The rich young ruler - Mark 10:17

Mark 10, verse 17. This passage, this text has one of my favorite verses in the Bible, one of my verses that impresses me the most, that touches me the most, and it also has some of my least favorite verses in the entire Bible. You will see, ok, all together.

Verse 17: “As he left, Jesus, to continue on his way, a man came running, and kneeling before him, asked him: Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit the eternal life? Jesus said to him: Why do you call me good? There is none good, but only one, God. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Don't steal. Do not give false testimony. Don't disappoint. Honor your father and mother. He then, responding, said to him: Master, all this I have kept from my youth. Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him: You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have, and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up your cross. But he, afflicted by this word, went away sad, because he had many possessions. Then Jesus, looking around, said to his disciples: How hard will those who have riches enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. They were even more astonished, saying among themselves, who then can be saved? Then Jesus, looking at them, said: for men it is impossible, but not for God; because all things are possible with God. Then Peter began to say to him: Behold, we have left everything, and we have followed you. Jesus answered and said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left a house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive a hundred times more now in this time; houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first.”

Father, in the name of Jesus I ask you, Lord, that your word be alive for us, that we define ourselves in you Lord, because you are speaking to us in a special way. Lord, speak holy spirit. Speak to me first, in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen.

This rich young man who wanted to follow Jesus, I don't know if you have heard of this text, this story before, and we visualize the young man as a very proud guy, right? You haven't heard of the rich young ruler, have you? He's a proud young man, smartly dressed, walks with a certain attitude, isn't he? I am better than the others.

But guess what? in this text, I do not seem so bad people. I don't know, let's look. This young man, the Bible says, that Jesus is already on his way, leaving, and the young man comes running, right? He runs and gets on his knees and says: 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

So, they seem like nice people to me, right? He is looking for Jesus, he wants to know what he must do to make things right, he is on his knees, excited, he even runs to interrupt Jesus and grab him. So he's not such a bad person, at least he thinks so.

If you notice, he says “Good Teacher”. Jesus says: "Well, good Master", and that young man thinks that Jesus is just any rabbi, he doesn't know that he is the son of God, and he calls him "Good Master, what shall I do?" And then Jesus tells him about the commandments and Jesus says "No one is good, but only God."

If this young man thinks that Jesus is a good teacher. He is not a good teacher. No, Jesus is the son of God or he is crazy, because he called himself divine God. And this young man did not know who he was talking to. So he came to talk to Jesus. Jesus says 'well, you have to obey the commandments'.

Do you know what it says in the Gospel of Saint Matthew? ‘The young man asks which ones? what commandments? I like this question, right? The young man wants to say: 'there are many commandments and I just want to clarify which are the most important? which do I have to obey? No?

I don't know if you've heard the English word 'multiple choice exam'. He wants the commandments to be a multiple choice test, right? and you choose your favorite and well, the ones that aren't so good, you can put them next to them, right?

The commandments are not a multiple choice exam. The commandments are not like that. But this young man was looking for, well, which ones do I have to follow in order to be good enough to pass the exam. He wants..... I don't know if we have some students here, who have had to study for an exam and the goal is to study the minimum to get the best grade, right?

Minimum effort, maximum grade. right?, this is the calculation that is done. It shouldn't, but that's how it's done.

This young man is thinking about Jesus like this.... What's the minimum I have to do? What is the minimum, the basic thing that I have to do to be right with God, to inherit eternal life? Because he thought he was good people.

Jesus tells him: 'the commandments.' He makes a whole list of commandments and what does the young man say? What does he say when he hears all the commandments? He says, ok, I did all this from my childhood. My first reaction is: 'yeah, right!' Really? You have done all the commandments since your childhood. Because he thought he was good people.

But you know what biggies are. I don't know, let's read it. Mark 10 says “Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Don't steal. Do not give false testimonies."

These are the big ones right? Well, have you killed anyone? No, the majority... I know that some maybe, but the majority would say: 'no, no, I have not killed anyone. I am good people. Stolen? Well, at least 'no convictions', nothing serious, I haven't stolen much. Nothing big. I am good people. I'm a good guy.'

