Welcome to Calvary Church at home and online! I'm Nate and this is Matt. We are so pumped to be hosting you this weekend for a very special event.
We're a week out from Freedom Celebration, and we're curious—by the way, do we just sound so much crisper and better than maybe we've sounded in previous weeks? We could start a podcast with this! I feel just more confident with these mics. Yeah, it is nice to have my hands here. I can speak with my hands like this the whole time we were talking. It's gonna be okay.
Calvary, you know from a very practical standpoint oftentimes we get assigned to do little crafts or different competitions. You've built sand castles before, yeah? We've made wreaths, yeah? We've tasted strange things, cracked eggs on heads. Last week I made s'mores with my kids and that was really fun, but now we can do it without having to hold the mic and trying to do it at the same time. So I'm very excited about that. It's good.
Well, it is going to be a good day. We are back in the series "The End Is Near." That's right, and man, if you look at the news and what's happening in the world, I think that that's a question that a lot of people are asking—whoa, there's crazy advancements in technology and there's a lot of immoral things happening. Yeah, the end is near. It's pretty crazy and this weekend is a topic so many people have questions about. Pastor Skip will be talking about the Antichrist and kind of answering that question—who is the Antichrist, what was the Antichrist? I feel like every president's the Antichrist. So that's what people think—oh, is this the Antichrist? You vote for that person, you're voting for the Antichrist. Every tech guru's the Antichrist. Everyone thinks everyone's the Antichrist. We're going to talk about what are the marks of the Antichrist, what should we look for, who could be the Antichrist? This will be a great message. We're really looking forward to it.
On top of that, this is our big give weekend for Freedom Celebration. You know, this is our biggest evangelistic event of the entire year since it started. We've seen over 5,000 people make a profession and give their lives to Jesus Christ at these events. Yeah, that's huge when you think about that. And this is a free event for the city. So we don't take an offering at this event like we do at Easter, but we love to give the church an opportunity to partner with us in creating life change. So we're going to be doing that this weekend as well, and it's for our online family as well. People, you know, whether you're living in India or Indonesia, you can actually be a part of Freedom Celebration. Not if you live anywhere that starts with an 'I', of course. Anywhere on this planet, if you have internet access, you can be a part of Freedom Celebration.
Welcome back to our online Lobby here at Calvary Church at home! We're so looking forward to this next message in "The End Is Near." That's very freedomabq.com, but there's also—yeah, so your friends and family could watch what's going to be happening next Saturday and hear the gospel that Pastor Skip is going to be sharing.
Yeah, and your friends and family have been right. And on top of that, here are all the incredible bands: Andy Mineo, David Crowder, Sarah Reeves. We've got an extreme sports exhibition with some Christian riders from Nitro Circus. It's going to be a phenomenal time.
So good! But hey, we've talked about a lot just in this first intro. We are in "The End Is Near," but it's been a couple weeks since we've been to "The End Is Near." We had Father's Day and we had Vision weekend, so let's get a little reminder of what we talked about last time that we were in "The End Is Near." Let's take a look at this recap.
Maybe you've been listening to the wrong voices all along, all the voices of this culture telling you to think a certain way and live a certain way, be a certain way. You need to listen to the right voice, and here's the heart of God: He's not willing that any should perish, that all should come to repentance. Tribulation is going to be really, really bad, but instead of thinking, "Okay, well there's hope, then I can go through the tribulation and still come to Christ." Yeah, but did you read about the tribulation? It's pretty bad. Why not do what Jesus said when He said, "Pray that you might be counted worthy to escape all these things and stand before the Son of Man"?
Well, right now is the perfect chance for you to invite your friends. If you're just tuning in, you can click that share button on Facebook or YouTube. That's not like later on—right now, click that share button right now! Click that share button, invite some friends, make sure that people tune in and watch this incredible weekend here at Calvary. Or if you're watching at live.com Internet Church, copy that link and send it to some friends. Yep, that's great.
