In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of Zacchaeus and how his encounter with Jesus led to a transformation in his life. Zacchaeus, a deceitful tax collector, climbed a tree to see Jesus, and when Jesus called him down, Zacchaeus promised to restore fourfold anything he had taken dishonestly. Jesus declared salvation had come to Zacchaeus' house. The preacher emphasizes the importance of not being deceived and highlights the need for a genuine love for Christ as the driving force in times of adversity. The sermon also emphasizes that knowing Christ as Savior brings about a new purpose for living, where believers no longer live for themselves but for Him.

It certainly is a joy to be with you tonight. If you would, take your Bibles with me, please, and turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. It has been a growing concern of mine over the last few years of why there has been such a slackness in sanctification. I believe that true justification will lead to sanctification. And during days like this, it's not to provoke experience so much in your life, but rather to simply enhance what God is doing already. But in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things become new. Let me ask you a question. Do you believe that? You know, there's a movement afoot today that says that a person can receive the Lord and yet live in 25 or 35 years of sin and still go to heaven. You don't believe the Bible teaches that, do you? You see, people, I'm convinced that Christians are not sinless, but they will sin less and less and less because the divine sanctifier lives in them. Christ in you, the hope of glory. And he hath been made unto us sanctification. Oswald Chambers says the great miracle of salvation is not the changes that other people witness in you, but the changes that you see in yourself. Can I ask you tonight, has there been changes occur in you that can only be explained in terms of the supernatural activity of God? You see, it concerns us sometimes that we come to meetings like this and we hear these truths and principles and then we're caught up in the novelty of it and the excitement of having people love us and minister to us and pray with us. And then we take the truths home and they don't seem to work for us. And in some situations, it's a matter of unbelief in the life of the believer. But I'm convinced in other situations, it's a matter of an unregenerate heart trying to appropriate biblical truth. And a dead man who is not in Christ will never experience the victory of Christ living in them because he does not live in them. And so tonight, brethren, I would encourage you to give diligence to make your calling in election sure. Yes, I realize this is a revival conference. You're going to find tonight that the message has a flavor of revival to it. But in the midst of this revival season, I would encourage you to examine yourself to see if you be in the faith to prove your own self. The apostle says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, and that is the key. Let me just highlight a few of these words for you by way of exposition. First of all, the word therefore. It's that word placed there in the King James Version. Every time you see the word therefore in the Bible, you always ask yourself the question, what is therefore therefore? It's a transitional word reflecting back on a previous thought or thoughts. The apostle says in the light of what I've shared with you in this epistle. You well know that the chapters, the chapter titles are not inspired. It was just one continuous letter. But in the light of what I've just shared with you in this letter, Corinthians. If any man be in Christ. He's a new creature. Now, we'll watch this right here. You'll notice when he says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, you notice the words he is is in Italian, which very simply means it's not in the original. But there is something in the original that is very significant to note. There is a pause there. In other words, here is the apostle Paul under divine inspiration, pinning the words, therefore, if any man be in Christ. Paul's and thinking there momentarily before the Spirit. What is the best term that I could use that depicts that expresses this radical movement of God in the soul of man? And just like that, the Spirit of God imparts the thought new creation. New creature. There is no better way to describe it. And then we see the offspring of that all things are passed away past tense. Behold, all things. Become you. I want to ask you a question. Do you do you think that he means all things or just some things? You said, well, obviously, it's all. Well, let me ask you this, then, when you came to Christ, did you experience a new personality? For most of us, we didn't. I mean, maybe I'm lost because my personality didn't change that much, at least not to the extent that I was able to recognize the change. When you came to Christ, did you experience an alteration in your temperament? You may have experienced the change since you've come to Christ. God may have made you a cleric. How about salary? Did you when you came to Christ, did that become you? Did you go to work Monday morning and find that you had received a pay increase or have another mate? When you came to know Christ as your savior, did your mate change? Did you receive a new person to live with? Obviously, friend, he's not talking about all things here, but he is speaking of all things in reference to the things that he has mentioned back in chapters four and five. I'd like for us to look at these six things that do become you once a person comes to Christ. These are not things that we experience 10 years or 20 years down the road after we have received Jesus. These things immediately become you. Look back, if you would, in chapter number four of Second Corinthians. The first thing that becomes new, leading up to verse 17 in chapter five. In chapter four and verse 13, he says, we have in the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believe and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak. Because the apostle had believed, he spoke. Of those things that pertain to the gospel. Therefore, the first thing that becomes new once we have been grafted into Christ is we experience a new profession. It was Sam Jones who said, if you never talk about your religion, maybe it's because you don't have any religion to talk about. You see, a friend, if there's one thing that new birth in Christ makes us, it's a living epistle. It is an ambassador of God. Can't you see in the early days of the New Testament church there in the book of Acts, them having some high powered evangelist to come in and teach everybody a course on let's go soul winning. The reason they spoke and they spoke boldly is because they had believed. And can we separate this from new life in Christ and say that really what people need to do is they need to refine their testimony and they need to have more biblical understanding in regard to some theological areas before they can really be capable of being a soul winner. No, no. The apostle said one thing that does become new is a new profession. Verse 13, once again, we having the same spirit of faith that once we have received that according it is written, I believe and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak. And could it be, friend, that the reason many of us, we don't speak about Christ or the gospel is because we've never legitimately believed. The story is told of Dr. F.B. Meyer one night after his service. He was standing in the back of the auditorium and he heard there at the front raucous laughter. He looked at the front of the church and he saw two men laughing and slapping one another on the back. And so he went up to see what all the commotion was all about. And upon inquiring, one of the men said, you know, we've worked together for six years and tonight we discovered that we're both Christians. Dr. Meyer said, gentlemen, I want you to get down on your knees here at the altar. I'm going to pray for your conversion. For if you've worked together six years and you've never known that you're Christians, you're probably not. The Africans who came to North America and visited the churches for a number of weeks and they got ready to go back to their homeland. And that part of Africa, living in the midst of the presence of God. They said, what did you notice about North American Christians? And they said, if there's one thing that stands out about them, is that these people are ashamed of their God. They're ashamed of their God. And yes, I don't deny the fact that sometimes we can be overwhelmed with the fear of man. But I tell you, friend, when we experience new life in Christ, the Spirit of God gives us the capacity and the constraint to share Christ with others. With Duncan Campbell and our dear brother Bill McCloud tonight, I wanted to make sure I got the story accurate. And I asked him, I said, did this really happen? He said, absolutely. When Duncan Campbell came to Canada and visited with brother Bill, he asked the question, he said. How many people should I expect to come back to the evening services and the fundamental evangelical churches across North America? From Sunday morning to Sunday night, how many should I expect back? And Bill said, well, approximately 50 percent. You normally get half the crowd back on Sunday night. Then he said, well, brother McCloud, how many come out for the midweek prayer meeting? And he said, normally approximately 50 percent of what we have on Sunday evening comes back on Wednesday night. And Duncan Campbell alarmed, looked at brother Bill and said, brother McCloud, are these people converted? You see, folks, I'm convinced if your religion won't get you to church, it sure won't get you to heaven. There's going to be a new profession, not just with our lips, but with our very life. There will be a change. Secondly, there's something else that I want you to see. Look with me in chapter four in verse number 16. The apostle says, for which cause we faint not. For what cause is he referring to? Back up in verse 14. Knowing that we which he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus and shall present us with you for all things and for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of me redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not. But though our outward man perish, and this is not referring to physical death in the sense that our body is deteriorating, but rather is talking about the ageness and the weariness that comes through the persecution that he was enduring for the gospel sake. For you notice in the context back up in verses number eight, nine and 10. That's exactly what he's talking about. Always bearing about the dying of the Lord Jesus in our body, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. And so in the light of that, he says, for which cause for the gospel sake, we faint not. But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. The second thing that becomes new. Is there will be a new perseverance? God enables those who are his to persevere in holiness. Look with me, if you would, at some verses of Scripture. You recall there in second Timothy, chapter number two, the apostle says the foundation of God's standard. Sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that name of the name of Christ depart from iniquity. In Ecclesiastes chapter three and verse 14, what the Lord does, he does for ever. The Scripture tells us there in Acts chapter 20 and verse 24, Paul said, in spite of everything that I've gone through, none of these things move me. Neither can I my life dear unto myself. Use your Bibles with me. It turned, first of all, to Proverbs chapter two and verse number eight. Proverbs two and verse eight. The Bible says he keepeth the paths of judgment. And watch and preserve it the way. Of his saints. He preserve it the way of his saints. You'll notice something else, since it's so convenient. Look with me in Psalms 37. Psalm and chapter 37 in verse number 28. For the Lord loveth judgment. Forsaketh not his saints. They are preserved forever. But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Verse 31 of the same chapter, the law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps. Shall slide. You notice still again in the book of Psalms. Psalm 97. And verse number 10. Ye that love the Lord. Hate evil. He preserveth the souls of his saints. He delivereth them out of the hand. Of the wicked. So what do you say about the current? Listen to this. I believe they that endure to the end. The same shall be saved. If you were to take the parable of the scene, the soar from. Matthew 13, Mark, chapter four and Luke, chapter eight. And you correlate those verses of Scripture together. You find that the very things that cause the stony ground here and the thorny ground here to fall away. Who are not converted are the very agents that cause the good ground here to prosper and flourish and bring forth fruit with continuance. What are those things? Tribulation. Persecution. And temptation. And when the adversities and the crisis and the pressures and the calamities of life are administered to our life. If we are a good ground here. We're going to persevere through it. Yes, there may be a lapse of fellowship. And yes, sin may come and momentarily lay upon our hearts. But I tell you, friend, God's going to use these agents to purify us and to preserve our way. There will be a new perseverance. The apostle says we faint not. There's a third thing that becomes new immediately at the moment of conversion. And that is there'll be a new perception. Look once again back in chapter four. As we continue to move down the page, you'll notice in verse number 18, the new perception is that look of faith. For he says, well, while we look not at the things which are seen. But at the things which are not seen, we look at the invisible. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal. Look in chapter five, moving right through it. The same thing he says in verse number seven, but yet in a different, more concise way. He says, for we walk by faith and not by sight. For it is the natural desire and tendency for a person who has been a recipient of the new birth to walk by faith. There will be times when we flounder in unbelief. But you see, that's not the nature within us. The nature of new life in Christ gives me the capacity to gain a new perception of the things that are eternal. Someone has said that you will never attempt the impossible until you see the invisible. I'm going to ask you, friend, do you find yourself? It's a natural desire that comes from that new nature imparted through the birthing experience of almighty God that lives in the realm of the invisible. Someone has said that faith is living in the unseen realities of God. And as at least is there that capacity within your heart. To live within the unseen realities of our master. It's amazing as we continue there in chapter number five. There are three things that the apostle mentions that he is living. In the reality. Unseen realities. First of all, you'll notice that he lives in the light of an apparent eternity. For he realized that one day and only one person could have imparted to him this knowledge. And that was the Holy Ghost. For he says in verse number one of second Corinthians, chapter five. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle referring to his body were dissolved, if it was done away with, we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. We know this. We have seen it. We live in the reality of it. The second thing that you find is an approving Lord. An approving Lord. Verse number nine. Notice he says, but wherefore we labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. And the word accepted there means approved, commended by him. He said, this is what I live for. I live in the presence of my Lord to please him. My driving desire is that one day I might hear, well done, thou good and faithful servants. An approving Lord. And another unseen reality was an approaching judgment. I wish someone would preach on the judgment seat of Christ. I wish I had a message on it, but it's the most neglected part of eschatology. But one thing I do know of the judgment seat, as Paul mentions, you'll notice in verse number ten. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. It will not be a joy ride when we stand before Jesus at the judgment seat. For Paul goes on to call it the terror of the Lord. Once again, there is that biblical law of interpretation. Very simplistic. Every time you see the word therefore, what is therefore? Therefore, for you'll notice in verse eleven. Knowing therefore, reflecting back to verse ten. Referring to the judgment seat of Christ. He calls it knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. We persuade men. What was the terror of the Lord? The judgment seat of Christ. Knowing that someday he would have to give an account of himself before God. It's going to be an awesome judgment. Awesome. There's something else that I want you to see tonight. A fourth thing that becomes new. And that is a new passion. Look with me if you would in verse number fourteen. What is our passion? No longer is it the fear of man. No longer is it peer pressure. It is the love of Christ. For the love of Christ constraineth us. It drives us. Because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. And Paul said through the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit. I have been made to recognize how much Jesus loves me. And I perceive his great love toward me. And this is what constrains me to go on for God. There is a new passion. Something that's interesting to note. You'll notice he didn't say the love for Christ. But rather the love of Christ. You see friend, it's impossible for you to love Christ. Until first of all it has been revealed to your heart how much Jesus loves you. And we really experience the depths of that love at the moment of conversion. As Romans chapter five says, the love of God is shed abroad or poured out abundantly in our heart by the Holy Ghost. Have you experienced that? As Mr. Spurgeon has said, love comes in fullness when self dies. Mr. Finney described his conversion experience which God filled him with the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion. It was like waves of liquid love flowing through his innermost being. It was Hudson Taylor who was addressing a group of young men who were preparing to go to the mission field. And he asked them what their motive was for going. One young man quickly responded and said, well because Christ has commanded it. And still another said, well because the world is perishing without Christ and someone needs to go and tell them. And someone gave another answer and still another and another. And all of these were very commendable answers. And Mr. Taylor finally said, I do want to approve and commend you for these answers that you've given. And all of them are very good and they're biblically accurate. But he said, during times of adversity and hardship on the mission field, if the driving passion and motivation of your heart is not the love of Christ, you'll faint. Fred, have you experienced, have you tasted of the Lord, specifically his love? Have you been born again? There's a fifth thing that becomes new. Look with me in verse number 15 now of chapter 5. Once again, all these leading up to verse 17. The apostle says in verse 15, and that he died for all that they which live. Now watch this. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him. When we've come to know Christ as our Savior, there will be a new purpose for living. Fred, do you think that when God sent his son to die for us, that he simply had our interest in mind? Oh no. He had his glory in mind. You see, Jesus didn't simply come to satisfy the lusts and passions of our own self-centered heart by giving us peace and joy and heaven, and then leaving us to ourselves to destroy ourselves in self-will. But Jesus came to deliver us from sin. He came to set us free from a self-centric life to a Christ-centric life. And this is the purpose. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him. You say, Brother Curran, it sounds to me like you believe a little imperfectionism. Oh no, Fred. I believe Christians can sin, but I believe that they do whom the Lord loves. He chastens and scourges every son that he receives. God will deal with you to bring forth fruit unto holiness. One of our church fathers, Augustine. If you know anything of his life before his conversion, you know he was a very moral man. Perversion ran rampant in his life. Then the glorious light of the gospel shined into him, gave the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and the life of Augustine. And after his conversion, one day he was walking down the street and a prostitute who he had a number of different encounters with approached him. He saw her coming and he was so ashamed of how he had defiled her in his past life before he had come to Christ. And by the way, that's biblical. Romans chapter 6 and verse 21. What fruit had you then in those things that you are now ashamed? He was so ashamed that he determined that he would not even acknowledge her presence as they came in contact with one another there on the street. As she got toward him, she fixed her eyes upon him, waiting for him to look up so she could acknowledge him. But he never looked up. Just as they got to one another, passing one another down the street, he picked up his step and walked even more quickly to get away from her. She being shocked that he would not respond, stopped and turned and gazed upon Augustine and said, Augustine! Augustine! It is I, Augustine! And Augustine stopped and looked back at this prostitute and said, But it is no longer I. And dear people, if you're in Christ, it is no longer you. Is it Christ? You see, there will be at least an interruption of you walking according to the course of the world, according to the prince of the power of the air, once you're in Christ. There will be an inward struggle that ensues because God lives in you. Don't be duped into believing this philosophy of religious people who say that there is no evidence once you come to Christ that you can live the way you want to and still go to heaven. Then don't believe it. There will be a new purpose. You remember Zacchaeus? What a conniver, what a deceiver. And there the Lord Jesus one day passes by and that little man was up in the tree and Jesus called to him. And during the course of their conversation, Zacchaeus says, Lord, whatever I've taken deceitfully from any man, I'm willing to restore fourfold. And immediately Jesus says, Today, Zacchaeus, salvation has come to your house. The Bible tells us not to be deceived. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. A lady down in Florida came one night after the service and we were there at the front of the auditorium. She said, Can I talk to you? I'll not be able to be back for the services this week. I said, Certainly. So we sat there on the front pew of the church and she shared with me. She said, You know, I've got a horrible marriage and my husband is so insensitive and he's such an angry man. And she was blaming her husband the whole time. And then she told me, she said, Brother Don, I work a second shift job and that's the reason I'll not be able to be back. And she said, I just want to let you know what I'm involved in right now. And here the lady was probably 55, 60 years of age. And she said, as a secretary for this particular place where there's a lot of the public that comes in and out. She said, I've met many different men and these men I have befriended and they call me at night on my nights off and they ask me to go out. She said, I'll cup the receiver of the phone and ask my husband if I can go out. She said, I don't tell him where I'm going or who I'm going to be with. I just say a friend's call to see if I can go out. And my husband will look at me and say, sure you can go, I'll just make sure you lock the door behind you. And she said, I'll go out and I'll have one more adulterous relationship. And she said, what I want to know is what should I do. And what she was meaning by that when she said what should I do is what can I do to change my husband so I can be delivered from this. She was blaming her husband. And I said, lady, I don't have your husband here, I have you here. And I said, the greatest recommendation I can make to you is that you need to be converted. For I don't care how much you try to justify this, if you're going out continuously and having involvement in an adulterous relationship with different men, you're lost. Be not deceived. Neither adulterers, nor fornicators, nor feminine, nor abusers of themselves with mankind shall have any inheritance in the kingdom of God. Can you believe that somebody told me the other day that every time the word inheritance is mentioned in the New Testament, it's referring to losing inheritance in the kingdom of God, not losing your soul. And that's what some Bible colleges and seminaries teach. New life in Christ, yes, but no evidence of it. What do they do with the spiritual birthmarks of 1 John? What do they do with the Beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew 5? What do they do with these verses here in Paul's epistle in chapters 4 and 5? Well, there's a sixth thing that becomes new. And that is a new perspective of Jesus. Look with me, if you would, in verse 16. Once again, still building up to verse 17. Wherefore, he says, henceforth know we no man after the flesh. Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now, what's he referring to? Conversion. Yet now, henceforth, know we Him no more. Friend, when you've been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, you're going to have a new perspective of Jesus. No longer do you know Him after the flesh, but now you know Him after the Spirit. He's no longer to the Apostle Paul just a simple historical figure that possibly could have been a prophet of God. No longer is He a mover of sedition toward the Roman government. But now in Paul's eyes, He's my Savior, my Redeemer, my Wisdom. He's my friend. There's a unity and a bond there that can only be explained in terms of salvation, deliverance. Please, don't be led to believe that these images of Christ are Jesus Christ. Acts 17, verse 29, For as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think of the Godhead as likened to gold, silver, stone, graven by art or man's device. But sad to say that's the only perspective, and if that's the only perspective of Jesus you have, you're still lost. Do you know Him after the Spirit? You say, can you explain that a little bit more in detail to me, Brother Curry? Paul on the road to Damascus, suddenly smitten by that blinding light, and yet he's able to see suddenly, spiritually. He says, Lord, what that Thou had me to do? Peter, the presence of Christ, after he'd already asked Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And Peter responds, Boly, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus says, Peter, flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father. Friend, if you've come to Christ, you have a new perspective of Jesus. Do you know Him now after the Spirit? One time, I knew Him as the storytelling Jesus, but now I know Him as my Redeemer. And one time, He was a good, miracle-working prophet, a Savior in a human sense, but now He's my sanctification. One time, I knew Him in my mind, but now I know Him in my heart. Do you know Him in your heart? Brother Curran, this is most alarming. I spoke to our people in our church in Gainesville some weeks ago about the difference between saving faith and superficial faith. You see, friend, in John chapter 1 and verse number 12, we know the verse, but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. But the next verse is the key. Which were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, and in that phrase, nor the will of the flesh, means not by human decision, including your own, nor the will of man, but of God. But then it says in John chapter 2, the latter part of the chapter, many believed on Him when they saw the miracles which He did, but He did not commit Himself unto them, for He knew the hearts of all men. Why is it some of them got it and some of them didn't? Because, friend, listen to me in closing. Salvation is of the Lord. It is God that does His work. And has He done His work in you? Once He does that work, yes, there will be struggles. Yes, there will be difficulties. Yes, our pathway to sanctification will be impeded at times. But I tell you, God will begin to chasten and buffet, and God will release His power within our heart to break us, so as to ultimately make us and conform us to the image of Christ. Amen? Let's pray together. Father, indeed we can identify with the Apostle Paul. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, new creation. These things have passed away. These areas have become new. Lord, even now I pray that You might give us grace to examine ourselves to see if we be in the faith. Lord, even for those who may be here tonight and are religiously lost, I believe you can even hear the prayer of a lost man. For indeed, You did it in the life of Cornelius. So Lord, disturb us to the point that we will press into the Kingdom by believing, not a casual profession of faith, but to believe initially and then to continuously believe that Christ is my sufficiency and He is the salvation of my soul. Father, thank You for speaking. Do Your work. Bring glory to Yourself. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Some weeks ago I was in the state of Missouri. On a Sunday morning I preached an evangelistic message. Obviously this is not a surface type of message, but I expounded the cost of salvation when a person comes to Christ. The changes that will occur in their life. A young man came to me, 23 years of age, and he said, Brother Curran, on the basis of what you preached this morning, while I've been very religious, I believe that I'm lost. And so we sat there at the front of the church and I took him through the Scripture for 40 minutes. The whole time God was opening his heart. And I said, Daniel, I'm not going to just simply lead you in another prayer and encourage you to make another profession of faith, but I want you to understand the difference between believing on Christ unto salvation and a simple, easy believism. I said, if you truly believe in Christ, you're going to keep on believing in Christ and it's going to be reflected in a holy lifestyle. And so after we had prayer together, he went on his way and he came back to the service that night and he asked the church to forgive him for robbing God of tithes and offerings. He said, I have all intention of catching up on my tithe to the Lord. And so he told me later, he said, Brother Don, I'm going to double and triple up until I get caught up. But see, this was just the beginning. On Tuesday night when he came to the services across the Mississippi River over in Illinois, where we were holding services, he shared with me how that God was dealing with him in the area of perversion. And you see, I had learned that before he came to Christ, when he was 16 years of age, his sister invited a girl from the church over to spend the night with her. And during the course of the night, this 11-year-old girl, the visitor, was raped by this boy. And so I knew somewhat of what he was talking about when he talked about perversion. He said, I'm cleaning up my house. And his wife gave testimony of how they just completely rid their house of all the magazines and videos. And boy, she was just elated. And then he followed me out to the car and he said, you remember when you were over at such and such church some years ago calling me down in the service? I said, Daniel, I don't do that. I said, it really has to be bad for me to ever call anybody down in the service. He said, well, it was bad. And he said, you called me down. Because he said, when Mom told me you were coming back to our church last weekend, I said, well, I'm not going. And he said, I just want to let you know that what you did some years ago was merited. And he said, would you please forgive me for being so disrespectful? And I said, I sure will. Friend, the kids just come to Christ. And already the restitution and the confession is just pouring out at him. Is he doing that to be saved? No. But he's doing that because God is exerting his life upon him within the inner part of his spirit. Oh, I tell you, Billy Sunday said it right. Hell would not be so full if people, religious people, were only willing to hear their case. Well, tonight, friend, I would encourage you, be sure. I'm certainly not here to provoke doubt in anyone. But don't you let any man tell you that you're saved. You pursue the witness of the Spirit of God, bearing witness with your spirit that you're a child of God. You be sure that you're in the faith. Amen.