Standing Between Me And Death - Tim Timberlake

In Acts 7, we encounter Stephen—the first martyr of the early church—standing trial before the Sanhedrin with unwavering boldness. Though facing death, he lifts his eyes and sees Jesus not seated, but standing at the right hand of God.

This message reveals a powerful truth: the resurrection of Jesus is not just proof that He got up—it’s proof that He still gets up for His people. It confronts the tension between information and transformation, exposing how many of us resist God not because we doubt Him, but because we cannot control Him. Ultimately, it reminds us that Jesus is the only one standing between us and eternal separation—and invites us to fully surrender to Him.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey, I'm Tim Timberlake, and I want to thank you so much for listening to the Celebration Church podcast. I hope this message encouraged you, strengthened your faith, and gave you something you can carry into your week. If you'd like to stay connected, I encourage you to join us live every Sunday at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. on YouTube. We would love to have you there. And if you're ever in the Jacksonville, Florida area, come see us in person. We have a seat saved for you. Thanks again for being with us. We're so grateful for you. And see you next time. Grab your Bible, stay with me. Go with me to Acts chapter 7. Thank you, sir. I want to welcome my first time visitors to Celebration Church. If this is your first time, wave at me. Hey, how are you doing? It's good to see you. Good to see you. Over at our overflow, if this is your first time, we bless God for you. Grateful we get a chance to lift up the name of Jesus together. I want to turn your attention quickly. Acts chapter 7, verse 48. I'm going to read a passage of scripture, give you our subject matter. We're going to pray, and then we're going to unpack this word on Resurrection Sunday. Amen? Acts chapter 7, beginning at verse number 48, the NASB translation. It says, However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says, Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool of my feet. What kind of house will you build for me? Said the Lord. What place is there for my rest? Was it not my hand that made all these things? You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised and heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit, you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You who received the law as ordained by angels and yet did not keep it. Now, when they heard this, they were infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God. And Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. For a moment, I want to utilize these verses to teach from the subject matter, standing between me and death. Let's pray. Spirit of the Living God, we ask that you would move in this moment. We ask that you would change hearts, that you would change minds, that you would transform us and renew us from the inside out. And God, our desires to be more like you. So, God, we ask that you would strip us of everything that separates us from you. And God, apply everything that you desire for us to live the rest of our lives sturdy. It is in your name we pray, the name that is above every other name, the name of Jesus the Christ, our King, and everyone that's glad that Jesus is still alive and well, whether you're in this room, or in our overflow, or watching be a celebration everywhere. Come on, one time, real life, can you shout amen? Amen. You can take your seats in Jesus' name. It gives us a clear depiction of the first time Jesus is visually seen after his ascension. And he's seen by what is known as the first Christian martyr in Stefan. To give brief context as to who Stefan is, he's not a disciple, he's not an apostle, he's not a priest, he's not a rabbi, he is a Hellenistic Jew, and he dwell in the areas that were most common to Greek Jews. And when he's talking about Jesus, he's not talking about Jesus from the perspective of having met him physically or having traveled with Jesus or having seen Jesus do miracles, signs, and wonders personally. He's talking from the transformation and the revelation that he's seen the impact of the gospel of Jesus have on his life. And when he is speaking, he's not just merely speaking from the position or the posture of information. He's speaking from the posture of a conviction. Everyone say conviction. Conviction is different than condemnation. Condemnation comes from the enemy, but conviction comes from the loving Father. When we feel convicted by the word of God, it brings us to a position, a spiritual fork in the road where we have to make an intentional and conscious decision whether we are going to follow Jesus Christ or whether we are going to continue to follow our selfish desires. And based upon that decision, we will eat the fruit thereof. Can I get a good amen? And Stephan understands this because his life is on the line. He is standing trial just as his Savior did in front of the same court and counsel that Jesus stood before in terms of the Sanhedrin. And they are accusing him of the same three crimes that they accused Jesus of. And those three crimes are blaspheming God, blaspheming the temple, and blaspheming Moses. And he does not try to defend himself, he does not try to push back on their allegations and accusations. What he does is he begins to unpack the good news. And he reminds the Sanhedrin that they are repeating a dangerous cycle. The cycle that they are repeating is they say they believe in God, but they crucify every messenger that God sends. They say they are followers of God, but they are only following a God that they can control. And I want you to listen to me. Look at me for a second. A God that you can control is not a God that has the power to deliver you. So if you can control your God, that is not a God that can save you, that is not a God that can deliver you, that is not a God that can heal you, that is not a God that can make you whole, that is not a God that can change your mind, that is not a God that can transform you from the inside out. What you have is an idol. And people may argue about external proofs, but it is hard to dismiss a life that has been radically transformed from the inside out because of the revelation of Jesus Christ. And so as I read this passage, I'm intrigued by the life of Stephen. Why would a common man, a regular man, just a man that has flesh like you and me be so convicted by the gospel of Jesus Christ that he would be willing to lay his life down for the gospel to continue to be advanced? And I see a couple of things that I want to point out to us. The first reason I believe is because he was too close to the evidence to be naive. The scripture teaches us that Stephan eventually lived in Jerusalem. It wasn't centuries later, it was right in the time period where everything was happening and unfolding. He would have had access to eyewitnesses of Jesus' ministry. He would have known people who have claimed to see the resurrected Christ. He would have witnessed and encountered and met people that were a part of this rapidly growing movement that was under persecution, not comfort, and he would have formed his revelation of Jesus Christ based upon not just the information that he was receiving, but how his life was being transformed by the information he was receiving. And if you are aware today, and if you do your due diligence today, if you have questions as to if Jesus really existed, you can find what you're looking for. And I'm not just talking about in the Bible, I'm talking about through history, I'm talking about even through science. Right now, today, if you are to go on NASA's website, NASA has documented on their website that on this specific day, April the 5th, over 2,000 years ago, there was both a lunar eclipse and an earthquake that took place. And whenever you read the account of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ through any of the four gospels, we see two things happened when he gave up his last breath. A lunar eclipse took place, and an earthquake took place. So even science testifies that on this day, over 2,000 years ago, something supernatural, something seismic, something that we can't quite fathom took place. And if you are looking for it, you will find what you're looking for. Stephan had too much evidence to deny the power of Jesus Christ. Scripture teaches us, according to Acts chapter 6, verse 10, that he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of wisdom. The only way you can get full of the Spirit of God is to spend time with God. This wasn't formed by methodology. This wasn't formed by time. This was formed by a fresh, contested public reality of the person of Jesus Christ. And so he had too much evidence to be naive. The second thing that I truly believe, he saw something that overpowered his fear. He had to see something that overpowered his fear. Here's the truth about both fear and faith. Both fear and faith demand you believe in something that you cannot see. And some of us have chosen to believe fear. And fear screams at you, you're gonna die prematurely. Fear screams at you that your kids are not gonna call you. Fear screams at you that your life will always be the way that it is right now. Fear screams at you, but I want you to listen a little bit deeper than the fear that's screaming at you. I want you to listen to what God speaks over you. And if you're like, well, Pastor, I've never heard the word of God. But you can read it. And everything that you need can be found in the word of God. If you need hope, you can find it in the word of God. If you need joy, you can find it in the word of God. If you need peace, you can find it in the word of God. If you need the ability to suffer well, you can find it in the word of God. If you need comfort, you can find it in the word of God. Whatever you need can be found in the word of God. The problem with most of us is that we don't look to God for the answers. We look for solutions and answers from ourselves and from the people that we can see, we can touch, we can talk to because they're right in front of us. Surely they have an answer. But Stefan teaches us a better way. He says he saw the glory of God while he was being persecuted, while he was being tormented, while his life was being stripped away from him. He looked up and he saw the glory of God. And then scripture teaches us something so profound it says that he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. How can you kill a person that has an unconquerable soul? How can you defeat an undefeatable person? How can you get victory over someone who has never lost the battle? How can you conquer someone who is unconquerable? Thanks be to God, who causes us to triumph through Christ Jesus. How can you beat someone that cannot be beaten? How can you be an overcomer over someone that cannot be overcome? Scripture teaches us, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, O death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory? Which means that when Jesus went to hell, he robbed hell of its sting and he allows us to live and have a life worth living. And I wonder, is there anybody grateful on this beautiful resurrection Sunday for the sacrifice that Jesus has made? So, Stephan, he gazes towards heaven, the heavens open up, he sees the glory of God, and then he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This is critical. This is the most important passage of scripture that we've read in