Skills for Living Well in the New Year – Week 8

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Men and women in this room who have known trouble. There any men and women in this room who've known pain? Can we be real today? Church Is there anyone who is known loss and grief? Is there anyone who is known hurt? Are there any men and women in this room are thankful that we have a God who overcomes. Are there any of us who are who are thankful that we have a God who is a God of victory? And then even when trouble comes, we have a God who is the stronghold of our life. Are there any men and women who are grateful that we have a God who helps us be more than conquerors through Christ who loves us? I am so thankful that we have a God who uses the broken, who uses the grief string stricken who uses and strengthens those of us who are His. I am thankful that we have a God and his name is Jesus. I have the privilege and the honor of being able to be up here and closing out this awesome series that my dad Doc has started. Have you guys been enjoying it? The Psalms 37. I am a girl who likes practical. I'm a girl who likes. I want to take it away and I want to try it. And these sermons, they've been that for me. And so we're going to close it in the same way we started. And I am going to be using the ideas from Craig Groeschel in his new book, the First Service. I said hurting your healed mind. Welcome to church. Let me leave you worse than when you came. That is not the titles. Heal your hurting mind. And his ideas will be all over this sermon. And I want to give him credit. Psalms 37 says this. 39 and 40 says, the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. He is their stronghold in times of trouble. The Lord helps them and he delivers them. He delivers them from the wicked and he saves them because they take refuge in him. Let's pray. God, there is no one like you. You are everything. You are our stronghold. You are our protection. You are our healer and our helper and our provider. You are our deliver. We don't want to come to church to hear a sermon and check it off the list. We want to come to church to encounter you and you alone. So my prayer is less of me and more of you. My prayer is that we will learn that you are our stronghold, that you are our strengthener. And I pray, Father, that we do leave better than we came because we were touched by you. Let your spirit be alive in your church. In your son's name we pray. Amen. It's Been a. It's been a. It's been a weird season because it's been a tough season. Like 20, 26 has been a tough season for the church. We've lost a lot of people. We've lost of a lot loved and were friends. And we're reorganizing, and there are just things that haven't been easy. And as I was looking at these scriptures, I thought to myself, God is so good, because I only like to really preach sermons that have touched me first. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, I feel like the most effective speakers are those who believe what they're saying because they've felt it, they've experienced it. And when I was looking at this verse that the Lord is the stronghold in times of trouble, I'd ask myself, okay, what is the stronghold? What is a stronghold? And we have a definition, because I want to all be on the same page when we talk about this, because there's kind of two different ways of looking at a stronghold. And this one, it has a military idea. It's this place of safety. You see, David was a warrior long before he was a king. And he understood that in war that there were these buildings that would be stronghold. They would be fortified, they'd be thick walls that you could not penetrate. And these warriors, they'd run to this place in times of thickness. Safety were in times of, excuse me, trouble, when they needed safety. And so when we're thinking of this word, David, we know this is a poem, and he's using these poetic images. So what is he trying to show us? And he's trying to give us clarity that God is a stronghold, he's a place of safety, he is a fortress, and he's a fortified defense. And Craig Groeschel has this quote, because if you know it or not, you are a leader. You are leading people. And if nothing else, you better be leading yourself well. And Craig o', Shelitz, he says it like this. Great leadership isn't measured when conditions are ideal. It's proven when you're under pressure and the path forward isn't clear. What separates great leaders from extraordinary ones is the ability to build mental strength. It's the ability to build mental strength that allows you to lead well in chaos. Does anyone want to lead well in chaos? I didn't even look at my phone this morning because there are some times and some things that I don't want to even see the news. There's enough trouble in my world, in my sphere. I don't want to even look and see it. And today I was like, your girl is on a divine mission. And we are not going to be distracted by the troubles, and instead we're going to focus on that God is our stronghold. The problem is there's another way of looking at a stronghold. And it's the things that we run to that have a hold on us. Can we be real? They're the things like the doom scrolling. Come on, somebody. I am not the only one that does it. I want to numb out. And I scroll and I scroll and I scroll. It's things like, I'm going to not take the blame for things that have happened to me and I'm going to put the blame on someone else. Come on, somebody. It's the stronghold of alcohol. And I'm just gonna have one more drink and one more because that one didn't quite work. And now I'm starting to feel good, so mama's gonna take one more. There are strongholds in our life, and we go to them, and we go to them, and we go to them. But if we're honest, we're stuck. If we're honest, we're not moving forward in the way that we were created to move. And I think when we look at our life and we look at God being a stronghold in times of troubles, I want to look at the life of David because he is a man who speaking about things he knows he's speaking about times of trouble because he was chosen by God in a very special way. And he was chosen to be king and he was anointed to be king. But the problem was it was trouble after trouble after trouble. The problem was he wasn't becoming king. He was being chased by the king and he was in hiding. And it had gone on so long that he finally was like, you know what? I'm just going to go over to the Philistine territory and I'm going to hang out there until Saul forgets about me. It was so bad. He went to be with the enemy to hide. He went to be with the enemy for protection. Church. I'm afraid we can do the same things. We can lock ourselves in places that we are not meant to be in. And the Bible tells us that he was not even wanted by the enemy. The enemy was like, this guy is going to be fighting for his people on our side, and then we're going to be surrounded. Get this guy out of here. And after war, fight battle. David and his men are on their way home. This is easily going to be a look into the worst day of his life. They were on their way home, and I imagine they see smoke in the distance. And I imagine all they wanted to do was come home to their women. You know what I'm saying? Church. Come on. One. Amen. Okay, thank you. Men. My husband didn't even say Amen. First service. I couldn't believe it. All I could imagine was they've been off to war and they want a shower and they want a good meal and they want the comfort of their wives and they want to see their kids. And they're longing for it. It's what's getting them moving forward. It's just like, just get me home. Have you had those travel days? Just get me home. Just get me home. Just get me home. And we see in First Samuel, Starting at verse three. And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength. Sometimes the things that take us out are the things we never saw coming. Sometimes the thing that hurt the most are the things that we just. We did not expect. We didn't. It wasn't on the book, you know, it wasn't on the plan for life. And they get there, and their wives and their sons and their daughters, they're taken. Their homes are burned. That's a bad day. And it says these men wept until they had nothing left. Church, these men were the baddest, okay? They were like this disgruntled crew. And these men, you did not want to see them coming if you were in battle, because they were tough. They were men and they wept until they had nothing left. Now, I don't know if there's anyone like me in this room, but I get emotional up here. But in life, I am like a shover, a stuffer. I feel the emotions. Someone will say something mean and I shove it. Someone will be rude and I shove it deep. Anybody? Church, I'm going to need some help preaching today. Okay? Your girl has a sermon in her soul. Give me some amens. Anybody out there? Okay. There are times in my life where I should be calling my family and being like, hey, I need help. But I never pick up the phone. There are times when I am in desperate need of my mom's prayer and I do it on my own. And these men, they're in the season of the worst day and they have no strength left. There are no roll away lines in the Scripture. And when we see some of these things, we need to stop and we need to pause and we need to ask ourselves, why is that in there? I think the reality of our life is we are made with God sized emotions. We are made with joy and we're made with sorrow, and we're made with happiness and we're made with anger and we're made with feelings and emotions. And the truth is that our emotions, yes, they can be real, but they are not permanent. You hear me? Our emotions, they can be valid, but our emotions don't get the final say. Okay? So in this, what happens is they felt it and they released it. In our life, the more we shove, the more we cover, the more we push it down. I have learned that I'm way too old for that. Because it comes out. One way or the other, it comes out and what happens is I'm faking my way through life. And on the inside there's turmoil on the inside, there's angst on the inside, there's stress on the inside there's anxiety. But you see me and I'm like, hey, good morning. God bless you. Have a great week, everybody. And on the inside I'm like. And I think there is a reality that to be healthy souls, we have to be real about our emotions. To be healthy souls, we have to release and we have to feel. But they do not get the final say. Okay? I don't want my emotions to drive me in every relationship. I don't want my emotions to drive as a leader in this church. I want the love and the strength and the beauty and the dignity of Jesus Christ within me. I want the spirit of God alive and well within me. And I want to look at this story because it's a bad day, but it only gets worse. Church isn't that life. Sometimes it's the big thing that knocks us out. But my friends and I, we say a death by a thousand cuts because it's compound. It's not one death, it's multiple. It's not one mean person, it's multiple. It's