Renewed Vision

Dr. Tim Rivers | July 20th, 2025

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Could you stand to your feet, let's go to Mark chapter 8, the book of Mark chapter 8. We're kicking off a new series today. I don't know how long it'll go, but I just kind of felt it stirred up. And so the next several messages are going to follow this theme. And the new sermon series is called Renew. Now, if you've been around for the last six months, you know that at the beginning of the year, we had a series and we kind of set the course for this year. We said the theme of this year for our church is called The New and how God wants to do something new in your life. But over time, how many have ever bought a new car and you're like, man, this thing is amazing. After about two years, you're like, it ain't new anymore. Right? And what you have to do is sometimes you don't get something new. You have to renew the thing that once was new. And so that's what we're going to talk about for the next little bit. Mark chapter 8, verse 22. Here it goes. And they came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. And when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, do you see anything? Could you imagine if our altar ministry team? What's the problem? I need healing. Gotcha. And he looked up and said, Jesus asked him, do you see anything? It's interesting. Do you see anything? And he looked up and said, I see people, but they look like trees walking. Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. Somebody say again. And he opened his eyes. His sight was restored. Somebody say restored. And he saw everything. Check this out. Clearly. And he sent him to his home saying, do not even enter the village. Do not even enter the village. Here's my title for today. Renewed vision. Renewed vision. Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, it's time to get renewed vision. Look at your other neighbor. Other neighbor.

It's time. Look him in the eyeballs. Look him right in the eyeballs. Say it's time for a new vision. Ah, got you. Renewed vision. Lord, we're so grateful, so thankful to be in your house. I pray, Lord, that you would help us receive a word from you. Give us ears to hear, a heart to receive, a mind to understand what you would say to us. Help us to take this word, ingest it, and help the word of God to grow and be fruitful in our lives. We give your name the praise, the glory, and the honor because you are worthy of it. In Jesus' name, amen.

 You can sit down. Renewed vision. I love the gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. I love reading the gospels because the gospels are books that are written from a human perspective. And what I love about the gospels, you know, we read the gospels and we sometimes think that these were scribes that were writing the gospels down as it was happening in real time. But most of the gospels were actually written much later after Jesus' ascension. And they were written as the writers were recollecting what they had experienced, what they had seen Jesus do. What I like about the gospels is that they're very much human. You learn a lot about the writer of the gospel based on how they write, what their style is, what they focus in on, what they put their attention to. For instance, Matthew, the first of the gospels in the lineup, he is very much interested in teaching us that Jesus Christ is the Messianic King. And he wants to demonstrate that to us not just from a divine perspective that Jesus is Messiah, but he also wants to focus in on just from a human genealogical perspective, Jesus is in the lineup.

 This is why Matthew, when he begins his gospel, he writes the genealogy. Anybody ever struggle through the names of genealogies? We read it and we're like, why does this even matter? And it does matter because what Matthew is trying to demonstrate is not only is he divinely the king, but also he is in the line of King David. So from a genealogical standpoint even, historically, he is the Messianic King. Then you take a writer like Mr. Luke. Luke is a physician. He's very intelligent. He's very detailed. And so when you read his writing, he hyper-focuses on not just the gospel, but that the gospel is for everybody. He loves to focus in on the marginalized or those who are kind of on the outskirts. So I love Luke for that reason. And then you have John. John is probably, I wouldn't say Luke is one of my favorites because I like that he writes historically and he's very specific. But John is also one of my favorites because John is theological. John likes to go a little deeper. He doesn't want to just tell you about Jesus. He wants to tell you about the inner workings.

He almost wants to confuse you a little bit. That's why he says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And we're like, what? How are you going to start a book like this? Then he clarifies, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And so he's given us this deep theology about the divine nature of Christ. Then you have Mark.

Mark is one of the synoptic Gospels, the synoptic Gospels being Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But Mark is a much different writer than Matthew or Luke in that Mark focuses really on the miracles. And Mark's point in his Gospel is to highlight as many miracles as he can quickly in succession. It's like the highlight reel of Jesus' ministry. He wants to tell you about this miracle and that miracle and this miracle and that miracle. And what's unique about Mark is that he uses this Greek word called euthys, which is translated to mean immediately or at once. So Mark, when he writes, when you read the book of Mark, you will see this word over 40 times, immediately, straight away, at once. And the reason why he does this is because Mark moves with urgency in his writing. Mark was written around 67 AD. So remember, a lot of times we think, oh, it happened right away. No, in 67 AD is when Mark was writing this, three years before the destruction of the temple. Now remember, Jesus warns his disciples. He says, listen, there's going to be a destruction of the temple that happens.

