From God. Excited to be together today, by the way. You guys look amazing. Y'all know that nobody in this room looks like you lost an hour of sleep last night. All right, you guys actually look like you gained an extra hour of sleep. Y'all, y'all look amazing. Can you believe that? We are less than a month away from our first Easter service here at Grace? And if you don't know, this, um, Easter is a really big deal to us around here. And there's several reasons why, but one of the main ones is because it's just a fact that people are more open to respond to an invitation to come to church around Easter and around Christmas time. And so we just want to take advantage of that as much as we can. We want to reach people and build lives. And, uh, and so we've got an amazing Easter service plan. We're excited about it. And we have those invite cards for you today. And I just want to encourage you on your way out, grab some of those invite cards. And even now, today, start praying about who God wants you to invite to come and experience that service to Easter and hear about the love of Jesus. And and we're not overstating it when we say that that one invitation really could change somebody's life forever, it could change their eternity. And so join with us on this Easter to to make that a powerful experience. I am excited. Today we are kicking off a brand new sermon series. We're going to spend four weeks together talking about Make a Difference, and God has called us to make a difference. And this this series is going to be all about just that, how God has called us to make a difference, both in our personal lives and in your sphere of influence. How God wants you to make a difference. And then we're going to talk about that corporately together of how God wants us as a spiritual family to make a difference. And throughout the four weeks, we're going to be making both of those applications your life Personally, and then how we can do that together as, as a church family corporately, because we're better, we're stronger together, and we can do so much more together than any of us could alone. And now, as part of this four week series, again, I'm excited because we're going to be unveiling our brand new 2026 advance the Kingdom of Vision. And if you're not familiar with that here at Grace, um, every year we receive what we call our advance the Kingdom offering. And people give to that throughout the year. And basically what we do each year is we pray, we seek God, and we we ask the question, God, how do you want Grace church to change the world this year? To change our community? And then and then we we have amazing partnerships with trusted people that we know. And and we ask them, hey, what can we help you accomplish this year? What can we help fund to make your vision possible? And people give to that offering. And, uh, and then we change the world together. And so hopefully when you came in, you got our Advance the Kingdom booklet that shows all the projects and the partners that we're going to be partnering with this year. Um, Pastor Kendrick is going to walk you through that more in detail. Um, next week. Um, but one of the things that we do want to do is each week we want to highlight, um, one of the ministry partners and the projects that we're going to be doing this year.
And so I want to go ahead and invite up to the stage, um, Pastor Craig. Um, and as he's coming up, I want to just explain to you. Um, Pastor Craig is a part of a ministry that is doing some amazing things in India. And I'm not going to tell you the ministry name because we're streaming the service and we don't want this to be out there on the internet. But just to give you guys some context.
Um, we have known and been in relationship with Pastor Craig. I have for about 25 years. He told me earlier today that he has been a part of our network of churches for 37 years, and started when I was 12. I like that he's looking good. Um, but we. Grace church started partnering with this ministry about two years ago. We actually sent some members of Grace last year to India to go check out and see what they were doing, and they came back and were just amazed at how God is using this ministry. And so, Craig, I want to I want to ask you a couple questions so that you can help the people of Grace kind of understand more about this. So so tell us what's the main focus of the ministry there in India and what are you guys doing? So there was a young man back in the early 50s that a man from India came to the US and was educated and went back and started a ministry, and his focus was one Indian leading another Indian to Christ, that it was not just about Western missionaries. And so he began to train missionaries, Indian missionaries, to reach Indians for Christ. And so, um, and then in the mid 80s, his son became the leader of the ministry and they began to shift and start began focusing more specifically on discipleship and planting churches. And so as of this last year, 2025, they have planted over 20,000 churches. Wow. And so they may be a house church. It might be under a tree. It might be in a building. It may be a few or it may be several hundred. But all of these churches are out in the remote areas, in villages, not in the big cities. That's where the unreached people groups are. And so those pastors are trained, uh, for life, really. But over five years, they're specifically trained to plant churches. And their goal is to plant five churches in different villages during that five year training. And so you can be praying for them. They're doing an incredible job. So let me ask you this Why India?
