ENTRY & END TIMES | A Cry For Readiness | Matthew 25:1-13 | Philip Anthony Mitchell

you could be seated if you are guests to 2819 sitting in this room in the overflow we welcome you to our house where we're serious about the spread of the gospel and the multiplying of disciples because we know that time is running out and if you are digital disciple watching me live right now across America around the world hear me we love you we pray for you we kneel down we cry out to God over your life and we have plans for you and preparing a greater ministry for you wherever you are in the world and if you're not a follower of Christ and you crept into these sacred gatherings these encounters we're having with the Savior man we are thankful that you are here we want you to know that you can be long before you believe you can be amongst us before you believe in our prayer is that a moment would come when during prayer or worship or the proclamation of God's Word or an invitation is given you would hear that invitation and run into the loving arms of your Savior and you will become a son and daughter of the Most High God before it is too late for you we pray that your name will be recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life and that you will know the joy of those of us who are passed from death to life and that we celebrate that we are at the end of a series called entry and end times where we are studying Matthew chapter 21 through 25 together and we are coming to the final chapter in this series and then just three more in the book of Matthew and today in this text we are looking at the final words and the final actions of our Lord Jesus Christ and hear me final words are very important especially when people are on their deathbed or they are facing death whatever they said last is very significant and there are no more more significant words in the earth than the last words of Christ before he was executed for your sins and mine we should as a family take his last words very seriously that this time we spent together should be more than just sermons and notes and a notebook but we should hear the words of Christ we should lean in to what he has said we should take it seriously and let it have an impact in our hearts and in our minds and in our souls and in our living our text today is coming from Matthew chapter 25 verses 1 through 13 a powerful chapter in the New Testament and these powerful first words of this chapter the title of our message is a cry for readiness and spirit of the Living God I pray you would anoint this weakened earthen vessel to proclaim this truth to these my sons your sons and your daughters my brothers and sisters father God I pray the weight of the word today would be heavy upon the heart of the unbeliever and there would be an awakening in our hearts and in our minds and our souls I ask this father in the mighty and the majestic and the matchless name of our soon coming King the Lord Jesus Christ and all God's people said amen and amen and amen now families I stand here on this platform I am standing in the calling of God upon my life as a pastor of a local assembly a calling that I did not want for I wanted to be an attorney a calling I ran from for four years before I finally surrendered to God and said yes I will step into this calling and pastor a local church and it was in February of 23 when God upgraded that calling and told me not only was I called to pastor a local church but there was a calling on my life for itinerant ministry another ministry I did not want did not want to travel did not want to move outside of my local city and preach but in February 23 God told me specifically that he was calling me to take the gospel to the whole nation and wherever he will send these feet I will obey him and I will go and bring the gospel to that place and say thus says the Lord whether they bring me back or not I travel nowhere to make friends I only travel out of obedience to say exactly what God has told me and now after two years of traveling and thousands and thousands of hours of hopping on and off planes and running in and out of airports man I was reminded of a circumstance that happened last week when we was in New York and showed up to the LaGuardia Airport late for our flight and as we arrived man our flight was boarding and they were making the announcement that the boarding door is about to be closed and for those of you who travel you have seen this scene many times before people running through an airport to get to a gate because they were late or not prepared only get to a gate and find out that the boarding door has been closed on them and you and I know very carefully that once that door has been closed there is no opening of that door it does not matter how much you beg the gate agent or how much you cry or what excuse you give once the boarding door is closed there is no more entry into that aircraft this is the scene that we approach in this text right now one of the most powerful parables that Jesus ever told in fact every time I read this parable this week every time I put my eyes on Matthew chapter 25 man I just burst into tears when I think about the seriousness of this parable and when I think about the implications that Jesus taught at the end of this parable implications that may affect people