Welcome. Today I have a very important question for you: Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If not, then I have another question for you: What are you waiting for? Today we’re going to go over why you shouldn’t wait, and answer any reasoning that would bring you to wait.

If you are someone that is waiting, maybe questioning why you should bother with being saved, know that you’re not the only one that has ever looked to the side when it came to being called by the Lord.

Moses, one of the most famous prophets, was also called by God. He was called to be the leader when God brought His people out of Egypt. Moses tried to disqualify himself from this role with various excuses. So even some of the men of God have tried to procrastinate.

Moses tried to make the excuse that he was no one to demand anything from the Pharaoh when he was told to have the people released. God told him that He would be with him and there was no reason for him to fear.

Moses then said that he was no one to stand before the people of Israel and lead them out of the nation. God tells him that He is giving him authority, and that would be enough for the people.

This leads to the staff to snake and back again event, for reference. Even with the staff-snake miracle happening right in front of him, Moses still tried to hem and haw his way out of the situation.

He tells God that he is not a public speaker, but God then reminds him that it was God that made man and his mouth, and therefore God would give Moses the words He wanted spoken.

Moses then tells God that He should send anyone else, but not him. This angers God, as He’s answered every last concern of Moses’ but yet he still tries to wait, to be disengaged and ‘sit on the fence’ so to speak. Moses realizes that he has to do what God has requested of him so he does just that. And that is the rest of the story, as they say.

Are you like Moses, always making one excuse or another when you feel the Lord calling you in your heart? Or even if you are saved, are you like Moses when it comes to service to the Lord?

Today God is calling all of us like He called Moses. He’s calling all of us to obey His voice. He is calling us through the Gospel of Christ. If you haven’t obeyed God’s voice, I ask you why? If you think you have a valid excuse, let me assure you that God will have an answer to your reasoning.

(Act 22:16)  And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Satan uses procrastination as one of his greatest weapons. Here’s some excuses used by people to avoid the calling that the Lord has put on them.

a. 12 year old to delay by saying “I’m much too young to think about God”
b. 18 year old to delay by saying “I’m much too smart to think about God”
c. 22 year old to delay by saying “I’m much too happy to think about God”
d. 25 year old to delay by saying “I’m much too busy to think about God”
e. 30 year old to delay by saying “I’m much too smug to think about God”
f. 40 year old to delay by saying “I’m much too tired to think about God”
g. 50 year old to delay by saying “I’m much too worried to think about God”
h. 60 year old to delay by saying “I’m much too old to think about God”
Much too often, death comes unexpectedly, and then it is too late to think about God!

This is just a silly thing to do when you really think about it. We don’t know when death will come for any of us, so why in the world would we put off such an important issue?

Would you be as laid back about things if there was a bomb in your house that could go off any moment? What if you had a terminal disease and could possibly die at any moment? In these situations would you neglect the question of your spiritual disposition? I don’t think that many of us would.

Why then do so many lay aside this critical issue these days? You are not promised tomorrow. You are not even promised your next breath, or the next second. Your life may be quite short or it might be quite long, none of us have any idea.

Just because you are in good health doesn’t mean that a tragic accident won’t happen. Do you want to leave something as important as your spiritual disposition hanging in the breeze?

Why do people realize the importance of writing a will even while quite young but yet will not think a moment about where they are headed in their spiritual lives? Why will people invest copious amounts of time to their physical health while ignoring their own souls? This is something I cannot understand. (Mat 10:28)  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Many offer the argument that they just don’t know enough. This sounds like a viable and reasonable excuse but it is not. I think most of us would like to know more than we do, but we cannot allow that to stop us from doing what we need to do.

For the longest time I told myself I cannot speak out as I felt moved to do because I didn’t know enough. I would use this as an excuse to discourage myself from my calling. But I have realized now that I will never know as much as I would like, that I’ll never know enough to satisfy my own desire.

If I allowed that thought to keep popping up in my mind, I would never get anything done, and that would not be God’s will for my life. The fear I felt did nothing but serve to keep me from what I needed to do. I’ve had to banish that fear so that I might do what I need to do to glorify the Lord.

The Bible tells us that a good deal of learning comes after one is saved as we see in (Mat 28:19)  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Mat 28:20)  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We see in this verse that the teaching is covering the salvation, and then the baptism comes, and after is the ‘nuts and bolts’ teachings, the more complete study of the commands of the Lord. You can become a Christian with very little knowledge. Once you have become a Christian, you can focus on learning more. This would seem to be the most sensible course of action anyway, since most would not bother to deeply study or learn about a religion or philosophy they are not going to follow. So that excuse of not knowing enough doesn’t count.

The question becomes ‘how much do I need to know to become a Christian?’ If you look at the Book of Acts along with many other various places in the New Testament you will find that most people were converted after a single lesson or sermon. How many lessons or sermons have you heard?

In Acts chapter 8 we see the story of the eunuch that Philip finds on his travels. The eunuch apparently knows little if anything about the Scriptures since when Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading from the Book of Isaiah, he basically asks if Philip can explain it to him. Philip then preaches Jesus to him and he is saved on the spot. He is even baptized as soon as they come across a pond big enough to get the job done.

This man did not require a college course on the Bible to understand the truth. He was able to see that the truth was Jesus. (Joh 14:6)  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What you need to know is that you are lost in your sins, and that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins. This is the information that allows you to partake in the benefits that His death grants. You just need to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God as we see in (Act 8:37)  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Act 16:30)  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
(Act 16:31)  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

You must also repent of your sins. (Act 2:38)  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Act 3:19)  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Then you must confess your faith. (Rom 10:9)  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 10:10)  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Act 8:37)  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

You then should be baptized for the remission of your sins as we see in (1Pe 3:21)  The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The final bit is the most obvious: stay faithful to the Lord. (Rev 2:10)  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

This is all it takes to be a Christian. Realize you have done things wrong, then believe Jesus is the Son of God, repent of your sins, confess your faith, and be baptized. You can learn all about different prophets and other details after you have been saved and became a Christian.

