It’s Not Too Late to Build Your Foundation

Thank you may be seated Bring you greetings this morning from Pastor Tim Delina who's in Greece Athens Greece where he's been speaking to hundreds of pastors Who need encouragement especially that part of the world? Today I was in contact with him this morning and he's aware of the situation Obviously that's happening in the Middle East and wants to be home with you as soon as possible He's making arrangements to do that now. So thank God. Did you have a pastor that's so committed to you as a congregation? I really hope you appreciate that.

I really do and the fact that God has made him a man of courage he's willing to speak what the Lord puts on his heart and he's been prepared specifically for such a time as this and It doesn't give any greater Pleasure to my heart than to know this church is in such good hands. Thank God for that with everything within me I've had a song that just is sticking with me all day since I got up. Would you permit me to sing? It's a chorus And it goes his strength is perfect When our strength is gone He'll carry us when we can carry on Raised in his power The weak become strong His strength is perfect His strength is perfect His strength is perfect when our strength is gone He'll carry us when we can't carry on Raised in his power the weak become strong His strength is perfect His strength is perfect You know We're going to need the strength of God in the coming days We have been warned in this church for almost 40 years now of the days which are not Coming our way they have arrived days of turmoil days of social breakdown days of even potential disorder in our major cities Days that will be fearful to those whose hearts are not completely fixed on the faithfulness of God and The Bible speaks of a foundation that can be built in Christ That will take the fear of whatever circumstance you might be facing today or tomorrow out of your heart And give you and I an ability to stand and to become a testimony to this generation King David said it the best He said I cried to the Lord and he heard my cry and he lifted me out of the sinking place that I was in And he set my feet upon a rock and he put a new song in my mouth even praise unto our God and many will see it and Fear and trust in God and I believe that's going to be the testimony of many of God's people in this generation He's going to put that song of confidence in our hearts that our Security is not based on anything of this world whether it's going smooth or it's in a storm None of that really matters to us Our future security is not based on our retirement plans or how much we do or don't have in the bank Or what kind of a job we have or house we have none of these things are going to matter We will know that we are secure in the hand of God the Father and no one can take us out of that hand and We have been given of God a song that cannot be taken away by circumstance If you choose to you can give the soft circumstance can take it from you It's a song that God by his Holy Spirit places within the hearts of those who are built on a strong foundation And that's what I want to talk about today in a message entitled.

It's not too late to build your foundation It's not too late to build your foundation father. I thank you God for the anointing of your Holy Spirit I recognize Lord that my words are feeble and Futile and they have no power, but your word spoken through a human vessel has the weight of eternity in it I'm asking you God to speak to every heart. I'm asking you Lord to go into Darkened places hidden places.

I'm asking you Lord to just literally speak to every person right where they are right now Speak about provision Lord speak about protection speak also about a warning About those whose security is not based on or built on truth Father I thank you God that you will allow me to speak one more time for you Lord, I recognize that the anointing is not based on the exuberance of a presentation But it's based on what happens in the hearts of the hearers Oh God Oh God Oh God Plant eternity in the hearts of those who are within the sound of this voice today plant eternity in every heart Lord let nobody be able to shrug this off put it away say it doesn't apply What it's your word, and you don't speak in vain There's nothing you said that somehow we'll be able to to get around or something that you'll wink at and say I didn't really mean it Lord what you say is what you mean and I pray God that the reality of that touch my heart and touch every heart of those that are listening and will listen in the days ahead The day is short the hour is dark You are coming soon Lord Jesus Christ sooner than we realize we'll be standing before you and What we chose to do on this side of eternity is going to determine where we will spend eternity God help us God help those that are wavering God help those Lord who are have one foot in the church and the other one in another Place God help them Lord Jesus Christ. I plead with you Lord. I plead with you today God Almighty don't let anybody Miss the blessing of an eternity with you in Jesus name Amen Matthew chapter 7 I'm going to start there verse 21.

