James Merritt - How Do You Get to Heaven?
One of my greatest privileges in life, I’ve got to meet a lot of famous people. I don’t think I’ve ever been more honored in my life than when I got to meet Dr. Billy Graham. Some of you, many of you know who Dr. Graham is. Greatest evangelists in the history of the church, has preached the gospel to more people than any other person who ever lived, including the Apostle Paul. I got to go to his home, and Theresa and I did, about five years before he went to be with the Lord. And we spent about an hour with him. I got to go to his last crusade in Louisville, Kentucky. Spent two and a half hours back behind stage with him and it was just incredible.
I’ve never met a greater man or woman in my life than Billy Graham. But one of my favorite stories he tells, it is such a great, it’s true. He said one time he was in a city and they were getting ready for a crusade and he’d written a letter and he needed to go mail it. So he walked out of the post office, sorry, he walked out of the hotel looking for a post office, and he walked and walked and walked and walked. And he couldn’t find the post office. Well, finally this little boy comes riding up on a bicycle right by him and he stopped and he said, «Hey son, do you live around here»? He said, «Yes, sir». He said, «Look, I’m trying to find the post office. Can you tell me where it is»?
And the little boy said, «Sure». He said, «You see that red light down there»? He said, «Yes, sir». He said, «You just go down to that red light right there. Turn right, go to the next red light, turn left, and the post office will be right there on your right». He said, «Thank you so much». He said, «Hey, by the way, I’m gonna be down at the arena tonight telling people how to go to heaven. Why don’t you come listen to me preach». And to his amazement, the little boy just looked at him and said, «Nah, I don’t think I’m interested in doing that». And Dr. Graham said, «Well, why not»? He said, «How are you gonna tell me to get to heaven when you can’t even find the post office»?
Now today, Jesus is going to answer, I think, one of the greatest questions anyone could ever ask. It’s a question everybody ought to ask. It’s a question that a great young ruler asked of Jesus when he said, «What must I do to inherit eternal life»? In other words, he was asking this question, «How do you get to heaven»? Now I’ll tell you why that’s such an important question. Because the last time I checked, the mortality rate in America is 100%. One outta one people die. So I got news for some of you health busts out there, you health nuts. You know, you eat, you know, germ wheat, what is it? Germ of wheat or wheat of germ. You know, you eat that for breakfast, you eat cardboard for lunch. You don’t eat anything for dinner. You go to the gym three times, a four times, five times a week. You don’t drink anything unless it’s, you know, it’s purified and you know it’s all clean. All the nutrient.
You take 50,000 vitamins every day. You get on the scales and weigh. You are in tip top shape, that’s great. You going to die. You’re going to die. I’m going to die. You’re going to die. We’re all going to die. And if that is true and we know that it is, then we better be asking the question, so how do you get to heaven? Now I’ll tell you another reason why I know this is a very important question because the vast majority of people in America think they’re going to heaven. Listen, oh this blew me away. This came out just last year, this statistic came out. For every person in America who think they’re going to hell, 120 people think they’re going to heaven. I got news for you, I just look at our country, if you really think 120 out of 120 people, if you really think out of 121 people, if you think 120 are going to heaven, I got a beachfront condo in Phoenix I’ll sell you for nothing. But think about that one person, for everyone that’s going to, oh no, 120, I know I’m going to heaven.
And I believe that because judging by what I see on the internet, judging what I hear on the TV and the radio, judging by the funerals that I attend or perform, here’s what you’ll see. Somebody dies. It doesn’t matter how they lived. It doesn’t matter what they believed. It does not matter what they did. They could have been married to 50 different women, could have slept with a hundred thousand men. They could have been neck deep in pornography. They could have been pimps and prostitutes. Doesn’t matter. They die. And here’s what you’ll hear people say, «Well, I know he’s looking down from heaven». «Well, she finally got her wings». Or, «Hey, I’m so glad they’re at peace».
So we’re living in a country where the majority of people believe that the majority of people are going to heaven. Now, I’ve said all that to say this, judging by what I’m reading and what I’m seeing, something’s not adding up. 'Cause we’ve got this idea that basically everybody sooner or later will probably make it. I read about a man that was talking to a little 5-year-old son about heaven. The little boy said, «Daddy, can I ask you a question»? He said, «Yeah». He said, «Do you know for sure that when you die you’ll go to heaven»? The dad said, «I sure am». And then the dad said, «Well son, how about you? If you were to die tonight, stand before God. And God said to you, 'Why should I let you into my heaven? ' What would you say»? He said, «Because I’m dead».
