Steven Furtick - My Joy Is My Job
We have also been releasing in this series that I'm doing, Do the New You, not only this new book I've written but also six confessions of faith into your life one at a time, just giving you your daily dosage. This one today is what Holly says is her favorite of the six. I think she says that because I need it the most. We're going to talk about joy today. The specific mindset goes like this. The saying is only four words. It's the shortest of the mindsets. This one goes, "My joy is my job". Now you said it. Just remember you said that when we finish this sermon, because to say that means I'm going to start taking responsibility for my own attitude, my own emotions, my own temper-tantrums, my own road rage, and my own self-pity parties.
So, let's say it again. "My joy…" Or maybe you just want to tell this to your neighbor. Maybe you don't want to say it about yourself. Just look at them and say, "Your joy is your job". Tell them, "I can't make you happy". We're going to look at this in detail today, but one of the things I've had a lot of fun in is going back through the topics in the book and the mindsets but finding some epic Bible stories to locate. This one today is as epic as it gets. Turn in your Bible to Acts, chapter 16. We're going to pick up in verse 22. You may have heard this story before, but that's okay. I want to demonstrate to you today that your joy is your job from Acts 16:22. Thank you, Jesus.
How many know if you have Jesus you have joy? The Bible says in Acts 16:22, "The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully". Good luck with that. Guarding the apostle Paul and his partner Silas. Good luck with that, dude. He was commanded to guard them carefully. Verse 24: "When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose".
Give God a "chains came loose" praise. Lift your hands if you've ever had your chains come loose. I want you to do a little time travel with me. Before we go all the way back, let's just go back briefly. The year is 2009. Turn to your neighbor and tell them how old you were in the year 2009. I think I had platinum blond hair. I think my hair looked just like Graham's hair in the year 2009. The Lakers have just won game two of the NBA finals. Kobe Bryant is in a press conference. He's not smiling. The reporter asks him, "Aren't you happy? Why aren't you happy? Are you half happy? You're up two games to zero". In the NBA finals you have to win four games to win the championship. What Kobe said next is legendary. I'm not a big basketball fan. I'm not really a big sports fan, but my son Graham has quoted this so many times that I looked it up. Kobe looks back, irritated, aggravated, and cold-blooded. He says, "Aren't you happy? You're up two games to zero". Kobe says, "What's there to be happy about? The job's not finished".
Oh! Kobe said what I feel all the time. I'm not saying it's right to live your life that way. It just feels so good to be seen by somebody. Happy people, smiley people make me sick. What are you smiling about? "What is there to be happy about"? Kobe wanted to know. "The job's not finished". I feel that way. I feel that way all the time. I am a work in progress, and God is not finished with me yet. He's developing me and getting me past this point of thinking I have to be completely finished in order to be fulfilled. So, if we travel forward to 2024, it occurs to me today that everybody in this room is sitting in the middle of unfinished business. There will always be a place in your life that feels unfinished, frustrating.
he thing about it is if you really want to get down to it, to be human is to be unfinished. Even the apostle Paul, if we go all the way back… Let's time travel a little more. Let's go to AD 50. He's taking the gospel to the known world. You could say he was the shooting guard of the New Testament church. Honor and respect to the apostle Paul. He was unbelievably effective at what he did, but even in his own travels and his own journey, he encountered many dips, cuts, scrapes, and bruises along the way. For instance, he tried to enter on his second missionary journey… Not his second NBA playoff game, but his second missionary journey. I'm kind of making some parallels here between Kobe and the apostle Paul, but I'm just doing it for the illustration's point. He's going forward with the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the Bible says he was prevented from entering a certain place where he wanted to go preach in Asia. He couldn't go in. It says he couldn't go in.
He had a vision to go help people in a region called Macedonia, which is in Europe. He gets there, and it's going pretty well. It's going so well, in fact, that he has identified a woman named Lydia who had adequate resources to help them start their first house church. This is a big breakthrough, because it's in a city called Philippi, which is a strategic center of trade and commerce in the region of Macedonia on the continent of Europe. The gospel has never been to Philippi before. We see now that God has a strategy to fill Philippi with the gospel. It's going so well, because Paul talks to this woman named Lydia and goes into her house and starts teaching an eGroup or a pop-up. Lydia's house is such an accommodating environment for a pop-up church.
