Marcus Mecum - Why Do I Struggle?

TOPICS: Struggles

So when the Lord saw, this is Exodus 3 and verse 4. So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called him from the midst of the bush and said, «Moses, Moses.» And he said, «Here I am.» And then he said, «Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.» Moreover, he said, «I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.» And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

All through the Bible, you get to read that God offers no excuses concerning who he is the God of. It’s like a resume that is filled with his elite, one after another, that speak of his glory. But when God goes to introduce himself, he doesn’t say, «I am Alpha and I am Omega.» He doesn’t say, «I’m the beginning and the end.» He doesn’t say, «I’m from everlasting to everlasting. I’m the creator of the heavens and the earth. I’m the giver of life.» He is all those things, but God does not introduce himself in those ways. You and I can introduce him in those ways. You and I can list all the great accolades of all the things that God has done, all he’s said, and all he’s been to us, and what he means to us.

But when God goes to introduce himself—and that’s what God is doing here in Exodus chapter 3—this is God’s first explicit self-introduction to the world. We see him in Genesis as Creator. We see him in other places showing up in various ways. But the first time that God introduces himself to a man, which is Moses, he introduces himself like this, saying, «I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and I am the God of Jacob.»

So when God goes to make out his resume, and he lists his credentials and his accomplishments, and all of his references, all of those who will attest to that they can validate his word, validate his reputation, and validate that his character is true and that what he says he can do, he can do. Out of all the entire world, out of the millions of people that have chosen him to be their God, he lists three. Out of all that he could choose, out of all that have served him, he chooses three. And he says to us, «I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. And I am the God of Jacob.»

Many times in Scripture, he introduces himself in this way. In Matthew 22:32, he states, «I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac, and I am the God of Jacob.» That is his self-introduction to the world. Well, I don’t know about you, but I desire the same thing. I desire that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be my God. I know he’s their God. I know he showed up in their lives. I know he moved in their day, but I want him to be my God. I want to see him move in my life, and I want to see him move in our day.

So my question is, where do I fit in these elite three? I mean, these are extraordinary people. These are the best of the best. They’re spectacular. They’re those who found their way into God’s exclusive club. And I know I’m inferior to them. I know that I don’t measure up to them. I know that I’m not one of them. I mean, it’s Abraham. It’s Isaac. It’s Jacob. I mean, I understand that I’m not trying to demean myself, but I am here to say I know I don’t quite measure up. Yet that’s who God said he’s the God of, and I want him to be my God.

So, where do I fit in with these three? When I begin to think about Abraham, I begin to think about how the Bible says he left where he was and went to a land that he didn’t even know where he was going. He pulled up his roots. He left everything he had ever known: his family, his home, his possessions. He took all of it and went out on nothing but a word from God. By the way, he’s the father of our faith, so he’s the first of our faith. Think about this: he had no mentor. He had nobody that preceded him that he could go to for counseling and learn how to hear from God, that he might understand how he can also walk in his ways. There was nobody that preceded him. He was the first. He is the father of our faith. Because of his faith, it was counted unto him as righteousness. I mean, Abraham is an extraordinary individual. And when I think about Abraham, I think to myself, I’m not really sure I can run with a man like that.

I mean, if I go home to Sarah today and say, «Hey, Sarah, this is what I’m thinking. I’m thinking that we should jump in the car and just go.» Well, «Where are we going?» I don’t know. «What do you mean you don’t know?» I don’t know. «When are we coming back?» We’re not coming back. «What do you mean we’re not coming back? What about the kids? What about the grandkids?» They’ll figure it out. God will take care of them. We’re going to go. «How far are we going to go?» We’re going to go until God says stop. And when God says stop, we’ll stop. «When are we coming back?» No, we’re not coming back. Sarah says, «You can go if you want to. I’m not going anywhere.» And I’m going to say, «I don’t want to go either because I don’t have that kind of faith.»

