probably the last month or so, we've been learning what Jesus thinks of His churches. There are seven churches that are mentioned in chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation. And the condition of these churches, as we've looked at them, are reflective of the condition of all churches throughout what we would understand as church history, the church age, God's working or building His churches. He knows us. He knows you. There's nothing about us that God does not know. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows your need this morning. He knows your hurt. He knows your burden. He knows the struggle of your heart and your life. He knows your innermost secrets. There's nothing God does not know. He knows all. And the most important thing about all of that is that God cares. He cares about where you are, what you're going through. He cares about your eternity. He gave His Son so that we wouldn't have to spend eternity apart from Him in hell so that we could enjoy the new heaven and the new earth, the paradise of God. We'll talk about that. Probably not get there this morning, but we will tonight, more than likely. Good stuff. Amen? He knows our church. In each of the letters, as it went to these churches, He said, I know your works. He knows, church, what we really are. It's not what do we think of Calvary Baptist Church. What does He think? And when we look at these seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, the church that we're going to look at this morning, is the church that we would want to be the most like here at Calvary Baptist Church. If there is a church to emulate, if there is a church to follow its example, if there is a church that we would want to be, it's this church that I'm getting ready to talk to you about. Matter of fact, you're going to find as we read these verses, there is not one complaint, there is not one word of rebuke, there is not one word of condemnation. There is only challenge and help. and hope and encouragement to this church. I don't know about you, but that's where I want to be. Amen? Let's begin reading this morning verse number 7, if we could. And if you don't have a Bible, the text verses will be on the screen. Notice the Bible says, "...and to the angel." We believe that to be the pastor, the messenger of the church. We've been saying that time and time again because I'm reminding my wife she's married to an angel. and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth. I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." Aren't you glad God loves us? Verse 10, Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Notice this, them that dwell upon the earth, is a phrase that will be used more than one time. It means earth dwellers. It's a person that lives only for this world and what they can get out of it. It describes the unsaved world who are out of tune with God spiritually. Look at verse 11. Behold, I come quickly. That word quickly doesn't mean soon. Jesus is coming soon. Remember that song? That's not what that means. It means suddenly. It means unexpectedly. It means at any moment. That's what it means. Not necessarily soon, but imminent. It can happen at any moment. Notice he goes on to say, Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God. Oh, what significance there! And he shall go no more out. And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. And I will write upon him my new name. Can I let you in on a secret? Do you know there's a name that Jesus has? that nobody's cursed or blasphemed. Notice he says, verse 13, He that hath an ear, not everybody has an ear to hear. He that hath an ear, a heart, let him hear what the Spirit saith. under the churches. This morning we're going to look at the church in Philadelphia. Maybe tonight also. The church God uses. Let's pray together. Father, we love You. We thank You for Your goodness, Your mercy in our lives. We thank You, Lord, that You love us today. Lord, You want to work in each heart this morning, and I pray that we'll have ears to hear, and Lord, hearts with wills to obey Your Word, and Lord, to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the still, small voice of God. Lord, I pray that Christ will be magnified. Guide my thoughts and my lips today to say what needs to be said. Lord, I pray that You'll increase and I'll decrease. Let people see Christ today. And Lord, I love You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, the city of Philadelphia is located in the fertile Hermus Valley. It's about 28 miles southeast of Sardis. It was founded, and there's going to be a little map that's going to come up. These guys are going to show it to you. It sort of gives you an idea of the locations. You would start at Ephesus and make a circular route. There's one more church that we're going to look at. after the church in Philadelphia. It was founded by the name of Attalus, a man by the name of Attalus II around 150 BC. And it's interesting that the love and loyalty that Attalus had for his brother Eumenes won for him the title Philadelphus, or brotherly love, the man of brotherly love, and he founded the city of Philadelphus, alright, the city of brotherly love. And Brother Delp is from the modern city of Philadelphia, sort of the outskirts of it, and I just want to go on record and say, it's probably not the city of brotherly love right now, okay, can we just go ahead and say that? But Brother Delp is, he's a man of brotherly love. Philadelphia was backed by volcanic cliffs. A lot of volcanic activity in that area. The countryside, because of that, was very rich and fertile. But it was a dangerous place to live. The city was