A great pastor, Pastor Beal, preached a message back in March of 2020 and I think it is still true today. I desire to share this with you and show you your need of Christ! Why must we turn to His saving blood?
Word of God demands it!
Now is the accepted time. The Bible reminds us that time on earth will not last. We must think now about eternity. Salvation is God’s free gift to us. Jesus, Son of God became the Son of Man when He came down to earth to be born in a lowly manger. He lived here on earth and walked among men bringing hope and assurance that He alone was/is the way to Heaven.
Jesus knew that our sins prevented us from going to heaven, God’s holy and perfect place, and He, alone, was willing to come to earth as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Because of His death, we can now stand in front of God, holy, complete and forgiven of our sins. That is salvation.
II Corinthians 6:2 says, “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)” Jesus came to make sure we have that day of salvation.
The definition of “succour” is “to come to the aid of”. He completed salvation for us. Our part is to believe that He did die for our sins and that we are in need of forgiveness. It is as easy as believing we can’t go to heaven on our “good works” and that our sin condemns us to hell. We can then call on Jesus to forgive our sins and enter our lives and He, alone, saves!
God’s Holy Spirit is still in touch with man!
When Noah was alive on earth and God was watching the world wax worse and worse, He realized there wasn’t many who believed on Him or even wanted too. In Genesis 6:3, the Lord says, “My spirit shall not always strive with man.” He saw their wickedness and knew that as a holy God, He had to do something about it. His creation had acted in free will to live wicked and unholy lives.
You all know the story about the Flood. God destroyed the earth and only 8 righteous people were left. Noah and his family survived to work in a new world. Our eternal survival rests in the fact that the Holy Spirit is still working in the hearts and lives of men today!
Galatians 5:16 reminds us to, “walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” As believers, we will always have the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We should not want the flesh to rule but rather look to the Holy Spirit for guidance. Salvation brings the Holy Spirit into our life and we can rest assured that His comfort will be upon us. Some beautiful promises in John talk to us about the Holy Spirit and His continued comfort. John 14:8 says, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” What a beautiful verse. John 14:26 tells us, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
We have no assurance of tomorrow!
The book of Proverbs was written by the wisest man on earth, King Solomon. He speaks a lot of the fool and how the fool acts and reacts. In Proverbs 27:1, he says, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” With all the turmoil in the world, our days are filled with thinking of death. Are you assured of heaven? The rich man in Luke thought he’d build bigger barns because he had such a plentiful harvest. He bragged about these bigger barns and his pride got the better of him as he said, “…Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” (Luke 12:19) However, God had a promise for him. Because of his foolish thinking, God said in verse 20, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” His pride got in the way of his preparation for eternity.
The opportunity is now!
There is roughly on average 150,000 people that die in the world every single day! Death is all around us. The moment we are born, we start to die. This could be sobering but the moment we are saved that is when we truly begin to live!
Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”. Are you ready for your appointment for death? Do you know that your salvation lies in nothing you have to DO but what Jesus has ALREADY DONE?
You are creating for yourself a life of misery!
Proverbs tells us that “the way of transgressors is hard.” (13:15) In Hosea 14:9, we read this, “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.” So, transgressors (sinners) will not have an easy life. It might be a temporary party or life of “fun” but in the end the sinner’s life leads to death. That death means eternal death – burning in hell.
Hell is a very horrible place as described in Revelation 19:20, “a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Hell was originally made for the devil and his angels but when man sinned he condemned himself to hell except if he looked to Jesus for his salvation. Look at Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Remember this: II Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” This is a great book to read about the religions of the world.
Listen to my husband play and my daughters sing this beautiful song.
