Kingdom Benefit #2 JOY

And we've been looking at our kingdom
benefits, right? The first one is what?
>> Love,
>> right? The second one is
>> love through service.
>> Right. Thank you, Bobby J. I love how
thorough he is. He's right. That's part
of the the core benefit. Today, we're
looking at the second kingdom benefit,
which is joy. So, let's take a look. Um,
if you have your Bibles, get them ready.
If not, you could look on the uh
overhead. But I want to define what joy
is first. So joy is
an internal state of mind that never
leaves us, right? It's one of the fruits
of the spirit. So do you know it's
possible to be ha excuse me, it's
possible to be unhappy and joyful at the
same time?
See, happiness is based on the external
circumstances. Like when you get that
promotion at work or things go your way,
you're happy, right? Joy is when all
heck is breaking loose and there's
really no good reason to be grateful and
thankful, but you are because the joy of
the Lord is your strength. You see, joy
is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. So if you
are a Christian, if you are a Christ
follower and you're never experiencing
God's joy, you may not be saved.
True. Don't get mad at me. It's in the
Bible.
It's in the Bible. See, it's one of the
fruits of the spirit, right? So if I'm
not joyful,
two things are going on. either I'm not
really connected through the Holy Spirit
to Jesus. I'm not really saved. That's
one possibility. The other possibility
is I'm thinking something that I ought
not to be thinking that's keeping me
from receiving God's joy. Now, does some
of you feel a little better?
[laughter]
Like,
>> like,
right,
let's look at King David. King David was
an awesome dude, right? So, remember
what happened when the tabernacle
um the ark of the covenant uh was coming
back to Jerusalem, right? The house, the
ten commandments, which symbolized the
presence of the Lord, right? King David
did what? He was so joyful and so
overjoyed in the Lord. He took off his
garments and he basically started
leaping for joy. The Bible says in his
underoos
[laughter]
that's what they were. They were long
johns basically his outer garments he
shed and he was jumping around his
under. Now what happened in that
situation? Well, most of Israel rejoiced
with King David. He was so happy. He was
so joyful. And so they joined in with
him. But when he got home to his wife,
what did his wife say?
>> You fool.
Now, why is it promised my wife I
wouldn't put her in the sermon today,
but why is it
[laughter]
too late for that? I mean, it's right
there, honey. It's teed up for me. You
know what I'm saying? Why is it like for
example um people go, "Oh man, you're so
funny on Sunday mornings." And it's all
spontaneous. I never plan to be funny.
Just the Lord uses whenever I need to
break the tension or whatever. Boom. God
gives me a nugget. Well, the only person
that's never laughing, but she's right
here. So, I can see everyone laughing
and smiling. You guys are getting
endorphins. Michelle,
[laughter]
it's not funny.
Why? Why is it that whether you're funny
or whatever or loving or joyful, you
know, everyone else thinks you're
amazing, but it's you get home to your
wife, it goes blown out of proportion
really.
Was Wasn't that great? You know what I'm
saying? Um, so this has been going on
for thousands of years. I mean, I I find
comfort in that King David had to deal
with the same thing. You know what I'm
saying? Um, so, you know, she wasn't
impressed. She called him a fool. You
know, what are you doing? Leaping for
joy. But King David modeled something
for us. When God touches your life and
he sets you free and you feel the love,
you feel the joy, you feel his presence,
sometimes you just got to leap for joy.
Sometimes you just have to express your
emotions to God. How many of you love to
express emotions to God?
>> Amen.
>> Yeah. That's Yeah. And some people are
more gifted in their dancing than
others. like Kenneth, for example, who's
a skilled dancer. And I told him, "Hey,
from time to time, we're going to have
you dance. Don't you worry, cuz we're
going to be celebrating a lot of stuff
here at the Bridge Church." And the
Saint said,
>> "Amen."
>> And we need someone to lead us in
dancing. Maybe Kenneth could teach us a
few moves,
>> right? Yeah, that might be helpful. Then
maybe my wife would be impressed if I
could dance.
