Our Future Destiny Will Be Determined By The Decisions We Make Daily And How We Respond The Light That God Grants To Us And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Jos. 24:15) I want Jesus In My Life - https://youtube/watch?v=ONfQsQzaJQs In today’s lesson the Lord is reminding us that our eternal destiny will depend on how we respond to the light that He has revealed to us. Sometimes we spend hours talking, debating and discussing the fate of those who were not followers of Christ when they die. There are some who believe that these persons will have another chance to make it right. While there are others who believe that we can pray to God on behalf of those who have died. But in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus makes it very clear that nothing can be done for a person when they have died and are in the grave. Their eternal destiny will be based on their words, thoughts and actions while they were alive. Nobody can pray and ask the Lord to forgive the trespasses and sins of a dead love one. We must make our calling and election sure before we die. You see my friend; when we die, we are totally unconscious of what is happening around us. When we die, the body goes back to ground as dust and the breath of life goes back to God. The soul of a human being ceases to exist at death. This is why it’s so important that we ask the Lord to help us to act upon the light that He has revealed to us. I am not sure if we realize that the reason why we are alive right now is because God has not completed His work of transformation in our lives. There is some additional light which God needs to reveal to us before His work of transformation can be completed. We are alive because there is more work required to change our stony heart into a heart of flesh. God is going to judge us according to the light He has given to us and not according to the light He has given to anyone else. Instead of spending time to examine the light that was given to others and how they are dealing with that light, it would be better if we spend some time working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. It would be better if we ask God to search our heart and remove any impurity that will hinder us from making it into His eternal Kingdom. Let us spend some time praying for those who might not be living up to the light which God has revealed to them. We must remember that James 5:16 says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” I pray that we will continue ask the Lord to search our heart and remove the impurities that will hinder us from gaining eternal life. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Christ shows that in this life men decide their eternal destiny. During probationary time the grace of God is offered to every soul. But if men waste their opportunities in self-pleasing, they cut themselves off from everlasting life. No afterprobation will be granted them. By their own choice they have fixed an impassable gulf between them and their God. (Christ’s Object Lessons, pg. 260 – Ellen G. White) Christ desires His hearers to understand that it is impossible for men to secure the salvation of the soul after death. Son, Abraham is represented as answering, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence to you can not; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Thus Christ represented the hopelessness of looking for a second probation. This life is the only time given to man in which to prepare for eternity. (Christ’s Object Lessons, pg. 263 – Ellen G. White) When the voice of God awakes the dead, he will come from the grave with the same appetites and passions, the same likes and dislikes, that he cherished when living. God works no miracle to re-create a man who would not be re-created when he was granted every opportunity and provided with every facility. During his lifetime he took no delight in God, nor found pleasure in His service. His character is not in harmony with God, and he could not be happy in the heavenly family. Today there is a class in our world who are self-righteous. They are not gluttons, they are not drunkards, they are not infidels; but they desire to live for themselves, not for God. He is not in their thoughts; therefore they are classed with unbelievers. Were it possible for them to enter the gates of the city of God, they could have no right to the tree of life, for when Gods commandments were laid before them with all their binding claims they said, No. They have not served God here; therefore they would not serve Him hereafter. They could not live in His presence, and they would feel that any place was preferable to heaven. To learn of Christ means to receive His grace, which is His character. But those who do not appreciate and utilize the precious opportunities and sacred influences granted them on earth, are not fitted to take part in the pure devotion of heaven. Their characters are not molded according to the divine similitude. By their own neglect they have formed a chasm which nothing can bridge. Between them and the righteous there is a great gulf fixed. (Christ’s Object Lessons, pg. 270, 271 – Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 10:31:25 +0000
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