Well, it is good to be back once again in good old Tampa, Florida. I've had some exciting things to happen. But we know when God says to go and you go, exciting things are supposed to happen. Go expecting. And I think you ought to attempt great things for God and expect great things from God. I want to talk to you today about something that is my way of thinking, why I do what I do, and the reason that I do it, so that it can be beneficial. I've said before, I've usually had a great fear of being a success at something that won't amount to a hill of beans 100 years from now, because there's so many things we can do in life. but we only get to live once. We need to find out what it is that's the most important thing that I could ever do that's worth me living. I want you to take it by very quickly and just look at a couple of verses before I get to the slide presentation. And notice there in the book of Colossians and chapter three, Colossians chapter three. I do appreciate very much Pastor Jesse Martinez allowed me the opportunity of speaking to y'all today. I don't take it for granted because I never did like too much giving up my pulpit time. I did it occasionally, but rare. Here in Colossians in chapter three, look at some good verses. This is written to those who already know the Lord. You know you're going to heaven when you die, but how to have a proper perspective. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. And so I will Start off by talking about the three worlds that I like to keep in my mind. These are many things that you already know, but keeping them in your mind and living according to that is maybe a different thing. God says twice in those verses above, above. There's a way that God wants us to think, set our affections on, and not on the things of the world. So therefore, if that is true, then it should make a difference in our life. In this message, the three worlds, I want you to know that God made three worlds. One is the world in which we're on right now, this earth. We're in a world. But God also describes two more worlds. But these two worlds we've never seen. So the one that we do see, God says that we're made by things that do not appear. So we've never seen heaven, but that's another world. We've never seen hell, but that's another world. But if you would know that these three worlds exist and that those last two are just as real as the one in which we're on, it will help us to learn how to think wisely, utilize our time the way we should. I used to tell the college kids, never be bored, just serve the Lord. keep the right things in your mind. And you'd be surprised how it will help you to make the right decisions because every day we're making decisions. So we start off in the book of Genesis, of course, that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. All right. We know that. And God literally, he holds the world in his hands, everything that God made. He hasn't set aside his sovereignty. He knows who he is. He knows where he's at. And I talked to him this morning, so he's not even sick and God is not dead. He's very much alive. And he's as real today as he was and ever has been and always will be. So it says that God says, you know, that he made man in his own image. And they told him to have dominion over the things of the world. And over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So man was to have dominion over this planet in which we were privileged to be born into. God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him, male and female. Isn't it amazing that the answer to many of the problems today are answered right there in the scriptures. He made a male and female. There is no other kind. And if you don't know what you are, Get in front of a mirror, take a good look. If you can't figure out what you are, you're sick. You really got a problem. But we'll go right on. We're not going to dwell there too long. And God blessed him and told him to multiply. He says that everything that God saw and everything that he did, he said it was good. And because it was good, he even made a man and made a woman. says you can have anything that you want so you see god supplied all of their needs before they were ever created before you ever arrived all of your needs to live on planet earth have already been supplied just like he supplies the worms for the bird but he doesn't throw the worms in the nest you and i have been blessed to have a brain and we can see and read and think and you know relate discovered, plan, and do all the things that we do. It's wonderful to be alive and to know who you are and what you are, why you're here, to know where you came from, what you're doing, where you're going. But he says, there is one tree that you can't eat of. So it was God who gave man a free will. They were allowed to make a choice. were given the right to choose. But did they make the right decisions? No, they didn't. And all of the problems that we have in the world is not because of what God did, but because of what man chose. Man chose to be disobedient. We see the results of his sinful disobedience. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. But there is another world that is behind the world that we do see. I have an inquiry in mind and I always want to know what's going on. I can't wait to get to heaven and have God give me a review. I want to see how he did everything. I don't think I was asking too much. I mean, if we can take pictures and record, I think God can. Curiosity may kill the cat, but curiosity plunges the whole human race into total chaos. And because of the sinfulness of man, we have all the problems that we have in this world. And he says about the wisdom of the world and the princes of this world, if they had the wisdom of God, then they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. They would never have crucified Christ. But it shows you how blind the world is. So he says, as it is written, I have not seen, e'er hath not heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. Through the Word of God, God's Word reveals God. It reveals heaven and hell, source and your purpose. and your destiny. That's why the Word of God is so important to know. God has not left us without a record. I could say that God has text you. And many of God's people refuse to read the text. You see the woman, when she looked at the food, well, there's the lust of the flesh. Pleasant to the eye, the lust of the eyes. Make you wise, well, the pride of life. So you see, those are the three things that God says, if a man has those in this world and he loves the world, it's because of the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. That's what everybody is seeking in their whole life. So God says, because of sin, they were going to be kicked out of the garden. And remember this great, big, beautiful, wonderful world that God made. It was, and I hate to say this, please don't get mad at me, it was the woman that took the fruit. You see, it wasn't the fruit in the tree, it was the pear on the ground that caused the problem. She gave them to her husband and he did eat. So there you have it. Men, be careful of obeying your wife in all things. My wife told me one day, she says, because I told her myself, The key to a happy marriage is very simple. Husbands, obey your wives in all things, for this is right. Betty says it's in the Greek, but I haven't found it, but she says it's in there. And we celebrated our 63rd anniversary on June the 8th, so we're now working on 64. And I think it's the most wonderful thing in the world to have a wife that loves you and loves the Lord, and she's willing to travel and do whatever the husband wants to do. Do you realize how my life would have been held back if my wife had not been willing to go like I'd been going? In other words, I'd have been back there thinking, I could have been a contender. But anyway. she has just easy I say honey we're going to go blah blah blah she got the thing packed and in his car waiting on me everybody then got back from one of our trips she says when are we leaving that's not a joke she's ready to go so um anyway god is good god gave man opportunity to make choices. But there's consequences to our choices. So this was the result of allowing man to choose to make decisions. So in life, everybody gets this opportunity to make decisions, to reveal your great wisdom, just how wise are you? There's the wisdom of the world, there's the wisdom of God, how you doing? And many people never learn the wisdom of God. You need to study the book of I think you've got a pastor here that's trying to teach Proverbs, isn't that right? You need to get in all of those lessons on Proverbs. It'll help you tremendously. Now, man disobeyed, and because of that, they decided to do whatever it was in their mind to do. In other words, like he says in Judges, every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Everybody just wants to live the way they want to live, as though there is no consequences. Like there is no heaven, there's no hell. It's all here and it's now and it's whatever I want to do. And I can be whatever I want to be. No, you ought to want to be what God wants you to be. And you ought to do what God wants you to do. And there is a difference. And God said he's going to destroy the earth. And Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And God used him to build a boat, a boat that would float. And he did it. And so all flesh had corrupted their way. And God says, I will destroy the earth. So He destroyed the earth. He did it just like He said He was going to do, and He made a promise. He'll never destroy it again by water. But the next time He's going to destroy it, He says it's going to be by fire. So in 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 7, He said, but the heavens and the which are now by the same word is kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and prediction of ungodly men. Does God see the ungodliness that's going on in this world? All the things that are going on, God sees and he promised to destroy this world. And he's going to burn it up by fire. And if Al Gore has a problem with global warming, so be it. You ought to see it when God gets through with it. He's going to destroy this earth. And