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Beyond the Door of Death: God’s Great Offer—Conclusion
If you would, now, please take out your Bibles and turn in them to the very last chapter of the very last book of the Bible—Revelation, chapter number 22. A number of weeks ago we began a series of messages we had entitled “Beyond the Door of Death: The Bible on Heaven and Hell.” We started out that series by saying that death is coming, and we began with a quote by Tom Howard that says: “When we face death, we are like a hen before a cobra, incapable of doing anything at all in the presence of the very thing that seems to call for the most drastic and decisive action.” He writes, “There is, in fact, nothing we can do. Say what we will, dance how we will, we will soon enough be a heap of ruined feathers and bones, indistinguishable from the rest of the ruins that lie about. It will not appear to matter in the slightest whether we met the enemy with shrieks or with a trumped-up gaiety, there we will be.”
See, the issue really isn’t the issue of death. The issue is really the issue of destiny. And for all human beings, death is not the end in the road, it is the bend in the road, because there’s something beyond. Death is not a terminus; death is a transition to one place or the other.
In our series we’ve been pointing out how heaven and hell are the lost truths of the current day. We’ve also seen how heaven and hell are real places. What we want to do today is, we want to do really, in essence, a…a conclusion; a…an epilogue to our series. We want to summarize our series and tie it all together. Our plan for today is to look at two destinies, two bottom lines, and then two final thoughts. We want to remind ourselves of the two destinies that exist for men and women, we want to examine the two bottom lines of those destinies, and then I want to share with you two final thoughts.
Now, the text we’re going to have as the backdrop of our time today is Revelation, chapter 22, verses 7 to 17. And I would like to read those verses and would invite you to follow along in your Bible as I read through them. Revelation, chapter 22 and verse 7. “ ‘And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.’ And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And he said to me, ‘Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book; worship God.’ And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and let the one who is filthy, still be filthy…let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and let the one who is holy, still keep himself holy. Behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’ Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. ‘I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.’ And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”
We said as we began our summary today that we were going to remind ourselves of two destinies. And the first of the two destinies that is possible for a man or a woman is the destiny of heaven. And heaven is a place of infinite joy and beauty and wonder in the presence of the living God forever. And when you begin to look at heaven as a destiny, it should breed in us great confidence.
You know, the apostle Paul, in Philippians, chapter 1, pictures death for a believer like the sailing of a ship. He says there, I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ. The word that is translated…that verb that is translated ‘depart’ is a nautical verb. It was used of weighing anchor and putting out to sea. And Phillip Morrow suggests that the picture that Paul has in mind here is that of the forerunner that was used in ancient times to help a vessel enter the harbor safely. You see, the forerunner would jump from the ship, wade to the harbor, and fasten the strong rope of the ship to a rock along the shore. Then, by means of a winch, the vessel was brought in. “Just so, our forerunner has gone to heaven, where He stands ready to guide us safely into the holy of holies. We are fastened to a rock that cannot be moved. Let the storms tear our sails to shreds; let the floors creak; let the gusts of wind attempt to blow us off course; let the tides overwhelm us, we shall arrive safely into the port. Each day we are pulled a notch closer to the harbor by the One who proved He is more powerful than death.”
See, when we look at the destiny of heaven, as a believer, it should breed in us great confidence.
I love the story of Dr. W. B. Henson who was a firm believer in heaven. And after a long and fruitful life of serving God, there came a time when he found himself face-to-face with his convictions on this crucial doctrine, as he was told that he was terminally ill. One year after the doctor gave him the diagnosis he spoke the following words from a church pulpit: “I remember a year ago when a man in this city said, ‘You’ve now got to go to your death.’ I walked out to where I live, five miles out of this city, and I looked across at that mountain that I love. And I looked at the river in which I rejoice. And I looked at the stately trees that are always God’s own poetry to my soul. Then in the evening, I looked up into the great sky where God was lighting His lamps, and I said, ‘I may not see you many more times. But mountain, I shall be alive when you are gone. And river, I shall be alive when you cease running toward the sea. And stars, I shall be alive when you have fallen from your sockets in the great down-pulling of the material universe.’ ” See, when we have heaven as our destiny, it breeds great confidence in us.
That’s the first of the two destinies. The second of the two destinies that men and women have, potentially before them, is that of hell. And hell is a place of judgment and darkness and frightful torment away from the presence of the Lord forever. And when we begin to look at hell as a destiny, if we don’t know Christ, it should bring great consternation to us.
Perhaps the most famous sermon ever preached in America on the subject matter of hell was by Jonathan Edwards who preached the message, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Interestingly enough, he preached that message almost two hundred and sixty years ago. And I want to read to you some of the selected portions of what he had to say about hell as a destiny. He said, “Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight. And these places are not seen.” The picture he’s trying to draw…that if you have hell as your destiny…it’s just like walking over rotten covering, and you never know when you’re going to break through and fall in. He went on to say, “Almost every natural man that hears of hell flatters himself that he shall escape it. He depends upon himself for his own security. He flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do.”
Timothy McVeigh, convicted Oklahoma City Bomber was executed on June 11th, 2001. Before his execution he made an interesting statement when asked the question about the afterlife. He said, “Well, if there’s an afterlife, I will improvise; I will adapt, I will overcome in some way.” See how he flatters himself that in some way he’s going to be able to adapt or overcome?
The reality is, as Jonathan Edwards goes on to say, that “The bow of God’s wrath is bent and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart and strains the bow. And it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.” He says, “There is no other reason to be given why you have not dropped into hell since you arose this morning, but that God’s hand has held you up.” See, the destiny of hell should bring great consternation. He goes on to say, “How dreadful is the state of those who are daily and hourly in danger of this great wrath and infinite misery. But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious they may otherwise be. O that you would consider it, whether you be young or old.”
See, words cannot really adequately describe the peril potentially a person faces without the person of Jesus Christ. See, when you look at hell as a destiny, if you don’t know Christ, it should bring great consternation…great consternation.
Right here, in Revelation, chapter 22, we have the two destinies laid out for us. We’d see it in verses 14 and 15. Notice verse 14 says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” If you have a New King James Version, the first phrase reads a little differently. It says, “Blessed are those who do His commandments.” But the oldest manuscripts that we have are reflected in the New American Standard and the NIV. “Blessed are those who wash their robes…,” an allusion to chapter 7 and verse 14—one of the most interesting pictures in the book of Revelation, because it says there that the saints wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. What an incredible picture that is. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.”
That’s one destiny. The second potential destiny is in verse 15: “Outside…”—it says—“…are the dogs…”. Now, you have to understand, in their culture, they were much different from us. They didn’t have dogs that they would keep as house pets. They wouldn’t spend seventy-five dollars to have their poodle, you know, fluffed and shampooed and trimmed. Uh…they didn’t do that. In fact…dogs, in their culture, were mangy scavengers, and thus it became a derogatory term that was used of individuals. Here God uses it of those who are on the road to the destiny of hell. “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” I like the way the NIV translates it: “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
We see the two destinies really referred to also in verse 11, which is a very interesting verse. I don’t know if you noticed it when we read through it. In your notes you might also jot down Daniel, chapter 12 and verse 10. You can look it up later. It’s really a parallel to verse 11. You read through verse 11, and you’re saying, “Well, what’s going on here—let the one who does wrong still do wrong; let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness? What’s…what’s happening here?” Well, this verse is not communicating that God has closed the door to those who wish to repent. In verse 17 we see an open invitation is thrown out to people. But really the essence of verse 11 is, it’s stressing that the choices of this life determine our destiny for eternity. There will be no second chances. For those who’ve chosen to do unrighteousness, go ahead and do unrighteousness because that’s become your destiny. For those who choose to do righteousness, continue to practice righteousness because that is a reflection of your destiny.
And so, we have two destinies laid out—heaven or hell. And every person will experience one or the other.