not one hard problem to solve. It's multiple. And I'm going to bed at night and I'm just everything swirling in my head. And if I'm honest, I do seek God with all my heart. And see, this is what happened. These men in verse six. Can we pull it up? First Samuel 30, verse six. And David was greatly distressed. He named it. He was distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him because all the people were bitter in soul Each for his sons and his daughters. Now, when I was studying this, I want to teach you how I said it, because someone came to me after service, and they're like, I don't know how you do that. So I just. Some of you will know, some of you won't. But I was thinking about this bitterness, and what I realized is bitterness isn't just how you're born. Bitterness is a way of thinking that happens over time. And I think it's so gradual, and it's such a thought life and such a process in your head that you don't even know it's happening. And one day you wake up and you're bitter in the soul. And this says it's because of their sons and their daughters and their wives. But if you go to 1st Samuel 22, verse 2, let's look at what it says. So we're going eight chapters ahead before this. You with me? Okay. And everyone who was in distress and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in the soul, they gathered to him, him being David. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about 4, 400 men. These 400 men that were with him and their wives and their kids had been taken. They had come to him before, and they gathered to him. And look at how they described these men. Bitter. You hear me? It was a way of life for them. This didn't just happen because one hard circumstance. They'd been practicing this their whole lives and their whole lives. They're playing the same melody, they're playing the same tune, they're playing the same sorrow, they're playing the same victim, they're playing the same grief, they're paying the same hurt. And some of it might have been very valid. My daughter Tay and I were. She's at, like, the tail end of her school, college, and she's struggling. And it's like every day it's just like, end goal, baby, graduation. End goal, baby, graduation. End goal, graduation. And so she texted me one morning. It was like this surprise snowstorm, and her school's like, the only school that didn't get called off. And she doesn't have four wheel drive. And she got to the school and she's like, I need a peace prayer, Mom. My anxiety's high. I'm struggling. This, this, and this happened compound, you know? And so I type up a prayer that only a mother that loves Jesus could type up. You know what I'm saying? And all day I'm whispering this prayer, and I'm whispering this prayer. But I had struggles, too. And Tay and I, our first line of offense is Jesus. But our problem is, it sounded like this. Jesus, you are our strength and our sound, our stronghold. Father, that person said this. Why would they say that? Jesus, I need peace. They are. They just don't understand. If they could understand the full picture of what was really going on, then they would know. But, God, I need you. You see, I'm going to God. I'm asking for the right things. I'm doing the right things. But my problem is my brain is ruminating on the hard. So I'm saying, father, strengthen me. But my brain is like, I feel sorry for you. Brain's like, they're jerks. And my brain is. My heart is saying one thing, but my practice, my rhythm, it's keeping me stuck. Can we be honest, Church? Like, this is a reality. We are human beings, and some of us do this better. I'm better at being negative and going there, probably, than some of you. And some of us do it worse. But here's the thing. We are all humans, and we will all struggle with negativity. And that's why there are stories in Scripture that show us that if we aren't careful, there will be bitterness of the soul. And we see this in this group of men. But can we look to see David in verse 6? These men, they were bitter. They wanted to pass the blame. They wanted to stone him because he was the problem. But David strengthened himself. Lord, I forgot. I was gonna teach you. In your Bibles, there is footnotes and there's little places where you'll see maybe a little letter or a little number. So when I was reading this verse six, when it got to the men were distressed, there was a little number. And I went down to that little number and it said, Compare chapter 22, verse 2. And so I went back and I saw, oh, gosh, these men have been bitter their whole life. So when you're studying Scripture and you don't know how to go to other scriptures to see this, if you have a good Bible, it will often have footnotes. It'll have little connectors or scriptures. And read them. Because what happens is you see bigger pictures that you didn't see before, and you can start putting some things together. Sometimes, I'm not gonna lie, I'm like, I don't see the connection. But oftentimes I see the connection. And I'm like, wait. Okay, side note. But David strengthened himself in the Lord. Let's look at Psalms 27, verse 1. This is David Speaking the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? You see, in this scripture that we're studying together in chapter 37, he says that God is a stronghold in times of trouble. But David had a different pattern. His heart and brain wasn't one of bitterness. His pattern was one of God is the stronghold, not just in times of trouble, but of times in my entire life. God is the structure that my life