There's a scripture in Proverbs that I'd like to share with you in Proverbs chapter 1 Towards the end of the chapter It says this, Wisdom cried without. She uttered her voice in the streets. She cried in the chief places of concourse, in the openings of the gates, in the city. She uttered her word saying, how long these simple ones will ye love simplicity. And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. And basically, that's the way it is today. There's a lot of people today that are just casting off who God is. The Bible says the heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech. Night unto night showeth knowledge. so that we can look up as God's creation. We can understand today that there is a creator-designer. We can look at the water cycle and understand that there's a creator-designer. We can look at the circulatory system and we can understand that there's a creator-designer. We can look at the reproduction of life and understand that there's a creator-designer, that life begets life begets life begets life. And I have a question for those that believe evolution. That is a fundamental question of science and that is this, where does life come from? Where does it come from? The Bible says, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Creation has an answer for where life comes from. Because we understand that science says this, life begets life begets life. That is true. We understand that scientifically. And so, where does that life come from? It comes from a Creator, Designer, God. It comes from Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who the Bible says, without Jesus, there was not hate, anything that was hate. Jesus Christ is light, in Him was light, and the light was the light of men, and the light shined into darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. And that's what this proverb is speaking about. It's speaking about the fact that there is a creator, designer God, and that men have stepped away from that and said, right, I believe science, but I reject science that has to do with creation. I reject science that has to do with God. I reject science that has to do with the fact that there is a life in the womb of that mother before that child is born. I've spoke to some young people in the past couple of years, and they said to me this. They said, Ben, life begins when a child is born. You know what? I've got a child in our church that she was born at 21 weeks. She was born 17 weeks early. She was born the first week that she could live outside of the womb. Her name is Carly. Guess what? Carly is a person. She was a person at 22 weeks when she entered into this world out of her mother's womb. She was a person before she was ever born. The Bible says about that that in thy book all my members were written which and continued for passion when less yet There were none of them the blueprints for my life were there before I ever was born God said to the prophet Jeremiah before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nation in other words God had a plan for that life before that life was conceived let alone before that life was born and And today men reject science that says that child is alive. They reject the fact that we can see into that womb and see the smile on the face of that little baby, that we can see the hands there of that little baby. They say, I believe science, but then they, they, contrary to science, enter into that sacred place to take the life of that precious child that is there. That's where, again, we are backing away from the idea of science. Science says that God created man, male and female created he them. Those of us that understand basic biology today understand that there is male and there is female, that those that come together, male and female, produce life. That is basic science. And yet today, again, men reject science when it's convenient for their own ideology, their own ideas, their own position. They take a position that's called pride. The Bible says about pride, these six things that the Lord hate, yet seven are an abomination unto Him. The very first one is a proud look. God hates pride. Why? Because pride says, I cast off the creator. I cast off the designer. I say to God, there is no God. I can do whatever I want with my body. I can do whatever I want with my life. And people say, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody. I'll tell you this, sin hurts. Sin hurts the heart of the person that commits the sin. Sin hurts the heart of the person against that who they sin against, whether it is God or whether it is man. The Bible says in Romans 3.3, for all have sinned in concordance with the glory of God. Romans 6.3 says for the wages of sin is death. The punishment for sin is death. But it's not just physical death. It's eternity in a lake of fire. Revelation chapter 21 says about those that are cast into hell, it says, this is the second death. It says, whosoever is not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. You might think that's not a loving God. That is a loving God. Because a loving God is not going to allow sin into heaven. Why? Because then heaven would become just like this earth. And this earth is defiled by sin. This earth is hurt by sin. There was no death in God's original creation. Death is a result of man's transgression against God. God cares for us today, and I go back to that proverb, and it says there, wisdom crieth without. She utters her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief places of concourse, in the openings of the gates, in the city. She utters her word, saying, how long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And this order's delight, and there's scorning, and fools hate knowledge. You know, the Bible says this, the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Why would that person be foolish to say there is no God? Because they have turned their back on the giver of life. They have turned their back on the one that gives them the breath that they breathe, the food that they eat, the clothes on their back. They have turned their back on the only one that can forgive their sin, the only one that can give them his gift of everlasting life. It doesn't get much more foolish than that, is to walk down a path that's a path of destruction. Yet, there are tons of people today walking down that path. They walk that path to the pub. They walk that path to the immoral bedroom. They walk that path to the foul-mouthed and cursing and defiling heart that they have. Because the Bible says, "...out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." And that's those that are defiled in their soul, are going to be defiled in their speech. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good. An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil. Listen, today we have women that speak like men back in the day. Sailor talk that used to be defiled, and women's good used to be honorable. It used to be that ladies would be gracious, that ladies would be careful with their speech, that they would be represented well before the public. And yet in our day, a child that's very young or a woman that is in her 40s or 50s or 60s has a tongue that is like the tongue of the most wicked man 50 years ago. We live in a society again that has turned its back on God. We live in a society that is embarrassingly shameful. We ought to hide our head in shame and say, God, help us. We have a generation that gets excited and gets out in the street when immorality and sin is justified. When politicians get behind it, they say, this is OK. When they raise their fist in the face of a holy God, they say, God, we don't care about marriage. We don't care about life. And so we rejoice in sin. Listen, we are in a defiled world. You might wonder, why hasn't God taken care of it? God will take care of it someday. God took care of it at the flood. If you look at Noah's day, the Bible says about Noah's day that God saw that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, and it repented the heart of God that he had made man. Back in that day, for 120 years, Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He was declaring to the ungodly that there was a God, that there was one way to escape the flood. That way was the ark, and to get on the ark. And yet, the Bible says, about that time, only Noah, his three sons, their wives, got on the ark, because everybody else set their heart against God. And when the flood came, it was too late. There was no further opportunity for people to get on their knees before a holy God and say, God, I repent. I'd like to get right with you. When the ark door was shut, that was it. Listen, friend, the end of this world is coming at some point. God is going to say enough is enough. The tribulation period that Hollywood makes the movies about, Armageddon and things like that. It's a day that's coming. You can read about it in the book of Revelation. The judgment of God is going to come. It will be too late on that day to get a Bible. It will be too late on that day to find Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. It will be too late on that day to repent and get right with God, as it will be on the day of your death. You don't know when you're going to die. Queen Elizabeth did not know the day of her death. Nobody knows the day of their death, but it's appointed unto men what's to die. But after that, the judgment. And when somebody passes away, they go instantly into the very presence of God to give an account of their life. The Bible says that the dead, small and great, are going to stand before God, and they're going to give an account for everything that they've ever done in their life. Listen, your parents may not know about it. Your mate may not know about it. Your friends may not know about it. But you've got transgression in your life that's hidden maybe from the eyes of them, but it's not hidden from the eyes of God. We've got people in our day that come out as great sinners. People applaud them and say, hey, that's great. I'm so thankful that you came out with that sin that was in their life. God knew about it from the very beginning when they sinned against the Holy God. Are you ready for that day to stand before God? Again, wisdom cries without. She opened up her voice in the chief places of concourse. In the city, she crieth without. And yet, she says, how long are you going to go on in your shame? How long are you going to go on in your rejection of God? Praise God, there have been generations that have got on their knees and have sought the face of God and decided, I'm going to do something about my life. I'm going to seek my creator while I have my life. I'm going to change my life to follow God. Listen, it's not something you can do. It's something that Christ could do, though. The Bible says, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. You might look at your life and say, Ben, I get it. I'm a sinner. I don't like it. I don't like the immorality in my life. I don't like the addictions in my life. Ben, I'd like to get victory over those things. Listen, there's a God of hope that offers you forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. And if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. We hope all things are become new. Your life could be made new. Your heart could be made clean. You could be forgiven of your sin today and have the mercy of God. It doesn't matter if you've killed a baby. It doesn't matter if you've been immoral. It doesn't matter if you've been foul-mouthed. It doesn't matter if you have lived your life against God. If you get right with God and get on your knees before God, the Bible says, come now and let us reason together, sayeth the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. It says, let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his fault. And turn unto me, and I will abundantly pardon. God is a God of mercy. Because God is a God of mercy, the sun is shining on the just and the unjust today. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. We all have the blessing of God, no matter our heart against God. And yet there's coming a day where it's too late, when somebody enters into eternity, where they face God. They'll face God, and it would be so much better in this day to get right with God now. It would be so much better to repent. Listen, I think a lot of people today are living their life and reprobate sin against God because they fear men. They care so much about what their mates think. They care so much about what others think. They're afraid to step up and say, you know what? I really believe God about marriage. I really believe God about life in the world. I really believe God about sin. They're scared to stand up and to obey God. But I tell you this, it is worth it. It is not worth going to hell for friends that drink. It is not worth going to hell for friends that do drugs. It's not worth going to hell for sexual sin. It's not worth going to hell to have perverse speech and a heart against God. It'd be far better today to have the courage to be a man or to be a woman that would stand up and say, look, I want to get my life right with God. I'm sick of living the life that is against God. I'm sick of the heartache and the tears maybe that nobody knows about because my life is messed up with sin. It's hurt my family. It's hurt my relationship with others. Listen, there's hope today. The hope is Jesus. The Bible says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God cares today. Oh, look at the cross. Look at the cross and what Jesus Christ did as He was punched and as He was beaten, as they spat upon Him, as they mocked Him, as they cursed Him. as they took that Son of God, and they stretched Him out, and they took a cat of nine tails, and they whipped the back of the Lord Jesus Christ, tearing the flesh from His back. They took Him, they plaited a crown of thorns on His head. They took a scepter that was in His hand, and that wreath that they had put there, and they hit that crown down into the forehead of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the blood flowed down His face. They took His beard, and they plucked out His beard. They took him up that road to Golgotha, the hill of the fall. There they took the Lord Jesus Christ, and they took a hammer and nails, and they nailed his hands to the cross. They nailed his feet to the cross. They took him on that cross, lifted it up in the air, dropped it down into the ground, pulling the bones of the Lord Jesus Christ out of join. There on the cross, Jesus Christ suffered. Jesus Christ suffered for our sin. Jesus Christ suffered because we have disobeyed God, and God loves us so much that the Son of God came to this earth, lived a sinless life, to die on the cross as our sacrifice for our sin. The Bible says, again, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. I can tell you today, it doesn't matter who you are, how much you've been against God. You might think, Ben, I can never believe in God. I can never come to faith in God. There was a man in the New Testament. His name was Saul. Saul killed Christians. Saul hated Christians. Saul would take them, men and women, and put them into prison. But one day Jesus Christ met Saul, and he said to Saul, Saul, it's hard for you to kick against the goads, kick against the pricks, those sharp pointed sticks that they would use for animal husbandry. Paul, in his life, it was like he was just going against it. And God said, look, I am here. He turned. He said, who art thou, Lord? He put his faith in Jesus Christ, that man, Saul, that killed Christian. Become one of the greatest preachers in the New Testament. Became an author of many of the books that we have in our Bible. He authored those books as the human author of Scripture. Praise God today. God loves you. God cares about you. God wants you to have His mercy. God wants you to have His forgiveness. God wants you to come to faith in the Son of God. Again, you might say to me, Ben, how do I come to faith? You come to faith through the Bible. The Bible says in John, at the end of the book, it says, But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name. God desires to bring you to faith. Don't think, I'm somebody, I can never believe in God. Then I believe science. Science says there is a God. Where does life come from? Life comes from life. Who's the giver of life? God is. Evolution is not God. It's the God of many people. There's a lot of atheists that worship that religion of evolution, the idea that there is no God, but it's empty. Listen, if evolution is true, we might as well end it all because it's hopeless. When we die, it's like we never existed because there is nothing. There is no justice if there is no God. But praise God today, there's a point to life, and the point is this, God created us, God designed us. God can forgive us. The thing is today, God loves you. God cares about you. Again, I tell you that verse, Romans 5, 8, that God commended his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus Christ came. He paid the price for our sins. He made a way for us to be forgiven. It doesn't matter today if somebody mocks God, laughs at God, shirks God, just like they did when Jesus Christ was crucified. They hated him. They didn't care about him. But Jesus on that cross, he looked at them. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they did. And I would say this today, the vast majority of people that walk these streets today, they have no idea who God is. They have no idea what Jesus Christ did. They are ignorant of it. The only thing they know about God or Jesus is to take his name in vain. And yet that God loves them. He cares for them. You might wonder today how careful God is about our sin, how aware God is about our sin. The Bible says this, that in the judgment, we're going to give an account of every idle word that we have ever spoken. Anytime we have blasphemed God, anytime we have mocked God, anytime we have cursed, anytime we have taken God's name in vain, anytime we have said something that was immoral, Jesus Christ died for us. He died to forgive us of that. He died to cleanse us from that. He loves us. The Bible says, while we were against sinners, Christ died for us. You know, if I were to ask you today, who would you die for? You'd say, I might die for my family. I might die for my neighbors. I might die for somebody that is a lovely person. But none of us would say, I'm going to die for somebody that's wicked. I'm going to die for somebody that has abused others. And yet Jesus Christ, when he died, he didn't die for good people. Jesus Christ died for you. Jesus Christ died for me. Jesus Christ died for sinners. You might say to me, Ben, are you a good person? Well, I would say this. When it comes to the standards of goodness, I think I would measure higher than maybe some others. I'm married. I've got kids that are raised in the fear of God. We don't watch immorality on the telly. We don't swear. We don't curse. We don't drink. We don't smoke. But listen, anything that we can do does not merit favor with God. Now, you might be better than me, but the Bible says, by the works of the law, There shall no flesh be justified in his sight. That means by anything that we could do, we can't merit favor with God. Your Christianity that you call Christianity because you're religious and you believe in God and you say that, you know, I was born a Christian. That doesn't merit favor with God. That doesn't please God. That doesn't take away our sin. Jesus Christ, you might remember in the garden as he prayed before Calvary. And Jesus Christ was there. He cried out, and he said, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he desired God to have his will, but he looked at the cross. He knew the sin that was going to be put upon him. He knew the punishment for our sin that would fall upon him. He knew the separation from God that he would face. God the Father, if good people went to heaven, would have said to his son, he would have said, son, good people go to heaven, you don't have to go to the cross. And yet it was the will of the Father that Jesus Christ go and die on the cross, because the truth is this today, good people do not go to heaven. Because there is no such thing as a good person. The Bible says your son righteous will not want. It says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. It says in Revelation chapter 21, but death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Listen friend, God doesn't want you to go to hell. That's why Jesus Christ died. Listen, He died unashamed of you. He died unashamed of the old rugged cross. He embraced the shame for you. He embraced the sorrow and the heartache for you. What have you done for Christ? What have you done for the one that died on the cross for your sin? The one that paid the price for you. Are you afraid to stand up for him? Are you afraid to come out as a Christian? There's a lot of people today coming out as great sinners, unashamed to step out and to say, I'm an unashamed sinner. And I let you know that I'm an unashamed sinner. Where today are those that would step out and say, I'm unashamed of the word of God. I'm unashamed of the truth of God. I'm unashamed of Jesus Christ. I'm unashamed that he died on that cross for my sin. Where's somebody today that'll be a real man? Somebody that'll stand up for Jesus Christ. Somebody that'll identify with Him. Somebody that would get the Christian flag, put it over their shoulder and say, I am proud of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am proud of my Savior. I am proud of what He did when He died on the cross for my sin. Again, today, there's plenty of people that'll step up and say, I'm an unashamed sinner. I'm unashamed. I took the life of a baby in my womb. I'm unashamed of sexual perversion that's in my life. And I just come out and I'll let people know. And they applaud me and they pat me on the back. Why? Because this world is against God. This world has rejected God. Where are the people that step up and say but I believe in God I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in the Word of God I believe what the Word of God says is so see that when the Word of God says that God created the male and female I identify with what God said in his Word Praise God for his goodness You might look around see been worse the goodness of God to me the goodness of God is this God has not destroyed us and God has not turned his back on us. God in his mercy continues to cry out and say, I am here. And that's where I started. As I started to share this today, is that in Proverbs, God says, wisdom crieth without she uttered her voice in the streets she crieth in the chief places of concourse in the openings of the gates in the city she uttered her words saying how long these simple ones will ye love simplicity and the scorners those that mock delight in their squirting and fools hate knowledge turn you at my reproof behold i will pour out my spirit unto you i will make known my words unto you and today if somebody in their heart will say right then i desire to turn to god i want to find god what's the bible say to me the bible says this if you seek me you shall find me if you search with all your heart you can find god you can find hope You can't find joy. Yes, there is peace. Peace is not in saying my sin's okay. There's a lot of people that want to justify their sin. They want to say my sin is okay. And I want the world to pat me on the back and say that my sin is okay. That does not take away the guilt. That does not take away the transgression. But the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God does. God can forgive sin. If somebody wants to get right with God, praise God they can. But this is what the Word of God goes on to say in that text. It says, because I have called and he refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded. He has said it in all my counsel, and with none of my recruits, okay? And so that's what this world has done. They've said to God, God, I reject you. God, I won't listen to you. God, I will marry whoever I want to marry. I will have sex with whoever I want to have sex with. I will kill babies in the womb if that's what I want to do. I will have my way in my life. They've said that to God. They've cast him off. God says this. I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh at desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would none of my counsel. They despise