Darryl Strawberry

MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTION: 

We’ve been praying for this day for some time. We’ve been praying for this service. We’ve been praying for you. We’ve been praying for Darrell. We’ve been praying for God’s spirit to move across people’s lives. And so you’re not here by accident. You’re going to hear Darrell talk about that. And we’re just grateful and humble that you’re here today. I’m Virgil Grant. I’m the senior pastor. I’m also one of the leaders around here. And we are just super excited about what God’s already done today. But what he’s going to do in this service. And then we got the EKU baseball team in the house. So would you give it up for your baseball team? Yep. We’re going to serve them lunch, and Darrell is going to talk to them kind of one on one kind of baseball player, the baseball player, you know, and have a little chat with him after the service. And so we’re super excited to have them with us today. I just want you to just have an open heart, have open ears today because there’s something in this message for each and every one of us today. And so I’m going to ask Darrell to come on up. Darrell, you know, he’s got a lot of titles behind his name. He was the most Valuable Player, all-star, and a silver Slugger champion for his little World Series titles. You know, these are all kinds of things, right? And the great thing about Darrell is that God just took all of that away, humbled him, and brought him to the foot of the cross. And today, he’s an evangelist for Lord and savior Jesus Christ. And so would you give a warm Richmond, Kentucky, welcome to Darryl Strawberry. Yeah. Yup. I’m going to pray for Daryl. And then it’s all his. Father, thank you for Daryl. Thank you for your ministry. Thank you. Thank you for his life. Thank you to his mom. Who prayed many prayers for his salvation and for him to become a preacher of the gospel. Now, Father, you just take control of this service. Lord, I just pray that you will be with Daryl. Anoint him, give him freedom. Give him a clear word for the congregation today, and give us ears to hear. And Lord, we’re going to stop right now and give you all the glory and honor for what you’re going to do in this service. And this afternoon, with the baseball team, and this evening, with the student ministry and father, we pray all these things in the name of Jesus. And everyone agreed and said together, Amen. Amen. Daryl, it’s all yours.

 All right. Thank you, Pastor Virgil. Give me my hand. Give you a pastor. Senior pastor hand. It’s really good when you have a senior pastor that runs a church like this that’s thriving that cares about his people. You know, because that’s the most important thing. You know, the leaders of the community and the church, we must care about the people because that’s the most important thing because God cares about the people. You know, God doesn’t care about success, doesn’t care about trophies, doesn’t care about money, doesn’t care about fame. He cares about people. Jesus will always care about people. That’s his number one thing, people. The reason for Jesus. The season for Jesus is to save people. That’s his purpose for coming here. It’s why God created his son so that he would come here and he would be the savior that would save us from all these wicked things that are here from an earthly standpoint. If you don’t think they’re here, just keep living. You eventually find out what I’m talking about. You’re not here by mistake. You that are here in the sanctuary, overflow, online, wherever you may be. I believe that God has you here for a purpose this morning, to speak life into you, to make you understand that he has the perfect plan. That is not my plan. Not your plan, but his plan. His plan is perfect. Do you know why? Because I’m standing here today, and I’m preaching. It is my mother’s 82nd birthday in heaven. I’m a product of her. Her legacy is still going forward. What she prayed for. She didn’t pray for my success. She prayed that God would knock me off my throne and save me. Here it is. I’ve been a preacher for 15 years because God has saved me, and my mother’s prayers have come to pass. Some of you need to know that and understand the reason why we’re here. We’re not been here for a long time. We’re here for the short term. And it’s not about the success of a man. It’s about done. He comes to obedience to God before his life is over. That’s the whole purpose of this life.

No matter what happens, no matter what struggle, no matter what storm. The storms of life don’t surprise God the struggles with life. Doesn’t surprise God. They surprise people. You know, when people read a headline that they read about this person, that person, Oh, my God, I couldn’t believe it. But it wasn’t a surprise to God. It wasn’t a surprise of God that I was falling short. Why? Because I was a sinner that needed a savior. And that’s what it really boils down to for every last one of us. We need a savior in our life to change us, heal us, to help us overcome and be victorious in our life. The victory in your life is waiting for you because it has already been paid for you at the symbol of the cross. Jesus hung on the cross of Calvary, shattered his blood, and went to the tomb. Early Sunday morning. He got up. He got up with all power in his hand. So when he got up, that meant you need to die from your flesh so you can get up and you could be resurrected just like Christ. Galatians 2:20 talks to you about it.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. It is Christ who lives in me.”