is built on. God is the center that I am going to. God is my God in times of good and bad. And he learns that it's not just when times are in trouble. I had a young girl come up to me, and she was like, sarah, life's good and things are good. But then it gets hard. And I'm asking God, where are you? And I'm like, babe, have you been seeking him this whole time? Or just when trouble hit? And she's like, well, when trouble hit. And I said, we do that because it's easy and we can control and we can do things on our own. And then it gets too much and we can't. And then we're left saying, God, where were you? But God is the stronghold church. He is the place of safety. And it's not something just to go to in times of trouble. It's something we build the whole structure of our life, the whole structure, structure of our family, the whole structure of our church. This is He. He is a God who is faithful. He is a God who is even in the hardest times of our life. He is present and he is near. And. And David is. He's seeking him and he strengthens himself. And we don't know how he strengthened himself, but we know he had a rhythm and a habit of God being the stronghold of his life. So I want to pull up Psalms 103, and I want to read it together. Because part of me wonders, could this be what he did to strengthen himself? Because this is something we see him do quite often. He's talking to himself and he says, bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is in me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and not forget. Forget not all his benefits. Who redeems, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases. I'm doing a terrible job of reading this church. Start over. This is David. He's talking to himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul and [00:26:01] Speaker B: all that is within me. [00:26:02] Speaker A: Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits. Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good, so that your youth is renewed like eagles? Was he reminding himself, God, I worship you. The word Lord. Here. Lord, you are my stronghold. Lord, it's all caps. Which means. It's Yahweh, which means it's personal. It is the personal name of God. Lord, you are my God. Who is close. I can see him getting away from all the noise of the men. It's a negativity fast, okay? You hear me, Church? The negativity fast that he got away from the loud. We get away from the loud. We get away from. From the things that are negative. It's your spouse. I'll pray extra hard for you, okay? But listen, it's a negativity fast. You turn off the noise you don't need. And he blesses the Lord with all his heart. I wonder if he's thinking to himself, God, when I was young and all my brothers were called, but I was not. And I was a shepherd in that field. You called me when no one else did. It was you who anointed my head with oil. It was you who said I would be king. It was you who chose me. I wonder if he reminded himself when the lions and the bears came. It was you who gave me strength to tear them apart. When Goliath stood and he defied the name of the Lord God Almighty. It was you, Father, who strengthened me, who gave me the skill and the precision to take down the giant. It is you who have gave me victory. I see him rehearsing in his mind who God was in his life. I see him fortifying himself and saying, you are my stronghold. If you did it, then you will do it. Now I see him strengthening himself and seeking God and remembering who God is. It didn't stop there, though. If we go down just a little bit from Psalms 103. It's 103. 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious. He's slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. But it doesn't stop there. Look at Psalm 86. David says, but you, O Lord, you are a God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Let's look at Psalms 145. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. It's like David is repeating a mantra. It's like David is coming up with something strong and fortifying. But the question is, did he come with it up by himself? And the answer is no. Because a long time before David was a man named Moses. And in Exodus we see these words, the Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Just like David claimed the words from thousands of years before his life, or however many years it was. He memorized scripture, he read it, he read the words of Moses, and he claimed it all over his life. Part of strengthening is sometimes we don't have the right words. And we need words of truth that fortify us. We need words of truth that remind us who God is. We need words that can strengthen our heart. I had it this week. I was just feeling it, man. I was feeling lonely. And I just. I was whispering to God, I just, I need you. And a Bible verse came to my mind. For this. I know that God is for you. For this. I know that God is for you. And I made it personal. God is for me. God is for me. And I strengthened myself with one little line. I don't know if I have a learning disability. I don't know. When I was a little girl, I couldn't memorize anything. I had tutors who would, like, Say it, Sarah, let's do. And they would make me do a beat to memorize something. And it just, like, great hearts, awesome. It just didn't work for me. I know 30% of any song, any words in a song at any given time, and they don't go in order. So memorizing is not a strong suit. But it's something I'm taking on because I want the word of God to pop in my heart and mind. I don't want my tape to play. I'm sick of her. Any amens? I want the word of Jesus Christ. I want the word of Yahweh, my personal God to fortify. And so I'm not good at this, but I take little chunks earlier in Psalms 37, it said, Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. It's little. I can digest it. My word is delight this year. And so I will delight myself in the Lord. When it's hard, I will delight myself in the Lord, because all my truest desires are wrapped up in him anyways. The truest, most beautiful part of my Heart and mind and soul. It's wrapped up in him. And I'll say things like, sarah, you don't live in your insecurity. You are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you. Sometimes I don't even remember the verse. I just remember the ideas. And so there's verses. His mercies are new every morning. And then it goes on. And it's beautiful. And it's like my mom and I thought, it's lamentations. It's like a place you wouldn't think you would find something good. And you're just, boom, so good. And his mercies are new every morning. And then it says something, something, something. So therefore, I will hope in him. The Lord is my portion, says my soul. So therefore I will hope in him. He is who I'm hoping in. It's nothing else. There's nothing else. That is the stronghold of my life. That is worth it. There is one. When we get to a point in our life when maybe we don't have the strength, you're like, sister, that's good. And I'm glad you have the energy. And I'm glad you took your inhaler before church today. But sometimes there is a pain that knocks your breath away. Sometimes there is a reality of life that you didn't expect or that you never wanted. And I've had seasons of my life where I love these ideas, but they wouldn't come. I've had seasons of my life where I didn't have it in me to know the scripture. I've had seasons where all I could do is whisper one name. Jesus. Jesus, I need you. There's been times in my life where there were no words. There was no comfort. There was no phone call that would fix it. But there was one who never left. And all I could do was say his name. Jesus. I was listening to the creator of the song we're about to play because I want you to hear it. I want you to know that we don't have to have the words, that God is the stronghold of our life when we don't. When we have them, and when we don't, he is the stronghold that we just have to call one name, and it is the name of Jesus, and he strengthens us. The creator of this song. She said when she was a little girl, she would have so much fear at night and she'd run into her mom and dad's room. But she got too old and she couldn't keep running into her mom and dad's room. And she said, So I would. I would lay in this fear and I would just say the name of Jesus. And she said, that's when I learned it had power. It's a name unlike any other name. Church it is a name above every other name. It is a name with power, with authority. It is a name with dignity and strength. It is a name with power and healing and love and dignity and honor. The good things. And we do not have to have the right words. We don't have to know everything. We just have to long for him above everything else. We have to say his name. We have to stay connected. We have to stay rooted and strengthened in Him. We get one life. We get one. And in this life, things will take us out. They'll take us out at the knees. But there is a stronghold, there is a helper, there is a deliverer. And his name is Jesus. As we sing this song, I want you to just say his name. I want you to think about the dark spots. Because here's what the Bible tells us. In him is light and in him there is no darkness. So when, when I am struggling, when I'm broke, when the darkness has overcome, I say and I claim the name of Jesus because he is light and we need the light to break through the dark. And he is the only way. Because he is the way, the truth and the life. Church and so as we sit here, don't sit passively, think on his name. Think about the strongholds that you've gone that have not worked and surrender and claim the name of Jesus. [00:38:10] Speaker B: I could sing your name for all my life and still find more love each time. Jesus, be the name ever on my lips. Sweeter every time that I call on you. This is something about your name. There is something about your name. There's just something about your name that makes me cry holy. There is no other name. I know there is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus. Your worthy you have been the friend who never left power forgive your faith faithfulness. Jesus, be the name ever on my lips sweeter every time that I call on. There's just something about your name. Is there something about your name? Is there something about your name that makes me crown me? There is no other name I love. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus. You're worthy, you are, you are, You're worthy. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. The one the darkness can deny the resurrection and the light. Jesus, Jesus. Your name Satan your name can make the storm be still, you never fail, you never will. Jesus, Jesus. The bread of life broken for us who did end the word the first and last and soon to come Jesus. Jesus, the king who overwhelmed the great the Lord who will forever the name of all other names. Jesus. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name that gives all the glory. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name. Name. Oh Jesus be the name. It gives all the glory. Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name that gives all the glory. Jesus. Jesus be the name. Name. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name that gives all the glory. Jesus. Your name can save your name can he? Your name can make the storm be still, you never fail, you never will. Jesus, Jesus, the king who overwhel the Lord who will forever reign and name above all of the names. Jesus. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name who gives all the glory. Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name that gives all the glory. Oh Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name. [00:44:01] Speaker A: I have a granddaughter and she's 2 years old. And she is heaven and spunk and so bad. And she has this thing. She loves music. Go figure her mama. And she. She'll say, I have like a playlist. And it's just. It's like Sunny song. And it's Papa's song and it's Mommy's song and it's Uncle Chrishy song, Uncle Mar's song. She combined my son Uncle Chrishy and his fiance Mar. And so it's Uncle Mar. And so we play these songs. But I was preparing for this sermon and I was singing this song and we were together and I said, sonny wants to show you Selah's song. And I put this song on and I said, this is Selah's song. [00:44:57] Speaker B: And. [00:44:57] Speaker A: And we sang it. I said, wait, Selah, it builds. It gets good. It starts slow, but it gets good. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. And we sang it together and I said, my daughter has a little Pentecostal in her and she. And she, like you maybe have seen her up here with the girl worships. So when it like got to that crescendo of Jesus be the name, she's fake singing in her microphone and she. And she's holding her hand and she's singing Jesus be the name. And Lex was in here one day working in the back And Selah owns the church, so she was up here naturally. And she was just about to get on the drums, and Lex saw her mouth moving and she was talking. She said, I'm so sorry. I think she's singing Jesus Be the Name. And in person, perfect tempo, she was singing Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. I wanted to teach her that there is one name that we go to, that there are strongholds in our life. But I wanted her to know that Jesus is the love of our wife. And we will proclaim his name over the hurting. We will proclaim his name in our mind. We will proclaim his name where we go. I wanted her to know it. And she sang it from her heart, because I believe that she saw and believes me. And when we lead and we love in the kind of place that is saying, I believe it first, our. Our kids are going to follow, our friends are going to see it, our spouses or partners are going to know it. And I think one of the problems of life is we're trying to fight this fight on our own. One of the problems of life is in my power. I'm going to power through and I'm going to. I'm going to do the right things for my body and I'm going to work out and I'm going to sauna and I'm going to cold plunge and I'm going to sit, say these things. But there's a brokenness in our soul. There's a. There's a brokenness that needs saving. There. There is a spirit within us crying out that there's more to this life and we need Jesus. There's some of you who are listening online. There's some of you in this room, you're trying to do the mantras, you're trying to do the right thing, but it is your soul that is aching. And there's no day like today to give your life, life to Jesus Christ. There is no day, no time like now, to say, he is worth it. And I am sick of doing it on my own. Maybe some of you are like me, and you've given your life, your heart, your everything to Him. But you just need reminding day after day that he is good, that he is for you, that he loves you, and that he gave his life for you. So that no death can separate us. Nothing in all creation will separate us because of his love for you, church for me. And so I want to close today a little different. I want to. I want to Sing one more time. Jesus be the name. Just one short verse says, If you've never given your life to Christ, we're doing it today. If you've never said yes to being his. I want you to close your eyes and I want you to claim the name of Jesus. I am going to say a prayer and I just ask that you echo it. Dear Heavenly Father, we are messed up people. And I've tried to do life alone for too long. But I am in need of a savior. I admit that I've messed up, but I believe. And where I lack belief, Father, help our unbelief. Help me to surrender my life to you. Not just in times of trouble, but be the stronghold of my life. Help me to center my life around you and surrender what I think is best and cling to you, Father, Know my heart, know my thoughts and help me. Help me be my help. Be my deliverer. Thank you that you are a God of salvation. Thank you that you are a God that loves us and never leaves us and never forsakes us, even when we get it wrong. I pray a special prayer of strength for every person in this room who has given their life to you, Father. Fortify them, strengthen them. Help them to memorize scripture. Help them to get rid of the bitterness. Help them to think thoughts of you. Help them to stay connected. Help them just to whisper your name, Father, because you are there. And help us live differently. Heal our hurting mind, heal the broken soul. And help us to give our lives to you because you are so worthy. In your son's mighty name we pray. Amen.