Like why why does India need this? By the way, you said what is the focus? I should have said we're leading people to Jesus and the churches. Uh, but, um, see, when I got involved, I was pastoring, and I shifted. I turned the church over in Buffalo, New York, to, um, a man on my staff. And I shifted the missions. I knew I knew little about India. I knew I was called there. The Lord was specific. I knew very little about India. But, uh, get this. Um, first of all, last year, uh, India became the largest by population nation in the world. It's now bigger than China. And, uh, if you know anything about unreached people groups. So there are like 17,000 people groups in the world, not just countries, but, uh, you know, cultures, languages, um, people groups. And out of those 17,000, there are about 7000 who are unreached.
One third of the unreached people groups in the world are in India. Wow. And so if we're going to fulfill the Great Commission, we're going to have to focus on India. Give us a story that helps kind of encapsulate what you guys are doing. That would help us understand and just kind of feel a part of what's going on there. So I have to tell you about Raj, and, um, this is I don't know where you are in your beliefs or what you think about spiritual things, but this is a miraculous story. And I tell it because there are so many miracles going on in India. I mean, the healings is just blows my mind. It's a thing. And, uh, so Raj, though, uh, was a radical and very radical. He would actually pull together other radicals. Go find villages where there was a church and kill the pastor. That that was his mission.
And he came home one day, and, uh, his wife had been mixed, Mixing up with an occult group, and they had cast spells on her and. Whether you believe in that or not, they certainly believe in it. And. And, uh, she was, um, full of rage and disillusioned and very difficult to deal with in the home. He. He tried everything. Nothing worked.
Well, there was a guy in his life who was trying to very softly, uh, present the gospel to him and had even been slipping him some scripture verses. And, uh, he came to him and said, uh, Raj, there's a there's a pastor in another village, uh, kind of far away, but he, uh, is known to pray for people like this and see them, uh, like, delivered from this. And so Raj said, well, please, please have him come. Well, can can you imagine this is one of our pastors.
Can you imagine being that pastor? Say, would you go to the house where the guy who kills pastors, uh, and, uh, and and pray for his wife. And so he did. Uh, and he prayed for many hours and, uh, and eventually she just kind of went, like, limp and was at total peace. And she, um, started declaring something. Now, she didn't know anything about the Bible, and she started declaring, and he kind of caught on. That sounds like Bible.
And he grabbed the Bible out from under the arm of the pastor. Raj did, and he led it. It was in his hand and it fell open. And as his eyes went down to the verse, this verse, she was beginning to declare that verse. And it was this, uh, John chapter 15, verse 16 and 17, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.
That whatever you ask the father in my name, he may give you these things I command you that you love one another. Wow. Now, needless to say, they both came to Jesus. And yeah, let's give it up. And so now I heard this story. This is fresh. I heard this story last August. Uh, one of those pictures is of a pastor's conference there I was at this pastor's conference where Raj gave that testimony, and I asked the one of the leaders later, give me the detail. Uh, well, Raj has he's still in training, but while he's being trained, he's already led people to Christ in his own village and has established his first church. Yeah, that's. Praise the Lord. That's phenomenal. And Grace church, that's that's what we're investing in this year, right? We're we're going to be a part of that through the advance of the kingdom offering. We're going to give $64,000 to help them start a new training center. They have eight in the nation, and we'll be helping with the ninth.
And those training centers are pivotal for training the pastors, sending them out and starting those churches and more stories like that. So Pastor Craig is going to be around after the service if you have questions for him. Want to learn more about that? But let's give them a hand one more time. So cool what God is doing. So cool that we get to be a part of that. And I'm fired up.
