In a world where people continue as in the days of Paul, to 'go on in detail about visions' and reverence the angels to a degree of worship (cf. Colossians 2:18), it is important to be encouraged by saints past and present to hold fast to Christ alone for our salvation. Many put their faith and trust in supernatural experiences of some sort but only Jesus can save, as this quote from the late W.A. Criswell, preaching his last sermon from the pulpit on the eve of his 90th birthday, demonstrates.
“We had a prayer meeting before the service. The women met in a tabernacle and the men met in a grove…I never in all my life heard such testimonies as those men gave in that grove prayer meeting. One would say I was ploughing with a pair of mules, and the Lord sent a fireball from heaven and struck me to the ground and how long I lay there I don’t remember but when I came to…’ Then he’d describe how the plough looked, how the mules looked, how the field looked – all the things that had come into his heart. Again one of the men stood up and in his testimony spoke of an angel God sent from heaven to tell him the way of salvation. And sweet people, I came to the conclusion that I was not saved. I had never seen a ball of fire. I had never seen an angel who instructed me in the way of the Lord. And - you won’t believe this - for a long, long, long time I would prepare my sermons to be delivered to a little congregation, then I would cry to God ‘Oh God, help me! Please God, send a sign from heaven – an angel or a ball of fire that I may know that I am converted, that I’ve been saved, my name in the Book of Life.’ And a miracle happened.
God looked down from glory and saw me in my agony and I had an experience I could hardly ever describe. I dreamed that the saints of God were marching in and I assayed to join their number. And when I got to the pearly gates, the Lord stopped me and said ‘By what prerogative do you enter my beautiful city and walk on my golden streets?’ And I said to him ‘Dear God, I know I’m saved, I know I’m saved! I saw a ball of fire fall down from heaven and strike me to the land.’ And Satan there laughed ‘HAHAHAHA! He saw a ball of fire fall from heaven! I sent that ball of fire just to deceive him, just to fool him.’ And he drags me down to perdition and damnation in hell. What could I say, What could I say? Or, the great throng is marching into the New Jerusalem and I assay to join their number, and the Lord stops me, and says to me ‘By what prerogative, by what right, do you enter my beautiful city and walk on my golden streets? And I reply, ‘Oh God, I’ve been saved, I know I’ve been saved! I saw an angel from heaven come down to instruct me in the way of life. And Satan standing there laughed: ‘HAHAHA! He saw an angel! I transformed myself into an angel of light just to deceive him’ and drags me to damnation and perdition in hell. What could I say? Then, God spoke to me when I assayed to enter that beautiful city, and the Lord asked me ‘By what prerogative and by what right do you pass through my pearly gates and walk on my golden streets.’ And I say to him ‘Lord, when I was about 10 years of age, my sainted mother with many tears asked me to take you as my Saviour, and Lord Jesus, that day I gave my heart to thee and Lord Jesus, I’m just depending on you to keep your word that you will never leave me or forsake me, oh God!
Then I challenge Satan to laugh or to scoff. My salvation is not a matter between me and him, my salvation is a matter between me and Jesus and he will never let me down!"
The video of the whole message is below, the segment from which the above script is taken being found in clip 3.
The video of the whole message is below, the segment from which the above script is taken being found in clip 3.
No comments:
Post a Comment