I. May I ask you a question? -How would you say your relationship with God is right now? If you were to die today, would you spend an eternity with Him or are you still working on that? II. Judgment We must all stand before a holy and righteous God and give an account for the life that we have lived. Hebrews 9:27 “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” It’s actually going to be pretty simple. God is going to judge us all equally. III. Equally Let’s take a look at God’s measuring stick for living a good life and you decide if you are ready to meet Him face to face.  Exodus 20:3-23 - The Ten Commandments. Commandment #9 - “You shall not bear false witness (lie).” “A half truth is a whole lie in God’s eyes. Have you ever told even a small lie? What may seem a little thing to us is a direct sin against God because it violates His Commandments. If you have ever told even a small ‘fib‘, what does that make you in God’s eyes? That makes you not just a sinner, but a liar doesn’t it? Commandment #8 - “You shall not steal.” Have you ever taken something that did not belong to you? (IE. Paperclip, Ink pen, goofed off at work when you should have been working) It is not the size of the object that matters to God it is the offense. If you have ever taken anything that did not belong to you what does that make you in the eyes of God? That makes you not just a sinner, but a thief doesn’t it? Commandment #7 - “You shall not commit adultery.” Matthew 5:28 (paraphrased) Jesus said, ‘If you even look at someone with lust, you’ve committed adultery in your heart.’ That shows that God will judge our thought life the same as our deeds. Can you say that you’ve never looked at anyone lustfully? If lusting is the same to God as adultery and you have lusted what does that make you? That makes you an adulterer doesn’t it? Commandment #6 - “You shall not murder.” Matthew 5:21-22 (paraphrased) Jesus said, ‘If you have anger in your heart toward someone it is the same as murder.’ If you have ever had hatred in your heart toward someone it is the same as murder. Have you ever had hatred in your heart toward someone? If hatred is the same to God as murder, what does that make you? Doesn’t that make you a murderer? Commandment #5 - “Honor your father and your mother.” Can you say that you have always shown your parents the respect and honor that they deserve? Have you ever, even as a teen, back talked or did something that embarrassed them? Do you see that even though we dishonored our parents, we actually sinned directly against God? Commandment #10 - “You shall not covet.” Have you ever wanted something that someone else had and actually felt a little jealous that you didn’t have it? That is coveting. If that is coveting, what does that make you? God sees you as a covetous person, doesn’t He? Commandment #4 - “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Have you always, your whole life, set aside a day every week solely for worshiping and thanking God for all He has done for you? If you are honest, you would have to admit that you are not as thankful for God as you should be, are you? The bible says that those who are unthankful to God deserve to die. Commandment #3 - You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Have you ever used the Lord’s name in a way that did not bring glory or praise to Him? Have you ever when you were angry or hurt, cried out ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’ instead of the curse word that you were thinking of? The bible promises that every idle word that we have ever spoken will come under the judgment of God. Commandment #2- “You shall not make for yourself a carved image…” This verse is speaking of creating an image or likeness of God with our hands in the form of idols or statues. Most people today would say that they have never worshiped a wooden statue or anything like that, but to put anything in our lives before God causes that passion to become our God. Some worship their homes, their boats, their automobiles, their bank accounts or any number of hobbies and passions, The bible also tells us that the Law is spiritual (Rom 7:14). Have you ever considered your future judgment by God and thought, ‘Well, I know that I’m not perfect, but surely I’m not as bad as some others, so I know God will let me into Heaven when I die. Or that God is love and He would never allow anyone to die and go to hell?’ Maybe the God of your imagination will overlook your sins, but the God of the Bible will not. He says the soul that sins shall die! You have made an image of a false God in your own mind. That is idolatry. If you have ever thought that way about God what does that make you? That makes you an idolater, doesn’t it? Commandment #1 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Mark 12:30 (paraphrased) Jesus said, “Love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and strength” Luke 14:26 Jesus even said, “We should love Him more than anyone else in our family.” Imagine that out of love you buy your child a new nintendo system. You expect a sincere thank you and show of affection for your generosity. Yet, every time you try to speak to your child they ignore you because they are playing with the nintendo. They pay more attention to the game than you! They have begun to show more affection toward their gift than the giver of the gift! When we place anything, even if it is our family, before God we are loving the gift more than the Giver! Can you honestly say that you have always put God first in your life? God’s Word teaches that anything we put before God is our god. That’s idolatry. If you have put other things before God what does that make you? That makes you an idolater doesn’t it? To top it all off, the Bible says, “If you break one of the laws, you are guilty of all of them.” James 2:10 (paraphrased) I know that sounds odd but think of it this way. How many Laws does a criminal have to break to be a Law Breaker? Is not a rapist just as much a criminal as a murderer even though he did not commit murder? If you had only broken one of God’s laws you would still be considered a Law Breaker in the eyes of God wouldn’t you? Do you see that it is against God that you have sinned? IV. Sentenced You are guilty of idolatry, murder, and adultery. You are guilty of being a liar, and a thief. You are guilty of breaking God’s laws. Now the bad news! I Corinthians 6:9, Revelation 21:8 (paraphrased) The Bible says that ALL liars, thieves, murders, adulterers, idolaters and all covetous people will not only not inherit the kingdom of God. In fact, you will be thrown into a lake of fire, as your punishment, that burns forever. Illustration: Imagine that you are making a cake. You place your mix into a bowl. You add your egg, oil and milk. As you’re stirring it, you notice a horrible smell. You look at the milk carton and see that the milk is out-dated! You smell it and it almost knocks you back because it stinks so bad! You can finish mixing it together and even bake it, but with that milk in there, it is not going to be fit to eat. You can cover it with beautiful decorations and icing, but on the inside it is still rotten. Good works are wonderful and there is definitely a place for good deeds, but they do nothing to remove the sinfulness on the inside of our hearts nor take away the sins that you have already committed. You may decorate yourself up by doing good works, but the sin is still there. God will judge that sin! Do you see that you will stand before God and He will judge you fairly. You will be found guilty and sentenced to eternal punishment? Right now you are bound to hell because of your sin. V. United (Repent, Receive, Rely) Our sins have separated us from God, but we can be united back to God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. There is only one way that you can remove that sin and be set free. The first step is repentance. Luke 13:3, 5 Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Repent means to have a change of mind about how you feel about your sins. You will be truly sorry in your heart toward God that you have grieved Him with your sin. Then turn from your sins and turn to God for forgiveness and strength to overcome your sins. ILL: Just stopping your sins is not enough. You not only turn from your sins, but you must turn to God! It is like a One Way Street. If you are going the wrong way, you can turn left and that is not enough. You can turn right and that is not enough. There is only one way that is the correct way. Turning to God after turning from your sins is the only correct way. The second step is to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. Jesus did not stay dead. He rose and lives forever. That is what Easter is all about. The resurrection of Jesus. You ask the risen Savior to forgive you of your sins and submit yourself to his Lordship of your life. Being Lord means that you submit your life to Him and allow Him to be the ultimate Authority in your life. The third step is to rely on Jesus for your Eternal life. ROMANS 5:8 God showed us His love in that while we were sinners Christ died for us. Colossians 2:14 (paraphrased) “Our sins were blotted out and nailed to the cross.” ILL: It is almost like every time they hammered those nails into His hands and feet, not only were they nailing Him to the cross but your sins as well! You must trust that Jesus paid the penalty for your sins and trust that His death, burial, and resurrection and your faith in Him, frees you from the debt that you owe to God for your sins. Because He paid our penalty, we can be forgiven and have eternal life in heaven. VI. Salvation How do we have eternal life? If we put our faith in Him and trust that His death on the cross was payment for our sins, we will be forgiven and receive eternal life! Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, but it is a gift of God, not of works.” Illustration: The Bible defines faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see“ (NIV). That sounds a little far fetched in some ways, but honestly you do that every day. When you eat a meal you have faith that the maker of the food did not place poison in it. You never call a scientist over to examine it before you eat it. You have faith that the F.D.A. says that it is safe to eat. When you wake up in the morning and roll out of bed, you place your feet on the floor and stand. You never wonder whether the floor will hold you. You stand up by faith and walk. It is the same with faith in Christ. You have faith that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do. He says that He is God and the only one that can save you from Hell. And you have faith that if you ask Him to forgive you of your sins and save you from hell, you have faith that He will. VII. Commitment Do you see that Jesus is the only way to heaven? John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life no man comes to the Father except through me.” Illustration: Suppose I set aside a $100 bill for you. I tell my wife that this $100 bill belongs to (Your Name). No matter what we do, we can’t spend it anywhere else. I may even write your name on it. I have it set aside for you as a gift. When I see you, I offer it to you. It is your gift, but it only becomes yours personally if you accept it. If you reject it or refuse it, you never take possession of the gift. You must accept it before it really becomes yours, even if I have set it aside for you. Today, Jesus is offering you the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life. It is yours, but unless you accept it, you will never personally own it. Will you please accept this free gift? Do you want to be forgiven of your sins? If so, Repent of your sins and ask for forgiveness. Receive Jesus into your life as Lord and accept His guidance as Lord and Leader of your life. Rely on His sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins - Assurance - In a short period of time you will begin to feel differently about your life and things that you do. Some things that you used to do will make you feel uncomfortable. That is the Holy Spirit showing you some changes that you need to make in your life. If in a short period of time you don’t feel that there are changes that you need to make in your life, I want you to reexamine your self and again pray and ask God to forgive you of your sins. And ask God to help you Repent (change your view of sin and help you to turn from your sins), Receive, and Rely on Jesus. If you prayed to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior please let us know!  We want to rejoice with you!  Use the “Contact Us” page to share your Good News with us!