How to Survive Life’s Storms When Your Faith Is Tested

If you have your Bible let's go with me to Book  of Acts, and I want you to open to Book of Acts chapter 27. I'm going to start reading in just a  moment, but I want you to just open that part of the Bible to Book of Acts chapter 27. As before we  dive into some of the portions of the Scripture, I want to tell you that in the Bible there are many  different storms.

Three main storms that happen in the Bible and let me highlight them quickly. First  one is Jonah's storm. Somebody say, Jonah's storm.

You probably remember this and some  of you, you know that's a very, it's one of the reasons some atheists  are atheists. They say, I just don't believe that a fish could carry a man for  three days and you know then spit him out, and he's alive. And the City of Nineveh was  impacted.

But Jonah experienced a storm. It was caused by running from God and when Jonah ran  from God, God caused the storm. God can cause a storm.

Not just the devil. Some storms are  caused by God when we are not in the will of God. Jonah's storm was not caused by the devil.

It  wasn't a natural storm. It was caused by God. And God wasn't punishing the sailors, He was waking  up Jonah.

And when He woke up Jonah, God wasn't trying to drown Jonah. God was trying to redirect  Jonah toward God's will. In fact in Book of Jonah it says this, when Jonah ran from the will of God,  he ran from the presence of God.

I'm going to say something right now. When you run from God's call  on your life you are running from God's manifest presence on your life. Some people think they lose  the manifest presence when they commit sin.

That's true. Some people lose manifest presence when  they don't do the call of God. See as a Christian, God didn't just call you to stay away from sin. 

He called you to stay in His will. And His will is that none will perish. His will is that you win  souls and make this disciples.

His will is that those who believe in me, these signs will follow.  They will heal the sick and cast out demons. You are not just saved so you can wait till rapture. 

You are saved to do business for God's kingdom, and when God has a call on your life to be  a pastor, when God has a call on your life to be an evangelist, when God has a call on your  life to use your business to finance the kingdom of God. And you find lame, dumb excuses for why  you don't want to do that, and you do your life in the opposite direction. You go to Tarshish  instead of going to Nineveh because you're like, I don't like Ninevites.

I don't want to do that.  I just like convenience and comfort. Listen, your God loves you so much and the people He called  you to reach that He will redirect your life.

If you don't listen to the whispers of God, you will  be forced to listen to Him cranking up the noise. This is not a mean God. This is a God that loves  people so much that He's willing to disturb your comfort, and I'm so glad He does that.

Because if  somebody wouldn't come into my life and wouldn't answer the call of God, and speak into my life and  bring the calling of God into my life, I wouldn't be here today. Somebody had to answer the call.  Somebody had to say yes to Jesus so the gospel could reach me, so that I could be discovered  in the kingdom of God, developed in the kingdom of God.

And so now the Lord wants to do this work  through me for other people. And He will not allow me to go in the wrong direction. Even if I'm not  doing anything wrong, He will cause a storm.

Some of you here today, there's a storm in your life  because you're disobedient to the call of God. You've been a Christian for so long, you have  a beautiful home and God prompts your heart, you need to start a life group, you need to become  a disciple maker. And you're like, no.

I'm fine going to church. I am on a receiving end. You've  been receiving for 20 years.

It's time to start releasing. God didn't call you to be a Dead Sea.  He called you to be like a Sea of Galilee where you receive and you release.

Even your own body  understands that. You receive and you release, and if you stop releasing and you only receive,  there's going to be a very big problem with your body. You will actually start dying.

You will get  sick. When a Christian does not have a release in their life, when a Christian doesn't serve in  their life and they only receive, my friend, they will lose the manifest presence, they will lose  the grace and the anointing and the protection of God. I want to provoke you today to do God's will. 

Not my will be done, but Your will be done. If you do not do the will of God, God has an alarm clock.  It's called the storm, and He used the storm to wake up Jonah.

He might use a storm to wake you  up. The second storm in the Bible we see and it's a very common one. You probably have heard it  taught in the Sunday school and that is Jesus's storm.

Somebody say, Jesus's storm. Jesus's storm  happened, this is interesting. It's almost the opposite, when He actually followed God's will. 

And Jesus overcame this storm by trusting in God and exercising faith. So not every storm is the  same. That's why we can never judge somebody's circumstances just because somebody else could  be in the same circumstance but for a different reason.

There were three people on the cross.  One was the Savior, the other was redeemed and the other was a rebel. Two people were in jail. 

Samson was in jail for womanizing, and Joseph was in jail for walking in purity. So when you look  at somebody's circumstances, do not judge them based on the circumstances they are in because  people can be in the storm for different reasons. Jonah was in the storm because he ran from the  will of God.

Jesus was in the storm because He was the will of God, and Paul was in the storm  because he was fulfilling the will of God. So you can experience storm in all kinds of settings.  That's why your reaction to the storm is based on why you are in it, and that's why when Jesus was  in the storm He was the will of God, incarnate.

He was the son of God. When Jesus walked, God  walked in flesh on this earth. That's why there was an opposite will that did not want the will  of Jesus to be accomplished.

The word that is used when Jesus spoke to the storm and He rebuke  the storm. It's a similar word that is used when Jesus would rebuke demons, because I truly believe  that there was a spiritual force behind that storm that wanted to stop Jesus. And if you look at  how the story of Jesus ends with the storm, Jesus goes to a place where He delivers a  demonized man and you get the point, like oh, the devil probably saw Jesus is headed to a place  where He will do some deliverance.

When you are in the will of God, please understand there's going  to be one force that will be opposing you and that is the kingdom of Satan. He comes to steal,  kill and destroy. That should never surprise you, but it should also never stop you.

We don't roll,  move back or jump from our ship just because the devil showed some resistance. The devil will show  resistance for you not to have a small group. The devil will start showing some resistance for you  not to win others to Jesus.

The devil will try to show some resistance sometimes in your family.  You will start getting a little bit of affliction as you start moving toward the will of God. Do  not be discouraged by that.

Do what Jesus did. He first slept in the storm and then He spoke to  the storm. I truly believe the faith that speaks to the storm is the faith that first learns to  sleep in the storm.

Meaning you got to know that the Prince of peace gives you peace in here before  there is peace out there. See when you experience resistance and attack because you're in the will  of God, hell breaking loose because you decided to win souls and make disciples. You feeling like  a resistance not because of your disobedience but because of your obedience.

I want to let you  know, God gives you peace before He reveals His power. God supplies you His joy before He begins  to move on your behalf. Tap into that peace, receive that peace, learn to sleep in the storm. 

Meaning, I know God's got me. God's got my family. God's got my finances.

God's got my marriage.  God's got my future. I know I'm being resisted, I know I'm under attack right now, but I'm  going to stand my ground as a Christian soldier, and I'm going to withstand everything in an evil  day and after I have done all I will still stand.

God's got me. Somebody say, God's got me. You know  and in this storm of Jesus the Bible says that Jesus was sleeping but Peter was panicking. 

And Jesus wakes up and He rebukes Peter, and He says, Peter, you of little faith. He  didn't say you have no faith. He says just little faith.

You got a little, little faith,  and He rebukes Peter and then Jesus rebukes the storm. But what I find interesting is in the  Book of Acts, Peter is in the same storm now, similar storm. Peter is arrested and chained  to other men, and he's about to face trial the next day.

Now James got killed. Stephen got  killed. Other people got killed.

So Peter is pretty much facing a death sentence. When the  angel of God comes to Peter's cell, Peter was sleeping. Peter's faith grew, and maybe you're  are here today and when you're attacked, you panic first.

That's a little faith. As you  keep growing with Christ, you overcome few storms, kill few lions and few bear, symbolically  speaking. There will come a point where the things that give you sleepless nights, your faith  will grow so much stronger, you'll sleep like a baby through them and you'll simply know God's  got me.

I don't know if He'll send an angel, if He'll send a fish. I don't know if He'll  split this sea. I don't know how He will provide, but I know one thing, I got a Provider, He's  never late.