But the second thing we want to look at, today, which I think is very important, would be the two bottom lines…the two bottom lines. How many ‘bottom line’ type people do we have here, who like just the bottom line information? There’s quite a few of you out there. You know that’s an accounting term that basically means when all the figures are added up—everything’s subtracted—what’s on the bottom line? When you add it all up, where are you? And we want to talk about the bottom line that relates to heaven, if that is your destiny. And I think the bottom line related to those of us who have heaven as our destiny would be this little simple statement: how then should we live? If heaven is our destiny, how should we then live?
And I believe there’s three guidelines for how we should live given to us in this chapter of Revelation 22. How should we then live? Well, the first thing we need to be doing, as a believer who has heaven as our destiny, is we need to obey God’s truth. We’re called to that. Notice verse 7. He says, “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” You know, Revelation is a picture of what’s going to go on in the future. And…and the idea is that we’re not to let prophecy feed our fascination…“Isn’t that incredible what’s coming?” But, rather, it should cause us to heed the truth; to keep the truth.
When we were at the Family Life Marriage Conference in Fresno, one of the sessions that we have is a session with pre-marrieds—couples who are not yet married—and they’ve come to the conference to learn about marriage. And so, we have a session with them together…it’s a very interesting little session that we do. But when we did that this time, my speaking partner, Carl, had all of these couples—it was one of the larger groups of pre-marrieds I’ve seen at a conference—and he asked them at the very beginning for all of them to bow their heads. And then he said this: “I want you, if you are sexually active as a couple right now—pre-married couple—I want you to just nod your head a little bit. Well, he said that eighty percent of those in that pre-married section were nodding their head. Now, I want you to know something. What’s interesting about this conference—because most of the word goes out through churches and through Christian radio—guess what. Most of those pre-marrieds are people who have a connection with church. Eighty percent of them are involved with being sexually active before they’re married. Now, he went on to challenge them to go back to being pure until the day of their marriage. But, you know, that’s a fascinating thing. Here we have people who are connected with the church, largely who would probably point to their destiny as heaven, and yet, are we obeying God’s truth?
Keep your finger in Revelation 22. Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians…1 Thessalonians, chapter 4. The bottom line of heaven—how should we then live?—we need to be obeying God’s truth. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 3. It says, “…this is the will of God…”. Only three times in the Bible—in the New Testament—does it state that flat out: this is the will of God. Your sanctification, your being set apart as…different. “that is…”—this is what he has in mind—“…that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel…”—his own body—“…in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles…”—like the world—“…who do not know God.” We need to obey God’s truth, and it’s pretty clear, isn’t it?
Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 4 says it very clearly also. It says, there, “…let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators…”—those who have sex before they’re married—“…and adulterers…”—those who have sex with someone after they’re married besides their mate—“…God will judge.” We need to obey God’s truth.
And so, the question we need to be asking ourselves, if heaven is our destiny, is: are we heeding God’s truth? That’s the bottom line; are we heeding His truth? The first element in how we should then live is we are to obey God’s truth.
The second that we see in Revelation 22 is that we’re to worship God. Did you notice that in verses 8 and 9? In verse 8 John seems to be a little overwhelmed and overcome by all that he’s being shown on his personal tour of heaven and future events. And he says, “I…am the one who heard and I saw these things. And when I…heard and saw, I…fell down at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And he said to me, ‘Don’t do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets….’ ” And he ends with a little phrase there at the end of verse 9: “worship God.” The bottom line for those of us who have a destiny of heaven is that we’re to be worshiping God. The word ‘worship’ means to bow down before a superior; to bow down before a superior with a humbled heart. You know, when you, as a believer, begin to just view heaven and hell and what Christ has done, there ought to be this incredible surge of adoration and gratefulness that just pours out of us. We ought to worship God.
Let me rephrase the idea of worshiping God a little bit differently, as Paul does in Romans 12:2. Let Him have your life…let Him have your life. Paul says that is your reasonable service of worship. And so, the question for those of us who have heaven as our destiny is, does He have your heart?…does He have your heart?