Somebody who..... we've got some good people here, good people. Are you a nice person? Are you nice? You're nice. Good people. I know you. They are very good people, yes. They don't look so bad and they are well dressed, happy, they have their children, right? They are not that bad. They are good people.

This young man was a good person. He was very faithful, he obeyed the commandments. Jesus..... I have to teach him that he's not as good as he thinks he is. (I don't know how to say this in Spanish).

I need to show this kid that he is not as good as he thinks he is. I want to teach this child that he is not as good as he thinks he is. I don't know if you've had this experience, right?

Me, a friend in college, nice guy, very nice, he'd say hello on the street, he wouldn't do anything so terrible. No, a nice guy. And I, sharing the Gospel with him, I tell him 'all are sinners and are separated from God and if they don't repent they go to hell'. okay? I was preaching to him, and he says: but Gregory, I'm a good person, I'm very nice, you know me. How can you tell me these things?

Good people, and I say: well, my friend I'm going to pray for you. And I did, mind you. And I prayed for him and other friends. The poor thing was surrounded by Christians, he had Christians living on both sides. And we pray for him and then a few months later he comes to me for counseling, to talk about situations in his life. My friend, my good people friend, he was so good that he had a very good girlfriend. And he was so, so good that he had another good girlfriend, and one in this school and the other... and he was like a juggler, like trying to 'well, let them not find out about each other'. And then... things don't last forever, my friend.

Those good people, one day message.... no, and you know how things are. They caught him, nobody, thank God nobody has experienced that. But hey, there it is, okay? He was caught, he screwed up, he lost everything and he was already like the rubble of the earth. He was wrong and he comes to me all broken and “oh, Gregory, you know what? I am a lout. I am lout I am such a bad person. I don't know other words, I don't want to swear, but hey, 'I'm not as good a person as I thought I was'. He says 'I am so selfish, I have the good mask and I am very kind, but inside I am looking for my own good. I play with people, I play with women and I already screwed up with that. Yes, I'm not that good.' I told him: 'well, very well I prayed for you, we can talk now.'

Because Jesus did not come for good people. Jesus didn't come to save nice people. Jesus came to save sick people, sinners. If you are a sinner, you are my friend. I came for you. If you call yourself so good; Well, I have nothing for you. I'm a doctor, I don't have... if everyone is healthy, the doctor loses his job, right? So I come..... there are some doctors here but they don't want sick people, but it's like that, isn't it?

And Jesus knew that I do not come to save good people, I come for people who know each other, people who know they need forgiveness in their lives. And this young man came too well, a little angel. The wine, all this and saved from my youth. That I have to do? Kneeling in front of Jesus and my favorite verse, look at that.

Mark 10:21, one of my favorite verses, I'm not going to..... says “.... and then Jesus looking at him...” what does he say next? Someone help me with that. ".... loved him." "Jesus, looking at him, loved him" Ah...

You know what? The Bible says that Jesus expressed love to many people, healing them, dying on the cross was an act of love. But from what I know, I don't know, maybe there will be other texts, but this is a very special text. It is not said, it is not generally said that Jesus looked at a person and loved him. Do not say. Jesus was looking at him with a look of love. Wow! I want him to look at me like that, right?

How could this have been? Jesus looking at him, seeing all his complications, all his mistakes, that he is self-deceived, but also seeing his sincerity: that he is a boy who wants to do what is good and... that young man who is so deceived. And he knew: I have to give that young man a very bitter medicine. I have to take my scalpel, I have to take it out and I have to cut because there is a disease here that does not heal little by little. I have to cut something from this young man's heart.

Sometimes if someone has a very diseased arm, sometimes it can heal, but sometimes there is too much gangrene and it has to be removed. Jesus saw that this man's wealth was infecting him. The man was a good guy, not a bad person by the world's standards, but he had too much. He lived to be well in this life. What's wrong with that? But his hope was in it, his inheritance, his treasure was in it and Jesus knew, if this young man is going to follow me, he has to cut that out of his heart. It is an idol for him.

How many of us know that an idol is not just an image that is put up to worship? An idol is anything that we put in place of God. Money is idol number one. But there are many idols in life, right? It can be a relationship: some, I have, I have, I have to have my girlfriend by my side. I don't care, Christian or not, I don't care. God, don't touch that. I have to have a man by my side or not, I'm dying. What is more important?

