Sermons1

Text Box:             If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would it be? What would be your ideal paradise? One billionaire spent millions to go on a trip in space. That vacation was out of this world. There’s talk that eventually there will be a colony on the moon. Wouldn’t that be an interesting vacation?! Perhaps your idea of a vacation is more down to earth. Would you like to spend time in the Caribbean, or Hawaii? Maybe you might prefer the rugged beauty of Alaska or the Alps or some exotic destination. Do you enjoy escaping to Wisconsin, or some other destination closer to home?
            Decisions about where to go on vacation can be difficult. Some people spend a lot of time trying to decide where they’ll go, and when they’ve decided they spend even more time making plans. Some people don’t take any time at all to decide where to go. They simply climb in the car and start driving. No plans at all, let’s just see where we end up.
           Even more important than deciding where you’ll go on vacation, is deciding where you’ll live. Decisions about where to live are typically made based on being close to family or friends or where there’s work. Some people choose where to live based on the attractions of the area. Sometimes cost of living is a factor about where to live. Decisions about where to live are important ones. What about where to spend eternity? If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like to plan ahead, you might not like to think about that too much right now. A lot of people don’t like to think much about the end of life here on earth.
            But if you only think of what you’re leaving, of course you’ll be unhappy. That’s the wrong focus. It’s not about the end of life here, but the beginning of a wonderful life in heaven. Think about what it will be like in heaven. We hear that it is so glorious there that even the gates are made of pearls. Streets are paved with gold. (21) The story is told of the man who was dying who made a bargain with God. He was a rich man, and he wanted to take some of his wealth with him to heaven. Though it was not typically done, God allowed him to bring all of his gold to heaven. Upon his death he approaches one of the pearly gates, and as these stories go, St. Peter met him. He approached with great difficulty, for he was dragging all this heavy gold behind him as he approached heaven. Peter tells him, you can’t bring that gold in here. No, the rich man said, I have special permission from God to bring in my gold. “OK,” says St. Peter, “but why would you want to bring in paving blocks?” The point is, the glory of heaven is so amazing, so beyond our current experience, that what is treasured here is no big deal in heaven.
            Heaven is so full of glory, that there’s no need for sun or moon. The glory of God shines so brightly there, that no sun is needed. (24) Bright, glorious, wonderful beyond our imaginations. The place seems a little too pricey for us. I don’t think we could afford to live there. Indeed, only those people can stay in heaven, whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. You can only enter heaven if you have reservations. My family went out to a restaurant recently. We don’t do that a whole lot. We decided to go on the spur of the moment. When we got to the restaurant, we were told we’d have to wait 15 or 20 minutes. 15 or 20 minutes came and went. That’s not all that came and went. People came after us; a lot of people came after us, who went in before us. We hadn’t thought to get reservations. But we were finally able to get in because we were willing to wait long enough. But it doesn’t work that way in heaven. If you don’t have reservations, you won’t get in. “Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” will be able to enter. “Nothing impure will ever enter [heaven], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful.” (Rev 21:27)
            No one who has ever done anything shameful or deceitful can enter heaven. That excludes us! If we say we have no sins we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. The truth is that we have sinned, and we all far short of being able to enter heaven. However, heaven’s maitre ‘d is a friend of ours. Jesus wants to let us in. Yet, because he’s also owner of heaven, he has rules that forbid our entry into his fine establishment. His is the highest quality operation. If God were to let in the riff raff like us, the quality of heaven would be ruined.
            So that we could enter heaven, Jesus leaves heaven and comes to earth. Jesus leaves the gates of pearl, and enters a doorway to a judgment hall for a mock trial; he goes through another rough door for torture. Jesus leaves the streets of gold, and walks the Via Dolorosa, the way of sorrows that leads to the cross. He leaves the bright glory of heaven to the darkness that covered the earth as he hung on that cross. He left heaven and suffered on earth, so that we could enter heaven, so that our names could be written in his book of life.
            Now as long as we keep up our relationship with the maitre ‘d, Jesus, our names remain written in the Lamb’s book of life, our reservations for heaven are secure. We may not know the date and time our reservation in heaven begins. But that’s all right. As long as we know we’re going to heaven, that’s all that matters. We know that that’s where we want to live.
            A strange thing happens, though. Some people who’ve made their reservations for heaven cancel their reservations. They become more enamored with sinful options now rather than heavenly options forever. It seems like no one would ever choose that. It’s probably not a conscious choice, but rather one that’s made by default as we fall for the lies of sins that beckon to us. There’s a way to be safe, to be sure… to be confident that your reservation to heaven is never canceled, that your name remains written in the Lamb’s book of life. The way to be sure is to look at the situation from a little different perspective. We’ve been talking about where you’ll live. Where will you stay for eternity? But put the question differently… who will stay with you?
            In Acts we heard how Paul and his companions travel to Philippi and Lydia becomes a believer. Lydia invites them to stay at her house, in fact she insists. She’s not just inviting Paul and companions to stay with her. She’s showing that Jesus has come to live with her. “And as she and her house were baptized, that if they though she had faith in the Lord, that they would enter her house and stay with her. She pressed us.” (Acts 16:15) The big deal here is not her invitation to Paul and the others to stay with her. The big deal is that Jesus had come to live in her home and in her heart.
            Who will stay with you? Invite Jesus to stay with you. Insist on it. Don’t kick him out. A sinful life would kick Jesus out of your heart. Invite him to live with you, and you also live with him, now and in heaven. Insist that Jesus live with you, live in your heart. My wife taught me to use a verse from Luther’s hymn “From Heaven Above” as a bedtime prayer. “Ah dearest Jesus, holy Child, make thee a bed, soft, undefiled, within my heart that it may be a quiet chamber kept for thee.” Oh Lord Jesus, stay with me, live in my heart!

            Do you know that there is no place Jesus wants to be more than in your heart? There is no place we would rather be than with Jesus in heaven. Make both of you happy, Jesus and you. Let Jesus continue to live in your heart. Insist on it. Jesus will hold onto your reservation in heaven.   Because of what Jesus has done, your name is written in his book of life. Make sure you keep your reservation! ╬

Text Box: