WEBVTT - Taking Enemy Territory with the Lord 0:00:00.409 --> 0:00:04.490 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.519 --> 0:00:10.220 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. Rise and shine. 0:00:10.220 --> 0:00:12.530 And give God the glory. And here's how we're going 0:00:12.560 --> 0:00:16.640 to do it. It's an amazing testimony. Jesus is asking 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:20.510 his disciples some questions about himself. He says, who do 0:00:20.510 --> 0:00:24.320 you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are 0:00:24.350 --> 0:00:29.420 the Christ, the son of the living God. And I 0:00:29.450 --> 0:00:33.590 tell you, Jesus said, flesh and blood has not revealed 0:00:33.590 --> 0:00:36.080 this to you, but my father who is in heaven, 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:40.610 by the way, huge indication there of who even precipitates 0:00:40.610 --> 0:00:42.500 this belief that we have in God. 0:00:42.650 --> 0:00:44.479 I never thought about that, but I love it. That 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:46.460 goes into what we talk about all the time, that 0:00:46.460 --> 0:00:49.400 we sometimes feel this pressure to save people and to 0:00:49.430 --> 0:00:52.430 make them realize who Jesus is. But that's not something 0:00:52.430 --> 0:00:54.080 that flesh and blood can even do. 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:56.600 You know, we haven't really drilled down on that one. 0:00:56.630 --> 0:00:59.400 That's great to hear, but that's a phenomenal verse. Mark 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:00.960 that down. We want to come back to that we'll 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:03.990 do for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, 0:01:03.990 --> 0:01:05.940 but my father who is in heaven, you got a 0:01:05.940 --> 0:01:09.330 wayward kid. You can do all the revealing you want, 0:01:09.330 --> 0:01:12.180 but flesh and blood won't turn them on. This has 0:01:12.180 --> 0:01:14.490 got to be God by the power of the spirit 0:01:14.490 --> 0:01:18.090 opening their eyes. Yeah, hugely hopeful. Means we don't have 0:01:18.090 --> 0:01:20.550 to save our kids or our spouse or anyone that 0:01:20.550 --> 0:01:23.370 we love. God can do that no matter where they 0:01:23.370 --> 0:01:25.230 are in the globe. God can reveal it and he's 0:01:25.230 --> 0:01:29.009 doing it constantly. So then he goes on to say, 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:34.110 you know what, Peter? You are little pebble. But on 0:01:34.110 --> 0:01:36.959 this big boulder I will build my church. Two different 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:42.149 Greek words for rock. Here you are, Peter. And on 0:01:42.150 --> 0:01:45.750 this rock I will build my church, and the gates 0:01:45.750 --> 0:01:47.970 of hell will not prevail against it. I've got a 0:01:47.970 --> 0:01:51.390 question for you. By the power of God in you, 0:01:51.420 --> 0:01:54.900 what enemy ground are you taking? The picture Jesus paints 0:01:54.900 --> 0:01:57.180 here is that the gates of hell are stationary. The 0:01:57.180 --> 0:01:59.550 Kingdom of God is moving forward. And he goes on 0:01:59.580 --> 0:02:01.980 to say that by the way, he says, I will 0:02:01.980 --> 0:02:04.500 give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever 0:02:04.500 --> 0:02:06.360 you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:08.910 whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 0:02:12.030 --> 0:02:15.240 And I want to ask you, what enemy ground is 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:21.150 God giving you today? This can be spiritual. This can 0:02:21.150 --> 0:02:25.710 be behavioral, it can be physical. It could be that 0:02:25.710 --> 0:02:28.740 God is moving you somewhere into a new job. A 0:02:28.740 --> 0:02:32.520 new place is you're going to hear coming up. It 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.820 can be a piece of property that God is giving you. 0:02:36.330 --> 0:02:39.480 What enemy territory is God giving you? I'm asking you 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:42.030 to call in right now. Let's load them up. 800 0:02:42.060 --> 0:02:49.679 555 7898 800 555 7898. Young thunder. God, is it working? 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:50.520 You young man. 0:02:50.550 --> 0:02:54.510 He is, he is. And this is something that I 0:02:54.510 --> 0:02:57.720 have seen. it. I'm seeing him do recently, and that's 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.350 cutting down pride in my life and and helping me 0:03:01.350 --> 0:03:05.820 bring in humility. And I can say that because it's 0:03:05.820 --> 0:03:08.340 something that I've noticed, I've recognized. It's something that I 0:03:08.340 --> 0:03:10.290 can see in my behavior, in the way that I 0:03:10.290 --> 0:03:13.800 think sometimes. And, and I would like to not be 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:16.650 that way, but I've not been able to do anything 0:03:16.650 --> 0:03:18.840 on my own about it, and I've tried on my own, 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.919 that's for sure. But he, God, and in his grace 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:24.990 has put me in a spot where he's saying, hey, 0:03:25.020 --> 0:03:26.910 we're going to work on this, and I'm putting you 0:03:26.910 --> 0:03:28.860 in a position that there's nothing else we can do. 0:03:28.889 --> 0:03:31.770 Let's get it done. And it makes me happy. It 0:03:31.770 --> 0:03:34.890 makes me happy because I know it's kind of my 0:03:34.890 --> 0:03:37.410 first little lesson. I know there's nothing I can do 0:03:37.410 --> 0:03:39.990 about this. I need to be humble, bow before him 0:03:39.990 --> 0:03:42.000 and let him do the work. And he is. And 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:43.050 I'm grateful for that. 0:03:43.290 --> 0:03:44.190 It's his work. 0:03:44.220 --> 0:03:45.000 It's his work. 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:51.300 So what? Enemy turf? What enemy ground is God giving 0:03:51.300 --> 0:03:56.160 you in your life right now. Light em up. Let's go. 805. 0:03:56.190 --> 0:04:04.680 Five five. 78. 98. Taking your phone calls right now. 805. Five. Five. 78. 98. 0:04:04.710 --> 0:04:08.250 God is giving you some victory. He's giving you some ground. 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.280 He's done it. You haven't. And I'm asking you to 0:04:11.310 --> 0:04:16.770 give him glory for it right now. I know you're nervous. 0:04:18.330 --> 0:04:22.350 I don't bite super di nibbles. It's not that bad here. 0:04:22.380 --> 0:04:23.219 Sorry. 0:04:23.850 --> 0:04:28.950 800 555 7898. Give us a call. All you gotta 0:04:28.950 --> 0:04:33.090 do is stand and testify. That's it. What enemy ground 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:40.710 is God giving you? 800 555. 78. 98. 0:04:42.029 --> 0:04:45.180 And you know what the power of the testimony does is? 0:04:45.420 --> 0:04:49.229 It's one for us, reminds us and helps us celebrate 0:04:49.230 --> 0:04:52.290 the goodness of God. But to two. Your testimony is 0:04:52.290 --> 0:04:55.380 going to help somebody who maybe hasn't started that journey 0:04:55.410 --> 0:04:58.560 quite yet and says, I can trust God for that. 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:02.700 God can help me with that. Yeah. Yeah. 0:05:04.290 --> 0:05:10.140 800 555 7898 I'm gonna keep it right here. Oh, 0:05:10.140 --> 0:05:12.690 there we go. We got phone calls coming in. Light 0:05:12.690 --> 0:05:14.940 em up. Let's go. We're going to go lightning round. 0:05:15.060 --> 0:05:16.950 You're like, oh, man, I don't know if I've got 0:05:16.950 --> 0:05:20.340 it ironed out perfectly. Doesn't matter. Just open your mouth 0:05:20.339 --> 0:05:22.890 and go. This is the enemy ground. God's given me 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:29.010 800 555, 78, 98. Coming up, we got a practical 0:05:29.010 --> 0:05:32.760 example of this right here in Chicagoland. Pretty epic. But 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:38.850 we're taking your calls right now. 800 555 7898. What's 0:05:38.850 --> 0:05:42.989 that enemy ground God is giving you today? Give us 0:05:42.990 --> 0:05:49.580 a call. Your story matters. It inspires others. 800 555 78. 98. 0:05:49.820 --> 0:05:54.380 A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is 0:05:54.380 --> 0:05:58.280 in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:05:58.310 --> 0:06:01.220 You're taking enemy ground by the grace and power of God. 0:06:01.220 --> 0:06:03.200 And you want to give them glory this morning. Tom 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:06.020 in Arizona. Thanks for calling in. What do you say, Tom? 0:06:06.500 --> 0:06:10.460 Hey, Carl. We're in a very unchurched area, the worst 0:06:10.460 --> 0:06:12.770 in the country. And my church is going to be 0:06:12.770 --> 0:06:15.380 opening a campus in a new school opening here. We're 0:06:15.380 --> 0:06:18.919 going to start bringing the community back to Christ. We're 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:21.500 doing a prayer walk in May. I'm just going to 0:06:21.500 --> 0:06:24.260 start asking people to come on back to the Lord. 0:06:24.589 --> 0:06:27.469 Oh, Tom. That's beautiful. Stay on the horn, Tom. You're 0:06:27.470 --> 0:06:29.960 getting a call and crew prize pack. You didn't. You 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:32.510 didn't give your heart to get today, but you're getting 0:06:32.510 --> 0:06:37.339 it anyway. Way to go, man. New campus opening in Arizona. 0:06:37.370 --> 0:06:38.570 What a blessing, man. 0:06:38.810 --> 0:06:42.260 Summer in Indiana. Thanks for holding on. What's your story? Summer? 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:48.130 Um, I haven't gotten there yet, but I am trying 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:53.169 to allow God to take that ground. Um, I had 0:06:53.170 --> 0:06:57.250 a lot of abuse in my past, and, um, I've 0:06:57.279 --> 0:07:00.580 allowed the devil to remind me of the things that 0:07:00.580 --> 0:07:04.450 were spoken over me. And a lot more than I 0:07:04.450 --> 0:07:08.589 remind myself about what God says about me. So, um, 0:07:08.650 --> 0:07:11.800 I've been struggling with that, but I. I feel like 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:14.740 God really wants me to start believing what he says 0:07:14.740 --> 0:07:15.490 about me. 0:07:15.670 --> 0:07:19.510 Amen. Summer, stay on the horn, sister. You're getting a 0:07:20.110 --> 0:07:24.340 prize pack. Way to go, boom! This is why we 0:07:24.370 --> 0:07:27.220 call you the Boom Crew. Knowing who you are in 0:07:27.220 --> 0:07:32.470 Christ is vital. Getting the wallpaper off of our minds is. 0:07:32.470 --> 0:07:37.600 My bride says often of all those lies and distorted 0:07:37.630 --> 0:07:41.590 truths that we've believed from our past. Beautiful summer, George, 0:07:41.590 --> 0:07:43.720 right here in Illinois. What's your story, George? 0:07:44.590 --> 0:07:47.260 God bless you, Carl. Thank you so much. Um, I 0:07:47.290 --> 0:07:50.050 lost my son, Jeremiah Davis, to, uh, he was a 0:07:50.050 --> 0:07:55.000 victim of gun violence in Chicago in 2020. And, um, 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:58.510 and so what I'm doing is reaching a young man. 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:00.850 I my goal is to change the trajectory of the 0:08:00.850 --> 0:08:04.810 lives of young people. Um, and what I'm doing, I'm turning, 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:07.360 you know, a pastor friend of mine said, you know, 0:08:07.390 --> 0:08:10.330 the the trajectory of the bullet went through Jeremiah's heart, 0:08:10.330 --> 0:08:13.540 but it did not change the trajectory of his life. 0:08:13.540 --> 0:08:15.760 And then when I realized the impact that my son 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:18.250 had in the community in terms of his friends, I said, okay, 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.680 I got to do something about this. So we started 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:24.370 the Jeremiah Project at my church, and we we mentor 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:27.430 young men ages 13 all the way up to 25. 0:08:27.460 --> 0:08:30.700 I'm finding that as I disciple young men, we get discipled. 0:08:30.850 --> 0:08:34.120 So it's a really awesome opportunity to change the trajectory 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:37.450 of their lives. I'm determined that this world has to 0:08:37.450 --> 0:08:39.790 pay for the loss of my son. I realize and 0:08:39.790 --> 0:08:42.730 recognize that this has given me a passion. It gave 0:08:42.730 --> 0:08:45.800 me my wow. He gave me that determination. So I'm 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:49.130 tearing the Kingdome down. Every opportunity I get. 0:08:50.059 --> 0:08:55.339 Boom, boom, boom. I'm triple booming you, George, and stay 0:08:55.340 --> 0:08:57.590 on the horn. We're getting you a Carlin crew. Prize 0:08:57.590 --> 0:09:03.680 pack taken enemy ground. Yes. 0:09:03.710 --> 0:09:07.819 No kidding. Talk about taking enemy ground. I love that. 0:09:08.030 --> 0:09:11.030 Renee in Illinois. Thanks for holding on, sister. What do 0:09:11.030 --> 0:09:11.780 you say? 0:09:13.130 --> 0:09:18.530 Well, Pastor Carl, good morning. Good morning. I'm glad God 0:09:18.530 --> 0:09:24.050 is helping me overcome doing it myself versus letting Jesus 0:09:24.050 --> 0:09:28.459 do it in the area of time management and giving 0:09:28.460 --> 0:09:30.110 witness to Jesus. 0:09:30.770 --> 0:09:33.890 That's beautiful. You know what? When we try to bootstrap 0:09:33.890 --> 0:09:36.590 this thing, it's exhausting, isn't it, Renee? 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.980 It totally is. It drives me nuts. 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:43.970 You were. You're a sweet lady. Thanks so much for 0:09:43.970 --> 0:09:48.140 calling in. And I appreciate that there's something so different 0:09:48.140 --> 0:09:53.300 between allowing God to do the work not absent of 0:09:53.300 --> 0:09:58.490 our effort, but absolutely absent of earning. I don't know 0:09:58.490 --> 0:10:00.770 what ground God wants you to take today, but he does. 0:10:00.770 --> 0:10:03.739 Coming up. Sometimes it's physical. Got a story from right 0:10:03.740 --> 0:10:06.620 here in Chicagoland. Made it on the news here. But 0:10:06.620 --> 0:10:08.960 wherever you are in the world, this will inspire you. 0:10:08.990 --> 0:10:09.740 Hang on. 0:10:09.830 --> 0:10:14.750 She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her. 0:10:14.780 --> 0:10:18.740 Super dei is in the crew. It's Carl and crew 0:10:18.770 --> 0:10:20.960 on Moody Radio. Well, it's an. 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:25.010 Awesome thing when you get out there and you call 0:10:25.010 --> 0:10:27.260 up an Uber and they come to the house to 0:10:27.290 --> 0:10:29.390 pick you up. And I was heading to O'Hare recently, 0:10:29.390 --> 0:10:33.380 grabbed an Uber and got in the car and sweet 0:10:33.380 --> 0:10:37.940 woman and I thought, man, golden opportunity yet again. Share. 0:10:37.970 --> 0:10:41.900 Jesus Christ, Someone had been there before me. I no 0:10:41.900 --> 0:10:44.240 sooner got the words about the power of Christ in 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:46.880 my life and asked her if she knew about Jesus. 0:10:46.910 --> 0:10:50.030 She said, I sure do. I met Jesus under the 0:10:50.030 --> 0:10:52.940 teaching of Pastor John Hannah at New Life Church, and 0:10:52.940 --> 0:10:56.330 I'm like, all right, this soil's been tilled. Pastor John 0:10:56.330 --> 0:10:58.520 Hannah is with me right now. That's got to be 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:00.110 some good news for you, brother. 0:11:00.140 --> 0:11:02.719 That blesses my soul just to hear that. 0:11:02.870 --> 0:11:03.590 Isn't that great? 0:11:03.620 --> 0:11:04.069 I love. 0:11:04.070 --> 0:11:07.339 It. She went on to a mote. She's like, no man, 0:11:07.340 --> 0:11:09.950 I'm good. And we just had fellowship all the way 0:11:09.950 --> 0:11:12.110 to O'Hare, and she was just pouring out her heart 0:11:12.110 --> 0:11:15.050 about what God was teaching her and how she's growing 0:11:15.050 --> 0:11:17.750 and becoming not only a great mom, but a great 0:11:17.750 --> 0:11:21.530 grandmother and how God was at work in her life. 0:11:21.530 --> 0:11:24.110 And when I got out, I could barely get away. 0:11:24.110 --> 0:11:26.360 She was just she had a story on her lips. 0:11:26.390 --> 0:11:28.940 That's the fruit of ministry. And I want to applaud 0:11:28.940 --> 0:11:30.920 you and say thank you, Pastor John Hannah. 0:11:30.950 --> 0:11:33.110 That means so much to me. I love that, I 0:11:33.110 --> 0:11:34.940 love to just hear testimonies like that. 0:11:34.940 --> 0:11:36.950 And she's not the only one. I've talked to people 0:11:36.950 --> 0:11:39.620 here recently and did a book signing recently, and some 0:11:39.620 --> 0:11:42.770 folks were way out in the northwest burbs, and they're 0:11:42.770 --> 0:11:45.469 part of your church. A young couple and I thought, man, 0:11:45.470 --> 0:11:47.630 this guy is making a dent in the kingdom of 0:11:47.630 --> 0:11:51.140 darkness for sure. Pastor John Hanna, you have done something 0:11:51.140 --> 0:11:54.500 that is really unique. Tell us the story. What a 0:11:54.500 --> 0:11:57.110 funny name for a liquor store. It's kind of from 0:11:57.110 --> 0:11:59.660 the be happy attitudes only. I don't think they got it. 0:11:59.660 --> 0:12:02.270 They called it Happy Liquor and Food. Tell us about 0:12:02.270 --> 0:12:03.020 this story. 0:12:03.050 --> 0:12:04.670 So they had a liquor store that's been on the 0:12:04.670 --> 0:12:08.150 corner of 79th and Cottage Grove, on the south side 0:12:08.150 --> 0:12:11.960 of Chicago for over 30 plus years, and everyone knew 0:12:12.230 --> 0:12:15.230 that this liquor store, the hours were like from 10 0:12:15.230 --> 0:12:17.120 or 11 in the morning till like 2 or 3 0:12:17.150 --> 0:12:19.940 in the morning, and you would avoid getting off the 0:12:19.970 --> 0:12:24.110 bus there. People have been shot there, robbed, chased, beat 0:12:24.110 --> 0:12:27.980 and last name. Three young men were gunned down outside 0:12:27.980 --> 0:12:30.740 of that liquor store and one was killed. And as 0:12:30.740 --> 0:12:33.320 a result of that, the city went in and basically 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.240 shut it down. So it's been closed close since May. 0:12:36.270 --> 0:12:39.240 And so I found out that it was up for sale. 0:12:39.540 --> 0:12:42.570 And to God be the glory, someone else bought it. 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:45.900 We ended up getting it. And now the church owns 0:12:45.900 --> 0:12:50.460 that corner, 79th and Cottage Grove. The happy liquor store 0:12:50.490 --> 0:12:53.190 that I'm now going to call the Corner of Life. 0:12:53.220 --> 0:12:54.449 Oh, I love that. 0:12:54.450 --> 0:12:57.059 So tell us, when you heard word that this thing 0:12:57.090 --> 0:12:59.400 had been shut down, how did this go down? How 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:01.439 did you get this into your hands? What was God 0:13:01.470 --> 0:13:02.130 doing there? 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:05.220 So I had petitioned about this liquor store over 11 0:13:05.220 --> 0:13:07.950 years ago. The city went in and closed it down. 0:13:07.950 --> 0:13:10.469 We do a prayer on 79th Street. We've been doing 0:13:10.470 --> 0:13:13.800 it for the last 15 years. I have literally been 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:17.640 marching down 79th Street for 15 years asking, God, can 0:13:17.670 --> 0:13:21.060 we have this corner? And here we are 15 years later, 0:13:21.059 --> 0:13:24.540 after that shooting, the city shut it down. I knew 0:13:24.570 --> 0:13:27.000 that something would be coming up. Then we found out 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:29.520 it was up for sale. And to God be the 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:33.959 glory we were able to pay cash, got the store 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.510 and we own it now. It will no longer be 0:13:36.540 --> 0:13:39.480 happy liquors. The sign will be coming down next week. 0:13:39.510 --> 0:13:43.260 A grocery store will be going in place of that 0:13:43.290 --> 0:13:47.489 liquor store. And on top of it is offices. That 0:13:47.490 --> 0:13:49.679 is bigger than what I thought. We actually want to 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:51.179 put some doctors up there. 0:13:51.210 --> 0:13:52.380 So yes. 0:13:52.410 --> 0:13:56.160 Some counselors, their storefronts going around it. And we want 0:13:56.190 --> 0:13:59.160 to just make sure that everything on that corner brings life. 0:13:59.220 --> 0:14:02.130 We're thrilled. We're cheering with you here. Pastor John Hannah, 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:05.250 my guest right now. All right. This is tremendous news. 0:14:05.250 --> 0:14:09.929 Anyone that's listening that God's transformed their soul. I mean, 0:14:09.929 --> 0:14:12.780 their heart just soars when they hear news like this. 0:14:12.809 --> 0:14:16.200 What are you sensing God is doing in new life? 0:14:16.230 --> 0:14:18.239 You've got a finger on the pulse. The spirit of 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:21.630 God's prompting you. What is God up to right now? 0:14:21.660 --> 0:14:24.180 We're right in the midst of darkness. The Bible says 0:14:24.180 --> 0:14:26.430 that we are the salt of the earth. And I 0:14:26.430 --> 0:14:29.760 believe that once the church takes its rightful stand, he 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:31.920 told the children of Israel, for the sole of your 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.890 feet tread. I'll give it to you. So we've been 0:14:34.890 --> 0:14:38.520 marching for 15 years, and we're literally seeing God that 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:42.210 the earth is yielding what belongs to us. We started 0:14:42.210 --> 0:14:45.360 out with one building. We have now purchased over 40 0:14:45.390 --> 0:14:49.230 plus pieces of property in that community to build God. 0:14:49.260 --> 0:14:53.040 A church, a youth center, a community center is coming up. 0:14:53.070 --> 0:14:55.680 I mean, so much is happening and office space is 0:14:55.710 --> 0:14:58.890 being built with an incubator for people in their community 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.010 who need internet services, who need a place to meet. 0:15:02.010 --> 0:15:05.040 I mean, literally, we have gone beyond the four walls 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:08.070 of the church. The church is now rented as a 0:15:08.070 --> 0:15:11.190 theater to bring the arts back to the South Side 0:15:11.190 --> 0:15:14.910 of Chicago. So I'm just saying we're taking our rightful place. 0:15:14.910 --> 0:15:18.210 We're like in the midst of darkness with salt of 0:15:18.210 --> 0:15:20.310 the earth, and we're just being with Christ called us 0:15:20.310 --> 0:15:20.580 to be. 0:15:20.610 --> 0:15:21.180 I love it. 0:15:21.210 --> 0:15:23.910 You know, what's amazing is, and I've been down there 0:15:23.940 --> 0:15:26.490 a good bit enough to know that it's a food 0:15:26.490 --> 0:15:29.490 desert and it's a job desert. And it breaks my 0:15:29.490 --> 0:15:33.020 heart to see a lot of empty manufacturing buildings. What's 0:15:33.020 --> 0:15:35.750 your hope for the future, pastor? Because at the end 0:15:35.750 --> 0:15:38.810 of the day, the gospel, when it really gets traction 0:15:38.810 --> 0:15:43.790 begins to restore communities. It's not souls are. I mean 0:15:43.820 --> 0:15:46.220 that that's the end game for God. But the fruit 0:15:46.220 --> 0:15:50.000 of that is now infrastructure begins to be built, and 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.270 people don't have to travel two hours for a job, 0:15:53.300 --> 0:15:54.260 if you know what I mean. 0:15:54.260 --> 0:15:58.100 Pastor, we've actually brought over 100 jobs to that community 0:15:58.130 --> 0:16:00.800 with us opening up our church and allowing it to 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.280 be a theater. So with plays and concerts, come there. 0:16:04.310 --> 0:16:07.040 Now you have people that are hired there. Working there 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.850 we have security. So you brought over 100 jobs to 0:16:10.850 --> 0:16:15.050 the community. Now, what I need is several vacant buildings 0:16:15.050 --> 0:16:18.380 on that strip, and I need to get my hands 0:16:18.380 --> 0:16:23.840 on that building. I need help rehabbing that building those buildings. 0:16:23.870 --> 0:16:27.890 I mean, it is the perfect opportunity. 0:16:28.300 --> 0:16:28.720 For. 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:32.229 Christ to be revealed. I mean, when we first moved there, 0:16:32.260 --> 0:16:34.540 the alderman told us that this is known in the 0:16:34.540 --> 0:16:38.230 city as a dead zone, which means that no companies, 0:16:38.230 --> 0:16:40.990 no one's fighting to get to that community. And I thought, 0:16:40.990 --> 0:16:43.810 this is the perfect opportunity that God will put a 0:16:43.810 --> 0:16:46.270 church called New Life in the middle of what they 0:16:46.270 --> 0:16:49.120 call a dead zone, because we come. Christ says, I 0:16:49.150 --> 0:16:52.120 come that you might have life. So now we're seeing 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:55.930 that the church has the privilege and the opportunity of 0:16:55.930 --> 0:16:58.390 doing a flip in this community. 