Life After Work
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Psalm 39:5
Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. - NET
Psalm 90:10, 12
The days of our life are seventy years, or eighty if we have the strength. Yet the best of them are only hard work and sorrow. For they are soon gone and we fly away. 12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. - NLT
1. Work with Eternity in Mind
2 Corinthians 4:18
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - NIV
With an eternal perspective, the work you were created for doesn’t have to die with you. It actually can continue to live on without you.
Colossians 3:1-2
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
Many subject their lives to the temporary and frustrate the work of eternity in their lives.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]...
2. Work to be Generous with Your Life
Don’t just work to live, live to work for the greater meaning and purpose of giving your life away for the Kingdom.
Matthew 16:24-25
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
What are you not finding in this life because of your lack of surrender?
Mark 10:17,21-22
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
You can do all the right things and still not be doing the one thing that is keeping from inheriting God’s purpose and perspective for your life.
WHAT’S THE ONE THING THAT COULD BE KEEPING YOU AWAY FROM BEING GENEROUS WITH YOUR LIFE?
3. Work to Leave Your Mark on this World
Ecclesiastes 3:9
Does a person really gain anything from his work? - ICB
As long as you’re breathing, you have a purpose!
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(00:05) [Music] get up get out your seat live out your Desy get out stom your feet this morning we're concluding our series God at work I don't know about you but even as I've dove into this to study and prepare God's been changing my perspective how many you he shifted your perspective a little bit today we're going to look at work from a different perspective all week long we've been interviewing people in our congregation whove spent a a lot a lot of a portion of their life working hardworking people who put in their time
(00:58) they've paid their dues and now they're stepping in to the retirement years you may be surprised about what you learned today and my prayer is that it will challenge you and I to live and work differently how many you know God is calling us to be different see a majority of us in this room have heard this phrase we've not only heard it we've said it life is short have you said that before just three people well let me just tell tell you life is short I was confronted with this reality even when I was 10 years old when my cousin
(01:37) Dawn uh lost her life at the age of 16 in a tragic automobile accident I had to learn as a as a as a little boy as I lost my favorite babysitter life is short when I was training for Ministry my first year my first funeral was for a young lady in my youth group Erica who who lost her life tragically life is short 10 years ago a good friend of mine in high school his wife called asked if I would do the service passed away in his 40s life is short I've even done funerals for people that are in their 70s 80s and 90s and as
(02:22) you're standing around after the service or at at a reception you hear the same thing even for people who've lived a long life people will say life is short Church life is short none of us are guaranteed tomorrow and the Bible actually supports this hard to swallow reality Psalm 39:5 says look you make my days shortlived and my life span is nothing from your perspective I want you to underline that word highlight that word in your Bible my lifespan is nothing from your perspective surely all people even those who seem secure are nothing
(03:12) but Vapor another translation says truly every man's life at best is merely a breath you say Pastor Dean I came to get encourag not discouraged I'm getting there let me ask you this question how do we live our life lives as Christians for Maximum Impact in such a brief time on Earth Psalm 90: 10 and 12 says the days of our life are 70 years or 80 if we have the strength yet the best of them are only hard work and sorrow for they are soon gone and we fly away verse 12 another one to underline teach us to
(03:58) realize the brev of Life how you know life is fast it doesn't slow down for anybody teach us to realize the brevity of life so that we may grow in wisdom so the Bible supports the fact that life is not only short but it goes really fast how many you know those of you that are seasoned in the room like myself the older you get it seems the faster it goes I remember hearing my parents oh it's going so fast I remember going to school watching the clock no no no no you're not in my classroom cuz the time goes
(04:36) real real slow at school you see if we're not careful we'll waste our lives chasing things that don't matter working hard for a lifestyle that we may never get to enjoy and regretting decisions we made or didn't make because we were playing it safe to live a comfortable life you may have heard of this former mega church pastor named Francis Chan but about 13 years ago he did a rope illustration that has always stuck with me and I wanted to share share share it with you today I want you to imagine that this rope here is a
