Elmhurst CRC

Sunday Message - Is Your Life Too Safe? Then Rip a Hole In Someone's Roof!

June 26, 2022 Elmhurst CRC
Elmhurst CRC
Sunday Message - Is Your Life Too Safe? Then Rip a Hole In Someone's Roof!
Show Notes Transcript

Dr. Lawton Searcy

SPEAKERS

Lawton Searcy

 Lawton Searcy  00:00

Good morning. I hope and pray that you realize the blessing you have here. in Elmhurst, my goodness, Pastor Gregg, worship team, how fast can we get you to Louisiana?

 Lawton Searcy  00:24

My guys would go crazy. My church would go crazy. We have a wonderful worship team. But my goodness, that is a worship experience. I used to always tell Ryan, as a matter of fact, I told Pastor Gregg on the phone. Can you hear is it doing okay is a little bit of a ring. I will just try to make sure that everyone can hear well, good, good.

 Lawton Searcy  00:50

When he told me the lead worship, I said, I hate you already. I seem to have had 40-plus years of ministry of serving with pastors and following pastors that were so blessed in the area of music and worship leadership. In my years as a pastor, when I would ask someone to come and fill my pulpit, it would always be two thoughts. Do I get someone that is really, really good? Someone, that I really know can preach the word stir lives? And after he leaves, my people would say, why are we putting up with you?

 Lawton Searcy  01:28

Or intentionally get someone that was so awful, that when they left by folks would say thank the Lord, we've got you. So pastor Gregg, I'm not sure which motivated you. I guess only time will tell. But did they thank you so much, Pastor Gregg, and oh, my goodness, what a weekend we've had. Amy and Jerry and Karen and Gary and John and so many others, Matt. Yep. You all have just been awesome. We feel like royalty.

 Lawton Searcy  02:01

As a matter of fact, this morning, Rhonda woke up and said, If I lived here, I would join this church obediently.

 Lawton Searcy  02:08

And I do hope this is not the last time we're together because you have made an indelible impression on my life. And thank you so much to the team that came down just before COVID hit. And I spent some time with our men, we all fell in love with one another immediately, and I really did not fully realize how many of the men were at my prison. They had been actually transferred from Angola, which is a Louisiana State Penitentiary facility is about 6000 inmates, we have about 2100 inmates at our facility. But we're only about an hour and a half apart. And so many of our guys knew Elmhurst and met them at a goal and then through some things that I think God orchestrated and worked out to where you know, Angola was closing down, they were able to come to HUT, and we fell in love immediately. And everything is opening back up for us. Your team will be there in August, and you bring as many people as you want, we would love to have you in Baton Rouge, and the love to have you come in and meet my guys who are there in the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. And you're probably saying, I'm not sure I want to walk into a maximum-security prison with 2100 adult men and meet them.

 Lawton Searcy  03:36

I didn't think I did either. To be very candid with you. And in the message and in the time of God and I don't want to keep you long. I know there are wonderful people that are working with the children and those in the nursery and I want to be cognizant of time. And I kind of vacillate do I talk strictly about prison ministry? Do I share a message? Do I do a little bit of both? But I think I want to share just as we go through this a little bit about what brought me into prison ministry because I think it will have an impact on your life. To understand we have to have a new view of what is happening in the prisons across the United States, and a new view of criminal justice. Because to be candid with you in the 40-plus years that I served as a pastor, the last thing on my mind was prison ministry. As a matter of fact, I had only been inside a prison one time in over 40 years. And as I look back, I wonder how in the world I pastored a church of 5400 members with a multi-million dollar budget and we had no prison ministry. We had seaman's ministry, we had ministered to the African American community, and the deaf community, and we had a ministry to the Hispanic community, but we were doing nothing in prison ministry, and through a series of events

 Lawton Searcy  04:59

I planted a couple of churches and they had been blessed through the years that all of the churches that I pastored were growing. But suddenly, when they had discovered my church was not growing, it just seemed like in Baton Rouge due to the oil industry there that more and more families were being moved to Houston. More and more families. Were going to Oklahoma to Georgia. And at the time, also, I had a son, we have three children. Rob is the oldest and we have Eric, and then our daughter, Emily. And at the time, Eric, who had been a senior, not a senior had been a baseball player at the university. They're highly touted pitcher, a big six-foot-four right-handed pitcher. And when he was 18 years old freshman he had gone there.