Shout-out to all our eFam. Let's give a shout-out to all our eFam from 11701 Elevation Point. Yeah, we give you a shout-out from 11701. We bless you in the name of Jesus. Wherever you are having church right now, whatever you're going through, we confer the presence of God upon you and your house and everything that's on your mind right now. We speak the peace of God to your situation. So, Paul is preaching, and he has met somebody who is a viable partner. He and his partner Silas are going down the street. All of a sudden, this little… I shouldn't call her a little girl. I don't know how old she was. The Bible calls her a girl. Maybe she wasn't small in stature, but she had a very unique gift. She had the ability to tell the future, but it was a demon spirit that enabled her to do it.
So, the people who employed her and enslaved her… I call it employed, but they really made all the money off of her gift, so they were using her. Well, she followed Paul and Silas around all through Philippi for a little while, and she was shouting in a sarcastic, mocking kind of way, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they are telling you the way to be saved! These men are servants of the Most High God, and they are telling you the way to be saved"! She said that so many times that, eventually, Paul the preacher, Paul the apostle, Paul the holy man of God, turned around. The Bible says he was annoyed. The Bible actually says that. He was annoyed.
You know you can be anointed and annoyed, right? You know you can have a mission and have mood swings, right? Yeah. He turned around and said, "In the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her"! and the spirit left. But when the spirit left the girl, so did her ability to earn income for her masters, which made them unhappy. Since they were unhappy, they dragged Paul and Silas into the middle of the civic square where the commerce happened there in Philippi, put them on trial, and made up lies about them. They said, "These men are going against our Roman customs," even though Paul and Silas had Roman citizenship. The Enemy is a liar, and he will lie about anything and use anything in order to wage his war to keep you from doing what God has called you to do.
So, the people take Paul and Silas and lock them in prison. We picked up the story at a pretty unhappy point in Acts 16:22, at least for Paul and Silas. It is a very pivotal moment. The Bible says, "The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas". After I've told you everything I've told you by way of background today, could we agree that the size of the attack on your life is relative to the size of the assignment on your life? A crowd would not have attacked them if they were not affecting a lot of people. There would have been no attack if there was no anointing. I mentioned this last week because I was trying to tell you that God is not against you, but he's in it with you, working through you, fighting for you. Yet to have God fighting for you does not mean no one or nothing will fight against you. It almost guarantees that they will. I know it's not a fun place to clap, but let's clap because God doesn't leave us alone when we're under attack.
Let me point out something else. The attack is not absence of God's presence. I'm going to show you that in just a moment. Before I do, let's talk a little bit about what Kobe said. "The job's not finished. What's there to be happy about"? You know, we're recording a bunch of new songs here tonight. The most amazing musicians, singers, technicians, videographers, and graphic designers in the world will put together hopefully an amazing evening. I hope you can be here, and I hope you will enjoy it. This morning, I was riding to church listening to one of the songs we're going to be singing tonight, the song that says, "Oh, my God, you've sure been good to me".
We'll be recording that song tonight. I was playing it, and I was riding with Abbey. I was thinking, "Oh, I hope we record it right tonight. I hope it goes well. I hope the people show up ready. I hope they don't show up like they do sometimes where they don't really sing loud, and then they mess up the recording because they weren't really into it, and then we can't use the song. I hope they show up tonight. I hope it's good. I hope everybody got enough sleep. I hope everybody's voice works good. I hope all the songs go good". I was thinking about the fact that we're going to record this song, and I looked over, and Abbey was singing the song off the demo. I realized, "It will be wonderful when we record the song. It will be wonderful when we release the song. It will be wonderful if millions of people are blessed by the song, and I hope they are, but this right now… Even though it is unfinished, it is fulfilling right now".
