ALL I KNOW | Jessie Davis

Oh, man, well, praise God, praise God.

How are you guys doing?

This crowd looks great this morning, awesome.

Well, my name is Jessie Davis and I hail from Denver, Colorado.

So another planet in some ways, just kidding.

But no, it's awesome, we love being in Denver.

And I've been married to my husband now for 15 years.

He is my pastor, I mean that so sincerely.

When it says in Ephesians 5 that a man washes, a husband washes his wife in the word,

that is what my husband does.

He tells me sometimes he uses a power washer.

So, but we have a picture of him up here.

This is us, we went to the Rockies for the first time this year, isn't that crazy?

But this is my husband, John, we've been married for 15 years.

This is Brooklyn Diane, she is our oldest.

She is strong in will and in body and I say she will either be famous or infamous,

so pray for me.

We've got George of Faith, she is our sweet peach, she's in the middle there.

And then Houston Jonathan, he just turned four actually a week ago.

And so Houston, we have no problems, he's awesome.

But we planted One City Church out of this church.

And you are truly our sending church.

And we were a little bit of an orphan when it came to having a sending church

and you guys became our sending church.

And so every time I'm here, I get kind of emotional.

I'm really hoping, I'm not super emotional today.

I'm like, keep me strong, Holy Spirit.

But because of this house, because of the sowing of this house,

because of the sacrifice of this house, because of the prayers of this house,

some of you have prayed in this house for 50 years,

you've prayed for 40 years, like in this house,

you have prayed over this church.

And because of that, we are reaping fruit from that sacrifice.

And so this year we've baptized 17 people.

We've seen even more than that come, you can clap.

We've seen even more people move from death to life, from darkness to light.

We've seen miracles in our house, particularly in the form of babies.

Barren women have children, it's been incredible.

This year we had a Father's Day car show.

And so there's a little picture here of our Father's Day car show,

if you wanna go back one slide.

And we mimicked your car show and we did one for our fathers.

And then this last weekend, you can do the next slide,

we just launched all of our small groups.

It's awesome.

We've got a lot of young families, but I love your pastor.

The Bible says to give honor where honor is due.

And as I've gotten to know Kurt, he's one of the real ones.

He is, amen, clap for him.

He is humble.

He is pro-Big C Church, which is just so rare to find.

And the way that he has treated John and I over the years

has been nothing but integrous and full of honor

and full of meaning and full of mentorship.

And so we just love him very much.

But the Bible says to give honor where honor is due.

And so it is due to this house and we're just very grateful.

I wanna preach to you this morning on the question,

what are you doing with your faith and with your influence?

What are you doing with your faith and your influence?

We planted One City Church in Denver, Colorado,

because it is the 16th most unchurched city in America.

If you just take Denver proper,

the 700,000 people that live there

and you remove all of the metropolitans

and you remove the suburbs, it is just 2% Christian,

which is essentially an unreached people group.

And we know that from 2014 to 2019,

it was the fastest growing city in America.

And people were just moving here by the droves,

particularly young people.

In 2017, Forbes Magazine named Denver the number one city

for attracting young professionals.

And so I began to study,

and I've worked with young adults my whole life,

but I began to study, what is this generation like?

What's up with this generation?

What do they think?

What do they believe?

What do they know?

And what we know about this generation

is that they are the most unchurched generation.

The Gen Z generation is the most unchurched generation

of all time.

But watch this, we also know

they are the most spiritually open generation of all time.

And according to this,

the same study by Barna,

the number one thing that is going to influence

this generation, that is just our city,

your city is young.

The median age of this city is 35 years old,

same as Denver.

It is a young city.

It is chock full of people that do not know God,

and yet are open to knowing God.

And the number one influence on their faith

isn't preaching, it's not teaching,

although I'll do my best.

It is not LED screens, it's not amazing worship.

It is not TikTok or Instagram reels.

It is not even apologetics.

Watch this, it is the faith and the influence

of their peers and the people around them.

So what are you doing with your faith this morning?

And I just wanna encourage you

that you might not feel the strongest.

You might not feel the boldest.

You might not feel like you are the most intelligent.

You don't need to be perfect.

You don't need to be perfect to share what you know.

You don't need to have a Masters of Divinity.

You don't need to have the Evangelical Presbyterian

Statement of Faith memorized,

although that would be awesome.

You don't need to know all the creeds,

although that would be awesome.

All you need to know when it comes to reaching

this next generation is what you have come to know.

And when I say that knowing,

I mean that deep inner knowing of who God is

and what he's done for you.

And so this morning I titled it All I Know.

We're close financially.

And all we know is there's things Atlas has

to make us get filled to the brim

and there's things we can do shorter than all we ever think.

There are days where you'll need someone

in your family all the time,

but that's sort of the heart of the concern

about when you talk about church,

like when you gotta go to church without someone

not sharing your story at the beginning of the day.

ение

I'd like to hear how that is with you,

when you're thinking,

I gotta be part of your church.

Do me a favor.

so many people in our spheres of influence and we are meant to be we are your plan a Jesus help us

to be bold this morning help us to be confident in what we know help us to be confident in what

we know it's in Jesus name we pray and everyone said amen and amen thank you so much thank you

brother all right so have you ever felt pressure to know something and yet you did not know

you feel like a lot of pressure to know and yet you don't know when I was in high school I was

kind of good at chemistry and when I say I was kind of good I don't mean like Caltech good I

mean like sophomore organic chemistry good right and I got invited to go to that year's to represent

my school at that year's chemistry bowl to those of you who are like what's a chemistry bowl it's

like a super bowl but nobody's athletic and everybody eats hot lunch

in high school okay and you roll in to chemistry bowl and it is the smartest students from every

high school in in the area and we would show up and as we showed up I realized that oh my goodness

everyone here is brilliant they all had pocket protectors they all wore Birkenstocks and socks

they all had plastic belts you know and I remember being like oh no and Melvin the third

would not be an ominous figure or an intimidating figure in any scenario and yet you walk into

Kimball

and you have never met a more intimidating man than Melvin the third and I sat across for the way

that the Kimball would go is there was like a little podium and there was a butter buzzer on it

and you would face your opponent and then it was just rapid fire questions about stoichiometry and

organic chemistry and the first person to buzz in and say the correct answer would win and so I

remembered even though I was like the top of my class getting into this scenario and feeling

immense pressure to know

and looking at Melvin the third and being like

but I don't know you know what I'm saying like I don't know um

and

you know the person that was kind of overseeing the judge that

was overseeing the day he began rapid-fire questioning and I remember

just freezing?

you ever feel pressured to know

and yet you don't know

I think for sometimes for some of us this happens in our faith this happens in our faith I did not grow up a Christian in fact I would say I

I did not grow up a Christian.

In fact, I would say I very much resemble the study that Barna did.

I didn't know what Christmas was about growing up.

And so when I was 17 years old, I met Jesus for the very first time.

Changed my life.

I love Jesus.

Do you love Jesus?

Love Jesus.

And so I pull out of my state school applications, and I applied for Christian universities.

And I ended up going to Colorado Christian University, and it was the best decision I ever made.

Amazing school.

But when I was there, I remember going to my Bible classes, and I remember our professor would begin to ask us a series of questions.

And I felt pressure to know, and yet I did not know.

And I'm sitting around with a bunch of kids that went to Iwana's their entire life, right?

And I'm in the back like, okay, you know.

And I remember my Old Testament prof being like, turn to the book of Joel.

And all the Iwana's kids are like.

Right?

And I'm like, oh, no.

And then I finally went to the table of contents.

You know what I say?

Just pressure to know, and yet I did not know.

And I remember them saying names like David and like Esther.

I didn't know these people.

I remember them saying people like Paul.

I didn't know who these people were.

I remember them talking about the ark.

I remember them talking about the ark of the covenant.

And I was like, are we talking about Indiana Jones?

Like, wait, because I'm in, if so, because that's awesome, right?

