I Will Return for My Church

I want to share something with you that, as I was telling the group this morning, is not an easy message to share, since there is a great deal to unpack, but at the same time I understand that it is a message of great hope for all of us who call ourselves Christians, children of God.

And I especially want to share this because it comes out of a very deep and very personal reflection on everything that happened this past weekend through our involvement with the Puerto Rican Festival, and also on so many other events where we are going to have the opportunity to share God’s love with many people. I believe that this summer will be a summer in which evangelism will be key for us as a church and for us as individuals, as people.

And you know what? Pastor Samuel recently told me that during the period from 11 to 12, two people, quite independently of each other, approached Pastor Samuel and shared with him a vision they had had concerning these people who have been deeply involved in evangelism.

And basically, what it was saying is that those actions are going to have repercussions, and of course, they will be repercussions of blessing for many; but for the evangelists themselves, the repercussions may at some point become rather severe, with the attack against that person becoming a very direct attack.

Why is this being said? Because when we evangelize, do you know what we do? We take souls out of Satan’s clutches and bring them once again into the hands of the Lord Jesus. That is what we do when we evangelize. A simple “God loves you,” spoken to a person who has never been told that, is a word you are speaking to give life to that person and to bring that person out of a haze in which the enemy may be holding them.

So, as I begin this message, I would like to take the opportunity to pray for all those people who have been actively involved in evangelism, whether this past weekend or wherever it may be; it may be at work, it may be at the corner store where you share a word, it may be in your workplace. I want to begin this message today by praying for you, because you are in the thick of battle—and I can put it that way—you are in the thick of battle; you are winning souls for the Lord by taking them out of the enemy’s hands.

So I would like all those who have been deeply involved in evangelism—and you know who you are—to stand, because I want to lift up a prayer for you. Everyone who has been deeply involved in evangelism, not only at the Puerto Rican Festival but in any other setting—and you know what? Do not feel shy or embarrassed if you do not stand, because I know your opportunity will come; sooner or later, your opportunity will come.

And I tell you, my brothers and sisters who have stood up: God has great plans, and I know that every one of us is included in those plans of God. And we are warriors in a mighty army; we are part of an army that makes a difference, and you cannot see yourself as something lesser or insignificant; you must see yourself as part of that army.

And so, Lord, at this moment I lift up a prayer for my brothers and sisters who are here. Father, we know that they are people who have a specific calling, who have that charisma, who have that gift of being able to share your word, and for that we thank you. Lord, I know that not all of us have that gift, because that is what pleased you, Lord, but we are all indeed called to share your love. Yet we lift these people in particular before you, Lord, and ask for your protection over every one of them, my God. We know that they are waging war against the power of the evil one, Lord, rescuing souls for you once again, and so we ask you, my God, to send angels around them, to cover them with your grace, to cover them with your power, and to let your word consume their hearts every time they approach someone to speak to them about you, Lord Jesus. And for all the rest of us, my God, I declare that same protection over every one of us, because we are part of your army, Lord. Some are on the front lines; others receive them; others guide and prepare them to send them to another field, another level, Lord Jesus. We all play a part in your vineyard; we all have a role to play in your plans and purposes.

And so, Lord, here we are as a church, and once again we say to you, “Here we are, God,” and I ask that as we delve into this message, I beg you, Lord, to give me courage and confidence so that I may share this word today with my brothers and sisters, and that all of us may open our ears and our hearts to receive the message you have for every one of us today. We declare it in your name, Lord. Amen and amen. Thank you, Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, you may be seated. I invite you to open your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 24, and I know that Pastor Greg had mentioned the people who participated in the Festival. I personally also want to tell you that I, too, feel very proud, and I congratulate you, brothers and sisters, for all your work. And certainly, as Pastor Greg said, we must prepare ourselves, because what is coming is even better. Not only because it is the Dominican Festival, but because of all the opportunities that are coming for us to share God’s love—at the Alpha walk and at any other event to which the Lord sends us, brothers and sisters. We will be there, sticking our noses in. As we Puerto Ricans say, “We’re going to make our presence known for the kingdom.” So we will be there.

