Zip, Zero, Zilch

The Bible frequently speaks about the conflict between the material and spiritual realms. These two worlds are constantly struggling for our attention. Because many things on earth are tainted with sin, we are told to resist their allure.

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12).

Heaven is described as a wondrous place beyond our wildest dreams. Consider the following thoughts on eternity:

The Spiritual World consists of more varying aspects than all the nations, cultures, civilizations of earth of every known and unknown age and time put together. All these would be less than one atom of a drop of water in an ocean the size of the entire known universe. There are multiples of creations of God in various dimensions and universes that would take eternities to explore. For this reason many of those who have true spiritual experiences of the Spiritual World, whether for a brief time or through extended encounters, bring only a small tiny microscopic view of the spiritual realm and life after death. (The Spiritual World by Peter Tan)

We may have a mansion waiting for us in heaven, but unfortunately, we live in a world of instant gratification. People would gladly squander the prospect of an eternal reward for a chance at material gain in the here and now.

In nearly every city in America, you’ll see these fast-cash loan stores that give you a small amount of money at a very high interest rate. If people can’t wait two weeks until their next paycheck, how is it possible to get in position to wait a lifetime for a much bigger payout?

In this life, people most desire what can be called “the three F’s”: fame, fortune, and friendship. I seek to point out that unless you have Jesus in your heart, these will end up as “the three Z’s”: – zip, zero, and zilch.

Desire Things of False Value

The desire for worldly goods is often created solely be what we see other people seeking after. We have no idea whether we truly need it; all we know is that everyone else is after it, so we must need it too. When we finally get our hands on it, we realize it has no real value to us.

I was once reading a report on a financial site about an oil service company that had just declared bankruptcy. In a section that allowed people to add comments, someone posted the following story to show his view of the stock market.

“Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest, and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10, and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at $20.

This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further, and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each, and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on his behalf. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers, ‘Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each.’

The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys. Then they never saw the man nor his assistant, only monkeys everywhere! Now you have a better understanding of how the stock market works.”
– Author unknown

When I was a child, I thought it would be wonderful to someday go Las Vegas. When I joined the Air Force, I had the opportunity to go to Sin City to support an exercise. At first, the city seemed exciting, but things faded when I focused on the main reason people go there. As I walked though the casino, I saw people sit around like zombies pouring their life savings into these one-arm-bandits.

I believe strongly that anyone will eventually find their way to Christ check the ultimate value of everything the desire in life. One of the reasons I started Rapture Ready was that I realized that operating a site such as this would be the most productive thing I could do with my remaining time on earth.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).

Fame and Fortune Fades Away

Most people probably think that anyone who has been a major star in music, on television, on stage, or in the book world is ensured to live on easy street the rest of his or her life. The truth is that only a very small percentage of our celebrities achieve lasting wealth.

Fame is very fleeting. You might be on top of the charts one day, and then a couple of years later, you’re a washed out as a has-been. When the money from a celebrity’s heyday dries up, many are forced to take a regular job just like us common folks.

I was shocked when a read a story in the New York Post about the poor financial state of members of the Jackson family. While both Michael and Janet Jackson have enjoyed very lucrative music careers, several of their siblings have not enjoyed similar success and are struggling in their everyday lives.

Original Jackson Five member Marlon, now 51, has gone from the Top 10 to stocking shelves at a San Diego supermarket.

Michael’s 46-year-old brother, Randy, has taken to fixing cars in Los Angeles.

The eldest Jackson brother, 56-year-old Jackie, has seen a music producing and Internet sales career fail, and is attempting to help his son find success in the music industry.

Frank DiLeo, who managed Michael’s “Bad” tour, told the Post the pop star had a falling-out with his siblings and has never looked back.

Even Michael Jackson, the most successful member of the Jackson clan, has not fared too well in recent years. He is constantly dogged by rumors of pending bankruptcy. Despite once having a net value of over $400 million, Jackson’s reckless spending habits have put him deep into debt. If he should end up in bankruptcy court, he will shatter previously held records by such hard-falling celebs as MC Hammer, Boy George and Vanilla Ice.

The Bell Curve Life

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” With these words, Jefferson introduced one of America’s most treasured documents, the Declaration of Independence.

God may have intended for all men to be equal, but He did not intend for the days each man lives to be of equal status. Our life on earth is one giant bell curve that starts out low, rises to a peak, and then sharply drops off.

Someone put together the following humorous bell curve that does a great job of explaining how this process works. At various points it asks the basic question, “What is considered successful?”

At age 4…success is…not peeing in your pants.
At age 10…success is…making your own meals.
At age 12…success is…having friends.
At age 16…success is…having a drivers license.
At age 20…success is…having sex.
At age 35…success is…having money.
At age 50…success is…having money.
At age 60…success is…having sex.
At age 70…success is…having a drivers license.
At age 75…success is…having friends.
At age 80…success is…making your own meals.
At age 85…success is…not peeing in your pants.

You may know of someone who is very successful in life. As he got older, you noticed that his world slowly began to fall apart.

Paul McCartney is regarded as the greatest songwriter of the rock-and-roll era. When he was a member of the Beatles, he helped churn out hit record after hit record. McCartney recently released a CD that had a huge amount of promotion from the media and the Starbucks coffee chain. The CD didn’t sell very well because the music was mediocre.

I don’t think McCartney is mentally senile. The man is in his 60s, and he no longer has the spark of creativity that was once present in his youth. Oddly enough, one of his own songs bemoans the day he would become an aged man of 64. This song may have endured time, but unfortunately he, like all people before him, has not.

Time To Go

In the battle between good and evil, Satan has a bit of a home team advantage. The act of dying in your sins doesn’t require any action on your part. You don’t need to jump overboard from a ship to drown in the sea. The ship we are on is sinking, and will all too conveniently take us to a watery grave.

Many people are destroyed because they fail to realize the fallen nature of their fleshly existence. As they grow old, they just assume there is always going to be another day to live as they please. The warning signs that come with age don’t seem to be enough to remind people that death will eventually overtake them.

We need to always keep in our minds a vision of a countdown clock. When time runs out, we have no choice about our departure. Christians have all the more reason to be mindful of the time. The rapture could call them home at any stage in life.

Anyone who trusts in Jesus has nothing to fear. Once we leave this world and see the glory of heaven, everything we thought was important in this life will instantly be zip, zero, zilch.

“I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matth

There are many people in this world who live only for themselves. They have no hunger for God or righteousness. They are lost. Let us not forget that each and every one of us was in that desperate camp at some time in our lives. Much is at stake as the end of days nears. Time is of the utmost essence. Christians know, deep within our souls, that the gospel has the power to change the hearts and minds of human beings, and knowing this, we should be wholly convicted to share it with the lost, no matter the cost to our comfortable and convenient lives.

The charge is clear to those who call upon the name of Jesus. The call and commission is to take the gospel to the nations. Let us be clear: If we are not faithful to His call, souls will be eternally lost.

What of those who have never heard of Jesus? What of those who died before Christ? The answers to these questions are a mystery. We live this life in Christ with mystery—we live by faith. The Scriptures tell us that one day we will know fully, even as we have been fully known.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

In the meantime, we do not have the luxury of theological speculation. Instead, we should assume that those who have never heard of Jesus will be eternally lost. Why? Because Jesus himself said so: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

Jesus also commanded us:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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” (Matthew 28:19-20).

“And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem , and in all Judaea, and in Samaria , and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8).

In the year 1854, a 17-year-old boy was working in a shoe shop in Detroit. He didn’t know Christ and had no interest in matters of spirituality or religion. But, he had been forced to go to Sunday school, like a lot of kids these days. One day, his Sunday school teacher went to the shoe shop where this boy was working and said, “Hey, I’m worried about you. I want to talk.” So, they went into the basement of the shoe store, where the Sunday school teacher led the young man to Christ. The Sunday school teacher’s name was Edward Kimball, and the 17-year-old boy’s name was D. L. Moody. We now know that he went on to become one of the greatest evangelists in the world, and he shared the gospel with 100 million people. And this was in the age before modern technology. Pretty incredible! And of course, Moody also founded the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Memorial Church in Chicago. His name is well known in the Christian community, even today, more than a hundred years later.

Now, it’s kind of cool to see that Moody went on to influence a man named F.B. Meyer, a London pastor and an intellectual who never focused on Jesus. Meyer’s congregation told him that they wanted this newly famous evangelist, Moody, to come speak to them. So, Meyer reluctantly agreed to let his congregation bring in Moody.

Meyer, who had a lot of intellectual pride and was ashamed of the name of Jesus, invited Moody to do a revival in his church. When Moody showed up, Meyer immediately took a dislike to him. He didn’t like him because Moody was not well dressed, and because he only had a fifth grade education.

Meyer had doctorates, and he was brilliant. So, he kind of looked down on Moody. But, Moody got up to preach in Meyer’s church and was anointed by the Holy Spirit. The power of God was upon him. And, as he spoke, he focused on Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

As such, hundreds upon hundreds of people came to faith in Jesus Christ that day from the pews of Meyer’s beloved church. Because of this, Meyer was embarrassed and consumed with jealousy. After the revival, Moody quietly left, leaving Meyer with his congregation and with his jealousy and anger.

Two weeks later, Meyer was talking with one of his Sunday school teachers, and the teacher said, “You know, I used to focus on all kinds of stuff and never focused on Jesus, but Moody taught me to focus on Jesus. So, I’ve been focusing on Jesus over these last two weeks and I want to tell you about this boy who accepted Jesus during my class.”

As he told the story, Meyer began to weep. The Holy Spirit broke through; he was convicted and supernaturally changed. For the rest of his life, he preached Jesus to all who would listen.

