“ A man is better to die of starvation with the bread of life, than to die with a full stomach without it” (  The SINNERS PULPIt)

I recently served at a homeless shelter and all of our efforts were focused on food and shelter. Duh!  We provided food , a warm cot and security monitors around the clock for their safety. They snored and the monitors, all Christians read their bibles, but not one mentioned Jesus Christ to the homeless guests.  One guest was cursing and apparently had been drinking, another was complaining about the “system” of which he was victim. Fellow Christians and members of the church ate, played games, (there were homeless children there) and just talked with the guests , but I never heard the word Jesus.  I inquired about this and was told our job was not to preach but to provide food, shelter and security for the folks. Show them Jesus, I was told. I uttered the words above “ I’d rather see them die of starvation, than to die without the word of God”. Hence the beginning quote.

It seems odd to me that Christians are so shy about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then it hit me.  How sure are they about the gospel of Jesus Christ? If you really believe something , you can’t help but share it with others.  If I had a cure for cancer, It would become my life’s mission, I wouldn’t be quiet about it. Jesus Christ is the cure for death!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me?  What if you had a cure and someone told you not to share it with people in the medical field? Could you do that?

Fast forward a year…….

I asked the folks running the church shelter if I could offer a bible study a couple of nights a week and they agreed as long as it wasn’t mandatory.  God forbid. I prayed about the subject and the Lord lead me to the passage in scripture about blind Bartimaeus. (Mark 10:46-52). He knew if he could just get to Jesus, he would be healed. I thought about those in scripture that knew if they could “just get to Jesus”, they would be healed. The woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25) and many many more. So the lesson for the shelter was “just get ’em to Jesus”. Well, three guests from the shelter showed up for the study.  I gave them all a bible to read and after a while, we found the passage.  We talked about the importance of “getting to Jesus” and at some point during the discussion, one of the seemingly troubled guests slammed the Bible down on the table and said “ this is all a bunch of man-made jibberish and why should I believe it?  It should be burned.” I was truly looking into the eyes of Satan as he glared at me with very dark, almost black eyes. I kid you not, his eyes were black. I stared back for what seemed a long time, all the while “getting to Jesus”. I prayed….., how do I answer him?  The words flowed from my lips without thought. “If it’s not the truth, throw it in the trash can over there. Take it out in the parking lot and burn it! ………But if it is the truth….. what….will…. you……do with it?”  His eyes changed, he began to shake and to sob profusely. He said that he had lost his wife to cancer and that she had prayed to Jesus all the time. “He didn’t help her”. I asked him if he thought she was with Jesus. He said yes and that he so wanted to see her again but stated that he knew he wasn’t good enough.  One of the other guests shared with John that he wasn’t good enough, but that Jesus would let him have His goodness if he would accept it. John, still a drunk, homeless, and probably suffering from some form of mental illness accepted Christ that night right there at the table. The other three bums at the table (including me) “ got him to Jesus.”

I’m still concerned about John’s physical well-being but not as much as I was about his eternal life. John may die of alcoholism or freeze to death as one of his colleagues at the shelter but he will always die in Christ. He got to Jesus.  John confessed his sin to God that night, right there at the table, his pulpit. The sinner’s pulpit.

I haven’t seen him since. I couldn’t care less if he is a millionaire or a pauper.  He has the most important gift a human can possess. I say this not as a lack of compassion but order of priority.

He is richer than Bill Gates.

There is no greater need for a human than to be reconciled (made right) with God. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me”. (John 14:6). What is it that makes one right with God?
How do you answer the question? The most popular answer is: if I am just a good person then I am right with God. So….. how good is good? You may think you are good and maybe you are by human standards, but are you God-good? Scripture tells us there is no one good, no, not one (Romans3:10-12, Psalm 14).

Another favorite one is: if I follow the 10 commandments, I will stay right with God. Don’t forget, there are over 600 more laws that accompany those 10 and if you break one of them, you are guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10). Really? You see, if you kept all of God’s Holy Laws, you would still not be right with God because you and all humans are born into sin because of Adam’s fall. You still have a sin debt.
How are we doing with that? You must be Holy, perfect without blemish to enter into the presence of Holy God. (Matthew 5:48). What fool could say that he or she is? Look at humanity from the beginning or just look around the planet, or just look at yourself. We humans can’t do it! We never could. The law was given to show fallen man his sin. Who among us would not agree with God that humans can not meet this standard?
God is just and holds us to that standard. What’s a human to do? Scripture tells us: For if by one man’s offense (Adam) death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. It’s very clear. We are reconciled, made right with God only through Jesus Christ. The law is good and holy, but we can’t keep it. Jesus fulfills the law and then gives us perfect standing with God (Romans 5:8). There is no other religion or teaching where God entered into humanity for the purpose of taking away the sin of the world (Romans 5:17). Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.

We were made without sin but chose to sin because God gave us free will. Love requires choice. A perfect holy God cannot cohabitate with sinful man. We are either under Adam and sin which is unto death or we are under grace. The grace of God in Christ. God in His mercy saved us, justified and sanctified us even though we didn’t deserve it (Grace). There are two types of people; dead or alive, righteous or unrighteousness, lost or found.

Jesus shares a story in Luke about Lazarus and the rich man, Luke 19:16-31. They both have passed from this life. Lazarus the beggar, is alive with God and the “rich man” is tormented in hell. Which of these best represents you?
I am concerned about starvation in the world but not as much as I am the souls of men. I really am concerned about racism, poverty, disease, murder, greed, inequality, unemployment, government waste, the corrupt officials in Washington, just not as much as I am the souls of men. Think about it – if we loved our neighbor as Christ loved us, the aforementioned would be solved anyway. Even Washington! Every problem we face in this greedy, selfish, murderous society would be solved if you loved one another the way you love yourself., if you treated others the way you want to be treated (Matthew 7:12). Jesus tells us this sums up the entire message of God from Genesis to Revelation: Love God, love your neighbor (Matthew 22:40).
If you loved me, you would not want to see me perish in hell. If you loved that dopehead sister of yours, or that liberal atheist cousin, you would not want to see them perish in hell. What we do will not cause us to perish in hell, it’s what we don’t do. If we reject the gift of eternal life through God’s redemptive plan in Christ, there is no life.

 What is the plan? Answer: God made man in His image (Genesis 1:27), perfect and without sin, breathed His life into man and he became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Man had the freedom to choose obedience or disobedience. He disobeyed and God said when you do, you will die (Genesis 2:17). Man lost the Spirit of God within him. Do you see this? Man is dead without the spirit of God,  and all that were born after were without it. Humankind continued without it. The word “spirit” is “Ruach” in Hebrew and means air or breath, Adam lost the breath, or life, of God and remained only hu-man and was no longer God-man.  God lost his first and most loved creation at the fall……..

Throughout scripture we see God attempting to reconcile with man by His Holy Law. Man promised to keep it, but never did, hence the dispersion of the chosen Jewish nation. God tells us in Jeremiah that He will make a new covenant or promise, not like the one He made with our forefathers. He will write Himself on our hearts and will remember our sins no more. Not law but grace (Jeremiah 31:31). A new covenant. A new promise. Not because we deserve it – we don’t – but because He loves us. He sent his only begotten Son, born of a virgin, to reconcile humanity to the divinity we once shared. God becomes flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son.

