10: Part 4: The Family Matters

Harvest messages are brought to you by harvest partners receive free email daily devotions were to become a harvest partner, please visit us online@harvest.org police officer.

The bully guy over who the guy had two other penguins in the backseat of his car.

The officer said sir I will you doing that then when is an endangered species. You can't drive around with them.

You need to take them to the zoo immediately. The man agree.

The next day, the officer saw the man again. This time he still at the penguins that were wearing sunglasses and wearing Hawaiian shirts and the officer said I told you to take these penguins to the zoo yesterday. The method I did were going to the beach today while these are the jokes, people listen. Talk about missing the point. And then they were missing the point in so many ways in our culture today because we ignore God, and we ignore the commandments that he gave us for our own good beers or guardrails. I went to Disneyland the other day with all my grandchildren on the have to finance that for sure and tell one of the roads are rights. We wrote was October you ever been on that little cars I will think they've improved though since the 50s. By the way, but the so you have these little things that hold you online so I was in the car with the my granddaughter Allie.

She was staring and I was hitting the accelerator you know if she would.

She still figuring this out which way to turn the wheel, but that rail held as so we did not go over the side and end up somewhere else right the 10 Commandments are like guardrails that God gives us for our own protection.

As I've said there like the walls of protection around us to keep evil out and we disregard them and ignore them at our own peril because we know there's two tablets the first four commandments are in tablet number one. They had to do with our relationship with God to member number one.

The Lord says you shall have no other gods before me.

By the way, if nothing else. As a result of this 10 Commandments. There is, I want you to memorize the 10 Commandments and know them in order.

Okay, let's work on that together to member number one of no other God's will. Forum commandment number two no graven images and anything that's in heaven above, or earth below. Commandment number three don't take the Lord's name in vain. Commandment number four. Remember the Sabbath, they keep it holy knowledge come due.

Section number two tablet number two. Let's hook up on the screen so the next commandment commandment number five.

Honor your father and mother commandment number six you shall not murder.

Commandment number seven you shall not commit adultery commandment number eight you shall not steal commandment number nine you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Basically, you shall not life. Finally, commandment number 10 you shall not covet. These are the 10 Commandments and I want to focus on commandment number five to honor your father and mother. This is about the family. So before I dive into this.

I want to take a quick poll.

How many of you are single you're not married Richard Nanda okay, how many of you who are single want to be married someday razor again to keep your hand up other singles look around. Then everyone pulled her hand officer skull prospects. Okay, how many of you are Mary Brazier who knew Mary, how many of you are married with children, raise your hand up all right. How many of you are grandparents raising hand up how many of you are happily married, raise your hand and help okay. I how many of you who are married, which were single again… Some don't do that. So before word is said about not stealing or line or other interactions with people don't cover will belong to them to begin with the family wife because God created God loves the family and God's template is for a man and woman to come together commit to each other for life in a monogamous relationship. Ultimately, God willing, to have children and to raise all children in the way of the Lord and it starts with a father and mother and what's our point of reference. Our father who art in heaven, neither nuclear earthly dad you have.

But I'm telling you you of a father in heaven who is perfect. He's flawless. He has no limitations whatsoever. What is he like well Jesus answered that.

And what we call the parable of the prodigal son, but it could just as easily be described as the parable of the loving father because it's a story according to Christ's hello father was two sons, one of them goes astray, leaves home blows all of the money. His dad gave him and loses everything and comes to his senses and returns home and according to Jesus at father render the boy and threw his arms around him and kissed him and hug him and welcome him again. What is God the father, like is like a father in that story. He's a father who loves you a father who longs for a relationship with you. A father who is broken hearted when you're away from him in sin. So without a mind we come to this first commandment. Honor your father and your mother. This of course starts of the marriage notice. It's a father and a mother, a man and a wife not a man of the man, not a woman and a woman not a man and two women, Donna will a woman. The two men it's a man and a woman. This is God's template for the family and this is his order and when we mess with it. Trouble will follow if Vince said I family can survive without a nation but a nation cannot survive without the family and that is why the devil hates the family did you know he hates your family did you know Satan wants to destroy your family, and he works on it, it seems. Over time these days. And as you look at our nation today. You can take almost every social ill, that we are feeling and trace it abruptly back to the breakdown of God's order for the family. For instance, in 1960 fewer than 6 million children lived in single-parent families today. 19 million children are being raised without a father.

