Jesus says it is more blessed to give than to receive. In this message, we'll learn how to experience the blessing Jesus associates with giving, in our lives.
Transcription (automatically-generated):
We are looking one more time at an incredible verse found near the end of chapter 20. In Acts chapter 20, verse 35, the apostle Paul quotes Jesus when he says it's more blessed to give than to receive. And last week on Christmas Eve, we saw that Jesus not only spoke these words that connected blessing with giving, but he also lived these words out perfectly. Jesus gave himself to the world when he was born on Christmas day, and he came so that he could give himself up to die on a cross for sinners so that we could live with God forever. Nobody has ever given more to someone else than Jesus has given to us, and therefore, nobody has ever lived a more blessed life than Jesus.
At the end of his farewell address to the Ephesian elders recorded for us in Acts 20, Paul reminded these pastors of Jesus's words, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Now, why did Paul share this quote with the Ephesian elders when he met with them in Miletus? Was it simply a nice cliche to wrap up his message with? If you're going to name-drop anyone, you might as well name-drop Jesus. You can't get any better than that.
Or was it b, so that they could go and print that saying on bumper stickers and mugs and post it on Instagram with the hashtag blessed? Or was it c, so that they could actually experience more blessing in their lives? Well, the answer is C. Paul reminded the Ephesian elders of Jesus' words that it's more blessed to give than to receive so that they might experience more of the blessing that Jesus was talking about. Now, isn't that what everybody in the whole world wants - more blessing in their life? If I was to take a poll of everyone here in this room tonight by asking for a show of hands, who wants to experience more blessing in their life? Am I wrong to assume that 100% of hands would go up? Let's just do it for fun. Who wants more blessing in their life?
See, I knew it. I knew it. We want to be happy. We want to be well off. We want to be blessed.
We all want it. So why don't we experience more blessing in our lives? Why aren't our lives filled to overflowing with the blessedness that Jesus talks about? Jesus wouldn't have laid out the path to more blessing for us if it wasn't possible for us to attain. He wouldn't whet our appetites for more blessing and then slam the door in our face saying he was only joking.
He taught us about the blessed life because he wants us to experience the blessed life. So why do our lives lack the very blessing that we all want and that Jesus has made available to us? Well, here's what I think the answer is. Although it's a very straightforward statement, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. We don't know how to appropriate this truth in our lives very well.
So that's what I want to help us do. In this message, I'm going to show you how you can live a life that is marked by giving. Because Jesus said that it's the secret to our blessing. It's more blessed to give than to receive. If we can learn how to give more freely, we will learn how to be blessed more abundantly.
And just in case anyone thinks that I'm talking about money when they hear me talk about giving, I'm not. Now, of course, a life marked by giving will include the aspect of financial giving. The lifestyle of giving that I am talking about isn't any less than that. It's just so much more. When I am talking about giving, I am talking about giving everything.
The giving of our time, our energy, our resources, our gifts, our dreams, our preferences, our rights, our life, everything. That's why I shared what I did last week. On Christmas Eve, we saw how Jesus gave. He gave his entire life to us. That's how high the bar is set.
That's what a blessed life looks like. So does a blessed life include giving? Financially, yes. But it's just so much more than that. To make this as simple and as straightforward as possible, I'm going to lay out the pathway to experiencing a blessed life, a life that gives in three simple steps.
Now, simple means easy to understand, 'doesn't always mean easy to do. So go ahead and write this down. It's going to be the first fill-in on your outline. The first thing that must be done if someone is going to live a blessed life is receive Jesus. Receive Jesus.
This is the first step that has to be taken if a person is going to experience the blessed life that Jesus makes available to us. Now, this first step had already taken place by all those who were present in the meeting in Miletus recorded for us at the end of Acts chapter 20. Paul received Jesus back in Acts chapter nine. And although it's not documented in acts, the elders of the church in Ephesus would have received Jesus prior to becoming elders, because, believe it or not, receiving Christ is a prerequisite to becoming a pastor of one of his churches. So Paul and the elders had received Jesus.
And this is good because receiving Jesus is necessary for a blessed life. I'm not sure if any of you have picked up on this yet, but there's a little bit of a paradox here. Jesus says it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Giving is better than receiving according to Jesus. But you have to receive before you can give.