the Acts of the Apostles to date. This is not vague hope. This is not symbolic language, it is a vision so real it anchored him in the face of death. And my question for us right now is what is anchoring you? Better yet, who is anchoring you when you are being pressured by the circumstances of life? Where does your hope rest? Where does your faith rest? This is not the end. One way or the other, you are going to spend eternity somewhere. He looked to heaven, he saw the glory of God, and then he saw Jesus at the right hand of the Father. But there are other passages found in the New Testament where it says that people made a decision not to follow Jesus and they went to hell. And Jesus says, I'll be with you, even if you make your bed in hell. I don't want to experience Jesus while I'm in hell. I want to experience Jesus while I'm with him in eternity in heaven. But you have a decision that you have to make whether you are going to follow Jesus or are you going to continue to be led by your flesh? Stefan said, regardless of what you do to my flesh, I know where I will spend the rest of eternity. I will spend the rest of eternity with my heavenly Father and with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Listen to me, he had nothing to gain and everything to lose. He had no platform, he had no safety, he had no status, his reputation was lost, his security was lost, and eventually his life was lost. And this is what we can do. We can either lie to pursue power and save our own lives, or we can recognize the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and say, come hell the high water, me and my house, we go serve the Lord. People will lie for power, and people will manipulate for gain. But very few people are willing to lay down their lives for the Savior they say they believe in. And so often I hear people tell me all the time, Pastor, I'll die for mine. I'll die for my kids. I'll die for my wife. I take a bullet for my family, and that's great. But will you live for them? Before we clap, before we clap, listen to me. This life is fleeting. And at some point, this life is going to come to an end. Here's my question: Will you see them in eternity? I know you're willing to die for them, but are you willing to live for them? Are you willing to live so that you are going to spend the rest of eternity with them? And your testimony be like Paul. At the end of your life, I have been offered up like a drink offering, and I was good until the last drop. Stefan is teaching us a valuable lesson. I may not have encountered Jesus physically, but I am operating under his spirit because his spirit has liberated me, it has freed me, it has transformed me, it has changed me, it has renewed my mind, it has revived my spirit. And if this physical body dies, I know that I will spend eternity in heaven with him. And so people will lie for power, they will manipulate for gain, but people do not willingly die for something in someone that they know is false. You say, Well, Pastor, how do you know that Jesus is real? Because I know what he's done in me, I know what he's done through me, I know what he's done for me. And hear me, I'm not willing to lay my life down for some figment of my imagination. I know that he's real because I've seen him, I've heard him, I felt him, I heard his voice, I received his call. I know that he's real because he changed the trajectory of my life because I was bound for hell. And make no mistake about it, you were bound for hell too. But he cut you off whether you realize it or not, and he pointed you in the opposite direction of the way you want it to go. Therefore, we have so much to be grateful for on this resurrection Sunday. The reason we call it Resurrection Sunday is because it's not about no egg, it ain't about no bunny, it ain't about no fairy tale, it's about the king of kings and the Lord of Lords that's dressed up in his arms wide and took nails in his wrist for you on his mind. He took a piss in his side of Grand on his head and nails, and his be with you on his mind. So don't tell me it's about discounts and all these different shopping codes and about what Amazon has going on. It's about the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and it is only he that stands between you and death. So the life of Stefan forces us to a conclusion. Either he was deceived, either he was delusional, or he encountered someone so real that it redefined life and death for him. And my prayer for you today is that you would understand the significance of the life Jesus sacrificed for you to have a life worth living and never encounter or experience eternal death and damnation. A deceived man doesn't speak with that level of wisdom and clarity. A delusional man doesn't produce that level of peace, forgiveness, and composure under execution. A liar doesn't die for what he knows is not true. So it leaves us with this conclusion. Stephan was not clinging to a mere story, he was responding to his reality. And when Jesus becomes your reality, you become unstoppable. You have an unquenchable thirst that can only be satisfied and fulfilled by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. When Jesus becomes your reality, no hell, no demon, no imp can stand in the way of what he desires to do in and through you. When Jesus becomes your reality, you understand that grace covers you and mercy, protects you, and love lifted you. When Jesus becomes your reality, you understand that you are bound for hell and he saved you. And what kind of savior do we serve that continues to stand for us whenever we stand for him? So the greatest evidence of the resurrection isn't just an empty tomb, it's a full life. Live with unexplainable conviction that the Savior loves us enough to lay down his life to save a wretch like me.

