Well, if you have your Bibles with you this morning, I want to invite you to turn with me, please, to Mark chapter 4 and verse 21. Mark chapter 4, the gospel of Mark. chapter 4 and verse 21. Again, we welcome those of you who are visiting. We're very, very glad to have you with us. And we are preaching as a series through the gospel of Mark. And we're really at this point in a series, as we are spending the next few Lord's days talking about kingdom parables. the kingdom parables. These are very short stories, if you will, that teach us a truth about the nature of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Last week we were examining the parable of the seeds and the soils and today we're going to look at the parable of the lamp and the measurement. So let's pray together and then I'll read starting at verse 21 down to verse 25. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You. We love You. We praise You for Your Word, as we just sang. We thank You that Jesus is the Word incarnate. We thank You that He is with You, and He is also fully God. We thank You, Lord, for the Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, and pray for His help Lord, I need help preaching, and all of us have need of help hearing, Lord. And so, Lord, help us this morning. Feed us. Don't let anybody go home hungry today. Lord, I pray that each and every person would feel as though they have personally experienced a real blessing from you by your Spirit, and that you would strengthen our souls today and encourage us in Jesus Christ, for it's in his name we pray. Amen. Mark chapter 4, beginning at verse 21 to 25, and he, Jesus, was saying to them, The lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it? Or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden except to be revealed, nor has anything been secret but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. And He was saying to them, take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given. And whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Amen. Well, as I mentioned, we're talking about the kingdom. These are great parables because they tell us truths about the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ kingdom and his ministry. And today we're going to look at two parables in particular. I think these are probably the two most difficult ones to understand. So if you're struggling a little bit this morning, don't worry. I think this is sometimes hard to understand. And that's one of the reasons why Jesus said, you know, listen closely here, you know, what the parable is saying here. Now, last week, as I said, we looked at the seed and the soils. And what Jesus was primarily teaching us is that the kingdom of Christ, which started, was inaugurated with the ministry of Christ in His coming, and it continues to this day. So the things that we're reading about and the things that we're studying about the kingdom are still applicable as they were in Jesus' day. So I want you to understand that, that we're talking about things that are going on right now in the church and in the world that are still completely relevant. Now, what Jesus said last week when we studied this was that my kingdom essentially is built by the Word of God. Jesus Christ, boys and girls, is in heaven, obviously. He came to earth, He died on the cross, He was raised from the dead, and He ascended to heaven. What is Jesus doing? Is Jesus doing nothing? Is Jesus just sitting back and letting things unfold? What is He doing? Well, we know that Jesus is praying for us, and we know that Jesus is the head of the church, And we know that Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit, and we know Jesus is making intercession for the church. And so when we get these little glimpses of what Christ is doing, here's the overall picture. Christ is building his kingdom in China, in Japan, in Vietnam, in Laos, in Hong Kong, in all of Asia, in Australia. in Africa, in Europe, in the Americas. Jesus Christ is building His church and what Jesus does in these kingdom parables is He tells us little truths about how the church and the kingdom operate. And what last week we learned was that Jesus Christ builds His church primarily through the Word. The Word of God is inspired by the Spirit, it was inspired by the Holy Spirit and thus without error it is what we call inerrant and infallible. Cannot err, does not err. And God takes that word which he compares, Jesus compares to a seed. And the sower goes out and he sows the seed. So when you witness to somebody, you're sowing the seed. When you gossip to a neighbor about the gospel of Jesus Christ, you're sowing a seed in that person's life. That's one of the reasons, you know, Peter says, you and I need to be ready for the opportunity when it comes so that we'd be found ready to sow a good word in due season. And so the church uses you, uses me, uses the foolishness of preaching, uses Bible studies, uses books that you give to people. as a means of sowing the Word of God. Now we know that Jesus says that that Word meets with a variety of soils. And sometimes it's a hard soil and it gets eaten up by the evil ones. Sometimes it's a soil that brings up something quickly, but due to time it fades away. because of persecution or because of opposition from the world. And it withers and it never comes to maturity. Sometimes it gets choked out and we have to be aware of all those things and be on guard for them in our own life because we still are battling. Even