Love Like Jesus: Grace for a Troubled Heart

Well, this week I was in Portland uh for a conference and I was with over 1500 ministers from around the world and uh Pastor Leanne and Pastor Kara joined me and uh we we were really encouraged to hear what God's doing all over the world. Revival is happening. It's not just in this house. It's happening and not just in America. I mean, if you really want to see what God's doing, you've got to look to the other nations right now, places like Asia and on the continent of Africa. And I'm so blessed and grateful that we get get to be alive for such a time as this. We are alive for such a time as this. And it was interesting being in Portland because that's the largest city in our state and it's a place of contention right now. Our President Donald Trump is saying, "Hey, Portland, this city needs some federal assistance." And then our governor Tina Kotek is over here saying,

"No, no, no. We don't need your assistance." So you've got Governor Cotch over here saying, "This is a serene city." and and she's she's painting the picture with videos going down the street. And may I just say Portland does have some beautiful places. I mean, some beautiful places, some beautiful homes. You want to go to Lake Auego and see how the other people live. I mean, just there are some beautiful places in Portland. But while we were there, I can just testify to why this is a place of contention because there is some really messy things there. I I mean, some really bad things happening. I mean there there there's an ex exuberant amount of homeless. I'm not just talking like some homeless. You you will see them on the sidewalks right in front of homes. You will see tent cities. And I'm not talking about some pockets of places. I'm talking about all

over the place. You you will see not only so many homeless, but you will actually see people strung out on drugs. I saw one park bench where someone was just they they were leaning over their their legs and it was a young adult man and and it was clear that something happened and and and you look and say, "Have you overdosed?" And and I would just say it's not just in Portland. Uh our our Growth Track host today was sharing during the prayer time on the way into church today, he saw a box and he looked down and it was it was a Narcam. It was uh just an open box of Narcam that you give to someone when they've overdosed. And so he's like, "Right here in our own city, it's happening." And then it wasn't just the homeless and it wasn't just the drug use that we saw. There are strip clubs all over Portland. And it wasn't just strip clubs all over. Like I was actually

shocked. You know, we've got these coffee kiosks everywhere in Portland. It's bikini baristas. And so you've got girls who are scantly clad making and selling coffee. And it it just it was breaking my heart what was going on in this city. And then what really got me, this is the lynch pin of why I'm sharing this with you, is one night we're going to church and we're a half mile from the church and there's this strip club, but the strip club is in a house and it's not even like a big house. It's a little house. So, you've got to actually assume something more is happening than just strippers in there. And it just bothered me. But right on the corner, my wife and I saw these two prostitutes and and they were scantly clad. It was clear what they were doing. They were soliciting on the street corners. and and my wife was even stunned and said, "Are they allowed to do that?" And I said, "Well, at this point, they're not breaking laws, you know, and I I've known someone who was

actually in Portland who was a a a large hedge fund guy who actually got caught soliciting a prostitute that happened to be a cop. So, it is illegal uh to do prostitution in our state, but as long as you you get get away with it undercover, it happens." And so I'm watching these girls who are about the age of my girls on the corner soliciting and and what could happen. And what's crazy ironic is right above their heads is a billboard a billboard promoting uh the knowledge of human trafficking. Be aware of human trafficking right there. And and we're witnessing all this stuff and it's like there's a reason the president wants to get involved in this city. Meanwhile, the mayor of Portland is completely ignoring the issue, saying there is no

problems. The governor is saying there is no problem. The president saying, "Well, we need to get the the federal government involved." And before you leave, because you think I'm talking about politics, I actually want to give you the solution. And the solution is not the government, it's God. Yes. And and and I I want to just say particularly to the younger generation, Gen Z and the alphas and the younger generation that it's not time for us to complain about places like Portland or to criticize it. It's time for us to start praying and prophesying. It's time for us to start seeing there is a problem and this is not up to the government to fix because you cannot legislate morality. you you you cannot come in and and the president's concerned with protests and riots and those are very real and he's trying to keep people safe. But let me just tell you the real transformation will happen

is when the church rises up and does something and what I mean by that is Paul warns us that in the last days there will be a form of godliness without power. What he's talking about is there will be people that go to church and then you can see around that city where the church is and there's no change. That's not the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus stepped into our mess. Consider this. God Almighty became a man. That's pretty messy. He stepped into a sinful world and he did what no other man has done before. He lived a sinless life. And he who was without sin, Jesus. He took our sin on the cross, not so that we would keep living the

same way and keep perpetuating the same problem, but that we would see our God brings the dead to life. He makes the old and he makes them new. So I came here to tell you today that Central Oregon's not just going to be saved, but the state of Oregon is going to be saved. I declare in Jesus' name, I prophesy that the city of Portland will no longer be known as a mess, but it'll be known as a place of restoration, redemption, and we will see revival come out of the state of Oregon. And it can start here in our hearts. We cannot just continue to go to church. We've got to be a praying church. We've got to get in the word of God, not on Sundays. You got to get into this book every day. You've got to consume it.

