CONVINCED
I
spend a lot of my waking hours trying to convince people that they need
Christ more than they need anything else in the world, or more than they need
any other person in this world. I assemble people together most every day and
preach my heart out, trying to convince them. I pray that God in Heaven
will convince them that they must receive Christ as their Saviour.
Most
every day finds me out in public, preaching to people who seem to have time for
everything but Christ. I am trying to convince them that they must take
time for Christ. At times I preach until my voice is gone. Some of the most
trying times in my life are when I preach until I no longer have any voice.
Some of the most frustrating times are when, out of breath and out of voice
because I have preached for some time, I have to stop and rest. Often I sit
down, too tired to raise my head high enough to see more than the feet and legs
of the people marching along on their way to Hell. And I wonder why only a few
Christians are trying to convince people that they are going to perish
forever in Hell if they do not receive Christ.
Most
people that I talk to refuse to be convinced that they must turn to
Christ. Most seem more than content, more than willing, more than determined to
sin against God, rebel against Him, mock Him, and make fun of His Holy,
Righteous Standards proclaimed in the Bible. They seem more than willing and
satisfied to refuse my precious Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It seems that
the last thing many of them will do, is to be convinced that they need
Christ. For that reason, the word “convince” has grabbed my attention in
a certain place in the Bible.
“Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To
execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of
all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 14 & 15)
My
Saviour is coming back to this world one more time. This time He is not coming
as an unborn babe to hear, “No room for You in the inn.” He is not coming to be
despised and rejected. Not to be without a place to lay His Head. Not to be
disbelieved. Not to be an object of laughing, mocking, and scorn. Not to be
blasphemed and ridiculed. Not to have His Face spit upon, smitten, and His
beard plucked out. Not to have His visage so marred that He does not look like
a human being. Not to have His Back laid bare with a cat-of-nine tails. Not to
carry an old, rugged cross. Not to have His Hands and Feet pierced with rusty
nails and hung naked on a cross for everyone to see. Not to be offered gall to
drink. Not to have God the Father forsake Him, and then die.
This
time The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to this sin-sick world as THE KING OF
KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. This time Christ is coming back riding on a white
horse. To rule and reign forever. With a two-edged sword. In judgment. To
separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats, true believers
from everyone else. In flaming fire, taking vengeance on all who refuse Him. In
great wrath. As a consuming fire. To cast into eternal Hell fire, everyone who
has refused Him. With Eyes as a flame of fire and a Voice as the sound of many
waters. Christ is coming this second time as Almighty God to convince
everyone that they should have received Him.
“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of
his son Jesus Christ.” (I John 3:23) God has commanded all people everywhere to repent of
their sins and turn to God. He commands us to believe on the Name of His Son,
Jesus Christ. And Christ is coming again to convince everyone that they
should have done so. He is coming to convince ALL. So you are
included, if you are not yet convinced. Christ is coming again to take
hold of you, bind you hand and foot in chains of fire, and cast you headlong
into a lake of fire to remain there forever and be convinced forever. No
one will escape this convincing. You will be convinced that
your Creator has control over you and that the wisest thing you could have done
would have been to obey Him. Now you may think that you will never be convinced.
But one day soon your attitude will rapidly change.
“That’s
difficult to understand,” a young Japanese lady replied to me when I explained
God’s salvation and her need of it. But one day it will no longer be difficult,
when God judges her and she sees herself hopelessly lost forever because she
refused God’s salvation. She will be convinced that difficulty was not
the reason. But that it was because she had no desire to repent and do right,
that she refused Christ. In judgment, Christ is going to completely convince
her that it would have been ever so easy for her to have received His
Salvation.
“I
just cannot conceive in my mind that there really is a God,” said a middle-age
man as I talked to him about Christ. But when he is drawn before God’s Throne
and not only sees His radiant glory and great splendor, but also sees God’s
fire-like wrath that is upon him because he did not seek God; he will then
instantly know there is a God. There will certainly no longer be any atheists
or agnostics at that time. So please don’t wait till Judgment Day to be convinced.
“I
don’t understand,” interjected an elderly Japanese lady, even before I began to
speak to her about God. But the day of complete understanding soon came,
because she soon died. If she did not repent and receive Christ before she
died, then God’s holy laughter mocking her fear and pleading, immediately gave
her complete understanding. And she was then completely convinced.
“I
don’t believe there is any such place as Hell or a lake of fire,” said a young
man when I preached Christ to him. But only one second of burning in that lake
of fire will be enough to convince him of the reality of it and of the
fact he should have trusted in Jesus Christ.
“God
would be unjust to cause people to burn and suffer forever,” said another
person to whom I preached Christ. But the minute he faces God and sees God’s
Pureness, Holiness, and Righteousness; he will instantly become fully aware of
just what a dirty, defiled sinner he is. He will immediately be convinced
that he has no claim to a home in a perfect Heaven and that the only place fit
for him is the lake of fire, which God prepared for the devil and the devil’s
angels.
And
YOU will be convinced also. God is in the business of convincing people,
all people. Christ is returning to this world as The Convincer. And when
He does, not one person will remain unconvinced. If you refuse The Lord
Jesus Christ now, then one day your knee will bow before Him and your tongue
will confess that He is Lord. You will acknowledge that Christ is ALL and that
you are nothing. Suddenly becoming aware of your pitiful fate, you will scream
and beg for God to have mercy on you. But Almighty God’s Holy laughter echoing
through Heaven will mock you and convince you that you should never have
laughed at Him and spurned His invitation to get saved. God your Creator is
going to cast your Christ rejecting carcass into Hell fire. And each time you
open your mouth to beg for just one drop of water to cool your tongue, He is
going to fill your mouth full of hot, melted brimstone and fire. Your very
breath will be aflame. And your screams of agony echoing out of that region of
the damned for all eternity will be announcing: “God was right. I was wrong.
