Due to announced possible inclement weather (freezing temperatures and snow) this Saturday, we are rescheduling the 2018 Planning Workshop to January 27th.
Your Ticket to Heaven (Part 1)
To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Hebrews 9:28b
You may have heard Jesus / salvation is your ticket to Heaven. Once you pray the sinner’s prayer and ask Jesus to come in to your heart (Romans 10:9-10), you are saved and going to Heaven. But what if Jesus is the door (John 10:7-9) to get you on the path to Heaven? Hebrews 9:28 says, “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” This verse says that Jesus is coming back for those that are eagerly waiting for Him. Would someone who prayed the sinner’s prayer years ago, but continued to live a life of sin be eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus? How about someone who has “denied themselves, and taken up their cross daily to follow Jesus” (Luke 9:23)?
Obedience confirms your belief and confession. 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-8 says, “When the Lord Jesus is revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, AND . . . “It would be safe to say that those who do not know God will not reside eternally with Him in Heaven. But there is an AND in this verse, a second criteria, “AND on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!” I am not saying that works gets us to heaven, because they do not (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus said in John 3:16b that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Acts 4:12b says, “There is no other name [Jesus] under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” What I am saying is, the proof is in the pudding. If you truly believe in Jesus, your actions will show it. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” If you are not doing the word, you are deceiving yourself and probably failing the test.
Your Ticket to Heaven (Part 2)
If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 9:23b
If you attend a concert or sporting event, you will need a ticket to get in. If you arrive at the gates without a ticket, you will not be let in. If you bought a ticket and lost it or left it at home, you will not be let in. If you try printing out a counterfeit ticket, you will not be let in. You cannot arrive at the gates of the concert and tell the guard that you can go in because your mom, dad, brother, and sister have tickets. If you arrive at a concert with your ticket on Saturday, but the concert was on Friday, you will miss the concert. Do you think your ticket to Heaven will be any different? You will not be able to coast into Heaven because of your family member’s faith! You are the one who must choose to accept and follow after Jesus by obeying His Word (Luke 9:23). You are the one who must be ready, eagerly awaiting His return (Hebrews 9:28). 2 Peter 3:10a says “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” Be ready. Do not let it pass you by. Then 4 verses later Peter says, “Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”
Jesus is your ticket to Heaven as stated in many verses including John 3:36a. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life;” However, you must compare the Word with the Word (2 Timothy 2:15). If you truly believe in Jesus, your life will demonstrate obedience to His Word (John 14:21). Picture a person that says they believe in the Chicago Bulls yet they wear Miami Heat jerseys, or they believe in Apple yet they use an Android phone. What does that say about that person’s beliefs? Your actions should back up your beliefs! Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” The way to be assured of where you will spend eternity is to ask Jesus into your heart (Romans 10:9-10), pick up your cross daily (Luke 9:23) by obeying His Word (John 14:15), and fulfilling His will for your life!
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