He's down here sharing some truths from the Bible today, speaking about Jesus Christ, who He is, His love for us, the grace that God gave as He took His Son, Jesus Christ, and put Him on the cross for our sin. The Bible says, while we were against sinners, Christ died for us. Carefully for a righteous man, would one die, but God committed His love for us, that while we were against sinners, Christ died for us. So maybe we need to stop and think that, but God gave us the sunshine, gave us the fresh air, gave us the finances that we have and all the gifts that we have. Not only gave us those good things in life, but He also sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. And you might think, why do I need this? The Bible says in Romans 3.23, we send it to all of us, the Word of the Lord is God. It says there is none righteous, no, not one. You might be a good person to say that sometimes, that nobody is good in the sense of righteous. All of us have sinned. The problem is, if we die in our sin, there's one place that we can go, and that place is hell. God doesn't want us to send us to hell, so much so that he took his son, his only son, his beloved son, and put him on the cross for us. Open it up and begin to read in those passages about the God of love, about the God of grace. We're living a very sad day, a day where it would be good for us to get back to the Bible. to begin to think about God, to begin to think about God's love for us. Again, in the book of John, it says these words. It says that these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. God desires you to come to faith. God desires you to have life. The Bible says faith cometh by curing, and curing by the word of God. It's not by the works of righteousness that we're doing good. We're going to someday be able to say, God, nobody today is going to heaven because they're a good person. A lot of people have already asked them and say to them that question, do you know for sure if you think you're going to heaven? They would say, well, I hope so, or I think so. Or if they were to say, well, yes, I am, you'd ask them this question, why should God let you into heaven? David would most likely say these words because I'm a good person. The fact is, again, there's no such thing as a good person. Truth be told, all God would have to do is call the law to give an account of that person's life. And when asked that question, are you a liar? Are you covetous? Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Are you in church on the Lord's day? Do you worship God above all else? All God would have to do is ask those questions from the Word of God, and the Word of God would condemn us. Why? Because there is no such thing as a good person. You might remember in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ prayed, and he prayed, Father, if it could be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou will. Father, Father, send this son of Jesus Christ to the cross, because there's no other way of salvation. The only way for us to be saved is through a blood sacrifice paid for by a human being that would die for us. Why? Because the weight of the sin is death. The whole point of the crucifixion is that God made a way for us to be forgiven so that God could take away our sin and give us God's gift of everlasting life. And it's amazing today that God has given such a big gift, but so many people know nothing about it. The vast majority of people this past Sunday were not thinking about God. We're not seeking after God. We're not following after God. And yet God is still reaching out in love. In his mercy, he's still reaching out, desiring people to stop, look, and listen, to wake up before it's eternally too late. There's one place where the waking will go forever. And again, that place is a literal light supplier. Again, a lot of people say to me, Jen, what's the worst thing about hell? The worst thing about hell? No, it's not that it's a fire. And no, it's not that it's eternal. The worst thing about hell is that God is not here. In life, anybody can cry out to God. Anybody can say to God, God, be merciful to me, a sinner, and save me. For Jesus' sake, ain't it better to say that and say, God, what it means for me to be a sinner, and give Him His gift of everlasting life, or somebody die? We're ever too late to receive controversy. The Bible says it's supposed to be today, once you die, after that, okay? There's only... The time that we have in this life to receive God is hard to die. It's like, hey, you guys don't understand. I come from an atheist family. I wasn't growing up religious or anything like that. I'm just encouraging you today. You can tell your faith. Faith again. The Bible says if you seek me, you shall find me if you search with all your heart. If you can read, my friends, you can pick up a Bible and begin to read it and understand the love of God, the grace of God, and the mercy of God, and the forgiveness of God. You know, beyond that, we can be audible by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can get up level. We can do it on our own. We can hit a button. We can listen to the scripture. And again, I tell you, the Word of God says, Faith turn to find purity, and purity by the Word of God. See, faith is the need today. Faith in God. Faith in what Jesus Christ did as He died on the cross for our sins. I'll tell you this, my friends. Someday when you stand before God, social media does not have your back. The S&P does not have your back. The labor government does not have your back. When you stand before God, there's only one person that can protect you, can defend you, can exonerate you before holy God, and his name is Jesus Christ. But today in our day, the vast majority of people in the world, the only time they hear the name of Jesus Christ is not at church, not from parents that love God, that bow their heads and pray in Jesus' name, but they hear the name of Jesus taken in vain at football tournaments, at the mall, among their mates, on social media. It is blasphemous and it is mocking. I'll tell you this about the name of Jesus Christ. They take his name, they use it in vain because he is God. The Bible says in the 10 Commandments, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for he will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. They take the name of God in vain, they take the name of Jesus Christ in vain. Why? Because Jesus Christ is God. Beyond that, the Word of God says about Jesus, without him was not anything made that was made. He is the creator, designer, God. The Bible says in Genesis 1, verse 1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God created it, God designed it, God made it perfect. And I think if you think there isn't God, why is the world like this? Why is there death, sorrow, and all these things? It's not because of God, it's because of nature. God gave us the will, men took that will, they exercised it against God, Adam and Eve in the garden, they took the fruit of the tree, and now it's good to eat. God had said to them, the day that thou eatest of, thou shalt surely die. That was what that entered into God's creation. When God made it, God made it perfect. In fact, God said every day after, as He created, He said, and it was good. And it was good. And it was good. It was perfect. There was no death. It's all fit into God's original creation. Man sinned. Man opened up the box to the ungodliness and wickedness and all the defilement that we see in our day and also to death. Not just typical death, but the Bible speaks about eternal death. The Bible says that whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Again, that's not a great thing for a preacher to preach in the sense of something that a preacher enjoys saying or that God enjoys saying. The Bible says about God with regard to hell, He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repent it. He doesn't want to cast anybody into hell. Hell was made for the devil and his angels. But man is going there because of man's sin. If you go to hell, you go to hell over the dead body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, Jesus died so that you could be forgiven. Jesus died so that you could receive God's gift of everlasting life. Jesus died so that when you stand before God, you'll not have to answer for your sin. Because Jesus paid it all as He died on the cross. You might remember those words of the Savior. As He was ready to die, He said, it is finished. After six hours on the cross and all the abuse that He received at the mock trial and the blasphemy of the soldiers and them mocking Him, putting the crown of thorns upon His head and whipping the flesh off His back, Jesus Christ gave up the guilt. When He did it, it was finished. Satan was defeated. Sin was defeated. Where did it take place? It took place at the cross. Friend, if you don't have Jesus Christ as your Savior, you're just step-by-step walking towards hell. Every step you take is a step closer to eternity, away from God, in a length of fire. God doesn't want you to take that path. Why does the way that leads to destruction, many believe that it is their path, narrows the way that leads to life everlasting? Few believe that find it. It's a narrow way because of our pride. Human pride doesn't want to confess sin. Human pride doesn't want to call sin what sin is. Human pride says what it is. It gets a big pride banner, puts it up over its head, waves it in the face of an almighty God. And that's what men are doing, not just about homosexuality, but what men are doing about all their sins. They're acting as if they can sin without impunity. They're acting as if there is no judgment. The Bible says the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The Bible says the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Friend, today you're a fool if you have rejected God. Why? Because you've cast off the way of salvation. You've cast off the way of everlasting life. You've cast off the way of forgiveness. Again, you're step by step walking to hell. What would you call somebody that's walking to his eternity away from God? walking towards the eternity in the wake of fire, walking through the eternity to pay for sin that was paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross. Well, I call that person a fool. That's what the Word of God says. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. And he gets to somebody that never thanks God for their food. Never thanks God for their family everything Scott for the good things that he's given the Bible says Every good gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of life with whom is no variable that neither shadow of turning Yes, God has given us good their evilness world but if you think about it the things that people blame God for are the very things that men do It's like if somebody broke into the art gallery down there and defiled a piece of art and painted it and put things on it and then a tour guide came in and said look how stupid this painter was as they painted this painting. They put graffiti and all this stuff on it. If the painter was there, the person that made that beautiful work of art, with tears they would look at that tour guide and say you are wrong. It was defiled by men. I'll tell you this, when God created it, God created it good. Everything about it was just right. But men got indefinitely defiled in it. You might say to me, Ben, why are you worse? You're worse today because of the pride of men, the hardness of men's heart, the ungodliness of men. You might say to me, Ben, well, why is there childhood cancer? Why is there death? Those things are a result of our sin. Sadly, they entered into God's creation because we can't disobey God. Heaven is perfect. People say to me, I don't want to live like this forever. I agree. I don't want to live in a world where I continue to hear profanity, where there's deep ungodliness, where there's anger, where there's hate, where there's bitterness. Where there's murder where there's lust and covetousness and all the wickedness that is well I don't want to live somewhere like this forever, but that's not what heaven is Jesus said I go to prepare a place for you that where I am there you may be also In heaven God is going to wipe away all tears from our eyes It's going to be neither sorrow nor death those things the former things the Bible says are passed away They're passed away because they were taken care of. When God created us, God created us with a will. God gave us that opportunity to choose. You value that more than anything in your life. If I were to say to you, you can't wear what you're wearing today, dress like you're dressed today, you'd say, who are you to tell me what I can or can't do? If I said you can't go there, you'd say, who are you to tell me what I can or can't do? We value our will. God gave that to us because God did not create robots. God did not design us. So that we had to worship him God designed us so that we could choose to worship him So that we could choose to obey him that we could choose to repent of our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ God loves us so much that he gave us that precious gift of a will but to exercise it in disobedience against God is not good and it's not right Today people have a choice if they're going to follow the law But breaking the law is not okay, though they have a choice. The Bible says about the gospel, the gospel is a command. God commanded all men everywhere to repent. Though you have a choice whether to believe in God, whether to repent of your sin, whether to confess your sin and to deal with it as God intends, though you have a choice to do that, yet to not do that is to sin against God, and to sin against His grace, to sin against His mercy. You know, casting God off is like somebody out in the 1st and 4th as the band is cast Sunday, as he floated out on his paddleboard into the 1st and 4th, and somebody kept an eye on him. Thankfully, he was able to point the rescuer to get that man off his paddleboard. But imagine that man when the rescuer's got there saying, I don't want anything to do with you. I don't believe in you. I don't need you. I don't care about you. That person is a fool that sent to somebody that's trying to save their life to get away from him. Again, friends, if you're saying to God today, God, get away from me. If you're saying today, I hate Jesus, I despise Jesus, I want nothing to do with God. All you're doing is the same thing as a person that's being rescued, biting the hand of the person that's trying to rescue them. God, in His love, is reaching out. God, in His mercy, It's trying to get you to stop looking. Listen and begin to think about God. And I'll just tell you today, you might say, Ben, again, I never grew up with this. I never thought about God. In fact, most of my life, I believe there is no God. You might say to me, there's no hope for me to ever come to faith with God. I'll just tell you this, the Bible has the power to change that. God has the power to change that. There are loads of people today that are born again, that are saved, that never thought that that was going to be them. Some of those people are on drugs. Some of those people are in drink. Some of those people are in immorality, gambling, debt, and other things like that. Or debt because they're drug addiction. But God set them free through the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He brought them to saving faith so that they have a new life. You know the Bible says about somebody in Christ, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Behold, all things, all things are passed away. Behold, all things are becoming new. You know, if you want to do over in life, The best thing you can do is put your faith in Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You will be rescued today. Rescue is not in suicide. Rescue is not in drugs. It's not in drink. It's not in immorality. It's not in relationship. Rescue today is in Jesus Christ. He's the one that can deliver you. He's the one that can give you his gift. It's a free gift. There's nothing that somebody has to do. I'm a preacher. I'm a pastor. You know, I've got a church, but, you know, I'm a Baptist. But being a Baptist, being a minister, being a preacher, being married, none of that saves anybody. He's baptized. A lot of people today in Scotland think, well, I was done for when I was a child. I was Christian. And so that's me. I'm good. If there is a God, I'm His. Well, that's not what the Word of God said. The Word of God says by the works of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight Salvation is not something that you can do Salvation is not something that you can earn Salvation is a free gift just like at Christmas time or your birthday you get a gift All you got to do to receive it is to take it. That's what salvation is. How do you take it? You take it by faith They try to legislate wickedness We live in a society that has gotten so loud about their sin that we have legislators that have legislated sin. We have schools that are teaching sin. We have a society that is patting the back of people that say, I'm a great sinner. The problem with that is this, a person that dies means that their sin is okay. We need the grace of God, we need the mercy of God, we need the forgiveness of God. Where is that found? That's found in the person. Now I found a new religion. Again, I'm a Baptist. But being a Baptist doesn't save anybody. I baptize people after they trust in Jesus Christ. But baptizing people does nothing to save them. Salvation's not in a word. Salvation's in a name. It's in the name of Jesus Christ. Friend, if you ever stop looking, listen to your life, maybe in a hospital bed someday, if that's what it takes. Maybe in debt someday, if that's what it takes. Maybe in some other trial of your life, if that's what it takes. But at some point, when you start to look and listen, I encourage you, pick up a Bible. Begin to read it. You might say to me, Ben, I don't know where to read. Well, try the Book of John, the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is all about Jesus. It's all about His goodness, His love, His grace, His mercy. If you were to see Jesus today, Jesus Christ healed. Jesus Christ took away physical infirmities that were in people's lives. Jesus Christ provided food. Jesus Christ provided health. He