God won, and I lost. God is righteous, and I am a wicked sinner who needed His
salvation. I am convinced!” And you will be totally convinced
that you should have made Jesus Christ Lord and King in your life. Rest assured
that no one escapes this convincing.
Listen
to me, my friend, God is going to allow no one to remain unconvinced.
Now in mercy and grace, while it is the day of salvation, He pleads and begs
with you to repent of your sin and receive Christ. As you read this, God The
Holy Spirit is now speaking to your heart and telling you that you must turn to
Christ and receive Him as your Saviour. However, you have a free will, which
God will not violate. You may be determined to refuse Christ now and are not
the least bit convinced that you need Him in this life, but you must
live with that choice forever. And as soon as this life is ended, you will be convinced
forever that you should have asked Christ to have mercy on you and forgive you
and save you from the punishment of your sins in Hell. No matter how strong,
powerful, proud, or sure of yourself you are at this time, Almighty God is able
to blow away every bit of that security. One day soon, you are going to realize
that you have no hope or security outside of Jesus Christ. I beg you not to
wait until this life is ended to be convinced of your need for the
Saviour of the world. Let Christ convince you right now. Open your heart to Him
and receive Him as your personal Saviour. Put your trust in Him now.
Christ
is soon to come to this earth a second time for the purpose of destroying this
world. And if you have not yet received Him as your Saviour, you and all other
Christ-rejecters are the reason for Him coming to put an end to the world. God
has watched and recorded every second of the life you have lived in rebellion
against Him. And when that mighty angel descends from Heaven, puts one foot on
land and one foot on the sea, and declares that time will be no more; the
purpose of that will be to bring an end to your sinful life. WAKE UP! Christ is
returning to get you personally. He is coming to convince you
personally. And He is going to do that by wiping you off the face of this earth
and casting you into the eternal flames of Hell. You are soon to be convinced
that the one thing you should have done above all else in this life, was to cry
out to Christ to have mercy on you and save you from the punishment of your
many sins. So please do that.
The
Lord Jesus Christ is the One True God. He is your Creator. He created you to
glorify Him. But your sins have separated you from Him and have turned His
Glory into shame. Still, He loves you with the greatest love there is, in that
He died on the cross for you to take the punishment of your sins. He poured out
the very last drop of His Life’s blood to provide a covering and cleansing for
your sins. Jesus loves you with the perfect love of God. No one else can love
you like Jesus does. He has never; ever one time wronged you in any way at all.
You have absolutely no reason for refusing His offer to become your Saviour and
save you from Hell and take you to Heaven. So I beg you to be convinced
of His love for you and your need for Him.
There
is absolutely NO hope for you outside of Jesus Christ. He is the One Way to
Heaven. All other roads and religions lead to destruction in Hell. If you
refuse Christ, you are going to perish forever. Outside of Christ, you are lost
without hope, forever. Because of you and the many other Christ-rejecters like
you who will not receive Him, He is soon returning to destroy everything in
this world that you are enjoying and finding pleasure in. He is returning to
burn up the earth and everything on this earth that you have found pleasure in.
He is coming to destroy every pleasure that you know, to convince you
that you should have lived for His pleasure. So heed this warning.
The
Lord Jesus Christ is coming to turn the sun as black as sackcloth of hair, the
moon as red as blood, and to cause the stars to fall upon the earth, because
you are not convinced that you should now make Him Ruler and Lord of
your life. He is coming to part the heaven as a scroll when it is rolled
together, to move every mountain and island out of their places, and to cause
you to hide in a den or the rocks of the mountains and cry out to the mountains
and rocks; “Fall on me and hide me from the Face of Him that sitteth on the
Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath is come
and I am thoroughly convinced that I cannot endure it.”
All
around you, people’s hearts will be failing them for fear. You are the reason
that Christ is soon to cast hail and fire mingled with blood upon the earth to
burn up the vegetation. You are the cause for Him coming to turn the sea to
blood, and the rivers and all fountains of waters into bitter wormwood, and
cause may to die of the bitter water. When you go to get a glass of water to
drink, and can find only blood or bitter wormwood water to drink, then you will
be convinced of how sinful you are. Please don’t wait till then. Be convinced
now.
When
Jesus Christ opens up the bottomless pit and sends out locusts with the power
of scorpions to sting and torment you so painfully that you will seek death and
desire to die, but God will not allow you to die, then you will know what it
means to be convinced. The Son of God is coming to scorch you with fire
and great heat, and cause you to gnaw your tongue with pain, even while you are
still here on the earth. He is coming to bring volcanoes to life and to cause
the greatest earthquake ever known, to shake your world apart and bring it
crumbling down to the ground in bitter ruin, because you are not convinced
that Christ should be the center of your life.
Jesus
of Nazareth is coming to completely destroy this world’s system of buying and
selling, which has caused you to love money and the things that it buys,
instead of loving God. He is coming to completely tear apart this world that
you know and love, just to convince you that you should have lived for
God and not for this present world. He is coming in wrath to pry open your
mouth and to make you drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of Almighty God’s indignation and to torment you
with fire and brimstone. The smoke of your torment will ascend up forever and
ever. You will have no rest day or night. And you will most certainly be convinced.
