WHAT IF IT WOULD’VE BEEN YOU?
THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IS DESTROYED, THE PENTAGON HAS BEEN BOMBED, AND AS A RESULT MANY LIVES HAVE BEEN ENDED. I DO NOT WANT TO PREACH DOOM AND GLOOM THIS MORNING, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON ONE PARTICULAR QUESTION….WHAT IF YOU WERE ONE OF THE THOUSANDS THAT WENT TO WORK THAT MORNING EXPECTING TO COME HOME THAT EVENING, BUT NEVER MADE IT? WHAT IF YOU WERE ONE OF THE RESCUERS THAT WENT TO HELP ONLY TO HAVE BEEN BURIED WITH THE OTHERS? QUESTIONS LIKE THESE ARE NOT ONES WE LIKE TO ANSWER, BUT WHEN IS A MORE APPROPRIATE TIME THAN THIS TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO DIE?
1. IF GOD TARRIES HIS COMING, WE WILL ALL DIE ONE DAY- HEBREWS 9:27. DEATH IS A FACT OF LIFE. THE HOW’S AND WHEN’S ARE NOT RELEVANT. I AM SURE THE PEOPLE THAT LOST THEIR LIVES IN THIS TRAGIC EVENT, DID NOT THINK THAT SEPTEMBER 11 WOULD BE THERE LAST DAY TO LIVE. AS I WATCHED THE NEWS, I COULDN’T HELP BUT WONDER HOW MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE WERE CHRISTIANS? HOW MANY SAT IN A SERVICE THE SUNDAY BEFORE, BUT SAID NO TO CHRIST? I AM NOT TRYING TO SCARE EVERY ONE THIS MORNING, BUT COME ON YOU DO NOT KNOW WHEN YOU ARE GOING TO BE LEAVING THIS EARTH AND ENTERING ETERNITY. YOUR NEXT BREATH COULD BE YOUR LAST. ONLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD ALMIGHTY ARE WE STILL BREATHING, AND OUR HEART IS STILL BEATING. ONLY BY GOD’S GRACE DID YOU EVEN MAKE IT TO CHURCH THIS MORNING. Nearly 6.3 million police-reported motor vehicle crashes occurred in the United States in 1999. Almost one-third of these crashes resulted in an injury, with less than 1 percent of total crashes (37,043) resulting in a death. - [Crashes ; 1999 ]
2. THE QUESTION IS NOT ARE YOU GOING TO DIE, WHEN YOU’RE GOING TO DIE, OR EVEN HOW YOU’RE GOING TO DIE. THE QUESTION IS … ARE YOU PREPARED TO DIE? HAS THERE BEEN A TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU EVER ACKNOWLEDGED JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR? CAN YOU REMEMBER A TIME? YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER THE DATE, BUT YOU WILL REMEMBER THE TIME WHEN GOD DREW YOU TO SALVATION. IF YOU CAN’T SAY YES I REMEMBER A TIME, THEN MY FRIEND YOU NEED TO DO SOME SOUL SEARCHING. I AM NOT HERE THIS MORNING TO MAKE YOU QUESTION YOUR SALVATION, BUT I HONESTLY BELIEVE THERE ARE MANY CHURCH MEMBERS FILLING PEWS THIS MORNING THAT HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST TRULY IS. MATTHEW 7:21-23. YOU CAN GO THROUGH ALL THE RELIGIOUS MOTIONS, YOU CAN HAVE THE BEST CHURCH ATTENDANCE RECORD IN THE COUNTY, YOU MAY HAVE BEEN BAPTISED MANY TIMES, BUT THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION IS THIS. ARE YOU SAVED?
3. HOW CAN YOU KNOW? THE GOD TELLS US IN 1ST JOHN 5:13, “ THESE THINGS HAVE I WRITTEN UNTO YOU THAT BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF THE SON OF GOD, THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, AND THAT YE MAY BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF THE SON OF GOD. GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ARE…DO YOUR PRAYERS GET ANSWERED? DO YOU GET CONVICTED OF SIN, HAVE YOU EVER PRAYED AND ASKED GOD TO COME IN AND BE LORD OF YOUR LIFE? DID YOU MEAN IT?
I WANT TO CLOSE WITH MY ORIGINAL QUESTION. WHAT IF YOU WERE ONE OF THE MANY THAT LOST THEIR LIVES IN THIS HORRIBLE ATTACK? WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN READY? THE BIBLE TELLS US IN THE BOOK OF 2 CORINTHIANS THAT NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION.
