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00:00a resurrection Sunday today. Well, we are honored to have you. Do you mind all standing one last
00:07time? But can I tell you how honored we are to have you? The service would not be as good
00:12today
00:13if you had not come. So we welcome you. That person on your left and on your right, they are
00:18a VIP. They are full of God. They're good looking. They're full of faith. You're sitting by somebody
00:25very important. And we, we love you guys. Thanks for being a part. Y'all know this, but we're kind
00:31of wild out here at Lakewood. We celebrate all the time, but here's what I've learned. Your new week
00:37goes better when you put God first place. And I know you're all busy. You work hard. You got things
00:43you're dealing with, but here you are in the house of the Lord. So the scripture says, when you're
00:48planted in the house of the Lord, you will flourish. So, you know, life can be distracting now, but
00:53say planted, keep your children planted in the house of the Lord as well. You know, like I said,
00:58life goes better and we love having you here. And we're just speaking blessings over each one of
01:02you. Hey guys, if you've never been baptized in water, I would be honored to do that this Saturday.
01:07We do it twice a year and I would be honored to baptize you in water. It's just, you know,
01:14it's celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of your old life. You're leaving the old in the past
01:19and you're coming up new. It's what Easter is all about. I know some have been baptized,
01:23you know, years ago when you're a little baby, may not remember, or some people got away from the
01:28Lord and they want to do it again, but we'd be honored. You just sign up and we'll tell you
01:31when
01:31to come. But again, we would be honored to baptize you. Last thing is I've got a new book out.
01:36I do a
01:36new book once or twice a year. I got a new book out. I'm proud of it. It's called rediscovering
01:40the
01:40forgotten you. And we'll talk more about it, but, um, I'm not going to brag on myself there,
01:46Johnny. I don't want to brag on my books, but it's good y'all. Well, we are honored to have
01:52you
01:52here. If you're visiting special, welcome to you. You got time. I'd love to meet you in the lobby
01:56afterwards. If you've got a moment, but, uh, just blessed to have everybody here today. I want to
02:01ask you when you see yourself on the big screen, would you give our TV audience a great big Lakewood
02:05welcome. God bless you. It's great to be with you today. And I hope you'll stay connected with
02:13us during the week through our daily podcast or YouTube channel and social media. And you can come
02:19visit us in person. We'd love to have you be a part of one of our services. I'd like to
02:23start with
02:24something funny. And someone sent me this interesting observation from the book of Genesis
02:29goes like this in the beginning, God created the earth, then rested. Then God created man and
02:36rested next. God created women. And since then, neither God nor man has rested.
02:45A lady asked my father, where would you men be without us women? My father smiled and said in the
02:51garden of Eden. All right, y'all say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am.
02:59What it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can
03:04do today. I will be
03:05taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be
03:13the
03:13same. I'm about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever living seed of the word of
03:20God. I'll never be the same. Never, never, never. I'll never be the same in Jesus name. God bless you.
03:31If you'd like to open your Bibles to John chapter 20 and verse 24, we'll put scriptures on the screen
03:37as well. John 20 verse 24. But don't forget this afternoon at two o'clock, we have a great Spanish
03:44speaking service, an amazing team. I see Talia sitting over there. What a singer he is, worship
03:49leader. But Monday night, we've got the Bible study. Wednesday, we're back in person. If you want to come,
03:54we have a couple thousand people. It's a fantastic hour service. Love to have you. Plus the youth,
03:59the junior high meet on Wednesday and a lot of good things. But again, honored to have you.
04:04I want to talk to you today about dare to believe. There are times in life when our faith is
04:10high and
04:11we're filled with great expectation. We're pursuing dreams, seeing doors open, making progress.
04:18Then life happens. Person walks away, contract falls through, the medical report isn't good.
04:25We were so close. It's like we could grasp it, but now it doesn't seem possible.
04:31All of us face these moments when life doesn't make sense, where what we were hoping for didn't
04:37happen. Our prayers weren't answered. It's easy to get discouraged. That's when doubt comes,
04:44whispers, you must've heard God wrong. You'll never get well. Never see your family restored.