I get to preach after that story. So I'm telling you that the title today is Is This Made to make a Difference? And I want to I want to speak something over you today. I want to speak something into your heart this morning. Alright. You were made to make a difference. I want you to to just let that sink in for a moment. I want you to personalize that. I was made to make a difference. That's part of your DNA. That's part of the way that God created you. It's who you are. You're made in the image of God. You're a difference maker. You know, hardwired deep into the human heart is this desire that we all have for significance, right? We want our lives to matter. We want to do something that's that's going to outlast us. We want to leave a legacy. We want to be a part of something that's eternal. And I've got encouraging news for you today. This isn't this isn't performing into becoming something one day where we're then. Then it happens. It's not an award that you get at the end of your life. This is part of God's creation for your life at the very beginning of your life. Actually, it was before the foundations of the world were ever laid. God not only had you in his mind, in his heart, but the Bible says that he predestined you. He destined you for good works that you should walk in them. Paul says in Ephesians 210, he's talking about us. He says, we are God's handiwork. We're God's workmanship, and we've been created in Christ Jesus to do what? To do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Long ago they were prepared for us. You were made by God to make a difference for God, and it's so important for you to know that and to understand that. And it's important for many reasons. But but one of the big reasons is because that's what gives your life a sense of purpose and meaning. And without that sense of purpose, I think sometimes we can fall into a place of hopelessness in our lives and hopelessness. If you've ever experienced that before, it's a brutal, painful experience, and often hopelessness is rooted in the exact opposite. It's feeling like my life doesn't have meaning. My life doesn't matter. Thinking that that I don't have a purpose.
There's no sense of meaning to what I do. Not not seeing that things can change or get better. Now, these feelings of hopelessness, they are not from God. I mean, they're real and we feel them. I'm not trying to minimize that, but but truth. God's truth triumphs over lies, and light shines into our hearts to bring hope and faith for a better future vision for that God.
When he starts to reveal his purpose to us, it's life changing. Now there's a quote that's often attributed to Mark Twain. This is what it says. It says the two most important days in your life are the day that you're born, and the day that you find out why. Now it's a little fuzzy if he's the one who actually said that. And it's not actually totally true, because the most important day of your life, hands down, not even close, is the day that you ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and your Savior. And and you become born from above. You're born again, and your sins are forgiven.
You're brought into God's family. Your eternity is now secure, right? So you you can't believe every quote you guys read online. All right. I hope you guys know that. But, uh, but nonetheless, finding out why you were created, it really is a big deal. And my hope, my prayer for these next four weeks, is that you would come to a very clear and confident conviction that I was made for this, that I was made to make a difference, that I have clarity on my calling and my divine purpose, that I have a confidence that God is not not only working in me, but he's working through me that I have a passion to fulfill the purpose of God in this generation, to walk out the good works that God prepared in advance. For me. To do that, I'm going to fight the good fight of faith. I'm going to I'm going to finish my race, and I'm going to hear those words. Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master. I was made for this, and I want you guys to to feel that in your heart of hearts. And so what I want to do today, I want to just give some framework to kind of help us discover and understand how God made you to make a difference. And I've got three thoughts for us this morning. And the first one is this, number one, you've got to know your why. You got to know your why. You remember when you were a kid, right? What was the question that everybody would, would always ask, what do you want to be when you grow up. Right. What do you want to be? And we. Dancer. I want to be a fireman or an astronaut or a police officer. I always wanted to be a marine biologist, but I was scared to death of sharks, so I didn't know how that was going to work out. But. But whatever. Right. What do you want to do? What do you want to be when you grow up? Or later that question becomes, what do you want to do when you graduate high school or college? And we focus on the what. And I think subconsciously we kind of think to ourselves, if I can get my what right, if I can get the right thing to do, then I'm going to be happy or fulfilled. But how many of you know that? What can be elusive? I don't know what I want to do. The what can change, right? You can move. Seasons of life change. Life stages change. Simon Sinek wrote a book and he called. He entitled it start with the why. And I believe there's great wisdom in starting with why. I think that's God's instruction to us is to start with the why we've gotta we've got to nail the why. Before the what? Because your why doesn't change. And your why is what brings purpose and meaning and passion to whatever you do. And sometimes I wonder if God kind of withholds the what? Until we get really clear on the why and when you get your why, right?
