Understanding Heaven: A Deep Dive into Revelation Chapter 4 with Don

In this episode, Don starts with the fourth chapter of the book of Revelation, focusing on understanding heaven. Don reflects on various themes discussed throughout the week such as defending faith, prayer, and standing for truth. The main focus of this session is heaven, exploring its reality, uniqueness, and the ultimate longing to be in God's presence. Don shares ten key insights about heaven, aiming to inspire and uplift the audience with the hope and glory of eternal life with God.

00:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks
00:53 Acknowledging the Congregation and Leaders
04:02 Recap of Previous Sermons
05:18 Introduction to Tonight's Lesson: Heaven
08:01 Heaven's Top 10: Key Points
18:02 The Essence of Heaven
29:03 Final Thoughts and Invitation

Transcript

Oh, good evening. Good to see everybody tonight. You have a Bible this evening. We're going to the fourth division of the book of Revelation tonight. Revelation chapter four is where we will begin in just a moment or two. And while you're opening your Bible and getting settled, we welcome all of you.

Thanks so much for being here on this Thursday night. As we've said from night to night, we know that there are a lot of things that challenge you for your time and attention in the course of a week. And as we have been engaged all this week from Sunday to tonight we know that this is required something extra of you every night.

And thank you for making that effort to be with us and for the encouragement that you give us by that. What a beautiful day. We enjoyed today. I tell you, this was this was picture perfect, wasn't it? I saw it's supposed to be 34 degrees, was it 34 degrees this morning, I believe. And I got to thinking I've been here for four days and had all four seasons of the year.

This is this is East Texas personified, isn't it? I've enjoyed being with you all so much this week. I, I've tried to express that from night to night and I. I hope you know that that's never in a perfunctory way. I truly have enjoyed and appreciated being with you. I appreciate very much the invitation of your shepherds to come and to talk to you about some things that I think are very important as we try to navigate our way from earth to heaven.

I'm grateful for these men, for the good leadership that they provide, for the fact that they shepherd souls, that these are men who care about and love this church flock, and I pray that in return that you will love and appreciate them in every way. I very much have enjoyed, of course, being with your preachers this week.

Harold and I have been together here multiple times in gospel meetings and I appreciate Harold so very much. I'm sure that there must be a better man breathing God's air somewhere, but I haven't met him yet. Harold's wonderful man. Tremendous gospel preacher. His four decades almost with this church, speaks volumes about the kind of work that he's done, the influence that he's had.

I I told my wife, I said, Harold's, DNA is all over this church and with good reason. He has done wonderful work here. And Reagan. I love and appreciate so much Reagan and Seff. Iara, just a form, a formidable couple in the Kingdom of God. Reagan is so immensely talented. He's young, he's handsome. It's disgusting, I'll tell you.

But he is such a talented gospel preacher. I appreciate him so very much and I know he's doing wonderful work with you, and I pray that that will be a good hand in glove situation for a long, long time. And I love young preachers, and so I'm glad that Preston is with you. And I know that he is just kind of getting his feet wet and just getting a good start.

But there is no better place in this world that he could be than right here. He is fortunate and blessed to be with you, and I have every reason to believe that he'll be a blessing to you as well. And we pray that Abby all goes well with the delivery. A new little one is gonna change your life for the better in ways that you can't even imagine right now.

And so we're very, very happy about that. I appreciate all who've helped us sing, just like tonight to sing so well as we've offered Praise to God. I've enjoyed getting to be in some of your homes and we've gone out to, to dinner or coffee with some of you and just enjoyed that more than I can say, but I won't say a special word to the young parents who are here tonight to those of you who have young children.

I know. I know that it takes something extra to be here every single night. It makes it so that your kids are up later than they usually would be, and your kids have got school tomorrow and it just, it's just extra. And I appreciate so much that you've made that effort. And I will say to you that in that you are, you are planting seeds in young and impressionable hearts that no doubt will germinate.

We pray that one day will grow and bring fruit to everlasting life for those kids. I want to thank you. For what you've done this week, and for all of you who've listened so very well, you're wonderful listeners and you're very encouraging in so many ways, and I thank you so very, very much. We have we have talked this week about some pretty heavy subjects and we began talking Sunday morning about the fact that defense wins championships and we talked about how we have to guard.

Our physical family, our church family, and our eternal souls. We talked Sunday night about, about trying to learn to pray like the Apostle Paul with deep and and important thoughts. We talked about how he relied on the power of God. We want to do that as well. We spoke on Monday night about lion and widow and how we have to navigate our way through treacherous waters in this world because our adversary, the devil, seeks to do his harm.

We spoke about weeping and joy, that it's the common lot of life. As we said that night, if you have many miles on the odometer of your heart, you have experienced both. And if you live any much longer, you'll experience both again. And then last night we dove into, into the need to fight the war on truth.

Such an important concept, isn't it? That we need to stand for the truth of Almighty God. You all have been so patient, listen so well, and I appreciate that. Tonight's lesson will be very, very simple in comparison to those. Very simply, tonight, I just wanna talk about heaven a little bit. Sing to me of Heaven.

I think the songs about heaven are just the best. I really do. There's a song that we don't sing in our churches, but it is one of my favorite songs about heaven and I would, I would think that you've probably heard it. It's the song I can Only Imagine. Maybe you've seen the video for the song where, where loved ones are holding pictures of of their loved ones who have, who have passed from this world, and they, they are in the words of the song, trying to imagine what they may see in eternity.

I can only imagine there are a lot of things that we can imagine. I can only imagine what Neil Armstrong must have felt on July the 20th, 1969 when. He was the first human being to stand on the lunar surface and to look back at our little blue planet and see that for the first time. I can only imagine.

I can only imagine what it is for a surgeon the very first time that he, that he opens a human chest and sees a, a beating human heart. I can only imagine, or what it must have been like to be an individual in the 18 hundreds in America who. Who all of his life had been a slave, but now he was holding a piece of paper that said to Kim that he was the first for generations in his family who was fully and truly free.

I can only imagine. But there's much of course that we don't have to imagine. We just think about what we have seen. The brightness of a grandchild's eyes, the A bride and groom exchanging vow. A child graduate, a lost soul being redeemed through the water of baptism. We have seen in America, purple Mountain's, majesty from sea to shining sea.

But all of that pales in comparison to Revelation four and beginning in verse one, for when the apocalypse begins and the curtain is drawn back. The text says that after these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice, which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, say.

Come up here. Come up here. I will show you things which must take place after this. Heaven. When I think about that, I am reminded of the words of Paul in Colossians three when he said, set your mind on things above not, not on things of the earth. Set, set your mind. It's a word that we would use today, like a pilot who sets a course to reach his destination.

As if Paul is saying, look, think about things above. Focus on things above strife or things above. I ask you tonight, do you do that? And when you think about Kevin, what comes to mind? What do you think? A couple of years ago, a temple terrorist, I preached a simple lesson on a a on a Sunday that, that I entitled Heavens Top 10.

I talked about 10 things that we all need to know and understand about heaven. We're not gonna elaborate on these tonight, but let me pop them on the screen for you very quickly. 10 things that we all need to know and understand about heaven. Number one, heaven is a real place. Heaven is a real place.

Jesus, when he taught the disciples to pray in the mountain message said, you need to pray this. Our Father who is in heaven and in John 14 in verse two in my father's house, that's what heaven is. Ladies and gentlemen. It is God's home. It is God's home. Heaven is not a feeling. It's not an emotion. It's not a transitory state.

It is not a fairytale. It is not a galaxy far, far away. It is that the old time preachers used to say a prepared place for the prepared people of God. Heaven is a real place. Secondly, heaven is not like earth. It is not like Earth. John was told in our reading a moment ago, come up here and I will show you why.

Well, because there was nothing on Earth to compare with heaven. Here we are bothered by so much. We are bothered by weather and bugs and weather and crime, and weather and traffic and weather and conflicts in this world Here. We take medicine for our illnesses and we take naps for our weariness. We secure our homes with alarms and we grieve our losses at cemeteries.

But heaven is not like that because in the revelation God would say about heaven, behold I am making all things new. Heaven is not like Earth. Third, modern witnesses are bogus. Are bog. I wanna say that clearly over the past decade or so, one of the most prolific segments of religious journalism. Of religious publishing has been books written by individuals who claim that they have died and come back to life, or at the least they have had a near death experience in and come back to life.

And what do they do? Well, they write a book. They write a book and tell about their experiences, what they saw, and seemingly what they heard. What I find that fascinating because when I read in two Corinthians chapter 12, there is an. Inspired Apostle who actually did go to heaven, and yet he says he was not allowed to repeat what he heard or what he saw.

In fact, he said the things that I saw are inexpressible. And he said that it is not lawful for men to speak. And so it's amazing to me that these individuals who say that they went to heaven come back and they can't stop talking about it. I will tell you, modern witnesses are bogus. If you wanna know what heaven is like, don't buy a book by somebody looking to line their pockets.

Simply open your Bible and read. Number four, not everyone goes to heaven. And it was popular to say, to believe otherwise. Today it is not popular to say just what we said, that not everybody goes to heaven. We said Sunday morning that we live in an all-inclusive, everybody gets a trophy in a snow C kind of world.

We said Sunday morning that the mantra today is look. I'm okay. You're okay. We're all okay. God loves us anyway. Jesus thought otherwise. And so in the mountain message, Jesus said, look, not everyone who says to me, Lord, you are my Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my father, who is in heaven.

Quite honestly, ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what the preacher says at your funeral. Your lies consists of choices that ultimately determine. Your eternal destiny. Not everyone goes, they have a number five. We don't become angels. We don't become angels. Now, I will tell you angels are, angels are amazing beings, and I, I think probably we don't talk about angels nearly as much because they are prominent in our Bibles.

I. And angels having an amazing job. Hebrew one, beginning of verse 14, they are ministering. Spirit sent forward to minister to those of us who are the heirs of salvation. And I'll tell you, I don't find any time expiration on that verse. I believe that God still uses angels to minister again to those of us who are the heirs of salvation.

I believe God angels are alive and active in our, in our world, at the discretion and the dispatch of God. But when we die, we don't become angels. You were made in the image of God. Angels were not number six. You, however, will still be you. You will still be you. You know, when you talk about heaven, the question that is always raised is, will we know each other in heaven?

Will we know each other in heaven? I will tell you that I, I know Christians who are on the yes side of that, and I know Christians who are on the no side of that equation. For me, I'm firmly. In the YES camp there, I believe clearly and unequivocally that we will know each other in heaven. I think about one Thessalonians two in beginning of verse 19, when Paul wrote to these brethren that he loves so very much, and he said, what is our hope and our joy and our crown of rejoicing?

Is it not even you? In the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is coming. And so certainly it would seem to imply that Paul thinks that he is going to know them and they are going to know him. Now, I know the question that always comes from that is, well, yes, but won't you miss people who aren't there?

Wouldn't you miss people who aren't there? Well, I don't know. And, and I don't really worry very much about that. I know the Bible says there's anything too hard for God, and so I reckon that God can work that out. I will tell you already at my age, I've got some selective memory going on now, so it'd be pretty easy for God to take care of that with me, to be honest.

You will still be you. Number seven. You will however be different. You will be you, but you will, you will be different. I know that because of one Corinthians 15, we shall all be changed in a moment at the twin lead of an eye at the last, at the last Trump, and so we will be changed. And somebody says, well, what will that resurrected state be?

Well, I don't exactly know John said in one John three, in beginning in verse two. That Beloved does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. So I don't know exactly what that will be. We'll just be changed and be different. But I do know that we will be resurrected never to die again.

And I know that we will not need some of the acute treatments of age that we need now. We're not gonna need glasses anymore, hearing aids anymore. The walkers that are in this room will not be necessary anymore. The canes that sometimes we use will not be needed anymore. Although I am fairly certain, in fact, I'm pretty sure that all the men are going to have very handsome, distinguished white mustaches.

I'm pretty sure about that. Number eight time. Time will be no more. We sing that when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more. Where did we get that idea? Well, we got that from the Bible. We know that God created the son of the moon for the demarcation of time. In Genesis one, in verse number 14.

But in heaven, the Bible says that God, that God is the light. And so there'd be no more time, no more running late, no more rushing to be somewhere. No more checking the clock. No more checking. The calendar time will be no more. You know, one of the great things about that is that it means that you will not be diminished by time ever again.

The outward man. It's perishing and it does, doesn't it? We all know that as we age, but in heaven, you will not be diminished by time and you will never to use our vernacular. You will never pass your prime. We understand that, don't we? As we, as we age. I thought about that when I was working on this sermon.

My kids were home for Thanksgiving. Josh and Heather were together and we had finished Thanksgiving dinner. We're just sitting there and talking. My son Josh, lives in Atlanta. But about all he remembers growing up is Temple Terrace. So he's always asking about people at church, how are they doing? And he was naming people and he, and he called a name.

And I said, well, Josh, they're not, you know, they're not doing very well. They're actually, they're struggling. They're really struggling with, with some, some memory issues now. And I said, listen, I want to, I want to take the opportunity to tell you, to remind both of you. That when the day comes, when the day comes that I, that I'm having memory issues and I'm repeating myself in my sermons or I'm losing my train of thought in sermons when it's clear that I should not be preaching anymore, you don't let me preach.

My son spoke up and he said, oh, dad, he said, that day's coming gone.

And I said, well, Josh, thank you for simplifying the will because you made that much, much more streamlined. I'm telling you. But the fact of the matter is it will be not, not be diminished by those kinds of things in heaven. Time will be no more. Number nine, we will not be tempted anymore. Isn't that a wonderful thought?

We talked about that on Monday night, the lion of winter. The temp says, no matter what season of life, whether it's spring or summer or fall or the winter of life, and yet will not be tempted anymore. I know that's true because 20 in verse 10 of the book of Revelation says that our adversary of the devil is going to be cast in the lake of fire.

And so the point of it is that where we are. He will not be. And so there'll be no more temptation, no more deception, no more sin. And then number 10, we will not miss our old lives. We will not miss our old lives. I know that's true because Paul said in Philippians one, in beginning of verse number 23, I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which will be far better.

Some of the newer translations say better by far, literally the Greek is, it would be very. Much, far better as if the Holy Spirit could not stack the adjectives enough. It will be very much far better every negative thing. Ladies and gentlemen, which you were exposed in this world, either in your personal life, your interaction with others, or just on the evening news, none of it will be in heaven.

We will not miss our old lives. I can only imagine. I can only imagine. There are many things about heaven that we don't have to imagine at all. In fact, there's some things about heaven that we can know with absolute certainty. Now, you're wonderful Bible students and so you know that the book Revelation has, has a true introduction.

Chapter one serves as, as it's divided in our Bible. Chapter one serves as a true introduction, and then the letters to the churches in chapters two and three. Then in chapter four, the curtain of the apocalypse is drawn back. And that that kind of cinematography almost begins as it is depicted in visual graphics, what God wants to see and to know.

And it's interesting that we see immediately that this is the wonderful city of God. We said a moment ago that that heaven is where God is. When the curtain is drawn back and John is allowed to see the very first vision that he has is of of God in heaven. You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power.

You created all things and by your will they were created and and they have their very being in chapter five and 13, the him who sits on the throne and now the lamb. And so it's the father and the son. It is God, the Father and the lamb. And to the lamb be praising glory and power forever endeavor. And the two are conjoined together.

In chapter seven in verse 10, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb. The point of it is, ladies and gentlemen, don't miss this. We have spent a lifetime praying to God, singing to God, talking about God, converting the loss to God, bowing our heads before God, following God, but in heaven we actually get to.

Be with God in my father's house. Jesus said, there are many rooms. That's the essence of heaven. Don't miss that. The essence of heaven is not that there is a street of gold or a gate of pearl. It is the presence of God. I say this kindly, but I say it. I say it candidly that if that does not mean much to you now, it probably won't mean much to you in eternity.

And what I mean by that is that being in the presence of God now in worship, if that doesn't move your soul. It probably would. Not an eternity either. It's interesting. It's interesting that we get to see the face of God, the throne of God, and the lamb shall be in it, and his servant shall serve him and they shall see his face.

Man has always longed to do that. Moses wanted to do that and God said, I'm sorry if you see my face, you will die. But in eternity we get to see the face of God. Seeing someone face for the first time is, is special, isn't it? To the men in this audience who are, who are married, you remember when you were standing in front of an audience and you are nervous as you could be, but you look to the back and you remember the first time you saw your bride, how special that was.

Remember the first time you looked into the, the face of your first child doesn't mean that the, the second and third and fourth child honor is important, but when you look into the face of that first child, it is an experience like nothing else. No wonder job would say, whom I shall see, I shall see God for myself.

My eyes shall beholden, not another. How my heart yearns within me says to do that and see that what a blessing that is. In Revelation 2021, in verse 22, the text says that there's no temple in heaven because there's no need for one, because the presence of God is there. And it is. It's the idea that there's no separation between man and God in heaven.

It's interesting, I, I've thought about that with business, with the temple, that there's no temple there. You know, we always think about the temple as being the place where God met with man. And that's certainly true. That is, that is undeniably true. God would dwell between the cherub in the most holy place.

There were cherub everywhere. Cherub in the Bible all the way back to the garden of of Eden were designed to, to protect the presence of God, but God dwelt between the cherub in the Holy of Holies. And so we always talk about the fact that it was in the temple, that that man could meet with God. But have you ever thought about the fact that the temple also represented separation from God?

The temple also represented separation from God. In the temple, there were multiple courtyards and your gender, your nationality, your heritage determined how close you could get to God. Samaritans, for example, could not even enter the temple area, and Gentiles could not go beyond the court of the Gentiles.

The unclean could not enter the compound at all. Women could not go beyond the court of women. The average Jews certainly could not go beyond the veil into the Holy of Holies. And the point of it is that all of those layers represented separation from God. But in heaven, there is no more temple. And it's designed to say that in heaven, there is no separation between man and God.

We are in the presence of God. Not for a moment, not to get a quick picture. I, I've had my picture made with some, some celebrities and athletes and, and you're kind of moved through a line. I mean, they take your picture and and slide you on because they gotta get on to the next person, but not in heaven.

Forever. Forever. Forever. And what a wonderful thought. As we often sing, when we all get to heaven. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that would be. When we all get to heaven in Revelation seven, the beginning in verse nine, listen to what it, how it's described after these things John said.

I looked and behold a great multitude, which no one could number of all the nations and tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes and palm branches. Palm branches in their hands. Listen to what that saying, ladies and gentlemen, not just a few.

People from the length and breadth of this globe, people of every nation, every language in every race, because as the Bible says over and over, there is no respected persons with God. Good people, simple people, famous people, poor people. But the common thread is that they walk by faith and they obey their Lord.

These are individuals who listen to Jesus. And when Jesus said, look, come unto me. All, there's the operative work. All of you who labored heavy latent, and I will give you rest and whosoever will may come. That is exactly what these individuals of every nation and tribe and people in tongue have done to use biblical language.

These are the ones who have their names written in the Lamb's book of life.

Every time I read Revelation seven and nine, I. I think about my church family at Temple Terrace because in many ways we are a reflection of that. We are a multiracial church. We, we are what we could teach our kids to sing in their Bible classes. We are red and yellow and brown, and black and white, and we're a multinational church.

While most, most in our church family would carry a passport from the United States, we also have people in our church family. Who carry a passport from Canada, England, Germany, South Korea, China, South Africa, Cuba, Vietnam, Trinidad, Deba, and Ireland. And so when I read Revelation seven and nine, I think that's who we are.

And again, to use biblical language, all of us of whom one day that can be said, we are the ones who have our names written in the Lamb's book of life. We're the ones the Bible would say considered wise because we built our house upon the rock. According to Matthew seven, we are the ones who've been forgiven by God and therefore we have forgiven others and loved by God.

We have loved others just as Matthew six says that we must do. It's amazing when you read the revelation, John, John stands among people. They all had a past, but they serve God in their present, and because of that, they live with God in their future. God stood among people who had taste of the grace and the mercy of God.

He stood among people who had fought a good fight and finished the race and kept the faith. And again, ladies and gentlemen, I would say this kindly, but again, I say it candidly, that if being with the people of God doesn't mean very much to you now, it won't mean much to you then. But ultimately, heaven is the home of the soul.

It is the home of the soul. So if we go back to where we began tonight in Revelation four, beginning of verse one, John says, come up here. Come up here so that I can show you what will be hereafter. Because again, there was nothing on earth to compare with heaven. Come up here.

I grew up, I grew up in small little towns. I grew up, even when I was growing up in California, we lived in very small communities and when we left California, we went to Arkansas and Missouri and we lived in very small communities. And growing up, my mom and dad, we, we never traveled for vacation to go see things in the country.

We would just go see family, but we never traveled anywhere just to see these United States. It never entered my mind growing up, it never crossed my mind that I would ever be able to leave the United States and see any, anything else in this world. But I've been blessed to see a lot of things that I never dreamed imagined that I could see.

I've seen the Atlantic and I've seen the Pacific. I've seen the Mediterranean, and I've seen the A GMC. I've seen the Colorado Rockies and I've seen the Swiss outs. I've seen the White House in Washington, DC and I've seen the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. I've seen the castles of Europe and I've seen the Temple Mound in Jerusalem, but there is nothing on this earth that I've ever seen that could begin to compare with what John describes in heaven.

The fact of the matter is, ladies and gentlemen, it's the home of our soul. No wonder we sing, won't it be wonderful there? I've often wondered what Jen John felt when, when he realized that the vision was beginning to dissipate and now he was going to be back on that rock of Hamas and back in this world.

You just, you have to know that the disappointment in that had to be overwhelming.

He came back maybe to remind us to live as we should now so that we can live with God. Then

over the past several years, I, I've had the privilege of being the mc for a variety of leadership dinners and other, other kind of banquets and dinners where there have been political figures or celebrities or the men sports figures. A while back, I, I was MCing a, a fundraiser, very important fundraiser for special needs children.

This was in the state of Alabama, and the guest speaker that night was Sean Alexander. Now, if you're a sports fan, a football fan, you'll recognize that name. Sean Alexander played at the University of Alabama. He was an All-American. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. He was one year the MVP of the NFL.

He had a hall of fame career. He has 10 children and his life past football has been completely and totally devoted to philanthropy. The trying to do good for others. He's a man of tremendous faith. He talked about it that night at the banquet, and he talked about the fact that his faith was implanted in his heart by his grandmother.

And he told the story that night that his grandmother had just died. And he said, when I, when I heard that she was in her last days, he said, I flew immediately to where she was, and he said, I went immediately. I went immediately to her bedside. He said, I knelt down beside, and I took, I took her small, frail hand, and he said, I, I said, I'm, I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

And he said his grandmother looked at him and said, Shawn, don't cry from me. She said, I know who I am. I know who I am. I know where I'm going. I want to ask you tonight, ladies and gentlemen, can you say those three things

you see? It's one thing to know that there's hope. It's another thing to know that hope is yours. It's one thing to know there's a heaven. It's another thing to be able to sing. Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory, divine air of salvation, purchase of God, born of his spirit washed in his blood.

I'm asking you tonight if you can say that Paul said, I have a desire to depart it and to be with Christ, which would be very much far better. Think about that. At the funeral for one of our members last year, I, I made the observation. I said, I said, our brother is in a place where he will never again.

Never again will he drive by a cemetery. Never again lock a door. Never face a temptation. Never turn on a light. Never visit the sick, never attend a funeral. Never take anin. Never shed a tear. Very much, far better, far, very much, far better. To be in a place, to be in a place where we will no longer need to take the Lord's Supper on the Lord's day to remember the Lord Jesus, because we'll be in the very presence of the Lord Jesus.

Very much far better understand to understand what Paul meant when he said our citizenship is in heaven. Because for the first time, the only time we will truly. Be home. Albert Schweitzer said, once, said, I, I've had dreams and I've had nightmares. I overcame my nightmares because of my dreams. And this is our dream to say with the psalmist.

That's for me. I will behold thy face in righteousness to say with Isaiah th and I shall see the king in his glory. Say with Job, I shall see God, my eyes, and not another. For that to be true, we have to be able to say, I know who I'm, I know whose I am, and I know where I'm going. And if you can't do that tonight because you've never been baptized into Christ, could I just say to you that there would never be a better time or a better opportunity for you to do that by God's providence, here you are tonight with this opportunity to make your soul right with him so that you could be at home with him one day.

Or if you need to come home to your father, this invitation's for you. Let's stand and let's sing.

What will.