THIS is the extreme that God intends to go to, to totally convince you
that you should have repented and received Christ. So please be convinced
of that right now.
Soon,
Almighty God is going to bring you before His Great White Throne in Heaven to
judge you. You will stand in person before God’s Holy, Righteous Face, the Face
from which the earth and the heaven have fled away. The Book of Life will be
brought forth and laid open, to show you that your name does not appear in it,
because you rejected Jesus Christ during this present life of yours on this
earth. All who have their names written in the Book of Life will enter into the
eternal bliss and happiness of Heaven. That precious book of hope is the ticket
into Heaven. All people whose names are not written in the Book of Life will
perish in Hell forever. And on Judgment Day, it will be so regretful to you to
see that your name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Your
name is missing because only the people, who bow down before God and call out
to Him to have mercy on them and forgive their wicked sins, and trust in Jesus
Christ to save them, get their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And
during your life on earth, you just were not convinced that you needed
Christ. After vainly searching for your name, the angel holding the Book of
Life will sadly proclaim; “We find no record of him being born again.” All
Heaven looks on in complete silence. “What do I write for his destiny?” the
angel asks. And God must decree, “Write L O S T.” God has no other choice. That
is because you refused to believe on The Lord Jesus Christ to save you. The
angels hang their heads and weep. They know how awful it is for one to be lost
for all eternity. Throughout Heaven they begin to echo the remorseful verdict:
“Lost, Lost, LOST, LOST FOREVER, FOREVER LOST!”
The
citizens of Heaven begin to weep over your hopeless fate. Family and friends
weep over you, but can do nothing to help you. Christians, who knew you during
this life, now stand near you with their hands covered with your blood, crying
and sobbing out great tears of remorse because they failed to witness to you
and convince you to receive Christ. With diamond-shaped scars in His
Hands, God the Son looks on, marveling that even though He loved you enough to
suffer that brutal and cruel death on the cross for you and to pour out the
very last drop of His Life’s blood to provide a covering for your sins; you
were foolish enough to reject His offer of salvation and eternal life. He loved
you with a perfect love. And more than anything else, Jesus Christ wanted you to
share His Glory in Heaven forever. But you were not convinced of the
reality of all this, so you refused Him. So on Judgment Day, Christ has no
choice but to turn you into Hell. That will be your eternal fate, if you aren’t
convinced soon.
In
desperation more frantic and desperate than any catastrophe you can now
imagine, you prostrate yourself face down before God on the Throne and with a
sincere earnest of heart that you have never before known yourself to have, you
frantically cry, scream, weep, and beg God to have mercy on you now and change
the verdict. Your frivolous life of trivial playing, worldly pleasures, gaiety,
partying, humor, joking, laughing, living it up, and completely disregarding
God in Heaven, now appears totally insane to you and you marvel at yourself,
that you spent your life in such a foolish way. You were drunk on the pleasures
of this world. But coming Face-to-face with Almighty God and His wrath that is
upon you, instantly sobers you up to reality and to the disastrous fate awaiting
you.
In
a split second of time, your entire being has become totally void of any pride,
composure, reservation or restraining of any emotion. That’s because you
realize that you are hopelessly doomed and are soon to lose everything forever.
But this pleading that is so sincere on your part, is so repulsive to God that
He is going to laugh at your calamity and mock at your fear. Do you know why
your dead earnest pleading for God to help you at that time will be utterly
repulsive to Him? It’s because for all your lifetime here on this earth, in
mercy and grace, God has pleaded with you to receive Christ and be saved. And
by you presently refusing God’s pleading to you in mercy and grace, you are
right now laughing and mocking at God’s gracious offer of salvation and eternal
life to you. And you are laughing and mocking at the great price God the Son
paid on Calvary to provide salvation for you. You now spurn God and laugh at
and make light of His most gracious offer to you to save you from the torments
of eternal Hell fire. But you can rest assured that Almighty God will have the
last laugh. So I beg you to be convinced of that right now, before it is
too late.
Friend
without Christ, you had better heed God’s call to come to Christ. You have
heard the Gospel message from God’s Holy Bible about how The Lord Jesus Christ
died on the cross for your sins and wants to be your SAVIOUR. You know that you
are a lost sinner. You know that you need Christ and His Salvation. Right now,
God the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart more clearly and more loudly than
you have ever heard His Voice before. He is saying to you; “RECEIVE CHRIST INTO
YOUR HEART AND LIFE. YOU MUST GET SAVED NOW! DO NOT DELAY. TODAY IS THE DAY OF
SALVATION. YOU HAVE NO PROMISE OF TOMORROW.” My dear friend, to save your own
life from eternal destruction, you must not fail to heed that plea. Be convinced
now and receive Christ and get saved right now, before it is eternally too late
to do so.
“I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear
cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a
whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon
me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find
me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall
they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools
shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall
be quiet from fear of evil.” (Proverbs 1:26-33)
Probably
the most terrifying sight any human beings will ever see, will be Almighty God
on His Majestic Throne in Heaven, laughing at their calamity and mocking their
fear. You can see in the above passage that the Bible plainly uses the word,
“mock.” As you fall on your face before the Throne of the Only Being Who is
capable of saving you or helping you in any way, and you are squirming,
begging, crying, screaming, and desperately pleading for your very life, God is
not going to heed your pleas and save you then. If you will plead with God to
help you now, I promise you that He will now give you everlasting help.
But
if you do not become convinced now and receive Christ now,
then on Judgment Day, God is going to mock you as you frantically plead with
Him for mercy then. You will then be ever so serious in your desire for God’s
help and in begging Him for mercy. But then, all you will get in return will be
Almighty God perfectly mimicking your every frantic movement and sound, in
mocking ridicule of you. What a terrifying and void-of-hope sight it is going
to be, to see the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS mocking your desperate
pleading. I warn you to be convinced of your need to repent now.
“I WILL ALSO LAUGH AT YOUR CALAMITY.” As you plead and beg with God for mercy,
God’s Holy laughter echoing through the Heavens will quickly snap any last
thread of hope that you are grasping at. How terrifying will be the sound of
Almighty God’s holy laughter pealing throughout the heavens as He mocks your
puny pleas for help. When lost people hear that laughter, they are going to be
completely convinced of their sinful state and of their hopeless doom.
Are you going to wait till then to be convinced of that? Or will you be convinced
right now? I beg you in God’s love to be convinced now.
Picture
God laughing and mocking at your pitiful begging on Judgment Day. Angels are
then summoned to bind you hand and foot in chains of fire and to then cast you
into the lake of fire to weep and wail and gnash your teeth without end and to
forever be convinced that you were wrong to rebel against God. Oh my
friend, I beg you not to let that be your eternal fate. Please be convinced
now.
Don’t
wait till your doom is forever sealed, to be convinced that you should
have repented and received Christ as your Saviour. If you will now ask
Him to have mercy on you and save you, He will forgive your sins, every one of
them. That is the most blessed thing that could ever happen to you. “Blessed is he
whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” (Psalms 32:1&2) These
blessings belong to all the people who receive Christ.
If
you will trust in The Lord Jesus Christ to save you, God will forgive all your
sins. Therefore you will not receive the punishment of a single one of them. By
the blood that He shed on the cross, Christ will cleanse you from all
your sins. He will become your Holiness and Righteousness, so that you can be
justified when God judges you and thereby be allowed to enter into the eternal
bliss of Heaven. That is the most wonderful thing that can happen to you. And
if you will receive Christ now, I promise you that Heaven will be your
eternal destiny.
However,
if you refuse The Lord Jesus Christ, you have absolutely no chance of entering
into God’s Heaven. Nothing but the blood of Christ can cleanse us from sin.
Reject Christ and you will stand before God’s Judgment Seat as a dirty, defiled
sinner. God will allow no unclean thing to enter into Heaven. If He did, it
would no longer be Heaven. So God has prepared another place called Hell. He
prepared it for the devil and his angels. But God also sends all people who
reject Christ into this hopeless place of torment. It is a place where the fire
is not quenched and the worm dieth not.
Do you know why Hell is a place of fire and
maggots (worms)? Because it is God’s garbage dump. If you do not repent now and
receive Christ’s forgiveness and cleansing from your sins, then after this life
you will never be able to repent of your sins or be cleansed from them.
Forever, your being will continue to spew forth the dirty defilement of sin
that it now does. So God has provided an appropriate place for such defiled,
corrupted Christ-rejecters to live forever; a place with everlasting fire and
maggots to consume away the filthy sin that you will eternally spew forth. Here
on earth, the fire and the maggot are the two main things that consume
“natural” garbage. Maggots consume the discarded meat and flesh, and fire
consumes away most of the other “natural,” burnable garbage. If we did not have
the fire and the maggot, soon our world would be filled with garbage and unfit
to inhabit.
If
you reject Christ, you are filthy garbage in God’s Sight. God cannot let you
into Heaven to continue to spew forth your dirty sin and pollute that Holy
Place. Therefore He is going to cast you into Hell for the fire and maggot to
forever consume the filthy sin that you can never stop spewing forth, because
the day of repentance has ended. If you are not now convinced
that you are a dirty, defiled sinner in God’s Sight and need Christ’s blood to
cleanse you, then as soon as God applies the fire and the maggot to your wicked
being to consume away the sin you spew forth, you will then be convinced
without any doubt. Burning forever, with loathsome maggots forever crawling on
you. Whatever you do, don’t wait until then to be convinced. Please be convinced
now. Please fall on your knees now and tell Christ that you
repent of your sins and receive Him as your Saviour. Then do everything that
you can to convince everyone around you that they should also trust in
Christ to save them.
God
is now trying to convince you by showing you His abundant mercy
in numerous ways. He gives you air to breathe, food to eat, and maintains your
health and life. He has created an abundant world for you to live in. The
Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached to you by others around you who are
already convinced of everyone’s need to receive Christ. God has
graciously sent you this message of mine in print, begging you to be convinced
now. I am praying for you to receive Jesus Christ and thereby be saved.
I love you and care about you. I don’t want you to perish forever in Hell.
Please let God’s many and great mercies that He is now extending to you convince
you of your need to repent to Him and to believe on the One True God. Wake up
to the fact that without Christ you have NO hope, NO help, and will be doomed
for all eternity. Please be convinced that you must receive Christ now
while it is the day of salvation. Don’t delay.
Daily,
I stand on the narrow streets of this little town in the Buddha Belt of Japan
and preach my heart out to people, begging them to be convinced of their
need for Christ. They will not let me come into their houses to talk to them.
So I just stand outside and preach to them. Sometimes I kneel there in the dirt
or on the pavement and pray aloud for God to save those who have just heard the
Gospel message I just preached. Still, they refuse to be convinced. But
from time to time, I walk past a house with large flower wreaths standing out
front, meaning that a dead person is lying in state in that house. I hang my
head and mourn, “God has just convinced another one.” Whatever you do,
please don’t wait for death and Hell to convince you.
