As our series on heaven draws to a close, Ask yourself, Am I certain that I'll be going there? If you have any doubts or you want to reaffirm your certainty, stay tuned. Because today on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah shares the only way you can truly know that you'll spend eternity with God in heaven. To wrap up the promise of heaven, Here's David with his important message, one way.
Folks, what I'm going to say today will be controversial. Let me just tell you that right up front. Because the general idea that people have about heaven is that it's a place that can be entered through many doors, that sincerity is the key. I just want to remind you up front: it is possible to be sincerely wrong. The Bible says there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is not.
is the way of death. Don't base your future on being sincere. Be sincerely right because you've read the scripture and heard what it says. We're going to unfold all of that today and today only as we talk about one way to heaven. Hey, let me remind you that tomorrow and uh On Friday, we're going to replay the interview that I had with Sheila Walsh.
at the beginning of this series on heaven. This will kind of capture and review everything we've talked about as we go through the content of the book, The Promise of Heaven. And we discuss it together. These are always some very popular programs. I don't want you to miss tomorrow and Friday as we go over this again here on Turning Point.
And don't forget, you can get a copy of the brand new book, The Promise of Heaven, 240 pages, hardback book, 31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home, Easy to Read Chapters that Fill Your Mind and Heart with Truth from the Bible about Heaven. And you will be very grateful to have this information, I promise you. The book has a scriptural and topical index to help you access this material whenever you need it in the future. It's yours for a gift of any amount to Turning Point when you. Ask for this resource.
We'll send it to you right away. Right now, let's talk about what the Bible says about how you get to heaven and how many ways there are to get there. I want to preach to you the final one in our series. It's an important and serious topic. How to be sure You're going to heaven.
Jesus spoke clearly about it. and we're going to listen to what he said. First of all, there were some warnings of Christ. Jesus said, Not everyone is going to heaven. That's a surprise to a lot of people.
Some people think everybody ultimately we all just sort of slip in that God grades on the curve, and no matter how bad you are, somehow He'll figure out how to find a place for you in heaven. Not so. Jesus warned us on many occasions to make sure. that we have a relationship with God through faith in Him. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
And no man comes to the Father except through me. We don't get to heaven by trying to live nobly or righteously. For we all fall short of the perfections that God requires of us. We don't get to heaven by placing our faith in a philosophical or religious system. Salvation happens when we are granted a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
That is the only way. People accuse Christians of being narrow-minded. And when we Say this. We should stop and think about what the Bible says. Here's what Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount.
Listen carefully to this. Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.
and there are few who find it. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. What is the Father's will? Jesus told us in John 6, 40. And this is the will of him who sent me: that everyone who sees the sun and believes in him.
may have everlasting life. Jesus warned his critics, He said, if you do not believe that I am He, You will die in your sins. How could this be any clearer? And yet, so many people don't want to believe what Jesus Himself had to say. John MacArthur wrote, It is ironic that so many who are downplaying the exclusivity of Christ.
are doing it because they believe it is a barrier to relevance. Actually, Christianity is not relevant at all if it is merely one of many possible paths to God. The relevance of the gospel has always been its absolute exclusivity. summed up in the truth that Christ alone has atoned for sin. and therefore Christ alone can provide reconciliation with God.
for those who believe in him. We can't talk of heaven. without the warning. the warning that comes from Jesus. He cautioned about a place of outer darkness.
He said there's a place where there will be gnashing of teeth. Matthew 10, 28, and do not fear those who kill the body. but cannot kill the soul. but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. He had this to say about his return.
He said, The Son of Man will send out his angels. And they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. These are somber warnings that we should take very, very seriously. T.B.
Hatfield, one of the descendants of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. became aware of these truths at the age of 15. He described himself as a lonely adolescent. living in West Virginia. One Sunday night he walked into town to see what was going on and he saw a church lit up and a lot of people gathering.
So he ambled in and took a seat. The singing and the preaching were good and Something moved in his heart. Going home, he went straight to his room and fell asleep. And during the night, he had a dream in which he saw the fiery gates of hell. and he was just outside headed for them.