That's more than one in four without a father in the home and this disregard of the Fifth Amendment is undermining our nation and I can give you a lot of stats to support that statement could you might say well it's just your opinion Greg well actually I can support this with a lot of data and show that the Bible is true and what it says.

For instance, that you know 71% of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. We spent untold millions and millions of dollars fighting addiction and homelessness, but how much 20 that we spent supporting the family because that is that the rootlets are that the root of most homelessness and addiction, 90% of all homeless and runaway children from fatherless homes a child from a fatherless almost 68% are likely to use drugs or alcohol form are likely to become sexually active at an early age and three times more likely to commit a violent crime 85% of all youths sitting in prison came from a fatherless home. Listen to this fatherless children anywhere from 100% to 200% more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems. Fatherless sons are 300% more likely to end up in juvenile institutions, fatherless daughters who Mary have a 92% higher divorce rate fatherless daughters are hundred and 11% more likely to have children as teenagers. Well, maybe God knew what he was talking about what he said.

Honor your father and mother.

The assumption is we would do it God's way and we have not done it in many ways God's way in our nation and were facing the consequences. Now let me say a word to single mothers.

First of all, God bless you and I mean that with all of my heart because you have your work cut out for you. I don't know. I don't know how you ended up as a single mom may be your husband died on me be your husband walked out on you. They do that sometimes guys can be creeps right. Maybe you got pregnant outside of wedlock and you fill a lot of shame and embarrassment over that, but thankfully, you did not go get an abortion, you carried the child to term and I think you for doing. I'm thankful my mom did that she got pregnant out of wedlock one night fling while Greg was conceived and this was the 50s when it was very controversy oh to have a baby when you were married with thankfully I was born, but you see, I understand how this can be.

I was raised by effectively a single mom ulcer. She was married and divorced seven times would these guys. It was like there were come through a revolving door so there was never a stable father figure and so the reason I bring this up is because it's hard for you right now and we want you to know that God's heart goes out to fatherless children. Some 68 the Lord says he promises to be a father to the fatherless you know if your single mom take advantage of other men, godly men that you will meet in the church. Sometimes a coach can make all the difference in a child's life. It could be a teacher. It can be a youth pastor a Sunday school teacher just somebody else up positive male role model for those people, let us help you. But this assumes that it begins with a strong and happy marriage is that even possible today J Paul Getty, one of the richest men to ever live, said he would give all of his fortune for one copy marriage but we seen so many unhappy marriages say we think is this even possible to have one of these days. You know sometimes and people been married for a while. They take each other for granted heard about a couple that were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary so bunch of friends and family were gathered and the husband said to the white dear I wanted take you for our 25th wedding anniversary to Australia.

She was so excited she says I've never been down under kangaroos koala bears is going to be amazing honey if you can do this or 25 years of marriage. What are you going to do on our 50th anniversary says that's when I picked you up so that the subject.

You know, millennial's are not getting married at the same rate that baby boomers did at an early age. Maybe it's because so many of them come from broken homes and they don't want them, that they happen to them. So the question is, can a man and a woman follow love and be married and live happily ever after. Just like the fairytales tell us to hate to discourage you but the answer is no. You will not live happily ever after, but you can live happily even after if you do it God's way is you can provide civil Greg.

What qualifies you to talk to us about merit. I've been married for 46 years might drop okay now that it sounds like I'm bragging, I married a wonderful woman and I it's God's blessing on us and just doing what his word says but I had the statistical cards stacked against me with my mom married and there were so many times but I don't care what had you been dealt in life and what your parents did did did did did did echo Jim did this are what your grandparents did. Now it's about what you're going to do and I'm telling you of Christ enters the narrative he can change her story and he can change your future but you need to ask him to come in to control. He can do it but let's talk a little bit about marriage, let me say this to you who are married is a lot I could say to hopefully encourage you in your marriage.

