I began watching a documentary film about the “Important
Things” titled, “The Minimalists” founded by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan
Nicodemus. According to it founders all started with a lingering discontent.
Nearly a decade ago, while approaching age 30, we had achieved everything that
was supposed to make us happy: six-figure careers, luxury cars, oversized
houses, and all the stuff to clutter every corner of our consumer-driven lives.
And yet with all that stuff, we weren’t satisfied. There was a gaping void, and
working 80 hours a week just to buy more stuff didn’t fill the void. It only
brought more debt, stress, anxiety, fear, loneliness, guilt, overwhelm,
depression.
However,
once the novelty of having something new to do in their lives wears off, Joshua
and Ryan will find out that the gaping void hasn't left them; it is hiding in
their hearts all along as indicated in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
However,
those who are in Christ received a new heart where God lives by His spirit as
indicated in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart
of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and
be careful to keep my laws.”
Then,
you will be perfected forever in Christ alone, and you will live a life that is
pleasing to the Lord regardless of what is going on all around you. Saint
Augustine of Hippo couldn’t have said it any better, “Our Hearts are Restless
Until They Rest in God”
More
stuff, less stuff, bigger homes, smaller homes, bigger cars, smaller cars, all
these are irrelevant, although you may find a certain amount of enjoyment and
even contentment in those things for a while, in the end they will leave you
empty, longing for something more because only God can fill the sin gaping void
in men's hearts through the saving grace of our Lord and savior Jesus
Christ.
Obviously,
Joshua and Ryan are seeking men’s praise by bragging about their good deed. In
the past few years, The Minimalists have built two orphanages, provided relief
to the victims of Hurricane Harvey, supported the survivors of the Orlando and
Las Vegas mass shootings, funded a high school for a year in Kenya, installed
clean-water wells in three countries, constructed an elementary school in Laos,
and purchased thousands of mosquito nets to fight malaria in Africa. We are
currently raising money to build a grocery store in our hometown, Dayton, Ohio,
which has one of the largest food deserts in the United States.
However,
this is what Jesus Christ says about doing good to others in Matthew
6:1-4, “Be
careful not to do your `acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.
If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So when you give to the needy, do not
announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the
streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their
reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
In
the eyes of God all of our self righteous acts are nothing but filthy rags, as
indicated in Isaiah 64:6, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and
all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and
like the wind our sins sweep us away”
The word filthy is the translation of the Hebrew word iddah,
which means, the blood discharged by a menstruating woman. The word rag is a
translation of the Hebrew word begged, meaning rag. Therefore, our righteous
acts are considered by God as repugnant as used tampons.
Fully corroborated by Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell
them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
After
finishing watching the film “The Minimalists” and listening to Joshua and
Ryan’s film contributors it is apparent that these people worship the god of
self, composed of Me, Myself, and I. These people erroneously believe they will
be fulfilled if they have a smaller living space, or a smaller assortment of
shoes and clothes or being able to share one closet with their spouse, or fewer
toys for their children, Some say we think we need those things because we have
been told we need those things by our society.
However,
the truth of the matter is that we need those things due to our covetousness or
a great desire to possess something belonging to someone else in violation of
the 9th Commandment stating, “Thou shall not covet your neighbor’s
house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or
female servant, or his car, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
I
have seen Missionaries first contact with aborigines having no prior contact
with civilization deep in the Brazilian jungle, and the first things the
aborigines wanted through hand signals and grunts were the missionary’s shirts,
pants, hats and boots, indicating that covetousness is an inherent effect of
sin plaguing mankind with devastating effects on society since man's fall in
the Garden of Eden.
The
movie ended with Joshua's following words, “So if I could give you one take
away, one thing to bring away from all of this, it will be this. Love people
and use things because the opposite never works.”
Which
reminded me of what Jesus says in Matthew 15:13-14, “He
replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up
by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man
leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
In
fact, everyone that appeared in this movie is as blind as a vat, spiritually
speaking, and in desperate need of Jesus Christ because without Jesus they have
nothing to give in exchange for their souls, as indicated by Jesus in Mark
8:36-37, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole
world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Nothing,
there is nothing we can give in exchange for our souls come judgment day. It’s
quite simple: if we have believed on Jesus as our Savior, we will enter into
eternal life; if we have rejected Him, we will enter into eternal punishment in
hell. There is no in-between, and there is no annihilation, the soul will
continue to live on after the body’s physical death, the question is where will
it be, heaven or hell.
Many people think that if they do certain things they will gain an exemption from God. They think if they give money to charity, or volunteer their time to help others, or if their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, God will accept them. But the Bible teaches that our acceptance before God is not based on what we do, but on whether we have believed in Jesus Christ. Even after that, once we have believed, God accepts us regardless of what we have done, for it is by grace we have been saved, through faith, and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no-one can boast. We must all remember that we are not the masters of our destiny. If we want to enter eternity, we need to surrender our lives over to God.
If
you take all of your problems, sicknesses, sorrows, and disappointments you
have experienced since you were born until the present time, from hell the
problems you experienced on earth will seam to you like a Sunday walk in the
park on a beautiful sunny day when compared to the terrors and sufferings you
will endure for all eternity in the lake of fire, where their worm does not
die, and the fire is never quenched because of your failure to submit to Jesus
Christ Lordship while you had the chance, and unlike Audie Murphy the most
decorated soldier in WWII, author and the protagonist of the 1955, movie “To
Hell and Back” you will not comeback since hell is final with no possibility of
being paroled.
Can you picture yourself in hell
knowing that your stay will be permanent without the possibility of being
paroled, and that no one will hear your cries of supplications?
In hell there in no repentance or
forgiveness neither is love nor mercy because hell is the place of torment God
have chosen to punish the devil and his angels, and those who reject His gift
of salvation provided by His beloved son Jesus Christ.
Original
sin is a condition, or something people neglect to do, or something people do.
It is the corrupt spiritual condition of human beings accompanied by their
“good” and bad thoughts, and by their “good” and wicked deeds. Original sin
explains why there is so much “good” and wrong in the world regardless to the
fact the world was created by a Holy, and Righteous God, and that is the reason
why we need salvation from our sins and from the coming wrath of God.
And
as indicated in Romans 7:14-20, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am
unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I
want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to
do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it,
but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me,
that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I
cannot carry it out. For I do not do
the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing.
Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is
sin living in me that does it”
The
natural man is born into the world physically and spiritually dead due to
Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden. Although we move around, get married and
have children our spirits and bodies are as good as dead because our minds are
finite and marred by unbelief, and our bodies are no longer immortal as we were
before the fall. Consequently, we have been consigned body and soul to eternal
punishment in hell by a Holy and Righteous God.
However,
there is no need for panic or despair because Jesus Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, and He was buried according to the Scriptures, and
He was resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures. Afterwards He
appeared to Peter and then to the twelve disciples, and also Jesus appeared to
more than five hundred brothers and sisters at the same time.
Therefore, you ought to know that unless you turn to Jesus
Christ and repent of your sins, you will be condemned at the time of your death
predestined by God or at the last day, at the judgment seat of Christ, as indicated
by Jesus Christ in John 12:48, “There is a judge for
the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I
spoke will condemn him at the last day.” People should seek forgiveness
before it is too late and the door is
shut in their faces forevermore.
Americans are focused on the coronavirus, but they don’t
know that one greater than the coronavirus is here, Jesus Christ is His name,
and He is the Lord of the entire Universe, regardless to the fact that
eventually every human being will die without exceptions. However, if you want
to have eternal life in paradise as opposed to eternal life in hell where their
worm dies not, and the fire is never quenched, you must go through Jesus Christ
who is the way, the truth, and the life, and who says in John 6:27, “Do not work for food, which spoils, but for food that
endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the
Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Therefore, no one will escape from God's judgment. At the
last day, Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead, and even though by
then you may be long dead and buried, you will be resurrected, and at the sight
of His Majesty you will fall on your knees and you will confess with your
tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord of lords and King of kings, right before you
are thrown into hell to burn there forevermore, unless you repent today, and
submit yourselves to Jesus Christ's Lordship.
