Are You Ready To DIE ? What If ?
My Friends , let me ask you all a question. What if your doctor told you that you ONLY had 6- Months to live ? How would you spend those LAST 6-months of your life here on earth ?
When I ask most people this question when witnessing to them , the majority of them tell me , "Well , I'd spend those last six-months getting my personal things in order. Then I'd want to do things I've always wanted to do , like sky dive , climb a mountain , travel , and spend time with my wife and kids ."
NOW . . . I follow THAT question up with another question , only THIS time , I ask , " What IF you KNEW , POSITIVELY , ABSOLUTELY - FOR SURE - that you would die in just ONE DAY - TWENTY-FOUR HOURS FROM NOW ? How would you spend those LAST twenty-four hours of your life here on earth ? "
The SAME people , THEN tell me , " Gee , I 'd spend those LAST twenty -four hours contacting friends , family members , even the ones I've been estranged from , and other loved ones. I'd also try to 'mend fences' of those loved ones I may have hurt in the past , or who may have hurt me , just to tell them I love them . And I'd meditate or pray."
So , why , I wonder , the big 'turnaround ' in their priorities from 6-months to 24-HOURS ?
Did you know that approximately 232 , 876 people around the world DIE EVERY DAY ?
That's CORRECT - EVERY TWENTY-FOUR HOURS , 232,876 people leave this earth. . FOR ETERNITY ! Now , If 232,876 people die every day (on average), then how many people die per second? Well, 232,876 divided by 24 hours = 9,703 people die every hour. 9,703 divided by 60 minutes = 161 people die every minute. 161 divided by 60 seconds = 2.6 (we'll say 2) people die every second. Can you imagine this? 2 people die in this world every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year! It's adds up to 85,000,000 people a year.
There are an estimated 6 billion people in the world, that’s 6,000,000,000 people! The average life expectancy of a person is estimated to be around 70 years of age. With all the natural disasters, people smoking, the global aids epidemic, terrorism, drug overdoses, liquor related deaths, accidents, murders, war, etc—I’m sure the average life expectancy is much lower.
Visit a cemetery sometime and you’ll be surprised how many people have died at a much younger age. (At the hospital where I work , part of my duties include taking deceased persons to the morgue , and believe it or not , about HALF of them were between 45 and 65 years old !) Nevertheless, let’s suppose that the average person lives to be 70 years old. 6,000,000,000 divided by 70 equals 85,714,285. This means that 85,000,000 people, on average, die every year. If we divide 85,000,000 by 365 days in a year, this means that an average of 232,876 people are dying every day in this world. Are you shocked? You'd never think from listening to the daily news that so many were dying. I’ve never heard anything like this on radio or TV, but it's a fact.
Every day in this world, 232,000 people fulfill their appointment with death. Could you imagine reading the front page of a newspaper and seeing something like— “232,000 PEOPLE DEAD!”? It happens every single day my friend! The reason you’ll never see something like this is because it isn’t glamorous. People like to hear about the one person who was shot to death, or the CEO that jumped out of his office window. The news media isn’t interested in how many people are dying around the world. There are natural deaths occurring all over the earth every second, 24 hours a day, but we never hear of them. Deaths resulting from crime, war, disaster, sickness, injury, poison, disease and starvation are seldom heard of from other countries. We only hear of the tip of the ice-berg!
You can’t disagree with the math! 6,000,000,000 people will all be dead in 100 years! (ok, maybe 99.9%).
How many people live to be 100? NOT MANY! By dividing 70 into 6,000,000,000, we found that 85,000,000 humans will die every year on average (more or less from year to year, but all will be dead in approximately 70 years). We also found that dividing 365 days into 85,000,000 means that an average of 232,000 humans die every day.
Now, let’s say that one in ten people are genuine born-again Believers. We are clearly told in Matthew 7:14 that few people ever make it to heaven!, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT” (Matthew 7:14; Luke 13:23,24). Also , Luke 12:7 tells us ; " But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.. "
If I had JUST a DIME , every time I herad someone say ,'" Gee , life is SO short " , I'd be a multi-millionaire , and I'm sure you would too .
Additionally , did you know the AVERAGE human (adult 18-years and older ) heart beats 72 times a MINUTE ? That comes to 4,320 TIMES AN HOUR ! Or , 103,680 TIMES PER DAY !! It's very sobering when you think about it . EVERY TWENTY FOUR HOURS , your heart beats 103 , 680 TIMES !!
What WE DO NOT KNOW , however , is WHICH ONE of THOSE 103,680 heart beats - WILL BE OUR LAST !!
How tragic! How horrible! Honestly, I would be very surprised if more than one out of every hundred people are truly saved and on their way to Heaven!
Since becoming Saved , I've often contemplated what a WONDERFUL world this truly would be , if EVERYONE lived EACH DAY , as if it were their LAST - Because it JUST MIGHT BE !! It doesn't matter how much money and possessions we have (or don't have) ; Matthew 6:19-21 tells us ; " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. "
I've also wondered , WHAT IF . . we could bring back a loved one who died , and we could re-live those LAST 24-hours with them . Would we talk to them differently (IF we had talked at all to them) ? Would we tell them how much we , in fact , DO LOVE THEM ?
Now , obviously , we can NOT 'force' loved ones to communicate with us . All we can do is extend an 'olive-branch' , then , should they choose to hold on to their animosity - so be it . It's in God's hands , and all we can do is CONTINUE to love and pray for them .
The number of people which die every day can’t be denied! Matthew 7:14 clearly teaches that only a "FEW" people will enter into Heaven . As I mentioned, I'd be surprised if more than 1% of the population are born-again believers. If you don't believe the Bible, then you had better hope to God that your right; If you believe the Bible "just enough" to obey it and call upon the saving name of Jesus Christ for salvation and the forgiveness of sins--you will be safe! We all must die and it’s guaranteed that we're not going to escape death! It’s just a matter OF TIME! Prepare to meet thy God!
Salvation is not found in religion, but in a person—Jesus Christ !
As I've previously mentioned on this site , my own sister and brother-in-law has opted NOT to communicate with me since I got Saved , and has let me know , in no uncertain terms they want to have nothing to do with me , AND , I AM NOT to contact them , ( which I WILL respect , and WILL CONTINUE to respect , unless and until - THEY advise me otherwise.)
OK , Fine . BUT . . they CAN NOT - prevent me to CONTINUE Loving them , AND Praying for their Salvation , as long as I am still here on earth !
So, my friends , I KNOW , ABSOLUTELY , POSITIVELY , 100% , that I AM READY to go 'home' to be with my Lord and Savior , Jesus Christ , when he decides to call me 'home.' How can I be so sure ? Simple . I'm Saved , and am NOW a child of Christ , and Jesus HIMSELF tells us in John 14:2 ; " In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."
PRAISE BE HIS HOLY NAME !!!
May the Peace , Love , Grace and Protection , of Our Lord and Savior , JESUS CHRIST , be with you ALL - ALWAYS !
Your Brother in Christ ;
Pastor Mike