I think somebody forgot to tell the society, Pastor Virgil, that Jesus is a bad do. We take him for granted because we say we don’t know him and we don’t see him? Well, I don’t know him because I’m not in a relationship with him. You will never know him until you get into a relationship with him. Then you’ll know how good he is. Then you’ll be able to taste and see that the Lord is good. Not me, but the Lord is really good. You no longer have to eat at Burger King. You can eat real meat. That brings about a change and brings eternal life. The reason I’m standing here today is because of eternal life, not because of baseball and success and trophies and championships and Rookie of the Year and all that thirty and all that. Yeah, I did all that. But that was from a worldly perspective. But what was I doing from the Kingdom perspective? I was doing nothing because I had nothing to work with. I had to overcome the temptations of life. My mother prayed that I would overcome the temptations of life. What she prayed for, as I said, is a living witness. I have overcome the temptations. I’m not a victim. I’m overcome by the blood of the lamb. I’m not a victim of society. I’m not a victim of anything. I’ve been overcome because of the blood of the lamb. What Jesus has already done at the cross. He’s already set me free. All I got to do was enter into whatever was killing me. Jesus already killed it and crushed it when he was in the tomb. See, what we don’t understand as people is Jesus not only crusted, Jesus conquered death. On the third day. He got up early Sunday morning. He got up, and he got up with all power in his hand. To overcome anything. Whatever it may be in your life, you can overcome it. Anxiety, fear, doubt, depression, Loneliness. Alcohol, drugs, whatever it is, you can overcome it. Jesus has already overcome everything for us. He’s completed it.

All we have to do is be in a personal relationship with him. And then we get to experience the fullness of who Christ is. See, I don’t want to be a hypocrite. No more straddling the fence like an athlete. Oh, I want to praise God. I want to take God. But I don’t even know him. I just know his name. But I’m denying his power. Because if I know his power, I don’t deny him. I don’t say, praise God. Then I’m in the club doing the electric slide. That ain’t serving Jesus. That’s serving yourself. That’s sort of a man. Jesus was tempted, just like all of us. He had temptations. You think of Matthew four. He was led in the wilderness by the spirit. He was there for 40 days and 40 nights, and afterward, he was hungry after he came out of the wilderness. Guess who was there when he came out? Satan himself. Guess what he said. I’ll give you all this. I’ll let you have all the success if you just bow down to me. What did Jesus say in Matthew 4:4? But he answered it said It is written Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. See, Jesus is power. The word he said is written for every last one of us. He’s telling us, and this is the reason why most of us are struggling today because we’re straddling the fence, and we don’t know the scriptures. We don’t know the Bible. The Bible talks about. He says, My people, perish because of lack of knowledge, while people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge. So the reason why I was being destroyed was that I had earthly knowledge, but I didn’t have Kingdom knowledge. Mm-hmm. Something about kingdom knowledge, something about understanding the kingdom. Matthew 6:33 says seek he first came to ground his rights. Then all these things will be added int you. He’s telling you I’m going to add everything into you if you seek after me. If you seek after me, I’ll give you every desire this is lacking in you. Because we see what’s lacking inside of us. We try to fill it with everything else. We try to fill it with girls, try to fill it with boys. We try to fill it with more this, more that, more that. But it will never work. It will never be satisfied. Read the Book of Ecclesiastes, a King Solomon. He was the richest wise man in the land of Jerusalem. He goes on to say. It’s meaningless under the sun without God. He’s telling us this is meaningless, just like it means nothing. He goes on King Solomon, and he goes on to have everything. And he writes the Book of Proverbs of Wisdom and Knowledge. And he goes on to write the book of Ecclesiastes and talks about how meaningless it is after attaining all these things that he did. Why? Because he didn’t overcome the temptations.