You know, there’s a fascinating tendency among believers. I experienced this myself early on in my Christian life, so I understand that it can happen. But it’s a most fascinating thing, and that is that we seem to be willing to trust Christ as Savior for what happens to us after death. But then, when it comes to letting Him have our life now, we want to be reluctant about it. “Well, I don’t know, you know…”. I can remember thinking, “Well, great! I want to trust Him for my life after death, but, man, I’m not really sure He’s going to do something really weird. He’s going to make me really miserable, if I let Him have my life now.” I want to tell you something. If that’s a thought that you’ve been wrestling with, and if that’s really a picture of your life, I want you to know straight up: you have been victimized by the wiley strategy of the enemy himself. He’s the one who promotes that concept: “Oh, yes. You can trust Him for what happens after death, but not for what really goes on in your temporal life.” That’s a lie from the pit of hell. Does He have your heart?
So, if we have heaven as our destiny, how should we then live? Well, we need to obey God’s truth; we need to worship Him. The third thing we see surfacing in Revelation 22 is, we are to live in ‘ready mode,’ if you will—‘ready mode.’ Notice verse 7, the first part of it: “And behold, I am coming quickly…”. Verse 12: “Behold, I am coming quickly…”. Verse 20, which we did not read: “Yes, I am coming quickly.” You know, the very next event in the prophetic calendar of God is Jesus Christ coming back for the believers—1 Thessalonians, chapter 4; 1 Corinthians, chapter 15 describes that event. It is an imminent event. In other words, it’s the next thing that can happen, and it could happen at any time. And Jesus says, interestingly enough, several times, here, “I am coming quickly.” Very interesting construction. It’s not “I will sometime in the future,” it’s present tense: “I am in the process of coming, and I’m coming quickly.”
That word ‘quickly’ can mean ‘suddenly’ or ‘swiftly.’ When He comes back for us, it will be sudden; it will be in the twinkling of an eye—flash!—before we know it we’re going to be right with Him. “I am coming suddenly, swiftly,” but it also can be translated “I am coming quickly; that is, soon and shortly.” And sometimes people go, “Wait a minute. It’s been, you know, nineteen hundred years since He made these statements. What…what is this, ‘I’m coming shortly or soon?’ ”
You know, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come into a better understanding of some of the marks of maturity. You know, a lot of times you wonder what are the marks of maturity; when do you know you’re mature? And I have discovered what one of those marks of maturity is. It’s a mark of maturity when you realize that time is short. See, if you haven’t yet realized that time is short, you haven’t yet reached maturity. But one of the marks is that you understand that time is short. And it’s amazing! We begin to look at these years and we think, “Well, He said ‘I’m coming soon; I’m coming shortly;’ I…I don’t understand that.” Listen, I’m fifty years old now, and I, myself, have lived one fortieth of all of the time that has passed from when these words were spoken up to this very day.
Time is short…time is short, and we need to live in ‘ready mode.’ I think that means two things, if we’re going to live in ‘ready mode.’ Number one, it means we need to clean up what needs to be cleaned up.
Interesting story is told by Steven Lawson in his book, “Heaven Help Us.” He writes: “I heard about a second-grade class that received word that the principal was coming to inspect their room during the upcoming week. The exact time of his visit, however, was unknown. One little girl said to her classmate, ‘Aren’t you going to clean up your desk? You know, the principal’s coming.’ Her friend replied, ‘Ah, I’ll pick it up tomorrow.’ ‘But, what if,’ she asked, ‘he comes today?’ ‘Well, I’ll pick it up this afternoon.’ ‘But what if he comes this morning?’ ‘Well, I’ll pick it up right after recess.’ ‘But what if he comes before recess?’ Well, the little girl thought for a moment and said, ‘I think I’d better clean up my desk now, and I’d better keep it clean.’ ”
Well, that’s the way we need to be regarding the second coming of Christ—His return for us. We need to clean up our lives now and we need to keep them clean. That’s part of ‘ready mode.’ What areas of your life do you need to clean up, today?