And I'll never forget one day I'm sitting in the back of class because I was too nervous most of the time to speak up.

But I had a question.

We were reading in the Old Testament about Sodom and Gomorrah.

And I raised my hands, but I didn't say Sodom.

I said Saddam and Gomorrah.

And at that time, Saddam Hussein was in power, and like Bush was going to war with him.

And I remembered all the Iwana's kids were like.

You know, and I felt pressure to know something that I did not know.

I think sometimes when we feel pressure to know something that we don't know, it causes us to freeze like I did in high school.

Or it causes us to just stay silent.

So I want to read to you from a man that we find in Scripture who gets questioned about his faith.

He gets questioned.

He gets questioned about his encounter with Jesus.

And he doesn't know everything, Cherry Hills, but he does know one thing.

And so if you have your Bibles, I'd love for you to turn to John chapter 9.

John chapter 9.

If you've got your Bibles, wave them in the air like you just don't care.

I see one Bible.

All right.

Go ahead and get yourself some Bibles before you come to church next week.

All right, so let's do this.

Let's do this.

It's up on the screen.

It's up on the screen, but there's nothing like paper.

Amen?

All right, so it says this.

It says,

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth, and his disciples asked him,

Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?

And Jesus answered, It is not that this man has sinned or his parents, but the works of God,

but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

So we read this text, and it goes on.

It says this.

It says that the works of God might be displayed in him.

We must do the works of him who sent me.

While it is still day, night is coming, when no one can work.

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

And having said these things, he spit in the ground, and he made mud with his saliva.

Then he anointed the man's eyes.

Isn't that amazing?

With mud.

And he said to him, Go and wash in the pool of the Siloam, which means sent.

I'm going to return to that in a second.

So he went, and he washed, and he came back seeing.

Then the neighbors and those who had seen him before the beggar were saying,

Is this not the man?

Who used to sit and beg?

And some said, It is he.

Others said, No, it just looks like him.

Isn't that funny?

He kept saying, I am the man.

And so they said to him, Then how were your eyes opened?

And he answered, A man named Jesus made mud.

He anointed my eyes, and he said to me, Go to Siloam and wash.

And so I did.

I went and washed, and I received my sight.

And they said to him, Where is he?

And he said this, I do not know.

All right, so watch this.

Jesus is traveling with his disciples,

and he runs into a man who is born with congenital blindness,

which means he has always been blind.

He didn't become blind.

He has never seen.

And so his whole life, you can imagine,

he has only known his world with sounds and taste and touch.

He has never seen a tree or a mountain or a woman his whole life.

And so Jesus happens upon him and his disciples,

ask him, because in first century Judea, if you had an ailment like this,

it was considered to be so, because either you sinned or a family member sinned.

And so not only was there a lack of pity for you, there was also shame.

And they say, Who sinned, this man or his parents?

And Jesus looks at him, and it's not that he sinned or that his parents sinned,

but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

And so basically what he's saying in this moment is he's saying,

it's not about what this kid is.

It's not about what his dad has done.

It's not about what his parents have done.

Watch this.

He's like, it's about what I'm about to do.

I think sometimes it is important for us when we are faced with trial

and maybe difficulty, trauma in our lives,

the human response is to blame.

Whose fault is this?

But Jesus' response is to heal.

See, this might happen so that I can show my glory.

And so he anoints his eyes with mud.

He anoints him, and he says, Go to the pool called scent.

I was reading a commentary that compared this to Genesis 2

where God makes man out of dirt, and he says,

In this moment, maybe Jesus was just making him brand new eyes.

He goes to the pool called scent, and watch this.

He washes, and he sees for the first time.

I think sometimes we read our scripture too quickly,

or we've heard the story too many times,

and we don't understand what's happening here.

This man has never sinned.

Not once.

And so you have to imagine he opens his eyes,

and for the first time he sees a tree,

and the beautiful lush, and he's like, What is that?

That's a tree, man.

Oh, you're kidding.

I've heard those my whole life.

You've got to be joking.

And he's like, What is that?

What is that?

They're like, Oh, that's green, bud.