Some of you are here today where your faith is more panicky faith. You're like  you're scared. You're sending your prayer request to 20 million people on Facebook and Instagram. 

You're just frantic about it. You trust in God, you prayed, you confess but you're still scared.  You have anxiety and everything, little faith.

But keep growing your faith, keep coming to church,  keep worshiping. Your faith is going to grow, and you will learn to find God's peace in that  storm and you will find some boldness and some authority to speak to that storm. And you will  look back at your life and not only you will survive and overcome that storm, but you're  going to cast out some devils.

You're going to heal some sick people. You're going to win some  souls. You're going to make some disciples.

Some of you are going to plant a church. Some of you  are going to build a church with your finances. You will build a business that will sponsor  the kingdom of God, and you will get to the other side and everything the devil threw at  you only made you stronger.

Come on Somebody. But let me talk to you about the last  storm, and that is the Paul's storm. Now Paul's storm.

Let's review. Jonah's storm  was caused by his disobedience to the call of God. Jesus's storm was caused because He was  the will of God.

Paul was in the will of God, and Paul had a storm. Jonah's storm was caused  by his sin. Jesus's storm was caused, was natural but we believe probably had spiritual components  behind it.

Now Paul's storm was different because Paul was caught in the consequences of someone's  wrong decision. Let me speak about this for just a moment. Paul would have never been in that storm  if the captain would have listened to Paul or used common sense.

The captain made a decision that  affected everyone on the boat and caused Paul not only to endure storm but almost lose his life. Now  Paul was an experienced person because this was not his first storm, this was his fourth one. So  Paul had a lot of experience.

His resume was full of storm survival, storm survival this year, this  year survived another storm, this year survived another storm. And then you flip the page, you're  like this, this year I got beaten this many times, this time I was left for dead. So Paul's resume  was very colorful.

But I want you to notice that he was caught in the consequences of other  people's mistakes. How did he survive this storm? By persevering, swimming and holding on to broken  pieces.

Let me give you seven things that Paul did that you and I need to do when you're caught in  the storm caused by someone's decision. There will be storms in our life that we will experience  because somebody above us, our employer, our boss. Could be a pastor, could be a parent,  could be someone in your life that has decisions because see your decisions affect other people. 

And when people make decisions in the government it affects businesses. When they shut down all  the businesses and they said that your business was not essential, it affected people. People were  thrown into a storm.

This happens in governments. This happen in churches. This happens just,  just overall.

There are storms we experience, not because just a sinful nature all around us in  sinful world but because people in authority make decisions that affect other people, and sometimes  we experience that. Number one. Forgive those who are responsible for the storm you're facing now. 

That's enough to close the service right now and that will deliver a lot of us. Acts 27:21 Paul  says, "But after long abstinence from food,, Paul stood up in the midst of them and said,"  man I love this, "You should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred  this disaster and loss. " Paul addressed the sin in the room, the elephant in the room.

You didn't  listen to God. But what I want you to know is Paul never took it personally and became bitter or  offended. Because the remaining of the story as we're going to take a look, Paul actually helped  everyone and saved everybody's life because of his commitment to God.

If you are in a storm  caused by someone, maybe your husband or your wife or somebody left you. Maybe your children  or your parents, maybe a boss kicked you out, a company got closed because of the government. As  long as you're holding on to bitterness you will drown in the storm.

If you release that. It's not  fair what they did, but you know what's also not fair? For you to relive that trauma every single  day of your life.

Forgiveness doesn't change the past, it enlarges your future. If you're  going to drink bitterness and unforgiveness, you are entitled to it but please understand, as  you hold on to bitterness the devil holds on to you. Release yourself, loose yourself.

God is the  judge, not you. And then people say, but I don't have any strength to forgive. Do not look within  yourself to forgive them.

Look to what your sin did to Jesus Christ, and you will find strength in  there to forgive and to release. And God will turn your wounds into scars, and He will turn your  scars into stars and make it a testimony for His glory. Come on somebody, give God some praise  right now.

