                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                Good Things That Keep People Out of Heaven!

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By David Wilkerson
September 9, 1996
__________

          Believe it or not, many good people who are involved in
          doing wonderful things will not make it to heaven.
          Worse yet, many who consider themselves Christians and
          who are convinced they are going to heaven will be shut
          out -- even though they aren't indulging in gross sin
          or bad things of any kind!

          The Christians I'm referring to do not use drugs or
          alcohol. They don't gamble. They don't indulge in
          pornography or sexual perversion. They aren't numbered
          among the wicked and vile. In fact, you may find many
          of them in church on Sunday morning. And they spend
          most of their free time with friends and family,
          enjoying good things. They are family people, with
          family values.

          Having said this, I want to make an even bolder
          statement -- one that may offend some. Yet I say it in
          loving concern for those in the church of Jesus Christ
          who can't see they are headed for disaster: Some may be
          in danger of losing their very soul -- even though they
          sit in church, absolutely convinced they are on their
          way to heaven!

          This whole idea may seem like a paradox to you. But I
          want to prove it to you from Scripture. If ever you
          heed any message the Holy Spirit speaks to you, let it
          be this one.

          Here is my point: Some believers will be shut out of
          heaven not because of the bad things they have done --
          but because they have become so preoccupied with doing
          good, legitimate things they neglect the things that
          really count -- eternal things.

          Their zeal for good things has pushed aside the things
          of God!

          Such people have become so engrossed in the here and
          now that they literally have no time for the deeper
          things of the spiritual life. They're sweating away to
          build their business, advance their career, provide for
          their family -- but their focus has become completely
          out of order!

          The Bible says:

          "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
          righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
          you" (Matthew 6:33).

          These are Christ's own words -- and they are not a
          suggestion, but a commandment. Jesus means what he says
          here, promising: "If you seek the Lord first, he will
          take care of all the things you're toiling over --
          career, business, home, family. But you must make him
          your primary focus!"

          The apostle Paul adds: "Set your affection on things
          above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and
          your life is hid with Christ in God" (Colossians
          3:2-3).

          Again, this is not a suggestion, but a commandment. In
          Greek, the meaning is, "Set your focus, or interests,
          on things above." In other words: "Set your focus --
          like iron, like concrete -- on the things of God. Make
          it immovable, intractable."

          Please understand -- God has never demanded that we all
          sell our houses, land and possessions; he has never
          said we must quit our jobs and become monks, giving
          ourselves completely to meditation and Bible study.
          (Yes, Jesus did say this, but only to one man --
          because that man's possessions had become his idols.
          God does not say this to everyone.)

          People have said to me, "God told me to leave my spouse
          and children to go into ministry." I look these people
          squarely in the eye and say, "God didn't tell you that.
          It was either your own mind or the devil. The Lord
          isn't in the business of breaking up marriages!" God
          will never ask you to do anything like that. But he
          does insist on being the center of your life, around
          which everything else revolves. He demands that his
          interests, his church, his things take priority. He has
          to be the center!

          The greatest indignity any Christian can commit against
          the Lord is to put him in a secondary place. That is a
          slap in God's face. You may think you are not guilty of
          such an affront to him -- but how do you prioritize
          your time? For instance, how many times have you missed
          church to conduct business? In those times, your
          clients weren't the ones put on hold -- God was. They
          were put first, above his interests!

          I realize you cannot help missing church if you have a
          job that prevents your attending -- say, if you're a
          nurse or a night worker. But I'm talking about people
          who do have a choice -- who run their own company, for
          example, and who choose to do business over going to
          God's house. The Bible warns: "Not forsaking the
          assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some
          is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as
          ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).

          This is yet another commandment of the Lord. Yet, what
          takes priority in your life? Who does the waiting --
          your business, or the Lord?

          If we do not heed these commandments, we will face
          awful consequences. Indeed, I never knew that Jesus
          gave so many warnings on this subject. I want to unfold
          to you three passages in particular:

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                           1. Consider What Jesus
                           Says About the Days of
                      Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26- 30).

                      -------------------------------

          "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in
          the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank,
          they married wives, they were given in marriage, until
          the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood
          came, and destroyed them all. "Likewise also as it was
          in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they
          bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the
          same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and
          brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even
          thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is
          revealed" (Luke 17:26- 30).