someday, somewhere, you may find out there's some little nuclear mushroom cloud over some city in some country, because it wouldn't take much to set off a chain reaction. And buddy, what this world could be in for. I'm looking for the rapture, but we have no guarantee we won't have some things happen before the rapture takes place. The Lord says that He's not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness. But God, see, is longsuffering. He's not willing that any should perish, but He's given people time. He has His Word going out all over the world, and people will not heed what God has to say. The world is in a mess. We are headed right for Armageddon. All the things that are happening and the things that are lining up, it's the greatest time in all the world as far as I'm going to be alive. Like I've said before, the reason I'm glad I didn't exist in those other time periods, I'd be dead. I'm alive now. I don't know how much longer. But God has been good to me and I'm thankful for my health at this point. I have to be honest, I did not know a year and a half ago that I would ever feel as healthy as I am right now. Now, I may die tomorrow, but I'm gonna thank the Lord for what he's given to me at this point. And when tomorrow comes, I'll face whatever comes down the pike. But God said, this is going to happen. And he says, there's gonna be fervent heat and it shall be burned up. Now, if this is true, then what kind of a person should we be? How should we live if we know this world is not going to last and it could be destroyed very quickly and you and I can die very soon because the wages of sin is death and since we've all sinned, we're all going to die. What kind of person should we be? and all of our holiness and godliness, our manner of life. You see, what you know about the Bible should determine how you live this life you have. And you only get one time through. No reruns, no instant replays. You get one trip through life. Don't mess it up. You trust in Christ as Savior. Don't blow your life. Use it the way God wants you to. And that's why he gave us his word. And so he says, this world is going to be melted with fervent heat. And God describes that in his word. There's another world. I've lived long enough to say that I've lost a lot of my loved ones. I led my mother to the Lord and she's in heaven. I led my two sisters to the Lord and they're in heaven. I got a brother and another one sister, and they're right on the verge. Little man that I've told you about, he's not in a wheelchair for the last four years. My sister's had a stroke and she can't hardly walk. She's very feeble now. I know that one of the days they're going to be gone. I thought I was going to be gone a year and a half ago, and then somebody prayed and God left me here. I showed up at the doors and I said, can I come in? He says, no, you were rejected. Somebody prayed for you to stay down here. So here I am. But one of these days, I'm going to get to go. but the Bible tells us about another world. Now this world we see is temporary. You here in this life, you are temporary, but heaven is permanent. Hell is permanent. They are forever. So in this life, God gives us the ability to choose and he blesses us with a little taste of heaven and a little taste of hell. so that you can make a wise decision about what would you like to have for all eternity. And people that we know and love are going to pass away. Some of the people right here in Calvary Community Church have already gone to be with the Lord, even since I've been here, and then since Jesse's been the pastor. And there's going to be probably some more. It's not the worst thing in the world that can happen to you. Believe it or not, when a baby comes into this world, what's the first thing it does? Cries. And if it doesn't cry, they slap him. I know this one kid who was so ugly, doctor slapped the mom. I could say more, but I'll just move right along. He says, there's a new world. 2 Peter 3.13, nevertheless we according to his promise look for a new heaven, new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. And in Revelation 27 he says, there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth or worketh abomination. But they which have no sin, not even a lie, shall be able to enter there. But they which are, got their names written in the Lamb's book of life. So there is another world, it's called heaven. Now, we didn't make the earth, but God did. And He says there's another one. And how to get into that world, you have to be perfect. You see, God let us be on this planet, and we were here with a sinful nature. You have to be born again without a sinful nature. So the only way you can get into the next world is to be born again without a sinful nature. so that you never can sin. You see, we were not created perfect when we were here. We were created innocent. We had the ability, the capacity that we could choose and choose the wrong thing. But there we cannot sin and we will not sin, so it'll never be repeated again. The new heavens and the new earth. I saw a new heavens and a new earth. He says, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. I