You've got to let this be the lamp into your feet. Because if you don't have this book in your heart, you won't understand what I'm saying today. And I know you're here for a reason today. And God's going to give you a revelation of his living word. That the Lord wants us to see what he sees. You know, there are there are at least eight pot shops on the same street that our church is on. At least eight that I'm aware of. At least eight on Third Street. I thought for a while that we were the only church. And then this morning I decided to look at Google Maps. There's five other churches on Third Street. Five other churches. One is a Catholic church and one is a Spanish-sp speakaking church. And then there's three other Englishspeaking evangelical churches on Third Street. Listen. Listen. Third Street does not need to be known for pot shops.

I I don't mean to condemn anyone who's And I realize pot shops isn't the appropriate word if you're going to look it up. It's a cannabis dispensary. When I was a kid, they called it pot or smoking weed. Yeah. And it's legal in our state. And people take it to sleep. They take it to relax. They take it to to help their their lives to to to enjoy life. But let me just tell you what the city of Ben needs is Jesus. And what I want us to be famous for is not all of our breweries and not the pot shops, not not even the beauty of creation, but the creator himself. And and the only way that's going to happen is if you believe it and you take God so seriously, you start praying when you

drive down the street and you pray for revival. Let me tell you, I got here a little earlier today to to pray for you and to pray over this place. And I've been praying over this property. I've been praying for every person that would step on this property that people would be headed to Goodwill, but they just get hit with the Holy Spirit. As I walked by Ashley's today, it it struck me that right next door to us is a is a lottery joint where you can get a drink and and play lottery, which is a tax on the poor, which the government oversees. By the way, I just say the problems in this world should not be left up to the government. I, by the way, I respect our our government. I respect our government leaders. I I I honor them and it's hard work. But what I'm saying is we've got to do things that only God can do. and he restores heart. He gives hope. He's a living God. And as I I walk by Ashley's today, there's a sign that says, "No

minors allowed." I'm like, "Isn't that just ironic that right next to a place where we have hundreds and hundreds of minors coming here and get revived in their souls, that there's a God that no matter what their parents are going through, getting divorced or going through depression, that this is a safe space for minors to come in and find hope. So, I just ask you, would you join me in praying for revival? Would you would you join me that Central Oregon shall be saved? I know for some of you, you think I'm crazy and I get excited and I yell and it's a little too much for you. But let me just tell you, in our generation, we need to rise up. And I I don't want to just be a criticizing Governor Cotch. I don't want to just be like, "Oh, I'm for this person or for that person." I want us to

take God at his word and start speaking these things, things that aren't as though they are. and we will get to see it. Uh I don't know. Has anybody ever just wanted to to leave and flee because things are so dark here? Come on, somebody. Uh like six of us are getting on us. Maybe seven. Let's go. Let's All right. So, six, seven. All right. So, I'll just say this for those of us who are getting real right now. That's because this is a very dark place and we need the light to come in and just completely wreck the devil's plans. And the devil's plans are to steal, kill, and destroy. Leave people in depression. leave people in their addiction. Suicide is rampant in our state, even in our own city. So, it's time for us to start praying against the devil's lies, his strongholds, to start believing people will be set free from

addiction. They'll be set free from their depression. They will be set free from suicidal thoughts, and they'll live their purpose, their plan, their destiny, that God made them in his image. But we have to you, you got to be unashamed of this. You got to believe this. I tell you, you go to these clubs and in the bathrooms, they they'll promote it. The uh is is it called Narcam? Is that what it's called? Yeah, Narcam. They'll tell you where it is unashamedly. It's under the sink. It's in the kitchen. Because there are so many overdoses right now that even the world is stalking this, saying this is normal. This is not normal. This is not normal. It's not okay. Last thing I'll say, and then we're getting into God's word. Last night is at dinner and I get a news flash on my phone that there was another

mass shooting at a homecoming football game in Mississippi. And at the time of the news uh alert, it said six dead at homecoming. And my 16-year-old daughter said at the table, "New fear unleashed. I can't even go to a football game." Wow. A 16-year-old child in our country has to say, "I could go to a football game." and there's a mass shooting because mass shootings are at malls, at churches, at football games, at government agencies. Never let this be normal. No, never. We have to start fighting the fight. And lest you not know the word of God, this is not against flesh and blood. I'm not against Governor Cotch. I want her

saved. Uh this is not against the mayor of Portland or the mayor of of Ben Melanie. I want her saved. This is not against our president or any other person. This is for our nation. This is for this generation. This is for you today to know that there's hope and you can have it in Jesus. He's alive today. If you want him, he's yours. So join with me right now that we're going to pray for revival. Here's how it happens. 2 Chronicles 7:14, God is speaking on behalf of a rebellious generation. He says, "Here's how you get healing. Here's how you get revival. If my people, God says, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from

their wicked ways, then God says, I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and I will heal their land. So today, we just want to passionately pursue God. We want a desperation of humility. Say, God, our state needs you. We want to confess it. We want to recognize it. We want to turn from our wicked ways. Today, if you're addicted, it could be the last day you're known as an addict in your heart. Today, if you're depressed, today you could leave with a new living hope in your heart. Today, if your marriage is completely broken, we just sang about a miracle working God. Today, if you're single and you're struggling, come on, somebody. You just got to pray and the Lord's going to heal you. And not only does he heal you, he'll heal the land. And the state of Oregon is beautiful. And the