all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the sinful shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be silent from fear of evil. There are going to be plenty of people that enter into eternity and they say, I reject God, I reject God, I reject God. They stand before God and then they stand in the fear of God as they recognize that the Holy God that they acted as if He disappeared when they said, I don't believe in God. So there is no God. That God is going to stand in judgment upon them. He will say to them on that day, depart from the accursed into everlasting fire. Prepare for the devil and his angel. God doesn't want to do that. God is trying to prevent that. God is trying to call out to those that would listen, that would heed the warning, so that they would bow the knee before God and say, oh yes, God, I understand that your son, Jesus Christ, loves me, that he died for me, and yes, my sin is an offense to God, and I own my sin for what it is, God, an offense to God, and I repent of my sin, and I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Guess what? That person, When they stand before God, they stand forgiven. They stand and they hear God say to them, enter into glory, into His presence, into eternal life with Jesus Christ. Are you a son of God today? Are you a child of God? Christianity is not something that you're born into. Christianity is a point in time where you put your faith in Jesus Christ. Have you been born again? Jesus said to a religious man, Nicodemus, in John chapter 3, he looked at him, and a man came to him and said, what should I do to have eternal life? And Jesus said to him, you must be born again. Except the man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. You must be born of water and of the Spirit, the Bible says. Water birth is physical birth. All of us have had physical birth, but only some of us have had spiritual birth. Spiritual birth is a point in time where you look at the Son of God, Jesus Christ, lifted up, and you hear that He's the remedy for your sin, that He's redemption, that His blood was shed on the cross for you. And by faith, you respond, and you look at the cross, and you say, Savior, I don't understand why you died for me and loved me so much, but I put my faith in Jesus Christ at that point. That's the point where you're born again. That's the point where you're given God's gift of everlasting life. Very sadly today, there's a lot of people that just reject that. They turn their back on that. They think they can get on with life. They think they can say, you know, I'm just going to join with other sinners and say, sin's okay. The Bible says, so join in hand, they shall not be unbundled. Again, praise God today. God loves you. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Father, again, sinners, Christ died for us. The cross speaks so much about the love of God for sinners. The cross speaks about God's affection for us. We praise God. Again, God knows you. God knows what nobody else knows. Maybe that's here. Maybe the heartache, maybe the bondage. I saw a statistic that our young people today are addicted to gambling before they're even out of high school. They've got bondage in their life. They're wasting their money. They're waking up, spending money, and just throwing it away, trying to get that lucky thing that seems out there. They think they're going to win it someday, but they're waking up in debt. They're waking up having lost everything. There's marriages that are destroyed. There's families that are destroyed by that. There's people that are in sexual sin. That sexual sin destroys their marriage. It destroys their kids. Their kids are brokenhearted because they grow up in a home that's been torn apart by sin. Today, as you think about that, there's a God that loves them. There's a God that sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. While we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. We can be forgiven. The Bible says in Romans 10, 9, and 10, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. That's a promise from God. God cannot lie. God said it, and it's so. That is, if you put your trust in Jesus Christ, God will take away that sin. He'll take away that guilt. He'll take away that burden. He'll take away that heartache. He'll give you his gift of everlasting life. Friend, do you know today if you died you could go to heaven? Is there anything in your heart, is there an assurance in your heart that you have received God's gift? Are you living your life for things that are valueless? Are you living your life for things that are valueless? Things that are empty? There's plenty of people today that live for the weekend. They work all week to get to the weekend to drink with their mates and be drunk and waste their money. And then they get up and they go to work and they work to drink on the weekends. It's empty. It doesn't satisfy. It doesn't make a good marriage. It doesn't make a good family. It doesn't make a good citizen. Yesterday, if you look at the reaction to COVID-19 in the last two years, the government came out and they reacted so strongly against a disease and acting as if it was the greatest problem that we face. And yet the greatest problem to the NHS, the greatest burden on our ambulance service and our other things is alcohol. It's cigarettes. Why isn't the government responding to that? Because that's sin. Because that's a vice. Because that's in our lives, and that is corrupting our lives. It's leading us away from what God would have, what is the abundant life that God desires to give. Friend, I hope that you find Christ as your Savior. Father, I pray for the truth of the Word of God to go deep into the hearts of everybody that hears it. My deepest prayer as a preacher is for people to get saved, to know the peace of God, to know the joy of God in Christ Jesus. Father, I pray for the mercy of God for this nation. I pray for the mercy of God for these many young people that are passing by at a very critical point in their life. I pray, oh God, that they seek you in your word and that they find you. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen.