Onesiphorus: A True Friend

0:36 We are in the book of 2 Timothy today, if you would get ready to turn there. 2 Timothy is in your New Testament, easy to find. It's right after 1 Timothy, right before Titus, which is right before the book of Hebrews. So go over to 2 Timothy chapter 1. Um, one announcement that was not given is beginning Wednesday night, we're starting a series in the book of first Thessalonians for our midweek study. First Thessalonians is that great book all about the coming of the Lord, the rapture of the church, the tribulation, the day of the Lord, uh, those two books, first and second Thessalonians. So we invite you out Wednesday for that. Um, we're now about to enter into a time of Bible study and we always want to stay focused on what the Holy Spirit is speaking through the Word of God. So we respectfully ask that now that you have found a seat, that you maintain your seat so that you would not be getting up and become the distraction for others paying attention to what the Lord may be saying to them. So we are in 2 Timothy chapter 1. Let's have a word of prayer together.

1:51 Father, we now want to just calm our hearts. We have spent several minutes singing to you, talking about you in our music, and now we want to hear from you. And we do ask that you would not only speak your word to us, but Father, that you would deal with issues in our lives that need to be dealt with, that we would grow as a result, grow in grace, grow in knowledge, become mature, reflect your heart, your character. And Father, we pray that that character would be demonstrated in our interpersonal relationships, our marriages, the way we do business in the community, with friendships. Strengthen us as your people. In Jesus' name. Amen. Well, this is a little series called Overlooked, and we have decided to take eight different characters in the Bible and look them over because they are generally overlooked. They're overlooked by more dominant figures who get all the press. So we looked the first week at Baruch, and not many people knew about Baruch because Jeremiah is the guy that gets all the press. We then looked at the Shulamite bride. She is not discussed as much as her husband, Solomon. And so when we have done that through several characters, and now we look in 2 Timothy chapter 1 at a character named Onesiphorus. I mean, it's even hard to say. So we're going to look at him, and I'm going to guess that probably most of you have never heard a sermon on Onesiphorus. This may be the first. You know, whenever you hear medical terms, and most of us are not familiar with medical terminology, we hear a certain medical term.

3:59 We don't know what it is, but our mind wants to associate the sound we hear with words that are familiar to us. And if we try to interpret what those words are based on what we know, we would be, well, we would be sadly mistaken. So a group of kids was given a list of very elementary medical terms to see if they could figure out what they were. So artery, artery, they said, it's the study of paintings, right? Art-ery. Bacteria is the back door to the cafeteria.

4:41 Bury them. It's what doctors do when patients die. They bury them. Benign. Benign. It's what you be after you be eight. You be nine. Cat scan, searching for a kitty. Cauterize, it's when you make eye contact with her, you caught her eyes. Enema. enema not a friend with friends like that who needs enemas right fibula fibula is a small lie if a fib is a lie a fibula is a small lie a GI series it's the world series of military baseball pelvis the second cousin to elvis seizure is a roman emperor like seizure nero terminal illness getting sick at the airport and finally i'll end with this one urine it's the opposite of you're out Well, Onesiphorus sounds like a disease.

6:05 Sounds like a loathsome condition. He's got a bad case of Onesiphorus. And I have noticed over time that when parents have babies, they name babies sometimes based on trends. And I did just a fun little search. I won't share the search with you. but this week I went on the computer to look at trending names by decade for the last 100 years, just to see the patterns that people choose for their children. Onesiphorus was on none of those lists.

6:42 And then when Christians want to name their children, they will often choose biblical names. But once again, Onesiphorus, I have never met one. That name is not on the list. But we're going to look at Onesiphorus in 2 Timothy chapter 1 because he was a friend to the apostle Paul. And he gets mentioned in this letter a couple of different places. Onesiphorus is part of the subject matter of Paul's letter to Timothy. The name Onesiphorus really suits this guy because it means to bring an advantage or profit-bearing. or useful. And he was indeed useful. He was profitable and brought great advantage to the apostle Paul. Were it not for this letter of 2 Timothy, we wouldn't know who this man is. He is mentioned in chapter 1, and he is mentioned at the end of this book in chapter 4.

