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Even Now: Make Your Decision
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There’s nothing like a simple song that has such dynamic messages and ramifications for living. And that old tune right there, how I’ve seen God use that to remind so many people to come to Him as Lord and as Savior.
This morning we’re going to conclude our study from the book of Joel, the Old Testament book of Joel. Now that we’ve been through Joel these 6 weeks one day when you met Joel in heaven, and he asks you did you read my book? You will be able to say to him, “Yes, I read your book.” And can even break it down for him if you will remember at that moment what the breakdown of the book has been.
Sometime ago we had a Summit guest and he gave me a gift. And the gift that he gave me was a little book called The Valley of Vision. It records many prayers of some of the Puritans, some of the great people of the faith. People like David Brainer, Charles Hadden Spurgeon, Richard Baxter, and many others. In the very first prayer that is prayed in here is called The Valley of Vision. Listen very carefully to the words:
He said, “Lord high and holy, meek and lowly, thou hast brought me to the valley of vision. Where I live in the depths, but I see the in the heights. Hemmed in by the mountains of sin, I behold they glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up. That to be low is to be high. That the broken heart is the healed heart. That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit. That the repenting soul is the victorious soul, and to have nothing is to possess all. That to bear the cross is to wear the crown. That to give is to receive, and that the valley, ah listen, that the valley is the place of decision and vision. Lord of the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells, and the deeper the wells, the brighter the stars shine. Let me find thy light in my darkness, thy life in my death, thy joy in my sorrows, thy grace in my sin, thy riches in my poverty, thy glory in my valley.”
So many times when we think about valleys, we think about our own lives. But do you realize that in the book of Joel God gives to him a vision about a very significant, and historic event that will one day take place in a valley? He says in fact in the 3rd chapter of the book of Joel, in verse number 14 he writes, “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”
While so many through the years have used that text to call people to Jesus, and even sang that one day there’s going to be a valley and you can make decision. Yet that moment, while the intention is good, the hurmanedix are really bad. Because the way to interpret the passage has nothing to do that in that valley we will have the right to make a decision. Joel is saying that God has revealed to him that in that valley of decision it’s going to be the valley. It’s going to be the place where God hands down His decision about your life in regards to eternity.
It is in that valley that God will say that you will have eternity with Him or eternity without Him. In other words, when that valley comes, that Joel 3:14 talks about, it’s too late for you to make a decision. It’s a time for God to hand down His decision about your life when He weighs it all.
This is exactly what Jesus talked about over in the 25th chapter of the book of Matthew. In fact in verse 31 through 46 of chapter 25 of Matthew Jesus said that one day He was going to come, and He was going to sit in His glory on the throne of God, and He would determine while on that thrown the eternal destinies of all people. Jesus said, as recorded in Matthew chapter 25, verse 41 these words. Look at what Jesus said, “Then He will also say to those on the left, depart from Me you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And then Jesus speaks further in that same passage over in the 46th verse of the 25th chapter of Matthew, and He says, quote, “And they will go away,” listen to what Jesus said. “They will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”
This affirms and validates exactly what Joel prophesied would take place in Joel chapter 3. And Jesus was saying yes it is going to be a valley one day whereby I will determine whether people spend eternity with me, or eternity without me. In this final message of this series we come to talking to about “Even Now: Make Your Decision!”
Remember those powerful words “even now,” recorded in Joel chapter 2, verse number 12 speaking about the urgency, the availability that even now we must do something about our faith? Even now we must do something for God? Even now we must take action over matters that that do occur in life in regard to the things of God? My friend, this is why you need to make your decision today. If you wait until the events of Joel 3:14 it’s too late. This will be the time when Jesus decides your future, not you decide your own future. Why wait? Why don’t you make this day, February the 14th, 2010, the day when Jesus transforms your life? The day when Jesus forgives your sin? The day when Jesus interrupts your life in a powerful way?
You see the Bible tells us that the Apostle Paul understood the urgency. The scriptures says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6, verse number 2, he says, “Look now is the acceptable time. Look, now is the day of salvation.” Here the urgency in his voice? Look, now! Look, powerful word. Now, not later, now. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. Paul understood the urgency, and he mentioned it twice as being the urgency.
