Gospel—D. Buchanan
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Hey, we've waited an extra two or three minutes for this gospel meeting.
Because He wants you to know that God is also waiting for some lost Sinner to come in. I don't know if that last one is in this room or not.
If they are, I hope they get saved tonight because that means the Lord can take us all home.
The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Like to start our meeting singing about that savior #10 on your hymn sheet?
There is a Savior on high in the glory.
A Savior who suffered on Calvary's tree. A Savior is willing to save now as ever. His arm is almighty, His love great and free. Oh, come now to Jesus, that dear loving Savior, receive him.
This moment and peace shall be thine. You don't need to wait till the end of this meeting to get saved. You can do it right now. Let's let's rise and sing hymn #10.
There is also.
The world.
8 BHK builder floor for sale in.
The house and.
Lunchtime.
Shall we just look to the Lord in prayer?
Blessed God.
This morning.
When I arrived here this morning.
My family know me that I like to. I don't like to be late for meeting.
And so we parked our car and started walking in here to the meeting room where we have the meetings. I've been here once before, several years ago.
And I had it before me. I got to get in there and get a seat.
We started walking and the person I was walking with.
Looked over and saw somebody.
They loved.
And quickly walked over and started speaking to that person and greeting them. Walked a little farther and then another person came up.
Hadn't seen for a long time.
And as I came and sat down here alone.
I thought.
Of my Savior was more interested in persons, the souls of men.
And where he sat.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
Said, Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
He is genuinely interested in your soul, dear friend, tonight.
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We want to talk about him tonight and it seemed appropriate to me tonight to speak about.
What we've had before us in these meetings, great.
Introduce our subject tonight in the first chapter of John's Gospel.
The Son of God.
Come down to this earth. When we were singing about, he went back to glory. He's there now.
But he came to her. John's Gospel chapter one, verse one.
In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God.
The word was God.
Now, for the sake of time, we're going to drop down verse 14.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bear witness of him, and cried, saying.
This was he of whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.
And of this fullness have all we received, and grace. For grace for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Dear friends, this is the person I want to talk about tonight.
God, come down into this world, the Son of God.
Come to tell you and me what he's like.
Ben said the man is wrong or he has a wrong concept in two different ways. Now, I don't want to just moralize here before you this morning, this afternoon.
But I believe this is the truth.
One is first of all, we have a by nature a wrong concept of God and who he is, what He's like.
Secondly.
We have a wrong concept of what our own heart is like, what we ourselves are like.
And when the Son of God, Jesus Christ, came into this world.
He made that all evident and plain, and I'd like to go through just a few little incidents, just a few days out of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ to bring before our souls.
What God is like?
And also what our own hearts are like.
You know, it's nice to have the little children here.
We love the little children.
But that doesn't take us very long as a parent.
To learn.
What the heart of man is like when he first comes into this world. As we grow up, you do, little children. Here tonight, you need to be safe.
Just because you haven't grown up and done all the wicked things that older people do doesn't mean your heart is any different.
You need to be saved.
You need to have your sins put away.
And there's only one person that can do it.
There was only one person that cared enough.
Soul and mind like the Lord Jesus Christ. Why did they let? Why did the Lord Jesus Christ let those wicked men take him and put him on a cross like a criminal and take a spear and open up his side?
Was he not able to control the situation there?
Oh, dear friend.
Take a look at that man and see how much he loves you.
Take a look at him and see that he let people do that to him to show them that he loved them.
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And he wanted to show grace and truth.
God can overlook sin.
He must deal with it. God is true.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. We've had a little prefix to this chapter just in our previous meeting in the case of Moses.
Who wanted to see the glory of God? Who wanted to shepherd the people of God?
But it says about them they were a rebellious and a stubborn people.
4000 years.
Cried man before the Lord Jesus came into the world.
Ought to be enough to teach us what the heart of man is really like.
Young people.
Go out in life experimenting with your soul to learn what your heart is like. Go to the Word of God and see what God says about it and learn the lesson before you start.
Save yourselves many trouble.
You'll save dishonouring the Savior who came.
To die for you.
Grace and truth.
Came by Jesus Christ.
We had in our readings this day a little of how that.
Grace does not compromise the truth.
And I believe we'll notice as we go through some of these stories, these incidents in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, how that He perfectly always maintain those two things.
And here in preaching the gospel tonight, we must maintain these two things.
The truth of God. God is holy and we are sinners.
How can those two kind of people get together?
Nobody could do the job.
Not even Moses.
Who was a wonderful leader and shepherd, and he cared for those people of God.
But Jesus Christ did.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Now let's go on over and notice that. Let's drop down to verse 29, the same chapter.
We are going to start out here noticing each day in the life of the Lord Jesus that He was here.
It's interesting that in this Gospel of John.
There are, I believe.
Just 28 days out of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ described to us here.
Everything in this book happened within approximately the best of my count. It's 28 days.
Out of the life of the Lord Jesus and we are not only going to touch on a few of them.
The second one is in verse 29.
The next day.
Jesus, John C seeth Jesus coming unto him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Now, this is a statement that we've often heard most all of us, but I want you to stop and think of the impact.
Of what this verse is saying, the Lamb of God which taketh away.
The sin of the world.
Think of that. Taking sin away out of this world. Who can do that?
It isn't just taking the sin out of your heart.
For my heart, it's taking away the sins of the world, the whole world.
And I believe that Jesus Christ is going to do that. He's already laid the basis for it on Calvary's cross.
And when it's all said and done in the history of man and the history of this world.
Sin is going to be completely taken out.
And where will you be, dear friend, when that takes place? You know, there's a lot of people that delight in sin. They think sin is fun.
And there is such a thing as the pleasures of sin that says.
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Up to a point, there may be some pleasure in it.
But it also says the wages of sin is death.
That's a consequence.
And we're reminded about it all around us.
You know, there are many, many philosophies in this world.
And everybody, you talk to them about the Lord Jesus Christ, and they'll usually have some answer of what they believe and why they do what they do and so on. And.
Who has ever come up with a solution to take away sin out of the world?
Has he taken away the sin out of your life?
Have you dealt with the Lord Jesus about the sin question?
Can you say that he died?
For your sins thereon Calvary's cross, have you trusted in Him as your Savior to take those sins away?
If you do not do that.
I'm afraid you will find your place vanished in the lake of fire out of this world, to be a testimony for all eternity to what God does to sinners.
That refuse Jesus Christ the Savior.
The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. One of the first statements here. This is the second day in John's Gospel. The next day.
You know, we like to overlook this question about sin.
It's amazing how in our society.
They're inventing new words and new ways of expressions. Could not be offensive to people politically correct. But how are we going to do with this sin question?
We're going to describe it in new terms. We're going to change what sin really is.
Can we get around the issue that way? No, my friend.
We can.
Jesus Christ, my Savior came.
To deal with that question, to take it away, it's amazing. People talk about ways of reform, fixing up the world.
And if you read the newspaper, and I hope you don't do too much, but you get all kinds of stories about sin.
What it does to people and how people think it ought to be fixed up.
But nobody's come up with a solution to remove sin. Accept the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's go on.
The third day, verse 43, chapter one, verse 43, the day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee and find the Philip and Seth unto him. Follow me Now Philip was of the Seder, the city of Andrew and Peter. Peter find this Nathaniel and saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathaniel said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?
They'll obsess unto him, Come and see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and theft of him. Behold, an Israelite indeed, of whom is no guile.
In whom is no guile? Nathaniel said unto him, Whence knowest thou mean? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, When thou lest under the fig tree I saw thee. Nathaniel answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and saith unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw the end of the fig tree, believeth thou?
Thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of God.
Nathaniel.
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Is the next person to come in contact with the Lord Jesus here that it mentions?
The first time Nathaniel hears about the Lord Jesus.
Or Jesus.
He's skeptical.
Can any good thing come out?
Of Nazareth. Now I understand that Nazareth was a poor people lived the lower class, the unrefined, uneducated, fishermen and so on.
And so they were looked on by perhaps those of Judea that went to school and had the law and so on.
And so Nathanael has this concept.
Nothing good can come out of that place.
What kind of concept do you have tonight, dear friend the Lord Jesus? Have you come here skeptical?
Sometimes I notice there's even sarcasm about religious things.
That the Lord Jesus know about this.
Did he turn away from that man and say, oh, he's skeptical, I don't want him?
No, it's amazing the answer.
The statement that the Lord Jesus makes to Nathaniel.
Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no God.
I believe that was the best thing you could say about Nathaniel.
I believe it indicates that the Lord Jesus knew that when.
He revealed himself to Nathaniel.
Nathaniel would submit and obey to the truth.
And not be with guile. And so the Lord Jesus did reveal himself to that man.
Is there someone in this room?