You can't give what you haven't first received. Receiving must take place first, and then giving can happen second. More specifically, you must receive Jesus first, and then a blessed lifestyle of giving can happen second. It's necessary that you receive Jesus first because you won't live a life marked by giving until you first received what your own soul is thirsting and hungering and longing for. Until a person receives the gift of God into their life, they will be too consumed with trying to get what they need that they won't be free to give away to other people what they need instead.
This is one of the reasons why people are so unsatisfied in this life. It's because they aren't bent on giving. Instead, they are obsessed with trying to fill their life with everything and anything but God. People are trying to satisfy the deepest longings in their soul by filling their life with relationships or hobbies or climbing the corporate ladder or getting more and more possessions or experiences or whatever. People in this world are trying to fill the God-shaped hole in their life by anything and everything that isn't God.
And people wonder why they're so unsatisfied. You and I were made for God, and we won't know true satisfaction of the soul until we receive God into our life. Giving is more blessed than receiving, but receiving precedes giving. It's again a paradox. Now, receiving Jesus into your life is not adding a new piece of information that you agree with to your personal database of information.
Receiving Jesus into your life is not a new religion you adopt. Receiving Jesus is just that. It's receiving the person of Jesus Christ into your life. Jesus can give you his life because Jesus is alive. He died, but he didn't stay dead.
He resurrected from the dead. And that's why he can offer his life to you. Muhammad can't give you his life. Muhammad's dead. Buddha cannot give you his life.
Buddha is dead. But Jesus, Jesus can give you his life because Jesus is alive. His disciples were eyewitnesses to his resurrection and they saw Jesus ascend back to heaven 40 days after he rose from the dead. And now the risen and glorified Jesus comes to us by way of his spirit, and he offers to give himself to us. He can do that because he isn't dead.
He's alive. When a person receives Jesus, they are receiving the living God into their life. The most blessed person ever actually gives himself to you. You receive God into your life by believing in him and taking him up on his offer to you. And once you've received him, God begins to live his blessed life in you and through you.
This is a supernatural spiritual reality that has the potential to change everything in your life. When a person receives Jesus, they have the eternal source of everything good now living in them. Their soul has finally everything that it could ever possibly want or need. When you receive Jesus, you don't have to scrounge around in this world trying to get satisfied anymore. God is the supreme source of your satisfaction, and he is an eternal and infinite source of it.
He is a well of living water that will never run dry. He's more than enough for you. He's not only enough for you, but he's also enough for everyone that you come into contact with. There's an overflow. When you receive Jesus, you have enough that you can give away and give away and give away without ever going into a deficit.
Step number one to living a blessed life is to receive Jesus. But once you've received Jesus, the blessing you can enjoy through giving doesn't become automatic. When you receive Jesus, it's not like you get taken against your will on an involuntary roller coaster ride of blessing. Jesus doesn't say to you, all right, buckle up. The blessing train is leaving the station and you're like, wee, what's happening?
I can't believe this. This is blessings coming at me from every direction. What is going on? I wish it happened like that. But if you followed Christ for any amount of time, you know that's not how it works.
Once you've received Jesus, you now have the potential, the possibility of experiencing the blessed life that he talks about. But just because something becomes possible, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that it will become actual or realized in your life. The Bible makes it clear that there are two kinds of lives that a bona fide born-again Christian can experience. One, you can experience the blessed life that Jesus talks about. Or two, you can, as a Christian, miss out on that blessed life.
Now we all flip-flop between these two. It's not only one or only the other, but the goal is to stay in the lane of blessing more often than not. So how does a Christian activate the potential for blessedness in their life? This brings us to the second step to living a blessed life. Write this down.
Remember, Jesus. Remember Jesus. This is what Paul told the Ephesian elders to do when he met with them in Miletus. He told them in verse 35 to remember the words of the Lord Jesus. Now, here's the thing about remembering.
You got to learn something before you can remember it. In step number one of living a blessed life, you receive Jesus. And when you receive Jesus, you become spiritually alive. But you are a spiritual baby the moment that you receive Christ. From that point on, you have to learn how to live this new, blessed life just like a baby has to learn how to live once it's been born.
