Sunday 11am Gathering - Where I Am

[Music] [Applause] heaven and earth [Music] holy [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] holy [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] i won't stop singing i won't stop seeing these [Music] so [Applause] [Music] these [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] well good morning everybody how's everybody doing this fine sunday morning i know people are still coming in but we are excited to start off our service today with a baptism and so i want to explain just for a few minutes what baptism is what baptism is not and then introduce our people today and so we just uh we we we want to be clear when we do this because we are very privileged to be able to see a lot of baptisms throughout the years here and into something that i hope i hope we never get used to but what baptism is it is a picture of us being buried in our sins and being raised to walk in newness of life in jesus christ we always say this that there's nothing special there's nothing magical about that water that water is not going to wash away our sins that does not save us many have asked that many have thought that in previous years but the the bible speaks clearly about what salvation is and that is when you and i we put our faith and trust in jesus christ the risen savior alone repenting and turning from our sins and saying that he is the only one the only way that can bring us to salvation and in the bible you see baptism happen quite immediately after that and it's because it is people showing that i want people to know that i serve jesus that i have given my life to jesus and i want people to know it's a public profession of exactly what what we have put our faith and trust in jesus so many have asked a question too man i don't have my whole life together you know there's certain things i still haven't worked out and so i'm not quite ready to be baptized and we would encourage people to to get baptized the second they know jesus and the reason is because the truth is none of us have everything figured out it is that one of the first step of faith to say that i am honoring jesus with my life and i want to be challenged i want to be encouraged by the word and by the teaching of the word and so today i want to introduce you to some awesome friends here behind our magical screen here david and julius and so david has been very instrumental in julius's life and so he i love this because a lot of people would ask like why why am i standing here why am i not baptizing why is west not doing that the reason is david is very instrumental in in julius's life and so he has been the one that is doing bible study with him he is the one that is walking through the bible with him and help answering these questions so i love this picture to see that people in our church are doing this it doesn't have to be staff it doesn't have to be pastors it can be anyone that knows jesus that is help helping other people understand that so we're going to celebrate julius story here he has i just talked to him a few minutes ago he has given his life to jesus christ just a few weeks ago and he's like man i'm learning new things every day there's just more and more and he's like my mind is just open to what the bible has and so we're going to celebrate with them today take it away dave it's my pleasure to baptize you and your father son that is awesome i want to encourage anybody here today if maybe you have not been baptized and you want to be or have more questions about it please reach out to us i hope julius is an encouragement for that let's pray for them today and then we'll begin our worship service father we thank you so much for this story i thank you for julius and him giving his life to you and being willing to profess that publicly i thank you for david and being an instrumental person in his life who's willing to take the time to invest in another person lord to share them the gospel share the love of christ and i pray that that is seen throughout our church seen throughout our community and that that spreads hope through people here and encouragement that the more people that need to do that we pray that we would honor you in all that we do and say pray this in the name of jesus amen well good morning rock church family why don't you stand up we'll lift god's name up in this music water you turn into wine open the eyes of the blind there's no one like you none like you into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you none like you [Music] our god is greater our god is stronger god you are higher than any other our god is healer awesome in power our god our god [Music] to the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you none like you our god is greater our god is stronger god you are higher than me is [Music] [Applause] [Music] and if our god is for us then who could ever stop us and if our god is with us then what could stand against and if our god is for us then who could ever stop us and if our god is with us [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] our god is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] and if our god is with us then what could stand again [Music] what could stand against [Music] praise god please be seated good morning everybody have a seat if you would good to see everybody today some people still coming in be so kind is to give somebody a seat so they don't have to awkwardly stand there looking at you nothing would be worse than that slide over and give them a seat we're glad they're here uh boy rainy day little rainy october day out there but uh don't despair because i was in arizona a couple days ago and it was 45 and raining it was it was cold and awful in arizona and i thought man i got to get back to michigan it is sunny in 70 in the midwest that is the strangest thing that happened so it is fall that's wonderful here in the state of michigan we have an exciting thing to tell you about we're looking forward to the fall season we have midweek back here at the rock uh but we have an exciting weekend coming up in just a few weeks uh a while back the city of linden