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Trinity Community Church
Trinity Community Church
All Things New
What does it mean when God says, “Behold, I am making all things new”? In this Easter message, All Things New, Pastor Tyler Lynde explores the stunning vision of restoration found in Revelation 21:1-8. This isn’t just about going to heaven—it’s about the complete transformation of creation, relationship, and experience.
Tyler begins by showing us that God’s plan is not to repair the broken world, but to recreate it. The new heaven and new earth will be free from natural disasters, decay, and death. As beautiful as parts of our current world may be, they are merely glimpses of what’s to come. Revelation 21 opens our eyes to the breathtaking scale of God’s restoration—where everything wrong is made right.
But it’s not only the physical world that will be renewed. Tyler highlights the restoration of relationship at the core of the passage: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.” Since the fall, humanity has been separated from God, but in the new creation, this relationship will be fully restored. No more barriers, no more distance—just perfect communion with our Creator.
Then there’s the emotional restoration. “He will wipe away every tear… death shall be no more… neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain.” This vision offers a powerful contrast to the world we live in now—a world filled with suffering, anxiety, and loss. Tyler reminds us that in Christ, we don’t just look forward to healing—we’re promised complete renewal.
Most importantly, this newness isn’t only for the future. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” When we respond to Jesus in repentance and faith, God begins His renewing work now. Through the Holy Spirit, we’re empowered to live differently today, even while we wait for the ultimate restoration.
But Tyler also doesn’t shy away from the urgency of the moment. Revelation 21 ends with a warning for those who reject this invitation. Eternity is on the line, and we’re called to respond—to repent, believe, and receive the free gift of salvation.
This message is a celebration of the resurrection, a call to transformation, and a reminder that the best is yet to come.
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Are we ready for the word of God this morning? Amen, ready or not, here it comes. The title of today's message is All Things New. All Things New. Let's turn to Revelation, chapter 21, and we're going to be reading verses 1 through 8. Revelation 21, verses 1 through 8.
Tyler Lynde:Since then, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Come on now. And he said to me it is done. I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life, without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral sorcerers, idolaters and all liars, their portions will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. Let's pray together, father. We thank you and praise you for your matchless word. We thank you that you've left us so many signs and testimonies of the goodness of God and the truth concerning Jesus Christ, and primary amongst them is your very word, the Holy Bible. And so, lord, we thank you that, as we dig into these verses today, we ask that you would open the eyes of our understanding, that we would be enlightened by the Holy Spirit to see the truth that is found richly packed within these words from the book of Revelation. We pray, lord, that you would read us, that you would see us, that you would move in us, that you would transform us and, father, that you would be glorified in everything that is said and done in Jesus' name. Amen.
Tyler Lynde:When we first came into this building 10 years ago, this room didn't look like it looks today. This room didn't look like it looks today. Some of you were there back in that time and you walked in this room with concrete floors. The walls were very dirty, the ceiling was a mess, because this was an industrial facility. There was a lot of work that was going on in this place. In fact, the room was packed full of all kinds of industrial things, machinery and things that are built by machinery. It was just completely packed full. And if we hadn't been told that this had formerly been a church, there's no way that we could have discerned that just from walking in the building. I guess maybe if we looked up at the ceiling because, if I remember right, there were a couple of chains hanging up here where it was obvious that there had been a screen here at one point in time over this area, and maybe there was an outline of the stage here, if I remember right, but very little evidence of any kind that this had been a church at one time. It was a church, in fact, kelly and Nikki Kinder, one of our pastors, actually attended here at one point in time back in the day, and so obviously over the last 10 years we've done a lot and, by the grace of God, this place has become what it currently is. Right, there's been a complete transformation, there's been a huge renovation that has occurred here and, as we've been studying over the last several weeks the book of Nehemiah. What have we seen? We've seen the fact that God loves a good renovation project. God is in the renovation business In a similar way today. Our passage kind of borrows from this. This is an ultimate redo, an ultimate restoration, an ultimate renovation.
Tyler Lynde:John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was banished by the Roman government because they couldn't kill him. They tried to kill him and they couldn't kill him, and so they sent him to the Isle of Patmos and he was in the spirit on the Lord's day. He was having church all by himself, because that's all that was there, and he was extending praise and worship to God. And in the middle of that, god interrupted his time and he began to give him a vision of all of history, past, present and future. And he began to see glimpses of things that were very hard to describe. And he tried the best that he could to write down all of the things that he had seen and experienced.
