June 4, 2025 • 43 mins
Have you ever wondered what Jesus is doing right now? Has it been 2,000 years since He ascended to heaven—did He go there to rest, retire, or wait? In this powerful conclusion to the six-month "Made for More" series, we discover the life-changing truth that Jesus didn't go to heaven to rest, but to rule.
Right now, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father—the ultimate position of authority. Everything in your life is under His submission and permission. He's actively pouring out His Holy Spirit upon you, because He knows you can't fulfill His mission alone. Most comfortingly, Jesus is literally praying for you. The Son of God is taking your requests to God the Father! He's also building His church through ordinary people and continuing to save sinners. His work isn't done, and neither is yours.
This understanding transforms our purpose. Since Jesus is ruling, we trust Him. Since He's pouring out His Spirit, we receive His power. Since He's praying for us, we pray to Him. Since He's building His church, we invite people to experience it. And since He's saving people, we share the good news.
Jesus will return suddenly and finally, but He's patiently waiting for the last person to be saved according to His will. His delay isn't reason to doubt but evidence of His love—giving more people time to turn to Him. When He returns, He'll wipe away every tear and make all things new. Surprisingly, believers won't just worship Him eternally but will also reign with Him forever. Heaven isn't just an eternal choir practice; it's living life the way God always intended—without pain, hate, division, or sin.
You live differently when you know the end of the story. Since we know Jesus ultimately wins, we can continue moving the gospel forward with confidence today. Remember: if you're not dead, He's not done. This is no time for the church to go on break—the mission continues through you!
Thanks for listening! Find us on Instagram or visit our Website.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, good morning how you doing, first Baptist,
powder Springs.
Put your hands together ifyou're excited to be in church
this morning.
God is so good, it's so good tosee everybody, all of your
smiling faces.
If you're a first-time guest,we just want to give you a
special welcome, a special thankyou for being with us today,
out of all of the places thatyou could be.
Just a reminder, if you are new, we are one church here at
(00:22):
First Baptist Church, powderSprings.
We're one church here at FirstBaptist Church Powder Springs.
We're one church.
We meet in two services.
We have a 9.30 service, we havean 11 service.
But we have one vision, onegoal, one strategy, one mission,
and that is to bring glory toJesus so that we can reach
people with the gospel of JesusChrist.
So we just want to say thankyou for being a part of it.
Also.
(00:42):
Even just last week, my wife andI, we were in our family.
We were not in church for thefirst time.
We were not here since lastSeptember, and so we just kind
of took the day off and PastorJames preached, didn't he do a
great job?
Put your hands together forPastor James Wilson, super
thankful for him, and man.
He just always does such awonderful job.
We got to watch both servicesonline and we just we had a
(01:06):
little family staycationtogether, but we missed you so
much.
It's always good to be backhome.
It's always good to be backwith family and just to talk
about family for a second.
We know that we lost a churchfamily member this past week.
Friday morning about 5.30 in themorning, whitney, alan and
(01:27):
Karen Davis's daughter, whitneyDavis, mulholland, went home to
be with Jesus after herseven-year journey through
cancer.
Just this morning, alan andKaren texted me and they wanted
to share some words with you.
They said tell everyone we loveand appreciate the unbelievable
support that we have received,not just the last few weeks but
(01:50):
the entire seven-year journeythat Whitney was on.
They said we just need a littlebit more time to recharge
emotionally, to get some rest.
And here's what they said.
As Whitney said at one of herlowest points, while we were
helping her to get back in thebed, whitney said God is good.
(02:13):
Can we just put our handstogether and thank God for
Whitney, thank God for the Davisfamily?
What an honor it is to knowthat she is with Jesus.
I wanna pray for them, butbefore I do, I just wanna
recognize all of you parentsthat are in here that you're
gonna have kids during KVX thisweek here with us.
We just want you to know thatwe can't wait to have your kids
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so that we can pour the word ofGod into your kids, so that we
can point them to Jesus, so thatthey can worship him with their
life.
So we just wanna say thank,thank you, and we want to
recognize all of our KVXvolunteers here in this room.
So maybe you're volunteeringthis week and maybe you're a
teacher, maybe you're a worshipleader, maybe you're in crafts,
maybe you're in everybody'sfavorite time snack time, maybe
(02:56):
you're in rec and you're ingames, or maybe you have been
helping with the setup or you'regoing to help with the cleanup.
Whoever you are, if you'reserving in some way for KVX,
would you mind standing up rightnow and we just want to honor
you.
Can we put our hands togetherfor them right now?
Thank you so much.
Thank you for all that you do,thank you for this week.
Stay standing, stay standing.
(03:18):
I just want to pray for you.
Can everyone just kind ofextend a hand towards someone
right now, just saying thatyou're gonna be praying for them
.
Can we do that?
Let's pray, heavenly Father.
God, we pray for KVX KidVentureExtreme this week, our Vacation
Bible School.
And, lord, we just pray, god,that, as your word says, that
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you would pour your spirit intothe next generation to love your
word, to follow your son, tobuild your church.
And, god, we pray for kids toget saved, for kids to be
encouraged to live saved, forthem to be sanctified, to live
for Jesus, for kids to makedecisions, who need to be
baptized.
And God, we just pray, lord, asthis is the future generation,
lord, that is gonna be takingthe gospel to the nations.
(04:02):
Lord, we pray that you would doa work this week that can never
be undone.
We love you and God, we prayfor Alan.
We pray for Karen Davis, god,we pray for Mason.
Lord, we pray this morning forJoel and for Jordan and the
whole family.
And, God, we pray that youwould just comfort them, god,
that you would give them yourpeace.
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And, father, we ask, in Jesus'name, lord, that you would give
them your peace.
And, father, we ask, in Jesus'name, lord, that you would just
continue to wrap your lovingarms around them and use your
church that they may feel yourlove.
In Jesus' name, we pray and allGod's people said amen.
You can open up your Bibleswith me this morning to Hebrews,
chapter one.
Hebrews, chapter one, and Ibelieve that God has a word for
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you this morning.
He would not bring you here ifhe did not want to encourage you
, if he did not want to empoweryou.
I think about one of the bestbasketball players who has ever
lived, who has ever played thegame.
He's no longer with us KobeBryant.
Kobe Bryant died on January26th of 2020, almost five and a
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half years ago now, if you canbelieve it and it was the night
before that Kobe actuallytweeted out his last tweet
before he died.
It was January 25th of 2020.
The reason we remember that?
Because that was the night thatLeBron James passed Kobe on the
all-time scoring list.
(05:29):
And what did Kobe Bryant'stweet say?
Kobe Bryant's tweet notice.
He didn't throw.
He didn't talk trash.
He wasn't being a smart aleck.
He wasn't being sarcastic.
He wasn't throwing him underthe bus.
Kobe simply said his last tweetto ever tweet.
He said continuing to move thegame forward.
King James, much respect mybrother.
(05:52):
Now here's what I love aboutthat is that for Kobe, the game
of basketball was not about him.
For Kobe, the game ofbasketball was not about his
records.
It wasn't about his stats.
It wasn't about his fame.
It wasn't about his fame.
It wasn't about him staying ontop.
For Kobe, the game ofbasketball was about those who
would come after him to continueto move the game forward.
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Everybody say forward In thesame way.
What a reminder for us thatyour life, that my life, is not
about us.
Our life is about continuing tomove the gospel forward into
more lives so that more peoplecan come to know Jesus.
If you believe that, say yeah.
(06:39):
That is literally the reasonthat God made you.
He made you for more.
Now, this is our last messagein this six-week series Made for
More.
Not only is this our lastmessage in this six-week series.
This is our last message inthis six-month mega series.
Can you believe it?
(07:00):
We have been in this doctrine ofJesus, or all about Jesus now
we've been talking about for thelast six months.
We began in December and inDecember we started talking
about Jesus.
But this morning, I want you toknow that you weren't made for
yourself and your mission.
You were made for Jesus and hismission.
This is where we came from.
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In December, we talked aboutbefore all things, we talked
about that Jesus, he's fully God, so he existed all the way into
eternity past and we led upthat journey of Jesus all the
way up into his incarnationalbirth.
In January, we talked aboutJesus's earthly life and
ministry.
We talked about how Jesus lived.
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In February, we talked aboutred letters, or all of his
sayings, all of his teachings,what Jesus said.
