He took the nails, took my cross, took my nails, took my punishment. He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. He didn't die for not a thing He did wrong. He died for everything I did wrong. bless his holy name. I did neglect to mention one thing a minute ago. I'll mention this to our church family. Monday through Thursday over at the Open Door Baptist Church in Richfield, our dear friends over there, Brother Nathan Hamill, they are having, it's actually like a kids week and things like that, but every night at 5.30 they'll have supper if you want to eat with them in the gym, but at 7, Brother Mike Gray will be preaching every night, Monday through Thursday, this week over there. Man, if I wasn't going to be gone, I would go hear Brother Mike Gray myself. I'm telling you, listen to what I'm fixing to tell you. You need to go hear Brother Mike Gray preach this week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Don't go Thursday, come back here Thursday, praise God. Amen. But I'm telling you, if you go Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, you'll probably say, I ain't going to hear Zoran over Thursday. I'm going to hear Mike Gray Thursday. Praise God. I'm telling you, you'll not regret it. One of my favorite preachers is Brother Mike Gray from Saxton, Kentucky. You'll enjoy it. You'll get something from the Word of God that'll help change you, all right? All right, I want you to take your Bibles this morning and go with me to the book of the Acts, the book of the Acts, the fifth book of your New Testament and chapter number 19. Acts and chapter number 19 this morning is where we will draw our text for our message. Acts chapter number 19. 19 this morning. I really want you to give ear to what the Lord has put on my heart This is being welling up in my soul for a couple of two or three weeks now and the Lord just hadn't given me liberty to preach it until this morning and I hope it's something that'll speak to your heart and If you don't know the Lord, I really hope you'll listen and give ear this morning. If you are a Christian, I hope there are some things in the message that will challenge you, convict you to live for the Lord more. Love that song that Sister Destiny just sang. I like preaching that's black and white, and I like singing that's black and white. I mean, that was just clear right there is what it was. He said, mercy or justice, heaven or hell, which one will you choose this morning? I like it like that, just cut and dry, cut and dry. This morning, everybody in here is making a choice. Right now, everyone in here has either made a choice or making a choice that you're either gonna go to heaven or you're gonna end up in hell for all eternity. You say, preacher, I'm not making a choice like that. Well, if you reject Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that he gave on the cross for your sins, then you have indeed made a choice this morning. By not making one, you've made one. And I'm glad for the day when I Settled it in my heart when the Lord dealt with my heart and I came to him as a sinner trusted him and his grace and he saved me and Changed me this morning greatest decision you'll ever make is receiving the Lord Jesus Christ into your life and being born again Acts chapter number 19 this morning, we're gonna read some verses here that may be a little bit shocking to you, especially if you are not maybe acquainted with this particular chapter in the word of God. We're gonna read it and then I'll expound on it a little bit and give you the thought the Lord's given me out of this passage. Acts chapter 19 and verse number 11. Acts chapter 19 and verse number 11 this morning is where we will begin reading at. The Bible said, And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Those of you that have been around our Bible preaching and teaching any length of time know very well Paul is the last apostle that has these apostolic signs and wonders. There are no apostles with apostolic signs and wonders anymore. They were for the nation of Israel. And Paul said he was the last apostle that had seen Jesus in his risen state. We'll not belabor that this morning. Verse 13, Then certain of the vagabond Jews Exorcists. These men fancied themselves to be people that could cast out devils and demons and evil spirits. Said these exorcists took upon them to call over them, which had evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth. Verse 14, And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. These men were calling over a man that had an evil spirit in him, and using the name Jesus, even though they did not know Jesus, to cast out these demons, these devils, these evil spirits. Now watch verse 15. And the evil spirit answered and said, watch what the evil spirit said, Jesus I know, And Paul, I know, but who are ye? Verse 16, And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks, also dwelling in Ephesus. And fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came and confessed, showed their deeds. Many of them also, which used curious arts, brought their books together and burned them before all men. And they counted the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. I've just read to you a very unusual, but yet amazing story in the scriptures this morning. You'd have to agree that if you're a Bible reader, this is one of those stories that when you get to you say, wow, that's a little bit different. That's something wild there. These seven sons of this priest named Sceva, these