Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Many years ago I was heading down to Arizona, and somewhere along the way, I had to travel around a region that had a lot of large mountains. But, when I looked closely at the map, I saw a county road that cut right through the middle of them. I figured that if I took a little detour, I could save roughly 2 hours of driving, so off into the mountains I went. The first 25 minutes were fine, but I didn’t have four wheel drive and it was starting to get really muddy. Eventually I had to slow down to a crawl because of large rocks and boulders that were strewn all over the road, and it was only a short while later that I realized that if I didn’t turn around right away, I wouldn’t be getting out of there. After a lot of grunting, moaning, pulling and pushing, we eventually got the vehicle turned around and heading back to the main road. What a blessing when we finally turned back onto the highway once again. I thought to myself about how much time I had wasted, simply because I didn’t follow the directions that were right in front of me.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Like a map, God’s Holy Word guides us on the path to heaven, but in order to eventually get there, we must follow what it teaches. We need to be filled with knowledge and wisdom so we can become pleasing unto God in everything. We must keep checking our biblical map to make sure that we are on course, following the directions that are laid out in Holy Scripture. Anyone heading off in their own direction, will have to turn around, because repentance is required for all those who want to obtain eternal life. We must stay on the path of Christ Jesus, because He is the way to eternal life, and there are no shortcuts.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
In order to be reconciled with God the Father, we must believe in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. When we truly believe in Him with our hearts, we will lovingly submit to the things that He taught. Most people know how to get home each day from work, but our Lord Jesus knows the way home to heaven. After all, in order to find the kingdom of God, we need to follow God.
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;” Ephesians 5:1
Rather than keeping their eyes focused on Christ Jesus, some people will make the attempt to find their own way to heaven, but in the end, it will only lead to death.
“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25
There are no shortcuts to Heaven, and to eventually obtain the world that is coming, we must faithfully abide on the path that is set before us. Rather than getting sidetracked, we must turn around and repent, and return to the narrow road of Christ.
“For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:25
The Apostles and disciples of Christ were sent to point people back in the right direction. Like under-shepherds of the Lord Jesus, they were trying to keep the church on the right path, turning them from dark and sinful side roads, to the lighted path of salvation.
Acts 26 ¹⁶ But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; ¹⁷ Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, ¹⁸ To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
¹⁹ Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
²⁰ But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Just like being stranded up on a muddy mountain pass, we must turn around in order to get where we are going. When people deviate from the teaching scripture, it only brings them further away from God. All of us are sinners who have gone astray at one time or another, but whenever you choose your own path over the will of God, you will only experience heartache and pain. God has already provided us with His only Begotten Son to show us the way home. God’s Word is like a Spiritual map, but it doesn’t do any good if it’s sitting in the glove box. You need to follow it, and become a doer of what it says.
James 1 ²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. ²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: ²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
God wants to bless us, but it requires obedience to His will. Only by following the map that is laid out before us in Scripture, can we eventually be born again, and completely transformed from sinners into Saints.
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:23
Although many people will stray from the narrow road of Christ, there is only one way to heaven. We must repent of our sins, and submit to the will of God. Jesus is our example of perfect obedience to the Heavenly Father, and if we want to live forever, we must follow His leading.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:”Colossians 2:6
Many people claim to love the Lord, but genuine love is to abide in His teachings.
John 14 ²¹ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ²² Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? ²³ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. ²⁴ He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
All over the world people are trying to find their own way to heaven. Rather than following the map that God has already given us, some of them are trying to cut through the mountains, but unless they turn around, they will eventually come up short. Each day we must strive to keep on the narrow path of Christ, because when it comes to eternal life, Jesus is the only way to salvation, and there are…..
…….No Shortcuts
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.♥️
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 