In March, we talked about hismiracles, what Jesus did, or how
Jesus helps people.
We see his power.
And then in April, we saw thepassion of Jesus.
We talked about his suffering,his death, his burial, his
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resurrection and through May andending here, june 1, we're
talking about the mission ofJesus.
And here's what I want us to see.
I don't know about you, butthis has been one of the most
spiritually impacting six monthsof my life.
Six months of my life justfocusing on Jesus and studying
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Jesus and worshiping Jesus andgoing on this journey together,
all about Jesus.
And what I want us to see isthat everything in his life, all
the way from his eternalexistence in the past to his
eternal existence in the future,all the way through his earthly
life and ministry, everythingthat he said and everything that
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he did, that it all leads up tothis.
It all leads up to what he'scalled us to do today the
mission of Jesus.
That we are called to continueto move the gospel forward into
more people's lives.
That we're not called to rest,we're not called to take a break
(09:11):
.
We are called on a mission.
Everybody say mission.
So what we've been doing everysermon through this series,
we're gonna do it one last time.
I'm gonna ask you to stand upthis morning, we all stand
together just for one second,and I just want us all to read
this together, in unison.
This is the great commission ofJesus, some of the last words
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of Jesus, what he left for usbefore he left for heaven.
Read with me.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name ofthe Father.
You can have a seat right now,this morning, as we talk about
(10:01):
all about Jesus how you weren'tmade for yourself and your
mission.
You were made for Jesus and hismission.
This morning, I want to talkabout three powerful things that
we must understand before wewrap up this mega series about
Jesus.
Put a bow on it.
A question I want to answer thismorning is what is Jesus doing
now, because he ascended toheaven 2,000 years ago.
(10:24):
What's he been doing for 2,000years?
What's he doing today andwhat's he going to continue to
do, and when is it that Jesus isgoing to return?
This morning I'm going to tellyou exactly when Jesus is coming
back.
And then number three, numberthree, we're going to talk about
Jesus' eternal reign.
What will Jesus be doingforever?
And so, therefore, what will webe doing forever in heaven?
(10:46):
Here we go.
Number one Jesus's present rule.
Everyone say rule.
So the question I wanna answeris and you can open to Hebrews
1,.
The question I wanna answer isis what is Jesus doing today?
What did Jesus do when heascended to heaven some 2,000
years ago?
Did he go up to heaven to rest?
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Did he go up to heaven to wait?
Did he go up to heaven toretire?
Did he go up to heaven to playan eternal match of golf game
until we come up and join him?
Like, what is Jesus doing?
I heard a story one day thatsaid that a pastor woke up one
morning and he didn't feel.
One Sunday morning, he didn'tfeel like preaching, and so he
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called and he said hey, I'm notcoming to church this morning.
He lied.
He said I'm sick.
They said all right, we got you.
And so the pastor hung up thephone, went and put his clothes
on, got his golf clubs and wentout and played a round of golf.
And up in heaven, st Peterlooked at Jesus, said Jesus,
what are you gonna do about it?
This pastor just lied to hischurch to play golf and Jesus
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said don't worry, I got it.
Pastor steps up to the firsthole, hits it long and straight
all the way to the green,bounces on the green, goes into
the hole.
Very first hole, a hole in one.
Peter looks at Jesus like whatare you doing?
Jesus said don't worry, I gotit.
Jesus said don't worry, I gotit.
Hole two, hole in one.
Hole three, hole in one, all 18holes.
He scored a perfect 18 on hisgolf game.
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And Peter looked at Jesus andhe said I thought you got it.
Jesus said I got it, I got it.
Who's he gonna tell he lied hedidn't go to church, right, I
got it, I got it.
So what is Jesus doing, right?
The Bible says.
Here's what he says.
If we wanna understand whatJesus is doing Jesus is sitting
at the right hand of God, theFather, for you.
What is Jesus doing right now?
(12:32):
Hebrews 1.3 says after makingpurification for sins, he sat
down at the right hand of themajesty on high.
I want you to notice that Jesusdid not sit down to rest, jesus
sat down to rule.
Everyone say rule when Jesussits at the right hand of the
Father.
That is only the place that theSon of God can sit, that is
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only the place that the King ofthe universe can sit.
He didn't sit to rest, he satto rule.
And even when it looks like inyour life that not everything is
in submission to him personally, I want you to remember that
the Bible says that he has theultimate authority, he has the
ultimate call, that everythingis under his submission,
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powerfully, that he is the powerover absolutely everyone.
He is the power over everything.
What you are going through inyour life is not without his
permission, is not without theway that he is going to work and
the way that he is going to useit for his glory and for your
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good.
So how do we respond?
We trust him, we trust him, weobey him.
We trust him, we obey him, weworship him, we serve him.
We live on mission for him.
Not only is he sitting at theright hand of the Father the
Bible says that he is Jesus ispouring out his Holy Spirit upon
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you Acts 2.33,.
You ever noticed this before,that it was Jesus who pours out
the Spirit, being thereforeexalted at the right hand of God
and having received from theFather the promise of the Holy
Spirit, he has poured him outthis that you yourselves are
seeing and hearing.
What is Jesus doing for youright now?
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Right here, right now, jesus iscontinuing to pour his Holy
Spirit upon you.
He's continuing to pour hisHoly Spirit within you.
Why?
Because he understands whatyou're going through and that
you can't go through it alone.
He understands what you'regoing through and that you don't
have the power in yourself inorder to be able to go through
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it, but instead he gives you Godinside you, god within you, so
that you can accomplish his willthat he's called you to do.
That would be impossiblewithout him inside of you.
If you know it's Jesus, when heleft, he didn't just tell us hey
, you're gonna be living now ina dark and depraved and in a
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dying world and, by the way,they killed me.
So good luck to you.
No, jesus said I'm gonna bewith you, I'm gonna empower you,
I'm gonna fill you with my HolySpirit.
Jesus also said you everthought about the love of Jesus
in this way?
Jesus also said that he ispraying for you.
Hebrews 7, 25,.
Who is to condemn?
You feel condemned in your life.
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You ever feel like the peopleare against you.
The world is not for you.
Everything's working againstyou.
Jesus said who is to condemnyou?
Christ Jesus is the one whodied.
More than that, he's the onewho was raised, who is at the
right hand of God, who, indeed,is interceding for us, which
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means that he is praying for you.
I think it's so important, whenyou are going through difficult,
hard times, that you call upother brothers and sisters,
believers in Jesus Christ.
You text them, you call them,you email them, you tell them
when you see them and you justsay would you please be praying
for me, but also you be prayingfor them.
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But the most important personthat you can know for sure who's
praying for you is Jesushimself.
The Bible says that he isinterceding for you.
He is going to the Father onyour behalf.
The Bible even says that theHoly Spirit is taking your
prayers and interpreting them toGod, and he is praying more for
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you than you could even pray oranybody else could pray for
yourself.
God is praying for you to God,can I get an amen?
And so, because God is prayingto God for you, then what are we
called to do?
We can just simply say, when wedon't know what to say, we can
simply say Jesus, would you justpray for me?
Jesus, would you just pray forme?
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Also, what else is Jesus doing?
He is building his churchthrough you.
He's called you to be hiswitness and he would not call
you to do anything if he did notempower you for that task.
He is building his churchthrough you.
Matthew, chapter 16, 18,.
I will build my church in thegates of hell, jesus said.
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Shall not prevail against it.
What does it mean that Jesus isbuilding his church?
It means that Jesus is growinghis family.
It means that we are allbrothers and sisters of Jesus
Christ and God is all of ourheavenly father.
And so when we're invitingpeople to believe in Jesus, when
we're inviting people to churchso they can hear the gospel of
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Jesus Christ, that is our way ofintroducing them to Jesus so
that they can be involved, sothat they can be introduced, so
that they can be invited intothe family of God.
We're not just trying to builda mega church.
That is not our goal, that'snot our desire, we don't care.
We just want to build amissional church that reaches
people, that they can believe inJesus too.
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Can I get an amen?
Why?
Because Jesus is saving sinnersjust like you and just like me.
2 Peter 3.9 says the Lord isnot slow to fulfill his promise,
as some count slowness, but ispatient towards you, not wishing
that any should perish, butthat all should reach repentance
.