Just like most of us, we can’t overcome the temptation. You can’t overcome the temptations by yourself. You can keep trying. You never overcome the temptations by yourself. It’s not until you submit yourself to Christ and you allow him to be. King of kings over your life. The Lord of the Lord over your life when we understand that he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our victory by his stripes. By his stripes. He fleshes out everything, and he heals you. And he takes you to glory. See, when you understand, I’m just passing through here. You’re looking at a miracle. But this is not home for me. This is just a pass-through. I have been rescued, redeemed, and restored by Christ himself. No other man can rescue you or redeem you or restore you. Only Christ can rescue, redeem and restore you to wholeness and righteousness. The enemy. He said.But he answered and said. 

It is written. Men shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

See when. Believers, start studying the Word of God and start feeding it to your spirit. God will reveal himself to you. He can now reveal himself to you if he does not know you. It is the personal relationship that you must have with Christ to be able to be revealed to what the word is all about and how to live an abundant life. God has created an abundant life. I’m sure I’m not talking about abundant life. I’m not talking about all the things that I will achieve from the baseball standpoint. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about all the things that I’ve achieved from the Kingdom standpoint. I got into this Bible and got into the relationship with Christ. Guess what I got, baby? I got wisdom, I got the knowledge, I got power, I got insight, I got everything else. Because it doesn’t come here from the earth. It comes from the kingdom. See, when you’re in a relationship with God, he lets you hear from his kingdom. And now you can overcome these temptations. Her talk, this talk, that talk. Instagram, Facebook, all of it. You can overcome all that stuff when you have a firm foundation where Christ is. Firm foundation with Christ. It’s so funny how people be like, Glory to God. They see my kids, and they’d be like, Don’t you know who your dad is? My daughters would be like, Yeah, he’s his dad. They’re like, No, don’t. You know, he was this great baseball player, and he got into all kinds of trouble, and he could have been in the Hall of Fame, and this and that might just be like, Oh, my dad’s a preacher. So guess what that means. I’m leaving the same legacy my mother left for me to my daughters and my kids. The legacy is lined up. Overcoming all these temptations. Point number one.

Everyone has temptations, but some folks entertain them. Get your eyes off the temptations, and get your eyes on Christ.

Christ. Hanging on the cross. I Calvary like this. They nailed him to a cross, and he sheds his blood, and, you know, the shedding of his blood was holy for us. He was taking the punishment for everything that we would have to experience here. He’s already paid the price for it. And that’s why when the blood of Jesus comes inside of you. Yes, blood is red. He’s a man just like me. But what we don’t understand, Jesus had no sin in him. Hmm. Zero. So guess what? When his blood comes into us, it purifies us. It liberates us. It brings us to wholeness and the right standards with God. Sometimes people say, Well, I don’t believe all that stuff. Well, don’t believe it. Keep running with Satan. What you will see, he’s going to do exactly what Jesus said he would do. And John 10:10. He said.

The thief does not come except to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and may have it more abundantly.

He’s telling you what the enemy’s going to do. He will come to steal, kill and destroy you. That’s his job. He only has one job. See, we look at each other, and we are all just people. And we all just natural, we all of this flesh and this fleshy, you know, I will be people say, Well, Mr. Darryl, you still a sinner? I said, Yes, I just don’t practice anymore. It’s a big difference between the way I used to live and the way I live now. I live holy and acceptable because I know who I belong to. I don’t belong to this. Yeah. This flesh here, you know. And when his flesh tries to rise up, you know, I’m overcome. See. Because when the flesh child tries to rise up in me, I tell the flesh. Just shut up, you stupid. Because all it is going to do is get me in trouble if I respond to it. So I no longer respond to my flesh. I respond to my spirit man who dwells among me. Who sees greater who sees the trouble way before you even walk into it. So that’s why it’s important to keep your eyes on Christ.