(05:18) timeline it's a timeline of your existence and this little orange piece right here it it is an example or is symbolic of your brief time on Earth we spend so much of our time focusing on this right here totally oblivious to what God has for us after we cross the finish line that after this life right here the temporary life listen there is an eternity an eternal Destiny for each and every one of us and how we live this right here determines this right here what's crazy is we spend our whole lives and some of you right
(06:12) here in your 20s some of you right here in your 30 and 40s some of you I he you're F some of you over here way over you're pushing the line over here and what we do is we work work work work work everybody go work work work work I just right we work work work work work right we save save save save save save to hopefully be able to enjoy just a little bit because we live totally disconnected from this well the Bible says listen what you do with this as a Christian determines listen where you will spend and how you will spend
(07:02) eternity but we're so focused listen on the temporary we lose sight of the Eternal we're so focused on what we see we forget about what we don't see we're so we're so worried we're so stressed out about this brief time on Earth we forget how it all connects to this and God wants to shift our perspective and today my hope is that you'll grow in wisdom about your about your work by listening and learning from some folks from here at real life that are a little further down the road than you and I and they are
(07:45) currently experiencing life after work and they're doing it well and the first person that we're going to hear from I I learned I learned this from them this week work with eternity in mind some would say work with the end in mind and I would say that's short-term thinking a more biblical perspective would State work with eternity in my in other words don't live for the temporary live for the Eternal 2 Corinthians 4:18 so we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen since what is seen is temporary but what is
(08:30) unseen is eternal God open our eyes that we could see God the Eternal value of things Lord that we ignore each and every day of Our Lives we've talked a lot about purpose and meaning in this series but today I want to talk about perspective God wants to broaden our perspective you see when we work with eternity in mind we acknowledge as Christians life may be short but we know that eternity is forever with an eternal perspective the work you were created to do doesn't die with you it actually can continue to
(09:13) live on without you some of you are familiar with the founder of Youth with a mission Lauren Cunningham who went to be with Jesus on Friday morning this man had a vision when he was just a young man of of thousands if not millions of young people being sent listen literally from the west coast to all over the world and because of this vision and him being obedient to the vision we uh that Ministry has seen Millions upon millions of people saved by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Lauren Cunningham's life will continue to live
(09:51) on I know the gentleman that is actually taking over and going to be overseeing yam Andy bird he passed the Baton to Andy many years ago and Andy is is is literally echoing the heart and the vision that was imparted to Lauren Cunningham many many years ago listen when you die come on how you know you still can live you see when life is not about you and how much you can acquire in this life you can begin to tap into Eternal purpose and eternal perspective you see purpose defines what you and I have been created for perspective perspective
(10:30) defines who I'm living for let me say that again purpose defines what I've been created for perspective defines who I'm living for Colossians 3 1 and2 says since then you have been raised with Christ that's a powerful phrase right there a powerful truth because we've been raised with Christ how many know if we died with Christ come on we don't stay Dead come on we've been raised with Christ so this is what I want to encourage you because you've been raised with Christ come on you can raise your expectations
(11:06) about your life you can raise your expectations about your work you can raise your expectations about what God wants to do with your life you can raise your perception and perspective of what God wants to do in you and in you and through you he says set your heart on things above the heart is about purpose he says if you want to know your purpose stop looking down here in the temporary and start focusing on the Eternal set your heart on things above where who is Christ is seated at the right hand of God how you know we have the best seat
(11:44) in the house come on we have the best seat in the house we've been raised with Christ and seated in Heavenly come on we got a front row view come on my neighbor and I we went to the I took my neighbor lifelong Packers Fan last week took took my neighbor to the Packers game we never know where we're going to sit we're going to sit somewhere Josiah will get us tickets somewhere on the 50 yard line and we were on Row one come on right behind the bench Hallelujah and my neighbor was like this Hallelujah we had the best view looking
