Greg Laurie - An Unexpected Conversion (06/24/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares Michael's Franzese powerful testimony of leaving mafia life for Christ, then preaches from Acts 8-9 on Saul's shocking conversion to Paul, showing God can save anyone—even the fiercest opponents. No heart is too hard, no sinner too far gone; believers are called to pray boldly for the lost and share the gospel, knowing seeds planted can explode into life-changing transformations.
Conference Announcement and Message Introduction
Hey, while you're turning there, I want to mention a conference that we're doing. It's called the Uprising Conference. It's this coming Saturday at Harvest Orange County. It's about confronting the culture with the gospel. It's for students and ministry leaders, for younger people. But if you're older, we'll let you in anyway. Really the focus is on sharing your faith in preparation for the crusade.
I'm going to speak at it. Pastor Steve Wilburn will speak. Pastor Jason Pell from our staff here will teach. It's Saturday. This coming Saturday at Harvest Orange County. It starts at 9 in the morning. If you want to know more, go to uprising.harvest.org.
Today the title of my message is An Unexpected Conversion. And this is the first of a three-part series I'm doing in preparation for the crusade where we are going to talk about how we can effectively tell others about Christ.
Today I want to simply point out the fact that God can save anyone. And that's why Michael was here. I mean if God can save a guy like Michael Franzese, a captain in the Colombo crime family, He can save anyone.
Next time I want to talk about evangelism Jesus style. There was not a better communicator than Jesus Himself. In addition to being our Lord, our Savior, and the Creator of the universe, He was the best example of how to share your faith. We will look at that.
And then finally in the last message in this series I am going to talk about the power to overcome your fears. Because we are all afraid of engaging people, sharing our faith, or at least most of us are. So we will talk about how to overcome that fear.
But in this message I want to talk about those supposedly unreachable people. Let's start with a word of prayer.
Father, we are so thankful for You saving Michael and the testimony he has. We give You glory for that. And Lord we want to share our faith. We want to leave our comfort zone. We want to be used by You and have a boldness like we have never had before. So help us to listen to this with fresh ears. And help us Lord to learn how we can become better fishers of men. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Question: Who Seems Impossible to Save?
Let's start with a question. Do you know someone right now that you cannot even imagine ever becoming a Christian? If so raise your hand up. Just can't imagine it. Well we all do. Right?
I mean think about this guy I just talked to. Who would ever look at him in his prime making all that money? The prince of the mafia. Oh. One day he will be a Christian. And not only that but he will travel around to churches, prisons, all kinds of gatherings and preach the gospel.
We would have laughed in a person's face if they said it. But you know what? With God nothing is impossible.
But there are those people that we meet in life that seem so antagonistic, so argumentative, so much in opposition to everything that we believe in. In fact it seems sometimes that these people go out of their way to make our life miserable. Do you know someone like that?
You know when you get to work on Monday morning they have five new questions to lay on you. They are always harassing you. They are always provoking you. And you think to yourself, that person is so far from God.
I suggest to you it may be the very opposite of what you think. I suggest to you that a person who is always nice and pleasant and never argues with you may be further from the kingdom of God than the person who is always debating and arguing with you.
Because the person you are having the confrontations with may in reality be under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And they are fighting with it. You see. And there is a perfect illustration of that in the story before us in Acts chapter 8.
Saul's Hatred and Stephen's Martyrdom
This is a story of a man that didn't just argue with Christians. He hunted them down, arrested them, and killed them. He presided over the death of the first martyr of the church, Stephen. In fact his conversion was so unexpected it is repeated in the Scripture three times.
Now he was not a part of the La Cosa Nostra. But in many ways he was just as bad, perhaps even a little bit worse, because he should have known better. He was a cold-blooded murderer. And yet God got hold of him and transformed him from the feared Saul of Tarsus to the beloved Apostle Paul.
Saul was a young man who never did anything half-heartedly. He put his whole heart into everything he undertook. Saul had a ravenous hunger for knowledge and wanted to be as devout as possible. He was born in Tarsus which was a Roman city. So he was automatically a Roman citizen. He was schooled in Roman law and Greek language. He was a great intellectual. What we would describe as an academic.
