Facing Revelation's Judgment

by Mark Finley

Tonight, before we enter into our presentation, I invite you to bow your heads with me as we truly open our hearts to the God of the universe....."Father in heaven, thank You for the book of Revelation. Thank You for clear messages that we're living in the earth's last hour. Grant to us tonight hearts to love You, minds to understand Your word, ears to hear Your voice speaking to us personally. Grant to us tonight a love for You stronger than any other love in our life. In Christ's name, Amen."

Our topic tonight is entitled "Facing Revelation's Judgment", how to face that judgment with confidence.

It was called the 'trial of the century' --- tens of thousands of Americans, and men and women around the world, looked in on that year-long trial. A popular sports personality, O.J. Simpson, was being tried for the murder of two people: his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman. The scenes are familiar to those of us who live in North America, and they have become familiar scenes around the world. The personalities were clear --- Judge Lance Ito, the judge presiding in the case, and the accused, O.J. Simpson. The trial lawyers who participated in the case as well became household names in America. Scores of people spent hours each day watching the trial. There probably hasn't been a trial in the history of North America that has polarized the nation as much as this trial. Marcia Clark, the deputy district attorney from Los Angeles, was one of the prosecutors. Every day America focused its attention on the arguments, and those arguments were reported in the newspaper the next day. We listened as Johnny Cochran gave his rebuttals. The nation was gripped, enamoured. In fact, there were thousands of news people who flocked to Los Angeles for the trial. There were court reporters. There were the stenographers. There were the news media.
And when the final judgment was given, there were those who shouted with glee.....but others wept. The attention was focused on what was called the trial of the century, gripping millions of people.

Now lift your eyes from earth, not to the trial of the century but to the drama of the ages. Lift your eyes from an earthly courtroom to a heavenly one, and to the book of Revelation.....

The Bible says, "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth --- to every nation, tribe, tongue and people ---". Thousands, maybe millions, of people watched the O.J. Simpson trial, but tens of millions, nay, billions, will be drawn into the heavenly judgment. The Bible says that a message is to go forth to every nation, to every tribe, to every language group, to every people, "--- saying with a....." what kind of voice, Orlando?....."saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come' " (Revelation 14:6, 7). The time period for God's judgment is come.

Here is no earthly court in session. Here is no trial of the century. Heaven's court sits. This is the trial of the ages, the final drama in the history of the world. The controversy between good and evil is finally, fully and completely settled. The destinies of all mankind are settled, not in the trial of the century on earth, but in the trial of the ages in heaven.

Daniel looked up and saw that courtroom scene in Daniel 7:13. And he said, "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him." Do you see in your mind that scene? Daniel looks up into heaven, and he sees the sitting of the supreme court of the universe. He sees 10,000 times 10,000 beings, cherabim and seraphim, angelic beings pressing into heaven's court. He sees the Ancient of Days, the Father, seated, and he sees the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven to the Father. Father and Son sit, and the supreme court of the universe convenes.
"I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was like a fiery flame.....A thousand thousands ministered to Him;
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; The court was seated, and the books were opened" (Daniel 7:9,10). Here is no seating of an earthly court, an earthly judgment. Heaven's court was seated. The Father sat down.
The Son came to the Father, and tens of thousands of angels came. This is a magnificent, majestic, glorious, awesome scene! The sitting of the Supreme Court of the universe. The Bible says, "The books were opened." Judgment occurs. Evidence is brought forth.

Why is evidence brought forth? What occurs in this judgment? How is this drama of destinies settled, as the sun sets on a planet called Earth?

You'll recall that in our last meeting, when we studied the timing of this judgment --- this 'cleansing' of heaven's sanctuary, this settling of the destinies of the whole human race --- we studied the dates beginning the judgment. (Each of these meetings, at this point in our series, is like a link in a chain. That is why it's so important not to miss one meeting in the series.) Please read Daniel 8:14 with me: "And he said to me, 'For 2300 days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.' " In the Bible, one prophetic day equals one literal year, so 'unto 2300 days' from Daniel's time dealt with 2300 years.

