Give Generously

1:02 that you don't know a lot about its history. So you know about the Salvation Army because every Christmas time you see the red kettles and the bell ringers outside stores taking donations. What you may not know is the Salvation Army is an actual church. It's a denomination. It was started in 1865 by a man named William Booth in London, England. He had a heart for the poor of his city, the marginalized that he thought the church just sort of avoided, and he wanted to reach out to them. So, you know, he was all about soup, soap, and salvation. He would give people a meal, he would clean them up if they wanted to, and then he would talk to them about their need for Christ. And he has been, in those 161 years that the organization has been around, he has been very, very successful. There are now Salvation Army ministries in 130 different countries around the world.

2:04 It is one of the largest non-government providers of social services in the world. In the world. Highly successful organization. William Booth was asked what the secret to his success was and he said I told the Lord long ago that he could have all there is of William Booth I told the Lord long ago that he could have all there is of William Booth that is what it means to follow Jesus Christ is when you tell the Lord you can have all there is of me. That's being a follower of Jesus. And we are doing a series that we call Jesus People. And I've always liked the term. You know, that term I'm familiar with because that was sort of born in the late 60s and early 70s on the West Coast.

3:03 Jesus People. Well, they called us a number of things, including Jesus Freaks. but Jesus people sort of became what Time Magazine picked up on, the Jesus movement, the Jesus revolution. And I like the term Jesus people even better than I like the term Christian because the term Christian has become this umbrella catch-all term that includes everything from formalism and ritualism to crazy non-Christian cults that claim to be Christian. They're all under that umbrella of Christianity. But when you say, I'm a Jesus person, you are identifying with a relationship that you have with him. So we have then, under that banner of Jesus people, taken for our text the Gospel of Mark. And we have been in the Gospel of Mark since March.

3:58 So that's six months, and we're only in chapter six. If that tells you how long it's going to be before we finish it, we're going to be way past the next March. So we're going to be in the gospel of Mark for over a year. And that gives us an ample opportunity to soak in the words, the works, the miracles, the values, the critics of Jesus Christ. All that is in the life of Christ, we're going to be able to just soak in for over a year. And become more and more like him, hopefully. But we have also punctuated this series in the Gospel of Mark by saying that Jesus' people do four things. And we've taken this from Acts chapter 2, that they gave themselves continually to the apostles' doctrine, etc. We said that Jesus' people do four things.

4:54 Jesus' people gather, Jesus' people grow, Jesus' people go, and Jesus' people give. So we have punctuated the series in the Gospel of Mark by giving separate messages on those four activities. The question is, do we?

5:15 Do we really? That's always good to evaluate. We say Jesus people grow. Do we grow? Are we growing? Are we developing in our Christian life? Are we stagnating in our Christian life? We're fed with Scripture when we come here, but what about when we're home? Are we feeding on social media more, reels and clips? Are we growing in trivial things rather than spiritual things? Then we say that we gather. Jesus' people gather. Do we regularly gather? Do we sporadically gather? Did you know the average American churchgoer goes to church 1.6 times a month? It's not even twice. 1.6. Then we say, Jesus people, go.

6:09 Are we taking the gospel into our conversations with other people? Are we becoming more bold in our faith? Or are we becoming more secretive? I'm a secret aging Christian. You know, I love Jesus, but you'll never know it. Because I'm really good at hiding it. And then we say Jesus' people give. And how do we give if we do give? Do we give consistently? Do we give proportionally? Are we like John Booth? Excuse me, John Booth. That's not the character I want to bring up as an example. Are we like William Booth who said, I told the Lord long ago he could have all there is of William Booth. When we talk about giving, that's where we start.

7:00 Levi, a few weeks ago, talked about starting to give. Nate, last week, talked about the rhythm and consistency of that. I want to talk about our next step, and that is generosity. And we'll be back in Mark next week, as I said. Now, if you know anything at all about me, you know that I'm uncomfortable talking about this topic. I historically have avoided it. And I was thinking this week, why is it that I get so avoiding of this topic of finances? And I think, honestly, to be quite frank with you, it's my pride. I think that I have been afraid of being linked up with the prosperity movement or people thinking that I am out for their money, that I'm greedy.