Hey, we are starting something today that's right called Love Week. Super pumped! It's amazing. So we really had this heart—we don't want to just declare the love of God to people; we want to also demonstrate it. Before we preach, we want to get practical as well and hope that that turns into more opportunities for evangelism.
So here in Albuquerque, we're going through so many different projects, whether it's cleaning up different schools or even writing cards for kids that are sick in the hospital and delivering them, providing food. But we thought this is something that we should involve our entire global family in.
Yeah, it's so fun, it's so important. It reflects the heart of the model of Jesus. So often we see Jesus come and minister to people and meet their physical needs before He speaks to their spiritual needs. As Christians, we have an opportunity to preach the gospel through our actions.
Christians often talk about loving their city, but it's important to do practical demonstrations of love as well. One way to do this is to partner with organizations like Samaritan's Purse or Convoy of Hope, or to give blood. During the COVID-19 pandemic, blood organizations have seen a lack of blood donations, so this is a great way to love your community.
Even if you don't partner with a big organization, there are still ways to love your city. For example, you can clean up graffiti or pick up trash in a park. Doing this can open doors for you to preach the gospel and evangelize people you may not have had the opportunity to reach otherwise.
All of this culminates in Freedom Celebration, an event that many look forward to. Kevin and Jen Miller shared their favorite Freedom Celebration memories, with Kevin's coming from 2002 and Jen's from last year's fireworks show on the roof.
This week, Freedom Celebration is coming up in just seven days! It's an opportunity for hundreds and thousands of people to be saved. In the past, we used to have it at Isotopes Stadium, but due to COVID-19, we brought it home to our Osuna campus. This year, we are back on the road and at Balloon Fiesta Park. We will also be online at Freedom ABQ.
Chip, who has been here a long time, shared his favorite memory of all the Freedom Celebrations he has been involved in. He said the first one was nerve-wracking, but it was a great weekend. There was Skip's message of freedom, food trucks, and fireworks. Chip said that for those online, it is an opportunity to find truth. He encouraged everyone to watch Freedom ABQ and to invite friends to watch with them.
We have worship starting soon and a video to get us in the mindset and heart to worship together. Let us know your stories of Freedom Celebration in the chat.
The race of the sun rises at one end of the heavens and it follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat. The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true, each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the cone. They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey him.
How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden thoughts. Keep your servant from deliberate sins; don't let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. Thank you.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Rise up, lift your eyes to the heavens and let your voices ring out as we worship His holy name.
Good evening church, to our online church as well. How many of you guys believe that our God is worthy to be praised? Amen. We're gonna go and see Him, pray to Him tonight. And when we praise, the enemy has nowhere to stand.
Let's see what's up. Silence. Everything. Okay, you cannot survive. The red face be a song that comes the storm inside of me. Let it rise. Christmas break down everyone. We watch the Giants. Our creation, creation we praise You. We praise You. This is what freedom feels like. This is what it looks like. This is Christians on our side.
One more time for I cannot survive when we praise You, a God of breakthroughs on our side forever. Lift Him high, the creation cry. God, we praise You. Come on, let's praise Him tonight. Thank You. I've seen His praise crying off by me. There is courage. Driving time. Like this, as one in unity is one body. Please can I still do miracles? Reclaims the ground. Like me.
Turkey is faithful and He is worthy of our praise. We serve a holy God. Amen. He will see us through; He reconciled us through His son. And there is, there's a reason. As long as there is breath in your lungs, there is a reason.
I wanted to share something with you guys today. It's Psalm 145:1-3 and it says, "I will exalt thee, my God, and I will bless thy name forever and ever. Every day will I bless thee and I will praise thy name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable."
Hey Calvary Church, it is so good to be with you today! We worship a King, Jesus, who is not just an idea or a religion, but a Lord of Heaven and Earth. Our prayer today is that you know Him deeper and trust Him as the Lord in all of your life, because He is not just the King; He is the Savior and He wants to have a personal relationship with you.
If you're new here, we want to welcome you with a gift. You'll find our Welcome Team on YouTube, Facebook Live, and in the chat area. Let them know that you're new and we can send a special gift to you.
We also want to give a quick shout out to all the watch parties that are happening today. Church online is great, but there's nothing like being with other Christians, fellowshipping together, worshiping together, and giving together. If you're looking for a group you can watch service with in your area, just go ahead and click "watch party" at Calvary at home dot church.
As a reminder, part of our worship is giving to God and the work of God. To worship through giving today, you can just click "give" in the top right corner of the website that you're on.
We are coming into one of the most important and exciting weeks of the year here at Calvary. This is what I look forward to most all year long. It is our biggest evangelistic week of the entire year as we prepare to share the gospel at Freedom Celebration, to serve our cities through Love Week.
We'd love to invite you to serve this Wednesday online live at calvarynm.church. As we get ready to bow before the battle, we're asking God to do great things at Freedom Celebration, for many people to be saved. We believe that a big part of that preparation is getting on our knees, worshiping God, and asking Him to do what only He can do.
We're gonna have our good friend Pastor Levi Lusko in the house sharing an important word for us. Levi Lusko is hosting a night of worship at 6:30 PM Mountain Standard Time at Calvary Church. You can join us online at Freedom ABQ for Freedom Celebration. Make sure to invite your friends and let them know to tune in at Freedom ABQ.com this upcoming Saturday.
We are preparing for Freedom Celebration through generosity. We will be showing a video highlighting some of the amazing things God has done throughout the years at Freedom Celebration. We will then go into a special song called "I Speak Jesus." We are asking for financial help to speak Jesus in the city and see Him change lives.
Since we've started Freedom Celebration, we've seen over 50,000 people come and be a part of it. We've also seen over 5,000 people make professions of faith and give their lives to Jesus. Calvary Church is on a mission to create opportunities for life change for everyone in our community.
During Love Week, we are partnering with churches and community support organizations to transform our city by serving our city. Freedom Celebration is more than a big event; it's more than family fun and live music; it's more than fireworks. It's an opportunity for life change. Join us as we share the good news with the city we love and give to life change and give to Freedom Celebration.
My name is Jesus and I shine through the shadows. Every name is your name, shout Jesus from the mountains and Jesus in the streets, Jesus in the darkness over every enemy, just for my family name. Jesus, trousers, yourself, shining like another day.
We're finding that God is doing exactly what He says, to declare this a global house. Now for the last look, well greetings, welcome to church, glad you showed up. We also not only are glad you came, we want to welcome those of us, those of you who are joining us on the worldwide web and you're looking at us from different parts of the country, different parts of the world. We know you're out there; we consider it an honor that you would tune in and make this a part of your spiritual feeding.
So we want to welcome you, we want to welcome our Santa Fe campus, our West Side campus. Let's give it up for all those who are joining us that way. Then you brought a Bible, I take it, right? Always a good thing to do when you come to church. Take your Bibles and turn in them to Revelation chapter 13.
The Book of Revelation chapter 13. I love speaking about Jesus Christ, I love preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, I love teaching you about Jesus Christ. Today, however, I'm going to be talking to you about the Antichrist. Not my favorite subject; I'd much rather talk to you about the Lord Jesus Christ, but we're talking about the series on end times, "The End Is Near?" and one of the key figures coming up in Bible prophecy is somebody we know as the Antichrist.
If you were to Google that single word "Antichrist" like I did this week, you would get over 17 million 500,000 hits. If you were then to Google the question "Who is the Antichrist?" you would get over 183 million hits. Now some of the websites that I looked at this week are legitimate; I would say respected sources of biblical information, others not so much. Others are a little weird and suspect, and you know I'm going to paint with a broom here, but you can almost always tell a weird website by the fact that all the letters are capitalized, usually in red, typically with flames on the side of the web page, both sides of the articles.