sitting in this room or watching me across that camera it was Christ you recall who came to the final week of his life who was just days away from being crucified for your sins and for mine it was Christ responding to a question of his followers this answer we have the longest recorded answer to a question of Christ in which he prophesied to them about the signs of the end of the age I believe we're feeling the winds of those things right now in society and he prophesied to them about the signs of his second coming that I believe is not that far away I believe it is very possible that this generation may see the rapture the tribulation and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ it is very powerful possible it was Christ after he prophesied this words to his followers but then give them what appears in the scriptures three parables or three short stories to illustrate the seriousness of his prophecy that he did not just prophesy about his second coming he wanted everyone who would ever read those words to take his words very seriously so following this prophecy he gave them three parables three stories of illustration about the seriousness of his words we unpacked the first parable and the last message I preached to you before baptism called stay awake when Jesus told the parable of a faithful servant and an unfaithful servant and the point of that parable Jesus was saying that when he returns he expects to find his children being faithful when he returns and he told a parable of an unfaithful servant who he called wicked who was not prepared when he returns and the whole point of the parable was not only to be faithful when he returns but to remind all of us that we are owners of nothing that every person under the sound of my voice you are no more than a steward of everything God has given you you are a manager of your time a manager of your health a manager of your resources a manager of your ministry a manager of your children a manager of your marriage and we will give an account for how we have stewarded the things that God has given us we are foolish the scripture says if we think we are owners of everything you don't even own the breath in your lungs for there was a rich man the scripture says man who stacked his barns full of wealth and then the Lord said to him you fool tonight your soul will be required of you the Lord takes the breath out of him and that man is discharged from his body because I just want to remind you that you are a steward even of your next breath and what you do with the life that God has given you all of it is a stewardship that the Lord's reminded us that all of this is going to come to an end and we will either be found faithful or unfaithful and then on the heels of the parable of the faithful servant and the unfaithful servant Matthew records the second parable that Jesus taught to communicate the seriousness of his second coming this is one of the most dreadful parables that Jesus has ever taught for how the parable ends Matthew records the second parable that Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 25 and beginning in verse 1 he says then Jesus said the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom five of them were foolish and five of them were wise for when the foolish took their lamps they took no oil with them but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps pause I want you to notice how the Lord begins the parable he begins the parable with a context of a wedding we know that the Lord is talking about a wedding by the word here in the text bridegroom and so we know that he is using a parable of a first century Palestine wedding to communicate a very important teaching to you and I who are reading this in the time that we are sitting here right now now in order for us to understand this parable we need to understand something about first century weddings in ancient Palestine while you will search books and will not find a lot about first century weddings there are some things we do know about first century weddings that are very important keep the symbolism in the wedding and the behavior of your Lord Jesus Christ we know from certain things that in first century weddings weddings were grand festivals they were very big events we know that a wedding would begin with a man and a woman in a time of betrothal which is a form of engagement so strong it can only be broken by divorce we know after that betrothal there will be legal prenuptials given in which the man and woman will be bounded together in marriage after those nuptials were given the man would leave he would go to a place and he would go to prepare a house for his bride he would get his money ready he would get the house ready get the bed ready paint the walls he will prepare a place to bring his bride to that place then once the place was prepared the groom would now go to receive the bride at her home he would then take the bride from her home and walk through the streets often at night in a grand procedural led by people with lights and torches and they would walk all the way from the bride's home to the groom's home they would enter into the groom's home and begin a marriage feast that oftentimes would last seven days this is what happened in first century marriage now I just want you to notice that in the