 happy weekend! It's so good to be with you and all of you who are joining us this weekend on Facebook live and on our very own radiant dot church and YouTube channel and portage come on can we just all put our hands together and give a great big shout out we love you guys and we love everybody who's joining us in person we get it we know that there are a lot of people who aren't ready yet to come back maybe in the next couple weeks we'll look forward to seeing you and others are a little bit further away from us and in other cities and other communities but we're all together in this and we're so glad that you're joining us this weekend as we continue to study God's word out of the book of James so wherever you are if you have your Bibles take them out today and open with me to James chapter 4 this is a continuation of our summer series entitled revolutionary faith so we're looking at the book of James just an incredibly incredibly practical but yet deeply spiritual book in the New Testament and as we've said before written by James half brother of Jesus leader of the church of Jerusalem probably the very first book written in the New Testament and it is just packed with stuff that I don't know about you but even as I'm preparing week in and week out and studying it's amazing to me how the Bible even 2,000 years after it was written across oceans and cultures and languages is still incredibly relevant to exactly where and who we are today no different in the hour in which we're living in where we're seeing you know unprecedented times and I was recently reading through a book by one of my mentors Jimmy Evans who just put on a new book by the way if you haven't picked it up it's called tipping point and it's on Bible prophecy and I was reading through it because I had originally read the first three chapters of it and I had the privilege of writing an endorsement for it so I figured if I'm endorsing it I better read it so I went back through it and I was giving through it and the things that I was reading about the what the Bible has to say about I believe the days in which we are living in just began to just stir up on the inside of me an understanding and a realization that this is a time more than ever where we need God's word to be the compass for our hearts we need to be tuned in not checking out amen and so even as as I'm prepping and going through the book of James and the message I'm going to share with you today it's just so relevant about the days in which we are living in and I want to draw your attention to James 4 beginning in verse number 13 it says this these words come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make profit yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring how many know that's the case you do not know what tomorrow will bring what is your life for you are a mist that appears for a little time and then it vanishes instead you ought to say if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that as it is you boast in your arrogance and all such boasting is evil so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it for him it is sin James asks a very important question in the midst of this text here's the question what is your life what is your life have you ever thought about that what is my life and then he gives the answer to it he says your life is a vapor it's here one minute and it's gone the next and he's asking this question to a very specific group of people he's he's asking it he says it in the very beginning of verse number 13 come now you who say in other words there's some people who are saying oh you know what we're gonna either today or tomorrow we're gonna go over here we're gonna set up a business here we're gonna travel there we're gonna do this we're gonna do that James is addressing those people and those people that he's addressing are actually very wealthy people the reason why we know that they're wealthy is because in the first century number one if you were a business owner you were wealthy or if you were doing business and you had the freedom to travel from here to there within the Roman Empire or within kind of the Middle Eastern context the average person did not travel and the average person did not set up business and the average person wasn't able to leave home and go spend a year in this place or in a year in that place merchants did that and merchants were some of the very wealthy very influential people both of Jewish culture and of Roman culture so James is speaking to believers but believers who are very wealthy and he's challenging them he says come I want to ask you a question those of you who have a lot of money those of you who have a lot of affluence those of you who have freedom to travel you have all of these things I want to ask you a question I want in fact I want you to stop and I want you to think about this question what is your life and he's trying to bring it into proper perspective because James knows that we at times need to have sobriety about what our life really is we need to have sobriety and we need to check our hearts in how we are spending our lives and how we are spending our times and what we're actually living for and what the values are for our lives because as he says your life is it's but a vapor I know it seems like it's a long time but really in context of eternity our life is but a vapor if you've ever walked outside on a cold Michigan morning and by the way that is soon to arrive I hate to break it to everybody but it's not too far in the distance how many know in September it can