and I was trying to place it in time. I think that's about the 1950s type quartet singing or something there. Really pretty though and different. I liked it. We're gonna look at 2 Chronicles chapter 33. I'd like to thank the church again for allowing me to come preach for you. I'd like to thank the church for the hospitality and the good food we've been, we've ate too much. Brother Bill and Sister Sandy fed us brunch and the preacher took us out to eat today. And I'm more fit for a nap than I am preaching. But I did enjoy Those two little fellas, Silas and Titus. They surely reminded us of our two boys when they was little, night and day. It's good to be with you in the Lord's house. Are you ready for revival? Boy, I like to see revival. I'd like to see the Lord do something, wouldn't you? 2 Chronicles chapter 33. Again, let me thank the church. I love y'all, thank you so much for the nice place to stay and everything's been so good. We're gonna look at verse one of 2 Chronicles 33, and I won't keep you very long, maybe. I'm just studying, y'all, see if you're awake. Everybody's threatening to sleep on me. I don't know why that is, but preachers yawned about five times back there in his office a while ago. And sister, you said you're sleepy. Sister Brenda said she's sleepy. I'll try to keep you awake, all right? They usually preach me last when I go to a conference, because I manage to keep people awake. They're scared to fall asleep. They're afraid I'll run back there on them and do something. Verse one, chapter 33. Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 50 and five years in Jerusalem, but did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down and he reared up altars for Balaam and made groves and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. Also he built altars in the house of the Lord whereof the Lord had said, in Jerusalem shall be my name forever. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord and he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. Also he observed times and used enchantments and used witchcraft and dealt with familiar spirit and with wizards. He wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger and he set a carved image, the idol of which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, in this house and in Jerusalem which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel will I put my name forever. Neither will I anymore remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your father so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err and to do worse than the heathen whom the Lord God had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the Lord spake to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not hearken. We're gonna stop there. I'm gonna preach if the Lord will help me on the conversion of Manasseh. The conversion of Manasseh. Lord, I'm so inadequate and unworthy. And Lord, I tell you the truth, Lord, I don't even feel like preaching. I just don't feel worthy. But Lord, I ask that you would help us tonight, and that you'd bless your word as we look at it, and that the Holy Spirit would have his way in this service. And he'd speak to our hearts, and Lord, we'd rejoice if we're saved, and we'd consider our souls if we're not saved. Lord, just have your way. Thank you again for allowing us to meet. What a privilege. We don't even know it, God, living in this country. What a privilege to have your Bible and to have your blessings and to have the building and to have a place and to have the freedom. God, we thank you for that tonight. Help us to ever be thankful in Jesus' name and amen. You know, Manasseh, if I could put it this way, was like the Apostle Paul. He was chief among sinners. In other words, he was not a good person. He is an example of a trophy of greats, isn't he? Manasseh had been raised in a good home. His father, Hezekiah, the Bible says, did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. And there was a great revival of religion under Hezekiah. But godliness doesn't run in the blood. And you and I cannot inherit a relationship with God. In other words, just because your parents or your grandparents are Christians, That's not enough. You know, oftentimes godly parents have wayward children. I can tell you that from experience. We've done our best to raise our children in the right way we thought, and yet still some of them aren't doing right. I'll give you some advice. When you see somebody in your church going through that, have some compassion. And don't, if you're a young person, if you got young children, don't ever think mine won't do that. And don't ever stop praying for them. You know, in the Bible, a man after God's own heart had his heart broken many times by his own children. But the Bible says in the Gospel of John chapter one, it says, as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Christianity is not something you inherit. Even though Hezekiah was a good man and the Lord used him mightily, Manassa went sideways. You know, I had good parents and I went sideways. Some of y'all can relate to that. The bad thing about sowing oats is they eventually come up. And really, I hate, some young people when they get out and they go sideways, they don't come back. They don't come back. The new birth doesn't come through ancestry. In other words, you're not a Christian because your parents are Christians. You know, I'm thankful for Christian parents and I'm thankful for Christian grandparents and people prayed for me. Aren't you? Matthew Henry