And it is shocking how often a Bible answer man like yourself who clearly has no problem with confidence and boldness, how often you will say, "I don't know." Right. Can you just talk about that?
Like just the some would be surprised by that, that boldness and then just the humility to admit the things I don't know and then be really passionate about the things that I do know. Just how did you start saying those three words? { I don't know} You throw them around a lot, you know, speak to that because I think it's refreshing to a lot of folks. When I ask somebody a question, I don't care what area it is, and they make up an answer, that's called a lie.
I don't like people lying to me and therefore I don't want to lie to other people. So when I'm asked a question and I don't have the foggiest idea how to answer it, I better not make up an answer. I better be honest enough and humble enough to say, ' I do not know. ' And that's why I like book of Mark chapter 9. A grief or torn dad who's got a boy, a son who's being torn apart by epilepsy, demon possession. He's a hurting pup. He comes up to Jesus and says, "Hey Jesus, your disciples, they tried to heal my boy, but they couldn't. If it is possible, would you please heal my boy?" And Jesus looks into the face of that grief or torn father and he says, "What do you mean if it is possible?" All things are possible for the one who believes. Now, the response of the father is incredible. The father looks at Jesus and says, "I believe. Help my unbelief."
In other words, Jesus, I've got some belief, but I got real doubts. But I've got to be honest, Jesus, my doubts haven't gotten me anywhere. And that's my point to agnostics. That's my point to people who say, " I'm just not convinced." Fine. Maybe you're not convinced. But if you're not convinced about Christ, you're convinced about someone or something else. You wouldn't be at Texas A&M, this fine university, if you weren't a highly motivated person. You didn't get here by accident, guys. Something's motivating you. You're living for something or someone. But the father was honest enough to admit, "I got doubts." But he was humble enough to admit, "My doubts haven't gotten me anywhere in life." That's why he blurts out, "Help my unbelief."
And Jesus doesn't condemn the guy. He performs a miracle and he heals the guy's son. You see, God is more than willing to reach out to honest, humble people. Not people who pretend. Not people who pretend, "Oh, I've got it all nailed down." No. Humble, honest people who say, "I got doubts, but my doubts haven't gotten me anywhere in life. Lord Jesus, please help me."
Logan's a really nice guy. Before we started that podcast, he turned to me and said, "Uh, I'm not a believer in God or Christ, but uh maybe at the end of this time I wil be." Wow. I thought, "Okay, I really appreciate his vulnerability, his honesty." And then we got into it and started talking about a lot of different issues. And he kept on coming back to, "I'm really offended by how you guys think Jesus is the only way to God." And I had to say, "Well, I didn't make that up. Christians didn't make that up. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." And I don't like the way I answered him.
I stuck to Logan. Everybody believes in truth. If you believe every path leads to God, that's a truth claim. You believe half the paths, half the philosophies, half the religions lead to heaven or nana, that's a truth claim.
And Jesus is obviously making a truth claim when he says there's one way to heaven. It's through me. I wish I would have gone on and said, "Now, Logan, let's talk about why Jesus is so necessary."
Jesus is so necessary. Jesus is the truth. He's the way to heaven. And he's the way to God because he has a unique identity. He's God in human form. He's not just a good prophet. He's not just a good teacher. He has a unique identity that is totally different from all the rest of us. He's God in human form.
Secondly, he has a unique death. We're all going to die. The statistics on death are very impressive. One out of one die. Everybody who's born dies. And I'm a lot closer than any of you. Bar probably. I'm 71 and you guys are young bucks. I'm jealous of you. You got a great future. Jesus died on a cross for you, for me. And I can promise you if someone dies for me, I'm going to take what they say very seriously because it shows they really give a rip about me. The phrase "give a rip" is an idiomatic expression meaning to care or to attach importance to someone or something.