*************************
I
want you to come along on a trip with me now. Let’s go one million years into
the future and travel down to the pits of Hell. Let’s go deep into the heart of
this place of doom where all is so utterly hopeless. As we enter into this
region of the damned, soon the smell of sulfur, smoke, and brimstone coming up
to meet us is almost unbearable. The intense heat is unbelievable. The screams
and cries of despair almost deafen us. The entire place is in pitch-black
darkness, so we cannot see anything. But let’s suppose that God allows a little
light to enable us to view this place. We see people of every age and race
chained in prisons, suffering torment. All of these eternally doomed people
have one thing in common; during their life on earth, they were not convinced
that they needed to repent of their sins to God, believe in God, and trust in
Him for His Salvation.
Not
only are humans here in Hell, but also Lucifer and the fallen angels who
followed him are assigned to this everlasting doom and torment in fire. If we
went to the special pit prepared for Lucifer, we could ask him; “Lucifer, are
you convinced that you were wrong to rebel against Almighty God and to
try to rise up and be equal to Him?”
Lucifer
would have to readily say, “I am convinced that it was wrong for me to
do that.” The legions of angels who followed him would readily admit that
they’re convinced they were wrong also.
We
travel deep into this lake of fire to an area reserved for those who tried most
to defy God and are receiving the most intense torment and punishment for their
rebellion. “Pharaoh, are you convinced that the God of Israel is the One
True God and that you should have obeyed Him and served Him? Are you convinced
that you should not have enslaved His chosen people and refused to let them
go?”
With
his very breath aflame, Pharaoh answers; “Ever since those two walls of water
rolled over my chariot and filled my lungs, I have been totally convinced
and always will be convinced. I was wrong!”
We
travel on until we come to a dungeon bearing one by the name of Hitler. His
punishment is so great that his pains of agony cause him to shriek and scream
in a loud voice that is almost unbearable. That’s because he made so many
people to suffer during his lifetime. I read that he used to entertain himself
in his home at night by listening to recordings of the screaming and crying of
those helpless, innocent people being tortured by his ruthless Nazi regime. So
now God is repaying him and he is reaping exactly what he sowed in this present
life. “Hitler, are you convinced that there is a God in Heaven Who will
more than repay you for all your murderous deeds? Are you convinced that
you were wrong to set out to destroy God’s chosen people and millions of other
people too?”
Between
screams of agony from the horrible tempest of fire and brimstone that is
raining down upon him, he would sob out; “Yes. I am convinced that I was
wrong and that there is a God Who is right!”
We
travel on just a little further and find one by the name of Stalin nearby in a
similar cell. After suffering here for over one million years and knowing that
his suffering is only beginning, one could not find anything more wretched than
the deplorable hopelessness of his being. “Stalin, while living on earth you
proclaimed that there was no God. Now are you convinced that there is a
God and that you were wrong to murder tens of millions who chose to believe in
God and chose to live the lifestyle that God ordained for His created mankind?
Are you now convinced of the reality of God’s Existence and of His wrath
on sinful, rebellious people like you? What do you think of God now?”
Weeping
and wailing and gnashing his teeth, but still cursing God due to the fact that
he cannot repent now, he replies; “Yes. Oh, Yes. I am forever convinced!
I was a fool to deny God’s Existence.”
Moving
on along, we come to a different area of this wretched place of doom, where a
person is confined who was a homosexual while living on the earth. “Are you now
convinced that your lifestyle was perverted and an abomination to
Almighty God in Heaven?”
With
roaring flames engulfing him and maggots crawling all over him to continually consume
away the filthiness of his perverted body, soul, and spirit, his sad answer
comes through the outer darkness. “I am convinced, but I was convinced
too late.”
Next
we come to the cell of one who was most immoral and even boasted in his
immorality. Now receiving everlasting punishment for that, he still wallows in
the same lusts with absolutely no ability to satisfy those lusts. “Are you convinced
that God spoke the truth when He said that no adulterer nor fornicator would
enter into Heaven?”
Having
never had one second of rest in that storm of burning coals of fire, he wails
out; “You are crazy to ask such a question. Of course I am convinced. I
know that God punishes sins of immorality.”
We
move on to the cell of a man who is repeatedly screaming, “Oh, for just one
more drink!” He was a slave to liquor during his life on earth. Now, a million
years later, he is still just as much a slave to that liquor, but for all
eternity, he will never be able to again embrace a bottle for its
companionship. He has been on the wagon for one million years, but his insides
still crave liquor as much as ever. He prays and pleads with God for just one
more drop of it. But that prayer will not be answered for all eternity. “Are
you convinced that you were wrong to take that first drink? Are you convinced
that the only wise thing to do in relation to strong drink is to have
absolutely nothing at all to do with it? Are you convinced that wine is
a mocker and he that is deceived thereby is not wise?”
Now
drinking the wine of the wrath of God instead of drinking the liquor that he so
badly craves and gnawing his swollen tongue in great pain, he cries out; “Yes,
you’re looking at one who is convinced!” Are you a person who thinks
that you cannot stop drinking liquor? Well, the second that your life on earth
ends, you’ll stop drinking it. But you will never stop craving it. How awful to
be burning in Hell with lusts which can never again be satisfied. Please be convinced
of that now.
Close
by his cell, we find a doomed person who made a living selling liquor. His
haunting memory seems to be one of the most unbearable parts of his punishment.
How he longs to forget the liquor he sold, the hungry children, the traffic
accidents, the fights, hating, immorality, and other sins brought about by him
putting the bottle to other people’s mouths. But God keeps those scenes vividly
displayed on his mind for all eternity. Also, he is tormented by the screams of
many others who are in Hell because he sold liquor to them, and thereby had a part
in damning their souls to this awful place. “Mister, are you convinced
that God pronounces a woe on anyone who puts the bottle to another’s mouth? Are
you convinced that it was a wicked, evil, and most sinful thing to
traffic in demon rum?”
Gnashing
his teeth, he replies, “No one could ever be more convinced than I am.
What a tragedy that I ruined so many lives!”
Moving
on, we come to the cell of a fine, upright, moral woman. “Are you convinced
that ‘good’ people also need Christ as their Saviour? Are you convinced
that our righteousness is as filthy rags in God’s Sight? Are you convinced
that good deeds do not save us?”
Having
lost all pride and composure a million years ago, she hopelessly sobs out; “The
second my life ended, I was firmly convinced. I now know that faith in
Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved and enter into Heaven. But I was convinced
of that too late.”
Now
we come to the cell of one who was taken out of this life on earth as a
teenager in a traffic accident. “Young man, are you convinced that even
as a boy, you needed Christ? Are you convinced it is foolish to put off
getting saved for even one day? Are you convinced that even as a
teenager without Christ, you deserved to be sent to this awful place of eternal
torment in fire?”
With
the smoke of his torment ascending up, he answers; “Yes, I am convinced.
And I will be convinced forever. God has convinced me.”
Traveling
on down these desolate corridors we now arrive in a different area. Here the
punishment is worse. Here the fire is hotter and the worms more filthy. Here
are those lost souls who spread the many false religions of the devil. We see a
Buddhist priest committed to this everlasting fire. “Are you convinced
that Christian missionary told you the truth when he pleaded with you to
receive Christ, because Christ is the Only Way to Heaven and without Him no one
can enter into the eternal city? Are you convinced that your religion
was false?”
Surrounded
by demons who possessed him during his life on earth and are now ridiculing him
for having been so foolish to teach a false religion, he desperately cries out;
“Ever since I was cast alive into this lake of fire, I have been absolutely convinced!”
Imprisoned
nearby is one who spread Mohammed’s teachings. “Are you convinced that
it was wrong to teach that all who follow Mohammed are God’s children because
Mohammed also descended from Abraham, just as Jesus Christ descended from
Abraham? Are you now convinced that the God of Israel, the God or
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the One and Only True God? Are you convinced
that your murderous religion was a false religion from the devil, the father of
murderers? Are you convinced that you deserve to be in this eternal Hell
for spreading that false religion and deceiving many people?”
He
screams out; “Yes, I am firmly convinced that only by receiving The Lord
Jesus Christ, can one be born again and enter into the family of God. And until
Christ returned to destroy all false religions, I continually pleaded with God
to send someone back from the dead to warn and convince my friends and
followers not to be deceived by that false religion and thereby be banished to
this unbearable suffering. But God never answered that prayer. After being
thrown into this lake of fire, it’s too late to pray,” he remorsefully sobs
out.
Going
deeper into this region, we find people who have suffered an even worse fate.
We arrive at a place that is the climax to the extent one can be punished in
Hell. Here are the false religions that used the Name of The Lord Jesus Christ
to spread their religions. We ask a Catholic priest, “Are you convinced
that it was wrong for you to have people call you their spiritual father? Are
you convinced that people should have confessed their sins to God,
instead of to you? Are you convinced that the Virgin Mary is not to be
worshipped and not to be called the mother of God?”
Longing
for death but not being allowed to die, he wails out, “Here is one who is convinced!”
We
walk on down to a place of torment for one who was zealous to spread the
religion of the Jehovah Witnesses. He went day after day from house to house
explaining away the lake of fire and now he is doomed to its torment forever.
We ask him, “Are you convinced that there is a literal Hell and that
those outside of Christ will be turned into that place, body, soul, and spirit;
to suffer there in those flames forever? Are you convinced that Jesus
Christ is Jehovah? Are you convinced that Jesus Christ is God? Are you convinced
that God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Father are One?”
Weeping,
wailing, and gnashing his teeth, he utters, “Of course I am convinced.
Yes, Yes, YES, I am thoroughly convinced!”
We
go on to a missionary of the Mormon religion. “Are you convinced that
only the Bible is the inspired Word of God? Are you convinced that Adam
was not God and that we are not gods? Are you now convinced that the
religion you taught was a false religion of the devil and that it eternally
doomed all who believed on it?”
“Yes,
Almighty God has certainly convinced me that both the deceived and the
deceiver are His. So tragic that I was so deceived.”
In
this region, their punishment is so intense. How jealous The Lord Jesus Christ
is of His Name, the only Name by which we can be saved. How great His wrath is
against those deceivers who use His Most Wonderful Name to deceive people,
teaching them a false religion through His Name. I believe that their
punishment in the eternal flames of Hell will be so great; inconceivable
suffering, remorse, regret, anguish, heat, and torment which will never come to
an end.
And
for you, who have lived your life rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ, take my hand
and come on with me, because we must make one more visit down here before we
end this trip that we are taking.
“NO!”
“OH,
YES.” Throughout your lifetime you so willfully rejected Christ, so willfully
chose your own road, so willfully chose to stay away from God. Now you cannot
say, “No.” Now you must live with that decision forever. So you come on with me
now and let’s go make this last visit together. We travel on down to a far
distant area where no ray of sunshine has ever shone, no ray of hope ever
penetrated. And coming to a dark cell, we find a being bound in chains of fire.
Nothing could be so loathsome to look upon as this creature. A more pitiful
creature could not be imagined. After having suffered this torment for almost
one million years, his face and his entire being has become so horribly
contorted. There is no way you could prepare yourself for the shock you receive
upon looking at this creature. During your lifetime, you never once imagined
that it would be possible for you to look upon anyone as awful as this sight
before you.
To
look at him, you would think that he had never seen the sunshine of a bright
morning. Had never heard the birds sing. Had never laughed, had never smiled.
You would think that he had never known any joy. Had never felt good, never
relaxed, never rested, had never played or known any recreation. That he had
never eaten a wholesome meal, never had a drink of water.
You
would think that he had never been educated nor pursued a “successful” career.
That he had never known the pleasure and pride of a nice home, expensive car,
fancy clothes, and the many other things of the world that money can buy. He
had previously gained some of those things, but he lost his own soul; so he
lost ALL.
To
look at him now, you would think that he had never accomplished anything good.
That he had never had a friend. That he had never known friendship, love,
peace, and contentment. That he had never had any family. Forcing yourself to
look on the ghastly, gruesome sight that he is after one million years of this
lonely suffering, you would think that he had never called anyone; “Father,”
“Mother,” “Brother,” “Sister,” “Wife,” “Son,” or “Daughter.” You would think
that he had never had any pleasure. Had never had any hope. It looks as if he
has never known anything outside of this awful fate that he is now suffering.
What a tragic, miserable sight to behold.
Having
to look on this wretched creature makes our hearts overflow with pity and
sorrow for it. We never before thought it possible for us to become so
emotional. This person has screamed, cried, and wailed so much that what little
voice remains is now such a husky, rasping sound that it no longer sounds
human. The fervent heat down here and him continually gnawing his tongue has
caused it to swell so much that he cannot close his mouth, causing his speech
and crying to take on an even more horrible and pitiful sound. Lips, tongue,
mouth, and throat are parched dry from the flames and even brimstone that often
showers or flows into his mouth. One million years of never ceasing to beg God
for one drop of water has been completely in vain. Lips are parched, swollen,
and broken open, adding such sharp, piercing pains as the flames enter into the
open sores. Constantly gnashing the teeth has ground them down till the nerves
are now exposed to the heat and to pain.
Bloodshot,
ghostly eyes rattle around in dry, stinging sockets like two balls of fire in
his head. All over his body the skin is burned away to expose nerve ends to the
flames and molten brimstone, causing pain that is beyond the imagination.
Normally, fire will quickly burn away the nerves of the human body and deaden it
to the pain when one burns to death. But God works strange miracles in Hell to
never let that happen for all eternity. Everyone here wishes that they could
burn to death, but God will not allow that. The pain remains as intense as
possible for all eternity. Filthy maggots are crawling all over this creature
we are looking upon. What a heart-breaking sight to behold.
There
is absolutely no hint of pride, composure, or self-respect about this person.
Just the sight of his tortured, hopeless, horrible condition is so repulsive
that you want to run away from him and get out of this place of the eternally
doomed as fast as possible. However, in looking at that contorted face and that
tortured, pain-racked body, you sense that there is something familiar about this
miserable creature. Y E S. There is definitely something familiar about this
person. And as you force yourself to gaze on this person, you come to realize
what it is. THIS PERSON IS YOU!
The
shock from this stark realization jolts you like the world has fallen on you.
During your entire lifetime you never once thought you would ever meet such a
horrible fate. But this is actually you in this lake of fire, having been
tormented for one million years and the torment has just begun. It will never
end. When God judged you as you stood before His Great White Throne, you saw
the beauty of all God’s magnificent glory and power. And sentenced to this
place of torment for all eternity, you wonder how you could ever have been
foolish enough to reject Christ and exchange the eternal splendor of Heaven for
the never-ending torments of the eternal flames of Hell.
And
standing there, I could ask this tormented creature; “NOW are you convinced
that you needed Christ to save you from this? Are you convinced that the
most foolish thing you could have done when you read this sermon one million
years ago, was to refuse Christ as your Saviour? Are you convinced that
all Christ rejecters are sent to Hell?”
“YES.
YES, I AM FOREVER CONVINCED OF ALL THAT!”
Friend,
whatever you do, please don’t let this be your eternal fate. I beg you not to
wait to be convinced in this way. Christ is returning to this earth
soon, to put an end to time. He is returning as The Convincer. EVERYONE
is going to be convinced that they should have repented to Him, trusted
in Him, and worshipped Him as the One True God. I have already been convinced.
I know I have sinned against God and He convinced me that without
Christ, I would be punished in Hell for that sin. But God also convinced
me that with Christ I would live in eternal bliss in Heaven. When I became convinced,
I soon got down on my knees and prayed to God to forgive me and save me. Christ
became my Saviour at that time. He’ll gladly become your Saviour too, if you
will only let Him. Please be convinced of that and receive Him. Do it NOW,
please.
With God’s Love in my heart, I care about
you and others who are not yet convinced they need to receive The Lord
Jesus Christ. I have left my homeland and am spending my life on the opposite
side of the world, trying to convince the Japanese people that they need
Christ. I would gladly do anything that I possibly could, to see you turn to
Christ in repentance of your sin. I want you to receive the eternal life that
only Jesus Christ can give you, because I want you to be saved from Hell and go
to Heaven after this life ends.