But, brothers and sisters, today’s message is one that perhaps many of us are not accustomed to hearing, although we all know this message. And basically, there is something about my experiences with the Festival that led me to reflect on this, and I feel that the Spirit of God led me to reflect on this word, because it is crucial for us to understand what we are doing every time we share God’s love.

When we share that love, we are not only leading a person to know Jesus so that their life may experience transformation in the deepest part of their being; we are also leading that person toward great promises of eternal life that the Lord himself has proclaimed over every one of those people. Salvation brings not only the forgiveness of sins and being okay with the Lord; salvation also brings a promise of eternal life. And many times we overlook that aspect of eternal life, but today I want to pause and focus on it, because I believe it is important, brothers and sisters, for us to remember the basic and crucial principles of our life of faith.

As I looked at all these people whom we encountered, I could see people of incredible caliber, and by caliber I mean the potential within their lives. But at the same time, in many of those people, that potential has been damaged by some experience they have had. I am sure that if I look around this entire congregation, I can say that perhaps 90% of us have had an experience that traumatized us in one way or another. Each and every one of us has had an experience that perhaps none of us would want to remember, perhaps because of the shame it brings or because of the sense of pain one remembers. And you know what? Many of the people we saw at the Festival have had those experiences too.

You can see it on their faces. When those people have not known God’s love and have not been able to experience the transformation and healing that only he can bring, you can see on their faces the anguish they suffer as they try to find something that can ease that pain, and yet they cannot find it.

And when I saw that, I said to myself, then, there is something deeper behind all those things we can see. If you look at society today, there is a constant battle involving politics, legal wars, and moral wars over people who are twisting things around. They are calling good evil and evil good. Nowadays, many things are changing around us, and on top of that, my brothers and sisters, if we look on a much larger scale, if we go to a global level and look at the wars taking place in this world today as we....

Think about this..... You are sitting here now, and a bomb is falling on a building over there in the area of Lebanon. Innocent people are dying at this very moment while we are listening to the word of God. Our relatives and friends are caught up in a war where perhaps they would rather not be, and they are there sleeping on the floor, sleeping in the dust, on the ground. Sometimes they have nothing to drink; they have nothing to eat, while we are here with air conditioning, well dressed, and very comfortable. Do you see where I am going with this, my brothers and sisters?

Sometimes we are not fully alert to and aware of the things happening around us, and these are momentous things, my brothers and sisters. These events taking place around us today are pointing to an even greater event that will bring everything to a halt. And the event I am talking about is the return of Christ Jesus for his church.

Yes, brothers and sisters, I believe that Jesus is going to return for us. I believe there is a new heaven and a new earth waiting for every one of us. I believe we are headed in that direction, but at the same time, I recognize that many people do not believe as I do. And it is worth clarifying that there are some Christians who do not believe as I do. Why? We see the situations around us, and sometimes people have even forgotten that promise, brothers and sisters; it is a promise central to our Christian faith.

You know what? If you remove from my Christian faith that principle, that promise that Jesus will return for us, you know what? I would rather not be a Christian; I would rather be an atheist. If you give me a Christianity in which I only need salvation for my life and to know Jesus, and nothing more, then to me that would be just another empty religion offering only something that stops halfway.

But I am absolutely certain that what Jesus offers does not stop at mere salvation; it does not stop at the mere forgiveness of sins. What Jesus offers comes with a promise, and it is a promise of eternal life; it is a promise that Jesus himself made when he said, “I am going to return for my church, and I am going to take you to reign with me.”

I know that this is a message that perhaps many people are either not accustomed to hearing or, when they hear it, it gives them a kind of uneasiness: Do I believe it or not? Is it a crazy fable, or is it true? You know what, brothers and sisters? We are not the only ones who wrestle with this. On a theological level, theologians also wrestle with different perspectives.

I do not know how many of you have heard of these terms that are called “the millennium,” or premillennialists, or postmillennialists, or amillennialists. You know what? I know those are a lot of very big words, but the only thing you need to know is this: millennialists are those of us who believe this theological perspective, which says that there will be a thousand years during which the Kingdom of God will be established over the whole earth.