Listen to this very carefully. Never wait, never wait to make any decision you need to make for Christ. Never wait. Always make the decision. Today. It doesn’t matter whether you need to make a decision to give your life to Jesus Christ; you do not wait, you make that decision today. It doesn’t matter if you have waited for whatever reason in relationship to following Christ in baptism. Maybe you as a parent, you’ve got children, teenagers that have come to Christ but you’ve not encouraged them to go ahead and be baptized. Why in the world would you discourage that? Make any decision that you need to make for Christ you make today.
Ah we’ve heard Tommy talk about the powerful testimony of a local church, and I tell you I praise God for any, any man of God who will stand up and talk and praise the God who loves His church. And ah I want you to know today many of you, you need a church home. You need a place whereby you unite with your family, and you grow your family in the Lord. Oh I challenge you in the name of the Lord Jesus today, make your decision for Christ today regarding a church! Come on in!
Maybe God’s calling you to missions. Maybe God’s calling you to the ministry. Make your decision for Christ today. Never wait. Never terry. You have no promise of tomorrow. None. Maybe you’ve been contemplating placing some areas of your life under the lordship of Jesus, and you’ve struggled, you’ve waited, you have fought, you have battled, you have really been in a struggle with God. Don’t wait about those! You, you make any decision you need to make for Christ. You make it today! Not tomorrow, but today. Why not today? Why not today? This day is the day of the Lord. Why not today?
In the 2nd chapter of the book of Joel in verse 30 through 32 he gives to us a wide-angle lens, a wide-angle lens of what it’s going to be like just prior to the day of the Lord. But then what he does, he takes chapter 3, verse 1 through 21 and he discards the wide angle lens, and he all of a sudden begins to zoom in to tell us what it’s going to be like. And listen, it’s not all good.
Now I don’t know a lot about taking pictures, in fact I’ll tell you what, most of the time when I take pictures the head doesn’t show up on the picture. I don’t have the patience, nor the time, especially when it has to deal with children and I’ve got to wait until they’re all there, snap, and have no idea. I don’t get that. Jeana takes most of the pictures in our family. Our daughters-in-law, they take pictures all the time. And so with that whole process they don’t ask me to take pictures. If they do, it takes too long and they’re not right. But even though I’m pretty ignorant about all that, I do understand the difference between wide angle, and zoom. And what happens here is that he zooms in chapter 3, verse 21 into the reality of what things are going to be like just before, and just when the day of the Lord occurs.
I want you to get your Bible today, and I want to take a very, uh, specific approach today in concluding this Bible passage here in chapter 3. In fact I’m going to read these verses, and as I read these verses, I’m going to simply dialogue with you about these verses.
Verse 1 he says in Joel 3, “Yes, in those days and at that time when, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.” You see there is coming a day when God is going to restore His people. But before He restores His people, listen very carefully, He will hand out judgment.
And verse 2 talks about that valley. Look at verse 2. He says, “I will gather all the nations, and I will take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there because of my people, my inheritance Israel, the nations has scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up my land.” That phrase Valley of Jehoshaphat that Jehoshaphat means, listen to this. Isn’t this just like God? Yahweh judges. That’s what it means. And this sovereign God who declares that there will be a valley, called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, it will be the valley where Yahweh judges. Remember, it’s not a day that where we choose to do what we want to do with Jesus, it is the day when Jesus chooses about what He’s going to do with us based off our response to Him!
Now the scripture here says that, that this is a special place, but I want to challenge you today don’t get caught up with where it is, but get caught up in what goes on there because at that place God will bring judgment. Now while I can’t tell you a hundred percent I know exactly where the Valley of Jehoshaphat is, I can tell you that I believe I have seen that valley. I have seen that valley when I’ve gone to Israel, and I have been on the top of where Elijah defeated all the prophets of Baal at a place called Mount Carmel. And you look out over this incredible valley. It is a massive valley. In fact the scripture says that in a valley like this, or that valley in and of itself, the Valley of Megiddo. That when this battle occurs that there will be, listen to this, there will be blood up to the bridle of a horse. That’s how powerful the judgment will be.
Well this Valley of Megiddo I believe is where the battle of Armageddon will take place, and I believe this is a prophetic mentioning of that over in Revelation chapter 16, verse number 16, as well as Revelation chapter 19, verse 11 through 21. It is in this place where God is going to gather all nations, all people groups, all persons, and He will hand out His final judgment.