 Lawton Searcy  05:44

They called us in the summer, the fifth said mom and dad have made the team I'm pitching. And he said life is great. I'm having devotion every day with my girlfriend. Long story short, I had a letter waiting for him from the Philadelphia Phillies wanting to draft him. But the very next phone call was to inform us our son have been hit by a drunk driver and was rendered a quadriplegic.

 Lawton Searcy  06:10

And so at that time, we were 15 years of caring for Eric, but you would just have to meet him. He's the most incredible young man imaginable and holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration. And believe it or not, with a bachelor's degree, he owns 135 acres of crawfish ponds, which is a big deal in South Louisiana, but does a lot of speaking and I was at a point in my life where I was just really burned out. I spent 18 months wondering what in the world I'm going to do, and maybe it's just time for me to retire. I was approached by a couple of wardens - Warden Burl Cain from Angola and Warden Seth Smith, who was at the time the warden there at Hunt Correctional. They came to me and said, Will you come and take over faith-based programming for Hunt correctional and coordinate with a goal at the Bible college that is there for the inmates. The first thing I had to say to them was you're crazy. I have never had a prison ministry. I've only been inside a prison one time. And the word is Warden Smith. He said that's actually what we want. We want someone with a pastoral background. So I asked them to give me a little bit of time to think about it talk about it. They wanted to tour me through the prison. And as I walked through that last set of steel gates, who would they claim behind me? I had an experience that I will never forget. It was as if the Holy Spirit whispered right over my shoulder, you're home. I was startled. I literally turned and looked over my shoulder home. I'm inside a maximum-security prison.

 Lawton Searcy  07:52

But I took the next two or three weeks to really take a look at a passage of scripture that bothered me.

 Lawton Searcy  07:59

I hope it bothers you a little bit as we go through this message today. This is not the key scripture. I'm kind of adding this at no extra charge. But in Matthew 25

 Lawton Searcy  08:10

We found the words of Jesus "I was hungry. And you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty. And you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger you invited me and naked you clothed me I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me? Then the righteous will answer when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty? give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or naked clothed you? When did we see you sick or in prison? He come to you? The King will answer and say "Truly I say to you to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers the least of mine. You did it to me."

 Lawton Searcy  08:55

And I said Father, I have had closed closets, food pantries, we've done food drives. We have hospital ministry, every staff member has an appointed day of the week to go to the hospital. But I said there's one thing I have never done. I have never made a concerted effort to go into a prison. And if you will just give me a little time. I'm committing to you. I'll do it.

 Lawton Searcy  09:19

What I've discovered inside those prison bars, be the person who had grown up with this and listen to this and see if you've ever heard it before. Lock him up and throw away the key. You ever heard that? If you did the crime do the time. Ladies and gentlemen, we're wrong. It didn't work.

 Lawton Searcy  09:41

Over 85% of the incarcerated people in this country will end up back on the street which means I could help an inmate in my cellblocks. Then when he reaches his spinach time when he is fulfilled all of his time even if he isn't a maximum-security cellblock, we by law have to release him and two hours later, he can be standing inside a store at a checkout line next to your child.

 Lawton Searcy  10:12

So if we don't do something while they are there, what we are doing in the words of Warden Cain, if we do not change a man's character, We merely want to educate inmates, all we're doing is creating a smarter criminal.

 Lawton Searcy  10:30

And here's what really clinched it for me. I looked at it and I realized when Jesus said I was in prison, you visited me. These are men, Jesus loves. These are men that Jesus died for. These are men and women that matter to God. And if they matter to God, they matter to me.

 Lawton Searcy  10:53

And to 2014, I answered that call eight years ago, and let me tell you, you may think I'm crazy. I'm having the time of my life. I have fallen in love with a bunch of criminals,and crooks, and I get to see God do things that you cannot even begin to fathom. Because of those men, what I discovered was that over 70% of those men grew up in a fatherless home. Over 85% of the men that I work with over 85%, and all probability, over 95% of them have had some type of traumatic event in their life that has caused them to think the way they think and act the way they act. And the shocker that really hit me was the fact that we have in United States prisons at this time, over 225,000, honorably discharged veterans. I had over 60, just in prison alone. And it's way to launch, only the third PTSD program launched in prisons in the United States.