provided care. He provided counsel. He loved sinners. The Bible speaks about religious Pharisees in this day, self-righteous religious people, that hated Jesus. But they hated Him because He breached out to sinners. But when Jesus did that, he did not okay their sin. In fact, there was a woman taken in adultery in the very act, brought to Jesus, and the law commanded that she be stoned. And they said to Jesus, Jesus, what should we do? And Jesus looked at them. He said, He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone. They went all out because they were sinners as well. Then Jesus looked at that woman that was an adulteress and he said these words, he said, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. See, he dealt with her sins. But he dealt with it in the loving way He dealt with it in a righteous way through the forgiveness of God through the mercy of God that was there for her But telling somebody in their sin that they're okay is blasphemy Telling them that is to consign them to hell because the Bible says the wages of sin is death Somebody that holds on to their sin, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. To regard it is to treasure it. It's to put our arms around that and say, I'm going to hold on to that. I'm going to make that my thing. And God says if I do that, I separate myself from God. God does not know us. As soon as they stood before God, they recognized that they were naked, and they hid themselves. You might think, what's that about? It's about the shame of our sins. It's about the guilt of our sins. It's about the fact that in our sins we feel naked before a holy God. And the Bible says, all things are naked and open, but it's not obvious to Him with whom they have to do. God sees everything in our heart. I want you to put on a good piece of paper. There's a God that is gracious, there's a God that is calm, there's a God that recognizes the sin that's there, knows what's there, understands what's there. and He's the only one that can take of what's there. He's a merciful God, a gracious God, a good God. If you don't know Him, I just encourage you today to take the time to think about God. Give Him the time of day and begin to marvel at His grace, begin to marvel at His goodness, begin to marvel at His power to save men from their sins. Oh, what a God we serve. If you know Him as your Savior, you've got to say amen to that. God is so good. God is so loving. God is so gracious. He's so powerful today. He can take our sin. He can wash it and make us clean. The Bible says, come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as starlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. You might think today, man, God, there's no way. If I went into a church, you know, lightning would strike. If I picked up a Bible, you know, my house would catch on fire or something like that. Look, it's not the way it is. Satan wants you to think it's like that. Satan wants you to think there's no chance for you. There's no way you could ever come to faith. There's no other way you could receive God's mercy. Satan wants you to think that. That's a lie. Satan's a liar. He's a deceiver. He's the father of lives. You know, all the things that we have in our society today that sound like God or sound religious, but they are against this book. Where do they come from? They come from the pit of hell. God gave us a book to tell us the truth that we need to know. In fact, the Bible says about Jesus, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Jesus is the way of forgiveness. Jesus is the way of salvation. Jesus is the way to make us clean from the inside out, and that's true, because Jesus is true. Friend, I don't know about you, I'm sick of the lies of this world. I'm worn out with all the ungodliness of our day. Don't you find yourself scratching your head and wondering how it is that they're teaching in our schools that 2 plus 2 equals 17? They can't even identify male and female, yet they say that they believe science. They say, I don't believe in God because I believe science, but they can't identify male and female. They say, I believe science, but they can't identify life in the womb. That that's a child. That that smile that's on the face is a child. We had a girl in our church, she was born at 21 weeks. I've had young people over here tell me that that becomes a child when they're born. This child was born at 21 weeks, a pound in weight. You know what? She's praised God in His mercy. She lived. She's a precious, precious thing. She was 21 weeks old in the womb and she lived. And anybody that thinks that abortion is not taking the life of a child, ought to think again. That is a precious life that God put into that womb. We ought to be teaching our young girls to guard and cherish that life. I understand there's hard things that happen. There's difficult choices that young people make, but I'll tell you this, the vast majority of children that are being killed in their mother's womb were conceived in fornication, not rape. We ought to be teaching our children purity. We ought to be encouraging them to guard their bodies, to guard their hearts, to be able to give to their spouse someday, someday precious, and say, I am undefiled, I am virgin, and I give them as a gift to you. What a precious gift they can give to their husband. What a precious gift they can give to their wife. We ought to be lifting up marriage in the eyes of our young people. Instead, very sadly, our schools are defiling the hearts of our kids with deep ungodliness. You know, I'm meeting more and more people that they're not Christians. They don't go to church. But they're very bothered by what is taking place in the education system. They're very concerned about it. And again, why are they scratching their heads and going, Bob, how in the world did we get through Scotland, you know, in 10 years, in 15 years? How has society changed and not for good? Young people are growing up today, and the suicide rate is going through the roof. The drug deaths in Scotland are the highest in Europe, per capita. That's incredible. That's not to mention the suicide and all the other things that are taking place. You might say, why is our society to this point? The reason is, we've turned our back on God. Parents stop saying to their kids, you're a boy, you're a girl. Teaching them respect, teaching them truth, teaching them by example that marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. The vast majority of this world, in Scotland, I find the vast majority of people that I meet, they're not married. They're living in sexual sin and they're teaching their kids that that's okay but they're dysfunctional and you've got kids from all these different relationships and all these different things and there's no such thing anymore really in Scotland as a traditional family that's one man, one woman in a covenant relationship for life and people laugh about it. And people think it's no big deal. And it's like, wait a second. Isn't the family unit, isn't that the building block of society? Shouldn't we get back to the Bible and say one one man one woman and a covenant relationship for life and divorce has hurt the hearts of our kids There's a lot of kids in Scotland that are bitter in their heart Because their mom and dad broke up or broke apart or never never were married and separated and their family is hurt by that why don't we give them something real and something true and go back to the the manual, go back to the building architect design that shows us that marriage is between a man and a woman and a covenant relationship for life. You know, instead of parading in our streets and gobbling them, instead of saying that, you know, that trait that somebody has done to create wickedness, why don't we begin to lift up those that have been married for 50 years, those that have been married for 45 years, that have been faithful, that have kept that relationship, even though it's tough, they've been through tough times, but they were committed to honoring that covenant that they have made. Listen, that's honorable. Again, so many things in our society today. Oughta make a step back and go, you know, why is it like this? It's because we got away from God. We got away from the thousands of knowledge. We got away from the one that loves us that made a way for us to be forgiven. Again, the Bible says in Isaiah chapter 53, it says he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The punishment of our peace is upon him. And with his strikes we were healed. You know, you might say, Ben, that's speaking about the cross. I think that's speaking about Jesus. Yes, it is. But that's written 700 years before Jesus Christ came. It's written by the prophet Isaiah. You know, one of the great things about the Word of God is that it's self-verifying in that it has prophecies and it says ahead of time what's going to take place. You can look it up yourself. Psalm 22 in the Bible says that they pierced his hands and his feet. It says they cast lots upon his vesture, that they gambled for his clothing. You might say, again, Ben, what's the big deal about that? The big deal about that is that it's written a thousand years before