S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew.
S2: Mornings, helping you take your next step with Jesus. That's
S2: what we're all about here.
S3: Ali, do you. Have you ever counted your steps? Have
S3: you ever worn some sort of a tracker?
S2: It's funny that you say, oh, steps. I thought you
S2: were meaning steps with Jesus. Uh, yeah, I have. Do
S2: you still have your step tracker?
S3: Oh, I do. And my daughter wears one, too. So
S3: she's always trying to compete with me.
S2: That's great.
S3: It's never even a competition. Mom, how are your steps doing?
S3: I'm somewhere around 3400. I have 11,000. It's always way more.
S3: So mom doesn't take nearly as many steps in a
S3: day as my active 13 year old.
S2: All we need you to take today is one giant step.
S3: Just one.
S2: And we've got some content that will help you do that.
S2: Rise and shine. Everybody get a cup of coffee or tea,
S2: whatever it takes. But let's get rolling. So we've been
S2: talking faith and culture, and this has been some of
S2: the best content. I mean, I can't keep doing that.
S2: I can't.
S4: Keep. I love it. If I had a dollar for
S4: every time we said a new.
S2: Oh.
S4: This has been my favorite week of all time next week. Hey, hey,
S4: I have some.
S2: I have something in common with Jesus. We both use hyperbole.
S2: Can I blame it on Jesus? Can I blame it
S2: on Jesus? He used hyperbole. Can I use hyperbole?
S5: Uh, you know what? I'll allow it. Of course you can.
S2: No, I'm stretching a christocentric theology there that he used
S2: hyperbole for the purpose of describing things that were innately truthful.
S2: But in mine is not innately truthful, because you can't
S2: keep raising the bar. All right. I want to break
S2: down a Christian worldview. I've jotted down four things that
S2: are characteristic of a Christian worldview. Now let's. Okay. Christian worldview,
S2: let's be more accurate biblical worldview.
S4: Okay.
S2: Because you can get a little mushy on that one.
S2: God is creator and sovereign Lord. Humanity has fallen, but
S2: redeemable still. Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation,
S2: and a life of faith leads to transformation and purpose.
S2: Those are just a tread to crunch it down to four.
S2: That's four. Okay, so if that's a worldview, here's my
S2: concern with this. And I've been noodling on it all night.
S2: Literally woke up in the middle of the night going
S2: home because I've been wrestling this week in a good way,
S2: not wrestling against God, but like, we've been going down
S2: a path together and Jesus has had his arm around
S2: my neck going. Listen up, kid. We're still growing up here.
S2: But here's the cool thing about this I am convinced
S2: that we have so made Christianity transactional and not transformational
S2: in our culture today, that this can just become a
S2: list that people can ascend to, but never experience it.
S2: That's a problem man. Mhm. We got our guests groaning
S2: in the studio here which is a great sign.
S3: Yeah. He's in agreement with.
S6: I am thumbs up I am nodding I am getting
S6: very excited right now.
S2: Yeah. So let's bring you in here Peter world Ali
S2: give the bio on this. He's more than a groaner
S2: and a firmer.
S3: He is a moody professor. He's an associate professor here
S3: at Moody Bible Institute. Professor of educational ministry. We brought
S3: him in to talk about faith and culture, because he
S3: actually teaches a class here on faith and learning. So
S3: when he heard that this was our theme this week,
S3: he popped in the studio actually and said, hey guys,
S3: can we talk about this? Yeah. So yeah, he's he's
S3: giving you lots of affirmation this morning.
S2: But that whole transactional versus transformational, Peter, that that can
S2: be a problem. And I wonder if, in fact, that's
S2: what happened with a lot of our kids growing up
S2: in the church for a long, long time is that
S2: they had a transaction mentally, but not a transformation. What
S2: do you say?
S6: Oh, I've been thinking about this, actually. Um, just the
S6: the transactional nature of oh, we speak at camps and
S6: at the camp. We build up to a Thursday night,
S6: and on the Thursday night we lay out the gospel.
S6: But the gospel is get out of hell free. And
S6: and they're like, oh, I want to get out of
S6: hell free. And they, they say a prayer and then
S6: they think they're done and nothing changes. Nothing goes on.
S6: Whereas if a person is alienated from God, you want
S6: them to have a relationship with God. And actually a
S6: lot of things that I have conversations with kids about,
S6: a lot of things I have conversations with people about
S6: the devil also believes, and so the devil believes that
S6: Jesus is the Son of God. The devil believes that
S6: Jesus came and died, and he's very upset that he
S6: rose from the dead and he's very up. But he
S6: believes those things. And if it's just an idea of
S6: what do I understand, then you haven't got that relationship
S6: with Christ necessarily, because you have to have a dynamic
S6: relationship of loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul,
S6: mind and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself. And
S6: that is something that actually I don't have. Now, let
S6: me explain that a little bit.
S2: Yeah. Let's get some explanation here.
S6: I love God more today than I ever have, but
S6: I don't love God with everything I've got all the time, everywhere.
S6: And I'm pushing on towards that and I'm pushing deeper.
S6: And it's a relationship that keeps growing and it keeps
S6: changing and it's dynamic. And some people, they're done with
S6: something that happened when they were seven and, and they,
S6: they just don't know God. And it's knowing God where
S6: the delight is.
S5: Peter, do you mind if I jump in here for
S5: a second? I you know, as you're talking about this
S5: dynamic relationship and loving the Lord your God more every day,
S5: and loving your neighbor as yourself. Well, I think of
S5: that and I say, well, I don't do that perfectly.
S5: And and I think about the illusion of salvation that
S5: I had, you know, and so I can think of
S5: myself as a young Christian going, oh, that kind of
S5: makes me nervous. I don't love him perfectly every day.
S5: Am I? Am I saved now because I love him
S5: really well? But when I don't love him really well,
S5: am I unsaved? You know, how does that how does
S5: that work?
S6: Yeah, well, it depends who you're walking with. So who
S6: is the first person in your life who is the
S6: first person that you're following? Did you come to Jesus
S6: and say, he is my Lord and I am going
S6: to follow him, and I am going to walk with him?
S6: If he says, go to that building, I'm going to
S6: that building. If he says, go to that country, I'm
S6: going to that country. I'm submitted to him and I
S6: live for Jesus. And I think, you know, how we
S6: can get into just the study of Jesus and we
S6: can pass tests on Jesus.
S5: You know, I.
S6: Know and I know, you know, and that's why I'm
S6: looking at you right now. Because I know you know.
S6: Because if you don't know Jesus, that's the whole crux
S6: of the gospel. Because you've got this personal relationship with
S6: Jesus that just excites you and sets you on fire.
S6: And I see fewer people in America who are on fire.