But it showed me that the subject of the Antichrist, who is the Antichrist, the coming world leader, the Antichrist—that generates a lot of interest, more interest and speculation than probably most other biblical subjects, especially if a leader emerges who is, shall we say, antichrist-esque, just sort of has leanings or behavior or words that we who have a Bible background would associate with the coming Antichrist.
Here's an interesting quote: "One single center of power, one single center of force, one single center of decision-making, this is the world of one master and one sovereign." That quote was given, and I found it in the New York Times by the president of Russia.
Throughout history, there have been many attempts to figure out who the Antichrist is, and there have been many guesses. As long as there has been a Christian Church, I would say all the way back to 40 A.D., when an emperor named Caligula put an image or ordered an image of himself to be erected and placed in the temple in Jerusalem, some of the Christians in Jerusalem thought, "This is it, this is the Antichrist." A few years later, Caesar Nero emerged and he so persecuted the Christian church in Rome and in various parts of the world that he was given the nickname by believers at the time of "the Beast." They called him "the Beast."
Other guesses throughout history include Mussolini, Napoleon, Charlemagne, Adolf Hitler, Moshe Dayan, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Javier.
Vladimir Putin has claimed that just as Christ's birth changed the calendar, so his victory would be the beginning of a whole new age. He said, "What Christ began, I will complete." At one of his Nuremberg rallies in Germany, there was a giant photo of Adolf Hitler and written on it the moniker "One World Government." This leader's antichrist-esque behavior—no wonder people at that time thought he might be the Antichrist.
All of these, however, are just examples of another leader that is coming that the Bible does predict is coming in the future. The idea of antichrist doesn't just mean against Christ; that little prefix "anti" can mean instead of Christ. It would seem as we work our way through this text and others that that is what he is trying to pull off, convincing the world that he is the chosen one, he is the Messiah, the anti, the instead of Christ.
What he will be is a Satan-inspired, Satan-possessed, Satan-infused leader who will emerge during the tribulation period. We call him the Antichrist, but he goes by several other names in the Bible. The word "Antichrist" actually doesn't show up that many times, but that's the name that has stuck.
Solana of Spain and Elon Musk have both been called the Antichrist, as well as certain American presidents throughout history like Jefferson, FDR, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Ronald Reagan. I could go on, but probably all of them at some time by some group were labeled the Antichrist. Numerous popes have been called the Antichrist, and one prophetic publication that I came across said that the worship of the Beast is the internet.
The rationale behind this is the Gematria, an ancient belief that you take letters of words in ancient languages and you assign a numeric value to them. The prefix to every HTML is WWW, which is like the Hebrew letter VAV, and so they do the numeric calculation of 6-6-6.
Today, I want to give you six characteristics that will describe the Antichrist. In Revelation 13:1, he is called a beast, which is how God sees him, not as a beauty, but as a beast. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a vision that Daniel interpreted. He saw a great statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, stomach and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and clay. In Daniel 7, God reveals to Daniel essentially the same vision, but he sees it as four beasts. John sees the same thing but in reverse. The Beast is like a leopard, with feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion.
John sees essentially the same image but in reverse. Satan, as identified in the previous chapter of Revelation, gives the Beast his power, his throne, and great authority. This power is given to him by Satan, as God gave Adam power over his creation. Adam, through sinning in the fall, handed it over to Satan, and this is why Jesus refers to Satan as the ruler of this age and Paul calls Satan the god of this world.
The Beast is granted the power to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority is given to him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. He is a human leader, described as having seven heads and ten horns with crowns on them. Since the 1990s, the idea of globalization has become more popular, with the goal of establishing a world Parliament, enacting world laws, and creating a world Central Bank. This Beast will have worldwide control and influence and will be like Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, Stalin, and Hitler all rolled into one personality.
