Don't Wait Till It Is Too Late
G. Paulraj
Introduction
In
2 Timothy 4:2 Apostle Paul encouraged young Timothy to be instant season and
out of season to preach the word. Or in other words he told Timothy to be
urgent whether the times be prosperous or adverse, whenever there is an
opportunity; and when there is none, strive to make one. The Judge is at the
door, and to every man eternity is at hand! Wherever we meet unsaved souls we
are share the word of reconciliation. We cannot blame the place or the time
because all the time and place belong to God, and are proper for his work.
Wherever it can be done, there it should be done. Satan may discourage us to
make use of available time and to win the lost however we are not encouraged to
waste our time that we may be the instrument of salvation to many.
Unfortunately today we are all prone to ignore and delay to take advantage of
golden opportunities to preach the word. We are indifferent to preach Christ
who was crucified for the sins of the whole world. In spiritual realm we should
not either make any delay to preach the Gospel or to accept it when we hear it.
Let us spend some time to know the consequences either side.
Do not delay to preach the Gospel
According
to the experts 3 people die every second. If this fact is true, then 180 people
die every minute, 10,800 people die every hour, 259,200 people die every day,
and 94,608,000 people die every year. Of the six billion people on earth today,
experts also say that 2/3 of them have never heard the Gospel one time. If
these percentages hold true, then 63, 103,536 people die every year without
ever hearing the Gospel one time! Not everyone that has heard the Gospel one
time accepts the Gospel. Therefore, many more people die every year without
hearing the Gospel! If you are here today and don’t know Christ as your
personal Savior, DO NOT WAIT TOO LATE!
We
believe that if our friends, neighbors, and business associates are not
Christians, they are lost. In describing the condition of the Ephesians before
they became Christians the Lord said, “That at that time ye were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians
2:12). This is the condition of every lost soul on earth, and every Christian
knows that this is so. We know that it is dangerous for the sinner to delay
obeying the gospel because life is so short, and the winter of death will soon
come. We must do what we can to save the lost, and we must act while there is
an opportunity. Our Lord set the example for us when he said, “I must work the
works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can
work” (John 9:4). If we wait to speak to our neighbor we may be too late. Let
us act before winter.
Read the following instance to know
the consequences of delayed Gospel. Alila stood on the beach holding her tiny infant
son close to her heart. Tears welled in her eyes as she began slowly walking
toward the river's edge. She stepped into the water, silently making her way
out until she was waist deep, and the water gently lapping at the sleeping
baby's feet. She stood there for a long time holding the child tightly as she
stared out across the river. Then all of a sudden in one quick movement she
threw the six month old baby to his watery death. Native missionary M.V.
Varghese often witnesses among the crowds who gather at the Ganges. It was he
who came upon Alila that day kneeling in the sand crying uncontrollably and
beating her breast. With compassion he knelt down next to her and asked her
what was wrong.
Through her sobs she told him,
"The problems in my home are too many and my sins are heavy on my heart,
so I offered the best I have to the goddess Ganges, my first born son."
Brother Varghese's heart ached for the desperate woman. As she wept he gently
began to tell her about the love of Jesus and that through Him her sins could
be forgiven. She looked at him strangely. "I have never heard that
before," she replied through her tears. "Why couldn't you have come
thirty minutes earlier? If you did, my child would not have had to die."
Each year millions of people come to the holy Indian city of Hardwar to bathe
in the River Ganges. These multitudes come believing this Hindu ritual will
wash their sins away. For many people like Alila, we are arriving too late,
simply because there aren't enough of these faithful brothers and sisters on
the mission field.
Do not delay to obey the Gospel
On
one hand believers are making delay to preach the Gospel but on the other hand
many non believers are just ignore or postpone to accept the salvific message
of the Gospel. The Lord says, “Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your
hearts” (Hebrews 3:7, 8). This admonition is given because of the danger people
run when they delay obedience to the gospel. The Lord never says TOMORROW, but
TODAY. You cannot find one place within the Bible where it says, “Believe in
Christ tomorrow, repent and baptized tomorrow.” It is dangerous to say,
“Tomorrow” when the Holy Spirit says, “Today.” The Christ who would save us
asks us not to wait till tomorrow, when the leaves are stripped from the fields
and when the snow lies on the mountains. He asks us to come before life is over
and before we have stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Don't wait till
it’s too late. Come to Christ and obey the gospel while you still have time.
Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does
not believe shall be condemned.”
