Is Your Bible a Sword or a Magic Wand? Correcting a Dangerous View of God’s Word

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Before it was ever bound in leather, before it was printed, downloaded, or preached, the Word was alive.
[00:00:14] Written across continents, in deserts and prisons, by kings and fishermen, over 40 authors, 1500 years, one story.
[00:00:26] It's been whispered in caves, smuggled through borders, banned, burned, and still it spreads.
[00:00:35] From Hebrew scrolls to English pulpits, from prison cells to palace gates, there are now over 3,600 translations in languages all across the world.
[00:00:49] Why?
[00:00:53] Because this is more than paper and ink.
[00:00:58] It's more than a book.
[00:01:05] It's power.
[00:01:11] It's promise.
[00:01:11] It's the living Word of God.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, good morning everybody.
[00:01:20] Is it still morning?
[00:01:21] Well, barely.
[00:01:22] It feels like afternoon to me.
[00:01:24] How many of you guys just woke up?
[00:01:26] I mean, I've been up for...
[00:01:28] This is like...
[00:01:29] The end of the day for me.
[00:01:30] I am so glad you guys are here.
[00:01:33] Are you glad to be in the house?
[00:01:36] This is a great day.
[00:01:37] I woke up yesterday saying this is the greatest day of my life.
[00:01:42] I woke up today saying this is the greatest day of my life.
[00:01:45] I have no promise of tomorrow.
[00:01:47] All I have is today.
[00:01:48] So this is the day the Lord has made.
[00:01:50] We're going to rejoice, right?
[00:01:52] So I hope you're just rejoicing.
[00:01:55] You are.
[00:01:56] I heard you rejoicing.
[00:01:57] I'm so pumped and excited.
[00:01:59] I want to say hello to everybody watching online, those in the overflow areas, my Hispanic friends.
[00:02:06] Gloria a Dios.
[00:02:06] Hallelujah.
[00:02:07] I love you guys.
[00:02:08] I also want to give a shout out.
[00:02:11] There's a small possibility that the mission team over in Peru might be able to see us online at this moment.
[00:02:19] So will you guys kind of make some noise and just say hello to the...
[00:02:22] I spoke to Diana last night and she gave me just a little bit of a report.
[00:02:32] The phone connection is not real good over there.
[00:02:36] But she told me that they are seeing people saved.
[00:02:39] They've seen some incredible healings while they've been ministering over there.
[00:02:44] And they went through the streets.
[00:02:45] They went door to door.
[00:02:46] So many things happened.
[00:02:47] They can't wait to get back and give us the report.
[00:02:50] But thank you.
[00:02:50] I just want to say thank you for your support, your prayer, your financial, everything that you've done to make this possible.
[00:02:58] And God is doing an incredible work.
[00:03:01] So thank you.
[00:03:02] Also, before we dive in, I want to remind you, as you saw in the video a moment ago, Mike and Miranda mentioned this, that in three weeks from today,
[00:03:10] We are launching the fall winter semester of life groups.
[00:03:15] Now if you are new to Lake City, life groups are small groups and that's the place where you really get connected with people.
[00:03:23] The life groups focus on Bible studies and different activities and events and things like that, all kinds of things.
[00:03:30] But the real goal is to connect with one another and to grow in our faith.
[00:03:35] And so I want to encourage if you're new
[00:03:38] We want you to get involved.
[00:03:41] If you've been here for a while, and you've just been dragging your feet, and you haven't gotten in a life group, I want to give you a little motivation this morning, give you a little kick, and this time I want everybody to be a part of a life group.
[00:03:54] We already have hundreds and hundreds of people in life groups, and so I want to encourage you to be a part of it.
[00:04:01] All right, Benny, thank you for that.
[00:04:03] Yes, yes, yes, yes.
[00:04:04] Are you guys ready to dive into the Word?
[00:04:06] Yes.
[00:04:08] Lord, we pray that in the next few minutes, as we turn our attention to Your Word, that You would speak to us.
[00:04:14] Open our spiritual eyes.
[00:04:15] Help us to see what You're trying to tell us.
[00:04:18] Give us spiritual ears to hear what You want to say to us.
[00:04:22] God, everything that You reveal to us today, we'll say yes to, and we'll become obedient to it.
[00:04:28] Lord, we pray all of this in the mighty and the powerful name of Jesus.
[00:04:31] And everybody said amen.
[00:04:32] Hallelujah.
[00:04:34] Thank you for the yo's.
[00:04:36] We're in this series.
[00:04:37] I call it the Bible more than a book.
[00:04:41] Our theme verse comes from 2 Timothy 3.16 where it says,
[00:04:46] is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.
[00:04:54] It straightens us out and it teaches us to do what is right.
[00:05:00] The New International Version, it says it like this.
[00:05:04] It says all scripture is God-breathed.
[00:05:07] God-breathed.
[00:05:08] I really like that because that's why the Bible is more than a book.
[00:05:13] It's God-breathed.
[00:05:14] It's alive with the very breath of God.
[00:05:17] In this session today, I want to talk with you about the fact that the Bible is your sword.
[00:05:24] Yeah, your sword.
[00:05:26] It's your sword, also referred to as the sword of the Word.
[00:05:32] The Apostle Paul writes about this in Ephesians 6.10, and he says, Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
[00:05:39] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's evil schemes.
[00:05:45] I just want to tell you, in case no one has told you this, that the moment you become a Christ follower, you enter the battlefield.
[00:05:52] And your enemy is the devil.
[00:05:56] In verse number 12 Paul goes on to say our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
[00:06:11] So whether you realize it or not, and I think you do realize it, but every day there is a spiritual struggle going on in your life.
[00:06:19] Every day there's a struggle to do good or to do evil.
[00:06:22] Every day there's a struggle to pursue God's ways or the devil's ways.
[00:06:26] Every day there's a struggle to believe God's truth or to believe the devil's lies.
[00:06:32] And so to win this struggle, Paul says in verse 13, put on the full armor of God so that when...
[00:06:41] Not if, but when the day of evil comes.
[00:06:44] That's the day of temptation, the difficulty, or whatever.
[00:06:47] When that comes, you may be able to stand your ground.
[00:06:52] And then he goes on and he lists the pieces of armor.
[00:06:55] He talks about the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals that are fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation.
[00:07:05] And then we come to verse 17, and Paul says, "'Take the sword of the Spirit.'"
[00:07:10] which is the word of God take the sword take the sword take the sword take the sword everybody say that with me take the sword that was a little weak let's try it again take the sword oh that's so much better everybody
[00:07:29] We need the sword.
[00:07:30] You know what the sword is?
[00:07:32] The sword is God's Word.
[00:07:35] The other articles that were listed in God's armor are defensive pieces.
[00:07:42] But the sword of God's Word is primarily an offensive weapon.
[00:07:46] So if you're going to defeat the evil powers that battle against you, you've got to have the sword of the Word.
[00:07:52] In Paul's time, every Roman soldier had a sword.
[00:07:59] and it was a double-edged sword called a gladius that's latin from which we get our word gladiator it was not a long sword it's actually a short sword of about 18 to 24 inches long and it was designed specifically for close combat and and
[00:08:18] But a soldier in that day, he had to be able to be efficient in using that gladius or else it could cost him his life.
[00:08:30] Literally, using that sword was a matter of life and death.
[00:08:34] Do you see the parallel?
[00:08:36] For every one of us, using the sword of the Word is a matter of life and death spiritually.
[00:08:42] It is so important.
[00:08:43] So I want you to turn your hearing aid up this morning.
[00:08:46] If you don't have one, turn up your neighbor's hearing aid.
[00:08:49] I don't know.
[00:08:50] But it's so important.
[00:08:51] This truth can be a game changer for you.
[00:08:55] What's also important for us to see is that when Paul, in Ephesians 6, 17, when he says, take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, the Greek word we have translated word is not logos as in other places, it's the word rhema.
[00:09:13] Rhema refers to a special portion of Scripture that the Holy Spirit makes real, makes applicable for a specific need or a specific situation in your life.
