0:07 I was reminded of something that we see in Isaiah chapter 6 as we were singing. There's so much that God has bought for us 0:26 on the cross. And one of those things is is here in Isaiah 6. I was just reminded of it says in verse two, Isaiah 6:2, Saraphim stood above him, each having six wings, two he covered his face, with 0:45 two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And so even these seraraphim who've not sinned, holy beings, they cover their face so that they can't see God. But I think about what Christ did for us 1:07 and redeemed us so that one day we have the hope that with these eyes we will see the Lord. that which saraphim cannot behold, these redeemed eyes can see. And I was like, Lord, thank you, 1:26 Lord, for what you've done on the cross for each one of us. You loved us so much that we will have the privilege to see you that which Saraphim can't. We can call you as father that which the 1:44 angels can't. There's such a privilege that God has given us, more than we can think or imagine. Some of you may be going through restlessness even this morning and I was reminded of a song that we 2:03 sang some time ago. It says, "Be still my soul. The storms still recognize your voice. Who ruled who you ruled when you were here on earth? 2:20 The storms still recognize your voice. Who ruled them when you were here on earth? And I said, Lord, you the storms all around the demons, everything around me still recognize your voice who ruled them while you were 2:38 here on earth. And with that confidence, we can come before the Lord. Lord, I'm content with what you've given me. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 13. If you can say that you're content with the Lord today, 2:56 you can say this as well. Verse 5, make sure that your character is free. Hebrews 13:5, "Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never 3:11 desert you. I never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you." So, we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid." If we're content with the Lord, with what he's given us today, we can also say this. Lord, I'm content with what 3:31 you've given me. You will not forsake me. I need not be afraid of anything. Recently, I heard of a a person I knew had passed away. And as we've all probably have heard of people 3:49 who have passed away in our life, but as I was thinking about this, it was one of those things you ponder on and ponder on. And as I was thinking about that, uh I was reminded of a couple of things today. 4:08 There's a brief time on which we have life here on earth where we've been given a work to accomplish and a part of that is what it says here taking our stand between the living and the dead. This expression actually is found in 4:27 number 16. If you turn with me to number 16, this was a time where there was a man named Kora. Number 16. and he rebelled against Moses and Aaron. He was a relative of Moses and Aaron. And he said, "Is God 4:44 only speaking to you, Moses? Doesn't he speak to all of us? What makes you so special?" And God was listening to this. He was seeing all of this. And it says here verse three, number 163. Then they assembled. They 5:07 assembled together against Moses and Aaron and said to Moses, "You have gone far enough for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the 5:22 Lord?" Verse four. When Moses heard this, he fell on his face and he spoke to Kora and all his company, "Tomorrow morning, the Lord will show who is his, who is holy, and will bring him near to himself, even to the one whom he has 5:40 chosen to bring near to himself." And so, he didn't fight. He fell on his face. And then the next we see that Moses says depart from the tents of Kora. 5:58 And then you see that the earth opens up and Kora and his family. Everyone who is gathered against Moses aligning himself with Kora were swallowed up 6:14 into the into Hades alive. And so they were judged. All the congregation of Israel saw what had happened. And you would imagine that after they saw the judgment on all these people who had rebelled against the Lord and Moses, 6:33 they would have some fear. God is backing up this man. Let me not rebel like them. But it says here in verse 41, number 16:41, "But on the next day, all the congregation of the sons of Israel 6:52 grumbled against Moses and Aaron and said, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord's people." No, it was not Kora's wrong and his sin and his rebellion. It was you, Moses. It was because of you that they died. 7:14 And so instead of taking the blame in the sin and repenting, they put the blame on Moses. And it came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, they turned towards the tent of meeting and behold the cloud covered 7:31 it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. Verse 43, Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of the meeting. Verse 44. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, remember, he's not speaking to the congregation. He's telling Moses, Moses, 7:46 get away from the congregation that I may consume them instantane instantly. Then he fell on their faces. Verse 46, Moses said to Aaron, "Take up this sensor and put it put in it fire from the altar and lay the incense. then 8:03 bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them for the wrath has gone from the Lord and the plague has begun. Verse 47, then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken and ran into the midst of the assembly. For behold, the 8:19 plague had begun among the people. So he put the incense and made atonement for the people. Verse 48. He took his stand between the dead and the living so that plague would be checked. He took his stand. 