(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

In Hebrews chapter 4, the part that I want to focus on is right there early in the chapter, at the beginning of Hebrews 4, it says in verse number 2, For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them. Now, the them there is referred to in chapter 3, where he's explaining about the children of Israel coming out of the land of Egypt with Moses, wandering in the wilderness, heartening their hearts, and so forth, he says, For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath that they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Now, I want to preach to you tonight and show you some very clear doctrinal things here from the Bible, showing you that really salvation has always been the same. And there are so many people who have a problem with this and try to twist this, and there are many false teachers out there and deceivers who want to make it out that the gospel has somehow changed and the plan of salvation has changed. But really, right here, God makes it, even just in this one passage, we're going to look at many passages, and I'm going to tie this all together for you and show you the common denominator, because the Bible makes it clear here that the gospel was preached unto the children of Israel in the Old Testament, and those who died and went to hell, those who perished, did so because the word preached did not profit them, because it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it. They heard the word of God, they did not have the faith necessary to save them, and that's why they were not saved. That's why they perished, that's why they went to hell, that's why they were not saved. And so the Bible is clear that salvation has always been by grace through faith. One thing that's interesting is when these false teachers will try to say, well, you know, in the Old Testament, salvation was by works, they'll always show you New Testament passages to back that up. And I'm always saying, well, can you show me Old Testament teachings that show you, you know, work your way to heaven and you'll be saved and so forth, and they have a hard time with that. You see, the Bible is clear. Salvation is and has always been through faith alone. Not of works, the same answer to both. We're not living in the age of grace unless we say that the age of grace began with Adam and Eve, then we're living in the age of grace because Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Because all throughout the Old Testament, anyone who went to heaven didn't deserve it, because they were a sinner, just as much as I'm a sinner, just as much as you're a sinner. And so if anybody's in heaven today, it's because of grace. It's something that they did not earn, it's something that was given to them. And by the way, if it be of grace, then is it no more of works? So if it was by grace that Noah was saved, it cannot be of works. Because Romans 11 says otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace? Otherwise work is no more work. And so the Bible is so clear, isn't it? That if people were saved by grace in the Old Testament, they couldn't have been saved by works. Because grace and works are contrary to one another. Faith and works are put in contrast. We're saved by grace through faith, not of works. You say, well, you know, faith and works go hand in hand. Wait a minute. It's faith not works. That's what the Bible says in Ephesians 2 and 9. That's what the Bible says in Romans 4, turn to Romans 4. We'll look at a lot of passages on this. And I'm going to explain to you why this is so consistent throughout the Bible that salvation is always through faith. Look at Romans 4, because the question begs, well, faith in what? Well, look at Romans 4. It says in Romans 4, in verse 1, What shall we say then that Abraham our father has pertained to the flesh of the town? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath were up to glory, but not before God. He might be able to glory before man because of his good works, but God's not impressed by that. He said, for what saith the scripture? And he's talking Old Testament. We're talking the book of Genesis. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. That would mean God owed you salvation because you earned it. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness, even as David also described it, the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputed righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not appease him. Look, we're talking in the days of Abraham, which was before the law, because the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. That's what it says in John chapter 1, that the law was given by Moses. So pre-law, we have Abraham believed God, counted unto him for righteousness. Then David is living during the law. David was under the law. He was in the kingdom of Israel, and he said, Hey, blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. He described the blessedness of the man unto whom God impudeth righteousness without works. So basically he's saying, you know, with Abraham, before the law, it was not by works. Then David, during the law, not by works. The New Testament, I'm writing to you in Rome, it's not of works. Let's send the emails to both. Could it be any clearer? I mean, it's just again and again and again. Look at Acts 15, 11. Acts 15, just go back one book in the Bible, you're in Romans, just go back to Acts. I mean, I can show you so many scriptures, I don't even want to go into all of them just because of time, because I want to get into some other aspects of the message, but look at Acts 15. If you look at the beginning of the chapter, just to get the context, it says in verse 1, And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren. You see, they weren't the brethren. These are unbelievers. These are false teachers, crept in unawares. Paul explained that later. And he said they crept in and taught the brethren and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved, when therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them. So are Paul and Barnabas going for this at all? They're saying absolutely not. You don't have to be circumcised to be saved. And they had no small, just so you know, no small means big. So they had a big fight with these guys saying no! He said we didn't even humor them, we didn't even suffer them, not even for one hour. He put up with it. He said we fought this in Galatians 1 and 2. And he said, this dissension, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain of them, so did Paul and Barnabas determine? No. This is a third party determining that Paul and Barnabas should go. Paul and Barnabas didn't need to go ask somebody what they believed. They already knew it was by grace or faith. So they said, Paul and Barnabas, can you go and ask these other guys? So they go up to Jerusalem under the apostles and elders about this question. There's no question in the mind of Paul and Barnabas, but there's a question among these unstable people who were being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine and being deceived into this Judaizing of believers. And really, even in the Old Testament, you didn't have to be circumcised to be saved. It had nothing to do with it. Abraham was saved, he got circumcised later, a sign of the faith that he had yet being uncircumcised, the Bible says. It was just a symbol, that's all. Look at this, though. This is when they go up to the apostles. This is when Paul and Barnabas go, they're talking to James, they're talking to the apostles. And they're basically preaching. It says in verse 7, when they