in constant danger of earthquakes. It had actually been destroyed by earthquake. The tremors or shocks were regular occurrences, so it wasn't uncommon to feel the reverberations of the earth's volcanic movement and earth movement there. And because of this, many of its citizens chose to live outside the city in huts for safety. They would go in the city to do business, to work, to enjoy the pleasures of the city, but then they would go out into the countryside into little huts and that's where they would live for safety. It's alluded to in verse number 12. Would you look in the middle of verse number 12 when he talks about the temple of my God. Do you know there is a place that hath foundations that will never be shaken? Do you realize there's a city that will never pass away? Everything in this life will pass away. But I'm going to tell you, dear friend, there is a world coming that will not pass. And notice what he says. He said, Him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and He shall go no more out. I'm just going to tell you, heaven is a place of security and safety and joy. It's the paradise of God. Isn't that wonderful? The church. God uses. Preacher, what kind of church does God use? You see, God used Philadelphia in its day, and I believe that we want to be a church that God can use in our day. And first of all, if we're going to be a church that God can use, we must be faithful to the Lord. We need to be faithful to the Lord. If there was a hallmark of the church at Philadelphia, it was faithfulness. It was faithfulness. You know what I Corinthians 4.2 says? I Corinthians 4.2 says this, Moreover it is required in stewards. That means God's entrusted us with something. Church, listen to me. God has entrusted us with a responsibility for Him. And King, our surrounding communities, the world around us, He's entrusted us with the Gospel. He's entrusted us with His Word. He's given us a ministry and a place of influence and impact. It is a stewardship and God expects us to be faithful. Christian, listen to me. God expects us to be faithful. Faithful. Oh, the hallmark of Calvary Baptist Church ought to be faithfulness. The church at Philadelphia was faithful. Jesus said this, When the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the earth. What is meaning there? When I come will I find my people faithful. We've already mentioned that Jesus didn't have anything negative to say to this church. And can I tell you, if I was to read a letter from the Lord to our church, I would pray there's no negativity there. Now we've already learned in our study that even good churches have problems, and if you're our guest today, I don't want you to have any inclination to think that we think we're perfect, or that we're better than anybody else, or that somehow we're in a different place. That's just not true. I believe we're a good church, but that doesn't mean we're a problem-free church. You say, how do you know that? Because I'm here. How about that one? The Lord's desire for Calvary Baptist Church is that when He comes, He finds us faithful. Few churches remain true to the Lord past fifty years of age. Did you know that? Even fewer beyond a hundred. Calvary this year will be fifty-five years old. We remain true. I've been the pastor for 16 years. Dr. Baker was here 32 years. I've had the privilege of building on a great foundation. 48 years of continuity. Isn't that amazing? A Bible preaching from a pulpit. Godly worship in a church. Outreach into our communities. Lives being touched and changed. Oh, friend, can I tell you, if Jesus doesn't want to come, and I won't be here for that hundredth birthday, but whoever's standing in this pulpit at that time, or wherever that pulpit is, can I tell you this? Whether it's in a new facility, new place, I have no idea. Our church has moved three times because of growth. And can I tell you, we're not in love with a location, we're in love with a Lord. Amen? I'm going to talk about our location in a little bit. But listen, I pray that that man of God, when he stands in that pulpit, will be a place of faithfulness and godliness and honoring the Lord. And it's incumbent upon us to be faithful in our day, that we might hand off to the generations that follow, that they might be faithful in their day. This church, somebody said, was like a rose between two thorns. On one side was Sardis, a dead church. On the other side was Laodicea, a disengaged church. But Philadelphia was a dedicated church. How are we to be faithful? Well, first of all, we need to be dependent. Could I tell you? We ought to be dependent. Why don't you look in verse number 8. Would you look down? He said, I know thy works. He's going to talk about a door set before them. We'll get there. He said in this part, for thou hast a little strength. He said, I'm going to give you a great big opportunity, and you have just a little strength. You know what he's saying to them? You have some strength, but you don't have enough strength. It's not our strength, but His strength. It's not our ability, but His ability. You know what He's saying to them? He said, I'm getting ready to give you something to do that is so great, so grand, so glorious that you need Me to do it. Can I help you understand something? We need Him every hour. Let me just say every moment of every hour. We need the Lord. Many believe this may have been the smallest of the seven churches. We don't know that. It's interesting that God never gave us the numerical size of any of the churches. Because size doesn't determine success. Faithfulness does. And what the Lord was going to give them to do was beyond their resources, it