What's On The Other Side Of This Crap Marked (Part 7)

0:30 Well, how many people are ready for the word this morning? All right. I know somebody's like, oh my God, do they yell and clap at everything? Like, hey, listen. You work in so many atmospheres and live in so many atmospheres that suck. No, come on. Come on. Let's be honest We spend a lot of time complaining about wanting to get out of something and and I want to make sure when you come to church That it's the same energy Um and the same atmosphere of joy that you would get at a place that doesn't glorify god because we got good news And the good news is that jesus has come and he's marked us for purpose. Somebody just shout at me. I'm marked We are in week seven Now I told y'all I already warned everybody I said if y'all if y'all don't want to hear about being marked come back in july Because because i'm gonna finish this whole rest of this month I'm gonna talk about being marked by god because I feel like there's so many people in this room Who really have been marked by god, but are having struggles navigating the process Like like you know that you're made for more than what you're experiencing right now And you know that god has placed something on the inside of you But the process is just on your nerves or the okay I got a couple amens from this section or the process it like you don't feel like you have enough to go through it And so what i'm doing in this series is i'm helping you through the bible and the leadership of david And to be able to see that there is a process.

2:08 And if you can understand some of these things that you're probably going through right now, it'll make you stay in the fight. Do you know that we're in a fixed fight? No, y'all ain't acting like it. We are in a fixed fight. Now, some of you've never fought before, so you don't know what that is. But a fixed fight is when you literally know the outcome before you get in the ring. And and the problem is for most believers is the only way you lose the fight is if you never show up for it

2:45 And the reason why most people are losing fights is because they never show up for the fight that God's called you to What if God's a good God, why would he call me to a fight? Because he told you with him you're more than a conqueror He he he lets you know that in this life we're gonna have trouble but take heart It's a fixed fight I've already overcome the world. I've paid. I've defeated death hell in the grave. I got this, but you gotta stand in the ring And many of us because we're afraid of getting hit Let's be honest my face not my face Because we're afraid of getting hit We never get in the ring. The crazy thing is we get hit anyway. So what happens when you're walking around with bruises but no victory belt?

3:42 What happens as a church as we walk around talking about God is the greatest but you look like you just got mollywhopped? Some of y'all still like mollywhopped? I have no idea. You look bad, okay? So today I wanted to help everybody who's going through an obstacle. Everybody who's going through a challenge. Let me just be very clear right now All of us are going through something. We don't want to go through right now Okay, if you can identify the thing that you're going through that that that obstacle that you're going through that you don't like Just raise your hand like if you got an obstacle that you're going through. Okay, we're in good company So the title of today's message is what's on the other side of this crap? I had to be real today. Is it okay if I'm real? I need to know there's something on the other side of this crap.

4:37 Now, I don't know. Some of y'all are looking at me so dignified like you ain't never felt that. But I'm just trying to identify some of y'all going through marriage problems. That's crap. And you're like, we're going to pay all this money and go through all this counseling. What's on the other side of this crap? Some of y'all are going through insecurities that you're having to to press your way outside of but it's uncomfortable and it's frustrating and you're saying God there's got to be something on the other side of this crap Now if you want to explore and use other language for this that's between you and God but I'm gonna keep it right here What's on the other side of this crap? Because some of you have teenagers right now Thank you. And you didn't know that you would be having to navigate through who you used to be. and knowing you passed that DNA onto somebody else and now they're dealing with it and you're trying to do it from a godly perspective but you just want to take them to the ring and you're wondering in your prayer time God what's on the other side of this crap like finding those text messages and trying to deal with it what's on the other side and I don't know what your obstacle is today But I want to let you know that there is something on the other side of it And let me tell you what it is. It's elevation See when you're marked write this down. This is your first first point today and we're gonna see this through David's life You were elevated only one way through obstacles Most people want to be elevated But they do not want to go everybody say through You do not get to bypass obstacles and go to where God's called you to be Never And so the thing that I have to help everybody do is fix your perspective Because what we have been taught since a young age is that obstacles are bad

6:46 No, no, no move that move that the baby's trying to learn how to walk And so when a baby's trying to walk Parents Remove all because we don't want them to be discouraged and to be able to walk. And so that's how it kind of goes all through life. It's when you see an obstacle, you wait for somebody in charge to move it. I have a daughter right now her name is Ava and and and I call her my boss baby Because she runs the Todd household right now y'all pray for us But this baby will literally wait For you to come and do things that she wants you to do because if it's an obstacle, let me give you an example She'll go to the refrigerator She this tall The refrigerator this tall And she stands in front of the refrigerator And she said da da Da da Da da And so I'm like what Ava Da da She don't got no more words than that And she will stand there and yell my name Until I come up and use my hands To open the doors And remove the obstacle which was the doors from being able to see the yogurt that she wants.