And you know what? That’s what most people think. Most people think, all I’ve gotta do to go to heaven is die and I’ll go to heaven. Well, we’re in a series on the Sermon on the Mount, we’re calling get used to different. And what Jesus is about to say may be today the most politically incorrect statement that he probably ever made in all of his ministry. Because it is so far different, so far away from what most people apparently think. Because Jesus said, «Well, there’s a lot more to going to heaven than just dying. So buckle up». Here’s what he said. «Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and,» can y’all say that word with me real loud? «Many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a», say that real loud, «few find it».
Jesus said, «There are two gates. One leads to life, one leads to destruction». Jesus said, «There are two groups. There’s the many and there’s the few. The majority will take the broad gate. The minority will take the small gate». Jesus said, «There are two gods you could choose to serve. The true God, He’s Him or any other God that you choose». So lemme tell you what I know about you. What I know about your family, what I know about your neighbors, what I know about the people you work with, the people you go to school with. You’re in one of two groups right now. You’re going through one of two gates right now. You’re on the side of the true God of the false God right now. And you should be careful in what you choose or you could eternally lose.
So the point that Jesus is going to make today is very simple. God gives everyone the right of way to heaven if they choose to go the right way. God gives everyone the right way to heaven if they choose to go the right way. So I want to ask you a very direct question. How do you get to heaven? What Jesus said, there are three things you better make sure of. Number one, you better make sure you’ve come through the right gate. You better make sure you come through the right gate. Now there are two gates. Now we’re gonna look at the second gate first. Jesus calls this a wide gate. «Wide is the gate, broad is the road that leads to destruction». So Jesus says there’s this wide gate and it opens up on one road.
Now here’s why so many people get on this road. This is why so many people love this road. It’s easy to travel. It’s easy. Anybody can get on this road. There’s plenty of room. The vast majority of the people in this world are on this road. And matter of fact, the word that Jesus uses is a gate. It’s more than just a little small gate. Picture a gate is wide as a football field. Picture a road that is a 25 lane highway. Plenty of room. Most people go on it. And here’s why they love it. There are no limitations on this road. You can take anything on this road you want to take. You don’t have to leave anything behind. You can do whatever you wanna do on this road. You can live any way you wanna live on this road. You can believe whatever you wanna believe on this road. There’s no rules, no restrictions, no requirements. You can live any way you want to, do anything that you wanna do.
Matter of fact, there’s a sign above this road that says, «Anyone is welcome». You say, well, what are the marks of this road? There are three marks of this road. This is a road where sin is tolerated. Truth is moderated, and acceptance is elevated. Everybody’s accepted, everybody’s cool, everybody’s okay, everybody’s good. So if you are one of those people that wanna make sure you go with the flow, you wanna make sure you’re always with the biggest crowd. This is the road for you. This is the gate for you. This is where most people are going to go. Democrats and Republicans are on this road. People who are straight and who are gay are on this road. People who are religious and non-religious are on this road.
People who go to church and don’t go to church, they’re on this road. Atheists and agnostics are on this road. Preachers and priests are on this road. Churchgoers, non-church goers, liar, thieves, the sexually immoral, and a lot of good people, they are all on this road. But there’s only one problem with this road. Jesus said it leads to destruction. Now that begs the question. If you’re kind of thinking about what I’m saying, you’ve gotta be asking yourself this question. Well, if the road leads to destruction, why don’t people get off of it? If this road leads to destruction, why would they even get on it to begin with? Well, there’s really only one real answer if you think about it.
You know why people don’t get off this road? Do you know why people don’t even think about not getting on this road? Because they don’t believe it leads a destruction. They believe they’re going the right way. They believe they’ve done the right thing. That’s why the Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, «There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death». So give you an example. Go down to the streets of Atlanta. Stop people that’ll talk to you. Take a little survey. «Hey, what do you think it takes to go to heaven»? «Who do you think goes to heaven»? You hear things like this. Well, good people go to heaven. Bad people don’t, good people do. And you know what? That seems right, that seems logical. Yeah, that sounds good to me. You’re a good person, you go. You’re a bad person, you don’t. Somebody else will say, «Oh that’s easy. Well, religious people go and non-religious people don’t».
