The greatest possession that anyone can possess is to know the gift of God's salvation. I was greatly blessed. I was brought up in a Christian home. My both parents were saved. My two eldest sisters and my older brother was also a believer. And we were brought up to go to Sunday school and to church, children's meetings. And my parents read the Scriptures to me, read Bible stories to me at night time when I'd been going to bed. And so I was greatly blessed in having that privilege. I was brought up in the Connie Baptist Church. I'm sure many of you know where that is. You used to pass it on your way to Ballygully Roundabout. if you're going down a skill in Aroma. But now with the new road, the new motorway now is bypassed. And I was brought up there to know God's truth from a very, very early age. And at a very young age, I knew my need of a Saviour. I knew that God was holy. I knew that He was righteous. I was no great sinner. I wasn't a great train robber or a drugs baron. But yet I knew that I had a need of God's salvation. I knew that even as a young boy, my thoughts, my actions were against God and that I had broken His laws and His commandments, maybe in a simple way, even as a child. And yet we read in Scripture, for example, in James chapter 2 and verse 10, For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point is guilty of all. And so I knew from that age that I was guilty. I knew also that by nature I was a sinner. I knew from Psalm 51 that I had a bias against God. By nature I was rebellious against God. You don't have to teach children to disobey. You don't have to teach them to tell lies and to say no and to have a temper when they shouldn't have. And so by nature I knew all those things and had been taught them carefully as a child. I also knew that I could not inherit salvation. My parents, my family, I knew that salvation was personal. It could not be passed on to me in any way. I had to have a personal relationship with God. I also knew that I couldn't inherit it. It could not be inherited. It could not be merited. There was nothing I could do to earn it. I could not earn God's favor even in my young life or right throughout my life. I could not earn His favor. And I knew, you see, from an early age that God loved me. And I knew that He had made provision for me in sending His Son to die on the cross to bear my sin and to bear my punishment. And I knew that I had to believe and receive Him as my own and personal Savior. You know, as a child, I can remember quite clearly, I had always this fear. I obviously had been taught that the Lord was coming again. And I had this thought in my mind, if the Lord should return, I'd be left behind. The rest of the family would all go. And I, as a young boy, would be left lost and alone. And you know for children death may not seem so real because they have not experienced it in many ways but the thought of being lost and being left alone is very real and impressionable to a child. And so I knew all these truths from a very early age and isn't it sad tonight In our world of seven billion plus, the great majority of them, even in our own province, tens of hundreds of thousands, have no appreciation of their need. They think they can merit salvation. They think they can inherit it. They have no appreciation of God's love. They don't fear His return and a day of judgment to come. I can't remember exactly the date when I trusted the Lord as my Savior, but I remember very clearly I was being put to bed in the evening and my mother was reading to me and praying with me. And I can remember just saying to her, I want to trust the Savior tonight. And she read further and we prayed together. And I, in a simple prayer of acceptance, asked the Lord into my life. But, you know, I must have had a doubt or something, because I can remember clearly saying to her, I want to talk to the pastor about this. I must have thought, you know, she didn't maybe just know exactly what she was doing. And I wanted to get this cleared up to be sure that it wasn't just as simple as it seemed to be, because, you know, the pastors, of course, they're professionals. And they knew all the answers to all the difficult questions. And so therefore, on the Sunday night after the meeting, it was agreed I would speak to him. And I spoke to him on the way out. And when everyone was left, it was Pastor Jim Smith, many known, I'm sure, to you. In those days, he was a full head of black hair, of course, nearly 50 years ago, a very gracious man and still is, and a great friend. But he took me, I can remember very clearly, into a back room of the church and he treated me with great respect. And I can have a clear memory of that. And you know, it has taught me to be very careful with children. You may forget how you treat them, especially regarding spiritual things, but they don't forget. And he brought me in and he read more with me. He questioned me, I can remember, and talked and prayed for me and prayed with me. And then I repeated, just simply after him, a prayer of acceptance. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I know it is a wonderful thing just to receive it simply like that, isn't it? The gospel is not complicated. It's simple to receive. A child can understand it. The Lord Jesus says in Luke 18, verse 17, Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein. Jesus also says in Matthew 18, verse 3, Except ye become converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. My friends, tonight if you're not a child and you're an adult, then you're going to have to humble yourself. You've got to become as little children, Jesus says. You've got to set aside your own pride, and you've got to take a very humble place before Him. And it is not blind faith. This is child-like faith. All the difference in the world. But you've got to come and to simply trust His Word and believe in Him. You know, a child will take the hand of a parent and will walk across the busiest road and not even look at the traffic. It will just trust in the hand of the parent to lead them safely to the other side. And that's what it is to come to the Lord. It's by faith we simply trust our all upon him. It takes the same grace, you know, to save a seven-year-old as a 70-year-old. None of us are worthy of God's salvation. The following year, I was sent on an errand from home. I was sent to buy, to get the Taron Courier at our local shop, Fred Martin's Garage. It's still there at Quinn's Corner. And you still pass that on the way too, if you watch out for the signs, Quinn's Corner. It's now bypassed also, of course, by the new road. But it was dark and wet and I went about a mile on the bicycle. I was crossing the road, never saw the car. I ended up in hospital for two months, not allowed out of bed for six weeks with broken bones and things. And I can remember very clearly in the South Shore Hospital being visited by my parents and of course friends and other people came. And I can remember them saying, you know, he could have been killed. He could have been killed. He could be dead. I can remember just saying to them and thinking, but sure, I'm saved. I'm saved. If I had of been killed, I would have been in heaven. And does it really matter? I'm saved. Does it matter? And isn't it wonderful to have that assurance of salvation? And I thank God I have always had that assurance of God's salvation. I have never, ever doubted. my salvation and my belief in Him. But you know, I can also say tonight that if I had not been saved and if I had been killed, I believe tonight completely that I would have been lost eternally. I would have been in hell this evening. And you know, it is a very solemn thought that there are young people, seven, six, maybe younger, The Lord knows their age. And they've willfully rejected the gospel and God's love. And tonight they're in a lost eternity. And maybe there's young people in our meeting this evening. Maybe you are 7, 8, 9, 10. And you know, if you reject Christ as your Savior at this age, then you could be lost and lost forever. The Lord has blessed me these nearly 50 years. in many, many situations. And he is truly a friend of all friends. But there is a passage of Scripture I just want to leave a thought with you. In Luke chapter 7. It has challenged me and it has troubled me on many occasions. A familiar story in Luke 7. The Lord Jesus has entered into Simon the Pharisee's home. He is eating at the table in the home of the Pharisee. And we read there, a woman of the city comes in. She comes up behind the Saviour. She weeps over His feet. She washes the Saviour's feet with her tears. She dries the feet with her long hair. She kisses His feet. Then she anoints them with oil. And the Pharisee is looking on, and he's thinking in his heart. He didn't say it out loud, but the Lord, we read in his passage, knew what he was thinking. And this is what he was thinking in his heart. He spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors, the one owed him Five hundred pence the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave the most. And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. On down the passage, then the Lord speaks again. to Simon and to the woman and says, Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And as I have thought of this passage on many occasions over the years, you know, I suppose sometimes I may think that I am a 50 pence creditor. And you know, it has often challenged me to question my love for the Saviour. This woman loved much. She had been forgiven much. And you know, someone being saved as a child can think that they have had no great addictions in life. They have no guilty conscience of terrible sin committed. And sometimes I believe it could affect my love. Maybe you're in the same position. And this has been a challenge to me and that God would help me even further in this new year to appreciate just more and more the awfulness of my sin, even as a child, and to appreciate more and more what I've been saved from and what I've been