And the Bible talks about the 'cleansing of the sanctuary.' In the Bible, there were two sanctuaries; the one on earth was a scale model, a copy or a pattern of the great original in heaven. Two thousand three hundred years in the future from Daniel's day, there obviously would be no sanctuary on earth, because when Jesus died, the veil in the earthly temple was split in two, and no longer were earthly sacrificial lambs to be brought to the earthly temple. Everything that happened in the earthly temple represented what would happen in heaven. Jesus, our Lamb, came from heaven to earth to die, and after Christ's death, He ascended to the heavenly sanctuary. Lambs were slain in the courtyard of the early temple. After the death of the lamb, the earthly priest sprinkled its blood in the earthly sanctuary. And at the end of the Jewish religious cycle in the earthly sanctuary, there was a day of judgment.

So also at the end of time, there will be a day of judgment. 'Unto 2300 years' from Daniel's time would take the world down to the judgment preliminary to the coming of Christ. (We studied this.....do you remember?) The 2300 years began back with the decree to restore and build Jerusalem in 457 BC. The first 490 of those years applied to the Jews, which ran out in 34 AD when the Jews crucified Christ and when later, in 34 AD, they stoned Stephen and the gospel went to the gentiles. (We've studied this in our last meeting.....if you missed the last meeting, get the written material on it to revisit it, so it's clear in your mind.) The 2300 years of Daniel went from 457 BC and ran out in 1844 AD. Since 1844, we've been living in a time period known as the 'time of the end', a time which the Bible calls 'God's judgment hour.' We are now living when the sands in the hourglass of time are now running out. Heaven's court is in session. The destinies of the entire human race are soon to be settled.

Here is a court session that should grip our attention, should seize our minds far more than any earthly trial. The Bible says in Acts 17:31 that God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world. We have entered into that judgment hour. The destiny of this world is now to be decided. What is the reason for this judgment? Why should there be a judgment before Christ comes? Doesn't God know who is saved and who is lost?

Why should there be a judgment? It's part of a controversy between good and evil. You'll recall that the Bible says that God created a being of dazzling brightness, who rebelled against God and led the universe into disobedience. Let's read about the fall of that being of dazzling brightness, Lucifer, who ultimately became the devil, and Satan.....The Bible in Isaiah 14:12-13 says, "How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!.....For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne....." (now notice the emphasis is on the throne --- in the Bible where you see 'throne', you have rulership or dominion.) Satan says, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." He goes on to say, "I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north." (From the north, God's law was given.) So, Satan wanted to sit on God's throne giving God's law. "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:12-14).

Lucifer desired to sit on God's throne to rule, to make laws. He claimed that God was unfair, unjust. Lucifer led a third of the angels into rebellion; Lucifer then came to planet Earth and led Adam and Eve into sin. And Lucifer has charged before the whole universe that God is unfair, that God is not righteous, that God's way is not the best, that God's law is narrow and restrictive. So God is on trial before His own universe. And Satan has said that God is unfair, that God makes laws that can't be kept, that God does not desire us to be happy, that God is partial, that He plays favourites.

The heavenly records will reveal God's justice. Before God wipes sin out of the universe, before God cleans the universe, before Christ comes to put an end to it all, it will be shown before a waiting world and watching universe that God has loved us so much that He's done everything He could to save every human being possible. You and I are evidence in the trial. As our lives come up before God in judgment, God says to the angels, "Could I have done anything more to save Mark Finley? Could I have done anything more to save Harry or Joan?" As our names come up before God, it will be demonstrated that anybody who is lost is lost not because God didn't give them a chance, not because they didn't have an opportunity, not because God didn't love them, not because God didn't desire their happiness, not because God wasn't merciful. They were lost because of their own choice, their own power of choice.

When God created the human race, He created us not as cosmic specks of dust in a crowd, but He created us as individuals. He created each and every one of us with the capacity to choose, with the opportunity to make rational, moral choices. The power of choice is the greatest power that any one of us has. And the Bible says that the judgment calls us into account for how we've used that power of choice. You will be saved or lost --- and it's in your hands.

The destiny of your soul's salvation is not in your environment, not in your heredity, not in your surroundings --- your destiny is determined by your choices.

