Life-Changing Questions: Questions Asked Worldwide, Answered by the Bible

By Jimmy Surgener

Who is not bewildered anymore? When have we faced a more confusing fog of uncertainty? Who is not asking basic questions? Who am I? Why am I here? How do I fit into life? Whats ahead for our nation and world? For our children? How can we be sure of our familys survival? Whats beyond this life for me? How can I get through lifes labyrinth? Is there any way out of this hole Im in? Surely, I havent gone too far astray for God to intervene in my dilemma!

Is there a God who really cares about me? If so, which God of which world religion? How is the God of Christianity different from any other? What has He done for us beyond any other? Can I know Him personally? Will He intervene in my crisis?

When have we been getting more inadequate or wrong answers? Even from too many of our schools, pulpits, and homes? Who is not starving for definite answers? This book provides you with Gods answers. Here is biblical insight into what lies ahead for you, your family, America, and our human race. Its about the destiny-determining decisions you and I face. You see, our future is contingent upon how soon we respond to Gods readiness and power to intervene. Yet, never will God force His way upon us. We must invite Him in.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449791629

Jimmy Surgener

Jimmy Surgener has devoted his life to sharing the gospel on all continents, in person, on radio, television, the Internet, as well as the printed page. He identifies with all age groups, all races, and especially with the question of youth. Jimmy wants you also to experience a saving relationship with his Savior.

Book preview

LIFE-CHANGING

QUESTIONS

Questions Asked Worldwide,

Answered by the Bible

JIMMY SURGENER

Copyright © 2013 JIMMY SURGENER.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise Indicated,

All Scriptures are from the King James Version

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-9163-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9164-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9162-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907092

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/30/2013

Contents

Introduction

FIRST UNIT

How Will History End?

One      What Lies Ahead For Our Runaway Human Race?

Two      Can We Expect God’s Intervention?

Three      How Deeply is God Concerned?

Four      What Keeps Restraining Final Judgment?

SECOND UNIT

Is Your Christian God, The Only God?

Five      What Convinces An Idolater Of God’s Universal Sovereignty?

Six      Of All God’s Creation—Who but He is Holy?"

Seven      Other Than Christianity, What Worldview is Reliable?

Eight      How Will You Face Unapproachable Light?

THIRD UNIT

Is Jesus Humanity’s Only Savior?

Nine      What is Your Concept Of Jesus’ Identity?

Ten      What to You is the Meaning Of Jesus’ Crucifixion?

Eleven      How Indebted Are We of Humanity To God’s Love?

Twelve      Have You Experienced Jesus’ New Birth?

FOURTH UNIT

Have I Gone Beyond Jesus’ Love?

Thirteen      Is Rahab’s Scarlet Cord In Your Window?

Fourteen      Which Eye, Which World, Which Master?

Fifteen      What Is Life’s Most Crucial Question?

Sixteen      Is What You’re Getting Wrongfully—Worth its Risk?

FIFTH UNIT

What’s Ahead After This Life?

Seventeen      Which Handwriting of God Is upon Your Life?

Eighteen      What If This Were Your Last Day?

Nineteen      Where Will You Spend Eternity?

Twenty      In Summary, Do You Understand Where You Stand?

About Jimmy Surgener

James Milford Surgener was born and grew up on his parents’ farm along Powell River near Rose Hill along the Daniel Boone Trail in Lee County of Southwestern Virginia. He received his education from Longhollow Elementary, Flatwoods High, Carson-Newman College, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He now resides near Coeburn in Wise County, Virginia.

Since his trusting Jesus Christ for personal salvation at the age of thirteen, God has called and gifted him to share his faith in public schools, in youth camps, in prisons, on street corners, and in churches far and wide. He has shared the gospel in several states, and in Canada. Often, along with the assistance of his loyal wife, Rita, and others, altogether Jimmy has shared the gospel on all six inhabited continents. For several years, via Pan American Broadcasting, he has shared the gospel on worldwide radio, TV, and the Internet to God’s convincing and converting of untold numbers of precious souls, for which he offers all the praise to God.

