If you have your Bibles with you, and I trust
you do, be turning with me to the book of Joshua,
chapter 1. Joshua, chapter 1. I just surrendered
my phone with the rest of their phones, and you're
in trouble. Because I can't check the time now.
Periodically, I'd tap it and say, hmm, I got
a five minute. Now, I can't tap it unless I go
down there, and I may. If I feel like I'm going
long. You know how I know when I'm getting too
long? You get quiet. I say, well, they've had
enough. It's not ever probably that I'm finished.
But you're done. And so it ain't no sense in
overloading you. Man, isn't it good to be in
the house of the Lord today? Amen. It's good.
It's a good feeling to be here. The presence
of the Lord is here with us. Yeah, we got a lot
going on today, but that's okay. We just, we
don't do communion as often as a lot of places,
but we're about to do that now. Let's go ahead.
You put your Bible down. The folks that I asked
to help me with communion, I want you to come
and help me. We're going to distribute the elements.
Come on, guys. Our retired ministers and their
spouses. Brother Brian, you and Sister Erica,
I want you all to go up top. Your knees are better.
Just saying. Since you've got to go up step.
We'll use the young knees, guys, and let them
go up top. Amen. You've got a bread. Let me get
this other bread for Sister Sandra. All right.
This is not rocket science. We're going to work
half of the room. Sister Sandra, here's yours.
For the meals, you just get you one of those.
Sister, I want you to help with these. We've
only got three of the bread ones. Go ahead and
get you one. Let me get Brother George one. All
right. I actually hope we do not have enough.
We've prepared for 200, but I don't know. It's
going to be close. I'm going to go ahead and
bless before they begin to distribute. The letters
of the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul addresses
the church at Corinth about their behavior in
communion and how they were mistreating. The
love feast is what they called it. How that some
would just turn into plum debauchery. Some would
have feasts spread out while others had nothing.
And that's not what it's all about. Amen? And
he would tell them to let every man examine themselves.
Amen? We examine ourselves. For what we are about
to partake in is symbolic of the body. and the
blood of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. And
he told the Corinthians that, you know, some
of them are already asleep. They've already passed
because they ushered on a quick and untimely
passing because of the way they treated the body
of Christ. And when always growing up, when I'd
hear pastor share, it would always cause an alarm
to go off in me. And there were times that I
would not take communion because I was scared.
I was afraid. Maybe I've done something. Or I
was convicted because I had and had not repented.
Thus, we have the window for self -examination.
So we'll take a few moments and we examine our
hearts. And if you have messed up before you
take this, you know what you do? You repent.
Do you know what can actually happen before you
take this cup? If you're lost, if you're lost,
you can repent and accept Christ right where
you are. I know over the years our tradition,
we make a spectacle and get down to the mourner's
bench and do all that, and that's good. It's
an outward testimony. It's an outward surrender.
I know all that, but that does not have to take
place. It's right where you're standing from
a submitted, repented heart. And you can repent
right where you stand. And right where you stand.
The advocate, the in -between, the one that goes
on our behalf, right where you stand, will visit
and cleanse and forgive. And then you take the
cup and you rejoice because of his blood that
was shed for the remission of your sin. His body
that was broken for the healing of your body.
My Lord. Let's pray. Bow your head. Father, as
we come today, We thank you for the gift of your
son. Jesus, we thank you for the submission of
your life. Your body for ours. Your blood for
our cleansing. As we distribute these elements,
I pray your blessing upon the cup and upon the
loaf. For we do so in remembrance of you. Now,
Father, if any are here, join me. Father, I repent
today. Of any sin that may be in my heart, my
life. I repent before you this day. Cleanse me
of my sin. Purge me of my unrighteousness. Take
the throne of my heart and life. And be Lord.
I love you and thank you. In Christ's name. Distribute
the elements, please. Take this section right
here. Yeah, just start up through there. Yeah.
As snow. Got you one. Hold on to it. Felt time.
The blood of Jesus can wash away my sins. Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole
again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Let's
sing it. Oh, precious is the flow that That makes
me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. If you need to be seated,
it's okay. You can. Wash away my sins. Nothing
but the blood. Of Jesus. What can make me whole
again? Nothing. Of Jesus. Now all precious is
the flow that makes me white. Has no, no other
fount I know. Let's do at the cross. At the cross,
at the cross where I first saw the light and
the burdens of my heart rolled away. It was there.
