THE WARNING
You are about to meet Jesus, Are you ready?
Over looking a beautiful meadow filled with wild flowers, in which the local wild life would graze and drink of the lazy stream that was just beyond the cobblestone path. Picture perfect Cedar trees lined both sides of the house that the neighbors had planted years before, Bernard and his wife Susie of 32 years just purchased their dream home. From the street, their new home seemed like a beautiful two story house straight out of Southern Living Magazine. A three car garage including with guest rooms and living quarters above all covered with Red Cedar siding adjacent to the house. That is not what sold Bernard and Susie, it was the back of the house that led to the meadow and the lazy stream that passed through their new property, it looked like is was something you would see on a postcard.
Bernard and Susie had two teenage children (Tommy and Sara), along with their dog and two cats. Most people that stood on the outside looking in often said they seem to have it all and sometimes others would say that it seemed as if they had more than their fair share with a big beautiful home, a wonderful location, a healthy family, and lots of money! That was the opinion of those on the outside, do not get the wrong impression, Bernard and Susie were happy but there was a void that had followed them most of their adult lives and with that hollow void, they could not find anything to shake that feeling of personal loneliness.
One day shortly after moving into their new house, Bernard and Susie decided to go grocery shopping. While in the grocery store, Bernard and Susie was approached by the next door neighbor, Marcus Stevens, welcoming them to their new community. They were starting to feel like this was really home for once in their life. In the course of the conversation, Bernard asked Marcus what type of professional he was while handing him a business card, Bernard figured maybe a banker or lawyer, maybe a doctor, but was surprised to find out Marcus was the senior pastor of the local mega church a couple miles down the road from their new home.
Just before leaving and going their separate ways in the store, Marcus handed Bernard his business card along with a brand new Bible. Bernard very politely told Marcus that they already had a family Bible sitting on the book shelf at home and that he was not comfortable taking the new Bible at this time. Marcus said that he would save the Bible just for Bernard in case he ever decided he may want it at a later time, then in one last effort, Marcus invited Bernard and Susie to bring their children to Church on Sunday and told them the message will be entitled, “Jesus Christ is Coming Soon.” As Bernard turned to walk away, he smiled and nodded his head.
A couple days later as Bernard and Susie were finishing up preparing for dinner, Bernard was watching the stock market on the television in the kitchen. BREAKING NEWS cut in Bernard’s programming concerning a local weather emergency, the weatherman was speaking, “There is a powerful storm coming and people have to evacuate immediately and leave everything they own behind, there is no time to pack your belongings!” Bernard and Susie along with their two children laughed and said, “they always warn people and nothing happens, the weather man was wrong last time and he is wrong now! We will be fine! Nothing bad is going to happen!” So Bernard reached up and turned off the television ignoring the warning of the coming storm.
Sitting down to their dinner, Bernard and his family were discussing the events of their day when the phone rings, Susie gets up and walks over to answer the phone. “Hello” Susie says. The voice on the other end is Pastor Marcus, “Susie, the National Weather Service is showing a massive storm heading in our direction, would you and your family join us at the church, it is the local disaster shelter, you and your family will be safe here.” Susie replies, “Marcus, thank you for the offer but my family and I will be just fine in our own home, but thanks again for the offer” and then the phone went dead. Susie sits back down to dinner with her family and looks at Bernard and says, “Marcus seemed really worried about our safety, but we all agreed it would be okay, we are staying.”
A short time passed and as the wind outside started to blow a little harder, Tommy and Sara noticed the trees in the back yard bending in the wind. A knock at the front door and the frantic chiming of the door bell caught Bernard off guard. Rushing to the door, Bernard opened the door to see what was going on. It was James, Bernard’s boss from work that lived in the adjacent neighborhood. James, with panic in his voice, says, “Bernard, we are evacuating, this storm is a monster, please gather your family and let’s go together.” Bernard replies to James, “We are staying! We will be fine! You know as well as I do that the weatherman has been wrong before and we are not going to leave our home.” James thought for a moment and said, “You are right! I am not going to evacuate either.” So Bernard and his family along with James and his family decided to stay in their homes agreeing to use their work radio’s to stay in contact since their phone service was down.
Moments after James took his family back home, suddenly there was a banging coming from the front door. It was the police… The police officer told Bernard and his family that a mandatory evacuation has been ordered by the mayor, you must leave immediately! The police officer stressed, “the storm is the largest and most powerful storm we have ever seen.” Bernard and Susie smiled and chuckled and said to the police officer, “We are going to stay, we will be just fine! Do not bother us anymore with this nonsense!” So the police officer left shaking his head in disbelief.
It was not long after the police officer had warned them to evacuate. It started to rain and the wind began to blow really hard. A few minutes later the electricity went out, it was pitch black! The rain and the wind started pounding their dream home stronger and stronger. It was the worst storm ever recorded for their area. Fear started to set in, Bernard tried to calm his family with tears streaming down his cheeks, each family member was thinking the same thing to themselves, “If only we had only listened to the warnings, we would be safe in a shelter.”
Suddenly, the shocking truth that the weatherman, the pastor, James, and the policeman were right and rang true as the roof of their home began blowing off and then the walls collapsed. Bernard could hear his family scream as their home was destroyed. The heavy rain caused the stream in back of their home to become a raging river and Bernard’s family was swept away along with everything they owned. With his last breath and the last little bit of strength he could muster, Bernard was able to pull himself up out of the raging river onto a piece of furniture, looking for his family in the raging current, suddenly another sight caught his eye. It was James and his families home collapsing, being washed away by the same river, realizing that his actions had caused not only his family harm but also that of his friends, Bernard gave up and was dragged back under the water.
After the storm passed and residents were allowed back into their neighborhoods, Pastor Marcus frantically looked for his neighbors only to find Susie, Tommy and Sara secured to the hand rail at the top of the basement stairwell. Pastor Marcus prayed for them as he noticed it appeared that each one had been kneeling with their hands clasped in prayer. Bernard was later discovered only one hundred feet from the entrance of the Mega Church storm shelter along with James and his son. No one had survived having been warned at least four separate times, because of their own decisions. They all perished….
Matthew 22:13-14
2 Peter 3:9
Bernard and his family along with his friends, had made a choice to either believe or not to believe. Bernard knew James and his family were good people, they did attend church on Easter and Christmas, they volunteered at their children’s school, even gave to the local food pantries as the need arose. Bernard and Susie seemingly hid the Family Bible that was sitting on the book shelf just as they had told Pastor Marcus, never bothering to open it except to place newspaper articles in it of family members that had passed. Bernard and Susie were well educated with Master degrees in their respective fields of profession, but they never thought of what happens when you die. They had never thought or planned where any of them much less their children would spend eternity. They never really believed in Heaven or Hell.
Bernard, Susie, and their children along with their friends had all woke up in eternity. They all were in a place of utter darkness and torment. They all realized where they were and all cried out for a second chance. If only they had listened to the warnings but it was to late, they had crossed over and there was no turning back. Their captors told them they only had one other place they would be going. Since each one was above the age of accountability, the age of thirteen years old, when all humans become accountable for every word they speak, every action they perform, they had a one way ticket to face GOD at His Great White Throne.
“They are headed for GOD’s final judgment” said one of the angels standing guard over the group. Even though Bernard could not see any of the others, he could hear their cries, he could feel their pain, and he could hear voices from above but it was so dark he could not see who was above him talking. “I am sure glad I am not one of these, can you imagine not accepting the gift that was offered and then having the nerve to ask for a second chance?” another angel asked. Bernard’s heart sank even lower, because now he realized there was no hope for him, but he began to think there may be hope for his family and friends. Then Bernard heard another voice that was different from the others, “The Great White Throne Judgment, to be judged of the Father, having to stand face to face with the Lamb that was slain, to be standing there watching as all those that had been covered by the blood and their sins forgiven pass by, and the hardest part would be, as the Father says to all the others, ‘thou good and faithful servants, come on in to my rest’, while they are left standing there awaiting their final judgment.”
