A Teenager Searching for the Reality of God — E.A. Johnston

So you're a teenager and you're stuck listening to me. I feel sorry for you, but if you're going to take the time to listen to me I will promise you this. I will be honest with you about finding the reality of God if you're like me.

You're tired of people lying to you. You're tired of adults who say that do as I say instead of do as I do. You hate what is fake. School gives you a stomachache. Your parents give you a headache. Love is just a heartbreak.

Drugs and sex is only an escape. And church people are fake and this world is filled with pain and Heartache with one disappointment after another and you wonder if God is real or is he fake too? Is God just a block of wood or an isle of stone like you read about in history class?

You're searching for truth in a truthless world. The world's an empty bubble, but you're searching for reality. I will show you how to find the reality of God through four words that each begin with the letter R.

The Reality of God and the Fool's Denial

First listen to the definition of a fool from the Word of God. The fool hath said in his heart. There is no God. Young friend only a fool would believe that you're no fool. Listen friend. God created heaven and earth.

He formed you in your mother's womb. He cares so much about you that he even knows the number of hairs on your head. God is a sovereign king, and he has no equal. God's not on the same level as man. That man is sinful.

God is holy, and he sits on a heavenly throne where he rules the universe. Everyone must bow to him. You either bow to him now or you will bow to him on a future day of judgment. Where he will then put his foot on your neck when he makes his enemies his footstool.

You may not like what I have to say, but I will be honest with you in your search for God. Too many preachers today soft-soak the gospel so not to offend anybody. But all I care about is your soul, so please listen carefully to what I have to share with you today.

Ruin Through Sin and the Reality of Judgment

The first word That begins with an R is the word rune. You were rune because of sin. You were born with a rune nature and this explains your behavior. You're born with an inclination to sin. Man drinks iniquity like it's water.

You sin because of who you are. You're not a sinner because you sin. But rather you sin because you are a big sinner and because you are a sinner you need to know how God views you. You have been lied to by many in our churches today.

Because all you've heard is God loves you. God loves you. I have a shock for you friend. I must be honest enough to tell you you're nothing more than an enemy of God. When God looks at you he sees a guilty rebel who's broken his law.

He sees a lawless sinner who deserves punishment because of sin your sins. Time and time again you have stacked up sins with your life. They rise above you like a big black mountain of sin that they hang over you.

There is no way to get out from under them on your own that they condemn you. Your sins have separated you from God that God requires perfection. To get to his heaven and you are not perfect. Nobody is a sinful man has broken God's strict and severe law which comprises his Ten Commandments.

Like do not lie that do not steal that do not take the name of God in vain. Do not commit adultery. Because we've broken God's law the sentencing of the law must be carried out and punishments must be enforced.

God's a just judge friend and he must condemn the guilty. God must punish sin. There's a reality of heaven and a reality of hell if you die in your sins without Jesus. You will surely go to a terrible prison a place of misery and torment a place of fire and Endless agony called hell.

Hell, Sin's Consequences, and the Need for Repentance

A hell is real friend. But you won't hear a church pastor tell you about hell because he's afraid he will offend you. But I'm not afraid of offending you. I would do you a great injustice. If I did not warn you of your danger.

I will not hide the terrifying fact of hell from you and warn you not to go there. Hell is a horrible place of endless misery and once you're locked up in there You cannot get out. There are no cell phones in hell.

I'm no social media and no exit doors. Just a lot of screaming and moaning and crying and anguish and torment and pain. If I could walk you to the rim of hell and lift the lid and let you listen to the cries of the damned.

It would keep you up tonight. Listen young friend if you die in your sins that you will surely go to hell. I can promise you that if you do die in your sins. I want you to remember this poor preacher and how he was honest with you.

By telling you about hell and how he warned you not to go there you will have no excuse then friend. Please I beg you don't go to hell. It's a terrible place of misery. Be honest with yourself. Sin doesn't satisfy it just leaves you feeling guilty and depressed.

A life of sin is a dead-end street. That leads to hell. Let me ask you friend. Are you weary of your sins? The second word with the letter R is the word repentance. You won't hear about repentance in the church today either, but if you don't repent friend you will go to hell.

Jesus declared unless you repent that you shall all likewise perish and that means if you do not repent. You will perish into a place of everlasting burnings called hell. Repentance means a turning from your sins and a turning to God.

But God requires repentance to get to his heaven because he is holy and he will have no rebels there. But there are many pastors today who will tell you you can go to heaven without repentance. But they are lying to you.

They will damn your soul. God will not let you to heaven unless you repent. It's my duty to warn you that you have a duty to repent toward God. The Bible speaks of exercise and repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.