In other words, who is it thatyou are praying for to get saved
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?
Who is it that you arewitnessing to sharing the gospel
with dropping the name of Jesus?
To?
Who is that one person that, ifyou could give everything for
them to give their life to Jesus, you would give it, because
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they are so important to you andyou just want them to know
Jesus personally, to believe inhis death and his resurrection,
to be saved, to be forgiven ofall of their sin.
Jesus is continuing to savesinners today.
His work is not done.
If you're not dead, he's notdone.
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Can I get an amen?
What did Jesus tell us to do?
Because he's working, becausehe's ruling, jesus called us to
go.
Everybody say go.
Our little boy, cruz, two and ahalf years old I think his
first word was mommy.
His second word was daddy.
His third, fourth and fifthword was ready set, go.
That's all he wanted to say.
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Ready set, go all the time.
Our little girl Eliana she'sone year old and she's learning
how to walk.
She's like Frankenstein all thetime, right now, right, keeping
her hands out.
She's walking and she'sstarting to talk and we say
ready, set and she says go.
She sounds like a middle schoolcheerleader from Mississippi.
She really does Go go.
It's so cute and we're raisingup a country girl.
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You know what I'm saying.
And, man, it was just awesome.
I remember being five years old.
I got a picture of this.
I was five years old with mydad, man and I was running a
race with my dad, right.
And I love this picture because, man, I took this race
seriously.
I think it was a 10K thatmorning that everybody, all the
adults, went and ran, but afterthat race was a one-mile fun run
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that all the kids would runwith their parents, and I
thought it was the real race.
Like, I pulled my socks, as youcan tell, all the way up to my
knees.
I pulled my shorts all the wayup to my chest right.
I got my headband on so it'dkeep my floppy bangs out of my
eyes and I got my Coke bottleglasses on so I could see where
I'm going.
And, man, I was so excited.
I remember that fun run.
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The gun went off and me and mydad, we started running.
Now, my dad, he trained me Formonths and months.
We would run together and therewas always a time in our run
that my dad would say go.
And whenever he told me to go,he wanted me to sprint and to go
as fast as I could.
He wanted me to sprint and togo as fast as I could.
And so here we are.
We're just running, we're justjogging on this fun run, and it
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was at the end of that race andall these people are there and
what I didn't know was the lastpart of the race was in a
stadium where everybody who hadfinished the run and had come
for the run they're all sittingin the stands.
And it was the very last ofthat one mile fun run.
We enter into the stadium andmy dad says go, Chip, go.
And I start sprinting as hardas I could.
I remember I was sprintingthrough all of these adults, all
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these kids.
I saved all my energy for theend.
The crowd started cheering Idon't think it was for me, but I
would imagine that it was andso everybody started cheering
and I ran as fast as I could,trying to win the race as
quickly as I could.
And what a reminder that ourfather, his son, jesus Christ,
has told us to go and he's givenus the power to go.
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Here's the deal.
We don't know exactly whenJesus is coming back, but we
know that he is coming back.
And this is our opportunity,this is our time, this is our
moment to move the gospelforward and to go.
Everybody say go.
What is Jesus doing right now?
He's sitting.
So what should we be doingright now?
Trusting him.
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Jesus is ruling right now.
So what should we be doing?
Obeying him?
Jesus is pouring out his HolySpirit right now.
So what should we be doing?
Receiving the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is praying for you rightnow.
So what should you be doing?
Receiving the Holy Spirit?
Jesus is praying for you rightnow.
So what should you be doing?
Praying to him.
Jesus is building his churchright now.
So what should we be doing?
Inviting people to church, andJesus is saving people right now
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.
So what should we be doing?
Going to people and sharing thegospel.
If you believe that, say amen,here we go.
Number two, number two Jesus'future return, jesus', future
return.
I'm gonna tell you exactly whenJesus is coming back.
Here we go, here we go.
First of all, I want you toknow that Jesus' return will be
sudden to you.
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Everyone say sudden.
It'll be sudden.
The Bible says 1 Thessalonians4, for the Lord himself will
come down from heaven with aloud command, with the voice of
the archangel, with the trumpetcall of God, and the dead in
Christ will rise first, andafter that we who are still
alive in our left will be caughtup together with them in the
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clouds to meet the Lord in theair.
And so we will be with the Lordforever.
Never forget how relationalthis is.
Jesus can't wait to come backfor you.
One thing I love doing everysingle day when I go to work,
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when I come here to the office,is, right about 5.30 that I
return.
I get home to my kids.
I can't wait to see my kids.
I can't wait to see my kids.
I can't wait to see my wife.
My kids are rejoicing, my wifeis relieved, right, I mean they
just.
Daddy has come home, she's gotthe help that she needs, right.
And just our little boy, cruz,two and a half.
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He runs up to the door andhe'll just press his nose in the
glass and just saying daddy,daddy, daddy.
Through the glass I see Eliana,she'll Frankenstein at first,
and then she'll start crawlingto the door.
Our little girl, brooklyn, sixyears old, cerebral palsy.
She will walk her best on herknees, just like the other kids,
just to get up the door.
I can barely get the door openand I come in.
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They're screaming daddy,they're happy to see me, I'm
happy to see them.
Can you imagine how Jesus can'twait to see you?
He can't wait to return for you, in the same way that you can't
wait for him to return for you,that you can't wait to see him,
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your Lord and Savior.
He says that we're gonna beable to meet him in the air and
we're gonna be able to be withhim forever.
But it's gonna be sudden.
The Bible says not only will itbe sudden.
The Bible says that it will befinal.
Everyone say final.
Second Thessalonians says thatJesus comes back to grant relief
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to you who are afflicted, whichmeans if you're a believer, if
you're a Christian, your life ishard.
It's hard to live in this world.
We already know that.
The Bible has said that it'snot going to get easy.
It's not meant to be easy.
We're going against the grain,we're swimming upstream, we're
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living in a world of darkness.
He's going to grant relief tous, which means this world, this
earth, is the closest to hellyou're ever going to get.
But the Bible says when the LordJesus is revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels inflaming fire inflicting
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vengeance on those who do notknow God and those who do not
obey the gospel of our LordJesus Christ, this is some of
the hardest words to preach.
No pastor should ever shoutdown the mountain at a lost
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person, because without Jesussaving us of our sins, we'd be
lost too.
All I can tell you is, if youhaven't given your life to Jesus
yet, when he returns, youreternity will be fixed.
When he returns, it will be toolate.
And do not wait until it is toolate, because eternity is too
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long to be wrong.
How do you know if you're saved?
He says right here in two ways.
You know who you're saved.
He will grant relief to thosewho know God, personal
relationship with God, those whoare obeying the gospel of Jesus
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Christ, those who are repentingof their sin, those who are
believing in him, those who arefollowing him, not in perfection
but in direction, those thathave given their life to Jesus,
calling on him as Lord.
We are not perfect people.
We're just forgiven people.
And the Bible says that Jesus'return will be final.
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And the Bible says that Jesus'return is waiting for you.
Everyone say waiting, waitingfor you.
When is Jesus going to comeback?
When the last person of hiswill get saved?
Jesus is waiting for that lastperson to get saved according to
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his will.
And the Bible says in 2 Peter,chapter 3, verses 4 and 9,.
They will say where is thiscoming he promised?
There are unbelievers out there.
There are people that have notgiven their life to Jesus.
That says well, he's never comeback.
It's been over 2,000 years, hehasn't come back.
Why would I believe in a Godwho isn't coming back?
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Could I submit to you thatJesus not coming back yet is not
a reason to not believe.
It's actually the reason tobelieve because he is patiently
waiting on you to give your lifeto him.
Can I get an amen?
Where is this coming that?
He promised the Lord?
He's not slow in keeping hispromise.
Jesus isn't slow, he's patient.
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He's not slow with you, he'spatient with you.
He's patient with you, notwanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance.
I remember, uh, when, when wewere living in virginia, my wife
and I, before we had kids, uh,we were in virginia.
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It was a February day.
It's cold in February inVirginia.
It strangely warmed up one dayto about 70 degrees.
We had this brilliant idea togo to the ice cream store, not
just any ice cream store, coldStone Creamery, can I get an
amen?
And some of the best ice creamout there.
And we went into Cold StoneCreamery, but we found out we
did not.
We were not the only ones withthe idea.
