>> DAVID NASSER: Our next guest today is the
pastor of one of America's great churches, Community Bible Church in San Antonio. And, Ed and his wife Stephanie and his family
recently moved there, and God has just used them in a tremendous way. I hope that sometime within this morning and
tonight that he shares with you a little about all that God has been doing at this church. They have over 15,000 people a week that come
together, but they had over 1,000 people who have come to Christ and have been baptized
in this last year alone at their church. And so, they're experiencing an amazing awakening
in the city. Ed is just a man after God's own heart. He literally is just a humble brother who
loves the Lord, loves his work. Many of you have been to a youth camp or a
conference where God has used Ed to really move in your life. I've been hearing from
a lot of students, Pastor Ed, who've told me they came to Christ at a Student Life camp,
or they went to a revival season when God put you in front of them as a pastor. And so, for those of you who have not heard
him, I promise you he'll become one of your favorite preachers that you'll want to hear
week after week through their podcast. Stephanie, thank you for coming as well. We're
so honored to have you as well. They're going to be with us morning and night. Come on;
put your hands together for Ed Newton, everybody. >> ED NEWTON: Liberty University, it’s an
incredible honor and privilege to be here today. One of the principles of today is that
our life would be fully dedicated to the endeavor and the mission, and that we would not waste
our life, and we would not embrace an American dream, but instead we’d embrace the Kingdom
dream. We would give our life away for the sake of the call. And Pastor David, you have
taught me that. I'm grateful for the journey of your influence and wisdom in my life. I
love, dearly, what God is doing at Liberty University. As a pastor, we're highly encouraging
our students. As a matter of fact, next week we'll be sending students to check out and
spy out the land here at Liberty University. And I'm telling you, it's that snow board
park that you've got that ultimately entices me to be here. And I'm telling you, I love
what God is doing here. Well if you have a Bible, let's go ahead and
meet together at 2 Corinthians 5, 2 Corinthians 5. It's as we open God's word today that we understand
that God's word is true for all people, all places, all times. It's more than just getting in the word; it's
the word getting in us. Can I get an “amen” from somebody in the house today? It's more than just underlining verses; it's
verses underlining us. It's more than just reading through the Bible;
it's the Bible reading through us. And, therefore, we understand through His
word that God speaks, and therefore, in and of myself, I have nothing to say outside the
word. And it’s in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 we begin reading this phenomenal passage
beginning in verse 11, and we find out these words: Therefore, knowing the fear of the
Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God. A hope is also known to your
conscience. The apostle Paul would say this, it's the fear of the Lord that motivates me
to persuade people, much like this week, to give your life away for the sake of the Gospel.
He would say it's the understanding of standing before God in recognizing and realizing that
my life has to count for the Kingdom of God—that every platform I've been given is not for
me to platform myself, but to platform God. My talents, my gifts and abilities were not
given to me to make myself known, but instead that I would billboard Jesus—Him alone,
faith alone, Christ alone, grace alone. And He would say this: "It's the fear of the
Lord that persuades me. Many would say it was the Great White Throne
Judgment. Romans chapter 14 speaks of this. That is
that moment when the unbeliever hears the words ‘depart from me; I never knew you,’
Matthew chapter 7 verses 21 through 23 are some of the scariest verses in the Bible.
“Not everyone that sayeth unto me ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” It's an understanding that there are a lot
of lip professors, but not many heart possessors. Does that make sense today? And, therefore, we understand what the Bible
says in Matthew7:1. Judge not lest you be judged. But when we read on it says this:
you shall know them by their fruits. And so, the apostle Paul would say this: I
give my life away for the fact of I don't want anybody to stand before God and hear
those words ‘depart from me; I never knew you.’ I'll never forget growing up in a home where
both of my parents were deaf. And I just want to give a shout out to our deaf students.