And the third thing about him is about Jesus is not just that he has unique identity, not just that he has a unique death, but he has a unique resurrection. Guys, I promise you, you die and rise from the dead, I will listen very carefully to everything you have to say because the evidence is you are in touch with reality in a way that I am not. And so I put my faith in Christ, not because I've been hoodwinked, deceived into believing in him, not because I've been manipulated, not because I just believe, believe. I believe in Christ because the evidence is he is more than a man. He lived a sinless life. I've tried to live like Jesus. I really have guys and I have failed. Every day I try and I fail.
But that's secondly why I need his death, his unique death to forgive me for the wrong that I've done. He takes the penalty for my sin.
And then thirdly, I got a brain. I'm not just going to blindly believe. It's his historical resurrection that convinces me this Jesus is the truth. So, do you get it, Logan?
Logan had a hard time with that one, as a lot of Americans do. Yeah. And I still think what you said to him is beautiful. Like I think just based off what he said beforehand and like the hunger there is obvious like the lean in like the and the asking the hard questions and the willingness to admit wrong and I think that such people are pretty darn close much closer to the kingdom than they realize. And I think that applies to you guys in the crowd. Like your presence here implies a level of hunger. Your willingness to engage with questions implies that. And I just wondered if you have had doubts or have doubts or there's way more times than you would like where you say, "I don't know." Uh, man, you might be closer to the kingdom than you think. So, those were some of the questions that came in. If the cross is the center point, it's also, man, it's a stumbling block to plenty of people. You know, an author who was very prominent a little while ago, doesn't get talked about much anymore, said the cross is divine child abuse. you know, like what would you say to those things? This is outdated. It's barbaric. Um, do we really have to talk about this? Um, what would you say to that?
A lot of people say that these days, a lot of people believe that, Brian, you're absolutely correct. But I can almost guarantee you that the vast majority of people who say that, if I say to them, if I whoop up on a little African-American kid, beat him to a pulp, and if the police come and say,"Cliff, what did you do?" And I said, "Well, I just beat up this little African-American kid." If the police officer looks at me and says, "Let's go to Starbucks." Every person who's upset with the sacrificial death of Christ on a cross to pay the penalty for our wrongdoing would be outraged.
They'd call that racism. They'd say that officer is a racist, Cliff, as well as you're a racist. Justice is a joke. He's making a mockery out of justice. And they'd be right. That police officer better do something to arrest me for beating up a little African-American kid. But the same people who understand that insist God cannot judge evil. God is lovey-dovey, which means he just loves everybody and it doesn't matter what they do. But what they're forgetting is the reason that God judges is for the same reason that the police officer judges. the little African-American kid should must matter to the police officer and that's why he's going to haul me into jail.
The same thing with God. The reason that God judges me for dehumanizing someone, for manipulating someone, for using someone, for degrading someone in my head or in my speech is because that person who I've degraded, who I've dehumanized, matters to God. Which means if God does not judge, you don't matter.
People can rip you off. They can cut you off at their knees. They can steal you blind. To steal you blind means to rob or cheat someone mercilessly, taking everything they own, often through deceitful or fraudulent means.They can stick it to you. The phrase "stick it to you" is an idiom meaning to treat someone harshly, unfairly, or to retaliate against them, often as an act of defiance or revenge. And if God doesn't judge them for treating you that way, let's be real honest. You don't matter to God. Now, what Jesus Christ points out is yes, you do matter to God. And because you matter to God, because he loves you more than anybody in the whole universe loves you, he must judge those who sexually attack you. Oh, no We don't want to talk about that, Cliff. Well, I'm sorry. We're going to talk about it. Cuz in a crowd this size, you know exactly what I'm talking about, ladies. Many of you, too many of you have been sexually attacked. That's evil. And if God just winks at that and overlooks that, ladies, you don't matter to God. He doesn't care. And that's false. The clear revelation of Jesus Christ is you do matter to God. And the guy who sexually attacked you is going to answer to God for that. And he's going to judge him. And the group of ISIS that slaughtered Caleb Mueller in 2015 after they had imprisoned her for a few years. They're going to answer to God as terrorists for slaughtering Caleb Mueller. and I'm going to be judged for the way I've dehumanized people. That is why I need Christ's death on the cross.