 Lawton Searcy  12:14

As we got into our trauma healing, that's the first thing we do before we put them into PTSD. We go through five days of trauma healing, to see the change in the Amma word and finally allowed me to bring all of our veterans into one dorm, and to create a veteran's mentorship program. Now, what does all this mean to you? Is it just a neat story?I hope in about the next 15 to 20 minutes, maybe I can change it into a life-changing event for you the way it was a life-changing event for me. And that does not mean you need to go inside a maximum security prison.

 Lawton Searcy  12:53

But here's where we really start to understand this. What I came to realize was that through my 40-plus years of ministry, I had really been in a very safe place. I had large staffs. I had people that were doing this doing that you lead the children's ministry, you lead this ministry, you lead that ministry now yell their stress. The closest I ever came to committing the crime was when I was a youth pastor. And I had a teenage boy to tell me, he said,

 Lawton Searcy  13:25

"Mow the lawn Now I want to be a pastor Sunday. And I said, really just excited. He said, "Yeah." He said, "I want a job like yours where you only work on Sunday and Wednesday."

 Lawton Searcy  13:38

Pastor Gregg, I wanted to choke him to death. But I did not. I did not. Ollie just pronounced a curse on him. No, I'm kidding. I didn't do that.

 Lawton Searcy  13:55

Let me share with you this way. James chapter two. Beginning in verse 70. James wrote these words. In the same way, faith by itself is, if it is not accompanied by action dead. But someone will say you have faith I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds. And I will show you by faith by by deeds. You believe there's one God good even the demons believe that-and shudder.

 Lawton Searcy  14:26

For way too long in my Christian journey, it was almost like faith was something that was bottled up somewhere. And then if I really, really trusted Jesus, and if I really tried to live a good, moral, upstanding life, that God would just pour more and more and more faith into me that this person had a lot of faith this person to have little faith and they're always those idolized because of their faith. But faith is not something that is bottled up inside. Faith is a life commitment. It is a mindset that causes you to say what you say, and do what you do. Faith has to find itself realized in life actions. And Jesus so wonderfully illustrates that for us. It Luke chapter five by his story, he tells a story that's come to me a lot in my life, and I will share with you the story. And then we'll kind of move quickly to illustrate why this story is so important to you into me into the cause of Christ in this crazy world that we're living in. beginning of verse seven, one day he was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem in the power of the Lord. And this is important. The power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. At this time, we're not healing is not taking place. But James wants us to understand the power to heal was there to heal both physically and to heal spiritually. picking up in verse 18, and subnet we're carrying on a bad man who was paralyzed, and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of him. But not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd. They went up on the roof. It led him down through the tiles with a stretcher, into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. In other words, they put it right in Jesus's feet.

 Lawton Searcy  16:38

Now, verse 20, Sing their faith, he said, friend, your sins are forgiven you. The scribes and the Pharisees begin to reason saying, Who's this man who speaks blaspheme? Who can forgive sins, but God Lo, loving words only God can forgive sins? But Jesus aware of the reasonings answered and said to them, Why are you resting in your heart, which is easier to say, Your sins have been forgiven you or to say get up and walk, but so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive since he said to the paralytic, I say to you get up and pick up your stretcher and go home. Immediately, he got up before them and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God. And they were filled with fear saying, we have seen remarkable things today.

 Lawton Searcy  17:40

There is a certain element of a myth in America. And I think the COVID crisis over the last two and a half years is added to it. That is the idea of always being safe and not say safe is not good. You need to be safe. You're looking at the most accident-prone person in the world, correct, Rhonda? If there's any way I can hit my head on something, I will find a way to do it. It's just ridiculous how many times that has happened. So every time I'm doing something my wife and my children say to be Be careful. Watch your head, watch your head