S6: And the religion of Christianity died in England a long
S6: time ago, in a sense. I mean, I've heard you
S6: talking to England people, English people, and I'm being a
S6: little bit facetious, but the thing is that if we
S6: related the Jesus that we actually know, I think people
S6: would take our hands and they would hold his hand
S6: and we would introduce them and they would be excited
S6: and they would be actually set on fire.
S2: You know, the Spirit of God might be, as a
S2: result of our interview with Peter here, just compelling you
S2: to come to Moody, and we're going to have a
S2: link for you. And we got a we got a
S2: Carl and crew, like, little special deal going on. So
S2: we'll tell you all about that coming up here in
S2: just a moment. But I want to. I've been noodling
S2: on something here. Ali. As a matter of fact, I
S2: was preaching on it. I called it three dramatic realities
S2: of authentic salvation. One is we're overwhelmed with gratitude for
S2: God's grace. I see it everywhere in Scripture. Guys, you
S2: can't avoid it. Yeah. And my concern here is that
S2: we sometimes look at the disciples story, and we almost
S2: elevate them like they are something that we can only
S2: aspire to. Right. No. What? What? That's not biblical. That's
S2: not true. The woman at the well. The the the
S2: tax collector. Peter. Andrew, the list goes on and on.
S2: There's something characteristically different about a life that has been
S2: transformed by God. And we live imperfectly. Yeah. But there
S2: is an underlying, even transcending personality. There's an underlying passion, then,
S2: to live with God?
S6: Yes.
S2: Well, that is undeniable.
S6: I think that part of the thing that I'm wrestling
S6: with in the culture is people don't see that they're
S6: dead without Christ.
S3: Yeah.
S6: People don't see that. They. They have no life that's
S6: worth anything. People don't see that. They come from a
S6: worthless position. And if you come to God and you
S6: bring something and it's better than me. I mean, the
S6: people here in this room, I'm. I'm sure you've lived
S6: in your 20s and been a little bit better than me. Well,
S6: if you're better than me, that doesn't mean anything. Then
S6: in front of God. Because God is God and He
S6: is Almighty, and he is transcendent and he is perfect.
S6: Now if you look at the disciples, the disciples would
S6: have known what sin was, and the disciples would have
S6: fallen off that, and they would have been like, I
S6: am a sinful person. And Jesus says, well, find God
S6: through me. They find God through him. And on Pentecost
S6: they get transformed. And in the book of acts, they're
S6: going out and telling everybody because they're excited. Because they
S6: all were to. God, they all were absolutely excited to
S6: the point that they would die for this. They would
S6: die for it because they believed it so fervently.
S2: Yeah.
S3: Peter Worrell, right now associate professor here at Moody Bible Institute,
S3: we're talking faith, learning and a whole lot of extra.
S3: We're throwing in extra this morning on Freedom Friday, which
S3: I love.
S2: So, Peter, let's boil this down. Coming up here in
S2: a few minutes, I want to boil this down to
S2: someone who's listening this morning and they say, man, I'm
S2: not overwhelmed by the gratitude of God's grace. Mhm. I'm
S2: I there isn't an underlying passion for God. Mhm. Uh
S2: what do they do. There's a growing imperative that we
S2: feel led by the Holy Spirit, that we help draw
S2: a very clear line about transactional faith on one side
S2: of that line, and transformative faith on the other side
S2: of that line. And then even in this hour, we're
S2: going to talk about the three barriers that keep you
S2: from salvation. And then you actually know how to pray
S2: for people. It's all pretty cool. It all comes together
S2: when you look at God's Word with just an objective,
S2: humble heart. Hang on.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: We've already established that transactional faith is no faith at all.
S2: Transformative faith is is what Jesus aimed at. And it's
S2: the fruit, Peter, of authentic discipleship. And I want to
S2: go back to this. It seems like we've elevated the
S2: apostles and even that early church. But if you look
S2: at the book of acts, it wasn't just a few
S2: guys that were meeting together. They were meeting home to home.
S2: I mean, leaning into God at the cost of their
S2: own lives.
S6: Oh yeah. Well, the Holy Spirit descends on the disciples
S6: and just transforms them and makes them different people. But
S6: if you see that, they're always kind of grasping. It
S6: struck me only after I studied at Moody because I
S6: studied at Moody, too. The transformational nature of what went
S6: on with the disciples. Because you've got people like Levi,
S6: the tax collector, he's swindling people. He's trying to make
S6: a buck, and he's he's trying to. And then he
S6: just leaves it all and he starts to follow Jesus,
S6: and he starts to see what's Jesus about. Where's Jesus going?
S6: And he knows the person of Jesus. And then the
S6: Holy Spirit fills him. And you see, in the New Testament,
S6: Peter can't stop speaking about Jesus. Paul can't stop speaking
S6: about Jesus. They're absolutely transformed because the Holy Spirit sets
S6: people on fire. And it's the fire that I want
S6: to see in a student's eyes. So when I'm at
S6: Moody and I'm teaching, I look around and there's some
S6: students who are just, you know, I got up, I
S6: got to your class, leave me alone. But there are
S6: many students who that fire begins to really catch. And
S6: I get so excited with them. And we have conversations
S6: and we're wrestling with things. And it's the fire that
S6: you see in, in the students because they want to
S6: know Jesus. It's about knowing a person, not just a concept.
S6: It's about knowing a person relationally. And I get excited
S6: about that.
S3: You know, when you talk about the fire, a lot
S3: of times people start to really look at what do
S3: I feel? Do I do I feel like I love
S3: Jesus today? Do I feel that fire? What do we
S3: what do you advise for the student who takes a
S3: lot of Bible classes? Or for our listener who maybe
S3: listens to a lot of Christian radio and podcasts and
S3: takes in sermons and starts to wonder, I don't I
S3: don't know if I feel the right things.
S6: Yes, well, actually, it's what you think that leads to
S6: what you feel. So explain. In our society, we've got
S6: things backwards and we think, well, when I feel different,
S6: I'll think different. But actually when you study scripture things,
S6: things will leap off the page and you'll know something
S6: different and it'll excite you and you've got to tell
S6: somebody else. My wife also teaches here, so I love
S6: to tell her. She loves to tell me things. We
S6: go back and forth and we get excited. So yes,
S6: being emotionally turned on to God is a thing, but
S6: it often comes through thinking different thoughts about God. So
S6: you have to be disciplined and you have to think
S6: and you have to wrestle. And when you wrestle, you
S6: get to know God. And when you know God, he
S6: sets you on fire. I mean, I think there's something
S6: about a fire resting over the heads of the the
S6: early Christians in the New Testament in acts, because they
S6: they were set on fire by the God who they loved.
S6: And they began to serve him. But they knew so
S6: many things that they learned with Jesus, and then they
S6: were set on fire. So it's the knowledge first.
