I’ve Got A Mansion…do You?

• As the elevator ascended the boy watched the signs flash as they went by the floors: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70.

• The farther up they went, the more nervous the boy became.

• Finally he looked up as his dad and said, “Daddy, does God know we're coming?” (Leighton Ford, "Hope for a Great Forever," Preaching Today, Tape No. 96)

Today I want to preach about something every preacher enjoys preaching about.

As we enter many towns we see that they have a sign at the city limits that often tells us the name of the town and has a BIG welcome to all who enter the city! Some of these signs are more elaborate than others.

Signs can be very interesting, such as:

• In a Non-smoking area a sign said: "If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action."

• On Maternity Room door: "Push, Push, Push."

• At an Optometrist's Office: "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

• Outside a Muffler Shop: "No appointment necessary. We'll hear you coming."

• In a Dry Cleaner's Emporium: "Drop your pants here."

• In a Veterinarian's waiting room: "Be back in five minutes. Sit! Stay!"

• In the front yard of a Funeral Home: "Drive carefully, we'll wait."

Signs are always interesting to read wherever we find them.

Illus: Have you ever visited a home and the homeowner could not do enough it seems to make you feel welcome!!!

Every child of God one day will arrive in heaven and I am sure that God will have some wonderful ways of welcoming us to our eternal home.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HEAVEN?

One of the great things about living today is that we have all the advantages that our forefathers never had.

DID YOU KNOW . . .

Many of our forefathers never went any further than 50 to 100 miles from where they lived.

• Think of a town that is a hundred miles from here. If you wanted to go there you had to ride a horse or a mule and buggy.

• Now I cannot imagine under those conditions that I would ever want to go to a place that I would have to travel in a buggy a hundred miles to get there and a hundred miles to get back.

Our forefathers never had the advantage we have today:

• We have cars, buses, airplanes, boat and trains so we can travel anywhere in the comfort of air conditioning in the summer or heat in the winter.

• We can get on an airplane today and travel anywhere in the world we want to in a relatively short period of time.

But we are at the same disadvantage as our forefathers when it comes to the Kingdom of Heaven.

That is:

• Like our forefathers we have never been able to catch a plane and travel to the Kingdom of heaven

• Like our forefathers we have never been able to talk with someone and they could say, “I went there and let me tell you what it is like living there!”

Illus: Now there are some who claim they have been to heaven but they do

not sound believable or scriptural.

Illus: There are many who claim they went to heaven such as Alex Malarky.

Malarky, who said he died and went to heaven after a bus crash when he was 6 years old, he took back his statement this week, according to NPR’s Bill Chappell.

• The book written about his experiences was also pulled from the shelves by the publisher, Tyndale House.

• Malarky wrote a statement on “Pulpit and Pen” where he admitted his lie, in which he even said he never read the Bible.

• “I did not die. I did not go to Heaven.”

• Malarky wrote. “I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did.”

Illus: Evangelist Jesse Duplantis claims he has went to heaven many times.

• He said one time when he went to heaven and the Lord Jesus was depress and he hugged him and cheered him up.

• On another trip to heaven the Lord asked Him what was his opinion about something.

This is pure out blasphemy!!!

Illus: False teacher Paula White made the outrageous claim she went to heaven:

• She said that she was taken to heaven and saw the face of God.

• Also she described how God placed a very colorful robe upon her. In great detail she described all the things she saw.

That is strange all the things she claimed she saw with all these details because when the apostle Paul was caught up in heaven it was different.