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This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
It was a few soccer seasons ago that one of my kids had a game. I can remember being loud, very intense, but I'm somewhat of a competitive person. Having first heard the gospel years ago from a teammate on the Carolina Panthers, all I know is football. I don't know much about soccer, but what I did know in this moment is there were two undefeated teams and one of my babies was on the field. So, let's go. Let's get it. I'm all the way in.
I can remember hyping dads up, pushing them around. When goals were scored, I was beating on my chest, running on the field. I was excited, treating that thing like the World Cup. I'm intense. I told you that. I can remember winning the game 3 to 2. Two days later, we would play that same exact team for a makeup game. I walked away, and I felt like, "You know what? This was a good day." Don't look at me like you've never had a moment like that where you were excited to win something.
What I didn't realize in that moment was I had missed something I couldn't see at the time. Honestly, I didn't realize how serious it was until about 40 hours later. The Spirit just would not let me shake it off. That is really what today is all about, because sometimes you don't realize you're in a moment until after that moment has passed. Now, I know this is a Bible-revering church, so I want you to open up your Bibles or open up your Bible apps and meet me in Acts 13. I want to preach from this thought today: _Don't Miss Your Moment_.
If we haven't met, I'm Marvin Walker. I have the privilege of being the pastor at Watermark South Dallas. Watermark South Dallas turns 5 next weekend. Y'all can make some noise for that too. Before we jump all the way in, I do like how my man TA regularly leads you in, and I want us to do that together now, to just slow down for a minute and take a few seconds.
Would you pray for the Spirit of God to center your heart to be locked in on the Word of God? Just pray for yourself for a few seconds. If you remember some of those names of the hands you shook, would you pray for those names specifically, that the Lord would speak to them and they'd be moved by the Scriptures? And if you'll be so kind to lift me up, that I would teach only the Scriptures, that I wouldn't be seen, and the Lord would speak through me to you.
Gracious God, we do thank you for your Word and that we get to gather as a body in freedom today. We don't have to hide. Your Word is sharper than a double-edged sword. So, would you allow it to pierce us today? As the grass withers and the flower fades, it's your Word that stands forever. In Jesus' name, amen.
Being invited back to North Dallas reminds me of a story. There was a family getting ready for dinner, and the mom decided to have some folks over. They were all sitting at the table, and the mom looked at her little 6-year-old daughter and said, "Sweetie, I want you to bless the food." She looked back at Mommy and said, "But, Mommy, I don't know what to say," and she said, "Just say what you hear Mommy always say." (Yeah, you get it.) So, the daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all of these people to dinner?"
All jokes aside, I really am grateful to be invited back to be at the table with you all and open the Word of God. I'm also grateful for somebody else who's in the church house today. Her name is Amber Walker. Today is 12 years and, specifically, 28 days that I've been married to the woman. Can you make a little noise for her? I wouldn't be able to be here without her. I've learned two things: the Lord is faithful and Amber is patient. I am very grateful for her.
As we head toward Friday, Juneteenth is this week. One of the things Juneteenth reminds us of is what happens when long-awaited freedom is finally announced. Good news reached people, and that changed everything. In an even greater way, as we're in Acts 13, that's exactly what Paul is announcing: freedom, forgiveness, and good news through Jesus Christ.
What's fascinating about all of this is before Paul ever preached this message, he was already _living_ the message. The man standing in Acts 13 was once the man who completely missed what God was doing, but Jesus interrupted his story. What the Holy Spirit did was set Paul apart, set Barnabas apart, and they obeyed, and now God is using them to carry the gospel forward. That's exactly what Acts is about.
Jesus made the promise in Acts 1:8 that his witnesses would go from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. By Acts 13, where we are this morning, that promise is starting to unfold. The gospel is moving. Cities are being reached. Lives are being transformed and changed.
When Paul stands up in Antioch in the synagogue, which we are about to look at, what happens next becomes a defining moment for everybody listening. We are going to start at verse 13. I'm reading out of the ESV (the "extremely sanctified version") this morning. So follow me. I want to make sure everybody is tracking.