We were not the only ones withthe idea, like half of Virginia
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were in there too, and so, butCold Stone Creamery, they
weren't ready.
There was only two girls in theentire store and it was packed.
You remember that, babe.
It was slammed packed and so wegot our ice cream.
We sat down and it was so fulland there was a line going out
the door.
Literally, people are in line,people are eating ice cream,
people are still parking, peopleare still coming in, they're
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waiting outside, and the girlssay that's it, we're going on
break.
They go and lock the doors andthey go on break.
That's how you know they don'town the place.
They go on break and we'resitting there eating our ice
cream and we're watching this.
Like people are outside.
They drove all that way.
They're starting to shake theglass doors, pounding on the
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door.
It says you're open, open thedoor.
And the girls were like we'renot coming out right, kind of a
deal.
And so we're sitting therewatching the thing like this.
We're about to be on the news,this is awesome.
Like we're going to be in thepapers.
We hope we live to see throughthis thing.
And someone stands up.
I can't remember who it was.
Someone stood up and theywalked to the doors and they
unlocked the doors and leteverybody in, and so we don't
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know what happened, because weleft.
We did not want any part ofthat.
Can I just remind you that thereare still people outside the
kingdom of God, and this is notime for the church to go on
break.
This is no time for the churchto stop working.
This is no time for the churchto stop going.
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This is no time for the churchto stop witnessing.
Jesus is coming back and hisreturn is sudden, and so we've
gotta be ready.
His return is final, so we'vegotta be saved.
His return is waiting, so weneed to be witnessing.
And number three, and I'm doneJesus' eternal reign.
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Everyone say reign, jesus'eternal reign.
Did you know that his reign isvery personal to you, very
personal to you?
Revelation 21, verse three,says, and I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying behold,the dwelling place of God is
with man, in other words, andthe presence of God will be with
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you.
God cannot wait to have you inyour presence and he cannot wait
for you to be in his presenceIn everything that you're
longing for, in everything thatyou desire, in everything that
you want.
Every satisfied need that youare praying for, that you're
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desiring for, is going to beanswered in that moment when you
are in the presence of God.
And it says that he will wipeaway every tear from their eyes
everything that has hurt you,everything that has brought fear
, everything that has broughtpain, everything that has
brought discomfort, everythingthat has brought torment,
everything that has broughtanguish on your life.
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The Bible says that Jesuspersonally wipes.
He will wipe away your tearsfrom your eyes and he who is
seated on the throne says behold, I'm making all things new,
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which means that Jesus hassomething new.
Jesus has something for youthat, if he told you, you
wouldn't even believe it.
Not only is it personal to you,but Jesus's reign is worshipful
through you.
The Bible says in Revelation 5,I heard every creature in heaven
, on earth and under the earthand in the sea and all that is
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in them saying to him who sitson the throne and to the lamb be
blessing and honor and gloryand might forever and ever.
You are going to get to be inhis presence and you are not
going to be able to help, but toworship all of him with all of
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you.
You are going to lift yourvoice, you are going to lift
your hands, you are going toexclaim and you are going to
proclaim and you're gonna pouryour soul out and you're gonna
worship your heart out becauseyou finally get to be in front
of the one who gave his life foryou and you get to give it all
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to him because he gave it all toyou.
Can I get an amen?
He gave it all to you andyou're gonna get to give it all
to him because he gave it all toyou.
Can I get an amen?
He gave it all to you andyou're going to get to worship
him forever.
But that's not all, like theinfomercial says.
But that's not all.
There's more.
That's not all.
I rarely hear anybody preach onthis.
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Jesus loves you so much.
The Bible doesn't just say thathe's gonna reign over you.
The Bible says that he's gonnareign with you.
I want you to see here, becausethis is so important, that his
reign is shared with you.
Revelation 22.
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And night will be no more andthey will need no light, of lamp
or sun, for the Lord, god, willbe their light and they and you
will reign forever and ever.
We don't know exactly what thismeans.
I think, whatever this is, it'sso good that even if God tried
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to explain it to me and to you,we couldn't even understand it
in our finite minds because ofwhat he is going to be giving to
us and sharing with us.
But here's what we know thateternal life is not gonna just
be an eternal choir practicewhere we just stand there and
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sing to Jesus forever and everand ever, without ending.
And we just stand there andsing and we, just, when Jesus is
looking, we look at our watches, thinking how long is eternity
again?
No, the Bible seems to say thatwhile we are worshiping Jesus,
forever, and that's enough thathe shares his rule and his reign
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with us, meaning that eternallife is going to look like this
life, just perfected andglorified and magnified to where
there's no more pain, it's onlyjoy, where there's no more hate
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, there's no more division, morehate, there's no more division,
there's no more racism, there'sno more crime.
It's love, it's comfort, it'ssafety.
The Bible seems to say,obviously, there's no more sin,
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so there's no more pride,there's no more selfishness.
And so what are we doing?
We're serving Jesus, we'reserving one another and we're
living life the way that Godmeant it to be lived, and we
will finally get to live fullyfor Jesus Christ, sin free.
What you long for, what I longfor?
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Jesus loves you so much thathe's even sharing his reign with
you.
I don't know if you ever missedone of your favorite ball games.
Maybe your favorite sports teamwas playing and you were on a
flight or on a ride, or maybe itwas before the internet back in
the day and you had to watch itback.
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You know through TiVo or today,youtube TV or whatever it is,
but you already saw the score onSportsCenter or you saw it in
the newspaper back in the day.
You already know you won, butyou missed the game and you
wanted to go back and watch it.
And so you go back and watch itand you know your team won.
And as you're watching the game, oh, your team fumbles, but
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everything's okay because youknow your team won.
Your quarterback threw aninterception, that's okay, we
know the team won.
I just want to see how we win.
Your team made it to the goalline but didn't get in, that's
okay.
And then you watch the entiregame, in every touchdown, in
every defensive stop, and youwatch your team win.
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You watch it differently whenyou know the end.
Can I submit to you thismorning you live your life
differently when you know theend.
You live your life differentlywhen you know the end.
You live your life differentlywhen you know the end.
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What are we here to do?
We're here to continue thegospel forward so that more
people can know Jesus Christ,just like you.
Every head bowed and every eyeclosed.
Every head bowed, every eyeclosed.
Who is it that God is laying onyour heart, that God is putting
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in your mind?
That name that's coming to mind, that face that's coming to
mind, those people that arecoming to mind, that face that's
coming to mind, those peoplethat are coming to mind.
God has put you in their lifeto share Jesus with them.
God has put the Holy Spirit inyou to share Jesus with him.
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We're not responsible for theoutcome.
We're just responsible for themission that Jesus has shared
with us.
And I wanna encourage you toobey him, to serve him and to
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follow him.
And you may be thinking righthere, right now.
You may be thinking I can't dothat, pastor, jim.
I can't do it Because I'm notready yet.
I haven't given my life toJesus yet, but I want you to
know that you can.
He'll take you right here,right now.
He created you, he died for you, he rose from the dead, he's
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calling you, he's told you inhis scripture that he's
patiently waiting for you, heloves you.
So, right here, right now, youcan just tell him in your own
words, in your own prayer, inyour own heart, you can say just
dear Jesus, I love you.
Words in your own prayer, inyour own heart, you can say just
dear Jesus, I love you, Ibelieve in you and I need you.
You can tell him I believe,jesus, that you died on the
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cross for my sin and I'm askingyou to forgive me of all my sin,
past, present and future sin.
You can tell him, jesus, Ibelieve that you rose from the
dead, you're alive.
So I wanna turn from my sin.
And I wanna turn and I wannalive my life for you, not in
perfection but in direction.
I wanna follow you for all ofmy life.
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And the Bible says if youconfess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe withyour heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved, right here, right now.
Confess Jesus is Lord, believein him, and this is the moment
of your salvation.
He will save you, right here,right now.
Heavenly Father, we thank youfor that.
We believe that we pray that inJesus' name.
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And all God's people said wouldyou put your hands together
right now for anybody that madethat decision, that prayed that
prayer, gave their life to Jesus.
We just wanna say welcome to thefamily.
What an honor it is to be yourbrothers and sisters in Jesus
Christ.
We're here to help you.
We're here to walk alongsideyou.
We are not perfect, just likeyou.
We're just all following Jesustogether.
