What if someone told you
that your every thought
from the day you were born
has been recorded
and will be shown tonight on YouTube Live?
You'll see it over there in the related videos.
And not only that,
but a link to a website will be given
where all of your friends and family can go
and view all of your thoughts about them -
a full archive of your thoughts.
How many people would be angry with you?
Everyone?
Would you be angry with yourself
for things you've thought?
Your thought life reveals
the real unrestrained you.
Like most people,
you may think you're good enough
to get to heaven
and that God, well, He won't send me to hell.
But God has seen every one
of your wicked thoughts and actions.
He has seen every time you've broken His commandments,
lusting over someone you're not married to,
lying and stealing -
no matter how little the thing was you stole.
It might have been some song on the Internet.
He knows every time you've carved a false idol
of God in your mind -
a corrupt god of your own imagination -
who will turn a blind eye to your sin.
That's not the true God though.
He's heard every time you've used His holy name in vain -
using the name of the One who gave you life
in place of a curse word.
You wouldn't do that with Hitler's name,
but you do it with God's name.
"The Lord will not leave him unpunished
who takes His name in vain."
And "every careless word that people speak,
they will give an accounting for it
in the day of judgment."
Be honest with yourself.
When you face God on judgment day,
keeping in mind that He's seen
your every wicked thought and action,
will He find you innocent?
Or guilty?
If God gives you what you deserve
and what I deserve,
should He send you to heaven or hell?
God has written His law on your heart
so you are without an excuse.
You know it is wrong to lie,
to steal, to lust, to curse,
because God gave you a conscience
to know right from wrong.
Your own conscience demands justice.
Imagine a courtroom scene
where a child rapist
is coming before the judge for sentencing,
but instead of giving him what justice demands,
the judge hits the gavel
and let's the man go free.
And he says, "Well, the rapist was a nice guy,
and he gave to charity in the past,
and he goes to church every Sunday."
You would be outraged if that happened!
And you should be outraged!
Yet most people think
the high and holy God is just like this corrupt judge,
and that they can bribe Him with their good deeds
so that He'll overlook their sin.
Again, what would you think
if the judge said to the rapist:
"I'm a very loving judge,
so I'll just let you go free."
You would not think that judge was loving at all,
but that he was corrupt
and not worthy to be a judge.
Yet most people expect the holy God
who is the Judge of all the earth
to be just that corrupt with them
and overlook their sin
and turn a blind eye to it.
Infinite love and goodness -
which is what's true of God -
demand infinite justice.
Because God's love and justice are infinite,
He won't punish only murderers and rapists,
but He'll punish all sin
wherever it is found.
That's why the Bible says the unrighteous
will not inherit the kingdom of God.
It says no thief, no sexually immoral person,
no idolater will enter heaven.
And all the liars shall have their part
in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.
Now the question for you
who are hearing this video is this:
Is there any hope for somoene like you?
Is there any hope for the person
who has defied God time and time again
by rebelling against His will,
refusing to love and worship Him?
Is there any hope for a criminal
who stands guilty in the courtroom of God?
Is there hope? Yes, there is.
There's forgiveness with God.
How? How can that be?
The Gospel - the good news - is this:
Imagine you are a human in a courtroom
and the judge - he finds you guilty.
And because he's just,
he gives you the maximum fine
of ten million dollars.
But there's no way you can pay that fine.
So you're about to spend the rest of your life in jail.
Then someone you've never met
steps into the courtroom and says,
"I have sold all of my worldly goods to pay your fine."
Your fine has been paid!
So justice has been served
and you're free to go.
Well, two thousand years ago,
God became flesh in the Man Jesus Christ
who was born of a virgin
and He lived a sinless life
and then He suffered and died
under the wrath of God on the cross
to pay in full the penalty
for all of your sins.
Then He rose again in triumph
over the powers of death and darkness,
so that in Jesus Christ
we can have eternal life.
The Bible says, "God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish, but have eternal life."
But it's not enough to merely believe
intellectually in your mind
in order to be forgiven by God.
The Bible says that even the demons believe intellectually.
In order to have real forgiveness,
you must repent.
As Jesus Himself said,
"Unless you repent, you will also perish."
And repentance means turning fully away
from your life of sin
and turning fully to God.
Trusting in Jesus Christ alone to save you
and not your own deeds.
Trusting in Him as the One
who willingly stood in your place
on the cross.
And He took God's wrath for you -
the wrath you deserved.
What are you waiting for?
Don't gamble with your eternal salvation.
Your life, the Bible says, is a vapor.
It's gone.
And you have no way of knowing
which second will be your last.
The Scriptures say you should seek the Lord
while He may be found.
You should call upon Him while He is near.
It says you should forsake your wicked way
and you should forsake your unrighteous thoughts
and you should return to the Lord
and the Lord will have compassion on you.
That's our God.
He abundantly pardons those
who come to Him
trusting in His Son alone.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
But He desires for you
to turn from your sins and live.
You have a personal invitation
from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
He says, "Come to Me
all who are weary and heavy laden
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls."
Not only rest for your soul,
but you'll find all your sins forgiven
and the power of sin broken.
And any man who's in Christ
is a new creation.
The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come.
Jesus Christ is your only hope.
He is the only way.
Yet too many people,
they're trusting in their own righteousness,
or too many people,
they're refusing to turn from sin
to follow Christ.
You, choose this day
to whom you will serve.
And you will only find a precious Master to obey
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
All other masters will enslave you
in the misery of sin.
But in Christ, there is life.
This was based on a slight variation
of the tract: "How Would You Feel
if your Thought Life were to be shown
on Nationwide TV?"
written by Kevin William and Garrett Holthaus.