Because remember guys, forgiveness is never cheap and easy. When you forgive somebody, what you're saying is, I'm going to absorb the hurt that you put on me when you did this to me. And instead of seeking revenge, I'm going to absorb the hurt. Not insist that you give me a pound of your flesh because you ripped a pound of flesh out of me. I'm going to forgive you. I'm going to absorb the hurt. Do you understand? Forgiveness is never free and easy. It costs. It costs a lot. And that's why Christ died on a cross. To absorb the penalty that we deserve for our wrongdoing. God is a judge. Why? Because we matter to God. And God is merciful. He offers us forgiveness through the death of his only son, Christ, on a cross.
Wow. So, so in the cross, we don't just have the proof of his love for us and his willingness to take our place. We have the proof of his love for us that he will not let wrongs done against us go unpunished.
Wow. Wow. Um your passion in communicating the cross is inspiring to me and recently your passion towards something else was deeply inspiring to me and some people on my team actually also took notice of it. Any did anybody go to Passion Conference in January when it was here and these guys were there?
Incredible time and it was an honor to be there and one of the things that really stuck out to some people on our staff, Cliff, was the passion that came out when you were given the opportunity to speak about the importance of serving the poor and feeding the hungry. You're looking at me like you don't recall this. Okay, you do. All right. I was like, "Oh, boy."
Stuart, over to you. Um, no. Uh, this I don't know this unexpected, but I think it was a side that some that's not going to get 50 million views is that topic. And I think that might be part of the problem. Can you speak to this? I think that this is a generation that cares deeply about those things is man, how do we write wrongs and how do we help those in and how central is this to the Christian life? like how central is this topic, serving the poor, feeding the hungry, this concept to Christianity clearly matters to you.
Day before yesterday, as my wife and I were flying down here from New York City, I sat beside a little 8-year-old girl. Where are mom and dad?
Oh, dad lives in New York and mom lives in Houston. Um I'm looking at the stewardess and asking where is mom and dad? Where's a guardian? Oh, she has none. For four and a half hours, that little girl slept beside me, putting her head on my shoulder.
I'm sitting there thinking, "This 8-year-old girl has made this trip," she says about 50 times. "No mom, no dad. She does it alone as an 8-year-old girl flying from New York City to Houston, Texas."
Am I moved by that? Or am I going to sit here and say, "Oh, well, at least she's not starving." There better be something in my heart that is moved to help, to love, to serve that little girl. All right. Jesus says in Matthew 25, in the parable of the sheep and the goats, he says, "When the Son of Man returns in power and great glory, he's going to gather all the peoples of the nations together, and he's going to put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left, and he's going to turn to those on his right and say, "Enter the heaven that is prepared for you. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to drink. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and in prison and you visited me and those on his right are going to say, "When, Jesus, when did we ever see you in that kind of a predicament?" And he will answer, "Every time you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me." And then he'll turn to those on his left and say, "And that hell is and prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was naked and you did not clothe me. Sick and in prison, you never visited me." And those on his left are going to say, "When, Jesus, when do we ever see you in that kind of a jam?" and he will answer, "Every time you did not do it to the least of these, my brethren, you did not do it to me."
All right, guys. You're at a very fine university. You have incredible career potential. You have the ability to make some serious money. What are you going to do with that money?
If I walk up to a woman or a man who's got a starving child sitting in their lap and I say to them, "I believe in Jesus." "Oh, your child is starving. Have a good day. See you later. And walk away. There's a word that defines me. Not a very nice word. It's the word hypocrite.
If I love Christ and if I love people, I must do something to solve the biggest killer of human beings, which is starvation. And we got the solution for it, guys. It's called money. Buy food.
Figure out how to get it by corrupt government and get it into the mouths of starving children. Now guys, that's what Christ calls you and me to do. And if you and I don't do that to some degree, the question is, who we really following? Who do we really believe in?
For he fed the hungry. He clothed the naked. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. And now he says, "You go out and do it, guys. Do it to the glory of God.
And so I better feed the hungry. I better clothe the naked. I better do something to stand against suffering.
And then I better tell people about Jesus Christ because there's a disease that's far worse than starvation. It's the disease of sin. And the reason it's worse is because it leads not just to death. It leads to eternal separation from God. That's eternal death.
Jesus Christ is the way through death to eternal life. I mean guys, just think about it. When someone mocks the idea of heaven, please look them in the face and ask this one question. Is there any greater affirmation of your life and my life than heaven with Christ and others for eternity? No.
There's no philosophy, no world view, no religion that comes close to affirming the value of your life and my life than Jesus Christ. Why? Because he promises eternal life to all who trust in him.
Think there is no greater affirmation of your life. No applause in a stadium like this if you're a football player or a cheerleader that comes close to Christ's affirmation of you. No good-looking guy who wants to hop into bed with you and he affirms you and he strokes you and he builds you up and you feel like a million bucks and you say, "Sure, I'll give you my body sexually." That ain't nothing compared to the affirmation of Jesus Christ who says, "I gave my life for you. I love you and you're so important that I want you to spend eternity with me in heaven.
You mentioned that one of our recent text messages, Stuart, had to do with, you mentioned suicidality. You mentioned just like the hope that we long to come into every heart that we have a chance to encounter in Aguila and beyond. As awesome as it is like God is moving in this generation. You guys see the hunger as you go campus to campus and we get to stand on the front lines and say something is happening in Gen Z. It's absolutely incredible. I think the hunger is being talked about a lot. I think that the times where it sparks up and tons of people are getting baptized is being properly and appropriately shared. And sometimes I get a little worried that becomes the overly dominant story at the expense of, my goodness, there's just a lot of hurting people. And Texas A&M is not exempt from just the tragedy at times what feels like the epidemic of mental health problems, anxiety and depression at the very least. But suicidal ideation and then just suicide, like can you just, I want to hear from both of you on this one. For the many in the sound of my voice who are in a dark place in a desperate place. There might be one. For the many in the sound of my voice who are in a dark place in a desperate place. There might be some who feel like they're like bottom rung act was like showing up here you know but just for people struggling in different ways. What is the hope that a life believing in Christ and a life following Christ offers to those experiencing these different expressions of mental health problems and struggles?
I'd love to hear from both of you. Is there hope and what is that hope that is offered to people in that place?
At bottom a Christian is somebody who can have objective purpose and meaning in this life. So, it's one that says you are here for a reason. You've been given a life. You are valuable no matter what.
No matter if you make $100K upon graduation or if you make nothing and you are headed somewhere that is going to be eternal bliss relationally. Okay guys, that's objective purpose. I was out to dinner not too long ago with a guy who's suffering from depression. A D1 all-star athlete at the highest level, but he's dealing with serious depression. Some of you football players in this crowd, I hate to say this, will deal with some serious depression once football is torn away from you. Many of you, whatever you are basing your identity on, will be tremendously, let's just say, shaky, if not now, eventually. When I'm at dinner with this guy, he looks at me and I am shocked because he would be the least vulnerable of all my friends. That's for sure. And he said almost in tears, "Stuart, I am so jealous of what you have. I want it and need it, but I just can't accept it." And his wife turned when he walked into the kitchen for seconds and she said, "Stuart, can you please stop please stop talking with him about this? I know how good it is and important it is, but he just can't handle it.
That at rock bottom, guys, is if you are dealing with depression, anxiety, or anything of the sort, at the very least, you know you have meaning and purpose still because you were created by a God who created you in his image. So, you have value no matter what. He has a plan here for you on this planet. Oh, by the way, if you feel like you can never get better mentally, I promise you, you can. Whether that's through therapy, 20:35 medication, whether it's through quoting the Psalms more, being in prayer more,
20:38 whether it's through going to church. By the way, Harvard just did this incredible study showing that you get 40% chance of better mental health if you go to church on a weekly basis.