I'm reading from the New King James Version Jesus said these words Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven. I should stop there and say are there any questions at this point Not everyone not everyone who goes to church Not everyone who says yeah, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God not everyone is going to enter the kingdom of heaven But he who does the will of my father in heaven Many will say to me in that day Lord Lord Have we not prophesied in your name in other words have we not did we not did I not simply agree with the things that you? Said that I did I not agree with with your your versions as As you wrote it down about the future and such like and I even spoke it to others Have we not cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name And then I will declare to them. I never knew you Depart from me you who practice lawlessness Therefore whoever hears these things of mine and does them I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house And it did not fall for it was founded on the rock but everyone who hears these things of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell and Great was its fall and so it was when Jesus had ended these things that the people were astonished at his teaching For he taught them as one having authority Not as the scribes in other words his his word had weight it had power He spoke as the one who had the ability to fulfill everything he had spoken He didn't babble on as the scribes often did in the synagogues in their teachings No His weight his word had weight and it's as if the people were able to acknowledge that what we've just heard has the power of eternity in it and perhaps Many turned back and began to focus on the seriousness of what he had just spoken.

He spoke of a storm That would ultimately test the type of spiritual life that each one of us has chosen to build now whether it's a collective storm, whether it's something that happens in this world, whether it's some kind of a Catastrophic happening or whether it's just a storm that all of us will face You know, the reality is everybody here in 50 years or less. You'll all be dead. Did you know that? I don't know if you're aware of that or not But you'll all be in an underground six feet somewhere or or in a jar on somebody's Fireplace mantle or whatever and you will have passed into eternity and before you pass into eternity There's there's going to be a trial because quite often With the the finishing of life comes the pain that is associated with that the difficulty there the diagnosis You will have a storm someday and it will test What you have built if you built on truth Then your value system is already in another place.

Your heart is already gone Into eternity Your whole reason for being on this earth is now for family and for those that are close to you and for those that you God will give you influence over in the future so you can bring them with you into an eternal kingdom Jesus spoke about the worst type of foundation to build upon which is sand And speaks to us as the type of person who knows what he should build There are people here today probably just judging by the numbers of people in this sanctuary and listening who have made a choice to build With something else other than what God says in his word you see they've counted it too costly sand is cheap Cement requires a whole lot more work or stone or rock a lot of effort hard to carry It can be difficult to put into the proper form sand is just a commodity It can be packed You can make you can make sandcastles out of it It can make things look like they have the ability to stand even though they don't But he counts it too costly. So he chooses to build his own version of what he thinks will stand I can't tell you the numbers of people I've met in my lifetime in Inside the Church of Jesus Christ that fall into this category Who've chosen to build what they think will stand? This kind of a house is going to be the first to go in a time of testing They get news like we got last night and suddenly their heart is fluttering. It's fainting there.

They're shaky. They're nervous They're looking they're looking to to some news station to give them Confidence and assurance about the future because they've not really been built on the rock Christ Jesus Jesus said these things were going to come he said through the Apostle Peter. It's not a strange thing concerning the fiery trial It's going to come your way and don't don't act like it's a strange thing.

We've been forewarned We've been foretold that nation would rise against nation kingdom against kingdom We were told by the Apostle Paul that would be exceeding lawlessness in the last days where men would be filled with themselves Unable to be reached with truth They would be blasphemers. They'd be liars. They'd be backstabbers.