But let me give you one biblical principle from Ephesians 5 verse 21 it says submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

So my point is put the needs of your spouse above your own wives. This means you submit to the loving leadership of your husband husband. That means that you been out of the needs of your wife if you go into a marriage think that person is going to meet all of the needs of my life, you're going to be really disappointed. No person can do that there's no perfect man walking around you can do that with her was one, but he's taken. Sorry married, but not so there is no perfect man, there's no perfect woman and we have this false idea of what a person can do for us and we need to be realistic. A word to you who are singles. Don't look for the right person is much as you should focus in trying to be the right person to the ideas I don't know a marriage, I think, how can you fulfill me. I going to a married same.

How can I fulfill you. How can I love you. How can I put you first in my life so some girl sometimes will say well this guy. I am going out with them and to Mary. He's he's rough around the edges and values a lot of problems but I'm going to fix them. Probably not. Probably not.

If I got to warn you.

He might get worse so you will fix them at all. Don't go into a marriage thinking you're going to change in due okay because he might be far worse than you thought it was going to be you want to start by looking for a godly man or a godly woman. That's why I don't really know what I have to say this, but some people miss this memo.

You should never become romantically involved with the nonbeliever for why because the Bible says don't be unequally yoked together with nonbelievers for what friendship does light have with darkness or righteousness with unrighteousness are Christ with the devil. And here's what happens is you might say Wyman to win them to the Lord will give married and I'll bring them to Christ.I believe this says some God wants to do or you go out with nonbelieving guys or girls you call it missionary dating, let me tell you what's gonna happen instead of you pulling them up. They might end up pulling you down. See what the Bible says don't be unequally yoked together understand what he I'M not talking about X now okay I joke is wooden device that put over to Oxon and they would be pulling your wagon, you'd be plowing your field with them. So if you put a yoke on a strong box and a weak ox will that affect the performance. Yes, it'll pull in the direction of the week boxes.

Said another way, if you are the living Oxon a paradox with that affect which are about to do just and that's exactly what happens in a relationship when you of a Christian and a non-Christian Christian is spiritually alive because they been born again.

The non-Christian is dead and their sins out of the Bible says so you will be pulled often in the direction of the one who doesn't believe rather than being pulled in the direction of the one who does bully when illustrated another way, let's say I chose some person in the front row that was smaller than me and I said on the pull you up on the stage and I took hold in your hand with my massive strength I was able to get you up here but the reality is, you could probably pull me off the stage more easily because you have gravity on your side so when you're in a relationship with the nonbeliever you of the new nature and the old nature and they only of the old nature so it's easier for them to pull you down and it is for you to pull them up to look for a godly man look for a godly girl was going going over they think he's a Christian, why do you say that he's is God a lot that we talked about that and taking the Lord's name in vain. You want more than that for a godly person. Point number two. This is for married folks. Now it's not about you it's about your mate. Ephesians 521 says submitting to one another in the fear of God. It can be better translated courting one another in the fear of God, the husband gets underneath his wife helps her a while back. Kathy and I had the opportunity to go visit the White House and she wanted to wear and I stress understandably and my shoes so she went about some high heels that were very painful and I inch every step she took it hurt her pain pain the whole time but you look great. You look really good.

So the whole time I'm walking right next door like injuries.

I don't want her to fall off the high heels right so she's got a got my arm and then were going about this fast like this and Kathy come on I'm running and running and Jesus are but I was there to support her to hold her up on the way you know when I get the opportunity to go to the White House or any house I always go as a representative of Jesus Christ.

