Are you prepared for eternity?

What awaits you in the future beyond the grave? Are you prepared for eternity?

Concerning the end times Jesus said…

“No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. (Matthew 24:36)

“You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Matthew 24:44)

Are you ready?

Do you know where you will spend your eternity?

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR ETERNITY?

I heard a story of two brothers, who were living at home with their parents. The parents were often out of town for days at a time on business.

The boys enjoyed their independence of being left alone except for one thing. They detested doing the dishes.

On one occasion, they put off sticking their hands into the soapy dishwater for as long as possible. They stack the grimy plates, glasses, and pots and pans, all over the kitchen. Soon, all the dishes were dirty and it was an absolute mess.

The night before their parents were due back, they rolled up their sleeves and began a marathon dishwashing session. Although the two brothers were never caught with the dirty dishes, they said “how ashamed they would’ve been if their parents and come back earlier than expected”.

The eminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ should lead us to a similar sentiment. How ashamed we would be if he came back and we were not expecting him. Unlike our illustration, we do not know when Jesus will return. We should therefore live in a continual state of expectancy.

If Jesus arrived today. Would you be caught with dirty dishes?

1 Thessalonians 5:2 tells us that “the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.”

I wonder what the time on God’s watch is!

If Jesus returned today, would you be ready?

HELL

Jesus spent more time warning us about the fires of hell than he did talking to us about the joys of heaven.

Jesus called hell a place “where the fire never goes out” (Matthew 9:48) and a place where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:42)

The subject of hell is so sobering that many would be more comfortable ignoring it.

Many have downplayed hell as a joke, but hell is no joke.

Hell is a real place and deserving of our honest concern.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in life, in the pleasures of this world, that we don’t think of eternity.

Jesus said, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul.” (Mark 8:36)

The Bible warns that life consists of more than just the here and now.

Galatians 5:19-21 NIV

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Hell is a place of continual torment. It is a place of lost hope and excruciating pain and complete separation from God’s living water, where we are cut off from His peace, His presence, and His goodness and love.

Billy Graham writes “Hell, essentially and basically is banishment from the presence of God for deliberately rejecting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.”

HEAVEN

Now, I also need to tell you the good news of heaven:

As hell is the final abode for all who live and die in their sin, heaven will be the final resting place for God’s children, for all who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

Heaven will be the eternal home of God’s children.

In heaven, we will know perfect love and have perfect peace and rest. There will be no more pain, no more bondage, and no more darkness. There will be no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more financial stress, there will be no more tears nor death, there will be no more sin. We will know perfect love, peace, and rest.

We will be with God, and we will know him intimately and reign with Him.

The Book of Revelation gives a beautiful picture of heaven in chapters 21 and 22:

PICTURE OF HEAVEN

We are told that heaven is a place of perfection without sin. It is a home of beauty.

The city of Heaven is built on a foundation of 12 layers of precious stones, that reflect all the colors of the rainbow.

Clear as crystal jasper walls that surround the city, there are 12 pearly gates.

Those of have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour will one day enter through those pearly gates into the city of God. They will walk on the streets of pure gold. A crystal river flows through the city, and the tree of life stands in the city.

Heaven will be a home of blessedness from where all sin is removed. There will be no night and there is no need for the light of the sun, for the glory of God will light up heaven.

In heaven, we will be given new incorruptible bodies. We will be transformed into Christ’s likeness, set free from pain, sadness, sin, and death; and we will enjoy a life of never-ending joy, peace, satisfaction, and glory in God’s presence.

Billy Graham writes, “Heaven will be a place in which its inhabitants will be free from the fears and insecurities that plague and haunt us in the present life. Will be free from economic and financial pressures that bind us down here. We will be free from fear of physical and personal harm. There will be no more fear of personal failure. Our relationship with God will be intimate and direct.”

Billy Graham concluded, “I am looking forward to that glorious day of going to heaven.”

And…

We know where Billy Graham is today!

Are you prepared for eternity? There is a heaven and a hell.

close up of paper against black background. Lamb's book of life- prepared for eternity.

IS YOUR NAME WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE?

One day we will all stand before God and we will have to give an account of our lives. We will either spend our eternity in heaven or hell.

Do you know where you will spend your eternity?

In Revelation 20:11-15 it tells us about what will happen on the day of judgment.

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.”

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.

The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that was in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that was in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Jesus is coming soon. And one day we will face judgment day.

Will your name be found written in the Book of Life?

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, you will be judged for your wrongdoing and spend eternity in hell.

But, if you do you know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, your name will be recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and your sin will be blotted out. You are then God’s child and will spend eternity with Him.

My friend. Please don’t miss God!

Be ready!

God loves you. He does not want to see anyone perish.

Revelation 16:15 says, “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

ARE YOU READY?

