You Can’t Stay Neutral | Mark 3:20-30 | Pastor Ty Hayes

In this message from Mark 3:20–30, Pastor Ty Hayes challenges us with the truth that every person must make a decision about Jesus. Discover what it means to respond to Christ, why neutrality isn't an option, and how choosing Him transforms your life. Listen now and be encouraged to take your next step of faith.

Transcript

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All right, Mark chapter 3, we're gonna start in verse 20. Remember where we left off last week? Mark 3, verse 20. How many of you guys have appreciated going through the Gospel of Mark the last couple of months? I don't have, you know, one of my favorite things is usually I have to think, well, what am I supposed to preach about next? And it's nice when you're just like, well, what does the next verse talk about? So it's good. Mark chapter 3, verse 20, it says, One time Jesus entered a house and the crowds began to gather again. Now, how many guys have noticed this over the last couple weeks that anywhere Jesus goes, there's a lot of people, right? Like crowds are following him. Soon he and his disciples couldn't even find time to eat. When his family heard about what was happening, they tried to take him away. He's out of his mind, they said. But the teachers of the religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, He is possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That's where he gets the power to cast out demons. Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. How can Satan cast out Satan? He asked. Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger. Someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house. I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven. But anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences. He told them this because they were saying he was possessed by an evil spirit. Let's pray. God, right now I thank you for who you are. I thank you for this time together. I pray as we dive into your word, God, that we would just know you better, that we'd walk out of here one step closer to you and one step more like you. We love you. We thank you. Your name I pray. Amen. Early 20s, have a radical experience with Jesus. I'd gone to church before, wasn't living for it, wasn't following it, loosely believe it, but just wasn't about it. I have this dramatic encounter with Jesus. I realize in that moment that my life needs to change. That if Jesus is who he says he is, I've got to start living like it. There's only one major issue. I'm dating this girl and her name is Brooke, and Brooke wants nothing to do with Jesus. Now she started right, she started coming to church with me. She liked the pastor, she liked the church, all good things. She liked that Jesus was nice and all that stuff, but she was not interested in changing her life to follow Jesus. And over the next couple of months, even years, it became pretty obvious that I loved Jesus and I liked her, but her and Jesus were not getting along. And the closer I got to Jesus, it seemed like the more tension there was between me and her. And finally, uh we got to this day where she would say a lot of her opinions and a lot of her things, and I just had this moment where I realized, hey, if I keep being passive about this, if I keep being neutral, then I'm never going to stand up for what's right. And so she says something, and I don't even remember what it was, but it was just so out there that I finally was like, um, actually, I disagree. Like we heard about this in church that the Bible says this and this and this, and I could tell by the look on her face that we were not going to be dating much longer after that. And it got to this place where I was like, man, because I've been neutral and passive, we were getting along. But the moment I stood up and was bold for my faith, we parted ways. And so I want to ask you this question today. Are you too neutral in your faith? Do you need to be a little more bold, a little less passive about Jesus? Because here's the big idea of this passage, and here's the whole thing that Jesus says in this passage is that he demands a response. That when Jesus meets with people, whether they're religious or non-religious, whether they're sinful, whether they're a Pharisee, whatever it is, Jesus always demands a response. See, one of the great myths of our culture is that you can stay neutral and passive about Jesus. How many of you guys have noticed people will debate politics all day long, right? People will debate politics. People will argue about sports, except for Tony, because he's a Packers fan. He's got nothing to argue. I'm just saying. People will defend their favorite celebrities, their favorite brands, their favorite shows. In fact, I remember in college, me and my friends would go to this diner sherry's because it was 24-7. We'd meet there every night after work, 9, 10 o'clock, and we would hang out and eat the pie and drink the coffee