said, grace doesn't run in the blood. Grace doesn't run in the blood. It's not the will of man, it's not the will of the flesh, it's of God. Again, as I spoke about last night, our will is bound in depravity. You say, well, I chose to be a Christian. Well, that's not what the Bible says. Let me help you a minute. Jesus told his disciples, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. I reckon that goes for us too. If he hadn't chosen to set his love on me, I would have never chose him. The Bible tells us that man in his natural state would never seek God. As a matter of fact, we'd run from God. As a matter of fact, we did run from God. We're just like Adam and Eve in the garden. When God came looking for them, they hid themselves. They didn't want anything to do with God once they had fallen. Well, Romans 3.10, we read it last night. There's none righteous, no, not one. And there's none that seeketh after God, none. None that seeketh after God. I tell you what that does, folks, that puts us at the mercy of God. That ought to humble us and make us realize that if God doesn't do it, it's not gonna get done. I don't care what you try to do. If God's not in it, it's not gonna work. The unregenerate mind or the carnal mind is enmity against God. By nature, we love pleasures more than we love God. By nature, we love darkness rather than we do light. That's what the Bible tells us. But be thankful tonight that we have a seeking Savior. Jesus said, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Aren't you glad tonight for a seeking Savior? First John four tells us here in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. and we love him because he first loved us. When I wasn't looking for him, he's looking for me. Do you remember when, do you remember in your life when God come looking for you? I remember that, I remember that. I can tell you the day I got saved, I know some folks can't do that. It's good to be able to do that, I'll tell you, it is. And I understand some people got saved when they're young and they don't remember the day and everything, but I appreciate the fact that I can remember that. It means something to me to know the day that I got saved. But I can also tell you the day that I got lost. Hmm. Hmm's right. There's an old preacher, he wasn't our stripe. His name was Parrish Readhead. Some of you may have heard of him. But he was standing before a crowd of people, and he said, how many of you are saved? Bunch of them raised their hand, everybody. He said, how many of you ever been lost? He said, one person raised their hand. Can I tell you a little secret? You can't get saved till you get lost. I remember the day I got, I wasn't gonna give my testimony, I'm not going to, I'll tell you later. But I remember the day I got lost. In other words, I remember the day that God, the Holy Spirit revealed to me, showed me my lost condition. You say, did you get saved? No, sir, I ran straight to hell as fast as I could go for another eight years. But I'll tell you what I did know, Listen to me, I knew I was lost. Brother, I had a 72 Buick stage one 455. If you don't know what that is, that's deadly fast. I'd get in that old car And I'd pop in ACDC and I'd scream down the road, I'm on the highway to hell. And I did wrap it around a pole. But if I'd, I'd have went to hell. I'm glad he sought me. Amen. I'm glad he sought me. He sought me and he bought me with his redeeming blood. Right? The Bible says in Ephesians 2, but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved. I'm glad he's rich in mercy. I'm glad when I was running from him, he was chasing me. In this account of Manasseh, we see a glimpse of how God lays hold of a man. We see in Manasseh how God changes a great sinner. I wanna tell you tonight that God's still able to save great sinners. I'm talking about church folk. He can save drunkards and harlots too, and dopers. He can even save church folk. They're a little harder than others, but God can do it. You know something, that's not really, that's the truth. Let me tell you about this. A lot of times a kid will be raised in church, and they make a profession, and then they baptize them, and then when they get a little older, they realize they're not saved, and they don't know, they don't understand. I tell you what, I listened. I had four of them. They come to me several times, and my wife, and they'd say, Dad, I don't think I'm saved. I tell you what I didn't do, I didn't say, now look here, right here, I wrote it in the Bible. You trusted Christ when you was four years old. You remember that? I never did that. I said, son or daughter, you need to figure that out. If you're not saved, you need to be saved. I never patted them on the head and told them they saved. Now if you've done that, that's your business. I'm just telling you what I did. I figured it'd be better if God told them. Listen, when you deal with people, the old time preachers used to say, you're picking green fruit. You deal with people, and then you put a layer of baptism on top of it. All that stuff, if they really lost, they gotta break through all that. I'm just talking, preacher, I don't even, I'm just telling you what I've seen. We see a glimpse here of how God can change and save sinners. The Bible says, wherefore he is able also to save them the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. That's Hebrew 725. Number one, an evil life. Point number one, an evil life. The Bible tells us here that Manasseh undid the reforms that Hezekiah had did. Look at verse two. The Bible