Caleb Reed: All right, let’s take our Bibles and go to Matthew chapter 27 here this evening. If you would with me, Matthew chapter 27. It is a privilege to be here with you this evening.

This is my first time in several years being at the Thee Generation Youth Summit and a privilege to be able to preach this evening’s service. Back in August, late August, I was doing a teen camp with Mukwonago Baptist. Some of you are here.

And during that week, knowing that this night was going to be coming, the Lord very clearly directed me even that night and put this message upon my heart and said, this message is needed for this audience tonight.

Tonight’s message is a message that is near and dear to my heart. For in many ways, I feel it is my own testimony, but I long for it to only continue to be my testimony. For tonight in Matthew chapter 27, we are going to be looking at the great work that Christ did on the cross.

And tonight we are not only looking at that with appreciation, but tonight we are looking at that and saying if Jesus Christ had to go to the cross to die in order for His life to matter, in order for the gospel to be given to us, then so I must also be willing to die.

The question I want to ask you here this evening is this, young people, have you died yet? All of us are alive, living, breathing people in this room, at least I hope. But I’m not asking you primarily, have you taken your life?

I’m asking you, have you given it? Have you died? Back in 2019, I was with a pastor, Pastor Stratton.

He’s here this evening. We were with him for a meeting. It was one of our very first official meetings of our launching into evangelism.

And he had invited us to come very graciously and said, if you’re going to launch into evangelism, I want to be your first meeting. I said, okay, let’s do it.

And I was grateful for that. And we traveled out there to Pine City, Minnesota and preached for him that Sunday. And I don’t remember if it was Sunday lunch, if it was Sunday evening after the service.

We got together in their home, which is always a pleasure. If you know the Stratton family, you put a whole bunch of Strattons in one house. And it just is, you know, it’s kind of like a wine toy.

You just wind it up and you let it go. And it just goes crazy. And it’s a lot of fun.

So we were there that evening. And we got talking about preachers and preachers of the past.

And I don’t remember if it was Pastor Stratton or if it was Jesse Stratton. But one of them asked me, have you ever heard of the Preach the Bible podcast? I said, no, I’ve never heard of this.

They said, well, it’s a podcast out of North Valley Baptist Church, Brother Treber’s ministry. And it’s just a bunch of old preachers on there. Harold Seitler and Lee Robertson and Lester Roloff, John R.

Rice, Jack Hiles, a bunch of just old preachers. And they said, you ought to listen to it. And I said, okay.

So I pulled it out that evening as we were driving back here to Wisconsin.

And I had remembered as I was scrolling through the names, I’m recognizing some of these names. And I said, oh man, Lee Robertson. I remember hearing about Lee Robertson.

And in college, there was people that would talk about Lee Robertson and give stories. And I thought, well, I’ve never heard Lee Robertson preach, and I want to listen to him. So my son went to sleep, and my wife went to sleep, and so I have five and a half hours there to drive.

And so I put my earbuds in, and I played the very first Lee Robertson message.

Now, if you’re familiar with Lee Robertson there at Tennessee Temple, the college there in the Highland Park Baptist Church, Lee Robertson was a man that, as I have been told, when he walked into a room, it was like, I think someone said it was like royalty had walked in. just a man of dignity. He was a sought-after preacher, and everywhere he went, people will tell you that he preached all over the Bible, but he only preached one message.

He had multiple texts, but he only had three points. And of all the points that he preached, you could guarantee he would always ask one question, and that was, have you died yet? He was preached on dying to self.

And he gave illustration after illustration of where he would talk to disgruntled people or discouraged young people or visionless teens and he would ask the question, well then, have you died yet? And as I began to listen to that Lee Roberson message, that God began to drive that question home to me. Have you died yet?

I finished the first Lee Roberson message. I had fallen in love so much with it, I found the next one. And I binge listened that night to every Lee Roberson message I could find on that podcast.

And again, as I came to the end of that drive, I couldn’t get away from the question, have you died?

