you and we'll go from there but I appreciate so much each and every one of you being here. I've yet to go to a Baptist church and find someone offended by free stuff. And so I brought some free stuff, all right? Some of you visitors just got a book. I've got some things out on the table out there. On the left-hand side, there's a sample booklet. I saw a lot of our tracks on that track rack. Thank you so much, Ms. Lynn, for ordering those, but thank you. She was telling me how fast you folks go through gospel tracks. Gospel tracks, those gospel tracks out there, don't do anybody any good on that track rack. They need to be in your pocket. I'll ask a rhetorical question. Do you know the type of people that use gospel tracks? The type of people that carry gospel tracks. It's really hard to give them out when you don't have them on you. And so please visit that track rack. You have no excuse today. They're right there available for you, right? But we have a sample packet right there, a sample booklet, our latest newsletter. Some of you may have gotten that. There's some CDs back there just by donation. I'll advise you there's one or two back there that I'm on, and so you probably want to avoid those CDs back there. And there's also our prayer card. I mentioned how much we appreciate prayer. We put a special emphasis on prayer here in the month of October. It's amazing to see what God has done. I'll tell you what, I think what's going on here today is an extension of the prayers of God's people. I'm very thankful for that. My desire today is simply to be a conduit for what God has to say. Are you in the book of Esther there? If you don't mind, I don't know the tradition, but I'll give you a chance to stretch your legs. Would you stand with me out of reverence for God's word for just a moment? Esther chapter number four. I'll begin reading in verse number one. Esther four in verse number one. The Bible says this. When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and a bitter cry and came even before the king's gate. For none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth, and in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved, and she sent a raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him, but he received it not. Then called Esther for Hathak, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai to know what it was and why it was. So Hathak went forth to Mordecai under the street of the city, which was before the king's gate. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews to destroy them. Also he, Mordecai, gave him, Hathak, the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther and to declare it unto her and to charge her that she should go in unto the king to make supplication unto him and to make requests before him for her people. Hathak came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. Again, Esther spake unto Hathak and gave him commandment unto Mordecai, all the king's servants. This is Esther speaking, all the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces do know that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death. except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter that he may live, but I have not been called to come in unto the king these 30 days. We see in this passage, and I may have spoken evangelistically when I said we'll stand for just a moment. I read 11 verses and I appreciate your patience. We see here a young lady named Esther, a Jewish young lady, though very few knew it. and we see a decision that has been made in her mind. She says, I'm not going in, Mordecai. I haven't been called. But in just a few short verses later, she changes her mind with seemingly no reason whatsoever to her own detriment. Can I tell you, politicians do a good job of changing their mind, don't they? But they normally only do it when it's to their advantage, right? But we're the same way, aren't we? Men, it's not just the ladies, okay? We change our minds too, and normally when it's to our advantage. The question is what could cause someone to change their mind when it's to their disadvantage? The question day is simply this. For each and every one of you, I thought this morning that I'd come and I'd say that I'm really gonna preach two messages. Don't be worried about the time frame, okay? We'll be done by noon, all right? For the chicken, all right? I figured if it was gonna be a second session anyway, we might as well just go right into it, but in all seriousness, I don't believe I'm here to preach two messages. I believe the Holy Spirit of God is here to preach one and two and three and four and five, and we could spend all day counting, it looks like, a message to you. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day. Thank you so much for the opportunity that we have to serve you. God, I ask that I would say only what you have me to say and nothing but, that I'd be an encouragement, exhortation, but that your Holy Spirit, if necessary, would come into our hearts and minds and be a conviction. May we listen with soft hearts and open ears. May I only be a conduit. We thank you for what you have done, but God, we pray in faith, thanking you for what you will do. In your son's name we pray, amen. You may be seated. Had the opportunity to be with the gentlemen at Camp Fairwood not too long ago. And so I thought, I preached three messages while I was there. And I'm an evangelism, and so all I have are three messages. And so I was thinking, what should I preach next? Now, I thank you for one courtesy laugh there. I appreciate that. I'm just joking. Those of you who hear me on the radio know that that's not true, but I was pondering and thinking, what does God have for this hour and this day? Think about it. If you add it up, the hour less than that we'll be together today, times however many people are here, plus the investment of time it took you to come here today, We have weeks of man and woman hours laid out in front of us. What is worth talking about that is so important that a church collective would give weeks of man hours to? I believe God led me to this thought. And I repeat the question. What's gonna change your mind? I believe that we could learn from Esther's life, and this particular segment of her life, a few things that changed her mind. Would you continue reading there? We see in verse number 11 at the tail end, she said, but I have not been called. Could you put on your thinking caps and your imagination for just a moment? I feel like sometimes. My Christian brethren, we turn off our imagination at the age of 12 years old and we don't reignite it for the rest of our lives, okay? That should not be that way, especially when we're reading something as rich as God's Word. And so, for the children, for the adults, for the teenagers, engage your imagination for just a moment. I want you to think about what Esther was insinuating when she said, I have not been called. Mordecai, you know the rules. If you go in unto the king without him holding his golden scepter to you, without a summons, then your life is forfeit. What she was telling him, what she was bringing to memory was the fact that, okay, they're probably still cleaning the blood out of the marble of the last fool that went into the king without an invitation. What are you asking me to do? Are you serious? I have not been called. But then we see Mordecai's response begin in verse number 12. Look there with me. And they told to Mordecai Esther's words. Hatak is the intermediary. He's the chamberlain, the messenger man. Verse 13. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther. Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape from the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed. And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom? "'for such a time as this.'" And verse 15, now it's Esther's turn to respond. "'Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, "'Go, gather together all the Jews "'that are present in Shushan and fast ye for me, "'and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. "'I also and my maidens will fast likewise, "'and so will I go in unto the king.'" And then I'm amused by the next phrase. She has to remind him. which is not according to the law. You remember that. And then she says this, and if I perish, I perish. Somehow from verse 11 to verse number 16, she completely changed her mind. And my question for you today is this, what's going to change your mind? I believe we can identify three items of importance that changed Esther's mind. We see the first actually begins in verse number eight. Also he, Mordecai, gave him Hatech, the messenger, the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther and to declare it unto her and to charge her that she should go in unto the king. Can I tell you, friend? that Esther read the decree that condemned her people. Her people were condemned and she realized that. Christian, Frank, can I speak to you for just a moment? It's very easy to be completely not soul conscious. to completely ignore that track rack as you walk by it, to completely walk by the throngs of humanity that each and every one of us will come in contact with this week. It's very easy to do so when you have no relationship with this book right here. Because this book tells us that there are people that are condemned. For context sake, remember that the Jews of Esther's time were condemned because of a hateful man named Haman. And we could go into his history and his lineage and being an aggregate and all these things and probably surmise, but the majority of his reason for wanting to kill the Jews was because of a perceived offense that Mordecai caused him. And instead of just taking out his anger on Mordecai, he said, I wanna kill all of them. and he obtained a decree of destruction by the hand of the Cree by subtlety. And now Esther learns of this. She's insulated from the politics of the day. She's in the king's house. But she realizes that her people are condemned. Can I tell you that there are people under the sound of my voice right now that are condemned? There are people all around us in Union Grove, Wisconsin that are condemned. There are people all over Wisconsin, across the Midwest, across America, across North America, across the world. They are the people that when you cut them, they bleed red. Not just the Jews. In this day and age, we all, without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, are, the Bible says, under condemnation. The