The Danger of ‘Almost’: Why Decisions Don’t Save

• The Herod Family Tradition [00:43:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor details the history of Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, and Herod Agrippa to illustrate a legacy of ego, depravity, and self-indulgence.
• Breaking Cycles [00:47:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the Herod family's legacy with the Christian ability to become 'cycle breakers' through humility and surrender to God.
• Paul's Defense [00:47:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor sets the scene for Acts 26, describing Paul's trial before Herod Agrippa II and Festus, highlighting Paul's courage and shrewdness.
• Paul's Defense and Identity [00:48:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines Paul's legal situation before Agrippa and Festus, highlighting Paul's courage and shrewdness in addressing the influential audience.
• Living with Eternal Perspective [00:50:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a t-shirt saying 'live like you'll die tomorrow' to explain Paul's fearless attitude toward life and death due to the resurrection.
• Redemption and Transformation [00:54:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts human repurposing of trash with God's ability to transform broken people, using Paul's history as a persecutor as the primary example.
• The Damascus Road Encounter [00:56:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor details Paul's conversion, explaining the metaphor of 'kicking against the goads' and Jesus' personal call to Saul.
• The Counter-Cultural Gospel [00:59:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses Festus's accusation of insanity, arguing that the gospel sounds crazy to the world but is actually sober truth backed by eyewitnesses.
• Salvation and Surrender [01:02:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor urges the audience to accept God's grace and forgiveness immediately, contrasting Paul's freedom in chains with Agrippa's spiritual bondage.
• Urgency of Faith [01:04:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > Emphasizing that 'today is the day of salvation' and warning against hardening one's heart by delaying response to God's call.
• Personal Testimony [01:05:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > Sharing a story about a friend facing terminal cancer who moved from 'almost' to 'all in' with his faith, illustrating the reality of eternal life.
• Evangelism Strategy [02:10:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > Recapping a previous sermon's 'ABCs' of sharing faith: Assume interest, Build a bridge, and Convert first downs (small steps).
• Mortality and Urgency [02:12:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a BMI/longevity calculator anecdote and Psalm 39 to emphasize that life is brief and only God knows the number of days remaining, urging the congregation to stop delaying spiritual and personal growth.
• The Herod Family Tradition [02:15:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > A historical overview of the Herod dynasty (Herod the Great, Archelaos, Antipas, Agrippa I, and Agrippa II) is provided to illustrate a legacy of ego, depravity, and self-indulgence that Paul addresses in Acts 26.
• Cycle Breaking [02:19:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the Herods' negative legacy with the Christian ability to break generational cycles of sin through humility and surrender to God's leadership.
• Paul's Strategic Witness [02:22:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > Analysis of Paul's defense before Agrippa, highlighting his shrewdness in appealing to the King's ego and his courage in sharing his testimony despite the risk, serving as a model for living without fear of death.
• Redemption and Transformation [02:27:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Jesus makes believers new, turning past liabilities into tools for God's glory, using the metaphor of repurposing trash or fixer-uppers.
• The Conversion of Paul [02:28:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > Retelling Paul's testimony from persecutor to apostle, highlighting the Damascus road encounter and the meaning of 'kicking against the goads.'
• The Danger of Being 'Almost Persuaded' [02:36:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using King Agrippa's response as a warning against delaying obedience to God, urging the congregation to respond to the Holy Spirit's call immediately rather than waiting for a 'convenient day.'
• True Freedom in Christ [02:34:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > Contrasting physical imprisonment with spiritual freedom, illustrating that Paul is 'more free than I've ever been' despite his chains, while Agrippa is 'chained up on the inside.'
• Surrender and Commitment [02:38:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts a life of being 'almost' Christian with being 'all in,' using a personal anecdote about a friend with cancer who moved from hesitation to full commitment.
• Divine Pursuit [02:38:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that God lovingly pursues and speaks to everyone, urging listeners not to ignore the 'quiet voice' inside them.
• Invitation to Salvation [02:40:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor leads a prayer of surrender, inviting the congregation to verbally and spiritually commit their lives to Jesus.

• Sermon Illustration [00:36:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his six grandchildren graduating from various levels (college, high school, preschool, etc.) in one month, noting they are proud but 'broke'.
• Sermon Illustration [00:39:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses sports examples (NBA playoffs, soccer, golf, fishing) to illustrate the common usage of the word 'almost' in everyday life.
• Sermon Illustration [00:40:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts using an online calculator to predict his remaining lifespan (484,654,400 seconds) to emphasize the brevity of life and the reality of mortality.
• Sermon Illustration [00:43:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor tells a story about listening to a Hank Williams Jr. song in Alabama that references his father's tragic death from drug overdose, using it as a transition to discuss the 'family tradition' of the Herods.
• Sermon Illustration [00:51:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts seeing a student on a college campus wearing a yellow shirt that said 'live' on the front and 'die' on the back, with fine print reading 'live like you'll die tomorrow. Die knowing you'll live forever.'
• Sermon Illustration [00:54:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses analogies of people repurposing trash into conversation pieces, fixing up old homes into show places, and restoring old junker cars to illustrate God's power to transform and restore broken people.
• Sermon Illustration [00:57:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the historical instrument of a 'goad' (a sharp stick with a metal tip used to guide oxen) to illustrate Jesus' question to Saul about why he was fighting a futile battle against God's will.
• Sermon Illustration [01:03:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the biblical interaction between Paul and King Agrippa, where Agrippa says 'you almost persuade me to become a Christian' but never follows through, serving as a warning against spiritual procrastination.
• Sermon Illustration [01:05:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about a friend who was a 'picture of health' but was diagnosed with terminal cancer; this friend had previously been 'almost' a Christian but eventually went 'all in' and is now facing death with hope.
• Sermon Illustration [02:11:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses sports analogies, such as a basketball shot that 'almost' went in and soccer games with zero scores, to illustrate the commonality of the word 'almost' in secular life.
• Sermon Illustration [02:13:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor mentions checking an online life expectancy calculator which predicted he had over 485 million seconds left to live, using this to highlight the brevity of life and the need to steward it well.
• Sermon Illustration [02:12:57 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about using an online longevity calculator that predicted he had 485,654,400 seconds left to live, which he uses to illustrate the uncertainty of life and the futility of trusting human predictions over God.
• Sermon Illustration [02:15:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts driving through Alabama and hearing Hank Williams Jr.'s song 'Family Tradition,' using it as a humorous but pointed analogy for the Herod family's inherited legacy of sin, ego, and self-destruction.
• Sermon Illustration [02:23:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes a college student wearing a t-shirt that read 'Live like you'll die tomorrow, die knowing you'll live forever,' using it to summarize Paul's mindset of living with eternal perspective and urgency.
• Sermon Illustration [02:27:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses analogies of repurposing: taking trash from the side of the road to make a conversation piece, transforming an old fixer-upper into a showplace, or fixing an old junker to run like new, to illustrate God's power to restore and transform broken lives.
• Sermon Illustration [02:29:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the agricultural tool 'the goad' (a sharp stick with a metal tip used to guide oxen) to explain the biblical phrase 'kicking against the goads,' illustrating how fighting against God's will is futile and self-harming.
• Sermon Illustration [02:38:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about a friend who was diagnosed with cancer, went through experimental treatments, and eventually entered hospice. This friend, who had been 'almost' a Christian for years, finally committed fully to faith about ten years prior and now faces death with hope, serving as a counter-example to Agrippa's hesitation.
• Sermon Illustration [02:36:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references a hymn written in 1870 based on Herod's response in Acts 26, titled 'Almost Persuaded,' to highlight the tragedy of delaying spiritual commitment.
• Sermon Illustration [02:37:49 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a story about a friend who was diagnosed with cancer, underwent experimental treatments, and moved from being an 'almost' Christian to being 'all in,' ultimately facing death with the hope of meeting Jesus.

• Pastoral Charge [00:41:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > To stop procrastinating spiritual and personal responsibilities and to actively surrender to God's leadership today.
• Pastoral Charge [01:08:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > Bow heads, pray a specific prayer of surrender internally, and raise a hand to publicly signify acceptance of Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge [02:14:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor commands the congregation to verbally repeat a prayer committing to immediate action and repentance rather than procrastination.
• Pastoral Charge [02:38:58 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor urges the congregation to make a definitive commitment to faith immediately rather than delaying or remaining 'almost persuaded'.
• Pastoral Charge [02:34:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor expresses a direct desire for the audience to experience the same spiritual freedom and salvation he possesses.
• Pastoral Charge [02:40:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > Bow heads and recite a specific prayer of surrender and belief in Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge [02:40:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > Raise hand in the air as a public sign of commitment and verbally affirm 'I'm all in'.

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:09:12] Welcome, welcome, welcome to Lake Point Church Online. Hey, we're so excited that you're here joining us this weekend. If we haven't met, my name is Carlos Erazoy, and I get to serve as pastor of Digital Disciples here at Lake Point. And man, right now, we literally have hundreds and hundreds of people joining us as we speak from all the different platforms. You could be joining us from across the street, across Texas, or across the globe, from couch, car, office, hotel rooms, surrounded by friends and family. No matter how you're joining us or where you are right now, whether it's through Live Free, maybe that you
[00:09:42] you heard about lake point social media an inviter just scrolling and we believe that this right here this is not an accident we believe that you are here on purpose and for a purpose and so right now
[00:09:51] would you let us know in the comment section where you are joining us from like in this moment we would love to hear about that go ahead and drop your city state or country in the chat let us know
[00:10:02] if you're joining from maybe if you came because of live free or social media or how you also heard about lake point we'd love to know hey if you are local to this area to the dfw area we want to
[00:10:13] encourage you to come hang out we'd love to help you connect you to one of our eight physical locations eight campuses here an experienced church in person if you're joining from elsewhere in texas across the u.s or internationally again welcome welcome we're so glad that we are able to
[00:10:28] connect as a church and come together and joining as we worship and dive into the word of god we're honor that you're here. We believe that God can meet you wherever you are. We have chat hosts
[00:10:37] right now that are live in the chat, and our prayer team is ready as well. And Pastor Arthur Sal and his team and the Church Online team are excited and looking forward to connect with you
[00:10:46] as well. So go ahead and jump in. Introduce yourself in the chat. Engage and get ready.
[00:10:51] We're about to jump in. I want to encourage you to raise your expectations. We believe that right now you have an opportunity to invite the presence of God wherever you are and change your house into
[00:11:02] a house of worship. And so no matter where you are watching from right now, let's lean in, lift high the name of Jesus. And right now, Lake Point family, would you prepare

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:11:10] your heart as we get ready to worship together? And take a seat. Man, that's awesome. Hey,

[00:16:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:16:42] if you didn't know this yet, this weekend is graduation weekend. Come on, somebody who's excited for that. Man, I love this weekend that we get to celebrate all of the graduating high school seniors. And the reason why we do this is because at Lake Point, we have a firm belief
[00:16:59] that the Lord has a special, unique calling on the next generation, that he wants them to radically follow Jesus and make an eternal impact in all of the places that they're going to go.
[00:17:10] Just before this service, we had the opportunity to stand with these, pray over them, read scripture over them, and remind them of all the ways God has already moved in their life and let them know
[00:17:21] he's going to do it again. In a moment, they're going to stand here before you and they're already preparing and getting ready for the next season of life. And maybe you can think back to that moment.
[00:17:32] You can remember the excitement of what was next after high school for you, but maybe you also remember the nerves, the worries, the anxieties. This is where we get to step into the gap. We get
[00:17:43] to commission them and pray over them and show them, hey, we're behind you, man. We're for you.
[00:17:48] we're going to comfort you when you're feeling low, and we're going to bolster confidence when you need it most. So we're going to do that here in a moment. But before we do, I want to introduce
[00:17:57] them to you. So let's go ahead and meet the graduating class of 2026. Megan Pellegrin. Ian

[00:18:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:18:08] Villicana. Aniston Crowe. Carson Miller. Marissa Livingston. Ruby Lago. Ashlyn Sanders.

[00:18:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:18:28] Braylee De La Sera Evie Masters Bianca Hernandez

[00:18:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:18:39] Cheyenne Clements

[00:18:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:18:43] Matt McGriff

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:18:47] Osvaldo Hernandez

[00:18:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:18:51] Deanna Montgomery

[00:18:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:18:54] Van Lugers

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:18:58] Alexandra Lewis Ruger Spurl Caden Deschamps Cole Neff Dakota Mars

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:19:16] Hayden Cook

[00:19:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:19:19] Rylan Todd Hazel Howe Emily English.

