Easter 2022

Happy Easter to you. I wanna remind you of something, that the story of Jesus, is the story of a king. It's not only what we've just sung about, but that's actually the story of Jesus, is the story of a king. I know that may, for some of you feel a little bit antiquated or outdated, maybe just a little bit. Because like your familiarity with Kings is, "Yeah, I've heard some old stories before," or, "I've read some history books," or maybe," I watched a movie," or, a Netflix or Apple Plus, you know, special, or series, or whatever and that's my familiarity with kings. It's just not something I'm real familiar with, I get it. And I know you may think that that idea of saying the story of Jesus, is the story of a king, is somewhat outdated, but I promise you it's not. And the reason that it's not, is because I'm convinced that every single human heart is actually longing for a king, it's actually longing for a king that will rescue it from the things that befall it, and is desiring to have a king that can provide for it, what only can be provided for it by that perfect king. You see, it's part of the reason why this search that we have, right, for a real and true king. It's part of the reason why there's so much emotion and energy around politicians. Its because we're looking to them to, somehow, rescue us from the things that we don't want, and to provide for us the things that we do want, kind of, like a king. Or maybe it's why we get so enthusiastic about celebrities of a variety of stripes. Whether it's an actor, or an athlete, or a business leader, or whomever it might be, somebody famous. Maybe it's because we wanna be rescued from our boring lives. And we put them up as like a king, or maybe we just wanna be rescued from, kind of, a life that we feel like, maybe, that we're living, its not as important, not as visible. And so we live vicariously through them, but you know how that goes, right? When you put your trust in, you know, a politician to be able to be the one who's gonna rescue you from everything, and provide everything for you, you come away going, "Yeah, that didn't work." And when you try and do that with celebrities, you try and live vicariously through them, and then you realize, "Yeah, that didn't work." And so, you know where we end up usually? We just thrown ourselves as the king, that's just basically what we do, right. We just anoint ourselves and throw ourselves a party, and we are now the kings of our own lives. We're gonna be the saviors of our own lives, we're gonna do whatever we need to do to amass what we need to do and control our own narrative. And somehow, we're gonna be able to deliver ourselves from the things that we don't like, and we're gonna somehow be able to provide for ourselves, all the things that we do like. And so, we're perfectly fine just being our own kings. And so, we give away though, the fact that we're not completely satisfied with us being our own kings, because we're chasing after other things. We're chasing after money, we're chasing after relationships, we're chasing after success, we're chasing after notoriety, or fame, or power, or influence. And what we end up coming to at the end of all of this, is we find out that we're also not particularly good kings. And that we may be the king that we want, but we're actually not the king that we need, and we figure that out because we end up coming up empty as well. And so everywhere that we look for this longing that we have, we end up coming up empty, and so we just keep searching. And that's why, that we need to understand that the story of Jesus, is the story of a king. And one of Jesus' disciples, Matthew, who walked with Jesus, actually wrote an account, an actual narrative of the story of Jesus. And do you know what? In the very first verse of Matthew's gospel, he wants to make sure that we know that the story of Jesus, is the story of a king. Look at what he says in Matthew chapter one, "This is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Did you pick it up? These are the opening words of Matthew's gospel, and he says, "I'm gonna give you the genealogy of Jesus, The Messiah, here's who He first is, the son David." I don't know if you're familiar with David, but David was a king of Israel, he was the second king that Israel ever had. You may remember this, but Israel was not real content with not having a king. You see God was their king, but he was invisible, and all the nations around them, they like, had dudes with robes, and crowns, and septor, sitting on thrones, like it was cool. And Israel was like, "We want some of that action, we want to see dude, you know, sitting on a throne, who's got stuff, who's commanding an army. 