One Sentence Away

[0:00] And then I see the person that I texted just walking to Taco Bell.! I go, okay. Because she works at Safeway. So she's walking to Taco Bell. So I pull over and I walk into the Taco Bell.

[0:15] I go, Melinda. She goes, oh my God, I got your text. Don't worry, I'm not ghosting you. I said, no. I said, I know. I texted last night. You see me right now.

[0:30] You probably think I'm stalking you or something. But I said, we'd love to have you and your family. And she's got two little ones. And she's like, we'd love to go.

[0:40] So I'm off that Sunday. I was telling my boyfriend I want to get back to church and get my kids to know him about God. And so just, and this all ties into what I'm going to talk about today.

[0:51] But God is so faithful. And God is so good. He wants to use every one of us. He wants to use, I'm going to say that again. He wants to use every single one of us. Amen.

[1:03] To impact his kingdom. To advance his kingdom. To reach people for him. To preach the gospel. Amen. It's not sitting up here or preaching the word.

[1:16] It's going out. It's talking to people and sharing the word of God. Amen. And loving people. Anybody love people? Yes. Amen. I thought I heard someone say it's hard sometimes.

[1:31] It just depends. Yeah. Crazy. Wow. Awesome. Well, so we've been in this series for the last few weeks.

[1:45] It feels like six months now. But, you know, we've been in this series six months later. Oh, children. I'm sorry. You can all be dismissed. Off to Sunday school.

[2:10] All my children are at. Oh, Dan already said it. All our children are at camp right now. And so her friend was saying, you're going to have no kids for the next few days. What are you going to do?

[2:21] She goes, I'm going to work. I'm going to clean. I'm going to. I'm going to. I'm like. I'm going to sleep. I'm going to relax. I'm going to. That's what parents should do, right?

[2:32] When there's no kids around. It's good to see some new faces here. And it's good to see some returning guests.

[2:43] But the Lions, always a pleasure. And love and appreciate this man so much. And if you get a chance, just go talk to him. And he'll impart wisdom to you.

[2:56] He's got a word for you. So we started this whole series a few weeks ago. And we asked this one question.

[3:08] Where do you want to be in six months? Where do you want to be in six months? And for some of us, it's we want to be on vacation. We want to be debt free.

[3:19] We want to have a million dollars in the bank. You want to have chiseled abs. Nice pecs. Big muscles. You want to have, you know, a nice vacation. Not just get away.

[3:30] Just relax in six months. But we flipped the question. Because we said we're going to be somewhere in six months. Regardless of what we do.

[3:41] Or what we don't do. And we're going to be somewhere spiritually. We're going to be somewhere financially. We're going to be somewhere in our devotion to our family and to God. But are you going to end up in that place in six months on purpose?

[3:55] Are you going to end up there on accident or just show up? And all your problems are still going to be there. All your problems are still going to show up. Everything's just going to be there with you.

[4:06] But where do you want to be in the next six months? So to kind of recap kind of where we've been. We said in our first session that your direction is more important than your intentions.

[4:23] Where you, your direction, where you want to be, is more important than what you intend to be. Where you're headed right now is important.

[4:35] And what are you doing about it? And we said that we don't need some miracle. We don't need some fire from heaven to come down. We said, or I said, that you don't need a miracle, but you need to repent.

[4:50] You need to change directions. And get right back on that path. The second session we talked about altars. Rebuilding the altar in your life. Rebuilding that place of sacrifice.

[5:03] That place of giving. That place where your family can go to. That place in your home. And our lives may be in shambles, but the first place that we've got to rebuild is that altar in our lives. That place of dedication and of sacrifice.

[5:18] We talked about devotion. This last, well not this last Sunday, but this Sunday before that. We talked about devotion. And we talked about Nehemiah on the wall. That I can't come down because I'm doing a great work.

[5:30] And there's always going to be distractions. Distractions. Right. And we went down the list of all the distractions. And the title of that message was, Oh No You Don't.

[5:42] Because they were trying to distract Nehemiah and get him to Oh No. Because they wanted to trap him and trick him. And destroy him. But he had to say, I'm not going to give in to these distractions. But I'm going to, I'm doing a great work and I can't come down.

[5:55] And so we talked about the devotion of your life. Your personal devotion. Are you praying? Are you fasting? Are you giving yourself to God? So in all these sessions and messages that we've preached, where are we today?