1\. _God was moving before you noticed_. In verses 13, 14, and 15, Paul and Barnabas arrive in Pisidian Antioch. They enter the synagogue, and they're immediately invited to speak. This was just an ordinary Sabbath. Nobody knew they were about to hear the greatest news ever announced. That's how the Lord himself often works. The moments that change everything rarely look important while we're living in them. Many times, God is moving long before we recognize it.
I want to pause in verse 16, because that's where Paul stood up, it says, and motioning with his hand, started quieting the people down. "Shh!" He says, **"Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people…"** Paul is starting to speak. He's standing, and he wants to talk about God, but he embraces and understands "I have to address two specific groups that are in this synagogue."
He says, "Men of Israel," which means all of the Jews in the building. Then he says, "You who fear God," which means the Gentiles in the building. Paul knew his audience and wanted to make sure he was including everybody present. Then in verse 17, he says, **"The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it."**
**"The God of this people Israel chose our fathers…"** Meaning, they didn't choose God first; he chose them. It specifically says in verse 17 that _he_ made them great. _He_ led them out of Egypt. Then you get into verse 18. **"And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness."** God was the one who carried them through the wilderness, not because they were faithful but because _he_ was.
Then, in verse 19, you see he destroyed nations and gave them an inheritance. Then you get into verse 20, and it says God gave them judges. He gave them Saul, in verse 21. As we read verses 20 and 21, I want to make sure we understand these weren't courtroom judges. This wasn't a modern civic role. These were leaders God had raised up to govern and guide his people.
Then, in verse 22, it says, **"And when he had removed him** \[Saul\]**,** **he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'"** So, he removed Saul and raised up David. Then, in verse 23, we see that from David's descendants God brought Jesus to Israel.
Do you notice something about Paul's sermon? The main character isn't Israel; the main character is clearly God. Every verse points back to the sovereign hand of God. Look back at it with me. God chose in verse 17. God led in verse 17. God put up with them in verse 18. God removed nations. He gave land in verse 19. He gave judges. He gave them Saul. He raised up David in verse 22. God fulfilled his promise in Jesus in verse 23. Israel keeps changing, leaders keep changing, generations keep changing, but God remains firmly seated on the throne.
What Paul was teaching is this: History is not a random thing, church. History isn't drifting. History isn't spiraling out of control. There's a sovereign God directing every single page. Daniel said it _this_ way: **"…he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'"**
That's in Daniel 4:35. Understand no one can stay his hand. No election can stop him. No economy can stop him. No diagnosis can stop him. No government can stop him. The Devil himself cannot stop him. When God purposes something, heaven, earth, and hell combined do not possess enough authority to overturn his decree.
I want to slow down right there as I say that, because some of you didn't come in to just hear that intellectually; you came in carrying something. Some of you walked into this very room with anxiety. Not hypothetically, not theoretically…a real weight. If you're honest, part of that anxiety you are experiencing is because you're trying to hold things you were never meant to be in control of.
It might be the future. It might be the market itself. Maybe it's your children. Maybe it's your retirement that you're trying to fashion yourself. Or maybe it's just your next chapter, and it's exhausting. You're trying to sit in a chair you were never designed to sit in, and you're tired. The throne of the universe already has an occupant, and it's not me and not you.
Why was God moving before you noticed? Because God never waits for our awareness before he starts his work. He was moving before you noticed. He was working before you understood. He was arranging before you arrived. Before you prayed the prayers, he was already preparing. The sovereignty of God means he's always ahead of us.
Some of us need to hear that today, because we spend so much of our lives chasing things that cannot ultimately satisfy, which reminds me of a true story. This true story is about a young man in Ottawa, Canada, named Danny Simpson. You may have heard of this. This young man was money hungry. As this young man was money hungry, he made a decision. He was about to rob a bank. He was desperate.