was beyond their strength, it was beyond their ability, they needed God. It's a reminder right here on our pulpit, right here I'm looking at, what's left here by the former pastor, it stays right where it was, not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts." Calvary Baptist Church, if we're going to do anything of significance for God in this day, this hour, listen, it will be God who does that through us. We need His Spirit working in our lives. Can I remind you today what's beyond us is not beyond Him? And Christian, there's things that God's going to ask you to do. God's going to give you opportunity. We're going to talk about that to make a difference for Him. Maybe serve in a class, sing in a choir, serve in a children's ministry, teen ministry, outreach ministry, recovery ministry, whatever it is that God may set before you to be a blessing for Him. And you're going to say, well, I can't. That's beyond me. Oh, can I tell you with God's commands come His enablements. God will never lead you where He doesn't enable you to do what He wants you to do. Don't say, I can't. Say through Him, I can. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. I'm reminded when Sarah didn't think God could, actually it was the Lord Jesus in pre-incarnate appearance. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Luke 1.37, the virgin birth, the angel said to Mary, for with God nothing shall be impossible. You say, preacher, there's just places in the world that you can't reach. There's just places you can't go. I'm telling you, God's already put something on my heart for next year. We can go there. There are no closed countries to the Gospel. Oh, you may not be able to get in there physically, but I'm telling you what, the Gospel can still go there. I can't wait till Vision Sunday. You say, preacher, that's January. It's July. I'm already pumped up for next year. God's not done with this year. I'm looking forward to what God has as He's going to enlarge our reach. I'm reminded of a little something I wrote in the flyleaf of my Bible. You might want to write it in yours. Dr. Earl Jessup, the founder of a Baptist church planting ministry. We support that ministry. We planted churches with that ministry and used that model. He said something to me one time in a private conversation that I wrote in my Bible, and here's what he said. Kevin, always be doing something only God can finish. Always be doing something only God can finish. We need to be dependent. We need to be dedicated. Look, if you would, verse 8 again, would you please very quickly. He said, and has kept, this is the second to the last phrase of verse 8, and has kept My word. Can I just say this morning, the greatest treasure that we have is not a jewelry case. And fellas, it's not a gun safe. Okay? It's not my wife as precious to me as she is. It's not my two children that I love beyond measure. The greatest treasure that God's given us is this book. Because I wouldn't have what I have today apart from what God's done in my life through this book. The Bible is the greatest treasure that you have. You may not have even opened the treasure chest this week, but inside of it are nuggets that will literally change your life for the better. I'm reminded of Mother's Day. I was overwhelmed, as I said, in the congregation, and little two- and three-year-olds were on this stage, on this platform, and they were singing a song that ought to be true of every church and every Christian, every person that names the name of Christ. It's a little book. They started singing the B-I-B-L-E. Yes, that's the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E. Hey folks, can I tell you, and they go like this, the Bible. I'm just going to tell you church, we need to be a church that stands on the B-I-B-L-E, the Bible. Psalm 138 verse 2, "...thus magnified thy word above all thy name." Notice that word kept, it means to guard. We need to guard the Word. It means to obey. The church of Philadelphia weren't just hearers, they were doers of the Word. There was a missionary translator. He was having problems finding the right word for obedience to take it out from the original languages of the Bible into that native language. Because obedience wasn't a virtue among those people, and so they didn't have a name for it. And he was trying to find a word that would fit so they would understand it. And as he was returning home one day of struggling with finding a word for obedience in that native language, he whistled for his dog. And the dog's ears propped up and immediately came running at full speed. And an old native saw that and he admiringly said to the missionary, he said, missionary, your dog is all ear. And that boy had dawned on Him. I mean, the light went on. He had His Word. Obedience is being all ear to God. Do you want God to bless your marriage, young couple? Do you want God to bless your life, young adult? Do you want God to bless your family? Do I want God to bless my church, this church? It's not mine, it's the Lord's, our church. Do we want God to bless our lives, not only today, but in the future? Then we need to be all ear to Him. Wouldn't we agree with that? But it doesn't stop there. It was a devoted church. Look what he says, latter part of it, "...and has not denied my name." They weren't ashamed to claim the name of Jesus. Can I tell you there's just something about that name? The world wants to blaspheme that name, but Christians, we need to proclaim that name. You know, don't be ashamed in the name of Jesus. We can't honor the Father without honoring His Son. God's given Him a name above every name. He's highly exalted Him. Can I