(12:19) at Believers you have the best view you have the best perspective listen don't let the things of this world Cloud your views clouds your vision set your mind on things above your mind has to do with your perspective your heart has to do with your purpose your mind has to do with your perspective set your minds on things above not on Earthly things you see as a follower of Jesus God has called you and I to live your live our lives according to a different timeline God has called us to to live above and not beneath you
(13:02) see many of us subject Our Lives to the temporary and frustrate the work of Eternity in our lives but when I'm living with eternal perspective I'm not running out of time because my purpose and perspective are not bound by time you're not running out of time when I'm living with eternal perspective and purpose I'm Contin continually ly thinking about God's greater purposes and perspectives beyond my lifetime listen I'm not stressed out because the promises that have been spoken over my life they are prophetic
(13:45) promises listen and they speak from generation to generation to generation so listen I don't have to stress about the promises coming to pass in my lifetime because I understand listen that the promises of God don't end with me come on they are passed down generationally come on to Mariah to Josiah and so Mariah and Josiah will get the promises that Amy and I have got listen that we didn't actually have the opportunity God spoken to us we just passed them on and Josiah and marah with their families will one day will say you
(14:17) know what God Said to Grandpa Dean come on and I'm prophesying now grandpa Hallelujah Grandpa uh granny Amy you know Granny hey we got granny in our family y'all all right you remember what God Said to to Grandpa and Grandma yes see Grandma for you there you go all right and they'll be believing and contending and living and believing God for the promises that God spoke to us way back when for they now you see God has wired us to live for the Eternal you know the pray oh man this is I'm just going off there you know the
(14:58) prayers that you've prayed afid God doesn't forget them they're Eternal you can rest I never I never forget having that Revelation I remember praying I remember praying for the Salvation of my family I remember praying for the Salvation of my friends every day when you get when you first get saved you're like Lord not until I see them saved and and and and I remember the Lord saying I got you I said you got me he said yeah you've already prayed that 110 times I got it I got your prayers are
(15:32) Eternal hello your your prayers are not forgotten yes we petition the Lord but he is a good God and he will answer them in his own timing not ours we can rest listen we can rest that he had everybody just says he has it stop wearing yourself out worry because that's what we do we pray but we're really worrying and you can just give that to the Lord and just rest Lord you got it thank you that you have it and then every now and then go back to it Lord I just thank you for that I thank you that you're answering that you're working on
(16:06) that no I don't see the fruit of it yet but you're still doing your thing God I thank you Father you can go back to that you can pray over that but God's got it everybody say God's got it I sat down with Sharon Thurman a couple of weeks ago and I was just so uh impressed and impacted by uh what she is doing what she doesn't call it retirement she calls it refreshment years and uh she's really got some great perspective that I felt like I wanted to share with you here's Sharon my name is Sharon Thurman the
(16:42) work I did before was pretty varied and I think my first job was when I was around 13 years old I had the pleasure of working at a Five and Dime Store and you'll tell your age if you know what that is my last job however was serving as a health assistant at uh one of our local schools Nomas Middle School as a matter of fact one job God has given me that of being a mommy is indeed the most important the one that has Legacy the one that has Eternal ramifications and I wish I had been more cognizant aware understood better that I was God's
(17:15) Ambassador in that setting having a horrible boss might not have been quite as bad because maybe I would have prayed for that individual more as opposed to just reacting or responding being in those difficult situations was his way of working some things out of me you know I call it the refreshment years it's not retirement when I first got an inkling that it was going to be time to phase out as God's daughter I saw it as an opportunity to indeed be refreshed to be able to serve my grandchildren so now
(17:43) I have three but at the time there was one on the way and what better way to go into a new season of life than to know I'd be able to help my daughter and son-in-law bring this new Soul into the world and be more available and not have to juggle job and vacation time and time off when you're in your refreshment years you're Your Own Boss you get to set your own schedule you get to determine what it is activity wise you're going to do if you have some wonderful things that you enjoyed doing before you enter your refreshment years
