FOUR DOORS THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN

1
FOUR DOORSTHIS SIDE OF HEAVEN
After these things I looked, and behold, a door
standing open in heaven. And the first voice
which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with
me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you
things which must take place after this." (Rev.
41)
2
FOUR DOORSTHIS SIDE OF HEAVEN

• However, there are at least four other doors
  through which we must first pass
• The Door of Instruction
• The Door of Salvation
• The Door of Service
• The Door of Prayer

3
THE DOOR OF INSTRUCTION

• The Jews were born into a covenant relationship
  with God and were instructed as they grew older.

4
Deuteronomy 616-19

• "You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you
  tempted Him in Massah. You shall diligently keep
  the commandments of the Lord your God, His
  testimonies, and His statutes which He has
  commanded you. And you shall do what is right and
  good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be
  well with you, and that you may go in and possess
  the good land of which the Lord swore to your
  fathers, to cast out all your enemies from before
  you, as the Lord has spoken.

5
Deuteronomy 620-23

• "When your son asks you in time to come, saying,
  'What is the meaning of the testimonies, the
  statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our
  God has commanded you?' then you shall say to
  your son 'We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt,
  and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a
  mighty hand and the Lord showed signs and
  wonders before our eyes, great and severe,
  against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household.
  Then He brought us out from there, that He might
  bring us in, to give us the land of which He
  swore to our fathers.

6
Deuteronomy 624-25

• "'And the Lord commanded us to observe all these
  statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good
  always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is
  this day. Then it will be righteousness for us,
  if we are careful to observe all these
  commandments before the Lord our God, as He has
  commanded us.'"

7
THE DOOR OF INSTRUCTION

• The Jews were born into a covenant relationship
  with God and were instructed as they grew older.
• It was predicted that things would be different
  under the New Covenant.

8
Jeremiah 3131-32

• "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when
  I will make a new covenant with the house of
  Israel and with the house of Judah-- not
  according to the covenant that I made with their
  fathers in the day that I took them by the hand
  to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My
  covenant which they broke, though I was a husband
  to them, says the Lord.

9
Jeremiah 3133

• "But this is the covenant that I will make with
  the house of Israel after those days, says the
  Lord I will put My law in their minds, and write
  it on their hearts and I will be their God, and
  they shall be My people.

10
Jeremiah 3134-35

• No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and
  every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,'
  for they all shall know Me, from the least of
  them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For
  I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I
  will remember no more."
• Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light
  by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars
  for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And
  its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name)

11
Hebrews 88-13

• Because finding fault with them, He says
• "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when
  I will make a new covenant with the house of
  Israel and with the house of Judah-- not
  according to the covenant that I made with their
  fathers in the day when I took them by the hand
  to lead them out of the land of Egypt because
  they did not continue in My covenant, and I
  disregarded them, says the Lord.

12
Hebrews 88-13

• "For this is the covenant that I will make with
  the house of Israel after those days, says the
  Lord I will put My laws in their mind and write
  them on their hearts and I will be their God,
  and they shall be My people. None of them shall
  teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying,
  'Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the
  least of them to the greatest of them.

13
Hebrews 88-13

• "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
  and their sins and their lawless deeds I will
  remember no more." In that He says, "A new
  covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now
  what is becoming obsolete and growing old is
  ready to vanish away.

14
THE DOOR OF INSTRUCTION

• The Jews were born into a covenant relationship
  with God and were instructed as they grew older.
• It was predicted that things would be different
  under the New Covenant.
• Jesus taught that instruction is required of
  those who would come to Him.

15
John 644-45

• "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent
  Me draws him and I will raise him up at the last
  day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they
  shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone
  who has heard and learned from the Father comes
  to Me."

16
THE DOOR OF INSTRUCTION

• One must "know the truth" to be made free thereby.

17
John 832

• Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him,
  "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples
  indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the
  truth shall make you free."

18
John 1717

• "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is
  truth."

19
THE DOOR OF INSTRUCTION

• One must "know the truth" to be made free
  thereby.
• Therefore, it is the truth that must be preached.

20
2 Timothy 41-2

• I charge you therefore before God and the Lord
  Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the
  dead at His appearing and His kingdom Preach the
  word! Be ready in season and out of season.
  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering
  and teaching.

21
2 Timothy 43-4

• For the time will come when they will not endure
  sound doctrine, but according to their own
  desires, because they have itching ears, they
  will heap up for themselves teachers and they
  will turn their ears away from the truth, and be
  turned aside to fables.

22
THE DOOR OF SALVATION

• Jesus came to save mankind.

23
Matthew 121

• "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall
  call His name Jesus, for He will save His people
  from their sins."

24
Luke 199-10

• And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come
  to this house, because he also is a son of
  Abraham for the Son of Man has come to seek and
  to save that which was lost."

