Missouri State University, Springfield, MO
I don’t believe that I’ve ever mentioned this before, but the majority of blog posts on this site are actually messages that were proclaimed in the open air. I typically reword them a little bit to fit the written format, but the basic message is the same. This time I thought I’d post the exact message that was given at Missouri State University on August 21, 2013.
To you freshmen, welcome to MSU. To those of you who are returning students, welcome back. The beginning of the semester is always an exciting time! You’ve scrambled to get into the classes that you wanted. You may really be excited about some of the classes, especially those in your field of study. Yes, it’s an exciting time, especially for first year students.
But as the school year goes on, will your excitement continue? Will you still be this excited in May of next year? Chances are, probably not. Think about when you bought your first car. My first car was a used a car. But when I saw it on the car lot, I thought it was the best looking car that I’d ever seen. It was a maroon 1976 Camaro with a white top, four speed transmission and a 350 engine. I was sixteen years old and my dad was test driving it and I was in the passenger seat. He tromped it down and we slid 180 degrees around and were driving the opposite direction. My dad said, “I don’t know son, this may be too much car for you.” I assured him that it wasn’t.
I’m telling you this story because I was so excited when we bought that car that I couldn’t even sleep. It was all I thought about, all the time. I thought it was the most wonderful car in the world. I loved that car. The arrangement my dad made with me was that I could drive the car for a year, and then at that time I had to start making monthly payments to him for the car or I had to give it back to him so he could sell it. I hot-rodded that poor car nearly to death, so at the end of the year I gave it back to my dad so he could sell it. So what happened? I mean a year earlier it was the most wonderful car that I’d ever seen. But by the end of the year, I handed the keys back over to my dad. The excitement had worn off. I no longer saw the car through rose colored glasses. The reality of the car being an old worn out rattletrap became very clear. The excitement was gone.
Why is this old geezer talking about an old car that he fell out of love with over 30 years ago? Because I was excited when I first got the car, but the excitement wore off. You are excited about the new school year and you should be excited. But the reality is your excitement will probably wear off too. The reason I say this is because when we put our hope in material things, when we are excited about material things, that hope or excitement will wear off. When our joy is in anything besides Jesus, it is not lasting joy. True joy is only found in the Lord.
So today, what do you trust in? What are you placing your hope in? Are you hoping in something real or is it just wishful thinking. Just like true joy is found in the Lord, true peace is only found in Jesus. True followers of Jesus receive peace that passes all understanding. My trust, my hope, my peace is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Again, I ask you, who do you trust? Where are you placing your hope? Do you have true joy and peace? Lasting joy and peace? There is no hope without Jesus Christ.
Now maybe you are thinking well good for you. I’m glad this Jesus thing is working out for you. But I don’t need religion. I don’t need a crutch (yes, I’ve heard these comments before). Whether you realize it or not, you do need Jesus. The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. So one day, you will acknowledge it. The question is: when will you acknowledge it? If you wait until this life is over, it will be too late. The Bible says that it is appointed to man once to die, but after this the judgment. We are all going to die some day. I realize that you are young and you may not ever think about death, but it is a reality. We are born to die. You can’t cheat death. After you die, you will stand before God Almighty. The same God that made you. The same God that has given you every breath that you’ve taken in your life.
If God judges you by the 10 Commandments on Judgment Day, how will you do? How many lies have you told in your life? Have you ever stolen anything, even if it was something small – like a paperclip or an ink pen? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? That’s called blaspheme and the Bible says that God will not hold those guiltless who take His name in vain? Have you ever looked at someone with lust? (You may have done this already today, right here on campus). Jesus said you have heard it was said of them of old time, that you shall not commit adultery. But I say to that if you look on a woman to lust after her, you have committed adultery with her already in your heart.
We’ve only gone over four of the 10 Commandments. How will you do on Judgment Day? If you are honest with yourself, you know that you will be found guilty. So should God send you to Heaven or Hell? Right here, most people say that God should send them to Heaven. You may feel the same way. But why should God send you to Heaven? You are guilty of breaking God’s Law, the 10 Commandments. God is Holy, righteous and just. He cannot tolerate sin. The Bible says that our sin, separate us from God. So the reality is if you stand before God on Judgment Day as an unrepentant sinner, then God will send you to Hell.
And Hell is not the party place that so many people wrongly think that it will be. You will not be partying. You will not be drinking beer in Hell. You won’t be laughing it up with your friends. You won’t be chasing women around in Hell. The real Hell, the Hell described in the Bible is a place of torment. Jesus said that it is place where their worm dies not and the fire is never quenched. Jesus said it is a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
But God, in His great mercy, offers you a way to escape the torments of Hell. He sent Jesus to walk this earth 2,000 years ago. Jesus did what you and I could never do. He lived a perfect, sinless life. Then He laid down that life for guilty sinners like you and me. They beat Him beyond recognition. He was whipped with 39 lashes across His back. Then the Roman soldiers nailed Him to the rugged cross; where He hung for six torturous hours. God poured His wrath out on His Son, whom He loved, for guilty sinners like us. Jesus died on that cross, was buried and on the third day He rose victoriously. He defeated sin, Hell and death.
God offers eternal life to those who repent, by turning away from their sins and who put their trust in Jesus. You must recognize that you are a guilty sinner and that you really do deserve God’s wrath because of your sins. The Bible says that there is none righteous, no not one. Then you have to quit trusting in your own goodness. Most people think that they are good, because you do what you do because you think it’s the right thing to do. But we can’t be good enough for God to save us. We can’t do more good to outweigh the bad. Salvation doesn’t work that way. We can only be saved through the perfect, sinless Son of God. Jesus is the only way of salvation.
There is no salvation in any other. Most people don’t want to hear this. Most people have made up a false idol or a false god that is OK with them, just the way they are. They are not following the God of the Bible. Listen to John 3:16-20. Do you claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Does your life reflect that? You can’t claim Christ and live for Satan. You cannot serve two masters. You will love the one and hate the other. So do you really love God today or do you love your sins? Do you love your fornicating, your drinking, your lying, your cheating, your stealing? What do you love the most in this life? You can tell by what you spend your time, your talent and your money on.
So today, I’m pleading with you to recognize your current state. If you have never been born again, if you are not saved, then you are a guilty sinner and if you die in your sins, our just God will send you to Hell for all of eternity. I’m out here lovingly warning you to flee from the wrath to come!
Please understand that Satan is the little g god of this world. If you are not a follower of Jesus, then Satan has you blinded. He has you loving your sins and hating God. James 4:4 says, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world IS the enemy of God.” Are you the enemy of God
Please, today, turn from your wicked ways, turn from your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ our Lord. Today is the day of salvation. Repent and believe the Gospel. Then, be excited about Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. True joy is found in the Lord and if your focus is on Him, nothing can ever steal your joy. Be excited in this life. Be excited about the right thing, about the One – Jesus.