04:50It's too late to accomplish your dreams. No, God wouldn't have put that dream in your heart.
04:56He wouldn't have given you that promise if he wasn't going to fulfill it.
05:00You're not going to understand the plan of God in real time. We look at what's happening now,
05:06but God knows what's coming later on. His ways are not our ways. His plans are better
05:13and bigger than our plans. If you try to understand everything that's happening in that one season,
05:20you're going to be frustrated because God is doing things now that are setting you up for something
05:27much better later on. He may have to close a door, move a person out of the way, or take
05:33you through
05:34this detour, this difficulty. I don't understand this, God. Where are you? Why did this happen?
05:40Listen, faith is all about trusting when you don't understand, doing the right thing. When you have
05:47unanswered questions, when it doesn't make sense, all your emotions will say, be disappointed,
05:54live in self-pity, give up on your dream. No, come back to that place of peace, that place of
06:00trust.
06:01God is ordering your steps. He is the author of your story. He has planned your days for good and
06:09not
06:09for harm. And yes, there may be some seasons you don't understand and seasons of struggle where
06:15what was working is not working anymore. Seasons of silence. You're praying, doing the right thing.
06:22Nothing's changing. Seasons of closed doors, disappointments where it looks like it's canceled
06:28your dream, but God wouldn't have allowed it. If it was going to stop your purpose, it looks like a
06:35setback. The truth is it's setting you up for something you've never seen. Dare to believe,
06:42dare to trust him when it doesn't make sense. When you don't understand, when doubt comes bombarding
06:49your mind, telling you it's too late, it's over, it's never going to happen. No, what God started,
06:55he's going to finish. What he promised you is still on the schedule. No disappointment can stop him.
07:01No sickness, no bad break. God has the final say. He has you in the palm of his hand. He
07:09sees you
07:09doing the right thing when it's hard. He sees you praising when you could be complaining, staying in
07:16faith when all the circumstances say you should be discouraged. Your time is coming. You're going to
07:22see God show out in your life. Jesus told Peter, you don't realize what I'm doing now, but later on,
07:31you will
07:31understand. We get frustrated because we're trying to figure out now. Why did that door close? Why'd they do me
07:39wrong? Well, I'm in this trouble. Well, stay in faith. Your later on is coming. You're going to see it
07:45was all a part
07:46of God's plan. What you thought was a disappointment was necessary for you to step in to who you were
07:53created to be. This is what Thomas had to deal with. He left everything to follow Jesus and became one
08:01of
08:01the 12 disciples. For three years, he saw Jesus walking in power, favor, huge crowds gathering. He was
08:09there when Jesus healed the blind, cured the lepers, multiplied the food. He knew that Jesus was the
08:16Messiah, the chosen one. He'd seen it firsthand. But the Jewish people in that day believed the
08:23Messiah would overthrow the Roman government, free them from oppression and restore Israel back to the
08:30glory days from when David sat on the throne. They expected Jesus to rule and to reign and to defeat
08:37the
08:37enemies. Things didn't turn out the way they thought. Instead of overthrowing Rome, Jesus was crucified by
08:45the Romans. Instead of sitting on a throne, he hung on a cross. Instead of this huge victory, they saw
08:52this great
08:53defeat. Their world was shattered. They were confused. They had questions. Thomas thought, man, did I waste my
09:02time? Did I spend three years believing a lie? Was I fooled? Was he not who he said he was?
09:09You can imagine how
09:10heartbroken and disappointed. But what Thomas couldn't see right then was this was all the plan of God. It had
09:19to happen. If it had worked out the way Thomas wanted, we wouldn't have salvation. We wouldn't have
09:25redemption, eternal life. Thomas wanted Jesus to change the government. God wanted Jesus to change the world.
09:33Thomas wanted freedom from Rome. God wanted freedom from sin. Thomas wanted a temporary kingdom. God
09:41wanted an eternal kingdom. Thomas wanted a throne in Jerusalem. God wanted a throne on our hearts.
09:48What looked like a setback, them crucifying Jesus was really a setup for us to have an abundant,
09:55victorious life. What am I saying? You can't always see the plan of God in the present.
