Good evening. It's good to see you all again. And there's a few visitors here as well. Good to see you also. I invite you to turn in the word of God this evening to Romans chapter 15, Romans chapter 15. It's been an honor to be with you young people, and I'm very thankful for the opportunity. And it's been encouraging to see participation, especially some of the older ones even as you've led in various ways. It's been an encouragement to see young people, when they're asked to do something, show an interest, especially something that may be spiritual. I'm not in your cabins, so I don't know all that's going on there, but I encourage you to participate in the times of prayer. in the discussions with your counselors, and that you maximize and squeeze everything you can out of the few hours that you have left. It's a unique opportunity. If you're here for the first time, you're never gonna forget the first time you were at camp. I hope that you're taking lasting memories that will stay with you and are positive, and friendships that will last as well, where you realize that if you feel alone in the Christian life, you're not alone. Now there are other young people endeavoring to strive, to be faithful, to walk with God, to serve him, to learn good spiritual habits, to learn to pray, to read God's word, and to grow in their faith. You're not alone. And the challenges that you face are seen all over. Same with our young people in Greenville, South Carolina, many challenges. many difficulties, but the Lord will carry you through. He has not failed a generation since he has worked in the heart of man in the garden, and he will continue to be faithful to you. And so I encourage you to give yourself to God's word and endeavor to live for him. I mean, think about it, your life is so short. And I will never forget when our Sabbath school teacher It was an older man at the time. He quoted to me, and I was a new convert, he quoted the words of the missionary C.T. Studd, which you may have heard of before. If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him. And it seemed to just crystallize in my mind, that's the Christian life right there. If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, no sacrifice can be too great. for me to make for him. It may be sacrifices of relationship, sacrifices in terms of decisions in life that may relate to job or marriage or other things, but sacrifice, it's not a great sacrifice if Jesus Christ be God and died for me. So I trust you understand. what motivates people to give their hearts to Christ and live for Him, and it's all worthwhile. So, we've been looking at God's Word. When we come to Romans 15, I'm going to read the opening few verses here, and I encourage you, give yourself a shake if you need to, you know. If you find yourself drifting, I don't know what you can do. It's not like you can get up and walk around, you know? Although he said to me, I'm standing up here so I can pay attention. I wouldn't mind, but others may mind. But apply yourself to hear God's word. Try to keep yourself focused upon the word of God, and I trust it will be a blessing to us all tonight. Romans 15, let us hear the word of the Lord. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell on me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus, that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Ending the reading there. And the text that we will focus upon tonight with the Lord's help is verse four. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. And we'll see here how God's word is trustworthy to preserve us. Let's pray. God, you know every heart. Some may be struggling this week. They came into this week struggling. Maybe some didn't even want to be here. They would rather be home and doing their own thing. Maybe they're very private and quiet people. And yet, Lord, I pray that they would learn that you've had them here for a reason. to learn things that they could not learn if they had stayed at home. And we pray for others who came here just for a good time. May they have a good time. May they go away with fun memories, but may they also go away with memories that shape their spiritual lives. Bless and encourage those that profess your name, that love the Lord Jesus Christ in truth. And for those that yet are unsure, or others that are standing afar off, and unwilling to repent and believe the gospel, we pray that the Spirit of God may work on them this night. We thank you for the Holy Spirit. Bless us with the presence and power of the Spirit of God this evening. Come, give help. We beg of thee through the merit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I don't know if you've ever thought about what you might have placed upon your headstone. It's kind of grim to think about, maybe, for you when you're young. But I've given it some thought at times, and one passage that comes to my mind for my encouragement is 1 Peter 1, verse 5, where it speaks of believers as kept by the power of God. I read that one time a number of years ago, and I thought, that's it, isn't it? That's the Christian life. kept by the power of God. And yet we might ask the question, how? How is it that one can part this scene of time and be able to testify that