Let's Get Going!
One of the most heart-breaking
experiences of life is to love and be unloved in return. One-sided love affairs have been at the heart
of some of the worst tragedies of history. One-sided love is not merely historical, but it is a tragic, present
reality. There are men and women all
around us whose hearts are broken because the ones they love have responded
with ridicule or indifference.
I want to speak about the worst one-sided love
affair of all. It concerns the love of
God for millions of people who are totally indifferent to His love. But in spite of the reaction of the major
portion of the populace, God persists in His love. The message of Calvary and the empty tomb is
still vibrant and realistic. The truth
of Romans 5:8 continues to hold good. God
commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.
Centuries ago, God foresaw man's
rebellious attitude and enmity as He declared in His prophesy of Christ, He
is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him
not (Isaiah 53:3). Years later, Christ left the glories of
heaven. How was He received? He came unto His own, and His own received
him not (John 1:11). This
same attitude continues in our day, only it has been multiplied by tens of
thousands. But, in spite of the hardness
of human hearts, God continues to love. He does not change. He says, in
Malachi 3:6, For I am the LORD, I change not. His love is an everlasting love.
This fact alone, however, does not
normally move people. Few there are who
seem to be crying out for the Gospel. Whether in the sandy wastes of the Sahara, the lush jungles of Brazil,
the snows of Alaska, or the luxuries of New York City, the words of Jesus are
as current as when they were spoken: Ye will not come to me, that ye might
have life (John 5:40).
Why are millions of people not
interested in the love of God? In many
cases it is because they don't know about God's love. No one has ever told them. It would seem that some Christians think the
Gospel is a secret. They need to be
informed that it is news—Good News! This
news must be communicated as rapidly as possible. The tragedy is, however, we find a pronounced
indifference on the part of many of our Christian churches that could not care
less about sharing the good news of the Gospel with needy and dying
sinners. They have become so comfortable
in their attractive churches that they have failed to see struggling humanity
all around them. If Christians were to
pool their resources, the job of reaching the world for Jesus Christ could be
accomplished in a matter of weeks. But
rather than rally to the cause, we remain in defeat while millions perish
without the Good News of salvation through Christ.
It has well been said that no one
ought to hear the Gospel twice until everyone has heard it once. Millions are in darkness while selfish
Christians build bigger churches, pay their preachers larger salaries, and live
in luxury. Several years ago, Prime
Minister John Diefenbaker officially opened the last portion of the
Trans-Canada Highway. Stretching from
coast to coast, 4,860 miles of highway was constructed at a cost of over 700
million dollars. It took 12 years of
hard labor, the loss of lives, and the facing of many, many problems because of
the terrain, weather, money, politics, and squabbles. But because some people had a vision, the
road was built and 18 million people benefit from it. Do you think the completion of the highway
was not "news?" Were the people not told
of the opening of this beautiful highway? Most assuredly, they were.
There is another road, which has been
constructed at infinite cost, beyond human calculation. It is the road to heaven. The Lord Jesus said I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. That Way cost
our heavenly Father the life of His beloved Son. It cost the Son separation from His Father,
being born as a man and ultimately dying on a cross of shame. When you realize that this is the only road
to heaven, you would think that God's people would be concerned about sharing
the news. While millions have been made
aware of the Trans-Canada Highway (and innumerable other highways in Canada and
the United States) only a minute number are aware of the highway to heaven. The highway to heaven is the greatest highway
in all the world. We cannot afford to
keep silent about it. When the Lord
Jesus said, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature, He meant all the world and every creature. This is the believer's foremost
responsibility. God did not save us
simply to be happy. He saved us to be
His witnesses.
In Isaiah 43:12, He states our
responsibility clearly. Ye are my
witnesses, saith the LORD. In Acts
1:8, He says, Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me. Are you a child of God? Are you
filled with the Holy Spirit? If you are,
the obvious result will be that you are a witness. You will not be a receiving Christian, only
drinking in, you will be giving out. You
will be investing your money in sending forth missionaries to tell the lost
that Christ wants to give people everlasting life. You will be involved in the important task of
worldwide evangelization because this is the very purpose for which Jesus
came. He did not come to be a teacher, a
politician, a prominent leader, a healer, a psychologist, a science professor,
or anything of that nature. He came
to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).
We who have experienced this great
salvation have the same responsibility to seek out the lost. Jesus said, in John 17:18, As thou hast
sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. We are here to be ambassadors for Jesus
Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). God forbid that we should live for the flesh and self. Time is too short to cater to the whims of
selfish flesh. We are here on business
for the King.
Paul declared, For necessity is
laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I
preach not the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:16). It was an absolute necessity for him
to delcare the Gospel to every soul. Such is scarcely true in our day. We always find the time and money to do the things we want to do. There is time to play golf, baseball, or
pursue some other interest. "Well, I
can't do everything," you say. But we do
the things we want to do. Paul
declared, It is necessary that I
preach the gospel and it is necessary that you and I preach the gospel of
Christ to every person. And, if you're
not saved, come to Christ. Receive Him
as your Lord and master.J. Allen Blair
But as many as received Him, to them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name (John 1:12)
Fanatical or Progressive?
(From a message by Dr. Blair)
If a salesman gets excited about his
product and uses every legitimate means possible to make sales, he is
considered progressive and successful. But if a Christian gets excited about God's plan of salvation, he is termed
a fanatic.
The present-day Christians are
sleepy, refusing to accept the challenges to our faith. Softness has replaced strength and zeal! Churches need believers who will get up early
and stay up late, testifying of the Son of God as man's only hope. Sermons are delivered without feeling and
compassion. Two men were listening to a
preacher with a well-prepared oration on the healing of man. The sermon, perfect from a homiletical standpoint,
was empty and shallow. Finally, one of
the men leaned over to the other and said, "If only the dear man would take a
fresh dip in Jordan himself."
The grandson of William Booth (the
founder of the Salvation Army) was gazing intently at the cover of War Cry,
a splendid periodical published by the Salvation Army. On the cover page there was a picture of
William Booth in a boat, reaching out to the hands of scores of men and women
that were perishing in the sea. The
little boy said to his mother, "What is grandpa doing? Trying to get those people into the boat? or
is he just shaking hands?"
Some preachers are doing nothing more
than shaking hands with people. They are
good politicians and excellent students of Dale Carnegie. If they can keep people laughing and make
them comfortable, all is well. We must
never forget that we have a charge from God to present Christ and
salvation. We need a burning compassion
and zeal which comes from God, only through the Holy Spirit, to enable us to
proclaim the truth and mighty power.
How REALLY To Be Saved
Okay, you've heard it called born again, and other terms have been applied. But there is a bottom line, and having this personal relationship to God through Jesus Christ is not through keeping the Ten Commandments. Dr. Blair's message for this month debunks the theory of keeping the Ten Commandments for salvation. It is titled, Can The Commandments Save? We have a free copy of this in printed, tract form and all you need do is ask for it!