Life is very fragile. Our time here is limited and is precious—that is why we should ever ask and take into consideration the following questions: Where did I come from? Why am I here? What does the future hold for me? The Bible says we have been created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). We are sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus, the Mighty King (Galatians 3:26). We are so precious to God that when Adam and Eve sinned, He gave His Son to die and pay the penalty for our sins so we could be free. He wants to restore us to His image and then, shortly, take us back to Eden, the home Adam and Eve lost.
The most popular song of our time is “Amazing Grace,” written by John Newton. Newton’s life, as sinful as it was, clearly demonstrates that the grace of God is greater than our sins. The only child of John, Sr. and Elizabeth Newton was born on July 24, 1725 in London, England. Thirteen days before his seventh birthday, his devout mother died of tuberculosis. His father, a commander in the Mediterranean trade, remarried the following year. At the age of 11, the young boy was taken on his maiden sea voyage and over the next seven years, he made several more trips. At the age of 18, John, a confused adolescent was press-ganged on board the HMS Harwich, a man-of-war vessel. Unable to hold up under its rigid discipline and unwilling to handle its daily routine, the defiant sailor deserted ship. After he enjoyed six months of freedom on the open sea, John Newton endured a long year of captivity in West Africa. There his dream of work and wealth turned into a nightmare of sickness and starvation while he served a cold-hearted English master and suffered at the cruel hands of his African mistress. Soon after his release, the man of the sea became a master of slaves. At the age of 22, John—a wretched sinner—was converted from a daring blasphemer of God into a devout believer in Christ. His great deliverance took place on March 21, 1748 while sailing back to England from Africa. He and the crew of the “Greyhound”—a cargo ship—were caught in a violent storm, battered by monstrous winds and beaten by mountainous waves; the tired sailors were helpless as they battled against the raging seas, trying desperately to save their lives. For the young seaman, however, the day of salvation came. The hour of decision had arrived, the moment of truth was at hand, and in the midst of the chaos, confusion and fear, John Newton called on the Lord Jesus in sincerity and truth, crying out in genuine repentance for the Redeemer’s tender mercies, and God saved him. Over the next years he searched the Scriptures daily and studied its truth diligently, and at the age of 29 he became a growing disciple, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News of Salvation. After reading the Biblical passage of 1 Chronicles 17:16–17 and reviewing his own life in the light of David’s response, God inspired him with this beautiful song, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” Only a merciful and compassionate Father and Saviour could inspire him with such words. John Newton received Jesus as his personal Saviour and Redeemer at a young age, but deepened his faith and commitment to Christ later in his life. He closed his life with these words; “John Newton, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” How many people throughout the centuries have been saved by the grace of Jesus? You and I, dear reader, have been found by Jesus. Do you remember your life before knowing Jesus? When you lived in this world without any hope? I remember it, and today I can say it was chaos, living without Jesus. Why am I here? Sin brought us here, but there is a possibility for us to be restored by the grace of Jesus. This restoration can take place if you and I accept the only way shown to us by Jesus in the Scriptures, namely: being taught, believing and repentance—making our covenant with God through baptism, living a life of self-denial and surrender to Jesus.
As I said, life here is short, fragile, and our time is limited. The Bible is clear on how sin entered into this world and how God in His infinite mercy found a plan to solve sin’s problem. Why hasn’t Jesus come yet? As we read in 1 Timothy 2:4, it is because He desires all men to be saved. I believe I can state the reason in these simple words: How can He save the sinner without saving sin? How can He destroy sin without destroying the sinner? Putting it very simply, how can God get rid of sin without getting rid of you and me? How can He take us to heaven without taking the infectious sin with us that would spread death throughout the universe? As God’s word plainly tells us, this will not happen a second time; sin and its results never will come into existence in the earth made new.