The Bible teaches the reality of the judgment in Romans 14:12. Read it with me please: "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." So for each of us, the Bible teaches, the reality of the judgment is that every one of us must give account of himself to God. "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment" (Ecclesiastes 11:9). The Bible teaches the universality of the judgment. The Bible teaches that every human being has a case pending at the bar of God. We are responsible for our choices, for our actions, for our decisions. The magnitude of this judgment reaches into our personal lives. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 12:14: "For God will bring....." (what are the next two words?) ".....every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether it is good or whether it is evil." There is nothing secret with God. The locked cupboards of double lives, the double standards, are thrown open before the searchlight of the holy God. Sir, you may hide something from your wife, but it can't be hidden from God. You may hide something from your husband, ma'am, but it can't be hidden from God. The Bible says that God will bring into judgment every secret thing. In your private moments, sir, what are you reading? In your private moments, sir, what are you watching? Ma'am, in the citadel of your soul, what do you love?

The Bible says in Hebrews 4:13, "There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." There will be no pretense, then.....no sham, then. You may look decent on the outside, sir. You may appear moral in your pinstriped suit with your attache case as you go to the office, but if you are pulling off crooked and dishonest business deals, the Bible says they will all be naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. We appear before the judgment bar of God not as we pretend to be, but as we actually are. We appear before the judgment bar of God, not with our demeanour and not with our outer self, but God knows the truth.

Some time ago, in a theater that was absolutely packed, the movie suddenly stopped, the lights came on, and this announcement came on in the theater..... (Did you read about it in the newspaper?) The announcement was this: 'If there is somebody in here with another man's wife, you better leave quickly, because her husband just ran in the front door with a gun to shoot you.' Seventeen couples got up and ran out the door! [ laughter ] That would be amusing if
it weren't so tragic! You only may know what you're doing, and it may be done under the cover of darkness.....that affair may be done secretly.....that underhanded business deal, that cheating, that lie may be done secretly. You may be one thing in the church and another thing outside of the church. You may be one thing at your home and another thing at business. You may have a beautiful facade that surrounds you, but selfishness and greed and lust may reside in your heart. But in the judgment, it will be clear. It will be plain, because the record will come up before God in the judgment just as it is. The Bible says, "O, Lord, You have searched me and you know me.....you are familiar with all my ways.....All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:1,3,16). The Bible says, "You have searched me, O, God."

How will you stand in the judgment? Is there greed in your heart? Is there lust in your heart? Is there selfishness in your mind? Are you consumed with pride? Sin destroys. How will you stand, when you stand before God? But you say, 'Mark, I'm not so sure that I can make it in that judgment.' The Bible says that the judgment looks deeply not only into our actions and into our words but into our very thoughts. Look at the depth of the judgment. God knows everything about us.....our thoughts, our words, our deeds. Matthew 12:36, 37 says, "But I say to you that for every idle word man shall speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified....." (read the last part of it with me, please) "....and by your words you will be condemned." The Bible says that our words are brought into judgment, the very words that we speak.

As you go back and look at the Bible, words play a very important part. Moses spoke angry words.....rather than speaking to the rock, he smote the rock with angry words, and as a result Moses missed out on entering in with Israel to the earthly Promised Land. Of course, God forgave him, but his angry words cost him something. You remember, Peter denied his Lord with words of cursing when Jesus needed him. That night Pilate lost his soul, because in Christ's trial, Pilate refused to acknowledge the evidence, and his critical words washing his hands of the Messiah condemned him to death. Words echo and re-echo in our own minds. These words, every idle word, like Judas's words of betrayal, will be revealed in the judgment. And the judgment will reveal our actions and even our thoughts. How does this judgment proceed? How can you and I be sure to pass the judgment? How can we be sure, when our name comes up before God, that we have hope in the judgment?

It's rather discouraging! We are filled with despair to think that every action, every thought, every word, every deed will be revealed in the searchlight of the holy God.

Let me assure you that if you and I have to stand before the judgment bar of God alone, in our nakedness, with every word, every action, every thought transparent before God, there is no way that we can pass.....and we'll be lost. But there must be another alternative. How can we be certain to pass the judgment? What is the encouraging message of the judgment hour? It's not encouraging to stand before God in my sins, in my wickedness, the Bible helps us when it begins to describe some of the books of judgment. The Bible says in Malachi 3:16: "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name."

The good news of the judgment is that everything is recorded.....not only the bad deeds, but also the good. You know that the Bible says that those who speak kind and loving words are recorded, and those who make positive choices are recorded, and so are words of encouragement, of hope, of cheer that we've spoken to other people. You may not think anything about it at all, but it's all written in God's record.....that hope that you've given, that cheer you've given, that joy you've brought, those words of encouragement are all recorded there in heaven's judgment. Yes, that unselfish act, that kind act, they are all recorded there. Those words of faith.....praying with somebody else, leading somebody else to know Jesus, those words of hope and cheer and encouragement and confidence, those are all recorded in God's judgment.

In addition to that, for the judgment to be fair, it must not only record our good deeds and our bad deeds, but it must record something about our background, something about our environment, something about the difficulties of our lives, because people are brought up in different circumstances. The Bible says in Psalm 56:8: "Record my lament" (or my sorrow) "list my tears on your scroll....." Every tear you have ever shed, because of your failed marriage, every tear you have ever shed over your children, every sorrow you have ever experienced because of loneliness, discouragement or depression, are all there recorded. "List my tears on your scroll --- are they not in your record?" God knows that sorrow. God knows the tough circumstances of your life. God knows, as the Bible says, the hole that you were dug out of. God knows that you have lived in that little apartment, with four or five people in one room. He knows the poverty, the discouragement, your heartaches, your sorrows, your tears, your disappointments.

It is all there recorded --- what I really am --- my battles, my struggles, my joys, my sorrows, my good deeds and my bad deeds .....strip aside the facade, take away the person everybody else sees --- what I really am --- the authentic me, the genuine me, the real me.....that comes up before God's throne. He knows where I was born, my home background, my joys and my sorrows.

Then you might ask, how can I be sure to pass that judgment? Is it good deeds weighed against bad deeds? If I have 5,192 good deeds and only 5,191 bad deeds, does God weigh them on a balance scale? Nothing like that --- there is nothing further from the truth.

Let's look at God's books of record and one book in particular..... Sure, our good deeds and our bad deeds are recorded, because they reflect who we are --- they reflect our decisions, our choices. But here is the most important book in all of the Bible mentioned, here is a book in scripture --- if your name is written in it and it stays in it, you'll be saved forever, and if your name is not in it and never written in it, you'll be lost forever. Here is the book --- the decision to put your name in it settles your destiny. The Bible calls it, in Revelation 21:27, the Lamb's Book of Life.....the 'Lamb' is Jesus. This is the book that Jesus has with the names of those who will live forever. Now, according to the Bible, there are finally only two classes --- the saved and the lost. Today, there are people who are totally for Christ, and there are people who are totally against Christ, and there is also that great 'middle' class. But according to Revelation, the middle class is going to go one way or the other.....for Christ or against Christ. The Bible says that there will be a final harvest, and about that final harvest, Revelation 22:11 says: "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; .....he who is righteous, let him be righteous still." There will be two classes, the just and the unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous.....the great middle class of people who have not yet decided are now making their decisions for or against Christ. They're making a decision to follow the Lamb, Jesus, or to be deceived by the beast in the last days. There will be no alternative..... surrender to Christ or surrender to the beast, follow the Lamb or follow the beast, allegiance to God or allegiance to the beast.

The Bible says in Psalm 69:28: "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous" --- those who refuse to accept the claims of Jesus, those who spurn Christ, those who turn their backs on Christ, those who place within their lives other priorities beside Christ. The Bible says, "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living." Their names are blotted out of that book, but as for those who overcome, those who accept Christ, those for whom Jesus is precious and their Redeemer, those who have Christ in their hearts --- "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before my Father and before His angels."

The issue is: either I appear before the judgment bar of God with all my lust and all my pride and all my greed with the searchlight of a holy God showing my sins, and I am blotted out of God's book forever and lost.....or I appear there humbly, and the record of my life appears there in Jesus. And Jesus steps forth and says, "This man is one of mine.....Yes, he failed, yes, he sinned, but, Father, My blood was shed to pardon his sin." 'Pardoned' is written after every sin. It does not appear before the God of the universe. It does not appear before the heavenly beings in the universe. You might ask, "Pastor, make it more plain!" The truth of the matter is, every one of us will appear before the judgment bar of God. But how can I be certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that I can pass the judgment? How can I leave here tonight from this auditorium knowing that I can pass the judgment? How can I leave here knowing that when my name comes up before God, when the final gavel falls, that I'm saved, that the verdict is 'not guilty?' How can I be sure that I have salvation when the sands in the hourglass of time run out?