That's when you live on mission. That's when everything that you do starts to have meaning and significance. So here's your why. All right. I'm about to give it to all of us because as Christ followers, our why is the same. It's the same for all of us. And here it is. Paul says in First Corinthians, whatever you do, like whatever you are doing with your life, do all to the glory of God. That's our why. Our why is to glorify God to make much of him. Isaiah 43 seven, God actually says that we were created for his glory. You were created to bring God glory.
How cool is that? Paul also says in Corinthians, First Corinthians he says, for you were bought with the price, right? That's what Jesus did for us on the cross. He died. He gave his life to purchase us for God. So glorify God in your body. That's the why to glorify God. The Westminster Confession of Faith famously says in the Shorter Catechism, the chief end of man, the big purpose. Why? The main thing in life, the chief end of man, is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. The ultimate purpose of your life is to honor God, to glorify him. And in all that you do and say in your actions, and to find joy and satisfaction in his presence, you know, through the ups and downs of life. Your why is what steadies the ship. It's the anchor. It's. It's the foundation of your life. It's what brings hope during difficult times. And you don't get to invent your why. Right. God already defined that. Why? For us, right? He gave us the why. Now our culture will tell us a little bit differently. They'll say, hey, you kind of get to make up your own. Why? Right? You get to create it. You get to dream it. If you, you know, just think it in your head. But but it's not true. Your why is so much bigger than you are. Your why isn't just about you. God has called you to something that's so much bigger than you. Right? Why?
Why do we work? It's not just so that we can have money, but. But we work. It's to glorify God by.
By working hard, by being a faithful steward of the gifts and the abilities that he's given to us.
Why do you love your spouse and and pursue a healthy, great marriage? It's to glorify God by the way that you love and serve and give and follow his example. Why do you serve at Serve Day? It's not just for the cool t shirt. Okay? It's it's not. And by the way, I hate our Serve Day t shirt. It's because it's NC state red and it just drives me crazy every time I see it. But we're trying to redeem it, all right? We're trying to redeem it. But you don't serve it. Serve day just for the shirt. You serve to glorify God by loving people and serving them and being an expression of his heart for them. Why do we invest in the advance the kingdom offering together? It's so others in our community and around the world can glorify God and hear the gospel and respond to it, and have their needs met in the name of Jesus. It's all for the glory of God. That's the filter that everything runs through. It's why we're here. The why is what brings purpose and meaning to our lives, to all the things that we do. You know, why are so many people in life, in the world feeling lost, feeling hopeless? I think it's because they don't have a purpose. They don't have that divine. Why? From God, that's that's filling their life with passion and direction. Or maybe their purpose is is relatively insignificant or not eternal.
Will your purpose what you're living for? Will it outlast you? If your purpose is to make money.
Money is never going to make you happy, nor will it last. If your purpose is to accumulate stuff, it's not going to satisfy. If your purpose is is to have fun and enjoy your favorite hobby or your favorite pastime, or to retire early so you can play pickleball. then. Then you're missing out on so much significance and destiny and purpose. You were made to make a difference. And the only thing that brings true purpose and meaning to your life is to know your why, and to spend your life in the pursuit of glorifying God. Gotta know your why. My second thought is this number two, you've got to embrace who you are. You've got to know and embrace who you are. And I'm about to tell you who you are. Okay, I'm about to speak something over you. I already spoke over you that you were made to make a difference, right? And I'm about to speak something over you. And all that I'm doing is I'm just speaking over you. What Jesus said about you. Okay? This is what Jesus speaks over you. You guys ready for this? Because Jesus makes it very clear this is what Jesus said about you. He said, you are The light of the world. Let that sink in for a moment. You are the light of the world. That is a defining statement that Jesus makes about you. He declares that over you. That's who you are.
