All Things Are Possible

Dr. Bernie Miller: We're quick to send out a prayer hand emoji. Somebody says, "I'm in the hospital sick," and you send a prayer emoji, and you don't say a word, as if that emoji can speak for you. God doesn't want a text message relationship. He wants a personal connection.

Guest (Male): From New Covenant Fellowship Church, this is All Things Are Possible. Worship with us on Sunday mornings at 10:30, where you’ll enjoy great music and solid teaching from the Bible. We’re at 1326 North Moore Road in Chattanooga. Directions and details are at ncf.church. We are a place for every race. Now, here’s this week’s message.

Dr. Bernie Miller: Have you ever watched somebody going into a building and they go in the wrong door? It has a big sign that says "Entrance" on the main door, but they want to go in their door. It doesn't say "Entrance," it's just another door.

And everybody else is going through the right door, but no, not them. They are just going through the door pulling on the knob, trying to get the door open and it’s locked. There is someone inside that points to the right door to enter, but they just ignore that person because they’re determined to get in the building their own way, as if they made the building and as if they had the key to the lock.

That's how some people approach salvation. God has provided one door: Jesus Christ. But they keep pulling on the door of good works or coming to church. Coming to church is not a bad thing, but if you’re not saved, well, whatever you want to do with your time is fine with me. I don't mind you being here.

If you are not saved, that is fine. Still come and maybe one day you'll hear the Gospel clearly for you and you’ll say yes to Jesus. But some people look at other people and judge other people as the standard. They’ll say, "Well, I’m not as bad as so-and-so."

The truth of the matter is you are as bad as so-and-so because they are not the standard and you are not the standard. The standard for righteousness is Jesus Christ; it is not us. Somebody said something once and I heard them. I don't know if they were saying it because they were saved or because they thought that before they were saved.

They said, "I never smoked. I never drank any liquor, no beer. I never did any of those things." I am thinking, is that the standard for getting saved? The fact that you don’t drink or smoke? I don't think that is the standard.

If that is the standard, then I smoked and I drank, even after I got saved. One day God laid on my heart, "I want to use you in a way and I need you to let me clean your act up." Every now and then I said a few cuss words, but I didn't think I was as bad as the other person.

I just wanted to get my point across. I hadn't learned too many adjectives at that time to describe how I was feeling. But the standard of righteousness is not that you don't do this and you don't do that. The standard of righteousness are the things that Jesus never did.

Now I want you to match yourself up with Him and see if you can match that standard, because His standard is pretty good. He is the standard of righteousness. God has provided one door: Jesus. But people keep trying to pull the door of good works and then they try to judge themselves with other people.

That is not a good indicator. What door are you using to get into Heaven is the question. Is it your door of good works, or is it the door that God has provided in His Son?

The ark is one door. It had one door through which Noah, the rest of his family, and all the animals could go through. There was only one door in the ark, only one that you could get in by. Noah entered that one door by faith to escape judgment that God was inflicting on the Earth.

Centuries later, God provided us with another door. He said, "I am the door." In other words, there is no other way for you to get into Heaven except by Me. All who enter by faith are saved from judgment to come.

When you take your last breath in this life, you will face judgment. Whether you are a believer or not, all will be judged. Your works will be judged, and God will give you a reward for those things that you have done with the right motive.

He will also judge those who didn't know Him by their works. But they are still going to be separated from Him for all of eternity. It doesn't matter because you're going to be with all the worst of the worst that have ever lived throughout history if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ.

You think Al Capone and all those boys were bad? You haven't seen anything until you get to Hell. The devil and all his demons are there. You think you are bad? Some of those angels are so bad God had to lock them up.

He had to take them out of here and just lock them up. There are some bad boys in Hell and I don't want anyone to go there. It is hell on Earth if you live in certain neighborhoods. You have to watch wherever you go and keep an eye on if anybody is watching you or trying to stick you up.

It has come down to that. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ when you leave here, you won't have any peace wherever you're going. I have read the book and I can tell you how it is. All you have to do is go to Revelation and read it.

Read those chapters and tell me, at the end of your life, is that where you want to be? I read it. I was afraid to read it at first. My mama never would read it. She said, "I'm scared of that book."

I told her that is where all the joy is. We're separated and we are going to be with Christ. She finally read it. I want to encourage you: if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ and you think you can get into Heaven by your works, read Revelation. It'll show you.

It is not by your works that you're going to get there. It is not by my works that I can get there either. All who enter by faith through that ark, through that one door, through Jesus, are saved from judgment.

What do we need to know about the door? The door was provided by God. The door stood open for a season and the door was shut for deliverance of Noah, the animals, and all those other people.

Let's start with the first one: the door God provided. Genesis 6:16 says, "You shall make a window for the ark and finish it to a cubit from the top and set the door of the ark in the side of it. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks."

God is the architect. The door was designed by God. God gave instructions to Noah how to provide the dimensions, materials, rooms, covering, and entrance. Noah didn't redesign God's ark due to popular opinion.

Some people know what God wants them to do, but because of public opinion, they are afraid. If people knew that you were a believer in Christ, they may not like you very much. I don't care if nobody likes me here on Earth.

As long as Jesus keeps loving me, you can like me if you want to. I love Noah. Noah didn't allow anybody to get him off center. He was focused on God and he designed it just the way God told him to do it. It was built according to God's divine revelation.

Genesis 6:22 says, "Thus Noah did according to all that God had commanded him, so he did." Salvation isn't our idea. According to Jonah 2:9, it says, "Salvation is from the Lord." We didn't know anything about being saved.

I'm sure many of you went to church and heard some good sermons. I went to one and I never heard anyone telling me to get saved. I heard someone tell me to come down if I wanted to join church.

