God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton as we continue to study Heaven's Gate.
Just what does that mean? Well, we'll open God's encouraging word together and find out. In the next few minutes, we'll head to Matthew chapter 7 as we study God's Word, in particular studying Heaven's Gate and that particular opening.
How it's open to you, how it's open to me, and how we can be introducing others to go through that same gate. While we're studying, know that we're available for you both on our website at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. While you're there, you can hear today's broadcast or sign up for the daily encouraging word email from Dr. Don. That's www.tewonline.org. We're available on the phone as well at 866-899-WORD.
That's 866-899-9673. And now today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. There's some people out there who would say, listen, if you want to ask me how you're gonna get to heaven, I guess I'm just gonna find out one day. And there's a picture that it brings up that here this person is and they die, suddenly find themselves standing there in front of Peter because he's the guardian of the gate, evidently, and Peter says, come on in, and that person says, yes, yes, yes, I did it. Can you believe this, Martha?
I did it. It's a surprise. You remember John Wayne just before he died? Great man, still love his movies. Love John Wayne movies, don't you, Steve? I especially like the one of his cowboy movies where he has a dog. What I loved about it is that he called his dog, Dog.
I thought that was tremendous, very unique. You know, John Wayne said just a couple of weeks before he died, was asked whether he believes in heaven, and he said, oh, I don't know about all that stuff, but I guess I'm fixing to find out one of these days, ain't I? That's the surprise. I do know because someone told me, John Wayne actually gave his heart to Jesus just before he died, so there was no longer any surprise. He knew it, and I believe that's where he is. If he gave his life to Christ, he's in heaven. I'm going to see him. I'm going to ask him about his dog, too.
I got to do that. I'm just curious. All right, then there's a group of people who believe, you want to go to heaven, just be religious.
That's it. Religion is it. Just be religious. Doesn't matter what religion. All religions lead to the same place.
There's a big word for it. It's called universalism. Universalism, it incorporates all thoughts.
Universalism. There are people in our communities today all across America who say, listen, what right have you got to say this, and I cannot stand the way Christians say Jesus is, listen, everybody counts. It doesn't matter how you get there, but all religions, just be religious. You can believe in a tree. It'll be good. Remember about Jesus? You can be religious. You can believe in a tree.
It'll be good. Remember about 12 years ago, Eddie, we had a group of people in Flagstaff, Arizona. You might remember it. A whole group of people, they gathered together and went and sat on this big rock in the desert, all sat and hummed. And they believed that their humming was their religion. And that's what qualified them. Doesn't matter what religion, just be religious.
All right, and then there's one other. I think this is a big issue in America today, birth. You want to go to heaven, depends where you're born. Birth, culture. Deep in our hearts, when we look out there and we say, boy, am I glad I'm a white man. Or am I, you know, deep in my heart, please don't misunderstand me, man, but whoo, I could have so easily been born over there. And it runs deeper than just thankfulness for America. There is an underlying current that my birth defines my eternal destiny.
It flies foul of the Great Commission, doesn't it? It's spiritual racism, because Jesus transcends it. Jesus has no color in his eyes. Red, yellow, black, and white, all people are precious in God's sight. Everybody has an equal access to God in heaven.
Work, sincerity, goodness, surprise, religion, birth. Look what Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven. He said in Matthew chapter seven, I've got to go back to it, there it is, verse 13. He said, enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow the road, and many enter the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Jesus, here, you'd be interested to know, folks, this whole section here really is the climax of what we know as the Sermon on the Mount, right? And really what Jesus is saying here is the invitation of the Sermon on the Mount.
He's bringing it all together, and he's saying, now, what are you going to do with what I've just preached to you about? He said, enter through the narrow gate, because it's this gate which is heaven's gate. There is no other gate into heaven.
It's the only one. And what Jesus was doing is he was presenting a choice. He was presenting a choice, and by the way, the word choice implies two. Otherwise, it's not a choice.
What was the choice? It was a choice between God's righteousness or man's unrighteousness. Jesus is presenting a choice between God's way or man's way. Jesus is presenting a choice between God's grace or man's works. He's presenting a choice between God's word or man's opinion.
And one thing you're going to notice, folks, that's very interesting. From this point on, Jesus frequently presents the things he says as choices. He presents them as alternatives, one or the other.
Take a look at it. He presents two gates, a broad gate and a narrow gate. He says, choose one. He presents two destinies, hell and heaven. Choose one.
He presents two consequences, destruction or life. For all time and eternity, choose one. He presents two groups, many or few. Choose one.
Which group do you want to be in? He presents two trees, bad tree and a good tree. He presents two builders, foolish builder and a wise builder.
Which one do you want to be? He presents two foundations, a sandy foundation or a rock-solid foundation. He presents two houses, an insecure house or a secure house. He says, which one do you want to live in?
Secure or insecure? And if you go to the Scriptures, folks, right throughout the Scriptures, God presents to us this choice. He says to us, you cannot serve both God and man. You're either for God or you're against Him and you've got a choice. And I'm the one who's made that choice possible.
If you go, for example, and I'm just giving you these so that you can study them. For example, in Deuteronomy chapter 13 and verse 19, this day, Deuteronomy 13 verse 19, this day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I've set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life so that you and your sons and your daughters may live. Joshua 24 verse 13, God's Word says, Joshua made a choice as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. In first Kings chapter 18 and verse 21, we find that remarkable encounter with Elijah and Elijah looks out and he says, how much longer are you going to hover and waver between two opinions?
You need to decide. Are you choosing God's way or are you choosing man's way? Man's way. You can go further down, Jeremiah chapter 21 and verse 8. Verse 8, not verse 18, there's no verse 18 in Jeremiah 21. Jeremiah chapter 21 and verse 8 where the Bible says, I want you to know something that I have set before you the way of life or death.
The gates of heaven. You know, here's Jesus preaching this incredible sermon on the mount. I wonder what he was trying to say, folks. I'm going to submit to you what he was saying is, listen folks, you've heard the sermon that I've just preached.
I want you to know something. It is a good thing for you to respect what is said but that is not good enough to get you into heaven. What Jesus is saying here about the sermon that he preached, it's good enough, it is very good for you to accept what I've said but it's not good enough to get you into heaven. He's saying it's a good thing that you admire me and you admire what I've said but it's not good enough to get you into heaven. He's saying to them it's good, it's good that you appreciate the sermon on the mount. It's not good enough to get you into heaven. He's saying it's a good thing that you hear what I've said but just hearing is not good enough to get you into heaven. It is good that your heart is being stirred by what you've heard, the ethics and what's being presented and the good living and how to live right and how to treat other people and it's not good enough to get you into heaven.
It sounds like you and me, doesn't it? All across America, I tell you particularly in America today, I think that it would be an accurate statement to make as a general rule, folks, that there are thousands of people who listen to what God has to say but it's not good enough to get them into heaven. Jesus looks at us even today. He says, listen, it's a good thing that you respect what I'm telling you but that's not good enough to get you into heaven. It's a good thing that you accept what I've said here. That's not going to get you into heaven. It's a good thing that you admire me as a preacher, Jesus says, but your admiration is a good thing. I'm grateful but that's not good to get you into heaven. It's a good thing that you appreciate what's been said.
It's good that you're hearing, that you're not fidgeting, that you're not sitting there sending text messages and being distracted. It's a good thing but it's not good enough to get you into heaven. It's a good thing that your heart is stirred. Jesus looks into our hearts today and he says, listen, it's a good thing. I tell you, my heart gets stirred so many times.
I meet so many wonderful people so many times. You say, man, my heart was stirred by that message. I was so blessed but Jesus was saying, that's a good thing. It's not good enough to get you into heaven. Jesus said, let me remind you in Matthew 7 21 that they're going to be many people on that day are going to say, but Lord, I admired man. Boy, I admired it.
Listen, I heard those messages. Lord, here I am at the gates of heaven and you don't seem to understand. I appreciated my church very much. Lord, you know, listen, I really loved our preacher.
He was a wonderful chap. Lord, I tell you what, I was stirred, man. I used to go to church, man.
That was one time during the week when I'd go there, man, I'd get so pumped up and there is a sense in which Jesus is telling us in Matthew 7 21. I know these things. I know that good, but the part from me, you do have iniquity because I never knew because you didn't make the choice. Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back in just a moment with the rest of today's message.
Heaven's gate part two with Dr. Don Wilton. But Dr. Don wants us to remind you, we are here for you. Ready to pray, ready to connect, connect you with resources and more, but especially ready to pray. We are here for you. We are here for you. We are here for you.
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Jot the number down. As Dr. Don would say, we would be honored to be one of your 2 a.m. friends anytime day or night. You'll reach one of us at 866-899-9673 or of course online at TEWonline.org. Now let's head back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. It's Heaven's Gate Part 2. Folks, you and I can stand up in every public place and say all the sweetest things in the world. And we wouldn't do anything less. It's not good enough to get you into heaven. You know, if anybody deserves to get into heaven right now, I do. I'm the one who's doing the preaching. But God's word says, well, Don Wilton, that's what I called you to do. And I congratulate you and I'm glad you're doing, but it's not good enough to get you through heaven's gate. But Lord, I did this in your name and Lord, I did that in your name. And Jesus is going to say, depart from me. You cannot go through heaven's gate. A choice must be made. He was putting it into one little box. And what Jesus was saying is that if you want your sins forgiven and you want to go to heaven one day, it comes down to one relationship which presents one road where one choice has to be made. Watch this. You want to go through heaven's gate? One relationship. Jesus Christ will take you on one road and requires one choice.
You got that? I watched a little bit of Princess Diana's memorial service in London the other day, just snippets of it. And the bishop of the cathedral that they were in made a tremendous statement. He got up and he said, he said, there's so much stuff going on about Princess Diana and people are getting out of whack and people are falling out of fellowship and I'm putting words in his mouth and there's so much written and so much dispute. He said, listen, it's time to just stop all the nonsense.
She's dead. And folks in America today and among our people, everybody's got an opinion and we all want to say this is the way it should be and how about this and I think that and I appreciate this and I admire that but I want to tell you something. When it comes to heaven, Jesus said, you got to make a choice.
You're either for me or you're against me. And it's interesting to note even in the Greek text, that little word enter in the Greeks and tactical sense is aorist, folks. It is in the aorist imperative tense which means when Jesus said enter through the narrow gate into heaven, when it's in the aorist imperative, it demands a verdict.
You have to land somewhere. And right throughout scripture, John 10 verse nine, Jesus said, I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he shall be saved. In the book of Acts 4 12, there's salvation in no one else excepting Jesus. In 1 Timothy 2 verse five, there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Remember how Jesus put this together.
He said, one relationship, one road, one choice. How you might say to me, well pastor, what does heaven's gate require? Well the Bible's clear about four things.
Number one, it requires total dependency. Jesus said this in Matthew 18 verse three. He said, unless you change and become as a little child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
You cannot go through heaven's gate. Why must I become as a child? Because a child is totally dependent on that adult. It speaks not only of humility but dependency. And God is not dependent on me. And God says, you've got to depend on me. It's my heaven. And I'm the one who made the way.
So it's got to begin. You want to get into heaven's gate? Total dependency. Number two, total denial. Total denial. What did Jesus say? Jesus said, in Matthew 16, 24, if anyone wants to come after me and go through heaven's gate, he or she must deny themself.
Now watch that. That means my opinion, whether it's works or sincerity or surprise or religion or I've got to deny myself. I think Jesus was just saying in a polite way, I'm not asking you for your opinion. I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
No man can come to the Father but by me. What part of that do you people not seem to understand? Do you not seem to understand the church is not there to just make everybody comfortable? The church is not there just to incorporate all kinds of feelings.
The church is not designed to hold around personal preference. It is centered on absolute truth. And if you want to open heaven's gate and go through into heaven, total dependency, total denial, total repentance. You never get through that gate if you don't repent. Bible says repent and be converted then for the remission of sin. 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9, God's desires that nobody should perish but that everybody should be able to come through heaven's gate by the repentance of their sin. Repentance means you're willing to acknowledge, confess, lay it down and walk away from it in the opposite direction.
Total dependency and total denial, total repentance, and then there's the total trust. Ephesians 2 8 and 9, for by grace are you saved through faith, not of yourself. I'm very proud to be a Baptist, folks. Please don't misunderstand me. I am. I've been a Baptist all my life, I think.
I'm going to tell you something, folks. Being a Baptist is as irrelevant to what God has to say gets you into heaven's gate as being anything else. I believe heaven is going to be filled with Baptist and Methodist and Presbyterians and Episcopalians and people from every walk and every race and every tribe and every creed and every culture and every color because God has no color in his eyes.
He has no culture in his bones. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and it is Jesus Christ who has made the way possible for all people to come to know him.
He leveled the playing field. Somebody say amen. Woo! But I'm going to tell you something, folks. When it comes to what God has done for us in Christ Jesus, not even 25 consecutive national championships can come anywhere near what Jesus Christ has done for us upon the cross. And it doesn't matter whether we Clemson or Carolina or Furman or Presbyterian.
It doesn't matter whether we Auburn or Alabama. It doesn't matter because his name is Jesus. Somebody say amen. Are you listening? This is the gospel, folks. Sometimes it's true I am hearing, but I'm not listening. Are you listening, my friends? I pray that you've been hearing, Dr. Wilton. But more than that, Dr. Don's prayer is that you would hear the voice of God coming to life through the scriptures, the Bible itself. This is the living Word of God, the encouraging Word of God. And as you've heard from Dr. Wilton in pulpit and teaching in the sanctuary, I pray that now as he steps into the studio, you would open your heart to what he wants to share next. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?
I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Why don't you pray this prayer with me today?
Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much. And I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today, I repent of my sin.
I confess my sin to you. And I invite you to come into my heart and into my life, I pray. In Jesus' name, I pray. If you prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.
This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm going to be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey.
And in just a moment, I'm going to come back with a final word. Welcome to the family of God. I'm convinced that some of you in your heart were praying moments ago with Dr. Don Wilton to give your life to Jesus Christ, perhaps for the first time, perhaps rededicating your life, knowing that from this day forward, things would never be the same because of your fresh new commitment to Jesus Christ. We would love to pray with you and for you in this fresh new commitment.
As a matter of fact, Dr. Don has wonderful resources he wants to give you absolutely free that'll help you grow your faith. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD. Give us a call. Let us know about your decision and let us send you these resources.
The number again is 866-899-9673. These resources are also available on our website. If you want to contact us there at TEWONLINE.ORG. That's TEWONLINE.ORG.
And while you're there, you'll discover a myriad of resources, resources like this. It's easy to celebrate Valentine's Day by buying candy and flowers. But when was the last time you actually prayed for your spouse? Join Dr. Wilton as he unpacks a powerful message on the forgiving family.
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Let God change your family. Call us today at 866-899-WORD and request the February offer for your gift of $25 or more per set. Thank you for your support of the encouraging word. every morning from Dr. Don at TEWOnline.org. Just look for the devotion tab at the top of the website. Again the website is TEWOnline.org.
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