Skip Heitzig - On the Road to Emmaus
OK, make some noise. Make some noise. Woo, He's risen! Got it. Thank you. Have a seat. Well, Happy Resurrection day. I got to look at you for just a minute. It's been so long since we have been together doing this. It's been two years. And you look fantastic. What a beautiful morning God has given us, Amen. I'll tell you what, I hope some of you put sunscreen on, because it's warm out there even for this early in the morning. You're going to notice a little drone coming by you from time to time, just wave at it when it comes by. It means no harm. This is a friendly drone. I want you to know that.
I also want you to know that as we're celebrating the Lord's Resurrection here we have brothers and sisters who are believing in Christ in the Ukraine who are meeting also worshipping the Lord, and have been. I met with several of those pastors a couple of years ago, and my friend, I spoke to him just the other day on the phone, Franklin Graham, has hospitals over there. And he went over to Ukraine, went to the churches, and he said, the churches he visited, all of the churches he visited in the Ukraine are packed every time they have church service. People standing room only, worshipping the Lord, trusting the Lord for the future. I was so encouraged by that.
Well, as we begin this morning, and I'm so glad you came, I want to begin with a news article that just came in from Jerusalem, from Israel, in the Associated Press, the news article says on the eve of the annual celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth the 1 million inhabitants of this city were shocked by the announcement that a body identified as that of Jesus was found in a long neglected tomb just outside the boundary of the city. Rumors had been circulating last week that a very important discovery was about to be announced. The news however far outstrips all of our wildest guesses. The initial reaction of Christians here and around the world has been one of astonishment, bewilderment, and defensive disbelief. We will have to wait and see just what effect this discovery will have on the 2000-year-old religion.
To the mind of this unbelieving writer, it appears that Christianity will have to take its place on the same level with the other religions of the world. No longer can its followers claim that unlike other religions, the tomb of its founder is empty. Evidently a 2000-year-old lie has come to an end. Now that is not an actual news article, that's fake news. Turn to your neighbor and say, that's fake news. Yeah, that is fake news, that never happened. But if it did, if that article were true, then that would mean that our faith is worthless, and that all of this is stupid. But it's fake news. It's not real. In the world of Paul the apostle, he would have said we are of all men most miserable if we believe in something that didn't actually happen. But we also know that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the best attested to facts of history.
Jesus Christ basically has three credentials. Three credentials, number one his impact upon world history. He only lived for 33 years, his ministry was only three years, he grew up in a very obscure village up in the northern part of Israel, a village called Nazareth. And yet the impact that Jesus made on history has been second to none. His second credential are the prophecies that he fulfilled. The Old Testament predicted, and those predictions came to pass. They were true. So fulfilled prophecy, Jesus fulfilled so many predictions.
And then the third line of evidence is what we celebrate today, and that is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most religions of the world, most belief systems, are founded on philosophies, teachings. The teaching of the founder of that religious system. Of all of the religions in the world, only four of them are based upon actual personalities. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Those four are based upon the personality of the founder. But of all of those four religions, only one claims a Resurrection for its founder. That's why we have hope. That's why we gather here today. Because of that good news.
As the angel said to the women who came to the tomb, he's not here. He's not here. He has risen from the dead. That fact of history is what we celebrate. Now in our story, and I want to read from the Gospel of Luke this morning, chapter 24, anybody here bring a Bible with them to Sunrise? That's a good thing to bring. We're going to look at Luke chapter 24 about two men who were, as it says here, on the road. They were on the road to a village called Emmaus. And as they're walking along Jesus comes walking alongside of them, and he enters into a conversation with them. They're talking about what has happened in Jerusalem, how that Jesus came into the city, how that he presented himself in the temple, how he was betrayed by Judas, how he was arrested, how he was beaten up, and how he was put on a cross, and that he died. And they are processing that.
After a funeral people who are grieving need to talk and vent their feelings out loud, and that's what these two disciples are doing after what they consider the funeral of Jesus. I think it's safe to say they were at the lowest point of their lives, because they had certain expectations of what this person should do. This Messiah they believed in. What he should do. They were expecting a conquering Christ. That's not what they got. They got a crucified Christ. They were expecting the Lion of the tribe of Judah. They got a sacrificial lamb. And here's the thing. These disciples had left everything to follow Jesus. And to them, it's a pipe dream. It's not a reality. It all went bad. This is all ridiculous. What we did? We gave our lives for this guy, and now he's dead. They may have even felt abandoned by God.