and just sit out late into the night just arguing about the same books and music and whatever it was that we always did. But how many of you guys know when it comes to Jesus, people get weirdly passive and they like to stay on the fence? People say things like, Well, I respect Jesus. I think Jesus was a good man. I like some of Jesus' teachings, but I'm still figuring things out. Like I need some time. I'm not really sure. Here's the issue with that. Jesus never gives us that luxury. Jesus never says, Hey, take your time. Figure out what you want. Jesus is all about that DTR conversation. Jesus is pressing us to know where we stand. Now hear this. I love being neutral in most spots. Man, if there's a fight, I want nothing to do with it. I like people, I like people to like me. If there's like an argument, I'm like, hey, you're both right. You're both precious. Like, it's great. If my wife has a strong opinion, I'm like, whatever you want, dear. You know what I mean? Like, I I don't like to argue, I don't like to fight. But man, there are some times in your life where you can't stay neutral. Now, hear this people all the time will meet with Jesus and they have very strong reactions, but no one says, Well, that was interesting. That Jesus guy, that was that was okay. Some who met with Jesus, they worshiped him. Some who met with Jesus, they began to follow him right away. They changed their life dramatically. Some people on the other end, as soon as they met Jesus, they hated him. Some hated him so much that they decided that they wanted him dead, but nobody was just neutral about Jesus. No one was passive about Jesus. In fact, a quote that I love that I have quoted to you many times is from Albert Hubbard. It says, to avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing. It means if you're looking to live a peaceful, passive life, you can literally not stand for anything. And these two groups of people, they come to be around Jesus and his family first. They look at Jesus and say, Jesus is crazy. He's out of his mind, he's lost it. The religious leaders they come and they say that he's not crazy, he's evil, he's demonic, he needs to go away. And both these groups are very, very wrong. And today we're called to answer the same question that people were called to answer back then, and that's this Who do you say Jesus is? Who do you say Jesus is? And today I have three observations about the consequence of neutrality and the consequence of being passive. The first one is this neutrality often disguises itself as concern. His family goes to him and they say, Jesus is out of his mind. And this is like the most shocking and surprising part of this entire story. Because these people aren't strangers to Jesus, they're not people that just might have heard him wrong, people that just barely know him. This is his family. They watched him grow up, they knew him better than anyone, and they loved him more than most. And they come and they're like, Jesus, we're here to take you home, we're here to take you away. Why? Because they think that he lost his mind. They're like, Jesus, you are crazy. Has anyone here ever been doubted by your family before? Has anyone here ever had those close to you think you're off base, think you're crazy, not uh not have your back? You know, we expect that from people we don't know. We expect that from people that may be loose acquaintances, but when we get doubted, betrayed by people that we love, that people that are close to us, it hits us different. And Jesus is in a spot where those that should believe him the most, those that should trust him the most, those that have known him the longest are the ones that are saying, Jesus, this is crazy, you've got it wrong. See, from their perspective, Jesus' life no longer makes sense. The crowds are constantly around him, they never stop. He can't even eat regularly because of how busy he is. He's not sleeping, he's not resting, he's feeling the pressure constantly, and even the religious leaders are coming after Jesus. And to top it all off, Jesus is making some claims about himself that no ordinary person should ever make. And they're looking at Jesus and they're looking at his life, and they've decided that he has gone way too far, that enough is enough. Now, could you imagine the talks back at his hometown of Nazareth when the family gets together? And I know you do it too. Right after Thanksgiving, your kids look at you and they're like, Has Uncle Bob always been that crazy? Am I just getting older? Like, what's going on here? We've all had those talks. And you know, when they got together, some of them are saying, Well, somebody needs to go and get Jesus. This whole pastor ministry thing of Jesus is getting out of hand. He's ruining his life, he's destroying his future, and he really needs somebody to go help him. And here's what's funny: what they saw as crazy, what they saw as out of this world that shouldn't make sense was actually the perfect