Tyler Lynde:And please, when you read the book of Revelation, don't forget the first part that says this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not primarily the revelation of tank movements and nuclear weaponry, although that may be found somewhere within the chapters of the book, it is primarily the revelation of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, as it advances throughout time, even though it comes under complete, utter frustration, persecution, difficulty, and yet what happens? It continues to endure because Jesus, our mighty king, is in charge and in control. Aren't you grateful for that? So at the end of this divine encounter, john sees the culmination of God's restoration plan and he says it like this behold, I am making all things new. Behold, I am making all things new. Behold, I am making all things new.
Tyler Lynde:So let's talk about a few of the things that this passage describes to us as being made new. The first thing is that there's going to be a new creation. Let's read again verses one and two. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more, and I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem. How many of you know that God is a creator? It's not just something that he does, it's a part of his character, it's a part of his nature. It's who he is.
Tyler Lynde:In the beginning we know and we read in the book of Genesis in chapter one God created what the heavens and the earth and he also created mankind and he placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Right? Can you imagine with me for just a moment what it must have looked like in that place, for just a moment, what it must have looked like in that place, a place of perfection. The greens must have been the greenest of greens. The blues must have been the bluest of blues.
Tyler Lynde:I know, in my travels over time I've been to Ireland and I've seen a green that is almost impossible to describe. I've been to the southwest of the United States and seen the painted deserts and understood that this is just a picture, just a snapshot, a Polaroid, almost a faint impression of what it must have been like. I've been to the Caribbean and I've seen the bluest of waters. That the color is almost you can't even find it fully. It's indescribable, it's magnificent, it's spectacular. I've been to the Rocky Mountains.
Tyler Lynde:I grew up at the base of the Rocky Mountains and as you look up upon those mountains, you have to ask yourself, and maybe answer your own question Is there a God? And yes, there is a God. God is a creator, he's a creator, he loves to create new things. Can you imagine an earth, an earth that doesn't have that, where nature is at harmony instead of at odds with each other. Because, as pristine as we can find places in this world, how many of you know, they're just a taste. They're just a small expression of what could be, of what once was.
Tyler Lynde:And this scripture tells us, in Revelation 21, that we will experience the intent of God concerning his creation in its fullness. In its fullness, can you imagine a world with no hurricanes or tornadoes, or earthquakes or famines? Can you imagine an earth with no pests or thes, or earthquakes or famines? Can you imagine an earth with no pests or thorns, or thistles or snakes yes, I said it or spiders or mosquitoes? Can you imagine a place like that? Well, god's imagined it and he's going create it, and it's going to appear in the.
Tyler Lynde:I believe that it will be in this place that we will experience the newness of God, in a new creation in its complete majesty. So what went wrong with this place where we now find our residence? Adam and Eve, god's first created humans, rebelled against God. So what went wrong with this place where we now find our residence? Adam and Eve, god's first created humans, rebelled against God. They were given one job, right To obey one commandment, and they rebelled against him and they sinned, and the result was the marring of God's creation. Not only did they suffer the impact of that or the results of that, but the earth itself suffered the results of their fall from grace.
Tyler Lynde:From Genesis 3 through Revelation 20, the earth and everyone in it experiences the results of sin and death. Things like decay and destruction, death and evil are all part of our lives here on this earth. All we have to do is watch 30 seconds of the news and we see these things broadcast in front of all of our eyes. Even nature itself groans to be delivered from the curse. In Romans 8 21, it says that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Even this earth moans and groans, and creation itself groans and cries out for newness to be made new. Aren't you glad that the story didn't end with Adam and Eve's sin. We're going to get to that all in just a minute.
Tyler Lynde:When Adam and Eve sinned, god gave glimpses of this promise, as he promised that the Messiah would come, even in the middle of all of the curses that he was giving because of the sins that were committed. He says that there will be one who will come, who will rescue and save people from their sin. And if you read through the Old Testament, as we're doing, we see many glimpses, many prophecies that speak to a future point in time. The prophet Isaiah declared that salvation is found in God alone and that he will certainly judge sin. And he prophesies of the new heaven and new earth. And he says see, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered. My friends, we can look forward to a new creation. It is coming, ready or not, it is coming, it will come. It is the word of God and we can take it to the bank. But not only can we look forward to a new creation, we can also look forward to a new relationship. Reading on in Revelation 21, it says and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God.
