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ROAD MAP TO HEAVEN
Capt Ben Marler
What ever you do don’t take this message lightly. God has placed it within
my heart for you or perhaps your family members. Jesus said the road to
destruction was very wide and many go that way but the road to eternal
life was very narrow and few find it. This should help.
What in the world do you suppose He was speaking about? Why some folks
tell you that in the end everybody will get saved so just "be good" and
you will be OK! Hog wash! I wonder why anyone can read the Words of Jesus
and come up with this conclusion. Trust me in this please, millions in
America do.
Maps are very important if you are going to take a trip. As a matter of
fact each minute you study the map before you leave home can save you
countless minutes while in route. I find this especially true when
entering a strange city. What you are about to read and hopefully follow
will allow you to enter into the New Jerusalem one day. This is the
largest city ever built and has staggering dimensions. It is in the shape
of a cube and each side is 1500 miles in length. Please read chapter 21 of
Revelations and you will see that John and an angel measured it with a
rod.
Your Bible may read 12,000 stadia but if it is converted into statue miles
you arrive at 1500. One statistician declared that if God allotted each
person a cubic acre of space there would be room within it for over 113
billion people. This destination is sitting on a "New Earth" as this one
has been removed with intense heat. It will be a place so pure that
nothing or anyone unclean can visit it. It is the home of Almighty God and
His Magnificent Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are allowed there because the Blessed Holy Spirit resides in our
hearts. He came the day we invited Him to live within us and we became
"born again" sons and daughters of God.
The map begins right where you are now. If you look down the road you will
see three crosses set upon a hill. The one in the middle is being occupied
by God Himself, Emmanuel. He came to die on this cross because He loves
all of mankind. He is so just that all sins committed by us had to be paid
for and He knew we were unable. When you read the account of the
crucifixion you will see He paid a terrible price for all of us. Not only
was He brutalized by the Roman soldiers with fists, whips, thorns and
scorn but He was abandoned by His disciples too.
Hanging there He gives all of us hope because the other two crosses are
being used to execute two horrible criminals. They deserved their fate and
admitted it. One soon came to understand that Jesus was innocent and was
Who He claimed to be, The Son of God. When he appealed to be remembered
when Jesus came into His Kingdom, Jesus said, "Today you shall be with me
in Paradise." The other man continued to curse and ignore God’s mercy that
could be his as well.
As you look past the cross you will see a place of water. Here it is a
good place to reflect upon what you have experienced looking at Jesus
hanging in your place upon the cross. If tears appear upon your face I
would believe the Holy Spirit is dealing with you. These tears are a
testimony that you feel remorse for your sinful life. If you are without
tears, go back and spend more time back up the road at the cross. God
says, The cross is the power of God unto salvation."
When you do, then ask God to forgive you. He surely will as this is His
plan not ours. He is more than willing to do even more than this. He will
have the record of your sins removed from the "books" to be opened on
Judgment Day. The erasure will be cast by Him as far as East is from the
West, Praise God!
Then, He will inscribe your name upon His hand as the angels place it in
the "little" book of life. God has mercifully added you to His eternal
family. You didn’t earn this privilege, Jesus did as He hung dying for six
hours on a cruel cross at Calvary. If for no other purpose you should keep
your mouth filled with praise and thanksgiving as you will never smell the
sulfur gasses of Hell.
At the water God will have someone to emerse you so that your old life can
be left behind within it. He will lift you up into your eternal live even
though you are still living in your mortal flesh. From this day forward,
as you confess with your mouth Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you
shall be saved. Glory Hallelujah!
Many folks think the road map ends here but it is only the beginning of a
great life of service for the Lord of Heaven Who has declared He has
prepared works for us to do. My favorite verse in all of scripture is
Ephesians 2:10 where God has said, "We [those born again] are His
workmanship. We have been created in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS that God
Himself prepared for us to walk in. [or do] I started using this verse
over 20 years ago in a daily commitment and God has made my life in Christ
meaningful beyond my wildest dreams.
There is no amount of work I can do to earn my salvation and neither can
you. Jesus did that for us on the Cross. What we can do is submit to the
leading of the Holy Spirit daily and allow Him to guide us into the labors
prepared by God. There is one major requirement to do them and that is to
adopt a daily discipline to read God’s Word. This is the source of our
faith, which like gasoline in our vehicles, must be continually refilled.
God will do this if you will simply not argue with what He says there. I
don’t and feel for those who think they know more than Him who inspired
it.
As you follow the road map it will lead you to a fellowship of believers
where the pastor or pastors are men of God anointed to feed and care for
the Lord’s sheep. They are not well prepared to take care of goats even
though most will try. Jesus said the goats will all be rejected in the end
and most pastors would be wise to remember that. It is the preaching of
the Gospel that saves not the teaching. We were all goats at one time in
God’s eyes. Some who think they are sheep still say, "but, but we have
never done it that way before." The sheep follow a faithful pastor who is
leading them to water but a goat must be driven. The cross has not done
it’s work within them [yet].
Down the road map you will notice small turnouts at the hospital, nursing
homes, jails and prisons where Jesus wants to stop and relieve those who
suffer. The Holy Spirit will guide you in and out of them where you can
"do the things that Jesus did and even more." If you can’t then you should
ask the Father for the promise of Luke 3:16. Jesus wants to empower you to
finish the work He begun, if you are trustworthy.
Following the map you will also see that there are roads that lead off
into wilderness areas. Don’t go there unless the Holy Spirit is taking
you. He took Jesus up on the mountain for 40 days and nights to be tempted
by the devil where Jesus fasted. If God takes you there you can be sure of
one thing He has extraordinary plans for you.
I know a pastor that God took away for 19 days where the only food he had
was his bible. Using only water this man prayed and sought God for the
power to bring healing to the sick in his small Baptist Church near Ocala.
On the 19th day Jesus came and anointed him with the Holy Spirit. He
returned to his fellowship where God healed 6 people with cancer. This was
only the beginning of a wonderful ministry where the power of God was
present to heal, save and deliver when he preached.
Further down the road you will find the way into the City that we call
Heaven. Our pace down the road is up to the Lord and it may take us a
while to reach it but reach it is a certainty. The Holy Spirit is our
guide and support. No matter what we find along the way He is there to
take care of it.
So dear traveler, don’t try to be good; just allow the wonderful Presence
of Jesus within to guide you into His labors and trust that everyday there
will be more and more of them. Love those in sight and pray for those who
aren’t. God will reward you one day you can count on it.
Why not take a rest now and read the 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel and
see what the Lord has to say to you. I will see you in the City one day.
God has made me the same promise He has made you. Lets tell others about
why we Love Jesus today, OK?
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