Heaven, Hell, and a Choice.
Part 1) Heaven.
Have you ever thought about happens when you die? Sometimes we are so busy living that we don’t spend much time thinking about it.
See, life is like a standing in line at Six Flags for the Superman. We stand in line for so long we start to think that this is all there is. But the reality is, the real ride begins when we pass from this life to the next.
When you die, you don’t just cease to exist. Although some people would find that more comforting. When you die, you go one of two places.
I want to tell you about the first place. It’s a place that most of humanity hopes to go, but few people have a very clear understanding of what it’s truly like, and even fewer people have a real understanding of how to get there.
This place is called Heaven. It’s a real location. In fact, it is THE place.
Some people wonder why astronauts or airplane pilots haven’t found heaven if it’s real. To that I would tell you that God is over time and space, do you think He can’t hide heaven from us? We know that God is bigger than us, all we need to do is take a look around to see all that He is capable of so much more than we do. Keeping heaven a perfect secret (like a parent keeps a Christmas gift from their child) is not a difficult task for Him.
Because it’s this perfect secret, we have limited information about it. But, let me be very clear, the Word of God has dozens of references to the kingdom of heaven. And when we study the Bible, we can learn a few major things about heaven.
First off, God dwells in heaven, and it is where Jesus went when He ascended after He was risen from the dead. John 14:2 tells us that Jesus went to prepare a place for us, in a house that has ‘many rooms.’ A big house. Like the Audio Adrenaline song. Lots of rooms, lots of food, lots of fellowship.
We know that we will have perfect relationship with others. John 17:21 tells us we will all be as one as the Father, Holy Sprit and Jesus are one. There is no sin there, no division, no selfishness. We will live in unity together. I picture Facebook, only in real life, hanging out with all our peeps and no negativity, no fighting, no arguing, no drama. This is an especially exciting concept as you get older. Right now probably most of you are still running with the same friends since preschool, but as you grow up situations change and people move, life changes. Pastor Rob and I have friends all over the country that we never get to see, only through Facebook are we even still in touch with them. But in heaven, we’ll all be together again. It’s an exciting thought!
Another thing we know about heaven is that there is treasure there. In fact, how we behave here determines our treasure there.
Matthew 6:20 tells us:
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Your treasure in heaven doesn’t expire. It can rot or fade or be stolen. In fact, heaven itself is a treasure.
Revelation 21:10-11 tells us about the vision that was given to the apostle John about heaven:
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
Heaven is a beautiful place, far beyond any beauty we can experience here. In fact, studies have shown that we only use about 15-20% of our brain’s capacity. It’s my personal theory that in heaven we will tap into the rest of our 80% and it will be incredible to see, hear, taste, smell and touch the experiences of heaven. There are verses in scripture that talk about how life here on earth is a mere shadow of life in heaven and that is how I’ve come to that conclusion.
What’s more is that heaven will be a place of rejoicing. Luke 15:7 tells us:
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
There will be parties in heaven. And worship of the one true God. Revelation 7:10 tells us All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God..
Heaven sounds awesome, right? Someplace you want to spend eternity in, and a place you want to take your friends and family, right?
Part 2) Hell.
Well, the downside to this message is that if heaven is real, hell must be real as well. And that’s a bummer because it’s a nasty place run by some nasty people. I’m going to pull a description of hell from a story that Jesus tells us in Luke 16:19-27. I know that’s a lot of scripture, but hang with me, it’s a good story.
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
Man, hell sounds awful, doesn’t it? Let’s unpack those verses a little bit, and make sure you got the whole story.
First off, hell is separation from God. Don’t minimize this. Your entire existence you have enjoyed relationship with God, even if you were unaware. You have relied on His favor and love and creativity to fuel your life. You were created, by Him, to worship Him. Being denied access and opportunity to have relationship with Him, that will be a futile existence. Being removed from His presence is hell all on it’s own.
Furthermore, you are removed from relationships with others. I’ve heard people joke “Well, I want to go hell, that’s where all my friends are going to be.” I cringe when I hear that. I think that the person has no real idea of God’s grace and love and mercy, and even moreso, no idea of how bad hell is going to be. Your not going to be hanging with your bad friends. You will be cut off. Alone.
Here’s another scripture on hell:
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
. Have you ever smelled sulfur? We had to use it in chemistry when I was in highschool. It’s nasty stuff, smells like rotten eggs, only much stronger. The Lake of Fire is also referred to as a lake of sulfur, so it will STINK. As much as heaven will engage and delight all the senses, hell will torment all the senses.
If you’ve seen StarWars, episode 3, I thought the scene where ObiWan and Anakin (who grows up to be Darth Vader) was a pretty stunning example of Hell. The entire planet looks horrific! I can’t imagine the heat and discomfort of visiting there, let alone living there.