>> Yeah, we'll see. Maybe not. How we
doing, sweetie? It's going to be a long
car ride home. You know what I'm saying?
Okay, let's get cracking here. So, let
me go over quickly a few observations we
find from this amazing text. One is
David was overjoyed and what God did.
So, in his dancing, he showed gratitude
to God. Right? It's okay to dance and
praise God. That's why we have a worship
team leading us into praise because it's
good to praise God. It's good to give
him thanks. And if you want to dance, by
all means dance. Number two, not
everybody appreciated his expression of
joy like his wife, right? But number
three, David danced for an audience of
one and other people appreciated it. You
see, David wasn't trying to please
anyone. He was trying to please the
Lord.
And isn't it true if you're a dad or a
mom and you got your kids an amazing
gift? I mean, you got them what they
wanted for their birthday or Christmas
or and you're like so stoked and then
they just, you know, open it up and
they're ungrateful and they throw that
special present aside and there's no
thank yous, there's no gratitude.
Doesn't that kind of go to the heart a
little bit? Doesn't that sting a little
bit?
>> Yeah. Well, imagine God who gave us his
son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins.
He gave everything so that we could have
salvation. When we're not grateful and
thankful for God sitting setting us free
and giving us all the kingdom benefits,
don't you think that could hurt God's
heart?
I mean, he's God, so he's a big person,
right? But if you look throughout the
Old Testament, God did get upset when
the Israelites would not give him
thanks. They would not appreciate,
remember the mana, right? He was feeding
them all the time with this mist, this
dew that would come out of the heavens.
And what happened after several weeks of
this mana? What do they say?
>> Don't we have any meat around here?
And God's, okay, fine. And here's qu,
you know, more than you could take, you
know, more than you could handle. So, I
never want to be a Christ follower that
doesn't honor God and worship him and
thank him. And you know what I had to
learn over the years? We're all pretty
good at thanking God for the big things,
right? But what about the little things?
Like, God, thank you for the bed I slept
in last night. Thank you that I have a
house over my head. Thank you that we
have food in a cupboard. Thank you, you
know, I have a loving wife, beautiful
kids, my dog Maggie, who always greets
me with a smile. You know, there's so
much we could be grateful and thankful
for.
And the older I live, the more I see God
relishes in our gratitude and
thanksgiving.
Nehemiah 18 says, you can follow the
scriptures above me here. Nehemiah 18
says,"Do not grieve, for the joy of the
Lord is your strength." Psalm 16:11
says, "You make known to me the path of
life. You will fill me with joy in your
presence with eternal pleasures at your
right hand." Romans 12:12 says, "Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer." Philippians 4:4
says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." is
I'll say it again. Rejoice. Did you
catch that? Rejoice always, not
sometimes.
Don't rejoice in the pain. Just rejoice
that God's in control. Amen.
And then James 1 2 and 3, consider it
pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, because you know
that the testing of your faith produces
perseverance.
Did you catch that? Consider it pure joy
when you face many trials.
Anybody rejoicing and considering it
pure joy when you're in a trial?
Anybody?
It's a challenge, but it's a habit. It's
like brushing our teeth, guys. It's just
a discipline. It's a It's a spiritual
habit. It's a spiritual discipline.
What happens when you brush your teeth
enough?
You don't get cavities. What happens
when you rejoice in the Lord enough,
regardless of the external
circumstances?
>> Stay healthy.
>> That's right. You stay healthy
psychologically, emotionally,
spiritually, even physically because
that physical pain in your body is
probably because you're so miserable.
But if you are joyful in Christ,
regardless of the external
circumstances, your body will begin to
follow suit. Not always, but a lot of
times, I know it's true in my life.
Whenever I have any kind of physical
pain, I go to prayer and say, "Okay,
God, what am I holding on to that I need
to release to you?" And I would say 90
plus% of the time, he gives me something
that I'm holding on to. Because when we
resist that angst, right, we resist
what's going on in our lives, the body
could shut down and you could get all
kinds of, you know, stiff neck, bad
back, all kinds of stuff going on. Why?