be 90 degrees one day in the next day killing your plants because of frost it can just happen when you walk outside in a cool crisp morning in Michigan and you see your breath just kind of puff out and then it disappears that's what James is talking about when he says that's your life now you can become very nihilistic and very dark in your perspective about life and and you can quote the old Kansas song out of the 1970s just dust in the wind all we are is dust in the wind and my life really doesn't matter and I'm here and then I'm gone but James doesn't do that James isn't saying hey your life really doesn't matter in fact he's actually saying the opposite he's trying to get us to realize how much our lives matter but yet our lives matter when we have the proper perspective unless you look at this and think well James is only talking to the wealthy because if you read chapter 5 the very several I think first first 13 verses are James actually talking to wealthy people and telling them be careful what you do with your money be careful about your ethics and how you treat people that work for you and be careful about getting too hasty with your time and be patient he's talking to very wealthy people and you know for you and I we can read that and go yeah James lay it on there and tell these wealthy people you know don't take your life for granted and don't say what you're gonna do today and tomorrow and you can say yeah James lay it on thick come on the wealthy they need they need a proper perspective until you realize this that you and I are probably the wealthy people James is talking to because if you live in America which we all do you are in the 1% top wealthiest people on the planet and here's what is challenging about being wealthy and being a follower of Jesus or even having any affluence because in American culture we think of oh no no I'm not wealthy wealthy people have you know a G6 a Gulfstream 6 that flies them everywhere that they want they've got multiple homes one here in Colorado and one in you know the Bahamas and one here in Michigan and one on the lake that's wealthy people and wealthy people have you know portfolios that are fully loaded and CEOs of businesses and and I get it there are varying degrees of wealth but right now I want you to think about this Ron Sider said this years ago he said if you were to take the average person person out of India and you're bring them to the United States and compare their financial situation to the poorest American even on government assistance they would think that you are wealthy so that's us and when we hear those words we obviously we understand that wealth is scalable but yet we also are people because of the nature and because of the world and the community that we live in the code we're blessed to be in a nation that there's all kinds of opportunities entrepreneurship we have great resources but sometimes here's what can happen the very resources that we enjoy can actually create a an illusion of self-sufficiency or of what I call self-contained certainty about our lives that's why we can say oh I'm gonna do this tomorrow and I'm gonna do that tomorrow and next year and I'm gonna do this it's because there is a certain level of self-sufficiency that is bred on the inside of us because we're used to having some things that are tools and implements that help us build our lives and enjoy them think about these things travel the ability to travel we've all experienced the loss of that but you know up until four or five months ago I was on an airplane every couple times a month but I haven't been on an airplane in several months but it used to be in it and we still have vehicles and cars we can kind of travel wherever we want to you know a hundred years ago the average person in our community never traveled their entire lifetime a hundred miles beyond where they lived today we call that a day travel money and business all of those things are freedoms that we have and they give us certain illusions about our lives think about this wealth is an illusion because it convinces us of security and happiness if I enough money I can have everything that I want I can be happy freedom you know freedom liberty to make our own decisions is an illusion because you're only as free as you are alive how many know the moment you die your freedom dies too but yet we live our lives going I want to be free yeah but what happens if it's an illusion youth is an illusion ha oh how I know that all too well youth is an illusion because it convinces us when we're young that you have all the time in the world come on somebody don't shut me down at home don't you dare don't you're at home going I can't hear him that's because you're old but there was a time when we all all of us who are over 21 years old all thought oh yeah I got all the time in the world there was a time when Jane and I first started the church that we would have people come to church and go I don't know if I can come to a church with a pastor that young and now we have people that come to church and go I'm not sure if I can go to a church with a pastor that yeah yeah you know it it sneaks up on you it sneaks up on you time is and youth is an illusion and let me tell you the biggest illusion of all of them it's like a mirage if you've ever seen a mirage when you're driving you can it looks wet out on the horizon then you get there and it's not there in the desert it plays games it messes with your mind because it shows you like an oasis up in the distance but it's not really there and in the same way