I want to learn how to be sitting in something that's unfinished and still be fulfilled. I want to learn how to be able to say, "I've got something to be happy about even though the job's not finished". In the words of that famous hymn writer Bon Jovi, we're halfway there. Whoa-oh. I'm halfway there. Yeah. I've got two wins. So, while Kobe's strategy may be an excellent strategy for sports, it is a bad strategy for happiness. For you to focus on what is unfinished in your life, the unfinished business of your spiritual growth, the underdeveloped areas of your character that still aren't as far along as you wish they were, the unfinished business enterprises that you don't yet know if they're going to turn out good or turn out bad… For you to focus on the unfinished is to diminish the gift of this, this right here, this right now, this breath, this sermon, this moment, this gathering, this praise, this opportunity, this new day, this season, this moment, this person, this relationship, this effort, this breath, this right here.
So, I'm headed somewhere, and I'm excited about it, and I'm working on something, because I'm not complacent, but, O God, teach me to be content while I'm in it. Time travel to the year AD 50 with me. Let's get out of 2009. We're going to party like it's AD 50 in the church today. But first, in order to get to the party, we have to go through the pain. I need to speak to you a little bit today about the danger of postponing joy. Don't let the pressure make you postpone the joy. Isn't that what Kobe was trying to say? "No. I've still got to get us to game… We've got to win four of these, not two, so I can't smile at you right now". And it's a genius press conference strategy for a sound bite. I mean, let's be honest. We're still talking about it today. But it is a horrible way for you to approach raising your kids. "The job's not finished".
When will it be? When do you think it's going to be finished? Do you think you're going to send them off and they're going to be finished? There is a boomerang anointing on your children. They come right back. When will it be finished? "What's there to be happy about? I still don't have a job. I've been looking for four months". But when you get a job, can't you lose it? "Well, see, I'm single right now. When I meet my Boaz, I will be blessed and highly favored". And all the married people said, "Ha, ha"! Unless you marry Holly. Then you will be finally, eternally happy. But she's off the market. The thing about it is if you postpone your joy because of the pressure, you will never give God praise. If you think there is a future date where you will be… Key word. I'm going to teach you for a little bit.
"When I'm free from this and I have more time…" "When I'm free from this and I don't struggle so much…" "When I'm free from this and it's not a temptation anymore…" "When I'm free from this…" Do not shout, "Amen". "When I am free from this relationship…" If you're sitting next to them, go quiet. Just go dark right now. Just look really confused as I preach. "If it wasn't for them, if it wasn't for this…" It would amaze you how many people are waiting to be free from something because they think they're going to feel something when they're free from something. What I have to learn how to do in my life (and I suggest it is the task of all of us who walk by faith and not by sight) is to be free unfinished. To know "Okay. Well, my money isn't where I want it to be, but my marriage is. My marriage isn't where I want it to be, but my relationship with God is growing. My relationship with God isn't where I want it to be, but I'm in church today, Devil. Did you see me show up with my good clothes on, wearing green"?
Come on. Pinch somebody really quick and say, "I just wanted to get one in". Pinch yourself really quick. Some of you need to wake up and realize all of the things God has done. You are sitting there not smiling, not shouting, not celebrating, waiting on something else good to happen. When would be a good time for you to praise him? "I will bless the Lord at all times". All means all. Bless him means bless him. Bless him right now. Bless him, my brother! Bless him, my sister! Bless him, my friend! Bless him! The Bible says the jailer was commanded, "Hey, watch out for these two. Watch out for these guys. They're turning our city upside down. Watch out for them".
That's why the Devil has had you contained. That's why the Devil is trying to constrain you with anxiety. That's why the Devil is trying to press you down with depression: because there's something in you. The attack against you only indicates the potential that is within you. That's all it is. So, what are you going to do about it, Paul? This must have shocked everybody who saw him in those shackles. It's about midnight, the Bible says, which is a bad time. It's a bad time to go out. It's a bad time to be awake if you're in. I want to be in my bed at 9:45 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, every night. It is a product of this stage of my life. As the process of day gives way to the process of night, something very interesting happens.