Another verse in Matthew tells us a bit more about hell: “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Who in here is afraid of the dark? I’m not terribly afraid, but when it’s crazy dark, it definitely freaks me out. One time at camp I was sleeping in the big room (think 50 girls in bunk beds in one room) and I woke up in the middle of the night. Some genius had decided to shut off the emergency exit lights. But it took me a while to put that one together. What I realized first was that my eyes were open but I could see nothing! I then felt my face, yep, my eyes were open, but NOTHING. Couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face! I started to panic, did I go blind in the middle of the night? Finally I decided to test my theory and fumbled for my phone, as soon as I hit the button, light burst from it and I was so relieved. I guess I was more scared of the dark than I thought!
Hell will be dark. Like pitch dark, scary, things that go bump in the dark, DARK.
This scripture also tells us that you will be tormented; ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ In agony, with no end. Think about when you are sick. I mean really sick. Like out of both ends. I remember one time Pastor Rob and I were so sick we were just laying on the bathroom floor, heads pressed against the tile floor. I just wanted to sleep, or die, to end the sickness. In hell, it will be worse than that. But there will be no sleep or death, no end to the torment. It will be continuous and for all time. As bad as this life gets, it has no comparison to hell. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. Absolute torment.
Alright, so now, knowing all that, who here wants to go to hell? Realistically? No one. In our next segment we are going to talk about your choice.
Part 3) The Choice.
I’ve almost died twice in my life. Like literally, tunnel of light, life flashing before my eyes, summing up my existence in a moment died. Twice. And I believe God allowed both circumstances in my life for a very specific purpose.
See the first time, I was fifteen. I had known Jesus, but I was mad at the world and living in rebellion. I was making some lousy choices, but the bigger issue was in my heart. I knew who God was and was living against Him purposefully.
I was in a movie theater, watching a dumb movie. Literally, it was Dumb and Dumber. I laughed so hard during that movie. Turns out laughing and eating milk duds, which turns out to be a lethal combination. A funny part happened as I had just thrown a milk dud in my mouth, and sucked that puppy right down my esophagus at the perfect angle to completely block it. I couldn’t cough, I couldn’t breath, I couldn’t yell for help. I’m making the international choking sign and my friend was just laughing and laughing. The theater grew darker and darker and the screen was further away and smaller by the moment. My life (all fifteen years) flashed before my eyes, and this cold, dark feeling came over me, darkness just seeping in. I could tell this was not heaven bound.. Thankfully, the fear in my body took over and jerked the milk dud out of my throat and I was suddenly sucking in air again.. So thankful to be alive. To this day, I can’t stand that movie and can barely tolerate milk duds.
Two years later, after I had rededicated my life to the Lord, I was in a pretty intense car crash. As the crash was happening, time just seemed to slow. I was calling on Jesus’ name, depending on Him so completely. Again, my life flashed before my eyes, but this time all I saw was brightness, light. I had no fear, because I knew if I died I was going home.
I feel like God allowed me those two experiences so that I would believe in heaven and hell. And that I would know where I was going, as long as I am serving Him.
You can know where you are going. It doesn’t need to be something you live in fear about. Decide you are going to know Jesus and serve Him daily, and then the matter is settled.
I know I’ve thrown a lot of scripture at you tonight, but it was purposeful. I didn’t want you to think I’m just giving my opinions out there willy-nilly. The Bible should be your source for all truth, and I wanted you guys to know that everything I’ve said about heaven and hell is straight from the Word of God. Go ahead and research it yourself.
The thing is, you have a choice. Tonight is all about that choice. See, when you die, Jesus has two questions for you. Not unlike the skit we did earlier tonight.
The first question is very simple.
Did you know me?
This is not a hard question. Did you know Jesus? Did you have the saving knowledge of what He did on the cross for you? Did you accept Him as your savior? You know in your heart right now whether or not you know Him.
If the answer to this question is no, then your destination is hell. If you have rejected the knowledge of Christ in this life, then it is too late in the next. Your life NOW determines your destination.
The second question is a little more complicated. See, he’s going to ask, did you know me, but then..
What did you do about it?
Meaning, what did you do about your knowledge of me? Did you hide it? Did you keep it to yourself? Or did you spread His love around? Did you tell others? Did you live a life worthy of someone who has been saved from hell?
I’m going to pass this card out. I want you guys to hold it in your hands and pray about it. Answer those questions in your head right now. Decide if the answers you have currently are the right answers. Then when you go home, tuck this card in a place you’ll see it often, where you can remind yourself to answer those two questions each day.
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