I'm not giving my peace up. No, no, no, no, no, I love you. And let me just, while I'm at it, let me put it this way. If you keep on criticizing my wife, you keep on tearing her down to my face, what you're doing is you're sowing seeds of divorce in my mind towards my wife. That officially, even though you're my mama, it makes you an enemy in my marriage. And I can no longer have your voice speaking into my house. And until you fix that, we can't connect. There's a way to do that with the right heart and the right spirit, but we do not play with the breakdown. I will not allow dysfunction. In dysfunction, you've got funk, but you've also got fun. I choose the fun instead of the funk. And so you gotta make sure that you're not letting the mess get in there and tear up what you're working so hard

to build up inside your house. If they wanna live tore up, screaming, yelling, cussing, acting like a fool in their house, that's all you, boo. But over here, as for me and my house, we're gonna laugh and serve Jesus. And this is how we're gonna do life together. You gotta set a standard for your house. So check yourself. What do you need to repent of? What part can you own? Number two, be the adult. Call a meeting. Let's repair this. Family matters. I love you. We wanna do this right, but if that doesn't work, we're gonna have to go our separate ways. The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 12, ignore their insults. It says in Proverbs chapter 20, be a peacemaker. You know why you gotta be a peacemaker? Because it's not gonna happen by itself. Somebody's gotta make it. Proverbs chapter 22, it says, walk away from them, avoid them. That's Bible. You got Bible. Maybe you get that tattered on your arm and next time they go off, just, we'll walk away from you right now,

whatever you gotta do. Number five, let's get to the question that everyone's been holding their breath for. Let's go ahead and hit this right here. How do we address people that are members of the LGBTQ plus community who attend church? Woo hoo! Next week, we'll be dealing with this and no, no, today we'll hit it. You love them the same way you want God to love you. What the heck? Let me say, I'm so glad this question was asked. I'm so, thank you. Thank you for being real about this. I honor and I appreciate the question. It's a great question and so I'm not mad at that. But let me just tell you, we welcome everybody. We love everybody and if that violates and causes a twinge in your heart, then you need to deal with that thing inside of your heart right now. This isn't your church, it's Jesus' church. He said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We are not building our own, this is not a social service club that we get to accept or deny who we like and don't like. When we start this journey, it is wide open. And ladies and gentlemen, if you were welcome, then anybody can come into this building. Do you understand? If I can stand up here and I'm welcome, anybody is welcome in this room. Jesus, Jesus gave us quite an example.

He was called the friend of sinners. That's what people labeled him as. He went to hang out with a guy named Zacchaeus or Zacchaeus. He was, he was stealing money, ripping people off. And Jesus goes to dinner with him, went to his house. People were so upset with Jesus. He called Matthew, Matthew was a tax collector, the worst of the worst. He went and he called him to be his disciple. Jesus hung the woman who was convicted of adultery and they were gonna stone her. Jesus runs in and protects her. He ran to the outcasts. He was with the lepers when society threw those out, they were outcasts. Jesus associated, was not afraid of someone else's reputation when it came to connecting and loving them. In other words, Jesus taught us a principle. You reach before you preach. I love people. I don't care what your background is, what your faith is. If you have a faith or you don't, I don't care what your reputation is, what you're doing now, what you did then, I don't care. How can I serve? How can I help? How can, how can we just connect and do some life? Ladies and gentlemen, we are not called to start correcting people. That's not the call of you or me or the church, no, the Word of God is what corrects us. The Word of God cuts me like it cuts everybody in this place. All my friends watching on TV today, it cuts you too. All my brothers at Polk CI, it cuts you like it cuts us. All of us get cut by the Word of God, but it's the cut that brings greater things out of us, doesn't damage us, it elevates us and moves us more into who Jesus is.

Jesus' church is filled with two kinds of people. Number one, people who are growing in their relationship with Him. We're still in process. I don't, I don't care if you've been saved for 20 years, you're still walking down the road, you ain't arrived yet. Romans 15 says, honor God by accepting each other as Christ has accepted you. The context of this verse is powerful. That wasn't them just talking about everybody out there, no. Paul was talking about, he was talking to three different kinds of people who all studied the Word and were serving God. And all three people groups thought that they were the ones doing it right and the other two were doing it wrong. And Paul said, all y'all are whack. You're judging, you're condemning, you're pointing fingers. And he says, and even in the midst of you saying that your way is right, you're not even faithful enough to live up to your own standards, so who are you in order to point a finger at somebody else's standard? So Paul called them all out. We love everybody. You just sin different than I do. So number one, we got people in here that are growing in their relationship with Jesus. And number two, we got people who are still discovering who He is. You're shopping Jesus. I love y'all. There's a lot of folks in here today watching online, watching on TV, that you haven't accepted Jesus yet. And I love you. I'm so honored that I have the opportunity of telling you about Jesus. I'm doing the best I can. My lifestyle fails in doing it well.

