Hello, how are you? I know that this isn't the normal way to ask for a prayer, you know, because I would normally get out, but it's cold. Oh, no, no, no, that's quite right. My name's Tony. Hi, I'm Autumn, Tony. Autumn, what a beautiful name. Thank you. You have someone back there with you? Yeah, my daughter, Inaya. How old is Inaya? She's 10. She's 10? Yeah. Would you like Bibles? We would like Bibles. How many would you like? Two, please. You bet. Be right back. There you go. And Autumn, how can I be praying for you today? Well, we're having a really hard time finding a new home. We've been where we're at for 17 years, and it got sold. So you were renting? Yeah, we were renting. And now we're just out looking, trying to find a place. And everything is so different from 17 years ago, you know, when I moved. And so much more expensive. Yeah, and so much more expensive. So it's taking a toll on my mental. But I know I have to be strong for my children, but it's Are you living here in town? Yeah, I live right down the highway. Do you have a place presently? Are you safe? Yeah, I'm still there. But, you know, we have about 17 days. Do you have family here in town? My mom lives here. Yeah. Might she be able to help in temporary? No. That just wouldn't work? No. It's her and my brother that live in their house. Okay. It's only a two bedroom. Sure. And and it's your daughter you're I'm forgive me if I'm asking too many personal questions. I'm I'm not interrogating you I'm just trying to get to know you that's all Sure, yeah, that's difficult Autumn do you have any particular spiritual beliefs? I Well... Is it alright if I lean? Is that okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um... Not really. Okay. You know, we were going to a Baptist church in Rock Island called... Okay. And then they got... That one, it got shut down because it got sold and they moved all the way to East Moline and... I mean, I went a couple times with the drive and... Yeah, just from Moline over to East Moline could add quite a bit of time. And you're living here on this side of the river? Yeah, that just adds to it, of course. We visit different churches here and there. Well, you're certainly welcome to visit ours. Information's there in the Bible, in each of the Bibles. Do you know where the Walmart is off of West Kimberley? Yes. We're maybe a half mile past that on Kimberly, is where our church is. Just past Hickory Grove and Kimberly. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So you and your family are welcome. Okay. Yeah. So, this may seem like a strange question. And since we've known each other now for five minutes. Hey, it's a long time these days. Autumn, if you were to die today, and I don't want that, obviously. If you were to die today, and you were to stand before God, and God said, Autumn, why should I allow you into heaven? What might you say? I would say because you know my heart. I pray every day, morning, night, noon, you know, just for people. People, someone could be standing across the street and I pray they make it home and stay warm. You know, he knows my heart and I love God. So I know that without him, there wouldn't be us and we are nothing without him. So what do you hope God will know about your heart? I hope he knows that even though I don't visit the church faithfully every Sunday and have a home, that I don't love him any less, and I don't believe in him any less, and I will always have him in my heart and carry him with me whenever, all day, every day, and wherever I go, and in everything that I do. Well, I can assure you that perfect attendance is not something that God looks at. Going to church every Sunday makes no one right with God any more than going to Culver's makes them a cheeseburger. Here's the thing that God says about your heart, which is exactly the same thing he says about mine. Okay, so there's no judgment in this. But the word of God says that the heart is desperately sick and wicked. Who can know it? That's in the prophet Jeremiah. And then in the book of Romans, the Bible declares that there is no one who is good, no not one. All have turned aside. Together they have become useless. And then Jesus said this. He said, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Now I'm guessing, Autumn, that you're probably young enough to be my daughter. And I can assure you that in about 60 years of life, I have not lived a perfect day in my life. But if I'm going to rely on my heart, based on what the Word of God says about the human heart, and based on what I really know about my own, there's no hope in my heart. There's no hope in my heart. In the flesh, in the pound of meat. I have lots of hope and I'm gonna share that with you. But I'm saying, if I look to my own heart for hope, if I look for my heart, to my heart as the source of my hope, all that hope will be false because of what I know about my own heart. Word of God says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. that out of the abundance of our heart, our mouth speaks. So every wrong thing we say isn't a product of our mind. It's actually a product of our heart. So I was a police officer for 20 years out in Los Angeles a long, long time ago. And one of the best pieces of evidence against somebody to prove their innocence or guilt was their own confession. the outpouring of their heart of what they actually did. Not something coerced, no false promises, hey, just sign here and you'll walk away. No, but better than videotape, better than an eyewitness who might have something against the person, is a person who writes down in their own words what it is that they did or what it is that they said. My heart, Autumn, is the best piece of evidence God has to condemn me, to find me guilty, because He knows my heart perfectly. And I like to think good things about my heart. But if I'm honest about my heart, if I'm honest about the thoughts I've had today, if I'm honest about the things I might have said today, if I'm honest about every action, If I'm honest about it, it's going to show my guilt. It's not going to show my innocence. So what I learned a long time ago is that I needed a new heart. I needed a heart transplant because if I stood before the judge of the universe and I said, here's my defense, God, my heart, Tony, you're guilty. Have you ever been in a courtroom before? Yeah. Doesn't matter why. Just asking if you're familiar with that kind of process. Okay. And because of what I did for so many years, I'm familiar too. Right, right. In fact, Abraham Lincoln, when he was a lawyer, before he became the president, he said these words. He said, anyone who goes into court to defend themselves has a fool for a client. And so anyone and that holds true in the ultimate courtroom anyone who stands before God to defend themselves Here's my heart has a fool for a client. So let's say I'm going to paint a picture here. It's a little bit graphic, not too bad. Um, and there's no assumption that you would ever do anything like this. It's just a word picture. Okay. Just an illustration. Jesus often talked in parables, right? So instead of stopping here to have a nice conversation with a strange old man, you decide, you know what? Things are really tough. I'm going to go rob the shell station. Yeah, I know. And you're not good at it. And you get caught. And you're arrested. Your child is taken into protective custody. You get an attorney. And you write out a confession. You feel remorse for what you've done. No one coerced you. No one threatened you. Your attorney didn't make you any false promises. The DA didn't make you any false promises. Right. Just because of the weight on your own heart, you write out this confession. And the confession doesn't show your innocence. The confession shows your guilt. Right, right. So, you're found guilty in the court by the judge. And it's the day of sentencing. And you stand before the judge, having been found guilty. And the judge asks, Autumn, what do you have to say for yourself? And you say, Your Honor, I confessed. You know my heart. Yeah. And the judge says, then I sentence you to death. Stay with me. Because there's hope, Autumn. I haven't even gotten to the hope yet. There's hope. So unlike our system today, where you're going to have, would typically have the next 10 or 20 years to make appeals of that sentence, and rightly so, they're going to whisk you into the next room and they're going to carry out the sentence immediately. But before they do that, and Autumn's going, he is going to get to hope, isn't he? Before they do that, the judge who found you guilty, the judge who sentenced you to die, stands up from behind his bench. He takes off those black robes of authority. He steps down and he says, Autumn, you are guilty and the law requires your life, but I'm going to take your place. And the judge walks into that next room and he voluntarily lies down on a gurney with your name on it. and he allows a needle to be driven into his arm with your name on it, and he dies the death that you were supposed to die, not because you're innocent, not because you're good, and not because your heart could help you in any way, but for no other reason than the judge chose to extend that grace and that mercy and that love to you. What would you think of that judge? I would think that he's crazy, but I would appreciate him. Okay, so let's say, so this happens. It's a courtroom full of people. Yeah. The witnesses from the Shell Station are there. Your family's there. It's not a big town, something like that happening, gets a lot of attention, and the courtroom's full of people. And they see what just happened, and they watch you be set free. and that judge take upon himself the death sentence ordered against you. People are going crazy. The prosecutor's angry. That's not justice. Your defense attorney doesn't know what to say. Your family's in tears. The victims are going, wait a minute, how is that right? And Autumn walks out of the courtroom, and by the time you get outside of the courthouse down here on Fourth Street, Our local media is all over the place. Cameras, microphones, reporters, and they only want to talk to one person, and that's Autumn. Autumn, we heard what just happened. What do you have to say? He was crazy. I confessed. I told him he should look at my heart and just let me go, but he didn't. So I'm free. So what? So this picture, hi sweetie, this picture that I painted for you, Autumn, is a picture of what God actually did and how most people respond. God the Father sent his Son to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, truly God, truly man, without sin. He lived a life of perfection for some 33 years that neither Autumn nor Tony can live for 33 seconds. Yet even though he knew no sin, even though he was not guilty of anything, he voluntarily goes to a Roman cross. He suffers and dies a death he did not deserve to take upon himself the punishment people like you and me rightly deserve because of our hearts. He dies on that cross, he sheds his innocent blood, he's buried and then three days later he forever defeats sin and death when he rises from the grave and the response of most people is, so what? So what? That's the response of most people. He's crazy. I guess I should appreciate that, but it's really not going to have any impact on my life. That's... It will though. A huge one because you're set free. You have another chance to go about life and do things the right way. But you must receive the gift. And what God requires of you is the same thing he requires of me and every other human being. And that's by faith we repent and put our trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, not Jesus plus our heart. So my encouragement for you and to you and the hope I have for you Is that no matter what this world throws at you, Autumn, and obviously things are tough right now, they might get better, they might get worse. I'm not a prophet or the son of a prophet. I've got no prediction either way. But the promises of God are better than a new home. They're better than new clothes. They're better than anything this world has to offer. He promises, if you will put your faith in His Son, and His Son alone, that He will adopt you as a beloved daughter. He will change your name, Autumn. You'll still be called Autumn, but you'll no longer be called wretched sinner. You'll no longer be called condemned. You'll be called beloved, forgiven, free. He'll give you new clothes. You'll no longer be clothed in the sins that you have committed. You'll be clothed in the righteousness of His Son. So that when you stand before Him, instead of seeing your sin, He will see the righteousness of His Son credited to your account. And He will welcome you into His kingdom, not because of who you are, but in spite of who you are. Not because of what you've done, but in spite of what you've done. and he'll give you a new home. It won't be a rental property in Davenport. It's okay. It won't be a rental property in Davenport. It won't be a mansion in Bettendorf. It'll be heaven. And the Bible says that those whom He draws to Himself through faith in His Son, He never casts out. He'll never un-adopt you. The Bible says, For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, and that includes us, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. But Autumn, you have to receive that gift. and you have to come to God on His terms, because God doesn't negotiate with sinners. Any more than a good judge negotiates with a convicted criminal. God has provided one way for you to be set free, forgiven, loved perfectly, forever, and that's through Jesus Christ. He said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. It's a narrow way, but there's tons of room And there's room for you, Autumn, if you'll but put your faith and your trust in Jesus and Him alone and not your heart. Does that make sense? It does. And what I just shared with you is what we believe. It does. That's what we believe. It does. So let me ask you, is there any sin in your life, and you don't have to tell me what it is, if there is. Is there any sin in your life that you love so much, that you want so much, that you're willing to die and perish in your sin and spend eternity in hell so that you can enjoy that? No. Then turn to Christ and live while God's given you time. Turn to Christ and live. And as important as a roof for you and your family is, your soul's more important. Jesus said, What does it profit a person if they gain the whole world, but yet forfeit their soul? What will they give in exchange for their soul? Well, I'd like to have both because I don't want me and my kids in homelessness. Of course. And I don't want that for you either. No. I don't want that for you either. It's not an option. Right. Yes. I agree. I agree. We've been there for 17 years, so yes. Yeah. No, I understand. I really do. So so it's so autumn it's not an either-or it's a both and and and Unless you give all of you to Christ Then you'll have none of him Now look, again, I haven't walked a perfect day in my life, Autumn. I'm not saved by what I do, I'm saved by the one who did it all for me. But when God draws a person to themselves, he literally gives them a new heart. He takes their heart of stone, that would say, I don't really have any particular spiritual beliefs, and he gives them a heart of flesh. And you begin to love the things that God loves, and you begin to hate the things that God hates, not other people, but namely your own sin. And you want to live a life pleasing to him, not to earn his love or to keep his love, but because you're so thankful for the love he's shown. And you don't put conditions on it saying, God, I'll love you if you work this out in 17 days. So make sure your faith is in Christ alone. And even if he doesn't, I have to, no matter what, I'm gonna have to figure it out. But God is gonna, I'm gonna always love the Lord. Always. He's gonna always be the first and last person that I talk to every day. He's gonna always be the main man on my mind all the time. He's gonna always be all of that. He always has. Just make sure you're not trusting in your heart. Yeah. But you're trusting in Christ. Yeah. Again, not Jesus plus Autumn's heart, but Jesus because of Autumn's heart. Jesus because of Tony's heart. I need Christ because of my heart. That's why I need Christ. Because I've sinned against Him every day of my life. They're heated. A friend got me these because it gets cold out here. Well, I've kept you a really long time. Where is my... I have cards in here. There we go. This is me My wife Maria and I We're what's this year this year is year 39 for us and our 29 year old daughter Amanda we live here in town and That card is an open invitation to you and your family to come over for dinner and spend time together. And I'm going to pray for you before you go, but spend time together, pray together. All the information about the church is there. You and your family are welcome. And I can assure you the church isn't perfect because I'm a member. That's all the information you need to know that our church needs work. Okay. But what I've shared with you, that's what we believe. And what I've shared with you is there. And that's what we believe, God's word. Okay? Father, I thank you so much that Autumn and her daughter have stopped today. It's an answer to prayer to get to meet her and to get to spend time with her and to communicate the gospel to her. I pray, Father, that you would shower this lovely lady with your grace and your mercy and your love. that you would indeed, Father, if it be your will, to cause her to be born again to a living hope, that the new heart that every one of us needs, that she would receive through faith in Jesus Christ. I pray, Father, You would give her wisdom and discernment over these next 17 days. And as uncertain as the times are, as frightening maybe this situation may be, may her hope and peace rest in You and You alone. Your Word tells us, Father, to be anxious for nothing, but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make our requests known to You. and your peace that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. I pray, Father, that in this time of uncertainty, Lord, that she would find perfect peace in the only place that peace can be found, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. Please bless Autumn and her family to the extent that I or our church is able to help or to care or to encourage. I pray, Father, that you would make that known. And I do pray that I would hear from or see Autumn again, Lord. Please, Father, most of all, bless her with the gift of salvation. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you, Autumn. Thank you so much. Thank you. And again, all I know is you're Autumn. No salesman's going to come to your door, but you know how to get a hold of me if I could be praying for you. And that invitation to share dinner with me and my family, I know that might sound weird, but we love to bring people into our home and to care for people and to love on people. And so I'll hope and pray for your call. And I won't be surprised when I get it, if I get it. And the doors always open both in my home and in our church. Thank you. God bless y'all. And please be careful on the road. It's starting to get icy. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. God bless you. All righty.