The enemy is like a scalper . He wants to sell you a bogus ticket . Nice people by the millions are unaware they are holding a ticket to hell . They bet their souls ! And millions in hell believe in Jesus. How does this tragedy happen ? How do we avoid this ? For it is possible to believe in Jesus and yet present God with a little technicality that makes a major impasse with Him .
We are preyed upon by an invisible and insidious enemy who has nothing to lose . One who has numerous minions who can introduce thought and emotion directly to humans . And demons love destroying us by employing what I call …
Tickets to Hell by the 16:25 Connection
Has a scalper ever sold you a bogus ticket ? You thought you were all prepared to get in to the main event , but you did not ? You got burned ? Or you know someone who experienced this ? Millions are in line now thinking they will enter heaven . But they are holding ” counterfeit tickets ” that will have them paying with their eternal lives . So lets bring some scripture and examine this 16:25 connection to hell . Because satan is a sore loser , and he has nothing better to do than scalp you if you let him …
Proverbs 16:25 . Matthew 16:25 . The ” 16:25 Connection .”
Prov 16:25 MEV
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way of death.
Matt 16:25 MEV the words of Jesus :
For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
( We’ll save the second half of that last verse for later )
Millions of people believe in Jesus just like satan does . Moreover , many think that being a nice person who believes in God will get them into heaven . That’s their ” ticket ” . Yet , they never received Christ . They never gave Him their hearts . They never surrendered to Him and made Him Lord of their lives . Because they pay Him lip service , but do not make Him the Headship of their spiritual lives , they remain spiritually decapitated just as satan did to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden . Whether they are alert to this or not , God is not fooled .
Galatians 6:7
7 Be not deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.
Belief alone is NOT enough to effect salvation ! We must RECEIVE Christ and keep Him always !
See John 1: 11-13 regarding Christ :
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
If we call Him God but retain headship of our own spirituality rather than surrender to Him , we live a lie . By doing this , some make self an idol and worship the god of self over God Himself . A mockery of the Most High and only God . By sowing a lie and insult of rejection to God , what does that person reap ? Let’s look at 2 Cor 6: 14 – 18 :
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion has light with darkness? 15 What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what part has he who believes with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live in them
and walk in them.
I will be their God,
and they shall be My people.”[a]
17 Therefore,
“Come out from among them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
and I will receive you.”[b]
18 “I will be a Father to you,
and you shall be My sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”[c]
See ? The one who believes in Christ as Savior AND receives Him , surrenders to Him , gives Him their heart and makes Him truly Lord of their life is now indwelt by the Holy Spirit and is a little , miniature Temple of God personified . The Christian is the temple of God ! God living inside !
So , the problem for the one who never really gets around to truly receiving Christ is that they make themselves an idol instead . An idol receives worship . And worship belongs to God alone . Thus , the person who makes self into an idol is living a lie . If you live a lie , you become a lie .
Can a Person Lie Their Way into Heaven ?
Does this person get into heaven ? Can one lie his way into heaven ? Can one get into heaven by making God lower than an idol ? Lower than a sinner ? Can one profane God through the gates of heaven ? Will scalper’s bogus tickets to heaven actually work ? For satan is the biggest god of self ! The Bible shows us the answer in the book of Revelation :
Rev 21 : 7 – 8
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.[a] 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars shall have their portion in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.”
We must overcome the god of self and refuse to make self an idol ! It is a lie !
Let’s look at the words of Christ in Rev 22: 12 – 15 :
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me to give to each one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
14 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. 15 Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices a lie.
If I pay lip service to Christ , but do not receive Him and surrender to Him , give Him my heart and make Him my Lord , then I make myself an idol and live a LIE ! That’s letting the devil sell you SCALPER’S TICKETS on the 16:25 connection to Hell !
Do some of you get the sense that you have bought in to the wrong destination so far ? The GOOD NEWS is that the second half of Matt 16:25 offers a PIVOT POINT to get out of the wrong line to the wrong event !