10:04It's not always going to make sense. God is doing things we can't comprehend that are much better than
10:10we can imagine. We get discouraged and think, man, Joel, this is not what I thought would happen.
10:16This company didn't treat me right. After all these years, this friend betrayed me. My loved one didn't
10:21make it. You don't know what God is up to. Things are happening behind the scenes that you can't see
10:28right now. And they crucified Jesus on that Friday and put him in the tomb. They thought it was over.
10:34All the forces of darkness were celebrating, having a big party. But on Sunday morning, it was a different
10:41story. They got the surprise of their life. Jesus came up out of the grave and he said, I am
10:47he that lives.
10:48I was dead, but I'm alive forevermore. By the way, I have the keys of death and hell.
10:54He rose in great victory. But the truth is, Jesus didn't like going through that suffering season
11:01when he was mocked, betrayed, and beaten. He sweat great drops of blood. He said, Father, if you will
11:09take this cup from me. He knew it was going to be painful, but he trusted the plan of God.
11:15He understood that it had to happen. There are some levels you can only get to by going through
11:22difficult seasons. The key is don't focus on your crucifixion, so to speak. You have to believe
11:29that your resurrection is coming. It may be Friday in your life today. Things you don't understand.
11:37You could be discouraged. Why is this happening? God is up to something. Your Sunday is coming.
11:43Something that you can't see right now. It's going to launch you into a new level of your destiny.
11:50When my father went to be with the Lord, 77 years old, he had a heart attack and suddenly passed.
11:57I didn't understand that. I thought daddy would live another 20 years. We were best friends and
12:03now he was gone. Felt like everything was upside down, like this was the end.
12:10But I soon realized it was all a part of God's plan. I never had ministered before. I'd been behind
12:18the scenes for 17 years and my father tried to get me up here again and again. I always told
12:22him no.
12:23But when he passed, I suddenly had the desire to step up and pastor the church. I didn't know any
12:30of
12:30this was in me. I didn't think I could minister, but there are gifts and talents God has put in
12:36you.
12:36And sometimes he has to push you into your destiny. The struggle, the disappointment,
12:44things you don't understand. It's going to launch you into a new level of your purpose.
12:49We see the moment, but God sees the whole story. We don't like Friday, but stay in faith. Sunday is
12:56coming. The scripture says to lean not to your own understanding. Things are going to happen
13:04that we don't understand. It's because our understanding is limited. We are natural.
13:11God is supernatural. He said, we haven't seen, heard, or imagined what he has in store.
13:18What he's planning, you can't see right now where he's taking you. It may not happen by traditional,
13:26ordinary ways. He's going to do things uncommon that you haven't thought of bigger than you had planned.
13:34Had Jesus done what the disciples wanted and become that political Messiah and overthrown the
13:40government, we wouldn't have a savior. His ways are better than our ways. Trust him when it doesn't
13:47make sense. On that Sunday evening, after they crucified Jesus, the disciples were in a room
13:55locked behind closed doors. They were afraid of the Jewish leaders. What would happen after the
14:01crucifixion? Would they be next? When Jesus suddenly appeared to them, standing right in the middle and
14:08talked with them. You can imagine how they were in awe. Well, Thomas wasn't there that night.
14:14They rushed out to find him. Couldn't wait to tell him the good news. They said, Thomas, we've seen the
14:20Lord. He's alive. They thought, of course, he'd be excited, but Thomas was a little more analytical.