When it is all over, when life is complete, how can I be sure to live in heaven with God forever? One thing is for certain, I can't do it on my own! The Bible says, in Isaiah 64:6: "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." All of my good deeds are not sufficient enough to pass the judgment. Every good thing I have ever done is not sufficient enough to pass the judgment. Romans 3:10 says (read it with me please): "As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Nobody can pass the judgment, unless somebody stands in our place. We can't pass the judgment. The law of God condemns us. The law of God doesn't only say "Thou shalt not kill." Expand that law and it says 'Don't even get angry with somebody in your heart.' The law of God doesn't only say "Thou shalt not commit adultery." It says 'Don't even think lustfully.' Are you pure, a hundred percent of the time, inside? Are your motives totally unselfish?

We can't pass the judgment.....unless we come to the cross.....unless we accept Christ's perfect life in behalf of our failures. You see Jesus lived a perfect life, because He knew that you would live an imperfect life, and in the judgment, Jesus wants to make a divine exchange. God loved you so much that He sent His Son. Christ came to live the life you should have lived, and in the judgment, He presents His beautiful, purchased, perfect righteousness in your behalf. He came to die the death that you would die, so that in the judgment, you need not be condemned to death, because Christ will step forth and He will say (let's read it together in John 5:24): "Most assuredly....." (don't you like that? Assurance.....'Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.') "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment....." (that means that he will not be condemned, that in the judgment his verdict will be 'not guilty.') He "shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." Do you want to pass from death to life? How many of you tonight want to pass from death to life? Jesus will stand for you in the judgment.

One of the most majestic and marvelous places that I've ever lived is in Europe. My wife and I spent five happy years living outside of London --- London has a special charm for us. Visitors to London are often taken by their guides to the Royal Mint, where the British pound is minted. (Royalty visits that London mint from time to time, and they take even top royal guests there.) There you can see a magnificent balance scale, where they weigh out British money. When the guide takes you through, he takes two pieces of paper and puts them on the scale, one in each pan.....and the scale is so even, so delicately balanced, it doesn't move. Then he takes one piece of paper from one of the pans, and he writes his signature on that piece of paper. Then he puts it back on the scale, and immediately (that scale is so delicate!) the scale with the guide's signature goes way down, and the other pan goes up! The signature of the guide makes all the difference. In the judgment, it's not good deeds against bad deeds, friend --- it's whether the signature of Jesus is after your name. No matter how many times you have failed, no matter how many times you have fallen short, Jesus says, 'Come to Me. Let Me represent you in the judgment.' Jesus says that we are living in the last days --- this is no time for fooling around!

Jesus Saves

The Bible says in Hebrews 7:25: "Therefore He is also able to....." (do what?) ".....save....." Is He able to save? Can He do it? Can Jesus enable you to pass the judgment --- can He? He is able to save. How is He able to save? ".....to the uttermost those who come to God through Him." I want to do that, don't you?

The only people who won't be saved are those who don't come to God through Christ. Salvation is that easy! Have you failed? Have you let God down? Have you cursed.....sworn.....stolen.....commited adultery? Or maybe you're a 'respectable' sinner --- you didn't commit any of those gross sins, but you're selfish, greedy and critical inside. You can be saved. He is "able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Jesus intercedes for you.

When my name comes up before God, there is a long catalog of sins. And God says, 'Here are your sins.' But Jesus says, 'Father, You sent Your spirit to his heart. Father, You reached out to him. Father, You loved him. Father, I died for him. Father, I intercede. He broke the law, but I kept the law.

He deserves death, but I deserve life. Father, credit everything from My account to him.' And all the angels sing, 'Holy, holy, holy' --- all the angels rejoice, because Jesus has never lost a case. Jesus has never lost one who has put his life in His hands!

But, here another man's name comes up, and another woman's name comes up.....lies, cheating, stealing..... he never came to Jesus, she never gave her heart to Jesus. This man, this woman, this boy, this girl.....they never accepted Jesus, and the sins that they have committed shine in three-dimensional glowing form before the whole universe. And God says, 'Did I do everything I could?' Yes, You reached out in love. You reached out in mercy. You tried to save them. You could do nothing more. And after their names, 'Lost, lost, lost for all eternity.' There are only two classes. The Bible says in 1John 2:1: "We have an advocate with the Father....." (One who stands for us, One who has never lost a case) ".....Jesus Christ the righteous" one. I want Jesus to represent me in the judgment. There, when my name comes up, when angels look in, when it's revealed that I have broken God's law, I need a Saviour.

