Participants: Royce Odiyar
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000772
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01:00 Brothers and sisters, friends and family,
01:04 colleagues and viewers around the world, the Bible says, 01:10 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 01:21 "that whosoever should believe in Him, 01:25 should not perish but have everlasting life." 01:32 This verse gives us comfort and hope in a world 01:40 that is corrupt and chaotic. 01:43 And it is because of this promise 01:47 that we can have peace, we can have joy in this world, 01:54 we can have assurance that the day is coming soon 02:01 when there will be no more pain, 02:05 no more troubles and trials, no more tears, no more parting, 02:11 and no more death. 02:15 This is the blessed hope that we have. 02:18 The blessed hope of life eternal with Jesus, 02:23 our Friend, our Lord, and our Savior. 02:30 The title of today's message is 02:33 "Salvation, Suicide and Service." 02:38 Please bow your heads with me as we pray. 02:47 Dear Heavenly Father, we come before You today 02:51 asking for an outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. 02:56 We believe that You will come again 03:02 and that You'll take us home with You, 03:04 so that we can be with You forever, 03:09 and we pray that as we study today as we look through 03:14 the Bible and see what You would share with us, 03:18 please speak to us, please pour out Your spirit upon us, 03:22 anoint our minds, give us understanding, Father. 03:30 Convict our hearts, so that we may leave this place changed, 03:38 in Your holy and precious name we pray, amen. 03:45 Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts. 03:50 The book of Acts is the fifth book of the New Testament, 03:53 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. 03:57 And we're gonna be looking at Acts Chapter 4. 04:02 And to just set a little bit of context, 04:04 we're gonna see this morning 04:07 that the Bible talks about a group of men. 04:15 Men and women who are so surrendered to the Lord 04:18 that they're filled with the Holy Spirit 100%. 04:23 And it is against this context that Chapter 4 happens, 04:26 Pentecost had transpired, they had been filled 04:32 with the Holy Spirit, Jesus had already ascended 04:37 and it was against this context that the verses 04:40 we're gonna look at this morning. 04:42 Acts Chapter 4 verse 12, and let's read together. 04:50 Acts Chapter 4 and verse 12. 04:52 "And there is salvation in no one else, 04:57 "for there is no other name under heaven given among men, 05:00 whereby we must be saved." 05:05 As I already mentioned, Pentecost had happened, 05:11 they were filled with the Holy Spirit, 05:12 thousands were now following Jesus, 05:17 they were added to the church and the apostles are doing 05:20 the very work, they're witnessing the way 05:22 Jesus had called them to witness. 05:24 And in this verse specifically, we know that by this point 05:30 almost 5,000 followers had been added to the church 05:34 and they had just finished healing a man. 05:39 The Holy Spirit was in them 05:43 and was doing great things through them. 05:47 You know, they didn't have silver 05:48 and they didn't have gold, 05:50 but what they did have was the Holy Spirit. 05:56 And then we read this text in Acts Chapter 4, 06:02 they were giving an answer in response to the questions 06:07 that they were being asked, they had finished healing a man, 06:11 and because they healed that man, 06:13 the religious establishment of the day 06:15 was angry and frustrated because they claimed to be, 06:19 to be healing this man in the name of Jesus. 06:24 And they didn't like that because they had killed Jesus. 06:28 And so they asked the question in verse 7. 06:33 "In whose name and whose power, do you do these things?" 06:40 And Peter answers, in the name of Jesus, 06:43 and he goes on to say, 06:45 and I want to read the verse again. 06:46 "There is salvation and no one else 06:49 "for there is no other name under heaven given among men, 06:53 whereby we must be saved." 06:59 And so we began to see the theme 07:01 for this morning's talk, and that is salvation 07:08 only comes through the name of Jesus. 07:13 And to really emphasize that the way the text emphasizes it, 07:18 I must bring out the word must, salvation must come 07:26 through no one else other than Jesus. 07:32 It is imperative that we realize 07:34 that there is not another person, 07:38 another entity in the world that can give salvation. 07:43 That's why Jesus says in the Book of John, 07:46 "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes 07:49 to the Father accept through Me." 07:52 Salvation can only come through Jesus and this verse says, 07:56 "We must be saved by the name of Jesus." 