'Cause we're not satisfied that just this invisible God is our king". And so God said, "If that's what you want, okay." And so Saul becomes their king. Now Saul looked the part, he was tall, he was good looking. The Hebrew translation says he was a stud, it doesn't really, but that's my translation. But he was tall, strong, could fight, could lead armies, all of that, he looked apart, but it didn't go so well. And then David became the king after that, and David was a man after God's own heart. And the kingdom was relatively stable during that time, and relatively prosperous during that time. But then after David came Solomon, after Solomon, his kids, and the kingdom divided, and then you've got this whole litany of kings in Israel and Judah. By and large, some of them were okay, but generally speaking, they were really poor kings. They followed after other gods, they led Israel into idolatry, it was a big, huge, mess. But with David, this one king who was after God's own heart, God made a promise. And he said, "Through you, through your lineage, through your line, is going to come the king that everybody needs. The only king that can really solve all of the conditions of the human heart, all of the conditions that befuddle humanity, that king is going to come from you." And so, here we have Matthew giving us the history and the story of Jesus, and he introduces in the very first verse, "This is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, He's the son of David." In other words, he wants us to know, from the very jump, that the story of Jesus is the story of a king. Now, when we get into chapter two of Matthew's gospel, he's gonna show that to us again. And by the way, he's gonna show it to us chapter after chapter after chapter. Because chapter two actually talks about the birth of Jesus, and do you know what it is? It's the birth of a king, notice what it says. It says, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem and Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and they asked, 'Where is the one who has been born, King of the Jews? We saw a star when it rose and have come to worship him.'" See these Magi from the east, they were king makers, that's, kind of, what they did in the place that they were in. And now they show up because of the prophecies and seeing the star, and they want to come to Jerusalem to worship the King of the Jews, Jesus. So Matthew tells us that He's the son of David, He is a king, and then see the birth narrative in chapter two, that he is a King that's come to be worshiped, and then in chapter three, we see his coronation. You're like, "What? What are you talking about The coronation of a King? Yeah, Jesus was baptized, and when he was baptized, the Father in heaven said, "This is my son in whom I'm well pleased." And then the spirit alighted on King Jesus like a dove, it was like it was a coronation of a king that was happening in that moment. And then in chapter four, right after that, Jesus goes from His coronation into the wilderness, where He is confronted with the enemy of our soul, the great deceiver, Satan himself. And Jesus is tempted and tried for 40 days and 40 nights, But He comes up gold, He does not fall to the temptation of the enemy. And you know what that was? That was the demonstration of His kingship. And then in chapter five, six and seven, you've got Jesus actually bringing the law that a king would bring, we call it the sermon on the Mount. But what Jesus is doing, is He's really communicating about what life in the kingdom of God, is supposed to look like. That this what citizenship in the kingdom of God really looks like. And Jesus, as the great King, gives us the law of a king in chapters five, six, and seven, and then in chapter eight. And all the way to chapter number 20, what we see is the credentials of the king. Because now Jesus has said, "The kingdom has broken in and it's come in the person of the King, and not can I heal, but I will. Not only will I deliver and I will, but I will teach you the way of the kingdom of God, and how you can be reconciled to the Father, and how you can become a citizen in the kingdom of God." And then in chapter 20, one of Matthew's gospel that teaches us that the story of Jesus, is the story of a king, Jesus comes into Jerusalem on that very last week of his life that we call Palm Sunday. People are waving palm branches and they are declaring, "Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." They are treating Him like a king, He's riding on a mule coming in, being treated like a king, laying palm branches in front of Him as they would for a king, and now He is coming into Jerusalem celebrated as a king. But things changed. By the time you get to chapter 27, you realize that there's been this great conflict because Jesus, who is a great King, is now in collision course with the great Kings of Israel, king Herod at the time. And then the great King of Rome, the Caesar, who was represented by governor in that locality called Pontius Pilate. And that these were now coming into contact, and it felt like to the religious leaders, that this was really something that it intimidated them, they didn't like it at all. And so, they were working behind the scenes to make sure that this King would be ultimately disposed of. And in chapter 27, here's what we see. We see from the time of Jesus being called the son of David, in chapter number one, that the son of David is being put on a cross to be crucified. This is what has happened in the life of the King, but something extraordinary happened when this king was on a cross. Here's what Matthew 27 says, "From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land. And about three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani?'" Which means, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" You see, in this moment, the King, who has been crucified by all those people that the tide of popular opinion had turned, and now, they were yelling out things like this, "We have no king but Caesar." And there's Jesus who is on the cross, and Jesus in a moment prior to giving up His spirit, He cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Now Jesus wasn't just randomly crying something out, Jesus was calling back to the Hebrew song book. You see the Hebrew song book