8:39 On one side of him was death. On the other side was life. He was the one thing that was stopping death from consuming the entire congregation. One man. The men who were accusing him. He went and he took the incense and he 8:58 stood in between the dead and the living saying, "I'm going to stand here." And for each one of us as well, I believe we also should be like that. Men, women, and young people would take 9:16 a stand between the living and the dead. And so as I was thinking about death, there was a time when the they told Jesus about people who had died. If you 9:35 turn with me to Luke 13, [snorts] it isn't it's nice that whenever we have questions, we can find the answer to our questions in God's word. And so they asked in Luke 13:1, they 9:53 said there were some Galileans that Pilate had killed and mixed their blood with the sacrifices. And they brought this news to Jesus. And this is Jesus's response to what happened to these people who 10:09 died. Verse two, Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?" Verse three, I tell you, no, but unless you repent, 10:27 you will all all likewise perish. Verse four, or do you suppose now Jesus is telling there are other people who have also died? Let me tell you about them. There was 18 people on which the tower of Silon fell and killed 10:46 them. Were they worse culprits than all the men who were living in Jerusalem? Verse 5, I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. And so, as I was thinking about and 11:04 pondering about death, this was the reminder that came to my heart. AJ, it's not for you to think about others who are dying around you. Remind yourself, have you repented? This is a reminder for you to repent. One 11:22 more opportunity for you to repent and set matters right. In verse six, he began telling them a parable. A man had a fig tree which had been planted in the vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, and he didn't find any. Verse seven, and he 11:41 said to the vineyard keeper, behold, for three years I've come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. What was the message to this fig tree? Cut it down. Why does it even use up the ground? 11:58 Verse eight. And he answered and said to him, "Let it alone, sir, for this year too until I dig around it and put in fertilizer." Verse 9, "If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, cut it 12:16 down. Give it one more opportunity." And he's saying this after he talked about death. And when you're reminded of death, what does he say? Repent. Maybe God is giving you one more chance. Maybe has extended a year additional for you 12:31 to take opportunity to set that matter right. Three years patiently waiting for fruit, no fruit. And it was about to be cut off. But just then, one pleaded for that 12:50 tree. Do you know who was pleading for that tree? I believe it was the Lord pleading for it. Give it one more chance. Give AJ one more chance to repent one more year until I dig around it. Put fertilizer. Let me put, 13:08 feed it, pour into it. And I hope for that tree that in that one year it produced fruit, so it was spared. I hope that in the year that the Lord's giving me and you 13:28 that there's fruit of repentance that for which he spared us and given us more time. God will see the fruit of it that he did not fertilize and dig around us in vain. Does God want everybody to repent? 13:49 What do you think? And there's a verse that we could easily remember. You can say it's 1 2 3 4. 1 Timothy chapter 2:es 3 and 4. 1 2 3 4. So you can always remember. If you have a 14:08 question whether God wants us to be saved and wants everyone to be saved, you can remember this. Turn with me to 1 Timothy 2:3 and 4. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our savior who desires all men to be saved 14:24 and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Those who know the truth will be free from sin. And he wants us to come to know that for there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a 14:42 ransom for all. He paid the price so that we would not be forsaken by God. Even we sang that he took my sins and bore them alone. That day when he was on the cross, darkness fell. No one could see the 15:02 agony on the face of my savior. Forsaken by the father so that I would not have to be alone ever again. that there would be a way to me and the father that I would never be alone like Jesus was alone on the cross that day 15:20 forsaken. If you turn with me to second Peter 3:9, when God gives us time and chances and opportunities, his patience, 15:41 verse 9, 2 Peter 3:9, and the Lord is not slow about his promise, as some consider count slowness, but is patient towards you, is patient towards AJ. day, not wishing for him to perish, but for him to come to repentance. 15:59 One more opportunity for him to repent, for you to repent. And as I was thinking about that, that was my heart as well. Lord, I want to repent, but I want every single person in my midst, in the midst here, not one go back and say, you know what? God gave 16:19 me the opportunity. I heard that word of repentance. I was given that opportunity, but I did not take it to heart. That's what I was reminded of. When I hear of people passing away, I say, "Lord, let me in on the time I 16:38 have left take my stand between the living and the dead." I think it's in Ezekiel 33:1 that the Lord said, "I was looking for someone who would stand in the gap, but I couldn't find anyone." In the days of Ezekiel, he said, "I want 16:56 to find one person who would stand in the gap, who would stand between the living and the dead, but I couldn't find one." May we be those who the Lord can find who would stand. Each of us know many. It says some have passed from death to 17:12 life and there's [snorts] others who are passing from life to death. May we stand in the gap. How many of you drove to the church this morning? Raise your hand if you drove to the church this morning. Very good. 17:30 Actually, I meant you driving, not driving in the car. There's a side passenger mirror. On the side of your mirror, it says something. If most, I think all mirrors on the side mirror, it says something there in black text usually. 17:49 Do you know what it says? Okay, I heard it. Yeah. Objects in the mirror are the are closer than they appear. They're closer than they appear. You think that it's far away, but no, it's 18:07 not far away. It's closer than you appear. And our book of the month, uh, which is the final triumph, which is on the book of Revelation that I'm thankful that we have one more month. I thought we're yes, tomorrow's 18:27 today is the last day, but we have one more month. But as you see that churches, the churches that God was speaking to, just like it says objects in the mirror are closer than they seem or they appear. As you read through the book of 18:45 Revelation, the first two chapters as Jesus is pouring his heart to these churches. These churches were not ordinary churches. These were churches where it says that John saw him Jesus in the midst of these churches. Churches that he had planted the 19:03 lampstand on which the light was burning. Churches that Jesus himself acknowledged and he had a care for that he would speak into their lives that he held their messengers in their in his hands. That was the type of churches 19:21 that he was speaking to. But as he was speaking to them, you would expect all of these churches to be doing very well. But every most of them, five out of seven of them, 19:39 their perspective of what their life was was completely different from God's assessment. Five five out of the seven churches had a totally different perspective. For them, the cars were far farther away 19:58 than they thought they were. The mirror says they're closer. Be careful. It's closer than you expect. Those cars are closer than you expect. That God's assessment of you is very different from what you think it is. And I said, 'Lord, if these churches 20:20 that you held the messengers in your hand, that you walked in the midst, five of them had a totally different perspective than you did. I want to take heed, Lord. I don't want to think that it's, "Oh, that's far away. Oh, that's for them." 20:39 No, they are closer than they appear. So I want to have a judgment, a sober estimate. It says have a sober estimate of yourself. And so one church, the church at Ephesus, verse two, chapter 2, verse 20:58 two, I know your deeds, your toil, [clears throat] and your perseverance that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to test those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you found them to be false. Verse three, you 21:11 have perseverance and have endured for my name's sake and have not grown weary. And I I'm sure that the Lord could say things like that for us as well. AJ, you've been persevering. You've But could it be that I have a 21:33 perception? Oh, yeah. And the Lord's seen something completely different. AJ, you you think everything is fine, but you left your first love. Repent. I think it would have surprised him. 21:56 And the sad thing was he himself and the church himself, they they themselves didn't know the condition in which they were. They needed Jesus to tell through the Apostle John their true condition. They couldn't see it. They said 22:12 everything is fine. The cars are way over there. Another church. Chapter 3 verse one. Now to the messenger of the church at Sardis, right? He who has the 22:30 seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this. I know your deeds that you have a name that you're alive. You think you're spiritually alive. You think you're doing well. But this is my assessment. But you are dead. You're 22:47 spiritually dead. Wake up and strengthen the things that remain which are about to die. For I found your deeds not complete or perfect in my in the sight of my God. That's your correct assessment. And I think he would have also got a 23:05 surprise and the church getting a surprise as well. We thought everything was going well. We thought we were doing well spiritually but Jesus was seeing something different. And then if you turn to verse 15, chapter 3:15, 23:27 to the church at Leodysia, I know your deeds that you're neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. You're not zealous for the Lord, but you're not living in grin. You're just lukewarm. So because you're lukewarm, 23:49 neither hot or cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. This is what God is speaking. But they didn't recognize it. Verse 17, because this is the reason they didn't recognize it. Because you say, "I am rich. I have become wealthy. 24:06 And I have need of nothing." And you do not know. You don't see what I see in your life. that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Verse 18, I advise you to buy from me gold refined by the fire, 24:23 that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that your shame will not be revealed, and the eyes to anoint your eyes that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore, be zealous and repent. 