I received my sight and now I am happy all the
day. Oh, at the cross, at the cross where I first
saw the light and the burdens of my heart, they
rolled away. It was there by faith I received
my sight. My sight. And now I am happy. The day.
Have done. Lord, we love you today. At the cross,
at the cross, where I first saw the light and
the burdens of my heart, they rolled away. It
was there by faith I received my sight, and now
I am happy all the day. Let me get one for me.
At the cross, I first saw the light, and the
burdens of mine rolled away. It was there, by
faith, I received my sight, and now I am happy
all the days. Been served? Anybody need to be
served? I got one in my hand right there. Thank
you. I love it that it takes time. There are
occasions where we need to use the little peel
the top cups. There are those occasions when
that's okay. But to take this added time. To
participate. It's special isn't it? One of my.
Among my favorite. I love to dedicate babies.
Amen. That's just. But the. The act. Of preparing
the communion. Is something that. I just like
to do. You can hand it off. I've had teams that
did that, but I was always sad in my heart because
I wasn't over there. You know what I'm saying?
It's special. This morning was special. Pastor
Brian and I, Lulu was here with us this morning
early. And to start training another generation.
They probably don't know how special and what
it meant to me, but that was special this morning.
And to teach and just talk a little bit about
it while we're doing it. Amen. So today we have
the cup. You got the grape juice. It's not fermented.
We're teetotalers around here. Hello. So you
have the cup. We bless the cup. Aren't you grateful
for the work that he's done for you in your life?
How many of you are saved and you know it? Will
you sing it with us? If you're saved and you
know it, say amen. Amen. His body was broken
for you. Snap it if you can. If not, just crunch
it. Take and eat of the bread. Hallelujah. He
bore in his body the stripes of your healing.
Amen. It's been said, it's the meal that heals.
Wouldn't this be a wonderful day? Lord, we thank
you for your body. Lord, I thank you for your
blood that was shed. Every last drop was for
my sin. Take of the cup and drink. Hallelujah.
Lord, we thank you for your blood. Just hold
on to your cup and on your way out this morning,
there's a garbage can at each door. Just drop
it in there on your way out. We thank you for
your blood, Lord. I thank you for the cleansing
of my sin. I thank you, Lord, for you placing
your righteousness upon men within me. For without
it, we'd be undone. Amen, amen. I tell you what,
you can just be seated and I'll... You've been
standing long enough, I'll... I'll just read
my text and you reverence in your heart today.
Amen. God is good. His mercy endures forever.
And we'll baptize here in just a little while.
Amen. What time is it? What time is it? Maybe
I got time. Oh. Okay. I'm going to do my best
to be expedient in what I've got to share with
you. Joshua chapter 1. Beginning at verse 1.
Now after the death of Moses, the servant of
the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake
unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister,
saying, Moses, my servant is dead. Now, therefore,
Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this
people, unto the land which I do give to them,
even to the children of Israel. Every place that
the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that
have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even to
the great river, the river Euphrates. And all
the land of the Hittites and unto the great sea
toward the going down of the sun shall be your
coast. There shall not any man be able to stand
before thee all the days of thy life. As I was
with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not
fail thee nor forsake thee. Be strong and of
good courage. For unto this people shalt thou
divide for an inheritance the land which I swear
unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou
strong and very courageous, that thou mayest
observe to do according to all the law, which
Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from
it to the right hand or to the left, that thou
mayest prosper. Whether so ever thou goest, this
book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth,
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all
that is written therein. For then thou shalt
make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success. Have not I commanded thee?
Be strong. For a little bit this morning, I want
to speak to you on this thought. What happens
after the bell rings? What happens after the
bell rings? Father, I love you today. I thank
you for your goodness, for your mercy. It endures
forever. Now, Lord, help me this morning. Help
me, help me, Lord, to be expedient. Let me stay
focused on you, your word, and the edifying of
your people. And may we that have ears to hear,
hear what it is the Spirit has to say to us today.
And then may we be obedient and responsive to
that drawing of your presence. To you be praise
forever in Christ's name. The church says amen
and amen. What happens when the bell rings? You
stop to think about the existence that we call
life, and life at its best has its moments of
interruption, right? Those interruptions we call
and sometimes identify as crisis. These times
when everything seems to fall apart. The word
crisis means a point that determines a good or
bad outcome. The Greek rendering for the word
crisis means to separate. The Latin means to
cut away the options. The thing about crisis
is... Once we have been touched by it, we are
never the same. Crisis has an effect on our life,
each one. Every time something arises out of
the ordinary, the extraordinary, and interruptions
happen, whether they be good or bad, it can be
either. You know, we handle the positive crises
better than the negative sometimes. But they
all affect our life. And from the moment the
interruption takes place, from that point forward,
we're never the same. We are impacted. And as
it moves, crisis as it, in different ways, shapes,
forms, and fashions. There are different types.
There's personal crisis, right? We have personal.
These events and things that happen in our life
that we have. some control over, and then we
can sometimes affect the outcome of it. I don't
know about you, but most of the time when I get
my hands on it, I make a bigger mess than just
go ahead and let God do it. But there are those
personal crises, and there are some of those
that we can handle. Amen? The Lord has already
gifted us enough grace that we can manage some
of them. Anybody? Yeah, we don't always have
to hit the prayer closet for everything. Some
things are common sense, right? But I'm learning
more every day that common sense is not so common.
There are developmental crises, things that evolve.
They just develop and then boom, it's on you,
right? These come with an ongoing process. And
by the time you get to the end of it, it's full
blown. And these developmental crises, they happen,
they're going along, and we don't even realize
it's happening until it gets to the climax and
boom. The fuse had been lit a long time. It had
been fizzling and smoke had been rising. You've
seen the old black powder trail that they used
to light to set off an explosion. And it's going
and smoke's rising. It's been smoking for a while
in your life. It's been lit for quite some time,
and you're just waiting on the boom. Those are
developmental. They happen that way. They just
develop out of some crisis we enter into are
spiritual. And remember, not every crisis is
negative. There are spiritual crises that enter
into our life, things that come to a point that
determine a good or bad outcome. Salvation is
a crisis moment, and it determines a great outcome,
not just a good one. Right? Sanctification in
our life works a positive outcome. And it's a
crisis moment. Spirit baptism, when the Holy
Ghost fills you and overflows, that is a crisis
moment because it's a good thing. Right? These
are things that happen when you get healed instantaneously.
The Lord's hand touches you. That's a good crisis
moment. But then there are those negative moments
as well. Spiritually, when the enemy has unleashed
all that he can against you, he's coming in full
force. Amen? So what causes crisis? The one thing,
I call them these stances. You know what a stance
is. It's a position, right? Stance. So you got
the first stance we're looking at this morning
is hell stance. I know I made that word up, but
I made it up in 1998. We're still in the archives.
I hadn't been doing this very long. You say,
well, why didn't you change it? Because it still
sounds good. If it's not a word, it needs to
be. Because hell has a position against you and
I. Hell has a position against you and I. It
has a stance that it takes against you and I.
Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary,
the devil, Goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking
whom he may devour. Do you not get it? We don't
get it. The devil has nothing good for you. Wake
up! Hell has a position against us all. Hell
wants you to reside there. The devil has a position
against you. Jesus tells you what that is in
John's gospel. The thief cometh not but to steal,
to kill, and to destroy. But Jesus said, I have
come that you might have life. There's a crisis
for you. I have come that you might have life
and that you might have it more abundantly. So
hell stands against everything. We are in opposition
against every force of darkness. Ephesians 6
and 12 says, For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness and
high places. Do you think you're just going down
the road you're going because you want to? No.
is a conscious decision that we make to accept
or deny God. When you put it like that, well,
yeah, that's the way I'm putting it because that's
the way it is. There's a crisis moment when we
are approached with the gospel. Hell already
has a position against the good news of Jesus
Christ. If you don't have your head in the sand,
Every and most every preacher, unless they're
going by the lectrum and it's not in the alignment
of the day's message, will mention the very fact
of the death of Charlie Kirk. and what that means
as a crisis in the spiritual realm in the United
States of America. As soon as I heard that, my
heart began to weep. I began to mourn. My mind
has been torn over and over and over about this
morning. It's not necessarily as much about Charlie
Kirk as the message of the man who was slain.
He was murdered, amen, right before his family
and thousands of people. Why? his stance for
the gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord. And hell
has taken a position. And it ought to be a crisis
interrupted moment for every born again child
of God that is alive and breathing and well.
That now darkness has been emboldened. It has
been enraged. And it's coming out. What are you
saying, preacher? I'm saying you better make
up your mind. You've got to get your mind established.