Or it may be for some, a friend of mine, it was music. He was a pianist, he played very well and this was his identity, his dream, his everything. He was a very good musician, young man. And we were evangelizing him and a friend of mine who was very hard on him said: "You have to be willing to never play another keyboard, not one more song if you want to be a Christian." And he says but why? Well, but......so one day....he was struggling with it a lot. And mind you, I wouldn't always say that, but my friend felt led by spirit to touch that idol in his life. So the young man one day was playing a song he was writing, but feeling that God wanted him to give his life to him. But him playing, and then finally he stands up and says, 'God, why am I fighting this? Now, it's yours... Lord, if you never want me to play another song, if this is what you want, to follow you... whatever, whatever the cost, I'm willing to pay. And at this moment he received, but he received the holy spirit, but fully... but strongly. And guess what he got up to. Play a new song because his idol had already been crucified and new music for God was coming out. And he's a Christian musician now, he's still doing it after 25 years, he's a Christian musician. But he is willing to give all that if necessary.

I told this story to the cult in English. An evangelist in the 70s, evangelizing a hippie. How many remember the hippies? Some remember, right?, and a hippie comes with really big hair, a man with one of these, right?, and says "well, if I accept Christ, this means that I have to cut that hair." The evangelist tells him: 'Yes, definitely yes. Definitely, the first day you have to do it. And the man there....... well, ok, if that's necessary, you guys are so tough, but if necessary, I cut myself back. And the man says 'but you don't have to cut back, but you have to be willing to do it'.

It is not possible to come to Christ with conditions. That's like going in to be a soldier, but don't cut me out. How many know that to play for the Yankees, what did that Johnny Damon have to do, that bad guy who left us all standing here? Yeah, serve him right. He had to cut back, he had to cut everything down to play on a baseball team. And you don't think this hurt him, but the millions might have softened the pain a little. There is a cost to pay. They have the rules: if you're going to play for this team, and I respect them for that, no matter how bad they are. If you're going to play for this team, there are certain rules. You don't come as you want, you have to follow..... there are rules.

One cannot come saying, 'everything, but I keep this for myself', right? And Jesus looked at him and loved him, but he knew: this idol must be cut from its roots. And he sent him, verse 21, a hard verse next to a soft verse. He says: "You lack one thing -verse 21- go, sell everything you have, give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me".

This is hard. This is hard. And then the young man, in the Greek it says, that his countenance, his appearance, the literal thing is 'changed from a sunny day to a cloudy day', literally... the clouds, now... how many have seen that? , No?

And exits. Jesus doesn't run after him: oh, no, don't wait, we can talk. Forgive me, I was very hard on you, very hard. But, we can negotiate a little, right? Maybe you can have it your way for a while..... No, Jesus lets it go with a heavy heart.

And then he says 'it's very hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven'. Well, some say: very good, I'm not rich, I'm fine, thank God. At least this..... you know what? Look at what Jesus says, that later Peter messes with his things, right?

I like it, Pedro is so cute. He tells him: 'Jesus, we have left everything for you, what is there for us? How daring! But, he says what he's thinking, and what for me? What's in it for me?

And Jesus doesn't scold him, and he says, 'Well, you know what? I tell you the truth, that there is no one who has left home, or brothers, or sisters, or parents, all this, who does not receive a hundred times more now in this time, and he makes the whole list together with persecutions, in the age to come eternal life.

In this list I would expect to read things like: if someone leaves the extravagances of life to follow me, well, I'm going to give you another benefit. But the list is not like that, it says: house. Is there anyone here who owns or lives in a house? And we preach a lot that God wants us to have houses, thank God, that's part of God's blessing.

And you also have to leave brothers, sisters, parents, mother. Does anyone have a mom here? I have a small, Italian, very cute mother. I'm going to see her tonight, God willing, Mother's Day. Isn't that so bad, having a mom?

