Let's go ahead and begin to read in Genesis chapter four. Okay? And Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bear Cain and said, I've gotten a man from the Lord. And she again buries brother Abel and Abel was the keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And it came to pass in time that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offering under the Lord and Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering but unto Cain and to his offering, he had not respect And Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell.

And the Lord said unto Cain, why aren't thou wroth and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door and under thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him. Let's pray.

Our heavenly father, we do have ask you dear God to work tonight. Lord, you know, who's here and you know how important the word of God is and you know who is here this evening that may be confused, may be mad when somebody tries to point that out. I don't know. Maybe a little bit like Cain more than Abel and actually may be in need of this message, it's a matter of eternal life and death. And so Lord, we ask that your Holy Spirit would move tonight and help people and help me to be able to help people.

Only you can do it and we look for you to to help people. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you and you can be seated. If you wanna get somebody mad, you start talking to them about, Jesus and that they need Jesus if they don't have Jesus.

If you want to get somebody angry, you start kind of fishing a little bit. And I've done this and the only reason I fish is because I want to help people not hurt people. I want to help people and I want to see people in heaven and I'm I am not God. I'm not better than anybody but I want to see people in heaven and I'm sorry. There are a lot of different religions, are a lot of different ways that people are trying to get to heaven.

And so you try to talk about what the Bible says and if you're not careful, you'll offend somebody and you never want to. But here in this great passage about two people, brothers who both were trying to do the same thing. They both wanted to get the same thing, but one was good and accomplished it and one failed miserably at it. And it was all about making peace with God. And so, as the conversation went, Cain and Abel start talking and they get mad or not Abel but Cain.

And the reason Cain got angry is is what happens so often a day. We try not to have it happen, but people get mad if you point out something. Like, maybe you're a little confused on this and you're trying to help them. Okay? Now, don't know everything, but one thing I absolutely know is the Bible says you don't have to hope you're gonna go to heaven, you can know you're gonna go to heaven.

The Bible says in first John five thirteen, these things are written that you may know you have eternal life. So that doesn't mean maybe, it doesn't mean definitely. Well, sometimes people get mad if I tell them, you know, you can know. No, you can't. You can't know.

Yo, you can't know. And I'll say, well, look at this. You can know. And then they'll say, well, that's what you believe. And I say, wait a minute.

It's not about me, it's about what the word of God says. It says these things are written by God that you may know you have eternal life, and it tells us what is written is the way to eternal life is only through faith in Jesus Christ. And so if you want to get somebody angry, you start sometimes talking about what you care about, them being with you forever in heaven because you love them. But they get, if you're not careful they get hurt and I can understand that. But I still want them in heaven when I talk to them and so I talk and I bring these things up.

Now tonight we've got a story of two brothers, one was Cain and one was Abel And they both wanted to make peace with God. But one shows the right way, Abel, and one shows the wrong way, Cain. And it's a picture of all religion and all religious people. All of us and each of us are trying to make peace with God, but it's a fact is as it was in Genesis chapter four, then some choose the right way and some choose the wrong way and we all want to make peace with God. So what I think is that God ended up telling Cain what he had to do to make peace with God and he should have listened to God.

And if he would have listened to God he would have made peace. But he didn't and he ended up killing his brother and he died and he went to hell. Now how many have ever learned that you can learn things and save yourself some problems by learning from history? And we could save ourselves some problems by learning from other people's mistakes. When I was a little boy, for instance, I can remember I never had to get a spanking.

That was back when America would give little kids spankings if they were disobedient and I don't think it hurt us. I think it helped us. But, I never had to get a spanking from mister Piper. All I had to do was watch the bad boy go into the office and the door would shut and there'd be this silence and all of a sudden you'd hear. And I knew I didn't wanna go there.

I see him rubbing his battle wounds and I knew I didn't wanna make the same mistake. Well, we don't wanna make the same mistake that Cain made because our souls are at stake. So I'm gonna talk to us about Cain's way versus Abel's way. And I wanna emphasize Cain's way and I wanted to quickly but I hope it'll help us tonight. Okay?

Now, the first thing that I wanna point out is that Cain wanted peace with God, and we all want peace with God or we would not be in church probably. Now, in verse three through five, it says, in the process of time, Cain brought of the ground an offering and the offering was he was a farmer and he took into God the works of his hands. And he had worked hard, he had done a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but he brought the works of his hands and that's what the fruit represents. And God rejected that. So Cain wanted peace with God.

But what I wanna emphasize is that he wanted peace with God, first of all, and that's what we all want. But I wanna ask you a couple of things about that. Why would he want peace with God? And I wanna say, what did he do wrong? Alright.

Now, why would anybody want peace with God? There's two kinds of peace. There would be the peace of God and then there's peace with God. The peace of God is when he takes us through trials. I think we all need that.

My father committed suicide when I was a six year old boy. And the only way that I made it through that pain was my relationship with God. Now somebody says, well, you made God up to try to help you get through your problems. No, I did not make God up. I mentioned this on Sunday, I didn't meet God, God made me.