08:03 We're gonna look at "Salvation, Suicide, and Service" today 08:06 and the first task which is Salvation. 08:10 We have already seen that salvation 08:13 is only received through Jesus. 08:19 We're gonna look at three examples of this, 08:20 so let's turn in our Bibles now. 08:24 Let's turn in our Bibles to Numbers Chapter 21. 08:30 In Numbers Chapter 21, we're going to see 08:35 a very interesting verse, verse 8 of Numbers Chapter 21. 08:41 The Bible says, "And the Lord said to Moses, 08:44 "make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, 08:50 and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." 08:55 The context really quickly of this verse 08:58 is that the children of Israel had been punished 09:03 for complaining and the way that they're being punished 09:07 was snakes came into the camp 09:09 and were biting and killing them, 09:12 and Moses is commanded to put upa pole 09:16 with a fiery serpent on it, and if people 09:20 would look at that pole, look at that serpent on the pole, 09:25 they would be saved, they would be saved. 09:29 And so this begins to develop a theme that tells us 09:35 where you look will determine whether you are saved or lost. 09:44 Let me repeat that again. 09:45 Where you look will determine whether you are saved or lost. 09:53 Let's look at example number 2. 09:55 Example number 2, I'll recount the story to really quickly. 09:59 Peter and the disciples are in a boat 10:01 and they're in the middle of Galilee, 10:04 and it's a very stormy night and as they're there 10:07 in that boat and they feel that their life is in peril. 10:14 They see someone come walking on the water 10:16 and Peter asks the question. 10:21 Jesus, is it You, if it's You, let me walk and come to You. 10:26 And so Jesus is looking, He is seeing Jesus and he begins 10:29 to walk because Jesus says, "Yes, come, walk." 10:32 And He begins to walk. 10:35 And as he walks the Bible says, "As He is walking on the water." 10:40 He begins to see the waves and the storm around him, 10:45 you see he had shifted his focus, 10:48 he had shifted his focus from Jesus to the waves, 10:53 to the troubles, and the trials all around him. 10:58 And so we once again see the importance of looking 11:03 and keeping our eyes on Jesus. 11:09 Example number 3, we're gonna find the example number 3 11:13 in Hebrews Chapter 12. 11:18 In Hebrews Chapter 12, and this Chapter follows 11:23 the great hall of faith Chapter, if you will in Chapter 11. 11:30 And so Hebrews Chapter 12, it's one of those books 11:33 that you think should be in the Old Testament, 11:35 but we find it in the New Testament towards the end. 11:40 And so let's turn to Hebrews Chapter 12, 11:44 and we're gonna look at verse 12, at verse 2. 11:48 Hebrews Chapter 12 and verse 2, "Looking to Jesus, the founder, 11:54 "some version say the author, the author and finisher 11:57 "of our faith, who for the joy that was set 12:01 "before him endured the cross, despising the shame, 12:03 and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." 12:08 Brothers and sisters, this verse clearly shows 12:11 that we must look on Jesus. 12:14 Jesus is our example, our model, and as we stay focused on Him, 12:19 keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus. 12:23 He will be the author and the finisher of our faith. 12:29 And so we've seen three examples. 12:31 Example number one, 12:32 with the children of Israel in the wilderness. 12:35 They had to look onto this fiery serpent on the pole, 12:40 and Peter had to look onto Jesus to be saved, 12:46 and we have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, 12:52 looking on Jesus who will the perfector, 12:55 the finisher of our faith and we will be saved, 12:59 and we will remain saved. 13:05 And so we've seen, you must look, you must look, 13:07 three examples, you must look on Jesus. 13:10 And so once again, the first "S" for this morning 13:13 is salvation can only be received by looking on Jesus, 13:21 salvation can only be received by looking on Jesus. 13:29 And that's why, that's why there can be no other name 13:33 under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. 13:37 Salvation can only come through Jesus 13:39 because it is only by looking on Jesus, 13:43 keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus that we can be saved. 13:51 But as we're going to quickly see this morning, 13:55 we have a problem, and that problem 13:58 is found in Second Corinthians. 14:02 Second Corinthians Chapter 4, and we're gonna look at verse 3, 14:09 3 and the first part of 4. 14:11 So First Corinthians Chapter 4 or Second Corinthians, 14:17 I repeat Chapter 4 and verses 3 and 4. 14:24 The Bible says, "If our gospel is hid, 14:28 "it is hid to those who are perishing, 14:34 "whose minds the God of this world has blinded 14:39 those who do not believe." 14:45 The Bible says, that those who are perishing in this world, 14:54 it is those people whose eyes, whose minds have been hid, 15:01 they cannot see and their minds, their eyes have been blinded. 15:04 It says, "By the God of this world." 15:06 And the God of this world is none other than Satan. 15:09 Satan is blinding the eyes, 15:12 the minds of men and women in the world today. 15:15 He is hiding them, he is blinding them from the gospel. 15:24 And we know that is only 15:28 by looking on Jesus that we can be saved. 15:35 So this presents a real problem, a real predicament because 15:41 these people who are about to be lost, 15:45 if the only way for them to be saved is to be 15:47 looking on Jesus, but they're, 15:49 they're hid, they cannot see Jesus. 15:54 We have a major problem. 15:59 The Bible says in Matthew Chapter 15 in verse 14, 16:02 "If the blind lead the blind, 16:04 they will both fall into the ditch. 16:12 If the blind lead the blind, 16:13 they will both fall into the ditch." 16:15 And so now you've got a picture of blind people who have fall 16:20 into the ditch of destruction and all you have is blind 16:23 leading blind instead of people who can actually see 16:26 leading those who cannot see. 16:32 And so the problem intensifies because 16:35 for those who cannot see, they will be destroyed, 16:41 they will fall into the ditch of destruction. 16:47 Now let's pause a moment and think about that verse 16:49 that Jesus says in verse, in Luke Chapter 10 and verse 20. 16:56 And in this verse, we're not gonna look it up, 17:00 but in this verse in Luke Chapter 10 and verse 20, 17:03 Jesus tells the disciples, 17:05 "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." 17:12 Brothers and sisters, today we can rejoice, we can be happy, 17:18 we can glory in the fact that our names are written in heaven. 17:27 We can be thankful for the realization 17:31 and the reality that, that by looking on Jesus, 17:37 we can be saved and we are being saved, 17:39 and we can rejoice in that. 17:48 But what about the blind, lost, perishing people of this world 17:57 who are about to be miserably destroyed? 18:02 These people who cannot look onto Jesus, what about them? 18:13 Listen carefully as I read this most disturbing quotation." 18:20 The world, who act as though there were no God, 18:27 absorbed in selfish pursuits will soon experience 18:30 sudden destruction, and shall not escape." 18:36 This sounds exactly what the Bible talked about already. 18:42 Those who are blind, those who are living their life, 18:45 who are going to fall into the ditch of destruction. 18:49 I continue the quotation, "Many continue in the careless 18:52 gratification of self until they become 18:55 so disgusted with life that they kill themselves." 19:05 Let me repeat that again. 19:07 "They become so disgusted with life that they kill themselves." 19:13 Continuing the quotation, "Dancing and carousing, 19:16 drinking and smoking, and indulging their animal passions, 19:20 they go as an ox to the slaughter. 19:24 Satan is working with all his art and enchantments 19:27 to keep men marching blindly onward. 19:32 The whole world appears to be in the march to death." 19:42 Wow, the whole world appears to be in the march to death? 19:55 Do you get the picture? 20:00 This most disturbing quotation dramatically depicts 20:03 exactly what we've seen in the word of God this morning. 20:11 And that is chiefly that Satan is blinding the eyes 20:15 and the minds of men and women 20:17 as he marches them to destruction. 20:24 The path is leading to destruction and that is the work 20:29 of Satan to keep the eyes and the minds of men blinded. 20:37 And that brings us to the second S, which is suicide. 20:44 We need to, we need to latch on 20:46 and figure out exactly what's going on. 20:48 We've seen that salvation can only be received 20:52 by looking on Jesus, and we've seen that, 20:55 that a large portion of this world, 20:58 in fact, it appears that the whole world 21:01 is on the march to the death. 21:03 Which means that the minds of eye and the eyes of, 21:07 of most of this world are blinded, 21:09 so they cannot see the gospel, 21:11 they cannot see the Love of Jesus, 21:18 and they cannot look on Jesus to be saved. 21:22 And so the second "S" is suicide 21:28 because those without Jesus will commit suicide. 21:34 This is not a joke. Let me explain exactly what I mean. 21:37 The Bible teaches that salvation can only be received by 21:39 looking on Jesus, I can't repeat that enough. 