As a spiritual child of God, you have to begin learning what Jesus teaches you about how to live your new life with him. You get this information from him in the Bible, and you accumulate this information over time. As you follow Jesus, you learn from him. And after you've learned things from him, then you're able to bring those things to remembrance. But you can't remember something that you've never learned in the first place.
Now, here's a part of the problem I think a lot of us run into after we learn something from Jesus, we think the work is done, we learn it, and then we file it away somewhere in the deep recesses of our consciousness. And we don't think we need to spend any more time thinking about it, because why would we think about something that we've already learned? And when we do that, what we've learned can become dormant in us life-transforming truths, just sitting there limp and lifeless. But that's not what we're supposed to do with the things that we learn from Jesus. Once you learn what Jesus has said, you then need to continually remember what he said.
And this is where the power is that unlocks the potential for Christians to have and to live a blessed life. The word of God is powerful. It can change you, not just save you and give you a ticket to heaven when you die. It can change the way you live your life now, before you ever get to Heaven. When you give yourself to remembering Jesus' words, you're fixing your mind on them, you're meditating upon them, you're contemplating them, you're wrestling with them, you're dreaming about them.
All this takes place in the invisible part of your mind and your soul and your heart. But as you give yourself to the spiritual work of remembering the words of Jesus, the spirit of Jesus is at work in you, changing you from the inside, making you more and more like Jesus. This is what Paul talks about in his letter to the Romans in Romans, chapter twelve, verse two. And this verse should be on your outline as I read this verse to you. Keep in mind that Paul is speaking to Christians.
This is very important to know. Romans twelve, verse two. Christians do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Paul is telling Christians in Rome, those who have already received Jesus, that there are two different kinds of experiences Christians can have in this life. You can be a Christian who is transformed to become more like Jesus, or you could be a Christian who is conformed to the pattern of this world.
Transformation into Christlikeness happens when our minds are renewed, and this renewal takes place when you learn the words of Jesus and you continually remember the words of Jesus. This is the power of the word of God, the living word of God, washing over your mind, your heart, and your soul, cleansing you, refreshing you, nourishing you, transforming you spiritually, making you into a new person. The power of the word of God is experienced when we remember the word of God. And when we give ourselves to remembering the words of Jesus, we will be able to know God's will, understand how life is designed to work. We will experience change desires in us.
We will begin to want different things in life. We will experience power that transforms us. We will be transformed from one degree to the next into the likeness of Jesus, the most blessed one. We will learn what a life marked by giving looks like. We will learn how to give, what to give, when to give.
This is what Paul is calling believers to experience in Romans twelve two. He's calling them to be transformed by the renewal of their minds. He calls them to this because this renewal unto transformation does not take place automatically. We have to give ourselves to it. We do this in part by remembering.
But what if we don't give ourselves to remembering Jesus' words on a regular basis? Well, the apostle Paul says we won't stay in neutral. Paul warns the believers in Rome what can happen if they don't give themselves to having their minds renewed. He says in the first part of the verse, he tells them, do not be conformed to this age. Do not be squeezed into this world's image.
Don't become like this world. Remember, he's telling this to Christians. That means Christians can be conformed to this age. Paul wouldn't warn them against it happening to them if it wasn't possible. That means Christians can receive Jesus and then go on to live lives that look nothing like Jesus.
We can receive Jesus and then actually go on to live lives that look like the world instead. That's what Paul is saying to them and to us. How does this happen in a Christian's life? Well, it's simple. If you are not fixing your mind on the words of Jesus, continually learning them and remembering them, then what else do you think you're spending your time filling your mind with?
The lies of this world, things that are the polar opposite of what Jesus says. Jesus says it's more blessed to give than to receive. The world tells us at every turn that it's more blessed to receive than it is to give. God says to us in 1 John chapter two and verse 15 to not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's possessions, is not from the father, but it's from the world. That's what God says to us. And then the world comes along and preaches to you and to me nonstop. These things that God tells you not to love will actually make you happy. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's possession will bless you.
God says these things are bad for you, but I'm here to tell you that these things will give you the best life. Doesn't that message sound familiar? It is if you've ever read what Satan said to Eve in Genesis, chapter three. Satan lied to mankind back then, and he's been lying to us ever since. Now, how does the world go about spreading its doctrines in an attempt to fit us into its mold?
