>> Pastor Eric
00:00:00.640 Good morning. Welcome everyone to Freedom Church.
00:00:03.920 Let's give God a great big hand. That's such a great, great time to
00:00:07.740 worship him. And, I just wanna say welcome to everyone watching online
00:00:11.700 as well. Just a reminder, we always live stream our 11:00 AM
00:00:15.460 service so you never have to miss out on what God is doing and what he's speaking
00:00:19.160 to each and every one of us through Freedom Church. And I just wanna say welcome.
00:00:23.120 If I haven't had the privilege of meeting you, my name's Eric.
00:00:25.480 I'm the lead pastor here of Freedom Church.
00:00:27.560 My wife Rachel was up on the keys leading us in worship.
00:00:30.970 And, we're so glad you guys are here.
00:00:33.220 And, we're gonna have a great day of celebrations today.
00:00:35.860 We have up front, I know you might not be able to see it on the camera online, but
00:00:39.180 we have a baptismal set up 'cause we're gonna be baptizing several people
00:00:43.100 today, celebrating them,
00:00:45.740 celebrating what God has done in their lives.
00:00:47.760 And there's gonna be some brief testimonies and some stories you're not gonna wanna
00:00:51.100 miss, so stay with us all the way through to the end.
00:00:53.360 Um, we'll be here, until we get every last person baptized today.
00:00:57.340 Um, but I wa— I wanna start off just by sharing, as I've shared the last couple
00:01:00.600 weeks, we're in our fourth week of Freedom Church.
00:01:03.780 So we launched on March 1st, we're now four weeks, fourth Sunday
00:01:07.600 having services. And l— each week, let you know a little bit about Freedom
00:01:11.540 Church, a little bit about myself, about my wife, about our family, just so you
00:01:15.440 get to see us. Like, we're, we're open books.
00:01:17.920 Like, I wish I could just talk and let you know who we are 'cause there's
00:01:20.640 nothing... We just want people to know us because of what God has done in us, not
00:01:24.420 because we're so great, but because God has been so good, so faithful.
00:01:28.460 The way he's redeemed our lives, he's healed us, he's brought us to this place
00:01:32.120 where we just wanna help other people experience the freedom that we've
00:01:35.680 experienced. That's part of why we named the church Freedom Church, 'cause it's all
00:01:39.040 about living a life of freedom in Christ.
00:01:42.480 So Freedom Church is a life-giving church where people know God,
00:01:46.660 find freedom, discover purpose, and make an impact.
00:01:50.430 And those are the four things that we've been talking about the last couple weeks.
00:01:54.280 Today we're gonna be really focusing on, how do we make an impact in other
00:01:58.100 people's world? And we're gonna see and hear some of the stories of the people
00:02:01.040 who've been impacted by Jesus, and they're taking their next step to be baptized
00:02:04.640 today. Um, but before we get into the word, just a little bit about
00:02:08.560 myself and my wife, and I'll share a little bit as we go along.
00:02:11.790 But we got married in 2016, and before then, I have a son,
00:02:15.720 Dalton, who's 15 years old, and he's actually serving in the kids ministry right
00:02:19.520 now, loves serving with the kids, such a great son, great brother to our
00:02:23.320 littles. I say littles 'cause we have a four-year-old named Judah.
00:02:27.100 We have a daughter who's about to turn two tomorrow, named
00:02:30.340 Eden.
00:02:31.109 Whoo.
00:02:31.200 And we're pregnant with another little girl who's due at the end of May.
00:02:34.460 So we love children, we love having families. Thank you.
00:02:38.700 And, you know, of all the titles, of all the things I've done in, in my life,
00:02:42.120 one of the greatest things that brings me the greatest joy is being a dad.
00:02:45.200 Yes.
00:02:45.880 Being a dad is so special, and it's so meaningful when your kids come
00:02:49.940 to you and they call you Daddy. Especially, like, little Eden, who's turning two,
00:02:53.060 she's— I lo— she's like, "Love you, Daddy," it's like, oh, it doesn't matter how
00:02:56.320 bad my day is. When that happens, it's like, it's a good day.
00:02:59.000 And, just love kids. I love also helping men especially learn
00:03:02.940 how to be dads. And not that I have it all figured out, but, I mean, there's such a
00:03:06.520 joy and such an impact we can have when we help men learn
00:03:10.460 how to lead their spouses, lead their families, lead in their homes.
00:03:13.680 I believe men inherently are created to be leaders.
00:03:16.690 And, when men lead, things get better typically.
00:03:19.960 Unless you're in the government. But we te— we have— ...
00:03:22.360 in the church and in Christianity, the men who are taught to lead
00:03:25.840 godly lives is what's best for family and what's best for
00:03:29.680 children. So I love helping men learn how to be dads.
00:03:33.620 But it, it wasn't always that way for me.
00:03:36.000 Um, my previous 25 years of my life, until I was 25, I
00:03:39.800 really lived for me. My... I was trying to build a legacy
00:03:44.060 for my namesake. I was trying to build a legacy for how much I could have, how
00:03:47.880 much money could I acquire, how much of a business could I build for myself.
00:03:52.140 The legacy I thought I had was, how much can I have?
00:03:55.180 But then I met Jesus in a real way, and my legacy shifted from, I
00:03:59.140 don't wanna build a legacy for me. Legacy's really something you leave when your
00:04:02.910 life is over.
00:04:04.680 The reality is all of us are gonna pass from this life, pass from this
00:04:08.460 planet. What's left of our life is really what's gonna matter.
00:04:12.260 What legacy is behind when we take our last breath, what's gonna be left behind?
00:04:16.280 What's gonna be imparted to the next generation?
00:04:18.880 What's gonna be imparted to our children and grandchildren?
00:04:21.721 And that's really the impact that goes so much further than just
00:04:25.620 the, the decades we're here on this planet that could truly last for
00:04:29.560 eternity. And, there's a quote from the movie Gladiator,
00:04:33.880 if any, have any of you ever seen Gladiator?
00:04:35.860 How many of you have not seen Gladiator? We need to help them. We need to help...
00:04:38.720 No. Uh, it's a little gory, I get it, but it's an amazing movie.
00:04:41.800 Uh, I would say not the best movie ever, but it's a, it's up there.
00:04:44.760 It's a really good movie. Um, but Russell Crowe, who's playing this guy, he's an
00:04:48.660 army commander actually, military commander and...
00:04:51.580 I won't tell the whole story, I'll ruin it for you.
00:04:53.140 But at this one point he's call— he's calling to his men, he says, "What we do in
00:04:56.660 life echoes in eternity."
00:04:59.740 Now, this isn't a Bible verse, but I think there's some truth to this, that what we
00:05:03.320 do in this life and how we live our lives will echo
00:05:07.260 into eternity, that the only thing that really lasts beyond our
00:05:11.240 life is what we do for eternity. And if you missed last week, I
00:05:15.100 talked about, how do we live on purpose?
00:05:18.100 Ho— that we were created on purpose and for a purpose,
00:05:22.060 and that what we do for Christ, the cause of Christ, for his
00:05:26.000 church, is ultimately the things that are, I believe, are gonna last for eternity
00:05:29.980 and last much more beyond our lives.
00:05:32.680 But How many of you know there are problems in the world?
00:05:35.140 Any of you ever notice something, anything at all like a problem in the world going
00:05:38.540 on around the— around us? But there are problems in the world, and maybe it's just
00:05:42.120 little things like you go to a restaurant, you go somewhere and you see something
00:05:44.660 broke. And what do you think? Uh, maybe it's just me, I go, "Somebody should
00:05:47.960 fix that," right? I go to Panera a lot, and the rug is, like,
00:05:51.820 always crooked. It's always caught in the door.
00:05:53.900 And I'm like, I feel like I'm always fixing the rug at Panera.
00:05:56.390 And people stop and ask me questions, and I'm like, "I don't work here.
00:05:59.240 I just wanna fix this." Um, same at Home Depot. It happens all the time.
