Hey, man, that's good music right there. Hey, man. I enjoyed that sing and that makes you want to preach I've got up to preach after some specials that had to overcome it Let's preach somewhere the other day that I sitting there I couldn't decide does that sound like a mule caught in an electric fence or a blue jay hung up in a bagpipe it was one of the two but I couldn't quite make it out you know, but I'm glad that wasn't a That wasn't the case this morning. I enjoyed the choir. I enjoyed that. I certainly enjoyed that special. I enjoyed listening to you all sing. You see, that's why we have a song service. We can admonish and encourage each other. And I don't sing real loud, and you're welcome. But I join in because I want to have a little part. Amen. But it's good to be here. Always good to be a Kazaddale. I mean that, and I appreciate it. just to get asked to come back. I preach some places they don't ask me back and I'm happier about that than they are. But I like coming here and it's a joy and it's an honor. I mean that. It's always an honor. Respect a man's pulpit and to get asked that you're entrusted with something you don't want to do you don't want to mess that up amen and thank you for being here and Enjoyed the Sunday school hour and be back tonight Give God the whole day amen for Satan out the assembling of yourself together and so much the They'll come last, come more. I really wonder why we don't have Sunday afternoon church. I mean we all think, well don't give the preacher no ideas. But really if we're supposed to do more when we see the day approaching and it has to do with the assembling of the saints, where are we doing the more at? I mean I'm just saying. Maybe that's something to think about. Amen, maybe pray about. But it's good to be here. Take your Bible, Hebrews 11, will you do that? If I remember right, last time I was here was in February. I tried to take little notes and jot things down and not preach the same thing twice in the same place too close together, even though I have pulled that stunt a time or two. I heard about a fellow, Last time I was here preached on Ananias and Sapphira of a morning. Remember the sauerkraut? Remember the sauerkraut? One lady has already told me she remembers the sauerkraut. And then on Sunday night we talked about one of the heroes of faith, Samson. So this morning I thought we'd come back and felt led to go back to the heroes of faith for this morning. But I heard about that, talking about preaching the same thing I'm not telling the same story or whatever. There's a guy who decided he'd like to be R. Lakin. He just thought he was a great preacher, I'm telling you. But he was a great preacher. This preacher decided he'd like to be R. Lakin so much that he found out everywhere he was going to preach, he'd go listen to him preach. Off he went and he'd listen to him preach. He came up after him to church one night and said, Dr. Lakin, I drive a long way and I want to hear you preach and I've heard you preach five times now. You preached on the same subject, you told the same stories, you told the same jokes, five times, exactly the same. I remember specifically. Dr. Lakin looked at him and he says, well, I've heard you preach about 10 times, I can't remember a thing you've ever said. So anyway, sometimes if you say something twice, maybe it's not all bad, amen? But Hebrews chapter number, be back tonight in church, 5.30, be back and then come, let's pray that we see God do something. And this morning, Hebrews 11 and verse number seven, Hebrews 11 and verse number seven, This is one of the heroes of faith, great, great chapter in the Bible. And most of you are very familiar with this verse. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear. prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for your Word. I thank you that we have it, Lord, in our language, and infallible, preserved, and Lord, help us now to rightly divide it. Lord, help me to just say what I should, and nothing more or less. Lord, thank you, Lord, for the sign school hour, the singing this morning, and the songs of Zion. And Lord, now the reading of your word. Lord, I pray that you'd speak to hearts. Lord, make us willing to be changed, to be more like you. Bless the preacher and his family and watch over them. Lord, I pray that you put angels about them and bring them back here safely, refreshed. Lord, we have your will and way now in every heart. When the invitation comes, Lord, do what we've always known we can't do, but we've always believed You can. And draw men and women, boys and girls, to Yourself. Make us more like our Savior. In His name we pray. Amen. The Bible speaks here about a man named Noah. I've always imagined Noah to be bald-headed and have a white beard about four foot long. You say, where's that in the Bible? Nowhere. I'm just saying, just always thought that. In my mind's eye, we kind of get somebody in our mind what they look like. I don't know why we always think Noah's bald, but we usually do. Don't take me long to find a rabbit to chase. Let me say something to you parents here before we, speaking about bald heads, long white beards and what they look like. Be careful of cartoons being used all the time to teach your children Bible stories. Because they'll start thinking it's like Paul Bunyan and the Big Blue Ox and Jack and the Beanstalk, cartoon characters. You see what I'm saying? There's nothing wrong with the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, I don't think. But Noah wasn't a cartoon character. He was a real person. Amen? And so we've got to be careful that we don't give our kids the idea of this is all make. It's not. It's real. You say, you really believe there's a man named Noah? I do. I do. The Bible says there was. I believe that the flood is a historical fact. I believe it happened, just like God said. Thursday and Friday, I was down in Tennessee, and driving home, you look where they cut 75 out, and you got the rocks on each side. Just look at them. What do you see? You see layers. Layer after layer after layer. Get you a mason jar and go out in the backyard and collect some dirt and some topsoil and some fertilizer that spilled out and some pebbles and give it a good shake and set it down and check it in the morning. You know what you'll see? You'll see layers, because when the world is under a flood and you squish everything up, then as it recedes, you will create, just like God said, amen? There's this nonsense, and each one of those layers is about 10 million years or something. You kids, if you're in a school, hold your hand, and they teach that, hold your hand up and say, where in the world does that exist? Where in the world are those layers like that? Then they got to digging a hole down in South Carolina. You know what they found? They found these big old oak trees standing right straight up, right through all them layers. There they stood, a big old log. What does that mean? That means that those layers were created all at once in the lifetime of a tree. And men become liars, but God remains true. Does that make any sense at all? You see what I'm saying? I believe it's true. Jesus believed. Anthropologists tell us that any group of people will go back and talk about a flood. Now some of them have perverted accounts because it's just what they write. But it's interesting, that's what you would expect from the history of any people, it goes back to a flood. Amen? Jesus believed in the flood. Jesus said, but as in the days of Noah were, as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. As the day, Lord will and talk about that tonight. And I'm gonna challenge you tonight and I'm gonna say something that's gonna sound so wrong and then I'm gonna try to convince you I was right before we're done, okay? But it's going to be on that verse. But when Jesus talks about as the days of Noah, He was talking about a real man that lived in a real time, that built a real ark and floated on real water. Jesus said that it was real. Amen? And I believe that Noah was a real person. Now let's look at, he was chosen here to be One of the heroes of faith. Bible says, by faith, Noah being warned of God of things not seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house. Noah had a faith. Now listen, Baptists. Noah had a faith, but it moved him to do something. Amen? James chapter number 2 and verse number 14, let me read you something. The Bible says, What doth a prophet, my brethren, though a man say he have faith and have not works, can faith save him? Now there's no contradiction between what James wrote and what Paul wrote. They go hand in hand and they're both saying the same thing even though they come at it from a little bit of a different angle. Now watch. If a brother or sister be naked or destitute of daily food, one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled. Notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? Somebody comes in, they need clothes, they need food, and what does the average Baptist do? Lord bless you. Well, Lord bless you, doesn't put clothes on your back, and Lord bless you, doesn't put food in your stomach. James is saying, what good have you done? Now watch. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone. Yea, a man may say thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God, and thou dost well. The devils will even tremble, but wilt thou No, oh vain man, that faith without works is dead. What does that mean? It means faith, what does that mean in Greek? It means faith without works is dead. Does that mean that works takes you to heaven? No, for by grace you're saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not. of works, lest any man should boast. Well then what does all of that mean? It says that faith without works is dead because if you, whatever you're calling faith, if it's not works, then it's not Bible saving faith, it's dead. It's dead! How much, now listen, how much would any of us, if we were alive in those days, and here comes out a man, bald headed or not, you know, and this man comes out and he's preaching for 120 years and says God is going to destroy this whole world with water, And then we're looking at him and he said, y'all gonna drown, and the water's gonna cover the mountains, and the animals gonna perish. And then every night he went home and ate dinner, and the next day he came back and he preached again. But all he ever did was preach. How much would any of us really believe that he really believed his own sermon? He's blowing hot air. I mean, you know, the flood's coming, the flood's coming, the flood's coming. Well, what are you doing about it? Faith without works is dead. Now, judging by, we would say he doesn't believe his own sermon. He doesn't really believe what he's saying. Why should I worry too much about it if he's not doing something? If what he calls his faith is not producing works, then it's the wrong kind