Okay, so let's jump in this morning's message on who is Jesus. Oh, is it so important? Listen, I pick up a book that is written in 1955. Way older than me.
I started reading this book last night, I told Beck, it's funny. How sometimes you read a book and right before you need a message or you have a point, it's like, there it is. In 1930s, I got to say this, 1938, 1930s, life magazine. Life magazine wrote this in their magazine.
People have become weary of the words of men. They have lost their confidence in man's ideas, man's programs, man's plans. They are hungry and eager to hear a voice from the other side. A voice of truth, a voice of authority, whose ways will work in the lives of men.
They are listening for a word from God. Almost 100 years ago, life magazine said this, and I laughed and wondered, I thought, have they forgot the word of God? Well, life was better 100 years ago. Hold on, did they forget the word of God?
Hebrews one, one and two. In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, He spoke to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He also made the universe. The men and women in 1930s were looking for a word from God.
They had the word of God for hundreds of years, but they forgot to listen to the Son. So this morning is, who is Jesus? I am the way, the truth, and the life. That is who Jesus is.
He is the way, the truth, and the life. We know John 14 says, for I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me. And you want to, amen, I got that. Let me tell you something, if you're a note-taker this morning, you need to take note this morning, because what is happening in our country is this.
There's a shift in 100 years ago, they're saying, we want the truth, we want the truth, and when they get the truth, they jack Nicholson on them. You can't handle the truth. You don't want the truth, and you can't handle the truth. Because when Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one, that's the key.
No one comes to the Father, except through me. And that is Jesus Himself. And there are so many people in this world around us who think I can get to God in many different ways. I can get to God with my checkbook.
If I give enough money to church, I get to go in. There are whole denominations built on that. Give enough, light enough candles, do enough things, buy enough doltenances, and you get to get into heaven. There's other people who believe this.
If I show up to church on Sunday, I get to go to heaven. There are other people who believe I show one church on Christmas and Easter, I get to go to heaven. If at one time I went to church, just one time I went to church, I get to go to heaven. Oh, surely God is a loving God.
Everybody gets to go to heaven. He does love, but with his love, he gets to choose. He gets to pick how it works. And he says that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
So here's the truth, Jesus is the way. He's taking believers to his Father's house. He's the truth, revealing his Father's heart. Jesus is the life connecting the Father and his Son to us.
Thank you, Jesus, thank you Father God. Oh come on, some of you this morning, welcome glad you're here with us. You're here because your mama asked you to come and church with him. I'm glad you're here.
I'm glad you're part of what we're doing this morning. But I think you're here for a specific reason. God brought you here this morning for a reason, a connection to let you understand something that Jesus is the way. He is the way.
He is the only way to heaven. Well, Pastor Mike, you said it three times already now. I'm gonna say it many more times today. Because here's the deal, so many people in the world around us think that we can parade a different saints, parade a different people, do different things and earn our way there.
The price has already been paid by Jesus Christ and he is the only way to get into heaven. C.S. Lewis, he wrote a phenomenal book called Miracristianity. Anybody read that book?
Ooh, a few hands in this room. Oh wow, when you get that book in your hands. In that book, C.S. Lewis, he has what's called a trilema.
A trilema is three different options in order like a dilemma of what you're trying to figure out. He makes an argument called liar, lunatic, or lord. You go, what is that? I'm gonna read that to you.
Let's read this together. I'm trying to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him. I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. Yeah, we're gonna, man, what's 26, sure, people getting over that, no, no.
Yeah, he's a good teacher, he's moral, but he's not God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with a man who says he's a poached egg, or else he would be the devil of hell.
He must make your choice. Either this man was and is the son of God, or also mad man, or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him, you can kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.
He has not left that open for us. He did not intend to. We are faced then with a frightening alternative. The man we were talking about was either was and is, just what he said, or else a lunatic, or something worse.
I have to accept the view that he was and is God. Church family, we live in a world with people who think Jesus was a nut job. We live in a world with people who are now propagating and teaching from their synagogues, preaching from their sanctuaries, their mosques, whatever else saying that Jesus was never crucified. Jesus was never resurrected.
Well, Pastor, I'm not Jewish, I'm not Muslim. No, you're a functioning atheist. You don't believe that Jesus is the only way. There is, you know, religious is the only way, but you think you can live however you want to live, and then come in, get into heaven.
Today is gonna be a twofold thing. To me, it's gonna be a who is Jesus for us to understand, but I want to give us an education on how to argue the truth of who Jesus was, the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus was the way, not a way, but the way. And when I say this, people get all freaked out when I say Jesus is the only way to God.
I had people come to me when I taught this before, get so angry with me, they say, you're just an arrogant bigot. Okay, you got any more for me? I mean, I'm not scared of being called arrogant, I'm not called to be a narrow minded. Oh, you're a bigot, Jesus is the only way.
He's the only way to heaven. Yeah, that's the word of God says, and I believe the word of God. Well, I'm a Christian too. Okay, do you believe the word of God?
Well, I've actually never read John 14, 6. Well, then there's a problem. I hang a flag that says I'm a Christian, but I don't live the life of a Christian. Oh, I believe in Jesus.
I understand you believe in Jesus. So is the devil. Nope, that's not enough for argument. The belief in a God up there is for everybody.
The only difference is, is those who will say, I believe it, I accept it, and I will live according to it. So many secrets, some people get to get changed. I'm like, oh, I'm accepting, some people use one. I go, oh, that's pretty strong.
Yes, it is strong. But I believe this truth. When Jesus said that, it was with great compassion. It was a great compassion, because he was looking for to help people get to him.
Let me just make it, it will still before you. Let's go to a back country road back here in Wharton County, or a back country road. And you see this guy, let me pick some of my tarot-jests out there, okay? Tarot's sitting out there, and Tarot's got his nice little reflective jacket on, and Tarot's got a flag, and the flag says, Jesus.
And he's waving this flag, and people are driving towards him. He's going, take the left lane, take the left lane. And people are going, oh, I'm not gonna take the left lane. I'm gonna go to the right lane.
Well, what they don't know is the right lane, the bridge is out. But just because Tarot's waving his flag, it says, Jesus, this way, Jesus, this way, human nature says, I'm gonna go against what man says, and against what Jesus says, I'm gonna make my own way. And they crash their life. And they say, Tarot's just arrogant, he thinks he knows everything, he's gonna have a block, and they just go crazy.
And Tarot's trying to wave people to the truth. But what does man, what does our flesh do? It fights immediately, it repulsed immediately, goes, oh, I'm gonna do my own thing. The Bible says this, but I wanna do this.
I believe I am the way, is the single most critically important bit of information on the planet. Why is this claim so controversial? Because other religions, and what are religions are. Religions are man's way to God.
That's what religion is. Oh, you believe in religion? No, I don't, I don't believe in my way, trying to figure out to God. I believe Jesus already made the way, paved the way.
All I gotta do is follow the road he's given me. Amen? And here's what great myths happen in other religions, they say this, when you get right down to it, all religions are basically the same. No, sir.
You have heard people say that, and they say, well, basically, essentially we're all kind of the same, we got a little difference. Let me say this to you in simple 4K nonsense. Let me say this to you in Spanish, no way, Jose. That's the truth.
There is some common ground for different things, but very simply they're not, there are huge differences. The fact, the main assertion that Jesus himself, Boli will claim that Christianity is different. Listen to me church, it's important for us to get this, because the uniqueness of Christianity is rooted in the uniqueness of Jesus himself. We've got to understand, let me say it again, the uniqueness of Christianity is rooted in the uniqueness of Jesus himself.
Many great scholars will say this, scholars say of other religious leaders, they say follow me, and I'll show you how to find the truth. But Jesus says, I am the truth. Other religious leaders say follow me, and I'll show you the way to salvation. But Jesus says, I am the way to eternal life.
Other religious leaders say follow me, and I'll show you how to become enlightened. But Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Amen. Other religious leaders say follow me, and I'll show you many doors that lead to God.
