I've honestly loved this series so much. Just want you to know I'm going to keep going in the month of August. We're going to go back and pick up some more parables. So if you've been studying along with us through this summer series, we're going to keep on going. So.

But I'm not going to tell you which ones they are. You'll have to figure that out on your own. I'm so excited today and thankful for this weekend and Serve Day for the work that was done in South Carolina last year. We did Serve Day in the middle of August and had 150 people registered to serve this year. A month earlier, before school gets back in, we actually had 200 people pre register to serve this weekend and had five more sites.

So we went from 11 sites to 16 sites this year. And so guys, thank you so much for participating that and Randy Williams, thank you so much and Shannon for organizing, putting all this together. Can we let them know how much we appreciate the work that they did?

You know, it's as I'm starting to hear stories, Serve Day exists because we've got one command to follow and that is to preach the gospel, make disciples.

We can couch it however many different creative ways that we want to. But Jesus said preach the word and make disciples and serve day night to shine vbs. All of these are doors of opportunity that allow us to connect with people and to extend invitations. I don't know if you remember this card. I haven't talked about it in a couple of months.

Kind of let it sit on the shelf. But at the beginning of the year, I challenged each and every one of you to take one of these cards and for this year, 20, 25 to make 20 invites. Now if they don't fit perfectly in one of the categories, that's okay. The purpose was that from our church, if we took 500 of these cards and made 20 invites, that would be 10,000 invitations to our community. And I want to challenge you to pick this back up because here's what our community saw yesterday.

They saw green shirts all over town doing service projects. They've opened up social media. I'm trying to get a number, but at least I've seen 15 to 20 different posts from you posting pictures from Serve Day. And when that goes out, that gets multiplied because it appears on this person's Facebook or Instagram feed and this person's Instagram feed. And so it's promoting a church that doesn't just love inside these walls.

And I'm so proud of that. And I hope not that you're proud of it in the sense of going, oh man, look at what I've done. Jesus said the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And our small illustration of that yesterday can make big inroads, especially when it deals with making a connection where the gospel takes root and begins to grow. Has that not been the point of this series?

That we're like fields of dirt? That the seed gets planted and that seed begins to grow and become a plant? And then God scatters us through the world so that we can make an impact, but he scatters us so that we can produce fruit and that fruit turns into revealed obedience. And last week, Fred did an absolutely great job of reminding us that there's coming a day when Jesus will distinguish between those who are and who are not, who put on the king's clothes that was provided in. Those who thought that, well, I'll just come the way I want to come.

You see, in this study, when we've looked at chapters 21, 22, there was the question of Jesus authority. By what authority are you doing these things? And Jesus told those three parables to answer that question. Because I'm the Son of God and if you would have known God, you would have known me and you would accept my authority. And embedded in that.

Now, as we continue into this study, he gets into chapter 23 and he calls those Pharisees out, He calls them blind guides and hypocrites, leading the stray, leading, leading the Israelites astray from knowing who God was, focusing on their self righteousness, looking good on the outside, but being full of dead men's bones. And Jesus prophesied something.

He prophesied about that temple because Israel would be judged again.

And he predicts the destruction of the temple. That temple, it's known as Herod's Temple. Well, why is it known as Herod's Temple? Well, back in 586 B.C. the temple that was known as Solomon's Temple, a beautiful temple.

If it were still around today, it would be at the top of the list of the seven wonders of the world. That temple was gone. And in BC 20, Herod instructed for the temple to begin to be rebuilt. But who knows? I mean, I don't know if the Ark is in Area 51, but it definitely wasn't.

In Herod's Temple they were going through the motions. But the temple, as beautiful as it was, it was supposed to Be a light to the nations, a place of prayer, as Jesus said, that would go out and be a beacon to the world. But the Israelites broke their covenant. In fact, in the prophets, God said to Israel, you've broken my covenant from the day I gave it to you. So I'm going to give you a new one.