But he was also deeply religious. And he was so effective that he rose to the top of the heap. Not unlike Michael Franzese who became this prince of the mafia at a young age. Saul of Tarsus became a member of the elite Sanhedrin. The Supreme Court of the day.
But the reality is he was a self-righteous, bigoted killer set on a full-scale inquisition. So one day a young man was brought before the Sanhedrin. His name was Stephen. He was accused of having heretical views. Views that were contrary to the teaching of Scripture.
He was given an opportunity to offer a defense. And Stephen got up there and gave an incredible overview of the history of Israel. And as he was talking Acts 6:15 says, Everyone in the high council stared at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel's.
I wonder what that means actually. There was something about Stephen. He had like this glow. And they are all just staring at this kid who has so much knowledge and so much understanding. And then Stephen shifts gears and goes from a history lesson of Israel to preaching the gospel to all those who are listening and directing his remarks to the Sanhedrin themselves.
And they were really angered. And they decided then and there to put him to death by stoning. So as they take him to the place of execution and the command is given to stone Stephen, we read that he was full of the Holy Spirit. And he looked up to heaven and he said, Look, I see heaven is open and the Son of God standing at the right hand of the Father.
Then the members of the Sanhedrin screamed and put their hands over their ears and charged him. Listen, you know this sermon is not going well when that happens. When people put their hands over their ears, scream, and come running at you. That is what was happening to Stephen as he stood so boldly.
And as he was dying we read that he said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and he shouted, Lord, do not charge them with this sin.
That is where our story picks up. Acts chapter 8 verse 1. I am reading from the New Living Translation. Saul was one of the witnesses and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day sweeping over the church in Jerusalem. And all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.
Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning. But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.
But the believers who were scattered preached the good news about Jesus wherever they went. We will stop there.
So Saul of Tarsus approved of the murder of Stephen. And unwittingly Saul was doing the work of the kingdom before he was even in it. You see Jesus commanded his apostles, his followers, to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Right? Did they do that? Not exactly. They kind of hung out in Jerusalem. I mean this was the hot spot. This is where Pentecost happened. They had sort of a nice little holy huddle going.
So through Saul who was really motivated by Satan he shook their cage and they spread out. But the good news as they spread out they started doing what they were supposed to be doing in the first place. Telling others about Jesus.
What Fueled Saul's Hatred?
So what drove Saul with such hatred? Perhaps it was the stand of Stephen. You know later on when he meets Jesus on the Damascus road Jesus says, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.
Now we could read that and say I don't even know what that means. Well a goad is simply a sharpened stick. You know in the old days before they had cars and they had an ox pulling cart. The way to accelerate in contrast to us putting the pedal to the metal is you took the stick and put it in the animal. The sharp stick made the animal go faster. That was the goad.
Jesus said you are kicking against the goad. You are fighting with me. Maybe it was the testimony of Stephen that so moved and actually angered Saul. Especially when Stephen prayed for his forgiveness.
You know Stephen didn't reach millions of people. He didn't reach thousands of people. He didn't reach hundreds of people. But he reached one for sure. And friends that one was a whopper.
You know it would be like going out fishing and you catch you know a hundred tiny little fish. And then your buddy who hadn't had a bite all day pulls in a great white. Well I don't think you would want to catch a great white. A marlin. So you come in with all your little fish. That is nice. But he got the big catch of the day.
Effectively Stephen was the man that reached Saul of Tarsus. And this encourages me because it proves that although some people might seem to be turning a deaf ear to what we are saying. God is still at work.
Listen. This word will not return void. God says it will prosper in the place He sends it. So my job is to take the seed of the Word of God and just throw it out wherever I can.
How could I have ever known that when I preached a sermon to you and it was recorded and then it was sent to Michael via a Sony Walkman. I love that. That dates it, doesn't it? A Sony Walkman. Remember those?
And here is Michael in the hole, which is solitary confinement. No contact with anybody else because there was a contract out on him. God works with this radio broadcast. The seed that was sown penetrates his heart and helps him and encourages him.
See that is the power of the Word of God. You just throw it out there and it won't return void. Listen. Your testimony, when you share your faith with someone and they reject you, you say, Well that didn't go well. My response to you is, How do you know? It ain't over until it is over.