tell you, people are saved through that name, delivered from sin and Satan and hell. Listen, Acts chapter 4 verse number 12, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must Be saved. Listen, it's a necessity for any of you who want to go to heaven. You want your sins forgiven. You want an eternity. Listen, in the paradise of God, you must be saved. Must be saved. None other name. It's in the name of Jesus. I saved through the name of Jesus. Jesus said, and I, if I be lifted up, I'll draw them into Me. Listen, everything we do as a church ought to be lifting Him up. We're saved in His name. We gather and worship in His name. We serve in His name. Whatsoever you do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks. We pray in His name. We're to preach in His name. And thank God we can praise His name. Isn't that a blessing? Have you praised His name this morning? There was a story of a medical missionary in China. Whenever someone came to him for treatment, he would witness to them the salvation that was in Jesus. The story goes one morning before the clinic opened, and there was a little-aged Chinese woman stooped at the missionary's door, and she had been there probably since the early morning hours, and he could tell by the dust that she had traveled many, many miles. He treated her, and as always, he shared the gospel story. He shared how Jesus could save her. And the medical missionary said that as the rose opens to receive the rays of the noonday sun, so her heart opened to receive the Savior. Her tears made little rivulets down her dusty cheeks as she opened her heart to Jesus. I'm going to tell you this morning, there'll be nothing greater you do in your life than to open your heart to Jesus. Weeks went by and there was a knock at the door and he went and opened it and there was that same little old Chinese lady. There she was. And she said, Sir, Sir, I've traveled back because I forgot His name. Could you please tell me His name again? And the missionary repeated over with her in the language, Jesus, Jesus. And each time she would echo that name, Jesus. And a lady by the name of Lelelong heard that story. And here's what she wrote. She said, There have been many names that I love to hear, but never was there a name So dear to this heart of mine as the name divine, the precious, precious name of Jesus. Jesus is the sweetest name I know. And He's just the same as His lovely name. And that's the reason why I love Him so. For Jesus is the sweetest name I know. I'm here to tell you, dear friend, there's no sweeter name than the name of Jesus. Oh, if we're going to be used of God, we need to be faithful to the Lord, number two, very quickly. We need to be moved by opportunity. moved by opportunity. I'm going to quickly share some truth with you if I could. Notice, if you would, how Jesus introduces Himself to this church. He's the Holy One. Look at verse number 7. He said to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, Write, These things saith he that is holy. Did you know Philadelphia was the center of emperor worship? They worshiped Caesar as God. Caesar had a large, magnificent temple built where the people would come and burn incense and they would proclaim, Caesar is Lord. Caesar visited the city and they gave him the title, the Son of the Holy One. Isn't that something? What blasphemy? The Son of the Holy One. You know what Jesus is reminding His church? It's not Caesar that's holy. I'm holy. There wasn't anything holy about Caesar. He was probably one of the wickedest, vilest men in the Roman Empire. Very vile, violent, wicked, perverse, ungodly man. He wasn't holy. But Jesus is. That's the essential nature of God Himself. He is the Holy One. But I want you to notice what else He says. He that is true. True. Genuine. Many people have claimed to be God. Many people have claimed to be the way to God. Caesar claimed to be God. Buddha claimed to be the enlightened one to show the pathway. Mohammed, the prophet of Allah. Confucius and on and on and on the list goes. Can I tell you they're all impostors? They're all fakes. They're cheap imitations of the real thing. When we get ready, the team goes to Guyana. One of the things, they're usually very tired. The team's going to be very tired. They're going to be leaving probably around 3.30 a.m. on Friday morning. And so you pray for them as they head to the airport and travel down. I'll already be there. And thank the Lord I don't have to be there at 3.30 a.m. But anyway, beside the point, Whenever a team goes down with me, I tell them, I say, now listen, I know you're tired, but I want you to be alert right now. I want you to look because you're going to see things you've never seen before. Because you ride from the airport to the John's house and to the church. When you go there into Leonora from the airport, you're going to see temple after temple and house after house with false idols and gods of various images. And they're going to worship. The people will worship these gods. And they're false gods. They have eyes, but they can't see. They have ears, but they can't hear. They have a mouth, but they can't speak. They have hands and feet, but they can't do anything. They're imposters. We live in a pluralistic society that says all religions are the same. It doesn't matter what way it is. They're all equal. Do you know something? That's not true. Say, Preacher, how do you know that? Because the founders of all other religions, they lived, they died, and they are dead. Thailand and Cambodia or Vietnam, they had a time here a few years ago where they were brought together through Buddhism because one country shared the bone