Earlier this year, I had an emergency operation due to a ruptured ectopic pregnancy on a Sunday night. I had already bled internally more than half a pint of blood and unbeknown to me, my life had slowly been ebbing away. Most people who know what this means know that the hand of God was definitely upon me that day as so many women die of this. Ah...the grace of God.
As I lay on that operating table (I was given a partial anesthesia), I started thinking. I asked myself that if I were to die at this moment, would I make it to Heaven? I imagined standing at the gate of heaven and St Peter holding a big book and turning the pages over and over just to finally tell me,”Sorry but I can’t find your name in the book of life”.
I thought back to Bill Wiese’s book I had read a few months earlier ,”23 minutes in Hell”. I remembered the utterly terrifying descriptions he had given about hell and I remembered him saying the terrifying thing about hell was not only the heat, the stench, the darkness or the pain inflicted by demons, but it was the utter lack of hopelessness one had due to the lack of God’s presence. I then thought about my life, what was my relationship with Jesus? How many people had I helped bring to Christ? Had I been paying my tithes faithfully? Was i helping the church grow? How many people did I help? Was I a peacemaker or a trouble starter? God had given me a favor filled life, how had I used it to bless others? My life passed before my eyes and what i saw shamed me. My children did not know the bible. I took them to church rarely and they were not learning anything significant about Jesus. I was not going to church anymore and i was practicing religion instead of seeking christ. My time was spent in things which brought no glory to God and my tongue was causing rampage. What will I tell God?
And as I thought and cried out to God, an inner voice assured me that I would not die but that God was giving me another chance. Another chance to make my life right with him and to fulfill my God given purpose. After the operation, another lady came in right after me. She died four hours after the operation. And I wept!!! What did I do to deserve God’s grace? Why was it her and not me? And I remembered Hezekiah:
2Ki 20:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2Ki 20:2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
2Ki 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
2Ki 20:4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
2Ki 20:5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
I couldn’t even boast like Hezekiah that I had been living right, and it was then I really understood that God’s mercy and grace was too much for us to comprehend. God can give us another chance if we ask Him. When God answered my prayer and saved me from death, I knew that God saved me and kept me for a reason. To give me time to change and to fulfill my God given purpose on earth. I have not fully learned what it is as I am still growing spiritually but one thing I know is that I have been called to bring as many people to Christ as I can. Not many people will be as lucky as I was, to have the time to think back and reflect. The devil has changed tactics these days. The new cause of death now is “Sudden Death”. As many more people are turning to Christ, so the devil too is getting desperate. He’s not allowing people to have that last chance anymore, as he sees you trying to make up your mind, he strikes. The question is, will you be ready?
My brothers and sisters, my plea for to you today is to know that HELL IS REAL. And better still,HEAVEN IS REAL. What do we have to do to be saved?
Rom_10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Flee from anything that is sin my dear brothers and sisters. For the wages of sin is DEATH.
1Co_6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
1Co_10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1Ti_6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
2Ti_2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Jas_4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
What I hear from so many people these days that makes my spirit cry is the saying, “We cannot be like Jesus. We will always sin for we are human and God will forgive us”. Woe betide you then if you die before you have the chance to ask for forgiveness.
Yes no one can be perfect like Jesus, but we can strive to be like Him if we learn to listen to our spirit and not our flesh. If we understand that only in Christ can we find salvation and that only when we are weak can we realize His strength.
Only this weekend as i was passing through Ndokoti from Yaounde,i saw two graves and I caught the revelation of the significance of a grave. Graves are signs to us that someone is dead and gone forever and there is no hope for us ever seeing them on the earth. It is a constant reminder of pain and finiteness of a loved one. But the reason Christ had no grave is not only because He rose again but also because He does not want us looking down and seeing a sign of hopelessness to represent him. No, the earth could never keep Him prisoner, He rose so that our eyes would always be turned up in hope and expectation towards Him whose name is above all other names. We look up instead because we know that soon He will come down again in glory.
You could say you do not commit major sins like fornication, adultery, stealing ,killing etc. But what about lying? What about gossiping and slandering people’s names? What about the refusal to share the good news of Christ where we find ourselves? What about disobedience? All those are pathways and doors we leave open for the devil to have dominion over us. How many times have we spoken a caustic word to a brother or sister that has caused them maybe to do something ungodly? How many times have we refused to help people in need and thus refused to listen to God’s voice?
I call on us all to examine our lives. We all know the things which are unpleasant in us. We all know what causes us to sin. I beg you all, start thinking. Get a personal relationship with Christ and be saved so that you can escape the gates of hell. Our lives on earth are too short and they determine what our life will be after death!
