I come to you today in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I pray your eyes and ears be opened spiritually, that the Holy Spirit sit down on you right where you are, with understanding. I pray that every sinner, backslider, lukewarm person that touches this newsletter will fall under conviction and not be satisfied until they come to Christ. It�s my prayer that this word will stir up the Christian that isn�t focused on taking the Gospel to a lost and dying world. I pray these things in Jesus� name and ask that they be done to glorify God. Amen.
Many of you already know that I come to you with the flesh grieving the death of my sweet mother, who passed away on July 5th. My flesh cried out, but God had given me a peace that most can�t even start to understand even before I received the news. My Mom had suffered in body for many, many years � a struggle for each breath of air. She was a Godly woman, never complaining, never asking God �Why?� � Momma prayed and served God daily, and what she had was God�s, freely given. She wasn�t rich, she wasn�t famous, but was RICH with God�s love and known for that. I knew my Momma�s walk with God and the day she went into the hospital I prayed God�s will be done that He be glorified, for I knew where she�d be the second her eyes closed in death. The Holy Spirit inspired this message through my wife who sometimes sings a song with the line, �Where would you be had Jesus come back 5 minutes ago?� This message is in memory of Janice George � if it hadn�t been for Momma spending many fretful nights in prayer for a prodigal son, then I might not be able to write this word down today. The title is �Where Would You Be?�
You know, the Holy Ghost got stirred up in me when my Mom stepped over into Heaven. It only made me more determined to spread the Gospel. The Holy Spirit moved me early on that Sunday morning to give a word to the living at her funeral. You know that when someone knows the Lord personally they�re alright, because they step out of this bondage of old flesh and into Heaven in a glorified body. So we need not worry about them, other than paying our respects and looking forward to that meeting over on the other side. Their race is over � they made it! It�s those that, when I look at them and see dead men and women walking around, who I�m concerned about. They don�t have the promise of tomorrow � the next minute, the next second, they�re one heartbeat away from eternity! The redeemed have the promise of all the tomorrows throughout eternity. Friend, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, Daughter � �Where would YOU be?�
That account over in Luke 16 was much a help to me in this. That Sunday morning I read the obituaries and it was full of people that died, all around my Momma�s name. I read them all, I mean 60 people or so � some said �member of Lion�s Club�, �member of so and so church�, �retired auto worker� and such. It hit me hard that NONE OF THAT MATTERED! It doesn�t matter what church�s book your name is on. It doesn�t matter what society thinks of you, or how much or how little you had! The only thing that will matter is, �Do you know Jesus personally?� That rich man there in Luke 16:19-31 died and went to hell. It doesn�t say much about his life other than he lived an easy one, not wanting for anything. But he had a sin. He neglected showing mercy on Lazarus lying at his gate! That rich man had opportunity to do good to a sick hungry man and didn�t do it! James 4:17 is very clear concerning not doing good being sin. I don�t see any other sin listed against the rich man�s account other than that. In Luke 16:25 I see where Lazarus when he died went on to be comforted, and the rich man could see him afar off. The rich man at death went to hell and was immediately in �torments�. Oh, but Lazarus was carried away by angels into Abraham�s bosom and comforted. The rich man was in torment for all eternity, his soul very much alive � seeing, feeling, tasting � and he was aware that he was eternally separated from God! If you died right now, �Where Would You Be?�
Many of you have heard the story about the rich man many times. Many of you have heard II Corinthians 6:2 as well, �For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in a day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.� That �behold� there means �stop and look�. God�s pleading with some of you right now for your attention. He tugged on hearts at my Momma�s funeral and gave warning to several there. For a few He gave one on one personal warnings as I shook their hands. Many just saw a convict, an outcast of society in shackles and chains and a bright orange jumpsuit. A convict coming to his mother�s funeral. What could he possibly know, being convicted of murder? I delivered a message from God that day. It�s being delivered to many right now. He�s stood at your heart�s door time after time and you won�t open to Him. The Holy Spirit may never tug at your heart again. In James 4:13-15 we are told we have no promise of tomorrow. In Hebrews 9:27 you are told, �And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.� Some of you are lukewarm and God warns He�ll spew you out of His mouth � for He can�t stand the taste you leave in His mouth. On some, the world is tugging on one sleeve and the Holy Spirit on the other. Luke 16:13 says that no man can serve two masters. Kim sent me a quote that said, �Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous � you get knocked down by traffic both ways.�
As I close this my heart is heavy � not for my Momma � but for each of you that I saw reject God on Sunday, July 8th, and for all of you that are rejecting Him right now. I remember an old song, �Where will you be a million years from now?� Hey, will you be happy? Will you be singing? Or will you lift up your eyes in hell in agonizing torments? I can�t make you come to God! I can�t make you come � I can only be a convict in shackles and chains bringing the Word � for some the last Word. As I close I�m reminded of what Paul said, �For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.� (Philippians 1:21) I leave you with the most important question you�ll ever need to answer � if your soul was required RIGHT NOW, �WHERE WOULD YOU BE?�
Love In Christ, Bro. Don George
Not Growing Old ~Author Unknown
~In Loving Memory of My Mother,
Janice Carol Shepherd George~
They say that I am growing old,
I�ve heard them tell it times untold,
In language plain and bold �
But I am NOT growing old.
This frail old shell in which I dwell is growing old, I know full well �
But I am not the shell.
What if my hair is turning grey?
Grey hairs are honorable, they say.
What if my eyesight�s growing dim?
I still can see to follow Him
What should I care if Time�s old plough,
Has left its furrows on my brow?
Another house, not made with hand,
Awaits me in the Glory Land.
What tho I falter in my walk?
What tho my tongue refuse to talk?
I still can tread the Narrow Way,
I still can watch, and praise and pray.
My hearing may not be as keen,
As in the past it might have been,
Still, I can hear my Saviour say,
In whispers soft, �This is the Way.�
The outward man, do what I can,
To lengthen out his life�s short span,
Shall perish, and return to dust,
As everything in nature must.
The inward man, the Scriptures say,
Is growing stronger every day.
Then how can I be growing old,
When safe within my Saviour�s fold?
E�re long my soul shall fly away,
And leave this tenement of clay.
This robe of flesh I�ll drop and rise,
To seize the �everlasting prize� �
I�ll meet you on the Streets of Gold,
And prove that I�m not growing old!
