Tuesday, March 19, 2013
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It might actually be an unwritten rule of flying commercially. The person who has the window seat in a row always seems to get there last. It's just got to be a rule; seems to always happen. It happened one day to me. I was lucky enough to be in the center seat. There was someone to my left sitting on the aisle seat, and we were all buckled in because they were about to close the door and begin the flight. I said, "All right! I'm going to get an empty seat next to me." No!
All of a sudden, huffing and puffing down the aisle comes a man who I would say didn't sit in his seat. He more collapsed into his seat, and I said, "Oh, it was a close call." And he said, "Oh, I already missed one." And I said, "Tell me the story." He said, "Well, the plane was there and I thought, ‘I'm going to make it' as I ran through the airport. And I made it, but they'd just closed the door on the passageway out to the plane - the jet way." He got there and the agent said, "You know what? I think we can still make it." She opened the door and he said, "Wouldn't you know, just at that minute the plane just started to inch away. The jetway was just pulling in." He said, "I almost literally had one foot on the jetway, but I was a split second too late." Well, he missed his chance. It was close, but he missed it. I'm afraid you will.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Someone Else Shuts the Door."
Our word for today from the Word of God is in Genesis chapter 7; it's the familiar story of Noah. It says in verse 7, "Noah and his sons and his wife and his son's wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood." Verse 10 says, "After seven days the flood waters came on the earth." And we know that all of mankind was destroyed. But up until that time, for many, many years there had been opportunities to avoid that coming judgment. All you had to do was get into the ark.
Verse 16 says these sobering words, "Then the Lord shut him in." God shut the door on the place where they could avoid the judgment. This is more than ancient history we're looking at here. This is an eternally important picture of someone who's listening today - maybe you. God offers to each of us a way to escape the judgment for our sin that we deserve. It's a penalty, though, that Christ took; a death penalty that He took on the cross. He's the ark.
There's an ark available to all of us sinners. Now, how do you get in? You go to the cross where Jesus died and you say, "Jesus, for me. I believe You died for me. Like those people who got into the ark, this is my only hope of safety from God's judgment. Not my religion, not my good works; nothing else will do it." But see, you can only come as long as God leaves the door open.
In John 6, Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him." You won't come to Christ; you can't unless God's Spirit wakes you up inside, pulls you toward Jesus, and gives you the faith to do it. Haven't you experienced that tug? What have you done with it? Postponed dealing with it, pretended you have, played along, agreed? Agreement isn't commitment.
Once again today, through this broadcast, He's stirring you. Some time will be the last time, and then the door is closed. It isn't smart to procrastinate when eternity is at stake. I know a man who very much wanted to be on an airplane, who went to the destination he wanted, but he went to the door too late. For him there was another flight, but if God shuts the door of grace because you've refused to respond, there's not another flight. Your only hope is gone.
Today if you want to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, I want to invite you to join me at a website called YoursForLife.net. There you will find in simple terms how you can be sure you have been forgiven of your sins, you'll go to heaven when you die, and you have begun your relationship with God.
Today the door is open! God paid with the blood of His Son for you to go to heaven, but you've got to come while He's calling. You can meet Jesus at His cross today. He's been waiting for you there.