And the Bible says that if we get right with God in our relationship that he will help us through our trials in life. The Bible says that thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. Now does perfect peace sound pretty good? The Bible teaches that in the world ye shall have tribulation. So we're going to have trials in this world but God says be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

And then the several other verses that talk about God giving us joy that remains and it's all from and only from God. If you feel like you're losing your mind with all the things going on in the world, the Bible says that the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds. You'll be fine. So we all need to be at peace and have the peace of God. But what is also important and more important is to think about peace with God.

Why? Because if we don't make peace with God for what we need to make peace over, then it means that we would not go to heaven when we die. And there's nobody who would want to go to hell. It is a place. It has fire.

It has brimstone, and it is there. Now, would want to go there. And so, if we don't make peace with God over what has brought us to be at enmity with God, then we don't go to heaven to be with God. So, it's important to make peace with God. Now, what is that thing that has kept us from being at peace with God?

The Bible makes it very clear. Cain and Abel had a mama and a daddy. And mommy and daddy, when they were younger, were in the Garden Of Eden and they did what God said don't. And from that moment, they were separated from God and the bible says we were enemies of God. But the bible says that Jesus Christ reconciles us to God or makes us at peace with God.

Now, were two brothers who were mad at each other and they would not reconcile. And when the dad was dying, he desired for his two brothers, who his sons, who are brothers to make peace with each other. And so, before he died, he reached over and he took the hand of one of his brothers and he put it on his chest, handed the other and put it on his brother's hand, and he put his hands over their hands, and he held their hands together until he died. And when he died, those brothers knew what daddy was trying to do. They lift up their head, made eye contact, and that's all it took.

They ran to the end of the bed, and they hugged each other, and they reconciled. Now, took the Danny's death to bring two angry brothers back together again. Now, when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible in essence is saying he reached up and he took the hand of God the father, and he reached down and he took the hand of sinful man, and he brought us through his death back to God. Reconciled. So when we were enemies, Romans five ten, we were reconciled to God, Romans five ten, by the death of his son.

Now, Cain wanted peace with God. Now, my question is, are you at peace with God? Now, most people would say, oh yeah, me and God are tight. I met one person who said, me and God are tight. I've met people who say they're at peace with God and I've seen things in their life that I kinda wonder, though I'm nobody's judge, but I am someone who is discerning.

I can remember being one time at a gas station. When at the gas station, I was filling up my truck and trailer. I had one just like this. As a matter of fact, I had this. I sold it to them.

But anyway, I was filling up my truck and trailer and it looked just like this one out here somehow. But anyway, a guy looked and he says, boy, that's a big GD truck. And he used curse words. And then he goes, boy, that's a big GD trailer. And he get more curse words, and then he said, why do you have such a big GD truck and trailer anyway?

And I said, well, I'm a preacher. And his face just blushed, and he just went, and he didn't know what to say. And then he finally recovered, and he goes, oh, well, praise God brother. Do you know? And he named a televangelist.

He said, I am his landscaper. Praise God preacher. And then he went inside and he paid for his gas and he said out to me one more time, praise God brother. Keep preaching brother. He got in his car and he drove away.

I am sorry, nobody who regularly curses is at peace with God. Now, can remember being at a church I was preaching, I'm not trying to be judgmental, but I want to be see people go to heaven, not think they're gonna go to heaven and wake up in hell. And here I was, I'd see these college students every night across the street and they're drinking it up. So I would go over there and I would be offend them, and I would try to reach them, and I would even bring them cake. And I would do this, and I would talk to them about God.

And as I was talking to the college students, I remember saying a few times things about God and they just would kind of ignore it. And one time I said toward the end of the week, listen, I'm concerned about you guys. I don't hate you but you're drinking here every night and you're getting intoxicated. And I said, you're gonna ruin your life with that alcohol. And I said that alcohol is never going to make you a better man, but there's something in alcohol that will hurt you as a man and make you less than what you could be.

And by the way, I don't care who you are and how much you think you control it, please don't get mad. There is nothing in a can of beer that will make you a better man. Nothing. But there is something in a can of beer that could make you less than what you wanna be. Now, so anyway, here I am and then I say, look you guys get drunk every night.

I'm concerned about you. Not only could it ruin your health, but I don't wanna see you guys end up in hell. And one of them spoke up and he said, oh, what this guy's saying is right. He said, when I was a little boy, I got saved, and you need to listen to him, you need to get saved, as he was intoxicated talking through the liquor. Now here he was, and he was trying to appear, listen, appear to be at peace with God, but he wasn't at peace with God.

No alcoholic is at peace with God. Now listen folks, Cain wanted peace with God, and I don't think there's anybody in this room who wouldn't want to have the peace that helps you through your life, but also eternal life ahead of him instead of hell. So the question is, are you sure first that you are at peace with God? Cain was not. Now, the second thing that I want to mention, he wanted peace with God.

Number two, he chose the wrong way. Now, remember we're learning sometimes people get mad if you talk about it and we don't wanna make anybody mad, but we do want everybody to be in heaven. How would you be saying with me that if there's one person in this room that goes to hell, that's one too many. Would you agree? So we don't want anybody here to go to hell.

