Chasing Elvis

I used to live in the same city as Elvis Presley, and occasionally I'd bump into him from time to time. One night sticks out in my memory of him. I had just dropped off a fraternity brother at his apartment, and it was 2 a.m., and as I was driving back, I passed a closed gas station with a white Cadillac parked in it with the interior lights on.

At first, I didn't pay much attention to the person sitting behind the wheel, but looking again, I recognized it was Elvis and his girlfriend. Well, I did a U-turn and followed Elvis's Cadillac as it got on a two-lane highway on the way to Mississippi, and he finally realized he was being followed, so he stepped on the gas. But I was in an old Plymouth Fury III with a 440 engine that I used to drag race in high school.

Soon, we were in a race, flying down the moonlit two-lane highway. All I wanted to do was to pull up alongside Elvis and say hi to him, but he was going over a hundred miles an hour, and so was I, chasing Elvis. I won't tell you, friends, how fast we ended up going because it was even too fast for me, and his Cadillac was faster than my car anyhow, and I decided to slow down and give up the chase.

That's the last time I saw Elvis until I stood in line at Graceland when he was laid out in his casket. For my Bible declares in Hebrews, and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Let me ask you, friend, what are the things in this world that you are chasing? Success? Money? Fast cars? Maybe a bigger home? What are the things that you're spending your time on chasing? On Leonard Ravenhill's gravestone are the words, are the things you're living for, worth Christ dying for.

I used to chase a little white golf ball all around countless golf courses, and I spent a fortune doing it. I played Pebble Beach twice. I played Spyglass, Riviera Country Club, Hilton Head, all the top tour courses, until one day God told me what golf stood for in my life, G-O-L-F, golden opportunities lost forever.

My Bible says in Ephesians 5 and verse 16, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Let me ask you, friend, are the days in which we live evil? Then what are you doing with the time God has allotted you? What are the things you're chasing, and are they of eternal worth? I chased Elvis down that highway, and I never caught him, and Elvis chased fame and fortune, and he caught them, but he suddenly died at a young age, and his soul was thrust into eternity. Let me ask you, friend, where would you go? Where would your soul go if you suddenly died tonight? Would it go to heaven or hell? Do you know Christ, friend? Have you ever trusted him? Have you ever taken your place as a lost sinner, wrecked and ruined at his feet? Have you ever been a beggar for mercy? Have you ever felt your need for a remedy for sin in the person of Christ Jesus? If you want to be safe, friend, you must get to Christ.

You must exercise repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ. I want to leave you this evening, friends, with a Bible verse from the Gospel of John. It's John 3, 36, and it states, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Let us pray.