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SCRIPTURE - St. John 3:16                                 SEPTEMBER, 1999

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life

SUBJECT - THE PRICE OF A SOUL

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Quite a few times, since I have been printing these tracts and passing them out, people have asked me, 'have I ever thought about asking for donations, from the people that I pass these tracts out to. And, one time, I did do it. However, that one time showed that people appreciate what I am trying to do, and quite frankly, I didn't expect to get as much money as I did get.

Another thing that was a surprise, is how much certain individuals gave, that I hadn't expected to give any thing. These individuals, showed little interest in reading the tracts, and quite frankly, I started not to even ask them for a donation, but the Lord told me to do it anyway.

Now while this type of thing, is something that I could do quite often, I have to stop and reflect on something. First, the price that God paid for my soul, and everyone else's on this earth. He did it out of total love for you and me. It is something that you can't put a price on.

Some loved Him, and others hated Him, but He died for them all. He didn't ask us to give anything to Him, for what He did. He simply did what was necessary to make the way for us to be saved

Secondly, when a few people say to me, when I tell them that I usually pay for the printing of these tracts, and the newsletter out of my own pocket, it is a waste of money, in that a lot of these tracts, only wind up in the trash, on the floor, as a piece of paper for some to figure their numbers for the lottery on, or some other thing.

Well, even though I know that some use these tracts for other than what they are intended for, who am I to judge them as unfit to have a chance to read the gospel??? I remember how many times, I was just like them, rejecting any one that tried to talk to me about God, but thank God, they didn't stop.

What price can be put on a soul???

Jesus told the story of a shepherd that had 100 sheep, and one, got separated from the flock. The shepherd, left the 99 that were still there, and searched high and low, for that one sheep until he found it. And when he did, he rejoiced [LK. 15:4 - 6] Going through hell and high water, just to find that one. That is what it is all about.

Before we were even created, God had a plan of how to get us back, if we went astray. He would pull out all the stops, come down here in the form of His creation, and allow Himself to be beaten, abused, scorned, persecuted and crucified, just to get us back. Think about that. for a minute. You are worth all of that to God, and you don't even realize it.

In this age of prosperity, technology, and political correctness, there is little concern for our fellow man. We are too busy to give them a second thought. Especially if they aren't able to do anything for us. Our mentality is one of, ' if you can't do anything for me, to get me higher in life, then get out of my way.'

Well, Jesus came down from the higher level, to ours, so that He could bring us up to where He is.

As He has commanded us to do, 'go ye in to all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,' means that every one of us, needs to be exposed to the gospel. And why?? Because He wants you back. And He gave His all to do that.

Each and everyone of us, is, after all, made in His image. We, in effect, are a part of Him. And, just like a family member, that is in need, you will do everything you can, to help them out. Right??? Well by sacrificing His life, He was able to make the way for us, who were, and are estranged from Him, to come back, to Him.

The price of a soul. How much will a man pay to save someone else's soul??? What price can a man pay, to save His own soul. In the case of the first, very little, compared to what God required, to break the bondage of sin in a person's life. The bible says, very few people would give up their lives, to save the life of a friend, let alone, an enemy. It takes an extremely close bond, between two people, or a deep conviction in the mind of one person, to give up their lives, for another.

Giving one's life, for another, is the extreme sacrifice. Knowing that you are going to die, so that another can live, is something that goes to the limit. Only those of our immediate family, may be the only ones that we may be, and I emphasize, may be, willing to die for. People that knew they couldn't swim, have jumped in to rivers, lakes and other places where there was deep water, to try to save a loved one, and ended up drowning. People have jumped in the path of bullets being fired at a loved one, to save that person's life, and losing theirs.

What goes through a person's mind, before they act, knowing death is certain??? I don't profess to know what it is, seeing that I have never been in that situation, but, it has to be love. True love.

Now, while we can see that for family members, those that are close to us, it is quite a different thing, when it comes to a person that we are not related to.

Giving up your life for a stranger, is very rare indeed. Why should one do that??? There is no relationship there. Yet, in certain situations, people have given their lives, to save friends. We hear many times about people, losing their lives in battle, to save the life of a friend. What is the reason for this??? Maybe it is a special bond, or something else. It could be that it is a spur of the moment decision. But, it, in the end, is the ultimate sacrifice that one can make for another.

Now, while we could see that happening in these cases, it is never seen to be logical, when dealing with someone that is an enemy. In an arena of antagonism, no one would blame a person for not making that kind of sacrifice, for an enemy. It, in fact, would be foolish, to do so.

Yet, Jesus, did it. He went far and beyond what you or I could even begin to call, rationality.
You see, without Him doing what He did, you and I would be spiritually lost. We would be on our way to hell, and there would be nothing that you or I could do about it.

We would be born in to this world, with the sentence of death, and hell as our final destination, and it would make no difference as to who you are, what color your skin is, how much money you make, or anything else.

That is the sentence that came about, because of Adam, when he sinned against God. The curse that God had warned him about, was one that could not be revoked, without an extraordinary act of sacrifice by a person, that, themselves, had to be extraordinary.

Since Adam, and all of His descendants, would fall short of this qualification, then something extraordinary would have to take place, in order to meet the needs of the stipulation that God, Himself, had put in place.

Since, no one, born of man, could do it, God had to do it, Himself.

Now, if He only did it for those that were truly seeking Him, then that would be, the right thing to do. Many in the past and present, truly have a reverence of God, and seek to do what is pleasing in His sight. It would be unfair for Him, not to make a sacrifice for them.

But, He not only did it for them, He did it for that atheist, homosexual, drunkard, child molester, and the just plain, riff raff of society.

God's love for mankind, far surpasses anything that we could imagine. It doesn't make any sense to us. Yet, He sees something in us that we don't, and that is that part of us that will be around for eternity. The human soul.

Looking at what He did for me, gives me the mindset that says if He gave His life to save my soul, then the fact that I spend money out of my pocket to win a soul or two to Christ, is the least I can do.

Looking at the numbers, I am doing far less than many others are doing, and they could be doing a lot more. If out of the 1100 papers that are passed out each month, only one gets through to a person and leads them to Christ,, then who cares about how many didn't read it, or were not moved by it. It is the simple fact that putting the information out there, that I am concerned about.

You see, some of you know me personally, but most of you don't.

Some of you like me, some are indifferent to me, while others hate me. But that makes no difference to me. To me, you are a reminder of myself, and how I used to be. The last thing I wanted to see or hear about, was a person talking about Jesus, and how I needed to be saved. I ran, and hid, but He found me anyway. In the alleys, in the nightclubs, in the bars, in the after hours joints, everywhere I went, He was there.

Soon, I got tired of the life I was living, and stopped running. Then I listened to what ministers had to say, and realized just how much God loved me, when I didn't love myself. That's what is wrong with some of you. You hate yourself, and you don't think any one cares about you. But, God does. Then I found out how He gave His life for me, so I could have eternal life, and not have to go to hell, which is where I was headed. That was an offer that I couldn't refuse.
After that, He told me to go out and do the same thing, that the others were doing to me, so here I am. I'm here to tell you, that no matter how good, or bad you feel you are, Jesus died for you. Others may run you down, and talk about you but Jesus thought enough of you, to die, so that you could live. You may be a junkie, crack head, slut, gay, adulterer, drunk, or the worst of the worst, yet Christ died for you, as well.

The only thing that you have to do, to receive this gift of eternal life, is to acknowledge what He did for you. That's all. How much is your soul worth??? There isn't enough money in the whole world, that could pay the price, to get you in to Heaven, so you can't buy your way in. But, you can receive what Christ has done for you.

All you have to do, is pray this prayer, 'Lord Jesus, I am a sinner, and I stand before you, to acknowledge what you have done for me. You died on the cross, shedding your blood for me, that I could have eternal life. I repent of my sin, and I accept you as Lord of my life. Come in to my heart, and cleanse me of my sin, and make in to what you want me to be. I not only believe that you died on the cross, but that you rose again from the dead. I thank you, right now, in Jesus' name, Amen.'

If you prayed that prayer, from the heart, meaning every word, then friend, if you are the only one that did so, then you were worth the money that was spent, to get this message to you.

Now that you are saved, in the sight of God, you are a new person. All the old things, the garbage that was your life, is now gone. All the old things, are now gone, and you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

As you begin to find out, all of the other things you have just inherited, like me, you will feel like beating your own head against a wall, for waiting so long to get saved.

NEXT MONTH'S MESSAGE - PERILOUS TIMES!!!!
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