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I wanna ask us all to stand up,as we're gonna sing to him, and
let's sing to him like he isthe one who's ruling.
Let him, and let's sing to himlike he is the one who's ruling.
Let's sing to him like he isthe one who's returning.
Let's sing to him like he isthe one who is reigning.
He is so good and he receivesour worship and we don't have to
wait to heaven to worship him.
You get to worship him righthere, right now, today.
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He loves it.
When you worship him, you giveit all to him right now.
Well, good morning how you doing, first Baptist,
powder Springs.
Put your hands together ifyou're excited to be in church
this morning.
God is so good, it's so good tosee everybody, all of your
smiling faces.
If you're a first-time guest,we just want to give you a
special welcome, a special thankyou for being with us today,
out of all of the places thatyou could be.
Just a reminder, if you are new, we are one church here at
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First Baptist Church, powderSprings.
We're one church here at FirstBaptist Church Powder Springs.
We're one church.
We meet in two services.
We have a 9.30 service, we havean 11 service.
But we have one vision, onegoal, one strategy, one mission,
and that is to bring glory toJesus so that we can reach
people with the gospel of JesusChrist.
So we just want to say thankyou for being a part of it.
Also.
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Even just last week, my wife andI, we were in our family.
We were not in church for thefirst time.
We were not here since lastSeptember, and so we just kind
of took the day off and PastorJames preached, didn't he do a
great job?
Put your hands together forPastor James Wilson, super
thankful for him, and man.
He just always does such awonderful job.
We got to watch both servicesonline and we just we had a
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little family staycationtogether, but we missed you so
much.
It's always good to be backhome.
It's always good to be backwith family and just to talk
about family for a second.
We know that we lost a churchfamily member this past week.
Friday morning about 5.30 in themorning, whitney, alan and
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Karen Davis's daughter, whitneyDavis, mulholland, went home to
be with Jesus after herseven-year journey through
cancer.
Just this morning, alan andKaren texted me and they wanted
to share some words with you.
They said tell everyone we loveand appreciate the unbelievable
support that we have received,not just the last few weeks but
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the entire seven-year journeythat Whitney was on.
They said we just need a littlebit more time to recharge
emotionally, to get some rest.
And here's what they said.
As Whitney said at one of herlowest points, while we were
helping her to get back in thebed, whitney said God is good.
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Can we just put our handstogether and thank God for
Whitney, thank God for the Davisfamily?
What an honor it is to knowthat she is with Jesus.
I wanna pray for them, butbefore I do, I just wanna
recognize all of you parentsthat are in here that you're
gonna have kids during KVX thisweek here with us.
We just want you to know thatwe can't wait to have your kids
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so that we can pour the word ofGod into your kids, so that we
can point them to Jesus, so thatthey can worship him with their
life.
So we just wanna say thank,thank you, and we want to
recognize all of our KVXvolunteers here in this room.
So maybe you're volunteeringthis week and maybe you're a
teacher, maybe you're a worshipleader, maybe you're in crafts,
maybe you're in everybody'sfavorite time snack time, maybe
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you're in rec and you're ingames, or maybe you have been
helping with the setup or you'regoing to help with the cleanup.
Whoever you are, if you'reserving in some way for KVX,
would you mind standing up rightnow and we just want to honor
you.
Can we put our hands togetherfor them right now?
Thank you so much.
Thank you for all that you do,thank you for this week.
Stay standing, stay standing.
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I just want to pray for you.
Can everyone just kind ofextend a hand towards someone
right now, just saying thatyou're gonna be praying for them
.
Can we do that?
Let's pray, heavenly Father.
God, we pray for KVX KidVentureExtreme this week, our Vacation
Bible School.
And, lord, we just pray, god,that, as your word says, that
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you would pour your spirit intothe next generation to love your
word, to follow your son, tobuild your church.
And, god, we pray for kids toget saved, for kids to be
encouraged to live saved, forthem to be sanctified, to live
for Jesus, for kids to makedecisions, who need to be
baptized.
And God, we just pray, lord, asthis is the future generation,
lord, that is gonna be takingthe gospel to the nations.
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Lord, we pray that you would doa work this week that can never
be undone.
We love you and God, we prayfor Alan.
We pray for Karen Davis, god,we pray for Mason.
Lord, we pray this morning forJoel and for Jordan and the
whole family.
And, God, we pray that youwould just comfort them, god,
that you would give them yourpeace.
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And, father, we ask, in Jesus'name, lord, that you would give
them your peace.
And, father, we ask, in Jesus'name, lord, that you would just
continue to wrap your lovingarms around them and use your
church that they may feel yourlove.
In Jesus' name, we pray and allGod's people said amen.
You can open up your Bibleswith me this morning to Hebrews,
chapter one.
Hebrews, chapter one, and Ibelieve that God has a word for
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you this morning.
He would not bring you here ifhe did not want to encourage you
, if he did not want to empoweryou.
I think about one of the bestbasketball players who has ever
lived, who has ever played thegame.
He's no longer with us KobeBryant.
Kobe Bryant died on January26th of 2020, almost five and a
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half years ago now, if you canbelieve it and it was the night
before that Kobe actuallytweeted out his last tweet
before he died.
It was January 25th of 2020.
The reason we remember that?
Because that was the night thatLeBron James passed Kobe on the
all-time scoring list.
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And what did Kobe Bryant'stweet say?
Kobe Bryant's tweet notice.
He didn't throw.
He didn't talk trash.
He wasn't being a smart aleck.
He wasn't being sarcastic.
He wasn't throwing him underthe bus.
Kobe simply said his last tweetto ever tweet.
He said continuing to move thegame forward.
King James, much respect mybrother.
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Now here's what I love aboutthat is that for Kobe, the game
of basketball was not about him.
For Kobe, the game ofbasketball was not about his
records.
It wasn't about his stats.
It wasn't about his fame.
It wasn't about his fame.
It wasn't about him staying ontop.
For Kobe, the game ofbasketball was about those who
would come after him to continueto move the game forward.
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Everybody say forward In thesame way.
What a reminder for us thatyour life, that my life, is not
about us.
Our life is about continuing tomove the gospel forward into
more lives so that more peoplecan come to know Jesus.
If you believe that, say yeah.
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That is literally the reasonthat God made you.
He made you for more.
Now, this is our last messagein this six-week series Made for
More.
Not only is this our lastmessage in this six-week series.
This is our last message inthis six-month mega series.
Can you believe it?
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We have been in this doctrine ofJesus, or all about Jesus now
we've been talking about for thelast six months.
We began in December and inDecember we started talking
about Jesus.
But this morning, I want you toknow that you weren't made for
yourself and your mission.
You were made for Jesus and hismission.
This is where we came from.
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In December, we talked aboutbefore all things, we talked
about that Jesus, he's fully God, so he existed all the way into
eternity past and we led upthat journey of Jesus all the
way up into his incarnationalbirth.
In January, we talked aboutJesus's earthly life and
ministry.
We talked about how Jesus lived.
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In February, we talked aboutred letters, or all of his
sayings, all of his teachings,what Jesus said.
In March, we talked about hismiracles, what Jesus did, or how
Jesus helps people.
We see his power.
And then in April, we saw thepassion of Jesus.
We talked about his suffering,his death, his burial, his
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resurrection and through May andending here, june 1, we're
talking about the mission ofJesus.
And here's what I want us to see.
I don't know about you, butthis has been one of the most
spiritually impacting six monthsof my life.
Six months of my life justfocusing on Jesus and studying
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Jesus and worshiping Jesus andgoing on this journey together,
all about Jesus.
And what I want us to see isthat everything in his life, all
the way from his eternalexistence in the past to his
eternal existence in the future,all the way through his earthly
life and ministry, everythingthat he said and everything that
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he did, that it all leads up tothis.
It all leads up to what he'scalled us to do today the
mission of Jesus.
That we are called to continueto move the gospel forward into
more people's lives.
That we're not called to rest,we're not called to take a break
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.
We are called on a mission.
Everybody say mission.
So what we've been doing everysermon through this series,
we're gonna do it one last time.
I'm gonna ask you to stand upthis morning, we all stand
together just for one second,and I just want us all to read
this together, in unison.
This is the great commission ofJesus, some of the last words
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of Jesus, what he left for usbefore he left for heaven.
Read with me.