But Jesus says, I am the door. Then Jesus says, so follow me. They are all right. Big differences, and we have to see them, because here's what happens with Christians, what happens with people who go to church, and say, oh, I heard that from Michael, preach a sermon one time, and I heard it from the way the truth and the life, I got this, but I just didn't solidify it, you got to solidify it, because what happens is, you get around watered down people, and they will water down things with you, and you'll begin to believe watered down things.
It's a slow progress where they water you down, grind you down, and you get to the point where I guess everybody gets to go to heaven, because God loves everybody, God does love everybody. But he makes every one of us make a choice. Well, my parents made a choice when I was a kid, and they christened me in the Catholic church, that's not salvation. Well, I went to church my whole life, I got all those high school badges.
Oh, Pastor Michael, I've got all the men's Bible study books. I've got all the women's Bible study books. I went to Fim and Appeals, the RTC, BFW. So what?
I've been into McDonald's many, many, many times, and I'm still not a hamburger. I may look like a hamburger, but I'm not a hamburger. Come on, some people want to harmonize and try to make it the same thing, but it's not. First Timothy two, five through six, for there is one God, and one mediator, between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for some people.
Oh, come on, read it right, Pastor Michael. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. I know who you going, it's the ongoing pastoral joke. No, no, no, listen to me.
I think some of us read that, and we see the word all, but in all reality, our mind says some. What do I mean by say some? It says this, some of us, we look at people and we go, there's no way they're gonna make it to heaven. You don't know my brother-in-law.
You don't know my father-in-law. You don't know the guy that I work with. You don't know the guys that I put in jail week after week. You don't know these people that I live next to.
You don't know the people I live with. See, honestly, what do I say? Some, y'all come back and you go, oh no, it says all. I know it says all, and it's not just using a preaching device, but it's a reality I want us to really grid a hold of, because it says all people.
Jesus can't die for everyone, and the people who are the ones that are most messed up, are the ones we should have a heart for to reach out to, to go get them, and say, come on, join me on the path on the way to heaven. Amen? Jesus is the only way to heaven. You keep saying that, I'm gonna keep saying that.
Acts 4, 12, salvation is found in no one else. For there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. So let's go ahead and bust a bubble. Mary's not gonna get you in heaven.
I don't care how much you pray to Mary. That's right, Michael, we're a Protestant church. We don't pray to Mary, and listen, I'm helping you, number one, learn the truth, but number two, helping you argue the truth. Okay, that's not gonna happen.
Well, you can't go get baptized in somebody's name. There are other religions who believe you can get baptized in somebody else's name and get them into heaven. Well, what about purgatory? Oh, what's heaven really like series?
Go listen to permanent heaven and different, I dealt with that issue in a totally different sermon, but very simply this, there is no purgatory. When we die, we get before you die. Amen? So let me say one more time.
Jesus is the only way to heaven. Amen? We got that one? Good, here's number two.
Jesus is the truth. Jesus says, I am the truth. What a statement. I am the truth, and that absolutely infuriates people.
Well, y'all think Jesus is everything. Yes! He sacrificed his life, he gave his life. Just pray a prayer out in public and say the name of Jesus.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. Everybody must have closed their ears and just scream. You can say God all day long, because who is God? Or amen in his holy name.
What's his holy name? His name is Jesus. I hear so many people say, oh, in his holy name, amen. Or in his most high name or the man upstairs.
Y'all are laughing. I've been to many public events. And I've heard people pray all kinds of crazy endings, but they never say they're the word of Jesus. They never say the name of Jesus, but everybody's gonna get offended, because all of a sudden it becomes a truth.
And we live in a world with half-truths, partial truths, no absolute truths. But the absolute truth is this. Jesus is the truth. He is the only truth that there is.
And the heart of it is this, so many other religions wanna live by myths. Here's another myth. Say, my pastor, might be giving us all kind of myths, because this is the truth we've got to get and understand. Miss says this, that even though Christianity might be different, it's still one philosophy among many, and it's no more valid than any other world religion.
You hear people say that. In other words, we're different. We don't have equal claims on the truth. You Christians can believe all the Jesus you want, but I'm a karma bug.
What's a karma bug? Well, they believe in reincarnation and karma, the way you live. You start out as a bug or you start out as a horse, you start as a donkey, and you kind of make your way up and you kind of continue to evolve. And you continue to evolve.
But if you screw up, you start back as an ant or a roach. I was never an ant, I was never a roach. I came from father, God, I came from heaven, I came from my mother, and here I am, and as a human, I'm not gonna become a bug, I'm not looking for Nirvana. The ultimate state of being.
Oh, sorry, I'm not gonna stay across the leg going home. But listen, there's all kinds of things that people believe, and they say that's their truth. You have your truth, I have my truth, and we're just gonna be different. No, let me tell you something.
I'm going to eternal life, and you're going to eternal hell. Well, man, churches don't wanna talk about hell anymore because it's not contemporary. No, hell's been contemporary for all eternity. And then you have your other wack jobs.
What do you mean, your other wack jobs? What do you mean, your other wack jobs? You're a cabist. Your cabist wack jobs very simply say that, guess what, this group's going to heaven and the rest of you are going to hell.
Because he's a loving God. He only loves you and the rest of these people who are born just to be go to hell. That's a wack job. That's somebody who doesn't understand scripture.
Oh, Pastor, Michael, you're fired up. Oh, let me tell you something. Well, when you talk about my God, and you say my God would only love this group of people and hate this group of people, I got a problem with you. And that myth, that lie that says we have variants of the differences, you know, that's not a myth, it's a flat lie.
And it's applied to the pluralistic attitudes. Oh, it's okay, we need to be tolerant. Isn't it marvelous the tolerant people? No, it's not.
The real truth is that those who preach tolerance, the loudest are the ones who are the most intolerant. Oh, just be tolerant. Tolerate me, tolerate me, tolerate me to love and power. And then now let me squish you like a bug.
That's exactly what Islam does. That's exactly what the homosexual agenda does. Accept us, accept us, accept us. And then when they're in power, bam, it's much like a bug.
Again, I like to read Bible stuff, I like to read political stuff. The first openly homosexual judge in San Antonio who made everybody kneel and bow to her flag and bow to her things was just removed from office and can never practice a law against the state of Texas. Praise God. Well, it's a choice.
Yeah, it is a choice. It's a choice to reject God and God's plan for your life. Go read Romans 1, that's simple. Talk about abortion.
Oh my Lord, people get all stoved up. That's not a big issue, just a couple of shells. You were bad in science, weren't you? You didn't pay attention to the third grade science.
This isn't very difficult. Public prayer. Oh man, let's not do public prayer. Oh, let's shut that stuff down.
So was Jesus telling the truth? Yes. How do we know he's telling the truth because he can back up his claims? Let's look at a few examples of Jesus telling the truth.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem as the book of Micah prophesied over 700 years before it happened. When Jesus decided to betray Jesus, the Sanhedrin paid him 30 silver pieces, which was prophesied by Zachariah 470 to 500 years before Jesus lived. I hope you, if you're taking pictures taking notes, I'm being slow here on purpose because I need you to get this because you need to know how to argue from the truth. And prophecies are a thumbprint of the truth.
The only the Messiah could fit. Psalm 22 describes very accurately the detail the Messiah would be crucified, which Jesus was, obviously right. But here's what's amazing though. Crucifixion wasn't even invented yet.
It wouldn't be invented in more than 500 years before his crucifixion. It's been invented by the Parisians. Psalm 22 is talking about Jesus being crucified and crucifixion wasn't even invented in human history. I can sit here and go one through, there's literally 300, three, three zero zero prophecies that were said about Jesus that were fulfilled in Jesus.
Yes, good. And I had one of our church members talk to me about this and said, Master Michael, I know we can't do it on a sunny morning because there's over 300, but let me do some research, let me work on that. So we have a member of our church who's working on all these 300 prophecies to bring him out of scripture and lay him out and say, this is what it says. This is what the prophecy said, this is how Jesus fulfilled it.
This is what the prophecy said, this is how Jesus fulfilled it. This is what the prophecy said, this is how Jesus fulfilled it. 300 of those. We could do almost one per day for an entire year.
Oh, Pastor Michael, man, that's just mind-boggling. Well, let me blow your mind even more. Strategically for Jesus to do what Jesus said and be the truth that Jesus said, it would like me taking a silver dollar and taking that silver dollar and putting X on that silver dollar. And I said, okay, Robert, here's what I want you to do.
Drive anywhere in Texas, you wanna drop in Texas. Go anywhere you wanna go in Texas. And I want you to drop that silver dollar. Don't tell me, don't tell anybody, it's just you, you get your truck and you drop it anywhere you want.
And then for the next few days, weeks and months, we're gonna fill Texas with silver dollars, knee high, across the entire state of Texas. Robert hadn't told anybody where that silver dollar is at. And then I said, Robert, I'm a sis- then I said, Rudy, I said, Rudy, here's what you do. Go find that silver dollar.
But here's the, I'm not gonna give you days, weeks, months, and years, I mean, you five hours. And Rudy drives and goes, oh, there it is. Y'all would say, that's crazy. That's the statistical probability for Jesus fulfilling all 300 prophecies.
That's the problem, that's the statistics. And so, Pastor Michael, that's just mind-boggling. That's who Jesus was, and that's who Jesus is. And people argue that he's not the truth.
Oh, come on church. That's just wild, you're talking about other things. But Jesus is the only one who performed great miracles recorded by people all over the place. Most technical demonstration there is this.
Jesus said that he would die, and that he would raise from death three days later. I've never seen anybody else prophesy their own death, prophesy their own resurrection. All those guys died. Jesus died and rose again.
That's the truth. Oh man, this is good. Y'all got me all stirred up. Here's the ring.
Jesus is the life. Jesus said I am the life. Oh, Pastor Michael, that just sounds so snobbish. Jesus says I am the life.
He is the only life that we have. Christianity is anything but snobbish. Let me give you a simple illustration. There's two country clubs.
There's two country clubs. And the first country club says, to be a member of our country club, you must have academic degrees. You must be well-mannered, well-behaved, great etiquette. You must have a great lineage.
You must have all this great background before we'll let you come into our country club. That's what religion is. Religion is to do all these things before you can get there. That's great.
Pastor Michael, give me some examples of that. Okay, let me give you a simple example of that. You must go through all these classes to be confirmed. By who?
Confirmed by who? Okay. And then once you're confirmed, then you qualify for communion. But guess what?
While you're working through all these classes, trying to be confirmed and get to your communion, Mommy and Daddy over here are fighting. And Mommy and Daddy are deciding to get a divorce. And Mommy pays $10,000 to the Vatican so that now Mommy and Daddy are no longer married. So now you're busser children.
That's the word. You can go all religious on me. Now you've done all these classes, crossed all these hoops, done all these things. And now you can't do those things because Mommy and Daddy are not divorced.
That's one of the country clubs. We can go through all the different religions of the world. They all have a country club that has all these requirements. But there's a second country club.
And the second country club is anyone who wants in can get in. Why? Because you just already paid the price. Membership is yours.
You're rich, you're poor, you're black, you're white. Doesn't make it big, it's your ethnic heritage. Where you live, your education level, your resume. We would love to include you.
Entries are based on qualifications, but Entries is based on one simple thing. Except in Christ's invitation to be his follower. That's simple. So which country club is Snobbish?
Clearly the first one. Clearly the one of religion. And clearly not the one of Protestantism and Christianity. Oh come on.
But I know what Jesus says. I'm gonna leave this matter to you to decide. You make a choice. You're gonna hear the truth over and over and again I know people say, Pastor Michael, we live here in the Bible there.
Everybody in the Bible know Jesus. I grew up and all my friends, they know Jesus. I know Jesus. Yeah, he's the guy that we hang out with on Sunday.
