Well, we'll turn to Matthew chapter 13 this evening. Matthew chapter 13 for our Bible reading. We'll open our reading at verse 44 of the chapter. Matthew chapter 13 and the verse number 44. Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which, when a man hath found, he hideth and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who, when he hath found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore and set down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. It came to pass that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. Amen. We'll end our reading at the end of the verse number 53. With the word open, let's seek the Lord in a word of prayer. Our loving Father and our gracious God in heaven, We enter into thy presence again in our Savior's precious name, ever thankful for the call of God to preach the gospel. We come, dear God, to bring out of the treasures of thy word that which is old. and that which is new. O God, we bless thee for the old, old story of His grace so full and free, for I feel like giving Him the glory for His wondrous love to me. Thank you, O God, that we have experienced That which we'll be preaching about tonight, O God, we preach from personal experience and we rejoice in that. Lord, we thank Thee for that glad and happy day when Jesus washed my sins away. Lord, we pray that Thou would work in this house tonight towards those, O God, whose hearts are closed. Open the heart, we pray, as You did, Lydians. and bring great glory and praise to the man at thy right hand. Bring glory alone to him, for he alone is to be exalted and glorified even in the gospel. So answer prayer and shut us now into God, for we offer prayer in and through our Savior's precious and worthy name. Amen and amen. When I was a teenager, I remember the day that I found my uncle's fishing rod, that discovery led to me taking up rod fishing for a brief period of time in my life. I was helped by a man within the church that I was brought in, and he took my brother, Andrew, and myself, went on a few fishing expeditions down there to the Meola River to do a little bit of trout fishing. Needless to say, I didn't keep at the fishing. I spent more time untangling the line than I did actually dangling the line. For it was often more times caught in the trees behind than it was actually in the river. And I suppose God would have another plan, another kind of fishing that he would want me to be involved in. That kind of fishing that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Peter about and his partners there in Matthew 4 verse 19. When he said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Now the UK fishing industry consists of 6,148 fishing vessels. They're manned by 11,692 fishermen. Now of those 6,148 fishing vessels that make up the UK fishing fleet, 338 of them are registered vessels in Northern Ireland and they are manned by 838 fishermen. I suppose we could have nearly subtracted two from that fishing fleet with all that happened down there in Drogheda this week and the Gardaí taking in to compound or compounding those two fishing vessels. We could have taken away a few of those fishermen but thankfully they were able to get back up to Northern Ireland again. The latest figures produced by the government on fish landings in Northern Ireland showed that in 2017, 14,100 tonnes of fish were brought to shore in Northern Ireland with an estimated value of 20 million pounds. Although small, the fishing industry is an integral part of the Northern Ireland economy, and it is most certainly a lifeline to the financial well-being of harbour towns in the south-east of this province like Portavogey and Long and Kilkeal. Tonight we have read from this passage of God's Word and in a parable, a parable that refers to the fishing industry. It is the parable of the net Matthew chapter 13. And we want to look at that particular parable tonight as I preach a gospel message for a fisherman. We continue on our series of gospel messages around different occupations. We've been thinking about the doctor, the surgeon. We've been thinking about the farmer. Tonight we think about the fisherman. Now Matthew chapter 13 is a chapter that contains seven different parables. There is the parable of the sower. and the different soils, the parable of the wheat and the tares, the parable of the grain of mustard seed, the parable of the leaven, the parable of the treasure hidden within the field, the parable of the pearl, merchant in search of the pearl of great price, and then the parable of the fisherman's net. Now it is unclear whether or not those parables were spoken in quick succession. But regardless of that, we can learn much from this very chapter. But we want to focus on the parable of the fisherman's net. The seventh and the last of the parables that we find in Matthew chapter number 13. And as we do so, there are three simple things. And I want us to consider about the parable of the net. The first thing that I want to draw your attention to from the parable of the net is the casting out of the net. The casting out of the net. Now the Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 13 verse 47 that the kingdom of heaven is like onto a net that is cast into the sea and gathered of every Now if you look back