[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the Message podcast of High Ridge Church, Longview, where our vision is to help you know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and ultimately make a difference. We are so glad that you're here and we pray that this message impacts your life as you apply the spiritual truths from God's Word in practical ways.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Let's listen in. Hey, everybody. Welcome, welcome, welcome. I am so glad to be coming to you today right where you are. Thank God's got something special to speak to you. As you lean into His Word, I think you're going to get something powerful that's going to really help you and strengthen you. I pray that this would be something that you would take and be able to walk this out practically as you're you living your life for the glory of God. So Matthew chapter 12 is where we're spending all of our time today. We're going to go from there over to Ephesians 2, so Matthew 12, where we'll start, go from there to Ephesians 2. And as we're turning there, I just want to say thank you for your generosity. You guys are an amazing and a giving church. So many of you have decided to stand behind us faithfully and with so much generosity. It is such a massive weight off of my shoulders to know that I don't have to worry about paying for the light bill. I don't have to worry about keeping the water running in our church. You guys have been so generous. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. We have people all over the world that were able to sow seeds into their areas of ministry because you give. And so we're not just paying bills here, but we're able to advance the kingdom in a lot of amazing and crazy places because of your generosity. So thank you, thank you. Thank you very much for being so generous. As we're digging into God's word today, I can't help but show you a couple things I think are strong on my spirit. And we're going to talk today about freedom, what that means. I think it's important. Of course, with our celebration of July 4th this past week.
It's a beautiful time to be alive and I'm so thankful to live in a country where we can really celebrate freedom. It's a big deal and that freedom came with a massive price. And so not Only is it July 4th week, this also my birthday and I have also been a little bit under the weather here lately, so I wanted to make sure that I was able to bring you the Best I can. So we're going to put, you know, we're going to put this recording on in all three services so I don't have to preach live with it with this voice as you can hear. So I'll give you the best that I can. But as we're celebrating Independence Day, I was just looking back at our history and thinking about how many times that faith has played such a pivotal part in the development of our country. I don't know if You've studied much U.S. history.
I love a lot of American history. I love world history. I kind of geek out on that kind of stuff. But in 1777, 78 at Valley Forge, in case you don't know the story of the Continental army, this was the winner.
And in the middle of a brutal, brutal winter, we see our country fighting for its independence. And the conditions were incredibly difficult. If you ever get a chance to go back and kind of study what happened at Valley Forge and kind of the rising to prominence of George Washington as he led his amazing Continental army against tyranny, the conditions that he had to do that were just. Were incredibly hard. And so we had.
I think there was 2,000 soldiers that died of, not just fighting, but they died of, like, starvation and. And being out in the cold. And a lot of those guys were barefoot. I don't know if you know this, but if you look into the history, some guys were. Were boiling their. Their leather shoes to have leather soup just to have some flavor to the water that they were eating. That's how. How desperate times got. And so sickness and starvation were. Were a big thing.
And they were vastly outnumbered, outmanned, and falling victim to the cold. And in the middle of all that, there's a Quaker named Isaac Potts that happened to be traveling by. And he sees in the woods that George Washington had gone by himself out into the woods. And he said out in the middle of the snow that George Washington had dropped down onto his knees and was praying with all of his heart. George Washington, we know, also encouraged his troops to. To fast and to pray and ask God for help, because they were. They were in a. In a. In a desperate place fighting for the freedom that now all of us get to enjoy. And Isaac Potts writes this letter home to his wife. He's a Quaker, by the way, and he's also a pacifist. And so as he's seeing George Washington kneel down into the snow, he writes back these words to his wife. He says, all is lost if we don't trust in God, George Washington will succeed, for he has the guidance of heaven. So that story's kind of become a legend today, but it's at the, at the very beginning of our freedom. And so I'm very, very thankful that we can celebrate those freedoms today. But let's remember the, the high price that was paid for that freedom. And so as, as believers, as Christians, more than just Americans, but as, as believers, it's. It's important that we don't just celebrate the freedom that's in our country. But, but true freedom that comes with a high price as well, the freedom that comes with what Christ did for each of us on the cross. That's kind of where I want to dive in today as we're digging into the book of Matthew.
So in context, In Matthew chapter 12, what has happened is Jesus has just cast out a demon.
And a bunch of people believe like, wow, that was. That was incredible. We watched this person that was tormented by these demonic forces, and he once was tormented and now he's free. And because people started believing, there's a whole other group of people that said, oh, he must have done that because he's in league with Satan. And they said he's driving out Satan by Satan himself. Of course, Jesus, like, that's a ridiculous thought. And so Jesus begins to challenge that kind of theology that would say that this wasn't a real miracle, that this is some kind of demonic showing. And he begins to. To reveal two important truths, that there is a real kingdom of darkness and there is a real kingdom of light. He gives us two powerful looks at the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of heaven. And it pushes us into what it means to walk in. And true freedom today, it shows us through this parable that Jesus is about to get into, it shows us that true freedom is not political or external. Now, I love those freedoms. I love the freedom that we have in our country. I love having political freedom. I love having external freedoms. Those are wonderful. But true freedom is spiritual and it's internal.
And that's the freedom that is not only internal, but eternal.
And so as we're digging into God's word today, keep that in mind. What true freedom really is, it's more than just popping off some fireworks, more than just celebrating the birth of our nation. Those are wonderful things. But true freedom is spiritual and it's internal. So as we're digging into that, look at this. In Matthew 12, Jesus responds with this parable, and he paints this very, very vivid picture in just a few words he says in if Satan drives out Satan. He is divided against himself.
How then can his kingdom stand?
And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then they'll be your judges.
But if it is by the spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Or again, and I love this, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions? And unless he first ties up the strong man and then he can plunder his house. I want to talk about what that means by Jesus saying, I'm. I'm going into a strong man's house, I'm binding up the strong man, and I'm plundering all of his possessions. Jesus is saying, that's. That's what a spiritual reality looks like. This is how spiritual freedom was fought and bought and paid for on the cross. And so he's giving a great picture of what Jesus is doing himself to purchase our freedom for us. And so as we're digging into this parable, let's look at the characters. Jesus is fantastic about using rich imagery, strong imagery with great characters to kind of prove his point. And at the end of, at the end of the day, he's not just giving us a story, but he's. He's showing us some theological insight to some things that we need to see.
And so the first point I want to bring you is, number one, the Bible calls Satan a strong man. And in this story, Jesus says, how can someone enter a strong man's house? That the strongman here he's referring to is Satan. Satan does have a measure of power.
Satan does have some strength. And so this is what Jesus himself is saying. He shows us very clearly that the strong man here represents Satan, who holds all of humanity in bondage to sin.
When it talks about Satan's possessions, his possessions are people, the people that we run into every day, the people that inhabit the earth, the people that are held bondage by that sin, the souls of people.
And so in Ephesians, chapter two, I want to take you over there, if you would, for just a second. And I want you to notice this. The Apostle Paul writes this about, about us, says, as for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world. And the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in all those who are disobedient, all of us also lived amongst them at one time, gratifying the Cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. And like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
An incredibly powerful and insightful scripture that the apostle Paul takes us into, helping us to recognize that Satan's power and his possessions, all the things that Jesus is talking about, that's us.
That's us. And so it's important that you see when, when, when, when Paul mentions that you were dead in your trench and your trespasses and in your sin.
Dead doesn't mean sick. And I want to make sure that you see that that doesn't mean sick. It doesn't mean I was going to get better over time. And I needed Jesus to just heal me. No, no, no. He, he uses the, the Greek word necros, which means a corpse. Like you were dead.
Dead people aren't sick people. They're, they're completely dead.
And it show, it shows me that I wasn't going to get better over time.
And this is the point I want to make that my human will, apart from divine intervention, is completely helpless against Satan. You need to know that you're not strong enough to defeat the strength of Satan, his systems, the things that he has set up to keep our world in bondage to sin. We were dead in trespasses, we were dead in our sin. That's why it's important that we recognize the incredible grace of God. It is 100% a work of God's grace that we were able to be made alive in Christ. It is 100% God looking at us and saying, I'm going to help you when you could not help yourself. You're not sick, you're dead.
And so it says that Satan was a strong man keeping the world in a place of spiritual death. But then Jesus moves to the second character. He says, how can someone, the second character, enter into the strongman's house and take away all his possessions, plunder his wealth, unless he first ties up the strongman? Jesus is saying, I am the stronger man. And that's the good news for all of us. Jesus is the stronger man. He's not some rival demon. He is the one who invades the enemy's territory and, and plunders all that he has. This is Christ coming to the earth. This is Christ purchasing our salvation by his death, by his burial, by his resurrection on the cross. This is what Christ has done for us. He has proven that even though Satan is strong, even though sin is strong, Jesus is the stronger man. And I love that. It helps us to see that we can say yeah, Satan has some strength. Yes, Satan has some power. But our God sent his son who has all power. He is stronger. It's not some equal force. He is absolutely outmanned, outnumbered. Jesus says, I come in, I bind up that strong man and I plunder all his possessions. So this is what Jesus has done for us. Jesus binds the strong man, which is Satan, and it says he plunders all his possessions, all the people that the enemy has under his control. Jesus says, I came to set them free, that they might have life, that they might have life to the abundance, that they might have freedom. He, he said, it's for freedom that we've been set free. In another verse, look at this. In Colossians chapter 2, verse 15, it says, and having disarmed the powers and authorities, he being Jesus, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. I love that he paints a great picture of what Jesus did. Not only did Jesus was he crucified and placed in a grave, and he comes out of the grave, it says, but this is a real battle that was waged once and for all with death, with hell, the grave, with the sin, with all of Satan's strength that he has used to bind humanity forever. And it says, jesus comes up out of that grave victorious, with real freedom, and he plunders all of his possessions. And as, as the Apostle Paul is writing about this in Ephesians chapter two, he paints a real vivid picture of his own. He becomes a fantastic storyteller because those that understand the Greco Roman world would have said, that's exactly what we see when, when great militaries have, have great victories and when huge generals that have fought some fantastic war, when they come home, what do they do? They throw a massive parade. And in this parade, man, they have like exotic animals that you get to see, you know, once in your lifetime that were from the country that he won. And they grab all those, the prisoners of war and the other defeated generals and they, they drag them through the streets, you know, like some public humiliation. And they bring articles of gold and weapons and all these crazy things that you might never see unless you were there. And, and they bring them all through the street so that everybody can see and they make a public spectacle. And the Apostle Paul is saying, that's exactly what Jesus did to that strong man, Satan. Jesus came and defeated him once and for all, purchasing your freedom. Purchasing my freedom. And he made a public spectacle on him. He took those things and he marches them through the streets and says, look at the Victory that has been purchased for you. I love those, man. When you get into not just US History, but you get into, like, world history, you'd know that those. Those Roman parades were huge deals. They could sometimes last for days. And I was reading the story about. About Scipio, who defeated Hannibal. Hannibal was the greatest threat to Rome at one time, and he was a major conqueror that had just decimated entire countries for years.
And Scipio defeats him once and for all. And he brings back big elephants that Hannibal was using to cross into Africa. And they even nicknamed him Africanus, which was kind of his name because he's the. The conqueror of Africa. And he comes back to Rome with this major, you know, huge victory. And here's. Here's something that I didn't. I didn't ever catch until I was studying on. What would happen in those Roman parades that. That the Apostle Paul was talking about is that the soldiers that were his best soldiers, his. His great officers and those that were with him in the battle, they would get to stand with him, and they get to enjoy that procession. They get to enjoy that military parade. And even though they're celebrating the one that's at the front, his buddy's got to come with him. I'm like, oh, Lord, that gives me kind of hope. Like, what if some. At some point at the end of all this, that I get to march in that parade with you and I get to get to enjoy that because I was one of your fellow soldiers. And the neat thing is the soldiers that had been there with him in battle got a chance to do something that nobody else got to do. They got to. They got to roast him a little bit. And it was a term of. It was great joy and humor and also deep respect. But they could also say things that nobody else could get away with. Why? Because there was intimacy. Because. Because they had been in the battles together, because they recognized his greatness, but he was also their friend.
So think about what it must be like if Jesus is marching in triumphal entry and all of these military spoils are all carried with him as Jesus is carrying Satan through this massive military parade. And I can imagine if I was Peter, if I was James, or if I was John, being able to say things just in his ear, saying stuff like, yeah, but I was the better fisherman. Jesus wasn't great at fishing. Or what if James says, yeah, well, you know, he might have been the savior of the world, but my cabinets are still sticky. He's not a great carpenter. Can you imagine the things that they could Say, because they're friends with him. You know, what if you get to be there and I get to be there, and someone's like, yeah, well, he still looks like a hippie from the 70s. But things that you get to say with deep respect, with deep honor, but also you get to have a little fun. Why? Because you know him.
And here's the good news. We know the stronger man and the battles that we face today and the things that we have to walk through and the freedom that we've experienced give us a. To give us a closeness to Jesus where he's. He's more than just some distant conqueror, but he's also my friend.
