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We are as usual continuing our journey in the book of Hebrews; so if you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Hebrews and chapter 9. Today we're going to look at a rather large chunk, verses 15 all the way to 28, and for those who are here with us first time, this is a series through Hebrews, about Jesus Christ.

The exciting thing about Hebrews is that it is all about our Savior. Therefore, the theme is 'greater', because the author of Hebrews is always extolling the superiority of Jesus Christ. He's greater than Moses, greater than the angels, greater than Joshua, greater than Aaron, greater than the Levitical priesthood. He is supreme, above all.

Well, have you ever missed an appointment before in your life? I have. Twenty over years ago, I made a beautiful young lady wait for me at a bus stop for more than two hours. Say why, well, I simply forgot, I have an appointment with her. You say, 'How come you never called her earlier?' Well, we lived in those days when there are no hand phones and no pagers on students.

So I'm surprised that 20 over years later, she is still now my wife and we have been married for more than how long, huh, 20 over years. Well, maybe you too have missed some appointments before, but I want to say there is one appointment none of us would ever be able to miss.

See the Scriptures tell us, "And just as it is appointed for man to die once,.. " -   (Hebrews 9:27 ESV), we all have an appointment with death. I just checked with the department of statistics in Singapore, the death rate in Singapore is very surprising, one death for every one birth. Haha. You say what's so surprising, nothing surprising, every country is the same, everywhere it's the same, everybody dies. Everyone has an appointment with death, unless of course, your name is Enoch or Elijah, you have been called home by the Lord.

But other than that, other than that, we all can't miss this appointment with death. And nobody likes to talk about death. Everybody thinks death is very “suay” [means unlucky in hokkien] eee, every time you talk about death. “Si, si, si, chin kia see.” [means scare of death in Hokkien] Nobody likes to think about death because it's such an unpleasant topic, because death brings along with it pain and suffering and separation and also uncertainty, because a lot of people wonder, what happens to them after they die. And so there are different views in the world today, there are people who think that death ushers you into annihilation; meaning, after you die, you just disappear. You cease to exist, there is no more awareness, there's no more emotions, there is no more thinking, there's no more consciousness you just kaput [means don, gone in Malay], gone, no more, and annihilation.

And then there are some who think that after you die you go into reincarnation. You know how it is right? You die now, but you'll come back in the next life as something else, depends on how good you have been in this life. If you've been a good boy, you have accumulated good karma, next life you come back as a human being. But if you've been a bad boy, you have bad karma, you come back as a cockroach, or as a dog, or as a pig, whatever that may be. So they believe life never really ends. It goes in cycles.

So in Chinese, 轮回 ［luan2 hui2，just cycling back to life, it's a reincarnation.］ But what does God say? When you die, what happens to you? The Bible says, "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,.."    -   (Hebrews 9:27 ESV)

There will be a time of reckoning, assessment of your life. Everything you have done, everything you have done and maybe everything you have failed to do, all the words you have spoken and all the thoughts you have had, and a Holy God will look at your life and see the rebellions in our lives against God. We will be judged for our sins.

There are many things you have done today, nobody knows, except yourself. But on the Day of Judgment, everything will be brought to light, every deed and every word. It's almost like there is this super CCTV of your life that has captured every moment, and on that final Day of Judgment, it will be screen on high definition television, curved TV type. O.K, I'm kidding, but it will all be in clarity and every thing will be judged, there's no escape.

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Therefore, death is a very scary prospect. In fact, the Bible says, "This is the day of wrath". In Romans， Paul tells us, "because of your hard and impenitent heart (you just wouldn't turn to God, you are hardened against Him, much like the Pharaoh in the days of Moses, hard and impenitent heart), you are storing up
wrath for yourself" - (Romans 2:5 ESV)

So many people think today, they are storing up good deeds. No, none of our deeds are good enough for God, and every day in our life here, without Christ we are merely storing up wrath, on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. The reason why we are going to have a horrible time is because we are terribly chained to sin and all we could do is sin against God and God's standard is perfection. He's absolutely holy and so it is a shocking, scary reality when sinful man will stand before the holy God who will judge us, for all our sins.

