The Steps to Get to Heaven

i'm going to rearrange the service just a little bit sister gordon hallelujah this morning this young man was willing to come and help i want to see if he'll come help me for just a moment bro you want to come and help me you can do it you can do this i promise that he you sure are you sure hey they they've got confidence in you they've got faith in you come on you know sometimes you just want to prefer your friend your neighbor you want to come help me out he said he would do it come on up and help me bro awesome let me find out what is your name jerry jerry everybody give jerry a great big hand jerry this morning i asked brother rivers to to uh to find or locate me a ladder and so jerry have you ever seen one of these before just a regular six foot folding a folding aluminum ladder uh jerry could you help me out could you maybe go over there and climb up on that ladder just for a few steps just a couple steps look at that come on jerry don't realize it but he's helping me illustrate our message this morning wait wait jerry don't go too high because there's a big warning right here you see you can't get on that step right there there's a big danger warning sign right there you don't want to get up there because you could get up there and fall off right you could hurt yourself way up there all right jerry come on down awesome my goodness you don't realize that jerry but you just done something you just you just acted in obedience this morning he obeyed what i asked him to do and but there was something else that happened you see he had faith it didn't take very much faith to grab a hold of that ladder did it just just said brother gordon said hey if you come over here just grab a hold that ladder climb a couple steps and jerry was willing to do that and he climbed up three or four steps he got up on top of the ladder felt pretty good didn't it and some kids get up there and they want to stay and some kids get up there and get a little nervous but the gordon's been up on those ladders before been way up there way up in the air i paint contracted for a number of years and and that's kind of where i got this message idea this morning and jerry we're going to use this ladder today to illustrate the steps to get from here to heaven i know you climbed up on that ladder and some people would think oh he climbed up there so he got a little closer to heaven but that's not really true you see heaven is greater than anything we have here on earth and it's a great place that we don't want to miss out on jerry we all want to go there in fact brother uh brother julian ryder was just at our church and he began to describe heaven and when he began to describe heaven out of the book of revelations what john saw my goodness we can't even imagine in our eyes mind's eye or in our ears or in our heart what jesus has gone to prepare it's a beautiful place in mind our minds can't even comprehend or perceive what he's got in store for us but jerry we've got to get from here to heaven and there's some simple steps to do that to follow that process and this morning that's what i want to preach to you about the steps to get to heaven thank you so much brother jerry for coming and helping me out he did an awesome job it may not seem like much but you see he gave us a very important uh very important uh illustration there that for the very first illustration the first thing we have to do and the first step to get to heaven is to believe it's simply to believe in jesus now a lot of people brother the long you know they they come to church and they say you know what i believe in jesus but they stop right there they don't go any further they say i believe well it takes more than believing boys and girls you've got to do more than just believe true we have to believe jesus is who he said he was we have to believe that he was robed and flesh came in and was born in a manger and dwelt among men and he did all the great things that he did we have to believe that but there's more to get into heaven than just believing you got to do some more steps and jerry couldn't have got up on top of that ladder had he not taken a couple more steps you see the next step is a very important step we have to obey we have to obey the word of god we have to fall in love with the word of god we have to obey not just what the preacher preaches but we have to obey what jesus tells us to do and so obedience is a very important step that's our next step now this morning what are we going to obey to get to heaven we're going to obey what the apostles preached and what they taught you see because they walk with jesus for for his ministry here on earth and jesus taught them every step of the way the apostle paul began to preach and he went through all these churches and and done all these great works and and peter preached the greatest message that we can ever hear and that was found in the book of acts chapter 2 and verse 38 most everybody in this room could probably quote that verse when they asked peter how can we be saved how can we have this experience what was peter's response jerry you remember what he said when peter was asked how can i be saved he said repent and be baptized in jesus name for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the holy ghost you see that's what we're going to obey we're going to obey the steps that peter taught to us in acts chapter 2 and verse 38 repentance there was some that came to the