One day, people will have their dream come true because that will be the exact agenda of this Beast, this man of sin, this wicked ruler that is coming. John sees him rise up out of the sea, which is the nations of the world, the seething, restless humanity. Revelation 17:15 helps identify this idea of the sea. Jesus said of the last days there will be distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring.
This is a very interesting description of the world today, with crime, violence, confusion over gender, political distrust, institutional failure, rise in drug addiction, fentanyl death, and pornography. Nations will stand helpless, not knowing which way to turn. On the scene comes a peacemaker, one with answers seemingly, and he'll come in peacefully. Revelation 6 speaks of the man on the white horse, who will be charming, charismatic, and dynamic, but at his heart, he's a beast.
Arnold Toynbee, a British historian who made it his specialty to study the demise of world civilizations, said that mankind is ripe for the deifying of any new Caesar who might succeed in giving the world unity and peace.
The second characteristic of this wicked ruler is world dominance. Revelation 13:1-2, especially verse 2, speaks of the Beast which I saw; the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. The third wonder is found in verse 3, where it speaks of one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world marveled and followed the Beast.
Evidently, there will be some sort of assassination attempt on this coming world leader. It would seem like the world will think the Antichrist is dead, and then he comes back. What I get from this is that the Antichrist is going to stage some sort of pseudo-resurrection. After all, he is the Antichrist; he's trying to show that he is instead of Christ, just as we know Christ had a real resurrection. The Antichrist will have a pseudo-resurrection because Satan does not have the power to give life; only God does. But it will be like the master dupe of all of history.
Can you just imagine some assassinated leader lying in a casket in some hall or rotunda in the Middle East? Let's say thousands of people are lined up to pay their respects; the cameras would be on the event. It would be the news of the day for several days, and suddenly, as the camera zooms into the casket, he gets up; he emerges alive out of that casket.
Perhaps this is what Jesus referred to when He said, "I came in my father's name and you did not receive me; another will come in his own name, him you will receive." They will wonder, it says in verse 3, or it says marveled at the Beast. The Old King James says they will wonder at him. Now wonder, wow, "foulmazzo" is the Greek word, means to be greatly astonished at, mesmerized by. We might say wonder is the first step to worship, which leads us to the fourth characteristic: worship.
Look at verse 4, so they worshiped the dragon, that is Satan, who gave authority to the Beast, and they worshiped the Beast, saying, "Who is like the Beast, who is able to make war with him?" Go down to verse 8, "All who dwell on the earth will worship Him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
So wonder turns to worship; fascination and attraction turn to adoration.
How could anybody worship the devil? I used to ask that years ago; the thought of this was untenable, it was unimaginable that anybody in mass would worship the devil. I think differently now because so many people that I have met in my lifetime, my adult lifetime especially the last couple of decades, have claimed to be in the Church of Satan or outright Satan worshipers.
Interesting that the news is covering a trend that is happening across our country. There is a decline in church membership, there's a decline in church attendance, but there is an interesting correspondent growth in the Church of Satan. They claim, they boast now, 700,000 members in the Church of Satan. There are now after-school satanic groups, like there used to be after-school Bible clubs in many campuses in our country.
Maybe you heard about it; maybe you saw the Grammys this year when Sam Smith, the British singer, performed the song "Unholy." That was the name of it, and it was complete with his costume; he was wearing a hat with two devil horns poking out of the top. There is a satanic church that has an abortion clinic in the state of New Mexico that performs what they call religious abortion rituals. They go through the ritual before the abortion is performed; the ritual consists of...
People in our state and other parts of the country are speaking out satanic creeds while looking into a mirror before undergoing an abortion. They say it sanctifies the abortion ritual. This is what Satan wanted all along. He wanted worship from the beginning. He said in Isaiah 14, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
In 2 Thessalonians 2, it says the Antichrist will oppose and exalt himself over everything that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sets himself in the temple of God, claiming that he is God. Satan doesn't want casualties; he wants converts. He wants people worshiping him, and it seems that during this tribulation period, there's not only an Antichrist; there's an anti-trinity. There's a pseudo-false trinity of the Dragon, Satan, the Antichrist, this world leader, and somebody else in the subsequent verses of Revelation 13 that we call the false prophet.