And notice he didn't say, I hope one day that there'll be the light of the world. He didn't say, get your stuff in order for a while first, and then he didn't say, go to church for exactly three years, and then you'll be the light of the world. No, he said, you are the light of the world right now. What an incredible thing to say. And if you're like me, then you. You're sure as heck don't feel qualified to be that, right? We. We might use some other words to describe ourselves, like struggling with sin or just trying to hold it all together and get through. Maybe we would say failure or disqualified or. Anxious or feel fearful or broken or hurting. Just starting to get my life in order. I wouldn't describe myself as the light of the world, but that's exactly who Jesus says you are. You are the light of the world, and what he says is truth. His opinion is the only one that really matters. And guys, those seven words are such a huge part of your identity. They define who you are. They define your real purpose in life. You are God's son. You are God's daughter. And in that you have become the light of the world. Jesus said something else pretty incredible. Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it. And I love this flecks by Jesus, right? Jesus is just showing out. He's letting the devil know what's up, right? We live in a very real spiritual battle. It's very real. And Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and sin and death. He came to rescue people. And Jesus says, I will build my church and nothing is going to stop me. The gospel will be preached, people will be saved, light will invade darkness. I will build my kingdom. That's an emphatic promise from Jesus. But the method that he chose to fulfill that promise is through us. He said, I'm going to build my church and I'm going to do it through my people, and hell can't stop them. We are God's plan to build the church, to advance the kingdom of God here on this earth. And it's a little overwhelming.
And of course, we feel unqualified. But it's true. Jesus said, I'm going to send my spirit, and he's going to live inside of them, and he's going to empower us to be his witnesses in the earth. He says, I've called you to be the light of the world. You're going to show the world who I am. You're going to tell them about me. You're going to represent me. And my gut reaction is like, Jesus, right? You should have come up with a better plan, right? But y'all know he's really smart. He's a lot more smart than me. Maybe you guys have have never really, truly considered this before. And maybe you've never really considered this calling. Maybe that seems like it's like it's too lofty of an idea for you. Doesn't God have some experts? Right. Some. Some people that are better, more experienced, more gifted to build his church? I'm just out here trying to survive right now. I'm not qualified to build God's church. But that's exactly who God says that you are.
Jesus tells us how this is possible. How? How ordinary. Dare I say sinful people just like you and I are called the light of the world. Jesus said in John 812 he said, I am the light of the world. I'm the light of the world. And whoever follows me, whoever becomes my disciple, will never walk in darkness, but listen, but will have the light of life. And I love that Jesus says I'm the light of the world, right? It's me. It's my light. And he says that if you follow me, you're not going to walk in darkness, but you're going to have inside of you the light of life.
That life, that life is going to be inside of you. God's presence, the light to reveal who God is to the people in your life. It's God's life in us that's going to impact and impart his light to others and the world around us. That's that's in that spiritual darkness. They're going to see God's life in us. And it does something to them. It has an effect on them. That's how Jesus is building his church. That's how the kingdom is advancing through ordinary people just like you and me. You are the light of the world and you might not see yourself that way. But that's how God sees you.
That's who you were made to be. And this is so important. I cannot emphasize this enough, and I'm just praying today that God would do what he does and just download this into your heart.
And I'm I'm praying I'm conveying this well, because this is your calling and it's your destiny. but this is also a mindset that you embrace and I love the definition of a mindset. It says a mindset is a habitual mental attitude, right? I love that like a constant mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to life. In other words, a mindset determines how you're going to live your life. So here's your life mindset right? Here it is. I am the light of the world and God wants to advance his kingdom through me, right? That's our mindset. That's the mindset that God wants us to have to put on to clothe ourselves with. It's a life mentality that we choose to embrace. Do we choose to take ownership of. It's a lifestyle, an identity. It's who you are. It informs how you live your life. I want you to think about an Olympic athlete for a moment. What's their mindset? Like, I'm going to be the fastest person in the world. And that becomes kind of their mantra, their life mindset. And that determines how they live. It determines the lifestyle that they live out. I I've got to train. I got to base my schedule around this. I've got to eat healthy. I gotta avoid all this unhealthy stuff. I better sleep enough so that my body can recuperate properly. This is what I do. This is a part of of who I am. I take on that mindset and that informs the rest of my life. Will, you are the light of the world and God wants to advance his kingdom through you.