Can you answer this question? Where will you spend eternity?
My answer is Heaven. What is yours?
As I lay on that operating table (I was given a partial anesthesia), I started thinking. I asked myself that if I were to die at this moment, would I make it to Heaven? I imagined standing at the gate of heaven and St Peter holding a big book and turning the pages over and over just to finally tell me,”Sorry but I can’t find your name in the book of life”.
I thought back to Bill Wiese’s book I had read a few months earlier ,”23 minutes in Hell”. I remembered the utterly terrifying descriptions he had given about hell and I remembered him saying the terrifying thing about hell was not only the heat, the stench, the darkness or the pain inflicted by demons, but it was the utter lack of hopelessness one had due to the lack of God’s presence. I then thought about my life, what was my relationship with Jesus? How many people had I helped bring to Christ? Had I been paying my tithes faithfully? Was i helping the church grow? How many people did I help? Was I a peacemaker or a trouble starter? God had given me a favor filled life, how had I used it to bless others? My life passed before my eyes and what i saw shamed me. My children did not know the bible. I took them to church rarely and they were not learning anything significant about Jesus. I was not going to church anymore and i was practicing religion instead of seeking christ. My time was spent in things which brought no glory to God and my tongue was causing rampage. What will I tell God?
And as I thought and cried out to God, an inner voice assured me that I would not die but that God was giving me another chance. Another chance to make my life right with him and to fulfill my God given purpose. After the operation, another lady came in right after me. She died four hours after the operation. And I wept!!! What did I do to deserve God’s grace? Why was it her and not me? And I remembered Hezekiah:
2Ki 20:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2Ki 20:2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,
2Ki 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
2Ki 20:4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
2Ki 20:5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
I couldn’t even boast like Hezekiah that I had been living right, and it was then I really understood that God’s mercy and grace was too much for us to comprehend. God can give us another chance if we ask Him. When God answered my prayer and saved me from death, I knew that God saved me and kept me for a reason. To give me time to change and to fulfill my God given purpose on earth. I have not fully learned what it is as I am still growing spiritually but one thing I know is that I have been called to bring as many people to Christ as I can. Not many people will be as lucky as I was, to have the time to think back and reflect. The devil has changed tactics these days. The new cause of death now is “Sudden Death”. As many more people are turning to Christ, so the devil too is getting desperate. He’s not allowing people to have that last chance anymore, as he sees you trying to make up your mind, he strikes. The question is, will you be ready?
My brothers and sisters, my plea for to you today is to know that HELL IS REAL. And better still,HEAVEN IS REAL. What do we have to do to be saved?
Rom_10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Flee from anything that is sin my dear brothers and sisters. For the wages of sin is DEATH.
1Co_6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
1Co_10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1Ti_6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
2Ti_2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Jas_4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
What I hear from so many people these days that makes my spirit cry is the saying, “We cannot be like Jesus. We will always sin for we are human and God will forgive us”. Woe betide you then if you die before you have the chance to ask for forgiveness.
Yes no one can be perfect like Jesus, but we can strive to be like Him if we learn to listen to our spirit and not our flesh. If we understand that only in Christ can we find salvation and that only when we are weak can we realize His strength.
Only this weekend as i was passing through Ndokoti from Yaounde,i saw two graves and I caught the revelation of the significance of a grave. Graves are signs to us that someone is dead and gone forever and there is no hope for us ever seeing them on the earth. It is a constant reminder of pain and finiteness of a loved one. But the reason Christ had no grave is not only because He rose again but also because He does not want us looking down and seeing a sign of hopelessness to represent him. No, the earth could never keep Him prisoner, He rose so that our eyes would always be turned up in hope and expectation towards Him whose name is above all other names. We look up instead because we know that soon He will come down again in glory.
You could say you do not commit major sins like fornication, adultery, stealing ,killing etc. But what about lying? What about gossiping and slandering people’s names? What about the refusal to share the good news of Christ where we find ourselves? What about disobedience? All those are pathways and doors we leave open for the devil to have dominion over us. How many times have we spoken a caustic word to a brother or sister that has caused them maybe to do something ungodly? How many times have we refused to help people in need and thus refused to listen to God’s voice?
I call on us all to examine our lives. We all know the things which are unpleasant in us. We all know what causes us to sin. I beg you all, start thinking. Get a personal relationship with Christ and be saved so that you can escape the gates of hell. Our lives on earth are too short and they determine what our life will be after death!
Can you answer this question? Where will you spend eternity?
My answer is Heaven. What is yours?
No comments:
Post a Comment