Introduction
A pastor visited an older man. The Pastor said, "At your age you should be thinking about the hereafter."
The older man replied, "Oh, I do all the time. No matter where I am - in the living room, upstairs, in the kitchen, or down in the basement - I ask myself 'What am I here after?'"
A lot of us just don't think much about heaven. If I were to take a survey asking the question, "Have you thought seriously about heaven in the last week?" I doubt I would get many positive responses.
The fact is we can watch television for a whole year, read the newspaper day after day, engage in conversations with people all over the world, and not hear a word about the hereafter - heaven.
That's not hard to understand. Heaven is, after all, difficult to envision. It's so different from what we experience now, and so much better, that it's just plain hard to imagine. And furthermore, it is such an elusive concept because we are swamped with things on earth. When we are squeezed by our jobs, the finances are tight, and our relationships are going sour, it's not easy to meditate on the celestial glories.
But perhaps we don't think about heaven because it brings up painful realities. For all its promised happiness, heaven reminds us that we are not going to live forever. We are going to die someday and leave our loved ones behind. We are going to stand before a righteous and holy God and give an account. That's not something we always want to think about.
But we have to think about heaven. Because as little as we talk or think about it, we can't go far in life before we bump into it.
I would like for you to think about heaven by considering some questions that will spur your thought process.
I. Does heaven matter?
Public-opinion polls show that most Americans not only believe in God but also anticipate some kind of heaven. According to a Newsweek Poll, 94 percent of Americans believe that God exists and 77 percent believe in a heaven. Among those believers, three out of four rate their chances of getting there good or excellent.
Christian author Phillip Yancey wrote, "Although [most] of us believe in an afterlife, no one much talks about it. Christians believe we will spend eternity in a splendid place called heaven . . . isn't it a little bizarre that we simply ignore heaven, acting as if it doesn't matter?"
Does heaven matter?
A pagan philosopher once admonished his followers, "Look to the end." This is a wise exhortation, but the crucial question is: to what end, to what hope should we look? Skeptics widely reject the Christian hope of a heavenly end. Bertrand Russell, the 1950 Nobel Prize winner for literature, wrote, "There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere; only triviality for a moment - then nothing." John Lennon's 1971 song Imagine contains the words,
Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try No hell below us, above us only sky; Imagine all the people living for today.
The end Christians contemplate is not nothingness but the blessedness of eternal life in heaven with God. Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft observed that, "If life on earth is not a road to heaven, then it is a treadmill, a merry-go-round minus the merry."
The principle atheistic architects of the modern mind - Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche - were wrong when they argued that hope in a heaven inhibits us from enjoying or caring about earthly life. On the contrary, those who believe in life after death lead happier lives and trust people more. Those who have assurance of an afterlife are more satisfied with the present life. The certainty of heaven helps us cope with the uncertainties of earth. Only those who are ready to die are prepared to live.
II. Where will you be one minute after you die?
Death. Now there is something we definitely don't want to think about. But we must. Every one of us has an appointment that we will not miss. And that is death. C.S. Lewis observed, the statistics on death are impressive - so far, it is one out of one! We are faced with the reality of dying every second of every day.
Death, though, is not our final destination. Death is only a doorway to our destination. Death is the point beyond which we do not return to life on earth. So the question is not, will we die? That's a fact. The ultimate question is: "Where will you be one minute after you die?"
Jesus said there are two roads in life. He said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it" (Matt. 7:13-14). The broad road leads to judgment, destruction, and hell. On that road people seem to be having a wonderful time. It's a party atmosphere. "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die" is their motto. But there is emptiness, loneliness, and insecurity.
The narrow road, on the other hand, leads to heaven. Traveling on that road is difficult because it goes against the grain of society, the tide of all pleasures, and the sins of this world. On this road there is fun and laughter, too. But there is a sense of destiny, a distinction of hope, an assurance of something better to follow this earthly existence. Our motto is: "The best is yet to come."
Which road are you on? What will be your final destination? Where will you be one minute after you die?
