1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:06,180 My friends, the Bible is like a vast 2 00:00:06,180 --> 00:00:11,080 gold mine full of wonderful passages of inestimable 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:11,700 worth. 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:14,960 And if you dig deep enough, you will 5 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,180 soon realize its riches. 6 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:21,280 You'll discover them in that the Word of 7 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:24,560 God points us to the Son of God, 8 00:00:24,860 --> 00:00:26,680 the Lord Jesus Christ. 9 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:30,060 My text today is from the book of 10 00:00:30,060 --> 00:00:34,560 Zechariah in chapter 9, beginning in verse 9. 11 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,560 Here now is the Word of God. 12 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:41,120 May the Spirit of the Lord attend the 13 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,940 reading of His Holy Word. 14 00:00:45,060 --> 00:00:48,480 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! 15 00:00:49,180 --> 00:00:51,980 Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! 16 00:00:51,980 --> 00:00:57,680 I behold I, the King cometh unto thee. 17 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:03,280 He is just, and having salvation, lowly, and 18 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,540 riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, 19 00:01:06,900 --> 00:01:08,180 the foal of an ass. 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,920 I will pause here, friends, to say, here 21 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,880 is the prophecy of the Son of God, 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:19,740 describing the very scene of Christ's triumphal entry 23 00:01:19,740 --> 00:01:21,220 into Jerusalem. 24 00:01:22,060 --> 00:01:25,900 It announces a coming King, bringing salvation. 25 00:01:26,780 --> 00:01:29,120 Who is the prophet speaking to? 26 00:01:29,620 --> 00:01:33,560 We see he is addressing prisoners, for in 27 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,800 verse 12 we read, Turn ye to the 28 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,720 stronghold, ye prisoners of hope. 29 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,740 Even today do I declare that I will 30 00:01:44,740 --> 00:01:46,840 render double unto thee. 31 00:01:47,460 --> 00:01:51,740 My friends, this verse about prisoners of hope 32 00:01:51,740 --> 00:01:55,720 turning to the stronghold to find deliverance and 33 00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:01,920 blessings presupposes that there are prisoners without hope. 34 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:04,780 And this is the title of my message 35 00:02:04,780 --> 00:02:08,900 for us today, friends, Prisoners Without Hope. 36 00:02:09,699 --> 00:02:12,700 I want to unburden my soul today, friends, 37 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,580 with this message to you, because I know 38 00:02:15,580 --> 00:02:18,760 it can impact your entire eternity. 39 00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:22,080 I don't know of a single soul in 40 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,560 this whole world that is more pathetic and 41 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:30,240 pitiful than a prisoner without hope and without 42 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:31,600 God in the world. 43 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,700 To think that a man will live his 44 00:02:34,700 --> 00:02:38,520 life only for this world and its charms, 45 00:02:38,740 --> 00:02:41,660 to one day go the way of all 46 00:02:41,660 --> 00:02:44,780 flesh and die and be put in a 47 00:02:44,780 --> 00:02:48,820 coffin, lowered into the ground, have dirt thrown 48 00:02:48,820 --> 00:02:52,940 over him and be thrust into a Christless 49 00:02:52,940 --> 00:02:53,740 eternity. 50 00:02:54,180 --> 00:02:57,000 It's the saddest thing known to the human 51 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:57,740 race. 52 00:02:57,740 --> 00:03:01,480 To die without God is to die without 53 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:06,760 hope and suffer sin's consequences, as described in 54 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,760 the book of Job about the death of 55 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:10,300 the wicked. 56 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:15,580 He shall be driven from light into darkness 57 00:03:15,580 --> 00:03:19,040 and chased out of the world. 58 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,880 Think of that, think of that, the horror 59 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,540 of that, to one day be alive with 60 00:03:26,540 --> 00:03:29,960 the sunlight upon you and then you die 61 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,540 suddenly, you're dragged and chased out of this 62 00:03:33,540 --> 00:03:38,580 world into another world altogether, one you were 63 00:03:38,580 --> 00:03:42,680 quite unprepared for, a region of utter darkness. 64 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:48,800 Jesus describes hell in terms of outer darkness, 65 00:03:49,340 --> 00:03:54,080 like the outer darkness of outer space, pitch 66 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,760 black, thick darkness, darkness, darkness. 67 00:03:59,340 --> 00:04:01,060 Are you afraid of the dark? 68 00:04:01,460 --> 00:04:03,720 I was in a cave when I was 69 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,000 a young boy and it was so dark 70 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,060 in there, I couldn't see my hand in 71 00:04:09,060 --> 00:04:10,160 front of my face. 72 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:11,840 Why, it was terrifying. 73 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:15,839 How would you like to be plunged into 74 00:04:15,839 --> 00:04:20,940 a region like that of complete darkness forever 75 00:04:20,940 --> 00:04:22,120 and ever? 76 00:04:22,780 --> 00:04:27,000 Prisoners without hope is a terrifying thought, my 77 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:27,660 friends. 78 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,920 As I go through my Bible, I see 79 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:36,240 that there are three classes of individuals who 80 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,560 are prisoners without hope. 81 00:04:38,820 --> 00:04:41,260 I want to bring these three classes before 82 00:04:41,260 --> 00:04:42,960 you today, friends. 83 00:04:43,380 --> 00:04:48,040 The first class of prisoners without hope are 84 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:49,740 the angels who sinned. 85 00:04:49,740 --> 00:05:20,340 We read in 2 Peter, Word 86 00:05:20,340 --> 00:05:29,060 of God, as in Isaiah, And we 87 00:05:29,060 --> 00:05:41,640 see 88 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:46,160 the offers of mercy extend to men, from 89 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:48,800 the beginning of the Bible right to the 90 00:05:48,800 --> 00:06:10,200 very end in Revelation, for we read, We 91 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,460 find none of these offers made to angels. 92 00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:18,580 There is no glimmering ray of hope to 93 00:06:18,580 --> 00:06:22,240 those angels chained in the dark dungeons of 94 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,660 despair in hell, as lost and damned spirits. 95 00:06:26,980 --> 00:06:29,880 But we cannot sympathize with angels. 96 00:06:30,380 --> 00:06:32,160 We do not understand them. 97 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:35,120 Angels are unlike men. 98 00:06:35,580 --> 00:06:37,860 They have no gray hairs. 99 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:39,480 They have no wrinkles. 100 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:41,260 They never die. 101 00:06:41,260 --> 00:06:44,800 There are no graves and griefs with angels. 102 00:06:45,220 --> 00:06:46,840 We never see an angel. 103 00:06:47,340 --> 00:06:49,600 We do not know how to talk with 104 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:50,240 an angel. 105 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:53,420 They are creatures far above us. 106 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,540 Yet they were capable of sin, for they 107 00:06:56,540 --> 00:07:00,660 sinned in their allegiance with Lucifer and were 108 00:07:00,660 --> 00:07:03,520 cast out of heaven to take up their 109 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:07,780 eternal abode in the darkness of hell, without 110 00:07:07,780 --> 00:07:09,260 God in eternity. 111 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,420 Prisoners without hope are the angels that sinned. 112 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,000 Jesus did not go to the cross to 113 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,360 reconcile angels to God. 114 00:07:21,700 --> 00:07:22,400 No, sir. 115 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,360 Angels do not fit into God's plan of 116 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:26,040 salvation. 117 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,940 Judgment fell on them immediately, and they were 118 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:34,580 cast out of God's presence to be placed 119 00:07:34,580 --> 00:07:36,360 in chains of darkness. 120 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:38,760 There is no hope for them. 121 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,200 They're prisoners without hope. 122 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,660 The other category, or class of prisoners without 123 00:07:46,660 --> 00:07:51,900 hope, are described in 2 Peter as well. 124 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,840 We see the death of the lost and 125 00:07:54,840 --> 00:08:00,320 unsaved in the following striking passage of Scripture. 126 00:08:01,300 --> 00:08:04,900 And spared not the old world, but saved 127 00:08:04,900 --> 00:08:08,860 Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, 128 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,320 bringing in the flood upon the world of 129 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:14,580 the ungodly. 130 00:08:15,020 --> 00:08:20,620 These antediluvians rejected the preaching and warnings of 131 00:08:20,620 --> 00:08:23,600 Noah, and they perished in their sins in 132 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:27,660 an abysmal drowning of the world. 133 00:08:27,660 --> 00:08:30,980 And the death of the ungodly is seen 134 00:08:30,980 --> 00:08:33,600 also again in 2 Peter. 135 00:08:34,539 --> 00:08:38,340 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 136 00:08:38,340 --> 00:08:44,520 into ashes, condemn them with an overthrow, making 137 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,040 them an example to everyone. 138 00:08:48,540 --> 00:08:51,820 Strutting in a pride parade is unto those 139 00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:54,820 that after should live ungodly. 140 00:08:54,820 --> 00:08:59,800 The second class of prisoners without hope are 141 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:02,860 all sinners who die without God in the 142 00:09:02,860 --> 00:09:03,360 world. 143 00:09:03,780 --> 00:09:06,920 There is no hope in hell of redemption. 144 00:09:07,620 --> 00:09:10,780 Those in hell are beyond the reach and 145 00:09:10,780 --> 00:09:12,300 mercy of God. 146 00:09:12,700 --> 00:09:14,220 It's too late for them. 147 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,760 They are indeed prisoners without hope. 148 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,980 It breaks my heart, friends, to think of 149 00:09:21,980 --> 00:09:24,940 those drowned in the flood, to think of 150 00:09:24,940 --> 00:09:27,560 those who were burned up in Sodom. 151 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:32,680 They're joined by men and women today who've 152 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,180 lived and died in this very city without 153 00:09:36,180 --> 00:09:39,700 their sins being under the blood of Christ 154 00:09:39,700 --> 00:09:40,300 Jesus. 155 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,920 Every person from every age in every country 156 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:49,280 who has died without God falls into that 157 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:53,240 second category of prisoners without hope. 158 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,160 Oh, dear friends, it reminds me of the 159 00:09:56,160 --> 00:10:00,800 time I was standing at my father-in 160 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,520 -law's casket, and his sister walked by, and 161 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,300 she claimed to be a Christian, and all 162 00:10:07,300 --> 00:10:10,160 she could say in a beautiful voice was, 163 00:10:10,500 --> 00:10:13,140 Oh, I hope he knew Jesus. 164 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:15,900 Oh, I hope he knew Jesus. 165 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,200 That's all she could say, because it came 166 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,640 from a guilty heart, because she never wants 167 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:24,260 witness to him herself. 168 00:10:25,020 --> 00:10:27,520 She let her own brother go to hell 169 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:29,060 for a lack of witness. 170 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:33,540 I wonder how many family members are in 171 00:10:33,540 --> 00:10:37,140 hell at this instant that we refuse to 172 00:10:37,140 --> 00:10:40,440 take the time to share Jesus with. 173 00:10:40,700 --> 00:10:44,400 How many friends and co-workers and neighbors 174 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:47,620 of ours through the years have died without 175 00:10:47,620 --> 00:10:52,480 Christ because we never once witnessed to them. 176 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:54,140 It's too late now. 177 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:56,180 It's too late. 178 00:10:56,500 --> 00:10:58,400 They're prisoners without hope. 179 00:10:58,740 --> 00:11:01,280 You won't be going to the cemetery today, 180 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,300 friends, to hand out any gospel tracts for 181 00:11:05,300 --> 00:11:10,500 dead men tell no tales, prisoners without hope. 182 00:11:10,780 --> 00:11:13,020 How many do you know, friend? 183 00:11:13,020 --> 00:11:17,640 My mind goes back to a construction crew 184 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:21,640 I hired one time to work on my 185 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:22,260 house. 186 00:11:23,220 --> 00:11:26,180 I would meet them at 7 a.m. 187 00:11:26,500 --> 00:11:30,380 every morning, and one man was always early, 188 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:32,680 a young man in his thirties. 189 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,200 He and I would wait for the other 190 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,740 two to arrive, and as we waited, we 191 00:11:38,740 --> 00:11:41,140 would talk and shoot the breeze. 192 00:11:41,140 --> 00:11:43,020 We'd talk about the weather. 193 00:11:43,300 --> 00:11:46,920 We'd talk about sports to pass the time. 194 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,700 Back in those days, I had a habit 195 00:11:50,700 --> 00:11:54,800 of reading the daily obituaries in my town's 196 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:55,460 newspaper. 197 00:11:56,220 --> 00:11:59,400 Well, one morning, over a cup of coffee, 198 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:03,400 a face stared out at me in black 199 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:05,960 and white at the top of the page. 200 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:10,160 It was that young construction worker who came 201 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:11,200 by my house. 202 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,480 He had died suddenly in a car wreck. 203 00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:18,120 He was only 34 years old, and as 204 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:22,840 I read his obituary, tears streamed down my 205 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,360 face for failing in my duty to share 206 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,160 Jesus with a young man. 207 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,080 How foolish I was. 208 00:12:30,420 --> 00:12:32,860 Why did God have that young man show 209 00:12:32,860 --> 00:12:34,200 up early every day? 210 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,900 Wasn't it for me to witness to him? 211 00:12:37,380 --> 00:12:40,220 Why was I so dull and stupid at 212 00:12:40,220 --> 00:12:42,640 the time not to do that? 213 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,620 Now he's a prisoner without hope. 214 00:12:47,060 --> 00:12:50,300 Ever since that time, I've never let a 215 00:12:50,300 --> 00:12:54,300 repairman or a worker leave my house without 216 00:12:54,300 --> 00:12:57,660 pressing a Bible or a gospel tract in 217 00:12:57,660 --> 00:13:01,840 his hand with a little verbal testimony for 218 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:02,500 Christ. 219 00:13:02,500 --> 00:13:06,340 Oh, friends, prisoners without hope. 220 00:13:06,540 --> 00:13:09,780 There's nothing more pitiful in this world than 221 00:13:09,780 --> 00:13:11,040 an eternity. 222 00:13:11,940 --> 00:13:16,300 In our text, in Zechariah, the prisoners of 223 00:13:16,300 --> 00:13:22,140 hope are told to turn to the stronghold 224 00:13:22,140 --> 00:13:23,820 for mercy and blessing. 225 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:27,200 But how can you turn if you're already 226 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:27,880 dead? 227 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:29,220 You cannot. 228 00:13:29,980 --> 00:13:32,580 The tree lies where it falls. 229 00:13:33,220 --> 00:13:36,620 Let him who is filthy be filthy still. 230 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:40,500 You go from being a prisoner of hope 231 00:13:40,500 --> 00:13:42,780 to a prisoner of no hope. 232 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,740 The third category were class of prisoners without 233 00:13:47,740 --> 00:13:52,760 hope are described in the Gospel of John 234 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:57,240 in chapter 3, and in verse 36, which 235 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:15,740 declares, That 236 00:14:15,740 --> 00:14:18,620 person is condemned already. 237 00:14:18,820 --> 00:14:21,340 Oh, I hate to say it, friend, but 238 00:14:21,340 --> 00:14:24,740 there's no hope for the Christ rejecter. 239 00:14:25,180 --> 00:14:29,900 They're prisoners without hope, hardened in sin, turned 240 00:14:29,900 --> 00:14:34,660 over to their own desires, reprobate all the 241 00:14:34,660 --> 00:14:37,660 powerful people in this world who've got money 242 00:14:37,660 --> 00:14:40,360 as their God, who have no interest in 243 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:44,700 the things of God, are prisoners without hope. 244 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:49,240 They're individuals full of the world, self-satisfied, 245 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,960 the great issues of eternity never cross their 246 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:53,500 mind. 247 00:14:53,860 --> 00:14:55,960 If you try to witness to them, they 248 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:58,920 laugh at you like you're an insane person. 249 00:14:59,540 --> 00:15:02,900 They know nothing of the blessings of eternal 250 00:15:02,900 --> 00:15:07,300 happiness with God in heaven or the miseries 251 00:15:07,300 --> 00:15:09,140 of the damned in hell. 252 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,400 If you try to even talk about Jesus, 253 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:14,460 they look the other way. 254 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,260 They try to get away from you, though 255 00:15:17,260 --> 00:15:18,700 they walk the streets. 256 00:15:18,700 --> 00:15:23,260 seeking pleasures and sleep peacefully in their beds 257 00:15:23,260 --> 00:15:24,020 at night. 258 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,980 Little do they realize that the whole issue 259 00:15:27,980 --> 00:15:31,140 of life is wrapped up in the few 260 00:15:31,140 --> 00:15:35,420 hours between life and their dying couch. 261 00:15:36,100 --> 00:15:38,920 The ticking of their heart is but a 262 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,000 drum beating the funeral march to their own 263 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:43,720 grave. 264 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,620 How would you feel, friend, never to see 265 00:15:47,620 --> 00:15:50,980 your home again, never to see your loved 266 00:15:50,980 --> 00:15:54,300 ones again, never to see a ray of 267 00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:56,100 sunshine ever again. 268 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:01,640 Suddenly, you're plunged in outer darkness, held there 269 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:06,840 against your will, chained there forever and ever 270 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:08,160 and ever. 271 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,720 Prisoners without hope! 272 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:12,680 God have mercy on us! 273 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,240 Prisoners without hope! 274 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:17,820 There may be some of you here. 275 00:16:18,580 --> 00:16:21,420 Within the sound of my voice, they'll be 276 00:16:21,420 --> 00:16:24,140 taken out of this world before the year 277 00:16:24,140 --> 00:16:24,820 is over. 278 00:16:25,300 --> 00:16:26,500 I've known people. 279 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,400 Six months later, after I was talking to 280 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:31,300 them, they were suddenly dead. 281 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:36,140 I was talking to a co-worker, a 282 00:16:36,140 --> 00:16:39,900 young man in his early 40s, years ago, 283 00:16:39,900 --> 00:16:42,980 and we were standing in the hallway of 284 00:16:42,980 --> 00:16:45,760 an office building, and we said goodbye. 285 00:16:46,340 --> 00:16:49,380 Later that night, he got out of bed 286 00:16:49,380 --> 00:16:53,760 right after midnight, took two steps, and dropped 287 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,280 to the floor, dead as a block of 288 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:56,800 ice. 289 00:16:57,340 --> 00:17:00,540 You have no guarantee of tomorrow, friend. 290 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,000 What if you're resting on a rotten foundation 291 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:05,839 of a false hope? 292 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,500 What if you die in your sins and 293 00:17:08,500 --> 00:17:11,240 become a prisoner without hope? 294 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:16,260 Oh, friends, Jesus talks about the miseries of 295 00:17:16,260 --> 00:17:18,760 those prisoners without hope. 296 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:23,240 Jesus says of them, there will be weeping 297 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,400 and gnashing of teeth. 298 00:17:25,980 --> 00:17:29,280 Weeping speaks of great loss and grief. 299 00:17:29,740 --> 00:17:34,840 Gnashing of teeth signifies great anger and regret. 300 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:40,800 Prisoners without hope gnashing on their teeth beyond 301 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,620 the very reach of God, beyond His mercy. 302 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,280 Oh, please, friend, I beg you not to 303 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,660 end up in that region of darkness and 304 00:17:51,660 --> 00:17:55,380 suffering and despair as a prisoner without hope. 305 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,100 We see the day of grace and mercy 306 00:17:59,100 --> 00:18:01,220 is still open to us. 307 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:05,800 There is time right now, right now, to 308 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,900 turn to the stronghold for salvation. 309 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,780 Years ago, I preached my first public sermon 310 00:18:13,780 --> 00:18:16,240 in a federal penitentiary. 311 00:18:16,780 --> 00:18:20,160 The guard left me in a room with 312 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,820 another man and with 40 hardened criminals. 313 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:28,240 And as I looked at their faces, as 314 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,920 I looked around that room at those murderers 315 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,200 and thieves, I was as nervous as a 316 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:37,580 firecracker on the Fourth of July. 317 00:18:38,180 --> 00:18:41,680 But I preached to them about God and 318 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:44,140 His forgiveness through His Son, Jesus. 319 00:18:44,940 --> 00:18:48,920 And although those men were prisoners locked up 320 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,380 in a penitentiary, they were not prisoners without 321 00:18:52,380 --> 00:18:52,900 hope. 322 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,320 They were still prisoners of hope for they 323 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,460 were still alive in a day of mercy 324 00:18:59,460 --> 00:19:00,420 and grace. 325 00:19:00,420 --> 00:19:03,260 And when I was through preaching, they lined 326 00:19:03,260 --> 00:19:04,520 up to hug me. 327 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:11,020 Oh friends, turn, turn, turn to the stronghold 328 00:19:11,020 --> 00:19:12,080 in Jesus. 329 00:19:12,660 --> 00:19:15,280 We see the heart of God in 2 330 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:19,760 Peter 3.9. The Lord is not slack 331 00:19:20,420 --> 00:19:25,200 concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, 332 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:29,760 but is longsuffering to us, not willing that 333 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:34,640 any should perish, but that all should come 334 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:35,500 to repentance. 335 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:37,360 Listen to me, friend. 336 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,640 God is longsuffering, not willing that any should 337 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:42,160 perish. 338 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:44,060 Why will you die? 339 00:19:44,460 --> 00:19:47,300 Turn ye, turn ye, and be saved. 340 00:19:47,700 --> 00:19:53,760 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, 341 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:55,320 and the life. 342 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:59,820 No man cometh unto the Father but by 343 00:19:59,820 --> 00:20:00,420 me. 344 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:06,100 Here, Jesus answers the three greatest questions of 345 00:20:06,100 --> 00:20:07,240 the human heart. 346 00:20:07,740 --> 00:20:09,160 How can I be saved? 347 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,620 Jesus says, I am the way. 348 00:20:13,220 --> 00:20:14,560 How can I be sure? 349 00:20:15,060 --> 00:20:18,140 Jesus says, I am the truth. 350 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:20,000 How can I be satisfied? 351 00:20:20,820 --> 00:20:23,640 Jesus says, I am the life. 352 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:28,120 The gospel is for the hungry, the weary, 353 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:29,080 and the thirsty. 354 00:20:29,780 --> 00:20:30,640 Listen, friend. 355 00:20:31,020 --> 00:20:32,960 You have to feel your need of Him. 356 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,560 No one needs a physician until they first 357 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:38,700 realize they have a disease. 358 00:20:39,300 --> 00:20:41,800 Look, you've got a sin disease, friend. 359 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,640 Oh my, you've got a poison in your 360 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:45,220 blood. 361 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:49,120 And Jesus is the only remedy for sin. 362 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,300 Let me ask you, friend. 363 00:20:51,660 --> 00:20:53,420 Are you hungry for God? 364 00:20:53,420 --> 00:20:56,680 Are you sick and tired of your sins? 365 00:20:56,980 --> 00:20:58,620 Are you thirsty for Christ? 366 00:20:59,020 --> 00:21:02,180 Then come to Him and believe on Him. 367 00:21:02,740 --> 00:21:06,520 Exercise repentance toward God and faith in Christ 368 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:07,160 Jesus. 369 00:21:07,740 --> 00:21:10,740 Let me ask you another question, friend. 370 00:21:11,100 --> 00:21:14,520 Would you rather be alive in a prisoner 371 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:15,220 of hope? 372 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,260 Or would you rather be dead in a 373 00:21:18,260 --> 00:21:20,260 prisoner without hope? 374 00:21:20,260 --> 00:21:24,340 I'm so glad that Jesus found me when 375 00:21:24,340 --> 00:21:26,120 I was a 13-year-old boy. 376 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,120 He put it on a pastor's heart not 377 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:30,580 to let me go to hell. 378 00:21:30,820 --> 00:21:33,980 And that man in the Holy Spirit chased 379 00:21:33,980 --> 00:21:37,840 me down until I was confronted with Christ 380 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:38,340 Jesus. 381 00:21:38,980 --> 00:21:41,260 And I gave my heart to a bleeding 382 00:21:41,260 --> 00:21:44,380 Christ as a young teenage boy. 383 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,120 I found that fountain filled with blood drawn 384 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:49,820 from Emmanuel's veins. 385 00:21:49,820 --> 00:21:54,680 And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all 386 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:56,400 their guilty stains. 387 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:58,680 Don't let this day end, friend. 388 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:00,560 Don't let it end. 389 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,380 If you need a Savior for sin, go 390 00:22:03,380 --> 00:22:07,640 to God and seek Him earnestly and fervently. 391 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,700 God gets serious with those who get serious 392 00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:12,440 with Him. 393 00:22:12,860 --> 00:22:15,140 Put your pride in your pocket, brother. 394 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:17,020 Get down on your face. 395 00:22:17,020 --> 00:22:20,200 Cry out to God, your only hope. 396 00:22:20,620 --> 00:22:23,300 A divided heart is like the rich young 397 00:22:23,300 --> 00:22:26,220 ruler who refused to give himself up to 398 00:22:26,220 --> 00:22:28,260 God in a full surrender. 399 00:22:28,900 --> 00:22:30,380 Give it all to Him, friend. 400 00:22:30,780 --> 00:22:32,140 Give it all to Him. 401 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:34,660 God doesn't want your money. 402 00:22:35,140 --> 00:22:36,180 He wants you. 403 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,880 Don't face your dying moment as a prisoner 404 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:41,420 without hope. 405 00:22:41,660 --> 00:22:42,840 I plead with you. 406 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,840 Turn to the stronghold of Jesus. 407 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,980 He is your only hope. 408 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:53,720 Don't die outside Christ's redeeming blood that Jesus 409 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:54,520 declared. 410 00:22:56,140 --> 00:22:59,060 I am the bread of life. 411 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,180 He that cometh to me shall never hunger. 412 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,640 And he that believeth on me shall never 413 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:08,380 thirst. 414 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,960 Oh, friend, Christ is the bread of life. 415 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,640 He invites poor sinners to come to Him 416 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:18,740 and believe on Him. 417 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:21,900 The duty required is to come. 418 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,340 And He's got a pure gospel promise to 419 00:23:25,340 --> 00:23:26,460 all who come. 420 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,180 In Him that cometh to me I will 421 00:23:30,180 --> 00:23:32,620 in no wise cast out. 422 00:23:33,100 --> 00:23:36,860 Oh, friend, Christ held nothing back at Calvary. 423 00:23:37,260 --> 00:23:40,640 How can you hold anything back from Him? 424 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,320 What are you waiting for, young lady? 425 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:45,480 Jesus is your only hope. 426 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:47,220 What are you waiting for, mister? 427 00:23:47,780 --> 00:23:48,620 Come on! 428 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:49,820 Come on! 429 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:51,280 Come to Christ. 430 00:23:51,740 --> 00:23:54,780 Surrender all you are to all of Him. 431 00:23:55,100 --> 00:23:56,660 And He is Lord.