S2: So, Peter, these four little anchors, I just whittled it
S2: down to these. God is the creator and sovereign Lord.
S2: Humanity is fallen but redeemable. Jesus Christ is the only
S2: way to salvation. A life of faith leads to transformation
S2: and purpose. We need to think deeply enough where those
S2: thoughts turn into what?
S6: Well, you're thinking about them, and they can be on
S6: a test and and you could pass them on a
S6: test and then you'd be cold. But there's something about
S6: the God who in, in, uh, inhabits those ideas. Yes,
S6: God inhabits those ideas. And when you study them, you
S6: have to think, okay, how do I get to know
S6: the personal God who gave me this gift? How do
S6: I get to know the personal God who's running with
S6: me and walking with me and leading me on. And
S6: this is the importance of Jesus, because Jesus shows us
S6: in Scripture what this God is like as a person
S6: and what he's like. Because the concept of God in
S6: the Old Testament is good and it's right, but it's
S6: God the Father, largely. And it's it's God the Father
S6: transcending reality. And you need to obey him and walk
S6: with him, and that is good. But the excitement that
S6: comes through God, the the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
S6: the Trinitarian view of of the Godhead, it actually sets
S6: us on fire. And that's what I'm saying. It's a
S6: relational thing that inhabits it.
S3: We've got Peter Wall with us right now, associate professor
S3: here at Moody Bible Institute. So when you see a
S3: student and you notice that they are taking in the information,
S3: they're going to class, they're showing up, but you don't
S3: see that fire.
S6: Mhm.
S3: They're passing the test. What do you do as a professor.
S3: I'm curious. Do you I mean give us a window
S3: into when you see a student. And, you know, I
S3: know Jonathan was a student here and he can relate
S3: to this when you when you observe that happening in
S3: a student that you have enough of a relationship with,
S3: that you feel like you can have a conversation. Yes.
S3: What do you what do you do?
S6: Well, I don't always have enough of a relationship because
S6: it's a class scenario. Sure. But what happens is I'll
S6: see people discussing and some students just 1 or 2
S6: in the class, though. So it's a class of 35 students,
S6: and there may be 1 or 2 who are done
S6: with the discussion early because they want to get it done.
S6: And I'll just move over and I'll say, so what
S6: are you thinking then? Oh, well, I think this, this, this.
S6: But do you, you know, are you thinking in a
S6: relational sense, are you actually moving towards God? One of
S6: the things that really sets me on fire is the
S6: other side of the coin, where you have students who
S6: the spark catches and they begin to be enthusiastic. I
S6: get to meet them for lunch. I get to I
S6: have the students round to my house. I, I have
S6: those kinds of things going on which are relational. Can't
S6: force a relationship on people, right? But when I say
S6: I'm following Jesus, so come and follow and walk with
S6: me as I follow Jesus. It's not a it's not
S6: a case of following me. It's a case of following me,
S6: following Jesus. And they will have conversations with me, and
S6: we will get excited about Jesus, and we will find
S6: that we're up until late at night talking about Jesus.
S6: But you've got to try to set it on fire.
S6: And so in the classroom, I'll just move alongside somebody
S6: and say, so what do you think? How's it going?
S6: What are you thinking about?
S2: You know, I feel compelled here that there is someone
S2: listening and maybe far more than one, because Jonathan's story,
S2: the short of it is he was at Moody Bible
S2: Institute and he was passing tests with pretty good grades,
S2: but he wasn't born again. And that isn't a one off. Folks.
S2: To be overwhelmed with God's gratitude, or the gratitude that
S2: you can have in his grace to be imperfect but
S2: have a deep seated passion for God. If that's absent,
S2: could the Holy Spirit be calling you to follow Jesus
S2: today for the very first time? And the answer is absolutely.
S6: Amen.
S2: And I just want to appeal to you right now
S2: to surrender your life to Jesus. The Apostle Paul said,
S2: I beg you, be reconciled to God. And why would
S2: he urge that? Because he's urging people to get over
S2: the speed bump of religiosity and pride and self-will, and
S2: the Holy Spirit can use our time this morning to
S2: convict you and to compel you to surrender your life
S2: to Jesus today. And I want to ask you, have
S2: you been stuck in a transactional relationship with God? But
S2: the Holy Spirit right now has revealed you need transformation.
S2: I want you to just take a moment. If you're
S2: at home or driving, you can do this. I want
S2: you to bow your heart with me. I want you
S2: to bow your heart. Heads are optional, but I want
S2: you to receive Jesus today. So let me tell you
S2: what we find in Scripture. There needs to be a
S2: full throated confession and agreement with God that you're a
S2: sinner who needs a Savior. That God is sovereign over
S2: all things. That Jesus is the only way to not
S2: only eternal life, but life abundant today. And that he
S2: alone can change you in this new relationship with God.
S2: And if you're willing to confess with your mouth, speak
S2: it out. I'm a sinner. Say it right now. Wherever
S2: you are. I'm a sinner. I need a savior. Today,
S2: I don't want to have a transactional faith with God
S2: any longer. Today, for the first time in my life,
S2: I'm feeling the embrace and the love of Jesus Christ.
S2: I'm feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit dragging me
S2: across this threshold of pride and religiosity and self-will. And
S2: today I'm following Christ, which means that you repent. You
S2: turn around, away from all of your thinking into a
S2: relationship with Jesus. And if that's you today, your heart
S2: has cried the most honest prayer to God, the most
S2: honest prayer. And I want you to get your phone ready.
S2: I'm going to pray for you right now, but Ali
S2: is going to give you a link here in just
S2: a moment. But today, I want you to know that
S2: we are going to help you take your first steps
S2: with Jesus. I want to appeal to you, friend. Don't
S2: let the pride of your religiosity in your behavior and
S2: your comparison hold you back from life eternal and life today.
S2: So let me pray with you. Let's codify this with
S2: the Lord Jesus. Today I confess to you you are
S2: the Savior of the world and I needed it. Just
S2: tell him that I needed it. I thank you that
S2: you saw my sin and all my flaws. But you
S2: haven't rejected me. You've embraced me. So I come to
S2: you today for the first time, authentically in my life,
S2: moving past transaction into transformation. Today I surrender my life
S2: to you Fully, completely. Nothing held back. And Lord, I
S2: pray over this person right now who is turning around
S2: surrendering all to Jesus Christ. That your love would wash
S2: over them in ways that would be. Inestimable. That you, Lord,
S2: would show them this whole new world. You've done it
S2: right now you're doing it, Lord. And I give you
S2: praise in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Ali, just from your heart.
S2: We want to help him, don't we?
S3: We do. We have something that we've put together. It's
S3: a resource just for you. Those of you who are
S3: accepting Jesus, you are turning and going a new direction
S3: with him. Just text the word new to 800 555 7898.