[6:08] It's kind of a checkup. Where are we today? Have you repented? Have you changed directions? Have you gotten back into the Word of God? Have you built that altar in your life?

[6:19] Have you built that altar for your family? Does your family know that you serve him? That you want to serve him? Does your kids hear you or see you pray or read the Word of God? Where are you today?

[6:35] On this Sunday? Where are you? Have you rebuilt those things in your life? Or are you at this place today and have allowed distractions to keep you from where God wants you to be?

[6:49] Where God wants you to go? Amen. It's really important that we answer those questions. Because again, we're going to be somewhere in six months. We're somewhere today. We're a few weeks older.

[7:02] Don't worry. You look fine. You don't look six weeks older. You look good. But we're going to be somewhere. And we've got to build. But today I want to flip it a little bit.

[7:12] Not where will you be. But where will the people around you be? Where will the people in your lives be?

[7:28] Because of your witness. And because of your testimony. And because of your evangelism. And because of your invitation. We've talked a lot about doing some inward work.

[7:40] And it still needs to happen. We still need to work on the inside. We need to get to the altar. And repent. And change some things in our lives. And get rid of some things. Right. But now while we're doing those things.

[7:55] Where will the people around you be? Because of your witness. And because of your testimony. Did you speak up when the moment happened? When the opportunity occurred.

[8:07] Did you open your mouth and speak? For your coworkers. Your neighbors. People in your community. Did you speak up? There's a really cool illustration that I heard.

[8:22] When I was getting ready for this message. And that was so cool. Well not cool. But it was pretty good. He said. If we took a poll right now.

[8:36] And we asked two questions. How many of you know it's good to floss? Raise your hand. Everybody.

[8:46] Come on. Go ahead. How many of you know it's good for you to floss? Every day. Or it's good for you to floss? Floss your teeth. Is that better? Some of you know that.

[8:58] Okay. Oh. Woo. Don't get too close to me. Then the second question is. How many of you actually floss? Raise your hand.

[9:10] Not so many. Not too many. Hands wet up. Really stay away. But we all agree. That it's healthy. But feels kind of awkward.

[9:22] Unnecessary. Some of us think. Easy to ignore. Not do. One of those things that we just kind of look over sometimes. And that's kind of how evangelism is.

[9:35] That's how witnessing is. That's how reaching the lost can feel to some people. In our Christian walk. We know it's something good that we need to do. We know it's something that we ought to do.

[9:46] But for whatever reason we don't do. We feel the spirit of God prompt us. We feel the Holy Ghost nudge us.

[9:58] But for whatever reason. That we can go down the list. We don't. We don't do it. What if they say no? Or what if I get the words wrong?

[10:10] Or what if I fumble my words? What if I ruin the relationship? What if they ask a theological question that I don't know the answer to?

[10:23] And we feel intimidated and we freeze. And we don't do it. But we know we should. But we don't because we allow that fear to freeze us.

[10:34] So I'm asking us this morning. Where are the people around you going to be in six months? Are they going to be around you worshiping the Lord?

[10:46] Are they going to be baptized in Jesus name? Are they going to be filled with the Holy Ghost? Amen. Are they going to be living for God? Are they going to be in. Are they going to be serving in the church somewhere?

[10:56] Are they going to be sitting beside you next Sunday morning? All because. All because. Maybe we didn't speak up when we should have spoke.

[11:08] All because we allowed that to freeze us. But what if the sentence you didn't say was the one time. The one sentence. Well God could have changed everything in their life.

[11:25] What if that was the one sentence God used. to change everything for them. Come on.

[11:36] What if. Let that sink in for a minute. What if God used that one sentence. That one invitation. That one testimony. That one sharing of what God did for you in your life.

[11:47] What if that one time. God could have used that to change their life. and altered. Altered the trajectory of their family in life.

[12:00] There's so much to it. There's a chain of events that happens. Amen. But it just takes one sentence. One time. But what is evangelism that we're talking about here?

[12:12] I mean. Is it getting a speaker and a microphone. And preaching at the corner. Some people think it is. Evangelism isn't a department.

[12:29] It's a discipleship mandate. It's just part of what we do. It's part of the DNA of the church. It's not just for extroverts. It's not just for those that have a loud personality.

