Erwin McManus I The Last Arrow: Set Your Past On Fire

so several weeks ago we began together this series the last arrow we've been diving in chapter by chapter the the question of how do you live your life without regret how do you live a life where you never settle how can you and I live a life that that somehow steps into the wonder of every moment yeah I think it's it's one of the peculiar things of being human that no matter what kind of life we live no matter what experiences we have no matter what journey you've been on we were all the same in this there's this knowing desperation inside of us that it longs to live a life that seems so elusive to us and and sometimes we we look at someone else's life we look at someone else's journey we see someone else's experiences and and we wonder why can't that be mine and the strange thing is that very person whose life you envy they're asking that same question about someone else it's almost as if we're not designed it well to live this life that our compass that that's supposed to guide us into the future we were created to live as somehow broken and we're all wandering together in the dark that's why this moment that inspired the last arrow struck me because there's a man named Elijah who's speaking to a king Jehoash and and he tells him that that this was his moment in this moment everything he had longed for everything he had hoped for everything he could possibly ask God for was about to happen and and he tells him just to take an arrow and shoot it through the window and he dies and he tells them to take an arrow and strike it in the king strikes it three times and then it tells us that Elijah becomes angry just why didn't you strike the arrow six times now because you did not you will not experience the fullness of what God has for you you want to have a complete victory in your life you're only gonna have a partial expression the life you were created to live and when I read that I I i kind of empathize with the king that how many times in my life have I stopped short of what I was supposed to live of who I was supposed to become of what I was supposed to do have you ever just been sort of frustrated with God going just tell me what still because I I went back and I kept looking at the passage going did Elijah ever tell him don't shop at three it would've been the easiest small bit of instruction keep striking it's gonna matter don't quit but he doesn't but when the king quits Elijah holds him accountable for what he did not do and I felt so many times in my life I've been held accountable for what I did that no to do and so I go God says tell me what to do have you ever prayed that God just tell me what to do but he doesn't and and then you don't do what you're supposed to do but it seems that the guy who won't tell you with you will hold you accountable for not doing what he didn't tell you to do so this vicious cycle except somehow elation you it's so because he knew what struck me is wait a minute if he could know then I can know if he could know then that King could have done there's something in that moment that this King could not see but Elijah could see he had the eyes to see the opportunity that was waiting in front of him man you know if you follow a pro football it's it's the Tom Brady dilemma like the guy doesn't get picked until the sixth round becomes one of the greatest quarterbacks who's ever played he might even become the greatest quarterback who's ever played the game of football and all of these teams passed on him I mean how many teams are probably not thinking themselves where's my Tom Brady he was right there in his name was actually Tom Brady but the Cleveland Browns they couldn't see him or anyone the Jets couldn't see him the Raiders couldn't see him all these scenes pass on time Grady's looking for the next Tom Brady but they didn't know what the next Ron Brady would look like not even the Patriots because they waited till the six-round they ran out of people to draft he was right in front of them he played for Michigan which is a great school he actually think through four touchdowns against Alabama in the Orange Bowl this guy have to stop but he couldn't see it I wonder how many moments in your life you have a Tom Brady moment but you you you keep believing that those moments have never been yours becoming embittered toward God and bitter toward the universe and bitter toward life because no one ever gave you the chance they gave it out it's like the Michael Jordan effect I guess he was picked third which is not too bad but some guy named Sam Bowie got picked by the Portland Trailblazers no wonder they're the Portland Trail breezes they could have had Jordan they could had MJ they could have had the new logo they could had the shoes they would have been Portland shoes and he wouldn't have been stuck with Birkenstocks a they could have gone in out entirely new direction in life but they did not see Jordan they think Sam nothing against Sam sure he's a great guy see a lot of you have been mistaken mistaking Michael Jordan moments for Sam Bowie mom's you've been missing the moments that God has for you and and if that's the case what's going to change tomorrow see if you can look back on your life and know you've missed incredible opportunities what's gonna change that postures you differently for the opportunities yet to come that's why it's so important to say nothing for the next life - to reframe the way you live your life and that's why we are now to the next chapter which is entitled set your past on fire now I know that's kind of an intense title set your