Tonight in the gospel we want to turn to the book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16, and we'll begin our reading at the 16th verse of the chapter. Acts 16, beginning our reading at verse 16 of the chapter. And it came to pass as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with the spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by sooth saying. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that The hope of their gains was gone. They caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, brought them to the magistrate, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. The multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them. When they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stalks. And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly, it was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. The keeper of the prison, waking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. And he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized he and all his straight way. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Amen, and we'll end our reading there at the end of verse number 34. Let's briefly unite in prayer. Father in heaven, we come now to the preaching of thy word. Lord, grant the help of thy blessed spirit. It is he who helps and assists the preacher. It is he who enables the sinner. O God, their hearts changed by him, regenerated. Enlightenment brought to the darkened mind. Lord, we pray therefore for the workings of thy spirit. Grant, Lord, this meeting to count in the life of some individual or individuals. May there be a turning on to Christ. May this cry, the jailer cry, go up from the soul tonight. Sir, what must I do to be saved? So answer prayer. Help me now, I pray. In all of my weakness, I ask this in our Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. Up until the mid-1800s, prisons, at least in England, were places of punishment only with no concept of rehabilitation for the prisoners. One of the forms of punishment was to to crank a handle attached to a large wooden box. Now the cranking off that handle did nothing but simply turn a little counter. The prisoner had to turn that handle 10,000 times in eight hours. that was equivalent to turning the handle every three seconds or so. As an extra punishment, a prison officer could tighten a screw to make the turning of the handle even more difficult for the prisoner. As a result, prisoner officers became known as screws. That's where it comes from, screws. Well, tonight we have read about a screw, a prison officer who came to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Tonight I want us to consider this individual. Let me give you a little background as to how Paul came to be in this prison at this particular time. You see, wherever the Apostle Paul went in his life, there was either a revival or there was a riot. And it was no different whenever the Apostle Paul came to visit the city of Philippi, the principal city of the region known as Macedonia. Now, he'd come to be in this place as a direct result of God's direction in his life. Through a vision in the night God had sent to the apostle Paul, he had seen a man from Macedonia crying on to him to come over and to help them. Without delay, Assuredly knowing that God had called them to preach the gospel in that particular region of the world, Paul and his accompanying band of individuals boarded a ship from Troas, and after a few stops they arrived in the city of Philippi. God started to work. On the Lord's day, he made his way to the riverside, and there he would meet a lady, a lady called Lydia, who was a seller of purple cloth. God miraculously opened her heart as the apostle Paul preached the word of God. She was convicted of her sin and brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Not only her, but also her household were brought to that point. of deciding for Christ and entering into the joy of sins forgiven. Paul's next convert in the city of Philippi was a damsel who was possessed with a spirit of divination. And that's when it all kicked off in the city of Philippi. You see, this girl had been employed by men who exploited her demonic powers in line to order their own pockets with money. However, now being made a new creature in Jesus Christ, this girl obviously left her old way of life behind now to walk in paths of righteousness. And that adversely impacted the revenue stream of her old employers. Well, you can imagine what their response was. Their response is given to us in the verses 19 through to 21. And when her master saw that the hope of her gains was gone, they caught Paul. Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our sitting, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. On hearing this damsel's ex-employer's testimony, Acts 22 goes on to tell us that the multitude rose up together against them, Paul and Silas, and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them. The magistrate's sentence is swiftly executed. Paul and Silas are inflicted upon their bodies many stripes, and then they are immediately transported to the prison in Philippi. Imprisoned there until the morning where they would stand before the authorities. In charge of their imprisonment was this man that we're going to consider tonight. Philippi's jailer. Acts 16 verse 23 informs us that this jailer was charged to keep them safely. What occurs in the intervening hours will lead to this man's conversion. And that's what I want to consider tonight in a message I've entitled The Salvation of a Screw. The Salvation of a Screw. Now before looking at a number of key elements that mark this man's conversion to Jesus Christ. I want you to notice his conduct before he ever came to faith in the Savior. In verse 24 of the chapter, it gives a little insight of his behavior towards the preachers who were now entrusted into his care. Verse 24 says, who having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stalks. I believe that these words simply reveal to us the utter indifference that this prisoner officer, prison officer had for the plight of God's servants. He certainly had no sympathy for them. He certainly had no pity towards these men who had been brutally beaten almost to death by others. As for salvation from sin, it wasn't even on this man's radar that particular night. He was going to simply go about his business, do his job, make sure all the prisoners were safely behind bowers and unable to escape custody. I put it to you this evening that you're maybe like this man, this prison officer. You've maybe gathered into this house tonight, you're maybe listening to the recording of this message and you're very much like this individual that we'll be thinking about. An individual that really has no time whatsoever for the gospel preacher and most certainly not for the message that he preaches. A person who comes and who has come to this meeting house with no intention, no intention whatsoever of ever being saved from your sin and brought into a right relationship with Jesus Christ. You're an individual who's just quite happy to get on with life, bringing in a reasonable wage, Maybe providing a comfortable standard of living for yourself and for your family, an individual that simply enjoys the good things of life, the pleasures of this life. Well, I pray that if that be your condition this evening, that God will do in your life what God did in the life of this prison officer, this unnamed jailer, something miraculous, something wonderful that caused him to turn from his sin to trust in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. So with regard then to this Scrooge salvation, I want you to think firstly with me the commotion that he never heard. The commotion that he never heard. Having assured Paul and Silas, having ensured that they were unable to escape by placing their feet in wooden stalks and taking them to the innermost part of the prison, this dealer returned to his quarters to have an early night. We find in verse 27 that he's sleeping. And the keeper of the prisoner awaking out of sleep. This man was catching 40 wings, sleeping on the job, we would say. Here's a man who was undisturbed about all that happens before the earthquake takes place. And what takes place? Well, we know the story. We've read it tonight. There's a commotion at midnight. That commotion is with regard to two men that he has imprisoned and placed in the inner prison. Now, it's not a commotion with regard to a potential breakout. No, it's not that, but it's rather a commotion with respect to singing and to praying. You see, Paul and Silas, they begin singing praises to God at an unconventional hour. in unconventional circumstances, in an unconventional place. Now that was different. This singing and this praising of God, this was different. Because what was normally heard in that prison was rather sighing rather than singing. nor rather just to be, and it was, that the groans of prisoners, having been beaten through the day, would have echoed around the prison corridors. And yet this night, from the innermost part of the prison, we would say the high security wing, from the high security wing of the prison, singing is heard, singing, praising of God, Verse 25, And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. It doesn't say that this prison officer heard them. I believe that he missed it all. He missed the singing of praise. He missed the offering of prayer. And yet here's a man who is oblivious to all that is happening. I believe that if this man had have heard the singing, if he had have heard the praying, it would have at least did one thing. It would have aroused his curiosity. You see, this praising of God would have caused this man to ask the question, why and what are these men so happy about? He knew their circumstances. He had witnessed probably the beating of them. He had known how he himself had mistreated them. And I'm sure he would have asked the question, why are they so happy? You see, he would have come to realize that a Christian's happiness is not dependent on their external circumstances, but rather a Christian's happiness is dependent on an inward experience. As I said, he was oblivious to it all as he slept on the job. A wonder sinner. Have you ever watched on in amazement at how a Christian faces the troubles, the trials that come into their lives? Have you ever watched on? Have you ever wondered? Have you ever considered the calmness that they've met such trials with? What peace they exhibit whenever the storms of life arise? the presence of mind that they have to meet the sickness and the sorrow that comes into their personal lives or their family. I'm sure you've asked yourself the question, how can they ever face such? How can they ever face such things in such a way? And the reason why you ask that question is because you, in and of yourself, you know that you could never face life's trials and troubles as they do. Well, you know, sinner, that you would meet the trials and troubles of life sighing rather than singing? How could you ever sing in the midnight hour? How could you ever sing in the darkness with no God to supply grace and strength to meet the difficulties with? I say, sinner, you are to be pitied tonight. You're not to be envied by any believer here tonight. Rather simply, you are to be pitied in this house this evening. because you have no one to cheer light's dark valleys, no one to console you when the unexpected crashes into your life. Oh, that you would come to know the one of whom Elihu knew, and he spoke of him there in Job 35 in the verse 10, God your maker, who giveth songs in the night. God gave these saints songs in the night. But this man was oblivious to it all, a commotion that he never heard. The second point regarding this prison officer's salvation, I want you to consider with me, is the crisis he faced. The crisis that he faced. As Paul and Silas sang praises to God, Acts 16 verse 26 informs us, and suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loose. This night was a night that the jailhouse literally rocked, swayed from end to end. The immediate result of that earthquake that night was that all the cell doors opened and every prisoner's chains were loose. I can only but imagine what that jailer must have felt. when he was awakened, disturbed, out of his slumber and out of his sleep. I'm sure that he feared exceedingly as rubble and wooden beams maybe would have fallen around him, as debris and dust flew here, there and yonder, as doors from prison cells swung on their hinges at tremendous force. because of a trembling earth beneath. He probably thought to himself as the ground was shaking, I'm a goner. This is it. The end of the world has come. Here I am. I'm going out to meet God. I'm going out to eternity. Whatever his feelings were, at this point, the jailer was aware that he was in the middle of a crisis in life. This was a point of crisis. There was one thing for sure, though he was sleeping before this, he was no longer sleeping. You know, many sinners find themselves spiritually sleeping, sleeping, sleeping with regard to their soul salvation. And so what preaching has been unable to do, and what godly counsel has been unable to accomplish, and what the Spirit's strivings has not achieved, God then is left with no option but to shake their little world. No option but to cause an earthquake to arise the sinner out of the slumber and the sleep that they're in. Many, many, are the earthquakes that God sends into the lives of those who are not seeing. It may be the earthquake of a health scare, the earthquake of some accident at work or on the road. It might be unexpected death within a family circle or a friend or a work colleague, some natural disaster somewhere in the world, some local tragedy that takes the local headlines. Maybe it's financial insolvency, maybe it's unemployment, maybe it's marital breakdown. Many are the earthquakes that God can use to arrest the sinner in their sin, to get the sinner's attention, because that's the problem. The sinner's attention is so taken up with many other things that God somehow has to get their attention. I wonder, are you here tonight, and God's been getting your attention. God's been shaking your little world. I tell you, sinner, God can rock your little world. And you see that empire that you're building up around yourself? He can cause it to crash down around you. Before God sends such an earthquake, I would encourage you to respond to His gentler calls in the gospel. I would encourage you to come and to rest your soul on the rock that never trembles, the rock of ages. I want you to notice the impact of this crisis in the life of this man. I want you to look at his mental state. Notice how this crisis affects this man mentally. Verse 27 informs us that so distraught was he about what had happened that this man was on the verge of taking his own life. On seeing the prison doors open, we read, and he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled. He was at a point of almost no return. He is about to commit suicide, about to take his own life, about to plunge his own soul into eternity. And maybe, just maybe, there's an individual here and you've contemplated doing such a thing. You've contemplated taking your own life. You've had suicidal thoughts. such as the guilt of your sin, the hopelessness of your experience and your life and your circumstances. It seems to be that there's no better way or no other option but for you just to leave this world behind and really move yourself off the stage of human history. If that is you tonight, I would counsel you as Paul counseled this man, do thyself no harm. Do thyself no harm, because God loves you. Sinner, do thyself no harm, for Christ died for you. Sinner, do thyself no harm, for there's hope for the hopeless in the gospel. Sinner, do thyself no harm, your past can be forgiven. Sinner, do thyself no harm, new life can begin. Sinner, do thyself no harm, the blood of Jesus Christ his Son can cleanse you from all sin. Sinner, do thyself no harm. The crisis he faced. Are you in the middle of a crisis? Maybe God has brought you there. God has brought you low in order to bring you on to himself. The third point about this prison officer's salvation, the conviction that he felt, the conviction that he felt. In verse 29, we read that this man made his way to Paul and Silas, and he came trembling. He came trembling. In Philippians 2, verse 12, we are exhorted to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Fear and trembling. That verse in Philippians does not mean that we work for our salvation. That salvation is obtained by our works, because elsewhere we're told in Scripture that it is not of works lest any man should boast. And Paul will go on to state in Philippians 2, verse 13, that it is divine work that accomplishes salvation, for it is God that worketh in you both to well and to do his good pleasure. And so we must put away any thought that salvation is obtained by some personal effort on our part. No, no, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling means that we are to be diligent about it. We're to come reverently concerning this particular matter. The matter, am I a Christian? Am I genuinely saved? If I die tonight, would I be sure of heaven? We are to come with reverence and with awe and with trembling as we think about such things. All idleness, all apathy. All indifference is to be cast aside and this matter is to be worked upon until it is a known reality within a person's life, the reality that I have been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. This man came trembling. And I believe that this trembling was not only because of the fear that he felt with regard to his physical condition, but I believe that it was trembling of heart, this trembling of soul. This is what is known as conviction of sin. You hear very little about it in preaching. And not only that, you see very little of it as you preach. Conviction of sin, and yet it is necessary. It is necessary for the conversion of any sinner. Now, I am not saying that a sinner must outwardly tremble, as it were, when the gospel is preached, or to fall down into the service and to shake uncontrollably on the floor before they are saved. But I say, surely there ought to be a trembling of heart. Surely there ought to be a trembling of soul as the sinner comes to realize the loathsomeness of their sin, as they come to appreciate the dreadfulness of their sin, as they come to understand the end of their sin. Surely there ought to be a trembling, trembling of soul, trembling of heart. Surely the soul should shudder at the very thought of where sin is going to take the soul. going to take it out into the outer blackness and darkness of hell forever, where there is everlasting burnings, where the wrath of God is poured out undelivered upon the soul. Surely the soul ought to tremble. Surely you ought to tremble, sinner. Tremble at the thought that I'm going to die in my sin without a Savior. Conviction of sin. The conviction he felt, he came trembling. Matthew Mead said, spiritual conviction is an essential part of sound conversion. True conversion begins in convictions, and true convictions end in conversion. Until the sinner is convinced of sin, he can never be converted from sin. And so I asked you, you're an unsaved individual. this house tonight, I'm asking you, have you ever trembled at the thought of what it would be like to die unsaved and to lift your eyes in hell? Have you ever trembled at that thought? Have you ever trembled at the multitude of sins that stand on your sin account that still remain unforgiven? Have you ever trembled at the prospect of going out to meet God still in your sin? I tell you, do not let such thoughts drive you into despair, but let those thoughts, let that fear, drive you into the arms of Jesus Christ tonight. Let that trembling heart of yours propel you to the cross of Jesus, where you can find relief and peace as you rest your soul upon the finished work of Christ. I tell you, there is a fear that is a good fear. Think of it. You're standing above the cliff. Your feet are just about to go over the edge. You look down, down, down, hundreds of feet down. If you take a further step, you're going to plunge to your death. But there's something that comes upon you. What is it? Fear. And what does that fear do? It draws you back from the brink. That's what it does. That's a good fear. That's a good fear, the fear that drives you and brings you back from the brink, the brink of hell, the brink of eternity. The fear that drives you to Christ, I tell you there is a good fear to have. Fear Him who can kill and destroy both body and soul in hell. You don't need a fear about someone coming into your house and stabbing you through hundreds of times with some knife or bringing out a shotgun and putting that shotgun to your head and blowing your brains out. Those are fears, yes, to have. But Jesus Christ said, above those fears, fear Him who can destroy soul and body in hell. Oh, to have a fear of Him, a fear of God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Oh, here's a man, he comes trembling. This fear, this fear, he doesn't run away. No, he runs to those who can help him. The conviction he felt, number four, the contrition he expressed. The contrition he expressed. I believe that contrition is viewed in his posture. What do we read? Well, we read there that he calls for a light. He came in, verse 29, and trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, hours before he lorded over them. hours before he exercised authority over them, and he threw them into the inner prison. But now, what does he take? He takes the position of the penitent. He takes a position of the contrite one, contrition before the ones that he had wronged. Now, while no sinner is saved from their sin by falling down before a preacher or a priest or an idol, yet the sinner must come and fall down at the feet of Christ. to take that place, the proper place, the place of contrition, the place of penitence, to come before God, bowed down by their sin, humbled in light of His holiness and their sinfulness, if they are to experience God's salvation. I asked you tonight, are you bowed down? Sinner, are you bowed down? Are you tonight, are you fallen down, fallen down in heart and in mind? Are you bowed down by sin's guilt and sin's disgrace and sin's shame tonight? Does grief, does grief fill your mind and heart? Does it mark that heart of yours when you think about your sin? God has a word for you then. The Lord is nigh. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34 verse 18. Psalm 51 verse 17, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. Contrition over one's sin finds its vent. in the confession of one's sin. So that moves us on to the fifth point, the confession that he made. The confession this prisoner officer made was to his ignorance in how to be saved. Notice that he wasn't ignorant about his need to be saved. He doesn't say here to Paul and Silas, Do I need to be saved? That's not his question. No, that's all been settled in this man's heart. His own consciousness, his own sinful life has testified to his need of God's salvation. And so the question is not, do I need to be saved, but how? How do I get saved? How do I become a Christian? And I believe that question evidenced something. I believe the question evidenced that the Spirit of God was working in this man's heart because no sinner in and of themselves ever seeks after God, yet he's seeking after God. What must I do to be saved? Is that your question? Is that your question? Gone are the days of needing to be convinced that you need to be saved. No, you've heard enough preaching. That's all settled. You're convinced of that. You look at your life. You look at your past. Of course you understand that you need to be saved. Any person with reason and logic within their brain would understand as they come before God in the gospel, of course I need to be saved. Of course I do. Of course I need to be converted. Of course I need to have my sins washed in the blood of Christ. Of course I need to get to the cross. Of course I need to be converted. Preacher, I don't need to know that. I understand it. I'd be convinced of that. But preacher, what must I do to be saved? That's my question tonight. This is my counsel. This is my concern tonight. How can I be saved?" Well, if that's your question, you've come to the right place, because I'm going to give you the answer to the Bible's most important question. That brings us to consider the counsel he received, the counsel he received, because an answer to this question, Paul and Silas, Paul and Silas, not just Paul, you need to read the verse clearly. Verse 31, Sirs, and they said, not he, they, because in the mouth of two witnesses, every word is established. And so they said in unison, because here were men united together in the gospel, men who had experienced God's saving power themselves. They did not give different answers. They gave the same answer at the same time. Here's the question. What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. Believe who Jesus is. Who is he? He is the eternal Son of God. He is co-equal, co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He is the Savior of sinners. He is the Redeemer of God's elect. He is the great sin bearer. He is the Lamb of God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is all of these things and much more. Believe on who He is and believe in what He has done and what has He done. He has lived for me and lived a perfect life. And by that life, he has secured a perfect righteousness. But not only that, he not only lived for me, but he died for me. He took my place. He stood in my room. He bore my sin in his own body to the tree. Believe in who he is and what he has done. I tell you folks, it's not enough to believe about Christ intellectually. One must believe on and in Christ. Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? I, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just believe in Jesus. I go to enough funerals and I feel like being sick. The Lord Jesus Christ, that's who he is. He's Lord. He's Lord of all, Lord of the life, Lord of, the Lord of glory. There must be a submission to the Lordship of Christ if you're to know His salvation. You see, there is a difference between believing something about Christ and believing on Christ. Let me illustrate it for you. You're up 35,000 feet in the air. The pilot who is at the cockpit and who's at The controls of the aircraft has just announced that both engines have failed. Thankfully, parachutes have been provided for all passengers. But sitting with that parachute on your lap and believing that it will save you from impending death is not enough. Rather, you need to put on the parachute. Not only that, you have to jump out of the aircraft and then you have to pull the cord in order for it to save you from death. In other words you have to put your entire trust in that parachute to do what it was designed to do and that trust will be evidenced by your putting it on and the deployment of it. And so it is in the gospel. Believing simply that the gospel is able to save you from sin and hell is not enough. You need to lay hold of the gospel. You have to put on the gospel. You have to actually put on Jesus Christ if you're to be saved from your sin. That's what you have to do. That's the difference about believing about Him and believing on Him. You see, folks, I have put on Christ, and I am trusting Him for eternity. Oh, that you would do that tonight, that you would believe on Him, not believe things about Him, but believe on Him. Will you put on the gospel? Will you? Will you put on Jesus Christ? Oh, that you would do that this evening. One last point concerning this prison officer's salvation, and that is the confirmation that he exhibited. What I mean by that is that the prison officer evidenced in his life, and folks, it wasn't a year down the line. It was that night, that night, They weren't like trying to search and wonder, is this man converted or not? That very night, this man evidenced that he had been genuinely saved. Notice what it says, 34 and 35 of the chapter. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized, he and all his straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Firstly, where once there was a hatred for God's servants, there is now brotherly love for Paul and Silas as he washes their wounds, as he brings them into his house, and as he feeds them. Where once he hated them, he now loves the people of God. Secondly, he was baptized as a believer, not a few years down the road, not decades down the road. That night, he was baptized. I would say that there are people here and you profess faith in Jesus Christ and you've never been baptized. This night, the man was baptized as a public testimony to the goodness and to the grace of God. Thirdly, his fear, and he had fear, was replaced with joy. Verse 34, it tells us that he rejoiced. Hatred replaced with love. disobedience concerning the ordinances of God, he's now obeying them. Where there was once fear, there is now joy, all evidencing that a genuine work of grace had been wrought in his life. Oh, for converts like that! Oh, for people saved like that! One minute out of Christ, the next in Christ. Once out of the Savior, and now in Christ. Once hearers of God, now lovers of God. People who once flaunted God's commandments, now obeying God's commandments. Those who were once filled with fear, now living in the joy of sins forgiven. And it all happened in one night. I believe that what we come to appreciate in this man's conversion is that salvation, and I talk about the real thing, biblical salvation is a radical work that can change a person in a moment of time. This is what we learn. Oh, that there would be one in this meeting who seeks God for such a work. Lord, save me as you saved this man. Change my life. Change my heart. Change my destiny. Help me to live for Christ. Oh, that that would be your cry. Put on Jesus Christ. Be saved. May God bring you to that point in your life's experience. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Let's pray. I wonder, is this the night that God has come to your soul? Has it dawned upon you this evening that you need to be saved from your sin? Do you now understand what needs to be done? Well then, sinner, where you are, lift your heart to God and seek Him and pray and call on His name. and cry to Him, Lord, save me because I perish. Well, may God bring you to that point even just in this moment. If you need further help, I'm here to help you. Please speak to me at the door, some Christian beside you, around you. Make sure your sins are forgiven. before you go out to meet God, your Maker. Our loving Father, we come before Thee in the stillness of this meeting place. We think of those who are gathered among us, who are not yet converted, not yet saved. We pray in our blessed Savior's name that Thou wilt work radically, eternally, everlastingly, bring men and women out of darkness and into light, and from the power of Satan, and into the kingdom of thy dear Son. Lord, we bless thee that this man was converted in a moment of time, that some gradual growing into it, although he did grow, He did mature in his Christian faith, but we thank Thee for just the ready obedience of this man, the evidence that he had experienced the new birth. Lord, do that among us. Give us those types of conversions that are real. Lord, bring glory to Thy name. We leave the rest of this meeting the leaving off the house of God, the conversations we will have in the vicinity of this building, we leave that before thee. And we pray that sinners who are halting between two opinions will this night come to the Savior, be saved from their sin, and be changed. God answer prayer. We offer these, our petitions, and through the Savior's precious name. Amen.