He is a member of the Appalachian Writers Guild. His works include Bible commentaries, inspirational books, Christian novels, short stories, and books of poetry. His writing has been recommended by Editor Joe Johnson of Broadman Press, by the late Dr. Sherwood E. Wirt, editor emeritus of Decision magazine, by the late Evangelist Dr. J. Harold Smith; by Dr. Delos Miles, Professor of Evangelism at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, by Dr. Robert Coleman, and by the late Lewis E. Drummond, both associates of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, as well as by Dr. Robert Hamblen of the North American Board, and by the late Dr. Winston Crawley of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

FOR MY CLOSE FRIEND

PAUL STAPLETON

Ever since you read my novel

Shadow of the Great Rock—

The only book you said you’d read in years—

And then read it all over again, Paul,

You’ve been expecting

Another book by me;

Well, here it is.

Introduction

Just today a young man began plying me with a barrage of questions the average youth has. I replied that for his most basic questions, I offer God’s biblical answers in this book. Yet I see what attitude is usually behind such an approach: God, first answer all of my doubts, and then I’ll give you my serious consideration.! I’m not judging this particular person, but, generally, this mindset is presuming to put God on the spot. One of God’s creations is putting his Creator on trial! However, God is not the one who’s on trial before us; instead, it is we who are on trial before God! On trial for our life, our soul, or both.

God will not be approached in any such attitude. He requires that we come by faith, without his first giving us anything like all the answers. There are questions too deep for anyone on earth to answer. One day a teacher asked her elementary students, What is electricity?

Immediately a little girl’s hand shot up.

Well, Lucy, what is it?

Lucy hesitated. Then she said, I once knew; but now I’ve forgot.

Her teacher sighed. That’s too bad, Lucy; since you’re the only one who ever knew!

Once we come by faith, then God gives us far more enlightenment. Even so, many of our questions will never be answered in this life; the bulk must await our meeting God ultimately. In I Corinthians 13:9-12 Paul writes, . . . Now I know in part; but then shall I know as also I am known.

Of all weighty questions pressing down upon our world, our nation, our communities, our families, and our very souls—which is the weightiest of all? As weighty as the questions concerning our economy, our democratic form of government, our freedom, our relationships one with another, and our survival as a nation, as well as the outcome of our marriages, our children, our values, even our personal welfare and destiny—upon what do all these others depend?

Does not every one of them depend upon our understanding of and response to God and to His Son Jesus Christ? How are we to understand God, to realize and appreciate His concern for us and all we hold dear? Is not this matter pertaining to what, or to whom, we value most? Is it God, or personal interests of our own?

Does not every one of our vital questions depend upon our understanding who God is, and what He has done for us already? And upon what He promises to do, as to His delivering us from our obsessing problems upon the condition of our response to His greatest of all overtures to each of us, to our whole world? And is not that superlative overture, His sacrifice of His only begotten Son to die in our place upon an old, rugged cross? And yet, why was such supreme sacrifice required? Is our offense toward our Maker, all that serious?

Is not the utmost seriousness of our offense toward God and one another the bedrock reason for the unprecedented mess that our world, our nation, our families, and we as individuals, are in? Is our dilemma of our daily compounding human misery—not our own fault instead of God’s?

How dare we blame God for our burgeoning world problem! Is not our problem more dangerous than at any previous time in history, primarily because we keep holding God at arm’s length? We keep refusing to acknowledge God as revealed in Jesus Christ as our sole solution. As for God, does he, even know of, or have, any problem? Any question? Any difficulty? Any predicament? Any obstacle?

Only one hindrance does God have. It is His self-imposed limitation upon Himself of favoring every individual one of us with a will of our own! God can neither break nor infringe upon our freedom of choice! To do so, he would have to become untrue to himself, and that God cannot do. Why? Because the holy God of truth has promised never to infringe upon our freedom to decide, and God cannot break his promise; God cannot be untrue to himself. God cannot lie.

