INTRODUCTION
Author Joseph Bayly wrote about death from
firsthand experience. He lost all three of his
children: one at eighteen days, after surgery.
Another died at age five with leukemia. His third
child died at eighteen after a sledding accident
complicated by hemophilia.As a committed
Christian Joseph Bayly knew that he would see his
children in heaven.In his book, The View from A
Hearse, he tells of what he said to offer hope to a
woman whose small son was dying.“It is good to
know, isn’t it,” he said slowly, choosing his words
with unusual care, “that even though the medical
outlook is hopeless, we can have hope for our
children in such a situation.”We can be sure that
after our child dies, he’ll be removed from sickness
and suffering and everything like that, and be
completely well and happy.”“If I could only believe
that,” the woman replied.“But I don’t. When he
dies, I’ll just have to cover him up with dirt and
forget I ever had him.” How sad, but more often
than not, this woman’s words express the hopeless
plight of so many people.Jesus spoke some last
words so we wouldn’t have to feel this way; so we
could know the truth about death and dying.
While hanging on the cross and waiting for physical
death to relieve His unbearable pain, the Lord Jesus
made it plain that life does not end at physical
death. There is hope even in the face of life’s most
tragic and painful experiences.After praying for His
enemies, Jesus turned to a repentant thief on a cross
and assured him that there was something beyond
life on earth.He told the dying thief that because of
his repentance and faith, he was going to heaven.
Uttering another statement from the cross, Jesus
said to the thief, “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH,
TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN
PARADISE.” The word “paradise” is an interesting
word. “Jewish theology had come to use this word
as a metaphor for the presence of God in the world
of unseen spiritual reality.It is only used on two
other occasions in the N.T., but in each case, in a
context which hints at the highest glories of heaven.
Jesus was telling that thief that he would pass from
the scaffold of shame into the joy of God’s
presence forever.”
HEAVEN IS REAL
God sent Jesus to earth to reveal to us the reality of
life after death and to secure for us a place in
heaven. To the grief stricken sister of Lazarus, our
Lord said, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND
THE LIFE, WHOSEOVER LIVETH AND
BELIEVETH IN ME, THOUGH HE DIE, YET
SHALL HE LIVE.” (John 11:25 & 26) Addressing
his disciples just before His crucifixion, Jesus said
in John 14:2 & 3, “…I AM GOING TO PREPARE
A PLACE FOR YOU….SO THAT WHERE I AM
THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO.” God has a plan for
each one of us. He offers us something beyond this
earthly pilgrimage which is often marked by
sickness,sorrow, suffering and then death.
Although dismissed by many as less than real,
heaven represents ultimate reality. Reality consists
of much more than that which we can detect with
our senses.“Our image of reality is only a partial
picture.Our physical senses are very limited.
For example, if we want to see details of planets, we
need a telescope; if we want to see inside the human
body, we need an x-ray; if we want to look into a
living cell, we need a microscope.We hear
low-pitch sound at about 50 vibrations per second
and high-pitch at about 19,500. Dogs can hear at
24,000 vibrations per second and bats at 80,000,
well beyond our range.” The fact is that all of our
senses are very limited and thus unable to detect
great portions of reality including the existence of
life in the here-after. Not only does heaven represent
the ultimate in reality, it is our ultimate home. Our
fleeting years here on earth are but a minuscule
portion of our journey. Heaven is a place where we
will know life in all its richness and fullness. It is a
place where we will not need our physical bodies in
order to exist. Heaven will be wonderful, beyond
our wildest imaginations. 2 Corinthians 2:9 says,
“NO EYE HAS SEEN, NO EAR HAS HEARD,
NO MIND HAS CONCEIVED WHAT GOD HAS
PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
Heaven is unfathomable to our human minds and it
is our ultimate home. Scripture, therefore, refers to
us as “…STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS ON THIS
EARTH…” (Hebrews 11:13 & 1 Peter 2:1)
HEAVEN IS A GIFT
Not only did the Lord Jesus come to earth to reveal
the reality of heaven, He also came to provide us a
way to get to heaven.Heaven is a gift that God in
His grace freely bestows upon those who believe.
