It was a wonderful evening (
Saturday November 14th, 2009) - the Tent Crusade had about 20 to 25 people present inside it; and the Word went forth via a sound system that penetrated into the cold, drizzling, night-air. There were lost souls out there on the dark dank streets of Edendale / Dambuza Township - for we heard the persistent revving of vehicles' engines a short distance from the tent.
(
This is a paraphrase of the sermon preached - not word for word)
The preaching of the Word started in Genesis 1:1 - In the Beginning God created... the heavens and the earth and everything in them. He created every living thing that we see upon the earth. He created the trees and the foliage, the animals, birds, fish and man - God said let Us create man in Our image. He created man and woman in His image and it was very good. The reason God created man was for fellowship with Him. And God told His children Adam and Eve that they could eat of the fruit of any tree in the Garden of Eden, but they were not to eat of the tree in the middle of the Garden - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For the day that they eat of or touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they will surely die.
It was then that the serpent - the Devil - came and twisted God's words and said to Eve: Did God really say you will surely die if you eat of the tree? To Eve the fruit was pleasant to the eye and she partook of the fruit and offered it to her husband Adam, who also ate of the fruit. It was a lie that deceived Eve into eating and taking of the fruit to give to her husband. And their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked.
Scripture tells us God was walking in the garden in the cool of the day when He called out to Adam. And Adam - who was hiding - came out and said to God that he was afraid of being seen because he was naked and so he hid himself. And so it came about that through man's disobedience man sinned against God and fell from grace. From then on as you read through the Scriptures you see God extending His mercy to man, but man is continuously in rebellion. We then come to the first judgment of God upon mankind - the Flood.
God could only find one man who walked righteously before Him - the man Noah. God gave commandment to Noah to build an Ark to save him and his wife, their three sons and three daughter-in-laws and two of every living beast and fowl of the air that God would bring to him. And the first judgment came upon the earth as every other living thing was drowned in the flood. After the flood God put a rainbow in the heavens as a covenant that He would never cause a flood to destroy every living thing upon the earth again.
Time progressed until God met with a man named Moses upon Mount Sinai to give His people the Ten Commandments. God set in place commandments by which man was to live. And so as you go through the Old Testament Scriptures you read that man has continually broken God's Law and God Himself - through His prophets - have called men to repent of their evil and wickedness and turn back to Him. Man being wicked and sinful continued in rebellion while God has had His prophets prophesying about a Messiah to come to this world to redeem His people.
And we then read about the Messiah - Immanuel (God with us) - who is supernaturally born into this dark world. God chooses to reveal Himself as a Man in the person of Jesus Christ - fully God and fully man and without sin. Jesus then brings us to the
Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) which speaks about Heaven and Hell. So at this point you should ask yourself some questions: Are you good enough to enter into God's presence when you die? And do you know where you will spend eternity?
19"Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.
20"And a poor man named Lazarus (A)was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
21and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
22"Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to (B)Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23"In (C)Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
24"And he cried out and said, '(D)Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in (E)this flame.'
25"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that (F)during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
26'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'
27"And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house--
28for I have five brothers--in order that he may (G)warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29"But Abraham said, 'They have (H)Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'
30"But he said, 'No, (I)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!'
31"But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'" (Luke 16:19-31)
Cross references:
A. Luke 16:20 : Acts 3:2
B. Luke 16:22 : John 1:18; 13:23
C. Luke 16:23 : Matt 11:23
D. Luke 16:24 : Luke 3:8; 16:30; 19:9
E. Luke 16:24 : Matt 25:41
F. Luke 16:25 : Luke 6:24
G. Luke 16:28 : Acts 2:40; 8:25; 10:42; 18:5; 20:21-ff; 23:11; 28:23; Gal 5:3; Eph 4:17; 1 Thess 2:11; 4:6
H. Luke 16:29 : Luke 4:17; John 5:45-47; Acts 15:21
I. Luke 16:30 : Luke 3:8; 16:24; 19:9
From the Scriptures you can see that Jesus was referring to a real Heaven and a real Hell and He even gave certain specifics about who found themselves in each of the places as well as some history surrounding the individuals.
