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[0:00] Please take your Bibles and turn to the Gospel of Mark.! Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10.

[0:12] We'll be reading verse 17 through verse 27.! Mark chapter 10 verse 17. As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him.

[0:27] Good teacher, he asked. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good except God alone.

[0:38] You know the commandments. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not give false testimony. Do not defraud. Honor your father and mother.

[0:50] Teacher, he declared. All these I have kept since I was a boy. Why? Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack.

[1:02] Go sell everything you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. At this, the man's face fell.

[1:14] He went away sad because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

[1:25] The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

[1:40] The disciples were even more amazed and said to each other, Who then can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, With man, this is impossible.

[1:52] But not with God. All things are possible with God. It's just a few weeks from now. We'll be bombarded by advertisements for the Black Friday specials.

[2:07] Amazing deals. Just waiting for you or for the first ten customers to show up and to get the new gadgets that will be offered.

[2:18] Or some other really good deals. And folks will line up all night on Thursday night to take advantage of that great deal. Some of them will spend all night out on a cold sidewalk.

[2:32] And stores even have to hire extra security to control the stampede as they come in. To claim these great deals that are being offered. Or perhaps at other times of the year you've seen gas stations offer gas at a dollar or two lower than any other station in town for the day.

[2:51] And cars will line up for blocks. And people will sit in their cars for hours just to get to the pump. Yes, they're burning precious gas as they wait. But they know a deal when they see one.

[3:04] And so they're going to snatch it up. There are some really good deals in real estate. There's some really good deals in the stock market today.

[3:15] In grocery stores, at the malls. And millions of shoppers are sniffing them out. Recognizing them for what they are. And snatching them up.

[3:27] And I say, good for them. But none of these deals even come close to comparing with the deal that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[3:39] And I want to think together just for a moment about this greatest of deals. God our maker has been so good to us that he has surrounded us every day with his blessings.

[3:53] We breathe. We eat. We live all because of his goodness. And every single one of us has said thank you to him by disobeying him.

[4:05] And going our own way. We've rebelled against him in light of all of his goodness. We've said, we don't want you to be our God. We want to be our own gods. We don't want anybody telling us what to do.

[4:17] We want to do what we want, when we want, without consequences. Yes, we've sinned and we've offended this holy God. And he will judge us as his justice must.

[4:31] And he will rightly send us to an eternal hell as the wages of our sin. That's what we deserve. That's what all of us had coming for our sins.

[4:42] We had no way of escaping that judgment. And yet, this deal, this deal of the gospel tells us that God was so rich in mercy and so loving toward this rebellious world that rather than damning all of us on the spot, he sent his one and only son to die on the cross.

[5:05] To bear the punishment for sins that he did not commit. To suffer the hell that sinners deserved. And now he makes this offer that whoever will believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

[5:26] That's the greatest deal of all. Let me get this straight. I sinned. Jesus never sinned. And he, the righteous one, takes my punishment and I, the guilty one.

[5:42] Get his eternal life. Yes, that's the deal of the gospel. Jesus says, you bring me your sins and to be saved by from them and I will give you my righteousness.

[5:56] I'll trade report cards with you. You give me all your F's and I will give you my straight A's. Give me your failures and your sins and I'll give you my perfect obedience.

[6:10] So that when you stand before God in judgment and the books are opened, you will have perfect obedience on your record and will receive eternal life.

[6:22] An absolutely free gift. You don't pay anything. You don't do anything to earn it. In fact, the moment you do something to earn it, you can't have it. Because salvation is by faith and not by works.

[6:37] You just come as an undeserving sinner as you are with nothing good to say for yourself. And you hold out your empty hands to receive the free gift of Jesus Christ and the eternal life that is in him.

[6:50] What a deal. What a deal. Not a tank of gas that will burn off and you'll need another, but eternal, everlasting life.

[7:02] And God has sent his people into the world, all over the world, to advertise this deal. So that others might also receive this amazing gift.

[7:13] The deal of all deals. Salvation found in Jesus Christ. Do you have that? Is it yours?

[7:25] Now follow me. Given the amazing deal that it is, why is it that all kinds of people who know a deal when they see one, and who are flocking to cash in on all the other great deals, why is it that when they hear about the gospel of eternal life through Jesus Christ, the Lord, they yawn and they stay away.

[7:47] And they don't come to Jesus Christ to cash in on the deal. There's no stampede to get to Christ to be saved. Do you notice that?

[7:58] Why is that? Have you thought of that? Never wonder. If salvation in Christ is such a great deal, why are no more getting saved? Well, I'd like for us to take that a step further and to ask it more personally.

[8:15] Why is it that some of you here have never come to Christ for this gift that is the greatest gift of all? And I want to tell you that you're among friends this morning.

[8:30] We too were once without this greatest of gifts, without Christ, without hope. And we have received this gift graciously. He has given it to us, and we're wanting you to have it.

[8:43] And I'll let you in on something. There's not a one of us here probably this morning who received that gift the first time it was offered to us. We too were reluctant and slow to believe it and to come and to receive Jesus Christ.

[9:01] You know, some of us waited for years. Some of us tried every other solution and only came to Christ when everything else had failed us.

[9:15] And as the last resort, we came to him. But you know what we found when we did come to him? That he received us. And he did not turn any of us away. He's just that gracious of a Savior.

[9:27] He turns none away. So today I want to consider five reasons people do not cash in on this greatest of deals, which is the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.

[9:42] Why the greatest deal of all is unsought by so many today. And the first reason is because sinners love their sins too much. Now this is the little secret, rarely acknowledged, but that the Bible brings to light.

[9:58] And that's why I had the rich young ruler and that encounter with Jesus read for you as we worshiped. There are many people who would like to be saved from hell, but who would not want to be saved from their sins.

[10:17] And that was this rich young ruler. What a specimen as he comes to Jesus seeking salvation. What must I do to inherit eternal life? He's ready.

[10:28] Here's a promising situation and candidate for salvation. Mistakenly, he thinks he's obeyed all the Ten Commandments and is just wondering, is there something else that I must do?

[10:40] Tell me and I'll do it. I'll do anything for eternal life. And Jesus sees the covetous heart beneath his clothes and he says, yes, there is one more thing.

[10:53] Go sell everything you have. Give it to the poor. Then come follow me and you will have great riches in heaven.

[11:04] You'll have treasure in heaven. You see, Jesus was putting his finger on the man's beloved sin, his love for money, and telling him, you must renounce that to receive this.

[11:17] And we read at this, the man's face fell. He was so hopeful and then his face fell. And he went away sad because he had great wealth. And the dirty little secret is out that he loved his sin more than Jesus and eternal life in him.

[11:36] So sadly, he walked away from the amazing deal. Give me your sins and I'll give you eternal life. He had hoped he could have eternal life and his sins too.

[11:49] And he would have gladly followed Christ had that been the deal. But folks, that isn't the deal of the gospel. Many would like to be saved from hell, but not from their sins.

[12:02] They would like to be saved in their sins rather than from their sins. But that deal is not on the table. Do you remember why Jesus has the name that he has?

[12:15] The angel came to Joseph and said, Mary is going to give birth to a son and you're to give him the name of Jesus. The Lord saves. Why Jesus? Because he will save his people from their sins.

[12:31] He will save his people from their sins. The only salvation that Jesus brings is a salvation from sins.

[12:42] Not only from the punishment that sin brings, but from sin itself. It's power. It's rain in the life of the sinner.

[12:56] And this is the verdict that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. They loved their sins more than Jesus and eternal life. The sinner wants to be saved from sin like a dog wants to be saved from a T-bone steak.

[13:13] No, it is the sinner's nature to sin. And to love his sin. They may not like sin's consequences, sin's effects, or sin's punishment, but they do love sin.

[13:28] That's the nature of the sinner. And so that's why the scriptures say that a sow that is washed goes back to wallowing in the mud.

[13:41] Quoting an old proverb. Some of you have taken sows to the 4-H fair. And you know more about this than I do. But you can clean that sow all up and get every speck of dirt off of her.

[13:57] Perfume her and make her look beautiful. And after the 4-H fair, if she's not turned into bacon, you bring her home and you put her out into the lot. And where does she go?

[14:08] She returns to wallow in the mud. And when she does, she says, ah, this is it. This is my element. This is where I belong. Oh, she's had me in this stupid fair for a week.

[14:21] I'm now back where I belong. That's the sinner in his sin. He loves his sin. It's his element. Because that's his nature. Sinners love sin because they're sinners.

[14:36] A sow loves the mire because it's a sow and has a sow nature. But what if that sow could have a change of heart and a change of nature?

[14:49] And so there on the front porch of the farmhouse is a little kitten. And what's she doing is she's got some dirt on her paw. She's licking herself. She's cleaning herself.

[15:01] That's a different nature from the sow. And that's the new nature that Jesus puts in the heart of everyone he saves. He not only saves us from the punishment and penalty of sin, but he saves us from the power of sin so that we don't wallow in and say, this is it.

[15:20] No. We long for cleansing and purity. And every Christian still falls in the mire. But we don't sit and wallow in it.

[15:31] Why not? Because we have a new nature like the nature of the cat to cleanse ourselves. So we come to Christ for cleansing and we enjoy that cleansing. Yes, one reason there's no stampede for this great deal of the gospel is because sinners love their sin more than Jesus Christ.

[15:52] Oh, but Jesus can plant a love in your heart for him that is deeper and stronger than your love for your own sin. Come to Jesus. There's a second reason why people are not stampeding to this greatest of deals, and it's because they're too proud to beg.

[16:11] They're just too proud to beg. Jesus told a story. And he said there were two men who went into the temple to pray, and one was a very religious man.

[16:21] He was found there every week. The other was a thieving, conniving tax collector, a very irreligious man, probably didn't show up much at all in the temple.

[16:33] But here these two are this day in the temple. And this tax collector was convicted of his sin, and he could not so much as lift up his eyes and look into the heavens.

[16:45] He was so guilty and ashamed of his sin that he just beat his breast and said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And the word that Jesus really used in the original was, God, be merciful to me, the sinner.

[17:01] The sinner that you have spoken about in your word, the one who has rebelled against your great kindness and your gracious rule over me, the one who deserves to go to hell because of my sin, I am that sinner.

[17:17] The one who has offended you by my sin, I'm that sinner. And if you gave me what I deserve, you would send me to hell on the spot. So please, I'm begging for mercy, Lord.

[17:30] Have mercy on me. Don't treat me as I deserve, but have mercy on me. And Jesus says of that man that he went down to his house justified.

[17:41] That means right with God. Well, he came in a great sinner. He went home justified, forgiven, righteous in the sight of God.

[17:54] He begged for mercy from the Lord. Now, the other man in the temple that day, the Pharisee, the very religious man, he would not beg for mercy.

[18:06] You see, he didn't think he needed mercy. And his prayer is one long recital of his good deeds before God. And he thinks that God should be impressed with him because of all the things he did and didn't do.

[18:21] And because of that, God should let him into heaven. That man went home as he came, lost, still under the wrath of God for his sin.

[18:35] Lesson, if you're too proud to beg for mercy, then you're too proud to be saved. We must come humbly.

[18:47] It's those who humble themselves that God will exalt with salvation. But it's those who exalt themselves that God will humble in judgment. And so we must humble ourselves and come as a hell-deserving sinner and throw ourselves upon the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.

[19:07] Have mercy on me, the sinner. That's the only way we can get the gift.

[19:19] That's the deal. Those are the terms of the deal. And some are too proud to beg. You remember Naaman was a successful Syrian general in the army of Syria.

[19:30] And in one of the raiding sorties into Israel, he had kidnapped an Israelite girl and taken her home to be his wife's slave girl.

[19:43] And this Syrian general got leprosy, the dreaded disease of leprosy. And this little Israelite girl said to her master, if only he would go to the land of Israel, the prophet of God there could cleanse him of leprosy.

[20:03] And so Naaman made the journey to Elijah's house with all his impressive horses and chariots and entourage carrying all the gifts that he had to give.

[20:15] And Elijah doesn't even come out of his house to meet him. Instead, he just sends a servant. And the servant says, go wash seven times in the Jordan River and you'll be cleansed. And Naaman is so offended, he turns his chariots for home and goes off in a huff.

[20:32] I've got cleaner rivers back in Syria to wash in if that's all I need to do. And he would have gone home with his leprosy.

[20:43] Thankfully, he had some servants servants who were wiser than him and talked some horse sense into him. They said to him, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?

[20:57] And we're talking about a lifetime debilitating disease of leprosy that could take your life in the end. Wouldn't you have done some great thing?

[21:08] How much more then when he simply tells you, wash and be cleansed, should you not do it? And they prevailed over Naaman. And he went down to the dirty Jordan and he dipped seven times and he came out and his flesh was as clean as a young boy.

[21:26] Some sinners would be ready and willing to do some very difficult things in order to be saved. Because then they would be able to take some credit for their salvation.

[21:37] Look what I did. You see, I got in because look what I did. And I didn't do this and I did do that. And I am ready to receive salvation salvation based upon what I have performed.

[21:52] But to stop working and just believe on the works of another, to stop working and to see that all my works are like filthy rags and to beg God to have mercy on me because of the works of another on my behalf.

[22:09] I'm sorry. I'm too proud for that. Do myself. It's found on the lips of three-year-olds and it's found on the lips of 13-year-olds and 30-year-olds and 60-year-olds and in the whole area of salvation.

[22:25] Do myself. And then I have a reason to boast that I am saved. That I made my way into heaven. Some of you years ago went to Mexico City and you came back and you told us about some worshipers in a Roman Catholic cathedral who were on their hands and knees seeking to earn favor with God.

[22:46] Over 500 years ago, Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic monk, went to the holy city of Rome and climbed up the stairs of St. Peter's Cathedral on his hands and knees stopping on each stairway to pray.

[23:08] He thought that in so doing he could make himself more righteous until God would finally accept him. It's fallen human nature that is too humble or too proud to beg, too proud to receive mercy.

[23:23] But you see, as long as your hands have your own works to offer to God for salvation, God, receive me because look what I've done and what I am or haven't done, then they're not empty enough to receive Jesus Christ as the free gift of salvation.

[23:45] You see, your hands must be empty. That's what faith is. It's the empty hands. Nothing in my hands I have nothing to offer you for salvation, but I come pleading mercy, begging mercy for Jesus' sake.

[24:00] And that's the faith that God rewards with everlasting life. Life. You see, the difficulty is not in the dipping seven times in the Jordan.

[24:11] The difficulty is not in making your lips say, Lord, the seven words, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. No, the difficulty is humbling your heart before God to receive salvation freely.

[24:27] You see, God would save sinners, but he'll only save them in a way that leaves them without any reason to boast because he saves them not by works, not their own works, but by faith in the works of another.

[24:42] And that's another reason, you see, why there's no stampede to this greatest of deals. Men love their sin too much and men are too proud to beg for mercy. But there's other reasons.

[24:55] Thirdly, the reason that this deal is unsought is because they are afraid that they will miss out on so much. Now, this is especially a snare of young people.

[25:09] Jesus says, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. And young people think, but oh, if I surrender my way to him and die to myself and follow him, I'm afraid where he might lead me.

[25:29] I'm afraid what it might cost me. I'm afraid that somehow I would come out the poor for it. But Jesus' next words are, whoever would save his life will lose it.

[25:41] You see, if you keep trying to save your life and have it your way, you're going to lose it. It's like grabbing sand and it goes right through your hands. You can't hang on to it.