seven sons decide, you know what? We've seen what Paul's doing in casting out evil spirits, and we see what power he's got from the God that he preaches, whose name is the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to give this a shot ourselves. They found this old boy that had an evil spirit in him, had a devil in him, a demon in him. And let me say this, if you don't think devils and demons and evil spirits are real, then you have your head put way far down in a hole, dear neighbor. how you can look at the craziness, the devil men and some of the whacked out things that happen in our society today and not realize that not only are just the forces of heaven at work, but the forces of hell itself are moving and at work in the generation which we live in. From the perversion of sexual natures to the ungodly aborting and murdering of our babies to mass shootings of people walking into places and randomly sending people out into eternity with no rhyme or no reason. You say, what would cause these things? Well, according to the Bible, it comes from the powers of hell. It comes from evil spirits, devils and demons. Just like those who are saved by the grace of God are influenced, they are controlled or should be by the influence of the Holy Spirit. Those who know not God are absolutely open for the devils of hell to influence and control their life as well this morning. And here are these seven sons of Sceva said, we're gonna give this a shot. And they call over this demon-possessed man and they say, hey, we're using the name of Jesus. Now we don't know Jesus ourself, but we're just gonna piggyback on what Paul's doing. We're gonna call you out and we're gonna try and cast this spirit out. When you read the story, you find all kind of different attributes of people who are possessed with devils and demons. We'll not belabor that, but one of the attributes is uncanny and unusual superhuman strength. You'll find that in Mark chapter 5 as well, from the man who was possessed with a legion of devils, and they could not bind him with chains, and he would break the fetters, and they could not tame him. And here this man has such unusual strength because of the demons that inhabit his body that the Bible says he whips seven men, tears their clothes off of them, and make them run out of the house naked and wounded this morning. Now what a sight this must have been. What an odd story this is in the Word of God. What I really want to focus in on, one of the most amazing parts that highlights in the story, is the mental aspect of what and more specifically who Devils, unclean spirits and demons, no. The Bible gives us insight in the text that there were some people that the devils knew and brother Chad, some people the devils did not know this morning. The Bible said that this evil spirit, answering out of this man, said to these seven sons of Sceva in verse 15, he said, Jesus, I know. And Paul, I know. But who are you? I don't know you. This morning, I would like to proffer forth this question, and this is what I'm preaching on. There's no doubt where these evil spirits came from. This evil spirit comes from hell this morning, just like the help of the Holy Spirit and the help of God comes from heaven. We realize where these unclean spirits are hatched out of. They're hatched out of a place called hell. And I want to preach to your heart for a few minutes on this subject. Does hell know who you are? Does hell know who you are this morning? We are examining not simply what does hell know, but who does hell know this morning. So see, see, I wonder, I wonder, is your name on record? Do they have you on file? Do they know that you're a child of God? Do they know if you are a believer? Do they know you this morning? I'm proud to report to you there is a record book in the third heaven and I'm known in heaven this morning. But I'm asking this morning, does hell know who you are? According to this text, there are three different groups of people that hell knows intimately this morning. Three groups of people that hell knows intimately. Can I throw them out to you? And we'll be done. Number one, we find that hell knows the Christ. Hell knows who the Christ of God is. Did you notice what it said? The first thing the evil spirit said is he said, Jesus I know. Can I say the devils know who Jesus is this morning? They don't know him in relationship. They do not know him in fellowship. But they do know who he is in his lordship and in his kingship. As a matter of fact, if you read the Gospels, you will find, brother Fred, that every time Jesus begins to deal with a demoniac, the Bible says that they immediately fall at his feet and they say, we know thee who thou art. You are the Son of God. You are the Christ of God. Hell knows exactly who Jesus is. Can I pause and say, is it any wonder Why, there is only one name in this world that sets people off. There is only one name in this world that makes people go absolutely rabid and foaming at the mouth. You can stand at a crowded stadium at a ball game and you can pray and say, in God's name we pray, amen. And they won't say a word to you. You can stand up and say, we pray this in the name of Allah or Mohammed. And nobody will say anything to you. But brother, you start saying, I'm praying this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you watch people start having a fit. You watch the liberals start going crazy. You say, why is that? Because hell knows who Jesus is this morning. Look here, it's not by coincidence