came to us and they asked they said man it's been quite some time since we've been able to do something for the community something encouraging something positive something joyful and they asked they said would you come downtown if we blocked off the street again and would you come down and would you do one of those things that you guys call a night of hope would you do that if we gave you permission and we said well that sounds fantastic of course we would do that we did it a couple years ago down there we've done it all across michigan's upper peninsula this past summer we've done it around the lower michigan peninsula around the shoreline and we're finally back here locally and lyndon came and said would you come and do that we would love it if the community had that again so what is the night of hope man we tell the community about it we have a family uh family-friendly area some inflatables and things like that we have live music for the for the community a little concert we do and then i get up and i just share the gospel in about 15 minutes or less with anyone that is there so uh we have our good friend here at the rock mr uh joey spencer professional boxer here giving his testimony that night uh lyndon native local linden hero mr joey and so he's going to come and he's going to share about christ and the work of jesus in his life and uh so if you're you oh excuse me need some water if you're a young person if you're a young person here or you know you know some people that like uh professional sports like boxing or whatever or watch joey they're like man hey bring him he's gonna he's gonna share some things you can see that and he's gonna share the gospel and so how can you be a part of it you can come you can come i hope you will but i hope you don't come alone i hope you uh i hope you bring somebody maybe there's a neighbor that's been on your mind a friend of yours a family member somebody at your job that you've just been trying to find a tool to be able to reach them with the gospel well maybe this is it maybe this works say hey come downtown they don't have to come into a church building and all that maybe that weirds them out say come downtown there's going to be a concert there's going to be a testimony and uh we'd love for you to come and so bring them with you but maybe you're here and you say uh man i would love to do that but uh i have this foot thing uh you know it sounds like a lot of standing on pavement well it is uh it's you know it sounds like there's a lot of walking i got a knee thing i got a back thing i got a hip thing look i understand because right now this very moment i happen to have a broken toe so sympathy for you that have a thing okay and so you're like i would like to do it but you know maybe you've just gotten older and there's just things deteriorating you're like i don't stand around outside for a long time i wish i could but i can't that's okay because we're gonna live stream it from this screen on saturday october 23rd at the exact same time so if you can't come down there for some reason come on in here come in here sit down be a part of the service uh digitally as you join online and what you can do and what i would ask you to do is just be praying as you're a part of it if you're going to be in this room during that night just be praying commit yourself to pray for those that are down there those that are listening we'll have some fellowship here with the body of christ that shows up at the rock that night and so just be in prayer lord work in the people's lives that might be lost that are looking for hope that are looking for joy and peace so you can be a part of it that way that is the only service of the weekend we're going to dedicate every resource we've got to going down there on saturday night and we hope to take all of you with us or here in this room so on sunday uh you can be a part uh we have many uh friends in ministry and the surrounding area you can be a part of their fellowship and be an encouragement to their church if you like on sunday or you can just go out and be a blessing to the community there are people that got to work work in restaurants and stuff on sunday why don't you go in there have breakfast with a couple believers and be a testimony of them and leave an obscene amount of money as a tip and just be a great witness for jesus be the biggest blessing that they have all day as they work at that restaurant that day or whatever you like to do so again only service of the weekend october 23rd night of hope downtown london gonna be fantastic glad you're here this morning would you stand back up for worship [Music] i've come to seek your face i long for you you are my hiding place my safe refuge i find my hope in you your peace it carries me through [Music] grace deeper than the sea conquered the grave you gave it all for me your love displayed there is power in your name i give you my [Music] you are high above it all kingdoms rage and nation shake but you remain high above it all you are high above it oh my god [Music] i've walked through death's valley i will not fear your blood it covers me you are my shame when i'm weary and i'm weak [Music] you are all the strength i need [Music] high above it all you are high above it all [Music] kingdoms rage and nation shakes but you remain high above it all you are high above [Music] [Music] there is triumph in your presence healing in your peace so i will lift my voice proclaiming victory there is triumph in your presence healing in your peace so i will lift my voice proclaiming victory [Music] in your peace so i will lift my voice proclaiming victory there is triumph in your presence [Music] in your peace so i will lift my voice proclaiming victory victory [Music] waters roaring mountains fall but you remain high above it all you are high above kingdoms raging nations shakes [Music] is [Music] nation says [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] there's a battle in my mind and a roaming enemy a chaos that's inside distracted by the noise tempted to give him calling me to stand but i'm falling i can't do this on my own i fix my eyes on