Jesus Christ came. It's written by King David, but it spells out not just the fact that the Messiah would die for our sin, but that he would die by crucifixion. Crucifixion wasn't even a manner of executing a prisoner at the time that that was written. The Bible says, without crucifixion, cursed is he that is put upon a tree. Jesus Christ was cursed for us. He that knew no sin, he sinned for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. You might say to me, Ben, what's the cross all about? The cross is all about Jesus taking our place and dying as if he was guilty for our sin. The Bible says he took the handwriting of four dimensions back from the hand of Christ. That's on rap sheet. That's all the sin that we've ever committed against the Holy God. And he nailed it to his cross. His body came to shame. Jesus Christ died a horrible death. He was stripped of his clothing. He was mocked. He was cursed. The flesh was whipped off his back, the crown of thorns was pierced into his head, pierced his brow. Jesus Christ suffered all that. Why? So that we can live. Listen, friend, if you're a Christian, you ought to be unashamed. If you're bored again and you receive God's gift of everlasting life, the Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. You ought to speak up about it. You ought to be very positive about it. We've got people today that are championing their sin. They're getting out. They're waving their banner. They're waving their flag and their ungodliness in the face of a holy God. By the way, let me tell you about the rainbow. The rainbow that we've seen so many times in the last week that we've had rain showers and we've had the sunshine, that rainbow was made by God as a bow in the clouds to testify to Him again of His mercy to mankind in that He would never again send a flood upon this ungodly world. Listen, evidence for a universal flood is all over this globe. The fossil record, the story of a flood, it's been passed down in all people, all nations, everywhere. Why is that? Because it took place. Just like the Word of God said, why did it come? Because of the ungodliness of man. But man is taking that symbol of the rainbow that reminds God of His mercy. And they've taken their ungodliness and they've come out with a naked shame of their sin. And they take that rainbow and they wave it in the face of a holy God. The God that made the rainbow to remind Him of His mercy. And there's a day of judgment coming again. The Bible speaks about it in the book of Revelation. It speaks about the Jesus Christ coming in power and in fiery vengeance upon this ungodly world. I do believe in global warming today, but the global warming I'm speaking about is a wrath of God. It's the coming judgment of God. It's when God is going to let loose His anger against the world that has fought their sin in His face. Try to think about it today. People are ashamed of God. They'd be embarrassed to hold this Bible. They'd be embarrassed to speak about God. They'd be embarrassed to go to a church. But I'll tell you this, they're not ashamed of their sins. They're ashamed of their faith. They're ill of their own being. They're corrupt. They're greedy. They're taking God's name. Should we honor the God that created us? Should we honor the God that gave us everything that we have, every good gift is from above, and come it down from the Father of life? God has given us so many nice things. You know, I find it atrocious to somebody that says there is no God, but who needs to hear that? If there is a God, if there is a God, then I stand in judgment against God. If there is a God, then I hate God. If there is a God, then I despise God. What about all the good things that God gives? What about your family? What about your friends? What about your finance? What about your health? What about your strength? I understand you can lose one of us a day, but every single one of us a day, if we got what we deserve, we get eternity in a land of fire. Yeah, God's given us this. By the way, if evolution is true, why does it look good? Why does it taste good? Why does it feel good? Why does it sound good? You ever think about that? You ever think about the aesthetics that are in this world? Aesthetics that are far more beautiful than any painting that you could find in the National Gallery. Nobody walks into the National Gallery and thinks that just happened. Nobody walks into the National Gallery and thinks an explosion in a paint factory made that beautiful painting. Every single person walks in there and says, wow, look what this artist created as they painted this beautiful landscape. But think about this. The person that's an atheist, they look at that beautiful landscape that was painted, and they believe that that beautiful, real scenery that gives oxygen, it gives health, it gives nature, it gives blessing, it provides food, it is alive. They believe that that just happened. Friend, if you're like that today, I'd like to sell you some stock. I'd like to take some supercomponents for a supercomputer and put them in a room and take some dynamite and put it in there. You can invest your life savings in the idea that that explosion is going to make a supercomputer that this world has never seen. But that's exactly what it's like when somebody takes their eternity and they bet it on this idea that all this just happens All this beauty all this banter all this stuff that testifies of a designer listen to deny God You gotta close your eyes close your ears and shut off your brain and not think about it But I'll tell you this, if you begin to think about God, begin to take some time, look at the Word of God and say, well, tell me about that book. That book is written over 1,500 years, 44 books, 66 books, and it all agrees. You can't do that. Nobody can do that. Only God can do that. God gave us a word that I've already mentioned is prophetic. It speaks before it took place about what would take place. Do you know what the Bible said what day Jesus would die? Do you know what the Bible said at what hours he would be crucified? The Bible said where he would be born. The Bible said about him that he would be born of a virgin. The Bible said that he would be born there in Bethlehem. The Bible said again that he would die at Passover. They didn't want to kill him at Passover. It was a peace day. There were tons of people that were there. But God had other plans because it was God that took his son and sacrificed him for our sin. You might say to me, Ben Honen, how do I know that? Well, again, in the book of Isaiah, 700 years before Jesus Christ died. It says, it pleased the Father to bruise him for us. Because you can say to me, man, who's guilty in the death of Jesus? Is it Judas? Is it Pilate? Is it Caiaphas? Is it the Roman soldiers? Is it the Jews that then crucify him? Crucify him? Who is it that crucified Jesus? I'll tell you, it was God the Father taking His Son and putting on the cross our sin. Jesus could have called 10,000 angels to set him free of that hate. But he did not do it because he loved us so much. He's like, kid, you did. Jesus must have been weak, right? They took him, they crucified him. No, Jesus was strong. Jesus Christ in deepness didn't answer. You read the story yourself. The Bible says he answered them, not a word. If He had defended Himself, He wouldn't have had to go to the cross. If He had broken the bands that bound Him, He wouldn't have had to go to the cross. If He would have annihilated those that put Him on the cross, He wouldn't have gone to the cross. But I'll tell you this, Jesus Christ went to the cross because He knew that it was the only way to save you from your sin. There's not salvation in your goodness today. You can't clean yourself from the inside out. In fact, the Bible says, though thou wash me with niter, and take me much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord. The sins that we've committed, they're a stain that's there in our life, and God bless you. I'm a good person. Surely God sees my righteousness. The Bible says about that, your righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And it's like this, God can't see the goodness because of the badness. If you had 50% rubbish on today and 50% cleanliness, nobody would look at you and say, well, I can tell you're really a clean person. They'd say, I can't see the good stuff because of all the bad stuff. And that's how God sees us. The only thing that God sees is your sin. That's why to get to God today, you've got to deal with it. Oh, there's a merciful God today. There's a gracious God today. There's a forgiving God today. He's able to meet your needs. He's able to cleanse you. He's able to give you His gift of everlasting life. Again, it's not found in anything that you can do. You can't cleanse yourself, but God has the power to set you free. Just like water refreshes you. The Bible says about Jesus, that he's the water of life. A lot of people are drinking today, they gotta drink more. And they work all week to drink again. And they work all week to do their drugs, or they steal to do their drugs. They work all week for their immorality. They work all week for their gambling. You know, think about the things that people are living for. The things that defile. Imagine at your funeral that the thing that you're living for is called upon to testify about your life. You know, they're the great sports fans, they worked really hard, and they were whatever. It's kind of empty, isn't it? Isn't it kind of empty to think about the best thing you can say about somebody? Is that they live their life for the idol of sport? That they live their life for the idol of music? You know, they love that musician. Listen, that musician isn't going to get anybody out of hell. That sports team isn't going to get anybody out of hell. A lot of people today say, Ben, I don't have time. I don't have time to go to church. I'm busy 24-7. You got time for sport. You got time for TV. You got time for your gaming. You got time for your drugs, your drinks, your immorality, your pornography, or things like that. Listen, you got time for the things that you want in your life. I'll tell you this, the best thing somebody could do is to give their life to something of value. Give themselves to something that counts for eternity. Give themselves to seeking after the God that made them, the God that created them, the God that designed them, the God that loves them. One of the best verses in the Bible. It's John 3.16. For God so loved the world. 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. Wow, what an awesome verse today. God doesn't want you to go to hell. Nobody should have to stand at the funeral of somebody they love and not know where that person is for all eternity. By the way, if they're in hell, they would cry out for you to not come there. They would beg God to do anything in your life that rescues you from that place. He turned to the bottom of his stuff, he had light, he had that wind of hell, he was risen in life, he had kind of everything. But at the bottom of his head, when he died, in hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment. During the fires of hell, he cried out and he said, send that beggar from heaven to me with a drip of water on his finger to touch my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. Nobody that's in hell would want you to go there. Don't think, well, I'm not gonna follow after God because if there is a hell, my whole family's there. Listen, there's no fellowship in hell. There's no comfort in hell. God doesn't want you to go there. But neither would your family member that's there. They would do everything in their power to warn you about that place in eternity. And friends, you can say to me today, Ben, nobody's come back and told us about heaven. Nobody's come back and told us about hell. I just tell you that there is somebody that did. And his name is Jesus. Jesus Christ came from that eternal place. He came to this earth to testify to us of His love, to show us His mercy, to show us His grace, to show us His power to rescue us from our sin. Again, the Bible says, while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. But you don't have to wonder today. Does God love me? Does God care about me? Is God thinking about me? I'll tell you this, the thoughts that He came for you are more than to be numbered. God knows exactly what you're struggling with today. God knows the burden is on your heart that maybe your family can't fully understand. It's very difficult, isn't it, to tell somebody else about the burdens that you're holding. But I praise God that there's somebody that knows us from the inside out, that it's God. And that if you know God in a personal way, you can cry out to God and say, God, I'm really burdened about, you know, my finance. I'm really burdened about my future. I really desire to know what I should do and that God is the giver of wisdom. The Bible says in the book of James, It says, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God to give it to all men liberally. And if Brigham's not, who shall be giving him? See, God is the source of wisdom. You can study it yourself in the book of Proverbs. The Bible speaks about wisdom as a principal thing. Therefore, get wisdom. Where's wisdom found? It's found in this book. It's found in the law of God. It's found in the truth of God. A lot of people today, they're well built. There might be some men that can lift some weight, but they can't lift a finger when it comes to the things of God because they know nothing about God. They know nothing about eternity. They know nothing about the mercy of God, the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, the help of God. Friend, you can pump a lot of weight and it's not going to get you to heaven. You'd be able to lift a lot of things in life, but it's not going to get you to heaven. Nobody's going to be able to force their way into heaven because of physical strength. But there's plenty of people today that are devoted to that idol of physical workouts and things like that, but they don't have time for God. They don't have time to think of a Bible. They don't have time to read about God and God's mercy and God's grace. I'll tell you this, the wise person is not the person that's devoted to exercise. Not the person that's devoted to work, that's the person that's devoted even to family. Family of itself is not the main thing. The main thing is Jesus Christ. O friend, we have Jesus. Father, I pray for the mercy of God today. I pray for the grace of God for the people of Edinburgh and Scotland. I pray God for revival. I pray in your mercy for souls to get saved. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen. yes how you doing I'm okay, I'm just... if um The Lord is your shepherd. A lot of people at their funeral, they like to have those words read, the Lord is my shepherd. If you remember the Queen's funeral and you watched it, It was right there. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want to make me to lie down in green pastures and believe me beside the still waters. Again, it's a very picturesque way of speaking about God, that God is our shepherd, that he's guiding us, correcting us. But a lot of people don't want to claim that truth, the Lord is my shepherd. They're not actually followers of Jesus. And that's a sad thing. To have that at your funeral and it not be true is empty Empty consolation for your family. Empty peace for them. You know, they're really hurting. They're going through a difficult time because you passed away. It would be better to give them something real. In fact, the scripture says there in that text, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Jesus does not lead people in sin. A lot of people today are claiming that the Bible backs up their sin. Say that the word of God justified for endowing this but truth be told this book does never justify any sin that is in our life. It always stands in condemnation against us for the undoubtedness that's there. It identifies sexual sin. It identifies sins of the spirit, sins of the heart. It identifies sins of the tongue. You know, the Bible says about our tongue that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give a counter up in the day of judgment. Every single one of us is going to give an account to God for our speech, what we say. We're going to give an account for everything that we've ever done. The Bible says, I saw the dead fall on gravestones before God and the books were opened. And the dead were judged out of the books according to their worth. Are you ready to give the answer to God for the inoptimist that's in your life? What would it take to be prepared for that, what the Bible speaks about, of repenting of our sin, turning to Jesus Christ, and receiving God's gift of everlasting life? God has the ability to cleanse us from the inside out. You might feel today the burden of your sin. You know John Bunyan, that Greek preacher down in England, he was a non-conformist. He wasn't licensed by the state to preach. And so as he preached, he was arrested, he was put in prison. He had a blind daughter that had come to visit him to marry the president. But John Bunyan wrote the book Pilgrim's Progress. It's not just a classic, but it's a great book because it's an allegory that speaks about the journey of somebody coming to faith in Jesus Christ. He speaks about that person as a pilgrim that has a burden on his back. It's a great burden that is there and what you find out is that burden is sin. But that when he gets to the cross with trust in Jesus Christ, that burden falls off the shoulders and he is set free by the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The angels that testified for the birth of the Lord Jesus, they said, unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. But they said this, it's great joy unto all people. Friend, the reason it's such great joy is because Jesus has the power to set free. He has the power to give a fresh start. He has the power to cleanse you from the inside out. He has the power to give you direction in your life, purpose in your life. A lot of people today, though we never know it, are suicidal. They're thinking about taking their life. They might have the instrument of death given in their house today. But the thing is, there is hope, but it is found in Jesus. The Bible says about Jesus, I am the way, the