don't know if John said that because he saw enough water on the Isle of Patmos, I don't know. But he says, there won't be no more of that. And then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And this holy city is 1,500 miles high, long, and wide. Solid gold. Can you just picture Yankees squashing gold dust between his toes? I did it with mud. But I don't know how it's going to go with gold dust. But we're going to walk on streets of gold. And there's walls of casper and gates of pearl. Now, I don't know all about this, but I know there's some things that he says about this place where we're going to go. And he says that God says he's going to wipe away all tears from their eyes. And neither shall there be any more death because there'll be no more sin. And the former things are passed away. This is this new heaven. And a verse that I really love because David in the book of Psalms, in 16th Psalm, he's talking about Jesus Christ. that he will not suffer his soul to be left in hell or Hades, Sheol. But he says this, thou will show me the path of life in thy presence. Get this, in thy presence is fullness of joy. And then he says, at thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Now, one of the reasons I'd like to go to heaven, yeah, I wanna see God, but I don't mind having some fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Do you realize that in this life, God will allow you to have a little taste of joy? But have you noticed that whenever you have something that's really joyful, something seems to come along and rob you away from it? A little sorrow, some pain, some grief. Life, it seems like he can't win when you ought to be happy. You're afraid to be too happy because you know, it's gonna turn sour You know something's gonna go wrong You know Murphy's Law if it can happen it will But God says in this life. He lets you enjoy some peace and joy and happiness Because see if you didn't have a little that here you wouldn't know what he was talking about when he promised you're gonna have it forever. I If God told you that whenever you die, you're going to be in a place of literal fire burning hell, with torment, suffering, grief, pain, forever and ever, you wouldn't know what he's talking about. If in this life you didn't have some suffering, and you didn't have any pain, you didn't have some grief, if you didn't have none of that, you wouldn't know what to reject. But I have suffered a little bit, but God's also blessed me enough. But I would make my decision, I would rather have fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Perfect, no more curse than to go to a literal fire burning hell forever and ever and ever. So you see, the things that happen in your life, it's not just happenstance. There's reasons. God is educating you so that you can make the wisest decision you could ever make. You see, when He told them in the garden, the day you eat that fruit, you shall surely die. I'm not sure they understood all the consequences. God wants you to make the right decision knowing the consequences. So think about what God has to say. Precious in this verse, get this, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. When my mother died, she knew the Lord. In God's eyes, that was precious. When my sister died, that was precious. You see, and I got a lot of loved ones and a lot of friends that I've known. It's a precious thing in the eyes of the Lord, because that's supposed to be what we're waiting for. So some people that don't have this joy, don't have this hope, They can't have that same consequence, that excitement and thrill. I remember my father-in-law who led me to the Lord. He says when his mother died, the other kids were standing around and everybody's sobbing. And he's over there with a smile on his face. And they took offense to that because he didn't care. He didn't love his mother. And a couple of them came over and says, how come you're sitting here with a smile on your face? He says, mama suffered for years. She hurt for so long. She knew she had eternal life and she was going to heaven when she dies. Now she's free of this old body of pain. Do you think for a moment I would wish my mother back into that body? He says, no, I'm happy for my mom. Now see, there's a different perspective on how you look at things. Some people totally fall apart. if their cat dies, or if their dog dies, because they can be so in love with somebody. Be in love with the Lord. That ought to be the most exciting thing in your whole life, is you know you have eternal life, and it's a precious thing in the sight of the Lord to go home to be with the Lord. That's what it was all about. That's why Christ came into the world, that where I am, there you may be also. That's why he wants you there. So you're gonna die. Accept that as a fact. Don't fall apart. Grow up. Be an adult. I don't mean to holler at you, but some people just need to be hollered at. He says, in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Man. When he was on the cross, I was on his mind. And when he went to heaven, I was still on his mind. When he started building the