Now if you would, would you look at the last part of verse number 2? He says, “The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries, and divided up my land.” Look at verse 3. “They cast lots for my people. They bartered for a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine to drink.” This is a very, very interesting passage here today because what happens is, is that God tells them that there is coming a day when I’m going to judge my, I’m going to judge all people of the world for how they have treated my people. My people the Jews, my people even today.
I want you to listen to what God is going to judge. Look at it. 3 things. Those who have scattered my people. Those who have divided my land. And those who have abused my people. What does all that mean? Do you realize that before the second World War, and as a result even in the midst of the second World War what happened in that setting is that God’s people, the people we would know as Israel today, they were literally dispersed. They were literally scattered all over the world. And in 1948, when Israel became a nation, God began to bring them all back. He’s bringing them all back with a purpose in mind. He’s bringing them all back getting them ready for the final day of the Lord. He’s bringing all of them back, and by the hundreds, and by the thousands they are returning, and the population figures have exploded in Israel with the Jewish people moving back home.
He said those who scatter my people I will judge. He says I will judge those who have divided up my land. You hear about that today, about the dividing of the land of Israel. Surely you listen to the news every now and then, you read a paper or periodical that halfway might be right. Surely you understand the importance of that, and surely you see in scripture there is a prophetic word here that those who have divided up My land, one day I’m going to judge.
Oh let me tell you, when, when the Bible, it’s not a foreign policy book. Let me make it real clear. However, when the Bible speaks on foreign policy, it knows what it’s talking about. And God’s authoritative truth here says if you scatter the land, if you scatter the land, I will judge you in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It doesn’t matter who the politician may be, when you hear a politician talking about dividing the land over in Israel, it doesn’t matter how suave he is, how cool he is, how many pedigrees and degrees he’s got, you’re on dangerous ground when you’re talking about dividing up the land because no one is going to take away the land of God. God will get His land back.
And then he talks about abusing His people. You abuse the people of God, and what happens is what? God is going to judge. And you see it here in the text. In fact, it’s very powerful. He goes on to talk about it. If you would, look at it with me. He says in verse number 4, he says, “And also Tyre, Sidon, and all the territories of Phalisia, what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.” He mentioned these three places, the significance is not necessarily the places in and of themselves, but what was taking place in those places. What was taking place? They were slave trading. Let me make it real clear, God is not into slavery at all. In fact, even slavery to sin, that’s why Jesus came. What God is saying here is that boys while you have slave traded my people, make it real clear, let me make it real clear to you, what you have sown, you will reap, and I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.
Verse 5 through 8 he says, “For you look, you took my silver and gold, and carried my finest treasures to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, and to remove them far from their own territory. Look I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them. I will bring retribution on your heads. I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sibians to a distant land, or distant nation for the Lord has spoken.”
Verse 5 through 8 is talking about people who have robbed God of money, and glory, and they have built their own lives on robbing God’s money, and stealing God’s glory. While a reference here is that historically, boy it sure wakes me up a little bit when I understand that the same sin exists by the hundreds of thousands of Christians today who take God’s treasures, the silver and the gold that He makes, and we steal from Him. We don’t honor Him in the way that we should, and what the scripture here says, that we take that money, we live on it, we live on it for our own glory, doing our own deal, and we’re stealing away the glory of God when we do that, and what is God saying? God is saying I’m not going to put up with it.
Then He mentions about those who have mistreated people because they’ve not honored God. And He says I’m going to call My people back, and I’m telling you, whatever you’ve done to My people I’m going to pay you back the scripture says. That’s why verse 9 says, “Proclaim this among the nations; prepare for holy war. Rouse the warriors that all the men of war advance and attack.” In other words he’s saying you tell everyone get ready for holy war. You boys, all of you who have been saying all kind of things about Me as God, making all kind of decisions that are not, or decisions that I have never advocated. He said you bring it on. You bring A game, you advance and you attack Me, but you will do so to no avail at all because you will lose.
But He said, “Go ahead and hammer your plowshares. Verse 10. “…into swords, and your pruning knives into spears, and let even the weakling say I am a warrior.” God is saying here you get your weapons ready. You do what you want. You bring it all against Me, but you will not win.
Verse 11 through 14 he says, “Come quickly all you surrounding nations. Gather yourselves. Bring down your warriors their lord. Let the nations be roused and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for there I will sit down to judge all the surrounding nations. Swing the sickle because the harvest is ripe. Come and trample the grapes because the wine press is full, the wine vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is great.”
