I Beg You; HEAR!

 

It is by the mercies of God that any true ministry of the Lord functions.

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I Beg You; HEAR! Acts 3:23 – And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

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If you see a friend running head-long towards a high cliff with a sheer drop of more than a thousand feet, and he/she seems to have no awareness of the impending doom, would you take whatever steps you could to stop them?  Would you grab them, or shout at them?  If necessary, and if you had time, would you beg them to stop?  I believe you would. 

Not EVERYONE who reads this is my friend, but EVERYONE IS loved by the Lord and John 3:16 applies to EVERYONE.  And because we are commanded to “preach the Gospel to EVERY creature,” I beg you today – HEAR!  To an unbeliever, and even to a backslidden believer, the words of our Text for Today should be sobering; possibly even frightening.  However, let us look closely at these words to see precisely what they are saying. 

These words are critical regarding eternity for the unbeliever.  Hell is real.  The lake of fire into which death, hell, and all that are in them shall be cast is real.  Eternity is real.  And there can be no doubt that such judgment upon the unbeliever places someone in the category of being “destroyed from among the people.”  To that end, I BEG any lost person who reads this to repent and turn to Jesus, make Him Lord in your life, and serve Him with all your heart.  Again, I BEG YOU, HEAR! 

Now allow me to speak to the Christian who, for whatever reason he/she may offer, has chosen to walk away from the Word of God, to live contrary to the Word of God.  I BEG you to read our Text for Today again.  This is the Word of God, and we know that all Scripture is inspired by Holy Ghost, and is profitable to the believer.  Our Text for Today declares that “every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.”  The word “every” means “every.”  For a sinner, that cutting off means hell.  But what of a Christian.  The Christian will not go to hell, but can be, now in this life, “destroyed from among the people.”  What we need to realize is that this destruction does not come from God.  As a Christian, one is a declared enemy of Satan, and his work is to “steal, to kill, and to destroy.”  When a believer is walking in covenant, he/she walks in an arena where the Word works for them as they live by faith.  But since faith works by love, and the love of God is keeping God’s commandments, one who has deliberately pulled back from the Word and walks in willful disobedience CANNOT expect the Word to work for them.  They make themselves open victims of Satan, and he WILL cut them off from blessing, including life.  So, to the believer I say, “I BEG YOU, HEAR!”

Manna for Today – Acts 3:11-26; John 3:16-17; Romans 12:1-3; Matthew 8:34; 2 Timothy 3:16; Revelation 22:17; John 10:10; Galatians 5:6; 1 John 5:3