they have been kept by the power of God? What is it that has kept them? And there are a number of things that we could look at, various answers that we might give, but this whole week has been focused on one crucial aspect, and that's the word of God. The Word of God is crucial in keeping us. If you want to have a lasting testimony, if you want to be able to be known as someone that has walked the Christian life and has remained faithful and has borne a testimony of the saving and keeping power of God through Jesus Christ, you are going to have to give yourself to the Word of God. and love the Word of God and treasure the Word of God. And as we were exhorted to memorize the Word of God and hide it in our hearts, how is it that one should be kept and encouraged along life's journey? It is surely by knowing the Word of God. In Psalm 119, verse 101, it says, I've refrained my feet from every evil way that I might keep thy word. And I was reading that and thinking, well, he wants to keep the Lord's Word. And so he's refrained his feet from every evil way. Note that, every evil way. He's, as it were, he's going through the Word of God and he's marking and underlining every evil way so that he might avoid that evil way. But how does he know the evil way? It's the Word of God. Avoiding every evil way to keep God's Word absent from the Word of God. It's the Word of God that teaches him what every evil way is. And so he must read, know, meditate upon, hide in his heart the Word of God. So if you're going to be kept by the power of God, you're going to hide in your heart what the scripture says concerning every evil way, but not only that, of course, every good way. The good things, the positive things, the positive side of the coin of the Christian life. And as you read God's word, you're going to learn that it will preserve you. It will preserve you. It will preserve you in ways you could have never have foreseen. It will preserve you at times when you're faced with temptation and you're in this moment where you're asking yourself, I feel a pull, a draw, an invitation to go this way. Should I? And it's going to be the Word of God that comes to your heart. Our brother, earlier today, Zach, read for us the temptations of our Lord Jesus Christ And how did he face the temptation in the wilderness? When Satan came to him repeatedly over those 40 days and nights, it was the word of God that was hid in his heart. He met every temptation with the word of God. That's how he kept the right way. That's how he preserved and was preserved as he lived upon the earth. But I want to break down this verse. So with your Bibles open and following here in Romans 15 verse 4, as we consider this subject, I want us to see first of all the exhortation to read God's Word. There is here an exhortation to read God's Word. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. And it's not a direct exhortation, but it's certainly implied. First of all, because none None of it is incidental. None of the Word of God is incidental. Whatsoever things were written aforetime. In other words, you might say it this way, everything that was written before. Everything that was written before. Now you ask, what was written? Well, what we have in the Old Testament. And he's referring to the Old Testament. In fact, the apostle in the book of Romans He quotes more from the Old Testament, I think, at least directly, than any other New Testament book. Certainly Matthew would be up there, and Hebrews would be up there, but Romans stands uppermost in New Testament books. quoting directly from the Old Testament Scriptures. Here's a man who believed that all the Word of God is indeed the Word of God, that 2 Timothy 3.16 is true, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, all of it, all Scripture. So he says here, whatsoever things were written, whatsoever things were written aforetime. Paul really believed that. He didn't just read, you know, the bits that he liked. You know, he didn't just read Genesis. I like Genesis, you know, and all the narrative and the experiences of that patriarchal age and so on. And then maybe come to Leviticus and say, I'm not really interested in Leviticus. It's too hard. Well, I understand Leviticus can be a little more difficult. But Paul wasn't setting it aside. He wanted to understand it. He wanted to grapple with it and apply it for his own benefit and for others. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's all God breathed. God never wastes a breath. Right? God doesn't do anything that is a waste, does he? We waste our time all the time, don't we? I mean, it's always been the case that people can be idle. Otherwise, the king would not have to say, consider the ant thou sluggard. But we live in a time where things are engineered to make you addicted to doing nothing. Isn't that true? Come on. I mean, the social media, really. OK, we interact with friends. We keep in touch. We could do that with text messaging, or maybe some other things as well. And I get it. I'm not saying eliminate all social media from your life, though you probably wouldn't be too at a loss if you did. But it does suck away your time, doesn't it? I mean, it's engineered to do so. People are paid. The smartest