you [Music] you give me life and peace [Music] set my mind [Music] a captive i will never be you've given me your mind and i am free i can't do this on my [Music] set own mind on things above give me life and peace [Music] my [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] not of you transform my life renew my mind consume my heart with what is true i'm tearing down every lie every thought not of you transform my life renew my mind consume my heart with what is true i'm tearing down every lie every thought not of you transform my life renew my mind consume my heart with what is true i'm tearing down every lie every thought not of you transformed my life renew my mind into my heart with what is true [Music] this world will pass away just give me jesus [Music] this world will pass away just give me jesus [Music] [Music] with what is [Music] you give me life and peace [Applause] [Music] thank you if you have a bible this morning turn with me to the gospel of john chapter 17 if you would please john 17 as we continue jesus in his prayer to the father where we find ourselves in the prayer jesus is praying for all disciples that will ever be he began and he was praying for the disciples that were next to him at the time and then he comes and he says i don't only ask on behalf of these alone but also for those who believe in me through their word the disciples that would come to be even you and i so what does he pray in verse 24 he says father i desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where i am so that they may see my glory which you have given me for you loved me before the foundation of the world and says o righteous father although the world has not known you yet i have known you and these have known that you sent me those that believe that is what we believe that the father sent the son to be the savior of the world verse 26 and i have made your name known to them and will make it known so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and i in them so he expresses his desire for all that are given to him by the father because of their faith in jesus he says i desire that they would be with me where i am and he's talking in an eternal way he's not talking in the present place or the present moment he's talking about the heavenly kingdom to come we are restored to peace with god through jesus christ alone that they would be with him and by being with jesus we are now at peace with almighty god by ourselves we are not by our good works by our deeds by the money we give by our religious worship does not bring us to peace with god it brings us no grace from god at all the bible says in genesis that we used to have peace with god that is how it began in the beginning when god created the heavens and the earth says he created man from the dust of the earth breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul he was created in the image of god that is to say representing the attributes of god having parts of the character of god the capabilities of god to love and to self-sacrifice to self-contemplate and man was in the image of god and he walked at peace with god adam and eve in the garden in the perfection of creation there was no sin there was no death they did not age they did not decay there was no violence there was no fear there was no lying in the heart of man there was no fracture in the relationship between god and man he had created none total peace total unity with god the bible says god used to walk with man in the cool of the day temptation came the lord had said do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and you from the day you eat of it you will surely die that will bring death that will bring brokenness man did it and that instantly shattered the relationship between god and man you see it right away the bible says that man needed no covering for his body prior to that moment there was just the glory of the lord the glory of the garden of eden whatever that was we don't live there now it's hard to understand covered man there was no need for covering because there was no shame there was no humiliation there was no sin there was no immorality so there was no need for anything and the instant that man sinned you see that shame set in you see sin come you see humiliation come and it says that man in a futile effort tried to recover what he had so they sow fig leaves together and try to cover themselves because they realize the bible says they were naked and ashamed sin had entered and then now you find him separated from god you find god looking for adam of course he knew where he was but it speaks to the brokenness when the lord comes looking for adam hiding from god and he says adam where are you ever since that time we have been inherited that sin nature we are born into that brokenness we are not born into that perfection we are born having a fractured relationship with our creator and we have an infection of sin that you see very early on in our life you see the natural state of man come to be early on you see a child that is born precious in your sight but it doesn't take long before the child can even speak the child can rebel and lie it is the natural i'm not mocking children i'm not trying to make a thing i'm not saying that parenting is you know is is some you know bad thing or anything like that i'm not i'm not disparaging family or the blessing of life from the lord that's what it is but we are born in sin and you see that evidence very quickly tell a child don't do that don't climb up there you could get hurt don't do that they do it don't do this don't drink that it's poison and it will kill you don't do that they do it they try to do it don't eat this it's all sugar you know don't i told it and then you turn your back they do it you come back and before they can speak you'll say did you climb up there and get that and eat that and what they'll what do they do how do they know how to do it they go can't even talk but they can lie they can rebel they can sin i'm not making fun of children i'm not i'm saying do you see it it's there from the beginning the sin nature bleeds out right away and our relationship to god is broken the bible says in ephesians 2 that we are separate from christ in our natural state having no hope and without god in the world that's how we come into the world separate from christ having no hope and without god in the world we have no hope that we can get for ourselves people try we are without god but we try to create our own we try to get back to him by sowing fig leaves of good deeds of good behavior it's all fig leaves right charitable giving these kind of things all fig leaves maybe the lord maybe i will rest there's something aching in our heart to return to what that peace with god it doesn't do it so god in his grace and in his mercy sends christ on our behalf colossians chapter 1 take a look be over to the right if you're holding a bible but not sure where to go that's okay colossians chapter 1. verse 19. the bible says in our broken state for it was the father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him talking about jesus the fullness of god okay he's more than a prophet he's more than a priest he's more than a pastor he's more than a miracle worker he is the fullness of god in the flesh and it was the father's good pleasure to send him that way in verse 20 why what was the purpose through him to reconcile all things to himself to put it back to that genesis relationship to reconcile all things to himself having made peace that is to say peace with god between god and man that was broken in eden having made peace through the blood of his cross through him i say whether things on earth or things in heaven jesus prays father my desire i desire that those whom you have given me be with me where i am that they may see my glory that they be put back into a state of peace he's about to go to the cross and accomplish the only way that that peace that was broken so long ago can be restored and people by themselves are without hope and without god in the world they don't have it and they don't have peace and the heart of man can feel it they may not say those words they may not have that understanding in their mind but you look around the world and they do not have peace they do not have peace in their life they do not have peace about eternity they do not have peace of mind they are at war they are at war with god they are at enmity with god they are disrupted in their heart and they destroy their lives seeking a false peace last week i was traveling the majority of the week with a friend of mine who was preaching the gospel in the southwest new mexico arizona several other cities but i went to a few cities in there supporting those guys supporting him being a part of what they were doing and learning from them for our context here as well when my time there had come to an end neil thompson and i traveling together we were flying out of las vegas so we left flagstaff arizona and we drove to las vegas late late at night got into las vegas super late and we were walking on the sidewalk by the hotel where we were going to stay that night about one o'clock in the morning 1am now i'm not here to recommend anybody go to las vegas but if you've been to las vegas you know what i'm talking about it's never turned off okay there's no like down time really so 1am there's there's plenty going on in fact you should probably be somewhere else but we were walking on the sidewalk and as we were walking this girl came up to me she's a street performer and uh she came up to me and she said and the deal is they make money by you know doing little performances and then you take a picture but you got to pay to take that pick you want a picture with me and so you can take a picture but you gotta you know pay money like i don't know how much but you gotta pay some money five dollars twenty dollars and get a picture you know with these girls and uh she said she came she came up real fast and she's like it's like hey and uh said some stuff and she said uh do you wanna you wanna get a picture i said no no thank you no i don't i don't want a picture thank you and i was just i was starting to keep moving you know i was just gonna walk away and she said uh oh come on come on give some help to a single mom and it just it just stopped me i was like sometimes the lord you know make sure it's the lord but sometimes it's the lord and and i i just was like you're a single mom and she said yeah yeah yeah i'm a single mom i said how many kids you have i have one i have one daughter you want to see her yeah pulls out her phone starts showing me i'm like oh cool what's her name she told me her name i'm like that's great no husband i said you married no i was with a boyfriend he just left me oh i'm sorry to hear that hey you want a picture she said i got to earn money to pay rent i'm trying to get money to pay my rent i'm behind on my rent and all this stuff i said how about this i said how about i just give you some money and and we don't need to take a picture but you stand here and talk to me for a few minutes how about that and was like okay like she said what do you want to talk about so get this a few weeks ago somebody gave me a hundred dollars one of you gave me a hundred dollars and they said use take this and when you see somebody in need you probably see a lot of people in need they said something like that give that hundred dollars to whoever the lord leads you to that might be in need so i've been riding around in my truck with this hundred dollars in my center console for weeks and i pray you know i'm praying like lord show me who to give it to show me the right need show me the right moment the right time and all this stuff i'm riding around and normally that happens pretty quickly and i just had nothing and i was looking like nothing so then i gave it to my wife and she rode around with it for a little while nothing and then she gave it back to me she's like here you want this hundred dollars back i just said you know nothing like give me a hundred dollars i got to get rid of this hundred dollars i don't just give it to so you know like i want god i want the god thing you know like you want to be like oh oh and you connect the dots so i had