Are You Sure Your Name is on the Roll?

Our message today comes from Ezekial 9:1-11.
 ¹He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
 ²And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
 ³And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
 ⁴And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
 ⁵And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
 ⁶Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
 ⁷And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
 ⁸And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
 ⁹Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.
 ¹⁰And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
 ¹¹And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

Have you ever prayed and prayed and wondered where God was?  If so, you need to consider two things. 
1.)  God is either working on His own time and feels there is something else He wants to show you or...
2.)  You aren't really saved.

I think I'd rather have the first be the reason my prayers are not answered when I want them to be.  The second is scary.  You know, God knocks on many hearts more than once.  Many times He sends someone or something our way to get our attention so we may open our hearts to Him.  How many times have YOU not answered that call or knock at the door?  Are you saved? 

If you are a person who is attending church but you haven't accepted Christ into your heart yet, you need to.  Just attending church and working in the church does not get you a ticket into Heaven.  Good works cannot save you.  You won't earn salvation till you accept God as your Savior. 

You can't work to be saved, but once you are saved you are to work.  You may not know what you are called to do or what your spiritual gifts are.  Many believe the only job to do in a church is to teach but it isn't.  If you are wondering what your spiritual gifts are and how you can serve your church, a simple google search will pull up many spiritual gifts tests.  You "googlers" will understand this.  Simply type in "spiritual gifts test" and it will pull up several on line and paper copies you can download.  This is crucial if we are going to do what God asks us to do on this Earth.  You know God may just be checking to see if you are WILLING to go and do.  But be warned:  Doing things in a church and acting on your spiritual gifts do not get you into Heaven.  They won't give you a mark for doing just good things.  You don't earn brownie points.  You have to accept God into your heart and believe in Him.

Have you ever knocked on the doors of the White House and invited yourself in to dine with the president himself?  No?  Well why not?  It is because you know if you do, every protection agent will get you.  He is inaccessible!  Yet....the Bible tells us to call on those who have charge over us.  Our president falls into that category as does our senators, representatives, and governors.  However; how are we to call on them when they are inaccessible?  Guess what.....our country is in such a shape that many really don't want us to call on them.  In fact, many avoid us Christians because they are afraid we will pull their skeletons out of their closets.  Which by the way, election time is approaching and we need to take a really deep look at our candidates.  We need to choose only those candidates that are as closely committed to serving God as our founding fathers did when they founded this very country we live in.

In our scripture, God is telling Ezekial to go out and to kill those who are not marked and that includes those that hold charge, those that hold weapons, anyone not bearing  a mark.  If you look back in the scripture you will find that these slayings began in God's own house.  What does that tell us today?  He will start calling on those within the church walls.  And guess what???  There are people sitting in our church pews today in all churches around this nation.....unmarked!  But He tells Ezekial, "Slay EVERY person without a mark, but come notnar anyone with a mark."  How do you become marked?  Accept Christ as your Savior!  But wait a minute.....you say....you thought everyone that attended church is going to Heaven?  NO!  Only those that are saved and have accepted Christ into their hearts and have asked for forgiveness.  There are unmarked people in ourchurches.  And one day very soon, God will say enough is enough.

If you are UNMARKED/UNSAVED listen up:  You will only have so many witnesses, preachers, Christians sent to you, begging you to come to church with them, accept Christ, listen to what God has done in the lives of those you encounter.....but remember this....when God has had enough, he's had enough.  The next time someone invites you to church or the next time someone tries to talk to you about God' awesomeness and power, may very well be your last chance. 

When you face God on your judgement day, do you want to hear him say, "I knocked, and I knocked, and I knocked many, many times, but you never answered.  I am sorry my child, I cannot let you in"?  Don't pass up the opportunities God is giving you.

If you ARE already MARKED.....Who are you bringing with you on judgement day?  Will you be there standing alone or will you be there surrounded by those you have shared the Good News with?  You will have to answer for the works you do or do not do here on earth.  God is sending us to "Knock" for Him.  Are you doing your job?  Are you using your spiritual gifts the way they should be used?  We are to be like dandelions blowing in the breeze.  Each dandelion creates more and more seeds to blow in the wind and spread.  If you are not spreading the seeds of God, we will never win people to Christ.

So now I ask you, are you sure your name is on the roll in Heaven?  If not, this may be you last chance....don't miss it!  Seek out someone you know is indeed a Christian to help you know who God is.  And you may be scared to do this, but all Christians have done it before.  We weren't born this way, we have all had to go through what you are going through.  You are never alone in your decision.  We all understand the feelings you have because we, too, have been there.  Do not hesitate!  God is knocking on your door at this very moment.  All you have to do is answer.