(Sing) “Everybody's gonna have religion in glory; Everybody's gonna be a-singin' that story; Everybody's gonna have a wonderful time up there - Oh, glory hallelujah. Brother, there's a reckonin' a-comin' in the mornin'; Better get ready - I'm givin' you the warnin'; Everybody's gonna have a wonderful time up there. Now get your Holy Bible, in the back of the book. The Book of Revelations is the place to look. Are ya gonna be amongst the chosen few? Will you make it through? … WELL (then re-sing the chorus)
Everybody’s gonna have a wonderful time up there! It will be an exciting place to live – a place of awe and wonder. The streets of the city will be paved in gold, and the walls will be far higher than the highest mountain on earth. Now that’s gonna be impressive!
But the most impressive thing about heaven is – we get to live there. Jesus said: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3
So, when Jesus comes back… He’s coming for us. (PAUSE)
It’s going to be such an exciting place to be, that everybody’s gonna want to go there. According to a Pew Survey back in 2021, 75% of Americans believe in heaven. And most of them figure on getting there.
But there is one small fly in the ointment. Revelation 21:27 says “Nothing unclean will ever enter (the New Jerusalem), nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
ILLUS: During the Revolutionary War, an enlisted man who distinguished himself in battle, could be promoted - become an officer and receive an increase in pay. But in the last year of that war, Congress ran out of money. They couldn’t afford to pay any more officers. So, General Washington created something that became known as the “Purple Heart”. It was just a small piece of purple cloth, shaped like a heart, with the word MERIT embroidered on it (PAUSE) but it was highly prized. The Continental Army was disbanded 2 years later – and Washington decreed that the decoration was to be awarded to ALL soldiers who displayed valor during the Revolutionary war. Their names were then written in a book called the “Book of Merit” along with details of what they'd done to deserve this honor.
So, how many Revolutionary Soldiers do you think received the Purple Heart? Nobody knows… they lost the book. All the names of those who won the Purple Heart in the Revolutionary War are lost to history, and they will never be found.
But now, in our text today we’re told that there’s another book with names in it and that book will NEVER be lost. In fact, the only way you can enter into heaven is if your names “are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27) The Lamb’s BOOK of life will never be lost because God will keep it safe until we claim our inheritance. And only those written in that book will make it into heaven.
And you’re going to want your name in that book. There’s an old Gospel hymn that says: “Lord, I care not for riches, neither silver nor gold; I would make sure of heaven, I would enter the fold. In the book of Thy kingdom with pages so fair. Tell me, Jesus, my Savior, is my name written there?”
So, the question this morning is this: “Is your name written in the Lamb’s book of life?”
Now, there are a couple misconceptions about this book. The first is - there are people who believe they can get into heaven, even if they don’t believe in God. Seriously – that’s what some people believe! According to that Pew Research survey we mentioned earlier - 39% of Americans believe you can go there without BELIEVING in God! REALLY? How would that work? Well, apparently some folks believe that if you’re a nice enough person you can earn your ticket into heaven. In fact, God couldn’t keep you out if he wanted to because you’d DESERVE to be let in.
Now, as I’ve said numerous times before… that’s not going to happen. Neither You nor I can be good enough to be good enough to deserve heaven. “All (of us) have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and the only way we’re going to enter the gates of heaven is by belonging to Jesus. It’s the LAMB’S book of life.
In John 14:6 Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The ONLY way you get in the Lamb’s book of life is if you belong HIM. If you’re a child of God. So, that’s the 1st misconception about the Book of Life - folks believing they can get into heaven without believing in God.
The 2nd misconception is summed up by this graphic I found online: “If God has written your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life, He will never blot it out!” WELL… THAT’S NOT TRUE. In Exodus 32:32-33 Moses pleads with God for Israel saying if you will NOT forgive their sin “Please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.”
Then, in Revelation 3:5 Jesus tells the church at Sardis “The one who conquers will be clothed in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life…” In other words, if you take your relationship with Jesus seriously enough to seek to be a conqueror, God promises that your name will stay in the book. But if you’re not serious about Jesus, well God just might use some… whiteout.
In the Revolutionary war, there was a general who was highly regarded. A man who showed valor on the battlefield. A soldier who probably would have been given the purple heart. But if his name had ever been written in the book of Merit, somebody would have blotted it out. His name was… Benedict Arnold.
Why was he rejected? Because he walked away from betrayed his nation. The point is… you can have your name written the book - but if you choose to walk away and betray your faith in Jesus, your name’s NOT going to be there at the judgment.
So, there are some misconceptions about the Lamb’s book of life. But there are a couple of things that we must never forget. First – we must not forget that we can’t get into heaven UNLESS our name is written in that book. And 2nd - we must never forget that it’s the LAMB’S book of life. If we don’t belong to Christ, our names won’t be in His book. As Peter said: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
But (now wait a minute) don’t other religions talk about going to heaven? Well, yeah they do. In fact – in that Pew Research Survey I mentioned earlier 43% of those who called themselves Christians believed that “Some non-Christian religions can lead to eternal life/heaven.” https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/11/23/views-on-the-afterlife/#:~:text=this%20perspective%20is%20nearly%20unanimous,perfectly%20healthy%20bodies%20(60%25).
By contrast - only 31% of those who called themselves Christians believed that Jesus was the only way to heaven.
Now it is true that Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and various other religions all have their own view of how to reach heaven. But the only way you can believe THAT their teachings will lead you to heaven is if you ignore WHAT they teach. 1st - they all teach that you can gain heaven/nirvana/whatever… by your deeds. Those religions teach that heaven is a paycheck, not a gift. If you do enough good deeds you can EARN your place.
2nd - these religions also have another problem, because ALL the FOUNDERS of these many religions were mortal men who’d never seen heaven. You see, when those folks were telling their followers how to go to heaven they were just guessing. They were telling people what THEY personally thought THEY would accept if they were God. BUT THEY WEREN’T GOD!
Now, by contrast: Philippians 2:5-8 tells us that “Christ Jesus… though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
JESUS WAS GOD… and He came down from heaven to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.
As one person observed: “Anybody can devise a plan by which good people may go to Heaven. But only God can devise a plan whereby sinners, who are His enemies, can go to Heaven.” Lewis Sperry Chafer
There’s a plan… and the plan involves a book. And it’s a book we must be sure our names have been written in.
CLOSE Randy Alcorn tells story about Ruthanna Metzgar, a professional singer. She had been asked to sing at the wedding of a very wealthy man, and they had been invited to the reception. It was being held on the top two floors of the Columbia Tower in Seattle – the tallest skyscraper in the Northwest – and there would be magnificently carved ice sculptures; beautifully decorated tables filled with the choicest of foods; and a professional orchestra dressed in elegant white tuxedos. At the start of the reception, the bride and groom came to an elegant glass and brass staircase where someone ceremoniously cut a satin ribbon at the bottom of the stairs, and the wedding party ascended followed by their guests. This wasn’t just a reception… this was an event!! And Ruthanna and her husband were excited to be there!
As they made their way to the top of the stairs, the maître d’ stood holding a book. He asked: “May I have your name please?” “I’m Ruthanna Metzgar and this is my husband Roy.” He searched the M’s. “I’m not finding it. Would you spell it, please?” So she spelled her name slowly. But, after searching the book, the maître d’ looked up and said, “I’m sorry ma’am, but your name’s not here.” Now, she’s a bit worried and she said “There must be some mistake. I’m the singer!” The maître d’ answered “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done. Without your name in the book you cannot attend the banquet.” Then he motioned for a waiter and said, “Show these people to the service elevator, please.” And so the Metzgars followed the waiter past the ice sculptures, the beautifully decorated tables filled with the choicest of foods, and the orchestra – dressed in white tuxedos preparing to perform. But Ruthanna and Roy were NOT allowed to take part because their names were not in the book.
After they’d left the event, Roy reached over and touched his wife’s arm. “Sweetheart, what happened?” And she replied: “When the invitation arrived, I was busy. I never bothered to RSVP. Besides, I was the singer. Surely, I could go to the reception without returning the RSVP!”
And then … she began to weep. (Randy Alcorn, "50 Days Of Heaven", p. 23)
So, how do you “send an RSVP” so that your name is in the book? First you have to WANT to have your name in the book! Jesus said “the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45-46
This merchant wanted that treasure so badly he sold all he had so he could buy it! Is that how badly YOU want to go to heaven? Would you sell ALL that you had and give it to God?
Well… that’s what becoming a Christian is all about. You have to decide to give God all that you have and are. You have to decide you’re going to believe that Jesus is who He said He was that He died FOR YOUR SINS to make you His child. You have to decide that you have to change your life – repent of sins. You have to decide that you are willing to make Jesus the Lord and Master. And you have to decide you need to bury your past in the waters of baptism.
INVITATION