Now, the jailer was commanded to Paul and Silas as their guard, but the Bible says in Proverbs 4:23 that you are to guard your heart above all else. So, while the jailer is guarding Paul, we see that Paul was apparently guarding Paul too. If at this point he has allowed bitterness to seep into his heart because this isn't fair, and if at this point he has allowed uncertainty to paralyze him, he is not going to do what he does next. The Bible says, "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them". It's a process. When you're going through things in your life and the unfinished business and realizing, "It's a process. I'm a process. Recovery is a process. Wealth building is a process. Holiness is a process. Relational intimacy is a process. Showing up is a process. Staying put is a process. Day is a process. Night is a process".
The birth of day includes the process of the coming of night. At midnight, Paul and Silas started praying and singing. If I could give that guard one word of advice, it would be "You made a mistake, not when you put their feet in the shackles. You made a mistake, not when you put them in the inner cell. That's the most secure part of the prison. I understand you were doing what you were supposed to do". I wouldn't even tell the guard he made a mistake when he went to sleep, because you'll see in just a few verses that he actually was dozed off over there in the corner somewhere. That's fine, too, because their feet were in shackles.
"But the mistake you made was putting them together in the same cell. If you would have kept them in isolation, they would have processed this pain differently. If you would have kept them separated, Paul would have started processing, 'Well, maybe God doesn't want us over here in Europe.' If you would have kept Paul in isolation in his own cell, he would have started processing, 'Why does life have to be so hard for me? God, you got Peter out of prison. You can't keep me out of prison?'" If he would have kept him in isolation, maybe he would have started comparing it to the last time he preached. Maybe, if he would have kept Paul in isolation, he would have gone into self-pity. Maybe, if he would have kept Silas in isolation, he would have sabotaged, but the Bible says he did one thing wrong. He put them in the cell. The Devil did one thing wrong this morning. He let you get to Elevation Church at 11701 Elevation Point Drive on St. Patrick's Day of 2024. He put you next to somebody who is about to pinch you, look you in the eye, and say, "Wake up! God is with us".
Clap your hands if you know God is with you in the process. I'm speaking over your life. God is with you in the process. God is with you when it's 2-0, when it's 0-2, when it's game four, game five, game six, game seven. God is with me in the post-game analysis, because he's with me in the process. I want to make sure the way you are processing the unfinished places in your life, the way you are processing the imperfect parts of you, the way you are processing the parts of your life that do not match your preference… I want to make sure your process doesn't become your prison so you ruminate and stew and have imaginary conversations where you get back at people who aren't even thinking about you right now.
If I invested all the imagination and energy into preaching that I did into imaginary arguments with people, I would be Charles Spurgeon or Billy Graham. We have to go into some prisons. Right? They were thrown into one prison, but the other one… I think sometimes you aren't thrown into it; I think you think your way into it. So, we have to process. It's hard to process (as we're talking about joy) when you're in prison and your feet are in stocks and it's dark outside and your back is raw because you were beaten with rods. I know we normally don't go through things to this magnitude. That's why I think the story is so helpful, because whatever you're going through, it isn't this. Whatever pressure you have on you, it isn't being the lead apostle for the gospel just decades after Jesus Christ walked the earth. So, if they did this, it can become an illustration for me. It takes a they.
As you process, I want you to write down three things. Make sure you have the right partner to process. Write down the word partner. I need a partner. I need a partner in my life who will help me to process my imperfection and my unfinishedness in a way that encourages me with the grace to sit in my unfinished but also gives me an example and a goal that I can go forward and grow into all God has called me to be. As a matter of fact, I told Isaiah "Zeek" Templeton I might bring him up to be my partner. So come on. I think we should do it. Would y'all give Zeek a hand as he comes? Oh, come on. You can do better than that. It's Zeek, everybody! Zeek, as you come, I'll be Paul, you be Silas.
Let's give the people a mental picture. Yeah, give him a microphone. We might do some singing before this illustration. I'm just saying. The partner I pick might indicate the purpose I have in mind. That's a whole sermon point. Nobody wrote it down. I picked my partner according to my purpose. God picks people according to his purpose. God picked you according to a purpose. So, here's what they did. The Bible says it's midnight. It doesn't say they were sitting like this. This just seemed to be a good way to get the point across. But they were in the same cell. Maybe Paul… I have some speculations about this passage. First of all, let's see the Scripture. Acts 16:25: "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God".
Okay. This is just a speculation. It's not in the text, but I just speculate. I don't think Paul was a very good singer. I think Silas was a better singer than Paul. I take it from one Scripture where people used to say when he would get up that he was unimpressive in person. If you're a great singer, nobody is going to say that about you. Right? So I don't think Paul was a very good singer, but I think… This is another speculation. I think Paul is the one who started singing, because one thing Paul knew how to do was start stuff. He was an instigator. Okay? So, I imagine it's about midnight. And what else are you going to do? You can't move. He's not going to do any burpees. His feet are in stocks. He's not going to get prison ripped this time. I know they didn't have musical directors in prison, but just give me a C so I can sing in a good note.
Okay. I think sometime in the middle of the night Paul went… What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the everlasting arms… It says they sang hymns. I know that hymn wasn't written yet. Use your imagination. I think they sang something like that. What a blessedness, what a peace is mine… He probably doesn't feel a lot of peace when he sings that, but I'm going to give you a life principle, worshipers. Sometimes you have to sing until your soul catches up with your song. Do you feel that, Silas? Leaning on the everlasting arms. Leaning… Hey, Silas, are you awake back there?
Zeek: …leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms…
Steven: I think when Silas started singing, Paul started getting louder. Leaning, leaning, Leaning on the everlasting arms. But it says they sang hymns, plural. So they didn't stop singing. I think Paul knew so many hymns he just started a medley. You know what I'm saying? I think he memorized some songs in a previous season that God knew he would need at a midnight hour. Uh-huh. So, I think next he went… Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! You take this part, Silas.
Zeek: Heir of salvation, purchased by God, Born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Steven: Now, I want you to remember their feet are in shackles, but they're washed in his blood. I want you to remember their feet are in shackles, but they're born of his Spirit. I want you to remember that your situation is dark, but you're born of the Spirit. I want to remind you that this chapter is painful, but your story isn't over. Paul said…
Zeek: This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long, This is my story…
Steven: Do that again, Silas, but do it high. "This is my story".
Zeek: This is my story, this is my song…
Steven: So what am I doing? Zeek &
Steven: Praising my Savior, (I'm leaning, I'm leaning) Praising my Savior all the day long.
Steven: Praising my Savior at midnight too. All of a sudden, the Bible says, as they were singing, something started shaking. Something started shaking. Praise started shaking something. Lydia might have felt it at her house, and she didn't know what it was, but Paul knew. When we praise… The foundations started shaking, and Paul said… On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. Help me, church! On Christ the solid rock I stand… My feet are in these shackles, but I'm standing! All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. Come on! Let's shake the foundations for a minute! No, no. You can't shake them like that. You've got to get down on the inside of your belly. From your belly!
Somebody shout unto God! Shaking, shaking. Shaking, shaking. Shaking, shaking. I'm singing in shackles, and something starts shaking. I'm singing in shackles, and something starts shaking. I'm singing in loneliness, and something starts shaking, because I have a partner, I have a praise… The Bible says they did one more thing. They prayed. Did the Bible say they prayed in verse 25 or did I make it up? They prayed. Verse 25 says they sang (they praised) and they prayed. I don't know what songs they sang. I don't know what prayers they prayed, but I have a speculation about what they didn't pray. I would imagine if you're in a prison, your prayer, your dominant goal and thought would be…what? "Get us out". Yet the Bible says… I have heard this passage preached like you wouldn't believe about how a shout will bring you out, which confused me when I read the next verse.
The Bible says that after they sang and prayed… I'm imagining Paul going, "God, get us out by your power, by your blood. Just like you brought Moses out of Egypt, just like you brought Nehemiah and the captives back to Jerusalem, just like you did it for them, just like you brought Jonah from the belly of the whale, God, get me out"! The Bible says suddenly there was a violent earthquake, the foundations shook, and everyone's chains came loose. Now, what do you do when you're in prison and your chains come loose? One, two, three. Leave! When your chains come loose, you leave. Right? Because I prayed and he brought me out. But watch this. Verse 27 says, "The jailer woke up…" Dude, you had one job. "The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself…" Because if he didn't, his superior officer would. "…because he thought the prisoners had escaped".