He walks close with us, and he gets to get to share in the victories with him, even though he's the one that's done it. It is 100% a work of grace that he purchased once and for all. But. But we were there. We got to see it. What if Peter gets to say, yeah, but I walked on water, too? Or what if James gets to say, yeah, but this guy washed my feet, you know, but that's what they would do. And I love how. I love how Paul paints that picture of what it might have been like and to see that in the spiritual realm, just as they had seen in Rome. So there's some powerful things. And so Jesus in this parable introduces Satan as the strong man, but himself as the stronger man that's there to plunder his possessions. And then the third character that we get to see in the story is we. We are the freed.
We are the ones that have been set free by what Jesus did for us.
Let us never get past that simple statement, we have been set free.
Jesus came in to the strong man's house, bound him up, plundered all of his possessions, and set me free. I can't help but look at my life and say, thank you, Jesus, for setting me free.
Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to come get me. When I was held ransom by my own sin, when I was dead in transgressions and dead in my failures and my shortcomings and my shame and my guilt, I could not help myself.
But Jesus, we are the freed. Isn't that good news? That's such good news. And I want to say it this way.
We were the enemy's spoils, but now we are Christ's prized possessions.
We are the plunder. We are the souls of those that have been set free by Christ. Jesus has abound that strong man once and for all. Let me ask you a Question. If Jesus comes in and binds up that strong man, if he disarms the power of the enemy, if, if, if Satan was tied up, would you let Satan convince you to just untie one of his arms when Jesus wasn't looking?
Would you let Satan convince you? Hey, I might be tied up, but won't. Won't you, Won't you untie me just a little bit, honey? I need to scratch my nose. Like, could you be convinced to do that?
But in essence, this is exactly what some of us do when we've been set free by Christ.
But we walk back into our sin.
But we walk back into the very thing that Christ died to set us free from. We've experienced his freedom. We've experienced his grace, but yet we allow ourselves to walk right back into the same sin.
Here's the good news. Jesus has sent the power of the Holy Spirit. So we don't have to do it. We. We don't have to live life that way. I want to show you this in Scripture, Galatians, chapter five. He says, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. So stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by that yoke of slavery.
He wouldn't say that if we didn't have a tendency to let that exact same thing happen.
This is what many of us do.
We find ourselves doing the same thing over and over and over again, knowing that Jesus has set us free. But we can't quite get free from that because we haven't fully given in to the work of Christ.
So how do we do that? I want to talk about what it means to. To walk in that freedom that Jesus paid for you to keep that enemy bound up once and for all. I want to. I want to show you this in Scripture. It shows us very clearly that, that God has called us out of sin and has given us His Holy Spirit so that we can stay free.
You must be born again.
You must be filled with the Spirit. You must have a daily interaction with Christ to be able to stand firm.
You must have a daily relationship with the Holy Spirit to be able to stand firm. Otherwise, we're going to walk back into the same sin that Jesus set us free from. So don't be lured back into things like sexual sin and lust. Don't be lured back into pride and greed.
Don't be lured back into legalism.
Remember, it's 100% a work of grace. You didn't do this. You didn't set yourself free. Jesus set me free.
But there's A tendency for me to not trust that freedom and to walk back into what is more comfortable, living like a slave.
But God has set us free from the law of sin and death. God has proclaimed freedom to the captives, and we are the freedom. So true freedom. I want to make sure that you see this. I'll put this on the screen. True freedom is not doing what we want. It's being restored to who we were created to be. Isn't that good?
I love that. That's restoration. That's redemption. Who God always made you to be. How do we do that? I want to talk to you a little bit about walking in freedom, walking in victory today. And I think if we're going to be honest, we have some tendencies to drift back into some old ways, some old ways of slavery. I want to show you how to walk with. With a. With a better outlook, with a better battle plan to stay free. The first is to reject false freedom.
Reject. Reject the false freedoms of the world. The false freedoms that the enemy would say, oh, this is what living in freedom looks like. No, no, no. Reject that stuff. That's not freedom. The enemy promises freedom. You end up in slavery. You end up worse than before. Reject false freedoms. The world's. The world's freedoms just lead us right back into bondage. Reject that stuff.
Reject the idea that if I go back into that, I'm going to feel better. I remember the times that I'd gotten off of drugs and I tried in my own human will to really walk in freedom. And then when I would have a relapse or something, it's almost like I'd go back to the same amount I was doing before.