I want you to know, and I want you to look this way for just a second. For all our deaf
kids, I want you to look this way. I want you to know I love you. I’m very proud of
you. I want you to know that God did not make a mistake in making you. And I believe with
the love that's in my heart that God has a wonderful plan for your life. And don't you
be ashamed of being deaf. May you understand, may you understand that there's a God that
knows your name, and He knows your need. And God brought you here today to hear from a
son of two deaf parents, that did not even finish the 8th grade, that God can use you,
and I'm so thankful for you. And I love you, and I want to meet you after this service
today, I’m just proud of you. So, I didn't grow up in church. The third
most unreached people group in the United States of America are deaf people. And I believe
God's putting on someone's heart today to begin to have an affinity and affection for
deaf people—to learn a language, and to make Christ known. I came to know the Lord in high school as
a ninth grader on my 15th birthday, October 17, 1990. I'm 41 years old; it was the greatest
gift and decision of my life. I went off to a Christian college much like
this. I met my wife there, and I'll never forget. I was introduced to what's known as
The Judgment House. It's where a church basically puts on this
theatrical performance to persuade people of the understanding of what I just mentioned
to you, that is the Great White Throne Judgment. It was there that I went through this roleplay,
scene, by scene, by scene. It would be this moment that would lead us to this honest,
real reality that hell is a destiny for some that choose not to receive Jesus. But then there was Heaven. I remember walking through this, and finally
we're standing before God. Now this is a drama; it's a roleplay, and the God-figure is calling
people by name. And we just left the scene of hell, and literally God is now calling
people by name. And the question I'm asking is how does this God-figure that most likely
is a volunteer, a deacon, or holds a religious position at the church, how does he know everybody's
name? And then I realized the reason he knows everybody's
name is because He has index cards in front of him, and when we registered at the beginning
of this journey, it's by those cards that based upon your tour group—17 of us in this
gathering going room by room that He's calling people by name, and He's sending them to Heaven.
And all of a sudden I began to, in awe, recognize the fact that they're walking into heaven.
I see Jesus who's saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” But then I was in shock of the fact that I
made a mockery of the 3x5 index card at the beginning of the registration. My wife Stephanie, at the time, filling out
every single blank: Stephanie Michelle Holland—her former name, now Newton. And she's giving the address; she's giving
the email; she's giving the phone number. I write, literally, Edwardo Newtano. That's
what I write. I make a mockery of the info card. And now, as I stand before God, he's calling
people by name, but he finally gets to my name. I'm the 17th person in the tour group. He's already called my now wife to be ushered
into heaven, and God, all the sudden, puts on his glasses—as if God needs glasses—and
at that moment adjusts the microphone. In this deep voice, all a sudden says, “Edwardo
Newtano.” And in that moment of shock and awe, before
he could say anything else, I just started walking back to the Sunday school classroom
that was designated as hell. I just started walking back to hell. And at that moment he
went no, no, no, no. Go to Heaven. And all a sudden, as I'm walking by the desk, I was
like thank you God; I appreciate that. And so, I get into heaven, and Jesus, the
character, all a sudden I can tell he's trying to hold it together, and he goes, "Well done
thy good and faithful servant Edwardo Newtano." The feeling I had in my heart that day was
how in the world did I mess up the info card? But it was in that simple teaching moment
of the Holy Spirit that I realized that there will be none of us that get to Heaven and
go I deserve it. Oftentimes, we'll look back on our life and go, I blew it. But I just
need somebody in the house of God to understand this. When you and I, as Christ followers,
go to meet God, 2 Corinthians 5 would speak of to be absent from the body is to be present
with the Lord. There is no movie screen that unfolds revealing
your past of all your decisions, because here's the principle: your past does not define you.
Your future's been written for you. It's Romans 8:1: "There is no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons, nor
present, nor future can ever separate you from His love." No weapon formed against you shall prosper. Greater is He that's in you than he that's
in the world. And what we understand is this, for the believer,
the Great White Throne Judgment is not our destiny. But the judgment seat of Christ is not our
moment when we sit in shame, but as sons and daughters of God. We look back at our life,
and I want us to stand before God and embrace these words: Well done my good and faithful
servant, because you leveraged everything you had for the sake, for the fame, for the
glory of God, and you invested it well. You invested your life in making Christ known,
and the apostle Paul would say this. He would say I'm persuaded by that. I want
my life to count. And then he goes on to say this: it's not
about the outward appearance; it's about the heart. In verse number 12 it says we're not commending
ourselves to you again, but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able
to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what's in the heart. The good news of the Gospel, Jesus Christ,
and the message that He invites us into, is not about behavior modification. The good news of Jesus is about heart transformation,
and heart transformation leads us to a lifestyle that simply says this: you've declared me
as a son or daughter of God. Therefore, I've been justified, declared righteous. And you go, Pastor Ed, that word “justified”
is a big word. So is the word Frappuccino.
Hello! We use big words all the time.
But we understand, judicially, here's our identity. Because of Christ alone I'm not guilty. And it's Ezekiel 36:26-27, He gave me a heart
of flesh, and He's given me His Spirit. And in the words of the ghost busters, Liberty
University, we ain't scared of no ghosts! Can I get an amen from somebody? I'm talking about the Holy Spirit of God that
resides and occupies my life. My body's the temple of the living God, and,
therefore, He rules and reigns, and I want His mission to go forward. When I think about the Gospel being about
heart transformation, one of the things I'll never forget – It was Super Bowl Sunday,
and I went to call and order pizza at Papa Johns, and the lady said, "Sir, it will take
two hours for that to be delivered." I said, well how long will that take for you to prepare
it and give me a timeframe to pick it up? She said 40 minutes. It was at that moment
I went to grab my wallet and grab my keys, and as I was opening up my door, the pizza
delivery dude was at my front door, about to ring the doorbell.
I was startled. I said, "Hey man. I think you got the wrong house." Now, my love language
is sarcasm. I don't know if anybody else can appreciate that. So, when I said this to him,
I said, "Hey bro. I think you got the wrong house." "Um, I don't make these pizzas; I
just deliver them." I was like, I think you and I should hang out a little bit more. And
it was at that moment, as we made the exchange, he's walking back to his vehicle. And I've
just got to be honest, I'm socially awkward at a lot of levels. I talk out loud to myself,
and sometimes in the third person. I probably need counseling, thank you so much. But as
he's walking back to his vehicle, I literally said this. I go, "Hey bro, what do you think
about Jesus?" No where do you go to church? What's your name? It just went to the question
of what do you think about Jesus? And as he's holding that NASA apparatus that
kept those pizzas warm, he goes, "You really want to know what I think about Jesus?" I go, "Absolutely; that's why I asked you." And then he just divulged this information.
He said, "I will come to Jesus when I kick this drug habit." I go, "Help me understand what you're talking
about." He goes, "I work this job to feed my drug
habit, so when I kick the drug habit I'll come to Jesus." I said, "Hey man, you've got that completely
backwards." He goes, "What are you talking about?" I said, "I'm not a real bright dude. My butter
sides off my biscuit often; I promise you." I said, "But you need to know this: it's not
you kicking your drug habit then coming to Jesus; it's you coming to Jesus and letting
Jesus kick your drug habit. That's the Gospel." And in that moment—I'll never forget this—he
fell to his knees and said, "I want this Jesus." Your life, your life in the pursuit of I want
my life to count, with divine intervention and relationships that God connects you with,
you have the sacred privilege of making Christ known. It's not about you saving people; it's about
you sharing with all people that God is good, and He has been relentlessly pursuing them
to be in a relationship with them. And think about this: God could put all the
stars in the sky to say I am the way, the truth, and the life, but He's chosen to use
you and me. But as this message is delivered, it's about
the heart—not about the external. And as we go after the heart, we understand
it's the heart of the Gospel that reminded the apostle Paul of why he did what he did. It's actually found here in verse 13. "If
we're beside ourselves it is for God, and if we're in our right mind, it is for you." What is he addressing? He's addressing that
I'm a fool for Christ. You could say whatever you want to say, but
I am convinced that this love that found me when I wasn't looking for him has arrested
and captured my heart—that His love makes you do crazy things. Now my wife, Stephanie, is here with me today.
We've been married almost 19 years coming up this August.
We have four children—a 13-year-old, a 12-year-old, and 11-year-old, a soon to be 9-year-old:
London, Lola, Liv, and Lawson. London has red hair. Lola has black hair.
Liv's got blonde hair, and we have an African American son that we adopted from Ethiopia,
Africa. And so, our family's like a bag of Skittles, Liberty University; I'm just telling
you. It's a lot of flavor. My wife's Pilipino, and obviously, the diversity in our home has
brought a tremendous understanding of what love is all about. Now some of you are looking at me right now
going, Ed, you don't know nothing about raising an African American. I know a couple things. Can I just say this?
I know two things specifically: my son's fade has to be fresh every single week, because
if my boy's nappy it's his white daddy's fault. That's all I've got to say. So, those lines
have got to be crisp. And not only that, but before he leaves the house he's got to get
two squirts of cocoa butter, because my boy can't be looking ashy, alright? So, here's the truth: When I met my wife,
we met in college. Some of you will meet that significant other
here, and some of you are like I'm looking right now! But I know this is hard for you to imagine. When we were in college, the cellphone was
not on the scene. It was like "Saved by the Bell"—Zach Morris. It was like a VCR, but
you don't even know what a VCR is. But I remember those days of pursuing Stephanie.
There's a fine line between pursuing someone and stalking someone, and I might have fallen
into the stalking category. I was a freshman at the Christian college we went to, and I
was a lowly freshman. We had two bunk beds and so the senior body class president was
in my dorm room, and two basketball players—one 6'11", one 6'7", and I was the lowly freshman.
And it was there that I was pursuing Stephanie. And I called her room extension about two
in the morning, and I said "Stephanie, this is Ed from speech class." And she responded,
and she said, "Are you okay?" I said, "I am, but I just need you to listen.” And for
six minutes, I sang a wedding song from an old school Christian band by the name of Jeff
Moore and the Distance, Pastor David, Jeff Moore and the Distance. The song was entitled, "If You Could See What
I See." I cannot sing.
I fall into the category of make a joyful noise, amen? But underneath the covers, acapella, I'm not
talking Beats by Dre; I had this old-school Walkman that in order
to rewind it I had to flip it and fast-forward it. And these headphones that I had were like
foam from my grandmother's seat cushion, and it would tangle up my hair. But underneath the covers in my dorm room
I'm memorizing this song, so I could sing it in this moment. And at the end of six minutes of acapella
just singing to my soon-to-be wife was my thought. At the end of those six minutes I said, "I
love you" I know, premature considering that we had
only been talking for two weeks. Her response was, "That's creepy. We'll talk
to each other tomorrow." I had no idea after she had hung up that all
her roommates were listening the entire time. So, as I pulled back the covers, my thought
was that did not go as well as I thought it was going to go. But that's just going to
stay between us. Little did I know my roommates had been listening
the entire time. Senior body class president at the end of
that, as I pulled back the covers— Have you ever been so nervous you had that
marathon sweat going on? And so, as I pull back the covers, they're
all standing there. And I'll never forget this; the senior body class president said,
"What was that?" I said, “I'm going to marry that girl." He said, "Not after that song
you aren't; I promise you." Four years later, August 1, 1998, of all the
songs that could have been sung at our wedding, Stephanie Michelle Holland—soon to be Stephanie
Michelle Newton—would sing the song back to me, "If You Could See What I See." I'm just telling you, your social awkwardness
could be your greatest asset. But here's what you need to know. A crazy
love is what the Apostle Paul speaks of. He says, I don't think you understand. I've been
arrested and captured by this love that causes me to do crazy things. Many of you will walk
away from high-paying jobs for the sake of the mission. Many of you will find yourself
going, but this would be the easy step of succession or fame. But instead you would
lay it down for the sake of saying yes to possibly over 50 of these mission partners
this week so that you can make your life count. But why would you do it? Your validation doesn't
come from compensation; your validation comes from the fact that there's a God that knows
your name. He's uniquely gifted you. He's called you,
and, therefore, your life can count for Him. But a crazy love is what would cause you to
do that. But then the Apostle Paul would say this:
"It's the love." In verse 14, "The love of Christ that controls us, because we have concluded
this, that one has died for all, therefore all have died.