TikTok, YouTube, and Netflix movies - these things aren't bad in and of themselves, but have you ever stopped to consider how much of these things we consume on a daily basis where there is zero Jesus in them? And it's not just that there is zero Jesus, it's that they are loaded with messages that are completely contrary to the words of Jesus. And what do you think is happening to you when you consume hours of this content each and every day? Paul tells us what will happen. We will be conformed to the pattern of this world.
We are always coming to a fork in the road where choices have to be made. Will we give ourselves to becoming like the world that Jesus saved us out of? Or will we give ourselves to becoming more like the one who has saved us from out of it? We are called to remember Jesus' words because we can forget his words so easily. We are so easily distracted.
And it's not an innocent distraction. It's a distraction that will rob you and me of being able to experience the blessing in our life that Jesus has made available to us. How are you doing in this area? Do you have a plan in place to not only learn Jesus' words but to remember his words? Are his words on the forefront of your mind throughout the day?
Are his words informing the way that you navigate through all of life's challenges and opportunities that you face each and every day? Is the reality that giving is actually better than receiving consistently on the dashboard of your mind? Is this reality concrete in your mind? It can be, but only if we give ourselves to remembering Jesus. If you and I can grow in our practice of remembering Jesus, that will set us up to experience the blessed life that Jesus wants us to have.
The blessed life is not realized at the end of step two, but if we make it this far, the pump is primed for blessing. The blessed life, though, is realized when you start practicing step three because step one is receive Jesus. Step two is remember Jesus. Step three, write this down. Replicate Jesus.
Replicate Jesus. Replicate him in my life and through my life. Remember what Jesus said and did in his life so that I know what to say and do in my life. This is why we remember Jesus. We don't remember Jesus so that we can enjoy nostalgic memories of him that don't translate to having any bearing upon our lives.
We remember Jesus so that we can say and do the things that Jesus said and did. And what was one of the things that Jesus both said and did? It's more blessed to give than it is to receive. If we remember how Jesus gave his life and all that he did, we will be able to better walk in his footsteps and enjoy the same kind of blessing in our life that he did in his. If we remember Jesus, then we can replicate Jesus.
Paul did this. He modeled this, and we see him give an example of this kind of life to the Ephesian elders in Miletus. In verse 35, Paul says that he showed them it's necessary to remember Jesus's words. Now we use the CSB here at Gospel City. If you have your Bible open, I'm going to get you to underline a couple of phrases.
If you use a different translation, that's fine. It'll sound maybe a slightly different, but in verse 35, Paul says in every way. Now underline these next three words. I've shown you. And then I'll keep reading that it's necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and underline this part to remember the words of the Lord Jesus because he said, it's more blessed to give than to receive.
Paul says, I've shown you to remember the words of the Lord Jesus. Paul told the Ephesian elders that his own remembrance of Jesus' words wasn't confined to his private, invisible thought life. It flowed into his physical life. The things that Paul did in his life were influenced by what he remembered about Jesus. Paul didn't remember Jesus in his own little personal thought bubble, where those thoughts didn't impact anyone else's life.
When Paul remembered Jesus saying that it's more blessed to give than it is to receive, that remembrance of those words fueled the way that he lived. It's such a powerful connection. Paul gave his life away everywhere that he went. We can see a lot of examples of his generosity as he recalls the time he spent in Ephesus with the elders of the church there. If you have your Bible still open, hope you do to Acts chapter 20.
We're going to take a look at the way Paul gave himself away during his three years in Ephesus. Starting in halfway in verses 18, he says, you know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility, with tears. And during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews, Paul gave himself to a life of humble service. He gave himself to difficult situation that the Bible says produced tears in his eyes. He gave himself to experience trials at the hands of his fellow countrymen, the Jews.
He began to give himself away from the very first day he set his foot in Asia. This is only verses 18 and 19, and we can already see how much Paul gave in these two verses. He didn't have to give himself this way. He could have hunkered down and hiding somewhere and just remembered Jesus privately to himself, just Paul and his own personal little thought bubble filled with the things of Jesus. But he didn't do that.
He gave his life away. In Ephesus, verse 20, you know that I did not hesitate to proclaim anything to you that was profitable and to teach you publicly and from house to house and then down to verse 26. Therefore, I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God. Do you know why some people would hesitate to share some part of God's word with others because it's costly to share some things with people that would get them angry or upset with you. But Paul said he didn't hesitate to proclaim anything that was profitable.
He gave himself to teaching the whole council of God, and he did this from house to house. You have to give a lot of physical and relational energy to do that. Paul didn't divvy up the work. He didn't send Barnabas to some houses and Silas to others. Paul taught publicly, and he personally went house to house, teaching people the word of God.
He gave himself a way to do this. Verse 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. Paul gave himself to the work of evangelism while he was in Ephesus. Paul didn't just give himself to spending time with people who wanted to hear him. He didn't only spend time with fellow believers.
He gave himself to sharing the gospel with people who had not yet received Jesus. This is hard work. I'm not sure if you've ever tried sharing the gospel with someone who didn't want to hear about Jesus. It's hard work. It's challenging, it's frustrating, it's demoralizing at times.
And Paul gave himself to this task of calling people to receive Christ while he was in Ephesus. Verse 22 and now I'm on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. Paul didn't know what was waiting for him in Jerusalem, but he gave himself to going there anyway. He didn't shy away from persecution. He gave himself up to the possibility of suffering for Jesus' name wherever he went.
Verse 24 but I considered my life of no value to myself. My purpose is to finish my course in the ministry I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of God's grace. Paul gave his life away. In his mind, his life was of no value to himself. He put his whole life on the table and said, Jesus, do what you want with me.
Paul gave himself to doing God's will, whatever it was, wherever he was. Verse 25 and now I know that none of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Paul made some amazing friends while he ministered in Ephesus. You can tell by how deep the fields got when he told them he would never see them again. There were waterworks crying.
If Paul lived by the mantra that it's better to receive than to give. He would have stayed in Ephesus. He would have spent the rest of his life enjoying the sweet friendships that he made there. But he didn't do that. He gave up those relationships for the sake of obeying Jesus and following Jesus wherever Jesus led him.
Verse 28. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will arise up from even your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them. Therefore, be on the alert, remembering at night and day.
For three years, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears. If Paul lived for himself, he wouldn't have given himself to only. Sorry. If Paul lived for himself, he would have given himself to only talking about nice, comfortable things. But because he loved his brothers and sisters in Ephesus, he gave himself to warning them about the dangers of false teachers that they'd have to look out for.
Paul said, he did this, get this. Every day for three years, night and day, with tears, Paul gave himself to the church in Ephesus, passionately. 'Verse 33, he says, I've not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. Paul gave himself to being satisfied with whatever the Lord had given him. This takes effort, you know.
Takes effort to train yourself to be content with what you have, instead of longing for what others have in their life. Paul gave himself to this kind of contentment while he was in Ephesus. Verse 34, you yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me. He didn't rely on people giving to him. Instead, Paul gave himself to work, to earn a paycheck, to pay his bills, and to pay the bills of those who were with him and to have something left over so that he could give to those who were in need.
Paul worked full-time in Ephesus and ministered the gospel there every day for three years. And then, verse 35, in every way, he says, I've shown you that it's necessary to help the weak by laboring like this. And I've shown you what it looks like to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Paul didn't just lie in bed daydreaming about the words of Jesus in secret. Paul showed the Ephesian elders what it looked like to remember the words of Jesus.
Paul poured his life out for God and for the people in Ephesus. He gave his life away at every turn, he embodied the words of Jesus, where he said, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Paul was becoming like Jesus. And since Jesus is the most blessed person that has ever lived, due to the way that he gave his life away, Paul got to experience the blessed life of Jesus, because Paul gave his life away, too. Paul received Jesus.
Paul remembered Jesus. Paul replicated Jesus. And not just in Ephesus, but we read of him doing this everywhere he went in his missionary endeavors.
So what are we supposed to do with this? Some of you might be thinking to yourself, that's cool, but do you know who I am? I am not Jesus. And I am not Paul. Those are pretty high standards to hold ourselves up to.
Well, you're right on both counts. You are not Jesus, and you are not Paul. Neither am I. And the standards that they gave to us are the highest. But do you know what I have to say to that?
