Make Heaven Your Goal

Reasons to Focus on Heaven

Reason #1:  Life on Earth is brief which means people have limited time to spiritually prepare for their eventual death.

Reason #2:  Judgment is certain, so we need to take a U-turn from our current path and move toward God.  We become closer to God when we listen to His word and follow up with obedience.  Otherwise we are moving away from Him when we listen to ourselves and follow our own desires (i.e. leaving God out).

Reason #3:  The life and character of Jesus is the standard by which we will be measured when we stand before God, so focusing on Heaven reminds us of this truth every day.  Non-Christians have chosen not to believe this truth.  Upon death, they will find that their choice, and therefore their eternal destination, is irreversible because they made the choice to be judged according to their works.  A person’s works cannot stand against the perfection of Jesus, and everyone alive today needs to understand this very important point.

Reason #4:  The existence of Heaven motivates us to live pure lives through obedience to His word.  We make an effort to behave as righteously as we can, according to the instructions we find in the Bible.  God asks us to conduct ourselves as Jesus did in His brief life—with holiness and godliness.  This means we become the salt and the light in this world.  When we become the light, we are spreading the good news of the gospel so that others can be saved.  When we become the salt, we are informing others of God’s warnings (to follow Jesus and no other, and to treat others with gentleness, kindness, and compassion.  In doing so, we emulate Jesus—the perfect standard by which we will all be judged).

Reason #5:  Focusing on Heaven places suffering in perspective.  The Bible doesn’t tell us why God allows suffering, but 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 talks about this life being momentary in comparison to the eternal blessings God promises to all that follow Jesus.  By the time we get to Heaven, we will be shown that any suffering we experienced on Earth is gone forever.  This point illustrates that life on Earth is a vapor when compared to an eternal existence in Heaven.

What to Do Next

Follow these instructions if you want to go to Heaven:

· 1/ Say “YES” to Christianity!  Tell God in a prayer that you accept His free gift of salvation.  Thank Him for being your Savior and ask Him to forgive you of your sins.

· 2/ Go to church regularly.  Choose a bible-teaching church that will consider you a part of their family of believers.  A good sign is how well they welcome you and how well they are organized to allow you to get involved in their various missions.

· 3/ Pray on a daily basis.  Thank God for the blessings you have already received in your life, and let Him know your needs.  Be sure to pray for others.  Set aside a specific time to pray each day.

· 4/ Study the Bible as often as possible.  Start by setting aside 2 hours per week and read 2 chapters each time.  Build from there.  Make it a priority because it’s really important to your spiritual life and your eternal destiny to know God’s word.

· 5/ Lead others to salvation.  Your church can help you learn how to have natural one-on-one live conversations with others. 

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:8

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back from captivity.”

Jeremiah 29:11-14