text Jesus mentions ten virgins in the text these ten virgins are not called virgins because of sexual purity they are called virgins to just communicate to us that they are young women of childbearing age now I want you to notice something about these ten virgins I want you to notice that these ten virgins are distinguished by their preparation five of them were wise because they prepared for the wedding five of them are foolish because they did not prepare for the wedding five of them took oil to prepare for the wedding five of them did not take oil to prepare for the wedding I want you to see that not only was all ten of them invited to the wedding but all ten of them was also given assignment in the wedding that the assignment of these ten virgins was to hold the lamps and walk in that grand processional with the bridegroom as he carried his bride back to his house so ten women are invited to the wedding ten women are given an assignment in the wedding ten women have a part to play five took their part serious five did not five was prepared five was not five took the oil five did not five was ready five assumed they was ready verse 5 as the bridegroom was delayed they all became drowsy and they slept but at midnight there was a cry a shout here is the bridegroom come out to meet him now I want you to notice in this next verse in the parable that Jesus the bridegroom was delayed I want you to notice that the wise women and the foolish women cannot calculate when the bridegroom would come they could not determine the exact moment that the bridegroom would show up for the wedding they knew a wedding was going to happen so they knew the time frame of the wedding but they did not know the exact hour that the bridegroom would show up for the wedding I want you to notice in the text that the bridegroom comes when he is ready to come I want you to notice in the text that although the bridegroom is delayed it does not stop him from coming I want you to notice in the text although a long time has passed the bridegroom still puts in his appearance just as a reminder to you that his delay does not deny the fact that the bridegroom is coming I want you to notice that while they waited all of the women fell asleep that there is nothing evil about sleep but just a natural course of time and waiting they got drowsy it's just like people right now who are waiting they get drowsy they get callous they get complacent they get apathetic they get lethargic while they're waiting for the bridegroom they all fall asleep and then there was a cry when they least expected the bridegroom comes and someone shouts in the street the bridegroom is coming then verse 7 then all those virgins rose and they trimmed their lamps and the foolish said to the wise give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out but the wise answered saying since there will not be enough for us and for you go rather than to the dealers and buy for yourselves now I want you to notice next in the parable that at the announcement the shout the trumpet blasts that the bridegroom is approaching I want you to know as soon as they hear that the bridegroom is approaching the five wise get up in expectation and the five foolish get up in expectation the five wise get up knowing the bridegroom is coming and they are ready and then the other five get up they have an expectation but they are not ready they wake up with the same expectation to be partakers in the wedding but they are not ready for the groom they are self deceived they are confused they get up thinking that they're gonna play their part but they are not ready to play their part all ten women rise with an expectation five of them are ready the other five are not ready now notice the five were foolish now they try to get ready at the last minute now that the bridegroom is walking the street they go to the other women and they say hey let us borrow some of your oil why are they asking for oil the lamps in this text were torches and those torches had cloth on the end of them the cloth would be soaked in oil and they would light the torches on fire that light would only stay lit for about 15 minutes to a half an hour and so if you wanted to last the entire processional you would have to carry more oil you would have to keep soaking if you wanted to last all the way until it was time for the wedding you would have to keep soaking the rag and oil if you got this far you have to soak the rag and oil you got this far you gotta soak the rag and oil you got this far you gotta soak the rag and oil you got this far you got us if you want to make it all the way to the end of the processional you have to keep soaking the rag and oil if they wanted to make it all the way to the end of the wedding they had to keep soaking their rags and oil they needed constant oil to make it to the end but the other women who took no oil with them now at the last minute they come asking the other women for oil watch notice while the master was delayed they did not go get ready while they were sleeping they did not think to get up and get ready they said no alarm clock to wake up and get ready they do not use the time that they had to get ready instead right at the time the groom appears now at the last minute they want to get ready but the five wives said to the foolish no no