7:52 I just always shunned that association. I don't want to alienate people. I'm worried about what first-timers are going to think, visitors, et cetera. So I'm going to swallow my pride. And I'm going to take my cues from two people who weren't at all afraid to talk about money. Jesus Christ our Lord and Paul the Apostle Paul the Apostle in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 is fundraising you don't think of Paul as a fundraiser but he is fundraising he is on his third missionary journey he's going to eventually go to Jerusalem and get this he has spent between five to seven years taking up a collection from different churches throughout the Gentile world that he started to bring that money to Jerusalem to the struggling Christians who were experiencing persecution and famine.

9:01 And Paul even said that these Gentile churches were debtors. to the Jewish church in Jerusalem, and that this collection would help pay off that debt. Now, the Corinthians, the group that Paul is writing to, we're about to read a portion of 2 Corinthians 8. The Corinthians had made a promise to Paul that they want to be a part of this collection, but they have not followed through on that promise. And the reason why they haven't followed through is if you know anything about Corinth, they're a church inundated with several problems, right? There's division in the church of Corinth. There's immorality in the church of Corinth. They're wacky when it comes to the use of spiritual gifts. Paul had the right to correct all that. So they're just sort of drowning in a swamp of several problems that though they have made a promise to be part of this generous collection to the saints in Judea, they have not followed through. So Paul writes 2 Corinthians.

10:02 and in 2 Corinthians he wants to inspire them to finish up what they promised to do and to do that he uses the churches of Macedonia as an example to inspire the Corinthians. Now the Macedonians are a few hundred miles away from them. Paul is writing from the area of Macedonia. We think he's writing this from the city of Philippi and we're going to read down to verse 5, actually down to verse 7, but let's do that. 2 Corinthians chapter 8,

12:01 of generosity, four qualities of true generosity. And as we do this, again, I want you to know that this is not about how much money you give. That says nothing to do with that. this is all about wanting to see you get a blessing. Wanting to see you get a benefit. Again, as Paul the Apostle said, not that I seek a gift, but the fruit that will abound in your account. And there's a reason, by the way, that there is no title given in your bulletin or an outline with the title and the outline points as I usually do, because I know human nature. I know that when you look at that and go, oh, great, another thing I'm giving. You just switch off. And so I did that on purpose to sort of catch you off guard, but now you know. So I want to give you these four marks of generosity.

12:57 And the first is that generosity is a signal. Generosity is a signal. It's a sign. It's a gauge, if you will. It indicates something about you. Three times in the section that we just read, three times, generous giving is called by Paul a grace. He calls it a grace. And I want you to notice that. I want you to notice in verse 1, moreover brethren, we made known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. He's talking about Macedonians' willingness to give generously. He calls it a grace. Down in verse 6, so we urge Titus that as he has begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. Verse 7, but as you abound in everything, faith, speech, knowledge, diligence, and your love for us, see that you abound in this grace, that is, this grace of giving.

14:01 You know about grace, right? If I were to ask you, tell me what grace means, you will tell me it means, anybody want to shout it out? Unmerited favor. So many of you know it. Grace means unmerited favor, undeserved favor, unwarranted favor. And it is typically a word we use to describe God's action and attitude toward us. Grace, undeserved favor. The idea here, the way Paul uses it, is the Macedonians showed favor because they had received favor. It has been given to them by God, so as followers of God, they give it to others. In other words, the reason he is writing it this way is that generosity is the evidence or an evidence that God has been working in their hearts. Why?

15:00 Because generosity is a quality of God. Have you noticed that? Have you noticed that your God is a generous God? For God so loved the world that he gave. That's what generosity does. When you love, you give. God so loved that he gave. In James chapter 1, James said, If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously to all, lavishly to all. He continued in that first chapter, Every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, of whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Philippians chapter 4, I think you know it well. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

16:01 So our God is generous. And when we are in relationship with a generous God, we become generous people. So God is the giver. We are the receiver of his grace. once we receive that grace we are changed and we are changed from being containers of grace to being conduits of grace we don't want to be like a swimming pool and just collect God's goodness and grace we're so excited about it we want to extend that grace to others so these people in Jerusalem didn't merit or deserve the favor of the Macedonians, but they gave it anyway because it's undeserved favor. They'd been treated graciously by God, and so they give it. Therefore, generosity is a signal, a sign, a thermometer reading of your spirituality.

17:01 It indicates God is at work. okay now I mentioned that chapter 8 is all about him taking up this money right this it's a fundraising chapter not just chapter 8 but chapter 8 and 9 in totality two chapters in this one book in this one letter are entirely devoted to this theme of taking up a financial gift I just think that's important to make a note of. Not only that, but that's just 2 Corinthians. He also brings it up in 1 Corinthians 16, Galatians chapter 2, Romans chapter 15, then Luke writes about this in Acts chapter 11 and Acts chapter 24, when the gift is finally given to the Judeans. The topic itself, The topic of wealth, money, money management, stewardship, is one of the most important topics in the Scripture.

18:07 Jesus extensively spoke on it. In fact, did you know that Jesus spoke on money more than anybody else in the Bible spoke on money? And did you know that Jesus spoke on money more than any other topic that he spoke on? Of the 30 parables that Jesus told, 16 of them directly deal with stewardship and your relationship to money. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the three synoptic gospels, one out of six verses, one out of every six verses deal with the topic of money. In addition to that, one out of every seven verses in the New Testament deal with this topic. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but it offers 2,350 verses on money.

19:06 That's a lot. Now, granted, that's still not as much as some preachers talk about money, but it is way more than this preacher talks about money. our relationship to the material world indicates our relationship to the spiritual world it's a gauge it's a gauge a person says i love god i love this okay let me take a tour of your checkbook or let me look at your online account and i'll be able to tell what is really important Somebody said, money is like manure. Stack it up and it stinks. But if you spread it around, it makes things grow. So Paul calls this a grace. Generosity is a grace, and therefore it is a sign, a signal. Second, quality.

20:00 Generosity is sacrificial. It is by nature something that costs you something. Verse 2, he says this, that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. Now, that's sort of a convoluted way of saying this, and I want to break that apart for you. He continues in verse 3, for I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing. What made the Macedonians' generosity so impressive were the circumstances out of which that generosity had arisen. And he uses some key phrases. I want you to notice the phrases. He says, their great trial of affliction.

21:00 Now that is a word that means to be pushed or pressed, pressured, you might say. It's the word flipsis, to be squeezed hard, crushed by life, squeezed by their culture. Let me just jog your memory. When Paul first went to Macedonia, the very first city he went to was the city of Philippi. How'd that go for him? well he got beat up got thrown in jail they released him after beating him up with rods and then he went to the next macedonian city thessalonica how'd that go for him well a mob gathered around the house of jason where he was at and demanded that they deal with this group of people who is turning the world upside down their words So Paul then has to leave Thessalonica, go to Berea, go to another town.

21:59 And then he went to Athens after that. So it was a time of persecution for Paul. And Paul was so worried about the state of affairs back in Macedonia that he wrote 1 Thessalonians, and I'm just going to jog your memory there, the second chapter of 1 Thessalonians. Paul's worried sick that the persecution and the hardship, the pressures of life against that church is going to cause them to just abandon the faith, which it did not. So he writes here about the great trial of affliction.

22:42 I'm guessing a lot of them lost their job. They were kicked out of the trade guilds, etc. Then notice the next phrase, deep poverty. That in great trial of affliction, and then it says a couple phrases later, they're deep poverty. That's another way of saying they were dirt poor. something you may not know, Macedonia itself was a poor region. Compared to all the areas around it in the Greco-Roman world, Macedonia was sort of like the New Mexico of that part of the ancient world. We have states around us that are prospering like crazy, and we live in a very, very poor section. That is what Macedonia was like. It was by nature notoriously poor, a region, and he uses the term here deep poverty, which describes a beggar with absolutely nothing.

23:41 So that's some of their circumstances, great trial of affliction, being crushed by life, and they are dirt poor. Now let's pause for a moment and consider that we also live in a culture that is squeezing many of us out financially. The cost of living is going up. Your ability to get your paycheck stretched to cover that may not go as far as it used to go. Add to that the digital culture that we live in that offers you images of what other people have and what other people are doing, just so you'll be jealous of them and want that. And so that raises expectations and encourages consumption and adds to the affliction. But then notice something else. He says this in verse 3, according to their ability, now that's proportion, according to their ability, and beyond their ability, that's sacrifice. According to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing. Now, let me park on that for a moment. There's a couple of truths in that that you need to see. The first truth is that we are to give in proportion to what we have. We are to give in proportion to what we have. Now, the New Testament does not give or set a fixed amount, nor does the New Testament set a fixed percentage. Yes, I know about the tithe.

25:20 that's Old Testament. The New Testament does not give you a fixed amount nor a fixed percentage, but it does talk about proportion. So in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, Paul wrote, on the first day of the week, that's the regularity, let each one of you lay something aside, here it is, storing up as he may prosper. That's proportion. As he may prosper, that there be no collection when I come. So the general rule is there's no fixed amount, no percentage, but there is the expectation that you give proportion or proportionally to what you have. Peter Marshall, almost jokingly but not, said, give according to your income, lest God make your income according to your giving.

26:20 So we're to give proportionally, according to our income, according to what we have. Second truth about that little verse here is sometimes we're to give beyond that. Sometimes we're to go above and beyond that. according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability. You remember the story in the New Testament of the widow that had two mites. Remember the story? We're going to get to it in Mark chapter 12, but, you know, that's six months away. So Mark chapter 12, there's a woman who goes to the treasury in the temple and puts in two mites, and Jesus notices her. Two mites is like three-eighths of one cent. so really nothing to be remarked on nothing to speak of but it was everything to her and jesus said she put in more than they all for these all out of their abundance put in offerings to god but she out of her poverty put in all she had her whole livelihood Sometimes something comes up where God will require us to go above the proportion and give generously.

27:37 That's when it costs. And that was a principle that David lived by. You remember when David wanted to get a piece of land to build the temple? So he went to a guy named Ornan who owned a threshing floor. And you can see that threshing floor if you come to Israel. It's called the Temple Mount. still there today. And he goes, hey, I want to buy your property. I want to build a worship center for God. Ornan said, well, if you're doing this for God, I'll give it to you. It's my donation. David said, no, I'll pay you for it. What do you want? No, no, David, really, if it's going to be for God, I'll give it to you. David went, no, no, I want to pay for it. No, no, I'll give it to you. No, no, I'll pay for it. Finally, David said, look, I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. It has to cost me something. I have to feel it to be part of my worship.

28:32 So you go, well, then how do you know what amount? I'm glad you asked. Go over to the very next chapter really briefly. Next chapter, chapter 9, verse 6. But this I say, 2 Corinthians 9, 6. But this I say, he who sows sparingly will reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. It's an agricultural metaphor. You understand what this means. You sow a little bit of seed, you get a little bit of crop. You sow a lot of seed, you get a whole lot. You might get a bumper crop.

29:08 So, using that as an analogy, so let each one of us give as he purposes in his heart. There it is, as he purposes in his heart. How much do I give? What percentage? As you purpose in your heart. Not grudgingly or of necessity. Not because you have to, but because you want to.

29:34 And I'll get to that in a minute. You know, so there's never been, ah, I'm taking an offering for Reload Love. I wanted to buy that new TV. Keep your money and buy your stinking TV. Don't do it grudgingly. or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver, and God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. There's a book that was written by Randy Alcorn. I'm going to show you a picture of the book. Now, Randy Alcorn happened to have written one of the best books on heaven, But he also wrote a book on giving, Money, Possessions, and Eternity. I know a pastor who said he wanted to write a book on giving, but he stopped because he knew nobody would buy it. But this is a good book to have, Money, Possessions, and Eternity.

30:30 And Randy Alcorn points out that the Old Testament required the tithe. That's 10%. That's Old Testament. We're New Testament. And in the New Testament, the idea isn't a percentage. It's stewardship. It's stewardship. And we are stewards of all that we have, which is all his. If you think God has 10% of my income, you are wrong. Folks, he has 100% of it. That's the whole point of William Booth. I told the Lord long ago he could have all there is of William Booth.

31:15 So it's all his. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. So Randy Alcorn in this book says, look, we're stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us. Everything belongs to him. Ten percent, says Alcorn, is just the starting point. Now listen to his rationale. Quote, Being under grace does not mean living by lower standards than the law. Christ systematically addressed such issues as murder, adultery, taking of oaths, and made it clear that his standards were much higher than those of the Pharisees. Matthew chapter 5. He never lowered the bar. He always raised it. but he also empowers us by his grace to jump higher than the law demands. So that is what these Macedonians were doing.

32:12 It's according to their ability but beyond their ability because, because, and there's a word that's out of place in these verses. In verse two, there's a word that just seems really out of place. Can you find it? Can you figure it out? Look at verse 2. What's the word that just seems so out of place here?

32:34 Joy. I mean, how do you get deep trial of affliction, deep poverty, and then joy in the same verse? They're having abundant affliction and at the same time abundant joy, surplus of joy. Surplus is what it means. When the money runs out, the joy doesn't. So here they are. They're hated on the outside by persecutors. They're pressured on the outside by poverty. But inwardly, there is a joy, a joy that makes them want to be sacrificial. And so this is how it works. This is called God's arithmetic. Ready? I'm going to put a formula up. Here's God's arithmetic. Great affliction plus deep poverty plus God's grace equals joy and generosity.

33:35 That's how it worked for the Macedonians. Great affliction, deep poverty, add to that God's grace equals joy and generosity. Jesus said it best, and you'll be able to finish it. It is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Those are the words of Jesus Christ in red letter for you. It is more blessed to give than receive. Why is that? Because science has noted something interesting. I got this right out of a scientific website. Generosity, it said, is hardwired into human biology. Giving activates reward centers of the brain, releasing dopamines and endorphins. And the article described how that worked.

34:30 So generosity is a signal. Generosity is sacrificial. Third quality, generosity is volitional. Verse 3 is quite amazing, really. It says, For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, beyond their ability, they were freely willing. He continues the thought, verse 4, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. Did you get that? Paul didn't goad them into it. Paul didn't guilt them into it. Paul didn't beg them to give. They begged him to be a part of it. It was completely voluntary. The word is imploring.

35:25 Imploring. When is the last time you heard of Christians begging for an opportunity to give? Don't worry. We'll get you there. I can only think of one time that actually happened to me. It was in the early stages of this church, in a different building. didn't make much of money. We always have had boxes. And in the announcements, we usually just said, there are brown wooden boxes. At that time, they were brown. Around the auditorium for your tithes and offerings. That's all we said. One day, we didn't say that in the announcements. We didn't even mention them. As soon as church was done, I saw this woman running, I mean, just beelining. I could see it in her eyes. She's going to give me a dressing down. She just walks right up.

36:17 Her name was Mary, Mary Earl Wall, a dear saint. She drove an old Volkswagen Bug, not because it was a classic, but it's all she had. But she walked up to me and she said, you didn't mention the boxes. And I'm just kind of wide-eyed, seeing this finger in my face from this elderly woman. You didn't mention the boxes. And then she said, young man, you robbed me of an opportunity to worship. That's how she saw giving. You robbed me of an opportunity to worship. That's what the Macedonians were doing, imploring Paul, begging him. Now here's a little bit of background I think that would help. I think this is what happened. We know that Paul began this collection in the area of Galatia, a whole different region. It's today Turkey, Asia Minor at that time.

37:15 He started it in Galatia before arriving in Macedonia. By the time he got to Macedonia, he thought, I'm not going to even ask the Macedonians to participate. They have a great trial of affliction. They're in deep poverty. It's going to be very awkward for me to include them in taking this offering because if I say, hey, we want to take an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem, they're going to say, are you kidding? You need to take an offering for us. So Paul didn't mention it, but then they found out about it. And when they found out about it, and the word Paul uses here is diomenoi. They begged us. That's imploring. They begged us. They begged us. For them, giving was not a problem to be avoided. It was a privilege to be desired. that's why he says and we just read it in chapter 9 not grudgingly nor of necessity for God loves a cheerful giver and I've told you before the word cheerful is the Greek word hilarion we get the word hilarious from that just picture somebody giving hilariously in your mind Thank you.

