Amen. Amen, amen. When I first met Paul, whose testimony we just heard, I met him at a dinner table at a discipleship retreat.

And this is eight or nine years ago, and Paul was early in his walk with the Lord. And we had a great conversation.

And one of the things I remember him saying was that at this point, in his walk with Jesus,

he had never prayed out loud.

And after this retreat, God grabbed Paul's heart.

And Paul just threw himself into the life of 1122 in discipleship, and he joined about 16 disciple groups.

And I remember one Sunday morning at the end of the service, Pastor Jobi gave the opportunity

for people to be baptized if they felt like that was the right next step for them.

And Paul was the first one out of his seat, and he was wearing all his Sunday clothes, his jeans,

and his shoes, and his shirt. I had to slow him down to get his phone and his wallet out of his pockets. And he was wearing all his Sunday clothes, his jeans and his shoes and his

shirt. I had to slow him down to get his phone and his wallet out of his pockets before he

got into the water. And I was able to be a part of his baptism when he declared Jesus Christ

as his Lord and Savior publicly. And man, we praise God for that. We praise God for the work in his

life and in the work of so many. I get to serve closely with him through the boys and girls clubs.

And it's just amazing to see how God has taken somebody who is a little bored in life that began to take faithful next steps.

And now God uses them to break free, great futures and better futures for children and teenagers all over the city.

God's using him in a significant ways, and we praise God for it.

And it makes me think this morning about you.

I wonder what next step God might have for you and your walk with him.

I wonder what next opportunity of obedience that God might put in front of you,

that if you take it, you don't know what's on

the other side.

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