Jesus Christ says no one comes to the Father except through me, which means no Jesus, no God, no life, but hell yesssss….
Praise
the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. I will praise the LORD all my life; I
will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the
ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help
is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and
earth, the sea, and everything in them — the LORD, who remains faithful for
ever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The
LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up
those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over
the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways
of the wicked. The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.”
This is Jesus Christ account of His crucifixion found in
John 28:30, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished” With that, he bowed his head and gave
up his spirit.” Thus, fulfilling His earthly mission by bringing salvation by
the forgiveness of men’s sins through repentance, and from the coming wrath of
God to a fallen, sinful, and wicked generation, which will fall upon the whole
world, from Adam to the last man born of woman at Jesus Christ second coming,
at which time all who passed away will be resurrected, and Jesus Christ will
judge the living and the dead. The living or those redeemed by Jesus Christ
will stand on Jesus right hand, then the King will say to them, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your
inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
The dead or all those that have rejected Jesus Christ Lordship will stand on
Jesus left hand, and the King will say to them, “Depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and
his angels."
Jesus
Christ is our savior and our way back to God, and believe it or not, salvation
is for whoever believes and is baptized, as indicated by Jesus
Christ in Mk. 16:16, “Whoever believes
and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Including the worst of society such as those in love with themselves, lovers of
money, showing excessive pride and self-satisfaction in one's achievements,
gross irreverence towards God or towards their parents, lack of gratitude
thanks or appreciation, refusing to forgive, spreading false and malicious
reports, bold opposition to authority,
haters of good, full of self-importance, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers
of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Salvation is also
available to those self-righteous, holier-than-thou, self-satisfied, too good
to be true, pious hypocrites, and insincere observance of religion,
self-serving and smugly agreeable, believe to be morally and socially
better than others, unwilling to state facts or opinions simply and directly,
and righteously hypocritical.
Jesus
Christ made it very clear that He came to call sinners to repentance as
indicated in Luke 5:29-32, “Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his
house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect
complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and
`sinners’?” Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy
who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.”
The problem is that most people don’t know that Jesus Christ
is God in the flesh, the second person of the Holy Trinity, which is composed
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as indicated by Jesus in John 4
25-26, “The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming.
When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
And
as indicated by Jesus in Matthew 16:13-17, “When Jesus came to the region of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man
is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still
others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what
about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You
are the Christ, or Messiah; the Son of the living God.” “Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not
revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”
And
as indicated in Mark 9:7-8, “Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a
voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I
love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, when they looked round, they no longer
saw anyone with them except Jesus.”
And as indicated in Colossians, 2:9, “For in Christ all the
fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form”
And as Indicated in Revelation 1:17-18, “When I saw him, I
fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the
Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the
keys of death and Hades (hell).
The
parable told by Jesus Christ about the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke
16:19-31, serves us as a warning that hell is a real place, “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine
linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named
Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s
table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar
died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and
was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far
away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, `Father Abraham, have pity
on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my
tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, `Son,
remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus
received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And
besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that
those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from
there to us.’ “He answered, `Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my
father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will
not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, `They have Moses and
the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“`No, father Abraham,’ he said, `but if someone from the dead
goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, `If they do not listen to
Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from
the dead.’“
Only God, and no one else can make the following seven
claims and fulfill them.
John
6:35, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me
shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”
John
8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me
will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”
John
10:7, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the
sheep”
John
10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays
down his life for the sheep”
John
11:25-26, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection
and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever
lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John
14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me”
John 15:5, “I am the
vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear
much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”
If
you believe that you are not worthy to receive salvation, pay close attention
to what Jesus told his disciples
Matthew 19:23-26, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for
a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly
astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible.”
Indicating
that Jesus Christ is the gentle and loving savior calling His sheep to His
pasture, as indicated by Jesus Christ in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and
my burden is light.”
And
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is LORD,” and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved because it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess
your faith and are saved.
Amen