As the years went by, Meyer influenced J. Wilbur Chapman; J. Wilbur Chapman influenced Billy Sunday; then Billy Sunday influenced Mordecai Ham. And it was Mordecai Ham who led Billy Graham to Christ. Get it? Spiritual dominoes.

You see, it’s incredible, the power of the gospel. To think of Edward Kimball, D.L. Moody, F.B. Meyer, J. Wilbur Chapman, Billy Sunday, Mordecai Ham, and then Billy Graham, all in a row, one going to the next, and then the next, by the power of Christ, only serves to tell us that we need not fear. We should share the gospel with confidence and joy.

When we tell someone about Jesus, we have no way of knowing what the domino effect is going to be. In our lifetime, we may not even be aware of the full harvest of souls brought to the kingdom of God simply because we remain faithful to the call. So, please be faithful.

When Billy Graham did come to Christ through the preaching of Mordecai Ham, it was during a tent meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1936. Graham, born in 1920, was 16 years old, didn’t know Christ, and was “sowing his oats,” as many a young man is known to do. He had a 16-year-old buddy, and they were just hanging out when they thought, “Hey, let’s go into this tent and hear what this whacko has to say.”

So they were just clowning around when they went into that tent. Once inside, they realized that there was no room for them; they couldn’t find any seats. So Billy said to his buddy, “Let’s get out of here.” As they turned to leave, an usher standing there saw them and said, “Hey, guys.” He put his big arms around their shoulders and said, “You know, hey, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Let me take you to a seat.” So, the usher took them to a seat and the rest is history.

Billy Graham found Jesus that night, and he went on to take Jesus to the world. That usher could never have known how God was using him that night through his simple yet faithful service.

So, serve Christ, knowing that it might be a mystery–what God is doing through you. It’s incredible. God is great. The power of God attends the grace of the Gospel. So, be faithful to your call and commission.

In closing, one more little short story about Robert Moffat, who was called Bobby in his youth. It was 1807, when Bobby was just 12. He was in Scotland, at church, and that Sunday morning, a strange thing happened.

After the offering, little Bobby Moffat stepped into the offering plate. He stepped right into it! Of course, when one of the church ushers saw this, he yelled, “Boy! What do you think you’re doing?” Bobby replied, “I’m giving my whole self to Jesus!” That’s what this 12-year-old boy said to that usher.

Eight years later, when Bobby (now called Robert) was 20 years old, he was accepted by the London Missionary Society to be a missionary to Africa. The next year, in 1816, Robert Moffat turned 21 and headed down to Cape Town, Africa, where he met his wife, Mary Smith. For more than 50 years, Robert and Mary Moffat partnered to serve Jesus Christ together on this earth.

At the time they met and married in Cape Town, Africa, no one went north of Cape Town because the region 100 miles north of Cape Town was known as “the dark continent.” But Robert and Mary Moffat went. They went into Botswana, where they became missionaries. They took Jesus to those people, the Swana people.

The Swana people had driven the “sand people” into the Kalahari. Driven from their land, they became bushmen. Robert Moffat ministered to both the bushmen and the Swana people, telling them about Jesus. He translated the whole of the Old and New Testaments into the language of those people. Then he took Christian classics, like Pilgrim’s Progress, and translated them so that the people could read these great works, and he led the people to Jesus.

Twenty years later, in 1835, Robert Moffat was back in Glasgow, Scotland, and he was tired–broken in body and weary in soul. He and Mary had worked very hard and wanted some help. They wanted people to go back with them to work in that dark continent, and as he spoke to them from this little Scottish church in Glasgow, he was describing for them the region of Botswana. He told them how he could stand on top of this hill and look out to see the campfires of a thousand villages, villages of people who knew not Christ, and he said, “Come with me. Help me take Jesus to all of these people.”

He was disappointed that night because no one accepted his invitation. But, what he didn’t know was that a young man there was convicted by the Holy Spirit that night. The young man was David Livingston, who went on to marry Robert and Mary’s daughter–an incredible tale of its own!

Afterwards, David Livingston went to Africa, leading thousands of people to Christ. In Glasgow, he had received his medical doctorate and a degree in theology. He went to Africa as an explorer, looking for the headwaters of the Nile River. He went as a civil rights leader, fighting the slave trade. He went as a missionary and an evangelist, taking Jesus to the people, faithful through his years.

In 1873, David Livingston died. His last diary entry stated: “My Jesus, my King, my life, my all. I dedicate my whole life to thee.”

Isn’t that what it’s all about? Stepping into the offering plate? Dedicating the whole of our lives to Christ? We have a message that the world needs. We have a Savior. We have Jesus. Let us be faithful in this hour and share the grace and mercy of Jesus to all of those who will hear. Let us fight against the flow of damnation for souls who have yet to hear.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16).

Source: From the sermon of Dr. Jim Dixon, “Sin and Salvation.” Cherry Hills Community Church , Highlands Ranch, Colorado . January 27, 2008.