00:06:02.840 But I— I go— but I see problems and I go, I wanna, I wanna fix them.
00:06:06.544 I wanna be a part of the solution. I don't wanna just talk about it and say, "Look
00:06:09.384 at all the problems. Somebody should take care of that." And that's true.
00:06:12.944 There's reality to, to the statement, somebody should take care of it.
00:06:16.384 But I believe today, if I could help our perspective shift out—
00:06:20.424 not from somebody should take care of that to what can I do to
00:06:24.404 help be a part of that solution? It's for every single one of us to a— really ask
00:06:28.344 ourselves that question, and really ask God the question, God, how can I be a part
00:06:32.344 of the solution? How can I be a part of helping other people?
00:06:35.504 How can I be used by you to make an impact in other
00:06:39.204 people's lives? So we're gonna talk a little bit about some different approaches to
00:06:43.084 God, 'cause I think it really affects how we live our lives.
00:06:46.704 We're gonna look at salvation and what does that mean to be saved, and then really,
00:06:50.524 what is our part and how can we make an impact?
00:06:53.304 So before we jump into the Word, would you join me as I say a quick prayer?
00:06:57.004 Heavenly Father, I thank you, God, for this day.
00:06:59.024 God, I thank you that as we were singing, God, worthy are you, God, for
00:07:02.484 everything that we do, God, for every breath in our lungs, for every word that we
00:07:05.984 speak, every song that we sing. God, you are worthy of it all.
00:07:09.804 God, I pray today that you would use me, speak through me.
00:07:12.624 God, that your Word would come alive to each and every person watching, listening,
00:07:16.244 and sitting here in this room. God, that your Spirit would speak to each and every
00:07:19.644 person. Help us see the problems, not just as problems, but God,
00:07:23.504 how we can be a part of the solution.
00:07:25.904 God, that you've called us and sent us to help be a
00:07:29.344 solution to the problems of this world.
00:07:31.924 And God, we thank you for your Son, Jesus, who solved the ultimate problem
00:07:35.864 of our sin and our separation from you.
00:07:38.844 God, I pray that you would be glorified, you'd receive all the honor and all the
00:07:42.644 praise. In Jesus' name, amen.
00:07:45.474 Amen.
00:07:47.684 So in the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, in Genesis
00:07:51.684 chapter 2, there's this s— story of creation, okay?
00:07:55.464 And, and God creates the heavens and the Earth.
00:07:57.464 He creates the mountains and the stars and the moons, and He creates everything.
00:08:01.244 And He creates this perfect paradise called the Garden of Eden, right?
00:08:04.824 You might have heard of that. Um, Garden of Eden, where He places Adam and Eve, and
00:08:08.544 actually, He puts in the middle of the garden these two trees.
00:08:11.904 He actually had all sorts of trees in verse 9 that grew up from the ground,
00:08:15.744 trees that were beautiful, that produced delicious fruit.
00:08:18.884 In the middle of the garden, He placed the tree of life and the tree of the
00:08:22.304 knowledge of good and evil. Two trees He placed in the middle of the
00:08:26.124 garden. It's very important to notice that.
00:08:28.004 And He said, "Everything that I've created is good," at this point.
00:08:31.564 A little bit later in verse 16, he says, "The Lord God warned him," talking to
00:08:34.884 Adam, "You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the
00:08:38.904 garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
00:08:42.345 If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die." Now, of all the
00:08:46.104 trees that God created, these beautiful trees with delicious fruit, He said, "You
00:08:49.684 can have all of these trees," and He puts these two trees right in the middle and
00:08:53.444 actually says, "The only one you can't touch is the tree of the knowledge of good
00:08:56.844 and evil. Of everything you can have, you can have 99.9% of the
00:09:00.504 trees, just don't touch this one." How many of you know when you
00:09:04.404 tell somebody you can't have something, you want it all the more?
00:09:08.264 Now, I do not believe God did that to tempt Adam.
00:09:10.944 I don't believe He did that 'cause He wanted him—
00:09:12.784 He wanted to give him a choice, to have free will, to say, "I could
00:09:16.684 choose to obey and have all the abundance of 99.9% of the
00:09:20.584 things you give,
00:09:22.564 or you can choose this one thing that's off limits."
00:09:25.804 God does the same to us. I believe it's part of our human nature, that we, we want
00:09:29.504 and desire the things that we don't have or we can't have, even
00:09:33.484 when we have so much.
00:09:35.464 We live in a country, in a land that is so full of abundance, yet many
00:09:39.524 times we're not satisfied until we get the next thing, the newest release of the
00:09:43.284 iPhone, the newest thing or the next best thing, the newest subscription, and
00:09:46.504 there's always more that we seek in our flesh, but yet we're
00:09:50.374 not truly satisfied. And these two trees that He mentions,
00:09:54.384 they're actually like the tree of knowledge of good and evil and a— this approach
00:09:57.704 to God is often found when everything is right and wrong, good or evil,
00:10:01.764 black or white. It's works-based, it's religion.
00:10:04.984 We, we go to God saying, "I'm gonna try to do good.
00:10:08.344 I'm gonna be good. I'm gonna be a good person.
00:10:10.394 I'm gonna do good." And especially in this area,
00:10:14.004 American culture especially, it seems like just be a good person.
00:10:17.384 Try to do good and God will be pleased.
00:10:20.584 But the tree of life on the other side, it says that when you come to God,
00:10:24.224 because God has already done all the work, because God
00:10:27.824 already loves you, now you should do good.
00:10:31.164 Now you should wanna be a good person.
00:10:33.124 Now you do good works because God loves you,
00:10:37.244 not the other way around. See, religion in many denominations
00:10:41.244 and maybe most of your backgrounds, you grew up in a, in a culture, in a
00:10:45.024 church that said, "You have to do a bunch of good things.
00:10:47.684 You have to pray repetitious prayers. You have to show up.
00:10:50.284 You, you have to get all the check marks in order to earn God's love."
00:10:54.484 That's not true. God already loves you so much
00:10:58.944 that there's nothing you can do to dissuade His love for you.
00:11:02.684 Because of that love, because of that truth, that while we were still
00:11:06.744 sinners, Christ died for us, now we live our lives
00:11:10.644 as good people. We strive to be good. We, we do good things.
00:11:14.644 And our approach to God is so important because if you're living in this place
00:11:18.584 of works and religion and w— trying to do good on your own,
00:11:22.764 it usually leads to a miserable life. You're bitter towards God.
00:11:26.404 You're frustrated with God. Rather than living through the tree of life that says,
00:11:30.094 "God, because you love me, I wanna live my life and give my life to you
00:11:33.864 freely, because it's not my own. It belongs to you." I hope that helps.
00:11:37.804 And we see these two approaches actually in this very next text, which is gonna be
00:11:41.414 the bulk of our text this morning, in Romans chapter 10.
00:11:45.284 Romans chapter 10, actually the heading in the Bible, many Bibles, in this passage
00:11:49.224 in the scripture, it says, "Salvation for all people," or, "God's
00:11:53.104 plan of salvation for all people." And, and Paul is writing this, so the Apostle
00:11:57.044 Paul, he's writing inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these
00:12:00.924 words to the church, to Christians in Rome. That's why it's called Romans.
00:12:04.844 It's actually a letter written to the Christians.
00:12:07.724 And he references Moses from the Old Testament. He says, "For Moses
00:12:11.492 writes that the law's way of making a person right with God
00:12:15.232 requires obedience to all of its commands.
00:12:18.412 But faith's way of getting right with God says, 'Don't say in your heart,
00:12:22.382 "Who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down to earth?" And don't say, "Who will
00:12:26.192 go down to the place of the dead to bring Christ back to life again?"'"
00:12:30.352 He contrasts these two ways, these two approaches.
00:12:34.732 The one he's like, the law, the law was good, the law was perfect.
00:12:37.892 Go— that God gave the law through Moses to follow all the commands, the
00:12:41.732 commandments of God to, because that was what's best for them.
