CHAPTER 10
The last five years for Gene were five years he would never forget. Not only did he go through the mid-life crisis, but he also saw his dad and mother die. When he saw his dad die, it should have opened his eyes to the fact that, even though Darrell did not believe in hell, the last words out of his mouth indicated that there was such a place where he was going to spend eternity. When Thelma died, her death was totally different than that of Darrell. As you saw, when an unsaved person dies, most of the time, they are in agony. Not all unsaved people cry and scream and feel the heat from Hell on their bodies, but the very moment they depart their bodies, they do experience those things that Darrell felt. The reason that the Lord let Darrell feel the things of Hell before he got there was to let Gene know just how terrible that place was going to be. For Christians, they don’t have to worry about that terrible place called hell, for they know where they are going to spend eternity and they don’t have to worry about death.
Most believers in Christ die totally different deaths than those of the unsaved. When we witnessed the death of Thelma, we saw a Christian that was still telling as many people as possible about Christ just before her death and she also saw the angels coming down to get her.
Darrell saw the death angel coming to take him to the compartment of torment. He also knew that no matter how tight he held onto the angel, he was going to be released to drop into that place and be tormented for eternity. When Thelma died, she saw the angels that have one special trip to perform, that being the trip to take the saved into Heaven. If you remember, she said that there were so many angels coming and going that it was almost unbelievable. If Gene would have opened his eyes to the things that the Lord had put around him, he would have known that there was only one of two places a person goes when they die; EITHER HEAVEN OR HELL. He chose to keep his eyes closed to the idea and fact of heaven and hell.
Like I said, with the mid-life crisis over, Gene decided the best thing to do was to get rid of any and all women, except his wife Roxann. During those last five years, Gene had more women than he knew what to do with, but they must go just like the apartment he was renting. Two years earlier, he decided the apartment cost was too high, so he did not renew his lease. With the apartment gone and now the women gone, it was time to face the fact that he was getting old and there was nothing he could do to change that. Why he ever wanted more women was beyond him. He never could figure out why he did what he did. Roxann was always there, no matter what happened or what might occur. She never left his side and she did know about some of the other women, but down deep, she didn’t want to face the reality that he cared about and wanted other women, other than her.
Two years after his mid-life crisis, the pain in his chest started. For most people, it would be an early warning that something inside a person was not working right. But for Gene, he thought it was indigestion or pleurisy. However, it was not indigestion or pleurisy; it was the first sign of a heart attack. If Gene would have acknowledged the sign, he would not have died from a heart attack. The Lord could have taken him some other way. However, one thing a person must understand is that there is a time appointed for every person on earth to die. No one can change that time. The very second that you will take your last breath has been set by God. When your number of breaths is up, there is nothing you or anyone else can do to change the outcome. You will die.
Gene had a number of friends that had died from heart attacks. He knew the symptoms and he knew what the outcome could be, if heart disease isn’t caught in the early stages. But for Gene, the idea of him ever dying was the farthest thing in his mind. He was young, he was only fifty five and full of energy. However, sin destroys the body and with all the sin in Gene’s life, with strange women full of lust, his days would be cut short.
The first year that he was having chest pains, he always thought it was something else. The pain really didn’t hurt that much, it just made him feel uncomfortable. One day, when he had the chest pain, one friend told him about Mallox. He said that if you take one swallow of Mallox when the pain starts, it will go away, if it is indigestion. Two days after his friend gave him that medical advice, his chest began to hurt. Out came the bottle of Mallox and down went one large swallow. Within seconds the pain had gone away. It was a miracle. The pain was totally gone. His friend was right. It was just indigestion.
During that first year, the pain became more frequent and the Mallox was always at his side. It did not make any difference where he went or what he did; the Mallox was becoming a crutch and a friend. The next year, the pain was getting just a little worse, but it was not to the point where he would have to go to the hospital or see a doctor.
Even at the office, his fellow employees knew that something was wrong. For them, it started out with just a slight inclination that Gene was uncomfortable. When the pain started, he would take a drink of the Mallox and then he would take a five minute break. Gene was not the type of person that ever complained about anything. He went with the flow. Also, he never went on a break unless he was talking with one of the other men about one of the many women he had an affair with. But when the pain started, the five minute breaks did also. In the break room, there was a couch where he would go and lie down for five minutes. On a number of occasions, different men in the office made the comment that Gene should go and see a doctor about his discomfort. Gene just stated that the food he had eaten made him feel miserable.
The longer Gene stayed away from the doctor, the worse his condition was getting. Two more years went by and his breathing was getting to be a problem any time the chest pains would come on. One day, at the yearly family reunion, the pain started once again. His cousin Darren was with him and asked what his doctor had told him. “I have not been to the doctor because he would say it was only indigestion.”
“That does not resemble indigestion to me.”
“What do you think it might be?”
“Sounds like heart problems to me: Major heart problems. How old are you Gene?”
“I am fifty eight years old and I feel fit as a bull.”
“And when was the last time you had a physical?”
“I had one about six years ago. That should be good for about ten years.”
“Well, if it was me, I would have a doctor give me a complete physical, immediately. Promise me you will call a doctor and have him check you out.”
“Okay, I promise.”
“Once you pass forty, you should have a physical every year, just to make sure that something hasn’t crept upon you by surprise.”
“Darren, as much as I drink, there is no way I could have anything except good health. If I would get anything, the alcohol would eat it up.”
“Well, Gene, you do have a point there. I have never seen anyone drink as much as you do unless it would be one of your boys.”
“Yep, we Pittman's really know how to drink.”
Gene made many promises that he never kept. He did not keep that promise nor did he keep the promise to Mr. Bishop. If he would have kept both promises, he would have entered heaven, instead of going to the compartment of torment. However, many people put off salvation until it is too late. They always have a reason for not accepting when the opportunity is at hand. Those that take the step and accept Christ, know when they die that they made the right decision. On the other hand, those that reject, know that they made the wrong decision, when they take that last breath of air on earth and they take that first breath of air in hell.
During that last year of Gene’s life, the Lord was doing things that Gene was not aware of. The Lord put Mike right in the path of Gene one day. When Gene ran into Mike, he acted as if they had just seen each other the day before. As their conversation started, Gene wanted to know how things were going.
“Gene, things are going just fine. The church is growing and we are seeing many people getting saved. There are a number of people that continue putting off
salvation, but I pray that they will not put it off until it is too late. What have you been up to?”
“Roxann and I have really started to enjoy being together, without any of the kids.”
“Why don’t you and Roxann drop by some Sunday morning for church services? You might like the church.”
“You know Mike, you will never change.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean you have not seen me for almost two years and all you can think about is getting me to church.”
“I am not trying to get you to come to church. I would like to get you saved. I can’t figure you out, Gene, don’t you fear God at all?”
“It isn’t a matter of fearing God. It is a matter of believing in God. You know I don’t believe in all of that religious stuff that you lean on.”
“Gene, one of these days, you will believe, but it will be too late at that time. When you take your last breath on earth and pass into eternity, you will be praying for a second chance. I will miss you in heaven. You have been just like a brother.”
“I’ll tell you what I will do, Mike. We will be at church next Sunday and if I feel convicted, I will go forward and accept. How is that for a deal?”
“The only deal I would like to make with you is a deal about real salvation. Just having a feeling about being convicted does not save a person. What saves a person is to know that you are a sinner and you know there is nothing you can do to save yourself and you have to depend on someone else. That someone else is Jesus Christ. If you place your faith and trust in Him and let Him come in and live within your heart, you can be saved. But if you don’t want Him to be part of your life, then He will not let you be part of His life in eternity.”
“Mike I have to go. I will see you Sunday.”
“GENE, DO YOU KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO SAY?”
“Yes, Lord, you are going to say that I missed another golden opportunity to accept You as my personal Savior.”
“THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY TO YOU. YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO ACCEPTING AND, AS YOU WILL SEE, WHEN YOU HEARD THE SERMON THAT MIKE PREACHES ON THAT NEXT SUNDAY, YOU KNEW THAT HE WAS RIGHT. YOU ALMOST STEPPED OUT AND WENT FORWARD, BUT YOUR PRIDE KEPT YOU FROM TAKING THAT FIRST STEP. AFTER THAT SUNDAY, THERE WILL ONLY BE ONE LAST CHANCE FOR YOU TO ACCEPT AND THEN LATER, YOU WILL TAKE YOUR LAST BREATH ON EARTH.”
“Roxann, I’m home.”