Touch your neighbor and say, it's time to forgive. Touch your other neighbor, say, let it  go, let it go. Number two.

The storm might destroy your ship but don't let it sink your faith.  Come on, somebody needs to hear it in the back. The storm might destroy your ship, don't let it  sink your faith.

Verse 22 of Acts 27, Paul says, "And now I urge you to take heart," and look what  he said, "for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship. " This is that storm where  the ship didn't make it but everyone on it did. I want to let you know, do not become too attached  to your title, to your job, to your position, why?

Because ships tend to break, and God doesn't  always promise to save your ship but He promises to save your soul. And that's why Jesus prayed  for Peter, and He say this, "I prayed for you, that your faith will not fail. " The enemy is not  after your ship.

He's after to wreck your faith. The greatest loss is not when you lose your job or  your business. It's when you loose your faith.

The greatest loss, not even if you lose a friendship.  It's when you lose your faith in God, and that's why Jesus prayed for Peter. He says I prayed for  you.

He didn't say that you will not lose your face. He didn't even pray for Peter not to fail.  He says, I pray that you don't lose your faith.

Paul says eventually to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:19,  he says, "Having faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected, concerning the faith  suffered a shipwreck. " Maybe you are here today and your business got shipwrecked. Maybe  because of what you went through in your family, your marriage got shipwrecked completely.

Don't  lose your faith if the storm claimed your ship. Hold on to God. And I want to speak for those  who lost your faith.

The storm didn't really claim your faith. It exposed the fact you had  too much faith in your ship, because faith in God is an anchor. It keeps me stable in a storm. 

Faith in God is not in my job. It's not even in my spouse. It's not even in my church.

My faith in  God is not faith in me. It's faith in Him. I know in whom I have believed, Paul said.

Job said,  he says, though He slay me, I know my Redeemer lives. See all of these men lost their ships but  they didn't lose their faith. That's why the trial will purify your faith, but it cannot change your  faith because your faith is not in you.

It is in God. Come on somebody. If you still got your  faith, tested and tried, give God some praise.

If you lost your ship, keep your faith. You  read the story, you will see somebody else give him another ship. God will give you  another ship.

Let your faith be purified, not destroyed. That's why our faith is not defined  by our storms. It is refined by our storms, amen.

Number three. Storms don't mean God is  absent, just like the clouds don't mean the sun is gone. Acts 27:23, and Paul continues his  discourse, he said, "For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and  whom I serve.

" Next verse, "Do not be afraid, Paul. " So this is what the angel said, "You must  be brought before Caesar; indeed God has granted you all who sail with you. " Just because you're  in the storm, it does not mean God has left you.

God is with you, and He's reassuring you, when  you're in His will, not to be afraid. And the second thing He's reassuring you, where He has  you, where He's planning for you to arrive at, you will arrive, sooner or later. And he told  Paul, he says, do not be afraid, you will stand in front of Caesar.

Meaning your story doesn't  end here. You're going to park here for a little bit but you're going to get there where I have  called you. Somebody in this room, God gave you a promise, and the storm has derailed your life  and it's going to put a delay on the clock time of yours.

But I want to tell you something. Delay  is not denial. God is with you, Emmanuel.

You're not alone. The angel of God encamps around those  who fear God. You got an army behind you.

You're not just surrounded by your problems. You're  surrounded by the angelic host. The almighty God of heaven and the earth is around you.

He's  supporting your position and though you are in the storm you might be like, but how is He in the  storm? See our God is not afraid of the storm. He rides on the storm.

He walks in the valley with  us. He stands in the fire with us. In the valley of the shadow of death, He doesn't leave us and  therefore we fear no evil.

Don't be afraid of what the worst thing that could happen to you  because they won't. The best thing that could happen to you is God will never leave you, He will  stand by your side and the promise He gave you, He will fulfill that promise. You will stand in  front of Caesar.

You will stand and testify of the goodness of God. You will fulfill God's destiny.  You will fulfill God's call and God's name will be glorified through your life.

That's a word for  somebody in this room, somebody in that second sanctuary. The storm isn't going to stop God's  call. Even if it's going to delay it a little bit.

