The Kind of Father Children Follow | Dr. Andy Brown

Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad. In this Father’s Day sermon from Ephesians 6, we are reminded that fathers are called to lead their families by design, not by default.

God calls dads to embrace their calling, grow spiritually, share their lives with their children, and remember that their children never outgrow their need for a father.

The direction of your life directly influences the destiny of your children.

#FathersDay #Ephesians6 #ChristianFatherhood #BiblicalFatherhood #ChristianSermon #FirstBaptistStarkville #LiveSent #FaithAndFamily #ChristianParenting #JesusChrist

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Maybe you've heard the saying, anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad. What's the difference between the two? Well, one leads by default, the other leads by design. And I just want to humbly ask all the dads out there: are you leading your children by default? Or are you leading them by design? And God does have a design for you, especially as you lead your family. And by the way, that's exactly what we are called to do as men. We're called to lead. And the first place that we lead after our own heart is we lead our family. And if you take your Bible, please, and join me in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6, I want to take you to a passage that as I was reading and thinking about this event that we have together on this Father's Day, I was struck by what I read in Ephesians chapter 6 at verse 4. And in Ephesians chapter 6 at verse 4, there's one word that I really want to call your attention to. And in this passage, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 4, or really 1 through 4, we see God's design for what it means to be a father. Listen to what it says in verse 1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise. Now, notice what he said here. He says, honor them. And then he connects it back to a promise. He connects it back to God's design. Notice what he says. Verse 3 That it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land. Now, something that I want you to pay attention to, even as we get started, as we crest into verse 4. There is a connection between fathering well, parenting well, and uh blessings. Listen to what it says in verse 4. Now, this is a tough one, especially for all of us fathers, but it applies directly to us. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord. I want you to notice something, and this is what struck me. The Bible says, bring them up in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord. In other words, you know what that presupposes, or you know what that calls us to? That calls us to be going somewhere. That calls us as fathers to be leaders that are uh have achieved a certain level of maturity, as well as are continuing to achieve those levels of maturity. The Bible says this bring them up. And let me say this very carefully. You as a father, the direction of your life directly influences the destiny of your children. Let me say that again so that you can think about it. The direction of your life directly influences the destiny of your children. And so, for all of the fathers out there, if we are to bring the children up, if we are to bring our children up, then here's a question. Where are we going? What's the direction of our life? And so, what I want to talk to you today is I want to talk to you about being the kind of father that your kids want to follow. I want you this morning, us together, to be the types of fathers that our children love to father. And to do that, here's what we're gonna do: we're gonna look at this one passage, and then we're going to anchor this passage in principles that are found all through God's Word, specifically in the Psalms and the Proverbs. Here's the first thing for you to write down. If you're gonna be the kind of dad that your children love to follow, number one, embrace your calling as a father. That is, if you are a father here this morning, then you have a sacred responsibility to train up the next generation. Notice, for example, go with me to a couple of pages in scripture. Go back with me to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter six, and Jesus was asked one time, what is the summary of the entire Bible? And of course, when Jesus was asked that, he went back to this passage that I want to show you now. Deuteronomy chapter six, and you know it when you get there, especially. At verse 4. But notice the way that this verse is grounded. The Bible says, Hear, O Israel, and this is called the Shema. That's the Hebrew word here, there is Shemah. Shema israel. Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. Now, we know that verse, but let's continue to see where it goes. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children. Now notice, you see what it says here? This is the summary of the entire Bible. Love the Lord your God with everything that you have, your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength, everything that you have. And then what's it say? Give that to the next generation. Uh it says that teach them, it it says you shall teach them diligently, teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. And then notice what it says at verse 10. And this is where Paul is grounding the phrase with promise. He says, When you, when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers Abraham. And so he's grounding this whole idea of raising our children properly in the promise that God has set aside. Now there is no substitute for you, fathers. And uh, if you're honest, you don't want there to be a substitute. You don't want the baseball coach to teach your children how to catch. None of us want to do that. You don't want the uh uh instructor to teach your children how to you want to do that. And I'm speaking to you, realizing that this is what all of us desire. You have a calling as a father, and it's a sacred responsibility, listen carefully, to have a faith that's contagious, to have a faith that is ready to be embraced by the next generation. Go with me, if you wouldn't mind, to the Psalms. See how this plays out in the book of Psalms. Psalm chapter 78, I believe it is. Psalm chapter 78, and we're going to look at the first eight verses. And there is a generational responsibility that you and I have when we think about being fathers. Psalm 78. Of course, do you remember the story of Israel? And this Psalm at 78 is really just going to repeat the story of Israel. Listen to what it says. Give ear to my people, to my teachings. Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. Then he says, I'm going to open my mouth in a parable, and I'm going to utter dark sayings from of old. Things that we heard and known. Now look at this, that our fathers told us. In other words, this psalm is based upon someone that heard from their dad the story of the faith once delivered. Listen to what it says. We're not going to hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his mights and the wonders that he's done. He established a testimony in Jacob, and he appointed a law in Israel, which he commands our fathers to teach their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments, and that they should not be like their fathers. They are a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. And so, in other words, you see, there is this understanding that if we are to father well, then we are to embrace this call. Embrace this call that God has for us. And there again, just consider just for a moment, what's the direction of your life? What is the direction of your life? In other words, where are you going as a father? Now, the second thing I want you to write down, if you're going to be a father that your kids want to follow, number two is you must be committed to spiritual growth. Now, this is something that's embedded, I believe, in the text here, clearly for us, but I still want you to see it. It says, bring them up. Bring them up. In other words, they're walking a path that you once walked. You have a testimony here this morning, prayerfully, if you know Jesus Christ. You have a testimony of the time when Jesus Christ convicted you of your sin, convinced you of his reality, and called you to himself. You have a testimony of all of those things. You have a road for me when I was young. I was in kindergarten and I was led to Christ. I, this father, last year, by the way, uh last year on Father's Day I had a special gift. I got to baptize my youngest here in this church. There's a pathway, and I remember my baptism, and uh I remember, you know, uh there was a lady named Amy that was in front of me, and we went and talked to the preacher. And back in those days, the church that I was at at Mills Chapel Baptist Church in Newton, Georgia, uh, they would do this a little, they were a little theatrical. They would change the colors of the lights, so you would have uh red light when you go down in the water, and then the light would change back to white, you know, when you come out of the water. And I remember that, not being scared, but just remember that. And prayerfully, my children remember their baptism because all three of them, thank the Lord, by the way. And by the way, I was at Dallas for the Southern Methodist Convention this weekend, and uh, let me just say what a blessing it is to be back here, just singing and hearing you sing those songs just a moment ago. I'm so glad to be back home. And this church, of course, was the place that all three of my children got baptized just in those waters back there. Ezra, do you remember last year uh that water was a little muddy? You remember last year? Yeah, I do too. But anyway, we did it. We got in the water, the muddy water in Mississippi. It was perfect for us in particular. But there is a certain path that you walked. There's a memory that you have. And I know that the desire for all of us, especially because we're just we're created this way. All of us as men are leaders, all of us want to excel. There's this competitive nature about us, and we're off pursuing all sorts of things, and rightly so. Our portfolio, we want that to be large. We want to have provisions for our families, we want ourselves to increase. But what about your spiritual growth? How about those things? What's the direction of your life? And remember this: that direction directly influences the destiny of your children. Your children will love the things that you love, or if you're not careful, they'll hate the things that you love because you forced it on them. But, and that's, listen, especially true for a preacher. I can remember when I was at Truett McConnell College back then, now at university, when I was at Truett McConnell College, I was fed the Bible for lunch, the Bible for, excuse me, let's start over. Breakfast, lunch, and supper. That's what we call it. And George, I don't know what y'all call it here, but it's not dinner, it's supper anyway. We had Bible all the time. And there was an occasion where, listen, I was sick of the Bible. I don't want my children to be sick of the Bible. The same is true in particular with uh me as a pastor, and this is why I'm really preaching to myself this morning. It's sort of like uh the the analogy of the plumber. It's like, you know, everyone else's house has great plumbing except the plumber. I don't want everyone else to have a great family home or a great marriage or a great walk with Jesus or wonderful children, and because I have neglected some of my duties at home. There's an opportunity that you and I have to embrace our calling as a father, as well as number two, to be committed to that spiritual growth. Now, notice what it says here in the Bible. It says, bring them up, not just anyway. There's a way for us so that we're not left to our own imagination. We're not left to wonder what it means to bring our children up. There's a specific command that's here. It's to bring them up in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord. And I love the way that the Old King James translates that word discipline. It says, nurture. Nurture. It's not this idea of I'm going to discipline you. It's this idea that I'm ready to raise you up. Just remember what the what Jesus said about the Father. He is the vine dresser. Jesus is the vine. We're the branches. His desire for us is that we bear much fruit. And if we don't bear fruit, what happens? We're pruned. We're pruned. What does that mean? It means that God comes to our lives and cuts away those parts that are dead and unfruitful. And he takes those parts that have fallen off the vine, and listen to this. He lifts them up, puts those parts back on after we've fallen and made a mess of things. He comes and puts us up. And that's what it means, this discipline idea, to nurture, to nurture, to hold them, to say, this is the way that you should go. Not to frustrate them. Notice what it says. It says that don't provoke them. In other words, don't frustrate them. Don't smother them. Instead, nurture them. Nurture them. Discipline them in the instruction of the Lord. Now, there again, here's what that means for you. You yourself, if you're going to faithfully fulfill this as a father, then you have to be following Jesus. If you're going to do this, and we're going to do this together, then that means that we have to have a vibrant spiritual life that flows freely from the source, connected to the vine. Remember what Jesus said? I'm the vine. You're the branches. Now don't get those things confused. He said, My Father's will is that you bear much fruit. And then he says this, don't forget this, apart from me, you can't do anything. So you know what that is for us? It's not a, and listen, every time I preach, please listen to this. It's not a call for you to do better. It's not a call for moralism. It's a call for you to get closer to Jesus. It's a call for you to embrace this calling that He has for you to come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. And I'm appealing to you as a father. I'm appealing to you as a leader of your home. I'm appealing to you as a man of God to have a vibrant spiritual life. And I want to say this to you. I want you to write this down. There is a way for you to faithfully follow Jesus. I want you to make a pact, P A C T. That's the acronym I'm fixing to give you, P A C T with your children to pursue Christ. And if you're going to raise them in the uh bring them up in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord, then there's a couple of things that you need to know. You need to know first the person of God. In other words, you need to know who is he. Can you answer that question definitively? Who is the person of God? And here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to anchor this acronym in Ephesians. We're not going to go very far. I want to show you that everything that we need to know, or everything that is sufficient for us to press into, at least at this moment, is right here for us in Ephesians. So first, you have to know who the person of God is. Go back to Ephesians chapter 1. And here's who God is. Are you ready? It says in verse 2, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So do you see what we're already pressing into? Who is God? He is Father. He is Son. And we're going to get down to verse 13 and 14 and 18 and the rest. You're going to see that He's Holy Spirit. And all of this is just right here. Who is God? Notice what it says at verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ Jesus with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. Now, this is who God is. This is who God is. God is, we know who his person is because he has revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ. Let's keep reading. Even as he, that's the Father, chose us in him, that's the Son, before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him. In love, he, the Father, predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, that's the Son, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. That's the Son. And so, in other words, if we're going to faithfully fulfill the call that God has for us to bring them up in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord, we're making a pact with our children to pursue Christ, and P means that we have to know the person of God. And who is he? He's the Father of Jesus Christ. He is the one who exists in a tri-unity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is who God is. He is one. He is Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The A for you to write down is atonement, the atonement of Christ. You have to know not only who God is, you have to know what He's done. He has made a way of provision for you. He has made a way for you to come to Him. He has done something that you were incapable of doing by sending His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him would never perish but have eternal life. He has done everything necessary for you to go to heaven. He has done everything necessary for you to have life on this side of heaven. He's done everything necessary for you to live this calling that he has upon your life, to faithfully fulfill your calling as a father. Go back to Ephesians chapter 1 and look at verse 7. In him that is in Jesus the beloved, we have redemption through his blood. The forgiveness of our trespasses. Oh, aren't you glad that that's there? Don't ever get past that. Don't ever get beyond that. Aren't you glad that that's there? We get to look at this passage and we get to say that there's an opportunity for us to have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. And that came at the beautiful cost of a Father who gave his only begotten Son for your sons. He came doing what we were incapable of doing. According to the, look at this. He says, the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to the purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. So remember, we have this person of God, who he is, and then we have the atonement of Christ, what he's done. What about the sea? Well, what the sea is the commandments of the Lord. This is what he requires of us. So the person of God, the atonement of Christ, the commandments of the Lord. This is what he requires of us. You say, well, what does he require of us? We'll go back to verse 4 and 5. You see it there. What's his purpose for you? It says that we should be holy and blameless before him. This is what his desire is for you. This is what his desire is for your children. It's for you and them and all of us together to be holy and blameless before him. How do we do that? We accept him as our Lord and Savior. And we commit every day to walking with him, to not quench the Holy Spirit, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We commit every day, our whole lives to him, and say, Lord, here I am. Have all of me use me for your purpose. God has a desire for you. He wants you to know who he is. He wants you to know what he's done. And now as a result of that, as a response to what he's done, not trying to earn things, not because you deserve it, but simply in response to his amazing grace. This is who you are, he says. Remember, we just finished Colossians. This is who you are, he says. Now there's an opportunity for you to live out what God has put in. There's an opportunity for you to live in the overflow of your life with what God has filled you with. And who's he filled you with? He's filled you with his very person. All right. Now the T. P-A-C-T. Here's the T. Are you ready? The T is to trust His promises. And this is the challenging one. For you and I, as followers of Jesus Christ, to trust Him. You say, well, what does He promise? Well, look at verses 13 through 14. It says, In Him, you also, when you heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation, and you believed in Him, you were sealed with a promise of the Holy Spirit. Now let's stop right there. Oftentimes when we talk about the promise, we're looking way out yonder on what God has for us. We're looking at heaven. We're looking beyond heaven. We're looking somewhere else. We're looking beyond what God has right in front of us. But what's the promise? Don't get over this. You'll never get very far if you get over this. The promise, listen carefully, is the person of Jesus Christ, the person of the Holy Spirit who now fills you. It's the person of the very presence of God that now fills you. The promise of the Holy Spirit. That's the promise. And what's that? Look at what it says here. You were sealed with the promise. Of the Holy Spirit. Why? So that you can walk in him, so that you can fulfill all the desires that he has for you. This Spirit, by the way, look at verse 14, how this interplays. He is the guarantee of the inheritance. That is, until we acquire the possession of it to the praise of his glory. And all of us go past the promise of the Holy Spirit in the present to look beyond the promise of the Holy Spirit to the future. And we love this. And it's only right for us to do this, but we get too far out when we say that he is the guarantee of the inheritance until we acquire the possession of it to the praise of his glory. And there is an inheritance that he has predestined for us to inherit. But the promise that he has for us now is to be filled with his power, to be filled with his provisions, and for us to trust his promises. And here's how that works: that works in the moment. That works in the moment when you feel the convicting hand of God telling you, Daddy, to say, I'm sorry to your children. To put down the phone and pay attention to that one. For some, children, to call the daddy. For some fathers, just to swallow your pride and embrace your calling as a daddy and call that child and speak with them. There's an opportunity for us in the moment. Not just over yonder, yes, I'm going to heaven when I die. Bless the Lord, I'm just going to sit here and wait till it happens. But instead, for us to trust His promise right now. You know what that means? It means that you have everything necessary to fulfill all that God calls you to do. And I realize here especially that may be a challenge for some. But there's an opportunity that you have with the promise that gave. If you're really trusting in God's promises, then that means that you've been filled with the Holy Spirit and have the power to accomplish whatever God calls you to do. I was reading the other day Andrew Murray. And for those of you who don't know Andrew Murray, I really encourage you to know Andrew Murray. He was a 19th century, 20th century, right at the turn of the century preacher from South Africa. And Andrew Murray, one of the things that he said is, whatever dream God puts on your heart, he will fulfill it. I want you to think about that for just a minute. That's not a blank check for you to just willy-nilly do whatever you want. It's an opportunity for us to be discerning. It's an opportunity for us to say, okay, God, here's what you've said, do. I'm listening. Now, Lord, this is hard, but you have the promised Holy Spirit. And that calls you to trust in God's power, trust in God's provision to do everything that He's called you to do. So remember this, fathers, make a pact. Continue to grow spiritually. This is what this message is all about, anyway. For you to continue to grow spiritually, make a pact with your children that you're going to passionately pursue Jesus Christ. Now, number three, are you ready? Number three, if you're going to be a father that your kids follow, number three, then you have to share yourself with your children. Be committed. Do not compartmentalize. You know, I'm not a father here while I'm at work. Oh, yes, you are. I'm not a father here while I'm at the golf course. Oh, yes, you are. I just need some me time. Sir, there's no such thing. You gave that up. And I can remember this in my in my time. I had to do this when we were in Covington. We were in Covington and oh my goodness, I shouldn't share this story because it really sounds terrible. But I had to, we were in Covington, we had a bonus room, and Titus came up to the bonus room with me. And uh I wish I could tell you that, well, shoot, I'll just say it. He fell down the steps two times, right? He he came up the stairs, next thing I know, here goes the baby bouncing down the stairs, and I'm following the baby. I learned this. I was trying to have a retreat, and here my little son is coming to find his daddy. Let me tell you what I was doing. I was trying to have a quiet time. Trying to read my Bible because I needed some me time. And then I remember in that moment, God convicted me in that moment. Is not a better thing for your children to find you doing than opening your Bible and reading it. And then to invite them in. I used to get so frustrated as a daddy. Here I would, you know, books are expensive, and you know, Stevie, part of being a pastor is you have to have books. You've got to have a lot of books. Uh I love books. I'll never throw away it. Well, I might throw away a book, but you got any to throw away, give them to me, and then I'll decide. But there's an opportunity that we have to, and I can remember, I've got all these little squiggly marks underneath my books. Because my little Adalie, she would come in Daddy's office, and I used to get so frustrated that she would do what Daddy does, and that is, and then I finally looked, and I've got a Bible that I should have brought, it's at home, but a Bible where there's little black marks that see, I underlined my Bible, and there's little marks that she has, and she's trying to do what I do. And in the moment I looked at those and I thought, my goodness, why would you do this? But now I look at that and I say, What little treasures I have to remember. Listen, Dad, there's no compartmentalizing your life with your kids. It's an opportunity for you to share yourself with them. Now, of course, there are some things that they can't do because they're not old enough. But you don't ever have this attitude. And we're not called to have this attitude of escapism. We're not called to have this attitude that says, you know, I'm going to do my things. I'm going to do what I want. No, there's an opportunity that you and I have to remember that we and them, us, as a family, we're united together forever. So you see what that does? That opens up an opportunity for us to uh to not do anything that we don't want our children doing. To not have habits that we don't want our children having. I had a cousin one time, he loved to dip. And uh, of course, what do you do with dip? Pardon me, but you have to put it somewhere, right? And so, guess what happened with his little son, my cousin? He came and he drank the dip spit. Isn't that terrible? Never have anything that you don't want your kids doing, right? What a perfect example of just something trivial that we think is just to the side. There's no compartmentalizing. We instead have an opportunity to remember that our children, as the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 7, our children are following us. The children are gonna come after us. And don't you want dad, the next generation, to be better than you? Don't you want your children to go further than you? And listen, I really ask that because there's some dads that don't. There's some dads that they have this alpha male complex about them that no one's gonna be better than them. But your children, they'll probably have it too, and they want to be better than you, and that's why they're fighting you. It's an opportunity for us to share our very selves with our children. And remember, notice where this flows. We're talking about embracing your call as a father. We're talking about uh being committed to your spiritual growth. And what are you sharing then with your children? You're sharing your desire to be passionate about pursuing Jesus. Because that's what matters most. Because what good is it if your children get the highest accolades this side of heaven, but they lose their own soul? They never trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They never come to a moment of saving faith. They never come to that moment where they say, Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. That's what matters most. And as we are walking faithfully with our children, we are committed to sharing ourselves with them. Fourth and finally, we're gonna be the fathers that kids want to follow. Number four, and this is important for all of us. Remember this, Dad. That your children will never outgrow their need for you to be their father. Oh, their needs will change. As they grow, they'll grow. But you know what I want as a father for my children? I don't want to shame them. I want to finish well. There was an old preacher, his name was Vance Habner. Some of you have heard of Vance Havner, and he was at a seminary one time, and uh the students asked him, he was an 80-year-old man, and they said, Dr. Havner, do you still struggle with lust as an old man? And here's how he answered. He said, Every day I get up and I pray, Lord, don't let me be a dirty old man. I want to finish well. I want to leave a legacy for my children. The Bible says this in Proverbs chapter 37, and I invite you to go over there with me. The Bible says this. It talks about an idea that we have different phases, different phases of parenting, phases that the Bible has for us. Proverbs. What did I say? 37? What did I say? 27? There's no 37. What are you thinking, Andy? Psalm, I'm sorry. Psalm 37. That's why I can't remember. Psalm 37. Psalm 37, verse 25. Listen to this. The psalmist says, I have been young, and now I'm old, and yet I've never seen the righteous forsaken. Or his children begging for bread. Psalm 37, 25. The psalmist is reflecting and he's looking back. He's saying, I've seen different phases of life. I've been old, I've been young, now I'm old. You know what that means for you, Daddy? You know what it means? It means that your children will never outgrow their need for you to be their father. In every phase. Yeah, they'll become independent. Yeah, they'll do things there, but they'll have their own bank account, they'll make mistakes, they'll go to college, they'll come back, they'll get married, and you'll still be there. They will never outgrow their need for you. There's no way, you know, for us, for we have this phrase, right? Empty nesters. Can't wait to get them out. Well, you know what that means? It just means there's a new phase. Some of us joke and say, Well, I got the kids off the payroll. Well, you probably have incurred more expensive than you realize now. Because it's an opportunity for us to realize each phase of our life. There's a new opportunity for us to show our children this amazing love of a father. Because we know that we have a father in heaven who loves us. And we have a responsibility before God to display before our children the love of a father. And let me say this your children, they will never outgrow their need for you, just as you will never outgrow your need for him. Have you come to the point in your life where you realize that there is a father in heaven who loves you? Have you come to the point to realize that you can't do one thing to make him love you anymore? One thing to make him love you any less. I'm asking you this morning if you have come to realize amazing grace, how sweet the sound. And here's what I know. If you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you completely trust in him, then that will reorient the way that you act to everyone that's around you, including your children. And my prayer for you, dear friend, if you've not trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that you would not leave here this morning without accepting this free gift of salvation. And whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.