Tuesday, October 18, 2005

OpenAir Text

Hi folks, my name is Keith and I'd like to talk with you for a moment. I thank you for your attention and for your patience with me. I know it might seem crazy for someone to stand up and preach to you, but I'm totally serious and have a short message, I'd like to share to you. I'd like to talk about death and its consequences.

We're all going to die some day. Approximately 150,000 people around the world die every day. In fact, none of us is guaranteed we'll be alive tomorrow. Death is for certain. It is the only statistic that is 100%. We don't even know if our next breath could be our last. With that in mind, we owe it to ourselves to be sure about where we're going when we die.

How can we know if we are headed for heaven or hell? The Bible says, "These things I have written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." It is critically important that we know with confidence that we're going to heaven when we die. What then is God's standard for entry into heaven? Jesus said, "Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." God requires not only perfect behavior but perfection in the things we say and even in the thoughts we think. God sees everything you've ever done, spoken or thought.

Let's briefly examine the fourth through the sixth, of the Ten Commandments. Your well being could improve by taking heed to these thoughts, but more than that, life and death could hang in the balance for those of you who accept or reject these words.

The fourth commandment is, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Have you given God one day out of every seven? God requires that we devote a day per week to Him? If you haven't, you are stealing from Him.

The fifth commandment is, "Honor your father and your mother." If we could call your parents on the phone (supposing they are still alive) would they say that you were always obedient? Did your parents ever have to reprimand you? Did you ever do anything disrespectful toward them? An interesting thing about this commandment is that it is the first commandment with a promise. It says, "Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the earth..." So if you desire a good long life, honor your parents. Take care of your parents (or adopt some if you don't have them) and God will take care of you.

The sixth commandment is "You shall not murder." But Jesus raised the bar on this one and said, "That whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whoever shall say to his brother, idiot, shall be in danger of the council: but whoever shall say, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

If you've admitted you are guilty of breaking any of these Laws, then what do you think God should do with you? Should God allow murderers into heaven? If you're afraid that hell might be in your future, God did an incredible thing for you. 2000 years ago, the one and only God who created the universe, became a man in Jesus Christ. He lived a perfectly sinless life, in every respect of the commandments. He came not only to be a perfect example for us, but even more importantly, to be a perfect substitute to take our place in the punishment we deserve. The Romans nailed Him to a cross where He bled and died a horrible death. They buried Him in a tomb and rolled a huge stone over the entrance. Then three days later, He came back to life from the dead to defeat death. Now He can apply His righteousness to us. It is a great exchange. Christ took the punishment we deserved and will give us the righteousness we don't deserve. We can have eternal life because Christ paid the price for us with His life's blood and paid the ransom for us by his death.

To receive this free gift of eternal life, takes two things from you. If you would repent, that means to change your mind and turn to God for forgiveness, and for you to humble yourself and trust in Jesus as your savior, He will give you eternal life and a new nature. You will be born again, and become a new creation by God's Holy Spirit. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. If you would like to know the LORD and His forgiveness, please come forward.

Spreading the truth of Jesus Christ and the Good News that Salvation is available through Him.

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