I wish I could say I had that kind of faith. I wish I could say I don’t fall short. I wish I could say I don’t struggle with my faith, that I could just step out on nothing but a word from God and believe that and trust that and know that. But I have to admit, I’m not like Abraham. Think about Isaac, how he’s the child of promise. He’s the miracle child. The Bible says that he was born when Abraham’s body was as good as dead and Sarah’s womb was barren. Isaac was born a promise of God—a miracle child. And I love the promises of God. I love that God is a miracle worker. I preach about the miracles of God. I preach about all the promises of God. I encourage other people, you, to live out the promises of God. We sing and stand on the promises of God: 3,573 promises of God in the Bible. Every one of them, yes. Every one of them, amen. Every one of them is trustworthy. You can count on them. Depend on them. He’s not a man that he should lie. Every word he’s promised with his mouth, he will fulfill it with his hand, no question about it.

But I struggle believing those promises for myself. I struggle believing that when it’s taking forever, and it seems like it’s never going to turn around, like nothing’s changing, nothing’s working. I struggle to embrace and believe them like I should. Sometimes I fail in that area, so I can’t hang with Abraham’s level of faith. I can’t hang with Isaac’s level of promise. So what about Jacob? Jacob we find impersonating other people. We find him lying, cheating. He’s a heel-grabber. He’s a deceiver, a supplanter, a thief. Why would God pick a man like that? I mean, think about it. Out of all the people he could choose, I get why he chose Abraham. I understand why he chose Isaac, but Jacob? I mean, come on, God. Surely you could have done better than Jacob. Surely you could have found someone better. I mean, you’re listing this as your elite. You’re listing this as the ones that you say that you’re the God of. Out of all of them, three—Jacob. Man, I’m not really sure that choosing Jacob, this guy that’s always in trouble, he’s always messing up, he’s always doing something that he shouldn’t.

He begins in Genesis chapter 25. The Bible says he’s in the womb of his mother, Rebecca, and there he is with his twin brother, Esau, and the Bible says they’re struggling together in the womb within her. The Bible says they’re fighting each other. They’re at war with each other. This pregnancy is so severe and so discomforting for Rebecca; she goes and prays to God, trying to figure out, why is it they’re trying to kill each other? She can see the punches thrown and it misses one of them and hits her belly. She can watch the kicks. She’s watching this—all there is a fight like the UFC fight in her womb. This is an octagon battle going on in her womb, and they’re struggling. The Bible says it uses the word struggle. Struggle means to wrestle. It means something’s trying to crack you, break you, bruise you, crush you. Something’s trying to discourage you. Something’s trying to oppress you. You’re engaged in a problem with great difficulty; in one fight after another, you’re struggling.

And the only reason I could think that God would have chosen Jacob, the only reason I could come up with, is that he was a man that struggled from the very beginning. This time in the womb set the stage for his whole life. This man who struggled from the beginning, but yet no matter what he was up against, no matter what he faced, he never gave up. And so God says, «I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac, but I’m also the God of strugglers. I’m also the God of all those the world is trying to break. I’m the God of those who are trying to crack you. I’m the God of those whom the world is trying to take everything they have.» Always struggling, always fighting, always shoving, pushing.

It’s always good to know that we have a God that is the God of Abraham. He is the God of Isaac. But it’s also good for me to know that he’s the God of all of us who struggle along the way. Amen. If you look at Jacob’s credentials, the only credentials he has is, «I’m a struggler.» Faults and failures around every turn, but he doesn’t give up. He doesn’t turn his back. He doesn’t walk away. And the Bible says he is the God of Jacob. He is the God of a struggler. He’s the God of the one who stumbles and disappoints. He’s the God of the one who’s in a tug-of-war, saying, «Do I go this way or that way? Do I make this move or that move?»

It’s like he’s in a tug-of-war with the devil himself. He’s the one that’s always wrestling, pushing, shoving, fighting for his very life. Nothing ever came easy for Jacob. Nothing was ever handed to him. He was born struggling. He couldn’t get out of his mother’s womb without a struggle. He’s got his brother against him that hated him from the womb. I mean, Esau’s got his umbilical cord out trying to choke Jacob, trying to kill him. They’re fighting, they’re punching, they’re kicking each other, arm bars trying to get one to tap. One’s got the other one in the guillotine. He’s born struggling. The Bible says his daddy loved Esau, but the mama loved Jacob. So he grows up in a home where he’s the mama’s boy. He’s being babied all the time. And his daddy wants nothing to do with him. His daddy just keeps looking over at Esau, how great Esau is, how wonderful.