So, you see, we humans have but one basic problem, which we have turned into an unnecessary question. That problem, that question, is this: when will each of us yield our stubborn will into the almighty, sovereign, and infallible will? Why have we not done so long ago? Why, by our unreasonable delay, have we let things get so far out of hand? What is involved in such strategic decision? How can we do it? How far do we expect to progress, or even survive, until we yield our all to God? And what is sure to happen to us and all we hold dear—if we keep delaying?

FIRST UNIT

How Will History End?

One

What Lies Ahead

For Our Runaway Human Race?

"Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth,

and they that dwell therein are desolate:

therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned,

and few men left…

Fear, the pit, and the snare are upon thee,

O inhabitants of the earth…

For the windows from on high are open,

and the foundations of the earth do shake."

(Isaiah 24: 6;17,18).

Back in the days of oxen, a man driving a team of oxen pulling a loaded wagon had one of his oxen to fall dead. And since the other would not pull alone, he saw no other choice, but to get behind the yoke beside him. But soon the remaining ox became frightened at a roadside stump and began running away at breakneck speed, taking the man with him. The man was in despair because, in no way, in all their rush could he get himself unhitched. Seeing another man watching from the top of a roadside hill, he called out at the top of his lungs, Why don’t you stop us; can’t you see we’re running away?

That man’s predicament was precisely that of our present day civilization. As yoked to our wrongdoing, we are a desperately runaway human race. More than half a century ago, H. G. Wells observed, Civilization and destruction are neck and neck.

What will Spell the End of History?

More and more people keep asking "Where is runaway civilization headed? What’s going to be the outcome? For several years now leading world scientists, economists, philosophers, educators, industrialists, intellectuals, governmental leaders, and other very important people have gathered to discuss the outcome of our endangered planet.

What Kind of Ending do Intellectuals Envision?

Intellectuals agree that three primary hazards threaten our world. These three immanent dangers are the following:

1.   The threat of world destruction under a putrid cloud of starvation since all available energy is fast running out.

2.   The threat of world destruction under a dense cloud of smog since man is fast polluting our planet out of clean air and pure water.

3.   The threat of world destruction under a mushroom cloud. Look how many countries already have the Bomb! For years nuclear submarines have been patrolling our American shores. Astute observers believe our world is drifting toward a totalitarian state, and that a world tyrant may press a button that will obliterate a vast proportion of humanity, even all of it.

But Which Ending will it be, and When?

These intellectuals believe that any one of these threats could very soon spell the annihilation of civilization. The big question among them is this: which one of these three jeopardies will determine our doom ahead of the other two? They see our plight as that of a pond being invaded by a rapidly spreading lily pad. Soon the pad will have fully and fatally invaded the global pond of human life! The intellectuals keep moving the Doomsday Clock back and forth from five to three minutes till midnight. As of now, it is at five minutes till.

However,

No Longer Would You Intellectuals

Need to Wonder, if only You Would Explore

God’s Eye-opener Book!

You see, what few people seem aware of, is that the prophet Isaiah received a very similar prophecy from God over twenty-seven hundred years ago! In his twenty-fourth chapter are seen three utmost biblical dangers of definitive world destruction. They are expressed as the fear, the pit, and the snare. The pit and the snare are identical with two concerns of present-day realists: the pit of depletion of energy and the snare of pollution. However, the fear differs dramatically.

According to God’s Word, the big fear of mankind regarding a global holocaust from a nuclear explosion—should, instead, be the fear of a global fire rained down from God in retribution for man’s sin from warring against God! Take notice, according to the Bible, throughout, the utmost danger hanging over the head of humanity, is the curse of God upon sin. So heavy is this curse that it weighs down to utter and final downfall all who refuse to repent and acknowledge God and His Savior, Jesus Christ.

