Take Heart: Jesus' Final Words on Peace and Overcoming

Hey, if you brought your Bibles, get it out now. And I want you to hold it up in the air because we want to receive a word from God. This is not an ordinary book. This is God's word. If you didn't bring your Bible, you can still participate. I'll count to three and everyone shout word on the count of three. Here we go. 1 2 3. Word. We're getting into God's word. So God's word gets into us. We find ourselves in the final words of Jesus in John chapter 16. Th this is literally his final breath before he's betrayed. This is his final teaching to his disciples, those who have been walking with Jesus, talking with Jesus. They've been learning from Jesus for three years. And this right here today is the very last lesson of Jesus before he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, before he prays, as we'll learn next week in John chapter 17,

before he's arrested. This is the last teachings of Jesus. So, so what will Jesus say that resonates in our hearts? Well, I'll tell you, it's exactly what you need. This is the Mount Everest of hope for your heart. But to get to that hope, you've got to climb up the mountain. You've got to go there. You You've got to be on the journey to see that God does not waste anything. You might be wondering why you're so tired, but God's actually just getting you stronger. We can rejoice in our sufferings because it's producing something. Endurance. and you can rejoice in your endurance that it it's not wasted. It's producing character. And uh let me just tell you that character is not wasted. God's giving you some hope today. And we really do believe there's hope for everyone. So you're going to see that in the text today, the final teachings of Jesus, what he has for your heart. That

that is this is not a casual Christianity Jesus presents to us. This this is not a ritual of religion that if you just do this and you do that, then these things will happen. There there's no religion here. This is not church as you know it. Whatever you have in your mind of what church should be, this is a living relationship with the prince of peace. He's not just the prince of peace. He's the king of all kings. So we want this Jesus to have his rightful place in the relationship of of our lives to say, Lord, if you are who you are, then I want you to take your rightful place in my life. The great overcomer is allowing you to be more than a conqueror. Not through what you can do, but through what he can do in you.

So, let us be aware that this is not a casual conversation. As you open up your Bible today, I want you to see that Jesus wants you to know what to do in your times of trouble because they're coming. He He wants you to know what you already have in tribulations. He wants you to know who he is, not just was, but is and will forever be. So, as we come to this text today, we we have to open up the ears of our hearts to receive from God what he has for us. John chapter 16, we're going to cover verses 25 to the very end. Verse 33. Would you stand for the reading of God's word today? I'll read you the text and then we'll better understand the culmination of where we'll land today. In verse 33, Jesus is speaking. I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will

no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father in your behalf. For the Father himself loves you because you've loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world and am now leaving the world and going to the Father. His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech." Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you. This is why we believe that you came from God. Jesus answered them. Do you now believe?

Behold, the hour is coming, indeed has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world. This is the word of the Lord. As you're taking a seat, tell someone, "Take heart. Take heart. Someone take heart. Take heart. Take heart. Take heart." For three years, Jesus has been

walking amongst the people. And when he gets the opportunity, he teaches the crowds. And often times he would use what's called parables. They were these fictional stories with with with a a huge truth found in the middle of the story. We're we're made for story. We resonate with story. And Jesus would would preach these parables and he he he wants us, the listeners, to find ourselves immersed in the story. He would use metaphors and symbols so that we would better understand who God is. this God of the universe, eternal, who's always been and will forever be God who can just speak and utter words and and creation comes out of those words. This all powerful, all- knowing God has come to this earth, wrapped himself in flesh and walked among us.

And here we have in his last and final words, he lets us know that this is no longer a matter of figure of speech, but we're going to see the cross. We're going to see Christ crucified and you're going to have clarity of his mission. You're going to see the reality of who he is in this moment. There will be no question of why he came to this world or what he meant by no one takes his life, but he willingly gives it. We see it with clarity. And in verse 25, Jesus says, "The hour is coming when I no longer will speak to you in figures of speech, but I will tell you plainly about the father." The hour of darkness that all of the world is about to experience will simply

be the unveiling. That there will no longer need to be a curtain that separates the Holy of Holies to humanity. that God is giving every human being an access to who he is through Jesus. Jesus displays for us that nothing is wasted while you're here on earth. As we learned last week, he will turn your sorrow into joy. That God will not leave you in this place. He loves you too much. That when you believe in him, there's a a transformational work that happens in your heart. that when you believe in him, you might be saved, but there's still some renewing that needs to happen in your mind. You've got to align your life with his because his is the life that he offers abundantly. But he's been warning us not to be naive that there's