[12:43] It's for those that are obedient. And those that understand. I have a witness. I have a testimony. That others need to hear. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[12:54] At my job. You know. Safety. In my mind. Safety is everyone's responsibility. But for whatever reason.

[13:06] You know. Some feel it's a department. It's their responsibility. To keep drivers safe. And follow up on certain safety issues. When I spoke up.

[13:16] And I said. I said listen. Safety is not just a department. I said safety is all of us. It's all a responsibility. To keep our drivers safe.

[13:28] Because I was speaking about a certain situation. That was unsafe for a driver. And I spoke up. And I said. Well we should probably talk to him. We should bring him in. And they said. Well we'll let. We'll let the department handle it.

[13:39] And I was like. No. No. This is our responsibility. It's your responsibility. He didn't like hearing that. Matt. Can we talk to you later? I'm serious.

[13:51] Can you please come up to the conference room? I got a phone call. But safe. But in my mind. Safety is everyone's responsibility. And when it comes to evangelism.

[14:02] And when it comes to witnessing. It's not a department's responsibility. It's every single one of us. It's our responsibility. To reach our world. To reach our neighbors.

[14:13] To reach. Come on church. It's all of our responsibility. Can we. Can we. Come on. Every one of us. Whether you think you have the right words or not.

[14:26] Whether you've been in this a long time. Whether you've been in it. For six weeks. Or 60 years. It's everyone's responsibility. Amen. Amen.

[14:37] Amen. said evangelism is the proclamation of the gospel and the power of the spirit with the goal of converting people to Jesus Christ and discipling them into the church. Another man said evangelism is extending the message of the cross beyond the church carried by those who have been transformed by the message. JTPU said if evangelism ever becomes optional revival becomes impossible and Raymond Woodward said the church is not a monument to gather around it's a mission to fulfill. So it's something that we do it's something that we're about about his business about reaching souls because somebody reached us somebody took the time to talk to me and invite me and open their mouth and speak up praise God and it's up to all of us to take that same responsibility and say hey I know a God who can help you I know a God who can save your soul I know a God who is good and has been good to me and that can reach down in your situation and pick you up and turn you around and heal your family and heal your body and your addictions and all those things God is able to do it in Jesus name he is able hallelujah hallelujah praise the Lord but we're about to watch what happens when somebody not a preacher not a preacher not a minister but when somebody specifically a young girl whose name we don't even know when she speaks up and she says something we're going to see what happens. 2nd Kings chapter 5 verse 1 now Naaman captain of the host of the king of Syria was a great man with his master and honorable because by him the Lord had given him deliverance unto Syria he was also a mighty man of valor he was a mighty man he was jacked he was jacked he was a mighty guy he was able to flex things that I didn't know I had he was able to flex them mighty man of valor but it says here but he was a leper a leper

[17:07] Naaman is a a man of rank a general of the Syrian army decorated powerful honorable respected deadly feared and buff but there was one detail about him that overshadows everything else but he was a leper but he was a leper his greatness did not cover his disease and underneath all the facade all the armor all the shiny nice stuff there was sickness there was bleeding there was nothing good underneath and if they knew what was there they wouldn't get near him Naaman had medals on his chest but death was underneath his armor he looked great but underneath that there was something about him there was something on him and in his life that needed healing anybody need healing today anybody here this morning need healing because our God is a healer amen

[18:12] I wish I could get some more amens right now our God is a healer I believe that hey I may be sick right now but you know I still believe our God is a healer regardless of what we have that's going on God is able to touch our bodies and heal us because he is able that's the thing about about just the outside we can make it look nice and many of you look you I'm sorry you all not many of you you all look nice this morning and no one would know what's going on in your life no one would know what's happening no one would know the turmoil or the stress or the distress or the frustration or the insecurities that you got going on or the broken family or the frustrated dad no one knows but on the outside we look fine we look put together but God sees past all that and he knows exactly what's happening in our lives he knows what's happening in people's lives around us because people may look powerful they may look good but they're perishing underneath the surface of their lives and now the Bible just zooms in on this one person this little girl because she was captured in this raid that had happened with the Syrian army they had raided Israel and took some captives and they captured this little Israelite girl enslaved powerless some would say even voiceless because she was a woman she was a girl no one wants to hear in that time no one wants to hear a woman speak