to the verse number one of the chapter, you'll see the setting in which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words. It says, the same day went Jesus out of the house and sat by the seaside. And so this seven run of parables seems to have been spoken when Jesus Christ was here by the seaside. He takes an object. Before his very eyes, a fishy net, how simple it was indeed. And he compares the kingdom of heaven to be like a net. The kingdom of heaven is like on to a net that was cast in the sea and gathered of every kind. Now when you come to the Bible, there are two different nets that are found within the scriptures. First of all, there is a net that was known as a casting net. This was a net that was like a large circle. The outer perimeter of that net was laden down with lead weights. What the fisherman would do was he would watch for a school of fish to pass by, and as they did so, he would take that net, he would spin it above his head. It would enlarge itself. He would cast it into the very sea, and as the net sank to the bottom, those lead wakes taking it to the bottom of the sea, it gathered all together and bringing The fish to land. There would be a cord at the end of that net. He would tie or pull on that cord, as it were, it was to his wrist, and they would pull together, and as it was pulled together, the fish would be caught, and he would be able to land the catch to shore. That was known as a casting net, but that's not the net of this parable. It's the other net that we have in scripture. It would be known as a drag net. This is a net that is spoken off here in the verse number 47. Now, as some commentators have commentated, these nets were large. They covered approximately about a mile and a half. That's how big these nets were. It was used in a very simple way. One part of the net or one edge of the net was attached to the shoreline. The rest was in the boat. The men went into the boat, the fishermen, and they would start to row. And as they did so, they would go around in a large circle. And as they did, they would let out the net over the back of the boat. And as that net was brought then into land, having been brought to that place where it was initially put on the shoreline, as that net was eventually, incrementally, slowly brought in, it acted like a vertical wall so that everything within its embrace was eventually brought to the shoreline and eventually landed by the fishermen. It took time, but everything within its embrace was brought to the shore. This is the type of net that Jesus Christ speaks of here in Matthew 13. It's the dry net that is likened on to the kingdom of God. And tonight I want us to look at that net to be a picture, to represent the church of Jesus Christ, the visible church. and the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, I'm stating the obvious here, I know. But if fish are ever to be caught by fishermen, then there needs to be the casting out of the net. That's what we're thinking about, the casting out of the net. To go fishing without a net, at least at sea, would be a pointless exercise. Fish don't just jump into the boat. No, rather they must be caught, and they must be caught by the net. The fisherman must leave his comfort behind, must go out into the wild seas, and he must labor and toil, maybe for hours, before anything is caught. There needs to be the setting of the net, the bringing in of that net, but there needs to be a going out with the net. I must say that sinners Sinners will never be reached by us simply sitting. in the house of God. There needs to be a going out, brethren and sisters. There needs to be a taking out of the gospel net into the community and into the regions beyond. Because the vast majority of people will never, by their own choice or their own volition or their own accord, come into a gospel meeting like this or a gospel mission without encouragement from the child of God. You see, brethren and sisters, We need to be proactive. Proactive in the bringing in of others under the sound of the gospel. Just like the fisherman, he doesn't just sit at the shoreline with his nets there. He must go out and reach and cast out the net. God has given to his church the gospel net. It is by that net that men and women, boys and girls are caught and gathered on to Christ. And it is the task of the gospel preacher to cast out the net. And he casts it out far and wide in the hope and the expectation that there's going to be a catch. In the expectation that souls are going to be brought to seething faith in Jesus Christ. He casts it out far and wide. And is it not the case as the gospel is preached from this pulpit, that the gospel net is cast out far and wide. Can I say that it's cast out far and wide in terms of geography? In terms of geography. Now we're here in Portlanone tonight, a little small sleepy town in County Antrim, the province of Ulster, in the island of Ireland. Can I say that the messages preached from this house have the potential of reaching a global audience through sermon audio? And that happens. I was just looking there in the month of January about the messages that are preached from this house. They have reached 36 of the 52 states of the United States of America. 