38:30 generosity is a signal generosity is sacrificial generosity is volitional it's from the heart it's from the heart fourth and finally I close with this generosity is consequential that is you'll only be generous as a consequence of something else that may or may not have happened if it happened the generosity will happen If it didn't happen, then you won't have the consequence of generosity. And that is in verse 5 for us. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. They first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us.

39:27 you see to them the macedonians giving was an act of worship the consequence of giving themselves to the lord first then to paul and his team here's the principle you cannot give your substance to the purpose of god until you first give yourself to the person of god when you give yourself to the person of God. William Booth. I told the Lord long ago, he can have all there is of William Booth. When you give yourself to the Lord, you give after that your substance to the purpose of God. One flows from the other. If God has you, then God has everything about you. If God has you, then God has your interests. If God has you, then he has way more than 10%. He has 100%, and you work it out, whatever you want to do with that.

40:25 Because he's your Lord. If God has you, then you don't even mind a sermon like this. In fact, you welcome it. Now, Warren Wiersbe wrote a commentary on this. I've always loved Warren Wiersbe's commentary, but he wrote in his commentary on 2 Corinthians, when a church is not spiritual, it is not generous.

40:49 And he wrote this in his commentary of 2 Corinthians. We must never argue that the ministry of our spiritual gifts is a substitute for generous giving. I teach Sunday school class, so I don't have to give is not an explanation. It is an excuse. The Christian who remembers that his gifts are gifts will be motivated to give to others and not hide behind his ministry to the Lord. I have met pastors and missionaries who have argued that since they devote their whole time in serving the Lord, they are not obligated to give. Paul argues just the opposite. Since you are wonderfully gifted from God, you ought to want to give even more. That is so good. That is so good.

41:41 Our gifts are gifts given from the Father of lights to us. Our finances are gifts. Our health is a gift. Our talents are gifts. so that generosity is way more than just finances. We talk about time, talent, and treasure. You can be generous with listening to people intently, giving them your attention. You can be generous with empathy toward them, curiosity, interest about them. You can be generous practically like, I'm willing to babysit for you so that you can do such and such. Or I'm going to show up at your daughter's performance because that's important. I'll be generous with my time that way.

42:33 So use whatever God has stewarded or put in your life to steward. Use that for his kingdom, to further his kingdom and to bless his kids. Two weeks ago, I was in Manchester, England. I was speaking there to a group of pastors and then working with Franklin Graham for his events. And it dawned on me as I was in Manchester one morning that I was speaking, and I looked at where it all happened. I was speaking a mile and a half from where John Wesley once preached. And that just sort of dawned on me because, you know, Wesley said so many great things. One of the great things John Wesley said was this, Do all the good you can by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can. That's generosity.

43:32 That mindset. And Jesus said, where a man's treasure is, there will his heart be also. So the big question is, who has your heart? Have you given your heart to him? Have you given all that there is of you to him? Because he cares way more about you and your soul than he does about your wallet. Pray with me, Father. Thank you for the things that you have blessed us with. Air to breathe. Seats to sit in. Air that is conditioned, heated, and cooled. Cars to drive in. Food to eat. You've placed us in a land of plenty. and we are to steward the resources that you have placed in our lives and we're to do so joyfully and generously and as we purpose in our heart to further your kingdom, to help your children, to encourage and bless others.

44:33 Maybe we be those kind who would give and do and be all that we can as long as we ever can. take all there is of us, and may that be the hallmark of our success. We give everything that you have given, we give it back to you for your glory. I pray for anybody who might not know you personally, that they would settle that issue and give themselves first to the Lord and then to his work. If you've not done that, if you're sitting inside or outside or listening on any platform in any city around the world or place where you might be and you have not given your life to Christ, do that. Do it right now. A simple prayer like this.

45:26 Say, Lord, I give you my life. Sincerely. Take me. I'm yours. I admit I'm a sinner. Forgive me. I believe Jesus died for me and rose again from the grave and I turn, I repent of my past, my sin I turn to Jesus as Savior and Lord help me to follow you and to honor you and glorify you with my life in Jesus name