He said, I woke myself up with a loud, frightful scream and sat directly up in bed and I pondered what I had seen in my sleep. Right there, I made up my mind that I didn't want to go to hell, and from that moment, I began to make amends and to rectify some things in my life. I didn't know that if I, by faith, just repented of my past sins, Jesus Christ would forgive me. He spent months reading the Bible, and one year later, at a church revival meeting, He gave his life to Jesus. He trusted Christ for salvation.
Hatfield went on to serve the Lord for 77 years as an evangelist. as a pastor and missionary. His fear of hell was replaced by his love for heaven. And we need to have a similar transaction in our lives, all of us. It's not just about missing heaven, it's the alternative that you should be concerned about.
The warnings of Christ. And then we need to think for just a few moments about the work of Christ. The Bible isn't being cruelly restrictive in recording the pathway of salvation. Scripture is gloriously welcoming in giving us an exclusive gospel. The entire plan regarding the work of Christ is sensible and logically compelling.
From the days of Adam and Eve, human beings have been imperfect in their attitudes, their choices, their actions, and their words. The Bible says it this way: all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Almighty God is pure and perfect and holy and eternal. and nothing sinful can dwell in His presence. And since we have all fallen short of that standard, we are alienated from him.
The entire story of the Bible involves God choosing a man. Abraham, who became the father of the nation of Israel. From that nation, God raised up a Messiah, Jesus Christ. born of a virgin who had been miraculously overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was therefore fully human and fully God.
He was unique. No one has ever possessed those two natures before. and no one ever will again. Only Jesus is both God and man. He had to be God in order to save us.
for no one else is powerful enough to reach into the sinful world. and lift us into heaven. The Lord said in Isaiah 43, I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no other. There's no other one but Him. But only as a sinless human being could Jesus offer himself as the perfect sacrifice.
and die for our sins and shed his blood for us. Hebrews 9, 26 says, He has appeared to put away sin. By the sacrifice of himself. And that's why Peter told his audience in Jerusalem: nor is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Jesus is the way. He's the pathway to heaven. He's the truth. He's the trustworthy man who provides certainty and surety. He is the life, the everlasting and abundant existence that we need.
No one can compare to him. No one can replace him. And no one can do what he alone came to do. He's the only one. and one of the Bible's simplest explanations of God's plan for the human race.
is given in 1 Timothy 2.5, where we read these words. For there is one God. and one mediator between God and man. Who is that? The man Christ Jesus.
He's the one. And the living Bible makes it even simpler. If you read the living Bible, which is a paraphrase and not a translation, The living Bible says God is on one side and all the people are on the other side and Christ Jesus himself, man, is between them to bring them together. Jesus Christ came into this world to bring us to God, to be the mediator between God and man. And he's the only one.
He's the only God-man there ever has been or ever will be. One scholar wrote, why is Jesus the exclusive path to God? because he alone lived a sinless life. He alone died a vicarious death and rose from the dead. He is the exclusive path to God because no one will ever live a life like he lived.
His life was the perfect sacrifice for imperfect people who could never sacrifice enough to save themselves. He came to do that for us. And that's why I urge you. to exclusively Place your faith in the one who expressly said, I am the way. I am the truth.
I am the life. the warnings of Christ and the work of Christ, but what about the welcome of Christ? When you give your life to Christ, you've got something wonderful ahead of you. Heaven is certainly a part of that, and we've been talking about all the joys and wonders of heaven for these past weeks. They've written a book about it that goes into great detail and answers a lot of the questions that people have about heaven.
The Apostle Peter wrote, Therefore, my brothers and sisters, Make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Notice the words rich. Welcome. When was the last time you had a rich welcome anywhere?
The word rich Implies something abundant, exceedingly strong, and excessively wonderful. Have you ever seen someone welcomed home like that? through American history. We've had moments when we celebrated heroes who came home. When Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins returned from orbiting the moon in 1969, New York City.
threw them a three-hour ticker tape parade. I remember that. Then they flew to Chicago for another parade. Later that afternoon, they flew to Los Angeles for a state dinner hosted by President Richard Nixon. At every event, tens of thousands of people cheered as the men sat on the raised seats of a custom Chrysler Imperial convertible, waving at the crowds.
Talk about a rich welcome home. They got one.