here's the greatest mirage or illusion of all when it comes to our lives you ready here's what it is tomorrow tomorrow that's what James is saying don't be sucked in by the mirage of tomorrow tomorrow we're gonna do this tomorrow the Sun will come out tomorrow tomorrow I'm gonna start a new business tomorrow I'm gonna start a new discipline a new routine tomorrow I'm gonna obey God tomorrow I'm gonna get serious about walking with God tomorrow and tomorrow is the greatest illusions the greatest mirage at all and here's why it's because tomorrow doesn't exist you say well tomorrow I know tomorrow exists but here's the thing when you arrive there tomorrow it will be today the only place that you can actually be is today it's right now tomorrow is an illusion that plays mind games with us and it gives us this sense of false security that we've got time to change time to prioritize time to alter our lives and it gives us a sense of security today that we don't have to do anything I'll do that tomorrow how many have ever done that it's like you know what I'm gonna start my diet tomorrow anybody ever done that and you do that right before you bust open a pint of Ben and Jerry's you peel that off and you're just like mmm tomorrow tomorrow I'm gonna tomorrow I'm gonna work out tomorrow I'm gonna make that phone call and I'm gonna make that relationship right that has been coming up in my heart that I know I need to deal with you know I'm gonna do it tomorrow tomorrow I'm gonna write that letter tomorrow I'm gonna start my devotions and I'm gonna start off in the morning really calibrating my heart around the presence of God I'm gonna do that tomorrow listen don't say tomorrow say today because tomorrow as he says in verse 14 you don't know what tomorrow brings you do not know what tomorrow brings what is your life what is your life you ever asked yourself that question what what is my life what is it and when you ask that question you have to ask it from the perspective of what am I doing with my life am I obeying God or am I living for things that are temporal and passing away like the vapor that comes out of my mouth and then dissipates am I living for that or am I living for eternity am I living for things that are significant what is my life at the if I were to die today would I be missed because I have given more than I've actually taken today if I were to step out of this life and into eternity would my life have been described by temporal things that Paul writes as woodhand stubble that are consumed by the fire of entry into the eternal realm out of this temporal realm or would my life be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and would they be gold and silver and precious metals that when we make that transition into the eternal realm and into the presence of God and into the heavenly kingdom that those things that we lived our lives for they don't break up but they actually become more profound what is our life and there's two things that matter in the context of this and this this is what I want to zero in on because this is for all of us to take stock in our lives that's what James is trying to get these people to think about he's like look don't take tomorrow for granted live your life today for the will of God and if you know that there's something right if God has spoken to you if God has written to you if you know that there are some things to do that are right and you fail to do them that's where sin comes in you see living for tomorrow and not living in radical obedience today is actually a sinful way to live our lives if you know what's right do it and here's why it's sinful it's because the word sin literally means to miss the mark to miss the mark I don't know about you but I don't want to live a life that at the end of my life I look back and go that was my target and I miss the mark by aiming my life over here I want to nail the bullseye of the very thing that Jesus had in his heart long before I ever took my first breath for my life I want to apprehend that for which I have been apprehended by him I want to aim towards the high the upward call of God in Christ Jesus that's what I want to live my life for because that's the thing that is going to matter we live in a world where people view life our life when we answer that question what is our life we view it totally through the lens of 70 or 80 or maybe 90 years of our life and go okay what am I gonna do in this life what experiences what's my bucket list who do I want what's the what's gonna make me happy but we miss out on the fact that this life is so brief in comparison for the life that is to come and in light of that we need to realize this number one that today the gift of today matters for every single one of us today matters today matters do you know the one resource that wealthy and poor people have the same amount of it's time think about it wealthy I mean uber wealthy like Steve Bezos trillionaire wealthy type of people who runs Amazon and basically owns the world he can't buy one more minute of time when you woke up today you had 24 hours that God gave to you and what was today you woke up with the exact same amount of time that Steve Bezos Bill Gates Warren Buffett Saudi sheiks all were given the exact same amount of time you can't get any more time but you could waste it what you do with your time will either determine whether your life makes an impact or whether it's a subtraction today matters Matthew 6 34 Jesus said therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow here's Jesus again saying don't