had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said to them, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the Gospel and believe? This is Peter preaching. And God, which knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Watch this. Now therefore, why tempt Eegah to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear, but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Who is the they? Their fathers. Again, it's clear. They were saved by grace. They couldn't keep the law in the Old Testament, he said. They couldn't bear the yoke of the law. They were saved by grace only, and that's how we're going to be saved. And we can go on and on about this in the book of Galatians. It says the Gospel was preached unto Abraham. In Hebrews 11, it says that Abraham offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence he also received him in a figure. He had been told by God and explained. That's why he said, I and the land shall return. Because he believed that if he would have plunged the knife into his son's chest, that his son would rise again, because he knew that he was acting out a picture of the Gospel. That's why Isaac carried the wood on his back, like Jesus would carry the cross on his back. That's why when he was laid down upon the altar, there was a substitute found when a ram was caught by the horns in the thicket of thorns, which represented the crown of thorns on Jesus' head. That ram was the substitute for Isaac, picturing the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross much, much later. And so the Bible's clear. It's been by grace through faith all along. But people will say this, and I have the answer for you to this question tonight. People will ask this, Wait a minute, Pastor Anderson. And they try to logic this. Basically, they're just ignoring clear scripture here that just says, Hey, they're saved by grace. They're saved by faith. They believed. Or they didn't believe, and that's why they weren't saved. 1 Peter 4 is another place. It talks about the Gospel being preached in the days of Noah and so forth, and that they didn't believe. But the point is this. People will attack this doctrine with their own logic and say, Wait a minute, Pastor Anderson. How could they be saved? If they didn't even know the name of Jesus, how can you say they were saved the same way? You've heard these kind of arguments. They'll say, Well, first of all, I just believe what the Bible says. In the first place. But it's a logical question, even though it's contradicting what the Bible told us, clearly. It's a logical question. How could they have been saved when they didn't know the name of Jesus? Or how could they be saved the same way, Pastor Anderson, when they did not understand the resurrection doctrine of the fact that Christ would rise from the dead? Because you remember how some of his disciples said that they did not yet know that scripture? That he should rise from the dead? They hadn't understood that scripture yet? So how, Pastor Anderson, can you say that they were saved by the same method in the Old Testament as in the New Testament? Well, that's clear. That's easy to show from the Bible. There is a clear common anomaly. We say, Well, what did they put their faith in in the Old Testament? And people will say, In the Old Testament, they looked forward to Jesus Christ. And they'll say, In the New Testament, they look back on Jesus Christ. Either way, they're looking to Jesus Christ. And I think that that's a good statement. But let me just give it to you very clearly. What the Bible says about salvation. Let's go back to the book of Genesis. Let's get back to Genesis and look through this. Because we want to understand how they did get saved in those days. Because they didn't know the name of Jesus. Jesus had not yet died on the cross, risen from the dead, and so forth. You remember when Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus about being born again in John chapter 3? Do you remember how Jesus insulted him for not already knowing what he was preaching to him? And yet claiming to be a master in Israel? Of course, he preached against calling people father and master and rabbi. But he said, Are thou a master in Israel and knowest not these things? He expected them to know. And yet they'll say, Oh, that didn't even take effect until years later when he died on the cross. No, he was preaching to him about being born again. Before the cross. He was preaching to him about John 3.16. John 3.18. That's what he was preaching to him. And he told him that he ought to know. He said in John 14 to his disciples, In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. The reason he said if it were not so is because that's what they had heard. That's what they believed and had been taught their whole life. And he said if it was something different than that, I would have told you. He didn't first teach them that. They already knew that. He didn't learn that from him. They already learned it in the past. But look at this throughout the Old Testament. It says in Genesis chapter 4 verse 26, And it said to him also, There was born a son, Genesis 4.26, and he called his name Enos, and watch this, Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. Now this is a significant event. I mean it says right in the beginning of human history, right in the beginning, the first few generations are starting to be formed, people are being born, and so forth. And he's saying in those days that men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Do you remember this verse from Romans 10? For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well in Genesis here he's saying that men began to call upon the name of the Lord. All the way back in chapter 4. Look at chapter 12 verse 8. And he removed from thence, this is Abraham, unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Haai on the east, and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. Look at chapter 13. It's interesting that this event is referred back to later as being significant in Abraham's life when it says in Genesis 13 3, And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Haai, unto the place of the altar which he had made there at the first. And there Abraham called on the name of the Lord, referring back to chapter 12, when he had called upon the name of the Lord. It says, and you don't have to turn there, but if you watch Genesis 26 25, this is Isaac. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there, and there Isaac's servants digged it well. Now, here's what's interesting about this. What name did Abraham call upon? What name did Isaac call upon? Now, if you look at the verses that we just looked at, Genesis 12, Genesis 13, Genesis 26, you'll see that the name that they called upon, it just says they called upon the name of the Lord. Of course, it's the all capital, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital B, like Jehovah. Okay? That's the name, they called upon the name of the Lord. Now, Jehovah is a person, isn't he? He's God. He's not just a force, or so, God is He. He's a person. He's a personal God. He has a name. He has many names. Okay, it's not just a vague force, or just some kind of a supreme being. You know, we hear these terms. God has a personality. He's a distinct person, okay? Look, if you would, at Exodus chapter number 6. Exodus chapter 6. Now, we see that the name that's being referred to here in Genesis 12, Genesis 13, and Genesis 26, it says the name of the Lord. Now, who's writing the book of Genesis? Who was the human author that God used to pen down the book of Genesis? Who was it? Moses, right? Obviously, we know the Bible is written by God, but it was Moses who was the human instrument who wrote down the book of Genesis. That's why all throughout the book of Genesis, you'll see this, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, with the all caps. Look at Exodus chapter 6, verse 1. This is Moses speaking with God, the man who was going to pen down the book of Genesis. Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake unto Moses and said unto him, I am the Lord, right? The all capitals, Lord there. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty. Different name, God Almighty. But by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. So did Abraham call upon the name of Jehovah? Is that the name that he called out when he called upon the Lord for salvation? When he looked up to God and said, Please save me, or whatever he said, whatever words he put it in, when he put his faith in God, because we know he was saved by faith, because he believed God, that was kind of the horizon. When he called upon God, what name did he call out? God Almighty. That's who he knew him by. Did he know the name of Jehovah? No. He wasn't known to him by that name. Jehovah as a name was revealed here in Exodus to Moses at the burning bush when he said, What is thy name? What shall I tell them that thy name is in Exodus 3? That's when he explained to him that his name is Jehovah. He gives him that name. And from then on, that's a name that's used in that phase of human history. Remember when I broke down the age of the earth a few months ago, or whatever it was? You know, we see these thousands of years. So for thousands of years, if you remember, and it's probably rough in your mind by now, but you remember when Abraham came on the scene? The world had been around for over 2,000 years, when Abraham came on the scene. And then by the time we get to Moses, we had several hundred more years going by. All the while, he's known as God Almighty. He's known by some other names as well. But he was not known by Jehovah. He was really only known by Jehovah as his primary name, only from the time of Moses, okay, until the time of the New Testament. Because in the New Testament, the New Testament is written in Greek, does not use the word Jehovah one time, translates the Old Testament Jehovah as the Lord, which is why our King James Bible translates it as the Lord, because that's how Jesus himself, you know, Jehovah's Witnesses, oh, you're helping, you call it the Lord. The Lord is an English translation of the Hebrew word Jehovah, that's why. Because of the fact that Jesus Christ quoted verses from the Old Testament that used the word Jehovah, and he used the Greek word meaning the Lord. And we use the English word, the Lord. It's funny, whenever you find somebody going back to the Greek in Hebrew, they're always doing one of two things. Here's just a little commercial I'm going to throw in. Whenever somebody goes back to the Greek in Hebrew, they're always doing one of two things. Number one, they're either twisting God's word and they say something different than what it actually says, right? What's the other thing they do? They tell you it means the same thing you'd already said, so what's the point? Isn't that the truth? They're either changing it to something different, which is wrong, which is wicked, or they're just telling you it means the same thing. It's like, well, okay. We just heard a sermon like that recently. He went back. He gives us the name of the word and he tells us what they mean. It's the same thing they mean in English. Okay, cool. Thanks for the lesson in a foreign language that we're never going to use, that we don't care about. But anyway, the point is that... What is the point? I don't know. But anyway, the point is that this is the way that name was translated. Where was this name Jehovah, the name that most people were calling God? Well, from the time of Moses. Well, from Moses, let's just simplify. Moses to the temple, what, about 480 years according to 1 Kings 6.1? So 480 years, and then from the time of the temple, all those kings, that's 420 years until the captivity, that's 900 years. And then during the so-called inter-testament period, you know, between the Old Testament and the New Testament, we have approximately 400 some odd years. So we're looking at about 1,300 and some years out of 6,244 and a half of history. 6,244 years, only 1,300 or so was that even the name that most people are calling God. Okay, do you understand that God has many different names? Do you understand that when Abraham got saved, when Enos got saved, when Seth got saved, when these men of the Bible, when Noah got saved, they called out to God by the name of God Almighty, Moses was calling upon a different name, Jehovah, David. And David talks a lot about this. Let's turn to something by David. Let's go to Psalm 116 is a good passage by this on that. 116 is a good passage on calling upon the name of the Lord. You see, David, when he called upon the name of the Lord in Psalm 116, he was calling upon the name Jehovah, a different name than what was called upon by Abraham. But you know what the same thing is, though? It's the same person that they called upon. Whether you call them God Almighty or Jehovah, it's the same person. That's why you can say Abraham was saved the same way as David. That's what it said in Romans 4, you put the two side by side. Us, David, Abraham. They called on God Almighty. David called on Jehovah. We call upon the name of Jesus Christ, but yet it's the same person we're calling on. There's only one Savior. He said in Isaiah 43, I am the Lord. He said, I'm Jehovah. He said, there is none else. He said, beside me there is no Savior. So who is Abraham's Savior? The same Savior that David had, the same Savior that we had. They called upon the name of God Almighty, Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Psalm 116, it says in verse 3, The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gathered upon me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then they called I upon the name of the Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous, yea, our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple. I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul. Notice the mention of rest like in Hebrews chapter 4. O my soul, for the Lord have dealt doubtfully with me. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, therefore have I spoken. I was greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, all men are liars. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. He believed, he called upon the name of the Lord. He was saved. Abraham believed, Abraham called upon the name of the Lord. He saved. Romans 10, 9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? The name Jehovah saved them in the Old Testament. The name God Almighty saved them in the Old Testament. The name Jesus Christ is why we are saved today. Do you remember from this morning? He said, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby he must be saved. It's the name. Remember John 3.18? He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 1 John 5.13, he said, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. Look at 2 Corinthians 4. Do you see how clear this is, that it's the name? You've got to have the name, but you have to have two things. You've got to believe in the person, and you've got to call him by his name. But you've got to have the right person. You can't just not believe and then just call out the name, and it's going to save you. You know, the Catholics today will call out the name of Jesus, won't they? But do they believe on Jesus Christ as their only way to heaven? No. Do they believe that through faith in Christ they'll be saved? No. But they call out that name. The Mormons will call off that name. Even the Muslims will call off that name. You've got to believe in your heart and call out by faith to be saved. On the right person. You've got to have the right Jesus, because there's another Jesus, according to 2 Corinthians 10. People will come preaching another Christ, another Jesus. So it's got to be the right Jesus, and it's got to be the right name. Both. It's got to be the right person. Now where did I return? 