But Jacob could get no look from his dad, could get no affirmation from his father. So he grows up in a dysfunctional family. He’s struggling in his family life. If that’s not bad enough, his brother didn’t just stop hating him after they were born. His brother continued to despise Jacob, so much so that Jacob’s mom has to say, «You better run for your life. Your brother’s going to kill you.» And he was an expert hunter. So Jacob runs for his life. Esau’s on his track hunting him every step of the way. He even gets away from his brother, finally gets to a place where maybe he can start fresh, and he has to struggle for his wife. He says, «I’ll work seven years to get my wife.» Seven years. That’s a struggle.

I mean, think about seven years. You’ve got to work seven years. Then he wakes up the day after the wedding and he married the wrong woman, the wrong sister. He doesn’t whine. He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t kick her to the curb. He goes right back, says, «I’ll keep on working. I’ll work another seven years if I have to.» Finally, after 14 years of struggle, he gets his wife Rachel. Then he has the struggle in his career. His father-in-law constantly changing his wages, constantly saying, «I’ll pay you one thing,» and he gets his paycheck, and it’s much less than what he ever said.

Over and over, he struggles. Everywhere he turns, you can do what you want to do to hurt him. Do what you want to do to crack him. Do what you want to do to break his heart. But Jacob refuses to be deterred. And God said, «I am the God of Jacob.» And God says, «I’m going to give this boy something I never gave any other boy. I didn’t give it to Abraham. I didn’t give this to Isaac. I’m going to give this guy something. He struggles so much. He faces so much trouble. I’m going to have to give him something I’ve given nobody else.» And God gives him a ladder that reaches down from heaven to earth, where angels are ascending and descending. God’s saying, «I need to give this one direct access to heaven because he’s going through so much trouble and struggle in his life.»

There God gives Jacob the first man who would ever see the church, the house of God, standing at the gate of heaven. God didn’t give that to Abraham. He didn’t give it to Moses. He didn’t give it to Isaac. That dream, that experience was solely for the one that would struggle. And I don’t think it’s an accident that God said in the past, «I want you to look into the future and know what my house and who my house is going to be for. It’s going to be not for the people that have it all together. It’s going to be for people that can be open and honest and say, ‘I struggle. I struggle with my faith. I struggle in life. I struggle with people.’» He even had to deal with depression. He’s handed the bloody coat of his son, Joseph. He would cry himself to sleep. I mean, imagine your sons hand you a coat that’s been dipped in goat’s blood while they’re looking at your heartbreak, announcing that your youngest son, whom you dearly loved, you were very close to, has been torn apart by wild animals. I mean, what kind of parent has a kid like that? The Bible says that Jacob lamented his life, didn’t want to live, cried day and night. So, he doesn’t have an easy life.

I hope you get it. It wasn’t handed to him. He struggled in every area. He even struggled with God. Let’s look at this. Genesis 32: «Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.» Now the angel had seen that he did not prevail against Jacob. Jacob is facing an angel, and the angel can’t beat Jacob. Think about it. The angel cannot prevail against Jacob. He’s stronger. He’s more powerful. The Bible literally says that the angel tells Jacob, «Jacob, you’re going to have to let go.» My translation: I just started doing jiu-jitsu a couple of months ago. I’m 50; I’m in a midlife crisis; I’m trying to not get old. So, one thing I can tell you about your joints is when it starts to even kind of go in the wrong direction, your instinct is to tap. You ever have your knee go the wrong direction? The whole body freezes up. The angel has Jacob in a position that he’s going to break his hip if he does not tap.

And Jacob is struggling with the angel. He’s wrestling with the angel, and the angel says, «If you don’t tap, I’m breaking you.» And he says, «You can go ahead and break me if you want to. I’m not going to let go until you bless me.» And the angel breaks his hip. The Bible says that the angel looks at him and says, «What’s your name?» And he says, «I’m Jacob.» He says, «Not any longer. You’re not. Not any longer. Now I call you Israel. Listen, because you have prevailed with God.» You struggled your whole life. You struggled in every area imaginable. You even struggled with me. You even had to at times wonder, «Can I hang on? This is going to be so painful. Can I really hang on?» But you chose to, no matter what hits your life, to keep on hanging on, to keep on struggling, to keep on fighting, to keep on warring, and to not let go. And because of that, I now call you Israel, which means you will have power with God and with people. You are a prince. You are one that has prevailed.