They'd be murderers This is what society is going to devolve into in the last days It should not be a surprise to us that these things are going to happen all around us The house built on the sand is going to be the first to go the psalmist in Psalm 52 verses 6 and 7 Says the righteous also shall see and fear and shall laugh at him saying here is the man who did not make God his strength but trusted in the abundance of His riches or in his own ideas about what security is and strengthened himself in his wickedness The righteous will see it but not be partakers of it Now the second faulty foundation is the person who builds his foundation with mixture prophet Daniel he spoke about the last days as Were revealed to one of the foreign kings back in in his generation about the final kingdom in this world in Chapter 2 verse 42 says the toes and as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay So the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile as you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay They will mingle with the seed of men but will not adhere to one another just as iron does not mix with clay and In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be Left to other people it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever the last kingdom on this world will be Humankind's attempt to adhere to come together as perhaps kingdoms have in the past But they won't have the ability to do it. We're seeing that in our own nation right now, so bitterly divided Perhaps there are some Ideally talking about the this this blending together to become one society But you and I are seeing that iron and clay don't mix anymore and a division is going to be the order of the last day In God's kingdom it speaks of the kind of a person the kind of a man in a romantic Relationship that's just based on casual glances convenient evenings and frequent flirtation Versus lasting commitment a warning to all the women here today If some guy is asking you out for dinner flirting you with you in the office or whatever the case and very enamored that that your affection and attention is towards him and He takes you out for dinner, and he's looking at his watch all the time And he's looking around the room and over your shoulder. He's got something else on his mind.

It's not you That's on his mind. Tell you straight out You're wasting your time with this kind of a guy He is not interested in commitment He is enamored that your focus is on him he finds empowerment by just knowing that he has some kind of relationship with you and Also, he's not interested in making any lasting commitment to you the best thing you can do is say enjoy your watch Enjoy your meal. I'll see you later Now this this same guy This same guy attends church But he only comes when it's convenient for him, and he makes declarations of love I Love you Lord And I lift my voice To worship you oh my soul makes declarations of love without commitment and He loves the personal power that he feels this association with God Gives him he's told from the pulpit that you are the center of God's affection and God's a tea likes that feeling That's a nice feeling But don't ask him to stay ten minutes longer than what he expects the service time to be You see because he has a plan for the day, it's not really to worship God all day This is just a convenient relationship.

You know years and years and years ago We used to have a lot of volunteers On for our music ministry here on Tuesday night in particular and Friday night And I remember there was a gentleman that started playing the keyboard and he had bothered something about him Just bothered me. I was never comfortable with him on the instrument and after a little while of being here I decided I'd meet with him and I asked him I said when did you become a believer in Jesus Christ? He said oh, I'm not I said really Not a believer in Jesus Christ, so what are you doing on the keyboard on this on this platform? He said well, I love music and I love the feeling I get when I'm here singing these kind of spiritual songs But you've never given your life to Jesus Christ. No, would you are you intending on doing that? Well, I'm not sure It's been nice having you my friend.

You're not going to be on this platform anymore Touching a keyboard you see but that's the type of a person that will stand before God one day Lord Lord did it did I did I not was I not on the platform at Times Square Church for a short season? Did I not play the keyboard? Did I not sing the songs that worshiped you did I not agree with the words of those songs? And the Lord will look at him and say depart from me you who practice lawlessness I never knew I found out later about this gentleman that his his life outside of the church didn't match up with his piano playing and Songs that were here as a matter of fact, he was quite the opposite and had a very poor reputation among those that he worked with I Never knew you Matthew chapter 7 again verse 21 to 23 Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven But he who does the will of my father in heaven Many will say to me in that day Lord Lord Have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them I never knew you Depart from me you who practice lawlessness Now the word new carries the connotation of intimacy familiarity and commitment as in marriage I Never knew you I Wasn't married to you You you enjoyed my company You loved speaking my name from time to time and you were enamored with the fact that my affection was upon you But you never could bring yourself out of just being involved in the relationship for only what you could get out of it You were never willing to be given for something greater than yourself You were never able to commit yourself to me and become part at Christ would say of my bride on the earth You were never intimately Related to me and associated with me It's like the type of person who's always flitting from one person to another in relationships But doesn't have the strength of character to ever be committed to anybody because commitment requires a giving of oneself It requires a yielding of one's future for something greater than just living for myself. We sang a song today Yeah, I'm taking back what you you stole from me. Well, that's great And that's the beginning of the relationship But then I go out to take back what was stolen from other people You and I are called to be given for the cause of Christ in this world.