Go, therefore, and makedisciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name ofthe Father.
You can have a seat right now,this morning, as we talk about
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all about Jesus how you weren'tmade for yourself and your
mission.
You were made for Jesus and hismission.
This morning, I want to talkabout three powerful things that
we must understand before wewrap up this mega series about
Jesus.
Put a bow on it.
A question I want to answer thismorning is what is Jesus doing
now, because he ascended toheaven 2,000 years ago.
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What's he been doing for 2,000years?
What's he doing today andwhat's he going to continue to
do, and when is it that Jesus isgoing to return?
This morning I'm going to tellyou exactly when Jesus is coming
back.
And then number three, numberthree, we're going to talk about
Jesus' eternal reign.
What will Jesus be doingforever?
And so, therefore, what will webe doing forever in heaven?
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Here we go.
Number one Jesus's present rule.
Everyone say rule.
So the question I wanna answeris and you can open to Hebrews
1,.
The question I wanna answer isis what is Jesus doing today?
What did Jesus do when heascended to heaven some 2,000
years ago?
Did he go up to heaven to rest?
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Did he go up to heaven to wait?
Did he go up to heaven toretire?
Did he go up to heaven to playan eternal match of golf game
until we come up and join him?
Like, what is Jesus doing?
I heard a story one day thatsaid that a pastor woke up one
morning and he didn't feel.
One Sunday morning, he didn'tfeel like preaching, and so he
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called and he said hey, I'm notcoming to church this morning.
He lied.
He said I'm sick.
They said all right, we got you.
And so the pastor hung up thephone, went and put his clothes
on, got his golf clubs and wentout and played a round of golf.
And up in heaven, st Peterlooked at Jesus, said Jesus,
what are you gonna do about it?
This pastor just lied to hischurch to play golf and Jesus
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said don't worry, I got it.
Pastor steps up to the firsthole, hits it long and straight
all the way to the green,bounces on the green, goes into
the hole.
Very first hole, a hole in one.
Peter looks at Jesus like whatare you doing?
Jesus said don't worry, I gotit.
Jesus said don't worry, I gotit.
Hole two, hole in one.
Hole three, hole in one, all 18holes.
He scored a perfect 18 on hisgolf game.
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And Peter looked at Jesus andhe said I thought you got it.
Jesus said I got it, I got it.
Who's he gonna tell he lied hedidn't go to church, right, I
got it, I got it.
So what is Jesus doing, right?
The Bible says.
Here's what he says.
If we wanna understand whatJesus is doing Jesus is sitting
at the right hand of God, theFather, for you.
What is Jesus doing right now?
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Hebrews 1.3 says after makingpurification for sins, he sat
down at the right hand of themajesty on high.
I want you to notice that Jesusdid not sit down to rest, jesus
sat down to rule.
Everyone say rule when Jesussits at the right hand of the
Father.
That is only the place that theSon of God can sit, that is
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only the place that the King ofthe universe can sit.
He didn't sit to rest, he satto rule.
And even when it looks like inyour life that not everything is
in submission to him personally, I want you to remember that
the Bible says that he has theultimate authority, he has the
ultimate call, that everythingis under his submission,
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powerfully, that he is the powerover absolutely everyone.
He is the power over everything.
What you are going through inyour life is not without his
permission, is not without theway that he is going to work and
the way that he is going to useit for his glory and for your
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good.
So how do we respond?
We trust him, we trust him, weobey him.
We trust him, we obey him, weworship him, we serve him.
We live on mission for him.
Not only is he sitting at theright hand of the Father the
Bible says that he is Jesus ispouring out his Holy Spirit upon
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you Acts 2.33,.
You ever noticed this before,that it was Jesus who pours out
the Spirit, being thereforeexalted at the right hand of God
and having received from theFather the promise of the Holy
Spirit, he has poured him outthis that you yourselves are
seeing and hearing.
What is Jesus doing for youright now?
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Right here, right now, jesus iscontinuing to pour his Holy
Spirit upon you.
He's continuing to pour hisHoly Spirit within you.
Why?
Because he understands whatyou're going through and that
you can't go through it alone.
He understands what you'regoing through and that you don't
have the power in yourself inorder to be able to go through
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it, but instead he gives you Godinside you, god within you, so
that you can accomplish his willthat he's called you to do.
That would be impossiblewithout him inside of you.
If you know it's Jesus, when heleft, he didn't just tell us hey
, you're gonna be living now ina dark and depraved and in a
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dying world and, by the way,they killed me.
So good luck to you.
No, jesus said I'm gonna bewith you, I'm gonna empower you,
I'm gonna fill you with my HolySpirit.
Jesus also said you everthought about the love of Jesus
in this way?
Jesus also said that he ispraying for you.
Hebrews 7, 25,.
Who is to condemn?
You feel condemned in your life.
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You ever feel like the peopleare against you.
The world is not for you.
Everything's working againstyou.
Jesus said who is to condemnyou?
Christ Jesus is the one whodied.
More than that, he's the onewho was raised, who is at the
right hand of God, who, indeed,is interceding for us, which
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means that he is praying for you.
I think it's so important, whenyou are going through difficult,
hard times, that you call upother brothers and sisters,
believers in Jesus Christ.
You text them, you call them,you email them, you tell them
when you see them and you justsay would you please be praying
for me, but also you be prayingfor them.
(16:19):
But the most important personthat you can know for sure who's
praying for you is Jesushimself.
The Bible says that he isinterceding for you.
He is going to the Father onyour behalf.
The Bible even says that theHoly Spirit is taking your
prayers and interpreting them toGod, and he is praying more for
(16:40):
you than you could even pray oranybody else could pray for
yourself.
God is praying for you to God,can I get an amen?
And so, because God is prayingto God for you, then what are we
called to do?
We can just simply say, when wedon't know what to say, we can
simply say Jesus, would you justpray for me?
Jesus, would you just pray forme?
(17:02):
Also, what else is Jesus doing?
He is building his churchthrough you.
He's called you to be hiswitness and he would not call
you to do anything if he did notempower you for that task.
He is building his churchthrough you.
Matthew, chapter 16, 18,.
I will build my church in thegates of hell, jesus said.
(17:23):
Shall not prevail against it.
What does it mean that Jesus isbuilding his church?
It means that Jesus is growinghis family.
It means that we are allbrothers and sisters of Jesus
Christ and God is all of ourheavenly father.
And so when we're invitingpeople to believe in Jesus, when
we're inviting people to churchso they can hear the gospel of
(17:45):
Jesus Christ, that is our way ofintroducing them to Jesus so
that they can be involved, sothat they can be introduced, so
that they can be invited intothe family of God.
We're not just trying to builda mega church.
That is not our goal, that'snot our desire, we don't care.
We just want to build amissional church that reaches
people, that they can believe inJesus too.
(18:07):
Can I get an amen?
Why?
Because Jesus is saving sinnersjust like you and just like me.
2 Peter 3.9 says the Lord isnot slow to fulfill his promise,
as some count slowness, but ispatient towards you, not wishing
that any should perish, butthat all should reach repentance
.
In other words, who is it thatyou are praying for to get saved
(18:31):
?
Who is it that you arewitnessing to sharing the gospel
with dropping the name of Jesus?
To?
Who is that one person that, ifyou could give everything for
them to give their life to Jesus, you would give it, because
(18:51):
they are so important to you andyou just want them to know
Jesus personally, to believe inhis death and his resurrection,
to be saved, to be forgiven ofall of their sin.
Jesus is continuing to savesinners today.
His work is not done.
If you're not dead, he's notdone.
(19:13):
Can I get an amen?
What did Jesus tell us to do?
Because he's working, becausehe's ruling, jesus called us to
go.
Everybody say go.
Our little boy, cruz, two and ahalf years old I think his
first word was mommy.
His second word was daddy.
His third, fourth and fifthword was ready set, go.
That's all he wanted to say.
(19:33):
Ready set, go all the time.
Our little girl Eliana she'sone year old and she's learning
how to walk.
She's like Frankenstein all thetime, right now, right, keeping
her hands out.
She's walking and she'sstarting to talk and we say
ready, set and she says go.
She sounds like a middle schoolcheerleader from Mississippi.
She really does Go go.
It's so cute and we're raisingup a country girl.
(19:55):
You know what I'm saying.
And, man, it was just awesome.