Paul continues to say, "There will be tribulation and distress", strong words of pain, oppressing, of suffering. The Bible says in Hebrews 10, the author, back to the author of Hebrews, he says there will be a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries (Hebrews 10:27 ESV), the adversaries of God.

The Bible speaks about this eternal torment in the place called hell; where there is weeping and gnashing of- you're not just hearing folks. Weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, a terrible prospect, that will never end. What's so scary about hell? If it's for microsecond it may not be so scary, but what if I tell you if it is forever and ever and ever and ever and ever, and there is no end.

There is no hope. There is no return. There is no salvation, once you are in there and it is a place of eternal darkness. It is a lake of fire, it's a bottomless pit, you just fall through and through, and there will be guilt in your soul forever and ever, you are separated from God and all the good that God is. It is a fearful judgment and you can be sure God is going to execute that, for we know Him who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay" and you know, God doesn't lie. And again, the Lord will judge His people. It is therefore a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. God is not tame, He's not Santa Claus, He is holy. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. You see, sin is infinitely serious, we trifle with sin today, we laugh at sin, Hollywood makes a fun at sin. Haha, what's a little fleeing here and there, what's wrong with a little cheating here and there, everything around the world tells you, sin is nothing serious, it is just a mistake, minimize sin. But to God, no, it is absolutely serious and the punishment; punishment of sin is extremely severe because God is infinitely holy.

You know I think that's why, after death, there is no annihilation. It's too simple, it's so easy to get out, we underestimate the gravity of sin. If you die, and all (that) happens is that you are gone, then, who pays for the sins in your life? That's why I think reincarnation doesn't work, doesn't fit, because it's too small a punishment for all the sins we've done in our lives. So, therefore, it is death, it is not just a ceasing to exist, not just a recycling to a different life, or be it a poorer kind of a life, but it is a facing of a judgment, which would lead us to everlasting torment. Death brings along a friend, his name is judgment, and judgment, if we have no answer for that brings us to terrible destiny of torment.

And the thing about this, is that you don't have a second chance, you don't. It is appointed for man to die once. You know it's not like playing computer game, I have died, I can restart, right, all the young people? I play computer game, play, play, play, die, never mind, play again la. It doesn't work like that in real life, there's no reboot, there's no control alternate delete. You die, and that's it. So today, we are looking at the issue of death, that's why I'm wearing all black, by the way. Orr lulu [black in hokkien] reminds you of the grimness of death. We may have a good laugh sometimes, but there is nothing more pertinent than to consider the subject. I know, it's the beginning of the year. Start of the year, talk about die die die, but I think it is, it is necessary, and I think it will be helpful.

Are you ready for dying? Eee, such a terrible topic. Who else is going to talk about this, how else will you be facing to this reality? The Bible is absolutely helpful here. This is a picture of Sarah Winchester. You may not know her very much, I doubt. So, but, she's a [widower], she's a widow, widow of William Winchester. William Winchester is well known for Winchester guns. If you have been to the US, you might know of these weapons, and they are very wealthy. But her husband died, left with herself and she was unfortunately rather tormented.

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She listened to a psychic, who told her that her life will be in misery, because the guns that her husband had made had been used to kill many people and their spirits are alive to trouble her and the spirits will be out to get her and kill her and bring her to her husband, if she doesn't keep building a house. She needs to keep building a house so that the spirits will be distracted and so that there will be more rooms for the spirits to dwell in. That's what she was led to believe. That's why, if you go today to California, you can visit this tourist site called, Winchester mystery house. It's a sprawling property; you can see how massive it is. This is quite something, considering its was built, like a 100 years ago. And, she kept building. The story is that she kept building, even though it's needless things to build, just so that she can appease the spirits and delay her death, she is not quite ready to die.

So, in this place, you have funny things like door to nowhere. I mean, she just had to modify, add on to this house, a door to nowhere and you have staircases that lead up to ceilings which don't open up, doors that open to nowhere, and it's a bizarre thing, rather strange in that there are representations of 13 throughout this house, staircases that lead to nowhere, doors that open into walls, chimney that stopped short of the ceiling, closets open to blank, and so on and so forth. In fact, it is said that this house has 160 rooms, how about that? Like a whole HDB block la, two thousand doors, ten thousand windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, six kitchens, all because Sarah Winchester is not ready to die.