I'm going to take out your heart of stone and I'm going to put inside you a heart of flesh, a work that you cannot do. You cannot do your own heart surgery. God must do it. It's a regenerative work of the Holy Spirit that when we present our faith to God in repentance, that he comes in and he changes us. Salvation should change you by who you are and displayed in what you do.

So Jesus comes to chapter 24, and if you want to turn there and follow along with me, this is going to be a little bit of a different way of preaching this message. I'm not going to ask you to stand. I almost just ought to just read chapter 24 and into 25 and shut my Bible and give you the one point that's on your outline. There's only one point that I want to stick with you today as we close summer and we start our next phase. But this one point is something you've heard before.

In fact, when I shared it with my family, we all kind of decided, you know, we've heard this so many times, but we've heard it so many times it falls on deaf ears. And I'm afraid it falls on deaf ears because we have eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.

I heard a guy say one time, he preaches the same messages over and over again. And somebody asked him, why do you do that? He said, because you're not getting it. And this point, this one point, this one point is the focus of the parable we're going to study today. And it's this.

The kingdom is imminently coming. Be ready. Are you ready to meet your God? Because some of you in this room, and I know this is a soapbox, and I'll probably get on this soapbox to the day I leave this world. But some of you in this room, you have lived false faith for decades.

And you are as lost as the worst sinner in this world. And you are no different than the Pharisees who adorned themselves on the outside. But just like whitewashed tombs, you're full of dead men's bones. And because of your pride, you will not humble yourself before your God. Repent of your sins and trust God to take your sin away.

That's hard, isn't it? Some of you in this room, you say, well, I think I'm ready. Well, thinking I'm ready and knowing I'm ready is two different things. Some of you are living in such insecurity that you don't know that God said, if you are in my hand, no one can take you out of it. And you're not living according to that promise that the Spirit lives inside of you that gives you the power that has changed you and made you children of God.

And you're not living in that way. You may get into heaven, but only by the skin of your teeth. But why would you want to do that? When you stand before the Lord one day and he says, give an account for your life, you want to say, well, I really didn't do anything.

Well, why didn't you do anything? Well, I just didn't think I was good enough. God made you good enough. God empowers you and strengthens you and gives you the Holy Spirit to guide you. We have no excuse for a lack of obedience.

And some of you in this room, you know what? You are ready. Hallelujah. Don't let shame and guilt eat your lunch. If you're ready, you know that you're ready.

But now, here's my challenge to you. Do you grieve over those who are not ready? Because if you really are ready, you know that right now we stand and there's this big door that's open. You've heard the phrase open doors of opportunity. You pray them.

You'll say, well, Lord, you know, there's this job I want. I pray youy open the door for me. Or, you know, God, there's this person I want to date. I pray youy open the door for me. We pray a lot of these little doors that are open.

But Paul prayed for an open door for the gospel.

And right now we're living in an age where the door is open. Do you know why you have doors? Do you know what a door exists to do? It separates space. It keeps what's on the inside inside, and what's on the outside outside.

Growing up, I lived behind my granny, and she kept her doors unlocked. I could walk into her house at any time I wanted to. I won because I was family.

I remember when she died and that door was locked. You went down and you jiggled the knob and you couldn't get in because she wasn't there. That opportunity to go in and sit down and have Coffee with her. I don't know if I've told you about my granny. My granny had this annoying parrot and it messed everywhere.

And if any of my family's joining me online, they're going, uh huh, you'd go. And you had to check the seats before you sat down because this thing flew everywhere. And she's the only one that could touch this bird.

There's days I wish that bird could annoy me again. She's gone. And there's coming a day when the door of the Gospel is going to close.

In chapter 24, Jesus is going to have a conversation with his followers coming off of the conversation about authority. And here's the thing. If the Pharisees aren't submitting to the authority of God by accepting Jesus as Messiah, how much better are we if we don't obey? Are we not doing the same?

And so he's going to break this down. In fact, if you'll pick up with me in verse 24, if you notice these notes, they're gone. I want you to pick up in verse number 24 with me. And my glasses did break this morning, I've got the good old readers. So says Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when his disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to him.