The success that you’re looking for is in Christ. He’s already completed it. Everything doesn’t matter what it looks like. He’s already done it. How do I know? Because I know when I started this journey. A little over 21 years ago, I was $3 million in debt and didn’t have a driver’s license. Guess what? God restored me, blessed me, multiplied me, increased me, found me in a pit and put me in a pulpit, and gave me more than I deserve because he’s God. Why? Because he’s God. Why? Because the commitment has to be real. It can’t just be one way. It can’t just be. Well, it just. Just have to be my way. Well, you can just go ahead and let it continue to be your way. And you will continue to receive nothing but frustration. And anxiety about things. But if you just do it this way, this is a very easier, softer way to do it. Walking with God. Partnership with God. Relationship with God. There’s no fear. There’s nothing that could come against me, could damage me no more than I’ve already damaged myself. See, because I’m a living miracle, you know, after, you know, experiencing what I experienced with my life and been through cancer twice and lost my left kidney and my second surgery and ended up in a Florida state prison with a t17169 because of addiction.

See, God was doing for me what I couldn’t do for myself. Hallelujah. See, we don’t understand. God, a lot of us. You know, if we don’t go to church, you know, See, the church is good. The church is where you’re going to get the revelation. You’re looking for it everywhere else. It’s not there. You can keep looking out. There is no there. It’s not in a bigger job. It’s not in a bigger career. It’s in you, yourself, coming to church, and knowing who you are in Christ. That’s when, you know, you stand on solid ground. You have a firm foundation in life. I’m a strong believer. I can’t wait. Until God calls my name. I’ve already lived in hell here, and it’s right up on us now in a nation where living in divided nation. See what people don’t understand. And I need to preach this. What people don’t understand. God is not coming back for a black person, a white person, or a Spanish person. An Asian person. He’s coming back for a holy person. We need to get this right. We need to get our hearts right. God doesn’t need me. God doesn’t need you. But God will take you and use you. And he will allow you to overcome all these temptations in life. Point number two is.

It is not the temptations you have but the decisions you make about them.

That counts. It’s the decision we make about the Temptations. It’s the decisions I make. Sitting on the couch Sunday morning. Because a game is coming on. I ain’t going to church cause I’m going to watch the game. Oh, well, you’re just gonna miss what God had to say. You come to church, and you will raise your hands and worship God. But you just yell at the TV, and they can’t even hear you. Why? Because society has done this wrong. They have turned. Away from God. Just like the Israelites. They could have been in the Promised Land in 11 days and complained so much. God sent them into the wilderness for another 40 years. He said If my people who are called by my name will humble themself and pray. You know he’s talking about now; he’s talking about us. The Gentiles. He’s talking about us. If we pray, turn from these worldly, wicked ways. Repent. Asked him to forgive us. He will do something great inside of your life that you couldn’t do for yourself, or nobody else can do for yourself. No money could do it for you. No, nothing. A new job couldn’t do it for you. Only Christ himself can do it for you. He’s the only one that can help you get to that next level that you need to get to. Believe me, when God called me to preach, I thought surely he had the wrong guy. Do you know why? Because I have my wicked ways. It is not the temptation you have but the decision you make, just like everybody else in the Bible. They were just like us. A different generation. All people are just like us. And they all had issues. Moses had a speech impediment. God used him mightily to lead the Israelites out of bondage. David put his best man. You’re right on the front line to be killed so he could have his wife, Bathsheba. God goes on to say He’s a man after my own heart. Jonah. God told him to go to Nineveh. He jumps on the boat to go all the way to Tarsus. Got those him in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights. That’s what I love about God. He’s still got a plan. Even with Jonah. Didn’t go. Puts him in a belly of a fish for three days and three nights. But you know what? He allowed him to overcome that. And then he went to Nineveh because they were people like us Gentiles, and they were acting like a bunch of pagans in the city. And God told him to go there, tell them to repent. 40 days from now, he was going to destroy the whole city. Jonah goes there and tells them to repent. God saves the whole city.

All he’s looking for is one person to say, I’m an overcomer, and I’m not a victim. I’m overcome all of the temptations of life. I obey and be obedient to the word. Now I can be able to do what God tells me to do because I don’t hear for men. I hear from God. God will let you hear from him when you walk with him. Not when you just say his name. But when you start living according to the biblical principles. And you set your feet on solid ground. To be able to walk with him each day and become everything that he created you to be. Seekers Listen. God didn’t create none of us to fall short. You guys, if you know the Bible, you know that fallen short comes from the Book of Genesis. Genesis three, Adam and Eve. That’s where the falling short came in. So that allowed all of us to fall short. Then he brings Jesus, and He brings the gospel in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John with Grace, that I would extend my grace to you and you would take this grace, and you would get this grace and is free, and I will set you free. And you no longer would have to live in the desires of your flesh. He’s not saying I’m looking for perfect people because, guess what? There is none. So don’t try to be perfect. Make the commitment, make the connection, Make the connection with the church. Don’t just show up because I’m here. Show up every Sunday. You know, when you start showing up, got a show out in your life. But if you don’t show up and you are sitting on the couch, are you in tune with what’s next coming on. The freaking football game or something, you’re missing out on what God wants to do for you and your family.

I do a lot of men’s conferences I go into a lot of. Maximum security prisons. God calls me to go back into prisons and preach because all the men are all in there. And they broke in, and they lost. Yeah, they broke in, and they lost in there. But God said, all the men out here are, I’ll just to same, broken and lost. They believe in everything else except the Bible. I do a lot of men’s conferences and do alter to call. And then guys come up to me afterward to say, Can you pray for me? I said, What did you come down when I did a call? Says, No, I don’t want anybody to know I’m stuck in porn. I said, Well, God knows. God sits there and watches every last one. Every last one. I was way in the middle of this in whatever chat room you were in. You ain’t got no business there. Holy Ghost sitting right there with you, saying, What are you doing in there, boy? He’s trying to. He’s trying to show you that you can overcome these things if you give them to me. If you give them to me, you can overcome them. But if you hold on to them, you’ll never overcome them. You stay in the same place and wonder why there is no growth. Why is there no change? Why do I have no power? See, the power that dwells in me is not me. I’m not up here preaching as the Holy Spirit is preaching. I’m just a vessel. I just allow myself to be the vessel. I allow my vessel to be cleaned out by God himself. Guess what? This is what He does. You get to taste and really see how good God is when you get out of the way. Because he is equipped, he qualifies. And he qualifies you to do all that he needs you to do. Number three.

We can’t flee from temptations in our own strength, but God will give us the strength we need If we only seek him.

That’s a big if cause we have to seek him. So what does that mean? John 3:30. He must increase. I must decrease. He must increase. I must decrease. I must die. He must increase. If I die, he’s going to increase. I must decrease. He must increase. He will increase. If you decrease, if you get out of the way, he’ll do it through you. There’s nothing magic about it. Yes. Some magical thing, you know, when you get God’s anointing. But see, what I know about God’s anointing is this is not my gift. This gift belongs to him. This is for his people. You know, he’s looking for people who are available. He’s looking for young people who are available. You young people in here. Listen to me. Follow Jesus. Pick up that book. I wish I had listened to my mother, picked that book up when I was young, and followed those biblical principles. I would have saved myself a lot of headaches. Pick that book up and follow Jesus. This is no joke. All this other stuff is foolishness. Save yourself from all this stuff. Our younger generation. We need to get back to tell you what’s important. It is not about all this. Been there, done that. All these great athletes sitting there and got these great platforms in the only way to hell. Don’t care how much money you got, how much fame you got. Satan named plan. He’ll let you have it all here. But when God, when then when your name is called, and you didn’t know Jesus. Everybody’s talking about when one dies. Well, rest in peace. Stop lying. Go read Nicodemus. John three. Jesus told Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee teacher. Unless one is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. We are playing this game like everybody’s getting into heaven. The devil has been deceiving us and making people believe that once they die, they just will cross over. You better read this book. This book has been here forever. And it is no joke.

We don’t educate ourselves enough about the importance of what the book is saying. We educate ourselves from the standpoint of what somebody else is saying instead of reading it for ourselves. It wasn’t till I started reading it for myself. And guess what? I have never put it down. I don’t know what took me so long to read it. What’s taking you so long? What’s keeping you? Parents. Keep your kids in church. Don’t let the enemy deceive you. Husbands, Men become everything God wants you to be. If you repent to God and come back to him. He will take care of you. But you have to come back to it. You have to ask him to forgive you. He’s a merciful God. He doesn’t force himself on anybody. He gives it for free. Will is a free will, is a free will. He said, come to the cross is a free will. You come here. You lay all your burdens down here. If you lay them down here at the cross, I’ll take them. Just like that. Just like that. I don’t know how much time I have left for God. But I’m not going to live a lie anymore. I can tell you that because I know when he takes me home, I want him to be able to say, Well done, my good and faithful servant. You did it because I got to go. We all do. We all have to make that decision in our life. And God’s promises are so good.

Number one, I will be with you. Number two, I will protect you. Number three, I will be your strength. Number four.

I will answer you.

He will ask you on his time, not your time. Number five,.

I will provide it for you.

 Number six.

I will give you peace.

Number seven.

I will always, always love you.

Jesus will always love you. Everybody else will be gone. Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. Everybody else will be gone. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Never. You need to understand that. He’s not like that. He’s not that kind of a person. He’s not like us as friends. And we say. My buddies said when something happened in Everybody’s Gone. I remember when I got in trouble. Pastor Virgil, you know, and it all started getting in the headlines. Guess what? Everybody was gone. Everybody ran off. My mother had already gone home. She had already prayed the prayer. It was coming to pass. I didn’t. I didn’t know it was coming to pass. But God would use somebody else. And only one person in my life. Only one person in my life. And that was my wife, Tracy, today. She was the only person in my life who saw something in me and said, God, is going to use you. One person. And you know what? We’ve been married 16 years now, and we look back, and we just we laugh. We just laughed at what everybody else was talking about. They were talking about you done your losing, which they don’t realize. Jesus, take the mess of a person and brings it into a message. So don’t ever point your finger at somebody saying it’s over because three fingers are pointing back at you.

Now close this down, and we will give you an opportunity to respond. Don’t worry about what anybody else thinks. Almost missed it because I was always worried about what everybody else was thinking. Almost missed the call to God on my life. Holding onto my seat, worrying about other folks, and didn’t realize that we all got some junk in our trunk. It’s about dropping it off. The Book of John is about believing in the miracles of Jesus. You heard about Nicodemus, the woman at the well. He told her you are always thirsty for drinking that water in that well. But if you ever drink this living water, ever since I’ve been drinking this living water, that Bible, I’ve never, ever be thirsty again. John 8, don’t talk about nobody. They want to stone the woman because of the law of Moses. Jesus didn’t come here to destroy the law. He came here to fulfill the law. They wanted to stone her because she was caught in adultery. Jesus said he would cast the first stone from the oldest to the youngest dropped the stones because they all had fallen short. John five The pool of potassium. A man sat there in a condition for 38 years, paralyzed. You know what I love about Jesus when he saw that man, oh glory to God. Jesus never asked that man about his condition. Do you know why? Because he already knew the condition of that man. You know, when he asked that man, Do you want to be well? The man said sorry. Every time I try to get in the pool. He’s not talking about the excuses. He says, Do you want to be with him? I said, Yeah. He said, Pick up your bed and walk. Mede him well, just like that.

Some of you need to come now to the cross, and let me pray for you. And drop. Set them off here and never pick them up again. There you go, brother. Come, come. Some of you are coming. Don’t be afraid. This is what church is all about. Come. If that’s you. Come. Come right now. You got the stuff. You got stuff you want to get rid of. Do you want to leave it here at the cross? Leave it here today. Leave it here today. This is a day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice humbly. God is in here. Come on. Come to the cross. There you go. Come to the cross. Some of you are here in situations. Got some type of sin in your life. Get it out of your life now. Get it out of your life now. Some of your brothers are struggling with addiction. The only one who can heal you is Jesus from it. Jesus delivered me and set me free. Hand-picked up a drug and drink in over 20 years. Some of you are sitting there and holding onto your seat. I will give you a minute, whatever it may be in your life. Some of you are thinking about leaving situations, marriage. Don’t leave your marriage. Don’t let the devil deceive you. See what we have gotten afraid of in this country. This church. What we’ve gotten afraid of is the victory that God gives us. Come. Let you go. Come. We’ve gotten afraid of getting the victory because we don’t believe this works. Do you know why? Because we don’t do it enough. And this works. Bringing it to the foot of the cross. Whatever sin it is, whatever you need to ask God to forgive you for? You need to repent right now. Ask him to forgive you, for you may have some anxiety, and you may have fear and doubt. Come now, and let me pray for you. Don’t be afraid. Come. There you go. Don’t matter what nobody thinks. God, to use a bold person, somebody as bold as to step up and say, I need to be down at the cross; I need to get victory over some things. I need to leave these things here. I need a new day. I need a new start. There you go. Keep coming. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. This is the best moment in our life right here, guys. This is the best opportunity you get with God. So many of us walk out of the church, and nothing ever changes. Nothing.

