Flora First Christian Church - Flora, IN

January 20, 2008

Acts 2: 37-39 and Romans 10: 6-13

Visiting Evangelist—Want to Go to heaven?

A visiting evangelist at a church hosting a revival began his message one evening by asking the crowd: “Tonight, how many of you WANT to go to heaven?” Everyone in the crowd raised a hand, except one elderly man sitting on the front row. Maybe the guy just didn’t hear him clearly, the preacher thought, so he asked the crowd again “How many tonight WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN?” Again, everyone in the crowd, but the one man on the front row raised their hands. This really puzzled the preacher so he asked a third time with even more enthusiasm, “Do you really want do go to heaven, how many REALLY want to go to heaven tonight?” Again, everyone raised their hands, except for the one man. There was no way around it, so the preacher stepped down, and just asked the man, “Don’t you want to go to heaven?” “Oh, yes I certainly do,” replied the man. With that the preacher asked: “Why didn’t you raise your hand?” The gentleman replied: “Oh, I thought you were trying to get a bus load together to go tonight.”

Lots Know They Want to Go to Heaven?

Lots of people know that they want to go to heaven when life on this earth is complete, but not just yet. Some aren’t so sure that heaven really exists so they put off answering the question. Some think that there will always be time later to decide. Over the years, I’ve met people who believe everyone’s going, so why do we have to worry about making a decision for Jesus Christ. Others don’t accept the ticket to heaven because they really don’t understand how to receive the life that Christ offers.

Preach a Sermon On How to Get to Heaven

A couple of years ago a church leader said to me following a planning meeting: “I think that sometime you should preach on how to get to heaven.” (I thought I always did that when I extended the invitation to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.) My friend said, “Sam, lay it out, many people really don’t get it. And those who do get it need to be able to tell it to our friends and co-workers how to get to heaven.”

This Question Asked at Pentecost

This IS the question that was asked by those in the crowd at the temple in Jerusalem fifty days after Christ was raised from the dead. It was the Day of Pentecost, and Jews from all over had gathered to remember when God gave the Commandments to Moses. The disciple Peter preached to the crowd that Jesus who was crucified, was truly raised from the dead by God. It was no rumor. He really was the Son of God and the one that the prophets foretold hundreds of years ago. The people in the crowd asked: “What must we do?” He replied with that key verse from the scripture that was read earlier: “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, and it is to your children, and it is for those who live far away from God and to those whom the Lord will personally call.

Bible: No one Good Enough to Deserve Heaven

The whole Bible, including Jesus’ teaching, makes clear that no one can be good enough to deserve heaven and that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace. If we could be good enough, God would have had no need to send a Savior to die in our place.

Is Heaven Fair?

In recent years TV news magazine shows like “Prime Time Live” have gotten on the band wagon doing segments on heaven. One of the questions asked of noted ministers has been, “Is it fair to say that only Christians are going to heaven? How can you say this?” The answer doesn’t belong to us, but to God.
Our decision must be whether we will live Biblically or not. The Bible promise is on God’s behalf. Every other life style means that we are taking our chance.

The Promise: Who Receives Eternal Life

The Apostle John spoke by the Spirit when we wrote in his first letter: “This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (I John 5: 11-12) Folks, it is on this promise that our relationship with God is built.

Walter Scott

Back in the early 1800’s when Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois were still considered part of the American frontier, a revival movement was spreading throughout the states. Several preachers on horseback were traveling throughout the frontier states preaching to people in the villages, river ports, holding revivals, and answering the same question that was asked of Peter: “What should we do?” Among those preachers was a guy named Walter Scott who became one of the fathers of the Christian Church/Disciples of Christ movement. He took God’s promises from the scriptures, including Acts 2:38 and calling his teaching plan the Five Finger Exercise. Using the five fingers on his hand he preached what God would have us to do. Our response to these five dimensions transform us into new beings in Christ, gives to us the gift of salvation and in turn gives us our citizenship papers for heaven.
As Walter Scott preached he held out a first finger and said to get saved you must first BELIEVE!

THE FIVE FINGER EXERCISE

Believe—Faith
From the larger passage of our scripture reading from Romans 10, the scriptures tell us that Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Whether we believe it for ourselves makes it FAITH.

The scripture gives us this promise: “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raise him from the dead, you WILL be saved.” (Romans 10:10) Every Christian should know this verse by heart.

The Discomfort of Public Confession

There are persons who are extremely uncomfortable with confessing their faith in Jesus Christ publicly, and have asked me over the years if they can just do it only in my office, or in their house. Why is the public confession so important? Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)
When we give ourselves to Christ in public, we are saying to God and the world “I don’t care who knows, you can now stamp on my body—“Property of God.” This brings us into repentance.

Repent—“Turn around” Say you’re sorry for the past

In Matthew’s gospel we’re told that after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptizer and tempted by Satan in the wilderness; “Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4: 17)
Repentance was the first message of Jesus’ ministry.

When Walter Scott preached, “You’ve got to repent and say that you’re sorry for your sins, he delivered the first part of the repentance equation.

Meaning of the Word Repent

The Greek meaning of the word repentance means a change of mind—“turning around and changing directions.” Our words and our actions lead us in a whole new direction because of who Christ is to us.

Man at the Pearly Gates

I once came across a story that told about a man who left his life on earth and was met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates who said: “What’s the password?” The man quoted John 3: 16. Peter said “nice try, but wrong.” The man quoted John 3: 17. Peter then said, “Nice try but that’s also wrong.” The man then recited the Lord’s Prayer. Peter said, “That’s also nice but still wrong.” The man then blurted our, “I give up!” And Peter said, “That’s it!” Welcome Him into heaven. (Dr. Robert R. Kopp, “The Pain of Pruning.)

Repentance: More than Apology

Repentance isn’t just spoken words of apology; it’s also the giving up of our own lives and making the change that glorifies God. Our living repentance re-establishes our relationship that God is in control of us, not because anything we have done, but by what God has done to bring us back to Himself.
The simple verse in Romans (5:8) is our proof: “God proved His love for us in that while we were first sinners, Christ died for us.”

Baptism—raised to new life

“Be baptized” is finger 3 and the proof in our lives that Christ died for us and we have died with Him, and better yet have resurrected with Him.
The Apostle Paul “identifies the baptism of believers with that of Jesus at his resurrection when he asked early Christians: “Do you not know that . . . we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6: 3-4)

Baptism not the End of Heavenly Preparation

Baptism is not the end of our preparation for heavenly citizenship. In actuality it’s just the beginning. God continues with the cleansing, shaping and changing formation of our lives that comes with us receiving God’s forgiveness—finger number 4.

Remission—Receive forgiveness

Forgiveness is at the heart of God’s relationship with us. In fact the whole Bible is about forgiveness from Genesis through Revelation.
While God initiates forgiveness, a response from us is essential.

In fact, once we receive God’s forgiveness for the remission of our sins, God expects us to pass forgiveness on to others. This expectation was put simply and powerfully by Christ in our Lord’s Prayer when he prayed “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

Holy Spirit—“God with us, in us and moving through us.”

Walter Scott put it in common language of the day “When you receive God’s forgiveness, along comes the Holy Spirit” to help you, led you, and to shape you.

Holy Spirit Promised in Upper Room

On that night in the Upper Room, prior to His arrest in the garden, Jesus gave His disciples the promise that he would “Ask the Father, and he WILL give you another Counselor, to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” (John 14: 15-17).

The Sponge Divers

In many oceanside Caribbean villages, sponge diving is a major industry. Divers are attached to an oxygen line in a boat, and then they dive deep into the water to find sponges. The only thing that is keeping the diver alive is his or her connection to the boat above them. In the same way, once we have died to this world our lives in Christ are always sustained by the Holy Spirit. Regardless of how bad life may be “down here” God will keep us going.

If You Have Received Him: You Have You Citizenship

If you have claimed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, have turned from an old life where you and your wants are no longer sitting on your life, Christ is; you have been baptized into life with Him; have received His everlasting forgiveness, and have received His Spirit—YOU ARE GOD’S. You have received the gift of eternal life, and have your ticket to heaven. Believe it, know it, and accept it! Amen!