00:12:45.212 Like, it's still a good idea and it's still what's best for you not to steal, not
00:12:48.712 to kill, not to hurt, not to envy, not to do all the bad stuff that
00:12:52.632 are written in the Old Testament. He's— at— that's still, that stuff is still
00:12:55.412 smart, that's wise. But he's actually contrasting the way of the
00:12:59.292 law to make a person right with God requires obedience
00:13:03.252 to all of the commands,
00:13:05.352 which, newsflash, nobody could ever obey all the
00:13:08.512 commands except for Jesus. So, this making
00:13:12.592 r— yourself right with God requires perfect obedience.
00:13:16.412 Any of you here perfectly obedient?
00:13:18.872 Okay, just for the record, and those watching online, nobody raised their hand.
00:13:21.712 None of us are perfectly obedient, but faith's way of getting made right with
00:13:25.772 God says, "Don't say in your heart..." He's saying, We're not saying, "We're gonna
00:13:28.492 go up to heaven and bring Jesus down, or we're gonna go down to the place of the
00:13:31.272 dead and bring Jesus back to life," because we cannot do that.
00:13:34.892 That would be in our strength or our ability, but Christ himself
00:13:38.812 left heaven and came to earth. Christ himself came back from the dead.
00:13:42.792 It's Christ who made the work to reconcile us, to make us right
00:13:46.612 with God, rather than us doing anything on our
00:13:50.592 own. So trying to earn righteousness is the way of the law, which
00:13:54.632 quite honestly, you can never do.
00:13:56.792 But receiving righteousness is by faith.
00:14:00.192 By faith we believe and receive the righteousness
00:14:04.092 of God. He continues in verse eight.
00:14:06.232 He says, "In fact, it says the message is very close at hand.
00:14:10.332 It is on your lips and in your heart, and that message is the very
00:14:14.172 message about faith that we preach." That these guys, they were
00:14:18.052 preaching this message of faith. They weren't preaching religious
00:14:22.072 things. They weren't preaching o— of just die to yourself because you're a bad
00:14:25.472 person, you know do, do, do. He's saying, no, no, preaching the message of faith is
00:14:29.312 that Christ has already done the work.
00:14:32.072 Now we live our lives because of the work he's done, because of
00:14:36.052 who he is. Salvation is not about
00:14:39.332 striving, it's about surrender.
00:14:42.452 That, in verse nine he says, "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and
00:14:46.412 believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
00:14:50.112 be saved."
00:14:52.192 You will be saved if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth.
00:14:55.892 So it doesn't have anything to do with how many times you show up at church, even
00:14:59.732 though you should be at church on Sunday.
00:15:01.492 Um, never met a pastor who said you shouldn't be, but you— you should be at—
00:15:05.452 at church, you should be doing good things. You should be a good person.
00:15:09.152 It's not a license that, oh, I'm saved, now I get to go do whatever I want.
00:15:12.912 That's probably, that's an indicator you're probably not really saved.
00:15:15.752 You're not really believing that Jesus is Lord, meaning he's the
00:15:19.512 leader of your life. He's in charge of your life.
00:15:22.292 He tells you what to do. That we don't call our own shots anymore,
00:15:26.192 but Jesus does.
00:15:29.172 It's about believing in your heart, confessing with your mouth.
00:15:32.292 It's really like receiving a gift.
00:15:34.972 You don't have to do anything to receive a gift other than receive it,
00:15:39.112 right? In, in Romans 6:23 it says that, "The free gift of eternal
00:15:42.952 life is in Jesus Christ." That it's a gift.
00:15:46.112 Salvation is a gift. He gives it freely.
00:15:49.052 He's already paid the price. He already purchased it, wrapped it, and he's given
00:15:53.012 it to you. You simply have to receive it.
00:15:55.712 You have to receive it and believe it in your heart, truly believe it.
00:15:59.382 And we're gonna talk about a little bit more what that means.
00:16:02.012 In verse 10 he continues to explain.
00:16:04.232 He said, "It's for as by believing in your heart that you are made right with God,
00:16:07.752 it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved."
00:16:11.992 That's what people being water baptized are gonna be doing today.
00:16:15.232 They believe in their heart, they've already been made right with God, they're
00:16:18.252 already saved, and they're openly declaring their faith, not
00:16:22.192 as a requirement of salvation, 'cause being baptized is not required for
00:16:26.072 your salvation. If you never get baptized but you truly believe in your heart
00:16:30.012 and you confess with your mouth, you are saved.
00:16:32.692 That's what the scripture says. All right, he says, "As the scriptures tell us,
00:16:37.232 anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.
00:16:40.192 Jew and Gentile," the non-Jewish people, "are the same in this
00:16:43.932 respect. They have the same Lord who gives generously
00:16:47.812 to all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the
00:16:51.812 Lord will be saved."
00:16:55.332 This isn't my idea, the— my opinion.
00:16:57.912 This isn't Freedom Church's beliefs, by itself.
00:17:00.952 We, we didn't come up with this. This is the word of God.
00:17:04.192 The words that Jesus himse— or that Paul wrote down, that God himself
00:17:07.992 gave to us in his word, that if you believe in him in your heart, you confess with
00:17:11.853 your mouth, and you call on the name of the Lord, you will be saved.
00:17:15.732 It doesn't say you might be saved. It doesn't say someday you'll be saved.
00:17:19.552 He says you will be saved if you truly believe that Jesus is
00:17:23.512 Lord, and that belief should determine your actions.
00:17:27.812 So your life should look different.
00:17:30.112 It's not just, again, I wanna reiterate, it's not just, I wanna go to heaven.
00:17:33.972 I mean, nobody wants to go to hell if they really knew what hell was.
00:17:36.632 Nobody wants to be separated from God.
00:17:38.472 Nobody wants to have eternal punishment and separation.
00:17:41.992 But this isn't just a, I just gotta say the right words, say the magic word, and I
00:17:45.852 get to go to heaven. It's not that. It's not just repeating the right
00:17:49.632 words, making the vibrations with your mouth.
00:17:51.972 It's truly a belief in your heart that your life is not your own,
00:17:56.152 that Jesus is Lord. But when you truly believe that,
00:17:59.952 and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
00:18:03.652 It's the promise in the scripture, in the word of God itself.
00:18:07.612 But if salvation is that simple and that powerful,
00:18:11.692 why doesn't everyone get to experience it? Why doesn't everyone
00:18:15.684 do it? Why, why wouldn't... And I really believe, I don't know why anybody
00:18:19.644 would say no if they really understood it, if they really heard it, they really
00:18:23.264 knew it, yet people do. Paul speaks to some of the
00:18:27.064 primary reasons I believe people don't accept and aren't saved.
00:18:30.924 He says in the next couple verses, verse 14, "But how can they
00:18:34.724 call on him to save them unless they believe in him?
00:18:38.724 How can they believe in him if they have never heard about him?
00:18:41.984 How can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
00:18:44.944 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?" That is why
00:18:48.884 the scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who bring good
00:18:52.924 news."
00:18:54.864 He lays out this logical inquiry of questions, really
00:18:58.424 rhetorical questions. You know, Jesus did the same thing.
00:19:01.424 Jesus knew all of the answers. You know, as a Jesus fully God,
00:19:05.204 fully man, He knew all the answers, yet He asked a lot of questions.
00:19:09.364 He didn't ask the questions to learn something, he asked the questions to teach
00:19:13.224 us, and Paul does the same thing here.
00:19:15.584 He's asking these rhetorical questions to build this logical chain for
00:19:19.684 us to learn from, for us to get to this lesson.
00:19:23.794 And what he's saying is, people to be saved is highly important.
00:19:26.944 I believe God's will is for all mankind to be saved, as, as it says in scripture.
00:19:31.004 But how can people be saved if they don't believe in Him?
00:19:34.324 Well, how can they believe in Him if they don't hear about Him, right?