devil, he's a thief and he wants to steal what God created and he wants to destroy it. But Jesus came to give life and life abundantly. So I'm just taking back organ right now. It's ours in Jesus name. So pray out loud with me right now. Might be new or foreign or strange for you. Just pray for revival out loud right now. Let's just join it together. Lord, today we come before you in the name of Jesus Christ and we ask God that you turn things around in our own city, in the city of Portland, and in our state. We're asking for revival in Jesus' name. Why would you not do it if we're asking for it, Lord? So, we're asking in our day and in our time for you to do what looks impossible. Turn things around. Let the media, let them now have new news, God, that revival is coming out of this state. That Oregon would no longer be known for liberal laws. Oregon would no longer be known for the mess of Portland. But let us be

known for you, Jesus Christ. Let us be known for a movement of the Holy Spirit. Oh, Father, I ask that you draw people to you. draw the hearts of fathers to their children. Oh God, I'm asking for real revival. Lord, I'm asking for a generation that will be revived in schools. I'm asking for nursing homes to be revived with revival. I'm asking, God, that our homes in this state would be filled with more of you. Oh God, this is possible. So we thank you for hearing our prayers in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Shout amen. Amen. Thank you, Andrea, so much. Hey, if you brought a Bible, I want you to get out, wave it in the air like you care. I don't have much time, so we're going to dive right in. On the count of three, just shout word with me. One, two, three. Word. We're getting into God's word. So, God word gets into us. Would you stand for the reading of God's word? We're going to finish

chapter 13 and get right into chapter 14. If you're just joining us, we're looking at the life of Jesus in the book of John. We find ourselves in chapter 13, starting with verse 36. Today, let me read you the text and then we'll better understand it. Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I'm going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward." Peter said to him,"Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you've denied me three times. Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, Jesus

says, I will come again and I will take you to myself that where I am, you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, this will be the last verse we look at today. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. I want to just set the scene to make sure that we all understand what's happening here. This is the last day of Jesus life. Literally the last hours of his life. Jesus is preparing to go to the cross. He's a man on mission. He's just washed the feet of his disciples.

This is the position of the lowliest servant to wash the feet. Jesus washed their feet and says, "What I've done for you, you now go do to one another." Now, he wasn't just talking about washing feet. He's talking about serving one another. Getting down into the dirty places, loving one another, just as we see, he said last week in John 13:35. But right in the midst of this, Jesus warns them that there is a betrayer in their midst. There is one that will betray him. Not a single disciple seemed to know who it was. Peter asked John to ask him, "You ask Jesus, who is it?" And Jesus knew exactly who it was. It was none other than Judas, but none of them knew because Jesus loved his betrayer equally. He loved his betrayer as much as he loved the one leaning on him. And he sent Judas out in the darkness of the night. The dark left the light and went

into the darkness of the night. And Jesus told him, "Whatever you're going to do, do quickly." So, here they are. Now, there's 11 of them. They're sitting around the table. And we take Jesus at his word that he's got a message for us because John notes in chapter 13:1, he loved them to the end. So, he loved Judas to the end. He loved Peter to the end. And Jesus is explaining the days ahead. And as he's explaining these things, Simon Peter is simply confused. And he said, 'Lord, where are you going?' Where where are you going? And Jesus answered him, where I'm going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow me afterward. Jesus is speaking about his ascension into heaven. Not only is he going to die on the cross and be buried, but on the third day, he will defeat death. He will raise from the grave, but it's not going to stop there.

He's going to reveal himself to more than 500 over 40 days and then ascend into heaven. And he's simply saying, I'm I'm going there. And Peter's like, well, where is this? And Peter said, "Lord, why can I not follow you?" Now, he he's he's misunderstanding what Jesus is saying. I will lay down my life for you. I don't know if you're anything like Peter, but I certainly am. Where you overpromise and underdel. It's It's one of the statements I make at every single wedding I've ever officiated. Nothing is easier than saying words and nothing harder than living them day by day. You can tell everybody publicly, "I love this person. I love you to death." Until they actually hurt you. And then all of a sudden, those those words are a lot

more difficult. And Peter's over here strutting stuff. His chest is out. His chin is up. I will lay down my life for you, Jesus. And Jesus answered him, "Will you? Will you, Peter?" Because Jesus knows what he's about to do. And then Jesus, he does not reject Peter, but he does give Peter a reality check. Sometimes reality is really hard to hear. Especially when it's not what you want to hear. Peter's over here professing how strong he is. Jesus, I'll die for you. And she's like, listen, Peter, before the morning comes, you will deny me three times. Now, we know he's not rejecting Peter because this is not the end of his story. So, may I just prophesy over your

life that failure is not the end of your story. In fact, we see with Peter, he is the first one to preach on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes upon the church and 3,000 people get saved. So, I just declare over your life, if you've made some mistakes, failure is not final. Even if you have messed up miserably. In this case, Peter denies Jesus three times. And I'll just tell you, your denial is not your destiny. God has a greater plan. You may have doubted God. You may have cursed God. You may have come in here today saying, "I'm an atheist." But I'll just let you know that's not the end of your story. And sometimes God needs to speak the truth into your life so you understand you're not as strong as you think you are. In this case, Jesus is speaking to Peter, letting all of us know that your limits are simply to allow him to be Lord. I shared this with you last week.