So bring such a politically charged time right now. Did you know there's a presidential election coming diving so it's on all the news everybody gets in the little camp they take shots at each other and so I go to the White House. Abeles, oh you're so partisan. Well, yesterday I was in Los Angeles at the LA Mayor's prayer breakfast and I met Mayor Eric Garcetti for a nice guy and I would have disagreements with him certain subjects for sure, but when I walked in that city. I'm not there to talk politics. I'm there to talk about Jesus Christ. That's my mission. So, don't judge me by where I go judge me by what I say when I get there. Okay.

And I was understand when I go to those places.

I'm there, not as a partisan, not as any particular party member.

I'm there is a follower of Christ, and I'm trying to get the gospel and I'll tell you that Ms. Barbara because I was able to deliver the gospel to all those in attendance and always look for that opportunity but does your hold one another and then children may come in if they come now, you want to raise them in the way of the Lord and in to the children. The Bible says honor your father or mother, which means to give weight to that.

It gives respect to them value their you might say will Greg what if I don't respect my mom and dad because they didn't do a great job will just talk about the office of a parent.

It's very easy to critique apparent until you become apparent. A lot of the things you said critically of your mom or dad, you'll realize in many ways they were doing their job right. But honestly, there are times are moms and dads low. It fathers abandon their children or the harsh rust dear mothers abandon their children.

Sometimes there don't have time for their kids.

Are there meaner as other issues involved, even abusive and so you think I can honor them will first of all, just out of respect like you should honor the president or elected official be there.

Mayor or Gov. or whatever it is, because that's an office goddess placed a person and so there's a respected ghost with the office of parents, but sometimes honestly we need to forgive our parents because some of us have never done that and it affects us into our adult life. One expert said, quote the psychological truth is that holding on to our past resentments towards parents robs us of our current peace of mind in her ability to experience satisfaction in the here and now relationships" honor the even when they say the thing you hate parents saying which is I told you so mom can I get I gonna do that since all of my friends know and why not because I said so come on now you can go because I said so all I want to go. Everybody's doing it nosy.

You'll understand.

One day then you become apparent to go home now. I think I understand.

Sometimes God says that to us to learn I don't really get all the things you see in your word and I don't like all these commandments, you've written down wire the even there.

What why do I have to follow them. His answer because I said so Shyamalan I don't get it. One day you'll get one day you'll understand, and you don't even have to wait to get to heaven because when you've lived a few years you watch how human lives unfold, you watch what happens when people obey the word of God, and you watch what happens when people disobey the word of God. Moses stood before Israel think even this statement before they enter the promised land.

In Deuteronomy 30 verse 15 he says I've said before you today life and good, death and evil, and I command you today, to love the Lord your God and walk in his ways and keep his commandments. And then he says and you will live and multiply, and you'll bless you in the land you go to possess. So that's great, or thing here is do what I tell you they do in your life will be blessed within the ads. This word of warning the Deuteronomy 30 verse 17 but if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen and if you're drawn away the serve and worship other gods I warn you, you will certainly be destroyed by God's giving us an open book test member when you're in school and sometimes would be pop quizzes. I hated those because I never studied, but occasionally there would be an open book test, the teacher would say okay I wanted test you today. Open your textbooks read the material. The answers are in, which are about to read, write these answers down. God is giving you an open book test. Here's the book read what the book says apply what the book says in your life will go so much better if you do with the Lord tells you to do, but it's hard to be apparent and we need God's help are gift our kids to us are a gift from the Lord actually in someone 27 verse three it says children are a heritage from the Lord. A reward from him that you better be translated a gift listen. Our kids are not ours to mold but to unfold there. Not ours to keep Bud to nurture.

So, do everything you can to raise your child on the way of the Lord.

Sometimes parental so will understand these rebellious kids. My kids have never rebelled.

They've never been disrespectful. They love the Lord with all their hearts.

They love to go to church and they love to pray and love to hear Bible stories their amazing how old are your kids three and four. You know what shut up you know what you're talking about. Tell me how it goes after you've raised two teenagers. If you live to tell the story. I might start listening to you ever heard of Mark Twain humerus the writer from days gone by. You don't. If it doesn't ring a bell yes is a boat at Disneyland right here's a Mark Twain said about raising kids quote things run pretty smoothly into your kid reaches 13 that's the time you need to stick them in the barrel hammer the lid down nice and snug and feed them to the knothole while and then he had says and then when they turn 16, plug up the knothole while little harsh kill executive fees and six for a moment because Paul picks up where Moses leaves off. First he quotes the fifth commandment.