“You’re a little late. Have you been out drinking again?”
“Why do you always say that? Is that what you think I do every time I get home just a little late?”
“Okay, give me a real good excuse for being an hour late, and you didn’t even call!”
“You will never guess who I ran into.”
“Well, I am sure it is going to be a really good excuse this time, so, I will say that you are going to say that you ran into Mike. “
“That is exactly what I was going to say. I ran into Mike at the gas station and you will never for the life of you guess what I promised him?”
“Oh, knowing you, you will probably say that you promised him that you would go to church this Sunday.”
“How did you guess that? Did someone call?”
“Yes, honey, Mike called and said that you were going to be late and he also said that you promised to go to church this Sunday.”
“Well, Roxann, we are not getting any younger and I thought that a little religion wouldn’t hurt either one of us. I, also, have been thinking about all those years that Mike and I talked about Heaven and Hell. I would hate to think that I was wrong about Hell after all the things that I have said about not believing. I have never figured out how one person could die on the cross for the sins of the world. Also, I could never understand how Christ could be born to a virgin.”
“Gene, have you ever thought about just accepting the things that Mike tells you instead of trying to figure everything out?”
“I know, but I just think that I should have everything figured out first, before I commit my life to something.”
“Gene, I think that the Bible says that even a small child comes to Christ without trying to figure everything out. So, Gene, why don’t you be like a small child and stop trying to figure everything out? Why don’t you just accept? What can you lose?”
“I never heard of that verse and I really do need to understand something before I can accept.”
“So, are we going to church Sunday or not?”
“I told Mike we were going and that is exactly what I am going to do.”
The rest of the week flew by for Gene and Roxann. Gene had almost forgotten about church until Roxann reminded him Saturday night.
The next morning, Mike almost died when Gene and Roxann walked through the front door at the church.
“I told you we would be here.”
“Thank you, Gene. I am so glad that you and Roxann could make it. I promise I will let everyone out before noon.” Mike looked at his watch and said, “I have to go up front, we are getting close to starting.”
Once he got to the front, the head deacon gave the announcements and all of the other things before the service started. Also, the choir director led the singing and after the third song, it was time for Mike to give the message.
Mike started his message out by saying that every person in the world has faith. The Christian has faith and he places his faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ while others place their faith in other things. “You may be asking, what other things? Some place their faith in money, while others place their faith in stocks or bonds.“ Mike continued with his sermon until near the end when he told the crowd that even the unsaved show their faith every time they turn on the light. “They may not know about electricity or understand it, but when they turn on a light every-day, they are showing they have faith that the light will turn on.”
While Gene sat in the pew and thought about the things that Mike was talking about, he started to realize that there was a lot more to Mike’s simple sermon than what he knew. He began to think about other things he did by faith. He knew about electricity but he did not understand it. He also knew that he showed his faith when he turned the key to start the engine of the car, even though he did not understand everything there was to know about car engines.
The last thing he stated in the message was that everyone there, that day, had faith. Mike said, “The very second that you sat down, you had faith that the pew would hold your weight. That is faith. If you have faith in the things that you don’t know or totally understand, why not have faith in the things that you do know. You know from what the Bible says that Christ died for our sins on a cross. If you believe that, accept Christ, and He will come into your heart and live.” With the message over, Mike gave an invitation to anyone that wanted to know how to get saved.
In Gene’s mind, one side was saying to go up and get saved, while the other side was saying not to make himself look stupid. “You are almost sixty years old and you would look silly going forward,” he told himself. As the battle continued in the brain of Gene, the last chance came and went as Gene said to himself, “If I go forward, I’d be embarrassed to death.” He never left the pew and he never went forward. If anyone was looking, they would have seen the whites on his knuckles, because he was holding onto the pew as tight as he could. Gene would have but one more chance to accept before he was taken in death and he would let it pass, also.
The day before Gene died of his heart attack, he was listening to his favorite radio station, when he reached over to turn on his CB. When he reached, he hit the dial on the radio and it changed to a religious program. Gene was getting ready to change the station when the preacher said that the rich man was going to pay for his rejection in Hell. When the preacher said something about the rich man, Gene knew exactly which Bible story he was talking about. So, instead of changing the station, he wanted to know what the preacher was going to say.