But since I'd been walking in freedom, that amount took me even farther. And it made me feel so much worse because I'd been walking, I tasted freedom, and it wasn't better, it was worse. And there's more guilt and more shame, more condemnation that makes you just want to repeat the cycle and walk back into slavery. But my human will couldn't set me free. It took the power of Jesus to set me free, to help me realize I can't do this on my own. I can reject those false freedoms. It's a lie. It's a mirage. It doesn't exist. It's not true. The enemy's false freedoms lead us right back into bondage.
Here's another thing that we can do, is to remain in the word, to be disciplined, to read that word every single day, no matter what. I want to challenge you. If you've Never read God's Word every day. Read it every day. Not just some quick fix where you're reading some verse of the day. No, no, no, for real, dig into this Word. His Word brings life.
I love this scripture in John 8:32 says you'll. You'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. This is, this is absolute truth here.
And when you read this word, there's freedom found in. And just the reading of his Word. It's more than just words on a page. This is God speaking to me and speaking to you, proclaiming freedom every single day. Get that daily nutrient time spent with the Lord. Maybe you've never done that before. I want to encourage you, make this part of your daily routine. And what I say in my own, in my own life is scripture. Before screens, before I ever get on my phone. Want to read God's Word first. I want to honor God with the first, with the best. Not just by the way of my time, but the first of my money.
The first of my paycheck does not go to. Towards paying my bills or my mortgage, my house. No, no, no. The first of my paycheck goes to honor the Lord. I always give God the very first 10% minimum because I've learned I don't want to walk back into the same guy that I used to be living in bondage to my greed. I'm going to honor the Lord with the first and with the best. Why? Because he's proclaimed freedom. He set me free. I was dead and I've been made alive. It's a small price to pay to show the Lord that I want to honor you by giving that first and foremost so I can reject the false freedoms of the world. I can live in God's Word every day. I can reject those false systems. And number, number three, I have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. And this is something I think a lot of believers have missed. This is one of the reasons why they, they can't walk in freedom, is because we don't have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Well, how do I do that, Pastor? I'm glad you asked.
You you ask, you ask.
You ask him to come.
Holy Spirit, would you show me what I need to see out of your Word? And as you're reading through your word, you'll notice that some things start popping out to you. That's called rhema, the word of God coming alive. Just underline those things. Thank you, Holy Spirit. You're showing me that for a reason. That word's jumping out at me. What does that mean start digging into God's word through the power of the Holy Spirit, asking him to show you what I need to see today, as you're walking through your calendar, walking through your schedule, walking through your to do list of the day, say holy Spirit, would you show me what's most important to you as you're dealing with people, as you're dealing with systems or processes or whatever it may be that, that you do for a living, have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, like, Lord, would you show me what's most important? Would you show me how. How to represent you? Well today that fellowship with the Holy Spirit on a daily, disciplined level is going to produce incredible freedom for you. By the way, that's how you stay in freedom. By constantly talking to the Holy Spirit, by constantly reading His Word every single day, by rejecting those old systems. And then lastly, proclaiming liberty to other prisoners by you telling your story, by you helping people meet Jesus, inviting people to church, by you sharing your testimony. It says in Revelations that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb what Jesus did and the word of our testimony.
There's some things that you can't get free from until you start proclaiming what Jesus has set you free from. People need your story. People need to hear what God has set you free from. That's a beautiful, powerful thing. And walking in freedom sometimes means helping other people walk in freedom too.
I want to encourage you if you've never shared your testimony, if you've never shared your story, to do that, maybe use social media today. Maybe you find a way to witness to somebody that you know is far from God or walking through a difficult situation, someone that may need some freedom. I tell you, our, our world is like that.
Satan still has some strength. But I want to remind you of this very powerful scripture that really did change my life. This is in First John 4. 4. It says, Greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world.
Greater is he that is in me than he that's in the world.
The conqueror of heaven, the one that came into the strong man's house and tied him up, plundered all his possessions. He lives inside of my heart. That's an incredible story that Jesus is telling. And it's more than a metaphor, it's a mirror to help me see that Jesus Christ himself wants to destroy the power of darkness in my own life, to help me to walk in freedom. And that same creator, that same incredible storyteller, that same conqueror, that same king lives in me.
And he Wants to live in those that are broken, those that are hurt, those that are addicted, those that are lost, those that are struggling, those that are angry, those that are bitter.
That same Jesus wants to set them free, too.
Those things may be strong, but Jesus is stronger. And we're the freed. And our job as freed men and freed women is to help set others free, to know the same Jesus that we know. Hope you can receive that, everybody. I think that's.
That's just about all I have to share with you. But my hope and my prayer for you is that you would walk in great freedom today.
Perhaps as we were talking today, you're saying, you know what?
There are some things that I've been struggling with.
Let me just tell you. Today's a good day to walk in freedom, to walk in victory. Today's a good day to say, lord, I accept what you did for me. I want to walk in victory. I ask for forgiveness of those things. I reject those things. I turn from those things.
I want to walk in victory.
As a matter of fact, as you're watching this, would you mind just bowing your head and closing your eye and say a very, very simple prayer? The Spirit is. Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me?
Are there parts of my life where I haven't been walking in victory? I haven't. Haven't experienced that freedom.
And perhaps it's in your finances. You've never allowed the Lord to take over your finances, to use those, the money that you have to further his kingdom.
Maybe you've never taken that step of faith. Today's your day.
I want to challenge you to take a step, to give today, to be generous today.
Maybe it's unforgiveness and the Holy Spirit's downloading somebody or a situation into your mind. You just need to say, lord, I want. I want some freedom in this area.
Maybe it's a habit, maybe it's a lust issue, something that you've looked at or been caught up in. There's a pornography thing going on. If you're having an affair, if you've been cheating on your taxes, I want you to know that Jesus purchased that freedom, too. You can walk in victory from those things by simple repentance, turning away from those calling upon his grace to come and set you free. You can leave this place differently by turning from those. Lord, I recognize that is wrong. I want to get away from that. Show me what to do. Holy Spirit, come help me serve a God that will help you. He sends his own son to purchase victory for you.
And that blood that he shed is still good.
It still forgives, it still heals, it still restores. So, Holy Spirit, what are you saying to us?
What victory are you here to proclaim? What. What are you here to set me free from? Because my answer is, yes, I trust you. Trust what you've done for me.
With heads bowed and eyes closed, maybe you're watching this today and you'd say, pastor, I.
I need a relationship with Jesus. I.
I don't have one.
I'm.
I'm in a bad place.
My friend, I'm glad that you're here and I'm glad that you're watching this, because Jesus purchased freedom for you, too.
As a matter of fact, if you could see it, God himself is reaching down his hand to you, hoping that you'll respond.
Your Father loves you very much and has a plan for your life.
And today could be the day of new beginnings for you if you'll take a step of faith for others. You're watching this and saying, pastor, I was raised in church, but I've gotten so far away from God, I need to come home. My friend, you're in the right place, too.
So right where you are, I want to invite you to pray this prayer. I'm going to say the words. I want to invite you to pray it with me. As a matter of fact, all of us that are watching today, we're all going to pray this out loud together. So right with me, if you wouldn't mind. Let's pray this together. Just say the words, Jesus.
Now, come on, say it like you mean it, Jesus, I believe you're the Son of God.
I believe that you came and died.
And I believe you rose from the grave so that I could have life, so that I could have grace, so that I could have freedom from all of my sins.
I ask you to forgive me.
I ask you to help me.
I ask you to set me free.
And I give my life to you right now.
In Jesus name, I pray with every head bowed and every eye closed. For those of you that just prayed that prayer, if you actually prayed that prayer with me, and if you meant it, if you said, I'm making a choice to follow Jesus, I'm turning away from that stuff. Can I just see your hand all across this place? Would you lift it up nice and high and proud.
I'm so proud of you. And those that have. That have responded, good for you. I want you to know that if you're watching today, either live in person or if you're watching on your mobile device, you'll notice that there is a phone number that's going to appear on the screen right now.
If you prayed that prayer, would you do me a favor? Would you text that number? Text the words I prayed to that number and what's going to happen? I'm going to send you back the link to some things that will help you understand what just happened in your heart and what to do next.
I'm super proud of you.
Good for you.
Harris family, go ahead and look up at me, if you would. It's been such an honor bringing this video to you today. I'm so, so thankful that I'm able to preach this by video and kind of save my voice and enjoy my birthday weekend. But to everybody else, we're going to turn you back over to your host and just tell you, hey, thank you. I love you. I hope you have an amazing weekend.
[00:31:56] Speaker A: Thank you so much for listening in today. Our prayer is that you are encouraged and strengthened by the message. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review wherever you're listening.
[00:32:08] Speaker B: If you want to be a part.
[00:32:09] Speaker A: Of our online community, connect with us through Facebook or Instagram with the handle hyridgelv or you can check out our
[email protected] lastly, if this ministry has impacted your life and you'd like to support its work, visit highridgelv.com give we appreciate your support and we're believing with you today for God's best in your life.
Have an incredible week and we will see you next time.