Whoa, green.

He looks at Jesus, and Jesus is like, Did you see what's up?

He's like, What is that?

That's a mountain, brother.

I made those.

He's like, That's a.

That's amazing.

He's like, What is that over there?

He's like, Oh, that's a woman.

You're welcome.

He's like, Thank you, Lord.

He sees for the first time, never seen in his entire life.

But then watch this.

He also sees Jesus.

Isn't it interesting that Jesus calls himself the light of the world,

and then he makes light in this man's world,

and then shows himself as light of the world?

It's amazing.

And he says this.

He says, I must do the works of the Father while it is still day.

Watch this.

He says this a lot.

And the reason why Jesus says this phrase a lot,

we must do the works of the Father while I'm still here,

because there is an urgency.

He says, Night is coming when we can no longer heal

and when we can no longer save.

And I think that Cherry Hills and One City Church

and every church in America would do well to remember

that we do not have.

All of the time in the world.

That we only have time while it is still day

to heal and to save.

See, there was an urgency to Jesus' life,

and so he heals this young man.

He comes back seeing, and the Bible says he goes away praising the Lord.

But almost immediately, people begin to question the miracle on his life.

Like, almost immediately, people are like,

Well, what happened?

And who did this?

And how did it happen?

And did it happen on the Sabbath?

And it's almost as if our intellects are offended by miracles,

and so we try to explain them away.

And they're like, Is this the kid who was born blind?

And they were like, No, it just looks like him.

It's a wax figure.

You know what I mean?

Like, we try to explain away miracles.

And so they bring this young man to the Pharisees to question him more.

It says this.

It says, And they brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been born blind.

Now, it was the Sabbath day when Jesus said,

He made the mud and opened his eyes.

I love that Jesus is constantly working on the Sabbath.

And so the Pharisees, again, asked him how he had received his sight.

And he said to them, He put mud on my eyes, and I watched, and I see.

Some of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.

But others said, How could a sinner do such signs?

And there was division among them.

So watch this.

There is a discussion, and there is an argument that takes place,

and an interrogation.

It takes place for the next 20 verses.

Simply because this man was encountered by Jesus, was healed by Jesus,

and then was sent by Jesus.

If you are in here today and you call yourself a follower of God,

you have encountered the living God.

Not only that, though, but you have been healed by the living God.

I know I have.

But watch this.

You have also been sent.

Sent by the living God.

And if that's you, then here's the deal.

You need to understand that you are going to be privy to some uncomfortable conversations.

You are going to be privy to a whole lot of questioning,

simply because you have encountered Jesus and been changed.

Which leads to my first point this morning, and it's this.

Let the questions begin.

All right, if you are a Christian,

you need to just get ready, because the questions are coming.

This kid has been healed by Jesus, redeemed by Jesus, for a millisecond.

When people are like, well, who did this?

How did it happen?

You say you were blind?

I don't believe you.

Like, just crazy questions, right?

And the same will go for you and for me as we follow Jesus.

Before I was in ministry, I graduated from college,

and for three years I waited tables downtown at a steakhouse.

And for three years, I worked with people that, by and large, did not know God.

And I would walk into work every day, and it was crazy,

because I didn't even need to, like, bring up my faith.

People just kind of knew.

And then they would ask me questions.

I remember my friend Shanna got diagnosed with cancer,

and we were downstairs getting ready for our work day.

And she asked me, she said, hey, she said, I mean, you know about my diagnosis, right?

And I said, Shanna, I'm so sorry.

Are you okay?

And we began talking about her cancer diagnosis.

And she said, hey, she said, do you have any,

like, I know you go to church and stuff, do you have anything I could listen to?

Well, yes, I do.

This was back when we had CDs.

I was like, check out this CD.

Some of you in here, you're like Gen Zs, you're like, what?

It's a CD.

So I gave her a CD.

It was about a month later.

It was Easter Sunday.

I'm working on Easter Sunday.

I'm getting set up for the day, and I'm setting out plates and napkins and stuff like that.

And my friend Paul approaches me, and he said, hey, Jess.

