The Way of Wisdom - Boast in the Lord | Week 7

In today's sermon, we explore the profound wisdom that comes from God, a wisdom far greater than our own intellect or worldly knowledge. We're reminded that true wisdom is found in Christ, who has accomplished all things on our behalf. It's through faith in Him that we receive righteousness and sanctification, recognizing that our own efforts are insufficient in the eyes of God. Instead of boasting in ourselves, we're called to boast in the Lord, acknowledging His power and grace in our lives.

The Scriptures urge us to seek wisdom from God, especially when faced with uncertainty or difficult decisions. By asking for His guidance and presence, we align ourselves with His will and purpose for our lives. This spiritual wisdom transforms us, shaping our character to reflect virtues such as humility, peace, and mercy. As we walk in step with God, we bear fruits of righteousness, bringing glory to His name.

We're also reminded of the importance of building our lives on the solid foundation of Christ. Just as a house built on rock withstands the storms, so too do we stand firm when our lives are anchored in Him. In a world filled with fleeting ambitions and distractions, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the source of true wisdom and strength. May we boast not in ourselves, but in the Lord, who guides and sustains us each step of the way. Amen.

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Transcript

Pastor Jason Brown: 0:00

What do I boast in? What do you boast in Now? When I was living in Europe, it was an amazing time because we had an opportunity to really get involved with being an international soccer fan like a football, proper football fan. Now, if you know anything about football in Europe and across the rest of the world, here it's like a fun sport, but there it's like life or death. This is what's going on. How many people know what I'm talking about? And so people are real serious about this? Like this was a crazy situation.

Pastor Jason Brown: 0:29

We would go to the ground where we supported Darren Parris and we would be sitting in the in-cap with all the Ultra fans and they have flares going and they're chanting, they're standing the whole match and they're like, ah. And then there would be other fans visiting, fans that were there and they would be picking out individual people and making fun of them. They'd be like you, ah, you, you're ugly, ah. I was like this is wild. This is wild stuff. There were literal walls put between us and the other fans. There was razor wire keeping us away from attacking them. There were nets keeping us from throwing stuff at them and still, people were rabid about how great our team was and how garbage the other team was, despite the score. Some of you can relate because you cheer for those kind of teams here in America, so you can understand. It's that same kind of thing and people get so caught up and so wrapped up in this concept of being right and being the one who is prideful is boastful, in something like that. Now the Lord gave me a gift in my brother, jeremy, because when I grew up, I wanted to be right all the time. Apparently, I'm the only one and all of you are liars in church. No, I wanted to be right all the time. And my brother, who is very funny he's tall my little brother is taller than me, so I have to look up to him now but he's very funny, he's very witty, sharp tongue and he's just very, very, very sharp with the stuff. And I would be telling him something about how right I was, I'm right, I'm right about this. He goes oh no, you're right, no, you are, you are right. I'm like I am right, I'm right. He's like no, you're right, no, you are, you're right. And I would turn so red, so angry at the neck. I wanted him to admit that I was right and he was. He was admitting I was right. So I used this skill set.

Pastor Jason Brown: 2:31

So later, when we would be cheering for soccer, we would be at our flat in Alexandria. We'd be hosting 40, 50 young guys, like watching football and cheering for our teams and watching it all. We'd project on the side of the building and watch it outside on a terrace and we're 12 stories up like really going for football. People were paying attention and we were cheering for it and stuff and they would be saying, oh, pastor, jay, your team's garbage. I'm like, oh, you're right, oh you're right, you're so right. See, I was learning and I was applying the knowledge and as good as that is and as fun as that is and we all have fun with that and the things we cheer for and the things we support, those things are fleeting, they're passing away and it's very temporal. It doesn't mean anything in eternity. And so if we're going to be anyone who's boastful about anything, let's be both of what the things are eternally. Let's be boastful in the Lord. I will boast in the Lord. Say it with me Boast in the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 3:33

