Pastor Brian and Jacque Lother
Brian: How many are excited about the new year? I am. Jackie had a word for last year and that word was abundance. We didn't realize that there was going to be an abundance of funerals that we had to do this past year. On Thursday, last Thursday, I was part of the 27th funeral of 2021. We weren't actually able to be at all of them because there were funerals that we were doing and the man that was best man in our wedding had passed and we doing a funeral here and we couldn't even get to his funeral. There has been a lot of loss in 2021, but there have been a lot of gains. In spite of the sorrows, in spite of the changes, in spite of the losses, we've seen God's faithfulness in the midst of it all and he sustained us.
It doesn't mean we haven't gotten tired or weary of that. But did you ever think about Moses when the Israelites were wandering for 40 years in the wilderness, how many funerals he probably arm during those 40 years? The whole generation actually died out and the younger generation is the ones that actually inherited the land. Jesus and Moses and all those great people who have gone before us have not been immune to loss. They've not been without sorrows. Jesus, as a matter of fact, is called the man of sorrows, who is acquainted with grief. And so Jesus knows our weakness and he knows our pains and our losses. And he is been with us through this whole year in it.
But I am here to tell you today that I'm excited to turn the page into 20, 22 as well. I'm so thankful for so many of the additions that happened at hope during this past year. Some of you are relatively new to attending church. There are many of you who are watching online that are relatively to our faith community, but you are now part of us. You support us not only financially, but you are with us every week and you send out a lot of the videos and stuff that we send out; you send them to other people.
One of the biggest additions of course is Pastor Robert and Tequaris who are on staff with us now. We are so grateful for that addition. But I have a stirring in my heart that we were made by God, not only as individuals, but as a corporate body of believers and many of our believers aren't here today, obviously partly because of the cold, but partly just because we become a very strong online community as well. But I believe that God has put us here for such a time as this. There is a verse I want to read. It's probably familiar to most of you if you've read your Bible through one time; we find it in the story of Esther, the book of Esther. Let's read that really quickly. Esther chapter 4, verse 14 from the New Living translation.
Jacque: If you keep quiet at a time like this—
Brian: Now, remember there is an option that we have here. God has called us for such a time as this, but that means we can't keep our mouths shut. That means we have to be willing to share what God has done. Queen Esther had been brought to the throne. That didn't been overnight. This was a long process that had happened and God had been working all in the previous years and months to bring her to that place for this very specific time. So let's go on.
Jacque: If you keep quiet at a time like this deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place.
Brian: Let me stop you again. I know that people don't like when I interrupt you, but I've got so many things to say about everything.
Jacque: That's okay. I am not offended.
Brian: I know you are not. I appreciate it. I won't interrupt you at home. I promise you that, but here.
Jacque: Okay, good.
Brian: God has got a purpose on his heart. And that purpose is to make the name of Jesus known, to bring Jesus to the whole world, to bring Jesus to those who we might call lost, or others might prefer a different term to describe the who have yet to come to a place of believing in Jesus, but there is a peace and a deliverance and a freedom that our God wants to bring to every man, woman, boy, and girl on the face of the earth. That freedom is coming through the person of Jesus Christ.
Yes. Now he absolutely, without a doubt determined that 2022 is going to be a pivotal year in doing that, that 2022 is going to become a very important year in bringing the name of Jesus to our community and to the people we connect with and where our sphere of influence is. But here is the kicker: just like in this story, if we choose to keep silent, if we choose to not dive in and enter in and grab ahold of the things that God has for us, he says this, deliverance and relief will come from someone else.
So the question is, do we want to be a part of what God is doing? Do we want to enter into that partnership and have the honor and privilege of being a part of what God is going to do in 2022? Or are we going to just forfeit that and let somebody else do it? Well, I'm one of those guys that is going to raise his hand and say, pick me, pick me. Pick me to be a part of this Jesus. Because I don't want some actually getting the blessing that God has for me in what is going to transpire in 2022 and bringing the name of Jesus to so many people. Let's go on.
