I. Read Acts 26:28
A. When Philip Bliss (1838-1876, Lyricist and Composer) heard
this end to a sermon, "...to be almost saved is to be entirely
lost," he penned "Almost Persuaded," one of the
most effective of all invitation songs.
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Pacific Express plowed
through the drifts into the darkness, but kept losing time. A
howling gale off Lake Erie, driving a blinding blizzard, raged
fiercely. At 7:28 pm on December 29, 1876, the Chicago-bound train
neared Ashtabula, Ohio--but eternity was the immediate destination
for nearly a hundred passengers. As the train crawled across,
the Ashtabula River bridge suddenly broke and began to sink. The
lead engine reached the other side safely, but the coupling broke,
the bridge gave away, and the second locomotive and all eleven
cars plunged into the seventy-foot chasm. A moment of stunned
silence preceded screams and pandemonium. Cars were piled in a
V-shaped tumble from one bank to the other; dead, dying and injured
sprawled everywhere. Almost immediately fire broke out from overturned
stoves and lamps. Volunteers arrived on the scene, but their frantic
efforts were tremendously handicapped by the difficulty of getting
down the slope through the deep snow, in the howling wind--and
probably also by an overwhelming sense of futility.
Above the roar of wind and flames, as well as screams and shouts,
a powerful bass voice rang out:
Philip Bliss, known as the "Sweet Singer", sang the
third stanza in a clear voice, then with a gasp was silenced.
Philip Bliss, born on July 9, 1838, in Clearfield County Pennsylvania,
had survived the train wreck but frantically returned to the wreckage
in an attempt to rescue his wife. As a result, he perished with
her. Neither body was recovered.
II. Verse 1-Read
A. Now To Believe-Rom. 10:9,10 How do we come to believe?
1. With the heart.
2. By hearing Rom. 10:14
3. Believing is connected to prayer. Mt. 21:22
4. The result should be belief in God which results in obedience
and ultimately eternal life. Jn 3:16
B. Christ to receive-Col. 2:6,7, Acts 2:41, I Thess. 2:13. When we receive Jesus, we walk in him, we are baptized, we are added, we gain truth, and the word of God effectively works in us.
C. Remainder of vs. 1-Mt. 7:7,8, Mt. 21:42, Jn 12:48, Mt. 10:33
When we reject the word, we reject the Spirit that brought us
the word. It is that word that will judge us in the last great
day! To reject the word is also to reject Jesus, which can be
then taken as a denial of Jesus. We must confess him before men,
so that he will confess to the father that we are
one of his! To say "some more convenient day" is to
deny him and the eternal result will be a denial of us by him
to the Father---Eternal Damnation!!!
III. Verse 2-read
A. "Jesus invites you here"-Mt. 11:28
B. "Angels are lingering near"-See lesson 2: V. C. 1-4 Lk. 15:10
C. "Prayers rise from hearts so dear, O wand'rer come."-Js. 5:16, Eph 4:14
IV. Verse 3-read
A. "Harvest is past"-Mt. 9:37, 13:39
B. "Sad, sad that bitter wail"-Lk 13:28
Final thought-ALMOST-very nearly but not succeeding. PERSUADED-to
induce to believe. To be very nearly induced to believe is not
good enough with the Lord. We must believe, act and commit our
very all to the Lord because that is what Jesus Christ did--the
supreme sacrifice, his crucifixion, demands this of us.