And He dies for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him
who for their sake died and was raised." What was the motivation of the Apostle Paul?
He never got over the Gospel. You and I must understand this week, primarily,
especially, specifically, that the good news of the Gospel is not just for the unreached
in the world; it is, yes and amen. We must take it to the nations that every
tribe, every tongue, every nation, every people group understand how great our Jesus is. But you and I must understand, in order to
do that effectively in the right motives, we have to wake up every day and preach the
Gospel to ourselves. And that Gospel message helps me understand
exactly what verse 17 is saying. "Therefore, if anyone's in Christ, he's a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come." Those
two words change everything: in Christ. Why? I was in sin. Romans 3:10, "None righteous,
no not one." Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God." "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life." But praise be to God for Romans 5:8.
"But God demonstrated His love toward us while we were still in sin, yet in sin, Christ died
for us." Therefore, in Christ I have acceptance. In
Christ, I'm called the beloved. In Christ, I'm more than a conqueror.
In Christ, I've been delivered. In Christ, I've got eternal life.
In Christ, I've got forgiveness. In Christ, I've got grace.
In Christ, He calls me holy. In Christ, He's my intercessor.
In Christ, I've been justified. In Christ, I have his kindness.
In Christ, I've got His limitless love. In Christ, I've got His mercy.
In Christ, my name has been written in the lamb's book of life.
In Christ, I'm an overcomer. In Christ, I've got the power of the resurrection.
In Christ, I've got strength. In Christ, He is my tower.
In Chris, I've been united with God the Father, God the Holy Spirit.
In Christ, I've been washed by the lamb. In Christ, I've got victory.
In Christ, you have all that you need for life and godliness.
Why? Because in Christ, ordinary people become extraordinary people.
In Christ, your past doesn't define you. Your future's been written for you.
In Christ, you're not a victim; you're a victor. In Christ, you don't fight for victory; you
fight from victory. And because of that reality, you and I understand
we can leave a fat dent on the planet for the glory of God, because Christ is in us.
Can I get an amen, a shout of victory in this place, a shout of reality of our identity? Now I know this story's going to completely
gross you out, but for some of you, you're going to go that's my boy right there.
I was taking my kids to run an errand from picking them up from school.
In order to get to the Lowes across the street, we had to cross the median, and three lanes
of traffic into the median, and then cross another three lanes and we could go right
into the Lowes parking lot. As we got into the median, all a sudden, out
of my peripheral I saw this bag that had been driven over multiple times, but I saw money
in the bag. And so, all of a sudden, right in the middle
of a six-lane highway, I get out of my car after I put it in park. And I begin to hover over this bag, and I
go CSI on the bag. My daughter, from the back window, shouts
out, "That's disgusting Dad! Don't touch it!" I realized that this money had been matted
into food that was in this bag. But then it dawned on me. It dawned on me.
The reason why there was possible money in this bag with food is potentially—have you
ever had this, where you buy something and you just put the money in the bag? And possibly
while somebody was driving, maybe they got car sick, and they literally, they just yakked
in the bag on the money. And they went, no thank you, and threw the
bag into the road. And it had been driven over back and forth,
and back and forth. So, in that moment, and I know what some of you are thinking; you
and I are no longer friends. This is the moment where the DTR, the define
the relationship, it's over right here. This is it. I liked you up to this point. Right
here, this is over. I reached down into that bag, and I grabbed that five-dollar bill and
two—some of you are like, seven dollars? That's all that was, seven dollars?
But hang with me. As I grabbed that, I literally—I'm holding it like this, at an arm's length.
I get in the vehicle. I roll down the window. I drive with the money out the window. We
begin to go into Lowes, and as you have gone into Lowes, or any other department store,
you know how they have those hand wipes? I just started wiping down those dollar bills
with those hand wipes. And I continue to walk to let them dry out. As we were getting our items and going to
the check-out counter, my four kids said, Dad, we sure would like some Dr. Pepper. Now,
for those of you that are from Texas, hello. Thank you so much. We love some Dr. Pepper.
And all of the sudden my kids were like I'd like some Dr. Pepper, and they began to notice
some Reece’s Cups, which are like manna from Heaven.
And so, all the sudden they're like, Dad, can we get some snacks?
I said I'd love to get you some snacks. I'd love to buy you some snacks. Up to this point
my kids have been trashing me going, Dad, I can't believe you touched that money. That money's so disgusting. I can't believe
all the germs that are on that, but you're carrying it around.
And now, finally, they wanted something to eat.
But I used that five-dollar bill, and that one-dollar bill, and that other one-dollar
bill to pay for this. And it was in that moment that all a sudden
a teachable lesson began to transfer from the counter into their heart.
I said you need to understand something. Though this money has been driven over—obviously
folded, torn, tattered—it never lost its value.
It still retains its value. And I just need somebody in the room that
feels overlooked, marginalized, nobody notices. You have no platform, no voice is what you're
thinking, because the enemy wants you to think that you have been driven over.
You've been torn. You've been battered; you've been bruised.
And you're going, I have no value. I just need you to know today that in Christ you
have value. In Christ, you have significance. In Christ God desires to use your story of
your scars to speak a greater reality of salvation. And you may not be able to juggle like our
boy Jay that's absolutely mind-blowing, but you may be able to say I've been through the
valley of the shadow of death, and I serve a good God.
And no matter what I've gone through, He takes broken pieces and makes masterpieces.
He takes what's insignificance and makes it indescribable.
He took my mess and turned it into a miracle, and my scars speak a story of His faithfulness,
because of two words: in Christ. Come on church; let's clap our hands to that
truth. In Christ. But then he begins to talk about—with the
time that we have remaining—he begins to talk about being an ambassador for Christ.
All this, verse 18, is from God, who through Christ reconciled us unto Himself and gave
us the ministry of reconciliation. That is in Christ God was reconciling the
world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message
of reconciliation. I wanted to work for Nike. That was my goal
as a kid. However, when I was a senior in high school
taking Latin class and the SAT prep class, I realized the words that my guidance counselors
at my public school were telling me were obviously true.
They just said you're not college material. I had taken the SAT; this should be encouraging
to somebody. Perfect score, 1994, 1600 total—I made a 540.
That is, you got 400 points for signing your name correctly.
With a name like Ed, that should not be too difficult.
I took it again; got a 560. In the process of that, my dad was working at the University
of Central Florida. I couldn't get accepted to UCF.
I couldn't even get accepted to the local community college called Valencia Community
College, which meant in the process of that, here I was thinking, okay God, you can't use
me. But in the month of April, as I was about
to graduate, it was there that God began to reveal His mission for me—that I would not
work as a sales representative, but instead I would be an ambassador for the sake of Jesus,
and I would work for a much bigger company, a global company owned and ruled by the one
who spoke the world into existence. And I'll never forget as a high school senior,
as I came forward during this Sunday evening service I said, "Sir, you just need to know
that this message has spoken to my heart." And Isaiah 6:8 is the verse I'm claiming.
Here I am, Lord; send me. But you just need to know I made a 540 on my SAT. Now you've got to know this, I went on to
college. I didn't graduate magna cum lade. I graduated,
thank the Lord. Holla at ya, boy! Never going back again!
My mom and dad never finished the eighth grade. I'm the first one in my family to graduate
college. I'm the first one in my family to get two
masters degrees, and by the time I was 30 I got a doctorate degree; and I couldn't pass
the SAT. And I just need somebody to know in this room
that little is much when God's in it. Little is much when God gets in it.
And you need to hear this, because what this man spoke into my life as I came to Him—.
He said these words, and I'll never forget it. He said, "Ed, you just need to know, when
it comes to serving God, it has nothing to do with your ability, but everything to do
with your availability." It's about availability. Here I am Lord; send me. And God is looking
for some ambassadors that would herald His name, not out of your perfection, by the way.