truth, and the life. The Bible says about Jesus, He is called the Prince of Peace. The prince of peace, the one that doesn't give us peace from the outside in, he gives us peace from the inside out. You also think about God's powers. God deals on the inside. God does not work from the outside in. A lot of people say, well, you know, I'm going to clean up my life and then God will accept me, so I'm going to stop. I'm going to stop smoking, I'm going to stop drinking, I'm going to stop nursing, I'm going to stop doing these things, and then God will accept me. But that's not what it's about. The Bible says, Though thou wash me with night air, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord. It doesn't matter what somebody does today to try to reform their life. Though that might be good, and you can bend them and say, hey, that's great, your life will be better without that sin in your life that you're continually doing. But it does nothing to get away the sin that you've already committed. The sin that we've committed is a debt. It's a debt that we owe to God. And someday, there's a judgment day coming, just like, you know, somebody could, you know, borrow a million pounds, I suppose, if they could get the credit. And then they could just live off that money. But there's coming a day where they gotta pay it back, with interest. There's coming a day where the debt comes due. That day for us is when we stand before God. The Bible says, it's appointed unto men once to die, but after that, the judgment. A lot of people are living their life because there is no judgment day. I said there's no day where it's going to come to you where they're going to stand before God and give an account for their life. Listen, friend, if you're in that position, you're not ready to die. You're not ready to stand before God. And the fact is, just like your birthday, you had nothing to do with it. It's the same with our death day. We don't know the day that we're going to enter the eternity and meet our maker. And so we need to be ready for that day. The only way to be ready for that day is to get in the Bible, to get in the Word of God, to find maybe a good church that believes the Bible and still follows the Bible and still teaches the Bible and begin to learn about the way of everlasting life. Again, the Bible says, He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have everlasting life. Again, salvation is not in a church. I'm a Baptist. But being a Baptist does nothing to save somebody. Yes, yes, yes, I'm a Baptist because by conviction I believe the Baptist hold to a biblical view of the Word of God. I'm not speaking about Baptist Union, I'm speaking about independent Baptists. Any church today that can't identify a man and a woman, can't identify that marriage is between a man and a woman, any church that doesn't attend the unborn in the womb, any church that defies the literal six-day creation of the Bible is not a church that speaks for God. You can't change God's message and say, I speak for God. You know, if I read Darwin's Origin of the Species and I said to you, look, Darwin believed in a six-day literal creation, you'd rightly call me a liar. Where are the people today that would be honest and look at a preacher and say, you say you believe the Bible, the Bible teaches a six-day creation. You reject that. The Bible teaches marriage between a man and a woman. You reject that. The Bible teaches that there is male and female created in him. You reject that. Listen, we ought to be as honest with the Word of God as we are with other books. But so many people aren't. So many people take this book, they tear it up, throw it under the bus, and say, I don't believe in that book anymore. I'm going to rewrite it. Listen, there was a president of the United States that tried to make a translation like that. He took his penknife, took the Bible, opened it up, thinks he didn't believe in it. Thinks that he didn't think we're right. He cut it out, he tore it out, and he threw it away. Listen, did that change the Bible? Did it change the Bible today that Scott let budgets play twinkie tricks? Because they say you can be whatever you want to be, do whatever you want to do. Does that matter? If legislating wickedness is done by our society, done by our government, does that make it right in the sight of God? Is the government subject to just keep your back when you stand before a holy God? Do you give account to your life? Is the SMP or the labor government going to be here to defend you? Are the educators going to be here? Is the scientists going to be here? Is the Facebook friends going to be there that defend your sin, that defend your ungodliness? Listen friends, if you don't know what God says about it, you're not ready to die. Why? Because God hasn't changed his mind. The Bible says about God, I am, I am the Lord, I change not. Listen, God hasn't changed. A lot of people think God has changed because so many false prophets have come out and said, oh, the Bible doesn't really say anymore. anything against that sin with regard to marriage, anything against that sin with regard to sexuality, anything against that sin with regard to the life of the baby in the womb. But I'll tell you this again, though they speak in the name of God, they do not speak for God. He has not commanded them to run. He hasn't given them a message any different from His word. The Holy Spirit of God does not ever contradict Himself. He is God and there is none else. The Word of God says it. Listen, salvation is not found in a person. Salvation is not found in a religion. A lot of people today, they're sincerely religious. They might bow so many times a day and worship so many times a day. They might have an idol in their home that they worship, that they bow down to. Something in their life that they really hold to, an ideology that is their own. I'll tell you this, what does not matter today is what I believe. What matters is what is true. Anybody can stand at Arthur's seat at the Craigs, and they can say, man, you know, you can't see gravity. You can't see gravity, so I don't believe in it. And so I'm just gonna step forward, and I don't believe in gravity, so I'm gonna float, right? Well, we all know that what's true is what matters. It doesn't matter what somebody believes. The only thing believing in gravity would do for the person that's standing there is save their life so that they do not perish. It's the same today when it comes to God. It does not matter what somebody believes. Believing it does not make it. A lot of people think, you know, God's like Santa Claus. It's just kind of whoever you make him to be. No, he's real. He's a person. He's given us a book to testify to us, to tell us about who he is. We cannot live our life in ignorance of this book and think, well, I'm okay. Friend, anybody can pick it up. You want to know what the Bible says about marriage? Read it in God's Word. You want to know what the Bible says about masculinity, about femininity? Read it in God's Word. You want to know what the Bible says about lies, about sexual impurity, what it says about drunkenness, what it says about drug addiction, what it says about abusing your body? Listen, just read it in God's Word to get the truth. You know what's sad today? Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Why is there such a draw to the undoubtedness that is in our world? Why are we legislating things that you scratch your head and think, you know, that doesn't even make sense. That's not even scientifically accurate. You know, we got schools of education that are teaching things that contradict science and truth about gender and about identity. And yet they say we believe science, but they defy the science about about masculinity, about divinity, about gender identity, about life in the womb, about creation and design. The fact that we look at it and we're dependent on it. You know, those trees there are beautiful, but those trees give us oxygen. The sun is great, we love it, but it's necessary. It gives us heat. It gives us daylight. The moon again is not just beautiful, it's necessary. It causes the tides to be just right so that we don't have tides that are too big that overwhelm our cities or tides that are not sufficient to get our water to cycle properly, get the impurifications out of it. Who made it? God did. But again, though the Bible says, the heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament show it as handiwork, day is a day, utter a speech, night is a night, declare acknowledgement, people close their eyes to the fact that, you know what? This world is alive. Science can't explain that. Evolution can't explain that. This world is beautiful. Evolution can't explain that. If evolution can explain anything, it explains one thing. But can it explain two things, or five things, or ten things that are dependent upon one another, and that without them, it doesn't work, and that all pieces have to be there at the same time, or would never be there, and a giraffe, when it puts its head down, it has valves in its neck that close so it doesn't hemorrhage, and when it lifts its neck up, they open up so it doesn't pass out, fall down, and die. Can