Tyler Lynde:How many of you know that God is not just interested in inanimate objects, he's not just interested in creating something and letting it be. God is interested primarily in relationship. God is a relational God. That's why he is called Father. He is our Father. And Jesus himself. When he was telling his disciples how to pray, how did he begin that prayer? Not with the list of requests, but our Father in heaven. Our Father and his Son are relational beings and the spirit with them. And he has a desire. In fact, the reason why he created humanity in the first place was so that he might have fellowship with them. You might say, well, was God lonely? Obviously not. God cannot be lonely. He is content, completely content. But he desired, he had a desire to increase fellowship, and so he created humankind.
Tyler Lynde:And in the scripture we read of a time when God will not only be around us or be near us or dwell in us by his spirit, but that he will be with us. God, the father, god the son and God the spirit, will make their new home in this new heaven and new earth. It's interesting when you read the Bible, the different dwelling places of God. First we know that God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, and then he dwelt with Israel in the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and then also in the temple. And when Israel sinned towards the end of the Old Testament, we see that God even departed from those dwelling places and later Jesus Christ came to earth and dwelt among us. That was the incarnation Emmanuel, god with us. And today God does not live in human-made temples.
Tyler Lynde:How many of you know that this building isn't necessary or essential for God to dwell in? But we're thankful that because each and every one of you, who is carrying the Spirit of God on the inside of you, when you walked over the threshold of those doors on the outside, how many of you know that God came with you? The spirit of God that dwells on the inside of you came with you and all of our human spirits, informed by the Holy Spirit, as we gather together. There's a corporate presence of God that is involved in his church as well. That's why Hebrews tell us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. It's important because we experience God in a new and different way when we're able to be together.
Tyler Lynde:God created humanity, like I said, in order to have fellowship with him. That has always been his desire and his ultimate plan. But, how many of you know, unfortunately the plan was paused. It was placed on a temporary hold in the Garden of Eden. The result of the curse that came because of Adam and Eve's sin is not only that they were to be punished, but where were they sent? They were sent out of the Garden of Eden, no longer to enjoy the daily presence of their father. It says of them that they walked and talked with God in the coolness of the day in the garden, and because of their sin and because of the curse that came because of their sin, they were forced out of the garden and there were angels that were placed at the entrance of the garden with flaming swords to guard that entrance so that they would no longer be able to enter back in.
Tyler Lynde:Sin has its consequence. A holy God must deal with sin in order to remain holy, and it would be one thing if we were just talking about Adam and Eve, but how many of you know, it didn't stop with them. It went on. In fact, we are all born sinners. We are all born with a sinful nature that separates us from God. Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people. This is found in Romans 5, verse 12. Every one of us was affected by Adam's sin, every one of us. There are no exceptions, obviously, except for Jesus. One trespass resulted in condemnation for all people. Not only that, but we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all have sinned.
Tyler Lynde:Ephesians 2 describes it like this and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. My friends, all of us were born in this condition. All of us were born dead to God. All of us were born with a chasm between us and God, and we could not bridge that gap. I don't care you know how many prayers that you prayed, I don't care what you attempted to do to try to reach God, I don't know. I don't care how good your nature was or how many good things that you did here on this earth to help things and to help people. None of it is good enough to reach a holy righteous judge, a holy righteous God.
Tyler Lynde:In order for us to understand the goodness of God and salvation, we must understand the punishment and the penalty and the power of sin. There are not many churches on Easter Sunday that will be preaching about sin, but I promise you, unless you understand it, you cannot understand the glorious majesty and unbelievable truth that we've been ransomed, that we've been bought back. You see, sin has caused not just a problem, but eternal separation from God. We were dead in our sins, we were hopeless. Let that sink in for a minute. Thankfully, the story does not end there and, by the way, when I say story, this is completely true.
Tyler Lynde:Jesus is God's solution, just as we know that sin has affected each and every person other than Jesus that's ever lived on this planet. Jesus is the solution. Jesus is the savior of the world. You see, from the very moment that the curse came in the garden, there was a promise given that the one who would come to make all things right. How would he do it? He would do it by being a willing sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 9 says so. Christ has now become the high priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood, not the blood of goats and calves, he entered the most holy place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people's bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more, how much more, the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds, so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal spirit, christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
Tyler Lynde:Jesus, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. You see, jesus, the perfect son of God, god incarnate, came to this earth to represent the father in all of his glory. He lived his life in complete obedience to the father. He was tempted in every way, just like we are, yet without sin. He exemplified the kingdom of God by his teachings, his miracles and by his compassion. After being betrayed and falsely accused, and beaten and mocked, he was led to a cruel death on a cross, like a lamb to the slaughter. But make no mistake, today we are here to celebrate something more, something else, something in addition to the cross where Jesus was nailed.
