[0:00] Amen. Oh, be still and behold him. I so wish that the people in this story would do that. I wish they would just wake up to the fact that the Messiah, the anointed one, all the anticipation, all that they'd ever dreamed of or hoped for was standing right there in front of them. But many of them don't. They want him gone. They want him out of the scene. And that's what we see in verse 31. Before I jump back into our story here in the passage in Luke 13, I want to share with you another story. On Thursday night, Stephen preached here at the church. He spoke about our Yoke Fellow ministry, about how we get involved in making sure our missionaries are cared for and prayed for. And I so much appreciate that. And Aaron Judson was a famous missionary to China, and he had a friend named Luther Rice that went with him to the mission field. Well, Luther Rice wasn't able to stay on the field for health reasons, but when he came back, he got so busy in advocating for the missionary and doing the work that he never got to return to the field. And he did a wonderful job, and he gives a great example for us on how we should hold the rope for somebody on the field and how we should pray for them and make other people aware of what's going on. But in reading a story about him, a man from John Taylor, which was Kentucky, but he's a bad guy in the story, so I don't much appreciate that. He is giving Luther Rice a hard time, and he says to the man, he says, you're a modern day
[1:22] Tetzel, T-E-T-Z-E-L. And I like some good trash talk. I was looking for some lines, you know, for basketball court, and I'm thinking, what does that mean? You're a modern day Tetzel. And so I looked that up. How many of you know who Tetzel is in history? Anybody know this name? A few of you do, okay. So Tetzel, in the early 1500s, he went around, and you could either say he was either the best fundraiser or he was the worst fundraiser, all right? I'm going to say he was the worst fundraiser because he was raising funds for St. Peter's Basilicum. It was being built. It was costing a lot of money. And the way that they were raising money for the building of the Basilicum was that they were selling indulgences. It was a piece of paper that said that you've already had forgiveness of your sins given to you by the Pope in advance, all right? And it's a pretty sweet gig, right, that you'd already have. I don't know what I'm going to do, but go ahead. I'll get some indulgences.
[2:18] You pick them up on a Monday, get ready for the weekend, right? That's the idea. It was a great fundraiser that Tetzel was involved in. And so on October the 31st, on All Saints Day, a time that many people would be attending a Catholic church and religious sites, getting ready for that, that's when Martin Luther goes and he puts down these statements, these 95 statements on what would be equivalent to a bulletin board on the wall. And he's challenging them to a debate, either in person or you could write in if you wanted to, no Zoom conference calls at the time. But he said, these are 95 things that I see that are going on that need to be addressed. And the beginning of those had to do with the fact that the Pope cannot remit any guilt except by declaring that he has been forgiven by God. And that was the argument that the Pope could not remit any guilt except declaring that he had been forgiven by God. You see, Tetzel was not the first, nor is he the last of people that believed that they could sell an alternate way to come to God in repentance. There's many people that have sold that to people through the generations, and they will gladly sell you a ticket that go to God so that you would have them as a somebody in between them, that you would need to buy an indulgence from the Pope instead of going to God through repentance, and that you ought to be living your life coming to him, that Jesus Christ is our mediator. And though we are most certainly not Lutheran, in this regard we agree with what he said, is that the Pope could not remit any guilt, but he could only declare that Jesus Christ had been forgiving them of their sin. So every generation there are Tetzel-like people who try to tell the world of an alternate way to God, and they would gladly sell you a ticket into entry. There's multiple ways that are offered.
[4:14] Luke chapter number 13, verse number 24, we see here that salvation is a matter of having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Strive to enter out the straight gate, for many, I say, unto you will seek to enter in and shall not be able. When once the master house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand without and knock at the door saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us, and he shall answer and say unto you. And take note here of these next seven words. It says, I know you not whence ye are. It speaks of a relationship. It says, I do not know you.
[4:50] You cannot enter into this. You cannot sit down at the table. You cannot be here at the banquet. You and I do not have a relationship. This is what Jesus gives as an answer to a question.
[5:01] Somebody pops up, asks the question. We don't know who asked the question. We don't know the intention of them asking the question, but we learn so much as a response. The question was this, are there few that be saved? Perhaps as Jesus was teaching, rebuking Israel, they begin to realize that salvation was not automatically just part of your genealogy.