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:19:32] Dean Schwartz.

[00:19:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:19:37] Lodris Valera.

[00:19:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:19:39] Cerritos.

[00:19:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:19:46] Nathaniel Hainer.

[00:19:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:19:50] David Herrera.

[00:19:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:19:54] Adela Aviles.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:19:57] Andrew Stafford.

[00:20:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:20:01] Tristan Harless.

[00:20:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:20:05] Camden Stewart.

[00:20:09] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:20:09] Mason Kiefer.

[00:20:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:20:15] Libby Cheek.

[00:20:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:20:19] Madison Kiefer.

[00:20:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:20:20] Eddie Connor.

[00:20:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:20:27] Kaitlyn Burkhart.
[00:20:33] David Yilitz.

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:20:38] Oh, come on, Lake Point.
[00:20:39] Let's hear it one more time.
[00:20:40] the graduating class of 2026, come on.
[00:20:44] Man, I love it, I love it.
[00:20:52] Well, hey, I'm gonna say something to you guys and then I'm gonna say something to them.
[00:20:55] But as you know, some of you guys, this is your own flesh and blood up here.
[00:20:58] And I know that because I can hear some of the moms like hooting and hollering and getting loud.
[00:21:01] And I love that, that's what my mom did too.
[00:21:04] But for all of us, we need to understand something that Pastor Josh really likes to say.
[00:21:08] I mean, he says it like this, that every family should function like a little church and every church should, it should be like a big family. And so for some of you guys, man, this is your flesh and blood and you feel it. You're all in like, you're going to get loud.
[00:21:23] And it's like, that's my son. That's my daughter. I'm for them. I'm with them. But we all need to understand that this is a big spiritual family. So all of the men and women standing behind me,
[00:21:33] man, like they are sons and daughters of this house. Can we agree to that, man? Can we say that, that this house isn't going to turn its back on these sons and daughters. We love them and we are
[00:21:44] for them. And for you guys, y'all need to understand something as well, because I wish that someone would have told me this when I was in your shoes. You know, there's those moments where you have
[00:21:55] these tiny wins, honestly, big wins, big wins of, man, I got into that school or I got that job or I got this or I got that. You have these moments of wins and you kind of expect everyone around
[00:22:07] you to be like your friends who are like celebrating with you exciting with you and sometimes like you'll you'll run into the living room go to mom and dad like i got into ut or man i got into the
[00:22:18] place that i want to go and mom and dad they're like jumping up and down shouting out with joy and then you look at mom and you're like she's got some tears in her eyes you think well what's
[00:22:27] that about man like didn't we get what we want this is what we want and what's going on you guys i gotta understand this that for for mom and for dad whoever your parental figure is
[00:22:38] they're thinking about this moment and they're excited about it but they're also thinking about the moment they first held you all the way through this moment now where they're letting you go and they're thinking about all of the memories there
[00:22:50] they're thinking about all of the moments all of the highs, the lows all of the laughter and the tears all of the lessons learned and the discipline it took to get there they're thinking about all those things
[00:23:00] and it's all wrapped up into something called a childhood and they feel that slipping away and so you need to know your family loves you.
[00:23:11] And even if you might see some tears or feel some emotions, it's because it's all wrapped up in love.
[00:23:17] And greater than that, man, your church family, all of these people, they love you and they're for you.
[00:23:22] They're behind you.
[00:23:23] They're gonna be the ones that step up and give you the confidence you need or the comfort that you need.
[00:23:27] Is that right, church?
[00:23:28] That we're doing that?
[00:23:31] That's right.
[00:23:34] And you need to know this too.
[00:23:36] That, man, we expect more of you.
[00:23:38] I don't foresee this happening for any single one of you.
[00:23:41] but that if one moment over the next few years, man, we talked about this at United a few weeks ago.
[00:23:48] If you find yourself at the all time low, whether by your own doing or someone else's, you need to know it doesn't matter how far you've gone.
[00:23:57] It doesn't matter how low you may find yourself, that there's a God in heaven who loves you and you have a church family that's ready for you to come home at any time.
[00:24:07] But like I said, man, that's not what we expected.
[00:24:11] Because we know you, We know that you're capable of more than that.
[00:24:15] We believe the opposite and the contrary, that you're gonna do more than we ever did, that you're gonna exceed and reach higher heights than we ever could.
[00:24:22] You're gonna do more for the kingdom of God than we've even scratched the surface of.
[00:24:26] We believe that.
[00:24:28] And so I wanna read this scripture over you from Romans chapter 12, both as a warning and as a challenge.
[00:24:35] It says this in chapter 12, verse two, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God,
[00:24:51] what is good and acceptable and perfect.
[00:24:55] And Pastor Josh likes to add this and he likes to say this a lot too, that this is just commonly known.
[00:25:00] This is commonly seen throughout a lifetime.
[00:25:03] We have to pull out of just the months and the years that are just ahead of us.
[00:25:06] Think about a lifetime.
[00:25:08] This is what you will come to find, that the people who walk in obedience to God, they experience a blessed life.
[00:25:16] And the people who walk in disobedience, they bring on themselves pain.
[00:25:24] We want the blessed life for you.
[00:25:27] We want the life full of the abundance.
[00:25:30] We want the life full of the joy and the peace for you.
[00:25:33] And the way that you achieve that, the way you get that is you walk in obedience.
[00:25:41] So church family, would you mind standing up in extending a hand towards all of our sons and daughters of this house as we prepare to pray over them.
[00:25:51] Heavenly Father, we love you.
[00:25:54] We are grateful for you.
[00:25:56] Lord, we know that you want to do things through these men and women in front of me greater than we have ever seen before, God.
[00:26:03] You wanna move mountains.
[00:26:05] You wanna change policies.
[00:26:06] You wanna do things for the kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:26:12] And so Lord, I pray that you would do it.
[00:26:14] I pray an extra level of favor upon each and every one of them, God, that they would have the gifts that, as you say in Romans 11, are irrevocable, God, the callings that are irrevocable.
[00:26:26] God, would each and every one of them live in their calling from their gift set?
[00:26:31] And would they use them not for their own self-interest, but would they use them instead to glorify and uplift the kingdom of God in a brand new way, in a way that will shake the earth
[00:26:42] and make Jesus' name famous.
[00:26:44] And Lord, I pray if there's a single one of them that ever finds themselves in an all-time low, finds themselves feeling far from God like they've never been before, Lord, would they remember that in Rockwall, Texas,
[00:26:57] there's a church called Lake Point Church that has doors always open.
[00:27:01] It's a house and a home for every single one of them to know they have a place here.
[00:27:06] They're loved here.
[00:27:07] This is where they belong, Lord.
[00:27:09] And so I pray that you would send them out today like flaming arrows into dry brush.
[00:27:14] Wherever they might land, would it be a wildfire of the gospel that spreads.
[00:27:19] So that your name, Jesus, is made famous into the ends of the earth.
[00:27:24] Lord, we believe it and we trust it all to you.
[00:27:27] In your mighty name we pray.
[00:27:28] Amen, amen, amen.
[00:27:30] Church family, let's worship together.

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:27:35] Everybody joining right now.

[00:31:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:31:38] Hey, we're so thankful that you're joining us today.
[00:31:41] can I encourage you right now in this moment, Psalm 92 reminds us that those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish.
[00:31:48] Real, lasting spiritual growth doesn't just happen by accident.
[00:31:52] It happens when your faith is deeply rooted in God's presence and is lived out in an authentic biblical community.
[00:32:00] Here's what you need to know.
[00:32:01] God designed you not just to believe, but to belong.
[00:32:04] And when you stay connected to his people, your faith grows stronger over time.
[00:32:09] And so here's my point.
[00:32:10] church online has been an incredible blessing and we don't take it for granted in fact it gives us an opportunity to reach people across cities states and countries literally all over the world with the gospel but while digital ministry is powerful it's not meant to replace the deeper
[00:32:25] flourishing that happens when believers are planted in an authentic bible believing church and so god calls us not just to consume church but to belong grow and be discipled and so today no matter where you are we want to help you get planning and so if you're not local to dfw we
[00:32:40] would love for you to visit one of our lake point campuses go to lakepoint.church locations to find the nearest one and take your next step into an in-person connect community and we would love to
[00:32:51] meet you go ahead and do that if you live outside the dfw area our heart is still to see you rooted in a healthy church community near you and so we want to help you find a place where your faith can
[00:33:01] flourish through worship discipleship and meaningful relationships as well and if you're joining us internationally thank you so much for being here man it's incredible to see god reach so many different nations and we're so thankful that you're part of this community
[00:33:14] we want to continue walking alongside you however we can and if you have not yet connected with us in the chat this is your time right now go ahead and drop your city state or country let us know
[00:33:24] where you're watching from hey we are passionate about reaching people everywhere and at the same time we care deeply about your personal faith journey as well so don't just tune in lean in and take a meaningful next step today another thing lakewood family by the grace of god we are
[00:33:39] seeing god do amazing things through our digital ministries and here's what you need to know because we are able to hear a life change after life change is a reason we are able to do our online
[00:33:50] ministry is because of your generosity and so one we want to say thank you for your giving and two we would say to give text the word give to two zero four one one again lakeland family let's
[00:34:02] continue to do this together thank you thank you thank you for being a part of this movement as well and now there is more happening in the life of our church so check this out hey lake point

[00:34:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:34:16] gear drop is coming up june 6th and 7th with all new hats shirts and more designed to help you share your faith plus every purchase helps support mission efforts locally and around the world GearDrop is in-person only, and items will go fast,
[00:34:31] so be sure to come early to get everything you want.
[00:34:34] Check out the full line now at lp.events.
[00:34:37] Next weekend, on May 23rd to 24th, we're welcoming guest speaker and friend of Lake Point, Pastor Jonathan J.P. Pakluta.
[00:34:45] J.P. is the lead pastor of Harris Creek in Waco and an author and speaker best known for reaching the next generation of young adults.
[00:34:52] So make plans to be here in person or online, and don't miss this powerful message.
[00:34:58] Parents, Summer Blast is one month away on June 16th through 18th for current kinder through fourth graders.
[00:35:06] This free three-day experience is packed with worship, activities, and Bible stories that your kids will be talking about all summer long.
[00:35:13] Text BLAST to 20411 to register now.
[00:35:17] Lake Point family, we're excited to share that soft opening weekends have officially begun at our new Royce City campus.
[00:35:24] The building is now open and we'd love for you to be a part of the team helping reach Royce City with the love of Jesus.
[00:35:31] Join us this weekend and every weekend leading up to our grand opening in August.
[00:35:37] Text LAUNCH to 20411 to get involved now.
[00:35:40] And high school students, it's not too late to sign up for United Camp.
[00:35:44] Middle school may be full, but there's still time for high schoolers to be a part of one of the most life-changing weeks of the summer.
[00:35:52] Don't wait.
[00:35:52] Text CAMP to 20411 to register now.
[00:35:56] Now, let's dive back into our series, There Is More Endgame.