If you are convinced to any degree at all of your need to receive Jesus
Christ, the Saviour of the world, I want you to pray to God at this time.
Please don’t refuse by saying, “I don’t know much about God. I don’t understand
this much at all. I’m not sure I’m ready yet.” Please put all such thoughts
aside. If you are convinced to any extent at all, that you need God the
Saviour, then please pray to God now.
“Almighty God in Heaven, The Creator of all things, I am CONVINCED
that I have sinned against Thee and that I need Christ as my Saviour. I am
sorry that I have wronged Thee, the One True God Who created me. So I beg Thee
to have mercy on me and forgive me of my sins. Please cleanse me from my sin by
the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please change my life to what Thou
desirest it to be. Please make me into a new creature, a child of God. I now
open my heart and receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I declare to
everyone that I now belong to Jesus. Heavenly Father, please set me free from
the power of the devil and evil. I now stand for God and right. I stand against
Satan and all the forces of evil. I confess that Jesus Christ is The Lord.
Christ is victorious. The devil is defeated in my life. From the bottom of my
heart, I thank Thee, Lord Jesus, for becoming my Saviour. I love Thee, Lord
Jesus. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer and meant it from the heart, Christ is now your
Saviour. He will never leave you nor forsake you. After this life on earth is
ended, you will live with Him forever in Heaven. As a fellow believer in
Christ, I’ll be looking forward to meeting you there. If you prayed that
prayer, as soon as you can, go to the best Christian you know and tell him or
her that you have just prayed this prayer to receive Christ as your Saviour.
Start reading God’s Holy Bible, The King James 1611 Version, every day. If you
do not have a Bible and cannot buy one, tell me and I will send you one, if I
have the money to do so. (Often, I get more requests for Bibles than I have
money to supply them. So I may not be able to comply with your request.) As you
read the Bible, pray to God, asking His Holy Spirit to teach you the meaning of
what you read in the Bible. Also ask God to help you obey His instructions in
the Bible. May God bless you in this new life of yours as you learn of Him,
obey, and follow Him.
***************************
The Bible says this about God the Son, Jesus Christ, Who is the Saviour
of the World: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Now read carefully Christ’s invitation to you: “Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
The Bible says this about anyone who will receive Christ as their
Saviour: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12) “For by grace are
ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not
of works, least any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8&9) “Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new.” (II
Corinthians 5:17)
*******************************
Brother Lewis Chafer teaches us the following important things about
salvation in God the Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Saviour to all mankind.
Please read them carefully and think on them.
“Salvation is the work of God for man; it is not the work of man for
God.”
“Salvation is the bestowal and actual impartation of eternal life; it
is not the beauties and artificial imitations of ethical living.”
“Salvation is the imputed righteousness of God; it is not the imperfect
righteousness of man.”
Salvation is a divine reconciliation; it is not human regulation.”
“Salvation is the canceling of all sin; it is not the cessation from
some sin.”
“Salvation is being delivered from, and dead to, the law; it is not
delighting in, or doing, the law.”
“Salvation is divine regeneration; it is not human reformation.”
“Salvation is being acceptable to God; it is not becoming exceptionally
good.”
“Salvation is completeness in Christ; it is not competency in
character.”
“Salvation is possessing every spiritual blessing; it is not professing
any special betterment.”
“Salvation is always and only of God. It is never of man. It is the
unsearchable riches of Christ. It is unto good works of which God has before
ordained that we should walk in them.”
***************************
Carefully read through the New Testament of the Holy Bible, to learn
everything it teaches us about Salvation in Christ. While reading through it,
keep in mind these valuable points here that Brother Chafer teaches us. Please
read my other sermons and books and think on what I write about God’s Salvation
plan for all mankind. May Almighty God guide you, teach you, protect you, and
bless you in every way as you now live for His pleasure and not your own
pleasure.
***************************
Christian friend, are you convinced that we need to be doing all
we can to win souls to Christ. Witness to the lost people around you. Give them
good Christian literature to read. Ask them to read this message. Pray earnestly
for their salvation. Do everything you can to convince lost people that
they need to get saved now. Fellow preachers, we need to be preaching in dead
earnest to the lost, clearly telling of the awful fate awaiting them if they
depart this life without repenting to God and trusting in Jesus Christ. Eternal
souls are at stake. So call on God to endue you with convincing power
when you preach to them. Preach this message to the lost, and other messages
like it. With God as our Helper, let us do everything we can do, to convince
as many souls as possible, before it is eternally too late.
“My Heavenly Father, with Thy Help, from a burdened and
broken heart, I have laboured hard and long on this sermon Thou hast given me. I
preach this sermon in obedience to Thy Leading to preach it. I have striven to convince
everyone of the reality of an eternal Hell of fire and brimstone. I have done
my best to convince the readers that Hell is the eternal abode of all
people who do not trust in The Lord Jesus Christ during their life here on this
earth. So, Heavenly Father, I call on Thee to now send Thy Holy Spirit to
strongly convince ALL who read this message, of their certain need for
Christ. By Thy Power, give them complete understanding of this, break down all
barriers that are between them and Thee, and give them a heart to repent to
Thee and to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save them. Please hear this
prayer of mine, and have great compassion on all who read this sermon. Please
deal powerfully with them to trust in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World.
Thank Thee, for hearing this prayer of mine.
Amen.”