My
subject today is Heaven. The reason for writing on this theme is fourfold.
1)
I want you to know the way to heaven
2)
I want you to prepare for heaven
3)
I want you to know the terrible consequences if you
miss heaven
4)
I want to give the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God,
praise, honour and glory for He is worthy.
I. HEAVEN IS
HOME FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD
While
visiting at the hospital a few days ago one of our church members said to
me. “Oh, how I wish that the Lord would take me
home.” She was longing for that home
in the better land. When the Lord
Jesus Christ revealed to His disciples that He was about to leave them, what
words of comfort did He give them?
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest: and how can we know the way?
Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto
the Father, but by me.” John 14:1-6
“Peace
I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid.”
John 14:27
Heaven
is a prepared place for a prepared people.
The
Lord Jesus, the Son of God lived in heaven and shared the glory of His Father
before ever coming to this earth to redeem His people.
I
saw an elderly gentleman standing outside the hospital door as I was going
in. I greeted him. He never spoke a word, but his hand shot out
to me with a little piece of paper. There was a hand written message in it.
When I unfolded the paper this is what I read: “Ye men of Galilee,
why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this
same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:11
The
Son of God came from heaven. He returned
to heaven and is coming again. Are
you: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”? Titus 2:13
Face
to face with Christ, my Saviour,
Face to face – what will it be?
When
with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus
Christ, who died for me.
Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far
beyond the starry sky;
Face
to face in all His glory,
I
shall see Him by and by
II. THINGS NOT
FOUND IN HEAVEN
There
will be no more sea. John wrote:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Revelation 21:1.
In
Revelation 21:4 we read:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
What
a difference from here! No more death,
no more sorrow; no more crying, no more pain – all covered in one verse.
In
Revelation 22:3 something else will not be found there:
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him.” Revelation 22:3. In Genesis 3 we read of the fall of man and the curse that accompanied the Fall. But the curse is not found in heaven. “And there shall be no more curse.”
In Revelation 22:5 we read “And there shall be no night there.”
Things
not found in heaven: no more sea, no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying,
no more pain, no more curse and no more night. They will not be found there.
III. THE WAY
TO HEAVEN
Let
us consider the way to heaven first of all from a negative standpoint:
a)
The way to Heaven is not through the Church. The church
is not able to save anyone. The Church’s
responsibility is to point men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ.
b)
The way to Heaven is not through ordinances
or through sacraments. One may be baptized and observe
the Lord’s Supper, but still be unsaved without sins forgiven or peace with
God.
c)
The way to Heaven is not through our good
works. To the Ephesians, Paul wrote: “For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them.”
And to Titus Paul wrote: Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the washing
of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Titus 3:5
d)
The way to Heaven is not through a lodge.
If a lodge could give salvation to anyone, the Lord
Jesus Christ would never have needed to be sent from Heaven by His Father
to ransom sinners.
e)
The way to Heaven is not through being
born into a Christian Family. We need a
spiritual birth as well as a physical birth.
The Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus : “Marvel not that I said unto
thee, Ye must be born again.” John 3:7
Now
let us consider the Way to Heaven from a positive standpoint.
a)
The Lord Jesus Christ said:
“I am the Way.” When Thomas
asked the question “How can we know the way? ” The Lord
Jesus answered: “I am the Way.” The Lord
Jesus didn’t say “I am a way, or I am one of the ways.” He said: “I am the Way.” And to dispel
any doubts from minds He added: “No
man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
b)
Christ is the Way to Heaven
because He had the only perfect sacrifice that was acceptable to God who is
Just, who is Holy, who is Righteous.
c)
Christ is the Way to Heaven because He
was the only One who could satisfy the demands of Divine Justice. God’s penalty for sin is death.
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” “The wages of sin is
death.” God
requires the penalty of death for sin. Because we are all sinners we have no acceptable sacrifice to offer
to meet God’s just demands. The Lord
Jesus Christ was without sin. He could
meet God’s just demands. “Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Mary
the Mother of Jesus while still a virgin saw in the Lord Jesus her Saviour.
“And Mary said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath
rejoiced in God my Saviour.” Luke 1:46 &
47. She spoke those words before the
virgin birth of the Lord Jesus and before she gave birth to the other members
of her family, listed in Matthew 13:55 and 56 where we read :
“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?”