14:27He was logical and practical. He had questions. This didn't make sense. He was crucified. How could
14:35he be alive? That's not possible. He answered them back. Unless I see the nail prints in his hands,
14:42unless I touch the wounds in his side, I'm not going to believe. It wasn't so much that Thomas was
14:49lacking faith or he wasn't committed enough. It's that he didn't want to be hurt again. That disappointment,
14:57that loss was so painful. He couldn't deal with anything more. Sometimes when we've been through hurts
15:03and plans haven't worked out, it's tempting to lower our expectations. Don't get our hopes up. It's easier
15:11to not believe and just accept it. Joel, I doubt that I can get well now, but man, I can
15:18live with
15:18this sickness or I doubt I'll ever be free from this addiction. It's been so long, but I can handle
15:24it. I doubt that I'll meet the right person. I doubt I'll ever see abundance, the open windows of
15:29heaven. That's right where Thomas was. He thought, man, I've grieved this loss. I've accepted it's not
15:36going to happen. And I'm okay with the disappointment. You may be okay, but God's not
15:41okay. He loves you too much to let you miss your destiny. You may have given up on a dream,
15:48but God
15:48has not given up. When you won't go to him, he'll come to you. A week later, the disciples were
15:56in a
15:57room again. This time Thomas was there. The door was locked, dead bolted. All of a sudden, Jesus came
16:04walking through the door. They were standing there in astonishment. Jesus walked right past
16:10Peter, past John, Matthew, James, and he went straight to Thomas. He bypassed all the people
16:18who had faith and went to the one person that had doubt. He didn't speak to the believers. He went
16:25to
16:25the one man that didn't believe. He reached out his hands, said, Thomas, touch my nail prints. He turned
16:33his body. Thomas touched the wounds in my side. God was showing us that doubt doesn't disqualify you.
16:42Jesus could have said, Oh, fine, Thomas. I don't need you anymore. I'll find somebody else that'll
16:48believe good riddance, but God doesn't write you off because you don't have enough faith. You have
16:54questions, things you don't understand. The enemy will try to bring condemnation. You're not strong
17:01enough. You're not committed enough. Why are you doubting? You're doubting because you're human.
17:07It doesn't mean that you're going to miss God's plan. You're not going to see his goodness. God knows
17:13your heart. There may be doubt in your head, but in your heart, you love God. You want to believe
17:20you're trying to stay in faith. God will come to you. Even in your doubt, he knows the struggles are
17:28real.
17:29Disappointments can weigh us down. People that do us wrong, doors closed. That can be discouragement.
17:36Bring questions. I must've heard God wrong. He's not saying if you're Superman, if you never doubt,
17:43you never have a down moment, then I'll help you. Then I'll show you a favor. No, even in the
17:50doubts,
17:50God is looking for you. He's coming your way. When my mother was fighting terminal cancer,
17:58she told how she would wake up in the middle of the night and so worried and fearful, all these
18:04thoughts telling her that it was over and there was no way to get well. And she would get a
18:10little
18:10discouraged and even confused trying to stay in faith, but doubt was so real and so strong.
18:17She told my father, John, I feel bad that I'm doubting, trying my best, but these negative
18:23thoughts keep weighing me down. My father told her, Dodie, you're doubting in your mind, but in your
18:30heart, you believe God in your spirit. You know that healing is coming. We all know that God works when
18:38we have faith, but what I want you to see is God is so good. He'll meet you in your
18:44doubt. When you have
18:45questions, when you feel confused, when things happen that you don't understand. Now, I love how
18:52Jesus walked through a closed door. He didn't knock. He didn't go to the window. He didn't try to push
18:59the
18:59door open. He simply walked through the door. You may have doors that are locked in your life, so to
19:06speak,
19:07things that seem impossible in your health, your finances, your dream, no way in the natural.
19:13The good news is there's not a door that God can't walk through, not a sickness. He can't heal,
19:20not an addiction. He can't break, not a child. He can't turn around. You have the most powerful
19:27force in the universe on your side, but maybe today you're like Thomas. Things haven't turned out the
19:34way you thought you're looking at it in real time and it doesn't make sense. The medical report is not
19:41good. Now you're doubting whether you'll get well. You had that breakup and now you're doubting if
19:48you'll ever meet anyone or you lost that client. You're doubting if your business can make it.
19:53You're right where Thomas was. The door is locked, dead bolted, odds are against you. What you can't see
20:01is God is about to walk through that door. It's going to be supernatural. You couldn't make it happen.
20:07It's the hand of God doing what only he can do. You see, resurrection Sunday is not just about
20:15Jesus rising from the dead. That's, that's the most important thing. But if Jesus can walk out of a
20:20tomb, he can walk into your doubt, dare to trust him, dare to believe it may not make sense right
20:28now,
20:29but he's working behind the scenes. His plan is better than your plan. It may be Friday in your
20:36life, but Sunday is coming. Something that launches you into your destiny.