Now, they start moving in urgency. That's why the book of Acts is so full of urgency, right? Because they feel like they're not just living in the last days but the last hours. So he's writing with urgency. In fact, when you look at Mark's writing, he starts off in Mark 1, verse 10, with Jesus' baptism. Jesus comes to get water baptized. John looks at him and says, hey, I can't even take your sandals off. Jesus says, you've got to baptize me. John says, fine, I'll do it. He baptizes him, and the Bible says that as Jesus is coming out of the water, that the heavens open up, the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and it says it happens immediately. In Mark 1, verse number 18, Jesus is walking down the shoreline, and he sees some disciples, some potential disciples, mending their nets. And he says, hey, listen, if you follow me, I'll make you fishers of men. And the scripture says that they leave their nets immediately. Mark 1, verse 31, Jesus is at the house of Peter's mother-in-law, who is sick with fever, and she looks like she's about to pass.

And yet Jesus stops in, he grabs her by the hand, he lifts her up, and the Bible says that the fever broke, and she was healed immediately. Mark 2, verse number 12, Jesus is walking down, he sees a paralytic who is wanting a healing, and Jesus looks at him and says, hey, listen, just you're forgiven, take up your bed and walk. And the Bible says that he grabs his bed, he gets up immediately. Mark 5, verse 29, there's a woman with the issue of blood, she hears that Jesus is passing by. She sees her opportunity, she runs, she touches the hem of his garment, Jesus stops and says, power has left me. The Bible says that she was healed immediately. Mark 6, verse number 5, verse number 42, there is a leader in the synagogue, his name is Jairus, his daughter is dead. They're in the room, they're mourning her death. Jesus walks in and says, stop your crying, she's sleeping. They're like, yeah, right. He's like, yeah, watch this. He grabs her by the hand, the Bible says she gets up immediately. Mark 6, verse 51, Jesus is walking on the water, the storm is raging, the disciples think they're about to die. 

Jesus walks on water, and the Bible says that he gets in the boat, he looks at the tempest and the storm, he says, peace be still, and the Bible says that the sea ceased immediately. Mark 7, verse 35, there's a man who is deaf, Jesus touches his ears and his tongue. The Bible says that his hearing and his speech return to him immediately. Mark 9, verse number 20, there's a man who's coming to Jesus with a son who is oppressed by spirits. He's already gone through the disciples, the disciples can't do anything. He brings him to Jesus, Jesus, can you heal him? And Jesus casts out the spirit, and the Bible says the spirit leaves the boy immediately. Mark 11, verse number  20, Jesus is walking down the road with his disciples, and they're passing by a fig tree, and they're in discussion, and Jesus notices that the fig tree has no figs on it.

So Jesus rebukes the fig tree, and the scripture says that the tree rotted from the root immediately. Isn't it interesting that God will not only add something to you immediately, he will also take things away from you immediately? Oftentimes we pray, God, come through for me! Immediately God's like, gotcha, snap! You're like, why did I lose my job that quick? Because it wasn't good for you. How many can testify that you love when God comes through immediately? How many are living, breathing witnesses of God coming through at the nick of time? Come on, there are some times in my life that I'm like, God, I need a right now word, I need a right now miracle, I need you to show up yesterday, but today will do. Right? We love when God comes through immediately. Mark loved it, that's why he wrote it over 40 times, straightway, immediately. God is a God who can answer right now. Before you leave this place, and we as preachers love to preach on the immediacy of God's supernatural power, right now! You got to put that bravado in there.

Even this very second, right? We love to talk about the immediacy of God's supernatural power, but what happens when God takes his time? Mark is writing about all these instances that happen immediately, and then we get to Mark chapter 8 verse 22, and now he has to write a miracle that takes place that doesn't follow the norm of Jesus. Because this miracle doesn't happen immediately, it actually happens in stages. It happens in process. Well, that's a curse word for most of us. Process. Proceedings. Now, why would Mark write about this story when he usually hyper-focuses on immediate miracles? Could it be that Mark noticed that this was so profoundly different that he decided, I'm going to pin this. And here's the interesting part about this particular story, it's the only, Mark is the only one that writes about this miracle. And the context is key, because remember what he says, he says they came to Bethsaida. Now, you have heard Bethsaida most likely before, because Bethsaida is a fishing village near the Sea of Galilee. It's the place where Jesus did a lot of miracles around it.