[19:47] I'm not going to say what I was going to say someone doesn't command a room she doesn't have a pulpit but she opens her mouth she doesn't have a pulpit she doesn't have a music stand an iPad all this she has her voice no pulpit nothing like that she has her voice but she opens her mouth and says one line I want to read this 2 Kings 5 2 let's go and the Assyrians had gone out by the accompanies and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid and she waited on Naaman's wife and she said unto her mistress would God would God my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria for he would recover him of his leprosy

[20:54] I don't know how she said it I don't know if she was timid about it bold about it preaching about it I don't know what but she said it in that court she opened her mouth with all the reasons not to speak all the reasons not to say anything all the intimidation the fear that would creep up upon her and be around her being involved in a raid where many probably died many probably were taken away family split apart no mom no dad no brothers or sisters so you got all this going on in her life and frustration and wondering what's going on it's still this reveals the girl's heart she trusted God she loved him and in a moment in an opportunity she said would God my Lord would God my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria for he would recover him of his leprosy the man said you don't need a platform to proclaim you need a pulse and the Holy Ghost amen she didn't preach a revival but she gave a referral she opened her mouth and she spoke and she said hey you know what

[22:12] I know where he can be healed I see he's respectable and honorable and I see what he can be healed I know a guy she knew a guy she knew somebody you know a guy you know somebody well she knew and she opened her mouth and she spoke and she said oh would my Lord be back in Israel with his prophets oh would God because I know he's a healer and he's able to do this amen she had faith she believed but I want to say something a little side note here there's a difference between being outspoken and speaking up there was a difference between outspoken and speaking up outspoken people love to share their opinion anytime anywhere anything not redeem the room at all they speak their minds they just speak out loud but speaking up means that saying the right thing at the right time for the right reason being outspoken draws attention to yourself speaking up is saying the right thing at the right time amen with the right motive the right motive when someone speaks when they're speaking out and spewing stuff out it's offensive it may turn people off

[23:43] I'm just talking practically here some people you know they just want to say what they want to say and it offends and it turns people off but we're going to be witnesses witnesses of Jesus amen we're going to be gentle and we're going to love and we're going to speak the truth but we're going to speak up because we know a guy we know a God who is able amen hallelujah being outspoken draws attention to you but speaking up draws attention to God but because this little girl spoke up Naaman's journey to healing began one sentence is all it took and that one sentence everyone say one sentence that one sentence sparked a chain reaction to this man's healing Naaman wasn't healed by a superstar he wasn't healed by a who's who he was healed by one God but what's crazy is that there's a chain of events there's a chain of chain reaction that happens in this story here's the chain the girl speaks up

[25:05] Naaman's wife listens Naaman reports to the king the king of Syria sends a letter Jehoram gets scared freaks out they want to kill us the king of Israel he panics Elisha he hears about what's happening he responds he says hey just send him to me Elisha sends his messenger to Naaman to deliver the word he gets offended he says what is all this I don't want to go into Jerusalem into the Jordan River Naaman's servant hear this Naaman's servant urges him to obey and finally Naaman does obey you see the chain of events that are taking place here if any one of those links break the miracle doesn't happen but God's got a plan God has a plan so for a moment here I want you to look back at your life okay when you first got saved when someone first invited you let's take a a trick a trip back okay into our memory for a minute for some of us it's going to take a long time for some of us it's going to be real quick praise God but let's think back to that person that invited you to that one person that told you about Jesus that one person that told you about the church say I want to invite you can I tell you about Jesus let's think about it and think about the chain of events that led up to that some of it's not nice some of it's horrible some of us have gone through horrible horrible things but thanks be to God thanks be to God that someone spoke up that someone opened their mouth and they spoke up and they said a sentence they spoke life they told you about Jesus thanks be to God for that one sentence the supernatural flows through obedience obedience and evangelism isn't a solo it's a sequence of events that we're all a part of we are all a part of the sequence everyone hear what I'm saying for a minute you are a part of the sequence you are a part of soul winning you are a part of people's lives being churned around and being saved amen

[27:39] I mean that you are a part of this every one of us because we all have a voice we all can speak we all have an experience a testimony amen and God wants to use that testimony that one sentence to be the thing that sparks something in someone's life now I want to read some I want to talk facts for a minute well not that we haven't been talking facts but I want to talk about statistics for just a second that I think should shake us that should get us thinking here for a minute about it 82% of unchurched people say they'd come if they were invited 82% I know some of us have heard this but hear me 82% I mean what's more staggering is if we've heard this and something's not happening then only 2% of believers so 82% say they will go to church only 2% of believers invite even one person a year 61% haven't shared their faith in 6 months where do you want to be in 6 months 47% say they don't feel ready this girl had no training she had no statistics she had no outreach class no evangelism badge or whatever they want to give you she had none of that stuff but she had a voice she had a conviction she had courage to speak up and we want to you know we love that verse

[29:30] Romans 1 16 but the power of the gospel the gospel is power unto salvation and we love that I'm not ashamed of it yeah I'm not ashamed of the gospel the power of God unto salvation but the unspoken gospel the unspoken invitation they never have that opportunity to hear it yes it has power the gospel has power unto salvation but we need to speak it and invite somebody we need to open our mouths and share the gospel share the good news that's where the power happens and they hear it and they look at their lives and they say I want to you know when I invited this young lady she she has said before

[30:30] I talked to her you know went to school together and she said to me this is our last family experience and it was the day of and I said hey you want to she's at work you want to come to our family experience she's like well it would have been nice to know she's like you know I've been wanting to get back in church I've been wanting to get back to serving God or I want to get my family my kids she has little ones now I want to get them back or at least knowing who he is how many people around you say that how many people around us are saying those things that are thinking that but they're just waiting for you to open up your mouth and share the gospel with them the unspoken gospel has no power let's open our mouths and let's speak moving on verse 4 2nd Kings 5 and one went in and told his

[31:31] Lord saying thus and thus and the maid that is of the land of Israel and the king of Syria said go to go and I will send the letter unto the king of Israel and he departed and took him ten talents of silver and six thousand pieces of gold and ten changes of raiment and he brought the letter of the king of Israel saying now when this letter is come unto thee behold I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee that thou mayest recover him of leprosy and it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter he rent his clothes and said am I God to kill and make alive that this man doth send me to recover a man of leprosy wherefore consider I pray you and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me he thinks he's a sham he's out to get him and it was so when Elisha the man of God had heard there's a lot of commotion going on so he heard through the grapevine he heard the chiefs man he heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes and that he said to the king saying wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes let him come now to me and he shall know that there was a prophet in

[32:38] Israel verse nine so Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the door and all the stuff that he brought with him all the great things right and Elisha sent a messenger unto him saying go and wash in Jordan seven times and thy flesh shall come again to thee and that shall be clean but Naaman was wroth and went away and said behold I thought I thought he will surely come out to me and stand talking to Elisha and call on the name of the Lord his God and strike his hand over the place and recover the leper are not Abana and far par rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel may I not wash them and be clean so he turned and went away in a rage Naaman arrives and he's he's got this thing worked up in his mind that this is how it's going to be he thinks it's going to be some fanfare some big spectacle some big show

[33:45] I don't know he's a general he's somebody okay he's of importance and Elisha doesn't even meet him face to face but he sends a message to tell him dip washing the Jordan seven times and the Jordan was not an impressive river compared to what the ones he mentioned in Damascus Jordan's muddy unimpressive it feels beneath him but his servant speaks again his servant speaks again and his servant came near and spake unto him and said my father if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing would it thou not have done it how much rather than when he saith unto thee wash and be clean then he went down and dipped himself seven times his flesh came again likened to the flesh of a child and he was clean so he finally obeys and he hears the words of a servant one man said

[34:58] God offends the mind to reveal the heart and sometimes the voice that keeps someone from walking away is that voice that keeps them walking away from the miracle because we all have a role to play in this we all have a role to play you may have invited others are following up others are in their life and the person that's being invited or told about Jesus about the gospel but every one of us just like this servant just like the girl are all playing a role in Naaman's miracle so I don't want you to miss the fact that we all have a part to play regardless of our age girls you have a role to play in God's kingdom so you know when I was 16 I remember and that was a long time ago a long long long time like really long like long time ago can't even do the math right now so long ago but when I!

[36:04] was 16 people would tell me all the time you have a purpose in your life for your life God wants to do and I would say oh okay yeah I've heard but as I've gotten older and now I have teenagers of my own or one teenager of my own God really does have a purpose for every one of our lives and a role for every one of us to play in his kingdom let that breathe let that sink in for a minute because the sooner that we understand that we have a role to play the sooner we can get really down to business and it's serious business about reaching our world and being that voice that speaks up in someone's life okay so Naaman finally obeys he dips he's healed and verse 15 says and he returned to the man of

[37:06] God he and all his company and came and stood before him and he said behold now I know there was no God in all the earth but in Israel Naaman had a need something that was killing her from the inside out the outside in I guess but there was a moment there was a moment for this little girl to speak there was a moment and I want to speak to us here this morning that there was a moment in every one of our lives there is going to be a moment for us to open our mouth and speak into someone's life it could be today it could be this afternoon it could be however God orchestrates it all there is a moment for every one of us to speak into someone's life love love love love and I don't want to miss that moment do you want to miss that moment I don't think you do I don't think we do we may miss flossing every once in a while but I don't want to miss the moment where

[38:12] I can speak into someone's life so here's I want to offer something to you it's not original not mine I thought it was really good and I try to use this as often as I can when someone says I'm not in church right now that is your cue to say come sit with me that's all you got to say if someone says I'm not going to church right now hey I go to a great church come sit with me I'll buy you lunch afterwards we'll go to lunch after two everyone say two everyone say two number two things are not going well you say can I pray for you really easy stuff this is not rocket science folks really easy third thing

[39:14] I wasn't prepared for this could be a child it could be a death in the family it could be a sickness that rose up in their life you know what you say God help me he can help you too so simple right so easy so we say so if someone says I'm not in church right now what do you say come sit with me I go to a great church come sit with!

[39:43] we! got great looking people funny people loving people people that love to laugh second thing how about when they say can I pray for you things are not going well can I pray for you really easy third thing I wasn't prepared for this what do we say God help me he'll help you because he's good look we don't need to walk around thumping our Bible we don't need to walk around carrying concordance I don't know if they even make those anymore they're all digital now probably we don't walk around with the Tyndale Bible and the pulpit commentary or whatever we just need to open our mouths we need to speak up we need to listen and maybe that's part of the issue too is that we we we we're talking so for some people we're talking so much we don't give an opportunity for someone to to share what's going on in their life we want to offer solutions right away that's real talk someone says there's something happening in their life and we go oh you know what you need to pray more you need to read the

[41:01] Bible more you know! you pay you know the best thing we need to do listen to people situations listen because that makes an opportunity for us to be able to say hey come sit with me hey can I pray for you hey God help me God is helping me right now church I feel like I have to say this again this is again not out of a!

[41:38] of frustration or anger or anything like that these messages have been birthed out of a place of God is dealing with me God is working on me to be a better man to be a better Christian to be a better witness to be a better husband to be a better father to my children but where do you want to be in six months where do you want to be in six months one man said this when you walk through darkness you don't need a sermon you just need to share your story share your testimony if you will listen for the not God will open the door for the now God will open that door for you amen Paul Price he said this a great the great commission is not a department it's a church wide expectation church wide expectation we don't need a better program we just need to be bold we just need to speak up speak our minds praise

[42:57] God so why am I saying all this why why why why because it is high time to speak God is drawing near and listen everyone reads looks everyone's either on X they're reading the paper they're on the news they see all the trouble in the world they see it all they hear it all so people are already thinking about tragedy and turmoil and distress and things that are happening going on and and they feel like something is happening something is imminent is coming something definite is coming but this is the cue for the church to wake up to wake up and come out of slumber like Paul had said in Romans 13 11 it is high time to come out of slumber because he's drawing nearer and nearer and nearer the church isn't waiting on revival the revival is waiting on us to wake up to wake up and to come out of slumber and share the gospel and you know for some of us we've heard this several we hear about this and I've heard this several times but it doesn't take away from the fact that he is coming soon that he is drawing nearer that the time is drawing and time is running out for folks that Jesus is going to return and somebody is going to end up somewhere either in the presence of

[44:36] God forever or in hell for all eternity let's all stand and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat and take a seat!

[45:11] God is not waiting on a microphone.

[45:27] He's not waiting for us to hand him. God's waiting on your one sentence. Just like this little girl.

[45:41] Spoke him and share him with that one sentence. The changed name is life forever. So I mentioned that I got, you know, I got saved when I was 16.