He, like, leans over the table.

He's like, hey.

Hey, you know, I mean, you know what Easter's about, right?

And he's like, I know it's not about peeps and bunnies and stuff, so what is Easter about?

And I said, oh, Paul, Easter's awesome, man.

Because Easter is the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

It's where he conquered the grave.

Death no longer reigns because of Easter.

It was about a month later.

I'm hanging out with Trevor.

We're getting ready for a banquet in the back.

And he just, he's so excited.

It's so funny.

He was like, hey, he was like, hey, Jess, hey, so I started praying recently.

And I was like, oh, great, Trev, that's awesome.

He goes, do you have any tips?

And it was maybe a month later.

I'm expediting food, and my friend John is kind of hovering around me, and he just asked me a question.

He said, hey, Jessi, have you seen the movie Religious?

And I said, no, John, I haven't seen it.

It was a movie that came out years ago.

It was a movie that came out years ago from Bill Maher, basically kind of making fun of every world of religion and that they're all ridiculous, hence the word religious.

And he's like, have you seen the movie?

I said, no.

And I run some food, I come back, and he said, well, I have to agree with the message of the movie.

And I said, oh, okay, I don't know what it's about, so maybe you'll have to tell me.

And he's like, well, that God doesn't exist.

And it was almost like he was like, you know what I mean?

You know when they just want to poke you?

What do you think?

Were you even born blind?

And I looked at him, and I said, oh, John, I laughed.

I distinctly remember laughing.

I go, so, John, you've never had anything supernatural happen in your life ever?

And he was like, well, no, I mean, I have, yes, I have had some supernatural, yes.

Okay, so I guess what I mean is I believe in God.

I just don't know what I think about the Bible.

And I was like, well, all right, let's talk about that.

If you are a believer, simple as that.

Simply because you are walking with Jesus, changed by Jesus, you need to be prepared for the questions to come.

And you need to be open because the questions are coming for you.

The question is not, are you going to be questioned?

The question is, how are you going to answer when you are questioned about your faith?

It says this in 1 Peter when it comes to what we need to know about God.

It says, but in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord, and always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks,

who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have.

I don't know if you know this, but people can see hope on you like a garment.

You walk into a space and they can see the Holy Spirit on you.

They see God working in you.

They see the light of life and hope.

People are going to ask you, why are you so steady right now during the election?

How do you have joy right now?

You are always so happy.

Didn't you just lose your job?

Like, how are you so peaceful, man?

And the Bible says, you need to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have.

People are going to ask you, why are you so steady right now during the election?

You need to be prepared to give an answer.

For what?

For why you have hope.

Why do you have hope this morning?

Who gave you your hope?

You know what the Bible doesn't say?

The Bible doesn't say, you need to be prepared to give an answer for six-day creationism.

You need to be prepared to give an answer for how Noah got two of every animal on that boat.

You need to be prepared to give an answer for dinosaurs.

You need to be prepared to give an answer for the 95 thesis and why Martin Luther tacked it up on the wall anyway.

You need to be prepared to give an answer for why there is suffering in the world.

No, it doesn't say that.

Now, if you are interested in studying that, there is a massive deficit in apologetics in our generation, and so I would urge you to.

But the Bible doesn't say that is what you are required to know.

What you are required to know is what you have come to know.

Why do you have hope?

And there is an entire world outside of these four walls that needs to know why you have hope.

Why do you have hope?

Why do you have hope this morning?

The story goes on, and it says this.

It says, the Jews, go ahead and pop that up, did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight.

I love people.

Until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked him,

is this your son who you say was born blind?

How then does he now see?

His parents answered, we know that this is our son, duh, and that he was born blind.

But how he now sees, we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes.

Ask him, he is of age, he will speak for himself.

Go ahead and go to one more slide.

And it says this, it says, his parents said these things because they feared the Jews,

for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be the Christ,

he was to be put out of the synagogue.

Side note, they are intimidating people from sharing their testimony by saying,

we will reject you if you share.

The devil has the same playbook.

