# How to go to Heaven

Category: Salvation & Gospel
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: March 16, 2025

“543 will sing that song, ‘Love Lifted Me.’ I was singing deep in simple soul. Now say, choir sing it this time. I was looking and buying so hard I was trying. Peace and no pleasure could I even measure in all that I tried to gain. I repented and prayed, God saved me that day, and now I’ve got something to say: It’s worth living since I’ve been forgiven. Christ made a real change in me. You’re crying when I think about dying because heaven is worth… Now Satan’s still lying, and he’s always trying to lead. Just call on Christ’s name. He’ll save you today. Then look back to Satan instead.”

“On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain. So I’ll cherish my trophies at last I lay down. I will claim it someday for a rugged cross. So despised by the world has a wondrous attraction for me. For the dear Lamb of God left His glory upon to bear it to dark hell. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will claim exchange it someday for a…”

"Before we finish that song, take this opportunity to welcome those around you.

Good fellowship, everyone, and make your way back to your seats and remain standing. We’re going to finish that song, number 340, on that third verse. In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see, for 'twas on that old cross Jesus offered and died to pardon and sanctify me. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will claim it someday for a…

…on that last verse to the old rugged cross I will ever be true, its shame and reproach gladly bear. Then he’ll call me someday to my home far away where His glory forever I’ll share. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross while my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling it someday."

“Good singing. You may be seated. It’s great to see everyone out in the Lord’s house on the Lord’s day. Thrilled to see you, and I’m shocked some of you really do have friends. What about that there? I’m impressed with that, and that is great. We want to meet your friends. If you would not mind, if you have a guest with us, we’d like for you to introduce your guest.”

"Well, let’s start over here. I know we’ve got some guests over here. Brother Ted, you got a guest with you? Two. Are they in here? Okay. Okay. Where’s Alonzo at? Where’s Alonzo at? Is he here? Point him out. Good to have Alonzo. Glad you’re here this morning. That’s awesome. He’s mad at you for introducing him now. It’s his fault, not mine, you know, but glad to have you this morning. That’s awesome. Good, good, good. Miss Daniel, I believe you have several visitors with you. Amen. He’s right there. There he is. Good to have him. You’re making up for Alonzo. There you go. Hey, yeah, appreciate it. That’s great. Good to have Mom and Dad with us. That’s great. Good, Brother Michael, good. Christy, honored to have you today. Thank you for being with us. That’s awesome. That’s wonderful. That’s just great. Amen for that. Brother, go forth. I think you have about a row or two here. Amen. Wow. Man, he’s got friends. I’ll tell you what now, you know. Amen. Would you introduce them, please? Amen. Amen.

"So that was, what, 50 years ago? 40 years ago? 30 years ago. There you go. There you go. Good deal. And the couple here, they’re getting married. 10-4, they said. So congratulations. About to get married. What about that? That’s exciting. Congratulations to them. Good to have all of them with us. Thank you for being with us today. Honored to have you. That’s great. Anybody else? They’re adding on. That’s a good deal. Good, good. Appreciate them being with us today. Thank y’all. That’s awesome. Amen. Amen. That’s wonderful. Wonderful. Anybody else you have a friend with you on this side? We won’t get that side. Anybody else over here? And good deal. We’re ready to go over here. Do you have a guest with you today? Yes, sir. They’ve been here a time or two here. That’s all right. Anybody else got a guest over here? Anybody got a guest? Mellie, you got a guest with you, ma’am? No, no. I’m getting your name. He said, what you—tell me. Kate? Is it Caden? Help me out, Patrick. Caden, Cagin, Cade. He’s got a guest with him. Good deal, good deal. And, uh, good. Hasett, you got a guest with you? Good. Glad to have them both with us. That’s great. Good to have them with us. Appreciate you coming today. That’s great. Amen. Let’s see, Brother Martin, you’ve got a guest with you. Yes, sir. Amen. Good to have Justin with us here. Amen. Amen. That’s great. He said, Brother Marlin, does work sometimes. There you. That’s great. That’s great. That’s awesome. And good to see Kyle and Kaylee back there. That’s great. Brother Brian, you’ve got some visitors back. You got some friends back there with you? That’s awesome. Good to have them back there. Amen. Amen. Honor to have you today. Thank you. And the little one, too. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Brother Ray, you’ve got a whole crowd back there with you. You’re going to introduce them for you, Forest Place, sir, your friends? Wow. Amen.

“I believe they have the record for the longest trip here to church. They drove from Alabama over about two and a half hours they drove to church this morning. Now that was including a stop at Buc-ee’s though, amen, you know, so there we go, there we go. We’ve got to be some goodies from Buc-ee’s, so we’re all right on there. But thank you for coming to be with us. And I don’t just say that lightly. We’re honored to have you at Rutherford County Baptist Church. We just appreciate you being with us, giving us the privilege of maybe the Lord use us to minister to you a little bit today. We’re just thrilled to have you with us. Thank you. All those of you that worked—I thought I had some friends I worked on, but they said, no, we’re not your friend—but I appreciate everybody that worked towards getting people to come with you. That’s just awesome. We’re honored to have so many folk with us today. We’ll make just a couple quick announcements.”

“Friday night, we have a ladies’ activity: Ladies’ Mancala Game Night. It’s just a fun game. Ladies, it’ll be a great way to get to know church people. It starts at 6 o’clock, goes through 9 p.m. You can bring some desserts or advertised, and whatnot, and we’d love to have you coming. Ladies, you’ll have a great time. And just, you know, everybody needs some fellowship and some relationships and all that. And, man, getting good people at church to hang around is just key. And ladies, I encourage you to come in that. You’ll have a great time. Sign up, so you don’t pull that on the back table there.”