We're called to be a demonstration of who he is We're called to let him Govern and guide us in our speech and our character and our lives and our our pursuits and our futures We're called to allow the Holy Spirit to begin to change us from the inside out Into that which Christ has destined us to be it requires commitment This this is not available to the casual observer It's not available to the the person who watches their watch and is only willing to give a certain amount of time to God throughout The week no, no knowing God means that I am yielding my life the rights to my life to him I'm yielding my future. I'm yielding my family. I'm yielding my body.

I'm yielding. I'm yielding my safety I'm yielding everything that I am and have into the hands of God for the purposes of God Which ultimately is bringing the saving gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have no helper Bringing it to the prisoner bringing it to the spiritually blind to the impoverished to the bruised to the wounded and hard That's the call of God on the life of every believer We're not just to sit at a table and consume unto ourselves But we're to take what God has given us and bring it out to others around us In partnership with the one who went to a cross and died so that we might have eternal life When you get married you take up the same goals You take up the same pursuits you take up You should have a similar passion and pursuit in life, or you're not really committed to one another But when you're committed to one another you're going together in the same direction and those who claim to be Christ's Have embraced this direction that's in God's heart when he gave his only begotten son To be crucified so that we might have everlasting life. I thank God with all my heart I thank God for every believer in Christ since the day of the cross and the resurrection I thank God for every believer who is willing to go into an arena be devoured by lions So I thank God for those who became burning torches.

I thank God for those who went to prison I thank God for those who suffered because of them. I have eternal life today. The message came to me in Jesus Christ I owe each one of them an amazing debt of gratitude Because I understand the Christian life is not just a convenience It's a relationship with the Living God entering into the purposes of God Embracing the strength of God walking in the supernatural power of God, but for the reasons of God That I choose to build my life on a rock Christ Jesus I choose to have my life built on the truth of God's Word I'm not looking when I read the Bible to skirt the hard things and just embrace the soft things you understand I'm looking for truth to build my life on if God puts his finger on an aspect of my character that needs to be changed I'm quick to go to him and say Lord I'm trust forgive me for that in my life and I'm trusting you to change me into the man that I'm supposed to be I'm trusting God that image to image and glory to glory that I shall be Changing by the Spirit of God within me into the man that God has destined my life to be.

I Trust in God that even in old age I will still be a green tree and still bear fruit in the kingdom of God until the day. I draw my last breath. I Thank God that the marriage relationship with Christ becomes sweeter and sweeter as the days go by I thank God that I'm not looking at my watch in church.

Thank God It doesn't matter if we end up here all day. So be it. This is the kingdom of God We are the people of God and this is the worship of God.

I Know I speak for pastor Tim for he and I are of one heart in this thing. Oh God let every program go to the wind and let your presence come down and Revive your church and lift us and bring us into your presence again in a new way in a powerful way Whoever hears these things of mine and does them I likened him to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain Descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house I don't know about you. But over the years my house has been beaten on time and time again I lost one to fire.

I lost another to mold. I lost the third to a flood. I Said to pastor Teresa one day I said well The only thing left is an earthquake and I looked at her I said I wish I hadn't said that The rain descended the floods came the winds blew and beat on that house See the house that Jesus is talking about is not a physical house.

I Am the temple of the Holy Spirit You are the temple of the Holy Spirit We are the house of God the dwelling place of God on the earth and the rains will beat and the floods will come And all kinds of evil reports will attempt to push that house over But I have it built my life by the grace of Almighty God on the confidence of Christ Where he said I will never leave you or forsake you no weapon formed against you Shall prosper and every tongue that rises against you in judgment. You shall condemn This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord their righteousness is of me God says I have given you a cleanness in the sight of God and no one can take that away from you You might fall but I will lift you up again. I will not fail you.