says, but did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord like unto the abominations of the heathen who the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. Manasseh went right back to the same old idolatry and wickedness and sexual perversion and all the things that go along with that, he went right back to that. Even though Hezekiah had straightened all that out. And you know, Manasseh was 12 years old. I hope he did that not when he was 12. I'd hate to think a 12 year old could be that wicked. The Bible says he worshiped all kinds of false gods. Verse three, built high places again. Verse four, he built altars in the house of the Lord. I'm talking about he built idolatrous altars in the house of God. And he caused his children to pass through the fires. And they're talking there about the God of Moloch. I'm sure you've heard what the God of Moloch was an outstretched, I believe he had the head of a bull and the body of a man and his arms held out like this and they'd get it glowing cherry red with heat and fire. And then they'd throw their children into the arms of that God. That's the kind of worship they did. They were idolaters. He led, verse nine, notice what it says. So Manasseh made Judah an inhabitants of Jerusalem to err and to do worse than the heathen. Can I tell you something? Bad leaders can make a country go bad. Is that what it says? Well, let's look at it. So Manasseh made Judah. We got a bunch of bad leaders today, folks. And they're making the whole country go bad. And Manasseh made his countrymen to sin, so he had an evil life. Number two, God brings trouble. God brings trouble. Look at verse 10. And the Lord spake to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not hearken. Does that not sound like the state that we're in today? I mean, we're just, as a country, we're in a mess. And people won't hearken to the Bible, they won't hearken to the Word of God. So God brings trouble, verse 11. Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. You know, the slave trader John Newton, he said, in evil long I took delight and awed by shame and fear until a new object caught my sight and stopped my wild career. I wanna tell you tonight that God can stop your wild career. And God help you, he don't do it by putting you in a body cast. But he can stop your wild career And he stopped Manasseh's wild career, didn't he? He said, God knows how to get your attention. God knows how to get your attention. And God knows how to get a nation's attention. And sometimes I wonder what he's gonna allow happen to us. Listen, I'm no prophet. I'm not the son of a prophet. This is the truth. Three days, I think if you look it on your calendar, I think I'm right, three days before 9-11, I preached the most scorching message that we were heading for judgment if we didn't change. And then like 9-11 hit and I was like, oh my. I've got that feeling now. I just wonder how the enemy, is the enemy at the gates? How close are we to something like 9-11? That ought to make us pray, God have mercy on our country. Do you hear me? That ought to make us pray, God have mercy on our nation. God knows how to get sinners' attentions. Notice what it says. Wherefore the Lord brought upon them. It wasn't an accident. It wasn't poor military's planning. The Lord brought. I wonder what he might bring upon us. Lamentations 3 says, but though he calls grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies, for he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. God, he allows things to happen for a reason, doesn't he? Sometime this week, if Joe will let me set still, half a day. I'm getting together a message on the providence of God in the life of Joseph. God, he's, listen, folks, listen, I don't know what you've been through, you don't know what I've been through, but I can tell you this, everything's come into your life, God has allowed it for a reason. Everything, God makes no mistakes. Didn't we just sing that, brother? I think we did. Everything's come into our life, God's allowed it. That means the good and the bad, that means the sweet and the bitter. And I don't think a lot of times we'll know all about it till we get to heaven. But God was working things out here. You know what God said in the book of Ezekiel? He said, say unto them as I live, saith the Lord, God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? You know, I've met some preachers here in the last few years. They seem to think God enjoys sending people to hell. If that's your attitude, you've got a bad attitude. God says, as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God says turn, God says repent, God says come back, God says why go on and destroy yourself. The prodigal son, listen, there was a day he was down there in the hog pen, he'd wasted all his sustenance and he was down in the hog pen and the Bible says he came to himself. Can I help you young people? Don't get in a hog pen before you come to yourself. Don't get in such a shape that you've messed your life up real good. You can't undo some things. And he's sitting there in the hog pen and he's, the Bible says he's so hungry that he's thinking about eating hog slop. Now I had a buddy raised hogs. And you'd have to be in pretty bad shape to want to eat hog slop. I feel sorry for that guy trying to make a video. But that prodigal, that boy, the Bible says he came to himself. Can I just encourage you tonight, if you've got a child or a son or a grandson or a granddaughter A niece or a nephew that's in trouble, don't give up on them. Keep