THE GREATEST FIREMAN

"...our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king." - Daniel 3:17

When I was growing up, I wanted to be a fireman.  I admit that I loved to see fire trucks, whether they were parked outside a firehouse, led a parade or rushed to the scene of a fire.  Even now, I must admit that a fire truck gets my attention.  Maybe it's the boy in me.

My future career as a fireman came to a screeching halt when I was in the sixth grade.  One night, my parents went to visit some friends and left my brother & I alone at home.  As we were beginning to watch a TV show, we noticed something intense through the curtains in the living room.  As we opened the curtains, we learned that the house next door was on fire.  The house was rather close to the home we lived in at the time.  Watching our neighbor's house burn was terrifying.  Making the whole situation more troubling was the fact that our home was so close to the burning house.  Fortunately, the volunteer fire department arrived moments later and extinguished the fire before it could spread to our house.  The whole situation rattled me.  I learned quickly that a fireman is called to duty only during horrible situations.  I decided that night to abandon my dream of being a fire fighter.

Due to the nature of their work, I have a great deal of respect for firemen.  They sacrifice their lives to save others.  The greatest fireman of all time is the Lord Jesus Himself.  He was the One who created fire and He knows how to save people from fire.

In our text, three Hebrews defied the king's evil edict.  The consequence for their action was execution in a fiery furnace.  Their faith stirs us to this day.  Read again what they told the king:  "...our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king." 

As we remember their courageous act, we must remember a few things.  First of all, they believed that the only One worthy of their worship was God.  They refused to compromise their faith even though the cost would be great.  They risked their very lives for the sake of their faith.  They stood alone for God.  It is refreshing to see believers stand for their faith --- especially when they are willing to risk everything for the sake of the Gospel. 

Secondly, the three Hebrew men did not have assurance that they would be spared from the fire ... they just knew that God was able to deliver them.  Ultimately, they were thrown into the fiery furnace.  You and I will face our own fiery trials.  We may face a furnace of persecution, a furnace of pain, or a furnace of trials.  Although God is able to spare us from the fire, He still may permit us to go into the furnace.

Third, when they entered the fire, a fourth man arrived to aid them.  The Fireman had arrived.  He saved these men from certain death.  If you are a born-again believer, you may be sure that God is there with you when you enter the furnace & He'll stay with you the entire time you're there.

Finally, God brought them out of the fiery furnace.  For the believer, fiery furnaces will come ... but they are all temporary.  God always brings His people out of the fire.  God delivers today.

If you are not a born-again believer, fire is in your future.  Revelation 20:11-15 describes the Great White Throne Judgment.  Verse 15 gives us the grim outcome of that judgment:  "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."  If you die without saving faith in Christ, your eternal future will be in a lake of fire.  Yet that does not have to be your future.  Like a good fire fighter, Jesus Christ sacrificed His life so you could be saved from the fire.  On the cross of Calvary, Jesus took your place and received the punishment you deserved.  He paid the price for your sins with His own life.  Through repentance and faith, His payment may be applied to your case.  Jesus didn't come to earth to make your life miserable.  Instead, He came to give you life.  He cared enough to do everything it took to keep you from the eternal fire you deserve.  How glorious He is to love you to the extent that He'd take your place!  Why continue to dishonor and disgrace the One who loves you the most?    Why continue on the road to the eternal lake of fire?  Turn from your sins right now and receive eternal life through Jesus Christ.

I'm glad that Jesus, the greatest fireman, still saves people from the fire!

A CHANGE OF HEART

"And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:  That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." - Ezekiel 11:19-20

We live in a wicked world.  Our society is sinfully depraved and getting worse by the day.  Racism, murders, thefts, substance abuse, lust, gossip, and lies have saturated our culture.  Political change is, at best, a band-aid fix to the problem.  Most of the time, politics are part of the problem.

Most Americans tend to see themselves as good people, living moral, ethical lives.  Perhaps you see yourself that way. 

It is important for each person to have an annual checkup.  When your family doctor performs a routine checkup, he or she may find medical problems that you are unaware of.  Discovery and proper treatment of a medical problem may save you a lot of pain ... and may even save your life.

Whether you know it or not, you have already received a spiritual checkup.  Our Lord is the Great Physician.  He has examined your life.  His diagnosis is grim, but true.  He has found that you have a bad heart.

Most people think that they have sincere, good hearts.  Maybe you think the same thing.  Sometimes I hear people say, "God knows my heart."  That is true.  God does know your heart and here is what He says about it, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).  Notice two things about the human heart:  it is deceitful and desperately wicked.  That statement is the diagnosis of the Great Physician.  He has examined your heart and found it to wicked. 

You have received the Great Physician's diagnosis.  Now it is time to receive His treatment.  The only answer for a wicked heart is a heart transplant.  You must have a change of heart.  The Great Physician, who is a specialist in this line of surgery, is the only One who can accomplish this.

Ezekiel 11:19-20 shares how the Great Physician performs a heart transplant in the lives of people:  "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:  That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God."

Here are a few facts about the change of heart that God provides:

1.  GOD IS THE ONLY ONE WHO PERFORMS THIS SURGERY

A change of heart cannot be performed by anyone else by God Himself.  You can't change your own heart.  Your family members or friends can't change your heart.  Watching a talk show, seeing a movie, or listening to self-help CD's will not change your heart.  A human doctor can't perform the kind of heart transplant that the Lord provides.  Only God can change your heart.

2.  GOD HAS A PERFECT RECORD

God has never lost a case.  Despite the life-and-death situation of His patients, God has never lost a patient on the operating table.  Every patient He has treated has survived and lived a better life than before.  His patients give continual visible and verbal testimony of His great work.  When a person receives a change of heart, he knows it!

3.  GOD NEVER CHARGES FOR HIS WORK

The heart transplant that God performs is expensive, but His patients are never charged for the surgery.  Jesus paid for the operation through His death upon the cross.

4.  A PATIENT MUST SURRENDER TO GOD

You cannot come to God on your own terms.  A patient does not tell a doctor how to do his job.  Instead, a patient is expected to heed his doctor's instruction.  You must give yourself to the Great Physician and let Him do His job.

5.  WITHOUT THIS HEART TRANSPLANT, YOU WILL DIE

The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life."  Many people treat this procedure as an optional surgery, but the heart transplant you need is a matter of life and death.  At any moment, you could leave this world.  If you hesitate, you are gambling with your eternal future.

6.  HIS PROCEDURE PRODUCES PROFOUND RESULTS

Not only will this procedure save you, it will change your life.  "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature."  The old heart, which was selfish and sinful, will be replaced with a heart of love.  You will have love for God.  Your love for others will be at a greater level.  You will have purpose for life and hope beyond the grave.

7.  GOD ONLY OPERATES TODAY

This surgery is only performed when the Great Physician calls you to come.  You cannot come to Him just any time you wish.  Too many people think that they will come to Jesus, "some day."  The only day that God operates is today.  "Today is the day of salvation."  You must come to Him today.

There is no greater need in a person's life than to have a change of heart.  Without a change of heart, you will die in your sins.  The Great Physician's office is open right now.  Come humbly to the Lord Jesus Christ, by faith.  Submit yourself to His surgical touch.  He will provide a change of heart that will change your life today.

GOD'S INCREDIBLE MERCY

"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed..." - Lamentations 3:22

Mankind is guilty of taking God's mercy for granted.  Since His mercy has been extended to us daily, we act as if we deserved or earned it. Many people feel entitled to the blessings of God.  In reality, every good thing that we enjoy is a gift from God.  We don't deserve these blessings.  

The word, "mercy," refers to God's loving kindness demonstrated by keeping us from the wrath we deserve.  Talk show hosts never speak about the wrath of God.  Most preachers rarely talk about the judgment of God.  As a result, most individuals fail to understand the nature of God's mercy.

In our text, Jeremiah wrote, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed."  Americans tend to think that our advanced education, ever-expanding liberal standards, capitalism, and democracy have produced the blessings we enjoy.  What foolish thinking!  It is wrong to think that somehow we deserve our blessings.  America exists --- and continues to exist --- because of God's mercy.  You woke up this morning because of God's mercy.  If it weren't for God's mercy, all of us --- and I do mean ALL of us --- would be in hell.  Because of sin, we deserve hell.  Evangelist Bill Stafford once said, "Anything short of hell is grace."