question, though, is why were they condemned? Why were these Jews condemned? And maybe it'll lead us to why we are condemned. Well, first of all, because they were helpless. You realize they, the Jews, stood no chance against the superpower of the day. They would be facing off with the most powerful entity in the world. The Jews did not have the military might to combat it, and they were helpless. Can I tell you that there's a race of people on earth right now that are helpless when it comes to saving themselves with eternity in view? I had the opportunity to pastor to knock on some doors in, it was northern Illinois a couple months ago. and we were inviting folks to church, passing out gospel tracts, and it was a missions conference time at the church, and I was there for the missions conference representing Bible tracts, and we're knocked on the first door. and talked to this lady. It was like the first door on the street. It was my turn to talk. I had a partner with me, and I talked for a moment, and very kind, elderly lady. She was a little slow to get to the door, but she finally opened it and talked to her. She gave us as much time as we wanted, and she allowed me to ask the question, God forbid something were to happen to you, do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt where you would go? more important than church, more important than any of those things, not where you're going to church on Sunday morning, where would you go if you took your last breath? And she said, I don't know if I'm sure. And she allowed me to take the scriptures, that book you hold in your hand, and go through the gospel. We spent about 15 minutes together. It wasn't one, two, three, repeat after me. We got to the ultimate question, would you like to accept Christ as your savior? We talked about the fact that Jesus is the only way. We talked about the fact that without him, we would split hell wide open. And we got to the ultimate question, would you like to do that? And she said, no, I don't think so. Now hold up a moment. Now you introduced me as an evangelist. Shouldn't I be able to come here with notches on my belt and tell you about all the peoples whose arms I've twisted into heaven? No, and that would be foolish of me. I said, ma'am, what is the sticking point? She said this, I'm a good person. And I said, ma'am, if you'd allow me, I can directly respond to that statement. And I took it to the book of Ephesians, chapter two, verses eight and nine, and talked about, it's by grace are we saved through faith, not of ourselves. It's not of works as any man should boast. I mean, if salvation, wait, ma'am, is salvation on layaway? Did Jesus just make a down payment on the cross? And when John 3.16 talks about him giving, God sending his son, his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, it doesn't talk about works. Ma'am, are you saying that Jesus was just the first installment in salvation's own layaway and you have to pay and balance out the scale? I said, ma'am, but I was not gonna twist her arm. And she decided to allow me to go on my way after I'd gone through the gospel two and a half times and she said, but I'm a good person. I was walking down the street talking with my partner. He knocked on a door, talked to someone for a few moments. They weren't very interested. He gave them a gospel tract and we closed the door. And so it was my turn next. Knocked on the next door. And a young man opened this door, spoke to him in the exact same way, 15 minutes, 20 minutes. And he said, no, I'm a good person. May I tell you, friend, that I repeated that, it was like deja vu all over again, four times on the same street, about four consecutive doors. Can I tell you, according to the Bible that's near to your lap right now, those people, it bothers me to say, but were they to die today, they would not be going to heaven. because good works do nothing when it comes to salvation. And here's the issue with Josh, the evil one, the devil, Lucifer, whatever you want to call him. I think he really enjoys, Satan enjoys taking atheists to hell. He really enjoys taking agnostics to hell. I think Roman Catholics and you name it, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and you fill in the blanks, but I really think he gets a special shiver up his spine and a gleam in his eye when people allow him to take people that have sat in the pews of good Baptist churches just like this one to hell as well. You say, hold a moment, my mama was a saint. My daddy was a preacher. And that means nothing when you stand before God, friend. Absolutely nothing, less than nothing, if you will, because you're trusting in that, and it's gonna sentence you to an eternity in hell. Can I tell you, friend, I was preaching a similar thought some months ago in New York. And there were two teenage brothers. sitting I think in the first or second row right here. They came in with their mother just a few minutes after service started and they sat here. She sat behind them. I was like, man, those boys better behave or she's going to whack them. But they did behave. I believe it was Dantise and Anthony. And they sat there and they hung on every word. And when I said at the close of the service, friend, if you die today, you