All three of these emerge together, so the world by this time will have rejected the Lamb and instead they will receive the Beast. His characteristics are wickedness, world domination, wonder, and worship.
John brings something up here that is interesting because whenever the Antichrist is predicted in other parts of the scripture, like in the Book of Daniel, this is the same characteristic that is mentioned by these authors. He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for 42 months. He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
He will have an ability to persuade people to sway them. He'll be a master politician. Daniel chapter 7 describes this leader four times with this phrase, “a mouth speaking pompous words.” He is not going to have a self-esteem problem; it will be exactly the opposite. Almost all dictators that have ever risen to power and influence have done so by their ability to persuade the masses. He will mesmerize the people.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American novelist and writer, said, "Words, so innocent and powerful as they are, standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them." One of the characteristics of the Antichrist spoken of by Daniel and John in Revelation 13 is this ability to use his words for powerful speech. He will be empowered by Satan, appear to be a beauty, though he will really be a beast, and mesmerize the world by a fake pseudo-resurrection.
At the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period, it will be relatively peaceful because the world will have been in turmoil. Then, this person will come on, get the governments together, and bring them together in an amalgamation of human confederacy of governments. He will bring calm and peace to the world and make a deal with the Jewish people to rebuild their Temple.
At the three-and-a-half-year mark, the abomination of desolation will occur, where he claims that he is God and demands worship from the world. This is when the Holocaust begins. War, Holocaust, killing, and destruction will follow. Everyone will be required to take a certain mark for economic reasons.
John isn't the first one to bring this up. In the Book of Daniel, it is written that he will speak pompous words against the Most High and persecute the saints of the Most High. The word "persecute" means to wear them down like a garment to where it's unwearable anymore. He will continually harass the saints with physical harassment, legal injustice, and seizure of property.
If anyone has an ear, let him hear. He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity, and he who kills with a sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints—all to be in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Jesus predicted that His followers would be persecuted and killed. This is seen in Revelation 13 and Zechariah 13-14. The Antichrist will come and deceive the world, going on a rampage to kill believers across the Earth. Jesus, however, is the sinless man, the Good Shepherd, and His death was to save people.
In Revelation 8, it says that all who dwell on the Earth will worship the Antichrist, but those whose names are written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world will be saved. Therefore, it is important to cling to Jesus Christ now, before the Rapture, so that you do not risk the possibility of entering into the time period of mass deception.
Our name in this is it well? Would somebody write a book about me? Well, somebody did. If you'll allow Him, He'll put your name in His book. If you will let Him, you'll be in the most famous, most important Book of All Times—the Lamb's Book of Life. He'll write your name and it'll never be erased. But you have to make a decision here in time and space in this world to commit your life to Christ.
If you've not done that, let's close with a word of prayer. Father, we have considered what this chapter highlights as a very wicked, deceptive, controlling, dominating individual in his destruction. He will demand people worship Him; he'll convince them people by strong rhetoric only to make war against them to destroy them.
How different are King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The only one who has the right to rule and reign, the one who doesn't take life, the one who gives life, the one who gave His life that we might have life on that cross.
Lord, I pray for anyone who may be watching online, maybe in a hospital, maybe at home, maybe tuning into this broadcast by the radio. Things they have tried in their lives have not satisfied them. They've wondered, is there a God? Does He really exist? And if He does, does He care that I exist?
I pray, Lord, You would convince that man, that woman, that young person, that older person, their name, their person, their life is very important to You, very special to You, that You want to place their name in the book of the life of the Lamb. I pray that they will say yes to Jesus.