That's why I do what I do. Now, he wanted to go make peace with God, but he chose the wrong way. Would we agree with that? Now, how do we know he chose the wrong way? Because God rejected him.

God is not going to reject a person who comes the right way. He says, come on to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. God so loved the world, not so hated the world, that he gave his only begotten son that if you just do this simple thing, whosoever believeth in him, not in himself, whosoever believeth in him, which is not just believing, it is faith and trusting that what he did on that cross will save you from your sins, not your good deeds, not your church attendance, not your getting baptized, being a Sunday school teacher. But, whosoever believeth in him should not perish. So, God doesn't want anybody to perish and go to hell, and if there's one in this room who goes to hell, it's one too many.

If it's you, it's definitely one too many. Now, we don't want anybody to go to hell. Now, in this passage he chose the wrong way which is saying this, we can too. So why would we be so upset to say, hey, the illustration is put in the Bible to tell us you can do this mistake. And so you've got to find the right way and there is a way.

Now here's what Jesus said, don't be offended. He said, I am the way. Not Allah, not Muhammad, not Buddha, not even you and your deeds. But he said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life, no man cometh under the father but by me and we've heard that since we were kids. But you know what?

I deal with a lot of different kinds of religions, lot of different people, I love them all. I've got neighbors who are Amish and I love them and I have good relationships with them. But one of them that accepted Jesus said, you know what? I think the Amish are wrong. I said, what do you mean?

He said, I think you can know you're gonna go to heaven. You know what I said? Well, let's see if the Bible says that. I showed him the Bible verse and he said, it does. And he got it.

And then as we talked about Jesus being the way to heaven, he said well, in the Amish church they baptize you in the name of Jesus. I said really? I didn't know that. But then he went on and say, but what it means is they say we're baptizing in the name of Jesus, and when you come out of the water they say, now you have committed your life to follow the Amish way. That's kinda like somebody saying, Jesus is the way to heaven.

He died on the cross to save you from your sins. But you've gotta be a good Catholic, and you've gotta be sprinkled as a baby, and you've gotta confess your sins to the priest, and you've got to and I'm not attacking Catholics. That's like somebody saying, Jesus is the only way, but you come to Jesus by getting baptized and joining the Baptist church and being a good standing. You know what? That's the same mistake that Cain made.

Now you can be somebody who talks about Jesus, but really just like the Amish have a little different definition of what that means. There are a lot of people who say Jesus is the way to heaven, but you have got to obey the 10 commandments, and you should. You have got to go to church, and you're good. You should. You've gotta love your neighbor.

You can't cuss and drink or you won't get to heaven. No, you shouldn't cuss and drink. But a person drinking a can of beer has nothing to do with him going to heaven or hell. He may get to death a little bit earlier than if he wouldn't stop that stupidity. But I'm telling you, I am telling you that it has nothing to do with you going to heaven.

What gets a person to heaven is simply faith in Jesus Christ as their only hope of going to heaven and asking him to save them. Now, if you are thinking that my way is fine, This is the way I want to do it. You have to be careful because the lesson is you can choose the wrong way. Now how can you tell if you are going the right way? Well, for Cain, he chose the wrong way.

And how do we know that? If you look at verse five, it says, but unto Cain and to its offering, had not respect, so God did not respect it. Cain was very angry and his countenance fell and the Lord said to Cain, why art thou wroth? Why are you so mad? So a lot of people get mad and please don't get mad at me.

Just listen to me. Why is that count as fallen? Why are you so mad? And he said, if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? He's saying, if you'll take the right way, you'll be accepted, you'll be forgiven, and you will be at peace with me.

Now, then he said, but if not, sin lieth at the door. Now, sometimes you gotta read a commentary to learn a scripture and and you kinda think, do I trust this or not? And you don't always know what they're saying is right. I'll be honest with you. Because a man writes a commentary.

So you do your best and you try to trust the guy and I read a commentary on this by three or four different people and sin lieth at the door is actually, according to them in the Hebrew, and I'm not a Hebrew scholar, but it is a good application, at least a biblical application. He was saying a sin lieth at the door. He was saying the sacrifice for your sin lieth at the door. And the commentators are saying, in the Hebrew it's saying there's a four legged crouched animal at the door if you haven't taken care of it. And so what that is basically, what they're explaining is is that saying God provided lamb from that day.

Now, what God was doing then is essence is he was telling Cain, look, this is the wrong way. You cannot get at peace with me with the work of your hands. Many people are saying, well, I'm I'm going to church. Good. If anybody was a good person, farmers are good people, usually.

Farmers are not known for cocaine. Farmers are not known for being bad citizens, but good citizens. But here is a good citizen, but he chose the wrong way. And here's what a lot of people do, they do the way of Cain. Now if you're trusting your baptism, that's the way of Cain.

If you're trusting your church deeds or your church membership, the Sunday school teaching, good that you're doing that but don't trust that to get to your heaven. Don't be confused. That is the way of Cain. And if you are trusting any of the deeds now why do I say that's the way of Cain? Because one, the illustration, I'm a farmer.

I work hard, this is the fruit of my labor. God here it is. So God rejected that and here's the thing, it's like somebody saying, I'm a person who's trying to obey the Bible, trying to keep the 10 commandments, trying to go to church. I help in my church. Good, but that's the same thing.

I work so hard. Now let me explain, don't get mad, Cain got mad. Cain could've gotten to heaven, but he didn't. And here's the problem. We can get mad, but you cannot get to heaven by your good deeds.

Now, why do I say that? First of all, okay, I know you believe the Bible. So here's what the Bible says in Ephesians two eight and nine, for by grace are you saved through faith. Through what? And not of yourselves.

It's not something you do. It is the gift of God. A gift is not something you earn. It's something that somebody else buys for you. And then it goes on, so there's no confusion.

Get this. It says, not of works. Now, if I was to ask you, if you were to die and stand before God at the gate of heaven and it happened a year from now, and he said, why should I let you into heaven? What way would you tell him? So you see where I'm going?

Everybody has something that they're hoping will get them to heaven. So if you were to die and stand before Jesus at the gate of heaven and Jesus said, why should I let you into heaven? What would you say? Would you say, well, I go to church. That's the way of Cain.

Would you honestly God says not of what? Now, would you say that I keep the 10 commandments? Whatever you would say, if you choose the wrong way, you're not gonna get to heaven. Now, here's what happened. He chose the wrong way and it was very clear by what he said, what he was trusting in.

I have worked hard. Now the reason that doesn't work is one God said it didn't, end of conversation. But God put it there because he wants you in heaven. Okay? So if you're thinking in your mind, it has something to do with me being good, you're wrong.

And here's the reason good deeds will not get me to heaven or you to heaven. Because first of all, the Bible says all of us have sinned. Romans three twenty three, for all have sinned. For how many have sinned? Now some of you say, I agree, my husband has sinned.

I agree my children have sinned, especially that one. I believe my brother sinned. He used to beat me up when I was a little boy. I understand he was a big sinner, but you were a sinner too. And the Bible says that all of us have sinned.

Now somebody says, well I haven't sinned as much as another person, maybe not. But here's the point, how many murders do you have to do before you're murderer? One. How many sins do you have to do before you're a sinner in need of a savior? And all of us have done more than one sin, each of us has.

Now, I know some of you think, okay, here he is. He's trying to tell me that if I'm trusting being good, which I should be, that I'm not gonna get to heaven that way and it makes you mad. I understand it, but you're not gonna get to heaven that way. And some of you might be saying, well, you're just trying to change me to think something different and I have to honestly tell you, yes I am. And the reason is if there's one of you that goes to hell, it's one too many.

And so it is definitely not gonna work. Alright. Now, how many murders do you have to do? One. And you're a murderer.

How many sins? One. And you're a sinner. And where do sinners go unless they get help? Hell.

Now, another reason is as as an 80 year old lady, all your life you've been thinking, this will get me to heaven. As a 70 year old man or woman, this will get me to heaven. You have to look at it. Cain made a mistake, you could be making one too. Now, the way that he learned the right way, I'm gonna show you in just a second.

God told him he went the wrong way, but number one, Cain wanted peace with God. Number two, he chose the wrong way, meaning you could be doing that too. But number three, he learned the right way. Now how did he learn the right way? God told him what it was.

Now in verse seven it says, if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And well was referring to Abel, a lamb. Now here's what God did. God said, here is the way, and he provided a lamb, and that is the way that you can get to heaven. And here is the picture of the way to get to heaven.

The right way is according to what God says, not what a Lutheran pastor or Baptist preacher says. It is not what a Catholic priest says. It is not what your mama or dad has said. It's not what we think. The one who decides if we go to heaven or hell is God.

And so with all the love in my heart, I hope I can do this and unconvinced you of it. It is not about me. It is not about me trying to make you a Baptist. You don't ever have to be a Baptist to go to heaven, but you have got to take the right way. And if you are hoping all of these religious things will help you, that's what Cain thought.

He gave his works. So here's what God did. You chose the wrong way and God told us works are the wrong way, religion's wrong way. And what did he tell us? By grace are you saved through faith.

Get it. Not of yourself. It's not something you do. It is the gift of God. It is not something you earn.

And then again, not of works. So Jesus, you need to let me into heaven. Why? I've obeyed the Bible. I've done good things.

I've been working real hard in the church. You know that. I've been teaching all those years in the Catholic church. I've been teaching all those years in the Lutheran church. I've been a deacon in the Baptist church.

You know that, God. I know it, but you're a sinner and you've never taken care of your sin. When I wanted to, you wouldn't let me. You have to take the lamb. Now, in the Old Testament, when they would have a lamb sacrificed, and I know we're kind of teaching through this a little bit, but there were three parts.

Number one, there was conviction of sin. And you know why some people can never get to heaven? Because they don't know they're a sinner that's bad enough to go to hell. And, one of the hardest things to do is to try to get a sweet lady who is an 80 year old or a 90 year old or a 70 year old who's been such a good mom and grandma and wife and citizen, it's hard to get you to see yourself as a sinner sometimes. And you can never get help until you first recognize you're a sinner.

Now, don't hate you. I'm not saying you're a sinner worse than me, I'm saying we're all sinners. Okay? But if you cannot accept that you're a sinner, listen, don't get mad. If you can't accept you're a sinner, you can't go to the savior to be saved from your sin.

