Faith That Has Life

It's too long since we're outside today, but I do have a word for you, and I'm excited about our series on James. It's been incredible. You don't want to miss next week, though, because my beloved, my wife, is preaching next week, and she's going to talk about mouth problems, which she says fits her really well, so she wanted to teach on that. So she's going to be sharing with us next week, but what we've been doing is working through the book of James.

We've been doing kind of a scripture-by-scripture, verse-by-verse teaching of the book of James. We kind of set that aside. We usually do topical ideas and messages and kind of word, you know, scripture through them and stuff like that, but during this period of time, we've just been kind of tracking through the book of James and letting James speak to us, right? Because the Bible speaks to us. It's practical.

It's real, and if you don't know anything about James, he's the half-brother of Jesus, and the Virgin Mary had Jesus, and then later on she got married. She married Joseph, and not Moses, Joseph, and had James, and James wasn't a believer in Jesus at first. In fact, you know, who could convince their brother that they're God, right? I mean, and it wasn't until the resurrection that he actually came to terms with who Jesus was and gave his life to Christ. He was a significant leader in the church, and it was, the things he shares with us and pours through scripture are amazing.

In fact, he's a bit preachy. I like to call these pastoral, this is one of the pastoral letters, and sometimes we need to set aside some time just to kind of straighten us up a little bit, right? Kind of show us the way, and the intentions of James are, you know, and for many Christians, sadly, we go through our entire lives immature. We're like big people with diapers, and James is trying to help and guide us and show us how to grow up, you know, and he gives us instruction on how to do that, and we are supposed to be people who live this life that with a greater hope than this world has to offer, but so many times Christians even walk around, you know, with this less than hope, less than the hope that we have in Jesus, and a lot of times it's because of the choices we make, and the directions we take, and the different approaches we take, and James is trying to pull us in here, and then show us how to live a better life, and James intends to guide us, it's kind of like a GPS, and all of you, I'm sure everybody here probably has a GPS, unless you're one of those old school people who likes to use a map, you know, there are some people like that, I like my map, you know, you pull it out, and it stretches across the entire car, okay, I'm going here, but think of James as a GPS, it's really guiding us and directing us to get to the place we need to go, so week one we talked about trials and temptations, and how to deal with trials and temptations, week two we talked about doers rather than hearers of the word, the last time we talked, we went through the book of James, we talked about showing favoritism, and next week we'll talk about mouth issues, but this week we want to talk about how to live a life, a life-giving faith, a faith that has life in it, not just some faith, you know, some idea, but that it's something that produces something, and anyone can have faith, everybody has faith in something, in fact, when you got in your car this morning, you had faith that it would crank up, well, some of you had 50% faith, right, that it would crank up this morning, and others of you just knew for sure it was going to crank up and carry you there, when you came in and you sat in your seat here, you had faith that that seat was going to hold you up, right, so everybody has some kind of faith, but faith isn't something we just believe, we express it with corresponding reaction, so we react to the faith that we truly believe in, and we can do a lot of, we can believe in a lot of things, we can believe in people, we can believe in ideas, we can believe in philosophies, we can believe in doing good, we can believe in being a good person, we can believe in a lot of things, but what does any of that mean if nothing is being acted out in a true belief, true belief corresponds with action, and James is trying to show us and teach us how to live an active, dynamic faith, a faith that just doesn't say, hey, I believe, and then we go on doing whatever it is we do, but it's something that is dynamic, and faith is important, the Bible talks about faith from beginning to end, Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 talks about you being saved through faith, 2 Corinthians 5, 7 says the believer must walk by faith, we must walk by faith, Hebrews 11, 6 says this, it is impossible to please God without faith, we can't even please God unless we have real authentic faith, faith, and then Romans 14, 23 says anything apart from faith, and this is drastic, this is big, anything apart from faith is sin, so faith is significant, faith is important, and faith is combined with action, and James gets down to this right away when he starts talking, in James 2, 14 he says, what good is it, my brothers, and if you're following your notes, I have this there, if you can have electronic devices, we don't have the TVs up today, so, but if you, or your screens aren't up today, but if you can follow along in your notes, I got pretty much everything you need there in your notes, and you can also pull it up, but it starts, we're going to deal with James 2, 14 through 26 today, it says, what good is it, my brother, if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds, can such a faith save him? Now, this has always been a controversial scripture, a lot of smart people debate about what this really means, but if it, really what it's coming down to, it doesn't, it's not questioning your salvation, your security in Christ, but rather, can such a faith be complete?

