REVELATION 9:20-21: “The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk. And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.” CSB

OBSERVATION: I will never forget my attitude toward what we called – “Jesus Freaks.” These were teenagers who were always talking about Jesus and warning that the end of the world was coming. I thought to myself – “Are they crazy?” The end of the world is not really coming. For centuries we have heard this cry and we are still here. To me they seemed like ignorant and irrational extremists.

That was many years ago now. And, today I look back on this group of zealous teenagers and I thank God for the tracks that they stuffed into my locker and that I callously threw away. What I couldn’t throw away was their zeal and their message. One of the constant mantras of the day was – “Jesus is coming! Are you ready?” And, the answer was – I wasn’t!

Then my best friend became a “Jesus Freak.” I couldn’t believe it. I was a Christian (so I thought). I went to church occasionally and I even went to a parochial school growing up. What was all the fuss about? I have plenty of time to repent and get my life right with God. Now is the time to party and enjoy myself. This was my attitude as I graduated from high school. And, I was soon to find out that I was on a crash course with God’s grace.

When you encounter God’s grace in a powerful way you have a choice. You can either surrender your life to Jesus Christ, or you can begin hardening your heart. Each time we dismiss the grace of God our heart grows a litter bit colder, a little bit darker. The battle was waging for my heart. I knew the truth, but I was fighting against it. In the end, Jesus won. Yet, I often wonder what would have happened if I had hardened my heart.

The last two verses in Revelation chapter nine bring a chill to my heart. It shows the outcome of those who harden their hearts and continually refuse the grace of God.

• “The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk. And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.”

When someone says I have plenty of time to get right with God, they usually mean that they will get serious about God when things get tough or near the end. Yet, as we read about the end time judgments in the book of Revelation, we see that this is not the case. Even as angels from heaven come sounding the trumpets of God’s judgment, and the faithful witnesses call them to repentance, they do not repent. In fact they double down on their sin.

We now live on the warning side of God’s judgment. The time to respond to God’s grace, the time to repent, the time to get right with God is NOW!

• “For he says: At an acceptable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation!” 2 Corinthians 6:2 CSB

I know that we have all heard that the end of the world is coming countless times. We have dismissed this many times as just another alarmist who is out of touch with reality. I bet this is what those who passed by Noah as he built the ark thought too – until it started to rain. Looking at the world, and thinking about its end, seems a little bit easier today than it did when I was a child. The end is coming and there is no room to procrastinate in responding to the grace of God.

There is a glorious reward for those who born again by the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the promise of an abundant life now and an eternal life in heaven when our life on earth ends. It is the promise of escaping the wrath that is to come. It is daily abiding in the loving presence of God. It is the joy and promise of being reunited in eternity with all those who also embraced Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. And, it is the assurance that the same grace that saved us will sustain us through everything we face in life!

My dear friend, have you responded to the grace of God? Have you answered the knocking at the door of your heart and invited Jesus Christ in? Have you stepped into the blessing of eternal life through sincere repentance and living faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life?

If not – why wait any longer? Call upon His name today!

•  “…The message (of God’s grace) is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13 CSB

JESUS IS COMING! ARE YOU READY?

In Jesus Name!