is what we call the Psalms, maybe you've read them before, right? They're in the old Testament, and they're this compendium of a bunch of songs that were written, some poetry, but mostly songs. Jesus is specifically referencing one of those Psalm number 22. And guess who wrote the song Psalm 22? David. You see, it began as I'm gonna introduce you to the son of David, the great king that was going to come in the line of David, and now Jesus, the Great King in the line of David, is on the cross. And now the son of David, is singing David's song on the cross. You say singing? Yeah, that's what He was doing. He cried out in a loud voice, and what He was doing is between breaths. Being able to exhale the words of a song that He could barely endeavor to sing as He cried out. Now, why was He crying out those words specifically? Why did he choose, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Well, the obvious reason is because He was now giving words to the most unfathomable thing that could possibly be imagined in the life of King Jesus. That now He was bearing the sins of the world, even though He was sinless and spotless. And now He was experiencing the just wrath of God upon sin, and He was experiencing, what felt like to Him, an interruption now. in His fellowship with God, He'd never known such a thing. From eternity passed, up to that moment, He had never felt or experienced this interruption in fellowship with the Father, but here He is, and He's describing that, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" But it's even more than that, because when someone, in the ancient world would actually quote from, or sing from one verse of a song, they were trying to get everyone's attention that they are trying to get you to see the whole song. That's just how it worked in the ancient world. If they would quote the very first part of something, it was to remind you about all of the rest, and think about it this way. All of those religious leaders, all of those Pharisees, and Sadducees, who were mad at Jesus, and wanted to see him dead, were all around the cross. And when Jesus calls out Psalm 22, in His crying out, and in His singing as best He can, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" They knew exactly what Psalm He was referencing. And if they were to take that Psalm and unscroll it, right there as they're viewing the cross, they would realize that this 1000 year old song from David, was exactly describing the events that were going on in that moment. Listen to Psalm 22, a thousand years before Jesus' crucifixion. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me? So far from my cries of anguish. But I'm a worm and not a man scorn by everyone, despised by the people, all who see me, mock me. They hurl insults, shaking their heads. 'He and the Lord,' they say, 'let the Lord rescue him. Let Him deliver him since he delights in Him.' I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax, it is melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death, dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me. They Pierce my hands and my feet, all my bones are on display. People stare and gloat over me, they divide my clothes among them, and they cast lots for my garment." A thousand years before it happened, and Jesus calls out this song. As incredible as that is, and it is, what's also stunning to me, is in the most tragic and painful, and excruciating time of King Jesus' life, what He chooses to do is sing. I have a hard time even conceptualizing that He chose to sing the opening lyrics of this. And He chose this Psalm for His last song, or was it? Was it really His last song? Because when Jesus was singing this song, even with all the tragedy located in this song, the song ends on a note of victory. Listen to how Psalm 22 ends. "Posterity will serve Him, future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim His righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn, 'He has done it.'" He has done it. You see. what David was saying is that, even though all of this difficulty is happening, I know that God is going to come through, and he is going to do it. And when Jesus, the son of David, is singing David's song a thousand years later on the cross, as difficult and tragic as it was, Jesus knew that the end of the song was a note of victory. And that what was going to happen, is that this wasn't going to be the end, but that God is going to come through, and He is going to do it. And Matthew's narrative tells us that that's exactly what happened. Because after Jesus gave up His life and He died, they took Him down from the cross. Joseph of Arimathea, asked for His body, buried Him in His own tomb that he owned, that was cut out of a rock. Rolled a stone up next to it, and there Jesus lied on Friday, and a on Saturday. And then on day number three, the women are making their way to the tomb, thinking that they're going to anoint His body that is starting to smell at this point, so that it would become less putrified. They were gonna anoint the body. and guess what they ran into? They ran into a tomb that had the stone rolled away, and there was an angel just waiting to talk to them. Here's what it says. "The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified, He is not here. He has risen, just as He said, come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There, you will see Him, now I have told you." My friends, here's what happened, Jesus' song wasn't over because the note of victory