no no we can't let you borrow some of our oil watch because if we loaned you some of our oil we won't have enough to finish the journey for ourselves so you go to the market in the middle of the night and buy oil for yourself watch the five wives were focused on their assignment and it was not distracted by the people who were not ready for the wedding they were not distracted by them they were focused on the task that day was given to be a part of the wedding they was not distracted by other people's not readiness verse 10 and while they were going to the market to buy oil then the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feasts and the door was shut I want you to notice in the text the bridegroom did not wait for the other virgins to come back with the oil when he arrived he took those who are ready into the wedding and those who are not ready day was on the outside of the wedding he did not say to himself let me give them a second chance because they was not ready he did not say I will be gracious to them because they was not right we see no grace here we see no second chance and we see no third party you see five wise and five foolish I want you to notice you see no third group here meaning there is no other option there is no middle ground when the master comes he does not wait as soon as he arrives he takes only the virgins who were ready and he carries them into the wedding and behind him he closes the door he doesn't even ask where are the other virgins he does not look for them he does not send out a welcoming party for them that whole leave the 99 and go after the one that's over now the time for leaving the 99 and going after the one who's been rebellious their whole life no that season has come to an end now and now it is time for the wedding and only those who are ready when the when the groom came went into the wedding Now, let us unpack the people in the text, okay? The groom is the Lord Jesus Christ. The wedding in the text is the final reunion between Christ and his redeemed at the end of the age of Jews and non-Jews, white and black and brown from all over the world. The wedding represents the final uniting of Christ and his redeemed church out of the earth. The oil represents faithfulness, readiness, and preparation, that's what it represents. The delay in the text represents the age that you are in right now, the age between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ. That delay is called the church age, the age that you and I are living in right now, the age that will end with the rapture, the great tribulation, and the return of the son. That is the delay. The shout that the groom is coming is the trumpet, the scripture tells us, that we would hear the trumpet blast from heaven and the sky will open up and then we will see the sign of the coming of the son of man, watch. The five wise virgins are every man and woman from the beginning of time, watch, who have placed their faith in Yahweh and placed their faith in Christ and represents you and I whose names are in the book of life, they represent you and I who can mark the time when we pass from death to life. The five wise virgins represent everyone who is truly saved, truly born again, who are filled with the spirit, who feel conviction, who are going after God with their whole heart and represents all of us who are filled with oil and are constantly refilling ourselves with oil. We're constantly preparing ourselves and keeping ourselves alive. We're keeping our lights burning until we make it all the way to the end, but watch. But the five foolish virgins are not unbelievers. They are not atheists. They are not people in false religion, no family. The five foolish virgins in the text represent every man and woman who thinks they are Christians, but they are really not. They are all of you who've been attending church your whole life, but really do not belong to God. They are all of you sitting in this room and in the overflow and across that camera who come to church on Christmas and Resurrection Sunday and think you're all right with God. They represent all of you who watch Christian podcasts and read Christian books and go to Christian conference, but you never surrender to God for yourself. They represent people who are sitting in rooms just like this right now, all across America, who have a false assurance of eternal security, who will die and be in the shock of their life. They represent all of you who post Christian scriptures, but don't have a life to match. They represent everybody who've been in church their whole life, who show up on Sundays, who watch real believers sing, and you watch real believers praise, and you watch real believers preach, and you watch real, it represents everybody who actually thinks they're okay with God, but you really have no personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The five foolish virgins are all of you who've been invited many times to the wedding. Invite after invite, after invite, after invite, who the groom will show up on you and you will not be ready when he returns. Watch. And the part in the text where the five wise virgins says, we cannot give you our oil, watch. Jesus taught that to teach everyone that you cannot transfer readiness to another person. You cannot transfer your salvation to another