I will not forsake you. I Mountains our valleys nor anything that comes against the Church of Jesus Christ shall be able to take us away from the love of Almighty God Which is ours in Christ Jesus? We build not just for our own protection but also to point the way of safety to others You and I are going to be the voices from God Calling out to others in the last days You see people are going to come into this church online from all of they're already starting now, but it's there's going to be a literal flood come in in the coming days because Everyone is going to be looking for security You were you who were here in 9-eleven when the towers came down you know that we were warned of the Holy Spirit that is that there was going to be a disaster in the city and We shut everything down and we began to pray and when the towers fell we were standing I just I still have the picture in my mind of Christians coming in here rolling up their sleeves saying pastor Tell me what to do. Tell me tell me how we could help There was no fear in the congregation even though there was fear all over the city and people were flocking to this church Kneeling in the aisle surrendering their lives to Christ even in the lobby because they saw a people not Not thrown off base not crumbling because of what was going on in the city Because our trust and our confidence was in our God and We became the voice calling out to many and not only us I'm sure there were others in the city as well But we became one of those voices calling out to others saying this is the way walk ye in it Isaiah chapter 30 verse 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem you shall weep no more He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry and when he hears that he will answer you And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity in the water of affliction Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore But your eyes shall see your teachers your ears shall hear a word behind you saying this is the way walk in it Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left There will be people in this generation looking to you They'll come to the door of your apartment or your house or wherever it is you live And they'll say as Peter once said give me a reason for the hope that you have right now.

I Hear you're going down the hall in our our apartment complex And I hear you singing in the morning and you come back and you're singing at night now either you have a source of strength I don't know about or you don't have any media. You're not listening to what's going on in the world What is the reason why you have such hope see people are going to come? To those whose lives are built on a solid foundation Thank God. Thank God.

I I don't know about you, but I I'm thankful in one sense that Mercy still triumphs over judgment, and I've often said it's better to go to heaven hungry than hell full and If the Lord has to shake our city if the Lord has to shake this society For the sake of the loss so that whoever can still call out to God will Then I'm thankful for that Because my value system is souls and for you and I it's now time to build our lives on a solid foundation It's now time to get the song that David speaks about It's now time to say Lord. Take me out of mixture. Take me off of any sand Take take away from me any casual commitment to your kingdom and God Put my feet upon a rock Put a new song in my mouth Let there be such a strong Confidence in me that others will see it and begin to fear that maybe they don't have that in their lives And they will turn and begin to trust in God in the middle of the storm Let me be not just preserving myself on the rock that you have placed under me But let me be calling out from that rock and saying this is the way walking it This is where strength can be found in God Oh God open our voices open our mouths and have us speak in this generation to those who need help They need hope the single mothers trying to raise their kids in Different parts of the city trying to work two jobs to pay the bills the dads who don't know how they're going to get through tomorrow Somebody has to speak and call out to them.

Somebody has to stand in a strong place filled with the compassion of God and Say to them. This is the way walking it come build with me. It's not too late to build your foundation It's not too late to turn to God It's not too late to begin to read his word and begin to see that God is for you and not against you It's not too late my brother my sister This is the church's finest hour in my opinion on this earth This is a time and you can't and I can't leave it to just a pass you have a Passionate pastor in Tim to lean it for souls, but we're not called just to be pylons in somebody else's game.

You understand We have to get on the field every last one of us put on the full armor of God Stand on the rock and get into the game by the grace of God By the grace of God, whatever the Holy Spirit says to do do that There was a lady I met one time who heard these words and We met her later on and she said so I bet I prayed what I'd heard He said God, what do you have for me? I'm not a Bible scholar. I'm not a powerful evangelist. I what do you want me to do? The Holy Spirit spoke to her and said go down to Starbucks In the morning order a coffee sit at a table and open your Bible.

