"Worldwide Revival"

EMBRACING THE WORLD WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

A Talk With Trevor

WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE DIE AND HOW CAN WE BE SURE WE WILL GO TO HEAVEN?
It is so very important to consider what happens to us when our physical
bodies die. Do you know why? Because Jesus said it was important. Jesus
thought it was so important that He once said this:

"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It
is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body
to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it
off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body
than for your whole body to go into hell."

So, Jesus believed that some would go to hell and warned us so that we
would not go there. He did this because He loves us. What kind of parent
would I be if I never warned my children about playing too close to the
street and never explained that they could possibly end up in the street
chasing their ball and be killed by an oncoming vehicle? I would be an
unwise and an unloving parent if I knew my children would be playing in
the midst of danger. Jesus in the same way and in an ever more loving and
convincing way warns us not to live our lives too close to the world of
sin or in the world of sin.

God, Jesus' Father, hates sin. He hates it so much that He pronounced a
punishment for sin. That punishment is death and separation from Him.
God will not permit sin or the person who lives in sin into His presence.
God is in heaven. So, if we hope to get to heaven to be with Him, we have
to avoid sin. What is sin? The Bible says sin is anything that goes
against what God has commanded. In my last letter, I talked about some of
His commandments. God doesn't want us to lie, steal, commit adultery or
have lustful/sexual thoughts about someone who is not our spouse, murder,
dishonor our parents, love anything more than God Himself, use God's name
as a curse word (for example, "God-Damnit" or "Oh, Jesus Christ!"), etc.

The Bible says that we have all sinned, though, so we all deserve to go to
Hell. Hell is the only place described in the Bible that is in this
Universe where God will not be. It is a place of hopelessness like I
described in my last letter. Where God is not present, there is no hope.

We have a big debt with God, in other words. We broke His Law when we
sinned. Now, if you break the law here on earth and have to appear before
a judge and you are found guilty, what is your recourse? What can you
do? Let's say you broke a law that required you to be sent to jail for a
very long time unless you pay a $1,000,000 fine. Let's also suppose you
don't have that $1,000,000. All of a sudden, somebody steps into the
courtroom ... somebody you don't even know ... and this person pulls out
$1,000,000 and hands it to the judge to pay your fine for your guilt. The
law has been satisfied. You are now free to go.

And that is what Jesus did for us. We are guilty of breaking God's Law
because we have sinned in our lives. The most moral person in the world
has sinned at some point in their lives and is guilty before God, also.
Now according to God's Law, the sentence or punishment deserved for our
sin is death and hell. God did say, though, that if somebody pays this
large fine for us, we can be forgiven and made clean in the eyes of God
and made fit for His presence to be with Him in heaven after we die. Do
you know what the value of that fine amount is for our sin in God's
courtroom? The Bible says it is the value of a perfect sinless life. If
we can give God a perfect sinless life, we can be forgiven of our sins and
the fine His Law requires can be paid with the value of that perfect
sinless life. Now, where am I going to get a perfect sinless life to give
to God to pay for my sins (pay my fine, in other words)?

Well, Jesus Christ lived as a man here on Earth approximately 2000 years
ago and He encountered temptations, pain, suffering and all kinds of
trials just like we all do, but Jesus never sinned. He lived a perfect
life. He always obeyed His Heavenly Father, God. He was perfect and
because of that was perfectly pleasing to His Father. Now, Jesus later
died in our place voluntarily. We deserved to die, but He chose to die in
our place. Jesus didn't deserve to die like Adam and Eve and all that
have come since Adam and Eve. Remember in my first letter how I described
Adam and Eve ... how they sinned and were warned beforehand that if they
sinned (disobeyed God) they would die. Jesus didn't deserve to die, but
He chose to die. He chose to pay our fine. Our fine is death and
separation from God. But Jesus paid that fine of death and separation
from God. Jesus cried out on the Cross on which His feet and His hands
were brutally nailed. Jesus cried out in pain and said this as He died on
that cruel Cross, "It is finished!" What was finished? Jesus had
finished paying our fine; Jesus had finished paying our debt to God. He
gave His perfect life to God as payment for our sins. We deserved death
from God because we have sinned and Jesus deserved to live forever because
He never sinned.