paths on fire and whenever I hear that chapter been quoted I'm getting a little nervous that we're creating a global movement of arsonists she might pass on fire and and I hope they they they read the chapter not just the title there's a lot of people keep setting themselves on fire they're so self-destructive a lot of people confuse what I'm talking about to set your past on fire with burning bridges and so they just keep burning up people and opportunities and relationships and and we we need to be careful about the burn bridges that one day we're going to have to cross back over but there are some bridges you are never supposed to cross back over and you're supposed to set them on fire and they're your past I I wonder what is holding you back from moving forward well what does God need right now in your life to turn into ashes and dust so you can be free to travel forward so I went back to the beginning of Elijah's story to see what what was it that shaped him in such a way that he could see the opportunity there cuz I want that to happen in my life in first Kings chapter 19 beginning in verse 19 it's really the beginning of a lysis story Elijah is encountered by a prophet named Elijah they have very similar names for the different people so Elijah went from there and that Elijah son of shaphat he was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen and he himself was driving the twelfth pair Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him Elijah then left his oxen and ran after Elijah let me kiss my father and mother goodbye he said and then I will come with you go back Elijah replied what have I done to you so Elijah left him and went back he took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them he burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people and they ate then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant it's an abrupt beginning to a really profound story Elijah we don't know anything about him we don't get any backstory we don't get any backdrop we don't know what how he grew up we don't know anything about his family we really don't know how he ended up where he was we just suddenly find Elijah encountering Elijah interrupting his life while Elijah was hard at work he was there and he was plowing his field so he we know these a man of wealth and a man of success a man of position because he has 12 yoke of oxen so he doesn't have one pair of oxen doesn't just have a small field he has a huge field and he has a dozen pairs of oxen that are working this field and he is working one of them and he's so strong he himself is driving the twelfth pair and while he's working all he's doing life all he's doing what he knows to do he lied to interrupts him or maybe more accurately God interrupts his life and calls him on a new journey which by the way is the way God works have you ever been interrupted by God if you ever notice a God really isn't that interested in your schedule he's not particularly interested in fitting into your plans he's not looking for an opening on your agenda he won't interrupt your life whenever he is ready to do something in your life and it's gonna be up to you whether you make room for God or just politely invite him to give you room so Elijah went from there and he found a wife she sent her chef and he was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen and he himself was driving the twelve fair he was hard at work doing life wouldn't it be great if God could sort of give us advance notice for when our lives are gonna change dramatically maybe crazy does it look look you've got three years you've got three years to get your life in order you have three years to get yourself together in fact if God invited you right now to step into an extraordinary future are you actually free enough to move to it yeah I thought about this how a lot of us are so indebted to our past that we have mortgaged our future there's so many of us that are so trapped by the decisions we made the past it would take us years to unwind those decisions just to be free to move into the future we long for its got interrupted your life right now would you God you know I need a little time I need three months notice to be able to live an extraordinary life because I got I got a wrap up my ordinary life I got a wrap up my meaningless life and get it all together so I can actually live the life that you want me to him in through his cloak over him that's obscure no conversation this is the way men talk I'd like to just put his cloak around Elijah and then he walks off I can know this because the very next line says Elijah then left his oxen and ran after Elijah get the run after him me who does that just walks up to you while you're working hard plowing your land doing your thing guides us what's a cloak over you and then the guy who invites you in doesn't say that he just keeps on going and Elijah has it stop plowing and run after Elijah cos Elijah's not even giving them enough time to process this new information isn't God like that see Elijah has been following God so he knows that God cannot be put on hold he keeps moving forward because that's what God is doing and now he's allowing Elijah to decide are you coming or are you staying see there some of you you're way too busy living your life to have time for the life God created you to live and you've wanted God to intervene and to intersect your life but he just keeps moving through and then you're not ready to move with him I wonder how many times God has interrupted you and you've had to say I'm not ready right now falesha runs after Elijah and he says let me kiss my father and mother goodbye and then I will come with you I love Elijah's response go back what have I done to you so Elijah left him and went back this is not a highly in pathetic conversation bingo I know I know you're close to your mom and dad you the kissing goodbye so I take some time you know take all the time except you don't have all the time in the world you're burning up life every second you live in a life of indecision and so Elijah says hey go back do what you're gonna do what have I done to you look all I've done is invited you into the future God has for you don't don't put it on me you decide what you're gonna do yeah I think so many of us we want God to do something amazing in our life we want God to recreate us we want God to guide us into a new future but we're so busy holding onto the past that we don't have time to step into his future and if you go to God I'm not quite ready yet see some of you you need to set your past on fire because it's your past who's burning up your future and I want to be clear a lot of times when we talk about becoming free from our past breaking for you from a past a lot of times you talk about the negative things in our past and believe me there's some things in your past that you need to set on fire there's some very flammable materials that we try to carry to the future like bitterness just set bitterness on fire let it go some of you you have wounds from the past you've unforgiveness that has taken over your soul you need to set all that on fire because you can't move into the future carrying those with you some of you you have so much fear because of the failures of your past you just need to set all that on fire but strength enough that wasn't Elijah see Elijah wasn't being held back by all of his weaknesses by all this failures by all this fears by all those wounds by all this pain but all of his disasters Elijah was actually living a really extraordinary life he he owned land he had a job he had a career he had responsibilities had 12 pair of oxen he had a life he was living and it was actually the life that he had that was going to steal the life he could have see if you think failure is hard to burn up and leave in the past try success you I'd like to if you if you think poverty is hard to leave behind try wealth you're like I'm working on it you know what will steal your future sometimes it's not that past that you need to be set free from because it was so painful it's that past you to be set free from because it was so good to you it was so good there's so much there I think I was 17 years old I graduated from high school just turned 18 and and I was working all these odd jobs you know I was working like a lumberjack and a carpenter and you know all these temp jobs I wasn't going to college my brother was off playing football and with the football scholarship and I was wandering around working minimum-wage jobs and one day I was in-between jobs my mom came up to me she said you need to get a job job you know kind of job you were to every day but I wasn't really qualified to do anything so I went and got a job at a hamburger place since I lost my job at the pizza place I was just achieving no worry about up for me and and I went to it is essentially a Carl's jr. and I got a job over there and it was my first day of work I've been sleeping in in the morning and staying out late at night you know living I've never even sleeping in my car for a while they didn't have a place to go it was cold in North Carolina in that car and I got up and I went to work and before I got to work there was an electrical fire in our house and the house exploded and the kitchen where the electrical fire ignited was right under my bedroom and I'd been in that house in that moment I would have been burned alive and they didn't know if I was still in the house so they called where I was going to work and by the time I finished the drive to my new job I received a message that the house had been burnt set on fire caught on fire I drove back home and it was horrible I mean the the house was gutted everything in the inside was just burned to pieces and you could smell the stench of smoke everywhere everything was destroyed but especially all the trophies I don't know if your family ever had like a trophy case we had this place a mantel over the fireplace where there were all these trophies that belong to my brother and and me and my sisters and it was like you know first place first place first place first place first place my trophy participation my sister's first place first place my brother awesome awesome awesome you know best human in the world can you believe who he is you know all those trophies and then my to participation trophies in between and we got to the house all those trophies were melted together and it was devastating for my mom she was trying to fix the trophies to pull them together but they were completely unidentifiable all of Alex's championship trophies were merged to my participation trophies and and they all became one and my mom could sing we want to say these were cattle I'm gonna fix them I'm gonna take us a place and I'm gonna fix them and I'm and I'm thinking to myself that'd be awesome because how will they ever know I participated if I if I don't have my trophy no one will believe I participated I was on the team and and my brother just looked at the trophies and he said throw them away like all the good ones are yours and like just throw them away I'm a mom no no no I'm gonna fix my mind my brother said throw them away if that's the best I do with my