2nd Corinthians 4:16-18, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Most people are living for this temporary world, evidenced by their reckless
deathstyle, disregard for God and man, and the selfish life that they choose
to live from day to day. We never hear the secular world talk about preparing
for eternity. They don't see their desperate need. They don't grasp the
gravity of the situation. They don't realize that Hell is a real place, where
everyone goes if they reject Jesus Christ and miss Heaven.
I'm tired of hearing people on the radio talk about the importance of laying up earthly treasures for retirement, without ever addressing the reality that death could come at any moment. People ought to be concerned about the fate of their soul, and not obsessed with buying gold and silver for the future. Aren't people so foolish? There's nothing in this world that you can take with you into eternity, except the lives who were impacted by your labors, prayers, witnessing and influence for Jesus Christ. ...
“Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.”
—Charles T. Studd (1860-1931)
The average person in America is boggled down with materialism. Young people are obsessed with going to college, so they can make money to buy a home, secure a career, and live an enjoyable life; yet, few of them care about pleasing God or preparing for eternity. Shockingly, it is now a common practice across the United States for young women to freeze their eggs in cryonic storage, with hopes of having them reinserted 15-25 years later when they obtain a career and find Mr. Right. It's insanity!!! 1st Timothy 5:14-15 teaches that God's will for young women is to marry, bear children, be homemakers and stay out of trouble! Are any young ladies listening? Do you want to please the Lord? Please don't let the Devil rob you of everything for the almighty dollar!!! When you're 75 years old, if you live that long by God's grace, I promise you that you won't relish in all the money that you made. No, instead you'll regret that you didn't have a big family and raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't have to become an intolerable feminist who can't keep a husband and end up an old lesbian hag.
Sadly, the cruel Communist hoax of Evolution has indoctrinated America's children (and other dechristianized cultures) to be alienated from God, Godless in their thoughts, having faith only in big government. Despite God's bountiful blessings around us, the Lord's Word and teacher-led prayer have been legally banned from America's classrooms since 1963. We now see the consequences of removing the Holy Bible from children's daily lives, removing their only moral compass. The daily news is filled with horror stories of children stabbing their parent's to death, and of parents abandoning their children for the state to raise. This is the lack of “natural affection” which the Scriptures foretold about in 2nd Timothy 3:3. Life is a gift from God, which most people squander. ...
The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power,
to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour;
To lose one's wealth is sad indeed, to lose one's health is more,
to lose your soul is such a loss, that no one can restore.
Lay Hold On Eternal Life
The Word of God teaches for believers to “LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE.” This does not refer to salvation; but rather, making the best of the eternal future that we as Christians are progressing toward each and every day of our earthly life. We already have eternal life by faith in Christ Jesus, but now the Bible tells us to lay hold on that eternal life, and lay up treasures in Heaven...
1st Timothy 6:7 and 17-19, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ... Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
I think every young person knows the pleasantness of listening to trendy music—but it's the same songs day-in and day-out, night and day, thousands of times! Teens today are jacked into their electronic gadgets, like a life-support system!
I went to a computer store this week at a local shopping mall to buy something. To my surprise, the computer store was gone. It was completely vacant, not even a sign to read. It felt empty and sad. All life was gone. I was so used to seeing that little store as I came and went from the adjacent grocery store. So I asked one of the highschool students walking by if he knew if perhaps the store had moved elsewhere in the mall. He looked at the empty store, nodded, and then mindlessly walked away. At first I wondered if he was ok, then I saw the earbuds from his radio, and realized that I was attempting to communicate with a teenager (forget it folks, they're on a different planet these days). I'm telling you, teenagers today are in their own little world, just like when I was a teen!
People drive to work and back thousands of times, listening to the same music! The world loves those favorite songs that give the listener a euphoric feeling, catapulting the mind into an emotional stratosphere for just a few moments. And then they want to hear it again and again. Walt Disney has mastered this type of euphoric music, which is like ear candy, a drug, to teenagers! Contemporary Christian Music and Country are the same, producing bigger-than-life songs that cheer the heart, energize the soul and motivate the listener.