20:43Jesus told the disciples in John chapter 16, it's better for you. If I go away, that way,
20:50the Holy Spirit can come. Well, they couldn't understand that in real time. Nothing could be
20:56positive about Jesus leaving. He was their leader, their teacher, their Messiah. They'd seen all the
21:03miracles, all the good that he had done. This made no sense that it would be better if he left.
21:09It's because they couldn't see the plan of God. They didn't know what was coming. See, before Jesus
21:15rose again, the Holy Spirit only lived in certain people, the prophets and priests. In the old Testament,
21:23David would tell his men, go to the prophet and ask him what God wants us to do. When you
21:29made
21:29mistakes, you had to go find a priest to make a sacrifice for your sins. They were dependent on
21:35other people for guidance and protection. Everything in the disciples reasoning said Jesus leaving is a bad
21:43thing. This is not what we expected with him. Not here will be less effective, but it was just the
21:51opposite. When Jesus left, he sent the Holy Spirit to live on the inside of each one of us. Now
21:58we
21:58don't have to go to a prophet. We don't have to find a priest, a minister, a pastor. We are
22:05temples of
22:05the most high God. The Holy Spirit is in you right now, leading you, guiding you. He's called your
22:12counselor, your advocate, your helper. That's why Jesus said, it's better for you that I go away.
22:21Sometimes God will remove things. We don't understand. He'll close doors or move someone
22:27out of our life. We don't like it. Nothing in our logic can see how it's a good thing.
22:33You don't understand it now, but later on you will. God is doing things you can't see. He's going to
22:39take you where you've never been. Trust him when it doesn't make sense. Don't fight everything you
22:46don't like. God is smarter than we are. If he's closing a door or doing something you don't
22:53understand, be mature enough to say, God, I trust you. You know what's best for me. I may not like
23:00this. I may be in a crucifixion right now, but I believe my resurrection is coming.
23:08Thomas became known as doubting Thomas. We were taught in Sunday school. Don't be like Thomas.
23:15He didn't have enough faith. He had to have proof. But do you know how long Thomas doubted?
23:21Was it for a year, five years, 30 years? He's got this nickname. This lasted 2000 years.
23:28No, Thomas doubted for eight days. It was eight days from the time they told him Jesus had risen
23:35into the moment Jesus walked in the room. Eight days and thousands of years later,
23:42people are still calling him doubting Thomas. What's my point? People will try to label you
23:48by one bad moment, by one failure, one tough season, one breakup. Do yourself a favor. Take off those
23:56labels. Weak Thomas, addicted Thomas, divorced Thomas, compromising Thomas.
24:05That's not who you are. That was one moment of your life. You may have failed, but you are not
24:11a
24:11failure. That's what you did. That's not who you are. You may have doubted, but you're not a doubter.
24:18Don't let that label become permanent. You may struggle with an addiction, but you are not an addict.
24:23You are a child of the most high God. Don't let people label you. Let God label you.
24:31We call him doubting Thomas. You know what God calls him? Believing Thomas,
24:36forgiving Thomas, blessed Thomas. Now you may need to take off some labels today. Unattractive,
24:43damaged, hurt, compromiser. Don't let that define your future. Every person has had a moment of doubt,
24:51a moment of compromise that we wish we could undo. If we could go back, we'd do better. If Thomas
24:59had
24:59another chance, he would have believed right at first, but it happened. You can't change the past,
25:05but you don't have to let it define you. Now the enemy is an expert with labels. He'd love to
25:12deceive
25:13you into wearing that doubting label, inferior, shame, washed up, unworthy. Take off those labels.
25:21You are who God says you are. Blessed, valuable, worthy, a masterpiece.
25:29See, people may define you by what you did, but God defines you by what Jesus did. He made you
25:37worthy.
25:38He made you righteous. He calls you his own child, his prized possession. And this is really a good
25:45lesson for all of us. Don't judge people by one event. Don't label them by one bad season. I can't
25:54believe they did that. If it wasn't for the grace of God, you could have done it too. It wasn't
26:00just
26:00your discipline, your focus. It was the mercy of God helping you. Don't be self-righteous,
26:06holier than thou. I've never done that. No, our righteousness comes from God.
26:12Walk humbly, recognize it's his mercy and his grace keeping us on course. The mercy you show
26:20others is the mercy God is going to show you. This is what Lakewood is all about. People walk in
26:27here,
26:28shortcomings, addictions, compromise, doubt, but we don't call you by what you've done. We call you by
26:35who God says you are. Not doubting Thomas. That was eight days, but believing Thomas,
26:43not addicted Thomas, but free Thomas, not ashamed Thomas, but worthy Thomas, not failing Thomas,
26:50but victorious Thomas. Well, Thomas is probably most known for his doubt, but that wasn't the end of the
26:58story. That eight days got a lot of attention. But what we don't hear a lot about is Thomas took
27:05the gospel further than any other disciple. Peter, James, John, they went to Rome, Greece, Judea.
27:13Thomas went to India to another continent, 3000 miles away. The man who doubted God used to go the
27:21furthest. I've been to India many times with my father and everywhere you go, you meet a Thomas.
27:29Churches. Churches are named after Thomas. Parents named their sons, Thomas. There are groups called
27:34St. Thomas Christians that trace their faith back to Thomas 2000 years ago. Yes. Thomas had a season
27:42of doubt, but he didn't let it define him. He went on to live a lifetime of faith because of
27:49that millions
27:50of people in India. Generations later are still hearing about the goodness of God. The enemy would
27:57love to convince you that your doubts, your failures, what's happened in the past that's tainted your
28:04future. Man, just sit on the sidelines. Don't believe those lies. God is coming to you with love,
28:11with mercy, with forgiveness, not to just make it through, but like with Thomas to go further,
28:17to leave your mark. The best part of your life is still in front of you. Jesus said to Thomas,
28:25because you have seen me, you have believed, but blessed are those who have not seen yet will
28:32believe that's you and me. We haven't seen. We weren't there in person. We weren't able to touch,
28:40to feel yet. You're here. You're honoring God. You're putting him first place. You are blessed
28:47because you believe and you haven't seen. Maybe like Thomas, you've had some seasons of doubt,
28:54wondering questions that didn't disqualify you. If God can use Thomas, he can use you.
29:02Maybe you're in a situation now. It doesn't make sense. Feels like you're going backwards. God is up to
29:08something behind the scenes. You don't understand it now, but trust him later on. You will. His plan will
29:15unfold into something better than you've ever imagined. If Thomas were here today, he would tell
29:22you, take off the negative labels. Don't be defined by one event or one bad season. Don't let
29:29that sour the rest of your life. Move forward in faith. Your destiny is waiting. Your children are
29:37counting on you. Relatives in heaven, those that have gone before you, they are cheering you on right
29:42now. This is your moment. This is your time to shine. Dare to believe. And if you'll do this,
29:49I believe and declare like Thomas doubt is not going to stop you. It's going to launch you further
29:55and higher. It may be Friday in your life, but get ready. Sunday is coming healing, favor,
30:03breakthroughs, the fullness of your destiny in Jesus name. And if you receive it, can you say amen today?
30:10Amen. Let's pray together. If you have a minute, if you don't mind sticking with me,
30:19I'd like to seal it in prayer. Lord, I thank you for what we've heard today.
30:23You see everybody here and watching, listening that came out to honor you, to celebrate your
30:29resurrection. We recognize you're our savior. Lord, help us to go out of here full of faith,
30:35you know, letting go of the doubt, knowing that you still love us, that you're pleased with us,
30:41that you still have a bright future. Lord, we're going to trust you even with unanswered questions.
30:46We're not going to get stuck in that, but we believe father, you're doing things that we can't
30:51see. Help us to stay in faith. Help us to honor you. Thank you for your Holy spirit rising up
30:57and
30:58big in all of us to step up to who you have created us to be. Lord, as your people
31:04go out
31:04this week to work, to school, thank you that your angels are watching after them, keeping them from
31:10evil and harm with our heads bowed in prayer. Just a quick question. If your heart stopped beating
31:16in the next few minutes, are you at peace with God? Do you know where you'd spend eternity?