this hundred dollars folded up in my wallet in all 20s and uh she was well how much are you going to give me it was like a light bulb because i never have any money i got like five dollars my kids take it for something and i'm like i got she goes i got to earn money to pay rent and i'm like well i'll pay you if you stand here and talk to me for a few minutes how much and i open my wallet and i gave her everything i had i said how about that and she starts peeling off 20s and she looks up at me and her eyes light up and she gives me the full embrace runs up and grabs me and just hugging me around the net and i grab her arm and i back her up and i go listen you take that money and i want to ask you a question said okay what's your question do you like doing this what we're doing right now i said do you like this thing you're doing on the sidewalk and she looked at me her voice changed her face changed the act dropped and she said no no let's do what i got to do i said do you have peace you understand do you think you have peace in your life and in your heart do you feel at rest in your soul as you live your life right now do you do you feel that and she said never she said i've never had peace my entire life so i just lost a baby my boyfriend left me she told me about her upbringing told me about her father who was terrible she started talking i said can i tell you can i take a couple more minutes of your time and i'd like to tell you about the piece you might be looking for she said yeah that'd be okay i said okay the bible says i said i don't know if you've ever been to church i said you know the name jesus you said do you understand it yeah yeah yeah i know jesus i've heard of jesus i said well i don't know how churches or people that said they followed jesus have treated you i don't know if you've ever been to a church and what they said to you or how they acted or what they represented but i'm here to tell you i know jesus and the bible says that jesus is the prince of peace he's a mighty god and the bible says that he can give you the peace that surpasses all understanding he can forgive you of all your sin all your shame all your guilt all your regrets he can heal you of all your pain that you very obviously have and he can make you a brand new creation and the bible says it all neil and i are just there talking to her you know there were more words said but this is all it all came out the bible says that all who call upon the name of the lord will be saved and that means you and you could do that and he you could put all this away you don't have to stand out here you don't have to do this anymore the lord could make a miraculous way you could be he could make you a wonderful mother to your daughter and he could fix this life and make you a new creation if you would just call on his name turn from your sin and believe on him you can have the peace you're looking for because it's not here and it's not anywhere you're thinking about going and she just looked at me she was fighting tears and just looked at me and looked at neil i just left it i said you know what could we pray we're standing in las vegas boulevard okay i'm like could would it be okay if we just prayed right here she's like yeah that'd be great i put my hands out she held my hands and we were there in a circle and i prayed to god almighty that she would come to know jesus as savior and we just left it between her and god broken separate from god having no hope without god in the world no difference in somebody may be sitting here this morning i talked about her because that's what the lord did a couple days ago but maybe god's talking about you somebody you know somebody sitting here right now you say that's not the same life not the same context but the same lack of peace and you wonder where you can get it and we look all kinds of places and we try to cover ourselves with fig leaves and recover what was lost and we cannot do it and the lord comes where are you adam where are you girl where are you we are lost we are condemned but he says and he said it was the father's good pleasure seeing all of that in all of us for the fullness of god to dwell in him and through him to reconcile all things to himself having made peace through the blood of his cross oh man that is the only door the only way the only true peace the only healing that anyone is looking for and can ever find jesus said i desire father i desire that those whom you have given me be with me be with me where i am he is talking also about a coming kingdom a new heaven and a new earth what did he say in john 14. he said i'm going where are you going jesus he said i go to prepare a place and he said if i go to prepare a place he said i am coming again to receive you unto myself that where i am you will be also he said i'm coming i'm leaving but i'm going to go fix this place i'm going to fix it and i'm gonna prepare it and i'm gonna come get you that where i am you would be also that's why the bible says of the believer i don't know if you're a believer here this morning this many people probably most certainly there's somebody in here that does not yet know the lord does not have peace is not certain that they would arrive in that kingdom to come the bible says of the believer that we are looking for and hastening the coming of the day of god and when that day comes and it will because of which the heavens will be destroyed this present heavens this earth that says the elements will melt with intense heat he will purify the evil and the darkness out of this world and it says but according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells oh man what is that kingdom like what will be there what is our experience to be revelation 21 let's take a look he said i want them to be with me where i am revelation chapter 21 the apostle john was given a vision from the lord a miraculous vision and he was given instructions with the vision jesus told him directly he said write down the things which were the things which are in the things which will be hereafter the past present and the future of the activity of god in the world and the kingdom to come and so he comes to the future the new heaven the new earth he's given a look and he's told to write down what he saw and he said in revelation 21 i saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first one passed away and in this place in verse three he said i heard a loud voice from the throne she's the throne room of heaven saying behold the tabernacle of god the dwelling place of god is among men and he god will dwell among them and they shall be his people and god himself will be among them isn't that what it was in eden been broken ever since been separate ever since and jesus is going to put it back together he said the tabernacle of god will be among men and he will dwell among them and they will be his people verse 4 and in that place it says he will wipe away every tear from their eyes from our eyes there will no longer be any death there are no funerals there there is no loss there is no grief there is no sorrow sickness evil says there will no longer be any death because the curse is broken bible says death came by sin but it's all removed it says there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain the first things have passed away praise the lord for that and he who sits on the throne said verse 5 behold he said i'm making all things new and he said write write it down john for these words are faithful and true you can count on it john verse 22 he says he saw the holy city coming down like a bride from heaven to join the earth that is now fixed purified by fire restored to a genesis state of being absent of the curse of sin and death the holy city new jerusalem comes down he says verse 22 i saw no temple in it for the lord god the almighty and the lamb are its temple the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it for the glory of god has illumined it and its lamp is the lamb remember john the baptist when he saw jesus coming into town behold the lamb of god that takes away the sin of the world verse 24 says the nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it in the daytime for there will be no night there its gates will never be closed and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it that's the destiny of the believer that's our hope that's our comfort that is for what jesus prayed i desire that they would be with me where i am and see my glory there are some things that will not be there and there are some people that will not be there verse 27 it says and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it but only those whose names are written in the lamb's book of life it doesn't say if you've ever lied or if you've ever committed an abomination it says the one who practices meaning remains unredeemed as unsaved and continues down a path of sin hardening their heart to the truth of the gospel he says they'll never come into it but only those whose names are written in the lamb's book of life those who have come to know the lord jesus the lamb of god that takes away the sins of the world their names are written in an eternal book and that's the only way that we are granted entry into this place the bible says that in john 3 unless one is born again jesus said he cannot see the kingdom of god he cannot see she cannot see this place unless one is born of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of god there were two thieves two men that night jesus was crucified on the cross and uh the crowds that day mocked jesus put him on the cross he said he was a king he's talking about a spiritual and a heavenly kingdom and he is the king of kings and he is the lord of lords but they hardened their heart they callous their soul and they refused to believe it and so they crucified him in mockery and they said oh you're a king they twisted a crown of thorns and they said well here's your crown they put it on his head in mockery they rode above the cross here is jesus king of the jews there were two criminals crucified next to jesus one on each side they were guilty and it says that they joined in the mockers there were crowds gathered around remember he said i'm thirsty and oh you're thirsty and they they dipped a stick in a sponge a bitter gall like some kind of vinegar thing they pushed it in jesus mouth here have your drink those guys mocked too together he said if you really are the son of god they said save yourself and us then something changed in one of them minutes or hours before his death they both were mocking and then one stopped one went quiet the other kept that convicting power that realization of eternity began to set in and he went quiet and then he turns he turns in his heart and he turns in his words and he turns to the other criminal and he says we deserve the sentence of condemnation that we are getting we deserve it but this man has done nothing wrong and that man in humble repentance in his dying breath turns to jesus and says lord calls him lord if you will confess with your mouth jesus as lord believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead the bible says you will be saved lord remember me when you come into your kingdom jesus says today you'll be with me in paradise today my goodness my goodness [Applause] everybody here this morning everybody you've ever met in your life every family member you have every father mother son daughter cousin friend stranger person at school person at your job neighbor next door is one of those two thieves they will make one of those two decisions every soul that you are connected to as a believer in your life hangs in the balance at the cross of christ on either side of the cross there is no middle ground there is no other way there is no other book of life there is only the lamb slain before the foundation of the world for our sin everybody will make that decision one way or another and the bible says in revelation chapter 21 and verse 8 for the other thief and all who will follow him to this very day it says but for the cowardly and unbelieving that's what he was i don't say that in mockery of him or anyone else but that's what he was perhaps the cowardly the needing the approval of the crowds even in his death he stayed