As sinners we do not deserve and we cannot
possibly earn heaven.We all fall far too short of
God’s requirements.Many erroneously believe that
if their good deeds outweigh their sins, they will
spend eternity in heaven.That is not true because the
problem of our sin still remains and a holy and just
God cannot close His eyes to sin.God, therefore,
sent Jesus to earth to die for us and in so doing He
paid the just penalty of our sin.In Jesus, God has
provided us with the only way to heaven.1 Peter
2:24 declares that “HE HIMSELF BORE OUR
SINS IN HIS BODY…” Heaven is a free gift that is
bestowed upon those who believe and trust in the
finished work of Christ.
While dying for our sins, Jesus turned to a dying
thief and promised him, “TODAY YOU WILL BE
WITH ME IN PARADISE.” Many wonder what
warranted that kind of a promise to a common
criminal.Only one thing: God’s mercy and grace!
God, in His mercy, does not give us what we
deserve - eternal separation from Him. Rather, in
His grace, He gives us what we don’t deserve -
heaven. This promise of heaven is offered to anyone
irrespective of their past. In John 6:37 Jesus says,
“WHOSOEVER COMES TO ME I WILL NEVER
TURN AWAY.”That means you and me and the
thief on the cross.The sins of the thief on the cross
are in God’s sight no different than your sins or my
sins.From God’s holy perspective the sins of pride,
lust, materialism, hatred, gossip and the sin of
ignoring God are just as serious as the thief’s sins.
Our sins need to be confessed, repented of and
covered with the blood of Christ just as much as the
sins of the thief.The promise is that if we turn to
Jesus as did the thief we, too, can receive the gift of
heaven.
CONVERSION
Scripture tells us about the crowd that had gathered
to watch Jesus die, crucified between two criminals.
The rulers were there and they sneered at Him,
mockingly saying, “HE SAVED OTHERS, LET
HIM SAVE HIMSELF IF HE IS THE CHRIST…..”
The soldiers ridiculed Him, shouting, ‘IF YOU
ARE THE KING OF THE JEWS SAVE
YOURSELF.”Even one of the crucified criminals
contemptuously shouted at Jesus. The other
criminal, however, rebuked him saying, “DON’T
YOU FEAR GOD? WE ARE PUNISHED
JUSTLY, FOR WE ARE GETTING WHAT OUR
DEEDS DESERVE. BUT THIS MAN HAS DONE
NOTHING WRONG.” Then he turned to Jesus and
said, “REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME
INTO YOUR KINGDOM.” Recognizing who Jesus
really was, this criminal turned to Jesus.And Jesus
said to him, “TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME
IN PARADISE.”Jesus promised him a place in the
Kingdom of Heaven.
In Matthew 18:3 Jesus said, “EXCEPT YOU
BECOME CONVERTED…..YOU SHALL NOT
ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.”
Conversion is the key to heaven. The basic idea of
the Greek word for converted is “to turn.”The
conversion experience has two aspects, namely that
of turning away from displeasing God to pleasing
Him. Repentance comes before conversion. People
do not repent and become converted until they know
they are sinners who need the Savior. Convicted of
sin we repent and turn from it and with God’s help
determine to make our lives conform to the will of
God. Such is conversion.
That is precisely what happened to contemporary
Christian musician Kathy Troccoli. She was a
rebellious teen who partied wildly and was caught
in a vicious cycle of bulimia. But at a summer job,
she couldn’t escape the Christian witness of
co-worker Cindy. Troccoli says, “She was the
epitome of a girl I could not hang out with. When
she started telling me about Jesus, I made fun of her.
And yet, deep down inside, I admired her. I liked
that she didn’t seem to care what people thought
about her. I even suspected that she was right and I
was on the wrong path.” “Finally, Cindy said to me,
‘You know, Kathy, Jesus is Lord whether you
accept Him or not.’ I went home thinking about
that. If Jesus was real, I had to check Him out.
I plowed through the Gospel of John and when I got
to the end, I knew I had to make a decision.
Everything would have to change……..and sixteen
years ago, it did.”
THE MIRACLE OF CONVERSION
When a person repents of his/her sin and turns to
Jesus a miracle takes place.The spiritually dead
sinner is raised to newness of life and eternal life.