of faith. How many of us, how many Baptists, by the way they live, really believe in a real place called hell? How many of us really believe that there's a place called hell? Where the worm doth not, and the fire is not quenched, and lost men, women, boys, and girls, when they go to that awful place, and there's no exit signs, and they are there forever, and forever, and forever, and forever, and the fire is eating away, and they're screaming, and the gnashing of teeth forever and forever. How can we claim that we love people that are lost and dying and going to that awful place? How do we really believe in that when we never come to this altar and pray, when we never miss 10 minutes of sleep, when we watch a ball game instead of praying for their lost soul, when we never say a word to them or leave a track or shed a tear? Sounds to me like maybe we really don't believe that lost people go to a place called hell and spend eternity there. How could we really believe that and act the way that we're acting? God help us. Fair question. Fair question. When's the last time you lost 15 minutes over a lost soul mortgaged to the devil and on its way to hell? 15 minutes. Fair question. Jesus, when He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion. He saw them as sheep scattered, having no shepherd. The Bible says when Jesus saw them, He had compassion. He said, I don't know if I have the burden I ought to have. Go look at them. Go look at them. Look at the kids playing in the parks. Go to the family reunion and look down the table at the people that you love. I mean, you go to McDonald's, look at those kids back there getting those hamburgers and fries and look at them. And you listen to me, how dwells the love of Christ in us if we can look at people on the way to the devil's hell and something not stir in us and bring us to an altar or put a tear in our eye or put a lump in our chest or put a track in our pocket or put a knee that's bent down and bowed. You listen to me, we act like we don't believe it at all. Brother Travis will be home soon, don't worry. Yeah. Listen to the prayer request on an average Thursday night. Y'all do prayer requests on Thursday night? I'll tell you what we do in Moraine Heights and I'm not picking on you people. I mean, I don't know of a Baptist church that this isn't true. We spend more time praying for Christians to stay out of heaven than we do keeping sinners out of hell. There's every disease ever heard of, and carbuncles, and warts on knees, and allergies. And you listen to us, and we pray. And I'm not against that. I mean, you know, I get a headache. I pray God will make the aspirin work. I'm not saying it's wrong to pray for sick people. I'm not saying that. But I am saying something is out of balance when all we seem to want to pray about is sick Christians and there's very seldom a prayer over someone that's sin sick and not saved and on the way to a devil's hell. We spend more time praying for keeping people out of heaven than we do keeping lost people out of hell. How much do we really believe, for we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of the deeds done in the body? How much do we really believe that based on how we're living? That I'm gonna stand someday before a holy God, and the books will be opened, and be judged out of those books, and every man shall receive a reward of the deeds he's done. If any man receive a reward, gold, silver, silver, that I'll stand before, old Lee Roberts, he had a great sermon, this was it. You've got a date with deity. You have a date with deity. You've got a day runner at home, you've got the dentist in there, you've got your doctor appointment in there, you've got your accountant in there, you've got your vacation in there, you've got... Somewhere down through there, and we don't know the day, but we're going to stand before a holy God. God knows the day, but we don't. But you listen to me, we will stand there. Now that ought to be affecting the way that we live. And when it doesn't affect our life, and when it doesn't affect our giving, and when it doesn't affect our attitude, and when it does not affect what we watch on TV, and when it does not affect what stirs our heart, when it does not affect our relationship with God, when we just trot along happily and merrily, you have to wonder how much do we really believe that someday I'll stand before God and give an account of the deeds done in the body. How much do we really believe? Bring ye all the tithe into the storehouse, and see if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, and there shall not be room enough to receive it. If this is the average independent fundamental Bible, believe an independent Baptist church, amen. How does a man really believe that when he takes, steals? The Bible says, will a man rob God? Will a man rob God? It's just like, God, how do you think you're going to get away with that one? Will my man rob God? What if the word got out here at Kazaddale? Cheryl Hudson snuck in his mama's back door and robbed her blind last week. Took the silver, took a little bit of money she has hidden in that sewing machine, you know, and got in the refrigerator, took her pop and everything to get his hands on, and snuck out. He's thinking, that lowdown, dirty robber. I'm so disappointed. That stinking pig, what's the matter with him? You want to rob his mama? Good as she's been to him. Changed his diaper when he was screaming like a Comanche in