By
Divine inspiration Mark shares the same truths with us in Mark 6. Hear the first four verses of Mark chapter
six:
“And
He went out from thence, and came into His own country: and His disciples
followed Him. And when the Sabbath
day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were
astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this which is given unto
Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary,
the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not
without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his
own house.”
Mark 6:1-4
Other
Bible characters clearly show that salvation is through Christ and He is the
only way to Heaven.
John
the Baptist said:
“He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth on him”.
John
3:36
The
Apostle Peter said of the Lord Jesus:
“Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
The
Apostle Paul wrote:
“For
there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 2:5
The
Writer to the Hebrews gives us:
“And
every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins: But
this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on
the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till His enemies He made
his footstool. For by one offering
He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
Hebrews 10:11-14
The
Apostle John wrote:
“And
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life
is in His Son. He that hath the Son
hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
I John 5:11-12
Jesus
Christ is the only way to Heaven.
IV. BARRIERS
TO HEAVEN
Unbelief
is one of the barriers to Heaven. Unbelief
barred the way to Canaan for the rebellious children of Israel. We read in Hebrews 3:19: “So we see that they could not enter
in because of unbelief.”
Unbelief
also blocks the way to Heaven. The
Lord Jesus said in John 8:24: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall
die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your
sins.”
Hear
the words of the Lord Jesus on this point:
“He
that believeth on Him is not condemned: but He that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son
of God”. John
3:18
Rejection
of the Lord Jesus Christ is another barrier to Heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ said:
“He
that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him:
the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day”. John 12:48
“But
the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”.
Revelation 21:8
“And
there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s
book of life.” Revelation 21:27
Is
my name written there, on the page white and fair
In
the book of thy Kingdom, is my name written there?
Pride
is a barrier to Heaven. When the disciples
asked the Lord Jesus. “Who
is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” How did the Lord Jesus respond? –
“And
Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and
said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as
this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-4
We
read in Proverbs 16:18 these words: “Pride goeth before destruction,
and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
I
was reminded of the words penned by Micah:
“He
hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Micah 6:8
Unbelief,
rejection of Jesus Christ and pride are all barriers to Heaven.
V. THE ONLY
ALTERNATIVE TO HEAVEN
There
are only two eternal destinies. There
is a heaven to gain and there is a hell to shun.
In heaven we have a place of everlasting bliss.
In hell we have a place of everlasting punishment. In heaven, God’s people are forever with the
Lord. In hell, Christ’ rejectors are
in eternal suffering.
To
the redeemed the Lord Jesus says:
“Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world.” Matther 25:34b
To
the unbelieving Christ rejectors the Lord Jesus says:
“Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels.”
Matthew 25:41b
David
wrote:
“The
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Psalm 9:17
The
only alternative to heaven is Hell.
VI. PREPARATION
FOR HEAVEN
If
we want to go to heaven and escape Hell now is the time to prepare. This is not a matter to treat with indifference. This is not a matter to banish from your thoughts.
This is an issue of great importance.
It is a matter where there is great danger if you procrastinate.
Do you remember the words of the Lord Jesus?
“For
what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26
God
calls through Isaiah:
“Seek
ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: Let
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let
him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him: and to our God,
for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7
“Boast
not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1
“He,
that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed,
and that without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1
We
read in II Corinthians 6:2b:
“…behold,
now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.”
To
prepare for heaven we need to humble ourselves before the eternal God who
is holy and righteous. We need to
acknowledge our sin to Him. We need
to recognize that we cannot save ourselves, so seek forgiveness from the Lord. We need to meet God on His terms – and here
are His terms:
“If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
God
forgives the sinner who repents of his sin, on the grounds of the finished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ who dies to save his people from their sin.
“For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
When
you see your lost condition in the light of the word of God, accept and respond
to the glorious invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ:
“Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for I am meek and lowly
in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
In
preparing for heaven, Trust the Saviour, Repent of your sin, deal with your
pride and self righteousness and find in Christ your all in all.
Remarks
This Gospel Message is being reproduced, with illustrations, as a Gospel booklet. Requests for copies may be made to FAR EASTERN BEACON.