I finally have the chance to write about the AMAZING WEEK I had in Hattiesburg, MS last week. I was able to chaperone at Kensington Woods’ REACH campaign! God used us to knock 11,200 doors, set up 436 Bible Correspondence Courses (these are lessons which help you study the Bible), set up 28 in- home Bible studies, and collect hundreds of prayer requests. It was one of the most spiritually uplifting weeks of my life, and I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to work side-by-side with other Christians, spreading the Good News!
Are you saved? I want you to take a moment and think about your spiritual life. Answer these questions either in your head, on paper, or even as a comment or message to me. I would love to hear your story! When were you saved? Where were you saved? How were you saved? Why were you saved? I believe the most important question of these is HOW you were saved.
I want to use an example that I heard last week from David Shannon, an amazing preacher of God’s word from Mt. Juliet, TN. There was a guy who loved to run. He loved it so much that he decided he wanted to run a marathon. There was one coming up in just a few short weeks. He knew he would not be physically prepared to run this race, but he wanted to get a feel for what marathons were like so he could be familiar with them when he finally was able to participate in one. He decided that he would wait halfway at the 13.1 mile mark. The first guy came running past him. Everyone was SO excited and SO happy for him that they yelled his name and gave him many encouraging remarks. Then the next guy came by…same thing! The crowd was going wild for these people who were putting their all into this event! It was such an exciting time for the guy waiting on the sidelines that he couldn’t take it anymore…he slid under the tape and began running with the rest of the racers! People standing nearby shouted, “You can’t do that! That’s illegal! You can’t decide to join in during the middle of a race!” Once he rounded the next corner, the shouting stopped. Nobody even realized that he had just jumped in mid-race. He felt GREAT! He actually looked like a real marathoner! He was sweating profusely, stopping at all of the water stations, and even got bleeding blisters on the back of his heels from his new running shoes! He looked as if he’d been with these runners from the very beginning. The last couple of miles were really tough for him. He could tell that he wasn’t prepared for this race, but the closer he got to the end, the louder the cheers got! “You’re doing so great! Keep up the hard work! You look like a superstar runner!” This helped to motivate him to get to the finish, ignoring the fact that he did not start the race with the rest of the pack. FINALLY! HE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE! An official met him there and asked for his race bib and time chip, but neither could be found. “Oh, that’s ok,” the official said. “Just tell me your name and I’ll find you on the list to give you your official time.” The guy told him his name, and much to the official’s surprise, he couldn’t find it. “You DID sign up for this race, didn’t you? I can’t seem to find your name on our list of racers.” “Technically, no. But don’t I look like I started the race in the beginning? I worked so hard! I sweat more than I ever have in my life! I’m bleeding and I’m pretty sure that I’ve lost a toenail! You’ve got to let me have a time because I feel like I really and truly deserve it.” The official threw his hands in the air and said words to the boy that he would never forget. “I’m sorry, but you were never even a part of this race. I can’t even disqualify you because you were never even a part of this marathon. If you had started this race with the rest of the group, you would have made it and received your award. I’m sorry, but you need to move out of the way now because I need to work with the people who are actually IN this race.” The guy walked away, devastated. He could have felt so much victory if he had only begun his journey in the way that was laid out for him. It didn’t matter that he looked like many of the runners, with sweat, tears and blood flowing. He was never even a competitor.
In our lives, we are a slave to someone: the Lord or satan. Those are our only two options. Romans 6:16 says, Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? Every master is taking us on a journey. Every journey has a destination. We know that our sin separates us from God. But your iniquities have separated you from your God: and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2). Sounds pretty serious, huh? It is, but the GREAT news is that God has given us a gift. Romans 6:23 reads, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God has given us a GIFT! What kind of gift? ETERNAL LIFE! What an amazingly comforting thought! Now we have the question of receiving this gift. Will it automatically come to me at a certain age? Was I born with it? Do I need to do something to receive it? BINGO!
Matthew 7:21 states “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Who does the Bible say will enter into His kingdom? He who DOES THE WILL of God. Let’s read on in verses 22-23 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” I want you to think about these verses for just a minute and see if we are understanding clearly. Is the Lord actually saying that many people who do things in His name will be told to depart from Him? How will He differentiate between those who are lost and those who are saved who do these things in His name? It goes back to verse 21 where He says “He who does the will of God.”
It is clear that He has given us a form of salvation. You cannot finish right if you didn’t begin right. Just as the guy who jumped in the marathon halfway, who looked the part, acted the part, and even FELT the part, didn’t get to receive an award for all of his hard work, the same is true for us. Many of us do SOO many wonderful things in the name of the Lord. It can be providing food, shelter, love, a listening ear, visiting nursing homes, giving money, and many other great things. We may even give God all the glory for our efforts. But what if we never even began our journey towards Him in the way that He instructed?
So back to my original question...HAVE YOU BEEN SAVED? If yes, HOW? I’m SO interested in hearing from you about becoming a child of God. I believe that it is the most precious honor and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It is my prayer that we will always look to the Word of God as a pattern for every part of our lives.