Faith, is, there has to be a balance between faith and action, and living out that faith, you can't just say you have faith, a lot of people say they have faith, politicians say they have faith, and we're like, oh, that's nice, you know, they have, they have faith, but, but there has to be some kind of corresponding reaction attached to that faith. I think about a bicycle, some of us may be avid bikers, some of us less, but when you, when you think about riding a bicycle, there's a lot of things that could happen while you're riding down the road, right? I mean, your chain could go out, could pop off the wheel, and, you know, what do you do? You hop off, pop it back on, right? And, you know, you lose your tire flattens, and, and all kinds of things, you know, when I was a kid, handlebars would come off, and weird things would happen, but one thing that was, that, that, that's probably the hardest part, you know, to, to a bike messing up is when one of your pedals messes up, you know, you're like pedaling, because you need kind of both sides to pedal along, right?

And then you lose that pedal, and I grew up, you know, kind of We beat up bikes and stuff, you know, rusted bikes, you know, in eastern North Carolina, we all had rusted bikes, and you know, you would kind of, you know, try to roll that with one leg, you know, it's not that easy when you got one pedal going on, and it's harder to get down the road, you know, because there's a lack of balance there, and in the same way, that's how our faith is, if we say we have faith, and we don't have action to that faith, that's what James is trying to say, if we don't have action or something backing up that faith, if we're not actually doing anything with it, then you're just pedaling with one pedal, and you're kind of lopsided, and you're not getting down the road very well, and it's not really making any change, and it's not making any difference, and we want to have a dynamic faith, you want to attach whatever it is you believe to the substance of what that is, and that's what creates a dynamic, I think about, you know, these people who claim to have something, you know, and just take a golfer, for instance, you know, have you ever met a person who says they're a golfer, and wears the Titleist hat, and has the really nice, you know, $200 shirt, that would be nice here today, because it kind of dry sweats, sweats is dry off of you, whatever, and they got the best clubs, and they walk around, but you never actually see them golfing, and then you can't get them out to the golf course, you know, and you know, they like to talk about it, and play the part, but they're not actually a golfer, and so many times, people claim to be Christians, claim to be believers, claim to follow Christ, but there's not really anything backing up what they're claiming to do or be, and if we're just merely people walking through life, and if we're just merely people walking through life, with just this said faith, then there's no dynamic happens, no life happens, change doesn't happen, but oh boy, if we could go the other direction, if we could start working through, and working out, living out that faith, things begin to happen, things begin to change, so it's important for us to look at ourselves, I want us to just take a minute, this is probably one of, this is probably one of the most direct sermons or messages you can deliver out of James, because he gets really, really down to earth with us, and says, I want you to look at your faith, I want you to test your faith, I want you to see, I want to see something happening, because you need to start asking yourself some questions, if you're not really living out this faith that you believe in, 2 Corinthians 13 5 says, examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith, right, test yourself, do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you, if you're a Christian, Jesus Christ actually comes and lives in you, and of course, you, of course, you fail the test, is how it ends, so Paul's preaching to these people, you know, you're failing the test here, and this faith thing, and I need you to do that, in fact, this is just something that came out, this morning, there was a man that came in the parking lot, and he was looking for a shower, he was kind of dirty, and he says, you know what, you know, Christians have just turned me the wrong way, they say stuff, and then they do it, it's always a Christian, it's always a Christian, I'm like, wow, you know, that's kind of hitting on my, the message that I've been given today, because we don't want the world to see us as just said, faith people, right, I love Jesus, and he's wonderful, and he's great, and then, and then you turn around and stab somebody in the back, or you or you do something that's offending someone, or or you, you're not able to reach out and help, I mean, you got to, we got to balance this out, we've got to figure this out, so we need to test our faith, so the first, if you're following your notes, the first thing we need to look at, at in our faith, is our faith this, or is our faith that, a faith, the first faith piece is a faith that is dead, there is a faith that is dead, and James talks about this in verse 17, he says, in the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead, it's just straight dead, if it's not accompanied, it doesn't do anything, it's dead, John Calvin said this, it's faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies is never alone, so we're not questioning whether you're saved or not, but there's got to be evidence, evidence of that justification, it's never alone, in fact, it works in us automatically, so faith alone justifies, but there are certain points in which we have to ask ourselves if we are really experiencing a life-giving faith that fires us up on the inside, are we living that kind of faith, or is it a faith that is dead, here's some quick indicators, here's two of them, indicators that you may have faith that is dead, lip service, you live lip service and not lifestyle, lip service and not lifestyle, James says in verse 15 of chapter 2, suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food, if one of you say to them, go in peace, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? Isn't that so true? We're good at saying, ah, we need to help the poor, we need to help the needy, we need to go, you know, pray for people, we need whatever level it is, but we're good at saying that, I'll pray for you, brother, oh, I'm just in sight, I'll pray for you, go, be well, be fed, be fed, Jesus name, okay, okay, I'll just, you know, and we like to say that and move along, but what God wants us to do and what James is preaching to us, we then move from one, from a one time occurrence to something that's a lifestyle, we need to change, we need to make it a lifestyle of faith where we're automatically, automatically move, you know, moved to help, moved to act, that it's an automatic thing. I think about my wife, when we were first married, man, I love to just kind of get her, get kind of just random stuff and put it together, that kind of immolated her and little things she did, I'd get this basket and I'd go out and write, you know, purchase all this little cheap stuff, but cheap stuff that she liked, you know, because I thought it was really cool and I'd made it special and I'd put little special things in it and write a little little note about it and it was just kind of romantic and she just loved it, you know, get her little perfume and all that and then she was in a particular type of workout deal, she's in one every year, so there's a different one each year, but that's good, I'm glad she's doing it, even if she's switching, doing it each year, she loves it, but during that time I had something that kind of was about that and then she was, you know, a theater student at the time or she was moving into law, I had a little something like that and I I put everything together, kind of emulating our lives and the things I was thinking, the little things, she just loved that, thought it was the most special thing, but I don't, I can't take that, that I gave her 10 years ago and say, remember 10 years ago when I, when I gave you that? Yeah, is it still, no, she wants me to do something today, right?