20:48 There's so many ways to improve your mental health through the gospel, through community that God has given us,
20:54 but ultimately through knowing how unconditionally loved you are by your creator and the creator of the universe. That's number one.
Number two, questioning your thoughts. We sung it right before here. JJ did an awesome job. Those thoughts of fear, how often are you questioning those? How often are you grabbing your heart and saying, "Whoa, my heart, my thoughts are taking me on a crazy ride right now, and I'm not even questioning them. Why have I put that much stock in that girlfriend or boyfriend to actually start to ask the question, is life even worth living if they break up with me?" Hold on here. What? That is putting your identity on shaky ground. And so you have to question those thoughts. That's why David said in Psalm 42 and 43, why are you downcast all my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God for yet. Praise him, my Savior and my Lord. That's self talk. He's not praying there. He's working on his self talk that God gave him. He gave you a voice. He gave you thoughts. He gave you that voice to speak back against those thoughts that are telling you to kill yourself. That are telling you you are no good. That are telling you why are you even born? Do your parents even love you? To speak back against those thoughts. The gospel and understanding who God is gives you an ability to speak back against those thoughts unlike anything else.
Gosh, I want to pass this over to you. That the suffering, that many of the people, that he was just talking to is probably the foremost obstacle like the reality of that kind of suffering and many other kinds is probably the foremost obstacle that many in this generation feel is in front of them to jump in to faith and would you speak to that, would you speak to that, I believe I can't remember which one of you said it earlier today I think a student actually asked you hey which conversation or which point is it that if you're honest is like the greatest challenge for you even sometimes emotionally like what is the greatest counter argument and the answer was that this idea of suffering but like I want to I want to throw that at you um how do you speak to that age-old problem expressed really vividly here through the mental health thing but just that rolls out in so many different issues what do we do with the problem of suffering I've got to be very careful when I looked into the face of my brother who's two years younger than me after he'd lost his seven-year-old daughter in a horrible car wreck. Her head was smashed to smithereens by a pickup truck that came down the road 55 miles an hour and babysitter didn't see the stop sign, ran the stop sign, and that hit pickup truck hit the side of the car and killed her instantly. So, I'm walking around the field in Madison, Wisconsin with my younger brother who's a surgeon and loves Christ, but he's just lost his seven-year-old precious daughter. If you think that there's a watertight loves Christ, but he's just lost his seven-year-old precious daughter. If you think that there's a watertight answer to that question, I don't know what you've been smoking. There is no ultimate answer of why God allowed that to happen. Why did that happen? I do not know. And I better learn to live with mystery. I better learn to live with unanswered questions because if anybody thinks they're going to have all the answers to all the life's questions, they're an arrogant twit. But I do know something. I do know that everybody has a problem with suffering. Every atheist, every agnostic, every Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian. We all have a problem with suffering. But there is no better solution in any philosophy or any religion than the cross of Christ.
Because when you look at the cross of Christ, you leads to some horrible things. Good thinking leads to good things. Bad thinking leads to victims. And bad action leads to victims as well.
And the cross of Christ is an ugly sight as he bleeds and dies on a wooden cross beam for our sin to forgive us.
But you see what it does is it takes evil seriously.
Hey man, I'm not afraid to die. Death is just a stage of life. You got to be kidding me. That's about as cruel as looking into the face of a quadriplegic and telling them paralysis is just a stage of exercise. Are you serious? Are you kidding me? Paralysis is not a stage of exercise. Paralysis is the end of exercise. And death is not a stage of life. Death is the end of life. Wake up. Smell the coffee. Live in reality, not in La La Land.
The cross of Christ is God's solution to the very real problem of suffering and death because there forgiveness and reconciliation with God is offered. And thirdly, it's followed by the resurrection.
And the resurrection of Christ is a clear statement. There is life after death. That's not just a pipe dream.
That's not just naive. That's not just blind faith. And it's not a contradiction of science either. Science is a wonderful study of natural process.