So that's the first step and somebody talks to you about it and and you get angry, I understand because it's uncomfortable and who likes to be told they're wrong. And sometimes the spirit's not the best. And sometimes we try but we fail, but the point is you can't help it. Sometimes with so much clouding and so much confusion, you make a wrong choice. Well, if you find the right way, fix it.

And here's what it says, there has to be conviction of sin. You can never get saved from sin until you first admit you need to be saved. And you know, some people are too good to ever get to heaven. You say, no. If you're really good, you get to heaven.

No. The is some are too good to get to heaven because they're so nice that they don't think they need to be saved. I remember sitting in my backyard as a five year old boy sitting underneath a tree and I wondered, am I going to heaven? Am I going to hell? Am I going to heaven?

Am I going to hell? And I began to think, well, Bible says if you're a sinner, I heard in church, you go to hell unless you get your sins washed away. And I thought, sinner? Wow. I remember punching Paul in the nose.

I remember disobeying mom. I was spanking for that. I'm a sinner. And before I could ever get saved, had to admit I meant I was a sinner, and you're gonna have to admit you're a sinner. Number two, in the Old Testament sacrifice, when they had that condition of sin, there was number two, a a faith in a there was a sacrifice for sin, okay?

A substitute. They would take a lamb and they would slice the lamb's throat and the blood would come. Now, if you would take a lamb and you would kill that lamb, you still would not be purged from your sins without number three. There had to be faith in a promised deliverer. Now, the lambs that they were killing in the Old Testament, it wasn't going to ever take away their sin.

But what it was was a demonstration that they had faith in a promised lamb of God that would take away sins. Now you know this, who is the lamb of God to take away our sins? The Bible says that one day John looked at Jesus and said, behold, that means, look, there he is. And then they said, the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world and he was saying the lamb not a lamb. So here's what you have to do.

You have to see I am a sinner. I am not willing to get to heaven by my good deeds. I need a sacrifice for my sin and then that is the lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross. So get it, the trust was in the coming Messiah. And you know what our trust has to be in?

Jesus died on the cross as the lamb of God. Now, I've been in Liberia and I've been preaching there, and when I preach, I talk about sin as simply as I can. They have dirt on their hands. I'll say you wash it off with soap and water. You've got dirt on your clothes, you wash it off with laundry soap.

If you got dirt on your dishes, you wash it off with dish soap. And if you've got sin on your life, you wash it away with the blood of Jesus. Now, the Bible says that Cain wanted peace with God. He chose the wrong way. He learned the right way.

How did he learn? Because God told him. Now folks, just look at this and we're gonna move on to the last point. How do we know the way to heaven? These things are written that you may know that you have eternal life.

Now, if we will see what the Bible says will get us to heaven, then and do it, we will get to heaven. And here's what it says very clearly if you take your Bibles and confine it, and we'll begin to wrap this up. Turn your Bibles over here to first John chapter five. First John chapter five, and I want you to see these things with your own eyes. First John chapter five.

Now, are two kinds people in the world, those that are going to heaven and those that are going to hell. Which one are you? You say, well, I hope I'm going to heaven. Well, you know what? You can know if you're going to go to heaven or if you're not.

You don't have to wait till you die. You can know before you die. Okay? This is the truth. Okay?

You can know tonight whether you're on your way to heaven or whether you're still not and you can fix it. Okay? Now, look at first John five and verse 13. First John in the back of the Bible, one John, two John, three John, first John chapter five and verse 13. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the son of God that you may what?

No. Not hope, not maybe, but no. You can definitely know that you have something and what can you definitely know in case you never really believed it? I know you believe your Bible, at least I hope you do. What else can we trust?

We can trust this. You may know that you have what? So according to the Bible, can we know we're gonna go to heaven? Now, how many would like like to know you're going to go to heaven? I'm sure you would.

And if you don't know, you can know. Now who decides if we go to heaven or hell? Is it going to be a Catholic priest? Yes or no? Is it going to be a Lutheran pastor and my aunt was a Lutheran?

Yes or no? Is it going to be a Baptist preacher? And I am one. Yes or no? And is it going to be a Methodist preacher?

It has nothing to do with the denominational tag. But the one who decides if we go to heaven or hell is God. Now since God decides if we go to heaven or hell, doesn't it make sense to see what God wrote? Because we all wanna get there and we can. Cain wanted to get there and he could've.

Abel wanted to get there and he did. Cain didn't because he chose the wrong way. Now, if God decides it only makes sense to see what God says, so let's back up two verses and we'll see what God says. Alright. Let's look at first John chapter five now verse 11.

This is the record. This is the recorded fact. God has given to us eternal life. So get it. There is a God, and there is eternal life that's available to us.

God has given to us eternal life, And it's written to people that are followers of Jesus, but look what it says. He has given to us eternal life. There is a God, there is eternal life, and this life is in his son. Now, is the son of God? Anybody?

It's not the Baptist, the Catholic, the Methodist, the Lutheran. And look what then it says. It says here in verse 12, the whole key. He that hath the son of God hath life. He that hath not the son of God hath not life.

So what you have to do to have eternal life is you have to have Jesus. And if you do not have Jesus yet, you don't have heaven yet. Okay? Now, nobody has to go to hell. Why?

Because Jesus has died for the whole world, for you and for me and you hear that, but when you hear that, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, not whosoever believeth in you, yourself. I've been a good mom, I've been a great grandmother, I've been an awesome great grandmother, I never lie, you did too when you were a kid. You did when you were a kid. How many lies do you have to do? You might be a nice liar, but you're a liar.

I never thought I'd call a sweet elderly grandmother a liar, but I guess I just did. But I'm a bigger liar probably than you, but you're a liar and I've been a liar. And all it takes is one line. We are liars and liars go to hell unless they get it. And this is why you can't get help because you don't see yourself bad enough.

And listen, how many years do you have to fix this thing? We don't know. But I do know this, I preached here six years ago and there's someone who was in this meeting or at least I talked to eyeball to eyeball who died since then with his way. You know where he probably is? If you were to die six years from now, where would you be?

Would you have gone God's way or your way? And I'm telling you this because it's life and death. And here's what it is, you cannot get to heaven your way, it's gotta be his way. Believeth in him should not perish. And here's what it teaches, Romans three, Psalms ten thirteen, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Now the background is, if thou shall confess with thy mouth, oh Lord Jesus, believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. Not might, not maybe, but shalt be. And it goes on and says, for with a heart man believeth under righteousness, and with a mouth confession is made to salvation. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord with that mouth and heart behind it shall be saved. So here's what he's talking about.

With your heart, you need to transfer what you're trusting in to get to heaven. Cain's trust was in himself. Abel's trust was in the promised deliverer, the lamb of God. He didn't know his name, he didn't know it would be Jesus, but he knew he was gonna come, he was gonna die and he was gonna be the sacrifice for sins. Isaiah, the lamb uttered open not his mouth.

Lamb was a sacrifice for our sins. Talking about the Messiah. And here's what he had to do. He had to put his faith and trust in the lamb of God, and you have to do the same thing too. Now, imagine that there's a cavern and it's 20 feet across and 200 feet down, and we're gonna jump it.

Are you ready? First guy jumps and he goes seven feet four inches. We say, good job. Great job. Good job.

Whoo. Way to go. Spot on the bottom of the cavern. The next guy jumps and he goes out 11 feet seven inches and he beat the first guy by four feet and we go, whew, good job, great job, woah, way to go, you beat him by four feet. Whew.

Spot on the bottom of the cavern, next guy jumps and he goes three feet. Should have been on a diet. The last guy jumps and he goes 19 feet 11 and a half inches. He's just a half inch short. But he misses by a half inch.

What happens to him? He goes down and he's just as dead as the other guys that only went three feet. Now the Bible says that all of us have sinned and come short. Now some of you live better lives than the average person out in the community, but I am saying this. Until you get the right thing you're trusting in to get you to the other side, to get you to heaven, you won't make it.

Because all is sending him short and here's the right thing you do, you have to take a bridge. Now, when you're standing on a bridge, you don't have a rope tied around you to a helicopter in case the bridge breaks or you're not trusting the bridge. You don't have a fireman's net on your back or you're not trusting the bridge. In case the bridge breaks, you got a fireman's net underneath there or a parachute on your back or you're tied to helicopter. Now if you're going like, now stay up there just in case the bridge breaks.

Are you trusting the bridge? Now here's what some people have in the side of that helicopter, they write good works. I know Jesus is the way to heaven, but just in case, you stay up there, I'll keep doing good works and maybe that'll help me get to heaven the other side. They're trusting good works. If you put up there, I got baptized in the baptistry, then you're trusting baptism in a way.

And if you say, well, I am trusting that I obey the 10 commandments, you're trusting that. Or the Virgin Mary, you're in a way trusting the Virgin Mary. And here's the only way you can get to heaven and I could get to heaven. According to the Bible, faith in Jesus only. And so here's what it means.

You gotta cut the ropes of everything else you're trusting in and put your faith in Jesus alone. Now, the bridge to heaven, Jesus said, I am the way. Now, when you're standing on a bridge, if the bridge goes, you go. And the only thing that'll get you to the other side is that bridge, and the only thing that will get any of us to heaven is faith in Jesus. I'm warning you with love, not scolding you, but I'm warning you.

If you were saying Jesus and I'm a good Catholic or I'm a good person or I am a good Methodist or Lutheran, you're choosing the wrong way. I close with this. One day I was at a funeral with my aunt, and as I was at the funeral of aunt Joyce, I can remember going over there and I saw my other aunt who was all troubled. I love her to death, and I went up to her and I said, aunt Lorraine, how you doing? And she said, I'm having a hard time with this funeral.

I said, Lorraine, we're all having a hard time. We're all gonna miss her so much. But she said, you don't understand, Mike. I went to the doctor and I got the same kind of cancer that aunt Joyce had. Wow.

My heart just sank. I said, aunt Lorraine, I didn't know that. So I quickly tried to encourage her because aunt Lorraine, aunt Joyce got it and she was dead in six months. And so I said very much, trying to be encouragement, I said, aunt Lorraine, I said people beat this thing all the time, and you just stay positive. Positive spirit is a very important thing when you've got this sickness.

But I said, aunt Lorraine, you just do what they tell you, and we'll pray, and and maybe you'll beat this thing. Okay? But I said, but aunt Lorraine, if you don't beat it, do you know for sure you're gonna go to heaven? No. I don't.

I'm scared. So I said to her aunt Lorraine, you know more about life than I do. And I said, you could teach me more than I could ever teach you, but the Bible is my specialty. I said, do you mind if I take the Bible and tell you what the Bible says will get you to heaven for sure? I like that.

So, I took the Bible and I opened it up to first John five thirteen, these things are written you may know. I said, aunt Lorraine, you can know. And I said, now let's see what wrote, he that hath the son of God hath life, not he that does good deeds. And then I showed her, you gotta have faith in Jesus only, not your works. And then I showed her Ephesians two nine, not of works.

And my aunt Lorraine goes, wait a minute. And I probably should've never said her name, but you don't know her, and I do love her. But she goes, wait a minute. I said, Aunt She said, no. No.

I said, what, Aunt Lorraine? She said, no. No. You believe different than we do. And she got that look that I just hated to see, Cain's look.

You believe different than we do. And I said, Aunt Lorraine, what do you mean? She said, You're Lutheran and we're Baptist. I said, aunt Lorraine, you can be a Lutheran till the day you die, but you have got to go the Bible way, not the Lutheran way or the Baptist way. No.

I said, aunt Lorraine, see, look what it says right here. This is in the Bible. And she goes, no. No. And she started to walk away.

She got about 25 feet away. I said, Aunt Lorraine. And she finally turned around one more time and looked at me and went, no. And walked away. Now you know what my Aunt Lorraine did?

She kept her pride. But within six months she was dead. And as much as I hate it, I hope I find out that she did something with Christ. But if she died saying no to Jesus as the only way to heaven, that her way was Cain's way, if she died and kept her pride, she lost her soul. And I'm telling you, I can't do anything about Aunt Lorraine, but I did my best to do something for us here tonight.

And if you don't know you're gonna go to heaven, it doesn't mean you're a God hater, it doesn't mean you're worse than me, it doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you just don't know. And if you were thinking the wrong way, it doesn't mean I'm better than you, I'm probably worse than you. But I do know this, Jesus saves. Let's bow our heads. Now with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, if you don't mind so people have privacy, how many of you would say brother Mike, I might not be everything I should be, but I do know for sure.

And I have a bible reason why I know that I'm gonna go to heaven. I'm not trusting my works. I am trusting Jesus Christ, the blood of Jesus, and I've asked him to save my soul. I was humble enough one day that I saw I was a sinner and I deserved to go to hell. If you never thought you deserved to go to hell, you can never be saved.

Well, that's strong. Well, sinners call out to a savior. Religious people trust their own deeds. Now, how many of you would say, I definitely know, and if you don't know, you're not worse than me, you're not a God hater, you just don't know. I want you to be honest because lying won't keep you out of hell.

One second. How many of you know from a Bible reason that you definitely are going to go to heaven? Not hope so. And if you can't raise your hand, don't be a liar and raise it because it won't help you. Alright.

Thanks. It doesn't mean you're bad. You just don't know. Alright. Thank you.

Now many of you could raise your hands. Some of you good people, I'm just telling you, you're as good as my aunt Lorraine. You're better than me. My aunt was so nice and wonderful, but she was confused. So was Cain.

And a lesson is there that we can choose the wrong way. I wonder if there's anybody here tonight who would say, brother Mike, what you said did seem to make sense to me. You cannot get to heaven by your works and before I kinda thought you could. And I get it. That helps me as I'm thinking this through.

Would you lift up a hand if you get that and you needed that? Good. Good. Good. Good.

Is there anybody here who would say, brother Mike, I do not know that I'm going to heaven, but I understand you can know. And if you can know that you're going to heaven, I'd like to know. I don't know, but I'd like to know. So is there anybody like that? And you would just say, pray for me if that's you, I don't know I'm going to heaven, but I'd like to know.

Would you pray for me? Would you be kind enough to lift up your hand and put it right back down? Okay. Good. God bless you there.

Good. God bless you here. Good. There's a fourth. God bless you there.

Is there anybody else along with ease? I wanna go to heaven. Hope I'm going to heaven, but I don't know I'm gonna go to heaven. And I like to know. Alright.

God bless you, dear friend. There, that's five. God knows who you are. I'm not gonna point you out, but I'm gonna pray for you. God will know exactly who you are.

And then I'm gonna try to help you. We don't force, we invite, but we wanna help you if we can. Five have raised their hand. Anybody else? I'm not sure I'm going to go to heaven real quickly, but I wanna know if you can know.

Just pray for me that I'd understand this thing because I do want heaven. Anybody else? Alright. Father, I pray now for these five who have raised their hand. I'm nobody, but you are the savior.