Obviously, Jesus did a lot of miracles at the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding areas surrounding Bethsaida. This is where Philip, Andrew, and Peter are from. This is where Jesus fed the 5,000. This is a place where a lot of miracles were taking place, yet Bethsaida was also a place of spiritual resistance. In fact, look at what Jesus said about Bethsaida in Matthew 11, verse 21. He says, woe to you, Chorazin, and woe to you,  Bethsaida, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre or Sidon, they would have repented long ago. So Jesus looks at Bethsaida. Bethsaida was a place that saw miracles but still didn't believe. Bethsaida was a place, a town that had eyes but no vision. It was a place that had a history of exposure without transformation. It was a place that had seen the works of Christ but they lacked conviction. They loved the miracles but they didn't love the miracle worker.

In fact, after Jesus feeds the 5,000 and he goes away, there's a multitude of people the next day that follow Jesus, and Jesus perceived that the only reason they followed him was not because of who he was, not because of what he touched, but because of the fish and the loaves. People will flock to Christ to get fed and deny him at the same time. In a sense, the entire city had a problem with vision, not just physically but spiritually, and when people continually reject revelation, they forfeit clarity. Can I say that again? When people continually reject revelation, they forfeit clarity. Bethsaida had become a place where miracles were witnessed but not honored. So this is the place that Jesus is at, right? This is the context in which this miracle takes place. Jesus comes, and then this man is brought to Jesus, and the Bible says that they come to him, they've seen all the miracles before, now they come to him, and they're begging Jesus to heal him.

Now it's interesting that they're begging and not just requesting. A lot of times when we beg, we lack faith. Begging is an indication that you lack faith. Begging is if you can, maybe, sort of. It doesn't indicate that you believe that the person you're asking actually has the power to deliver. So when you're begging in your prayers, it's an indication that you need to raise your faith. Pray from the perspective that God is able. That's not even in the notes. Mark 8, verse number 23. I want us to look at this man real quick. It says, and he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, do you see anything? Curious question. And he looked up and said, I see people, but they look like trees walking. Now I want you to notice something, that when Jesus heals him, he heals him in stages. This is the only recorded miracle where Jesus heals somebody in stages.

In every other recorded miracle, it happens instantly, immediately, and yet this time, Jesus heals him in stages. But I want you to notice something about this man. This man was not somebody who was born blind. This man wasn't someone who had never seen anything and needed something brand new. This was a man who had vision before and somehow lost it, whether through injury or disease or something happened in his life. But he was able to, at one point, see, and he lost the sight. That's why when Jesus touched him the first time, he recognized what people were supposed to look like. He knew what trees were supposed to look like. So when Jesus touched him, he said, I can see a little more than I could see before, but not as clear as I used to see when I first had sight. My vision has been clarified a little bit, but I'm still needing full restoration. This man didn't need something new. He needed to be renewed. He didn't need something new. He needed to be restored. He needed revival. He needed resuscitation. He needed to bring back something that he had lost that he had formerly. See, some of us are in that place right now. It's not that you need new vision. You just need a renewed vision.

It's not that you need God to do something new in your life. You need God to renew the thing that he already started in your life that somewhere along the way, because of trauma or because of some kind of instance in your life, because life hits you so hard, you lost your vision. And so now you're walking around blind, and you don't need God to give you new eyes. You need God to clarify what has been fogging your eyes. You used to find your own way to Jesus, but now you rely on everybody else's prayers. You used to pray for yourself. Now you go asking everybody else to pray for you. You used to walk with confidence, independent confidence, knowing who God made you to be, and now you're asking everybody else, what do you think God thinks about me? You used to have perfect clarity. God, this is what you called me to do. Lord, this is where you're leading me.

And somewhere along the way, your vision started getting blurry, and now you don't see, and now you're asking other people, please beg Jesus for me. Here's the good news. Jesus can restore lost vision. He is able, and he will give you renewed vision. So I want to walk you through this. I want to give you four ways to get your vision renewed. If you're taking notes, I would write this down. I want to walk through this passage. If you have your Bibles, keep it open. Number one, be willing to be led by Jesus. Number one, be willing to be led by Jesus. Verse number 23, the beginning part says, and he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Now I want you to know something. This man is blind. He cannot see where he is going. He is brought to Jesus by some individuals, right, who begged Jesus, can you please heal him? He gets to Jesus. Now this is very curious because generally speaking, most of the miracles that you read about in the Gospels, Jesus works the miracle in front of everybody. And the reason Jesus does that is for several reasons. One is to tell everybody, I am him. You got it right. I am the Messiah. I am the Christ.

