Gospel—A. Coleman
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I'd like to read a portion very well known verses Second Corinthians 4:00 and 4:00.
In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them.
Which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ourselves, Your servants for Jesus sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in your hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Luke, chapter 14.
Luke, chapter 14.
And verse 16 A certain man made a great supper, and made many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden.
Come, for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuses. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go see it. I pray thee, have me excused.
And another said I have bought 5 yoke of oxen and I go to prove them, I pray thee have me excused. And another said I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.
And it says there I'll I'll, I'll repeat it again in verse 17. Come for all things are now ready not as beautiful verse. Come for all things are now ready. And that's the message of the gospel to whosoever will and that wonderful word that the Lord Jesus quoted. Come, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest I I often think that possibly.
God's favorite word is come. It's an invitation to guilty lost sinners, and his arms are outstretched through this world. Tonight he say unto you, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The heavy laden with sin. He can take all those sins and wash them away in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. The blood of Jesus Christ Godson cleanseth us from all sins.
I'm going to heaven. I'm going to heaven one day and very soon, and I'm going there because of the work of Christ and Calvary's cross. I'm going there because He shed His precious blood there on Calvary's cross for me. He did it all for me. I didn't do a thing. It says the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And So what is your reaction to this? How do you stand in this? I say, are you saved? Do you know Christ as your Savior? You can come tonight.
And surely as I re repeated that verse again, I love to quote it. Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. How many there are in this world are so heavy laden with sin. Heavy laden with sin. But the Lord Jesus and His Master's grace should take those sins. He bore them all on Calvary's cross for me. And those dark hours on Calvary's cross.
He could cry out, my God, my God, why his? Thou forsaken me. Oh he was there on account of my sins, being the sin bearer for us, because he loved me and he gave himself for me. I want you to sing with me tonight #17.
Have you any room for me?
Little boy, I'm blown up today.
In 17,000.
7.
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Room for pleasure of orders.
Long for bright dark dreams.
Not like that Italian.
Cancer, yes, but I'm hard for which is hard.
Room for chase.com.
OK, 20,000 20.
Sway, love, hearts or wine, hail and.
Last night, stand and trail while you're on my day.
Uh, see you any time for Jesus.
I have been great to call them again.
Oh, today is time. Like, uh.
OK, how long do I have anything?
Room four years of Florida.
Hates going down his way across the Bay.
Today's horror store wisely OH.
Now you know this song that we just sang says you got any room for Jesus?
Think about that for a minute. Have you got any room for Jesus? He's asking you this.
He will bore your Lord of sin. Have you got any room for this blessed One who hung on Calvary's cross for you?
How could you refuse such a message? How could you refuse it?
Have you any time for Jesus? And that, that's the question.
Have you got any time in your life for Jesus? Have you got any time for Him?
And he's pleading for you to come.
I always like to quote that verse John 737 in the Gospel meeting at that last day, that great day, the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come to me a drink and I'll eat that. Because you know, this may be the golf last Gospel meeting that will be preached last gospel. Think of it and the door will be closed forever.
It will be too late. Too late will be the cry. Jesus of Nazareth has passed by. You know, it is a very, very solemn thing to to sit in a gospel meeting and I'm heating the precious news of salvation.
You're saying to the Lord Jesus, I've got no room for you, not in my heart. I got no time for you. I want pleasure.
I wanna enjoy this world, You know this world is gonna pass away.
And what a working world we're living in right now, today.
You pick up the newspaper everywhere.
And there you can see it, what awful, awful things are happening in this world.
Why? Because I believe the Lord's coming is very soon. Very soon.
Have you any time for Jesus?
I, uh, got on the train to go downtown.
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Marta train in uh, in uh, Atlanta and I got on the train to go downtown and uh, as a, as a, as a usually my uh.
I'd like to look around, I'd like to look at everybody on the train.
And uh.
You know, just like go, go up and down the roads and, and, uh, look to see what they're doing. You know, I've discovered and maybe.
Uh, this discovery is not new to anybody here tonight, but I've discovered that Satan has found a great tool in turning man's eye away from the Lord Jesus Christ, and I found it on that train. What is it, the iPhone?
The iPad.
The cell phone. The computer.
Turn your eyes in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not.
Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine into them. And here they are.
And they're looking at it and there are fakes on it. They don't look around and see what's going on. Sometimes I wonder if they're getting off the right stop because they're so busy with it.
See, I think.
You know, oh, I hope there's nobody looking at an iPhone here tonight. Why? Because this is a solemn occasion, the gospel meeting going forth, and you're responsible for it.
No, I know you're not.
So we find in uh.
Uh, Luke chapter 14, we have these men that we read.
Excuses, excuses. Now, if you're not belong to the Lord Jesus, what's your excuse? Why, why? Why haven't you come to Christ?
Why haven't you?
You know what that that says to me? That it says to me? A cold heart. Cold, cold.
What's the first one?
Oh yeah.
I want to relate this. He sent his servant at supper time to say that, and that we're bidding come for all things are not ready. My wife has got a picture, and she might have got it at a grass sale or something like that.
Umm, upstairs.
In the in the bedroom upstairs and it's a picture about like that and it's a picture of a table.
And uh, uh, there are chairs on either side of the table. Lovely cutlery, dishes, everything. You know something about that table?
Yeah, it's a long table.
A long table and it goes on into affinity.
You know something? I'm gonna sit at that table because my Lord is gonna be there.
And that that that it could be your portion. You could be there.
What a moment is just before us.
Think of it.
To hear the show, to hear the show tonight, wouldn't it be nice here, here we've had a a beautiful two day, 2 days of meeting. Wouldn't it be nice to top it off with the Lord coming and take us home?
Beautiful. Oh how long? But I got an excuse.
What is the first one? They all, with one consent, began to make excuse.
The first set I bought a piece of ground and my sneeze. Go and see it and I pray they have me excuse.
Well, what is this? I bought a piece of ground. Oh, I got. So let's translate this into the to today I bought a piece of ground. Umm.
I need to cut my lawn today. I need to trim my head just I need to do go through my flower garden. I I need to look after that piece of ground that I got, but I got no time for the Lord.
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There's no time for.
You know, I like, I like, I like, I like to make it this way. Make time. It's worth it. Make time. It's worth it to spend those quiet hours with the Lord. You know, my wife and I, we just really enjoy getting up in the morning and getting out into the word and reading and, and talking about it and praying how, how wonderful it is.
To be over the word and uh but it what does it says uh another said I have bought 5 yoga box and I go to prove them. I pray they have me excuse.
This man bought 5 yoke of oxen and it's kind of a lame brain excuse isn't it?
You don't go and buy a car unless you look at it, unless you get your mechanic to look at it.
So this man, he says.
Pretty how many excuse I bought this I bought this car.
What an excuse, what an excuse.
I gotta wash my car, got to lubricate it, change the oil, everything else. It's gonna take me all day. And I got no time for the Lord, no time, no time to think about my salvation.
That's it. You see, that's what I read there in in second Cor, in 2nd Corinthians 4 and four, in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine into him.
But oh, I want to tell you again, he's saying to you, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Then he says I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. Now I know that the answer quick, what would be bring your wife, bring your wife, bring your friend?
Free your friend.
The 14th chapter of Luke is this.
Earth with all its hindrances. The 15th chapter of Luke is this heaven with all its blessedness, joy in the presence of the angels of God over one Sinner that repented. The 16th chapter is this hell with all its miseries. And I ask you tonight, what chapter are you on? What chapter are you in?
Thank God, by the grace of God, I'm the 15th chapter. There's joy.
In the presence of the angels of God over one Sinner that repented. I repented of my sins long ago. Yeah, really long ago, probably.
60.
60 years ago.
Not sorry for it. Keeping a tremendous savior to me. I've failed in many many times.
But I want to go now to the, uh, no. We'll make a comment on the 16th chapter first and then we'll go to the 15th chapter because that's what I have in my heart tonight.
The 616 chapter is about a man that lived for himself. He didn't have any time for Jesus. He didn't. It says umm, there was a certain man, rich man that which had a.
I got.
Oh boy.
Am I in the right chapter?
What? Verse 19?
Verse 19.
OK, sorry, uh. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs, was fell from the rich man's table. More over the dogs came electrosaurs. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels and to Abraham's bosom, and the rich man also died.
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And was buried and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment and seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I'm tormented in this flame.
And Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things, and likewise also Lazarus evil things. But now thou art he is.
Uh, Comfort Inn dour T tormented and besides, all this is between US and you. There's a great go fix so that they which would pass from hands to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. And he said, I pray thee, therefore.
Father that that would send them to my father's house, for I have 5 brother that he may testify into them, unless they also come into this place of torment.
And Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.
Oh, this man, Rich, he had everything.
I've got all these riches. I don't need Christ. No, it says it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of heaven. But it's not impossible. Zacchaeus came. He was rich.