[25:52] But as long as you try to save your life and I want life this way, I want to do this, this, and this, you're going to lose it in the end. But whoever will lose his life for my sake, Jesus says, find it.

[26:06] So you lose life as you want it and you surrender in faith to Jesus and what do you find? You find life, abundant life, in Jesus Christ.

[26:17] Now, it's a huge step of faith to be sure. But remember, salvation is by faith because in this decision, you must step out of the driver's seat, not just scoot over a little.

[26:31] You must go around and get in the back seat and leave the Lord Jesus to take the wheel and to direct you through life entirely according to His will and His word.

[26:45] That's trust, isn't it? It is to believe that the Son of God knows better how to live than you do and knows better how to bless you and how to bring you to eternal life.

[27:01] Yes, it's faith. But fear holds you back as if coming to Christ to be saved will make you the loser for it.

[27:12] Oh, you'll lose all right. Let me tell you what you'll lose. You'll lose your guilty conscience that nags you and weighs you down and spoils every joy that you have because at the end of the day, you know deep down that there is hell to pay for your sin.

[27:29] Yeah, you'll lose that guilty conscience and you'll lose out on a life of slavery to your sin and to Satan. And you'll lose out on being your own provider and protector in this hell-bent world and you'll lose out on the fleeting pleasures of sin and their eternal punishments of hell.

[27:50] You see, the only thing you lose is what's bad for you and you lose it in order to gain what's really good for you, the best for you.

[28:03] You see, it's the greatest deal. That means you gain something. Why are people flocking to all these deals? Because there's gain to be had and there is gain here that puts to shame any other deal.

[28:15] You'll gain peace with God. That clear conscience will be washed in the blood of Jesus and you'll finally have peace with God. Rest in your soul, in the very depths of your being.

[28:27] Rest knowing it is well between my soul and my judge, my God. No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

[28:39] You'll have the abiding joy of knowing that nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, your Lord.

[28:51] You'll have the joy of knowing that nothing can happen in your life but what He will work together for your good, your everlasting good. It's the abundant life of knowing God as your Father and friend, knowing Jesus as your Savior and your shepherd to lead and protect you and your prophet to teach you and your priest to die on the cross for your sins and to plead with you and your king to rule over you and defend you.

[29:18] It's to live life with the Holy Spirit living inside of you so that you never face another problem alone in life. Yes, there's eternal life to gain.

[29:31] Glorious resurrection body, perfected soul. in the new heavens and the new earth where only the righteous dwell. Eternal pleasures at God's right hand.

[29:42] You see, the one you are afraid to trust, the one you're afraid to just surrender in faith to is coming to you this morning with His gospel deal and His hands are loaded with nothing but good blessings.

[29:56] Everlasting life, the forgiveness of sins. So don't fight Him. Don't ignore Him. Don't run from Him. Don't put Him off. Turn. Stop. Turn around. Run into His arms and plead for mercy and receive Himself the gift of eternal life that is in Him.

[30:16] You will be the gainer, not the loser. There's another reason why this greatest of deals of the gospel has so few takers and it's because they are blind and cannot see the good deal that it is.

[30:31] Now there's something supernatural to this blindness. The Bible tells us that. We're not just dealing with mankind.

[30:41] Now there's a supernatural element to His blindness. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4.4 that it's the work of man's unseen enemy, the devil. That the God of this age, Satan, has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the gospel, the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.

[31:07] You can't see that. Now this is not a physical blindness. Their physical eyes work just fine. It's a spiritual blindness, a blindness of the mind. He's blinded the minds of unbelievers.

[31:21] And what is it that they cannot see? It's the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. And so Christ is being offered in the gospel but they see no glory in Him that they should desire Him.

[31:33] Certainly no reason to trust Him with their life. They don't see the real deal that the gospel is. It's a blindness, a spiritual blindness and it's a blindness of unbelief.

[31:49] They really don't believe the gospel, do they? If they did, they would accept Jesus Christ. But they don't believe the gospel.

[32:06] Some don't really believe they're going to hell so they don't believe the bad news. And so the good news is really not any good news because I'm not in any danger. Others don't really believe that Jesus Christ can change your eternal destiny.

[32:24] And who is it that we are doubting? None other than God Himself who has given us this record about His Son. That He has given eternal life in His Son and whoever has the Son has life and whoever does not have the Son does not have life.

[32:40] That's the record that God has given us and we don't really believe it or we would take it. we would stampede to get to this deal.

[32:51] And some think, well, I've sinned too much to be saved. Others think, I haven't sinned enough that I need to be saved. See, it doesn't matter which lie the devil hooks you with. Just as long as he keeps you from Christ, he's got you right where he wants you.

[33:05] He's blinding the minds. It's a blindness of deceit. And what a deceiver the devil is. He has his own great deals to offer the sinner, doesn't he? You see, the Lord Jesus deal is not the only one on the table.

[33:20] The devil has all kinds of deals he's making with men. He's like the crooked used car salesman who's got a great deal for you and he's getting you to ignore all the car facts with that shiny new paint job on the outside so that only after he's got your money do you realize that you've got a lemon.

[33:40] That's the devil tricking, deceiving. He's blinding you from the greatest deal, the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ and he does it by offering you his deals that you simply cannot refuse.

[33:57] He promises you the world and he delivers far less. He promised Eve that she would become like God and Eve found out that she really became like the devil.

[34:08] He promises happiness and after a fleeting moment of pleasure he delivers pain and misery, guilt and shame. He promises freedom and escape and he delivers the worst of bondages.

[34:21] Promises life and he delivers death. Promises heaven and he delivers hell. These are his deals and with them he's blinding the minds of sinners from the greatest deal of all.

[34:34] Full and free salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. You see, Christ has come that you might have life and have it to the full and the devil comes only to steal, to kill and to destroy.

[34:51] Don't let him cheat you of eternal life. Think of the various hills Satan has people climbing because they think that there's something on the top worth climbing for.

[35:03] You know, most never arrive at the top in this life. They're just forever pursuing that elusive dream only to find at death that they they climb the wrong hill.

[35:17] They live for the wrong things. Those who do make it to the top in this life find nothing there and choose another hill to climb. Never seeking.

[35:29] Never finding. Do you know there's a book one of the 66 books in the Bible was written by someone who climbed these hills and got to the top and saw there was nothing there and God says I want you to write that down so that every man and girl and boy but boy and girl man and woman can read that account.

[35:55] It's called the book of Ecclesiastes and the author tells us how he devoted himself to study to gain knowledge and wisdom and he found that all was vanity a meaningless chasing after the wind so he pursued and acquired great riches and possessions he got to the top of that mountain only to find that whoever loves money never is satisfied he never has money enough vanity of vanities so on to the next hill you see the devil always has the next hill to climb doesn't he that's why you've not come to Christ yet you're not done climbing the hills taking the deals that Satan is dealing and he pursued pleasure ah that's where I'll find it feasting wine and women and he denied himself nothing that his heart set itself upon but he could not escape the unsatisfied cravings for more and the guilty conscience that knew that for all of that he would have to give an answer to God someday so he throws himself into his work into advancement and yet he says when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve everything was meaningless a mere chasing after the wind and though that book is written for all mortals to read

[37:17] Satan still has them most of them are still climbing one of those hills this morning thinking there's something at the top only to be disappointed in the end but they're now caught up in the search that's all Satan wants just to keep them from the deal of the gospel don't be the willing dupe of the devil he's seeking to rob you blind to take eternal life from you when Jesus is at hand with eternal life to give you life that is eternal life that begins now it's knowing Christ that goes on forever and ever well there really is no end to the reasons people are not coming to Christ for this deal of salvation you know Satan has a tailor made deal for you a reason why you have your own reasons that are a little bit different than the guy beside you or the lost sinner across the road from you

[38:19] I want to mention one last one why are people not coming to Christ to cash in on the greatest offer of all because they're promising themselves that they will come someday just not now just not now and this one is the most deceptive of all because you agree with so much that is said as being true you agree you're a lost sinner and if you died today you'd go to hell and intellectually you know that and you know the amazing deal that salvation is that if I come to Christ I'll be forgiven and I will have everlasting life and you're not against the idea in fact you've been planning to make that deal someday just not now that's all maybe you're planning to do it after you graduate from high school after college after you get married after you land your first job after you make your first million then we'll do that maybe on your deathbed you're planning you see just not now later a more convenient season there's a man that said that in Acts chapter 24 and we never read of that convenient season ever arriving well I must tell you that this amazing deal of salvation is available today it is available today but it does have an expiration date on it and nobody knows that date no man knows when the door of salvation will be closed to him forever like that door on Noah's ark it was open all the while all the years that the ark was being prepared for the coming flood the door was open and it stands open today this door of salvation escape from the wrath of God it's open right now but it could slam closed for you before the day is out you know as long as the door was open it was the despised door wasn't it at the ark go into that smelly old boat with all those animals why would I want to do that

[40:32] Noah it was the despised door the open door and on the very day that the rain started to fall God shut the door and then the fountains of heaven were let loose and the wells subterranean wells of water erupted and then that closed door was the desired door everybody wanted in now but it was too late for salvation remember is by faith not by sight will you believe the promise will you believe the word of God when there's nothing to see of flood waters will you believe just because God says I'm your God I'm your maker I'm full of love and goodness I want to see you saved from your sin and the wrath of judgment that's coming now get in get on board come to Christ if you wait until you see Christ it will be too late my friend the door is open today and I can tell you gladly that if you come to him today to have him save you from your sins and cast yourself on his mercy and just say

[41:47] Jesus save me because of what you've done for sinners he'll save you and you'll go home right with God and have this wonderful hope set before you this sure thing of everlasting life but I can't guarantee you that that deal will be on the table this afternoon for you because at the moment of death the door of opportunity is closed there is no more opportunity to be saved the moment you die so today if you hear his voice harden not your heart today is the day of salvation now is the accepted time seek the Lord while he may be found call on him while he is near he may never be this near to you again in your life and I ask you why would you wait why would you treat the greatest deal as if it was something to be put off something that you don't want

[42:50] I can understand why you might put off a visit to the doctor's office or to the dentist's office why you might drag your feet but why when he comes with salvation and life abundant to give to you full forgiveness of sins why would you not run into his arms oh do so and for all your sins he'll give you his righteousness and everlasting life with him that's the greatest deal of all and it's offered to all this morning with the question that comes in Hebrews chapter 2 how will you escape if you neglect so great a salvation end your procrastinating neglect today come and receive Christ at once now unconverted friends we're going to sing a song for you it's a song of invitation to Christ we've come to him we found him true to his word that he's not come to save the righteous but he's come to save rotten sinners and we're the ones he came to save and you as well and we're going to sing this song to you that only

[43:59] Jesus can do helpless sinners good and even while we sing it there in your seat you can call upon the living God and ask him God have mercy on me a sinner and save me from my sins for Jesus sake and he will do that well let's take our hymnals and turn to 393 an invitation to come to this wonderful savior 393 let's stand as we sing it let's talk to him our most gracious and glorious savior thank you so much for that love that brought you out of heaven in love for sinners to become man for us and to become sin for us to become a curse for us to take the punishment that we might receive righteous standing in heaven and everlasting life thank you for your great patience with us forgive us again for how slow we were to come to you for all the things we valued instead of you and we thank you for pursuing us and sparing us and wooing us and winning us for opening our eyes and showing us the folly of all the reasons why we should not come to

[45:31]  Christ we thank you for our great salvation and we confess we never would have come had you not come first to us and drawn us to yourself do the same for our dear unconverted friends that are with us today and bring them to taste and see just how good and gracious you are and we will praise you and give you all the glory now and through eternity we pray in your own name Lord Jesus amen amen