[00:09:25] And so just like that short sword the Romans use, a relevant Holy Spirit-inspired Scripture can challenge and deflect a sharp temptation.
[00:09:37] A relevant Holy Spirit-illuminated Scripture can block the thrust of a false teaching.
[00:09:43] A relevant Holy Spirit-inspired Scripture can bring peace in the middle of chaos and so much more.
[00:09:51] Did you know that Jesus used the sword of the word?
[00:09:57] He sure did.
[00:09:57] Matthew chapter 4 captures the account of the temptation of Jesus.
[00:10:03] It says that he was led into the wilderness by the devil to be tempted.
[00:10:07] And then in verse number 3 it tells us that the tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.
[00:10:17] Verse 4, Jesus answered.
[00:10:20] Audibly, Jesus answered, It is written.
[00:10:23] Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
[00:10:28] He's quoting from the Bible.
[00:10:29] He's quoting Deuteronomy 8, verse number 3.
[00:10:32] In other words, he's pulling out the gladius, the sword, and he's just using the sword of the Word.
[00:10:40] Three times, three times the devil tempts Jesus, and three times Jesus uses the sword, saying, It is written, and he quotes Scripture.
[00:10:51] Then, in verse number 11 of Matthew 4, it says, Then the devil left him.
[00:10:58] Then the devil left him.
[00:11:00] After he had stabbed him with the word, after he had used his gladius on the devil, it says, Then the devil left him.
[00:11:07] Listen, the devil's going to leave you when you use the gladius, when you use the sword of the word.
[00:11:13] That's when the devil leaves you.
[00:11:15] That's when the devil gets out of there.
[00:11:17] He lets loose of something he's been holding on.
[00:11:20] I mean, that's when you see the victory, when you pull out that gladius and you use it against the enemy.
[00:11:29] See, when we're tempted, and we're all tempted.
[00:11:33] I don't know what your temptation is.
[00:11:35] We all have different temptations.
[00:11:37] But maybe your temptation is to lose your temper.
[00:11:39] Maybe your temptation is to become discouraged or to indulge in some sexual impurity or to wallow in self-pity.
[00:11:47] By the way, self-pity is a sin.
[00:11:50] Maybe it's to worry or to...
[00:11:53] Or to get high or get drunk.
[00:11:55] I don't know what your temptation is, but when you're tempted, you need to blunt the temptation with the Scripture that speaks to that issue.
[00:12:03] Notice that Jesus spoke the Scripture to the devil.
[00:12:09] Out loud, Jesus spoke the Scripture.
[00:12:13] So please hear this, there is divine power released when we speak the scripture.
[00:12:20] That's when we can defeat our enemy, when we speak the scripture.
[00:12:24] Someone was talking about the importance of the armor of God and then they made note of one thing that I thought was really important.
[00:12:32] They said this, they said,
[00:12:33] As important as the armor of God is, without the sword of the Spirit, the Word, we amount to little more than a heavily armored target.
[00:12:45] Think about that.
[00:12:46] You've got the armor on and you're ready, but if you don't have a sword, you're just a heavily armored target.
[00:12:53] The point is, take the sword, take the sword, take the sword.
[00:12:57] We've got to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
[00:13:01] That is our offensive weapon.
[00:13:04] Speak the Word.
[00:13:05] That's how Jesus used the sword.
[00:13:07] Revelation 1.16 says, In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword.
[00:13:17] In Revelation 2.16, Jesus delivers a rebuke to the church at Pergamum, and he says this, Repent therefore, and otherwise I'll soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
[00:13:32] So the spoken words of Jesus are like a double-edged sword.
[00:13:37] And the beautiful thing is that every time you speak the word of God, it too is like a sword.
[00:13:46] No wonder Jesus...
[00:13:49] CAUTIONED US ABOUT THE WORDS THAT WE SPEAK.