will of God and obedience in his life. And can I tell you something that's interesting to me about Christianity today in America is for some reason we're trying to make Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity cool. I'm not really sure. Like we think, oh yeah, following Jesus should be cool. Being a Christian should be cool. When I'm telling you, being a Christian according to the Bible should look dramatically different than the rest of the world. That if you say you're a Christian and people can't tell the difference between your life and somebody else's, then we've missed it. Then we're not living the way that God's called us to live. We're not living the way that Jesus lived. There are many, many people that do the same thing today. They admire Jesus, they respect Jesus, they might even quote Jesus to you, they'll post about Jesus. My favorite thing is when people come after me and they're like, What would Jesus do? And I was like, I don't think that you know. Like, to be honest. I remember I had this Buddhist coworker when I was in Bible college, and every uh night we would stalk in the back of the warehouse and we would close, and most nights it would just be me and him late into the night, nine, ten, eleven o'clock. We're stalking shelves, and so we're talking. And this guy was a Buddhist, and I'm not talking Buddhist in like the hippy-dippy way. Like this guy had gone to other countries, had sat under their teaching, had met the gurus and the and the llamas and all the all the good stuff. So he he knew some things and he was pretty passionate about it. And he found out I was a Christian and man, he loved to talk to me about Jesus because he's like, Jesus is a good teacher, Jesus was compassionate, Jesus was this, and Jesus was that. I remember there's this one day that I'm like, hey, that's all well and good, all man, but Jesus isn't just a good moral teacher, he's not one of your religious figures. Jesus is God, like Jesus is Lord, Jesus is King of kings, and he's not just a moral teacher. And I remember the same guy that was really into talking about Jesus all of a sudden didn't want to talk about him anymore. See, people love the idea of Jesus, but the moment that it costs them something, the moment that it's time to change your life in order to follow him, to make him your Lord, people begin to step back. See, these people would never surrender to Jesus. They'll call him good, they'll call him moral, but they like to see him as a teacher. They appreciate him as a historical historical figure, they might even admire his compassion, but they stop short when it's time to call him Lord, when it's time to call him God, when it's time to place him as king. The problem with this is that Jesus never claims or professes himself merely as a good teacher, he never does it. Good teachers don't forgive sin. Good teachers don't accept worship. Good teachers, they don't claim authority over the next life, only this one. And good teachers don't claim to be God, but Jesus did. And Jesus is coming to this place where he's forcing them to make a decision. Am I God? Am I your savior and Lord? Or am I crazy? Let me ask you, imagine you're walking down the park here this afternoon, and you're gonna go hit one of the taco trucks, and you meet this guy, and he comes up to you and he's like, Hey, my name is so and so, and I created the universe. We're not gonna walk away saying, that's a nice guy. We're gonna walk away saying, Does anyone know like the number to the loony bin? Like, we need to get this guy picked up. When someone makes those kind of claims, you have two options. He's either crazy or he's telling the truth. See, Jesus leaves no middle ground. You either follow him or you don't. And here's how this applies to you today. Because some people they reject God aggressively. The moment that you bring up Jesus, the moment you bring up God, they're like, stop it, I don't want to talk about it, leave me alone. But other people, they're trying to reject him politely. Can I tell you whether it's aggressive or whether it's polite? Rejection is still rejection. No is still no. And you can sit in church every single week, you can admire Jesus' teachings, and you can even agree with Christian values and appreciate them. But until you bend your knee and decide to follow Jesus, you can admire him and miss him. See, here's the problem with passivity, here's the problem with being neutral is it looks like admiration without surrender. It looks like saying, hey, that's good and all, but never actually giving your life to it. You guys with me today? Is this helpful for you guys today? For three of you. That's good, that's good. Alright, everyone say two. Neutrality hardens into opposition. Here's the thing when we become passive, it hardens into aggression and resistance. See, that's Jesus' family calling him crazy. But these religious people, they take it a step further. They don't call him crazy, they call him straight