They just went from hearing him till three to parables about his authority and going, wow, look at this temple. It wasn't even finished. Herod started it in 20 BC and he doesn't finish it until 64 AD. And the stones of this temple were massive. I haven't yet had the chance to go to the Holy Land, but when it is destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans, it is utterly destroyed.

And now you have what's called the Wailing Wall, which is the former foundation of that temple and the stones are enormous. It took a lot of power from the Romans to pull this place down, but the Jews had pushed the envelope way too far. You know, I was thinking this week as I was sitting there reading through the Book of Acts, how arrogant the Jewish leadership was to think that they could go outside of Jerusalem to other cities and arrest Jews who are now claiming to be Christians and putting them to death. Do you know how arrogant that is? That would be like a Hall county cop coming up here and arresting somebody in here for a traffic violation.

They, in their hatred and their self righteousness had rejected the Messiah and his authority. And now Jesus is going to turn it around and he's going to actually answer two questions. He said to them, he said, do you not see these things? Truly, I say to you, not one stone here will be left on another which will not be torn down. He prophesies the destruction of that temple.

How could he do that? He was God in the flesh. He knew all. He could see all. And he said, it won't stay here.

So the disciples. Now, this is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke in the Synoptics. Here it says the disciples, Matthew reported this. Was the disciples asking this question in the book of mark, in chapter three of 13, we find out that it probably was Peter, Andrew, James and John that posed the question. You know, kind of that.

That little bit of that inner circle. And Luke leaves it kind of general, like there was a crowd. I mean, wherever Jesus went, people followed him. And so he was heading out, and he was going to a place called the Mount of Olives. In fact, if you want some Bible knowledge, here it is.

Chapter 24 and 25 are called the Olivet Discourse. Say that three times, real fast. Olivet, Olivet, Olivet.

Y' all don't do things like that just to see what would happen. Try this when you get home. Try saying toy boat three times, real fast. You never done that before. Toy boat, toy boy.

You can't do it fast. Just try it. It's really fun. He says as they were sitting there, they asked him, tell us, when will these things happen? When will what things happen?

When will these stones be torn down? So they asked him, first, when will the temple be destroyed? But then they ask this other question, and tell us, what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? Those things kind of going together. They knew enough that Jesus was coming to establish the kingdom of God.

But it didn't look like what they thought. I mean, just days before this, people were standing at the gates of the city going, hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Saying some of them thought Jesus was walking right up that path and going straight to that temple and setting up his throne to rule over the nations. But he had a detour to take, because in his kingdom, he needed people who were holy, pure, righteous, and made whole.

And the only way for that to happen was for that very son of God, that king, to take a detour to a place called Calvary and be nailed to an old, cruel, rugged cross and die the death that you and I deserve for our sins.

He didn't. And so he's going to answer this question about his parousia, his return, his appearing. And he starts into this And I'm going to kind of do some paraphrase, so come flip with me. Okay. Starting in verse four, he begins to talk about the signs of the ends of the age.

But he begins to say there'll be wars and rumors of wars, but that's not even. That's just the beginnings. And he says, but all these things are just the beginning. Verse eight of birth pangs. He says, they will deliver you to tribulation and they will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

Jesus has told them that before all of this stuff is completed, you're going to be dead.

Most of us in this room may not realize that all of them but one died martyr's death. And that was John the Baptist. But he suffered a pretty good bit. They were persecuted to the point of tribulation. Now wait a minute.

The same one who said that the Pharisees wouldn't submit to his authority, now he's telling his followers, because you've submitted to me, it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt a lot. Are you going to stick with me? What did Peter say when Jesus and John said, you know, the others turned away. Are you going to turn away too?

What did they. How did they respond? They said, lord, you have the words of life. They knew that life was so much more than what we experience even now. And so he goes on, and he says in verse 14, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to the nations.

And then the end will come, then the consummation of the ages. Then all, all of the kingdoms will be brought forth under the rule of heaven. But it's not yet. The kingdom is here. I mean, Jesus even told Pilate, I do have a kingdom, but it's not of this world.