And I believe I'm speaking to some people today who have had that same feeling. And in a few minutes I believe that's going to change for some of you. In fact, I believe that some of you today are going to rekindle your relationship with God if it's at a low ebb, and for some of you, you're going to enter into a real relationship with God for the first time in your life. And I want to tell you that. I want you to be ready for that, because in a few moments I'm going to actually give you an opportunity to get up out of your seat, find an aisle, and come right down here on this field, and give your life to Christ. What I want to share with you this morning are some principles to help you relate to the risen Christ.
Five quick principles on how you can relate to the risen Christ. Number one is this, your God is on the move. Your God is on the move. Now some of you are saying, he's not my God. You can talk about your God, but he's not my God. But you see, I believe that's going to change. I believe before the end of the service, He's going to become your God as well.
Now let's look at this story in Luke chapter 24 verse 13. It says now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. We are not told why these two disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It's a pretty easy guess though. I believe that's where they lived. That was their home. They're going home. They're done. They're done following Jesus. That's past tense, it's all over. Now they're going home. They're calling it quits. But as they're talking to one another, they don't know it's Jesus, but he comes edging his way up to them and enters into a conversation.
Now you have to understand, they are not looking for Jesus. They do not expect to see him. He's the last person they expect to see. He died, and this whole Christianity thing is over. But this brings up an important point, and I want you to hear it. People are not really looking for God. Even though they say they are. I meet people all the time. I'm looking for God. I'm on a spiritual quest. Actually, no, you're not. You're not looking for God, the truth is God's looking for you, and the only fact that you have an inclination about wanting to look for God is because he put that in you. God is looking for you. And why do I say that? Because God isn't lost. You are.
Back in the very first story in the Bible, in the Garden of Eden, the Bible says Adam and his wife Eve hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. God came into the garden and shouted, where are you? He was looking for them. Maybe God could say that to you this morning. Where are you? Where are you at in your life? And Jesus said, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save those who are lost. Now listen, this sets Christianity apart from every other religion and belief system. Religion is basically man's attempt to reach God. Man's attempt to appease God by his or her own efforts.
That's why religions will tell you that you have to do certain things, you have to face in a certain direction when you pray, you have to pray a certain amount of times a day. Other religions will say, you need to crawl on your knees and suffer and inflict pain on yourself, and then God will accept you. The Bible does not present that. The Bible presents a God who is on the move, reaching out to us. The Bible says the eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the entire Earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to him. I believe that God has been trying to get your attention for a long time. He wants to reveal himself to you. And that's why in a few moments I'm going to ask you to make your move toward him. In response to that. So that's principle number one. Your God is on the move.
Second principle in relating to a risen Christ. Your eyes aren't always right. Your eyes aren't always right. How many of you have discovered as you grow older your eyes don't work the way they used to work? You figured that out yet? And you wonder why you have to hold that book like 50 feet away to see it? Because your eyes aren't always right. So in verse 15 we're told this. So while it was, while they conversed in reason, Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him. So check this out. They're standing in front of him, they're having a conversation with him, they're looking at him, they're talking to him, they're walking with him, but they don't recognize it actually is him. Their eyes aren't telling them the truth. They thought he was a stranger. In fact, one of them will say, are you the only stranger here in Jerusalem? You don't know what has happened here?
Now, this brings up an important question. Why is it that they did not recognize that it was Jesus? Well, there's a couple of answers to that. Number one, they weren't looking for him, they didn't expect him to show up. Resurrection was not on their radar screen. They were not expecting to see Jesus alive again. Number two, the crucifixion of Jesus was pretty brutal. He went through some physical changes. The Bible in Isaiah indicates they plucked out his beard and that his visage or his countenance, his appearance, was marred more than any other man. So much so that people frequently did not recognize Jesus after the Resurrection. Mary in the Garden of where the tomb was thought Jesus was a gardener. The disciples at the Sea of Galilee also didn't recognize him. It happened a few times.