The resurrection is a statement. The natural process is real. One out of one die. But guess what? There's more to reality than matter and energy. And you should know that because you've experienced love. You know what justice is. You know what kindness is. You know what forgiveness is. And those are none, none of those are scientific theories. They're all experiential experiences that we all have that points us to the fact that reality is bigger than matter and energy. And yes, this God who created these intangible values like love and justice and kindness and compassion promises eternal life to all who trust in him. Now, what's the solution to suffering?
Real simple. It's not that hard. Let's go to the hospital. Come on, my atheist agnostic friend. Let's go into the room where the baby lies, whose body is being shredded by some horrible weird disease.
What's your solution, my atheist friend? You have none. It's fate, destiny, chance. I also walk the other side of that bed, and I too will hold that child's hand as my good atheist friends do. But in Jesus Christ, I have the ultimate solution for suffering and death, forgiveness and eternal life that we read about in Revelation 21:4. We read, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there'll be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order has passed away. Behold, all things have become new." So, what are we going to do?
We going to play a little intellectual game. Oh, well, if God's all powerful and all loving, then why does he allow suffering? Ultimately, I don't know. I think a lot of it has to do with free will. But guess what? When I'm walking around a field with my younger brother whose little seven-year-old daughter just got knocked into an early grave in a tragic car wreck. The issue is not why did God allow it. The issue is has God done anything to solve it. And the resurrection of Christ is a clear statement. God has offered you the solution to suffering and death. And that is in the death and resurrection of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. That's why you can be confident that indeed there is life after death because the dead Christ rose from the dead.
I don't want to think of good questions anymore. I don't want to. What I want to do instead with the time that we've got left, is you have a very peculiar large number of college students here that have been listening to you for, you know, the last however many minutes. And I think I saw that there's over a dozen different schools represented here and some of them are predictable like Texas schools and going into Oklahoma. There's like someone from Washington State here. There's someone from Wyoming here. Like the the stretch here is larger than we realize and you've been talking to them for a while and for the next minutes that we have, I'd like you to pretend like we haven't been. And if you were just standing, coming up here and you had, I don't know, seven minutes to just lay out the gospel that means everything to you and invite them into it. Ready? Go.
New York City. Several years ago, Pastor Wilson ran the largest Sunday school. buses would fan out all over the city, pick up little children and bring them to this Sunday school. And after church one Sunday, a Puerto Rican woman came up to Pastor Wilson and said, "Pastor Wilson, I want to minister." In her broken English.
Pastor Wilson said, "Well, why don't you ride on the buses, pick up the kids, and try and love on him?" And so, the Puerto Rican woman did it. But one day, she met this one little boy, and a deep bond formed between them. So, she goes to Pastor Wilson and she says, "Pastor, uh, I want to stay on that one bus cuz I want to be with that one boy on the way to Sunday school." Pastor Wilson said, "Yes, ma'am." Little Puerto Rican woman with her broken English sits besides this one kid, and she only knows a few words in English, and she repeats them over and over to this little kid. Jesus loves you. I love you. Jesus loves you. I love you. Jesus loves you. I love you. Little kid doesn't say a word. Finally, one day after she says that to him, he turns around, wraps his arms around her neck, and hugs her really, really tight. He gets off the bus. The next day, that kid was found in a black plastic bag in a dumpster. His mother murdered him. Some of the last words that little kid heard were, "Jesus loves you. I love you. Jesus loves you. I love you." In broken English from a Puerto Rican woman in New York City.
What on earth is life all about?
According to Christ, it's all about loving God with Vour heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself.
And if you speak broken English, you can still love people with that broken English as your heart reaches out to another person.
Now, what's a Christian? A Christian is someone who understands. I haven't loved always. I've been selfish at times. I've been mean at other times. I've ignored hurting people at other times. I've been greedy. Lord God, forgive me. I am genuinely sorry. And I want to change. And with your help, I want to love people with my broken English, with a lack of my high school degree or my PhD from Texas A&M. I want to use those gifts and talents to love you by taking care of people. You see, anybody can do that. Anybody can understand that. But they got to open their heart to Christ the same way that little Puerto Rican woman did in the center of New York City as she reached out to a little kid whose mother decided, "I'm going to murder him and dump him in a dumpster."
But some of the last words that little kid heard were from a little Puerto Rican woman who couldn't attend Texas A&M. She didn't have the academic credentials, but she had an ability to connect her heart with God, with Christ, and then to connect with a little kid.
Now, right now, God's reaching out to you. He loves you. And we can throw up all types of intellectual smoke screens and run away from that love. Or we can choose to say, "No, it's time to stop running. I need to make a decision." Oh, Cliff, I don't make those kind of decisions. Oh, yes, you do. You obviously are highly motivated. You obviously have ambition. You wouldn't be a student here at Texas A&M if you didn't. You're not here by accident. You made some decisions. And by the way, there's some other people who probably made some decisions to bankroll your education here. We make decisions, guys. You're living for something or someone.
And suddenly, maybe tonight this is beginning to make a little more sense to you, this Jesus Christ. Well, if he is, you need to make a decision. And this decision is to open your heart, your soul, your personhood to him and to the best of your ability, just like that little Puerto Rican woman did, to trust in Christ and then to allow him to use you at Texas A&M, this fine university, and wherever else he leads you for the rest of your life. You see, that's a decision to trust. Christ made a decision to go to the cross for you. And now he says,"Make a decision to build your life on me because l am more trustworthy. I am more credible. I am more reliable than any of the options. Trust in me. I will give you the solution for suffering and death. I'll give you the solution for what is the purpose and meaning of your life. I will give you the solution to your moral failure. I will forgive you and by my Holy Spirit, I will help you to change and become the beautiful person that God intends you to be. Guys, you can't be agnostic.
You will make decisions. And when we all leave this magnificent stadium tonight, we will be living for someone or something. We will be giving the majority of our money, effort, and time to someone or something. It might be our career. It might be a degree. It might be sex. It might be athletics. It might be art. It might be music, but you don't live in a vacuum. You're a moving person. And you're obviously highly motivated. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Jesus says, "Come to me. Make a decision to trust in me to build your life on me. Allow me." Christ says, "Be the foundation of your life." And the evidence is there is no option that comes close to having the evidence that they are reliable as Jesus Christ. So it's a very wise decision, but it's a very deep decision because you're choosing to build your life on Christ. Not on money, not on sex, not on pleasure, not on a career, not even on something good like family. You're going to build your life on Christ. And that is the wisest person, a human being can make. So, if you're at the point in your life where such a decision would be wise, I'm going to lead in a very short prayer for you to decide to build your life on Christ, to trust in him, and then by his grace, by his power, to obey him, to surrender your life to him, and to follow him as your Lord. And if you're at the point in your life where such a decision would be very wise, I'd invite you to pray after me. This is between you and Christ and nobody else. Let's bow and pray together.
🙏 Lord Jesus, I've been building my life on sand. I'm beginning to realize how unwise that is. Jesus, I want to build my life on you. I want to trust that you died on the cross for my sin. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for the gift of eternal life that you give me as a gift. And now, Lord Jesus, I got some hurts. I was born broken. You're saying that life is about healing. You're telling me that your grace, your love is the remedy. Well, that's what I want. I want you, Jesus, to put me back together again. Because I got all types of bad habits and hurts, even some addictions, possibly. Help me, Jesus. Help me. Thank you that you love me. Thank you that nothing can take me away from your love. Thank you for the gift of eternal life. I want to build my life on you, Jesus Christ. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer and meant that, I want you to talk to this guy or one of the other guys or gals who work with Breakaway, one of the other fellowships on this campus. You can't do it alone, guys. You need other followers of Christ and you know that you don't want to do college alone or university alone. You're an Aggie which means you understand the importance of friendship of commitment. You guys do it well, very very well. Now Christ says you're involved in my family. You're my child. You got to meet your brothers and sisters. You got to be with them. So turn to someone who you know is a follower of Christ and tell them that you've made your decision to build your life on Christ. these two.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
