Heaven With Jesus Series

SIMPLY JESUS

HEAVEN WITH JESUS

HEBREWS 12:14-29

INTRODUCTION

-This past week I was at camp with a bunch of 4-6th graders.

-Our theme was Winema National Park and I decided to teach a course on wilderness survival because I’m uniquely qualified to do

-I have made about every mistake you could make in the wilderness…and I still survived!

-I’ve climbed Mt. Hood with a frozen water bottle.

-I came off of Three Fingered Jack at dusk with no flashlights/food

-And I once led and expedition of high school kids into the mountains in late August when it snowed several inches.

-Fortunately for us we had no tents or warm clothes!

-So…when I was teaching wilderness survival to these small children we put a lot of emphasis on planning ahead.

-Trying to anticipate what you’ll need in the wilderness before you actually get to the wilderness.

-Our passage today is Hebrews 12 and it’s a chapter that gets us thinking about heaven before we actually get there!

-If we are the people who are bound for heaven, if we are the people who have believed in Christ’s promise of salvation, then how do we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead?

-What do we need to be doing to get ready for heaven?

-This section begins with some very practical advice about what to do

ON YOUR WAY TO HEAVEN… (12:14)

14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.

-LIVE AT PEACE WITH EVERYONE. (14)

-I cannot overemphasize how important this is in our Christian life

-Xians are people whose lives should be characterized by peace!

-We are not the ones who stir up trouble.

-We are not the people who yell, intimidate, bully, and argue.

-We are not to be people who start fights and divisions.

-We are not the ones to be quarreling with our neighbors and yell at wives and kids.

-We are called to live at peace with everyone. And everyone includes…everyone!

-Notice that the key word in verse 14 is the word “work”.

-It requires effort to live peacefully with people.

-So we work at it. We fight for it.

-Even if everyone around us wants to war and fight and divide…

-We go the extra mile to have peace with all people.

-I know a man that was going to church with his wife and 2 kids.

-Because they started going to church his brother’s family started going to church and his parents were coming to church.

-9 people were coming to faith and plugging into the church body because of this one man.

-But then the man got sideways with someone in their church.

-There was tension, there was division, and ultimately the man left the church over the conflict.

-And guess where those 9 people are going to church now?

-Nowhere. The family isn’t worshipping together.

-The family isn’t in fellowship, no one is being discipled.

-That doesn’t seem like the Spirit of God working in those people’s lives. That sounds like the work of the enemy.

-It’s easier to quit than work out our problems.

-It’s easier to sling mud than fall on your sword.

-It’s easier to nurse hurt feelings than to work for peace.

-But here is a sobering fact: we are going to spend all of eternity with our fellow Christians.

-You might think you’re getting away from them by switching churches, switching small groups, switching ministries…but you will be stuck with them in heaven forever!

-So learn to keep short accounts with people. Live in peace.

-Make apologies, make amends, swallow pride, and be people of peace! That’s part of how we do life on our way to heaven.

-WORK AT LIVING A HOLY LIFE. (14)

-Christ has made us holy by his perfect sacrifice.

-But we still have to make the choice to live a holy life.

-That means we have to steer away from unholy, sinful things.

-Heaven is a peaceful place…we’re working at peace on our way.

-And heaven is also a holy place, and we are working at holiness on our way there!

-Notice that it also requires work to live a holy life.

-Holiness means living the set apart life that Jesus has called us to.

-At times being holy means that we don’t do what other people freely do.

-At times being holy means sacrificing what we want.

-At times it means missing out on opportunities.

-Being holy means doing things that other people aren’t doing.

-At times, living a holy life requires us to make sacrifices.

-We make choices each day to walk away from unholy things.