 I love coming here for these conferences because it reminds me of that passage in the Bible that talks about when God called Saul and he became the first king over Israel. It said there went with him a company of men whose hearts God had touched. And I don't know of any scripture that has more potential and more possibility than that particular passage. Get a company of men whose hearts God has touched and what potential you have. There's no end of the possibilities getting a bunch of guys hearts touched by the Lord. So fellas I always come out and enjoy being with you because I feel just like I'm with a company of men whose hearts God has touched. And I think of the potential of our being here today as we commit our lives fully to our Lord. Well as they said that the theme of the conference was going to be Romans 1311. I went ahead and picked that for my subject today, Romans 1311. But evidently I'm not alone and so you guys are going to get at least three doses of Romans 1311. But I'm sure that there's a lot more that could be said that we won't be saying but yet what a rich passage to share from. Let me read it to you. And knowing the time it is high time to awake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believe. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting or drunkenness, not in chambering or wantonness, not in strife or envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. Knowing the time. Paul assumes that you guys as believers are aware of the fact that time is short. I think that the Lord intends for us to be aware that his coming is very, very soon. In fact, he gave us many indications of the things that would be going on in our world that would be precursors to his coming. And as we look at our world today we see that these things that the Lord has actually told us would be happening. They are happening in our world today and thus we know that it is high time to just wake up. It seems like the world is asleep. It's oblivious to the dangers that it is facing. But now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. As we look at the world conditions, what time would you say that it is as far as the Lord's return is concerned? As I look at the world, as I look at the things that are transpiring in our world today, I am convinced that we are just at the very end. Fellows, we don't have much time left. And in light of that, Paul exhorts them, it's high time, he said, to wake up. Slumbering, sleeping. It is interesting that the Lord talks about in that parable of the bridegroom and so forth that as they were waiting for the wedding, they were all slumbering and sleeping. And actually, they weren't aware that they were so close to the fact that the call was going to go out, behold, the bridegroom coming. And I think that today there's a lot of slumbering and sleeping as far as the church is concerned. People don't really seem to realize just how critical are the days in which we're living that we are so very, very close to the return of our Lord for His church and the establishing of His glorious kingdom here on the earth. Knowing the times, how are we to know the times? Well, God is very faithful and He gave us in His Word so many things that would be indicators that we are close to the end. And as we look at our world today, we see those indicators are all around us. The things that God said would be happening are happening in our world today and they all point to the soon return of our glorious Lord. It's interesting how that we can become so callous to the call of the Lord that He is coming soon. We respond, but it's sad we don't even wake up. We go on as business as usual. And I think that we need some kind of a stirring of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that we won't just respond as business as usual, but that we will have that stirring the Lord is coming soon. I was at a church when I was actually beginning in the ministry. I had not really passed through the church yet and so I went out as an evangelist. And I was back in the southeastern part of Missouri. And I loved those people back there. They're real people. You know, I grew up in California and hard to find real people in California, but you go back to Missouri and you can find real people. And there was this one little lady as I was speaking. She would go into this, how true, how true, how true, how true. And she'd stand up and wave her hand, how true, how true. And I love that little woman. And, you know, she really encouraged me that I was preaching the truth to the people, but it was a great experience being there with those people. And as I would say, the Lord is coming soon. And this was in the beginning of my ministry. She would go, how true, how true, how true. And yet, you know, we know that it is true. And yet somehow it just doesn't impact us as it should. We've heard it for so long that the Lord is coming soon. That we just sort of say, yes, he's coming soon, yes, you know. And we confirm in our hearts we believe it, but yet we don't respond as though we did believe it. You know, my kids, when they were growing up, if ever they would get a hurt or scratch, an owie, they would always come to Daddy for prayer. And I can remember my boy had come, Chuck Jr., and he had heard himself and he said, pray for me, Daddy. And so I prayed for him. And I said, Lord, touch Chuck now and take away the pain, Lord, and minister to him. And I was through with my prayer. He said, now pray again, Dad, but this time pray like you really meant it. And sometimes I think that's good exhortation. You know, like you really meant it, like you really believed it. And to look at it as something that we are really convinced of, the Lord is coming soon. I heard the story of a fellow who was an engineer and he had this drawbridge that he had to cross over with his train. And he came to the drawbridge and it was up. And so he got out of the engine and came up to the little guard house and knocked on the door. And to let the guard there, you know, put the bridge on down for him so he could go over. And so he heard the voice from inside calling, coming. And so he went back and climbed into the train. And it was a heavy rain waited there for a while and no response. And so he got out again and went up to the little shack and knocked on the door and wrapped on it real hard and he heard the voice say, coming. And so he started to go back to the engine again. But this time he waited for a bit and nothing happened. So he really began to really wrap hard on the door. And the fellow came with his lantern and he said, you'll have to excuse me. He said, I've been on this job for so many years. He said, well, I'm sleeping. When someone comes and knocks, I just out of my sleep call, coming. But I don't even wake up. And I think that there are many people that are that way as far as the coming of the Lord. You hear, well, the Lord is coming soon. And you say, yes, coming. But you know, you don't even wake up. It's just something that we respond to it. But yet there's not a true reality in that thought and in our minds when we consider our Lord coming very, very soon. We are warned in the scriptures of things that can dull our senses, our spiritual senses. Jesus warned in Luke 21, 34, take heed to yourselves. Blessed any time your hearts be overcharged with eating and drunkenness and the cares of this life, blessed your hearts be overcome so that that day will come upon you unaware. So these are the things that we've got to watch for. Eating, drunkenness, cares of this life. And those are the things that dull our spiritual senses as far as realizing the day and the hour in which we live. The Lord is coming soon. Paul goes on to tell the Romans, the night is far spent. The day is at hand. As we look at our world today, we realize that it is in darkness. And the night that actually has overcome the world in which we live. And the night is far spent. The day is at hand. Fellows, the Lord is coming very, very soon. And when I look at the world in which we live, I realize the long night of darkness is just about over. And that thrills my heart to realize, you know, there is a new day that is going to dawn, not very far off. The glorious day of the Lord, which the Bible speaks so much about, the day of the Lord. And that day of the Lord is about to dawn, fellows, and it's time for us to lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light because the day of the Lord is at hand. What should be our responses to the conditions of the world in which we live today? Well, Paul goes on to write, cast off the works of darkness. Hebrews tells us, lay aside every weight and sin which doth so easily be set us. And let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Laying aside every weight, it's so easy to get bogged down in the things of the world and the weight of the world and we're to lay aside every weight, things that so easily be set us that we might run with patience this race that is set before us. We should cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. In verse 13, he tells us some of the weights and the sins that we need to lay aside. He talks about reveling, about drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarreling, jealousy. The Christian life, as you fellas well know, is full of choices. Every day I've got to make a choice between what is right and what is wrong, what I should be doing and what I shouldn't be doing. And there are things that can pull me down and draw me away from the Lord and then there are things that can build me up and draw me closer to the Lord. And so if I am wise and successful in my Christian walk, I must hold on to that which is good and let go of that which is bad. Make a distinction and, you know, determine what I'm going to do and determine what I'm not going to do. Years ago, and I don't expect any of you to remember this, but there was a song that was popular and it was a clever little song. It went, you have to accentuate that which is positive, eliminate that which is negative and latch on to the affirmative and don't mess with mister in between. You've got to spread joy up to the maximum, bring it gloom down to the minimum, have faith or panemonium is liable to walk upon the scene. To illustrate the last remark, Jonah in the well, Noah in the art. What did they do when everything looked so dark? Well, they accentuated the positive. They eliminated the negative. They latched on to the affirmative and they didn't mess with mister in between. Fellows, it is time for us to accentuate the positive, to eliminate the negative, to latch on to the affirmative and not to mess with that mister in between. I must put on the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are things of my flesh that I need to put off but putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the positive. And the negative is the flesh. You need to eliminate the negative, the affirmative, latch on to it and don't mess with mister in between. That's where you're going to get into trouble trying to hold on to both what the Lord would have you to do and what your flesh is calling you to do. And we must deny ourselves to take up the cross and to follow Him. So God bless you guys. Great to be with you today. Looking forward to your having a great conference. I'm thrilled with the speakers that they have lined up for you and I know that you're going to have just a wonderful, exciting day. So God bless you. God be with you.