SPEAKER_00 20:56

What kind of God do we serve?

SPEAKER_01 21:00

That sees our human frailty, that knows we'll still turn our backs on him. That knows after today we probably won't show up to his house for another year. You hear now, you're gonna hear this truth. He is better than your checklist, he is better than your holiday hopping, he is better than you think he is, he is the true and living savior, and the prerequisite to give him what he desires is not even that you would be saved. He says, let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Whether you believe or you don't, you got breath, praise the Lord. Whether you think he's God or you don't, you have breath, praise the Lord. That is the prerequisite for giving him what he deserves because of what he has given to you and to me. It's easier to celebrate what God said than to submit to what God is saying. And so we live our lives just as the Sanhedrin's did, and we praise dead prophets, but we reject the living Christ. We receive instructions through the law of the Old Testament and the grace of the New Testament, and we keep it, but we don't repent and change with it. They honored the echo, but they resisted the voice. And this is the danger of what the Sanhedrin did and what some of us do today. They built monuments for messengers they would have murdered if they had met them alive. They said, Well, how does that apply to me, Pastor? Because we have a tendency to customize truth instead of submitting to it. So we don't reject the Bible outright, we just remix it. We take the parts that affirm us and we mute the parts that confront us. Because surely Jesus doesn't think we are that bad. Surely we are not that bad. Surely we are good people, and good people will eventually go to heaven. Show me where it says that in Scripture. It doesn't say good people will inherit the kingdom of God. It doesn't say good people will go to eternity with Jesus. It doesn't say that. It says, all who call on the name of the Lord will and shall be saved. See, we build a version of Christianity that fits our preferences instead of forming our lives around His word. Creating an environment for us that's so comfortable where we don't deny scripture, we just edit it in practice. And if we don't like it, control ought delete. Let's copy and paste this here, let's put that there. I like the part of blessing. I don't like the part of conviction. And so we get overexposed to truth, but we are underformed by it. And we've never had more sermons, more podcasts, more reels, more social media platforms, more access, but less transformation. And it is not because of a lack of word, it is not because God is not still convicting his people. It's because his people have not turned their gaze towards him with attentive eyes, attentive ears, and open hearts. And so we scroll past conviction. We bookmark obedience. We applaud truth while we delay repentance. We treat service just as it's a golf tournament. A movie, an opera, a show. No, scripture says at the very mention of his name, every knee shall bow. And every tongue shall proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. Hear me and hear me well. Whether you want to or not, at some point in your life, your needs will touch earth, and you will proclaim that he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And so my mentality and perspective is this I would rather submit and surrender than be forced to bow my knee and proclaim not having believed in this life. And I wonder, am I talking to anybody that can bear witness that not only did he save your soul, he redirected your life and gave you a life worth living? And so we have to get out of this mentality of resisting anything that threatens our autonomy. And Stefan, he sees this in the Sanhedrin's and he calls them something that I believe a lot of us could recognize and identify with. He says, You are a stiff-necked people. Yeah, yeah, you. With your Easter suit on. You. With your fancy heels on. You are a stiff-necked person, uncircumcised in your heart, uncircumcised in your mind, which means you are still trying to cover yourself. You're still trying to lead yourself. You're still trying to dictate and determine how you're going to get to where it is you want to be without even consulting Jesus, who made your life, who gave your life, who's directing your life if you yield and submit to him, and you're thinking that you are opening doors and you are closing doors and you are manufacturing and making a way out of nowhere. It ain't you, it is only him. And if he doesn't do it, it won't get done. And so, how does stiff neck show up to church 2026? I'll follow God as long as I agree. I'll obey as long as it's convenient. I'll surrender as long as it doesn't cost me my control. And it leads me to believe we don't want a Lord, we want a consultant. We want a God we can control. We want a God we can limit, we can isolate. If God don't move within this little hour I'm giving him, he ain't gonna move for me. We think that God is moved by our ability to try to micromanage him. God will not be boxed. The beginning of the passage of scripture says that heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool. How can you build for me something that I already built? I need you to understand this because the same cross that Jesus hung on came from a seed that he planted. Everything you see was built by the hands of God. Don't you dare think to yourself what you see and what you're in and the house you go in was built by your hands. No, Deuteronomy teaches us it is he who gives us the power to acquire and steward and get anything that we will ever have in this life. We don't want a Lord, we want a consultant. And when you really think about it, you don't really struggle with God's existence, you struggle with his authority. Him telling you what you should do and what you shouldn't do, and him telling you what you can do and what you can't do, him telling you who you should serve and who you shouldn't serve, but we're so used to hearing our voice that we don't even know the voice of God. Therefore, applying the label. We got the nerve to call conviction and judgment so that we don't actually have to change. The moment truth presses us, we label it. That's too much. Does it take all of that? Why he doing all that hollering at me? Why he calling me names? I'm just reading scripture to you. Scripture, scripture says stiff neck, scripture says uncircumcised. Have you ever heard uncircumcised in a service? That's what scripture says. Uncircumcised in your heart and in your mind. And people have the nerve to say that's toxic, that's too much, that's not loving. But what we're really doing is renaming conviction so that we don't have to respond to it. We don't reject conviction, we just rebrand it until it ignores the places of our lives that it should be changing. We try to micromanage God. We like to say, I'm spiritual. Without saying I'm a believer, I'm a follower of Jesus, I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ, I'm spiritual. Mother Earth, manifest, I manifested that. Mother Earth speaks to me. How can you believe the earth speaks to you before the creator that created the earth speaks to you? I don't how that makes sense. So you got more faith in what he created than the creator. How does that make sense? We want to believe everything except for the fact that Jesus came, he lived, he died, was crucified, buried, and resurrected for you and for me. We were read to believe that a fairy tale will whisper in our ear, then the redeemed saver has the ability to change us. So you'll look at cards and expect them to tell you what your future looks like. You'll call psychic hotlines and ask them to tell you what your future looks like. Instead of dropping to your knees and getting in the Word of God and seeing the plans and the purpose He has for you and reading passages like Jeremiah, for I know the plans and purpose I have for you. Saith the Lord, those plans are good and not evil. And so we love revival stories and historic awakenings and testimonies of old, but when God starts moving now in a way that disrupts us, we critique it instead of yielding to it. We have a tendency of praising what God did while resisting what God is doing. Stiff-necked people. Stiff-necked people don't always say no. They just keep saying not yet. We've turned hesitation into holiness. We've turned delay into discipleship. We think that we can lead ourselves. And Stefan is teaching us that we have two choices. We can either lean into the message of Jesus Christ, or we can hear the message of Jesus Christ and reject it. Stefan preaches one sermon, the crowd hears one message, but the truth produces two opposite outcomes. In them, it produces rage. In Stefan, it produces revelation. He looks to heaven, heaven opens up, he sees God and the glory of God, and then he looks and he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This is important language for us to understand because it is the first time in Scripture we see the person of Jesus after his ascension, and we don't see him seated at the right hand of God. Stephan says, I saw him standing at the right hand of God. This is important. This is the most important passage in Acts that we have read so far. In Psalms chapter 110, verse 1, it says that he is seated at the right hand of God. In Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3, he is seated at the right hand of God. In Colossians chapter 3, verse 1, he is seated at the right hand of God. But in Acts chapter 7, he is standing at the right hand of God. Why in the world does Stephan make a distinction between Jesus seated at the right hand of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God because an advocate stands for those who stands for him? Why would an almighty Savior stand for Stefan when Stephan is condemned on earth? Because Stefan stood for him. And as earth is condemning him, heaven defends him. Jesus stands as a witness, a faithful witness that stands for another faithful witness. He stands as the king who honors his servant. He rises to receive the one that the world is rejecting. He stands as proof that resurrection power is not stagnant. It is