You know, that's Jesus. That's a totally different person. Jesus is the one who says, I let you decide. Christianity doesn't include anybody.
Doesn't exclude anybody. Christianity includes everybody. Christianity doesn't exclude anyone from heaven because they didn't perform well. Christianity doesn't exclude anyone from heaven because their resume wasn't good enough.
Christians aren't putting on errors. We're just simply saying that we're better than nobody else. I love what D.T. Niall said.
We're just beggars telling other beggars where to find food. Jesus is unique, Christianity is unique. And through Jesus Christ we have life. One of our greatest teachers, one of our greatest apostles was Paul.
And Paul got into theological arguments but what he would do is tell stories. And terms ofitism, we know how to tell our story. We know how to have conversations with people because here's the deal. People can argue the way.
They can try to argue the truth but they can't argue the life. They can't argue a life that's transformed. The reason he did it was very simply because he wanted people to understand something. Look at John 924.
And if you had to read John 9, it's a funny story when you really get to the sarcasm and the exasperation here of the blind man. I don't know. Listen Charles, I don't know. You can keep asking me till you're blue in the face.
I just don't know. Why do you keep asking? I just don't know Tom. I don't know.
But one thing I do know. What does I do know? I was blind but now I see. Listen, I don't know who this guy was.
I know it's him. It's Jesus, but I don't even have no kind of conversation with him. I just don't know. But we read that and go, I don't know.
I don't know. I'm once was blind but now I see. Nice story. No.
I was found. Amen. I was jacked up. I was hurting but now I'm healed.
My marriage was falling apart. But now it's healed. Something I'm talking about. I was miserable as a tick.
But my god, I found joy. I was a dead man walking. Oh my gosh. I didn't think back 34 years ago when I gave my life to Christ.
And I was a screwed up little 15, 16 year old boy. I mean, I was jacked up and going, holy cow, God man, what in the world is wrong with my life? And then my family life, my family background, my messed up aunt who's a witch. I mean, all this just, oh, this gobbledygook.
I've been coming to church and I heard all the same things you're hearing. And so I understand when people come to church and go, yeah, I don't want to church. I've heard that story before. I mean, I understand when you're sitting at it.
Because you just say, OK, yeah, I'm messed up. I'm jacked up. But I like being jacked up. I like being in misery on Monday mornings, on Sunday mornings.
What do you mean? Well, I like drinking on Saturday nights and hanging over on Sunday mornings. Oh, oh, shh. Quit quiet.
I need some water. I need my coffee. I understand people enjoy that. I understand people enjoy being heartbroken.
I understand people enjoy going from one relationship to another relationship to another relationship. I understand people enjoy being broke. I enjoy people saying, I work all week for all my heart and money, not blowing on Friday night and Saturday night. And I mean, ramen on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, praying for Friday.
But I understand enjoying that. Well, if you find joy in that, well, more power to you. Or you can find the way, the truth, and the life, which is Christ Jesus. See, I've come to believe after many, many years of ministry is this.
I don't think people really enjoy that. But I think that's what's been modeled and set in front of them. They think that's the way to live. Because what they've learned is, Jesus, I am the way.
But what they've learned is they've learned from watching their parents and grandparents and their family say, this is the way to have real joy. And it's all those things. And here's the truth that they're told. Them churches?
Them churches, the only thing they want is your money. The only thing church that wants is your money. You go to church, all they do is beg and beg and beg and bring it for you. And grinds you to take all your money.
And if you go there, your life's going to change. You're going to be one of those snooty people. Thank you better than us. You're going to go to that church.
And you're going to think that you're all high and mighty. No, when we come to church, we understand that we are now nobodies. Trying to live a life that changes our life first. Come on church.
So who is Jesus? He's the way. He is the path and life to life, a line of adventure and purpose and fulfillment. He's the truth.
He provides you with wisdom that works for everyday life. You don't have to stay up on Sunday mornings or wake up Sunday mornings going, oh, my hat hurts. Or going, let's see how many more drinks we can have till I pass out. Oh, yeah, great man.