24:43 And the Lord says, "I'm knocking. I'm bringing in the news of repentance. Are you going to repent? I'm knocking. Will you receive that repentance? If you turn with me to Isaiah 29, 25:06 Jesus quotes this verse. This is one of the verses that Jesus quotes to the Pharisees who are very religious. And this is what they thought. Verse 13, Isaiah 29:13. Then the Lord said, "Because these people draw near 25:23 with their words and honor me with their lip service." They draw near. They think they're close to me. They look in the mirror and they think it's close. They're close. >> [clears throat] 25:40 >> But this is what I think. But they remove their hearts far from me and their reverence or worship consists of fition. Their worship is in vain. That's what Jesus says. Their worship is in vain. They draw close to me with 25:55 their lips. They think they're close to me, but they're actually far away. And I say, Lord, if I'm far away today, if we are far away from Lord, the greatest blessing for us today is to 26:12 know our true condition. Lord, if I'm far away, let me know. At least then I have opportunity to come close to you. But I don't want to def delude myself or deceive myself into thinking everything is okay when it's not. 26:29 Everything appears well when it's not. Lord, let me not get a surprise. Let none of us get surprised. Let us be able to go into eternity with confidence that everything is right between me and my savior. Everything. 26:49 And if it's not, Lord, today is the day. If you turn with me to Luke chapter 18, Luke chapter 18 verse 9, 27:11 a danger that I see in myself. And he told this parable. Luke 18:9 he told this parable to some people or he spoke to a jay who trusted in themselves that were righteous and viewed others with contempt. Verse 10, two men went up into the 27:29 temple to pray or they came to the church meeting, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. One religious, one a sinner. Verse 11, the religious man stood and was praying to himself. God, I thank you that I'm not like other 27:43 people. I live a decent life. If I'm not a swindler, I'm not unjust. I'm not at committing adultery. Or even like this other person here, sinner. I fast twice a week. I pay tithes of all that I get. Verse 13. But the sinner, the tax collector, standing 28:01 some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes, [clears throat] but was beating his chest, saying, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner." Verse 14. I tell you this man went away to his house justified rather than the other. That means the 28:20 other one did not go home justified. He went home condemned. They went to the same meeting. One went home justified. They saw their need. God told him to repent. He said, "Be merciful to me." The sinner, he repented. He set matters 28:35 right. And he went home justified. The other one came to the meeting. Oh, I didn't commit any gross sin. Everything must be okay with me and went back home condemned. For everyone who exalts himself will be 28:54 humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. And even this morning there's going to be two paths. One, humbling ourselves going setting matters right. Any cost is not too high to set matters right. Like Zakius, he said, "I'll give half to the 29:13 poor. I'll give four times as much to all that have cheated. I'll do anything because I want a clear conscience today." And then there are others. I'm sorry. Yeah. Let's move on. Let's move on. I I said sorry, right? Let's 29:27 move on to the next thing. No deep repentance. Nope. Our memory verse for this week, 29:49 the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation. Do you know who was being spoken of in that example? You can shout it out. It was Lot. Lot, a man who took from Abraham. He 30:08 said,"Abraham, Abraham was kind and generous and he said, "You pick first to Lot." Lot chose the best part, Sodom and Gomorrah. Today, it doesn't look like the best part, but back then it was luscious. And he picked what was best 30:23 for himself. And he went off there. He lived in the midst of Sodom and Gomorrah all around sin. He set his tent towards Sodom. And for this man, 30:42 it said we read about that God knows how to rescue the godly from temptation. But before that man was rescued from godly, the godly man Lot was rescued from temptation, there was something that happened before that. If you turn 30:57 with me to Genesis 18, Sodom and Gomorrah did not know the condition of their soul. They were living in sin and they did not know that judgment was right at the door. Lot and his family did not know that 31:16 judgment was right at the door, but Abraham did. It says then verse 16, then the mo men arose up from there and looked down towards Sodom and Abraham walked with walking with them to send them off. 31:35 Verse 17, the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do? There's a judgment coming and these people are unaware of it. But this man, Abraham, my friend, how can I hold back? What's going to happen? Judgment is coming, but I'm 31:53 going to let him know. The Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I'm about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?" And then it goes on down and then you 32:10 see Abraham pleading with them, "Lord, will you not spare? If there's 50 righteous people, will you not spare Sodom and Gomorrah?" And he says, "I will. I'll spare it if I find 50. It's 50, correct? Then he goes on and 32:30 yes, first yeah, it's 