[00:36:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:36:01] What is up, Lake Point family? Great to see you all this morning.
[00:36:33] Hey, I want to welcome all of our campuses.
[00:36:36] Man, super grateful for you all, as well as those of you that might be joining us online today.
[00:36:40] Super grateful for you too.
[00:36:42] My name is Bro, by the way, and I get to be on the teaching team here, one of the honors and privileges of my life.
[00:36:47] And I want to add my congratulations to all you graduates as well, man.
[00:36:50] super proud of you. Can't wait to see what God does with your lives and the way you're going to flood this world with light. Debbie and I, many of you know, we got 10 grandkids and six of them
[00:37:02] are graduating from something this month. So last weekend, we were down in California for a college graduation. Then the other night, we had two of them on the eighth grade graduation. And then we got a high school graduation this week. Then the next week we got a preschool graduation. They do
[00:37:22] those. And then we got a fifth grade graduation and another high school graduation. So Debbie and I are so proud of them and we're broke. But it's a busy season cheering our kids on, man. We love
[00:37:34] them so much. And we just can't wait to see what God does with them as well. And man, I love y'all too. And so grateful for this church and excited that we get to jump back into Acts 26 today. So
[00:37:46] head over to Acts 26. You got a Bible, if you got an app you use, or we'll throw it on the screens as well. We kind of track along. Now, if you're with us last week, you know that Josh unpacked
[00:37:56] some of Acts 26 last weekend, and he taught us a simple way to share our faith. And he kind of gave it like the ABCs, where the A stands for assume that people are interested. He said,
[00:38:09] don't dismiss people saying, oh man, you know what? They're probably really cold, the whole God thing. Just assume. Assume they're looking for hope because most people are. The B stood for build a bridge. Just try to find some common ground. Maybe it's a hometown or a sports team
[00:38:28] or a favorite restaurant or a distant cousin or whatever. Just build a genuine friendship with them. The C stood for convert first downs. You don't have to score a touchdown. You don't have to quote unquote close the deal. Your conversation might be just like number two in a series of like
[00:38:44] 48 conversations. Just trust the Holy Spirit to keep pursuing them because He will, and He loves them with all of His heart. So if you missed last weekend, you ought to check it out online. I think
[00:38:54] it'd be super helpful to you. I want to take a shot at chapter 26 from another angle, and I want to hang this entire message on this one word, almost. Almost. You know the word almost is used
[00:39:09] a lot in the world of sports. I was watching the NBA playoffs the other night and Luka and the Mavs were, I'm so sorry. It's still too soon for some of you, isn't it? I forgot what team it was,
[00:39:23] but one team was down like by two with a few seconds to go. And some guy heaves a half court shot and it goes in and out and the announcer goes, almost, that almost went in. I'd never
[00:39:34] watched much soccer until my granddaughter started playing, but I learned that whole game is based on almost. Shot on goal, almost. Another shot, almost. Final score, 0-0. Someone almost won. You're playing golf and, oh man, that 50-foot putt, oh, it almost went in. Or you got a huge
[00:39:54] fish on the line. I almost reeled him in. We use the word a lot in conversation. I almost called you. I almost said the exact same thing. I almost went to school there. I almost took that job. I
[00:40:07] almost bought that stock. I almost asked her out. Kids are on a road trip. They ask, are we there yet? And we respond, almost. There's lots of almosts in life. One of the churches I get to
[00:40:20] teach at in Southern California, we're doing a series right now called 30 Days to Live. Like, what if you knew you had 30 days to live? And one of the key verses for that series is Psalm 39,
[00:40:30] which says, Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered how fleeting my life is. And it got me thinking. So I got online and I checked out this
[00:40:44] site where you can enter your date of birth, your height, your weight, your BMI, whether you're a smoker or non-smoker, your outlook on life, et cetera. And they will predict how much time you got left. According to them, I got 484,654,400 seconds left to live my life. And I checked out
[00:41:05] about a month ago. So now I put no stock whatsoever and predicting days and stuff like that. Only God knows a number of seconds I have left. And I'm so grateful that my life is in his hands. And I just
[00:41:18] want to do my best to take care of my body, my mind, my soul, and be a good sewer of the fleeting life that God has given me here. But the truth is, man, I'm dying. You're dying. We're all terminal.
[00:41:31] So here's a little anti-almost kind of prayer that I've been praying lately.
[00:41:37] God, turn my someday into today.
[00:41:41] Let's just say that all of our campuses.
[00:41:43] God, turn my someday into today.
[00:41:46] Let's say that again.
[00:41:48] God, please turn my someday into today because we all got a someday list, right?
[00:41:53] Someday I'll get serious about taking care of my body.
[00:41:56] Someday I'll get serious about building into my marriage.
[00:41:59] someday I'm going to address my drug or alcohol problem. You know, someday I'll probably forgive them. Someday I'll get on a budget. Someday I'll get in a group. Someday I'll jump on a serving team. Hey, I don't know what my someday is going to be. I mean, nothing apart from the unfailing
[00:42:17] love of God is guaranteed to me. I could walk out of here today, get in a car wreck. My plane could go down. I could have a heart attack. I could be diagnosed with cancer, ALS, diabetes, or whatever.
[00:42:29] So I don't know about y'all, but I don't want to almost live. Teach me, oh God, to number my days and help me turn my someday into today. Man, if only this guy Herod in Acts 26 would have prayed
[00:42:46] that kind of prayer. And I don't know, maybe he almost did. Let me explain who this Herod character is. Because like Pastor Josh said last week, that name Herod pops up from time to time
[00:43:00] throughout the New Testament. I was recently driving through Alabama and I was searching for a radio station and I found this old school country station and this song by Hank Williams Jr. Know who he is? Kind of an outlaw persona, a Southern rocker kind of dude. Well, he had a song
[00:43:17] on and his daddy was a legendary country singer who famously dealt with all kinds of alcohol and drug demons. In fact, Hank Sr. tragically OD'd at the age of 29 in the backseat of a Cadillac
[00:43:28] while on a tour through West Virginia.
[00:43:31] So I'm driving through Alabama.
[00:43:32] I'm listening to Hank Jr. singing a song.
[00:43:34] And the song was, folks ask me, Hank, why do you drink?
[00:43:38] Why do you roll smoke?
[00:43:40] Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
[00:43:43] Well, stop and think it over.
[00:43:45] Put yourself in my unique position.
[00:43:48] If I get stoned, I'm just carrying on an old family tradition.
[00:43:54] The Herods, the Herods.
[00:43:57] Yeah, don't encourage that, please.
[00:44:01] The Herods had quite the family tradition that they carried on, starting with Herod the Great.
[00:44:08] He was the Roman appointed king of Judea, super paranoid guy, very materialistic, very power hungry.
[00:44:14] He did all kinds of over-the-top, self-serving construction projects.
[00:44:20] He killed his wife, his quote-unquote favorite wife.
[00:44:25] He killed three of his sons and other family members over conspiracy theories that they were coming for his throne. Most famously, he was the Herod who massacres all the infants under two at the birth of Jesus. Because again, he saw him as a
[00:44:39] threat to his throne. His son, Herod Archelios, ruled Judea after his father, and he was so abusive and so corrupt that Rome had to remove him. You got to be bad for that to happen.
[00:44:52] He's briefly mentioned in Matthew chapter two, and his brutality was one of the reasons Joseph and Mary decided not to come back to Judea with their young family. Then his brother was Herod Antipas, probably the most prominent Herod in the New Testament. He continued to carry on the family
[00:45:09] tradition of ego, depravity, and self-gratification. The historian Josephus says on the way to Rome one time, Herod Antipas stays at his brother Philip's house, sleeps with Philip's wife, Herodias, who just happens to be the granddaughter of Herod the Great. This is so weird. He agrees
[00:45:27] to dump his wife. Herodias dumps his brother and they hook up. And you might remember how John the Baptist speaks into the moral corruption, calls them out, tells them that what they have done to his wife and her husband and his brother was absolutely wrong in the sight of God.
[00:45:41] So to shut him up for a while, Herod Antipas throws John in prison. And then one night at a party, when he's all turned on and tanked up, he has John beheaded at the request of his wife Herodias.
[00:45:54] Then there was Herod Agrippa I.
[00:45:57] He was the grandson of Herod the Great.
[00:46:00] You might remember him back in Acts chapter 12, how he carries on the family tradition by killing one of the apostles, James, the son of Zebedee.
[00:46:08] And when he sees how pleased the religious leaders are with this, he throws Peter in jail, hoping to execute him after Passover was done.
[00:46:15] But an angel of the Lord miraculously rescues Peter from prison.
[00:46:19] Then shortly after, also in Acts chapter 12, Herod is giving this grand flowery speech and the people love it so much that they pump up his ego by saying, man, you're a God.
[00:46:31] And he says, yeah, you're right, I am.
[00:46:36] And as he accepts their praise and worship, the only real God strikes him down and he's eaten by worms and dies.
[00:46:43] And here in Acts 26 is that guy's son, Herod Agrippa II.
[00:46:50] And he shows up on the scene with his sister, Bernice, who most historians suspect was more than his sister, if you know what I'm saying.
[00:46:58] And they are still carrying on the family tradition of ego, depravity, materialism, self-indulgence, and self-importance. Just a real quick note here. You do know, don't you, that at any time you and I can step up with God's help and become a cycle breaker in our family,
[00:47:17] we don't have to carry on the family tradition. We can change the trajectory of our family tree.
[00:47:25] And man, I'm so grateful that a bunch of you here have done that, but man, that takes courage, doesn't it? I mean, it takes self-awareness. It takes a ton of humility, which means we have to
[00:47:33] come down off the throne of our life and surrender to the leadership of God. And man, that's hard for a lot of people to do. It was certainly hard for King Herod. So here's the scene ramping up to Acts
[00:47:45] 26. Our guy, Paul, who is totally innocent, he's awaiting trial. And the location is a palace on the beautiful coast of Caesarea. Josh showed us this last week. One of the opulent construction projects that Herod the Great had built for himself. It's now being used as the headquarters
[00:47:59] for the new Roman governor, a guy named Festus. And Herod Agrippa II and his sister Bernice come up to the coast from Jerusalem for a visit. And while they're there, the Roman governor Festus tells him, hey, man, we got this prisoner here. His name is Paul. Your Jewish religious leaders,
[00:48:18] they want me to execute him. But I told them that the Roman law does not condemn a man without a trial. So I listened to their accusations against him. I'm just telling you, man, it's like nothing.
[00:48:30] Something about their religion and some dead guy named Jesus who this prisoner Paul insists is alive. I don't know exactly how to handle this. I asked him that if he was willing to stand trial
[00:48:43] in Jerusalem, but he declined. And as a Roman citizen, he appealed to his rights to have his case heard before Caesar. But man, in my opinion, he's done nothing wrong. But since he's already appealed to go to Rome and stand before Caesar, like he has to go. But here's the deal. I don't
[00:49:00] even know what to tell Caesar he's being charged with. You want to meet this guy? I mean, he's an interesting dude. And Herod says, yeah, I would love to meet him. And so they arranged for it to
[00:49:11] happen the next day. Well, the next day comes and it says that Agrippa and Bernice show up with all kinds of pomp. I mean, lots of show, military escorts, followed by all kinds of prominent
[00:49:21] officials. So lots of very influential people are in this grand room. They bring the prisoner in and Agrippa, not Festus, says to Paul, you may speak in your defense. And like Pastor Josh said last week, Paul knows the family history of the Herods. He knows their family tradition. He knows
[00:49:42] what they're capable of. So it takes a ton of courage for him to stand there. But Paul is not only courageous, he's also pretty shrewd. He knows that Herod like really likes being in charge.
[00:49:56] He knows that Herod really likes being the center of attention.
[00:50:00] So Paul meets him where he's at and he kind of lays it on.
[00:50:04] Check this out, verse two.
[00:50:06] I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders.
[00:50:15] For I know that you are an expert in all Jewish customs and controversies.
[00:50:22] Now, please listen to me patiently.
[00:50:25] Now, remember, Paul is not trying to convince them to set him free because he's already appealed to Caesar, so he knows he's eventually going to go to Rome.
[00:50:32] But he realizes in this moment, man, I've got a room full of influencers here.
[00:50:37] I've got a room full of leaders and governors and rulers and kings.
[00:50:42] Man, what an opportunity to share my story and the way Jesus Christ has completely changed my life.
[00:50:48] You see, Paul was a guy who didn't almost live.
[00:50:54] He lived like he had 30 days left.
[00:50:57] I may have told you this before, but I was speaking on a college campus one time and I see this student walking toward me.
[00:51:03] He's got a bright yellow shirt on with big black block letters on the front of his shirt that said live.
[00:51:09] Then it has some fine print underneath.
[00:51:11] On the back of the T-shirt, as he walked past me, it said die with fine print underneath.
[00:51:16] I thought, what in the world is that shirt?
[00:51:17] So I made my way back around, tried to get in front of him and see what it said.
[00:51:21] And it said, live like you'll die tomorrow.
[00:51:25] Die knowing you'll live forever.
[00:51:29] And that was Paul.
[00:51:31] That was Paul.
[00:51:32] Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he was not afraid to die.
[00:51:37] And man, if you're not afraid to die, then you're not afraid to live.
[00:51:42] So he sees this as an incredible opportunity to point people to Jesus.
[00:51:47] And he begins to tell a story, beginning with his resume.
[00:51:52] check it out verse 4 as the Jewish leaders are well aware I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem now they don't claim me now but
[00:52:04] but if they would admit it they know they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees the strictest sect of our religion this kind of reminds me you may have seen it before it's over
[00:52:17] in Philippians chapter three, where Paul begins to list all of his very impressive religious credentials. He says something like, man, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews. I was a Pharisee of Pharisees.
[00:52:27] I was a super zealous law keeper. I was a protector of the faith. But now, man, I consider all that rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.
[00:52:39] And then he says to Herod, who knows Jewish religion, he says, your majesty, you know what's incredible here? I'm actually on trial for having hope. Yeah, that's right. I'm on trial for having hope, the same hope that all the prophets have talked about for centuries, the hope that we've
[00:53:00] all been waiting for all these years. I mean, why does it seem mind-blowing that the creator of the solar system and sunsets and DNA can raise someone back to life? And my hope is in him.
[00:53:13] and then Paul, who used to go by his Hebrew name Saul, he goes from his resume to his rap sheet, verse 9. Back in the Saul days, I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose
[00:53:27] the very name of Jesus, the Nazarene. Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priest, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison, and I cast my vote against them.
[00:53:38] Think back to Acts chapter 7 with the stoning of Stephen, when they were condemned to death.
[00:53:43] Many times I had them punished, think tortured, in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus.
[00:53:50] I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.
[00:53:57] Man, that's how passionate I was.
[00:53:59] I was filled with such a self-righteous anger and this deep, deep hatred based on my own perceived superiority.
[00:54:07] I went after them.
[00:54:08] You need a hit on a Jesus follower?
[00:54:10] Better call Saul.
[00:54:12] I'm not proud of this.
[00:54:13] but I did some very, very, very bad misdirected things. And I did it all in the name of God.
[00:54:23] And Paul was able to stand there and honestly say all this because he knew he wasn't defined by his past. He knew that now he was completely new person in Jesus Christ. You see gang,
[00:54:38] Jesus doesn't just make you better. He makes you new and your past is not a liability. It can be an incredibly powerful tool in the hands of a God who redeems all things. Some of y'all are really
[00:54:52] good at repurposing stuff. You find trash on the side of the road, you put it in your car, take it home and turn it into this amazing conversation piece. Or some of you go into old fixer uppers
[00:55:00] and you transform them into show places. Or you get under the hood of an old junker and you get that thing running like new. Some of y'all are really good at that stuff. But as gifted as you
[00:55:11] might be, you can't hold a candle to what God can do. He is really in the restoration. He is really in the transformation and repurposing. Sometimes we think God could never use a guy like me, man. God can never use a woman like me. I mean, if people knew my past, hey, listen to me.
[00:55:30] God uses all of that. He restores broken things. He can make anybody new when he wants to do that with you and then use your unique story to touch the lives of other people. Your past does not
[00:55:45] define you. It just describes you and it highlights the amazing transformative power of the God of grace at work in your life. So Paul lays out his past and then he shares the turning point of his
[00:56:00] life. That's who I used to be. And this is why I'm no longer that guy. Verse 12. One day I was on such a mission to Damascus armed with the authority and commission of the leading priest
[00:56:10] at about noon your majesty as I was on the road a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions and we all fell down and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic
[00:56:23] Saul Saul why are you persecuting me it's useless for you to fight against my will Now again, Paul's Jewish name was Saul, and the repetition of his name here was a way of signaling just how personal and urgent and intimate this conversation is going to be. This is not like
[00:56:44] a generic revelation to everybody on that road. This is Jesus talking directly to Saul like he is the only one on that road. You ever felt like that? You ever felt like you were the only one
[00:56:58] in the room and God was speaking directly to you? That's because he is. And Jesus asking, why are you persecuting me? And Saul slash Paul, he hadn't been personally persecuting Jesus, but Jesus here is identifying with his followers, his church, his body, his family saying, listen,
[00:57:16] man, if you're mistreating them, you're mistreating me. The English standard version puts verse 14 like this. Jesus asked him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It's hard for you to kick against the goads. You ever read that and thought, what the heck does that mean?
[00:57:35] Well, a goad was a sharp stick with a metal tip used to guide oxen. And if an ox would kick against it, it would hurt him more, but he would still be resigned to move in the direction he was
[00:57:46] supposed to go. So Jesus here is saying, Saul, why are you being so stubborn? Why are you fighting a fight that you can't win. It's futile. Give it up. Stop kicking and surrender to me. I want to
[00:58:00] give you a new heart. I want to give you a new passion. I want to give you a new purpose for living. And Paul continues. So I ask, who are you, Lord? And the Lord replied, I'm Jesus,
[00:58:12] the one you're persecuting. And then he says, the resurrected Jesus then told me to tell everybody about him. And he gave me the good news of God's love and God's forgiveness. And he told me that I
[00:58:22] was supposed to bring light to all kinds of people living in all kinds of dark places. And so King Agrippa, I just simply obeyed that vision from heaven. I'm just acting on obedience to God.
[00:58:34] I preached first to those in Damascus, the very city that I'd gone to imprison believers, and then in Jerusalem, and then throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles that all must repent of their sins and turn to God and prove that they have changed with the good things they do.
[00:58:49] Honestly, that's what I was arrested for.
[00:58:53] I was arrested for stirring up hope.
[00:58:56] I was arrested for sharing the good news of God's love for all people.
[00:59:01] They want to kill me for doing what the prophets have said all along, that the Messiah would come and he would suffer and then he would rise from the dead.
[00:59:12] And right in the middle of all this, Festus, the Roman governor, blurts out, Dude, you are crazy.
[00:59:17] too much study has made you insane and you know what the gospel does sound crazy to those who don't understand god's grace man you sound crazy to me a crucified king a risen savior forgiveness for sinners love your enemies more is less and less is more first is
[00:59:42] last and last is first you want to be great then go serve somebody what it does sound crazy it is so counter cultural, so counterintuitive, but Jesus brought it and he taught it and he walked
[00:59:54] it and he backed it all up by rising from the dead. And so here is Paul, this brilliant intellectual saying, I know I might sound crazy, but I'm telling you, this is not a fairy tale. This is true. And
[01:00:07] it was done out in the open in plain sight. There are tons of trustworthy eyewitnesses. In fact, there are many, many witnesses just like me who are willing to die for what they know to be true.
[01:00:17] sirs, this is real history about a real man who taught real truth, performed real miracles, died on a real cross, no longer occupies a real empty tomb and gives real life to people like us.
[01:00:29] All of this, it actually happened. So no, I'm not insane, most excellent Festus. What I'm saying is sober truth. And King Agrippa over here, he knows about these things. I speak boldly for I'm sure that these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner. And then he
[01:00:51] looks straight at King Agrippa and he says, King Agrippa, you believe the prophets? I know you do.
[01:00:58] And Herod cuts him off and says, do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?
[01:01:07] Now, we don't know if he was being sarcastic when he said this. We don't know if he was feeling political pressure from Festus as the two of them are laughing it up over his, Paul, you're crazy
[01:01:18] comment. We don't know if he's saying, you're right. I do know all these things, but I'm not ready to go there with you. And we don't know when he said this, like which words he emphasized.
[01:01:34] Did he say, do you think you can persuade me? Do you think you can persuade me? Do you think you could persuade me? Do you think you could persuade me to become a Christian? Do you think
[01:01:48] you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly? However he said it, Paul comes back with this, whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might
[01:02:04] become the same as I am, except for these chains. Man, I wish you knew Jesus too. I wish you would embrace God's free gift of forgiveness too. I pray that you would find abundant life, eternal
[01:02:16] life, just like I have. I wish that you would accept God's amazing grace. I wish everyone in this room would follow Jesus so that all of you could be free. Oh yeah, I've got these chains right
[01:02:28] here, but make no mistake about it. I've never been more free in all my life. And it says they all stood up to leave and they said to each other, this man hasn't done anything to deserve death or
[01:02:43] prison. Agrippa says to Festus, he could have been set free if he hadn't appealed to Caesar.
[01:02:53] Paul's probably thinking Agrippa could have been set free if he hadn't appealed to his ego.
[01:03:03] One guy chained up on the outside, but free on the inside. Another man free on the outside, but so chained up on the inside. Some translations, older ones have Agrippa's response to Paul is more of a statement than a question. And again, we don't know the tone
[01:03:23] and we don't know the intent, but here comes our word for the day. Verse 28, then Agrippa said to Paul, you almost persuade me to become a Christian. And there's no biblical or historical record that suggests that Herod Agrippa ever became a follower of Jesus. I mean,
[01:03:46] I would hope he did, but likely he became just another almost. Almost persuaded. There's an old, old hymn that was written like 1870 or something like that, based on Herod's response here in Acts 26. It says, almost persuaded now to believe, almost persuaded Christ to receive. Seems now
[01:04:09] some soul to say, go spirit, go thy way, some more convenient day on thee I'll call.
[01:04:16] Have you been there?
[01:04:18] You ever said, man, I was this close.
[01:04:20] I was almost persuaded.
[01:04:22] I heard the call of the Spirit.
[01:04:23] I felt the tug of God.
[01:04:25] Man, I almost leaned in.
[01:04:26] You know, maybe someday.
[01:04:30] The writer of Hebrews says, today is the day you must listen to his voice.
[01:04:35] Don't harden your hearts against him as Israel did when they rebelled.
[01:04:38] You see, when God calls today and we don't respond today, we get a little more set in our ways, a little more comfortable in our dysfunction, a little more stubborn, a little harder on the
[01:04:52] inside. I'm guessing that some of you may have been saying for a while, I'll give my life to Jesus someday. I'll let him forgive my sins someday. I'll humble myself and I'll turn toward God someday. I got time. I'll secure my eternal destination like later on down the road. You know,
[01:05:08] when the time is right, the word of God says, indeed, the right time is now. Today is the day of salvation. And I got to be honest, man, this is hitting really close to me this week
[01:05:24] because I've been texting with a buddy who has been through six different experimental cancer treatments. I mean, this guy was a picture of health, big, strong, healthy, athletic guy.
[01:05:44] Just a great husband, great dad, great friend, great neighbor. And we were texting on Tuesday and he told me he was leaving the hospital to go into hospice care.
[01:05:59] His fight was up.
[01:06:01] He was sad for his family, but really looked forward to meeting Jesus.
[01:06:06] For most of his life, he was an almost kind of guy.
[01:06:13] But about 10 years ago now, he moved from almost to all in.
[01:06:20] And he began to live like he would die tomorrow.
[01:06:26] And right now he's dying, knowing he'll live forever.
[01:06:30] God lovingly pursues and speaks to all of us, please don't be like Agrippa and get up and walk out of here saying, man, I almost, I almost, you know, I almost acknowledged my need for God.
[01:06:49] I was this close. I almost humbled myself. I almost said yes to the Holy Spirit.
[01:06:57] I almost raised my hand and surrender. You know, a couple of weeks ago, I was sitting there watching those like 700 and some odd people get in the pools for baptism. I almost, I almost
[01:07:10] got in the water. You know, maybe someday, God, please turn my someday into today. Some of you, you feel God's pull today. Like right now, you sense that quiet voice inside you saying this is
[01:07:30] true. And this is for you. Don't ignore that. It's not emotion. It's not manipulation. It's not, you know, pressure. It's not hype. It's just the God who created you and longs to do life with you,
[01:07:44] who loves you, speaking to you, calling you home. Because here's the truth. You can sit in church for years and still be almost. Today is the day. Now is the moment to move from almost to all in.
[01:08:03] So I'm going to invite you to bow your heads, all of our campuses right now.
[01:08:07] Right now in this moment, you can say in your own words, from your own heart, Jesus, I surrender I give up thanks for chasing me down I believe you died for me I believe you rose from
[01:08:22] the dead and right now in this moment I'm turning toward you forgive my sin take my life and lead it I am done being almost I surrender my heart and my life to you I'm all in if that's a prayer that
[01:08:47] right now, you're praying with your heart. I'm just going to ask you to just raise your hand in the air. We've got our heads bowed. Eyes are closed. Just raise your hand in the air.
[01:08:54] Let me pray for you. I thank you for those that are moving right now from almost all in.
[01:09:10] Maybe this has been a decision in the making for a long time. Maybe there's been resistance and all kinds of stuff. Maybe there's been shame. Maybe there's been pride. I don't know. I know all that was true for me, but I thank you in this moment, there's surrender happening. Jesus,
[01:09:35] thank you for pursuing us. Thanks for chasing us down. Thanks for not giving up on us.
[01:09:43] Thanks for your amazing grace. Thank you that you went to a cross and died for us and you live forever so we can live forever too. I thank you for all that. And I pray this in your name. Amen.