S3: Text new to 800 (800) 555-7898. You're going to get from
S3: us an auto reply that's going to have a link
S3: with some hyperlinks embedded. Go through it carefully. It's going
S3: to coach you up on what do I look for
S3: in a church if you don't already have one? What
S3: kind of Bible should I be reading? Is there a
S3: translation that I should look for? Uh, we also an
S3: opportunity to get a resource from us sent directly to
S3: your house that's going to help and encourage you. So
S3: if today that's you, just text new to (800) 555-7898 new
S3: new to 800 555 7898.
S1: Your shot of hope to help you through the day.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: So if we take three dramatic realities of authentic salvation,
S2: which are we're overwhelmed with gratitude for God's grace. We
S2: live imperfectly. But there's an underlying passion for God. And
S2: by the way, one that we hadn't even hit this
S2: morning because we got sometimes too much content here. But
S2: let me just lay it out right now. We care
S2: for people's souls more than their behaviors. That's a big one,
S2: by the way.
S5: A gigantic one.
S7: Yeah, we need that on a shirt.
S2: Yeah. I mean, because. And this is most lethal with parents. Okay.
S2: You you want your kids so much to know God and. Right.
S2: I mean, come on, if you've been born again, you
S2: want your kids to know God. Yes. They're pretty quick.
S2: You'll start looking for behaviors to validate your passion.
S5: Yeah.
S2: And that can be tough. So yes, Jesus is clear,
S2: by the way, a lot of people say we're not
S2: called to be fruit inspectors. I couldn't disagree more. We
S2: actually are called to be fruit inspectors.
S3: What do you mean by that? Someone who's hearing that
S3: for the first time?
S2: Well, that's that's a common term from ages ago. I
S2: remember probably 30 years ago, people were saying, we're not
S2: called to be fruit inspectors. I would say a tweak
S2: on that. We're not called to be fruit scrutinizers. But
S2: Jesus himself said, you can tell. You can tell what
S2: a tree is, because a good a good tree cannot
S2: bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
S2: So we and we see the fruit of the spirit
S2: in Galatians five. In fact, we're supposed to be looking
S2: at our own lives, going, oh wow, I got deeds
S2: of the flesh coming off my branches, not fruit of
S2: the spirit. I need to abide in my relationship with
S2: Jesus more and let the Holy Spirit flow through me.
S2: So we don't want to. I would say this. You
S2: do want to be able to look at your children's behavior,
S2: but not through the lens of scrutiny for judgment, and
S2: especially not for the purpose of finding validation for yourself.
S2: That's where it gets kind of sticky. You're looking for
S2: evidence that my kids are okay. A greater prayer is God,
S2: give me evidence that their souls okay, not that they're okay. Yes.
S2: I tell parents this all the time. Don't pray that
S2: your kids get back in church. Pray that they get
S2: in Christ and that they can't stay away from church
S2: because darken the door of a church might be good,
S2: but it might not.
S5: Yeah, there there are things that and I think that's
S5: where we need to understand what fruits of the spirit are. Uh,
S5: nowhere in in the Scripture does it say that the
S5: fruit of the spirit is church attendance. You know, and
S5: and so we can't say that that church attendance is
S5: this is this clear indication that that our kids know God,
S5: but love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,
S5: those things show that's a fruit of the spirit. My
S5: kid knows Jesus because I see what God's doing in
S5: them through those things. Not through church attendance. Or they
S5: went on a ministry trip last summer or those kinds
S5: of things.
S2: Yeah, and that's tough to hear. But here's here's what
S2: I'm saying. I know you love your kids enough that
S2: you want to pray rightly for them, and I know
S2: that about you and grandkids. I know that. I mean,
S2: I was talking with Howie Rosin, 95 years old, my uncle,
S2: he's in Clovis, California, in an assisted living home. I said,
S2: how you doing, Howie? For 95, Carl ain't doing too bad.
S2: I'm actually doing pretty well. Pretty well.
S7: Here. I love that answer. Wow.
S2: But he's, you know, one of his greatest joys. He said,
S2: my son is finally following Jesus Christ. I said, how'd
S2: that happen? He said the prayers of my bride that
S2: went home to be with the Lord. My aunt Barb, um,
S2: two years ago. He said her prayers got him around
S2: the corner. He said I know it said I'd hear
S2: Barb praying morning, noon and night. Prayer. Boy, isn't that cool?
S7: That's emotional man. That's emotional.
S2: So here's I'm going to coming up here. Do we
S2: have time for this guys.
S5: Yeah, yeah, we got time.
S2: Well, cram it in. Uh, three. The three barriers of salvation.
S2: When you hear these biblical barriers, then these biblical barriers,
S2: then you will know how to pray rightly. This is
S2: just right from the word. Hang on. Great thing about
S2: God's Word is that it is so clear. And I
S2: want to give you the three barriers to salvation as
S2: I see it through Scripture. I'm not saying it's absolutely
S2: limited to these, but these are three big buckets that
S2: are barriers to salvation, that are explicit in Scripture. And
S2: if you understand these barriers, then you can pray rightly.
S2: And that's the cool thing, right, Ali? Because we go
S2: to God for this anyway.
S3: It's not us changing ourselves or anyone else.
S2: Oh, and praise God for that. If this is on me,
S2: we're toast.
S5: Yeah.
S2: Toast. A terrific man. It ain't going to change diddly. Okay.
S2: The three barriers to salvation. Number one rebellion. Now, this
S2: is going to surprise you. Romans one, check this out.
S2: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
S2: all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness
S2: suppress the truth. Suppress the truth. For what can be
S2: known about God is plain to them, because God has
S2: shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his
S2: eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever
S2: since the creation of the world in the things that
S2: have been made. My granddaughter's little precious fingers in her eyes.
S2: Oh my goodness, there's a God. So they are without excuse.
S2: But look at verse 21. Romans 121. Always look at
S2: this verse. For although they knew God, so we sometimes ask,
S2: do you know God? Well, there's a depth of knowledge
S2: that is not going to change lives here. For they
S2: knew God. They did not honor him as God or
S2: give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking,
S2: and their foolish hearts were darkened. Rebellion is this. It's
S2: staring the truth right in front of your face. And
S2: your heart stays hard and your fist goes up in
S2: the air. In essence, your fist goes up in the
S2: air and says, I'm not going your way. Oh, and
S2: we know that. We know that happens. We've all met
S2: people that have been in rebellion and in in true
S2: spiritual terms, we were all born with our backs to God,
S2: walk in our own way down this broad path, and
S2: by his grace alone, he softens those hearts. Let me
S2: go to barrier number two. It's blindness. Barrier number two
S2: is blindness. In Second Corinthians four three through four. And
S2: even if our gospel Paul writes to the Corinthian church
S2: is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
S2: in their case, the God of this world, that Satan
S2: and his demonic forces has blinded the minds of the
S2: unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the
S2: gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image
S2: of God. And my contention here is that what Satan
S2: does is he creates spiritual light pollution that keeps us
S2: from seeing who Jesus is. He gets us so busy
S2: with this light pollution here horizontally that we can't see
S2: what's going on vertically. The third one is deception. It's
S2: out of Matthew seven. Many will say on that day.
S2: Didn't I prophesy, baptize, do mighty works in your name?
S2: And he's going to say, I never knew you. Here's
S2: how I want you to pray and think about this.
S2: Pray for those with hard hearts that they would be
S2: softened and that their fists would come down and they
S2: would receive Jesus. Pray for the blind, that the veil
S2: of darkness would be removed, and the light pollution of
S2: this world would fade away. And pray for those in
S2: deception that they would see. All the spiritual activity in
S2: the world cannot save them, but Jesus alone can. You know,
S2: on this Freedom Friday, it is an awesome thing to
S2: hear stories of life change in you. And the boom
S2: crew are awesome for that. But we wanted to take
S2: the power of God to change our lives and bring
S2: two people together who otherwise were on the skids and go,
S2: uh uh, God's not done with you. His arm can
S2: reach you. And some of you, if we talk about
S2: it long enough, you'll be crying. But I need you
S2: to know something. Help is on the way, and God
S2: can do more in the 11th hour than you can
S2: in the prior ten. Ron and Jody. Zapier with us
S2: right now. And boy, you guys believe that, don't you?
S8: I'm telling you, man, we don't believe it, Carl. And
S8: you know us. We've known each other for a long time.
S8: We've experienced it and are still experiencing the life changing
S8: power of the gospel.
S3: Thankfully, Ron and Jody are with us right now. Ron
S3: is the founding and lead pastor of High Point Church,
S3: which is a multi-site church in the Chicagoland area celebrating
S3: their 25th anniversary, and his lovely wife, Jody. Join us
S3: this morning for Freedom Friday.
S8: Hey, I'm just so glad we planted the church coming
S8: out of eighth grade, so that's the nice thing about it.
S2: Well, I won't say how old he is, but he
S2: is getting AARP material sent to his home address, I
S2: guarantee you that. All right, so let's have some fun here. Jody,
S2: I'm going to have you tell on Ron and yourself
S2: in a healthy way on this Freedom Friday. A lot
S2: of people find themselves in a marriage where it's like, oh,
S2: and maybe they're religious, or maybe they they just need
S2: to know the power of God to save a soul
S2: and to save a marriage. Jody, I'm going to give
S2: you the floor. Tell us the story.
S9: All right. Well, we were, um, you know, high school sweethearts.
S9: Had been friends since we'd been 15 years old. And finally,
S9: you know, had a long distance relationship in college and
S9: then even after college. And, you know, some of these
S9: things contributed to us having, um, what I would say is,
S9: you know, extremely difficult first year in marriage. And it
S9: kind of surprised us. You know, we were building on friendship,
S9: and we thought friendship was a solid foundation to build
S9: a marriage on. And it is a great thing. And
S9: it has helped us, however, that got tested in year one.
S9: And when I came home early from a work commitment
S9: and walked into kind of, um, the worst nightmare I
S9: could have imagined, and Ron was there. There was another woman.
S9: And all that to say is I was obviously really devastated.
S9: And we ended up, um, I talked to my sister
S9: and I said, hey, isn't this grounds for divorce? I'm
S9: pretty sure it is. And just, you know, our background
S9: had been both of us in a different traditional churches.
S9: So we both would have said we believed in God,
S9: but we didn't know God. So, uh, what happened next
S9: is we ended up going into, um, my sister said, hey,
S9: you know, yeah, you should get counseling before you do that,
S9: you know, before you get divorced. It's a really big decision.
S9: So I, I walked over to a church, and I
S9: purposely waited for church to be over because I was
S9: just going to go there to see if I could
S9: get counseling. And so I ended up bumping into a woman.
S9: First time I had to verbalize. It's literally the next
S9: morning what was going on. And I said, you know,
S9: I need to find out if I have grounds for divorce.
S9: and she could see that I was troubled. I probably
S9: started crying. And then she immediately tears in her eyes
S9: and she said, you know, my husband, he was a failure, too.
S9: And Ron.
S7: Always.
S8: That's what we all are, Carl, I just you just
S8: got to be honest with ourselves.
S2: I'm the. I'm the amen choir. All right, Jodi, keep
S2: it going.
S9: So she starts off with that, and then she said,
S9: interestingly enough, they had had a marriage ministry going that
S9: met on Monday night. So the very next day I
S9: went there, Ron kind of asked if he could come along,
S9: and I was like, well, sure, you know. So we
S9: went to this thing. It was a very large group
S9: gathering 500 people. And then, um, I had written in
S9: my Franklin planner that by Thursday I needed to make
S9: a decision about a divorce. So I end up calling
S9: the church to see if I could get an appointment,
S9: because I didn't feel like I was getting the answer
S9: to my question. So I just said, well, hey, I
S9: need to make a decision by Thursday, and they ended
S9: up making an exception and let Ron and I come in,
S9: and from there the pastor said, hey, we can talk
S9: about the mess you're in, or we can talk about
S9: God's plan for marriage. You know, we kind of looked
S9: at each other and the way the question was asked, like,
S9: I doubt you're going to get a lot out of
S9: the mess we're in. You know, so we're like, well, okay.
S9: And then but we did. We ended up getting into
S9: that because he clearly, you know, he said, well, I
S9: got 45 minutes. He set the timer and we just
S9: started meeting. And what happened then was Ron immediately was broken.
S9: Visibly broken. That pastor to this day would say he
S9: had counseled lots of couples, and he felt like he
S9: actually witnessed Ron's genuine repentance right in that office.
S10: Wow. Awesome.
S9: Me, on the other hand, I was I was actually
S9: the harder person because Ron's heart was broken and he
S9: was very aware of his condition. You know, that he
S9: was in a that it was a sin issue. I,
S9: on the other hand, wanted to just kind of keep
S9: the spotlight on that, on Ron. And again, I went
S9: there honestly thinking I was just going to get some
S9: sort of like, okay, to get a divorce because I
S9: didn't know how to get divorced. So he ended up
S9: then from then on, kept putting that spotlight on me
S9: and asking me lots of questions. And really, what ended
S9: up happening? I recognized quickly, okay, I know what you're
S9: getting at and I have sin in my life, and
S9: I did. And I was very aware of it, you know.
S9: But I said I just didn't really want to talk
S9: about it today. And, um, but had he not delved in,
S9: you know, I appeared to be the victim here. And
S9: had he gone easy on me, what would have happened
S9: then in those last ten minutes is Ron would have
S9: left saved. He would have left with an actual relationship
S9: with Christ, and I would have left hard hearted the
S9: way I came in. So he broke me and. But
S9: I needed to be broken. And what happened then is
S9: we just met basically at the foot of the cross.
S9: And then in the last five minutes we prayed a genuine.
S9: He led us in a genuine prayer of repentance. I
S9: knew the little piece of faith that I needed was
S9: I'd known that, you know, Jesus was God's Son, and
S9: I knew that there was like the Trinity, father, son,
S9: Holy Spirit. But I didn't really fully understand that Jesus
S9: was God like Emmanuel, God with us, and that that
S9: was God's blood shed on the cross for me. Wow.
S9: And that it was shed for my specific sins that
S9: this guy just made me, you know, think about and confess.
S9: So we basically met at the foot of the cross
S9: where the ground was even. And that was important because
S9: I kind of also thought certain sins were much worse
S9: than others. So that was it. We walked out that
S9: day knowing for the first time we were forgiven.
S10: Wow. Wow.
S3: Ron and Jody Zappia our guests. Right now, Ron is
S3: the founding lead pastor of High Point Church. They also
S3: have a book, The Marriage Knot Seven Choices That keep
S3: couples together. Ron, want to bring your voice in here?
S3: You came to repentance quickly. Would you say that when
S3: you talk about coming to the end of yourself when
S3: you were caught and you realized the gravity of what
S3: you had done? Did repentance come easily or was there
S3: any sort of resistance?
S8: You know, I think for me, I was I had
S8: to be broken and I had to be cut down
S8: at the knees. I didn't have God in my life.
S8: I wasn't a Christian, wasn't brought up in it. And,
S8: you know, that was the first time I realized, and
S8: this is going to sound awful, Ali. But it wasn't
S8: just that I sinned against Jodi and that I caused
S8: so much hurt, but that's the first time that I
S8: recognized that I sinned against God. And just like David
S8: says in Psalm 51, when he said, against you, and
S8: you have I, have I sinned and done what is
S8: evil in your sight? I recognize for the first time, yes,
S8: my sin and all of our sin. Everybody who's listening,
S8: our sin causes damages to the people around us, but
S8: it had caused damage to God and I didn't recognize that.
S8: And that was the first time that came into realization.
S8: And so I walked out of that office as Jody said, man,
S8: I'm telling you, I felt the forgiveness. And I know
S8: many of our listeners that you you know what I'm
S8: talking about, that forgiveness of Christ and that fresh start.
S8: And we didn't know what was going to happen with
S8: the marriage. I mean, you know, like, but we had
S8: just been reconciled to God and now it was on us.
S8: Are we going to do some things? Are we going
S8: to let God's power and the power of the gospel
S8: reconcile us to each other? And that's the most difficult part.
S8: We meet with couples now. And, you know, we tell
S8: our story and we provide hope. But if we don't
S8: have two soft hearts ready to look at each other,
S8: examine themselves, and really take ownership for their part in
S8: the marriage breakdown, and that's a big statement. Each of
S8: us has to take ownership. If we don't have that,
S8: then we won't find the reconciliation that I know God
S8: desires coming up.
S2: You know, we're going to be promoting a book here
S2: that Ron and Jody have. That's powerful work. But we
S2: also want to tell you where we go from here.
S2: So coming up, Ron and Jody Zappia talking about those
S2: first days of digging out, because it's those first days,
S2: it's those baby steps that change everything. Hang on.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: With us right now. Ron and Jody Zappia. A story
S2: of radical transformation. If you did not hear the first
S2: portion of this interview, you must go back and get it.
S2: I'm asking you right now to text the word show
S2: to 800, 555, 78, 98. If you didn't hear this
S2: first part, you got to get it 805, 55, 78,
S2: 98 just text the word show to that number and
S2: you're going to have it. All right guys, let's pick
S2: it up here. You're freshly broke and God has transformed
S2: your heart in a counseling session. And it was really
S2: the counsel of the spirit that spoke through this gentleman.
S2: And the Spirit of God convicted. The Spirit of God
S2: called the Spirit of God did it all. You. You
S2: really didn't bring anything to the party except a broken heart, right, guys?
S8: That's exactly true. I mean, we had first recognized, I mean,
S8: that man, my sin had brought this on, and I
S8: had was losing the best thing that I ever had.
S8: I mean, you know, we weren't Christians. We weren't following
S8: after God. We didn't have the truth. And the next
S8: thing I knew, my behavior, uh, had had really crushed
S8: the relationship. And so it would have been easy for
S8: us to throw up our hands. And I know it's
S8: true for many couples, you know, it's like, hey, we
S8: had just been married. It was just a year. We
S8: didn't have any kids. You know, we were in a
S8: new town here in the Chicagoland area. Yeah. Carl, you
S8: know what? We had to take some baby steps. I mean, honestly,
S8: you know, we didn't know what was going to happen
S8: to the marriage. We knew that. You know what? We
S8: had just been reconciled to God. We had experienced forgiveness firsthand.
S8: And now it was about, where are we going to
S8: put our faith into action? And I think that's the
S8: key for many people. We try to fix everything ourselves.
S8: And for us, it was like we knew we couldn't
S8: fix it. I couldn't fix myself. I couldn't change the
S8: behavior that had been exhibited for years. Jody had to
S8: forgive me. So Jody had to forgive and I had
S8: to start living the truth. And so, you know, honestly, Carl,
S8: I wish I could say I did some great things,
S8: but I had to come to terms with who I
S8: really was. Next thing I knew, God started to change
S8: some things in me that I couldn't change in myself.
S8: And that was the key. And I think, Jody, you
S8: recognize some of that change. So those are the baby
S8: steps that we took. Forgiveness was number one.
S2: That's big. You know what? I want to kick it
S2: to you, Jody, because a lot of those first steps
S2: out of this obviously have been embedded in the book
S2: that you and Ron wrote together. But from your perspective,
S2: what were some of those first? This is deep soul
S2: work that God does, right, Jody?
S9: Yeah. And, um, first question I get asked at this
S9: point is, you know, how did you forgive? And I
S9: would say the truth was I mentioned I had just
S9: been forgiven also. And Ron was right there, and I
S9: knew that I knew something had happened and that really
S9: brief period of time. But I knew it was real,
S9: and I knew I was forgiven. And that in and
S9: of that, I knew then I needed to forgive. And
S9: I knew that because I had come across a verse
S9: once back in the day when I would just flip
S9: my Bible open looking for an answer to something, right.
S9: And one time I remember it said, hey, unless you
S9: forgive your brother, you will not be forgiven. Then I
S9: would probably close my Bible like, uh oh, I'm in trouble.