as Christians, even if you've been a Christian for several decades now, we're still having to battle. We're still having to battle the world, the flesh, and the evil one. And we're always seeking to grow in grace by the grace of God and bear fruit for His kingdom. So the Word is important, preaching is important, and we need to pray for the preaching. I hope you pray for me, not just for my sake so I look good, but so that God would bless the church. I do want to look good, but I also want the blessing to come out. I don't want to preach a clunker. But we want God to come down, and that is the great need of our day, is for the Spirit of God to plow up men's hearts, to awaken men to the very dangerous state that many men are in, because they are without Jesus Christ, to open up their heart, just like He opened up the heart of Lydia, and sow that word in their heart that it would bear fruit for the Lord Jesus Christ. Having said that, we now come to verse 21 and we find here two parables that I want us to look at. The first one is verses 21 and 22. The second one is verse 23 to 25. And in verse 21 to 22, the point that I want to bring is this, that the kingdom of Christ brings light to the fallen world. The kingdom of Christ brings light to a fallen world. That's the first parable of the lamp, the parable of the lamp. And then the parable of the measurement is verse 23 and 25. And the point of that one is this, the kingdom's future blessings are inaugurated in this world. The kingdom's future blessings are inaugurated in this world. And I think of these two, I think the latter is the harder one to understand. And so you're going to have to think hard with me when we get to the second point, okay? But those are the two main points. So let's talk about the first one. The kingdom of Christ brings light to a fallen world. Now if you have your Bible there, let's look at verse 21 and 22 together. And He, that is Jesus, was saying to them, and here is where we're going to have to make a point here. If you have a New American Standard, It says, a lamp is not brought to be put under a basket. And I know that the New American Standard is not alone in that translation, a lamp. But here's something we need to recognize. In the Greek, It doesn't say a lamp. It says the lamp. There's a definite article here. Many commentators pick up on this, and I think it is a good point. Oh, you're like, oh pastor, that's just like an OP minister to worry about an indefinite article versus a definite article. A lamp, the lamp. No, listen here. I think that when Jesus says the lamp, he is meaning here, I think primarily himself. He is the light of the world. And so it's not just any ordinary lamp, but it is the lamp. When the lamp is brought into the house, it is to be set up in a place of prominence so that it what? So that it gives light to the whole room. Now, all you boys and girls can understand this, right? Your power goes out, right? unless you're like the Andrews and you've got a backup supply of power at your house, the rest of us have to get candles out, right? And so we have to light the candles. One time, my mother loves candles and they were regular birthday gifts for her. One time the power went out And she has so many candles. We lit all these candles. The neighbors actually thought we had power in the house. We didn't. But what do you do once you light those candles? Those candles are lit and we don't put it under the bed, right? That would be dangerous, right? We don't cover it up. But we put it somewhere where it can maximize the illumination. And Jesus is saying something important about the kingdom and about Christ himself. Christ has come into the world to give light to the world. The world is in darkness because of the fall and it is Jesus Christ who gives light. And this is the message of the church that is so important that we tell our friends and our neighbors that Jesus Christ really is the only hope of the world. People say, sometimes I hear it and I cringe and they say, America is the last best hope of the world. And I cringe a little bit. America is a great place. America has so many blessings. America is wonderful. But America is not the last best hope for the world. Jesus Christ. We can't put America in the place of Christ. That's idolatry. America is as great as it is because of the grace of Christ. It is Christ who has made us what we are. Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. He is the light of the world, and we always have to put Christ up there. And Jesus Christ gives light to a dark and fallen world. You know, have you ever thought it interesting how so much of the world even marks time around Jesus Christ? I mean, time is one of the most significant things that we could come up with and think of. And yet even the way we measure time and the calendar is based on Christ. Now, I know liberal professors at universities have changed before Christ to BCE, before the common era. And you're like, well, what was before the common era? Oh, that was before Jesus. You can't get away from the fact that Christ is central to this whole world that we live in. And He is the Son of God who has come to bring life and light. And that if you're without Jesus Christ, this is where you need to begin. You need to begin By going to Jesus Christ by faith, you need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to recognize that He is the Son of God and He is the light and hope of the world. John 3.16, which we prayed earlier, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish, should not go into darkness. should not go into perdition, but what? Have everlasting life. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by the Lord Jesus Christ. So the kingdom, Christ is saying here, is like the lamp. The lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it? Or under a bed, it is not brought to be put Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand, he says. Indeed, that's where we put it. So Jesus Christ, now this is important because I think one of the things that he's telling his disciples here is that ultimately, yes, Christ will be lifted up and all men will come unto him. They will look upon him whom they have pierced. For a season, though, it looks as though the light is under the bushel, doesn't it? Because it seems as though Jesus, for a season, is hiding himself. It's that Jesus seems to give the people parables, mysteries, rather than telling them outright who he was. The demons shout who he is, and what does he do? He silenced the demons. Now occasionally we see in the gospel Jesus making himself known to the woman at the well. And she says, well I know that the Messiah is coming. And he says, I am he. We know that the man who was at the waters of Bethsaida knew something of the coming of the Christ. And Jesus acknowledges to him that he is the Christ. But for many it seems as though Christ, and this is why commentators and theologians will speak of the hidden Christ in his earthly ministry. Now, why does Jesus do this? It's because, I think, because Jesus knew the hearts of men and He knew that Israel was not ready. They were wanting a king like all the other nations. They wanted a king who would feed them every day, a king who would heal them, a king who wasn't going to be one who would come into the world and allow himself to be lifted up on a Roman cross and die. But Christ didn't come into this world to be just an ordinary king. Jesus Christ has come into the world to bring life and light. And the only way that that would happen is that He would die on the cross for sins and for sinners. And therefore, it was incumbent upon Christ, seemingly for a season, to, if you will, hide Himself from the people because the people still had that old pernicious sin that they had back in the day when they made Saul king. We want a king like all the other nations. But Jesus has come into the world as a king to be sure. We see that in Luke chapter 2 and in what we often refer to as, you know, those Christmas passages. But Jesus Christ came as a king to give his life as a ransom for many. What does this mean for us today? Well, one of the applications is this, that is Jesus Christ is the light and He gives light unto those who believe in Him. Jesus tells us, for example, on the Sermon on the Mount, that because of your union with Jesus Christ, you are the light of the world. Now if you look at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus doesn't command you to be the light of the world. He says you are the light of the world. If you know Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are shining the light of Christ through your life, through your words. And this is a tremendous privilege and a tremendous responsibility, and so we should Be careful how we walk as wise men in an age of unbelief and rebellion. But you are being used of God to bring light to the world. You are being used of God. If you are a Christian here this morning, let me encourage you that the Lord is using you to bring a knowledge of Christ to other people. Many times, it is not only in what you say, but also what you do. People notice that you are different. People notice that you are not like others, that you live a life of service to others, a life of self-denial, a life that is given to glorify God, but also through your words. You know, I can remember even conversations as a child. And I had with others who were children who knew Christ and can remember some of the things they told me about Jesus being the Son of God and how that has stuck with me my whole life. Even you young kids, you know, out of the mouth of babes, God is pleased often to sow a word. And therefore, you know, Paul says to Timothy, don't let anyone look down on your youth. You know, God will still use you as a young person because you have the Word of God within you. So that is one thing I want us to see. Also that we, again, as a church, another application is this, that we always must be preaching Christ. You've heard me say this before. that the church must always keep Jesus Christ central in our preaching and teaching. Even if I'm preaching from the Old Testament, even if I'm preaching about the laws of Moses, or the sacrificial system, or whether we're preaching from one of the songs of David, or one of the Proverbs of Solomon, or one of the prophets, the prophecies that they are preaching are always pointing us to the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole of the Scriptures is to point us to Jesus Christ who is the light of the world. You know, you remember how Jesus was, after the resurrection, He was making appearances unto men and He made an appearance unto the men on the road to Emmaus. And the Bible tells us that Jesus hid Himself from their eyes. And yet, what do we know? He began to unpack the Old Testament to them and then revealed himself to them and disappeared. But the response was interesting. He said, did not our hearts burn? within us as He explained these things