“And then Saturday is a teen activity and youth rally, and I’m excited about that, going down to laser tag and then meeting at a church in Murfreesboro. I get to be with young people on Saturday. I’m excited about looking forward to it. Maybe I’ll get the names a little bit better on Saturday. How about that? I don’t get to spend much time with them anymore, so excited about that. Looking forward to it. And excited about it. What time are you going to leave, Brother Patrick? 9:15, leaving from the church.”

“Depending on how long the preaching is, that’s when time they get back, so it’ll be back about midnight that night, you know. We’ll have a good time, and the Lord will bless that in a great, great way on Saturday.”

“Then next Sunday, next Sunday, our Foundations class. That is a 13-week series. It is such a good, good series. Every Sunday is a different subject. One Sunday we take two weeks on the Bible. But 12 different subjects, you’ll learn so many things. Our goal, when you come out of that class, is if you know what you believe, why you believe it from the Bible. You know, people change. Society changes. It’s amazing how preachers even change, you know, but the Bible never changes. And our goal is to get you grounded in the Word of God in that class. I would encourage you, if you’ve not been through that class, go to that class. Brother Juan Farfan will be teaching. He’ll do a great job in there. And just so many key things you’ll learn in that class: little church history, a whole lot of Bible, just all kind of things you’ll learn in that class. I encourage you to go there if you’ve not been in that. Next Sunday, 9:45, they’ll meet right down here.”

“And you’ll get a booklet for the next Sunday what we’re going to teach you on. Just on and on. It’s a great, great class. You’ll learn more about our church, how it’s run, different things. Can you lose your salvation? What is baptism? But all these different subjects will teach you that from the Bible. I encourage you to go to that class. It’ll be a great, great class for you. Starting next Sunday, just a key time to jump in there. Next Sunday, 9:45, right down front here. It’ll be a great, great thing.”

“Ushers have you come for offering. And, uh, March the 30th, we have a man that comes to our church. He’s been coming for years. He’s 99 years old. The 27th of this month, he turns 100. And a couple years ago, I said, ‘Hey, Brother, I remember when you turn 100, we’re going to have a party for you.’ You know, preachers say things and then people believe us, you know. And his daughter takes good care of him. He’s a World War II vet.”

“And she says, ‘You know, he talks about that all the time, and his kind of goal is to live to 100, and he’s going to be here that day, that last Sunday, the 30th. And we’re going to have somewhat of a birthday party for him.’ Now, at the end of the service, we’ll bring a cake out, sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him and all these things. And on your way out, you’re welcome to stay, get some cake and some juice and whatnot. Some maybe even stay over, some family, whatnot, have a meal, but we want to make it a special day for him. So if you can bring a birthday card, just a birthday card, we want to give him. I’d love to give him about 100 birthday cards on his 100th birthday. There’s not many World War II vets around anymore, you know. And we’ll have a special thing in the bulletin about him, whatnot. He actually landmine blew up, and he got blew up a little bit, and that—we’ll talk about all that. But don’t you come and bring a birthday card for him on that day. And that’ll be a special, special day. Excited about that.”

“Then I can’t help but think about our groundbreaking Sunday, August 24th. That day we’ll have service here in the morning, and then 4 o’clock that afternoon, we’ll meet on the new property and we’ll have a groundbreaking service. It’ll be a special, awesome day. Excited about having a little bit more elbow room, you know? Amen. And plan on that. On your way out, if you don’t know where the new property is—how many know right on Alamville Road, less than a mile from here? They built the new gas station by One Mile Lane. But you know what I’m talking about right there? If you don’t know about the gas station right beside it, it’s a Dunkin’ Donuts. You know about that? Amen, you know? And right across the street, there’s 13 acres that the Lord has just given to us.”

“And so many of you helped make that happen. But praise the Lord, we’re going to be starting on that new building there, August 24th. And by the way, it’s all been the Lord. So many stories we can tell how God has made that happen. And where God leads, he provides, amen. And he makes it happen. We’re excited about that. But I just had to mention that on a day like this. Don’t forget, mark that down: August 24th. And looking forward to a great groundbreaking service on there, 4 p.m. that day. It’ll be a great day. I hope you come to that. Be a part of that. And it’ll be great. I’m excited about that. See what the Lord is doing by His grace. And praise the Lord for it.”

“Our bus ministry had a great day, both routes. Praise the Lord for that. That’s exciting. I appreciate all the bus workers. I appreciate Brother Josh. He works that bus route. The bus ministry works, but somebody’s got to work it.”

“How many hours you spend visiting yesterday, Brother Josh?”

“About five or six hours.”

“And that’s typical. That’s typical. Somebody’s got to work that thing, but God uses that. But I appreciate back in the day, and I got to move on, but back in the day in so many churches, the bus ministry had a matter of finances to buy buses and all that. Nowadays, I don’t think that’s necessarily the big problem. The big problem nowadays is workers. Somebody’s got to work that thing. It takes dedication. And Brother Josh, Tim and Jennifer, Brother Garrett, Brother Richard, they do a wonderful job of the bus ministry. I appreciate it very, very much. All the work. What was it? 82 altogether in the bus—bus? Praise the Lord for that. Amen, that’s a great, great day. So many of them would never have the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ if it wasn’t for those buses and those bus workers. Praise the Lord for them. Doing a great job.”

“Brother Josh, would you lead us in prayer for the offering, please, brother?”

“We’ll turn to number 202, ‘Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound.’ We’ll sing the first, second, and last verse. 202.”

"‘Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.’

"‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.’

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.”

"You may be seated.

"Message in song, thank you so much. Enjoyable. Matthew chapter number seven in God’s Word this morning. Matthew chapter 7, if you would please. And we’re going to preach… Last night I was over here sometimes Saturday, I’ll spend the night—not the night, I’ll spend a little bit, a couple hours sometimes up here just kind of praying and preparing, whatnot. And I was planning on preaching another subject. I’ve been planning on it for weeks, and I felt like the Lord changed it.