Well that seems right because after all, the majority of this world is religious. In the grand scheme of things, there’s not a lot of atheists, there’s not a lot of agnostics out there. You go anywhere in the world, here’s what you’re gonna find. Somebody practices some religion. It may be Christianity, it may be Judaism, it may be Hinduism, it may be Buddhism, it may be Islam, it may be Taoism, but somebody’s in some religion. Well think now that we’re living in a day that everybody thinks one religions as good as another, then it just stands to reason, hey, if you’re just religious, if you just sincerely believe what you believe, you are going to heaven. Seems right. You think, yeah, that sounds good. How about this one? God is a good God. God is a merciful God. God is a loving God. He would never let anybody go to hell. Well that sounds right 'cause he is a good God. He’s a merciful God. He’s a loving God. That sounds right.
Well, here’s the only problem. If Jesus is right and Jesus told the truth, that’s all wrong. Everybody else is wrong. Doesn’t matter. Matter of fact, got a question for you. How many of you like to hike? You like to hike, hold your hand up. Oh good, good. Get 'em up. You like to hike, you gonna love this story. True story, not making this up. Great Britain’s biggest selling hiking magazine is known as «Trail Magazine». About five years ago they put out an issue and it contained an article on how to descend from the top of Ben Nevis. You’ve ever heard of Ben Nevis? This is a picture of Ben Nevis. That is the highest cliff and mountain in Great Britain. 4,406 feet high. So they were telling hikers, this is how you get to the top and this is how you get back down.
So it had everything you needed, maps, diagrams, compass points. There was only one problem in the article, just one. The magazine had inadvertently erased the first of two crucial compass bearings to get off the summit. So if you had that article and you were reading that article and you were following that article where that article told you to go before you realized that you would come to a sheer drop known as Gardyloo Gully, and you would walk right over a 1200 foot cliff.
Now thankfully they realize their mistake before too many people got that magazine. But the point is, if you’d followed that magazine and followed that article, which is the expert article, the number one selling article in Great Britain, you would’ve walked right off of that cliff. You would’ve never made it. You would’ve been on a road that leads to destruction. But then there’s another gate that Jesus talks about, right? He talks about this gate, «But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few that find it».
So Jesus said there’s these two gates. One is as wide as a football field. One is as narrow as a two foot wide sidewalk. One gate, everybody can go in at the same time. This gate, you gotta go in one body at a time. You gotta go in single file. And the gate is so small and the road is so narrow you can’t take anything with you. You’ve got to go into this completely empty handed. You’ve gotta leave everything else behind. Now, one of the reasons why I love to read the Greek New Testament is we get so many words from the Greek language. So when Jesus said that road is narrow, it’s a very interesting word. The Greek word there is the word stenos. That may not mean a lot to you, but it will in just a moment. The word stenos means to be narrow or very constricted. You know what a stenographer is?
You know a person that takes shorthand or it’s really called narrow-handed. That’s what it means. A stenographer is someone who writes with a shorthand. I had a buddy of mine that just called me last week, I didn’t know it, he had to go into emergency surgery. They had to put a stent in his artery because the artery had narrowed and it would allow the blood to flow to his heart. That word, they put a stent. The word stent comes from the word stenos. It means narrow. Jesus said, «This is a very narrow road. You cannot take anything with you. You’ve gotta go empty ended». So you’ve gotta leave behind everything. I mean everything, your pride, your ego, your ambitions, your sexual preferences, the lifestyle that you think you wanna live.
Jesus says you gotta leave all of that behind. In other words, you’ve got to leave behind everything this world’s put on you. You gotta leave behind everything this world has put on you. Now I know some of you say, «Boy man, that sounds so narrow». Do you know why it sounds so narrow? It is so narrow. I got news for you, Jesus was very narrow-minded. When it came to certain things, especially salvation, especially going to heaven, especially the kind of life that you ought to live, especially the laws you ought to obey. Jesus was very narrow-minded. But by the way, lemme just remind you, being narrow-minded is not a bad thing. A couple of weeks I’m gonna be going to Dallas and I gotta fly to Dallas, Texas.
