There is Room for Anyone

Pastor Stan Mons

Sermon Transcription:

The Lord has given me a word for you this Sunday titled There's Room for Anyone. There is room for anyone. There is room for anyone, but you must enter. We have just praised Jesus in song. We've praised Jesus on our instruments. We've praised Jesus with the sound of our hands and the raising of our hands to heaven, a demonstration that our hands are empty. We don't bring anything to God. We can only receive from Him. We bless Him. We have praised Him in prayer together. And now, I want to pray with you over our own hearts, over our own minds, that every single one of us online and here in person may receive from the Spirit of God what God intends for you to receive this morning.

Lord, I pray over every person that is online, every person that listens to this back at a later time. Lord, I pray that you awaken the ears of their heart, that you cause the eyes of their heart to see in the scriptures what the Spirit is revealing for them, for them personally, at this time. Lord, and that they may enter into it. Lord, I pray over every person in this sanctuary. Lord God, I pray, Holy Spirit, that every heart and every set of ears would allow you and honor you, Holy Spirit, and allow you to work the work in us that you desire to accomplish inside of us—that we would surrender to your leading and your work and that we would humble ourselves under your ministry. Holy Spirit, you who guide us into all freedom, into all truth, you who reveal the scriptures. Holy Spirit, you are the teacher who teaches our heart. You are the Spirit that peels away the veil and causes us to see Jesus more clearly.

Holy Spirit, you cause praise from the innermost parts of us. You cause praise to finally come to the outside and burst out of us unto heaven to glorify Jesus, even though this vessel never used to. Holy Spirit, you caused that work to glorify Jesus through somebody like me, through somebody like us. Holy Spirit, I pray that you lovingly and gently, yet firmly, Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to firmly knock on the doors of our heart today and cause us to see what heaven would have us see today. In Jesus' name, we submit, Holy Spirit, to your ministry—the ministry of the word. The Bible tells us, Holy Spirit, that the word of God is your sword. It's your weapon. It's how you fight things in our life. It's how you cause victory in our life. It's how you bring about God's victory inside of us. Holy Spirit, I pray that we let you today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

There's room for anyone. There is room for anyone. Let me read to you Matthew 24, verses 36–44. Jesus speaking, leading up to the end of his ministry, and he tells his disciples some of the parables that he still, if you will, wanted to get off of his heart. This is really close before the last of Jesus' days before he went to the cross. And so those things, even though Jesus never wasted a breath, those things always catch my eye in a special way. These are the things—when Jesus had only so much time with his disciples left—these were the things that we look at today, that he decided to share in those last moments.

Here he's talking about the end: Verse 36:"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away—so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Now, I've preached on this scripture portion many times in my life, and I thought I kind of knew it by now. And then, as I was reading and praying, the Holy Spirit told me to go back to this story. So I went back to this story with all of the ways that the Holy Spirit had revealed some prophetic things for the end times in this story.

But it was almost as if the Holy Spirit came to stand right behind me and just handed me one of those old-fashioned circular magnifying glasses, as if he was saying, "Stan, look a little deeper this time. Look a little deeper into this story that you think you already know." And the Holy Spirit asked me a rhetorical question as I was seeking to look deeper into this story. And it's such a strange—it was such a funny, if you will, question. But the Lord always helps me to think. He helps me to understand why he says this. Because Jesus says, "You won't know the day. You won't know the hour. But you will know the season." The season that I come back will not be a surprise to you. So I'm telling you what the season will be like. It will be just like in the time of Noah. And the Holy Spirit asked me this question: There was a door in the ark, wasn't there?

I'd never thought about that. Yeah. Heard the story as a child growing up. Of course there was a door in the ark. But being a yacht designer by trade, I know that you put as little holes as possible in the hull of a ship, especially big ones. And that question just kept sitting on my mind.

There was a door in the side of the ark, wasn't there? And I'm looking into the story, and I'm prayerfully considering. And like I said before, I've spoken on this passage many times, and there's many things that we can learn from this story. There's many things we can learn from this journey that Jesus begins to take his disciples through in the last of his days before he is crucified. But this is what we want to look at today: the very fact that God designed the ark with a door. And I want you to imagine that with me here for a moment.