He knew that it had to come down to that end. He says, therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, aren't you glad you came to church today? Somebody say, amen? You're looking for the abomination of desolation, which was spoken through the prophet Daniel in chapter nine. At the very end of that chapter, he's talking about the 70 weeks, and he talks about that week, what we call the week of tribulation.

If you believe in what's called a pre. Millennial, pre Tribulation way of the end of time playing out. Now you're really looking at me confused. You see, there's various views about how the end of time is going to play out. And there's two mainstreams or really three main streams of that, the premillennialism, post millennialism, and amillennialism.

What does millennialism mean? It's the word thousand out of the Book of Revelation. Some believe that thousand year reign is going to be literal and physical, that Jesus will come down and he will sit on a throne for a thousand years on this earth, ruling from Jerusalem. Some believe it to be maybe a little bit more metaphorical in the sense that, well, the post millennial view would say that things will get better because the rule has began. And then others believe, no, it's going to get bad and Jesus is going to come back.

Boom. But can I tell you something? No matter which view you hold about how Jesus is going to come back, can I tell you something? The point is Jesus is coming back and you don't know when it's going to happen.

And we have been called to be about the work of God until he does and to not be about the work that God has called us to do. We're no different than the Pharisees who rejected his authority. So let's keep on going. Y' all loving this.

So he goes on down and he gives this illustration and he talks about. He actually says verse 30, if you want to know. He answered the question. He answers the question best in Luke when he says, when will these things happen? He says in the book of Luke that when you see the armies surrounding Jerusalem, you know that the desolation of Jerusalem has come.

And that happened in AD 70 when they razed the city to the ground. And that temple is not there. And so if you do hold to a pre trib, pre meal view, one of the things you're looking for is the temple to be rebuilt. And there is evidence to show they're ready to do it, by the way. But that's where the wars and the rumor wars comes in, by the way.

About a year and a half ago, I talked through the book of Revelation on a Wednesday night. It took me about five months. And we're going to do that again. So if you're going like, man, this is a lot of stuff, just hold on. In a few months, maybe we might be rescheduling that one again.

So he goes on down, he gives this illustration of a fig tree. How many of you, how many of you have had the blessed experience to pop beans this summer?

Really? You guys are lost. You didn't pop beans and can them this summer, man. How many of you have a garden? Let's say it that way, All Right.

So you've gotten to taste the fruit. See, when Jesus said, if in the summer the fig tree starts to put out, you see the leaves grow and you, you know what's coming, but the fruit's not there yet. It's like the apple trees right now might have some apples about yay big or maybe this big. But what would happen if you pick that apple off and bit into it right now it's awful because it's not ripe. And he's saying to them, just like that fig tree, the time is coming.

So when you see all these things, recognize that he, the Son of man, is at the door. In fact, that's plural in the Greek. ESV translates that as gates. There is an open door, but, ladies and gentlemen, that door is about to be closed when he returns. According to what he said, the sign of his return, according to verse number 30, is that he appears in the sky.

There is no clock. Any of your online preachers and teachers that telling you, hey, next year he's going to appear on September 22. They are a false prophet. I'm glad I'm online. You're all false prophets.

Because no one, Jesus said, no one, not even the Son of Man, knows when the time comes, it's up to the Father to tell him. You know why that's true? You know why that's true? Because I know this has happened to you. Some of you kids in the room know this to be true too.

Your mom and dad go on a date and they say, you know what? We're going to be back at 7 o'. Clock. We expect you to have the kitchen clean before we get back. What do you do?

You set an alarm for 6:45 and you start throwing dishes in that dishwasher. You know why? Because in your flesh, if you knew Jesus was going to come back next fall, you would live life to the fullest until next August. And you were like, oh, snap, I better start living like a Christian.

Go ahead and skip to 25.

Just before this, he tells the story of a wise slave. And he says, who then is a faithful and sensible slave whom his master puts in charge of his household to give food to the rest of the house? Blessed is that slave when his master finds him doing what he's supposed to do. Did you notice in there that not only was he given instructions, he was given instructions to help other people? That is the context of the parable we're about to read.