But here's the real reason they didn't recognize him. It says here in the text, their eyes were restrained. Their eyes were restrained. In other words, God kept them from recognizing Jesus. Which brings up a question, why would God do that? Why would God not want them to know this is Jesus? Well, there's a couple of answers to that. I think God didn't want them to recognize that it was Jesus, first of all so they'd be honest. They'd be honest in their conversation about him. They would never talk to Jesus like they talk to Jesus if they knew it was Jesus. We're not always honest when we talk to people. We talk to people and we frequently tell people things we think they should hear or what we want them to think about us. So we couch what we say to people so that we get a favorable reaction. We're not always honest.
A lot of times I'll be having a conversation with the person, I might be on an airplane, and the person is very, very honest about their life, and they'll say even choice words to me. And then they'll say, what do you do for a living? And I'll say, I'm a teacher. Oh, really, you're a teacher? I know some teachers. What kind of teacher are you? I say I'm a Pastor of a church. Oh, whoa, sorry Reverend. Sorry for what I just said. And then suddenly they don't get honest anymore. I heard about a King in ancient times who would frequently dress like he was a peasant so he could walk among the people and get his earful of what they really thought of his reign. So Jesus is entering into a conversation, talking to them, they don't recognize him. He wants them to be honest.
There's a second reason why I think God didn't want them to recognize him. He wanted to reveal himself to them differently. Not by sight, but by speech. But by word. He wanted his word, the scriptures, to have maximum impact. And they never would if they saw that it was Jesus. They would be so freaked out that Jesus is risen from the dead, he wouldn't be able to have the impact on them with his words. The Bible says this. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. A lot of times people say, well, if I could only see God, if I only had a sign, then I'd believe. First of all, that's very shallow. If your faith is based on an outward sign. Second, it wouldn't last, because the first time you experience another hardship in your life and don't get a follow up miraculous sign, your faith would crumble.
God, I believe, has been speaking to you and you haven't recognized it. He's been revealing himself to you but some of you haven't recognized it. Because what you see and what you experience aren't always the whole truth. Some of you have been going through a very dark period in your life. In fact the world has for a couple of years. But maybe in particular you've been going through very, very difficult times, and you have thought, you have thought God doesn't care. God doesn't care about me. I am forsaken by God. That's a lie. God cares about you. And the proof of that care is that you are here today, and he is revealing himself to you through his word. He's speaking to you. He's revealing himself to you. He wants his word to have an impact on your life. So your God is on the move. Your eyes aren't always right.
Here's a third principle in relating to the risen Christ. Your hope can become fragile. Your hope can become fragile. The story continues in verse 17, and he said to them, what kind of conversation is this that you are having with one another as you walk, and are sad? Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? Have you not known the things which have happened here in these days? And he said to them, what things? So they said to him, the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth who was a prophet mighty in deed in Word before God and all the people. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel.
Indeed, besides all of this today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us, and when they did not find his body they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said. But him, they did not see. In this conversation, Jesus comes up and asks them a couple of questions. He already knows the answer to the questions. You know that, right? When Jesus asked people questions, it's not like he's wanting information. He already knows the answer. But he asked them anyway so they will admit their condition and the questions draw them out.
So the first question is funny. Hey, what are you guys talking about? What kind of conversation? You guys look so sad. You look so bummed out. I can see it in your faces. What are you talking about? Do you know that the Lord is interested in the conversations we have about him? Listen to this, this is from Malachi chapter 3 verse 16. Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, the Lord listened, and a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who loved to think about him. In other words, when people talk to God, to each other about God, it's as if God goes, I want to really listen to what they're saying about me. He loves to pay attention to the conversations we have. So the first question is, what are you talking about? The second question is even funnier because they say to him, well, don't all the things that have happened? And Jesus goes, what things?
Now he's the very center of those things. He's the subject of those things that have happened in Jerusalem. This is a classic way of Jesus to draw a person out so that they will articulate what they think. It's much like what Jesus did to his disciples on one occasion in Caesarea Philippi. He said, who do men say that I am? And they answered some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, some say you're one of the prophets. And then he asked them, who do you say that I am? Who do you say that I am? I want to hear it from your lips. Talk to me, who am I, to you. Who do you say that I am?