And then he elaborates on it is that children obey your parents in the Lord.

This is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise, and it may be well with you and you live long on the earth. That's a quote from the 10 Commandments.

Of course then he gets more specific and you fathers don't provoke your children to wrath, but bring them underline those words bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Point number three. Fathers need to step up and lead.

How many of your Christian fathers raise your hand. Your dad will God bless you and let you in church. Now let me sleep some heavy on you and it's on me. Thomas, a father is a visible representation to a child of God in heaven, and a lot of pressure is in the yacht is that it's true as a lot of people form their view of God based on the relationship with her earthly father suffer people. They had great dads. It's very easy for them to think of a loving, caring, compassionate father in heaven, but for kids who had overbearing fathers or didn't have a father at all. Chart for them to wrap their mind around it, but you have a job to do you go to step up to the plate here and you need to leave the great evangelist Neil Moody said and I quote if you want to know what kind of father you were to look at your children look at your grandchildren."

I love that statement. I don't know what it means but I like it don't you not think about it so you raise your children in the way of the Lord and hopefully they're repeating the process in your Sina played out in the lives of your grandchildren. But when it says don't provoke your children to wrath the word provoke means of repeated pattern of treatment that causes the child to have anger and resentment that boils over to our right hostility.

How do we provoke our children.

One way is to show favoritism to favor one side over another, never compare your children to each other. Why can't you be smarter like your older sister. Why can't you be more athletic like your younger brother. Why can't why can't you just stop doing that every child is loved by God. Every child is unique and when you show favoritism toward a child, it can affect them into their adult here. A good example of this is in the Bible we see them the story of Jacob and Esau. Two brothers that were at odds with each other. That's because the mother favored Jacob and the dead favored Esau and the kids knew it and it affected them for the rest of their lives not you would've thought that Joseph the son of Jacob would've learned from this and not repeated the behavior of his dad.

Then he had a bunch of sons, one of whom was named Joseph and he favored Joe said over all of his other sons given him a supercold cool coat and Joseph is sashaying around right now to his brothers and let's say they overreacted a little bit they sold into slavery, but some so don't take off your brothers if you can avoid it.

But the point of it is. It started by a father favoring one son over the others.

Kids know when you have a favorite.

You think you're so clever you think you high that they know you have to be even with your kids. I have two sons, of course, one in heaven one on earth. I have five grandchildren and when I buy one a gift. I have to buy them all a gift the other day and saw Somerset on the go get this for this grandchild. Kathy says you have to buy five, then I said nevermind. I took all my grandkids to Disneyland. I said this right already is a problem you preached three times in one day.

You know what you said to one group or the other. Brenda point is that you know and it has to be. Even if I get dizzy if I get something for one pipe to get over all the others, so don't show favoritism to one child over another.

Here's another way you can provoke a child never complementing them, never affirming them. I don't know about how you were raised by I don't say this to elicit sympathy, but if you want to give it to mail, take better. My mother never affirmed me she never not want that I can remember my entire childhood said I love you. It was hard for her. She was a broken person and died so sometimes we feel it on soprano my son soprano my daughter they can read your mind.

You need to tell them you need to affirm them. So that's one problem with the other extreme is you over complement your children and I think in some ways in our culture today.

A lot of kids are being over complement and you know you have the bumper secure in your car macho.

My child is smarter than your child is not that direct but it's like that and you know they play games. Now they go and play soccer and there's no winners or snow losers. Every winter winter oral winners know you're not doing enough so that kid grows up and gets a job in the do the job poorly and the boss demands an explanation is a quilt were all winners.

Buses know. Actually your fire goodbye prepare them for the real world you get over complement them. You can over criticize them. But our job as parents.