Now I confess, I don't know exactly how we'll be welcomed into heaven. I can't find that in the Bible. Will there be a parade? a state banquet, marching bands, I don't know. But if the sinful world can richly welcome home its heroes, what in the world do you think the Lord means when he says he's got a rich welcome waiting for us when we get to heaven?
Jesus said, The king will say to those on his right hand, come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you. from the foundation of the world. When it comes down to it, we don't need a ton of ticker tape. We just need the smile of Jesus. We need his well done, good and faithful servant.
And we can never earn our way into his kingdom. It's a gift that comes by grace through faith. The Bible says, But now that you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves of God. The benefit you reap leads to holiness and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death.
But the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. I began this chapter in the story of heaven. By telling you about Greg Laurie. who was barred from the White House. because his name wasn't on the approved list.
Let me tell you about another person who did get into the White House grounds without an invitation. You may remember this. I don't know the youngster's name, but on April 18th, 2023, a toddler squeezed through the fence on the north side of the White House. while his hapless parents could do nothing to get him to come back. Security alerts immediately sounded.
and the Secret Service scooped up the child and returned him to his folks. One agent said, We were going to wait until he learned to talk to question him, but in lieu of that, he got a timeout and was sent on his way with his parents. And I want to tell you, none of us will slip through the fence of the new Jerusalem. And we don't need to. You see, through Jesus Christ and Him alone, will march through the gates with thanksgiving.
And who knows? Maybe there will be bands playing. Maybe ticker tape falling and crowds shouting. The welcome of Christ. After the warnings of Christ and the work of Christ and the welcome of Christ.
we come to the greatest truth of all, the wonder of Christ. What makes heaven so wonderful? is that Jesus is there. After all is said and done, and all the explanations are made, and all the books have been written. The only one thing that really matters when it comes to heaven is Jesus is there, and we will be with him, and he longs to be with us.
and He plants in our hearts the eternal desire to be with Him. He said, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself. that where I am, there you could be also. Jesus wants us to be with him. He told the dying thief on the cross, Assuredly, I say to you, Today, you will be with me.
in paradise. Can you imagine hearing those words directly from the Savior's lips? You will be with me. Paul explained death in a similar way. He said, We are confident, yes, well pleased.
Rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. We'll be with the Lord. Paul was writing to the Philippians about his own death. He said, I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. In his most definitive explanation of the rapture of the church, The apostle said, Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the cloud.
To meet the Lord in the air, and thus. We shall always be with the Lord. Often when we talk about a believing loved one, Who passed away, we say he's in heaven, or perhaps we say he's passed. But what we should say is he's with Jesus. Or she's with the Lord.
Because that's what the Bible says. The thing about dying and going to heaven is about going to be with Jesus. Dr. R. T.
Kendall once reflected on having imagining conversations with biblical figures and. theologians that he admired. He also looked forward to reuniting with his parents and his friends and his mentors. After all, he said, First and foremost, I want to see Jesus. The wonderful thing is that we will get to see him before we see anyone else.
I want to worship him, to thank him for leaving heaven to become nothing, to make himself of no reputation. to become an embryo in the Virgin Mary's womb. I want to thank him for fulfilling the law. For never sinning, for dying on the cross, for saving me, and I will thank him for his infinite patience with me, Fanny Crosby. was one of the greatest hymn writers in Christian history.
She was blinded in infancy because of a wrongly prescribed medication for her eyes. But she lived independently, and she lived joyfully until her death at the age of 94. One day a pastor told her how sorry he felt for her blindness. She surprised him by saying, Do you know that if at my birth I had been able to make one petition of my Creator, I would have been that I should be made blind. The pastor said, why?
Because when I get to heaven, The first face that shall ever gladden my sight. will be that of my Saviour. Imagine being blind all your life. Then getting to heaven, where the first face you ever see is the sweet smiling face of the Lord Jesus. Yes, we shall see his face.
Jesus longs to be with us and we long to be with him, to see his smile, to hear his voice. to have his attention. To enjoy his friendship and to worship his glory. Fanny Crosby said, and I shall see him face to face. and tell the story, saved by grace.