"And so it’ll be more chaotic than usual, amen. You know, I’m teasing there. But I cannot figure the right title for the sermon. I want you to help me out with it. I’ve got two different titles in my mind. You pick which one you like the best, all right? Here’s the first one. It’s a little harsh, but it’s true. Here’s the first one: Why So Many People Go to Hell?

"That’s sad. That’s title number one. That didn’t get much attention. Nobody’s going to vote for that one there. Then title number two: How to Go to Heaven. How many like why so many people go?

"Is that peace or what peace, brother? How many vote for one? We got one. I got to see one hand go up. Come on. We got two hands. Thank you. I got to preach that: How to Go to Heaven. Have you ever got more? All right, good deal. We’ll cover them both because I want you to see it, amen. You say, ‘That’s kind of like, what does it matter?’ What does it mean when a Baptist preacher takes his watch off? Absolutely nothing.

“Kind of the same thing about the title there, you know. But you heard about the fellows that died, and they went up there and, you know, the pearly gates. And Peter said, ‘Well, why should I let you in here?’ And the first fellow, he said, ‘Well, my mother-in-law, she couldn’t pay her electric bill, so I paid her electric bill ever since then.’ He said, ‘Wow, it’s pretty amazing. Your mother-in-law—do anything good for your mother-in-law, that’s saying something.’ He said, ‘How long ago was that?’ He said, ‘23 years ago.’”

"Wow, you paid your mother-in-law’s electric bill for 23 years. That’s pretty amazing, you know. Second guy, ‘Why shall I let you in here?’ And you say, ‘Well, there was this child, a little girl walking across the street, the car was going to run her over. And so I jumped out there and I pushed her, saved her life, but that car ran over my leg, and I walked with a limp ever since.’ Wow, that’s amazing. How long ago did that happen? He said, ‘Oh, 15 years ago.’ Why, you walked with a limp for 15 years? That’s pretty good.

“Came the next guy. He said, ‘Why should I let you in?’ He said, ‘Well, there’s a little old lady, there’s like about 10 big old gangsters all around her about to mug her. They’re probably going to take her life. They’re taking all her money, everything.’ I stepped in there, so you’re not going to touch that lady. You’ll touch that lady over my dead body. You’re not going to touch her. Peter said, ‘Wow, that’s pretty amazing. How long ago was that?’ He said, ‘Oh, about five minutes ago.’”

"You get that after a while, amen. Matthew chapter number seven. We’re going to get there just a second. Let me say this: How many of you have, just this morning, I’ve heard of someone dying? Yesterday, I heard of someone dying. It just seemed like death’s all right. How many in the last year you’ve heard of someone dying? It’s like just common, to the point now we don’t think that much of it. Just seem like it’s everywhere.

"I was thinking about this last night. You know, one day the phone’s going to ring, and they’re going to say, ‘Hey, you know who died?’ And they’re going to say, ‘Pastor Paul.’ Yet the Lord tarries, this is going to come. I used to say, ‘Man, you’re getting weirded out on me right now.’ I understand it’s true. I mean, the Lord tarries, one day the phone’s going to ring, and they’re going to say, ‘Hey, Cated, Michelle, whoever.’ It’s just coming. So I want to make sure when that phone call comes, and they say, ‘Pastor Paul, you won’t believe Pastor Paul died.’ ‘What happened to him?’ ‘I don’t know. His wife, I think, killed him for all those crazy jokes he told her.’ She got him. But I want to make sure when that time comes, I’m in heaven.

“I like that choir special. It’s a little bit just blunt, but I like it. Man, I’m not going to hell, amen. I like it. By the way, everybody’s got opinions. They’re like feet. Everybody’s got them, but they all stink.”

"He said, ‘Man, you’re being harsh today.’ God, I want to find out what God says about it, right? I mean, he’s the one that created it all, started it all. He’s got the final say so. I’ll stand before him one day. So I want to find out what God says: How to go to heaven. I’m going to try to just make it real clear and real simple for me. I’m a Tennessee hillbilly. I need something simple, amen, you know? Yeah, for sure. Anybody else like that with me?

“I got good, good, good. I like that. I’m in good company here. Amen. Matthew chapter 7. We’re going to start reading in verse number 21. We like to do this in our church. They did it in the book of Nehemiah, and it shows the Word of God a little respect. So when we read the text verse, we like to stand to show the Word of God respect. So if you’re able to, would you stand as I read God’s word, if you’re able to, and just try to show the Bible respect? So if you’d stand, Matthew 7, and we’re going to start in verse number 21. Matthew 7:21: ‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.’”

"By the way, how many of you have a red-letter edition Bible? You got that? I do too. Mine’s in red. That means Jesus is talking here. A famous sermon on the mount. He’s nearing right at the end of the sermon. Here it is. Verse number 22, and he says, ‘Many’—notice that—‘many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have I not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?”’

"Here’s a sad verse. All about that being the title, saddest verse in all the Bible. ‘And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.’ Wow.

"Wouldn’t that be a sad statement to be standing before God, and God says, ‘I never knew you’? Wow. I mean, I just—I can feel the seriousness of God saying that. Wow. Watch the last part of the verse there: ‘Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’

"Wow. Talking this fellow here, done a lot of good things. Now, ‘I never knew you.’ Let’s try to figure this thing out. Let’s just—we’re going to try to go through this passage. I hope you leave this afternoon and said, ‘Well, I understand what he’s saying now.’ I want you to do that. Would you pray that God would help us to kind of grasp what he’s saying here? And this Matthew said—would you pray with me for that?

"Father, would you make your word super clear? Father, give me your words. Lord, the attention of the people and their hearts. Lord, would you make very, very clear why you say this fellow, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me’? Bless us today. Lord, I pray if someone here is not going to heaven, they’ll be going to heaven before they leave today. Father, we ask for that. We’re asking in the name of Jesus. We pray. Amen.

"Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated. I do want to just for a minute here address this thing: why so many are going to hell. First of all, you may question, ‘Well, how do you know so many people are going to hell?’ Look, if you will, there in that passage, Matthew 7. Look over in verse number 13. Matthew 7, look at verse number 13. Look at verse number 13. Is this just a preacher saying that? Is this just God’s word saying this? Look at verse number 13. He says, ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many, there be, which go in thereat.’

"That destruction is speaking of as hell. And notice what it says: ‘many, wow, many there be which go in thereat.’ That’s a sad statement. Look at verse number 14, ‘Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few, wow, there be that find it.’

"Now, God’s taken all eternity—all the people that’s ever been born and lived on this earth. By the way, America is only a little less than 5% of the population of the world. So we’re talking about the whole world for all the past and however long this world exists, all the people. He says, ‘Hey, there’s many they go to hell.’ What a sad thing. And there’s few that’ll go to heaven. Wow. I like to be a part of the few. How about you? I don’t know if it’s the Marines or not, but I want to be the few. I want to go to heaven, you know? Yeah. What a sad statement.

"How can this be? How is this? It’s very, very interesting. Why is this? Look in verse number 22. We’ve already read this. We want you to look back at it. Verse number 22 here. I want to see this. He says, ‘Many’—notice that verse number 22. Would you help me—what’s that first word? ‘Many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?”’

"I think this fellow here thinks he’s going to heaven. If you’re prophesying in thy name, that’s Jesus’ name, is that a good thing or a bad thing? If you think it’s a good thing, raise your hand. If you think it’s a bad thing, raise your hand. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Whatever it is, you know. But, no, it’s a good thing. And then he’s talking about wonderful works. Maybe feeding the poor. I don’t know. But this fellow here, I think he thinks he’s going to heaven.

"I think that will send more people to hell than anything because people think they’re going to heaven. All around the world, it’s amazing, people just think they’re going to heaven. And that’s kind of the common denominator. They’re thinking they’re going to heaven. And it’s going to be a sad day because he says right there, ‘Many will be in this.’ Many. And at the end of this thing, this guy thinks he’s going to heaven. At the end of this, he said, ‘No, no, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’

"How can this be? What a sad thing. How many people think they’re going to heaven when it comes down to it, they won’t go to heaven? Wow. Look in verse number 23, if you would please. Verse number 23, we’ve already mentioned many times. And then ‘I will profess unto them, what’s the next little line, the four words? What’s the next four words?’

"Can I say this? It is more than just knowing about Jesus that saves you. Jesus knowing you is what saves you. That’s the key. Does he know you? You say, ‘Oh, I know all about Jesus.’ I understand, but does he know you? He’s talking to this man here, and he’s talking to all these good things he did, but he said, ‘Oh, no, no, no, I never knew you.’

"John chapter 10, Jesus is the good shepherd in that chapter of the Bible. And he says in verse number 14, he said, ‘I am the good shepherd and know my sheep.’ We have a missionary here. He was born and grew up in Lebanon. We support him. He’s a missionary to the Middle East. He’s had many people saved in dangerous countries, a lot of Muslim countries. And he said, as a boy, he heard a missionary talking about Jesus being a good shepherd.

"And he said, as a little boy in Lebanon, that resonated with me because I’ve seen a lot of shepherds and their sheep. And one thing, he said, I knew: shepherds always knew their sheep by name. I watched them. I could kind of get that. Jesus is a good shepherd, and he knows his sheep. John 10:27: ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them.’

"Look, if you would, please. Keep your finger there in Matthew 7. Look, if you would, please, over in 2 Timothy, chapter number 2. I studied real hard last night, and I found out 2nd Timothy is right after 1st Timothy, amen? It took me a while to figure that out. Chapter number 2 is right after chapter number 1. Look at this now. I want you to see it here real quickly. Just we’re talking about what’s important is, does he know you or not? Second Timothy, chapter number 2.

"Look in verse number 17. Starting 16, all right? Are y’all with me this morning? Amen? Look at verse number 16. He says, ‘But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.’ He said, ‘Just don’t get caught up with all that stuff.’ ‘And their word will eat as doth a canker,’ kind of like a sore, cancer, if you will, ‘of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.’

"So these people, they’re leading them in the wrong way, false doctrine, and they’ve overthrown the faith of some—some that were born and Christians, they were saved on the way to heaven—they’ve overthrown them by this false rhetoric, all right? They’ve been watching the wrong YouTube videos, you know. And notice what he says about these type of people. They’ve got messed up in the brain, and they’ve overthrown the faith of some. Watch verse number 19. Verse number 19: ‘Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal: The Lord knoweth them that are his.’

"You know, once God knows you, even if you get messed up, God still knows you. You become one of his sheep, and he knows his sheep by name. He said, ‘I know them.’ And even when maybe something twists my head or maybe I backslide, get out of church, get out of the will of God, if God knows you, he says, ‘Hey, that seal, it’ll still hold up. God still knows you.’ Some of them are born-again Christians; they may die in prison, rightfully being there. But if they’ve been born-again Christian, a child of God, God still knows them. He said, ‘That’s sure. That’s a foundation.’ And this seal, their seal that God knows them.

"So I’m simply saying the important thing is not necessarily how much, if you will—by the way, I think this guy knew about Jesus. He had prophesied in the name of Jesus, cast out devils in the name of Jesus, what it says over in Matthew 7—but Jesus didn’t know him. I’m saying the thing that’s so very, very important is: Does Jesus know you? That’s so very, very important.

"Now, why didn’t Jesus know this man? Look up in verse number 21 in Matthew 7. We’re back over Matthew 7.

"Y’all are still with me this morning? Good. Y’all stay with me. We’ll go fast. That way we’ll go eat somewhere when it’s all done. Amen. Well, I got on your level at that point. I heard that ‘Amens’ there, you know. We talked about fried chicken a lot last week. And so, man, I think it is—when she got out of church, she said we went to Bojangles, I believe it was, and they got some fried chicken there, you know? So I think we got spaghetti out of our house when it’s all said and done. Anybody like spaghetti? Oh, man. Tammy, how much you got? We got enough? We’re in trouble. Amen.

“Look at this thing. Look at verse number 21. Matthew 7, look at verse number 21. He said, ‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord…’”

"By the way, he’s using the right term, ‘Lord.’ By the way, it kind of blows out if you’ve been around—you ever heard of this thing, ‘Lordship salvation’? Well, this passage blows that out of the water. ‘Lord, Lord,’ not everyone that says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, ‘but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.’ So he didn’t know—Jesus didn’t know this guy—because he happened to be doing the will of the Father.

"Well, I don’t know about you, but I want to know what the will of the Father is. Anybody out there want to know what the will of the Father is? Look over in John, chapter number six. Let’s find out exactly what the will of the Father is. John chapter number six.

"John chapter 6. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. John chapter number 6. I like this verse here because it makes it so clear what the will of the Father is. John 6 and verse number 29. John 6 and verse number 29. Once you find that, would you say amen? Amen. Look at this verse number 29. ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God,’ if you will, the will of God, we’re trying to find that, ‘This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.’

"Help me out. Who did God send? If you know it, quote it. The first part was it. John 3:16: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave…’ Yeah, that’s good. You know it all. I know you do. You’re doing a great job. I want you to see that he sent Jesus. And the will, or the work of God, is that you believe on him whom he has sent.

"You see this fellow over here in Matthew chapter number seven? He wasn’t believing on Jesus, the one that the Father sent. We know that because of what he says in verse number 22. Go back over there if you would, please. He’s standing before God. He’s given these reasons why he should go to heaven. Let’s find out what he’s believing on. Is he believing on Jesus to get him to heaven? Let’s find out what does he say. Verse number 22: ‘Many will say…’ I mean, the Bible says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. That’s what this guy is saying right here. What is he saying? ‘I’m believing on Jesus’? No, that’s not what he says. ‘Many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in the name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?”’

"Help me out. Was he believing on Jesus? No, he was believing on, ‘Man, I’ve prophesied in thy name. I’ve cast out devils in thy name. I’ve done many wonderful works.’ That’s why Jesus said, ‘I don’t know you.’ You have not done the will of the Father. The will of the Father is to believe on the Son that He sent. And you’re not believing on the Son; you’re believing on your works. And that’s not going to send anybody to heaven. And God says, ‘I don’t know you.’ Wow, what a statement. ‘I don’t know you.’

"Let’s go back over. We read these verses already. Go back over to verse number 13, verse number 14. We didn’t explain everything about it. Go back over there. Let’s look at that one more time. Verse number 13: ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way…’ Have you ever heard anybody say this? ‘Well, going to heaven is kind of like going to the post office. A lot of different ways to go to the post office.’

"Anybody ever heard anything like that? ‘Well, Jesus can’t be the only way. There’s got to be a lot of different ways to heaven.’ Broad is the way. I mean, just—well, you know, you can believe this religion, this religion. By the way, religion won’t get you to heaven. Jesus will get you to heaven. Being a Baptist, you can join a Baptist church, every Baptist church in the state of Tennessee, and there’s a lot of them. That won’t take you to heaven. Jesus will take you to heaven. But they’re broad as the way. I mean, it’s all kind of ideas and thoughts and things. I mean, it’s broad, and what? It’s leading them to destruction. And many there be that go in thereat. By the way, I can see how the devil would be so happy with all kinds of religions because he’s got a lot of different ways as long as they don’t say Jesus alone. He’s happy. Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat.

"Verse number 14: ‘Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way.’ Now let me stop trying to say two things at one time, blah, blah, blah, blah, you know. Narrow. Let’s talk about narrow. Sometimes people think that you’ve got to live a real narrow life and never do anything wrong. How are you doing on that? Anybody measure up?

"I’m going to ask your mom or daddy, your bus worker, Brother Patrick—wait, no, he’s not talking about narrow living because nobody’s always narrow living. The Bible says all have sinned. It’s not talking about narrow living. Even if you could get everything just right and be hunky-dory from here on out—narrow living—you still have sins in your past. He’s not talking about narrow living. He’s talking about this narrow that leads to life. It’s one way: Jesus. That’s what it means when he says it’s narrow. It’s not Jesus plus the Pope. It’s not Jesus plus the church. It’s not Jesus plus Muhammad. It’s not—no, it’s just narrow: Jesus. Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.’ It’s narrow. It’s just Jesus. That’s what he’s teaching right there. That’s what he’s saying in verse number 14. ‘Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’

"You know, the early Christians, they were tortured and many of them martyred. Nero was a madman killing Christians, you know. The honest truth is the Romans, they had all kinds of different religions. They didn’t mind too bad if you were a certain religion unless you stuck out like a sore thumb or like a no-thumb—you really stick out, you know. Man, you’re talking about sticking out, you know. Because those Christians said, ‘No, it’s not a lot of different ways. Polytheism is not all that. It’s one way. Jesus is the only way.’ And that made them stand out. That’s why they were so persecuted. It’s narrow. Just Jesus. Just Jesus. Just Jesus. Very, very narrow.

"You see, the will of the Father is for us to believe 100% as far as us getting to heaven, not partially on. There was a preacher—his name was Philip, he was an evangelist, all right? Help me out. What was the preacher’s name? Bill. Good deal, good deal. What was the preacher’s name? Philip. Good, they were listening. Good job. Good job there. And Philip, God, the Holy Spirit, had led him down to this Ethiopian eunuch. He was traveling like a—kind of like in a chariot. And I already—not to a Mustang, but a Corvette. Amen. I’m teasing there a little bit. We’ll take a Ferrari too, right? Now, you know, if it’s a convertible, I’ll take a Mustang too. I’ll take any of the above. Amen. You want to give it to me, we’ll take it. My name is Jimmy, I’ll take what you give me, amen, you know? But, uh, of course, we’ll take that too. But anyway, this guy’s riding in this chariot, and the Lord led this preacher to go there and walk alongside. He was in first gear going slow, you know. And that guy inside this chariot was reading Isaiah 53. I think of the whole Old Testament, Isaiah 53 is the clearest presentation of the gospel. It’s told by Jesus’ suffering and bleeding and dying on the cross. This is an amazing chapter in the Bible, Isaiah 53. And the preacher said, ‘Hey, do you understand what you’re reading?’ He said, ‘How can I except some man show me?’

"Well, it shows the importance of us telling people about Jesus. So this preacher got in the Corvette with this Ethiopian eunuch while they read Isaiah 53. And the Bible says he preached, or he told him about Jesus.

"And they’re riding along. He’s been talking about Jesus for a while. And they come up to where—must have been some kind of a little pond or a lake or something, there’s some water. And the Ethiopian guy, this eunuch guy, he said, ‘Hey,’ he said, ‘there’s some water. Can I go get baptized?’

"And I want you to notice what the preacher said. It’s in Acts 8. I’ll just read it for you. Acts 8:36: ‘See, here is water. What doth it mean to be baptized?’ And Philip, that’s the preacher, said, ‘If thou believest’—watch this—‘with all thine heart, thou mayest.’ And I forget, I think it was Marlin. If I remember Marlin was with him, we were talking to a fellow. I think he had been Hindu, maybe Buddhist.

"And we were telling about Jesus. As far as you getting to heaven, you’ve got to believe totally on Jesus. Not anything you can do, anybody else—totally on Jesus. And he asked this question. He said, ‘Can I believe some on Jesus and some on Buddha?’ Maybe it was. I said, ‘No, not as far as going to heaven. You’ve got to put all 100% of belief on Jesus.’

"Now, typically it’s more like this guy here in Matthew 7. He’s believing in his good works. No, you see, if I add any of my works—take baptism. Matthew chapter 3, Jesus goes to this guy named John the Baptist and says, ‘Hey, would you baptize me?’ John the Baptist said, ‘Man, I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?’ And Jesus said, ‘Suffer it to be so to fulfill all righteousness.’ Matthew 3:15, look it up later on.

"And that’s when John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Now, wait a second, wait a second. So we know from that that baptism is a righteous act or deed. You know, the Bible says in Titus 3:5, it says, ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.’ It’s real narrow. It’s just Jesus. I’ve got to put 100% of my faith or my belief in Jesus to get me to heaven.

"If I add a little bit, just 1% of my works in there, where the Bible says my righteousness, the best I can do is filthy rags. So I put 1% of my belief, my faith, in me, then I messed it all up. My salvation is no good. It has filthy rags in there. No, the will of the Father is to believe on him whom he has sent.

"That’s why Jesus said on the cross—remember what Jesus said right towards the end? He said seven utterances on the cross. One of the last things Jesus said on the cross, he said, ‘It is finished.’ He said, ‘Don’t add to it. Leave it alone.’

"A little boy went up to the preacher. He said, ‘Hey, preacher, what can I do to be saved?’ And he said, ‘Nothing.’ He said, ‘Nothing to be saved?’ He said, ‘No, no.’ He said, ‘Can I not get saved?’ He said, ‘You still get saved.’ He said, ‘What can I do?’ He said, ‘You can’t do nothing. It’s already been done 2,000 years ago. You just put your belief on what Jesus did. It’s finished. Don’t add to it. Jesus doesn’t help save you; He is your Savior.’

"D.L. Moody, he said, a great, great preacher years gone by. He said, ‘I was in a meeting, and an older man stood up, and he said, “I got three things I learned. It took me 42 years to learn these three things.”’ He said, ‘Man,’ said, ‘man,’ said, ‘man,’ said, ‘I want to learn.’ This guy took him 42 years. ‘Man, why did he learn in 42 years?’ Three things he learned. First of all, the man said, ‘I learned I could do nothing toward my salvation.’ And D.L. Moody said, ‘Well, that’s pretty good. I’ll listen to that.’

"He said, ‘Number two, I learned God did not require me to do anything to be saved.’ And the young Moody said, ‘Well, I like that too. What’s the third thing you learned in 42 years?’ He said, ‘Jesus done it all. All I have to do is trust in what he did.’

"‘He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.’ It’s very clear for him. The will of the Father is to believe in the Son that He sent. By the way, it’s not trusting in even my prayer. ‘Well, I prayed the prayer.’ I like praying when someone gets saved because unless we’re noted to make a decision or not, but depending on that prayer, believing on that prayer, that prayer doesn’t save you. Believing on Jesus, depending on Jesus, saves you.

"Same thing with baptism. He’s putting all your belief, not on you or anybody else, on Jesus to get you to heaven. That’s what saves you. That’s why this fellow here, ‘Oh, I never knew you,’ because he was not believing on Jesus, totally on Jesus.

"This isn’t a joke like at the beginning of the message. It’s a little bit real. But a man stood and he said, ‘Hey, I want to get into heaven. I taught Sunday school. I was baptized. I treated others as I wanted to be treated.’

"After a… you know, the next fellow came up and he said, ‘Hey, why should I let you into heaven?’ He said, ‘I have no other. I really don’t have any reason at all in the world to go to heaven besides Jesus.’ He said, ‘Come on in, friend.’

"That’s the key. That’s the will of the Father: believing in him whom he sent. Now, why did he say ‘work iniquity’? We got to hurry along here. Verse number 23. Verse number—back, back over there, Matthew 7. We got to hurry this thing up because not—not fried chicken, that’s what we have—spaghetti, that’s what it is. That’s it. Verse number 23. Why did he say this?

"‘Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’ What’s this iniquity? Why do you say to them? Let’s say this: They say that the population of Smyrna is about 60,000 people. It’s grown a lot, hasn’t it? And let’s say the population of Smyrna gets a rare blood disease that is terminal, you’re going to die. 60,000 people. It’s a blood disease, and they look for just the right cure for it, and it’s got to be all the right DNA and everything about it, and they actually find that my son—I have a son, he’s 30 years old, lives in Oregon.

"We don’t mind my son and daughter-in-law live in Oregon, but they stole our grandkids. What about that? I’m watching videos about kidnapping grandchildren, you know. Would you visit me in jail, please? But we’re just going to say in this story that my son had the right blood, and it would cure all 60,000 people, but the only problem was it would take all his blood. He’d have to die. That’s a tough decision.

"I—my son, when he lived here, he didn’t like it when I used illustrations. He said, ‘Don’t use those illustrations anymore.’ But we’ll say that. I said, ‘Well, you know, I think it’s worth it. I’m going to give my son’s life. I’m going to let him die.’ They’re going to drain his blood out, and them draining that blood from my son, he dies. They take that blood and they make it into 60,000 pills. Every person in Smyrna every day, they have available the cure for it.

"Now, do think about that. They pass it out and make sure one per person. Every person is murdered. 60,000 people, they’re getting sick, getting worse, they’re going to die. And every person gets a pill.

"My son died over there. It bothered me. My son died over there. And can you imagine if someone would come up to me and say, ‘Hey, Pastor Paul, I didn’t need your son to die. I think I’m good enough. I think I’m strong enough. I’ve been working out. I’m going to eat healthy, and I’m going to overcome that disease.’

"How many think I’d be mad? My son—I just gave my son’s life for that pill, and you won’t take it? That would just infuriate me. My son—I watched my son die. I watched him drain the blood out of his body, and I watched all that to give you the cure, and you won’t take the cure. You’re going to go off and try to do it on your own.

"That’s why he said, ‘Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’ Because they’re trying to be good enough, good enough, good enough to go to heaven. God says, ‘I let my Son bleed and die on an old rugged cross, and you won’t believe on him? I’m trying to be good enough?’ And God says, ‘Hey, that’s the need you’re working iniquity.’ By the way, they’ll never pay for their sin. That’s why I didn’t know them. God can’t know sin. He’s separated from sin. What a sad thing. ‘Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you.’

"One more thing. We’re going to be done. Look down in verse number—we didn’t read these. Y’all want to get about—I’ll tell you what, let me just talk to you real quick. Verse 24 through 27. We won’t read it a second time. We’ve got spaghetti waiting. Talks about a house built on a rock. Help me out. Who’s the rock in the Bible? Jesus.

"The rain came—we know about that last two days, amen. The wind came—we know about the wind—blew and beat upon it, but it stood because you can have rain and wind and all that beating up against a rock, Rocky Top, we know about that. And the house stood, not because the house was so good—we don’t have time to read it—but because it was built upon a rock. Then the other house is built on sand. Rock is singular, one thing. Sand is made up of millions of little bitty—man, you get it in your car, you’ll be vacuuming for days trying to get all those granules out of your car, you know? And you build your house and put all your good works—many, many, many things: ‘I did this, this, this, this.’ And when the rain comes and the wind blows, he says, ‘Great was the fall of it.’ That represents going to hell forever and ever and ever. What a sad thing.

"Hey, build your house upon the rock. Jesus is the rock. That’s the key. Now, he has died. He has offered it, but you die. We must make a decision to believe on Jesus. By the way, ‘I’ll think about it. I’ll put it off later.’ That’s a no decision.

"I’ve got to put my belief on Jesus. Tim and Jennifer—Tim and Jennifer, they met and fell madly in love. I mean, I can’t remember the whole story. I can’t remember which one first, but—well, they would stay up. You remember how when you were dating back at that—I know that’s 450 years ago—but remember when you were dating and you would stay up to 3 a.m. on the phone? Get up at 7 a.m. and go to work? Is it still like that nowadays?

"I’m putting them on the spot for sure here. Now, they did that, but that could be in love, and they could date forever, but they’re not married until a year ago today, exactly. Exactly. I stood back here, and Tim stood over here, and Jennifer stood over here, and—well, you have this wedding. Well, I have to be a witness. I don’t know. I stood all of—until they have to do us part, we’ll just put it that way. ‘Do you so promise him?’ He said, ‘I do.’ ‘Do you still do?’ ‘I do.’ And I turn, ‘Will you have this man to be your wedded husband until death do you part?’ ‘Do you so promise?’ ‘I still do.’ A little bit into that. Hey, we said, ‘Hey, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.’ They kissed pretty long, too, by the way. Still kissing.

"Now, look, you can know about Jesus, you can hear about Jesus, but you’re not believing on him until you say yes to Jesus. I want to take all my faith as far as me getting to heaven. I believe, and I want to place it on you. It’s a decision. They made that decision, and they’re married. Stuck. They’ve had a whole lot of fights since then, but they’re still married. Both of them came with black eyes before, and a couple teeth been all of them.

"You got to say yes to Jesus. Remember what Jesus said: ‘You must be what?’ Born again. That baby’s developed for nine months inside of the stomach and all that normal, but that baby’s got to be born, and there’s got to be a time when you go to Jesus and put your belief on Jesus.

"And right story, I’m going to be done. Teddy Roosevelt, before he was president, he was a colonel in the Spanish-American War down in Cuba, actually. He had taken his Rough Riders down there, and they were in some battles and some skirmishes, and they didn’t have a whole lot of food and everything. And his soldiers were pretty banged up and beaten. Some of them were dying, and Teddy Roosevelt, man, he cared about his men. And he said, ‘I need some help.’ And the Red Cross had just really gotten going—Clara Barton, not too long after the Civil War. She was there, and she had some supplies. And they said Teddy Roosevelt went to her and said, ‘Hey, my men are dying. We need some help. Would you let me buy—I’ll buy some of your supplies because I’ve got to take care of my men.’