00:19:37.414 And how can they hear about Him if somebody doesn't tell them?
00:19:39.324 How can they tell them if they're not sent?
00:19:40.944 He builds this really logical argument of exponen—
00:19:44.124 explaining why people are not saved, why people don't
00:19:47.684 hear the good news. I believe there are people in your
00:19:51.544 life,
00:19:53.014 they're not rejecting Jesus. There are some, but I believe there are many
00:19:56.944 people in your life, in each and every one of us, they're not blatantly rejecting
00:19:59.864 Jesus, they're not running from God.
00:20:02.224 They truly have never heard the gospel—
00:20:05.444 Right
00:20:06.164 ... the truth. The gospel means good news.
00:20:09.704 The gospel is what sets people free.
00:20:12.184 The truth will set you free. Jesus will set you free.
00:20:15.564 That the Son who— When the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.
00:20:19.724 Imagine having the cure for a deadly disease, and we don't tell anybody
00:20:23.784 about it.
00:20:24.914 Right.
00:20:24.944 We just keep it to ourselves, not because you're evil, probably because we're just
00:20:27.924 too busy.
00:20:29.224 We're distracted. Maybe we're afraid. What if they disagree with me?
00:20:32.324 What if they don't like me? The gospel is very similar.
00:20:35.084 We have the best news possible. That's why He says, "How
00:20:38.664 beautiful are the feet of the messengers who bring good news." He's actually
00:20:41.404 quoting Isaiah 52:7, where he's talking about, the
00:20:45.284 prophet Isaiah is talking about Jesus to come, that those who bring good
00:20:49.304 news are beautiful. It's like it's, it's, they bring, bring the best
00:20:53.164 news. You know what good news is, the gospel?
00:20:55.904 It's I, I don't deserve anything good.
00:20:58.264 I actually deserve death, punishment, and separation from God.
00:21:01.804 But Jesus died, and He rose from the gre— grave, so now I
00:21:05.824 can have eternal life. Now I can be forgiven.
00:21:08.584 Now I can live my life as a thank you for Jesus. That's the best news.
00:21:12.284 Something we could never do on our own, Jesus did for
00:21:16.064 us.
00:21:16.504 Yes.
00:21:17.264 There's no better news on the planet.
00:21:19.244 And when we tell people the good news, it sets people free.
00:21:23.664 It really does. Brings— When we tru— speak truth in love, it
00:21:27.584 sets people free. It makes an impact for eternity.
00:21:31.764 You know, evil is prevailing in many ways in the world.
00:21:35.614 And there's this quote, I don't remember where it's from, but it goes back a long
00:21:38.724 way, is that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good
00:21:42.604 men do nothing.
00:21:47.724 I would say there's, the only thing that the world needs for evil to triumph
00:21:51.624 and prevail in our world is for Christians to do nothing.
00:21:56.224 Good-intended, well-meaning, good Christians, but we're not
00:22:00.044 doing anything about it.
00:22:02.344 Now, I don't believe any one of us can solve all the problems by ourselves.
00:22:06.993 We're never intended to.
00:22:08.924 We're supposed to do it together.
00:22:11.344 We're supposed to share our resources.
00:22:13.504 We're supposed to work together, serve together, help one another, lock
00:22:17.564 arms together to really make an impact that goes so much
00:22:21.544 further than any one of us could ever do on our own.
00:22:24.884 Of all the problems in the world, and I, I go on mission trips and I, we're
00:22:27.864 building houses and I'm like, "There are thousands of houses that ne— people need
00:22:31.324 help. Like, how can we help them all?" And it's like we help the one person in
00:22:34.664 front of us. We help the next house, the next family, the next
00:22:38.544 thing. Locally, we help the next family, the next marriage, the next kids that are
00:22:42.484 struggling.
00:22:43.784 If you haven't heard, just yesterday, there were
00:22:47.684 several students who were in a car wreck and died just south of here in
00:22:50.284 Youghiogheny School District.
00:22:53.664 And I saw people posting stuff about, "Well, they must have had it coming.
00:22:57.324 It was the middle of the night." And I'm like,
00:23:00.404 "Forget why or how it happened, it happened." There are parents, there are
00:23:04.204 siblings, there's a school district grieving right now for the loss of these
00:23:07.684 teenagers.
00:23:08.464 Yeah.
00:23:09.544 And evil isn't always what bad people do.
00:23:11.964 Evil is sometimes, there's just evil in the world.
00:23:14.444 There's sadness, there's grief, there's loss, there's depression.
00:23:17.724 There's so many things that are afflicting people, especially young people,
00:23:22.904 and it's not a respecter of age or, or personalities.
00:23:27.004 Everybody is faced with evil in their world, in their life.
00:23:30.564 And I believe that evil's gonna continue to triumph unless Christians
00:23:34.584 step up, unless Christians do our part individually.
00:23:39.524 Last week, I met with several local pastors right here in Murrysville.
00:23:43.044 We said, "We all see what's going on in the world.
00:23:45.344 We all see what's happening in this region, this school district." We say, "Let's
00:23:48.804 work together. Let's figure out how we can be in unity, stop
00:23:52.684 competing, and start helping one another." Just this past week, I went and
00:23:56.644 met with a bunch of other pastors from all over the state of Pennsylvania, and it
00:24:00.344 became clear, we started talking about there's 12.9 million people in
00:24:04.144 Pennsylvania, over 10 million of them claim to not know
00:24:08.004 Jesus. They don't claim to be Christian.
00:24:10.244 That's the eight, over 80% do not claim to have a Christian faith.
00:24:14.704 That's a problem in our own state. 10 million
00:24:18.480 plus people in Pennsylvania alone how can we reach all 10 million?
00:24:22.480 Well, we don't, but we do our part to help work with other
00:24:26.520 churches, other organizations, so that together we can impact
00:24:30.400 Franklin Regional. Together we can impact Murrysville, Monroeville, Delmont, and
00:24:34.340 the surrounding communities. Together we could start to see P—
00:24:37.390 Pennsylvania shift to become a Christian state.
00:24:41.120 Instead of putting all of our hope in the government, let's put our hope in Jesus
00:24:44.340 Christ and His church that He is building.
00:24:47.670 Amen. Amen. Amen.
00:24:49.700 Paul ends with, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."
00:24:54.420 That God would use us.
00:24:58.160 God would use messed up, imperfect, flawed people to
00:25:02.120 bring the best news on the planet.
00:25:05.080 I think he does it because you might not listen to somebody who has it all together
00:25:07.920 and their life seems perfect, but He uses messed up people and go like, "Man,
00:25:11.660 that's... This guy seems happy even though he doesn't look like he should be
00:25:14.100 happy," right? Man, with what's g— they got going on in their life, why are they
00:25:17.060 having joy? Because we know the good news of the Gospel of Jesus.
00:25:21.140 So who is supposed to go and who is supposed to tell?
00:25:25.600 It's not just the pastors, it's not just the preachers, it's you.
00:25:29.400 Amen.
00:25:30.200 It's each and every one of you
00:25:32.840 doing our part individually to bring the good news to
00:25:36.780 other people, to tell them the good news.
00:25:40.020 And Jesus actually says this in Matthew 28, the last words recorded in the
00:25:43.880 Book of Matthew, Jesus's last words before He ascends to heaven, He came and He
00:25:47.900 told his disciples. Now, He tells his disciples, but
00:25:51.800 this is applying to us as well. I believe this doesn't stop
00:25:55.620 just because He said it in one time spot, because He says, talks about
00:25:59.590 the Holy Spirit, talks about being with us to the end of the age.
00:26:02.980 He says, "I have given all authority in heaven and on earth.
00:26:06.760 Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations,
00:26:10.880 baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
00:26:15.200 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands that I have given you.
00:26:19.090 And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the
00:26:22.640 end of the age."