worry about tomorrow so much of our lives is wrapped up in tomorrow and you know what that creates on the inside of us anxiety do you know that right now during COVID 19 over the last four months see the CDC just put out some information that said during this period this pandemic period of time the mental health of the American public has taken a radical bottoming out anxiety depression and all sorts of different mental anguish has gripped a hold of people it's because we're all sitting around wondering when is that when is this thing gonna go away when are we gonna be able to get back to our life here's what we're consumed with tomorrow we're consumed with tomorrow Jesus said do not be anxious about tomorrow why because for tomorrow will be anxious for itself sufficient for the day today is its own trouble Jesus is saying this don't get ahead of yourself today matters you don't know what tomorrow holds you don't know what it's what challenges are gonna come with it focus on today what can you do with what you have today what can you do of eternal significance and a value today what can you do with the 24 hours and the breath in your lungs and the favor of God on your life that you have today regardless of your circumstances regardless of your situations regardless of what's going on in the world but here's what happens we turn on the television and they tell us all the things that we should be worried about that are coming tomorrow or that could come tomorrow or the things that aren't gonna come tomorrow the things that we had hoped would come tomorrow do you know the Bible does say that hope deferred makes the heart sick it's where anxiety comes from but yet Jesus says today matters in another place Hebrews 3 verse 7 it says today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts is in the day of rebellion it's the voice of the Holy Spirit he says do not harden your hearts when today do you know that God speaks to you today God is always speaking to us today the challenge is do we hear him today do we hear him today and often the the thing that gets in the way of you and I hearing the voice of God today is we have our mind either focused on yesterday or anxious about tomorrow so many of us live our lives past present in future seeing through the lens of our pain so we look at our past we we live our lives today not embracing this moment but thinking about yesterday or thinking about last year or thinking about the last 20 years the pain that we went through and then feeling again in the now and projecting our pain into the future here's what happens when you live live through the lens of pain or of hurt or of offense or suffering or fear any of those negative emotions we look back on what happened to us and if you've ever been in a car and you've heard a song that you haven't heard in a long time and it takes you back to a time and a place how many have ever had that before like you hear a song and it you can almost smell you can feel where you were at it's because your brain is chemically connected to triggers and stimuli and what happens is if you live in yesterday rehearsing the pain and the hurt of yesterday it's not that you deny that it was real but if you live in it and in your moment today what happens is pain will not just become the anchor that tethers you to your past it will become the lens through which you see your future because you will project what you can expect tomorrow based on what you feel now that's rooted in where you came from and so many of us do that and so when we live our lives past present and future through pain here's what happens we will live unrenewed unresolved and unrenewed and then when we look at our past present and future through the lens of pleasure in other words man I want what I used to have and I'm gonna live my life today solely for my own pleasure to do what I want to then we'll then in our pride what we'll do is we'll begin to project into our future exactly what James says not to do well you know what things have been going good I'm on top of the world I can do whatever I want to I've got travel I've got wealth I know people I'm good looking I'm ready to roll whoo tomorrow is going to be the best next year is going to be even better and we'll project that into the future and instead of living in an unrenewed way here's what will happen we will live our lives in an unprepared way in an unprepared way because today matters and let me tell you the main reason why today matters today matters because eternity matters eternity matters I want you to for a moment ponder this reality that one billion years from now you will still be who you are in fact you will be more of who you are regardless of who you are if you are a follower of Jesus Christ you will be in the presence of God in the kingdom of God more alive more conscious more aware more understanding than you are even right now and in that moment a billion years from now you will look back on your life that you lived on this planet that maybe it's a hundred years 90 years and it will feel to you like a faint memory that you right now have of childhood I want you to think back to childhood how many real memories do you have of childhood of like specific memories and how many faint memories do you how yeah I kind of generally remember that that's what this life will feel like in that life in eternity you'll look back on this life and go man that was just like a moment and it's not because God doesn't have any plans or desires for this life this life is training us it's God working and refining us to