A premillennialist holds the theological perspective that believes that before the tribulation arrives, the rapture will come before the great tribulation, when Jesus will come and take everyone away.

The postmillennialists believe that it is after the tribulation has passed that Jesus will come and take away his church.

And amillennialists are people who view that term “millennium” as something symbolic, which does not specifically mean a thousand years, but they do believe that Jesus will come before the tribulation, and no one knows the day or the hour.

And you know what? Each of those perspectives has a biblical basis with which it can be supported. But just in case you are wondering where Lion of Judah stands on this: we are among those who believe that before that great tribulation arrives, Jesus will come for his church. That is the perspective we hold.

And you know what? Why do I affirm this? Because I know that there are many streams of faith and many religious traditions that believe different things. Some people believe that we are living through the great tribulation right now, that everything we are experiencing today is the great tribulation. It may seem so; if I stop to think about everything happening today, it may seem true. But I believe that the great tribulation we hear about in the Bible has not yet arrived.

There are people who think that the great tribulation has already passed and that what we are living through today is heaven itself. And believe me, when I hear that, I say to myself, “Wow! If this is heaven, then I’m not going to pay attention to the Bible.” Because what I am living through right now does not resemble heaven at all. Where are the streets of gold? All I see are asphalt streets. Where is the sea of glass? Here the sea looks black because of the sand on the bottom.

But brothers and sisters, you know, I believe that time is still to come. And perhaps you will say, “Pastor Omar, you know what? That message has been heard so many times, and so many preachers have said it, and so many preachers have also tried to manipulate people with that kind of message, either to get something out of them or to get them to respond in a certain way.”

You know what, my brother? I do not want to manipulate you today. If you feel that I am manipulating you, let me know, but I truly believe that there is a message about which Jesus has been very clear with every one of us. It is a message that must be proclaimed in every language and to every nation.

Let me go to the Bible. I told you, Matthew, chapter 24, verse 36, says, “...But no one knows the day or the hour.”

Walter Mercado does not know them—actually, I do not know what has become of him; I have not heard about him in a long time. The psychologist on the corner does not know either. The tarot reader on the other corner does not know either. Anyone who wants to read the supposed M you have on your palm does not know either.

“...no one knows, look at this, not even the angels in heaven, but only my Father...”

Look how interesting this is, because Mark, chapter 13—you do not have to look it up, but you may if you want to—verse 32 states the same verse but adds an ingredient that the passage in Matthew did not have.

It says, “...but about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels who are in heaven, nor the Son.”

In other words, not even Jesus himself knows the hour when Dad will feel like looking at the clock and saying, “It’s time to go, it’s time to go back. It’s time to go and pick up our people again.” Not even he himself knows....

Sometimes I try to visualize it, and I imagine Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father—obviously, if he had been on the other side, you would understand, but here I am, at the right hand of the Father—and every now and then he sort of looks at him as if to ask, “Now?” Oh, not yet.... “Now?”.... Hold your horses, buddy.

No one knows the day or the hour, my brothers and sisters. And people may try to make predictions, and they have statistics saying that according to this verse and that passage and that code, perhaps in such-and-such a year..... Do you know how many times they have tried to say that and nothing has happened yet? Tons of times.

But what does all this have to do with us as a church, my brothers and sisters? The reason I have felt in my heart that I should remind you of this, my brothers and sisters, is that we often run the risk of forgetting this promise. We become so entangled in our daily lives that we forget this promise; we forget that we are pilgrims and foreigners in this nation and in this world. We forget that our citizenship is not American, or Peruvian, or Puerto Rican, or Colombian, or Chinese, or Japanese; our citizenship is in heaven.

I do not know how many of you have heard that song entitled “Come Back,” and I am not talking about Ricky Martin’s song, “...come back, because without you my life is slipping away....” I confess, I have listened to Ricky Martin, okay. I am talking about the song by Pilgrims and Foreigners entitled “Come Back.”