So let us see what God's Word requires of each person. The Word of God says that it is appointed for man once to die and after this judgment (see Hebrews 9:27). So on the Day of Judgment how will you stand up against God's Holy Law. The Bible says: The law of the LORD is perfect restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure making wise the simple (Psalm 19:7). Let us go through the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20) and see how God sees you -
1. The First Commandment says you shall have no other gods before God. Have you made a god to suit yourself? Have you loved God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength? The Bible says none have - so you have broken the First and Greatest Commandment. The God of the Bible who created everything as recorded in the Book of Genesis and who is the Triune God is to be first in everything we think, say or do.
2. The Second Commandment says you shall have no idols before God. Idols can be made in your imagination - making a god to suit yourself in your own image - one you are more comfortable with. Idolatry is also making idols (gods) out of other materials, like wood, stone, metal, etc. fashioned with your hands and when you bow to the idols found in religions like Buddhism and Hinduism you are an idolater - an abomination in the sight of God Almighty who created the heavens and the earth and the seas and everything in them.
3. The Third Commandment says you shall not take the Name of God or His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in vain. Have you used God's name to show disgust or surprise - like OMG? Or have you used His name as a cuss word or a punchline to a dirty joke? This is blasphemy and God will hold everyone guilty who breaks this commandment.
4. The Fourth Commandment says that you are to remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy. This does not mean that we are to keep the Sabbath Day (Saturday) as a day of worship as Judaism and the Seventh Day Adventists prescribe. Jesus Christ is our Sabbath Rest and we rest in Him continuously. We are to set aside time to meet with God - to worship Him, praise Him and commune with Him, reading His Word (The Bible) and praying to Him. Do you meet with God?
5. The Fifth Commandment says you are to Honor your father and mother. Do you honor your parents? Do they have to request things of you more than once, like clean your bedroom? Or do they have to speak to you more than once about the things you watch, or listen to? Or do you backchat your parents? When you dishonor your parents you dishonor God as He has given us parents to train us up in His ways (Proverbs 22:6).
6. The Sixth Commandment says you shall not murder. You might say I have not killed anyone with a gun, a knife or by swinging a bat! The Word of God turns up the heat on this commandment. Have you ever hated someone? Or been really angry with someone? Jesus says you are a murderer (Matthew 5:21,22; 1John 3:15).
7. The Seventh Commandment says you shall not commit adultery. Have you committed adultery? If spouses are married and either the wife or the husband has an affair with someone else they are adulterers. But listen what Jesus said, "... but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). This also goes for women looking at men with lust, too. It doesn't stop there. Fornication (sex outside the bounds of marriage) is also adultery. The Government of South Africa has run a campaign to control the spread of HIV/AIDS. There are television and other advertisements that proclaim: "Condomise and be wise" and "Scrutinize and be wise". This is a message straight from the pit of hell as the message is sent out to the youth and adults to know their HIV/AIDS status and they can still have protected sex. The message they should be sending out loud and clear is "ABSTINENCE". God's Word is very clear - have sex outside of marriage and you die in your unrepentant sins, you will go to Hell for eternity.
8. The Eighth Commandment says you shall not steal. Have you stolen anything - taken things that do not belong to you? The value or the size of the object does not matter. Maybe you have bought a 'hip' CD or DVD and then made many copies of it for your friends - or maybe you sold them to make some money for yourself. That is Piracy which is theft as you are stealing from the artist who put the CD or DVD together.
9. The Ninth Commandment says you shall not lie (bear false witness). How many lies have you told in your lifetime? It does not matter whether you term it a white lie, a black, green, purple or any other colour lie, a half truth or a fib. A lie is a lie. Lying is to deceive other people - exactly what Satan did to Eve in the Garden of Eden. When you speak lies you speak the language of your father the devil who was a liar from the beginning (John 8:44). God wants Truth in us.
10. The Tenth Commandments says we are not to covet our neighbour's wife or his possessions. We are not to crave, lust or desire the possessions of another. We should work and buy our own things.
