JESUS THE WAY

“Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”

Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Nearly 2,000 years ago a man walked the earth—a man that changed the way we think about life. He brought  forth a message so radical, so mind bending, so intense that the world is still swirling from the message He brought. That man is the most influential figure in world history-even to this day. That man of course, is Jesus Christ. He was and is the Son of God. The message He brought was simply this: “Repent, for the Kingdom (Government/Empire) of Heaven is at hand.”

But what is this “Kingdom of Heaven”? What was Jesus telling us? He was telling us that this world in its present form is passing away. And that a new world– a new realm– a new creation, far superior to the present one– will over take it. This present world as we know it will be completely destroyed—and that by fire–and a new one will replace it– one in which Almighty God Himself lives and dwells with Man. In this new “Kingdom”, or world, or realm—whatever you wish to call it, there will be no more pain or suffering; there will be no more death or disease. This eternal  Kingdom will never perish, spoil, or fade (1Peter 1:4). There will be no more crying or pain. There will be no more anguish or shame. There will be no more anger or hate or war. There will be no more fighting and discord– for the old order of things will have passed away. There will be no more sin. It will be a Kingdom not bound by time—it will be eternal and man shall live forever and ever in peace and tranquility. There will be no end of days or time. There will be peace, rest and joy—and it will never, ever end. We will have brand new bodies—ones that will not suffer from the effects of aging or disease or sickness. They will not be able to be injured or wounded. Our bodies will be indestructible, eternal, and immortal—never to die– but only filled with life and vitality and energy and health. God Himself will make us new and will live with us and walk amongst us.

The evil of this world will be no more.

Jesus plainly taught us about this Kingdom. He died for this Kingdom—and He rose from the dead for the sake of this Kingdom. Jesus taught us that there is nothing else in all of life that is so important as entering into and remaining within His eternal Kingdom for which He shed His blood. He said that the price for obtaining and possessing this Kingdom is worth even giving up your own life here on earth. There is no price too great to pay in order to possess this eternal life. Many times throughout history it has indeed cost men their lives upon earth. But it is still a price that is small to pay in comparison to what is gained. Men have been murdered and killed, executed and tortured because of their faith and hope in Christ and His Kingdom. People have had their loved ones killed because they would not renounce their faith in the living Christ. They have been eaten by wild animals, stoned, burned, crushed, drown, stabbed, beheaded, cut and sawed in two. They have been tortured and put to death in the most devious and evil ways in which men can dream up—all because of their faith in a sinless man who died upon a cross on a hill just outside Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago, rose again from the dead, and ascended to Heaven; All because they hoped in a world better than the present one.

Their faith testifies to God’s Word—that it is true and correct. Their faith tells us that the evil in this world has been judged and is condemned. We must accept God at His Word and turn from our sinful, self-centered lives and live in a new manner, with a new mindset—one that is focused not on this world, but on Jesus Christ and on God’s eternal world to come. We must surrender our lives and our will to the Lord who bought us with His own blood—who gave up His own life so that we might live. What we give up here, will be far surpassed by the eternal life that only Jesus Christ can give. What good would it be for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his very soul?

The Scriptures teach that there is a very specific path to follow in order to get into His Kingdom. Jesus warned that many people will try to enter His Kingdom and will not be able to (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23). He said one of the greatest obstacles of getting into heaven will be false teachers—those who mislead people, those who do not obey God’s will and who teach God’s plan of salvation incorrectly (Matthew 7:15-20).

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Jesus came to present the Father and His Kingdom to the people.  Jesus preached the kingdom of God.  Jesus is the King of that Kingdom and Jesus’ message is very important if you wish to enter into God’s Kingdom.

The message of Jesus is more important than words can describe.  Your eternal life depends upon your reaction to Jesus’ message!  You can rely on His words as being reported accurately.  What has been recorded for us is not His complete words, but the words that He spoke which will help us to be included into God’s Kingdom/Family forever.  The primary words that Jesus spoke for us are recorded in the books of Mathew, Mark, Luke, John in the New testament in the bible.  You should read Jesus’ words for yourself.  Jesus said in John 7:17 “Those who want to follow the will of God will know if what I teach is from God or if I teach my own thoughts.” John 7:14 “Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?”  ¹⁶Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent me. ¹⁷If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”

Jesus said that the words He spoke were not His own, but the words (GOD) the One who sent Jesus.  Many people say that they try to read the scriptures but cannot understand it.  First, ask Jesus to teach you personally.  Jesus is with the Father in Heaven and He will hear you when you call upon Him.  Jesus said do not call anyone else your teacher because only Jesus alone knows the Father, and He said He will teach you if you ask.  Jesus spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of Truth which comes from God.  You need God’s Spirit of Truth to understand the scriptures.  Jesus said Mathew 7:7 ”Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Read Jesus’ words for yourself so that you will not be deceived by people who do not speak the truth.  It helps to read scripture in modern english.  The message of Jesus’ words remain: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s only begotten Son.”

Jesus said “Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matt. 7:13  The Narrow gate Jesus is referring to is Himself and His teachings.