not positioned in one place. It is moving, it is active, it is alive and well, which gives us the revelation that Jesus is not distant. He is a responsive Savior and He moves towards you at the speed of your obedience towards Him. Jesus is moving towards you today, and He stands for you when you stand for Him. So my question for you is do you have the ability to stand in the face of adversaries and enemies for the gospel of Jesus Christ? Scripture teaches us he sat down when the work was finished, but he stood up when his servant was faithful. Scripture says Stephan having his life stripped away from him. Stood, gazed towards heaven, saw the glory of God, and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. As I read this, I was reminded of Psalms chapter 1, 21, which says, I will lift up my eyes to the hills from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. As we read in Acts chapter 7, beginning at verse number 48, heaven and earth are his, and heaven is his throne, and earth is his footstool. He will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. And I wonder, is there anybody grateful that God is your keeper? And he says, the Lord is your shade on your right hand, and the sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time now and forever. It is only Jesus standing between you and So my urge to you, my encouragement to you, my ask to you. Why suffer with eternal death and damnation when you don't have it? The news of this passage.

SPEAKER_00 36:49

Reminded of the soul. To see him high. Shining in the light of his glory. Pour out your power and love. As we cry, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

I don't know what's trying to pull you down right now or today, but I urge you, let's go higher. Fix your gaze on him. Turn your attention, your eyes, turn your perspective towards him. See the glory of God and see the risen king standing at the right hand. It is only he who has the power to stand between you and death. If this passage teaches us nothing, it teaches us that when you are favored by God, you are also favored by the enemy. When God favors you, the enemy, he paints a bullseye on your back. That one's favored. Send everything you got at them. But what he failed to realize, just as he failed to realize that if he crucified Jesus, that Jesus would not only be the Son of God, he would make room for sons and daughters of God as well. Just as he undervalued and undermined crucifying Jesus. He undermines attacking you. What he fails to realize is that if God be for you, who or what can stand against you? So lift up your heads, O ye gates. And be ye lifted up. Everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in. Bow your heads, whether you're in this room or whether you're in one of our overflows, whether you're all watching online right now. You heard this message. And you understand now that you haven't allowed Jesus to stand between you and death. You've been the barrier. You've been trying to keep yourself, you've been trying to cover yourself, you've been trying to lift yourself, you've been trying to provide for yourself, and you don't have the power to do so. You know that you have a dire need for a Savior. It is not Allah, it is not Buddha, it's not Hare Krishna, it's not Joseph Smith, it is Jesus the Christ, our King. It is only He who has the power to save. And so if you're here and you know that you are in dire need of salvation, so that He can be the barrier between you and death. Stand to your feet right now. Whether you're in this room, whether you're in our overflow, stand to your feet right now. Lift your hands. All heads bowed, all eyes closed, stand to your feet right now. Stand, stand quickly. Stand. If you're like I'm not sure, then why not leave with assurance? Stand to your feet. I want everybody to pray this prayer after me, Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I repent for my sins, and I ask you to forgive me, cleanse me of my unrighteousness, wash me, redeem me, make me whole, make me new again. I confess with my mouth that I am a sinner in dire need of grace. Save me. I believe you can, because I believe that you are the Son of the Living God, who is crucified, who is buried, who is resurrected from me. Therefore, I confess with my mouth that you are my Lord, and I believe within my heart of hearts that you are my risen King. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen and amen. You can take your seats in Jesus' name. Come on, can we celebrate the grace of Jesus Christ? Look at me. If you pray that prayer, you don't belong to a Bible-teaching church. Find a Bible-teaching church that will walk alongside of you on your journey of faith. It does not have to be celebration church, but find a theologically sound church that teaches the word of God, not opinions, not preferences, not man's perspective. Amen. Get plugged in. Get biblical community around you. Become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Don't just settle for being a follower. Become a disciple of Jesus Christ. And watch how He changes your life for the rest of your life. Amen.