And if you miss that because he says, but what about that slave who instead goes and gets drunk and begins to beat the slaves he's supposed to be eating. I think that's the best description for the church today in America, if I've ever heard one. We have churches full of drunk people who are living in the world, who are more concerned about the world and living in their sin than turning away from their sin. So they can be the light of the gospel that Jesus is intended for them to be. And they don't and are not concerned about their neighbor.

That's the context. And so Jesus then says, the kingdom of Heaven, verse 1 of 25, will be comparable to 10 virgins or 10 bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now, Fred, last week shared with you about how these celebrations were big. They were huge. But let me tell you something.

Just like the fig tree, just like the rumors and the rumors of wars and all those things, you kind of know when the party's about to happen. You can see the balloons and the streamers and you can see the food increasing and you see the bustle. You see all that happening. You know the party's about to happen. And here's these 10 virgins, more than likely bridesmaids to the bride.

And their job was simple. Go out and meet the groom and bring torches. Why? So you can shed light on the path of the bridegroom coming.

Five of them were prudent. The word schizophrenia is the root of that word, is the same word they're using here for prudent discerning. In fact, schizophrenia means split discernment. In other words, you're not thinking one way or another. That's what schizophrenia is.

They were prudent, they were wise, they were planning. They knew, wait a minute, the bridegroom is going to show up. And in that culture, that bridegroom showed up months before he went up. It'd been like if this was Laura and me back in the Bible times. I'd went to Kenneth Thomas and said, hey, I want to marry your daughter.

Here's the money. I'm going to pay. Here's the contract. We're going to lay all this out. And then from that point on, I would leave and I would begin to go make preparation for our home and for that wedding.

But she and I would not see each other, okay? That's why we practice that in weddings today, where the bride and groom don't see each other. It should be a little bit longer, honestly, because, I mean, most people, they get engaged and then they start having sex, and then their honeymoon Night is a waste, by the way. I'm just on a soapbox. Y' all can just take.

Y' all can handle it, can't you? But then on our wedding day, what would happen is I would then show back up and meet with her dad again and start talking about the dowry and renegotiate. And that's not a. That's not an insult to make the bride wait until the meeting was over. Because the longer that meeting took meant the more precious that bride is.

And that's what happens in this parable. It says that five of them were foolish, but five of them were prudent. You know what the word foolish means in Greek? Literally, moron. It's the word we get moron from.

They were morons. I hope you've never used that word against somebody. It says, for when the foolish took their lamps, they didn't take any oil with them. I used to have a kerosene lamp, and it has a wick in it. And if you don't have oil in it, how long does it take for that wick to burn?

About 10 minutes. But with oil, that wick can last months and years. It's the same thing. They had these lamps or these torches. And these unwise.

These foolish morons decided, you know what? We'll go on out to meet him, but we're not going to take any extra supplies. And why? Because they had not been living up to that point, expecting the bridegroom to come back. So now, while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.

It's nighttime, it says. But behold, at midnight there was a shout. Behold. The bridegroom said, come out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose and they trimmed their lamps.

But the foolish one said, oh, no, give us some of your oil for now our lamps are going out. But the prudent one says, no, there won't be enough for us. And you, too, go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourself. Now, hold on. You're gonna miss something here if you don't.

Two things. Number one, if the prudent had shared, which we're supposed to share in the kingdom, right? Share our burden. Share our stuff. Take care of one another.

But if they would have shared their oil, none of the bridesmaids would have shown up, what kind of celebration would that have been? Hey, brides and wives, how would you have felt if your bridesmaids didn't show up for your wedding? Here's the second thing to note. These foolish virgins were so foolish that even the shop owners were ready for them.

The shop owners who had no part in the wedding were ready to capitalize on their foolishness.

You realize the world is ready to capitalize and to promote your foolishness. This world thrives to promote your sin. And it's funny how Satan works, you know, Satan is the accuser. You know that, right? The same Satan who comes and taps on your shoulder, says, oh, boy, you ought to step right into that.