[00:13:52] HE SAID IN MATTHEW 12, 36, HE SAID, I TELL YOU THAT MEN WILL HAVE TO GIVE ACCOUNT ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT FOR EVERY CARELESS, UNPRODUCTIVE WORD THEY HAVE SPOKEN, FOR BY YOUR WORDS
[00:14:06] You will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.
[00:14:11] The things we say matter.
[00:14:12] The things we say have power.
[00:14:15] The power of life or the power of death.
[00:14:18] So listen, this is really important.
[00:14:20] God's word on your lips has the power to change atmospheres.
[00:14:25] I don't have time to elaborate on this, but I cannot tell you how many times I've entered into a place, a room, a situation, and the atmosphere was filled with whatever.
[00:14:35] It was negativity, a doubt, fear, whatever.
[00:14:38] And just speaking the Word of God on my lips could change the atmosphere.
[00:14:42] What I'm telling you is that when you go to work tomorrow, when you go to school tomorrow, the Word of God on your lips can change the atmosphere in that room, in that workplace, in that schoolroom.
[00:14:53] It can change the atmosphere.
[00:14:56] The Word of God on your lips can change and shift situations that are taking place in your life.
[00:15:02] God's Word on your lips can break strongholds over your life.
[00:15:07] Quote that word.
[00:15:08] Use that gladius, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
[00:15:12] The Word of God on your lips can bring peace in the middle of all kinds of chaos.
[00:15:18] How do I know?
[00:15:19] Because Jesus said so.
[00:15:22] Look at this, Mark 11, 22.
[00:15:25] Jesus said, if anyone says, in other words, if anyone speaks to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
[00:15:41] He wasn't speaking about a physical mountain.
[00:15:44] He was speaking about a figurative mountain.
[00:15:48] Something that's standing between you and what God wants for your life.
[00:15:51] Something that's standing between you and the very perfect will of God.
[00:15:56] And so, I wonder, have you ever had a mountain in your life?
[00:16:00] Anybody, you know what I'm talking about?
[00:16:02] I have.
[00:16:02] I've had numerous mountains.
[00:16:06] On November 8th, 2023, I had a stroke.
[00:16:10] Not a TIA, but a full-blown stroke.
[00:16:14] On the evening of November 8th, I was lying in Iredell Memorial Hospital suffering with partial paralysis on my entire right side and a blood clot in the back of my neck going up into my brain.
[00:16:29] As far as I know, the blood clot is still there.
[00:16:31] The doctor said it was too dangerous to try to deal with it because if it went up, it was all over.
[00:16:37] and some of you remember this because you were praying for me and I so appreciate that as I lay in that hospital bed all I saw was a big mountain I saw a big mountain standing in the way of what I knew God had for my life what God had for this church and for the future and so I spoke to that mountain and I said stroke mountain I cast you in the name of Jesus I cast you into the sea get out of here and guess what God moved the mountain
[00:17:07] Come on, y'all!
[00:17:08] God moved the mountain!
[00:17:12] And that's why I'm here today with only minor brain damage.
[00:17:19] Just kidding.
[00:17:20] Well, not really.
[00:17:21] But what I'm talking about is take the sword!
[00:17:23] Take the sword!
[00:17:24] Take the sword!
[00:17:25] The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
[00:17:27] Speak God's Word into your situation because God's Word on your lips is powerful.
[00:17:36] Matthew chapter 8 tells the story of a Roman army commander.
[00:17:41] He had at least 100 soldiers under his authority.
[00:17:44] And he came to Jesus and he said, Jesus, can you heal my paralyzed servant?
[00:17:49] And Jesus said, sure, I'll come to your house.
[00:17:51] And then in Matthew 8, verse number 8, the commander said this.
[00:17:54] He said, Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.
[00:17:59] Just say the word.
[00:18:01] Just say the word and my servant will be healed.
[00:18:04] This man understood the chain of authority and therefore he knew that when God's word is spoken, God's divine authority is activated.
[00:18:13] And when God's word is spoken, supernatural things begin to happen.
[00:18:16] When God's word is spoken, heavenly power supersedes earthly circumstances.
[00:18:22] Folks, I totally believe it because I've experienced it.