was now being struck. God had come through, and he had done it. Jesus was not dead, He was risen from the grave. The son of David, who died singing David's song, gets up from the grave, conquering death, hell, and the grave on our behalf, because He is the King we need. That is the beauty of the gospel. The King exchanged a throne for a cross, so that we could exchange death for life. So that we could exchange ashes for beauty, so that we could exchange a cry of despair, for a song of hope. I heard a story recently, by John Ortberg, and he was telling the story because a friend of his, told him the story and she knew the story firsthand. It was a story about a man who was a Hutu from Burundi. We actually have some people that are in our congregation from the African country of Burundi. And this man was called Binyoni, that means, translated, "Little Bird." The reason that he was called Little Bird, is because from a very young age, he had come to know Jesus as his savior. And he just had a song all the time. He would sometimes make instruments and fashion them, and he would just have a song all the time. And he grew and had an opportunity to be educated, became a teacher, and then from being a teacher, he became a principal. And now he was a principal in his village, and everybody who knew him always called him, Binyoni, Little Bird, because he always had a song. You may or may not realize, but from the time of about 1993, to about 2005, in that part of Africa, there was a terrible ethnic war that was going on between the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Tutsis were going around village to village at this time in Burundi, and they were coming to villages with clipboards, these Tutsi soldiers. And on the clipboard were the names of people that they had been commanded to shoot and kill. Now, the difficulty with some of these Tutsi soldiers, is because this whole system was rigged against them too. Because many of them were actually conscripted into the army, and soldiers as children. And as a result, they had to do what they were told to do, because if they didn't go and do what they were told to do and kill these people that they had been given on the clipboard list, then they would be killed by their commanding officers. It was a horrible existence for all of them in both worlds. So these Tutsi soldiers showed up to Little Bird's village, where he was the principal of a school. He had 11 teachers that were with him, and in Africa at that time, and really still in this time, you can blend faith in education. You can't do that here very often, but you can do that there. And they would not only teach kids about Jesus, but they would also teach 'em how to read. They would teach 'em how to write, they would teach 'em how to do arithmetic, right. So these soldiers showed up and Binyoni tried to deflect them, because they asked for he and all of the teachers to come with them. Binyoni tried to deflect but they weren't having it, and so Binyoni and the 11 other teachers, so it would be 12 of them in all, were taken to a hillside, where they were going to be executed. While they were all there, one of the teachers broke down and started crying, and started saying, "You have to shoot me first, because I can't bear to watch my brothers die." And Little Bird spoke up and said, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. They'll shoot me first, I'm the leader. And you all will have the privilege of seeing someone who goes into the presence of Jesus gloriously." So as the soldiers were about to shoulder their weapons, Binyoni says, "May I pray first?" And they said, "Okay." So he began to pray. Now, those other 11 that were with him, they put a lot of stock in Little Birds' praying. They were hoping he was gonna pray 'em out of there, but he didn't. He began praying for them and he prayed that God would give all of his fellow teachers courage as they face death. And that God would take care of their families that were gonna be left behind. And then he started praying for the soldiers, and he prayed specifically that God would send, to each of these soldiers, someone who would tell them the story of King Jesus. about how they could be forgiven, how they could be made new, how they could have eternal life. And he prayed that God would send someone to tell them that. And then the soldiers, when he said, "Amen," they were getting ready, And Binyoni said, "Could I ask one more thing?" And they were just, kind of, like. And he said, "I'd like to sing a song." Now the soldiers were befuddled, The Lieutenant just, kind of, scratched his head 'cause he didn't know what was going on. Because never before, anyone that they were about to put to death, had anyone ever said, "I'd like to sing a song." So they just, kind of, stared at one another and just were like, so Binyoni began to sing. And he called from his mind an old hymn that he had learned at a young age, that maybe we don't even know very well. And he began to sing loudly the first verse of it. Here's what it said, "Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night, Jesus I come, Jesus I come. Into thy freedom, gladness, and light, Jesus I come to thee." As he finished verse number one, he began singing verse number two, and a couple of the other teachers began to join in just a little bit on verse number two. By the time he got to verse number three, a few more of them had joined in, and when he got to verse number four, the final verse, all of those teachers together, all 