Because there is a crisis. And what happens after
the bell has rung? It rang at Calvary, but there's
been a tolling of the bell again as a reminder
for the church of the living God. One man slain,
not because of an action, but because of belief
and words and the proclamation that Jesus is
Lord and there's no other. And hell has taken
a position. And hell is unleashed. It's ravaging
force. But I'm here to tell you what happens.
I'm beginning to see take place is the bell is
rung. You know what happens when the bell rings
at a boxing match? It means it's on like Donkey
Kong. WWE has nothing. It begins when the bell
rings and it's not over until the bell. It's
time we begin to wake up. For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood. For though we walk in
the flesh, to the Corinthians Paul said, for
though you walk in the flesh, we do not war.
It is a war. Get your head out of the sand. My
Lord, I'm feeling this this morning. A little
more intently than I thought I would. But there's
something stirring in the... depths of my soul
that has been rolling over since Wednesday and
the crisis that entered into the spirit world.
But you know, the devil is smart, but he's dumb
all at the same time. My Lord, if he'd had more
sense in what he'd done, he has stirred up the
body. He has stirred up a sleeping giant. Somewhere
around a million people, they said yesterday,
in London begin to march. He's not just woke
up the church in the United States, but there's
been a clarion call to the global body. My God
in heaven. There is a crisis that's been unleashed
upon the world. But now, now our eyes are being,
what? What? What happened? The devil did what?
He did what? He did where? To who? And now. Oh,
Lord, we're getting stirred up. Hallelujah. The
body of Christ is being awakened. Somebody needs
to wake up and get your head on straight. Hell
is awaiting if you don't. There is a dark destruction
waiting for your life. There's a devil with a
smirk and a grin on his face. He may have smiled
and laughed when he took his last breath on Wednesday,
but what he didn't realize is there are others
who have taken a very deep breath. I am intent
upon salvation. and the clarion call. Jesus is
coming. Jesus is coming. There's no other way
to the Father but by Jesus Christ. There is no
other way. He is the truth and the life. Hell
has taken its stance against you for though we
walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh
for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
They are not fleshly. but they are mighty through
God. What are our weapons? According to Ephesians,
when you've having done all to stand, stand therefore,
putting on the whole armor of God. Since Wednesday,
I believe in the spirit realm. There's some Christians
looking for their armor. My Lord, it'd be like
me and Sister Kathy getting ready to go play
a softball game. I wouldn't even know where to
start to find the ball glove. I wouldn't even
know where to look. I'd have to go find it. I'd
have to roust it out, and then it'd have to be
oiled up. It's just stiff now. It wouldn't be
pliable. It'd get myself hurt probably. But there's
a lot of Christians this same way. They are now
being awakened. They're saying, where's my armor?
Where's my armor? We got some lukewarm getting
stirred up. Hello, we got some folks that's been
half in and half out about to have to make up
their mind. You've got to make up your mind today.
Are you going to heaven or are you going to hell
with everybody else in a handbag? I am not. going
to hell. I know where my armor's at. I may not
be able to find my ball glove, but I know where
the heaven of my salvation is. I know where the
shield of my faith is. I know where the sword
of the spirit is. I know I got a belt of truth
on and righteousness strapped to my chest and
my shins are protected with the truth of his
word. Yeah, but we got some of them half in,
half out folks saying, uh -oh. This is a crisis.
Well, I might as well just plow on. I'm feeling
pretty good this morning. We got some so -called,
quote, unquote, Christians who are going to hell
with the world. And you say that, I just did.
Let's just go by the book if you want to. Jesus
said they'll come and stand and say, Lord, didn't
we cast out devils in your name? My name's all
powerful. I don't know what you're thinking.
It's my name that did that. Yes, sir. I know
you did that. But let me tell you something.
Depart. Get out from here. You're not welcomed
here. And they're going to be scratching their
heads and say, what do you mean, Lord? I never
knew you. You never cared enough to know me.
You don't pray. You've not been in my word. You're
ashamed of me. You won't even speak up when you
know someone's hurting and dying. You won't even
tell them that I can help them. I don't need
you to help them. You can't help them anyway.
But what I need you to do is tell them about
me. And you wouldn't even tell them about me.
So if you've been ashamed of me in front of them,
there's no way I'm letting you in front of daddy.
There's no way. I'm not presenting you to him.
There's no way. Depart from me. And guess where
they are cast? Into the outer darkness. Gone.