Now we're continuing our series and wrapping it up today on the way of wisdom, and it's been a very transformative series. We're very thankful for the wisdom that the Lord has given to us and revealed to us in this series. We're very thankful you're with us here today at Cornerstone. If we haven't met, my name is Jay, Celeste and I have opportunity leading here at the team at Cornerstone and we're blessed that you're part of it today. We see ourselves very much as people who are walking with God, on a journey with Him, very much in need of a Savior, and so we are people that want to be more like Jesus. We see that as being intentional in our faith and in our thought process. So we actually are doing that beyond our gatherings on the weekend. We do that throughout the week, throughout the city and our life groups. So I encourage you that you be intentional in your walk with God, you be intentional in your growth with Him, that you would be someone who connects, grows and serves. Be a steward of everything you have and every aspect of your life Amen.

Pastor Jason Brown: 4:31

Now the way of the wisdom. We've talked about it and picked up with it on the writings of Solomon, looking to what wisdom is Now, we saw it picking up here in Proverbs 1.7. It says we see this very clearly from what Solomon is sharing to us, someone that the Bible says had wisdom from God wiser than anyone in that season of life and on the earth. He's saying In the same way. Proverbs 3 says this in verse 5 and 6. We talked about what it means to trust in the Lord and how we need to turn over the control of our life to Him, to honor Him and to trust Him that he's leading us in the good places. In the same way, we continue that same thought. Proverbs 4, I've taught you the way of wisdom. I've led you in the paths of uprightness.

Pastor Jason Brown: 5:48

We heard how we're called to be those that follow the Lord. We talked about in our decision making that we wouldn't ask God to bless what we've already made a decision to do, but instead we would go to Him at pivotal times when we make a decision and ask Him to give us wisdom and guidance on which path to take. And that's a big, big, pivotal piece of us following the Lord and being part of what he is doing, and not just Lord, bless what I'm doing, but, lord, instead, let me be in step with you and where you're taking us to go. We also talked about Ecclesiastes and about Solomon at the end of his life, reflecting back on all the things he had done, even chasing folly and ridiculous things, and seeing them as hollow. He says this at the end of Ecclesiastes, in chapter 12, the end of the matter.

Pastor Jason Brown: 6:36

All has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man, for God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Our lives will come to this culmination of a weighing out of what we've done with our time, with our life, and it will be brought to bear on the things that we've lived our life for. We're called to be those that hold on to the Lord. He says that we should not be about vanity of vanities and chasing after the vapor or the wind. We can't catch them. We can't hold on to these things that are temporal. We're called to hold on to things that are eternal, which is the Lord. In the same way, celestin and I were sharing about song of Solomon and the passion that's there within a relationship, within a marriage, and we talked about how we should also, in turn, have passion for the Lord. It says set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, as for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. It's flashes, or flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord, and it's with that kind of holy passion that we should have passion for the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 7:49

This past Sunday we talked about Job and it talked about what it means when we suffer, what it means when we walk through difficult times. The word comes here in Job 1, 20 and 21. It says then Job, having suffered much, arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped and he said naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord and that's what we talked about last week is that we are called to be those that, no matter what we're going through, no matter what we're suffering and during that, our worship is a weapon against the darkness, and we're called to be those that bless the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 8:36

Today we finalized this last week, the way of wisdom, and we look to 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30. If you have your Bible, your tablet, your phone, I encourage you to turn there today. You'd highlight it. We have quite a few scriptures we're looking at today in this narrative, talking about how it ties this Old Testament idea of wisdom to the New Testament revelation. It picks up here in verse 30. It says and because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. Today our challenge is to boast in the Lord. Say it with me, boast in the Lord. But we're so very thankful for your word, holy Spirit. We pray that you would breathe upon it, that you make it alive to us and in us and challenge us, or that would be reformed and refined more into your character, into your image. We pray this is the powerful name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Pastor Jason Brown: 9:36

Now we've been talking about wisdom that comes from God and that's different than our own ideas or our own thoughts of being smart or being wise. We're talking about spiritual wisdom and wisdom that comes from him. And when it picks up here in this scripture, in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30, it's saying Christ has done all of these things on your behalf. It's not you that's done him. You're not the one who has made things righteous, you're not the one who is sanctified or made holy, anything you haven't redeemed or bought back anyone from death. No, it's Christ that's done all of these things on our behalf, and it's through faith that we receive this and ask him into our heart and life. And so it is by that that we identify in Christ, realizing that all that we have to offer is worth zip, eternally speaking. And so, as we look at this, we realize that we can't boast in ourselves, we can't boast in anything we've done, because everything we've done is fleeting in him. All of these things are eternal, so we will boast in the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 10:44

James 1, 5 says it like this if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all, without reproach, and it will be given to him. So if we're saying so, like how do I follow the Lord, how do I go after his way? If we don't know how well, then we ask him to let us know how to do it. We ask for wisdom. That comes from God, lord, in part to me, how I should be living, how I should be making these decisions. I need your wisdom, your insight, your presence with me.

Pastor Jason Brown: 11:14

1 Corinthians 1 says it like this God shows what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not to bring nothing, things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. It's interesting that the Lord would take people who are on the outer edge, the dregs, the people who had been passed over, the tax collector, the Pharisee. He would use these people to bring about his message of redemption, the very people who experienced it firsthand. He's taking them because they know it's not of themselves. He's taking them and using them by his spirit so that others may know the glory of God. Friends, that's my story, that's your story, that he wants to do something great and transformative in your life, that we wouldn't boast in it ourselves, but instead we would boast in the Lord. Say it with me boast in the Lord Now.

Pastor Jason Brown: 12:12

Ephesians 5, 15 and 16 says this look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of of the time because the days are evil. We look at this and we start to understand that there is a world that's out there to get us and and the evil is against us. It's the enemy of our soul. Now we don't have to worry about it in standing in Christ, because we know who we are as Christ and we know who we are as Christ's children. Amen Is the children of God, co-heirs with Christ, that we get to be alongside them, and identifies the children of God. It's a powerful thing, but at the same time it's giving us understanding that there is a scary world around us and we better pay attention to it. It brings to mind this, this thing I was coming off the train late in Paris one night and and they would stop some of the service sometimes and not take the train all the way out to where it's supposed to go They'd stop it short and so they would bring a bus and we'd have to wait for a bus forever and then take the bus to, to our little village just outside of Paris, and instead I'm like I'm gonna walk.

Pastor Jason Brown: 13:17

This is ridiculous. Now, nobody makes those kind of harsh decisions like I do, but that's what I made, and so I decided to walk and I'm walking down the road and it's dark, it's freaky France and creepy, and I'm walking by a cemetery. And I'm walking by a cemetery. And you know, I'm man, I'm not naturally like a scaredy cat or anything, but I found myself rapidly picking up the pace as I walked by the cemetery, fully knowing that I'm a child of God, fully knowing these people are dead, they're not coming back to get me, knowing that the oogie boogie monster is not in there, but all of the trees were going oh, oh, and I was like ahhh. I was like the Lord is my strength. The Lord is my strength. I didn't want to stay there. You guys get it. I wasn't sitting down having a picnic. It wasn't how it was going and I think there's times and places in our lives that he's exactly saying this to you.

Pastor Jason Brown: 14:16

He's saying listen, this world will set you up for failure. It will come and attack you and there are places that you might find yourself that you shouldn't be. You should get out of there, and I mean this in with a wisdom, understanding that don't set yourself up for negative situations that would would attack your spirit, because the very things the enemy of this world wants to take your soul. Don't put yourself in a place that's going to make you fall in your walk with God. Don't set yourself in a place that's going to be destruction. If you have old habits that bring you into destruction there. Don't set back next to the fire and let it burn you.