Jacque: I'm going to start at the beginning again. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief of the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this.
Brian: I have a feeling that my application of this verse to us today, when it says, but who knows? But you and your relatives will die. My application of that for us today is that we will just shrivel up. We won't have what God has for us. We won't be that tree that produces all this fruit, but we'll just with and shrivel up. I don't want that. I don't want that for me. I don't want that for you. And you know, what age has nothing to do with it, whether it be young, medium or old. God has something for every single one of us.
Jacque: Abundance works here too.
Brian: Pardon me?
Jacque: Abundance.
Brian: Absolutely.
Jacque: You want to live abundantly.
Brian: Yes. I have this very profound sense in my heart that Hope Community has been established here on this corner— and we built this building, not quite, but almost 20 years ago in 2003. So it's 18 years. And we've been a church this coming August for 25 years, I have this deep, profound sense that we have been established here for such a time as this, that in the same way that Queen Esther went through all sorts of preparations and certainly things were accomplished during those times when she became queen, but there was a very specific moment in time that God had selected her to become queen. And even for us, God has been prospering us blessed us, so many wonderful things, working with the city on so many things. There are more things that are going to happen even this month in January of 2022 with our city that could have profound implications for our city.
And God has placed us here for such a time as this. Over 20 years ago, God sent us here to establish a beach head or to possess this 60 acres that God has put into our charge on the busiest intersection of our city, our community here, and God is doing something incredibly miraculous. I believe we have been established here for such a time as this. I want to go to another verse that pertains to Jesus and his arrival that Paul spoke of to the church of Galatian in Galatians chapter 4.
Jacque: Verses 4 and 5 from the New Living Testament: but when the right time came, God sent his son born of a woman subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that he could have adopted us as his very own children.
Brian: So there was a perfect time when Jesus came. The timing was perfect. Now let me just kind of paint a very broad picture for you as to what the world was like that Jesus entered into. Caesar Augustus was, basically, the ruler of that time. Another way to say it is he was Rome's president. He was Rome's president. He actually believed that he was God and the Romans had, of course, invented this incredible new way of capital punishment called crucifixion. All along the roads that were ruled by Rome, if there were dissidents and malcontents and what have you, they would be crucified publicly on the sides of these roads. A Roman soldier could force you to leave the labors of your hand. You could be working in a carpentry shop like Jesus had been. You could have been working out in your fields and a Roman soldier could compel you to carry all of his equipment one mile.
There is where the whole story of Jesus saying if someone compels you to go a mile, go two, because that first mile is something that you are being forced to do. But the second mile is something that you are actually gifting in grace to this person. This was a whole new concept for this time, a whole new concept. They could force you to leave your labors, carry their equipment one mile, and they could also execute you if you refuse to do so. This was the culture that Jesus was born in. What was said of Herod was it was safer to be his pig than his son, because Herod had executed two of his sons because he felt that they were trying to usurp his authority and take over his throne. And so this was the condition of the world that Jesus was born into. The scripture says it was at the right time at the right moment.
Do you know what we have to do? We have to quit looking at the condition of our world and look at the condition, in a sense, of God's heart, what is in God's heart, because that is what is going to determine the outcome for all of us, not the condition of the world, not the political atmosphere in America or in China or any other country in the world. Even in the time of Christ, there was a huge tension between religious leaders and political leaders. We've seen a lot of tension between religious leaders and political leaders in America over the past year. We certainly see that tension in other countries as well.
This world got exceedingly worse during the time of Jesus. During the time of Jesus, the world actually got exceedingly worse after Jesus had been tortured and beaten beyond recognition. We know he was crucified. He died. We also know, thank you, Lord, that he resurrected. After his resurrection, in this world that was getting exceedingly worse and more antagonistic to religious freedom, et cetera, et cetera, Jesus gave these words to his disciples and we see them in Mark chapter 16, verse 15 and 16 and verse 20.
