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I want to read you a familiar passage

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of scripture tonight, friends, but don't let your

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familiarity with it keep you from paying attention

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to it.

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In fact, I believe this message is one

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of the most important ones I've ever preached,

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and it could very well be the most

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important one you'll ever hear.

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We'll be in Luke's Gospel in chapter 6.

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You can turn in your Bibles there now,

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friends.

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We will be reading verses 46 through 49.

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Before we begin, let me pray.

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Oh, great God, I come before you by

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the blood of your dear son, Jesus.

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Jesus, my advocate, who sits at your right

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hand.

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Jesus, my savior, who loved me and gave

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himself for me.

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I ask you to come by your Holy

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Spirit here tonight and disturb folks, disturb the

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secure, alarm the lost, make your word a

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hammer.

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They'll bust up all false foundations, make your

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word a fire.

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They'll burn into the conscience and flush out

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all false refuges.

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Make your word a scalpel to wound and

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cut deep where divine operation is needed.

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If there's someone here, oh, great God, standing

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on the wrong foundation, I pray you will

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awaken them to their danger.

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All I can do as your preacher is

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to preach up a blood-stained savior from

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sin and point centers to him so you

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can save them.

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Open hearts tonight, I pray, and pour your

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grace in there.

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I pray, great God, you grant someone saving

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faith through this message for your glory.

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I pray these things in the strong name

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of Jesus, amen.

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I wanna set the stage for this Bible

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reading tonight, friends.

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Jesus was preaching to a big crowd and

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he gave this parable.

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Immediately after teaching on the Beatitudes, it came

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right on its heels so he had their

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full attention.

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They were eagerly hanging on every word that

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dropped from his lips.

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He had their undivided attention.

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And that's what I want, friend, your undivided

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attention.

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So quit texting and get the wax out

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of your ears and sit up straight and

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pay attention to God's holy word.

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And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and

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do not the things which I say?

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Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings

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and doeth them, I will show you to

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whom he is like.

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He is like a man which built a

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house and dig deep.

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I like that, dig deep, that's important.

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And dig deep and laid the foundation on

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a rock.

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And when the flood arose, the stream beat

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vehemently upon that house and could not shake

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it, for it was founded upon a rock.

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But he that heareth and doeth not is

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like a man that, without a foundation, built

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a house upon the earth, against which the

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stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell,

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and the ruin of that house was great.

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I will stop there, friends.

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I want us to picture the effect of

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Christ's story on us hearers that day.

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They hung on every word, and his words

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were attended with such power and majesty.

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They could almost see the swirling water cascade

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down the hill to that house, rushing by

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with such a vehement force that the violence

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of the stream swept all before it away.

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When Jesus finished his story, they each stood

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there with their mouths open, in wonder, with

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a sense of doom resounding in their ears,

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where they could almost hear the creak and

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the crack of that timber break under the

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force of that storm.

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And as that crowd dispersed and slowly made

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its way home, that terrible imagery and the

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horrific sound of that crash rang in their

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ears.

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It was as if the very atmosphere was

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thick with eternity.

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When the flood subsided, they looked for that

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house, but it was gone.

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It was absolutely unforgettable to them.

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Listen to me, friends.

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There are two kinds of people in the

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world.

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I don't mean rich and poor, or young

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and old.

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But I mean those who are either saved

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or lost.

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You are either saved and on your way

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to heaven when you die, or you are

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lost and hell bound.

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For a devil's hell is the sinner's long

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home.

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Man is either on the rock or on

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the sand.

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Which is it with you, friend?

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I'm not gonna leave you with indecision tonight,

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but rather I want you to take a

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stand one way or the other.

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Don't be in between.

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I want you to take out your pens

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right now and write in the margin of

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your Bible one word in capital letters.

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If you don't have your Bible handy, write

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it on the notes of your phone.

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Write the word that best represents you tonight,

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that best represents you right now.

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I want you to write the word rock

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or the word sand.

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For you are either on the rock or

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on the sand.

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You're either saved or lost.

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Write it down now, friend, rock or sand.

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Did you do it?

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Those of you who fall into the category

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of the saved, you know what it's like

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to build upon that solid rock, the Lord

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Jesus Christ.

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There's credible evidence in your life of the

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indwelling Christ.

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What you've built will not only weather the

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storm, but stand the test of time, you're

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saved, you're on that rock.

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Men are either on the rock or on

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the sand.

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And that's the title of my message tonight,

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friends, on the rock or on the sand.

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And there are some here who find Christianity

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little more than a crutch that some misguided

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zealots lean on.

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You're doing just fine without God.

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You're like the man I once played golf

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with, but he had a very foul mouth.

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Every other word he spoke, he either cussed

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God or cursed.

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Finally, I turned to him on a tee

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box and I said, do you mind if

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I ask you a question, friend?

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He said, shoot.

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I asked him, tell me, how was your

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relationship with God?

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Well, he smiled a big grin and said,

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fine.

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I have a great relationship with God.

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I leave him alone and he leaves me

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alone.

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That may apply to some of you here

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tonight.

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You listen to me because of a friend

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or you listen out of curiosity.

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And that look on your face, whether it's

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a smirk or sneer, tells me you know

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you don't need religion to make you happy.

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You're getting along fine in life without it

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and without God.

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You're on the sand and for now, you're

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fine with it.

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Yes, sir, you're digging your feet in the

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sand and what kind of house you build

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on that sand, you build on your own.

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But I submit to you, friends, there are

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some here who believe they are building on

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the rock because they at one time in

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their life made a public profession of faith,

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but there's little evidence of a house on

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it.

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Very little evidence of one who has undergone

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regeneration.

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You may have the bare bone structure of

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a public profession of faith with a little

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drywall here and some bricks there, but no

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sturdy house stands as evidence of a regenerated

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heart.

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You've mistaken church membership for salvation.

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You are void of the living Christ, void

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of the mighty power of the Holy Spirit

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in your life.

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You think you're on the rock when reality,

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you stand on shifting sand.

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And if you don't act and do something

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about it, a day will come.

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Listen to me, a day will come sooner

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than you realize when you will be found

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out a day future in eternity at the

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judgment where every man's works will be judged.

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Or a common day in this love time

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when your world as you know it is

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snapped apart by tragedy or circumstance.

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Everything you say you've built will come crashing

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down on that day and a pile of

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unbelief and rubble.

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It's time for honest talk, friends, and straight

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shooting.

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One day, when death finally catches up to

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you, your soul will be removed to another

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world, to a world of spirits in a

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place of either endless joy or endless torment.

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Are you on the rock?

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Are you on the sand?

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Don't you wanna know the reality of how

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you stand?

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If you're not truly born again, friend, wouldn't

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you wanna find that out now while there's

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still time to do something about it?

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Would you not want the honest truth about

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yourself now, no matter how painful it is

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or embarrassing it is?

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But you don't wanna find out too late

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when you enter a Christless eternity of outer

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darkness, when Jesus says, why, call me Lord

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and do not the things which I say.

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That means it is not enough to hear

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the sayings of Christ.

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We must do them.

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It is not enough to profess him.

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We must obey him.

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I know this from personal experience, friends.

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I was a lost church member for years.

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I know of which I speak.

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I know what it's like to teach a

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big Sunday school class and prepare lessons every

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week as a lost religious person.

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The day I discovered that the ground I'd

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been building upon was nothing more than sand,

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I almost drove myself mad.

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I was home alone as my family was

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out of town visiting relatives.

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I was up in my study reading a

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sermon by Solomon Stoddard, the grandfather of Jonathan

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Edwards.

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The sermon was entitled, The Way to Know

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Sincerity and Hypocrisy, cleared up.

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The sermon was 21 pages long.

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It was about true and false conversion.

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And sure enough, that old boy, that old

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Puritan Stoddard, sure cleared things up for me

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for halfway through that sermon, God opened my

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eyes and I saw where I was going.

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I was going to hell.

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Even though I was a good church member

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and a Sunday school teacher, I found out

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that day I was lost, lost, lost.

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My foundation was only shifting sand.

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I threw myself down on the floor of

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my study and for several hours I wrestled

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with God in prayer.

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First, I denied that I was lost.

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I argued with God and reminded him of

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all the good works I had done.

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I dragged out my long track record of

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service and showed it to him.

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I said, look here, Lord.

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Look there, Lord.

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These many years I've served you.

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Then I fell back upon my good reputation

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as a Christian.

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I reminded God how highly respected I was

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among my church friends.

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I told God all about my goodness and

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my good works and my good reputation.

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And I saw it that day.

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I saw that day that good people don't

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go to heaven.

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Only forgiven people get to go there.

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The more I prayed and the more I

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argued with God and the more I defended

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myself, the more desperate I became.

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I pounded the floor with my fists and

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shouted, I can't be lost.

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I can't be lost.

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Then God in his mercy and by his

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grace showed me that not only was I

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going to hell in my present condition, but

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that I deserved to go there.

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My cries went from I can't be lost

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to the cries of I am lost.

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Then a verse came to my mind, the

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words of Jesus spoken to me.

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For the Son of Man is come to

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seek and to save that which was lost.

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Before God could save me, I had admit

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I was a lost sinner and in need

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of Christ's cleansing blood.

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And by God's grace, I was saved that

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day.

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God really saved me.

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Well, I was too embarrassed to tell my

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wife when she got back to town what

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had happened to me because I was sorry

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to admit to her she had married a

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Christian man after all.

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So I waited about three weeks before I

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got up the courage to tell her we

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00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,860
were standing in the kitchen one morning and

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I turned to her and said, I have

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something very important to say to you and

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I need you to hear me.

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She looked at me with a concern.

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I said, while you were away, something happened.

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I got saved.

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I really got saved.

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She looked at me intently and replied, I

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know.

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Since I've been back, I've noticed a change

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in you.

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Old friend, have you had this transformation?

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00:17:15,339 --> 00:17:18,140
Do you know the testimony of the indwelling

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Christ when Jesus was here in his earthly

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ministry as he passed through towns and villages?

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Those who encountered him experienced change.

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Has your heart been changed by a living

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faith in a risen Lord?

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I hope so.

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If not, don't go to sleep tonight until

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you have this matter settled between you and

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God.

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Don't wait another day.

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It's too risky.

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If you are a truly saved individual, you

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were built on rock, the rock of ages,

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the Lord Jesus Christ, and your life will

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be evidence of a house standing in glory

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to him.

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When my wife and I were building our

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dream house, I first bought some land.

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The land was rolling.

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It had some steep drop-offs, so when

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it came time to lay the foundation of

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the house, a building inspector made the builder

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use 18-inch cinder blocks instead of the

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12-inch cold ones because the lay of

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the land, more sturdiness had to go into

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the foundation.

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So we used bigger 18-inch blocks with

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rebar down through them to give it a

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firm foundation.

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Care and preparation went into building that home,

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which my family lived in for many years.

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We had some pretty strong thunderstorms come through

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that neighborhood, even straight line winds and ending

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00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,660
rain, which brought down trees and destroyed roofs,

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00:19:05,780 --> 00:19:07,740
but that house stood firm.

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It was well built on a firm foundation,

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00:19:11,740 --> 00:19:13,720
but I would have regretted it if I

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failed to be in code with building regulations

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00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:20,660
and had only used 12-inch blocks without

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00:19:20,660 --> 00:19:24,540
the rebar on that severely sloping lot.

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00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,640
That house could have been washed out in

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00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:30,960
a bad flood or storm because of a

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faulty structure.

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Some of you here, within the sound of

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my voice, are on a faulty structure.

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You think you're standing on the rock, but

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the reality is it's merely the sand of

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an empty religious profession.

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Hear me now.

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It's not the appearance of a house that

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counts, friend, in the long run, but the

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00:19:57,460 --> 00:19:59,060
durability of it.

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00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,200
Here is the point where I want to

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00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,800
give you a call to action.

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If God has been dealing with you, friend,

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through this message, don't delay.

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00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,220
Don't let the devil distract you now or

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00:20:16,220 --> 00:20:19,580
give you any excuses to come to Christ

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00:20:19,580 --> 00:20:22,740
now and own him as your Savior and

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00:20:22,740 --> 00:20:25,880
Lord and know him and know what it's

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00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,480
like to build upon that solid rock.

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Do all you can, friend.

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00:20:34,540 --> 00:20:36,580
I'm getting serious with you now.

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00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,240
Need you to get serious with God.

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00:20:39,700 --> 00:20:42,320
Do all you can, friend, to get to

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00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:45,100
God and become a seeker of him.

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Become a beggar for mercy.

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Listen to the word of God, which declares,

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seek ye the Lord while he may be

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found.

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Call ye upon him while he is near.

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Let the wicked forsake his way and the

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00:21:04,340 --> 00:21:08,000
unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return

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unto the Lord.

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And he will have mercy upon him and

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00:21:13,260 --> 00:21:17,280
to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

402
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:21,940
Listen, friend, life is short.

403
00:21:22,500 --> 00:21:24,180
Eternity is forever.

404
00:21:24,750 --> 00:21:27,620
Get serious with God and he will get

405
00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:28,820
serious with you.

406
00:21:29,420 --> 00:21:32,120
This could be the start of something tonight

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00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:36,260
that will alter your entire eternal destination.

408
00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:38,640
Jesus is no killjoy.

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00:21:39,260 --> 00:21:42,300
He wants the very best for you, which

410
00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:45,700
is eternal life in him.

411
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:50,000
Come to him and believe on him and

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00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,600
own him as your Savior and Lord.

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Come place it all in his nail-pierced

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00:21:55,820 --> 00:21:56,480
hands.

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Come surrender to God as I sing.

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00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,360
My hope is built on nothing less than

417
00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:09,880
Jesus' blood and righteousness.

418
00:22:10,740 --> 00:22:15,360
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but

419
00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:19,300
wholly lean on Jesus' name.

420
00:22:19,390 --> 00:22:24,200
On Christ the solid rock I stand.

421
00:22:24,540 --> 00:22:28,660
All other ground is sinking sand.

422
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:33,420
All other ground is sinking sand.

423
00:22:33,740 --> 00:22:39,580
When darkness fails his lovely face, I rest

424
00:22:39,580 --> 00:22:43,100
on his unchanging grace.

425
00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:49,020
In every high and stormy gale, my anchor

426
00:22:49,020 --> 00:22:52,120
holds within the veil.

427
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:56,800
On Christ the solid rock I stand.

428
00:22:57,180 --> 00:23:01,320
All other ground is sinking sand.

429
00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,980
All other ground is sinking sand.

430
00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:11,160
And when shall come with trumpet sound, oh,

431
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:15,680
may I then in him be found, dressed

432
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:22,420
in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before

433
00:23:22,420 --> 00:23:23,620
the throne.

434
00:23:24,020 --> 00:23:28,480
On Christ the solid rock I stand.

435
00:23:28,860 --> 00:23:33,100
All other ground is sinking sand.

436
00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:39,000
All other ground is sinking sand.