That doesn't know the Lord Jesus yet. Are you still skeptical? Are you questioning this issue?
Look at the case of Nathaniel.
He didn't.
He didn't turn away from this man.
Because of his first skepticism.
No.
I believe Nathaniel did have an honest heart. You know, that's what it says about the Parable of the Sower.
That when it's sown in an honest and good heart, dear friend, that's what we ask you to bring.
To God, tonight we don't ask you to bring a good heart that is that one that you can fix up, but an honest heart and good in that sense that you will recognize the truth of God. You will recognize the Lord Jesus for who He is and for what He's done. If you do that, you'll get saved.
Because the Lord Jesus will show what's in your heart, Nathaniel, what was in his heart. And he just took out a little incident and showed what Nathaniel was doing when he was under that fig tree. We don't even know for sure what it was.
But it made that man realize that Jesus Christ knew all about him.
And I believe it made him realize that he also loved and cared about him.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No passing over the serious issues of life, No.
If he's skeptical, questioning the Lord, Jesus addressed that point.
And brought the truth of who he was before this man Nathaniel.
Oh dear friend, when the Lord Jesus is presented to you.
When this begins to dawn in your soul and you realize who that man is.
Are you willing to turn your life over to him?
Are you willing to own him for who he is, the Son of God?
That's what Nathanael says.
Rabbis, thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel.
Brilliant conclusions that the truth of God.
That's who He is, the Son of God.
Wonderful that God has recorded these things for us.
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Dear friend, I believe.
That if you were the only Sinner in the world, God would have done all this here.
And this whole book of John and the whole word of God to prove to you the truth of Jesus, who is what he's done.
Now let's go on. We have the next case, Chapter 2. This is the 4th day. Well, it's the third day, but it's the fourth incident.
We're not going to read this whole part about the marriage feast.
But I would just like to comment on it.
That I believe it shows to us that Jesus Christ is the true one who can bring joy and happiness.
Into our hearts.
There was a situation in that, in that in that land of where the Lord Jesus was, where they were at a wedding feast and they ran out of wine. Terrible embarrassing thing that happened to A to a person who's hosting a wedding.
And the Lord Jesus provides, and he does it in such a way to show to us that He is a source to bring joy and happiness.
Your life into mine.
And I believe he's done it in a way that would show how that in the day of the Millennium.
In the reign of righteousness, when the Lord Jesus Christ is the King reigning over this earth.
That he's going to bring true joy and happiness.
There is a way to joy in this life.
The Lord Jesus Christ, I believe, is the solution. Now, I don't believe in preaching the gospel in such a way to to make people feel that if you just turn and come to the Lord Jesus, he'll make everything right and good and happy in your life and that all will go well the rest of your life. No, I don't see that's the way it's presented.
But it's presented.
In a way to make us realize that only those who know their sins are forgiven, only those who have a true relationship with their Creator God through the Lord Jesus Christ are those who have what is true.
Joy.
A guilty conscience, a bad conscience, is a terrible thing to live with.
I just heard the story about a man today.
This is tragic.
Man who is going on with the sin for 30 years.
Unconfessed.
And finally.
It came out.
Oh dear friend, don't wait that long to deal with this in question.
If you see this man, who he is and how he deals with sinners, why would you hold back something unconfessed that hinders true joy and happiness?
It is a slam to the Lord to hide things from Him.
It's an insult to all that he's done.
I really believe it is.
We think about those soldiers who buffeted the Lord and smote him and crowned him with thorns and so on, and all the physical abuse that they heaped on the Lord Jesus there when he was on the cross. But, dear friend.
What about your sins?
How are you treating the Lord?
Have you realized?
That he came to put those sins away.
Don't insult him by rejecting him.
Be like Nathaniel was without guile, wasn't covering up anything, everything out in the open.
If there were no forgiveness for sinners, yes, I can understand somebody wanting to cover things up and to pretend and to not really deal in honesty with the issues. But my friend, God has made a way where we can deal with this in question and your eternal blessing.
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And then you turn from the Lord Jesus and put it on.
To go on to live a few years in this world and the way you choose, dear friend.
What are you doing to the Lord Jesus Christ? Most of you have heard about Him as a Savior. Most of you have been brought up in Christian homes where you've been taught these things. And yet I fear as I look out and see some of the young people and older ones too, is it real with you? Have you confessed the Lord Jesus as your Savior? Have you entrusted your soul to His care? Have you believed on Him as your Savior?
