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What Have You Encountered? · Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st

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Good morning church. Thank you John and praise team
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for leading us in worship of the one true God this morning.
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And as we continue in our worship, I would ask that you
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turn in your Bible to Genesis chapter 20.
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You know that we're continuing in worship when Pastor Kyle gets
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up here or anybody else. It's a continuation of worship,
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right as we open God's Word to look at it.
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For the last several months, we've been in this sermon series
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answering the call. We began the with the account in
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Genesis. When God calls Abraham to leave
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his home, his family, his country, to go to a land that
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God will show him. God tells him that he will make
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him a great nation, descendants without number, that he will
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bless him, that he will make his name great, that he will be a
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blessing to all the families, all the nations of the earth.
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And these are all God's vow, his promise to Abraham.
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These things are going to happen.
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You can count it and Abraham's initial response in Genesis
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chapter 12 is to obey the Lord and go forth.
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But answering God's call did not eliminate difficulty.
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We've seen this. Part of the difficulty came
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because Abraham took his his nephew Lot with him.
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Remember, part of the difficulty came simply because of the
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nature of God's promises to Abraham.
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And part of the difficulty became came in because of the
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fulfillment of the promise. The faith becoming sight did not
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happen immediately, no, far from it.
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But the question at each stage of the journey was whether
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Abraham truly trusted in God's promises in spite of all that
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made the pathway difficult and messy.
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At times. God's ways are higher than man's
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ways, and he was. God was making a plan of
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redemption, a way for redemption, a way for salvation.
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And what we see is the unfolding of God's solution to everything
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that has taken place since the Garden, when the first man and
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woman chose to rebel, disobey God, rebel against him, and
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bring in disruption, disharmony, futility, curse, and death.
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And this redemption would ultimately be fulfilled in the
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offering of God's own Son, Jesus Christ, many generations down
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the line. And for this redemption to take
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place, God was working in and through the call upon Abraham's
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life. But this story, this story of
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God and his call to Abraham, is actually our story too.
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Because through it God is revealing all sorts of things
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about himself, revealing more about who he is, His character,
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His Holiness, his righteousness, his faithfulness, and so much
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more. But He's also revealing more
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about who we are as His creatures.
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He made for His glory, not for our glory.
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He wants us to see Him just as He is, and He wants us to
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understand who we are just as we are.
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And through understanding who He is and who we are, our call to
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follow Him becomes more and more clear.
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Notice I didn't say easier clarity.
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Simplicity does not mean easy clarity.
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And simplicity does not mean we're not affected by the chaos
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and the confusion and the complexity that surrounds us.
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But we're citizens of another Kingdom, right?
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So this brings us to our text for today, Genesis 20.
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Now you may notice that we're skipping a little bit at the end
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of chapter 19, verses 30 to 38. This Hallmark ish story account
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of the daughters of Lot scheming to take things into their own
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hands to preserve their family. I heard a few chuckles.
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Maybe you don't get the Hallmark reference I've got.
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I've got ladies in my house that love Hallmark, but this is not a
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Hallmark story. But when Pastor Kyle asked me to
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preach a couple months ago, he said I'm going to be in at
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Genesis 20. So that's what I study for.
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Well, in the weeks, the past few weeks, it's taking him a little
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longer. So he's going to get up here
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potentially and tell you next week I offered to Pastor Steven
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to preach that wonderful story at the end of Chapter 19.
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I mean, he just said no. But actually that's not the
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case. However, he will return us back
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to he's got a word from the Lord to give us next week at the end
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of chapter 19 and then we'll move forward to chapter 21.
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But we're we're in chapter 19 this week and before reading the
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passage, I want to us to reflect upon our own lives for a moment
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as we enter our our study of this passage.
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If you are a believer in here, you've answered God's initial
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call on your life to die to yourself and follow him.
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But I want you to think about how God has called you into
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something in your life, maybe recently, maybe not so recently,
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that has become for you somewhat of a faith journey through His
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Word perhaps, and through the counsel of godly friends and
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family members, you became convinced that God was directing
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you down a particular path into a particular relationship to a
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particular job or career or educational journey.
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And maybe to devote much of your time and resources and energy to
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something, maybe to an area of service in the church or in the
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community, maybe to a move, geographical or otherwise.
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And you feel or felt that God has promised a blessing of some
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kind if you follow that particular path in obedience to
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Him. However, as you wait and wait
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and wait, not only for the blessing, not merely for the
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blessing, but as you wait for clarity on the journey, as you
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walk the path and encounter various obstacles, you know
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what? You you become distracted, you
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doubt, you fear, man. You live in your own thoughts.