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The preacher told all about the story of Lazarus and the rich man. At the end of the story, he said, “Some of you do not believe in a heaven or a hell. You believe that you cease to exist or that you just vanish into thin air. You are very mistaken about those false ideas. The minute you die, you will believe in Hell and in Heaven, but it will be too late. The preacher decided to give a joke over the radio. He said, “What is the difference between a dead atheist and a saved Christian? There is no difference they both believe.”
“Without a doubt, when you reach that place, once you die, you will ask for a second chance. You might ask, 'How do you know this?' The answer is very simple. Once you arrive in the compartment of torment, you will have only one thing on your mind. The only thing you will be thinking about is how do I get out of here? Every person thinks the very same thing. You don’t have to worry about getting out of there. I am going to lead you in a prayer so you won’t have to go there.
“If you do not know where you are going when you die, then it is a pretty good bet that you are not saved. If you want to get saved, repeat this prayer after me. Lord I know I am a sinner and I know I deserve Hell, but because you died on the cross for me, I know that you love me. I want You to be my personal Savior. I pray that You will come into my heart and live forever and when I die, I will be with You in Heaven. Amen."
As the preacher prayed that prayer, Gene thought about following along and saying the exact words, but he reasoned that he did not have to say all of those words in order to get saved. God is a loving God and He knows that I am a fairly good person and I am not as bad as a lot of other people. “I am religious,” was his thinking. He remembered what he had said to old man Bishop when he and Mike were caught when they were little kids. I know the religious words that Christians use and I know all of the stories and how they think. “I am religious,” thought Gene. However, Gene had just passed up his last chance to accept. He would have but one day left on earth.
Gene is like many people that think they can say things that will impress God and they think by knowing all of the stories and the words that Christians use will make them into a believer in God, also. Just knowing the words or the stories does not mean that you know God. Knowing God in a personal relationship is different than knowing about God. The one created being that knows and believes more than any human is the Devil. The Devil believes in God and he knows that God is the Creator. The difference is that a human can accept Christ as his or her personal Savior and the Devil chose to be separated from God and then, try to become God.
The next morning Gene was up early with a cup of coffee. Next, it would be three eggs, bacon, one pancake, hash browns and two pieces of toast. After breakfast, he was in his truck and on his way to the office. At the office, he did the normal things until the pain in his chest started.
“Sam, go get my Mallox out of the truck.”
Sam told Gene to relax and take it easy. He was going to call for an ambulance. Before the ambulance could arrive, Gene was gone.
“YOU HAD ONE CHANCE LEFT TO ACCEPT AND YOU REJECTED IT. YOUR LIFE WAS USELESS AND LOOK AT THE LIVES OF YOUR CHILDREN. IF I WERE TO LET YOU SEE ONE THOUSAND OF YOUR DESCENDANTS, YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE THE RESULTS. SO I AM GOING TO SHOW YOU WHAT A BAD INFLUENCE YOU HAD ON YOUR DESCENDANTS. 974 LOST AND ON THEIR WAY TO HELL. OUT OF THOSE 974, THERE WERE 37 MURDERERS, 46 RAPISTS, 93 WERE THIEVES, 189 WERE CONVICTED OF DIFFERENT CRIMES AND SPENT TIME IN PRISON. THAT IS A TOTAL OF 365 MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY. THOSE THAT WERE LEFT WERE ALCOHOLICS, DRUG ADDICTS, WIFE BEATERS, CHILD MOLESTERS AND OTHER THINGS THAT I WILL NOT MENTION. THE WOMEN IN YOUR LINE OF DESCENDANTS WERE JUST AS BAD AS THE MEN. THERE WERE 88 PROSTITUTES, 12 MURDERERS, 19 BIGAMIST, AND 59 THAT MURDERED THEIR UNBORN CHILDREN WITH AN ABORTION. I COULD GO ON AND ON, BUT I THINK YOU CAN SEE THE RESULT OF ONE MAN THAT DID NOT ACCEPT ME.
I SAID I WOULD LET YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE ONCE AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME YOU WOULD MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE IN YOUR LIFE. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN A LIFE WITHOUT ME AND THE LIFE THAT IS CENTERED AROUND ME. WATCH AND SEE WHAT YOUR LIFE COULD HAVE BEEN, IF YOU WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED ME AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR.”
Part 2
A Life with Christ