[00:18:27] Proverbs 18.21 says it this way.
[00:18:30] It says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
[00:18:34] And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
[00:18:40] I heard someone explain the meaning of... Amen.
[00:18:44] I heard that.
[00:18:47] Someone explained the meaning of that verse by saying this.
[00:18:50] They said, What you speak is what you'll eat.
[00:18:55] What you decree is what you'll see.
[00:18:58] And there's so much truth to that.
[00:19:01] But on the other hand, I have seen far too many believers sabotage their own miracle because they speak words of doubt, words of fear, words of negativity, instead of the promises of God.
[00:19:14] Now you might be a little offended by that, and you might even say, well, I don't always speak God's promises out loud, but I'm thanking them.
[00:19:21] Sort of.
[00:19:25] Okay, well think about this.
[00:19:27] When God created the world, He didn't think it into existence.
[00:19:32] He spoke it.
[00:19:33] Spoke it into existence.
[00:19:35] Genesis chapter 1 is filled with the phrase, And God said, And God said, And God said, And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
[00:19:44] and so forth.
[00:19:45] Since we are made in His image, we too, we can speak His words of creative power from Scripture and when we do that, we too play a part in framing the world around us.
[00:19:57] For instance, when you're sick,
[00:20:00] Don't say, no, I'm sick and I won't get well.
[00:20:05] That's like I've fallen and I can't get up or something.
[00:20:09] No, speak Isaiah 53, 5.
[00:20:11] By His stripes, by His wounds, I am healed.
[00:20:15] If you're battling fear, declare 2 Timothy 1.7, God did not give me a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power and of love and a sound mind.
[00:20:26] If you feel shaken and overwhelmed, proclaim Psalm 18.2, The Lord is my rock.
[00:20:32] and My Fortress and My Deliverer.
[00:20:36] If you have a need so big that only God can take care of it, then you need to declare Philippians 4.19, My God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
[00:20:48] Amen.
[00:20:48] Come on.
[00:20:49] Come on.
[00:20:51] See, the Word, the Word is your sword.
[00:20:56] It's your offensive weapon.
[00:20:59] But here's the problem.
[00:21:02] It's no good if it's left in the sheath.
[00:21:07] You've got to wield it.
[00:21:09] You've got to speak it.
[00:21:15] This is what I want to encourage you to do.
[00:21:17] I want to encourage you this week to look through your Bible and find those passages that, as you were reading in your prime time, the Holy Spirit just brought them alive to you.
[00:21:30] They were challenging verses and promises and things like that, and you underscored them or highlighted them.
[00:21:38] You took your pen or your pencil, your eyebrow marker, your Crayola, whatever it was, and you
[00:21:42] I want you to go through your Bible and find some of those scriptures and write them on a 3x5 card.
[00:21:47] And the next time the devil comes your way and he's trying to lead you into temptation, pull out those scriptures and just speak them out loud.
[00:21:55] Speak the Word of God out loud.
[00:21:58] I know this sounds old school.
[00:22:00] My house, my study is filled with 3x5 cards of scriptures that I've written down.
[00:22:06] And when I need them, I pull them out.
[00:22:08] I've got the Gladius.
[00:22:09] I'm ready.
[00:22:10] I'm ready.
[00:22:10] Come on, devil.
[00:22:11] I'm ready.
[00:22:11] I speak the Word of God.
[00:22:18] Maybe you're more high-tech and you don't use 3x5 cards.
[00:22:21] I'm still old school.
[00:22:22] That's all right.
[00:22:24] But maybe you use a smartphone.
[00:22:27] Get your smartphone.
[00:22:28] Put those scriptures in your smartphone that you can remind yourself and you can read those verses out loud.
[00:22:35] Better yet, commit those verses to memory.
[00:22:38] You can do it.
[00:22:39] You can do it.
[00:22:40] And the beautiful thing about memory is that it's like you're like quick draw McGraw.
[00:22:47] You can pull it out really fast when it's already up here.
[00:22:49] The devil comes and there's some situation, some temptation, some mountain.
[00:22:54] You can just speak the word instantly.