But as the years pass by and we get older, and loved one begin to die, and our health starts to fail, those songs of youthful exuberance don't mean as much anymore. The 1970's were a time of incredible secular music, which today has faded away with the world. One by one the artists are dying, entering into eternity. All but one of the BeeGees are dead. All but two of the Beatles are dead. I remember when the songs that are considered “oldies” today were the rave of our culture in the 1970's and 1980'. We read in 1st John 2:15-17 not to love the world, nor the things that are in this world, because “THE WORLD PASSES AWAY AN THE LUSTS THEREOF.” Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”
What I am trying to say my dear friend is that everything that you see, hear, taste, feel, smell and enjoy today will be gone down the road. It's just a short matter of time. Then what? Where are all the Rock stars who died? The drummer for The Who overdosed on drugs that were intended to help him cope with alcoholism. The bass player for The Who overdosed on cocaine and it killed him. Rick Danko of The Band, and his son 10 years later, both died from alcoholism. It is so sad. But I'm not even addressing celebrates who've died prematurely. I'm just talking about death in general. The world that I grew up in has already faded away. The drummer for AC/DC has dementia and can't perform anymore. Rock stars are dying left and right. I'm not condemning anybody here, God forbid.
I'm just raising attention in this important article to the fact that the good times have ended for many, and will soon end for all the rest. What then? Have you given any thought to where you will spend eternity? Have you given any thought that you must prepare to meet God? Do you care? I sure do! Where do you think atheist George Carlin is right now? If you think he's just dead and unconscious, you are woefully deceived. Sadly, and it hurts my hurt because I like the man, George Carlin is burning in the eternal fires and damnation of Hell. The Holy Bible describes Hell as a second death, a lake that burneth with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8 - All Scriptures are quoted from the only legitimate Bible in English today, the King James Bible). Do you have eternal life friend? You cannot lay hold on what you do not possess.
And if you are
saved, LAY HOLD ON YOUR ETERNAL LIFE, because your happiness in Heaven will be
largely determined by what you do now. You won't be happy in Heaven with no
souls saved. I know that there will be thousands of people who were saved by
Jesus Christ through my humble labors for God, and they will adore me for
preaching the Gospel to them (Daniel 12:3). It's not too late for you! Get
busy for God. If you're not saved, please
get saved now!
Every Christian Believer Is Created Unto Good Works
Now I don't believe in predestination for salvation. Predestination is a popular heresy within the false religion of Calvinism (and it truly is a religion). Predestination in Calvinism falls under the errors of Unconditional Election and Irresistible Grace. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that before God formed Jeremiah in his mother's womb, God knew Him and ordained him to be a prophet among the nations. God knows every child before they are even conceived in the womb. Abortion is cruel murder, and this verse proves it!
We learn in Romans 8:29 what we ARE predestinated unto as believers, that is, to be conformed (shaped) into Christ's image. ...
Romans 8:29, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
God knew us, just as He knew Jeremiah, before He was even formed in the womb. Isn't that beautiful? Yes, it most certainly is!
Eternal life is a gift from God (Romans 6:23). You don't get saved by doing good, nor by being generous, nor by helping the needy. These are all proper in their place, but the only foundation for salvation is the precious Lord Jesus Christ (1st Corinthians 3:11). And then as a born-again Christian, we lay up in store for ourselves a good foundation in eternity by being rich in good works. ...
Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
As you just read, we don't get saved by good works; but rather, God saved us with the intent that we would do good works once saved. I love Pastor Jack Hyles' classic MP3 sermon titled, “Our Mixed Up Fundamental Christianity.” It's an awesome sermon that I hope you'll hear. In the sermon Brother Hyles says that we tend to look at a broken life and mourn over what that person has become, but God mourns over what they could have been. We as humans tend to naturally look at everything backwards. It's a life-changing sermon! God didn't save us to BE good, but to DO good. What are you doing for God?
Ephesians 2:8-10
doesn't mean that a person is not saved who doesn't perform good works. It
does mean that no born-again believer can be pleasing to God who doesn't obey
Him. To be completely right with God, a person must have both imputed
righteousness and practical righteousness. A Christian who chooses to walk in
the flesh is not condemned with the wicked (Romans 8:1), because of the
precious blood which Christ sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in Heaven (Hebrews
12:24); however, that believer must give account at the Judgment Seat Of
Christ (2nd Corinthians 5:9-11), and stands to lose all their rewards (1st
Corinthians 3:15). We are saved by God's imputed righteousness (Romans 4:5-6),
which comes only by faith (Galatians 3:26). It is a free gift (Romans 5:15).