Tyler Lynde:How many of you know that Jesus did not lay in the borrowed tomb that he was given for long? One day, two day, three days, and on the third day the spirit of God entered that place and he was raised to life again and he lives forever and ever. He went, he, he, he, yeah, come on, we can take a praise break, it's all right. He walked on this earth for 40 days, he was seen by over 500 people, he ascended into heaven and he was given the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father. This is the Jesus that we worship, that we praise, and the reason that we are here today and please don't forget this isn't the end of the story, because there will be a day not far from this day, when the eastern sky will split and this Savior and Lord, who was raised to life, will return to this planet, and when he returns, we will be with him, we will be made like him and we will live with him forever and ever and ever, ever and ever and ever. We can look forward to a new relationship. We also can look forward to a new experience, a new experience that goes on to say he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Tyler Lynde:If you ever were concerned about the father's heart, what does he consider a state of perfection? A life free from grief and sorrow and suffering and pain. Can you fathom with me? Can you imagine what that would be like just for one moment in time? You see, the effects of sin in this world affect our souls just as much as anything. The reality of anxiety and fear and pain and sorrow and depression and oppression, and on and on. These are things that we daily encounter, that we daily battle, that we daily endure on this planet, in this life, as a result of sin. But I am here to tell you, according to the word of God, that there will be a day when all of those things will be For some reason.
Tyler Lynde:I was thinking this week about my brother who drowned when he was two and a half years old, and so I did some research with the help of my wife, and I discovered that April 18th was the day that he passed from this life. I had never known that date before, and so then it made sense to me why I was kind of feeling this way and experiencing this, and as I've thought about it this week, you know what has come to my mind. He's doing really well, like he's doing really well, and I feel like I just want to know him. I just feel like I've been cheated in some ways from knowing him, but I'm so thankful. The Bible tells us that, for those who are in Christ, that we're going to be reunited with those who have gone before us who are followers of Jesus Christ, and we're going to be able, with those who have gone before us who are followers of Jesus Christ, and we're going to be able to spend eternity together with them. I look forward to knowing my brother Brian at this time that Revelation teaches us about. We who follow after Christ can look forward to a new experience when Christ returns. So what do we do.
Tyler Lynde:Peter preached his sermon on the day of Pentecost, and towards the end of that sermon and I'm just putting this on you I believe you're asking what then must we do? And so I'm going to try to answer that question. And the scripture here tells us what to do. There's a proper response that we give to the message of the gospel. It goes on to say and he who was seated on the throne said behold, I am making all things new. Who's speaking here? Jesus is speaking. Also, he said write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me it is done. Does that sound familiar to you? It is finished, it is done. I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life, without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God and he will be my son. Jesus, speaking directly to John, tells him to make this clear, to painstakingly get it right. Don't skip a beat or miss a word. What you have seen and heard, John, are absolutely the truth. I put my own name and reputation on it. That's what Jesus is saying.
Tyler Lynde:In the gospel book written by John, there are seven statements that he makes that are from God and from Jesus and about Jesus. These are, I am statements, and I'm not going to rehearse all of them, but in one occasion he said I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father how? Except by me. And I believe that the bookend to that statement is found here in Revelation 21, when Jesus says I am the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. You see, he is the word that was spoken in creation. Jesus is the word that brought light and life to all mankind and he is the word that is saying that all things will be made new, will be made new. Notice that these promises are made to the thirsty. Are you thirsty? Are you hungry?
Tyler Lynde:Jesus loved using the theme of hunger and thirst when talking about us recognizing our need for God. In Matthew 5, verse 6, it says Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied or filled. So how do we respond? First of all, we repent. We repent. Repentance is acknowledging that I am a sinner, that I cannot save myself and that I need a savior that is greater than I am, recognizing my need for change, my need for transformation, my need to be made new. You will not be saved outside of this step.
Tyler Lynde:Jesus himself said that we must repent and believe. The second step is to believe. That is, to put your faith, hope and trust in Jesus's sacrifice and the fact that he paid the price for all of our sins. We must believe. We must believe Not just that he was a baby in a manger, not just that he came and lived a perfect life, not just that he died on a cross and raised from the dead, but that he did those things for me. I believe in you, jesus, for me, not not my grandparents faith, not my church's faith.