What in the world is all that mean? Let me share with you what it means today. He says you bring your allies, all of you who have been against Me. You bring your best. You come on to the valley, and when all of you come to the valley let me make it real clear to you boys, I’m going to sit down on my throne, and while I am seated on my throne, indicating the sovereignty of God over the nations and the peoples of the world, I will render My judgment to each one of you individually as well as collectively.
You know why? Because you are ripe for judgment, God says. And you will now receive the harvest of judgment upon your sin. And what God is saying is judgment is unavoidable. That’s why in verse 14 He looks and He sees multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the Lord is near. In the valley of decision…why does He use the words multitudes? Everyone is there. There are too many people to count. I mean we’re talking about people from all over the history of the world! And it is here that God hands out His judgment upon all peoples. Remember, it’s not a place where you can decide to follow Jesus, it’s too late; but it’s a place where God decides what He’s going to do with you. And God is the One who deciding here, not you, nor me
Verse 15 and 16 he says, “The sun and the moon will grow dark, and the dark will cease their shining.” Remember those same languages were used last week in verse 30 through 32. Then he said, “The sun and the moon will grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.” Those are prophetic words indicating the end is near, and, “the Lord will roar,” I love that phrase. “The Lord will roar from Zion and raise His voice,” can you imagine what it will be like when the God of heaven raises His voice? “He will raise His voice from Jerusalem, heaven and earth will shake, but the Lord will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the Israelites.”
Ah in verse 14 when He talks about the moon, He talks about the stars, those are signs that are indicating that we’re moments away from the final end. And all of a sudden the Lord is going to roar, and He’s going to bring judgment, and He’s going to execute that judgment. And when He talks, and when He sounds forth, and cries aloud mightily the scripture says, the heavens and the earth will both shake. Can you imagine what that will be like when God speaks? That’s quite a voice. And all of the heaven, and all the earth will be shaken when He roars, but listen, the Lord is going to take His people. Remember in that valley it is a valley of judgment.
Ah, but not just a valley of judgment; it is a valley of grace. And He says I’m going to take My people who have followed Me, who have loved Me, who have received My Son, and I’m going to be their refuge. I’m going to place Myself and safety over them. I’m going to be like a stronghold to them. In other words, I’m going to come around them, and, and it doesn’t matter what goes on in that mighty battle, I will defend them because I am their stronghold. Oh dear brothers, dear sisters, dear friends today, people who perhaps have never been in this room today, please know, and please understand today, God will keep His people safe on the final day of judgment! And the value of the blood of the cross is eternal safety from the moment you receive Him all the way to the end when He gives you heaven, while He gives the rest of the world hell.
The scripture says in verse 17, “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who dwells in Zion. And My holy mount in Jerusalem will be holy and foreigners will never overrun it again.” Ah yes, God’s people are preserved, and no one will ever dishonor God again. And no one will ever hear God’s people again, or people again cry out against God.
In verse 18 he said, “In that day the mountains will drip of sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will flow with water, and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house watering the valley of Aches.” Now listen very carefully, He said “in that day, in that day…” You see it right there? He mentions the mountains dripping like wine. Prophetically who talked about the mountains dripping like wine? If you’ll go to the prophet Amos, and his book, he talked about it. You know when it’s going to happen? At the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Then He talks about milk, like a land flowing with milk and honey. Who added the milk? Joel did. Joel was talking about the promise of God there’s going to come a day and you’ll be in a land that’s flowing with milk and honey. And then He mentions this whole element of the water, and the spring coming from the Lord’s house. Which prophet talked about that? Ezekiel, over in Ezekiel chapter number 47. He talks about the water and the streams and the living water flow from the temple of God everywhere.
And in verse 19 he says, “Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland because of the violence done to the people of Judah in whose land they shed innocent blood.” Judgment upon those without Christ. God’s people, Jesus people, according to verse 20 and 21 they’re going to live forever but Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
Verse 21. “I will pardon their blood guilt which I have not pardoned for the Lord dwells in Zion.” Oh my dear friend while judgment is raging on those who do not have Christ, the Bible says that God’s people, Jesus people, will live forever in eternity. They are pardoned from their sin forever, and they will dwell in the presence of God forever. Oh I’m telling you what a passage!
And when you look back at the book of Joel, you look back at a book that talks about God’s activity in two ways. He talks about his activity of judgment. He talks about His activity of grace. Now follow me. In all of this we look back and we think Joel chapter 1, verse 1 through 14 there’s a present judgment upon the people of God because they have left God. I have lifted My protection. I have taken away their provision. And I have even taken away their joy.