I doubt very much, she's even ready for judgment. My question to you today is, are you ready for your appointment? You can't postpone, 秦始皇  [qin2shi2huang2, a powerful king in China] couldn't do it. Neither really can us, can we. So I want to be practical here. How do you get ready for something called death? Now, the Bible here says just as it is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment. Here, I think next is how you are to get ready. Verse 28 says, "As so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him."

So, I see that the way for us to be prepared for death and the judgment to come is to have what God has given in Jesus Christ today, The only way any man can be prepared for death is when he has what God offers in Jesus Christ today. What does Jesus Christ offer? What did Jesus Christ do? Jesus Christ came to bear the sins of many. This is the central message of the Bible. Jesus didn't come here to give you a comfortable job, a big paycheck, a sickness- free life, no, please don't shortchange what He did. Please don't minimize the grandeur of His Salvation. He came to do something none of us could ever do. He came to bear the sins of many. Remember, sin is infinitely serious and He did something infinitely beautiful.

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He came to shoulder our sins, He came to bear up our sins, He came to sustain the punishment for our sins. That's why Jesus Christ came, to die on the cross, not to give you health and wealth. He came to the cross to give you eternal forgiveness and life, by bearing your sins and mine. In fact, this is not just the central message of the book of the Bible, this is the central message of the book of Hebrews, therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, a better covenant, because the old way, the old agreement is dependent on man trying to fulfill the commandments. Now, of course, God never intended the old covenant to be any means of salvation. It is meant to show how helpless and hopeless we are, and the goats and the bulls and the blood that was shed is never meant to cleanse sin, but they are meant to be pictures to point us to the ultimate Savior, Jesus Christ.

So Jesus is the mediator of the new effective covenant; agreement whereby God unilaterally forgives us our sins, gives us a new heart, that's what Jesus came to do. He is the mediator of this new covenant we have studied before. How does He do this, how does He mediate this new covenant, how could He deliver His people from their sins? Well, He does this by death, He had to die. The death of Jesus on the cross is never an accident, it was His intention. In fact the Bible is very emphatic, He is the Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world, it has always been in the eternal counsel of God that Jesus would die, that He may mediate this new covenant, that a sinful people may be saved out from sin to belong to God. It has always been.

But, I want to share with you a few thoughts here that I feel are so rich because so often times, so often I think to myself, I asked myself why did Jesus die, oh He died to save us from our sins. That's probably 99% of our answers. While that is true, the author here gives me three word pictures that just enriches the understanding of the death of Jesus Christ. Three words that displays three concepts. There are lots of overlap of course, but nonetheless the three of them gives me a fuller appreciation of the work of Christ on the cross. Say what are the words, well, what did Jesus' death on the cross accomplish?

Number one, it brings about redemption. It is the death of Christ that redeems us from sin, from transgressions.

The word redeemed or redemption is used in slave trade and language. In those days, people sell themselves to masters, and they have to work for their masters, unless someone is able to come along, pay a ransom and set you free from your slave master, that's a ransom, that's redemption. The Bible is saying we are all slaves to sin, you are not your own. You may think you are your own but actually we are all slaves to sin, the Bible tells us that. And what is the ransom that is needed set you free? The Bible tells us, the wages of sin is death, the soul that sinneth, it shall die; nothing less than the death of a life to set you free. That's what Jesus came to do.

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He came to die, He paid the ransom with His life and now we are liberated from the bondage of sin, and now for the very first time, we are free to serve the living God. So, why did Jesus have to die? Because He has to pay the price to liberate us from sin in order for us to serve the living God. Reason number one, picture number one: Redemption.

Picture number two is that of inheritance. Jesus had to die in order for you to have an inheritance. Now this is very logical if you think about it. Suppose your father has an inheritance for you stated in the will: John, you're going to receive $1 million, when your father dies. You know something, whilst you potentially have the $1 million; it is not yours until your father dies. Now that is not a very nice thing to say, that's why you're all very apprehensive, but you know it is true. The inheritance your father left for you will not be activated until your father dies.

