Preached 1991, morning service First Baptist Church, Garrett, Indiana
I want to talk this morning about 3 of my motivations for accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.
I have accepted Him as my personal Savior. I did it when I was 21 years old. I don't know why I waited so long, but by the grace of God I was protected till that time.
I have not been lost since. I have been saved since I was 21 years old. I was born into the Family of God in such a way, that He could never put me out. So, I'm just in there. Good, bad or what ever, I'm in there. Whippings & everything else, I'm in there.
Like mom, He takes the board of education & hits my seat of conscienceness. I'm still in there. I've accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior & did when I was 21 years old. I had a real moving experience when I was 44, that even in a greater way confirmed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I have come this morning to ask somebody who is here in this sanctuary, somebody that is here this morning in this sanctuary, I've come to ask you, to plead with you, to beesch you, to beg of you to do the greatest thing that you could ever do & that is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
Not to increase the membership roll of the Christian churches. Not to increase the roll of the First Baptist Church of Garrett, but to accept Him in order that you would be saved. That's our motivation, that's our reason. I have led many people to Christ, who I have not led to be members of the church I pastored. I want everybody saved, but there are some folks I just don't want to pastor. I get them saved & recommend the church down the street.
I remember Melissa from Woodville. Led her to the Lord in 1984. She was baptized & put on the church rolls in 1989.
I remember Cecil Gee from Williams. So ill I could not baptize him. Sprinkled. He's with the Lord now, & so is his wife.
What is the most important thing, salvation, or membership rolls.
But I do have 3, maybe 4, but let's deal with 3 personal reasons why that I am glad that I did accept Jesus Christ as my Savior.
The first one is,
I DON'T WANT TO GO TO HELL.
And my pastor taught me that hell is a place. Now he didn't have a degree in science & he didn't know about the earth & all its workings. But my pastor told me that the Bible said that there is a place---not a state of mind----not a bad thought---not a dream after you have had some cabbage----but a place---called hell.
And the old preachers talked about hell so. First of all there is nobody that has invited you to hell. If you go, you go without an invitation. The devil hasn't invited you to come to hell, Jesus has invited you to come to heaven. It's wrong to go some place you haven't been invited. Hasn't your mother taught you better. You ought to stay out of there.
And the old preachers use to preach about hell. For instance. There was one preacher, I believe it was pastor Greene, he preached so about hell & he described living a sinful & a sinner's life. He said it was like swinging across hell holding on to a spider web.
I'll tell you, I needed something better than that.
If you don't have but a spider web chance, you better get something better than that, he said. Like swinging across hell, blazing fire. And I know that it is not the latest & most intellectual thing to discuss. I know that some of you might be intimidated or even insulted by me suggesting to you that there is an eternal hell. But I want to tell you, IT IS!
There is some fire somewhere down there. Amen. Every time someone comes up with, there is no fire, then a mountain blows up. And the fire is 8 miles into the sky. There is some fire down there somewhere. Every time they claim there is no fire down there, the lava starts coming up. There is some fire somewhere down there.
Now fire is not the only thing I dread about hell, but there's some fire down there. And I don't want to go to hell. Now the preacher said & my mother said, & the Bible said that hell IS A PLACE.
IT IS A PLACE. Now it is logical to me, because if heaven is a place, for all of those who want to be with God---then God should have a place, it is only just for Him to have a place for those who don't want to be with Him can have some place to go.
I want to make an announcement right here this morning, I want to make an announcement to every one who is listening ---there will be nobody in heaven that will be saying, "I didn't want to be here in the first place."
"Oh, I didn't want to be up here, my momma just drug me up here." Your momma can't drag you into heaven. She may have & may still drag you to many a place, but she can't drag you into heaven.
IF YOU GO TO HEAVEN, IT WILL BE A CONSCIENCE DECISION ON YOUR PART, TO ACCEPT GOD'S PROVISION FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN.
You can't even say, "well, I heard my wife, or my girl friend was up here, so I decided to come" It doesn't work that way.
Maybe you joined some church at some time because your wife or girl friend or boy friend was there. Thank God for that, maybe you've got saved in the mean time, but you will not go to heaven because your wife, husband, girl friend or boy friend is there. YOU'LL GO TO HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU HAVE CONSCIENCLY, YOU HAVE WILLINGLY, YOU HAVE OPENLY, & WITHOUT SHAME, said, "I want to be saved." And you have accepted God's provision for salvation & there is but one way, & that's thru Jesus Christ.
Psalm 9 says, "the wicked shall be turned into hell."
Psalm 135 says, "tho I make my bed in hell...."
All of the Gospels put together says, "Don't fear those who can cast your body, but fear those who can cast your body & soul" AND SO HELL IS A PLACE.
Now before you decide & turn me off, let's discuss this idea that it is a place. It is a place #1 where there is no love of God.
Now, I don't want to go there. One of the marvels of His grace, during this age, is that the love of God is spred abroad on the just & the unjust. But the love of God, God is so wonderful & wise, the love of God is raining right here in Garrett, Indiana, on the just & the unjust. The saved & the unsaved.
That is one of the confusing things about this church age. God's grace is just being poured out, God's grace is just abounding on us. There are some people who have not accepted Christ, but who enjoy the grace & the goodness of Christ, who do not see the need of accepting Christ.
Because, just to be truthful with you, sometimes their artheritus is not as bad as ours.
Sometimes they own the building where Christians rent.
Sometimes church people are catching buses & sinners are driving by in Limos.
And you kind of wonder here, who is in control. I mean, who is metering out all of these blessings. Looks like they got it all mixed up. Hey, I'm the Christian over here. This is God's world & the drug pusher or the alcoholic will drive by in a caddy & you are on minimum wage & you love God. And some of them don't care for Him at all.
So sometimes it is confusing. If I were God----I'd have this thing so that, YOU COULDN'T ENJOY MY GOODNESS & not serve me. Oh, yes. I'd have this building full every day praying. Give you the whoping cough if you didn't come. Ain't God wonder-ful. Isn't He marvelous -- You wake up on Sunday morning & start watching TV, I'd put a pain in the back of your head. You'd be a church in the next 5 min.
But I ain't God, thank God. I'd get into trouble myself. I'd hit myself some Sundays & forget I'm God.
But God's not like that. He reigns, during this period that Fredrick Sampson calls the "parentheses in eternity". He's reigning with goodness & mercy. On all.
But there will come a time, when those who do not accept Jesus Christ will only know the wrath of God. Just every now & then He lets us in on how He could be.
He is holding back His hand right now. Every now & then He just taps us. He says, "Why don't you act right?" He wasn't trying to shake up the East Coast with Yugo. He was just tapping. Saying, "Get right." I think Yugo stood over some parts of South Carolina 39 minutes. And the devastation was even more than we could imagine. Suppose He decides to get rough? And tells Yugo to swing back there & stay there 5 hours.
In San Francisco He wasn't trying to be rough with us. He just let that earth shake for 21 seconds. Suppose He got mad? And say, "go back there & stomp angels for 3 hours."
Just jump up & down for 3 hours. That's all an earth quake is, a bunch of angels jumping up & down. If what happened in 21 seconds devastated us & almost ruined the economy & added taxes on. What would have happened if God had said, "Shake for 3 hours."?
He can do it. The Governor of Calif. called in all his people the next day & said, "What happened?" And they are going to spend 1 million dollars for a consulting firm to tell them what happened. I'm just a country Baptist preacher & I can tell them what happened for nothing. I don't have all the degrees they do, but I can tell you. You just can't withstand God. That's what happened. Build it up to 10 & He will send a 12. Build it up to a 12 and He will send a 14.
Your arms are too short to box with God.
When God wants you, He can get you. But hell is a place where there is no love of God. I don't want to go there. I don't want to go no place where I cannot feel the love of God. Sinner, listen to me this morning. You may not have accepted Christ, but you live in a community where the love of Christ is all around you. Your parents & your friends have shared the love of God with you. Where you work you have experienced the love of God. If you have ever been down & somebody helped you up---that was the love of God. The motivation of welfare is the love of God. The motivation of charity movements is the love of God. But WHAT .. ABOUT... A .. WORLD .. WHERE .. THERE .. IS .. NO .. LOVE .. OF .. GOD?
I don't want to go to hell. When I heard that Jesus saved from hell---I had heard all, but that. There are people being warned about all kinds of principles. Even that He makes you rich & pays your bills--He gives you a Mecedes Benz & whatever ---I haven't met on that order yet. But I know one thing ----He saves. He turns around your destiny. Now your bound for glory & that is good news.
Now I had some real problems when I lost my father, until Jesus came into my heart and explained it to me, "he's on the streets of glory". That's why I know what I know, because Jesus spoke to my heart. You can say it for ever & ever & if Jesus hasn't said it to your heart, you haven't heard it. I don't want to go to hell because there is no love of God, I don't want to go because there will be the continual wrath of God.