Listen to what I’m saying. Jacob, because he wouldn’t give up on God, God said, «I’ll make a prince out of you.» He would have 12 sons. Out of those 12 sons, one would bring the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, into the earth. And he struggled. But he said, «God, I’m not letting go of you. I can’t do this without you. I can’t live this life without you. I can’t raise this family without you. I can’t deal with this loss without you. I cannot deal with the fight that I’m in without you.» And the Bible says he would not let him go. Abraham, very possibly, he might have let go. I don’t know. Isaac maybe would have been in the same place and let go. But you could not crack Jacob. And he said, «If you want to know who I am, if you want to look at my credentials, I’m the God of Abraham. I’m the God of people that have great faith. I’m the God of Isaac, people that stand on the promise, but I’m also the God of those of you who struggle in life.»

And when God got ready to name his children, he did not name them the children of Abraham or the children of Isaac. He named them the children of Israel. He named them the children of a struggler. The children of the one who, no matter what the struggle was, he prevailed with God. And God announces, «If you want to know who I am, I am the God of strugglers.» I don’t know what your life has looked like. I don’t know what your life has been. Sometimes life tries to break you, tries to crack you, it tries to bruise you, discouraged with God, discouraged with the church, discouraged with God’s people, maybe discouraged with your husband or your wife or your children or your marriage. And everything within you is saying, «Man, I don’t know if I can hang on. I don’t know if I can push through this struggle. I don’t know if this time I’ve got what it takes.» Listen, he’s the God of Abraham. He’s the God of Isaac, and he’s the God of Jacob. And he says, «I want you to know I’m going to name all my children after that man.»

God said, «I like him so much, I’m naming my children after him.» All my children will be strugglers. All of them will have to struggle if they want to make it. All of them are going to have to learn to fight if they’re going to survive and make it. The world’s going to try to get them to cave in. The world’s going to try to get them to turn their back on me. They’ll have to learn to struggle in life when things go a different direction than what they thought. They’ll have to, like Jacob, say, «I’m not letting go until you bless me.» He’s the God of Abraham. He’s the God of Isaac, but he’s the God of Jacob. In other words, if you want to know what your bloodline is, your bloodline, your heritage is connected to a struggler. And that’s who we’re the children of, by the way. We’re the children of Israel. We’re the children of a struggler. We’re the children of Almighty God. Amen.

I often think too, I mean, if you really—because we ask the question, «Why all this struggle? Why am I struggling with this? Why do I—why is my family? Why are my kids? Why—why am I struggling?» But you think about Jesus. It’s interesting that from conception, he struggled. From conception, it was like his own mom and future dad, his earthly father, was about to get a divorce. He didn’t even have a place to be born. No hospital, no sanitization. They put him in a barn. He struggled to be born. Then he struggles to survive and live. His parents have to go on the run and live on the run and go to Egypt because Herod’s trying to kill him. Then, when he finally comes into his own, every single place you see him, there’s a struggle. He struggled against the religious, struggled against the Pharisees of his state. They hated him. They constantly worked against him, constantly trying to find out ways to kill him and take him out of the picture. He struggled with his own disciples. He struggled with the one that would betray him. He struggled in the garden as he prayed, and his sweat became great drops of blood. Struggled. Struggled. Struggled. Struggled.

Struggled as they arrested him. Struggled as they falsely accused him. Struggled as they sentenced him to execution by crucifixion. Struggled as he hung and bled on the cross. Just struggle, struggle, struggle. He’s the God of Abraham. He’s the God of Isaac. He’s the God of all of us who struggle. The struggle is actually the very thing that you should be looking at and say, «Man, I must be doing it the right way.» The struggle is not the evidence that you messed up. I’m not saying you didn’t do some things to bring it on yourself because we do that too. But the struggle is the evidence that God’s saying, «I want you to learn from this.» Amen. I want you—I want you to learn from this failure. You don’t have to stay stuck in it.

So with every eye—matter of fact, why don’t we stand up to our feet? This is how I want us to end at all our locations. By the way, I want us to end by just reaching over, maybe just putting your hand on the shoulder of the person next to you because sometimes we forget. And again, if they’re not comfortable, then just kind of point your hand toward them. If you don’t know them, you could kind of sense her being like, «Nah, no, I’m good.» And maybe you see somebody and they’re kind of isolated, standing by themselves. Maybe you should just go find them. Ushers find them.