“...come back, oh... come back....” Have you heard that song?

“...come back for your people, Lord....” and it goes on from there; I am not going to keep singing. Brothers and sisters, if you listen to that song in all its depth, it expresses the profound desire of the Church with a capital C for Jesus to return for the Church. That song cries out longingly, as though something inside were breaking with desire and passion for the Beloved. And, in a certain respect, I can use Ricky Martin’s words because he says, come back, because without you my life is slipping away. You know what? I say that to Jesus. “Jesus, come back, because without you my life is slipping away....”

You know what? Jesus is the center. Someone.... I was talking with a friend of mine a few months ago, and we were discussing various things, and we also got caught up in an argument about—I am not going to tell you the details. But the thing is that suddenly he comes out and says to me, “Omar, look, I believe that the only answer for this world is Jesus.” And I sort of sat there thinking because it sounded very trivial to me. I took it as something very trivial. Yes, Jesus, of course.

And suddenly I ask him, “Are you sure about what you are saying? Do you know the depth of what you are saying?” And he says to me, “Yes, Omar. I am convinced that the answer for every person, for every man, for every woman, is Jesus.”

And you know what, brothers and sisters? Today I say it with the same conviction. I know that the answer for this world is Jesus. I understand that the very center of life is focused on the person of Jesus, and I am not talking about some guy named Jesús from Los Panchos, because sometimes a person is called Jesús. And I say that respectfully; I mean Jesus, the Son of God, that name above every name.

You know what, brothers and sisters? I believe that Jesus is the engine of life itself. A person who has not encountered Jesus, a person who has not completely surrendered his heart to Jesus, is a person who is living only half a life. That person may perhaps manage to accomplish some things, but his life is only half a life. He may manage to start a company and become a millionaire, a great CEO, but you know what? He will be incomplete. He is someone who, perhaps while trying to find meaning and direction, will become entangled in a host of things that will destroy his life, and his life will not merely be incomplete; his life will be completely empty.

But I believe that when a person comes to Jesus, that person has found the complete resource that will fill and meet every need in his life. And it is something inexplicable, brothers and sisters. I wish I could find the words to explain it to you, but it is impossible.

This morning I was talking with a woman who.... she is a single woman who lives a Christian life, and her life has—whew!—a whole host of problems going on right now. My hands are not enough to count—I mean, the fingers on my hands are not enough to count—the problems she is experiencing today, but you know what? This woman has an inexplicable peace.

Are you listening to me, brothers and sisters? How can a person experience an inexplicable peace in the midst of so many situations in her life? No, it does not come from having a million dollars in your bank account. In fact, if you have a million dollars in your bank account, the stress you will have will be even greater.

“Oh, Pastor, how could that be if it is a million dollars? Yeah, right...! My life would be completely taken care of. I could die in peace.”

Yes, of course. You know how to manage a hundred dollars in your pocket. How long does $100 last you? If I put a hundred dollars in your hand right now, how long will that $100 last you? A hundred dollars—perhaps someone would say.... Hey, guys, come on, let’s go eat. In one hour, your hundred dollars would be gone.

Perhaps someone might tell me, “Oh, it would last me until tomorrow.” Okay, until tomorrow. And someone else might tell me, “Yes, it would last me until around Wednesday, more or less.” And there may be someone who is so careful that he does not spend a single cent, and the hundred dollars will last him much longer.

But what I am saying, brothers and sisters, is that we seek to find peace in places or people where we will not find it. And that often makes us worry about how we are going to live each day of our lives, what we are going to devote ourselves to, what we are going to do, what kind of house we are going to have, what kind of husband or wife I am going to have, what kind of friends and companions I am going to have, and what kind of job I am going to have. And all those things sort of suffocate each one of our lives little by little, and we forget something that rises above all those things. And that is the promises God has for every one of us, those promises of life, promises that a better life than the one we are living now is waiting for us. And I am not saying, brothers and sisters, that we should stop doing the things we are doing right now and start focusing on heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven.

I do not know how many of you remember when that American preacher, Denis Peacock, came and talked about those people who focus only on heaven: oh, I want to go to heaven, and that is it; everything is heaven, heaven, heaven.

You know what? That is also a completely mistaken, empty, and incomplete perspective. Because it does not see the whole picture. Brothers and sisters, we have a reality in which we are living. God wants us to be present today. God wants you to have your family. God wants you to have a good house and a good job. God wants you to share the blessings that have come into your life today. God wants you to share those blessings with others as well, without forgetting—look at this—without forgetting that we are heading toward a place greater than what our own eyes can see or our minds can understand.

Those are the things, my brothers and sisters, that we must learn to think about and ask: What is it that moves me? What is it that moves my life? What moves me second by second, minute by minute? If I tell myself that I am a Christian, if I declare that I am a believer in Jesus, what is driving my life? What moves my life? What gets me up every morning? Is it the need to go to work so I can provide for my wife and my children that gets me up, or am I awakened by the sheer fact that it is God who gives me life and gives me strength so that I can do the things I have to do, knowing that something more is waiting for me ahead, knowing that I am walking toward something farther ahead?

You know what, brothers and sisters? There are... I know there are many people who may think, “Oh, Omar, that is an old message, that is already.... If Jesus comes, fine; if he does not come, that is fine too.” Some people are indifferent to this kind of message, but you know what? We must be careful about that. Because this message is crucial for us.

In 2 Peter, chapter 3, look at what it says next. It says, “...knowing this first of all: in the last days scoffers will come, walking according to their own ways of thinking and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For since the days of the fathers, since the day our fathers fell asleep, all things have remained as they were from the beginning of creation.’”

You know what? That verse dates back centuries, when people in society dared to confront Peter and tell him, “Peter, that message you are proclaiming is not worth it. They have been proclaiming that message for such a long time, and yet our fathers and our grandfathers have already died, so where is Jesus? Things remain the same; nothing changes. Where is that coming of Jesus? Where is this business about him arriving on a cloud, with angels playing trumpets over there, and our seeing someone like Edwin sounding the trombone to announce that Christ is coming—where is all of that?”

People, listen carefully: people whose sense of faith, whose sensitivity in their faith, whose sensitivity to believe these promises, brothers and sisters, became completely clouded because of the things they were experiencing, and they had already forgotten those promises. And not only did they forget them, but they began to criticize them.

And what answer does Peter give them? Verse 8 says, “...but, beloved, do not ignore this: with the Lord one day is like what?...... And a thousand years are like what?..... The Lord does not delay his what?.... as some consider it a delay, but is what?.... toward us, not wanting anyone to...... but everyone to come to what?.....

Brothers and sisters, our lives are largely—our lives are largely—defined by this. Our lives are largely defined not only by how we live uprightly and with integrity before God, but also by how we can lead other people to experience those same promises God has for each of their lives.

And you know what? I have been speaking to you only about the good side, but you know what? There is also a slightly ugly side to all this. In that same passage in Matthew, you know what? Jesus talks about the little sheep and the little goats, right? What is going to happen to the little sheep? Where will he put the little sheep? At his right hand. And where will he send the little goats? To his left hand. And what will he say to the little sheep at his right hand? Come, enter into the joy of my kingdom. Come in; you are mine. Why? Because you have remained faithful, because you have known how to respond to the calling I have placed on your lives. And what will he say to the little goats? Bye-bye, so long, farewell, good day. No, that is.... You understand the message, right?

Those people on the other side are the people who did not know how to remain faithful to the end, who did not know how to receive the message of salvation, who did not know how to look at Jesus and keep their eyes focused on him. Those are the people who are going to go somewhere else that is not very good.

And, brothers and sisters, I tell you that these words I am sharing with you are as real as this pulpit I am touching. They are as real as the seat you are sitting on. I am not telling you a falsehood; I am speaking a word of truth to you. I am speaking a word of life to you; that moment will come. When? I do not know; I may be seven feet underground when that moment comes. It may be while I am getting into the car, as I am leaving here. It may be while I am eating a good steak at a barbecue with a couple of friends of mine. At any moment the Lord may come for each one of us. And the moment will come when each one of us will be called to account for the things we have done and the things we have not done.

My brothers and sisters, I am not saying this to frighten you; I am saying this to encourage you, I am saying this to strengthen you. Why? I believe, brothers and sisters, that the moment is drawing near. I believe Jesus is about to come. I believe the Lord is just around the corner, ready to return for us, his church.

And the question is, then, as Jesus says in that same passage from Matthew—Jesus says the following at the end of chapter 24, verse 42: “Therefore watch, for you do not know the hour when our Lord is coming.” That word watch means to be alert; it means to be attentive, brothers and sisters. It does not mean that I am going to stare out the window every day to see whether the Lord is coming, whether the sky has turned dark or red or yellow or tomato-colored. That is not what it means. It means that in my life, with every step I take, I am indeed fulfilling my responsibilities, striving to live a life of integrity, to live a life that reflects the love of God. But at the same time I am thinking: I am a pilgrim and a foreigner, and I am making my way toward that heavenly nation that awaits us, that is being prepared for each one of us, brothers and sisters.

I believe it is important for us also to remember the need to think in that dimension. I want to finish by sharing something. When I was young—no, no, no... okay, why did I think I was going to get that response? At least you are awake; you are not asleep.

When I was about twelve years old, I had a dream, brothers and sisters. At the time, of course, I lived in Puerto Rico, and I lived... my house was next to an empty park, and in that dream I dreamed that I was in that park. And in the distance I could see about two buildings floating in the air, and the buildings were breaking apart, and lava, like lava from a volcano, was pouring out of those buildings; they were burning completely. And suddenly, the ground where I was standing began to split open, and lava also began to pour out, and I was left standing on a tiny little piece like this... Look, that dream was so vivid that I still remember it. Amen.

And suddenly, on the horizon, I look beyond those buildings that were breaking apart, and I see a white cloud begin to move horizontally like this, and a white light begins to shine out, and I see what looks like the face of the Lord emerging and drawing closer to me as though the image were zooming in. And as he draws closer to me, he extends his finger, points at me, and says... There were no words, only the gesture of a finger.

What would you feel if you interpreted that dream? And you see Jesus’ face pointing at you and doing this... Do not get dressed, because you are not going.

I do not know how you would react, but I shot out of my bed like a firecracker and landed in my mother’s lap. My mother had a steadfast spirit, and she still does. And I told her about my dream, and she said to me, “Do not worry. I believe the Lord is letting you know something, and I ask the Lord to show you.”

A year later, I was already thirteen years old, and we were at my church for the New Year’s Eve service on December 31. The tradition in my church was to bid farewell to the year by celebrating Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper. And the altar in my church was much larger and wider than this one, and the tradition was for the table to be brought here to the altar and for everyone to come forward to the altar. The ushers distributed the elements, and all of us together at the altar bid farewell to the year at that moment.

I remember that, in that particular year, before serving Communion, the pastor asked whether there was anyone who wanted to accept the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I do not know why, but my dream replayed in my mind.

And there I am in the middle of the crowd, thinking about this dream and hearing those words: “Is there anyone who wants to receive the Lord?” I do not know why, but my hand shot up like a spring. I do not know whether it was out of fear or because I did not want to be left behind, but I raised my hand, and from up there the pastor called me, took me behind the Communion table, and had me kneel right beside him.

For the record, he had me kneel on his right side, and I could feel that I was a little sheep and not a goat that day. And there on my knees I began to pray, and I began to cry. I am telling you, I was just a thirteen-year-old kid, and I was there crying and crying, and I was saying to myself, “Lord, I know that in that dream you were telling me that I would not go with you when you returned, and I do not want that to happen. I want you to enter my heart.” That was how I was praying; I was desperate. And a prayer that began in fear ended as a prayer of conviction.

My prayer ended with conviction because I knew what I was praying. I was saying, “Lord, I want you to be the Lord of my life. I want to live with you for the rest of my days. I want to live with you when you come and return for your church; I want to be there. I want to experience what it is like to live by your side, and I know that I will be able to do it only through you.”

At thirteen years old, I knew that I was praying that prayer. Do you know what, my brothers and sisters? When I rose from my knees—and Brother Samuel Caravallo is here as my witness—there were fifteen other young people kneeling around the Communion table, accepting the Lord that day.

I believe that on that day God brought conviction to many hearts, and I believe that in these days in which we are living, as our church moves powerfully in an evangelistic dimension, God is bringing conviction to people’s hearts about how much we need him, about how our lives without him are nothing; our lives without him are a completely empty hole; our lives depend on him one hundred and one percent, my brothers and sisters.

Our lives, do you know what? They do not depend on the diplomas we may have hanging on a wall. And this is something I have learned: our life does not depend on that; our life does not depend on the enormous salaries we may or may not have. Our life depends on how the Lord provides for each one of us. And that is the message, brothers and sisters, that I want to share with each one of you this morning. Our lives depend entirely on the Lord.

And today I want to conclude by extending an invitation. If there is anyone here this morning who has not yet made the decision to surrender their life completely to the Lord Jesus, I want to extend an invitation, but before you respond, I want you to meditate on this song.

I warn you that I am not a singer. I can hold my own, but I am not a singer. But from the first time I heard it, this song touched my life. It is an old song. It is on a tape, not a CD, so if it does not sound very good, bear with me. But I want you to think about this song, brothers and sisters. It is a song; it is a dream. And I want you to close your eyes and imagine this dream:

I dreamed I went to heaven, and you were there
A beautiful crystal sea and streets of gold I saw
The angels were singing when someone called your name
You saw a young man approaching with a smile

And he said, “You do not remember me today, but wait and you will see
You taught the Bible to me when I was very young
At the start of every week, you prayed to the Lord
And one day during your prayer, I gave my heart to him

Thank you for giving me Jesus
He has changed my life
Thank you for giving me Jesus
Glory to God that it happened that way

Another man beside you said
‘Do you remember the time a missionary preached
moving you to tears
you were short of money, but that did not matter
Jesus took your offering, and that is why I am here

Thank you for giving me Jesus
He has changed my life
Thank you for giving me Jesus
Glory to God that it happened that way

I saw many come to speak with you
Those whom God touched through your generosity
Things done with love that the world ignored
Heaven joyfully proclaimed before God

I know that there in heaven
There will be no weeping
Yet I am sure that I saw you cry
When you saw something in Jesus as he took your hand
And said, ‘Child, what you have seen will be your reward’

Thank you for giving me Jesus
He has changed my life
Thank you for giving me Jesus
Glory to God that it happened that way
Thank you for giving me Jesus
He has changed my life
Thank you for giving me Jesus
Glory to God that it happened that way
Glory to God that it happened that way
That is how it happened

The best gift we can give someone is the gift of Jesus. And once again I extend that call: if there is anyone here today who has not given their heart to Jesus, I want to give you the opportunity to do so today.

Living for Jesus is the best thing anyone can do. And I want to extend that call even further: if you feel that you have strayed from the love of God, if you feel that you have strayed from that love found only in Jesus, I want to invite you as well. I am not going to ask you to raise your hand; I am going to ask you to come running here to this altar and renew your vows to the Lord.

You know your heart; you know your condition. I know mine as well, so I invite you, my brother, my sister, not to be afraid of who may look at you or what they may say to you. I invite you to make this moment one that completely changes your life, that changes your life for the rest of your days. What Jesus offers you can never compare with what this world will offer you, so I invite you to take the opportunity today to renew your entire life with the Lord. There is a promise of life waiting for you. When the Lord says yes to something, it is yes; when he says no, it is no. We may be unfaithful to him, but do you know what? The Lord remains faithful to each one of us. We may fail day after day, night after night, but do you know what? The Lord remains faithful to you. The Lord remains faithful to the promises he has spoken over your life. The Lord always remains faithful; he does not change. We may change, but do you know what? The Lord remains faithful to you, so I issue this challenge today...