This is one of the sessions from our Children’s Vacation Bible School.
Children, you may not have a big long record of sin like some of us adults do, but still you’ve got a lot of bad on your record. The wages of that sin is death in hell, but Jesus Christ came and died so that you don’t have to suffer that hell. He alone is the Anchor of the soul that will save you from the storm of God’s wrath.
From Grace Community Church’s 2016 Vacation Bible School
Tim: Ok, children. What have we got here? We’ve got a rock. And we’ve got an anchor. We’ve been talking about the fact that God is an anchor for the soul. We talked about yesterday that His promises are an anchor for the soul. We put a promise up there on that pole. That pole’s been helping us, hasn’t it? Because that pole’s pretty solid. The Bible talks about the anchor of the soul. Anybody know where it does? Where? Where in the Bible does it say anchor? Hebrews 6. Anybody know someplace in the Bible where it speaks about a rock? Anybody know something that’s like a rock? Jesus Christ is called a rock. We’ve got an anchor. The Bible talks about an anchor. We’ve got a rock. The Bible talks about a rock. But let me ask you something. What’s the greatest emblem of Christianity? It’s not an anchor. It’s not a rock. Well, I said emblem. Like, a symbol or a sign. The cross. We’ve got a cross over here. This is Mr. Seth’s homemade cross from a walking stick. Some of you saw this today. This is a brick. The Bible probably says something about bricks too, but I’m going to leave that out right now. Our rock, I’m hoping, is going to hold our cross. The actual cross was a lot bigger, because they put a Man on that cross. What does that say to us? What does it say to us?
(from the room) God died on the cross?
Tim: God can’t die. Sometimes children say that: “God died on the cross.” God didn’t die on the cross. God cannot die. Only man can die – well, animals can die too, but man dies. There was a Man on that cross. You know why I want that to happen? Something happened that some of you might know and some of you might not know. Roman soldiers nailed Jesus Christ to the cross. They drove spikes through His hands and through His feet. They hung Him on a cross next to two thieves. He was in the middle. There was one on His right hand and one on His left hand. Can I tell you something that happened while He was on that cross? Anybody know how long He was on that cross? He was there for six hours. Six hours on the cross. Something that happened – I had them turn the lights out because when Jesus was hanging on the cross, that hot bright sun out there – the same sun – that same sun that shines in our sky right now, that sun went black at noon in the middle of the day when the sun is straight up in the sky. The sun went out. I don’t mean it got covered by clouds. It went out. God caused the sun to go black in the middle of the day when Jesus hung on that cross. Darkness.
Do you know what was happening on that cross? In that blackness, in that darkness, Jesus hung on that cross. And if you go to your Old Testaments, and you listen to the prophet Isaiah, do you know what it says? It says that God smashed Him. Crushed Him. Did you know that? Did you know that God crushed His own Son when He was on that cross? Did you know that? The Bible says that He crushed Him. He was stricken. That’s to hit. Smitten. He was afflicted. It’s not funny. Why? This is God’s Son. Let me tell you what happened. God is a Trinity. There is God the Father, and there is God the Son, and there is God the Holy Spirit. And the three are one Being, but three Persons. Very difficult for us to know exactly how that can be, but it is. That’s what the Bible teaches. And do you know what happened? God the Father sent God the Son from the halls of Heaven; from His throne, from His glory, from His eternal happiness with the Father. And He sent His Son into this world. God became man. God the Son came into this world. You know, Jesus Christ lived before He came here. He was the Word. In the beginning, the Word was with God. And He came here, and He became a man, just like us, in every respect, just like us. Except He never sinned. But His Father crushed Him. His Father punished Him. His Father punished Him for sin even though He never committed any sins. And the sun went out. The sun was black because God had forsaken His Son. God crushed Him.
You know what God did? While He was on that cross, God laid our sin on Him. And He became sin. Christ became sin on that cross. And because He became sin, God punished Him for the sins of others. We’ve talked about God being an anchor. We’ve talked about His promises being an anchor. I want to tell you, we talked about the anchor. The anchor’s no good as long as it slides around. It doesn’t hold. You’ve got to have it grab hold of something. I’ll tell you what you want your anchor to grab hold of: this right here. The cross is only wood. The cross is only an emblem. But like you said, Christ. Christ. It’s the One Who hung on the cross. He’s not there. He’s here. He’s in our midst. There’s no Christ on this cross. This is only a picture so that you can imagine what it was like in that day. But Jesus Christ – He hung there in the darkness. The sun did not shine. He hung on that cross between the ground and the sky. Hanging on a cross. And you know what? While God crushed Him for three hours He was silent except for one thing. He was silent. He suffered in silence.