 Lawton Searcy  18:24

A matter of fact, with Eric's handicap truck has a door that lifts up kind of like a spaceship. And I've hit my head probably, you know, 100-150 times on it. And he always says Dad, watch your head? Dad, watch your head? So you know, we wear helmets when we ride our bicycles. I never did that. When I was a kid in rural Alabama. Where I where I grew up. We didn't you were a sissy if you wore a helmet, Okay. And now you know we wash our hands and and there it's kind of spilled over even into our churches. Now I'm gonna pastor logo. I love this facility. This this facility is laid out I actually did my doctoral project on how churches design and implement building programs. This building is laid out beautifully. Man it's awesome. You've got theater chairs to city and the lighting is perfect. The sound is perfect. The temperatures perfect. But so many times through the years I have heard it. Pastor sure was hot in there they pastored service with too long pastors too short. Pastor don't like the color of the carpet wish the chairs were softer. I wish we had a little more room. We are all about comfort. But is there a possibility that on the spiritual side of things and probably on the physical side of things, as followers of Christ, we're playing it way too safe.

 Lawton Searcy  19:50

Now, breaking the story down as we go into it, understand this when your faith. I have faith it is something you do, is placed completely in the life of Jesus. I love the lyrics of the songs about Jesus in our veins, your life would never be the same. We've said that 1000 times as pastors, you come to Jesus, your life would never be the same. I'm learning to add a little bit to it, not only will it never be the same, it will never be safe again.

 Lawton Searcy  20:28

And here's what I'm talking about. Faith that rips holes in roofs, to get our loved ones to Christ is a dangerous way to live. But it is the only way for true believers to follow Christ. Two sets of people we got to look at, first of all, the Pharisees and the scribes, religious people were sitting around Jesus playing it safe. Now, it was customary during that time, and in that culture, that the teacher would be seated. And that the students in those listening would be standing. It was a sign of honor. But it's very clear in the story that the Pharisees and the scribes were what they were sitting for still awake, follow me, they were what city, which meant, number one, Jesus, we're on your equal. And number two, we're here to investigate you and challenge your claim to be the Son of God. So in all honesty, it's a symbol of disrespect.

 

Lawton Searcy  21:35

And remember, it said that the power to heal within the room, yet they have no recognition of the power that is there to change their lives. And those around them. The Pharisees actually recalled the dividers. In other words, they divide the word in order that they can make sure everyone was following both the written word that they had at that time, which was five books, as well as the oral tradition.

 

Lawton Searcy  22:03

But also, they were not allowing anyone else into the house. They get so crowded around Jesus, that they would not are not allowing anyone else to even approach him. A number of years ago, I had the incredible honor and privilege of spending a week preaching through the churches in Ukraine. My heart is devastated over what is happening in the Ukraine.

 

Lawton Searcy  22:30

I was amazed at how those people when they came into their churches, always made sure that those who were coming for the first time those who they were trying to lead to Christ always got the best seats. They always have to get right down near the front. In order there they they were hoping, praying that their friend would come to know Christ. But they were not really allowing there was such a crowd, they were not allowing anyone into the house. Everything and everyone you're comparing is saying is everything according to what I believe how we worship what we believe.

 

Lawton Searcy  23:11

So somehow, the religion itself and become the god and there's no real relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus basically in too many ways. In our day and age has become a lucky charm for life. A ticket to the next life, but no real life for the present. I was sharing a few moments ago with someone that five or six years ago I spent three months doing an in depth study of the crucifixion. I realized how in the world I had achieved and doctorates degree is aware of the crucifixion. I knew the basic facts, but I had never studied the crucifixion. To study the crucifixion will absolutely rip your heart out about what Jesus went through and what the Romans were actually doing to the Jewish people, and specifically to the Christians.

 

Lawton Searcy  24:17

So we live in a world where so often the cross is seen as something decorative, and all the pain and sacrifice for which it it truly represents.So these people were in the very presence of Jesus, the power to heal was there in every imaginable way. But they never experienced any of it because they're playing it safe. But what about the faithful? What about the four men that bring their paralyzed friend? They were on a mission and a dangerous mission at that. They wanted to find a way to get through the crowd and get their paralyzed friend in front of Jesus, which meant those for me, it had to have a very profound faith and trust that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be. And the band who's on the stretcher, had to in some way, be a part of that and say, I know I may not get get up and walk. But guys, I'm with you take me, because there's no record that he is objecting in any shape, form or fashion.