Yeah, and then all of a sudden you go home and your wife's mad. Why is my wife always mad at me? I wonder why? Or you can have life.
Jesus is a life. He alone can give you life and confidence for your future, for all eternity. So who is Jesus? Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
So listen to me. And say, well, Pastor Michael, I know where you're going. Listen, you don't know where I'm going. Surely he's going to call it.
Surely I'm not this morning. And I'm going to tell you, surely why I'm not going to do this morning. Well, say, Pastor Michael, man, this is like Mother's Day guest here. People, listen to me.
Most of us have been in church or been to a church or have come to a service. And you feel like that guy, oh, he's got one purpose. He's looking at me the whole service. If you feel like I'm looking at you the whole service, that's the Holy Spirit looking at you through the whole service.
And if you like get ants in your seat, it's like, oh, man, So here's what I'm going to simply do this. What I'm going to do is I've never done. I think it's just be real simple. OK?
And I need everybody to pay attention. Everybody participate. I'm like, oh, participation. Well, I'm a guest this morning.
Well, welcome to Christ community fellowship. And I want you to be a guest of ours. And I want you to participate. You chose to sit here.
Your mom would drag you and say, come to church with me. But here's what I want you to do. If you have somebody who's on the right side of you, I want you to face them. Turn it face pretty right.
And if you're at the end of the road, look at the other direction. And here's what I want. Pass your suit, do this. And it takes a lot of time.
Hold on, say what I'm here. I want you to simply do this. I want you to ask the person sitting to the right of you, are you born again? Simple question.
Simple question. I actually have a conversation. Simple question. The answer is simple.
Yes or no? There is no in between. Well, I'm not sure. Did the answer is no.
Well, I'm thinking about it. And the answer is no. All right? Now, very simply, every single one of us has been asked the question, are you born again?
And you had to answer the question. And so here's very simply, you've heard the truth. You've heard the arguments for the truth. And you understand that Jesus is the only life that brings real life.
So here's the deal. You just had to answer your neighbor honestly, or you lied. Does it be honest? I mean, I'm OK with that.
I'm one of those people who wants to be used to what you see. Here's the ends, here's the truth. OK? And if you're sitting there going, you know what?
Pastor Michael, this morning, I'm struggling with sin in my life. Whether it's I've never accepted Jesus, or I've accepted Jesus, but I still got sin I'm struggling with. That's how I want to close this morning saying, well, Pastor Michael, what about those people who said no this morning? You're their neighbor, right?
Why do I have to preach to them when they just said no to you? So here's one of those, everybody stand up with me. If you're born a believer and you know your neighbor said no, then hello, before we get out of here, you guys should share cries with them. But here's how I want to close, very simply this.
I want you to close your eyes and not hear them by them. I want you to focus on you and focus on the ground for a second. Jesus, I heard a message this morning that says, you're the way. And I've chosen my own way at times.
We call that sin in the church. And if you've chosen your own way this morning, and I'm going to give you a chance to get that right, repent and surrender and get back on the way, the path that God has for you. If you follow God, if I rewrote my own truth, well, yeah, I know the Bible says, but I've chosen to live a different way than today I repent and choose to live according to the truth. Or maybe you're sitting here today saying, I enjoy the life of the title of Christian, but I know in my heart, I'm really not a Christian.
Then today the day to repent and say, God, I give you my life, fresh and anew, and I intend to live according to your life. You can say that loud or under your breath between you and God right now, just a few seconds, just to get that right, repent and go a different direction. Jesus, you said, and I believe you are the way, the truth, and the life. And Father, I choose to live according to your way.
Father, I choose to live according to your truth. Father, I choose to live my life the way you've intended me to do. Because I know that no one can come to the Father, except through you. And I accept that today as a biblical truth.
And I walk in it because you are Jesus. Lord, I pray your blessing over this congregation, over the families, over each and every one of us, in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Sure to have a great Sunday afternoon.