"And you know what they say? She said no. He got mad. ‘My men are dying! I love my men! They’ve been fighting for freedom! And what in the world? She says she won’t give me—and she won’t let me buy it!’ And they say he went to his chief surgeon, was mad. ‘Why won’t that woman give me some aid? She’s got—she’s got bandages, she’s got food, she’s got what I need. Why won’t she—why won’t she let me buy it?’ And he said, ‘She won’t let you buy it, but she’ll give it to you if you ask.’

"And they say Teddy Roosevelt got a smile. What did they say? He said, ‘All right, I’ll ask.’ He didn’t offer to buy it again, but he went and asked, ‘Would you give us the things we need?’ And the Red Cross, Clara Barton, said, ‘We’ll give it to you.’ Friend, there’s got to be a day when you come to Jesus and you simply buy faith—ask. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’

"Would you bow your heads? Close your eyes. Our heads are bowed, eyes are closed. You hear this morning, you say, ‘Preacher, I never really saw it like you explained it this morning. I want to do the will of the Father. I want to believe on Jesus alone. I know every bit of my faith, as far as me getting to heaven, I’ve got to put it on Jesus. And I want to ask—I want to ask on Jesus. I want to ask on Jesus. I want to ask right now. I want to put everything on Him right where you sit. Would you call on Him? Would you ask right now?’

"It may be these words or something like this: ‘Dear Jesus, it’s true. I’ll never be good enough. I’m not going to believe on my works. I’m not going to demand that I go to heaven because of what all I’ve done. I want to believe on Jesus. I want to trust in what he did on the cross. Would you save me, Jesus? I’m taking all my faith, and I’m placing it on you, Jesus. Would you come in my heart and be my Savior?’

"Our heads are bowed, eyes are closed. You’re there, and you say, ‘Preacher, I just asked Jesus.’ I just, like Teddy Roosevelt asked for that, I just asked Jesus to save me, believing on him. I just called on him to be my Savior. If that’s you, with heads bowed and eyes closed, would you just slip your hand up? ‘Preacher, I just called on Jesus to be my Savior. I just asked him.’ Just ask him. I see that. I see one. Anybody else? ‘I just asked Jesus to be my Savior.’ Anybody like this? ‘Just asked Him.’ Anybody else?

"I see one, maybe two. Hey friend, just like it’s salvation—come for the asking. He’s got everything you need. He covered it on the cross of Calvary, the grace you need for the rest of your life. Come ask. Come ask. Those ones that raised their hand about salvation, in just a moment, we’re going to stand. When we stand, I’m going to say just a quick prayer.

"Then there’s going to be a man down front. He’s got some literature right here on this little table. He’ll give you some literature explaining to you what you just did. We would like to be a help to you. At least two raised their hand. We want to be a help to you. Hey Christian, let’s go tell others Jesus is the way they need to know. It’s a sad thing many—they think they’re saved, but depending on the works. He’ll say, ‘No, I’m sorry. Never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’ Let’s tell them about Jesus.

"Would you do that? Let’s all stand, would you please? Let’s all stand right where you’re at there. We’re going to have a word of prayer. If you asked Jesus to be your Savior, whether you raised your hand or not, if you raised your hand, would you come let him know after we pray? If you didn’t raise your hand, but you asked him, you let him know. We want to be a help to you. We’ve got some information, some literature, to help you on that. But let’s pray. Maybe you want to come and pray for someone else that needs to get saved. Would you do that?

"Father, thank you. You make it clear in your word. Lord, you make it clear in the hearts. Thank you for these ones that prayed and asked you to save them. Lord, if there are others that prayed that would—bless us, giving boldness to come, and let us be a help to them in their Christian journey. Thank you for giving us free salvation out of love. Bless the remainder of your day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

"If you asked Jesus to be your Savior, would you come as our piano plays? That’s right. If you asked Jesus to be your Savior, would you come? Yes, come on, just shake his hand. We’ve got some stuff to help you there. We’d love to be a help. We’d be glad to be a help. Maybe get a friend, maybe a loved one that needs to hear. Say, ‘Lord, help me to get the gospel, a clear gospel presentation to them. How to make it clear to them.’ We want to be a help. I need to know.

“Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. You say, ‘I have a friend, someone, and as far as I know, I don’t think they believe totally on Jesus. I don’t know they’re saved. I’m going to pray for them.’ Anybody like that? You slip your hand up. ‘Preacher, I know someone like that, I’m going to pray for them.’ You just slip it up. Oh, it’s so important praying for them. It’s their best to reach them. They need to hear a clear presentation of the gospel. Not our works, but Jesus. Not our works, but Jesus. Amen, amen. Great to have everyone here. Praise the Lord. We had two say they prayed to be their Savior. And that’s wonderful. Why aren’t you glad? He doesn’t make us buy it. He gives it to us. Isn’t that a good thing? Praise the Lord for that. So glad for that. Once you come back tonight, we’re talking about the shield of faith tonight and the armor of a Christian and spiritual warfare tonight. I’d love to have you come to that at 6 o’clock. Great to see everyone out. Thank you all the friends. Thank you for being with us. We’re honored to have you. And we thank you all those at work trying to bring someone with you, whether it came or not. It’s just great. Good to see everyone with us. And great to see some folk haven’t seen in a minute. That’s just wonderful. And thank you for being in God’s house this morning. Brother Bill, if you’d raise your hand in the back of the auditorium there, would you lift your voice and dismiss us in order of prayer, please, brother?”

Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar ＂How to go to Heaven＂ - Sunday AM 03⧸16⧸2025 [BKQVbVZ-uxs]