Number four. Not everything God is involved  in will end up in a miracle. 26.

Verse 26, however so Paul says, just want to let you guys  know, you should have listened to me. Just want to let you guys know that we're going to be  all right. Just want to let you guys know, God's angel spoke to me.

He said, everybody's  going to make it. By the way, the ship is not going to make it and by the way, we must run  aground on a certain Island. Meaning we're going to crash.

So a lot of positivity and a lot  of realistic approach to life. The storm ran its course. No supernatural intervention stopped  the storm.

No one who is swimming has lost their faith. Not everyone who is struggling has no  holiness. Not everyone who is surviving is doing something wrong.

We have to remove this thing  that just because I'm in the center of God's will, God's angels are assigned to me, every situation  will have a Hollywood ending. Some endings are not God stopping the storm. Some endings is you  swimming to the shore, and it is not lack of faith.

Paul didn't lack faith in here. The Bible,  the angel didn't come and say, Paul, if you could just have more faith you would have stopped the  storm. The angel came and said, listen this, this thing is going to run its course.

It's going  to crush, it's going to destroy the ship. You're going to make it. You're going to stand in front  of Cesar, and as a gift, I'll give you everyone on the ship.

Learn to appreciate God's presence  in storms where His power does not supernaturally stop. God is as present with you when the storm  runs its course, as He is present with you when He comes and supernaturally stops everything. Can  somebody say amen.

Number five, don't lose your spiritual appetite in the storm or you will face  something worse, spiritual starvation. Verse 34, so Paul says, "Therefore I urge you to take  nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you. "  And verse 35, "Then he has said these things, Paul, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the  presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.

" So Paul, let's review it, is in a  storm because somebody makes a bad decision. Paul doesn't hold bitterness. You don't see bitterness  in his language.

Paul trusts in God's presence. God's angel speaks to him. Paul, he begins to tell  these people, I want you to start eating because it's been 14 days and none of us have eaten.

You  must understand is when you are in the storm, the storm will seek to, if he can cannot, if  the storm cannot claim your faith, it will seek to take your appetite. Your appetite for God's  work, where you become apathetic toward God, and you come into God's presence and you don't feel  anything. And so what people tend to do in the storm is they shut down in worship.

They say, I  don't feel anything. When you don't feel anything, worship God in spite of your feelings. Come out  of that thing that Satan puts you in where he, he can steal your faith but he's taking  your appetite, your hunger is being taken, your hunger is being taken for God.

You're opening  the Bible, you said nothing, nothing sticks out. It's like I'm reading a blank book. Force feed  yourself with God's Word because hunger for God's Word does not come from not eating God's Word but  it comes from eating God's Word.

Bring yourself to a prayer, bring yourself to a morning prayer, why?  Because desire to pray comes from praying, desire to pray comes from the presence of God. Do not opt  yourself and say, well if God is in it, He's going to take me.

He will take you to the shore but  you will die in the shore because you have not eaten for a long time. Open up your Bible again,  come back to the community of believers again. I don't know what you're feeling.

I don't know how  hard your heart has been and how difficult your life has been. Listen, sometimes you got to  drag your soul to the presence of God. That's why David told himself, he says, O my soul, why  are you this quieted inside of me?

I know you've been sad because you've been going through the  storm, but he says, but I will still praise God, but I will still trust in God, but I will still  gather in my small group, but I will still do it. If your soul lost appetite,  don't follow your soul. Lead it.

Don't live in your own head. As a Christian you  tell your thoughts what to think. You are not your thoughts.

As a Christian, you lead your thoughts  captive to the obedience of Jesus and you do the same thing with your emotions. Your emotions are  going to lie to you in the storm. They're going to tell you different messages every single day,  and you take those emotions by the hand like an annoying, it's just kind of a cranky moody child. 

And you say, come on, come on. We're going to go to church at 9:00 on Sunday morning. Come on, lift  them hands to the Lord and give thanks to Him.

I know you're in a storm but you're alive. I know  you're in a storm but God has not forsaken you. Feelings, shut up.