 

Lawton Searcy  25:28

But here's what is what is so important. Ladies and gentlemen, when you get involved in reaching out to other people, wanting to help them find what you have found in Jesus Christ, whether it's a believer or a non believer all fit, it's going to be a dirty business. When I went into that prison, I had all kinds of people asking me, How do you do it? Don't you? You know, do you feel safe? I feel safer about prison than I do on the streets. And that that is a true statement. I had I had a pastor that they wanted to take a look at prison ministry and I cleared him at the gate got him into the parking lot. He stepped out of his car. And the moment he stepped out of his car, he began to look around. And he said, I am freaked out.

 

Lawton Searcy  26:19

I said about what he said, man, aren't you freaked out? We're inside a maximum security prison. He said those are those are prisoners over there. Let's see, yeah. God loves him, just like he loves being you. He said, I don't know how you do. And he said, I'm freaked out. I said, Pastor in all probability, you need to go home. This is not the place for you. But even with Christians, through the years as a pastor in counseling, and being beside Lud woods, to stand there counseling with a young man that has a gun in his hand, and you're pouring everything you can into him to say, Look, I know your wife has left, she's taken your two children, but you've still got a lot to live for your kids are going to need you. And then suddenly you see his finger do this on the gun. And stuff plus a business. Life is filled, as we've talked about with trauma. But God cause we as believers, to not only deal with what we're dealing with in our lives, but we experienced the healing that was present in that room that day, to share that healing. And sometimes it's a dirty job, you've got to rip a hole in someone's roof, just like God ripped a hole in my roof through those two words, to show me that God loved 2100 men that were locked up behind bars. They needed someone to love them.

 

Lawton Searcy  28:00

It can be an awfully dirty business. 97% of the women that we have surveyed in our women's prison have had some type of abusive or sexual trauma.This been forced on them in their lives, over 85% of our men, some type of trauma and I want to tell you,a bet you 95 to 100% of you have either gone through traumatic experience, your inner traumatic experience, or it's right around the corner and it affects your life.

 

Lawton Searcy  28:48

It took me 20 some odd years that our son was paralyzed 23 years ago. It took me about 19 to 20 years going through trauma healing class to realize that when the phone rings at night, always panic because that's when we got the call about Eric hit by a seventh time DUI offender. To this day, when I looked at my phone in my about my wife's name pops up that she's calling me I do a flashback because 18 months ago, I was finishing it was a beautiful morning 830 In the morning, I had just completed the front porch of our little camp. We have a little place we still have an Alabama old family farm. And I taken a picture and I was texting my daughter first sunrise on the porch first sunrise on the new porch. But I found it odd she was not answering me so the phone rang and I saw Rhonda grabbed it up. I said Robin you admit she said Get your bags come home.

 

Lawton Searcy  29:54

They just found Emily she's not breathing. Halfway to Baton Rouge They told me my daughter was home with the Lord. Folks, trauma is real. And in the words of my paralyzed son,God never said you're exempt.God never promised to be it wouldn't happen to be.We've got a job to do. We've got a task to do. And understand this. They faced a crowd that they those four men carrying their friend faced a crowd that would not let them through.

 

Lawton Searcy  30:40

But they found a way through. They climbed up on the roof, there's actually those types of homes that they have a John Wood middle stairway that went around the side of the house and up on the roof. They said, Let's go to the roof, we'll find a way. What is safe, but they did it. When they got to the roof, they said, How are we going to get down to Jesus?

 

Lawton Searcy  31:02

Fellas, there's only one way we got to cut a hole through this thing.And they went to kick in and scratching. Did I dare to say every one of them had dirty fingernails and bloody knuckles by the time they got through that ceiling. But they do we've got to lower our friend down to the feet of Jesus before He ever rises up.It was safe, but they did it is they held on to those ropes one safe, but they did it.

 

Lawton Searcy  31:32

The only thing they did save that day was to totally depend upon the trust Jesus. That in fact, there's a wonderful passage out of Romans eight. If God is for us, who can be against us who did not spare His own Son. They gave him up for us all how will he not also among with him graciously give us all things who will bring any charges against those who God has chosen? It is God who justifies Who then is the one who condemns no one. Christ Jesus who died more than that he was raised to light is it the right hand of God? And it's also interceding for us Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, the sword? For your sake we face death all day long were considered sheep being led to the slaughter. No it all things were more than what conquerors we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the president nor the future or any powers need their height, depth, anything else at all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

 

Lawton Searcy  32:49

Fighters. Conquers better. So appreciate what Pastor Gregg had to say a few moments ago. Because one of the greatest weapons we have this love, obviously young, pastoral, small rural church in Alabama. I preached the sermon one Sunday that I knew, if Billy Graham could get his hands on it, he would be jealous of it. He was the greatest servant ever heard.