Jesus says: we must leave, what does that mean? In another text he says: we have to hate mommy. You gotta hate mommy. All the moms here.... Gregory, shut the fuck up. My daughter doesn't need a preacher telling her to hate me anymore, right? It's hard enough, isn't it? Now, Gregory, stop bothering.

Jesus puts the strong thing, but in another place he says: honor your father and your mother. He says, husbands, love your wives as yourself. What's up? Jesus, on the one hand you tell me that I have to love my mother and my family and all that, and that you are going to give me a house and you are going to bless me, and on the other hand you tell me that I have to leave all this or I won't I can be your disciple. What's up? I'm confused.

And guess what? There is a tension in that, which is the solution. That's where the tension is. God gives you, blesses you, and they are not bad things. Your mom is not bad, no, she's good, she's your mom, she's not bad. Your house is not bad, but God says: if this house or this mom becomes more important in your life than following the Kingdom of God, it kills you. It kills you.

If you say, no, I can't answer. I cannot serve Jesus because I have to take care of my things. They are not bad things but it is a bad heart and already sick. And that is the disease that Jesus is trying to heal here: not to be an idol, not to be number one in our hearts.

The most precious thing we have, the most precious thing, even for the rich, the rich, the most precious thing they have is not their big cars, it is their loved ones, their home, their family. Jesus says: You have to be willing to put this on the table and say: I am going to live for you and I trust you for the rest.

It's a risk we have to take. It's a risk. The English word I use is 'it's a gamble'. In Spanish, how is it translated, what is done in Las Vegas, what... bet. It's like betting, a game of chance. Well, I hope you don't know this word from experience, do you? Amen.

Put everything like in those television shows that they have... I don't know if you've seen them. It's a sport now, gambling is treated like it's a sport now. What not? Who has his hat and glasses and at one point God invites you to put everything on the table, everything and trust that you have an "ace in the hole", that you have cards that will win you everything. But it is a step of faith, it is a risk.

Jesus tells you: do you trust me? You trust that if you worry about the things of the Kingdom of God, that I will take care of yours. Do you trust?

Jesus says: someone who has left all this, will not stop receiving a hundred times more in this life. But who wants a hundred moms? I already have a mom, that's enough. A hundred children? Well now.... now, these are enough, right? I suspect that he is talking about a hundred times more blessing.

If you risk your family life, know that sometimes to serve God, we always say that your first ministry is to your home. We don't want a husband who neglects his wife and children forever, always being in church. We don't want this, but a family served to God is a risk. There is a time investment. Decimate? When I hardly have enough to live on and God tells me that I have to give ten percent... that's what I have, it's not enough.

A risk. Are you willing to put it on the table and trust that I will take care of the blessing, that I will take care of this marriage relationship, I will take care of these children of yours, I will take care of your finances, your situation?

It is not a promise that everything will be easy. Jesus says: all this comes with an added thing: persecutions; seasoned with persecutions. If you want a good steak, well, I'm going to throw a little chase on it too. It's the whole package, right? Because if you are going to serve God I cannot promise that everything will go well for you. Jesus does not promise it. He says: take up your cross.

He himself is talking about it on his way to Jerusalem to be what? crucified. The word says that for the joy set before him, Jesus suffered the cross, belittling the opprobrium and shame that he was going to suffer.

He knew: if I go through this pain, there is glory on the other side, not in this life, but in the next. You know, I believe that God tells you, in this life, because the word says it here, right?, but we are also betting that there is a heaven. It may be that God calls people to die for their faith. This happens all over the world.

There are countries, right now, where if you say you are a Christian, they kill you. This has happened throughout history, isn't God blessing you? Nothing to do, radical discipleship is taking up the cross and trusting that even if it costs me everything in this life, there is a blessing on the other side. There is joy in front of me, I know that on the other side there is blessing.

But if there is no heaven, believe me, and it is not that we won it, but there is blessing and there is wealth on the other side. Jesus tells the young man: if you follow me, it is not following rules, it is following a person. It is not being a good person, it is being a disciple of radical Jesus. If you do this, there are treasures in heaven. I don't know what they are like, but I imagine it must be cute, right?