of Buddha with another country. Can you imagine? They got all excited about that. A bone. Is that going to do anything for you? Say, preacher, what sets Christianity apart? Because Jesus lived, He died, and He's alive. Throughout the Bible, He's the living God. You're saying, my God's alive today. He's risen from the dead, and He is Lord. But let's move on. He's the sovereign one. Notice what he says in verse number 7. He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth. For sake of time, it's an allusion to Isaiah 22.22 and the storehouse of David and the authority to open that treasure house and close that door. And the man by the name of Eliakim. Let me give you an illustration of that. Keys are symbols of authority. Now, our school, you have different kind of keys. There's a key that will access the building, but probably not the office area and other teachers' doors, but it gets you in the building. It has the authority to open some doors, but not all the doors. Then there's another key called a master key, and it'll open most of the doors, but still won't open all the doors. But then there's a grand master key, and that will open them all. And Jesus, as the King of the universe, doesn't have a key. He doesn't even have a master key. He has the grand master key. And whatever door He opens, nobody can shut it. And whatever door He closes, nobody can open it. Friend, can I tell you the greatest thing you'll ever do today is to give Jesus the master key of your life. You know what Jesus is reminding us? I'm the one in charge. Notice quickly what he says to this church. He said, He that openeth, no man shutteth. Shutteth and no man openeth. I'm the one with the key. Verse 8, I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. That word set means to entrust. An open door, I believe, is speaking of opportunity. Let me give you some verses of Scripture. 1 Corinthians 16.9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me. 2 Corinthians 2.12 When I came to Troas, Paul said to preach Christ's gospel, a door was opened, opportunity was opened unto me of the Lord. He said opportunity. Acts 14.19 Paul reporting to the church at Antioch, he declared all that God had done with them, Open the door of faith and opportunity of faith unto the Gentiles. Here's what God is saying. The Lord is saying, listen, I'm giving you an open door to do something for Me. He wanted to grow their vision. He wanted to enlarge their coasts. He wanted to expand their reach. Philadelphia was known as the gateway to the east where it was strategically located. It sort of opened up. It's at the end of a big long valley that extended from the Mediterranean Sea to what was called the Great Central Plateau. And a major trade route or highway that flowed from the Mediterranean Sea into Asia went through Philadelphia. And so this church was strategically located not only to reach their city, but all of Asia, the known world with the gospel. And it's not without significance that a Christian testimony remained in this city for nearly 2,000 years. Calvary, I believe God's given us an open door. He has swung the door wide open. This year we're planning a church in Hutto, Texas. Crusades in Guyana. Ministries getting ready to begin in other places. Churches that have started. Opportunities. God has been blessing us exponentially beyond anything we can imagine. You say, preacher, what are you doing? I'm just trying to stay out of the way and not mess it up. Letting God have His way. That's what we need to do. God doesn't need my help. He just needs my cooperation. What about you? God has strategically located us on Main Street, King, across from the Chick-fil-A. Brother Delp, can I have an amen? Can I get a witness? Hallelujah. Brother Delp grew up wanting to be the mascot, the cow for Chick-fil-A. God had greater plans for him. He did do that for a while. He did. God had greater plans to lead the music at Calvary and other ministries here in Outreach. Our community is set to grow at an exponential rate. Whether we like it or not, it doesn't matter. It's going to happen. God is bringing the world to us. Neighborhoods are going up all around us. And God's given us the opportunity. He's given us the building, the facility, the people, the message, and His Spirit to reach our community for Christ. God's giving us opportunity through Life Group Ministries on Wednesday nights. Our grief share, divorce care, our Friday life group, RU, our outreach ministries, our Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night ministries, and on and on we can go. Hundreds and hundreds, an army of servants in our church that are all in for Jesus to make a difference. God has given us an open door. Church, let me tell you something. We must walk through it. We have to. While the doors open, while there's opportunity, we must walk through the doors that God gives us before they shut. Because if we won't, He'll raise up somebody else to do it. He wants to grow our vision, enlarge our coast, and expand our reach for Him. Because once that door closes, we'll not be able to reopen it. It's called opportunity. God's going to give you opportunities tomorrow, church. He gives you opportunities every Sunday. as God brings guests into our church and we have an opportunity to share and show the love of Christ and to welcome as God welcomes. Opportunities tomorrow to serve Him, to share Him, to be a blessing. There's someone hurting that you work with, someone hurting you go to school with, someone struggling, God, listen, if we'll just be alert as we go through life, God will give us open doors. Opportunity after opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to