up evil. They look at Jesus and say, Jesus is possessed by the devil. Now get this. This is not confusion. This is hostility. This is not a disagreement, this is hostility. These guys have evidence that we have never seen. They're seeing lives being changed every single day. They're seeing demons be cast out and they're running away, and they're seeing people being healed. The power of God is on display like never before. But instead of following the evidence and being like, man, Jesus must be who he says he is because he's doing all the things that God does, they invent a whole other explanation so they don't have to deal with it. If they can't deny the miracles, if they can't deny the power, they're gonna change and attack the source. So notice something important. The religious leaders don't struggle because there's a lack of evidence. They don't struggle because there's not enough proof. They know that Jesus has the evidence that he's God. They know that Jesus can prove he is who he says he is. Today in our culture, we have many people that I say, man, if I only had more evidence, if if I could only tangibly see it, then I might follow God. And can I tell you, that's interesting to me because there's more evidence available now than ever before. You have scholars, both Christian and secular, that have done the research and found Jesus is who he says he is. You have journalists, both Christian and secular, who have looked into the story and found that Jesus is who he says he is. We don't have an evidence issue. It's not a lack of facts. We simply don't want to change our life to follow what Jesus says. See, these scribes weren't lacking information. They didn't need to know something, they didn't need their questions answered. They were lacking humility because they said, Man, we don't want a God that makes us change. We don't want a God that says we're imperfect. We don't want a God that wants us to do things his way, we want a God that does it our way. They want to serve the God of Burger King. Have it your way. But here's how Jesus responds. Jesus doesn't destroy their argument with power, he doesn't raise his voice, he doesn't scream, he doesn't heal or shoe flames or cast out demons. Jesus attacks their logic with more logic. He asks them the question how can Satan drive out Satan? Because here's the issue: if Satan is casting out Satan, then his kingdom is going to collapse. See, a divided kingdom cannot stand. A divided house cannot stand. And their arguments, their accusations, they don't even make sense. See, Jesus is explaining to them what actually happens. He talks about a strong man and a stronger man. And he says a stronger man has entered the house. See, the strong man is Satan. And the Bible tells us that if you're not following Jesus, that Satan rules the earth, that if you're not following Jesus, that you are under his kingdom, you are under his power, you are under his bondage, you are held as his captive, whether you feel it or you don't. See, the house is Satan and his kingdom. And those that are underneath him are the possessions. And Jesus announces that he's coming into the house, he's tying up Satan, he's invading his territory, and he's plundering hell, he's setting people free, he's rescuing captives, and he's breaking every chain. Now notice this Jesus isn't saying that he's passive, he's not like me and the devil are gonna negotiate, and maybe some people can be set free. It says that he's walking in this house, he's proclaiming that I am God, I am all powerful, I can make the difference, and he's saying it doesn't matter what the enemy does, it doesn't matter the circumstances you're in, that I am here and I am here to set you free. How many people here have been set free by Jesus this morning? Come on, you guys are quiet. Come on. How many guys have been set free by Jesus this morning? Come on. It's a good thing, it's a reality that we get to live in. Man, Satan is strong. I'm not gonna lie to you. Following Jesus is hard. We face opposition, the enemy is after us, things get difficult, life can be hard. But here's the good news Jesus is stronger, Jesus is greater, Jesus is more powerful. And the same thing that Jesus did for them, Jesus still does today. Catch this. Jesus still breaks addiction. If you are struggling, if you're addicted, Jesus can still set you free. That Jesus still breaks shame, that if you're feeling guilty, if you're feeling less than, you're feeling shameful, Jesus can change that. Jesus breaks fear. You don't have to live scared or nervous that you can stand boldly for Jesus, that he breaks your bondage, that you're not held captive, that he'll even break generational dysfunction. Just because your mom or dad or grandparents or whoever acted one way doesn't mean you have to be that way. Father's Day used to be a very, very difficult day for me. My father went to get milk and he's been gone for 36 years still trying to find it. It's been crazy. Man, Father's Day was