make us and conform us into the image of his son he's calling the overcomer out of us he's developing us to be princes and princesses that reign and rule in his royal kingdom with him and this life is a test it's a test of love it's a test of loyalty it's a test of faith it's a test of allegiances and a lot of things that you and I go through right now don't make sense to us but they will Paul says in Romans 8 for I consider that the present suffering that we are enduring right now is not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us then oh guys I know that in this life right now there are so many questions God are you in control out of control what are you doing do you hear me do you even like me do you love God is working in us and then when we go through difficulties and loss a lot of times we say God how can anything good it says in Romans 8 that you're making all things work together for the good of those who love you and called it I don't know any good that even comes listen there if we're just blatantly honest there are some things that happen in this life that are so unexpected that blindside us that even in our entire life we can't find anything good in them how is it that God is working them for good it's because if we limit who we are to this life and if we limit what God is doing to this life then we'll miss it everything God is doing in this life is for the next life everything God is doing in us now will have its ultimate manifestation in the kingdom and then it'll be worth it then it will make sense how many of you had surgery when you were under 10 years old anybody have like I had tonsils out when I was five years old anybody raise your hand if you had even at home portage as well raise your hand if you had surgery as a child okay a few of us they tell you when you have your tonsils taken out that it's very painful in your throat you can't swallow and and I'm sure that that's true but can I tell you I don't remember the pain all I remember is my mom giving me popsicles and I was able to eat all the popsicles I wanted and that was a lot but here I am I'm 49 years old and the pain was real there's no denying the pain I just don't remember it is it possible that in the kingdom in eternity we'll look back and go I know it was real I just don't remember it I just don't remember it eternity matters today matters because eternity matters listen to these words this is Paul writing in Ephesians chapter 5 look carefully then how you walked talking about how we live our lives not as unwise but as wise making the best use of the time because the days are evil therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is this is key understand what the will of the Lord is and do not be drunk with wine for this is debauchery but be filled with the Spirit he says be wise in the way that you live your lives making the best use of time one translation says redeeming the time all of us get 24 hours but here's the thing if we live our lives James says of Paul now says if we live our lives and say God what is your will for me today and how can I serve you in your will for me today if we'll do that we're actually buying time that is passing away back and we are sending it on ahead into eternity we're redeeming the time do you know that it used to be said only that which is done for the Lord will last I mean we we hear those type of things but it's really true do you know that in heaven there are going to be remnants in the kingdom of God that are the results of what we did in the temporary realm and the life that God gave to us for example there are going to be people that will be in heaven some that you know and some that you have never met that will be in heaven in the kingdom of God resurrected reigning and ruling with Jesus children of God that will be there because of what you did within a small framework you called life and for all eternity they will be there without end they will be there there will be eternal ramifications on the kingdom because of temporary decisions we make here on earth that's massive and it all boils down to the way that we live our lives and the way that we perceive our time you see when we talk about the will of God a lot of times we're waiting for God to come down and drop a a task list and say here's my will for you today and that's awesome if that happens most of the time God says this is my will I want you to read it I want you to think it I want you to soak in it and then I want you to do it well I'll do that tomorrow divine procrastination I'll do that tomorrow oh you know what tomorrow I'm gonna no God says today while it's today live your life not through the lens of your pleasure live your life not through the lens of your pain live your life not through what do I want to do with my life just to kind of pass it through because I'm just dust in the wind no live your life saying today what can I do in the will of God to further the kingdom of God what today can I do to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ what can I do today to further the kingdom of God to impact somebody's life to be generous what can I do to be Jesus to somebody who today can I help become a disciple of Jesus who can I share the gospel with who today through my giving that I earned because I go from nine to five and I go to work and I get a paycheck and then I take that paycheck that is gonna pass away on Starbucks and Ben and Jerry's if I take a portion of that though and I invest it into the things of the kingdom of God through my local church and kingdom builders and missionaries