Now, I don’t know about you, when I get into the airplane and the pilot’s coming in, it always has bothered me when he says, «Ladies, gentlemen, we’re making our final approach». I want to tell him, «Would you make that semifinal»? But that pilot is going to land on this runway. Now that pilot can land any way he wants to in a 360 degrees, you know, direction. He can land it this way or that way or this way or that way. This angle or that angle. But there’s only one angle and one direction that will land that plane safely. So when I get in that airplane and I’m flying to Dallas and we’re coming into the airport, I don’t know about you, I want my pilot to be very narrow-minded. I’m going this angle at this rate of speed on this runway.
So Jesus does not equivocate. He does not hesitate. He said, «The reason why this gate is so narrow,» you know why? He said, «Because I am the gate». As a matter of fact, he said this later, «I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved». So if you wanna go to heaven, you gotta go through the right gate and that gate is Jesus. But then he says something else, you wanna go to heaven? I’ll tell you how to get there. First of all, you must come to the right gate. Then he says, «Make sure you connect with the right group». 'Cause it’s like there are two gates, Jesus said there are two groups. What does he say? «Broad is the road that leads the destruction and many enter through it. Small as the gate and narrow the road and leads life, and only a few that find it».
So Jesus said, «There’s only two groups of people, the many and the few». You’re in one or two groups of people right now. You’re either in the many or you are in the few. You’re going through two gates right now. Some of you’re going through the wide gate, some of you’re going through the small gate. And so again, lemme just remind you, if you decide, «I think I’ll take the broad road. I think I’ll take the big gate». Well, you’re gonna have a lot of company. 'Cause according to the latest statistics I just read, just last month, only 31,6% of the world’s population claim to be Christian. That means if you travel the world, for every person you meet who says they are a Christian, two out of three will say they’re not. So you are gonna be in the minority, no doubt about it. So that every person who claims to be a Christian, that’s 31,6%. I think that’s overstated.
You say, why do you think that? 31,6% of the world claims to be Christian. The problem is not everybody that claims to be is. As a matter of fact, Jesus is gonna go on to say, and we’re gonna study this next week. Jesus said, «Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter into the kingdom of heaven…» So lemme tell you what I know that means. That means there are Episcopalians and Catholics and Presbyterians and Lutherans and Baptist and independents and non-denominational. Oh they’re religious but they’ve never been regenerated. They’re devout to their religion, but they’ve never really been devoted to Jesus. There are a lot of people, they’ve been born into a church, they’ve never been born into the church. They are a member of a church, but they’re not a part of the Kingdom of God.
So who is this broad road far? It’s for this group of people. They’ve never really repeated of their sins. They’ve never surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. So that 31% I know is way too high. And remember the broad road this is for people, they believe in something, they believe in nothing. They believe one religion is just as good as another. Or they don’t believe in any religion at all. They believe that all roads lead to the same place wherever and whenever it is. And we’re all going to wind up eventually right there. That’s the many. But Jesus also talked about the few. I want you to understand something, the reason why there are only a few that go through this gate is because it’s so small. And the reason they don’t get on this road is because it’s so narrow.
But again, that raises a question. But if this is a road that leads to life, why do so few people get on it. Why do so few people choose it? Well, I’ll tell you the number one reason why. And I’ve seen it for 40 something years as a pastor. This may sound contradictory, but this is the reason why. Though there’s no entry fee or toll to pay if you go through this gate and take this road. It will cost you everything you have. And a lot of people say, «Yeah, I’m not doing that. I’m not signing up for that». I’ll take your eternal life. You can’t have all of mine. Nope. That’s not the way it works. To go through this gate, here’s what Jesus said you have to do. «Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow me».
Jesus said, «You really wanna get on the road, here’s the price you have to pay. Here’s the cost to you. You gotta die to yourself. You gotta deny yourself. You gotta devote yourself. You gotta deny what you want, who you are, where you want to go. You gotta deny all that. You gotta deny all that and you gotta absolutely sell out to me». See the reason why so few people enter through this gate, it’s because the gate is too small. It’s because people are too big. I’m a good guy. I don’t need Jesus. I go to church. I don’t need Jesus. I got my act together. I don’t need Jesus. Well you know what Jesus said in the Gospel Mark, he said this, he said, «I tell you anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter into it».
You will never get into the kingdom of God like an arrogant adult. You will only get into the kingdom of God with the humility of a child. And the reason why so few people go through the small gate and so few people get on the narrow road, it’s not because there’s not enough room. You know how I know that? Because God’s grace has no limits and God’s heaven has no boundaries. I’ll tell you why people don’t wanna get on this road. I don’t wanna die to myself. I don’t want to deny myself. I don’t want to live for you. I wanna live for me. I don’t want to give up to go up.