00:26:25.280 And at this point, because we're gonna be baptizing people in just a little bit, if
00:26:28.059 you're being baptized or you're baptizing somebody and you need to change clothes,
00:26:31.720 you're welcome to be... You're dismissed at this point, and you can,
00:26:35.480 you can head out to, to get changed, and they're gonna be right back in.
00:26:39.640 Uh, gather at the back door and we'll, we'll see you out there in just a few
00:26:42.520 minutes. This is called the Great Commission,
00:26:46.660 Matthew 28:18-20. It's the Great Commission, and
00:26:50.600 it's called the Great Commission, not a sugges— great suggestion.
00:26:55.120 Jesus didn't give us the option. He says, "If you're a follower of
00:26:58.940 Jesus," and I believe if we're followers of Jesus, it is not optional
00:27:03.660 to not share our faith.
00:27:05.980 But here's the beautiful thing, Jesus says, shares several things here.
00:27:08.500 He says, "I've been given all authority in heaven." He's given all
00:27:12.520 the power, all the exousia, all the authority, and He says multiple times
00:27:16.460 in the Gospels, "I give you this authority." He gives us the
00:27:20.400 authority through Himself. The authority that He's been given is to—
00:27:24.129 available to us, the all authority, that we're not
00:27:28.000 subject to the authority of the world before we're subject to His authority.
00:27:32.040 His authority is a higher authority.
00:27:34.900 He says
00:27:36.140 to go and make disciples of all nations.
00:27:38.500 That's our assignment. With the authority that Christ has given us,
00:27:42.600 our assignment is to go and make disciples.
00:27:45.500 Making disciples is not an option.
00:27:48.320 And here at Freedom Church, we're in the process of clarifying and
00:27:52.240 making our, our discipleship process better, being more
00:27:55.800 intentional, having a process, not to create a program that everything's
00:27:59.220 restricted, but to have a process that's intentional, that's
00:28:02.640 meaningful. Because I don't know about you, if you make, if you don't make a plan,
00:28:06.300 how often do you follow through with it?
00:28:07.880 Like a meal plan and exercise plan, like, you're like, "I'm gonna get healthy
00:28:11.880 this year," and then you don't write anything down, how many know nothing happens?
00:28:15.480 But you make a plan. You have a process. You follow it out, being intentional.
00:28:19.920 I believe it's so important that we are gonna make disciples at Freedom Church,
00:28:23.520 that we're gonna intentionally keep working a process and a plan,
00:28:27.820 and we're gonna release it as it becomes better, as it becomes more available
00:28:31.800 to everyone. We wanna help make disciples along the way.
00:28:34.900 So be watching for that. We're four weeks in. We'll get there.
00:28:38.540 W— that's not an— this is not an optional thing, so we're going to be making
00:28:42.420 disciples. But then He also gives us this assurance,
00:28:46.300 assurance that He is with us always.
00:28:50.320 The impact that each and every one of us can make is only possible
00:28:54.360 because of Christ within us, because of His Holy Spirit that's
00:28:57.940 empowering us, that's leading us, that you have the ability
00:29:02.260 to go and witness to other people.
00:29:04.700 You don't need a platform to make an impact, you need proximity.
00:29:08.670 The people in your family, the people in your workplace, the people in your
00:29:11.740 neighborhood, the people who know your name, you have
00:29:15.220 proximity to them, and you can impact their life.
00:29:19.040 Yet we often complicate evangelism.
00:29:22.060 We make it so much more complicated than it needs to be.
00:29:25.460 You don't have to have all the answers.
00:29:28.400 I wanna le— like, release the burden from you. You don't save anybody.
00:29:32.460 Right.
00:29:33.620 Amen.
00:29:34.990 Amen.
00:29:35.060 You don't transform anybody's life.
00:29:37.900 I mean, you can make people's lives really bad, but you don't ultimately transform
00:29:41.340 people's lives. It's God through you.
00:29:43.260 It's the Holy Spirit through you that impacts and transforms people's lives.
00:29:47.280 But we still have to be willing. We still have to say, "God, use me."
00:29:51.740 And here's a really simple way to share your faith.
00:29:54.320 It's who you were, what Jesus did, and who you are
00:29:58.300 now.
00:29:58.940 Amen.
00:29:59.780 In the Bible, there's this guy, he was blind, and they're accusing him.
00:30:02.420 They're like, "How, how did this happen?" He goes, "All I know is I once was blind
00:30:05.660 and now I see the only thing in the middle is Jesus." It's
00:30:09.260 really simple. My personal life: I used to
00:30:13.180 live for me, myself, and I. I was selfish, I was greedy,
00:30:17.300 I was a drunk, I was a thief. I did all this stuff for
00:30:20.600 myself to build my legacy then I went to a church
00:30:24.220 service and Jesus changed my life.
00:30:26.800 He transformed me, not because I wanted to be a good person, because I knew how
00:30:30.700 bad I was. Jesus forgave me, Jesus set me free,
00:30:34.920 and now I live my life not for my own namesake, but for His
00:30:38.740 namesake because His church, His kingdom, Jesus
00:30:42.540 receives all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise, and I wanna help other
00:30:46.400 people experience the freedom that I've experienced.
00:30:49.940 That's a life of change. I didn't do anything other than show
00:30:53.840 up at a church service and say, "God, I surrender my life to you."
00:30:57.740 That salvation is not about striving.
00:31:00.640 It's about surrender. It's about trusting God
00:31:04.460 with your life.
00:31:06.960 But before we can go tell others,
00:31:09.380 we have to make sure we've responded ourselves.
00:31:13.640 Many of you, you've been in church before.
00:31:16.580 Maybe you grew up in church. Maybe your family went to church
00:31:20.040 but maybe you've never truly surrendered.
00:31:23.120 Maybe this is your first time at a church service and you say,
00:31:26.380 "I don't know why I'm here,
00:31:28.700 but I'm willing to be— I'm willing to listen." You're seeking something.
00:31:32.120 You're seeking truth. You're seeking to know the answers.
00:31:37.720 There's a story, about a man named Charles Blondin,
00:31:41.220 a real-life story that happened. This French acrobat, this is in
00:31:44.780 1859 at Niagara Falls. Now, Niagara Falls, if you've
00:31:48.640 ever been there, you know, it's pretty high up.
00:31:50.460 Like, people die when they go off the falls.
00:31:52.600 Um, this guy put a tightrope from the Canadian side all the way to the United
00:31:56.000 States side and he's tightrope walking across this v— very
00:32:00.060 short, I believe it was two, two and a half-inch rope.
00:32:02.500 He's walking across the falls. Is anybody else afraid of heights?
00:32:05.760 So this might scare you a little bit.
00:32:07.600 Um,
00:32:08.740 I'm afraid of heights. But he's walking this tightrope and they said thousands of
00:32:11.960 people gathered to watch Charles Blondin do this amazing feat.
00:32:15.540 Like, people were probably skeptical, doubting. Is he gonna really make it?
00:32:18.840 Is he gonna fall? I mean, I don't wanna, I don't know if I wanna see somebody die
00:32:21.760 today. And they're, they're— imagine the people's mindsets, but then they watch
00:32:24.840 him go across the tightrope not just once, but
00:32:28.520 multiple times. He was dancing. He was walking with— with a
00:32:32.740 stove at one point, stops midway, cooks an omelet, eats it, and keeps
00:32:36.540 going. Like, the man, like, anything was possible.
00:32:39.800 He even put his manager on his back, piggyback style, and walked across
00:32:43.720 this tightrope, and everyone's cheering him on.
00:32:46.270 "You're so amazing." He was called The Great Blondin.
00:32:49.140 Like, they're cheering him on, saying, "You could do anything." Then he gets out a
00:32:52.580 wheelbarrow, and he walks this wheelbarrow across the tightrope and
00:32:56.360 comes back, and he says, "Hey, how many of you think I could put somebody in it and
00:32:59.940 get them across?" Everyone was like, "Yeah, of course you can.
00:33:02.780 You can do anything." Then he said, "Who's gonna go first?"
00:33:09.220 And thousands of people,
00:33:11.600 silence.
00:33:13.940 Nobody was willing to get in that wheelbarrow.
00:33:16.900 They've seen him do it. They knew he could do it, right?
00:33:20.780 They believed that he could do it,
00:33:23.040 and I believe this is where many people are.
00:33:25.020 Maybe you're sitting here today, and this is how you view God.
00:33:29.240 God, you can do anything. God, I believe you could go back and forth.
00:33:32.700 God, you are amazing. You can do all things.
00:33:35.440 God, I know you can get me across that tightrope.
00:33:39.060 God, I know you can save me.
00:33:41.820 But I believe God's here today saying, "Will you get into that wheelbarrow?
00:33:45.980 Will you put your life in his hands?"
00:33:49.740 Being in that wheelbarrow would be a scary place
00:33:52.960 because you don't really have much control.
00:33:55.320 Your life would literally be in Charles Blondin's hands.
00:34:00.280 God is the same way with us.
00:34:03.200 You wanna get out— out of the safety and the comfort—
00:34:07.040 and put your life in God's hands,
00:34:09.781 you have to give up control.
00:34:11.480 You have to trust him,
00:34:13.321 that he's not gonna fail you, that he's not gonna drop you, that he's not gonna let you
00:34:16.660 down. And God is here today. I believe he's saying to some of you right
00:34:20.220 now, will you surrender your life to him?
00:34:23.740 Will you give him your life? Will you give up control of your life,
00:34:28.361 saying, "I wanna get in— into the wheelbarrow of God, that he's gonna get me across
00:34:32.180 to the other side, he's gonna save me"?
00:34:35.361 It takes a step of faith.
00:34:38.500 It takes a step of surrender.
00:34:40.640 So I wanna pray for you.
00:34:42.900 Everybody here, if you could just close your eyes, bow your head.
00:34:45.281 And those listening and watching online, I encourage you just to lock in.
00:34:51.240 That every single one of us,
00:34:53.920 I believe if you know anything about God, you know he is more than capable.
00:34:58.240 He can save you. Maybe you've acknowledged the truth
00:35:02.160 that Jesus died and rose from the dead,
00:35:05.500 but you haven't taken that step to trust him, to put your life
00:35:09.440 in his hands,
00:35:11.300 to not try to hold onto control of your life, but to release that control,
00:35:16.100 to truly begin that relationship with him or to really take that next step that
00:35:20.080 you need to take,
00:35:21.740 I invite you to take today.
00:35:23.960 To not just acknowledge God, but to trust him, to
00:35:27.300 believe in your heart. To truly believe means you're gonna get
00:35:31.340 out of your comfort zone, and you're gonna get into the wheelbarrow of
00:35:35.120 God.
00:35:36.360 You're gonna put your life in his hands.
00:35:39.460 So if you're here today with every head bowed, every eye closed,
00:35:43.480 I wanna invite you to take this day, not tomorrow, not next week, today.
00:35:47.920 Make today the day that you put your trust in Jesus.
00:35:52.680 So I wanna pray a special prayer for you.
00:35:54.140 If that's your, you here today, you say, "I wanna recommit" or, "I need to make
00:35:57.440 that decision to give my life over to Jesus," I want you just to slip
00:35:59.420 up your hand right where you are,
00:36:01.460 up your hand right where you are,
00:36:03.680 to be bold, to believe in your heart, and openly confess
00:36:07.780 that Jesus is Lord. So slip up your hand right where you are.
00:36:11.080 I'll pray for you.
00:36:14.320 Amen. Anyone
00:36:15.020 else? Well, Heavenly
00:36:18.832 Father, I pray for each and every person who raised their hand making that
00:36:21.872 decision, God, that they believe in their heart,
00:36:25.232 God, that you are Lord,
00:36:27.052 that you are more than capable to save them,
00:36:30.392 that they would say Jesus is the Lord of their life, and God, they
00:36:34.291 would surrender their will to yours.
00:36:36.812 Father, I pray you'd use them, God, that you'd guide them on the right path.
00:36:39.692 God, help them take the next steps that they could truly become your follower,
00:36:44.232 a devoted disciple of yours, and they could see how they can make an impact
00:36:48.172 in other people's lives as well. It's in Jesus' name I pray.
00:36:52.312 Amen.
00:36:54.332 Amen. Well,
00:36:56.372 if you're a follower of Jesus, you made that decision today,
00:36:59.892 you're part of the plan.
00:37:01.552 You're part of the solution that God has given to us to solve in
00:37:05.572 this world. Together, collectively, we can make an impact in our
00:37:09.412 region, in our schools, and in this community.
00:37:12.372 So I invite you, encourage you to take a next step.
00:37:14.672 Sly's gonna have some opportunities for you to jump into— joining Next Steps, as
00:37:18.632 he's gonna mention next— learning more about how you can be a part of
00:37:21.892 the church, and we're gonna be celebrating in just a few minutes all the people
00:37:25.152 taking their next step being water baptized.
00:37:27.052 So Sly, come on up
00:37:29.132 and lead us.
>> Sly
00:37:31.532 All right. Give it up for Pastor Eric.
00:37:34.812 That was a good message. That was a good message.
00:37:36.812 Um,
00:37:37.832 what took me away was, it said, "I was once blind, but now I see."
00:37:42.112 And, I, I think, at least for me, I know I can take advantage of that or take
00:37:45.712 that for, for granted just because of, like, me being able to see
00:37:49.612 for such a long time, but could you imagine spiritually or physically
00:37:53.412 being blind and being in a dark abyss, and then
00:37:57.192 being granted the, the gift of being able to see?
00:38:00.412 And the association to that, like, "Oh my gosh," like, "that's a piano.
00:38:03.372 That's what it looks like." It would be such a wonder.
00:38:06.252 And so when you look at
00:38:08.752 the difference between worldly, when you give or you do in— into the
00:38:12.692 world, versus godly, when you— when you— when you give or do to
00:38:16.612 the world, there's an expiration date.
00:38:18.652 It, it, it perishes at some point. It will die.
00:38:22.052 But when you give to— to— to the g— the kingdom,
00:38:25.972 it, it goes above and beyond what you could even imagine, can
00:38:29.912 even e— envision. And so on today as we prepare
00:38:33.652 for tithes and offerings, I hope that we will r— remember that
00:38:37.512 more than a, a marker of just obedience or faith, but it's also
00:38:41.592 a marker of sustainability. Um, I'm thankful for God
00:38:46.392 and Him blessing me and also blessing others before me that it
00:38:50.192 ushered me through the doors of the church at one point, right?
00:38:52.501 Before, when I was spiritually blind, when I was— when I was hungry for s—
00:38:56.432 for the truth, and I was questioning things, I had a safe space
00:39:00.392 to do that, and that was in the church.
00:39:02.182 And, and now I, I see the benefits of my children who get to be,
00:39:06.152 you know, with amazing leaders in the back and telling them about the gospel, and
00:39:09.732 we get to also pay that forward in that regard, too.
00:39:12.382 So as we give today, it's more than just, just giving out of
00:39:16.232 obedience, but there'd be a— a— a posture of joy and appreciation.
00:39:20.192 And so as we pray— before our prayer, just say—
00:39:23.162 I— I just wanna give you the— the ways in which you can give.
00:39:24.992 You can give through tapping the card in front of you, and that would direct you
00:39:27.992 right to, to the app to, to do that process.
00:39:30.852 You can also go— you can scan the QR code, and if you have Zello—
00:39:34.912 Zelle, you can actually go through your bank.
00:39:37.472 Uh, you can also give to the giving station, which is a new term, and I actually
00:39:40.572 like that more than a giving box. So there's a giving station in the back near the
00:39:44.372 connection point that you can actually drop your cash or check into.
00:39:47.612 Um, and also you can go through Church Center.
00:39:49.752 Hey, I'm gonna pray, and then I'm gonna put some things on your radar before
00:39:53.452 baptisms. God, we come to you now,
00:39:55.992 and we thank you f— so much for being the giver of life.