The Son is without sin because He is born of a virgin. As God Spoke (Word) the universe into existence, (Genesis 1: 1) He Spoke (Word) and the Virgin was with child, child of the Holy Spirit – God. 💡 all things are born after their kind. A tree bears a tree, a fish bears a fish, an ape bears an ape, and so on. When a human is the father, a human is born. When God is the Father….💡 In the fullness of time, Jesus was born into humanity. Son of God. Divinity enters humanity. The Word (God) becomes flesh and dwells among us. (John1:14) In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1-3) Christ is God the Word that became flesh. All God and all man but without sin. The Royal blood never mingled with the blood of the mother, (the blood of a fetus doesn’t mingle with the mother, nourishment comes from the umbilical cord) so therefore is without sin. The unblemished lamb of God, perfect without sin. This royal blood was shed at Calvary’s cross for the sin of the world, the debt is paid by the one and only sacrifice of God. Christ conquers sin and death that was lost by the first Adam. We are now reconciled back to God as He promised right after the fall: God said “I will put enmity between you satan and the women, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise thy heel. (Genesis 3:15). The redemptive plan was Jesus Christ right from the beginning, all of scripture from Genesis to Revelation foretells us of this redemptive reconciling plan orchestrated by our Heavenly Father. These things were prophesied from old,  thousands of years before the Promised Messiah shows up. Isaiah 7:14: a virgin will bear a son and his name will be Immanuel which is interpreted “God with us”. Isaiah 9:6 : “ to us a child is born, unto us a son is given:  and the government will be upon His shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” All prophesied 700 years before Christ shows up. Even a thousand years before in the Psalms, we see the perfect story of the crucifixion. (Psalm 22)

Then it all happens. Christ Is born to a virgin, heals the sick, gives sight to the blind, walks on the water and raises the dead. Religion crucified Him just as He predicted. He is dead, buried and on the third day raises from the dead and is seen by the apostles and 500 more. Only God in the flesh could accomplish this. Christ illustrates “the plan” for humanity, He is what the human can become (1 John3:2).  Sin and death are conquered. By faith in His finished work at the cross, His perfect shed blood (untainted by any human, even his mother) that satisfies the debt of fallen man is ours. It is a gift, we can’t earn it.(Ephesians 2:8-9)

If we believe this , by faith, we are born again, born from above. (John 3) we were born of the flesh from our earthly fathers, now we are born of the Spirit. We are born of God. We get back the breath of God humanity lost at the beginning.

When Jesus ascended to the Father, He tells us it is good that I go away because , I will send the Holy Spirit. Do you see this? The breath or spirit of God is restored to us when we believe in the finished work of Christ. We become children of God again.(John 1:12) “ But as many as received him, to them gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. WE ARE RESTORED BACK TO RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD BEFORE THE FALL OF ADAM. OH WHAT GOOD NEWS!!!! (Gospel)

THIS IS THE PLAN. IT WAS IMPLEMENTED 2000 YEARS AGO. It’s finished (John 19:30)

Like John from the homeless shelter, it is either truth or the biggest joke ever perpetrated. I promise you, if you read the Bible in its entirety, you will be amazed how beautiful the truth becomes. It is written by men and inspired by God. Peter Stoner’s book entitled “Science Speaks” shows us how it would be virtually impossible for just five prophecies to come true, something like 1 in 10 to the 12th power, for five to happen.  Hundreds have come to pass and I trust all will.

If the God of the universe that put the rings on Saturn and developed the human eye and a hundred billion galaxies wrote you a letter, wouldn’t you want to read it?

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If we spent more time sharing the gospel with people and stop trying to rehabilitate them, they would get rehabilitated!!!!!!!!! Here’s the proof: we spend billions attempting to save people with psychology, psychiatry, and drugs. How’s that working? We’re now creating drugs to get us off the drugs we thought we needed! We need to get…. them…. to …..JESUS. You say, can Jesus stop my alcohol addiction? my heroin addiction? My porn addiction? Ask those who wasted years on 12 steps and “self help” books. These addictions may kill them. But, if they die in Christ they will arise to newness of life. Romans 5:8 tells us while we were yet in sin, Christ died for us. Let’s face it, we are all in sin. I have  heard pastors and theologians say Jesus did not save us in our sin. Oh yes He did.

The ONLY way you will help yourself is to believe in Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has DONE. What is your small window of time here on earth compared to eternity?

Those who say “ I would rather see a sermon than to hear one are only partly correct. St Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying “preach the gospel often and sometimes use words”( He actually never said that) is Bologna! The word of God must be proclaimed. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17. ) Christ can not be proclaimed by just good deeds; an atheist can do good deeds! When Jesus came in from the desert, He didn’t feed anyone, He said repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand (Matthew 4:17) When did he feed them? -After He gave them the bread of life, the Word that brings eternal life. Can you imagine Christ’s 3 years ministry had he never talked? Absurd? We must respect all the different gifts God has given the believer equally.
There are many vacationaries who travel to foreign countries for a week and build wells, and paper houses and never utter the word Jesus. Some of those same folks on the way to the airport look right past the addict at the streetlight or in their office. They are just as lost as the people on that sunny island nation they are heading for. Have you ever noticed that vacationaries usually never go to Siberia or Mongolia. I’m just saying.
I know there are many that mean well and do good work on these vacationary trips, I just want you to challenge yourself and ask the question: are you really
“helping“ those people or exalting yourselves. Are you enabling them? Are you teaching them to fish or giving them a fish? Do you feel good about YOURSELF when you return? Do you feel a little better than those who didn’t go? Did you proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to them? Could the amount of money you spent getting your foreign service badge have built a school in that little town or have supported a missionary for a year? I’ve noticed churches seem to pride themselves on these foreign service trips by having everyone traveling to the island nation for a week stand and receive a blessing as if they were departing for a year to Mongolia with very limited stipend. Do they ever exalt the quiet service of the lady who visits the nursing home every week and has for 40 years, reading scripture and sharing the word of God and leading people to Christ? Or the guy that has been visiting the local jail for years just reading scripture to inmates that will listen. Do they gather in the parking lot and have “blessing send offs” for the one who has been feeding the homeless shelters for many years or the one who visits an old man just down the street from the church every Tuesday? By the way, the old guy accepted Christ right there in his bed(sinner’s pulpit) just before He died last year.
I’m not against missionary or vacationary work, I just hope we can see that any service done must be to exalt Jesus Christ and none other. Your deeds done without sharing the Gospel is a waste of time to the kingdom of God. It may be a good human thing to do, but remember: the man without Christ is dead.(Ephesians 2:1) You could feed him, clothe him, educate him, build him a mansion, but without Christ, he …..is….dead! (The world is filled with them)

I pray the folks in these places we call impoverished don’t get the education we Americans have. Where success is about how much junk you can accumulate. Have you noticed storage facilities are popping up everywhere. They are climate controlled, clean, comfortable places for us to store our junk. They would make great places for the homeless. Just a thought.

The most important thing you will ever do is not becoming a successful businessman or women, receiving a higher academic degree, hoarding millions in your retirement fund, owning the biggest home (multiple homes) with all of the latest “smart” devices, driving the latest $100,000.00 rust bucket (fords pick-up just topped $100,000.00) traveling the world, advancing to the top of your vocation, your military service, your religious affiliation. The most important thing you will ever do is accept Jesus Christ as who He is and what He has DONE. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33)
It’s not that these things are of no importance, it’s just that without Christ, they are a curse. With Christ, they are a blessing.
Are your so called good deeds a result of attempting to please God or are they a result

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of Christ living in and through you? Only you and God know.

What matters most in this short window of time you have in this life?

Honestly, have you told your children, loved ones and friends, that the most important thing above getting a good education, being healthy, securing a respectable and profitable vocation, marrying the right person, traveling the world and being a “good” person is to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Do you believe that?

Your greatest mission and commandment from the Savior Himself is to lead people to Him, to the sinner’s pulpit.

Nothing matters more in this life  “get em to Jesus”

Final thought

Read the story of the Passover in (Exodus 12:1-14) God told Moses to tell each house to slay an unblemished lamb and place the blood on the doorpost of the House and the angel of death would Passover and all behind the door would be saved. Who were those behind the door? Drunks, thieves, adulterers, fornicators, liars, homosexuals, backbiters, etc. They were all saved by the blood of the unblemished lamb.  What was the most important thing for those that night? Did their status or wealth matter? The most important thing for them to do was get behind that door with the blood of the unblemished Lamb

This was a foretelling of the coming of Christ, the unblemished lamb.

My friends, nothing has changed.

Jesus Said “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)

GET EM’ TO JESUS

Sinner’s Pulpit- Come in a sinner, leave a Saint.