2018-09 EngSep
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CONTENTS<br />
• What’s Next?<br />
• Why Can’t I Be<br />
Happy?<br />
THE GOOD NEWS<br />
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8<br />
Most people seem to think that<br />
the world is becoming, or will inevitably<br />
become, a better place in which to<br />
live. It is felt<br />
that through<br />
education, diplomacy,<br />
and<br />
scientific advances,<br />
most<br />
people will live<br />
longer, better,<br />
and more<br />
peaceful lives than any who have lived<br />
before. Is this really what’s next?<br />
Not according to Jesus! Not long<br />
before He left this world about two<br />
thousand years ago He said, “As the<br />
days of Noah were, so also will the<br />
coming of the Son of Man<br />
be” (Matthew 24:37). There are two<br />
very important things in this statement.<br />
First, Jesus reiterates His promise<br />
to return to the world (more about<br />
this later). Second, when He comes,<br />
the condition of the world will be the<br />
same as it was in the days of Noah.<br />
What is said about the world then?<br />
We are told, “The earth was filled with<br />
violence” and “corrupt before<br />
God” (Genesis 6:11). The headlines on<br />
the evening news and in the world’s<br />
newspapers every day show that in<br />
spite of our<br />
“advanced civilisation”<br />
and modern<br />
technology,<br />
these two evils—<br />
corruption and<br />
violence—are filling<br />
the world today.<br />
Places where it was once safe to<br />
walk at night are now the scenes of<br />
crime during the day, and many things<br />
that God has always called corruption<br />
and sin are now accepted as “personal<br />
choices” and “lifestyles.” Note the<br />
words of Jesus again: “As the days of<br />
Noah were, so also will the coming of<br />
the Son of Man be.” By looking<br />
around at events and conditions in the<br />
world today, we believe that “the<br />
coming of the Lord is at hand” (James<br />
5:8).<br />
His coming will occur in two stages,<br />
fulfilling two very different promises.<br />
First, the Lord Jesus Christ will<br />
come to the air with a shout, raise the
P A G E 2<br />
“Will<br />
you<br />
perish in<br />
your sins<br />
or will<br />
you be<br />
forever<br />
with<br />
Christ?”<br />
T H E<br />
G O O D<br />
N E W S<br />
bodies of Christians who have<br />
died, change the bodies of the living<br />
believers, and rapture them all<br />
to heaven, “that where I am, there<br />
you may be also” (1 Thessalonians<br />
4:15-17; John 14:3). Then, later, all<br />
who have rejected Christ will be<br />
judged “when the Lord Jesus is revealed<br />
from heaven with His<br />
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking<br />
vengeance on those who do<br />
not know God, and on those who<br />
do not obey the gospel of our Lord<br />
Jesus Christ”…“because He has appointed<br />
a day on which He will<br />
judge the world in righteousness”<br />
(2 Thessalonians 1:7,8; Acts<br />
17:31).<br />
What’s next in God’s schedule<br />
of events for you? Will you be<br />
among those who “do not know<br />
God,” and perish in your sins, or<br />
will you be among the bloodbought<br />
people of God, and be<br />
caught up in a moment of time to<br />
be forever with Christ?<br />
Knowing God is not believing<br />
that He exists; it is not saying prayers<br />
or going to church or doing<br />
good works. Knowing God is entering<br />
into a personal relationship<br />
with Him through faith in the finished<br />
work of Jesus Christ, who<br />
said “I am the way, the truth, and<br />
the life. No one comes to the Father<br />
except through Me” (John<br />
14:6). Jesus Christ has provided<br />
the only way by which helldeserving<br />
sinners like us can have<br />
our sins washed away when He<br />
“bore our sins in His own body on<br />
the tree” and “rose again the third<br />
day” (1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians<br />
15:4).<br />
In order to be ready<br />
for what’s next—the coming of<br />
Christ—you must realise that you<br />
need salvation, “For all have<br />
sinned and fall short of the glory of<br />
God” (Romans 3:23). You must realise<br />
that without Jesus Christ,<br />
there is no salvation, “For there is<br />
no other name under heaven given<br />
among men by which we must<br />
be saved” (Acts 4:12). You must<br />
realise that you cannot earn salvation,<br />
“For by grace you have been<br />
saved through faith, and that not<br />
of yourselves; it is the gift of God,<br />
not of works, lest anyone should<br />
boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). You must<br />
simply trust what Jesus has done<br />
for you, “For God so loved the<br />
world that He gave His only begotten<br />
Son, that whoever believes<br />
in Him should not perish but have<br />
everlasting life” (John 3:16).<br />
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,<br />
and you will be saved” (Acts<br />
16:31).<br />
Turn in faith to Jesus today<br />
and He will take away your burden<br />
of sin—no matter how great it is.<br />
Only then will you know the One<br />
who holds the future in His hands,<br />
and be ready for what’s next.
Why Can’t I Be Happy?<br />
P A G E 3<br />
The world is filled with so<br />
many unhappy people. Why? Has<br />
society let them down? Is happiness<br />
an impossible goal? Has God<br />
failed them?<br />
There’s no question that society<br />
has failed to meet our<br />
needs—it hasn’t even given us<br />
believable answers as to why we<br />
are here and how to fulfil the<br />
true purpose of our existence.<br />
After all, they try to tell us in<br />
school that there is no God and<br />
that we evolved from some<br />
“primordial soup.” I knew better<br />
and so do<br />
you.<br />
When I<br />
was young, I<br />
longed to be<br />
truly loved<br />
and accepted.<br />
So I<br />
searched for<br />
this in religion, family, friends,<br />
and classmates. I was soon disappointed,<br />
so I compromised my<br />
values and conscience by joining<br />
in with all the drinkers, drug users,<br />
and the immoral for acceptance.<br />
I found out that I had<br />
friends as long as I was providing<br />
the booze and laughs, though all<br />
the while I was slowly destroying<br />
my mind and body.<br />
Lots of people wanted me<br />
to walk the “straight and narrow,”<br />
but many of them were so<br />
hypocritical that I didn’t trust<br />
them. Running after riches, success,<br />
immoral sex, fame, and rock<br />
and roll kept me busy, but left me<br />
unsatisfied. Those things were<br />
just a temporary anaesthesia for<br />
the deep pain that lingered in my<br />
empty, longing soul. Pleasure did<br />
not bring contentment.<br />
Yes, I tried almost everything<br />
a young person could try,<br />
and came up empty and lonely. I<br />
turned to a hypnotist for mind<br />
control to<br />
escape reality<br />
by pretending<br />
that<br />
everything<br />
was OK. It<br />
did not<br />
work; my<br />
conscience<br />
was still saying that something<br />
was not right. Then I wanted<br />
drugs and alcohol to medicate<br />
myself to forget the pain of being<br />
lonely, and the shame and guilt<br />
of my sins. I was really bad at relationships<br />
and longed for true<br />
intimacy, but found that being<br />
real was too painful for me. False<br />
intimacies were so much easier<br />
and less painful, but they never<br />
satisfied.<br />
“I tried<br />
almost<br />
everything<br />
and came up<br />
empty and<br />
lonely...True<br />
happiness and<br />
satisfaction<br />
only come<br />
from knowing<br />
and following<br />
God”<br />
T H E<br />
G O O D<br />
N E W S
Dear reader, does any of this ring a<br />
bell? If so, let me tell you clearly that there<br />
is an answer to the question “Why can’t I<br />
be happy?” Years ago, I asked a Christian<br />
man this question and the answer he gave<br />
me—the answer I’m going to give you—<br />
came as a surprise. He<br />
took me to mankind’s<br />
“owner’s manual”—the<br />
Bible—where it says that<br />
God “satisfies the longing<br />
soul, and fills the<br />
hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).<br />
God, our Creator, has designed us and<br />
knows our needs and problems. He has given<br />
each of us the freedom to either love<br />
and obey Him or to turn away from Him.<br />
Sadly, we all have chosen to sin—to rebel<br />
against His commands—and the result is<br />
physical and spiritual death (Genesis 2:17).<br />
Spiritual death ultimately brings separation<br />
from God forever, away from the only<br />
source of everlasting love. In order to have<br />
joy and peace, we must be reconciled to<br />
God!<br />
God has done His part: “God demonstrates<br />
His own love toward us, in that<br />
while we were still sinners, Christ died for<br />
us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ suffered the<br />
death penalty for us when He died on the<br />
cross in your place and mine. He rose from<br />
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the dead the third day, and is now alive forever<br />
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4).<br />
He asks you to come to Him; “Come<br />
to Me, all you who labour and are heavy<br />
laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew<br />
11:28). God did not let you down. He has<br />
cleared the way for you<br />
to come to Him. He<br />
offers you love, acceptance,<br />
forgiveness,<br />
peace, and eternal, joyous<br />
life with Him.<br />
I tried all the other ways; maybe you<br />
have, too. But now it is time for you to fulfil<br />
your purpose and begin a loving, eternal<br />
relationship with God by seeing your need<br />
of Jesus and trusting Him to forgive all of<br />
your sins. When you do this, you will be<br />
spiritually “born again”, and begin to experience<br />
“life more abundantly” (John 3:3;<br />
10:10; 15:11). For the first time, you will<br />
also be equipped for true happiness and<br />
satisfaction, which come from knowing and<br />
following God—from aligning your will<br />
with His (Psalm 16:11; 144:15).<br />
“For whoever calls on the name of the<br />
Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). The<br />
word call means to appeal to Him. You do<br />
the calling and He will do the saving. Eternal<br />
life is free, a gift from God through Jesus<br />
Christ (Romans 6:23).<br />
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