What is it that makes you most excited about seeing Jesus? What do you want to tell him? What do you want to hear from him? What emotion do you expect? will flood your mind and heart.
when you finally stand before Jesus face to face. There have been many unforgettable moments in my decades of ministry. One that stands out above the rest was the day I met Dr. Billy Graham. At that time I had just written a book called God loves you.
He always has and he always will. And I don't know why I did it, but I dedicated it to Dr. Graham in honor of his lifetime of telling millions of people about the love of Jesus.
Somehow, someone found out about that in his family and arranged for me to travel to his house on the east coast. and presenting him a copy of the book. and read the dedication to him personally. An invitation I couldn't turn down. When we arrived, I sat down next to that legend of the faith.
He was over 90 years old by then and had just finished visiting with a group of politicians. You could see he was physically tired.
So I read him the dedication and shook his hand and expressed my deep gratitude for his many faithful years of ministry. Then I stood up, ready to quietly take my leave, and just as I turned to go, I heard his voice, deep and warm, with that unmistakable Carolina drawl. He said, Wait a minute, young man, where are you going? And he motioned for me to sit back down. By his bed.
What followed was nearly an hour. of conversation. We talked about life. We talked about ministry. most of all, about his unshakable hope in the promise of heaven.
I'll never forget what he said. He spoke with longing about seeing Ruth, his beloved wife. And he told me how much he looked forward to seeing Jesus, his beloved Savior. That confidence, his assurance of heaven, was a consistent theme throughout his life and ministry. In fact, back in 1966, during a crusade in Greenville, South Carolina.
Dr. Graham stood before the thousands of people at that event, and this is what he said. I can stand here tonight and say to you on the authority of this Bible, I know my sins are forgiven. I know I'm going to heaven. I know that I'm going to live as long as God lives because the moment I receive Christ, He gave me his own life.
Eternal life. He said, Now I'm going to go live a billion years, and I'll only just have begun. I know that. Not because of any goodness of my own. I'm not going to heaven because I've lived a good life.
I'm not going to heaven because I've preached to great crowds of people. I'm going to heaven because of what Jesus Christ did for me on that cross.
So now let me ask you the most important question you'll ever be asked. Do you know for sure? that you're on your way to heaven. If there's even a shadow of doubt in your heart about your name being written in the Lamb's Book of Life, then I want to encourage you right now. Just speak to Jesus from your heart.
You can say something like this. Lord Jesus, I believe. You have offered me a place in heaven. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose again on the third day. I confess with my mouth that you are the Lord, and I confess that I have sinned against you, and I repent of every one of my sins.
I accept your gift of eternal life. I trust in you completely. and I receive your forgiveness for every sin. Be the Lord of my life from this moment on. You see, this series of messages hasn't been about giving you more information about heaven.
It's been about helping you get ready for heaven. My hope is that you are sure that heaven will be your forever home. And that one day We will see each other there. and throughout eternity. My final question is Are you ready for heaven?
That's the main issue. in this whole series about heaven. I don't want you to just be smart about heaven. I want you to be in heaven. I want you to be there forever with the Lord and with your loved ones who know Him.
So as you've listened to this particular program, I hope you know the way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. We have more information to help you grow if you've made your decision to trust Him. Simply let us know you accepted Christ, and we'll send you this packet of information. You'll be happy to have it because it will give you information about prayer and assurance of your faith and all the other things that come into your mind when you become a Christian. Tomorrow, I mentioned to you earlier, we're going to replay the interview.
that I did with Sheila Walsh about the subject of heaven. I hope you will listen because it will be a good review of everything we've talked about over this last month. And don't forget to ask for your copy of the book. The promise of heaven when you send your gift to Turning Point this month. See you next time.
For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's series, The Promise of Heaven. Please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected. our monthly Turning Points magazine, and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at DavidJeremiah.org slash radio.
That's DavidJeremiah.org slash radio. or call us at 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's encouraging new book, The Promise of Heaven. 31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home. It's yours for a gift of any amount.
You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions, complete with notes and articles from Dr. Jeremiah's decades of study. Get all the details when you visit our website davidjeremiah.org slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as Sheila Walsh and Dr.
Jeremiah discuss the promise of heaven here on Turning Point.
