0:00:00.769,0:00:06.711 Well, I was raised in Texas. 0:00:06.711,0:00:10.847 And my parents both died when I was young. 0:00:10.847,0:00:14.072 My mother died when I was two years old. 0:00:14.072,0:00:17.166 And my father died six years later,[br] 0:00:17.166,0:00:19.466 when I was eight years old. 0:00:19.466,0:00:23.473 And my cousin, who did not have children, 0:00:23.473,0:00:26.801 she and her husband took me in their home, 0:00:26.801,0:00:28.639 along with my older sister, 0:00:28.639,0:00:34.258 and they raised us. 0:00:34.258,0:00:36.522 My cousin's husband who was 0:00:36.522,0:00:38.859 like a grandfather to me, 0:00:38.859,0:00:40.994 then became my step-father; 0:00:40.994,0:00:43.878 he died when I was twelve. 0:00:43.878,0:00:51.686 Then it was Wilma, my cousin. 0:00:51.686,0:00:54.681 It was her and my sister and I 0:00:54.681,0:00:57.432 who lived together on our farm. 0:00:57.432,0:00:59.527 And then, three years later, 0:00:59.527,0:01:02.551 when my sister was an older teenager, 0:01:02.551,0:01:06.074 she was married and moved. 0:01:06.074,0:01:10.569 So then it was just my [br]adoptive mother and I. 0:01:10.569,0:01:12.852 And I grew up in church, 0:01:12.852,0:01:15.695 although it was not a [br]Gospel-preaching church. 0:01:15.695,0:01:17.292 It was a conservative church. 0:01:17.292,0:01:19.581 It was somewhat legalistic. 0:01:19.581,0:01:22.771 And did not believe [br]in musical instruments. 0:01:22.771,0:01:26.510 And I never remember hearing [br]the Gospel preached there. 0:01:26.510,0:01:31.876 I remember as a pre-teenager 0:01:31.876,0:01:35.151 one night fearing that I would go to hell 0:01:35.151,0:01:38.119 if I was not baptized. 0:01:38.119,0:01:42.525 And so I went and got baptized [br]as quickly as I could. 0:01:42.525,0:01:46.499 But all religious feelings were soon gone, 0:01:46.499,0:01:49.519 and I was still unconverted. 0:01:49.519,0:01:52.182 And as I got into my high school years, 0:01:52.182,0:01:54.873 I began to visit the local Baptist church 0:01:54.873,0:01:56.700 with my friends. 0:01:56.700,0:01:59.050 And every time I would go, 0:01:59.050,0:02:03.046 I would hear the basic Gospel. 0:02:03.046,0:02:07.610 It was not a strongly [br]doctrinal Gospel message, 0:02:07.610,0:02:10.380 but it was yet true. 0:02:10.380,0:02:12.635 It had the basics of the Gospel in it. 0:02:12.635,0:02:14.364 And every time I would go, 0:02:14.364,0:02:15.917 I would come under conviction. 0:02:15.917,0:02:18.045 I would know that God was real. 0:02:18.045,0:02:21.406 I would have feelings [br]and desires and emotions 0:02:21.406,0:02:23.918 about wanting Christ 0:02:23.918,0:02:27.080 about being interested,[br]feeling my sinfulness. 0:02:27.080,0:02:28.877 But no one ever instructed me. 0:02:28.877,0:02:32.150 No one ever counseled me biblically 0:02:32.150,0:02:35.548 what repentence was, [br]what saving faith was. 0:02:35.548,0:02:37.836 So there were many times 0:02:37.836,0:02:40.327 in the context of that Baptist church, 0:02:40.327,0:02:42.570 that I would do what they said: 0:02:42.570,0:02:43.957 Walk the aisle. 0:02:43.957,0:02:46.265 Pray a prayer. 0:02:46.265,0:02:48.536 Make a decision for Christ. 