She wants you to keep doing it, she wants you to keep expressing that's how God thinks about our faith, that we can't just rely on the thing we did in the past or that decision I made, you know, on that Sunday morning or on that night at my friend's house, we've got to be acting out our faith because that's our expression, it's not just lip service, it's a lifestyle. The second thing is there's leaves and no fruit for many people who are dead in their faith there's a lot of leaves There's a lot of raising their hands and, and you know, and, and, you know, it just, just feeling it, and you know how people, and they get, get that, that, that good feeling from God, you know, and they kind of crinkle their face a little bit, oh, that's, that's good, you know, and they, and they have that, that, that look on their, you know, and they're like, wow, that really must be close to God, but all of that is just leaves, and there's no fruit unless you take that, which you're grabbing from God and taking it out in the world. If there's no real change inside of you, if there's nothing happening inside of you to work that out, then it's just leaves. In fact, Jesus cursed the tree because it didn't bear fruit. It had, it was a leafy tree, but he cursed it because he saw no fruit coming from it.

Religion, works, spirituality, that doesn't, that's not what, what saves us. God, Christ didn't die on the cross so that you can just, get things right, get things right. He died on the cross because he loved you, and he wanted to change you from the inside out. He didn't do it for religion. He did it because he wanted to work something inside of you.

Leaves, not fruit. The second thing that's a faith lifestyle is a faith that is misled, or a deceived faith, if you want to call it that. Faith, because faith can be misled. We can have faith, but it might be a misleading faith, and we need to look at ourselves and see if we're in this category. James 2, 19 says, you believe that there is one God.

Good. I'm glad you believe there is one God. That's a belief. That's a faith. I have that faith, right?

But even the demons believe that and shudder. Even the demons believe that because they believe in God, but they don't really believe in God. And there's so many Christians that are going through life, they believe in God, but do they really believe in God? They believe in God enough to make, to work it out and to move in it and to trust their faith to the point where they're actually doing, rather than a said thing. So saying you believe is one thing, but is your life expressing the faith you live?

Are you living that lifestyle, expressing it? Here's a few indications that you have a faith that is misled. Knowledge with no change. Number one, I'm aware of God and who He is, but there's nothing in my life. That desires to change.

Maybe you have a faith that's misled, a misleading faith. Number two, no love for Jesus. No love for Jesus. Again, He didn't die on the cross for religion. He died on the cross to have a relationship with you.

He wants to hear that you love Him. You've got to love Him. And then thirdly, rebellion with no repentance. Repentance. It is hot out here, isn't it?

I'm sweating because this is tough stuff. Rebellion with no repentance. I'm not necessarily talking about unintentional rebellion. Some people come up to me and are like, man, I just feel like I've committed the unpardonable sin, you know. It talks about in the Bible the sin that you can't be forgiven.