I keep getting back up because I'm in process too. So I'm not, I'm not, I'm not your boy. No, I'm, I'm working on it. And even my words fail, my attitude gets really twisted and I got to come back and I need to apologize and repent for that because I'm not the model, but I'm working on it. But man, I do want to tell you about Jesus and, and who He is and what the Bible says about Him and that we're all aspiring to that together. And the church is whack. The church is filled with people who are still working it out and we think we've turned it into a club instead of a hospital. We forgot what the purpose of this place is all about to begin with. We're all hurting. We're all jacked up in some area. We all got issues. We all sin. That's what the Bible tells me. And so if we just come together and start loving and embracing and moving towards Him and let Him be the one who guides and directs our path, we start on a five lane highway and then it moves down into a pathway as you continue to grow in Him. That's what this life is about. James said this about people who are discovering who He is. You are doing right if you obey this law from the highest authority. Love your neighbor as yourself. So how do we deal with the LBGTQ plus community? Well, you love them, you serve them, you embrace them. All people, I love you. I love you in all your pronouns, I love you. Oh, we see things completely different, but I love you. I'm not offended by your differentness. I can share air, I can breathe around you.

You're a human being. God's got a plan for your life like he's got a plan for my life. We're different, but different isn't wrong. Different is different. Let's keep moving towards him and let him bring the clarity as to what our lives should look like in him. Our job is to love people like Jesus, and it's Jesus's job to transform them into what he looks like. I can't change anybody's life. You can't change anybody's life, but Jesus can, and he does it with love. So while I'm here, let me just go ahead and make this general announcement. This'll empty out a few seats. All the ushers will have more seats next week after this one, of course, there'll be a mass exodus here. But let me just kind of put it out there. Every sinner is welcome to Free Life Chapel. I mean, I'm just gonna just make a big, broad statement here. All the issues are welcome. Let me get more specific. And just in case you think, yeah, but, well, let me help you. Here's a few. All addicts are welcome. All thieves are welcome.

All pimps and prostitutes are welcome. All gossipers, corrupt CEOs, and blue-collar cheaters, you are welcome. All heterosexual, LBGTQ+, multi-pronoun, narcissists, self-hating, cutters, drug addicts, porn addicts, agnostic, backslider, witchcraft, gang member, cheater, angry husband, bitter housewife, divorced, or playin' house. Whether you're pending a court case, doing time right now, shout out to my Polk CI brothers, or you finished time, or you just never got caught. I don't know what your situation is, but you're welcome. Jealous, prideful, atheist, religious, backstabber, glutton, liar, manipulator, black, brown, white, immigrant, legal, and illegal. You're welcome. From the street center to the church center, everybody is welcome in the house of God. Don't ever get that twisted. Stand to your feet if you would, please. We've got to stop coming to church and start being the church. Ladies and gentlemen, we just gotta make sure that we are the church that Jesus died for. I wanna pray today. Maybe you're here and you're saying, hell, Scott, I'm one of those folks who I don't know Jesus, and I'm kinda hangin', I'm shopping. Get that? I love you.

Honored that you're here. You're welcome every Sunday. I wanna give you a chance to meet Jesus. You're still gonna mess up, you're still gonna screw up. You are. I do. Everyone that's sittin' around you, they do. None of us have this whole thing together, but we're starting a journey. Getting your feet on the ground and moving towards him and just growing one day at a time. Let him bring the change from the inside out. That's what, religion tries to force you from the outside in. Jesus works from the inside out in transforming our lives. That's why he does it with truth and love, and it changes everything. So, heads bowed in this room everywhere. If you want to meet Jesus and invite him in, just pray this prayer. Say, Jesus, come into my life. Change me. Forgive me. I want you to lead my life. I need your truth, your love, your forgiveness, and your ways. Take all of me, and I take all of you, and help me to live a life that pleases you. In Jesus' name, amen. Can you put those hands together right now

and just celebrate? Yeah, people all through this room. Now, listen, if you just prayed that prayer for the first time, you're just as saved as I am. That may encourage or discourage you. I'm not really sure which one, but I'm just telling you that there's no degrees of salvation. You either are or you're not. You can't be a little bit pregnant, and you can't be a little bit saved. You are. God loves you, sent Jesus to die for you, so now we're family. Let's keep moving closer to him together, and Father, I pray that over all my friends here, those who love you, who know you, I pray, God, that you would bless them, help them, lead them. Help me to make your word higher, greater, stronger, to be that lamp to our feet, our light to our path, to show us the way to live. God, help me to put my opinion aside and always choose yours. We love you and we honor you. In Jesus' name, amen, amen. One more time, would you put those hands together? Amen. I hope today's message encouraged you

just like it encouraged me. For more encouraging messages, check out our website at freelivechapel.org. Until then, I hope you have an amazing day. you