That's what brings purpose to your life. That's your destiny. I want you to think about it. Every one of us in this room, we all carry a stewardship of God's presence inside of us. The Holy Spirit lives in us. You have the light of life inside of you, and we want to steward that well. We want to say yes to this. We we want to say, this is who I am. This is what I'm going to give my life to. I want to take ownership of this calling. This is going to be the passion that drives my life. In each day when you wake up, you can make that choice. To embrace this identity, to embrace this mindset that I am the light of the world today, that I'm going to bring God's light with me. I'm going to see today through eyes of purpose. I'm going to look for opportunities where God can shine through me.
And that starts to become the lens that you see life through. Y'all, I remember when I first started learning about this as a newer Christian. I was 19 years old and I'm not kidding when I say this. I would literally go to Taco Bell every single day of my life for lunch. Okay? And there were two reasons why. The first one was I was hungry and the second was I was broke. Okay. And maybe some of you guys remember this, but back in the day, you could get, like, a giant bean burrito for like, $0.50, right? You know what I'm saying? So I'd go to Taco Bell. I had no money, but I was hungry. That's irrelevant. But I would go to Taco Bell literally every single day. And, guys, this is what I would do, right? When I walked in the doors of the restaurant, I would say to myself in my heart, The Kingdom of God has just arrived at Taco Bell. God, what do you want to do through me? And y'all are laughing. But I was serious. What was I doing? I was reminding myself who I was, right? I was putting on that mindset, that mantle, that that God, I'm expecting you to do something through me. and sometimes I'd hand out an invitation to church.
Sometimes I'd go out of my way to say something just really encouraging to somebody. Sometimes I would sit there and pray for somebody in the restaurant that God put on my heart while I was eating. Right. You get the point. It's it's a mindset. It's an identity. It's a lifestyle choice. I am the light of the world and God wants to do something through me today. Guys, I believe that making this choice to see and embrace this, this calling on your life to be the light of the world, I think it's going to bring more joy and happiness to your heart. I think it's going to bring the true sense of purpose and fulfillment that you want. As a matter of fact, there's nothing outside of this that really will bring that true sense of purpose and fulfillment that our hearts long for, that we were created for. We live in a world right now where mental health has become such a huge issue. And there's many reasons for that. And they're all legit. And I just I need you all to hear my heart even as I talk about this. I've been through a season of depression. I know how hard this is, but but I believe that one of the best things that you can do for your mental health, for your emotional health, is to truly own and embrace this, calling this identity to be the light of the world. One of the best things that you can do to combat depression or sadness or anxiety, or that that sense of hopelessness is to have a purpose in your life, something that you're passionately living for. I believe that so much of the sadness and the loneliness, the anxiety and the depression that we're facing today is because we've lost our sense of divine purpose. We kind of fall into this mentality of of just surviving, right? Um, I'm trying to put my head down and just make it through life. I mean, it's tough out there. I want to just be able to pay my bills and and not have a mental breakdown. And we forget who we are. We've forgotten who we are.
And that God placed us here and gave us this amazing, life fulfilling purpose.
And we fall into just just surviving, just trying to make it through. And of course, there's seasons and it happens at times. But I'm telling you, the best way to fight against depression, against sadness and anxiety, that feeling of hopelessness is to remember who you are. Right? I'm going to be Mufasa for a moment, right? Remember who you are that God has a divine purpose for you. You were made for more. You were made to make a difference, not just survive.