Many that are not saved do know this information. And if you are not saved and didn’t, well now you do. Some of you might say that you don’t think you can live, or are living, a Christian life. You might say that you’ll become a Christian later when you are able to live a ‘Christian’ life.

This is no excuse either. This is a misinterpretation of the Christian life. Some might be looking at people who have been Christian for years and years, and think they must act like those people immediately. They know that for whatever reason they will not be able to completely and utterly change in an instant so they put off considering Christianity until some time in the future, where they think they might be living a different lifestyle.

This is forgetting that being a Christian is a growing process. None of us know it all, and none of us are perfect in our ways. We are all growing in our faith, or at least we all should be. You cannot expect yourself to be comparable to a Christian that has been working on walking in their faith for dozens of years.

This is the same as skills, whereas an apprentice that has only started learning his craft would not be comparable to a master that has been on the job for a whole career.

(1Co 3:1)  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. We all start as babes in Christ as we begin our walk with the Lord. We are not to stay babes, but instead are to grow, the same as a child grows. (2Pe 3:18)  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

We come through our growth and come to be a ‘new’ man. (Col 3:8)  But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. (Col 3:9)  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; (Col 3:10)  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.

In fact, you cannot live the Christian life without Christ! You can’t live in a ‘Christian’ manner without Him! In fact, if you wait to live the Christian life before you become a Christian, you will be waiting forever. It is only in Christ that we find the power and strength to live the Christian lifestyle we need to.

(Rom 6:17)  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. (Rom 6:18)  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. (Rom 8:12)  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. (Rom 8:13)  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

This is what you need to live a Christian life. And to delay the choice in favor of living a ‘correct’ lifestyle is putting the cart in front of the horse. You need the Lord to truly reform your life and bring it to being in line with a Christian lifestyle.

It is only through Christ that we receive the strength to stand against the temptations of the world. (Rom 6:17)  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. (Rom 6:18)  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

As we see here that we are servants of sin before we have the doctrine, or the truth of Jesus Christ, delivered to us. Then we are freed from sin and we can move forward into a Christian life and begin to grow in Christ.

(Php 4:13)  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. This is pretty clear, only Christ strengthens us.

Some unbelievers are probably dismissing this argument because they claim that there are hypocrites in the Church and that, by some reason, discredits the entire institution. This is just not the case. One bad apple, in this case, does not spoil the whole bunch.

The reason why is that if you go by this ideal, then you cannot be a member of anything. There are hypocrites in the local PTA meetings, in church meetings, in local government, in federal government, in just about any group you can think of. There is probably no place that is free of hypocrites. This is something that is just a truth in our world today. These people can cause havoc in an institution, but that does not mean that all people are hypocrites, nor does that mean the institution is corrupt itself.

If you think this hypocrite thing is a valid argument, then I suggest that you abstain from all clubs and organizations. This is clearly a junk argument.

Consider this: do you want to spend a few years in a church or in a religious organization that has hypocrites, or would you rather spend all eternity in Hell with hypocrites?

Look at the example given by Biblical characters. Jesus did not avoid synagogues although there were hypocrites there. The Apostles did not abandon Jesus because Judas Iscariot was a hypocrite and traitor.

If you let the hypocrite keep you from church or other religious organizations, you are allowing the hypocrite to be bigger than God! They are keeping you away when God should be bigger and drawing you in.

Maybe you want to wait for your parents or your spouse to become a Christian. This is a commendable idea, but are you helping them become a Christian by not converting yourself?

It would seem that you would not be a help to them in their conversion if you are living a life without Christ.

Now think about this: maybe they are waiting for you and you are both in a gridlock situation because both of you are waiting for the other to take the first step! This always ends up with people getting a whole lot of nowhere.

Your delay only serves to give them reasons to keep delaying themselves. Remember we just talked about you cannot really live a Christian life without Christ, so therefore you are likely in the way of your parents or spouse if you are waiting for them to convert.

But if you do convert, you can be a powerful example to those that you might wish to see converted as well. (1Pe 3:1)  Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives. I imagine this works in reverse as well, that husbands can win wives over by conversation as well. So as we’re told here, the best way to convert anyone is to be obedient to the Word yourself first.

One huge point is that when you stand before the Lord, you will not stand as a couple or family, you will instead stand as an individual, and you will answer for yourself. (Rom 14:12)  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (2Co 5:10)  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. As you see here, everyone must answer, and saying that you were waiting on someone else just isn’t going to be an excuse.

You might also be afraid of what your parents or spouse might think. You might even be wary of what your friends might say, if anyone will make fun of you or be off put by your decision.

(Mat 10:34)  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Mat 10:35)  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. (Mat 10:36)  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. (Mat 10:37)  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

We must put the Lord before all things. It is just that simple. Your loved ones will likely support you, and if they don’t, well the Lord gives you peace beyond all understanding and you always have that to lean on.

By following the Word and becoming a Christian, you are actually honoring the traits your parents probably wanted instilled in you. Did they not teach you to do what is right? What about not violating your conscience? Did they teach you to stand on your convictions and what you believe? So they shouldn’t think bad of you then, should they?

You might offer other excuses but God can answer them all. These examples should show you that God has an answer for everything and there is no excuse for putting off coming to Christ.

Let’s close with (Act 22:16)  And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Until next time, God bless.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 2:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized | . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.