Do You Want What God Offers You?

INTRODUCTION

Many people say they want heaven. They want peace. They want joy. They want freedom from sickness and sorrow. They want to see loved ones again. They want the pain of life to finally stop.

And I believe them.

Nobody wants grief. Nobody wants loss. Nobody wants broken relationships or broken bodies. We were made for something better—made for beauty, rest, and love. Heaven is the hope we cling to when life hurts.

But here’s the question Scripture asks us to consider:

Do we really want heaven…

or do we just want relief?

Do we want what heaven gives…

or the God who gives it?

Because heaven isn’t heaven without Him.

Heaven is not a cruise ship in the clouds.

It’s not a vacation that never ends.

It’s not a paradise built around our preferences.

Heaven is the unfiltered presence of God.

That reality either thrills you…

or it threatens you.

There is no neutral response to perfect holiness.

So the real question of eternity is not:

“Do you believe heaven exists?”

but

“Do you desire the God who lives there?”

That question reveals everything—because heaven has a center, and it isn’t us.

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1. HEAVEN HAS ONE THRONE, AND ONLY ONE CAN SIT ON IT

On earth, life tries to teach us that we are the star of the story.

“What do I want?”

“What makes me happy?”

“How can I keep control?”

But in heaven, no one sings:

“Worthy is me.”

The song is always:

“Worthy is the Lamb.”

The joy of heaven is not self-exaltation—it is God-exaltation.

So if I’m honest…

If I’m bored with worship now…

if prayer only matters when life gets scary…

if obedience feels like an interruption of my plans…

…I may not find heaven very enjoyable.

Because heaven is a world where God is everything.

And that raises an uncomfortable but necessary question:

Do I actually want God at the center?

Or do I just want Him to support my center?

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2. THE LOVE OF THIS WORLD AND THE LOVE OF GOD ARE RIVALS

John writes:

“If anyone loves the world,

the love of the Father is not in him.”

1 John 2:15

That doesn’t mean Christians can’t enjoy good things—

God made sunsets, music, children, chocolate, laughter.

But the warning is this:

When the world owns our hearts,

God does not have them.

The heart has a throne.

Only one love can sit there.

Jesus says:

“No one can serve two masters.”

Matthew 6:24

We try to make room for both,

like a spiritual joint-custody agreement.

Sunday is God’s.

The rest? Mine.

But love can’t be divided like that.

Not by attendance.

By affection.

God asks:

What do you truly treasure?

Because treasure tells the truth about the heart.

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3. HEAVEN WITHOUT TRANSFORMATION WOULD FEEL LIKE HELL

Imagine someone who has never loved God…

not His holiness,

not His rule,

not His presence…

waking up in a world where:

• Worship never stops

• Every desire bows to Christ

• Sin has been forever banished

• God’s glory fills the air everyone breathes

Would that person feel joy?

No.

Heaven would require no flames

to make the unrepentant miserable.

Its purity alone would do that.

The very light that brings joy to the saint

would feel unbearable to the sinner.

The problem isn’t heaven.

The problem is the unchanged heart.

Heaven reveals what we loved all along.

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4. THE NARROW GATE IS A DOOR FOR THE DEAD-TO-SELF

Jesus said:

“Enter by the narrow gate…”

Matthew 7:13

Why is the gate small?

Not because God is excluding people…

but because self-exaltation is too big to fit through.

The cross is not a symbol of spiritual improvement.

It is a symbol of execution.

Paul says:

“I have been crucified with Christ.”

Galatians 2:20

Crucified.

Not complimented.

Not adjusted.

Crucified.

Heaven is not the continuation of your best life now.

It is the fulfillment of a life

surrendered to Jesus.

He changes your desires here

so you can enjoy His holiness there.

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5. HEAVEN IS FOR THOSE WHO WANT GOD MOST

Jesus said:

“Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.”

Matthew 5:8

Purity doesn’t mean perfection.

Purity means singleness.

A heart that says:

“God, You are my treasure.”

So here is the diagnostic question:

If heaven offered…

No sickness.

No grief.

No death.

No tears…

…but God was not there…

would you still want to go?

If the honest answer is yes—

then you don’t want heaven.

You want a nicer version of earth.

But if your soul says:

“If God isn’t there, I don’t want it.”

Then heaven has already begun in you.

Because God Himself is the reward.

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6. IF YOU FEEL YOUR LOVE IS WEAK — TAKE HEART

Some of you are thinking: