I’ve been very concerned in my spirit about many churchgoers who believe they’re right with God when perhaps they are not.
The Bible is very clear about who is and who is not and which type of lifestyle is permitted or rejected.
We must make sure we’re doing our part. We all rejoice that Jesus did His part - That is for sure!
In this series, I’m going to help walk you through the severe requirements described in the Bible that guarantee you’ll make Heaven.
That is the goal, and that’s why pastors and preachers like me are working so hard to get you ready for eternity.
- Praise God, I call you blessed today. Wherever you're at, whatever you're goin' through, let me tell ya, Jesus is Lord over your life. Our telecast and what we're dealing with right now in these series, just called "Heaven and Hell". And we are going in the Bible to define each one, who's going there, what could cause you to go to heaven or hell, and what you can do to avoid hell and make heaven. You don't want to miss a single broadcast. You also want to get our series, "Heaven and Hell". If you contact us, we'll tell you how to get this and all the stuff involved in it. You gotta have it because these are heavy topics and we can't cover them all on a 30 minute or so telecast. But you're gonna want to study it deeply. This may be some of the most important things I've ever taught for the last days generations. So I challenge you to do it. Also pray for us, would you please? That's not hard. Pray for us that God would just use us, strengthen my voice, strengthen my team. Send an offering when you can. That's not wicked, that's not wrong. I'm not chargin' ya. So if you never send a penny, I'm still gonna bring the word of God to ya. But you can be my partner on a regular basis once in a while or just once and help me preach like we've never preached before in such a dark time as this. Call and get the series. Be a partner and we'll study together, amen. Amen, did you bring a Bible?
- [Congregation] Yeah!
- Now I got this sizzling hot message, so, you better be ready to get ready. Matthew 7, let's go, Matthew 7. Amen, we'll see if you do that in 20 minutes from now. Matthew 7:12. What are you gonna teach on, pastor? I want to talk about bein' in the eternity business. You and I are in, excuse the business word, you and I are in the eternity business. Not only are we headed for heaven but we're gonna take everybody with us we possibly can. And in doing so, we're gonna blockade, we're gonna stop, we're gonna interrupt, we're gonna cut in on, we're gonna change the path of people who don't know our Christ or who choose the highway of hell to divert them back to the highway of heaven. Can I have an amen on it?
- [Congregation] Amen.
- Everybody say eternity.
- Eternity.
- Let's start with this verse in Matthew 7. We'll read from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, verse 12. Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. For this is the law and the prophets, verse 13. It says, enter ye in. Enter ye in, you enter in, to the strait gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way. I say highway to hell is the highway that leadeth to destruction. That doesn't just mean oops I blew it. Things aren't goin' good. It means eternal damnation. And many there be which go in thereof. 14, because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, highway to heaven, which leadeth unto life, everlasting life, and few there be that find it. If you're a blood-washed Christian today, here in this house, television, or internet, raise a hand and thank God you have found it. Somehow you found it. I'm sure someone led you to it. I'm sure along the lines someone said hey, you need to look at this road here. You've been on this road. You need to be on this road. I like the verse that says, we are not of those who turn back to the road of perdition. That's not us, we're headed for heaven. Our eyes are on Jesus. Our focus is on Jesus. Our life is filled with Jesus. Everybody says Jesus, that's what we're all about. That's what this church is all about, praise God. A while back, someone said to me, why did you name this church Living Word? Well their assumption was because we're a word church. I don't know, I thought all churches were Bible churches. But you're a word church and from the word of faith movement. I said no, no, no. We named this church Living Word because that's another name for Jesus Christ. He is the word, amen. Jesus said, I'll repeat it to ya. Jesus said, the highway to hell is very wide. There's no restriction. If you just do nothing, you'll go to hell. It's like one of the best things about preaching for Ingolf Schmidt is called the Autobahn. Where can take your car on one of the nicest, most well-built highways on the planet, and accelerate it until you feel like not accelerating anymore. There are no police to stop you as long as you learn how to drive. One time we were goin' down the Autobahn, oh maybe 120 miles an hour. Not Ks, not kilometers, miles. And I saw this car comin' up in my rear view mirror. And he was catchin' me fast. Lamborghini went by. He must have been doin' about 180. He just passed me like I was sittin' still. And I thought, I want one of these freeways. This is really cool livin' right here. But it was very wide, very well built, built for high speed. And so the highway to hell is wide. It's easy to go to hell. It's very easy to go to hell. And in a minute I'm gonna talk about hell just for a minute because believe it or not, out of all the different voices that's recorded in your Bible, Jesus Christ taught more about hell, who's going there, and gave the best descriptions of eternal damnation than anybody else ever recorded. I am convinced that if you and me even, the dedicated Christians, if we had this constant picture of hell and what it was all about, I'm not sure we would not be just a little bit more committed to make sure we're on the right highway and take everybody else. Like I said earlier, divert them off from that wide road and get 'em on this straight and narrow. Nobody likes straight and narrow necessarily because it has restriction. You know, it has restriction, has a speed limit. You don't just turn off here and there. You stay straight. And it's not wide. You just don't drive 180, 120. You gotta drive slower because the highway was not built for those high speeds. And you come to, even on the freeway, you come