That's the only way to heaven friend. Please listen to what God declares in his word as found in the book of Proverbs. He that being offered reproved Hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy.

Do you know what a reproof is? You were being reproved right now as I warn you to repent. That is a reproof and if you fail to heed my warning and obey God's command to you to repent. You are hardening your neck and you could suddenly be destroyed without remedy.

The Urgency of Repentance and the Uncertainty of Life

What remedy the remedy for sin in the person of Jesus Christ. You may think that because you were young. You have all the time in the world to change your direction in life and seek God when you're good and ready.

First you want to sow your wild oats and enjoy sin for a season. After all you're young you're only young once so why not enjoy yourself a little and after all Jesus is nothing more than a killjoy. Is that not what you believe?

But in today's society you can be gunned down while you're out in public. Mad man can take out a gun and kill you before you saw it coming. Violent crimes happen all the time in America today. You could be the next victim this week could be your very last on this earth.

Listen to the Word of God. For man also knoweth not his time. As the fishes that are taken in an evil net and the birds that are caught in the snare. So are the sons of men. Snared in an evil time when it falleth suddenly upon them.

God could remove you from this earth without warning and you are totally unprepared for the next world in eternity. I have warned you of your need of repentance to find the reality of God. Listen friend, don't delay your duty of repentance for this very night.

You could die and make your bed in hell. Our next word that begins with an R is the word regeneration. You more than likely have never heard that word before either. There's a lot of church people who are members and churches today who've never experienced the supernatural act of regeneration upon the heart.

Regeneration and the New Birth

Jesus said you must be born again. Being born again means you're given a new nature by God. Before you are regenerated you have a heart of stone. You're dead and trespasses and sins. But when God changes your heart through the new birth.

You now have a heart of flesh that is tender towards the things of God. Only God can perform this act of regeneration upon the heart. You cannot make yourself a Christian. This goes against much of what is taught in our churches today.

But listen friend, you will go to hell if you are not the subject of regeneration. You must be born again. I Repeat only God can perform this work on your heart that you get to heaven. There's a necessity of regeneration upon your heart.

It's the life of God in the soul of man. Think about that for a moment. The life of God in the soul of man that you can't work your way to heaven through your good works. Being baptized won't get you into heaven.

You must be born again. You must experience the new birth through regeneration. Listen to God's Word. Not by works of righteousness. Which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

Listen friend, you must be born again. Now listen to this last R in our search for the reality of God. The last R is the word redemption. Listen friend, but God Commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners.

Christ died for us. Jesus hung on a bloody cross to save sinners friend. The church is afraid to call a lost man a sinner today. The church of today is soft on sin. But Jesus wasn't. He gave his life on a bloody cross because of sin.

Jesus was crucified on a cross at a place called Calvary outside Jerusalem and when he hung there in the place of sinners Hell came to Calvary that day because of sin. He paid the price for my sin with his blood.

He saved me from the penalty of sin. He purchased me with his blood by going into the marketplace of sin and Redeeming me by his death and with his blood. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

You have no reality Of God in your life friend because you are unsaved and separated from God. You have no God consciousness in your life. You can't hear him and you can't see him. So you assume he doesn't exist at all.

You have a poison in your blood. That's keeping you from God friend. And that poison is a ruined nature and you were ruined and lost without God in the world. And your only way to be reconciled back to God is through his son Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to seek and save That which was lost that you were a lost sinner searching for the reality of God. Listen friend Jesus is searching for lost sinners right now. He shed his blood on a cross because of sin.

My sins nailed him to that cross. My sins and your sins. He hung there Voluntarily, did you know that he could have come down from that cross if he wanted to? He calmed the ocean and raised the dead. He could have come down from that cross, but he would not because of sin.

There had to be a substitute for sin to appease the wrath of God because God hates him friend a sinful man. His broken guts strict and severe law and the sentence of the law must be carried out. God must punish sin.

Grace, Conversion, and the Call to Christ

Do you know what grace is? You can't save yourself. You can't make yourself a Christian. Only God can save you now. I'm telling you the truth. Too many in our churches today have made themselves Christians and they are on their way to hell.

Only God can take your heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh and when God saves a person They experience change. They have a new nature. They want to live for God to please him and no longer live just to please themselves.

Only Jesus can take away your sins friend. His blood can wash away your sins. Let me ask you. Are you thirsty for Jesus? You see friend the gospel of the Son of God is for the hungry. The weary and the thirsty.

Let me ask you again. Are you hungry for God? Are you worried your sins? Are you thirsty for Jesus? Jesus said unless you repent you shall all likewise perish. You must repent of your sins. Listen to what true repentance is.