make a difference for Him. To pray with somebody. Oh, to say, listen, God loves you. Let me pray with you. Let me be an encouragement to you. Listen, let God use you. Walk through the door. Somebody says, God's never given me an opportunity. Maybe it's because He knows you won't walk through the door. If we're not careful, we go through life with blinders on. And we don't see the need all around us. We get mad at it. I have homeless people up there, I tell you what. These people panhandling over here. This over here. Who can imagine what's going on? Listen, can I tell you, every one of them are a soul for which Jesus died. I don't hand out money to everybody. There was a fellow that I ran into some while back near the Chick-fil-A off Stanville before we got the good Chick-fil-A here in King. And I was down in the Stanville. Uh oh, I've already made enemies. Anyway, I didn't get any amens. I got omens. But anyway, we're going to keep going. So there was a guy. He was panhandling. It was his job. He said, Pastor, you know man, For the life of me, I couldn't remember his name. He said, will you help me, my wife? I said, tell you what, I'm not going to give you any money, because I don't know what you're going to do with it, but I will feed you. You look hungry. So I went and got a big Chick-fil-A meal, big large drink, because it was hot that day. And I even had them put a cookie in it. How about that? And I'm going to tell you something. I said, listen, I don't know why you're here, but I got an idea. Because you left God. And it's put you here. But I'm going to tell you something, Jesus loves you. And it was an opportunity just to share Christ. And we need to be walking through opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to make God... Listen to me. I want everybody to lean in right now. God wants to use you. It doesn't matter your age. It doesn't matter where you work. It doesn't matter your station in life. It doesn't matter our educational... God's not looking for credential. God's looking for availability. He's looking for someone to use. And I'm glad that God can use ordinary people like you and me. He doesn't have to use the mighty. He doesn't have to use the rich. We get the idea, oh, if this movie star would get saved, what God could do with him. Can I tell you what? You know why God can't use that? Because they want the glory. God's looking for people that will give the glory to Him. God doesn't need anybody. But God wants to use everybody that will make Himself available to Him. Sadly, if we're not careful, we won't walk through the door. Church redeemed the time because the days are evil. He's the door opener. One day, listen to me, I'm going to bring the message to a close. One day, He's going to open another door. See, He has the keys, right? He has the keys of life and death. heaven and hell. And we're going to see it. He's going to open another door called the door of paradise. We've read about it. The New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. A new earth. A new heaven. And in eternity, there are only two doors to walk through. You'll either walk through the door to heaven or you'll walk through a door to hell. There's only two. And you'll choose which door you walk through. And Jesus said, I'm the door. By Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. Two thousand years ago, Jesus opened the door to heaven. Did you know that? At a place called Calvary. He shed His blood. He died for your sins and mine. God laid on Him the iniquity of every one of us, every lie I've ever told, every curse word I've ever used, every time I ever took His name in vain. All of that Jesus died for. And He wants us to come to Him. He rose again. He said, I want you to come to Me and be saved. Do you know there's a door of salvation? Opportunity to be saved. And now, today's the day. Listen to 2 Corinthians 6. There are people right now in this room and you're battling over what you're going to do with Jesus Christ. You are. And here's what you're thinking. Well, you know what? When I straighten up my life, I'm going to come to Jesus. When I get my life in a shape to where I feel like I can live it. Let me help you in on something. You can't live it till you come to Him. You can't. Well, I get my life in order. I get my family in order. I get my marriage in order. I get my future in order. Then I'm going to come to Jesus. I'm going to live a little while and I'm going to do some things. Then I'm going... Listen, let me just let you in on something. Today is the day of salvation. You don't know that the door might close in your life and you never have another opportunity. Tragically, in that shooting yesterday, there was a man went to a rally just to have a good time and he died. when a bullet entered his head. Listen, he didn't go there that day expecting to die. And I'm not being unkind, and I'm not trying to seize on something to be unkind. I'm being very honest with you. Nobody plans to die. Even people with terminal illnesses don't plan today. It happens. And when it happens, the door closes. And once the door closes, it doesn't open again. And you will walk through the door you don't want to walk through. And you'll be eternally separated from God in a place called hell. And Jesus died to keep you from that place. And He wants to save you today by faith. Not by joining a church, or getting baptized, or being a better person. Jesus makes us better. There's not anything good about any person in this room except what Jesus has done for us. and He's gonna invite you to come to Him today and be saved. Don't wait too late. Let's bow our heads in prayer.