person. You cannot transfer your oil or your, you can't transfer your readiness to another person. He's teaching us to remember that every person must be ready for themselves. Every person will give an account for themselves. Watch, your Christian mother cannot save you. Your Christian parents cannot save you. Your believing husband cannot save you. Your pastor cannot save you. You go into church, your whole life cannot save you. You go into Christian conferences, cannot save you. The point of the passage is those of us who are ready cannot transfer our readiness to you. That everybody, when the Lord returns, will be responsible for their own readiness. They will give an account for their own readiness. They will give an account for whether or not they are truly saved or not saved. The point of not giving away the oil is to say, you are responsible for your own walk or salvation or rejection of God, whatever category you fall in. But listen, you can hang out with Christian friends and that still won't be ready for you. You can keep coming to these gatherings, I'm talking to you, you're in the room. You can keep coming to these gatherings every Sunday and still not be ready. And you think you've got all this time to get ready when I'm telling you, man, if death met you on the way home in a car accident, some of us would have left church and not be ready. Imagine being in the room when you heard worship songs to die in a car crash and be hurled into damnation forever. And the point of the text is watch, is to remind as many people who would listen of the seriousness of the second coming of Christ and that Christ is calling his children to be ready and warning those who are foolish, who think they are ready and you are not. Amen. Hallelujah. Then we need to be ready if Christ comes in our generation, you need to be ready if you die. And for those of you who think that this is a joke, you think the Lord is a sucker. You think this is only a sermon and just a black man shouting at you for 45 minutes. You think this is a joke. I wanna give everybody homework this week and then I wanna read to these last verses. Look at me, your homework this week. I want everybody between now and next Sunday, write it down. I want you to read Revelation 19, 20 and 21. I'm asking everyone under the sound of my voice, everyone who attends 2019, I'm giving you homework this week. I'm asking everyone to read about the final wedding in history. I want you to read about the final wedding. I want you to see who's at that wedding. I want you to see who gets into the wedding. I want you to see who's on the outside of the wedding. I want you to see what happens to those who get in. I want you to see what happens to those who do not get in. I promise you by this time, next week, you might come in here and praise different. By this time next week, you might come in here and lay out on the floor, but this time next week, you might be crying out for loved ones who are far away from God. I want everybody to not be uninformed. I want you to read the scriptures for yourself. I want you to call your friends this week and hold each other accountable. Say, girl, did you read Revelation 19, 20, and 21? Yo, my dude, my ninja. Yo, did you read Revelation 19, 20, and 21? Yo, let's meet at Starbucks. Let's talk about Revelation 19, 20, and 21. I want the whole church this weekend. I want us to have an ecclesiastical conversation this week. About Revelation 19, 20, and 21. You like weddings? We're gonna talk about one this week. Come on, Pastor! Come on, Pastor! And for all of you who think this is a game, you think this is a joke, you think Jesus is a clown and his words don't matter. Look at how he finished the parable. Matthew chapter 25, verse 11, 12, and 13. He says, afterward, the other virgins, they came back now from the market. They went and got oil at the last minute. And when they showed up at the door of the wedding, they said, Lord, Lord, open to us! They're banging on the door that is shut. Gosh. But he answered and said to them, truly, I say to you, I do not know you. The end result of dying and not being ready, or Christ coming and not being ready, or playing church your whole life and not being ready, is people being in gatherings just like this. Teenagers, men, women, spouses, friends, being in gatherings just like this, die, and realize there's a hand in front of your face and you cannot enter into glory. And now there's terror because behind you are the reapers and they're coming to carry you where Judas is and where Judas has been for over 2,000 years, eternal damnation, and you will have a body fit for destruction. Death is not like sleep. You wake up on the other side, conscious that you're either with the Lord or separated from the Lord. And there are teenagers in this room who think, you don't gotta think about this until you're old. I know a group of teenagers when I was going to preach for a commencement who died in a car crash during a prom. All of them hurled into eternity. And if they was not saved, they're 19 right now in hell. And 17 in hell. And there are people who are sitting in this room right now if you don't wake up, I'm telling you, people who sat in rooms like this, you're gonna die and be in the shock of your life. So how could you talk to us like this? This is