altar last night and they repented of their sins they told jesus that they were sorry and you know what happened [name redacted] was standing right about here and that little tongue gets to moving around and she says oh brother gordon my tongue was moving around my mouth and i didn't know what i was saying you see that's the evidence according to the word of god that's the evidence of receiving the greatest gift that anybody could ever receive i'm so excited about [name redacted] and these others that have prayed through and received the gift of the holy ghost not only them but all that have received the gift of the holy ghost that are here this morning you see it's not just a promise to me but it's a promise to you and to your children and to all them that are far off as many as our lord god shall call he's calling today he's calling us to obey obey the word of god the next thing i want to tell you this morning next step i want to share with you is you have to be baptized in jesus name for the remission of your sins there's going to be a baptism if i understand correctly pastor de long there's going to be a baptism at the conclusion of this service and i'm quite sure pastor long is going to go back and baptize the candidate he's going to push him under the water and he's going to bring him back up but the key thing is he's going to say i now baptize you in jesus name for the remission of your sins some people don't quite understand how this works so let me illustrate it to you i got something cool i want to share with you this morning and gather a few things right here you see every everybody here is born into a world of sin you had maybe when you were born you hadn't ever sinned but pretty soon you get to listening to the voice of the enemy and satan wants to get you to sin and when sin enters god hurry put the lid on that that thing stinks sin truly does stink but you see when sin enters into the world it contaminates our life and it's really really hard to get out is anybody here thinks they can get it out this morning you do okay this lady right over here she thinks she can get it off so i'm gonna bring her this handkerchief and this board she's just gonna wipe it off she's she's working really hard right now and just a second what's happening it's not working your brother says he knows how to do let's see if he knows go ahead and try it out bro it's permanent he says it's a permanent marker and it won't come off he's tried really hard there have been no thank you bro my goodness he's given all he had there have been those that tried really hard to get it off another way in fact there's a there's a belief or a doctrine that teaches teaches all i got to do is just bring it to my pastor and tell him all about it go ahead brother delong and he'll know exactly how to get it off he can just he can take it and he'll get it off real easily what's happening nothing oh i ain't going hang on wrong pastor there he is that's right pastor he knows what to do brother wilford he'll have it off of there in just a few minutes he's got a lot of wisdom a lot of knowledge in that and what's happening brother wilfred it's not working wrong pastor i don't know where brother reavers went but he's not here hang on hang on i know what it is i need somebody that's young this young lady back here she knows how to do it she's got her hand up she had that fruit roll up she knows how to do things she she can eat fruit oils really fast so she could get that uh what's happening it's not working oh no hang on hang on i know i know how to do this uh let's see wait wait wait wait do you t sunday school you were here yesterday the sunday school teachers they know how to do these things sunday school teachers work with these boys and girls everywhere they know some stuff in fact you have an intelligent staff here well-equipped staff they know what what's happened didn't work oh shucks there's some guys over here that said then are you sure you know how to okay well go ahead and give it a try jerry must have told you the secret to it so go ahead he's gonna he's gonna he's gonna wipe it off with there in just a second you need what you think that'll work okay okay they're saying put a red marker on it some uh somehow they must have seen this but you see boys and girls there's only one way to have your sins removed and that's through the name of jesus and that red blood that he shed and whenever pastor baptizes you in jesus name that's what happens the blood is applied and when the blood of jesus is applied i'll show you how quick it works the blood of jesus is applied and your sins are covered by the blood the blood that jesus shed on calvary because of the name you see whenever you take on his name in baptism sin cannot stay it has to go and then when jesus looks at you after you've been baptized in jesus name sister [name redacted] you know what he sees he sees that red blood that he shed on calvary's tree just for you because he loves you so much he wants you to have his blood apply to your life he wants to have your sins removed if you'll just be willing to follow these simple steps now when you are repented of your sins and you've been baptized in the name of jesus oh the gift of the holy ghost was poured out here last night the gift of the holy ghost is not just uh john suggestion or recommendation but it's a promise it's essential you have to have the gift of the holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in