35 nations of the 200 nations that are in this world tonight, individuals within those nations have heard the gospel. As Annette has been cast out, Canada, Spain, Ghana, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, France, New Zealand, Romania, India, Israel, Republic of Korea, Barbados, China, Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, Zimbabwe, to name but a few. In these nations, the gospel is going forth. In geographical terms, the net is cast far and wide. Now, I don't know where you come from geographically. You may come from just up the road. You might be a local. You might be listening to this message in China or in Taiwan or out into the islands off the seas. But wherever you are, this gospel goes out to you. This gospel of Jesus Christ is sent to you. The good news that Christ has died for sinners, that there's a way back to God, that there is a remedy for sin and guilt and its disgrace. All of these things are sent to you tonight in the gospel. Not a wonderful announcement that was made by the angel to the shepherds in Bethlehem. Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Good news, he said, and it shall be to all people. To all people, this gospel is suited for all people. And so regardless of the color of skin, regardless of the national identity that you identify with, the gospel has the ability to reach you and to draw you seemingly to the one upon whom the gospel centers. Who is that? But none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. In some little way, this preacher, I preach in this house tonight, in this geographical locality, in some little way there is the fulfillment of Christ's last command to his church, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations. This gospel is sent to you, this message This offer of salvation is sent to you. The gospel net is cast out far and wide in terms of geography. It's cast out far and wide in terms of gender. I speak of the gender and the genders of male and female, for those are the only two. that the Bible speaks of. Jesus Christ in Mark 10 verse 6 said, but from the beginning of the creation of God made he male and female. In this day of gender fluvility, in this day of many so-called genders, there is but two, male and female. And thank God the gospel has as much power to save a man as it has a woman. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatian saints in Galatians 3 verse 28, he said, Now when he speaks about there neither being male and female, he is stating that there's neither male or female with respect to the gospel, that there's none of them have a special advantage over another. It isn't that God favors the male and forgets about the female. No, the religion of the Bible brings the gospel to male and female. You think of Islam. You think of the treading down of the woman under Islam. Not in the gospel. No, the gospel comes to woman. The gospel comes to females as well as males. There are no favors that are shown on account of a person's sex or gender. Both sexes are treated in the same way when it comes to the matter of salvation. Why? Because all have sinned. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You as a woman have sinned against God. You as a man have sinned against God. You, as a boy, have offended the Almighty. You, as a girl, have transgressed the holy, righteous law of God. You need salvation, male, female, boys, girls. The gospel is for all. As a female, God would make you a daughter of God. As a male, God would make you a son of God tonight. if you would only but walk the Calvary road, if you would only willingly leave your sin behind, if only you would trust in the Redeemer's precious, precious blood. God would say to you tonight in the gospel, come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing. And I will receive you, and I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and my daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Now, this is often used with respect to those coming out of apostasy, and we can use it in that way. But is this not the case that we can apply it in the gospel? Come out from the world, sinner. Come out from your ungodly friends. Come out of your sin tonight. Leave those things behind. Be separate. Touch not these unclean thing. God will receive you. He'll be a father to you tonight. You'll be a son. You'll be his daughter tonight. He has said it. The Lord Almighty has said it. Would you like to be in God's family? Would you like to be a son? Would you like to be a daughter? It matters not what gender you are. the gospel is sent to you. But the gospel that is cast out far and wide when it comes to the case of generation, the case of generation, the gospel of Jesus Christ is cross-generational in its appeal and its embrace. Children, teenagers, adults, seniors, all within the reach of the gospel of Jesus Christ. All reachable when it comes to the gospel message because the need is the same within every generation. Children are born in sin. Adults remain in sin. Seniors continue in their sin. The need is the same, regardless of what generation, whatever the person's age. Sin is present within the heart, and that sin must be dealt with to the satisfaction of God. It must be. Sin must be dealt with to the satisfaction of God. And that is only possible in the gospel. There