the middle of the night. You know, saw him through all the flu. You know, took him to school. Helped him get through college. And he turned around and robbed her. Will a man rob God? When all he's done is be good. When all he's done is be kind. When all he's done is met your needs, and worked in your heart, and loved you when you didn't deserve it, and is longing for the day when we bow at his feet in heaven. Can't we find somebody else to rob? I'm not saying rob somebody else, but you see my point, amen? I'm just saying, here comes Noah. What's Noah do? It's gonna rain. What else does he do? You hear trees falling over. You hear an ax that's chopping. You hear a saw going on. You hear nails being done. You hear mules dragging timbers up. You got out there with a measuring stick and he's getting it all out. He really believed what he said, didn't he? We might have more effect on visitation on Wednesday night. If everywhere we went, then people, they really believe that stuff. Amen? Faith without works is dead. It's dead. The Bible says he was warned of God. I like that. His faith was God-given. If he had God's Word, faith was patient. Noah preached 120 years. He believed that for 120 years. Amen? Faith is patience. The Bible faith will wait on God and will rest on His promises. It will wait on God and will rest on His promises. This average crowd, I'm probably speaking to two or three people or more, that you doubt your salvation. Somehow, again, I find me a rabbit, you know. But many Christians go through that. And the problem is you're trying to feel saved. Now if you've never turned to Christ in simple faith believing, turned from sin to Christ, believing that He died for your sins on the cross and was buried and rose again, purchased your salvation, you may not understand all the theology here, but you know that He died to pay your sin debt, and that He arose again, and that He offers the free gift of salvation, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten, whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Whosoever shall call upon Him no more shall be saved. understand that and you believe the Bible is true, you just refuse to believe God would lie, and that Jesus died for you, was buried and rose again, paid your sin debt, you could never buy or earn salvation but He offers it as a free gift if you by simple childlike faith will receive it. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now if you've done that, you listen to me, you're saved. If you're doubting, if you haven't done that, then you need to do that. You're not saved. But if you've done that, then you're saved. And you're letting the devil beat you up because you're trying to feel saved. Nowhere does the Bible say feel saved. I mean, I get aggravated and perturbed sometimes. There's the flus coming on. I don't feel a bit saved. I don't feel a bit saved. I don't, you know. I'm still battling the old flesh just like you are. And my flesh is as mean as it's ever been. If I lean the wrong way, I don't feel saved at all. Amen? That's right. But you're trying to feel safe. Oh, you're trying to measure your faith. You're saying, okay, but do I believe enough? God never says you've got to have 19.32 pounds of faith to get over the line. It doesn't say that. It's not so much great faith in God as it is faith in a great God. But it's just simple faith. Now let me ask you this. But you say, but I still have these doubts. I don't know by faith what it ought to be. All right, listen to me. Noah believed God, and he settled it. He said, this is the deal. And spiritually, he put a flag down. And he says, here I stand. This is who I am. This is what I believe. And he was settled. He was done. Let me ask you something if you doubt your salvation. Would you take a million dollars to deny Christ? Well, no. Talking about heaven, hell, no. Do you reckon you ought to throw in Buddha just for good measure? No. What about Muhammad? No. Maybe you ought to figure that Jesus can help, but you're going to save yourself. No. Okay, so what's the decision here? We're preachers in Jesus, period, alone. Yeah, you're not moving on. It's done deal. That's it You're there. You listen to me. That's faith. For by grace you're saved through faith. That's faith in the living God. Don't need anything else. Don't want anything else. That's it. It's settled. There I stand. I'll die on that premise, on that belief. I'm Christ, the solid rock I stand. You listen to me. Don't let the devil beat you up. Whatever. Don't listen to him. God says you're ready to meet him if you can say yes to what I've just said. Does that make sense? You ready? Call it a done deal. Noah, he was, and it's patient, it's patient. Living a life, George Mueller of Bristol, England, you ever read the biography? Great man of God. He prayed in hundreds of thousands of dollars to feed the hungry, published Bibles, never asked for a penny. Somebody asked him, how did you get in hundreds of thousands of dollars? He said, to God, there's no difference in a hundred thousand and five. He just believed God. But Noah, George Mueller, Listen to this, this is a quote. This will encourage you. You say, well, you know, when I pray, bread trucks don't break down in front of the house and come in like they did for him. Listen, George Mueller, he said, I have prayed for two men every day by name for 35 years. On land or sea, sick or well, I have remembered them before God by name requesting their salvation. They