I have had my share of problems & sorrow, but thank God it is not continuous. Because I live in a world where God's mercy gives me a little rest. And gives me a little comfort. We've all had our problems. If it's not one thing, its another. One problem after another. We are children of tribulation in this world, because this world doesn't like us. If the world doesn't know you are a Christian, they are not bothering you. But you better not show up & you better not give any evidence that you love Jesus---because if they hated Him, they hate us.
I don't want to go to hell. I don't want to go to hell. I don't want to go to hell. The 3rd reason why is, THERE ARE NO EXITS.
You can't take a weekend in hell to see how you will like it. If you fool around & go to hell, you are there forever. There forever.
Brother Jack Howell of Hammond Indiana. You know Brother Howell, he sends his buses down here every Sunday morning to pickup Sunday School students. Jack Howell is quite a fellow. He has like 20,000 in Sunday School. Baptizes about 100 a week. It's just soul winning, & soul winning & soul winning.
E.V. Hill was up in Michigan with Jack, preaching & he asked him why he was so caught up in soul-winning, & soul winning. When he hires a secretary he doesn't ask how many words she can type, he ask, how many souls do you win.
When he hires a janitor he doesn't even ask if he knows how to mop. How many souls do you win. Just soul-winning, soul-winning.
Hill told Jack that he was on the verge of being a fanatic. Hill ask what was behind it. And Jack said there is a story. Jack said, "One night early in the morning I'm asleep, when all at once I am awaken by this piercing scream from my sister. So I ran upstairs to her bedroom & there she was sweating & in histarics & just screaming & I just shook her & I could get thru to her & I just had to slap her.
And she said, when she had come around, "Jack, oh Jack, Jack,..." Jack said, "What's wrong, you had a dream, right?" She said, "NO, NO. No dream." "You had a nightmare?" "No, no nightmare. It was real." "What happened?" She said, "Jack, I just got back from hell. It wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't a dream. It was real" She said, "You can almost feel the warmth of my flesh." So Jack ask her to tell him about it.
She said, "Oh Jack. After the few miles of the glitter & the lights & all of that that deceives mankind, there is nothing but desolation as you proceed towards hell. It is a bummed out situation, it is nothing but desolation & hopelessness, as you walk toward the gates of hell knowing that never again will you see no good thing."
And she said, "Jack, I got to the gate of hell & the inn keeper said 'hold it', & I stood outside the gate of hell & I saw people whose faces were twisted & tongues were thick & eyes bulging & hands thick & split & dropping blood." And I said, "Sir, please, let some air come in" And he said, "NO, no air in hell."
And she said, "I saw them just screaming & vexation of all kinds," and she said, "Kind sir, let them have a drink of water." "No, no water in hell." She said, "Please, then, let them die. Just let them die. Just let them die." And he said, "NO, no death in hell"
And she said, "Then how long will there be the knawing & the knashing & the bleeding & the fire. Unbearable & no water & no air. How long?" He said, "Forever & ever." For hell has no exit & there is no death. And she said, "Jack, just as I turned I SAW DADDY." And Jack said, "E.V., my daddy is in hell. Because he never got around to doing the most important thing. He schooled us & he fed us. He housed us. But he never got around to personally saying yes to Jesus Christ." So he said, "I win souls every day, so that nobody else's daddy has to go to hell."
I don't want to go to hell. I don't want to be in a place where there are no exits. I have clostiphobia. I don't want to be in a place where there is agony of body & spirit. Where there is pain & suffering---the wrath of God---no love of God ----I don't want it. You can have it.
I'm going where the wicked cease from troubling. And the weary are at rest. I'm going, to a place where there is no more sickness, & cancer & diabetes & heart disease & all those other problems. I'm going to a place where we will never grow old.
So you see there is a home prepared, where the saints abide, just over in the glory land.
I don't want to go to hell & I beg of you, don't go to hell, please don't. You won't like it, you won't like your neighbors. They'll be devils & demons & fallen angels & false prophets. Don't go to hell.
Don't go to hell. Work on the major matter. There are comforts here. I appreciate the house I have, but it can be taken from me. I appreciate the pulpit I preach out of & the wonderful people. But it can disappear. You can be way up on the pole one morning & looking for a job the next. But, I ain't going to hell.
Turn around right now &shake someone's hand & tell them you ain't going to hell. Amen....Amen...Amen....Amen.