[00:22:56] You pull it out and the gladius is there and you just wipe out the enemy through the word of God.
[00:23:05] So I want to encourage you to do that this week.
[00:23:09] And it'll change your life.
[00:23:10] Oh, by the way, maybe you say, well, I don't know.
[00:23:12] I don't have too many verses highlighted in my Bible.
[00:23:15] That's okay.
[00:23:16] I'm going to give you permission to go to Google and
[00:23:20] And I don't recommend Google very often, and I'm definitely not sure about AI, but you can go to Google and put in words like, or a phrase like, helpful scriptures.
[00:23:32] Helpful scriptures.
[00:23:33] And put it in, and boom, you'll get a list of different passages.
[00:23:37] And write those down, or put them in your phone.
[00:23:40] But speak those words.
[00:23:42] Speak the Word of God.
[00:23:44] Use that Gladius in your life.
[00:23:46] Use it tonight.
[00:23:47] Use it tomorrow.
[00:23:48] Use it every day for the rest of your life.
[00:23:51] When we speak the Word, when you speak the Word, you'll begin to see victory in your life like you've never seen before.
[00:24:01] And you will see God's power enter your atmosphere.
[00:24:06] So here's my question.
[00:24:07] Are you ready to shift your thoughts?
[00:24:10] Are you ready to shift your words?
[00:24:14] Are you ready to use the sword of the Word?
[00:24:16] Come on, y'all.
[00:24:19] Are you ready to use the sword of the Word?
[00:24:24] It's a game changer.
[00:24:26] Do it, and it'll change your life.
[00:24:29] Father, thank you so much for the Bible.
[00:24:32] Thank you for revealing truth to us.
[00:24:35] Now help us, Lord, to put it into practice, I pray in Jesus' name.
[00:24:40] Would you go ahead and stand together with me?
[00:24:43] Let's just stand in the presence of the Lord with our heads bowed and our eyes closed.
[00:24:48] If you say, I'll use the sword of the Word.
[00:24:53] I'll use Scripture.
[00:24:55] I'll draw out those verses that can make a difference, the ones the Holy Spirit reveals to me, and I'll commit them to memory.
[00:25:04] I'll put them in my phone.
[00:25:05] I'll put them on my 3x5 card or someplace.
[00:25:08] You say, with God's help, I'll use the sword of the Word.
[00:25:11] Would you just lift your hand, because I want to pray for you.
[00:25:13] Everybody, if you want to use the word, the sword of the word, just lift your hand.
[00:25:19] I want to pray.
[00:25:20] Lord, for everybody who has a hand in the air, God, I just ask that you would give them strength or give them divinely given self-control, sephanosmos.
[00:25:30] Lord, may they experience
[00:25:33] The strength to do what maybe they've never done before.
[00:25:36] And Lord, I pray that you would inspire them.
[00:25:38] Holy Spirit, cause those verses to come alive within them so that when they speak those words, there is life, there is strength, there's deliverance, there's healing, there's peace, there's provision, all of those things.
[00:25:52] Lord, I thank you for doing that.
[00:25:54] God, change our lives.
[00:25:56] Make us more like you, and God, may you use us as a mighty force to seek change in our world, in our atmosphere.
[00:26:04] Lord, I say thank you for doing it in Jesus' name.
[00:26:07] You can go ahead and take your hand down.
[00:26:09] I want to pray one more prayer.
[00:26:11] So while every head is bowed and Christians are praying really hard,
[00:26:19] I want to pray for those who may be here this morning and you're not really sure about your relationship with God.
[00:26:24] The question I'd like to ask is this.
[00:26:27] If you were to die today, like right now, do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ
[00:26:34] Do you know without any shadow of a doubt that you're ready to stand before God?
[00:26:39] If you're not sure today, you can be sure.
[00:26:42] And in just a second, I want to pray for you along with others who'd say, I'm not really sure about my relationship with God, but I want to be sure.
[00:26:52] So while heads are bowed and Christians are praying, if you say, that's me, I want to be sure of my relationship with God.