I don’t wanna give up my autonomy. I don’t wanna get under anybody else’s authority. I don’t wanna give up my sexual preferences. I don’t wanna give up my desire. I don’t wanna give up the girlfriend I’m living with, I’m not married to. I don’t wanna give up with a mistress I’m having sex with that I’m not married to. I don’t wanna give up my pornography. I don’t wanna give up my drugs. I don’t wanna give up this, I don’t wanna give up that. I wanna use my body in any way I choose. And they’re not willing to give up their pride and admit I’m a sinner in need of a savior.
See, I’ve known this since I started preaching. I know that I’m preaching in a world and I’m preaching to people where most people are not gonna walk through that small gate. They’re not gonna take that narrow road. They’re not gonna make that decision. They’re not going to join the few. I’m not saying this to brag, I don’t know how many people I’ve led to Jesus and I don’t know how many people I’ve shared the gospel with. But lemme tell you what I do know as I look back, my batting average wane ain’t that good. I’ve had a lot more people tell me no than tell me yes. And oh the people I’ve said yes, I’ve had more than a few that said yes but didn’t mean it. I’ve had more than a few that said yes and I never saw them again.
So Jesus said, «Don’t be shocked. You better make sure you’re going through the right gate. You better make sure you’re a part of the right group». And then Jesus said, finally, «You make sure you commit to the right God». Now remember the man that spoke these words, this narrow-minded man who both demands and commands your soul allegiance, your absolute total loyalty and love. I’ve told you this before, I have a life verse. Most of you have a life verse. I have a life verse. What became my life verse is a verse I read before I even got saved. I don’t remember the first time I read it 'cause I read my Bible, my mom told me to read my Bible early as a kid. And I remember the first time I read this verse that it really hit me. But whenever it was, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
And the reason I am who I am today, the reason I do what I do today, the reason I have the passion for Jesus that I have today is I have taken every poker chip I have and I’ve gone all in on one statement he made. And here it is. «I am the way the truth the life. And no one comes to the Father except through me». I have bet my life that what he said was true. I have based my eternal destiny that what he said is right. I am the way, not a way. I am the truth, not a truth. I am the life, not a life. And no one, listen to me, not the pope, not the pastor, not the priest, not the professor, not the best person sitting in a chair right now. You will not get to God if you don’t go through Jesus. If you try to get there through your church membership, you’re not gonna make it.
If you try to get there through being baptized, you’re not gonna make it. If you try to get there through your tithing envelopes, you’re not gonna make it. If you try to get there just 'cause by your church attendance, you’re not going to make it. If you try to get there because you paid your taxes, you’re not going to make it. If you try to get there because you’ve never had a drink in your life, you’re not gonna make it. If you try to get there because you’ve always been faithful to your spouse, you are not going to make it. Jesus said, «You will come through me or you’re not getting there».
So I’ll tell you a quick story. It scared the daylight… Even right now I get to shaking. So we took 40 people to Africa on the mission trip. My whole family went went to the Africa on the mission trip. So we went to airport, we’re checking in and we get up to the counter and Theresa gives her boarding pass and she gives her a driver’s license and her passport. And the lady looked up her and said, «Where’s your visa»? She didn’t have her visa. And I looked at her and I said, «It said on the instructions, you’ve gotta have your visa». «Well I didn’t see it». «Well we don’t have the time. There’s not enough time to go back to the house and get it».
So now I am facing the biggest decision of my life. Do I leave her, get on with my 39 other people say goodbye, hope you make it or keep my marriage. I got this decision, what am I gonna do? Now fortunately the travel agency got, you know, did their work got behind and helped us and we worked it out. But while I’m sitting there sweating bullets and remember, you know, she gonna make them flight or not, I could ever remember this story I read years ago was about this family that wanted to go be missionaries in this particular country. But in order to get in this country, they had to have visas. But they couldn’t get them, the country wouldn’t give it to them. So they waited months and months and months and no visa, no visa, no visa.