Somebody just find them, just put your hand on them. If not, just stretch your hands toward them and pray for them. You’re touching a struggler right now. I don’t know what they’re struggling with. I don’t know what they’re facing. I don’t know how difficult it is for them. But maybe they are like, «Man, God, are you trying to break me?» But we’re going to pray for one another that we’d keep fighting, keep pushing, and that we would never let go until he blesses us. God will bless your life if you do not give up with your family, in your marriage, in church, in God’s house. Guess what? Churches struggle too. They struggle too. You know the people I’ve watched be the most blessed? I’ve done this for 30 years. People that don’t quit. People that stay the course. People that say, «I’m going to keep on going.» Christians struggle. We all struggle. We all struggle.

So, Father, in Jesus' name, we lift up the person on our right and our left, those behind us and in front of us. You know the unique struggle. You know the tug-of-war going on in their life. You know how the enemy is trying to plant lies and seeds of doubt in their heart because they’re wondering why all the struggle, why it’s always so hard for me? Many of them are saying from birth, from childhood, from upbringing, it’s like it never seemed to get easier. But, Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, I thank you that they will prevail in the mighty name of Jesus. That they will not let go. I don’t care what it looks like. I don’t care what tries to break them in this life. God, you’re going to be their God, the God of strugglers. And I thank you that your promise is that you will bless them in Jesus' name.

Now, think about this with me real quick. Just look at me real quick, and we’re going to pray. Keep praying. You know, the Bible actually says when you and I get to heaven, we’ll get a white stone, and there will be our new name written on it. There’s a name that God has for you. When he looks at you, there’s a name he has for you. Your mom and dad named you. Other people said things about you. Other people have labeled you. They said a lot of things about you. But God, when he looks at you, he has his name for you. And when you get to heaven, he says, «Hey, I know they said you were this. I know they said you were that. I know. I know. I know. Life said this. I know. But this is what I say about it.» When you get to heaven, that happens. But if you look through the Bible, you have these moments where Jacob didn’t have to wait to get to heaven. He didn’t have to wait to hear what God said his name was. He had heard his whole life, «You’re a deceiver. You’re a liar. You’re a cheater. That’s who you are. You’re trouble. You’re a struggler.» His whole life, that’s what he was called. But he started to wrestle with God, and God said, «No, that’s not what I call you. I call you this. I call you Israel.»

I believe it’s possible for you to know how God sees you and what his name is for you, and you don’t have to wait to get to heaven to do it. You look through all the New Testament, all the Old Testament—Abram, Abraham, Saul, Paul—over and over and over, they didn’t have to wait. God said, «I’m going to let you know who you are.» So, I’m going to pray for you. And I’m going to pray for you, maybe not today, maybe in days to come, weeks to come, months to come. I’m going to pray that God, when you wrestle with him, would give you a new name. Not one that you tell everybody about. I believe God’s given me that name, and I’ve never told a soul what that name is. But when I go to God, I’m like, «I know how he sees me. I know what he calls me.» And the truth is, it’s in the area I felt the most lack.

So if you felt like, «Man, you failed beyond imagination. There’s no chance for you. There’s no future for you,» he might name you a restorer. Man, if you feel like you’ve just always been bound and shackled and chained, he might name you deliverer. I don’t know what your name is, but he knows. Amen. Don’t let go until he blesses you. So, Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, put your hand on your heart. God, remind us that we’re not what our parents called us—good, bad, or indifferent. We’re not mad. We’re not who the world has called us. We’re not even what we call ourselves. At the end of the day, your promise is a new name.

And Father, I thank you today for revealing to someone that they’re an encourager. They’re a lifter. They’re a healer. They’re a restorer. They’re a deliverer in Jesus' name. They’re the head and not the tail. Father, thank you that all across this room, they’re sons. They’re not orphans. They’re daughters of the Most High God. They’re not an outsider today. They’re your beloved in whom you are well pleased in Jesus' mighty name. We bless you and we honor you. Come on, just begin to say, «God, I’m not letting go.» You know the area you struggle in. I’m not letting go. You might break my hip, but I’m not tapping. I may never walk the same. My life may never look the same, but I’m not going to give up on you. I’m not going to let go of you. And in the mighty name of Jesus, there’s a blessing that only God gives those who struggle and prevail, but the blessing is as real as can be. He blesses those. He breaks. He blesses us. Come on, can you give him honor? With our praise, we’re saying, «I’m not giving up.» With our praise, we’re saying, «I’m not going to give in.» With our praise, we’re saying, «God, I’m going to hang on in Jesus' name until I prevail.»