25
THE DOOR OF SALVATION

• Jesus came to save mankind.
• The gospel is for all.

26
Matthew 2819-20

• "Go therefore and make disciples of all the
  nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
  and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
  them to observe all things that I have commanded
  you and lo, I am with you always, even to the
  end of the age." Amen.

27
Mark 1615

• And He said to them, "Go into all the world and
  preach the gospel to every creature."

28
THE DOOR OF SALVATION

• Jesus came to save mankind.
• The gospel is for all.
• Obeying the truth is essential to salvation.

29
Hebrews 58-9

• .though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience
  by the things which He suffered. And having been
  perfected, He became the author of eternal
  salvation to all who obey Him.

30
2 Thessalonians 17-8

• .and to give you who are troubled rest with us
  when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with
  His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking
  vengeance on those who do not know God, and on
  those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord
  Jesus Christ.

31
1 Peter 122

• Since you have purified your souls in obeying the
  truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the
  brethren, love one another fervently with a pure
  heart.

32
Romans 617-18

• But God be thanked that though you were slaves of
  sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of
  doctrine to which you were delivered. And having
  been set free from sin, you became slaves of
  righteousness.

33
THE DOOR OF SALVATION

• To be saved, one must
• Believe.

34
Acts 1630-31

• And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what
  must I do to be saved?"
• So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
  and you will be saved, you and your household."

35
THE DOOR OF SALVATION

• To be saved, one must
• Believe.
• Repent.

36
Acts 1730-31

• Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked,
  but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
  because He has appointed a day on which He will
  judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom
  He has ordained. He has given assurance of this
  to all by raising Him from the dead."

37
THE DOOR OF SALVATION

• To be saved, one must
• Believe.
• Repent.
• Confess.

38
Romans 108-10

• But what does it say? "The word is near you, in
  your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word
  of faith which we preach) that if you confess
  with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
  your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
  you will be saved. For with the heart one
  believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
  confession is made unto salvation.

39
THE DOOR OF SALVATION

• To be saved, one must
• Believe.
• Repent.
• Confess.
• Be baptized.

40
Mark 1616

• He who believes and is baptized will be saved
  but he who does not believe will be condemned.

41
Acts 238

• Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every
  one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
  Christ for the remission of sins and you shall
  receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

42
THE DOOR OF SALVATION

• To be saved, one must
• Believe.
• Repent.
• Confess your faith.
• Be baptized.
• Scriptural baptism puts one into Christ where
  salvation is.

43
Galatians 326-27

• For you are all sons of God through faith in
  Christ Jesus.
• For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
  have put on Christ.

44
2 Timothy 210

• Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the
  elect, that they also may obtain the salvation
  which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

45
THE DOOR OF PRAYER

• This door is closed to those who do not first
  enter the doors of instruction and salvation.

46
Proverbs 289

• One who turns away his ear from hearing the law,
  Even his prayer is an abomination.

47
1 Peter 312

• "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
  And His ears are open to their prayers But the
  face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

48
THE DOOR OF PRAYER

• This door is closed to those who do not first
  enter the doors of instruction and salvation.
• As sons we may call upon the Father.

49
Romans 814-15

• For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
  these are sons of God.
• For you did not receive the spirit of bondage
  again to fear, but you received the Spirit of
  adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

50
Matthew 69

• "In this manner, therefore, pray Our Father in
  heaven, Hallowed be Your name."

51
Galatians 46

• And because you are sons, God has sent forth the
  Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out,
  "Abba, Father!"

52
THE DOOR OF PRAYER

• For our prayers to be acceptable we must
• Ask in faith.

53
James 15-8

• If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
  who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
  and it will be given to him.
• But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for
  he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven
  and tossed by the wind.
• For let not that man suppose that he will receive
  anything from the Lord he is a double-minded
  man, unstable in all his ways.

54
THE DOOR OF PRAYER

• For our prayers to be acceptable we must
• Ask in faith.
• Pray fervently.

55
James 516

• Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray
  for one another, that you may be healed. The
  effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man
  avails much.

56
THE DOOR OF PRAYER

• For our prayers to be acceptable we must
• Ask in faith.
• Pray fervently.
• Be obedient.

57
1 John 322

• And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because
  we keep His commandments and do those things that
  are pleasing in His sight.

58
THE DOOR OF PRAYER

• For our prayers to be acceptable we must
• Ask in faith.
• Pray fervently.
• Be obedient.
• Ask according to His will.

59
1 John 514

• Now this is the confidence that we have in Him,
  that if we ask anything according to His will, He
  hears us.

60
THE DOOR OF SERVICE

• Nothing we do will avail, unless we have entered
  the doors already mentioned.