And there are some Christians today thinking,
oh no, will I have to give my life? Honey, you
already should have surrendered your life. It's
not about will I. It's not about if I. It's all
about have you. Because you have to deny your,
hell has a position against you. Now look, look.
The hardest thing to accept. It's this fact.
I'm about to share it with you. The hardest thing
that I have had to accept is that people are
going to hell. Kind of getting a little quiet
there. A few yells and that's right. It's kind
of like, huh? Yeah, people are going. They're
going to hell. But another hard fact that I've
had to accept is that even though I tell people
passionately, you're going to hell without Christ,
they still have the right to go. Now, I know
that doesn't make sense to a lot of us. Who wants
to go and burn forever? The person that don't
want to surrender now. But here's the thing,
you will. You will surrender. Because see, not
only does hell have a position and a stance,
but heaven has one. Yeah, the Lord's got a standard.
And we have to live by it. You've got to live
by it if you want to go. But look, you don't
have to go to heaven. You don't have to go. You
really don't. I mean, you don't have to walk
on streets of gold if you don't want to. I mean,
you can go on to hell. You say, I never heard
a preacher talk like this. You may not. But I'm
telling you, you can. You can go burn with the
devil and his angels and everybody else who won't.
You can. It's your choice. Isn't that hard? But
for those who know the gift of God through Christ
Jesus truly. It just makes no sense to us. You
mean you want to do your fleshly deed just so
you can burn? Does it really mean that much to
you to puke your guts out? Really? Seriously,
you want to shack and do all that stuff? Peas
your flesh? I just read to you, we don't live
by the flesh. We don't war after the flesh. We
live in the flesh. There is a difference. You
can either let your flesh guide you or you can
guide your flesh. Hell has a position. And it
just never ceases to amaze me that people actually
choose to go there. And do you know how difficult
it is to go on to hell? Do you know what you
have to do just to get into hell? You have to
walk over every prayer that's prayed for you.
You have to tread down, tread on, and deny the
blood of Jesus Christ that was poured out for
you. And you have to spurn, reject, turn aside
every ounce of love that he directs towards you
just so you can go there. Well, you can have
it. You can have the part that was reserved for
me. Because I'm not keeping that reservation.
I've done called ahead and canceled mine. Matter
of fact, I wonder. I just wonder if that recording
angel has one of them red phones in heaven to
hail. You know there's only one line. Well. Take
Cliff Waters' name off your roll. We've just
added him to ours. Click. Hang up. What about
your name? Mine's not there anymore. I got to
hurry. I know. But you really got to want to
go to go. has a stance. Then there's happenstance.
Do you realize that sometimes things just happen?
You know, I will say this for him. The devil
doesn't cause everything that happens in our
life. I will give him that much. Amen? You've
heard me say it before. Sometimes the roofing
crew just didn't get the tailgate shut and some
tacks got out. And you're going down the interstate
and you pick one up and your tire goes flat.
That's not the devil. That's the roofer. Right?
That's the roofer. If you're a roofer, pick up
your tax. Don't put them in my driveway. There's
things that happen. There's happenstance. Ecclesiastes
9 -11. The race is not to the swift, nor the
battle to the strong, neither bread to the wise,
nor riches to men of understanding, but time
and chance happeneth to them all. Happenstance.
Things happen. Then there's circumstance. We
all know about circumstance. It takes a position
and is rooted pretty firmly. Job 5, 6, and 8
says, Although affliction cometh not forth of
the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of
the ground. Yet man is born unto trouble. Isn't
that sort of what Jesus reiterated? In this world
you shall have tribulation. But, where you at
Bible readers, what did he say? Be of good cheer,
for I will get happy. Yet man is born unto trouble
as the sparks fly upward. I would seek unto God
and unto God would I commit my cause. Circumstances
dictate a lot of the actions and crisis that
enter our life. Circumstances have helped cause
and create what has happened in this week. I
feel like that... The taking of that man's life
is going to be a demarking point in culture.
I think it has made more of a statement than
any of us actually fully understand. The cat's
out of the bag. The devil is now becoming more
emboldened. And he's going to rear his ugly head.
And you and I must have a faith that is established
firm to be able to withstand the onslaught of
the enemy. Instead of retreating into the shadows
with the message of the glorious gospel of Christ,
you must stand up even taller. You must reaffirm
even at a greater level that no matter what the
enemy says, my faith is secure in Christ. And
in Christ alone. And I will witness to the fact
that he has redeemed me. And is able to redeem
others. There's coming a point where the church
will have to be the church. I think this is even
turning the tide even more than back in the day
when Columbine in Colorado began. And look where
we're at. Look where we're at today. The bell
has rung. It rang 2 ,000 years ago. There was
a ringing at his birth and a great clinging at
his resurrection. It's on. The battle lines were
set. As Christ was led into the wilderness by
the Spirit, and he confronted the enemy there.