saved unto. I love the last verse of this passage. Jesus speaks to the woman and he says, to the lady of the city. Thy faith has saved thee. Go in peace. You know, it's only the Lord can forgive sin. Only the Lord has the power to forgive sin. And here He says to this woman of the city, Thy sins are forgiven thee. Go in peace. And dear friends tonight, if you know not the Savior, He can say this to you. He can forgive your sin. He has the power to forgive sin. And what a year this would be to commence it in peace, in real peace. What a happy new year you would have if you were to leave this meeting knowing that your sins are forgiven and that you have a home in heaven. May God help you to come and receive the gift of his salvation. Thank you very much, Alan, for that word of testimony. Pathway will come and sing and then Tommy will come and preach to us the word of God. Tempted and tried Makes you wonder why it should be with us all the day long While there are others living above us, never more than No winter frosts, farther than long rains, no water fountains, Understand why Cheer up my brother Live in the sunshine We'll understand All by and by. Soon we shall see Him more, Dear, loving Savior. He'll lift us at Sunday, Sound through the sky Then we shall be those Who've gone on before the night Then we shall know and understand why Harder and longer we'll go on our way Harder and That all will understand why. Cheer up my brother, live in sunshine. We'll understand it all by and by. Farther along we'll know all about it. Father, I long will understand why. Cheer up, my father, we're in the sunshine. We're under We'll understand it We'll understand it All by and by Shrouded by a heavy burden Deep, a load of guilt and shame And on Jesus' feet And on Jesus' feet And on Jesus' feet And all the joy that touched my soul. So something happened and now I know He touched me and made me whole And since I met this person Savior, all I'm searching for is You. I will never cease to praise Him I'll shout Him my eternity, Lord Till the dawns of my life reveal and all the joys that touch my soul. Some things happen and now I know things are strange. And they gave to me hope. Because something wonderful happened. You know, as we have just come out of one year at Morgante, another year You know, we can say that we serve a great God, can't we? And this next song is just a good old hymn that I'm sure you've all heard. Well, great is thy faithfulness. And you know, our Lord Jesus Christ has been faithful in each one of our lives. We've all went through the good times and the bad times, but he's always there for each one of us. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father! There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not Thy compassions, They fill love as Thou hast been, Thou forever will be. Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. Summer and winter at springtime and harvest. Sunbird and stars in their courses above. Joined with old nature in manifold witness. to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, I'm still. You know, I think we should break protocol and give that a good clap. Sometimes we get named for being starchy and stiff, but it's good to praise the Lord. If you really enjoyed those men tonight, we'd like to hear them again. On the 20th of January, I have 14 places left at a dinner in Craighaven, and these men are coming to sing at it. I've known Peter and Matthew from their wee boys, and they've grew up to big men now. The other two men, I don't know yet, but we'll get to know them a wee bit better. But thanks for singing tonight. Now, you've been sitting a long time in your stiff, And I'm going to ask you to stand for the reading of a few verses of Scripture so you can stretch your legs. So please, just stand up for a moment and I'm going to read a few verses from the book of Genesis, chapter 3. The book of Genesis in chapter 3. And you just listen to it and then give yourself a good stretch. I'm going to read from verse 8. Adam and Eve have fallen into the trap of the devil. They have disobeyed the word of God. Their eyes have been opened to sin, and they're walking in the garden. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord from among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. Let's just for a moment in prayer, please keep standing just to give you a moment of stretch and then you can sit. Let's pray. Father, thank you for what we have heard tonight already through testimony, through the singing. And Lord, it is true, great is thy faithfulness. And, Lord, tonight we know that it is God's will that none in this congregation should perish tonight, but that all should be saved. And, Lord, if there's one tonight, whether it's young or old or middle-aged, that tonight they would realize, God has been good to me. He's brought me into another year. I want for nothing. And, Lord, tonight they might realize, this is the God that I want to serve. This is the God that I want to know. This is the God that