Well, yeah. That's what you're supposed to do when God sends an earthquake and opens the doors. Unless they weren't praying for God to get them out. I don't know who this is for. You keep thinking God wants to get you out, and sometimes he does. Eventually they left. They didn't stay there. But verse 27 is very powerful. The Bible says, "The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped". Verse 28: "But Paul shouted, 'Don't harm yourself! We are all here!'" Why are you still here? Paul says, "I wasn't praying for God to get me out; I was praying for God to come in. These doors are open because the King of Glory is coming in"!
So, I want to propose to you, child of God, that you keep saying, "When I get out of this, I'm going to praise God," which is the wrong perspective. You can praise God when you get out of it, but you can also praise God into it. I'm going to give you 24 seconds to do it right now. I need to show you this. Glory to God. That's what you have to do right now. That's your job in this season of your life. Silas said, "Paul, the doors are open". Paul said, "The job's not finished". Listen to this. You've been wondering why you're going through what you're going through. I suggest there is always a bigger picture, and I present to you that not only did they have a partner and a praise and a prayer, but they had a purpose. I say that to you about every single cell you are locked in in your life today.
See, it would be wonderful if we could just come out of it, but shouldn't we first ask God to come into it? Yeah. That's my job. It's not by coincidence that Paul and the prisoners were still sitting there. The Bible says in verse 29, "The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'" Wow! That's what that servant girl was following them around saying a few verses earlier. "These are the men who will tell you how to be saved".
Now the prison break happened, not so they could get out but so God could get in, because there was somebody whose life he wanted to touch. Wait a minute. This isn't a prison. It's a pop-up church in Philippi. God is starting a pop-up church in your life right now. He's going to demonstrate some things through you. He's going to show some of the people… The Bible says all of the other prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas. Somebody is looking at your life, listening to your life. You are doing this for an example. The gospel is with you. The assignment of God is heavy on your life. There is a shout that will bring you out, but there is also a shout that says, "I'm still here," and that's what Paul shouted. He said, "The job's not finished". This dude came over to Paul and Silas and got a sermon. Listen to how good this sermon is. When I learn how to preach this short and this good, we'll be out of here in time for brunch next week.
Verse 31: "They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.'" Why were they in prison? Why did the foundations shake? Because as the foundations of that prison were shaking, a foundation for a church was being laid, the first church in Europe. It all started in shackles. What is God starting in the shackles of your life right now, in the area where you can't move and can't do it? I know this much: you only have one job. When he asked them how to be saved, they didn't say, "Get your act together, clean up your house, and stop falling asleep on your night shift". They said, "Believe". And not just believe. "'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.' Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household".
What do you have to be happy about? I'm filled with joy because I believe in God. That's my basis. That's my firm foundation. On Christ the solid rock I stand. I want to give an invitation right now for those of you who God has brought to this message today so you can believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved. The Bible says that jailer, upon believing in Jesus, was filled with joy. At the moment you place your faith in Jesus Christ, you are filled with his Spirit, you are forgiven of your sin, and you are freed for your future. Right now, if that's you and God brought you here, and you have been in the prison of your sin and your self-effort, I believe that right now is a defining moment in your life. I'm going to pray a prayer with you. Repeat this prayer after me. If you repeat this prayer and mean it from your heart, the Bible says you will be saved. Praying after me, church, for the benefit of those who are coming to God or back to God.
Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and today I make Jesus the Lord of my life. I believe you died that I would be forgiven and rose again to give me life. I receive this new life. This is my new beginning.
On the count of three, shoot your hand up if you prayed that. One, two, three. Shoot them up all over the room. Online, say, "I received Jesus". Come on, let's clap our hands and thank God, church family! We can do better than that. Let's thank God for every soul he's saving, every life he's touching. Let's give him a great shout of praise!