S9: But I knew there was something to that. And I
S9: knew that in the same way I had just been forgiven.
S9: I could forgive Ron because I knew God had just
S9: forgiven him, too. so I knew that. But my bigger
S9: issue and I can remember even asking the pastor and saying, hey,
S9: I know I need to forgive Ron. I think I
S9: can do that, but I don't have to stay married,
S9: do I? Because the bigger issue to me, I said,
S9: how can you possibly have a marriage when there is
S9: zero trust? And so trust had been thrown out the window.
S9: So for me, it was funny because he asked me, oh,
S9: that's interesting. He said, Does the Bible say trust one another?
S9: And I didn't really know the Bible, but that did
S9: not sound right. I said no. He said, you're right.
S9: Any ideas why it might say that? And I said,
S9: probably because we're not trustworthy. And he's like, that's right.
S9: You know, and then he said, what does the Bible
S9: say that we're supposed to do to one another and said, love.
S9: And he said, that's right. He said, God's not asking
S9: you to trust Ron. He's asking you to love Ron.
S9: And what was interesting about that is it was very
S9: freeing just hearing that. It made sense and it took
S9: this huge pressure off me because the choice to forgive
S9: was like a moment in time. Like I could choose
S9: to forgive. But the process of forgiving is the part
S9: that takes a little longer. And so then that kicked
S9: in following all that. But the only way to do
S9: that was I had to trust God. I had to
S9: trust God with Ron. Like I had to fully release
S9: Ron and his offense like what he had done to God,
S9: and trust God with that, and trust that God was
S9: going to take care of me. Whatever happened, whether the
S9: marriage worked out or not. And so I left that
S9: day knowing, hey, trust God, love Ron, trust God. And
S9: then I had to try to figure out what does
S9: that mean practically?
S2: This is so beautiful. I'll tell you what's powerful about
S2: this conversation we're having, guys, is that we haven't even
S2: gotten into the book. But here's what I want to spike.
S2: Boom crew. Here's here's what I want to spike. The
S2: beauty of this is, if people have gone through this
S2: dark night of the soul crisis, we're up against it.
S2: And out of our brokenness, we found God. Those are
S2: the people you need to listen to. We're not professionals.
S2: We're all in recovery. No one's arrived.
S8: That's right.
S2: We're all there. So I want you, Ron. Give us
S2: the book and what's behind it.
S8: So, you know, this is the thing. And the reason,
S8: you know, we wrote the book was because our story,
S8: you know, was such and where we needed to be restored.
S8: And so we believe that all marriages need to be
S8: enriched and some marriages need to be restored. And so
S8: really what happened was we started taking small steps, baby
S8: steps of faith, where we would just actually, literally do
S8: what the Bible says in regards to treating each other
S8: in a way that was honoring to put God at
S8: the center of your marriage. And so that's what the
S8: book is. The book is seven choices that keep couples together.
S8: And so whether you are looking for enrichment, you're looking
S8: for restoration. These are the steps that you need to take.
S8: And so I wish it was some profound thing. It
S8: was like, no, they're just biblical steps. Like choosing to
S8: grow spiritually and choosing to love unconditionally and serve sacrificially.
S8: I mean, you know, the list goes on and on.
S8: Communicate respectfully. I mean, these are biblical choices that oftentimes
S8: we don't take seriously. And, you know, maybe somebody's listening
S8: and they're like, man, you know, I don't have that
S8: much of a problem. Well that's good. But a lot
S8: of us do. But all of us trust is broken
S8: in marriage, and we need to rebuild trust.
S2: Yes.
S8: And it takes you know, we teach this equation. It's
S8: cb over t CB is for changed behavior over time.
S8: And so you got to have change behavior. And that
S8: only happens through repentance and a relationship with God that
S8: you can truly change. And then time it takes time.
S8: You know in our situation with our story. Fortunately this
S8: hadn't gone on for a long time, so it didn't
S8: take as long for us to come back together. And
S8: I think that's where couples are having trouble, is that
S8: they need to own each part of the breakdown and
S8: that change behavior over time. Trust in the Lord. I mean,
S8: he can reconcile anything. I know you believe that, and
S8: I know we've experienced stories of people who have seen it.
S8: And so, um, you know, really it's just the choices
S8: that you choose in the daily life of, are you
S8: going to honor God and are you going to honor
S8: each other? And those are the things that are most important.
S2: The name of the book is The Marriage Knot. So
S2: here's our key word. And I know we're going to
S2: get crushed with text messages. So get your phone handy.
S2: Here's what I want you to do. Text the word
S2: knot with a k k n o t as in
S2: the marriage knot. Text not k o t to 800
S2: 555 7898. 98. Text not to 800 555 7898 and
S2: God's going to meet you here. I don't care how
S2: far you've gone, God's arm is not too short, and
S2: if you can fog a mirror, God can change your
S2: life and your marriage. Text not not to 800 555 7898.
S2: Thanks you guys, for being with us today. You want
S2: those words to be a living reality in your life?
S2: That's Cochran and company running home. Everything changed when I
S2: came running home. What does that reference to? Probably the
S2: parable of the wayward sons. One squandered his dad's inheritance,
S2: went off to a distant country. It would have been representative.
S2: When Jesus was telling this story, everybody would have thought,
S2: oh yeah, okay, it's a kid that goes off to
S2: Antioch and he's partying down, man. Multicultural metroplex of the
S2: Middle East of that day. And he got in a mess. Man.
S2: it didn't mean that he wasn't aware of, because the
S2: parable is a relationship with all of God's creation that
S2: sees him. They understand how rich they can be in him,
S2: but they go squander that very real inheritance. Now it's
S2: a story of lostness being lost and far from God.
S2: And there's two sons in this story I want to
S2: tell you about them. The first one. Yeah, it's very
S2: easy to spot him. He's a victim of trying to
S2: find life in anything. He can get something to fill
S2: that void. He's a troubled kid, and he came home.
S2: And what's interesting about this, he got a wayward kid.
S2: I want you to do this. That kid. If they've
S2: never known how much you love them and how much
S2: you want for them, be sure they know that. Send
S2: a message to a far off land, wherever that kid
S2: ran off to, spiritually speaking. Here, of course. Could be
S2: in the same town with you. Could be right down
S2: the street but far from God. Let them know how
S2: much they you love them. But then you know what?
S2: Sometimes you gotta let them fall into the pig slop, man.
S2: Because just like you, in order to be born again,
S2: they gotta come to the end of themselves. And that
S2: son did. And he came staggering home. And dad must
S2: have gotten word because he's at the top of the
S2: pick and parking space right there at the end of
S2: the road. Right? It is.
S3: So to speak.