He is brought from darkness to light. He
experiences a new birth, as the Holy Spirit takes us
residence in his life. A fundamental change occurs
deep within that person and he/she begins to think
and act differently; spiritual pursuits become
important.Values, priorities, goals, and behavior all
change. This is the experience of every converted
sinner who turns to Jesus Christ and trusts Him as
Savior. But the circumstances that surround
conversion vary greatly.
In Acts 9 we are told of the Apostle Paul’s
conversion which was traumatic and spectacular.
He saw a light! He heard a voice! He saw the Lord
Jesus. At that moment he believed and surrendered
his life to the Lord. He stopped ridiculing and
persecuting believers. In Acts 8 we have the account
of the Ethiopian nobleman’s conversion. After
reading Scripture and then having it explained to
him, he made a calm, reasoned and deliberate
decision to trust Christ and follow Him. Sometimes
conversion is an ecstatic and highly emotional
experience accompanied by tears. For some it is a
very quiet and peaceful experience. Some folk can’t
even tell the precise time that it occurred. Although,
figuratively speaking, conversion experiences come
in different sizes and shapes, they all have one thing
in common. Conversion occurs when a person turns
from sin and self to the Lord. It occurs when we
allow the Lord God His rightful place in our lives.
When we allow Him to save us from the penalty and
power of our sin we are converted. God forgives our
sins and changes our attitudes, perspectives,
behavior, goals, priorities and way of thinking.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “…EXCEPT YOU
BECOME CONVERTED….YOU SHALL
NOT ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.”
- Jesus made it clear that the paradise or heaven He
promised the thief comes through conversion and
conversion alone. This is the clear message of
Christ’s second word from the cross. The penitent
thief admitted that he had done wrong.” “WE ARE
GETTING WHAT WE DESERVE,” he said. “Not
only did he admit to wrong and guilt, he accepted
the punishment he deserved.” In verse 41 he said,
“WE ARE PUNISHED JUSTLY.” “After
recognizing who Jesus is, he turned to Jesus for
help.” That is when Jesus said to him, “TODAY
YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”
We can’t earn heaven by just living a good life.
Going to church, giving money, teaching or helping
others, as important as they are, can never get us to
the point where we will deserve heaven.No, our sins
prevent that from ever being a possibility.
Conversion, turning from sin to Jesus, is the only
way to gain heaven.Through Christ we receive
God’s grace and mercy. Heaven them becomes our
ultimate home.
BREVITY OF LIFE
Life is fleeting and brief. James says that your life is
like a “MIST THAT APPEARS FOR A LITTLE
WHILE AND THEN VANISHES” Job cried out
saying, “MY DAYS ARE SWIFTER THAN A
WEAVER’S SHUTTLE…” The Psalmist said,
“MY DAYS ARE LIKE THE EVENING
SHADOW…” It doesn’t make any sense to just live
for this fleeting life.Why would anyone exchange
the wonder and splendor of eternity for 60, 70 or 80
fleeting years of trials, troubles and heartaches here
on earth?Jim Elliot, the martyred missionary
summed it up best when he said, “He is no
fool who gives that which he cannot keep to gain
that which he cannot lose.”
CONCLUSION
Your most important decision in life is where you
will spend eternity. Amazingly, it is your choice.
You decide for heaven when you decide for Christ.
“Tie A Yellow Ribbon” was the name of a popular
song.It tells of a man who’s been sent to prison.
He’s served his time and is now coming home on
the bus. He admits that she who once loved him has
every right to reject him. He’s to blame. So he’s
written to tell her that if she forgives him, she
should “tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the old oak tree.”
If there is no yellow ribbon, he’ll just go riding by
on the bus.As the miles roll by, all the man thinks
about is that oak tree. Will it have a yellow ribbon
on it? As the bus approaches the oak tree the man
sees not one but a hundred yellow ribbons.
Like the man on the bus, many are fearful of death and what’s ahead. We know our hearts,
we know our failures and we wonder if God will really forgive us and welcome us home.
The good news of the Gospel is that he will! When we, like the thief on the cross, turn to
Christ for salvation, God will welcome us into heaven. The yellow ribbons will be