to us. And wouldn't you have loved to have heard that redemptive historical sermon when Jesus is taking these Old Testament passages and showing the men on the road to Emmaus how they did what, whether it was from the law or from the prophets or from the Psalms. they were always pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we sing Psalm 23 and we say that the Lord is my shepherd and John chapter 10 tells us that Jesus is the good shepherd, we know that we are singing of Christ in that psalm. When we see Moses in the book of Leviticus commanding the Old Testament ceremonial ordinances to be observed by the Jews, and all those bloody sacrifices of sheep and goats and bulls, and the pouring out of the blood at the base of the altar, and the taking of a little bit of that blood and putting it on the four horns of the altar, and the animal being laid up on the fire as a consuming whole burnt offering, All of that is pointing us to the fact that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, came into this world to give His life for us by laying it down on the cross, that Jesus could do for us by dying on the cross what no goat or bull or calf could do. Because the book of Hebrews says no animal could take away the consciousness of sins. but only Jesus Christ by laying down His life could do so. And so the church, what we have to be about is pointing people to Christ. In our neighborhoods, we need to be pointing people to Christ. We need, in our Bible studies, it's not about what does this passage mean to you, okay? It's what does this passage mean about Jesus? That's the chief part. Now, I'm not saying that there isn't a point of application in these things, but if you go to your average evangelical Bible study, it's always, what does this mean to you or for you? Really, what we should be saying is, what does this mean for Christ? That's the point of the Bible. The Bible points us to Christ because why? Jesus is the lamp. He is the lamp. And if we don't have Christ, we're missing the point. You know, I remember my mentor and pastor used to tell me, and I think he was quoting from Edmund Clowney, who was a professor out at Westminster West in California. And he said, if you preach a sermon, and if you preach that sermon in a synagogue and nobody got upset, You didn't bring Christ out sufficiently in that sermon. That is, when we preach here, we should always be putting Jesus there. Otherwise, what you're doing is you're just practicing what is called moralism. You're just teaching on morality. And that's really what a lot of churches end up doing if they go liberal, is that they're really, instead of preaching Christ and Him crucified, they're just giving moralisms to people. And that's not the power of God unto salvation. That doesn't save anybody. It is only the knowledge of the gospel in Jesus Christ that changes your life. And so because he's the lamp, and if we take Christ out of the preaching, if we take Christ out of the interpretation of the scriptures, then we are left with darkness. And remember, the Pharisees believed that the Bible was the Word of God, but here was the fundamental problem with the Pharisees, is that the Pharisees didn't see Jesus in the Scriptures. They didn't see Christ in the Scriptures. And so they're persecuting Christ. And they said, well, we're, you know, we're the children of Abraham. And Jesus said, no, you're not. He said, if you really were the children of Abraham, you would believe in me because the Scriptures speak of me. I'm the lamp, I'm the light of the world. And Abraham saw that light from a distance thousands of years earlier and he rejoiced in that light that he had. Isaiah saw the light of Christ 700 years before Christ came into the world, but it was Christ that Isaiah prophesies about in Isaiah 53 where you have the suffering servant of Jesus dying on the cross. And how sometimes you read these passages like Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, you know, and not see Jesus Christ. The only answer for that we learn from the New Testament, Paul tells us in Corinthians, it's because a veil is over their eyes and they can't see. They don't see the light. of Jesus Christ. And it's only when the Spirit of God comes and takes away the veil that they see the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. So look at verse 22. The second part here of this, he says, for nothing is hidden except to be revealed, nor has anything been secret but that it would come to light. Here again, my understanding of this verse would be this chiefly, that what he's speaking of here really is of Christ himself. That is, Christ who in a sense maybe was hidden in the old covenant is brought forth with greater clarity and revelation in the new, that with the coming of Jesus Christ, these things that formerly maybe were concealed are now manifest to us. And that is once you see Jesus Christ as the light, you see everything clearly. You know, Psalm 36 says, in thy light, O Lord, we see light. That's kind of a weird verse, isn't it? In thy light, we see light. What does that mean? Well, I think what the psalmist is pointing us to is that in the light of Christ, we see the light of the Scriptures. In the light of Jesus Christ, we have understanding now of the Bible. And the things that formerly may have been hidden, now with the coming of Christ, they are revealed. They should make sense. And this is what makes that first generation who persecuted Christ so tragic, is that here the light of the world has come among them and the darkness, John said in his prologue, the darkness did not comprehend it. The light of the world came down into the world and the darkness didn't apprehend, didn't comprehend who He was. So the kingdom is a kingdom of light. My last application here for this section is this, that this is the hope of the world. We need revival. As I said last week, or two weeks ago, we need revival and reformation. We need an awakening. We need the Holy Spirit to bring forth with power and conviction this fundamental truth of who Jesus Christ is. There's 8, as I said last week, 8 billion people in the world. You think about that, all those souls, that's a lot of souls. 