Pastor Jason Brown: 14:58

When I was a kid, I would go and be going out for the weekend or doing something and you tell my parents, hey, so I'm going to go. They're like, okay, great, honor God. I was like, okay, I knew what plans I had and it included some of what I told them, but not all of it. I was like going and this is before we put trackers on all of our children and all of our spouses and everybody else I was like I didn't know where I was at. I was somewhere, I was in the wind, I was in the mist, but I'll be out there. Here's the thing about it there's the Holy Spirit's with you, no matter where you are. I knew better. I couldn't enjoy nothing. I was doing Because I felt convicted, because I should have felt convicted, because I was supposed to be honoring God, and what happens is you get challenged by the Holy Spirit. I was in situations where I did not need to be there and so I got up out of there.

Pastor Jason Brown: 15:52

Friends, let that be an encouragement to you and I both, that we would listen to the Holy Spirit to guide us, to take us out of these circumstances that we would otherwise walk ourselves into. That could be destruction for us, amen. So we pick back up here and we start talking about watching your walk, watching where you go, watching where you set your feet and how you live your life after God. Friends, that we wouldn't boast in ourselves and our own strength, but instead we would boast in the Lord. Say it with me Boast in the Lord Picks up in James three. It says this who is wise in understanding among you by his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.

Pastor Jason Brown: 16:47

I like this piece of scripture. It's saying listen, you should be seen doing good works for God, because that's what you should be about. It's his business, it's not for your glory. You should have meekness. It means humility. It means restraint. It means strength with restraint, as how many people know, it takes strength to have restraint many times today. We're not lashing out, we're not trying to get ahead, we're not trying to take someone down a peg. Instead, we are standing in the presence of God, in this presence as he lifts us up, and we're standing in strength with restraint and meekness, giving glory back to him, not for ourselves, but for him. And see, this is the fight within each one of us and it continues on here and it says this is not the wisdom that comes down from above.

Pastor Jason Brown: 17:37

This is earthly unspiritual, demonic. That's what it's talking about was having boasting in yourself, jealousy and selfish ambition, for where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder in every vile practice. We know this. We know it's demonic. We know it's demonic because the enemy of our soul, the evil forces in this world are a real thing. They're a real thing and they want the death of your soul. They don't want you to have a life with God, and so they're going to try to convince you to worship anything but God so many times.

Pastor Jason Brown: 18:15

That's what does it say? Our selfish ambition. So instead of God being the one that's glorified, we want to put ourselves up there. And what does it say in the Ten Commandments? It says that you would have no other gods before me. So instead, this is a demonic push, because it wants you to put God, it wants you to put yourself in front of God whenever he should be the one worshiped. You're worshiping yourself in your own pride, in your own ambition, or maybe it's sex, or maybe it's money, or maybe it's power, or you fill in the blank, maybe it's your terrible sports team, I don't know what it is you're worshiping, but the concept is the same that you wouldn't trade the living God for something that's temporary, that's fading away, that's going to have to get replaced because it's not as good as it was when it was new. Don't trade your life for that. That's a demonic trick against you. Live for God, give him credit for the things that you're doing. Don't seek your own glory, that instead you would turn it to him.

Pastor Jason Brown: 19:14

It continues. It says but the wisdom from above is at first pure and peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere, and a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. See, when we fight for our own way, then we tear others down, and this is saying exactly the opposite. There were called to be those who create peace, that are the peace makers, the peace keepers, and that we are the ones who bring the peace of God with us where we go. That means first you have to have the peace of God in you to bring it to others, and it's talking about having the fruit of your life, you will end up with a harvest of righteousness. Now, you are not righteous, none of us is righteous, not even one. And since that's true, then we realize that this righteousness we're experiencing, this harvest of righteousness, comes from God's transformative power in our lives. It's about walking with him daily. It's about having that process within us so that we walk in step where he's leading us to go, and when that happens, then we start to have the characteristics of God, and those characteristics then glean a harvest of righteousness.