is no other way that your sin can be dealt with. to the satisfaction of God, but by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary. No other way can you ever find acceptance with God but by coming the blood-sprinkled way, by the way of the cross, by the way of the atoning sacrifice, by the way of the sharing of precious blood, by the way of Calvary's cross, where Christ the Redeemer was crucified for sin, where he was buried, and on the third day he rose again. This is the message. The blood of Christ. The blood of Christ alone is able to cleanse. And can I say that the blood of Christ is as able to cleanse away the sins of an 80-year-old as it has the power to cleanse away the sins of a 3-year-old in this house tonight. The gospel is cross-generational. This message, this net is cast out into this congregation. I care not your age. I care not what stage of life you're at. If you're drawing the pension or you're just a little infant on a mother's knee, this gospel net, I'm throwing it out tonight and I pray that God will gather you on to himself. Thank God. From the youngest child, Christ would say to you, come, come onto me, and I will give you rest. To the oldest individual, he would say, come, for all things are now ready. Come, he is able. He is able. He is able, doubt no more. He is able to save, willing to save. He's able to save you in your infancy as much as you in your adolescence or in your adult life. But something else I see about the casting out of this gospel net is that the fisherman doesn't cast out the net with no end goal in mind. He doesn't just throw it out for the sake of throwing out the net. What's the point in that? No, it's his intention. As he casts out the net, it's his intention to catch fish. That's his goal. That's his aim. He's trying to catch fish. And can I say that as a gospel preacher, I have always an end goal in mind. I've always an end goal in view. When I sit in my study, week after week, preparing gospel messages like this, it is my intention to catch souls in the gospel net. By the preaching of the gospel, it's my intention to show you the sinner, your sin. and alert you of your need of Jesus Christ. It is my intention to uplift the lovely and the blessed Lord Jesus Christ and hold him forth to you as the only Savior of your sin-sick soul. It is my intention to disturb you out of that sleep of death that you're in, and lead you to the cross, the place of pardon, and the place of cleansing. So be in no doubt about it tonight, sinner. Whoever you are, wherever you are in this meeting, I am after you in the gospel. I want you to know that. I've been thinking about you. I've been praying about you and your family and your circumstances. I know you. I know you by name. It is my intention to try to catch you tonight in the gospel. It is my intention to see you tonight saved from your sin. That's my goal. I know that I cannot do that. I know that's the work of the Spirit. But that's my intention, that He, in His mercy and His grace, would take something of this pure message and apply it so powerfully to that soul of yours, that it will bring you into the Redeemer's kingdom in the gospel. And can I say, brethren and sisters, I have no other net. I don't have any other net. This is my only net. It's called the gospel net. And if this net doesn't catch fish, nothing will. The net of entertainment in this house will not catch fish. The net of some other means or methods that the world would employ will not catch fish. The only net that catches fish is the gospel net. Now see H. Spurgeon. You may have heard of him. C. H. Spurgeon wrote a book, The Soul Winner, Advice on Effective Evangelism. What a powerful book it is. Every young person who knows Christ, an older person should read it. Within that book, he gives this advice to preachers of the gospel and soul winners. He said, the gospel will be found equal to every emergency, an arrow which can pierce the hardest heart, a balm which can heal the deadliest wound. Preach it and preach nothing else. Rely implicitly upon the old, old gospel. He said this, you need no other nets when you fish for men. Those that the master have given you are strong enough for the great fishes and have meshes fine enough to hold the little ones. So spread these nets and no other, and you will not need to fear the fulfillment of his word. I will make you fishers of men." Wherever you are, whatever you are, whatever age you are, Christ invites you to the gospel. Let me quickly move from the casting out of the net to a second point, and that is namely the gathering in of this net. This dried net, we are told, was cast into the sea and gathered of every kind which, when it was full, they drew to shore. The drawing to shore off this full net, I believe, is a representation of what will occur at the end of time. Because you see, when time comes to an end, when this world comes to a close, that's the end of all gospel fishing. That's the end of the gospel ministry. It will be the last time that the nets will be drawn to shore. Because in God's calendar, there is a set time. When the gospel will fulfill that which it was sent into the world for, and what was that? To bring into the Redeemer's kingdom all given to God the Father, or to God the Son by God the