What he realized is he had inherited a gun from his father, and he decided to take that .45 caliber pistol to rob a bank. The day of the robbery, Danny Simpson made out with two bags of cash. They accumulated to \$6,000. When the tape was reviewed, Danny Simpson was quickly identified and an arrest was made, but Danny made two mistakes. The first was he decided to rob a bank. The second was he decided to do it with a pistol…armed robbery.
Though Danny made out with \$6,000, what he didn't understand was that gun was a rare 1918 gun that was valued at \$100,000. Danny didn't know how much he had in his hands. Do _you_? Do you understand who you get to behold? Some of us are doing the exact same thing Danny did spiritually. We're chasing temporary things while neglecting eternal things. We're settling for lesser treasures because we don't fully realize what God has already given us. We're living for what fades while completely ignoring what lasts forever.
This is what's happening in Acts 13. God was moving long before anybody realized it. I've watched him do the same exact thing 14 miles south of here at Watermark South Dallas. I remember a local neighbor who was not originally for us in 2021. In 2021, when we got there, she made it clear she did not want us to be there. There was a lot of opposition when we arrived, but God changed this woman's heart.
In changing her heart, she invited the church to bring some volunteers to a community center where she was doing an event. At this event, I got to meet a woman named Miss Ruby. In meeting Miss Ruby, Miss Ruby realized, "Wait. Watermark South Dallas is 0.4 miles away from here. I would love to come." And Miss Ruby came to church.
Now Miss Ruby is learning to abide in Jesus and appreciate the Scripture. She's now a member of the church. She's now family. Now a 78-year-old Black woman and someone you may know who's on our staff, Suzanne Sanderson, as a white woman, have become family. That right there… As you look at the pictures, understand this. The gospel does this. The gospel tears down walls. The gospel makes strangers family. The gospel unites what the world will divide.
Church, that's not a coincidence; that's providence. That's exactly what's happening, and Paul is trying to get this group of people in the synagogue to see, generation after generation, promise after promise, century after century, God was moving before they noticed. All of it was leading somewhere.
Look at Acts 13:23. **"Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised."** Every king was pointing somewhere. Every sacrifice was pointing somewhere. Every promise was pointing somewhere. Every single prophet, every single page, was pointing to a name. That name is Jesus. God wasn't simply writing history; what God was doing in the midst of all of this was writing a rescue story. Before Paul tells them how to respond, he introduces them to the one they must respond to.
2\. _Don't miss Jesus in the middle of it._ Acts 13:24-25: **"Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'"**
Before Jesus ever stepped onto the public stage, God sent a forerunner. This forerunner's name was John the Baptist, and John understood something that many people try to figure out their entire lives. He understood he wasn't the point. He understood he was not the Savior. He understood "I'm not the hero." His entire life pointed to Jesus.
If you know a little bit about John the Baptist, in John 1, he said, "I am not he. Who you're looking for is coming after me." That right there is the assignment of every single believer. Not to build _our_ name, because we aren't the point. Jesus is the focal point. If you look at verse 26, Paul continues, saying, **"Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation."**
That's the heartbeat of the entire sermon he's preaching…salvation. Not advice, not inspiration, not self-help…salvation, deliverance from sin through Jesus Christ. Then Paul says something heartbreaking in verse 27. Check it out. **"For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him."**
The people of Jerusalem and their rulers didn't recognize him. Think about that for a second. They read the Scriptures every Sabbath. They studied the promises every Sabbath. They listened to the prophets every time they pulled up, and when the one the Scriptures were talking about clearly presented to them, they didn't recognize him.
Imagine reading love letters for years and missing the author when he walks into the room. The greatest tragedy in this text is not that Jesus was rejected by pagans; it's that Jesus was rejected by people who thought they already knew God. They missed their moment…people who knew the Bible, people who attended worship, people who thought, "Oh, I'm fine."