No one can do these works but me, right? Number two, when Jesus does a miracle in the presence of other people, it actually increases their faith to believe that it can happen for them. How many times in the Gospels would the scriptures say that Jesus would heal that person and many others he healed? How many times would Jesus heal somebody and they would go and bring a multitude and Jesus healed them as well? And yet this time, Jesus grabs this man by the hand. Instead of working a miracle in front of all the people that brought this man, Jesus said, we got to go. Here's the reason. Sometimes God has to remove us from our surrounding to work on us. Because familiarity can actually be a trap. Remember what Bethsaida is. Bethsaida is the place of unbelief. Bethsaida is the place that has seen miracles, seen God work, and yet they still rejected Jesus. And so Jesus says, you know what? If I'm going to work this in your life, I got to remove you from the place that brought you blindness in the first place. This is part of God's MO. God will often lead you away from the crowd, get you by yourself to clarify some vision in your life. Remember Moses? Moses said, I got to get you out of here. I got to get you watching sheep by yourself for 40 years and then I'll talk to you from a burning bush.

Remember Joseph? I got to get you away from your family who guess what? Don't believe the vision that you have. So if I'm going to give you the true clarity of vision, I got to remove you from the people who are trying to kill the vision. Jacob had to be by himself at the Jabbok to wrestle with God. Shammah was by himself in the lintel field fighting for the Lord. Ezekiel was brought by himself to the Valley of Dry Bones. Jesus was led into the wilderness by himself. Did you know that the reason some people lose their vision, their edge, their power, isn't because God isn't offering them new revelation, it's because they're surrounded by certified vision thieves. There are some people who literally have a degree in killing people's vision. Have you ever met somebody like that? Every time you tell them, I mean, I think I'm gonna do this, this business idea, they're like this, I don't think it's gonna work. Every time you tell somebody, man, I really think that person and I, that we have a connection, oh man, they're way out of your league. Have you ever been around somebody that every time you present to them the vision that God has for you, they are certified and cutting it down? Isn't it interesting that God says I wanna give you renewed vision, but I cannot do it in the environment that has blinded you in the first place. You cannot have old connections and new vision live simultaneously together. I'm giving you permission, encouragement, it's time to delete them out of your phone, stop going to the breakfast club with them, stop following them on social media. Every time, it'd be your own people.

Well, they're family. I'll let you sort that out. Joseph had family. Abraham had family. Somebody came to Jesus and said, let me bury my family. Jesus said, anyone who's hung up on that ain't fit to follow me because you gotta be willing to leave mother, father, sister, brother, wife, because the vision that I have for you, oh Lord. Healing starts with trust. And the question is, are you willing to be led by Jesus away from the place that robbed you of your vision? How many, I'll get to that later. Point number two, submit to the process. Ooh, we don't like that one. This is what the Bible says, verse number 23, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, do you see anything? Why would the miracle worker, who does things immediately every other time, touch him and then be curious? Did it work? Think about this. Jesus, who has healed other people, touches them and is like, what about now? How you feeling? Have you ever been to a chiropractor? Isn't it interesting that after you get up, they're like, how you feeling?

You're like, no, you're the one supposed to control how I feel. And now you got me questioning. Here's the interesting part. Jesus goes about this unconventionally. He spits on the guy's eye, touches it. There's no other passage where Jesus is spitting on people. In fact, it was an insult to be spat on. He's like, and you know it had to be substantial. I'm not trying to gross you out, I'm just saying. It doesn't say spittle. It doesn't say spray. This was intentional. And it was enough for two eyes. He spits on his eyes, and then he touches it, and you know the guy's gotta be like, whoa. I can't see what's happening, but this can't be good. Here's what's interesting. Jesus asked him, what do you see? And he says, I see people, so I see better than I saw before, but it's still a little blurry. Jesus gives him partial sight. And I wonder, did Jesus give him partial sight to test if he is willing to submit himself to the process of going all the way? Sometimes God doesn't give you everything because he still wants you to be curious about him. If he gave you that house that you want, will you still go in prayer? Will you still have a dependence on him?

I do this with our children. I brought home some toys the other day, and I thought, man, I'm going to shower them with toys. And then I thought, wait a minute. I'm going to use this to my advantage. Any parents in the house? I said, if you, then. Because I know that if I give it all to them at once, and I ask them to wash the dishes, they're like, why? I got the toys. When God says, will you seek me, you're like, why? I got everything that I want. What do I go to? Because some of us are conditioned only to prayer for needs. Listen, sometimes God will give you partial words. Abraham received a partial word. Hey, listen, if you leave, then I will show you where you're going. Right? Peter received a partial word. If you leave your nets, I will make you a fisher of men. How is that going to look? It doesn't matter. Right now, I'm just giving you one instruction. I'm putting you in process. Let me tell you. The man could have settled for blurry vision because it was better than what he had before. And yet Jesus gives him the option. Hey, do you want to leave right now being satisfied with seeing people as trees, which was better than what you had before? Are you willing to submit yourself to a process of getting more? Some of us quit too early. We're too satisfied too early. Jesus is like, are you okay? You're like, yeah, that'll do. That's fine.

That's better than being blind. Right, right, right? And God's inviting you into a process. And instead of getting upset at Jesus that he didn't get a full miracle at once, he was honest. Let me ask you something. Sometimes we are tempted. We want the whole thing at once. Sometimes God puts you in process. Sometimes you have to pray for healing and take your medicine. Sometimes you can ask God to help you and go for a jog. Lord, my blood pressure. Okay. Ask God to heal you and hop on that treadmill. Am I? It's okay to ask for freedom and get some accountability. It's okay to ask for a renewed mind and go to counseling. I did a whole series on it. Do you mind? Theology and Therapy.

Oh, Lord have mercy. Let me say, are you frustrated in between? Are you willing to put yourself in process? Point number three, let Jesus touch you again. Listen, when Jesus laid, the Bible says, verse number 25, when Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. Isn't it interesting that the first time Jesus touched him, he says, do you see anything? He says, yeah, I see people. They look like trees and they're walking. And then Jesus said, okay, I'll touch you again. And the second touch gave him clarity to see everything, right? Here's this point. You got to let God touch you again. You can't stop seeking after God and settling halfway. And so many people, their relationship with God ends at the moment that they profess faith. And they don't go after him. Here's the thing. Let's use Abraham as an example. Abraham, God says to Abraham, hey, Abraham, I want to bless you. I want to do all these amazing things. I'm going to lead you to the promised land. We know the promised land is Canaan, right? So God is speaking to Abraham. Hey, I'm leading you.

I'm going to take you into great clarity. And then this is what God says. You've got to leave your father's house. Now, why is that important? Because Abraham's father, Terah, is actually from the Ur, a place called the Ur. And initially Terah was on his way from Ur to Canaan. And if you look at it on a map, here's Ur, here's Canaan. This is what Terah was doing. He was traveling up through a place called Haran, which is about halfway, and he was going to get to Canaan. But this is what Abraham's father, Terah, does. Terah gets to Haran, and guess what he does? The Bible says he settled there. So when God comes to Abraham, he says, Abraham, I want to take you all the way to true clarity. Because right now you are at partial vision, and you cannot get true clarity until you leave the environment that celebrates half vision. I've got to remove you from the environment. Your dad is, in essence, quit halfway. And I've got to get you away from the mentality that says one touch is enough. One encounter with God is enough. And Jesus says, listen, if you want me to give you renewed vision, you gotta have me touch you again.

 Don't settle for almost. I almost see what God is doing for me. No, go all the way. Point number four, last point. Leave behind what was blinding you. Now, it's one thing for Jesus to pull him away from the environment to heal him, but now look at this, verse number 26. This is after the healing. He says, and he sent him to his home saying, do not even enter the village. You know, especially if you're a parent, when you're trying to really emphasize something, you throw the word even in there. It's one thing to say, don't touch that. It's another thing to say, don't you even touch that. Because if you do, then help me God. Jesus heals this man, and he says, listen, go to your house, but go the back way. Don't even go back to the place where you were blinded. Don't go back to the place where you lost your vision. Don't go back to the place. Why didn't Jesus send him back to Bethsaida? Because Bethsaida was toxic. It was a place with no vision, with no goals, with no ambition, with no edge, with no power. And if you return back, it won't be but a matter of time where you're going to lose your vision again.