are both living, neither of them is saved, but I shall continue to pray for them daily by name until they are saved." He continued after that statement for 27 more years, praying every day for those two men. 62 long years. He prayed every day for his two brothers that they would be saved, and he died. And just a few days later, both of them were saved. Both of them were saved. You say, what's your point, Brother Terrell? I'm telling you that Noah had a faith that lasted for 120 years and it would have lasted for 120,000 if God would have wanted it to. But Christian, listen to me, don't quit. Don't quit. We've come too far to turn back now. Amen? I mean, I'm too old to be young, and I'm way too ugly to be cute, and on this rock I stand, and I ain't turning around now. Amen? I mean, I aim to see it through. Y'all praying for lost loved ones? Don't quit. Keep praying. Keep praying. I remember our church. I grew up. I listened to Joyce Yancey standing in the pulpit. She sat right over there on the second pew. Decades. I'll be 70 in January. No, I really am. I know you can't believe it. I don't know, 40 years? I heard every Wednesday night, pray for Dean. Once her husband lost, 40 years, pray for Dean. Pray for Dean. She had faith that God was going to save him someday. She said, she said, God's going to save him someday. I know every Wednesday night, Joyce, pray for Dean. Joyce died. Dean came around casket and Looked down at her and he took his wedding ring off and he put it in her hand. I never saw that before and closed it up. His three adult daughters just completely came unraveled at the seams. A lot of it was because they knew mom was in heaven, daddy's on his way to hell. A Wednesday night without Joyce holding her hand up saying pray for Dean just seemed weird. People started, let's remember Dean Yancey, I had surgery on my leg, and I'm sitting down in the basement, and I had to paddle around on, I don't think I've told this story here. If I have, don't move your lips, it confuses me, all right? But I was paddling around on crutches, you know, and I'm just laying down there in the basement, I got my leg stuck up, watching TV. I mean, I didn't hear voices. You know, I've never heard God speak out loud. Y'all never hear about the little girl went upstairs. Mama said, go up there and go to bed. And she said, I'm scared. And Mama said, God's up there. It's all right, go on up there. And she went running up the steps. under cover and said, God, if you are up here don't you say nothing, you'll scare me to death. He pulled the cover up. I never heard God talk to the side of my head. But you ever have God talk to you so plain it wouldn't have been any clearer if He had? I mean it just, just, it just, I'm not a royal robber or something, but I'm telling you there's times it's just plain. I mean God said, go see Dean. I said, Lord, I'm paddling around on crutches, my foot's stuck up, it hurts, and I'll send one of the guys at church and they'll go see him. God said, I want you to go. So I started telling the Lord I just had surgery, like he didn't know that. I said, Lord, you know, we got two or three guys at church right now. They'll be up here in 10 minutes. I'll call them. God said, you go. So I go paddling to Sycamore Hospital, drive over there. I said, Lord, you at least got to give me a good parking spot. I think I said it with the wrong attitude. All I could find was on the other end of the parking lot, you know, God said. So I finally get up there. They had wheelchairs when you walk in the door, but I'm too proud for that, you know. So I, you know, intensive care, go in there, there, you know, paddle, paddle, paddle, paddle. I walk in there and he's unconscious. I'm sitting, Lord, I can't even talk to him. The nurse walked in and said, hey, Brother Terrell, this lady from church. I said, hi. I said, boy, I was really wanting to talk to Dean. She said, let me do something. They had him all full of painkillers. She walked over there and turned it off. She said, if he starts hurting, he'll wake up. I ain't telling you the nurse's name. That might not have been legal, so don't worry about that. She said, wait just a few minutes. He kind of woke up. I said, Dean, this is Brother Terrell. I said, I just want to talk to you, Dean. I don't remember my exact words, but I said, now, Dean, people prayed for you a long time. Dean, I want to see you get saved. Just as plain as I could, I told him how a man goes to heaven. I said, Dean, would you like to do that? And he shook his head, yeah. Dean was tough as nails. I've never seen this before. A tear came out the corner of his eye and rolled down his cheek. He bowed his eyes, and I heard him kind of mumble. I couldn't understand what he did, but I said, Dean, did you just ask Jesus to come into your heart and save you? And he shook his head, yeah. I've got a nurse behind me having a revival meeting, but she's just excited and happy. I could just imagine Joyce looking down from heaven and smiling. He said, Brother Terrell, did you lead him to Christ? No, I picked the fruit. A wife that held her hand up for 40 years and said, pray for my husband, but would not quit. Would not quit. You got a husband you want to see saved, let him know you come to this altar and pray. You got kids you want to see saved, let them know you're praying for them. Let them know you care. Quit worrying so much about embarrassing them. I'm not saying you're beating over the head with the