And I want you to embrace that mindset. Put that on each day. Speak it over yourself. Speak it to yourself. I'm the light of the world. God's going to use me today. I'm going to advance his kingdom. His light is going to shine through me, right? This is who I am. I am a light bringer, a kingdom advance. For I have a purpose in my life. And I'm not on defense. I'm not just out here trying to survive. I've got a divine mission. And I'm on offense, baby.
I'm. I am called to impact the darkness with my light. That is who you are.
And that is who you were created to be. You got to know your why. You got to embrace who you are. And my third thought for us this morning, which really guys is just a teaser for week three of the series. Alright, so y'all got to come back for week three, but just as a teaser number three, you gotta discover your what Once you put on that identity of being the light of the world, then you get to discover and walk out the unique and specific ways that God has called you to make a difference. The first two that we've talked about, their big picture right there for everybody, but but this last one gets super specific to you. And I love this verse in Jeremiah, when God speaks to Jeremiah, I want you to listen to what he says. God says, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. And guys, this is so powerful. He just speaks purpose. He speaks destiny over Jeremiah and he reveals to him the what of what he was created to do. And a couple things jump out to me in this verse. I want you to notice that God was personally involved in forming Jeremiah in the womb and creating him and designing him exactly how he wanted him to be his personality, his gifting, his mind, his emotional makeup, his heart passions. God was involved. He's God's masterpiece and God designed you. And I love how he says I. I knew you. God knows you.
Notice that that God set him apart before he was even born, and that God appointed him to a specific calling, a very unique way that God created him to make a difference. And I want you guys to know that every single word of that verse is true. Every single word of that verse applies to you, except the part where he says, a prophet to the nations, because that was Jeremiah's specific what? But you get to discover and walk out your what for the rest of your life. And that's the fun part.
God wired you and designed you. He gave you gifts to fulfill a very specific calling and destiny, and that is unique to you. Nobody else can walk that out but you. He formed you in the womb and he gave you natural gifting, spiritual gifts, the experiences that you've been been through, specific passions in your heart.
God placed that there. I think it's pretty incredible when you think about it. He designed you and equipped you exactly how he wanted you to be, exactly how you needed to be, to walk out your what and to fulfill that purpose.
Before you were even born. God knew you. He created you. He shaped you. He set you apart. And he appointed you to make a difference. It's powerful. And I want to pray for us this morning. You guys can go ahead and close your eyes. And before I pray, I want to just take a moment. And if you're in this room today and maybe you would say in your heart, like, I don't know Jesus yet, you're you're talking about life purpose and Jesus, I don't I don't know Jesus yet. And if that's you, if you don't have a relationship with him right now, today, then I want to encourage you. I want to plead with you whatever it takes. Do not leave this room today without making the most important decision of your life. And that's to surrender your life to Jesus. To ask him to come in to your life, to come into your heart. To forgive you of your sin to start a relationship with God. God did all the hard part of making that relationship possible. All we have to do is ask and invite. So you can just let him know right now. Just say to him, Jesus, I need you. I want to invite you to come into my heart, my life, and take over. Forgive me of my sin. Bring me into your family and God. I want to pray for all of us today. God, I just I want this so badly for us, Lord, for us to catch your heart in this. And I pray that everybody in this room right now would just hear your voice. God, as you speak over them right now, that you are the light of the world. God, that they would hear that from you, from your heart. God that you would remind them that they were created to make a difference, to do great things for the kingdom of God. Lord, I pray that you would give us fresh faith today to just believe that, to see that purpose God, and to say yes to you. Lord, I pray for anybody in the room who's feeling that sense of hopelessness or sadness today. Maybe they're in that season of depression. And I pray today, God, even right now, that you would just begin to lift that off of them, and God that you would speak purpose and destiny and passion God over their hearts right now, God and just minister to them in a special way. God, we're kind of blown away that you've given us this life purpose. God, how cool is it, Lord, that we get to spend our lives glorifying you, loving others, Lord, being the light of the world. God, we want to just say yes to that today. God. Even over these next several weeks, God, show us how you've created us to make a difference. And with all of our hearts, God, we say yes to that calling. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.