You see by God's perfect Law you can see that there would be none who have kept the Law perfectly. By breaking God's Law we have sinned against God. On the Day of Judgment, if God gives you the justice you as a sinner rightfully deserves, do you think you will be innocent or guilty? The Word of God is very clear - Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God (1Corinthians 6:9,10). All who break God's Law will be guilty - and therefore if you are guilty, will you go to Heaven? Or Hell? The verdict from Scripture is clear - Hell awaits transgressors of God's Law - His perfect standard. This is clearly bad news for the lawless sinner.
The Good News - The Gospel unto Salvation - is a way out for the sinner, and it is only One way out that God has made. This is The Way. About two thousand years ago, God chose to reveal Himself as a Man in the person of Jesus Christ. Just as the prophets prophesied that a Messiah would be born into the world - so Jesus Christ was that Messiah. His birth was supernatural - conceived of the Holy Spirit born to a virgin named Mary - you will never ever see another birth as the one that brought Immanuel (God with us) (Isaiah 7:14)- the Man Jesus Christ into this world. He was fully God and fully man and without sin. As John the Baptist testified, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me'" (John 1:29,30).
Jesus Christ revealed that He was God in the flesh by the many miracles He performed (John 5:36). He healed the blind, the deaf, the lame with leprosy. He even exercised authority over the wind and the sea by commanding them to be still. Jesus even raised the dead - Lazarus was four days dead in the tomb when He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth" (John 11:43). And Lazarus rose from the dead and came forth. About thirty-three years into Jesus' existence on earth He went to the cross to be crucified as He had come to this world to be the perfect sacrifice who would lay down His life and save sinners.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). When Jesus Christ was crucified He was laying down His life for the sinner who will repent and believe the Gospel. When Jesus hung upon the cross He was paying a fine He did not owe for crimes He did not commit. He was taking your and my punishment upon Himself so that the repentant sinners who place their trust in Him can walk free on the Day of Judgment. When Jesus offered up His life and shed His precious blood, He was laid in a tomb - and on the third day He was raised to life forever defeating the grave, sin and death. Jesus ascended into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of God the Father and one day at the choosing of the Father He will return to judge this world in righteousness (Acts 17:30,31). Every person has been commanded to repent and believe the Gospel. If any person rejects Jesus as Lord and Saviour of their life they reject God Almighty - the One and only True God. If you say you serve the same God, but reject that you are redeemed of your sins through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then you will perish in hell for eternity because you do not worship the One and only True God who is able to save - Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him" (John 14:6).
Jesus said, "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves" (John 14:11).
Repent (turn away and forsake) from your evil and wicked sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation as your Lord and Saviour and read The Bible for Truth.
Not to be deterred I waited for Sunday and although it was still fresh and cloudy, I went down into Alexandra Park in Pietermaritzburg in the afternoon where there was an event taking place known as 'Fantasia'. The event has a fun fair with big-wheel, swings, and other rides and there is a flea-market style set-up for people making their last effort bargain buys for Christmas. The location is in a rockery area with one main entrance. So this is the place where I took up 'residence' for the greater part of about 4 and a quarter hours.
Standing at the entrance allowed me to ask the questions: What is the REAL reason for the season? What does Christmas mean to you? Why was Jesus born and had to come into this world? What is going to happen to you the day you die? How will you stand before God on Judgment Day? There were many people that from their appearances you could see that they were Muslim or Hindu and there were those who just looked with blank expressions on their faces that spoke "What are you talking about?" Some people stopped and spoke to me which allowed me the opportunity to open the Perfect Law and the Gospel of Divine Grace to any hearers passing by, too.
Many Gospel Tracts were handed out and even late in the evening some Muslim teenagers - who were initially upset by what I was saying that other religions are false - came over and engaged me in conversation while they waited for their lift. From not wanting to take a Gospel Tract at first, when they left I held out the tract to the one lad and said: "Come, take it, what have you got to lose? - read it and do with it as you want. But read it."