Pastor Jason Brown: 20:29

And the things that are said about you is the same thing said about this in the scripture. And that person is someone who I respect, that's someone I admire. They have the peace of God upon them, they have the blessing of God upon them, they have the hand of God with them. I feel God's presence when they are near me. Man, let that be said of me. Let it be said of you that we would have a harvest of righteousness. It continues here, because we are called to be those that do not boast in any other thing, but that we boast in the Lord. Say it with me Boast in the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 21:04

Colossians 1, 9, and 10 says it like this. So, from the day that we heard, we've not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding as so to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruits in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. We've talked about what it means to follow that path that God has for us to walk the path in front of us, that we wouldn't go to the right or go to the left, that we wouldn't fall off the hill, that we would be those that are walking after God in the place that he has us to go. So many times we would want to go and chase all these other things, all these other ambitions, but he's saying listen, I have this future for you, I have this blessing for you. Trust me, walk with me. That we would be in step with him and see the characteristics of God come to fruition in our lives. That is the difference between wisdom of this world and spiritual wisdom. Is that spiritual wisdom helps you grow in your relationship with God. Wisdom of this world, many times, is just about you and your own ambition. Be careful and delineate between them that we would be those that are spiritually wise.

Pastor Jason Brown: 22:23

Colossians 4 says it like this walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time, let your speech always be gracious, season with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person. If anything is, the most valuable thing amongst us here is that it's our time. Our time is what's fought for all the time. I mean listen to that alarm going off. Someone needs to be somewhere. It's true.

Pastor Jason Brown: 22:54

The thing that we really have regret about in our lives is that we made decisions poor decisions in the past with our time. What did I do with this opportunity? What did I do with this season, with my kids or with my grandkids, or this relationship that I had? What did I do in that season? And we regret it because time is such a blessing we're not guaranteed tomorrow, friends. So we better live for God today. We better take advantage of every opportunity. Here's the thing if we don't learn from our mistake today, then we will go around wasting a whole another season of time a thing we can't get back a whole another season of time before we come back to the same place. So let us be those that make a decision to live for God that make a decision to actually align ourselves and make the hard choice to embrace the change he wants to do in us, so that we can live for Him and he can use the time he's given us for His glory. See what, if we get in step with Him, he will use our time and maximize it and bless it, and we can't believe the things that he's done, because it's in time with Him, and not us trying to force it, that we would make good use of our time here on earth. We are called to be those that don't boast in anything else but only boast in the Lord. Say it with me boast in the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 24:22

Jesus says it like this in Matthew 7, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. So he's talking about the character that comes off of them, and there's so many gurus these days that are really wolves and they're trying to tell you like this is the way you should live and these are the things you should be about, but they don't have your eternal best interest in mind. In fact, that's a wolf in sheep's clothing and you think about the wolves. The wolves are not here to be cuddly and cute. As beautiful an animal as they are, you're not like he's a puppy. Oh, come here, puppy, the puppy's gonna eat your face. Is this all teeth? The thing is, this is what it's talking to us about. It comes in a way that we think we wanna embrace it the sheep's clothing, something kind and cuddly and warm and embracing. But that's not its intent for you. Let's be spiritually wise and discerning, listening to the word of God Saying Lord, is this for me or is this just man's good idea? I want spiritual wisdom that comes from God that the wolves would not have me.

Pastor Jason Brown: 25:39

It continues here and he continues in the story. It says Matthew 7, 17. So every healthy tree bears good fruit. He says you don't get good fruit out of thistles or thorn bushes. He says a good tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. He's making this parallel to us in our lives as trees planted and giving forth fruit, and in doing so he's saying listen, this is the health that comes off of you. Spiritually, we can tell what's going on in your life by your character and by what comes off of your life. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Pastor Jason Brown: 26:26

We talk about spiritual fruit. We're talking about something that is good. It's something that everyone recognizes is good. Man, I think about fruit as an example, and I was just in Thailand last year, and one of the things they have in Southeast Asia is durian. Now, if you guys know about it, it is a spiky ball of death that falls from a tree and literally they have to catch it and harvest it with nets or people die, because it is literally a cannonball of spikes and when you crack it open it smells like rotten eggs. So that's embracing.