You're a terrible God. You should not put your hope in someone else. You put your hope in a preacher, he'll let you down. You put your hope in a spouse, they'll let you down. You put your hope in your parents, they'll let you down. Now, I'm not trying to be negative towards any particular person. All I'm trying to tell you is Jesus will never let you down. He's the living hope. even when he was in the tomb. I just tell you as an opportunity to trust God that this wasn't the end of his story. He is the resurrection and the life. But when pressure comes, when we are like Peter and we break under pressure, it's like he wrote a a check with his mouth and then his courage just couldn't cash it. Come on, somebody. It's where you say, "I'm going to do this." And then all of a sudden, you're faced with the opportunity and you say at church, "I will never do that sin again." Only to

leave that Sunday afternoon to go back to that place. I will never say that again. And then you find yourself saying it just a few hours later. Come on. Don't leave me hanging. Oh, I'll be strong this time. I got it. I'll do it. And then you fail once again. If Jesus was anything like this world, he would have cancelled Peter right there. I already know the reality, Peter, and you're dead to me. I've left your entire family's fishing business a one-star review and I'm calling all the disciples and I'm letting them know what kind of a man you are not. He didn't do that. Look what he says in the very next verse. Look what he says in the next verse.

Even when he knows we're going to fail, this is what Jesus says. Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. Sometimes we need to hear this that that grace is already speaking before you failed. Don't worry, I'll be there after you failed. That's grace upon grace. I don't just love you when you're good. That's my God. He doesn't love you when you cleaned up your life and you say, "Look at me now, Lord." No. He says, "I know you're going to fail me. And when you fail me and you're troubled, here's what you got to do. Believe. Believe." So, here we have the secret that when your heart's troubled, what do you do? Believe. Someone's got to hear this today. Your failure does not cancel his faithfulness. He's telling you what to do. Look up and believe. Before the rooster crows, come on. He already knows he's going to forgive you.

Before you fell, God already had a word for your future. When you are in trouble, I don't know what kind of trouble you walked in today, but there's a lot of trouble in this room. And and the word of God is speaking to you right now. And and here's the cure to your heart right now. It's believe in Jesus. Believe in a great God that anything is possible. Jesus lifts their eyes even higher. Don't just believe when you're in trouble. Because that sounds a little cliche and oh pastor, but what does that actually mean? Well, Jesus says, "In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have I would have told you that I go to prepare a place for you." Would I have not told you these things if it's not true? and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself that where I am, you may be also. Jesus is going to the cross.

We're already told earlier in the text that he's troubled in his spirit. And where is his thought life? It's on home. May I just say that when you're troubled, you need to turn your heart to home. Unless you're missing the text of what Jesus is saying, and don't worry if you are because even those closest to him miss that moment. They they miss the address to heaven. But here's what Jesus is simply saying here is that this life is not your permanent home. This is just a journey. And the more you think that this is it, the more disappointed you will be in your circumstances, in your finances, in your health, in other people. So Jesus says when you're troubled, you believe in God and you know that he's preparing a really good place for you.

When you shift that perspective, it starts to change everything that I'm not made for this world. I'm made for something greater. So it's no wonder our hearts are troubled when we see homelessness the way it is. No wonder our hearts are troubled when we see drugs the way it is or depression the way it is or kids committing suicide the way they are because we're not made for that. Our heart needs to be on our home. So we at Journey need to recognize, look up. Your redemption is near. This is not the end of your story. Now Jesus is not abandoning them. He's portraying eternal life as a home. Now we've got to understand the context. Everyone shout context. Context matters because we often think in the Western world, I don't know if you've ever heard this, but when you get to heaven, you're going to have a mansion on a hill. You ever heard that before? That's not what Jesus said.

He says you get a room and you might be sharing it with someone and it might be the person you don't like cuz Jesus going to teach you a lesson. Let me just make sure you understand the context. In the ancient Middle East, family was a big deal. And the way it would work in this day, it was a very patriarchal society. Women did not exactly have equality with the men of the day. And so when a couple would get married, the groom's family would add on to the house. In some sense, they would add an apartment to the house. They would add a room to the house. And then once that couple is married and they're going to be together their entire lives, they're going to live with the father. But before they get married, the father's going to prepare a room. He's simply saying, "We're expanding.