an unknown tongue you see speaking in tongues is not a made-up language it's not like pig latin some of you guys probably tried that that's not speaking in tongues by the way the word of god tells us that we'll speak in tongues when the holy ghost comes i've been privileged and i'm so thankful this morning that there's some great folks here on the front i have found out that even the deaf speak in tongues when the holy ghost comes you see you can hear them speaking in tongues just like the bible says it doesn't matter who it is or where you come from what you what your abilities are your inabilities you see you will receive the holy ghost with the evidence of speaking in an unknown tongue that's an essential step to get from here to heaven if you want to get to heaven you have to obey these steps and i'm excited this morning to tell you that if you'll obey these steps you can get to that place called heaven that heavenly city that's coming down out of heaven that eyes not seeing ears not heard neither has it entered into the heart of man what jesus is going to prepare but you see when you do these steps there's something that happens right here you see you step into that zone or that area where it's dangerous and you need to learn something you see boys and girls we need to learn the word of god we need to put the word of god in our hearts timothy tells us to study the word of god a workman rightly dividing the word of truth you see james chapter 4 verse 17 says man that knows to do it good and does it not to him it's sin it doesn't matter if you've followed these steps or not it's important that you begin to live holy that you begin to grow in him hebrews chapter 12 tells us that without holiness no man or woman will get to heaven it doesn't matter if you've received the holy ghost or not you see we have to follow him and we have to study and we have to apply his word to our heart because satan satan's going to and fro like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour it doesn't matter if you've got the holy ghost or not he's trying his very best to take what jesus has given to us you see jesus has given to us each and every person here an invitation to eternal life eternal life means a life forever with him and this morning i want to tell you that eternity has already started it just depends on what you do with the invitation that jesus has given to you you see if you don't follow these steps you don't have your invitation but once you begin to follow these steps you have an invitation to eternal life with jesus but you see satan the devil it's like a roaring lion now this lion's not roaring but he's up on that band he could be roaring but you see satan is as a roaring lion he has no power he has no control but he's trying his best to tear apart what god's given to us god's given us all an invitation from the youngest to the oldest it doesn't matter who you are where you come from but satan is here this morning to tell you a lie and try to destroy what god wants to do in your life but i got good news for you the word of god tells us to look up every time satan comes to you all you got to do is hold your head up and begin to call on the only name under heaven whereby we can be saved where we can be rescued where our invitation lies within where our invitation is you see jesus christ gave us this invitation at an old rugged cross called calvary that's it go ahead and give him a hand of praise right now because it's a very personal invitation and sister [name redacted] when you're baptized in jesus name you have that name apply to your life you have that blood that he shed applied to your life baptism is so important it's just as important as receiving the gift of the holy ghost it's just as important as repenting because it's part of those steps to get from here to heaven hallelujah can you feel him in this room this morning let's raise our hands to the king of kings and the lord of lords right now hallelujah thank you jesus each person here has an invitation this morning an invitation to eternal life if you're willing to follow these simple steps you can make it to that city called new jerusalem matthew's gospel tells us however that there'll be a lot of people standing at the gate that day saying please please lord let us in we've prophesied in your name we've cast out devils in your name we've healed the sick in your name but you see boys and girls there'll be souls though that will hear him say depart from me a worker of iniquity i never knew you it'd be a sad day to be standing before the king having your invitation but hear him say depart you see he's gone away to prepare a place oh it's not for sinners no there won't be any sin to enter into that city no sin at all it's a beautiful city a sinless city a city where the lamb is a light all kinds of colors in that city golden streets walls of jasper gates of pearl a beautiful city prepared for the saints of the most high god those that have prepared themselves those that have a relationship with jesus you see i mean she was working on her relationship last night when she had her hands up there was a little boy over here praying he said i just want to worship jesus he's working on a relationship he's building on a relationship with jesus you see there'll be people that's trying to use their religion to get into heaven over 600 religions around the world today but he's not looking for those are using religion he's looking for those that