Because the body is holding that pain,
right? That's why we talk so much about
surrendering. And when you begin to be
joyful always and rejoice always and
thank God no matter what's going on in
your life, your body begins to surrender
stuff. Your mind begins to surrender
stuff.
Do you know that energy wants to leave?
So don't hold it in, man, by being
bitter. That's why the Bible talks so
much about don't go to bed angry.
Don't go to bed angry. Why? Because if
you go to bed angry, if you go to bed
depressed, if you go to bed agitated,
guess what mood you're going to wake up
in?
>> Agitated.
>> Whatever you go to sleep with, you're
going to wake up in. So, the Bible gives
us good practical wisdom. It tells us to
surrender our pain every day. It tells
us not to go to bed angry. It tells us
to rejoice always because those are
recipes for fruitful living. Man, when
you do those things, you're going to
live an abundant life. But when you're
always agitated, upset, angry,
resentful, you're not going to feel and
experience God's joy, God's peace, God's
love. So, you're cutting yourself off
from God.
I'm here now. Amen.
>> Amen.
>> Yeah. [laughter]
Well, you know, it doesn't count because
it I had to induce it, so it doesn't
count. You know what I'm saying? All
right, moving on. Yeah, I have to
surrender that. You know what I'm
saying? Yeah. Yeah. Be Yeah. Mike, be
joyful always.
[laughter]
Even when they're, you know, not feeling
it.
Okay, here we go. Have a little
conversation with myself. Don't worry
about it. Just trying to live what I
preach, baby.
Yeah, here we go. Okay, so those
scriptures and I invite you to take the
ones that really mean something to you.
I mean, here's another one. First Peter
1:8. Though you have not seen him, you
love him. Even though you do not see him
now, you believe in him and are filled
with inexpressable and glorious joy.
Man, that's so good, right? And of
course in Galatians, it tells us joy is
the fruit of the spirit. So since joy is
a part of knowing God and it's a fruit
of the Holy Spirit that lives in us and
I should be tapping into joy always
throughout the day. Let me give you some
tangible practical things that have
worked for me. Bless you that have
worked for me over the years and eat the
fish spit out the bones. If they work
for you, then praise God. The first
thing though that I do in the morning
to tap into God's joy for the first five
minutes in the morning upon waking up,
be still and just breathe deep breaths
of joy with a smile on my face. Feel the
joy. That's what I do. As soon as I wake
up, I just put a smile on my face. Say,
"Thank you, Lord," under my breath. I
made it through the night. Here I am.
Have a new day. And feel the joy. Feel
the peace. Put that smile on your face.
Why not? It beats grabbing my phone and
scrolling through. Do you think you're
going to find anything joyful in your
phone?
Probably not. So, why not just leave
that phone alone for a little bit? And
as soon as you wake up, be still. The
Bible says in Psalm 46:10, "Be still and
know that I'm the Lord.
Just bathe in his presence. Feel that
joy." Because here's the thing. If your
mind's not going a million miles an
hour, you'll be able to feel his joy.
You'll be able to feel his love. You'll
be able to feel his presence. But if
your mind is spinning as soon as you
wake up, you're not going to experience
God's presence. It's there, but your
mind's not letting you to experience it.
That's why the Apostle Paul said, "Take
captive every thought and bring it
obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ and 2
Corinthians 10:5." Because if your
thoughts are not focused on God,
all that anxiety, all that fear, all
that anger, all that resentment,
whatever is going on in your life,
that's going to flood your soul.
So guys, if you were to say, Mike, what
is your number one recipe for fruitful
living? Here it is. It's not even on
your notes, but here it is. Ready?
>> Think right.
>> Amen.
>> Think right.
When you're just spinning out of control
and all that angst, you're thinking like
the world, man. And the Bible says,
don't be conformed to this world, but be
transformed. How? By the renewing of
your mind. So renew your mind with God's
truth. Get his truth in you.