Pastor Jason Brown: 27:00

I don't know who ate this for the first time. What are they doing? They probably did something terrible and they're like ah, your punishment is eat the spike ball of death. They're like, oh no, but here's the thing. Some people love it. It's like a stinky French cheese, like a roquefort. They eat it with a spoon and they eat it out of there and they are like, oh, it's like a creme brulee of death. It's like something sneaky and gross.

Pastor Jason Brown: 27:28

I've had a little bit of dried stuff but I've never really embraced it and every time I get offered it I'm like you know. I've eaten scorpions and all sorts of crazy stuff across the world. I consider myself like somewhat adventurous in eating and they're like would you like some durian? I'm like you know. I got a flight coming up in a week. I'm going to pass. I'm going to not do that because it's super gross.

Pastor Jason Brown: 27:57

And we think about this what if this is your character? What if they get a gift through four layers of gross to get to anything decent inside of us? Man, that we wouldn't have this kind of character? That we'd have the wonderful fruit ninja version of fruit. You know what I'm talking about. Where it's good, it's amazing. You cut it open, it looks even better. You know what I mean. Like I've never been assaulted by a kiwi. Like thought I was at risk for my life. You know I was like oh, it's warm and fuzzy and it tastes great. You know what I mean. Like great. That's the kind of thing we want to come off of.

Pastor Jason Brown: 28:28

Our character is the kind of fruit of the spirit, the kind of fruit of the character of God that comes off of us, is an alignment with him. In order to get this, we have to live the character of God to have this kind of harvest of righteousness. So let us be those who align ourselves with God so that people, when they come into contact with us, this is the kind of thing they get to have. They get to have the character of God, they get to embrace that the warmth, the peace, the grace that we have been experiencing in Christ gets to be experienced by others through us, as the Holy Spirit empowers us. Amen, we would be those that don't. We don't boast on our own self, but instead we boast in him.

Pastor Jason Brown: 29:13

Jesus continues and gives us example of the wise man and the foolish man. He says in Matthew 7, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on the house and it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. Now we've just talked about what happens when calamity happens and we could see, you could envision the waves coming and crashing against the rock and you can imagine someone who has established their life, their house, their home, who they are on the rock of Christ, upon the truth of who he is, and you could see that the storm is coming. It says that it came and it came against. The storm came against them, but they withstood it because they were on the proper footing. They had their feet, their life sunk in Christ so because of it, the storm couldn't take them down. Now it continues here and Christ says it like this.

Pastor Jason Brown: 30:13

He says also about a foolish man. He says in everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like the foolish man who built his house on the sand and when the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against the house, it fell and great was the fall of it. You can imagine the waves coming in. Someone who has built their life on the shifting sands of culture or what's right at the time. They're blown everywhere and they can't keep their footing when the storm comes and it's their destruction because they have no sure foundation of where their life is set. And you think about this? The storm is the same for both the wise and the foolish. The difference is where their life was based.

Pastor Jason Brown: 31:01

So let's be those that base our life in the wisdom of God. Be the wise man or woman of God. Be those who establish our life upon the rock of Christ and not any other fleeting idea that we want to place our life in Amen. We want to be those that boast in the strength of God. We want to be those with wisdom from Him. We want to boast in the Lord. Say it with me boast in the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 31:32

As we come to the altar today, we come back to that question where does your wisdom come from? We realize it's not from ourselves, that we are not righteous, that he is righteous, and so we look to Him as he is eternally righteous. And as we align ourselves with Him and His character, we'll see the blessing of God. The fruit of righteousness come from living a life in Christ, and when the storm comes because the storm is coming, when the storm comes, we will weather the storm because our life is based in God and not anything else that we would be those that boast in the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 32:16