Now their answer here reveals how fragile their hope had become. Because when they talk about Jesus they're talking all past tense. He was a prophet. We were hoping that he would be the one. They're not saying he is a prophet. He is alive. We are hoping in him. They're saying, it's over. Our hope is dead. When they sealed that stone over the entrance to Jesus' tomb, their hopes were there too. Their hopes were dead. It was over. They're thinking, we really thought this guy was the guy. But that's over. That's past tense. We hope in him no longer. We were hoping he was the one.
Maybe that describes you. Some of you have been so deeply disappointed by a person or by circumstances in your life, your hopes have been dashed, your hope which is so fragile has been frayed and shattered, and some of you are even here this morning, and though you're here, in reality, your thoughts are this. I used to believe in God. I used to trust in Jesus. I once had hope that he would help me. But those hopes are gone. That's a sad place to be. Thomas Jefferson was our third president. Of course he's a great man of history, but Thomas Jefferson, though he loved Christianity and love going to church and singing the songs, he did not believe that the miraculous parts of the Bible were true. So he rewrote the New Testament.
A lot of people don't know this. He wrote his own version of the New Testament, and he deleted all of the miraculous occurrences of Jesus in the New Testament. He only focused on the moral teachings of Jesus. When he ended his New Testament it concludes, the closing words are these. There they lay Jesus and rolled a great stone at the mouth of the sepulcher and departed. Loose translation. He died, he was deader than a door-nail, and he's never coming back. They closed the tomb, it's over. Thomas Jefferson, like those two disciples, had a past tense hope. That's why Peter when he writes his epistle says we have been born again to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So your God is on the move, your eyes aren't always right, and your hope can become fragile.
Here's the fourth principle. Your faith has different speeds. You may not have known that. Your faith has different speeds. For some of you your faith is fast. For others of you your faith is really, really slow. Listen to this. Jesus said to them, verse 25, oh foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? So in the conversation they're talking to him and they're mentioning this wives tale of a Resurrection. Yeah, some of these women went to the tomb early in the morning, and but you know women. They're so emotional. They got tears in their eyes. You can't really believe what they say. They said they saw angels, and I love how Jesus just kind of interrupts them and says, oh, foolish ones. And slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.
That was their problem. They believed in some of what the prophets have spoken, but not all that the prophets have spoken. We do this a lot with the Bible. We believe the parts we like in the Bible. We don't believe the parts that we don't like. Your faith can be fast, your faith can be slow. It has different speeds. Some are quick to believe, some are slow to believe. Years ago my dad gave me a car. From the '60s. He just gave it to me. It had a four cylinder engine. It was so slow. And I did everything to make it fast. I put fuel additives in it, I put a little overdrive system in it to gear it differently, hoping that would help. It didn't help. It didn't help. I'll tell you what helped. Downhill helped. With the wind helped. That's the only time it got like normal speed. Other than that it was just really, really slow.
Some of you are slow to believe parts of the Bible. You love the parts where it promises you nice things, where it promises you prosperity, where it promises that God will bless you and care for you and protect you and give you financial help and peace and joy. You love those parts. But you're slow to believe what God says about sin. You're slow to believe what God says about heaven or hell, or marriage or divorce, or his coming again. Now I don't know what speed your faith is this morning, but maybe it has slowed down quite a bit from what it used to be. In fact, maybe today your faith we could say is at a standstill. You need to know if you are slow to believe, you're going to be slow to receive God's peace and joy and comfort and all those promises. So your faith has different speeds. So your God is on the move. Your eyes aren't always right. Your hope can become fragile. And your faith has different speeds.
Let me give you the fifth and final principle in relating to a risen Christ. You ready for it? Your Bible should give you heartburn. Yeah, you heard me correct. Your Bible should give you heartburn. I'm going to finish out this a little story, verse 27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets. This is Jesus. Beginning at Moses and all the prophets he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were going and he indicated that he would have gone farther, but they constrained him saying, abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. And he went in to stay with them, and it came to pass as he sat at the table with them he took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them.
Their eyes were opened and they knew him. And then he vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road, and while he opened the scriptures to us? Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road and while he opened the scriptures to us? One translation says, didn't we feel our hearts on fire when he spoke to us? Another translation, our hearts were glowing when he talked to us. We still talk in those terms today.