Jacque: From the Message Bible: then Jesus said go into the world, go everywhere and announce the message of God's good news to one and all.
Brian: Remember, there is a good news message. That's the message we have. It's a good news message. I would say that oftentimes the message that I've heard coming from a lot of people that say they are representing Jesus, the news doesn't sound very good at all. God hates fags. That is not a good message. That is not good news. But that God loves all sinners; that's a good, that's good news.
We have to be careful how we interpret the gospel because we do that. We actually interpret the gospel. We pick and choose certain verses at times that we use to champion our own causes. But that's why we've been on this quest the last number of years to really understand the words in red, the words of Jesus, how he talked and how he lived. And so we are to go everywhere and announce this message. Let's go on.
Jacque: We represent Jesus.
Brian: Yes we do.
Jacque: We represent him. Whoever believes in is baptized is saved. Whoever refuses to believe is damned. The disciples went everywhere, preaching, the master, working right with them, validating the message with in beautiful evidence.
Brian: Wow. So here the world is getting worse and worse. There are more edicts. Some of these edicts have come from the religious leaders. Other edicts had come from Rome about insurrection and there is only one Lord, Caesar. And that became a real com with the followers of Jesus because their standard greeting was Jesus' Lord. When they met another Roman who said Caesar is Lord, they had a decision to make, am I going to nod and say, yes, Caesar is Lord? Or am I going to say Jesus is Lord and how they navigated. They needed the wisdom of God for that. But this commandment, this instruction, go everywhere, go everywhere and announce the message of God's good news to one and all, this was in a world, believe it or not, that was more oppositional than the world we are living in. It was a world that could, at the drop of a hat, actually take your life for what was interpreted as insurrection.
How many know that the Holy Spirit is still here, pandemic or no pandemic? Holy Spirit is here and he is still anointing us. And I'll use this word, the lost in this context, but the lost are easier to find nowadays. You don't have to look very hard to find somebody who actually doesn't know Jesus in a personal way. We've been given all we need to do this great commission in a world that isn't nearly as cruel, isn't nearly as tough as the world the disciples were sent out into. We've been given this invitation to be a representative of Jesus. Paul, after he had become convert and had been establishing churches, there was a young boy, young teenager who had become a follower of Jesus. His name was Timothy, and Paul writes to Timothy and gives him some instructions about how to navigate as we go throughout this very anti-God world that we seem to live in. He said it this way in first Timothy chapter 2 versus 1 through 4.
Jacque: From the Message Bible. The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how.
Brian: Sometimes we've taken classes on prayer. There are some vocations today that if you try to get a four year degree in that area, let's say computer science. If you get a four year degree in computer science, chances are what you learned in your first year will be irrelevant in your fourth year. How many of you know that? That's just how fast the world is changing. I'm not negating a, a four year computer science degree, but what I am saying is that things change. One of the best ways to learn something is simply to do it. I've read all sorts of manuals and, and owner manuals on how to change this part on a car and this and that, what have you, and you know what? It goes over my head. But you know what really works for me? If I have a guy like Warren or somebody else that really knows mechanics, and we take the wheels off and we can get that to that C VJ unit and all that sort of stuff how to do that. Sometimes, just like on the job training is the very best. You want to know how to learn, how to pray? Pray.
Jacque: Pray with others.
Brian: Yeah. And pray with others and pray—
Jacque: Yourself.
Brian: Often. And this is what Paul is saying to Timothy here. The first thing I want you to do you is pray. And then he says pray every which way you know how. Sometimes our prayers are read and I get inspired by reading prayers that other people have written some prayers that have been written by monks, some prayers that have been written by other spiritual men and women. Sometimes the best prayer that I've ever prayed was a one word prayer, help. You are just putting your whole trust in God. I have no clue what to do, where to go, who to call whatever help. God doesn't say, "Well, you didn't use the right words in that prayer," because prayers about relationship.