life I don't want to know that or remember that all that's in the past just throw them away and I realized that that the framework that actually led him to be the person that could win those trophies was the person who would not allow those trophies to define his future there were just a memory of the past yeah I I wonder how many of us are carrying our participation trophies into the future because we're afraid that our future is not better than our past see there's some of you that you can't let go of a relationship in your past because you're terrified you're never gonna have a better relationship in the future there's some of you that they're holding on even to your wins in the past because you don't know if you've got any wins coming in the future nothing will earn you more than your past successes they can hold you under or powerfully than your past failures so Elijah says go back what have I done to you you take care of your past I'm just inviting you into the future so Elijah left and went back and he took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them that bothers me every time I read this he took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them he burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people and they ate then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant when I read this I go don't slaughter the oxen sell them be shrewd you're gonna need the income and then he burned the plowing equipment to turn it into an altar he cut the plowing equipment to pieces turned it into kindling and set it all on fire Mike no don't do it man you're gonna need it if you don't want to keep it sell it do you know how much plowing equipment sells for in a good market I don't either but I think it sells for a lot who does that he took his yoke of oxen and he slams them all and he took all the climbing equipment and he cut it into pieces and then he set it all on fire he literally set his past on fire I'm thinking that's not the smartest thing to do you you need a plan B especially if you're gonna follow God right we all know that oh you know sweater make God your plan B because I think that's what most of us actually do see we believe in God we believe in Jesus we believe in all that and God is our God is our great plan B but you're busy doing life you're busy doing your life you're busy doing you so your life is plan a and you slip and to see that if God maybe has a really good plan B for you and you don't ever execute plan B until plan a falls apart but Elijah understood something because he was a man who knew success you cannot succeed if you have a plan B you will always surrender your plan a you will always move back to your fallback plan B if you have a plan B you know I should decide that he was gonna follow God he was gonna follow God's course for his life and there was no turning back he sat is passed on fire uh I wonder what it is in your life that you just keep holding on to and he keeps holding on to you I wonder what it is right now the God is telling you just take a match and set it on fire and I will set you in on your future I love the fact that Elijah was so inherently generous that he slaughtered all of his oxen cut the pieces all of his plowing equipments had a huge banquet and created a festival for everyone in this village everyone came and celebrated because of Elijah's sacrifice whose life is being impacted by your sacrifice or are you still eating off the sacrifices of others I'm grateful I've been able to eat off the sacrifices of others but there has to come a time in your life where you allow others to eat off your sacrifice inside where your life becomes a gift to other people I love how this passage RAF's us together says then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant Elijah was a leader he was a master he owned his land he owned his equipment see he had the authority to kill all those ox he had the authority to destroy all those plows because he paid for them they belong to him he understood what it was to rule he understood what it was to succeed he understood what it was to have but he knew the difference between having something and something having him and so he gave up everything he had to step into the future that he could not have unless he gave God everything is your past don't want to ask you is your past and anchor or in alter it is your past an anchor or an altar are you allowing your past to hold you in the past or are you using your past as the material from which you're creating your future are you using your past all your past pain and all your past failures are your passwords as an excuse for not living the future God has you are you living your pad you loo using your past successes your past victories your past wins as an excuse for not stepping into the future God has for you and I I became a follower of Jesus the week I turned 20 years old and for the next 10 years I lived my life essentially among the urban poor when Kim and I were married at the age of 25 we were in the middle of that particular journey until I was 30 years old my income was I don't think ever more than $12,000 a year but Kim and I were married we slept on the floor because we could not afford a bed and I remember Kim got a job as an office assistant at an organization even though she had a master's degree and she was maybe making ten eleven thousand dollars a year between the two of us we couldn't even hit the minimum of welfare and we had the best time in her life and we enjoyed life and we live life to the fullest and we never had a day as we're journeying together we felt as if God was generous to us and then a unique thing happened my life turned upside down I I remember I never spoke to more than 50 people at one time I mean I was I was the guy speaking on street corners going to the VUCA ray and the Mardi Gras and taking my guitar and singing on street corners and and then getting a crowd together I was that guy I was grateful they dropped change inside of my guitar case I I remember the moment where I was suddenly unexpectedly invited to speak to 20,000 people without 45 minutes notice and let me tell you going from speaking to 50 people the 20,000 in just a blink of an eye is overwhelming I went to a little room I fell on my face I started sobbing uncontrollably forming fear and that moment turned my life upside down and suddenly I became incredibly popular it opened up an entirely new world for me and and also now I was being offered jobs left and right I worked as an urban ologist and a futurist and I spoke across the country next thing I knew I was popular and we could buy a house we bought a brand-new house I could buy cars cash I didn't even know that I could turn my life into a livelihood and and it was an amazing moment in our life and it lasted about two years I mean it was as if every month our world got bigger and bigger and bigger our income got bigger and bigger and bigger and and and Aaron was born and now Kim was pregnant with Mariah and we had another daughter that God gave us named patty and-and-and and we were about to have to send her to college and so I'm a thirty year old man with three kids and a wife and it was in the middle that we just heard God speak to us so clearly to walk away from at home and to move to LA and it was not easy there was no job here there is nobody who wanted me here nobody was inviting to provide a future for us we just knew we're supposed to be here in LA and I I had a group of businessmen who were all not millionaires with billionaires and they had decided to finance my life and they called me into a meeting as I was coming back and forth to LA and they said we really believe in you and we want to finance all of your vision all of your dreams but we want you to live in Dallas and if you move to LA we're gonna stop financing what you're doing let me tell you that was not an easy moment I could do everything from here I could fly across the country that's easy they only pay for all of it I remember sitting the room is I want to release all of you from any obligation to ever finance anything I every go so they have you ever had a moment we just know God has told you to move and follow him into the unknown and it doesn't matter what you lose because you can't lose this see in that moment were the wife and three kids with Aaron barely three and Mariah just born we gave up everything sold everything we had rented a u-haul moved across the country and it was we were out of our minds people thought we were crazy because we had a past that was worth becoming our future see we weren't walking away from from failure we were not walking away from from a self-destructive life we had everything we ever wanted except the future God wanted for us so we set it on fire and we moved out here and I started looking for a place to live and there's a city called Alhambra and I found a house to rent there it was like over a thousand dollars a month it was so expensive I remember I rented that house from a family that was living in Hong Kong and and Kim came to me says honey we can't afford this house how can we rent this house we can't afford it I said honey we can't afford any house so he miles would get kicked out of this one that was my theory now I was gonna go with it and somehow every month we just kept paying those bills every month we just kept moving forward and I remember one time we had friends who'd actually come to know Jesus and we opened up eventually mosaic and a nightclub the prince used to own and and there was nobody to finance this this was just us on our own and and that we were going over to the beach I think it was Dockweiler Beach where you have to pay for parking and I was supposed to go to the beach and baptize people but I didn't even have five dollars to pay for parking so I'm scrambling all over the house looking for formerly lost money you ever do that yes you're going through bags you're going through pants or going through jackets you're going Jesus I know you you hid something somewhere where I could have it right now when I need it and it was cold that night so I threw in I Jack I had thrown in a long time I reached in the pocket and it was just enough money for me to pay for parking it's like a baptize some of you don't want to know I've never regretted for one moment sending my past on fire I've never regretted for one moment giving up things that other people thought was the sum total of success because if you think it's hard to walk away from failure walk away from success but if your past is your best future you're already done anyway here's a walk no matter what has ever happened in your past no matter how much God has ever done in your past no matter how much you felt or succeeded no matter what you have accomplished matter even if you're all that let me tell you it's not worth losing the future that has for you I think sometimes it's a mindset god I've already done that I've already sacrificed I already had faith I already serve but Elijah it says he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant and this is the way God works every time God wants to move you up he calls you to step down every time God begins to expand your influence and