Over the years I have met many people who are ready to meet Jesus, But, unfortunately, I have also met many who are not ready.

My uncle was ready. He loved Jesus. He had a personal relationship with God. This was evident to all who met him. He got sick and died. As a family, we grieved his passing, but inside we knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was with Jesus.

I know others who wanted nothing to do with God. They chose to reject his gift of eternal life. While I pray, they had an encounter with God on their deathbed that would have changed their eternal destiny, their eternity was at serious risk.

What about you?

MY GRANDMOTHER

Many years ago, my grandmother got extremely sick. She ended up in hospital and was put on a life support machine. I received a call from my aunt telling me that the Dr had said I should come to visit my gran as they didn’t know if she would make the weekend.

As a family, we popped through to the hospital. It was heartbreaking to see my grandmother unconscious. While I knew my gran went to church and was a good person, I was not sure if she had taken Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. I was not sure if she died where she would spend her eternity. As a family, we prayed for my grandmother. My young son Joshua made a crazy comment. He said that he believed God was going to give Granny Alice a few more years.

Guess what! My grandmother miraculously recovered. When she regained consciousness, I had the opportunity to talk to her about her relationship with God. From her hospital bed, now off life support, she confided in me that she was afraid to die and that she didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. I spoke to her about heaven and hell, and about how God sent Jesus to pay the full price on the cross as our Saviour so that we can know God and be born again and share eternity with Him. Much to my horror, my grandmother told me that although she had gone to Church most of her life, she had never heard a message on hell or eternity. She asked to please help her pray to receive Jesus Christ as per Lord and Saviour.

I had the privilege of praying with my grandmother and seeing her surrender her life to Jesus and coming into a relationship with God. It was a special moment.

A few days later my grandmother had recovered enough to leave the hospital and return home.

She lived another few years before God called her to her heavenly home. A few days before she passed away, I remember talking to her about eternity again. I asked her if she was still afraid to die. She looked me in the eye, with a peaceful smile and said, “I am ready!”

She knew that she was a child of God and that she was going to spend eternity with her Heavenly Father and her Saviour.

If you die today, do you know where you will spend eternity?

Are you afraid of what awaits you in eternity?

You don’t have to fear the end times or the afterlife if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

Are you ready?

JESUS DID NOT COME TO CONDEMN YOU. HE CAME TO SAVE YOU.

Many have a warped picture of God, as an angry tyrant, who wants to condemn you for your sin and cast you into hell.

No! This is not right! God loves you. He is full of mercy and grace.

Although sin leads to death, God sent Jesus to rescue us from the fires of hell.

Romans 6:23 NIV

“For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

But God made a way …

John 3:16

^“For God so loved the world (THAT IS YOU) that he gave his one and only Son (JESUS), that whoever believes (PUTS THEIR HOPE IN HIM) in him shall not perish (IN HELL) but have eternal life (IN HEAVEN).

God has given you and I freedom to choose, but he loves you so much.

John 3:17 goes on and says that Jesus “did not come to condemn, you, but to save you.”

In Luke 19:10 Jesus said that he “came to seek and save those who are lost.”

If you are not in a relationship with God, please invite Jesus Christ into your life to be your Lord and Saviour…

We were cut off from God due to our sins, but Jesus paid the full price on the cross so that we could be reconnected to God. God loves you so much that He made a way for you to become part of his family. He wants to share forever with you, he wants to be your Saviour. He invites you to be His beloved child.

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name (Jesus), he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)

We don’t deserve God’s mercy. We cannot earn it. But Jesus paid the full price so that we can become children of God. If you don’t know Jesus, invite Him into your heart. He wants to write your name in the Book of Life.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, your name will be written in The Lamb’s Book of Life and will share eternity with God.

CONCLUSION

We are living in the last days. We do not know when the day or the hour will come, but we know that we are living in the last season. Depending on your relationship with God you will either end up in one of these two destinations, either in heaven or in hell.

The world seems to be broken and the days seem to be getting darker and darker. Are we possibly approaching the end of time?

We are closer to the end of the age than ever before. We are living in the last days.

Many are not prepared. Are you?

If the world ended today will you be ready to meet God?

Where would you spend your eternity?

Life does not end at the grave. You will continue to live forever and ever, either with God in His Kingdom or separated from Him for all eternity in hell.

But know this! God loves you. He made a way for you to share eternity with Him in heaven. Please do not reject this free gift from God.

In Matthew 24: 44 Jesus said, “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

Maybe you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Maybe you have drifted away from God?

Are you just not sure of where you stand with God?

Today, I ask you to consider your ways, consider your future destiny. Return to God.

If Jesus came back today would you be caught with a whole bunch of dirty dishes?

Please do not get so consumed with the here and now that you let go of God.