WHAT THE HELL!

What the hell!

People have this attitude about hell: A kind of “whatever” approach; yawn; “A loving God sending people off into a tormenting eternity? C’mon, get real!” etc. Have you noticed that? “What the hell – I’ll take my chances!” they say.

But there are no chances in hell.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been caught for something. Maybe cheating in an exam; called into the headmaster’s office, or the boss’s office; or called to a fist-fight or gang-fight; called by the Receiver of Revenue; or even caught by the police; called to appear in court.

I have.

All of the above – and some!

Friends ask you in the midst of it all, “Are you alright?”, because they can see that the blood has drained from your face, you’ve gone grey in the gills, and you look like death warmed up! But you play brave, and thru your quivering lip you incoherently utter, “I’m fine. What the hell!”, while your nonchalant, sweaty palm slips awkwardly off its support like a drunk fool, defying your “cool” masquerade, and your heart thumps like a deafening rapper in your chest!

But if the truth be told, you’re not fine - YOU’RE DEAD SCARED!

And isn’t it funny - these are all human conditions, man-on-man stuff, and yet the dread-anticipation makes us break out into a cold sweat.

Can you imagine what it is going to be like to appear before God? Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul (man-on man); but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (God-on-man)” (Matthew 10:28)

Nice!

The Bible says, “... it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27), and then in 2 Corinthians 5:10 it says, ^“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”, and Heb 10:31 intensifies the heart-thumping rap with, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”!

“TERRIFYING”? You thought you were nervous before with the man-on-man deal, but God-on-man is more than “sweaty palms” or “butterflies”! John records his encounter with Jesus in Heaven as, When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man...” (Revelation 1:17)

“What the hell – I’ll take my chances!”, you say. Go ahead, “dead man” – take your chances.

What if you are right, and there is no God, no eternity, and all the dumb Christians have believed a fairy tale? Well, I’ve lost nothing by being a Christian. But, what if I’m right, and there is a God, and there is eternity? Then you’ve lost absolutely everything, including your soul for eternity! It’s pay-back time! There’s going to be hell to pay! Wanna gamble? Play a little bit of spiritual Russian Roulette for the rush? Not even the dumbest dude on the planet would gamble with those odds! That’s why the Bible says, “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”” (Psalm 14:1)

You will die. We all die. You have got to “fire-proof” your soul. This is how you do it: the Bible says,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:16-19)

One day, “as sure as hell”, you are going to know your eternal state:

Scripture says, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done...¹⁵ And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire... 21:8 ⁸ But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 20:11-12, 21:8)

You can’t say, “What the hell” about Hell.

I hope this article scares the hell out of you!

Keep preaching, Saint!

WWJD?

Well, He is the Word - there's no doubt that He would preach. And Preach He did:

Mark 1:38-39
³⁸ He said* to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may PREACH there also; for that is what I came for." ³⁹ And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

Luke 4:18
¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor . He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives , And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed

Christ's purpose was to preach.

What did the 12 do?

Mark 3:14-15
¹⁴ And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have authority to cast out the demons.

What should You and I do?

Mark 16:15-17
¹⁵ And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. ¹⁷ "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues.

Acts 1:8
⁸ but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

The Holy Spirit's primary purpose for His anointing is to empower you and I to preach Christ to the lost.

It is incredible to see how miracles follow the preaching of the Word. They don't seem to follow our barbeques, braais or events.

It is equally true that persecution follows the preaching of the Word: "affliction or persecution arises because of the word" Mark 4:17. So, if we want to avoid persecution, we should not preach the Word. Preach other things, like benevolence and environmentalism and crime, etc, but don't preach Christ if you want to be loved by everybody.

Every Christian has a single priority responsibility, i.e. to preach Christ, every breathing moment of our short lives. Anyone, Muslims, Hindus, celebs, et al can care for orphans, feed the hungry, fight for a cause, go green - it's commendable, but not eternal. But only Christians can preach Christ! Christ as the only way to heaven, Christ as God, Saviour, Forgiver, and giver of eternal life. All things were made by Him and for Him and thru Him. Every person on the planet has their breath from Christ alone. What are you doing with yours?

Preach Christ, or play games.

STAY YOUR COURSE TO THE END OF YOUR LIFE

"STAY YOUR COURSE TO THE END OF YOUR LIFE.

Your work and your life must go off the stage together. Persisting to the end will be the burr under your saddle - the thorn in your flesh - when the road ahead seems endless and your soul begs an early discharge. It weighs down every other difficulty of your calling. We have known many who have joined the army of Christ and liked being a soldier for a battle or two, but have soon had enough and ended up deserting. They impulsively enlist for Christian duties, are easily persuaded to take up a profession of religion, and are just as easily persuaded to lay it down...This persevering is hard work! Taking up the cross daily, praying always, watching night and day and never laying aside our armour to indulge ourselves, sends many sorrowful away from Christ. Yet this is your calling: to make the Christian faith your daily work, without any vacation from one end of the year to the other." (William Gurnall - The Christian in Complete Armour)

THE SOLUTION

THE SOLUTION

*TRENDS IN ANNUAL GROWTH OF ADHERENCE
1970-1985	1990-2000	2000-2005
3.65% - Bahá'í Faith	2.65% - Zoroastrianism	1.84% - Islam
2.74% - Islam	2.28% - Bahá'í Faith	1.70% - Bahá'í Faith
2.34% - Hinduism	2.13% - Islam	1.62% - Sikhism
1.67% - Buddhism	1.87% - Sikhism	1.57% - Hinduism
1.64% - Christianity	1.69% - Hinduism	1.32% - Christianity
1.09% - Judaism	1.36% - Christianity
	1.09% - Buddhism
The annual growth in the world population over the same period is 1.41%.