[5:23] Maybe they were realizing it wasn't going to be all the children of Israel, that it was going to be something different. And the person asked, are there going to be a few people that are saved? And the summary goes something like this. A lot of you are going to assume that you'll sit down to God's salvation banquet just because you've been hanging around the neighborhood your lives.
[5:44] Some of you believe that there's a seat reserved for you at that dinner table because Jesus has preached in your streets and you've had meals around that. And he says, you need to recognize, is there a seat reserved for you? And he says, there's a right way to enter. Strive to enter the straight gate. Make every effort. This agonize. It does not mean perform and earn, but it means that there's a proper way to do it and there's a wrong way to do it. And you better make sure that you go about this in the proper way. This implies there's a specific route in which to enter. And that's why Jesus mentions it as a narrow door that he set forth. And so the central issue here is knowing Jesus, not about just having a casual contact with him or having an acquaintance with him, but truly knowing him. John chapter number 10, he says, then Jesus said unto them again, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. On Sunday mornings, Jesus is here. He's speaking to a multitude of people, some believing, some committed disciples, some disciples just simply mean learners, some Pharisees that have interest, some Pharisees that would want to see Jesus killed.
[6:56] I want to remind you that about the Pharisees. It doesn't do you well to turn them just into the villains and the bad guys of the story because their response towards Jesus is very often our response towards Jesus. Their hindrances to coming to know the Messiah are some of the same hindrances that you had before you came to know Jesus. So there's a wide variety of people in the room. As we gather here on Sunday, we have a group of people that are mostly far and large professing believers. We gather to celebrate. If you're not a believer of the day, we're so glad that you're here and that you get to see us rejoice in what he's done and to sing songs about it and to hear what we're excited about. But as we gather here the day, by your testimony, the majority, if not all of you are professing believers, which makes me know that you and not me are on the front line of the mission field in which we live in. I read about and I hear stories about and I work with you. I work towards equipping the saints for the ministry. As a person who lives in this community, I personally have a responsibility towards evangelism and sharing the gospel, but we share that together. I don't have a greater responsibility than you have. I have one that we share together. And I know this, but I believe that all of you would know this to a greater extent than I do. The belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation is increasingly called arrogant and even hateful. But in the face of this criticism, many will shrink back from affirming the necessity of knowing and believing in Jesus. And church family,
[8:32] I want to urge you to hold your ground because the not do so would to be unloving. If you're in the restaurant business, it seems like they forgot this saying, the customer is always right, right? If we were a restaurant, the customer is always right. However, we're not a restaurant. We're a church, which means that how in this case where this generation is trying to redefine love as whatever the other person feels is loving. That is not the case. The world will never get to decide what is truly loving.
[9:06] What they feel is loving most often is not loving. And so we must say that Jesus Christ is the only way, that there's only one way to come into the Father, and that's by Jesus. Regardless of how unfashionable he comes, regardless of the personal cost that it may have for you, we can never move away from that.
[9:26] And I want, I'm so, and God brings us to that in the scripture. It's really important to all we do. If you were to take that one truth out of this church, it would radically change us, thankfully. If you took out the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, that he was the only way, he would change the way we go about living and everything we do. Let us never get to a point where that could change, but our calendar and our schedule and our meeting wouldn't. Jesus is concerned here with the person in front of him. Just like when those people came to them and they said, hey, this tower fell, the tower of Siloam fell, who's responsible? Or this, these other things happened, this massacre happened, what goes on. Jesus always looks into the heart of the people asking the question. And it says in verse 23, then said unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, strive to enter into the straight gate.
[10:17] So the question isn't, will the saved be few? The question is, will the saved be you? Those that are listening to me right now, are you part of this group here? To know the truth and not share it is unloving. Romans 13, 10, love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. To know the truth of Jesus Christ, to know the message of the gospel, but to not want to share it with those that we would say are our neighbors, that you decide who is your neighbor, who will you care for? That is to work ill towards that person.
[11:00] That is to want harm on that person. Then we hear that in 1 Thessalonians, those who try to prevent the sharing of the gospel, are acting in a way that is contrary to love. 1 Thessalonians 2, 14, for ye, brethren, became followers of the church of God, which is in Judea, are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved.
[11:40] To fill up their sins always, for the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost, that are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that might be saved. Some of you, I know from your testimony, are in a work environment where the people that are promoting love are promoting something that is contrary to all men, that is preventing the wonderful truth of the gospel from spreading.
[12:07] And I want to pray for you, and I want to encourage you and say, you can't waver. You can't move. It's the most loving thing you can do. And so no matter if you hear a hundred times this week that your stance on Jesus Christ makes you an unloving person, let me tell you by authority of God's Word that you are loving, and that you are doing what is the best for your neighbor, and you're doing what is most caring. Because what you know is this, Jesus is the only way. Knowing Jesus is the only condition of truly knowing the Father, that is God, the creator of the world. John 8, 19, Then said they unto Him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me nor my Father. If you have not known me, you shall have known my Father also. Jesus, many different ways, says there's no coming to the Father except through Him. If you want to have a test in John 5, 23, it says, If you don't honor the Son, then you're not honoring the Father. There's no way to have a proper relationship with the Father, the God of heaven, unless you have been reconciled through the death of Jesus Christ, and show honor there. And those that have learned from the Father will go to Jesus. John 6, 45, It is written in the prophets that thou shall be taught of God. Every man, therefore, he hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto him. We have been taught by the Father, by His Word. And what have we been taught?
[13:25] 1 Timothy 1, 15, Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 2, 5, There is one mediator between God and men, and that is the man, Christ Jesus. Acts 4, 12, There is no other name but Jesus, whereby men must be saved. John 14, 6, Jesus is the way, and no one comes to the Father but by Him. Romans 10, 13, All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. It is very clear we have learned of the Father. There is no way to Him except through Jesus. But wrong questions always end up with wrong answers. The question the world wants to know is, what does it take to live a good moral life? That is why all religions can be the same. Because if the main question is, what does it take to live a good moral life? That is the wrong question. And so, you are going to end up with a wrong answer.
[14:18] Or maybe the correct answer to the wrong question still does not give you where you need to go. They had vacation Bible school this week at my father-in-law's church, and he, in his office, he has a mirror of the Ten, written with the Ten Commandments on it. And so, he took the mirror, and as he was walking around, and he was showing kids, and he was holding it before them, and he was saying, what do you see here? What do you see here in this Ten Commandments? And some kids would read the Ten Commandments, and other people would say, I see myself. I can see myself. And he explained to them, that's exactly what you are supposed to see in the Ten Commandments. You're supposed to see yourself. You're supposed to see that you have no ability to live out what He's caused you to do.
[15:02] Let me give you a simple list of ten things that we all know to be right and wrong. And how does your life lay down beside it? You say that you have never murdered, but have you ever thought anybody with hatred in your life? Have you ever lusted? Have you ever stolen? Have you ever been disrespectful to your parents? Have you ever, and the list would go on and on, and every one of us would have to see ourselves in that and to say, no, that is not where we're at. But just going from being morally bad to trying to be morally good, any, there's different ways you could do that. Boy Scouts could help you with that. Religion could help you with that. Just being more of a family man could help you with that.
[15:39] You could do this in many ways. You could meet once a week with your family, go to church on occasion, try to do right by your neighbor. There would be many different ways that you could go about trying to make yourself a better citizen and as a better person. But that is the wrong question. Here's the question. How do I become reconciled to God being that we are alienated from God since Adam? That's the real question. I was born into this world alienated, separated, in need of reconciliation with God.
[16:10] Romans 5, 12, wherefore is one man's sin entered into the world and death by sin? And so death passed upon all men for they all have sin. See, there isn't another answer out there because there isn't another problem out there. The Bible gives us the problem and it gives us the solution. Why do we live the way that we do? Why do we sin? Why are we sinners? Why is this world broken? And most certainly is, is because we were born in this world alienated from God and we now need to be reconciled and brought back to Him. That would explain that in the Bible more times than anything else the description of us as believers is that we are now in Christ, which is what it takes. No longer in Adam, but we are in Christ. So the world is giving the wrong answers while they're asking the wrong questions at all times. And that's why the exclusivity of Jesus doesn't make any sense. Because if the real question was how do we all live better lives, then why do we need an exclusive answer like you must believe in Jesus? Won't anything do? But that isn't the right question. The question is, or how will we reconcile unto God? And so is there any other way? Jesus is making it clear to them there's no other way.
[17:19] It doesn't matter if you've been around the party. It doesn't matter if you've been around the banquet. It doesn't matter if you think you have some kind of connection with me. There's only one door into this. There's only one way, which is Jesus Christ. And then so will an altar to an unknown God suffice? I didn't know Mark would be here today. It's been a while since I told the Mark Tolson almost went to jail story, all right? And so we were at Cincinnati and neither he or I had ever been to many different other religious sites before. And we went to a place that had, it was a Hindu temple that had not just one God that would have been a worship there, but it had multiple ones. And in the middle of it was one that said to the unknown God was in the inscription that represent a plurality of one. It was right there in the middle. And so me and Mark went there, we saw it, we had a good day, and we left, all right? But Mark decides he needs to go back without me, okay? At that time in his life, I was his adult supervision, all right? That's a scary thought, isn't it? And we got in all kinds of trouble when that happened. And so Mark goes back and he decides that he has a great message about the unknown God, and he can tell them who the unknown God is that they should be worshiping. And he does that. And if I remember correctly, if it's better, if it's not as good as I tell you, don't correct me, okay? If my story is better, let's run with it. And I believe that you were asked to leave, and so people came to escort you in a special car. And when they called your dad to tell them what was going on, the dad said, so he's there, and there's this altar to the unknown
[18:54] God, and he's telling you about Jesus. Yep, that sounds about right. That sounds about like what my son would do. Have a good day, all right? But the point is, and let me read to you in Acts 17, 30.
[19:05] And the time of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained, whereof he has given assurance to all men, and that he has raised him from the dead.
[19:20] This ignorance here that man would need to repent of and to recognize. So you would say, well, it isn't very likely I'm going to be in the situation that Mark Tolson put himself in, right? That's not happening many times in a lifetime. But you need to know that an altar to an unknown God will not suffice. Our God has a name. There's knowledge to have about him. There's no value in ignorant worship. In other words, Paul does not reveal to the worshipers in Athens that they are already prepared to meet through a judge because they render a kind of worship through their altar to an unknown God, Acts 17, 23. For as I pass by and behold your devotion, I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God, whom therefore you ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. You know, few of you would stand up and tell us that we should leave that alone, that we shouldn't send missionaries to other countries, that they are good people that are devout, they're worshipingly different, but it's okay because they are sincere. Nobody in here would have the audacity to do that. But as Jesus, as I studied this and God dragged me through this passage this week, I would never stand in the way of Mark Tolson doing that. But I might overlook the fact that many of my friends and family members aren't worshiping
[20:35] Jesus, but they're worshiping at an altar that is made of something that is just not clear. They're just worshiping at the altar of some kind of American sense of pride or some type of morality or something.
[20:49] They're just a good old boy. They're just a good guy. They're just a good neighbor. And I don't really know exactly what it is that they're worshiping or if it's really Jesus, but I think it's God. And, you know, it seems to work out the same way. It makes them, it makes for them to be a good neighbor.
[21:05] I don't know exactly who it is they're worshiping. I don't know if they have a seat reserved at the table or if they're just hanging out in the streets around all of it, but they're worshiping at the altar of an unknown God. And we must tell them. One of the arguments that are made against this way of thinking and teaching is a man named Cornelius. When Peter comes to Cornelius, he says, I see that you are a devout man, that you are a religious man. And many people would say, well, this man was religious even though he didn't know the message of Jesus Christ and the gospel.
[21:38] So, if a person's devout and religious, they'll find their own way to heaven. And we've heard that before when we've been to a mosque and different things. They would say, Jesus is needed for the Christians, but we have a different path and we're all going to get there. So, but Cornelius is somebody that is used in making this often. He's mentioned as a proof that people can be saved by Jesus without knowing him. The argument goes something like this. It's different from being saved in Christ and of Christ, that Jesus Christ is death on the cross, paid for the sins of people that never hear of that death, but they're going to have that applied to them as they are devout and religious and their own religious tradition and they do their own thing. You may look at me in here and say, why are you saying these things? Because outside of this room and just a handful of rooms around this community, that is the common belief about Jesus Christ. That is the common belief about religion. And no matter how well you know this, I am not going to skip over a passage where I cannot remind you of how important it is that that is what the world believes and we cannot move to believing that. Acts 10 34, then Peter opened his mouth and said, of truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation, he that feareth him and work his righteousness is accepted of him. So, this passage is used to say that Cornelius, before he heard about the gospel, before he heard about Jesus, he was a believer and that the death of Jesus would be applied to his account. Let me give you four arguments against that, that Cornelius was already saved before hearing and responding to the message of Jesus. First off, Acts 11 14, who shall tell the words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved? It was the telling of words that brought salvation to Cornelius and his family. It was the content of that message that made it so that Cornelius and his family could be saved. He did not say, you already know enough, you're doing good enough on your own. There was a message for Cornelius. Then Peter makes a point to say that the knowledge of Jesus is essential,
[23:39] Acts 10 43, to him give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. The message is essential and knowing the name of Jesus is essential.
[23:53] And there are many Jewish men that were devout like Cornelius, but this is how Jesus responded to them. So you say Cornelius was devout. That should be enough. But what does Jesus say to those devoutly Jewish men in Acts 2 38? Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
[24:15] Jesus was speaking to people that were devout, that were sincere, that were moral, that were good, that had more rules to live by than any of you could ever imagine. And his message to them was, repent and believe in Jesus Christ. And then lastly here, when Peter heard that, when people would hear the Cornelius story, they heard it as a testimony of a Gentile coming to salvation, Acts 11 18.
[24:40] When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God saying, then have God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. They weren't celebrating, oh, we found pockets of people that never heard about Jesus, but somehow they have figured out enough about God and they're devout and religious and they're going to also go to heaven without the message. That wasn't what they were celebrating. They were celebrating that repentance had been granted unto the Gentiles and to Cornelius. Man cannot know God by their own wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1 21, for after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. They will not come to this wisdom without it being shared with them. It will not come to them outside of God's word. God forbid that any of the parents of this church would ever say anything like this. I just kind of want my kids to figure it out on their own.
[25:35] You know, whatever they believe, I just don't want to make the decision for them. I just kind of want to let them go out there, go out into this world to figure out what they believe on their own. Well, let me tell you this. The decision is already theirs. You don't get to make that or not. It is going to be their own decision whenever they made it. You don't get to make it for them or not. So, you're not saying anything new by letting your kids make their own decision. The question is, do you believe that the wisdom of God will not be instilled into their heart and learned unless you teach it to them from God's word? Because the wisdom of the world is not going to give it to them. The wisdom of the world can make them good citizens. The wisdom of the world can keep them out of jail. The wisdom of the world can help them help an old lady across the street because it feels good to do that. But the wisdom of the world will never tell them that they were alienated from the God of heaven and that the only way they can be reckoned out is to Jesus. That is our message. That is a distinct message for us.
[26:29] So, the question was, will you be loving enough to give them God's wisdom from His word? Because the world certainly isn't going to come to the right understanding on their own. And now we get down here to Jesus as they reject the message. Verse 31, the same day there came certain Pharisees saying unto him, get thee out and depart hence, for Herod will kill thee. Jesus will lament for these people.