We're going to be together. We're going to eat together. We're going to celebrate feasts together." And Jes Jesus likens the fact that listen listen don't worry we're going to be connected again. It's going to be hard right now. But don't worry, we will be connected again and you will have a room. There's room for you and there's room for you. And if you believe in Jesus, there's room for you. So just tell your neighbor there's room for you. There's room for you. There's a place that Jesus is preparing because he's the person that loves you. And there's a promise that one day he's coming back again. I wish the church would talk a little more about this. Jesus is coming again. He came like he said the first time. He's coming like this. He said the second time he promised to return. So long before Arnold said in his early days, I'll be back. Jesus says, "I will

come back again. And when I come back, here's the purpose of Jesus coming." Listen how much he loves you. Look at verse three. Where I am, you may be also. So our faith is not so much about our heavenly home as much as it is about the person and the presence of Lord God Almighty. How great is that that you get to be in the presence of God? This is not just about a destination. Oh, I'm so glad I got saved from hell and now I have heaven. No, I'm so glad I get to be with Jesus someday. And Jesus said in verse four, you know where I'm going, but like Peter, Thomas opens his mouth and says, Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know the way? There are some moments that I'm so certain of things. Earlier this week, I went to my chiropractor and he just had a brand new baby and the baby happened

to be there and I was just thinking about the baby and the baby was there. I said, "What's the baby's name?" And they said, "The baby's name is Noah." And I was like, "Oh, that's a great name for a boy. What a beautiful boy this is. That looks just like a boy." And then I'm getting cracked and I said, "Man, your boy's going to that's a big name to fulfill." And then he says, "Actually, it's a girl. I mean, I I was so certain in the moment. But sometimes we got to recognize that even though you think you know the way, you don't know the way. And Thomas is just honest. I have no clue I'm what we're doing, Jesus. Like, what where are we going again? Like, help. What's the address? Could you just shoot me the address? And Jesus explicitly says, and don't miss this. This is the last verse we're going to leave on today. Jesus gives the most powerful defining statement of who he is. This is exclusive. It's explicit. And this is why it's so important.

This sets us apart from any religion because this is all about relationship. And Jesus said this to Thomas. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. Please note this and use your own critical thinking. Jesus did not say I am a way. I am a truth. I am a life. In fact, he gets so serious that if you take him at his word, he's simply saying for every human being, everything you need is found in him. Everything is found in Jesus Christ. So, so when the world says just find your own path, go with your gut, follow your

heart, when the world says you just got to do what you got to do. You be you and you be you, boo, and I'll be me. And Jesus says, "No, no, no, no. You don't find your own path. I'm the way." You want to know who you really are. You're made in God's image. God has shown you who he is, and his name is Jesus. So, the more you know Jesus, the more you know the way of your life, because the Bible says you're made in the image of God. Oh, this world will say, "Create your own truth." While I was in Portland last week, right on the same street that the church we went to was on, there was a several signs in one particular house's yard that says, "This is a queer nation." Uh, USA is queer and it just just declared that we are queer. And this was the proclamation of this yard. You go a few doors down and there was another house that had an entire altar set up to Satan. Then there was another yard with like another yard sign that

this one didn't say queer nation. It said stop fascism. And then you had another house right next door to that Satan house that said, "Disarm Israel." And you got the whole world trying to tell you what the truth is. Do not find the truth in a yard sign. I don't know if you think you're preaching to the world by putting a yard sign on, but I'm just going to tell you right now, Jesus is the truth. And I'll tell you, the devil's a liar. And it's so easy to get trapped in deception. I've been there many times. I thought I was right just like Peter thought he was right. So, I make no condemnation to those yard signs because there's been many times I've professed things out of my mouth that I've made my own mistakes. But Jesus says we can keep coming back to the truth. And then finally, when death whispers at your doorstep, I would just say this right now. You could take a note of this. Please write this down.

This is so important that you understand this. You will die. I don't know why after so many years of humanity existing, people are still surprised by death. I see this all the time. And as you get older, some people realize they're getting closer to death and then they get even more scared. And Jesus says, "Listen, listen. You do not need to be scared. You do not need to be scared. What he said to Martha was, I am the resurrection, the life. So anyone, and this is this is great news, anyone, everyone who believes in me shall not die but live." Amen. So, so Jesus says, "Here's the cure to death, the cure to Portland going from death to life is Jesus. The cure to this city being saved and central Oregon being saved is Jesus." So, if there's anything lifegiving out of you, you ought to say, "It's not me,

it's Jesus." Somebody ought to know that. Which is why we remind ourselves at Journey all the time, it's all about Jesus. That even when the rooster crows and you're like, I denied him again. You speak to your heart. That's not my destiny. Jesus is. He's my life. So my my failure is not the coffin of my life. No, my failure is just the comma. I need to keep coming back to Jesus. So I declare over my life, even on my worst night, even no matter what I did last night, I don't know what you did last night, but whatever your worst night is, that does not define your whole story. And the Bible says in Revelation 12, that the devil is an accuser. morning and night, he'll try to tell you, "This is who you are. This is who you are. This is who you are." No, you've overcome that accuser by the blood of the lamb, which is Jesus. He died for your sins and the word of your testimony. So, what I want to teach you

today is say it out loud. Say it out loud. That's not who I am. I'm a child of God. I am forgiven. I am born again. I am more than a conqueror. You just remind yourself who you are in Jesus. And you remind yourself Yeah, that's right. Satan, get behind me, somebody. That's right. You you you you you remind yourself who you are and the authority that God gave you. He gave you his authority. Your setback is not the end of your story. It's an opportunity for a great comeback of Jesus Christ. It's the testimony of what he's done all through history. And the devil's trying to deceive this generation. Say what we went through in the pandemic. Oh, let me just tell you, you always got to be worried. You always got to be concerned. We've learned from this and we're not going to we're not going to redo the same things. We're going to simply look and say, "No, God's given us an opportunity to trust in him." And we've learned this throughout the whole book of John. The way up is