turn you into a greater individual to make you a more powerful leader God calls you to become a more powerful servant you last you're gonna said no God I'm gonna stay king of my little land here why should I leave all this to become the servants of Elijah who's the servant of God there's some of you here that your past is an anchor and it's time to turn it into an altar because your past isn't an altar until you set it on fire and and maybe they're supposed to be shipped in your life that goes beyond turning your past into an altar but becoming an altar see because in ancient times they would build and offer an altered in an altar to offer a sacrifice to God but I am convinced what God wants us to be is to be an altar not something to build an altar so that we might be the sacrifice that we offer to God we might give our lives Jeremiah said oh but if I say I will not mention him or speak any longer and his name his word is in my heart like a burning fire a fire shut up in my bones I am weary of keeping it in indeed I cannot hear what you're my same thing I am on fire God you burn inside of my soul you're all I want you cannot step into the future God has for you into your will to take a match and burn it all down I say God I trust you to rebuild my life over and over and over again Mariah was probably 14 years old I don't think anyone had ever heard her sing except for me she was so shy and and so reclusive I said I just for one year we just sing whenever I ask you and she said okay I'll do that dad and that's okay the first person I went there sing for is your mom in the living room small audience and so she came in the living room she brought the guitar and she sat down and started singing a song that would later be picked up by Grey's Anatomy and used in their season finale and I'll never forget one particular lyric she's singing the song smiling so big her little fourteen-year-old angel and she says just give me a match and I'll burn it all down she just kept singing that over and over again just give me a match and I'll burn it or a hoedown just give me a match and I'll burn it all down and I'm sitting thinking I love my artistic poetic sweet girl I love the way she takes words and images just throws it and Kim's eyes are just getting bigger and bigger and bigger and finally Kim goes who is that a firm honey a firm a firm and because no was give me a match and you'll burn it all down where did that come from just we didn't abuse you just you you have two loving parents you have a home you have a family what what why do you want to bring it what do you want you want to burn down I became just going off right you know and then Kim goes what are people gonna think which of course she's from the south that's a very important thing why do people to think when you're singing give me a match you win a burn it all down oh hi mom and dad they're here tonight you know cuz what are we going to think when you're singing that they're gonna think we tortured you we abuse you and a my ass just smiled birthday and she says oh no I'm not singing for my pain I'm singing for the pain of others you know what I find is odd a lot of us would rather take a match and burn it all down than to set it on fire give it to God a lot of us make so many self-destructive choices we keep burning up our future we would rather set ourselves on fire and all the wrong way and to let God do something new by letting go of all the old I started thinking about giving because Elijah's act was so generous but out of his sacrifice erupted generosity and because of that he had the freedom to move forward into God's future and I started thinking about why God creates this process that we call tithing why do you do that God what's the big deal why do you ask us to give 10% of our income because I realized that that giving is in response to need but tithing is in response to God there's a difference see I hope we all give I hope we all are how to give when there's a need in the world when there's a need around you I hope you learned to be a person who gives but but tithing is different than giving because it's not a round of need it's a round and honor you don't give to a need you give to God when you're tithing you're saying God everything I have is yours everything I am is yours and I realized that that God is so clever that he created this this process where we take the first tenth of our giving and we give it as an offering to God so that we're making a declaration that everything we have is God's and then it began to make sense to me why it's so hard to talk it's hard to tithe when you think that what you have is yours you're like really God you want me to give 10% of what I have isn't that absurd of course that's absurd why the world should God expect you and me to give 10% of what we have there's a different posture when you finally get it that your life is a gift from God that everything you have is a gift from God to you and so it's a chef it's actually a shift where you're not saying okay God this is what I have this is my life but I'm gonna be I'm gonna be sacrificial so I'm gonna give you 10% of what is mine as opposed to God everything I have is yours so if you want 10% back and you're gonna allow me to keep 90 percent I'm good with that and then I realized oh this is because we're the only sacrifice who keeps crawling off the altar see God wants to give you the new but you can't keep crawling back to the old he wants to give you a future but you have to set the past on fire you have to create a posture in your life that everything you are and everything you have is a gift