"Ministers’ Minute"
Volume I Number 3
Decision For Destiny
A Sermon by Reggie Thomas -- a message designed to present Jesus the Saviour to unsaved souls and then urge them to make the decision to surrender to Him.
Acts 8:35-39, "Then Philip began with that
very passage of Scripture and told them the good news about Jesus. As they
traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, 'Look,
here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized.' And he gave orders to stop the
chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip
baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord
suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his
way rejoicing."
He rejoiced because he had made life's supreme decision for destiny!
I understand that every year in New York City the people of that great metropolis enjoy a treasure hunt. The treasure hunt is conducted by the newspapers. The papers carry the names of all the people in New York who have dormant bank accounts. It is an amazing thing that several thousand people, every year, turn up in New York with dormant bank accounts. Around the first of September, when the newspapers list all of these names, the people of New York will be seen scanning the columns of the paper trying to find their name to see if perchance they might have one of these dormant bank accounts. Again, it is amazing that every year several hundred people will come in and claim their money. Recently a fellow came in and claimed more than $8,000 that had been listed in a dormant bank account. It was such an unusually large amount of money that newspaper reporters were there to question him. After he had proven that he was the valid owner of these funds and had received them, a reporter stepped up and said, "Sir, why did you have that money in the bank all of these years and just now come to claim it after your name appeared in the papers?" Then this fellow got a little red in the face as he said, "Well you may find it hard to believe, but the truth is I had just forgotten that I had this money in the bank."
When I read that I was dumbfounded! I can't imagine it! If I had $8,000 in the bank I know that I wouldn't forget about it, in fact I would probably be telephoning that bank every morning, noon, and night just to be sure that it was still there, safe and sound.
As amazing as it is to think that there are people
who have people money in the bank and they forgot about it, I am here to tell
you of something more astounding, I am here to tell you about men and women and
boys and girls who have allowed the claims of the Lord Jesus to lie dormant
within their hearts. I want to say over and over again in every way that God
can give me the words to say it, God wants a decision. It is time to make
your decision.
We make decisions everyday that we live. In fact decisions
far outnumber anything else that we do in our life.You had to decide to get up
this morning. I'm sure you didn't just automatically fall out of bed. A decision
had to be made. Some decisions are far more important than others. Every young
person must decide about education, are you going on to school and graduate and
then go to college and prepare your mind for the future years, or are you going
to be a dropout so that you can obtain some of this easy money that is available
right now. Whatever you do about education is an important decision, but it is
not life's supreme decision for destiny. Every person must decide about a
vocation. Just as an architect will draw plans and specifications before a
lovely building can be constructed; even so, our lives need a blueprint if they
are going to be entirely satisfactory. A misfit in any vocation is tragic, but
as important decision as vocation is, it is not life's supreme decision for
destiny.
When two young people come walking down the aisle of a church building to recite the marriage vows, a decision is being made. A tremendously important decision, two lives will be blessed or else two lives will be tragically ruined. As important a decision as marriage is, even that is not life's supreme decision for destiny.
Well you say, what then is the all important decision? It is the very same decision that was made so long ago by the Ethiopian eunuch as he rode down the highway reading his scriptures. His decision was made when he said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
Why did this man make his decision?
I. Was it illness? If we can find out why, then perhaps you could make your decision for the very same reason that he made his. As we ask the question, "Why did he do it?", I know that the thought of illness and death comes to your mind. Many times people can be reached for Christ when they are in the hospital, or when they are sick at home, or when they know death coming soon.
A Death Bed Example
I am
thinking right now of a man who was reached in Atlanta, Georgia a few years ago,
when I was preaching at the East Point Christian Church. The man's wife
made the request of me that I go to the hospital to visit her husband. He was
dying, in fact, he was in the last stages of cancer and I fully knew the
situation as I walked in the hospital room. Having been briefed by the
wife, I felt no reason to waste any time and so I came right to the point. I
said, " Joel, are you ready to die and meet God?" Big tears came in his eyes and
his chin quivered with emotion. It must have been five minutes before he could
even answer me and finally when he gained control of himself, he looked me right
in the eye and he said, "No sir, I am not ready to die, I am afraid to die. "
His chin began to quiver again and I said, " Joel, would you like to be
Christian?" and he said, "Sure, I would like to be a Christian, but I have
waited until it is too late." I said, " Joel, it's not too late. You are
still alive, you can think, you can make your own decision. Do you want to be a
Christian?" He said, "Yes, but I tell you it is too late," and I said, " Joel,
why do you say it is too late?" He said, "Look at me, I am so weak that I can't
even get off this hospital bed. Look at all these tubes and needles that
they have stuck in my arms and legs. There is no possible way that I could ever
be baptized. I have waited until it is too late and that is all there is to it."
I said, " Joel, if you want to be a Christian, you let me worry about how to
baptize you. Give me the name of your doctor." He gave me the name of his doctor
and I telephoned him right away. I explained to the doctor what Joel Chastain
wanted to do, and it turned out that the doctor, himself, was a Christian and as
soon as I explained why I telephoned, the doctor was overjoyed. He said, "You
know, I was afraid Joel was not a Christian and I thought of speaking to
him myself. I am so glad you are there and that he has made his decision.
