R1511 The Gift Of Eternal Life at Christmas

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton on this edition of The Encouraging Word. Today we'll head to 1 John 5 in just a moment with Dr. Don Wilton, well-known author, evangelist, pastor, and perhaps best known as the pastor to Dr. Billy Graham. As a matter of fact, we have a wonderful book that Dr. Wilton wrote about those times.

It's called Saturdays with Billy. You'll find that and many resources on our website at www.tewonline.org. And one of the resources as we launch into a brand new year is a 52-week devotional called Heaven, Life, and the Resurrection. Again, for a gift of $25 or more to support The Encouraging Word ministry. You'll receive that wonderful devotional and I encourage you to take a look right now at www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org. Now, Dr. Don Wilton. I want you to turn with me to 1 John chapter 5. 1 John chapter 5.

I'm telling you, this is unbelievable. We've been, over this Christmas season, God put in my heart the three gifts of Christmas, or three gifts, not the three gifts, three gifts of Christmas. So on the first Sunday, we took a hard look at the gift of love. Second Sunday, the gift of peace. Incredible gifts.

Today, I think is the one that is above anything else. The gift of eternal life. Now, what does eternal life mean? The word eternal means forever. Life means alive. It's forever life. So if I can just say this today, you ever had any thoughts about what happens to someone when they die? I have. Many times, being around people who have passed away, many times, in many different circumstances, even I, I look at people that I know, that I love.

I might, I've held the hand of many a person when they've died. Eternal life means forever alive. And the reason why the gift of eternal life is so amazing is that every person ever born or whoever will be born can have it. There are no exceptions. It's for everyone. Now, I love that.

What God did is for everyone. And he tells us exactly how we go about getting it, if I might say it like that. You know, Karen and I, you know, our favorite question at Christmas time, because we've been married a few years, is, you know, what would you like for Christmas? Have you ever tried to buy a gift for somebody that you've known for a long time who knows that you love them? And you know that, what, I mean, what does she get me for Christmas? So my, my best answer that I give is, sweetheart, I've got everything. I've got you, man.

Some of you guys are looking foolish right now, aren't you? You need to try that, it works. It works. And it's true. What, I mean, what more can she get? She's my duckling, man. Let me get in a corner and smooch her. I've got all the gift I want.

You got a problem with that? By the way, those of you that have never been married or haven't, you know, have only been married for two years, when you've been married over 40 years, you still smooch. I know it grossed some of you out because you're thinking of your parents. Any rate, where was I now, Bec? I'm just trying to bless some of you here today.

Some of you need to go home and do that, okay? So what do you buy me? What can my wife get me? That's just, well, you say, well, it's the thought that counts. She bought me the other day a little gizmo that you stick in your car and you can put your cell phone in it.

And some of you say, welcome, welcome to life, you know. Right? I mean, I just like it and it just sits there and I can put on ways and I don't have to pick it up all the time. I can just switch you off when you call me when I'm driving my motor car and it's there.

It's a little gizmo about this big and it just stick your phone in it. I like that. That's like you could, she could have given me a million dollars. It's not even, I just like little nets. I mean, what's the big deal?

But she gave it to me. Means everything. I want you to listen to this passage, so I'm in 1 John chapter 5. And this is what God says concerning Christmas.

So where can I start? Let's go start at verse 10. 1 John chapter 5 and verse 10. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.

Whoever does not believe God has made God out to be a liar. Because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given us concerning his Son, Jesus. But verse 11, and this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life. And this life is in, it's because of, it's through his Son. Verse 22, whoever has the Son has life. And whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. And these things I have written to you, said John, who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you know that you know that you know that you have eternal life.

Do you know that? Do you know Jesus? Couple of things I want to just place in front of us as we worship the Lord. This gift of eternal life, very important, was given to us by God. It wasn't given to us by virtue of our good works, or our mission trips, or how much money we give. How many times we go to church, how many messages we preach, how long we sit in our study on a Saturday.

How many boats we row up and down the Amazon River. Wasn't given to us by the Pope, by Don Wilton, by a pastor, preacher, a priest. Wasn't given to us in the Constitution of the United States.

Wasn't given to us by the White House, by an act of Congress, by the tradition of the church. Given to us by God. Eternal life comes from the heart of God. God so loved the world. And if you don't believe and accept you're making God out, you're just telling God he lies. Every person who says, no way, says you're a liar, God.

That's what he's telling us here, because God is truth. God is love. So this gift of eternal life is a gift that comes from God. That just is an amazing thing to me. That God would love me so much that he would give the gift of his son, who's the only means by which I can live forever, be set free. So the second thing about the gift of eternal life is that it's provided in Jesus. God gave his son. Now guys, get this.

God didn't say, look, I love you so much. Let me think now. Here's what I'm going to do for you, okay? Just get this. Now I understand humans.

I know I made you and you all sinners. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to set before you 10 options. I'm going to help you, man. I get it, man.

You all different and you all have different ways of doing things and some of you are this and some of you are this. Here's what I'm going to give you 10 different options. Pick one. Take whichever.

You know, let's see. Okay, I'll give you your church. If you join your church and you go to church on Sunday, got it. There it is, eternal life. Number two, if you go on one mission trip a year, you got it. I'll tell you what.

You go and say 10 Hail Marys and walk around the church seven times, got it. You got it. Okay, here's number four. If at least once a year you would consider giving some money to all the poor people. Here's another one.

Okay, number six. Remember our old brother, Saint Francis of Assisi? And he kind of grew up in this rich house and then he gave up everything and he saw birds everywhere and he just gave it up and he was a good man.

Listen, if you're willing to sell up everything and to become somebody like a monk or a nun and sequester yourself and be a very good person, I have nothing but admiration for Saint Francis of Assisi. And God said, look man, if you could just join his order, got it. You got eternal life. Don't say that, said God so loved us that he gave us his son. The provision of eternal life only came through Jesus.

Any questions here? Not once in the Bible do you read God saying, I'll tell you what, let's take a vote. You don't even get, I'm not even asked my opinion. God never once says, look, this is what I'm going to do and what we'll do is we'll just ask the United States Congress if they could for once in their life become unanimous and make a decision about this just to help all of us Americans. At least when it comes to eternal life.

Let's all get on the same page. It's provided for in and through Jesus. The third thing about the gift of eternal life, it's received through faith. So, it's given by God, provided for in and through Jesus. How do you get it? By faith.

Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the rest of today's message with Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment, but we've been having many folks ask us about something we do about this time every year and that's the 52-week devotional. Is it available? Yes, it is on our website right now at TEWonline.org. You can see how you can get your copy. It's a beautiful, not only book for yourself to study God's word, but a tremendous gift here in this Christmas holiday time.

All the details are on our website at TEWonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. By grace are you saved through faith. Not of yourself, it's God's gift.

Not of works, lest anyone would boast. We'd be all up here trying to impress each other how wonderful we are and magnificent. Therefore, we want everybody to know if there's anybody around here that earns the right to go to heaven, it's this person and that person, and these are good things. I'm telling you, you and I, would you agree with me that there are some people that just leave you speechless?

Can I be honest with you guys? Surely, if anybody, have you ever heard anybody say that? Surely, if anybody deserves to go to heaven, it's that lady, it's that man, it's that person.

I mean, come on now, give me a break. Surely, if God would let anybody into heaven, he would let St. Francis of Assisi into heaven. I'm not saying that he didn't, but if St. Francis of Assisi is in heaven, he is there by the exact same way that you and I will go to heaven. It's not there because he wrote poetry about doves and pigeons, which are wonderful.

It's not there because he gave up anything. Are you listening? Are you getting this? This is eternal life. There is only one life to live.

It'll soon be past. It's only about Jesus that will last. So, receiving the gift of eternal life by faith means that you have to place your faith and trust in Jesus.

You've got to believe him. Here's what the book of Romans tells us in Romans chapter 9. Bible says that if you're willing to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, that means you right now are saying, I know that Jesus is King.

He is everything the Bible says and God says about him, and I just believe it. Either way, faith doesn't mean to say you necessarily understand it. Don't spend 30 more seconds trying to understand. Just trust. The moment you trust and receive, you will begin to understand because the Spirit of God will help you do that. But before that, you don't have the Spirit of God because God's not in you.

The only way he can come into you is through Jesus. So, now here's what happens. This is what the gift of eternal life means to you and me. It means that you are released.

You're released. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. So, every one of us worshiping the Lord, we are condemned because of our sin. Why are we condemned? Because we are separated from God. Why are we separated from God? Because God is holy. He's righteous.

He's just, and he cannot have any fellowship with anything less than holiness. So, when Jesus comes into your heart, you are immediately forgiven by the death of Jesus on the cross and his glorious resurrection, and thereby you are released. You're set free. You're declared just as if you had never sinned. The Bible says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Isn't that great? So, when I look at you today, I've been released. You say, well, what does that mean? I too am a sinner. All of us are. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. What if there's someone here right now? All the time, you think about something years ago, maybe, that just sits like a fog in your heart, something you did, something you said, some pathway you went down, just sin.

It just hangs over. You want to get released? Jesus. He'll set you free.

Get out of that box, man. Burdens are lifted at Calvary. So, the first thing is eternal life means that you are released. The second thing, it means that you are then reconciled.

So, the first thing is to be released. The second thing is to be reconciled. Romans 1 chapter 5 and verse 1 tells us that. We are given access once again to God. So, when God made us, placed Adam and Eve in the garden and he fellowshiped with them and they were one, talking, walking together. Sin came into the heart of man, into Adam and Eve, and immediately they were thrown out and they were separated from God and from that moment on, he died, she died, he died, she died, he died, she died. And God said, man, I love them so much.

I am going to make a way for them to come back into the garden to be reconciled to me and to live with me and I'm going to do that by sending my son Jesus to die on a cross. And when you put your faith and trust in Jesus, you are immediately reconciled to God. It's not you or me, it's Christ in me.

I become covered in him. It's called the imputed righteousness of Christ. I'm covered in the righteousness of Christ. He paid the price for me and for you. And then the third thing, released, reconciled, you are received. Bible says when you receive, when you, the gift of eternal life means that you are received back into the presence of God, starting at the moment you trust and accept him by faith and that goes forever. So I'm here, I'm able to say to you today, yep, I'm a sinner.

I was born that way. I gave my heart to Jesus. He forgave me not only for my sins past, my sins present, but my sins future. I'm living this life at some time, at some time.

I'm living a life. I'm in fellowship with him. I've been released. I've been, watch this, I've been reconciled to God.

I have received eternal life. That means at some time it's going to happen. It's going to happen to me. It's going to happen to you. But whenever it is, when my time comes to die, you can bet your bottom dollar.

I'm not going to be in that box or in that ground. I'm going to be in heaven instantly just like that because I've received eternal life. You've received eternal life. So yeah, the brother that served the Lord by traveling up and down the Amazon River who died many, many years ago. Yes, he did serve the Lord because that's what happens to people who love Jesus. That's why we want to give. That's why we want to serve, isn't it? That's why we come to church. That's why we love one another. But it's because of the gift of eternal life, because of what Jesus has done for us.

And this is the message we share. So do you know Jesus? Have you received the gift of eternal life? Would you just bow your heads with me for a minute? Just before we go, every head bowed, every eye closed, I want to ask you today, would you pray with me right now and receive God's gift of eternal life? Would you give your heart to Jesus today?

Perhaps you've been kind of like debating, you know, wondering, questioning. Maybe God has been knocking at your door for a period of time. He said, I'm going to stand at your door and knock. Anyone will open the door.

We'll come in, sup with him, with her, she with me. That's what he tells us. That's what God does for us. This is the gift of eternal life. Would you pray this prayer with me today?

Make this your prayer. Dear God, I believe Jesus. I believe you. I believe you are truth. I believe everything you say and I believe your love gave us Jesus. I believe Jesus came to this earth. I believe Jesus died on a cross. I believe Jesus was raised.

I believe he's alive. I know I'm a sinner. I confess my sin and repent of my sin. And by faith, I believe, I trust, I receive you into my heart. Now, I pray this prayer in Jesus' name. You prayed that prayer this morning. Would you raise your hand to me? Would you just put it up high right where you are? God bless you and you.

Just put it up where you are. Say, man, I've done this now. I have given my life to Christ. Not only does Dr. Wilton rejoice, but the Bible tells us the angels in heaven rejoice when one person says yes to giving their life to Jesus. Perhaps as Dr. Wilton was praying, you gave your life to Jesus today or rededicated your life.

I'm so excited about what God's doing through the power of his word, the Bible itself, God's encouraging word. Dr. Wilton would love to launch you into the next steps with some free resources. All you need to do is call and ask for them. 866-899-WORD is our phone number. That's 866-899-9673.

If you just gave your life to Christ or rededicated your life or perhaps you want to talk to someone about rededicating your life to Jesus, right now at 866-899-9673. We are excited to announce that a friend of the ministry has donated a $200,000 challenge gift and has extended a challenge to our donors to give an additional $300,000 by December 31st. This challenge is to fund our television broadcasting. Would you prayerfully consider a donation to this challenge? Please call 866-899-WORD, that's 9673, to give a donation and be sure to tell them it is for the match challenge.

Thank you for your support of the encouraging word. As you consider getting involved, you can discover more information on our website at www.tewonline.org. As Dr. Wilton would say, if you want a brochure, we have that. A brochure, he would say.

We'll be glad to send that out to you if you want to call 866-899-WORD, that's 866-899-9673. And let me close with this last 60-second history lesson on the encouraging word. It was the mid-50s and our group gathered together with just 120 people and each gave $2 a week to get the broadcast on television to share this encouraging word, the Bible-based teaching you hear on the encouraging word. Now it's continued and continues to grow with national networks and international opportunities ahead for us, but we can only do that as we have the resources. We never move out ahead of God. And we're praying that God is calling us to this next opportunity and because of the opportunities that have been presented, that he'll provide the resources. He does that through you and me. So whether it's similar to the $2 gift that we began with, if that's what you can give, or perhaps it's much more and God's calling you to be a catalyst to share this gospel, I pray you'd consider visiting us at www.tewonline.org or call now with your gift to 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. We enjoy the opportunity of sharing Jesus together with the encouraging word.