Do you know something? Many of you’ve got spankings from your parents. You don’t suffer in silence. You probably scream. You cry. Jesus was suffering. He was suffering more than anyone else ever suffered. And He didn’t say anything. He was quiet. Except, He said these words: My God, My God! Why have You forsaken Me? What does it mean to forsake? If somebody forsakes you, it means they let you go. They leave you. They don’t help you anymore. God didn’t help His Son anymore. God turned on His Son. God punished His Son. Do you know why? Because He became sin. And the sun was dark. And in the darkness, do you know what He did? He paid the penalty. So that, when He was done; when the six hours were over. The three hours of darkness were over. Jesus said, “It is finished.” He paid the price for sin.
Children, let me tell you something. Your life – you’re alive right now. You’ve been playing; you’ve been eating today. Can I tell you something about this life? The primary purpose for this life is it’s the period of time God has given you to trust His Son and what His Son did on that cross. This life is not mainly about getting married. This life is not mainly about making money. This life is not mainly about eating candy and watching movies. This life is not about sports. It’s not about getting new shoes. This life is the only one you’ve got. It’s the only opportunity, children, that you have to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and to trust – to have your anchor set fast on the cross. That’s a solid place. Only in this life. And if you pass through this life, and you don’t trust Him, your chance is over. Because I’ll tell you, God punished His Son on that cross for sin. Sin that wasn’t His own. It was the sin of others. And if you don’t trust Him to suffer in your place, to be a sacrifice for you, then when you die, you will have to suffer for your own sins.
Children, this is it. This life is the allotted time that you have to trust Christ. This is all you have. Children, lots of children die before they become adults. You know the guy that ran over all the people over there in France? Did any of you see it? Did you know that a young man from Austin, Texas got run over? And he was no older than some of you guys here. Gone. Did he think he’d be in eternity by now? He didn’t think so. Don’t think you’ll live to be an old man or an old woman. You might not. You might. God might allow that to happen. But you have no guarantee. You have no guarantee of tomorrow. Don’t waste time. Don’t waste time. Children, you’re not so young that you can’t call on the Lord. Like we talked about yesterday. I was telling you yesterday, cry out to the Lord. And I was telling you trust Him for everything.
But you know what the primary thing is you need to trust Him for? Not to give you food on your table. Not to give you a bed to sleep on tonight. But to give you forgiveness for your sins. Children, Jesus Christ – listen to me. This is the last thing I want to say to you. You do not want to die and be punished for your sin when God provided you with a Savior.
Can you imagine? Can you imagine waking up in hell, children, and knowing that you had a Savior provided for you and you didn’t want it. You didn’t want Him. And way back there in Vacation Bible School – let me tell you, I know, some of you children, your parents don’t take you to church all the time. You may not hear about Christ again. Don’t let any time go. You trust Him. You say how do you do that? Confess your sins to Him and ask Him to save you. Ask Him to save you from the penalty that your sins deserve. Ask Him to show you mercy. Ask Him to forgive you. Confess your sins.
And children, you have sins. The Bible says that we’re born liars. And you know it’s true. Children, you know you’ve lied. And you know what God says? Liars have their part in the lake of fire. How can liars like all of us be saved? Because of what Jesus Christ did on that cross. You want to plant your anchor on something solid? Don’t let it slide all around in life. Plant it here. What Jesus Christ did on that cross – this may seem foolish. The Bible says so. Paul talks that way – the Apostle Paul. He speaks about the foolishness. The world thinks this is foolish. But it’s not foolish. It’s the greatest wisdom of all, that you’d believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you trust what He did in giving His life 2,000 years ago. And listen to those last words that He said, before He gave up [His spirit.] He said, “It is finished.” And He committed His spirit into His Father’s hands. What does that mean “it’s finished”? It means He did everything that God requires of you. He did everything so that you don’t have to work out how to save yourself. He did everything to save you. Everything.
And you know what He does now? He offers it to you as a gift. If you say, “I want that,” You can talk to Him. He’s close to every one of us. He’s here. He can hear you if you talk to Him. Like that – bowing down and praying. You don’t have to speak out loud. Even if you just think it in your mind, He knows. We have a great God. He can hear every thought. He knows. Ask Him to show you mercy. You need mercy. I know you’re children. You don’t have a big, long record like some of us adults here, but still, you’ve got enough bad – you’ve got a lot of bad. You fight with your brothers and sisters. That’s bad. You lie. That’s bad. Some of you have stolen. That’s bad. Some of you have dishonored your mom, dishonored your father. That’s bad. This is really bad. And it’s sin. And the wage of sin is death. The wage of sin is hell. And Jesus came and died on the cross so that you don’t have to suffer hell. And if you go there, it will be because you denied and rejected what Christ did on the cross. Because He offers you a way of escape. That’s where you want to plant your anchor. Twenty-six years ago that’s where I planted my anchor. And I’ll tell you this, it’s held fast. And it will never let me go.
Let’s pray. Father, I pray again, Lord, I pray the same, Lord, may the scales fall off the eyes of the children. Lord, You are the God Who says, “Let there be light.” You are the God Who can reveal the glory of Yourself in the face of Jesus Christ. You can cause the scales to fall off the eyes of the children, and even at their young ages, to behold wonder and glory, to behold a great Savior, and to trust Him. Lord, have mercy upon our children, I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