family Bible, but they need to know that you really believe this. You can do it. You can do it. Lee Robertson told the story about a lady in the mission field, a precious lady, and every service, when they gave the invitation, she came all the way down and knelt and prayed. Every service. It was an outside thing under a grass thatch hut, you know, mission field, and a precious lady. Her husband was lost. He was cruel. He beat her. Just a wicked man. But she loved him and prayed every service. She came down and knelt. She had a dog that followed her around. This sounds strange to us, but in Missionville, it's no big deal. And that dog would come with her. And they'd come right down, and they'd kneel down, and that dog would come up there and sit down, and she'd kneel down and pray. She died. Few years, not years, but weeks or months, short time. That man got to missing his wife. He was a scoundrel, and he deserved to be horsewhipped, but he did love us in a strange way. He had feelings. I don't know if you call it love, but he started missing his wife. He knew she went to church every service, and just kind of, he thought, I'll just go over there, and he kind of knew where she sat at, and he sat close, and that dog went with him. And they got up and started singing the invitation, and that dog came forward. Because every service, that dog, when he heard, you know, Pasmanado, General Savior, just as I am, he knew, and he come right up and got in his spot. And that man sitting back there, he figured that out. That means my wife is going up there. Every service of that dog has followed her. When that man got to thinking about how he had acted and what he had done and what a precious wife he had lost and that she was in heaven someday and he didn't want to miss it, down that aisle he came. Dr. Robertson said, if God can use a dog, He can use you. He can use you. He can use you. By faith. By faith, Noah did something. He had a faith that would not quit. He had a faith that would not let go. Amen? God help us. What time is it? Time to quit. Noah's faith was... He knew where the source of it was. Noah's faith was unseen. It hadn't rained. The Bible says, Whom having not seen, we love. Noah believed. Bible says a mist rose up from the ground in Genesis 2. Probably never rained. But yet he believed God and he knew that God would not lie. he had the foresight, he prepared an ark. It was in a time, look at Matthew 24, real quick, I'll hurry. Look at Matthew 24, Lord willing now, I'm going to come back here tonight and I'm going to say something that's going to sound, you're going to think, well he's wrong on that. But this morning I just want to show you, look at Matthew 24 and verse number 38, now watch this, but as in the days of Noah were before the flood, they were eating and drinking. Marrying, giving marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Two in the field, and so forth. Noah was moved with fear in a time when they were marrying and giving marriage. You say, what's that? It's just kind of life. They were indifferent. People were ignorant. They didn't care. But they didn't care when Noah had been preaching 120 years. What'd that mean? They weren't listening. A lot of people can't find God for the same reason a thief can't find a policeman. They're not looking. They had the preaching, but they did not want to listen to it. There was ignorance. There was immorality. Well, you could preach about 14 months on that one right now. Amen? I've never seen such a time in my life. Let me just say something, folks. There's a God in heaven that still says one man to one woman. There's still a God in heaven that says He hates divorce. I'm not going to judge anybody, you can't unscramble eggs and all of that stuff, but you listen to me. The marriage you're in right now, make your mind up. You're with the one you're supposed to be with and make it work till Jesus comes. Amen? Love your husband, love your wife, serve God together. It's still wrong to run around naked. It's still wrong to lie. It's still wrong to cheat. The immorality. And you listen to me, God knows what year it is, but God hasn't changed His mind on those things. Amen? Noah had a forecast. How would you like to hear a weather forecast like his? Amen? You know, we're about 1,500 years, Noah is, from the time of Adam. And if you take the age of Methuselah, Adam and Methuselah overlap about 200 years. And so what I'm saying is that Adam had told Methuselah about all these things. Methuselah is alive. They had close to 2,000 years of how that God came down and slew animals and how that it was with the shedding of blood that there was remission of sin. And there was a God in heaven that was a God of judgment. There had been righteous preaching somewhere going on for at least 1,500 years, but they just weren't listening. yet they'd be held accountable for it. Noah had got all of his family in the ark. Get your family in the ark. Amen. Get them in. I might have told this story here before. I was preaching over in Lancaster at a mission conference, and I was preaching with a bunch of preachers, and one of them told me, he said, Brother Terrell, he said, I've got a man in my church you've heard of. I said, who? He said, Terry Bradshaw. I said, well, that's kind of neat. He said, Brother Terry Bradshaw called me the other day and said, Preacher, everybody says I'm a success. He said, but I'm not. He said, I don't have all my kids in the ark. Get them