Trick or Treat?

Halloween is the time for "trick or treat." But did you know that every day you are being offered a trick far worse than a prank and a treat far better than candy?

Don't Be Tricked!

Satan can trick you. Satan tricked Eve into thinking that eating the forbidden fruit would be good for her. "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat" (Genesis 3:13). He still tricks people today into thinking that doing bad things is fine—that disobeying God is all right. But Eve found out that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).

Your heart can trick you. Many people today believe that you should "follow your heart." In other words, "It doesn't matter what you believe, just so you believe something." They think that having a "religious experience" or a "good feeling" tells their heart that what they believe is right. That may sound nice, but it's a trick! The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things" (Jeremiah 17:9). If you are trusting someone other than Jesus, you have been tricked! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6).

Money can trick you. Everywhere you look it seems that people are doing anything they can to get more and more money. They have been tricked into thinking that money can give them happiness. It's sad to see people spend their whole lives trying to get rich, only to find out in the end that money cannot satisfy their need for happiness and peace. The Bible talks a lot about "the deceitfulness of riches" (Mark 4:19), and says "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19,20).

Sin can trick you. Maybe sometimes it seems that the people who are doing the most bad things are the ones having the most fun. Don't be tricked by such thoughts. Sin is like a fishing lure—it may look great on the outside, but there's a hook on the inside! Sin will hook you and lead you further and further away from God until your heart has become "hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13).

Other people can trick you. There are lots of people speaking empty words today. They have come up with their own ideas about spiritual things which are not true. That's why God tells us "Let no man deceive you with vain [empty] words" (Ephesians 5:6). Remember, if it's not in the Bible, it's probably a trick, and will lead you down the wrong road!

You can even trick yourself. The Bible tells us what is right, but don't think that hearing or knowing the truth is good enough! God says, "Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). You must believe what God says for yourself and act on it.

Here's The Truth!

God will never trick you. Unlike all the other things we have looked at, we know that "God … cannot lie" (Titus 1:2). Instead of telling us a lie, God's Word points out that "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). You see, our sin makes us dirty like a pair of shoes that have walked through the mud. And just like we can't walk through our own house with muddy shoes, we can't get into Heaven, which is God's house, with our sin.

God loves you. In fact, not only does He love you, but "God is love" (1 John 4:8,16). No one could ever love you as much as God does. And even though you've done bad things, He still loves you. That's why He has done the only thing that could ever wash your sins away. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who had never done even one thing wrong, to go to the Cross to suffer and die for your sins. God showed that Jesus had fully paid sin's debt by bringing Him back to life three days later. Now you can have your sins washed away by receiving what He has done for you.

God calls you. Salvation from sin is a free gift. Like any other gift, you must receive God's offer of salvation. All you need to do is tell God that you know you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died for you on the Cross, and trust Him to be your Saviour and Lord. God will hear you no matter where you are or what words you use. Then you will have the best treat of all—forgiveness of all your sins and eternal life with Him in heaven! "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36).

Source: mwtb.org

Are You Sick of Your Prayers?

Watch, listen or download the full message by Rich VanHeukelum here.

Are You Spiritually Unaware?

A Warning not to Stray from the Gospel (Trailer)

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Watch or download the full message by Richard Caldwell here.

Turn to Christ, Not Amusement

Watch, listen or download the full message by Greg Thurston here.

The Seed That Grows in Secret (Trailer)

Watch, listen or download the full message by David Chanski here.

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The infernal dungeon of Hell! (John Bunyan)

"Depart from Me, you who are cursed — into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!" Matthew 25:41

Those in the infernal dungeon of Hell, will undergo a VARIETY of torments. Those who are most afflicted upon earth, have seldom any more than one malady at a time. But should they have the plague, the gout, the stone, and fever all at one time — how miserable would they think themselves! Yet all that is but like the biting of a flea — compared to those intolerable, pungent pains which those in Hell endure! There, they have all the loathed variety of Hell to grapple with:
the unquenchable fire to burn them;
a lake of burning brimstone ever choking them;
eternal chains to bind them;
utter darkness to affright them, and
a worm of conscience which gnaws upon them eternally!
Any one of these is worse to bear — than all the torments which mankind ever felt on earth!