from God to you and your life is not ownership your life is stewardship because God wants to move you into a future and you need to be flexible and agile and adaptable and responsive and the more things that you own you have to be careful because those things can end up owning you and if all the things God has done for you and all the things God has given you own you you will not be able to move into the future that God calls you into I love the fact that Elijah had everything in his life as a gift from God and so he could just set it on fire and say god I am good to go I wonder if you are good to go if God speaks into your life right now if God calls you into a more profound and future if God is waiting to usher in a future that is greater than anything you could ever ask or imagine are you good to go right now because you need to take that match and just set it all on fire and say God thank you for the life you've given me thank you for everything you've entrusted to me but God I want you to know there's nothing you have ever done for me that is of more value to me than what you're calling me into in the future there's nothing in my past that matters more to me than the future you have for me God that I want you to know you can trust me with it whatever you want to trust me with you can give me wealth you can give me power you can give me procedure can give me Fame you can give me stealth god you can trust me because they will not trap me in the past God you can trust me to be a steward and the moment you tell me to chop it into pieces and set it on fire and use it to be generous it is my chakra fights because the guy can't trust you with your past how in the world is gonna trust you with your future so maybe it's time right now to take the match and set it on fire because when you let God set you free from your past he uses that altar to light the way for others and there's some of you here right now you are trapped in your past you're dragging it into your future it is costing you your joy it is costing your hope it is costing you your freedom and you are so trapped in the past but tonight I'm telling you today Jesus is going to set you free but the match is in your hands and you gotta strike so strike strike strike strike strike strike set it all on fire we should just bow your heads with me just for a moment just close your eyes there's some of you here right now in this moment that have never crossed that line of faith and trusted Jesus with your life maybe you've thought about it you've come close but this is your moment 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ God Himself stepped into human history and he chose you he died on the cross so that through his sacrifice you might live and be free he rose from the dead and he's here right now and he wants to give you his life but there has to be an exchange you have to make room for the future by letting go of your past you have to make room for the life he wants to give you by giving up the life you have without him right now if you're ready to cross that line and move from death to life from existence to life but I want you to pray this simple prayer right now just one sentence right now Jesus I give you my life that's it right now just whisper that to God Jesus I give you my life right now just tell him just take that leap of faith just cross that line of faith right now just whisper these words the God who is here for you Jesus I give you my life everything will start new today he'll make you new he'll give you a fresh start he'll set you free from your past and give you a future right now just just whisper this prayer Jesus I give you my life there's so much more that needs to be said but this is where you start if this is your prayer Jesus I give you my life if this is your prayer right now I want to pray for you but I want to know with it that this is your moment and so I want you right now if you prayed this prayer Jesus I give you my life I want you right now just to hold your hand a pie and say yes that's my prayer yes this is my prayer yes I choose Jesus in my life right now beautiful just hold it up high just hold it up high right now don't be embarrassed don't be ashamed don't be hesitant right now just strike the match and set it all in fight right now just hold your head up high and say Jesus I'm setting my past on fire I am giving my life to you right now all over the room anyone else right now just let this be your moment let this moment light the way into your future anyone else right now just hold it high don't miss this moment father I thank you for those in this moment are opening up their life to you I thank you for this simple prayer Jesus I give you my life I pray that right now as they give you their life that they would know that you are giving them your life God just wrapped them up in your love let them know that they belong to you and God I pray that you would fill them with hope with faith with love that you would help them to see a more beautiful future the god you would set them free from their past today would be the beginning of new things they thank you Jesus I thank you Jesus that you came here tonight to meet them here to disrupt their life to encounter them to interrupt them from existing so that they might live we thank you Jesus and we pray in your name amen can we just thank God for all those I want us to do something before we dismiss tonight I'm gonna ask our pastors just to come up here to this fund right now just come real quickly this was not planned we didn't know we're gonna do this just spread across all the way across here there's