00:39:58.912 We thank you for g— being the giver of all the things that we are blessed to
00:40:02.432 have. And God, I pray that we would focus our hearts and our minds on the
00:40:06.372 things that we have versus the things we have not gotten yet, God.
00:40:09.302 And I pray that as we give today in this offering, let it
00:40:13.252 be an aroma that is really sweet and pleasant unto you, God.
00:40:17.492 Um, we thank you for loving us, for caring for us, for seeing us first
00:40:21.892 and— and meeting us exactly where we're at and not leaving us there.
00:40:24.812 In your name, we pray these things. We love you so much. Amen.
00:40:28.412 Hey, if you are new here, welcome. We are so, so
00:40:32.052 glad to have you. And, it's an effort.
00:40:35.131 It's an effort to come somewhere, especially if you're new.
00:40:37.592 The uncertainties, the questions that go through your mind, and so I really wanna
00:40:41.252 thank you for being here. And I hope in this generation of burnout, where it's
00:40:45.172 so busy, it's so chaotic, that when you came in here today, you sense a s-
00:40:49.132 a feeling of being seen, maybe people checking into you or, or
00:40:53.132 reaching out to you in some, in some type of regard.
00:40:55.432 There was someone that mentioned this, and it— it's always stuck with me— but it was
00:40:58.352 his father, and he, he comes home, and he's like, you know, elated to see his
00:41:02.192 kids, and he sees his daughter, and his daughter's, like, crying, and it, like,
00:41:05.472 breaks his heart. He's like,
00:41:06.932 "Why are you crying?" And she said, "You know, today I was at school,
00:41:10.672 and this girl said that I was the Walmart version of this other girl."
00:41:14.632 And the dad was like ...
00:41:16.362 It broke his heart, and that would break my heart, too.
00:41:18.892 But then, like, he mulled it over for a little bit and thought, "Wait a minute.
00:41:22.592 You are the Walmart version of that girl," 'cause you're not that girl.
00:41:26.052 You were designed to be exactly who you are.
00:41:28.212 So I hope that today as you're here, you don't think you're anybody else than
00:41:32.012 yourself, that you don't have to come any way— you didn't have to dress up or
00:41:35.412 appear any way, that you are exactly who you were supposed to be because
00:41:39.532 the Lord has made you that way. And I hope you really sense that.
00:41:42.352 I hope you leave with that confidence.
00:41:44.672 Um, so if you are new here, we welcome you.
00:41:47.372 You can scan the QR code. We will give you a gift, and it's really just to get to
00:41:51.052 know you even more. There's a connection card that you would fill out, and you
00:41:54.112 actually go to the connection point in the back.
00:41:55.852 There'll be someone back there waiting for you to talk to you, to greet you, to get
00:41:59.472 to know you more. Uh, next we have next steps.
00:42:03.072 Uh, Pastor Eric was talking about that a little bit as well.
00:42:05.452 And so we do that twice a month, usually the first and second Sunday of every
00:42:08.392 month. And it's just a great way to get to know what are the happenings, what is
00:42:12.272 going on at Freedom Church. How can I get involved?
00:42:15.572 How can I start serving? But even if you're, you're not even there yet and you just
00:42:19.292 wanted to get some more information, the biggest thing, and I would say I encourage
00:42:22.612 you, is you cannot want in other people that you're not around.
00:42:25.852 And so if you came in here by yourself, if you came in here with
00:42:29.372 questions, I, I guarantee if you come to connection point, we will, we would
00:42:33.312 love to just hear more about what's on your mind, what's on your heart, where are
00:42:36.252 you coming from, what's your story. So I really urge you to, to really sign up.
00:42:40.072 You can scan the QR code just to get some more information.
00:42:42.792 If you really are interested, please, I, I, I really encourage you to, to, to
00:42:46.392 attend. We also have Good Friday service coming up.
00:42:49.780 That's gonna be April 3rd at 7:00 PM, okay?
00:42:52.860 And this is a, just a beautiful opportunity to see the, the life of
00:42:56.500 Christ, right, and his journey to the cross, where He— where He— where
00:43:00.540 His life and where He died. And so this is a great way to just
00:43:04.380 welcome other people in. And once again, even if you're not at a point or inclined
00:43:07.880 to do that yet, you are invited to come and get to know more about what
00:43:11.740 Good Friday is all about. Why is there good news in that?
00:43:14.440 And then it brings us into Easter. April 5th, 9:00 AM,
00:43:18.520 11:00 AM service. The— the— the narrative, the meta— the—
00:43:22.580 the reason why we all exist today and why we get to be in right relationship
00:43:26.500 is because of Resurrection day. And so I urge you...
00:43:29.220 I actually have a connection card, or not, an invite card here.
00:43:31.780 We actually have these on your seats. This really is not for you, okay?
00:43:35.880 I just want you to know that. So don't leave it there like, "I'm good." Maybe you
00:43:39.200 are good, but there's someone, as Pastor Eric just said, 10
00:43:43.160 million people in Pennsylvania that do not know the Lord. So this is for someone.
00:43:47.040 And let them say no. Give it to them, and if they throw it in the trash, you know,
00:43:51.020 wipe it off, give it to somebody else. You know just, let's keep going.
00:43:54.380 That's the gift of giving, right, guys?
00:43:56.740 And so, we're gonna get ready for... Who's ready for baptisms, okay?
00:44:01.940 Look, I'm not really trying to be a hype man and all, but I think we can do a
00:44:04.860 little bit better than that. This is not the Super Bowl or World Cup.
00:44:07.580 Who is ready for baptisms?
00:44:11.920 So guys, seriously, it's really an important decision.
00:44:14.420 It is an external decision of an internal—
00:44:17.540 An external declaration of an internal decision.
00:44:20.510 And so I hope that you guys, whether you're here to, to cheer people on, that you
00:44:23.880 were invited in, or you're just kinda coming in this Sunday and you're like, "I
00:44:26.860 didn't even know we were doing baptisms," that you would really take that this is
00:44:30.480 seeing someone go from death to life.
00:44:32.580 And, you know, what do you tell someone that's dying that has no idea that they're
00:44:36.260 even dead, right? And so this is a great posture to show that this is the
00:44:39.740 contrast of what the Lord can do in someone's life.
00:44:42.640 So without further ado, we're gonna start with Miss Amy. You wanna come over here?
00:44:46.320 All right. We're gonna do it one at a time, okay?
00:44:48.480 And we'll have everyone, everyone get their chance. You can clap it up.
00:44:51.120 You can clap it up as they come.
00:44:53.360 So
00:44:55.600 now this is total transparency, right?
00:44:57.640 I would love your name and why you're being baptized, but if you have any
00:45:00.880 additional words that you wanna say, you can also offer those up, too, okay?
00:45:05.040 Okay.
00:45:05.060 All right.
>> Amy
00:45:05.800 I'm Amy, and I'm getting baptized today to proclaim what's in
00:45:09.740 my heart, outside, and that I'm all in.
00:45:12.300 Come on, let's go. You ready to do this? All right, get in there.
00:45:16.640 Now, when she comes out of that water, when anyone comes out of that water,
00:45:19.800 remember, they are going from death to life, okay? So I need you...
00:45:23.680 Like, I, I want this place erupting with cheer, with praise, with love,
00:45:27.620 okay? With gratitude, all right? So
00:45:31.780 let's see what we have here.
00:45:34.840 Before she sits on you.
00:45:36.100 Wait, hold your nose.
00:45:38.940 I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
00:45:43.580 Let's go. Come on, guys.
00:45:52.420 Amen. Amen.
00:45:55.280 The angels are rejoicing right now.
00:45:58.200 Amen.
00:46:01.560 Come on over here.
00:46:04.220 Your name and why you're being baptized.
>> Cassie
00:46:05.940 Hey. My name is Cassie, and I was baptized as a baby, but now I'm in
00:46:09.840 adulthood, so I wanna get baptized and be saved and
00:46:13.940 walk with Christ.