21:44 And those and the lost people of this world are blindly taught, 21:50 are blindly taught to believe 21:52 that the things of this world can save them. 21:54 They believe that they can be saved by money, success, 21:58 popularity, TV, music, computers, movies, games, cars, 22:04 sports, houses, hobbies, cruise, schools, friends, vacations, 22:07 they think that the people they know, 22:08 the connections that they have, the sex, the drugs, the alcohol, 22:11 the parties, and the list goes on 22:16 of the things that they think will save them. 22:21 They believe that these things will save them from loneliness, 22:25 lack of fulfillment, lack of success, depression, 22:27 but they are blinded because they do not realize 22:33 that the only person that can save them is Jesus. 22:39 Because the Bible says, "There is no other name, 22:42 given among men, whereby we must be saved. 22:48 The only name under heaven given to us, given to men, 22:54 in order to be saved is the name of Jesus. 22:59 I want to read that quotation one more time 23:01 and I want it to sink into our minds very clearly. 23:05 "The world, who act as though there were no God, 23:10 absorbed in selfish pursuits, will soon experience 23:14 sudden destruction, and shall not escape. 23:19 Many continue in the careless gratification of self 23:22 until they become so disgusted 23:24 with life that they kill themselves. 23:26 Dancing and carousing, drinking and smoking, 23:29 indulging their animal passions, 23:31 they go as an ox to the slaughter. 23:35 Satan is working with all his art and enchantments 23:39 to keep men marching blindly onward. 23:44 The whole world appears to be in the march to death." 23:53 I wanted to read that again because I don't want to leave 23:56 the second "S" which is suicide until it's, 23:58 it's fixed clearly in our minds. 24:02 And let me hastened to add that this sermon is 24:05 not specifically about suicide because, 24:09 really the type of suicide I'm talking about 24:11 is more of a spiritual suicide than a physical suicide. 24:16 But for the point and the purpose of illustration, 24:23 I want to mention three things about suicide. 24:27 One, suicide is very prevalent in our world today, 24:33 actual physical suicide is very prevalent in our world today. 24:38 The second thing I want to point out 24:39 is that people struggle with suicidal thoughts all the time. 24:47 No doubt each person here today and many of the people 24:52 watching this on television 24:55 have had those thoughts of suicide. 25:00 I admit I have had those thoughts. 25:04 I would go onto say that it's likely that most people have had 25:08 those thoughts of suicide because when life looks 25:12 hopeless, why do you want to live on? 25:18 And so if, if we as Christian people, 25:22 if me as a Christian person, if we have thought of suicide 25:29 as Christians, if this has tempted us, 25:36 what about those who don't have Jesus? 25:42 When I get discouraged, I have hope in Jesus, 25:45 but what about those who don't? 25:48 And you see for those who don't sin exercises 25:53 his art and his enchantments to keep these people 25:55 discouraged and down, realizing that there is no hope 25:59 and he just marches them closer and closer to the point 26:04 where he hopes they will kill themselves. 26:11 And the third thing I want to point out 26:13 and this will be shocking, it was shocking to me, 26:16 it was shocking when I found the statistic on the Internet 26:19 that said that it is not the teenagers 26:23 that are at highest risk of suicide rather it is 26:26 the senior citizens that have a higher risk of suicide. 26:33 Why is that? Why would the, the older people 26:37 have a higher risk of suicide, 26:41 and the statistics in the article continue to go onto say 26:43 that, you've lived your life. 26:49 And you have nothing and life is discouraging. 26:54 And so what other option is there? 26:57 And it makes sense. 26:59 For people, who live this life going after the things 27:02 pursuing the lust of this world, the lust of the flesh, 27:10 and they realize that these things don't fulfill them. 27:13 These things don't provide for them, 27:16 these things don't give them peace, in fact, they're anxious, 27:18 they're anxious people, they're nervous people, 27:24 and when they can't pay those bills 27:27 and when they can't take care of their family the way 27:30 they think they should or, or could. 27:33 Life becomes so overwhelming 27:36 that they in fact literally and physically kill themselves. 27:41 And so the three things I wanted to point out this morning 27:43 very simply about actual suicide is that 27:47 it's prevalent, number one. 27:50 Number two, everyone struggles with those thoughts 27:53 and if we as Christian people struggle with those, 27:56 what about those who don't have hope? 27:58 Who can't find encouragement in Jesus? 