Is the same one afterwards, why did you step into it? Look at you. I mean, he is the master tactician. He knows exactly what to do. Lead you into the mess and then make fun of you for being in the mess.

And we take it hook, line and sinker. There's an episode of spongebob where it's called Hooks. And it's where fishing season comes along and Patrick Starr, who is a moron in the show, thinks they're carnival rides. And he's playing with the hooks and they keep telling him, stop messing with the hooks. And they get hooked.

Satan is the same way. Listen to what happens, he says in verse number 10. And while they were going away to make the purchase, which now would be after midnight, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast. And the door, was it closed? In fact, listen to what happens.

It says, later the other virgins came up saying, lord, Lord, open up for us. But you know what? At this point, their lamps weren't needed.

The light wasn't needed anymore. The money that they had just spent on the oil was wasted. But he answered, and he said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I do not know you, not everyone who says to me, lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, will enter, but not if the door is closed. Because here's the point. Jesus says, be on the alert, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

The point of this message is time. Theologians have looked at this passage and they've talked about, what does the oil represent and what does it. Because it's a parable, right? On one hand, there's a group of people who say, well, the oil is the works of faithfulness of the faithful ones. And the others say, well, no, the oil is the Holy Spirit.

I think they're kind of both hand in hand, but because the context is this. There's a servant who was told, take care of the household, who doesn't do it, gets drunk and beats them. Is Cast out. The parable we're going to talk about in a few weeks about the talents is about God is invested in you, the gospel, and he expects you to take it and invest it, not to hide it in a hole. But the truth is this.

Jesus is coming soon. He's coming back. And how does that change the way you live? You can't take for granted, you can't take for granted one single moment that Jesus can't come back right now or right now or right now. And I'm telling you, you'll know it.

You'll know it first. Thessalonians 4, 13, 18 is very clear that there will be a shout and a trumpet sound, and. And the dead in Christ will be raised first. And those of us who are alive and remain will be caught up in the air with him, to be with him forever and ever. We don't know when he's going to come back, so why take the risk?

Because if you're not ready and you walk out these doors, you don't know what's going to happen to you. If you walk out these doors and you're not sure of your salvation and you walk out these doors, you will die in your sin and you will spend eternity with. With the devil and his angels in hell. Do you want that? Because here's what we know to be true about the return of Jesus Christ.

And I will have to go to my notes because this is where all my verses are. Jesus stated directly 20 different times. I will come back again. He told his disciples in John 14:3, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself.

That where I am, there you will be also. He's coming back. And that coming back is imminent. You do not know the day when the Lord is coming, and that day it's going to be wonderful. And when I say wonderful, I'm not talking about, oh, this is so sweet.

It's going to be more like, oh, my gosh, the heavens will be split open, the heaven and the graves are going to bust open. Because when he comes back, we're going to know it. Because the dead is coming back. And I don't know what that's going to look like. It blows my mind to think about it.

But what I know is that if I'm not here, my soul and my body will be joined together again. Because he told us Jesus was the first fruits and we would follow after. So as Jesus is, we will be also John Wrote in first John that we will see him and we will know him because we will be like him. And then he goes on to talk about how that judgment will be coming. And we don't like to hear that word.

But if there's anything in this world that ought to motivate us to right living, it should be the judgment. For those of us that are saved, you know what we get? We've got grace. Because honestly, as a Christian, I still deserve death. But Jesus took my death.

And because of my faith in him, that death that I deserve, I. I won't face that. The writer of Hebrews said, inasmuch as it is appointed to men once to die and then thereafter the judgment, we will face God. We will face him and look at him face to face. And when we do, what will our answer be? I've heard people use the Gospel this way.

If you stand before God, what would you tell him when he says, what? Why should I let you come into my holy heaven? What would your answer be? Well, I went to church and, you know, I was faithful in my Sunday school class, and I read through the Bible about maybe halfway. And honestly, if that's what I was going to do, I probably would stand there with my head dropped.

And even when I think about maybe the things I've done in my life, I still think I'm going to stand before the Lord someday with my head dropped. When he asks me why should I come into heaven, I want to look for Jesus and say, because of those nail prints and the scars and his life is how I'm going to get in. I have nothing to offer but for the one who did not put their faith and trust in Him. They're going to stand there fully exposed and will have to account and pay for their sin.