Because I think the seed of the Word of God is like a little time bomb. You know you put it and the timer is clicking, click, click, click, click, click, click, click. You know I love the way in the movies when they always go and, you know, and they always cut the wire. Cut the red wire! I don't, you know, and they are, I don't know which one. And, you know, and the sweat is pouring down their face. And then they click it and there is always one second left. Right? That is the rule of dismantling time bombs in films.
But listen. God's Word will not be dismantled. It will not be stopped. It will reach its intended target. So now here is the man, Saul, hunting down Christians who is going to now become their champion. He is going to effectively carry on the work of young Stephen whom he martyred.
The Damascus Road Encounter
Go to Acts 9. Meanwhile Saul was uttering threats. Verse 1. With every breath he was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So he went to the high priest and he requested letters addressed to the synagogue in Damascus asking for the cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the way when he found them. He wanted to bring them, both men and women, back to Jerusalem in chains.
As he was approaching Damascus on his mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone around him and he fell to the ground and he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Who are you, Lord? Saul asked. And the voice replied, I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.
The men with Saul stood speechless for they heard the sound of someone's voice. Saul picked himself off the ground and when he opened his eyes he was blind and his companions led him to Damascus and he remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
Hey listen. Saul of Tarsus was out of control at this point. Verse 1 says, He was uttering threats with every breath. A better translation of that was he was breathing it in and out. Sort of like an athlete needs oxygen to keep going. Saul lived on a diet of hatred and bitterness. And his mind was poisoned with prejudice.
He later said in Acts 26:11, A raging fury obsessed him. He was like a wild animal seeking out its prey. Who would have ever thought that he would be converted on this day.
I love this description of the Christians by the way in verse 2. Asking for the cooperation and the arrest of the followers of the way. He found them. He wanted to bring the men and women back to Jerusalem in chains. Any followers of the way.
This is no doubt a reference to the statement of Jesus in John 14:6 where He says, I am what? The way. The truth and the life. So that is what they were called. By the way, the Christians did not name themselves Christians. I know we like to say we are Christians. It is fine to call yourself that. But that was not a name the believers themselves coined. They were members of the way. Part of the way.
Christians. That title was given to believers later actually by non-believers. Followers of the way. That is a good thing to remember. We are not followers of a way or even a better way. We are followers of the only way. And it is controversial today and it was controversial then. They are followers of the way.
In other words, these people have the audacity to say that their Messiah, Jesus, is the way to God and the only way to God.
So it is afternoon. The sun is shining. And boom. Verse 3. As He is approaching Damascus, a light from heaven shone around Him. So the sun is out, but this light is so bright, it is even brighter than the sun.
And He hears a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Saul says, who are you? And I am sure he is thinking, don't say Jesus, don't say Jesus, don't say Jesus. Do not say Jesus.
I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. The very God Saul thought he was serving, he was opposing. The religion that he had actually followed, that turned him against God, was now the very problem that he was facing.
That sentence made no sense. Just delete that last sentence. What was I even saying? You ever hear a preacher say something that makes no sense? I just did that. But I actually said it about myself instead of you just thinking it. I was starting one sentence. I kind of lost my way in my notes. And I tried to finish it. And it was nonsensical. So we will just move forward. You probably didn't even notice. Which shows that you don't listen.
Why are you persecuting me? That makes sense. That is what Jesus says. Which shows that Jesus identifies with us in our afflictions. Nothing escapes his attention. If something bad is happening to you because of your faith, it is an attack against Christ himself. And it is duly noted by the Lord. And you will be blessed. And you will be rewarded for it one day.
Ananias Obeys and Saul Is Transformed
Now let's look at what happens after his conversion. Acts 9 verse 10. There was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision. Ananias. Yes, Lord. He replied.
The Lord said, Go over to Straight Street to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man named Saul from Tarsus. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he may see again.
But Lord, I just love that. But Lord, exclaimed Ananias, I have heard many talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem. And he is authorized by the leading priest to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.
But the Lord said, You go. For Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and the kings as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake.
Ananias went and found Saul. He laid hands on him and said, Brother Saul, The Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road has sent me that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Instantly scales fell from Saul's eyes. He regained his sight and he got up and he was baptized and he ate some food and regained his strength.
Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few more days and immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogue saying, He indeed is the Son of God. And all who saw it and heard Him were amazed.