We should aim high. We should set the bar high in our life. We should have the highest standards for ourselves. I loved basketball growing up. I loved watching it and playing it.
And do you know that I never had a poster of John Koncak to yourself? Who's John Koncak? Exactly. Nobody had a poster of John Koncak on their wall growing up, because growing up I had posters of Michael Jordan in my room. Now, because I daydreamed of playing basketball like Michael Jordan, was I ever able to actually play exactly like him?
Of course not. But with him as the model that I looked up to, I bet you that motivated me to improve my game way more than if I had watched highlights of John Koncak. If you're by chance watching this, I had to pick one person from the era and the lot just fell to you. I'm sure you're happy now and living a great life, but aim high. Aim high.
Remember Jesus. Look to emulate him, follow in his footsteps, say the things that he said, do the things that he did. Love people like he loved them. And look at Paul, too. And look at any other good examples we have of men and women in the Bible who gave their lives away and were blessed for it.
Aim high. But as you aim high, also always know, accept, and embrace who you are and who God has called you to be, where he has called you to be it. You can be like Jesus, you could be like Paul. But you're not them. You are you.
But be the best version of yourself that God has made you to be. If you have received Jesus and you are consistently remembering him, then you can replicate him wherever you find yourself to be. At home, at work, at school, in the grocery store, with family or with friends or amongst strangers. In good times, in difficult times, wherever you find yourself and there are other people around, you have the opportunity to replicate Jesus' blessed life in those arenas. Wherever you find yourself, amongst other people, train yourself to be.
Always asking these kinds of questions. How can I serve? What can I say? Can I defer my preferences here for the good of another? Can I help carry someone else's load
Can I say a tough truth that someone needs to hear? Can I go without so that someone else can have WWJD? Right? What would Jesus do? Or WDJD?
What did Jesus do? Or I bet you've never heard this one before. W-I-J-A-M-T-D-I-T-S - what is Jesus asking me to do in this situation?
Whatever he asks of you, I'm sure that it will involve giving some part of yourself away. That's because Jesus wants you to be blessed. You won't do this perfectly. You will find yourself kicking against living this kind of life from time to time. The old person called the flesh in the Bible doesn't want this.
Your new spirit wants it though. Well, am I supposed to give all the time? Well, Jesus said it's more blessed to give than to receive. So I guess you should give in relation to how much blessing you want to experience in this life. If you want more blessing, give more.
If you want less blessing, give less. God's not going to make any of us live this kind of way. He makes this kind of life available to us. He invites us into this kind of life, he calls us to it, and he empowers us to live this kind of life. But the Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver.
So don't live like this if you don't want to, don't give with a scowl on your face. Give with a smile, and only practice a life of giving if you want to. Do you dream with me for a second though? Can you imagine what life would be like if everyone lived like this? We'd get to experience a taste of heaven.
That's what it would be like. How does a person live the blessed life? A life characterized by giving the way that Jesus gave. Receive Jesus, remember Jesus, and replicate Jesus. You pray with me.
Let's pray.
Jesus, I'm so thankful that when you saved us, you didn't just save us to hand us a dead religion, lifeless and impotent, that had no potential to transform our lives. We are so grateful that we're going to heaven when we die. Jesus, we thank you for the cross. We thank you for your resurrection. We thank you that you're coming back to get all of your people and to live with us forever and ever and ever.
We thank you that that day is coming. But we also thank you, Lord, that we don't have to wait for you to come back till we can experience you. We can experience you anytime we want to because you've given yourself to us. We've received you. And my prayer, Lord, is that a spiritual light bulb has gone off in our hearts and our minds and our souls here tonight, that there's so much life in all of us that have been left on the table, life that we can live blessed as we walk in your footsteps, I pray, Lord, that you'd give us a sweet conviction, a sweet inspiration to live the way that you've saved us to live, to live the way that you've made possible for us to live with you in us and with us.
Do this, Lord, one person at a time in Gospel City. Start with us. Do it one moment at a time as we practice living a life that's blessed. Change our lives, change our church, change our city, and change our world through this kind of living. Do it, Jesus, we pray.
We want more of you. We want to walk like you did. We want to walk with you, Lord. So please, please make that happen. Your name, we pray.
Amen.