I want you to look with me in our text tonight, Matthew 27, starting in verse 45, as we are going to look at just a few verses here on the death of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not just a good teacher and he’s not just a good example. Jesus Christ is our master.

Jesus Christ is our captain, and he has called us to follow him, yes, even in dying. Look with me in verse 45. The scripture says this, Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?

That is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man called for Elias. And straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink.

And the rest said, Let be. Let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went to the holy city, and appeared unto many. Verse 54.

Now when the centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly, this was the Son of God. In our text here, young people, we see Christ hanging on the cross. Christ hanging on the cross had lost everything.

His dignity was gone.

His reputation, his friends and defenders had fled. And even his most prized relationship, the close-knit relationship between him, he and his father, has just been cut off as his father turns his back on the son so that in the separation between Son and Father, we now could be reconciled. He was utterly empty and rejected by all.

And finally, in this moment, crying out, Tetelestai, it is finished. Christ’s work at that moment was done. And the payment was complete because Christ had given up his life.

At that moment, all history changed.

that is glorious the earth shook this was not a normal crucifixion was it they’d seen plenty of crucifixions and they had watched plenty of perpetrators scream curses but this was unusual to anything that they had seen and the centurions that were there that had beat his body and made fun of him are watching him and as he cries out it is finished and he finally dies, the earth begins to shake. It’s already gone dark and they don’t understand what’s going on.

At that moment, the veil was torn apart. Sin was paid for. Entrance was granted.

And only then, after the death of Christ, did the centurion come to his senses and utter the statement, truly, this was the Son of God. You see, Jesus impacted many people with his life. There were many people, scores, multitudes of disciples and onlookers, gawkers and also those who hated him who were impacted by Christ’s ministry.

But though there were some who were impacted by his ministry, some were not until he died. And as it is for all of us, it is his death and his resurrection that makes all the difference.

And it is at the moment where Christ gives up the ghost that this centurion, hardened soldier, a man used to death, used to the pleasure of inflicting pain, a sadistic soldier likely, and it is that point that Jesus finally dies and the centurion says, he was the son of God. Friends, Christ’s dying. is for us a template for our dying.

This evening as we’ve looked at this text, I want to make three simple points. In application and drawing to a verdict as we ask the question tonight, have you died? You see, young people, your life that you, you have dreams right now, I would imagine if you’re a normal teenager.

If you are a normal adult here, a grandfather here, you even now have dreams and visions for your family. Maybe you’re looking at your children and hoping that they someday become something greater. You’re looking at your grandchildren.

You’re looking at the church that God has given you to pastor. Maybe you’re a teenager here this evening and you have a desire to go on and do something great. Or maybe your desire is simply to find pleasure as Brother Bosler talked about.

But we all have visions and desires and regardless of who we are and where we’re at and what our vision is, all of that will mean nothing in eternity until we’ve been willing to die.

Let us open in prayer and ask the Spirit of God, not only to help the preacher, but to help the listener, that the Spirit of God would truly show us where we need to die. Father in heaven, I am but a man that you have called tonight to declare your message. And Father, we have come here this evening likely because truly we want to hear, we want your spirit to do your work.

But Father, I am asking that you would slice so precisely with your word tonight and that your spirit would do such a cutting work, Lord, that it would divide the thoughts and the intents of the heart tonight, Lord, that those that you have been bringing tonight for this service would not doubt at all. They would know beyond a shadow of a doubt. what decision, what dying they need to come to.

Lord, help the preacher. We’re looking to you. Lord, help the listener.

We are looking to you. We pray this in your name. Amen.

Christ’s dying. First of all, I want us to see from this text that Christ’s dying was necessary. Consider this.

If Jesus, let’s put it this way, the effectiveness of his mission on earth required his death. If Jesus, he gave up everything to complete his mission, but his work on earth was only as effective as his death. In fact, if Jesus had healed the sick and raised the dead and had broke bread by the sea, but if he had never died, he would simply be a spectacle of history.

The victory, don’t miss this, The victory of his life was his death. The purpose of his life was his death. You’ve heard the song, Born to Die.

That is not just some cute little phrase that we’ve put on there. No, that is theological.

That is saying we understand why he is coming. The whole purpose that he has come is so that he would die. Any work that Jesus did in his lifetime was accentuated, yea, was validated by his death.

Christ’s death was utterly essential to anything else being accomplished. His death was necessary in order for his life on earth to count for anything. And church, family, young people, so was mine.

My life. Young people, God has given me visions and desires and dreams for my life. And I believe they are God-given.

But young people, if this frail being is not willing to die on a regular basis. If Caleb is not allowed to be plunged behind the cross.

If Caleb Reed is not placed into the grave on a regular basis. Where his dreams, his desires, his vision, his pride, his passion, his reputation, his marketing fill in the blank. Because evangelists think a lot about marketing.

or at least we’re tempted to, it has to all die in order for the vision of God to ever be accomplished. And young people, so it is for us. So the question is, are you willing to die?

What is your vision, young person? We’re talking with a young man about a year ago. He began to share with me his desires for the future.

He said, man, I would really love to have, and he named a fancy car. I said, and then what?

Well, if I could be making six figures, okay, and then what? Well, if I could have the six figures and the nice car, and then I can’t remember what the other thing was. These things, oh, that would be so great.

I said, but and then what? He said, well, look at this person, and I think he named it Elon Musk. Look at Elon Musk, look what all he has.

Yes. And I’m not trying to be unkind, but as best we know, if Elon Musk dies today, then what? So what does your vision for your life amount to, young person, if it has not yet been brought to a place of dying?

I was at a gas station just recently.

This was, I think, two weeks ago. And I was, no, it wasn’t a gas station, excuse me, it was a grocery store. And I was standing in line to get groceries.

and I’m standing right at the end of the line, or I’ve got my groceries, checkout line is where I’m standing and there’s the magazine rack right there on my left and for one time in my lifetime, the magazine rack wasn’t filled with inappropriate clad ladies. It was actually all men on the magazine rack and so I looked here and I noticed here there’s a picture of Willie Nelson.

He kind of looks like death warmed over and I’m looking at that and I see, okay, here we got Kiss here and wow, those guys look terrible and I lean back and I think it looks like Bruce Springsteen and so I took a step back to look and see look like Bruce Springsteen. Oh yeah, that’s Bruce Springsteen. And the guy behind me in line goes, yeah, those guys got a lot of money.

And immediately I thought, oh no, they caught me looking at the rack. And then I thought, but, and I turned around and I’m thinking to myself, what is he saying? And what was that?

And he’s like, oh man, yeah, the money that those guys have.

And wow, I would love to run a day in one of their cars, or I’d love to try a day with some of their money. And I said, yeah, and then what? What happens to that car?

It rusts eventually. And what happens to that money? And eventually, the government takes over and we lose it all anyways.

And he’s like, but I’d at least be willing to try it for a little time. And I said, but, and then what? See, we have a very short-sighted view of our life, teenagers.

And I looked at Willie Nelson. I said, look, in 100 years, no one’s going to know and care who Willie Nelson is. Some of you are like, who’s Willie Nelson?

I don’t know. Don’t worry. Okay.

The truth is we are so incredibly temporal. And Jesus came for an eternal purpose. But guess what?

His eternal purpose required dying. It is necessary for his mission to mean anything. That he die.

And young people, if your life is going to make any mark on eternity, it requires your death. have you died yet? a primary application of this would be have you yielded?

your dreams your visions your passions have they been laid on the altar?

it was in this auditorium back in 2010 I came in here as a freshman and God began to deal with me well he didn’t deal with me at first first two nights I didn’t feel anything and I went to Dr. Jim and I said Dr. Jim, two nights in and I don’t feel a thing.

And he just said, well, you know, we’ll just keep trusting the Lord. And I said, okay. And that next night, I think it was that night, man, God laid me open.

I’ve given my testimony a number of times. Some of you know this testimony. God laid me open.

And there was a sin issue that I had committed that summer and it was not good and I needed to deal with it. And I was under such conviction. And so I was sitting right back here and I peeled out and I went to the back.