mansions, I'm still on his mind. How many thoughts does he have about me? You read the 139th Psalm. It'll give you a kick. It's a great Psalm. And if I go into prayer place for you, I will come again to where I am. There you may be also. You may be there. And this is why there'll be no more curse. He says, you'll get to see my face. I want to see the face of God. And the Bible says, and they shall reign forever and ever. You know, forever and ever means that's irrevocable. When he says, I'll give you everlasting life, it means it's irrevocable. He can't change it, can't alter it, can't take it back. It's forever. Now there's another world, the one that nobody wants to talk about, a world of darkness. But this world of darkness, see, it's dark because God says in Him there is no darkness, in hell there is no light. He says, and they will be like clouds in the midst of darkness forever, the book of Jude. So even though we have fire, I don't believe there's going to be any light. It's not going to let me, I can go to hell and, hey, there's Johnny over there. Good to see you, Johnny. How you doing? Hey, there's Michael Brown over there. Scratch that last mark. And you'll be surprised. You're not going to say, hey, let's just take up an auburn down here and we'll air condition the place and skate around the ice. Now, that might sound funny, but you know that's not going to happen. Because God says it's forever and ever, and there's no way of getting out. It's irrevocable. Once you die, it's either heaven, hell, never another opportunity. Can't ever change it. Right now while you are alive on this temporary planet in that temporary body, you've got an opportunity to make the wisest decision you could ever make in your life. Truth is truth, even if nobody believes it. And a lie is a lie, even if everybody teaches it and believes it. You see, people say, I don't believe the Bible. That doesn't do away with truth. That doesn't mean this isn't real. I don't believe there's a God. That doesn't mean anything. What if God said, I don't believe in you? God is still God, and you are here, and maybe you don't like it. Maybe you didn't ask to be born. Who did? But you're on this planet. You may want to cry out to God, stop this thing and let me off. Oh, you're going to get off one day. But where are you going to go when he gets off? That's what's important. The truth doesn't change. God's word is truth. Sanctify them through thy truth, the word of God. And that's why it's so important. And just because you, I don't wanna hear that. You know, they got a famous thing that came out not long ago. When somebody, you get ready to talk to somebody about something they don't like. You ever hear them do that? What does that mean? I mean, stop now, don't go any further. Stop that. And I'll never forget. I was talking to my sister one day. And I started talking about something. I said, put that hand down. That don't mean nothing to me. And I talked to her anyway. But when God says, I don't want to hear, why do you think people are not going to church and reading their Bibles? It's the same as, I don't want to hear that. Because that offends me. I want to be happy while I'm here. And I want to have good thoughts. And that irritates me. That grieves me. That bothers me. I don't want to think about those things. But is everybody going to die? Don't you think it's good to find out where am I going to spend eternity? Why don't I at least just listen to God and give Him a chance to explain it? Did you know it wasn't that bad when I finally stopped long enough and listened? It was the best news I ever heard in my life. So, Sodom and Gomorrah? The Bible says they are suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. They had already been there several thousand years. This is written in the book of Jude. It's not like when you go there and you get all burned up and it's all over. No, it's not. There is no end. There is no escape. And that's where people are going to spend eternity. Now keep this in mind. God made this earth. We're here temporarily. There's a heaven and there's a hell. All of your loved ones are going someplace. Your children are going somewhere. Your aunts and uncles, your grandparents, they're going somewhere. Do you care where they all spend eternity? If you love them, you must tell them. If you don't tell them, you don't love them. If you know Christ as your Savior, how can you sit idly by and do nothing about it? When I understood this, it changed my whole life. There is nothing else worth living for. It's the greatest thing in all the world, and every person I've ever led to Christ will be eternally grateful that at least somebody cared. And it doesn't matter how old we get, we don't have to lay down and die until we're dead. I was preaching up in North Carolina. This man's about 75 years old. He could barely get up to the podium. Some Baptist church, a friend of mine got him in. And he let everybody know, I'm retiring. I'm going to quit the ministry. And he was just down the dog. Down, I mean. And he could just barely. But we have our brother here. He's going to be preaching for us this week. And