So many years, so many decades that it took Noah and his sons to build the ark. And imagine this. And I looked into this, and I studied it, and I wanted to absolutely make sure that what the Holy Spirit was showing me was actually clear in the Bible. Scholars—biblical scholars—agree on this across the board: there was way more room in the ark than got filled up. The way that God gave the plans of the ark to be built, the way that Noah built the ark according to the plans that God had provided, left an incredible amount of leftover space in the ark. And nobody filled it up. Nobody filled up that room. There was room for anyone that was willing to come into that ark. There was room for anyone in Noah's generation to come into that ark. There was much more room. But that door closed, and the people were left outside—not because there was no plan for them, not because there was no room for them, but because they didn't enter into the ark while the door was open.

You have all these people outside of the ark. Some knew Noah. Some of these people used to sell parts to Noah and tools to Noah, and they heard Noah's stories. The Bible tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness in his generation. In other words, he told people about God's standard. He told people about God being real. He no doubt told people that God had given him this great assignment to build an ark because God one day is going to judge the sins of our generation. And there's no doubt that some of these people that knew Noah—they've stood before that door. They've watched the incredibly big ark being built over the years, over the—

"Will he ever get it done? Have you seen Noah do that thing? He'll never get it done." And the years go by, and the years go by, and slowly but surely, the ark seems to be actually getting somewhere. Some of these people knew Noah. They'd seen that door open. They'd seen the process of that ark.

There was more than enough room inside. But they never entered into this ark when they could. There was room for anyone in the ark. Yet only—the Bible tells us—eight souls were saved through that ark from God's judgment: Noah, his wife, his children, and their wives, the only ones that were actually saved by this ark. Even though the door was open for decades, a whole generation heard about this ark—maybe even saw it. Some have maybe even looked inside, helped Noah carry some of the supplies inside. But there was room in the ark for anyone, even though only eight were saved. And God designed this ark with that door. And then he tells us the last days will be as the days of Noah. There'll be room for anyone, but not everyone enters in. There'll be room for anyone within God's plan, within what God has built, within what God intends to use to save us from judgment.

There's room for anyone, but not everyone seems to enter in. And then Jesus comes on the scene, years and years later, as we read about him in the scriptures. And he speaks a lot of words from heaven to the generation that is on the earth in his time. And we see Jesus use a lot of language about "anyone." And sometimes "anyone" is translated as the "whosoever." Anyone and whosoever—doesn't matter who you are. Doesn't matter where you come from. Doesn't matter your background. "Anyone" or "whosoever" speaks to whoever will respond. And Jesus uses that verbiage an awful lot. We will look at a couple of those verses where Jesus speaks to the "anyone." There's room for anyone and the whosoever.

Revelation 3:20, Jesus speaking:"Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." Here Jesus begins to speak to the anyones: "If anyone hears my voice." If anyone hears my voice—that's very particular language. He doesn't say, "If anyone reads the scriptures"—he could have said that. He doesn't say, "If anybody hears from a prophet"—he could have said that. No, he says: "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." What did Jesus promise before he went back to heaven? He said: "When I am lifted up, I will send the Spirit, and he will draw all men unto me. He will take of what is mine and he will make it known to you. Of his own accord he will not speak, but whatever he hears he will speak."

The Holy Spirit always repeats after Jesus. If anyone hears my voice—in their heart, while you are in prayer at home. You may be reading the scriptures at home, and God speaks personally to you. Jesus says that can happen to anyone: "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." I'll do all of the work. I'll come in. I'll sit down. I'll be intimate with you. I'll eat with you. I'll get to know you. And you will be with me. All you do is: when you hear my voice—I stand at the door and I knock—you let me in. Another one: 1 John 4:15—again, that wonderful word anyone: "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them, and they in God." I could not believe this for years. Church—22 to be exact. I grew up in the church. The Sundays I missed, you could have counted on one hand. Went to Sunday school, went to teens, and—and a youth club that we had at the church, and midweek Sunday school on Wednesdays. 22 years I did everything that I thought you had to do to one day become a Christian—a real one. 22 years. But I could not believe. I never decided to actually believe God. I believed he was real.

I believed eternity was real. I believed death was coming. I believed Jesus was the only way. But I did not believe what he had spoken over my life. I did not believe his gospel. I did not believe his good news that he had sent into my life. I could not believe, for example, this anyone verse: If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. I could not believe that. I believed Jesus was the Son of God. But I did not believe what he said. I did not believe that that was enough for God to live in me and I to live in God.

It couldn't be that easy. It could not be that finished. That door of the ark could not be that open. God couldn't have just put a door in the design for me to easily walk inside. It could not be that simple. It could not be true, because I believe Jesus is the Son of God and I'm not saved. That's what I believed. I believe in Jesus, but I still got sin to work out of my life. I believe in Jesus, but I really need to change some things and get some secrets out of my life and deal with some stuff. That's what I believed.

I did not believe: I believe Jesus is the Son of God. That means that I have come alive in Jesus. That means that God has come to live inside of me. That means everything is finished for me.

I didn't believe it—until the day that I finally decided to trust God more than my own understanding and my own logic. I began to trust what God says more than what my sin said about me. I began to trust what God says more than what the devil said about me. I began to trust what God said more than what people said about me. I began to trust the Bible more than what I said about me. If I believe Jesus is the Son of God, then I am saved. Then it's time to rejoice. Then it's time for me to rejoice in God. Then it's time for me to declare my faith and my trust and—and the good news that God has given me.

I can't live as if God still has to do something while God says, "Listen, if your heart believes that Jesus Christ is my only begotten Son, that means I have changed your life. That means I have paid for your sins, because that is an impossible miracle that only my Spirit could have brought about." I did not believe him. It's like the people all gathered around from day to day, looking at that ark or stepping by where Noah was working and saying, "Well, I may be able to believe that one day, if God is real, he would want to deal with sin. But this is the solution? This is his plan? I can't believe that God foretells what he's going to do, that he gives a plan of salvation, that somebody else does all of the work to build this way that is going to get me saved, and all I get to do is just walk in and be saved. I can't believe that. That's too good of a news. That can't be true."

There must have been people in Noah's generation that said, "This is way too good to be true. This could never be true. If there was a God and he was going to deal with sin, he was going to deal with me. He wouldn't just provide an ark for me to walk into. It wouldn't. It would take more for me to get to God. It would take more for me to be saved than to just enter into that ark. Ah, nonsense, Noah. You're wasting your life." And that's what they shouted at Jesus: "If you are the Christ, come off the cross! He saved others—himself he cannot save. You're wasting your life. You're laying down your life for nothing. Who do you think you are? We're crucifying you because you say you are the Son of God." And they pass by easily by the good news and by the ark that God is providing symbolically in our generation.

Another anyone—John 3:18, in incredible truths:There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. That's what God's Word tells you. You and I—you'll never have to answer for your wrongs. You got away with it all. And there's no good reason for it other than the cross of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Instead of you hanging there, he hung there in your place. In anyone that believes in him, there's not going to be a judgment for you.

You're not going to be judged for your wrongs. You're not going to get reward for your good, good stuff. All of it is going to be done in the name of Jesus. He's going to get the glory. It's not going to be done in your name. You've died. The Word says you have died. And baptism is a symbol of that. You have died with Christ. And the life you now live, you live unto him. You don't do anything anymore of your own accord. You let the Holy Spirit lead you. And the life you now live, you live in the name of Jesus. You pray in the name of Jesus. You speak in the name of Jesus. You live in the name of Jesus. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. Anyone. Doesn't matter who you are today. Doesn't matter what you've done. Anyone who believes in Him—no judgment.

I want to take you to a story in John 14. It's a little later after the story in Matthew where Jesus says the last days will be as the days of Noah. And right here, Jesus is preparing his disciples as he is soon going to die on the cross. The disciples are quite ignorant towards that fact. We know that from the stories—that it's almost like Jesus was spelling it out for them and yet they were not seeing it. But Jesus knew. And right here he's preparing his disciples for when Jesus is not going to be physically with them anymore. And this is the last real—and it's a long one—this is the last real conversation that Jesus would have with his disciples before his crucifixion.

Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. He foretells that one right here at the table tonight is going to betray me. He predicts that Peter will deny him three times. And then Jesus begins his last words to his disciples while Judas has already left the table. He's already on the way to betray Jesus and to turn him in to the religious crowd.

And here's what Jesus tells them. John 14:1–4. He says: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." He says, "As many rooms in my Father's house, there's much room for anyone." Just like in the ark, there's much room for anyone to come in. If it wasn't so, I would have told you—that's what he says. Now I can hear my daughter say in my ear as I'm saying this, "Daddy, whenever I read a story in my Bible and God mentions a piece of wood or something made out of wood, I need to pay a lot of attention, don't I?" Because when God talks about a piece of wood in a story or something made out of wood in a story, he's usually trying to teach me something out of the cross. Ain't that right, Daddy? Yes, that's right, Hun.

Church, God designed the ark with a door. He wanted people to have an easy entry into that ark. And God had Noah—a foreshadowing of Christ himself—God had Noah spend his life and do all of the work to eventually have that wooden vehicle of salvation ready for anyone that would come and would enter that ark. He has Noah build the ark. A picture of a vessel of wood. It's a picture of the cross, a picture of a wooden vessel of salvation. Now, what do we learn then from the Bible? What do we learn? There is room for you to enter into eternity through the cross of Jesus Christ. There is room for you. We're not talking about your neighbor. We're not talking about your father or your mother or your grandmother. We're talking about you. That's what the Bible is trying to get across. Anyone. You.

No matter where you are today, there is room for you to enter into eternity through the cross of Jesus Christ. In our generation, though, there will be many that do not enter into eternity through the cross, even though there was room—just like in the ark. Imagine being on the outside of the ark. Now the judgment is coming and you remember there was a door, and you're still swimming, and you're knocking on the side. But now time has ran out. God promises there'll be a similar thing for us—a moment where time will be no more. The last days will be like the days of Noah. Anyone that is willing can come into the ark of God and be saved.

Anyone that repents of dead works—the Bible teaches us, dead works of the law—and turns to faith in Jesus shall be saved from the wrath to come, and then carried over, like the ark carried over what is coming our way, into a new world that God is going to make and into eternal life. Amen. What does that mean? Whoever turns from dead works—he wasn't talking about sins, because the people of God at the time, the Israelites, they were already turning from sins. That's why they went to the temple. That's why they were trying to keep the Ten Commandments. What was God talking about? He was talking about the actions, the effort, and the works of trying to keep the Ten Commandments. Every single person that has ever tried it has never gotten into heaven, has never gotten right with God, has always realized the areas in their life where they cannot be perfect.

And the Israelites, for generations and generations, they struggled through their life. That's why they were in the temple—to bring their sacrifice. It was never enough. They could never be good enough. They practiced their entire life. Some of them were full-time employed just to try and perfectly keep the law, and they still couldn't do it. And then Jesus comes on the scene and he says, "You need to repent. You need to turn from dead works—works that have never been able to get you saved or get you right with God. And you need to turn from it all. And you need to turn to faith in Jesus Christ. You need to turn to that ark and you need to walk in. You need to believe on the name of the Son of God. And you need to believe what he has spoken about the Father—the good news that he has brought into this world."

Because the last days will be like the days of Noah. Anyone willing can come and be saved, can come into the ark. Anyone that repents of dead works of the law and turns to faith in Jesus shall be saved from the wrath to come. It don't matter who you are. It don't matter what you've done. It don't matter what is in your past. It doesn't matter what is hidden by you. You can come, because there is room for anyone in God's salvation plan. Amen. Amen. Pastor, how in these last days that are like the days of Noah, how do I enter into the ark? What does that mean? How do I do that?

I believe God provided a wooden vessel of salvation—it's the cross for us. I believe someone else did all of the work, like Noah did—Jesus. What does it mean that there's a door in the ark? How do I get into the cross? How do I get into that salvation work? The Bible answers that question for us. Romans 10:9, 10, and 11. Paul speaking: "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, 'Whoever'—other translations say 'anyone'—whoever believes on him will not be put to shame." Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame.

Pastor, what do I do? Believe with your heart. Confess with your mouth. The question is: have you done that today?

There is no doubt in my heart, there's many people here. You say, "I believe God is real. I believe Jesus is the only way. I believe all of these things, but honestly, I haven't heard from God that I am righteous. I feel like a hypocrite saying I am the righteousness of Christ before the Father. I feel, on the inside, something may still be wrong in my life." Have you believed, even though you've heard so many times, you've stood outside of that ark? You may know it back to front. You've seen the door. You're amazed by the plan and the workmanship and the effort that has gone into getting that vessel ready. You're amazed by the cross. You're amazed by all the things that Jesus did just for you. Somehow, someway, it feels like if tonight Jesus comes to pick up his bride, do I really already know him, or is that going to be the first time that I meet him? And I'm concerned about that.

Have you believed and confessed that Jesus is your Christ, your Savior? That I'm anyone—I'm that anyone the Bible speaks of. Anyone who believes on him will not be put to shame. I'll never be put to shame because I believed on Jesus. Are you that anyone? Have you believed with your heart and do you confess with your mouth? For every one of you online and here, have you taken up room, have you taken up space in the ark of God in these last days, or are you still outside admiring the work, admiring the plan? You believe, maybe even, that this is the only way—but you're not inside. You must enter. There are many that heard about the ark, many that saw it—but you must enter. Many in Noah's days left a lot of empty room in the ark. Unnecessary death and perishing. Many in your day will leave a lot of room in the ark, just as in the days of Noah. But you must enter.

You must get into the ark, because the Son of Man comes at an hour—the Bible says—that you do not expect. You will be caught off guard. In other words, you won't have a moment to make a decision anymore. You won't have a second left to turn from your unbelief. No second left to turn from your trust in the law of God—as if God is pleased when you keep His law, as if God is impressed when you do not sin. Your trust must shift from the law to the cross of Jesus Christ. You won't have a second left to do it. No second left to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. When the trumpet sounds and time is no more, we will meet Jesus as we are.

I'll read verse nine again: "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." That's walking inside of the ark.

What does that mean—believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead? We talked about that last week. What does the resurrection mean? The Bible says if you believe God raised Him from the dead—that's the resurrection of Jesus—what does that mean to believe that? That the resurrection means that your justification has already taken place. The question is: have you already believed that in your heart? Does your heart fully believe, "I'm already justified before the Father"? There's nothing I can do to break it. There's nothing I can do to add to it. I'm already justified before the Father. He never looks at me as if I have sinned. He never looks at me as if I'm going to be rejected. He never looks at me as a disappointment—because Jesus rose from the dead. That means that I am justified. At least, that is what the Bible says.

Romans 4:25, talking about Jesus: "Who was delivered up because of our offenses—or our sins—and was raised because of our justification." It is because our justification had now been secured that the Father said, "Now I'm in agreement with you, Jesus. It is now finished. I'm raising you from the dead. You can come home now." Everything we needed to do for my people has now been brought to pass. Their justification has now come into effect. You paid for sins. Your blood has covered them. You have made a way. The ark is finished. Door’s open. You can come home now. I'm going to leave the door open until the day that I send you to close that door, as you once did to the door of the ark. The Bible tells us that Noah did not close the door of the ark—God did. One day, when the trumpet sounds and Jesus returns, the door is closed. But until that day, God left the ark. Even though to some it may look ridiculous, sitting on the dry—there's no problem, there's no rain, there's no panic. "Why would I go into that ark? Why would I trust into that ark?"

God left that ark. Left the door open. He left the cross. He left the invitation wide open.

Anyone that comes to me won't be judged. Anyone that turns to me will be forgiven. Anyone that believes is justified because of the resurrection. Does your heart believe that? Does your heart believe that you're already right with God because of what Jesus has done? Believe in your heart that God rose Jesus from the dead. Believe in your heart that your justification has already taken place. And then confess with your mouth those two things. Confess with your mouth before God, before man. To say out loud, "I believe Jesus, the Son of God, has made room just for me. I believe the blood of Jesus has washed away all of my sins." When was the last time—think of it, for yourself, for your own life—think of it: when was the last time you confessed out loud with your mouth? When was the last time you confessed the works of God that He has bestowed upon your life?

"I confess God speaks the truth. This is what He's done." When was the last time you said it?

Oh, the Spirit is drawing you and calling you to confess it. So many are always struggling and trying to make sure they believe in the heart, but they won't confess with their mouth what God has actually done. Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." Church, God wants to save you in a way where you put in no effort, no work—nothing—except turning your heart from dead works to faith in Jesus and confessing with your mouth: "My heart believed. My mouth confessed. But I haven’t done anything to be righteous. All I have is sin. All I have is shortcomings. All I have is failures. I haven’t done anything to be righteous." Church, that's repentance from dead works.

I stopped doing something for God. I stopped doing something to be righteous. I stopped doing something to be holy. I stopped doing something to come into the presence of God.