called love. This is called exegetical preaching. This is called reading to you the words of the one you call Lord and Savior. Stay there, Frank. You think this is a joke? No. People will try to get right at the last hour only to hear no grace, no second chance, no getting in. That the time to get right was while the groom is delayed. He's delayed right now. The door is open right now, but the door will shut when he comes or when you die, whichever one comes first. And when the door shut, there is no more opening the door. Whoever's on the inside, their fate is sealed. Whoever's on the outside, their fate is sealed. This is why the Lord says in the last verse, watch therefore, watch, pay attention for you don't know the hour in which the Lord hath come. And the message to those of us who are in this room, in the overflow, watching across this camera, the message to those of us who are truly saved, what is the message to you and I? He says, watch. That means be faithful. How do you watch? You watch by living with a consciousness that the master is going to return. You watch by having eternity at the back of your mind and knowing everything you're doing right now is temporary. You watch by praying your kingdom come and your will be done. You watch by interceding for people who are not saved, family members, children, lost loved ones. You watch by being faithful to God, watch. In every season, watch, in every state you find yourself in, whether you are employed or unemployed, you're faithful. Whether you have money or no money, you're faithful. Whether you have friends or no friends, you're faithful. Whether you're married or divorced, you're faithful. Whether you're single or in a relationship, you're faithful. Whether you are happy or sad, you're faithful. Whether you're going through a difficult time or not, you're faithful. Whether you're on a mountaintop or in a valley, you're faithful. You're living with this consciousness that my savior is coming. I'm 19, and I'm living with the consciousness that Christ is coming. I'm 25, and I'm living with the consciousness that Christ is coming. I'm 36, and I'm living with the consciousness that Christ is coming. I'm dealing with parenting that way, and marriage that way, and my activities that way. I live with a consciousness that this will come to an end. That's how you watch. But look, what about the foolish virgins? You know, last year, in the month of October, after the Acts 242 conference, our church had a gathering. Shout out to Megan and Jackie, my sisters. After that powerful conference in October, we had a gathering at Gateway Center Arena. The arena sat 5,300 people. And we made a mistake that year. We underestimated how many people were gonna show up for that gathering. Some 10,000 people showed up for that gathering. And when the arena got to 5,300 seats, the fire marshal closed the door. And we had to apologize to people who could not get in. And although we took ownership for that, there was something that happened that day I never forgot. It's burned into my mind. It's burned into my heart. We had staff on the outside of the arena who said, man, there were people banging on the door to get into the arena, and the fire marshal would not budge. God. There were people crying on the outside, and the fire marshal will not budge. There were people on the outside complaining, arguing, making every case they could make to get in, but the fire marshal will not budge. And my staffer told me they watched people mourn, weep, grieve, and sorrow. They banged on the door, some of them on their knees that they could not get in. And we had a revelation. This is what it's gonna be like in the end times. God. This is exactly what's gonna happen when the bridegroom returns. He will return and catch people off guard. He will take those of us who've been faithful our whole life and bring us into the wedding. And then there will be people on the outside banging on the door to get in, and the fire marshal of heaven will not budge. They're gonna be crying to get in, and the fire marshal of heaven will not open the door. They're gonna say, Lord, Lord. Notice in the text, they're saying, Lord, Lord, right? We know we're talking about people who thought they were Christians because the atheists would never call him Lord. The people in false religions would never call him Lord. He's talking about people who thought they were Christians and they were not. And notice we ain't talking about a loss of salvation. He did not say, I no longer knew you. He said, I don't know you at all. All this time, I gave you an assignment. I gave you invitations. You never received my invitation. You never took your assignment serious. You were never my son or my daughter to begin with. I'm trying to. I am. And there are many of you. There are many of you staring at me right now with your dead eyes. You live in a dead house. The spirit of God is not in you. You come in here and you listen to me preach, but you don't belong to Jesus. You come for hype. You come because I'm from New York. You come to see what people are talking about, but you're far away from God. You crept in here not knowing you're gonna walk out headed for damnation. And I'm telling you, you're not here by accident. I'm telling you right now, the door's open. I'm telling you, the