Before we are too hard on them, we should ask ourselves, "Can this happen in 2026?" Uh-oh. It _is_ possible to know the Bible and not know Jesus. You can read your Bible every morning and still treat God like a task and not a person. You can be faithful in church, and you can still be formed more by success and achievement than by Jesus. Some of you are close enough to truth to assume you're right with God but still far enough to never have surrendered to him.
Here's the danger the Word of God is exposing: _proximity to truth is not the same thing as surrender to truth_. It's not. Proximity to truth is not the same thing. That's exactly what happened here in verse 28. **"And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb."** They rejected him.
Verse 29 shows us that they crucified him. They buried him. They put him in a tomb. The religious leaders looked at Jesus and said, "Finally! We finally got him." But then, one of the greatest two-word phrases shows up in verse 30. **"But God…"** They rejected him, but God raised him. They buried him, but God raised him. They sealed the tomb, but God raised him. They thought, "This story is over," but God wasn't finished writing it.
In verse 31, it says he appeared to many witnesses. People saw him. People talked with him. People ate with him. People walked with him. The resurrection is not wishful thinking, church. It wasn't religious imagination. This wasn't blind optimism. Understand, the tomb was empty. We should be excited about that. Jesus was alive, and now Paul's sermon starts to reach its climax, because the resurrection is not merely something to believe; it's something that changes everything. Look at verse 32. I want to read verses 32-35.
**"And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.' And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.' Therefore he says also in another psalm, 'You will not let your Holy One see corruption.'"**
Paul starts reaching back to the Old Testament, and he says, "This is from Psalm 2. This is from Isaiah 55. This is from Psalm 16." Three different passages written hundreds of years before Jesus, and all three are saying the same exact thing. God promised a risen Savior. God delivered a risen Savior. The resurrection was never plan _B_. It was always _the_ plan. Every single time. We have to get that. If God said it, God is going to do it.
Then Paul drives home his meaning of everything. The point is in verse 36. **"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption…"** He served the purposes of God in his generation, and then David died. _David_. But David was a great king. David wrote Scripture. David was a giant killer. David changed the nation, and David still ended up in a grave? Because David wasn't the Savior. David _needed_ a savior. David died. The prophets died.
Every hero in the Bible eventually dies, but Jesus walked into a grave and walked out. That means everything. If he did that, he can offer something no one else can. In verses 38 and 39, it gets even more clear. **"Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses."**
So, here comes Paul's conclusion. He says, "Therefore, because Jesus lived, because Jesus died, because Jesus rose, forgiveness is proclaimed to you through him. Through this man, everyone who believes is freed." Everyone who believes is freed? We can't rush past that. Hold on. He doesn't say everyone who believes gets a little cleaned up or everyone who believes gets a probationary period or everyone who believes gets a second chance at God's favor. That's not what Paul is saying.
_Freed_ means justified; meaning, declared righteous before a holy God for every one of us who believe. Religion will tell you to work, work, work. Jesus says, "Just believe." Morality says, "Earn and keep earning." Jesus says, "Nuh-uh. Receive." Because of Jesus, we don't perform for acceptance; we live _from_ acceptance. Amen? So, you don't have to try harder to be right with God. We can trust the one who has made us right with God the Father.
Christianity isn't about earning God's favor; it's simply about receiving God's Son. All of this is through Christ alone. So, don't miss Jesus in the middle of it. Then Paul does something interesting, yet loving. In verse 40, he warns them. He says, **"Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about…"** He's basically saying, "Don't make the same mistake your daddies did. Don't make the same mistake. Don't hear the truth and just walk away unchanged."
You have verse 41 where he says, **"Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you."** There's a reminder there that there is a cost to rejecting Jesus. There's a cost to unbelief. There is a cost if we are going to continually say no to God. There's a cost to all that.
Paul knows this moment matters. Church, that's why the moment we are in this morning matters as well, because every person listening to Paul had to decide what they were going to do about Jesus, just like every person in this room has to consider where they are at with Jesus and what they are going to do as he is being clearly presented to us in Acts 13, because once Jesus is presented, neutrality is gone. Neutrality cannot exist. That's exactly what happens next. Some people harden their hearts and walk away, which leads us to our third point of the morning.
3\. _You can't stay neutral_. That's exactly where Acts 13 turns. The sermon is over. The invitation begins. As we look at verses 42-44, it says, **"As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord."**
Let's call this group the _hungry_. They begged them, "We want more next week." Then, the next week the whole city gathered. That right there is every preacher's dream and every parking team's nightmare. The whole city showed up. What an exciting moment. This group was hungry. When God moves, hungry people lean in.
But there's a second group. Looking at verse 45, it says, **"But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him."** So, you have the hungry, and then you have the _hardened_. Same sermon. They heard it. Same gospel, same Jesus, but different hearts.
The Jewish leaders saw the crowds, and jealousy started to fill them. Notice the issue was not evidence; the issue was envy. They weren't struggling with the truth; they were struggling with attention. Comparison had blinded them completely. Church, comparison still blinds people today. Comparison will make you miss what God is doing in your life because you're so obsessed with what he's doing in somebody else's life.
Other believers are not your standard; Jesus is. Just because _they_ bought the house doesn't mean _you_ have to buy the house. Just because _they_ took the trip doesn't mean _you_ have to take the trip. Just because they started dating doesn't mean you have to rush into marriage. That is not what this means. We are called to walk in step with the Spirit of God, not walk in sync with somebody else's timeline. Comparison is the thief of gratitude, and jealousy is what happens when comparison starts to mature. Comparison will make you and me miss our moment.
My 5-year-old daughter has started doing something recently. It's pretty interesting. She'll want me to hurry up when she wants me to see something, so she'll keep repeating, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Come here! Come here! Come here!" She wants me to hurry up, and if I take my sweet time, she starts a countdown. "Ten, nine, eight, seven…" I'm like, "What is she doing?" But she's serious, too, because her face gets all scrunched up, and she's like, "…six, five, four…" I'm like, "What? This girl is 5 years old." She has seen _me_ do a countdown, but she doesn't necessarily have the authority to start one.
I wonder how many of us do the same thing to God. God says, "Surrender," and we say, "Later. We'll do that later on." God says, "Repent," and we're like, "Well, after this season I'll repent, Lord." God says, "Obey," and our response oftentimes is "Well, when things settle down, because I'm so busy, I'll then do that." God says, "Move," and we think, "It's just not convenient right now," as if we are the ones holding the clock and have the authority over time. What?
Watermark, please hear me. You do not get to schedule surrender. You don't get to pencil in repentance. You and I cannot negotiate obedience with God. God never asked for future obedience; he asked for present obedience. Obedience is our responsibility today. Paul says in verse 46, "Since you thrust it aside, we're turning to the Gentiles." Meaning, "Since you've rejected, this is the direction we're going." Rejecting Jesus never stops God's work; it only removes you from it.
See, you don't stop the move, but what you do is miss the moment in the move. You miss it. Verse 47 says, **"For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"** That right there is exactly what's behind me on the screen. Do you see that boat? It's moving toward the horizon. That's the gospel leaving familiar shores. That's the gospel going to the ends of the earth.
You have empires crumbling, idols falling down. But what does Christ do? He keeps building his church. The gospel keeps moving. Jerusalem couldn't keep it. Antioch couldn't stop it, and 2,000 years later, it has reached Dallas, Texas. What a gift. From this point forward, the gospel begins moving toward the ends of the earth. In verse 48, the Gentiles believe. In verse 49, the Scripture says, **"And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region."**
Can I tell you something, please? That's not just Acts 13; that's what's happening right now…I mean, literally right now…14 miles south of here, because one church decided, "We're not going to forget South Dallas." Children are being cared for at the church and in an after-school program at the church. Families are receiving medical care through Watermark Health. Economic flourishing is being pursued through the Community Development Corporation in a community that averages \$24,000 per household.