So they’re walking outta church one day and they happened to see the pastor and they said, «Let’s go and talk to the pastor». So he knew what was going on. So the whole family goes over there and so the dad said, «Pastor, would you just really pray? Just really pray that God would give us a visa». Well his little 7-year-old boy was standing there and listening to that conversation, he pulled his daddy aside and he said, «Daddy, can I talk to you just a minute»? And he said, «Sure». He said, «What’s the problem»? He said, «Well we can’t get into this country, son». And he said, «Well why can’t you get into this country»? He said, «Because they need a visa». And his little boy said, «Dad, just give them your MasterCard».
Now listen to me. You have to have a visa to get into heaven. One visa on the one side it says, grace of God. On the other side it says, faith in Jesus. You don’t have that visa, you’re not getting in. But I got a baptismal certificate. You’re not getting in. I got a church membership letter. You’re not getting in. I got the employee of the year award. You’re not getting in. I got a Heisman Trophy, you’re not getting in. I got a certificate that says I stayed sober for 20 years. You’re not getting in. You got one shot to get in. You’ve got one visa to get in. And that visa is Jesus. And the number one reason why people are not going to heaven is because they didn’t come through the right gate. They did not connect to the right group and they did not commit to the right God.
So I’m telling everyone of you watching me right now, and everyone you listen to me right now. Want you to listen to me carefully. Right now you are headed in one of two directions. As surely as I on this platform, you are headed to life or you’re headed to destruction. You have gone through one of two gates, the broad gate or the small gate. You are committed to one of two gods. Either the only God there is, the Lord Jesus Christ, or the God of your choosing, your money, your career, your sex life, whatever it may be, you’ve chosen the wrong God. So before you decide what you’re going to decide and you’re going to decide, I want you to keep this in mind about your decision. Decision determines direction and direction determines destiny. Decision determines direction, direction determines destiny.
And before I go any further, I say one last thing and I wanna repeat this next week and the week after. I am not trying to make anybody listening to me right now or in this room. I’m not trying to make anybody doubt anything. Now, if you have a reason to doubt, then you better doubt. I’m not trying to do that. But let me state something that you can’t disagree with. Even in church you can’t disagree with even the people sitting here. If what Jesus said is true, not everybody that’s sitting in these chairs right now is going to heaven. Oh, you think you’re going to, but you’re not. Because you’re one of those people that walk down an aisle, fill out a card, jumped in a baptistry, got your name on a church roll, but your life never changed.
And when you walk out that door, you live the same way on Monday your neighbors do. And you talk the same way your neighbors do. And you walk the same way your neighbors do. And nobody really would know you’re a Christian if all they did was just look at your life, they wouldn’t know it 'cause there’s never been a change in your life. 'Cause you come here on Sundays and I will tell you it’s more blessing to give than to receive. But you don’t give a dime to this church. You’re gonna walk out today and still not give a dime to this church. And I’ll tell you that Jesus said, «Follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men». And you say you’re following, but you go out and you never fish for men. And you’re not gonna fish for men. I tell you, who’s your one? Every ought to have a one. But a lot of you in here, no, you don’t have a one. You don’t care about a one. I’m glad you’re here. But as Jesus is gonna say, next week, «You hear the word but you don’t do it». And you know what that is? That’s a fool.
So I wanna share with you this last story and we’ll be done. When I was going to school, some of you’re old enough to remember this, when I was going to school, used to take basically, you know, some of you’ll smile when I say this. We were just taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. That’s just what we were taught. Okay? It’s just old fashioned, I know, but that’s just the way it was, right? And one of the things you always took was you always took American literature when you were in school. And one of the people you’d always study is a poet by the name of Robert Frost. Now if you don’t know who Robert Frost is, you need to know at one time he was the poet laureate of the United States, maybe the greatest poet America’s ever produced.
Robert Frost wrote a poem that we were all required to memorize when I was in school. And some of you’ll remember the title of that poem. How many of you know the title of that poem? «The Road Less Traveled». Yeah, «The Road Less Traveled», «The Road Less Taken» right? So this a beautiful poem, it’s about a man that’s walking down the road and road splits, the path split. There’s two roads, there’s two paths. This one path that’s paved, it’s beautiful, there’s no weeds, it’s just as clear and clean as it can be. And it’s an easy walk. But there’s this other path and it’s overgrown with weeds and it’s rocky and it’s gravelly and it’s gonna be a hard walk.
