As everyone knows, a bewildering array of choices exist today for those seeking content that appeals to their individual tastes.  Politics, news, sports, entertainment, instructional fare, it’s all there, most of it on offer 24×7, available at the consumer’s convenience or whim, which is to say, “on demand.”  Almost equally numerous are the platforms and devices for delivery of the selected subject matter.  If you want it, you most likely can get it, from legitimate or illicit sources and those in between, in all flavors and blends, often from your preferred providers.  It truly is an embarrassment of riches, above and across which, choice is king.

In such a universe, one may not only pick the stimuli to which one wants to be exposed, but can zoom in or out, amplify or decrease the volume, and so on, at will.  If you don’t like what’s playing, all you need do is change the channel or delete the material.  There.  Erased.  Done.

But what if there was a broadcast you didn’t happen to like yet, try as you might, you could not turn down, could not change, could NOT turn off?  What if it played on and on despite your best efforts and you discovered to your great annoyance, that there was nothing, absolutely nothing you could do about it?  What then?

Would you pretend you were not aware of its existence?  Would you tell others that having it on was your own idea, because you believe in keeping an open mind?  Would you try to jam the signal or drown it out?  Would you try to block it from all your devices, from cell phone to tablet to TV set?  Would it be worth it to you to sell them all, give them away, maybe smash them, in a desperate attempt to be rid of the intrusive program and be master of your world once more?

What if you discovered that the reason you can’t cut it off or shout it down completely is that this program is God’s and He owns not just the station or the network, but the whole enterprise—all of it—lock, stock, and barrel?  Could you face the truth and deal with it or would you prefer to complain, curse, protest and lash out first?

Be my guest (and good luck with that).  The number of His customer service hotline is 1 (800) ‘because I said so.’  [Marinate in that sauce until tender!]  The fax number is unlisted.

Like it or not, God is sovereign.  That means He calls the shots.  And He has chosen to take the gospel ‘to the ends of the earth,’ ‘to every creature,’ ‘to every tribe, tongue, nation and—’ well, you get the point.  He doesn’t need your permission [chafes, doesn’t it?] to be gracious, kind, and forgiving, even to those, perhaps especially to those, who don’t deserve it.

In case you missed the press conference, He said, “…I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (Romans 9:15)  He is the One who “…maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)

God’s program can’t be silenced or censored to death because He refuses to leave Himself without witnesses to the truth that He loves the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

If you perchance, are among the legions who squirmed with impatience as this short verse was quoted, it’s doubtless because you’ve heard or read it before and not just once, but many times.  Since this verse is from the Bible, you know that according to the Bible, there is a God.  You know that this God has an offspring—one and only one—a Son.  You know that God was motivated by a love so deep and so profound that God gave Him up to save humanity from “perishing.”

You also know the stakes—either eternal death or everlasting life.  You know that although God loves the world to the uttermost, that fact alone saves no one.  Avoiding the fate called perishing (which is to die) depends on believing in Him (meaning, in the Son).  It is believing in Him which saves.  Even so, God had to “give” His Son, not merely convince people that the divine Son exists.

So, there is something particular that one must believe about the Son in order to receive everlasting life from God.  You know a great deal more of the story than you may have realized or let on to others.  Press on just a bit further and you’ll have the whole thing.

The Hebrew Prophet Isaiah explained that sin makes a personal relationship with a holy God impossible because our sins cause Him to withdraw from us: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) It was this problem that God solved by giving His Son.  What is it that we are to believe about the Son, about the sacrifice that God made on our behalf?

The Apostle Paul says that the most important things are these: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” (I Corinthians 15:3,4)

That’s the good news.  That’s the gospel.  Paul said that despite every conceivable hardship and humiliation for the sake of getting it out to those who had not heard, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…” (Romans 1:16)

Someone out there may be asking, “Yes, but how?  How does it work?  How does what I believe save me and result in everlasting life?  Paul addresses this, too:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  (Romans 10:9-10)

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Apostle John summarized the importance of faith in Jesus this way: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (I John 5:11-12)

If you can hear God’s message today, if He’s getting through to you as you read and think through this and search your own heart, don’t tune Him out.  Don’t turn down the volume. God has a program, alright—a program for saving anyone and everyone who comes to Him on His terms.  His program preempts all others and He has no plans to rewrite the script.  You can trust Him.  I pray that you will, if you have not already done so.  Meanwhile, His transmitters will be beaming out His truth full blast, to the very end.  So, get used to it.  Get with the program—His program—repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ…lay hold on life that lasts forever!

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words, and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can change you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams, and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31) 
• “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)