31:24If you died a little while from now, if not, I would love to pray with you. I'm not here
31:30to
31:30condemn anybody. I'm here to help you find a new beginning. I know this comes from a personal
31:37relationship with Jesus Christ. Just a moment. If you're not, if you're not at peace with the Lord,
31:44Lord, or maybe you are a Christian, but you've grown cold toward God and you need to rededicate,
31:51recommit your life. You need that fresh new start. If that's you in just a moment, I'm going to ask
31:56you
31:56to take a step of faith and stand right where you are. And we'll pray together. I can't think of
32:03a
32:03better time to get on the road to victory than right now. Resurrection Sunday. God is not mad at you.
32:12Your sins have already been forgiven. All you have to do is accept the free gift of Christ's
32:18salvation. Will you do it today? In your thoughts, the enemy will whisper, do it next week. Do it
32:25another time. You can't stand. Listen to what Jesus said. If you know the Bible says today is the day
32:31of
32:31salvation. Don't put it off. You're not here by accident. Well, Joel, there's so many people. I don't
32:37want to stand. I got people at home. I can't lift my hand. Jesus said, if you won't be ashamed
32:43of me
32:44before people, then I won't be ashamed of you before my father in heaven. I'm going to give you
32:50a great opportunity to show God that you're not ashamed of him. If you're not at peace with the
32:55Lord, or you just need to rededicate, you need to recommit your life to Christ. You need that fresh
33:01new start, a new beginning. If that's you, would you be bold? Take that step of faith and stand
33:08right where you are. If you would, please come on Lakewood. Let's give them a hand as they stand
33:13all over the building. Come on, don't put it off. I feel like there ought to be others. Your
33:26heart's beating fast. Don't go home without peace. Come on, don't be left out. Anybody else?
33:33Come on, Lakewood. They're still standing. Anybody else? Still time?
33:41Well, God bless you. And please remain standing if you don't mind. I want to tell you how proud
33:45we are of you. I know that took courage to stand. And more importantly, I know God is never going
33:51to
33:51be ashamed of you because you took this step of faith. And the scripture says that whoever calls
33:57on the name of the Lord will be saved. Let me help you to call. Do you mind all saying
34:03this,
34:03even with our friends that are standing, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins.
34:10Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. Amen. Remain standing one more moment. I want to
34:19tell you how much we love you. We're going to be praying for you. I also want to give you
34:23a personal
34:23invitation, even a challenge to come back and be with us on a regular basis. This next year of your
34:30life is incredibly important. I'd love for you to get plugged in here at Lakewood. If you, if you live
34:35around here, you can do it online, however you do it. But if you will give us the next year
34:40of your
34:40life, I will make a promise to you before that year is over, your life will never be the same
34:47for the
34:47better. We're going to help you grow and become who God's created you to be. And I said it earlier,
34:53I know you're busy, you know, Sunday's a day off, but you know, there's, there's something happens.
34:57There's a blessing on your life. If you can, when you put God first place and you can get plugged
35:02in
35:02after the service, people ask me, Joel, what's the next step? Well, we've designed a space after
35:07the service right over here. It's called new beginnings. It's on the second floor, right,
35:11right over there. It takes about 20 minutes and we have resources to help you grow. You can learn how
35:17you can get connected and meet some of our team. I'd love to meet you over there too. I'll be
35:22there in
35:22five, 10 minutes. Just take a moment just to say hello to you, but know that you're important to us.
35:27That we're going to be praying for you. We want to see you become who God's created you to be.
35:32The moment you stood up, God washed away all your sins, your mistakes, your failures.
35:38How about writing it down in your Bible, April 5th, 2026, a new day of victory in your life
35:45in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Well, let's all stand together. If you would, please.
35:51Thanks so much for coming out today. How many of you going home better off than you were before? Amen.
35:58All right, guys, we love you. I want to speak one more blessing until we meet again.
36:03May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord show you his favor and watch over you.
36:08And may the Lord give you mercy and an amazing week. We love you very much. God bless you.
36:14Have an awesome week. We'll see you back real soon and happy resurrection Sunday.
36:18I'll see you back in the next week.
36:19Bye.
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