to a bend in that road and it's made for, you know, the speed limit will say 75 here in Michigan. The highway might be built for you to survive at 90 or 95. But at 105, you could lose your footprint, your traction. You only got about this much of your tire sitting on the ground anyways. And you get four of those, two on a motorcycle. That's about it. That's what's holding you to the ground and the law of gravity. And I believe that one of the things I've learned all these years walking with God's people is that they want to get on the highway to heaven and drive like they're on the highway to hell and just pretend like there's no restrictions. And it's just wide and fast and I love Jesus. I'm saved by grace. I can just do anything I want to. No, no you can't. And the Bible says so. So in this message today, there's no condemnation. I'm not tryin' to get anybody into hell. I'm tryin' to get everybody off that road and turn them around and get them on the highway to heaven. And one of the most dangerous things we can do in my opinion that once you're born again, you become a Christian, you put your eyes on Jesus, and you're on the highway to heaven, and I've seen people do this. They're just lookin' at the Lord. I'm goin' to church and I love God and I'm gettin' fixed. And somewhere in there, the forward motion stops. And the military calls it marking time. Left, right, left, right, left. But you're not goin' anywhere. You're just marking time. But you're not goin' anywhere. But you used to be goin' somewhere. When you were a baby Christian, you used to. You were pressin' in, readin' your Bible, couldn't wait to get to church. Came early, stayed late. Wednesday, our case Thursday, you couldn't wait for job to get over because you were goin' somewhere in God. And before you know it you're on the highway, but now you're just markin' time. And before you know it. Yeah, but I love Jesus. Yeah, but I'm saved by grace. I go to church when I can. I even read my Bible when I can. Well I forgave four of the five people I wanted to hurt. And you don't realize that you're really looking in the right direction but you're now going backwards. The Bible calls that cooling off, lukewarm. The Bible calls that, church calls it backslidden, or sliding back, slowly sliding back, wow. And I determined in my life, obviously you have too, that I'm not gonna be one of those who talk the talk and can't walk the walk. I'm not gonna be one of those who says yes I'm born again, I'm so glad I was rescued, let's go get a beer. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. And one of the things that always grabbed me, I was talkin' to the young people the few minutes I got to speak during Invasion about sin. It's a little leaven. It's a little leaven. There's no leaven that's permitted in Christ. Zero, none. Yeah, but I only smoke one cigarette now instead of a pack, leaven. Yeah, but I only drink a beer once in a while instead of a six pack, leaven. Yeah, I know it's just a little. Yeah, but I'm not really into porn, pastor. I just peek once in a while, a little. It's all leaven. It's all meant to distract you. It's all meant, and me, humans. It's all meant to get us wiggly on the straight road and get us to look over at that wide road. Look over at that wide road. Years ago I was a baby Christian. My neighbor wasn't a Christian. I still worked for the Marines. I got up, Vickie and I were on our way to church, you know. And Marines don't get paid a lot of money, you know. We were doin' okay, you know. But my neighbor had this big old speedboat. And on Sunday morning he's in his shorts, you know, his little flowery let's go to the beach shirt, and packs up his family and backin' out. And I'm just watchin' him back this big boat out and head for the beach. Vickie and I were headin' for the church. And my stupid brain, you know you have one of those. Just admit it. You have a good brain and you have a stupid brain. You have the mind of Christ and then there's... So my stupid brain said, oh man, look at that guy go. He's goin' to play on his boat, man, and spend time with his family and we're goin' to church. And I no longer thought, I never said it. I thought that thought and then I thought, yeah, but he's goin' to hell and I'm goin' to heaven. So I hope he has a nice boat ride all the way to hell. He's training his kids there's no need to be in church. Some of you do that. You train your kids that other things are more important than God's house. And then pretty soon they make for their own choice that there's other things more important than God's house. They don't hate God's house. It's not like they just don't want to be here. It's just that slowly, you keep lookin' at that wide road and slowly... And then we send 'em to Satan's youth group, public school. Then you send 'em to Satan young adult group, college. And there, every class they get challenged that God's not real, that church is fake, the bible's not for today. And they get all this philosophy and psychology which does nothing but challenge the word of God. We can't be the Christians that are just walkin' on the straight path trying to learn how to do this right but want to be in the wide gate, the wide street. What would be wrong, what is wrong, with any born again Christian that wants any part of the world? What's in a person that wants booze at any level? What's in a person that wants drugs at any level? Well what is that? What is in a person that they're so attracted now to pornography? I think pornography last month was America's second biggest export was pornographic movies and such. What's in the human race that wants that? See, it isn't the thing. See, religion says, oh naughty, it's the beer. Oh naughty, naughty, naughty. But in Christianity, because we're not just lookin' outwardly for religion to come in, we have Christ in here. So we look at it and say, now wait a minute, what's in me that wants that? Why am I on the straight and narrow, I'm walkin' this way towards heaven, but I really got my eyes on everyone passing? Look at all the fun they're having. Look at them, they don't go to church. Oh, they found a church that drinks. Wow, their pastor will drink a six pack with 'em. There they go, look at 'em go. Wish I was in there. But oh no, at our church. Oh no, that Living Word, man, pastor says no, no. And so wow, lot of rules at that church. No, there's a lot of rules in this book. Oh man.
- Amen.
- What's in that person? Years ago, I was with Lester Sumrall. I believe we were in Australia. Either there or New Zealand. And we're preachin' a word of faith type conference. And after one session, some young preachers come up and one of 'em said to brother Sumrall, you know Dr. Sumrall, I understand what you're saying about drinking, but I don't get drunk. But you know, I'm saved by grace, and I feel like it's okay to drink a beer when I want to. Brother Sumrall looked at him a minute and said, son, it isn't your can of Budweiser that I would be concerned about. It's your want to. Why do you want to? So you can get away with it. Paul said, I can probably get away with a lot. I'm paraphrasing, Paul said I can probably get away with a lot of things, but it's not expedient. Doesn't do anything for me and it just sets me back. So next time you and I want to be on the straight and narrow but we keep lookin' at the hell-bound people goin' by sayin' I wish I was one of them, I wish I could be with them, I wished I had what they had, maybe we should check our want to. Why do you want to always try to get away with something? I was preaching for Kenneth Copeland and I just gave this illustration, which I've done many times in my life. But some of the people that ran that meeting had not seen that or heard that before. And so I got on the edge of this platform like this and I said, here's the average Christian. There's hell, there's destruction, there's the pain of sin, here's righteousness. And some Christians, they get just like, they want to get everything over there they possibly can and still claim they're saved. I want all the filth and dirt and anything that would lead the average guy to hell, I'mma get my toe in a little bit. I won't jump in there. I know better. I'm goin' to heaven, I'm a Christian. But I just want to get a little dirt on me. Just want a little filth, a little leaven. But Jesus said, a little leaven leavens a whole lump. Another lame Mark Barclay illustration. If I brought out, I don't have any, I don't own any, but if I brought out a little bottle of poison and it was so lethal that just one would kill you in three seconds and I put a little drop in it, just one little, like an eyedropper, that's it, and hurry up and put it away and it's clear. It wouldn't matter if it was colored, but it's clear. And it's in this glass but it's only one not even an ounce, it's an eyedropper. This is like six ounces or eight ounces. But that's just an eyedropper. Now if I set this down and you come along and drink it, can you separate out the deadly drop? What if the deadly drop was red in color? What color would this whole glass be? Just a little leaven. It's just a little red. It's just one little itsie-bitsie, little dinky-doo eyedropper drop of deadly poison in this whole glass of water. But no matter how much of this water you drink, you will poison your soul. For one little eyedropper of leaven in that glass has contaminated that glass of water to the degree of lethal, whether you can see the eyedropper drop or not. It will kill you. One little eyedropper. And so it is with sin. It's meant to keep you in the flesh. We all have flesh. It's meant to keep you in the flesh. That way the devil still maybe as we're on the highway to heaven and the highway to hell, he might still be able to have one of his people goin' fast towards damnation, grab you and pull you over here and say, it's okay, you're a Christian. God don't mind if you're livin'... Note, this is not a slang word, I don't cuss. But they say, it don't matter if you live in a little hell on your way to heaven. But there's so many verses that tell you not to if you want to stay on the straight and narrow. Imagine these two gates. Now these gates are to eternity. The word eternity means forever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever. There's no end to eternity. That's why this is called everlasting life. That's why salvation is called eternal salvation. Oh wait a minute, wait a minute. Some people think it's just internal. Or eternal damnation. Some people teach, modernist teachers teach, that it's in you, that it's internal. But there's no real... That's what they're teaching today, many popular preachers. There's no real literal place called hell. Now you can believe your little pretty, and your little toothy, and your little preppy preacher. But I heard one say, there is no literal place of hell. Hell is just in your head and in your heart and all the bad stuff down here. And then I thought a minute and I thought, as much as I know that guy, and as famous as that guy is, I think I'm just gonna stick with Jesus Christ. Your Bible mentions hell 54 specific passages. Almost 50% of 'em are in the New Testament, well about 50%. Out of that 50%, about 90% is all mentioned by Jesus Christ himself, wow. The apostle anointed by the Holy Spirit wrote this in your Bible. If the righteous be scarcely saved, where does the heathen and the backslidden Christians sit and stand? But see, we've been so indoctrinated in that once you pray a two paragraph prayer, everything's all set, don't worry about it. If that's the case, then why do I need to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling? Now working out, you can't work to get saved. You work because you are saved. And all your great works won't get you born again. But once you are born again, you better do something with what God put in your life, just like I better. It better not be spent for nothin'. You gotta be able to say to your God, or at least ask him, was I worth dyin' for? Now he died for you anyhow, while you're still sinners. Don't even go there. I know those doctrines. But I'm talkin' to you and me. Mark Barclay, were you worth dyin' for? And what have you done with your talents? Not talents like craftsmanship, and you know, giftings. No, the things that's been delegated to you through Christ. What have you done with them? When this is all said and done and we all meet Jesus Christ... By the way, the book of Corinthians, you can't get no more New Testament than that. It says that you to the judgment seat of Christ. No human being escapes judgment. Don't listen to the modernist preachers, I'm tellin' ya. They're tellin' you there is no hell and they're tellin' you there is no judgment day. But you better stick to Christ and the Bible because it is clear from Christ and from the scriptures that even you and I go to the great judgment seat of Christ. Not the great white throne judgment. Thank you Jesus for that, but the judgment seat of Christ. There is a judgment day. All of us will meet Jesus Christ and have to give a report, a reckoning of what we did with our salvation, how we lived, what we said, who we influenced, and whether or not it changed our life, amen. That's part of belonging to the Lord God Almighty. Lift a hand to heaven and say thank you Lord, I'm born again. Do it right now. Thank you Lord I am born again. Now I want to read this to ya. 'Cause some people, you know... In my kind of teaching, I normally quote or refer to a lot of verses rather than read 20 of 'em. You're gonna get a good amount of verses when I teach. But I wanted to read this one to ya so you don't think I'm paraphrasing. This is James 5:19-20, James 5:19-20. Brethren, so we know he's talkin' to church people. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him. Convert him? This verse is telling me that people who err from the truth almost have to go through a conversion process to get back. Did you bring a Bible? I got this sizzling hot message, so. I'm not tryin' to get anybody into hell. I'm tryin' to get everybody off that road and turn them around and get them on the highway to heaven. You put your eyes on Jesus and you're on the highway to heaven. Imagine these two gates. Now these gates are to eternity. That's why salvation is called eternal salvation. Oh wait a minute, or eternal damnation. That's why this is called everlasting life. Once you are born again, you better do something with what God put in your life. It better not be spent for nothing. You better be ready to get ready. Wow, you gotta be able to say to your God, or at least ask him, was I worth dyin' for? Praise God, Mark Barclay here again, thank you. Whether you joined me for a minute or the entire broadcast, tell everybody about it and invite them because I'll be back with more of this. I have in my hand the CD series. We also have it on USB drive. And it's just called "Heaven and Hell". That's what we're studying together right now. But understand that when we do a telecast, the time is short. Not compared to an entire series like this. This may be one of the most important things I've ever taught about eternity, what's coming down the pike, and what's happening to us right now. You want to be ready for heaven because we are running out of time on planet earth. This will help you. And you can listen to it, pass it on to everybody you know. I'll be prayin' for ya. If you don't know my Jesus, invite him in your life right now and then contact us. You're gonna need to know what to do next. You can't just say a little prayer and think that's it. We're gonna help you. We are here to help you. We are anointed to help you. We are financed to help you and that's what we're going to do. Get this series, "Heaven and Hell". Tell everybody about it. Tell everybody about the broadcast. Pray for us and become a partner. If you are a partner, keep it up. We need every prayer we can get and every penny we can get our hands on. Not for me, to preach the gospel to the last days generation. Thank you, I call you blessed. See you on the next broadcast, amen.