Now I'd like to go on there. There are several incidents I'd like to turn to.
The third in the second chapter, One more in the second chapter, verse 23.
This is the 6th incident in the life of the Lord for the 6th day.
The 6th recording anyway.
Verse 23 John 223 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name when they saw the miracles which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. And then we have connected with this, the story about Nicodemus who came to the Lord.
As if the Lord were a good buddy he could associate with and they could be pals.
And that Nicodemus appreciated the qualities of the Lord, and they could go through life.
On that basis, and the Lord tells Nicodemus, Nicodemus.
You must be born again, Nicodemus. You got to start all over again. You got to have a new life.
And that's what's necessary to be saved.
Interesting. Learn this conclusion from the Lord Jesus that your own heart.
Is not worth trying to fix up.
It's not salvageable and the Lord Jesus when he came into this world.
That's what he says here he needed. Not that any should testify of man, for he knew.
What was in man?
Dear friend, he knows your heart. He knows how bad it is or how good it is. No matter what, he knows it through and through.
Did he stop the work of salvation because of that? No. That's one of the wrong concepts that our hearts often have. We don't really believe that God is for us. We don't really believe that God's plan is the best plan for our life.
And we choose our own way.
Oh, don't waste your years learning that.
Look at this blessed book and see what testimony the Lord Jesus gave about your heart and life.
Sometimes we hear people say, oh, I would never do such and such a thing.
Oh, dear friend, he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool, the scripture says.
Take God's testimony. You know we ought not to have to go down a hard course of a sinful life.
Before we get saved many times, I believe it's so we have to learn the hard way. But I don't want that for any of you. I don't want you to go out there and learn what your own heart is the hard way.
Take God's word for what it says. He knows what the heart of man is.
And that's why he says you have to start all over with a new heart, a new life. You have to be born again.
Very basic concept, very simple, a new life. It was so simple, Nicodemus had a hard time getting a hold of us.
And I believe it's hard for us to get a hold of that because we don't want to relinquish.
The concept that we have about ourselves, that we think there's still some good in US.
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Some good, they say. You know, well, it just needs the proper culture, the proper teaching and education, and then men will become better citizens and they'll love their neighbors and they'll treat their families better if you just give them the right environment. We're often told a story something like this.
Dear friend.
Don't learn that the hard way.
It's not the truth.
The Lord Jesus knew it from the day one, and he came to save.
By giving us a new life.
They born again.
A new life? Well, we must go on.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. I'd like to pass on over now to the fifth chapter.
For an important point, I believe to learn in connection with the Gospel, we're going to read a part of the 5th chapter. John, this is the 11Th day.
After this there was a feast of the Jews, this verse one, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool pool which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, blind, all withered.
Waiting for the movement of the water, for an Angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then, first, after the troubling of the water, stepped, stepped in, was made whole of whatever disease he had, and a certain man was there which had an infirmity 30 and eight years, when Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case.
He sat under him. Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him. Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool.
But while I am coming another step down before me.
Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked, and on the same day it was Sabbath.
Now what I learned by this story.
Is that?
The Lord Jesus didn't just come to help those who can help themselves. You know, I had a father-in-law that told me once that that's what he believed. He said he believed that God helped those that help themselves. But what can this man do?
38 years in a pitiful condition.
Unable to help himself get to the solution, the remedy, the cure.
It's a picture of our helplessness or God and Jesus Christ came to help the helpless.
Have you admitted you're a helpless lost Sinner?
What a what a compassionate man.
Coming up to that man.
Laying there.
And it's a picture of our own condition. There's someone here.
It's not saved yet tonight.
The Lord Jesus loves you.
He wants to help you and so I believe we are. We are.
Correct in interpreting this as a demonstration of what he's like.
He helps those who cannot help themselves. How often we have to get to a dire circumstance before we'll turn to the Lord and ask for the Lord's help.
I've seen it over and over in my own life. I'm sorry to confess, but.
The Lord just kind of has to put the brakes or the some affliction on and then we finally turn and say, Lord help me.
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Helpful. That's the kind of savior he is.
That's great.
Helping those who cannot do anything for themselves.
Because it's based all on what he is and what he wants to do and his power and ability and he wants the faith and he's able to say.
Nice step. Sometimes we have one without the other.
But the Lord Jesus is both.
Well, one more case in the.
8th chapter.
One would like to just dwell on just one of these. There's many other cases, but.