[01:09:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:09:57] Amen. Amen. Lake Point, can we thank the Lord for that powerful word from Pastor Mike?
[01:10:01] That's so good.
[01:10:05] And man, I just love, like there was hands all across this room accepting Jesus for the very first time.
[01:10:11] And we wanna be your church.
[01:10:13] Like we wanna be the ones to help you move from that almost to all in.
[01:10:17] And the thing that you need to do so that we can do that is just text the word life to 20411.
[01:10:23] Then someone from our team is gonna reach out to you and help make sure you take the next right step in your faith.
[01:10:30] Hey, church family, can we celebrate all our new brothers and sisters in Christ putting their trust in Him for the first time today.
[01:10:35] I mean, that's incredible, incredible.
[01:10:38] And hey, something that we love doing here every single week is we love talking about the different ways your generosity is making an impact both in our community and abroad.
[01:10:47] And I know you've probably heard us talk a lot about our Royce City Campus a lot today, and that's because the Lord is doing an incredible work there.
[01:10:54] I mean, in the last nine months, they've been meeting in a temporary space, and there's been some incredible things happening with multiple sessions of Rooted getting launched.
[01:11:02] There's been life groups that have been formed out of those rooted groups.
[01:11:06] There was even a few weeks ago on baptism weekend, 17 people baptized in one day there.
[01:11:11] But the thing that we want to let you know about that we're celebrating is that they are no longer this weekend meeting in a temporary space.
[01:11:18] Today, for the first time, the soft launch of the Royce City Campus is happening as the doors are open to the new permanent building.
[01:11:25] Come on, man.
[01:11:28] That is so exciting.
[01:11:30] and our celebration isn't for the construction of the building, it's for the pulling together of the people, the people who are ministering to the communities in Royce City so that more people can know Christ, live free
[01:11:43] and change the world for the glory of God.
[01:11:46] And Lake Point, your generosity played a huge part in that.
[01:11:49] So we say, thank you.
[01:11:51] To give today, you can give in one of three ways.
[01:11:53] First, in the buckets as they pass through your rows.
[01:11:56] Second, in the boxes as you leave this room.
[01:11:58] Or third, the best and easiest way is just text the word GIVE to 20411, and that'll take you directly to our giving page.
[01:12:05] Well, y'all, it's been an awesome graduation weekend with all of you, and we want to go out worshiping, so let's stand together to our feet and continue to celebrate all God is doing, both as we give and as we sing.