Now we are introduced to a true hero of the church. Ananias. I bet a lot of you have never even heard of him. Ananias. Did he write any books of the New Testament? No. Did he raise the dead or perform any miracles? Again no. Did he preach any notable sermons that we know of? Not that we know of. No.
But he took a man under his wing that did all of what I mentioned and much more. He discipled the newly converted Saul of Tarsus who in time was to become the great Apostle Paul and the greatest preacher in the history of the church.
Ananias was the right man in the right place at the right time. And thank God for those that work behind the scenes. There is a lot of unsung heroes in the church. A lot of people that never get the credit. They never get mentioned. We don't even know their name. But God knows who they are.
And listen. We will applaud the Simon Peters of the world. But there would never be a Simon Peter without an Andrew, his brother, who brought Peter to Christ. We celebrate the people that make their mark in this world. But we forget about those people that work behind the scenes like Ananias.
And later on in Saul's life another who came along and helped him named Barnabas. Because, you know, maybe that is what some of us are called to do. Maybe you are going to be a person who, you know, you don't feel like you have accomplished that much for God. You say, well I don't know how many people I have led to the Lord. And I don't know what impact I have had.
But right now there is a young man that you are helping out. Maybe he is a friend of your son. And he has been coming over to your house. And so he sat in on your Bible studies because he comes from a broken home. And so you have treated this young man like another member of your family. And you have even brought him to church with you.
And you feel that is a good thing to do as a Christian. But who knows who that young man could become. Because I was that young man. And I met a man named Mark who took me home to his Christian family. And I had never been around an intact family my entire life. All I knew was craziness and divorce and alcoholism and screaming and fighting.
And here is a family actually sitting down at the table and having a prayer before a meal. It was like something out of a stinking 60s sitcom. But it was real. And then we had a discussion about the Bible afterwards. And it just blew my mind to hear these things. And they are explaining things to me. I didn't know what anything meant.
And in fact I remember when they told me the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. I remember they told me about what the rapture of the church was. I heard the preacher talk about it. But I didn't get it. But they broke it down for me. You see.
And that is what people need. Someone to break it down. Someone to be that bridge. Someone to disciple them. Someone to help them to make that transition into this new life of following Jesus.
So maybe you will never be that person in the limelight. But who knows that one of the people you are influencing could go on to become one of the greatest preachers in human history. Someone is going to do it. And it could be you. And in this case it was Ananias.
The Lord says, As you go to Ananias. He is my chosen vessel. So kind of wrapping this up. We see three classic results of a conversion.
And let me say that the reason Ananias was apprehensive was because Saul had a pretty bad reputation. I mean this would be like somebody saying, Did you hear the famous atheist Richard Dawkins is a Christian now? And he is preaching the gospel? Would you have a hard time believing that?
Oh hey, Howard Stern has got a Bible study going now. He has turned his radio show over. It is a Bible study. Bill Maher is doing the follow up. Lady Gaga is leading worship. It is really cool. You have got to go.
You have laughed just like you are. You are laughing. Why are you laughing? Because it seems implausible. Right? Listen. Nothing with God is impossible.
The conversion of Saul was more radical than any of those people. The conversion of Saul was more radical than any of the people I just mentioned. Far more radical.
So the classic conversion, or the classic results of conversion, happened in Saul's life. Number one, he was praying. Verse 11. God said to Ananias, you go find him. You will see that he is praying. He is probably praying for forgiveness.
Can you imagine as he realized what he had done? Not unlike Michael in that prison cell. Really coming to grips with the life he had lived and the things he had done. He was all alone. He began to think about it. The weight of it came on him. He came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Here is Saul thinking, I have done these things. And I killed that. I killed that boy. I could have saved Stephen. Oh he was so courageous. I remember when his face shined like an angel. He had never seen anything like it. Oh Lord forgive me.
I am sure that he worshipped the Lord. See Saul, despite his wickedness, always wanted to know God. He tried to do it through the Mosaic law and through the Jewish religious system. And he never was able to do it.
And Paul later wrote, God hasn't given us a spirit of bondage again to fear, but one of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Now he could know God personally.
The same mouth that had been breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciple was now breathing out praise and worship to God in prayer.
That is why Paul later wrote, If any man be in Christ, he is an altogether different kind of person. Old things have passed away. Everything becomes fresh and new.