don't know for sure Would you just lift your hand? I won't embarrass you, I won't call you out. Would you just lift your, in both their hands, they're twins after all, same time, straight up in the air. I had been focused on them the entire service. I wasn't preaching right at them, but I was preaching at them, you know? They were right with me the whole time. And it shocked me. It shouldn't have, but it did. went on this side of the congregation, at the very last row, a man and his wife, who had greeted me when I came in, had given me their names, his name was Bruce. They had greeted me, told him how much they loved their church, how long they had been there, when Bruce raised his hand at the same time. And he came forward along with those two young men, 70 years old and 15, they were both 15, they were twins, remember. And I got to deal with them right here on a front row and explain to them from the Bible how they could know for sure beyond a shadow of a doubt where they would go when they die. And you know what he said back there? When he came forward, he said, I've been living a lie and playing a game in a Methodist church my entire life, and I want to get it right today. darkening the doorway of this church and leaving an imprint in that pew when we get done with the service, and you're thinking, please don't preach so long that I leave an imprint here. But the fact that you howdy with the folks, and Frank, can I tell you the fact that you put some money on the offering plate means nothing when it comes to eternity and your soul. Can I tell you, there are people that are condemned. My question is, what's gonna change your mind? Christian friend, can I speak to you for just a moment? There are still a people condemned because they are helpless, because they have a hateful adversary. I mentioned him already. For the Jews, it was Haman. For us, it's the evil one, Satan. They were condemned because of who they were. We're part of humanity, we are as well. So what changed her mind? Her people were condemned. Can I also say this? Her position of comfort was challenged. Have you ever had someone say something to you that just kind of rubbed you the wrong way, but the main reason it rubbed you the wrong way is because you knew what they were saying was true? Don't you, men, don't you hate it when your wives do that to you? Like, the Bible says submit, shut your mouth. That's not wise, don't do that, okay? You'll be sleeping on the couch for a long time, okay? But in all seriousness, she says, I have not been called, and Mordecai said, ah, ah, ah. Esther, why do you think you were called to the king's house? See, here's the problem. We are waiting on the filthy lucre of this world's money. We are waiting on our employer, unsaved employer at work. We are waiting on all sorts of things to, quote, call us. But you don't realize God's already called you. She was concerned about the little K, King. Friend, can I tell you about a capital K, capital I, capital N, capital G, King, who's calling you today? You say, I have not been called. The problem is you're listening for the wrong call, friend. And so I put to you, Christian friend, what's gonna change your mind about the lost multitudes? Lost, friend, I say that with no duration, but those that when you say, I don't know where I'm going, how many more calls do you think you are owed? Because you weren't owed the first one. You don't deserve the fact that he hung on a cross for you some 2,000 years ago. That was all the call you should have ever gotten. But yet here you sit under the sound of the gospel. Not the sound of me as if I'm some important friend. I am just, all I strive to be is just a conduit for what God asked me to say this morning. And so here you sit, hearing the fact that everyone's a sinner according to the Bible. As is written, there's none righteous, no not one. There is a penalty for our sin, for the wages of sin is death. That sounds like a call. Then you realize that Jesus Christ paid the penalty, but God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, he didn't wait for us to become perfect. Friend, if you think you've got to make it home to throw the Budweiser out of your fridge to get saved, you're going about it all wrong. He can save you right where you sit. And actually, he'd prefer that. Because if you think you've got to get rid of the cigarettes, the alcohol, the pornography, that you fill in the blank before you can accept Christ, then friend, that sounds like works to me. And works won't get you anywhere in the economy of heaven. because he's calling you. You're a sinner, there's a penalty for sin, Jesus paid the penalty, and the call to action is this, all you must do is accept it. That doesn't sound very comfortable when you walked in here today thinking, I'm set when it comes to eternity. I realize that. Your world, eternally speaking, might have been flip-topsy-turvy, and you can hate me for it all you want, but it doesn't make what I'm saying any less true. Let God be true, let his word be true, and every man a liar. And I don't often, but I challenge you to tell me one thing I've lied about today. Position of comfort was challenged. Christian friend, may I give you some statistics? I enjoy statistics when they're actually valid. They get twisted all in the media these days, don't they? Did you know in the year of Jesus, the time of Jesus, I should say, there were between 100 and 300 million people on earth at that time? Put that number in your mind. And maybe if you do math, you can get your calculator out for this, okay? 100 to 300 million. Fast forward to the year 1850, 1,850 years after the time of Christ, world population surpassed one billion people with a B, one billion. That's a big number. You'd be here all day trying to count it. Fast forward just another 100 years, so 100 to 300 in 0 AD, let's say. 1850 years later, there's one billion people. 