If we’re going to live in ‘ready mode;’ number one, it means we need to clean up what we need to clean up. Number two, it means we need to live with a sense of urgency…a sense of urgency. Time is a limited commodity, and people are of eternal value. We need to understand a sense of urgency. You know, Jesus practiced this. He says in John 9, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no man can work.” If we’re going to live in ‘ready mode,’ we must live with a sense of urgency.
Joni Eareckson Tada said, “When a Christian realizes his citizenship is in heaven, he begins acting as a responsible citizen of earth. He invests wisely in relationships, because he knows they are eternal. His conversations, goals, and motives become pure and honest, because he realizes these will have a bearing on everlasting reward. He gives generously of time, money, and talent…”—are we doing that?—“because he’s laying up treasures for eternity. He spreads the good news of Christ, because he longs to fill heaven’s ranks with his friends and neighbors.”
We need to live life with a sense of urgency.
You know what that really means? It means that…listen…the career that we have—the job that we have—it’s not, primarily, for our self-gratification. If we’re going to live life with a sense of urgency, that means that our career is a platform from which Christ can be seen in the workplace, and our career is a means by which kingdom business can be funded. That’s the bottom line for those of us who have heaven as our destiny: obey God’s truth and worship Him, and live in a ‘ready mode.’
But there is a second bottom line we want to look at, very quickly, and that’s the bottom line that relates to hell as a destiny. And if you’re able to hear my voice, or able to read my words, the bottom line of hell as your destiny without Christ is, don’t pass on God’s great offer…don’t pass on His great offer.
Look at verse 17. “And the Spirit…”—the Spirit of God—“…and the bride…”—the church of Christ—“…say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” You see, the whole idea, here, is that the way is open for those without Christ. When he talks about being thirsty in verse 17, he’s talking having a sense of need.
If you don’t know Christ, I want to ask you the question: are you thirsty? Do you recognize your predicament before a holy God? Are you thirsty? Do you acknowledge your need for deliverance from the wrath of God? Are you thirsty? Do you admit that your basic spiritual need is for forgiveness of sin?
The amazing truth is, for every man and woman, there is nothing…nothing…absolutely nothing an individual can do to help pay for their sin. There’s no amount of good works or good living that we can stack up that can pay for it. There’s no amount of religious attendance that can pay for it. There’s no amount of penances that can be done that can pay for it. Do you know that even the Old Testament sacrifices that were instituted by God Himself could never take away sins? That’s what it says in Hebrews, chapter 10. There’s nothing that we can do. And yet, there is an offer made for those who are thirsty and that is to take the water of life without cost. Now, it was at great expense for Jesus Christ, because He died for your sins, but it is at no cost to you, personally.
While I was gone, I missed the great event. That was the opening of the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in South Oklahoma City—the best doughnuts in the universe. I haven’t yet gotten up there, but I have eaten Krispy Kreme doughnuts and, indeed, they are the best doughnuts in the universe. Jordan Parks showed up at the Oklahoma City Krispy Kreme doughnut shop at 9 a.m. the day before they opened. Twenty hours before they started selling doughnuts, he was there. The first day they had the shop they averaged a four-hour wait to get doughnuts at Krispy Kreme. And it’s worth a wait…I’m not sure four hours, but it’s worth a little bit of a wait. But isn’t it amazing to think about that people will wait in line for hours to enjoy a Krispy Kreme doughnut, and there’s not a long line to accept God’s great offer of drinking without cost from the water of life? Something…there’s a disconnect somewhere; I mean, a major league disconnect here.
Notice verse 17 says, “…the one who wishes…let the one who wishes take the water of life…”. See, it’s an act of the will. It’s a life decision that people have to make, and it’s there…it’s there. “Let the one who wishes…”—who makes that life decision—“…take the water of life without cost.” If you do not take the water of life when it is offered, you will hear, at death, something different than the words, “Come.” You will hear, “Depart from Me.” An incredible bottom line related to hell.