The fact is that we deserve to be consumed by the wrath of God.  We are not as "good" as we think we are.  We measure our lives by our intensions while God judges us by the truth.  We tend to compare ourselves to others & end up with a distorted view of ourselves.  Compared to a murdering rapist, most Americans would seem to be good.  However, compared to God's standard of perfection, all of us fall woefully short. 

Think about how incredible God's mercy really is.  He permitted many of His enemies to awake this morning, knowing that they would continue their rebellion against Him, use His Name in vain and fight against everything He attempts to do.  They deserve His wrath.  Jeremiah was right, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed." 

God deserves our praise and devotion.  We tend to overlook Him.  We enjoy gifts, blessings and mercy while deliberately avoiding the One they came from.  When we think about God's mercies, we should be in awe of Him.  One who is so great extends such great mercy to the worst of sinners. 

When confronted with the truth about God's mercy, many tend to take God and His mercy for granted.  Sadly, many think that mercy will always be extended to them.  God's mercy points sinners to the Savior, where the greatest act of mercy can be enjoyed.  Salvation is the ultimate act of God's mercy.  There's not a man or woman who deserves heaven.  Instead, all of us deserve hell.  When a man repents of his sins and trusts Jesus alone to save him, God's glorious mercy and grace is extended to him, bringing salvation.   

God's mercy is extended to mankind through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ.  On the cross, Jesus took our place & suffered the penalty that we should have received.  Jesus experienced the wrath that we deserved.  There on the cross, the justice of God was satisfied and the mercy of God was extended.

The only way a man or woman can avoid the penalty of sin is through the mercy of God, extended through the blood of Jesus.  The born again believer will not be consumed by God's wrath because the wrath we deserved was poured out on Jesus.  Because of God's mercies, we are not consumed ... and never will be.

What about you?  Can you honestly state that you have been born again?  Apart from God's mercy and grace, you will ultimately face eternal wrath because of your sin.  Don't take God's mercy for granted.  His mercy is available to you at this moment so that you may turn from your sin and meet Jesus Christ.  God is incredible to offer you salvation.  His mercy is incredible.  While mercy and grace are available, turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. 

What a mighty God we serve!  His mercy is incredible.  "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed..."

NOT SAVED

"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." - Jeremiah 8:20

Jeremiah is often called, "the weeping prophet."  His writings often reveal his grief over the sin of his people and the severe consequences they face.  Our text is a classic example of the prophet's anguish.  In this verse, he gives a vivid description of the spiritual condition that his people face. 

These days, televangelists tend to preach only "positive sermons."  Jeremiah would not fit in with the popular ministers of our day.  The prophet proclaimed God's message of judgment and doom in a day when it was dangerous to do so.  Jeremiah's faithfulness to God's message made him the recipient of harsh persecution.

Is it right to preach a positive message when God's judgment is imminent?  The fact is that God's judgment is imminent.  Every person will soon stand before God in judgment.  Most individuals are unprepared for this inevitable event.

My message today is written especially for those who've never repented of their sin and trusted Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior.  Unless Biblical repentance occurs in your life, there will come a time when it will be too late to call on God.  It is very possible for you to sin away your day of grace.  In fact, you may be dangerously close to that moment right now. 

Like the people of Jeremiah's day, you may soon be facing a hopeless future.  As we look at our text, I want you to understand three things.

1.  A PAST OPPORTUNITY

First of all, there was a past opportunity.  The Bible says, "The harvest is past."  You have had ample opportunities to repent and believe in Jesus.  Perhaps you grew up in a Christian home.  Maybe you went to church as a child.  It could be that a friend or family member has been talking with you about the Lord.  You have shrugged it all off as a matter that you'll deal with later.  Maybe you have "good intensions" of getting right with God "some day."  Yet "some day" may never come.  It could be that tomorrow, your opportunities will be gone forever.

2.  A PITIFUL OCCASION

Secondly, there was a pitiful occasion.  The Bible continues, "... the summer is ended..."  When the summer is ended and the harvest is over, the opportunity to be saved is gone.   I believe that we are in the final days of God's grace. When Jesus returns, I believe the harvest of grace will be over for many.  You may think that you'll repent "some time" in the future, not realizing that your life will end much sooner than you think.  When the summer of God's grace is over, it will be a pitiful occasion for souls that have not repented. 