[26:55] Verse number 31, it is as if they want to get rid of Him. And the reason I say that, some would see this and say, we don't really know what the intention of the Pharisees were. Maybe they were being kind to Jesus and trying to warn Him. The fact that Jesus looked at them and says, you go tell Herod something makes me believe that they weren't playing for the right team, right? If He was able to look at them and say, you go tell Herod that fox something that I have to say. And what Jesus tells him is, He says, go ye and tell that fox. Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures the day and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. My journey shall be complete. Nevertheless, I must walk the day and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that the prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
[27:37] He looked at them and He said, I'm going to do what I came here to accomplish. I'm not leaving the day, I'm not leaving tomorrow. I'm going to do all that I set out to do. I'm going to finish my mission. And then almost maybe in a word of irony here, He says, then afterwards, I will go to Jerusalem because I know that's where the prophets have died and the martyrs are going to die. And that is also where I am going to as well. That God forbid that I would die outside of Jerusalem because it's prompt that I'm supposed to be in Jerusalem. So He said, when the time comes, I'll move on. But the time has not yet come. I have a mission to stand right here. And He stood there. And so I pray for you guys throughout the week, and you have to stand there. You have to stand there with that message that Jesus Christ is the only way, and you don't move on until He tells you to move on. You stand there in conversations with your family, in conversations at the workplace, in the conversations wherever you go, you do not move on in the mission until He tells you to do that.
[28:37] And then Jesus laments, O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets. You might remember when David cried out for Absalom in 2 Samuel, he said the same thing. He said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son. It just expresses strong emotion that is here. This judgment is not relished, but it is a reality that He has for them. This sadness has increased in their life because they have been exposed to truth. So much there. The prophets have been there. So much truth had been given to these people, and they reject them. There's also a sadness and this lack of understanding by them. They just don't get it. The first will be last, and the last will be first.
[29:16] It's completely the opposite of what you think is happening here. And He cries out to them, and He says, O that I would have gathered you as a hen would gather their brood. He says, I wanted to make you safe. I wanted to make you happy. I wanted to be part of this blessed community. I wanted to promote growth. I wanted you to know love, but this would only come if you would respond to my call for you.
[29:38] And He gave it to them. Remember, He said there was a time where a dinner is going to happen, and that people are going to come, but there's not going to be a place for them. And they're going to say, but we heard you in the streets, and we've had some meals together, and I've been around this thing the whole time. I've been around what's going on. Why can I not enter them? And Jesus said, it's a relationship. I don't know you. And because of that, you have no place here reserved at the table. Every time you meet with your kids, you often tell them the same thing over and over again. And even though you're telling them over and over again, the reason you tell them is because them forgetting it is of a dire consequence. You're most certainly not my kids in this story, but in that same way. Before we go out into the community, this world, I need to remind you how important it is that you drive a peg into the ground that does not move, that Jesus Christ is the only way. We live in a world that is growing more hateful and hateful, and they can put the word love on it as much as they want, but it is a world that does not live, that is contrary for the good of everybody else. And the most loving thing that we will ever do is to say that Jesus Christ is the only way. And we don't move from that. We do not move an inch away from that. We stay grounded on that. Because if we don't, then there'll be many people that would say, well, I was involved in so many of the things, but you never had a relationship with Jesus. And it ended in verse 34.
[31:08] It says, and ye would not. That's what Jesus said to those people. He said, and ye would not. After time and time again of sharing the kingdom with them, sharing the gospel with them, telling story after story, pleading with them, then he just laments and says, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, I want you to come here, but they won't. And then he said, ye would not. As Jesus drug me through this passage this week and following after him, I just thought about how many people in my life have not been brought to that point. They have not had the chance to hear the gospel multiple times. I have not lamented over them. I never begged for them to come to a realization of it. That's the example that Jesus has given here. He was moved with compassion towards them.
[31:54] It mattered. So as we end here today, I would like to encourage you. First of all, settle in your heart that Jesus Christ is the only way. Know that with certainty. Don't move off of it. To do so would be the most unloving thing that you could do for this world. But secondly, take the names of some people and lay them heavy upon your heart and lament and to cry out and to say their name and say, God, I want them to come to know you. I want them to know that you're the only way and make no assumptions about them. I have so many friends and family I just make assumptions about. But what I need to do is I need to sit down with a pen and a piece of paper and say, hey, would you share with me your testimony?
[32:31] I would love to hear your story. Would you tell me when you met Jesus Christ? Would you tell me when you recognize that you were a sinner and need of forgiveness and you placed your faith and trust in Jesus? Because we may find that many of the people that we know and love are just worshiping at the altar of an unknown God and that ignorant worship will not suffice. That is not what a loving people would do. Let's pray together.