That was the full instruction for her So she obeyed she went down to Starbucks in her local town she opened her Bible I was we were speaking to her about this She opened her Bible and she got a coffee and she just began to read her Bible After a little while a lady came over and said, what are you doing? What are you reading? She said well, I'm reading the Bible. Oh, really? What's in that? What does it say? She said we'll sit down I'll tell you something about it So she started sharing scripture with her and the lady said are you gonna be here tomorrow? She said well if you'd like me, I will she said can I bring you some friends? By the time we got there. She had 60 people in her women's Bible study Because she was built on a solid Foundation and she began to understand life is not just about preserving yourself or just enjoying your privacy with your own coffee There's somebody in that place that's searching for truth Somebody needs to know that there's security and safety in God And this is where we come in each one of us just do whatever God tells you to do and It doesn't matter if it looks ridiculous.

Just do it Whatever God tells you to do do that If he tells you to put on a sandwich board and walk up and down Broadway saying Jesus loves you do it Just do it. Whatever God tells you to do. He knows who's going to be out there and needs to see I know I know exactly what's gonna happen Somebody's gonna do that and and then when pastor Tim says why you're gonna say well pastor Carter told us to do that I know exactly It's not too late to build your foundation And so the message has to always come to you and I first is the church God am I on the foundation of Christ? Am I in an actual relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ, or do I just like going to church? Do I like the music? Do I like the fact that God's affection is towards me? am I like the guy in the restaurant who's not really committed to the girl and Is no intention of committing Or have I really gone over the line and I said Jesus Christ.

You are now Lord of my life You have the right to my future You have the right to everything that I am and ever will be And not only that you promised to be a friend that stays closer than a brother to me and So as you gave yourself to me 2,000 years ago on the cross I now give myself to you It's the least I can do and it really is the least I can do. I Give you my heart. I Give you my full affection.

I give you my intent. I don't want to be building a spiritual life on sand or mixture I Want my life to be built on the rock of Christ and his truth and one day when I stand before God I Want him to be able to look me in the eye and say well done good and faithful servant Remember Jesus Christ can't embellish and he can't lie Can't say it's good. If it wasn't can't call us faithful if we aren't and can't call us servant if we weren't That's what I live for now.

I Want to be a good man. I By the grace of Almighty God, I'm gonna pray a prayer of dedication now some of you may have prayed a prayer called the sinner's prayer at some time where you you just You said well, that's a great idea. I could be forgiven my sins if I pray this prayer heaven is my home and You prayed it, but there was no real commitment It's like the man in the restaurant looks across the table says yeah, I like you, but I'll never marry you in a thousand years He doesn't say that part, but that's what he's thinking.

I'll not provide for you. You won't be able to lean on me It's one thing to pray a sinner's prayer, but it's another thing to step over the line Into a living relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ so many people come to God's house and When a moment like this comes they they're they see salvation is just dumping their bad feelings about themselves or dumping their the Consequences of their behavior, they're just dumping it and hoping to get free from it But not really entering into a relationship with God through his son. Oh Jesus Have mercy on those who are building on those foundations Tell me What of this world is worth forsaking heaven for tell me is there anything in this world worth forsaking heaven for? Is there anything in this world worth having Jesus Christ look at us and say I didn't know you I didn't know you You weren't married to me You never yielded.

You never gave your full life to me. You never gave your heart I'm gonna lead us in a prayer of dedication and surrender to God and If you'd like to be included in that prayer Would you just raise your hand with me right now? Go ahead all over the sanctuary just raise your hand dozens and dozens Let's pray together right now Lord. Jesus Christ.

I Hear you I hear your word God you're asking me for a full surrender so this day I Give my life to you. I give my heart to you. I give my future to you Jesus Christ Son of God I Want to live in a right way I want to live your way and I want my life to count for your purposes on the earth and Thank you That as I commit my heart to you, you promised me that heaven will be my eternal home.

I believe God Did you hear my heart I Believe it's sincere from this day forward. I am yours and you are mine in Jesus name Amen and amen For those who prayed that prayer raise your hands, would you come and join me here at the altar? Let's stand together. Just come and join me here.

I'm gonna pray for you that God would set your life on a solid foundation Just slip out wherever you are you raised your hand Unashamedly, or maybe you should have raised your hand Just join those that are coming down the aisles the balcony go to either exit make your way here No more looking at my watch in your presence God. No more secondary agenda hallelu Come just come Just come he won't fail you. He won't forsake you Making a short commitment today hallelujah How great Is our God? Sing with me how great Is our God All will see how great How great Is our God Sing that again How great Is our God Sing with me how great Is our God All will see how great How great Is our God Great How God Sing with me how great All will see All will see how great How great Is our God How great Is our God All will see how great How great Is our God We'll see how great is our God.

Name above all the others, we'll see how great is our God. So the name above all names, how worthy of all praise. And my heart will sing how great is our God.

How great, how great is our God. Sing with me, how great is our God. We'll see how great, how great is our God.

I was a police officer when I got saved. I was 24 years old. I was sitting in church with my wife and I said, if this thing is real, I want the whole package.

And if it isn't, I want nothing of it. But if it's real, I'm not willing to just put my toe in the pool on Sunday morning. I'm going off the high diving board.

And by the grace of almighty God, what a life it's been. What a journey it has been. The faithfulness of God, the strength of God, the power of God.

The changing ability that God gives. Our character begins to change from the inside out. Our wants change.

The crooked places are made straight like the scripture says. And we do become a new creation in Christ Jesus. So if I can challenge you to do anything today, go off the high diving board.

Into the fullness of God, into everything that God has for you. Whatever it is that he's destined for your life to be. Wherever he wants to take you.

Whatever he wants to speak, whatever he wants to change. I remember the first time I read in the Bible, Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. I blurted out, oh great, that's easy for you to say.

Paul, you weren't even married. But the Lord said, I said, how am I going to do that? How do I love my wife as Christ loves the church? And the Lord said, well, you open your heart. And you let me show you how much I love you.

See, that will give you a frame of reference to love your wife. As I love you. Amazing how God does things.

And then he takes the selfishness out of our hearts. Because we're all selfish to the core of our being. And he takes that out.

And then suddenly it becomes about others. It doesn't happen overnight, but it starts to happen. Little by little, line by line, step by step.

We start caring about people. Remember the first time I gave out a traffic ticket and I felt bad. I said, God, I must be saved.

That never happened before. Hallelujah. You won't regret it.

You just won't regret it. You just won't regret going all the way with God. You won't.

And then there's an expectancy in your heart. I'm getting close to the end of my journey. I guess I don't know how far I've gotten.

72 in September. Maybe, I don't know. It doesn't matter.

I'm not talking about death. Pastor Tim, if you're listening, I'm not talking about death. So don't rebuke me.

He always does, every time I go there. So, what a beautiful thing to just want more of Jesus as you get older. Because you've known how good he is.

You've tasted. Oh, taste and see, the psalmist says, that the Lord is good. Taste and see that God is good.

Hallelujah. Father, I pray now for my brothers and my sisters. They come forward and they just want to be honest believers.

They want to be the real church. They want their lives to be built on a rock. They don't want to be coming in, going out, coming in, going out all the time.

They want to stay in your presence. They want to be aware of your presence every day, all day, in their lives. Father, I pray, Lord Jesus Christ, that this altar today would be just almost like a marriage ceremony.

Where the vows are made. God, I give you my life. I give you my heart.

I give you my future. I give you everything I've got. Because you gave me everything you have.

That there would be a bonding together between you and your people. God, don't let anybody go back from this day. Don't let any who have responded just go back to the old ways.

Lord Jesus Christ, put it so deep in all of our hearts. One day, one day you can look at us and say, well done. Well done.

Good and faithful servant. You've been faithful in a few things. Behold, I'll make you ruler over many things.

Enter into the joy of your Lord. Thank you, Father, for these brothers and sisters. This is your church, Lord God.

This is plan A. This is plan A for this generation. Oh God, put our lives on a solid foundation. We ask it in Jesus' mighty name.

Amen and amen.