61
Matthew 721-23

• "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall
  enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the
  will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me
  in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
  in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and
  done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will
  declare to them, 'I never knew you depart from
  Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

62
THE DOOR OF SERVICE

• Nothing we do will avail, unless we have entered
  the doors already mentioned.
• On the other hand, even if we do enter the
  afore-mentioned doors, all will be for nothing if
  we do not also enter the door of service.

63
Matthew 2531-33

• "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all
  the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the
  throne of His glory.
• All the nations will be gathered before Him, and
  He will separate them one from another, as a
  shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
• And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but
  the goats on the left.

64
Matthew 2534-36

• "Then the King will say to those on His right
  hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit
  the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
  of the world for I was hungry and you gave Me
  food I was thirsty and you gave Me drink I was
  a stranger and you took Me in I was naked and
  you clothed Me I was sick and you visited Me I
  was in prison and you came to Me.'

65
Matthew 2537-40

• "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying,
  'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You,
  or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see
  You a stranger and take You in, or naked and
  clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in
  prison, and come to You?'
• "And the King will answer and say to them,
  'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it
  to one of the least of these My brethren, you did
  it to Me.'

66
Matthew 2541-43

• "Then He will also say to those on the left hand,
  'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting
  fire prepared for the devil and his angels for I
  was hungry and you gave Me no food I was thirsty
  and you gave Me no drink I was a stranger and
  you did not take Me in, naked and you did not
  clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not
  visit Me.'

67
Matthew 2544-46

• "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord,
  when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a
  stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did
  not minister to You?' Then He will answer them,
  saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you
  did not do it to one of the least of these, you
  did not do it to Me.'
• And these will go away into everlasting
  punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

68
THE DOOR OF SERVICE

• Nothing we do will avail, unless we have entered
  the doors already mentioned.
• On the other hand, even if we do enter the
  afore-mentioned doors, all will be for nothing if
  we do not also enter the door of service.
• Acceptable service rendered by Christians
  glorifies both God and Christ.

69
1 Peter 416

• Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not
  be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this
  matter.

70
Colossians 317

• And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in
  the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God
  the Father through Him.

71
THE DOOR OF SERVICE

• We must prepare ourselves for every good work.

72
2 Timothy 221

• Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the
  latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified
  and useful for the Master, prepared for every
  good work.

73
THE DOOR OF SERVICE

• We must prepare ourselves for every good work.
• Through faithful service we work out our own
  salvation.

74
Philippians 212-13

• Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
  not as in my presence only, but now much more in
  my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
  and trembling for it is God who works in you
  both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

75
THE DOOR OF SERVICE

• We must prepare ourselves for every good work.
• Through faithful service we work out our own
  salvation.
• It is through faithful service that we make our
  calling and election sure.

76
2 Peter 15-8

• But also for this very reason, giving all
  diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue
  knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to
  self-control perseverance, to perseverance
  godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and
  to brotherly kindness love. For if these things
  are yours and abound, you will be neither barren
  nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
  Christ.

77
2 Peter 19-11

• For he who lacks these things is shortsighted,
  even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was
  cleansed from his old sins.
• Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to
  make your call and election sure, for if you do
  these things you will never stumble for so an
  entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into
  the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior
  Jesus Christ.

78
FOUR DOORSTHIS SIDE OF HEAVEN

• You have already entered the door of instruction.
  
• Won't you obey and thus enter the door of
  salvation?
• Do not wait until the door is shut.
• Then enter the doors of prayer and service.

79
FOUR DOORSTHIS SIDE OF HEAVEN

• The door to heaven is open to all those who
  accept Christ and remain steadfast unto the end.
• Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,
  "Write 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
  from now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that
  they may rest from their labors, and their works
  follow them." (Rev. 1413)

80
FOUR DOORSTHIS SIDE OF HEAVEN

• The door to heaven is open to all those who
  accept Christ and remain steadfast unto the end.
• Blessed are those who do His commandments, that
  they may have the right to the tree of life, and
  may enter through the gates into the city. (Rev.
  2214)

81
FOUR DOORSTHIS SIDE OF HEAVEN

• The door to heaven is open to all those who
  accept Christ and remain steadfast unto the end.
• None of these will be turned away.
• "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me,
  and the one who comes to Me I will by no means
  cast out." (John 637)

82
FOUR DOORSTHIS SIDE OF HEAVEN

• The door to heaven is open to all those who
  accept Christ and remain steadfast unto the end.
• None of these will be turned away.
• In this we can rest assured.
• "In My Father's house are many mansions if it
  were not so, I would have told you. I go to
  prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
  a place for you, I will come again and receive
  you to Myself that where I am, there you may be
  also." (John 142-4)

83
FOUR DOORSTHIS SIDE OF HEAVEN

• Wont you enter the door of salvation?
• Wont you enter it, now?
• "Behold, now is the accepted time behold, now
  is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 62).