It's an utter dethronement of self and an utter enthronement of Christ as Lord Christ given the orders Christ in command. You no longer sit on the throne of your heart and rule there. But when you come to Christ and repentance a self is dethroned and another is enthroned there the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's repentance. Anything short of that is hogwash. When you come to Christ friend you come to a sovereign King who sits on the throne. Christ sits on a throne in heaven at the right hand of the Father and he earned that right by way of a bloody cross.

If you want him, you must come to him there and bow to him. You must throw down your shotgun of rebellion and submit and surrender to King Jesus. If you're not willing to do that friend, he's not willing to accept you into his heaven.

Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Listen friend the watered-down gospel of our day Tells you all you have to do to go to heaven is just accept Jesus in your heart and repeat a prayer. But that will damn you for sure. You must count the cost to become a Christian friend.

Jesus is not cheaply obtained. He is the pearl of great price. To find Christ that there is a seeking a striving through a straight gate a renouncing of self and taking up of a cross. Jesus said If any man will come after me Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whosoever Will save his life she'll lose it and whosoever will lose his life for my sake she'll find it.

Listen to this story friend. There was a young man who approached Jesus and asked what he had to do to have eternal life. The young man was rich. Jesus told that young man he had to part with the thing that was a stumbling block to him that kept him from following Jesus and that was his great wealth.

The young man turned and sadly walked away because he would not part with his money. But a day came down the road Where the young man died and he did part with his money and he died and dropped into hell.

But he wouldn't give up what was standing between him and Jesus. Are you Willing to give up what is standing between you and Jesus? You've driven a stake in the ground and put a keep off the grass sign on it and tell God God I will give you all these other things, but keep your hands off this area in my life.

Just keep off. I have sad news for you friend. Christ won't save a rebel who refuses to bow to him. Now that goes against modern evangelism, which is damned. It's millions, but I'm telling you the truth and how to find the reality of God in your life.

A Final Plea for Repentance and Faith

I promised before I began this message that I would be honest with you. I'm not trying to win you as a friend. I'm trying to keep you from an eternal place of misery called hell. Your average evangelist of today won't tell you that you need to repent of your sins.

He won't warn you about hell. He won't tell you that you're a guilty rebel who's broken the law of God and that you deserve hell. He won't tell you that but I will. I will be honest with you friend. Do you must repent you must receive a revealed Christ?

You must go to God and beg him for mercy. Ask him for the grace of repentance and faith it comes from him. Become a sincere seeker of God now that you'll know more about him. Confess to God that you have broken his strict law time and time again through sin.

Admit to him that you deserve hell, but you don't want to go there. Pray that Jesus will reveal himself to you. Look to Jesus friend. You must find Christ friend. If you don't you'll surely go to hell.

You may not have liked what I have told you today. You may not even agree with it, but I have been honest with you friend. I have told you the truth about God in the gospel. I care enough for your soul to be honest with you.

Your blood would be on my hands if I did not share the full gospel with you in honesty. I'm not trying to grow a church and get your money. You can keep your money. I care about your soul. Please young friend.

Don't ignore my warnings to you. If you do you will surely go to hell. I have warned you because I care for you if your house was on fire. While you were asleep. And I saw the flames and did not pound on your door and wake you to your great danger.

I will be a heartless criminal. You like great danger in your sins friend. And I have warned you very clearly to come out of your sins and go to Christ. You may never hear a more plainer gospel presentation as long as you live than you heard today.

I have cared about your soul and have pointed you to Christ today. But you must repent and believe on Christ to find the reality of God in your life. Only Christ can save your friend. He's your only refuge and place of safety before the common storm of judgment.

I'll fly to him now. Do not delay. I'm now going to give you some Bible verses that comprise the true gospel. You probably have not heard them before. But listen carefully as I preach them to you. Many individuals have come savingly to Christ while listening to the preached word.

I'm going to preach the gospel to you now and then hopefully I will Disappear and you won't hear my voice any longer. But perhaps you will hear his voice as it comes to you in power and authority and majesty.

Scriptural Promises of Salvation and Mercy

Listen to me friend for your soul is at stake. Hear me now. I Am the Lord and there is none else. There is no God beside me. I've girded thee though thou hast not known me. Look on to me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth.

For I am God and there is none else. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return Unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to work God for he will abundantly pardon.

Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him. Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. Neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you.

That he will not hear. But come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart. And ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. He that believeth on the Son Hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.

But the wrath of God abideth on him. In the last day that great day the feast Jesus stood and cried saying if any man thirst but let him come on to me and drink. He that believeth on me as the scriptures have said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

And the Spirit and the bride say come. And let him that hear it say come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will Let him take the water of life freely.