One woman asked, "Do we have a choice?", to my greeting, "Good morning... I'd like to share a few thoughts with you this morning while you wait for your bus." I went on to begin my message on "involuntary actions". She responded, "yeah, like have to listen to you...". Funny!
See our video here: http://youtu.be/ebBhMQADaRo
Here was my message.
Good morning. My name is Keith and I’m a born-again Christian, and I’d like to share a few thoughts with you while you wait for your bus this morning. Think about this; we human beings have quite a few involuntary functions going on in our bodies. Coughing, sneezing, hiccups, blinking and swallowing, to name a few. But also, our heart beating, our breathing, our digestion; not to mention our reflexes. Let that sink in for a moment... We all have involuntary physical actions that take place whether or not we think about them, and they’re completely outside of our control.
And in a very real way, we don’t have complete control over our minds... what we think, either. If I were to say, don’t think of a Pink Elephant, what is probably the first thing that pops in your head? A Pink Elephant.
Similarly, in the realm of morality; we don’t have complete control of how we behave. Try going just one single day, being completely truthful in every situation. Try going even one day not thinking or saying something hateful. Try not looking lustfully at someone who isn’t your husband or wife. Think of what your reaction might be when someone cuts you off, on the freeway? Would the bird come out and the air turn blue? Right moral behavior is not even possible unless you’ve had a miraculous transformation in your life from God. I’m not saying I’m perfect, or I don’t sin, but I am saying I’ve been born again, and because of that I have the victory over sin and I walk in that victory every day.
The sobering thing is that God sees everything we’ve ever done, said, or even thought. Even things we thought were done in secret, are laid open before the Lord, with whom we have to give an account. So when that heart that has so cheerfully beat in your chest all these years stops, and those lungs that have so consistently breathed in and out your whole life, stop, you will step out of time and into eternity, and you will stand before God to give an account of your life.
The Law...
The Gospel...
The New Birth...
It is no accident that you are here within the sound of this message. God is sovereign. He is in control. And the Bible says that repentance is the gift of God [2 Timothy 2:25]. So if your heart is pricked by what has been said, I would urge you; I plead with you, to turn to God and beg Him for the gift of repentance.
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