I need a Redeemer. When life comes to an end, and when we're lying there on a bed of illness, it doesn't make any difference how much money you have in the bank or what your inheritance is then. When you are breathing out your last, one and only one thing counts.....is my life in Christ's hands? Have I made that most important decision in my life, to serve Christ? In Revelation's judgment hour, with the sands running out in the hourglass of time, just before the end, the most important thing in life is 'Have you made a full decision to follow Christ?' Are there sins in your life you're clinging to? Are there things you don't want to surrender? Look, God cannot forgive any sin that I choose knowingly and willingly to hold on to. God cannot forgive any sin that I enjoy so much that I won't confess it to Him. Only as I come to Him confessing my sin, only as I come to Him in this last hour of earth's history repenting of my sin, only as I come opening up my heart to Him, can He save me in this judgment hour.

The Bible says that the time is short. The Bible says that now is the hour. We read in Revelation 22:12: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work." Jesus is coming to give out the rewards, and right now, the decisions that we make are settling our eternal destiny.

Steve was brought up in a Christian home and a Christian school. And when he was a little baby, Steve's mother was faithful and took him to church. Then Steve enjoyed spiritual things, but the older Steve got, the more he drifted away from the religion of his mom and dad. The older Steve got, the more the things of this world gripped him. Steve began drinking quite heavily. His mom and dad cried over him night after night. He had been to church, been to a Christian school, but he thought Christianity is just for emotional people who are intellectually ignorant. He drifted further away from Christ and lived the party life. He had one goal and one desire, and that was to make money in his life. Steve enjoyed sports, but he didn't do well in business, and so Steve pursued physical education. He became a swimming instructor at a university, and he enjoyed his work, but there was a lack of peace in his heart. One night at two o'clock in the morning, Steve was tossing back and forth, back and forth..... there was a struggle --- for Christ or against Christ. He began to think about the religion of his childhood. The prayers of his mother were touching his heart, and he knew that there was a deciding point that he had come to in his life. He couldn't sleep. He was troubled. He said, "No, I don't want to give my life to Christ. No, I don't want to walk in the ways of God." That night, though, he couldn't sleep, so Steve made his way down to the university swimming pool. He loved diving, and he thought, "I'm going to go and have a couple dives. I'm going to release my tension, to release my anxiety. Forget it, I'm not going all out for God! Forget it, I'm not giving my life to Christ.....the cost is too high." He climbed up on the diving board, and as he stood there on the diving board, these thoughts were racing in his mind. And he thought, "If I take the plunge off the board, am I plunging into sin? Should I back off and give my life to Christ? What should I do?" He was in terrible mental anguish, in terrible inner turmoil. He thought of things that he might have to give up, habits he might have to lay aside, but then he thought of the judgment. He thought of eternity. He thought of salvation. And as he stood on the diving board, he stretched out his hands to make a swan dive. The moon was shining from behind him, and as he stood with his arms stretched out, they formed the silhouette of a cross on the wall across from him. Immediately, he began to think of the picture hanging in his boyhood home of the cross of Calvary. And he said, "Oh, God, you're giving me a sign of your love tonight!" He came back off that high, high diving board and knelt by the side of the pool and said, "Jesus, I'm making a decision for you. I can't go a step further!" Peace flooded into his soul that night, but then he thought after praying, "I'm here, so I might as well at least go for a swim." He went to the ladder at the side of the swimming pool and began to climb down.....half way down, no water! He lowered himself into the bottom of the pool.....and what he hadn't seen in the darkness was that the pool was empty, because that day they were cleaning the pool and had drained all the water out! Had he taken the plunge in the darkness, he would have broken his neck and killed himself. Standing on that diving board was Steve's night of judgment --- he was saved that night, because of a decision he made to give his life to the living Christ. You can make that decision tonight. If you have made it before, you can make it again. You can say, "Lord, I want to reach up and take Your hand." You can say, "Lord, I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather have Him than have riches untold."