Procrastination
can keep you from becoming a Christian. That’s what happened to two people we
meet in Acts 24, Felix and Drusilla. Some background on these two individuals
will help you understand their spiritual condition. Felix was Antonius Felix
Greek by birth; he gained his appointment as Roman Procurator of Judea from his
brother. Drusilla, Felix’s wife, was one of three daughters of Herod Agrippa I.
Felix induced her to leave her husband and marry him. Her father, Herod Agrippa
I, was the one who murdered James, the brother of John, and tried to murder
Peter as well (Acts 12). Her great-uncle, Herod Antipas, was the one who executed
John the Baptist, and her great-grandfather, Herod the Great, was the one who
ordered the murder of all the baby boys in Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate
Jesus. This was Drusilla’s family heritage they were spiritually dark, to say
the least.
Paul
spoke to Felix and Drusilla about his faith in Christ, and about three further
points: “… righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.” That sermon
was well-suited to Paul’s audience that day because Felix and Drusilla were
definitely needy in all three areas. Their marriage was immoral and their
backgrounds were filled with spiritual darkness. They no doubt felt quite
uncomfortable at Paul’s words.
Then
Paul moved on to self-control, another foreign word to them. They were used to
doing whatever they wanted, unencumbered by moral restraints of any kind. And
Facing down the Giant of Procrastination then he concluded with the natural
outcome of unrighteousness and lack of self control—judgment. Paul told them
there is a Judge sitting on a throne much larger than the throne of the
Procurator of Judea; even the throne of the Emperor himself in Rome. Someday,
Paul told them, they would stand before that Judge and He would call them to
account for their sins. That must have been some sermon, one that Felix and
Drusilla never imagined they would hear when they woke up that morning.
“Felix
was afraid” as a result of what he had heard from Paul—he was “terrified”. God
had spoken mightily to Felix’s heart, and he was overtaken by fear at the
prospect of future judgment in light of his past and present life. But then, at
the very time when he could have had all of his fears relieved, Felix said that
most dangerous of words (in a manner of speaking): “Tomorrow.” Felix sent Paul
away, saying he would call for him again at a more convenient time. Felix
procrastinated, didn’t he? He put off life’s most important, and sometimes most
difficult task—getting right with the God who created, and who will judge, us
all. We don’t know if Felix ever believed the gospel of Christ or not. Given
his initial response, we would say the likelihood was not good. Even if he did
later, we do know that he passed up the first chance God gave him to be saved.
He put off until a “convenient time” that which he should have grasped immediately.
There is never a “convenient time” to be saved. The time to be saved is when
God shows you your need. Who knows whether you will ever sense that need again?
First
of all, procrastination gives us the impression that we are in control of
tomorrow. It does not take into account the uncertainty of life. If we knew for
certain that tomorrow would come, perhaps we could put off some things. But who
knows what life holds past today, past this minute? No one. (Proverbs 27:1 “Do
not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.).
Scripture
uses eighteen different metaphors to remind us of the transitory nature of
life. For instance, life is like a vapor, here one minute and gone the next.
Who would try to build their future on a vapor? That would be a foolish
prospect indeed. Facing Down the Giant of Procrastination To assume we can put
off until tomorrow that which we should do today is a prescription for
remorse—possibly eternal remorse
Are
you putting off until tomorrow a decision about your own salvation? Or a
decision to begin walking as a committed disciple of Christ, laying aside the
things of this world and living only for Him? Perhaps you hear the gospel
presented, and you keep telling yourself you need to respond and get things settled
with God. If you are putting this off, you are building your future on a
foundation of vapor. You do not know what tomorrow will bring. Today is the day
for salvation.
There
is a classic story about procrastination and it goes like this. An eagle was
flying high over the Niagara River on a cold and wintry day. He saw a dead
bullock (young bull) floating down river. He thought to himself, "What a
great feast!" He landed and sank his talons deep into the carcass and
began to feed on it. He thoroughly enjoyed the feast and was unwilling to let
it go. He thought that he had plenty of time to withdraw. He continued to eat.
He decided that he would let go at the last minute. Not long after that he was
approaching the falls. He tried to fly away. However, he was in for a rude
awakening when he found that his feet were frozen to the carcass. In the end,
he fell with the carcass. The finest attractions of this world become deadly
when we become overly attached to them. They may take us to our destruction if
we cannot give them up. The most dangerous of all delusions is that there is
plenty of time. Therefore today is the day of your salvation do not
procrastinate it to tomorrow.
Conclusion
If
you are here and do not have a burden for souls that you should, DO NOT WAIT
TOO LATE! If you are here and are holding back your life from serving God, DO
NOT WAIT TOO LATE! WHEN YOU WAIT TOO LATE, THERE IS NO SECOND CHANCES!!!
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