Monday, November 20, 2006
Today's children have barely even heard of the disease, but when I was a kid, it was every parent's greatest fear for their child - that crippling, sometimes deadly, disease called polio. I can distinctly remember how my mother didn't even want me to be in big crowds because of how polio seemed to spread so quickly. But then along came the vaccine. We all got our shots and we were immune to polio. Since then, there are a lot more shots like that for everything from smallpox, to tetanus, to the flu. And they all work basically on the same principle: in essence, you get a little of the virus injected into your system so that your body will build up an immunity to what could otherwise cripple you or kill you. That kind of immunization can save your life. But, on the other hand, immunization can be really dangerous - even deadly.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Immunization Can Cost You Your Life."
We're talking spiritual immunization here - the kind where you get injected with just enough Christianity to immunize you to your personal need for Jesus Christ. Literally, all you know about Jesus can spiritually kill you, if it numbs you and keeps you from acting on what Jesus did on the cross for you.
That's why we have this warning in Hebrews 4:7, our word for today from the Word of God. It says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." Let's say you've been around the message of Jesus a lot. You know - you agree - that all of us have a sin problem. We're in trouble with God; we're away from God because we have run our own lives instead of God running them. You know, and you agree that Jesus Christ, God's Son, loved us so much that He gave His life to pay our death penalty. You know and you agree that people need to put their trust in Jesus to make Him their personal Rescuer from their personal sin and its penalty.
And you have, as the verse says, "heard His voice." You have felt the tug of Jesus, urging you to give yourself to Him. But even though you know all about belonging to Jesus, you don't belong to Him. You agree with Him, but you've never really reached out to Him in the way a drowning person grabs the lifeguard who's come to save them.
And every time you've heard about Jesus and done nothing, you have been unknowingly "hardening your heart" a little more. You've become almost immune to the prompting of the Holy Spirit when He says, "This is for you." You watch others come to Christ, but you never have. When someone asks people to come to Christ, you subconsciously are thinking, "That's for someone else." Maybe not. Maybe today the call to come to Christ is finally for you.
"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart." In John 12, the Bible describes some people who it says "would not believe in Him." ( John 12:37) Then it says that ultimately "they could not believe." ( John 12:39) You never know how close you are to that point of no return. So if you've never actually begun your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, why don't you do it right now, right where you are?
Tell Jesus that you're bringing all your sin to Him to have it forgiven; that you're putting your total trust in Him to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin. If that's what you want, then I want to invite you to our website where we've got a simple, non-religious road map, really, on how to get started in your relationship with Him. It's yoursforlife.net, and I encourage you to go there today while God is tugging on your heart. Or I'd love to send you my little booklet called "Yours For Life." It has some of the same information in it. Just call us for that toll free at 877-741-1200.
Immunity to Jesus can cost you your life - your eternal life in heaven. Before it's forever too late, give yourself to this Savior that you've known about for so long.