that there's only one name that the world uses when they're going to curse or when they're going to slur. They don't use the name of Martin Luther King Jr. They don't use the name of President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden. They don't use the name of Cody Zorn this morning. No, when they're gonna curse this morning, they grab the name which is above every name. They grab that name of the Lord Jesus Christ and they throw it in. You say, why is that? Because hell knows who Jesus is this morning. I'll never forget years and years ago, my father worked for himself and my father at that time, he's a pilot and that's where I got my desire for flying at. And my daddy did aerial photography for years back in the early inception of it. Now that you got Google Maps, you don't need aerial photography. But back in those days, everybody thought it was neat to have a picture of their house from the air. My daddy would sell these pictures and aerial photography. Anyways, he was down in his hangar. and working on his little airplane one day, getting ready to go out on a picture run, and we had a neighbor that lived right down the street about two houses from us, way out in the country. We lived way out in the country, outside the city limits, and her name was Miss Turner. And Brother Danny, I'm telling you the God's honest truth, Miss Turner was full, I'm talking about full fledge, I ain't even joking with you, she was full of devils and demons. I mean, brother, like manifestation of the Bible. We used to have these signs out in front of our yard, not like what you've got now, plastic signs on little, tiny metal stakes, but I mean back in those days they were full-fledged metal signs, scripture signs that you had to drive down the ground with big stakes like this. And that woman, listen, I'm talking about a little old woman didn't stand about that tall, about 80 years old and shriveled up, brother, I mean looked like death sucking on a Fig Newton. That woman right there stopped by Our house one day out by the road, an eyewitness account said they watched that woman get out and that sign had Jesus on one side and Jesus on the other and verses about the Lord. And she got out and that little old woman wrenched that sign up out of the ground, threw it on the ground, mangled it, twisted it, stepped on it, stomped it. I mean, brothers, she hated God and hated the gospel. And on this particular day, while my daddy was working on his airplane at his little hangar, she pulled up down at his little shop. And when she jumped out, she started talking about all kinds of crazy stuff. I mean, talking about all kinds of crazy stuff. And the more she started talking, Brother Tim, my daddy said, I was not just talking with this woman, I was talking with something inside of this woman. So there were things coming out of this woman that was just, it wasn't just an old woman talking. And he said, I remember distinctly, he said, I closed my eyes and I started quoting scripture about the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I started quoting scripture. with the name of Jesus in it. He said, and as I started quoting that scripture, he said, it was like someone took gasoline and threw it on an open flame. He said, that woman erupted up in front of my face, and she began to bounce around and gesticulate wildly, and this is what she said verbatim from her mouth, Brother Udi, she said, yeah, he hung, didn't he? I seen him hang. I was there when he hung. Watched him die. Yeah, didn't he? Yeah, I was there when he died. My father realized I was speaking with a devil and a demon. He said, Amelia, I said, in the name of Jesus Christ, you've got to go. He pled the blood and quoted scripture. She finally got in her car and rode off. Now friend, I'm telling you, that stuff's real. You may not see it, you may not realize it, but it's real. And I'm here to tell you the good news is that every devil in hell They know who Jesus is this morning. I'm glad this morning there's a name which is above every name. And that name is Jesus. And in that name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Let me back up and say this. Even the devils in hell admit who Jesus is. That's better than some people sitting in this room this morning. At least the devils in hell even know who Jesus is. I wonder do you know him this morning? And I'm not just talking about do you know about him. The devils know about him. The devils know who he is and what he came to do. But they don't know him in the free pardon of sin. Can I say this morning was a good day in my life, Brother Cliff, when I stopped acting like a devil and I realized who Jesus really was. I knew about Jesus, Brother Roger, all my life. I'd heard Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. I'd heard John 3, 16, and God so loved the world. I'd heard amazing grace, how sweet the sound, but I wasn't no better than the devils of hell. All I knew was just who He was, but thank God there was a day I went from just knowing about Jesus to a relationship with Jesus, and He moved into my life. And He didn't just become the Lord of glory, He became the Lord of my life. He became the Savior of my soul. It is and there is a difference this morning. Sister Esther just sang it a minute ago. So many people still today don't know who Jesus is. Listen, they've never felt his peace within their soul. But I want my life to show them how his love can set them free. He's the only one who can cleanse and make men whole. Help me choir, you