Point number four is to bring our kids up, not knock them down. Ephesian six forces bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

The word bring them up means to nourish or be Proverbs 2915 warns us a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Here's what I'm concerned about today with a lot of kids, it is or be left to themselves, who is raising these kids you expecting the school system to do it. It's your job, dad to raise her own children the other day I was in a restaurant in the Kathy and are sitting there is a beautiful view, the sun is setting. I look over to table young family mom dad and a baby. Mom is on her phone that is on his phone the baby. The baby is on the iPad because there's an iPad holder in the stroller. I think of what are we doing to these kids putting them in front of these devices. With all this imagery with all this technology washing over them. I don't even know if their brains are forming properly. If there even learning how to read social cues and how to communicate were just bombarding them with this information in your kids again to get that information.

No matter what you have to protect them and watch over them and help them process.

It you know you might take what we don't have a television in our house will congratulations what he want a metal what we don't want our children to be exposed to all of that media out there. Trust me, they're going to get it somewhere else, but the kids don't even watch it on television. Anyway, they watch it on YouTube on their phones or their friends phones. We don't have a TV there's gonna walk down the street, look in the window of a neighbor's house and watch their TV or see it in a mall. So instead of safe working to protect our children from all of these things. Why don't you prepare your children to process these thing. That's the job of the parents listen to these words of Moses in Deuteronomy 6.

Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts get them inside of you, and then get them inside of your children.

Listen to this. Nothing can happen through you until this first happened to you on the repeat that nothing can happen through you until this first happened to you. You cannot take your children any further spiritually then you yourself have gone as Paul wrote in Philippians 49 these things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things in the God of peace will be with you so they need to see it in you first know what you teach them you take some all the time and let me say a word about devotions and children to good idea. Both of my boys. I raise them telling the Bible stories do the same with my grandchildren. I try to keep it interactive and involve them. I don't think you should ever make devotions too long to somewhere going to now continue our series in the book of Leviticus kids were going to do eight chapters and I'm actually going to sacrifice a lamb in your room so you fully understand that you're not done a good job. How do you do it you know just good to do a time of devotion. But it's good to talk to me to get up in the morning when they go to bed at night when you're walking down the street. It's a constant process, helping them to develop their own state. Because sometimes our kids will turn away was talking with Jay Warner Wallace the other day. He's a great speaker and apologist actually was a cold case detective really smart guy and he speaks a lot to young people T-shirt is that with me had not heard. It was a little surprising he said what age do you think most kids turn away from their faith.

I was thinking maybe high school maybe college-age. He said to me, the statistics show that the age most kids start to turn away from their faith is the age of 13. So really, why because are being exposed to so much stuff these days that I honestly can't completely control it could be a teacher in a classroom. It could be something they saw online that you be something a friend said to them, so I got a help them and will my child comes and says I don't know if I believe the Bible mom. I don't know if I really understand who Jesus is. Dad is that of St. never told your faith no work with explain it to them. Help them understand it and it will. I don't have all the answers and get the answers and then share with your children and help prepare them for the real world listen, don't freak out if your child goes prodigal. Both of my sons were prodigal for a period of time. That's hard to believe because I was the perfect father 20 laugh. I was not I wasn't I wasn't, but they did say to me. Both of them. It wasn't because of your parenting or moms parenting.

We just had that sinful nature, and they went out and looked into some of those things this world has to offer and they both came to their senses because we need a good foundation for train up a child in the way that they should go train up a child in the way that they should go when there were all our old they will not. The you lay the foundation don't beat yourself up to bed. If your child is come prodigal, because of having a prodigal child meant you were a failure is apparent that that means God is a failure is a heavenly father is got a failure. No, this you have any prodigal's lots of up I'm talking to some of them right now. By the way coming back to prodigal's in wrapping up we call it the story of the prodigal son.