down. So, if you've made mistakes or you don't have the answer, you're uncertain of what the answer is. By the way, if you ever don't have an answer to a question about the Bible, the best answer for that is I don't know, but we'll find out. The Bible can be tested in every single way, archaeologically, historically. So, so don't just stop there and be like, "Oh, maybe Maybe we don't have the answer. No, you have every answer right here in this book. So, as we close here, let me just give you five declarations for a troubled heart. Jesus said this, not me. Five declarations for a troubled heart. And you can actually write this down. Or the method today to go quicker would be get out your phone and take a picture of this. All right? So, seriously, I want you to speak this out loud over your life. Speak this out loud over your life. I'm going to go quickly for the sake of time because I want us to have some baptisms today. Five faith declarations for a troubled heart.

Number one, Jesus is my way. Come on, say that with me. Jesus is my way. This is important for you to understand and you have to say it out loud because even if you believe in your heart, sometimes you have to remind yourself of this that I won't wander. I know you think you won't wander, but if more than a million Israelites wandered from Egypt to the promised land, it's easy to wander. And here's how wandering happens. You complain. That's how wandering starts. You criticize leadership. So I I I just start with this today. You want to know the cure to your troubled heart is not a president. It's not a governor and it's not a mayor. Jesus is my way. So I will commit. I won't wander. I learned from the Israelites. Go read Exodus again. I don't want to make that same mistake.

I don't want to wander for 40 years only to figure out that God knew what he was saying. Jesus is my way. I won't wander. Jesus is my truth. Say that with me. Jesus is my truth. I won't be tricked. I'm not as smart as I think I am. And I'm not pretending to be smart, but I will say this. Jesus said, "The devil is a liar. It's his native tongue, and he's been doing it for a very long time, and he's good at it." So Jesus warns over and over about false prophets, about false teachers, about false doctrine. So we've got to recognize that if Jesus warned us of that, we could fall prey to that. So I won't be tricked by a false message that sounds true, but isn't true. As I heard recently, subtlety is the strategy of Satan. so I won't be tricked. Where's your truth found? Jesus is my truth.

Number three, Jesus is my life. Say it with me. Jesus is my life. In Psalm 1, there's there's a contrast between the person that does good and the person that does evil. There's a contrast between the person that gets counsel of the wicked and gets the counsel from God and his word. And the one that goes to God is like a tree that's planted by streams of water. Not just some streams, but this is prophetically a picture of the streams of living water coming out of our lives. And when you are planted by streams of water, Psalm 1 says, "Your leaves don't wither." Meaning there is no fall or winter in your heart because Jesus is my life unashamedly. Jesus is my life. Jesus is my life. Say it with me. Jesus is my life so I won't wither. All right. Number four. Jesus is preparing a place so I won't panic.

There could be more great depressions. There could be more recessions. I don't prophesy that. But there could be some really bad circumstances in your life. And the fact that Jesus is preparing a way for you should remind you that this is not the end of your story. If I could put it a different way, it's not going to last. Everything on this earth will either be stolen, broken down, or a better version is going to come out. But God's making a version that will last forever. So Jesus is preparing a place for me. So when I have a troubled heart, turn turn your heart towards home. You could tell yourself, "Why am I so frustrated right? Why am I so down?" Like the psalmist, you could say, "Put your hope in God." He's preparing a place. And by the way, Jesus does really good things. When he turned water into the wine, it was the best wine.

When he multiplied the five loaves and the two fish, it says the people were satisfied. We know that that came from a poor boy because it was barley loaves and yet the people were satis. When you trust Jesus that he's preparing a place for you, it will be better than you think. And I'm going to read to you scriptures about the end in just a moment. But the streets will be gold. There'll be no storms, no weeds to pull. Come on, somebody. It's a good place he's preparing. So, I got to quit panicking. Quit panicking. Quit panicking. Those suicidal thoughts are lies of the devil. Quit panicking. You're you're going to get through this. Your God's greater than what you're going through. No, don't take your life. It's not the easy way out. You you put your hope in God. Yeah. Number five, praise God. Uh number five, Jesus is coming again.

Jesus come again. When you put that in perspective, it really shifts what you do with your life. We prayed about this on Thursday at Pursuit Night. You should go to Pursuit. It's every Thursday at 6:33 p.m. And every Thursday we pray. And our theme this past Thursday was faithful servant. Meaning we just want to be faithful to God because you don't want Jesus coming back and you're doing something that you regret doing. Come on. He's coming back soon. So start living like it. Living like it. Start loving other people. Start living in his grace. Jesus is coming back soon. So fight the good fight. Run the race that God's got planned for you. Come on friends. He's coming back soon. So, if there's one thing that my heart's going to do leaving this sermon today, it's not going to be troubled.

