Based on “The Reality of Hell” by Pastor Mark Balmer; 10/24-25/09,
Message #MB394; Daily Devotional #5 - “ No Rest for the Lost ”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. (Psalm 139:23) It is good to put our hearts for Jesus to the test from time to time, to ask God to search our hearts for any areas where our faith may be lacking. What if God were to put you to a simple test today? Visualize yourself walking up to a co-worker or classmate, who is a non-believer, and carrying out a conversation with them about Jesus, salvation, and Hell. Now be honest with yourself about how you felt. Speaking the name of God does not appear to be very difficult for most people. In the secular world, God’s name is often used without reverence. Even atheists speak the name of God freely. In fact, most of their efforts are focused on removing God’s name from every aspect of our lives, and they use a considerable amount of energy in doing so. Now, picture yourself talking to that same co-worker or classmate about your love for Jesus. Unless you have the gift of evangelism, you may find this to be a little more difficult than you do in having a conversation about God in general. Add the word salvation, and your imaginary discussion will probably become doubly difficult. Finally, add the word Hell to the conversation, and you may never get the words dislodged from that place between your vocal cords and your tongue. In fact, your friend might pull out your bee-sting kit and try to give you a shot, thinking you are having a full-blown allergic reaction.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): Why is it so difficult to bring up Jesus, Salvation, and Hell in the same conversation when we are trying to witness to our friends, and yet these words flow so easily from the mouths of non-believers? Could it be because our knowledge of Heaven and Hell is so central to our faith as Christians? We know what non-believers don’t. We know why we need salvation, why Christ came to live among us, and what he gave his very life for. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. (1John 5:19) Satan is out to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10) He does this through lies and deception. He has deceived the world into believing that Hell is a place that we don’t have to worry about just yet, a place that isn’t as bad as “those Christians” make it out to be, or a place that simply doesn’t exist. We know the truth. We have experienced the pain that comes when our family and friends, who we love, fight to hold onto their deception, and have perhaps even turned away from us when we have tried to tell them the truth. We know that Satan has bought the world with money, drugs and alcohol, hobbies, and activities. That he uses these earthly tools to turn our attention away from our Savior. He has convinced our friends and loved ones that what we know is the ramblings of the weak and powerless. We also know that as much as we would love to see Christ return, it is that loved one, friend, co-worker or classmate’s soul that is at stake. They are the reason we don’t pray for His return today.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): There is no easy way to talk about it. We know the reality of the Hell that we were saved from. There is no way to tell the truth of Hell without describing the eternal torment and torture that it holds for those who leave this world unsaved. We know that not even a cool drop of water on the tip of one’s finger will be offered to ease the suffering of those who have chosen Hell over Heaven. (Luke 16:24) God will have no mercy on the deceived. They received their treasures on this earth. We know that our lost family members and friends don’t understand that reality. We cannot shun our responsibility as Christians to perform that which is commanded of us in the Great Commission. Evangelism is our responsibility, no matter what our Spiritual Gifts are. (Matthew 28:18-20) Use those gifts to bring witness to the lost. When you go out into the world, do it in the spirit of William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, who had a passion for evangelism. He said “…while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight-I'll fight to the very end!”
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Revelation 20:15, Luke 16:13
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