0:16:58.420 --> 0:16:59.530 You know what, pastor? 0:16:59.530 --> 0:17:02.680 I feel prompted with? There is someone listening right now 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:04.990 that has the means to come in and grab up 0:17:04.990 --> 0:17:10.060 some of those vacant manufacturing buildings, vacant buildings, maybe some 0:17:10.060 --> 0:17:14.470 are in disrepair. So if you feel prompted of God 0:17:14.500 --> 0:17:18.070 by the spirit that you need to jump into that 0:17:18.070 --> 0:17:21.220 gap and be, as D.L. Moody said, let's be gap 0:17:21.220 --> 0:17:23.439 men and women, you want to jump into that gap 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:25.840 and say, my goodness, we got some buildings that need 0:17:25.869 --> 0:17:28.600 to be acquired. We got some property that needs to 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.630 be captured. We got some renovation that needs to happen. 0:17:31.630 --> 0:17:33.520 We got a link for you right now. Text the 0:17:33.550 --> 0:17:40.359 word life. Life to 800 555 7898. Just text the 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:45.939 word life to 800 555 7898 and Pastor Han, I 0:17:45.940 --> 0:17:47.919 got to tell you, you're an inspiration to me, man. 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:50.320 From when I met you years ago. To this day, 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.140 you are staying in the thick of it. And I'm. 0:17:53.140 --> 0:17:54.490 I'm proud of you, brother. Keep it. 0:17:54.490 --> 0:17:54.850 Up, I. 0:17:54.850 --> 0:17:57.220 Love it, I love what I do, I love my city, 0:17:57.220 --> 0:18:01.270 I love Chicago, and I love the territory that God 0:18:01.270 --> 0:18:04.990 has assigned me to. And I'm excited to see what 0:18:05.020 --> 0:18:07.960 God is doing. We've been over here now. Our church 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:12.550 just celebrated 21 years in ministry, and we've literally seen 0:18:12.550 --> 0:18:14.770 the hand of God. The city told me that you'll 0:18:14.770 --> 0:18:17.020 never be able to build here because there's no room 0:18:17.020 --> 0:18:20.110 for you, because our church is over 20 000 people. 0:18:20.109 --> 0:18:23.950 But we saw God literally give us block by block, 0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:27.170 House by house, vacant lot by vacant lot. And we've 0:18:27.170 --> 0:18:30.470 now built this amazing facility in the heart of the 0:18:30.470 --> 0:18:32.180 city on the south side of Chicago. 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:37.399 Boom! That's what we're talking about. Boom! Crew. Text. Text 0:18:37.430 --> 0:18:42.080 the word life to 800 555, 7898. And Godspeed to you, 0:18:42.109 --> 0:18:44.150 Pastor Hannah. Thank you for being with me today. 0:18:44.180 --> 0:18:45.080 Do you feel. 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:49.550 Stuck or paralyzed? Are you ready to break free? Here 0:18:49.550 --> 0:18:54.260 are your questions answered. It's time for ask, Pastor Carl. 0:18:55.460 --> 0:18:59.540 Somebody gave me a question that's like throwing red meat 0:18:59.570 --> 0:19:01.640 to a junkyard dog. 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:05.420 Oh, no. You love those questions. Yeah. 0:19:05.450 --> 0:19:07.820 Throwing me the red meat. And you know what? This 0:19:07.820 --> 0:19:10.790 has been a reoccurring thing. And it dawned on me 0:19:10.790 --> 0:19:13.580 that we've got to come back to a few key 0:19:13.580 --> 0:19:17.780 principles over and over again, over and over again. So 0:19:17.780 --> 0:19:20.330 I want to take you to John 15 in just 0:19:20.330 --> 0:19:22.940 a moment. But here's what I want to tee up 0:19:22.940 --> 0:19:26.930 for you. A man writes in I have been trying 0:19:26.930 --> 0:19:31.100 to get victory over, and I'm going to leave the 0:19:31.100 --> 0:19:36.380 blank right there. And it's multiple things in his life 0:19:36.380 --> 0:19:40.550 that he has been busting his tail to get victory over. 0:19:40.850 --> 0:19:45.650 We've all had this before. I don't care if it's gossip. 0:19:45.650 --> 0:19:48.530 I don't care if it's substance. I don't care if 0:19:48.530 --> 0:19:52.400 it's a familial habit that you inherited from mom or dad. 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:55.970 And by the way, that can happen. There is a 0:19:55.970 --> 0:19:58.850 need to break free. And the question is how? And 0:19:58.850 --> 0:20:02.450 the common suspicion is, I've got to work harder. I've 0:20:02.450 --> 0:20:05.630 got to do more. And this is what you need 0:20:05.630 --> 0:20:08.330 to know. In fact, I'm going to walk through this 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:12.290 in a practical way that you can sit down over breakfast, 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:15.260 you can go to lunch today and you can retell 0:20:15.260 --> 0:20:19.880 this story, and it is liberating. Jesus said in John 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:25.220 15 as he spoke to his disciples, he's walking nearer 0:20:25.220 --> 0:20:28.040 and nearer to the cross. These are his last moments 0:20:28.040 --> 0:20:30.710 before he's going to be crucified. So these are the 0:20:30.710 --> 0:20:35.419 essential teaching moments. And he says, boys, come over here. 0:20:35.450 --> 0:20:37.459 They would have been walking through a vineyard, and he 0:20:37.460 --> 0:20:40.580 would have grabbed a fistful of grape leaves and picked 0:20:40.580 --> 0:20:46.280 those up and revealed a bunch of grapes. Now, God 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:52.159 providentially used this moment to teach us today how things 0:20:52.160 --> 0:20:56.210 change in our lives. And this is what he said. 0:20:56.300 --> 0:20:59.929 He said, I am the vine. You are the branch. 0:20:59.960 --> 0:21:03.260 If you abide in me and I in you, you 0:21:03.260 --> 0:21:07.790 will bear fruit. It is to my father's glory that 0:21:07.790 --> 0:21:17.570 you bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. Nothing. 