Turn Off The Dark | How to survive loneliness, fear, and the sting of death | Pastor Levi Lusko

[Applause] Merry Christmas want to welcome you to fresh life Christmas an event that we've been praying for and believing God for great things and we fasted and we prayed and we sought God to move in power in this wonderful season of celebration of Christ coming to this world and you know no one could have ever prepared us for what this would truly be like this outreach this this weekend if you're a guest in this house we welcome you and we honor you were so glad to have you here you know the the unimaginable has happened in our in our house our favor our favor from God has never been nearer and yet the pain that we've experienced on this earth has never been more intense as we have seen God take our our daughter Linea Avery to heaven this past week and she is alive at this moment more alive than she's ever been she's on a distant Shore with Christ who is still on his throne and we celebrate her and we love her and [Music] we miss her fiercely but we love God and trust him and we trust his plan and we believe that he does all things well we believe that everything is made perfect in its time and I'm here to speak in the midst of suffering in the midst of mourning in the midst of pain and confusion and tears and and frustration that is physical and emotional and spiritual and having hurt in places as a family that you never knew you could hurt but I'm here because jesus is alive and he came to this world and I want to tell somebody that this very evening and my little girl my little Linea Lian I want you to know something she prayed for you she prayed for this hour she prayed for you in billing she prayed for you and Whitefish he prayed for you in Kalispell when we opened up her purse the one of many purses that she carried around the last three days she had one person that she had with her before she she died and in that purse we found an invite to fresh life Christmas and we found her little Bible those for two of the items in her purse and she prayed many times for this outreach she prayed for God to fill these venues for God to bring people to know him that God would hold me with his Holy Spirit and we trust even now as we preach that he is holding her and I believe that and it is in líneas honor that I'm here to preach because she would have nothing other than that from the moment I said goodbye to her or see you see you soon as she went to be with the Lord in my arms I knew that she would have me preach because before I preached every time I preached my girls all four of them they would pray for me as the three on this earth did tonight and then they would give me knuckles and they would tell me preach the word dad she would always pray for me Linnea had a tender prayer life and precious prayers and so because Linea from heaven is she good would speak to me she would tell me preach the word dad that's what I'm gonna do I'm gonna preach God's Word and I'm gonna celebrate Christmas with every single one of you and I want to tell you how grateful I am that you're here no matter what's going on in your life God has something special for you and so if you would if you have a Bible John chapter one is what we're gonna be John chapter one I want to celebrate with you the birth of Jesus Christ who is the light of the world Jesus Christ the light of the world that's how he's presented in John's account of the Christmas story John gives a very different account his does not include shepherds or angels his does not take us to Bethlehem to look in the manger in John's Christmas account he goes much back much further back than that he goes all the way back to before the dawn of time and he tells us in John chapter 1 in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God he was in the beginning with God all things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made in him was life and the life was the light of men and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it and in verse 14 he says and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth we pray together God I thank you on this celebration of Christmas for your light that has come to this world that you did not leave us in darkness and that when light comes the darkness cannot comprehend it it ovaries overpowered by it and I thank you that right now in the midst of whatever we are going through whatever we walked in here with in our hearts and lives you are greater than our fears you are greater than our pain you are greater than our grief your light shines into our life on this earth and darkness must flee it has no choice we celebrate Jesus the light of the world and we pray that you would draw people to yourself we pray that those who don't know you would sense by your spirit God you calling them to your side and we pray for the powerful work of salvation of resurrection from hearts that are dead in sins and trespasses we pray for the impossible to happen this Christmas and we believe it's possible because your spirit is here present and powerful and active and we pray this in Jesus name Amen I've titled this message turn off the dark turn off the dark because that's exactly what Jesus came to do when he came to this world he came to bring light to a dark place and to literally turn off the dark that's what Isaiah prophesied when he said arise shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you for behold the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the people but the Lord will arise over you and his glory will be seen upon you the Gentiles will come to your light and Kings to the brightness of your rising it was what the Old Testament closed out with this promise of light coming when Malachi the last to write in the Old Testament he said he said but to those of you who fear my name the Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings that's what Christmas is all about it's about light coming into dark places and forcing the light to flee it's no mistake that one of the symbols of Christmas is light one of the best things about Christmas season approaching is light cities they they they cover themselves in light it's as though our our civilization itself just boughs the need to Jesus Christ the light of the world by unusual light streaming across the visible spectrum and as we look at the lights on trees and the lights on lamp posts and the lights on houses we remember whether we acknowledge it or not that Jesus Christ defeated darkness it's a memory of the glory of the Lord that visibly appeared to Shepherds keeping watch over their sheep it's a visible reminder of that glorious bright star that led the wise men from the east to come and wonder at the king that had been born it's what Jesus said in John 9 as long as I am in the world I am the light of the world far from being just pretty and warming and special light is powerful light literally turns off the dark in fact I remember from science class that there's actually no such thing as darkness that all it is is the absence of light so once light is in a place is in a space there is no darkness because it's only the absence of yslow where there is light there is no darkness there can't be darkness I'm trying to tell you that darkness can't comprehend light it can overcome light and so in that sense Jesus coming light to this world that changed everything not only for those who experienced the first Christmas but it's possible for you right now to experience that same light that same glory and for everything in your life to change all in a moment of time you could be watching this webcast or you click this link on Facebook and so here you sit you watch this and and whatever is going on darkness wise in your life the light is here the light has come and I want to consider with you a few ways in which this light is powerful the first is this when light comes it defeats the power of loneliness the darkness of loneliness must flee the holidays can be some of the loneliest times of the year some people every year they can't wait they just can't wait to celebrate Christmas there's there's a whole section in their garage dedicated to their blow-up inflatables that will go in their front lawn there's there's some people who I swear they have eggnog stashed away because they're able to bust it out like mid-august and others who decide to play you know Christmas carols like mid-october which is grossly inappropriate and on so many levels wrong festive sweaters come out some are way too into holidays others are are more of the mindset to say can they just be over already but the first sign of these things coming up be accoutrements of Christmas there's a cringing inside for different reasons but but they all could be gathered under the umbrella of loneliness of of the reminder Christmases of the Hallmark card life that you don't lead it's a reminder painfully of the marriage that didn't make it the friends that you don't have the parents who can't make it through a night without getting drunk or fighting it's a painful reminder for some of that person who's not going to be there anymore this Christmas and will not be present at the dinner table whose stocking will not be filled whose voice will not be heard and in our hearts we carry such a longing for relationship we carry a desire that's hidden for community to be known and to know to love and to be loved and that is why church the birth of Jesus Christ is so significant because Isaiah said his name shall be called Immanuel into this lonely world God with us that's the power of Christmas for where there is his presence there can be no more loneliness there can be no more loneliness because he came down he came to live with us he came to live as one of us he came to step into our world and to breathe our air we have a church that meets in a bar or whitefish campus meets at a place that most other nights of the week if you were stumbling in there there would be all sorts of things happening that you would probably not describe under the umbrella of church involve women dancing on poles and people getting smashed and when we announced that decision the backlash of criticism from Christians was overwhelming the response of the bartender who told me she'd come to a service was pretty positive there was a bunch of people who call themselves followers of Jesus he didn't like it much I would suggest they've read the New Testament a little more closely and look at Jesus's life but I'll say this I am thankful that Jesus came to dark places I remember one email I got in particular the person said if you really want to reach people in bars you should stand outside and pass out flyers when people leave is anybody else thankful that when Jesus came to this world he didn't come to the moon he didn't say I'll meet you at the Space Station and I'll bring a gospel tract Christmas tells us that Jesus God so loved the world Jesus came all the way down to our earth to the darkness to the emptiness to the loneliness and he is with us and though he ascended to heaven Jesus said through my spirit lo I am with you always even to the end of the age and David was right when he said where can I go from your presence I could run to the end of the earth I would never find the end of you God is the worst person you ever could play hide-and-go-seek with you can't get away from him and loneliness can't stand the sight of him you can turn it off you need to know that this is a lonely world we live in in preparation for this message I was reading a bunch of interviews with some of the most well-known people on on the planet celebrities movie stars television actors rock stars and one thing that I could not believe was the overwhelming amount of loneliness let me read a few without mentioning their names one celebrity admitted that he struggles to cope when he's not surrounded by friends and family so much so that he suffers from depression he said quote loneliness is my personal demon an actress once said being an actress actress is lonely and I never want to be alone I hate sleeping alone she said being trapped in fame isn't as great as you think one of the most celebrated recording artists living today said quote I really don't have a lot of friends maybe just three you really just feel sometimes that you need someone to be there with you I just get down and gloomy another admitted he gets lonely struggles to sleep at night sometimes drinks too much he said any quote anyone who would be lying if they said they didn't get lonely at times he said I found the loneliest you ever get is in the most public of arenas but do you know that even those who don't have tens of thousands of followers and fans and friends those who don't get followed around by the paparazzi get lonely as well and that's why I love that when Jesus chose to come to this world he came to the nobody's the first to receive the notification of his birth were those who were the last to be thought of to be invited to be liked to be loved in all of Bethlehem Jesus was announced first to Shepherds outcasts of society thought to be unclean they drank too much they swore they smelled they weren't even allowed to function in church community and they were told this there was born to you this day in the City of David a savior who is Christ the Lord and no wonder with loneliness defeated they went their way rejoicing secondly he came to turn off the darkness of fear Christmas turns off the darkness of fear and this is so unneeded in our day we live in a time of unprecedented uncertainty in our country there is a growing economic uncertainty though they patch it up every few months it two tears that patch right off doesn't and it keeps on marching towards us you can't turn the news on without hearing about a fiscal cliff approaching you live each day knowing that around every corner waits a new natural disaster the worst fire season anyone's ever seen in Colorado in this history of the state the the greatest fire raging at one point this summer was in the great state of Montana you have tornadoes that tear apart homes you have earthquakes that devastate you have tsunamis that that shaked the foundation of the earth and move it off its axis you have these great unsettling reports of violence horrific tragedy talking about Columbine and in Portland and I'm talking about Aurora and I'm talking about Newtown Connecticut we've all spent this week approaching approaching Christmas with a with a collective sadness in our hearts I spent days in a row reading in the news about parents planning funeral services for five year olds and six year olds and seven year olds and my five-year-old climbed up in my lap as I read the news and I was absolutely unwilling to think about what those parents must have felt like what is it like to plan a funeral for a five-year-old having no idea that within days that would be my exact dilemma and this is the uncertain fear filled world we live in that Jesus Christ came to he came to this world full of fear and they knew fear they lived in Israel under the heel of the Roman Empire they cried out for a messiah they believed that had forgotten about them where has Shiloh been why is he not come how long O Lord they longed for like we do for there to be the end of the Hertz for Eden to be regained they longed for every wrong to be made right and they prayed for it to be so just as we do living in uncertain times and to that exact state in the midst of doom and gloom and gloom and doom and doom and gloom that can threaten to cause you to lose heart the light of Christmas shines brightly Christ has come to light up a fear filled uncertain world and in the wake of his birth there would be a tragic disaster that would cause mothers to wail as a deranged King tried to crush and extinguish the light but he could not for the darkness cannot comprehend it now I'm not saying in some delusion state to you that you give your life to Jesus or you have Christ in your hearts of the bright light of his presence in you that he's going to take away these painful things he's going to take away these things that are scary he's gonna cause them to cease in fact just the opposite what Jesus said in John 16:33 was this these things I have spoken to you the promise of his presence that you may have peace in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world Jesus never said he would take away the storm what he said is he would be an anchor for us in the midst of it and then our anchor would hold and it would be sure and steadfast and hold behind the veil and there's no such thing as a wireless anchor they always have a cord and so I love that we have an anchor and he's holding the other end and he will bring us to where he is he promised it would be so in the midst of things that scare us we don't have to be afraid we can have his peace the darkness of fear cannot overcome the light of the world third Jesus Christ came to turn off the darkness of despair despair is hopelessness when when a soul has no hope you have despair you have you have agony its sorrow and grief and anguish without comfort it's an unending emptiness that will not be solved it's a sensation that life doesn't have meaning of what's the point of why were we here what's gonna happen to us beyond the grave despair sets in in the midst of all that swirling vortex of anxiety I read an interview with a professional skier recently she's dominated women's ski racing for five years winning 57 World Cup races and Olympic gold medal for overall season titles we live in a part of the country that celebrates snow and skiing and within driving distance very quickly all of our campuses there's their ski hills and many many are passionate about the sport and of course to reach such a eNOS of success for many would be the the mark of what a life of meaning would would mean and you listen to these words from this very same skier she said quote everything about my life seemed so perfect to people but I struggle like everyone else she says I'm currently on an antidepressant to help manage my symptoms and I and she said she described her despair this way quote I I couldn't get out of bed anymore there was a time where I felt hopeless empty and like a zombie she's not alone another actress that you know was in the news recently and the paparazzi had had found in some close-up photos that there were a bunch of unexplained scars on her on her arm and it was thought she might be cutting her publicist denied it but the news wrote this if indeed she is self-mutilating she joins a long list of celebrities who admit to cutting themselves in the past including Angelina Jolie Johnny Depp Fiona Apple Russell Brand Marilyn Manson and Demi Lovato we live in a world where many are hopeless many are full of despair even who have much that we look to to think well if I had that then I'd be happy because some of you say look I'm not happy I get that I don't have peace I get that but I work at a minimum wage job if I had this I'd be happy if I was successful on this level I'd be happy if I had a beautiful wife if I had the money if it wasn't a struggle you we identify this unicorn of happiness that's always out of reach but when we look at those who have what we think it would take to make us happy we find the same thing we have emptiness within and that's why suicide now kills more Americans each year than car crashes 37,000 deaths a year it's the leading cause of injury deaths in America we have more financial prosperity success ease comfort than any other nation in the history of the world so the question is why are we so sad why is there such despair the Bible answers that question that created inside of the heart of man is an emptiness a void that he has said eternity in our hearts that we are looking for something we can't find on this earth something more something transcendent something more than than getting paid and getting laid and having the latest gadgets something deeper something more important something more consequential and that something is as someone and that someone is Jesus and that is why he said in John 4 if you drink from the water of this world you'll get thirsty but whoever drinks of the water I give him it shall well up within him into everlasting life and he shall never thirst again that's why the wise men came to look for Jesus do you know they were rich do you know they had the wherewithal to purchase gold and frankincense and myrrh do you understand that they no doubt came with with an entourage and with assistants who had assistants for the assistance do you know that they they hidden there in their in their native land no doubt had prominence and success and access to relationship and whatever they wanted was there snap the fingers it's there but they drove on camels and horses and donkeys across the known world despite the danger and toil to seek out the only one who could give them what they were looking for what they couldn't find in their palaces and that was the exceeding joy and rejoicing that came from the glorious star that led them to that newborn baby king of the kings of all kings his light shines on those driven to despair and the darkness cannot overcome it fourthly his coming was to turn off the darkness of guilt guilt sins we bear a sense of guilt for wrong having been done did you know that the Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God it's like when you get on a ride at an amusement park and you stand there if you're a child and you you you measure up to a sign and the question is are you tall enough to ride you see scripture says that there's a there's a you must be this tall to enter the kingdom of heaven and it's a tall tall sign for your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees the most righteous people anyone could ever think about you have to be holy like your father in heaven is holy perfect as he is perfect righteous as he is righteous it's a very tall sign do you see and all have fallen short of the glory of God now you might take offense to me calling you a sinner cuz that's what I'm calling you I'm a good person you would say and I would agree with you probably art do a lot of great things I'm not saying you don't do good things but you don't get dragged to court for doing good things do you if you get summoned to court if you get arrested and brought to court to face charges it's not because you could yell at them all I do so many good things and they would say that may be that as it may you're being brought to answer I mean what if you lived a whole whole life good but then broke one law you would still need to face the consequences of that one misdeed wouldn't you the court wouldn't excuse you for murder on the the basis of having done a lot of right things or built a bench for somebody and so it is with Christ God says that his standard is this high and even one sin is enough to make us a sinner the scripture says if you've offended in instance you've broken all of God's law it only takes one sin to make you a sinner so we all bear guilt and we know it we can put up a front that says we're good people but we know inside our heart we've done wrong things haven't we God has laid out what is right he's given us a conscience to be aware of it and knowing right from wrong we've all chosen wrong with our free will that he has given to us and so with those things were culpable for that there's a guilt and scripture says that it's appointed for a man once to die and then to face the judgment so you will stand before your maker you will be brought to answer for every wrong thing you've ever done you're guilty before God let that sink in there's not a thing you can do about it that's the bad news I bring to you this Christmas but I come to you with good news - and that good news is - a world full of guilty people Jesus Christ our sin bearer came he came to pay your bill I read in the news about a police officer in Plano Texas this was literally ten days ago nine 12 days ago he pulled someone over because he noticed that their registration was not renewed and when he approached the window he said I pulled you over because your your tags have expired and the man in the car said I know I know I just can't pay when the bill came the month had run out of money and I had a choice officer I either had to pay my registration or feed my hungry children and so I let the the date passed by and I fed my kids and with a straight face the officer acknowledged what he heard and proceeded to write a ticket anyway he then placed it into an envelope he said get this taken care of and handed it to him I walked away and the man was brokenhearted of course now added to all of his problems he has this ticket and the registration which he can't pay and it's gonna continue to spiral out of control but he was stunned when he opened up the envelope and found not only the ticket but a $100 bill the officer had placed inside to pay the fine and that story a true story that incredible story is the gospel because of God's love he can't just let us off he loves you but the wrong things you've done there's a there's a there's a fine the Bible says the soul that sins must surely die that the wages of sin is death the death sentence that that we are dead in sins and trespasses dying on the outside dead on the inside and if we die on the outside dead on the inside we remain dead forever and that's what the Bible describes his hell and God can't just say why you know I've made a law I said be holy but just you just be good next time he his justice demands payment for that sin do you understand and so Jesus Christ was sent to this world not to tell us to do better or to do some parables or a few miracles and give us a good example he came to pay your bill he stepped onto the skull-shaped hill called Golgotha and he was nailed to a cross to die on your behalf so that God's justice would be satisfied the ticket was given but it was paid for and it doesn't have to be you Jesus Christ shed his blood so that yours wouldn't have to be and that's Christmas that he left heaven and came to earth so you could leave Earth and go to heaven so you could have hope in the gospel so your sins could be forgiven so your guilt could be taken away and how good that feels how marvelous it is to sleep knowing that everything that gives you regret everything that causes your heart to be burdened to know yes it was wrong but it was paid for by someone else that Jesus with his nail-scarred hands put not only the ticket into your hands but payment in faul his coming was to turn light and defeat the darkness of guilt now I must admit that I've saved the best for last and it's with great joy that I announce to you that Christ's coming to this world was also to turn off the darkness of death in second Timothy 1:10 the Bible says that Jesus has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel the power of the Gospel message is not just that Jesus died for you it's that he rose from the dead that the grave couldn't hold him down and three days after he was buried he rose from the tomb and he's alive today and he lives evermore and he said if you believe in me I am the resurrection and the life and though you died yet you will live and he who lives and believes in Me will never die he offers power over the grave he offers to shine his light on what is all at once the most terrifying prospect the most fearful fear soat confusion abounding place and space of our life and that is when we take our last breath and what happens next and Jesus promises to be there to hold you and to receive you into heaven like he told the thief on the cross you will be with me today in paradise and I believe that for every person who has trusted Christ as Savior there is the promise of eternal life and resurrection and hope in the next world the distant Shore a perfect place for perfect people where there is no sorrow there's no thorn or curse there's no cancer there's no asthma there's no separation there's no sorrow there's no crying there's no more dying we will be with him and we will be like him forever and for always because of the gospel and that's the power of Christmas Jesus coming to turn off the dark now ironically it's Jesus's birthday but the gift is for you you put gifts under the tree in our house we have gifts that are wrapped and placed under the tree with names on them to and from in the tradition of course is to give gifts to one another but let's not forget Christmas is about Jesus and how like him the most selfless humble one have that under the tree of the cross there are gifts on his birthday but they are to you from the father with love for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life that's the gift of Christmas and it's just waiting for you to be opened and I want to tell you wherever you're at whatever is going on right now you have a choice to make hearing what you've heard there's a choice to be made and the choice is do I want to receive this gift or do I want to reject it it's been paid for it's in your name but it expires the moment you breathe your last and so here you sit with the gift the free gift of eternal life being offered to you what I'm asking you is this would you like to be born again would you like to have Jesus Christ come into your heart who's knocking at the door of your life even now would you like him to turn off the darkness of loneliness and of despair would you like him to turn off the darkness of guilt and of death would you like him to come into your life and resurrect your heart and give you the the courage to walk this world whatever comes whatever tribulation awaits you with perfect peace and anchor for your soul and would you like to know that the moment you breathe your last and absent from the body your present with the Lord that you will be ushered into heaven to live forever because Jesus paid for you to be there I want to give you an invitation if you'd like to receive Christ into your heart this Christmas soak we bow our heads and close our eyes and as we do that I want to tell you because some are thinking what is what's about to happen let me lay it out for you we're praying I'm just gonna talk to you for a second every location you're watching on the radio whatever the gift of eternal life has offered you must choose it does not happen by accident or by osmosis you have to make a decision Christ knocks on the door of a heart he says I knock at the door of your heart if you hear my voice and open the door I will come in to you some of you sense God speaking to you sense him knocking he's been knocking through loneliness he's been knocking through confusion through tears through emptiness of the way you can't get satisfaction from the things you've looked to and right now his presence the prospectus is for there to be fullness of joy in your life but you have to open that door you say how do I do that I'll tell you this you have to be willing to confess your sins to admit that the wrong things you've done are wrong you deserve that ticket then you have to accept that he paid for it for you that his blood purchased your salvation and you have to say to him I accept that I I take that gift I am taking it from your hand to mine I believe in Jesus you have to believe by faith that he died for you and that he rose from the dead if you won't do that you can't be saved furthermore you must be willing to repent that means you must turn from your sins and turn to him and accept that your old way of living was wrong and you're gonna live for him as Lord you're gonna live for heaven you're gonna set your mind on things above you're gonna turn from your sin and decide I'm gonna follow Jesus you must make that choice you must also be willing to follow him publicly everyone Jesus called he called openly he called publicly if you're gonna follow Christ there must be a decision where you would say I want everyone to know it I don't care who knows it they saw me sin they saw me live my own life I'm gonna give my life to Jesus and I want the world to know that's why in a moment I'm gonna call you to make a public decision on crossing the line kind of a decision well you'll stand up and profess your faith in Christ wherever you're at jesus said if you're ashamed of me I'll be ashamed of you if you want on Judgment Day for Christ to not be ashamed before the Angels and before his father to say he's with me I'm bringing him into heaven and you have to be willing before men to acknowledge him as your Savior so that's gonna come for you in just a moment and God will give you the boldness to take that step finally I would urge you to not put this decision off but to do it now to get right with God today this very afternoon don't go to bed tonight guilty don't go to bed tonight lonely don't go to bed tonight scared anymore the Bible says that life is a vapor - you're one moment and gone the next death has a lot of things in comes a lot of ways but it is often a surprise so if Christ is speaking to you don't be foolish and think I'll just make this right next to your next Christmas I'll do this next opportunity like this I'll do it tomorrow for your life could be taken from your body this very evening and if you were to die and stand before God how tragic would it be to have been within striking distance to be saved only to turn it down you're not guaranteed another precious moment if air is filling your lungs if your heart is beating and you're sensing God speaking to you know that that the both of those things are gonna stop and here's your shot let's pray together and right now I'm gonna invite you to take this this courageous stand god I do thank you for every heart every single person considering their their soul considering the brevity of life and hearing hopefully clearly the proclamation of the gospel and I pray for you to answer my daughter's prayers that many would come to know you and call upon you to be saved and even now as we're praying if you would like to be forgiven if you would like to give your heart to Jesus at every location I want you to raise your hand up in the air just right now just shoot your hand up put your hand in the air saying I want to go to heaven you're saying I want to be forgiven you're saying I want Jesus to come into my life raise your hand up in the air I pray God's blessing over every heart he sees all these hands every single one don't put this off raise your hand up in the air in Billings and whitefish and Kalispell God sees you raise your hand up god bless you just we got a moment longer raise your hand up high you're in the balcony of the Strand you don't think anyone sees you God sees you he loves you and knows you raise your hand up right now I believe someone's listening on Facebook on this link and God's calling you you're in your living room you raise up your hand there's someone suicidal you thought about taking your life in the last week you raised your hand up right now you love God take away your despair you look God inject hope and meaning into your life raise your hand up there's someone whose marriage is on the end it's about to be over but you don't know Jesus so you have no hope of being right with your mate because you're not right with your maker you raise your hand up maybe this is the decision to do together that will build your home on the cornerstone god I thank you for every hand I prayed give him courage now and as we're praying for those of you who raised your hand I want you to stand to your feet just stand up just right where you're right just stand to your feet don't be afraid to stand up just right now you raised your hand I just want you to stand up to your feet come on just right now just stand up so I can pray with you just stand to your feet whatever location you're out you just silently just just stand up just take your feet you're standing up into a whole new life just stand up god bless you as you do this don't be afraid Christ was not afraid to die for you he'll give you courage to live for him you stand up God bless every one of you every location you just stand to your feet right now more of you don't put this off stand up take heart and for every one of you standing I'm gonna lead you in a prayer say this to God say dear Jesus I know that I'm a sinner I believe that Jesus died in my place I believe he rose from the dead please come into my heart be my Lord and my Savior I turn from my sins and I turned to you in faith turn off the darkness in my life in Jesus name I pray amen let's congratulate every one of you every single one as you take your seat it is such a joy to see God move in hearts and lives as Christmas and for every one of you listen here's what we have who have made this decision we have a connection card that everyone can use who's visiting to get more information about the church and we hope you'll fill that out and and leave it at the red 10 on your way out of the location you're in but if you prayed with me instead of your feet or you gave your heart to Christ in this Christmas worship experience I want you to check the box that says I'm accepting Christ as my savior just right now get your cards out and anyone who's knew anyone who just wants to get into a fresh Life Group or serve there's all kinds option to it everyone could have grabbed that card right now come on describe your card and and maybe think about joining a group or getting more involved in the campus you're at more information you just like a phone call from someone answering questions about why there are a billion pine cones in church and whatever you know just check a box but if you gave your life to Christ check that box and then here's what's gonna happen on your way out I just want you to walk this card everyone who fills it out to the Red Tent but if you check that box that says I'm accepting Christ as Savior we want to give you a Bible our gift to you this Christmas to invest in your new relationship with God so fill that out right now to check that box and what a what a bold thing it will be to hand that card in that's a profession of faith in Christ I gave my life to Jesus no big deal got saved forever going to heaven god of the world living inside me it's a pretty good thing to check a box for right and and you can hand that in and we'll give you a Bible and encourage you in your new relationship with God and I pray god's richest blessings I pray his warmth I pray his favor I pray his unending love over every single one of you this wonderful season this wonderful time of the year as we celebrate the light merry christmas fresh life

Channel: Fresh Life Church

Views: 13,648

Rating: 4.9228916 out of 5

Keywords: levi lusko sermons, levi lusko, lusko levi, fresh life, jennie lusko, fresh life sermons, eyes of a lion

Id: YA9aVITUBY8

Length: 46min 26sec (2786 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 11 2020