GETTING READY FOR ETERNITY
ILLUSTRATION:
Father Murphy goes into a local bar in Dublin and approaches the first man he sees. "Do you want to go to Heaven?" he asks and the man says, "Indeed I do, Father." "Then for goodness sake," commands the priest, "leave this pub right now." He then goes to the next man, "Do you want to go to Heaven, my son?" And the man answers, "Yes Father, indeed I want to do that very thing." "Then ye must get out of this pub right now!" orders the priest.
Father Murphy continues this throughout the pub until he comes to the last man. "Do you want to go to Heaven, man?!" exhorts the priest. The man looks at his half-full beer, turns, looks at Father Murphy and says, "No, I don’t, Father." "You mean to tell me, young man, that when you die, you don’t want to go to Heaven?" asks the priest incredulously. "Oh, well, when I die, yes Father, I certainly do. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now!"
KEY TEXT:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it… Not everyone who says to Me, ’Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ’Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ’I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23).
THE BIG IDEA: The Bible teaches that everyone must stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), and because of the reality of this coming Day, we would be wise to meditate on the Scriptural truths concerning Heaven and Hell, and get ready for eternity.
I. A GLIMPSE OF HELL:
QUOTE:
(Quote from Steve Shepherd from sermoncentral.com)
• A preacher wrote, “Hell, it would seem, has fallen on rather lean times. It used to be that the vast majority of Christians believed that Hell was a real place where the wicked go when they died. It used to be that ministers of the Gospel would preach on the horrors of Hell to persuade sinners to repentance. But not anymore. Most North American mainline and so-called Evangelical churches stopped preaching about Hell years ago. The topic of Hell was bad for the bottom line—attendance and income…”
• As someone said, “Read the Bible. It will scare hell out of you.” Or will hopefully, scare a person enough to keep them out of hell.
STATS: A recent George Barna survey found that 67% of Americans do not believe in hell.
A TRUE STORY OF SOMEONE WHO WAS ACTUALLY IN HELL:
“19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 Then he cried and said, ’Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ’Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ 27 Then he said, ’I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ’They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ’No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ’If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:19-31).
v.23 - a place of torments – contrary to the popular thinking, hell isn’t a party!
v.24 - tormented in flame
v.25 - you will still have your memories
HELL DESCRIBED:
1. Both soul and body are destroyed (Matt. 10:28).
2. Outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 25:30).
3. Everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matt. 25:41).
4. Everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46).
5. The fire is never quenched, and the worm never dies. (Mark. 9:43-44)
II. A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN:
“1Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful. 6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:1-8).
• Contrary to popular belief, we will not be playing harps, wearing dresses, and hopping around on clouds for all of eternity!
• Words cannot describe the beauty and glories and joys that await us in Heaven!
• Note – right in the midst of this beautiful description of Heaven, He reminds us that not everyone is going to go there!
III. GETTING READY FOR ETERNITY: OUR STEWARDSHIP
“42 And the Lord replied, "I’m talking to any faithful, sensible servant to whom the master gives the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 45 But if the servant thinks, ’My master won’t be back for a while,’ and begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk – 46 well, the master will return unannounced and unexpected. He will tear the servant apart and banish him with the unfaithful. 47 The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. 48 "But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given.” (Luke 12:42-48).
• Life on Earth is a test –there will be eternal rewards and punishments for the believer
THE REALITY OF ETERNAL REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS:
“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12).
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.” (Matthew 12:16).
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (Rev. 22:12).
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:19-21).
• Note: we will give an account of every word we speak, every action, and our finances!
· Note – this does not mean we are saved by our works – we are saved by grace:
· It’s not about where we’ll spend eternity, but how we’ll spend eternity.
QUOTE: (John Bevere, Driven by Eternity).
“Are you fulfilling your destiny? You may think, “But I don’t know what I’m called to do!” There could be a couple of reasons for this. First, have you sought God earnestly? If anyone earnestly seeks God… he will be shown what he’s been put on the earth to do… the second reason why people don’t find the will of God for their lives: They don’t plant themselves in the local church. Psalm 92:13 says, “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God.” Those who serve faithfully in the kingdom receive handsome eternal wages, and we will be rewarded individually, according to our own labour… So much is at stake. We can’t take lightly our entrusted time here on earth.”
CLOSING CHALLENGE:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10).
ACTION STEPS:
1. Search the Scriptures to learn more about the rewards and punishments of eternity.
2. Commit to get involved in our home groups to learn more about Heaven and Hell! (Driven By Eternity DVD Curriculum)
3. Make Jesus Christ the LORD (Master) of your life and live wholly for Him!
ALTAR CALL FOR SALVATION – REPENTANCE!
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www.beausejourchurch.ca