a real thief that wants to steal, kill, and destroy what God wants to do in your life. And he's been letting us know on this journey who he is. We've looked at the seven I am statements of Jesus that he is fully all-encompassing and perfectly God Almighty. And Jesus tells us now because of what he's doing on the cross and the culmination of what happens at the resurrection that he defeats death and he defeats the devil. Now because of all of these things he is the resurrection and the life and we now will have direct access to God himself. He says, "In that day you will ask in my name." And I do not say in verse 26 that I will ask the father on your behalf. My friends, he tells us in verse 27, you have direct access to the father for the father himself loves you. He loves you.

I don't know what view you have of God. Or maybe I can even get real personal and say I don't know what view you have of your parents. But I if you've deflected anything here on earth on who God is, I want you to know that God's ways are perfect and they're right. They're holy. They're completely set apart. And here's what God says about you. He loves you. He loves you. He loves you. He loves you. He loves you. Which tells me this. God just does not tolerate you. He's not just like, "Oh, when are you ever going to get it? I hope you come around at some point." He doesn't say he likes a better version of you. He doesn't like a polished version of you. Jesus teaches us that when you believe in Jesus as the son of God, the Messiah, God the Father loves you as his own.

You're you're now robed in righteousness. Not because you did anything, but because you believed in Jesus. The same promise of Abraham is your promise. He was counted as righteous. Why? because he believed God. So, so the love of God is all yours. Your identity today, if you get this, it changes everything. You are a beloved child of God because of Jesus. And by believing in him, you got access to the father. You don't have to go and wait at the door and say, "Hey, can I get like five minutes with dad? I've got some provisional needs. I've got some health needs. I've got some relational needs. Uh, hey, I'm not sure if the father sees what's happening in our city right now, but we could use a little bit of Holy Ghost help. Okay. So, uh, but we

don't have to wait. We've got direct access because of Jesus. And as we learned a few weeks ago, Pastor Noah preached and taught us that we now have the Holy Spirit, God himself, as the helper. That there's no condemnation. Instead, when something's wrong in our hearts, we have a conviction. Things aren't right. But now we go directly to God because we have the God that makes those things that are wrong, right? And so we we go to God because he he loves us. You are loved. Jesus continues in verse 28 and and describes his mission. This is this is what he's come to do. It's what all four of the gospels are about. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and

John. As they write about the life of Jesus, he says, "I came from the father." That's the Christmas story. And have come into the world. This is the Easter story. God Almighty walked on the same dusty roads that everyone else walked on. And and now he says, "I'm I'm leaving the world and going to the father." This Pentecost, that's the birth of the church. Jesus said, "It's good that I go." And as he ascended into heaven, he he he leaves us the helper. That is the Holy Spirit. So we see his mission. He was sent from heaven. He entered our world. He accomplished redemption. He who was without sin took our sin on the cross. And he died and was buried. But he did not stay dead. He defeated the grave. He rose.

And now he returns victoriously. What a God. And as Jesus is explaining all of these things, his students, we call these disciples, the one that walked with Jesus and learned from Jesus as as Jesus as the rabbi. Here they are the disciples, the students. The disciples said, "Ah, now you're speaking plainly, not using figurative speech. Now we get it, Jesus. I mean, the last three years, the whole water to wine thing, I thought that was a little weird. When you walked on the water and we called you a ghost, I know we didn't get it then. That one time that you asked us to provide the food for the multitudes, but all we had was five loaves and two fish.

I We didn't get it then. But now, now we got it. [laughter] Now we get it. Now we know he says in verse the the the disciples say in verse 30 to Jesus, now we know that you know all things. Now we get it. We were wondering if you knew all things, but now we know you know all things. So we don't we don't need to question you any longer. This is why we believe you came from God. Do you ever think you got it only to realize later you didn't get it? I mean like at church you're like, I got full confidence. I will never have fear again. But by afternoon, you're questioning, "Is God real? I'm not even sure." You believe God heals and then you get sick?

I got it until I don't got it. I don't get it. Just be careful with your confidence of how much you know about God. I say this all the time because I hear people all the time tell me what they're going to say to God. I'm like, [laughter] When I get to heaven, I'm going to ask God this question. [laughter] He might be on your face just glad you got in because of his grace. I don't know. But I'm just saying like you try to discover that he's much bigger, greater, grander. He knows more than you actually thought he knew. When you actually really know, you realize I I thought I got it, but here you got these guys saying, "We get it." And Jesus answered them, I imagine his hands were

raised. I don't know what the tone was, but this is certainly not an affirmation of their belief, but he certainly says, "Do you now believe?" It's like this gentle yet heartbreaking question because like you may not be as good as you think you are. Your faith may not be as great as you think it is. You you now believe because I'm going to tell you the truth and and listen how he prophesies this failure. Behold, I wonder what Jesus will say about our lives. Behold, the hour is coming. Actually, indeed, the hour is here. It's come. Verse 32, when you will be scattered. You're not going to be united. You know what the devil loves to do? Scatter. It it's it's been the enemy's agenda.

When God promised a Messiah in Genesis chapter 3, when man sinned, God did not just leave us to to wander and wonder in our sin. He he provided a solution and said Satan would be crushed. But from that time, Satan wants to just he wants to get the shepherd so the sheep are scattered. This is why there's so much brokenness even in the church all over the world. Imagine the unity in Bend if all the the church that believes in God's word and takes him at his word and believes in Jesus. Just imagine what could happen with that unity. But Jesus warns his students, 11 of them, because at this point Judas is gone, but he'll be back.

This time he'll betray Jesus with a kiss. And Jesus warns his followers that that when times get tough, when there's tribulations, when when things don't happen the way you expected them to happen, you're going to scatter. But lest we think that somehow God is a God of confusion or somehow he separates from us during those trials, Jesus leaves this promise and he says, "Yet I am not alone, for the father is with me." When you're faithless, the father is faithful. When you scatter, God doesn't give up. Aren't you grateful that he's a he's a god of character that even when humanity runs a muck, no matter what we tend to do, his character cannot change.

And Jesus says during this time when when the ones that should be there for me are going to abandon me, we see that God never ever ever gives up. And this leads us to the crescendo of our text today. This is the shout of victory. Here's what you need to hold on to in your tribulations. When you go through trials, which they will come, when you have sorrows, when you have heartaches and headaches in your life, here is the teaching moment that is soul shaking because it becomes a declaration that ends up being your mantra no matter what happens in life. Jesus says in verse 33, I have said these things to you. This is the foundation of everything I've been speaking to you. That in me you may have peace. In the world you will have

tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world. Here is the Mount Everest of the pa passage. This is the pinnacle that will change your life. This is the summit. You cannot get any higher. This is Jesus final words before he goes into prayer and gets betrayed. But he tells us before you get the promise, you you have to you have to climb up the mountain. This is the teachings of Jesus. You have to know his word to to fulfill his word. So I want to break this down as we better understand this. Let's first look at the purpose. Jesus says, "I have said these things to you that." So, we now have a purpose for all of Jesus teaching. Why

did he teach us in parables? Why did he speak to us God's word? Why did he say the things he said? The purpose is that you would do something with it. That this would not just be a book that just sits on your shelf. It would not just be a a placeholder on your table for your coffee. This is not just be some book you bring to church with you. These things are said that this is the purpose of this book that you would have something to stand on when when there's a war happening on the outside. You would actually have a foundation to build your life upon because Jesus says in Matthew 7, those who hear my words and and does them, the one that does the words of Jesus is like the one that builds his life on a rock.

And when storms come, the wind and the rain comes, you're not going to just collapse. But there are some people, Jesus warns us, they look like church folks. They call themselves Christians. They they've heard the words of Jesus, but they don't do anything with it. He says, "You're like building your house on the sand, and there there's no foundation." See, Jesus wants you to know, he does not want you just to wander in this life. He doesn't want you to wonder what does God want from me? He does want does not want you to wake up and just live your life by accident. He has said these things that you may not always feel it, you may not always see it, but in the moment you want to scatter, in the moment that you want to run, in the moment that you feel like God is not there, you need to keep coming back to the teachings of Jesus.

You need to know that these words are true and hold fast to them during the difficult days. That when you have pain, this is not the end of your story. There is a purpose. And the purpose, Jesus said, is I have said these things to you that, and here's the promise. In me, you may have peace. Not by going to church, you have peace. Not by being a good person, do you have peace. Not by being religious. Do you have peace? This is actually found in the Pauline epistles. The letters that Paul writes, he constantly comes back to in Christ. In Christ. In Christ. You want to know where power comes from? In Christ. You want to know where shalom, which means the perfect peace of God, comes from in Jesus. Not around Jesus.

Not near Jesus. Not if you go get your life together and quit messing up. Nope. It's in Jesus. Peace is not found in having the answers to all of your questions. Peace is not found in you controlling the outcomes of your life. Peace is not found in the absence of problems. Peace is found in Jesus. If you just remember a few chapters earlier in John 14 27, Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you." Aren't you glad he left it and we don't have to go get it? He says, "My peace I give to you." There's no greater giver than God. None. When you give, you're just reflecting the God that gives to you.

For God so loved the world, he gave. And Jesus now says, "My peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you." You see, the world says that peace is the absence of conflict. And if you're not careful, you will conclude that that's what peace is in your life. That if you don't have any financial distress or relational distress or or or emotional or health issues in your life, you'll think that that is the measurement of peace. But Jesus says, "I don't give as the world gives." The world thinks that you can legislate peace, that somehow we're going to bring peace in the Middle East. But Jesus says, "Listen, I'm going to come again and you ought to look. There will be wars and rumors of wars and wars they do happen because of the absence of peace. In fact in the book of

revelation we read that God will actually give a reality through his judgment and take away peace and what will be the result? War. But Jesus says you can actually have a peace not like the world gives. Which in the words of of Paul he says this is a peace that surpasses understanding. Your parents may not get it. A counselor may not get it. You cannot legislate this peace. Your world could be falling apart and in your heart you can have peace. Amen. Jesus said in John 14:27, he says, "Because of this, let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." Implying that you have something to be afraid of, but you have a courage inside of you because of who is inside of you. That peace is not based upon uh the absence of trouble. pieces based upon the presence of Jesus in you. We call

that the spirit of Jesus. One God and three persons. The father, the son, and the holy spirit. Not three gods, one God. And by believing in Jesus, you have his peace inside of you. It's the person of God. God is not somewhere, but God is in you. In Isaiah 9, some 700 years before Jesus was born, this scripture is often attributed to Christmas for it points forward to the promised Messiah. We're told, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given." God has given us the Messiah. The government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, mighty God, everlasting father. Say the last one with me. Prince of peace. The Messiah will actually be the king of peace. The

prince of peace. He he will actually embody the person of who he is. Will be the prince of peace. So peace is not when life calms down. I'll have peace. Peace is not when everything is okay. I'll have peace. Peace is allowing the person of Jesus to re in my heart that now I produce out of me who God is. the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace. It's who God is. In Colossians 3:15, it's worded this way. And let the peace of Christ, so let the peace of Jesus rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body. You were called to experience this and be thankful. We learned last week, this is God's will for you. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of

God in Christ Jesus for you. And now we're told that the peace of God should should rule in your heart. Now, how do you let the peace of Christ rule in your heart? Well, you know, this word actually is not translated well in the English. That word rule is better translated literally in English as umpire. Let the peace of Jesus umpire in your heart. Let the peace of Jesus decide the actual decision that you're going to make in your life is going to be by the peace of Jesus. You see, if you don't let the peace of Jesus umpire in your heart, here's what will happen. When stress comes, stress will be the umpire and says, "Go ahead and be worried, be anxious, be filled with fear." Because you didn't let the peace rule in your heart and say, "Don't worry, God is greater. He's going to use this." If you don't let the peace umpire in your heart, what will happen is when you're hurt by somebody, you'll hold on to that offense

and say, "I have the right to hold on to that offense. They hurt me. I'm going to hurt them back." and you'll hold on to that and harbor anger and bitterness because now you're letting offense rule in your heart. But there is someone that needs to rule in your heart and his name is Jesus. He is the prince of peace. And when he umpires in your heart, the devil's going to try to lie to you. But you could say, "Strike. I'm not letting you come into my heart. I'm not going to let you get any glory. You're not going to make a base on this one devil. No. I've got the peace of Jesus who umpires in my heart that no matter what I'm faced with on the outside, I let the peace rule and umpire on the inside. So the the purpose of Jesus teaching, he said all these things to you that the promise is in me you may have peace.

This is the promise of Jesus. In me you have may have peace. Here's the reality. In the world you will have tribulation. You just tell your neighbor gently, you will. You will. You Hey, you will, girl. You will. You will. You will. This is the reality. Have you ever noticed in life we want to escape reality? I did a celebration of life just yesterday. And I was talking to some of our team here at Journey. And maybe you've heard me say this before, but I'd rather do a celebration of life than a wedding. Uh, and I tell you why. Because when you do a funeral, a celebration of life, it's a reality. Death is inevitable. People show up and you know they're grieving

at a wedding. Come on, somebody. There's a lot of fake it to make it going on. You got families who aren't getting along. You got a couple who's got this fantasy that we're going to live happily ever after and I promise to do this to you and I vow to do this to you and they just cry and look each other in the eyes and I as an officient the pastor I just want to be like this is a lie. I want to quote Jesus. In your marriage, you will have tribulation. This is the reality. There's no fantasy that anyone escapes this. Why do we not talk more about this in church? Because if we speak about the reality, we're going to understand the purpose. Keep coming back to Jesus teaching.

Amen. Then we understand the promise. We can have peace. And our tribulation is not the end of our story. It's just the promise and the reality that Jesus said these things will happen. So we will face loss. We will face fears. We will face disappointments. We will have spiritual attacks. We will have unanswered questions. We will have seasons that just stretch us to our limits. But that does not mean God is against us. Jesus does not lie to his disciples. He does not promise an easy Christianity. This is not a casual faith. He actually promises that you you actually will have troubles. So somewhere we've lost this fantasy that if I got Jesus, it's all going to be easy. But you got to understand this life is just a journey. You're not in heaven yet.

We want God's will to be done on earth as in heaven, but this is a broken world. You've got financial pressures. You're going to get doctor's diagnosis. You're going to get opposition from a real enemy. You will have heartaches from people that you loved. You will have headaches. And I'm sure the list can go on. But the reality is Jesus is not trying to scare you that you'll have tribulation. He is preparing you. Because if you're unprepared, you won't know what to do when tribulations come. Have you ever been in that place? Oh, now I get it, Jesus. I got it. And then all of a sudden, I build my life upon the sand. And when my world starts to fall apart, I'm not doing what Jesus told me to do. Tribulation is promised, but I've got a purpose. I've said these things to you. I've got the promise that in me you may have peace.

I've got the reality in the world you will have tribulation. But there's also something else Jesus does. He commands you. Take heart. He commands you. This is not a suggestion. This is not a theory. This is a declaration of courage. Take heart. In the original Greek, it literally means to take courage in your soul. It means you're going to war and you're not going to be a pansy. You're a soldier. You walk into the war. You know who you are. So, you have to declare to your own soul because there's no greater preacher in your life than you. And you got to preach back to yourself what Jesus taught you to say, which is take heart.

Have courage. I know there's a dark storm ahead. I know you're going against an enemy. I know that you're uncertain and you don't feel it and you don't see it, but you still can believe in your heart that God is greater than what you're going through. Take heart. And the reason you take heart, and we conclude with this today, I have overcome the world. This is the universe shaking announcement. This is where hell pees their pants. Come on, somebody. This is where we have an overcomer that does not say, "I might overcome the world. Maybe I'll overcome the world. I hope I make it through this whole cross thing. No, Jesus, look at the tense here. Before he went to the cross, he already knew that there was going to be victory. He already knew he accomplished the work

that needed to be done. He who was without sin took our sin and he declares, "I have overcome the world." No matter what you go through, you can declare right now, "I've got victory in Jesus." He spoke it in advance. So, it's time to start taking him at his word. You cannot, you will not, you should not, you cannot fight for victory. You can't fight for victory. You already have it. If you are in Christ, you have peace. You fight from victory. I have it inside of me. So, so I'm no longer trying to get something. It's in me. When you understand this as a child of God, I

have peace because no matter what happens on the outside, my God is greater. I can take heart because I have the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace who lives inside of me. So I say whatever I'm going through, God is greater. This is the heartbeat for his people. The last words he leaves for the disciples is, "Take heart. I've overcome the world." That when it looks like it's over, oh it's not over. Take heart. I have overcome the world. If you want to know what to do when everything else is collapsing, Ephesians 6 says, "Stand." And when you've done everything you can do, you can still stand firm. This is war. You've got the truth of Jesus. You've got the salvation of Jesus, the righteousness of Jesus.