12 of them, were singing full-throated, this final verse, I kid you not. Here's what this verse said, "Out of the fear and dread of the tomb, Jesus I come, Jesus I come. Into the joy and light of thy home, Jesus I come to thee." And with the last note of the last verse, the soldiers shot and killed them all. That was the last song of Little Bird, or was it? See the woman that was telling John the story said, "You're probably wondering about this time, how I actually know this, because all of them were killed." She said, "That's what's so remarkable." Because what happened was this, the soldiers ended up leaving and going back to their base, and they did what they did every time, that they would ever go and execute people. They found a local pub, and they would get as inebriated as possible, to try and forget the horrific events of what just transpired. And that's what they all did except the Lieutenant, he didn't drink a drop. And after they were all inebriated and stumbling their way back to their areas where they were going to sleep, the Lieutenant actually went in the night, and as he was walking through the village, saw a light on inside of the local Christian Literature Center. And he walked in and there was an old Quaker woman, born in Africa, who was in there. And this Lieutenant came in and said to her, "This is what happened today." And he told her the entire story and then said, these words to her, "You must tell me about a God who has people that can die so beautifully as this, because I want to serve a God like that." And this Quaker woman began to tell him the story of King Jesus, the one who was with God, the one who was God, but who came and put on flesh, and moved into the neighborhood. The one who was born of a Virgin, the King who had come near God with us, who lived a sinless life. Who told us about the kingdom of God, who told us how we could be forgiven and Know God. And then who went to a cross to die in our place, all us who have sinned and offended God, and He died in our place taking upon Himself, the justice of God, because only a King's blood could satisfy a King's justice. And he died, but he didn't stay dead, the king got up from the dead, He conquered death, and hell, and the grave, because God has done it. And He got up on the third day and He's ascended to the Father, and He's interceding for us right now. And he lives right now, inviting people into His kingdom, even right now. And as she finished telling him about the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that Lieutenant bowed his heart and his knee to King Jesus, and surrendered his life. But not only him, he began to tell all of those other soldiers about the beauty of the gospel of King Jesus, and those soldiers gave their lives to Jesus Christ as well. They studied in a Bible study together, learning about who King Jesus was, and began sharing the gospel and the good news with so many others. And the woman who was telling the story is saying, "You're probably wondering how did the story end?" And she said, "I don't know. All I know is that they did kill the Lieutenant to shut him up, because he was preaching the gospel. But the damage was already done, the gospel was running like fire through all of these people, and they were now sharing the good news of Jesus all over the place. So I don't know exactly how it ended. I just know God, God, The glory." And do you know why? Because Little Bird's song was not over. And do you know why Little Bird's song was not over? Because King Jesus' song was not over. You see the King is still saving us by His mercy. I don't know, you may have a king that you want, but I promise you this, unless it's Jesus, He's the King you need. He's the only one that can save, He's the only one that forgives, He's the only one that can give eternal life, and by His mercy in Christ, He is still transforming lives. He transformed Little Bird's life, He transformed those teachers around Little Bird's lives, He transformed that lieutenant's life. He transformed those soldiers lives, and He's still transforming lives right now as we speak, I promise you that's true. And we've got people in our church that can testify to it, you're some of them. And here's some more that you can watch right now.

- Growing up, I knew lot about Jesus, I was very proud of that. I was a pastor's kid, but it was very hard for me to separate my relationship with my earthly father, with my relationship with God. As a result, I began to struggle very intensely with anxiety, with fear, paranoia. One night, it just really became clear to me that I needed to make a choice, something needed to change. And that was where God met me. I had never experienced the love of Christ in the way that I experience now. I completely changed my entire life, my relationships, the way I spoke, the way I dressed, my job situation, my living situation, it all changed. Because I wanted my life to outwardly reflect the relationship that I had with Christ. Because of the grace and mercy that Jesus has shown me, I wake up every day with a joy that I can't explain. I did not know a joy like this before I knew Christ. I tried to find things that would feel that, that would give me that, it's not possible. It can only be found in Jesus. ♪ I'm living proof ♪ ♪ Of what the mercy of God can do ♪ ♪ If you knew me then, you'd believe me now ♪ ♪ You turned my whole life upside down ♪ ♪ You took the old and He made it new ♪ ♪ And that's what the mercy of God can do ♪ ♪ Now I'm alive to tell the story ♪ ♪ How I've overcome ♪ ♪ It's His goodness and mercy ♪ ♪ And the power of the blood ♪ ♪ I'm so glad that my freedom ♪ ♪ Wasn't based on what I've done ♪ ♪ But the goodness and mercy ♪ ♪ And the power of the blood ♪