But in reality you can describe it is the story of the prodigal sons plural. There were 21 left the home and went to a distant country and most of his life. The other never left home affect the other older brother was resentful when his younger brother came home and was welcomed back into the family. He didn't think that was fair if he was a prodigal in his own way. Even though he was in the home with his father. His heart was hard against his father. So some people go out into our world and the culture and they do sinful things and they come back to the Lord, but sometimes we never leave the church, but our heart is hard in the church. So as we get ready to write this message may be some prodigal's need to come home today and on that beautiful story that Jesus told showing this with the father is like the boy still a great way off in the father runs to his son and that culture was considered undignified for an older man to run it up to pull the rope up all of their needs just wasn't done. Not to mention the fact that it's harder for an older man to run right. But the father willing to do loses dignity if you will, according to Jesus, runs to get to his son. Why does he run to get to his son. Here's my theory. I think that son could been in a very dangerous situation. It's possible the people in the town were picking up rocks and repairing to stone him because that boy had drug the family name for the mud. That boy had been so sinful and the father said I've got to get to my son when he got to his son. He threw his arms around him because he knew the people wouldn't stone him. Got it. That's what happened at the cross, Jesus stepped in and took my place in the judgment that should've come upon me came upon him. He died for me and in a moment were going to remember that by receiving what we call communion bread and a cup symbolizing this broken body in his shed blood and it's a special moment and it's a family moment by family amine for the family of God. But I want you to know there's a place at the table that this family celebration for you right now if you ever got over to a friends house and the knock on the door and the whole families are having dinner.

Oh, sorry, sorry. I'll come back later and I can see it's a family dinner phono come and join us. Oh, no, no, they say no, and then you smell how great it is and you go and write. There's a place at the table for you right now to be in the family. If you're prodigal you can come back home. If you're someone who's never believed in Jesus you can believe in him and be forgiven of all of your sin right here right now in a moment were going to pray and I'm in OS X and extend an opportunity for you to ask Christ to forgive you of your sin and an opportunity for you if necessary to come back to the Lord.

If you're prodigal son or daughter, and then will receive communion communion together. Let's help you make the most important decision of your life right now. Let's all pray father I pray that you will speak to the heart of every person here every person watching and listening wherever they are. They don't know Jesus, I pray that this will be the moment they believe. I pray this will be the moment when they see their need for you and come to you and if there are prodigal Lord I pray that she'll help them to return to you nobler heads about and her eyes are closed and were praying is there somebody here today that would say I need Jesus. I need my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. Pray for me. Listen if you want Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin if you want to go to heaven when you die if you want your guilt removed. If you're ready to ask Jesus into your life. I want you to raise your hand up right now and on the proof you raise your hand. A pyrite can see you if you want Jesus to come in your life.

God bless you. God bless you. Nobody else raise your hand up, I see you got bless God bless you guys watching harvest Orange County you raise your hand to. I can see what the Lord sees you raise your hand up if you need Jesus today. God bless you a heads are still valid. Maybe I'm talking to a prodigal son or daughter. Some of the nose looks why you walked away from it.

Maybe you even run away from it, but you can return to the Lord today right here right now. If you need to come back to Jesus, would you raise your hand up wherever you are. Raise your hand. A pyrite can see, you need to make a recommitment to the Lord today and we pray for you accomplish accomplish dominant ask everyone to be. That is, raise your hand.

I want you to stand your feet nominally join a prayer of commitment to Jesus, if you raise your hand. Even if you did not, but you want Jesus to come in your life you want to go to heaven when you die you want them to forgive you of your sin, you want to make a recommitment to him to stand up wherever you are, nominally join this prayer stand up for me right. Others are standing you're not alone stand up, stand up, there's morbid that want to do this. Stand up for. Bless you standing above us all of you. You guys at harvest Orange County standup will get a pray this prayer together. I went one more moment anybody else. Listen, this is your opportunity to get right with God.

It's up to you. He's ready to forgive if you call out to him and will do that in a moment in prayer. Anybody else then God bless all of you standing right everybody standing. I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me again as I pray pray this out loud after me. Pray these words Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin. I turn from my sin. Now, and I choose to follow you from this moment forward.

Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering it in Jesus name I pray a man amen.

I got bless