just sang it. I know who Jesus is. Hallelujah. I'm glad I know who Jesus is. He's more than just a story. He is the king of glory. I'm glad You know who Jesus is. You say, who is Jesus to you this morning, preacher? Oh, he is the son of God. He is the holy one of God. He is the anointed of God. He is the image of God. He is the love of God. He is the peace of God. He is the grace of God. He is the power of God. He is God this morning. He is the rose of Sharon. He is the lily of the valley. He is the brown morning star. He is the chief cornerstone. He is the one which was, and is, and is to come. He is the almighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Now, Lord, I know who the Christ is this morning. I wonder, are you any different than the devils from hell? They know who the Christ is. I wonder, are you any different than them? You say, yeah, I know who Jesus is. Well, then you're no different than them. You know what the Bible said in the book of James? The Bible said in the book of James, chapter two, verse number 15, the Bible said, thou believest there is but one God. Thou doest well. The devils believe and tremble. Oh, I believe in God. That ain't helping the devils none. They believe there's a God. Oh, I believe in Jesus. Wonderful. The devils do too. But they ain't never been saved. This morning just knowin' about God and all this stuff, all this stuff about, you know, me and the old man upstairs, we got a thing worked out. You know, me and Jesus, we work it out. We was talkin' about the other day, Brother Danny. We got a thing worked, no you don't this morning. I tell you the only thing that's worked out is Jesus died on the cross for your sins and you come to him as a sinner and trust him by faith this morning. What does hell know? Does hell know who you are? Hell knows the Christ. Can I say there's something else that hell knows? Hell does not just know the Christ, but hell knows the Christian. I'm talking about the Bible here. I'm looking at the Bible. Hell not only knows the Christ, but these devils and demons know the Christian. Look at what he says, verse 15. The evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know. Watch the next part. I know somebody else too. I know the Christian. And Paul, I know. You know what the devils and demons of hell know? They know the people who God uses. They know who the Christian is. Oh, do you remember what the Bible said when there come a day when Satan came to present himself before the Lord? And the Bible said in the book of Job chapter 1, God said, Satan, where you been? He said, I've been going to and fro on the earth and up and down in it, Job chapter 1. And God said, hast thou considered my servant Job? Not one time, Brother Matthew, did the devil ever say, who is Job? Never heard of him. Don't say that. The devil says, I know exactly who you're talking about. He said, I can't get to him because you put a hedge about him. The devil knew who that fellow was. He was on hell's radar screen, and they didn't like him. I tell you, the Bible said, Jesus looked at Peter, and that great preacher from Pentecost, he said to Peter, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. He knew who Peter was. You know the reason why Daniel got thrown in the lion's den? Because hell knew who he was. You know the reason why the three Hebrew boys got through in the fiery furnace? Because hell knew who they were. I'm just curious this morning, Christian. Let me just talk to the Christian here for just a minute. Are you even a blip on the radar screen in hell? I mean, when they're looking to overthrow a soul, when hell is looking to try and hatch some dastardly plan in your county or in your job or in your family or in your area, does one of the little imps of hell take a time out and say, ho, ho, ho, ho? That woman lives in that house. And I'm telling you, if we're going to get to them kids, we're going to have to... Hallelujah. If we're going to have to get to them kids, we got to go over to prayers to that mama. And God listens when she prays. Does hell know who you are, mama? Do you pray in such a way? Do you live for God in such a way that you have become a... Boop! Boop! On the devil's radar screen! Or when the devil comes to lamb-blast your house, daddy! And the devils of hell said, oh, we got this! Nobody even brings your name up! Because you ain't even, you ain't even enough power in your life! And power with God! The Bible said about Jacob, that he had power with God, and power with men! Man, I want that! I'm talking about power with God! And power with men! I'm talking about, brother, where the devil knows who you are! Where the imps of hell know your prayer life works and you gotta walk with God. And when they hatch a plan and say, hey, let's throw this at this lady's life, it'll get her out of church. Let's throw this at this guy's life, it'll get him out of church. And about that time, one of them standing over to the side says, and some of y'all sitting here right now saying, that don't happen. I beg to differ. I read a story in the Old Testament where the Bible said that there was a bunch of different spirits that gathered around and they were trying to figure out how they were gonna make Ahab go up to Jezreel and fall. And one of them, an evil spirit, stepped up and said, I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll be a lying spirit in the mouths of his prophets. They had knowledge. Brought him over to the side somewhere and they say, hey, let's do this, let's do that to get him out of church. Let's do this, let's do that to get him quit. About that time, one of them said something, says, now y'all can try it. But I'm just telling you, we threw something at them last year that was worse than that, and they just kept right on plugging. I'm telling you, we've chunked worse than that at them, and they ain't quit yet. Go ahead and try it, you might as well give it a shot. But I know this much, they love God, and they love the Lord, and they're not gonna quit. I wonder, does hell know who you are this evening? Brother, listen here, if there's anything going on, At BMBC, I hope it's a blip on the devil's radar. I mean, I hope to goodness, you may not get saved this morning if you come here lost, but I hope there was some nervous shaking going on somewhere among the devils of hell. Say it, say it before you got here. Before you got here, I hope there was a nervous shaking saying, keep them away. Don't let them go to BNBC. They gonna hear that singing, they gonna hear that preaching, and they might get right with God. I'd hate to know I went to a church so low down and sorry that the devil didn't even fight it, that the devil didn't even know what was going on. Are you telling me we can get 200 people in one place, and we supposedly all love God, read the Bible, and serve the Lord, and we ain't even made enough of a dent that the devil even cares who we are this morning, Hell don't even know it, brother. I'd hate to think I belong to a church as sorry as that. That was so cold and so dead and so carnal and so backslidden that hell didn't know our name. Brother, we ain't much and we ain't nobody, but we preach somebody that is something and everything. And I hope in my missionary bag, the church is mentioned in the dark walls of hell. They know who we are this morning. C.T. Studd was a missionary of yesteryear, born in the 1800s, died in the 1930s. C.T. Studd was a very accomplished cricket player in England. He ended up giving up his enjoyment of cricket to go be a missionary and lead people to God. He served in China, India, and Africa in his time as a preacher. C.T. Studd is the one that coined the phrase and wrote the poem, "'Tis one life and it will soon be past, and only what's done for Christ will last." They asked C.T. Studd one time about why he would give up. His father was a wealthy to-do businessman. They asked him one time. They said, Brother Jimmy, why would you give up all the ease that you could have had being a preacher in your home native land of England to go to these hard fields of China, India? and the Congo of Africa. This is what C.T. Studd told them. C.T. Studd said, some want to live within the sound of the church chapel bell. He said, but I want to run a rescue shop a yard from the gates of hell. I'm gonna read that to you again, because that helped me. He said, some only want to live their life within the sound of the church chapel bell. But he said, I want to run a rescue shop within a yard from the gates of hell. Son, I like that right there. The Bible said in Matthew chapter number 16, that he's the rock, and upon this rock he'd build the church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church this morning. I could care less about being famous here. Don't have a desire in this world to be famous here. Don't have a desire in this world to preach in some big meeting, have my name in lights. I don't have a desire in this world to be some rich man, to be some political figure. Don't have a desire in this world for it. I tell you what I do have a desire for. I desire to be famous in two places. and neither one of them are here. I desire to be famous and known in hell, and I desire to be famous and known in heaven this morning. Couldn't care less about being famous down here, but I'd like them to know that when Cody Zorn stands up to preach, he gonna rattle the gates of hell. He gonna shake the soul of some sinner. I know in heaven that I'm one of his. I'm the blood washed crown. I'm redeemed by the grace of God. My name is written down. I'd like them to know, well done good and faithful servant. What about you? What about you? Does heaven or hell even know who you are? I mean, I'm just curious. They know the Christ. I'm telling you, the Bible shows us there's three types of people that hell knows. The Christ, the Christian, and I'm through, they also know one more thing. You say, it doesn't say they know one more thing. Oh, but they do. Look what it said. Jesus, I know. Paul, I know. But who are ye? You know the last thing hell knows? Hell doesn't just know the Christ. It doesn't just know the Christian. Hell knows the counterfeits. Hell knows who the counterfeits are. They looked at these fellas and this devil said, I don't got a clue who you are. Why? Because they were a counterfeit. Listen to what I'm fixing to tell you. These fellas had religion. Did you notice the religion they had? Look what it said in verse 14. It said this about these fellas. They got religion. Verse 14 said there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, chief of the priests. These fellas got religion, Brother Travis. But John, they got some religion. Their daddy's a priest. I'll tell you what they don't got. They don't got a relationship. Look what happens, look what happens when it's their turn to try and do what Paul's been doing. Watch what they said. Watch what they said at the end of verse 13. The end of verse 13. We adjure you. That word adjure, that's a good old English word. It's where we get the word jury from. It means to constrict somebody to testify or to witness. We adjure you, we're calling you on. We adjure you, watch what they said, by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. They didn't know Jesus in a relationship way. They only knew him because of what Paul had told them about him. They had a religion, but they had no relationship. I wonder this morning, are you a real Christian or are you a counterfeit? Because mark this down, heaven and hell both knows. Mark this down, I have no idea. By their fruits you shall know them. I've watched some fruits. But brother Foster, the fact is, I got no idea who's a saved individual and who's a lost individual here. The only person I know saved for sure is yours truly. I hope you know about that about yourself. I know I'm saved and I'm going to heaven. The rest of you, I can't speak for. But I wonder this morning why you sit there, why you sit there. I wonder if we got demons and devils of hell to testify, because there's something about, there's one thing about the devils and things happening in hell and things happening in heaven. There's one thing about it. They see you not just at church. See, see, see, see, you easy to fool me because generally I only see you at church. But I tell you what they see, they see you when you're in your bedroom and ain't nobody around. They see you riding down the road in your car when there ain't nobody looking. And you can real, real easy pull the wool over this preacher's eyes. I'm so simple. I'm such a simple country boy, cornbread preacher. It'd be real easy for you to smile at me and put on a good dog and pony show. And you can trick me real easy, but I'll tell you who you ain't tricking. You ain't tricking hell and you ain't tricking heaven. They know. They know if you a counterfeit or if you really know who Jesus is and saved by the grace of God. They know the counterfeits. I'll never forget when I was a little boy, when I was a little boy, you know, when you're a boy, you have to go with mama where mama go. That is at work. My mama stayed home. And so when mama went uptown, I had to go with mama when I was a little fella. I always hated them trips. I hated them trips, brother Bill, to Walmart when I was a little boy. And I'm not talking about Walmart Supercenter. Weren't no thing like that when I was a kid. I'm talking about the old school Walmart that had a snack bar in it. I'm talking about the old school Walmart that you'd get nachos and cheese at the snack bar. That was like the most awesome place for me to hang out when I was a kid. It was awesome. I'd get an icy, praise God. Yeah. Anybody in here know what I'm talking about? Thank you, God bless you, amen. There was one section back there in the back that I hated. It was that section back there that mama would go spend all kind of time in. It was the fabric section. I hated going to the fabric section. That's the boring thing in my life. I mean, good Lord almighty, I almost think that there's gonna be some punishment in hell for people to make them sit in the fabric section. It's awful. It's awful. It's the worst thing in this world. You know what I'm talking about? You know what I'm talking about? God, hell, terrible. It's like some sort of form of torture, man, like they're using war or something. And I remember we'd go in there, and I'll never forget, as a little boy, these things scared me. I finally got used to them, because I stayed in there so blessed long. But we'd walk in there, and all of a sudden, you'd round the corner, and you'd see this thing there that was clothed in this fabric. And man, it was standing there, but it was frozen. And man, it'd scare me half to death. And I'd just look at it, stare at it. It'd wig me out. Mama said, Cody, that ain't real. It's just a mannequin. It looks like a person. But it ain't a person. It's got clothes on like a person. But it ain't a person. You know the difference between real showing off mannequins and real showing off real people? I'll tell you the difference. One's dead. One's alive. You know the problem in a lot of Baptist churches, it ain't just Baptist churches, let me just lump them all in. Every church in this, every church in this blessed county. You know the problem in a lot of churches this morning, ours, theirs, and everybody else's? There's some mannequins sitting among us. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, you look all right and you kind of looked the part, but the fact is you are dead in trespasses and sins this morning. You have never been made alive and quickened by the grace of God. I'm telling you, that's what brought me to Jesus Christ. You know what finally got me to Jesus Christ? I realized I'd been a mannequin for a long time. And I remember that preacher got up and preached out of the book of Ezekiel, and over there in Ezekiel it said that Ezekiel went to prophesy to a valley of dry bones. And Brother Dan, when Ezekiel prophesied that valley of dry bones, that preacher got to preaching, and it said they stood up an exceeding great army. And their bones came together, and their bodies came together, and they stood up, and the Bible said they became an exceeding great army. They looked good, but this is what it said, but there was no breath in them. They looked alive, but they were dead inside. That preacher flung his big ol' bony finger back down through there where I was sitting at, and he said, you look real good. The problem is you are dead. You don't have nothing inside. And suddenly I