(18:11) you just continue to do that and you have more time to do that and that makes it easier as African-American I tell people listen my ancestors work too hard for free for too long for me to stay in the work Arena these young people need a job and I want to be out of their way so that they can get it I am at a stage now where I can dialogue with the Lord and I had asked him Place me somewhere where I could be of more service that's when he moved me from the school I was working at to a school that was in dire need so
(18:40) I've continued that dialogue with him and he gave me a sense that he wanted me to be more available to young women especially mothers so I thank God that he directed me to the Sacramento Christian Healing Ministry so the higher purpose if you want to call it that is now a place where I get to pray with people when they call to say I'm having this issue or this concern I'm passionate about our children being able to read now I can interface with him all day no matter what age we are we have this in common we are all getting older
(19:11) so if you're blessed to have a job please set aside a certain percentage of your income for your future refreshment years God is so faithful when you follow his directions and his directions about tithing is undeniably true I've seen it my whole life trust God so make sure you're tithing put your monies aside realize no matter how young you are you are going to get older and you'll need that extra income talk to God ask him what giftings in my life would you have me use in a particular Arena amen amen
(19:49) work with eternity in mind the second thing I learned this week from our seasoned Saints is work to be generous with your life just don't just work to live live to work for the greater meaning and purpose of giving your life away to the kingdom and for the kingdom this is one of the reasons why we do Kingdom Builders here at Real Life Church to give everybody an opportunity to sew to sew financially to go physically like we just had a team that came back from Zambia last week and to grow to grow in God's
(20:29) kingdom and God's Eternal purpose and his perspective he has for our lives last Sunday night as I mentioned at the visioner rally uh we H uh we had Pastor Sam my wife Amy we had Tracy and we had Jerry uh sharing their testimony and I was reminded of of the two times that I have went of what God had spoken to me you see how many you know your perspective shifts when you see how much we really have and how much come on on other countries like third world countries don't have and many times they have more joy with a little than we do
(21:05) with a lot last week they mentioned in their testimonies the Children's Hospital it's the second largest hospital in all of Zambia but if you went there you would never know it and as they were sharing I was just remembering the vision that God gave me because when you walk into this Hospital not only is it dilapidated and the building is is is literally falling apart it's like you step back into the 1950s but everything is broken they don't have x-ray machines some of the beds don't have mattresses they don't
(21:38) have places that are sterilized completely people are sitting in the halls in the rooms this is their way of life and God just reminded me Dean you remember that Vision I gave you to go you want I one of the Visions I have for just to do something for eternity listen is to maybe get churches to to sponsor and renovate an entire floor that would upgrade the equipment so that these kids have a better opportunity to thrive in their lives you see life is too short to hold on to and Eternity is too long not to let it go Matthew 6:24 says then
(22:19) Jesus said to his disciples if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me verse 25 for whoever desires to save his life will lose it did you guys hear that whoever desires to save his life will lose it how many you know we're part of an upside down kingdom but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it can I just ask you this question to take into your prayer time this week will you ask ask yourself God is there anything in my life that I'm not finding
(23:05) because of my lack of surrender are you not finding in this what are you not finding in this life because of your lack of surrender Mark 10:1 17 and then verse 21 and 22 it's the story about the Rich Young Ruler and he goes to Jesus and it says now as he was going out on on the road one came running and he knelt down before him and he asked Jesus good teacher what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life and he gives a long list of all the Commandments that he had been keeping every Commandment that he
(23:45) had kept Lord I've done this I've checked the box here I've checked the box here I've checked the Box I've checked every box and in verse 21 and 22 it says then Jesus looking at him loved him how you know sometimes we need people to speak the truth in love to us sometimes we need to speak the truth in love to others and I love that looking at him and loving him he said to him one thing you lack go your way sell whatever you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come
(24:23) take up the cross and follow me verse 22 a tragic verse but he was sad at this word and went away sorrowful for he had great possessions he was so focused on this so focused on this that it had a hold on him it had a grip on him and it blinded him to the reality that when he crossed the Finish Line on Earth that there was an eternal purpose awaiting for him and he went away sad how many know you can do all the right things and still not be doing the one thing that is keeping you from inheriting God's promises come on his purpose and
(25:11) perspective for your life what is the one thing that could could be what is the one thing that could be keeping you away from being generous with your life think about it are you fearful that you cannot afford to tithe we're so focused on this that we forget what the scriptures say in Matthew chapter 6 do not store up for yourselves Treasures on Earth where moths come on Destroy and where thieves break and and still but store up for yourselves Treasures in Heaven come on where moths do not destroy and where
(25:57) thieves do not break in in still for where your treasure is there your heart is also are you fearful that if you go on a missions trip God may call you to do more with your life are you afraid to do Outreach because like yesterday when we were out just planting just planting trees just being obedient just serving our city in Jesus name that's the difference in jesus' name just serving our city planning that there was a a a a gentleman in our church a part of our team and recognized an individual who had stopped going to church and he seen
(26:41) our entire church out there and he said hey my entire family has stopped where do you attend there's something different about you this is the conversation that ensued that day just by going out and being obedient or you fearful to trust God to provide for the bigger dreams of your heart just a couple weeks ago I announced that Roberta Scarboro who is a missionary uh we launched from our church uh a year or so ago she just came back from a 6mon mission from Uganda and that might not seem like a big deal to
(27:18) you but she's actually in her 70s and this week I sat down and asked her why and you know what she said she said God did didn't call me to retire come on God called me to refire come on some of you need to refire in Jesus name Hallelujah and she talked about a dream that God ref fired she was at Old Oak Ranch when she was just a little girl and God spoke to her about being a missionary and she said her whole life she thought God is that ever going to come to pass in my life and now in her retirement years or your refreshment
(27:56) years is is Shar Thurman told us in her refreshment years God has brought that dream alive and in her 70s she's going to the nation of Uganda teaching and preaching the gospel and this is what she has to say to us here's Roberta I'm uh Pastor Roberta scarbro because I felt called to be a minister at a very young age my whole life was committed to getting a job that was going to help me just get through college cuz I planned on going to Bible college so I hired on right out of high school with a Pacific telephone and I
(28:35) was able to have flexible hours and I transferred from that job to the Los Angeles area while I went to college and my plans were that that was going to be the end of it but when I graduated there was a different plan for my life so I returned back to my home in the in the Bay Area and began to work for the telephone company from which I eventually retired I wished I had learned earlier on a lot of the principles that have been actually been being taught during this series because frankly in the early part of my career I
(29:07) kind of separated my life into three Pockets I had my job I had my family and I had a Ministry or the church I forgot that I was a kingdom person and who I am and what God has put into me and who he's created me to be as we know that Ephesians 2:10 says that we are his workmanship that that's not depending upon where I am and as I began to understand that then no longer were they segregated parts of my life but they became integrated all of a sudden when you're retired you're beginning to wonder what is my purpose I mean again
(29:42) since my focus was full-time Ministry full-time Ministry I thought great now that I'm retired I'm going to have so much more time I can get in and and really do full-time Ministry but what is full-time Ministry really I had lots of time but not necessarily opportunity to do full-time Ministry especially because that was kind of when the economy hit so there were not a lot of positions open especially to someone who's older I did go into full-time Ministry just not in the way that I thought things you know
(30:13) in life that can be negatives can also be positives and for me it was resurrecting so to speak an old dream everything I've learned everything that's been poured into me now I get to pour out when how however the Holy Spirit leads I think I would say uh first of all to remember that um it says in Psalm 37 that the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord and He which means god Delights in his ways and that his is you and me if we look back which I can do now from hindsight is that everything that has
(30:49) happened which perhaps I didn't see or understand at the time he was ordering and he was delighting in them because he knew where he was taking taking me so I encourage you don't put all your eggs in one basket God may have more for you don't miss out on what he may have for you there may be like me dreams that you've put aside because of the responsibilities of life that now you can take out dust off and allow the Holy Spirit to anoint it and see what doors he opens for you so I say learn everything you can be the best you can
(31:25) and remember like I said earlier C that you are a kingdom person come on you are a kingdom everybody say pour it out listen work to be generous with your life and then lastly work to leave your mark on this world I wanted to go back to one of the questions that I asked earlier in the series actually I didn't ask it King Solomon asked it and he said this in Ecclesiastes 3:9 does a person really gain gain anything from his work I would say when your work is connected to God's greater purpose and meaning how
(32:05) we know you have everything to gain as long as you're breathing you have a purpose listen you may be retired from work but it doesn't mean God has done working in your life as image Bearer wherever you've worked whoever you've worked with when it's all said and done listen because we are ambassadors an extension of God's kingdom listen wherever we've worked wherever God has brought us when it's all said and done will they say I'm glad he's gone come on or I sure do miss
(32:41) them in other words the place where you work should be a better place when you leave than when you got there remember as an image Bearer we have three callings to Bear the image of God to restore the image of God and then we have a contingent calling that depends come on on the people that God has surrounded us right that's why it's important to be in the right place with the right people at the right time in other words the people at your workplace the people who work for you the people you spend a majority of your
(33:14) day with are they better because of you are they more aware or closer to God because of your life this week we got to sit down with David Castillo we went actually to San Juan High School uh where he's the head varsity football coach of San Juan and uh can I tell you I just walked away inspired I walked away uh really crying we both cried we I think Pastor Isaiah was crying I think the guy who was videoing he was crying we were all crying because Dave is so passionate what what he's doing right now and I
(33:53) thought to myself as we were walking out of the stadium Lord help me to be like David Castillo that when I'm done with work the real work has just begun here's David's testimony my name is David Castillo I'm the VAR football coach here at Salan High School I actually started in the construction field as a carpenter superintendent construction foreman and then I decided I wanted to coach football I taught wood shop construction engineering and design for about 28 years at the high school level then
(34:27) decided that I needed to retire it was time I was done so I went ahead and retired 2 years ago and just upon retirement I thought I'd give coaching football just one more shot and that's how I ended up here at San Juan High School what I probably would do differently is I would probably go and get a degree to teach PE or Kinesiology as they say it now my first plan was to retire and um du woodworking in my shop at home football has taken a lot of time I mean the game is is is the game right I mean you tackle you block but it's
(35:00) what happens on the dayto day my dad was a pastor I have uncles who are pastors I thought that was the road I was going down so when I started coaching it was kind of like a release for me because I got to preach all week long and then have my players go play that was my goal right to teach and preach and get them to perform you know on Friday nights one of the reasons why I'm coaching today is because I used to go to games here in Sacramento and I would have players who played for me in the stands and they
(35:25) they'd hit me up and say hey coach how you doing then what they would do is say hey if you're ever coaching in Sacramento I want to come coach with you I enjoy the fact that things that I've done on the football field have had a direct impact on the lives of young people one of my quarterbacks at at Highlands High School when I was coaching there was in a traffic accident he passed away the family asked me to come and speak at the funeral I was talking about a game we played against Capitol Christian they had won eight
(35:51) straight games and they came over to Highlands and played us after the game it was a practice of mine to bring all the parents down on the field with the players cuz I wanted them to hear what I was going to tell the players and I said look never let anybody tell you that you can't live your dreams because this is a dream need to say at the funeral a young lady came up to me grabbed both my hands and put them in hers and said coach you don't know me we have never met but I went to that game and what you said that
(36:19) night changed my life and I think that's why we coach because we have an impact on the lives of young people we might not we might not think it somewhere down the road the words that we share with our players with the people in the stands with the people that we're involved with has a direct impact in their lives it's not the wins and losses it's not it's the things that happen afterwards now that I'm retired I have to get up and make breakfast I have to do chores around the house when I was working I
(36:47) didn't have to do that I always say this and I've said this to a lot of people I retired from the classroom I didn't retire from work you have to have work so you need to have a purpose in in retirement there's lots of places where you can go and volunteer find something find something that you can do you're not retiring from life you're just retiring from a quote steady job or a day-to-day but you need to work amen Live Your Life come on to leave a mark on this world today I just want to off offer the
(37:22) opportunity there's some of you that are just living for the temporary you have no connection or you have no even concept of eternal life because you're not in relationship with the one who created you the one who designed you for a purpose on purpose you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ and today in first service we had one person one person raise their hand and say Pastor Dean will you pray with me and I'm just wondering with every head bowed and every eye closed is there anybody in
(37:56) here that say pastor D and I am disconnected with this thing called eternal life for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life here's the deal we get to choose where we spend eternity it's going to be in heaven or is it going to be in hell and today we have an opportunity to change the destiny of where we're going come on and if that's anybody in this room and you say Pastor Dean I want to spend more of this life thinking about
(38:36) eternal life and I want to start a relationship with Jesus today if that's you would you just slip up your hand I want to just include you in a prayer thank you so much for being so bold anybody else you would just raise your hand thank you young lady thank you so much anybody else you'd say with these two ladies you'd say Pastor Dean I I want to give my life to Jesus Is there any body in here not here to embarrass you I'm just here to to persuade you yes thank you so much for being so bold you
(39:03) say Pastor Dean I want to give my life to Jesus listen if you didn't raise your hand it's okay I want to I want to invite you to pray this prayer we're all going to pray it the entire church is going to pray it before we go and I as you pray it I want you to believe with all your heart that Jesus came to save you to deliver you to give you a hope to give you a future we're going to pray this prayer together on the count of three everybody in the room one two three Jesus I believe you are the Son of God that you
(39:35) died on the cross to rescue me from sin and death and to restore me to the father I choose Now to turn from my sins my self sinness in every part of my life that does not please you I choose you I give myself to you I receive your forgiveness and ask you to take your rightful place in my life as my Savior and Lord restore me live in me and through me in jesus' name I pray amen can we give God praise for these four individuals that raised their hands you made the most important decision of your life but I want to amen come on how you
(40:18) know the angels are rejoicing in heaven right now over one Soul that's been saved but I want to encourage you you just made the important most important decision in your life the second most important decision in your life is to become a disciple a follower of Jesus not just not just a a relationship and a connection but a a ongoing relationship a follower of Jesus and my friend John in the back he's at the I decided uh Banner back there on your way out we just have a packet to show you your next steps we want to get you connected we
(40:51) want you get plugged in we want to see you get baptized and uh God has great things for you you can we all stand and on your way out just stop by there can we all stand I want to just challenge us I realize I'm running behind but that's okay 12:30 can just stay a little later all right all right or 11:30 can stay a little later will you just lift up your hands to him and just offer your life to him God we want to live with eternal perspective God we want to live generously we want to live to leave our
(41:24) mark on this world and God we just respond to you right now can you just just pray a prayer to him if you're in relationship with him just pray a prayer God here is my life I offer it to you God take this life right here take this life and Lord I pray that it would have a greater impact Lord than I'm currently experiencing God use me in the mighty name of Jesus and everybody said amen thank you again for joining us we pray that message ministered to your heart and lifted your spirit today hey to find out more about joining the RLC
(42:06) online family you can find us on the church Center app you can also subscribe to the YouTube channel if you haven't and follow us on Instagram and Facebook God bless you