To say it another way, 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ, God Himself, took
the form of a human being and came to earth.
He was brutally beaten and crucified. Mel Gibson has made a movie called
‘The Passion of the
Christ.’ He spent $30 million of his own money to film the last 12 hours
of the life of Jesus and it is
rated R. The rating is not because it portrays nudity but because it is so
violent. Let me explain
what happened. You see, when Jesus was whipped, they used a cat-o-nine
tails: leather straps with broken
glass, pottery and nails woven in it. He was whipped at least 39 times.
Many people died from
that scourging, because the skin, muscle and sinew became so shredded
their internal organs fell
out their backs. But Jesus survived it and was then nailed to a cross
where He died gasping for
breath. Jesus did all that because the Bible says that there is no
forgiveness without the shedding
of blood. Jesus shed His own blood so your sins could be forgiven. It is
this simple... you broke
the Law and Jesus paid your fine.

So, what does this mean for you? It means that if you are willing, you
can be made clean in the sight of God and be made fit for heaven if you
will only humbly receive the payment for your fine with God --- the fine
that you incurred by your sins. Jesus is that payment for your sins.

Here's how you receive that payment for your sins on your behalf that
Jesus offers you to give to God so you can be set free from the guilt and
punishment you will otherwise face when God judges you.

God requires all men everywhere to repent. To repent you have to stop what
you are doing (stop lying, using bad language, lusting after women you are
not married to, stealing, and making anything more important to you than
God Himself, etc.) and
recognize it is horribly wrong; turn from your sins and turn to God.
Confess your sins and put your
trust in Him. It is not enough to simply hear this and say, ‘I get it, or
I believe that.’ Even the
demons believe and they tremble, the Bible says. Mere mental agreement
with these things does not save you. You must repent and put your trust in
Jesus Christ.

Imagine you are on an airplane when the pilot makes an announcement.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,
may I have your attention please. We are presently cruising at 25,000
feet, but we have a
problem. Two of our engines have failed. You will find a parachute under
your seat. Thank you for
flying with us and have a nice day.’

Would you just sit there and believe in the parachute? Would you wait
until Sunday and just
worship the parachute? No! You would put on the parachute, and that is
exactly what you need to
do with Jesus Christ. You need to put Him on.

Here is how you do that. You find a quiet place, get to your knees and
pour out your heart to
God. Confess your sins. Tell Him you are sorry. Then put your trust in
Jesus Christ. He will
forgive you and make you clean. Then you get up, read your Bible every day
and do what it says.
Then you will have moved from darkness to light and from death to life. I
hope you will make the
decision to do that.

If I can help you in any way or if you want to talk to me more about this
or have questions about this, please let me know so you can tell me or
you can contact me directly via the computer by Skype if you wish. I
am concerned for your soul. I don't think that concern originates
with me, though. I think it is God Himself who is using me to show His
concern to you for your soul. God doesn't want you to go Hell. I don't
want you to end up there, either. If you are having difficulty
with thinking about how to confess your sins to God, open the Bible to
Psalms 51 and make that your heart-felt prayer to God. It is a prayer of
repentance that David made. Remember the story of David and Goliath?
This is the same David who later in his life wrote down this prayer.

God's very best to you all. God loves you (He loved you enough to
give you His very best to pay for your sins---He gave the life of His only
son Jesus. I want nothing in return from you. I am not a used-car salesman
expecting something in return. :) There are no strings attached here. I
am simply concerned for you as I want to see you in heaven. If you wish to email me please do so to church.chatterbox@yahoo.com or leave your comments in this mini-forum and I will answer you. Thank you!
Trevor Gough, Beaver Dam Wisconsin.

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