But the torments in Hell are also UNIVERSAL, afflicting each part of the body and soul — which renders what they suffer, most insufferable! In those illnesses which men are seized with on earth, though some parts are afflicted — other parts are free. But in Hell, each member of the soul and body is continually tormented: The eye is tormented with the sight of the devils, who appear in all the horrid and black shapes which sin can give them! The ear is tormented with the loud yellings and continual outcries of the damned. The nostrils are smothered with sulphurous flames.

The tongue is covered with burning blisters.

The the whole body is rolled in flames of liquid fire! The imagination is tormented with the thoughts of what a Heaven has been lost.

The memory is tormented with reflecting on those opportunities they had of being saved. The mind is tormented with considering how vainly precious time has been wasted. The understanding is tormented with the thoughts of of present pains, and future sorrows — which are to last forever! The conscience is tormented with a continual gnawing worm.

Another thing which makes the misery of Hell so dreadful, is the EXTREMITY of the torments. The fire which burns is so violent that all the water in the sea can never quench it! The pains suffered are so extreme, that it is impossible they should be known by any, but those who feel them!

Another part of Hell's misery is the CEASELESSNESS of the torments. As various, as universal, and as extremely violent as they are — they are continual, also. Nor have they the least rest from them. If there were any relaxation — it might be some allay. But what makes this condition so deplorable — is that there is no easing of the torments! "They will go away into eternal punishment!" Matthew 25:46

The COMPANY they have there, is another element of their misery. Tormenting devils and tormented souls are all the company! Dreadful shrieks and howlings, under the fierceness of pain, and fearful blasphemies, is all the conversation!

The PLACE in which they suffer is another thing which increases the sufferings. Hell is the epitome of all misery —
a prison,
a dungeon,
a bottomless pit,
a lake of fire and brimstone,
a furnace of fire which burns to eternity,
the blackness of darkness forever!

The cruelty of our TORMENTORS is another thing which adds to the torments. The tormentors are devils, in whom there is no pity. Being tormented themselves, they take pleasure in tormenting others.

But that which makes these sufferings most grievous — is that they shall ALWAYS be so — these most intolerable sufferings shall last to all eternity. 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire!" will perpetually sound in the ears of the damned! The miserable situation they are in, shall be forever!

Source: www.gracegems.org

Final Words of Famous Men

Famous men have lived and impressed the world with their achievements in various realms of life. Famous men have also died, and by their final words, with life ebbing away and the shades of death approaching, have expressed the impact eternal realities had made upon their souls. Some conveyed perplexing thoughts of doubt, despair and doom. Others proclaimed with unmistakable clarity their serenity of soul in faith, hope and love.

George Washington—First President of the United States. He composed his limbs, closed his eyes, and folding his arms upon his chest expired, saying, “Father of Mercies, take me to Thyself.” What hope!

C. H. Spurgeon—Preacher. Nearing the end of life, he said, “Tranquil and happy, though very weak. My theology is very simple. I can express it in few words and they are enough to die by.” After a pause, he slowly said, “Jesus died for me.” What simplicity!

Michael Faraday—Chemical Scientist. When on his deathbed he was asked, “What are your speculations now?” “Speculations?” exclaimed Faraday, “I have none! No speculations now. I KNOW whom I have believed. My soul rests on certainties.” What assurance!

Charles Dickens—Author. “I commit my soul to the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and I exhort my dear children to humbly try to guide themselves by the teaching of the New Testament.” What composure!

Richard Baxter—Author. “I have pain, for there is no arguing against one’s senses. But I have peace; I have peace.” What peace!

Albert the Good—Prince Consort of Queen Victoria. He constantly repeated “Rock of Ages” upon his deathbed. “For,” said he, “If in this hour I had only my worldly honors and dignities to depend on, I should be poor indeed.” What wealth!

Aristotle—A Great Philosopher. In the face of death he proclaimed, “I was born in sin. I have lived unhappily. I die in doubt. Cause of causes pity me.” What doubt!

Rudolph Valentino—Movie Actor. His last words were: “Doctor, do you know the greatest thing I am looking forward to?” “What is it?” asked the doctor. “It is the fishing review next month,” said he and lapsed into unconsciousness from which he never recovered. What emptiness!