So all this poem is about, is about this man that comes to this road and it comes to a fork and he’s deciding, am I gonna go this way or am I gonna go that way? And this is the way that Robert Frost ends this point. Some of you may remember it. «Somewhere, ages and ages hence Two rows diverged in a wood and I I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference» As a 9-year-old boy, I came to this path in this road and the spirit of God was talking in my heart and he said, you’re going to take one path or the other. There’s no third way.
Most people will go this road, most people will go this way. Most people will take that direction. Much fewer people will go this road. Very few people will take this direction. Very few will enter through this gate. What are you going to do? And by the grace of God, as a 9-year-old boy, I said, «I think I’ll go this way. I think I’ll go through this gate. I think I’ll join this group. I think I’ll worship this God».
And it has made all the difference. Two groups of people, and we’re gonna pray. Some of you, you know you’re on the wrong road. You know you’ve gone through the wrong gate. You know you’re in the wrong group, you know it. You want to get on the right group. You want to get on the right gate. You wanna be with the right God. We’re going to talk to you in one second, but then there’s others of you. And let’s just be honest, you’re not sure. Doubt has crept into your heart? I don’t know. I’ve been wondering. I’m not sure. Well, you can make sure today, there’s no need for anybody to walk out this door into that parking lot and not know I’ve gone through the right gate. I’m on the right road. I’m in the right group. I’m believing in the right God. There’s no need anybody has to leave that way.
So I want you to bow your heads. I want you to close your eyes. I know I’m not on the right road. I know I’m going the wrong way, all right? I want you to pray with me. Pastor, I don’t know if I am or not. I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know. I did walk down an aisle. I did get baptized. I did join a church, but there’s never been a real change in my life. And I wanna make sure today, I wanna make dead sure today that I want both of you and those watching me on this screen right now, watching me through television. I want you to pray this prayer with me right now and mean it.
Lord Jesus, I’m accepting your invitation. I’m coming right now to that small gate. I repent of my sins. I turn away from my sins. I’m dropping every piece of baggage I’ve been carrying with me. I’m leaving behind everything the world’s ever put on me. And I’m giving you all of my life, every part of it. I confess you as my Lord. I trust you as my savior. I believe you died for my sins. I believe God raised you from the dead. And I give everything that I am right now to everything that you are. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for giving me your gift of eternal life. And now, Lord, for the rest of my life, by your grace, your power, and your strength, help me to show people about the way I live, I’m in the right group. I have come through the right gate. I know the right God.
Now, if you’ve prayed that prayer and you meant it, I’m gonna ask you to do something and I don’t even have to ask you, you’ll want to do it. If you really meant it, you’ll wanna do it. If you prayed that prayer with me and you meant it, you really meant it, when we get through this service, you go out to that lobby, there’s a table out there called Next Steps, right in the middle. I want you to walk proudly with your head held high. I want you to walk up to those people at that table and here’s what I want you to tell them. I just want you to know today I got on the right road. I went through the right gate. I’ve given my life to Jesus, that’s it. Some of you say, «Well, I don’t know if I was saved or not».
Do you know you are now? Yep. Well, that’s all that matter. I want you to go. So I want you to know today, I nailed it down. Now listen to me carefully. One of the ways you’ll know you’re on the right road. One of the ways you’ll know you just got on the right road. You know the first stop that road makes? Baptism. Just like that young man I baptized a while ago. Some of you have never been biblically baptized. You need to be baptized now that you’ve been saved. You need to go and tell them you got saved tell them you need to follow Jesus in baptism. There’s some of you that prayed that prayer with me just now, and you say, «You know what? I got baptized earlier. I joined the church earlier, but I didn’t know what I was doing. Or I didn’t really mean it, but I meant it today». Then you need to go and get baptized too. «Well, I’ve already been baptized». No, you got wet.
Now you need to be biblically baptized. For some of you, maybe you need to join this church. For some of you maybe you need to get involved, worshiping, discipling, serving, sending. And then finally, you’re in that group that says, «I don’t need to do any of that. I am on the narrow road and I know it». Do you know why you’re on that narrow road? Can I tell you why? God’s put you on that road so you can point people on the wrong road to the right road. So I’m gonna invite you to go out to that wall out there on our left and put somebody’s name down you’re burden about it. And maybe even this week, you know somebody, they’re headed for destruction. You need to point them to life.
Heavenly Father, I wanna thank you for your word. I wanna thank you for your truth. And I pray today that anyone that walked in here, anyone that listened to me on the wrong road, are now on the right one and we praise you for it. In Jesus' name, amen.