I came down to join church and they took me in the back. They said, "Here is your box of tithing envelopes." Now, I'm nine years old. I am not even working. I had a little shoe shine box, but I was thinking about a tithe?

I misheard them. I thought they said "Tide," T-I-D-E. I asked, "Why are you giving me this box of Tide? My mama washes the clothes. I don't think she needs this Tide." I didn't know what they were talking about.

They were talking about giving money, giving 10 percent of whatever I earned. I thought, "What? 10 percent?" I could have gotten saved back then, but they didn't give me the plan of salvation. They gave me some tithing envelopes.

I still didn't tithe to the church, so I didn't ever go back because I thought I must not be a member of the church. But my mama made me go every now and then. She said, "Boy, you're going to church." If Mama said it, you have to get out of there.

She would say, "You want to eat today?" "Yes, ma'am." Then we'd go. They would feed you after church. Every so often they would have someone cooking meals in the basement area. That aroma would come up and I smelled that fried chicken.

I couldn't wait for the preacher to stop speaking so I could get down there. Salvation is from the Lord. The ark was enormous. I love what they say in the cartoon sometimes: "ginormous." It was ginormous.

There was one way in, not two, but one singular door that God had designed and designated. Salvation is found personally and exclusively through Jesus Christ, the only door to get to the Father.

Jesus is the only way; there is no other way. You can try to work it out if you want to, but it isn't going to help. Jesus isn't one door among many. He is not the door for one race or social class of people or one denomination.

We have denominations because a lot of people couldn't agree on the biblical interpretation of certain passages of Scripture. They decided to make themselves a denomination. They have this denomination that believes this and that denomination that believes that.

I want to take you to the cross. You have Jesus in between two thieves. One of them had enough sense to realize that Jesus didn't do anything wrong. The guy who asked Jesus, "Will You remember me when You get into Your kingdom?" didn't mention anything about a denomination.

In fact, he didn't even have an opportunity to get baptized. He never even joined a church. He just said, "Will You remember me when You come into Your kingdom?" Jesus said, "Today you'll be with me."

Did he get saved because he was a member of a denomination? No. Can we get saved today because we are a member of a denomination? No. The same way you get saved in the Old is the same way you get saved in the New.

The same way that thief got saved is the same way we all get saved: by faith to believe that Jesus Christ is the key to getting into Paradise. If you don't believe that, then you've missed the point.

You're like the other thief on the other side who was cursing because he was getting ready to die and didn't know what afterlife looks like. I can tell you, read Revelation and you will know what it's like. It is a sad state of affairs.

Denominations began when believers disagreed on biblical interpretations. They have the First Baptist and the Second Baptist. They don't have the Third Baptist; I guess they just forget about all that. They have the First Pres and they have the Second Pres and they have the Church of God in Christ.

We are non-denominational. I'm Baptistic in my doctrine, but I'm not real wound tight on all that they think about because they've got some real fundamentalist kind of Baptist where you can't wear certain things. Ladies, you wouldn't get in certain churches if you are a fundamentalist Baptist.

You better go back home because you aren't coming in here. They have little rulers in the front door. Brother Deacon likes to be able to tell you that your skirt's too short or that you're showing too much cleavage to come into the church here.

I went into one of those kinds of churches and they didn't particularly care for my race. I felt that cold shoulder as soon as I walked in. I walked in and held my hand out for the program and they looked at me.

They finally gave me a program. I don't know why they didn't want to give me the program, but I took it personally. I said if I ever was pastoring a church, I'd make sure everybody, no matter what color they are, would feel comfortable in the church.

That is why I make it very clear: a place for every race. If people have a problem with that, well, there are only two races: the saved and the unsaved. What side are you on? Give me a break with some of these people.

Let's go to John 14:6. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Me." He is the door. The invitation for salvation is inclusive. No matter what color you are, you're invited.

Somebody had this notion that certain people would be in certain neighborhoods like it is now. I asked where that was in the Bible. Have you read Ephesians? It says Jesus tore down the dividing wall that separated us.

There was a dividing wall in the temple. In the temple, they had a place for those that were non-Jews; those were the Gentiles. They had a place for the women because you couldn't go back there with the men.

They had the men all the way in the back where they had refreshments and all those kinds of things. You didn't have any of that up front. You had to be a Jew, male, in order to be back there.

Jesus said, "I came to tear down this dividing wall." There are no longer people known by their ethnicity; they are known by their relationship with Me. I am the truth, I am the way, I am the life, and if anybody comes through His door, you can be saved.

Suppose someone offered you something? I'm not going to tell you that yet. You all hold onto that thought. The entrance to Jesus' kingdom is exclusive. You must come through Him.

God commanded Noah to put the door in its side. The door in the side points to what happened to Jesus on the cross. John 19:34 says, "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with the spear, and immediately blood and water came out."

Let me explain what this means and connect that with the ark. First of all, Jesus was already dead before the soldier had pierced His side. The blood points to the sacrifice for sin, and the water points to the cleansing and new life through the wounded side of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 9:22 says, "According to the law, one may almost say all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." The cleansing, the water, and blood together represent the forgiveness or remission of sin through that sacrifice.

He gave His life and at that point He was already dead. The water poured out and also the blood as well. Under the Old Testament, forgiveness and remission of sins always required a life sacrifice symbolized by blood.

Leviticus 17 says life is in the blood. His blood is what was needed to pay for my entrance through the door. To be open, to be saved, I needed to believe that His blood was what took my place.

In the Old Testament, they had animals they would sacrifice. Why? Because without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. However, God was using the animals because He killed an animal for Adam and Eve.

He took the skin off of the animal that He had killed. You're quiet; I know you are learning something here. He took the skin off of the animal because God said the day that you sin, something has to die.

God had already promised Adam and Eve that they were going to fulfill the Earth. That was their assignment. God was going to still—