Jacque: And some prayers are just groaning. The scripture said that, just just crying before the Lord, because he can hear. He sees our hearts.
Brian: So pray every which way, you know how, but who are we to pray for?
Jacque: Pray, especially for rulers and their governments.
Brian: Let's go back a little bit. Pay for everyone you know.
Jacque: Oh everyone you know. I miss that. Wow.
Brian: Pray for everyone. So I tell you what, how many people do you know? That could occupy a good portion of your prayer time, just praying for every person that you know.
Jacque: I want to say that we take prayer very seriously here. We keep a running list of who has asked for prayer. Some of our people ask us to pray for their family members pray. So if you call us and you say pray, we are praying as a body.
Brian: That's right. But then once we get done praying for all the people we know, like no personally, then we are to—
Jacque: Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply in humble contemplation.
Brian: See that is the ultimate goal that Apostle Paul says is for us as followers of Jesus to be able to live very humbly and contemplative before our God just a place of true peace.
Jacque: I think that's my word for this year: peace.
Brian: That's good.
Jacque: This is the way our savior, God, wants us to live.
Brian: He wants us to live in such a way that we pray for rulers, for governments, our president, our governors, the premieres of other nations, the communist rulers of other nations. We are to pray for them because who was in charge? Who was basically the ruler of the world at this time? It was now Nero. Nero had become a much, much more sinister than Caesar Augustus ever was. One of Nero's favorite things was to take Christians and hang them on poles and light them as torches to bring light to their evening festivities. That was the kind of personnel was.
Paul is saying to Timothy, a young believer and to the churches that Tim would be giving oversight to and help to pray for your leaders because this is the way our savior, God wants us to live. Go on.
Jacque: He wants not only us, but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth that we've learned.
Brian: So everyone to get to know the truth that we've learned. When you truly pray for the president, it becomes a lot more difficult to criticize him. This might come across as a little self-serving, but the more you pray for your pastor, the less you probably will be critical of me.
Jacque: Those things that can make one want to be critical, they can pray and it will be solved.
But here is something else I feel like the Lord just kind of dropped into me as I was thinking about praying for a government ruler who obviously on a maybe philosophical level, I would probably have some maybe large to disagreements with. And one of the things that is commonplace is for people to say something like this: can you believe what the president has just done? Or can you believe what law they just passed? I felt like the Lord dropped into my heart that the more I pray for the president and for our governor and for our political leaders, the less I will fear their decisions, the less I will fear their decisions.
Let's not pull our protection off of our government leaders because the fact of the matter is the president can change and God can use the president regardless of your political persuasion. There is a wonderful verse that we find in Proverbs 21:1 that reads this way.
Jacque: The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord. He guides it wherever he pleases.
Brian: We don't actually have to fear who is in power because we know who ultimately is in power. So we should be able to live at peace and the world that the disciples were sent out into to bring the good news was a hostile world. It was a hostile world to anything different than what that world believed at that time. I believe that the disciples took the peace of God with them as they brought this good news. Most of us probably don't realize that most of the books of the Bible were written while God's people were either in captivity or it God's people were in the minority in a pagan culture. Most of the books, especially the Old Testament, were books that were written when God's people were either in captivity or in a minority living within a pagan culture.
I want to look at a couple of portions of scripture. The first one we find in the book of Daniel and we know the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and how they were delivered out of the fiery furnace and Nebuchadnezzar had passed this law, "Everybody needs to bow down to me" and they refused to come under that edict and so he threw them into the fiery furnace. And then there was a fourth person, of course, in the furnace, which we know to be, I believe, Jesus' manifestation in the Old Testament. Let's read that found in Daniel chapter 3 versus 28 and 29. This is post fiery furnace incident.
Jacque: Then Nebuchadnezzar said praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted him. They defied the king's command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any God except their own.