The idea here is that God promises an eternal inheritance to His called people, and this inheritance will not be ours unless Jesus dies. Now, you say, what is this inheritance? I think this inheritance is amazingly profound because the Bible says we will be heirs and co-heirs with Christ in Romans, which means: all that Jesus has, I have, we have. And, therefore I think, it is about eternal glory and splendor and the whole of created realm. And I believe that in the heavens, you probably don't need money, you are not going to have any money. You say why? Because money is necessary to buy things that are not yours in the first place, but in the eternal inheritance to come, everything is ours; tremendous inheritance.

But you know all that is not yours until Jesus dies. So, the logic presses on in verses 16 and 17, for where a will is involved, this is a interesting second meaning to the word covenant. Actually it's the same Greek word. The author as it were, brings out a secondary meaning of the will here and he says that where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. So, (for) a will takes effect only at death. Since it is, not enforced as long as the one who made it is alive, that's what we have been talking about. So, look at that: multifaceted approach God has towards the death of His Son. Why? Number one, that is the price needed to set you free from the bondage of sin. Number two, this is what is needed in order for the eternal riches in glory to come into your life; inheritance.

And number three, the third word picture I have is that of purification or of cleansing, washing. Read on with me in verses 18 to 21, for, therefore, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. So, this idea of cleansing is very clear, even from the first covenant; the priest would kill and slay the lamb, the bulls, take the blood and sprinkle it everywhere. Now to us, blood is very dirty, right? At SGH, hep C infection, 'eee blood, eee germs, eee not clean' but, spiritually speaking and ceremonially speaking, blood is necessary for the cleansing of sins.

So even the first covenant, what Moses had to do, that's found in Exodus 24, for those who are interested, he had to inaugurate the first covenant with blood. The utensils, the tabernacle were all sprinkled with blood. The idea? Washing. So it is in Hebrews 9:22: indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. So if the tabernacle during Moses' time was cleansed and purified with blood, the true tabernacle in heaven needs also to be clarified- purified and cleansed with blood and that's what he says in verses 23, 24: Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites. Moses' tabernacle had to be cleansed with animal blood, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices, not with the blood of animals, but with the blood of Christ.

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For Christ has entered, not into the holy places made with hands. This is the heavenly tabernacle we are talking about, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself,  now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. So, you get these three pictures? Why did Jesus have to die? Number one: Redemption; Number two: inheritance; Number three: purification.

And so we see that the law or the principle established back in Levitical times is honored throughout the Scriptures, for the life of the flesh is in the blood and I've given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

So when you read the Bible, you may see Adam and Eve and how they were clothed with animal skins. You may remember how Abel offered a sacrifice honorable to God because it was a blood sacrifice and then there is Cain that offered a bloodless sacrifice, and one was accepted, the other wasn't. You recall how there is the lamb that was slain as the Passover lamb, for every household, in order for the Angel of death to pass over them.

If you would see the repeated sacrifices in the nation of Israel because the principle is very, very simple without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Now all these animal sacrifices are symbolic; they don't actually cleanse, but they all point towards Jesus and His blood, which will ultimately cleanse. So, I come back to this point; sin is infinitely serious. God doesn't minimize or deny the problem of sin. He loves us, but He's not going to deny and minimize the problem in sin and say, 'Oh, I love you guys so much, I know you have sin; but it's okay I love you and therefore, never mind; all of you come into heaven with Me, I'll just forget about the whole thing'. Aye, He's not going to do that. It's too serious.

He is too holy for that, He is too just. He's too righteous for that. So what can God do in order to love us and save us? Someone has to pay! Jesus, His Son is now sent to pay for our sins, because if there is no payment and we just get into the heaven like that, God closes one eye and for all eternity throughout the universe, there will be this scandal, there will be this rumour that says our God is not a holy God; He's unjust, He's unrighteous. Rebellion and sin has gone unpunished. That's why Jesus came.

Some of us think that sin can be dealt with by good deeds. You know this mindset: I've done bad things, so let me do good things to atone for the bad things. So, I just come to church, I give to the poor. I try to serve, I try to do this, do that, be charitable. I try to obey the 10 commandments, I be a goody two shoes. Maybe that will atone for my sins or maybe, if I've lived long enough, time will wash away sin. No. Remember, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins; there must be a death. And that's why Jesus came. He died to set you free; redemption. He died that His blood may wash you clean; purification. He died so that the amazing love of God that does not want to punish you but wants to bless you with a rich inheritance would come to you with the death of His Son. This is the shocking amazing grace of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Does it work? Is Jesus successful? Well, He is. Sin is infinitely serious and therefore salvation now is infinitely glorious; when we realize just how helpless we are and when we see how amazing His salvation is, it brings tremendous glory to God and that's what God delights to do.