100 years after that, 1950, how many of you were around 1950? We get raising hands? Be proud of it, be proud of it. You know some things, my generation, thank you, there you go, raising holy hands of the Lord, thank you. 100 years later, 1950. World population hit 2.5 billion people. Can you see the curve beginning? You know how exponential things work and all that? You see the curve beginning, right? Fast forward 69, almost 70 years later to 2019. That's when these statistics are valid as of. I wanna give them to you as I was giving them. But 2019, world population hit 7.8 billion people. Wow. three times the number of people in 70 years. Let's go back to 1950 though. If you had to hazard a guess, how many missionaries, I mean gospel preaching, Bible believing, I'm not saying they necessarily had the word Baptist, but they were gospel preaching, they would give a real salvation plea. How many missionaries like that do you think there were in 1950? If you guessed about 100,000, you'd be very close to on the dot. Think about that, 72, 73 years ago, 100,000 missionaries for 2.5 billion people. So, for the math geniuses among us, if you fast forward 70 years later and there's 7.8 billion people, that's over three times more than there were in 1950, how many missionaries, gospel preaching missionaries, would we want to have just to keep pace With world population, 300,000, right? So pray tell, Christian friend, why there are less than 30,000 missionaries across the entirety of the world today. Pastor, did God stop calling people in 1950? Or did we stop listening? Have you ever gotten into the hotel really late and you actually had time to sleep in the next morning, you know that little placard that hangs on the door? You stick out there to tell that nice cleaning lady that's gonna knock so very loudly at 9.45, please stay away. It says, do not disturb. Christian friend, lost friend, why did you walk into church today with one of those on your heart? Tell me it ain't true. Because when was the last time you let God speak to you? Do you have to go back, brush the dust off your memories and go back to teen camp way back in the day to remember the last time you actually let God speak to you? Or maybe, in a still small voice right now, knock, knock, knock. He's at the door of your heart. Knock, knock, knock. Here's one of the things I love about him. He allows us to be spiritual free agents. He doesn't bust down the door. You've got to let him in. But when he does move in, the problem is you realize your position of comfort gets challenged because you know he's not comfortable with all the other things you've got in the other rooms of your heart. Friend, what changed her mind? Her people were condemned, her position of comfort was challenged, and number three, her purpose became clear. Look at verse number 14. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed, and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time this. Christian friend, let me give you by way of an illustration, there was a missionary, days gone by, I believe it was turn of the century, 19th century thereabouts, he was standing on the prow of the ship, standing out there, And through the fog and the clouds, he saw an island chain begin to take shape. He'd been on boats and ships for literal weeks and months now to get to this, his destination. And the sailors began to lower a boat, and the captain walked up beside him. He said, sir, I know you've spent great time, effort, energy, and investment to come to this place to preach the gospel to these people. But friend, from what I understand, there are cannibals on that island. If you go, I will feel like an accessory to murder. I would very happily repay you. I'm not a rich man, but as captain of this vessel, I'd be happy to forgive your debt in coming here and take you back home where you belong. You will die here, he said. The man said two things. We, meaning him and a few folks that were coming with him, said, we died before we came. And then he followed up by saying, I'd rather have my blood dripping from their heathen hands than their blood dripping from mine at the judgment seat. I'll say it again. I'd rather have my blood dripping from their heathen hands than have their blood dripping from mine at the judgment seat. So Christian friend, could you actually stand and state your purpose? I have a sneaking suspicion if I asked you're a pastor with a smith, could you stand and tell us your purpose? I think you could probably string together a sentence or two that actually sounds somewhat biblical and like God placed it upon your