[01:12:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[01:12:19] Our performance, perfection, will strive for acceptance.

[01:12:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[01:12:32] As we get ready to end today's service, hey, here's one important reminder.

[01:14:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:14:07] If you are here and after today's service and you need prayer, don't hesitate to reach out wherever you're joining us from, whether it's here in the local area, in the DFW area, somewhere across Texas, or maybe another state, or even internationally.
[01:14:21] We want you to know that you are not alone.
[01:14:23] Hey, we would love for you to reach out.
[01:14:25] Go ahead.
[01:14:25] If you're inside the U.S., you can grab your phones right now and text the word prayer to the number 20411, and our team will be standing with you in prayer this week.
[01:14:34] also if you're outside of the U.S. or maybe you got your phone with you or your laptop, you can just go ahead and drop prayer in the chat section as well, wherever you are. Hey, we believe that
[01:14:43] God sees your situation and I just want to remind you that God cares about your heart and as a church family, hey, we care too and we are here to serve you as well. Hey, thank you so much for
[01:14:53] joining us today. We hope you have a great weekend and we will see you next time. Hey, Lake Point family welcome welcome welcome to lake point church online hey we're so excited that you're here joining us this weekend if we haven't met my name is carlos arazo and i get to serve as
[01:39:06] pastor of digital discipleship here at lake point and man right now we literally have hundreds and hundreds of people joining us as we speak from all the different platforms you could be joining us from across the street across texas or across the globe from couch car office hotel room
[01:39:20] surrounded by friends and family no matter how you're joining us or where you are right now whether it's through live free maybe that you heard about lake point social media an inviter just scrolling and we believe that this right here this is not an accident we believe that you are
[01:39:33] here on purpose and for a purpose and so right now would you let us know in the comment section where you are joining us from like in this moment we would love to hear about that go ahead and drop
[01:39:44] your city state or country in the chat let us know if you're joining from maybe if you came because of live free or social media or how you also heard about lake point we'd love to know hey if you are
[01:39:55] local to this area to the dfw area we want to encourage you to come hang out we'd love to help you connect you to one of our eight physical locations eight campuses here an experienced
[01:40:05] church in person if you're joining from elsewhere in texas across the u.s or internationally again welcome welcome we're so glad that we are able to connect as a church and come together and joining as we worship and dive into the word of god we're honored that you're here we believe that god can
[01:40:19] meet you wherever you are we have chat hosts right now that are live in the chat and our prayer team is ready as well and pastor arthur sal and his team and the church online team are excited and
[01:40:29] looking forward to connect with you as well so go ahead and jump in introduce yourself in the chat engage and get ready we're about to jump in i want to encourage you to raise your expectations
[01:40:39] we believe that right now you have an opportunity to invite the presence of god wherever you are and change your house into a house of worship.
[01:40:49] And so no matter where you are watching from right now, let's lean in, lift high the name of Jesus.
[01:40:53] And right now, Lake Point family, would you prepare your heart as we get ready to worship to get there.

[01:46:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:46:28] Graduation weekend.
[01:46:30] Come on, somebody, let's celebrate that.
[01:46:32] And we get to honor and celebrate and commission all of the graduating high school seniors from our student ministry and from this house.
[01:46:41] Hey, if you didn't know, this is what we believe at Lake Point, that the Lord has a special calling on the next generation for them to radically follow Jesus and to make an eternal impact
[01:46:50] in all of the places that they're gonna be.
[01:46:53] We got the opportunity to be before the service here, standing with all of our seniors, praying over them, reading scripture over them and reminding them of what God has already done in their lives in the past and letting them know,
[01:47:04] hey, he's gonna keep on doing that for the rest of your life as long as you walk closely with him.
[01:47:10] And now in a moment, they're gonna stand here on this stage before all of you.
[01:47:14] And maybe you can remember a moment like this.
[01:47:16] Maybe you can remember as you graduated high school, moving into the next stage of life, there's a lot of excitement, there's a lot of celebration, but at the same time, man, it can be a little bit worrisome.
[01:47:27] There can be some anxieties or some fears surrounding this transition of life.
[01:47:31] So this is where we get to be their church family and we get to stand in the gap and let them know, hey, we're gonna put confidence in your soul because this is a great stage of life you're stepping into.
[01:47:42] We're going to comfort you if you're feeling anxious.
[01:47:45] We're going to be the ones who pray over you and commission you because God has a purpose for your life.
[01:47:51] But before we do that, I want you guys to get to know them a little bit.
[01:47:54] So it is our honor to introduce to you the graduating class of 2026.
[01:47:59] Come on.

[01:48:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:48:02] Anna Hubbard.

[01:48:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:48:05] Antonio Cruz.

[01:48:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:48:08] Sarah McNeil.

[01:48:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:48:13] Cash Kilmer.

[01:48:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:48:16] Emmy Carter.

[01:48:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:48:19] Elijah Dean.
[01:48:20] Brooklyn Nally. Joshua Santana. East Harding. Gabriela Garcia. Caroline Saunders. Lachlan

[01:48:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:48:42] Clifford. Madison Reeves. Luke Leach. Jack Gilliland. Trey Burnett. Alyssa Kletcha. Drake

[01:49:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:49:03] Green. Nicholas Roman Quintero. Miles Mattson. Sam Eisenbeiss. Evie Buendia. Ethan Poku.
[01:49:28] Barksdale. Godwin Odume. Maddie Faulkner. Sadie Beasley. Rose Hogley. Seaborn.

[01:49:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:49:54] Malia Malazzo. Bree Williamson. Loma Porter. Veda Lindley. Lynn Hempstead. Kate Arbuckle.
[01:50:22] Carson Gruber

[01:50:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:50:25] Hunter Cubitt

[01:50:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:50:30] Landon Evans

[01:50:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:50:34] Zane Vela

[01:50:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:50:37] Will Ragland

[01:50:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:50:42] Tristan Pratt

[01:50:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:50:45] Kyle Bryant

[01:50:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:50:49] Braxton Gordon

[01:50:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:50:53] Hunter Hicks

[01:50:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:50:56] Riley Lyon

[01:51:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:51:00] Brady Berry

[01:51:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:51:04] Colton Flowers

[01:51:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:51:08] Nathan Birchfield

[01:51:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:51:12] Wren Jackson

[01:51:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:51:15] Madden Lozano

[01:51:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:51:19] Matt Jackson

[01:51:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:51:23] Noah Dana

[01:51:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:51:27] Riley Black

[01:51:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:51:30] Isaac Mosqueda

[01:51:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:51:34] John Vergas

[01:51:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:51:38] Gage Walker

[01:51:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:51:42] Love Shibley Edison Dean Aldwin Dylan McCann

[01:52:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:52:00] Charlotte Maldonado

[01:52:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:52:04] Delaney Bernard

[01:52:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:52:08] Serenity Mitchell

[01:52:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:52:11] Raylee McMillan

[01:52:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:52:15] Mason Burcham

[01:52:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:52:19] Tegan Pointer Olivia Vizquez Olivia Jackson AJ Nails Brock Martinez