In 2024, if you talk about Jesus, I'm gonna reject you.

And so the parents said to him, ask him, he's 18, he's of age.

And so they return to the second time.

They called the man who had been born blind, and they said, give glory to God.

We know that this man was a sinner.

And he answered, whether this man was a sinner or not, I do not know.

I don't know everything.

But one thing I do know, I was blind, and now I see.

The Pharisees are getting squirrely, and they are questioning his parents.

They're questioning bystanders, witnesses.

They're interrogating.

They come back to the kid for the second time, and they're like, give glory to God.

Tell us, who is this man?

Where did he come from?

Is he a sinner?

And he's like, I don't know.

Like, I'm not sure, okay?

I don't know about Calvinism or Arminianism.

I don't know about the verse that you just talked to me about, why there's such a

suffering in 2024.

I don't know who you should vote for in the 2024 election.

One thing I do know is I was blind, and now I see.

See, here's the deal for us, Cherry Hills.

This is the most ancient and most powerful tool that you have, is that in the face of

questioning, you can say to somebody, hey, I don't know everything, but one thing I do

know is that I was blind, and now I see.

You don't need to know everything.

But you do need to know one thing, which leads me to my point, and it's this, is that in this

house, a bunch of you have stories, and your story is strong.

In the 1960s, there was a professor, a Christian professor, who taught at the University of

Pennsylvania, and he taught a bunch of Marxist students, because Marxism was on the rise, much

like 2024, and he had one student who had superior intellect.

He was a Marxist, and this is his words.

He also had another student who was a Christian.

He was a Christian like him, who had, quote, unquote, average intelligence, and the following

year, they were going to be roomed together, and I remember the professor saying, I felt very

nervous about my Christian student, and I wondered how long it would take for the Marxist

student to talk the Christian student out of his faith.

It was two months later, they got food together, and the Marxist had become a Christian, and the

professor said, how is this possible?

How did this take place?

And the Marxist said, well, every night, we would argue, and every night, I would have a

superior argument.

And every night, I would win.

But every night, this Christian student would simply tell me, you have won this argument, and I

confess that you know more than I do, but you're not going to talk me out of my faith, because I

know one thing.

I was blind, but now I see.

Your story, Cherry Hills, is strong.

Do you remember where you were when Jesus found you?

Do you remember where you were the first time?

Do you remember where you were the first time that you looked up from your darkness and saw his face, and for the very first time, you saw light?

Because I do.

I was 17 years old.

I had incredible parents.

I had incredible friends.

I had every reason to feel security and safety.

I was provided for.

I got good grades.

Like, I had a good home life, and yet, I felt a fracture in my soul that no one and nothing could heal.

I was completely broken, and I knew it.

There is a generation that is out there that is exactly like me, and it took a woman telling me her story and taking me to church for the very first time.

I heard the gospel for the very first time when I was 16 years old.

I cried for two days from supernatural tears.

I'd never heard anything so wonderful in my life.

I am saved.

There is a whole world that needs your story.

Do you remember where you were when Jesus found you?

And then, do you remember what it was like the first time that you saw his faith?

Revelations 12 says this.

It says, and they overcame him because of the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.

This is your story.

That's all that is.

You overcome the enemy in your life by your testimony, by the blood of Jesus and your story.

Your story is strong, and you may feel like, man, my story is nothing.

I grew up knowing God my whole life.

And I'll remember that.

Or maybe my story has too much darkness and too much in my past.

It does not matter.

Can I just tell you?

It is the power of God.

Why did this happen to this kid?

It is not because he sinned.

It is not because his parents sinned.

It's so that the glory of God could be revealed through him.

Your story is so strong this morning, which leads me to my last point, and it's this.

You need to ask a question.

You don't need to know everything.

But you do need to know one thing.

And at some point, Cherry Hills, you may have to ask a question.

So the story climaxes.

This is a beautiful story, by the way.

It's got an incredible climax, just like a great written work.

And at the climax of the story, the Pharisees return to this young man again.

And they begin interrogating him again.