8:19 And what ends up happening is as you're thinking about that as a little child, that's what we wait for God to do. Most of us have grown up and have the ability to open the refrigerator now, but we're still standing at the doors of our obstacles yelling, God, God. And he's given you the ability To speak to things and they gotta move He's given you the ability To walk into situations that command peace And those waves have to subside But you still like I wish God would move He said I sent you there As a representative of me so that you could move the situation And you're still waiting And so this is why I need you to understand from this point on obstacles aren't bad. They're necessary for my elevation.

9:18 No, no, no. You need to hear that. Obstacles are not bad. Are they inconvenient? Yes. Are they uncomfortable? Oh, yes. Are they frustrating a lot of times? Yes. But they're not bad. They are. Everybody say necessary. What if you just change your perspective right now that what you're going through that is an obstacle is necessary for what you've prayed for No, come on today is gonna be very practical, but I want to dive deep so that you can get transformation What if the money issue is Necessary God you could pick another one But what if that obstacle is necessary for you to learn something for the level he's taking you to David's gonna find this out in a very very real way Because he's serving in the palace He's serving his father at this moment His dad asked him to take some grilled cheese sandwiches to his brothers on the front line He goes to do that And I want us to pick up this story in in in first samuel But before we do that I want to give somebody an anchor scripture because some of y'all are looking at me like pastor You gonna have to tell me something else james chapter 1 verse 2. It says consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters Whenever you face trials Whenever you face obstacles Of many kinds Because you know that the testing of your faith everybody say faith This is all about your faith. Who do you believe in you or god?

11:10 Like the reason he sends test I got this revelation god always sends tests that he knows he can conquer and you can't So that you always have to go to him To be able to do it, but he's gonna do it through you And that's why he said this is gonna produce perseverance See if you learn it at this level You're going to be stronger for the next obstacle that comes Somebody asked me Pastor Mike does serving God get easier I said no you get stronger No, no, no, no, no, no, you missed it The same things that trip you off When you're a baby Christian Or when you're first in faith It doesn't get easier, it'll be the same thing But you get stronger And this is what God is trying to do See, you're going to rise, but there will always be resistance to your rise, but you are resilient.

12:08 There is something that God has built on the inside of you that's going to allow your obstacles to never take you out unless you let it. And that's what David's about to find out in 1 Samuel 17, verse 21. It says, Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. Like all of us in here know that we're facing something, some type of obstacle. David left the things with the keeper and the supplies and ran to the battle lines. He was going to see his brothers He's probably happy like I know y'all in a battle right now, but dad was thinking about y'all And uh, I got you something your favorite grilled cheese like And watch this is what happens Look what it says. He asked his brothers how they were And then look at verse 23. This is why you got to pay attention to the details It says as he was talking, everybody said as he was.

13:04 Okay, I want you to realize that he was doing what he was told to do. But while he was doing what he was told to do, Goliath, an obstacle, Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance and David heard it. When you're marked, interruptions are introductions. A lot of us hate being interrupted. Let's be honest. If you do not like being interrupted when you're talking, when you're driving, when you're eating, raise your hand right now. Come on. Do not talk to me right now. But what I found out that when you're marked, you should not look at interruptions in a bad way. Interruptions should be the things that make your antenna go up that oh This might be an introduction to the thing that god's about to use Like like a lot of us when we get interrupted well god I was just doing what you told me to do He said that's exactly right And because your elevation is wrapped up in an obstacle like because you're about to go up But you got to go through something to go up He said i'm gonna allow some things that that go against your perfect plan to interrupt you And instead of running away from it and being mad about it You need to realize i'm trying to introduce you to your next opportunity to go up and some of us Anytime like we'll be driving And the tire pops Or goes flat Oh my god I don't have time for this today And you start working yourself into a tizzy And you know what a tizzy is like And what ends up happening is When you stop And you go into whatever mode that is Where you're not looking at what God may be doing You miss the things that God's trying to introduce you to

15:13 So what I started doing when stuff started interrupting my day Like let's just use the tire for example Because that's happened to your boy before Tire pop on the side of the road waiting for emergency assistance. I said god I wonder who you about to introduce me to today. That's gonna take my purpose to another level You thought so much of what was going on that you threw an interruption in my way That if I could recognize you in it This may be the introduction to something brand new that's taking me to another level And I know some of y'all sitting there like how does that even make sense right now? The obstacle of Goliath started shouting as he was doing what God told him to do. What happens when you're doing what God told you to do and something else starts shouting at you? Something you didn't plan for Happened There's an unexpected death or a loss in your family Somebody starts talking about you that you don't even know But it sways the opinion of people you care about What What happened And for most of us We get so frustrated And we leave the situation This is what most of us would have done Oh my God, he's rude.

16:40 Here's your sandwiches. I'm going back to my place of comfort. I don't gotta take this And what you didn't take you just left your elevation to What you were too good To be able to go everybody say through Uh-huh what you were too impatient to go through You just forfeited the thing that god wanted to do in your life And most of us would have left but I just need you to know today is all about perspectives changing Your interruptions may be an introduction. Let's keep going in the story. David in 1 Samuel 17, verse 24, he learned something.

17:52 Because when you're marked, perspective positions you. Everybody say, how I see matters. See at this moment David's about to face a giant Who has been talking crazy for 40 days This he didn't just walk up On something and this is the first time everybody's seeing it Day after day This giant comes up it says as usual And starts talking crazy To the entire Israel army and about God. And so David comes up to this situation and when everybody is about to take a step backwards because of David's perspective, he's going to take a step forward.

18:48 And my question is, how are you seeing? Because if your perspective is broken, you're not going to move to the position you're supposed to move to. I'm gonna help you because some of y'all still here looking at me crazy first samuel 17 24 Whenever the israelites an entire trained army saw When they saw goliath When their perspective was messed up They all fled from him So so let's let me let me give you an idea. Okay, they're standing here. Oh, yeah, we about to get him today It's day 39. I'm about to take this fool out He ain't gonna do nothing to me no more. Okay, and then Brenton come be Goliath right here as soon as they see him Go back off. See many of us talk a big game when we don't see any opposition I won't be bound in fear. I have control over alcohol. I have control over different things that are going in my Like because of my perspective It moves my position Position and it literally says that whenever they saw everybody say saw That's your perspective whenever they saw they fled from him in great fear

20:23 So when you're here We're standing in faith The fact that I came to the battle means I have faith that maybe we can do it But when we see or get a perspective of the enemy, it makes us move positions and we retreat to a place that all of our decisions will be made out of And they retreated to a place of fear And i'm not saying where your retreat place is but it's usually a dark place

20:54 It's usually a place where you can't see fully and it's usually a place where you don't make the best decisions These people would retreat every time they got a perspective of their obstacle into a place of fear Now all their decisions were made out of fear And all of their talk was fear talk I'm trying to help somebody understand you're going through an obstacle And you're gonna go through an obstacle But when your perspective Gets not on just the obstacle But goes above the obstacle God you see him God you see this God you've been here before And so I got something in my view But I'm choosing to look past it And to look at you I look unto the hills See a lot of people get that scripture messed up because it's not talking about like when they were saying that that was the seat of government And so most of the people thought that their problem could be fixed at the seat of government But what they were saying is i'm looking past the highest Part Of of the solution and i'm looking to you i'm looking towards the heels from which cometh my So what you've got to understand is that the obstacle is coming.

22:24 But are you moving from the position that God's called you to into a position of fear? Or are you going to be like David who sees the opposition or the obstacle and he actually steps towards it? We live in the probably the most scariest time for weak Christians. And I have to be honest because at the moment there is any any opposition We retreat We shut up We stop talking It is quiet in here Our our faith that that's what happens though And what god is saying is Did you not know that I orchestrated for you to be here? That before you were formed in your mother's womb, I knew you I know the number of heads on your hair hair on your head Do you not know that every obstacle that you face has a loss next to it?

23:29 If you would just stand up and face it And there was an entire Israel army who were trained who had gone through practice and battle and none of them when the obstacle came did anything so watch this, okay, I'm going to help somebody Romans 12 2, I'm going to teach today I'm teaching today, okay, it says don't copy the behaviors and the customs of this world. Don't retreat in your thinking. Don't go backwards. But let God, everybody say this good word right here, transform. Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. It's your perspective.