And John Barber, some of you know him, a pastor there, Ann Arbor. John Barber was waiting for me right by the door. And he grabs me.

We went into the radio room. It’s the security office now. It used to be called the radio room.

I don’t know what it was called before then, probably the 8-track room. But we went into the radio room and sat down there.

And he said, okay, so what did the Lord deal with you about? I said, man, this is what I did this summer. He said, oh, man, that’s not good.

And we worked it all through, and that took about five minutes. And then he said, Caleb Reed, why are you here? And I said, I’m here for one year, and I’m out.

I came here for one year because my dad asked me to. and that’s the only reason I’m here is to honor him. And that’s what I said with my mouth, but it’s not what I knew, that’s not what God had me here for.

And so he asked, why did God bring you here?

And I vocalized, God has brought me to this school because I’m supposed to be here for four years, get married, and be an evangelist. I didn’t even know really what evangelists do. I just thought that they were the best preachers, and so…

Raise the bar high, shoot for something high. That’s what I figured, you know. My mentality in preaching or missions people or ministry was if you were the best preacher, you got to be an evangelist.

If you’re not as good a preacher, then you’re just allowed to pastor. And if you couldn’t succeed at either one of those, they shipped you to Africa and you’re a missionary. Which is comical because at other ministry, I remember talking to one guy.

He’s like, wow, at our school, the missionaries, like everybody. So I don’t know what it was, but that was just how I was thinking. And, and, and, sorry.

And so he says, so why did God bring you here? And I knew why God had brought me here because God had brought me here at 18 years old to bring me to the place where I was willing to surrender all. And I told him, God’s brought me here to be a preacher.

He says, okay, so what are you going to do? And I said, I’m not doing it. And we sat there for two and a half hours.

Would you have let a counselee go?

Sometimes you should, but the Spirit of God wouldn’t let John Barber let me go. And I’m so grateful for it. And that night I died.

I remember with just disgust and frustration, because I was so sick of the wrestling in the back and the forth, and I got down there by the chair, then I said, God, I’m done fighting. I’ll be a preacher if you want me to. And it was like the vision that I, the life I wanted to have and the person I wanted to be.

It’s like someone just drove a knife through it and he collapsed there.

And I remember walking out of the room and calling my dad the next day and telling him God’s called me to be a preacher. And it literally felt like life is starting over again. Because for the last 18 years, all that I know of life, that was all about me.

And it’s all gone now. But I will tell you, young person, that night that I died is the night I began to live.

I was preaching in a church in Orlando in fact the pastor is here north of Orlando Pastor Hershenroeder preached on this topic in his church a couple years ago my wife was not in the service and we came back to his house and we’re sitting over the meal and all of a sudden Pastor Hershenroeder says Brother Reed let me tell you about the day I died my wife looks at him like what?

and I said no it’s part of the message it was okay and he gave a very similar testimony pursuing medical school very smart had the money and the scholars I believe I remember correctly to go towards it and God one night or one afternoon began to deal with him.

He sat down at the piano there with the hymnal in front of him and God, the spirit of God, began to so deal with him and he said, that day I said, Lord, I’ll stop fighting you and I’ll be a preacher. And he told me, he said, that’s the day I died.

I would guess that there are some young people in this room that you need to die to your vision and begin to live. It’s necessary. For Christ’s work to be accomplished, for the gospel to be given, he had to die and so must die.

But Christ’s death was not only necessary, Christ’s death was agonizing. Verse 45 says, Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour, and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, I’m going to jump right to the translation. He cried out saying, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Do you feel the angst in his soul? The utter separation between he and his God.

He’d started this journey of brokenness back in the previous chapter when he walked into the garden and he says, Lord, I don’t want to go to the cross. But not my will, but thine. And he came out to talk to his disciples.

He turned back in and said, Lord, I desire that if you can take this from me, I don’t want to go to the cross. But Lord, not my will but thine. He came back out again.

Turned around and went back in. Lord, I don’t want. Do you realize he went through it three times?