Christ wants to speak to your heart. Tonight, in the judgment, you can live forever. Tonight, Christ wants to speak to your heart. Tonight, Christ wants to enable you to make a decision for eternity. Our ushers tonight have a response card, and just now, I'm going to invite the ushers to give you that response card. What we write down on earth is written up in heaven. Tonight, this is a sacred moment.....and I'd like no one to leave here in Orlando, no one to leave across North America, the United States and Canada, and all through Europe. This is a sacred moment. The Bible says that the decisions we make on earth are recorded up in heaven. Just now, in Orlando, and from coast to coast in America, throughout the United States and Canada, I'd like our ushers to take a response card and put it in every one of your hands. What we write down on earth is written up in heaven. There in Romania, you have some crowded churches, where it is difficult to get the response cards to everyone, but ushers in Romania, just now pass out your response cards.....in Germany, in Brazil, in all the Spanish speaking countries, in Portugal.....up there in Norway, down through Poland and Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Yugoslavia, in France, and Spain. Take your response card.....I'd like to read it over with you. (Lights are gradually coming on here in Orlando and in auditoriums across this world.) I'd like to read the response card with you.....I'd like to you take time to meditate, to think about this decision. We make a decision on earth, and we write it down, and God writes it down up in heaven. We make a check on a card on earth, and God writes it down up there. This can be 'decision night' for you. This can be a life changing night for you.

Let's read it together:
.....The first line says, 'Just now, I invite Jesus to represent me in the judgment.' (If you don't have a pencil, just raise your hand.) Just now, I invite Jesus to represent me in the judgment. Maybe you've done it before, but you want to do it again.....maybe you've never done it.....a silent moment, a quiet time, between you and Jesus. If you want Him to represent you in the judgment, just check that box.
.....The second line says, 'I want the robe of Christ's righteousness to cover my sins.' If you say, "Lord, I am a sinner. I can never appear before God's judgment unless Jesus represents me," check the second box.
.....The third line says, 'I love Jesus and desire to prepare for Bible baptism.' There may be hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands all over the world, who have never really been baptized the Bible way, totally immersed and cleansed. You may want to counsel with your host about that. We've not studied it yet in our lectures (we'll do that in the future) but there may be many of you who are looking forward to it. You want to look forward to that event. We're going to have great worldwide baptisms in November, satellited here, from all around the world. If you would like to think and pray and consider Bible baptism, we'll counsel with you about it.....just check that third box.
.....The fourth line says, 'I'd like more reading material on Jesus' soon return.' If you would like more reading material to help you understand the events before Christ's coming, check the fourth box, and we'll provide it to you for free. Write your name, phone number, address (city and state).....and if you would like a personal visit from one of our hosts locally to answer your questions, since I can't answer them all, or if you would like one of our staff to see you, check that box. While you're filling out your card, listen to Manuel sing this first verse, and after the first verse, we'll collect the cards.....but ushers, give them time to fill them out just now during the first versea, and then we'll collect them after Manuel sings...........

The ushers are going to pass out the buckets now. You can drop the cards in, wherever you are in the world. When you put the card in the bucket, you're saying, "Jesus, I want to settle it. I want to live with You in heaven. I know You're reaching out to me, Lord, and I just want to seal my decision. Lord, I want to write it down on earth.....I want to express my heart's desire on earth, and You, Lord, write it down up in heaven." It's just the check of a card, the decision of a mind, a decision of a heart. When the ushers collect the cards, they are going to bring them up front here in Orlando, and we're going to pray that the Holy Spirit seals these decisions. I'm going to pray for the thousands around the world who made their decisions for Christ for the first time, for the thousands who may want to look forward to water baptism.....I want to pray for you.

Let's pray together.....
"Oh, my Father, tonight thousands, tens of thousands have checked cards. You know every person. You know the needs of every heart and the desires of every mind. Father, it's a simple checkmark on the card, but it represents our commitment. It represents our faith and our dedication, and we're thankful that we can leave here knowing that we can come to God through Jesus, that He's able to save us. We're thankful that we need not fear being lost, that in Christ and by Christ and through Christ, we can pass the judgment. We come confessing our sins and repenting of our sins. And we come in Jesus' name before Your throne, thanking You, that You'll save us. In Christ' name, Amen.

English Studies     Turn up