And I say, well, by the fact that you're coming to me and you're concerned about that, you haven't committed that sin because you're concerned because there's something in your heart and your life that's convicting you over that thing. But there are those who don't have that. They have this rebellion. They have the sinful nature, this attitude, but there's not really any repentance for it. And then thirdly, there's a faith that I want to, that kind of hits home in this message, a faith that has life.

You can either have a dead faith, a misled faith, or you can have a faith that is life-giving, a life-giving faith. James begins in verse 22 to jump in to Abraham's story. He says, you see that his faith and his actions were working together, talking about Abraham. And his faith was made complete by what he did. Abraham's justification came through his belief in God.

But his faith was complete by his expression of that when he was willing to do things that no one was willing to do. And that one thing was to sacrifice his son's life. God called him to put his son on the altar. He had a faith. But he also was expressing that faith through a corresponding reaction.

God, it's kind of weird because God, you know, tells him, hey, hey, Abraham, I promise you, I promise you, I'm going to give you all these children. You're going to have descendants as far as the sands, the stars in the sky and the sands in the seashore. But I want you to kill your only son, right? It doesn't make a lot of sense. So although Abraham was justified by his faith, he had a corresponding reaction.

He knew and he trusted God. He says, you know, I'm going to walk up. I'm going to take it one step at a time up to the altar. And I'm going to lay my son down. And I'm going to trust God because I know God is that good.

And God will bring me through. And I know he has a plan for this. Outside of what I'm thinking or I'm knowing or my human mind can gather, I know that he has a plan for me. He has a plan. And he wants you to live it out.

So how do I have this faith that produces life? How do I gather this faith that produces life? How does this happen? James 2, 17 and 18, it says this. And we started at the beginning.

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accomplished by action, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith and I have deeds. And then he says, show me your faith without deeds. And I will show you my faith by what I do. Charles Spurgeon said this, the grace that does not change my life will not change my soul.

Working out, living out our faith actually changes us from the inside. It changes our soul. It changes our life. If my life isn't different, there must not be something on the inside happening. And we all want something on the inside.

We all desire to have something on the inside that's moving us and pushing us and making us who we are and pushing us forward. But if we live a faith that doesn't correspond with action, then nothing really changes on the inside. And we just live out life. And this is just life. God has so much more for us.

So what do we do? I want to share with you three things and then we'll end. Faith that has life steps out. If you want the type of faith that has life, step out. Some of you need to step out.

Some of you haven't quite stepped out yet. It's time to step out. And I don't know what that is. I don't know what your stepping out moment is. I don't know how that looks.

Maybe it's something as simple as getting involved in the church, joining a small group, leading a small group, being a part of a ministry, launching a ministry. Just praying for somebody. Maybe you need to just write a note to somebody. Maybe God's pushed you to write a note for somebody to kind of connect with them or to call somebody. I don't know what that first step is.

Maybe it's to launch out in a new business or maybe it's to connect with a family member that you haven't talked to in a while and maybe some reconciliation. needs to take place. I don't know what that is. I don't know what that is, but it takes initial stepping out. James 2.

21 says, Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? God called him to do one of the things some of us would think is unthinkable. But what did he do? He stepped out. He grabbed those sticks up.

He grabbed his son, packed his things up, and he started to step out, trusting God all the way. This seems ridiculous, God. But sometimes we just need to step out and see what God does. And we know the end of the story. What does he do?

He stops him. An angel of the Lord stops Abraham before he sacrifices his son and provides something else for him. And God was pleased by Abraham's faith. We want to please God with our faith. And if we do that, the corresponding reaction first is to step out.

Number two, faith that has life speaks out. It steps out and it speaks out. It's not afraid to say. It's not afraid to do. It's not afraid to claim that God has this, that God is in control, that God is responsible for this.

It speaks out. James goes into verse 25 talking about this girl named Rahab. And if you know anything about the Old Testament, Rahab was a prostitute. He says this, in the same way was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction. Just to give you some context there.

Some of you have heard the story, maybe some of you haven't, of the Battle of Jericho. We used to sing about it when I was a kid and they marched around the city seven times and the walls fell in and they went in and God took a city for the Israelites, his people. But the spies went up and Rahab took them in. Rahab a prostitute, not even an Israelite. And God found favor with Rahab.

And Rahab is mentioned throughout scripture. In Joshua 2, 9, she said this, I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. She claims, she says, I know, I know that you have a God that's greater than anything that we have. Sometimes we need to claim that, we need to speak out. We need only to step out to speak out.