Nevertheless, wait a minute! God’s Bible is not pessimistic—but optimistic. For all people willing to receive it, God offers a blessed fourth alternative! It is a way of ultimate escape. It’s a way out! It is deliverance via the blood atonement Jesus Christ wrought out upon the cross. Christ took away our curse of sin. He became a curse in our place! Believe it or not, he will save everyone willing to receive him into your heart by penitent faith. Yes, this offer includes you!

We Fear the Threat of Overindulgence,

And of Loss of Strength,

And of Meeting God’s judgment

Upon Us in Our Helplessness!

See Isaiah 24:1-4, esp. v. 4.

Man Keeps Running from the Fear,

Until He Falls into the Unforeseen Pit!

Man fears the pitfall of exhaustion. Note v. 4, (NIV) in particular:

The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes, and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. Man is languishing because he is wasting his God-given energy.

We keep wasting our natural resources. We keep depleting our available energy, raw materials, and food supply. We are at the mercy of the second law of thermodynamics. Did you know that the Bible stated the first and second laws of thermodynamics long before scientists discovered them? While the first law is to the effect that all matter and energy are indestructible, the second is to the effect that all available energy is fast running out. Here in v. 4 of his twenty-fourth chapter, Isaiah wrote about the second law: The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers… And this includes man himself. The exalted of the earth languish.

Far Worse,

Man keeps Depleting His own Energy!

Man keeps using himself up. Man is rapidly getting himself to the point of no return. How? By our lifestyle of overindulgence—by our selfish dissipation. Man keeps weakening his stamina physically, morally, and spiritually, year after year.

Man’s joy is deserting him. See vs. 7-13,. NIV. The ugly carnal thrills are diminishing. Man’s beer has turned bitter. His illicit sex has turned stale. It’s losing its kick; so he’s turning to unnatural sex. Clean jokes are being replaced by off-color gags. Man without God is fast reaching the point of no interest in life. Life is growing more and more boring. A recent president of Harvard has stated the basic problem among students as lack of meaning and purpose. Life is becoming only a bloody drag as actor Richard Boone complained in his later years.

Man’s getting less and less out of sin, yet more and more hooked and wedded to it. Life without Jesus has a rotten core. See Isaiah 24:9-11. But I said, I waste away, I waste away. Woe is me! When man without God runs clean out of energy, he becomes like the man of whom Edgar Allan Poe wrote, The Man that Was Used Up! Even youths faint and fall, the Bible goes on.

We Fear the Threat of Pollution

And of Suffocation,

And of God’s Judgment upon Us

For Our Giving in to Pollution,

(Isaiah 24:5ff)

You Emerge from the Pit of Exhaustion,

Only to find Yourself Overtaken

By the Snare of Pollution!

The earth also is defiled under its inhabitants, Isaiah 24:5

The snare is when what we fear is the snare of self-corruption. Isaiah says that the earth is defiled under its inhabitants.

Pollution is everywhere all about us. Pollution is on our land, in our water, in the air; and likewise within us.

Saddest of All,

Man Keeps Poisoning Himself Morally

TV satellites bring in pornography. So do sorry novels, magazines and jests, all of which would make a dog blush and commodes refuse to flush it. And most of this, right before the eyes and ears of watching children of all ages! Every thought of man’s imagination is only evil continually as Scripture says it was before the flood of Noah. Peter wrote that man’s eyes are full of adultery and cannot cease from sin. Not only have we polluted our water supply, soil and atmosphere, but we keep contaminating ourselves without and within. A surgeon general of the United States has said that the worst plague to hit the world in all history is AIDS. Yet AIDS is but a symptom of history’s worst epidemic, sin. And who is not infected? 2 Chronicles 6:36 says, . . . (for there is no one who does not sin) . . .

We Fear the Threat of Violence, and of War,

And of the Judgment of God

Upon our Ferocity,

(Isaiah 24: 16)

Violence Fills our Land

As just before the Worldwide Flood

V. 16b, But I said, my leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! The treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously. All