Romans 10:9-10
Everyone has those times in life which they would describe as thrilling and extraordinary. They are times which a person will never forget. They remember every detail of the event. Most of the time these events are life changing in some manner. Nothing else quite measures up to them in the way that they shape the life of the individual. I, like many others have had several of those experiences and I think about them often. I would like to tell you a little about some of them t for a few minutes.
I have been to Israel six times in my life and each one of them produced an experience which changed me in some way. I remember the first time we visited Israel. It was in 1978 and we took at sixteen-day trip to that most interesting place. Not only did we go to Israel, but we briefly visited eight other countries during the process of the trip. Everywhere we went was interesting to me but Israel was of particular value. In touring the land, I learned a vast amount of information that helped shape my future ministry. It also gave me a lot of information to use in the preparation of my sermons during the coming years because seeing the places I read about in the Bible was invaluable to me.
I recall the moment that I first saw the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. I was at our hotel and the pyramid of Cheops, the large one, was about two miles away. It looked huge even at that distance but later that same day when we were up close and personal, the sheer size of that wonder overwhelms a person. The average person has no way of really appreciating the size of this thing. In a few minutes those in charge asked if we wanted to go up inside the pyramid and, of course, I and a few others said “yes.” There is an entry way on the side of the pyramid which is several levels above the ground so we made our way up there to the entrance. Most people think that a pyramid is one layer of huge blocks of stone with an ever-smaller layer laid on in order to form its ascending shape that we all recognize. Wrong! There are shafts and galleries inside which are huge. There is the burial room of the Pharoh which is at the top of the grand gallery shaft. We were allowed to enter that burial room and immediately I saw the sarcophagus of the Pharoh which is the granite vault in which the Pharoh was placed. It weighs tons and I easily recognized it after having seen it in National Geographic years before.
Seeing the pyramids and being dwarfed by their sheer size and the being able to go up inside that marvelous structure was one of the events which benefitted my life greatly as I preached the Bible over the years. It was, in many ways one of those life changing events.
I also recall my first trip to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. It is hard to go to many of the places today that were assessable to people in previous years but Bethlehem has always been a place Christians wanted to visit and were able to do so. Jesus was born in a cave which is located under a church which is located on the square of the city of Bethlehem. There is a shaft with a staircase of stone which descends into the area where He was born. As I entered that place, I was struck with the realization of the fact that I was actually in the place where our Lord was born and entered into the world among the people He was later to die for in order for their sins to be forgiven. As I looked around, I saw the manger and then my eyes fell on a bronze star placed in the floor. This is the actual spot where scholars believe that Jesus was born. It is a very sobering experience to stand in the same spot where Jesus came into the world. It was one of those life-changing experiences one never forgets.
Early one morning, our tour director told us that we would be going to the Garden Tomb that day. After and early breakfast, our tour bus left the hotel going to the Garden where the tomb of Jesus is located. After arriving, we went through the small building through which a person enters the garden. As I walked into the garden, I saw the beautiful plants and flowers which welcome one to this wonderful place. Ambling along admiring the scenery, I suddenly turned my head to the left and was struck by what I saw. I was looking directly at the Garden Tomb of Jesus about thirty yards away. Every hair on my body stood straight up. I felt a chill run all over me as I looked at the open door of the tomb. I realized that I was looking at the very place where Jesus was buried and from which He arose. I just stood there looking at the tomb. I had seen thousands of pictures of it over the years, but they were nothing compared to actually seeing this most important place. In a few minutes I was standing in that tomb looking at the actual place where Jesus lay before being resurrected. It is an overwhelming, life-changing experience to stand in that place. The events surrounding His resurrection suddenly become very real to a person who realizes where they are standing when they are in that tomb. Life-changing!
I could relate many other events that I have experienced which have left a lasting impression upon me and which have made me a much better preacher and pastor but there is one event which still happens today and that is when a person is saved. A person’s point of salvation is a miracle still happening on the earth today. When a person is saved, they have actually gone from darkness to light. They are no longer a citizen of the earth and its way of doing things, but they suddenly become a citizen of Heaven. Their spirit is renewed and their eternal destiny is settled. It is wonderful event. Let me give you a very good example.
Recently, I had a young man sitting in my study at home giving me an estimate on what a new roof would cost. After I recovered from being informed what it costs for a new roof, I began to talk with this person who was a very nice young man. After our conversation about the roof, we moved onto the front porch as he was about to leave. I asked him if he and his family attended a local church to which he responded that they did not attend one but needed to do so. I then asked him if he was a Christian to which he replied “no.” He told me that his sister had been trying to get him to attend church with her and become a saved person by faith in Jesus but that he had not done that although he knew he needed to do so. It had been bothering him for some time. He said he knew that he needed to be saved but he had not done it yet. I asked him this question: I said; “ would you like to solve the problem right now?” He looked at me very seriously and said; “I sure would.” I asked him if he would pray with me to ask Jesus to save his soul and he told me he would like to do that. I took him by the right hand and led him in a prayer dedicating his life to Jesus and asking Him to save him from his personal sins. That young man became a Christian right then and there.
The greatest miracle which happens on earth is when a person becomes a saved person. When God reaches down and touches one of his created beings and saves them is the greatest miracle and the greatest life-changing event that ever occurs in a person’s life. And, for me, it was just another demonstration of the fact that Jesus is still in the life saving and life changing business. This event was a wonderful experience greater that the pyramid exploration, greater than visiting where Jesus was born and greater than seeing the Garden Tomb for the first time. It was a privilege to be a part of this young man becoming a citizen of heaven right there on my front porch.
This was truly a Life-Changing Event in both of our lives.