have made themselves ready those that have a relationship with him but there's actually nothing you can do within yourself there's not one thing you can do you can't inherit the kingdom of heaven you can't work your way into the kingdom of heaven you can follow these simple steps to make your way into heaven in fact there's only one way in the word of god tells us there's one way in and it's through a very special friend that's here right now and this very special friend has a very special name his name is jesus the christ the one that hung and bled on an old rugged cross for you and i the one that gave his life for us the one that's called us into salvation he's called us to follow these steps he's given us a plan that's mapped out that's laid out so simple yet there'll be those that say i'm going to wait to a more convenient time i'm going to wait till a more convenient season let me remind you again matthew's gospel says there'll be those that are saying please please lord let us i certainly don't want to hear him say depart from me depart there it is depart from me you worker of iniquity i want to have my relationship with him ready at all times as we stand all over this house this morning i want to invite these boys and girls to come and gather at this altar like they did last night i'm telling you they turned on the prayer last night and the holy ghost was here in a mighty way and he's already here this morning they've already worshipped him they've already ushered in his presence so right now i want to invite you guys to come in close hallelujah thank you jesus he's calling somebody this morning maybe you haven't repented of your sins maybe you haven't followed these simple steps he's calling you sir ma'am young people he's calling people of all ages to come and draw from the waters and the wells of salvation hallelujah that's it [name redacted] she's already leading in prayer right now she's already ushering in the presence of god right now the holy ghost is already starting to move come on that's it guys you're doing awesome this young man right here prayed last night did an awesome job as i saw him as the spirit of god fell on him that same spirit is here this morning afresh and anew thank you jesus thank you mighty god for your strength and for your power we love you jesus oh jesus we want to obey your word today we believe in you we trust in you o god but today lord we're repenting of our sin we're telling you we're sorry for anything that we've done wrong anything that we've done that displeases you forgive us jesus forgive us o god where we failed you lord we want to follow you we want to be baptized in your name we want to receive the gift of the holy ghost your spirit your power and our life come on that's that's it [name redacted] lay hands on your friend right there pray for thank you jesus for what you're doing right now lord oh sweet jesus thank you lord thank you lord hallelujah come on he's moving right now let's raise our hands to him let's hold up our heads let's open our voices oh we love you jesus we worship you lord hallelujah hallelujah thank you jesus thank you jesus oh i love you jesus thank you lord thank you lord jesus thank you jesus come on that's it young lady open that voice up now and tell him i love you jesus i worship you jesus thank you for what you've done for me at calvary thank you for dying for me on that cross for shedding your blood for giving me hope lord oh i love you jesus i worship you today lord oh sweet jesus come on don't be afraid to open your voice up come on that's beautiful yes yes thank you jesus you become song thank you lord thank you come on that's it yes yes thank you jesus for what you're doing right now lord your strength your power your anointing oh sweet jesus after your heart jesus my joy i find my joy worshiping you lord tonight oh yeah come on all over this house let's raise our hands and worship right now the holy ghost is moving there are children that are praying their adults that are praying the spirit of god is here to minister to you today oh sweet jesus i love you jesus hmm so you i love you jesus come on that's it that's this greatest name that could ever be spoken when you call out to jesus he hears that prayer he knows that you're worshiping him i just wanna speak the name of jesus i speak jesus i just want to speak the name of jesus till every dark addiction starts to break declaring there is hope in there is freedom i speak jesus your name is power your name is shine through the shadows the name of jesus i speak jesus is jesus in the streets jesus in the darkness over every enemy and jesus for my family i speak the holy name jesus jesus is is i just wanna speak the name of jesus cause i know there is yes jesus jesus jesus jesus jesus so is is i just wanna speak the name of jesus i was a rich i remember who i was i was lost i was blind i was running out of time since separated the breach was far too wide but from the far side of the chasm you held me in your side so you made a way across the great divide left behind heaven's throne to build it broke my chains freed my soul for the first you time thank you jesus you have saved my life into glorious took my place laid inside my tomb of sin you were buried for three days but then you walked right out has no end thank you jesus thank you jesus into glorious there is say to jesus into glorious glory to his name glory to his name to my heart was the blood glory to his name