28:01 And thirdly, those at greatest risk are the senior citizens. 28:09 And I want to pause for a moment and just say to anybody today, 28:14 to anybody in our audience, anyone watching on TV, 28:23 if you have struggled with thoughts of suicide, 28:25 if you feel is, if they are no friends, 28:28 there is nobody who cares about you, 28:30 there is nobody who loves you and is willing to help you. 28:35 Remember, and look up and memorize that verse 28:39 in Proverbs Chapter 18:24, where the Bible says, 28:46 "There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother." 28:54 That friend is Jesus. 28:57 Jesus is our friend, who will stick close to us 29:01 and He will help us do all things 29:03 that's what the Bible says, 29:05 "We can do all things through Christ which strengthens us." 29:09 Philippians 4:13, so remember that you have a friend, 29:14 you have a helper in this world. 29:16 Don't give up. It may not be easy, but hang in there. 29:26 So we've looked at two "S's" so far this morning. 29:29 The first "S" is "Salvation." 29:32 Salvation can only be received by looking on Jesus. 29:38 Suicide, those without Jesus will commit suicide, 29:43 and our final "S," our third "S" for today is Service. 29:50 Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke. Luke Chapter 4. 29:57 The Bible says in Luke Chapter 4. 30:03 Luke is third book of the New Testimony, 30:06 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and we'll begin 30:09 reading in Luke Chapter 4 in verse 18. 30:14 The Bible says, "The Spirit of the Lord 30:16 is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me, 30:19 To proclaim good news to the poor, He has set, 30:22 He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives, 30:26 and recovery of sight to the blind. 30:32 To set at liberty those who are oppressed, 30:34 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 30:38 That's powerful, we're gonna come back to that verse. 30:41 Let's turn in our Bibles to John Chapter 20. 30:52 John Chapter 20 in verse 21. 31:01 "Jesus said to them again, peace with you." 31:04 You see, if we have Jesus, friends, we can have peace. 31:08 And so He said, "Peace be with you 31:09 as the Father has send me." 31:12 Well, what was Jesus sent to do? 31:14 Jesus was sent to recover the sight to the blind. 31:19 And the Bible says, "As the Father has sent Me, 31:24 so send I, you, and you and me. 31:30 We brother and sisters, have been commissioned 31:35 to do the work that Jesus was send to do. 31:41 Jesus was sent to recover sight to the blind. 31:47 So that those who, who have been hid from the gospel 31:51 might be able to see the gospel. 31:56 This is encouraging, this is awesome to see 32:00 that the Bible has provided us the solution for the problem. 32:07 Now we've seen this morning, which is, 32:11 salvation comes by only looking on Jesus 32:13 and those who cannot look on Jesus 32:15 will commit suicide and it is those who are to perish, 32:19 who cannot see who are blinded and the Bible tells us. 32:26 The Bible tells us this morning that it's our job 32:31 to recover sight to the blind. 32:37 I want to go and look at one of our 32:39 previous text, this is powerful. 32:42 Let's go back to Second Corinthians. 32:46 Second Corinthians Chapter 4, 32:49 and we're gonna read all of verse 4 now. 32:51 If fact, I'll just go back up to verse 3 for review 32:54 and then we'll read all of verse 4. 32:56 The Bible says in Second Corinthians Chapter 4 33:01 verses 3 and 4, "If our gospel is hid, 33:04 it is hid to those who are perishing. 33:07 Whose minds the God of this world is blinded, 33:11 those who do not believe, lest because this is powerful, 33:17 lest the light of the gospel of the glory 33:22 of Christ who is in the image of God should shine on them?" 33:29 This Bible, this verse in the Bible seems to suggest 33:33 that it's possible that the light of the glory, 33:38 of the gospel will shine upon those 33:41 who cannot see it, who cannot see Jesus. 33:48 And we've already seen that the way 33:52 that it's possible for the blind, 33:55 lost, perishing people of this world 33:57 who are on the path to destruction. 33:59 It is possible for them to see 34:03 when we take up the service. 34:05 The ministry and the work of Jesus Christ 34:08 which was to recover the sight to the blind. 34:16 This is powerful. 34:20 I want to look at one more verse. 34:21 We've been there in the same Chapter, 34:24 that's Acts, Acts Chapter 4. 34:28 Acts Chapter 4 verse 12 said, 34:31 "There is salvation and no one else 34:34 for there is no other name under heaven 34:36 given among men, whereby we must be saved." 34:40 And then the next verse is very interesting, verse 13. 