I remember being five years old.
I got a picture of this.
I was five years old with mydad, man and I was running a
race with my dad, right.
And I love this picture because, man, I took this race
seriously.
I think it was a 10K thatmorning that everybody, all the
adults, went and ran, but afterthat race was a one-mile fun run
(20:18):
that all the kids would runwith their parents, and I
thought it was the real race.
Like, I pulled my socks, as youcan tell, all the way up to my
knees.
I pulled my shorts all the wayup to my chest right.
I got my headband on so it'dkeep my floppy bangs out of my
eyes and I got my Coke bottleglasses on so I could see where
I'm going.
And, man, I was so excited.
I remember that fun run.
(20:39):
The gun went off and me and mydad, we started running.
Now, my dad, he trained me Formonths and months.
We would run together and therewas always a time in our run
that my dad would say go.
And whenever he told me to go,he wanted me to sprint and to go
as fast as I could.
He wanted me to sprint and togo as fast as I could.
And so here we are.
We're just running, we're justjogging on this fun run, and it
(21:01):
was at the end of that race andall these people are there and
what I didn't know was the lastpart of the race was in a
stadium where everybody who hadfinished the run and had come
for the run they're all sittingin the stands.
And it was the very last ofthat one mile fun run.
We enter into the stadium andmy dad says go, Chip, go.
And I start sprinting as hardas I could.
I remember I was sprintingthrough all of these adults, all
(21:23):
these kids.
I saved all my energy for theend.
The crowd started cheering Idon't think it was for me, but I
would imagine that it was andso everybody started cheering
and I ran as fast as I could,trying to win the race as
quickly as I could.
And what a reminder that ourfather, his son, jesus Christ,
has told us to go and he's givenus the power to go.
(21:45):
Here's the deal.
We don't know exactly whenJesus is coming back, but we
know that he is coming back.
And this is our opportunity,this is our time, this is our
moment to move the gospelforward and to go.
Everybody say go.
What is Jesus doing right now?
He's sitting.
So what should we be doingright now?
Trusting him.
(22:05):
Jesus is ruling right now.
So what should we be doing?
Obeying him?
Jesus is pouring out his HolySpirit right now.
So what should we be doing?
Receiving the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is praying for you rightnow.
So what should you be doing?
Receiving the Holy Spirit?
Jesus is praying for you rightnow.
So what should you be doing?
Praying to him.
Jesus is building his churchright now.
So what should we be doing?
Inviting people to church, andJesus is saving people right now
(22:25):
.
So what should we be doing?
Going to people and sharing thegospel.
If you believe that, say amen,here we go.
Number two, number two Jesus'future return, jesus', future
return.
I'm gonna tell you exactly whenJesus is coming back.
Here we go, here we go.
First of all, I want you toknow that Jesus' return will be
sudden to you.
(22:46):
Everyone say sudden.
It'll be sudden.
The Bible says 1 Thessalonians4, for the Lord himself will
come down from heaven with aloud command, with the voice of
the archangel, with the trumpetcall of God, and the dead in
Christ will rise first, andafter that we who are still
alive in our left will be caughtup together with them in the
(23:07):
clouds to meet the Lord in theair.
And so we will be with the Lordforever.
Never forget how relationalthis is.
Jesus can't wait to come backfor you.
One thing I love doing everysingle day when I go to work,
(23:29):
when I come here to the office,is, right about 5.30 that I
return.
I get home to my kids.
I can't wait to see my kids.
I can't wait to see my kids.
I can't wait to see my wife.
My kids are rejoicing, my wifeis relieved, right, I mean they
just.
Daddy has come home, she's gotthe help that she needs, right.
And just our little boy, cruz,two and a half.
(23:51):
He runs up to the door andhe'll just press his nose in the
glass and just saying daddy,daddy, daddy.
Through the glass I see Eliana,she'll Frankenstein at first,
and then she'll start crawlingto the door.
Our little girl, brooklyn, sixyears old, cerebral palsy.
She will walk her best on herknees, just like the other kids,
just to get up the door.
I can barely get the door openand I come in.
(24:12):
They're screaming daddy,they're happy to see me, I'm
happy to see them.
Can you imagine how Jesus can'twait to see you?
He can't wait to return for you, in the same way that you can't
wait for him to return for you,that you can't wait to see him,
(24:34):
your Lord and Savior.
He says that we're gonna beable to meet him in the air and
we're gonna be able to be withhim forever.
But it's gonna be sudden.
The Bible says not only will itbe sudden.
The Bible says that it will befinal.
Everyone say final.
Second Thessalonians says thatJesus comes back to grant relief
(24:57):
to you who are afflicted, whichmeans if you're a believer, if
you're a Christian, your life ishard.
It's hard to live in this world.
We already know that.
The Bible has said that it'snot going to get easy.
It's not meant to be easy.
We're going against the grain,we're swimming upstream, we're
(25:17):
living in a world of darkness.
He's going to grant relief tous, which means this world, this
earth, is the closest to hellyou're ever going to get.
But the Bible says when the LordJesus is revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels inflaming fire inflicting
(25:37):
vengeance on those who do notknow God and those who do not
obey the gospel of our LordJesus Christ, this is some of
the hardest words to preach.
No pastor should ever shoutdown the mountain at a lost
(25:57):
person, because without Jesussaving us of our sins, we'd be
lost too.
All I can tell you is, if youhaven't given your life to Jesus
yet, when he returns, youreternity will be fixed.
When he returns, it will be toolate.
And do not wait until it is toolate, because eternity is too
(26:23):
long to be wrong.
How do you know if you're saved?
He says right here in two ways.
You know who you're saved.
He will grant relief to thosewho know God, personal
relationship with God, those whoare obeying the gospel of Jesus
(26:46):
Christ, those who are repentingof their sin, those who are
believing in him, those who arefollowing him, not in perfection
but in direction, those thathave given their life to Jesus,
calling on him as Lord.
We are not perfect people.
We're just forgiven people.
And the Bible says that Jesus'return will be final.
(27:09):
And the Bible says that Jesus'return is waiting for you.
Everyone say waiting, waitingfor you.
When is Jesus going to comeback?
When the last person of hiswill get saved?
Jesus is waiting for that lastperson to get saved according to
(27:30):
his will.
And the Bible says in 2 Peter,chapter 3, verses 4 and 9,.
They will say where is thiscoming he promised?
There are unbelievers out there.
There are people that have notgiven their life to Jesus.
That says well, he's never comeback.
It's been over 2,000 years, hehasn't come back.
Why would I believe in a Godwho isn't coming back?
(27:50):
Could I submit to you thatJesus not coming back yet is not
a reason to not believe.
It's actually the reason tobelieve because he is patiently
waiting on you to give your lifeto him.
Can I get an amen?
Where is this coming that?
He promised the Lord?
He's not slow in keeping hispromise.
Jesus isn't slow, he's patient.
(28:12):
He's not slow with you, he'spatient with you.
He's patient with you, notwanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance.
I remember, uh, when, when wewere living in virginia, my wife
and I, before we had kids, uh,we were in virginia.
(28:35):
It was a February day.
It's cold in February inVirginia.
It strangely warmed up one dayto about 70 degrees.
We had this brilliant idea togo to the ice cream store, not
just any ice cream store, coldStone Creamery, can I get an
amen?
And some of the best ice creamout there.
And we went into Cold StoneCreamery, but we found out we
did not.
We were not the only ones withthe idea.
We were not the only ones withthe idea, like half of Virginia
(28:56):
were in there too, and so, butCold Stone Creamery, they
weren't ready.
There was only two girls in theentire store and it was packed.
You remember that, babe.
It was slammed packed and so wegot our ice cream.
We sat down and it was so fulland there was a line going out
the door.
Literally, people are in line,people are eating ice cream,
people are still parking, peopleare still coming in, they're
(29:16):
waiting outside, and the girlssay that's it, we're going on
break.
They go and lock the doors andthey go on break.
That's how you know they don'town the place.
They go on break and we'resitting there eating our ice
cream and we're watching this.
Like people are outside.
They drove all that way.
They're starting to shake theglass doors, pounding on the
(29:37):
door.
It says you're open, open thedoor.
And the girls were like we'renot coming out right, kind of a
deal.
And so we're sitting therewatching the thing like this.