[00:26:58] Would you lift up your hand right now?
[00:26:59] Just lift it up along with others and say, please pray for me.
[00:27:02] God bless you.
[00:27:03] Others, just lift up.
[00:27:04] God bless you.
[00:27:05] Others, just lift it up.
[00:27:07] Thank you.
[00:27:07] Anybody else, just lift it up and say, I want to be sure of my relationship with God.
[00:27:12] I want to be certain of my salvation.
[00:27:15] Anybody else want to get in on this?
[00:27:17] I'd love to pray for you.
[00:27:20] Yes.
[00:27:21] Thank you.
[00:27:27] Now, Holy Spirit, I pray that you would cause each of my friends to have the assurance of their salvation.
[00:27:35] Lord, may they know beyond any shadow of a doubt that they're ready to meet you.
[00:27:41] In just a moment, I'm going to pray a simple prayer.
[00:27:44] I'm going to ask everyone in this room to repeat this prayer after me.
[00:27:47] If you raised your hand, just pray this prayer with the rest of us.
[00:27:51] Pray it from your heart because God will hear and God will respond to you.
[00:27:56] Maybe you didn't raise your hand, but you felt the tugging on the inside.
[00:28:01] I want to encourage you to pray this prayer with the rest of us.
[00:28:06] Let's pray it together.
[00:28:07] Say, God, I know that you love me.
[00:28:10] because you sent your son Jesus.
[00:28:14] He died on the cross for my sins.
[00:28:18] Today I repent of my sins and I ask you to be my Savior, my Lord.
[00:28:24] And from today on, I'm gonna live for you.
[00:28:30] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:28:33] Amen.
[00:28:34] Come on, y'all, let's give God praise.
[00:28:36] Lord, we give you glory.
[00:28:39] Lord, we give you honor.
[00:28:41] We just say thank you, Lord Jesus.
[00:28:43] If you prayed that prayer, just open your heart to the Lord.
[00:28:47] I am so proud of you, and I want to encourage you to take one more step.
[00:28:51] In the back, in the lobby, we have a sign that says, I said yes to Jesus.
[00:28:56] After the service is over in just a few minutes, I want to encourage you, go back there to that sign.
[00:29:00] Some of our leaders will be back there.
[00:29:02] I've got some literature, and I've got a Bible that I want to give to you.
[00:29:05] So if you prayed that prayer, go back there and get those materials because it will help you.
[00:29:10] It will strengthen you in your journey of faith.
[00:29:13] God bless you.
[00:29:14] I'm going to be praying for you this week.
[00:29:16] So proud of you.
[00:29:17] Maybe you're here this morning as a guest.
[00:29:20] Maybe this is your first time here.
[00:29:22] And if so, I want to say welcome.
[00:29:25] We are so glad you're here.
[00:29:26] One of the things that we do every Sunday here at Lake City Church is that we share together in the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion.
[00:29:35] And when we celebrate communion, it's really a celebration of the fact that God the Father loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus.
[00:29:45] Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life, He gave His body and His blood for us.
[00:29:51] and so in just a minute we're going to take these little emblems and if you didn't get one when you came in we have I guess this is gluten free up here but on the walls and in the back there's the little packets and you can just step out and grab one of those packets but I want you to participate if you have faith in Christ today you're invited to share together and you're encouraged to celebrate with us Father
[00:30:16] In the next few moments, as we prepare our hearts to receive this emblem that reminds us of the body of Jesus that was bruised and broken for us, God, would you help it to be more meaningful than ever before.
[00:30:31] Lord, as we prepare our hearts to receive
[00:30:33] This juice that reminds us of the blood of Jesus that was shed for us on the cross.
[00:30:39] God, we know that without the shedding of His blood, there could be no forgiveness.
[00:30:44] But God, today, as we receive these emblems, remind us, remind us once again of how much You love us and how much You have forgiven us.
[00:30:54] You have forgiven every sin, and we stand complete.
[00:30:58] We stand forgiven in You, and we celebrate that fact today.
[00:31:03] In Jesus name, Amen.