Thank you very much, Brother Fred. I was not here, you know, for the afternoon meeting. I do want to say that I certainly share the thoughts of our brethren concerning your kindness and hospitality and invitation to come to this conference, and I have enjoyed the part very much. I think about this time at a conference And maybe this time of life, I feel a little more like a bottle of pop with the fizz all gone. And maybe some of you will share that. But it's nice to be here this evening and to have a part in this this evening meeting. We had a great time with the boys and girls over there. I don't know where the better time the kids are or me, but I enjoyed it very much. We had ninety four, I think, this afternoon. And so this is this is a good opportunity. I want to commend each one of you here for your foresight in this to realize that we have a heritage, and our heritage is in our children. Our home may be ever so fine. Our home may be ever so new. Our home may be ever so comfortable. All of the newest gadgets in it. the newest of refrigerators, the newest in gas or electric stove, the best in appliances, to give us all the compass we want inside so we can build a patio and eat outside. But that home is going to deteriorate, and if it doesn't need a coat of paint, if it don't take care of it, it's going to fall apart. But our children, our heritage, this is our product. And I think we should deal today with this product, and our product is boys and girls. And I feel, as I've mentioned here before, and should anybody get tired of it, you don't have to listen. And that is that if we do not plan for our boys and our girls, somebody else makes plans for them. And I want to commend you for your plans in these afternoon sessions for the boys and girls. I think it's very important. and you need to pray very desperately that God will come in and save these boys and girls. The closing meeting of any Bible conference we recognize is as important one, but should we say that any is of any lesser importance than the last. Is God not able to save a precious soul the first night of the Bible conference and as well as the last. Is God not able to come in and to reach our hearts and to reach our conscience at a first meeting of a Bible conference? It makes no difference to Him. I do trust that during these days together and at this closing meeting that we might have our hearts, if not already in tune with Him and in touch with Him. I want to refer just briefly tonight to some things we have in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapter of the Gospel by John. I was privileged to take in the first part of this conference Saturday morning and to hear our brethren speak of the Lord Jesus Christ and to refer to the text in Matthew's Gospel, What Think ye of Christ? Someone said, What think ye of Christ is the test to try both your state and your schemes? You cannot be right in the rest until you think rightly of Him. What do you think of the Lord Jesus Christ? And what does He mean to you? Boys and girls of school age, young people today must have thoughts of Christ. You cannot help but have thoughts of Christ. Anyone in our meeting here tonight is an adult and never yet come to trust in the Lord Jesus, you must have thoughts of him. Whether they be commendable or not so commendable, you must have thoughts of him. I have a list, twenty-two pieces long, that I copied from a magazine I get every month, and I just enjoyed so much sitting down and reading over this list again and again and I'm not going to bore you with it tonight, but I want to mention a few things from it. I trust that you will realize that here is something that is food for thought. We'll come to that in just a few minutes. In this thirteen chapter of John, in verse thirty-six, the Apostle Peter had something to say. Seems he always had something to say. I think that's good. Sometimes when you're at a loss for words, did you ever get by yourself and try talking to yourself? It's real comforting and it can be real encouraging, of course, depending on what you say. The Scotchman said he always liked to talk to himself because you liked to talk to a smart man. And then he said he always liked to listen to what he had to say because he always liked to hear a smart man talk. If you get to yourself sometime and and talk to yourself. You might be surprised what you have to say. Well, the Apostle Peter was asking a question here. The Lord Jesus, Simon Peter said in verse thirty six, Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, Why can I not follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Peter asked a question. It's always good to ask questions. We learn by asking questions. Peter seemed to be very much concerned and very anxious here in this particular occasion because he was made aware of the fact that the Lord Jesus was going away. He was going to leave. And the question that Peter raised was concerning the place, whose interest was, in the place, Lord, whither goest thou? Where are you going? Now it's nice to have an interest in the place. Are you interested in the place where the Lord Jesus is, where he was going at this particular time? Here were disciples who were to be turned loose in a hostile world. Here were disciples who had known his friendship, his fellowship, his help, his comfort, his instruction through three and a half years, and now he was going to leave them. He was going to the cross and he was going to say goodbye. They were interested in this. They were concerned about this. We were reminded that Peter said, not so, Lord. You're not going to the cross. We have other plans for you. I wonder, are you interested tonight as to where the Lord Jesus is? Where is he tonight? Why, he's in the presence of God. He was raised from the dead by the mighty power of God, and he's at God's right hand tonight. That's where he is. And he's there interceding for those who belong to him. He's coming back again. Peter asked about the place. I would so trust that there would be some here tonight who are interested in the place to where the Lord Jesus has gone. Oh, I'm sure that any of us here could take a long while just discussing that place. I hadn't thought so much about it just in the last little while, but it's a place where no tragedy will ever come. It's a tragedy where no bad news will ever fall on anybody's ears there. It's a place where sorrow and grief will be noticeably absent. The Lord Jesus said there will be no tears there because He's going to wipe away all tears from our eyes. Are you interested in a place like that? I'm interested in a place like that. It's the place where the street is made of gold, and it'll never be torn up. You'll never wake up there in the morning to the chatter of an electric grill. Why, they no sooner put down a brand new street than the first thing you know, they have chalk marks on the street, and they go at it. Sure enough, they're tearing it up again. That street of gold will never need to be repaired. It'll never need to be torn up. There's nothing there to shock the nervous system. There's nothing there that's going to grate on the nerves. There'll be no darkness there. There'll be no light of the sun, no need of the sun, because the Lamb is the light of that place. I'm interested in that place because I'm going to be there. I'm going to find out all I can about that place if it's possible. I have a list at home somewhere. I used to keep it where I could lay my hands on it, and I put it away in a file, and now I don't know where it is. But it's somewhere there that has a list of a thousand and one things, not in heaven, equipped it out of the Witness magazine years ago. I'm sure Brother Gordon has it too somewhere. Yes, he has it there. It's nice to go over that list and find out from Genesis to Revelation all that's going to be absent there. But it's not the absence It's not the absence of things that's going to make heaven to be what it is. It's the fact that he is there. He is there. I'm going to see him. Are you interested in that place at all? Thomas, Peter showed an interest in that place. Many have shown an interest in that place. I know I would so trust that there would be some here who would show an interest in that place. The poet wrote that hymn, the hymn writer, Sometimes I grow homesick for heaven, and the glories I there shall behold. My what a pity it is that we get over this homesickness so readily and so quickly. Every once in a while you find a camper who gets a little homesick after a few days away from home. You know the best cure for homesickness? Not the telephone. Not a call home to mother. Just take them down to the lake and give somebody the high sign and put them out in a boat and give them a boat ride that lasts for half a day and the homesickness usually disappears. When we get a little homesick for heaven and the glories we there shall behold, What a pity that maybe a boat ride, maybe a fishing trip, but nobody enjoys fishing better than I do. And I think sometime before I grow too old, if I should ever catch one, I'd enjoy it a little more. But sometimes we get over this homesickness for heaven and just a little too content to be here for a while longer. Peter asked about that place. I would trust that tonight. if you are not saved, and if you do not know the Lord Jesus, that you will not be able to sleep tonight. Oh, I would trust that your eyes would never close this evening until you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Now, there is someone else that asked the question. It was Thomas in chapter fourteen. The Lord Jesus said in verse three, If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also. Whither I go, you know, and the way you know. The Lord is saying, I haven't left you in ignorance as to this. You know precisely where I'm going. You know exactly where I'm going, because I've told you about it. And he said, You also know the way. Thomas said, in verse five. Lord, we know not where thou goest, and how can we know the way? How can we know the way? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Now here is Thomas who asked a question about the way to get there. He asked a question concerning the past. Has there ever been a time in your life when you've raised the question, how can I get to heaven? How can I know I'm getting to heaven? How can I be sure I'm going to be there? I asked a young man not too long ago, what is it you're depending on to get you to heaven? He said, be religious. You think you'll get there? What's the answer the Lord Jesus gave? He said, I am the way. For those who are lost, he is the way. You've been hearing on the news broadcast and reading in the papers of a man just a few days ago who lost his way. He got lost out there in the desert in Judea, and his car was stalled, and he wasn't able to get back, and he lost his way. And as far as we know, Bishop Pike hasn't been found. I don't know, has he? He's been found. Alive? Not alive. Well, someone asked the question, God is dead. Maybe said, God is dead. Someone answered the question, our God is not dead. He is alive and well. I like that. God is alive and well. It's man that's sick. God's alive and well. Well, this man lost his way. My, how, I suppose he would have longed for someone to have come along and to have shown him the way. Sir, this is the way back. This is the way home. This is the way to safety. This is the way to a cool, clear, sparkling drink of water. This is the way that leads to life. If you stay in a desert, you'll perish, but this is the way back. This is the way to life. I'm sure he would have appreciated that. And tonight, if you're not saved, it means you're lost. Lost. But the Lord Jesus is the way. How do we know that? Well, because He said so. He said, I am the way. He said, I am the truth. I am the truth. There's always been a premium on truth. Always been a premium on truth. And premium in our time seems to be more of a rarity than any other time in history. Where are you going to go to find the truth? Oh, I know where to go. You wait till the evening paper comes and then you'll get the truth. That way you get the truth? I know we'll wait till the headlines appear on the six o'clock or five-thirty news and then we'll get. Is that where you get the truth? Where do we go today to get the truth? All the truth finds its embodiment in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I am the truth. And he said, I am the light. He is the source of life. All life begins in Him. Where do we go to get life? We say, well, I'm going to the hospital and get a transplant and we start this thing all over again. No. He alone has the secret to that transplant. He says, a new heart I will give you and a new spirit I will put within you. The Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, he must be born again, born from above. He is the source, and all life begins with him. Have you come to him? If you want life, then you come to him, because life is in him. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. The wrath of God abideth on him. Tonight if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, then you might have heard this until you are bored to death with it. But unless you have him and unless you know him, it simply means that you are lost. Lost in this vast wilderness. You read Psalm one, the last verse. The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Take note of that. The way of the ungodly shall perish. And that is a word that comes from the desert. It's a desert term, and it speaks of going out into godless oblivion. It's the picture of a man walking and stumbling and staggering and crawling through the desert sand, the blistering hot sand under his hands and feet, the blistering sun beating down upon him. And before him there lies a lake of cool, clear, sparkling, shimmering water. And as he reaches it, he discovers it's only more red-hot sand. And he begins to get up again and to walk and to stagger and to crawl and stumble and find his way blindly, on into infinity, lost in the desert, in the waste of godless oblivion with no way back. no return, a dead end. Man without God is like a leaf, without a tree cut off from the source of life. I hope this is not pleasant for your ears. It wasn't intended to be if you're here tonight without the Lord Jesus. Peter asked about the place where the Lord Jesus was going. It's an eternal place. No fears of any atomic hydrogen or cobalt bomb ever destroying that place. There are no bomb shelters there. There's no fear there. There's nobody ever going to sweat it out there. That belongs to this life. That belongs to this world where you live and where you and I are. It isn't going to be very long. God's going to put an end to this. Winston Churchill asked the question, what if God wearied of mankind? And it would seem that God is about as a place where he has become weary of mankind. What would it be like if tonight God would say, this is far enough. This is far enough. Another man in this fourteenth chapter in verse seven, the Lord Jesus said, If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also, and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father and we'll be satisfied. And in verse nine, the last part the Lord Jesus said, in verse nine he said, If I've been so long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip, he that has seen me has seen the Father. One day a man said to me, Why doesn't God show himself? Why doesn't God come out on the cloud somewhere there and show Himself where everybody can see Him? Isn't that a good question? Well, I said He did. He said He did? Of course He did. Of course He did. And when He showed Himself, nobody wanted Him. When He came and lived on this earth for thirty-three and a half years, humanity sent Him back to His Father by way of the cross. The first time he came in love and grace and mercy and pity and compassion, and the next time he comes, he's going to come in divine judgment. Yes, he did. He showed himself, and man showed himself what he was. All you have to do is to go back to the cross, and there you see what God was in Jesus Christ, and there you see what man was in his cruelty, his extreme wickedness, and his rebellion against God. This is what man is. When I was born into this world, I was born a miniature revolution against the throne of God. That's what I was. When I was born into this world, I was born a potential rebel against the authority of God. And I thank God for that day in nineteen twenty-four when I trusted him as my Savior. That's a happy day. One of my little friends wrote to me from Long Island Sound. It was in Seacliff. And he said, Uncle Carl, the place where you got saved burned down. And it sounded so sad when he wrote it. But what happened there, what happened there is going on. It hasn't affected one bit. What happened there? Well, now the Lord Jesus said, I've been with you a long time, Philip. How do you say, show us the Father? He that has seen me has seen the Father. Yes, the Father. The Lord Jesus came here to show us what God was. We know what man is, but he came to show us all that God was. God is love, and that's why he sent his Son, and God is righteous and just, and that's why he sent him to the cross. And God's love today is... is just as great and powerful and wonderful as it ever has been, and it has not diminished one bit. Inflation has not affected God's love. There is no diminishing to His love and grace. And tonight He can save you the moment you trust Him. This piece I have copied out of the magazine is long, and I won't bore you with it. The question is, what is Christ to you? What is Christ to you? A lot of people are moon-struck today, but it starts off with, To the astronomer, He is the Son of Righteousness. To the astronomer, He is the Son of Righteousness. To the baker, He is the living bread. He said, I am the bread of life, come down from heaven. Nothing else can satisfy the human heart. I read a sign in the health store once that said, Bread is the staff of life. Why lean on a broken staff? Eat whole wheat bread. The Lord Jesus said, I'm that bread that came down from heaven. He'll satisfy. To the banker, he is the hidden treasure. The hidden treasure. To the biologist, he is the life. We're all interested in life. We're interested in prolonging life. We're interested in getting out of this life every last thing that we can, every last ounce of energy and strength we give to this life. And if we think it's going to be shortened to the doctor we go, sixty miles an hour if we have to, to the builder, he's the sure foundation. He'll never give way, never out of line, the sure foundation. a tried cornerstone, a solid foundation to the educator is the great teacher. My how much we learn about education today and how important education is today. We wouldn't deny that one bit, but there's some education that is sadly lacking a learning in respect to God and Jesus Christ and His Word. He's the great teacher. Oh, how much we learn from him. To the farmer, he is the one who sows the seed, and he is the Lord of the harvest. To the florist, he's the rose of Sharon. I like that. To the geologist, he is the rock of ages. To the jeweler, he's the pearl of great price. Pearl of great price. To the lawyer, he's the counselor. the law giver. To the journalist, these are good tidings. Glad tidings of salvation, and these are the glad tidings we leave with you tonight. The good news is, where are you going to go to get good news? Oh, I know where we'll go to get. We'll listen to the stock market. That's good news. We'll go to newspapers, see what they're doing in Vietnam. Oh, that's good news. I had a little lull in the fighting for twenty-four hours and immediately, oh, what, the Vietnamese are tired of fighting. Now they're going to quit. They're going to give it up, grasping at any kind of news to make it good news. But the best news of all is the fact that I was a guilty sinner, but Jesus died for me. Can you say that? You know tonight that the Lord Jesus died for you and that you need him. Tonight you can trust Him where you're sitting in simple faith and receive Him as God's gift to you.