The voice paused as if it were giggling under its breath before continuing on, “Imagine how Jesus feels, being rejected by just one of these much less all nine and you know He will be weeping as the Father hands down the judgment.” As Bernard listened very intently to what sounded like his own voice, he could here his wife sobbing and he could feel the pain of his son and daughter, it was as if he was being ripped apart from the inside out, the pain was so intense, so disturbing that if he could, he would gladly take their places. It was as if Bernard was hearing his own voice in the conversation above him with the two angels that were standing guard but it was that voice, that dark eerie voice, his voice, that went on to say:
“These do not know what real pain is, there are cowering in fear, fear of what is coming, blaming the one over here, Bernard is his name, he is the reason they are all here, it is his fault that each one of them will stand in front of the Father and each one of them individually will have to listen when the Father passes the final judgment, when the father says, ‘I do not know you, cast this one into the outer darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth for eternity,’ oh, how I will enjoy that moment,” the voice proclaimed, “finally they will be home with me.”
Bernard realized at that moment that Satan and Jesus was real as did all the others. Bernard could hear his wife crying and begging GOD to forgive her, she began blaming Bernard for keeping her from going to Church, keeping her from accepting the free gift of forgiveness and eternal Salvation. “Bernard, why would you do this to us, why… why…. why…..?” is what Bernard heard as he began to weep, as he began to sob he felt a heart piercing anguish for his wife. “I should have never married him, I should have left with that young preacher that was so nice to me, I should have given myself to Jesus when I had the chance, that Bernard is a devil straight from hell, I can hear him up there with them laughing with a big smile looking down on me and my children, what did I really do to him that he would be celebrating my doom?” Bernard could hear every thought that Susie was having and he realized then that everything that he had worked so hard for was nothing compared to that what Jesus Christ did for them.
“Daddy, daddy, where are you, why did you put me in this place, please let me out! Daddy why are you not answering me? Why did you tell me that all this was a scary fairy tale, why daddy, why?” Bernard could hear his daughter Sara calling out to him and at the same time make him feel as if he was the worst daddy ever. “Daddy, please make this pain stop, please turn the lights on, please daddy please.” There was that pain again, although it never did stop, the pain suddenly increased a hundred fold.
Bernard, started crying out, “Please forgive me, I did not know, how could I have known any of this was real?” Then, right on cue, that voice began speaking: “So, all of the sudden he wants to proclaim that he had no way of knowing all this was actually real, he thought it was just a scary fairy tale as he told little Sara. I will enjoy tormenting this one because he actually believes all this is not his fault. The tiny little human man thought he knew more than even I and that the great I am was just a figment of someone’s imagination. I was able to convince this one that we did not even exist and that all that did believe in us, well, I guess they were all delusional, I have to pat myself on the back for this one!”
“DAD! What did you do? Why? Why would you knowingly do this to me, your own son, your own flesh and blood? Why? Why DAD? I wonder if you really know what love is, you never really loved me, you are the WORST DAD EVER, how could you ever expect anyone to ever have loved you. DAD you said all my friends that told me about Jesus Christ was brain washed, that the story of Jesus Christ was just a story to scare people into believing in a GOD that even hated His own son, DAD, you even said that if there was a GOD he was not worth giving Him any type of credit since He gave His only son to be crucified. DAD you said that GOD was only about hatred and that if there is a GOD for me to never call out to Him, DAD, WHY?” Tommy was crying and Bernard could hear is son blaming him for lying to him. Bernard started asking,“When did I have a chance to learn about who GOD really is? I did not have anything that I could have learned about GOD.”
Suddenly, as if peering into his past, Bernard seen that Family Bible on the book shelf and heard a conversation with Pastor Dave Richards. “Pastor Richards, I should have taken you up on your offer to come to your church when I was younger, I should have asked more questions when we were talking. Pastor Marcus, I am so sorry I did not really give you a chance to tell me about Jesus Christ, I am so sorry.”
“I should have fired him the first day on the job, why was I so stupid to ever think of Bernard as a friend, a friend would not convince a friend to stay when he knew what really was going to happen to me and my family. Why did I even look at his application, I know now Bernard is nothing but a liar, he is a devil, he is probably laughing about all this we are now going through, all that my family sacrificed just to be able to give him a job. He probably even tied his family down during the storm hoping they would be in the same place as my family and I are. Bernard is the one that said our clients would run to the hills if they saw me walking into a Church. All this is Bernard’s fault. The only hope I have is that my family is safe, especially Jacob, my grandson, since he is not even three years old.” Bernard was now hearing James blame him for all this too. Bernard began to shake, he started going through the inventory of his memories and realized that he was responsible for putting James in this place also. Again Bernard asked, “When did anyone try to explain all this to me and what I was thinking before all this?”
“You had all your life and you were even given a Family Bible that was your great grandmother’s that explained all this in detail. But you Bernard, allowed the Family Bible to sit on the shelf and collect dust. You had your family convinced that the Bible was nothing more than a cheap book that you would buy at the news paper stand. You even taught your wife and children that you did not approve of them mentioning Jesus Christ or GOD in your home. You played it off as something that only losers read to spread lies. Well, I am here to tell you Bernard, you were wrong, on so many levels. If you would have read the Bible, you would not only know what this place is, you would have been able to lead your entire family to eternal Salvation, you would have known what you actually had to do to receive forgiveness for all the sins that you committed from the time you became accountable, until, the moment your life ended. Bernard, it is your fault that you did not embrace the free gift that GOD offered you, it is your fault that you denied GOD and Jesus Christ. When it all comes down to it, it is all your fault that you lead so many away and now you will not only pay for it, but they will too, with their eternal lives!” Proclaimed the Archangel.
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This message was delivered at a Sunday night service
at Tabernacle of Praise in Muncie, Indiana
on March 22, 2015.
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The purpose of this message was to reach those that GOD has either not been part of their lives or has been part of their lives but only as a front, only in an outwardly show for others. In either situation, those that this message is intended for are playing a dangerous game, a game that is not a game, but is reality. GOD is real and so is the devil, heaven and hell are just as real as New York City or any other destination here on earth. This message is not intended to tickle you ears but to pull at you soul, to make you realize that your choices in this life will affect not only your eternal life but the lives of those around you.
“GOD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV
This one Scripture, for GOD so loved the world, can be seen throughout the world written on tee shirts, coffee mugs, even stickers in windows, places where it does not matter. Where it does matter is in the hearts and minds of men and women, but more and more we are seeing that it as an advertisement that everyone knows is there but does not pay attention. GOD’s love has never changed, He still loves you and I, there are many that have forgotten that or just do not care and have become cold towards anything to do with GOD. That is what this message is about, it is for those that are living a lie, that pretend to know the truth but use that truth to cause others to never learn it losing everything GOD had invested into their lives.
As parents to our children, as brothers and sisters to our siblings, as sons and daughters to our parents, as grand parents, even as friends that are outside our family, we have a responsibility to our loved ones and friends, and that responsibility is to not only show the Love of GOD to those that GOD has put in our lives but also to teach each one of them about GOD. All to often we do not realize that even though we feel we are doing the right thing by putting on the costume of righteousness we are actually showing those closest to us how evil we really are inside and that GOD really has no part in our lives. Where GOD dwells, there is love, where GOD is macerated as costume, lives are lost eternally.
In our world society as a whole, there are those that truly believe in GOD and GOD dwells in them not just part of the time but all the time. Then there are those that want to believe putting on the costume of GOD for the world to take notice while never really taking the time to find GOD for themselves. Then there are those that have been raised by those that wear that costume of GOD and have been terrorized in their childhood to the point that GOD is not welcome in their lives. Then there are those that have never known GOD and have no idea who GOD really is. This message is to all that is listed above, it was given by GOD to make everyone think, to make everyone remember, to make everyone take notice of the ones laying on the side of the road needing help.
Are you one of those that notice those laying on the side of the road but for whatever reason you do not feel it is your responsibility to stop and help. Is it to much of a burden for you to help those that are in need. Is the thought that someone is reaching out for you to show them the Love of GOD to much for you to handle. Well, maybe this message is exactly for you.
Seeking the face of GOD
His Always
Bishop Darrin Sparks
Touching Heaven Ministries