Go out today and you will look at the sky so blue, the skies, the clouds, the trees, imagine all that, a sea as beautiful as in your country, with this crystal clear water where you can see even the feet down there Imagine all this, that food that you like the most, this best-made toast, these mom's cakes; all this a hundred times more. There are a thousand times more, millions, there is a blessing.

If there is no heaven we are fools. we are fools If there's no heaven, well, we eat and drink and make merry here because it's all there is.

There is a story of a man that Jesus tells that he worked his whole life to save his pension and put it in bigger barns, because he needed more space, and he had everything on it, and it was not a bad person, mind you. He is a good, hard-working person, who keeps his things as he should, and then says: now, I am finally going to rest a bit, I am going to eat, drink and enjoy life.

Jesus says: you know what? I heard a joke, that someone wanted to know if golf was going to be played in heaven, and he asked God: 'God, is there golf in heaven?' And God says: 'There is good news and bad news. If there is golf in the skies, good news. The bad news: we have you playing golf on Tuesday at two in the afternoon.

I don't know the word for tea time in Spanish.

That's the thing. This men is going to live well. And God says: look, if you're not trusting me, tonight... you can't take it with you. Either we live to be happy here or we live to be happy there. There are two options. It is not exclusively one or the other, there are both. There is a blessing here, we are going to talk a lot about it in these weeks, but our pastor, and perhaps that is why he asked me to preach that to you, he knows that it is not cheap grace, it is not selfish prosperity.

It is that we sacrifice everything to Jesus, we sell everything and throw ourselves into his arms betting that there is a blessing. And yes there is. And yes there is. Thank God. How many have already lived it? You have taken risks in your life and have seen that God is faithful.

I hear the stories, people who take steps of faith giving money, giving time, doing something, letting go of a relationship that they know is not good for them and God blesses a thousand and a hundred times over.

But guess what? God is calling us at this time to define ourselves once again. There are different moments in your life. It is not once and for all to decide to take up the cross, we have to take up the cross, how many times? Every day.

Abraham, the story of Abraham. His name was Abram at the beginning and God comes and says: you know what, Abramcito? If you are willing to leave everything, to leave your relatives, to leave your house, to leave the rice with pigeon peas, to leave your soccer team that you love so much, to leave the beach and the sea and all that and go where I tell you to go, I I will bless you. If you leave your whole nation, I will make you a great nation if you are willing to follow me. If you give up your good name and the right to be known in your own land, I will give you a name so famous that you will be talked about five thousand years in the future, in a little church in Boston. A famous name.

If you let go of your security, I will defend you, I will take care of you. Anyone who messes with you, messes with me. But it is the option. If you want to bless your own life, well, treat it, or if you just drop everything and let me bless you. And if you are willing to do it, I am not only going to bless you, all the nations of the earth will be blessed in you.

You can't be in two waters, Abram. If you still let go of the right to have children, he was already older, I will make you Abraham, father of nations, descendants like sand in the sea I will bless you, but you have to leave everything.

Many of us have already responded to this call: we have followed Jesus, we have left everything and God has blessed. But you know what? There are other moments in life when God comes again and tells you already: I ask you for something else. This time I ask you to give me your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love. The promise in it, I ask you and command you to offer it to me. And Abraham comes and offers everything, trusting, betting that God can still raise the dead and he will receive it...........

What are our Isaacs? It is time to say: Lord, I trust that you are not playing. And there I return to my favorite verse in this text again, the gaze of Jesus. He looks, it's like you're on a plane and there's someone there who is training you and who says, 'look, jump. There is a parachute and I promise you that it will work. He says, well, you seem like a very nice person to me, but I don't trust you. I stay here, on dry land. Jesus says: 'Look, throw yourself down. I promise you that the parachute will work and it will be the best flight of your life. It's going to be an adventure.

The Christian life is an adventure, it is a walk of faith, it is taking risks in Christ and seeing that he is there always blessing and caring. It's an adventure, it's not a normal life. We cannot be normal and be disciples. As the preacher said: not a Christian but a radical disciple.

We have to jump off the plane and trust –although I don't want anyone jumping off the building, I talked about this in the morning, right?-. But this is the comparison that I feel the most in the moments in my life and there have been several moments and there will continue to be moments when God asks you to throw yourself into something, to take a new risk. And right now, when you decide to do it, it feels like........ you're flying. Has anyone experienced it a bit? You do something crazy, a promise that you think, how am I going to do that and it's like you're flying and God is there.