Can someone just please agree with me on that? Let not your hearts be troubled. The way is a man and his name is Jesus. The truth is a man and his name is Jesus. Life is a man and his name is Jesus. So, I need to ask you today, have you believed in him? Because you come to church doesn't mean that you've believed and surrendered your heart. And I just want to say this church was created for those who are far from God, those who are not attending church. So if you're here today and you find yourself in those shoes, or maybe you're here today and you've just been checking things out, I want to give you an opportunity right now to believe in Jesus. This is your opportunity. And by the way, going to church is not how you get saved. That's not how you get saved. Uh being baptized, as we're going to do in just a moment, is not how you get saved.

Because if you're not saved going into this water, you will not be saved coming out of the water. Right? Jesus is our savior. And I'm going to explain baptism in just a moment. But before we do that, this is your moment that if you want to be saved, here's how you do it. The Bible says this, really simple. Believe in your heart Jesus died on the cross for your sins and confess with your mouth that he rose from the grave. And the reason you've got to confess it with your mouth is you need to be unashamed of Jesus. He loves you so much. So, it's time for you to love him back. So, today, wherever you are in your journey of faith, here's your invitation. You've got to believe it. You've got to believe it. So, in just a moment, I'm going to ask everybody to close your eyes, except for those who want to receive Jesus. I'm going to ask you to open your eyes and raise your hand at me. Everyone else, you're going to close your eyes because this is between that person and God. And today, I just want them to make a their

first step. I want them to make their first moment. So with all eyes closed right now, I want to just ask if you came here today and you know confidently that you want to believe in this Jesus, you want to be forgiven of all your sins. And the moment you confess to God, he's already forgiven every sin. So today, you just need to confess it to him. Today, if you want to change generational patterns of your family, say, "I don't want to live like my my parents or my grandparents. I I I want to live like the way I've been living." Then you need to believe Jesus today. If you're ready for the hope of heaven, you need to believe Jesus. And when you do, the Bible assures you, you actually get God himself, the Holy Spirit. I already see one hand up. Who else wants to raise their hand today? Praise be to God. Yes. Praise God. Praise God. All over, keep your hands up. We're going to get you a booklet. It's going to share your next steps.

Praise God. I'm so proud of you. This is going to change your whole life. It's going to change your life. It's going to change your life. Anybody else today? Just raise your hand right where you are and and wave it at me. I want to see who it is. I want to see who's saying yes today. Praise God. Praise God. Oh, praise God. I see you back there. Amen. Praise be to God. I'm so proud of you. You're never too young to believe in Jesus. You're never too old to believe in Jesus. You've never made such bad mistakes that God won't forgive you. He's a great grace giver. And grace is not just forgiveness. God's going to give you every promise that he's ever spoken in the Bible. It's yours in Jesus. Anybody else right now? Your heart's racing. Your stomach is a little nauseous. That's the Holy Spirit saying, "Come on, it's time for a new life."

It's that's a love feeling in your tummy. Anybody else? Just wave your hand. I want to see who you are. This is the best day ever. The devil just got stomped on by every hand that went up right now. Yeah. He's been working overtime to deceive you, but I'll tell you, God is faithful. He's been chasing you. Praise God. I see that hand back there. Amen. Praise God. I love that. Now, I want you to hear these words and you can put your hands down and I want to read these words with all eyes closed. Now, these are the words of John in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. It is the revelation of Jesus. God gave him a message and he says in Revelation 21, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and the

sea was no more." The sea is a representation of conflict of of death in the middle of the ocean. It's a place of chaos. And so he says, "There'll be no chaos and confusion and death in heaven. And I saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." This is the same language that Jesus uses of heaven. It's like a bride and a groom coming and this place is prepared. God has been preparing this for you. And I heard a loud voice from heaven. The Bible says from the throne, saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God." We do not have a distant God. You have a God that dwells with you.

And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Amen. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." So today, if you've just raised your hand, God is saying over your life, you are a new creation. You're new, not a better version of yourself, a new version. So I want every person that's ever believed in Jesus. Let's join with those praying for the first time. Prayer, my friend, is just talking to God. You can talk in your heart. You could talk out loud. And right now, we're going to do it out loud. God doesn't need you to have the right words. He just needs you to get real with him. So pray all the time, everywhere. Pray these words with me.

Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, you are the way that I need. You are the way I need. You are the truth that I trust. You are the truth that I trust. You are the life I long for. You are the life. Forgive me of my sin. Forgive me. I receive the Holy Spirit. I receive the Holy Spirit. I give you my troubled heart. I receive your perfect peace. I receive your perfect peace in Jesus name. in Jesus name. Amen. That means it's true. It's true. It's true. Hallelujah. It's true. Now, as we get ready for baptisms, we're almost done and I've run out of time, but we're going to do this quickly, but I'll tell you, it'll be a blessing. So, if you can try to remain seated as much as you can, that will be great. Except for those that want to be baptized. Baptism is a representation of Jesus dying, being buried, and then the resurrection coming

up out of the earth. So when a purse goes person goes under the water, it's symbolic of a death, a burial, and a resurrection. Now, you do not need to get baptized to be saved. You get baptized because you're saved. Now, there's always the person that asks, "Well, I was baptized as a baby in the Catholic church or another faith tradition. Do I need to get baptized again?" Well, I tell you, the Bible does not have anywhere where babies get baptized. Baptism is reserved for those who have believed in Jesus. So, if you got baptized as a baby, undoubtedly your parents wanted to do the right things for you. But the Bible instructs us that you need to get baptized because you're saved, because you believe in Jesus. Then there'll be some people here today that say, "Well, I was baptized and I did believe in Jesus, but I keep making mistakes. Maybe I should get baptized

again." You know, the Bible only shows that you get baptized one time, whether you were a child, a teenager, or an adult. Now, if you didn't know what you were doing, you could, of course, get baptized again. If you didn't know what you were doing, you just got wet. But if you've believed in Jesus and you know what he's done for you and you have the hope of heaven, you can get baptized again. But I would just say this, you don't need to keep getting baptized over and over and over again. You know what you need to keep doing? Go to God in prayer. Repent from your sins. Get in the word of God. But today, I know there are people in this room that are adults and maybe some teenagers even that you have believed in Jesus, but you've not been baptized. Now, do you still get to go to heaven? Yes. But I'll tell you, you're living in disobedience. And if you're living in disobedience, you're not getting the full fruit of following Jesus. And today, I want to give you that opportunity. So, one last instruction I'll say. Someone's here

today and say, "I've never been baptized, but I do believe in Jesus, but I'm not prepared. I'm not dressed." Well, I'll warn you in the Bible, it never says that people prepared for a better day to get baptized. They believe and they get baptized. One of the greatest blessings here at Journey is someone that comes in dry and they leave wet. Not because they came prepared, but they're obedient to Jesus. So today, if you want to leave wet, I realize it's cold outside. We'll give you a t-shirt. We'll give you a towel. But I just want to say this. You don't do this because you look good. I mean, if you come out of the water with your mascara running, I think it just makes the Lord's heart happy. Yes. It it's it's just a blessing to say, "I'm following Jesus. I'm not trying to follow the world. He's my way. He's my truth. He's my life." So, to do this

quickly, if you want to get baptized, you just get out of your seat. There's some pastors right over here. Run down here right now. We'll be honored to baptize you before you leave today. Come on, just get out of your seat. If that's you and you want to get baptized, join with me. Just come right over here and we'll make sure that you get baptized. Come on, you can get out of your seat right now. And if at any point you're like, "That's me." Jump out of your seat. run down here and we're going to celebrate. Friends, if you love Jesus and you see someone come out of the water, you better celebrate like, oh, like heaven is real. How about that? So, come on. Let's celebrate with all those getting baptized today. You gave your life for mine. Nailed to the cross.

Crucified all my sin and shame. It was washed by your mercy. You are the treasure I find, my reason for living. So let my life become an offering to the one who is worthy. [Applause] All praise to the Lord most high. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Jesus Christ, high king of heaven, my king forever.

[Music] [Applause] You stole the gate of my heart. The veil in between was torn apart. You hold the keys to the grave. You bring things to life. You roll stones away. All praise to the Lord most high. All praise to the one who saved my All praise to the Lord most high.

All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Jesus Christ, high king of heaven, my king forever. [Music] I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down, my whole life down before you. I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down. My whole life down is for you. I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down. My whole life down before you.

I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down. My whole life down is for you. I live my hands of lay my whole life down. My whole life down before you. I live my hands of lay my whole life down. My whole life now is for you. Oh, praise to the Lord most high. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Jesus Christ, my king of heaven, my king forever.

[Music] All praise to the Lord most high. All praise to the one who saved my life. All praise to Jesus Christ, high king of heaven, my king forever. I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down, my whole life down before you. I lift my hands up. Lay my whole life down. My whole life before you. I lift my hands to lay my whole life down. My whole life down for you.

I lift my hands to blame. My whole life, my whole life now is for you. All praise to the Lord most high. All praise to the one who saved my heart. All praise to Jesus Christ, high king of heaven, my king forever. [Music] High King of heaven, my king forever. [Music]

My king of heaven, my king forever. Well, I tell you that here's the good news of following Jesus is it's wildly unpredictable. It's absolutely awesome and it's worth it. I want to just pray over you as we finish our time together. And if you've got kids, I just ask that you rush over to Journey Kids and grab them and uh as we get ready for a new service. And I'm so honored you came today to to experience the living word of God. If I could just challenge you, get in the word this week. You don't have to wait for tomorrow. You can get in the Bible today and and be a praying person. Let's start believing God's best over every person in our life. even if they're in a mess right now, let's just bring the Messiah into that and say, "Jesus, you're the way. You're the truth. You're

the life they need." So, let's pray together. Lord, I thank you for what you've done today. You get the glory and the honor. Thank you for the changed lives. Thank you for the salvations. Oh, God. Thank you for who you are. You are the way, the truth, and the life. That when our hearts are troubled, I just pray that this would be a church that believes in you and takes you at your word. That even when we failed, it's not final. Thank you for your grace. So Lord, I pray now for your church that they would trust you. They would humble themselves. They would pray, turn from their wicked ways, and we prophesy healing in our land. We ask for just a great awakening. Central Oregon shall be saved. Let there be revival in schools and in homes. This is possible because of who you are, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.

Amen. Amen. Well, God bless you. We'll see you Thursday at Pursuit Night at 6:30 p.m. 6:33 p.m. We'll see you at pursuit night.