And then finally, when that point of resolution came where his human will was yielded to the fathers. And please do not misunderstand me.

He was not in sin. But understanding his full humanity, he had a will and a natural desire that he would not go through pain. But in that moment, that had to be yielded to the Father.

In the book of Hebrews, the scriptures, I believe it’s chapter 5, says Jesus learned obedience. He had to go through the process of yielding himself. The agony started in the garden.

And then as he went to the high priest and then later to the Pilate’s Hall and the scourging and the pain. And finally, after all of that, they’ve mutilated and brutalized his body. Then they impale him to a Roman crucifix, and he hangs there for six hours.

It’s almost a full workday.

It was agonizing. I have found in my life that the most effective, most influential dying processes that I’ve had to go through are not quick and painless. You been there?

the Spirit of God has been dealing with your family and saying you need to change your job and move here. Or the Lord is dealing with your family and saying you want to move and I don’t want you to move. What I’m trying to do with where you’re at is not done yet and I want you to stay here.

He says to that young lady you need to break off that relationship. Says to that young man you need to start that relationship. Sometimes it’s that way.

I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to be funny with that. but sometimes it is part of the dying process. And it can be agonizing.

I remember being in college, having a preacher come in and began to tell his story. Some of you would know his story, and I apologize, I don’t remember his name, but it was a well-known story in fundamentalism for years about how he had gone through an incredible tragedy. His house had caught on fire, and his wife and his daughter had just been horribly burned.

And I remember him coming to our chapel and being able to preach about the journey, walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

and as a young 19 year old freshman or sophomore sitting in those sessions there’s a certain amount of glory to the dying process.

I remember having another chapel speaker come in and talk about church planning out on the west coast and not long before he got to that place his wife and daughter were in an accident and the Lord took his little girl and he began to weep in telling his story and I’m not trying to be unkind but there’s a certain level of glory that comes with wow that looks glorious the dying process hey I’m going to serve the Lord and I’m going to ride off into the

sunset and then there’s going to be a difficulty and the Lord’s going to take me through and then I’m going to succeed after that.

Until the day comes when you actually get to the dying process and it’s not very glorious. I’m not trying to be unkind as much as I am trying to say, young person, right now, if you’re wrestling, it’s because sometimes it’s agonizing. Christ was misunderstood on the cross.

His disciples couldn’t understand why death.

why does he have to go through this the onlookers and thieves criticized him oh if he was really god if he was actually doing god’s will he would come off the cross they didn’t understand what was happening many times the journey of dying is lonely and it’s agonizing and it’s full of misunderstanding you ever had someone look at your decision you’re working through right now and say that doesn’t sound mature to me. That doesn’t sound spiritual to me.

If it was me, I wouldn’t do it that way. I don’t think you’re right. And yet you know this is the process God is taking you through.

And it is in those moments when you feel that everyone else has abandoned you that truly you can say with Paul that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering. Being made conformable unto his death. Do you realize, young people, that you actually cannot fully know who Jesus is unless you go through the dying process.

For some, it is being on the verge of losing their entire family. For some, it is being in the place where they’ve lost their family.

When God finally brings that man to the place of dying, where his reputation is finally slain, he’s willing to humble himself before the Lord, and in those moments, the dying process takes its full effect. Consider the fact that Joseph was two years in a prison, Paul three years in Arabia, Moses 40 years on the backside of the desert, and in that I believe you would find that God was doing a work through all of those men. And in those men, it was a process of dying.

When we had first launched into evangelism, things were going very, very well, and then 2020 hit, and everything changed for all of us. Every meeting we had scheduled canceled.

and it’s not like we had I mean I think I had two a month for six months out which I was excited about and they all cancelled and I was back painting houses for my father-in-law and I read the passage about Moses on the back side of the desert feeding sheep for his father-in-law oh I said Lord not 40 years not because of my father-in-law I just was tired of painting I’ve converted all the paintbrushes I can. I’ve got to move on.

It’s not the amount of time that is necessary as it is the dying. Have you gone through the dying process? Are you in the dying process?

Have you embraced the dying process?

Because many times our attitude is, okay, Lord, if I have to surrender, let’s do it and get it done with. Lord, if you really want to do this work in my life, can we have the Chick-fil-A line that goes a lot faster and just get it done? we romanticize death, don’t we?

How many war cries, the beginning of a great war will show a propaganda film of the young men gloriously charging into battle and to every young man who watches that death for the cause seems so glorious until you’re a young man with a four inch hole in your chest laying on the battlefield.

I’m not trying to be gruesome as much as I am saying there are times when the dying is agonizing. But it is in those moments when God can do his greatest and most purifying work. Christ’s death was necessary.

Christ’s death was agonizing. but I want us to also see that Christ’s death was volitional. He volunteered.

Do you realize that the Father did not force Jesus to go to the cross? No, Jesus humbled himself. Jesus yielded himself and it says on the cross that he gave up the ghost.

For back in John chapter 10, Jesus tells them, no man takes my life. No soldier actually executed me. It was not another man’s will that he put upon me.

And he tells Pilate, hey, you have no power over me. Because if we wanted to, we could send 10,000 angels and take care of all of it. No, Jesus went to the cross now not out of a constraint.

Jesus went to the cross not because his arm was being twisted. Jesus went to the cross willingly. He committed his spirit unto the Lord.

Would you be willing to do the same? Lord, I want to yield. Commend my spirit to thee.

May I ask you, young people, if Jesus’ cry was not my will but thine, if Jesus’ cry was thy kingdom come, thy will be done, is your cry my kingdom come and my will be done?

Because as long as your cry is my will be done and my kingdom come, you may get your will and you may get your kingdom, But when you die physically and you enter into the presence of the Lord, you will realize you’d been a fool. Jesus offered himself willingly. And there voluntarily said, Father, you can have me.

That night when the Lord brought me to that first step of dying, it was an act of the will. Young people, it is my desire to preach Christ sweet. To present Jesus in a way that you would realize he is precious and he is worthy.

If I am an accurate preacher of the scripture, then I must go to the scriptures he says in Romans and say, it is the goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance. If I am an accurate preacher, young people, I want you to know that Jesus loves you. He cares for you.

He’s the best master that you could ever have. But young people, I can preach that until I’m blue in the face. But you still have to take a step of faith.

you have to choose as for me and my house you have to decide I will follow on from the surrendered side from the spiritually mature side we look at the person who’s struggling with surrender struggling with dying and we say this is a no brainer this is obvious oh please and you’ll hear preachers plead as I have I beg of you young people he’s the greatest father you could ever have he’s the greatest Jesus you could ever have He’s the only kind of person that is

saying, when you’re in your worst moment and in sin, that’s when my grace abounds. He’s wonderful. But young people, I can plead that to you.

But to the unsurrendered side, it still looks like a risk. And the only person who truly experiences the glory of dying is when they take the risk. From the surrendered side, we’d say it is no risk.

but from the unsurrendered side, it is a risk because you’re recognizing I’m casting all of myself on him, as Oswald Chambers would say, with abandon. As if to say, Lord, I’m jumping onto your ship and if you go down, I’m going down with the ship. It is that level of full throwing myself on him.

And you must. And I can preach Christ sweet as long as possible but you have to decide if you’re going to do it.

And sometimes it feels like it’s agonizing. But the key to dying is recognizing that death yields life. You know, the story of the gospel does not end when he says, it is finished and gave up the ghost.

That’s the third act. And there’s one more act to come. You know what that is?

Three days later, what happened? He came back to life. Which is why Paul is saying, hey, the resurrection is that final stamp of authority.

You’ve got nothing if you don’t have the resurrection. So keep this in mind, church family. Death is always for the purpose of bringing you to life.

Death is but a doorway of going from one life to another life.

To the person who comes up to the darkened doorway of death, it seems ominous. It seems scary. And if you are going to play it safe, you will stay back in the unsurrendered side.

But you will never be able to taste the true glories of Jesus Christ that comes on the other side of surrender. Every battlefield saint, a man who knows Christ, who has found himself shot through on the battlefield, though he is in great pain, the man goes to his death not afraid of death because he knows where he’s going. Maybe pastors have visited maybe a dear lady or a dear man dying in the hospital.

And that person who’s walked with the Lord all their life, they’re laying there in bed. They know they’ve got hours left, minutes left. Their family is gathered around.

The family is crying, but the person in the bed is not. And many a saint has passed into eternity with a smile on their face because they know death is but a doorway. And on the other side of dying is the face and presence of Jesus Christ.

so death brings life young people that I would I’ve told many people this I would not go back and change at all that night in September in 2010 when I surrendered to the Lord it was agonizing and there have been many points afterwards where the Lord has brought me to new fresh places of dying and every one of those and I would dare say the Lord seems to bring me acutely aware of another need anger, brokenness at least once every six months, where it is so

real that there is an agonizing moment where I have to, in fact, back in September, three times in one week, it was something I was wrestling through, and God brought me to a place of finally casting myself on him, and then within 24 hours, it’s like the waves took back over again, and three times in the same week, but I’ll tell you, all three times made a significant difference in where I’m at today in yielding to the Lord.

death yields life it does require a step of faith would you be willing tonight young people to die there may be someone here that you are surrendered to jesus christ you said father i’ll go wherever you want me to go but right now he has you in a church that you don’t want to be in maybe he’s got you in a college you don’t want to be in maybe he’s got you at home and you wish you were at college maybe he’s got you at one

location you wish you were wish you weren’t with someone else and you’re in a moment where you’re saying, Lord, this is not what I would choose and the Spirit of God is saying, would you be broken and die?

Have you died? I am making a call to all young people listening here that if tonight the Spirit of God has sliced your soul and said, I’m speaking to you, if the Spirit of God is tugging on you right now and saying, my child, I’ve been prodding you and working with you. Tonight, I am calling you to lay it all on the altar.

There may be some young man right now who’s wrestling with the call to preach. There may be a young lady right now that you are wrestling with the hidden sin behind closed doors and God is dealing with you. Lay it all on the line and come to me.

Then young person, tonight, your desire from Jesus, Christ’s desire for you is that you would die. The year was 1831, late February, in a place that we now know as Texas, a little town of San Antonio. It was not much of a town at that time.

A group of defenders in a Spanish mission trying their best to fend off a gargantuous army under Santa Ana. They had gotten some resources, some supplies, but very, very meager. And the soldiers there inside of that mission knew they had not much shot left.

They had not much powder left. They had hardly any food and any water and they were not going to last long.

The first attack there of Santa Ana had been amazingly repelled. The second attack of Santa Ana’s men, they again had repelled it, but they knew they had merely three shots per man left. They couldn’t take on another one.

There was a lull in the fighting. And somewhere at the end of February coming into the beginning of March, historical details are a little bit fuzzy at this point, but somewhere in those dark nights before the third attack, William Travis gathered all the men down to the center part of the mission and began to tell them the dire situation that they were in. We don’t have much left.

If Santa Ana attacks again, that’s all we can do.

And he pulled out his sword that night, according to historical facts there, and drew a line in the sand, and he told the men, I’m asking you tonight, we still have time, some of you could slip out the walls and maybe make it to Goliad, some of you could get out tonight, and you can take that opportunity if you would like, but if you are willing to stay, I am asking you to step over this line.

What he was doing that night, and what every man knew he was doing, was he was inviting them to die.

He wasn’t saying, you know, think about it guys, for a couple of days, and after you think about it a couple of days, when Santa Ana starts coming over the walls, you can make your decision then. No, he’s saying at that point it’s too late. Now’s your decision time.

And everyone to the man stepped over the line that night. For the cause of liberty, for the love of their country, but every man knew in stepping over the line he was going to die so that Texas could be free. I am not trying to be overdramatic, but it may be possible that God is drawing a line in the sand tonight for you.

And he is saying, would you be willing to die so that you could live?