When a couple, when they fall in love and they start dating and they get married and they're so in love, we say man, they're, they got the hots for each other. Right? And then, and then after a while, when they sit at the table and they don't even pay attention to each other, they're on their phones, looking at that dumb little screen, even though they're sitting right across from the other person, they don't communicate anymore, and we say their love has grown cold. It's grown cold. We say about a person who's walking closely with the Lord, he's on fire for the Lord. Those are good descriptions. I'm praying. I'm praying. We have been praying. We walk through the entire stadium our pastors yesterday, through every seat and prayed for every person here. I'm praying that your hearts will get on fire for the Lord. That you will get spiritual heartburn from the word of God. I'm praying for that. Today, Amen, Amen.
Today in this day and age we have a lot of information. I mean you, talk about phones. You can grab your phone right now and get any bit of information about anything anywhere in the world. You can go on your phone and be in any church service that's going on, live stream it anywhere you want. We have so much information, so many resources. You can get online and look up any Bible verse, any historical fact, any song, any video. But where is the burning? Where's the burning of heart? Where's the spiritual passion? Jesus said many are called, but few are chosen. We might also say many are saved, but most are frozen. The spiritual passion isn't there. We need spiritual heartburn.
Now what caused this burning of heart for them? Did they say, man, didn't our hearts burn within us as he looked at us with those eyes? No, it doesn't say that. Does it say, didn't our heart burn within us as we talked to him? Doesn't say that. It basically says, our hearts burned when we shut up and let him talk to us. When he spoke to us his word. That's when our hearts burned. Now what was he telling them? He was telling them the stuff they heard all their lives, beginning at Moses and all the prophets. He explained to them all the things concerning himself. They'd heard all those prophets. They've heard all those scriptures. But they never heard it like this. It's like Jesus opened the curtains and let the light flood into their souls. The burning of heart, the burning of heart was a new understanding of familiar things. A new understanding of familiar things.
I want you to say that with me. It was a new understanding of familiar things. Some of you know Bible so well, it's so familiar to you. But may God give you a new understanding of familiar things. So Jesus gave them a Bible study beginning at Moses probably talking about the serpent in the Garden and the seed of the woman that would bruise the head of the serpent. He probably went to Genesis 22 about Abraham sacrificing almost his son on Mount Moriah, the very mountain where Jesus would give his life years later. He probably went to Exodus chapter 12 talking about Passover and numbers chapter 21 the serpent lifted up in the wilderness. Psalm 22, Isaiah chapter 53. All of those scriptures they had heard all their lives. But when Jesus reveals himself to you, and it's real, it will set your heart on fire.
Now we're told something in the text. I don't know if you caught this. In verse 28. It says Jesus indicated that he would have gone further. So they're walking along the road, like this. I'm going to do my imitation of a walk. So they're just kind of walking along, talking. And then Jesus just leaves him in the dust, like he's going to keep going. He's just going to say goodbye to them, and they're back there going like, what, wait, wait. But he's acting like he's going to keep on walking. And so what did they do? They said, hey, wait. They constrained him. Stay with us. They invited him. Here's what I want you to see. Jesus will never force himself on anyone. He responds by invitation only. By invitation only. No, you have to ask him to stay. You have to ask him into your heart. It's not automatic. You have to invite him to come in and be your Lord.
And so I ask you today, has your faith slowed down? Has your hope crumbled? Is your hope a past tense experience? Yeah, I used to believe that. I hoped in him. Let him give you heartburn, burning of heart, burning of heart. Some of you need to rededicate your life to the Lord. Some of you have not been walking with the Lord. Your passion has cooled off, your hope is past tense, your faith has slowed down, your eyes aren't telling you the whole truth. But you're here today. And God is revealing himself to you. And I'm going to close in a word of prayer and I'm going to give you an invitation. If you have never given your life to Christ, or if at one point in your life you did have some kind of experience with him, but you're not walking with him today, you're not living in obedience for him today, I don't want Easter to become an event for you. I don't want us to just have a big party in a stadium and go home and nothing changes. I want to see this city changed. I want to see where you work. I want to see where you live.