And it says this.

It says, then he asked him, what did he do to you?

How did he open your eyes?

And he answered, I've told you already.

And you didn't.

You didn't listen.

Why do you want to hear it again?

And then he says this.

You can just sense this young man and his innocence.

He just says, so do you want to be his disciples too?

Like, is that why you're asking all these questions?

Is it because you don't know God like Nicodemus?

And you really are curious and you'd like to know God?

Is that why you're questioning?

At some point, Cherry Hills, you may need to ask.

Ask a question.

I, for years, worked downtown.

And in that time, my friend Shanna actually came to church.

She got saved.

She's cancer free.

She's got three kids.

You can give it up for that.

There's another testimony from a man named Chris.

And I remembered walking out to the front steps.

And he was on the front steps.

And he was reading in front of our restaurant.

And I said, oh, hey, Chris.

I'm heading out for the night.

What are you reading, man?

And he's like, oh, it's this book on Buddhism.

Now, I don't know where he was at in his faith journey.

But I was just kind of like, okay.

And I said, well, I said, maybe sometime, Chris, you should try reading the Bible.

And he just like laughed.

We were good friends.

And I went home.

It wasn't much longer after that that Chris came to the church that I attended at the time.

And I remembered him getting saved.

I remembered him meeting his wife.

I remember the day they both got baptized.

I remembered meeting their child.

Listen, there is an entire world in your sphere of influence.

And it is not going to be me.

It is not going to be Pastor Kurt that brings them to the Lord.

It is going to be you and the hope that you have.

And so with every head bowed and every eye closed, I just have two questions this morning.

My first question is this.

I don't want to leave here without giving an opportunity to know Jesus.

And I just have a feeling I was driving in today and the Holy Spirit was just wrecking me on my drive in.

And I think that there's multiple people in here that do not know God.

I was 17 years old when I met Christ for the first time.

I was fractured.

I now realize I was fractured because of my sin.

Nothing in the world could satisfy me.

Some of you are in here.

And listen, you came in today and you're seeing some blonde girl who jokes too much up on stage.

But the Holy Spirit has just been demolishing you.

That heartbeat that's beating real fast, that's the Holy Spirit telling you, come home.

You didn't know and now you know.

And so if that's you in here, I just want to give you an opportunity to receive Christ this morning.

I received him when I was 17 at a youth camp.

I never looked back.

The Bible says that anyone who confesses that Jesus...

Jesus is Lord, shall be saved.

They get the Holy Spirit in the here and now.

They get heaven forever.

And so if that's you in here, I'd just love for you to raise your hand.

Amen.

The Bible says if you are unashamed of Jesus on this side of heaven, he will be unashamed of you in heaven.

And so all you do is this, is you simply confess, Lord, forgive me of my sins.

Lord, thank you for dying for me.

That I can be free from my sins.

I can have the Holy Spirit in your life now.

From now until eternity.

I thank you, Jesus, for my salvation, that you are my Savior in my life.

That's all you have to do.

My second question is this.

Maybe for you, you haven't felt your story is strong.

Or maybe for you, you haven't felt a boldness.

And if you are in here and you're like, man, the Lord has put on my heart some people that need to know...

And do not know.

And in two weeks, we have an opportunity to invite them to church for the very first time.

If that's you in here and you're like, God, I would like to be used by you to bring people into your kingdom,

would you just raise your hand nice and high?

All right.

Should be a whole lot more hands in here.

That should probably be everybody in here.

Go ahead and raise your hands up high.

Probably the entire room should be raising their hands right now.

If you are a follower of Jesus...

And he has changed your life...

You just open up your heart and you say, Jesus, let the questions begin.

Let the questions begin.

God, I thank you for every single person that raised their hand for salvation today.

God, I thank you for every single person that said, man, God, I want to be used by you.

And would you remind me that my story is strong, that there are people in my life that need to know who you are.

And God, I don't need to know everything.

I just need to know one thing.

We praise you, Jesus.

It's in your name.

We pray.

Amen and amen.

Thank you, Cherry Hills.