evolution explain that? They had to be there. A giraffe could not evolve. There's a thing called a bombardier beetle. A bombardier beetle has an asbestos-lined abdomen. It has two chemicals that, when they come together, they react. They form an explosion. It happens very quickly. If they didn't have an asbestos-lined abdomen, it would blow up. It all had to be there at the same time. Listen ourselves are machines looking up online incredible machines that are in our body They are designed from my new shot to grander this world speaks about a designer And that's what the Word of God says evolution can't explain that gasket evolutionist. Where does life come from? They've got no answer but the Word of God says in the beginning God created the heaven and earth and God is a self-existent one. God is the one that was never created. God is the one that was never designed. God is the giver of life. I can just step back and think about it. Life is precious. Somebody has it, then they don't. You know, if you see an animal, that's dead. There's nothing in the body that is different from a living animal except the spirit of life is departed from the animal. If you stand at a funeral and you see a casket, that body is the same as any other body except it is no longer living because the principle of life has departed. What is that? The Bible speaks about that as being a soul. God breathed into their nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. We are distinctly different from animals. We wear clothes. we have traditional systems, we have police, we have hospitals, we have intelligence, we have libraries. Listen, anybody that thinks we're like the apes, I mean, other than the fact that the same designer gave us a similar skeletal structure to do similar things as walk on our feet, anybody that looks at that, you gotta say that's the same designer that is not proof that we're somehow related to an ape. Listen, it's funny, if you walk down to the zoo and you say to the kids, hey, you know, there's your great uncle or something, they're gonna laugh. But for some reason, when you teach it in the schools, they don't laugh. They think, oh, OK, that's right. And they take it as fact. And again, just think about the ungodliness that we're teaching in our schools, that we're stepping away from the idea of a creator-designer. Listen. If there is no God, there are no moral absolutes. If there is no God, there is no right or wrong. Now, we can see that today. How do we see that? Well, look at what our world is doing. When they say there is no God, and that's the position that our world has come to, what's happened to marriage? Marriage is whatever you want. We're going to find out in the future, I think, that maybe three people could be in a marriage. Maybe four people could be in a marriage. Maybe a marriage could be between a man and a child, or a woman and a child, or a cousin could get married. Why? Because we have thrown away a book that has absolute truth, that speaks about what marriage is, that gives the law, that testifies against sexual perversion and sexual ungodliness, but we're living in a very perverse day. Why? Because we turned our back on God. Friend all of that stuff ought to cause some people to step back and say I'm going to be mature about this and I'm going to be real about this and I'm going to start to think about this does this logically make sense to say that marriage can be between anybody or does not science itself teach that marriage is between a man and a woman's just like the Word of God said The Bible says about that, therefore shall a man plead with his father and mother, and shall plead unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. God ordained it. Why? Because family is the building block of society. Family is ordained by God. He said to Adam and Eve, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. Listen the only way you can be fruitful and multiply scientifically is a man and a woman and that's just like the Word of God says Again, the Bible speaks it out the life that's in the world that that life is precious that before I formed in the belly I usually eat And that in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there were none of them. Speaking about this, that the blueprints for our life was there in us before we were ever fully developed. Listen, we understand what that blueprint is. We understand genetics now. Our eye color, our sex, Our identity, everything about us, all of that genetic information is there in the womb. That precious soul that's there is a life. The Bible speaks about a time where Jesus was in the womb of Mary. She met the cousin, Mary met her cousin Elizabeth. John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, was in the womb of Elizabeth. And in the womb, the babe wept with joy because she was near the Messiah. Listen, that babe in the womb is a precious life. And again, my heart goes out to anybody that's ever been raped or had something horrible happen to them because of the wickedness of somebody else. But I'll tell you this, the vast majority of kids being aborted, the vast majority, it's sexual impurity. It's because they committed fornication. It's because they were ungodly, and the parents maybe didn't teach them about protecting their bodies, about not entering into that relationship until marriage. And because of that, we can see a child in the womb, but I'll tell you this, that child does not deserve to die because of the sin of a parent. A lot of girls today, they're carrying the guilt of that. They're burdened by that. Because society says it's okay. But God says it's not. And the Word of God never changes. And God has not changed His mind today. But He's a forgiving God, a gracious God. And the great thing about it is there are plenty that have been in that situation that have found the mercy of God, that have found the forgiveness of God, that have found the truth. And the Bible says, Though your suits be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. God has the power to forgive, but I'm just speaking about today the fact that we are teaching our kids sin instead of teaching our kids abstinence, teaching our kids purity, teaching our kids godliness, forgiving kids contraceptives, instead of saying to them, guard your virginity, guard your purity, don't enter into a relationship until you're ready for that relationship in marriage. Again, the Bible says about fornication. It says marriage is honorable and all in the bed undefiled But whore mongers and adulterers God will judge That's gracious. God is a forgiving God. Well when you stand before God Again, the SMP or the labor or anybody like that? They're not going to be the ones that have your back and defend you. The laws of this land, the laws of this world are going to be nothing compared to the laws of God. What do we need to know today? What we need to know is what does God say? There's nothing greater than having Jesus Christ come into your heart and take away the guilt of the fornication, take away the guilt of the murder, take away the guilt of the adultery, take away the guilt of the lies, take away the guilt of the drunkenness and the drug addiction and the enslavement to that sin and have the power to be set free from that. Our church supports a man in Ireland, his name's Layton Kelly. Layton Kelly was a heroin addict. Layton Kelly, his life was messed up in high school. He was found with needles, passed out, things like that. But you know, he got set free by the power of the gospel. Layton Kelly started something called New Hope Residential Center in Ireland. And there, they have 20 men come, and they teach them the Bible. They teach them about Jesus Christ. It gives them the power that God has to forget sin and to break the power of sin. You know, praise God that that program is having great success. They've recently had some people that, they're not Christians, they're not believers, but they're up in the government in areas of addiction and pain. They recognize that what Layton Kelly and New Hope Residential are doing is commendable and is good. Why? Because it's Bible. You're right here, very close to this spot, back when Charlotte Street Chapel used to be right around the corner. A hundred years ago, there was men out here testifying about the power of God to set them free from drugs and from drink. The secular newspaper in Edinburgh wrote about it and said that a religion that can take drunkards and make them loving husbands and good fathers is a religion worth having. Friend, that's what the Bible offers. You know what's saddening to me as a preacher? Is there not many examples of that? Because so many people have turned their back on the Bible. There's so few that are seeking after God. So few that will take God at His word and believe in the power of God to set them free. Believe in the power of God to give them His gift of everlasting life. Again, it's amazing to me today that despite that, you know, Stalin has turned his back on God and said, there is no God, God, I reject you, and they've waved their flag in the face of the holy God, yet despite that, God in His person is reaching out, God is love, He cares for us, He knows our needs, He