Get his word in you. So the first thing
I do, I'm just still. I put a smile on
my face. I don't grab my phone. I just
let God's joy, God's love, God's
presence shower me. Number two, for the
second five minutes, praise God for at
least three blessings in my life. Give
him gratitude and thanksgiving. 1
Thessalonians ah first Thessalonians
5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always. Pray
continentally. Give thanks in all
circumstances for this is God's will for
you in Christ Jesus." Now, you could do
this silently. You could do it verbally
if your wife isn't sleeping. Or you
could write it down in a journal or all
the above.
So,
gratitude. What are three things you
could be grateful for right now? When
you wake up in the morning, just say,
"Thank you, God." And if you're grateful
for your wife, say it. If you're
grateful for your kids, your house, you
have food in the cupboard, you know, you
have a job. Do you know how many people
don't have jobs? I mean, there's always
something we could be grateful for.
So, just roll that through your head
like, "Wow, God, thank you for this
gift. Thank you for the gift of today. I
mean, today's not guaranteed to anybody,
right? Thank you, God, for life. Thank
you that my sins are forgiven. That I am
redeemed. I have new life in Christ.
That the kingdom of God is in me now and
I'm in the kingdom and I'm going to live
in the kingdom forever. And the kingdom
is going to live me in me forever. I
mean, there's so much to be grateful and
thankful for.
And then the next five minutes
say with feeling. This is what I do. I
do this every morning. Say with feeling,
"The joy of the Lord is my strength. His
compassions are new every morning." Or
any other scriptures that induce joy.
Nehemiah 18 says, "Do not grief, for the
joy of the Lord is your strength."
Lamentations 3:22 says, "Because of the
Lord's great love, we are not consumed.
For his compassions never fail. They are
new every morning. Great is your
faithfulness." So I combine those two
scriptures together. And I say that to
myself until I feel the joy, right? The
joy of the Lord is my strength. His
compassions, his mercies are new every
morning. God, I receive your new more
your new mercies this morning. If you
like other scriptures, I mean, I rotate
them. I have like 20, 30 scriptures that
I'll use on a regular basis. I'll switch
them in and I'll switch them out. But
all of them help me to focus on God and
his joy that's in me and around me right
now. if I just took my mind off the
problems and put my mind on him.
Number four, throughout the day, do or
give something to others in need.
Wow.
Without expecting repayment or even a
thank you. It could be as simple as
saying a blessing for them or showing
kindness.
We have what tool here at the new bridge
church? What tool do we have to bless
other people?
What's it called?
>> Bridgeless.
>> Yes. Boom. Thank you. And what happens
when we say the bridge blessing or some
kind of blessing onto another person?
What happens to us?
>> Don't you feel blessed?
Yeah. The reason why is whatever seed
you sew, you're going to reap a harvest.
So if you're blessing other people,
you're going to receive a blessing. You
know how I really learned this? I
learned this in the business world when
I was transacting with large amounts of
money, clients who didn't pay. And I
worked for companies that would say,
"Okay, you don't get paid until you
collect these thousands upon thousands
of some of these were big jobs, right?
You're not going to get paid until you
collect this money." So, I was pray I I
was praying for wisdom one day and
the word blessing just came to me and I
began to study blessings in the Bible.
There's so many blessings in the Bible.
And when people bless other people,
amazing things happened in their own
lives. So I just started blessing all
these people that had outstanding
accounts. Lord, I bless soand so, they
bless me. I release them, they release
me, we both go free.
I just started saying things like that.
The Lord would give me insights, right?
Lord, I bless them with your abundance.
I bless them with your love. I bless
them with your grace. I bless them with
all your kingdom benefits. I would say
stuff like that. And then sure enough,
anything that the Lord inspired me to
say, I would just say it as a blessing.
And then over time, all the monies came
in. All the accounts were paid. So then
management called me into the office and
said, "What are you doing?"