34:44 Acts Chapter 4 and verse 13, 34:46 "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, 34:50 and perceived that they were uneducated, 34:53 common men, they were astonished. 34:55 And they recognized, they recognized 34:59 that they had been with Jesus." 35:04 Brothers and sisters, 35:09 friends, if we are going to take on the work of Jesus, 35:15 fulfilling His ministry, fulfilling what, 35:17 He has been sent to do. 35:22 We have to spend time with the Jesus. 35:27 And in spending time with Jesus 35:30 people around us will know, they will see 35:36 that we have been with Jesus 35:42 and the glory of God that shines through us 35:45 will help us to recover sight to the blind. 35:56 Brothers and sisters, we have been called 36:02 to serve in the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ 36:11 and that means, recovering sight to the blind. 36:18 Today, we've looked at three "S's." 36:23 We've looked at "Salvation." 36:27 Salvation can only be received by looking on Jesus. 36:33 Then we looked at suicide. 36:34 Those without Jesus will commit suicide. 36:41 And thirdly "Service." 36:44 Service is the only way to show them Jesus. 36:51 Brothers and sisters, 36:52 if we do not take up the work of Jesus and serve people, 36:57 there will no way to help these people in peril. 37:07 There is a way for us to help the people, 37:12 to help the world which it appears 37:16 that the whole world is on that march to death. 37:18 There is a way for us to help them to pluck them 37:22 as brands from the fire, from that road to destruction, 37:26 there is a way for us to do that 37:29 and that is through the ministry of Jesus. 37:37 I want to take us back for a moment just to emphasize 37:40 the importance this morning 37:44 of taking up the ministry of Jesus. 37:46 I want to take us back in time. 37:48 It shouldn't be that hard for us to remember 37:51 back two years to 2004. 37:57 In December 2004, during the Christmas holiday season, 38:03 some of us will remember that one of the greatest calamities, 38:07 in fact the greatest calamity in modern time 38:10 happened in Southeast Asia. 38:14 And that calamity was none other than the Tsunami, 38:18 which hit Southeast Asia killing 38:21 over two hundred thousand people. 38:26 Some statistics have even said, 38:27 up to the six hundred thousands regardless 38:31 when you've got multiplied hundreds of thousands, 38:33 that's a lot of people to die. 38:37 And the day after that great catastrophe, 38:45 which was Saturday December 25, 2004, 38:49 there was a press conference, 38:51 a news conference, and I quote these words. 38:56 "The UN's emergency relief coordinator Yan England said, 39:03 'There is a race against the clock. 39:09 A race against the clock to help five million people 39:14 at severe risk of dying of hunger and disease.' 39:23 " You see, they were in a race against the clock 39:26 to help some five million people who were at risk 39:31 of dying from hunger and disease and check out this 39:34 next quotation, this next part of the press conference. 39:39 This is gonna blow you away. 39:43 Japan, it says, increased its pledge 39:48 of aid from 30 million to 500 million. 39:57 The single largest donation from a single country. 40:02 Brothers and sisters, that catastrophe was out of control. 40:06 The statistics in reference to that 40:10 catastrophe or even hard to imagine but, 40:12 but these numbers of five million people at risk, 40:16 what was such a compelling factor to Japan 40:22 that they increased their aid from 30 million to 500 million. 40:33 You see the attitude that they had 40:37 was an attitude of urgency. 40:39 They realized that the time required great action. 40:46 They realize that that drastic situations 40:51 called for drastic measures, 40:55 and so they intensified their ability to help. 41:05 And brothers and sisters, if we believe as fellow 41:10 believers and followers in the Lord Jesus Christ, 41:12 if we truly believe that Jesus is coming soon 41:16 and that the world is about to be thrown into destruction. 41:23 If we believe that with our heart we should have 41:26 an urgency about us, that sets us on fire 41:31 to intensify our actions as never before. 41:40 Serious times call for serious measures 41:44 and I believe that we are living 41:47 in the last days before Jesus is coming. 41:51 And so we must intensify, intensify, intensify, intensify. 42:02 And that might mean that we have to intensify 42:04 everything from the time that we get up in the morning 42:10 till the time that we go to bed in the evening. 42:18 In the morning, if intensity 42:21 and becoming more intense, 42:26 requires spending more time in the Bible 42:28 and prayer and on our knees with Jesus 42:30 in the morning, we need to spend more time. 42:33 If it means spending more time in service 42:38 to our friends, our neighbors, 42:41 who do not have the gospel. 