Father. When that occurs, time will be no more, and all gospel fishing will come to a close. Now tonight the net is filling. Sometimes it fills rapidly, sometimes the nets fill slowly. but it's filling. As men and women and boys and girls across this world are trusting and putting their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the net is still out. Thank God for that. Sinner, you thank God for that tonight, that the net's still out. But can I say the signs of the time are pointing to the fact that the net will soon be to shore. Soon time is going to be no more. No more fishing, no more fishing for the souls of men and women. There's coming a day when all that will end, but the day of grace, thank God, is still upon us. Gospel opportunity is still at hand. The door of mercy, sinner, stands open. How open it is, I do not know. soon it will close, soon there's a day when the day of grace will be over and opportunity to be saved will be gone and the door will be shut when the master of the house is risen up and though you knock and seek to gain entrance you shall not be able to enter in I ask the question, what if God tonight, what if God tonight commanded for the net to be drawn to shore for the final time? I wonder would you be gathered on to Christ? Would you be found among those who by grace were gathered on to the Redeemer? For the last time the net is hauled to shore. and landed on the banks of eternity. I tell you, sinner, it's all very well and good intending to be saved. It's all very well and good for you wanting to be saved. All very well and good for you to be almost persuaded to be saved. But such is not enough. No, you need to be saved. and you need to be saved this moment. Lest the gospel net be gathered for the final time. Maybe there is someone, someone here in this house, someone listening to the message. And for the final time, the gospel net will be thrown in your direction. For the final time, thrown in your direction. My question is, are you trying to do all that you can to evade being caught by that net, or will you allow yourself tonight to be gathered onto Christ and the gospel? You know, I'm sure many a fish, it skirted away. The fish almost caught it, but it skirted away. You're like that, trying to evade the gospel. trying to evade your decision for Christ. But what will it be if you've never been gathered onto Christ? What will it be for you? It is my prayer that tonight you'll be gathered onto Him. The casting of the net, the gathering of the net. Let me close by thinking about the separation at the net. the separation at the net, because once hauled to shore, we are told, in the words of the verse number 48, that the catch within the net, it was examined. There was the examination of the catch, and the goods, they were gathered into vessels. The bad were cast away. Verse 48, which when it was full, they drew to shore and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. You see, from this parable and from other parables, especially the parable of the wheat and the tares, we come to understand something, and this is something that we need to understand. There is no such thing on this side of eternity as a perfect church. No such thing. No such thing within the visible body of Christ as a perfect church. Within the church, there are good and there are bad. We think of even the disciples of Christ. One was a betrayer, Judas Iscariot. We're taught that there is no perfect church. But in the assemblies there are good fish and there are bad, converted and unconverted believers and unbelievers, children of God and children of the world. And such has been the case since time began and will continue to be till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more. The perfect church is in the glory. It's in the glory. No matter how much a spiritual oversight, matter how much they watch, even within the body of Christ, there are good and bad, good and bad. Now the Savior interprets what we have here. We're not left guessing what he means. Notice it says, so shall it be at the end of the world. Verse 39, the angel shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. This slow, deliberate, careful, patient, unhurried, accurate, knowledgeable, skillful process of sorting out the good and the bad by the fisherman is a picture of the great separation that is going to occur at the end of the world. You see, all who claim to be Christians are not Christians. All who claim to be saved are not saved. That's not a judgmental statement. That is a biblical truth. The Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 7, 21, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." You see, a person may partake of the sacraments and the ordinances of the church. They may even hold church membership. They may hold an office within the church. They may sing in the church choir. They may help out in some ministry within the church. But not all church attendees are Christians. Never think that. In this house tonight, there are good, and there are bad. And the thing is, the good or the bad think that they're good. But I'm in the net. That's what you would say. I'm in the visible church preacher. I'm in this house tonight. I'm a God-fearing man. I'm a God-fearing woman. But that matters not. You see, the