Lord is giving you an invitation. I'm telling you right now, he's saying, come my son, come my daughter right now. I'm telling you, this is the moment and this is the hour to get right with Christ. I'm telling you, you may not get this opportunity again. Christ prophesied the end. He prophesied judgment. He prophesied his return. He prophesied a closed door, but the door is open to you right now. You already know who you are. We ain't playing no games. You already know who you are. You know you came in here for a show. You know your girlfriend dragged you in here. You know about the blunt you put down in the car before you walked in. I'm talking to you. My dude, I'm talking to you. My sister, I'm talking to you. I'm talking to you. Your edges are laid perfect, but your heart is not in order. With the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm talking to you. With every head bowed and every eye closed for just a moment, my brother, my sister, I am talking to you and you already know who you are. You don't feel conviction. You don't feel love for Jesus. You have no desire for his word. You're not striving for holiness. You're not waking up in the morning thinking about him. You are not saved. But the Lord knew you would be here in this moment before the foundation of the world. He predestined that you would come into his kingdom in this moment. You already know who you are. Stop playing. The Lord said if you would repent and put your faith in him, you shall be saved. A sermon can't do that. A church service can't do that. A book can't do that. A podcast can't do that. The spirit of God is the only one that can regenerate the lost man or woman. I'm talking to you. If you know I'm talking, I see tears falling. You know I'm talking to you. The Lord is burning you right now in your heart. Christians are praying. Why are you looking at me? I'm talking to you. I wanna pray for those who feel God calling you right now. The door's open. Walking through the door, the door's open. Run through the door. Run to the Savior. Run into the arms of the one who has prepared a place for you. Run to him right now. Surrender. Surrender. Surrender. Surrender. If I'm talking to you, I wanna see who I'm praying for. I'm gonna count to three and I just want you to throw, I see your hand. I'm gonna count to three and I just want you to throw your hand up. Nobody can't see you. It's between you and God. I just wanna see, I see your hand. I just wanna see who I'm praying for. I see your hand. One, the Lord is calling you. Two, the door's only open until you die. Three, throw your hands in the air. Jesus, I see you, brother, on your feet. I see you, sister, on your feet. Jesus, I see you, sister, on your feet. My brother, I see you in the back with your hands raised in the white corner. My black brother, I see you. My white sister, I see you. Jesus, I see you, brother, wiping those tears out your eyes with that fitted hat on. Dang, I feel like being gangster right now. I don't have time. Dang, do I have time? No, I don't have time. Dang, I wanna, dang, the clock is on me. Gosh, do I have time? Man, you know what? We about to shame the devil. If your hand is raised, I wanna lay hands on you personally. Tell the person next to you, get out of my way. And I want you to run towards me right now. If your hand is raised, tell the person next to you, get out of my way. I want you to run towards me right now. Come on, run. I want you to run towards me right now, run. Come on, run towards me right now. Come on. Come on, run towards me right now, run. Get as close as you can. Get as close as you can! Come on, get as close as you can! Get as close as you can! Get as close as you can! Get as close as you can! Get as close as you can! What a Savior, isn't He wonderful? Sing hallelujah, Christ is returned Bow down before Him, for He is Lord above Sing hallelujah, Christ is returned What a Savior, isn't He wonderful? Sing hallelujah, Christ is returned Bow down before Him, for He is Lord above Sing hallelujah, Christ is returned Everybody on your feet, your head is up now, please don't look at me Don't make me to focus Everybody who's at this altar, please don't look at me, don't make me to focus I'm just a broken man like you He's catching these tears, sister That's called repentance That's called repentance, cry Cry Cry That's called repentance This is what happened to me November 2003 over a toilet seat He's catching those tears, cry He's catching those tears, what's your name? Erica He's catching those tears, Erica Everybody who's on your feet, everybody who's at the aisle You're repenting for yourself, you're telling God to forgive you for your own sins No pixie dust, no magic sinners prayer You're repenting for your own self You're confessing your own sins, that's called repentance You're confessing your own sins, you're asking God to forgive you for your sins Them two girls right there, that's called repentance You're shedding your own tears No man can't do this for you No sinner's prayer is gonna do this for you No magic is gonna do this, you're confessing your own sins to God Only the Holy Spirit can save you And now Father, dang, my brother, he's catching those tears That's called repentance I see those tears, that's called repentance My sister, I see those tears, that's called