 

Lawton Searcy  33:17

We were newlyweds and got the card and started home and kind of stuck out the chest and waited for the accolades, fraud to sit there and did not say one word. Finally. I said, Well, what did you think of the sermon? She said, I didn't like it.

 

Lawton Searcy  33:36

I said, What do you mean, you didn't like it? She said, Because you preached it. Angry.You didn't preach it out of love.I want to tell you, I was so convicted. My new bride was exactly right. And I've tried with everything that is within me, no matter how difficult the message may be to bring it in the spirit of love, and passion.Those are the weapons God has given us to rip the roof off of someone's life, to allow God to rip the roof off of our life in order that we can have that relationship with Christ that allows that healing power to transform lives. It's dependent on the truth of God's word, not a political party, but the truth of God's Word, His love and a passion that he gives us. So in all candor, is following Jesus safe, yes and no.

 

Lawton Searcy  34:34

No, it's not safe, because he's going to strike you. He's going to ask you to do things. There are some of you in here right now that probably have no idea. But you're going to end up down there by prison and not as an inmate. You're going to come with the with the mission team. And you're going to come down here and you're going to meet some of the most incredible guys. You'll imagine. Well, you're going to say I had no idea.

 

Lawton Searcy  34:58

Now do we have Don't they need to stay there the rest of their lives? Yes, indeed, I'm not foolish.I'm not foolish.There are some of you that need to go home and talk to a neighbor. Sometimes you need to sit down and have a talk with your children, you need to rip the roof off, and be transparent and tell them the truth about what Jesus Christ has done in your life, what he is doing, admit some of your shortcomings. And tell them that they can be more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens them. It may be serving in the children's area. It may be working with the children this week. But I promise you so where there's a roof waiting for you. Let me close with this. My goodness, I'm going to go so over. There's something interesting about the story that I read you. It said that when the day was over,the homeowner stood around and marveled at what they had seen.

 

Lawton Searcy  36:13

Now keep that thought in mind. For years to go ahead, a young man by the name of Jacob, I cannot share with you his last day. Jacob came to our prisoner, good looking kid.You'll know what I'm doing. He was buffed on me. And he's got arms this big around about this tall,not an ounce of fat on his body. And not a smile on his face. He was tough.And just about every time I saw Jacob, that old expression, he was high as a kite. If there was a drug inside the prison, he could find it. So he was how Mojo every time I'd see him. He was very, very involved in the Islamic community. They're not speaking anything against the bustles. I'm just saying he was very involved in the Islamic community. He was very violent young man.

 

Lawton Searcy  37:20

But another one of our guys that God was transforming him developed a relationship with Jacob. And I began to bring Jacob by to see me. And we got Jacob in our veterans dorm as a mentee. We allow non veterans to come in, but they have to consent to be mentored by a veteran. And I told Jacob, Jacob wants you to come by once a week, come by my office. So he started coming by the office. Finally, one day all the circumstances were right. And I said, Jacob, if you died right now and stood before the Lord. And He said to you, Jacob, why should I let you into by Heaven? What would you say to it? Well, I'm trying to be good. I'm trying to send you find that in the Bible. And that would be wonderful. But it's not there.

 

Lawton Searcy  38:16

There's only one way to be saved only one way to go to heaven, only one way to have eternal life. Only one way and that's inviting Jesus Christ into your life, and totally surrendering him. Jacob looked at me and he said, Doc, that is exactly what I want to do. That young man had dropped Vanson please pray. I want to pray. I want Jesus in my life. We prayed. After he prayed, I said, Hey, you would call your mom and his mom was a just a don't fire believer. Her heart had been broken. We called his mom up and when she got on the phone, all she could do and just y'all excuse me, I'm from the Deep South. All she could do was not in slobber. I'm so happy. She couldn't even speak. But Jacob looked at me said  will you baptize me? I said absolutely. I said let's do it. Next week was set up the baptistry in the chapel, we get a group of the gods that really support you. So the day came to baptize Jacob, Jacob came got me said, Doc, everything's ready. Jacob's got owner robe and I went in to speak to him for a baptize if he had a big ol blackand a cut on his cheek.

 

Lawton Searcy  39:29

And I wouldn't say what in the world happened to you? That's just my nature. You know all the guys that seesaw, I'll ask. But it's like the Holy Spirit told me Shut your mouth. Don't say one word. We had a beautiful baptism service, videotaped it for his mom.And it's when the Baptist baptism was over.The head about veterans group came to my office and he said dog did you notice? Jacob had a black eye? I see. Yeah, it's kind of obvious. I said that I want him to ask him, but I just felt this incredible spirit me that said, Don't ask him. You said, Doc, thank goodness you didn't. He said, Because this morning is he was coming down to walk to be baptized.What is of the other Muslims stepped out in front of me and said, Jacob, where are you going? You said, I'm going to be baptized. And when he did, he laid him out.

 

Lawton Searcy  40:30

He said, Doc, after he hit him, Jacob gathered himself together, came straight to the chapel, straight into the water. And I wonder how many believers are willing to live that dangerously? I'm so glad God led Chadli. And let me be one of those that helped claw the dirt out to get Jacob in front of Jesus. And now he is absolutely on fire. I cannot wait for you all to meet Jacob. He will He will set you on fire with his passion for Christ in his humbleness. And I'll leave you with this thought and when I do, Pastor Greg Oh, to turn it over to you. Let him close this service out as he sees fit.

 

Lawton Searcy  41:23

That night.The homeowners had no stood there looked up the hole in the roof.said Man. Can you believe what we saw today? Jesus is teaching he just got come still with robes title four quarters of an old blanket. In this paralyze God, we've seen him for years. He lands at the feet of Jesus and Jesus says, Your sins are forgiven. Braza. And you know we had to do both. If he can forgive sins, He can heal. If you get healed, he can forgive sins. If he cannot forgive sins, He can't heal. If you can't heal, you can't forgive. You need to do both. Or you can do none that Jesus basically did. Did you see him and then he got up and he he walked out the door. That door he came through that hole without that door? Boy, his friends ripped a hole in the roof in his life would never be this be the same?

 

Lawton Searcy  42:35

When we're all gone from this earth, is there going to be anyone left behind that said, you know, God really used duck to rip a hole in my roof. And I got placed at the feet of Jesus and my life's never been the same. What about you? Have you ever lived dangerously enough? To stand beside someone grieving someone going through family problems, someone being abused, someone that's dealing with substance abuse, someone that is dealing with going to prison in prison, someone is dealing with a terminal illness. And you need this is going to make me really stretch myself. But this person needs healing.

 

Lawton Searcy  43:26

I'm taking Jesus. I don't care how dangerous it is. Ladies and gentlemen, please. We may be separated by hundreds of miles. But we serve the same God in the same kingdom. But we got the same mission. And that's to rip somebody's roof open so they can find the man with the power to heal. Let me pray with you, Father, thank you, these wonderful people and impatient to allow me to take their time this morning stretch this service a little longer than I anticipated. But Father, we're here about your business. It's not about playing it safe. It's about releasing the healing power that you have provided because of an empty tomb.

 

Lawton Searcy  44:19

We're not Christians because we belong to a church. We're not Christians because of a certain certain theology that we have. Father, in all honesty, there's only one reason that we're Christians. It's because right outside of Jerusalem, there is an empty tomb. A place called Golgotha, the place of the skull.That father not only your word, but history documents. There was a man that walked out that tube just like the paralyzed man, he walked out the door healed, but Jesus walked out as the savior of the world. Thank you. Father nail made those who need that experience that healing power. open their hearts and say Jesus come to you. I bring it all to you. Heal me, forgive me. I know the tomb is empty. But I know that your spirit is filling my life. Father, may we all make the decision that whatever we face when we leave this place that we will put aside all those safe plans and be willing to live dangerously. In the name of Jesus Christ. And Father, we ask it all in your name and for your glory.