7:41 I'm going to give you six words that describe his character. And here's why I'm going to give you six. You know, whenever I outline a text, I usually begin with a couple points that I notice in the text, and then I keep studying it, and I found three, and then I kept studying it, and I found four, and then five, and then six, and then I said, I got to stop now. So I'm going to give you six words, and think of it like a six-sided diamond, a diamond with six facets, a hexagonal cut diamond, which by the way, jewelers say are very exquisite and rare. And they are cut that way to speak of symmetry and balance and unity. So we're going to look at this man who brought that to Paul's life. A little background. Second Timothy is Paul's final letter, last letter he ever wrote. It's Paul's swan song, you might say. Paul is in prison. He is awaiting death, and he knows it. He knows that when, within a short period of time, his life will be over.

8:51 It is Paul's second arrest in Rome. You will recall, I'm sure, that the first time Paul was arrested. He was actually arrested in Jerusalem, taken to Caesarea, where he stood three trials, one before Festus, one before Felix, and then King Agrippa. He spent two years in Caesarea. Then he was shipped off to Rome for his first Roman imprisonment. When he was in Rome, the first time he was in prison in Rome for another two years, but he was under house arrest, which meant though he was chained to a Roman guard, he had his own rented house. People could come and visit him. He could hold Bible studies, and he could write letters. In fact, Paul himself wrote to the Philippians and said, I want you to understand that my imprisonment is actually for the furtherance of the gospel. So even though he was in prison, Paul saw his confinement as his assignment.

9:54 and in that prison cell the first time, he wrote four letters, the letter to the Ephesians, the letter to the Philippians, the letter to the Colossians, and a shorter letter to a man named Philemon, all which are in your New Testament. After those two years in prison, he was set free. the emperor Caesar Nero let him go that's according to Clement of Rome and Eusebius both ancient historians when Paul was let go after his first imprisonment we believe that he went to Ephesus to spend some time with Timothy the one who was getting this letter but then he was rearrested at a town called Troas which is a port city he is taken to Rome. He is placed in prison, and this became his last letter. And you can tell when you read this letter, it's a serious tone, somber tone. But there is a bright spot. There's a few bright spots, and one of them is this man named Onesiphorus. Now, as we go through these verses and we look at the list, these six words that describe Onesiphorus, you're going to be tempted to think this thought, man, I'd like to have a friend like him.

11:22 I wish I could find somebody like him who would be that kind of a friend to me. But what I want you to start thinking is, how can I become that kind of a friend to someone else? That's how to approach it. Well, let's begin in 2 Timothy 1, verse 13, where he says, Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, being the gospel, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phagellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the household of, here it is, Onesiphorus, profitable.

12:17 For he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that day. And you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus. The first word that describes Onesiphorus is the word refreshing. That's the word Paul used. Notice in verse 16, the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus. for he often refreshed me. This guy revived my spirits. He brought me relief. He cheered me up. The word for refreshed is the word onapsuko. Onapsuko means to cool off. To cool off. To refresh with cool air when the body is overheated.

13:14 so in the overwhelming heat of his trials paul was brought relief refreshment cool air he was braced with fresh air from on a cyphras now a little more background will help i mentioned that paul was in prison in rome not once but twice this is the second time first time he had a little more freedom. He's under house arrest in his own hired house. But this time, the second time, he is in a different prison. He is in a prison known as the Mamertine prison. Mamertine prison is sort of like death row in the Roman penal system. Why is he there? Well, you need to know something that happened. So in AD 64, something very significant happened, broke out in Rome called a fire. The great fire of Rome happened in AD 64. The fire started in Rome in the merchant's shops around the Circus Maximus, which was the great chariot stadium. The remains are still there to this day. Fire broke out, lasted for six days, was extinguished, revived itself again, and burned for another three days. So for about nine or 10 days, this fire burned. When it was all done, three quarters of the city of Rome had been destroyed. It was a massive fire in AD 64.

14:54 Well, when that happened and when it was finally put out, the citizens of Rome suspected that the fire was actually started by their emperor, Caesar Nero, because while the fire was burning, he was viewing it from his palace singing and playing a lyre, playing an instrument. So they thought this guy started the fire. So all this public sentiment swung against him. So he needed a scapegoat. and he remembered that there was this group of people very unpopular in the city of Rome called Christians. So he said they started it. He blamed them. The Christians were his scapegoat. That began a great persecution against Christianity in the Roman Empire, and since the ringleader had been a previous prisoner named Paul, they found him. They hunted him down. And they found him in Troas so that in 68 AD, he was rearrested, taken back to Rome, this time placed in the Mamertine prison, which is at the foot of Capitoline Hill. I've been to the Mamertine prison three times. And here's what's interesting. It's an interesting spot because nobody's there.

16:12 all the lines are at the Vatican everybody wants to get into the Vatican nobody comes to the place where Paul wrote this letter and spent his final days in Rome it's virtually empty a few people go to see it but but not many so he was taken to the Mamertine and the Mamertine was sort of a well it wasn't sort of it actually was a hole in the ground so you enter a ground level the lower level is called the tulianum. And that's where Paul was placed in the tulianum, the lower section, this hole in the ground. It was cold. It was dark. It had no window. It was smelly. And it was nicknamed the house of darkness. The only way a prisoner could get food is to have it lowered on a rope. That's where Paul was. In that place of confinement, how wonderful and refreshing it would be to have somebody like Onesiphorus show up. And he did. He refreshed me. This man in solitary confinement was being refreshed. By the way, in World War II, our enemies discovered that the most effective psychological way to break a prisoner's spirit and resistance was solitary confinement.

17:32 So Onesiphorus was a friend. He was a Proverbs 27, 17 friend. As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. So here's the first question I want you to ask yourself, how refreshing are you to be around? When you show up, is it like, ah, or is it, oh, how refreshing are you to be around? He was refreshing. He refreshed me, says the apostle. The second word is repetitious. Because go back to verse 16 and look at the modifier before the word refreshed. It's an adverb. The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he what? Often refresh me.

18:28 He didn't just do it once. It wasn't a one-time deal. He repeatedly came to lift my burden. Often. When you are alone and isolated, more frequent contact becomes necessary. Now, this is the final phase of the Apostle Paul's life on earth, and his world is narrowing, narrowing. I want you to look at verse 15 again. This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me. What a statement. Among whom are Phagellus and Hermogenes. So all that persecution has thinned the ranks of the Christian church.

19:19 Christians are fearing for their own safety. And two men are noted here, the names we just read. We really know nothing about them except their cowardice. They were probably once leaders with Paul. They once were close to Paul, but now they're gone. Now go to chapter four, if you don't mind. Just turn a page, probably just one page. Look at verse nine of chapter four. He says to Timothy, be diligent to come to me quickly. He knew that he was going to be dead soon. So be diligent to come to me quickly, for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica, Cretans for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.

20:14 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. And skip down to verse 16. At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. See, all these people are bailing on Paul. Everybody's forsaking him. They are ashamed of Paul because they're ashamed of the gospel that he preached, and they're fearful of their lives. Paul was arrested. If Paul was arrested, then maybe we're next, that's when you need friends. That's when you need friends showing up, not just once, but again and again and again. In Proverbs 20, verse six, it says, most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?

21:14 you always get somebody, well, you know, I've done this, I've done that, brag about themselves, but who can find a faithful man? Paul found one. His name was Onesiphorus. Because faithfulness is not doing the right thing once, it's doing the right thing over and over and over again.

21:36 William Carey, do you know that name? Missionary to India. When he first felt called to go to India, he told his father, his dad tried to talk him out of it, telling his son that he lacked the academic qualifications for that task. Look, son, you don't know the language in India. You don't know the history of India. You don't know the culture of India. You are not qualified to be a missionary in India. William Carey shot back and he said, but I can plod, P-L-O-D. I can plod. I may not know the language. I may not know the culture. I might not know the history, but I could put one foot in front of another, in front of another, in front of another. I can just trudge. I can plod. And he did plod very successfully in that country. And so here is somebody who just kept showing up, kept showing up, plodding, showing up when Paul needed it the most.

22:34 And then in our text, go down to verse 18. And he says at the end of verse 18, you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus. In other words, this guy, Onesiphorus, he's been serving for years. He's been doing it before he came to Rome. He's been doing it in Ephesus. By the way, many believe that Onesiphorus was a deacon of the church in Ephesus because the word here in verse 18 for ministered is the word diakoneo, where we get the word deacon. So he deaconed in Ephesus. Paul is simply pointing out that here's a guy who faithfully served the church at Ephesus, faithfully served the apostle Paul, and now he is in Rome serving him. one Sunday morning, a pastor addressed his church very blatantly. And he said this, all I ask is that we apply the same standards of faithfulness to our church activities that we would in other areas of life. That doesn't seem too much to ask. Consider this. If your car started one out of three times, would you consider it faithful? If you didn't show up at work two or three times a month, would your boss call you faithful? If your refrigerator quit a day now and then, would you excuse it and say, oh, well, it works most of the time? If your water heater greet you with cold water one or two mornings a week while you're in the shower, would you say it's faithful?