I’ll take time because this is the most important part of the church right now. This right here, it’s not the message. Yeah, the message is there. God gives it to you, but it’s the call. Ask God to help you. Some of you young people need to be up here for prayer. Get out of your seat. Come up here for prayer. I will pray for you, too. You know who you are. Come. Don’t let the devil hold you back. You need prayer, real life. Real challenges. Real life, real challenges for you young people. This is no joke, you know? Glory to God. Glory to God. Just for the church to understand. This is not a show. This is about life and death for our young people and people that are here struggling with something. Home in the United States addicted young people, addicted to opiates and heroin and drugs and everything. Addicted to any kind of way and living in any kind of way, and acting in a kind of way because of society. Don’t tell them about the good news and tell them that they could be free from that. They don’t have to live that way. You guys don’t have to live that way. The devil has been lying to make you guys believe that. Well, this is just the way it is. No, that’s not the way it is, Young people. You guys get addicted to drugs. You don’t have to stay on drugs. The devil has been lying to you. God’s calling you to be delivered and set free from that.

All you have to do is surrender to him. Surrender to the principles. You’ll be free. He had touched drugs in years. And you know what happened? All the guys I played ball with, pastor Virgal. Do you know what they all say? Oh, he’ll be back. Oh, he’ll be back. But what they don’t know is I know this Bible. So I ain’t going back when you know the Bible. Second Corinthiens is 5:17.

Therefore, if anyone’s in old things that pass away, behold all things that become new.

No going back. None of you have to go back to those dead situations of whatever you’re dealing with. Young people, you need to get your heart and keep your heart right with God. Save yourself from this deadly, sinful, sick world we live in. All this is doing is destroying our young people with Tok and her talking that talk. Just a moment, we’re going to thank God for you. For every last one of you that are here today. God loves you. God is crazy about you. Don’t let nobody else ever tell you any other way. God has a perfect plan for your life. You’re not a mistake. We just all fall too short and make mistakes, no matter what it’s been like. Repeat after me.

Heavenly Father, I come to you today. I asked you to forgive me. I’m a sinner, and I need a savior. Lord, take my heart right now. Cleanse it for me. Set me free. And for that, no weapon formed against me. She’ll prostrate over me from a new creation. And Christ Jesus Christ today. This is a new day for me. This is a new start for me. So crown me from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet in Jesus’ name and Jesus’ name in Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen, amen. Give them a hand.

 Stay right here, buddy. Stay right here. Pastor Virgil will come up in a minute. But you know what? This is a great celebration of your life. All of you that are down here. I am so proud of you. It takes courage to come to the cross. And for every last one of them, it takes a lot of courage to do that. But when you do that. Heaven is celebrating your life. People are praying for you now. They are praying for you to run the race. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Don’t give in. Fight for what’s right in your life. If you do that, God will back. You young people, you need to stop compromising. We’re losing all our young people because of compromising, and they’re making the wrong decision, and they’re making the wrong decision to drink alcohol and do drugs and get behind the wheel of a car and never think they would run into somebody and kill somebody and then their life is over. Make the right decisions, young people. For you, rest of you, that are here, that have come down here. It’s your time. It’s your time. Make the right choices. The right decisions moving forward. Come to church. Don’t run from the church. Run to church. People got church wrong. Church. Good. Oh, they want this. They want that. No. Look, this is for you sitting out there to God. Don’t need anything. He needs nothing. He needs people to be right so they can be well set free for the rest of you.

I pray. Father, I thank you for the congregation. I thank you for the overflow. I thank you for those online, my father. I thank you that you have spoken a word today that will challenge us. To participate in your glory. There’s nothing like your glory, Lord. We give you honor. We give you praise. We give you glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.