when I do that that money then is translated into actions by others and it ultimately brings praise to God and changed lives when you go to work you're not just making a living when you go to work you're making a giving and remember what Jesus said about that let me read Jesus's words do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth wear moth and rust destroy where thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure your heart will be also first Corinthians chapter three talking about our lives it says Paul writes each one's work in other words what we've done with our lives on that day he says each one's work will become manifest for that day the day that we stand before the Lord and give an account for our lives that day we'll disclose it because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test what sort of work each has done if the work that anyone has built upon the foundation survives he will receive a reward if anyone's work is burned up he will suffer loss though he himself will be saved only as through fire so in other words we're going to make it in heaven church christians we're going to make it because you're not saved by works you're saved by grace but we're rewarded in the kingdom based on the perspective we lived our lives from did we live from an eternal perspective there are some people who right now in this life nobody would look at and say oh they're wealthy but someday you're going to get into the kingdom and they're going to be loaded up and then there's other people who are in this life who are uber wealthy they got all the toys they live for themselves jesus loves them but when they get to heaven all of that's going to have burned up on entry and jesus is going to say well enter into the kingdom there's not much reward as through fire in the words of the great theologian maximus the gladiator what we do in this life echoes in eternity what we do in this life echoes in eternity today matters what is your life what is your life right now you know one of the places i think we're confronted with this reality more than any other type of an environment church maybe but funerals when you go to a funeral you're confronted with the reality that we all are going to face death and we're confronted with the reality of what do we do with our life so many people come to funerals or life memorials and walk out saying you know what tomorrow i'm going to live a different life tomorrow i'm going to be a different person tomorrow i'm going to get my life right with god so many of us but then we go back into the mirage of life and we forget i wonder what would happen if today today we treated it like our own funeral and we said today i'm burying my old perspective that says it's all about me today i'm signing the death certificate on my dreams my pleasures my way of thinking and i'm saying god i want to live my life for your will today i wonder what would happen if today we did what paul said when he said reckon yourselves dead unto sin and you know what it's not always it's not always like this overt sin i wonder what would happen if we reckoned ourselves dead unto apathy it's like i'm not gonna not care anymore i'm gonna care i'm gonna live my life listen i believe with all of my heart you look at the world around us right now we are living in days that the writers of the bible and jesus and the prophets prophesy it's happening we don't know when jesus is going to return it could be it could be a decade it could be a generation but here's what we know we know that there's gonna come a day when jesus is gonna crack the eastern sky he's going to return he's gonna set up his kingdom on the earth and he will be king of kings and lord of lords on that day we will be with him if we've acknowledged him as lord of our lives today i want to invite you wherever you're at to just stand with me portage stand even in your living rooms watch parties wherever you might be let's just stand in this moment in this presence of the lord and we're gonna pray i'm gonna pray on here i'm praying that the holy spirit will grip our hearts with sobriety as if it were our own funeral so many times we live our lives looking forward but maybe we need to start at the end of our lives and look back and decide who do i want to be on that day what do i want to have accomplished how obedient to jesus do i want to have been and say to ourselves i no longer want to be a person of tomorrow i want to be a person who seizes today carpe diem sees the day wherever you're at would you just buy your heads with me in prayer today such a powerful word today do you know the bible in 2nd Corinthians uses that word today one other time here's what it says today is the day of salvation today is the day of salvation all who call upon the name of the lord will be saved today wherever you are listening to me listening to the word of god and you know in your heart of hearts you you're not right with god you've not received jesus christ seriously to be the lord and the master of your life i'm not talking about you don't you believe in god you go to church occasionally all those are wonderful but i'm talking about you having a relationship with jesus christ personally where you recognize you're a sinner and you're dead in your sins only jesus can save you and give you eternal life today that's a reality today is the day of salvation so what i'm going to do is i'm going to in this next moment if you're listening to me and you know that you're not right with god today is the day of salvation don't wait one more day to surrender