You've got the peace of Jesus. That where you go, peace goes. Your feet are fitted with this. It's good news. The outcome of the cross was never in doubt. Even when no one else believed it, Jesus spoke it forth before it ever happened. You can trust today that the power of God could never be threatened. I will stand before you vulnerably right now and tell you there are times that I wonder, is God going to pull through? But God's word says there is nothing that's so great that God cannot overcome it. Satan has been defeated. So everything that has come to destroy you, sin, the shame of your past, sickness,

even hell itself cannot prevail against Jesus. So what that means for you is you have the understanding that peace is probable because you possess the person Jesus in your life. That's all you need. This is the same peace that we offer to the person in Uganda. This is the same peace that's all over the Middle East. And this is the same peace in Asia as it is in Europe Europe. And it could be yours today. And I'm here to tell you, you do not get this by you working harder. If you're burdened, God's not saying, "I need you to bear that burden a little bit more. If if you've got fear that just feels like it's tightening the grip of your life. If you got finances that are keeping you up all night," God is not saying, "I want you to try to overcome the world. I need you to try a

little bit harder." This text we learn and we say it all the time. It's all about Jesus. You got to remember it's all about Jesus. He did not say, "Oh, take heart and try harder." He said, "Take heart. Keep coming back to me. Keep trusting me. Keep coming to my teachings. Keep coming to who I am." I want to conclude with this and invite the worship team back up here. And it's a question that's proposed that all of us will ask at some point. Who shall separate us from the love of God? Because there will come a moment in your life that you'll question, does God really love me? If he loves me, would he let me suffer? If he loves me, would he let that happen to me? Whatever that is. And the question in Romans 8:35 is, who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Could your tribulation separate you? What about distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword? Even if you died, are you going to be separate from God? And and the question here cannot be answered in the right context unless you know the teachings of Jesus I have said these things to you that and when you have that in me in Christ you may have peace and the question is answered in verse 37 definitively it cannot be changed no nothing can separate you from the love of Jesus in all these things it doesn't matter if there's tribulations or trials or troubles We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

If you are in Jesus, you have victory today. If you are in Jesus, you are more than a conqueror. If you are in Jesus, you now live your life from victory. 1 John 5:4, the author is the same as this book about Jesus. And he's writing a letter, and he says, "For everyone has been born of God." That means you've believed in Jesus. You're now born again. You've overcome the world. So what Jesus did, it's yours. And this is the victory that has overcome the world. Where's this victory found? Our faith. It's where your faith is placed. It's your faith that saves you because it's [music] Jesus. It's your faith that heals you because of Jesus. It's your faith that will get you through this because of Jesus. You have victory.

But today, you need to believe in Jesus to get that victory. He's done it for you. He's overcome the world. And maybe you're here today and you don't have that peace. And if that's you in your heart, you don't have that peace. I want to give you an invitation. [music] Not for another day, not for a better day, but the Bible says this is yours today if you want it. Today is the day of salvation. To all those who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, you will be saved. this is your opportunity and this your this is your moment. Just with all the eyes closed right now, I'm just going to ask if that's you and you say, "Yes, I want that [music] piece of Jesus. I'm tired of doing it on my own. I I need Jesus to help me." If that's you, would you just raise your hand high and leave it up?

This is your day of salvation. This is your day of reckoning with God, saying, "I want forgiveness of my sins. I want the hope of heaven. I want the peace that surpasses all understanding." If that's you, put your hand high. I want to see who it is today. You You're not lost. Praise God. Yes, I [music] see you. Praise God. Yes, the Lord sees you. He loves you. He's never stopped loving you ever. This is just the beginning of greater things. You've got victory in Jesus. You're so loved. Anyone else? Just raise your hand. Keep it high. We want to give you your next steps. You've just joined a great big family. We may not be perfect, but we've got a faithful God. Anybody else today? just where you are. Yes. Praise God. I see you. God sees you.

He says, "From this day forward, keep following me. You're meant to be a warrior." Praise be to God. Anyone else? Well, I want to pray with you a really simple prayer. So many hands all over the auditorium. I'm seeing changed lives. Men who've been doing it on their own. You can rest now with confidence. You don't have to try hard or God's with you. He's got you. A man of God isn't someone who has to do it on his own. A man of God keeps coming back to Jesus. So today, I want everyone who's believed in Jesus, just say this with me. Jesus, I surrender. I trust you. I trust you. I receive your peace. Forgive me of my sins. I receive the Holy Spirit. I have your power. I will live from victory. In Jesus name. In Jesus name.

Everyone shout amen. Amen. And amen. Amen. Come on, let's give God some praise. Hey, that sounds more like a golf clap. Let's make it sound like heaven today. Hallelujah. Praise God.