0:21:17.570 --> 0:21:20.330 Now we got to sit with that a second. Apart 0:21:20.330 --> 0:21:24.980 from him, we can do nothing. So the promise is 0:21:24.980 --> 0:21:28.430 to bear fruit. And what is the fruit? The fruit 0:21:28.430 --> 0:21:32.840 is all these behavior changes that manifests himself in the 0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:36.350 fruit of the spirit. Love. Where there was no love, 0:21:36.380 --> 0:21:40.340 peace where there was only anxiousness. Kindness where there was 0:21:40.340 --> 0:21:46.550 only rancor, self-control, where you've lacked self-control. I think my 0:21:46.550 --> 0:21:50.930 favorite fruit of the spirit is self-control, because that's a 0:21:51.020 --> 0:21:54.710 heavy it's a drop down menu for everything we battled with. Right, guys? 0:21:54.740 --> 0:21:56.180 I mean, that's that's what. 0:21:56.180 --> 0:21:56.389 It is. 0:21:56.630 --> 0:21:57.800 A lot. Yes. Big umbrella. 0:21:57.800 --> 0:22:03.020 Covers it. I mean, having the fruit of self-control. My goodness. 0:22:03.560 --> 0:22:06.290 Well, if you don't have self-control, then then you can't 0:22:06.290 --> 0:22:11.750 have patience. You can't have love because your self-control is gone, 0:22:11.750 --> 0:22:14.600 and therefore you're kind of leaning towards the not good 0:22:14.630 --> 0:22:16.220 side of things and the good side of things. 0:22:16.270 --> 0:22:17.080 Yeah. 0:22:17.260 --> 0:22:19.840 So you can do this with any implements, but I'm 0:22:19.840 --> 0:22:22.090 going to do it right now with the coffee mug 0:22:22.540 --> 0:22:26.139 and a pen. That's the branch coffee mugs, the fruit. 0:22:26.140 --> 0:22:29.170 And I'm going to use my Bible as the vine. 0:22:29.170 --> 0:22:31.690 But you can use anything you if you're sitting down 0:22:31.690 --> 0:22:33.669 at a restaurant, here's what I want you to use, 0:22:33.670 --> 0:22:37.629 and I want you to do this. Use a knife 0:22:37.630 --> 0:22:42.340 as a vine, use a fork as a branch, and 0:22:42.340 --> 0:22:46.330 use a sugar packet as the fruit. Okay. If you 0:22:46.330 --> 0:22:49.510 don't have a sugar packet, grab a creamer or something, 0:22:49.510 --> 0:22:53.320 but just use something as the fruit. Jesus said, I 0:22:53.350 --> 0:22:55.780 am the vine, you are the branch. If you abide 0:22:55.780 --> 0:22:58.540 in me, you will bear much fruit. It's to my 0:22:58.540 --> 0:23:01.900 father's glory that you bear much fruit apart from me. 0:23:01.900 --> 0:23:05.170 You can do nothing, and we've got a choice. We 0:23:05.200 --> 0:23:10.000 can focus on performance or producing fruit, or we can 0:23:10.000 --> 0:23:15.239 focus on proximity to Jesus and letting him do in 0:23:15.240 --> 0:23:17.280 us what we can't do in ourselves, and we can't 0:23:17.280 --> 0:23:27.210 choose both. Jesus's focus for his disciples with have proximity 0:23:27.210 --> 0:23:33.270 to me. Why? Because a branch, Jesus said, cannot bear 0:23:33.270 --> 0:23:40.170 fruit on its own. So oftentimes in this really westernized 0:23:40.170 --> 0:23:44.850 Christian faith, we get saved out of total proximity to Jesus. Right, guys? 0:23:44.880 --> 0:23:45.810 I mean, there's. 0:23:45.840 --> 0:23:47.369 Of course, full stop. 0:23:47.400 --> 0:23:48.240 That's how it happens. 0:23:48.390 --> 0:23:51.810 We're broken. We're humbled. You're going to hear a story 0:23:51.810 --> 0:23:54.720 from Baker Mayfield here in just a moment that just 0:23:54.720 --> 0:23:57.960 grabs this big time quarterback in the NFL. And God 0:23:57.990 --> 0:24:01.109 has done a radical rework in his life. It's beautiful. 0:24:01.140 --> 0:24:03.780 But until we're broken and at the end of ourselves, 0:24:03.810 --> 0:24:07.110 we don't have the necessary proximity to Jesus. But when 0:24:07.109 --> 0:24:08.969 we're broken at the end of our self and we 0:24:09.000 --> 0:24:12.419 cling to Jesus for salvation of our souls, we now 0:24:12.420 --> 0:24:14.970 have regeneration. Did we do anything? 0:24:15.000 --> 0:24:15.630 No. 0:24:16.020 --> 0:24:20.609 Nothing. Even his grace causes us to see our brokenness. 0:24:21.000 --> 0:24:25.170 But then we think, well, looky here, my life should 0:24:25.170 --> 0:24:31.170 be changing. And we errantly think I've got to produce fruit. No, 0:24:31.170 --> 0:24:35.969 you don't take that knife. Take that fork. Take that. 0:24:36.000 --> 0:24:40.080 In this case, I'm using a coffee mug. Don't focus 0:24:40.080 --> 0:24:45.810 on filling your mug with fruit. That's not your job. 0:24:46.680 --> 0:24:51.570 Your primary responsibility is to have proximity to Jesus, and 0:24:51.570 --> 0:24:55.469 he will produce fruit in your life. You say, Carl, 0:24:55.470 --> 0:25:00.480 is this true? Yes. Every fruit that I've ever seen 0:25:00.480 --> 0:25:05.730 born in my life. And I mean everything I can 0:25:05.730 --> 0:25:12.970 attribute nothing to my efforts to try to get that produced. 0:25:13.840 --> 0:25:18.280 I owe it all to Jesus. The interesting thing about 0:25:18.280 --> 0:25:21.429 John 15 is that it's bookended by John 14 and 0:25:21.430 --> 0:25:23.680 John 16. You ever notice how that works. 0:25:24.310 --> 0:25:24.760 A little bit? 0:25:25.030 --> 0:25:26.800 You know what? I think I learned that somewhere. 0:25:26.830 --> 0:25:30.370 So so John 14 is this ramp up. Jesus said, 0:25:30.369 --> 0:25:32.470 I'm going away, but the Holy Spirit's going to remind 0:25:32.470 --> 0:25:34.510 you of all truth. It's to your advantage that I go, 0:25:34.510 --> 0:25:37.930 and he will guide you into all truth. John 16 0:25:37.930 --> 0:25:41.230 breaks down further about this intimacy in this relationship with 0:25:41.230 --> 0:25:44.649 the Holy Spirit. So the Word of God is a 0:25:44.650 --> 0:25:49.180 way we have proximity to Jesus. Prayer is the way. 0:25:49.180 --> 0:25:51.189 We have proximity to Jesus. And I'm going to be. 0:25:51.190 --> 0:25:55.480 This bold, introspective prayer is the way we have proximity 0:25:55.480 --> 0:26:01.000 to Jesus. Because prayer itself can become perfunctory, Bible reading 0:26:01.000 --> 0:26:07.000 can become perfunctory but introspective. Bible reading and prayer where 0:26:07.000 --> 0:26:09.940 you say, search me, know me, try me. And this 0:26:09.940 --> 0:26:14.710 is what happens. The vine says I see some things 0:26:14.710 --> 0:26:17.740 in your life that need to change. Cling to me here. 0:26:17.740 --> 0:26:21.879 And as you cling to Jesus with proximity to the vine, 0:26:21.880 --> 0:26:25.630 you will look over one day and go, look at there. 