Student athletes are being reached through Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and in the middle of it, there is a church proclaiming Christ. You need to know this. It is you who's making a huge difference, a big difference. You're a part of all of it. You're a part of all that's going on. Your prayers matter. Your generosity matters. Your sending matters. Your serving matters. The word of the Lord is spreading throughout a whole community.
Acts 13 isn't just about one city; it's about a people who refused to keep the gospel to themselves. I thank God that we are that kind of church. Abiding in Jesus we're… Okay. Three of the 1,000 of you knew that. Let's try that one more time, our vision statement. Abiding in Jesus we're making disciples together.
We'll close with verses 51-52. **"But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."** Paul and Barnabas shake the dust off their feet and leave. They had opposition, but they had joy. They had resistance, but they had joy. They were rejected, but they had joy. Pressure on the outside didn't steal their peace on the inside, because circumstances don't determine Christian joy; Jesus does.
This isn't Acts 13 anymore. This is us, this is here, and this is now. Every week, people come in here and hear the gospel. Every week, people lean in. Every week, people resist. Acts 13 stopped being ancient history for me on that soccer field. I told you earlier about a game, but I never finished the story, as my daughter's team would play that same team two days later. In between those days, we had a practice.
At that practice, I can remember the coach pulling me aside and saying, "Mr. Walker, the league approached me and asked me to tell you to tone it down." But I want you to know what my heart posture was in that. Inside I said, "Tone it down? What? Well, have _them_ come and talk to me. Why are _you_ telling me this?" Honestly, the Spirit of God dealt with me much deeper than that coach could have ever dealt with me, because the rest of that night and that next day, I was sick.
I couldn't stop thinking about this. It was hard for me to function. I'm like, "Lord, this is a 5-year-old soccer game. What are you doing in the midst of this?" But I knew something, and I knew it clearly. God was calling me to go apologize to that team, the parents, and the coaches publicly at the game the next day, and I didn't want to. I fought it, and I kept fighting it. That's what had me off. That's what had me feeling sick.
So, as game day came, I remember telling my wife, "Hey, I need to drive separately." I pulled up, and I sat there, and I looked at the field as if it were a boxing ring. I'm like, "Lord, how is this going to go down?" I can remember the moment where I watched the team begin to huddle up, meaning the warm-ups were over. The other team's coaches called the players in, and the parents kind of gathered around, and I stepped into that ring.
I said, "Excuse me, Coach, really quick. I know we played you guys two days ago, but before you get started, I want to ask for your forgiveness. My tone was unacceptable. I know I hurt your girls, and that wasn't what I wanted to do. I misrepresented the league, I misrepresented my daughter, I misrepresented my Lord, and I misrepresented the coaches. Thank you." And I walked off.
I know you're thinking, "Well, how did everybody respond?" That's actually the wrong question, because obedience isn't measured by people's response; obedience is measured by whether you said "Yes." Really, I don't remember what everybody said, but I do remember what God said. When the Holy Spirit speaks, there are not multiple options; there's only one: obey.
Obedience will always put your pride on the altar every time. Some of you know exactly what God is calling you to do today. He's calling you to confess. He's calling many of us in this room to repent. He's calling many of the men in this room to lead and step up. He's calling a lot of us to forgive.
Stop hiding. You know what he's calling you to do. He wants you to start obeying. This is who we are. We're a gospel-saturated church. We're a praying church. We're a unifying church. We're a community church. I'm not going to list them all off, but I'm saying, by the grace of God, we won't be a church that misses what God is doing. We cannot be.
I want you to consider this. As we slow down and the lights go down, this is no longer about your neighbor; this is about _you_. I mean, some of the people in Acts 13 thought they had more time, but later isn't promised. Jesus lived the life you couldn't live. He died the death you deserve, and he rose again. He rose again so you could be forgiven. Not improved…forgiven.