Your neighborhood, your family, changed because your heart is burning for love for him. Because you realize how much he loves you. God loves you so much that he sent his son to die on a cross to take your sin upon himself, so that you would never have to go to hell, so that you would never have to be punished for your sin. He has heaven awaiting for you. But he will act as if he'll go further unless you say, wait. Come here. Stay here. Come in. And that's the opportunity I'm going to give you today. We're going to sing this song. I'm going to ask all of us to stand up to our feet, because that gives people, it's just easier to get past other people if they're standing up and their knees aren't sticking out. So just stand up. We're not done yet. We have more music to come, so don't bail out. This is the most important part of this gathering this morning. And I hope Christians, please, be praying for people in your section. Pray right now that God will open up hearts and motivate people.
If you've come this morning and you've never given your life to Christ, even though you may have been a religious person, a good person, you've trusted in yourself, you think you have life all wired, but you know something is missing, or if you want to be forgiven of your sin, you're maybe very aware that you are lacking in your life. That you are not what you should be. You are not what you should be. You are not what you should be. God has so much more for you. And it begins by confessing that, and by asking Jesus to come in and be your Savior. To forgive you, and he will. To come inside of you, and he will. But you have to ask him.
Some of you had some choice that you made years ago, some spiritual experience you've had. But today, today you're not walking in obedience to him. He needs to rekindle that passion and flame. So I'm going to ask you as well, get up from where you're standing. Find the nearest aisle, and you'll see there's arteries that come right down to the field. Come, make your way down as we sing this song. Come now. Come make your way down and stand right up here where in a moment I'm going to lead you in a prayer to receive Christ. He's here. He's revealing himself to you in his words. Respond to that. Respond to that. Come and stand right up here. We'll wait for you, but you come.
We're going to wait for you to come. You're seeing our decision team members go over there, but listen we want you to come and stand right here in the front. Just come right up close. Let's make room as people are still coming. This is the most important walk you'll ever make. These are the most important steps you will ever take. I have so many people who say, "I gave my life to Christ at Easter Sunrise Service on this year or that year". This is your year. Jesus is walking down your road of life. He's on the move. He's on the road. He is on your road. You get on board with him. You get up and come. You might be way in the back. We'll wait for you. God loves you. He knows who you are. He sees your life. He knows the darkness in your heart, the things you're ashamed of. He loves you the way you are. And he will forgive you. He will change you. But you have to ask him. Jesus called people publicly. This is why we're doing this. He called people publicly. He is calling you today publicly. Stand up for Christ. Walk down here for Christ. Say yes to him. Lovely. Come on. Yes, yes. You're not here by accident. Yes. Welcome.
Let's go, come on this way. Let's squeeze in a little bit. I hope you are sensing the love and encouragement from this great body of people in their applause for you. I hope you're sensing that love. TWe're applauding the work of God for you, but we're saying you're making the right choice. You're doing the right thing. Anyone else, please. Please come. Come as you are. But come. Your faith might be struggling, you come. Your hope might be wavering, you come. Your joy may be at an all time low. Come. Come as you are. Come and be forgiven. Come to the cross. Yes, let's make way for them. Come on.
It's the smartest decision you could ever make is this decision. Smartest decision you could ever make. I'm about to lead these who have come in a prayer. They're going to enter into a covenant with the living God. God is going to forgive them of all of their past, and God is going to give them a brand new future, and he's going to write their name in the book of life. Is there anybody else who wants to take God up on that free offer? Just saying, it's dumb to pass that up. Just saying. Really stupid to pass that up. God is saying, "I'll take you as you are. I will forgive you of everything you've ever done. And I'll make you my child". Anybody else want that? That's right. God bless you. Come on. Yeah. I love it, just jump the rail. Come on. Yes.
Bless you guys. I am so happy to see you. I'm so happy to see your faces up close. I'm so sorry you've had to see my face so big for so long. And now here we are together. But I'm so happy to see you and your face glowing. A lot of you are just like so, with tears in your eyes, many of you. You've come to the right place. You've made the right choice. I'm going to pray. I'm going to lead you in a prayer. I'm going to pray out loud, I want you to pray out loud after me. I want you to say these words out loud. It's giving your life to God. Let's pray, say:
Lord, I give you my life. I know that I'm a sinner. Please forgive me. I believe in Jesus. I believe he died. I believe he shed his blood for me. I believe he rose again from the dead. I believe he's alive today. I turn from my sin. I repent. I give Jesus my heart. I want to follow Him as Lord and Savior. Help me in Jesus's name. Amen.