CHAPTER 26: FINAL APPEAL
For me the morning of September 11, 2001 began just like most any other Tuesday morning. I got up around 6 am and got dressed to go to my 7am day shift job. I remember having breakfast while watching a morning news show that aired highlights of last night's NFL game between the Giants and Broncos. I kissed my wife goodbye and headed off to work.
I was on the job for about two hours and then...the horrible news came. At about 8:46am a passenger jet was flown into the North Tower of New York's iconic World Trade Center. Later a second jet was flown into the South Tower. The radio at my workplace reported that a third hyjacked jet was flown into the Pentagon and a fourth jet crashed in rural western Pennsylvania. The world would never be the same.
It became clear that these acts were the works of Arab terrorists. As I saw the thick black smoke ascending from the tops of the two towers, giving them the appearances of two giant smoldering candles, I felt a mixture of sorrow and anger - sorrow for those innocent people who were killed and anger against those responsible .
Later that day one of the towers collapsed and then the other. The whole scene just seemed to be too awful to be real. I knew that this day would be the worst day for America since Pearl Harbor.
Even though the event surprised everyone, there was little panic and mass hysteria. Witnesses said that the people inside the WTC were prepared. They knew what to do in the event of such an emergency. They simply filed out of the building like grade school students during a fire drill.
The lesson that all of us can learn from all those office-workers is to be prepared. They were prepared for what became the 9-11 attack. Yet sadly not enough of us are prepared for eternity.
No one saw the terrorism of 9-11 coming. But listen to what Jesus said about His Second Coming:
"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." (Mat. 25:13)
Read what Jesus said concerning a careless servant:
"...if that evil servant says in his heart 'My master is delaying his coming' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards, the master...will come on a day when he is not looking for him...and will cut him in two and appoint him a portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Mat. 24:48-51)
Jesus could come back at any time, perhaps within the next 24 hours. All of us have the God given responsbility to be ready. Being ready means being saved before the door of saving grace is slammed shut forever.
Note also that death could come to any one of us on any given day regardless of age or health. The world doesn't have to end for our lives to end. The day when we die is the end of the world for us. In these uncertain days let's all be sure we are in a right relationship with Jesus.
Below are three big lies concerning judgment day that the devil is busy pushing on the world in these final days.
LIE 1 "There is no God and no Judgment."
The complexity of the human body, the issue of first cause (How did all of that cosmic matter that got Big Banged originate?), man's moral sense of right and wrong, and fulfilled Bible prophecy all offer evidence if not proof that we live in a God-centered universe.
LIE 2 "There is a God but He is too loving and open minded to judge anyone."
This reasoning brings to mind a paraphrase of a state-ment by the late British theologian CS Lewis:
"Many of us don't want a heavenly father. We want a heavenly grandfather who will smile at us, give us gifts, and will not care how we live."
Yes God is loving and gracious but He is also holy and just. His righteous nature requires Him to hate sin and injustice. The Old Testament (Genesis 19:24) and the New Testament (2 Peter 2:6) both tell us that God judged the sins of Sodom. Also in Acts 5 God judged the sin of Ananius and Sapphira.
How else do we know that God takes sin seriously? He sent His Son to the cross to pay for our sins; not with His money but with His blood. Only if we turn to Jesus will His blood wash away our sins and make us ready for Judgment Day.
LIE 3 "There is a God and there probably will be a judgment but that could be years into the future so why worry about it now?"
The office-workers inside the WTC didn't know that a terrorist attack was coming but they knew what to do. They calmly exited the building to safety. They were prepared.
Likewise God gives us the responsbility of being prepared for the end. Christians need to live godly lives and non-Christians need to turn to Christ while there is still time. Today is still the Day of Salvation not tomorrow. God doesn't promise any of us a tomorrow.
The signs of the times are all around us: rising immorality, false religions, Mary apparitions, an increase in knowledge, Israel is a nation, Christians are being persecuted like never before, and the true Gospel is going out to the ends of the Earth like never before. How much time is left? No one should speculate because no one can know for sure.
In his 1983 book "Approaching Hoofbeats", Billy Graham wrote the story of an elderly gentleman who owned a home near Mt. St. Helen. The volcano was active and geologists were warning that it could erupt at any time. Local residents evacuated the area. Yet this older gentleman refused to abandon his home.
Mt. St. Helen finally erupted on May 18, 1980. The eruption was so strong that it blew away a whole side of the mountain. The ecological damage that the volcano did was far worse than expected. As far as the elderly gentleman is concerned, he and his home were destroyed. Today he is thought of as someone who heard the warning signs but refused to act.
When will Jesus return? How much time does the world have left? We dare not speculate. The only thing we can say for certain is that the Second Coming of Christ is 2000 years closer today than it was at the time of Peter and Paul.
The biggest question should not be, "When will Jesus come back?", but "Should He return today will I be ready to meet Him?" For a Christian "being ready" means leading a life that honors God.
"...let us lay aside every weight and sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1)
For an unsaved person, "being ready" means turning to the Jesus of the Bible as soon as possible. Don't wait another day.
"Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1)
You may not have a tomorrow. Those who were killed on September 11 didn't live to see September 12. Their eternal destinies were sealed on that awful day. Only God knows how many of those people were ready to meet Him.
How does one get ready to meet the Lord? How do we get off Satan's death-train and become saved?
1. Admit that you are a filthy sinner and that you cannot save yourself. Whether you are a light sinner or an extreme sinner, it makes no difference to God.
2. Believe on the authority of the Bible, everything that the Bible says about itself, sin, death, judgment, Hell, Christ's payment for your sins, and His resurrection. His resurrection is historic proof that He is the only Man who has power over death.
3. Confess your sins to God and ask His forgiveness. When we feel the Spirit of God calling us, we count the cost and willingly come to Him. When we come to Him we see our sins the way Jesus sees them. We start to hate our sins. Then we are able to repent.
"If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unright- eousness." (I John 1:9)
"For You Lord are good and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You." (Psalm 86:5)
4. Ask the living Saviour Jesus Christ to come into your life and transform you from within.
God has made His salvation plan very simple. Anyone who can understand John 3:16 or Galatians 3:22 can become saved. Fame, fortune, a spotless past, and college degrees are not required. Only child-like faith in Christ is required.
A person can get to Heaven without a lot of things; without worldwide fame, without a six figured salary, without massive realestate holdings, without a 401K, without a late modeled car, without a spouse, without globe-trotting life experiences, without a formal education, and even without joining a local church. But he can never get into Heaven without Jesus.
If you have made that commitment to Christ then I have some great news.
1. You are a new creation. You will gain new friends and have new aims in life. Leave a wretched past behind and start living for Jesus today.
"...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
2. Jesus will be with you even during your worst times in this fallen world.
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you will have peace. In the world you will have trib- ulation; but be of good cheer , I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
3. You have a glorious home in Heaven that is waiting for you.
"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
If you have not made that commitment to Jesus then please make it before the next sunrise. The day of the Lord is at hand. There might not be a tomorrow. Being a nice, honest, hard working even religious person won't cut it. You must be born again. Please keep these next four words in mind:
ETERNITY IS AT STAKE
I'll close with this last point. I solemnly believe, based on Luke 12:47 and 48 that those who have heard the good news and have either rejected it or neglected it can be judged harsher than those who have never heard it.
"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
"For the wage of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)