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BE SURE! - If you are fit
for heaven.
"Not ever one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have
cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me,
ye that work iniquity.?" [Matthew 7:21-23]
WHAT A TERRIBLE AWAKENING it will be for those who are going
on in this life thinking all is well with them, and then in that
day as they stand before the Lord of Glory hear these words,
"I never knew you." Words cannot describe the anguish
of soul as that sentence is passed upon them, and added to it
well be - "Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity,"
Friend, take notice that it does not say a few, but "MANY
will say to Me in that day." Are you among the many? Are you
one of those that sit in a pew thinking 'all is well,' yet if God
should say: "Cut him [or her] off," you would drop from
that pew into hell? "Many" have done this, Are you
teaching a Sunday School class and not even saved yourself? Have
you the responsibility for the eternal welfare of men and women
who are looking to you to guide them? If so, you're one of those
that God speaks of - "the blind leading the blind." Are
you a hireling or a shepherd? Are you depending upon some
religious experience to get you to heaven, or some good deed you
have done or are doing? What proof have you that you are going to
heaven and not to hell'?
It's time to awaken and think about, these things, It's time
to do some soul searching. God says: "Examine yourselves,
whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not
your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be
reprobates'?" (2 Cor 13:5), God requires that we make our
"calling and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10),
Let us not forget many are on the broad way that leads to
destruction, but only a few find the narrow way that leads to
eternal life. That is the reason God says, "Let us therefore
fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest,
any of you should seem to come short of it" (Heb 4:1), If
your aim is Heaven and you come short of it, nothing remains but
a lost eternity. If you are being deceived by any of the many
ways Satan has for destroying the soul, and you know it not or
care not, then in that day when the righteous Judge shall appear
to try the hearts of men, your cry for all eternity will be
"too late, too late!" With all urgency I say again, Be
Sure. There is no sacrifice too great on your part that you
might know, beyond a doubt, whether your sins are forgiven and
your destiny heaven,
What are some of the marks of eternal life? God says we must
be born again. What does this new birth mean? We read,
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new" (2 Cor 5:17). Do you know what this means in your life?
"He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1
John 2:4). Are not these words to think upon? "But he that
hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and
knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded
his eyes" (1 John 2-11). Are you walking in darkness or
light? God is light. If we are doing the will of
God, we will be walking in the light as He is in the light and
not as one blind walking in darkness. "He that doeth the
will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2:17). Is not this
worth striving for? Do we not read - "He that committeth sin
is of the devil" (1 John 3:8). "He that loveth not
knoweth not God; for God is love" (1 John 4:8), "Ye
shall know them by their fruits." What are your fruits?
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a
corrupt tree bring forth good fruit" (Matt 7:16-20). What do
you know about "the fruit of the Spirit ... love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance" (Gal 5:22-23)?
It is necessary that we prove ourselves in the light of God's
Word. May I urge again no matter who you are, where you are, what
church you belong to, what so-called Christian work you are
doing, whether white or black, young or old, whether Protestant,
Catholic, Jewish or any other faith, Be Sure. Remember, there is
only one God, one Christ, and one way of salvation, "If the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the
sinner appear?" (1 Peter 4:18), "This people draweth
nigh unto Me with their mouth and honoreth Me with their lips;
but their heart is far from Me" (Matt 15:8). "Every
Plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted
up" (Matt 15,13).
Time is but a short space, eternity is immeasurable. Heaven
will never cease to exist, neither will hell. If you are one of
His, prove it. God hates lukewarmness. His desire is determined
men and women grounded in the truth, standing firm upon the
living Word, not carried about by every wind of doctrine, but
established upon the rock Christ Jesus. What a sad condition
exists today when one sees little difference between those who
profess Christ and those of the world. The world, the flesh, and
the devil are enemies of the child of God. We read that even
Satan is changed into at angel of light. Is it any wonder we need
to continually examine ourselves, that we might Be Sure of
our salvation?
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