praying for them. That prodigal son's heading home and he's got even a little speech made up, you know, what he's gonna say. but the Father sees him afar off. You know, that's a type of God the Father. And God, the Bible says he come running to him. Isn't God merciful? Isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful? It is. It's wonderful. An evil life. He had an evil life. God brings trouble. He brought him some trouble, didn't it? Verse 12, notice what it says, and when the Lord, excuse me, and when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers and prayed unto him. And he was entreated of him and heard his supplication. and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord, he was God. Number three, Manasseh comes to himself, doesn't he? But it took affliction to get him there. Why we gotta do everything the hard way? My dad, he didn't get saved just several weeks before he died, but he was a good man. My dad was a great man. And you wouldn't have, if you was around him, you'd have thought he was a Christian man. He didn't cuss, he didn't drink, he worked hard, he's a good moral person. That's what's hard, it's hard to get a moral person saved. Amen. He'd seen Baptist preachers run off with the secretaries and cussing deacons. All that stuff, you know, he thought, well, I'm just good as they are. I tell you what turned the corner for him. I printed out a message by J.C. Rowell on Christ's greatest trophy. It's the story of the thief on the cross. He didn't talk to me in person about it. He wrote me a letter and said that that made more sense to him than anything he'd ever read. And then he ended up trusting Christ about two or three weeks before he died of cancer. But my dad, I said all that to say this. My dad used to say to me, you've got to learn everything the hard way, don't you? There's some of us like that, ain't there? You've got to learn everything the hard way. I'll tell you something else he used to say to me. Oh, he said a lot of things to me. One night I was sick, puked, drunk, throwing up out in the driveway about three in the morning. I got in there and went to bed and the next morning, he had scheduled me to work with him laying cinder block all the next day. That was his way of... And here's what he said to me, brother. He said, I saw you out there last night dancing around in your underwear. He used to say this. He'd say, you bought that lesson, didn't you? Now bought lessons are good lessons, but listen, surely there's an easier way. Manasseh bought a lesson, didn't he? Manasseh, afflictions can cause us to look to God, can't they? Afflictions can cause us to look to God. Wouldn't it be easier, though, if we didn't have to get into shape to where God had to do that? That's all I'm trying to tell you tonight. Wouldn't it be better if we wouldn't get in such a place that God would have to get our attention like that? God had Manasseh in his sights before Manasseh was thinking about God, right? And God had sent prophets and now he, listen, God had sent prophets, but now he was sending armies. That's the progression. First God sends prophets, then he sends armies. The Lord may let someone experience a hog pen before they decide to look up. He may let you get in such bondage you can't see no way out. But I'll tell you this, it's a good day when God begins to work on you. It's a good day when God begins to show you what shape you're in, amen. It's a good day when you're convinced of your lost condition. And not, listen, Christians can get sideways too, can't they? The prodigal son can be preached three ways at least. It can be preached as a sinner coming to Christ. It can be preached as the nation of Israel. and God bringing in the Gentiles, and it could be preached as a son, which is really the real meaning. He was a son. What I'm getting at is this, a Christian can get backslid on God. And a Christian can get, I'd hate to think what the sins that a Christian can get into. You say, I'd never do that. You better never say that. It's just by the grace of God if you don't fall into deep sin. But if you have fallen into deep sin, you can get out. Amen. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Right? All right, I gotta hurry. Verse 14, he had to change life. before he had to change life. Now after this, he built a wall without the city of David in the west of Gihon in the valley, even to the entering at the fish gate and come past about Ophel and raised it up a very great height and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. So as soon as he got saved, he built a wall on the southern border. I made that up. And he took, notice verse 15, and he took away the strange gods. Brother Joe said that somebody got onto him because he cracked a joke one time or something. And there's a right time and right place, and sometimes maybe I get a little carried away. But I do like what Spurgeon said. He said, I like to tickle my oyster a little bit before I stick the knife in it. So you better laugh while you can. He had a changed life. The Bible says he took away the strange gods and the idol out of the house of the Lord and all the altars he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem and cast them out of the city and he repaired the altar of the Lord and sacrificed their own peace offerings and thank offerings and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. Can I tell you something? He had a changed life. He had a 180. Turned around completely, didn't he? Can I tell you that salvation is a complete change? If God