The message I have for you today is simple. Get ready, Jesus is coming. Matthew chapter 24. If you want to turn in your Bibles here, we're going to start there in just a moment. Father, I thank you for your word, which is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, that when your word has found a lodging place in our minds and in our hearts, and in the very fabric, inner core of who we are as a people, we become stronger than we could ever hope to be in any amount of natural strength. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, that your word brings light and life. Your word gives us hope, leads us to a place of supernatural power in God. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, that you won't leave us blinded by the sight of the road or calling out in terror or fear as so many do who don't live in your word. Thank you, God, for the hope and the joy that knowing you and knowing your word gives to us. Thank you for Pastor Tim Delina, God, for bringing to the church world again a biblical worldview. Thank you, God, when so many are straying from biblical truth. and even in the house of God are beginning to lead by what seems right. But your word tells us that there's a way unto man that seems right, but the ends thereof are the ways of death. So God, we don't want to be led by what seems right. We want to be led by what is right. So God, teach us. Give us open ears. Give us open hearts. God, give me an open heaven today. I pray for the grace to be able to speak simply that everyone here can understand. Help me, oh God. I never want to ever stand in a pulpit anywhere and lean on past victories or present strengths. Lord, I recognize that without the anointing of your Holy Spirit, your kingdom can't be built, and our labor is then in vain. And so God, come and build a love for your word into each heart. God, let your word find a lodging place in us. Let it be the desire of our hearts. As it's written in the scriptures, thy word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. Let that be our cry today. Oh God, speak to me and let me hide the truth that I hear in my heart. And let me always be a student and somebody who honors you through your word. In Jesus' name, amen. Now Matthew chapter 24 and 25, which I've encouraged you to read when you do get home, Because these are the chapters where the disciples came to Jesus and they had just brought to his attention the stones of the temple. And if you've been to Israel and you've seen these stones, they're mammoth stones. It's even marvelous as to how they could actually move these without the modern machinery that we have today. But they did move them. And they laid the foundation of an incredible temple, a place that was once built for the glory of God. And they had a sense of permanence just looking at what they had accomplished, in a sense, with their hands. And they remarked on it. Look at the temple. Look at the magnificence of all of the things that we have created. And Jesus said, do you not see these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone should be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down. So in spite of the sense of permanence that they saw, there was a day coming when everything that could be shaken would be shaken. And if you've been to Israel, you've seen these stones scattered as it is, not left one upon another. Of course, he foresaw it. He foresaw a time of shaking coming to the nation of Israel at that time. But also Jesus Christ speaks in his word of a time of shaking coming to this whole world. As a matter of fact, in the book of Hebrews, the writer talks about a season where everything that can be shaken is going to be shaken. And if your confidence in Christ can be shaken, it will be shaken. But there's a confidence that God builds into the heart when we are built on the foundation. of the truth of God's word. Remember Jesus said, whoever hears my sayings and does them, I will liken him to a man who built his house upon a rock. And when the rains came, and when the floods came, and when the winds beat against that house, it did not fall, for it was founded upon a rock. The cry of your heart and mine today has got to be, oh God, establish my life on this rock. Establish my mind on this rock of truth. establish my ways upon this rock, and oh God, give me that sense of stability that we're all going to need, not only to survive, as wonderful as that is, but to make a difference in an ever-darkening and ever-confused world around us. As things are beginning to unravel quite quickly all around us, society is turning very dark Paul the Apostle talked about a lawlessness breaking out in the last days and increasing in intensity until the Antichrist, the man of law, is actually revealed. We see lawlessness now everywhere. Lawlessness in our streets. Lawlessness, unfortunately, is attacking our schools. Lawlessness in our homes. Lawlessness in people's voices and structures all through society. And suddenly nobody wants to obey any rules. Everybody wants to create all their own. Nobody wants there to be truth anymore. Everything has got to be relative. And what I think truth is, the guy that shouts the loudest gets to be