with the crowd mocking jesus and many people do they feel the pull of the holy spirit they feel the lack of peace in their life somebody here right now but they count the cost what are people going to think what are people going to say what am i going to have to lose what experiences do i have to forsake and in fear and cowardice they back away from the cross of christ and they stay with the world and they remain hard-hearted in their unbelief what a tragedy that is what a colossal grievous tragedy because for the cowardly and unbelieving the abominable murderers and immoral persons remaining in their immorality the sorcerers the spiritually deceived the wicked the idolaters they worship their things they worship their money they worship themselves and all liars lying first of all to their own soul that they're gonna be okay their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death the bible says in romans 6 the wages of sin is death but the gift of god is eternal life in jesus christ our lord there it is the wage is the price for sin is death not only physical death so he says in heaven there is no death so there are no more death but in hell that ever dying and never gone the physical death gives way to a second death the torment of the soul the eternal separation from god that the rich man and the story in luke chapter 16 that jesus told about the afterlife cried for relief and it never came one drop of water that would never come and he was told from the other side those which can come over from here can never come there is a great gulf fix neither can we come to you if they will not believe moses and the prophets they will not believe even if somebody rises from the dead it was too late somebody here today your soul's in the balance you don't have peace and you're not sure if you were to pass from this life to the next if you would enter the kingdom in the glory of christ at peace with god free from your sins because the only alternative jesus said is he who believes in the son has eternal life but he who does not obey the son will not see life but the wrath of god will abide and remain upon him or her where do you stand this morning would you bow for prayer somebody here right now this is your moment that repentant thief that night nailed to the cross about to breathe his last breath of life he recognized his moment he was pierced to the heart with the truth of his eternal reality that he needed jesus and he said lord remember me when you come into your kingdom he acknowledged his sin he said i deserve the sentence of condemnation that is upon me and jesus took it in his place that night and he surrendered to him as lord have you ever done that i'm not talking about some religious thing you did a long time ago and didn't mean it or you were emotionally manipulated or you did it because a group of people did something or said something i'm talking have you settled peace with god been forgiven of your sin but made a new creation [Music] called unto the lord to be saved lord remember me when you come into your kingdom when was that for somebody it might be right now boy or girl [Music] somebody real young i remember the gospel pierced my heart when i was just seven years old and i knew god was talking to me [Music] might be a young man or woman in here right now the lord is talking to you somebody that visited today never been here before you're not real religious or churchy in any way well none of that stuff can save you anyway but maybe jesus had an appointment with your heart right now what are you going to do [Music] the bible urges call unto the lord to be saved there are no magic words just be like that guy at the crucifixion lord save me i'm guilty i'm broken i have no peace lord jesus save me do it right now [Music] my brothers and sisters and jesus here today [Music] who you praying for [Music] man i felt something for that poor woman on the sidewalk the other day what a burden i was so thankful to god that he let me talk to her made me think of some of my friends have no hope and they're without god in the world right now [Music] what about you you praying for that divine appointment that the lord would set it up just right he'd give you the courage he'd give you the words the wisdom the calmness of heart speak the truth and love to their dying soul pray for him right now ask the lord to help you with it [Music] open up the heavens we want to see you open up the floodgates a mighty river flowing from your heart filling every part of our [Music] let's praise to him together church [Music] your presence in this place your glory on our face we're looking to the skies descending like a cloud you're standing with us now lord unveil our eyes you're the reason we're here you're the reason we're singing to open up the heavens we want to see you open up the floodgates a mighty river flowing from your heart feeling every part of [Music] so open up the heavens we want to see you open up the floodgates a mighty river flowing from your heart filling every part [Music] show us show us your glory show us show us your power show us show us your glory lord come on together show us show us your glory show us show us your power show us show us your glory lord [Music] we want to see you open up the floodgates a mighty river flowing from your heart i'm feeling every part of our praise say open up the heavens we want to see you open up the floodgates a mighty river flowing from your heart feeling every part of our brains [Music] feeling every part of praise the lord praise the lord church we'll see you next week [Music] [Music] perfect union nothing in between [Music] [Applause] [Music] you're still my first [Applause] [Music] [Applause] um [Music] i wanna stay [Music] burn forever [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Channel: The Rock Church

Views: 119

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: the rock church, rock, church, Fenton, God, Jesus, Byron, Linden, Michigan, Saved, Baptism, Christ, christian, faith, non-denominational

Id: o5D5Mvs8npo

Length: 73min 30sec (4410 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 03 2021