We said we were going to look at two destinies; we were going to look at two bottom lines. I just want to conclude with two final thoughts. The first final thought relates to those of us who are believers; who have with confidence heaven as our final destiny. The story is told by Joe Stowell of his friend Bud Wood who is the founder and developer of what has become one of the finest homes in America for mentally challenged children and adults. Shepherd’s Home is located in Union Grove, Wisconsin. It ministers to many who are afflicted with Downs Syndrome. The staff at Shepherd’s makes a concerted, concentrated effort to present the gospel to these children, and, as a result, many have understood; many have drunk of the water of life and have come to believe in Christ as Savior and in the heaven that will be their home. He says, “Bud once told me that one of the major maintenance problems they have at Shepherd’s is dirty windows.” And Joe said, “What do you mean? How can that be a problem; dirty windows? Bud went on to explain: ‘You can walk through our corridors any time of the day, and you will see some of these precious children standing with their hands, noses, and faces pressed to the windows; looking up to see if Christ might not be coming back right then to take them home and make them whole.’ Their simple minds and hearts have much to teach us. We should be asking ourselves, ‘When was the last time we glanced toward the sky to see if this might not be that long-awaited moment when we finally see Him face to face?’ ”
Second final thought I have is for those who have yet to partake of the water of life. It’s really a poem that was found on the body of a nineteen-year-old American soldier in Vietnam. The poem was entitled, “A Boy Meets God.” “Look, God, I have never spoken to you, but now I want to say, ‘How do You do?’ You see, God, they told me You did not exist, and like a fool, I believed all this. Last night from a shell hole, I saw Your sky. I figured right then that they’d told me a lie. Had I taken the time to see things You made, I would know they weren’t calling a spade a spade. I wonder, God, if You would shake my hand. Somehow, I feel that You will understand. Strange, I had to come to this hellish place before I had time to see Your face. Well, I guess there isn’t much more to say, but I sure am glad, God, I met You today. I guess the zero hour will soon be here, but I’m not afraid since I know that You are near. The signal. Well, God, I have to go. I love You lots; this I want You to know. Looks like this will be a horrible fight. Who knows, I may come to Your house tonight. Though I wasn’t friendly with You before, I wonder, God, if You would wait for me at the door. Look! I’m crying. Me, shedding tears. I wish I had known You these many years. Well, I will have to go now, God. Goodbye. Strange, since I met You, I’m not afraid to die.”
If you have not yet partaken of the water of life, that nineteen-year-old’s story can be your story today.
I want us to bow our heads. We’re going to take a few extra minutes just to do a little business with God. Here’s what I want you to do. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you have heaven as your destiny, I want you to just listen to me for a moment. Anybody else can tune out. I want us to take just a couple of minutes to do some business with God and take a look at that bottom line of our destiny. Ask yourself, before Him, are you heeding His truth? Ask yourself, does He have my heart? What areas do you need to clean up? Are you living a life with a sense of urgency and a view to eternity? Those of you who are believers just take a few moments—tune out from me for just a few minutes—and be with the Lord.
For those of you who may be here, or hearing my voice or even reading these words, who don’t know Jesus Christ and are in danger of falling through the rotten wood and falling into a destiny of hell, I would simply say to you that you can change that right now. The water of life is available. You can drink freely because of what He has done. If you’d like to trust in Christ, you can do that right now. You can change your destiny right now. I’d like to suggest a prayer that you can repeat after me, if that’s the life decision you want to make. It goes something like this: Dear God. Thank You for making me and loving me, even though I’ve ignored You and lived life my way. I know I’m a sinner. Nothing I do will earn forgiveness or get me to heaven. But I believe that Jesus Christ died for me and rose from the grave. Right now, I want to put my trust in Him alone as my only way to heaven. Thank You for loving me and forgiving me and for giving me the gift of eternal life. Make me, God, the kind of person you want me to be, in Jesus’ name. Amen.