We're about to be on the news,this is awesome.
Like we're going to be in thepapers.
We hope we live to see throughthis thing.
And someone stands up.
I can't remember who it was.
Someone stood up and theywalked to the doors and they
unlocked the doors and leteverybody in, and so we don't
(29:59):
know what happened, because weleft.
We did not want any part ofthat.
Can I just remind you that thereare still people outside the
kingdom of God, and this is notime for the church to go on
break.
This is no time for the churchto stop working.
This is no time for the churchto stop going.
(30:19):
This is no time for the churchto stop witnessing.
Jesus is coming back and hisreturn is sudden, and so we've
gotta be ready.
His return is final, so we'vegotta be saved.
His return is waiting, so weneed to be witnessing.
And number three, and I'm doneJesus' eternal reign.
(30:41):
Everyone say reign, jesus'eternal reign.
Did you know that his reign isvery personal to you, very
personal to you?
Revelation 21, verse three,says, and I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying behold,the dwelling place of God is
with man, in other words, andthe presence of God will be with
(31:04):
you.
God cannot wait to have you inyour presence and he cannot wait
for you to be in his presenceIn everything that you're
longing for, in everything thatyou desire, in everything that
you want.
Every satisfied need that youare praying for, that you're
(31:28):
desiring for, is going to beanswered in that moment when you
are in the presence of God.
And it says that he will wipeaway every tear from their eyes
everything that has hurt you,everything that has brought fear
, everything that has broughtpain, everything that has
brought discomfort, everythingthat has brought torment,
everything that has broughtanguish on your life.
(31:48):
The Bible says that Jesuspersonally wipes.
He will wipe away your tearsfrom your eyes and he who is
seated on the throne says behold, I'm making all things new,
(32:10):
which means that Jesus hassomething new.
Jesus has something for youthat, if he told you, you
wouldn't even believe it.
Not only is it personal to you,but Jesus's reign is worshipful
through you.
The Bible says in Revelation 5,I heard every creature in heaven
, on earth and under the earthand in the sea and all that is
(32:32):
in them saying to him who sitson the throne and to the lamb be
blessing and honor and gloryand might forever and ever.
You are going to get to be inhis presence and you are not
going to be able to help, but toworship all of him with all of
(32:53):
you.
You are going to lift yourvoice, you are going to lift
your hands, you are going toexclaim and you are going to
proclaim and you're gonna pouryour soul out and you're gonna
worship your heart out becauseyou finally get to be in front
of the one who gave his life foryou and you get to give it all
(33:16):
to him because he gave it all toyou.
Can I get an amen?
He gave it all to you andyou're gonna get to give it all
to him because he gave it all toyou.
Can I get an amen?
He gave it all to you andyou're going to get to worship
him forever.
But that's not all, like theinfomercial says.
But that's not all.
There's more.
That's not all.
I rarely hear anybody preach onthis.
(33:38):
Jesus loves you so much.
The Bible doesn't just say thathe's gonna reign over you.
The Bible says that he's gonnareign with you.
I want you to see here, becausethis is so important, that his
reign is shared with you.
Revelation 22.
(33:58):
And night will be no more andthey will need no light, of lamp
or sun, for the Lord, god, willbe their light and they and you
will reign forever and ever.
We don't know exactly what thismeans.
I think, whatever this is, it'sso good that even if God tried
(34:26):
to explain it to me and to you,we couldn't even understand it
in our finite minds because ofwhat he is going to be giving to
us and sharing with us.
But here's what we know thateternal life is not gonna just
be an eternal choir practicewhere we just stand there and
(34:49):
sing to Jesus forever and everand ever, without ending.
And we just stand there andsing and we, just, when Jesus is
looking, we look at our watches, thinking how long is eternity
again?
No, the Bible seems to say thatwhile we are worshiping Jesus,
forever, and that's enough thathe shares his rule and his reign
(35:12):
with us, meaning that eternallife is going to look like this
life, just perfected andglorified and magnified to where
there's no more pain, it's onlyjoy, where there's no more hate
(35:35):
, there's no more division, morehate, there's no more division,
there's no more racism, there'sno more crime.
It's love, it's comfort, it'ssafety.
The Bible seems to say,obviously, there's no more sin,
(35:56):
so there's no more pride,there's no more selfishness.
And so what are we doing?
We're serving Jesus, we'reserving one another and we're
living life the way that Godmeant it to be lived, and we
will finally get to live fullyfor Jesus Christ, sin free.
What you long for, what I longfor?
(36:20):
Jesus loves you so much thathe's even sharing his reign with
you.
I don't know if you ever missedone of your favorite ball games.
Maybe your favorite sports teamwas playing and you were on a
flight or on a ride, or maybe itwas before the internet back in
the day and you had to watch itback.
(36:40):
You know through TiVo or today,youtube TV or whatever it is,
but you already saw the score onSportsCenter or you saw it in
the newspaper back in the day.
You already know you won, butyou missed the game and you
wanted to go back and watch it.
And so you go back and watch itand you know your team won.
And as you're watching the game, oh, your team fumbles, but
(37:03):
everything's okay because youknow your team won.
Your quarterback threw aninterception, that's okay, we
know the team won.
I just want to see how we win.
Your team made it to the goalline but didn't get in, that's
okay.
And then you watch the entiregame, in every touchdown, in
every defensive stop, and youwatch your team win.
(37:24):
You watch it differently whenyou know the end.
Can I submit to you thismorning you live your life
differently when you know theend.
You live your life differentlywhen you know the end.
You live your life differentlywhen you know the end.
(37:45):
What are we here to do?
We're here to continue thegospel forward so that more
people can know Jesus Christ,just like you.
Every head bowed and every eyeclosed.
Every head bowed, every eyeclosed.
Who is it that God is laying onyour heart, that God is putting
(38:14):
in your mind?
That name that's coming to mind, that face that's coming to
mind, those people that arecoming to mind, that face that's
coming to mind, those peoplethat are coming to mind.
God has put you in their lifeto share Jesus with them.
God has put the Holy Spirit inyou to share Jesus with him.
(38:40):
We're not responsible for theoutcome.
We're just responsible for themission that Jesus has shared
with us.
And I wanna encourage you toobey him, to serve him and to
(39:01):
follow him.
And you may be thinking righthere, right now.
You may be thinking I can't dothat, pastor, jim.
I can't do it Because I'm notready yet.
I haven't given my life toJesus yet, but I want you to
know that you can.
He'll take you right here,right now.
He created you, he died for you, he rose from the dead, he's
(39:25):
calling you, he's told you inhis scripture that he's
patiently waiting for you, heloves you.
So, right here, right now, youcan just tell him in your own
words, in your own prayer, inyour own heart, you can say just
dear Jesus, I love you.
Words in your own prayer, inyour own heart, you can say just
dear Jesus, I love you, Ibelieve in you and I need you.
You can tell him I believe,jesus, that you died on the
(39:46):
cross for my sin and I'm askingyou to forgive me of all my sin,
past, present and future sin.
You can tell him, jesus, Ibelieve that you rose from the
dead, you're alive.
So I wanna turn from my sin.
And I wanna turn and I wannalive my life for you, not in
perfection but in direction.
I wanna follow you for all ofmy life.
(40:08):
And the Bible says if youconfess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe withyour heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved, right here, right now.
Confess Jesus is Lord, believein him, and this is the moment
of your salvation.
He will save you, right here,right now.
Heavenly Father, we thank youfor that.
We believe that we pray that inJesus' name.
(40:31):
And all God's people said wouldyou put your hands together
right now for anybody that madethat decision, that prayed that
prayer, gave their life to Jesus.
We just wanna say welcome to thefamily.
What an honor it is to be yourbrothers and sisters in Jesus
Christ.
We're here to help you.
We're here to walk alongsideyou.
We are not perfect, just likeyou.
We're just all following Jesustogether.
(40:51):
I wanna ask us all to stand up,as we're gonna sing to him, and
let's sing to him like he isthe one who's ruling.
Let him, and let's sing to himlike he is the one who's ruling.
Let's sing to him like he isthe one who's returning.
Let's sing to him like he isthe one who is reigning.
He is so good and he receivesour worship and we don't have to
wait to heaven to worship him.
You get to worship him righthere, right now, today.
(41:13):
He loves it.
When you worship him, you giveit all to him right now.
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