It makes me think about a verse in Matthew 10. In Matthew 10, specifically in verse 32, Jesus uses words that say, "Confess me before men, and I'll confess you before my Father in heaven." That sounds so sweet…eternity, Jesus, confession, but there's a verse behind it. "But whoever denies me, I have to do the exact same thing and deny you."
I'd hope that everybody in this room doesn't rush out right now and slows down in this moment. So, if you're getting ready to move, please slow down. Those words should hit you. If they don't hit you, think about what Proverbs 28:13 says. "He who covers his sin will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
Maybe you have been around church for a long time. You know the songs. You know the language. You get it all. Your parents and grandparents had faith, and that's all beautiful, but that is not what saves you. That is not what saves you. If you want revival, it starts with _you_. Don't miss your moment right now, right here. This has nothing to do with the person sitting next to you.
Jesus stepped out of heaven. He stepped down from heaven and didn't have to, but he did it because he loves you. He laid down his life by getting on a cross. He took lashes. He took nails in his hands. We just sang about it. There was blood everywhere. It was gruesome. There wasn't a loincloth on him. He was fully naked for _you_ so you could experience the abundant life he has for you.
Some of us are choosing death. I'm going to go here for a minute. There are some who are constantly bending their knees and bowing to pornography. That's not what God has called us to, church. You need to repent from those things. As our Care Team comes up here, this moment is for you, and I don't want you to miss it.
I know there are some wives in this room who need to grab their husband's hands and come up here and simply receive prayer. Yes, you may have done it in a Community Group, but you know what? Stop being ashamed. If we want transformation and change, understand the blood of Jesus is present and available. Without faith, it's impossible to please God.
So, if you know you are distant from the Lord, if you're considering the faith and are just not fully understanding what Jesus did from a sermon like this, in Paul's words, forgiveness and freedom are found in him. So, this very altar is open for you. If your heart is racing and you're thinking, don't think. Step out in faith.
I mean, right here, right now, before we sing this response song, some of you may need to come to the altar and talk to God because you just haven't talked to him in a while. He desires to hear your voice. He loves you, but you're rushing throughout life and completely missing him. I would ask you to move _this_ way before you move _that_ way.
Slow down on the next thing and come bow your knees before the King of Kings. Maybe you haven't done that in years, but talk to him. Tell him how you feel. Tell him where you are. Maybe you need to cry. Maybe you need to weep. Don't miss your moment. His outstretched hands are available for you. He loves you and desires you, but it's you who has to take that step of faith.
So, right now… I know many of us are thinking about it. If any portion of this sermon hits you, if you don't know Jesus, if you're distant from him, if you have burdens you need someone to help you bear, on the count of three, I'm just going to ask you to slip your hand in the air. On the count of three, I'm just going to say, "Hey, slip your hand in the air." Hands are already going up. If you know that's you, if something is on your heart… One, two, three. Just pop your hands in the air. No shame. I praise God for all those hands.
As they're starting to go down, if you're in the balcony, and even down here, I want to ask you to take one more step of faith. As our Care Team comes forward during this response song and you have something on your heart, just slip past the person next to you. It's not about them. Just walk over. Maybe you need to have somebody pray with you. Maybe you need to bow before the altar. If some of you decided to give your lives to Jesus Christ, then we need to light those light bulbs out there and finish that off, because Jesus is Lord, and we need to celebrate that.
So, if that's you… I know this may be uncomfortable, but don't miss your moment. Right now, I want you to head down this way. The Care Team will meet you down here. I want you to know I am very, very grateful for all of your prayers, all of your serving. If you hear me and you're still listening online and in the room, this coming Sunday at 3:00 p.m. we're celebrating our five-year anniversary at Watermark South Dallas. I want y'all to show up. Mark your calendars. Thank you for hearing me out, and do not miss your moment.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for your goodness, your love, and your Word. Thank you for the ways you have met us today. I pray that my brothers and sisters respond in this time to the truth, to the Spirit of God who constantly is available and sets us free. All of this in Jesus' name, amen.