Today, as we come to this altar, we also ask that question for anyone who had not made a decision to follow Jesus yet. Today is your opportunity to do so, to place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ For us. That's what makes us a Christ follower is we've said yes to Jesus, we've invited him into our heart and life. We say, jesus, I believe you are who you say you are, that you are the living Son of God and you abandoned heaven and came down in the form of man and lived a sinless life. That you became the sacrifice for all people, for all time, and you did so because there was no way for us to earn our way into the presence of a holy God. So you became the holy sacrifice for us, for me, and you forgave us of our mistakes and our sin. You forgave me. Friends, that's the same opportunity you have today, that, as you ask that question about having you embrace Jesus, that today would be the day of decision, that you invite Christ into your heart and life, that he would change everything that you've been looking for.

Pastor Jason Brown: 33:24

I'm gonna ask if you're here in the room, if you just stand right where you're at. For us, the symbol of the cross is one of freedom, it's one of forgiveness, and that's why we come in this way, believing Christ. In His words, apostle Paul writes to the church at Rome. He says because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes and is justified. With the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Pastor Jason Brown: 33:56

Friends, today is your day to make a decision to follow Jesus. I'm gonna ask if everyone in the room just your heads bowed right where you're at and online, your heart prepared for what God wants to do. I'm gonna ask if that's you and you wanna make a decision to follow Jesus today. If you just raise your hand right where you're at, that, I would just remember you and be able to pray with you today as we pray this prayer together. Thank you, jesus, for people making a decision. Thank you, lord. Thank you, lord. It's a simple prayer, the one that we pray. I'm gonna ask if we would pray it all together. Please repeat after me Lord, thank you for loving me, thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name, I pray amen. Friends, we rejoice that you make a decision to follow Jesus today. God bless you. We wanna put some materials in your hand. You can connect with us online. You can connect us here in the room, right back at our prayer banner. We wanna put something in your hand so you're successful in leading this life and living this life after Christ.

Pastor Jason Brown: 35:16

Now, as we come with this song to the altar, we do so asking for an impartation, a blessing from the Lord.

Pastor Jason Brown: 35:24

We ask for more of him to experience a deeper level of who he is, and so we wanna pray that, as we come to make this place with God, that we would ask for more of who he is and just draw close to him, that he is our God, he is our rock, he is our shelter.

Pastor Jason Brown: 35:42

Lord, we thank you so much for today. We thank you for your word as you speak it to us, lord, as it's a challenge. Lord, from the history and the wisdom of old, lord, what you imparted to Solomon and others, lord, that you've breathed life into and given to us, lord, that we can be applying it to our lives and we can take that wisdom and live it and see the character of God have a harvest of righteousness back into us. Lord, we follow after your words, lord Jesus, in how we live our lives, sitting our feet upon the rock, being those who have good fruit to come off of our character, lord, that we would be those living that life after you. As we come to this altar, we ask for your spirit to bless us. We ask for an impartation, a breathing upon Lord, a new and alive move of your spirit in our lives. We pray all this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pastor Celeste Brown: 36:33

We're so grateful that you joined us today. I wanna let you know life groups are in full effect, so please get online, find one, join one. We are doing a ladies' luncheon today at one o'clock, so if you're interested in joining me, just come find me. I'll let you know where it's at. But also, easter is only a month away, can you believe it? So please invite someone. It's gonna be a great Sunday and we're just excited because, as believers, it is one of the greatest moments of our history and that is the resurrection of Jesus, and so we're gonna gather together and celebrate all that he is doing.

Pastor Jason Brown: 37:08

Amen. Before we go, I wanna pray this blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Lord, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. God, do you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. We pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen, amen, know this. We love you very much here in Cornerstone. God bless you and have a great week.