one day I want to see as my Lord and Savior and King. Lord, take my lips. Fill them, Lord, with Your Spirit. I need help. I need You, Lord. I need a filling of the Spirit of God that I might speak boldly the truth of the gospel of Jesus. I ask it in His precious name. Amen. One of the things that confuses so many people who are not saved in our world today is that they cannot understand the voice of God. They get confused about how does God speak. Many would love it that God would come and speak audibly to them and have a conversation with them. But God speaks in so many different ways. And there are many people that God speaks to and they don't hear God speaking. I read a story of Franklin Roosevelt. Now, it says that this is more legend than factual. But I thought of an interesting story. It said that President Roosevelt often got down in his spirits, especially when it came to shaking hands with a line of people at the White House. And they would go past one by one. And he came to the conclusion that many people that he spoke to never listened to a word he was saying. So on one occasion, when this opportunity arose, he decided, I'm going to try an experiment on these very smart people who come to visit me at the White House. And one by one, as they went past and he shook hands with them, he murmured in their ears, I just want you to know, I murdered my mother-in-law this morning. The replies that came back were marvelous. Keep up the good work, sir. We need more men like you. You're an inspiration to us men. We're proud of you, sir. But the ambassador of Bolivia, however, he actually heard what he said. He leaned over to President Roosevelt and said, I'm sure she had it coming. He turned to his wife and said, out of them all, only one heard what I said. The rest were in another world in their mind. You come to a church service tonight and you have heard singing, you've heard testimony, and I'm going to share a short gospel message. And there may only be one person tonight in this congregation, maybe only one person on the Internet tonight who will hear what I'm going to say. But if it's only for that one person, it's worth it. For many, you have come tonight and you're preoccupied. Your mind is a million miles away from here. Your mind is tied up in some world out there. How are you going to face tomorrow? What are you going to do this week? Where's your next job coming? How are you going to pay the next bill? What's the world going to be like this year? How is things going to improve? You're not going to hear a word that I'm saying. But if you just stop for a moment and say, Lord, I want to hear your voice. How does God speak? How do I know God's speaking to me? God speaks in different ways, but one of the wonderful ways that God speak is through his creation. The book of Romans chapter 1 talks about creation. In fact, some people come to me, and because of the work I'm involved in, and missions, and some of the places we go to where people have never heard the gospel, often the question that I'm asked is simply this. Would those who have never, ever, ever heard the gospel be lost in hell? If they've never had a preacher or a missionary, if they've never had contact with the outside world, would they know about God? A few years ago, World Gospel Mission, which I represent here, decided that they would move into a country in Africa to do an experiment that the African Gospel Church could take on as a missionary outreach. And so they went into an area of Africa that we'd never been in. When they arrived there, there were two missionaries from our missionary society and there were three African pastors there. When they arrived at a tribe that had never been reached with a gospel, They began to speak to the tribe chief. The African men who were there thought, boy, this is really primitive. They don't even wear clothes here. Coming from Kenya, they thought they were in a world that had come into the 21st century. But they began to talk to the chief and they began to ask the chief, what did his people believe in? And here's what the story was. The chief gathered his people around those who had arrived in the village and simply said, Well, as we look around here, there is a creation that's beautiful. And so every year we take a goat or a lamb, a young one. We keep it. We care for it. We wash it. We comb it. We feed it. We make sure it doesn't get any damage. And one year later, We build an altar and sacrifice the goat or the lamb to the one who created the world, whoever he may be. They've never heard the gospel. They've never had a preacher. They've never had a missionary. And here's someone who's saying there has to be a creator God. And these people in a tribe unreached were worshiping the creator God. The Bible says because of creation they are without excuse. They know exactly what's going on. Creation speaking loud. We look all around us and we see a God who's made the rolling hills and the mountains and the sea and all the parts of the world that maybe