0:26:25.900 --> 0:26:33.129 My cup's getting filled up. The day of Efforting, apart 0:26:33.130 --> 0:26:36.700 from God needs to end. Now you might say is 0:26:36.730 --> 0:26:40.840 is God opposed to all effort? No. Dallas Willard nails it. 0:26:40.840 --> 0:26:43.750 God is not opposed to effort. He's opposed to earnings. 0:26:43.750 --> 0:26:47.980 So here's what I would say. Any effort that has 0:26:47.980 --> 0:26:52.629 a hint of earning or trying apart from God is 0:26:52.630 --> 0:26:55.480 utterly futile. Trust me. Follow me around for a week. 0:26:55.510 --> 0:26:59.530 You will find that to be true. But any effort 0:26:59.530 --> 0:27:03.940 that we put in to an abiding relationship with Jesus 0:27:03.940 --> 0:27:09.070 Christ will be rewarded. Awarded. Is it easy? Nope. Is 0:27:09.070 --> 0:27:13.479 there effort involved in proximity to Jesus? Yep. Do I 0:27:13.480 --> 0:27:16.780 need to carve out time to be alone with him? Yeah. 0:27:16.869 --> 0:27:22.750 You do. Should there be introspection that says, search me, 0:27:22.780 --> 0:27:25.450 know me, try me? See if there'd be any hurtful 0:27:25.450 --> 0:27:28.030 way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting. 0:27:28.030 --> 0:27:32.619 That's the prayer of victory. Those are the conquering people. 0:27:34.210 --> 0:27:37.629 John 15 and the vine and the branches is maybe 0:27:37.630 --> 0:27:43.420 one of the most important illustrations Jesus ever gave about 0:27:43.420 --> 0:27:47.590 how to live this Christian life. And every time we 0:27:47.590 --> 0:27:50.830 try to produce fruit in our life, the only thing 0:27:50.830 --> 0:27:55.990 we can find around us is plastic, bananas, plastic grapes 0:27:55.990 --> 0:28:01.000 and plastic apples. And here's the problem those closest to 0:28:01.030 --> 0:28:06.280 us know it ain't real. That hurts, I know. 0:28:07.780 --> 0:28:08.710 That hurts. 0:28:08.740 --> 0:28:10.420 It hurts so bad, man. 0:28:10.780 --> 0:28:14.290 But if you're pasting on fake fruit and you're trying 0:28:14.290 --> 0:28:17.620 to be a good little Christian, give it up, my friend. 0:28:18.070 --> 0:28:22.870 Cling to Jesus, and he can produce more in and 0:28:22.869 --> 0:28:30.369 through your branch than you can ever imagine. I want 0:28:30.369 --> 0:28:33.250 you to get your questions into me every Monday at 0:28:33.250 --> 0:28:36.670 the bottom of the hour, answering questions, and I'm ready 0:28:36.670 --> 0:28:39.340 to fill up the email box. How do they do it? 0:28:39.340 --> 0:28:40.120 Super day. 0:28:40.150 --> 0:28:43.630 Text the word pastor. The word is pastor to 800 0:28:43.630 --> 0:28:50.950 555 7898. Pastor to 800 555 7898. 0:28:51.130 --> 0:28:54.280 He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you 0:28:54.280 --> 0:28:58.570 can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's 0:28:58.570 --> 0:29:00.880 Karl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:29:00.910 --> 0:29:04.400 You want some fuel in your spiritual belly. We got 0:29:04.400 --> 0:29:08.000 it for you. Baker Mayfield sitting down with Matt Forte. 0:29:08.030 --> 0:29:09.260 What's the name of that podcast? 0:29:09.260 --> 0:29:12.770 It's the Sports Spectrum podcast. It's awesome. It's it's talking 0:29:12.770 --> 0:29:15.590 with athletes about their faith specifically. 0:29:16.070 --> 0:29:16.580 Yeah. 0:29:16.580 --> 0:29:18.950 There's snippets of this going viral out there. So we 0:29:18.950 --> 0:29:21.590 thought we'd give you a little bit broader look. Couple 0:29:21.620 --> 0:29:24.860 of minutes of conversation. Let this put fuel in your 0:29:24.860 --> 0:29:25.820 belly right now. 0:29:25.850 --> 0:29:29.480 Growing up in a house that not a faithful household. 0:29:29.510 --> 0:29:32.479 Every time we'd go to my grandparents house, we'd go 0:29:32.480 --> 0:29:34.670 to church on Sundays. And when we go back to 0:29:34.700 --> 0:29:37.130 where I grew up in Austin, Texas, we were more 0:29:37.130 --> 0:29:40.550 of the family. That was an Easter Sunday or a 0:29:40.550 --> 0:29:43.280 Christmas service two times a year. And so for me 0:29:43.310 --> 0:29:46.250 growing up, I didn't know a whole lot getting into 0:29:46.250 --> 0:29:50.930 high school, still not really knowing what it was all about. 0:29:50.930 --> 0:29:54.320 And from my perspective, I thought it was, you do 0:29:54.320 --> 0:29:57.290 good deeds and that's you're a good person. That means 0:29:57.290 --> 0:29:59.540 you're a Christian. Basically, I was trying to make things 0:29:59.540 --> 0:30:02.390 happen on my own. Fast forward to getting into the NFL. 0:30:02.420 --> 0:30:04.700 There was a lot of emptiness that I had that 0:30:04.700 --> 0:30:09.620 I had been searching for, and through ups and downs that, um, 0:30:09.620 --> 0:30:12.980 thought I could fulfill it in other ways and did not. 0:30:12.980 --> 0:30:16.100 And my identity at the time was a football player. 0:30:16.100 --> 0:30:19.250 It was it was a quarterback, and I thought I 0:30:19.250 --> 0:30:21.860 could carry that. Fast forward a couple of years into 0:30:21.890 --> 0:30:26.150 my NFL career. Um, God taught me a lesson. He 0:30:26.150 --> 0:30:30.590 had to take take my career down to the studs 0:30:30.590 --> 0:30:34.400 and make me realize that I'm more than a football player. 0:30:34.400 --> 0:30:37.310 For me to see that, I had to hit rock bottom. 0:30:37.460 --> 0:30:41.240 Jesus is obviously the Son of God, but it is. 0:30:41.240 --> 0:30:46.610 Grace is perfection. Somebody that sacrificed everything that gave us 0:30:46.610 --> 0:30:51.650 this opportunity to live life. And for me, when you 0:30:51.650 --> 0:30:54.830 say he's your Lord and Savior, you proclaim it whenever 0:30:54.830 --> 0:30:58.910 you can. But he's the reason we're here and the 0:30:58.910 --> 0:31:04.580 story of Jesus walking among the flesh. The only perfect man. 0:31:04.580 --> 0:31:08.240 And to to be sacrificed on the cross and die 0:31:08.270 --> 0:31:13.760 for our sins forever. And when you accept that grace, 0:31:13.760 --> 0:31:17.600 that's it's an unbelievable feeling that then you dive into 0:31:17.600 --> 0:31:21.530 the word and you see the stories, and the Scripture 0:31:21.530 --> 0:31:24.410 backs up what you're saying and the things that you 0:31:24.410 --> 0:31:26.570 go through. There's whatever you're going through. There's something in 0:31:26.570 --> 0:31:29.180 the Scripture that can help you out, and it's been 0:31:29.180 --> 0:31:30.530 written and it's the truth. 0:31:30.860 --> 0:31:36.080 Baker Mayfield interviewed by Matt Forte. Phenomenal story. When I 0:31:36.080 --> 0:31:38.720 first saw a snippet of this, I'm like, man, I 0:31:38.720 --> 0:31:41.990 forwarded this on to my bride and son. And I'm like, 0:31:41.990 --> 0:31:46.010 look at this. And my son's response was, wasn't he like, 0:31:46.040 --> 0:31:49.070 living like a wild man? And I'm like, yeah, I 0:31:49.070 --> 0:31:55.520 think he was. And he admits it. And yet, God, 0:31:55.550 --> 0:31:57.900 you know, you might have come here this morning. There's 0:31:57.900 --> 0:32:01.410 three things that stuck out to me in Baker Mayfield's testimony. 0:32:01.440 --> 0:32:04.020 His identity was in football. I got a question for you. 0:32:04.050 --> 0:32:11.490 What's your identity and what's your identity in today? Jesus 0:32:11.520 --> 0:32:17.729 is calling you today. Baker's story can be your story, 0:32:17.730 --> 0:32:23.520 but it's down to the studs. It's down to the studs. 0:32:24.180 --> 0:32:26.610 That's what he said. God had to break him down 0:32:26.610 --> 0:32:28.140 to the studs. You know what that means? All the 0:32:28.140 --> 0:32:31.020 water damage, all the damage in our life. You got 0:32:31.020 --> 0:32:32.970 to strip all that stuff down, and God wants to 0:32:32.970 --> 0:32:35.880 take it right down to the bottom so that he 0:32:35.880 --> 0:32:39.810 can build your life. And that's what he said as well. 0:32:39.810 --> 0:32:44.820 I had to hit rock bottom. There's someone listening that's 0:32:44.820 --> 0:32:50.010 hit rock bottom today. And you know, you've got to 0:32:50.010 --> 0:32:54.510 be stripped to the studs and you know that your 0:32:54.550 --> 0:32:58.090 identity has not been in Jesus Christ, but God brought 0:32:58.090 --> 0:33:02.560 you here today, and Baker Mayfield's story can be your story. 0:33:02.680 --> 0:33:07.840 And this is how Jesus spoke to troubled hearts when 0:33:07.840 --> 0:33:11.860 he said, believe in God. Believe also in me. I'm 0:33:11.860 --> 0:33:15.010 going to prepare a place for you. And they said, well, 0:33:15.010 --> 0:33:18.670 how do we know where you're going? He said, I 0:33:18.700 --> 0:33:22.780 am the way, the truth, and the life. So I 0:33:22.780 --> 0:33:24.670 want to ask you this morning, are you ready to 0:33:24.700 --> 0:33:29.110 go God's way with your life today? Are you ready 0:33:29.110 --> 0:33:34.000 to turn around? You are a Christian in name only, 0:33:34.000 --> 0:33:40.030 but your identity has been in something else. And today 0:33:40.030 --> 0:33:42.520 you are ready. The Spirit of God is calling you 0:33:42.520 --> 0:33:46.030 to put your identity in Jesus, and you're stripped down 0:33:46.030 --> 0:33:48.550 to the studs. You got to go Jesus way. This 0:33:48.550 --> 0:33:52.780 means repenting of your sins and turning around and giving 0:33:52.780 --> 0:33:55.470 your life fully to Jesus, you might be at the bottom. 0:33:55.470 --> 0:33:58.620 That's when you can say, okay, you are the way. 0:33:58.620 --> 0:34:00.840 I'm going your way. You are the truth. I'm quitting. 0:34:00.840 --> 0:34:05.640 I'm done living my truth. I'm ready to live your truth. 0:34:05.700 --> 0:34:09.450 And the truth is I'm a sinner who needs a Savior. 0:34:10.710 --> 0:34:15.180 And I'm giving my life to Jesus today. Jesus said, 0:34:15.180 --> 0:34:18.240 I am the way and the truth and the life. 0:34:18.239 --> 0:34:23.250 And today Jesus offers you. He's holding out before you 0:34:23.280 --> 0:34:29.160 life abundant. All you got to do is believe you're 0:34:29.160 --> 0:34:34.259 a sinner and own it. No more verbal games. I 0:34:34.260 --> 0:34:38.160 mean heartfelt cry of the soul. I'm a sinner and 0:34:38.160 --> 0:34:42.239 I know it. And today I'm surrendering my life to Jesus. 0:34:42.750 --> 0:34:46.380 Today I'm going Jesus's way. I'm no longer going down 0:34:46.380 --> 0:34:50.489 this path, carving out my identity. I've hit rock bottom. 0:34:50.489 --> 0:34:53.670 I'm broken down to the studs. And if you're not there, 0:34:53.700 --> 0:34:56.549 that's okay. Today's not your day. But if you are there, 0:34:56.550 --> 0:34:59.880 today is your day of salvation. Today is your day. 0:35:00.750 --> 0:35:02.850 But I'm asking you to give it all to Jesus 0:35:02.850 --> 0:35:08.400 because 95% commitment is not commitment. This is all in. 0:35:10.530 --> 0:35:12.810 So count the cost before you do this with me. 0:35:12.810 --> 0:35:14.700 But if today is your day and you're like, Carl, 0:35:14.700 --> 0:35:19.919 I'm ready. I don't care how much church attendance you've 0:35:19.920 --> 0:35:23.100 done and how much good you've tried to do, there 0:35:23.130 --> 0:35:26.130 is only one who is good and that is Jesus. 0:35:27.030 --> 0:35:29.219 And today he's calling you out of darkness and into 0:35:29.219 --> 0:35:32.100 the light, my friend. Pray with me, Jesus. Today I'm 0:35:32.100 --> 0:35:36.390 going your way. I want a new identity. I want 0:35:36.390 --> 0:35:41.520 my identity to be found in Jesus Christ and Him alone. Today, 0:35:41.520 --> 0:35:46.020 I admit I'm stripped down to the studs here. Today 0:35:46.020 --> 0:35:50.230 I've hit rock bottom. But today you found me here 0:35:51.610 --> 0:35:58.240 and you are given me life. I repent, I follow you, 0:35:58.239 --> 0:36:02.290 I confess my need for a Savior. I confess my sin, 0:36:03.430 --> 0:36:09.730 and I surrender my life to you today completely. If that, 0:36:09.730 --> 0:36:11.770 my friend, is the cry of your heart, I have 0:36:11.770 --> 0:36:13.630 got a link for you that I am going to 0:36:13.630 --> 0:36:15.759 send to you. And it's got three links embedded, and 0:36:15.760 --> 0:36:18.250 I want you to text right now. Get your phone 0:36:18.250 --> 0:36:21.550 wherever you can. Today is your day of salvation. Text 0:36:21.580 --> 0:36:27.670 new to 800 555 7898. Right now, today's a new day. 0:36:27.670 --> 0:36:29.830 That weight being thrown off of you is the love 0:36:29.830 --> 0:36:34.060 of God. Text new right now. One word to 800 0:36:34.090 --> 0:36:42.040 555 7898. Text new to 800 555 7898. And these 0:36:42.040 --> 0:36:44.050 links are going to help you in your first steps 0:36:44.050 --> 0:36:47.890 with Jesus. Welcome to the family of God.