realized I was lost without God. I mean, looked good on the outside, religious, and had all eyes dotted on the T's cross, but heaven didn't know me, and hell didn't know me. All they knew about me was I was a counterfeit this morning. I wasn't a real thing this morning. Thank God by the end of that service, I became known in both worlds. By the end of that service, I became known that I was a Christian and a child of God. I wonder are you this morning? I wonder are you? My friend, I wonder, does hell know who you are? Is it just a church show that you put on because you are in the building? Is it just a church show that you put on when you arrive in the parking lot? Or is it something that's real in your life? You know, there's coming a day, there's coming a day, Brother Skip, where the Bible says, when people are bound hand and foot and pitched off in outer darkness, where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth into a lake of fire, this is what the Lord's gonna say. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity! For I never knew you. You weren't known in heaven. The only thing you were known is that you did not belong there. Esther, come help me over here if you would. I wonder, I wonder this morning, Christian, Christian, does hell know who you are? Do you have enough power with God that your testimony makes a dent and hell trembles because of your walk with God? Or does hell even worry about you? Say, I ain't gotta worry about that girl. I ain't gotta worry about that guy. Ain't nothing to worry about there. Ain't nothing to worry about there. Wonder if hell knows who you are. And I wonder this morning, friend, you've walked in here and the Spirit of God has spoke to your heart and said, you're a counterfeit. You're not saved. If you were to draw your last breath this morning, you're not going to heaven. You're a counterfeit. Never been a time in your life where you trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Never. You're just a fake. You're just a mannequin. Oh, this morning, friend, don't walk out like that. This morning, there's a God in heaven. Our sister sang it earlier. He took the nails for you, took your punishment for you. You come down this aisle this morning and meet Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You can get more acquainted with Him than the devils are. You can know Him in relationship. Let's all stand this morning, heads are bowed, eyes are closed. Would you stand with us and would you bow your head and close your eyes just for a minute? I want to ask you a question. I want to give you an opportunity in the privacy of this moment to answer a real serious question for me. Would you be honest and answer a question? Like I say, I can't see the heart, so I have no idea. But I want you to realize you're saying something here in just a minute that hell and heaven knows. So I hope you're not lying to one world or the other. Say, Preacher, this morning I know and I remember the day when Jesus saved my soul. I remember. I know I'm saved. Would you throw that hand up good and high? God bless you. Hands all over this building that know they're saved. Thank you. You can put them down. Praise the Lord for it. It's good to be among God's people. Now I'm going to ask you this question because there were some hands that could not be lifted and I won't come to you, call you out or embarrass you, but I would love to pray for you this morning. And I'd love to invite you to come to Christ. Maybe you're here this morning and you say, preacher, you preached on me this morning. I'm not saved. Oh, I'm here and I know who Jesus is, but I don't have a relationship with him. Preacher, I'm just lost. Will you pray for me? Would there be one in here this morning that would slip their hand up while nobody's looking around but me and God and say, Preacher, pray for me? Would there be one like that right now? Just slip your hand up and slip it back down. I want to pray for you. I ain't going to embarrass you or call you out, but I want to pray for you. Bless you, ma'am. Would there be another one that would join this one and say, I'm not sure I'm saved. Thank you, sister. Would there be somebody else that'd say, I need some prayer, Preacher? Brother Skip, would you pray with this young man down here? Would there be another one that would raise their hand and say, I'm not sure I'm saved? Let's see what he needs, if you don't mind. Would there be another one, not sure I'm saved? Pray for me. Ma'am, I'll pray for you. Me praying for you won't save you. Won't save you. But I'm gonna pray the Lord deals with your heart. Miss Tristan, would you come down here? I'm gonna have my wife come down. If you're a lady, I'll have my wife deal with you. If you're a man, I need somebody to talk to. Maybe you're unsure of your eternal destination. We don't want you to leave that way. My wife's gonna wait right down here down front. If you need somebody to talk to, she'll be glad to talk to you. Mr. Tristan, would you wait right down here? Father, I pray that you'd speak to these that are in the valley of decision. Lord, those that raised their hand, those that did not raise their hand but should have, and they know they need Jesus, and they know they ought to come this morning. I pray today would be the day that they meet you in person, trust you as Lord and Savior, and become known as a child of God. Not as a counterfeit, but as a blood-bought, born-again child of the living God. In Jesus' name, amen. If you need to come, you come.