At the beginning of this month, on July 2, 2012, I lost someone whom I loved, a brother of mine named Dan Anca. He was a shepherd; he died at 46 years old. An unexpected death took him away from this life. The last time I talked to him was three months ago, but just the day before his death he wanted to talk to me by Skype and I wasn’t able to reach him. Just as I came into my room, he left. So, I don’t know what he wanted to ask me or to talk about, but I know he was self-sacrificing for others. We know that we need to give our hearts to Jesus while we are still living. Many times, I used to go with him while he was shepherding 700–800 sheep. I remember how he called them to follow him through the mountains and valleys, and how much I wanted to do the same, but I could not, although he had shown me many times how to do it. The sheep came after my brother and followed him because he spent much time with them; my problem was that I just visited him from time to time. But the Lord taught me something from this experience. Much later the Lord would call me to pasture His flock—His people—and this was a lesson for me which I have learned. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He goes before us, calling each one of His sheep. We need to spend time and humble ourselves in order to feed the flock. Once again the Lord showed me how fragile life is and how seriously we should work for the salvation of our families that are not in the faith, neighbours, friends, and relatives.
Let me ask you a question: Do you love your family indeed? Do you love people? If you and I love them, as we answer these questions, then we will really work for their salvation, telling them that Jesus loves them and that this life is a test in order to enter into God’s kingdom. Without Jesus we don’t have life, because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the door, just as in the earthly sanctuary where sinners had to come to offer their sacrifices; in order to enter into where the altar of sacrifice was located, they had to go through the door. Jesus said, “I am the door, if anyone enters through Me, he will find pasture.” Let us bring our families, relatives, neighbours and friends to that door to Jesus. If we truly love them we will work for their salvation and bring them to the One who never rejects a repentant sinner. I remember how the death of a dear one, my Grandmother, made me think over and over again regarding the most important questions of one’s life, namely: Where did I come from? Why am I here? What does the future hold for me?
Let us hold onto our faith, my beloved brothers and sisters, because what is laid before us are the promises Jesus made us—how He will create everything new again, as it was in paradise. At the end of the millennium, God transfers the heavenly New Jerusalem to the earth, and the final judgment takes place. After the earth is purified by fire, God recreates it in its original splendour. The new earth becomes the eternal home of the saved. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5. (Revelation 21:1–2)
The New Jerusalem is 375 miles square. The city walls are made of solid jasper and are 216 feet high, or 20 stories. The city’s foundations are precious stones, forming every colour of the rainbow. There are twelve gates—each made from a single pearl. The streets are paved with pure gold and Jesus’ presence provides light for the eternal day. We will never fear crime because sin has been destroyed. A beautiful river flows from the throne of God. God’s people are permitted to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life. It produces different fruits every month that perpetuate eternal life. Every month we will eat of the tree’s new fruit as we worship God for providing the gift of eternal life (Isaiah 66:23). Throughout eternity, Sabbath worship will remind us that Jesus created us and then died to save us.
God invites everyone to go to heaven, but not everyone will fulfill the conditions. The Bible describes those who will be in the city and those who won’t. Revelation 22:14–15. We can be sure to be in the city if we accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. It is not enough to call Jesus Lord. We must also trust and love Him enough to actually allow Him to be the Lord of our lives.
Do you know why God will not allow those who haven’t made Jesus Lord of their lives into heaven? They would rebel against God’s government again. If He allowed people to enter who haven’t allowed Him to rule their lives here, they would certainly not allow Him to do so in the new earth. Then sin would rise again and we would be right back in the same situation we are in now. The Bible promises that God will not allow the curse of sin to rise again (Nahum 1:9).
What a wonderful privilege to be saved and for Jesus to take us to heaven. Though we can never do this by ourselves, we can cooperate with the Spirit’s work, which Jesus has promised to carry out within us. Surely there is nothing than can compare with this! Knowing how wonderful heaven will be, helps us endure the “light afflictions” we experience here. God gives His people a reward that far exceeds the trials of this life. God encourages us to set our sights on gaining heaven and to not let anything in this world get in our way.
In closing this message, let us ask ourselves this question: Will we allow God’s Spirit to lead us to heaven? May God richly bless us as we walk with Jesus on this earth and may we say with all our hearts, “Yes, Lord You are worthy to receive all my worship.” Amen!
In Christ,
Nicholas Anca