We ask all our employees to do what
you're doing. But none of them gets 100%
of the collections. Often times we have
to go to court and take legal, you know,
issues in hand to get this money. What
are you doing? And I told them and
they're all can't be that easy. I'm all
then don't ask me. [laughter]
I mean, you asked me, I gave you a
response. Right.
>> Right.
>> Well, guess what happened for the next
couple of years,
all the sales guys that had outstanding
accounts, they would give to me.
>> Yeah.
Yeah. I'm all you know this is not good
for me. Um but in a way it is. I'll tell
you why. Because I had opportunities to
share with the other guys why this
works. And I had opportunities to share
my faith with other sales guys. I even
had an opportunity to explain it to my
atheist manager.
And by the way, I asked him, "By the
way, why would you hire a evangelical
Protestant pastor who loves Jesus as
Lord and Savior? Why would you even hire
that dude? You know I'm dangerous,
right?" [laughter]
And this and this is what he said. Goes,
"If you could sell Jesus, you could sell
solar." [laughter]
Okay, I'm really not selling Jesus, but
whatever. I get what you're saying. But
he also said, "Because we could use
another guy with integrity around here,
and I sense that you really believe this
stuff and you really live this stuff."
And him and I are friends to this day.
And I have to tell you, he's getting
closer and closer to the Lord. I think
we're going to see him come to the Lord.
So, um, he lives in the Bay Area now,
but I'm hoping when he visits San Diego
that he'll come to our church and who
knows what the Lord will do. Amen.
>> Yeah.
So, what am I saying? What I'm saying
is, guys,
if you're just miserable in life, it's
your own fault. It's no one else's
fault. As a Christian, it's your own
fault. And here's why I know this.
Because the joy of the Lord, it's
already available to you. It's a kingdom
benefit. The Holy Spirit lives inside of
you. Joy is a fruit of knowing God
through the power of the Holy Spirit. If
you're not living in joy, it's your own
fault. You're thinking things, you're
saying things, you're doing things to
cut you off from that joy. So, don't do
it. Instead,
replace those thoughts with scripture,
with truth. And if you can't do that,
just start blessing other people. I
mean, the bridge blessing is pretty
awesome. Don't you think?
>> God gave it to us. I can't even take any
credit for it, guys. When I started
praying for this church, God gave me
that blessing. I had to write it down
super fast. He gave it to us so we could
use it for each other and for our
community.
Who's going to join me in blessing the
Cassita Del Soul community with the
bridge blessing?
>> I mean, who's going to join me in
blessing our own church family? Wouldn't
it be awesome if every single one of us
prayed this for each other?
>> Don't you think God would show up and
use it?
Yeah. And he is because I get to hear
about all the amazing things that are
happening in this church and in people's
personal lives. God's really doing
something. But what if we all got to
share in it? So, it's just not my joy,
but it's your joy, too. Amen. And I
don't know how much longer we're going
to be here. We're only here for a
season. Um God's got other opportunities
for us, but as long as we're here in
this community, let's just bless them.
Amen.
>> See what God does. Yeah. But let's
especially bless our own church family.
Number five. Woo. Okay. Who's ready for
some meat?
You're What are you talking about? The
whole thing's been meat. You just told
me I probably wasn't saved. I'm not
receiving joy.
The whole thing's been meat. Right.
What I said is either you're not saved
or you're thinking things you shouldn't
think. Amen.
Number five,
this is highlevel stuff. Who's ready for
the next level? I mean, this is not
milk, man. This is meat. Who's ready for
a steak?
>> All right. Here we go. You asked for it.
[laughter]
Here we go.
This is big, man. But I do this and it
works. Before bedtime,
reframe my day. I need to put myself in
a joyful state of mind as if my day
turned out the way that I wanted it to.
[snorts]
Whoa. [laughter]
Whoa.
Guys, this is a biblical principle. What
am I doing? I'm activating my faith.
Romans 4:16 and 18 says that God calls
things that are not as if though they
were.