He was rich, but this man didn't care. He fared sumptuously every day.
But he left God out of his life, left God out of his life and it and it and it says in hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment.
Does God want to send a man to hell?
No, no, the last thing that God wants to do is to send a man to hell.
I like to quote that verse in Ezekiel that says I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked would turn from his evil way. And then he says, turn thee, turn ye, for why will ye die? It's exact. I think it's exactly Ezekiel 33.
God does not want to send them into hell, but he has no other course.
If you reject this wonderful offer of mercy, you know it is an insult to God.
To reject his wonderful salvation, an insult. He's provided everything for the Sinner to come to him. Think of that. Provided everything.
No, no.
But yet, you know, here's the fellow here.
That for years said no to the Lord Jesus.
Is it possible that there's a young fella like me like I was years ago?
Sitting in this audience and saying no to the Lord Jesus.
It's all done. This world has got nothing for you. Nothing for you.
What is the Lord Jesus got for you? Love and life and lasting joy Lord Jesus found in me. He satisfies the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with fatness. What a God we have. What a God we have. Go now to chapter 15.
First hand. Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one Sinner that repenteth.
You know, if there was one senior here tonight that came to the Lord Jesus, there'd be joy in heaven. Thank you.
Joy in heaven, oh how wonderful it is when a Sinner comes and to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
But you know, maybe tonight the last Sinner will be brought in and the door will close forever.
The door will close to the day of grace forever. It'd be too late as the song goes too late, too late will be the cry Jesus of Nazareth has passed by chapter 15 verse 11. And he said a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.
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And he divided unto him as living. He says, Father, give me. You know I like that because we have a giving father. We have a giving father. He's given the very best to you and I.
First of all, the gift of salvation, the gift of God, is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What good is a gift if you don't take it?
What good is a gift if you don't take it?
All receive this wonderful gift.
All this Father loved his son, and he divided unto both of them as living.
And so this son says, ah boy, money in my pocket, hey, and I can, I can go now and I can do some of the wonderful things that I wanted to do. And so he goes off into a far off land.
He goes off into far off land. What does it say? And many days after the sun gathered all together and took his journey into a far off land, and there wasted his substance in riotous living.
And when he had spent all.
There arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in one, began to be in one.
You know, for you and I, I can say this. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I won't. I don't need anything.
He's done everything for me. He supplied all my needs all my life.
Thank God I have a wonderful God. Oh, do you know this God? And then it says he went and joined himself to a citizen of the country, and he sent him into the fields to feed swine. What a horrible job.
To feed swine. And for a Jewish boy, that was awful. It was an unclean animal.
He found a he beat and he and he Jo and and and you know, that's what the world offers you.
A job feeding swine.
And then it says he would fain filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat, and no man gave to him.
I'm gonna just pause there for a minute.
Ethane would fill his belly with a house that the swine did eat.
Now let me ask you a question.
Uh, do you like watermelon?
Yeah, uh, in our house, uh, the watermelon goes in a hurry.
OK.
Do you eat the the husk? Uh, the watermelon?
Why?
It doesn't taste very good.
Do you like car corn in the cob?
Do you eat the? Do you eat the Cobb? No.
It's garbage. You put that in that garbage.
You don't need that, but you know that's what's happening in this world. Men are eating the garbage.
The garbage.
How's the Carmen County, downtown Vancouver And uh, we had a lane behind this, uh, behind the garage and there were dumpsters down there.
And we used to watch them, we used to call these guys the garbage detail and they would go up and down the lane searching for garbage and whatever they could find.
Now, one day.
When I was down there.
Uh, this man came and opened the dumpster and pick up some garbage.
He picked up a grapefruit.
And without a word of a lie, it was half rotten because he it was all it was rotten. He picked it out of this garbage.
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And and and you know there are.
In in downtown Vancouver there are garbage cans all the way down.
And there are people that are fishing through those garbage cans all the time to get anything.
McDonald's coffee I don't like.
But I spotted a man that got into a a garbage can and there was a McDonald's coffee half there. He took it up and drunk it, drank it right there and oh awful, I spotted another man on a boat.
And it was a restaurant, and this man just sat there and watched everybody eat.
And then, uh, a group of people got up and left some chips cold. Part of a hamburger.
And he proceeded to sit down and eat the rest.
Garbage, garbage. And yet there are many that are doing that very thing.
Garbage of this world.
When he came to himself.
And when he came to himself, he said, how many, how many hired service of my father?
Have bred enough to spare and I perish with hunger.
I'm gonna just stop here for a minute.
And tell you a story about myself.
No, I'm not gonna tell you all the gory details that I did when I was a wild stallion.
I'm gonna tell you how the Lord turned me to him.
I grew up in the McDowell division in Vancouver.
It was, uh.
To me, not a very good meeting.
Umm, mostly old folks.
And I really thought that to me, maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't that way. They didn't care about me and I didn't care about them. And so I left.
I went away. I was working over in Vancouver Island. I was over there for four years meanwhile.
My father had left the McDowell division and through the guidance.
And of our brother Gordon Hale. He spread the Lord's Table in his home.
1954.
Just after that, I came home.
From and I.
Took up.
Residence in in my bedroom.
And I resumed my acquaintance with the boys that I had jumped around with for years.
And those boys that I jumped around with were unbelievers and we did a lot of nasty things.
It's Saturday night.
Always Saturday night. That was the big night.
So I met the boys in downtown. We went.
And I came back about 2:00 in the morning, went to sleep.
About 11:00 in the morning I heard singing. I woke up to sing what was happening? They were singing upstairs.
And I recognize some of those tunes.
I many of them that we sang in large St.
I couldn't hear all the prayers or anything else like that.
MMM And they were seen. So I waited till about 12:00. I knew they'd be finished by 12 and I.
I went upstairs to the bathroom, got cleaned up and I came out.
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And my dad says this is my son Al.
And about four or five different brothers came to me, and one brother especially came to me and gave me a big hug.
Glad to know you.
Now let me ask you, would you hug a person that smelled of tobacco and booze?
This man, this is what's going on here.
And this happened and every week after that, they were people coming from Seattle, Tacoma, Hoquiam, from Toronto, all over the place. They were coming to visit my dad to encourage him.
And this new table that have been spread in Vancouver.
I don't this is new to me. I couldn't figure this out what's going on?
Never had this in large St. We if we had one visitor a year maybe.
And every one of them that came were so friendly and they come up with a friendly handshake.
I, I just, I just couldn't figure it out and why they were doing it. Why were they doing it? Why were they doing this to me?
I didn't deserve all this.
So friendly, so nice.
A big hug.
Well.
After a few weeks of this, I, uh, I decided I think I'll go and sit in the meeting.
So I sat in the meeting, and the next week I started in the meeting again. And again and again.
You know, and then my dad said to me, he said, look, Al, there's an all day meeting in Seattle this weekend. You wanna go? Well, no. OK, If I can take my car. I had a Cadillac. OK. Oh.
And, uh, so, yeah, we went down to Seattle and, you know, Large St. meeting, there was maybe 10 or 15 people. We got into this meeting room. It was a great big house and there were 200 people there. I said, where did they come from? I, I, I just couldn't believe this.
You know what was happening in my life.
The prodigal was on its way home.
The prodigal was on his way home.
And that's the way it went until the Lord completely restored me and one day I had to make the final decision.
We're down on the beach with the boys, I said. Look, I can't walk with you anymore.
I want to follow the Lord. Can't do it. You know something?
They after that they didn't want to have anything to do with me.
Because I made a stand for the Lord, The prodigal was on his way home.
What happened?
He comes to his father and he says Father, I've sinned. You know something? Those 3 words I've been told are the hardest words that a person can say. I have sinned.
Yeah, you've seen. Just think of it. I have sinned.
To admit that I'm a guilty lost Sinner on my way to hell.
And coming to him, coming to the Savior.
Say I have sinned.
I will rise and go to my Father, and we'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven, and before thee I'm no more worthy.
Was I worthy? Are you worthy?
You know what the very first verse of this chapter says? This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
This man, the Lord Jesus Christ, received sinners.
They can receive you. We can receive me. We can see you. I don't I, I repeated this. I repeated this before.
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Uh, some of you know my nephew Wayne Coleman.
Anyways, uh, he was worse than I was.
I'm telling you, he was worse than I was. Motorcycle gangs, you name it, the whole bit.
The Lord saved me, you know, his mother came to me and she says, Ali says. If the Lord can save a guy like you, there's hope for my son.
And the Lord saved Wayne too, going on so nicely.
Dear brother in the meeting.
Really taking hold of the scriptures. We value that dear brother, and they're wonderful. It's the grace of God. Do we deserve it? The sovereign grace of God that picks a rebel Sinner up and saves them and puts them on a heavenly Rd.
The grace of God.