it all and say god from now on i'm living my life for you today if you'll come into my heart and forgive me and save me and give me a new heart i'm gonna live my life for you beginning today you can have it all lord i'm tired of trying to do it myself i'm tired of carrying the guilt and the shame i'm tired of saying tomorrow today i'm getting right with god i'm saying jesus save me if that's you today i want to lead you in a prayer wherever you are but first i want you to acknowledge that jesus said if anyone will acknowledge me before men i will acknowledge them before my father if you know that you need to receive jesus christ as your lord and your savior you want to be forgiven you want to know that your name is written in a lambs book of life eternal life belongs to you wherever you're asked want you right now today to just raise your hand say pray for me today i'm saying yes to jesus today i'm saying i need to get right with god pray for me pray for me thank you young man i see your hand sir i see your hand looking all over the room you're not alone today is the day of salvation don't wait one more day online if that's you even where you're at i may not see it god sees it raise your hand acknowledge it today i want everybody no matter where you are you can put your hands down thank you so much i want us all to pray this prayer together out loud and invite jesus in the bible says if we believe in our heart on the lord jesus christ and we confess with our mouth that god has raised him from the dead we will be saved this works every single time so right now all of us even at home at portage doesn't matter where you're at let's all say this together with those who raised their hands and acknowledged it let's say it say heavenly father i come in jesus name and today i confess you are lord today i confess i've sinned i've lived for myself and i surrender i repent jesus forgive me come into my life into my heart sit on the throne and be my master and my king i believe you died on the cross for my sins i believe that you rose again from the dead from this day forward i turn my back on the world and i turn my back on my sin and i surrender to you i will live for you for your will alone thank you for loving me saving me calling me your own in jesus name amen amen come on everybody can we just celebrate with all those who just prayed that prayer powerful powerful powerful last thing is this today is a powerful word before we leave before we end this service and even those who are joining us online i know that today many of us are discouraged many of us just feel claustrophobic emotionally where we're just compressed and today we're asking the holy spirit to give us an eternal lens to be able to see beyond today so that we live our lives according to the will of god i'm talking to believers here i'm talking to christians this isn't a salvation issue this is god i need you to give me an eternal perspective to live in this moment aware of eternity that brings joy that brings purpose that brings patience and if that's you with every head up and every eye looking around i just want you to acknowledge that and we're going to just pray over that today right where you're at just say god i need that perspective you can put your hands down the last thing is this you came in today or you joined us today and you have an incredible need you need god to show up miraculously to heal your body to remove depression to push back the hand of the enemy to meet a financial job issue a financial thing that you can't figure out you're just you're in up to your neck and you just you need prayer the bible says pray for one another if you have need of prayer right now it doesn't matter what it is right where you are just want you to raise your hand and then we're going to pray we see you and god sees you and so right now we're just going to pray join me in prayer everybody lord right now i pray for those who said give us an eternal perspective father would you download the eyes of the holy spirit to be able to see through the lens of faith to live patiently to live joyfully to live hopefully to live today in the will of god and lord i'm praying for those who have needs where they're crying out saying god i need you to move on my behalf god show up god prove yourself to be jehovah rafa the god who heals show yourself to be jehovah gyre the god who provides lord you're the god who sees you're the god who knows you're the god who cares and i just pray right now for every single need that is represented lord i pray right now you would dispatch ministering angels holy spirit you would rise up with healing in your wings and god you would over the next few hours and days show yourself faithful in miraculous ways god we look to you we trust you you're closer than even the mention of your name and you take great privilege and great joy and providing and moving in the lives of your children and so lord we just say thank you in advance lord we're gonna praise you before the breakthrough god we're gonna praise you in the middle of the storm and we're gonna give you thanksgiving even before the walls of jericho fall down around our lives god we give you praise in advance god you are a good god you are a great god you are a saving god a healing god we praise you we give you thanks no wherever you're at right now just begin to thank god for the answer even before we see it just think and verbally just say thank you god thank you i believe you i trust you i praise you you're the god of the breakthrough and we trust you in jesus name amen and amen