3.  A PERMANENT OUTCOME

Finally, you need to consider the final outcome, "... we are not saved."  To face the end of life and the finality of eternity without being saved is a terrifying reality that you may soon face.  Despite the pleading, prayers and tears of family members and friends, you are traveling on the road that leads to hell. 

Our text is the lamentation of hopeless souls.  Unless you repent and trust in the Savior, the day will come when you'll be in hell.  The torment of that place will not cloud your understanding that the harvest is past, the summer is ended & you are not saved.  Your plight will be horrible and eternal.

During these final days of spiritual harvest, cry out to God for mercy ... while mercy is available.  Turn from sin right now and place your faith in Jesus. 

Don't gamble with your eternal future.  The harvest is almost past, the summer is almost ended ... and you are not saved.

  

A PERSONAL INVITATION

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." - Isaiah 55:6-7

Lately, news sources, talk shows and social media have been all abuzz about the Presidential race.  I've found that so many people have very strong opinions about their preferred candidate.  I am troubled about the future of our nation.  I am bothered about the character issues that plague the candidates.  Believe it or not, the upcoming Presidential election is not the issue that troubles me the most. 

My biggest concern is the spiritual condition of those around me.  You see, some day America will cease to exist, but each person has an eternal soul.  A thousand years from now, it won't matter who won the election of 2016.  What will matter is where you will spend eternity.

May I be rather personal with you?  If you were to die right now, are you 100% sure you'd go to heaven?  As you think about the judgment that lies ahead, do you have confidence about your standing with God?

The good news is that God invites you to experience His saving grace and abundant mercy.  This grace is available on His terms, not your own.  Look at Isaiah 55:6-7:  "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."  I want you to notice a few things about God's invitation to you.

1.  REQUEST

First of all, the Bible says, "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found."  Too many people assume that they'll get saved on their deathbed or some suitable time in the future.  The Scripture makes it clear that you must come to the Lord while He may be found.  This gives us the indication that there will come a time in which the Lord will not be found.  You must come to the Lord now.  You have no guarantee of a suitable time in the future or a deathbed conversion experience.  Seek Him now.

The Bible also says, "Call ye upon him while he is near."  This is a day of mercy.  The Bible says, "Whosoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved."  The only time that you can call on the Lord & receive forgiveness is when God tenderly extends His invitation to you.  That moment is now.    

2.  REPENT

You must come to God on His terms.  The second term He gives is repentance.  You must repent of your sins.  Notice our text continues with these vital words: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts."  It is impossible for a man to cleanse and change his life.  Only God can do that.  However, God does demand that a person have a repentant attitude.  This is more than just feeling sorry for your sins.  It is a desire to live differently than you did in the past.  Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of behavior.  If a man is unwilling to give up his sinful ways, he cannot be saved.

Is there something you are unwilling to give up in order to follow Christ?  Is there some sinful behavior you refuse to let go of?  Let me be very blunt with you.  There is not a sin you enjoy that is worth going to hell for.  Repent!

3.  RETURN

Finally, the Bible says, "... let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."  You must come to the Lord by faith.  When you request forgiveness, based upon the person & work of Christ, that request needs to be offered with repentance and faith.  We've already looked at the issue of repentance; so let's explore the subject of faith.

You can only approach God by faith. This faith needs to be anchored in the person and work of Jesus.  First of all, that faith needs to be in the person of Christ.  You must believe that He is who He claims to be.  You must believe that He'll do what He promised to do.  You must take Him at His Word.  Secondly, you need to have faith in the work of Christ.  You must believe that His work of redemption on the cross of Calvary is sufficient payment for your sins.  You must trust that the shed blood of Christ can & will cleanse your sins.  Finally, you must believe that God will receive you, simply based upon His promise.  The book of Hebrews states, "... he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."  

When a man, woman, boy or girl comes to the Lord in repentance and faith, requesting saving grace, the Bible promises, "... he will have mercy ... he will abundantly pardon."  There is no shortage of grace.  God is able to save you in spite of your past. 

Genuine salvation brings you into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and ultimately gives you a desire to follow Him.  While the Lord tenderly extends His mercy to you, turn from your sins and call on Him by faith today.  Seek the Lord while He may be found.  Call upon Him while He is near. 

Why wait any longer?