so he sat down and I walked up there. I feel great. I feel like a million dollars. I walk up. I'm only 80, 81. And I started preaching. And I preached, and I preached hard. After about three or four days, this guy got up. He walked up to the podium. He says, I'm not retiring. If this man can do it, I can do it. He had lost vision is what his problem was. He lost hope, lost purpose. That is a killer. When you can't see God using you, and it's not worth living, all you want to do is sit, soak, and sour. Anyway, I hope I can finish this before tonight. Look at this verse, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. I didn't write that. It's in the book. I read the book. And see, when you live by faith, then you have to believe these things that God says. Just because I haven't seen it, I see the world that he did make, and I didn't make it, this world and everything in the world is the evidence, the tracks, the evidence that God did it. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. God says this. This is in the book of Revelation. This is closing out His revelation to man. So God cares and He puts out a plea for people to trust Christ as their Savior over and over again. Get this verse. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to pay for all the sins of all the world so that the world could be saved. But man chooses to rebel, to reject But we're supposed to take that message that God given to us and go into all the world and preach the gospel. I don't see how you can do it without going. You got to go. When I left Florida Bible College, 1968, with a wife and two kids and a little pull trailer that we got in Sebring, Florida, we headed out. My motor home is just a little bit bigger now. but doing the same thing. I stopped long enough to try to train some people. And I did it again, and I do it again. And I wanna do it until I can't go no more. I'll stop driving when I can't drive. But as long as I can, I believe I owe it to God. I told a man one day, I believe that God wants to bless the man that wants to make him look good. Let me tell you that again. I believe God wants to bless the man that wants to make God look good. Through your life and the decisions that you make, do you want to make God look good? Or do you want to be ashamed of the gospel and ashamed of what Christ has done? Ashamed of God? Because you're ashamed as a Christian. If you know Christ as your Savior, then walk with Him. Not to get to heaven, but because you're going there. to one of the greatest joys you'll ever have is telling people how to have that free gift of everlasting life. And he that believeth on him is not condemned. But he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Why is a man condemned? Because he is a sinner. He's already rejected Christ as a Savior. You're just waiting for the day of execution. And I say, if you love God, and the closer you get to God, the closer you get to that which God loves. God only had one son, and he was a missionary. He was a soul winner. You want to be like Christ? Then be after souls. That's why I even wrote a book called The Gospel-Driven Man. Be a gospel-driven man. Well, that's what drives you. It's what motivates you. Because outside of that, what is there in life? It's not just by trying to figure out how to get me a big, nice, beautiful home to live in, or a big, beautiful car. You can have all those things, but don't let the other go undone. The question is not, get this, this is so very important. Make sure you read this on the screen. The question is not, why would a loving God send anyone to hell? The question is, why would anyone choose hell over a loving God? And a lot of times their decision depends upon how persuasive we are with the gospel. Can you persuade people? Can you give them a vision of what heaven is like? Can you describe hell? Do you care? The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a one word statement or one sentence statement. The gospel is a story that we tell. It's got certain ingredients that goes into the story so a man can see and understand. What he's like, what he's done, where he's going, and how Christ came into the world, paid for our sins, came back from the dead. And all we had to do was believe. All we got to do is believe, but there's something to believe. And many people never get the story straight, but they start running. King Agrippa said, believe us, thou the prophets, as Paul talked to him, he says, King Agrippa, you believe the prophets. He said, I know you believe it. You knew all about this stuff, but he never trusted. He says, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And knowing therefore the territory, we persuade men, we persuade. That's why we call it soul winning. We're winning somebody to Christ. I hope, if it's possible, you can be here tonight. Because if you can't say, I'm only speaking twice. And if you can only come to one come tonight, I got a lot of things I'm going to share with you. Hey, I'm running out of time. You say you sure are. But the most important thing is we learn how to persuade people to trust Christ as their savior. And as long as