You're not telling the truth.  God's Word is telling the truth. He didn't leave me.

He didn't forsake me. Your thoughts will  say, oh but where is God? He's on the throne, amen.

Strength to survive the storm comes from  eating. Even if you have to force. Some of you may say, but I don't want to be a hypocrite  by doing something I don't like.

You love the Word. Your flesh doesn't. Stop identifying with  your flesh.

That flesh has been crucified. So you are not a hypocrite when you're doing something  your spirit wants and your flesh doesn't like. No, you are a true Christian.

It's when you're doing  what the flesh wants, as a born-again Christian you're a hypocrite because that's, that's not  you, that's the flesh and it's been crucified with Jesus. Number six. Survive the storm by holding  on to what's left, not what you lost.

Come on somebody needs to hear this, your neighbor needs  to hear this. Say, focus on what's left. Turn to your neighbor, say focus on what's left, and turn  to the other neighbor, say, not what you lost.

Acts 27:43, it says, "But the centurion, wanting  to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump  overboard first and get to land, and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship.  And so it was they all escaped safely to land. " See the fact that Paul was was swimming for his  life was in itself a miracle because see sailors wanted to, sailors had wanted to sneak away in a  small boat and escape the doomed ship.

But Paul had noticed and warned the centurion. Soldiers  wanted to kill all the prisoners because they thought the prisoners will escape and then they'll  have to pay for every prisoner that escaped with their life. But Paul found through the wisdom of  God and the centurion now who listened to Paul, who didn't listen to him in the beginning, saved  everybody's life and said, we're going to have some people who know how to swim, get out first,  and the rest of us hold on to broken pieces.

What does this mean? When you're in the storm sometimes  the vision of the future is so dim, you focused on today, don't worry about tomorrow when you're  in a storm. Focus on today.

Don't worry about the future when you in the storm. God's got it.  Focus on today.

And when you focus on today, don't focus on what you don't have, praise God  for what you do have. When you focus on today, you focus on the presence of God, the promise  of God, the glory of God, your two legs walk, focused on that. Your two hands lift up, focus on  that.

Your two eyes see, focus on that. Your two ears hear, focus on that. Focus on what's left,  not on what you lost.

Even if what's left is 1% and you lost 99%. You can't get it back what you  lost. God will bring it back seven times but you got to get through this day, and the way you get  through this day is you hold on to broken pieces.

Hold on to broken pieces. No it's not fair because  other people have a jetski and they have a cruise ship, and there you are holding on to a log, and  there you are holding on to a little bit of hope, and there you are holding on to a little  bit of the presence of God. There you are, you have a little bit of oil left in your  house but it's what you have left God will use.

It's who stayed with you, God will bless.  It's not what you lost. God isn't going to work through what you lost.

That is gone. Focus  on the little bit. Jesus said to His disciples, what do you guys have?

They said, just, just,  just a little bit of fish, a little bit of bread. Jesus says, that's enough. What you have left is  what I'm going to use.

Even if it's a little bit, I'll use that log and I'll get you to safely.  I'll get you to safety. I'll get you to the other side.

You will not have to be on this  log all your life, but there will be days you will have to hold on to a simple hope, one day  at a time. And lastly, if God doesn't part the sea like He did for Israel, calm the storm like he did  for Jesus or send a fish like He did for Jonah, He will give you strength to swim, like He did  for Paul. If the ship, if the fish didn't come, if the sea didn't split, if all  the rebuking and binding isn't working, put some swimming clothes on and go  swimming.

If you didn't move the mountain by speaking to it, grab a shovel, start moving  that thing, why? Because sometimes it takes as much faith to swim to the shore  as it is to be hidden in the fish. Sometimes it takes as much faith to survive  the storm as it is to stop it by faith, and God works in mysterious ways, but  one thing is certain, you will never be alone and He will never let you drown  because my God says in Deuteronomy 31:6.

My God in Joshua 1:5 says: In Psalms 37:25 He says: In Isaiah 41:10 it says: In Hebrews 13:5 He says: 1 Kings 8:57. Isaiah 42:16. Psalm 94:14.