The bell is rung. What is our response? What
is your response? How do we respond? Hell stance,
circumstance, happenstance, and then there's
providence. A looking to or preparation for the
future and care and beyond. Guidance from God.
The sovereign God who reigns over it all. We
must be reminded of the declaration over the
church. What is our response? The gates of hell
shall not prevail against the church. Tragic,
senseless, yes. But surprisingly, no. The closer
we get to the return of the Lord, the bolder
the enemy will become. And it may be you and
I to make a stand in the declaration. Jesus is
Lord. There is no other way. Stand with me, I'm
closing. We handle crisis in different ways.
Sometimes we complicate it by overreacting. Sometimes
we formulate new crisis out of the one that has
just arisen and we cause it to grow. Other times
we simply cope with it. But the way we should
respond is with the character of Christ. No matter
what the cause may be. We have to have courage
for crisis living. Joshua is standing firmly
in a crisis moment. The Lord appears to him and
says, Joshua, my servant Moses is dead. Now that's
a crisis for the nation. Their leader who led
them out. Who spoke with God in the cloud and
the tabernacle face to face. He's gone. Now what?
That's a crisis. But notice that God doesn't
forsake us in our crisis moments. He shows up.
Joshua, my servant Moses is dead and I'm the
only one. Who knows where he's at? I've taken
him. I've buried him. Here's what I need you
to do. I need you to be courageous. I need you,
Joshua, to be strong. And here's my commitment
to you, Joshua. Now get this one. As I was with
Moses. So shall I be with you. Now, there's a
lot to unpack there that I don't have time for.
You must remember the position of Joshua when
Moses is on top of the mountain in the thunder
and in the cloud and the finger of God is writing
those commandments. You've got to know where
he was at. He wasn't down with the rest of them.
He went as far up the side of the mountain as
he could go and was permitted to be. He was right
there. That was his position. What's yours? What's
your position? Did this disturb you this week
as it did me? It disturbed me. It really did.
I didn't know the man. I'd watched some of interviews
and things that he did on college campuses and
as he would confront darkness with light, with
love. But direct and firm, you can be direct
and firm and love. I'd do that for you every
week. Direct. Very firm. But I'm doing it in
love. I love you. People have the choice to go
to hell. But to do so, you have to go against
the wishes of your creator. He is not willing
that any should perish. But that all. A -L -L.
You should come to him through repentance. All.
That's his desire. That's the reason he sent
his son. That's the reason he dispatches voices
to proclaim. Father, I love you. As we take our
position today, what will we choose? What will
we choose? What is our choice this morning? Do
I accept the wonderful invitation to come to
know you and free pardon of sin and to allow
you to cleanse me and to forgive me? Or do I
again harden my heart to the good news of the
gospel? What do I do today? What are you going
to do today? If you choose Christ, if you don't
know him this morning, I invite you now. Come
on. Come on. Come on down. Let me pray with you.
Don't refuse him. Don't deny him. I never have
been one of those preachers that can just talk
people into the altar because I'm too matter
of fact. You're just going to have to come. You're
just going to have to make your way. You're going
to have to do like I did. You're going to have
to make a choice. I choose heaven. I choose Christ.
I choose the love of God. Over the world and
over the influence of the world and over the
influence of darkness. Over the influence of
Satan's desire against me. Probably every one
of us in here would confess to this thought.
Because the word says it. The pleasures of sin
are for a short season. Oh, it's fun for a little
while until you have to start paying the price
for sin. And it begins to show up and collect.
You can't defer payment. Sin has its reckoning.
Father, I love you. I thank you so much for your
mercy and your grace. Father, I pray for each
of us in here today. I pray if any don't know
you, that before this day is over, they surrender
their heart and life, confess their sin, and
accept you as Lord and Savior. Touch us now,
Lord, as we follow in the footsteps, and some
and many will come forward to be baptized today.
Watch over and keep the household of faith. Amen.
If you're getting baptized this morning, go ahead
and make preparations and just come on back and
get right here in the front toward the line.
And y 'all just bear with us for a few minutes.
Amen.