Certainly, he can be baptized." Then the doctor said, "If you would permit it, I
would like to assist in the baptism. " Well, I assured the doctor I would be
more than glad to have his assistance. He came right down to the hospital.
The tubes and needles were removed and Joel was prepared and a couple of the
male nurses in the hospital helped to carry him down to the physical therapy
room, where a big pool had been prepared with water. In a few minutes the doctor
and I lifted Joel Chastain off of the bed and gently put him down in this pool
of water and there he was buried with Christ and raised up in newness of life.
He was really happy and I have never seen a man witness any more joyfully than
this man witnessed for Christ. He did not neglect to tell his story to a single
doctor or nurse or visitor that came into that hospital. Everybody had to go to
his room and hear us how Joel Chastain had become a Christian. The
immediate result of his conversion was that we baptized six other adults into
Christ, they had listened to his testimony and then made their decision.
Everybody knew why Joel Chastain became a Christian, he was a dying man and he
was afraid to die without Christ. Now, I do not say that fear is the
best motive, but I do not say that is an unworthy motive. Why do we
have insurance, except that we are afraid of what might happen. Didn't our Lord
Jesus Christ teach us to, "fear him, who is able to destroy both soul and body
in Hell"? I tell you the truth, I am afraid of going to Hell, but it was not
fear that prompted the eunuch to become a Christian.
It was fear that prompted Joel Chastain, but not this man that we are reading about in Acts chapter 8. This man was not ill, he had made a long journey from his home in Ethiopia all the way to Jerusalem and now was in the process of going back home again in a chariot. This is not the sort of journey that a sick man would ever have attempted. He was not thinking that he was going to die right away, this man was strong and able bodied. So we have to search for another reason why he made his decision.
II. A great sinner?
As we ask that question perhaps some are thinking that he was a terrible prodigal. It is a fact that when a man has become so deeply engulfed in sin, occasionally his conscience will get the best of him and in deep sorrow and remorse he may turn to Christ in order to get rid of a tormenting conscience. But as we search the scriptures we fail to find any indication that this was the reason.
A Good Moral Man
To the
contrary, this man was very good. The Bible informs hear us that he was the
queen's treasurer in the 27th verse of Acts 8. So out of all of the citizens of
Ethiopia, he must have been the one selected to be
most honest and
trustworthy of all. Furthermore, we learn that this man was a believer in God.
He had made the long journey, all the way to Jerusalem, for one purpose, to
worship God. We also learn that this man
read his Bible. As he journeyed back
home again, he spent his time, not sightseeing, but he spent his time studying
God's word. He was reading from the prophet Isaiah. This means he must have been
a very prayerful man. I want to ask you this one question; are you as good as
this man that we are reading about this morning? I hope that you are, but if you
are, you are not good enough because neither was he good enough! He believed in
God, he worshipped God, he studied God's word, he prayed. Everyone in the
kingdom considered him a good, honest citizen so much so that he was the queen's
treasurer. But all of these good points were not enough to take him to Heaven.
A Difficult Prospect
This man represents the hardest type of a prospect to
win to Christ. I tell you the truth, I would rather call in the county jail or
state penitentiary any day than I would to go calling on a man like this,
because you know what happens when we call on these good people. They will swell
up with pride and they will say, "I don't know why you are talking to me, I
don't know why you think that I need to be converted. I'll have you know that I
am a good person, I believe in God, I go to church on Christmas and Easter, I
say prayers whenever I am in trouble, once in awhile I donate to charities and I
take care of my family and I pay my taxes, I tend to my own business, and I will
tell you one thing I am a lot better than that bunch of hypocrites that go up
there to that church."
How many times do you hear that story? I hear it
everyday. I hear it from people in every town that I preach in. They are good
people and I may even be preaching to some of them right now. Have I described
you?
Oh yes, you are good, you believe in God, you live a good life, but you
are not good enough, about this because you don't have Jesus. This man was not
good enough with all of his good points, because he didn't have Jesus. Why
did he make this decision then? It wasn't because he was a bad man. He was good.
It wasn't because he was a sick man. He was strong and able bodied. It wasn't
that he was afraid to die to die right away. He wasn't even thinking about
death. Why did he make this decision?
III. A love story.
It seems quite evident that it was because the world's greatest love story had really touched his heart. We all know how love appeals to the hearts of all people, everywhere. Can't you just see this learned man as he rode down the highway reading God's Word and the very place of the scripture that he was reading was this, "He was led as the sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearers, so opened he not his mouth. In His humiliation, His judgment was taken away: and who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth." He could see that somebody loved somebody else a great deal. But, he didn't really understand just who the scriptures were talking about, and so his mind filled with wonderment.