8 billion souls, all of whom will be in eternity in 90 years, with the exception of maybe the infants among us in this world. Eight billion people who need the Lord Jesus Christ. I've read, I don't know if this is true, but demographers have said there are as many people alive right now on this earth as the totality of all who have ever lived. And it means that the population is growing such that you have as many people alive right now as those who have lived and died. So all of human history from Adam up until this point, you have that same number right now that are among us. That makes, I think, it all the more critical that We pray for revival. We pray that the light of Christ would shine on the nations and that the nations would see the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to move here to the second of the two parables. The kingdom brings light to a fallen world. Now, secondly, verse 23 to 25, the kingdom's future blessings are inaugurated in this world. The kingdom is among us. And I want to emphasize that. You have denominations out there, they love the Lord, they're Bible-believing, godly people, but they have a future view of the kingdom. They think the kingdom is just only in the future. I would argue that the New Testament teaches the kingdom is already here among us in Christ. The kingdom of God has already been inaugurated through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has gone to heaven. He's given the Spirit for what? For the advancement of the kingdom, the building of the kingdom. We're going to talk more about that next week when we talk about the mustard seed and the tree that grows. But the kingdom has been inaugurated. The kingdom is among us here. Now, what in the world is Jesus saying here in this next section. He says, if anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. That's always a good application for us. And what does He want us to hear? It's interesting that also Jesus uses the word to hear three times in these verses. So this hearing is very important. And He was saying to them, take care what you listen to. Now, here's where it gets tricky. It may be hard to understand. He says, by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you and more will be given to you besides. Now, what is the standard of measure and what does that have to do with listening? Why does he say listen carefully? Because the measurement you use is that it's going to be employed later on. Here's what I think Jesus is saying. The kingdom of God grows and advances by way of the Word. We saw that last week. The Word is the seed. The seed is sown. Jesus is saying, therefore, it is very incumbent upon us that we listen and hear the Word of God closely. And when he says that the measure you use shall impact something in the future, what he is referring to, which would have been known to his audience, original audience, is that they would use these baskets for measurements, much like we might use, you know, a measuring cup, you know, a two-cup measuring cup in the kitchen. And Jesus is saying here that we need to be careful how we listen because the way we receive the Word, the amount that we take in by the measurement we use, that has implications for our future in glory. Or to put it another way, the more you and I listen to the Word of God, take the Word of God in, let the Word abide in us, pray over that word, meditate on it day and night, and bear fruit because of that word, that that which God has given you in this life will multiply in the world to come. That is, put it another way, your position, if I can use that language, in glory, is based in part on what you do now with God's word. What we do with God's Word now and its sanctifying influences on us has an impact in the world of glory. To whom much is given, much is what? Required. Why? Well, because you've been given such a large portion. You know, you think of those Christians in other countries that sometimes literally only have a few pages of the Bible stowed away. you know, sheets of the Bible. I don't want to be, you know, improper or gross here, but, you know, I remember hearing a story of people who were in prison camps in China, internment camps, because they were Christians. And there were these outhouses. paper, the bathroom tissue that was used often because the communist government didn't believe in the Bible, they would use the Scriptures, pages from the Scriptures. And we had brothers and sisters who would go and rescue those pages and clean them and hide them so they could have a little bit of Scripture. to read and meditate on, and then share with others secretly in the internment camp. They wanted the scriptures so badly. Think what their position in glory must be, that those who had so, by way of comparison, so little compared to us. Jesus