a challenging day for me. And I'm thankful that Jesus transformed my life in a way that even though I didn't have a family growing up, I'm able to raise one now, that I have kids, that I get to celebrate this day as a day of restoration and what God's doing. Just because your family's messed up, because let's be honest, our all of our families are messed up. Just because your family's messed up doesn't mean you have to be. Jesus can change you. See, Jesus is in the business of setting people free. And he's not sitting there and making deals with the devil. He's not hoping that it can come true. He's there saying, I am a conqueror. I'm here to set you free. Follow me. So here's how this applies. The world is still trying to explain Jesus away, it's still trying to convince you. People are still mocking him, people are still criticizing, some people are still attacking Christianity. And it's happening today. I don't want to get political, but honestly, I don't feel like this is a political issue. This is a biblical issue. June is pride month. You see the pride parades, the pride flags, all the things. And you'll go on TV and what do these people dress like? They dress like Jesus a lot of times. They're mocking him, they're making fun of him, they're trying to put down Jesus in Christianity. And man, people just like they're attacking Jesus then are attacking Jesus now. But here's the thing: no matter how much they tease, they criticize, they attack, they can't argue with the empty tomb. They can't argue with the miracles, they can't argue with the changed life. They can be skeptical all they want, but we know that the power of God is on display like never before. Can I tell you, you don't have to understand everything about Jesus. You don't have to know the Bible 100%. You don't have to have your life put together. You just have to decide are you going to follow Jesus or not? Alright, last one. It's Father's Day. We gotta get to that Mexican restaurant. Come on, guys, you know what I know. We gotta get there. Neutrality eventually becomes a choice. Can I tell you, being passive is impossible because even a delay is a decision. When I tell my daughter, hey, I want your room cleaned, I don't mean tomorrow. I don't mean later tonight. When I say, hey, go clean your room, I mean clean it now. And can I tell you a phrase that's become common in our household is delayed obedience is still disobedience. If you're kicking the can down, you're saying, ah, Jesus, I'll get it later. I'll follow you some other time. You are in disobedience all the same. That delaying the decision is still making a decision. And Jesus warns us in the most sobering way. This scripture has uh transformed my life. It used to scare me to death, and I'm thankful today that we get to talk about it. How many of you guys have ever heard of the term blaspheming against the Holy Spirit? Anyone? It's a term that uh is used in this passage that people have argued, people didn't know what it meant. People get scared, they think like, oh, what if I do this, I can never be saved. What does this mean? I've met sincere believers that have worried that maybe the scripture means that they've gone too far, that maybe God can't save them because they've done too much evil, they've made too many mistakes, that they're fallen short. Can I tell you that's not what Jesus is talking about? See, in the context of the scripture, what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means is this the scribes weren't confused, they weren't searching, they weren't asking honest questions, they were repeatingly knowing who Jesus was, knowing that he's God, knowing that he's Lord, knowing that he's Savior, and still choosing not to follow him. And so the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not making mistakes, it's not committing a sin, it's not saying no to Jesus once, it's getting to a place in your life where your heart is so hardened that the Holy Spirit can't convict you, that you know who Jesus is, you still refuse to follow him, that you're like, I know what Jesus wants, but I still refuse to do it, and your heart gets so hard that Jesus can't even talk to you anymore. See, let me tell you this that if you're sitting in a spot and you're worried and you're thinking, Man, is that me? Have I gone too far? You haven't gone too far. Because by even concerning yourself, by being worried, by asking the question, you're revealing that the Holy Spirit's still working in your life. See, here's where these people had come. They begin to call light darkness. How many of you guys know people are still doing that today? That they called the truth lies, people are still doing that today. That they called good evil, people are still doing that today. And their hearts have become so hard that man, Jesus couldn't even break through to reach them anymore. Remember, I'm six, seven years old, and I lived in these apartment complexes in Portland. And um I remember I would catch this bus, this Baptist church bus would come into our apartments uh every Sunday, and they'd say, Hey, if you want some candy, just get on this bus and we'll take you somewhere to learn about Jesus. Looking back now, it was super sketchy. But it was the 90s. We did things different back then. It was crazy. So I was like, oh man, Snickers, like I'm there. And so I'd hop on board this bus, and there'd be this really nice older guy that would tell us about Jesus and teach us songs on the way to church. And I kid you not, I remember six, seven years old, I remember this vividly. Like I can still see the guy. Remember, I was sitting on the bus like terrified. I remember this guy talking about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I'd never heard of it before. Number one, why are you talking to six or seven-year-olds about this? This is crazy. But he's talking about he's like, yeah, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is when you tell God, I don't want anything to do with you anymore, go away. He's like, once you do that, you can't be saved. And I'm over there as a seven-year-old, like, what if I accidentally say it? Like, what's gonna happen? Like, what if it slips out of my thumb? What if I'm just mad and I say it and I regret it? Like, is it too late for me? Is it too far? And I was trembling in fear, like, man, I I'm gonna go to hell. Like, I don't, there's nothing I can do. And I'm thankful that the reality is this isn't about making too many mistakes. It's not about dropping the ball. This is about having a heart that is so hard and that you're saying, I know who Jesus is and I still want nothing to do with him. And can I encourage you, don't get yourself to that place. Don't reject God so much that you don't even recognize his voice anymore. Because the danger is not in one statement, the danger is not in making mistakes, the danger is about having a heart that's so conditioned, that's so rough, that that ignores God, the Bible, so much that you can't even be reached anymore. Can I tell you here's the good news? If you're worried you've gone too far, if you're concerned your heart is too hardened, the very fact you're concerned means Jesus is still speaking. And every week and every sermon we offer an opportunity to follow Jesus. Every invitation we give is an opportunity to follow Jesus. And every time the Holy Spirit prompts you, every time somebody cuts you off in traffic and you're like, oh, I want to be mad, but I shouldn't. Every time somebody lies or slanders you and you want to get even, but you choose not to, every time Tony's leading us in worship and your hands are in your pockets and you know they should be up. I'm looking at you guys. Come on. The Holy Spirit's still speaking to you. See, you may think that you're standing still spiritually, but I can tell you you're not. If you are being passive, if you are being neutral, then you've missed it because there is no neutral in the gears of the kingdom. You're either moving towards Jesus or you're moving further away from him. And every time you say not now or I'll do it later, eventually becomes a yes or it becomes a no. So as we get ready to close, let me remind you of this. Jesus' family, they thought he was crazy. The religious people, they called him evil and demonic. And both these opinions, they fall, they're untrue, and they fail. But there is a third option, and that is Jesus is exactly who he says that he is. He's our Lord, he's our king, he's our savior, that he is God in the flesh. How many of you have ever read the Chronicle Narnia's books, or maybe you've watched the movies or something like that? The author of those books, his name is C.S. Lewis. He's famous for saying this. Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or he's our Lord. And that's where we come to today. That Jesus can't simply be a good moral teacher. Not after the claims he made, not after the miracles that he's done, not after dying and coming back to life, not after leaving the grave empty. So the question isn't, do you have an opinion about Jesus? Because we all do. The question is, are you willing to surrender your life and follow him? Because you can't stay neutral, not forever. The Bible encourages us, we've got to be bold. And you can sit there and you can try to remain on the fence, but here's the bad news: the fence belongs to the devil. See, eventually you have to decide, is Jesus crazy? Are you gonna ignore him? Are you gonna fight and resist him? Are you gonna fall at the feet of Jesus and make him Lord of your life? Because I say this every week, but because it's so true that this is the most important thing about your life. The most important decision has nothing to do with money, has nothing to do with your job, your future, or even your family. The most important decision you'll ever make is are you going to follow Jesus or not? I think it's interesting that in modern culture we like to display Jesus as some kind of weird 