And it's the grace of God.
You know this young man had to go through this to realize that he was a guilty lost Sinner.
And he comes to his father and he says I'm no more worthy. No, I'm not worthy.
But what does he sue? Make me as one of the hard servants, No.
And he arose and came to his father, and while he was yet a great way off, that just shows you that he was waiting for you to come.
And the Lord Jesus tonight is waiting for you to come.
But it was a great way off.
The Lord Jesus knew I was a great wealth and He was watching me for it to come home. Beautiful, isn't it?
And what a God.
His father saw him and read and that compassion, and ran and fell in his neck and kissed him.
Now wonderful.
Or think of the love and affection of the father coming to his son.
Fell on his neck and kissed him.
Oh, no worries. How wonderful.
And this affection of the Lord Jesus you again be yours all through your life.
Again, I say he's looked after me and cared for me all my life. What a God I have. And you know that's the God I'm going to spend an eternity with.
Soon tonight.
Tonight.
And the Son said, Auntie him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and are no more worthy to be called thy son.
But I like those words but for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You look up all those words but.
That's a challenge, but the gift of God is eternal life. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love we're worth. He had loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sin, but God?
And the Father said in verse 22 to his servant, Bring forth the best Grove and put it on, put it on him, and put a ring in his hand, and shoes on his feet. What is a ring? It's eternal love.
When I married my wife four years ago and she gave me this ring and I gave her a ring, it's eternal love. I love you, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
The best role Isaiah, 6110.
Isaiah 6110 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath closed me with a robe of righteousness.
00:45:06
As a bride.
Groom decking himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself for their Jews. He has clothed me with garments of salvation.
That nice.
Isaiah.
Uh, can't think about the exact reference. Now. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. You know that that is beautiful to me. God is my salvation. I'm saved. I'm on my way to heaven.
I will trust and not be afraid. You know, we, we don't need to worry about the future. Our future is all settled in Christ.
Money for India?
The best is yet to be when we're gonna see him face to face.
But this elder son, I better go back there.
N.
But the now the older son was in the field, and he came and drew nigh to the house, and heard the music and dancing. And he called one of the servers and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, My father has come, and thy brothers come, and thy father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received them safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in.
Think of that.
Would not go in. Is there somebody that tonight here is saying I will not go in?
The Father came out and entreated him. Oh, and I think of that, how God is entreating sinners to come to them tonight, over and over and over.
To hear the gospel.
The many message, the many Ways and Means that God is uh.
Presenting the gospel to sinners. I'm so thankful that I can go down the street and hand the mall. That's the message from God. And I and Brother Dawn I, those tracks are so good that they sell themselves. I just got no problem. They take them and it's a message from God.
Wonderful.
And he answered and said, Lo, these many years do I serve thee neither transgress I at any time thy commandment, And yet thou never escapest me a a a kid that I might make merry with my friends.
Verse 31 Says this. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have designed. You know this tells me one thing.
This elder son is a type of Israel.
Type of Israel.
However, with me and all that I have is here to think of how God pleaded for the nation of Israel. You think of of the Apostle Paul who can say my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel does that they might be saved and yet they rebelled against God. They went into idolatry. He had to bring.
Bring him into Babylon, he and.
He he entreated them.
And yet they turned their back on him, and it's just like this man.
Son, thou art ever with thee and all that I have a sign. He gave them anything, and you think that that how he.
Redeemed them out of Egypt with a strong hand. And he repeats that over and over again. Reminds Israel over and over again of what he did for them. I had. I was billeted in North Carolina.
With a man.
They asked me to and he was a Jew.
And I stayed there the three nights that that the conference was on.
00:50:06
A nice man.
But each night they came after meeting and I got up in the morning and left.
But he had, he had the old TV on full blast and you, you can see that what he was uh, uh, looking at wasn't too pleasant.
But finally I wanted to talk to him. I forget his name, sorry umm.
Uh uh, a neighbor of Burke Council, umm.
And uh, I said to him Monday, I want to read some scripture to you.
And I went to Isaiah 53.
And I, I read him Isaiah 53 and I said, look who's he talking about? Who's he talking about? It couldn't be anybody else but the Lord.
Nobody else but the Lord.
You know.
Like the Apostle Paul said, all day long have I stretched up my hand.
OK, I didn't quote that right anyways.
Is there somebody here tonight?
That doesn't know Jesus a little one.
A teenager.
You come tonight, He'll save you. He'll receive you. He's a wonderful God. Let's thank him.