Praise the name of Jesus. Praise the name of Jesus. Every eye closed, every head bowed. Maybe you’re here today and you say, «Marcus, I’ve always struggled with sin. I even struggled to even be in church today because, man, my sin struggles are so significant.» You kind of always keep your distance from God. You kind of always have your back turned towards him. You kind of always turn away from him because you’re struggling with sin. And if you just decided to mention your sin to the person next to you or to the people around you, they’d be like, «There’s no way you fit into the elite of God’s people.»

But I just came to tell you, he’s the God of the strugglers. He doesn’t need you to get it together to come to him. He doesn’t need you to work it all out to come to him. You come struggling. You just come struggling. You come saying, «God, I don’t think that someone that is turning to you should have this kind of struggle. I think I should fix this area of my life, and then I’ll come to you.» But he doesn’t need you to fix it. He doesn’t need you to get free from it. He needs you to say, «God, even though I struggle, will you be my God? Even though I struggle, would you show me your love? Even though I struggle, would you give me a new beginning? Would you give me a new chance? Would you let me know when I’m in the fight of my life that you’re with me and that you’re for me and that you love me?»

So, every eye is closed, every head is bowed. But if you’re here and you would say, «Marcus, would you pray for me today? I want to turn towards Jesus Christ. I want to turn towards his favor, his love, his forgiveness, his mercy. I struggle with stuff, but today I need forgiveness. I need to make Jesus Christ the Lord of my life. I need to be born again. I need to be saved. I need God to give me purpose, a purpose to live. And I need to know that I’m sealed and secure, that my home is heaven.»

And today you’re here, and you have questions because of your struggle. And you would say, «I don’t know if I’m serving God. I don’t know if I’m right with God. But today, I come here and I want to get right with God. I want to repent. I want to turn to him. I want forgiveness. And I want a new beginning.» And if that’s you, on the count of three, lift that hand at all of our locations as quickly as you can. One, two, three. Throw that hand up. Slip it up as quickly as you can. Keep it raised. Keep it raised as high as you can. I’m just looking at a bunch of strugglers who thought, «Man, if God really loved me, would I struggle with this? If God really had a great purpose for my life, would I have this struggle?» And the answer to you is yes. He is the God of strugglers.

Keep that hand raised as quickly and as high as you can at all our locations. You’ll know to put your hand down as soon as my friend puts a book in your hand. And that’s just something for you to take with you. Read it; it’s going to really help you in some real small ways. It’s an easy read; just take a few minutes. Let’s all put our hands on our hearts. We’re going to pray with those who lifted their hands. The Bible says you confess with your mouth and you believe in your heart that Jesus is God’s only Son and that he raised him from the dead. Somebody said, «That prayer saves me.» Well, Jesus saves you. Come on. Not your work. Not your effort, not your prayer—Jesus saves you and putting faith in him. The Bible says we’re saved by grace through faith, putting your faith in him.

So it says this is what it says: Romans 10:9. Believe that Jesus is God’s only Son. Believe that in your heart and that he raised him from the dead. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father. And you know what he’s doing? He’s interceding for you. You know what that means? He’s standing up for you. The devil’s hit you, lies hit you, shame hits you, and the Bible says he went to that cross so he could stand in the gap and stand up for you, saying, «Hey, it doesn’t have to end like this. A brand new beginning is possible.» So say this with me:

Jesus, I believe that you’re God’s only Son. That you died on a cross for my sin. And that you rose again from the dead. And that I have a promise, I have a promise because of the price you paid of a new beginning, of a brand new life. I can cross from death to life because of the cross. I can exchange my sin for your perfection because of the cross. And I come to you now asking for forgiveness, asking that you heal my heart, asking that you give me a brand new beginning in Jesus' name. We all said, «Amen.»