*Christian Encyclopaedia

Mark 4:16-19 ¹⁶ "In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;
¹⁷ and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.
¹⁸ "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,
¹⁹ but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

The cares, worries, concerns of this world choke out the word! I never saw the “cares” as being those things that really cause us concern around the world. Some of the things i have just delineated. Concern for these things will ultimately choke out the word, unless they are carried on the wings of the word. If we are moved by concern and not by faith (the word), then we will not be moved by God-love, but rather human sympathy! You can give all you possess to the poor, but if you don’t have love, it’s nothing! And that’s Satan’s scheme. He wants to entice you with good things so that you come to nothing. Not all of us can answer the needs of this planet; not all of us have the resources to answer all the needs. But one thing is for sure – we can all preach, and it costs you nothing except your pride! No one is going to persecute you for doing good. But if you preach the word, you will be persecuted – so says verse 17 above. Assissi’s “Preach the word, and If necessary say something” is not only unbiblical, but is a mentality that has caused the decline of the Christian faith around the world. Love must impel us. Our love mission to this world is to preach the gospel. That’s the highest level of love. God so loved that he sent the Word, not relief work, even tho the Word will bring relief!

We are moved by the trauma of millions who are starving; we are moved by the tragedy of AIDS and orphans; we are moved by the devastation of poverty. And yet none of these concerns are biblically allayed unless they come out of first preaching the gospel, holding the preaching as first, and allowing love to shape our compassionate response.

If it is cataclysmic to see 30% of our women infected with AIDS, how much more cataclysmic is it to watch 70% of our nation going to hell because they have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and forgiver? You can die in AIDS here, and that’s a tragedy; but you can live in death and torment for eternity in a place where the flames do not cease. Which is the weightier issue? Must the one be done while the other is neglected? No. Both must be done, but the believer must first share his faith.

If it is cataclysmic that 66% of our children are in poverty, defined as less than R380pm, then how much more cataclysmic is it to see those children die of hunger without Jesus Christ? You can fill a tummy with food today, and that’s good, or you can fill a heart with Jesus, and I promise you, based on Luke 16, those who have died in poverty, will live forever in such transcendent comfort, that the pains of this life will never be remembered.

It’s just that doing good things is easier for the believer than preaching. It is. That’s why we are commissioned by Jesus to go into all the world and PREACH the gospel to every creature.

What is numbing us? Why don’t our eyes swim with compassion at the realisation of people going to hell, like they do when we hear about starvation, sickness, plague, disease? I don’t think we completely believe what Jesus said about the afterlife. If we did we would change the mode of our lives right now. We wouldn’t work so hard to get our identity out of a strong work ethic; we wouldn’t spend so much time with our families to get our identity out of having a strong family; we wouldn’t recreate and be lovers of pleasure so much, etc. No. We would make sure that every person we ever met would be met with Jesus first, not my friendly nature, or the nice guy tyhat i am, or how competent I am, or whatever.

From a prayer-saturated heart, we would be constrained by love to open up our mouths and speak out of the abundance of our hearts. When was the last time you spoke to someone about Jesus Christ – not church – but Christ! That will be the measure of what your heart is really filled with. Your fight is not with me. Jesus said that.

When would be the right time to share Christ? 2 Timothy 4:2 ^{2 “}Be ready to spread the word whether or not the time is right. Point out errors, warn people, and encourage them. Be very patient when you teach.” It doesn’t matter when you share with a person – just nmake sure you do! Satan will tell you that the time is not right so that he can steal that life. Be wise – TODAY is the day – NOW is the time of salvation. That timing was secured when Jesus died on the cross – “It is finished!”

Do we now stop our practical care for people in need? Well, that question shouldn’t even be asked! How can we stop our love? But I am sharing about the correct order of things, that the truth must first be spoken in love.

Satan has skilfully and craftily distracted the saints from their primary mission. We are able to appease our Christian responsibility thru good works that are necessary, but not essential.

AIDS can kill the body, but Jesus said, fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell! (Matt 10:28)

Poverty can kill the body, but a lost soul can be in torment for eternity. You tell me which is the weightier issue!

Cataclysmic world events, with all our relief efforts, will appease the life, and even move us to emotion, but how do you appease fires that never die, and torment that defines judgement. Preach the word! Preach the Word!!!!

Go into all the world and preach the gospel (Matt 28)

We cannot help but speak! (Acts 4)

What did Jesus do? What did the disciples do? They didn’t start anything. They just preached.

Peter preached and 3000 were added

Philip preached and was translated in the Spirit

Stephen preached and was stoned

What did Paul do? He preached “immediately”! He didn’t start a rescue mission for all the widows and orphans that lay in his wake. That’s tough, I know, but it’s the necessary truth that keeps preaching at the forefront, for the simple reason that, they will not believe on the end of being fed, clothed, medicated, or financially relieved. The Bible says, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!" Romans 10:14-15

You will not be persecuted by acts of love, but you will be persecuted for preaching that Jesus is the only way.

For those with primary motivation for practical care ( and I would like to think that I am one of those) this may sound like foolishness. But God said in 1 Corinthians 1:21-23 “²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; (and dare I say, Christians seek relief work!) ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.”

The foolishness of preaching is chosen by God. Why not choose to be a fool for Jesus? The only prerequisite is humility.

We need to preach with signs following, and we need to preach with benevolence following

Pointing to the signs of the times does not mean that the sign of the times is the end of the wprld. If you want to hasten the return of your Lord, then preach at every opportunity you get! - Matthew 24:14 ¹⁴ "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Don’t preach about the end times – make them happen!

2 Corinthians 4:5 ⁵ For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.

The vital fuel for witnessing is prayer; the vital disposition of the saint is to be a bond-slave to Christ!

Do you want that?