- I always knew about Jesus growing up. I prayed before bed and I would have conversations with Him, but I really was always in a place where, you know, God had to do things my way. my prayers were very one-sided, it was really just about Anthony, and what Anthony wanted, and it was God's job to make that happen. So I never really had a relationship with Him. I was drinking a lot, I was getting high a lot. Most weekends were filled with partying. I became more desperate for something that could fill this place that I couldn't find. The Lord was always with me. And I remember crying out so many nights, tears running down my face, lying on the floor, just crying for Jesus, asking Him to take this pain away. To help me understand what was going on, and when was this gonna end? And He would always remind me in that place, and meet me in that place, that He loved me, that He would hold me up. That He would be with me, and that I would understand one day, and by His strength, not my own. He's just been so loving. And one of my favorite parts about Him, is that He's so committed to helping me understand how He sees me. He just kept moving me forward inch by inch, day by day. My father and my stepmother, and my sister, countless friends and family, have been affected by Jesus' living water and every day I just can't help, but stop and think about how good He is. ♪ I thought I deserved ♪ ♪ Oh, to be six feet beneath the earth ♪ ♪ For all the things I've done, the things I've said ♪ ♪ The choices made that I regret ♪ ♪ Oh, I would still be lost, oh ♪ ♪ But for the mercy of God ♪ ♪ Now I'm alive to tell the story ♪ ♪ How I've overcome ♪ ♪ It's goodness and mercy ♪ ♪ And the power of the blood ♪ ♪ I'm so glad that my freedom ♪ ♪ Wasn't based on what I've done ♪ ♪ But the goodness and mercy ♪ ♪ And the power of the blood ♪ ♪ Oh, there's wonder-working power ♪ ♪ Yes, there's chain-breaking power ♪ ♪ Was the cross meant for me? ♪ ♪ That my Savior carried ♪ ♪ Now I've been made free ♪ ♪ By the mercy of God ♪ ♪ Was the grave meant for me? ♪ ♪ Where my sin lay buried ♪ ♪ Now I stand redeemed ♪ ♪ By the mercy of God ♪ ♪ Was the cross meant for me? ♪ ♪ That my Savior carried ♪ ♪ Oh, I've been made free ♪ ♪ By the mercy of God ♪ ♪ Was the grave meant for me? ♪ ♪ Where my sin lay buried ♪ ♪ Now I stand redeemed ♪ ♪ By the mercy of God ♪ ♪ And I'm alive to tell the story ♪ ♪ How I've overcome ♪ ♪ It's His goodness and mercy ♪ ♪ And the power of the blood ♪ ♪ I'm so glad that my freedom ♪ ♪ Wasn't based on what I've done ♪ ♪ It's His goodness and mercy ♪ ♪ And the power of the blood ♪ ♪ The goodness and mercy ♪ ♪ And the power of the blood ♪ ♪ Goodness and mercy ♪ ♪ And the power of the blood ♪ ♪ There's power, there's power, in the blood ♪ ♪ What can wash away my sin ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ What can make me whole again ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, precious is the flow ♪ ♪ That makes me white as snow ♪ ♪ Oh, no other fount I know ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪

- If you're not standing stand, I want everybody just standing for a moment. I wanna remind you of something, the mercy and the power of King Jesus to change a life, is just as powerful and relevant today, as has been at any point in the past. Jesus being the King is not outdated or antiquated, He's who you need. He's the only one that can save, we have all come short of the glory of God, all of us have sinned. And the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. There is no other name, no other king under heaven, by which we can be saved except for the name of Jesus. And Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." There's no way into this eternal, unshakable kingdom, except through King Jesus. By turning from our sin and putting our faith, and trust in Him, and receiving Him as our Lord, our savior and our King. And if you've never done that, and you've really never solidified that decision in your life, for Jesus to be your King, there is no better time than now. And I can't think of a better day than today for you to do that. And if that's your need, I'm gonna ask everybody all over this room, East Worship Center, if you'd just bow your heads with me for a moment. if it's your need to receive Jesus as your Lord and savior, to experience His forgiveness, to find new life and hope in Him, He's offered that to you. But you've gotta turn away from allowing yourself to be king or making other kings besides Him. It's about surrendering to Him as the only one who can save you. The one who died for you, the one who rose from the grave. And that with all the faith that you have, you're willing to do that. And so if that's your desire this day, then I want you to pray something like this in your heart. Don't worry about my words as much as about what your heart posture is, but pray something like this. Lord Jesus, I know that I've sinned and that I can't save myself. I'm asking you to come into my life, to save me from my sin. I believe you died for me, I believe you died for my sin, and I believe you rose from the grave conquering sin. Jesus, I confess that you are Lord, you are King. And I receive you, and the forgiveness you offer, and the mercy that you grant, into my heart and in my life.