This chapter 8 of John's Gospel, the first few verses. I'd like to read it.
To me, it's one of the greatest of all stories of the grace of God.
And I hope it will touch your heart, dear friend.
Let's read it together, beginning with verse one, John 8, verse one.
Jesus went into the Mount of Olives, and early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him.
And he sat down and taught them. The scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery.
And when they had set her in the mid, they say unto him, Master.
This woman was taken in adultery, the very act. Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what sayeth thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger rode on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them.
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down and rode on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest even unto the last.
And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers?
Hath no man condemned thee? She said. She said No man, Lord Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.
Can anyone doubt?
This is grace and truth.
Meeting a person who is in a terrible predicament.
As I mentioned before, if you read the newspaper, you know I've been struck in the last year or so.
Of how much?
The public attention.
Deals with things like this chapter that we've just read apart of.
The heart of man.
Will occupy itself.
With the grossest thanks.
And the Lord Jesus came down in the midst of that kind of a condom and speech.
Argue.
And they take this poor woman who is caught in an act of sin.
They single out one person and make a case out of her.
In order.
To discredit, I believe.
The grace and truth of Jesus Christ.
They looked at it, I believe if he accepted this woman.
Taken in a very sinful act.
Where is truth?
Where is truth?
Dear friend.
Can't you see that that same man?
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It told her go and sin no more. Was the man on the road up to Calvary?
To die for her sins, to put them away.
Make her spotless and clean in God's presence.
And that's what he wants to do to you, dear friend. He wants to take those sins and put them all away. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
But it's amazing the way that the Lord Jesus dealt with this case. You see, He didn't want just to take care of this poor woman's sin. Although she was the first, she was in the forefront here.
And I want to give a word of warning.
Dear friend.
If you reject the Lord Jesus and if you make your choice with this world.
That rejected him.
With this group of people portrayed here, that would take.
A woman.
Scandalized her publicly.
In order to prove a point against the Son of God. Is that where you want to cast your lot, dear friend?
Make your choice tonight.
It is either the world or the Lord Jesus Christ.
Which will you have?
To run, do you want to commend your soul?
Do you want to live it to the pleasures of this world?
And it's no different today. Read the newspaper and you'll see it's the same stories over and over.
Or do you see in Jesus Christ one worthy of your trust, one who is willing to forgive and to put away sin?
Oh, thank God. Many of us here have found that it's real. We've trusted Him as our as our Savior and as our Lord.
And he doesn't scandalize us.
What does God do to those who come in here with the honest and good heart and admit they're a Sinner? He takes all the sin away, and not only that, He takes away all the accusers.
Before he sends the woman away and says go and sin no more, he says woman where are those time users?
Hath no man condemned thee? I believe he asked her that question, for her to verbalize the answer.
And she verbalized and she said, No man, Lord.
Have you verbalized an answer?
To God have you said Jesus Christ, thou art my Lord.
Have you ever admitted that out loud, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth?
The Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. It's good not only to believe into your heart, but to say it out loud.
I believe more deeper coming. You dear children, have you told anyone that you've trusted the Lord Jesus as your Savior? Go tell somebody if you have. Oh, it'll do you go. The Lord Jesus wants to hear it too. He wants to hear it out loud.
And so do your parents.
And many others.
Oh, what it must have meant to his heart to hear her say No man Lord, No man Lord.
She accepted what the Lord had said about her. Her accusers. No more accusers.
What a wonderful Savior, Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Oh dear friends, our time is up.
This is the close of the Gospel meeting.
You may now take the Lord Jesus as your Savior if you haven't.
Trust him, he is real and genuine.
Everything that the scripture says about him is real and I believe that one of the way that Satan seeks to blind eyes and men and women is to discredit the gospel by forging many false and.
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Untrue things, you know, we're living in a society where.
People discredit. There's a difference in this country than in other foreign countries. You know, if you go out on the street today and offer people a gift, what happens?
No thanks. No thanks. No time. Walk on right by. Whether it's a track, if you even held out a dollar bill, I would venture that people would just walk on by. No, this are some gimmicks to this. We get advertisement in the mail almost every day of all these kind of gimmicks that aren't real. There's some fine print down at the bottom. The gospel is not that way. It's real, dear friend. There's no gimmicks to us.
The truth of God, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Believeth and benefit your soul and give God the credit for what He's done.
Our time is Apple.
I'm going to pray for your soul. Let's pray together.
Our God and their Father, we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ who came to make known the way South.