Status Pending
Illus. A mother was busy making supper in the kitchen, and needing a can of tomato soup, she asked her 5 year old son to go into the pantry and get one for her. But the light in the pantry was out and he didn’t really want to go in there. "It’s dark in there and I’m scared" he said.
She asked again and he persisted. Finally she said, "It’s OK honey, Jesus will be in there with you."
So, the little boy walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. Looking inside, he saw it was dark, and he started to leave when all at once an idea came. He peeked back inside again and called out, "Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup."
These past few weeks..as we here of the news from the Middle East of the be headings that have taken place
And even a woman was beheaded right here in the states this past week..
Never does it seem like now..more than ever before
That the light in the world has gone out
2 Timothy 3:1-5 MSG
1-5 Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.
Ladies and gentlemen..we are closer to the return of Jesus than ever before..
And the accuser is fighting harder than ever before..
Whether he thinks he can win in the end or not..doesn't matter
he knows his mission..and his mission is to take as many to Hell
With him as possible!
We all..wonder what the allure is..to draw in someone to join a group like isis?
Makes you think..if ever there was a group of people on a highway to Hell..
It would be that group.
Truth is.. Everyone who is not serving and living for The Lord
and doesn't know Jesus as their Saviour..
Is on a highway to Hell!
Their eternal status..is Pending!
The return of our Saviour no one knows the moment..it's going to happen
But TBS.(the bible says) could happen anytime!
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 MSG
51-57 But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:
Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?
It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?
A lot of people who are sitting on the fence of indecision..believe me, when it happens..
They are going to be wishing they had been more concerned with death..
While everyone in the world..may not have heard about the Gospel..
There are a lot of people who have..
And for what ever reason..they still a waiting to make a decision for Christ..
But there are some have made a decision about the way their going..
and they think it's the right way..even though it's the furthest thing
from the right way imaginable..
Take the Apostle Paul..before his conversion, he was definitely
going the wrong way
Acts 26 1-8 MSG
1-3 Agrippa spoke directly to Paul: “Go ahead—tell us about yourself.”
Paul took the stand and told his story. “I can’t think of anyone, King Agrippa, before whom I’d rather be answering all these Jewish accusations than you, knowing how well you are acquainted with Jewish ways and all our family quarrels.
4-8 “From the time of my youth, my life has been lived among my own people in Jerusalem. Practically every Jew in town who watched me grow up—and if they were willing to stick their necks out they’d tell you in person—knows that I lived as a strict Pharisee, the most demanding branch of our religion. It’s because I believed it and took it seriously, committed myself heart and soul to what God promised my ancestors—the identical hope, mind you, that the twelve tribes have lived for night and day all these centuries—it’s because I have held on to this tested and tried hope that I’m being called on the carpet by the Jews. They should be the ones standing trial here, not me! For the life of me, I can’t see why it’s a criminal offense to believe that God raises the dead.
Paul had made a decision from the time of his youth
and he was living what he thought was right..
You see..there are a lot people who think they way there living is right..
Paul did too..but he was wrong and so are a lot people in this world..
Their so far off the track..they can't even remember where they left the track..
And while society and our fellow man..tends to think all hope is lost..
God never does..
There is always Hope..if there is breathe..there is always hope!
No one ever thought there would be hope for Paul..then called Saul..
But God did
And no matter what a person does..He wants all to come to repentance..
Amen?
9-11 “I admit that I didn’t always hold to this position. For a time I thought it was my duty to oppose this Jesus of Nazareth with all my might. Backed with the full authority of the high priests, I threw these believers—I had no idea they were God’s people!—into the Jerusalem jail right and left, and whenever it came to a vote, I voted for their execution. I stormed through their meeting places, bullying them into cursing Jesus, a one-man terror obsessed with obliterating these people. And then I started on the towns outside Jerusalem.
12-14 “One day on my way to Damascus, armed as always with papers from the high priests authorizing my action, right in the middle of the day a blaze of light, light outshining the sun, poured out of the sky on me and my companions. Oh, King, it was so bright! We fell flat on our faces. Then I heard a voice in Hebrew: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me? Why do you insist on going against the grain?’
15-16 “I said, ‘Who are you, Master?’
“The voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down like an animal. But now, up on your feet—I have a job for you. I’ve handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what’s happened today, and to what I am going to show you.