2 Corinthians 4. Now remember in Psalm 116, David said, I believe, therefore have I spoken. It says in 2 Corinthians 4. We have the same spirit of faith. Look, the same spirit of faith that David had, the same spirit of faith that Abraham had. He said we have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken. We also believe, and therefore speak, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you while you're in 2 Corinthians. Flip over to chapter 6, verse 2. It says, For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I suckered thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. There's a specific day where he said, God heard you. He heard you because you called upon him. That's what he heard. Now however you called upon him in whatever way is not the point. You know, people called upon him in various ways throughout the Bible. God be merciful to me and sent him. Lord, give me the drink. You know, please save me. Whatever. Lord, remember me in thy comest in thy kingdom. But God heard that cry of man, and he's rich unto all that call upon them, and they're saved. But you say, Pastor Anderson, wait a minute. How can you say they're saved the same in the Old Testament as New Testament? They didn't know the name of Jesus. They didn't know about the resurrection. They didn't know every detail of it. Now they did have the gospel preached to them. They did have the good news preached unto them. And there are many New Testament things that were preached unto them that we don't know about. Like for example, the book of Jude, a portion of the book of Jude was preached by Enoch back in the book of Genesis. Not reported in Genesis. There were all kinds of pieces of God's word that were being preached that were not necessarily written down for that time. You can notice this throughout the Bible. Look at the book. You don't have to turn there, but I'm not even going to read from it, but the book of Job. If you read the first two chapters of Job where it's the narrative about the Lord and speaking with Satan, you'll notice that over and over it's the Lord, the Lord, the Lord, Jehovah that's being mentioned. Jehovah, Jehovah. Because whoever wrote the book, whoever was the human instrument that penned it down was living in that time period. After Moses, when that was the name which he was known by. But when you read the conversation of Job and his three friends, what's the name that keeps coming up over and over? God Almighty, God Almighty. I think it's 31 times, I believe. I don't have the exact number, forgive me if I'm wrong. About 30 times in the book of Job the term Almighty, God, is used. Or Almighty, or God Almighty, or some variation thereof. Because they were living, Job was living in the time before Moses. That's why everybody's calling him God Almighty. The book of Job was written later during the time of him being known as Jehovah. You say, wait a minute, how is it the same? This is why. Because in the time of Abraham there was less revealed about who God was. They saw through a glass darkly. They only knew in part. They knew a lot less than we do. We have the entire 66 books of the Bible on our hands. Who do you think knows more about the big picture of God's plan and salvation in Christ? Me or Abraham? We have the whole book right here telling us the whole thing. Abraham was going on a much smaller amount of information. But the information that he had, the things that he did have, he had to believe. He had to believe on the name of the Lord that he knew. He didn't know the name of Jehovah. But he had to believe on the name of the Lord that he did know, which was God Almighty. He had to trust God Almighty as his Savior. Not his own goodness, not his own works. I'm a good person. I made a sacrifice. I went to some temple. I live a pretty good life. No, he had to trust in God Almighty to be his Savior. Now, when we get to David, David had a lot more revealed to him than Abraham. David had these complete books of the Bible in his hand. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. I mean, there's a lot of doctrine, a lot of teaching, a lot more information. He had prophets prophesying to him and preaching to him in much greater detail, as God made more of a revelation to man. David understood more clearly the things of God than Abraham because he was living at a time with more scripture, more revelation to him. He was expected to believe that information that was in front of him. He couldn't believe on the name of Jesus because the name of Jesus was yet unknown. But he believed on the name of Jehovah, same person, same Savior, same God, same plan of salvation, righteousness imputed unto me without works. Same gospel, same good news, a free ticket to heaven through faith, not of works, just like everybody before and after him. But you see, we get into the New Testament. Look at 1 John 2. We get into the New Testament, we have more revealed unto us. I mean, have you ever thought about this? You know, we were going a little bit deep tonight, but have you ever thought about that? Yeah, if you think about it, you're probably not even smart enough to understand this whole sermon. But have you ever thought about this? That when Jesus came on the scene and started preaching the gospel and all his apostles were preaching the gospel, and then Jesus died and was buried and rose again. You've got to stop and think about the fact that there were people who were alive before Jesus came on the scene. They were already living their life. And they were already saved. They already believed on the Lord. They'd already called upon the name of the Lord and were trusting on the Lord. And then Jesus came on the scene sometime during their life. Like, for example, remember that guy that was in the temple, Simeon, and he was waiting to see the Messiah, and then he saw the baby Jesus? You know, he died while Jesus was a baby, but he went to heaven. I mean, he was saved. He was a believer. We've got to figure there are people that were alive during that time. Jesus came on the scene, and then they're still alive. They're still saved after that. There's a transitional time, isn't there? Do you understand what I mean by that? And a lot of people get hung up on this and confused by it. But see, if you understand the simple fact that those who got saved in the Old Testament had eternal life, just like we do, which, you know, I have a whole sermon on eternal security where I use a lot of Old Testament passages. You know, in the book of Psalms and that sermon, and explaining how they had eternal security back then. He's explaining to Nicodemus about eternal life, born again, and saying, you should already know this, and you go around calling yourself master, and you don't even know these basic things. And if you just comprehend the fact that the Old Testament believer had eternal security, just like we do, if you comprehend the fact he was saved by faith, just like we are, that's why when Jesus came and preached, he said, My sheep hear my voice. You are not of my sheep. You're not saved. That's why you don't believe me. The people who were already saved when Jesus came on the scene, they believed on Jesus, because he said, if you believed Moses, then you'd believe me. So hold on a second. If Jesus said, if you believed Moses, you'd believe me. That means everybody who was believing Moses, and he's not talking about the person, he's talking about the books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy, the people who believed God's word, the people who were saved, who were eternally saved through faith, guess what? They heard the voice of the shepherd, and they knew his voice, and they believed on him, because they believed on the same person of the Old Testament, they believed on him. So there was no difference there. Now they had to be baptized, because of the fact that baptism did not exist in the Old Testament. So they got baptized. Not to be saved, but in order to follow in obedience, and to get baptized. Now do you see how simple that is? There's no contradiction, there's no confusion. You know, when they heard about Jesus, they already believed on the person, they already believed on the name of the Lord, they already believed the Old Testament scriptures, and so, of course, when Jesus is there, he said, my sheep hear my voice. They know me. He said, you know, they hear me. He said, you... There's a verse on the tip of my tongue. Give me a second finger that explains it. Oh, here we go. Jesus said it. He that is of God heareth God's word. Ye therefore hear them not, because you're not of God. Okay, it's that simple. And so does everybody understand that transitional period, how simple it is? Really, it wasn't a big, rough transition, because, you know, there's faith, belief. Oh, this is the Christ. Okay, this is the Messiah talked about in the book of Daniel, talked about in the book of Psalms and elsewhere, talked about in the book of Deuteronomy. So that's that transition. Where did I have you turn? Anywhere? Nowhere? 1 John 2, thank you. That's what I wanted to show you. 1 John chapter 2 says this. It says in verse number 23, it says, Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. So therefore those who had the Father acknowledged the Son, they didn't deny the Son, they believed on Christ, because they already believed on the Father, and then they believed on his Son Jesus Christ when he came on the scene. Now today there's none other name given under heaven, whereby we must be saved. Because of the fact that we're living in the New Testament, because of the fact that we were not living in the Old Testament, because of the fact that we're not living in the days of King David, it's not enough for us to just say, Well, I believe in Jehovah. I believe in the God of the Old Testament. You see, by doing that we're just showing that we really don't believe in the God of the Old Testament, because if we did, we'd believe in the God of the New Testament, because it's the same God. And therefore we know that anyone who does not believe on the name of Jesus Christ is not saved. Acts 4 and 12, Neither is there salvation in the other, for there is none other name given among men, whereby we must be saved. And so don't tell me about somebody in some jungle somewhere, Africa somewhere, the Middle East somewhere, who's never even heard the name of Jesus, but they're saved. If they've never heard the name of Jesus, my friend, they're not saved. They cannot be saved. They must hear that name and believe. They must hear God's word and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. They've got to be saved through Jesus. Now, they were saved the same way in the Old Testament as they are in the New Testament. They just didn't have as much information. That's all. They had less to go on. They just believed in God Almighty, but it was the right God. It was the true God. And by the way, He was preached unto them through the word of God, through His prophets. Just because Moses wrote the first five books there, there was God's word being preached before that. It was just a verbal, audible word. Just like right now, my quote versus to you. I'm like a walking Bible. If I quote a verse to you, it's God's word. Or you could see it on a written page. Back then, it was more preached audibly and so forth. And it was written down and placed and so forth. It just wasn't written down in the existing form that we have today. But holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. David's day, they had more information. We have the most information because we have the complete book. We're saved the same way they were. Faith in the name of God. We just are calling upon a different name because we know the name of the actual human Messiah, Jesus Christ, who was a human being. He's not just a spirit being. He was God in the flesh. He had flesh and bone, human being. The Son of Man walking on this earth. We know His name because of the fact that we're living after Him in history. They did not know that name. Does that make them less saved than we are now? There are different things about the New Testament. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. They did not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them in the Old Testament. They didn't have the complete Bible either. But it doesn't make the plan of salvation different. There's no such thing as a different gospel except if it's coming from hell, if it's coming from the devil, if it's coming from His workers of unrighteousness that are transformed as angels of life. It's always been the same. But then there are some that will say, well, calling upon the name of the Lord is not necessary for salvation. It can just be faith in the heart. You hear it, you believe it, done. Calling upon the Lord has nothing to do with it. It's just an outward manifestation. Well, here's some problems with that. First of all, people will say, well, calling upon the name of the Lord could be works because you're saying that you have to do something to be saved. Well, hold on a second. Doing something to be saved, you do have to do something. You do have to do something. You've got to believe. And you have to call upon His name. Now people will say, well, you're adding works. Well, hold on a second. If I'm adding works, then basically the Bible added works when it said, with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. If it's works to call upon the Lord, then it would be adding works when He said, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But look at John chapter 4, and I'm going to show you that it's not adding works to say that you have to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Because here's the thing. These same people who will try to say it's works to call upon the name of the Lord, where this leads people into false doctrine, here's where you have to watch out of that doctrine, which is not a right doctrine, is because what people will say is you don't have to do anything. Well, that's what the Calvinists believe. It's called unconditional election. So if you say you don't have to do anything to be saved, what you're basically saying is that your election is unconditional. It's just God saving you. People criticize us all the time. How can you say you've got somebody saved? God that just saves, and we have nothing to do with it. Well, I always just point them to a bunch of verses where Paul said, I've become all things to all men, where I might by all means save some. He said in Romans 11, 14, that I might save some of them. Jude, where he said, some save with fear, telling you to save people by pulling them out of the fire and eating the garments by the flesh. So you do have to do something to be saved. Because even believing is doing something. You know what I mean? If you're making a conscious decision in your mind, you're thinking, okay, I'm going to believe on this. Opening your mouth and saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. I mean, that's doing something, isn't it? Saying something. But is it works? No. When the man that went down to the temple, remember the publican, beat upon his breast and said, God be merciful to me, a sinner, it says he went home justified. But he did something. But it's not works. And I'll show you why. In John chapter 4, I'll prove to you that it's not works. Because remember, if it's works, then it's no longer grace, is it? And if it's grace, it can't be works. Look at John chapter 4. This is Jesus with the woman at the well. I'm not going to read the whole story for the same time. But he says this in verse number 10. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the what? The gift. So is salvation a gift? Absolutely. The gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Not of works, lest any man should boast. He said, if by grace through faith it is the gift of God. Now, hold on. Look up for one second. Ephesians 2, 8, 9. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. So hold on a second. Isn't he telling us that a gift is not of works in Ephesians 2, 8, 9? I mean, isn't he telling us, hey, if it's a gift, it's not of works? He's saying it's by grace through faith because it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Because if you have to work for something, is it a gift? I mean, if I said to you, do work A and I'll give you gift B, I mean, that doesn't make any sense. Here, Stuckey, come on up here and be my illustration, please, for this. If I say, Brother Stuckey, I have a gift for you, okay? But I have some work that I need you to do. Can you go do this work and then I'll give you this? Is that a gift? Can you do some work, like I want you to do some cleaning, I want you to mow my lawn, I want you to wash my car, isn't that work? Is that really a gift or am I paying him? It's wages, isn't it? So that's what he's teaching in Ephesians 2, 8, 9. He's saying, look, a gift is not of works. We're saved by grace through faith. Faith and works do not go together, okay? They're always found together. No, he said faith without works is dead. Your faith dies and becomes ineffective when it's not accompanied by works, when it's not accompanied by works because works and faith are two different things. That's why he said, by faith, not works. Two different things. They can be found together, they can be found separate. If they're separate, it's not effective. It's like saying to somebody, Depart of peace, be ye warmed and filled, you know? Your heart's in the right place. Man, I really like those people, you know what I mean? But they're freezing, they're starving. It doesn't do them any good, does it? You see what I'm saying? So faith without works is dead. Stay here for just one moment, Stuckey. It says here in John chapter 4, If thou knewest the what? The gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. So is it possible to have to ask for something, and yet it'd still be a gift? Because here he said, If thou knewest the gift of God, he would have asked for it, and it would be given to you. What would be given to you? The gift. But he's telling her, First of all, you have to know what it is, and then you've got to ask for it. But yet it's still a gift. So therefore, asking for it cannot be seen as working for it. Now, let's go back to my illustration with Brother Stuckey. Stuckey, I have this gift for you. If you want it, I'll just give it to you for free. I bought this. I'll give it to you for free, Stuckey. All you've got to do is ask me. And if you knew what was in this book, if you knew that this book contained all the wisdom of the eight, it's God's word from the mouth of God, if you knew what this was, Stuckey, you'd ask me for this, and I'd give it to you. I'll take it. Can I have it? Yeah, sure. Okay. Now, did he earn that? Did he pay for that? No. Did he work for it? Or was it given to him totally by grace? Free. Do you see what I mean? So you get this extreme. People like to take things to extremes. And you know what? I'm all for extremes if they're biblical extremes. But when you start going to extremes that basically contradict the Bible, you need to get your thinking in line with the Bible and not just say, Well, you know, the way I see it is that if you have to do anything, that's work, because I went to a physics class, and they gave me this formula. Somebody gave me the formula on work. Do we have any rocket scientists in here? Force times distance. Yeah, force times distance. Was it measured in joules of energy or calories? How do you measure work? Is it joules that measure work? You know, you measure work. But you know what? If you're going to go to a science class to tell me what work means, then really even just the synapses of electrical impulses in your brain. Work. Just believe. You just worked. You burned calories. I mean, literally, I could sit completely still, and I'm burning calories. I'm burning through joules of energy. I'm working. But you know, is my boss going to go for that? Well, there. I know I was asleep, and I was working. Let me show you a formula, you know, from Brother Stucky. And by the way, that's his formula for work. That's why he doesn't work for us anymore. Just kidding. He's a great worker. But the point is that you can sit there and say, well, I'm going to take it to the extreme. It's like, no. Take it to the Bible, okay? It can be a gift, and you still have to ask for it. And even just our most logical illustration proved that. Just, hey, if you knew what this was, you'd ask for it. If you knew, and here's the thing. Let me say this. If anybody knew the gift of God, they'd ask for it. Now stop and think about it. Jesus said, if you knew the gift of God, you would have asked if you knew. So what does that tell me? That tells me that anybody who doesn't ask, they didn't know the gift of God. And you can sit there and say, oh, you know, people could be saved without ever calling upon God or ever asking Him for it. But wait a minute. Didn't Jesus say that if you knew, you'd ask? If you believed that it was there? If you believed that salvation is right here in front of you at your fingertips? He said, it's not up in heaven where you'd have to ask somebody to go get it for you in heaven. It's not down in the depth where you'd have to go down and have someone fetch it for you. He said, it's not across the sea that you'd have to. He said, the word is naive, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Look up the Old Testament scriptures that's referred to there where He said the word is naive. Go to the Old Testament. You'll see. And He's saying, look, it's right there in front of you. Reach out and take salvation. It's available. It's there for you. And if you knew that, you'd ask for it. Now, hold on a second. Isn't this statement in John chapter 4 just as authoritative as when Jesus said, if you believed Moses, you'd believe in me? If He says, if you knew the gift of God, you would have asked? Now, look, when I understood what the gift of God was as a six-year-old boy, that it was eternal life, that it was a gift where I'd never be thirsty again because I just drank of it one time and I'm saved forever, when I knew that as a six-year-old boy, you're never going to guess what I did. I asked for it. And, you know, when you know the gift of God, you ask for it. And if you don't ask for it, you didn't know the gift of God. And am I burning jewels when I believe in my heart? Yes. And that's why if you talk to a really extreme Calvinist, they'll even say, like, you don't even have to believe. God's the one who does that for you. God gives you the faith that makes you believe. Now, it's true, God has given to every man the measure of faith, but it's our choice where we put that faith. We have to take the action of believing on Christ. Yes, God gave us the ability to believe, but He did not make me believe I had to make that choice. I had to make that decision to believe on Christ. And hold it now, the Calvinist will take this extreme and say, you know what, nope, you having to make the choice to believe, that's worse. I've heard that, listen to me, I've heard it preached by Calvinists. I've heard it preached all the time. You having to make that decision to believe on Christ, that's you having a part in your salvation, and that's worse. False. Calling upon the name Jesus Christ saved me is not worse. It's just asking for a gift. If you knew it, you'd do it. Isn't that a good rhyme? But anyway, look if you would at Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter number 7, and let's see this further verified. Is it Matthew 7? Yeah, Matthew chapter 7. And you see, Calvinism is a wicked doctrine. I mean, I hate it. Amen. Thank you for all those amen's. Nothing makes me more angry than the stop trick. Man, if you would have known me when I was 16, 17 years old, this was my crusade. I was militant. Now I'm not like that. Now I'm really just an easygoing, mellow guy. But man, when I was 16 or 17, I was militant. I mean, I was just on the war path about this. I mean, if I was sitting in church and I would start to hear this kind of Calvinist garbage, I'd go up to that teacher, that Sunday school teacher, that pastor, and I would say, look, are you saying, wait a minute, are you saying that people, that I can't go win somebody to Christ, are you saying that people are just automatically doomed to hell without a chance? The Bible says that Jesus Christ paid for all. He's the perpetuation for all. He's the savior of all. I said all means all, and I preached this and believed it. This is my hot-button issue. This gets me mad. I'm sick of it, man. I'm sick of being, oh, you're out soul-winning. Yes, I'm out soul-winning. He that winneth souls is wise. I'm sick of it. Ah, you're out soul-winning. Yes, I am. Soul-winning. Winning souls. I got them saved. Yes, I did. Because I pointed them to Jesus Christ, and then they moved their muscle of their brain to believe, and then they moved their mouth, and because they knew what the gift was, they called out and asked for it. And they got saved in a moment and twinkling of an eye. Just like one day their body's going to be saved in a moment and twinkling of an eye. I'm so tired of this false doctrine, and I'm tired of kowtowing. Maybe we shouldn't say, yes, we will say what we want if it's biblical. I'm not afraid. Oh, maybe we shouldn't use that term. We got people saved. Maybe we shouldn't say winning souls. I'm going to say what the Bible, I'm going to use God's wording and say it the way God says it. I'm sick of this Calvinism. You know what this Calvinism is? A bunch of people sitting on their fat rear end, not wanting to go do anything for God. That's all Calvinism is. That's all. It's everything. Amen. Well, I knew this one Calvinist preacher. He worked really hard. Yeah, he worked really hard to jam everybody to hell because he's working for Satan. And everybody flocked to come here because they're all lazy and want to sit on their rear end and let everybody go to hell. That's what Calvinism is. And I'm tired of it. I'm not going to apologize for the truth. And don't tell me that believing is worse. Don't tell me that calling upon the Lord is worse. No, you have to do something to be saved because Jesus already did everything. He's waiting for you. The ball's in your court. He said, here it is. It's right there. It's right in front of you. Take it. And you have to reach out and take it. If you don't reach out and take it, you're going to go to hell. And if we don't tell people that it's there, they won't even know it's there. They can't even call on Him in whom they've not believed. They can't believe in somebody that they've never even heard of. Did you get that? They can't believe in someone that they've never heard of and they're not going to hear without a preacher. That's what the Bible says. He said, I sought for a man to stand in the gap, to make up the edge, but I found none. And God's looking for all kinds of people. He's looking for people to go to Norway and Sweden and Denmark and Finland. He's looking for people to go to California, New Mexico, Nevada. I mean, God's got it all planned out for a church in every city. That's God's will, according to 1 Timothy 1, Titus 1. God's plan is a church in every city. Do you see a great church in every city? Do you see a soul-winning, Spirit-filled pastor in every city in America? No! Because he's seeking for a man. He can't find one. They're too caught up in the cares of this world. They're too stupid. They're too stupid because they're running their brain in front of TV. So they're not even smart enough to preach. Because you've got to know the Bible to preach so that you know what you're talking about. They're too dumb to dumb themselves down on TV and video games and rock and roll. They're too dumb to get up and preach this book. So they're going to sit around sucking their thumb for the rest of their life while people go to hell. God is looking for a man today. And he's not finding it. And that's the problem. And tell your Calvinist buddy to put that in his stupid pipe and smoke it. Or tell Charles Haddens Spurgeon that he didn't smoke a pipe. Shove it in the end of his fat cigar and smoke it. You know, their little cigar-smoking idiot he wrote, Charles Haddens Spurgeon. Oh, how dare you say that! Have you ever read the guy's sermons where he's telling you, If you keep sinning, then you're going to hell. Even if you're a Christian but you're still sinning, you're not saved. I don't believe that garbage and I'm sick of it. And now back to the sermon. Where did I return? Matthew 7? I just had to get that off my chest. I've been wanting to say that since I was 16 years old. So here I am. Man, I sat in the pew with my mouth shut all those years. And just quietly sat there, just sick of it. You know, when guest preachers would come in and preach their Calvinism. And I'd visit other churches and they'd preach their Calvinism. And you know, whenever I started preaching Calvinism, I just pulled out my Bible and started reading it. I was like, I'm going to get something out of this. I'm not going to listen to this idiot. And I did this Calvinist junk. I just started reading my Bible. You know, well, thank God here I am today. I can stand up and preach God's Word. And not have to listen to that stuff. And that stuff will never be preached here. You hear me? If I'm dead or something, maybe you guys will have some idiot come here and preach that garbage. But that stuff is never going to come across this pulpit. As long as I'm here, nobody's ever going to stand up here and say, God chooses who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. God's already ordained it. You know? Just sit back and enjoy the ride. No. Don't enjoy any ride, man. Get out there and win souls. Do something. Be somebody. Do something with your life. Make a difference. Okay, but look at Matthew chapter 7. Let's get back to the topic. I'm just mad about Calvinism. But anyway, look at Matthew chapter 7. You know, you got me mad at lunchtime. No, I'm just telling you about Calvinism. What was the part that I want to get to? I don't even know what I'm preaching anymore. The gift. Where's the gift part? Okay, verse 7. Matthew 7. Verse 7. Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth. And he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son asks bread, will he give him a stone? Or if you ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good what? Gifts unto your children. How much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that what? So wait a minute. Can it be a gift if you have to ask? You got to ask, because listen to this. He said, Ask, and ye shall receive. Do you remember this verse from James 4? You have not because you asked not. Right? Tell that to the Calvinists who say, Well, you know, we pray, but God already, he's going to give it to us anyway. We just pray, and then we can pretend like he answered our prayer. We got to have the fun of asking for something that he was going to give us anyway. Isn't that cool? I don't think that's cool. You and I have a different definition of cool. I think cool is when I ask for something I wasn't going to get, and then I get it. That's cool. So it could be a gift, but you got to ask for it. He said, Ask, and ye shall receive. Look at Luke 13, Luke chapter 13. I'm sorry, Luke 11. Luke 11. Luke chapter number 11. And by the way, these Calvinists, they're wrong on everything else anyway. Oh man, the churches is great, except Calvinism. But see, Calvinism will poison. That little leaven of Calvinism will leaven the whole thing. That's right. You know what I mean? Like they might even start out believing right on a bunch of stuff, but then they start getting into Calvinism. It's going to leaven their whole doctrine. Because you remember Brother Davis talking about this with me. How when Jesus warned of the leaven of the Pharisees, what was he warning about? Remember? He said the leaven, he said, I'm not talking about bread. I'm talking about doctrine. So that doctrine will leaven the whole lump. He said in 1 Corinthians 5, fornication in the church will leaven the whole lump. But false doctrine will leaven the whole lump. And you see, oh what a tangled web we weave when at first we practice to deceive. You know, one lie begets another lie. And then we have to start lying to explain away all these clear verses about Jesus died for everybody, whosoever will. You know, all these different things. And you just become a big liar. And just every sermon is a big lie. And I'm sick of these lying preachers. They're false prophets. It's garbage. And you know, when I was a teenager I didn't understand every verse. I understand a lot more now than I did then. I don't understand it all. I understand a lot more after reading the Bible scores of times, after memorizing hundreds of chapters. You know, I understand a lot more now than I did then. But you know what? Even when I didn't understand everything, I just believed by faith what the Bible said. Like even though I didn't understand it, I still believed it was for everybody. I still believed Jesus wanted everybody saved because that's what it said. You know, I still believed that Calvinism was out of hell. Because Calvinism is the enemy of soul winning. You know what I mean? And soul winning is all about going out and preaching the Gospel and getting people to make a decision to call upon the name of the Lord. Just like Abraham did. That's what I do when I'm not soul winning. I want to get them to hear about somebody. Through the Word, because faith comes by hearing. I want them to hear about somebody, believe on somebody that it is Jesus Christ, the Lord. And then I want them to call upon that name and be saved. But Luke 11, he says in verse 9, I say unto you, Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children. Good what? Gifts unto your children. How much more shall your Father, your Heavenly Father, give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? You see that? Just because you have to ask for it, it's still a gift. Just because you have to believe on it, it's still a gift. Just because you have to receive that gift. I mean look, if I have a present under the tree on Christmas morning, I still have to run down the stairs, wipe the sleep out of my eyes and tear into that present. Does that mean I paid for it? Does that mean I earned it? Does that mean it's no longer a gracious gift? Does that mean it was a debt? Well you owed me this because I opened it. Now if I gave my parents a hundred bucks, then I could say you owed me this because I gave you a hundred bucks. That's why I get this hundred dollar item. But no, opening the gift is necessary. You see the gift is sitting under the tree today, spiritually, for every human being in this world. It's like Jesus said, all things are now ready, come to the feast. Here it is, it's paid for by the blood of Jesus, it's 90, it's in your mouth, it's in your heart, it's right there. A decision in your heart, a confession, it's right there, there it is. But you just walk away, you don't have it. You do nothing, you don't have it. Because there's a condition for your salvation. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thy heart that God is raised from the dead, thou shalt be saved. That's a conditional state. And so this unconditional election is wrong. And we'll go ahead and close for the sake of time. Father we love you and thank you for salvation dear God. And thank you that it's so easy. I mean it is really easy to be saved. Thank God I believe in easy believism. It's easy to be saved, it's as easy as taking a drink of water, opening a door, calling upon a name, I mean it's easy. But it wasn't easy for you. And so we thank you for doing the hard part, for shedding your blood, for dying on the cross, for being beaten and smitten and spat upon and physically tortured. And then actually sent to hell, your soul was in hell, we know your body was in the tomb for three days but your soul was in hell for three days and three nights. And then three days later from the grave you arose. Thank you for paying the price. God I thank you for making it so easy to receive, just faith, just the word of faith. The word of faith which we preach, that's it. Thank you for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob dear God, our spiritual ancestors. I know I don't descend from them physically but thank you that they're my spiritual ancestors. I thank you that I'm a child of Abraham, a child of Isaac, a child of Jacob. I thank you that I can look to David as my spiritual progenitor. And Father thank you for giving us the local church dear God where we can come and hear your word preached and be stirred up about what we believe. Thank you for soul winning and thank you for giving us the ministry of reconciliation God. Thank you for letting us be able to go out and get people saved. You know we don't deserve that privilege but what a privilege it is to be used. But help us to understand the awesome responsibility that comes with that privilege. Because it's really a scary thought that people's souls are hanging in the balance and it's really up to us. It's really up to us to be a nobody or to be somebody who's going to serve you and get these people saved. Help us to understand the awesome responsibility, the grave serious responsibility that it's our job to reach people with the gospel. To make sure that churches are started, to get the gospel to the world. Help us to do it. Help us never to be found where it's oh I found none and he was looking in Faithful Word Baptist Church. Help it never to be said dear God. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.