the one who holds the truth of the moment until somebody louder comes along and shouts another truth. Really a confusing time, difficult time that we're now living in. Jesus was sitting then on the Mount of Olives and the disciples came and said, what will be the sign of your coming? and of the end of the age. Suddenly they're fast-forwarding, in a sense, from the stones that were their focus of the temple right to the end. When are you coming again? When are you going to return? You're talking about going somewhere, and as Thomas once said, we don't even know where you're going, how can we follow you? But you have said you're going somewhere, and you are telling us you're going to come back again. So when will you be coming back, and what are the signs we should be looking for when this whole world as we know it, the age of it has come to an end. Now in response to that, you have both chapter 24 and 25, but I want to focus on verses 36 to 44 in Matthew chapter 24. Now he's talking about essentially the social condition, that's what I'd like to focus on today, of the day. Let's not get caught in all the minutia. of these chapters. So a lot of people just get so caught in the arguments of, is he coming pre-tribulation? Is he coming mid-tribulation? Is he coming post-tribulation? You'll hear, if you're not familiar with those, you'll eventually hear about these things. And I liken it to people going to a football game or a baseball game and arguing about who's going to be the referee or the umpire and actually missing the game. So you can get so stuck in the smaller details Trust me, when it comes, we're all going at the same time, so don't worry about it, okay? It's all gonna happen. I remember Brother Dave used to say he was a pan-tribulationist, believing it'll all pan out in the end, so let's just stick to the text of Scripture and not worry about the smaller details. Of that day and hour, chapter 24, verse 36, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only." In other words, so if anybody tells you that Christ is coming October the 6th at 2.12 in the afternoon, you can just write them off right away. And many have done that. Many have tried that. I remember we had a group. How many here remember the group that came to New York City with signs? They'd be outside the church and Jesus is coming. I think it was like September 21st at 4 in the afternoon kind of thing. get ready, and there was a lot of them. They came and they were part of this church that believed that. I met a guy in the street and invited him for lunch on September 22nd. I said, you're going to be needing a friend the day after he doesn't come. No one knows, not even the angels, but only my father knows that day. But, he says in verse 37, but as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." And so he's immediately moving from focusing on a time and a date and such like that to the season and the social climate that will be prevalent, may I say, in that season. For as in the days before the flood, They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. Now, eating and drinking is not wrong, neither is marrying and giving in marriage. The context, what he's speaking about is the people will be unaware of the season that they're living in. They'll just be carrying on as if everything is going to go on the same as it's always been. That's exactly what happened in the days of Noah. And they did not know, verse 39, until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. So generally speaking, the society as we know it all around us will not be aware of the hour. But the Bible says that you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. We're children of light, we're children of the day. We should be aware of the season we're living in. I honestly feel that I might be alive when Christ returns for His church. Somebody said to me after this morning's service, they said, that must be soon then. You're probably right. I might be alive. I've had that sense in my heart for years. And I might live to see this event called the rapture of the church of Jesus Christ. We'll get into that in a moment where Christ comes. There's a moment coming in history, folks, where God the Father leans over to the Son and says, Son, go get your church. And suddenly Jesus says, Gabriel, get the trumpeters, get the horns. Let's blow the trumpet blast. There's gonna be a great shout from heaven. And the Bible says the dead in Christ will be raised first. And then we who are alive and remain shall be gathered together with them in the clouds. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Folks, that's in the Bible. That's biblical truth. There is going to be a gathering from the earth of the church. But I'm going to show you what that might look like based on the days of Noah. It's amazing when you start looking at it. Now, a man named Noah was building a place of safety for his family, which would lift all of them above and out of the flood that was soon coming upon the ungodly. He was building a boat, an ark of safety. He heard the words of God. And their whole society at that time is not hearing the words of God, but there was one man called Noah that actually heard what God was speaking. And Noah began to build based on the Word of God, which is why a biblical worldview is so important right now. We can't just build our lives on emotion or songs or just going to church. All of those things are good. We have to have those things. But our lives have got to be built, our pursuits have to be built on the word of God. There has to be this biblical worldview. And obviously, Noah had a biblical worldview in his time. The biblical worldview is that the world is about to be judged by God because of the weight of its sin. But God has prepared a place of safety for those who can hear what he's speaking to his people. And for you and I today, that place of safety is in the cross of Jesus Christ. It's in the shed blood of the Son of God. It's in the promise of the Son of God. I will never leave you or forsake you. I've not come to judge the world, but I came that the world might be saved. When you came to Christ and gave him your life as your Lord and Savior, you entered into the arc of safety that's been provided for this generation. 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 5. Talks about Noah not just building the ark at this time, but he was a preacher of righteousness, a voice that's saying essentially to the people, judgment's coming, folks. The weight of sin has become intolerable to God in this world. There are lines you can't cross with God. And when those lines are crossed, God says, I'm sorry, I would like to extend time, but I can't. There's something in the heart of God. There's something about the nature of God and the holiness of God. And looking down on the creation, when he has created humankind in his image, and we have allowed debauchery to get a hold of us to the point where we're, in a sense, not able to even hear anymore the cautions of the word of God. And he looks down and says, it can't go on anymore. And folks, I feel in my heart, we're so close to that line now. As in the days in Sodom, when the Sodomites were trying to find the door and break down the door to force the innocents, as it was, to be partakers of their sin. They had crossed a line that cannot be crossed in the kingdom of God. It was at that point that the angels took the hands of Lot and his wife and his daughters and took them out. It's a foreshadowing of what's going to happen in our generation as it's happened in generations before us. And can you imagine the mockery which he had to endure while building a boat in a place where some had said it never rained? Can you imagine? You're building this boat, and everybody's walking by, and it's, look at that stupid old man. You know, it's like some people, if they hear this message online, say, look at that stupid old preacher in New York City talking about the judgment of God coming. 2 Peter chapter three, in verses three to 10, this is what Peter says about our day. Knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. So in the last days, scoffers will rise, and folks, these are people in the church, you understand? Many of these scoffers are gonna be behind pulpits. Jesus himself said there's gonna be great religious deception in the last days. Many are gonna be deceived, and the deception will increase as the days get darker. The false prophets will be there all the way through, and they will literally start abounding if they're not already here in the house of God. And the scoffers arise because other voices are rising up and saying, get right with God because Jesus is coming. And they will, people will maybe take a copy of the message and give it to them and they will say, oh, don't listen to that. All those old guys are always talking about gloom and doom. Listen, this world still got lots to offer us. Live your best days, be your best you now. There's so much ahead of us. Stock market is going to bounce back. You're going to be able to get that job in that house. And the whole focus is not on eternal things, but on the things of this world. And they say, don't listen to these guys because since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue from the beginning of creation. Listen, Paul believed this and he died and Jesus didn't come. Peter believed it, he died, Jesus didn't come. So and so said it, he died, Jesus didn't come. So why would you listen to this guy or these guys now because all things are carrying on just as they have from the beginning of creation. But Peter goes on in verse five and says, for this they willfully forget. It's not negligence, it's willful. They put it away, that by the word of God, the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that what the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering towards us and not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." In other words, Peter is saying the only reason the world hasn't been judged now is because of the kindness of our God. He waits. If there's still a heart that's looking for Him, if there's still somebody sighing in the night and saying, oh God, are you real? Are you really there? Can you really help me? For the sake of somebody that can still hear. He will be kind and He will withhold His hand of justice. But again, verse 10. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and all godliness?" I want you to think this through for a moment. Karl Oppenheimer, invented the atom bomb, actually, in World War II, was a nuclear scientist. And when they detonated the atom bomb for the first time, he knew something that I think a lot of people are willfully ignorant of today. They just don't want to think about it, but he knew something. He knew this device had the capability of actually igniting the atmosphere around the Earth. Think it through for a moment. And what he had developed back then, we have weapons that are so much more powerful now, and they're in the hands of unstable people all over the world now. Our time might be shorter than we'd like to think it is. And if there is a nuclear war, here's a quiz for you. Guess what the prime target is in North America? New York City. That's the one thing everybody talks about. So, if you're gonna get right with God, might be a good time to think about that. You know, as I often say, one nuclear bomb can change your whole day. In the time of judgment that Jesus talked about in Matthew chapter 24, he likened it to the season of Noah in Genesis chapter seven. It talks about the people entered into the ark. Noah and his family entered in. Male and female of all flesh went in as God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in. And now the flood was on the earth 40 days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. God shut the door. There is a season, there is a time where mercy ends. There's a time when the door is shut. You know, in the Scriptures it says, because they receive not the love of the truth, God gave them over to delusion, that they should believe a lie. There's a moment. Can you imagine, I shared this morning, I said, hell is bad enough as it is. And we don't understand what being in a place for eternity where God is not is like. Even the worst of sinners, God's still omnipresent in this world. Even when you're in a bar and you're doing stuff you shouldn't be doing, the Holy Spirit is still pursuing you, still whispering. There's still an evidence of God. His mercy is still available. But we don't understand what it would be like one day to be in a place where God is not. The Bible describes it in different ways. And whether they're literal or whether they're just metaphorical, I don't know. But I know that there's a darkness there so thick it doesn't carry the sound of your voice. So you can scream all you want in hell and nobody will ever hear you. for all of eternity, there's no connection with anything. Can you imagine just spending eternity in a place like that? And the Bible says it's a place where the worm never dies, the conscience never stops turning. Can you imagine if you don't make it to heaven, if you don't receive Christ as your Savior, if you choose to ignore the words you're hearing today, if you put it away, this day of God's retribution on the earth, you put it far from you, can you imagine one day you end up in a place where God is not forever, but you will remember being here this day? You will remember my voice. You will remember this message that was preached. You will recall the opportunity you were given to receive Christ as your Savior. Am I trying to scare you? Absolutely. You better believe I'm trying to scare you, because there's reason to be scared. We don't play games with a holy God. Listen, eternity is a long time to be wrong. God sent His Son on the cross, and it wasn't just for some vain display of religion. He sent his son so that every person is now without excuse whoever hears this message. There's nowhere else to go, there's no other truth. Jesus Christ himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and you can't come to the Father except through me. There's no other way. Not through religion, not through works, not through singing songs, not through being a nice person. You can help everybody across the street with the groceries from now till the day you die. That won't get you into heaven. Only confidence in the shed blood of Jesus Christ for your sin will give you a guarantee of eternal life. This is a serious message. You think of all the people that have ignored it for all the centuries since Christ. You imagine if we could just have a window into hell, this very moment, if we could just open the gate, you imagine the screams down there. Could you imagine the intercession that's going on, not for themselves, they know there's no chance, but as Jesus said in the scriptures, this man who was in hell cried out, Father Abraham, send somebody to my family. Send somebody to those who are still alive on the earth and warn them about this place. Hell is a real place, just as heaven is a real place. But in the day of God's judgment on the earth, the scripture says those who took seriously the provision of God, the ark that was built in Noah's day was a type of salvation in Jesus Christ. And those who took seriously the provision of God went inside the ark and then God closed the door. And as the judgment came down on the earth, the ark was lifted up above it. That's the promise of God for his church in this last day. as the judgment of God comes upon this world with famines and wars and pestilences and unbelievable conflict and hardship and difficulty. Even the stars of heaven being shaken, the scripture says. The people of God, as in the days of Noah, are going to be lifted up out of this world by the power, by the presence, and by the mercy of God. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. The trumpet of God is going to sound. The dead in Christ will be raised first. Then we who are alive and remain will be gathered together with them, and so shall we ever be in the presence of the Lord. I've often thought, I said, oh God, let the rapture of the church happen while we're in church singing, while we're preaching the gospel, while people are coming forward and receiving Christ as the Savior. Let the trumpet sound and let us go into the heavens. What a shout that's going to be. What a day that's going to be. What a glorious moment that's going to be when we realize, God, it was worth the ridicule. It was worth the struggle. It was worth standing when everyone else was falling. It was worth holding the truth when everyone else was letting it fall through their fingers. Oh God, it was worth it. Oh God, thank you for saving my family. Thank you, Lord. for answering my prayers and not letting my children or my grandchildren or my cousins or my brothers or my sisters or my aunts and uncles die in their sin. God, thank you for moving heaven and earth to answer my prayer. Thank you, Lord, for giving us the courage to stand and preach the gospel in an unpopular time. Thank you for giving us the backbone not to cave under this corn of man. Would have been so easy for Noah just to say, oh boys, hang up your tools, this is nuts. We're building this thing for years, everybody, all they do is mock. Nobody listens to my, I preach to them every morning. And I tell them about the judgments coming on the world and they just laugh and they wave their hands at me, it's a crazy old man in his boat. Why don't we just pack it in, sons? Thank God he didn't do that. Thank God he stood. Thank God he was faithful because his family would have been very, very thankful when this was all over, you can be sure of it. Now, in the context of the ark of Noah being lifted up from the earth and the rapture of the church, now we go back to Matthew chapter 24, verse 39. Let's go back to verse 38. In the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying, giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. So I said it before, unaware, unaware of how close they were to the return of Christ, to the end of things as we know them. They did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. They didn't know. God help us not to hold the truth to ourselves. God help us. Imagine getting to the throne of God and people you worked with, people you lived beside, walk up and look at you and say, you knew this? You knew this? They was coming? Why didn't you tell me? I might have mocked you, but at least you could have warned me. At least I would have known. Then two men will be in the field, one taken and the other left." That talks about the rapture of the church of Jesus Christ. One, two in the field. Two guys are at work, where they work at Citibank, or they work at a janitor's place, or they work in a restaurant, maybe in a kitchen, cooking together, and one man's telling the other one about Christ. Oh, since I came to Jesus, It's so changed my life. I feel so free. I feel like my sin is forgiven. I feel like I have the promise of a new life that's come into my heart. Oh, Bob, won't you consider giving your life to Christ? And suddenly gone. The spatula hits the grill. The cook's hat falls on the ground. Gone. Two men will be in the field, one is taken, the other left. Two women grinding at the mill, one is taken, and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, be also ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." You see, Jesus is saying, don't let your house be broken into. We are the dwelling place of God. My name is Carter Conlon, by the way, and I have a house, and this is my house. Here it is. You see, I'm an eternal being. This is just a container that's carrying me right now. When this container dies, Carter Conlon's going to live forever. This is my house. And Jesus said, if you would have known when this day was going to happen, when the thief was going to come, you would have not let your house be broken into. You wouldn't let the thinking of this world get a hold of your mind. You would have taken seriously the things of God. You would embrace the truth of God. As the psalmist once said, it's, oh God, put your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Even though I have to endure mockery and indifference to what I believe and what the truth is to my heart and mind, God, don't let my house be broken into. You see, that's what happens. Jesus said false prophets will arise. Well, these are thieves. They're going to break into the house. They're going to break into your mind. They're going to break into your heart. They're going to break into the inward parts of your life. They're going to lead you in a path you shouldn't be going on. Infuse thoughts that are not from God. They're going to break into your house. But if the good man had known in what hour Christ was going to come, he would not have let his house be broken into. Guard your heart. Guard your mind. Paul the apostle says in Ephesians 6, everything in Ephesians 6 about put on the whole armor of God. is all about the word of God. It's all about a biblical worldview, folks. Put on the helmet of salvation. Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus. Paul says, whatever is good, whatever's pure, whatever's of virtue, whatever's of good report, whatever's praiseworthy, think on these things, and the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. Put that helmet on your head. The helmet of God's word. Don't believe everything that everybody says. Check it yourself in the word of God. Don't even believe what I'm telling you. Check it in the word of God for yourself. Make sure your house. Make sure. Secure the windows. Secure the doors. Make sure the thief can't get into your house. Put on the breastplate of righteousness. In other words, the things in your mind from the word of God have got to go deeper and into your heart. You have to love the word of God. Oh, how I love thy word, the psalmist says. Oh God, it's so sweet to my taste. Even the things that are bitter are sweet to my taste. I don't try to just eat the things I like and put the rest of it away, but oh God, I love your word. Let it go from your head and get into your heart. Put on that breastplate of righteousness. Put on the shoes, let your loins be girt about with truth. Your loin speaks of the totality of your being. If anyone be in Christ, he's a new creation. The old things are passed away and all things are become new. Say, God, not just my head, not just my heart, but the totality of my being. Let your word, oh God, change me. God, make me into the person you want me to be. Don't let me be led astray from what you have for my life. Let your plan be my plan. Let your journey be my journey. Let your words be my words. God, everything that you are and you have for me, let it be who I become. Let there be a yearning in your inward parts, so God, I want the life that you have for me. And I don't care who laughs. I don't care who mocks what I'm building. Let them mock and let them laugh, because I'm going into eternity with God, and eternity is a long, long, long, long, long, long, long time. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Take the sword of the Spirit, that's the word of God again, in your hand and be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that you have in you in this last hour of time. Have your shoes of sharing the gospel upon your feet. It's again the word of God. It's a biblical worldview. That's why what Pastor Tim is teaching in this church is so important right now to all of us. Praying with all prayer and supplication for all the saints. When you know the Word of God, your prayer life comes alive because now you know the heart of God, the mind of God, what you should be praying for in God. You suddenly touch and tap into the power of God that's available in prayer. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Hallelujah. I'm going to be 70 in September, and I'm more alive than I've ever been in my life. Thank God for His presence. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God for the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank God for His Word, which is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. Thank God that He's put in my heart a new song, and many shall see it and fear and trust in God. Thank God for every door He's opening. Thank God. I don't care who laughs anymore. Let them laugh. Let them mock. I'm building an ark of safety in Christ Jesus. And whosoever will is invited in to know that they're safe and secure in the future. Therefore be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. He's not talking to the unsaved now. He's talking to the church, his disciples. I'm coming at a time when you do not expect it. I think of this a lot lately, when I'm putting on my shoes in the morning, when I'm brushing my teeth, when I'm having my first coffee. God, it could be today. It could be now. You are coming at a time When I do not expect it, I'm just going through my day, and I'm just doing the stuff I have to do, and I have a list of things that need to be done. And then suddenly, oh, suddenly, I had a dream one time, and I was out in a field with Pastor Teresa and another friend of ours, and we were just working in the field in the dream, even though we didn't do that, but I had a hoe and somebody else had a rake, and we're working in the field, and suddenly we began to lift off of the earth. And Pastor Teresa, she's in the air, she's going, oh, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. And the other lady there is going, it's the rapture, it's the rapture, it's the rapture. And I got my hoe in my hand. We're now 200 feet in the air. And I thought, well, this better be the rapture or we're in big trouble. Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? There's only one guarantee of eternal life and safety, and it's Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to a cross 2,000 years ago and paid the price on that cross for your sin and for my sin so that the penalty and power of sin could be broken, so that we can have an assurance He is the ark of God. Jesus Christ is the ark. Everything in the Bible points to Him. Everything in the Bible is just a type of Him, the ultimate redemption of humankind. The door of God's heart is wide open through His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no reason not to enter in. There's no legitimate or sensible reason not to enter in, especially now as we see this world degenerating all around us in the fashion that it is. The time to enter into the ark of safety that God's provided through His Son is now by the grace of Almighty God. Because folks, realistically, we don't know that we have it tomorrow. I shared that one Tuesday night. I was preaching here years ago, and I felt something in my heart. My heart got heavy at the end, and even though there was a lot of people responded, I said, there's somebody here. This might be your last day. And I just couldn't get over it. He said, you don't see life that way, but you don't know what the future holds. Would you consider giving your life to Christ? And I waited and waited and nobody came. Not that I could foresee or that I felt was the person that the Lord was speaking to. We left the church, we went to a restaurant down on 8th or somewhere like that, and we were just sat down. They gave us a table at the window, Pastor Teresa and I for dinner. And a man walking by, the crowd is leaving, they're still coming out of the church, and a man walking by just falls right where we were at our table on the sidewalk, dead. Died of a heart attack. I ran out of the restaurant to see if he could be revived, but he was dead. He was only about 40, 42 years old. And I looked to see if he had a Bible in his hand. I said, God, is this the man that you cried out for tonight? Is this the man that believed he had a thousand tomorrows, that today wasn't the day that he would stand before a holy God? Could this be the one? I wasn't sure. I still don't know. It's possible they were coming in that direction and from this direction. The question in my heart is, are you ready? Are you ready to meet God? Are you ready? Are you ready? You see, when Noah and his family got into the ark, God shut the door. And when God shuts the door, no one can open it. That's in the Bible. He said to the church of Philadelphia, I set before you an open door that no man can close. But the reverse is true. When God opens the door, no one can shut it. But when God shuts the door, no one can open it. And the moment of grace is available now. The moment of forgiveness is here now. The moment of finding the security in God is here now. The moment to be trained in the ways of God, to find his thought life, to find the new heart, the new mind, the new spirit, to find the courage that you'll need to stand. And the assurance of when life is over, heaven is your eternal home, is now. Don't wait for the rain to start. You know, so many people come to church and say, wow, when all hell breaks out, I know where to go. They knew where to go too. Can you imagine the hundreds of people banging on the side of that ark? And there's nothing Moses could do because God closed the door. You know, you say, pastor, you're trying to scare us? Yes. Yeah, I am. Because sometimes that's what it takes. that we just deal with reality. This is coming. Jesus is coming. Are you ready? Are you ready for Him when He comes? And so, Father, I thank you this afternoon, Lord, for the courage and the opportunity and the privilege of declaring your heart. But, oh God, how it must break your heart when Even one person sitting here has heard this and doesn't turn to the truth, puts it off for another day. Oh, Lord Jesus, how many times has that happened throughout history? Father God, in your precious name, I plead with you, Lord, today. I plead, God, for every soul in this sanctuary and every soul listening online. I plead for them, God. I don't know what else I can do. but I come to your throne because your word tells us that if the Holy Spirit doesn't draw a person, they can't come to you for salvation. So Holy Spirit, would you draw right now? Would you draw? Would you draw? Would you give courage to the people who live outside of forgiveness or those who are living in a valley of decision, they don't know which way to go? Those that are cowering under the threats of this present generation, God, would you give them the courage to step up and step out? and to say, I'm going with God. No matter what happens, I'm going with God. Oh God, please. God, please. Have mercy today. Have mercy. Have mercy on every soul. I thank you for it, Father. I thank you, God. For those that are here today, Those that are online who could just honestly say, Pastor, wow, just, it's gone right through my heart. And I feel like I'm the only one in the room that God's been speaking to. And I recognize that he's, when you have that feeling in your heart that you're the only one that's being spoken to, it's because God is speaking directly to you by the Holy Spirit and pulling you towards himself, drawing you. In the book of Hebrews, it says, if you can hear