some of you that are here right now and your past is stealing your future from you there's some of you here right now that you you need to make this a defining decisive moment in your life where you just set your pastor on fire you say God all of my life is yours I'm not gonna build altars I'm gonna be an altar I'm gonna let you take me Jesus I'm gonna give you my life as a sacrifice I don't want a future without you Jesus there's some of you here you're so afraid that you'll never step into the future God has for you that maybe you even given up when I want you to do right now and if you're here and you're like I just need someone to pray for me right now I just need someone to help me with enough faith to step into a different future there's some of you who are here right now and God has spoken to you very specifically about what you need to set on fire maybe there's some relationships you need to get let go of maybe there's some pain you need to let go well maybe there's some success you need to let go of and you need to move forward into the life God has for you if you're here right now and you are at that moment and you're gonna step into this defining moment say god I'm just gonna nail it down right now this is my defining moment I'm setting my paths on fire I'm moving into your future I want you just to come right now and just let them pray for you right now just come right now just come right now before everybody stands just want you to come I want you to come right now wherever you are I just want you to come and let people pray for you right now beautiful let's keep coming wherever you are just found is that people price for you right now don't worry we're going to stay here long enough to let people pray for you right now if you're one of our leaders you see how many people are coming you can just come and pray with them okay if you're one of our crew leaders if you're one of our ministry leaders then you come and you pray for people right now okay just lay hands on people just pray for them right now I just want us all to stand together we're gonna sing and worship we're gonna just allow God's presence to fill this room and I'm gonna ask you not to leave we just stay long enough for God to have this moment in all of our lives let's worship together and while you worship give to God what you need to give to him set on fire whatever needs to be consumed in your life don't leave here tonight without setting your paths on fire and stepping into the future that Jesus has for you amen [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] I think singing that bridge let's face rise up let that be our prey tonight [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey can we just thank God and pastor Erwin just for an incredible night tonight I know there's still some people praying and I just want to encourage you don't do life alone I want you to know even when you're you're here and God speaks to you and maybe setting your pass on fire is too hard for you guess what I'll light the match for you and we'll do together hey if you're here maybe you don't have a copy of the scriptures we have a copy in the back of there's an area called next step it says you belong here because we want you to know you do if you if you're like wanting to get plugged in you don't know pastor Jamar earlier was talking about serv teams it's all about community it's not even about what we get to do together like the activities and the stuff it's really just doing life and getting to be a part of something beautiful that other people will find life and we want you to be a part of that team so in the next step area hey join us there today if you've made a decision to follow Jesus right if that was tonight or maybe you've made that decision last week to follow Jesus we want to do something special for you tonight we have something that we call the ten minute party it's for you if yeah we like to party in Jesus what's up oh it's just getting started you know I'm saying but for real if that's you you said hey I committed my life to follow Jesus tonight right out the back you're going to go out the doors to the right at next step area there's a ten minute party we would love to meet you we have a gift we'd love to give you a copy of soul cravings a book that pastor Erwin wrote it's we think it'll be extremely helpful we also in two weeks we have baptism so if you're here two weeks from now I mean nope you here right now in two weeks we have in a baptism if you would like to sign up go to the next hip area let's sign up but don't do life alone isn't this fun that we got to do this [Applause] hey so we have one more song so we got a party here and then we can party out there you guys ready all right love you guys hey see you mosaic Venice Wednesday or Cru take care [Music] [Music] Chris won't be talking our lives and now you can see through our source it's nothing new out from the Bob did you see the beauty [Music] to the doors [Music] you're [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] merci you can't sacrifice [Music] love you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Mosaic

Views: 30,894

Rating: 4.9232879 out of 5

Keywords: Worship, ErwinMcManus, MosaicMSC, Church, LosAngeles, Faith, Mosaic, Mosaic Church, hillsong, elevationchurch, hillsongunited, lakewoodchurch, citychurch, judahsmith, bethelchurch, The Last Arrow, Save nothing for the next life, best seller, Erwin Mcmanus, Erwin Raphael McManus, erwinmcmanusthelastarrowseriestag

Id: rDzWXE9E9co

Length: 64min 58sec (3898 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 23 2017