Did you know..God is still hand picking people out today?
And that's why the devil fights so hard on a daily basis..
He knows more than anyone..as to the Power of God
Because he has witnessed it firsthand..
And he knows what is possible when someone
gets ahold of the Power of God in their life..
And when God got ahold of Saul..
The devil knew this wasn't going to be good for his cause
17-18 “‘I’m sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I’m sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me.’
19-20 “What could I do, King Agrippa? I couldn’t just walk away from a vision like that! I became an obedient believer on the spot. I started preaching this life-change—this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life—right there in Damascus, went on to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and from there to the whole world.
21-23 “It’s because of this ‘whole world’ dimension that the Jews grabbed me in the Temple that day and tried to kill me. They want to keep God for themselves. But God has stood by me, just as he promised, and I’m standing here saying what I’ve been saying to anyone, whether king or child, who will listen. And everything I’m saying is completely in line with what the prophets and Moses said would happen: One, the Messiah must die; two, raised from the dead, he would be the first rays of God’s daylight shining on people far and near, people both godless and God-fearing.”
24 That was too much for Festus. He interrupted with a shout: “Paul, you’re crazy! You’ve read too many books, spent too much time staring off into space! Get a grip on yourself, get back in the real world!”
Isn't that just like the world..
When he was going around persecuting and killing Christians
in the name of The Lord..he wasn't crazy then..that was normal?
But now when he was going around telling about the truth, the life
And the way..
How they could avoid hell and spend eternal life in Heaven with Jesus
And His Father God..
Oh no..now you've went and done it..you've went off the deep end..
That's too much good news..you've done went crazy!
Not to far off from today's scenarios huh?
Can't mention God in school,
Can't pray in schools,
Can't read the bible in school,
Can't even find a bible in an Econo Lodge motel room anymore.
But the muslim religion..or atheist..or anything else..
now that's a different story all together..
You see.. With the things of God..
Society and the accuser has created rules and regulations..
But for everything else..it's an anything goes free for all!
25-27 But Paul stood his ground. “With all respect, Festus, Your Honor, I’m not crazy. I’m both accurate and sane in what I’m saying. The king knows what I’m talking about. I’m sure that nothing of what I’ve said sounds crazy to him. He’s known all about it for a long time. You must realize that this wasn’t done behind the scenes. You believe the prophets, don’t you, King Agrippa? Don’t answer that—I know you believe.”
You see..that's the problem
It was the problem then..and it's still a problem today..
King Agrippa knew what Paul was talking about..
Like a lot of people..he knew about the faucets of religion..
but he didn't know Jesus
He liked him and the story Paul was telling..he found it interesting
and intriguing and almost compelling..
But he said not today..
I know what your saying is probably true..but not today
I know it all makes sense..but not today
Heaven sure sounds like a great place to live..but not today
28 But Agrippa did answer: “Keep this up much longer and you’ll make a Christian out of me!”
29 Paul, still in chains, said, “That’s what I’m praying for, whether now or later, and not only you but everyone listening today, to become like me—except, of course, for this prison jewelry!”
Status Pending..
That's what his answer and reply was
Was Paul detoured from his reply..No!
He said whether now or later..that's what I'm praying for
and for everyone else listening today.
He knew the seed had been planted..and someone else would have to water it
But that God..would give the increase
Illus. there is a story of a spy who was captured and then sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army.
This general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and the big, black door.
As the moment for execution drew near, the spy was brought to the Persian general, who asked the question, "What will it be: the firing squad or the big, black door?"
The spy hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing squad.
Moments later shots rang out confirming his execution. The general turned to his aide and said, "They always prefer the known way to the unknown.
It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet, we gave him a choice."
The aide said, "What lies beyond the big door?"
"Freedom," replied the general. "I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it."
Maybe you know someone today..that is Status Pending
God says there is still Hope for them!
Continue to pray for them and there decision..
That's what we need to do like never before..pray that this world
would come to know Jesus! Amen?
Maybe your status pending too this morning?
You've known Jesus as your Saviour for a long time..
But your still holding back something from Him and you haven't completely surrendered everything over to Him..
Let me encourage you to surrender today..
and take your relationship with Him to the next level.
Amen?
Let's pray