[01:52:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:52:48] Anthony Mendez. Oh, come on, Lake Point. Let's let them hear it one more time.
[01:53:01] The graduating class of 2026. Come on, man. Oh, man, you guys look good. Hey, it cannot be lost on us, y'all. There's 90 seniors just in this service up here, man. This is the house of the
[01:53:17] Lord with so many sons and daughters, man. Come on. This is so encouraging. I love it. We got like four lines. They're jumping in the back. That's awesome. I love it. Hey, I'll say something
[01:53:28] to y'all and then i'll say something to them um you know pastor josh he likes to say this a lot he likes to say that every family it should be like a little church and that every church it
[01:53:39] should feel like a big family and for a lot of you guys like maybe this is your flesh and blood up there that's my boy that's my girl up there and you're hooting and hollering and you're like my
[01:53:48] mom like screaming from the rooftops trying to embarrass me and i love that that's awesome but we all need to understand at the same time that like all of these men and women behind me their
[01:53:58] sons and daughters of this house. All right, can we agree to that, that they are sons and daughters in this family? And I want you guys to understand this as well, because there's something that I
[01:54:10] wish I knew when I was standing in a place just like this, at a season of life from moving, graduating from senior year to what was next. I wish I knew what was going on in the hearts and
[01:54:21] minds of my mom and dad. And you got to know this, that like the wins that you guys are celebrating now and for the next few months and years of your life. The wins that you're celebrating,
[01:54:31] they are wins and your parents see them as wins. But every once in a while, that win might also come with a little bit of grief, a little bit of sadness. Like you might've ran into the living
[01:54:42] room and you're like, mom, dad, like I got into the, I got into the school of my dreams. I made it there. And they're jumping and they're shouting for joy. But then you see your mom's eyes, they
[01:54:51] start to tear up a little bit. And it's not because you want to go to A&M. I'm sorry, that's a terrible joke. Sorry. It's not because of that though. It's because she's got all these
[01:55:04] memories. Your dad, man, he's remembering the moment that he first held you and he's thinking to now when he's sending you off. And there's all of these lessons that were learned. There's all of this discipline that occurred. There's all of these happy moments, the laughter and the happiness and
[01:55:20] the smiles, and there's also the tears. There's all of these things that are packaged up into something we call a childhood. And your mom, your dad, your parental figures, they feel that now, maybe slowly slipping away. So you need to know this about your parents, about your adults, that
[01:55:38] man, they love you. And whether they're jumping with joy, or maybe there's some tears rolling down their face at your graduation, you need to know it's all coming from a place of love.
[01:55:48] and your church family, man, it's the same story.
[01:55:51] Your church family, all these people behind me, they love you, they are for you.
[01:55:56] They're gonna be there to fill in the gap for you when you're feeling extreme sorrow or extreme grief or shame.
[01:56:01] They're gonna be the ones to say, hey, you can always come back here that you got a place to be.
[01:56:07] And I hope you know this, man, that like we expect the very best from you guys.
[01:56:11] I don't foresee any of you guys making any mistakes over the next few months or years, but you do need to know, I want you to hear this, that your church family, doors are always open, man.
[01:56:23] Like if you ever find yourself in a place, like we talked about at United a few weeks ago, if you ever find yourself in a place of like an all-time low, whether it's by your own doing
[01:56:33] or someone has done it to you, if you find yourself in a place of shame or loneliness, you need to know this, that there is a place in Rockwall, Texas called Lake Point Church, and it should be like home to you,
[01:56:46] that there's a family there that will always welcome you, always love you, always have your back. But like I said, man, we expect the opposite. Like we expect you guys to reach the heights that we never reached. We
[01:57:02] expect you to go the distance that we never could have gone to do things for the kingdom of God that we didn't even think could be imaginable. We think the Lord wants to do something in and
[01:57:12] through your life bigger than we've ever seen. And so I want to read this verse of scripture over you, both as a warning and as a blessing. This is Romans chapter 12, verse two. It says,
[01:57:25] do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect.
[01:57:43] And Pastor Josh, he likes to say this right after that verse. He says, man, you guys will notice this. Don't think about the months and the years ahead of you. Think about a lifetime. This is
[01:57:53] going to be true of you. When you get to the end of your life, you will see that the people who walk in obedience to God, they are the ones who live a truly blessed life. And the ones who walk
[01:58:06] in disobedience, they will bring upon themselves pain and despair. What we want for you is the blessed life. Your church family and your personal family, we want the blessed life. And so the charge that we have for you today is to go out into the world, boldly declaring your faith, making the
[01:58:27] name of Jesus famous as you live according to the word that you read every single day. So church family, would you go ahead and stand up and extend a hand towards all of these sons and daughters of
[01:58:40] this house as we pray over them. Heavenly Father, we thank you. We are so grateful that we get to be in a place where we send out the sons and daughters of this house into the world like flaming arrows,
[01:58:53] God. We really believe this, that wherever they will land, there will be a wildfire of the gospel that is spread because you desire your name to be made famous and you don't want to do it with
[01:59:04] someone else. You want to do it with the sons and daughters who are standing on this stage. And so I pray, Lord, that you would put an extra level of your favor upon them, of your blessing, of your
[01:59:15] presence, that there would be no place that they go where they don't feel like you've already gone before them, where they don't feel like you're already right there and right next to them, helping them make the right next decision, being wise and making the right decisions that will be
[01:59:30] good for them and honoring and glorifying to you, Lord. And I pray over every man and woman standing on this stage. Lord, would they know if they ever, ever find themselves in a place of sorrow or loneliness or guilt or shame, would they know they don't have to stay there? God,
[01:59:48] that there is spiritual fathers and mothers in this house at Lake Point Church in Rockwall, Texas, and that they always have a home to run to, that there's always open doors and open arms for them
[02:00:00] to know i'm seen by my heavenly father here and i'm known by my church family and that i always have a place where i know i feel like home and it's in jesus mighty name that we pray amen amen

[02:00:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[02:00:14] amen church let's worship together come on everybody joining right now hey we're so thankful

[02:04:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[02:04:26] that you're joining us today can i encourage you right now in this moment psalm 92 reminds us that those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish. Real lasting spiritual growth doesn't just happen by accident. It happens when your faith is deeply rooted in God's presence
[02:04:42] and is lived out in an authentic biblical community. Here's what you need to know. God designed you not just to believe, but to belong. And when you stay connected to his people, your faith grows stronger over time. And so here's my point. Church online has been an incredible
[02:04:58] blessing, and we don't take it for granted. In fact, it gives us an opportunity to reach people across cities, states, and countries, literally all over the world with the gospel. But while digital ministry is powerful, it's not meant to replace the deeper flourishing that happens when
[02:05:12] believers are planted in an authentic Bible-believing church. And so God calls us not just to consume church, but to belong, grow, and be discipled. And so today, no matter where you are, we want to help
[02:05:23] you get planning and so if you're in a local to df and meaningful relationships as well and if you're joining us internationally thank you so much for being here man it's incredible to see god war reach so many different nations and we're so thankful that you're part of this community
[02:05:38] we want to continue walking alongside you however we can and if you have not yet connected with us in the chat this is your time right now go ahead and drop your city state or country let us know
[02:05:49] where you're watching from hey we are passionate about reaching people everywhere and at the same time we care deeply about your personal faith journey as well so don't just tune in lean in and take a meaningful next step today another thing lakewood family by the grace of god we
[02:06:04] are seeing god do amazing things through our digital ministries and here's what you need to know because we are able to hear life change after life change is a reason we are able to do
[02:06:14] our online ministry is because of your generosity and so one we want to say thank you for your giving. And two, we would say to give, text the word give to 20411. Again, Lake Point family,
[02:06:27] let's continue to do this together. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being a part of this movement as well. And now there is more happening in the life of our church. So check this out.

[02:06:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[02:06:40] Hey, Lake Point. Gear Drop is coming up June 6th and 7th with all new hats, shirts, and more designed to help you share your faith. Plus, every purchase helps support mission efforts locally and around the world.
[02:06:52] GearDrop is in-person only, and items will go fast, so be sure to come early to get everything you want.
[02:06:58] Check out the full line now at lp.events.
[02:07:01] Next weekend, on May 23rd to 24th, we're welcoming guest speaker and friend of Lake Point, Pastor Jonathan J.P. Pakluta.
[02:07:10] J.P. is the lead pastor of Harris Creek in Waco and an author and speaker best known for reaching the next generation of young adults.
[02:07:17] So make plans to be here in-person or online and don't miss this powerful message.
[02:07:23] Parents, Summer Blast is one month away on June 16th through 18th for current kinder through fourth graders.
[02:07:30] This free three-day experience is packed with worship, activities, and Bible stories that your kids will be talking about all summer long.
[02:07:38] Text BLAST to 20411 to register now.
[02:07:42] Lake Point family, we're excited to share that soft opening weekends have officially begun at our new Royce City campus.
[02:07:49] The building is now open, and we'd love for you to be a part of the team helping reach Royce City with the love of Jesus.
[02:07:55] Join us this weekend and every weekend leading up to our grand opening in August.
[02:08:01] Text LAUNCH to 20411 to get involved now.
[02:08:05] And high school students, it's not too late to sign up for United Camp.
[02:08:09] Middle school may be full, but there's still time for high schoolers to be a part of one of the most life-changing weeks of the summer.
[02:08:16] Don't wait.
[02:08:17] Text CAM to 20411 to register now.
[02:08:21] Now, let's dive back into our series, There Is More Endgame.