I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. And I put my faith in him and my trust in him. And I'm not afraid to step out because I'm not afraid to speak out. And we shy away from speaking out.

And we don't talk about, and we don't do, and we don't act because I don't want to offend anybody. I'm telling you, we live, and I was listening to David Platt on a podcast the other day of a preacher that is a part of a missions movement. And he was talking about, they asked him, you know, do you think that Western churches don't quite understand the persecution that goes around in the world, you know, as far as speaking out? You know, you're in China, if you speak out, you're thrown in prison. If you speak out, you're put in jail or even killed in some occasions.

Do Christians in the Western world really understand that? And I thought his answer was going to be, no, they don't understand that because 15, 20, 10 years ago, that might have been the case. But nowadays, we're kind of feeling that a little more. In fact, this is probably the most, probably the hardest time to even start a church, much less be a church. Because persecution is starting to take place even in our nation, maybe not to the degree of a communist nation.

But we can't say what we believe. I don't even have to say what I believe sometimes, and I'm already pinned down as being a bigot. You know? We've had people leave the church, and I haven't never, you know, over certain social issues, and I've never said a word about it. You know?

It's amazing how the Holy Spirit does that, you know? It just kind of speaks out through us, right? And we need to know how to speak out. Instead of speaking negative, we need to speak positive. Now, I'm not, I'm not a name it, claim it guy by no means, no stretch of the imagination.

I know we got theologies out there that says you can create your own reality if you just claim it and this and that. And that's all good or whatever, but I don't, I don't buy into that. But there is something to say about speaking positive and knowing who God is and placing our faith by speaking out in who we know God is. That he has this, that he is claiming this land. He's already in control of all of this.

He's sovereign, and we need to be positive. Instead of saying, I'm never going to make it through this, or we're never going to get through this. Losing our facility here at Salt Church, oh, we're never going to get through this. What is the other place going to look like? Are we ever going to get through this?

Recently, our worship leader decided to step away for other things. And praise God, we just have a great band. Amen? So they're continuing to do it. But sometimes, you know, I ask myself, you know, okay, they're gone now, and we're losing our facility.

You know what? And I could be negative about that. But instead of asking why, God, I say, what are you teaching me through this, God? And I know you've got this because you've given me a vision bigger than anything I could imagine. And I'm going to keep walking in that purpose.

And I'm going to keep walking in that, and I'm going to push through this. And sometimes, maybe God's given you a vision for your life, and it's not really coming to fruition the way you thought it would come. Right? You need to just grab on to the promises that God gave you, that vision for your life. If God's called you to something, He's going to bring you through.

And we need to speak positive into that. God, you have this. God, it's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay. My back's hurt.

I'm in between jobs. You know, it could be anything. I'm in a marriage that might, you know, we're having a rough patch right now. Whatever that might be. But instead of thinking negative about that thing, start to believe and think positive.

That, God, you've got this. And you're going to be a part of this. And go to Him. He has a vision. He has a purpose for your life.

Rahab spoke out. She spoke the truth. Tell someone you love them. Tell someone you appreciate them. Even if you don't appreciate them, tell them you appreciate them.

Right? Tell them you love them. Even when you don't feel like you love them, tell them you love them. Love speaks out. Faith speaks out.

It does things that we don't think of. Faith speaks out. On the cross, the thief spoke out when he looked at Jesus. Will you remember me when you come into your kingdom? I'm just a thief.

I don't deserve anything, Lord. I've done so many wrong things, but I see you, an innocent man on that cross. Will you remember me? Faith speaks out. And lastly, faith that has life works out.

It works out. It works out. There's a process in place. And it doesn't necessarily happen overnight. It's not, we like instantaneous gratification, right?

We want things to work out in our favor right away. We want it to happen immediately, right? Man, we got, we got, we can go, we can order our shopping online now. You know, Walmart, in case any of you don't know, you don't have to go to Walmart anymore. You can just order it online, it's free.

Just type it in the computer. In fact, you can put it in your GPS. Yes, right? I mean, and they got this app, and you can put in your, where you are, and you're on your way, and they watch that thing, and when it gets close to Walmart, man, they come out and meet you. Dude, I can't, I mean, I don't even have to get out of my car.

I don't have to call or anything. They're watching me, right? And we're so used to that, that sometimes our faith is driven by those things. We don't have a faith that works out, and God's calling us a faith. And I imagine Rahab, as she was sitting up there in those buildings, waiting for what was getting ready to happen around Jericho, and Joshua, and his, and all the Israelites were, were, were moving around and circling around.

Rahab hears the music, and she hears the marching, and, and, and day after day after day, she hears that, and she's like, God, is this, you know, is, did I make a poor decision? You know? Because sometimes it takes a while. It takes a while. It's a process.

It's a process. It works out. Sometimes it feels like it's not going to. But if we stick to it long enough to see it through, I feel, I feel like a lot of people stop short at six when seven is right there. They get through the one, two, three, four, five, and they're almost there, and they're ready to break through, and, and they just stop short.

Some of you have a stop short moment, and you, and you've given up. Work it out. Believe a faith that works out. James chapter 2, verse 26 says, the body without a spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. But Philippians 2, 12 says this, what I'm getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you've done from the beginning.

When I was living among you, you lived in response of obedience. This is Paul talking to the church. You are living in response of obedience. Can I say that word obedience? Obey is the key word today.

Obey, trust, obey, trust, obey, trust, obey, God. Live in obedience. Live, live out that, that corresponding reaction to our faith, obedience. Now that I'm separated from you, Paul says to his people, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts.

Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. Can I challenge you today? Whether you're living a dead faith, whether you're living a misrepresented faith, whether you're living even a life-giving faith that just hasn't really taken off to the next level. Double your efforts. God wants to do something in your life.

He does. Don't give up on him. Don't slide away from the purpose that he has for you. Don't skip out on it. Seven's right there.

You're right here. Seven's right there. You're almost there. It could take one year, two years, five years, ten years. But if it's God's vision for your life, if it's God's purpose for your life, if he's given that for you, to you, walk it.

Work it out. Work it out. James tells us and preaches and shares that there's something life-giving in this process of faith. It's not just a belief. It's life-giving.

And if we're going to be a community, if we're going to be a church, if we're going to be a people that wants to bring life to this community, we cannot just live a said faith. I believe, I believe, I believe, only go so far. But if you believe, take the leap. When Peter was on that boat in the sea and Jesus told him, come on out, Peter. He could have said, no way, Jose.

There's some big waves. That's heavy stuff out there. That's a rocking, roaring ocean. It's crazy out there. There's winds gusting and turning, and your life may feel like that.

I can't step out, God. I'm afraid. You know what he says? Do not be afraid. Peter stepped out of that boat.

And, Lord, behold, he was walking on water. A miracle was taking place because he trusted and believed in Jesus. If you bow your heads, close your eyes. Let's take this moment very seriously. As we go into prayer, Lord, we thank you that your presence is right here with us.

Whether we're in that building with a faulty air conditioning unit or out here in the sun with a 90-degree temperature on our heads. One thing's true. No matter where we are, no matter if we're Costa Street, no matter if we're downtown, it doesn't matter where we are. You are here. Lord, thank you for your presence.

Thank you for your life-giving purpose for Salt Church. Thank you for each individual you've brought here today because we know it is no coincidence that anybody is here today. So I'm praying over everybody here that they would have a faith, wherever they are in their faith process, that they would have a faith that becomes dynamic. That, God, you would stir something in their lives and hearts that brings them to the next level in their walk. That you would begin to fulfill the vision that you have, the purpose you have, the story you have for their lives.

So that they can not only praise you for what you've done for them, but they could glorify your name and say, look what the Father has done. Look what he's done. He saved me. He saved me. He saved me.

With all heads bowed and all eyes closed, if there's somebody here today and you have not yet surrendered your life to Christ. Can I tell you, it's not about religion. It's not about what you do right and what you do wrong. It's about a God that loves you and wants a relationship with you. He doesn't care about all the mess you brought to this circle here.

He doesn't care about that. He just wants a relationship with you. He loves you. He cares for you. He says, come, I bid you, come walk with me.

If that's you today, if you would just gently raise your hand. Man, I'm not going to embarrass you. I'm not going to pull you out. I'm not going to call you to the front. I just want to pray for you.

I want you to pray with me. And I want to remember you. You're here today. Is that you? Is that you?

Just lift your hand. I surrender to God today. I surrender to Jesus today. Because I know that he loves me. I know that he loves me.

Anybody, pray with me this prayer. I believe that you are the son of God. God, I admit that I couldn't do it my own way. I admit that today. I confessed.

Confess my sin. And I confess that you are the son of God. I speak out today. And I walk with you. I walk out my faith from this day forth.

Amen. Can you give a hand? Can you give a hand?