you've had the privilege to go and visit. You think to yourself, wow, isn't that beautiful? People that come to visit us in the country here, especially that come from a country that's hot, the first thing they'll say when they come here is, it's green. In Kenya, they would give anything to have land like we have it, just to have green grass. They think it's so precious. And we look around us and we see God's creation. And God says, listen, this is proof that I live. I made this world. I created this world. Jesus spoke and it happened. God said, let us make. And they just said, let it be. And the voice of God spoke creation into being. He speaks through creation, but he speaks through conviction. When Adam and Eve in the garden had eaten the fruit that they were told not to eat, their eyes were opened. And the moment their eyes were opened, they came under deep conviction. They realized what they had done was totally wrong. They realized they had disobeyed God. And then Adam turns and he begins to blame the wife. And he said, Lord, it was the woman you gave me. And then she turned around and there's a bit of a... there's the first family feud. Sometimes I'm in situations with families and they say, our family's in a mess. And I often said to him, you need to read Genesis chapter 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 because the first family unit got off to a really bad start. Because the first child became a murderer. That's the first family unit. Sin had come in and done such a horrible thing. And because of sin, here's Adam and Eve and they're hiding in the garden and they're hiding because of conviction. They're convicted about what they've done. They're convicted about the sin that they've committed. And all they've done is simply disobeyed God. But it's not as simple as they thought, because suddenly their eyes are opened. They conceive themselves as sinners and lost. And they go and they hide. And God comes into the garden, and He's walking about in the cool of the day, and He calls out to Adam. And this is the moment that Adam really dreaded, because Adam knew God would be there. He always came into the garden to walk in the cool of the day. And this day Adam knew he would be there. And Adam went and got behind the tree and he hid himself. And God comes into the garden. And Adam's thinking, God won't see me because I'm hiding. You ever played hide and go seek? We used to play it at home. And there you are hiding away. And the one who's trying to find you is laughing their leg off. And you think, they can't find me. And suddenly the wee boy says, what are you doing down there? You thought, I thought he couldn't see me. Do you know why I thought he couldn't see me? As a child growing up, I thought if I covered my eyes, nobody could see me. You just cover your eyes and think, nobody can see me. And now you're standing in full view. See, God can see you. And God can see right through there. And God can see exactly what's going on. And conviction sets in. And Adam says, I heard thy voice. God, I heard the voice of you. You heard God's voice. Ever come under conviction? I remember when I come under conviction, I couldn't sleep. I was worried. I was definitely scared of dying. I was afraid. Because I realized that eternity was real and it was forever and it was a place of punishment. And here I was, not ready to die. Not ready to die. I was in the UDR. Colleagues had been shot. Coming home at night in the car. Getting out of the car thinking, well, I've got a personal revolver. It will help me. But then the thing would come. But what good is it? Because you're not going to get the first shot anyway. Scared. Afraid. Went to the grave. Funeral of a young 13-year-old boy. Stood at the graveside and watched the coffin go down into the ground. And as I was going in, I was standing right at it and looked at the plaque on top of the coffin which read, 13 years old. And I thought to myself, and I'm 18. And then the preacher said something. He says, for Glen, He's with the Lord. And then he says, for Glenn, he gave his life to Jesus as a young boy at the Brethren Hall in Ahurie. He was saved at the age of eight or nine years of age. At thirteen, he resorted into eternity with an accident. And here I am standing, and I'm under deep conviction, thinking to myself, Lord, I'm not ready to die. Creation was speaking loud. I could see God everywhere in creation, in the stars at night. But I could not see Calvary. But then conviction came in. And I began to realize my need. I began to hear the voice of God speaking through different things in my life. I began to speak through death. Very loudly I was there. And I remember saying at the graveside, God, one day I'm going to get saved. One day I'm going to get right with you, Lord, because I want to go to heaven. The only thing is I didn't have a lease on life and I didn't know how long it was going to last. Neither do you. Conviction. Conviction became real. I heard God's voice. Have you heard God's voice? Has God