repentance He's catching those tears, what's your name? Nikki He's catching those tears, Nikki And now Father, I pray over everyone Who's at this altar or in the aisle or in the overflow room or watching across the camera Only you can save by the power of your Holy Spirit and regenerate I thank you Lord that their lives are being transformed They're being passed from death to life I thank you Lord that their names are being recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life I thank you Lord that you're making them brand new creations I thank you God that they belong to you That the devil has lost hundreds and hundreds of men and women that formerly belonged to them I pray you would fill them with your Spirit And give them a love for your presence and for your Word And now Father, you said when one sinner repents All of heaven rejoice So Father, right now we rejoice Oh what a Savior, sing Rejoice Come on, rejoice, rejoice Rejoice Rejoice Rejoice Rejoice Bow down before Him For He is Lord Sing Hallelujah Christ is risen Oh what a Savior Isn't He wonderful Sing Hallelujah Christ is risen Bow down before Him For He is Lord Sing Hallelujah Christ is risen Oh what a Savior Isn't He wonderful Sing Hallelujah Christ is risen Bow down before Him For He is Lord For He is Lord Sing Hallelujah Christ is risen Oh what a Savior Isn't He wonderful Sing Hallelujah Christ is risen Bow down before Him For He is Lord Sing Hallelujah Christ is risen Clap your hands Give God praise in this house Come on, celebrate Come on, the devil just lost Like three, four hundred people Now everybody look right at me Everybody in this hall, everybody in the aisles Look right at me I want you to listen What's coming behind you Watch Cause you're not by yourself I want you to listen Watch this Welcome to the family of God Somebody tap that brother Tell him no more sorrow Time for joy Tell him look at me Tell that boy look up How old are you? How old? How old? Thirteen What's your name? Huh? Kayson Alright, look at me Kayson No more sorrow Look right at me You listening to me? The scripture says concerning you and everybody else If anyone is in Christ You are a new creature The old is gone And the new has come The scripture says of you If you are in Christ Your name Kayson And all of your names have been recorded In the Lamb's book of life You are now his son You are now his daughter You have a father who loves you in heaven Now listen to me before you leave After today You will make mistakes again But when you make them You're under grace now You get back up You ask God for forgiveness And you keep going forward And keep lighting your torch with oil Until you make it all the way to the end The devil will remind you of your past And your mistakes and your failure But they are all under the blood All of it is under the blood Now listen to me When you leave today There are black tents in that parking lot There's a gift for you at that tent Dang he's catching those tears That's called repentance There's a gift for you at that tent In that bag there's a copy of God's word And information to teach you Your next steps in your walk with Jesus We want to give you that gift And if you don't want the gift You want to remain anonymous You can do that, no problems at all Now if you come from another city You don't live in Atlanta When you get back to your home city We want you to find a Bible teaching church Where the word of God is being communicated Where Christ is being exalted Where you can plug in and have community And hear gospel preaching If you live in Atlanta We don't do membership at 2819 We invite you to just keep coming back every Sunday Give us six months of your life If God has not touched your heart in six months You are free to go wherever you want to go We're just asking for six months of consistency And see what God does in your life You hear what I'm saying to you? If you need prayer for anything when this is over There will be prayer warriors standing at the front And they will pray with you about anything and everything Y'all hear what I'm saying to y'all? All y'all staring at me You look alive now You look like you got the Holy Spirit now You look different now Yeah, you look different now You look different now Y'all look like children of the Most High Y'all look like men and women with oil Y'all look different now Father, I pray Over all of these new brothers and sisters And over all of our givers Thank you, Lord, for souls And for the resources that make this possible Bless all these men and women that place their faith in you And bless all of those who are partnered with us in the spirit of the gospel Bless their homes Their bank accounts Their jobs, their businesses, investments in 401K I pray employment for those who are unemployed That we can continue to be generous on every occasion That money would not be an idol or a god for us We thank you in this moment That we see the power of resources That it is used to bring souls into the kingdom And multiply disciples I pray for the gift and the giver And I pray for all of these My new brothers and sisters We thank you, Lord, for what you have done today And that the devil has been put to shame As he has lost just another one And we celebrate you In Jesus' mighty name Come on, put your hands together and give God praise