is saying the measure we use, there's another video, I think I shared it years ago, and I'm sure I could probably find it out there somewhere, somewhere in Southeast Asia, where you see these Christians gathered together and they get their very first Bible. And they treasure that Bible, they kiss that Bible, it is almost with reverence. For the first time in their life, they have a copy of God's Word for themselves. And Jesus is saying, we need to be careful. Now, that's not to make you feel guilty because you have several copies of the Bible at home on your shelf like I do. But here's the point, we who in the West have been given this wonderful opportunity to have the totality of the Scriptures. in our language and we've had it in our language for centuries now, several centuries. I'm just saying we have all the more obligation to ingest that word and to take it in and let it change us and to sanctify us and prepare us for glory. If we use a small standard of measurement we're going to get a small result in glory. I'm not saying you're not saved, but I'm just saying that those who love the Word of God, those who treasure it as the Word of God, who, like the Bible itself, you know, meditates on it day and night, like Jesus said, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word. Yes, you need to read the book of Nahum. Do I really need the book of Habakkuk? Yes, apparently we do. That God has given us Habakkuk and Nahum and other books that often get overlooked. that if we will but treasure it with a large measurement, take it in using a large basket rather than a small basket, it has consequences for the future, for our future. So it's interesting that the kingdom parables here speak quantitatively and if I can use the word qualitatively. The kingdom parables speak about external growth. But it also speaks about internal growth, doesn't it? It speaks about that what we do now, as R.C. Sproul used to like to say, and Ligonier Ministries made it a motto, what we do now counts for eternity. And therefore, what that means is we ought to treasure the Lord's days. We ought to delight in the Lord's days. We ought to make the most of the Lord's days. It's not just how little can I do on the Lord's day to, you know, just ease my conscience and check the box, but this is a vacation day, a spiritual vacation day. It's a holiday where the Lord has given us all these opportunities to be blessed by the Bible. Notice, look at verse 25. I'm going to close here. Verse 25, whoever has, to him more shall be given. And whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Now, what is Jesus talking about here? My understanding of this verse is this, those who in the day of judgment are found to be fruitful because of the Word of God, those who have They will be blessed with more in eternity. Those who have something to present to the Lord by way of God's grace in their life and the blessing and sanctification that have occurred because of the Word, they will be given more. But those who have not, how can Jesus say those who have not, even what they have shall be taken away from them? I would take it to be this, there are those who have had Sunday, after Sunday, after Sunday, after Sunday, after Sunday, after Sunday of opportunities, and didn't do much with it, and didn't do much with it. Even that which they have will be taken away in the day of judgment. Oh, Bethsaida, oh, Chorazin, if the things, if the miracles that had been done in Tyre and Sidon, or had been done in front of you, had been done in front of Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented and believed. You had all this opportunity to listen to the Word of God in Jesus Christ, who is the Word, and you did nothing or little with it. I came to you as one who comes to his own and you rejected me, says Jesus. If I had gone to Tyre and Sidon, they would have believed. If I had gone down to the land where the Queen of Sheba was from, they would have believed because she was willing to come and listen when someone far less than me came named Solomon. Those are people who took what little they had and they took it for all that it was worth. And the Queen of Sheba is one day going to look at you and say, what did you do with God's Word? I only had Solomon to listen to. But you had Jesus Christ set before you in the plainness of the New Testament. What, my friend, did you do? The people of Tyre and Sinai are not only going to stand up and condemn Bethsaida and Chorazin, but they're going to condemn people in LaGrange, Georgia, who had the preaching of God's Word and didn't do anything with it, who took it for granted, who let it wash off them as soon as they went out the church door, who let it be like water off the back of a duck. And they're going to condemn on that day, Jesus said. Friends, you have got a wonderful, young people, you've got a wonderful privilege and we want you to make the most of it. Wonderful opportunity. It's probably one of the saddest things I have to endure as a pastor is to love people and preach to them and plead with them and for them to grow up. and walk away. Now maybe in God's grace they will be awakened and God will take all of that knowledge and preaching that they had in their youth and bring it to bear. And I hope that's the case for many. We've had adult converts in this church. That was their story. But I would say young people make the most of it right now. I would say that to us adults, make the most of this time right now because He who has