Practical righteousness is how we choose to live on a daily basis, which is
discipleship. God chastises and scourges His disobedient children, for our own
good (Hebrews 12:6-8).
Life Is Short, Hell Is Hot, Eternity Is A Long Time
Most people are only concerned about this earthly life, not eternity. Although often referred to as the “afterlife,” I don't like to call it that, because a Christian's spiritual life begins the moment they receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. That is, when they are born-again by the Holy Spirit of God. I hear people naively talking about having a born-again “experience,” but that is not salvation. Being “born-again” means a new birth, a spiritual second birth. It literally means that the Holy Spirit of God comes to permanently indwell a person's body. Every believer, and only a believer, has the Holy Spirit indwelling them (Romans 8:9).
Friend (I am being your friend), all that will matter 10,000 years from now is if you died in the Lord, and what you did as a child of God. I know 100% that I am saved and on my way to Heaven when I die. I am following Jesus, my God and Savior. I am not perfect, but I am walking in the Holy Spirit and letting Jesus live the Christian life through me. I cannot live the Christian life, and neither can you. Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
What are you living for? At some point in your life, all the music, television and distractions from God ought to fade into the background, and the reality that you are soon going to face God should grip your soul. Death could come to anyone, at any age, by sundown. We are living in strange times. I see people covered from head-to-toe with tattoos. I saw a woman this week with Hello Kitty and a big gun next to it tattooed on her upper back. She had butterflies tattooed on her ankles. Her arms also had tattoos. People are marking up their bodies these days with tattoos, because Satan is preparing the world to receive the mark of the Beast (Antichrist). Everything in the world today is progressing toward the coming of the man of sin, the Antichrist!
People
spend their life listening to music, watching television, and enjoying
themselves, but it will all pass away. Yesterday's music is fading away. The
singers are dying. You can exercise at a health club and eat right, but you
will still die like everybody else. You might live 10-15 years longer if you
take care of yourself. You will still die! No one can escape death! What are
you living for today? Most youth don't think about eternity, because the odds
are likely that they'll die later in life. But friend, many children, tweens
and teens still die! Nothing can replace that God-shaped hole in your soul.
Most women dress immodestly, because they don't care about what God thinks.
They don't believe that judgment day is coming. The average person doesn't
fear God (Romans 3:18).
Please Don't Waste Your Life
I wish I knew some magic words, that would impact your soul, and compel you to get saved and live for God. Since I don't know any magic words, all I can do is make my best appeal to you, and pray to God (as I have done while typing this article). Nothing that this sin-cursed world has to offer can be compared to the glories and blessings of Heaven. Romans 8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Amen! There are no losers in Heaven, and no winners in Hell. Most Christians will have no rewards in Heaven, no souls saved, no crowns and no treasures. They will face the misery of knowing that they could have had so much more, but lived for the temporal things of earth instead. You can't take gold and silver with you into eternity. However, if you win someone to the Lord with the Gospel, then that person will greet you in Heaven, and you have someone who will appreciate you for ever. Satan has blinded men from the truth of the Gospel. Our job is to preach the simplicity that is in Christ, warning others that religion and good works is a deception that cannot save them.
Are you consumed with working lots of overtime, slaving at a job, never spending anytime laying up treasures in Heaven? Every man ought to refuse the overtime and spend that extra time with your family and church involvement. One of the biggest regret that many men have later in life was allowing a job to prevent them from attending Wednesday night Bible study. It's better to make less money working a day-job, and attend church three times a week, then to have a nice high-paying night job that keeps you out of church, so that you backslide and start living in sin, doing things that you never thought you'd do. Everyone needs to be involved in a King James Bible only, soul-winning, preaching, Lordship Salvation exposing, simple Gospel-preaching, New Testament church!
Oh
friend, this world is so full of deceptions and lies. Most people spend their
life living for the now-and-now, and never lay-up a single treasure or reward
for Heaven. Tragically, most people aren't even going to Heaven, because Satan
and sin have blinded and hardened their heart. If you'll SEARCH THE
SCRIPTURES (John 5:39) in sincerity, God will remove the blinders from
your heart. So many people live for their new car or home, slaves to the
banksters. What about orphanages? What about missionaries? What about the
poor? Many people are in massive debt, and are not financially positioned to
give to anybody. I can't fault anybody for being in debt in this rigged,
deindustrialized and funny money economy. Minimum wage is no longer anywhere
near a living wage. A job that pays minimum wage is utter poverty in American
society. Americans wouldn't need the government's help if tens-of-millions of
U.S. jobs hadn't been eliminated, sent to foreign soil by the treasonous
corporations to exploit cheap slave labor. Where was Congress? Why did our
leaders in Washington DC let this betrayal of American sovereignty happen?
They should all be tried and hung!
Laying Up Treasures In Heaven
The sooner that you come to realize that you'll never get ahead in this world, the better off you'll be. The best thing is not to play their game. Own nothing! Don't lay up money for old age. The vultures can't take and steal what you don't have. I'd much rather lay up treasures in Heaven, where thieves cannot steal it. Rust and moth cannot ruin it. Jesus taught exactly this in,
Matthew 6:19-20, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
The Lord advised us to LAY UP FOR OURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN. Amen! Are you obeying the Lord? I'm trying. My website ministry is my best attempt to reach the world for Christ with the truth. I have received hundreds of precious e-mails over the years from web visitors, who thanked me for my labours and testified that they were led to Jesus Christ through this ministry. I praise God for you all! Thank you! I give all the praise, glory and credit to Jesus Christ, Who works in and through me (Philippians 2:13). Nothing makes me happier than to hear someone tell me that God saved them through my Gospel-preaching ministry. What a compliment! Most people couldn't care less about something like that. Instead, winning $10,000 on a game show or a lottery ticket makes them jump for joy in exuberant excitement and happiness. It's just for some stupid paper with pictures and writing on it. It's just money!
What are your priorities. I find happiness by giving to the poor and needy. Most people are the opposite, only finding happiness from receiving money. There's a night and day difference between the attitude, goals and priorities of people. Psalms 37:21, “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.” I love that Bible verse. Wicked people borrow, but they don't pay their bills. Wicked people take your money, but then renege on their agreement, steal from you and defraud you. I've been cheated plenty of times. You'll never know if someone is truly your friend until you're in a situation where they can hurt you, especially when it comes to a large amount of money. That's when you find out who they really are. Many wicked people will take the money and run, leaving you hurting and broke. God calls them wicked. In sharp contrast, the righteous man labors for his money, and then he gives some of it to the poor, hungry, needy and afflicted. The righteous labor to give, but the wicked borrow and pay not again.
I decided years
ago not to invest one more penny in this world of liars, cheats and thieves.
I'd rather give to the Lord's work. And I don't mean some shyster making a
6-digit salary a year (John MacArthur, CEO of Salvation Army, Billy Graham,
Ray Comfort, Henry Morris III, Joel Osteen, John Hagee, Ravi Zacharias, and
thousands more). They all pay themselves well over $100,000 per year. Billy
Graham makes over $633,000 a year! Check Charity Navigator on the internet,
and enter their names to find out for yourself. I want to die broke. I won't
buy anything that takes 20-30 years to pay down. NO WAY! I'll rent. I like my
life simple. I check my mailbox once a month. I check e-mails once every week
or two. I let the answering machine get the phone. I control my life, not the
mailbox, e-mail or phone. God is the only one Who controls my life, not the
insane pace of the sicko American culture.
Our Struggles In Life Are Worth More Than Gold
One of the most difficult passages of Scripture to grasp is found in 1st Peter 1:7, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” Gold is extremely expensive. As of October 12th, 2015, gold was priced at $1,165.40 an ounce. That's $18,646.40 per pound!!! Yet, God's Word teaches that our trials, tribulations, sorrows, pains, testings, troubles and sufferings are WORTH MORE THAN GOLD. The Bible tells us why in our text verse, that is, because whereas gold perisheth, the character-building lessons that conform us more into Christ's image are eternal. I think this is one of my least favorite Scriptures in the Bible. I don't like growing pains. I don't like learning the hard way. I don't like being chastised by God, but I am happy that God corrects me, which evidences that He loves me and wants what's best for me. Job 5:17, “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.” Amen.
This sin-cursed world is all backwards. Youth are indoctrinated from grade school to attend college, which lands them into massive financial debt, and then they're fortunate if they can secure a job making 25% more than a McDonalds' salary after they graduate. The ungodly Federal Reserve banks deliberately take advantage of youth, sticking taxpayers with the unpaid bill. America has intentionally been bankrupted by design since the fraudulent Federal Reserve Act was passed in 1913. Hell will be hot! My advice to youth today is don't go into debt! If you can't obtain a very reasonable scholarship, don't go into debt! It's not worth it.
You must
understand that America's economy is rigged, and the whole system is a massive
fraud, intended to enslave you financially for the rest of your life. Don't
play their game. But a very cheap home. Don't invest in government retirement
funds, which are swelling with billions-of-dollars in unclaimed funds (and
they're too dishonest to locate next of kin to distribute that money). America
is a thieves' paradise. If you don't realize it yet, riots are coming to
America, when civil unrest breaks out when the economy implodes. We are slowly
but surely descending into utter poverty, homelessness and joblessness.
Government social services are maxed-out, trying to hide the true financial
condition of our nation. It's bad, really bad. Eventually, all the smoke and
mirrors will not be able to hide the truth that the United States is ready to
go belly-up.
This Life Is A One Time Opportunity To Live For God
As a Christian, I'm not going to waste my time investing just to go broke down here on earth. I'm going to, by God's grace, spend every moment of my remaining life laying up treasures in Heaven. Lord willing, I want to get as many souls saved as possible, by proclaiming the Gospel to the world, and praying for God to keep the door open to preach the truth. Internet censorship is coming. 1st Corinthians 16:9, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” I ask for your prayers, that God will continue to keep the door of opportunity open to preach THE TRUTH. In China, North Korea, Spain and other countries, there is no right to speech anymore. Government dissidents are going to prison, just as in Nazi-Germany and Soviet Russia. We are still blessed in America to have liberties and freedoms that would be coveted by other peoples throughout history. Please don't squander the moment, the opportunity, and the great door that is opened before us to preach the Gospel. Why don't you live for something that lasts?
When I was in the hospital recently for gallbladder surgery, I overheard a young man (one of the male nurses) talking about the new car that he really wanted to buy. I can't remember the model or make of the car, but he knew it forwards and backwards, desiring to buy it when he saved-up enough money. I felt sorry for him, knowing that this life is so short, and nothing of temporal value will last, nor does it really matter. That young man is not alone, not by a long-shot, for most of today's youth are infatuated and enamored with the things of this world. We've all been there in our youth. At some point in our life, and hopefully this article I am writing will help you to realize it sooner than later, we begin to realize that nothing in this earthly life lasts. You can buy a home, but it will be left to someone else when you are gone.
I have numerous musical instruments that I cherish, each being unique and having it's own personality. I've collected them over the decades. I have a few pedal steel guitars. Some single neck, others double neck. I have several lap steel guitars. I have regular guitars, both electric and acoustic. I have wood guitars and aluminum guitars. Some are short and others are long, having different tones. Some lap steels have 6-strings, and others have 8-strings. I have a standard acoustic guitar, and a classical acoustic guitar. The Lord has blessed me with the ability to play by ear, able to quickly learn how to play any musical instrument. I have a couple ukuleles (one electric and one non-electric). I love musical instruments of all sorts, especially stringed instruments.
Yet, I know that every one of these musical instruments will likely outlive me. Someone else will own them when I am gone. Thieves may break through and steal. A typhoon may destroy them. They are only made from the dust of the earth. I cannot take them with me into eternity. 1st Timothy 6:7, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” My musical instrument are tools, an extension of my personality to share with others. I do not set my heart upon them. Musical instruments make me happy. I love to look at them and admire how God made them to work.