Number two, he was preaching. So first he was praying, verse 11. Number two, he was preaching, verse 20. He couldn't keep it in. So he told others, Can you imagine? You see this guy, one of the most avowed, well-known enemies of Christians, out there preaching.
Well that didn't play well in Peoria. They didn't like that. The religious leaders. They had lost one of their best guys. Here is how Paul described his own conversion in 1 Timothy 1:13. Even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ, hunting down His people, harming them in every way I could, but God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.
Oh how kind and gracious the Lord was. He filled me completely with faith and the love of Jesus Christ. This is a true saying, and anyone should believe it. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and I was the worst of them all.
Number three, He was suffering. Number one, He was praying. Number two, He was preaching. Number three, He was suffering. Remember what Jesus said to Ananias in verse 16. I will show him how he must suffer for my name's sake.
Yes, Paul would be used of God to pray for people to be healed. Paul would raise a young man from the dead. Paul would write letters that we call epistles that would become the very Word of God. Paul would preach the gospel and thousands would believe. Paul would bring the gospel even to Roman leaders, quite possibly Caesar himself.
But he would also suffer. Why? Well, because he would be opposed. Verse 23, When many days were passed, the Jews plotted to kill him. Does that surprise you? Second Timothy 3:12 says, All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
Know this. If you decide to be used by God, you are going to face opposition. Let me turn it around. If you are not facing opposition in some way, shape, or form, are you really being used of God?
Let me take it even a step further. If you are not facing persecution, are you really even representing Christ properly?
This last week, we had as our special guest, Naghmeh Abedini. And her husband, Saeed, is in an Iranian prison right now for preaching the gospel. I did an interview with Naghmeh and she told me one of the most amazing stories I have ever heard about how she stood up for Christ.
And I am going to show you a little clip from that interview next Sunday as we talk about evangelism, Jesus style. But the courage she had was unbelievable. And it is a courage that we can have as well.
But listen, if you live godly in Christ Jesus, you will suffer persecution.
Hope for the Hardest Hearts and Invitation
God allowed all these things in Saul's life. Saul of Tarsus transformed from the greatest or rather I should say transformed into the greatest preacher in the history of the church. He went from being a murderer to a minister. From darkness to light. From religion to relationship. From living for hatred to living for love.
Now I want you in closing to think about the worst sinner you know. And don't be thinking about me. Seriously. Think about the worst sinner you know. Maybe they are someone you know personally. Maybe it is a public figure. Think about them for a moment.
Now I want you to think about that person becoming a follower of Jesus. And now I want you to start praying for them by name. Why? Because no one is beyond the reach of God. And I want you to bring them to the crusade this year. And if you can't get them to the crusade of course you can bring the crusade to them because we use all the media platforms out there.
You can click a link and watch it in real time on your television set, on your computer, on your tablet device, on your smartphone. There is a lot of ways to access it. But even better, bring them to church before that. Pray for them.
Now let me say a closing word to you that don't know the Lord. I haven't painted the rosiest picture of the Christian life. What if I told you, hey, if you become a Christian you may suffer and you will probably be persecuted. You are thinking, ah, no thank you. I would rather have a happy life. I would rather have a carefree life. I don't want a life with any pain.
But listen to this. I am not going to deny the fact that it is hard to be a Christian. I am not going to deny the fact that there is a price to pay especially in our culture today to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
But I am also not going to hide the fact that it is the greatest life there is. There is no other life like it.
Listen to this. For the non-believer. this is as good as it is ever going to get. So whatever you are living for, whatever is going on in your life right now, if you are not a Christian I would say milk it for all it is worth. Carpe diem. Seize the day. Enjoy the moment. Because it is as good as it is ever going to get.
Because when you die and you pass over to the other side and you face judgment and the full weight of your sins it is going to get real bad.
However for the Christian this is as bad as it is ever going to get. It is as bad. It will never be worse than this. You say, well Greg I am actually living a pretty good life. Well that is even better isn't it? Because this is as bad as it gets.
Because your great hope when you cross over to the other side is you are in heaven with the Lord reunited with loved ones that have gone before you receiving your reward. That is the hope of the Christian.
There is life beyond the grave. When Paul finished his powerful ministry he was received into heaven just like Stephen who died under his nose. Just like Stephen who actually had a glimpse of glory before he went. That is only the hope of the Christian.
But listen to this. Yes it is true. Christians suffer. Hey it is even true. Christians have the same things happen to them that non-Christians have happen to them. Christians get cancer. Christians have heart problems. Christians die in automobile accidents. Christians die on the battlefield. Christians have the calamities of life.
But a Christian also has hope. See when a non-believer suffers and they suffer The rain falls on the just and the unjust. When they suffer they have to console themselves somehow. Well I have always said when life gives you lemons make lemonade. Really? You are going to go with that? No. I have a better one. When the going gets tough the tough gets going. Seriously. Let me think about it for a moment.
Hey I got one. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. Profound. I have a better one. All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose. That is for Christians only.
Why do I say that? Well a nonbeliever can quote it but it doesn't apply to them. Why? Because all things work together for good for those who what? Love God. If you don't love God it doesn't apply. If you do love God it does apply.
And this means that even though hardship may come in this life God will cause it to work together for good ultimately.
You see Jesus called Saul. Guess what. Saul didn't have to say yes. He could have said, No way man. I am not following you. But he heard his voice and he responded.
You know it is interesting. In that story it says that everyone heard his voice, or excuse me, everyone heard a noise but only Saul heard his voice. You ever notice that? They heard a noise. They knew something was going on. But they didn't know what. But Saul heard his voice.
You know why? Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice. Maybe Jesus is speaking to some of you right now and He is saying you need to believe in Me. Maybe you have been fighting with God. Maybe you have been running from God. It is time for you to come to Him and believe in Him.
And if you have not done that yet I will give you an opportunity to do it right now. Let us all pray.
Father, thank You for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross for us and to pay for our sin and to rise from the dead. And now He offers us forgiveness just like He offered to Saul on the Damascus road.
Lord I pray for any here that may not know You. Maybe they have been running from You. Fighting with You. Help them to come to You right now and believe we pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed we are praying together. If you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you would like Him to forgive you of your sin. If you would like to know that when you die you will go to heaven. Would you just raise your hand up and let me pray for you wherever you are.
God bless you. Lift your hand up. If you want Christ to come into your life. You want this hope of heaven. You want this purpose in life we have spoken of. Raise your hand. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up and I will pray for you right now. God bless you. And God bless you.
One final moment. Maybe you are watching a screen. That is fine. You raise your hand too. No I won't see your hand. But God sees it. And it is a little step of faith that you are taking. Anybody else? You want to come to Jesus? You want to come back to Jesus? Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless each one.
And you that have raised your hand pray this prayer after me right where you sit. Just pray this after me. Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner. And I also know that you are a Savior. And I pray that you will receive me now as I turn from my sins and choose to follow you.
Thank you for loving me and dying for me and calling me. Now I choose to follow you from this day forward. In your name I pray. Amen.
God bless each one of you that prayed that prayer. We want to ask you that just prayed that prayer wherever you are if you would please. Just get up out of your seat right now. We are not done with our service quite yet.
Go over to this room in the corner. And I am pointing over there. And there is Richard one of our counselors who is going to give you a start Bible that looks like the one I am holding. This is the New Testament with some notes that will encourage you in your faith.
So any of you that just prayed that prayer please go over to this room right now. Let us give you this start Bible. And God bless you up in the balcony outside in the amphitheater. Come around to this room up in the court building. Go to the front of the room where the screen is. We will give you the same Bible. God bless all of you.
Well we are going to receive our morning tithes and offerings right now. So let us pray together.
Lord we are thankful for your saving power. How you can save to the uttermost. And sometimes to the guttermost. No one is beyond your reach. So we are thinking now about lost people. People that are like Saul of Tarsus. Or maybe like Michael Franzese. They are away from you now. They could not in their wildest dreams imagine being a Christian. But they are going to become a Christian. And they are going to do it soon. Because they have an appointment with you.
And we pray Lord as we give we recognize that we are investing in the salvation of people who are not believers yet. Because this money is going to be used to sow your seed. To throw it out far and wide. Those little time bombs will go off and detonate in your timing and in your will.
So Lord we want to be a part of that. Because as we supply bread to the sower we will reap with songs of joy. So bless each gift that is given. Use it for your glory. Bless each one that gives. We thank you for this time. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.