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Gerry Almond (14 Aug 2012)
"Why are "Christians" not more excited about the rapture?"

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Why are Christians not more excited about the return of Jesus Christ?



I have seen posts here on the Doves asking essentially this question. I would like to put my 2 cents in on this subject.



Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago told this story one day on his daily program, aired on Bott Radio Network. Said Lutzer:



A man was in prison. This particular prison was known as a sort of Devil’s Island type, cruel, harsh, damp and dank, and kind of fiendish in its treatment of prisoners. This man was in a cell that had raw sewage water on the floor of his cell and the stench was almost unbearable. No one intended to fix the problem. He was miserable.



A godly pastor came to call upon him as part of the pastor’s rounds. He witnessed to the prisoner of the wonderful grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in His dying for this man’s sins, and offered him the opportunity to come to Jesus. The prisoner answered him not at all.



Several times in the visit the godly pastor pleaded with the man to come to Christ. He would forgive the man’s heinous crimes and sins if the man would only accept Him in his heart and follow Him. Because, the pastor explained, God looks on the heart, and the Holy Spirit is very God, thus He, the Spirit knows who truly believes and who does not. The man answered him not at all.



Finally, the guard informed the pastor that visiting time was up and asked him to leave. The pastor, while walking out of that filthy, stinking place, turned and pleaded one more time, and receiving no answer, then asked, “Why, tell me why you will not seek to better yourself?”.



The prisoner finally spoke and this was his reply. “I cannot and will not accept Jesus right now because I would have to give up too much. You see, when I am released from this place, I still will have my wild oats to sow, my career to achieve, my partying to do, and my women to conquer. When that is all done, I will then consider your offer”.



Lutzer said that sadly, this represents the majority of Americans attitude to the challenge of the gospel message. It isn’t that people do not know about Jesus, and it isn’t that they do not believe in God, because they profess that they do, but it is that they think that living for Christ is too crimping of their desire to live a licensious lifestyle in the world. Millions, yea billions are going on their way to hell because of the wide road of their desire to be “free” to do as their base nature dictates. What a shameful way for them feel, let alone to openly say. But it is the pull of the broad way that leads to destruction that draws them away from the Savior of their souls.



So, why are “Christians” not more excited about the return of our Lord? Could it be that they are not saved at all? Easy believeism is a term that was coined to describe those who accept Jesus with their mouth, but not with their heart. These went “down the aisle” at a rally, or a tent meeting, or an organized campaign. But, the heart searching Holy Spirit did not give to them the new birth, because He looks on the heart and not on the surface. These went away still lost.



Oh, dear doves: Only those who longed to have Jesus Christ in both the soul and the spirit, are those who, when they accepted Jesus as Savior, did so in their heart. These are Jesus’ “jewels” and His beloved ones. There are many, many so-called “Christians” who are not true Christians at all because Jesus is not in their hearts. These will never see the rapture, nor will they see heaven, except they repent, and fully and finally accept Jesus in their heart. So many are like the prisoner in this foul smelling prison cell. In love with the world system.



The narrow way, the narrow road, only comes this way and there is no other.



“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine HEART that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom 10:9).



“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom 10:10).



Maranatha



Gerry Almond




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Zechariah 12:3,9:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


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