Heaven's not for everyone
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· 34 viewsOne moment of decision can change your life forever. Being a True Believer means complete surrender and perseverance.
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ONE MOMENT OF DECISION CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE COMPLETELY FOREVER!
There are two decisions in my life that have shaped the man I am today. One I will share with you now at the start of my message and the other at the end.
DECISION 1- LARA: I remember an important moment of decision in my own life that has been the best call ever. Speak about how I made my decision to date Lara (add humour in).
Today is Good Friday. What’s so good about Friday? What’s so good about Jesus on the cross?
SPEAK TO THIS NOW!
Then one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at Him: “Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!”
But the other answered, rebuking him: “Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
And He said to him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.”
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three,
It is clear to me from this encounter on the cross that there are only two kinds of people in the world.
Those that reject Christ
Those that accept Christ.
There can be no middle ground with Christ.
God, in Christ, can take a sinner and make them into a saint.... the deep work he does IN US leads to change AROUND US!
In late 1735, a ship made its way to the New World from England. On board was a young Anglican minister, John Wesley, who had been invited to serve as a pastor to British colonists in Savannah, Georgia. When the weather went sour, the ship found itself in serious trouble. Wesley, also chaplain of the vessel, feared for his life.
But he noticed that the group of German Moravians, who were on their way to preach to American Indians, were not afraid at all. In fact, throughout the storm, they sang calmly. When the trip ended, he asked the Moravian leader about his serenity, and the Moravian responded with a question: Did he, Wesley, have faith in Christ? Wesley said he did, but later reflected, "I fear they were vain words."
In fact, Wesley was confused by the experience, but his perplexity was to lead to a period of soul searching and finally to one of the most famous and consequential conversions in church history.
After speaking with another Moravian, Peter Boehler, Wesley concluded that he lacked saving faith. Though he continued to try to be good, he remained frustrated. "I was indeed fighting continually, but not conquering. … I fell and rose, and fell again."
On May 24, 1738, he had an experience that changed everything. He described the event in his journal:
"In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
John Wesley is known today as the father of Methodism and his influence and ministry lead multiutudes to eprsonal faith in Jesus!
SAYING YES TO JESUS AND NO TO YOURSELF, YOUR SIN, YOUR REBELLION TOUCHES HEAVEN AND CHANGES EARTH.
THE CROSS IS A CROSSROADS AND A PLACE OF DECISION. It begs the question, what will you do with Jesus?
ARE YOU A TRUE BELIEVER?
ARE YOU A TRUE BELIEVER?
What does it evenb mean to be a Christian? What’s the big deal? How are Christians different from regular people?
Let’s explore 2 paralel passages that answers the question of what a true Christian is.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’
He went through one town and village after another, teaching and making His way to Jerusalem. “Lord,” someone asked Him, “are there few being saved?”
He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able once the homeowner gets up and shuts the door. Then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up for us!’ He will answer you, ‘I don’t know you or where you’re from.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!’ But He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you’re from. Get away from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in that place, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown out. They will come from east and west, from north and south, and recline at the table in the kingdom of God. Note this: Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
At that time some Pharisees came and told Him, “Go, get out of here! Herod wants to kill You!”
CONCLUSION OF SERMON ON THE MOUNT:
In Matthew 7:13-14, Christ began his conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount. He called people to choose between two pathways—the narrow road of the kingdom of heaven which leads to life or the broad road of the world which leads to destruction. By mentioning the narrow road, he describes how hard it is to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is not the path of least resistance—it is the hard road. It is difficult to find and difficult to follow.
To compound the difficulty of getting into the kingdom, Christ shares that there are false prophets who deceive people and keep them off the narrow road (v. 15-20).
Finally, Christ concludes his sermon by describing another common reason people are kept out of the kingdom of heaven—simply self-deception. Yes, some are deceived by false prophets, but others deceive themselves! The reality of false and true believers is reiterated throughout Scripture.
TEST YOURSELF:
Our generation LOVE self assessments.... Myers and Briggs, Enneagram etc...
Here’s the greatest assessment you can take!
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test.
WHAT IS A TRUE BELIEVER:
1. True confession and profession of faith in Jesus.
There is no true salvation without discipleship, taking up one’s cross, and following Christ wholeheartedly
Confession= repentance and open admittance oif wrongdoing.
Profession= faith and a promise or commitment to a cause.
Am I self deceived?
What you do for Christ does not save you!
On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’
Attending church, giving tithes, reading your bible, listening to sermons does not save you.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!”
2. A lifestyle of obedience to Jesus
3 This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn’t keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. This is how we know we are in Him: 6 The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.
3. Vibrant relationship with Jesus and His Church
23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’
“I never KNEW you”
“When it comes to responding to Jesus, I find it's important to distinguish between reverence, religion, and relationship.” Luis Palau
Loving God, Loving others.... this is central to the Christian faith.
Loving God will develop in you a love for the church. You cannot love God and hate his bride, the church!!
What’s the best thing that ever happened to you?
What’s the best thing that ever happened to you?
I started this message sharing the first best decision I made in my life, we then looked at the decisions of the two men on the cross and moved on to explore what Jesus says about being a true believer.
I want to conlude by sharing with you about the BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME… And I want to invite YOU to consider where you stand!
What’s the best thing that happened to you in your life?
Getting that job/ promotion?
Winning some money on the lotto?
SPEAK AROUND THIS HERE
Decision 2: There was a time when I was hopeless and lacked purpose in my life. I remember hearing about Jesus as a child and praying a prayer at a young age but it was not until I was invited to an outreach event where Angus Buchan preached and challened my own perspective of Jesus/ God. I decided to turn my life around and change the way i was living. The best thing that ever happened to me was when I surrendered my life to the Lord and decided in my heart to become a true follower of Jesus. It changed my eternal destination and it has transformed every aspect of my life now.
“One encounter with Jesus Christ is enough to change you, instantly, forever.” Luis Palau
Closing Question:
Will you allow God to take your good life and make it great? To take your broken life and make it whole? To take your aimless life and give you purpose?
ALTAR CALL MOMENT