Jay Gould—Millionaire. When dying he is reported to have said, “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.” What misery!

Beaconsfield—Politician. “Youth is a mistake, manhood a struggle, old age a regret.” What regret!

Thomas Paine—Author and Philosopher. “I would give worlds, if I had them, that the Age of Reason had never been published.” In answer to Dr. Manley’s question, “Do you then believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ?” Paine’s reply and last utterance was, “I have no wish to believe on that subject.” What rebellion!

Voltaire—Infidel of the most pronounced type. Alternately praying and blaspheming, this wretched man died crying, “O Christ! O Jesus Christ!” What blasphemy!

What is the source of the faith, hope and certainty on the lips of those who died in peace? What caused the unrest, doubt and despair of those who died in misery?

Those who died in peace knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. “Jesus died for me,” Spurgeon said. This is the confession of one who had accepted the work done by Jesus on Calvary’s cross to pay the penalty his sins demanded. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The work of Christ makes us safe; the Word of Christ makes us sure! “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

Those who died in misery did so because of unbelief. Their riches, achievements and fame did not help them as death drew nigh. They had refused the Son of God, and therefore they had no Savior. They did not believe the revelation of the Holy Scriptures, and therefore had no hope. Sadly, it must be said of them what the Lord Jesus said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” Paine cried, “I have no wish to believe on that subject,” and indeed his own desire to have nothing to do with Christ while salvation was offered was the sealing of his doom in an eternal hell! —D.T.J.

Dear reader, face the issues involved, and right now:

Turn and believe this very hour, Trust in the Savior’s love and power; Then shall your final answer be, “Saved!” through a long eternity.

Source: http://www.mwtb.org

A dirty job, but someone has to do it

by Pastor Ron Bridge of Rehoboth Baptist Church

The first century Roman playwright, Seneca, described his native city as “the cesspool of iniquity.” This from a man who was a pagan. The immorality of Rome was almost beyond description, homosexuality, bisexuality and even bestiality was accepted and even celebrated. Abortion was commonplace. Unwanted babies were killed, or left on doorsteps to be taken, or left in a field to be eaten by dogs. Although the Colosseum was not yet built, gladiators fought to the death in smaller venues and it would not be long before people would be fed to wild beasts. Men and women who married and remained faithful to each other were considered an oddity, prudish, narrow and unsophisticated. When, some years earlier, Pilate had responded to the Lord's claim to be speaking the truth with the infamous “what is truth?” He was only reflecting the prevailing Roman culture in which anything was acceptable. It was to Christians living in a culture that was so hostile to the gospel and to biblical holiness, that Paul wrote his most famous letter.

No doubt, the Christians living in Rome would concur with Paul's description of godless people in Romans 1:18-32 – they saw such things every day and recoiled from them. But, Paul followed his description of godlessness with the reminder that they were once like that, and it was only by the grace of God that they had been delivered from their own wickedness. God, says Paul, justifies the ungodly, not when by their own effort they become godly, but in order to make them so (Romans 4:5-8, 5:8-10). In spite of terrible persecution and the death of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Christians, the church in Rome grew and eventually overcame – “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” (Tertullian). The Roman Christians resisted the tidal wave of corruption and many shed their blood in so doing.

Now, while not every aspect of Roman life is mirrored in modern American life, we are well along the way to creating our own cesspool of iniquity. So, when the Holy Spirit guided Paul's letter to the Christian's in Rome, He was also writing to the American church in 2013. Like our Christian brethren in Rome, we are facing a culture that is becoming more hostile to biblical standards as it careens into the abyss of depravity. Like them, we are called upon to demonstrate godliness in an ungodly world. Like them we will be ridiculed, opposed, persecuted – and killed? Jesus suffered at the hands of the ungodly, His apostles likewise, those that followed also. We should not be surprised if our turn is soon to come. As Peter wrote: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing had happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter. 4:12,13).

One more thing to consider. The Church in Rome did not grow by Christians hunkering down and avoiding conflict. It grew because they were not ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16). It grew because they were in contact with the ungodly, with the depraved and with the enemies of Christ – and they had “compassion on them – pulling them out of the flames, hating even the garments defiled by the flesh” (Jude 22,23). Sometimes evangelism is a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Jesus did it. Christians throughout the ages have done it. Someone did it for us. Who will do it for the ungodly of our day?

A Test to Know that You Know

Watch, listen or download the full message by John H Innabnit here.

Ten Mistakes of Modern Evangelism

When I was conducting my research on the Great and second Great Awakenings, I was shocked by the vast dissimilarity of the preaching in those days compared with the preaching of our day. I read the sermons of Jonathan Edwards and his contemporaries of the 18th century and then I studied the sermons of Asahel Nettleton and his contemporaries of the 19th century and I noticed that God seemed to be pleased to bless the messages that were preached in those centuries with tremendous outpourings of his grace and revival and spiritual awakening and I look around today and all I see is deadness everywhere in the churches and it’s tied directly to our preaching of our day.

There’s been a sad declension in the great doctrines of the Bible and evangelism in our day. We want to see God move in revival like he’s done in former times but the problem is, we aren’t willing to preach the same messages that former men of revival preached. Part of this may be due to the fact that we’re living in a day of great spiritual declension that knows little about vital Christianity. These are the days of the lukewarm church and, unfortunately, much of the preaching is lukewarm as well. It’s neither hot nor cold, it’s just room temperature because the pastor doesn’t want to turn the temperature up in the room and upset any of his hearers. We invite a lot of people to walk an aisle and repeat a prayer but there is little evidence of true conversion in the churches in our day.

The problem with much of the evangelism is that we present a Jesus to people who aren’t interested in him because they feel they just don’t need him. Everyone needs Christ but their eyes are blinded and they are dead in sin. Old time preachers knew how to use the Word of God to awaken sinners to their lost estate and ruined condition. After a sinner was awakened and convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit, then the remedy for sin was applied in the person of Jesus Christ. But today we offer the remedy to people who just don’t realize they are sick and in need of it. We must realize that a sinner needs to be awakened before he can be converted.

But sadly, much of the preaching done today is shallow and shallow preaching leads to shallow conversions and shallow conversions lead to shallow congregations and shallow congregations leave the devil alone, leave the lost astray and lead the nation into moral bankruptcy so the end result of shallow preaching is a long line of people going straight to hell.

I don’t blame the White House for the problems of our hour. I don’t blame the courthouse for the problems of our day. Rather, I place the blame on the pulpits of our land that have conformed to the pagan society that they were meant to reach and instead of preaching to the lost a pure Gospel of the Son of God, the pulpits water down the Gospel so it can be more easily swallowed and we have swallowed this diluted Gospel which lacks true spiritual nourishment and we are sunk.

This message is a call for the pulpits of the land to return to the old paths of preaching the great doctrines of the Bible whereby men are awakened to their sins and alarmed about their lost and ruined condition before a just and holy God. My message today is entitled “Ten Mistakes of Modern Evangelism.” I will first list them and then elaborate upon each of them as we proceed.

1. Modern evangelism has shrunken God down to our size.
2. We have taken salvation out of the hands of God and placed it in the hands of men.
3. We fail to preach the Gospel in its purity and proper order in preaching the doctrines of ruin and redemption and repentance and regeneration.
4. There is a failure to show man his duty of repentance.
5. Modern evangelism has failed to preach the utter strictness and severity of the law of God.
6. We have failed to proclaim that man first has to be lost before he can be saved; a man needs to be awakened to see his need of Christ before the remedy can be applied.
7. Modern evangelism makes false converts by mistaking a physical act like walking an aisle and repeating a prayer as true conversion.
8. We have failed to warn sinners to flee from hell and describe hell and its terrors.
9. We have failed to preach up the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
10. Modern evangelism has miserably failed in its portrayal of what the Christian life is to a new believer; we paint it as all red roses and honey blossoms and neglect to inform our hearers about the demands of discipleship in following a crucified Savior.

Each of these ten mentioned items is of immense importance to the salvation of a soul.

Read the full message by E.A. Johnston here or listen below.

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Watch, listen or download the full message by Russ Sukhia here.