his voice, don't resist it. Don't harden your heart against the voice of God. Do what I did 40-something years ago, and I just got out of my seat. And I felt like the least usable person in the entire kingdom of God. But I said, God, if you're calling me, I'm coming. I'm coming to you. I'm bringing all my baggage and all my stuff, and you're gonna have to just take me as I am. And the Lord says, done, it's a deal. You give me all your failure, you give me your struggle, you give me your confusion, you give me your anger, you give me your trials, and you give me your addictions, I give you my son. I give you forgiveness, I give you a new mind, I give you a new heart, I give you a new spirit, I give you a new future, I give you a new calling, I give you new giftings you don't have, I give you a whole, I give you an eternity in heaven. What an exchange that is. So if you can hear Him calling you today, please, please, if you can hear Him calling, we're gonna stand up. I'm gonna ask you just to slip out of your seat and just come forward, and we're gonna pray together, okay? Let's keep it real simple. Won't ask you to do anything foolish. Just come. Balcony, those in the balcony, go to either exit and make your way down. Join these, come on in, come on in, my buddy. God bless you, man. God bless you. What a pleasure. God bless you. Come on in. Just slip out. Come on, don't delay. Don't put it off till tomorrow. You don't even know you have it tomorrow. Just join these that are coming now. Just keep doing it, just keep coming. Just slip out, slip out, slip out, slip out. God bless you. Just keep coming. Come on. Even turn to the person beside you and ask them if they're safe. Go ahead. And if they're not, just say, I'll go with you. If you want to go, I'll go with you. Let's do this together today. Somebody might be just in the valley of decision right now and they're not sure or they're afraid. You won't be asked to do anything foolish. You don't worry about that part of it. We're just going to pray together. Just keep coming. Come on. Keep coming. Keep coming. There's more. There's more. Come on, don't be hanging on. God's calling you. You know God is calling you. Praise God. Keep coming. Just keep coming. Just keep coming. The Lord's calling you. Respond. Don't resist Him. Move out of your seat and make your way here. Watch what the Lord's going to do in your life. Praise be to God. It's going to be amazing what God does in your life. Thank you. Is there one more? Is there one more? Is there one more who come in through the open door of God's mercy and find the strength that you need? Is there one more? I'm waiting. Keep coming. There you are. Praise God. Keep coming. You will never regret this day. You will never, ever, ever, ever, ever regret because you will never be the same again. Last Wednesday night, I said, you know, when you come to God, he does such a work in your life that even your dog will have a better life now. You'll be kind to everything around you. The heart changes, the mind changes, calling changes. You might be the next great evangelist of this generation. You don't know, but God knows. He knows what he has for you. God knows, God knows. And here we have a mom and a baby way over here. Isn't that awesome? Praise God. That child will be blessed because of what you do today. Let's just pray a simple prayer all together. And then I want to shout, okay? Is it okay if we shout after that just for you? Are you all together? What are you, sisters? Sister, sister-in-law? And your daughter. Praise be to God. A whole family here. That's awesome. That is awesome. And you were the first one down here. What do you do? What do you do? A baker. Praise God. There's a baker in the Bible. Wait till you see. You're going to find him. Praise God. Praise God. That's awesome. Now you're going to be baking for Jesus, right? Every time you bake a loaf of bread, put your hands on it and say, God, when this enters the mouth of whoever's gonna eat it, put the conviction of the Holy Spirit on it. Turn them from their sin. Okay, this is the moment. This is the moment where you get forgiven. Don't make it complicated. What do I have to do? Believe. Believe that Jesus Christ died in your place and God did it because he loves you. He sent his son there because he loves you. Open your heart to his forgiveness and just start calling him your Lord and start walking with him. Don't make it complicated. You can't earn your salvation by works. It comes by belief. It's by faith. It's by faith. Let's pray together. Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. Thank you for coming to get me. Because I didn't know how to get back to you. But I heard today that you love me and you want me to be safe and to be forgiven. So today I open my heart to you and I ask you to come into my life and be my Lord and my Savior. I believe that you are forgiving me right now. You're wiping away the record of all the wrong I've done, and giving me a new life, and the promise of heaven when I die. No matter what happens in this world, I am now safe in the arms of God. Thank you for loving me, and thank you for receiving me. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.