May 6, 2018
Are You Saved?
Tribe Recap May 6, 2018 | Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 | Rev 21 | Jn 3:16 | I Jn 1:9 | Rom 10:8-13 | Jer 17:10 | 2 Cor 5:16-20
A little while ago my 8 year-old daughter Alea began asking me questions about hell. Specifically she wanted to know if anything could be done to change the devil’s mind, bringing him back to loving God and saving him from hell. I explained that this was not something that could be done and pointed out that the devil himself wanted to be God, so he was kicked out of heaven.
In a certain amount of desperation to explain these events I directed my 8 year-old to a poetic allusion found in Isaiah 14 – a taunt by Israel against the king of Babylon that may double as a picture of why the devil fell (see also Ez 28). I helped Alea find this in her pink ‘junior’ bible and went back to my normal activities. Unbeknownst to me Alea began reading this passage over and over again...not light reading material!
Then one night as I was tucking her in she asked to read ‘a book’ and before I could say no because of the late hour (about 9:30 on a school night!) she told me the book she wanted to read was Isaiah. Reluctantly I agreed figuring I’d be struck by lightning to refuse a child’s earnest desire to read from the prophets!
After she read chapter 14 to me, I suggested we read Revelation 21 instead, thinking heaven would be better bedtime material, but when I got to verse 8 and we read the list of everyone who wouldn’t make it Alea had renewed questions. Finally I said, “When you ask Jesus into your heart you are none of these (all the people who wouldn’t make it)... you have already done that right??” To which I received the response, “No!” To which I said with some surprise, “Well....do you want to do that tonight?” Alea said, “Yes.” I said, “Let’s finish the chapter,” as I didn’t want to get up and grab my wife Erin to join us and I was very tired after a long day. But Alea said, “No, I need to do it right now!”
Somewhere in Alea’s mind, there was a revelation: all of this comes down to a choice.
At this I got up to fetch my wife not wanting her to miss out on a moment in eternity and from there we invited Alea to say her own prayer. With sobs and great crocodile tears she told the Lord she was sorry for the wrong things she had done and asked him to live in her heart. I watched Alea’s face as the Prince of Peace entered in...I was dumb-founded.
My question to you today is this: are you saved? God’s word tells us that those who believe in (put their confidence in and give credit to) the Lord and call upon his name will be saved (John 3:16, I John 1:9, Romans 10:8-13). The Lord knows the contents of our hearts (Jeremiah 17:10) and judges our intentions and desires accordingly. Has your heart decided to give itself to the Lord, becoming saved from the never-ending pain in hell that we all deserve without him?
ALL have sinned, and the result of sin is death. There is no way around hell if you are not saved by Jesus blood and have not put your confidence in God to direct your life...if you have not given yourself to him.
When we choose to be united with God, giving the entirely of our life to him, we become a new creature (2 Cor 5:16-20) and therefore are no longer the immoral idolaters listed in Revelation 21. We are sons and daughters of God destined to inherit heaven. If you are not saved, I offer this piece of advice: don’t finish the chapter of life you are in, drop to your knees, and get right with God. All those who lose their life on this earth will find the life they were always meant to live in God’s Kingdom, destined for heaven, created for joy, and face to face with a loving Creator.