24:31 If you miss a couple of mortgage payments in a year's time, would your mortgage holder say, oh, well, 10 out of 12 ain't bad. And if you attend church often enough to show you're interested but not enough to get involved, are you faithful? Jesus said whoever is faithful in little will also be faithful in much. Here is Onesiphorus, a friend who showed up time and time and time again.

25:07 Promises will get you friends. Faithfulness will keep those friends. He was a friend to the Apostle Paul. So two words, refreshing, repetitious. His third word, risk-taking, risk-taking. Notice what he writes.

25:28 Verse 16, the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and here's the phrase, he was not ashamed of my shame. It's just simply a way of saying he's not ashamed with associating with a prisoner. Now, that's an important idea. There was a lot of shame in associating with a Roman prisoner, and here's why. In Roman society, that society was driven by honor and public perception, honor and public perception. To be in custody as a prisoner was considered very dishonorable, and Paul has been in prison a lot, not only twice in Rome, but in a lot of other places. this. So he's been jailed so many times to be stigmatized as a repeat offender. This guy's a career criminal. When the biggest hero of your faith is a convicted criminal, that's not a recipe for winning. And besides that, they are following their Savior by the name of Jesus Christ, who was himself a convicted and executed criminal by the Roman justice system. That's why Paul, when he wrote to the Corinthians, said, we preach Christ crucified to the Jews, a stumbling block to the Greeks, foolishness. So the Romans were already suspicious of Christians to begin with, and it's risky, it was risky to openly acknowledge that you follow Christ, but to say, I follow Christ, and I'm associated with one of your prisoners would be very, very risky. Did you know that the Romans accused Christians of all sorts of things from being occultic to being cannibals?

27:27 You know why they said they were cannibals? Because they took the Lord's Supper, where Jesus said, this is my body broken for you. This is my blood. And so the rumors were going around Rome that Christians were eating people. And another rumor around Rome is that Christians were having incest orgies because they referred to themselves as brother and sister. And so the Romans took that and ran with it. now go back with me uh in in chapter one to verse eight verse eight of chapter one now Paul is addressing Timothy and look at his wording therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me as his prisoner but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God it would seem by that that Paul recognizes Timothy himself is sort of feeling ashamed to be associated with Paul.

28:34 But he's pointing out Onesiphorus was not. He took a risk. Can you think of somebody who took a risk on you? Who stood up for you? And then follow that question up with this. Is there somebody the Holy Spirit might be tapping on your heart about that you should take a risk on them? there's a lot of people I've taken risks on in my ministry career. I've been burned by some. I've been blessed by others. They're worth it. So refreshing, repetitious, risk-taking. A fourth word that describes Onesiphorus, he was resolute. Resolute. Verse 17. Look how Paul writes it. When he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. Other translations say he took great pains to find me, searching everywhere until he was successful. This guy was unrelenting. First of all, he left Ephesus to go to Rome. That's over 800 miles. That's quite a trip.

29:45 It would take him weeks to go from Ephesus to Rome. Then when he gets to Rome, he can't find Paul. It's not easy to find Paul. Government officials probably were not cooperating. Christians were laying low. They were scared because of persecution. But Onesiphorus was not the kind of guy to take no for an answer. Somebody said no to him. That was simply the first step to a yes. He'll work his way to a yes. So he hunted Paul down. He sought him out. He kept looking for him until he found him. That's the idea that Paul was saying. He kept looking for me till he found me. Proverbs 17 says, a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity. A brother is born for adversity. Back in the 1800s in London, England, newspaper ran a little advertisement. I think it was in the London Times.

30:46 And it was an advertisement from the famous Arctic explorer, a man by the name of Sir Ernest Shackleton. He was actually from Ireland, but he was known for his Arctic exploration. So he took out a little ad in the newspaper. And this is what he said. Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. honor and recognition in case of success. Now, you would think somebody would read that and he wouldn't get anyone sign up. Actually, thousands of young men applied. Why? Because they all wanted to be associated with that famous name, Sir Ernest Shackleton. Do you want to be associated with that name? Are you willing to sign up for the task that he has for you to commit to his cause? And is there somebody that you need to hunt down in order that you might cheer up?

32:06 Because that's what Anaciphorus did for Paul. He was resolute, refreshing, repetitious, risk-taking, resolute. Let me give you a fifth word that describes him. He was renowned. He was a man who had a reputation. Notice in verse 18, the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy in the Lord in that day. Now look at this. And you know very well, he writes to Timothy, you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus. In other words, you know this by experience. That's what the word means. You know by experience very well about this character. He's renowned. He's well known to Timothy, well known to the church at Ephesus. He had a reputation.

32:54 Now there's a difference between a person's character and their reputation. But actually one should be like the other. So let me tell you what I mean by that. you have a reputation and your reputation is your image. And that's what usually social media is all about. Your image. It's what people think you are. It's your, how you are perceived by other people. That's your reputation. Your character is what you really are. So your reputation is who you are when people are looking. Your character is who you are when nobody's looking.

33:38 Or as one person put it, reputation is what you are while you entertain your friends. Character is what you are when you're behind the steering wheel of your car. Onesiphorus had a good reputation because Onesiphorus had a great character. How do you get a good reputation? Have a good character. How do you have a good character? Keep your promises. Meet your deadlines. Honor your commitments. Show up. Be there. Be all there. and the word will get out. The reputation will follow the character. So we have five words that describe this man. Refreshing, repetitious, risk-taking, resolute, and renowned.

34:33 Finally, the sixth word that describes him, rewarded. Rewarded. Now go back to verse 16, and you'll notice really this is a prayer, a wish. He's saying the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus because he offered him refreshment. Then in verse 18, the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy. Mercy, he just means special kindness. May God bless him, basically he's saying. Okay, Paul's on death row. Paul knows he's not getting out of prison. Paul knows he's not going to live long enough to be able to reciprocate all the kindness shown to him by Onesiphorus. So he's going to commit all of that rewarding to God. May the Lord reward him. I can't. I'm going to die soon. But God can and God will. May the Lord be merciful. May God bless him and his household. And God will.

35:32 there's something the Bible calls the judgment seat of Christ. If you don't know about that, you need to know about that. The judgment seat of Christ is not where you are judged to see if you're going to get into heaven or not, because you've been a good boy or a bad boy. The judgment seat of Christ is a reward giving opportunity. So you are saved by faith because you believe in Jesus Christ, period. It's a gift. But then you will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The Greek word is bema seat. It's where people were given rewards for running a race in the Olympics, where you will be rewarded, gold, silver, or bronze, basically. For the service rendered to the Lord while on earth, God will reward you. And people will get different rewards, same salvation, same heaven, same free gift. But the status, you might say, the rewards will be different depending on your service on earth. Jesus illustrates this in a parable in Luke 19. He will say, well done, good and faithful servant. Because you were faithful in very little, you will have authority over 10 cities. To another one, he said, you were faithful in these things. I'll give you authority over five cities. Now, this is not about earning salvation. This is about being rewarded for faithful service to Christ and his people. You get heaven, all of you, by faith, not earning it, a free gift. But then you might say you get a tip. You get rewarded for your service.

37:24 Just like Olympics, as I said, you get gold, silver, or bronze. Believers will be rewarded based on how they ran the race of the Christian life. And you'll never know the value of Christian living until you're at the judgment seat of Christ. When you're at the judgment seat of Christ and you're getting those rewards, all of the hardships you went through on earth, all of the risk-taking you went through on earth, all of those hard times and sacrifice will vaporize. When you hear, if you hear, these words well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your lord well on a cyphras would be rewarded by his lord paul couldn't do it so he trusted god would okay this is paul's last letter the letter ends in chapter four shortly thereafter paul is executed Would you just go with me to chapter 4?