          Look again at this list Jesus gives us, and consider
          the things people were doing during those times. We
          know there was violence such as the world had never
          seen, along with gross immorality such as sodomy and
          homosexuality. But Jesus doesn't talk about any of
          those things here. Nor does he bring up alcoholism or
          perversion. Rather, note carefully what he says people
          were doing just before judgment fell: eating, drinking
          (yet he doesn't mention drunkenness), marrying, getting
          engaged, buying, selling, planting, building. There is
          not one sin on this list. These are all good,
          legitimate things.

          In fact, everything Jesus lists here is recommended in
          God's word to those who would be faithful family people
          and servants of the Lord. Take marriage, for example.
          Paul says: "...if thou marry, thou hast not sinned..."
          (1 Corinthians 7:28). Elsewhere scripture says,
          "Marriage is honourable..." (Hebrews 13:4).

          In addition, Proverbs 31 tells us that a virtuous wife
          "...considereth a field and buyeth it: with the fruit
          of her hands she planteth a vineyard" (Proverbs 31:16).
          Since the time of Joshua, when Israel moved into the
          promised land, God had moved on people to plant fields
          and build edifices for his glory. There is nothing
          wrong at all with such activities.

          Why, then, does Jesus focus only on the good,
          legitimate things people were doing in the days just
          prior to judgment? It is because He is trying to tell
          us something vital: He is warning us of our total
          inattention to his word while we have become completely
          absorbed in our own interests!

          Think about it: The Bible never mentions one word about
          Noah being mocked, abused or persecuted during the 120
          years he worked on the ark. Apparently, his work and
          preaching were never interrupted. God is telling us,
          "Yes, there was violence and corruption at the time.
          But the vast majority of people became so engrossed in
          doing good, legitimate things, they had no time to
          reflect on Noah's warnings. Everyone was so busy
          marrying, going out to eat, mixing with their friends
          and having pleasure, they had no time to listen."

                      -------------------------------

                        Noah's preaching was lost in
                        one big hustle of busyness!

                      -------------------------------

          Talk about pinning down the American lifestyle. I can
          write books and preach messages about coming judgments,
          but few outside a small remnant of believers listen and
          heed my words. The masses of Christians don't care. Why
          not? It is because they're wrapped up in their own
          plans for marriage, children, home, job, career. They
          have no time to listen to messages about the coming of
          the Lord!

          "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man
          is revealed" (Luke 17:30). Jesus is warning, "The last
          generation will be just the same. They'll be so busy,
          so wrapped up in their own interests, they'll put all
          my interests aside!"

          It has been this way for centuries. Many people are
          convinced they are on their way to heaven. But week
          after week, they neglect God's house, God's word,
          prayer, worship. Yet they do not see their behavior as
          sinful:

          "...wherefore say my people... we will come no more to
          thee... my people have forgotten me days without
          number.... Yet thou sayest...I am innocent..."
          (Jeremiah 2:31-32).

          Such people may be doing good, legitimate things -- but
          the Lord is not first with them! He is not the center
          of their lives. If he were, they would not brush him
          aside. They would find time to be with him!

          Jeremiah chided the people for "gadding about" (see
          verse 36). Everyone was running around, doing good
          things, busying themselves with legitimate works, even
          religious things. But they were neglecting God. They
          had no time to seek the Lord, no time to sit at his
          feet and learn.

          The same thing is happening today throughout the body
          of Christ.

          People can be so busy running around for God that they
          don't have time to seek him.

          Too many can't sit and heed his word because they're
          constantly gadding about!

          "Thus shall it be..." When Jesus spoke of his return,
          why didn't he talk about the crime rate? Why didn't he
          refer to our present immorality? He said nothing of our
          drug epidemic, our overcrowded jails, our sins of
          abortion. No -- he only said, "Just as it was in those
          days, people will be buying, selling, eating, marrying
          -- preoccupied with 'good things.' And they will be so
          busy, they will neglect their very soul!"

                      -------------------------------

                           In My Mind, I See the
                            Faces of Many People
                            Who No Longer Attend
                           Times Square Church.

                      -------------------------------

          In October, our church will celebrate its ninth year of
          existence. During our first three years, there was such
          excitement. Many young professionals and businesspeople
          came to our services -- lovely career men and women who
          were on fire for the Lord. They testified they had been
          starving spiritually, and that Times Square Church had
          rescued them from spiritual death.

          These people were always there when the church doors
          opened. They took home taped messages of our services,
          listening to them again and again until the sermons
          sank in. They also were soul winners. Whenever they saw
          me on the street, they stopped and hugged me, beaming
          to strangers, "This is my pastor. You've got to come
          and hear him preach!"