[02:08:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[02:08:25] All right, what is up, everybody?
[02:08:55] Great to see you, Lake Point family.
[02:08:56] Welcome to Lake Point today.
[02:08:59] Hey, I want to shout out to all of our campuses today and those of you that might be joining us online.
[02:09:03] Man, super grateful for all of y'all.
[02:09:06] My name is Bro, by the way, and I get to be on the teaching team here.
[02:09:09] One of the highlights and privileges of my life.
[02:09:12] and man, I want to add my congratulations to all the graduates today. Man, I can't wait to see what God does with your life. So proud of our students here, our student ministry here. I mean, just a
[02:09:22] bunch of great people. Debbie and I have, many of you know, we have, we got 10 grandkids. I don't know when this happened, but we got them. And we've got six graduations this month. Last weekend,
[02:09:36] we had a college graduation out in California. Two nights ago, we had two eighth grade graduations.
[02:09:43] This Friday night, we got a high school graduation, then a preschool graduation. They got graduations for everything. And then a fifth grade graduation, and then another high school graduation the same day in June. I mean, it's a busy season cheering on our kids, but I love them so much.
[02:10:01] and love you all so much. And thank you for being a part of Lake Point. Man, I'm excited to jump back in to Acts 26 today. So if you've got a Bible, you can head over to Acts 26, or you got
[02:10:12] an app that you use, or you can, we'll put it on the screens as well. We can track along together.
[02:10:18] But Josh last week unpacked so much after 26, and he taught us a very simple way to share our faith, kind of the ABCs, if you will. He said, A stands for assume that people are interested. Don't
[02:10:30] dismiss people. Don't think, man, they're probably right into the whole God thing. Just assume that they're looking for hope because most people are, right? The B stood for build a bridge. Just try to find some common ground like a hometown or a favorite sports team or a favorite restaurant
[02:10:46] or maybe a distant cousin that you might know and just start to build a genuine friendship.
[02:10:51] The C stood for convert first downs. He said, you don't have to score a touchdown. You don't have to quote-unquote close the deal. Your conversation might be number two out of 47 other conversations. Just trust the Holy Spirit to keep pursuing that person because He loves them a
[02:11:08] lot more than you do, and He is pursuing them. So if you missed last weekend, I encourage you to get online, check it out. It could be super helpful to you. I want to take a shot at chapter 26 from
[02:11:17] another angle, and I want to hang this entire message on this one word, almost. Almost. You know the word almost is used a lot in the world of sports. I was watching the NBA playoffs the
[02:11:33] other night and Luca and the Mavs were, hang on a second. I'm so sorry. It's still too soon for some of you. Let go of that bitterness you have inside of you. But I forgot what team it was,
[02:11:44] but somebody was down like two with three seconds to go. And some guy launches a half court shot.
[02:11:49] It goes in and out. And the announcer goes, almost, that almost went in. I never watched much soccer until my granddaughter started playing. I learned that whole game is predicated on almost. Shot on goal, almost. Another shot, almost. Final score, zero, zero. Someone almost
[02:12:06] won. You're playing golf. You hit a 50-foot putt. Oh, almost went in. Or you've got a huge fish on the line. Oh, almost really, man. We use the word a lot in conversations like, man, I almost called
[02:12:19] you. I almost said the exact same thing. I almost went to school there. I almost took that job. I almost bought that stock. I almost asked her out. Kids on a road trip ask, are we there yet? And we
[02:12:33] respond, almost. There's lots of almosts in life. One of the churches I get to teach at in Southern California, we're doing a series called 30 Days to Live. What if you had 30 days to live? Would
[02:12:46] that changed the way you approach your life. And one of the key verses is Psalm 39, Psalm 39 verse four, which says, Lord, just remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days
[02:12:57] are numbered, how fleeting my life is. And that got me thinking. So I got online and I checked out a certain site where you can enter your, your, your date of birth, your weight, your height,
[02:13:08] your BMI, whether you're a smoker or non-smoker, your outlook on life. And then they will predict how much time you got left. According to them, I got 485,654,400 seconds left to live.
[02:13:24] And I checked that about like a month ago. So now I put no stock whatsoever in predicting days and stuff like that. I mean, only God knows the number of seconds that I have left. And I am so grateful
[02:13:37] that my life is in his hands. And I want to do my best to take care of my body and my mind and my soul so that I can be a good steward of the fleeting life that God has given me here. But
[02:13:48] the truth is, I'm dying. You're dying. We're all terminal. So here's a little anti-almost kind of prayer that I've been praying lately. God, turn my someday into today. All right, all of our campuses, let's say that out loud together. God, turn my someday into today. Let's say that again.
[02:14:12] God turned my someday into today.
[02:14:15] Because the truth is, man, we all got a someday list, right?
[02:14:18] Someday I'll get serious about taking care of my body.
[02:14:21] Someday I'll get serious about building into my marriage.
[02:14:24] Someday I'm going to address my drug or alcohol problem.
[02:14:28] You know, someday I'll probably forgive them.
[02:14:32] Someday I'm going to get on a budget.
[02:14:34] Someday I'm going to get in a group.
[02:14:35] Someday I'm going to jump on a serving team.
[02:14:37] Hey, listen, I don't know what my someday is going to be.
[02:14:41] Nothing apart from the unfailing love of God is guaranteed to me.
[02:14:45] I could walk out of here today and get in a car wreck.
[02:14:48] My plane could go down.
[02:14:50] I could have a heart attack.
[02:14:52] I could be diagnosed with cancer, with ALS, with diabetes, whatever.
[02:14:56] So I don't know about y'all.
[02:14:58] I don't want to almost live.
[02:15:03] So teach me, oh God, the number of my days.
[02:15:05] And please help me turn my someday into today.
[02:15:11] Man, if only this guy named Herod in Acts 26 would have prayed that kind of prayer.
[02:15:18] I don't know, maybe he almost did.
[02:15:22] Let me explain who this Herod character is because like Pastor Josh said last week, that name pops up a lot from time to time in the New Testament.
[02:15:30] I was recently driving through Alabama and I was looking for a radio station and I found this old school country station and there was a song by Hank Williams Jr.
[02:15:39] Know who he is?
[02:15:40] Kind of an outlaw kind of character.
[02:15:42] kind of a rowdy dude. His daddy was a legendary country singer who famously dealt with all kinds of drug and alcohol demons. In fact, Hank Sr. tragically OD'd at age 29 in the backseat of a
[02:15:54] Cadillac while on tour through West Virginia. So I'm driving through Alabama and Hank Jr. is singing this song. Folks ask me, Hank, why do you drink? Why do you roll smoke? Why must you live
[02:16:06] out the songs that you wrote. Well, stop and think it over. Put yourself in my unique position.
[02:16:13] If I get stoned, I'm just carrying on an old family tradition. Now, please don't encourage that. But I was singing all my heart in the car. The Herods had quite the family tradition that they carried on, starting with Herod the Great. He was the Roman appointed king of Judea,
[02:16:37] super paranoid guy, materialistic, very power hungry. He did all kinds of over the top self indulgent construction projects. He killed his wife, quote unquote, his favorite wife, three of his sons, other family members over conspiracy theories that they were coming for
[02:16:56] his throne. And most famously, he was the Herod who massacres all infants under the age of two at the birth of Jesus, who again, he saw as a threat to his throne. His son, Herod Archelios,
[02:17:10] ruled Judea after his father, and he was so abusive and so corrupt that Rome had to remove him. You've got to be bad for Rome to remove you. Briefly, he's mentioned in Matthew chapter two, and his
[02:17:22] brutality was the reason that Joseph and Mary decided not to come back to Judea with their young family. Then his brother was Herod Antipas. He's probably the most prominent Herod in the New Testament. He continued to carry on the family tradition of ego, depravity, and self-gratification.
[02:17:40] The story in Josephus says that on the way to Rome, Herod Antipas stays at his brother Philip's house, sleeps with Philip's wife, Herodias, who happens to be the granddaughter of Herod the Great. This is so weird. He agrees to dump his wife. Herodias dumps his brother, and they hook
[02:17:56] up. And you might remember how John the Baptist speaks into the moral corruption, calls them both out, tells them what they have done to his wife and her husband and his brother was wrong.
[02:18:06] So to shut him up for a while, Herod Antipas throws John the Baptist in prison. And then one night at a party, when he's all tanked up and turned on, he has John beheaded at the request
[02:18:18] of his lovely wife Herodias. Then there was Herod Agrippa I. He was the grandson of Herod the Great.
[02:18:25] You might remember back in Acts chapter 12, we studied that, how he carries on the family tradition by killing one of the apostles, James, the son of Zebedee. And when he sees how it pleased
[02:18:36] the powerful religious leaders, he throws Peter in jail, going to execute him after Passover.
[02:18:42] But an angel miraculously helps Peter break out of prison. Then shortly thereafter, also in Acts chapter 12, Herod is giving this grand flowery speech. And the people love it so much that they begin to pump up his ego by calling him a God. And he says, you're right, I am. And as he accepts
[02:19:03] their praise and worship, the only real God strikes him down, and he's eaten by worms and dies.
[02:19:10] Then here in Acts 26 is that guy's son. This is Herod Agrippa II. And he shows up on the scene with his sister Bernice, who most historians suspect was more than his sister, if you know
[02:19:23] what I'm saying. And they were still carrying on the family tradition of ego, depravity, materialism, self-indulgence, and self-importance. Just a real quick note here. You do know, don't you, that at any time you and I can step up with God's help and be a cycle breaker in our family. We don't have to
[02:19:44] carry on the family tradition. We can change the trajectory of our family tree. I mean, I'm so grateful that a bunch of you have done that in your life, but you know how much courage that took. And it takes self
[02:19:56] awareness and it takes a great deal of humility, which means that we have to come down off the throne of our life and surrender to the leadership of God. And man, that's hard for a
[02:20:05] lot of people to do. It was really hard for King Herod. So here's the scene ramping up to Acts 26. Our guy, Paul, who's totally innocent is awaiting trial. And the location is this palace on the beautiful coast of Caesarea. It's one of those
[02:20:21] opulent construction projects that Herod the Great had built for himself. It's now being used as a headquarters for the new Roman governor, a guy named Festus. Well, Herod Agrippa and his quote-unquote sister, Bernice, come up to the coast from Jerusalem for a visit. And while they're
[02:20:36] there, the Roman governor, Festus, tells him, hey, man, we got this prisoner. His name is Paul.
[02:20:44] Your Jewish religious leaders want me to execute him? But I told him that Roman law doesn't condemn a man without a trial. So I listened to their accusations against him. I'm just telling you, it's like nothing. It's something about their religion and some dead guy named Jesus who this
[02:21:02] prisoner Paul assists is alive. I don't know how exactly how to handle all this. So I asked him if he was willing to stand trial in Jerusalem, but he declined. And as a Roman citizen, he appealed to
[02:21:14] have his case heard before Caesar. But in my opinion, man, he's done nothing wrong. But since he's already appealed to Rome to stand before Caesar. He's got to go. But here's the deal.
[02:21:26] I don't even know what to tell him. He's being charged with. You want to meet this guy? I mean, he's an interesting dude. And Herod Agrippa says, well, yeah, I'd love to meet him. And so they
[02:21:38] arranged for it to happen the next day. Well, the next day comes and it says that Agrippa and Bernice show up with all kinds of pomp. There's lots of show and military escorts followed by
[02:21:49] all kinds of prominent officials coming in. So lots of very influential people are in this grand room. And they bring the prisoner in. And Agrippa, not Festus, says to Paul, you may speak in your
[02:22:03] defense. Now, like Josh said last weekend, Paul knows the family history, the family tradition of the Herods. He knows what they're capable of. So it takes a lot of courage to stand there.
[02:22:15] but Paul is not only courageous, he's also pretty shrewd. He knows that Herod really, really likes being in charge. He knows that Herod really enjoys being the center of attention.
[02:22:30] So Paul meets him where he's at and kind of just lays it on. Check this out. Verse two, I am fortunate King Agrippa that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these
[02:22:42] accusations made by the Jewish leaders, for I know that you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now, please listen to me patiently. Now, remember here, Paul's not trying to convince them to set him free because he's already appealed to Caesar, so he knows he's
[02:23:00] eventually going to have to go to Rome. But he realizes in this moment, man, I got a room full of influencers and leaders and governors and rulers and kings. What an opportunity to share my story and the way that Jesus has completely changed my life. You see, Paul was a guy who
[02:23:19] didn't almost live. He lived like he had 30 days. I can remember one time, I may have told you this before, I was on a college campus speaking and I see this student walking toward me, got a bright
[02:23:31] yellow shirt on with big black bold letters on the front which said live then some fine print underneath then he walked past me I saw the back of his shirt said die fine printer what in the
[02:23:42] world is that shirt all about so I got around in front of him again so I could kind of read the t-shirt and it said live like you'll die tomorrow die knowing you'll live forever and that was Paul
[02:23:55] That was Paul.
[02:23:56] Because of the resurrection of Jesus, he wasn't afraid to die.
[02:24:02] And listen to me, when you're not afraid to die, you're not afraid to live.
[02:24:08] So Paul sees this as an incredible opportunity that God has placed before him to point people to Jesus.
[02:24:14] And so he begins to tell a story, beginning with his resume.
[02:24:19] Verse 4.
[02:24:20] as the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people in Jerusalem. Now they don't claim me now, but if they would admit it, they know, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect
[02:24:39] of our religion. This kind of reminds me of what he talks about over, it's over in like Philippians chapter 3, where Paul is listing all his impressive religious credentials. He says, man, I was a Hebrew
[02:24:51] of Hebrews. I was a Pharisee of Pharisees. I was a super zealous law keeper. I was a protector of the faith. But now I consider all that rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing
[02:25:04] Christ Jesus, my Lord. And then Paul says to Herod, who knows Jewish religion, he says, you know, your majesty, what's incredible. I'm actually on trial for having hope. That's right. I'm on trial for having hope. The same hope that we've, that the prophets all talked about, the hope that we've
[02:25:26] all been waiting for all these years. I mean, why does it seem so mind blowing to everybody that the creator of solar systems, the creator of sunsets and DNA can raise the dead back to life?
[02:25:38] My hope is in him.
[02:25:41] And then Paul, who used to go by his Hebrew name Saul, he goes from resume to rap sheet.
[02:25:47] Check this out.
[02:25:48] Back in the Saul days, I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus, the Nazarene.
[02:25:54] Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem.
[02:25:58] Authorized by the leading priest, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison.
[02:26:03] And I cast my vote against them.
[02:26:05] Think Stephen back in Acts chapter seven when they stoned him.
[02:26:08] when they were condemned to death.
[02:26:10] Many times I had them punished, tortured in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus.
[02:26:16] I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.
[02:26:23] That's how passionate I was about this.
[02:26:25] I was filled with such a self-righteous anger and this deep, deep hatred based on my own perceived superiority.
[02:26:33] I went after them.
[02:26:35] You need a hit on a Jesus follower?
[02:26:36] better call Saul. I'm not proud of this. I did some very, very, very bad misdirected things and I did it all in the name of God. And gang, Paul is able to stand there and honestly say all
[02:26:53] this because he knew he wasn't defined by his past. He knew that he was a completely new person in Jesus Christ. See, Jesus doesn't just make us better. He makes you new and your past is not a
[02:27:10] liability. It can become an incredibly powerful tool in the hands of a God who redeems all things.
[02:27:16] Some of y'all like the repurposed stuff. You'll see like a piece of trash on the side of the road, you'll put in the back of your car and take it home and turn it into this amazing conversation
[02:27:23] piece. Or you go to an old fixer-upper and you take out a wall and do all this and transform it into this beautiful showplace. Or you get under the hood of an old junker and you get that thing
[02:27:33] running like it's new. Some of y'all are really, really good at that stuff. But as gifted as you might be, you can't hold a candle to what God can do. He is really into restoration. He's into
[02:27:45] transformation. He's into repurposing. Sometimes we say, God can never use a guy like me. God can never ever use a woman like me. I mean, if people knew my past, listen to me, God uses all of that.
[02:27:59] He restores broken things. He can make anybody new when he wants to do that with you and then use your unique story to touch the lives of other people. Your past does not define you.
[02:28:11] It just describes you and highlights the transformative power of the amazing grace of God at work in your life. So Paul lays out his past, and then he shares the turning point of his life.
[02:28:25] He says, this is who I used to be. And then he says, and this is why I'm no longer that guy.
[02:28:32] Verse 12, one day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests.
[02:28:38] About noon, your majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shone down on me and my companions, and we all fell down.
[02:28:47] And I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
[02:28:53] It's useless for you to fight against my will.
[02:28:56] Again, Paul's Jewish name was Saul, and the repetition of his name here was a way of signaling just how personal, how urgent, how intimate this conversation was going to be. This is not like a generic revelation for everybody on that road. This is Jesus talking
[02:29:11] directly to Saul like he is the only one on that road. You ever felt like that? It felt like God was talking to you like you're the only one in the room. Well, he is. And Jesus asked him,
[02:29:28] why are you persecuting me? Now, Saul slash Paul, he hadn't been personally persecuting Jesus.
[02:29:35] But Jesus here is identifying with his followers, his church, his body, his family, saying, listen, if you're mistreating them, you're mistreating me. The English Standard Version puts verse 14 like this. Jesus asked him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It's hard for you to kick
[02:29:53] against the goads. Have you ever read that verse? What the heck does that mean? Well, a goad was a sharp stick with a metal tip used to guide oxen. And if an ox would like kick against it, it would
[02:30:06] hurt him more and he would still be resigned to move in the direction that he was supposed to go.
[02:30:12] So Jesus is saying here, Saul, why are you being so stubborn? Why are you fighting a fight that you can't win? It's futile. Give it up. Stop kicking and surrender to me because I want to
[02:30:24] give you a new heart. I want to give you a new passion. I want to give you a brand new purpose for living your life. And Paul continues, so I ask, who are you, Lord? And the Lord replied,
[02:30:37] I'm Jesus, the one you're persecuting. And then Paul says, then the resurrected Jesus told me I was supposed to tell everybody about him. He gave me the good news of God's love and forgiveness.
[02:30:48] He told me that I was supposed to bring light to all kinds of people living in all kinds of dark places. And so King Agrippa, I just simply obeyed that vision from heaven. I'm just acting
[02:30:59] out of obedience to God. I preached first to those in Damascus, the very city I went there to to imprison believers, and then in Jerusalem and throughout Judea and also to the Gentiles that all must repent of their sins and turn to God and then prove that they've changed what the
[02:31:13] good things they do. Honestly, that's what I was arrested for. I was arrested for stirring up hope, for sharing the good news of God's love for all people. They want to kill me for what the prophets
[02:31:27] have said all along that the Messiah would come and he would suffer, but then he would rise from the dead. And then right in the middle of all this, the Roman governor Festus blurts out, dude,
[02:31:41] you are crazy. All that study of yours has made you insane. And you know what? The gospel does sound a little crazy to those who don't understand God's grace. Used to sound crazy to me. Come on,
[02:31:58] a crucified king, huh? A risen savior, forgiveness for sinners, love your enemies. More is less and less is more. First is last and last is first. Want to be great, then go serve somebody. What?
[02:32:12] I mean, it does sound crazy. It is counter-cultural. It is so counterintuitive, but gang, Jesus brought it. He taught it. He walked it. And then he backed it all up by rising from the dead. So here is Paul, this brilliant intellectual saying, I know I might sound crazy.
[02:32:28] but this is not a fairy tale. This is true. And it was done out in the open in plain sight. And there are tons of trustworthy eyewitnesses. In fact, there are many, many witnesses just like me
[02:32:39] who are willing to die for what they know to be true. So sirs, this is real history about a real man who taught real truth, who performed real miracles, died on a real cross, no longer occupies
[02:32:52] a real empty tomb and gives real life to people like us. All of this actually happened. So no, I am not insane, most excellent Festus. What I'm saying is a sober truth. And King Agrippa over
[02:33:07] here, he knows all about these things. I speak boldly for I'm sure these events, they're all familiar to him, but they were not done in a corner. And then he looks King Agrippa in the eye
[02:33:21] and says, King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do. And Herod cuts him off and he says, do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly? Now, we don't know
[02:33:36] if this was like him being sarcastic. We don't know if he was feeling like political pressure from Festus as the two of them were laughing it up over Festus, Paul, your crazy comment.
[02:33:48] We don't know if he's saying, you know, you're right.
[02:33:51] I do know these things, but I am not ready to go there with you.
[02:33:55] And we don't know like which words he emphasized when he said it.
[02:34:00] Did he say, do you think you can persuade me?
[02:34:04] Do you think you can persuade me?
[02:34:10] Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian?
[02:34:13] Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?
[02:34:16] don't know how he said it, but however he said it, Paul comes back with whether quickly or not.
[02:34:23] I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains. Man, I wish you knew Jesus too. I wish you would embrace God's free
[02:34:38] gift of forgiveness too. I pray that you would find abundant life, eternal life, just like I have.
[02:34:44] I wish that you would accept God's amazing grace.
[02:34:47] I wish everyone here would follow Jesus so that you all could be free.
[02:34:52] Yeah, it's for sure.
[02:34:53] I got these chains right here, but make no mistake about it.
[02:34:56] I'm more free than I've ever been in my entire life.
[02:35:00] And it says they all stood up to leave.
[02:35:03] And they said to each other, this man's done nothing wrong to deserve death or in prison.
[02:35:09] And then Agrippa says to Festus, he could have been set free.
[02:35:14] if he hadn't appealed to Caesar.
[02:35:18] Paul's probably thinking Agrippa could have been set free if he hadn't appealed to his ego.
[02:35:27] One guy chained up on the outside, but free on the inside.
[02:35:33] Another man free on the outside, but so chained up on the inside.
[02:35:39] Some older translations have Agrippa's response to Paul as more of a statement than a question.
[02:35:45] And again, we don't know the tone of this.
[02:35:46] We don't know the intent of it.
[02:35:48] but here comes our word for the day. Then Agrippa said to Paul, you almost persuade me to become a Christian. You almost persuade me. Now there's no biblical or historical record that suggests that Herod Agrippa ever became a follower of Jesus. I mean, I would hope that he did,
[02:36:08] but most likely he became just another almost, almost persuaded. There's an old, old hymn like written in 1870, based on Herod's response here in Acts 26, almost persuaded now to believe, almost persuaded Christ to receive, seems now some soul to say, go spirit, go thy way,
[02:36:35] some more convenient day on thee I'll call. Have you been there? I was this close, man. I was almost persuaded. I heard the call of the spirit back when I was in high school. I felt the tug of God,
[02:36:50] man. I almost leaned in. You know, maybe I will someday. The writer of Hebrews says today, you must listen to his voice. Don't harden your hearts like against him as Israel did when they rebelled. You see, when God calls today and we don't respond today, we get a little more set in
[02:37:08] our ways. We get a little more comfortable in our dysfunction, a little more stubborn, a little harder on the inside. Some of you may have been saying, honestly, you. Yeah, I'll give my life to Jesus someday. I'll let him forgive me someday. I'll humble
[02:37:27] myself and turn toward God someday because I got time, man. I'll secure my eternal destination like later on down the road, you know, when the time is right. Well, the word of God says, indeed, the right time is now. Today is the day of salvation. This is all hitting really close
[02:37:49] to me this week as I was working through all this. I've been texting with a buddy who a couple of years ago found out he had cancer and he has gone through six different experimental
[02:38:07] cancer treatments. And this guy, he is a picture of health, big, strong, healthy, athletic guy, great husband, great dad, great friend, great neighbor. And he texted me on Tuesday that he was leaving the hospital to go into hospice care. He was sad for his family, but looking forward
[02:38:27] to meeting Jesus face to face. And for most of his life, man, he was an almost kind of guy.
[02:38:36] About 10 years ago, he moved from almost to all in. And he began to live like he would die tomorrow.
[02:38:45] And now he is dying, knowing that he's going to live forever. God lovingly pursues and speaks to all of us. Please don't be like Agrippa and get up and walk out of this room saying,
[02:38:58] I almost acknowledged my need for God. I almost humbled myself. I almost said yes to the Holy Spirit. Man, I almost raised my hand and surrendered. You know, a couple of weeks ago when I was watching like those 700 people getting to the pool for baptism, I almost,
[02:39:13] I almost got in the water, you know, maybe, maybe, maybe someday God turned my someday into today. The truth is some of you might be feeling God's pull right now. You sense that quiet voice
[02:39:27] inside of you saying, this is true. And this is true for you. Don't ignore that. This is not emotion. This is not pressure. It's not manipulation, not hype. This is the God who created you and
[02:39:42] wants to do life with you, who loves you, who is speaking to you right now, calling you home.
[02:39:48] because here's the truth, man.
[02:39:50] You can sit in church for years and still be almost.
[02:39:56] Today is the day.
[02:39:57] Now is the moment to move from almost to all in.
[02:40:02] So I'm gonna invite you to all of our campuses, right?
[02:40:04] Let's just bow our heads for a moment.
[02:40:06] In this moment right now, today, you can just say in your own words, from your own heart, Jesus, I surrender.
[02:40:15] I'll give up.
[02:40:17] I believe you died for me.
[02:40:18] I believe you rose from the dead.
[02:40:20] Thanks for pursuing me.
[02:40:21] And right now I'm turning toward you.
[02:40:23] forgive my sin, sweep away my shame, take my life, lead me, because I'm done being almost.
[02:40:36] I surrender my heart and my life to you right now. I'm all in. I'm all in. If that's the desire of your heart right now, while we all got our heads bowed, would you just slip your hand up
[02:40:51] in the air? Let me pray for you. If that's you right now, say, man, I'm all in. Father, I thank you for moments like this where we can start to move toward you. You've been chasing us for a long
[02:41:11] time, waiting for the day that we turn around and recognize how much you love us and what you've done for us. So, Father, I pray for all these folks right now that are taking a step towards
[02:41:23] surrender, just saying, I'm ready. Today is the day of salvation in my life. The time is right, right now. Father, I thank you for moving in hearts of people. Thank you for accepting us the way we
[02:41:36] are and then loving us too much to leave us there and changing us, repurposing us, restoring us, making us new. Thank you for guys like Paul that they really did live like they were going to die
[02:41:48] tomorrow and they died knowing they live forever. We want to live the same way. And I pray all this