Tyler Lynde:You know, we went out witnessing yesterday, a group of us, and we went to Target and Kroger and had some really interesting conversations and one of the the most interesting things that I learned about people is that they equate their faith with the church they attend. Very few of them said I'm a follower of Jesus Christ or I'm a believer in Jesus Christ. As soon as we asked, would you mind if we pray for you? They said I go to blank blank church. I go to whatever church you know I go to.
Tyler Lynde:Going to church doesn't make you a Christian. Doesn't make you a Christian. There's more to it than that. It's important to go to church doesn't make you a Christian. Doesn't make you a Christian. There's more to it than that. It's important to go to church. Please don't take that you don't need to be in church. But it's more than that. There's a recognition, there's a faith that must be applied. There's a choice that we make to put our faith in someone outside of ourselves. Put your faith in Jesus today and finally be saved. Be saved, receive the free gift of salvation.
Tyler Lynde:Can you imagine at Christmas time if there was a present under the tree that had your name on it and Christmas came and went and you never opened up the present? Was that present made available to you? Was it paid for for you? Was it deposited for you? Was it ready for you? What was the problem? You didn't receive it, you didn't open it up, you didn't accept it.
Tyler Lynde:And so many times people have a head, knowledge about God and they have an understanding about the things about Jesus, but their hearts have not been transformed. And the way for your heart to be transformed is to receive, by faith, the free gift of salvation. How many of you know that all of these steps follow the Holy Spirit of God moving on the inside of us to make what was dead alive again. We cannot properly respond to God in any of these ways unless the Spirit of God makes us able to do that. But he's here this morning doing that very thing. He's walking amongst these aisles and he's tapping on hearts and he's speaking to you and he's saying come home, come home. I have good news for you as we finish this up. We do not have to wait for a new heaven and a new earth to experience these new realities.
Tyler Lynde:How many of you know that God has provided a way, through Jesus, for us to begin to experience newness of life right here on this planet? We have been made new already. If we are followers of Jesus Christ, no longer are we under the penalty of sin and no longer are we under the power of sin. We have the ability, by God's grace, to say no to sin and to say yes to Jesus. What a gift that is given. What a gift that is given. What a way that God has intersected himself in this world that is still so filled with sin and sorrow and shame.
Tyler Lynde:2nd Corinthians, 5, 17 says therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, not a better form, not a prettier picture. Not a better form, not a prettier picture, not a whatever description you want to a new creation. You've been made brand new. Old things have passed away. Behold, the new has come. You see, when someone trusts in God for salvation, the Holy Spirit indwells them and they become a new creation.
Tyler Lynde:The believer is no longer bound by sin. We are able to please God and live in his ways, and Galatians 2.20 says it really well. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body. I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. No longer do we live for ourselves, but we live for the one who is life.
Tyler Lynde:Transformation has occurred. When Jesus said, behold, I make all things new, he's already started the process in us. Why in the world wouldn't we live like that? Why would we choose a lesser version of life? Why would we choose to focus on that which isn't instead of that which is? Why in the world would we allow everything that's around us in this world to attempt to squelch and to quiet out and to disturb the truth that should be found on the inside of us. Christ, in us. The hope of glory, the transformational power of the spirit of God that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in us as believers, and he's able to quicken our mortal bodies so that we can be true and honest and faithful to him. This is good news, my friends. It's not just Jesus that raised from the dead. We got maybe 250 or more in this room that have been raised to life again by the power of the Holy Spirit. I hope the truth of all things new makes us live with eager expectation, seeking to know him more, becoming more like him and making him known to others. I hope that our lives are affected and influenced in greater ways in the year that comes by the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our hopeful future is what changes how we live as we await Jesus coming to truly make all things new.
Tyler Lynde:Now, that would be a typical way to end the sermon, but the passage doesn't end there. There's a final warning that says but as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral sorcerers, idolaters and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. Now, before you believe a lie of Satan. This isn't talking about a person as committed one of these sins, because we all have committed one of these sins or more of these sins. This is talking about a person whose identity has not been changed, a person who has not repented of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ and received the free gift of salvation. This is talking about a person or people who refuse to put their faith and hope and trust in a living, risen Savior.
