Chapter 12:
The Final Chapter, The Bridge Illustration
I. Man Is A Sinner And Cannot Save Himself
II. God Has A Plan
III. Jesus Is The Plan
IV. Faith In Jesus Christ Is The Way
Q# 1: Have you come to the place in
your spiritual journey where you know for certain that if you died
tonight you would go to heaven?
Or are you still working on that?
Q# 2: Suppose you were to die
tonight and you were to stand before God face-to-face and He were to ask
you,” Why should I let you into My Heaven?”
What would you say to Him?
1) God – Creator Of The
Heavens, Earth, DNA, Plants, Fish, Birds, & Animals
2) Man – Created In The
Image Of God With Free Will & For Fellowship With God
3) Isaiah 59:2 –
“But
your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden
his face from you, so that he will not hear you.”
4) Sin – Separates Us From God
5) Romans 3:23 – All
Have Sinned - “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
6) Romans 6:23 – The
Wages of Sin is Death - “For
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
7) Hebrews 9:27 –
Judgement -
“Just
as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment”
8) Ephesians 2:8,9 – Not
by Works -
“For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can
boast.”
9) John 5:24 – Hear +
Believe -
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent
me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from
death to life.”
10) Eternal Life
11) No Judgement
12) The Cross
13) A. 1 Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also suffered once
for [all] sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit”
13) B.
Isaiah 53:6 – “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our
own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
14) Jesus Christ – Our Redeemer And Bridge Back To Fellowship With God
15) John 1:12 – I Must Receive Christ -
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God …born of God.”
16) Revelation 3:20 – I Must Open The Door Of My Heart -
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.”
17) Romans 10:9,10 – I Must Confess Jesus Christ As My Lord And Savior -
“If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved.
For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you
profess your faith and are saved.”
18) BLAH!,
19) Redeemed,
Or, 20) Ready to Open The Door Of Your Heart?
Q# 3: In Your Spiritual Journey, of these
three, Where Do You Stand?
I admit to my shame that there have been times when I have purposely sinned or backslid during my christian spiritual journey, and honestly far too many times to count. Sometimes I backslid for days at a time, other times for weeks or even for months at a time - and even, unfortunately, while engaged in various levels of church leadership. My sin knew no bounds - pornography, impure and adulterous thoughts, and pot were the weak areas of my life where the eneny of my soul knew me well and was able to get me to run and jump head first into his demonic slimey pit. I don't pretend that there is any justification whatsoever for any of this foolish insanity because there is none! There was even a time where I tried with all my soul to yell, scream, curse and blaspheme God off His throne; but rather than the much deserved lighting that I should have received form His heavenly throne to shut me up I must have received a mighty outpouring of His abundant mercy instead - because I am still alive and able to tell of these ugly and shameful tales. Thanks be to the True Lord and Savior of my soul, Jesus Christ, that His cleansing crimsom blood is far more boundless than anything I could ever say or do. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" ( 1 John 1:9).
I always take comfort in my current journey when I am reading or thinking about Peter. I don't recall ever vocally denying Christ as Lord or Savior (except perhaps in my BC days) as Peter did. But in fear for his life, Peter denied Christ three times; but by the bountiful grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ Peter was able to ressurrect his spiritual life and journey on in his calling and have a major impact in the early church. The turn around of Paul of Tarsus is encouraging to me as well.
It's never too late for any of us - new or old christians alike! And this Bridge Illustration is a great tool for asking Jesus into your heart if you don't know Him yet, or if you do know Jesus it's a wonderful tool for rededicating your life to Christ and getting back into fellowship with him. And in either case the time is right to get right for the rapture of The Bride Of Christ, which is imminent! No pressure though... You pick: Rapture or Wrath?
Go to Next Section: Appendix A - Sir Robert Anderson's Messiah Arrival Date