[45:54] I was in high school. And went to Gilroy High. There was no Christopher High. It was a long ways away.

[46:06] And I was in my biology class. And my counselor had called me to the office. I thought, oh, here we go.

[46:18] I'm in trouble now. And I get into my counselor's office and she says, Matt. I go, yes.

[46:29] We're waiting for the, you know, you're suspended or whatever. She goes, Matt, we're moving you. I go, okay, where? She said, we're moving you from your biology class here to the biology class in whatever period it was.

[46:44] I said, why? She's like, don't worry about it. We're just, we're moving you. I said, okay. So I moved to that class, my biology class in that period.

[46:56] And I, you know, I walk into the class. And I didn't see any familiar faces.

[47:08] You know, you walk into class and you look for your familiar, you know what I'm talking about. You know, you walk into class, you look for, you know, friends or people that you know, acquaintances. Nobody. Raked.

[47:21] And then the teacher says, hi, hi, Matt. Welcome to blah, blah, blah, whatever. So you're going to sit right here. So I sit down in my new chair.

[47:37] And I don't know, I can't remember if it's another time, but I'm sitting in my desk. And I'm sitting, hi, I'm Matt, hi, I'm Matt.

[47:51] And one of the girls that's in my little, like, four desk group was Deanna. Long hair.

[48:07] Long skirt. Long hair. She wasn't loud. Oh, my goodness. You know, she wasn't loud.

[48:18] Nothing like that. She was talking to her friends. Like, did you see them at second period? The way she looked at me.

[48:30] No, she wasn't like, she didn't do that. Oh, they can't talk to me like that. She was very, very quiet. But very confident.

[48:44] I noticed that about her. Her first time meeting her. Very confident. Very sure of herself. And, you know, stuff happened.

[48:57] Weeks went on. And I really didn't talk to her. And then I missed my, so we're supposed to bring a liquid into class. And I didn't, I forgot my liquid.

[49:09] I forgot a lot. A lot of homework and projects. And, uh, so, it was worse.

[49:21] My dad worked for the school district. So he heard all about it. But he, uh, but I didn't bring a liquid. So I, someone had a cup. I said, can I use your cup? I was like, do you mind if I can spit in the cup?

[49:33] And that would be my liquid? He's like, saliva? Sure, why not? It was a pretty cool teacher. So I sat there. Deanna will tell you. I said, I'm just spitting into the cup.

[49:47] I remember Deanna was like, whoa. I'm just disgusted. So here she is, you know. And before this, she saw me at the talent show. And, you know, there, I was in a band.

[49:58] And, you know, I wore black nail polish. I wore mascara. Black lipstick. Black lipstick. You know, I wore a t-shirt that says, nobody knows I'm a lesbian. You know, I, you know, it was, I was in high school.

[50:14] And I was trying to find myself, folks. And so that was her first impression. I want to tell you what her friend said.

[50:25] It's actually, she thought I was pretty cool. But Deanna was like, that, that guy's disgusting. But here I am, she's now sitting next to this disgusting guy. And then some stuff happened.

[50:43] And I started, they invited me to hang out with them. I was part of that crowd that, you know, metal, gothic kind of weird stuff.

[50:53] You know, I was part of that group. But they invited me to come sit with them at lunchtime. And no judgment that I felt from them.

[51:11] Then I'll never forget when she just said, hey, why don't you go to, we're having a youth rally this Friday. Why don't you come with us? I don't know what that is, but I'll go.

[51:21] I met a... I met him that night.

[51:35] I met Pastor that night. He's got, I know, he's got his, it's okay. It's okay.

[51:45] You can hear me though. Or rather he can, he's just ignoring it. But, uh... So I go to the youth rally.

[52:01] I remember I've been in mosh pits. I've been in metal concerts. You know, I've been like in, you know, mosh pits. People get kicked. You know, all this. I've, you know, I've heard screaming.

[52:12] I was in a band. Okay. So. So I'm going to the service and this guy's preaching.

[52:23] He's like, give me God. You know, he's preaching. I don't even know. I don't know what he's saying. And some of the girls are showing. Some of the girls that I'm with and with Deanna and some other girls, they're showing me stuff in the body.

[52:37] Like they're showing me things. And then I... Then Deanna taps on my shoulder. She goes, my dad said pay attention. Oh, he was talking to all of us, but not just me.