50. And then he goes on little by little until he comes to what's the final number? >> 10 people. Lord, if there's 10 people, there's Lot, his wife, his two kids, their fiances, there's six, maybe four 32:49 more people. There should be at least four people in the entire city of Sodom and Gomorrah where you could find righteous people. And he's pleading with them, pleading with them. This is before God sends the angels to rescue Lot, rescue the godly 33:07 from temptation. This is before that. There's a man pleading for a person who didn't know the condition of their soul. a man who would stand between the living and the dead. I say, Lord, help me. Help us as a 33:26 church to stand between the living and the dead. There's a lot of people that we know who don't know the condition of their soul today. Lord, I pray Lord that somehow you'd open door. Moses again, if you turn with me to 33:47 Exodus 32, a people who we saw in Numbers how they complained and accused him despite all of what they did, all the Israelites did to Moses. 34:06 This is what Exodus 32 verse 7. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Go down at once for for your people whom you have brought from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves." Verse eight, "They have quickly turned aside from the 34:26 way I have commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it. And they said, "This is your God, O Israel, you who brought you up from the land of Egypt." Verse 9. The Lord said to Moses, 34:41 "I have seen the people and behold an obstinate people." Verse 10, "Now let me alone that my anger may be burned against them that I may destroy them and I will make a great make you a great nation. All these people, I'll wipe them out and 35:00 I'll make a great nation of you." They're living in sin. These people as they were worshiping the golden calf and living in sin down there in the camp, they did not realize the condition of their soul. They did not know that God's perspective of them 35:18 was they was ripe for judgment and he was going to wipe them out. They didn't know that they were living in sin. They were continuing as thinking that Moses has disappeared. God's not watching. We can live as we like. But that was not true. God was watching 35:35 and they were at the brink of judgment. But there was a man who stood between the living and the dead and Moses was pleading with them. Then 11 uh verse 11, Moses entreated or begged Lord his God and said, "Oh Lord, why does your anger 35:53 burn against your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with your great power and mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak saying with the evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from 36:05 the face of the earth? Turn from your burning anger and change your mind about doing harm to your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you made a promise, and you swore by yourself, saying, "I 36:19 will multiply their descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land which I have spoken, I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever." Verse 14. So the Lord changed his mind about the harm which he said he 36:35 would do to his people. God's hand was stayed because there was a man who pleaded for them and cried for them even though they didn't realize the condition. Jesus too that night before 36:54 Peter was going to deny him. Jesus saw what was going to happen. Peter didn't Peter didn't realize what was going to happen. Verse 31, Luke 222:31, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded 37:11 permission to sift you like wheat. And you read in Peter, he says, the devil is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Jesus said, "The enemy is like 37:29 he comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. And today also many people he stole from their life joy, peace, replaced it with guilt, killed, destroy them spiritually. You 37:48 see that all around the sin that's rampant all around and in the midst of that the devil is coming also and says he sees Peter and says you know what getting permission to sift him like wheat and Jesus does not just watch that 38:08 happen he says no I'm praying for you I'm praying for you the devil is coming yes he's coming as a roaring lion to seeking who he can devour but I'm praying for you. And I believe that the only hope we have is that the Lord himself 38:27 pleads for us and prays for us. And I say, "Lord, pray for me, Lord. Pray for me." Yes. I thank you, Lord, for my brothers and sisters who pray for me. But you also pray for me, Lord, like you did for Peter. You knew what was coming. 38:42 You know what was coming and you prayed for him. something that Peter could not see coming ahead. The Lord saw and prayed, "But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail and that once you have turned again, strengthen your 39:00 brothers." I'm praying for you. And I believe if the reason his faith didn't fail was because Jesus prayed for him. If Jesus didn't pray for him, I believe he would his faith would have failed because Jesus's prayer would have been 39:19 meaningless if he said, "I prayed for you that your faith would not fail." And for us too, the Lord has placed us in his body so that we also may pray for others that their faith may not fail. Maybe today you have faith. Maybe today 39:35 you are strengthened like Moses or Abraham to stand in the gap for your brother, sister, young person. If you think of the the parable of the lost sheep, do you know who that parable 39:54 was mainly intended for? The parable of the lost sheep. You can take a guess. Anyone turn with me to Matthew 18 40:14 verse 12. What do you think? If a man any man has a hund sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the 99 on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it truly, 40:32 I say he rejoices over it more than over the 99 which have not gone astray. Verse 14. So it is the will of your father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. It is not the will of your father who is in heaven that one 40:51 of these little ones perish. The story of the lost sheep was especially for the little children, the little ones. And I say, "Lord, you've made a promise in Isaiah 54:13." And for each of us, 41:10 we can pray this for our children. Isaiah 54:13. Verse 13, all your sons and daughters will be 41:28 taught of the Lord or they will be disciples of the Lord and their well-being will be great. There are a couple of verses that Jesus quotes in the New Testament. One of the verses that he quotes is this verse. 41:47 He quotes Isaiah 54:13. I say, "Lord, you know this verse. You quoted it. Lord, made this verse that you quoted when you were here on earth come true in each of our children's lives. You go, Lord. You disciple our children. 42:05 Lord, that which I can't do, Lord, with man it's impossible. Who can be saved? With man, it's impossible. But with God all things are possible." That's what I pray for each one of us, but especially the children. 42:22 Lord, let none of them, let none of them be unsure about what comes ahead. None of us should be afraid of what lies on the other side of death. Jesus conquered the grave and he said 42:40 where death is where is your sting. There was a man who heard the gospel from Paul. If you turn with me to Acts 24 42:59 verse 24. Acts 24 vers 24. But some days later, Felix arrived with Drusilla and his wife who was a whose wife who was a Jewish and sent for 43:18 Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. Verse 25. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, what happened to Felix? He became 43:36 frightened and said, "Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you. When I find time, I'll hear that message." You're speaking about a judgment to come. You're talking about a day when 43:54 God will call into account everything which which I've done. It's making me feel uncomfortable. So, I'll hear this message another time. Did Felix get another time? 44:12 I don't know. I don't know if he had another opportunity to hear that message again that there's a judgment coming. You have to get ready, Felix. Set matters right. This wasn't the first time. There was another time in Acts as well when he was 44:28 preaching. They said, "Oh, we'll hear you another time." I don't know if the other time came for them. And many people, they hear something. They hear something. They hear something. Oh, yeah. I'll put it off for another time just like Felix did. 44:45 And I don't know if they got the other time. But I I can't do anything about that. But I can do something for myself. And I can do that. At least I can share with everyone. 45:04 We don't know when our time is coming. We don't know. Like Felis didn't know if he'd get another opportunity. He thought he did. And so he put it lightly and says, "Oh yeah, there's a judgment to come. I'll hear about it some other 45:17 time. But I don't want to put off to another time because I don't know if I'll have another time to repent. There's a sad verse that says in Jeremiah verse 8, I mean sorry, chapter 45:34 8 20. Turn with me to Jeremiah 8:20. The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. There was a harvest time. There was a time where we were planting. We put the fertilizer. There was a opportunity that 45:53 there was there for the harvest and summer was there. A time to repent. A time to be saved. And these people are saying the harvest is gone. Summer has passed and we are not yet saved. And it says that 46:16 if you turn with me to 2 Corinthians and because for each one of us we should not be in a place every single one of us should not be at a place when it's our time to enter into eternity where we don't know Lord I don't know I went to church I didn't 46:33 know what to do to set my life right none of us should be there all of us should go like Peter said where we are waiting for abundant entrance into God's kingdom because we've set every matter right. We lived a life which was 46:48 pleasing to the Lord on this side of eternity. So when we're our name is called up yonder, we're not afraid. And so I want to share what we must do as we hear this word. It 47:06 says verse 30 20 I'm sorry 2 Corinthians 5:9 and this is Paul speaking therefore we have as our ambition whether at home or absent to be pleasing to him every single one of us if we are 47:25 pleasing to the Lord we are not afraid of that day when it comes when our day comes when we stand before the Lord if we lived a life that is pleasing to the Lord when God's putting his finger on things in our life to set matters right. 47:38 We don't put it off for another day. We fear the Lord. We say, "Lord, there's day coming where you're going to ask for an account of this. I want to set that matter right. I want to go and apologize." I believe every single person in eternity today are not 47:53 complaining about a message that they heard which was so strong for them. They may complain about a message that was too soft on them. Perhaps if I heard a stronger message, maybe I would have woken up and set matters right. 48:10 I don't know how many people are like that. Oh, why didn't you plead with me? Why didn't you wrestle with me and beg me that I would set matters right when I had the opportunity? Verse 10. For we must all appear before 48:27 the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be rewarded according to his deeds what he has done, whether good or bad. Verse 11, therefore, knowing the fear or reverence for the Lord, we persuade men. We persuade men. He's saying, set 48:46 matters right. Persuading them. I'm not going to force you, but I'm going to persuade you that you set matters right. Don't be like Felix. And then it says in verse 17, therefore, if anyone is in 49:04 Christ, he's a a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, new things have come. And this is what I desire for every single one of us who's gathered here. That there would be a new life in each one of us. that the old 49:19 lives we pass from death to life that that would happen for everyone who is humble there's hope for each one of us who's humble it says the ones who are humble like that man said who is beating himself and saying have mercy on me I don't deserve to look 49:37 up to heaven Lord have mercy on me and it says here verse 20 therefore we are amass pastors for Christ as though God was making an appeal or begging through us. We beg you on behalf of 49:56 Christ. Set matters with God. Be reconciled means set matters with God. Make sure everything is right between you and God today. Set it right. Do you know what time it is? Do you know what time it is? Turn with me to Hosea. 50:15 Verse 12, break up yourow ground. God's not asking for the physical time. 50:33 Break up the your fow ground. For what time is it? For it is time to seek the Lord. It is time to seek the Lord. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to set right things. 50:53 And so we confess our sins. Everything. Every one of us. We can either hide our sins, put it under the rug, or we can confess it. We have two choices. I remember the day when I confessed all my sins. I said, "Lord, you know 51:11 everything that I've done, but I'm going to tell you every single sin that I've done, I'm going to confess it before you. Please forgive me of all these things that I've done, thoughts, attitudes, things that I've done. Everything I 51:25 confess it, Lord. I don't want anything that I have lingering stuck to me. Everything I want to confess and set it right." And it says, "He who confesses it and forsakes it shall receive mercy." How do I know I truly confessed it? 51:40 Because I forsake it. I don't want to do it ever again. And then I re repent. I turn from it, Lord. I don't want to ever do it again, Lord. I pray that the Lord would give us hearts of repentance. A heart that stony heart. Only the Lord 51:57 can do. It says in Ezekiel, I will take away a stony heart and I'll put a heart of flesh, one that melts like wax. It won't harden. And I pray that for every single one of us that we would have a soft heart today. 52:16 A soft heart. The proud one, his soul is not right within him. That's what it says in Habac. But the just shall live by faith. How will I have faith if I'm humble? God will give me faith. A faith that will say, "Lord, I've done many wrongs. Be 52:36 merciful to me as a sinner. Give me that which I cannot earn. A soft heart which will be willing to set any matter right, to set things right with you first of all and with every single other person." and believe. 52:55 Believe. I'll close with this one verse I want us to remember. It's Isaiah verse [clears throat] 43. I mean chapter 53:10 43. Isaiah chapter 43. The proud one will not believe, but the humble word, humble will take God at his word. Verse four, since you are precious in my sight, 53:27 since you are honored and I love you, I want us to take that to heart. God has paid a heavy price for us. And it's not for us to it's for us to receive. As many as received him, he gave them the right to become children of God. And I pray that 53:46 each one of us will have a soft heart. Ask the Lord for a new heart today, new spirit. Fill us with his Holy Spirit. And remember that we're precious. Confess it. Say, "Lord, I want to believe your word. You said that I'm 54:01 precious in your eyes. Lord, you gave up everything. You forsake. You were forsaken by the father so that I would be precious in your eyes. that you love me. The father loves me as he loves Jesus. Let us pray. 54:18 Heavenly Father, I pray today, Lord. Felix, put it off for another day, but the time is now to seek the Lord. I pray for every single one of us, Lord, that you would take hearts of stone and 54:35 put a heart of flesh. That none of us will ever be uncertain of what eternity holds, Lord. That we would be serious, Lord. We take the things of eternity serious, Lord. That we would repent today, Lord. That we would set matters today so that when 54:53 that day comes when we stand before you, we have no uncertainty. We know where we stand, Lord. And I pray Lord just like it says Lord if there's bees any wicked way in me that I don't see Lord show it to me Lord so that I 55:07 can set matters right on this side of eternity I pray that every single person here will have a confidence that they're right with the Lord that they can step into eternity with all confidence that a wonderful entrance is made for them. I 55:23 pray Lord for every single one here that today will be the day of salvation Lord that all things old things are passed that they've translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of your marvelous light. We ask in Jesus name. 55:42 Amen. [music]