70s hippie, you know, wearing like a flower necklace and giving the peace sign, because that's not the Jesus of the Bible. And the Bible says one day Jesus is gonna come back and he's gonna come to this earth, and you're gonna hear this big trumpet, and him and his angels are coming, and it says that he's gonna come and he's gonna conquer everything, evil is gonna be wiped out, everything's gonna be made right. And in that moment, every person ever created, past, present, future, is gonna see him, and they're gonna get on their knees and they're gonna bow their heads and they're gonna say, Jesus is king. Here's the bad news. There are gonna be people in that moment that make that recognize, oh, Jesus is king, Jesus is God, and they're gonna bow down, but it's too late. That Jesus isn't gonna wait to force you, that Jesus is just gonna wait until the last moment, that if you want to be saved and walk into the next life of Jesus, you've got to make that decision now while it still matters. That one day your time is gonna run up, the sand's gonna fall to the bottom, the clock's gonna click, and Jesus is gonna come back, and by then it's you don't have time to follow him, you don't have time to make the decision. By then it's did you follow me or not? And I just want to encourage you today that there is no time greater than now to follow Jesus, that there is no time better than now to be bold about your faith, to share Jesus, to proclaim Jesus. Now is not the time to be passive about Jesus. Now's the time to stand up like never before. So let me end by asking the same question I started with. What is your response to Jesus? If I could have every head bowed and eyes closed, I want to ask two questions because I want to pray for two different groups of people. The first group is maybe you're here and you've heard me talk about following Jesus. You've heard me talk about who Jesus is, but you're not following him right now. Maybe you've been in church, you've not been in church, you know some things, you don't know some things, but you're hearing today that you need to follow Jesus, that you can't just casually like him, that you can't just be around him, but that you've got to choose to follow him. And today you're ready to make that decision. I want to give you that opportunity, and we want to pray with you. And I'm gonna count to three when I get to three. I'm gonna have you raise your hand mostly just so I can make eye contact with you. We can agree together, and then we as a whole church are gonna pray a prayer together, believing with you. And here's what the Bible teaches it says if you confess with your mouth, that's saying it out loud, and you believe in your heart that you are saved. And I want to give you that opportunity. On the count of three. One, this is the most important decision of your life. More important than where you work, where you live, or who you're married to. This is absolutely, absolutely the most important thing. Two, maybe you've been kicking this decision down the road and you've been fighting, changing your life. You like Jesus, you want to follow him, but you're you're just thinking maybe some other time, or I'll get to it later. Can I tell you, you don't know how much time you have? The best time to follow Jesus is now. Three, if that's you and you want to begin to follow Jesus, would you just slip up your hand? We want to pray with you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Church, would you just repeat this prayer after me? Say, dear Jesus, thank you for saving me, for loving me, make me bold, make me powerful, make me loving. Help me to follow you all the days of my life. Amen. If you prayed that and you believed it, can I tell you you are following Jesus today, and we're so excited for you. The second group I want to pray for is maybe you're here and you do believe in Jesus. You are following Jesus. But man, you've become a little passive in your faith. You begin to back down, you begin to become neutral, you you you're you're worried about how you'll look, you're worried about being bold and man. You just want to be strong, you want to be unwavering, you want to be bold in your faith and stand up and proclaim Jesus like never before. And you'd like some prayer that the Holy Spirit would help you to be bold, to be strong. If that's you today, would you just raise your hand? I want to pray for you. God, right now, you see these hands and you know these lives. God, I pray each and every one of us would walk out of here more bold, more powerful, and more loving. That when we experience your spirit, that we're not called to be fearful, we're not called to back down, we're not called to be wishy-washy. We are called to be firm, unwavering, and strong in the name of Jesus. God, help us to have those hard conversations. God help us to post and say the things we've been nervous to post. Help us to make much of Jesus in this life. We love you and we thank you. And everyone said, Amen.