Look at the birds, if you guys are going to..... I encourage you to be in nature this spring. Look at the birds. They cannot fly if they never leave the nest.

God was looking at this young man with love, inviting him to jump out of the nest and fly, and God wants this for us too.

I'm going to invite the musicians in again. And I only ask you where are you? are you in two waters?

I spoke in the English service this morning, in the bilingual service, that many times we want to sit on the fence, right? There is a saying in English "to sit on a fence", sit on a fence. A fence is not for sitting on, is it? It's not very comfortable I guess. There are some of us who are super uncomfortable because we are trying to be in two waters.

You know it's easier to throw everything than try to live a double life or grab certain things. If you throw yourself completely, already.......... the parachute opens and you are already flying. It's much easier. It's hard trying to live a double life. It's hard.

Jesus invites us, come to me, all tired and worked and I will make you rest, I will give you rest, but you have to take my yoke upon you, completely. If the ox is half, it hurts, it has to be completely. So this afternoon we are going to take the spirit, we are going to come to Jesus, looking at these eyes that say: I love you, I know you. throw yourself I will catch you. I am going to help you. Don't worry, I'm here and I understand you.

And guess what? This is impossible, with human forces it is impossible. But, as the word says, everything is possible for God. God says: I will help you.

If we are honest we are going to say, I want to but I don't want to. Jesus says: I will help you. I'll help you. You have to take the first little step and I take you from there. It is impossible for man, but it is possible for me.

So we prayed together. I invite you to stand up. Father, we come before you, we come before you this day. Thank you, Lord, that you bless your people, but you bless a committed people, a people who take risks, a people who dare to risk themselves. We have failed in so many ways. We all, all of us fail at that. There is not a single good, there is not a single perfect radical among us, starting with me first.

And Lord, we come to you, and we know that you are looking into our eyes and you are inviting us to take a step of faith: surrender our lives to you and surrender ourselves into your arms.

I want to invite you to think about that, to think about your life. What are the areas that you are not living fully for God? Maybe you are not a Christian yet, and you want, you want to follow Jesus. All with their eyes closed and praying and in the presence of God. I just want to give you this opportunity, if there will be someone you want to take this step, today you want to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you don't want to just try to be a good person, you want to be a follower of Jesus, you want to receive Jesus in your life I invite you to take this step of faith, raise your hand as a sign of your commitment to Christ on this day. I invite you to raise your hand before God if you want to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and take this step of faith.

God bless you. I see it there, God sees you, brother. Anyone else who wants to take this step of faith, wants to pray to receive Jesus... come on, come on sister. God bless you. Some more who want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I invite you. Come on, come on, come on. I invite you if you want to make this decision that you spend here, we want to pray for you. Come here. Let's pray to receive Jesus because God is calling you. God bless you. It's good to see young people. God bless you, sister. God bless you. Some more, there is time, there is no rush. God bless you.

If there are some more who want to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

God has called you. He sees your heart and he sees what you're doing right now. He's with you.

God bless you. There's more, there's more. You don't know how much God loves you. Jesus is looking at you with loving eyes right now, I know. There are some more who want to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, some more. There is time, there is no rush. Some more, if up there on the balcony if some of them want, they can come down and stand here with them.

I am going to pray with you who are here ahead. I'm going to pray with those of you who are down here right now.

We are going to come before God. Oh, Lord, thank you that you are truly looking with love. We are living that moment Lord, you are looking with love at sincere people who are before you to accept you as Lord and Savior. I ask that everyone can feel your embrace at this moment.

I want to invite all of you up front to repeat a simple prayer with me to receive Jesus. So you just have to repeat these words from your heart: Lord, God, repeat it after me. Lord, God, thank you that you love me. I confess that I am a sinner but I know that you died for me on the cross and I receive you Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I want to be your son, I want to be your daughter. I want to follow you the rest of my life. I receive the holy spirit within me. Transform me and save me, I ask you in the name of Jesus. Amen.