          Whenever I went to their offices and introduced myself
          to their secretaries, I was given VIP treatment. I was
          immediately told, "Go right in, pastor." When I walked
          into their offices, they would drop everything, hug me
          and say, "Oh pastor -- Sunday was marvelous! When I
          went home, I could hardly sleep. The Spirit of the Lord
          was upon me all night."

          Nowadays, I no longer see many of their faces in
          church. Little by little I have seen them backslide,
          going back to materialism. Today they are consumed with
          their job, career or business. Many attend churches
          that hold one-hour meetings on Sunday only, with a
          twenty-minute sermonette that has no conviction. When I
          see these dear people on the street, they pretend they
          don't see me. Some even turn and walk in the other
          direction.

          Their rejection hurts me so. But how much more does God
          hurt over their rejection of him? How does he feel at
          being spurned by those who once walked, talked and
          cried with him? At one time these same people told him,
          "Lord, you saved my life from a godless hell. I'll
          never leave you!" But now they don't give him the time
          of day.

                      -------------------------------

                            Have you given Jesus
                            the cold shoulder?

                      -------------------------------

          You may say, "I have to make a living. The Lord
          understands." Not so! He will never understand -- nor
          will he ever accept -- our putting him second to anyone
          or anything:

          "He [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church: who is
          the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all
          things he might have the preeminence" (Colossians
          1:18).

          The Greek word for "preeminence" here means "first
          place." Jesus must have priority!

                      -------------------------------

                        2. Consider the Man Who Made
                         A Great Feast -- But Whose
                         Invited Guests All Turned
                         Him Down (Luke 14:16-24).

                      -------------------------------

          This parable is important -- because Jesus is the man
          who is giving the great feast! The feast being spoken
          of here is the gospel, and the table being spread is
          the cross. And Jesus' invitation is for everyone:

          "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
          and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

          Simply put, our Lord is inviting us to intimacy with
          him. We have been urged to come into his presence to
          sup with him, to get to know him, to enjoy his company.
          He says, "Come and find a table spread for you. All
          things are now ready. You will find full satisfaction
          in me!"

          Indeed, Jesus has already accomplished everything
          necessary to give us full satisfaction in this life.
          All our hunger -- everything having to do with holiness
          and godliness -- is wrapped up in him: "...his divine
          power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto
          life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that
          hath called us to glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3).

                      -------------------------------

                         The table has been spread.
                             Dinner is ready!

                      -------------------------------

          Yet, the parable tells us that when suppertime came and
          the table was spread, nobody showed up. When the
          servants looked down the road, they couldn't see anyone
          coming. The master had hoped his invited guests would
          drop everything to be there early and expectant,
          anticipating fellowship with great joy. But nobody had
          come.

          I ask you: How would you feel if you'd cooked a
          wonderful meal, invited guests who'd said they would
          come, but when everything was spread on the table, no
          one showed up? Wouldn't you take that as total
          rejection -- as meaning your invited guests had no
          interest in you?

          This master decided to send out a servant to remind his
          invited guests that all was ready. It was a last call:
          "Supper is ready. Why haven't you come?" But, Scripture
          says,"They all with one consent began to make
          excuse..." (Luke 14:18).

          The first invited guest excused himself because he was
          preoccupied with a real-estate deal: "...I have bought
          a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I
          pray thee have me excused" (same verse). This man
          probably was a land speculator, who had bought the land
          without seeing it. Or, maybe he simply wanted a plot of
          land on which to build a house for his family.

          Now, it is no sin to speculate in land. Nor is it a sin
          to build a house. Both are good, legitimate things.
          After all, just before judgment fell on Judah, Elijah
          bought a piece of land because of a revelation he had
          received.

          But buying land is not the point here. The point is,
          this man had the wrong focus! He focused on his
          interests -- his business or his family interests --
          and he put aside the invitation for intimacy with the
          master. He said, "I'll take care of that later. I'm
          going to take care of my interests first." But the fact
          was, that land was not going anywhere. He could have
          gone the next day!

          The second invited guest speculated in cattle. He told
          the servant: "...I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I
          go to prove [test] them: I pray thee have me excused"
          (verse 19). This man might have been in the cattle
          business. It appears he had seen the ten oxen before
          buying them, and they probably had looked good at the
          time. But now he had to test them, to see if he'd
          gotten a good deal.

          There is no sin in what this man did. Testing his oxen
          was a legitimate and even responsible thing to do.
          Abraham and Job undoubtedly had done the same thing
          many times, being rich in cattle. This man was only
          doing what God's word recommended to any diligent
          provider.