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I call that you live in your own head.
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Anybody else have that problem? I do that.
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I live in my own head sometimes, and you wonder as a result of
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those things, you wonder if God is really faithful, if what you
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think He called you to is truly the way.
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I ask you to put yourself in this place because I think
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that's where Abraham has been in these chapters we've been going
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through. So let's read Genesis chapter
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20. I'm going to read the whole
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passage. I'm not going to make you stand.
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I usually do that, but I'm not going to today.
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We still have a while earlier and it's a long passage, but I'm
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going to read through the whole passage.
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Genesis chapter 20, starting in verse one.
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This is the word of the Lord. Now Abraham journeyed from there
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toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and
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Shur. Then he sojourned in Garrar.
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Abraham said of his wife. She is my sister.
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So Abimelech, king of Garrar, sent and took Sarah.
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But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night and said to
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him, Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman you have
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taken, for she is married now Abimelech had not come near her.
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And he said, Lord, will you slay a nation?
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Even though blameless? Did he not himself say to me,
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She is my sister? And she herself said, He is my
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brother? In the integrity of my heart and
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the innocence of my hands, I have done this.
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Then God said to him in the dream, Yes, I know that in the
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integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you
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from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you
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touch her. Now therefore restore the man's
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wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you
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will live. But if you do not restore her,
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know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.
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So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called his servants
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and told all these things, and they're hearing, And the men
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were greatly frightened. Then Abimelech called Abraham
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and said to him, What have you done to us?
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And how, if I sinned against you, that you have brought on me
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and my Kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that
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are not to be done. And Abimelech said to Abraham,
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What have you encountered that you have done this thing?
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Abraham said, Because I thought surely there is No Fear of God
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in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
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Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my
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father, but not the daughter of my mother.
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And she became my wife. And it came about when God
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caused me to wander from my father's house.
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And I said to her, This is the kindness which you will show to
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me everywhere we go. Save me, he is my brother.
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Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female
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servants and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife
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to Sarah. To him Abimelech said, Behold,
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my land is before you, settle wherever you please.
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To Sarah he said, Behold, I have given your brother 1000 pieces
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of silver. Behold, it is your vindication
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before all who are with you and before all men.
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You are cleared. Abraham prayed to God, and God
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healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids so that they bore
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children, for the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the
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household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
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This is the word of the Lord. You may recall that Genesis 20
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is not the first time that Abraham has concealed that Sarah
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is his wife. I mean, he actually said that is
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the case. But back in Genesis 11, you
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recall Abraham's father takes him and his family away from the
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ancient Mesopotamian town of ER, modern day Iraq toward Haran.
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And this begins a 13 mile journey between the events of
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chapter 12 and where we are in chapter 20.
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Look at that. I got you a map.
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Y'all like maps? I got you a map this morning
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mapping it out. So between those events, this
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long journey in chapter 12, God's promise comes to Abraham
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for the first time. Abraham with his family and Lot
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with him, take all their possessions to set out for the
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land of Canaan all the way to Shechem, right under #3 There he
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proceeds from Shechem further to the mountain of Bethel, before
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continuing on to the Negev or the South country.
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And remember, a famine comes on the land.
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Here we are in Genesis 12. Famine comes on the land.
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So Abraham and his caravan go further South Down to Egypt to
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sojourn there and to find food. And this is where we see Abraham
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deceiving Pharaoh and the Egyptians by saying that Sarah
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is his sister. Abraham fears that the Egyptians
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will see how beautiful Sarah is and will kill him many years
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earlier. So in chapter 20, here we are
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again. Same movie.
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We've seen this before, with an eerily similar scheme to conceal
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that Sarah is Abraham's wife. But a lot has happened since
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that time, no pun intended. A lot.
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A lot has happened lot, a lot happened with a lot, but much
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time has passed since that first time.
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First lie about Sarah, and it's this point.
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It's this point that is of utmost import as we seek to
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understand the events of chapter 20.
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More about that in a moment, but let's just walk through the text
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together starting back in verse one and make some observations.
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The 1st 2 verses give the background for the whole chapter
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as we had, as he has been doing for years.
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Abraham, I got another map for you I think in a moment.
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But Abraham journeys once again from the oaks of Mamre near
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Hebron. This is where he had looked down
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upon Sodom and Gomorrah couple of chapters earlier, and they
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were they were destroyed by the Lord.
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And he travels S toward the Negev again and settles in the
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Philistine city of Girar, located between Kadesh and Shur.
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Now we're not exactly sure where Girar is, it's somewhere in that
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location, but in chapter 10, we actually learned that Girar is
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the southernmost border of Canaan.
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So he is down the southernmost part of of the promised land.
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In verse 2, we're told that Abraham begins saying that Sarah
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is his sister. He actually has been saying this
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for a while, but undoubtedly he's saying this many times as
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he comes into the city of Gerar. And ultimately word gets to the
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king. So what does the king do?
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Well, the king takes Sarah into his household.
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We're not told the reason that he takes Sarah in.
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We are told back in 12 it we're explicitly told she was
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beautiful. But this is probably about 1520
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years later, something like that at least.
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So we don't know what the real reason is.
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Maybe it was just to form an alliance with Abraham and his
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clan. Regardless, Sarah is again, she
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finds herself in the household of someone who's not her
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husband. And as we move into verses 3 to
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7, we see God once again intervening to show grace to
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Abraham and Sarah and preserve His promises to them.
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This is another butt of the Bible, verse 3.
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But God, OK, but God, he always comes in and intervenes by His
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grace. God first reveals here the truth
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that Abraham has hidden from Abimelech, and then he shows his
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grace and his mercy to Abimelech.
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The text doesn't tell us how much time passed between
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Abimelech taking Sarah into his household and this dream that
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comes from God. But it can't be very long
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because remember back in chapter 17 and 18, God reveals both to
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Abraham and to Sarah that in one year he's going to return and
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she is going to have a child, right?
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So it can't be long. But in verses 3 to 5, God speaks
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to Abimelech and Abimelech answers starting in verse 6, God
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responds to Abimelech's words. And I want you to look at the
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nature of this conversation. Not a color there.
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Y'all like color. Hopefully this is helpful and
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not distracting for you, but notice the mirror like structure
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where concepts are repeated in reverse order.
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In literary terms it's called a chiasm, but they're repeated in
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reverse order. See how God in His grace answers
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Abimelech's concern here. OK, so you've got God coming in
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verse 3 to Abimelech in a dream of the night and then jump down
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to verse 6. If you can see it about midway
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down, then God said to him in the dream.
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So all this is being communicated to Abimelech in
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this dream. But look at the red.
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God starts off and he says behold, you're a dead man.
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And then you go to the end to the red.
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You're matching up colors here. Verse 7 the universe 7 he says
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you and you and your family will live you and I think it says in
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your family I got a typo there but and he will pray for you and
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you will live no typo. He will pray for you and you
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will live. You're a dead man, but you will
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live. God answering by grace.
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Look at the purple the woman whom you have taken she is
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married. This is why you're a dead man
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Abimelech cause the woman you have taken into your household,
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she's married. Then jump down to the purple
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below in verse 7, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet
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and this is the way that you're going to live.
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How do you reverse this woman who you've taken you restore the
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man's wife, the green. Now Abimelech had not come near
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her. What is God's response to
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Abimelech Now Abimelech saying like he, he's saying I didn't
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come near her and and that's part of his defense.
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But God says I, I didn't let you touch her.
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And then the blue is what Abimelech says, Lord, I hadn't
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even come near her. We all know what that means,
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right? I didn't come near her.
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Lord, will you slay a nation even though blameless?
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And God's response in his grace and in his mercy, he says, I
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kept you from sinning against me.
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So Abimelech here presents himself as one with a clear
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conscience. And the Lord agrees with his
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assessment. But we also see how God is in
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control here. We've seen this throughout the
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whole narrative of Abraham's journey.
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He is sovereignly working. God is to bring about His
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purposes for Abraham and for Sarah and for the redemption,
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His redemption plan for the whole world.
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But we see in verse 7 that God gives the choice to Abimelech.
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I've got it under underlined here.
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He gives the choice to Abimelech.
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He says that there's a possibility of avoiding
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judgment. If he would restore Sarah to
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Abraham and if Abraham, God's prophet, intercedes on his
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behalf. When verse 8 we see Abimelech
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response to the dream, what does he do early the next morning?
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He calls his servants and tells them all these things.
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What are all these things? The whole dream, the, the
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scheme, everything. Everybody knows, OK, the truth
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about Abraham and Sarah, all that God is revealed in the
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dream. This is like getting a call at
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your workplace, getting a call when you show up.
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Everybody's called to a meeting in the meeting room, right?
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Nobody likes that call. You don't know what in the world
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is taking place. But early the next morning he
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calls this meeting. And notice the response of the
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men. Now, perhaps they know they've
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heard about God's judgement up the road on Sodom and Gomorrah
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that recently happened. Regardless, they are terrified.
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They're terrified about what, about what's going to happen if
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restoration does not take place, what this God of the Israelites
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would do to their king and to their nation in judgement.
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So God has brought the truth into the light.
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That's a whole nother sermon. But you know, God always brings
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the truth into what? The light.
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And he brings the truth into the light.
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In verse 9, Abimelech calls Abraham and begins interrogating
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him. His first question, What have
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you done to us? It's probably rhetorical, as
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everyone knows, all parties know what's been done.
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OK, it's like you. When I tell Melinda, my sweet
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Melinda, I think she's back there somewhere.
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What have you done? I know exactly what she does.
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She put grass in the lawn mower gas tank.
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That's what she did. I love you, honey.
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That was 2 days ago. I know exactly I'm looking at
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it. This is the same thing Abimelech
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says. What have you done to us?
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Resembles God's question to Adam and Eve in the garden, right?
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He says, what is this you have done?
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Does he know what they've done? Yeah.
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Well, Abimelech goes on. He goes on to ask what he had
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done to Abraham, that this would be done to him, that this whole
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Kingdom would be put in jeopardy.
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What is clear here, that is that Abimelech believes that Abraham
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has sinned against him and his whole Kingdom, and he clearly
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denounces the sin. Did you see what he said?
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You, Abraham, have done things to me that ought not to be done.
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But verse 10, verse 10 is Abimelech's most important
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question. This is why I entitled the
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sermon this. He says, Abraham, what have you
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encountered that you have done this thing?
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Your translation of God's word may say something different.
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It may say something like what was your reason for doing this?
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What made you do this? Abraham, what did you have in
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view that you've done this thing literally from the Hebrew, the
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the Hebrew term means see. So some translations, some of
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yours may say, what did you see, Abraham, that you would do this?
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I love the King James Version. In this case, it said, what
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sawest thou that thou has done this thing?
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Young people in the room, this is not about wood and an
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instrument to cut wood, OK. It's about seeing what sawest
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thou that thou has done this thing.
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It's believed by many scholars and historians that wife
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stealing was common in ancient times and This is why Abraham
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lied about Sarah being his sister.
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Perhaps that that's the case, but what seems clear by
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Abimelech's questions is that he genuinely does not understand
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why Abraham has acted in the way that he does.
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From his perspective, he might merely be asking Abraham if he
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had an experience that he didn't lie about his wife and his wife
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was taken and he was killed. Well, obviously that didn't take
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place 'cause he's still alive. But have you, Abraham?
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Maybe Abimelech's thinking, maybe you haven't lied about and
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you've been punished or persecuted for this.
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Maybe that's Abimelech. But I believe this question that
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Abimelech's asking to Abraham is a hard question.
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And, and it's not merely from Abimelech, king of Gerar, it's
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from the king of kings, the Lord himself, from God himself.
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Abraham, what have you encountered that you've done
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this thing? And as readers of God's Word,
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which we are, we should ask what Abraham has encountered.
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And we go back to all that has happened, all that has been
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revealed to us since Genesis 12 and God's initial promise to
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make Abraham into a great nation and bless him.
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Remember, after that first lie about Sarah, God sends plagues
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upon Pharaoh's house and ultimately expels Abraham and
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his household. Then in God's Providence, he
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text Abraham from settling in the land of Sodom, which Lot
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chooses, and God restates to Abraham his promise of land to
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at the end of chapter 13. In chapter 15, God promises
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Abraham a son that's going to come actually from his own body,
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even though he's really, really old.
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And, and I just thought of my brother who's here, he's a lot
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older than me. That's what I thought.
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Sorry brother, I just thought of it.
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You know, even though Abraham is really old and his sister's
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really old, God tells him in Genesis 15.
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Got me off track. God tells me in Genesis 15, I'm
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going to give you a son from your own body.
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And he makes a covenant with Abraham that that further
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ensures the promises he's already given him.
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God gives military victory to Abraham with his 318 trained
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men. He rescues his nephew Lot from
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the wicked kings. God blesses Abraham's son
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through Hagar when he and his wife take matters into their own
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hands in the midst of these events in chapter 1713 years.
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In chapter 1713, years after Ishmael is born, 13 years, God
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changes Abraham's name to Abraham.
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Abraham means exalted father. Abraham means father of a
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multitude and Sarah's name to Sarah, both of which have the
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basic meaning of Princess, but the latter probably signifies A
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broader, more universal Princess, a mother of nations.
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Abraham, what have you encountered?
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In chapter 18, God promises Sarah that her womb is going to
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be opened and she'll have Abraham's child and his name's
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going to be Isaac. And we know her response.
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What was her response? You're funny, God, she laughs.
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And Isaac's name, What does it mean?
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He laughs another sermon. But God always gets the last
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laugh. By the way, this is a high point
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in the journey in chapter 18 when God asks Abraham, Hey
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Abraham, is anything too difficult for the Lord?
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Abraham, what have you encountered?
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Abraham, have you encountered anything too difficult for your
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God? In chapter 18, also verses 17 to
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19, we hear of God's secret deliberation within Himself, the
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Holy Trinity, about whether to reveal to Abraham his impending
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judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. This is what it says, the Lord
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said. Shall I hide from Abraham what
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I'm about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and
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mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be
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blessed. For I have chosen him so that he
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may command his children and his household after him, to keep the
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way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so
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that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what he has spoken about
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him. Well, God does tell Abraham
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about his judgement, and he reminds him that he's his
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prophet. And Abraham intercedes for the
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cities. Throughout all of this, God
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continually over and over and over again blesses Abraham.
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He blesses his house. He gives him possessions.
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He gives him servants, He gives him men, He gives him wealth.
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Yes, it's been a long time, around 25 years, since that
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original promise. We've not arrived to the
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fulfillment of the promise, but all that Abraham has seen and
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encountered is God's faithfulness.
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That's it. Throughout all of this, what
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have you encountered, Abraham, that you have done this thing?
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What have you seen that you have done this?
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After reflecting on all that God has taken Abraham through, we
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may not have much compassion for Abraham and this second lie in
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chapter 20, but we haven't let him respond yet.
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So look again at verse 11. I'll give you a hint.
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What he says in verses 11 to 13 doesn't help.
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Rather than looking inward, he actually puts a charge against
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the king and his Kingdom. His first problem in verse 11 is
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Abraham said, because I thought his first problem is what he
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thought. Sure, yes, you're in my first
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problem too, Kyle Smith. That's your first problem in
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situations. I only pick on you because Danny
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Hobbs sat right there and I just wanted to keep it right there.
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You know, he sat right there in the first service.
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That's our first problem. His thoughts are his own.
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They don't reflect the reality of what has happened.
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And in these thoughts, he assumed, incorrectly that the
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king and his Kingdom have No Fear of God and he would have
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him killed. Are you catching the irony here?
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Abraham's fear that the men of Gerard don't fear God actually
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evidences his own lack of fear of God, and that he doesn't
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trust God. I'll say that again because some
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of you are still asleep. Abraham's fear that the men of
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Gerard don't fear God evidences his own lack of fear of God and
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that he doesn't trust God. In verse 12, it sounds like
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Abraham's trying to argue on a technicality, A loophole.
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After all, they share a father and hence she is his half
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sister. Now, there's a longer discussion
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about whether Mosaic law and later Jewish tradition and
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writings actually allowed this. But regardless of that, what's
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clear is that Abraham is attempting to absolve himself of
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guilt, and his words reveal that he's right in his own eyes
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before Abimelech. Now in verse 13, look at it.
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I have to be honest, I'm not even sure.
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I'm not even sure how to take this third excuse that Abraham
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gives. He seems to be saying, this has
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been my modus operandi for a long time.
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Look, Abimelech, I didn't simply just decide to do this when I
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got to Garrar, which actually is not true because he's already
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said he greatly, he feared that they didn't fear God.
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He thought that they assumed that they didn't fear God.
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But anyway, Abimelech, I didn't simply just decide to do this
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when I got to Garrar. This is a scheme that we decided
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way long ago. A long time ago, we decided
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this. Don't you understand?
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I told Sarah to do this. I lied now to you because that
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was our plan from long ago. Would any of you accept that
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from your children, mom and dad? You don't understand.
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I didn't just decide to lie to you me and sis I3 days ago we
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came together and decided to lie to you and that was just best.
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It's been the way we've operated the whole time.
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You know in verses 14 to and following we see Abimelech's
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response to God and his command back in verse 7 to restore Sarah
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to Abraham. Remember back in verse 7 says
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God gives him the choice and not only does Abimelech restore
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Sarah to her husband, he offers sheep and oxen and servants to
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Abraham. Further, he offers land to
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Abraham whatever land he chooses in the Kingdom, something
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Pharaoh didn't offer back in chapter 12.
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Abimelech also tells Sarah in verse 16 that he's given 1000
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pieces of silver to Abraham to vindicate her or cover any
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offense and clear of her of any guilt or culpability.
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Interestingly, he says he has given it to her brother, and I
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don't know if that's a final jab at the scheme or it's a sign of
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partial acceptance of Abraham's somewhat bad excuses of his his
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defense. But regardless, Abimelech's
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response is clearly one driven by fear of Israel's God and a
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desire to honor this prophet of God and his wife.
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And then finally, in verses 17 to 18, Abraham intercedes on
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behalf of Abimelech and his wife and his maids, and they bore
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children. And these verses again recall
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back to verse 7 that restoration is going to happen through this
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prophet. The irony of the story is that
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Abraham's actions bring about both the curse and the blessing
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for the Philistine curse for obtaining Sarah, resulting in a
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barren household, and blessing by Abraham's intercessory prayer
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for Abimelech resulting in the healing of the women in the
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King's household. The implication is that the
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King's family will multiply greatly.
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The preservation of Sarah and the blessing on the families of
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Gurar illustrate again the surpassing grace and mercy of
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God, and He ensures His promises will come to pass.
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Look at one other thing, chapter 21, verse one.
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We'll get there in a couple of weeks, but all this sets up
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what's going to happen in chapter 21 when what God has
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promised to Abraham back in chapter 12 comes to pass.
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Verse 1 of chapter 21. Then the Lord took note of Sarah
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as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised.
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So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age,
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at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. 25 years
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of waiting, being tested, failing at times, but growing
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into obedience as they experienced God's provision and
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faithfulness at every encounter. Don't turn me off at this point
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finishing up. But this is where we come back
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around to the reality that this is our story.
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Church. The Lord is faithful.
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He will bring about what He said, what He promised.
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It will be according to his time frame, exactly according to his
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plan, with no detail left out, nothing that's out of place.
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The best of all possible plans to bring himself glory like no
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other plan would do, and the best of all possible stands for
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His children. You see, He never forgot His
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promises to Abraham and Sarah. Things never slipped out of his
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hand. He never absconded control.
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He never left them. He was there, He was faithful.
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He was, He is because He is the same yesterday, today, and
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forever. He is the great I am.
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He is the God over all creation and He is the same to you and to
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me and He always has been. Every step of the journey of
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your journey. So wherever you are in your
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journey that you thought about earlier in the sermon, and
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wherever you are in the journey at this moment, the question
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comes to you from the one who called you, from the one who
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knows you, from the one who loves you.
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And he's carrying out his plan for you.
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And he says to you and to me, what have you encountered?
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And I would love to be so bold to you to proclaim this morning
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that what you and I have encountered at every step in the
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journey is the faithfulness of God we've encountered.
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What we've encountered is only that which should give us full
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confidence that God is working, that His promises are true, that
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He's good, that He's faithful to bring about that which He has
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called us to. As John and Praise team come up,
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I want to give you the opportunity to voice your answer
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to this question to God himself. You might do it where you are.
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You might come down to the altar.
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I don't know. But the question comes to you
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and me this morning. What have you encountered from
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me? And again, I'd be so bold to
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proclaim this morning, God has never been unfaithful to you and
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to me. He never has.
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What have you encountered? And maybe you need to voice that
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answer this morning. And you know the answer from all
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of us who are as children, we should come and get on our knees
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and answer by saying not like Abraham did and and provide
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excuses. No, our answer should be I'm
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sorry, Lord, you've only been faithful.
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That's it. And I realize that this sermon
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has been directed primarily at believers in the room this
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morning. But I know that there are people
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here, young people, people of all ages, who've never accepted
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the initial call to follow God, to come to God through Jesus
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Christ, his Son, who he gave. To die on the cross for our sins
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in our in our place. He paid the death penalty for us
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through his Son Jesus. And I'd encourage you, if you've
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never made that decision, do it today.
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Don't wait. We don't know how much longer we
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have. Do it today.
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Don't leave here. I'll be out there.
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If you don't feel comfortable coming to me up here, I'll be
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out there. But let's do, let's do business
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with the Lord answering that question.
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What have you encountered from God?
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What have you encountered?