people in America, some of the smartest people in this nation, are hired by some of the wealthiest corporations in order to make you be addicted to their apps and to their games and all the rest of it. They're smarter than you, they're smarter than me, and they know how to engineer it so that you give all your time to this thing. And it, really, when it's weighed, it's often a waste. Maybe not all of it, but certainly much of it. God does not waste his time. He hasn't given you parts of his word that aren't helpful. None of it is incidental. It's all helpful. Whatsoever things were written aforetime. So you can pick up God's word anywhere. You can pick up God's word anywhere, young person, and learn from it things that might change your life. But also because all of it is instructive. Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. These things are instructive, young people. They instruct us. I mean, you spend so much of your young life, maybe forced to go to school, I don't know, but you know, you're made to learn and learn all of this stuff. And yet God's word is the most instructive thing of all. And here, what's interesting, if you look at it, is that he has quoted from the Old Testament right here. in the preceding verse. Romans 15 verse 3, for even Christ pleased not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell on me. So he's quoting here from Psalm 69. Turn there just for a moment, Psalm 69. Because the question we might ask here is, okay, quote Psalm 69 verse 9, and then he tells us, that whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. Why is he quoting from there? So I feel it necessary just to look at this in order that you understand the importance of God's word in its instructive nature. Psalm 69, I'll not read all of it, but verse, this is a messianic psalm. It's pointing to Christ in so many ways, but just for a moment look at verse eight. I am become a stranger unto my brethren. Was that true of Christ? Of course it was. Not just his brethren that were his half-brothers and sisters, he became a stranger to them, but his brethren in terms of his brethren according to the flesh, the entire nation of Israel largely also cut themselves off from him, but specifically it's to do with the family, in the family unit, and an alien onto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Now Christ quotes that in John chapter two, so we know that this is relevant to him. And the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me. So as describing Christ's rejection, his zeal for God results in him being willing to suffer at the hands of his brethren for the glory of God. So why then does Paul make reference to that in Romans 15? Why is he referring to Christ who is willing and is zeal for God to suffer at the hands of his brethren? Well, the context, if you go back to Romans 14 and you go through it, you'll see how Paul is arguing for unity and essentials, a mutual esteem between legitimate brethren. He's encouraging the stronger to remember the weak and to bear them. Verse one of chapter 15, we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification, for even Christ pleased not himself. And so he takes Christ, this is the instruction, he takes Christ and how he was willing to bear and suffer under the brethren as a result of a zeal for God and bear that. And that becomes an instructive example for Christians to take the same attitude, arguing from the greater to the lesser, that we should bear with our brethren. We should bear with the weak within the body and not be so Tied up and arguing every point of things that are indifferent. So he takes that example. So he's using then the Word of God to show us it's instructive, and especially in this way, especially in showing us Christ. Now, young people, when you read the Word of God, it has much in the way of principles for your life. It does, it teaches you how to work, it teaches you things about time, it teaches you all sorts of things in life, all of that. It has that, but, but, and I'll tell you this, the most edifying and encouraging thing to see from the Word of God is the person and work of Christ. And Paul then is drawing here from Psalm 69 and immediately puts Christ right there in order to apply it to the church at this time. And in looking at the Old Testament and seeing Christ, he is following none other than Jesus himself. You remember after the resurrection, you remember how the Lord Jesus met with the two in the road to Emmaus and they had the discussion? And of course they didn't recognize him immediately. And as they're walking with him, we're told in Luke 24, 27, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he, that's Jesus, expounded onto them and all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. So Jesus is walking along the road with these discouraged believers. They're discouraged, right? You ever discouraged? They were discouraged. And Jesus comes alongside, he walks alongside them and opens up the word of God and starts talking to them in order to instruct them. But not just to say, hey, give yourself a pep talk, cheer up. He's not just saying, just cheer up. In order to cheer them up, he goes to the Old Testament scriptures and he says, look, here's Messiah. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and he goes through the Old Testament scriptures. He's showing them in all these places, here's the Messiah. And when he eventually then moves away from them, the testimony of those two, did not our heart burn within us? It did something in us as he opened up the word and he keeps pointing, Messiah, Messiah, Messiah, Messiah. Here he is on the pages of scripture. Young person, please underline this in your mind. It is seeing Christ in the Old Testament scriptures, and of course in the New, but even as you read through the Old Testament, seeing Christ, not just principles for life, not just things that tell you the importance of being this kind of person or that kind of person, but seeing Christ that will change your life. And if every morning, You pick up the Word of God, and you read something, and it points you to Jesus Christ, you will be strengthened, you will be kept. God's Word will preserve you, not through principles, not through principles. All sorts of movements have been formed to take the Word of God, find principles, and tell everyone, do better, okay? They've been doing that for years. But it feels. It feels. You will always feel to do better. You'll grow, of course, by the grace of God. But when you set yourself this resolve, I'm gonna turn over a new leaf and I'm gonna do it in my own strength. There's no power in that young person. The power is in seeing Christ and what he has done and his perfect fulfillment of the law and the power of his life as he represents you. And then you're overwhelmed with a sense of, wow, wow, he did this for me. That adds. pep to your step, as it were. It really does. Think about it. Think about the Old Testament scriptures. Consider Enoch. You all know Enoch. Not much is said about him, but like Christ, he was born into a wicked environment. He walked with God and he pleased God in that wicked environment. He warned of future judgment, just like our Lord Jesus Christ. God prevented him or permitted him rather to circumvent death as a picture of the resurrection. And then God took him into the heavens as a picture of Christ's ascension. Now, you can see Enoch and you can read it. Enoch walked with God and you tell yourself, I'm going to walk with God. I'm going to walk. It's there, it's there, but it's wonderful to see how Enoch is depicting the coming Messiah who walked with God in a wicked generation and had victory over death, ascending to God's right hand. Consider Abraham. Like Christ and his ministry, he moved around. He had no permanent home, did he? He's always wandering around as a pilgrim, just like our Lord Jesus, who had not where to lay his head. Like Christ, Abraham entered into covenant with God that would give his posterity a kingdom. Additionally, Abraham was told that he would be a father of many nations, and as such, he points to Christ, who is the father of believers across the world in every generation. Consider Isaac. His father Abraham's only begotten son, taken up into a mountain to be killed. But because he is the promised son, Abraham knows God must raise him from the dead. And at the last moment, God provides a substitute to show that Isaac isn't the one that will deliver from sin, but there is one that is coming, a lamb that will take away the sin of the world. Consider Joseph, his father's favorite son, a prophet rejected by his brothers who plotted his death, betrayed for pieces of silver by Judah, falsely accused and condemned by Potiphar, rose to the right hand of power and became savior of the world, providing bread for the multitude. This is how you read your Bible. This is how you're preserved. This is how you're encouraged and instructed in the word of God. Consider Moses. born with the Israelites living under the tyranny of a Gentile authority. At the time of his birth, a wicked king seeking to kill all the male infants spends much of his childhood in Egypt. He has an early understanding of his mission. Moses understood at 40 that God had a mission for him, just like our Lord Jesus, who at 12 years of age must be about his father's business. Though he's part of the royal household, he's not ashamed to call the enslaved people his brethren. And he functions as a mediator between God and men, showing Christ's mediatorial role. And he had to die before Israel could inherit the promised land. This is saying, this is what as our Lord, I can't give you word for word what Jesus said in the road to Emmaus, but as he instructs these discouraged believers, It's all about Him. And if you can see that, young people, in the Word of God, and use tools that will help you to see Christ in the Word of God, you will be encouraged. And this is not to mention Noah's Ark. One door, one way of salvation. If you're not in the Ark, you perish. And there's one way, one door, in there, and you're saved and delivered from the wrath of God. The Passover lamb that we mentioned In our last message as well, when I see the blood I will pass over you, judgment passed over, the manna from heaven, speaking of Christ feeding the multitudes with salvation, the water out of the rock, the brazen serpent that they were called upon just to look and live. This is all Christ. And on and on it goes. This is why the Word of God is so important. This is why Paul says whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. They're written for our learning to instruct us. Oh, I know some of you, some of you may be really gifted in Bible quiz. I made mention of that, I'm sure. If I asked you certain kind of, you know, who did this, who said that, and so on and so forth. But can you see Christ? Do you desire to see Christ? I am telling you, young person, when you begin to see Jesus in the pages of Scripture, Old Testament, and you, you will be enlivened in a way that you cannot experience any other way. I hope you've felt it before, even as you've sat under preaching, and the pastor has turned to some portion of the Word of God, and you're, I'm not even sure what this is saying, and as he begins to expound some Old Testament passage, you're reading it and following, going, wow, I had no idea that that spoke about the Lord Jesus, that spoke about the Messiah, and pointed to what he would do. And that encourages, that so encourages the believer. The exhortation to read God's word. Not just to read it, but to see Christ in it. The instruction that there is, whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. Christ goes through all those things and teaches the things concerning himself. Secondly, the endurance given by God's word. The endurance given by God's word. We're told that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. Patience and comfort. Patience is the idea of endurance, able to carry on even in the midst of difficulty. And comfort has the idea of encouragement. So, we might put it this way. Scripture, what you have in your hand, it teaches endurance, and it provides encouragement. It teaches endurance and it provides encouragement. Now, do you need that? Do you need to be taught endurance? Yeah, you do. Of course you do. I need to be taught it. You think, as a preacher, that part of your seminary training is that you kind of get locked in so that you could never, ever fall away or no temptation can can ever kind of discourage you or bring you down, no. The seminary that can promise that can charge whatever they like, right? But it doesn't, no seminary can do that, cannot do it. I'm vulnerable, just as you are. And the attacks that come my way might be slightly different than what you face. But regularly, I have to face this sense of patience, enduring, keeping going on, the feeling of being discouraged. And yet we're told here that the scriptures can comfort, they can encourage, so that when you are down, when you are feeling like giving up or checking out or just rolling over onto the other side of your bed on a Sunday morning instead of going to the house of God, Or even worse, in one sense, where you have this repeated experience where you don't just want to go to the house of God, you don't want to do anything. You're so discouraged, you're so brought down that you don't want to go to work, you don't want to go to school, you don't want to go to the house of God, you don't want to see family, you don't want to see friends. What's going to help you? What is going to help you? The Word of God. Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures. Patience and comfort of the scriptures. God's people have always had trials. Turn for a second to James chapter five. James chapter five. James in verse 10, James 5 verse 10. He writes, take my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction, and of patience. He just takes one aspect. He said, look at them. I know you're discouraged. I know you're tempted to not keep going on, but take the prophets, look at them. Verse 11, behold, we count them happy which endure. No, we do. We don't look at Moses. We don't look at Jeremiah and Isaiah and think they're unhappy and regretful for the life that they live. We don't think that. They're heroes. You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." Again, we're being exhorted, go back and be encouraged by what you find. It will help you to endure. God's people have challenges. Again, Noah, he had to wait for the judgment of God. I mean, 120 years, 120 years he had to endure, right? So it's one thing for God to reveal to him there's going to be the destruction of the world, and I need you to build an ark. So, you know, you get, okay, it's like you're asked to do a job, and off you go, and you're full of kind of zeal to begin the job, You've had projects, I'm sure, where you've started with all this energy. And at some point, it kind of wanes. And someone says to you, hey, did you ever finish that? No, no, no, I need to get back to that. But how you started was with all this energy, full of intent that you were going to complete it. And then it kind of wanes over time. And that's just over maybe a few weeks or months. Noah. Noah had to get up and endure every day for 120 years, keep the mission at the forefront of his mind, keep calling people to repent, keep working on the building of this gargantuan vessel, finding out all the way to build it, the materials needed, all the engineering genius required, He's doing all of this and 120 years he keeps going on. Abraham had to wait 25 years for a son that God had promised. Isaac had to wait 20 years before Rebecca was expecting. Jacob had to exercise patience. Joseph had to wait 13 years to see God's prophecy fulfilled. Job's mentioned, we know about him already, Moses, Naomi, Hannah, David, on and on it goes. These people, these people suffered. They suffered. Sometimes it was with great affliction. Other times it was just keeping going on when everything's trying to push them back. Life hits hard, young people. It does. Life hits hard. You will experience it. You maybe already have. How are you going to endure? How do you think the Lord Jesus endured? I've already hinted at it. Do you think the Lord Jesus endured all that he suffered and went through simply by gritting his teeth. In his humanity, he suffered, tempted in all points like as we are. And he faced those temptations and kept going on because the word of God was in his heart. all the ways the Old Testament spoke about him and referred to him, no doubt that encouraged him. I mean, in his humanity. Seeing all these things being fulfilled and coming to pass. You might look at Abraham and Isaac and the event on Mount Moriah and see there, look, there's what's going to happen. There will be a resurrection. Same with Enoch. God's word then is vital to keep you going on. Let me put it this way. And you'll be hearing counsel in relation to devotions tomorrow morning. But let me put it this way. When you don't so much as desire to read even one verse in a given day, it's like you're already saying, I'm quitting. I'm quitting. You already have begun the process of checking out, of surrendering, of giving up, of saying, I don't want to continue. Thirdly, the expectation created by God's word. What's the expectation created? That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope, hope. Not the kind of hope that you have when you say, I hope that it's sunny tomorrow, right? And if you, you probably have never been to Northern Ireland, but if you go to Northern Ireland, and you're hoping that it's gonna be sunny tomorrow, you might hope for quite a few days in a row before it's ever sunny. Not much sunshine there. That's not the kind of hope the Bible speaks of. The Bible's hope is built upon a foundation that is immovable. The Bible's hope is built upon Christ. You can have hope, young person, an immovable hope amidst all the trials and challenges you face. Are you struggling with something going on in the family? The scriptures will give you hope. Are you struggling with something that's going on in your own personal life? The scriptures will give you hope. You will not live through this life without challenges. And you will not enjoy the life that you live without hope. The devil is an expert in bringing people to a state of despair. He loves to bring people into a state of despair. He would love to bring you into a state of despair. The answer is what the Bible reveals concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and what we have promised to us because of what he has done. Think, for example, before we close here, of the name of Jesus. Consider the name of Jesus, that name, Matthew 121, thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. That's hope. Call him Jesus. Don't give him some random name. Don't give him some mere family name. Call him Jesus. Because I want to proclaim to the world hope. He will save. He will save His people from their sins. That's why He's here. Not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. To seek and to save the lost. To provide salvation to sinners. So call on Jesus so that despairing sinners, meandering through life, fearing the judgment of God, feeling the weight of the law of God, understanding how they have broken it, times without number, they can see that name, Jesus, Savior, Savior of sinners. He is the Joshua who leads in a conquest against every enemy that prevents God's inheritance for his people. He brings it and offers it. Yes, he takes our humanity and works out our salvation. Consider the name of Jesus, gives you hope. Consider the grace of God, Ephesians 2, 5. By grace, you're saved. By grace, you're saved. Not by trying harder, young person. Not by doing everything you're told. Now, do everything you're told, you know, if it's legitimate and it's honoring to God, but you're not going to be saved by that. You're not going to enter into heaven. That's someone, someone yesterday read Matthew 7, was it Daniel? Read Matthew 7. And of those that will stand before the Lord Jesus and say, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils, and done many marvelous works. And Jesus says, I will say unto them, depart from me, I never knew. You're workers of iniquity. And you look at how you work. So they're preaching in his name, they're casting out devils in his name, and they're workers of iniquity. Hang on a minute. I mean, I don't think they were lying in the sense of, did we not do all these things? They weren't lying. They did these things. And yet Jesus said they're workers of iniquity. Why? Why? Why are they workers of iniquity? Because in all their labor, it was their salvation dependent on their own work. They're workers of iniquity because they're neglecting God's work, God's provision in Christ. Lord, Lord, have we not? That's not how you stand before God. No, the saved here, every last one who's saved here tonight, every last one will stand before God on the day of judgment, and they will make their appeal that it is by the merit of Christ. Receive me for Jesus' sake. Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Young person, that's what you need to do now, and that's what you do for the rest of your life. It is by grace you're saved. And people sometimes say, well, grace is unmerited favor. But it's far more than that. Grace is more than unmerited favor. It is the favor of God towards sinners that have earned divine wrath. They've earned the judgment of God. Grace is salvation that comes to those who have earned the wrath of God. And it's free. It's free. The grace of God is given to you, offered to you freely. There aren't a list of, it's not small print with contingencies and all sorts of qualifications. It is this statement of it's a free gift. It's a free gift. By grace, you're saved. Why? Why would God do that? Why would he do that? So that he gets all the glory. You're not going to stand before him and say, well, the Lord Jesus did 99% of the work. I did the other 1%, so he gets 99% of the glory. I get 1%. No. No, God has it worked out so that he gets all the glory for all the work because it was all him. And He stands before you, young people, He stands before you and He presents Himself in this free message of salvation, this invitation to believe and receive eternal life. Which brings me then to call you to consider not only the name of Jesus and the grace of God, but the salvation promised. We have hope because of the salvation promised. I was thinking, earlier today of John 10. And in John chapter 10, you remember the Lord Jesus when he said in verse nine, I am the door by me, if any man or any shall be saved. It's a wonderful imagery, you know. It's wonderful. It's it's so simple. I am the door. By me, if any man or any shall be saved. See me as the door. Now some of you have been taught to look at that door. Listen now, because this could change your life. You have been taught to look at that door and look at the sign above it, and someone told you that the sign above that door says elect. And you're trying to figure out whether or not you're able to walk through that door. That's what you're trying to figure out. Am I able to walk through that door? I have to figure out if that's inviting me. It says elect over the door, that's what I've been told. You've been told wrong. The door never says over it elect, it doesn't. You know what it says over it? Any man. I am the door, by me if any man, any man. Look at the door, I am the door, there's over it, any man. Any woman, any boy, any girl, whosoever. That's what's over the door. So ask yourself, no, not looking and seeing the same elect doesn't say that. Jesus says, I'm the door by me, if any man look at the door, it says any man, any, it just says any. Ask yourself, is that not invading you? How do you exclude yourself from a door that says anyone? Anyone. The only way you're excluded is by excluding yourself. Anyone. I didn't say it. Son of God who died for sinners depicts it clearly. Any. I'm the door. You will walk out. You can't leave this building without walking out a door. You're going to walk out a door. And you know all those doors are saying, I can walk out any of them and go through that door, that door, that door. They all invite me to walk through them. None of them say I can't go through that door. And so you've used different doors, you've walked out. Jesus Christ is this one door and he invites all to pass through that way. So as I close, I press this matter upon you. Have you walked through that door? And if you haven't, the other question is, why should I leave this camp without having walked through that door? Why? This is a message of hope. You maybe came here with no hope. You don't know if you're going to heaven. You don't know if you're saved. You don't know if you're elect. You don't know this, you don't know that. I'm telling you, you can set sail to this matter before this weekend or this week is over. You can just walk through the door, enter in. If any man enter in, he shall, shall, shall be saved. May the Lord give you grace. Let's pray together in prayer. I may not be able to understand exactly what you're going through and what keeps you from walking through that door. So if there's any qualification you need, any questions I can answer, be sure to get them in to me. I'll be happy to answer any questions that you have, give you the clarification you may need. But if God has worked in your heart sufficiently. That you're saying to yourself, why am I not through that door yet? If you're coming to a point where you're thinking. God is calling me now. This is the time. Seek the Lord now where you are. Just cry out for mercy. God, we pray. Bless every life that's here. Some of them carry burdens and questions, and they're overwhelmed by what they're going through. And God, I pray that you will turn their eyes upon Jesus to look full in his wonderful face. We pray that thou will give to them The understanding necessary. Of your love and willingness to save them. Be merciful. And see if we pray in Jesus name. Amen.