          But again, that is not the point. Where was this man's
          sin? He acted as if going to the barn was more
          important than going to God's house! Those oxen could
          have been tested the next day. But he wouldn't make
          them wait; instead, he made the master wait!

          The last invited guest said, "...I have married a wife,
          and therefore I cannot come" (verse 20). Now, nothing
          could be more legitimate than getting married. The
          Bible says that a man who finds a wife finds a good
          thing (see Proverbs 18:22).

          But once more, marriage is not the issue. This man
          sinned in that he put his family first! The Lord says,
          "Devotion to family is good in its time and place --
          but not when it takes my place!"

          This man could have brought his wife to the feast. That
          would have been a good way to start his marriage. He
          could have said: "Honey, the Lord has always been first
          in my life. Nothing takes his place. Whenever his doors
          are opened to me, I always go to have intimacy with
          him. His interests take priority in my life. Now, I
          want my values to be your values. So, let's make his
          interests our priority."

                      -------------------------------

                         This sin of putting family
                         before the Lord is one of
                          the most hindering sins
                           in the church today.

                      -------------------------------

          I know housewives who find it hard to come to church on
          Sunday morning, much less to any other service. But
          they have plenty of time during the week to gad about!
          They're on the run constantly, doing special things for
          their children. They make time for dance classes, music
          lessons, school functions, parties, picnics, sports,
          shopping. The list goes on and on. But they make little
          time for the things of the Lord. The message coming
          through is: "My kids come first!"

          I tell you, if you neglect God's interests and put your
          children first, you will damn them! That's what
          happened with Hezekiah and Manasseh. The Lord gave
          Hezekiah fifteen extra years of life -- years he should
          have spent on his face before God and in bringing
          renewal to Israel. Instead, Hezekiah spent those years
          playing with adult toys -- collecting jewels and cattle
          and constructing buildings. The son he raised during
          those years, Manasseh, watched as his dad put toys and
          family first. The result? Manasseh became one of the
          most wicked kings in the history of Israel.

          What was the sin of the three men in this parable? It
          was that land, oxen and family interests all pushed
          aside the call to intimacy and fellowship with the
          master. Don't mistake me -- the things they were doing
          were all good and perfectly legitimate. But they became
          sinful -- unforgivable -- when they robbed these men of
          time with and reverence for the master!

          Now let me make another important statement: You are
          not truly a lover of Jesus if you are not protective of
          your time with him!

          You have to come to a place where you consider
          everything an intrusion if it robs you of precious time
          in Jesus' presence. Once you put him off or give
          something else priority, it can easily become a habit.
          And you will end up as Jeremiah said -- neglecting him
          "days without number" (see Jeremiah 2:31- 32).

          What happens when a master is neglected? He becomes
          angry! The master in this parable said, "I say unto
          you, that none of those men which were bidden [invited]
          shall taste of my supper" (Luke 14:24).

          In other words: "All right, gentlemen -- you have shown
          me you're all too busy for me. You've put your work,
          your families, your land, your cattle before me. You
          don't want to sup with me and get to know me. Now I
          tell you -- you will never know me. You will never
          enter my gates!"

          Likewise, many will come to Jesus, saying, "Lord, we
          did mighty works in your name. We cast out devils and
          healed the sick, all for your glory." But he will
          answer: "Those are all good things -- but I never knew
          you! You were too busy to be intimate with me. You
          never put everything aside and sat in my presence. Now
          all your busy works have proven to be in vain. Depart
          from me, stranger!"

                      -------------------------------

                         3. Finally, a Large Number
                           Who Ought to Be in the
                         Bridal Procession Will Be
                        Left Out (Matthew 25:1-13).

                      -------------------------------

          Jesus gives us a powerful parable in Matthew 25 -- the
          parable of the ten virgins. You probably know this
          parable well: Only five of the virgins had their lamps
          filled with oil when the bridegroom came for them. The
          other five were shut out of the bridal party, because
          they were out trying to find oil when the bridegroom
          arrived.

          Since the ten virgins in this parable represent the
          church, does this mean only half of all Christians will
          enter the marriage supper? I don't know. But I do know
          we had better take heed to what Jesus is telling us
          here.

          I have no trouble with the fact that all ten virgins
          "slumbered and slept" up to midnight. First of all,
          those who had oil could sleep in peace, because they
          had enough to see themselves through till morning.
          (Some people say this oil is the Holy Spirit -- and
          that the five foolish virgins had been walking
          carelessly and lost the Spirit's anointing.)