point of division came at the word just. Did you notice it? So the angels shall come, so shall it be at the end of the world, verse 49, the angels shall come forth and shall sever the wicket from among the just, among the justified. That's where it all, that's where the great division is, on the matter of whether or not you've been justified. by His grace. Whether or not you have been brought into that right standing before God, whether or not you have repented of sin and cried, God be merciful to me the sinner, that's what the publican prayed and God said that man went home justified. Let me ask you, have you been justified? Have you been saved? Sadly, sadly there are many and they profess to know God, but they're going to be found on the wrong side of the separation. You see, the tares and the wheat were made to grow together. A picture of those within the church. Tonight you have sang the same hymn as the Christian beside you. You've heard the same prayer as the Christian beside you. You'll give your offering maybe as the Christian beside you. You've heard the same word just like the Christian beside you. There's coming a day of separation, the severing, the good and the bad. And this separation, we are brought time and time again in the Word of God because it is a truth that Christ himself saw the need to emphasize over and over again in his preaching, that this separation is taking place. And when it does, there's only two kinds are found. The sheep, the goats. The wheat, the tares. The just, the wicked. Those that are gathered onto Christ, those who know not Christ. The good, gathered into the vessels. The bad, cast away. Let me ask you, what will your portion be? Have you been justified? Have you been made just? Or are you still in the wickedness of your sin? Is what you profess real? Is it genuine? Is it divine in nature? The answer to those questions matter, because they reveal whether or not you will be gathered onto Christ on that final separating day. Ladies and gentlemen, the dragnet of time is slowly bringing us closer and closer to the shore of God's judgment day. You're unaware of that, I know, for many. You don't feel it. That net seems to be far from you, but it's drawing you closer and closer and closer to God's great Judgment Day. On that day will you be found as one, united to Christ. You may content yourself that I'm in the net. I'm in the visible church. I come to this house, but that carries no weight with God. Are you in Christ? Have you been justified? Have you been made good by His goodness given over to you? I would implore you before the net reaches eternity's shore, I would implore you to make sure you are in Christ, lest you hear the words, bind him, hand and foot, and cast him, cast him away. Lest, in the words of Jesus Christ, you are cast into the furnace of fire. where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. May the gospel net catch you, draw you on to Christ. May in his mercy and grace you find pardon and peace through believing in the Redeemer's work on your behalf. The kingdom of heaven is like onto a net. Oh, for souls to be caught in that net tonight for the glory of God and God alone. Let's seek the Lord in prayer. I wonder tonight in this house, has God been dealing with your heart? You understand that slowly you're being brought to God's great eternity, and you're still not in Christ. I would implore you to come to the Savior. Make sure that you're a Christian. Before the day of separation takes place, make sure you're gathered among the good. Make sure you're not still among the wicked. Be saved. Come to Christ. He invites you, male, female, young, old, whatever part of the nation you live in or this part of the world, come to the Savior. He'll receive you. May God, in his mercy, bring you to Christ. If you want to speak, I'll be at the door. Make your need known. I'll take time with you to open the Word. Trust that you'll come to the Savior, and that you'll make your need known, and that you'll seek him for mercy, and you'll cry to him, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. I tell you, that will make a happy home if you come to Christ tonight. It will. It'll make the people of God joyful and the heart of God joyful. Come to the Savior. Come to Christ. Our loving Father, our gracious God, in all of the weakness whereby this message has been brought, we rejoice in this. We thank Thee that in our weakness Thou canst do greater things for Thy glory and praise. Take that which has been of thee, apply it to the heart and conscience of men. This thought that the net is closing in, it's bringing me closer to death and to eternity and to the judgment day. And soon I'll be landed on the shore of eternity. Into which shall I be gathered? Into the vessel among the good? Or will I be cast out with the wicked? Oh God, cause sinners to think of these things. Not only to think, but Lord, to respond to what God has said to them in the gospel. And so answer prayer and glorify thy son and bring sinners to thee. That's our job. That's my intention tonight, to catch souls in the gospel net. Lord, bring to land. bring to land those for whom thou didst die. We pray these are petitions and prayers in and through your Savior's precious and holy name. Amen and amen. Thank you.