Godliness is not perfection; godliness is pursuing Jesus. The book of Proverbs says
a righteous man falls down seven times, but what does it say? He gets back up again, and
it's in the struggle‚ hashtag the struggle—it's real. And as we pursue Christ, it's Him using
our life to make Him known—not about your ability, but about your availability. And then this last verse, verse 21, and I'm
done. "He who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God,
our identity—He who knew no sin. Understand Jesus was tempted and tested as we are, yet
without sin Hebrews 4 verse 15 teaches. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 22: In Him was no deceit
at all, no sin at all. Therefore, Jesus Christ did not become a sinner; He died for sinners
so that sinners could become sons and daughters and become saints of God, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a chosen generation, and therefore, our identity begins to be solidified. The
Apostle Paul would say my identity causes me to live a life on mission. I'm teaching
this to our church. We don't have a mission department; we're a mission church. See, what
we're trying to teach here at Liberty University is that your life is called to be on mission.
It may not be within the four walls of the church, but your life is a mission field.
Your platform is your life. Make Him known, and would you link up with one of these partners
this week for the sake of, I want to make Christ known? So many organizations that you
need to talk to in this Global Focus Week. But I'll never forget, and I'll close with
this. I was speaking at a college in Mississippi, and I brought my daughter London with me.
And all the sudden, obviously with my cute little red-headed daughter London, she began
to get a lot of gum from these college-aged girls that just loaded her up—not with Trident
or Orbit, but like Hubba Bubba, like Major League Baseball kind of gum. And they must
have been softball players at the college, because they had like pouches of it. And so,
all of the sudden, they're just giving my daughter London all of this gum.
So, we get in the vehicle, and I could literally hear London begin to unwrap several wrappers,
put that into her mouth, and she began to blow the biggest bubble I've ever seen. There's
a difference between a bubble and a parachute. And this came out of her mouth, and before
I could say don't let it pop, it burst above her nose, getting her bangs, her eyebrows.
We pull into this gas station, and as a new dad—I mean she's just three or four years
old. As a new dad, I now know there's a lot of other things that would work verses what
I did. And it was in that moment, we get into the bathroom. We had this struggle of do we
go to the girl's bathroom or the guy's bathroom? She's like, Dad, we've got to go to the girl's
bathroom. I said, no, that's creepy if I go in the girl’s bathroom. So, I need you to
come with me in here. And I put her up on the sink, and I turned the water on, and I
was like just put your face underneath the water, and so all the sudden she screams out.
She goes, "I'm drowning! I'm drowning!" Out of my peripheral vision I see this hand dryer
on the wall. I'm so thankful for modern inventions. I'm grateful for the individual that said,
you know what? Most hand dryers barely emit any wind at all, but somebody just went we
need to mount on a leaf blower on the wall. You've seen that thing. It's an F-5 tornado
coming out of the leaf blower that's now a hand dryers. And I just said, "London, put
your face underneath that." And so, it's just pealing back her skin. She just screams out,
"You don't know what you're doing!" I go, you're right; I don't. And as she sat down
on that counter I just began to pick every piece of gum off her face, out of her hair.
Twenty minutes, all this gum began to land on me, and in this still, small voice of the
Holy Spirit, the thought of 2 Corinthians 5:21. And I want you to look this direction
if you can. He who knew no sin, clean, became sin. And one by one He took your sin past,
present, future, and He stuck it to Himself, and He marched up the hill of Calvary where
He could have called angels to rescue Him from the cross. And the wrath of God, Isaiah
53:10, says the wrath of God was poured out on Him. And in that moment, He said this:
"It is finished." And in that moment, our sin was paid for. Our sin was delivered, and
because Jesus Christ came back from the dead, He is the undefeated, undisputed heavy-weight
champion of the world, and we have the sacred privilege of making Him known.
I hope you come back to our gathering tonight. We've got a whole lot more to talk about.
God bless you Liberty University. Pastor David, why don't you come and close us. To God be
the glory!