See, faith is not seen. The Bible talks
about that in Hebrews 11, right? Faith
is the evidence of things hoped for, the
the the appearance of things yet not
seen.
Wow. When you put yourself in a joyful
state, even though things aren't working
out the way you wanted, do you know what
you're saying? You're telling God,
"You're going to give me something to be
joyful for, and I'm going to claim it
now. I'm going to receive it now. I'm
going to be in step with you now. I'm
not going to wait to be joyful, to feel
joyful. I'm going to be joyful now."
Come on now. Now, is this resonating
with anybody?
>> This is faith applied. This is faith in
action. This is next level stuff. And
the vast majority of Christians in
America don't even practice it because
they wait for something good to happen
before they're joyful and thankful.
What if you were joyful and thankful?
Now,
let me give you a challenge. Who wants a
challenge?
>> Amen. for the next 30 days. Do this. Put
yourself in a joyful state of mind
even when things aren't going your way
and feel the joy and be grateful and be
thankful and feel the joy as if God
blessed you even though it doesn't seem
like it.
Every single Christian I've given this
recipe to, they come back and say, "Oh
my gosh, you'd never believe it." And I
say, "Try me
because I know it works."
See,
if you're a Christian that's always in
pain, it's your fault. It's nobody
else's fault. Quit blaming your spouse.
Quit blaming your work. Quit blaming
your person next to you in church. Quit
blaming whoever.
It's your fault. And the reason why I
know that, guys, because I live this
stuff and I've had some bad things come
into my life. But when I praise the Lord
anyway and feel his joy anyway, it
somehow turns around.
It somehow allows God to step in and set
me free.
And if you've never applied this, just
try it.
You don't have to believe me, but you're
not going to know it's true until you
apply it to your own life.
>> So what do you have to lose? You could
live in misery for another 20, 30, 40,
50 years. Or you could try this for 30
days. See if God does something for you.
And Saint,
>> amen.
>> Amen.
>> He will. I guarantee you we're gonna
have testimony after testimony after
testimony because God is just that good.
Romans 15:13 says, "May the Lord may the
God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace as you trust in him so that you
may overflow with hope by the power of
the Holy Spirit." Man, is that good or
what? Instead of going to bed in a bad
mood,
imagine the amazing day I wanted and
feel the feeling as if it were true. I
must use my faith muscle to end to
induce joy in my soul. Why? Because
that's what God does. He calls things
that are not as if though they were. A
lot of us have a bad day and we call it
a bad day. We tell our 10 friends about
our bad day and right and what happens
when you keep telling people about your
bad day. It's just gonna sink it into
your soul. And guess what? You're going
to get more of
>> bad days. So if you want a good day,
quit talking about the bad ones.
And thank God he's in control despite
the external circumstances. Guys, I'm
not talking about denial.
When I'm in pain, I realize it. I
recognize it.
I'm not saying be polyiana. I'm not
saying be in denial. What I'm saying is,
okay, God, I'm in this pain, but you
told me the joy of the Lord is my
strength.
You told me to think on these things.
Whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is praiseworthy, dwell on these
things. You told me to take every
thought cath and bring it obedient to
the Lord Jesus Christ. You told me to
rejoice always and be joyful always. So,
I'm just obeying you, God. And you know
what? If you do your part, because
that's what God expects you to do. He
doesn't expect you to change your
circumstances because you can't.
But he can. So what are you doing?
You're just supplying the faith that God
is going to use. See that? You're doing
your part so God can do his part. God's
going to do the miracle. You can't do it
anyway.
You know what we do as Christians? We
try to help God out in the flesh and we
get burned out and we get more angry.
Have you ever tried to help God out in
the flesh? Like, okay, well, God's taken
a long time for this financial blessing,
so I guess I'll just go to a casino and,
you know, invest $500.
Yeah, guess what? You just lost $500.
[laughter]
Uh God doesn't need your help. He wants
your praise
>> on the front end. He wants your joy on
the front end because then you're
trusting him and he will use that faith
to move mountains. Amen.
>> Try it, guys.
I think I'm just about done here. Let me
make sure I didn't leave anything on the
table.
Hey, I said this would be me, right?
Hey, do you guys feel full?
>> Yeah. This is meat, man. So, here's what
I like to do. Hey, Kevin, I need some
piano music here. I want to go to
prayer. I want to go to prayer.
And I'm sensing based on what I said
earlier, there's two kinds of people
among us. If you're not feeling the joy
of the Lord in your life, it's because
you really aren't connected to him.
You really don't know Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Savior.
That's one possibility.
The other one is you're saved. You're
born again. You're just not thinking
like it. You're spinning with all this
anxiety and fear and angst and anger and
junk of the world. And either one's
going to cut you off from God.
So, here's what I like to do. Bow your
heads.
Like the Holy Spirit to search our
hearts this morning.
Ask God right now, God, do I really know
you? Am I really saved?
Do I really have the Holy Spirit living
in me? The Apostle Paul says, "Examine
yourselves." And he tells Christians
that if you're not experiencing God's
joy, the joy of the Lord, the love of
the Lord,
then you don't know him.
if you finally want to know him and
receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and
Savior. Yeah, I know we're a small
congregation this morning, [music]
but there's always one or two who just
aren't sure.
So, why not be sure this morning?
I don't want to embarrass anyone. So,
this is what I'd like to do, guys, in
unison.
I want to lead us through a prayer
[music] inviting Jesus Christ to be a
part of our lives as we surrender to
him. If everyone says it, if everyone
recites it and if that's your prayer,
God's going to know which one
right is saying it.
So I don't want to leave anybody out.
So, as a congregation, will you pray
this prayer with me? And then [music]
for those of you
who are praying it for the first time,
who really feel that this is for you,
then
God knows.
Just acknowledge it. Here we go. Church
family,
say this.
protecting those among us who
desperately need Jesus but don't want to
be embarrassed.
God, thank you and praise you for your
son.
>> God, thank you and praise you for
[music] your son.
>> I receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and
Savior.
>> My Lord and Savior.
>> Take my sin.
>> Take my sin.
>> Take my guilt.
>> Take my guilt.
>> Take my condemnation.
>> Take my Take my condemnation.
I want to be free in Christ.
>> I want to be free
>> and experience the joy of the Lord.
>> and experience the joy of the Lord.
>> Thank you, Father in heaven.
>> Thank you, Father in heaven.
>> That you sent your son, Jesus Christ, to
pay for my sins.
You said, "If I confess with my mouth
and believe in my heart
>> that Jesus is Lord and Savior,
>> I'll be born again.
>> I'll be born again.
>> Saved.
>> Thank you, Lord.
>> Thank you, Lord.
>> That I am saved in Christ.
>> I am saved." [music]
>> Thank you. Now, let's go to the next
person.
You're saved. You know it. You've said
the prayer a million times. But you
still have this pain in your life that
won't allow you to be joyful.
You're just not experiencing the
fullness of God's love, his joy, his
peace, his kingdom benefits. And there's
only one reason why. It's because you're
thinking the wrong thoughts over and
over and over again.
So, here's what I'd like us to do
to pray again.
And if you're included in this mix,
let's all say it again. But if this is
you,
then just mean it from the heart. And
God's going to respond. Ready?
God, please forgive me.
>> God, please forgive me.
>> For thinking the wrong thoughts.
thinking the wrong thoughts
>> over and over and over
>> over and over and over.
>> Help me to take responsibility.
>> Help me to take responsibility
>> and take captive every thought.
>> take captive every thought
>> and bring it obedient to the Lord Jesus
Christ.
>> Lord,
>> and to think on these things,
>> whatever is true, noble, and
praiseworthy.
Help me Lord to quit blaming everyone
around me for my misery [music]
>> and instead [music]
>> help me to be joyful always.
>> Help me to be joyful always.
>> That is my prayer. That is my pray in
[music] Jesus name. Amen.
Thank you, Kevin.