24:24 But you only get perspective from what you see. And a lot of us have not been seeing the promises of God fulfilled through Scripture and seeing the promises of God. That's why you got to put your eyes on the Bible. That's why more than scrolling, because that's the customs of the world. And now your faith is being built on something that has not lasted. God says the flowers wither, the grass withers and the flowers fade, but my word will stand forever. And this is why I'm calling you to a place of real devotion with God. Because the only thing you're going to have to stand on when obstacles come is what God has already said.

25:15 I know. I know there's a lot of people in this room right now that you just wish God would do an Aladdin and a genie type situation. You get three wishes. and I'll make whatever wish you you won't come to pass we don't serve a genie He said you got to go through this Everybody just say through But on the other side of this crap There's elevation On the other side of this crap There's healing On the other side of this crap There's restoration On the other No, somebody needs to hear me On the other side If I can just stay with it And I can go through it There is another level On the other side Somebody give God some praise right there I'm having to work a little bit, okay? As Christians, we should be offensive more than defensive.

26:11 All we do is wait for the enemy to come, and we're just trying to just, oh, Lord, please don't let him score on us. But at some point we have to go towards the obstacle. I love David because he's a gangster. Because I found a trick See when you're marked Just write this down and I'll explain it When you're marked You make inquiries of victory Now I'm expanding some of your vocabulary right now But all inquiries means is questions You ask questions that lead to victory I was studying this whole thing out And I was like, what's the difference between the children of Israel and David? And I found out there was one difference.

27:07 The questions they asked. Watch this. First Samuel chapter 17, verse 25. Now the Israelites had been saying from their place of fear. Look at the questions that they're asking. Oh, my God, y'all. Do you see how this man keeps coming out? That's the only question they ask. Do you see how he keeps coming out? and he comes out to defy Israel. 40 days? We're not asking how do we ambush him? We're not asking like there's one of him There's like 10,000 of us How could we? They literally ask a question to make sure Other people's perspective is the same as theirs Do y'all see him coming out here?

28:35 Okay. But that's how most believers look. Didn't God say that you could have healing? No, but I know he did, but we're just going to stay right here, and we're just going to ask, what did the doctor say? Like, like that's the only, that's the only question you're gonna ask. Okay, I'm stepping on people's toes right now that I can tell y'all are this lasering through me Okay So he asked that but look what David starts doing Hmm He overheard a couple dudes talking and in the bottom half of verse 25 He said y'all know the king will give great wealth to the man who kills him He'll give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt him and his family from ever paying taxes again. Here's the elevation.

29:32 So there's an obstacle, but there's an elevation too. You're about to get paid. You're about to get a wife and no taxes. So look Look what questions David starts asking David asked the men standing near him What will be done For the man who kills the Philistine And removes this disgrace from Israel Do y'all see The difference in the tone of his question It was not a question Do y'all see him It was a question of offense. What happens if I kill him? What happens if this marriage lasts? What happens? Oh, y'all don't hear me. What happens if my kids come out of this drug addiction? What happens if I buy the house in the neighborhood?

30:29 He was making inquiries of victory. Everybody shout at me, victory. Your questions are too weak. You're asking questions about what will happen if we if we if we lose this apartment I'm not asking no more questions based in fear.

31:00 I'm asking questions based in faith. And then look at his next question. He said, who is? By the way, hold on, excuse me. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine? He ain't even on our level. What what is cancer? When he said by his stripes We are here I'm trying to tell you God is not in Drought from healing people We are in lack of faith to believe that he can And I know I know some people don't believe this But people who don't believe it's have the same thing that they have nothing because it tells us that without faith, it's impossible for God to work and to do what he wants to do.

31:54 And all of us want God to prove himself to us. And he's saying, if you would just get the faith to believe me, he said, your questions would change. The type of questions you're asking are exposing your faith quick. See david had a lens of victory while the entire children of israel had a lens of defeat Okay, let me help you understand this. I have another daughter. Her name is bella. She's five So one day she said daddy. Can we go get a slushie? She really is into slushies that quick trip now like mixing all the flavors and like doing all that stuff like on a sugar high and I was like belly. Yeah, we'll go get a slushie today and she said, okay But then there was some obstacles that came in her way some meetings some some people came over unexpectedly So she kept coming by she kept saying dad. Are we gonna go get a sushi today? And I said yeah, baby. She's like but these things keep happening She's five these things keep happening But I said baby, don't worry We're gonna go get a slushie I don't know if my daughter read 1 Samuel chapter 17 But the next time she came to me about an hour later She wasn't asking the question. Are we going to get a slushie?

33:14 Her faith was making me have to move from where I was at as her provider watch what she did She came up to me and she said daddy what flavor of slushy are you getting? See some of y'all You need to go from asking will we get the victory to what are we gonna do with the spoils? Some of y'all You need to stop asking the wrong question And what it did was it made me as her father know that we got to get to slushy. Because her faith is that we're already picking flavors.

34:09 And this is what you have to see. Whenever you face an obstacle, some of you need to stop asking, can I afford to go to college? And you need to start asking, what classes am I going to take? No, no, no, no, no. You need to build your faith. You need to stop asking, where will I live when this divorce is over? And you need to start asking, where are we going on vacation next summer, honey? because we're going to be together and we're going to love each other. I told myself Michael don't ever ask the question When are we going to get another building God? He said don't ask that question no more He said start thinking like this I wonder who God's going to use To underwrite the whole thing When we buy a new building Can I? No I wonder Because there was an obstacle David's faith Was that this is just Par for the course This is necessary For what God's called me to do But his speech was rooted in faith And so I know I'm preaching Brother Luke I know So I came to tell you if you're marked upgrade the quality of your questions Stop asking the stop asking the stuff that addresses the crap Ask the stuff that will eliminate it and put you in another place There's elevation On the other side of this crap I mean no I need somebody to hear me Just say it with me there's elevation On the other side of this crap I'm trying to tell you But you'll stay on the wrong side of this If you think in doubt

36:15 Some of y'all are trying to believe Well God who am I going to get a ride with next You need to start thinking what color A vehicle No As a man think it See, some of our hearts are so broken to even it don't cost you nothing to think.

36:41 Thinking is free. Believing is free. And many of us are standing in the same place waiting for God to defeat an obstacle that he said, no, no, we're going to have to go through this one. But I want you to think of yourself on the other side of this victory. before you even have to face it. Okay. I'm going to try to get through this, Charles. I'm going to try to get through it. I'm going to try. Go to 1 Samuel 17, verse 25. Because right now, I'm waging war against the way you've thought. And some of y'all have been thinking this way for 35 years, 22 years, 10 years. And so today I'm pushing through teaching that you will face obstacles. Yeah, but don't worry.

37:36 God's already overcome every obstacle that you're ever going to face.

38:10 Now watch this, because this is going to hit some people on a different level. Because it's one thing to be going through a big obstacle. This is a giant. Like, literally, of the time, it's a giant. But, I mean, it sucks. And it's frustrating. But at least if I only had one obstacle at a time, I think maybe I'd be okay. But what happens when you have many obstacles at the same time? How many people have had more than one obstacle at the same? How many people are going through more than one obstacle? Okay, okay. This is for y'all. For all the other people, y'all turn your ears off. Okay. David comes to do this. He's interrupted by his obstacle, Goliath. He says, what do I get? And yeah, I'm going to kill this guy.

39:05 And he asked the right questions. And then look what happens in verse 28. First Samuel 17, verse 28. When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger. and he asked him, why have you come down here?

39:26 And with whom did you leave those few little sheep in the wilderness? And with whom did you leave those little sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is. You came down here only to watch the battle. What happens when you're dealing with a physical battle of a giant or a sickness or something and then somebody that you love? like somebody that should know your heart that they were there when you were in the field and didn't get invited to the party and they watched God anoint you in a small area and have watched your elevation and then they try to use it against you and stab you with it who'd you leave them little sheep with His brother was trying to remind him of his past.

40:30 I want you to see this. Just, just, this is so good. Look what David said. Now what have I done? Can I even speak? And then he did something so powerful. He then turned away. I want you to see that. Put 1 Samuel 17 verse 30 up there. It said he then everybody say turn away. Okay, what happens when you have two obstacles? and one obstacle you feel grace to tackle, Goliath, and then this unexpected obstacle comes out of nowhere from somebody you love.

41:24 It's a sucker punch. Okay? When you're marked, don't engage intentional ignorance. If David would have started fighting with his brother right then, that would have been a distraction to his elevation. Oh, my God. Eliab, what are you talking about? And if they would have been able to hash out all of that, it would have turned into a Jerry Springer episode right there on the front line. But David had to be mature enough. This is a cuss word for a lot of y'all. mature enough to in the face of another obstacle, he had to turn away. What have you been giving your energy and effort to that is not important?

42:21 It's something that we need to heal. His relationship with his brother does need to heal, and this is an obstacle. But we're standing here on the front lines of a war And many of us because it's easier We turn to the thing that's actually the distraction and give our energy to that So you're fighting with a co-worker At your job and being petty When God said no the real giant is your pride So we supposed to be fighting this but this is closer and right here And today many of you if you're ever gonna meet that obstacle that's gonna bring you elevation You're gonna have to do what David did. You're gonna have to everybody say turn away I found that in the Christian faith There's so many of us that get distracted from our destiny Because we turn to the obstacle That doesn't move us forward We turn to the obstacle that takes us to our past Everything that Eliab and David would have talked about Had nothing to do with the future It had everything to do with his path He even said it.

43:44 He wanted to send him back to the past. Sure. It was the wrong obstacle to fight Because even if I win this It's just winning something that was in the past But if I face the right obstacle That looks bigger That's scarier That nobody's been able to go against That obstacle defeated leads me to the palace So are you fighting the right battles?

44:19 Pastor Mike, why did you come at us this way today? because I'm trying to raise up a church who is not weak obstacles are coming excuse me obstacles are here hold on what are we talking about but are we going to retreat are we going to forcefully advance towards what god has called us to let's go back to that james scripture because all obstacles are not created equally james 1 2 8 consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters whenever you face many kinds of trials or obstacles because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance now watch this let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything the obstacle is to finish you not finish you off to complete making you so the reason he allows it to happen Is he because he knows there's no other way He made you He know you There's no other way you're going to become grateful Until you lose something That you really wanted And then he takes you through What he's called you to Restores it Gives you more than you had before But now you can appreciate it Because you went through The obstacle He knows you He's trying to complete you He's trying to get you to the image that he created before you got here And so today i'm just gonna pray one simple prayer for everybody Is that your obstacle would not take you out

46:27 But you would take your obstacle out Can you just lift your hands if you want that today? Father i'm thanking you. I don't know what everybody's going through but you do Ha ha and you're such a good father that you position that obstacle so that we could be victorious over. God, I thank you that all the interruptions, God, they're introductions to our elevation. I thank you, Father God, that even in this moment right now, Father, all the questions that we've been asking in doubt, we now shift our position to faith. And we're going to ask inquiries of victory, Father God. I thank you in this place right now in the name of Jesus that you've called us, Father God, to forcefully advance the kingdom of God So we're not going to run away from obstacles. We're actually going to run towards them father You gave david the victory, but it's because he found his trust in you and father I thank you for the maturity for every person in here to not engage Father god in the ignorance that's trying to distract him right now Yeah, there's obstacles and people talking it people posting it people saying this but father god Let us keep our eyes on the thing that's taking us into our future and not the thing that's going to drag us back to our past.

47:41 God, we will be elevated, but it comes through obstacles. But we take heart because you're making us in this season. We are marked by God, and we'll do everything you've called us to do. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's give God a shout of praise in this place. Oh, come on. If you know you're marked, and the obstacle's not going to take you out, but you're going to take it out. Hey, listen.

48:10 This is a word that's going to sit with you all week. And an obstacle is going to come. And you're going to have to look at these notes. And you're going to say, oh, I know what to do. And then your sister is going to call and be like, we don't spend enough time together. And you're going to be like, baby. I love you, but we're going to have to talk in just a little bit. Beep. because some things are trying to distract you from what God's called you to take out right now if you're in this room and you've never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior I want to give you an opportunity today why face these obstacles of life on your own why not have the God of the universe on your side would everybody just bow your head and close your eyes if you're in this room and you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior I want to give you that opportunity today. At the end of that James scripture, it says that you can ask for wisdom and God will give it to you liberally. That's when you have a relationship with God where you can just ask him anything and today I want you to have that relationship.

49:17 Just a moment, we're going to pray and everybody's going to pray for the benefit of those who are coming to Christ. But in this room, I feel that somebody needs to submit and give their life, give control back over to God. So today, let's pray this prayer, and only God, and you know if you mean it, but I feel like some people are making a transition into a new way of living today. Everybody just say, God, thank you for sending Jesus. Today, I give you my life. I turn over the controls. I believe that you lived, you died, and you rose again.