0:02:48.536,0:02:50.643 And yet, my heart was unchanged, 0:02:50.643,0:02:52.597 and I didn't know what to do. 0:02:52.597,0:02:56.735 So, generally those feelings would leave 0:02:56.735,0:02:59.288 within about three or four weeks, 0:02:59.288,0:03:03.115 and I would be back to my old self. 0:03:03.115,0:03:05.506 This continued through high school, 0:03:05.506,0:03:07.372 until I got out of high school, 0:03:07.372,0:03:11.005 and I finally just grew weary of it. 0:03:11.005,0:03:13.591 I decided I didn't want [br]to go to church anymore, 0:03:13.591,0:03:15.891 because it never lasted for me. 0:03:15.891,0:03:17.922 It didn't work for me. 0:03:17.922,0:03:19.358 And the entire time, 0:03:19.358,0:03:23.407 I sincerely knew that God was real. 0:03:23.407,0:03:26.348 I did believe the Bible [br]was the Word of God. 0:03:26.348,0:03:28.813 And I did believe that Jesus Christ 0:03:28.813,0:03:32.172 had come and He was the Savior. 0:03:32.172,0:03:34.815 I had those facts in my mind. 0:03:34.815,0:03:38.660 And I knew in my conscience [br]that they were true. 0:03:38.660,0:03:41.677 But I was yet dead in my sins. 0:03:41.677,0:03:44.093 And when I was 19 years old, 0:03:44.093,0:03:46.661 in the summer of 1973, 0:03:46.661,0:03:48.549 I had gotten completely out of church. 0:03:48.549,0:03:50.615 I was not interested at all. 0:03:50.615,0:03:52.184 I was working. 0:03:52.184,0:03:54.220 And a very close friend of mine 0:03:54.220,0:03:56.159 whose name was Kent, 0:03:56.159,0:03:57.937 was in the army. 0:03:57.937,0:04:01.044 He came home from the army one weekend, 0:04:01.044,0:04:03.804 and he had come to know Christ 0:04:03.804,0:04:07.630 while he was in the army only that summer. 0:04:07.630,0:04:09.593 He was a new Christian. 0:04:09.593,0:04:12.823 And he was burdened for me,[br]because we were close friends. 0:04:12.823,0:04:16.601 And he came home for [br]a weekend from the army. 0:04:16.601,0:04:22.172 He saw me on a Saturday morning, 0:04:22.172,0:04:24.994 and he asked me if we [br]could have some time together. 0:04:24.994,0:04:26.918 So that evening on a Saturday night, 0:04:26.918,0:04:32.106 The last Saturday of July of 1973, 0:04:32.106,0:04:34.633 I spent about three hours with Kent. 0:04:34.633,0:04:37.346 We were in his car just there in town 0:04:37.346,0:04:39.519 on a summer evening. 0:04:39.519,0:04:41.113 And he began to talk to me 0:04:41.113,0:04:43.573 about the Lord Jesus Christ. 0:04:43.573,0:04:46.577 And he didn't say anything [br]that I hadn't heard 0:04:46.577,0:04:50.149 in high school being [br]in the Baptist church. 0:04:50.149,0:04:52.310 But as he spoke, 0:04:52.310,0:04:54.553 his life had authenticity. 0:04:54.553,0:04:57.086 And I knew him well. 0:04:57.086,0:04:59.050 And I trusted him. 0:04:59.050,0:05:00.559 And the more he spoke, 0:05:00.559,0:05:04.992 and the more his words [br]were owned by the Holy Spirit, 0:05:04.992,0:05:08.161 they were used by God to bring conviction 0:05:08.161,0:05:09.862 to my heart. 0:05:09.862,0:05:11.447 And the longer we talked, 0:05:11.447,0:05:14.409 the more I came [br]under conviction of sin. 0:05:14.409,0:05:16.867 Deep conviction of sin. 0:05:16.867,0:05:20.225 And as our time got into one hour 0:05:20.225,0:05:21.688 and two hours, 0:05:21.688,0:05:27.835 the Holy Spirit really came in a great way 0:05:27.835,0:05:29.917 with a sense of His presence 0:05:29.917,0:05:32.271 in an overwhelming way. 0:05:32.271,0:05:34.398 And for the first time, 0:05:34.398,0:05:36.941 the cross was made very real to me. 0:05:36.941,0:05:40.352 That Christ really had died for my sins. 0:05:40.352,0:05:42.610 And that's what happened on the cross. 0:05:42.610,0:05:46.775 And that Christ truly did [br]love me unconditionally. 0:05:46.775,0:05:48.596 And it overwhelmed my heart. 0:05:48.596,0:05:49.887 I didn't know how to pray. 0:05:49.887,0:05:51.182 I didn't know anything, 0:05:51.182,0:05:54.311 except the love of God was [br]poured out upon me, 0:05:54.311,0:05:56.647 and I knew it in a way 0:05:56.647,0:05:58.996 that I had never seen before. 0:05:58.996,0:06:01.946 And so I began to cry out to God. 0:06:01.946,0:06:03.558 I didn't know how to pray, 0:06:03.558,0:06:05.473 but it didn't matter. 0:06:05.473,0:06:06.755 My heart wanted Him. 0:06:06.755,0:06:08.968 And I began to cry out to God. 0:06:08.968,0:06:10.783 And I said Lord Jesus, 0:06:10.783,0:06:12.811 I know You died for me. 0:06:12.811,0:06:14.491 And I have nothing to bring You, 0:06:14.491,0:06:16.546 except my sin and my self, 0:06:16.546,0:06:19.878 but here I am. 0:06:19.878,0:06:22.881 In those moments, I felt washed. 0:06:22.881,0:06:24.089 I felt clean. 0:06:24.089,0:06:25.792 I felt whole. 0:06:25.792,0:06:28.189 I felt the love of God fill me. 0:06:28.189,0:06:30.635 And it was very, very real. 0:06:30.635,0:06:32.497 And it was nothing [br]that my friend did. 0:06:32.497,0:06:34.252 He was overwhelmed as well. 0:06:34.252,0:06:36.589 He had hoped that his words 0:06:36.589,0:06:38.897 could influence me, 0:06:38.897,0:06:41.997 but he did not have any idea, 0:06:41.997,0:06:44.061 I believe, that this was going to happen. 0:06:44.061,0:06:48.458 We were both surprised by [br]the presence of the Lord 0:06:48.458,0:06:50.862 in an unusual way. 0:06:50.862,0:06:53.945 So my conversion - 0:06:53.945,0:06:55.703 three hours earlier, 0:06:55.703,0:06:58.057 God was the furthest thing from my mind. 0:06:58.057,0:07:00.772 I was not thinking about Christianity. 0:07:00.772,0:07:03.346 I wasn't interested.[br]I wasn't under conviction. 0:07:03.346,0:07:05.416 I was not searching. 0:07:05.416,0:07:09.371 God came in His mercy[br]and apprehended me. 0:07:09.371,0:07:11.584 And saved me.[br]And turned me. 0:07:11.584,0:07:13.994 And His goodness overwhelmed me. 0:07:13.994,0:07:17.563 And granted to my heart repentance. 0:07:17.563,0:07:19.143 Repentance for me at that moment 0:07:19.143,0:07:21.666 was just feeling the weight of my sin, 0:07:21.666,0:07:23.725 seeing it and hating it. 0:07:23.725,0:07:26.718 And I wanted Christ above everything else. 0:07:26.718,0:07:29.810 And my heart went to Him. 0:07:29.810,0:07:31.462 That was a Saturday night. 0:07:31.462,0:07:32.613 I was 19 years old. 0:07:32.613,0:07:35.055 The next morning, I went back up 0:07:35.055,0:07:36.705 to the Baptist church there 0:07:36.705,0:07:38.367 where I was a member. 0:07:38.367,0:07:41.264 Both Kent and I did - [br]where we were members. 0:07:41.264,0:07:43.916 And I stood up and I gave testimony 0:07:43.916,0:07:47.694 that before the previous night 0:07:47.694,0:07:50.784 I had never been a true Christian at all. 0:07:50.784,0:07:53.100 And that Christ had saved me. 0:07:53.100,0:07:54.619 And it created a little bit of 0:07:54.619,0:07:58.778 either great joy for some[br]or confusion for others 0:07:58.778,0:08:00.785 because many had presumed 0:08:00.785,0:08:02.761 that I was a true Christian. 0:08:02.761,0:08:07.490 But, that was the beginning of[br]my relationship with Christ 0:08:07.490,0:08:09.188 as a 19 year old. 0:08:09.188,0:08:13.714 And it's been now over 40 years 0:08:13.714,0:08:17.055 of walking with Him, 0:08:17.055,0:08:22.044 finding joy only in the Lord Jesus Christ. 0:08:22.044,0:08:25.720 Well, every person knows in their heart 0:08:25.720,0:08:27.632 that there is a God. 0:08:27.632,0:08:30.527 That knowledge is inside every person. 0:08:30.527,0:08:33.020 People quench it.[br]They resist it. 0:08:33.020,0:08:35.073 They try to suppress it. 0:08:35.073,0:08:36.122 But it's there. 0:08:36.122,0:08:39.385 The knowledge of God is[br]within a person. 0:08:39.385,0:08:41.278 They know God is real. 0:08:41.278,0:08:45.979 They also know intuitively[br]that they have sinned. 0:08:45.979,0:08:50.327 Their conscience tells them[br]that they have sinned. 0:08:50.327,0:08:54.684 All have sinned and [br]come short of the glory of God. 0:08:54.684,0:09:00.318 And every person has need of [br]the Lord Jesus Christ. 0:09:00.318,0:09:04.625 Every person, being sinful,[br]is separated from God. 0:09:04.625,0:09:09.375 And is in need of the Savior. 0:09:09.375,0:09:14.818 You, as well, are such a person. 0:09:14.818,0:09:17.201 The most important thing you can do; 0:09:17.201,0:09:19.247 the most urgent thing you can do, 0:09:19.247,0:09:22.209 is to stop your rebellion, 0:09:22.209,0:09:24.298 to face your rebellion, 0:09:24.298,0:09:26.396 to face your need, 0:09:26.396,0:09:28.535 to acknowledge from your heart 0:09:28.535,0:09:31.309 that indeed you are a sinner 0:09:31.309,0:09:34.101 in need of a Savior. 0:09:34.101,0:09:35.736 And turn to Him. 0:09:35.736,0:09:40.202 The Gospel says God commended His love, 0:09:40.202,0:09:42.537 He showed His love toward us, 0:09:42.537,0:09:45.226 in that while we were yet sinners, 0:09:45.226,0:09:47.369 Christ died for us. 0:09:47.369,0:09:48.784 He died for our sins. 0:09:48.784,0:09:50.220 He took our sins. 0:09:50.220,0:09:53.969 And He took the wrath of God toward us 0:09:53.969,0:09:55.727 upon Himself on the cross. 0:09:55.727,0:09:57.827 And He bore them in our place. 0:09:57.827,0:10:00.058 He died in our place. 0:10:00.058,0:10:02.118 Christ died for us. 0:10:02.118,0:10:04.269 And the love of God was demonstrated, 0:10:04.269,0:10:06.068 in that while we were yet sinners, 0:10:06.068,0:10:07.709 Christ died for us. 0:10:07.709,0:10:09.551 And then He rose again. 0:10:09.551,0:10:13.427 And He calls all to come to Him. 0:10:13.427,0:10:17.358 God commands all men [br]everywhere to repent, 0:10:17.358,0:10:18.984 to turn from their sin, 0:10:18.984,0:10:21.247 and to turn to His Son. 0:10:21.247,0:10:24.495 God has commanded all men [br]everywhere to repent. 0:10:24.495,0:10:26.156 And He's verified that, 0:10:26.156,0:10:28.639 in that He raised Christ from the dead. 0:10:28.639,0:10:30.746 He's a living Savior. 0:10:30.746,0:10:33.322 And He offers forgiveness of sins 0:10:33.322,0:10:35.943 and eternal life to all 0:10:35.943,0:10:37.840 who will come to Him. 0:10:37.840,0:10:40.322 The Bible says that 0:10:40.322,0:10:46.248 God saves all who [br]come to God through Christ. 0:10:46.248,0:10:48.479 The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said, 0:10:48.479,0:10:50.324 I am the way, the truth, and the life. 0:10:50.324,0:10:53.496 No one comes to the Father [br]except through Me. 0:10:53.496,0:10:57.606 So what does God say to any sinner? 0:10:57.606,0:11:00.046 To any person who is not in Jesus Christ? 0:11:00.046,0:11:02.717 He tells them to repent. 0:11:02.717,0:11:04.947 To turn from their sin. 0:11:04.947,0:11:08.289 To realize how evil it is. 0:11:08.289,0:11:10.759 And to turn away in their heart from it. 0:11:10.759,0:11:14.269 And to turn in dependence and trust 0:11:14.269,0:11:16.517 to Christ alone. 0:11:16.517,0:11:18.573 Not your works, [br]not your religion. 0:11:18.573,0:11:21.342 Not church attendance.[br]Not baptism. 0:11:21.342,0:11:22.923 Not anything else. 0:11:22.923,0:11:26.461 But to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. 0:11:26.461,0:11:31.524 He is the object that [br]your heart must go to. 0:11:31.524,0:11:34.008 It's the living Savior who offers 0:11:34.008,0:11:36.009 salvation and forgiveness 0:11:36.009,0:11:38.252 to every person. 0:11:38.252,0:11:40.383 This week, I spoke to a young man 0:11:40.383,0:11:44.807 who expressed to me [br]that he wanted to be saved, 0:11:44.807,0:11:46.676 he had tried to be saved, 0:11:46.676,0:11:50.503 but he didn't think that [br]Christ would save him. 0:11:50.503,0:11:52.174 And I told him 0:11:52.174,0:11:53.972 that in all four of the Gospels, 0:11:53.972,0:11:55.859 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 0:11:55.859,0:11:57.438 you never find anyone coming 0:11:57.438,0:12:00.060 to the Lord Jesus Christ for healing 0:12:00.060,0:12:03.686 or for salvation or for forgiveness - 0:12:03.686,0:12:08.009 if they came sincerely;[br]if they came genuinely, 0:12:08.009,0:12:10.091 He never turned anyone away. 0:12:10.091,0:12:13.609 He always had mercy on them. 0:12:13.609,0:12:16.412 And Christ is a merciful Savior. 0:12:16.412,0:12:23.167 He will receive all who come [br]unto Him through faith. 0:12:23.167,0:12:27.002 So, He says to every sinner, 0:12:27.002,0:12:29.466 to every person who's not a Christian, 0:12:29.466,0:12:32.860 "Come unto Me, all you who labor, 0:12:32.860,0:12:34.666 and are heavy laden, 0:12:34.666,0:12:37.319 and I will give you rest." 0:12:37.319,0:12:40.155 The most important [br]thing you can do in life 0:12:40.155,0:12:46.952 is to not let your heart [br]rest in anything else; 0:12:46.952,0:12:48.836 not let your heart be satisfied, 0:12:48.836,0:12:52.351 not let your heart find satisfaction 0:12:52.351,0:12:54.491 in anything else. 0:12:54.491,0:12:58.570 Until you come to believe the Gospel 0:12:58.570,0:13:00.598 of the Lord Jesus Christ 0:13:00.598,0:13:03.602 and trust in Him and[br]find salvation in Him. 0:13:03.602,0:13:05.087 The Bible says, 0:13:05.087,0:13:08.211 whoever will truly, from the heart, 0:13:08.211,0:13:10.952 call upon the name of the Lord, 0:13:10.952,0:13:12.724 they will be saved. 0:13:12.724,0:13:14.091 And you can do that. 0:13:14.091,0:13:16.892 Trust Christ.