Brian: I think there is an attitude thing that we need to talk about. There is a way to defy an unjust law without being defiant. One is not synonymous with the other. Defiant has to do with an attitude which lacks humility. Whereas I believe Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego defied the King's orders. They were not willing to comply with it, but they did it in a humble way and they were willing to take the consequences for it. Prior to the fire furnace incident, they said, "Well, our God is able to deliver us, but if he doesn't, we are willing to die." you know, just a real simple thing like that. Let's go on.
Jacque: Therefore, I make this decree. If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other God who can rescue like this.
Brian: Nebuchadnezzar was still a pagan believer at this time.
Jacque: He was kind of violent there.
Brian: Yes. It was not uncommon for Kings to be able to, obviously, be violent. Usually they had others carry through violence for them, but nevertheless, they had power over life. And yet something began to happen in this very pagan king, the same king who had been responsible for invading Jerusalem, ransacking Jerusalem, destroying Jerusalem, carrying off all of the holy artifacts that were from the temple, taking the people of visual Israel into captivity. This same king began to see there is no other God who can rescue like the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
In the very next chapter, chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar has this dream, and none of his wise men can interpret the dream. They don't really understand what's going on with this dream. In this dream, he a dream about this huge tree that gives shade to all living things, which really was him. It's a dream about him. Animals ate the fruit from the tree and then a messenger came down from heaven, cut the tree down, trimmed off its branches, scattered its fruit, but the stump of that tree and the roots remained.
There was this other fella that had been captured in the captivity of Israel. His name was, we know it to be Daniel and Daniel served this pagan Babylon and Persia with a spirit of excellence. He served because that's what Christians do. They serve. They give of themselves. And so Daniel gave Nebuchadnezzar the interpretion of this dream. And of course, the tree was the king and he was going to lose his kingdom for seven years. He would eat grass like wild animals. His fingernails would grow like the talons of a bird and this happened. I want to read from Daniel 4: 34 to 37 at the very end of this seven year period of time that Nebuchadnezzar, in essence, had been cut down, lost his mind and Daniel had spoken to him about what was going to happen. Let's look at the of Daniel service. Here, we find it in Daniel 4:34 to 37.
Jacque: After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned and I praised and worshiped the most high and honored the one who lives forever.
Brian: It sounds like he got saved. I mean, to use kind of a New Testament term here. Doesn't it? His sanity returned kind of like the demoniac of the Gaderines where the people came and found him in his right mind. His sanity returned; he praised and worshiped the most high. He didn't say Zeus or some Apollo or some other. He said, "I praised the most high and honored the one who lives forever." And he goes on to say this.
Jacque: His rule is everlasting and his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, what do you mean by doing these?
Brian: I want to now just re reflect upon another portion of scripture that was spoken by Isaiah, the prophet in predicting the coming of Jesus, where he said for unto us, a child is born unto us, a son is given and the government shall on his shoulders. And then he finishes by saying, and of the increase of his government, there shall be no and end and the zeal or passion of the Lord will perform this. We see from the prophet Isaiah, that there is going to be an ever increasing expansion of the kingdom of God. It's not going to fold. It's not going to implode. It's not going to cease to exist, but rather God will always make a way where there seems to be no way. In here Nebuchadnezzar understands that no one can stop him or say to him, what do you mean by doing these things because he is going to accomplish what he wants to have accomplished.
It's his heart that unto all of the world, a son will be given. It's in his heart that unto the whole world, the peace of Christ will come. I'm not saying that the peace is going to come to everybody in the whole world. Don't draw that conclusion him from what I'm saying, but that is his heart. His heart says I'm not willing that any should perish. So when we look at people who at the present time, don't know the Lord, have not come into a saving knowledge of knowing who Jesus is, we still need to look at them with in fervency that they could be just the next one that God wants to bring into his kingdom and am I a conduit to bring that love and grace and mercy to this person.
We can never ever judge somebody as too lost even people in our own families have disappointed us over and over and over and over again. So we see that no one can stop him. That's why I believe that we have been made for such a time as this. There is an incredible move of the spirit happening that can't be seen with the natural eye, but God is working behind the scenes and has been for years to bring some things to pass. And they are about to unfold and erupt. Let's just finish reading here.
Jacque: When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom, my advisors and noble sought me out and I was restored as head of my kingdom with even greater honor than before. Now, I Nebuchadnezzar praise and glorify and honor the king of heaven. All his acts are just and true and he is able to humble the proud.
Brian: You know, when you read the end of Nebuchadnezzar's life, he ended better than Solomon when you look at how Solomon ended his life, not how he ended his life, but how his life ended. Nebuchadnezzar, I think, is this incredible picture of what God can do in a pagan culture when we are willing to serve. Daniel served. Look at the result of Daniel's ministry of excellence in a very completely pagan culture. What Daniel did and how he served Nebuchadnezzar was directly connected to the results of how Nebuchadnezzar ended up and where he came to. So God moved mightily, brought transformation while Daniel functioned as salt and light.
We aren't nearly in a pagan culture as a Babylonian culture. We aren't nearly as pagan as that in our culture today. So I would encourage us to believe that we were made for this moment in time. We were made by God for this moment right now in the fullness of time; God is now sending us to be salt and light. I want to finish by just talking about the fact that we all have different functions in this. Paul uses the analogy of the body. Can the eye say to the hand, I have no need of thee et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. We all have different functions.
I was thinking even this morning as I was worshiping, and God just kind of downloaded this into my head while we were worshiping. It was like, he asked me this question, when your ear itches, what do you do? Well, I scratch it with my hand. I don't scratch it with my foot. But if I'm in a burning building, I really need my feet. Don't I? I need my feet to run out of that burning building. My ears aren't going to really be much help to me whatsoever. Most people that haven't really studied playing the piano may not understand this, but there is so much more to play the piano than just taking your fingers and hitting the keys. There is a posture that one should sit at. My feet, when I play the piano, are almost as important as my fingers. My eyes are partly important, but my ears are very important to playing the piano because I'm listening to what I'm doing and it all works together. My eyes, my ears, my feet, dropping the weight of my arms and my hands, the posture of my hands, moving my fingers, having my fingers move actually independently of each other finger and it all works together. And that is the body of Christ.
We all have different functions. We all have different place, but every place is so important. Jacque and I were talking about just our own bodies yesterday and how what we see is our eyes and our noses and of our hair and the shape of our face and how tall we are and all that. But there are some hidden things in us that if they go wrong, if my pancreas gets cancer, it can be really, really bad for all of the exterior parts of my body. There are hidden things that nobody ever sees that are just as important as the external things that other people see.
We all have different parts of responsibilities in the body of Christ. I don't know what your role and your calling might be in the weeks and months and even years to come, especially connected to Hope Community Church. But I know that God is building something very special, not only those who attend here, but all of you who are watching by livestream. I'm so thankful for the port, the influence that we are able to have virtually around the world today because of our technical crew that nobody ever sees, they are the pancreas and the liver and the lungs and the heart of what is going on here. Jacque and I and Pastor Robert, Pastor Jeff and the worship team, just a handful of people that are part of the Hope Community Church are the ones that are visible are seen. But so many people are part of this ministry that are not seen. Our dear friend, Pat Quig, just keeps this whole facility operating beautifully and all of our grounds and he is never in front of the camera.
Jacque: And so many people are praying. I think of Jim and Brenda here every Sunday morning, nine o'clock praying before the service. Yes. Praying on Zoom every month. The women pray. So many people are praying.
Brian: God is building a team. And I believe he is adding to that team and he is adding to this team and I would just put the invitation out to you. Maybe God has brought you here today, either livestream or you who are in attendance because God wants you to become part of this team of what he is wanting to do on this corner as people are being brought to us into this community. Thousands of people are actually moving into our community. When we built this building, Jacque kept to me as we would drive by this corner.
Jacque: Aren't you supposed to build a church where there are people?
Brian: Aren't you supposed to build a church where there are people ? Well, you know, the Field of Dreams movie had just come out when we built this building. The main theme of that movie is what if you build it, they will come. We built it and now they are coming. Now they are coming. They are coming online and they are coming geographically into our community. God has put us here for such a time as this. So let's not let rescue and deliverance come from other places. Let us be the participants. Let us be the ones who bring the message of the good news of Jesus. Let's pray together. Pastor Robert, why don't you come?
Jacque: I'm so inspired to keep my heart so in tune to not miss a chance to touch somebody for Jesus.
Robert: Praise the Lord. As I was listening to the message and preparing my heart to pray, I kept seeing this image. I grew up in Chicago and I traveled down the Dan Ryan expressway, which ironically is interstate 94 just like it is here in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I would drive down the Dan Ryan expressway millions of times. And before this church, I think it was a church, there was a billboard. I always would look at this billboard. It had a picture of Jesus standing next to a clock, a huge clock and it had a question above. It says, “When is the hour of salvation?” They had a certain time on the clock, but right below it, it says the time now. That just made such an impression on me as a little boy. I haven't thought about that billboard until today for such a time as this. There is no more perfect time to enter into the salvation of the Lord than now whenever that now is, that moment of now.
I don't make an assumption when I step into a church building that everyone knows the Lord. I'm sorry. I've just been around church far too long to make that assumption. And so any opportunity that we have to reach out for that invitation is the perfect time. For those of you here today in the audience, I don't know where you are; the Lord does. But the time is now. Those of you watching by livestream, the time is now. I believe the Holy Spirit is present because we are gathered here. The Holy Spirit came to indwell in believers. So the Holy Spirit is now and that invitation to enter into salvation, deliverance healing, a renewed mind, the opportunity is now. As the Holy Spirit is wooing your heart, he wants to do the miraculous in you. And becoming a new creation is a miracle.
And so my prayer for you, wherever you are in your life, maybe you've never asked Lord Jesus to be your Lord. The time is now. Maybe you sense that there is a need for a renewal in your life, to rededicate your life to him. The time is now. So I would like you to pray this prayer me. It is very simple prayer. Or you can pray it in your own way. But the idea is this.
Dear heavenly father, I come to you this day, now, confessing that I'm a sinner or even lost, but I recognize this day that I need you. I ask you to forgive me of all of my sins and cleanse my heart and renew in me a right spirit. And I accept your son, your gift that you gave to us, Jesus Christ, to be my Lord and savior my Lord. I thank you for the invitation to be a part of your family, a part of your kingdom and now by faith, I accept it into that family. Thank you, Lord for receiving me. Thank you that all of my sins from the past are washed away and that you've cleansed me and have given me a clean slate to start fresh and to start new. Thank you that this day I am redeemed, I am blessed and I am set free. Thank you for accepting someone like me, where others have rejected. ] Thank you that you call me friend, that you call me son, that you call me daughter. I bless your name and I look forward for life of blessing for as long as I should live, in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
Brian: Amen. Thank you, Pastor Robert. Thank you, Lord. Isn't God good? Thank you, Lord. Thank you for that invitation to be your friend. Thank you for that invitation to partner with you in this coming year. Let's continue to pray for the calling of this church and this location, what God has for us. Those of you who are part of our online community, we are so grateful for all of you. Your letters and your encouragement and your support is just very, very, very encouraging. For those of you who are here, we are so grateful as well. We expect 2022 to be a year that is beyond anything that we could ever ask, imagine or think. Let raise our hands together.
And now may the Lord bless you and may the Lord keep you may the Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord turn his face towards you and give you his peace and may your heart be filled with expectation for what God has in 2022. This we pray in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. God bless you have a wonderful, wonderful day.
Transcript taken from the Sunday morning service 1-2-22. If you would like to watch the full service, click the link below.