Tyler Lynde:My friends, hell is a real place and there will be, unfortunately, and there will be unfortunately, many people who will live out eternity. And you can think of hell in many different ways, and there's a lot of descriptives that we find in the scripture, but to me, the most haunting if I might use that word of all is the fact that the presence of God will not be found there. This is not religion. This is not. My parents told me so. This is not. It's socially acceptable. This is not a pretend thing or something that we just add to our lives like we add a new pair of clothes. Eternity is forever and the choice that we have to make this day is, will we choose to follow Jesus and to put our trust in him, or will we continue to follow ourselves in our own? Put our trust in our own ability to be good enough somehow to avoid going to hell? This is a somber thought and something that God didn't want us to forget, even in this passage, with such glory and joy and amazing realities of a new heaven and a new earth.
Tyler Lynde:Father, we pray today for those in this room and those that are watching online, who find themselves in the latter position, lord, that are identified by sin, sorrow and shame and they, being born dead in sin and trespasses, have not yet repented of their sins and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and been saved. And, father, we pray that today would be the day. We ask that, by your power and your might and by your spirit, that you would awaken those who find themselves asleep. Today, we pray that the truth of the word of God would cause there to be light and life in the deepest, darkest crevices of our hearts and our souls. Father, we pray in Jesus' name that those that you're working in their hearts. Although praying a prayer not being the means of salvation, there is a prayer to be prayed based on the work that you're doing in the hearts of mankind. So we pray that those that are experiencing this would cry out to you even now.
Tyler Lynde:God in heaven, I am a sinner, I am deserving of your judgment. I deserve to be sent to hell, but I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that he came to this earth and lived a perfect life and took my sin to the cross at Calvary. I believe that he died and he took the punishment for my sin upon himself. I believe that he was buried and that he rose again from the dead, and I choose this day to believe in him for me, for my life, for my salvation. I receive the free gift of salvation by faith. Save me, lord, save me now. Change me.
Tyler Lynde:For those of you who have prayed that prayer, thank you, thank you. Thank you for being obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for choosing to follow after him. Thank you for acknowledging the work of God inside of you to bring you to a point to where you could even acknowledge your need. Thank you. And now I just encourage you to get plugged in, be a part of a local church, get yourself alongside other people who have been walking with Jesus for some time and learn of them, learn from them. Pick up the Bible and read, and maybe read the Gospel of John, and begin to see who Jesus is and what Jesus did for you.
Tyler Lynde:See, the truest sign of transformation is not a prayer prayed, but a life changed, and so I'm going to pray also for the rest of us that might be in this room who find ourselves in differing states of disarray. I believe that there are some prodigals that are listening. You've tasted and you've seen the goodness of God and you know that what I'm saying is true this morning. But you've been running, you've been running, you've been running, but you've been running, you've been running. I ask you to stop and turn around and see the Father standing there with his arms spread wide open, ready to accept you back, to welcome you back, to embrace you.
Tyler Lynde:Father, we pray for that now, in the name of Jesus. Lord, that those who find themselves in a place of a backslidden state, lord, we pray that there would be the ability for change to come even now. Restore the joy of your salvation in each one. And, father, for all of us. Would you help us, days and weeks ahead, to not be ashamed of the light that lives within us, to not just be so longing for a time that will come that we forget for the change that's already happened, that we forget to honor you and glorify you and praise you and be thankful to you for who you are and what you've done that we.
Tyler Lynde:Lord, would you help us to be bold in our faith and our witness? Would you help us to not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Would you encourage us, lord, every day to be involved in the spiritual disciplines that we would make grace our habit and not something that we just run to when we're in desperate need. Father, I pray that the power of the Spirit of God, the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, would live in us, change us and would flow out from us to a world in desperate need. Would you just stand with me? There's gonna be a prayer team that's gonna be here in just a minute and if you have a personal request, we'd ask that you come. These are trusted people and all they want to do is pray with you and ask the Lord to meet you at the point of your need. Also, if you did ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord today, we want to know about that, not so that we can broadcast it or embarrass you, but so that we can pray with you, walk with you on this exciting new journey. This is exciting.
Tyler Lynde:The Bible says that heaven rejoices when one person commits their life to Jesus Christ, and we want to rejoice with you. And the next step is baptism. We're having baptism coming up in May and we'll be talking about that in the weeks to come. I'm just going to pray a blessing over you and send you out this Easter to shine the light of Jesus. Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace In Jesus' holy, matchless, mighty name. Amen, amen. Happy Resurrection Day. God bless you guys.