A True Love Story
I think
that the greatest love story that I have ever heard except for this love story
of God in the Bible, occurred in Columbus, Ohio a number of years ago. A large
family moved into the south side of the city. They had really known the tough
breaks. Mr. Paul, the father, had been injured in a mill accident and was unable
to find employment. His wife had been an invalid ever since the birth of the
last baby. The children had known what it was like to be hungry and to be
without clothing and shelter, they had really suffered. Some of the good
Christians in the community found out about this situation and it was reported
in church services on Sunday morning, and right away the Christians came to the
rescue. Some brought odds and ends of furniture, others brought clothing, and
many brought food. Then somebody in the church used his influence with the city
and got Rm. Paul a job that he was able to handle and so things really began to
look up for this big family, who had suffered so very much. In grateful
appreciation they all began to attend the services at the church and then one by
one began to respond to the invitation of Jesus. Almost every week for about
eight straight Sundays, another member of that family would step to the front
and confess the name of Jesus and be buried with Him in baptism. Finally every
member of that family was a Christian except for the two who were very small and
not old enough to understand.
Then one day the telephone rang in the preacher's
study, the excited voice of one of the church ladies came from the other end of
the line. She cried out, "Oh preacher, come quickly to the Pauls' house there
has
been an accident, they need you right away!" and so the preacher ran to
his car and drove off as fast as he could and went over to the little two room
shack where this big family was living. As he came to a halt,
he noticed that
Mr. Paul was standing outside the door waiting on him and as he rushed up to the
door breathlessly, Mr. Paul grabbed his hand and said, "Thank you for coming,
Preacher, we surely do need you today," and he motioned for the preacher to
enter the room. As the preacher stepped "inside the little two roomed shack, he
noticed at once that the room where he stood was the bedroom, a kitchen, a
dining room, a play room, a wash room, an ironing room, a family room. It
was just everything all in one. Out in the center of the room was an old rusty
cook stove and its four legs rested on four little blocks of wood. Over in one
corner was a table and around the table some old chairs and a few boxes and that
is where the family sat to eat their meals. Over in the other corner was an old
green iron bedstead and lying there upon the bed was little, eleven year old
Ellen and she was wrapped in bandages almost from the top of her head to the
soles of her feet. The preacher was so astonished he said, 'Why Brother
Paul, what in the world has happened to our little Ellen?" Everybody in the
church loved the little girl, she was the oldest daughter in this big family and
ever since her mother had been an invalid, following the birth of the baby,
Ellen had taken over the household duties. She cooked, she washed, she ironed,
she baby-sat, she did everything. Nobody could understand how such a frail,
fragile, undernourished child of 11 could do so much and be so cheerful about
it. Consequently, the whole church loved her to a fault. You can imagine how
distressed the preacher was as he asked, "What in the world has happened to our
little Ellen?" Mr. Paul said, "Preacher, we are not sure just how it happened.
She was getting ready to do the family washing. She had a great big kettle of
hot scalding water there on the stove already to pour in the wash tub, but at
the last moment for some reason she decided to sweep the floor. While she was
sweeping, it happened! We don't know how. We think maybe the baby was crawling
around and maybe he was playing with one of those blocks of wood underneath one
the legs of the stove and somehow manage to loosen it, we are not sure. Ellen
just happened to turn around and as she turned around she saw the stove was
tipping to one side and she realized that the big kettle of scalding water was
going to fall right on top of the baby and she knew it would scald him to death.
There wasn't time to do anything and so she just jumped and fell across the baby
and protected his body with hers and the water scalded her flesh to the
bone."
The Greatest Love Story
The
preacher said, "Brother Paul, without a doubt this is the greatest love story
that I have ever heard except for one and the only one that is greater is that
one in the Bible, where God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins. Remember, Brother Paul, how Jesus
came from Heaven giving up all the glory that was His and He dwelled among us
and suffered like we suffer and was tempted like we are tempted and then finally
gave His life willingly upon the cross suffering in great agony so that we might
have our sins forgiven and have a home In Heaven. That, Brother Paul, is the
greatest love story of all." Can you picture it, dear friend? That little
11 year old girl's love was supreme in her heart as she instantly made the
decision was that she would give her own life, if necessary, to save the life of
her baby brother, whom she loved. Can you picture it then, this learned man,
this Ethiopian riding down the highway in his chariot, studying God's word, but
not understanding what he was reading? At that point Philip came and beginning
at the very same scripture preached to him Jesus. He told him all about
how Jesus had come and how Jesus had lived, about His miracles, about his
teachings, about His death, His burial, His resurrection, and about how Jesus
wanted us to be His followers, and it was at that point that the Ethiopian said,
"Here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" Philip said, "If thou
believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." He said, "I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God." And so they went down into the water, both Philip and
the eunuch and he baptized him. When they were come up out of the water, the
spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more and he
went on his way rejoicing, because he had made life's supreme decision for
destiny.
That very same decision you need to make. Jesus
is standing in Pilate's hall, friendless and forsaken betrayed by all. Hearken
what meaneth that sudden call, What will you do with Jesus? What will you do
with Jesus? Neutral you cannot be and someday your heart will be asking, "Jesus
what will you do with me?'"
We pray that you have reached the moment when
you will be willing to decide and confess Jesus' name and be baptized just as
the Ethiopian we read about in Acts 8.