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So, the Bible tells us in verse 26 or verse 25: Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood, not his own. Basically, he is saying, the high priests in Moses' time had to do it year, after year, after year, after year, after year, after year; why? Because they have never really been able to cleanse sin.  So it repeated, but Jesus doesn't have to do that repeatedly. You don't have to go to church and watch him crucify himself every time. No, no, no. It's all done, once for all, He managed to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself once for all. It is a complete, perfect, work of salvation; that's our Savior.

And so we come back full cycle to where we began, by looking at this verse and just at this: As it is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment; No wonder, Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

He's absolutely successful; we don't worship a dead man. We worship a living Saviour who died, yes, but He did not stay dead, He is alive. He's not defeated by death, but He defeated death by His death and now, death is swallowed up in victory and death holds no sting. Death holds no fear because my Savior lives, and He's coming back for me one day. I don't want to wash my sins again, but to complete that salvation; right now I'm purified by the blood. Today, I'm liberated by His death; I've been set free from the bondage of sin. And, one day, I'll be delivered forever from the presence of sin in my life, I will enjoy the riches of His inheritance and that's why I eagerly wait for His return.

You know that in this text, there are the three appearances of Jesus, just as a side note. Verse 26: He appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by Himself, by the sacrifice of Himself, referring some 2000 years ago when Jesus went to the cross. Where is He right now? Second appearance, we see, He's now appearing in the presence of God on our behalf. So, 2000 years ago, He went to the cross, today and yesterday and the day before, where was He? He is appearing in the presence of God interceding for us. And in the third appearance, and the second time He appears to man, to us, is when He returns a second time, the second coming of Christ, to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

It is appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment. Question is, are you ready for your appointment? Your appointment card must have the cross. No cross, you jia lat[means in trouble in hokkien. But if you have what God promises in Christ, you are ready for your appointment.

I've a friend who is dying right now. Maybe just a couple of years older than myself, he's dying. Death is a sobering reminder. You may be dying young, but really, all of us will die, it is just a matter of time. The question is not when you die, the question is, are you ready when you die? Because, you can die today, if it is God's will. The only way you can be ready is when you have Jesus. See, death is certain, judgment is certain, but I say to you: hope and salvation is also certain in Jesus.

He has done it all. It is finished, He said. So those who are in Christ Jesus will not fear condemnation. Jesus bore it all for you. He Himself told us, 'I say to you, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me, if you believe the Father who has sent Me, has eternal life; He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life'. And when a man deeply understands this; when he repents of his sins and believes in Jesus Christ, he has this tremendous confidence and assurance, even in the face of death.

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Look at apostle Paul, he says, 'For me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain.' There is no one else in this world who can say a statement like this. Because, to everyone else, to die is loss. Suppose, for me to live is wealth, for me to live is happiness, for me to live is success, for me to live is popularity; but dying brings a loss to everything you just mentioned. But, to the Christian, whose treasure is Jesus, than to die is gain. Because, your desire is to be with Christ, which is far better, at least for apostle Paul. So, to the Christian, death is not annihilation. To the Christian, death is not reincarnation. To him it's not even the fear of judgment, to him; it is going home to be with Christ. No wonder, he fears no death; he is coming home, being with His Master. That's why we sing that song; In Christ alone, right? 'No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me, from life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny'.

So the comfort of the believer is this, yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Coming home to be with God, and if you really believe this, Church, if you really believe this, then, whether you are at home or away, we'll make it our aim to please Him. This will drive the way you live your life.

Paul goes on to say, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, Jesus paid it all, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And if you could exalt in praise like this, if you really sing this every Sunday morning together, then I'll tell you what; You should correspondingly be living life, you will be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Why? Because, you serve a living Savior who will come again for you, one day.

Today is the 10th of January. Two days ago was 8th of January, and on the eighth of January 1956; that's 60 years ago, right? Exactly 60 years ago, it was the very day that Jim Elliot and his four friends were killed. Jim, right here and his friends were missionaries to this part in Ecuador to bring the gospel to a tribal people known to kill. But, they risked their lives for the work of the great commission. So, exactly 60 years ago, when Jim was 29 years old, at a sand bar in the jungles of Ecuador, he and his four friends were speared to death by these tribal people. Jim was 29 years old then, and he left behind his wife of three years and a ten-month infant daughter.

Jim is well known for this statement: 'He's no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose', and his wife Elizabeth memorialized his death by writing in this book called 'The Shadow of the Almighty' and she said, 'Whilst many people know about Jim's credo, they may not really understand what he meant, because Jim believed in the Words of Jesus Christ; whosoever will save his life will lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My sake will save it'. She says Jim did not die an unfortunate death; he died in the shadow of the Almighty. It was the Almighty who allowed him to die. But, Jim was more than willing to do that, more than willing to bring the gospel to the tribal people, more than willing to risk his life, more than willing to die, more than willing to keep that appointment with God, because he was confident that he will give his life because he knows Jesus. He serves a risen Saviour.

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So, for Jim, no guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in him. He believes, from life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands his destiny. Death holds no fear to those who belong to Jesus, that is the power of Christ in you.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. This is a most unpleasant topic, I must say, most unpleasant for those who are not ready for death. But, if you think about it, theologically, biblically, and if you really know Jesus as your Savior; to die is gain. If God should call you home right now, there will be pain, sure, there will be suffering, there will be separation, that's undeniable, but, one thing you will know: is that you will fear no judgment, because He said those who are in Christ Jesus are not going to be condemned. Your Savior took it all for you on the cross.

So, this morning, are you ready for death? I'm not asking, do you come to church? I'm not asking if you have read the Bible, I'm asking, do you have the deep assurance that heaven is your home? Maybe, you have always been hoping that by being good, you could be saved. By being good, God would accept you. My friends, goodness cannot atone for sins. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins, someone's got to pay for your sins and the only person qualified is Jesus Christ. So, this morning, I want to say to you, there is no other way by which you can be saved. Jesus is very clear and very emphatic about this; He says, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.' There is only one-way, He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Have you really repented and believed? Because otherwise, you're not ready for death, and I shudder to think the regret, the deep regret you will experience for all eternity, as you burn and as you suffer in hell.

My friends, the message of God today is one of mercy and love, He is calling out to you today, do you realize that? He is calling out to you to repent and believe in His Son. You have sinned against Him, yes, but God still loves you. He gives you His Son. If you are willing to repent and believe, He purifies you, He sets you free. He gives you all that He has given in Jesus Christ. So, take this moment, would you? And consider this before the Lord, and then, by faith, look to Him and say, 'I don't deserve any of these things, but I trust that, You've said it in Your Word, that You love the world and You gave Your Son and that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. I will simply take You at Your Word God; nothing to claim, no merits of my own, but relying purely on Your mercy and grace.'

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This can be the most significant turning point of your entire life; this morning could be the difference between heaven and hell for all eternity. My friends, be serious about death, be serious about your soul, be serious about Jesus Christ, this morning.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, if you really have known Christ, how can we anymore live to please ourselves? Whether we are alive, whether we are at home or whether we are away from the Lord, we should follow the apostle Paul's motto, we seek to please Him, we seek to be always steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. You know why? Because your Master is coming back for you one day; you have to give an account of all that you do; but not for judgment to condemnation, but a beautiful judgment for reward.

If Jesus is real for you, I think you will live in a radically different life. My friends, Christianity is not about your pastor trying to drive you, or flog you to work. If that is the case, you only know your pastor; you do not know your Saviour. If you really know Christ, He is all the reason you need, to serve, to give, to go. I mean, He set you free from judgment, He paid what you could never pay. How can we live for ourselves?

So, Father this morning, I pray that You will work in the hearts of each one gathered here. A sobering message, but a needful one. Thank You today, we serve a risen Savior. Jesus is alive, and we have this glorious hope and we have this eager anticipation for Him again. I pray every one who is shivering in the fear of death and judgment will be excited today by faith about Your Son's return. And, till He returns may each one of us live faithfully for Him. So bless these words, Lord, into the hearts of your people. Bless each one here, we pray all this in Jesus Name. Amen.

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