38:31 Since we're dealing with Onesiphorus and Paul in his last letter, let's look at chapter 4, verse 6, as he winds it down. He says he knows he's going to die soon. I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

39:10 The letter ends. Shortly after it's over the letter is done. He is taken to the Basilica Julia from the Mamertine prison 100 yards away. Thank you. he would stand to hear his death sentence read publicly. And then he was taken out to be executed. I'm going to close by reading to you the words of A.T. Robertson, a great scholar and another one, another author. So I'm borrowing from them of what it would have been like. The crowds flowed into town. some were going out. Paul was only a criminal going to be beheaded. Few, if any, of the crowds would know or care anything about him. At a good place on the road, some miles out, the executioner stopped. The block was laid down. The executioner stood ready, axe in hand, the men stripped Paul, tied him, kneeling upright to the low pillar which exposed his back and his neck. The lictors beat him with rods for the last time. He groaned and bled from his nose and his mouth. And then, without a hint of hesitation, the executioner frowned as he swung the blade down swiftly, hitting its mark with a dull thud, and the head of the greatest preacher of the ages rolled upon the ground. It was a brutal moment. But in that brutal moment,

41:11 the soul of this great apostle went from the imperial city of Rome to the eternal city of heaven in an instant. At that moment, the prisoner was set free. At that moment, to use his own words, he was absent from the body, but present with the Lord. And that prisoner died knowing the love and the refreshment of a friend named Onesiphorus. It's a good way to die. in Proverbs 18, we are told, he who has friends, ready for the next part, must himself be friendly. you want friends? Be friendly. He who has friends must himself be friendly. But then it closes by saying, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

42:17 And that's what I want you to hear as we're closing this message. There's a friend who sticks closer than a brother. There's a friend who risked it all for you. There's a friend who has been repeatedly, unrelentingly trying to get your attention for some time. There is a friend that if you come to him, you will be refreshed over and over again. What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. If you don't have a relationship with that friend of sinners, this would be an excellent opportunity to get that fixed. Let's pray together. Lord, what a monumental passage it is, at least for me, to discover this man whose name is difficult to pronounce. Most of us just sort of read through these verses, but to Paul at a very, very crucial time in his life, his darkest moment, this friend risked it all and showed up over and over again. This man of great reputation who would be and was eventually rewarded by you. What a great example of friendship. I pray for our friendships on a human level, that you would help us nurture them, hunt people down who need to be cheered up,

43:52 be there for them when they need us. but then father finally i pray for those who don't know the friendship of the savior they only know him as a religious figure a figure of history a person whose name they heard growing up in the church they were a part of but it's never been a relational personal kind of a thing would you change that today, Lord? Would you knock on hearts? And if you're here today and you experience the Lord knocking on the door of your heart, saying, let me in. Let's be friends. Let's fellowship together. Let's hang out. Let me change your life. Let me give you hope. Let me forgive you of your past and give you a new start. Let him in. Our heads are bowed. Our eyes are closed. I'm going to leave mine open. If you are desiring and you are willing to come to Christ, to give your life to him, to experience his love and forgiveness, and you want that, or you need to come back to him because you've wandered from him, I want you just to slip your hand in the air and keep it up for a moment. Just keep it up. I'm seeing several hands around the room.

45:10 Father, I pray for every one of these souls. I pray that you'd strengthen them, help them. help them to make the decision to follow you, to walk with you, and then Lord, to be overwhelmed by your love and friendship. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'm going to ask you now to stand, all of us together. And as we stand, we're going to sing this last song. I'm going to stand up in the front. If you raise your hand, I'd like you to do something now. I want you to find the nearest aisle, walk down the aisle and stand facing me right up in the front. When you're all here together, I'm going to lead you in a prayer to ask Jesus to come into your life. We're going to do the transaction right here. You raise your hand. You come here. Come quickly. This won't take long.

46:08 Thank you. Come on, brother. Come here.

46:38 God bless you. God bless you. He is there, he puts on him The gracious Lord of Jesus Christ He is there, he is there He is there, he is there He is there, he is there He is there, he is there hey those of you who have come forward so glad you're here I just want you to hear this part no one here is any better than anybody else we're all sinners we've all fallen short of the glory of God. But God is a big, loving, forgiving God. And he'll take you as you are. But then you'll discover he won't leave you as you are. He's going to change you. But it begins by asking him to come in by giving him the driver's seat. So I'm going to lead you in a prayer. I want you to pray this out loud after me. Let's pray. Say, Lord, I give you my life. I know I'm a sinner.

48:04 please forgive me I believe in Jesus that he died on a cross that he rose again I turn from my sin