S2: Yeah, but he's standing right there in the driveway and
S2: he's looking down that long road. And here he sees
S2: his son. He can't take it anymore. He's like, he's
S2: he's back. I'm not enabling. This is this is helping.
S2: So he sprints down there and he grabs his son.
S2: And those guys embraced and they hugged. And the son's crying.
S2: Dad's crying the whole deal. He says get a robe,
S2: get a ring, get some sandals. Kill the fatted calf.
S2: He goes, this guy, Man, he doesn't even have shoes.
S2: It's amazing when we're far from God and he's calling
S2: us to himself. We realize I got nothing. I had
S2: or I have everything, but I've got nothing. And there's
S2: another son. And both of them are lost sons. Both
S2: of them. The other one stayed on the. He stayed
S2: on the compound. He heard word that his wayward brother
S2: was back. And he's like, what's going on? Why is
S2: the big what's the big celebration? What's going on? He goes, oh, man,
S2: your brother came home really great. That guy was always squirrelly.
S2: Now they're throwing a party for him. Dad comes out
S2: of the party and says, hey, come on into the party.
S2: He goes, hey, come on. I've been sitting here jumping
S2: through every hoop you've ever had for me and you've
S2: never given me any kind of a celebration like this.
S2: He said, listen, this, this brother of yours was he
S2: was lost, but he's been found. My son came home.
S2: Both of these young men are pictures of lostness. One
S2: a victim of his passion, the other a victim of
S2: his pride. Both totally missing it with God. That was
S2: the audience Jesus had then. That's the audience we have now.
S2: There's two things that keep you from God. Victim of
S2: your passion and a victim of your pride. And I'm
S2: asking you to humble yourself under God's mighty hand today
S2: and come home to Jesus for the first time in
S2: your life. Oh, I, I get it. You've been in church,
S2: I get it. You've been jumping through all the hoops. Yep,
S2: I get it. But you don't know Jesus personally. You're
S2: not born again. That's a problem, man. that's a problem.
S2: Do you know what really born again people do when
S2: wayward sons come back from the far off antics of
S2: the day. They celebrate because they're already in the celebration.
S2: They're there. And whether you're a victim of your passion
S2: or a victim of your pride, I'm asking you to repent.
S2: Turn around, come home or come into the party. Don't
S2: let pride or passion hold you back from life found
S2: in Jesus Christ. It ain't worth it, friend. I tried,
S2: it doesn't work. So are you a victim of your passion?
S2: You've been trying to find life in all the things
S2: that you could get. How's that working for you? Yeah,
S2: that's what I thought. It's not working. It's good when
S2: you can be honest with God and honest with yourself. Oh.
S2: That's good. Maybe you're a victim of your pride. You
S2: can't even say it. But you feel it. It's like,
S2: why isn't why aren't things going better for me? I've
S2: been doing all this and this and this, and I've
S2: been very religious, and I've been moral and I've been
S2: this and fill in the blank. Right. It's because what
S2: Jesus said is true. You must be born again. When
S2: the lost are found, it is amazing. Some of you
S2: have been so close to Jesus, but so far away.
S2: And today I'm inviting all of you to come on home.
S2: I want you to run to win. And you can
S2: only run to win when you get off the broad
S2: path that leads to destruction. And passion and pride are
S2: the two main appetites down that broad path. It's not
S2: filling you up, is it? Leaving you empty. Today is
S2: the day of salvation for you. Yes, it's for you. Say.
S2: All right, Carl, what do I gotta do? Gotta turn around.
S2: You gotta repent. You gotta surrender all your pride and
S2: all your passions. And say I'm done running from God.
S2: I'm done trying to perform for God. It's recognizing that
S2: you are missing the mark in your life. And you're
S2: just exhausted enough to say, ah, I'm done. And right now,
S2: if that's you, please don't let pride of all of
S2: what you've done in this life hold you back. Don't
S2: let the exhaustion of chasing passions think, oh, should I
S2: chase one more thing? His name is Jesus and he's
S2: running down the path to greet you. He's stepping out
S2: in the fields where you've been laboring, thinking you're doing
S2: so well. Oh, I'm so. I'm working so hard for God.
S2: I'm being so moral. And he's saying, stop this game.
S2: Give your life to me today. Turn around. Repent. And
S2: this is what you need to do right now. This
S2: is it. Are you willing to acknowledge? I'm going to
S2: ask you three questions. Are you willing to acknowledge you're
S2: a sinner who needs a savior? Yes. Good. Good. Are
S2: you at the end of yourself? And you can't do it.
S2: And you know it. All the passions you've been chasing.
S2: All the prideful moves that you've been making. It doesn't
S2: add up to anything. That's a scary place to be.
S2: If not for the love of Jesus. It says, come
S2: to me. Come on into the party. And that's what
S2: Jesus is saying to you right now. Come on into
S2: the party. Come on in. So my third question is
S2: the big one. Are you ready to repent? Turn around
S2: and head home. You know what's going to happen the
S2: minute you turn around? The arms of God are right there. Boom, boom.
S2: And you're feeling them right now. Because, see, salvation is
S2: by faith. And that not of yourselves. It's not fancy words.
S2: It's not a slick prayer. It's a heart surrendered to
S2: Jesus Christ and Him alone. He's coming back again one day.
S2: And because of what God's doing in your life today,
S2: you're going to go with them. You won't be left behind.
S2: So if that's you, I want you to get your
S2: phone out right now. I'm going to tell you where
S2: to go. We want to help you in your first
S2: steps of Jesus. I want you to text right now
S2: the word new to our number right now. Get your
S2: phone out. Let's go. If this is you, you really.
S2: All that you've got to know right now is that
S2: you are repenting of your sin. You don't need to
S2: know your next steps. Jesus will help you with that.
S2: By the power of the spirit and the love of
S2: the father. He's going to help you with that, and
S2: we're going to help you as well. But get that phone.
S2: You got it. Okay, here's what I want you to do.
S2: I want you to text the word new right now
S2: to our number here. New to 800 555 7898. I'll
S2: say that slowly. Text new. Just one word to 800
S2: Five five, five, 78, 98. It's all I want you
S2: to text. It's just that one word and we're going
S2: to send you a link. And this is really cool.
S2: It's got three embedded links in it. It's how to
S2: find a church with people that are just like me. Awesome.
S2: It's going to tell you how to find a Bible
S2: that you can actually understand. Awesome. And we're going to
S2: get your snail mail. We're going to send you one
S2: thing in snail mail. That's it, a resource that's going
S2: to help you as you walk in the power of God,
S2: to resist any temptation to try to do this walk
S2: of faith in your own strength. Because self-help never helped
S2: anyone but God can. So I want you to text
S2: the word new right now. Wherever you are, just text
S2: the word new to 800 555. 78. 98.