you're alive, man, give it all you got while you can. Now, hurt me with truth, but don't try to comfort me with a lie. I could lie to y'all and say, this doesn't matter. God's already determined who's going to heaven and who's going to hell. So if you don't do anything, no big deal. If nobody ever witnesses to your mother or your brother, your sisters, your aunts and uncles and grandkids, it doesn't matter. God's already determined who's going to heaven and who's not. That's a lie. But a lot of people are comforted with the lie. But if I tell you the truth, if they don't trust Christ as their Savior, they will spend an eternity in hell. In a literal fire burning hell forever and never get out. And they may always wonder, for all eternity, why didn't you tell me if you knew it? We worked together and you never told me. All kinds of things can flood their memory and they'll never forget. Yes, it's good that when we get to heaven, there's a time where God says all the former things will be forgotten. But there will be tears that God's gonna wipe away when we get to heaven. Because we may see some of the opportunities we never took advantage of. Therefore, thus will I do unto thee, O Israel, and because I will do this unto thee, and here's those words, prepare to meet thy God. You see, this earth and our little time here is only preparation to face God. You're not gonna face Him soon. You could be meeting Him tomorrow. But whenever it is, prepare. You prepare for everything under the sun. You'll prepare to have insurance on this, and insurance, and insurance, and insurance, and your insurance, poor. Insurance, why? Because we don't want anything to go wrong. If something goes wrong, I got that covered. I got that covered, I got it. Have you got this covered? You're gonna meet God. Are you prepared? And there's a way to be prepared. Once you know Christ as your Savior, Find the will of God and walk ye in it. Do all the right you know to do, and that right becomes a path of righteousness, and God will bless you for doing so. It wasn't nails that held Jesus Christ to the cross. It was his love for you. See, I would have never gone to the cross and died in your place for you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was with a guy the other day, one of the preachers, and I told him, I said, sir, I got to tell you something, honestly. I said, if you die and you need mouth to mouth, I said, you're going to die. He thought it was funny, so did I. I said, but I do not love you that much. that I would be willing to go to hell for you. I'm sorry. But God loves you that much, so I'm going to tell you about his love for you. He loved you so much, he'd rather die than live without you. That's me. That's something. So he says, you have a choice. While you're still alive, or where are you going to spend eternity? There's heaven and there's hell. And the decision has to be made while you're alive. Because once you're dead, it's too late. He says in the book of Revelation 22, he says, and when you die, if you die lost, you stay lost forever. If you die saved, you're saved forever. But that's why your decision to trust Christ as Savior is a very serious one. It's the most important thing you'll ever do. This is why this is one of the favorite verses of everybody in the Bible. I don't know if everybody understands it, but see if you can figure out this verse. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Let me show you something. You've probably never seen this before. Since the last time I was here, I'm getting older, so I'm making more mistakes. I've got more sin, so my sin's bigger than it used to be. See, Jesse doesn't have as big a sin as I got. Now, look up here. Now, this is so important. This hand, let it represent you and me. The wallet represents sin. This is all the rebellion, the disobedience, the lawlessness. all the wrong that we could ever do. That's what we have. This comes because we have a sinful nature. And so we all sin. Because we all sin, we all have to die. So that's why one day we're all going to die. But God loves us and wants us to go to heaven. And to go to heaven, you can't take sin with you. You have to be free of sin. That's why when Christ died on the cross, he set us free from this all sinful nature by giving us a sinless nature, a new one. He set us free from the condemnation of the law because the law cannot condemn a dead man. And I died when Christ died. When I came back from the dead, to walk in newness of life. This one, the law can never touch because it cannot sin. If it cannot sin, it cannot die. It lives forever. So trusting Christ as your Savior sets you free from the condemnation of the law and never be condemned again. And it sets you free from that sinful nature and it sets you free from death. This one will never die. But we're not there yet. We're sinners. And God loves us, wants us to go to heaven, but we can't because not even one sin is permitted. I got to do something about this debt that I owe. So God says you cannot earn eternal life. You cannot work your way to heaven. You can't buy eternal life. This hand represent Jesus Christ. He's God in the flesh. He came into this world because he loves us, but he hates our sin because our sin separates us. For Jesus Christ who had no sin didn't have to die, but because he loved us, he took all the sin of all the world. That's why when he was on the cross, yes, you were on his mind. He died for you. And He loved you so much He would rather die than to live in heaven without you. He wants you to be with Him. Do you get that? It's not like you're not loved. You are loved. Loved more than any person can ever love another person. God loves you with an everlasting love. And so He paid for your sins. Came back from the dead. And the only thing He wanted you to do was to believe He did it for you. So when you believe he did it for you, he puts that payment to your account and he said he'll never cash you out and never lose you. That's the gift of God. It's free. Remember, God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, that he pay for their sins, should not perish, can't go to hell, but have everlasting life, go to heaven. So you see, you need to make this decision to believe that what Christ did, he did it for you. Now, he didn't ask you to stand on your head and spit wood and nickels. He just wanted you right where you are, just the way you are. To admit to God, look, I'm a sinner. Because everybody else knows it, you might as well admit it. And God knows it. You can't make a mistake this way because only God knows that you're telling the truth. You're a sinner, just like I am. But will you believe that when he died, he paid for your sins? And when you believe he did it for you, he puts this payment to your account and you don't have any sins to pay for. Why? Because you already paid for it. He did it for you. See, you can't know you're going to heaven until you know you can't go to hell. And I can't go to hell because I don't have any sins to pay for. So he paid for mine. Did he pay for yours too? If you believe he did it, he put that payment to your account. You get to go to heaven. So he says, and you will not perish. Can't go to hell. But have everlasting life means you have eternal life and you get to go to heaven when you die. Heaven and hell is in the belief of this truth. Will you believe he did it for you? And God said, if you'll trust Him as your Savior, He gives you eternal life, and you can know that you're going to heaven when you die. You, believe it or not, are eternal. You, in this world, in this body, is temporary. Heaven and hell is permanent, forever. And you are going to be forever, here or here. And it's your choice. Don't get mad at God. He's done everything possible, but he didn't make you a robot. He didn't pull strings and make you make a decision. It's your choice. Christ told the Pharisees, he says, you will not come to me that you may have life. You will not come to me that you might have, you could have, but you wouldn't, you didn't. And some people just get mad at God because they don't understand everything. Think of all the pitiful, sorry things are in life. And then there are also a lot of good things that happens in life. Some a little heaven on earth and some a little hell on earth. Haven't you experienced that yet? That's how you can make a wise decision. Is it working? Will it work today? Will it work right now? Let's pray, shall we? Every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around. If you're here this morning, and if you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, I'm going to ask you, would you make the most important decision you could ever make in your whole life? I'm not going to have you fall. We're not going to have you stand up or embarrassed in any way. But right where you're sitting, you say, preacher, that made sense to me. And I want to know that I'm going to heaven. And right now, the best I know how, I will trust Jesus Christ as my Savior. Friend, if you make that decision, would you let me know by just raising your hand very quickly and put it right back down? Is there anyone at all? Just slip it up and put it right back down. Nobody's going to bother you. Nobody's going to come to you. Is there anyone at all? So that made sense to me. And I want to make sure I'm going to heaven when I die. And before we close, if you have trusted Christ as your Savior, and you know you have eternal life, you know you're going to heaven, doesn't that give you a concern to want to support this church all that you can? Come whenever you can, when the doors are open, learn as much of the Word of God, prepare to meet the Lord. And realize a lot of people that are not prepared. They never heard the gospel. That's why you support your missionaries That's why you have ranch and that's why you're doing the youtube ministry. That's why you're doing all these things because you do care It's not just to build a big empire for something Father, we thank you so much for this time together. Bless each one for being here. Thank you for Calvary Community Church. Bless Jesse and Kyla and those that he has to work with that are helping in this ministry. Bless them in a great way. Give them many souls. In Christ's name we pray, amen.