spoken to you? Do you realize tonight that if you were to die, you would be lost? There's something inside your heart and there's a tug saying come. I remember one preacher saying it. Boy, I used to do it in missions. I think, that's it. I used to listen to a preacher when I was growing up, a young Christian. He used to say, if you're here tonight and your heart's thumping, it's time you were jumping. I thought, that's a good one, isn't it? I would be in missions and preaching the gospel, and at the end I used to say, if your heart's thumping, it's time you were jumping. Boy, I didn't realize that the fish started to jump. Because there was people in the meeting, and God was speaking to them, and the heart was thumping. And I asked someone, what did they mean by heart thumping? And they said, it's called conviction. Inside, there's a longing, a longing to come. Conviction. His voice speaks in creation. His voice speaks through conviction. His voice speaks cleansing. Cleansing. A lot of people out there tonight and maybe in the congregation tonight, and they're feeling very, very dirty and very filthy. Things that they've said, things they've done, places they've been to. The devil tells them, you know, there's no cleansing for that. I want to tell you tonight, he cleanses from all sin. I remember quite a few years ago, Laverne and I were involved in a mission. And at the mission, a young lady turned up at the mission, a young mother. The little hall wasn't very large, so it wasn't hard to pack every night. But she ended up at the front, right under my nose. And she'd come under conviction of sin. At the end of one of the meetings one night, she stayed behind and she said, I'd like to get saved. We led her to the Lord And counseling her was one of those difficult ones. It's one of those ones whenever you want to go and get the local Baptist or the local Methodist or the local Presbyterian minister to deal with. Because she says to me, I'm living with a man and I have three children, but I'm not married. But I'd like to get saved. And I'm thinking to myself, boy, that's when you want to pass on to someone else, you know. You deal with that one. But there she was. She was shaking like a leaf. She was crying. I didn't know whether I had emotionally disturbed her or whether it was genuinely deep conviction. But there she was. And she says, I'm not going home till I get saved. And so I prayed with her. Told her how she could get saved just as simple as Alan said tonight. And there she trusted the Lord to save her. She went home. Three days later, she turned up again at the meeting. I thought, well, that was one. Never seen her since. Three days has gone and she turns up three days later. The interesting thing was she turned up with her common law husband, the man she was living with, who was the father of all three children. He came into the meeting and I was shaking hands, coming to the door and giving him a very warm welcome. He said to me, I come here tonight to hear what you have to say. And he says, well, I'm glad you've come. Yeah, he said, you did some good job on this woman of mine, he says. Can't get her to curse. Can't get her to smoke. Can't get her to drink. Tried everything, he says. I've almost threw the sink on her. But she's not going to bend. Boy, whatever she's got must be good. Boy, tattoos everywhere. Earrings. Studs. I thought, whew, you talk about a rough diamond. Well, you know where he ended up. He ended up that night right under my nose. Right up under the pulpit. It was so small. He ended up in the front row. She took him. She told him, you've got to get right up there. Well, we got up that night and I was speaking. That night I preached on the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses from all sin. And preached on how the blood can take a sinner died in sin, no matter how deep he had gone or she had gone. And Jesus could wash him or her as white as snow. Brought the meeting to a close and I said, is there anyone tonight would like to be washed white as snow? He put two hands up. He says, I sure would. Loud. Everybody could hear. I thought, whew, this is something. He came into the little back room. He went in. There was a minister there that night. Because I was doing the mission along for this particular church and the pastor, the minister was there that night. So I said to the minister, would you like to go in and do the counseling tonight? Because I'd be gone and I think it'd be good for you to go and speak to him. And so the minister looked at me and said, I would love to. Boy, I was waiting on him saying, no, you deal with it. But he said, I would love to. So he went in and we had a time of prayer. Twenty minutes had gone by, a half an hour had gone by, and I thought, have they gone out through the back door or something? That's a long time. I said, while the people were still praying, that had stayed behind, I opened the little door to the side and I looked in. Do you know what he says? No, in fact, I looked in and he was smiling from ear to ear. Smiling. I looked at him. I said, John, how are you? He says, I never felt so clean. This is real. This is real. A little head popped over my shoulder. I told you it was, she says. I told you. One month later, the both of them walked up the aisle, and the minister who led them to Christ made them tie the knot. Cleansing. God spoke it. God spoke it. He said to the woman, go and sin no more. Thy sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more. Those are words of love. Words of love. I'm going to finish with a story that's a true story. When I think of words of love, I think we all want to hear Jesus say, Come on home. Come on home, my son, my daughter. God does love you tonight. And I couldn't express enough how he does love you. But a man by the name of Steve Huntley, when he was two years of age, he contracted spinal meningitis. It was in 1943. And because the war was on, doctors had a shortage of penicillin and could not provide the young two-year-old boy with the medication he needed. And as a result of the spinal meningitis, he lost his hearing. But he went on to live a full life. But he longed that he could hear the voice of his wife, the voice of people. He just longed to hear the voice of others. In 2001, he learned that there was a surgical procedure that through the use of a special implant, he could have it put into his ear. It would bypass the non-functioning part that was now not working. And it could travel directly to his auditory nerve. On the 30th of January 2002, he went for his operation. Because the implant device could not be activated until the swelling had gone down after the operation, he had to wait for several weeks. But the day finally came when the implant was to be tested. And the doctor was to program his implant. He said in the surgery, the program was set. Everything was quiet. And the doctor had prearranged with his wife to speak to him first. He heard nothing because everything was quiet. His wife walked up to him, looked him straight in the eyes and said, Steve, I love you. His face broke into a smile. For the first time in years, he heard three words. I love you. He said, I will never forget Those words. I love you. God loves you. He's speaking to you. Creation is speaking. Conviction is real. Cleansing is possible. Because God's Son died on the cross. He loves you. Let's pray. 1st of January, 2012. Tonight you could be saved. Has God spoken to you? Do you hear his voice? Adam and Eve said, I heard thy voice. I heard thy voice. Oswald J. Smith said, Never spread the table with the gospel. And that did people come to eat. So in these closing moments tonight, I'm going to simply do something that may be not often done. But if you're here tonight and God has spoken to you and you know God is speaking and your heart is thumping, I'm going to ask you to slip your hand up quietly. Take it down. I'm just going to pray generally a closing prayer now and the quartet's going to close with a message and song. And I'm going to go to the door to shake hands, but I don't want to leave the meeting tonight if there's somebody here who's disturbed about their soul. So, I'm asking you, is there one in this congregation tonight who'd like to trust Jesus? Would you just lift your hand up now? And I'll watch. If you need help and you'd like to speak to us, please don't leave the building. When we're shaking hands with you, just say, can I have a word? Can I have a word? Jesus says, I love you. Father, thank you for the opportunity. I've been able to spread the gospel again this evening. And I pray, Lord, if there's one or more in the congregation tonight, and maybe someone, Lord, listening on the Internet, and right now they could be, Lord, bending their knee in their own room, in their own living room now, Lord, there could be someone who's giving their life to Jesus. I'll never know. But, Lord, what matters most is that they do it. Lord, give us what we need tonight to come to you. Bless the group as they sing their closing message. May it be a message, Lord, that will reach hearts tonight. And as we filter from the building, and the other group comes in, Lord, later for the youth rally, bless your servant who speaks. And bless, Lord, save, call, send young lives forth to the mission field. We ask it in Jesus' name. Soon as the group sing, the meeting is over. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me. See, on the portals He's waiting and watching, Watching all you and for me. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me? Why should we linger and denounce His mercies, mercies for you and for me? He will unleash the force. Earth is swinging tenderly, Jesus is calling, Calling, O Savior of all. Time is now waiting, the moments are passing, passing for you and for me. Harvests are gathering, death beds are calling, calling for you and for me. Come home. Come home. Ye who are weary, come home. earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O Savior, come home. Calling, O Savior, Ah...