Sermon Central
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Heaven Pt-2 Series
Contributed by Brian Menear on Feb 23, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Who will go to Heaven and just how will they get there?
Understanding Heaven Part 2
(All verses unless noted are from CEV)
In our last section we looked at why we should want to go to Heaven and the 3 types of Heaven(Sky, Stars, Divine Heaven).
In this section we will look at who will be going there and how we will get there.
Who will be going there?
9 Just as the heavens
are higher than the earth,
my thoughts and my ways
are higher than yours.
If God’s ways are higher than ours he would obviously have a standard for entering Heaven. What is that standard?
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above(the original Greek word meant “In a different way”) before you can see God’s kingdom!”
4 Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”
5 Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. 6 Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. 7 Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above.
Lets look at this same verse from the NKJV
3Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
Therefore, you must be born again by the Spirit of God to be able to go to Heaven.
“born of water”-does not mean baptism. Refers to our natural birth. Baptism has nothing to do with Salvation. It is merely an outward sign of your acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior.
What about people who have committed suicide?
Suicide-3rd leading cause of death ages 15-25
Someone commits suicide in America every 17 minutes.
The Bible gives us 7 accounts of people who committed suicide
1 Abimelech (Judges 9:50-54) 2 Samson (Judges 16:23-31)
3 Saul (1 Samuel 31:2-4) 4 Saul’s Servant (1 Samuel 31:5)
5 Ahitophel (2 Samuel 17:23) 6 Zimri (1 Kings 16:15-20)
7 Judas (Matthew 27:3-5)
In none of these cases is it ever stated in the Bible that these persons were condemned to hell. Most people are taught that suicide is a unforgiveable sin since the person cannot ask for forgiveness. Every believer will die with some unrepented sin they did not know about.
38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!
God will welcome anyone into Heaven who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We will not enter Heaven based on our works
No amount of good deeds, no amount of money, no amount of prayers said will gain us entrance into Heaven.
So now that we see who will go to Heaven, we ask “How will we get there?”
The simple answer
1 It depends on your spiritual status at the time of your natural death(Are you saved?)
2 It depends on your spiritual status at the time of The Rapture(Are you saved?)
What happens when we die?
In the Bible death means separation. It does not mean ceasing to exist. When a person dies there is a separation between the physical body and the soul/spirit.
When this separation occurs the body “falls asleep” and the spirit goes to one of two places depending on the persons relationship with Christ.
When we die, we enter a transitional state. We go to a “heavenly place” before our bodily resurrection.
The moment you die, your spirit will either go to heaven or hell.
Look at Jesus’ words to the criminal on the cross next to him
43 Jesus replied, “I promise that today you will be with me in paradise.”
Until the time of the Rapture, the departed believer soul exists in a spiritual state.
5 Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever. 2 While we are here on earth, we sigh because we want to live in that heavenly home. 3 We want to put it on like clothes and not be naked.