And I am praying to God who saves Jesus who saves that you will help these five to understand you can know you're gonna go to heaven. You can choose the wrong way if you're not careful. But you've made very clear in the Bible the way, and you've made it so clear we cannot miss it. And heavenly father, I pray for each of these five that they would have courage and you'd give them understanding. They get help and they would be on their way to heaven before they leave here tonight.

And with their heads bowed, there were five who said, I don't know I'm going to go to heaven. Praise God for that. I want to go to heaven if you can. No. Praise God for that.

I wanna say be before we do this, I don't believe in forcing people. We don't force anybody we invite. But I like the privilege of talking to you five just for ten seconds where you're sitting, maybe ten seconds. Would you five be willing to just lift your head and look at me? Nobody's looking but us five.

I'd just like to help you if I can. Did you mean you don't know but you want to know? You're a good person but you want to know? So just nod your head. Okay, you did get that.

So you want to make sure, and then there were, you wanna make sure, okay, and a couple others, you wanna make sure. Now here's my question, okay? We have people that we don't force, okay, but we have people that are trained who can take a Bible in ten minutes and show you how to receive Jesus by faith. And from the Bible so you'd see it yourself, my question is would you be willing to let a lady or a man, if it's a pastor or somebody, take a Bible and show you ten minutes in the back room how to be on your way to heaven? The only way we can help is if you let us.

Would you be comfortable talking to somebody about that? Not yet. Would you be comfortable talking to somebody? If so, just nod your head, okay? And we don't force, we invite, okay?

So good. That's okay. Okay. Yeah. I do.

Yeah. So here's the answer to that. Can I help you? You never will do enough to please the Lord. Now he loves you.

There's there's a difference between you making peace with God and him loving you. So when we were sinners, Christ died for us. He doesn't start loving us once we finally get our act together. He loved us while we're sinners. That's why Jesus came.

Because he loved us when we were sinners. Does that make sense? Now then he came and he said, here, I wanna pay for your sins and wash them away. And the only thing that'll happen is, that'll make it happen, is you've got to say Christ, realize that the Lutherans were wrong. Or maybe in some cases the Baptists were wrong, the water can't wash it away.

But that only your blood can do that. So God, I want your blood to wash away my sins tonight. And that's what we can help you with in the back just for a moment. Okay? But that's up to you.

But this is the only way it can be done, is you've got to accept Jesus Christ. Now here's my question. You lost it. Okay? Now here's here's the key.

Okay? Now I sure appreciate you talking out loud because everybody hears you, which is good. And and I think there might be somebody else thinking this. So I'm gonna be fast with this so that we can help everybody who wants to get help. But let me just explain this, okay, real quickly.

Everybody okay? How many think this dear lady is important? Amen? Okay. Now, let me just explain this thing real quickly.

Anybody anywhere in any church that says you've got to get saved, but then you've to keep yourself saved. You've got to keep yourself clean or you won't get to heaven. In a way they're saying it's Jesus and you. If you keep it and you live it, well, you'll get there. If you mess up, you won't.

And the emphasis there is put on your performance instead of what Jesus did. And so when you receive Jesus, the Bible says your sins will be washed away, you'll be born again, clean, made righteous. And here's what it says, the blood of Jesus will cleanse you from all sin, all you've ever done and all you ever will do. Now here's what it teaches. He that has Jesus has eternal life.

Why? Because his blood continually cleanses you from the sins that you do. And he said, when you receive him, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Never means never. But here's my fear.

If you were thinking, and I'm just about done everybody, if you were thinking, so everybody listen, if you were thinking, yes, I got saved, but I have still got to earn it in a way. And the question is, will you really trust in Jesus as the only way? You were saying he's part of it, but then it's me. So that's where the confusion is. Okay, that would be the way of Cain.

Okay? So what you want to do is transfer your trust. Even if you aren't sure, maybe you did but you're not sure, I would go ahead and put all my trust in Jesus alone to save me. Now, with our heads bowed, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to give you a chance to get help.

Okay? There were five that raised their hand, but there may be more. And I'm gonna ask you in just a moment, would everybody just stand? Just if everybody would stand right now, if you don't mind, to make it easier for people who want help. And here's what we're gonna do.

I'm going to pray one more time. I'm gonna explain it one more time, and then I'm going to have the pianist pray play an invitation. And when she plays, you who want help, I'm gonna ask you if you want help and you're willing to talk to somebody, you could slip out. Now with their heads bowed, if you're ready, you could just slip out and go to the back. Pastor's right back there.

Pastor's hand is waving. And if you just go right back there, we'll get someone to help you right now. Father, I pray for these that you help them all to understand that Jesus really does save and that you really have a way that is the only way that can work with you. We've got to be perfect in the eyes of God without one sin in order to get to heaven. And the only way that can happen, this issue, clean us from our sins.

And the only way that you can clean us is if we put our faith in you alone. Not the way of Cain, not Jesus and the helicopter, not Jesus and her deeds, not of works, lest any man should boast. Lord, please help all five to get help and anybody else who's in need of salvation. Now with our heads bowed and eyes closed, there were five of you, and I'm gonna encourage you right now, if somebody's in your way, they'll move. If you would just kindly slip out, go to the back right now, and we'll get pastor to help you.

If they won't move, just