[02:41:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[02:41:54] in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Lake Point, can we thank the Lord for that powerful word from Pastor Mike, that's so encouraging.
[02:42:05] And it's so encouraging to see so many hands lifted all across this room.
[02:42:10] And y'all, here's the thing is like, we wanna be your church and we wanna be your pastors and your family.
[02:42:14] The people are gonna help you make the next right step in your faith and walk with Jesus for an eternity.
[02:42:21] All you have to do, if that was you and you made a decision, you put your hand in the air or if you didn't and you just kept it to yourself, we still want you to do this.
[02:42:28] Just text the word life to 20411.
[02:42:31] and then someone from our team is gonna reach out to you and do just that, help you make the next right step in your faith.
[02:42:38] Hey, Lake Point family, can we celebrate all our new brothers and sisters in Christ trusting Jesus for the first time today?
[02:42:44] And that is incredible.
[02:42:48] Well, hey, something that we love doing here every week is we love talking about the different ways your generosity is making an impact both in our community here and all across the world.
[02:42:58] And we've talked about Royce City Campus a lot today, but that's because the Lord is doing an incredible work there.
[02:43:04] Man, there's been multiple rooted sessions that have been launched at that campus.
[02:43:08] There's been life groups where people are finding freedom and those life groups came from those rooted groups.
[02:43:13] Even a few weeks ago at Baptism Weekend, there were 17 people baptized at the Royce City Campus in one day.
[02:43:20] So there's some incredible things there.
[02:43:21] But what we want to highlight and talk about today is that for the last nine months, it's been a temporary space that the Royce City Campus has been meeting in, but that is no longer the case today
[02:43:32] because the services at the brand new permanent building and the doors are open.
[02:43:37] So let's celebrate the soft launch of our Royce City Campus.
[02:43:40] Come on, with a brand new building, but we don't celebrate the construction of a building.
[02:43:47] We're celebrating the pulling together of the people of God at our Royce City Campus.
[02:43:53] Man, there's people there ministering to the community so that more people can know Christ, live free and change the world for the glory of God.
[02:44:00] So Lake Point, we say thank you.
[02:44:03] Thank you for being the church that doesn't turn its back on its community or all across the world.
[02:44:07] To give today, you can give in one of three ways.
[02:44:10] First, in the buckets as they make their way through the rows.
[02:44:13] Second, in the boxes as you leave this room.
[02:44:15] Or third, the best and easiest way is just text the word give to 20411 and that'll take you directly to our giving page.
[02:44:22] We all have spent a great graduation weekend.
[02:44:24] Let's go out worshiping and stand together to our feet, continuing to celebrate all God has done, both as we give and as we sing.

[02:44:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[02:44:38] Perfection, we're striving for it.

[02:44:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]
[02:44:41] As we get ready to end today's service,

[02:46:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[02:46:22] hey, here's one important reminder.
[02:46:25] If you are here and after today's service and you need prayer, don't hesitate to reach out wherever you're joining us from, whether it's here in the local area, in the DFW area, somewhere across Texas or maybe another state
[02:46:37] or even internationally, we want you to know that you are not alone.
[02:46:41] Hey, we would love for you to reach out.
[02:46:42] go ahead if you're inside the u.s you can grab your phones right now and text the word prayer to the number two zero four one one and our team will be standing with you in prayer this week
[02:46:51] also if you're outside of the u.s or maybe you got your phone with you or your laptop you can just go ahead and drop prayer in the chat section as well wherever you are hey we believe that god
[02:47:01] sees your situation and i just want to remind you that god cares about your heart and as a church family hey we care too and we are here to serve you as well hey thank you so much for joining us
[02:47:11] today. We hope you have a great weekend and we will see you next time.