Friday, November 17, 2006
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was not only the creator of Sherlock Holmes, but apparently, he was a creative practical joker, too. The story is told of one horrendous - although clever - practical joke that he played one time. He just wrote a short, unsigned telegram - all in fun - to 12 of the best known men in England. The anonymous message was the same - only six words - six scary words, "All is discovered. Flee at once." As the story goes, within 24 hours not one of those men could be found.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Fugitive in the Mirror."
Interesting. These men were chased, ultimately not by what someone else knew they had done, but by what they knew they had done. It reminds me of the insightful words of Proverbs 28:1 in the Bible, "The wicked man flees though no one pursues." Twice America has run a popular TV series and then, there was ultimately a blockbuster movie called "The Fugitive." It's about a man on the run who can't shake his pursuer. In a sense, we're all "the fugitive." Every one of us knows what it is to be chased emotionally and spiritually by what we've done in the past: the people we've hurt, the messes we've made, the wrong we've done. Maybe no one else knows, but we know and we can't shake the guilt, the regrets, and that nagging fear of having to face God with it some day.
And like the fugitive on the screen, we can get away from it for a while, but it eventually overtakes us again. Is there no way to erase the guilt of the past instead of being chased by the guilt of the past? Thank God, there is. It's described in our word for today from the Word of God in Zechariah 3:1. In a very real way, the man called "Joshua the high priest" is a picture of you and me.
He is "standing before the angel of the Lord," who, by the way, many believe is actually Christ in the Old Testament, "and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him." The devil, who will not let you forget what you've done, stands there telling God, "Hey, there's no way You can take this one, not when You know what he's really like." Maybe you've felt that way: too dirty for God to ever really love you - to ever let you into His heaven. The Bible describes this man, and us, as "dressed in filthy clothes."
But, "the angel said, 'Take off his filthy clothes.' Then he said to Joshua," and I believe He wants to say this to you today, "'See I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.'" You'll never get anywhere with God as long as you're trying to stand before Him trying to look all religious and righteous. We're filthy, according to Him. That's what our sin makes us. But because Jesus loved you enough to take all the guilt and all the hell of all your sins and pay for it on the cross, He can literally take away all the guilt, take away all the penalty of all your sin.
Can I tell you what today is about? It's about you finally being clean inside, totally forgiven, and free from every sin you have ever committed. But you have to respond to what Jesus has done for you by trusting Him to be your personal Savior from your personal sin. You do that when you say to Him, "Jesus, I believe what You did on the cross is my only hope. I've been running my life long enough. I want to be Yours today, and I'm grabbing You like a drowning person would grab their rescuer."
If you want to accept His forgiveness, if you want to begin this awesome personal relationship with Him, then I want to invite you to come to our website. We've got a simple and brief non-religious explanation there on how to get started with Jesus. Just go to yoursforlife.net. Or you can call for this in printed form. I've got a little booklet called "Yours For Life," and it's no cost to you if you just call us at 877-741-1200.
Today the flight of a spiritual fugitive can end. It ends at the foot of Jesus' cross.