WHEN YOU DIE WILL YOU GO TO HEAVEN OR NOT?
I am a simple man. I have no college degree, in fact until I was 54 years of age, I did not even have a GED. I left High School when I was 16, having just finished my Sophomore year and struck out on my own, and boy did I strike out, time after time, after time. But I never gave up. You see, I had a secret. God had a job for me, a task I was to complete before I would be called home. And God was going to make sure I finished my course no matter what He had to do or allow to be done to me. God never fails. For most of my life I did not know I had this secret, but God knew. Then one day He revealed it to me, and finally my life made sense, and I rejoiced.
I am the son of a Pastor. I accepted Jesus into my heart at age 7, then at 18, I accepted Gods call on my life, but did not follow through. God remembers those moments of contrition and keeps moving us to the goal. Then at age 38, I truly turned my life over to the Lord. Immediately, everything turned to good and we lived happily ever after! No, it does not work that way. When you give your life over to the control of God, He begins a work of forming you into the image of His Son, Jesus. Sometimes it is not very pretty or comfortable, because he must chip all the lusts of the world and its systems off us before we can be the perfect Jesus look-alike, which will occur when we step into Heaven, Hallelujah! The transformation process takes time because we keep trying to hold onto all the rubbish of this world, and if He must allow us to go through some tough times to accomplish His goal, He will. If you are like I used to be, prideful, stubborn, with an “I can do it on my own!” attitude, it may take a lifetime for God to get through to you. But He is patient.
It is interesting that Adam and Eve were created by God the creator, (we know Him as Jesus), as God look-alikes in the Garden of Eden, Man made in God’s image (Genesis 1;27). He is now recreating us in His (Jesus) image. When people commune with us it should feel like they are communing with Him, Jesus.
One day when I was 55 years old, I had this terrible feeling that my life not going to amount to anything, that my life was nearly over. I heard God say: “I can do more in your life in one year, than you can do on your own in a lifetime.” I said, “I am ready, Lord, do your work on me!” The first thing He did was instructed me to do was write a book on marriage.
2018 was my 40th anniversary of committing my life, spirit, soul, and body, to the service of the Lord. I call the last 40 years, my wilderness experience, and I can see the comparisons to the Israelites’ wilderness experience. There are so many similarities. (I see a book there.)
They had some successes, so did I. They had some defeats, sadness, depression, times they wanted to give up, so did I. The beauty of it all is God is patient, He loves us and will take all the time necessary to bring us to the fullness of what He has prepared for our destiny. As it was for the Israelites, so it is for me now, the time has come to enter the Promised Land!
I have found that most instructional books are written to make the reader read to the end to learn the crux of the book and to receive the answers they were looking for. It is as if the authors wants to build their story brick by brick, as if they were building a house, then when they install the roof, they tell you about the chest of gold sitting in the living room. We are going to reverse that order. First, I will show you the chest of gold, then build the house around it to prove its value. By the way, this is the formula Einstein used to validate his theory of E=m2.
OK, are you ready?
Here is the chest of gold!
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
OK, that settles the issue of God’s love toward us, doesn’t it? Now what are we to do in order to receive His love?
Romans: 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans: 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans: 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Romans: 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Romans: 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
God so loved us that He gave us a gift that He alone could give. Through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, He paid the penalty of our sins, (death), then threw the sins into His sea of forgetfulness. He does not remember them anymore!
What must we do? Two things.
First and foremost, humble yourself before Him, confess you are a sinner, ask to be forgiven, and accept His free gift of salvation, and receive His righteousness.
Second, and equally important, confess with your mouth the fact that you are now a child of the most high God, and a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The reason confession is so important is that the words you speak have power. It was by words that God created our world and the entire
universe. He gave us the power to create our world the same way. Be incredibly careful what you say. You will eat your words, or the result of them. Awesome!
Please notice this is not something you say flippantly, like saying; “Isn’t this a nice day?” No, it must come from the heart, as a commitment of belief. When I tell Nita Raye my wife, “I love you.” It is a heartfelt statement. Every fiber of my being rejoices in my love for her! I confess and believe what I have said to be true. When I committed my life to God through the blood of Jesus, I was serious, and by faith, I joined the family of God and enjoy all the benefits of relationship as a son of Almighty God, and a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Interestingly, this same fact or formula is stated in what I call a universal law established by God.
Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
And as a capstone, Jesus stated this in Matthew:
Matthew 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
So, what have we done? We have given the information of what you must do to be accepted into the Family of God, to have your sins forgiven, and to know assuredly, that when your time on earth is over, you will immediately be in the presence of your Father, Almighty God, and in the arms of your Savior, Jesus, the Christ of God, for all eternity. This is your chest of gold!
Here is a prayer you can use to give your life to God.
Lord Jesus, I confess I am a sinner, I ask you to forgive my sins, to cleanse me of all unrighteousness, and to receive me into your family, the family of God. I believe you paid the price for my sins by your death on the cross, and that our Father God raised you from the dead, to be our forever Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Now get ready, we are about to build the house around your chest of gold, or in other words, you are about to receive the pattern and the proof of salvation, so you can lead others to Christ, and therefore, to safety from the judgement set to come on all the earth, and on all those who rebel against God.
Book is forthcoming, pre-order with author – john@rejoicetoday.com