42:43 If it means, cutting back from our 42:47 busy hectic work schedule in order to serve more. 42:51 We have to do it. 42:52 It is our obligation, if we call ourselves 42:56 disciples of Jesus, followers of Jesus, 43:00 and His ministry was the ministry to receive sight 43:04 and to give back sight to the blind, 43:07 then we've got to do that faithfully 43:11 and we have to intensify. 43:17 I want to read for us today 43:22 a quotation or more accurately put, a song. 43:28 It was written by Ray Boltz. 43:32 And Ray Boltz says in his song, 43:36 titled "What If I Give All." 43:40 He talks about the importance 43:44 of giving a little bit, if that's all we have 43:49 because a little bit is everything 43:51 and it can become more. 43:52 Let me read these words to you, it's powerful. 43:57 "What if I give all he heard the preacher say. 44:03 A single dime can feed a hungry boy or girl 44:07 with nothing to eat, so he pulled out a dollar 44:11 from the pocket of his jeans and he asked his momma, 44:16 how many will this feed? 44:20 She just smiled and when she told him ten. 44:25 He reached back again and said, what if I give all. 44:33 What if I give all, what will that gift do? 44:36 My child a gift like that could change the world. 44:44 It could feed a multitude. 44:47 He didn't close his eyes or turn away. 44:51 I can see him standing tall. 44:55 He saw the need and I can hear him saying, what if I give all? 45:04 Three birthday dollars could have bought a special toy. 45:08 But he reminds me of another little boy 45:12 who gave to Jesus a gift of fish and of bread, 45:19 and I wonder if he said, what if I give all? 45:25 What will that gift do? 45:28 My child, a gift like that could change the world, 45:31 it could feed a multitude. 45:33 He didn't close his eyes or turn away 45:36 I can see him standing tall. 45:38 He saw the need and I can hear him say, 45:43 "What if I give all?" 45:47 And long ago, a Father and a Son saw 45:52 the children lost in sin. 45:57 Can you see the tears in the Father's eyes 46:02 as Jesus says to him, what if I give all I have, 46:09 what will that gift do? 46:12 My Son, a gift like that will change the world, 46:20 it will free the multitudes. 46:27 What if I give all that I have, 46:28 what will that gift do? 46:30 My child a gift like that could change the world. 46:36 It could feed a multitude. 46:38 And listen to these last closing lines. 46:41 "We cannot close our eyes or turn away. 46:48 When we hear the Spirit call, 46:52 We see the need, now let Him hear us say, 46:58 what if I give all?" 47:02 Brothers and sisters, 47:03 there are some amazing lines in this song. 47:12 And these lines clearly portray to us 47:17 the importance of seeing the need 47:21 and the urgency all around us. 47:26 And when we see this need, 47:28 when we see this urgency, Jesus needs to hear us say, 47:36 "What if I give all, what will that gift do?" 47:41 You see, Jesus was willing to lay it all down in line 47:44 and he turned to His Father, He saw the world in sin, 47:47 and He said, "Father, the world is sin, 47:50 they're in sin, they're lost, 47:53 they're dying, they're perishing. 47:57 Jesus saw the need and he said, 47:59 'What if I give all, what if I sacrifice My life, 48:02 what if I give it all? What will that gift do?'" 48:07 The song goes on to say, 48:09 "And it would feed the multitude." 48:11 Brothers and sisters, we here today 48:16 can have assurance we can glory 48:17 and in fact that we are saved, 48:21 but what about those who are lost, 48:23 what about those who the gospel is hid to them? 48:30 We need to see the need 48:33 and we need to ask the same question, 48:36 what if I give all? 48:40 And the answer this morning is if we give all, 48:47 we will recover the site to a multitude of blind people, 48:55 because that was the ministry of Jesus. 49:03 I want to go back 49:04 and just read that quotation one more time. 49:09 And then I want to close by pointing out 49:14 some very important things for us to think about. 49:18 That most disturbing quotation 49:20 that we read earlier says, 49:24 "The world, who act as though there were no God, 49:29 absorbed in selfish pursuits, 49:33 will soon experience sudden destruction, 49:37 and shall not escape. 49:41 Many continue in the careless gratification of self 49:47 until they become so disgusted with life 49:52 that they kill themselves. 49:54 Dancing and carousing, drinking and smoking, 49:59 indulging their animal passions, 50:02 they go as ox to the slaughter. 50:07 Satan is working with all his art and enchantments." 50:15 And that's why I wanted to read it again. 