Jesus made that way. There will never be another way. We're all building our own little arks. They all sink. None of them will work. None of them will be able to carry your weight. He already built an ark. He built a door in it so that you can walk in. May my heart believe. My mouth confessed. I have done nothing to try and be righteous. My strength was useless. My good works do not count. So I have nothing to boast. There is nothing I did. I believed and I confessed what God did. That is how he got me into the ark. I believed and confessed what God did, church. That's faith in the cross of Jesus Christ. It has to shift your heart from your works to His works. And it has to shift your mouth from agreeing with the devil, agreeing with sin, agreeing with all of the worries, to agreeing with praise, and agreeing with God, and agreeing with heaven, and declaring on this earth what Jesus has done just for you.

Have you lately confessed with your mouth, "Jesus has washed all of me. I'm so righteous before the Father. Can you believe it? Somebody like me?" When was the last time you confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ?

Today, the Spirit of God is drawing on your heart for you to believe that you are already justified. You may find that a terrifying thing — to give in to the work of the Holy Spirit who is seeking to convince your heart that everything you're worried about, God has actually already done. He has already justified you. The Father proved it by raising Jesus from the grave. That's why He rose Jesus from the grave — that you may believe that your justification has already been purchased. And the Spirit of God, especially today, is drawing you to confess with your mouth. He doesn't say to do that with your heart. You don't do that quietly before yourself. You don't do that quietly in the place of prayer.

Very different verbiage — to confess with your mouth. But you're going to have to turn from a couple of things in your life. You have to forget the people around you — what they may think of you, or say of you, or may reject you. And you have to say in your heart, "I don't care what anybody thinks or says. I'm entering into that ark today. That ark was built for me. That ark is built to carry the weight of my sin. I need to be in that place." One day, I believe the trumpet will sound. It'll be too late to do a quick turn. It'll be too late to do quick faith. It'll be too late to trust and pray to God.

There is room for anyone in the ark of God — but you must enter. The Bible tells us that you must enter through the door. Jesus says, "I am the door. I'm the gateway of the sheep."

There was a door inside of the ark. It is because of that door that you don't have to climb in. It is because of that door that you don't have to find a way in. It's open. It's gaping. It's ready for anyone — anyone, whosoever. Jesus says, "I'm that door. I am the reason you can just walk in. I'm the reason you can just come. I'm the reason anyone can be justified. Anyone can be holy. Anyone can be forgiven." Would you turn from your doubts? And would you believe in me? Would you rejoice that God designed the ark with a door? Would you rejoice that God placed Jesus on the cross and made it so that anyone can come at any time with anything you've done — that you may enter into that vehicle of salvation, that you may be saved and secured and changed and glorified in Jesus Christ today — as your heart believes that you are justified because of the resurrection of Jesus?

We talked about it last week. Your heart believes that. This service, maybe for the first time — this service, maybe for the first time for you online — maybe your heart is pleasantly reminded of it today. Today, the altar call is really an altar call of taking a stand and saying: "I confess the works of God.I'm going to confess the works of God.I'm washed by the blood.All of my sins have been washed away by the blood.Jesus did that for me.I'm forgiven because of His sacrifice.I'm justified before the Father.And all the days of my life, I will confess what God has done.All the days of my life, my mouth will speak it. My heart believes, and now my mouth will speak.I must speak His word.I must speak His works.I must confess what God has done."

And if you say, "That's me," the Holy Spirit is reminding me, showing me — I haven't been daily confessing the works of God over my life. I haven't been daily telling my wife, "I'm so forgiven. I'm so just. I shouldn't be justified, but look what Jesus has done over my life. I should be in trouble because I struggled with sin again. Yet look how favored God has made me just because of the cross."

I confess that God's work is stronger than mine. I confess that God's good will is greater than my sin. I confess that God put a door in the ark. God put His Son on the cross. The cross is not empty. The cross is not waiting for me. The cross is not still remembering all of my sins. God put a door. God put His Son on the cross so that anyone could come, could run to Him, and receive justification, forgiveness, adoption into the family of God. If you say in your heart, "I'm going to decide today for the first time," or, "I'm going to start this back up again in my life — I'm going to start to confess the works of God in my life. I'm going to declare what God has done because my mouth has forgotten"

-Pastor Stan Mons