Joel chapter 1, verse 15 through Joel chapter 2, verse 11. He says that if you think that judgment’s bad, it’s nothing compared to the coming day of the Lord. In fact, the day of the Lord will be so mighty, and so powerful, the scripture says, that you will not be able to endure it. No one will be able to endure it.
And then God’s people were so moved by the judgment of God presently and by the judgment of God that was promised, guess what God’s people did? Joel chapter 2, verse 12 through 17. They get right with God. They return to God. They begin praying like they hadn’t prayed. They began fasting like they haven’t fasted. They began to worship like they hadn’t worshipped. And all of a sudden through praying and fasting and worshipping, they began to come to God individually, but they also came to God collectively. They called a solemn assembly; they called everyone to that solemn assembly and said you get here. You return to God! You’ve got to return to God! The issue and the proclamation with God was so dynamic this blows my ducks man! Listen to what I’m going to say to you. He tells them, he says, those of you who are groomsmen, and those of you who are brides, you’re moments away from consummating your marriage. You’ve been wedded by the preacher, but you’re moments away from the consummation of your marriage, you leave your bridal chamber before you consummate, and you come and you get your life right with God. And then you go and consummate your marriage.
The urgency in the heart of God was to return to His people. And the declaration was so powerful the people did it! And it wasn’t just a gig for the old people, it wasn’t just a gig for the middle-age people, it wasn’t just a teenage gig; he said no, you go to your nurseries and you bring your babies who are still on the breast of their moms and get them in there. So even in their state of being a baby they can return to God. Wow.
Joel chapter 2, verse 18 through chapter 2, verse 27 it said that God answered their prayer. Oh man there’s nothing like when God answers your prayer. God was so impressed with their repentance that He answered their prayer, and you know what God did? All of a sudden He stopped judging them. And He began to provide for them again. He began to protect them again, and He filled their hearts with joy again.
And then He prophesied and He said after this in Joel chapter 2, verse 28 through 32, He prophesied after this and said you know what? After these things you’ve done, after you’ve gotten right with God, after you understood what’s going on here, after I’ve started answering your prayers, I’m going to pour out My Spirit on all of you. And there was a promise there that was prophetically and initially given and began to be observed on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.
But it was not only a promise about Acts chapter 2 that happened on the Day of Pentecost when everyone heard the gospel in their own language, after God had drawn them from all over the world, which is the real miracle of Acts chapter 2, but He said there’s going to come a final day, a final day, a final day and just before the Day of the Lord, there’s going to be another outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is so mighty, and so powerful. I mean it’s going to be unlike anything that’s ever happened before. There’s going to be a gospel explosion and advancement of the gospel into places where the gospel’s never been. And all of a sudden the Spirit of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ are going to come together like they have never come together in historic proportions, and all of a sudden you will hear the voice of God calling people to this one final moment just before Jesus returns, and ask them come to Me. And they will come to Me because the wave of grace will be so powerful and irresistible those whom I have chosen, they will respond to Me immediately.
And it’s all because they’re getting ready for that final moment when He draws the multitudes from all over the world into the valley of decision to hand out His decision of grace or His decision of judgment.
Based off all that, I close today giving you two challenges. Challenge number one:
(1) Make your decision for Christ today. It doesn’t matter what decision it is you need to make for Christ, you make your decision for Christ today. If you have never given your life to Jesus, make your decision for Christ today. If there’s something going on in your life you need to talk about with God, you make your decision for Christ today! It doesn’t matter what that decision is. I could spend a lot of time talking about a lot of those decisions, but I’m telling you whether it’s a decision of lordship, or whatever it may be, what He is saying is you make your decision for Christ today! Because there is coming a day when the decision time for you is over. And I’m in charge on that day. And you need to come. It doesn’t matter what kind of decision it is, it doesn’t matter what’s going on, you come and you make your decision for Christ today. Whatever it is, don’t you leave this campus without making it. The urgency is so great you’ve got to do it. You’ve got to do it. Make your decision for Christ today.
And then you notice that other important matter; you know what it is?
(2) Live and share the gospel with urgency. Live and share the gospel. Why must I live and share the gospel with urgency? It’s real simple. There’s coming a day when people can’t say yes to Jesus any longer, and I’ve got to help get them ready. And I’ve got to be so committed to living and sharing the gospel with people urgently, urgently, with urgency! Oh listen, you know what? We’ve got to get urgent again. Some of us are way too passive. We’re extremely boring, and we do not have any burden like we need to have. And we need to get after it. We need to get off our duff, and we need to get after it. I mean we need to act like this deal depends on us! We need to have a heart of Paul that is so absolutely consumed with the Spirit of God he says the necessity is laid upon me, and I must persuade men to come to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Man I tell you what I love his passion and that’s why we need to be passionate. You see there’s way too much passivity in many Christian’s lives today, way too much passivity. There are a lot of you you’re passionate about your next deal you’ve got going on in your life. Praise God. Enjoy your moment big guy. But why don’t you be passionate for the gospel. Some of you are passionate about oh man, you’re passionate about your next big business deal that’s hanging out here. You’re working the ropes man. You’ve got this deal going on out here. Oh man this is so exciting. This is going to change everything. It’s going to take away all that’s going on. Oh you’re passionate about that! Why are you not as passionate for the gospel?
Ah singers we come across a great song what do we do sometime? We get so passionate about that song. Man we come to church and we’re so passionate about that. I can’t wait. I can’t wait. I can’t wait! What about being passionate for living and sharing the gospel? Ah listen we’ve got to be passionate about the right things.
But also we’ve got to be persuasive. I’m telling you we’ve got to be persuasive. You say well pastor we show; you’re saying we’ve got to put pressure on them? No. You’ve got to, you’ve got to be so consumed you’ve got to believe what you’re saying. You’re persuasive.
I’ve got my friend down here named Bruno. Bruno’s an instructor in RPM spinning class. It’s an hour-long class. Jeana and I go to it every Friday. This guy is passionate about this class. I mean he’s passionate. He is passionate about taking care of his body to the glory of God. That’s what I’m talking about man. And he persuades me. I mean many times that’s my day off, and I’m going to a stinking class! Because of his persuasive ability! We need to be persuasive for the gospel.
We need to take that same heart, that same persuasiveness, and look at our people, look at our region, and say man, listen man, you’ve got to know this Jesus, and you know what? When we live persuasively, and we share persuasively, the gospel it will be absolutely powerful in our lives, and we will persuade people.
And we’ve got to live with urgency. I mean we’ve got to live with urgency. Oh listen, I don’t understand. Maybe it’s not this way in California, but you know some time we’re way too laid back here. And I mean we act like we’ve got all our lives to live. No you don’t. You’re not even promised the next hour of your life. You don’t have a clue what’s going to happen to you when you get on this interstate today going home. You think you know, you hope you know, but you don’t know. You don’t know what’s going to go on with your life this afternoon, or tonight, or tomorrow. You don’t have a clue. Some of you are banking on stuff you don’t even have in your treasure. The only thing you’ve got in your treasure, and it’s one thing, and it’s now. Now. Now. Period. Right now. And you’ve got to live with urgency.
You say pastor why is it so important to live with urgency? I’ll tell you why. 55% of the State of Arkansas is lost and dying without Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You take the State of California over 82% of California’s lost. The largest state in the entire United States in population. You take the entire American population, 254,600,000 out of 306,000,000 Americans. Wow. And you reduce that down, and you look at that in relationship to the world, the world, 90% of the world is lost and perishing! 4 billion people have literally no access to even knowing who Jesus is, and 1 and a half billion of those people have absolutely no clue who Jesus is! We’ve got to live with urgency. I mean hey, it’s the gospel. It’s good news. This is Jesus time. And I want to challenge you today to live with urgency for the gospel.
I want you to be fired up about your life. I want you to be fired up about your career. I want you to be fired up about the things you do in your life. That’s awesome! Man get fired up! I can get fired up about football, and I can get fired up about football, and I can get fired up about football! And I can get fired up about other things, but I’m telling you, you know, I can get fired up things! I don’t feel guilty about all that. I don’t need to feel guilty about all that, but I tell you what, equal plus will be my fire for Jesus and the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it will be in the plus more than it will ever hit equal. And I want to challenge you today, you live with passion, you live with persuasiveness, and you live with urgency for the gospel.
Let’s pray together…
- SKU:
- 2Z207L
- MP3:
- http://www.ronniefloyd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2Z207L-Make-Your-Decision.mp3
- VIMEO:
- 9471403