in. Amen? Get them in. Verse 7, he was moved with fear. Somebody said, what was he afraid of? He was afraid of drowning. That's what he was afraid of. He prepared an ark to the saving of his house by which he condemned the world. became heir of the righteous which is by faith." Do you ever think that Noah, what it would cost to build an ark like that? You ever go to Lowe's and look at what they want for a two-by-four? I went to Lowe's the other day and I just picked up a two-by-four. I walked out there and laid it on the counter and the guy told me what it was. I said, I just want one. He said, that's Christ. I said, good night. It was awful. You imagine what it would cost to build an ark? You think about that. Good night. Let me give you something to talk about on the way home. My daddy, he would always see things. God told Joshua, everywhere you put the sole of your foot, that always said, it doesn't say feet. Wouldn't it be something if he did all that with one foot? Oh, that's funny, don't you think? But it does say foot, it really does. I'll tell you something else the Bible says, that Noah built the ark. Well, they said his sons helped him. I'm not saying they didn't, but I am saying the Bible don't say that. Wouldn't it be something to get to heaven and he built that whole thing by himself? He'd have to be good with levers and pulleys, I mean, but I'm just saying. And can you imagine what it would cost? Good night. He's probably pretty well spent out. But when the waters subsided and he walked out, he owned it all. It pays to serve God. It pays. It pays. I don't know what beer tastes like because of my mom and dad. I've never had the privilege Waking up with my head in the toilet, throwing up and wondering where that tattoo came from and thinking I better go to the doctor and get checked out and make sure I'm not caught something now. Bless my heart. Haven't I lived a deprived life? I have never lost a dollar on the Ohio lotto in my life. One thing, I'm just too tight and cheap and I can do the statistics. But anyway, I've never lost a dollar. I've got a wonderful wife who loves me and thinks I'm good looking. Don't you dare tell her otherwise. She just thinks I'm wonderful. I've got kids that are serving God. Right now, Hannah's playing the piano and the imitation, and her and Patrick are loving God. Patrick and his buddy Boyd are going to have a big old tent revival down in Kentucky in a few weeks. I'm going to go to it. I just think that's neat. They're serving God. I got a son that has a Bible in his office and loves the Lord. He's not a preacher, but he's living for Christ. You don't want to get in a Bible-quoting contest with my grandkids. You say, you need to quit bragging. I probably do, but I ain't going to. It pays to serve God. It pays to serve God. When that ark door closes, you want to be on the right side of it. Amen. Noah moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his household. And he did it by faith. He did it by faith. Let's pray. Father, I pray in Jesus' name, you speak to hearts. Lord, we thank you for a man named Noah so long ago, so outnumbered, laughed at for 120 years, mocked, ridiculed, probably called every name imaginable, but yet, God, he served you. He had a word from you. He believed it. And Lord, He refused to waver. Lord, I pray that we would be listening for a word from You, that we'd believe it, and we'd refuse to waver. Lord, if there'd be someone here this morning that's never been saved, God, I pray. Lord, perhaps they have questions, just honest, sincere questions. Well, maybe they don't understand something. Lord, a lot of what's in an average sermon might confuse them if they've never been saved. Lord, I pray that they would understand that you love them and that Christ died for them, was buried and rose again, and that by simple faith they can get this thing settled. They could leave here today knowing that heavens are home. Lord, help them to understand that it's not in money or works that we do, Lord, but it's in Christ and Christ alone. God, help them to understand that no matter what they've done, God, that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses from all sin. And Lord, that we here in the room that have been saved, we're not better than them. We just have a Savior. Lord, I pray they would come and Lord, let someone be their friend. Sit down and open up a Bible and show them how they can know for certain that heaven's their home. Lord, I pray that if we'd be here this morning and Lord, if you spoke to hearts, Lord, I pray that we would honestly be willing to look at our own heart of what we say we believe. about heaven and hell, and the rapture, and biblical commands, and living for Christ, and all of those things. Well, we know the right answers to put down on a Bible test, but Lord, judging by how we live, Lord, can we be proof of what we really believe? And Lord, if there's a difference there, God, I pray that we'd be willing to, Lord, to deal with that, let You speak to our hearts, make any changes that need to be made. Have Your will and way in every heart and every life. Lord, these next few moments will come and go, and they'll just kind of fade into eternity, and years from now, few of us will remember them, but Lord, they could make a difference in all of eternity, and Lord, I pray that it would be so. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Would you stand with me? Would you do that? The music's going to begin.