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Buried Alive By: Pastor Michael Brigmond
"Premature Burial" was written by Edgar Allen Poe, a story about a man who lived in fear of an hereditary disease that caused his ancestors to appear to have died, when they were really still alive. Hence, they were "buried alive."Sometime after their burial they would wake up and try to claw their way out of the coffin. This disease was discovered after they had failed in their attempts to free themselves and then died for real. The main character in the story lived in torment that he would meet the same fate. In life he took every precaution to ensure he would be able to free himself from the grave if he were ever to meet with a premature burial. The story was one of misery as he lived everyday of his life tormented by the possibility he would be buried alive. The very thought of being buried alive can cause your skin to crawl. A truly horrible thought. Yet, many across this land, and beyond, are guilty of burying people in Baptism who have not truly repented.
The story is told of two caterpillars creeping along when a beautiful butterfly passes overhead. One of them nudges the other one and says, "You couldn't get me up in one of those things for a million bucks." It is in changing that things find purpose. True Repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty of sin. And it hates sin most of all because it has discovered and felt God's love. Another story is told of some warehouse property for sale. The building was in bad need of repair. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and scattered trash all over the floor. The Realtor showing the place went to great length to explain that he would see that every broken door and window would be replaced. The trash would be cleaned up and everything brought back to top notch condition. The buyer replied, "Forget about the repairs, when I buy this place I am going to tear down the whole building and rebuild on this site something completely new and different. I don't want the building, I want the site." That's God's message to us! He wants our "site" to build as He sees fit. Compared to the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse before the arrival of the wrecking ball. All God wants is the site and permission to build what He wants to build. Some are still trying to reform, but God offers "redemption". Give him the property, he will do the building. That’s where true repentance comes in. We stop trying to hold on to our "goodness" while releasing the "badness." In true repentance, we yield it ALL to the Him and He decides what He wants to keep and what he wants to rebuild. Yet the urgency in many churches, revivals, and campmeetings seems to be to just get them into the water and baptize them. They somehow pass over Repentance as if it can be accomplished at a later date. Some have received the Holy Ghost before they were Baptized and some after they were Baptized. But no one receives the Holy Ghost before they Repent and certainly no one should be Baptized before Repentance is complete. One thing the Scripture is very clear on is that from the time of the first animal sacrifice until the last, God never accepted a live sacrifice. The animal was always killed first, then burned. God is not a thief. He will not steal your sin from you. You have to freely yield it to Him. But you must first be through with it. The animal of sin must be killed, then the Lord will cover it with His blood. If you are not willing to say good-bye to your sin forever, don’t expect God to do anything with it. When you kill it, He will accept it, cover it with His Blood and extend to you full and complete forgiveness. But if you try to keep that sin alive, the Lord will not pry it from your fingers. He will allow you to keep all the sin you want. Get the picture? Maybe some new bumper stickers are needed:
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