Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - The Wave and the Warning - #4776

Monday, May 2, 2005

When a disaster as massive as the December 2004 tsunami hits our planet, you know there are going to be dramatic stories coming from it for years to come; the stories of those who survived, and those who didn't. There was the Austrian man who was enjoying a day at the beach in Thailand when he saw the water suddenly being sucked out to sea, virtually emptying the shore in front of him. He had recently seen a show on the Discovery Channel about tsunamis, and as a result, he knew what was coming next. As he ran up the beach, he yelled as loud as he could, "Run for your life!" knowing full well that in seconds the full fury of a tsunami would hit anyone that was on that beach. He said he remembers one German lady in her beach chair who said, "I think I'll just sit here and watch." He said to the reporter interviewing him, "She didn't move." Then as he hung his head, he choked and he said, "She's dead."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wave and the Warning."

Among the tens of thousands who died that day, many died because they went unwarned. But then there were those like that woman on the beach. She was warned and she refused to respond. When we reach the end of our lives, when the tsunami of death that carries so many into eternity each day comes our way, many of us will find out that we've made that same deadly mistake. We were warned about God's judgment and the only way to escape it, but we didn't make a move.

In a way, the entire Bible is a warning from God about the consequences of our rebellious running of our own lives. And it's an invitation to come to the only high ground where we can escape His judgment. And in a sense, we're all in that scene on the beach the day the tsunami hit. Either we're the one who's giving the warning - or we should be - or we're the one who needs the warning to save our eternal life.

Both of those people are in our word for today from the Word of God in Ezekiel 3:16-18 . God begins by addressing those of us who have been rescued from the penalty of our sin. "I have made you a watchman ... so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man..." By the way, when the Bible talks about a wicked person, it's referring to all of us who have broken God's laws and run our own lives - and that's all of us. "...when I say to him, 'You will surely die, and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood." That's sobering stuff. If you know about the sin-rescue that Jesus made possible when He died on the cross, you can't sit idly by and let people you know live and die without knowing that. And if you've never gotten right with God, it's time to run to the only safe place there is.

The people who survived the tsunami were the people who ran to higher ground where the waves could not come. The only way you can be safe and beyond the reach of God's judgment is to go to the high ground of a place called Skull Hill where God's judgment for your sin already fell on His Son. The judgment of God can't reach you there. But only there. No other ground is high enough.

And if you've never gone to the cross of Jesus to let go of your sin and let Jesus forgive your sin, realize this is not a religious issue. This is a matter of life or death - forever. When you realize how awful the penalty for your sin is - when you realize the unexplainable love that drove Jesus to bear it for you, then you'll run to Him. And you'll thank Him that He gave you one more chance to come to Him, and that chance may be today.

I've done my best to spell out in a little booklet called Yours For Life. I'd love to send it to you if you'll just let me know you want it.

Jesus has come your way today, warning you to run to the high ground of His cross. Waiting could cost you everything.