[52:54] Yeah, yeah, exactly, right? Who was this guy? But I remember there was a guy, Alonzo. Say, bro, let's go pray.

[53:15] And, you know, I was like, sure, why not? Let's go. I didn't know any better. So I went to the altar. And as soon as I got up there, I started crying.

[53:31] I don't know what was happening. I had never felt that before in my life. Like I said, I've, you know, I've been in metal bands. I've done stuff I'm not proud of.

[53:41] You know, I've heard all kinds of music, whatever. Like, I'll never forget that moment. I've heard Ari Prado came and, I don't know who he was.

[53:56] All I heard was a voice saying, he said, I want you to stop for a minute. He said, your lips are stammering. You're moving. He said, God, it's really touching your heart. So I want to lay my hands on you.

[54:08] So actually, I want you to repeat that for me. So we prayed. He led me through some repentance. I don't know what that was. But he explained it and helped me get through that. He said, okay, I'm going to lay my hands on you.

[54:20] And God's going to fill you with the Holy Ghost. And you're going to speak in other tongues. I'll never forget it. I said, lift my hands again. And he said, he said in the name of Jesus, receive the, and he put his hands on me, on my head.

[54:36] And I spoke in tongues for the first time. And I felt like electricity going through my body. Some of you are thinking back to your first time receiving the Holy Ghost.

[54:49] It's pretty awesome. I remember getting home that night super late. My mom's asleep. She goes, what?

[55:00] She goes, what are you doing? I go, I'm with the church. So what would you do? I said, well, I got the Holy Ghost. She's like, Matt, just go to bed.

[55:13] Okay, Mom. Here I am. 41. Going to be 42. July 3rd. Yes, sir.

[55:27] We share birthdays. 41. All because someone opened their mouth. All because someone spoke.

[55:43] Who's your one person that's around you? And six months from now, they're going to be sitting next to you. Who's your one person?

[55:56] I want us all to come to this altar, please. Can we come to this altar? May everybody. You know, there wasn't theatrics.

[56:17] There wasn't strobe lights and fog machines. Deanna just spoke up. Deanna just spoke up.

[56:29] Opened her mouth. And said, hey. I know what God. I know what God. And I want us. I want you to think about that one person.

[56:48] That you want to win. That you've been thinking about winning. That God has put on your heart. Come on.

[57:01] Think about that one person. That you want to win. That you want to win. That you want to win. That you want to win. That you want to see them serve God alongside of you.

[57:16] Sitting next to you. And just thinking about the name. Bring a smile to your face. We're going to pray right now.

[57:29] While we pray. I want you to speak their name. I want you to speak their name. And for God to give you the courage.

[57:42] To open your mouth. And speak one sentence in their life. Let's pray.

[57:53] Father. In the name of Jesus. We pray right now. For every soul that's in this place. God. For the soul that we're thinking about. That one person.

[58:04] Lord. You put on our heart. That God. They are wearing an armor. That looks good. And it's a facade. But we know that underneath.

[58:15] That armor. God. That there is something. That's killing them. That there's bleeding happening in their lives. There's trouble in their lives. God. That there's a healing that they need.

[58:27] Lord. A touch that they need. So God. I pray right now. That you would give us the courage. And the boldness. God.

[58:39] And give us. Help us have the attention. To hear. Lord. To hear them speak. To hear them. Lord. And give us that boldness.

[58:50] To speak into their lives. And tell them. And open up our mouths. And say that. One sentence. Would you help us.

[59:00] In the name of Jesus. Come on church. Let's pray. I want you to call out their name. I want you to pray for them right now. And say. God. Would you help me Lord. To reach this one person.

[59:13] Would you help me God. To reach this one person. Lord. In the wisdom. And the boldness. And the boldness. And the courage. God. Hallelujah. In the name of Jesus.

[59:25] God. I pray right now. Of every one of us. Lord. It could be your husband. It could be your wife. It could be your children. It could be your neighbor. Come on church.

[59:37] In the name of Jesus. I pray for you. I pray for you. I pray for you. I pray for you. I pray for you. I pray for you. I pray for you. In the name of Jesus. I pray for you. I pray for you.

[59:47] I pray for you. You can be that one voice for your dad Come on, you can be that one voice for your dad