I am aware that nothing in this life will matter when I'm dead and gone. My body will return to the ground from which it came, and so will yours. We are each a spirit living in a material body. Man is not a body with a spirit, but a spirit with a body. The measurement of my success in life won't be how many people showed up to say goodbye at my funeral, but how many people are waiting to greet me when I get to Heaven. What are you living for? Why not live for something eternal? Most believers don't think about missionaries, let along helping to support some of them. How about helping orphanages? There is so much that we can all do for the Lord's sake and the Gospel's, with the promise of great reward. ...
Mark 10:29-30, “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”
Most people spend
their lives trying to amass wealth and financial security; whereas the Word of
God teaches that we ought to forsake all for the Lord's sake and the Gospel's.
The most miserable people on earth are rich people who horde their wealth as
they approach the end of life, unable to take single penny of it beyond the
grave with them into eternity. All I have belongs to God. By God's grace, I
plan to die broke here on earth, but have great rewards awaiting me in Heaven.
I choose to spend my time laying up eternal treasures, by living for OTHERS in
the Lord.
If We As Christians Don't Get The Job Done, Then It Won't Get Done
The Christian life is lived from moment-to-moment. Yesterday is a cashed check, gone. Tomorrow is a promissory note, not guaranteed. But today is cash in hand, and we have a choice how we spend it. I want to make an impact for God. Not enough believers are upset over apostasy in the churches. Not enough believers are upset over the blatant crimes, treason and corruption within our federal government. Not enough believers are upset over the hellbound demonic religion of Roman Catholicism, which is leading over 1,000,000,000 victims into the fires of eternal damnation. Does anyone believe the Holy Bible anymore??? Why aren't the churches angry over the homosexual agenda? Why have the churches stopped preaching against booze, liquid devil? Why aren't more Christians speaking out against the wickedness and shame of “SIN CITY” Las Vegas?
I ask you Christian friend... If not us, then WHO? If not now, then WHEN? If not here, then WHERE? If we don't get the job done, then it won't get done. Here's a popular cute story, but very true, that I read years ago and never forgot it...
That's Not My Job!
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.
Isn't that the truth? So often everybody expects somebody to do what nobody ever does, when anybody could have done it. This is a sad testimony which is very applicable to our churches today. Our nation desperately need soul-winning churches. An evangelistic church invites people to come to church, and then preaches the Gospel to them; but a soul-winning church goes out publicly, door-to-door, as the apostle Paul did in Acts 20:20 (often called the believer's 20/20 vision). Proverb 11:30, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” Soul-winning is a Biblical term. God calls us “wise” for winning souls. Life is short, hell is hot, and eternity is a very long time. Every Christian believer has been given by God the ministry of reconciliation, that is, reconciling lost sinners to God through the proclamation of the Gospel. It is our solemn Christian duty.
Everything that I have just shared with you is entirely a matter of faith. To the same degree that a person believes that the Bible is God's holy Word, to that same degree that individual is going to invest in eternity. Most believers lack faith, which is why they conspire, plot and calculate how to get ahead in this life, triumph over others, and amass wealth for their old age; yet, they enter into Heaven as paupers, having no eternal rewards (1st Corinthians 3:15), no brightness as the stars (Daniel 12:3), because of no souls saved from their time here on earth (2nd Corinthians 5:11). Theirs was a wasted life!
In Heaven there
will be a time of reminiscing... “THIS WAS YOUR LIFE!” How will the book of
your life be read? Will it have a happy ending? Will it be a story of woe,
misery and selfishness? Or will it be a story of sacrificial giving, serving
God in secret, and making an impact by the power of the Holy Spirit upon your
life for Christ? The book of our life is being written right now,
chapter-by-chapter, page-by-page, word-by-word. I choose to live for eternity.
Will you please join me? Why don't you live for something that lasts??? This
life is very short, and will be over before you know it. The older one gets,
the faster the years go. Trust me, I know.
Make Sure You've Been Born-Again
Please understand that nothing matters if you've never been born-again. The saddest thing about eternity will be seeing billions of religious people, most of whom attended church and did many good works during their earthly life, be cast into the horrifying Lake of Fire to be tormented for all eternity. They will be shocked and horrified, bewildered in total disbelief, begging and crying in inexplicable agony for the Lord to have mercy upon their foolishness, but IT WILL BE TOO LATE!!! Jesus foretold that this would happen in Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 13:23-34. So many people follow manmade religion and their own human reasoning, going about to establish their own righteousness, instead of submitting themselves unto the righteousness of God by faith alone in Christ Jesus (Romans 10:3-4). So please make sure that your foundation is sure in Jesus Christ, and then everything you build upon it will last.
I read recently that actor Matt Damon has a net worth of $90,000,000. He cannot take a single penny of it with him past the grave. Actor Tom Cruise has a net worth close to $480,000,000. The satanic religion of Scientology that Mr. Cruise follows (which is a continuation of Aleister Crowley's satanism) cannot save him when he enters into eternity and falls into God's hands. Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” We all, every one of us, will fall into God's hands when we die (Ecclesiastes 12:7). We either die in the Lord (Revelation 14:13), or we die in our sins (John 8:24). The choice is yours alone to make. I have chosen Jesus Christ, and I know that I will die in the Lord, because I have received Him as my personal Savior (John 1:12-13).
If you are saved, what are you waiting for, GET BUSY FOR GOD! There is no joy like contending for the Christian faith and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. I have made plenty of mistakes along the way, and you will too, but just get back up and keep on going for God. Proverb 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” If every Christian who faltered along the way quit on God, there wouldn't be any Christians left to fight the good fight of faith.
Here's a great MP3 sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles titled, “A LATE START” (even if you've ruined your life by sin, God still wants to use you to help OTHERS). God has a place of service in the ministry for everyone, just so long as you are saved, meaning that your sins have been washed away by the precious blood of Jesus. This happens the moment that you believe the Gospel, and Christ forgives all your sins (past, present and future). God is a good God, Who pardoneth iniquity. It is our reasonable service to live for Christ, since He gave His life for us, dying on the cross for our sins. God doesn't demand that we do so, for salvation is a free gift without any obligations.
I ask you again friend, why don't you live for something that lasts? This life won't last. Earthly pleasures, riches and fame won't last. Ah, but all that we do for the Lord's sake, and the Gospel's sake, will last forever. 1st John 2:15-17 promises that everyone who does THE WILL OF GOD abideth forever. These Scriptures speak of God's will for salvation, which according to John 6:40 is to BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. There is no hope outside of the name of Jesus Christ. My heart's desire is to lead as many people to Christ as possible, pulling them out of the gates of Hell even as they stench with the smell of smoke.
If you are saved, you ought to praise and thank God, because you are one of very few people who ever find the true plan of salvation. The “simplicity that is in Christ” is so simple that 95% of people miss it completely, instead adopting some manmade false plan of salvation that requires human effort plus partial faith in Christ, which is religion and not the new birth. Ninety-five percent of religious people, perhaps even 99%, are going about to establish their own righteousness, instead of submitting themselves to God's righteousness by faith alone in Christ. I fear for today's misled churches, who have been duped by the Devil to follow the satanic lie of Lordship Salvation, which is based in human effort (works) plus partial faith in Christ. Please don't be that naive! Lordship Salvation won't end in everlasting life; but rather, it will end in death in the Lake of Fire. The only eternal life that the Bible offers is obtained through completely resting in Christ (Hebrews 4:10-11).
May God bless you with wisdom my friend, and thank you for taking the time to read this article. I wrote it for you, whoever you may be, because I care for your soul and want God's best in your life, both now and in eternity. Nothing that this insane world has to offer will matter 100 years from now. All that will really matter a century from now is if you were truly born-again by the Holy Spirit of God (otherwise you'll be burning in Hell). And then, if you are saved, all that will matter is what you did for Christ during your life, (otherwise you'll be very disappointed in Heaven). To the same extent that you live for today, you will regret it tomorrow in eternity. You may amass great fortunes in this earthly life, but it won't amount to a hill of beans in Heaven. If you have ears to hear, then hear. Hell is very real, and so in Heaven. Everyone will go to one or the other when they die. There's no where else to go. With this in mind, we ought to be horrified and terrified concerning our responsibility to warn the lost, knowing what will happen to them if they die in their sins, and also realizing that we must give account to God for our every idle word (Matthew 12:36).
Why don't you live for something that lasts?
THE END
You Can't Take It With You (MP3, by Pastor Jeff Owens)