I don't want to hear the words, I don't know you.

I want to know Jesus in the free pardon of sin, in regeneration. I want to know that I've been born again. Does that mean I'm a perfect person? No. None of you are perfect.

And if you are, please come see me after. Let's talk about pride, because you're not perfect. You're not perfect.

I want a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to walk hand in hand with Him. And if the sphere is inside of me when I mess up, my heart is pricked and I want to go to him and say, lord, cleanse me from that sin so that I can be right with you. Are you ready?

How many of you in this room have lived by false faith. And you know for certain that the Holy Spirit does not live inside of you. You've never repented of your sins. In fact, you're embellishing in those sins still. And you still have not brought them to the altar.

I can tell you that's the one message you will hear preached over and over, over and over again. You know why? Because I want you to get it. And my hope is that you'll start bringing people that need to hear it. The gospel will always be preached in this pulpit because our mission is to preach and to make disciples.

You've been called to do the same, to be the light and the salt in this world, to share your faith, to share the gospel, to invite people to come. Why? So that they can find hope for their lostness.

So I want to ask you three questions. Are you ready?

If the door closes, which side of the door are you going to be on? Are you going to be. As Fred shared with us last week in Genesis, chapter seven, when the animals got on the ark and Noah's family was in there, and it said, God, shut the door, I can only imagine that they were in the belly of that ship with their fingers in their ears as people were screaming unto death. Guys, there's people in our community that are screaming unto death. And it's time for us to unplug our ears and start listening.

Because if I'm ready, and you know you're ready, is God moving on your heart to make sure everybody else is ready? Because there's no greater joy than to see somebody pass from death unto life. And so then we can say, like John, come quickly, Lord Jesus, because I'm ready to see you. But, Lord, I want to make sure my neighbor and my brother and my mother and my cousin, I want to make sure they know how to be ready themselves. Father, in Jesus name, as we come to this point of decision, Lord, I don't know what to tell them to do.

I don't have some kind of crafty little applications from this. The only thing I know is to tell them to be ready. And that's something between you and them. So if they're not saved, I pray that they wouldn't hesitate one moment and come up to this altar and find Fred, Kevin, Randy, myself, Crosby, somebody, and tell them, look, I don't know if I'm saved. And Lord, quicken their spirit right now, only through your spirit, because it's your spirit that draws.

It's your spirit that saves. Lord, quicken them now that they wouldn't leave this place lost. But Lord, for the rest of us, Lord, maybe we are distracted. God, we've been living so much in the world. We don't care about the things of God.

We're that drunken servant who's not feeding those who are around us. That is the parable of the talents will tell us that we're not investing that which you've invested in us. Lord, I pray that repentance, maybe we need to come down here and we need to say, lord, I am so sorry. Show me what to do. And then lastly, Lord, in this room, I loved what I heard at the church we visited last Sunday where they said every August they have this one day, one soul, one day where they say, you know what?

There's this one person I've been praying and talking to and inviting and, Lord, this is the day. This is the day, Lord, maybe we need to have that one person. Asking for five may be too much. Asking for 20 invites, maybe too much. But if I had that one person, which I focused, Lord, I heard about people being invited yesterday and we pray that we can see fruit from that.

But now, during this time of decision, Lord, move on your people. Lord, I'm going to shut my mouth because the spirit's words are true, the spirit's words are right, and the Spirit's words can make us whole. So, Lord, speak to us now, minister to us. Tell us what we need to do. In Jesus name, Amen.

Would you stand if you have a need, if you need to be prayed for, we're down here at the front. I know this church well enough to know if somebody comes to this altar to pray, you'll have people behind you. Don't be afraid, don't be ashamed. Come and let us minister to you this morning. If you're lost, if you are lost, hear me out.

His return is imminent. Don't play with that kind of fire. Come today and deal with your sin. Let the Lord change your life and let this be your new birthday. Let's sing.