Romans 8:38-39. Devil, if God doesn't give me a fish He'll give  me strength to swim. But there is one thing you have to know devil, I ain't drowning.

I'm going  to fulfill the call God has given to my life. And somebody's sin may destroy my ship but they  will not destroy my faith because my faith is in my God, and I will eat in my storm. I will eat  in the presence of my enemies if I need to in my storm.

I will forgive other people and I will  come out of this storm, not battered and bitter, but washed and pruned and purged and better  than the way I came in. I won't be bitter, I'll become better. The devil threw a knife at me. 

He thought I'll hold it by the blade but I learned how to hold it by the handle, and what he meant  for evil, God will use it for his good. And the people who survived the storms shake off snakes.  People who survive storms then use their hands to heal others on the island.

People who survive  storms, they begin to write Epistles to churches and they know how to do stuff in jail. Even in  jail they serve God because they're unstoppable people, and you are that person, our church is  that church. Are you in the storm right now?

Has there been disobedience in your life to the  call of God? Ask God to reroute you. Repent of disobeying God's call.

Are you here today and you  are in the will of God, experiencing resistance? Find pleasure and peace in His presence. But  are you here today and the consequences of other people, you got stuck and you're hurting? 

Go back and relisten to this message again. But right now I want everyone to bow your head and  close your eyes, in both sanctuaries and those online. If you don't know Jesus as your personal  Lord and Savior or if you are here today and you have backslid.

You have not been walking with the  Lord for a long time, and today you're visiting HungryGen or you came because some family members  brought you. No matter how you came here today, the Lord brought you into this room because He has  an appointment with you. He loves you so much.

He sent His son to die on the cross for you. The  guilt, the shame, the emptiness, the anxiety, the fear you're experiencing of being disconnected  to God. All of that could be changed today when the blood of Jesus washes your sins, washes your  past and give you a brand new hope and future.

Jesus came to give life and more abundantly.  He wants to restore your broken life. He wants to fill your empty heart and most importantly He  wants to write your name in the book of life.

He wants you to have a relationship with God. Not  through burning sage, crystals and talking to all kinds of dead grandpas and grandmas. But He  wants you to have relationship with God through the Son Jesus Christ.

Maybe you're here today  and you applaud yourself, you say, but Vlad, I'm not a bad person. In comparison to who?  To God?

Or in comparison to your cousin? The Bible says nobody is good. None of us deserve  heaven without Jesus.

We need to be born again. Maybe you're here and you're like, but, but  I have a good church attendance, Vlad. I go to St Pats.

I go to this church. I go to another  church. My friend, going to McDonald's does not make you a cheeseburger.

Coming to church does  not make you a Christian. You must be born again. Jesus told Nicodemus, who worked at the church,  and He told him straight, straight on.

He says, you must be born again. And the guy looked at  Him, he says, but I'm a religious man. He says, that doesn't matter.

Religion doesn't save you,  the blood of Jesus saves you. Every head bowed and every eye closed. If you need to be born  again, meaning give your life to Jesus for the first time or you need to come back to the Lord  because you walked away.

When I count to three, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand. That's  going to be your way of saying, I need to respond to God's call today to give my life to Jesus. In  the first and second sanctuary, one.

Tomorrow is too late. Today is the day of salvation. Two. 

God brought you here not on accident. The Lord is knocking on your heart. Three.

Raise that  hand high if you're saying, this is me. Those of you online, you can drop in the chat, I want  to be saved. Those of you here in the front, I want you to stretch your hands like this, like  you're receiving a gift and as well in as second sanctuary.

Say this out loud with me, say Lord  Jesus Christ. Lord I believe you are the Son of God, who died on that cross for all of my sin.  I am a sinner.

I repent of my sin and I ask You, wash me with Your precious blood. I'm coming  back to you, Lord. I want to be different but I can't change myself.

Holy Spirit come  live in me, deliver me right now and change me. And I promise to follow You all  the days of my life, in Jesus name.