I'm told there is a cemetery in Indiana that has an old tombstone bearing this epitaph:
Pause, Stranger, when you pass me by
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so you will be
So prepare for death and follow me-
An unknown passerby read those words and underneath scratched this reply:
To follow you I'm not content Until I know which way you went
The way we go, the road we take, the final destination, is determined in his lifetime. At death our eternal destiny is unalterably fixed.
III. What right have you to enter heaven?
Every man and woman one minute after they die will have to answer the question: What right have you to enter heaven? Why do some people believe that they have a paid ticket to heaven? Why do some people think that they can walk down the road leading to hell only to wind up in heaven when they die? That's ridiculous. In fact, to keep doing the same things you have always done expecting different results is the essence of stupidity.
Many answers can be given for why one may feel they have the right to enter heaven when they die. Most responses fall into one or three categories. First, some people say, "Just look what I have done on earth. My record is pretty good, as compared to some. I'll be in heaven because I lived such a good life." That person is in trouble. The Bible states, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). So if we were placing our good deeds on a scale of 1 to 10, even a perfect 10 wouldn't make it. No one lives a life that is "good enough." Good enough is simply not good enough to enter heaven.
The second answer might be "I really don't know, and I'm not sure that I care. I gave it some thought for a while, but there were so many other things that seemed more important." This is the "whatever will be, will be" attitude. People with this mindset will have plenty of excuses when asked by God "Why should I let you into my heaven?" But none will suffice. Mothers everywhere say, "Excuses will get you nowhere." The apostle Paul wrote, "From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse" (Rom. 1:20).
Only one answer will give a person the certain privilege, the joy, of entering heaven. "Because I have believed in Jesus Christ and accepted him as my Savior." That is the only answer that will grant anyone entrance into heaven. Not because of what we have done, but rather our admission to heaven is secured because of what Jesus Christ has done. Jesus has purchased the ticket, paid the fare, for our entrance into heaven. The cross represents the ticket that gets us into heaven. When Jesus uttered his final words on the cross, "It is finished," it was his way of stamping our ticket "paid in full." All travelers desiring to enter heaven have to accept their ticket, trust in what Jesus has already done for them.
What right have we to enter heaven? We have no right. But because of Jesus' death and resurrection we have the privilege, the hope, and the certainty of entering heaven.
That leads to a final question.
IV. Have you made preparations for heaven?
Are you ready? Do you have your ticket?
A little girl, after her father's funeral, asked her mother, "Where's Daddy?"
The mother answered, "Daddy is in heaven!"
"Will we ever see him again?" asked the little girl.
"Yes, we will go there one day," replied the mother.
The little girl left and after a while came out of her room with a suitcase. "What are you doing, child?" asked the mother.
"If we're going to be with Daddy, I thought we ought to get ready!"
She's right.
I read about a man who discovered he had cancer that had spread to his liver and lungs, and he had only a short time to live. He said to his pastor, "I decided a long time ago I don't want to die an eighty-five pound weakling. I don't want my friends to remember me that way. So I'm not going to have any treatments. I want to enjoy whatever time I have left." Then he said, "Fifty years ago I bought my ticket and made my room reservation. Now I've had fifty years to study the road map and I'm excited about the journey. It's a lot like packing for a trip. And, in a way, I'm looking forward to it."
Pope John once said concerning his death, "My bags are packed. I'm ready to leave."
Heaven is ready and there's room for you. Have you made your reservation? Do you have your ticket?
Conclusion
Entrance to heaven is not limited to one ethnic group, or one denomination, or a certain social status, or type of person. Jesus opens his arms to all, and says, "I can take you to heaven if you come on the narrow road trusting in what I did on the cross and accepting the free gift of grace."
You ask, "What do I need to do?" You need to say, "I open my heart to Christ. I want him to take over my life. I want to be sure that I'm on that narrow road. I want to change my way of living. I confess that I have sinned. I want Jesus as my Savior and Lord and Master, and I want to be sure of it."