” … and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “
So , how do I buy a legitimate ticket to heaven from God ? Right here is the way :
Rev 3: 18 – 20 MEV the words of Jesus :
18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments, that you may be dressed, that the shame of your nakedness may not appear, and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
19 “Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.20 Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
What gold is this ? The gold of God’s character and purity via the initiation of the salvation process .
And WHAT shall I give in exchange for this gold ?
Easy . I give Him my sin . My selfishness . My iniquity . My filth and depravity . My guilt and shame . My future . My past . My being . ALL of me !
And HOW shall I do this ? By receiving Christ as Lord and Savior ; surrendering to Him , giving Him my heart and making Him my head ( headship ) . By repenting of my sin and asking Christ to forgive me and cleanse me with His perfect , Holy Blood .
Look at the stupendous LOVE of Christ ; to suffer so horribly to make a way for you to receive proper , saving headship ! You do not have to go around spiritually decapitated , satan’s joke cruelly put on you …
Matt 16: 24 :
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Lordship salvation ? I’m not going to get into that right here . Let us remember that God sent John the Baptist to preach REPENTANCE to prepare the way for Christ . God had repentance as the forward edge of the ministry of Jesus . If John the Baptist were here again preparing for the coming of Christ , would John call for repentance any LESS in today’s wicked world !?! It’s tough to get in trouble with God by repenting !
We have two choices only . There is no middle ground . We need the nature of Christ !
One can die to self and live to God , recognizing the need to exchange our nature for the nature of Christ .
Or :
One can live for self and die to Christ . Having no God is still making self into God , as is having some other false god . You can keep scalper’s tickets on the 16:25 connection to hell .
Jesus said :
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
See Also John 1: 12 :
12 Yet to all who received Him ( Jesus ), He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name,
See , salvation is a RELATIONSHIP with God . On God’s terms ! It’s HIS Kingdom !
And Romans 10:9 :
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved,
And Peter speaking of Jesus in Acts 4: 10 – 12 :
10 be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole. 11 He is
‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’[a]
12 There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
And Colossians 2: 8 – 10 :
8 Beware lest anyone captivate you through philosophy and vain deceit, in the tradition of men and the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in Him lives all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all authority and power.
So, pray to Jesus directly . He is the ONLY mediator between man and God ; God incarnate , and man Divine , Jesus Christ !
See 1 Timothy 2: 5 :
5 There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
Now is the Right Time to Conclude Business with God
See 2 Cor 6: 2 :
2 For He says:
“In an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and in the day of salvation I have helped you.”[a]
Look, now is the accepted time; look, now is the day of salvation.
So , let’s make sure we have really initiated a saving relationship with Christ , then NEVER quit Him ! Pray the following industrial strength , heavy duty prayer . Pray sincerely to God the Father . Say it sincerely to Jesus ! Ask for the Holy Spirit to come live inside you forever !
Dear God : I confess that I am a sinner . I know that you sent your only begotten son Jesus , born of a virgin , to come to this world to bear my sins on the cross and pay my sin debt . I know that Jesus is Divine , and He lived a holy life representing humanity in human flesh . I believe that after dying for my sins on the cross , that Christ rose again the third day following , and has now ascended to Glory . I know he is coming again to earth to rule and reign . Jesus , I accept your payment for my sins . I believe you are God the Savior , and I receive you . I commit to be yours forever . Please come into my heart ; forgive me for my sins and iniquities . I repent from them . I curse and renounce my every sin and iniquity . Cleanse me with your Holy Blood that you gave for me . Give me the Holy Spirit to live in me forever to help me be more and more like you . I give you my heart ! I make you my Lord ; I make you the Head of me . Help me to live more and more for you , and never quit you ! In Jesus’ Name I pray , Amen !
If you prayed this prayer with sincerity , congratulations ! You are now a Christian , and an adopted son or daughter of God ! Be sure to seek a good church in your area . Stay connected in such a place . Ask questions . Read the Bible a lot to know truth . Pray to God daily ; pour out your heart to Him ! Praise Him for every good thing you ever had . Keep repenting where needed . Never quit God !
Thank you Jesus !