          Second, the oil is not the heart of the parable. Yet we
          usually become so focused on it that we miss a very
          important aspect. You see, once the five foolish
          virgins replenished their oil, they came back and began
          knocking on the door, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to
          us..." But what did the bridegroom say to them? He
          didn't ask them where they'd been. He didn't reprove
          them for having lacked oil. He didn't mention their
          being late. He didn't list any of these things. No --
          he said very plainly, "Verily I say unto you, I know
          you not" (Matthew 25:12). He said, "I don't know you."
          And that is the heart of the parable!

          Recently, after a service in our church, a woman and
          her daughter approached me. We shook hands, and then
          they stood there, smiling. After a moment, they asked,
          "Don't you recognize us?" I shook my head. They said,
          "We met you fifteen years ago, after a crusade in Los
          Angeles. You prayed for us. Remember? We're on your
          mailing list. We love your messages, and we've followed
          your ministry for years. How can you not know us?"

          I hadn't seen them in fifteen years! I said, "I'm
          sorry, ma'am -- I don't know you." The two women were
          strangers to me.

          Certainly, Jesus knows who we all are. He is
          omniscient, all-knowing. But that's not the kind of
          "knowing" he's talking about in this parable. Jesus is
          saying, "You've never taken me seriously. You've never
          put me first. And that is not what my bridehood is
          about. Your heart is not in this relationship. You have
          neglected me. And I cannot recognize your spirit, your
          kind of walk. I cannot acknowledge you as part of my
          bridehood!"

          Beloved, do you know Jesus in your secret closet as
          well as in church? Do you talk with him as you're
          driving to work, on the subway, riding the bus? When
          the church doors open, are you there as often as
          possible?

          When that final day comes, will Jesus know you?

                      -------------------------------

                           A Walk At Night On The
                          Streets Of New York City
                    Can Be A Heartbreaking Experience.

                      -------------------------------

          A few weeks ago I took a walk just two blocks from our
          building, to pick up a newspaper from a nearby stand.
          As I stepped out onto Forty-Ninth Steet, I saw a
          sad-looking bag woman sitting on a stoop. She couldn't
          have been much older than fifty, but she looked eighty.
          She gazed up at me with a hungry, lost look, as if to
          say, "This is all that life has offered me." My heart
          broke. I thought sadly, "She is someone's mother."

          Turning right onto Eighth Avenue, I saw a wild-haired
          young man. He was stoned on drugs, staggering past me,
          mumbling foolishness that no one understood. I thought,
          "He lives in hell in this life. And when he dies, he'll
          probably spend eternity in a fiery hell." It seemed so
          tragic to me -- that someone would live in hell here,
          and then die and go to hell. I felt so sad and
          helpless.

          After I bought the newspaper, I turned around and saw a
          pitiful young prostitute as she passed by. There was a
          vacant look in her eyes. Her body was broken and
          diseased, yet she was still trying to sell it so she
          could get another drug fix. I wondered if she'd ever
          known what a normal life was like.

          I went back to my apartment grieving. I sat down in my
          chair, stared into space, and started crying, "Oh God,
          isn't this city hell enough? Will you not have pity on
          these poor people when they stand before you? None of
          them has heard the sermons our people at Times Square
          Church have heard. They haven't known the fellowship of
          saints. They haven't been touched by the Holy Spirit.
          They don't have the mental capacity to watch for your
          return. Oh Lord, sometimes I think you're going to have
          more mercy on these derelicts than on all the saints
          who have heard hundreds of sermons but keep putting you
          off!"

          Indeed, Jesus said it will be more tolerable in that
          day for Sodom and Gomorrah than for those who once
          tasted the good things of God. I'm talking about people
          who have known the power of the Holy Spirit -- who once
          pledged to love and serve Jesus till death, but who
          turned aside to covetousness, materialism and
          self-interests. Tell me -- how can you watch for Jesus'
          coming if you're all wrapped up in the good things of
          this world?

          If Jesus is not the apple of your eye -- if you're not
          focused on him, his church, his word, his interests --
          you can't be his disciple. It would be better for you
          to be a derelict than to be such a hypocrite!

          I say it again in love: Many of you who are reading
          this message are not going to make it -- unless you
          make a commitment today: "Lord, from this moment on, I
          commit to you that you will be the center of my life.
          Everything else is going to take second place. You are
          everything to me, Jesus. And I know that if not, all
          else will be in vain!"

          Amen!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

          This material is solely for personal use and is not to
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          on its web page. You are free to download, copy, print
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          link this site to reference these messages.

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