 You can't keep going back to the places that made you spiritually blind in the first place. When God gives you renewed vision, guess what? Some people, you can't go back around. Some places, you can't go back. Why? Because people sometimes love to have you blinded. Because it makes them feel like they're doing you a favor by continuously bringing you to Jesus. There are certain people that have savior complex that when you have vision, it actually is a threat to them. Because who am I, who's going to depend on me? Guess what? That's called codependence. And God don't want you to live that way. So there are some people, stop going to lunch with them. After God's clarified your vision, stop sharing it with them. They stole it once, they'll steal it again. They were okay with you being blind once, they want you blind again. And there are some places you just cannot go back to. Let me ask you this, what are the people or the places that you need to walk away from in order to maintain clarity of vision? Because your environment will affect what you see. How many people wear glasses in this house? Let me see your hands, come on.

There's a special anointing that rests on glass wearers. It's just like, we have the ability to wake up and say, I see clearly. Hold up, I see. Side note, anybody ever struggle with the option one or two? Can you go back please? Is it just me? Because I know it's permanent, once the lenses are done, they're done. I'm like, I should have picked two, I should have picked two. I'm always like, please, is there a one and a half? Can we meet in the middle?

Here's what happened in here, in this miracle. It's like people walking around without, who need glasses, walk around without glasses. And somebody out of the crowd getting LASIK, they see clearly. And they come back to the crowd of people that see everything blurry. What ends up happening is, everyone is seeing still people as trees. And now you see that there's a distinct difference between people and trees. And what happens is if you're in an environment where everyone has accepted that people and trees are the same thing. And you start saying, no they're not, it won't be long until you go, okay, maybe I'm off. And it won't be long that your clear vision actually becomes blurry again. Because you've accepted that blindness is the norm. And we live in a culture where blurry vision is the norm. That holiness is wrong. And you start questioning the principles of scripture that are black and white, that are clear 20-20. Because you're surrounded by people that it ain't that clear to me. Can you explain that again? Listen, when you have been revisioned, you cannot go to places that have no vision.

I better wrap this up. The story is not, it is about physical eyesight, but it's a powerful demonstration that Jesus gives us of a deeper spiritual insight. Because all of these principles are deeply spiritual. Because here's the thing, if you feel lost, let Jesus lead you. If your healing is taking long and you thought, trust the process. If you need clarity, ask for a second touch. Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. What did Jesus say? Wouldn't a person leave the 99 and go for the one? Why? Because there's still one out there. If there's more vision that you need, why would you not go back to Jesus?

 If you have been healed, stay away from what blinded you in the first place. Philippians 1, verse 6 says this, he who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Meaning that when God puts you in process, he is faithful to take you all the way. Are you willing to submit yourself to that process? Don't give up in the middle. Your clarity is waiting. Because it's baptism Sunday, this is even more real. Because the baptism is not just a physical thing that you do outside, but it's a spiritual demonstration. And baptism is not just a symbol, but it is an act of obedience to what Jesus taught. It's not just, oh, should I or should I not? It's a matter of, hey, if you're going to be a disciple, this is what Jesus says. Go be baptized. When he taught his disciples what to teach, he said, first of all, baptize them and teach them. Acts chapter 2, verse 38, repent and be baptized. Baptism is more than a symbol, but it's a public declaration that I once was blind, but now I see.

 I once walked in darkness, but now I walk in the light. I once had no clarity in my life, but now I have clarity. I once was dead, but now I have a new beginning. That's what baptism is. And for some in this place, you hear the sermon and you're like, man, I don't know, I got baptized as a kid. But did it mean something to you? Was it a decision that you made? Did your life truly transform? Did you give your life to Christ and then follow that with the act of baptism? If not, you should get water baptized. So we're going to pray a prayer because for some, you may not be walking with the Lord yet. Maybe you're checking out church or you've been around church and you haven't given your life to Christ. You haven't submitted your life to the King of Kings. We're going to pray a prayer, every one of us, but for some of you, it's going to be for the first time. And here's my encouragement. After we pray, your next step is water baptism, which means that right after we pray, I'm going to invite you to go outside.

There are plenty of people right now in the hallways that are waiting for you. They're going to take you back there, get you shorts, t-shirt, and we're going to get you baptized. Is that right? Can we stand to our feet? Can you bow your heads? I want you to repeat this prayer with me. For some, it will be the first time. For others, it will be, you're just doing it to help make the environment comfortable. Repeat after me. Say, Dear Jesus, I recognize my need for you. I believe you came in the form of humanity. I believe you paid for my sins by dying on the cross. I believe you conquered death by rising from the grave. I believe you are seated in heaven, ruling as Lord and King. Forgive me of my sins. Be the Lord of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I may live a resurrected life. I receive your gift and commit my life to you. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen. Come on, can we celebrate right now?