Heaven & Hell
Matthew 8:11-12
April 23, 2006 FBC, Chester, Illinois Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A When England closed it’s Libyan Embassy Muammar Qaddafi became so angry that he ordered England to be removed from all maps in Libya. If you buy a map in that country today, that area will be represented by a new arm of the North Sea bordered by Scotland and Wales. Simply removing England from all maps in Libya does not mean it doesn’t exist. Just because we’ve never been to Hell or the world makes light of it, or says it’s a fairy tale doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Hell is very real. But just as Hell is a reality so is Heaven. It is a better place.
1 When Noah was building the ark he was ridiculed, but it didn’t stop the flood.
a When Jesus said nothing would be left in Jerusalem, no one believed him. But it didn’t stop Romans from burning Jerusalem to the ground in 70 AD.
b When the world called Gallileo nuts for saying the world is round didn’t change the fact that the world really is round.
2 Regardless of your belief in heaven & hell, it doesn’t change the fact that they are there!
a I don’t have the authority to tell you the sun is going to come out tomorrow.
aa We hope, pray, assume . . . but none of us know.
bb We don’t have the authority to tell you for sure!
b I do have authority to tell you that there is heaven and hell because I speak with the authority of God’s Word.
B Jesus taught his followers concerning the eternal destination of all humankind. (ETS)
1 Everyone will be at one of two places when they finish life’s journey. (ESS)
a 11 "I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt 8:11-12 (NASB)
b I hope you’ll take seriously the two eternal places promised in Matthew’s gospel. (Objective)
2 What are you doing to show the seriousness of the promise of heaven & hell? (PQ)
3 Let’s look at two promised eternal destinations.
I The Promise of Heaven
A Heaven is a place of rest (v.11)
1 Whether you work with your brain or hands, heaven is a place of rest.
a Matt 11:28
b No more getting up before the sun or working when the son goes down. (No time clocks or alarm clocks)
2 We’ll recline at God’s table - - - rest!
B Heaven is a place where everybody knows your name.
1 We’re not reclined at a table with strangers. We’ll know these people!
a Heaven is a place where we’ll know and be known.
b It’s a sweet thought to me that when I cross the threshold of heaven, here comes my great grandmother, grandfather, mom, babies and they say, "Welcome home!"
2 Can you image meeting Jesus and your mom at heaven’s gates?
a She stands beside you and says, "Here I am and the child you’ve given me."
b Heaven would be dreary if we didn’t know each other.
C Heaven is a densely populated place (Many wil come from the east @ west)
1 Some are of the opinion that heaven’s scantily populated.
a Only Baptists, Lutheran’s, Catholics, etc . . .
b Jesus said, "In my Father’s house there are many mansions."
c John’s revelations records, "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;" Rev 7:9 (NASB)
2 Do you really think Jesus would allow the devil to have more souls in hell than there is in heaven?
a East & West? All walks of life; Addicts to attorneys, , dopers/doctors, prostitutes/pediatricians . . . no one is out of reach of God’s grace.
b Why not you? Your family, spouse, neighbor, co-workers?
D It was only a nickel, but the owner was able to retire on it. It is one of only five nickels like it, and Ed Lee of Merrimack, New Hampshire, sold the nickel for $4.15 million dollars. It is the second-highest price ever reported paid for a rare coin. Speaking for the coin dealership which bought the nickel, Laura Sperber called the 1913 Liberty Head the most famous of American rare coins. "Owning a 1913 Liberty Head nickel is unlike owning any other coin in the world," she said. The AP story reported: "Liberty Head nickels were minted from 1883 to 1912. ‘Miss Liberty’ was replaced the following year by the Indian, or Buffalo, nickel. But five 1913 nickels depicting ‘Miss Liberty’ were minted illegally, possibly by a mint official. They were never put into circulation and were considered illegal to own for many years because they were not regular issue. The coins surfaced in the 1920s." Ed Lee bought the coin two years ago for three million dollars, so he made over a million dollars on his investment.
Not bad. Ed Lee was very smart. He knew a valuable coin when he saw it, and he knew the importance of making a good investment. It is a modern story very much like the parable Jesus told about the pearl merchant who found a rare pearl that was very valuable. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).
TS: We love to hear about heaven, but we must also to verse 12.
II The promise of hell (v.12)
A "The children of the kingdom will be cast out"
1 Not children of God’s kingdom, but rather the unconverted, unrepentive, unregenerated, untransformed, unbeliever.
a Faux believers are included (Look religious, carry a bible, speak Christianese . . . head knowledge, but no heart knowledge.)
b People who are relying on the faith of their parents/grandparents/children to get them to heaven. (Mom had to do here own believing and so must you.)
2 Cast out
a By force, kicking and screaming, hauled out of heaven!
b No bragging about how much you could drink, sexual conquests that day.
B Cast out into the OUTER DARKNESS that is without HOPE.
1 Hope is a trait we all share.
a Hope for healing, pass to test, children turn out alright, debt . . . . hell has no hope.
b The chains have "Forever" stamped on them, the flames spell out "FOREVER", nothing ever changes in hell.
2 There is forever weeping and gnashing of teeth.
a The gnashing of the teach has to do with anguish, pain, agony.
b Why? Regret, remorse. "Why didn’t you take me to church, Dad.", "Why did my so called friend encourage me to drink?", "Why didn’t I say yes to Jesus when I had the chance?"
C What the regret over is what you decided about Jesus.
1 Only two kinds of people in the end: Those who say to God, "Thy will be done."
a The other at the end, God says to you, "You were told, invited, but you said no." "Thy will be done."
b No wonder there is gnashing of teeth, weeping.
2 Dancing, drinking, gambling, DOES NOT SEND YOU TO HELL!
a Sin sends you to hell & the greatest sin is not dancing/drinking/gambling. . .
b The greatest sin is saying no to Jesus offer of salvation.
Conclusion:
Jesus taught his followers concerning the eternal destination of all humankind. (ETS)
Everyone will be at one of two places when they finish life’s journey. (ESS)
A Let’s look at two promised eternal destinations.
1 Heaven
2 Hell
B I hope you’ll take seriously the two eternal places promised in Matthew’s gospel. (Objective)
1 Hell vs. Heaven
2 No other choices.
C What are you doing to show the seriousness of the promise of heaven & hell? (PQ)
1 An itinerant evangelist was scheduled to do a service at town hall on how to get to heaven.
a He got into town and couldn’t locate the city hall, so he stopped and asked to boys for directions to city hall.
b After receiving the directions, the boys asked what he was doing & he replied he was preaching on how to get to heaven and then asked the boys if they wanted to come hear him.
c The boys replied, "NO way! You can’t even find your way to city hall."
2 What are you doing to show the seriousness of the promise of heaven & hell? (PQ)
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