changes you, you won't live the way. Now you might mess up and do things you shouldn't every once in a while, but you won't be happy there. But if God changes you and saves you, you'll want to live for Jesus Christ. And though you'll fail him often, there'll always be that in you. And Manasseh, he had an about, I heard one time, I don't know if it's true, but I heard one time in the French army where the military in the United States says about face, the French army says convert. Convert. If you have a conversion, you'll do an about face. Amen. Trust in Christ means a changed life. Don't tell me you're saved if you're going on the way you always went. Saved from what? That's what Leonard Ravenhill said one time. He said, saved from what? He got rid of the garbage, didn't he? Verse 15, he cleaned house. He cleaned house, he got rid of the junk. And he started doing what was right. Verse 16, he repaired the altar and he gave thank offerings. And his story is a story of a changed life. Verse 18, now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and his prayer unto his God and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. his prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sin and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and he set up groves and graven images before he was humbled. Behold, they are written among the saying of the seers. So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house, and Amon his son reigned in his stead." He had a changed life, folks. Who can deny it? He went from Doing that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, to doing that to what pleased God. That's what salvation is. I'll be honest with you, I don't wanna be a Johnny One Note. Y'all ever heard that phrase? That's a guy that just preaches on one thing over and over and over. He's a Johnny One Note. That sounds like something you'd say. I don't wanna be a Johnny One Note, but I gotta tell you something. Salvation is life-changing. It's life changing. Y'all probably noticed I got white spots on my head. Usually some nice sweet little old lady will say, how'd you get them white spots? And I'll say, God reached down and got a hold of me like that and spun me around. And he can get you and turn you around too, amen? Our God is ready to receive sinners, isn't he? He's ready to receive prodigals. He says, come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sin be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. I'm telling you, you don't, oh my, The God that created everything is saying to puny you and I, let's talk about this. Isn't that something? Let's reason this. In other words, I'm not trying to be irreverent. I'm just gonna put it in the modern language. He's saying something like this. Quit being such a dummy. Let's reason about this, right? Aren't you glad tonight that our God's so merciful? Aren't you glad that he, I've been going through the first books of the Bibles, you know, it's hard to get through them first books, you know, if you try to go through them. And as I go through them, I think, my goodness, these children of Israel are the most rebellious, stupid bunch of people I've ever seen in my life. They're just absolutely, I mean, God will do something for them in the next verse. They're complaining and murmuring and griping. And you know what? I feel like the Holy Spirit said to me, you're just like them. Did you hear me? I said, man, live, Lord, them people are crazy. They're stupid. Listen to them. You just gave them water, you just gave them food, you just gave them manna, you just parted the Red Sea, and here they are griping and complaining. And God, the Holy Spirit, said in a still, small voice, yeah, you're just like them. You say, I'm not like that preacher. Well, I bet you are. I got news for you, we're all made out of the same stuff. I tell Evelyn, I said, you complain if they hung you with a new rope. She said, I'd want an old rope. I'm glad he receiveth sinful men. Aren't you? My mother was a Christian woman. I was 17. I'll be honest with you. I stayed almost pretty much drunk for most of my teenage years. And my mom, I was going out to a concert, I think. It wasn't the Gaithers. And my mom, in the living room, we had these old, you remember, some of y'all folks old enough to remember, you had avocado green, harvest gold, and burnt orange. And my mom got down on her knees as I was walking out the door in front of that harvest gold chair and was praying for me as I left the house. And you know what I did? I laughed. If God would have struck me down right there, he'd have been just. Oh, but no, he didn't do that. Thank God for a praying mother. I'm just trying to tell you, God can save Manassas, he can save Apostle Paul's, and he can save Sean Davis's, and he can save you. And I'm glad. At my mom's funeral, I sung, rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from thy wounded side flow. Be of sin the double cure. Save from wrath and make me pure. I'm glad my mom, when I got saved I called her. I called her and said, Mom, guess what? I got saved. And I'm glad she, before she died, she knew I was a Christian. I'm glad for that, brother. Let me, if you're not a Christian tonight, let me encourage you to trust Jesus Christ. He'll change your life. He'll change your life. That's been, well, 35 years ago. 35 years ago. It ain't been the same since. 35 years of walking with the Lord. I wouldn't trade nothing for it. Amen? Wouldn't trade nothing. Brother Collins, you come ahead. Thank you, folks, for allowing me to preach.