Wherever you're looking at this broadcast from or listening to it, whether you're driving, you're watching it from another city or another country, we're going to give you an opportunity as well online to do that. There's somebody you can chat with; there's going to be a number on the screen you can call.
But if you're here with us at this campus or at our other two campuses and you've heard of this Antichrist, you've certainly heard of Jesus Christ. Maybe you've been dragged to church by a friend or a parent or somebody you're dating, but you don't know Him personally; you've never surrendered your life to Him yet.
Yes, there are people out there and even one who is coming who want to see your life destroyed, but there's a God in heaven who loves you and wants to see you saved. But He'll never save you apart from your will to be saved. If you're drowning, you got to put your hand up and say help.
And so if you're here today and you're willing to give your life to Jesus Christ, maybe for the first time, come to church. You've listened to messages before, sermons, but you've never surrendered your life to Christ. Be that opportunity. I want you to raise your hand in the air just like a man or a woman in an ocean saying, "Help, throw the rope over here."
If you're here and you're willing to give your life to Christ, to turn from your sin and to believe in Him and be saved, if you want that or if you need to come back to Him after wandering away from Him for a while, I want you to raise your hand in the air just for a moment so I can acknowledge you and pray for you as we close the service.
You just raise that hand up and say, "Skip, pray for me, pray for me. Here's my hand, I need this, I want this, I'm just going to surrender my life today to Him."
God bless you, just keep it up for a moment. Who else? Raise it up in the air? Here I am, pray for me.
Father, we are thankful for those who sit in their hearts. I need this, that raising of the hand is that statement of faith indicating I need You, I'm willing to believe in You. So right where you are, whether you're watching online, hearing on the radio, or here in person, say this to Him right now: "Lord, I give You my life. I know that I'm a sinner, sorry for my sin, I turn from it, I turn to Jesus, I give Jesus all of me, I want to follow Him as Lord and Savior, fill me with Your Spirit, help me in Jesus' name, amen."
Let's all stand to our feet; we're going to close in a song of worship. If you prayed that prayer, you raised your hand, we're going to give you instructions after the service. There's a prayer room right up front and a team that's going to take you there and give something to you.
If you're online, we're going to give you a number. In fact, if you have a phone and you're watching this online, you can text with your phone the word "life" (L-I-F-E) to 505-509-5433. Just text the word "life" (L-I-F-E) to 505-509-5433. We're going to reach out to you and get in touch with you.
Let's close in the song of worship. Promise people hide in the darkness, to you that is who. Amen.
Are we thankful that we serve a way-making, miracle-working God who is working behind the scenes? You know, I don't know who the Antichrist is, but I know who Jesus Christ is, and I am thankful that I have a relationship with Him and that that changes the way that I live.
As you go into this week, I pray that you go into this week trusting your life, your every move into the hands of the way-making, miracle-working God. As we serve our city through love, we invite our friends, we do it all in the name of the one and only Jesus Christ, and this weekend we believe that we're going to see God do a mighty work at Freedom Celebration. Amen.
Hey man, hey one more reminder, if it's your first time here at Calvary, we have these red Next Step cards. If you fill that out, give it to one of our team members, we have a gift we want to get in your hands, but we also want to make a donation to one of four incredible charities doing work around the world.
So make sure to fill that out, give it to a team member or drop it in the box, but let me pray over your week as you launch into what God has for you.
Lord, we thank You for this weekend; we thank You for the opportunity we've had to worship together, Lord, to give together to Your work, to what You're doing. Now I pray that as we walk out those doors, we would go out together, unified, strengthened through Your Word, prepared for Your work.
We pray, Lord, that You would do something in the lives of our friends and family that we think is impossible. We again lift up all the someones that we prayed for in this service and pray, Lord, that You'd bring life change in their lives this week. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
God bless you guys. We'll see you at Freedom Celebration and then on Sunday next weekend. Thank you.
on Nov 05, 2023