50:17 "Satan is working with all, it says, 50:21 all of his art and enchantments 50:23 to keep men marching blindly onward. 50:26 The whole world appears to be in the march to death." 50:33 Brother and sisters, I just ask two questions. 50:43 If Satan is working with all that he has, 50:48 how much should we work with? 50:51 And question number two. 50:53 If Jesus gave all, 50:58 how much should we give? 51:04 The answer should-- The answer should be simple. 51:11 If Satan is working with all that has 51:14 and Jesus gave that he had in order to redeem us, 51:20 then it would be ridiculous for us to think 51:25 that we can sit back 51:30 and contribute a paltry hundred dollar bill 51:37 in the offering plate every week in church. 51:41 What's a hundred dollars gonna do? 51:43 What's a thousand dollars gonna do? 51:47 What's any amount of money, what's any amount of, 51:53 of assistance going to do 51:55 if we're not personally involved 51:57 in giving everything that we have? 51:59 That means our time, our talents, our treasures. 52:04 When Satan is working with all that he had 52:07 and Jesus gave all that he had, 52:09 brothers and sisters, all means all, 52:12 we have to give all our time, 52:14 all our talents, all our treasures. 52:18 You see the reason that the woman 52:22 who gave the mite was commended, 52:26 was used as an example to us, 52:30 is because she gave all of that she had, 52:34 she held nothing back, she gave it all. 52:46 We have to give everything. 52:50 Not most, but everything. 52:58 Brothers and sisters, this morning we have 53:00 looked at three "S's." 53:09 We have looked at salvation. 53:12 Salvation can only be received by looking on Jesus. 53:16 We have looked at suicide. 53:18 Suicide, those without Jesus will commit suicide. 53:23 And we have looked at service. 53:25 Service is the only way to show them Jesus. 53:30 And if we don't give everything 53:32 that we have in service, 53:35 many people in this world will be lost. 53:40 And so before we close with prayer, 53:44 there are two groups of people 53:46 listening to this message to this morning, 53:49 you maybe sitting in this audience 53:51 or you maybe scattered around the world, 53:56 and those two groups of people 53:58 are either those who are lost. 54:00 Those who have not accepted Jesus 54:03 or those who have, there is only two groups. 54:09 And I want to speak to those 54:11 who have not accepted Jesus. 54:12 I don't want to say, today make a commitment, 54:18 we're gonna kneel at the end of this service 54:22 and if you who are watching on TV 54:25 or in your homes, just kneel down with us 54:27 when we do that. 54:30 Kneel down, admit that you need Jesus that 54:33 that there is no hope without a Savior, 54:36 confess your sins, realize that 54:42 that you can't cope in this world without Jesus, 54:46 confess your sins and accept Him into your life, 54:49 and trust in Him. 54:54 And to those who have accepted Jesus, 54:59 those who are looking on Jesus, 55:02 I want to say to you, give everything, 55:06 give all that you have, and I'd encourage you 55:12 to take a pen and paper, 55:15 as soon the next chance you get 55:18 and write down the priorities in your life. 55:22 Write them down and look at them. 55:24 And I've done this, and I've thought to myself, 55:26 sometimes I'll be going through the day thinking, 55:29 "Man, I've got to get this done, 55:30 I've got to get this done 55:31 I've got to do all these things, 55:32 and at the end of the week if I don't have this done, 55:35 my life is mess." 55:37 Write all those things down that you think 55:39 you need to get done and think to yourself for a minute. 55:43 Will I die without accomplishing those things 55:46 and I've found, the answer is no. 55:50 And instead of focusing on those things 55:53 that don't matter, focus on the things that do, 55:58 and those things are serving Jesus. 56:01 Spending time in Bible study and prayer, 56:04 so that you can be with Jesus 56:06 and those around you will see 56:10 that you have been with Jesus. 56:14 Let us kneel together as we close in prayer. 56:21 Brothers and sisters, 56:26 around the world as we spend this time on our knees, 56:30 I want you to think to yourself 56:34 and think of Jesus, think of all that He did on the cross, 56:40 and realize that we are out of time in this world. 56:45 Jesus is about to come. 56:48 And so Father, we pray that 56:49 because You are about to come, 56:52 please, please save us. 56:57 We confess our sins, we recognize that we are lost, 57:00 struggling, dying people in this world, 57:02 forgive us of our sins. 57:09 And, Jesus, for those of us who have accepted you, 57:13 put us into the service, use us for all that we are. 57:18 In Your name we pray, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17