knows exactly what we've got going on, He's got to answer it, and He Himself is telling us to come to Him, or frankly, come to Jesus. Friend, when you put your faith in the Son of God, the one who died for you, that made a way for you to be together. Again, I'll do my super-strongest prayer and give turn to everyone in his own way, but if the Lord takes care of you, he'll take care of us all. You know, can you imagine somebody today, you know, exchanging places for somebody else? There was a story in France a few years ago about a man that, in a hostage situation, there was a pregnant woman that was there, I think, and he said, look, I want to exchange places with her. And the person that was there allowed that to take place, and that French gendarme gave his life for the life of that woman because he ended up dying because he took her place. We rightly commend that that's rewardable awardable. That's commendable that ought to be honored and respected listen Jesus Christ did that for us Instead of blaspheming Jesus and mocking Jesus and cursing Jesus and using a name You know his name when you're angry and upset when you stubbed your toe or something like that You have a bow down at his feet and say Jesus. I don't understand why you love me so much that you died for me. I don't understand why you take my sin upon you on Calvary. Savior, that should have been me there on the cross. That should have been me in that place, but you died for me because you love me. I just want to say thank you. When's the last time you thanked Jesus for what he did, what he died on the cross for you? Friend, if you're a believer, every day you ought to bow your head and say, God, I'm just so thankful for the salvation that I've received, the forgiveness that I've received, the mercy that I've had because of the Son of God, with whom nobody crossed the cross of shame, the cross of spitting, the cross of cursing, the cross of mocking, and they punched the face of Jesus and blindfolded him. And they took a cat of nine tails, a whip with nine sharp pieces upon those strands, and they whipped the flesh off the back of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? So that we could be forgiven. The Bible says about Jesus, with his stripes we are healed. Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven. A lot of people today, they believe in my religion, you know, I just say to God, God forgive me, God forgives me. You know, does that work in an earthly court? If you go to trial, and you're on trial before a judge, and you say to the judge, talk it out to your judge, I'm so sorry, you know, I shouldn't have done it, please forgive me. Can the judge say, hey, that's okay, you know, just go on out, that's fine, I forgive you. If the judge did that, anybody that has a sense of justice in the court would stand up and say, wait a second, what about the victim? What about the person that was hurt by that? Judge, you're guilty. Why? Because you said that's okay. Listen, there are religions today where people believe if I say to my God, if I say to my God, God forgive me, that God forgives me. Listen, if he does that without punishing sin, He's guilty of that sin. Because he said it's okay. God can't do that. So what did he do instead? He took his son. His only son. His only begotten son. He took his son, Jesus. And he put him on the cross. And what happened is this. It's like in a courtroom. You know, I'm there. I'm on trial. And the judge says, you're guilty. I sentence you to death. And behind me is a hand goes up. And it's the judge's son. And he says, Father, you know, I love Ben. I care about Ben. can I die in his place and he goes out of that courtroom and you hear the sounds of the crucifixion you hear him being abused and mocked and cursed and him dying and then the judge looks at me and I can say this I can say I didn't ask him to do that I can say I don't believe he did it I could say for whatever reason, you know, I think I'm going to get out of this with community service. I'm going to do a bunch of good things and I'm going to work my way out of this. But if I looked at the judge and said with tears, Judge, I don't understand why you love me so much that your son died for me, but I will take your forgiveness if you'll give it. That judge could pardon me because his son paid my price. That's what the cross is about. That's what Jesus did. He made a way judicially for God in love to look at you as a sinner. And say, I love you so much. My son died for you. He paid a price so that you could be forgiven, so that you could receive God's gift of everlasting life. Friend, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Whosoever shall confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in their heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. God, I promise that cannot lie. Friend, take it to the bank of heaven. Bank your eternity on it and say, I believe God. And I'll tell you this, if you really believe that, do not hold on to the sin that put Jesus Christ on the cross. Don't hold on to the things that this world says, oh, that's okay. That's okay. You can be immoral. You can be ungodly. You can curse. You can defy God. That's okay. No, friend, it's not. The Bible says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not cure me. If I hold on to that, I say to God, God, you've got to accept this. Because if you don't accept this, I'm not going to accept you. God would look at you and say, look, I can't accept it. And therefore, I cannot accept you if you hold on to it. So what do we have to do? Take our sin and go, all right God, I don't want that anymore. That's the final one. Listen friend, if you pick up a Bible, what do your mates do? They laugh at you. If you go to church, what do your mates do? They laugh at you. But if you go to the public and get drunk, what do they do? They pat you on the back. If you do drugs and you get high, what do they do? They pat you on the back. If you're immoral and ungodly and you boast about it, what do you do? They do, they pat you on the back. I'll just ask you this, are those friends worth having? And is it worth going to hell? Is it worth going to hell for your drugs? Is it worth going to hell for your drink? Is it worth going to hell to have your mates pat you on the back and say, hey, you're a great sinner like us? Or is it smarter to stop, look, and listen and say, right, you know, it's time for my life to matter. It's time for me to value what God has given me. It's time for me to find God's way of mercy, God's way of forgiveness. The Bible says today is the accepted time. You know, today is the day of salvation. Today is the accepted time. You know, we can't put it off until tomorrow. Why? Because we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Friend, if God's convicting your heart at all, if there's any bit of awakening in your heart where you start to think, hey, maybe there's a God, maybe this is true, maybe I need to get... God's mercy, maybe I need to get forgiven. I would just encourage you, while God is working in your heart, answer the call. The Bible says about Jesus, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man open the door, I will come into him and suck with him and he with me. But friend, if you ignore it, and you don't open your heart up to God, he doesn't come in, and there's no guarantee he's going to knock again. There's no guarantee. If you don't take God's mercy, there's no guarantee that you're going to get it tomorrow. There's no guarantee you're going to get it next week. A lot of people say to me, Ben, all right, two years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, I'll give God a chance. Friend, if you don't get God a chance right now, you may be casting off the only opportunity that God will ever give you to repent of your sin and put your faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Friend, don't do that. Don't be somebody that that is so foolish that would look at all the wealth that God gives in this book all the truth that He gives through his son Jesus Christ and turn away from it. I mean to do that would be like if I said to you today Guaranteed there's a million pounds down in Princes Street Gardens If you had any sense you'd be down there with a spade digging it up trying to find it You'd do everything in your power to get a hold of it if it was true that it was down there Friend, there's more than a million pounds in this book The Bible says, what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? It doesn't matter what you have. You can be Elon Musk. You can be Donald Trump. It doesn't matter what you have in life. There's nothing that you can say to God, God, I'm going to buy my way out of hell. There are millionaires today, billionaires today, that are investing in tyrogenics. They're investing in things to extend their life physically, thinking somehow they're going to obtain eternal life. And it's an empty pipe dream. There's only one way that you can have everlasting life. That way is Jesus Christ. I'll pray. Father, I pray by the grace of God for people to be forgiven and to be saved and to find Jesus Christ as their Savior. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.