00:46:14.720 Come on, amen. Let's go, Cassie. Let's go.
00:46:23.040 Her shirt changes in the water. Oh, yo, peep this really quick. I'm sorry.
00:46:27.320 The shirts actually change when she goes, c— comes into the water and comes out, so
00:46:31.180 let's check this out.
00:46:33.600 I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
00:46:40.020 Let's go. Come on. Mark, I tell
00:46:44.040 you, I like that.
00:46:45.940 Come on.
00:46:47.840 Amen. Amen.
00:46:50.140 The angels are still rejoicing over here. Amen.
00:46:52.940 I love that sign, too.
00:46:59.460 Tell me your name and why you're being baptized.
>> Judy
00:47:01.140 I am Judy, and I'm being baptized 'cause I'm ready to change my life and live for
00:47:04.840 Christ.
00:47:05.320 Come on, Miss Judy. Let's do it. Come on. Get in there.
00:47:11.180 Glory be to God.
00:47:18.540 Don't come in yet. Not yet.
00:47:20.360 She's ready.
00:47:21.740 I'm ready.
00:47:21.780 Judy, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
00:47:27.160 Come on, Judy.
00:47:29.380 What fervor. Let's go.
00:47:33.080 Amen.
00:47:35.080 She was ready. Let's go, guys.
00:47:41.660 Tell me your name and why you're being baptized.
>> Christine
00:47:43.280 My name is Christine, and I'm ready to take my next step with the Lord and Savior
00:47:47.100 in His name.
00:47:48.180 Amen. Let's go, Miss Christine.
00:47:58.360 Chrissy,
00:48:13.900 I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
00:48:20.920 Amen.
00:48:24.400 Amen.
00:48:28.280 What a declaration. Amen, Christine.
00:48:41.700 Come on. Van, come on over. Hey, my brother.
00:48:42.740 Tell me your name and why you're being baptized.
>> Van
00:48:44.360 My name is Van, and I'm being baptized today 'cause I'm ready for the dead
00:48:48.220 things to fall away. Amen.
00:48:51.080 A threat to darkness. Let's go. Amen, Van.
00:49:04.290 Van, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:49:10.630 Let's go, Van. Come on. Amen. Amen.
00:49:17.070 Yo, it never gets old. Amen. Come on. All right, guy.
00:49:20.990 Come on up.
00:49:22.350 Come on up here. Say your name and why you're being baptized.
>> Kenan
00:49:25.010 Uh, my name's Kenan. Uh, the reason I'm being baptized is,
00:49:29.450 I was, born in Bosnia, in a Muslim family.
00:49:34.290 Mm.
00:49:34.300 Um, I studied the Quran most of my life,
00:49:37.490 and then I started reading the Bible and I realized in, in the, in the
00:49:41.270 Bible... In the Quran, it says, that Allah is the
00:49:45.110 ultimate deceiver.
00:49:46.680 Mm.
00:49:47.130 Um, then I read the Bible. It said the ultimate deceiver is the devil, and the
00:49:51.010 only p— only one that is called the Messiah in the
00:49:54.670 Quran is actually Jesus—
00:49:56.390 Amen
00:49:56.970 ... not Allah. Um, I had a personal encounter with Jesus.
00:50:00.450 He saved my life. Actually, when a doctor told me I should be dead,
00:50:05.470 he told me that there was no medical or scientific reason why I was
00:50:08.850 alive, and he said I should probably get a relationship with God,
00:50:12.830 so that's why.
00:50:15.110 Let's go. The Great Physician. Come on.
00:50:30.710 Kenan, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:50:37.710 Amen, Kenan. Come on.
00:50:41.290 Amen. Amen.
00:50:44.690 Glory be to God.
00:50:51.850 Jason, come on, my brother.
00:50:53.360 Hey.
00:50:53.380 How you doing, man?
00:50:54.280 Amen.
00:50:54.330 Say your name and why you're being baptized.
>> Jason
00:50:56.750 I'm Jason. Uh, I'm being baptized 'cause I wanna declare Jesus
00:51:00.490 Christ as my Lord and Savior, and it is through Him I have been set free.
00:51:05.270 Many years of my life, I was under the belief that I could find
00:51:08.970 joy and feel whole for the successes, the wealth, even
00:51:12.970 the milestones that I would have achieved in my life, only to find
00:51:16.850 out when I got there, I still felt empty and I still felt low.
00:51:21.010 And,
00:51:22.430 you know,
00:51:27.330 even though I had achieved it all, I had felt so lost,
00:51:31.590 and that is where I realized that there's not a
00:51:35.510 hole that my worldly gains could ever fill—
00:51:39.550 God was meant to occupy that hole in mine.
00:51:42.810 Um,
00:51:43.850 January 19th of this year is when I made the surrender
00:51:47.450 and—
00:51:49.650 Thank you.
00:51:51.190 And
00:51:53.890 that's when I stopped trying to save myself through my own efforts and just
00:51:57.490 realized that, you know, it was by the grace of Jesus Christ, in whom
00:52:02.150 I had put my whole faith.
00:52:05.260 My life is not my own, and
00:52:10.070 I have an opportunity now to trade in my
00:52:15.090 worldly successes and just feel the unconditional
00:52:18.990 love of God, and that is amazing. And this is the first time
00:52:22.970 in a long time that I've ever felt whole and full.
00:52:26.160 Amen.
00:52:40.480 Jason, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
00:52:44.270 Spirit.
00:52:44.720 Amen. Amen.
00:52:53.930 Miss
00:52:58.230 Jean, how are you?
00:52:59.250 I'm great.
00:53:00.030 Say your name—
00:53:00.730 All right—
00:53:00.840 and why you wanna be baptized.
>> Jean
00:53:02.010 So my name is Jean. I wrote it down 'cause I'm gonna forget.
00:53:06.430 That's okay.
00:53:06.560 So, my walk with God had stopped for a while, and years later, we found this
00:53:10.450 church.
00:53:11.950 I realized how much I missed having a church and community, and my
00:53:15.790 relationship with God. Now, coming back to God and being a part of
00:53:19.450 this new community renewed my faith, and that's why I'm getting
00:53:23.330 baptized today.
00:53:24.050 Come on, Miss Jean. Let's go. Come on.
00:53:41.430 Jean, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:53:47.550 Let's go. From death to life. Let's go.
00:54:00.470 I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous about this one, 'cause this person's making
00:54:02.750 this declaration at a much younger age, and I wish I was, like, thinking the same
00:54:06.730 way. So let's get your name and why you're getting baptized.
>> Luca
00:54:11.090 My name is Luca, and I wanna get baptized
00:54:14.770 because I wanna follow God and tell people about Jesus.
00:54:17.910 Come on. Let's go.
00:54:20.100 Come on. Get in there, buddy.
00:54:24.030 Whoo.
00:54:35.630 Luciano Descenzo, I baptize you in the Father, the
00:54:39.490 Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:54:41.950 Let's go. Clap it up, guys. Clap it up.
00:54:51.390 Man, how exciting.
00:54:53.630 Oh.
00:54:55.440 Luca, come on. Let's go. Changed forevermore. Changed forevermore. Hey, thank you.
00:54:59.010 Th— th— this was an incredible experience to be a part of.
00:55:02.050 Thank you guys for being here. Um, if you are thinking about
00:55:05.790 water baptism, if you wanna know more about that or when the next date will be,
00:55:10.070 please do not hesitate to reach out to Pastor Eric or go to the
00:55:13.810 connection point to get some more information.
00:55:15.870 As we transition out, I want you guys to know this, right?
00:55:18.690 There's no distance or no pit you've ever been in that Christ—
00:55:22.630 was not or His love was not as deep, okay?
00:55:25.910 You guys are dismissed for today. I hope you guys have a wonderful Sunday.
00:55:29.850 We hope to see you tomorrow. Have a great day. Be well. Much love.