heart. It's amazing. It used to be a teen camp back in the day, days gone by, you could ask a 16, 17, 18 year old, what are you gonna do with your life? And they could give you an answer, maybe they'd say, I'm following my dad into the trades, I'm going to seminary, I'm doing this. But there came a day, in recent days, when you asked a teenager that question, you got a monosyllabic answer, like, uh. And we'd chuckle. But you're thinking, I really hope he doesn't ask me today. Because you're racking your brain for something that sounds spiritual right now, aren't you? What's your purpose? A wiser man than me said this. for us as missionaries, evangelists, you'd fill in the blank, someone representing a tract of ministry. We've gotta come to you, and I know so many folks already support the ministry and all those things, I'm so very thankful for that, but we come to a church like this, and we put up a little display, and we have little packets and prayer cards and all these things, and we show videos and all that type of stuff, and we put on, please forgive me, But we put on the dog and pony show to convince you of our call to go to yonder fields and reach lost souls. Friend, if I have to come here to convince you of my call to go, shouldn't you have to convince me of your call to stay? You're one of God's children too, aren't ya? Or maybe you're not. And I say it with as much kindness as I can muster, friend, if you don't know Christ today, don't walk out those doors the same way. Because people are condemned. What's gonna change your mind? Position of comfort challenged. Purpose becomes clear. If you're listening right now and you know, I'm talking to Christian friends, you know that you haven't been a gospel witness in the last 12 calendar months. Today, friend, you can change that. You say it's that easy? Friend, I got gas at BP around the corner this morning. I very much appreciate the gas prices up here instead of Illinois. It's 55 cents cheaper. Try filling up an 85 gallon RV, that gets really painful. And you know what, as I walked out of the BP, there was a lady that had just pulled up on the other side of the little island there getting her gas. And can I tell you, not because I'm the director of a tract ministry, Not so I would have a good illustration to tell you this morning of recent days, but because I'm a Christian, I took out a little track wallet, opened it up, took out a gospel track and said, hey ma'am, the one I had was Christmas, well it wasn't quite Christmas related, it talked about the gift, the gift of Christ, works great for Christmas time. I don't have any more of them in here, but I said ma'am, I know we're a little ways from Christmas, Could I give you just a little gift to read when you get a moment? Pun intended, all right? There was a gift on the front cover, okay? Forgive me. Now, I can tell you, on a Sunday morning, she didn't seem enthralled and overjoyed to get that gospel tract. But as I pulled out, and she put that nozzle into her car, you know what she had? Two or three minutes of uninterrupted silence. And here we sit, knowing that there will be people that have uninterrupted terror and torment in a place called hell for all eternity if we do nothing. Friend, what's gonna change your mind? And to the lost, I say, that place I just referenced, a place called hell, it's not a curse word, it's a real place. And without Christ, you are destined to go there forever. There's no holding pattern, Brother Justin, like we have at Plains, where you just got to circle the runway for a little while. In Abram's bosom, where you fill in the blank. And there's no place where you're gonna be able to earn your way after this life into heaven. Your destination is based off of your decision here. And I can't guarantee that you're gonna have another opportunity once you walk out those doors. You say that sounds like you're putting the pressure on. Can I tell you, this could well be the very last time you and I ever speak. We have a gospel tract called I Have Plenty of Time. We'll end with this. Quoted by a young lady of 19 years old, she said it, to Evangelist Paul Levine many years ago. At the close of a night of meetings, she said, I have plenty of time. In response to the question, wouldn't you like to accept Christ today? She said, but I'll be back tomorrow. Less than 24 hours later, she took her last breath due to a car accident. She said, that could never happen to me. Really? Really. I told this to the first teenager as a youth pastor. I was for five years. I told this to a teenager. It would be almost 10 years ago now. We were sitting at an invitation time. He was talking to me about some decisions he needed to make, and I told him this. Friend, his name was Timmy. I said, Timmy, I make you a promise. You will either be a lifelong illustration or an example? I'll either be able to tell teenagers for years to come about Timmy who made the right decisions and hold him up as an example, or friend, I promise you, I say with no malice in my heart, you will be an illustration of God's judgment on those that don't listen when he calls. Can I tell you which way Timmy chose? Lost count two three four children out of a wedlock life ruined You see that that that's hurtful If it saves one of you today, it's worth it, and I will make you the same promise You walk out of here without Christ, and I hear about it from Europe from the pastor here. I promise you I If it has a chance of saving another down the line, I will use it as an illustration. But I'd much prefer to tell you about those Dante's Anthony and talk about Bruce from the back row. I'd love to raise your name in future days. What's gonna change your mind? So I asked this question with heads up and eyes open. God forbid something were to happen to you, do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt where you would go when you die? You say, normally we don't ask the type of question with people looking around. Well the Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so, in Psalm 107, if you're ashamed of him, he'll be ashamed of you. So I ask you again, God forbid something were to happen to you, and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you'd go to heaven when you die, would you raise your hand and praise to God for just a moment? Thank you so much, you can put your hands down, every head bowed and every eye closed. You may have been caught up in the moment and raised your hand in error. Or maybe because you knew you'd be lost in the crowd, you didn't raise your hand. Musicians will make ready and all those things, and they'll play in just a moment when I ask them to, but I'm talking to you, friend. I just asked if you know you're on your way to heaven, and I would hazard a guess in a crowd this size that there are people that don't know. I will not. I'll make the same promise to you I did to Don Teeson, Anthony, and Bruce. I won't embarrass you. I won't call you down. I just want to know so I can pray for you. No one's looking around. Just so I can pray for you. I don't care if your wife is sitting beside you, your husband beside you. I don't care how long you've come to this church. Please don't let pride take you to hell. If you're here today and you don't know Christ, would you lift your hand for just a moment so I can pray for you? I see that hand. Thank you. I see both those hands. Thank you. There's another. You put your hands down. There's someone else that would raise a hand. I saw three. If you can't be honest in the sight of God and the house of God, where can you be, friend? So I'll ask again. God forbid something were to happen to you. I'm not trying to make you doubt your salvation, but you know between you and God, if you don't know Christ, if you already raised your hand, you don't need to again. But if you're here and you don't know Christ, please, would you lift your hand for just a moment so I can pray for you? Is there another? It may be that you were uncomfortable. Maybe that you say, I couldn't bring myself to raise my hand. But maybe, just maybe, when we stand and there's a verse of invitation, maybe it'll come down to the front. And maybe you'll just shake my hand. I would love to talk to you for a moment. You'll be lost in the crowd. No one will see you. But if you did raise your hand, in just a moment, I'd like you to come forward in just a moment. What I'm gonna do is this. I'm gonna pray. When I say amen, the piano will begin playing. And we'll stand together. Christian, I don't know the tradition, I don't know your usual, but this altar will be open, Christian. If you'd like to come down, and you can pray in your seat, absolutely. But if you'd like to come down for just a moment and consecrate some time alone with God, I'd love for you to do that. And you know what it might do, Christian friend, if you come forward? It might prompt, we're not making emotional decisions here, but it might prompt someone that doesn't know Christ to say, he went forward, you know what, I can kind of get lost in the shuffle, I can go forward and talk to that guy. Maybe you would help someone else come forward too. I'm gonna pray, and I'll leave you alone with your decision with God. Father, we thank you for this day and this morning, the opportunities you've given us. Lord, I ask that those Christians among us would, if necessary, change our minds for the gospel's sake, and for those that don't know you among us, may they get that settled before it's eternally too late. We thank you for the liberty in preaching today. We thank you for the crowd assembled, but God, if you don't meet with us for the next few moments, it'll all be in vain. Please, Lord, do your work in your son's name, we pray. Amen. You stand right there. Some have already come. Music's playing. You stand. Heads bowed, eyes closed. If you'd like to come forward, you can do that. I'll talk to some of these that have already come. Christian, you can come if you'd like to. Known, looking around. If you'd like to come to the altar, you can do that. Pray in your seat if you'd like to. I'll turn it over to Pastor while I talk to these. Several people raised your hand a moment ago. Would you come? Every head bowed, every eye closed, please. Christian, pray. I don't know who raised their hands, but how about coming right now? Just slip out. Don't let this time pass without dealing with this most important issue. Would you do it? Maybe you didn't raise your hand, but you know you need to trust Christ today. You don't know if you died, you go to heaven. Let's settle that this very moment. Why don't you come right now and we'll quietly and we'll not embarrass you in any way, but we do want to help you. Would you come right now? Come on. Just step out. If you want somebody to come with you, ask them to come with you, that's fine. If you know the words, sing it quietly. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Turn. Your eyes look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Christian, pray for one more minute. Again, last time we're going to ask, why don't you come right now? Listen, is it worth it? Is it worth it to walk out of these doors this morning not having 100% assurance if he died you'd go to heaven? Would you come right now? It's the last call. We're not going to prolong it, but we're waiting for you. It's time to come. It's time to come. It's time to come. It's time to come. Would you do it? Josh. While we're still waiting, we'll sing just one verse of that Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, 639, just verse number one, as we conclude our service this morning. O soul, are you weary and troubled? O night, in the darkness you seek. Life for a look at the Savior, and life for a wanted and free. And with the eyes of the Lord Jesus, You may be seated. Thank you. All right. Well, God bless you. Thanks so much for being here. Do you have anything you need to add right now? Sure. All right. Why don't you come on up? All right, we'll start session number two. We'll be out about noon here in just a moment. No, I'm just joking. Down here we have Jody and Ray and Dustin, some other folks being dealt with as well. But these three right here, I know for a fact, they just prayed and accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. And so if you'd say amen and give them a hand. Very good. And some others being dealt with as well. And Pastor, thank you so much for the opportunity. I'll turn it back over. All right, that's wonderful. Some others are still being dealt with. You might wanna, just real quick, just have a chat with these folks. Well, is it good morning? Folks, anytime one soul comes to Christ, what are the angels doing? They're jumping up and down having a party. And then, well, they should. And we rejoice in those that have come to Christ this morning. And boy, that's special. And we're so thankful for that. Well, folks, what we're gonna do, we're gonna break. Justin's gonna come up in just a moment. And after he's done, we're not gonna sing any more songs. We'll have the playing after Justin's going to take an offering for Brother McCrory, now we've given them, the church has already given them a nice checkbook. Folks, that's a huge ministry. They could use your help. And I'll have Justin come on up and pray for that. As soon as we take the offering, shoot on down towards the gym if you don't know where it is. Just follow everybody down there, watch the kids running, you'll know where it is. And there'll be some just very light refreshments because 10.45 right back here, second session, combined Sunday school this morning. And immediately after the combined Sunday school, big giant chicken dinner. Winter, winter chicken dinner down in the gym. It's all set up, ready to go. That's when we'll have our big time together. So just light refreshments in a few moments. So thanks again for being here. Please stick around. You don't want to miss the second session. You don't want to miss the lunch. And we will not have an evening service tonight because of the lunchtime and us all being together. So God bless you. Thanks so much for being here. Justin. Before I pray, I want to just mention, many of you know my testimony coming to faith in Christ. The Lord used WVCY to work in my heart, and along with listening to VCY 15, 20 years ago, I did listen to Brother Mark Smith. Mark and Nancy Smith are now pastoring a church in Pennsylvania. And Brother Micah McCurry and his wife Rebecca and their two beautiful little girls are there now at Bible Tracks Incorporated. I started praying for Mark Smith Probably 15 years ago and so each day I pray for Mark Smith and I do pray for Micah and Rebecca and their family and I would ask you to Be praying for them and we're so thankful for this time that they are able to be here with us The encouragement that they are to us. I pray that you've been encouraged to Micah. Thank you. Let's As the men are ready, let's have a word of prayer to ask the blessing on the offering as it's given here today. Lord, we are so thankful for Bible Tracts Incorporated, the ministry that is there, that you have used in countless hearts and lives as the gospel has been shared, as people have been challenged in their relationship with you, Lord. Lord, I pray that you'd bless the offering as it's given here today. We pray that you'd take it and continue to use it. Use it all around the world as these tracts are handed out, as the seeds are planted. And Lord, today, as we've been able to witness the harvest, Lord, we praise you. Lord, please bless this offering as it's given. In Christ's name we pray, amen. So, Well, please stay and join us down in the gymnasium. If you can't, if you can't stay for the second session, have a blessed day in the Lord. You are dismissed.