SCRIPTURE: John 3:16-17

A FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN IS DESTINED FOR LIFE WITH GOD.

INTRODUCTION:

The question "Who am I?" can be answered in terms of our identity: we are God’s created people, made in His own image to enjoy fellowship with Him.

But the question "WHO AM I?" can also be answered in terms of our destiny: we are persons being drawn toward heaven through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Heaven, quite simply, is what the gospel is about. Those who would reduce Christianity to a system of moral teaching that make life better in this world miss the main point.

Paul wrote about the unpleasant truth that must be faced if we cut if we cut the resurrection out of the gospel. Our point in this sermon is to try to get a fresh grip on what heaven ought to mean to us as Christians.

I. OUR DESTINY: GLORY WITH GOD

A. First: The principal thing about heaven is that God will be there He for whom we were made!

Eternal life, whether we think of it as a present possession or a future hope, primarily has to do with "KNOWING" God. Not knowing about God, but knowing Him in a personal way.

(John 17:3) "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

B. Second: To be where God is--to be with Him--will be glory for us.

Glory is our destiny---it is nothing less than God’s purpose for us.

(Hebrews 2:10) "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

C. Third: Having been created in God’s image for the purpose of fellowship with Him, IF WE are saved.

We are on our way to heaven and becoming beings of unimaginable glory.

(II Corinthians 3:18) "But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

(II Corinthians 4:17) "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

(Illustration) C.S. Lewis, in The Weight of Glory, reminds us that there are no "ORDINARY" people: "It is a serious thing. . . To remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. . There are no ordinary people."

These things need to be more "REAL" to us.

D. Fourth: God is on our side--He is for us.

(John 3:16-17) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved"

Heaven is worth everything--it is worth whatever it takes to get there. Whatever we might choose to have instead of heaven would be a poor choice---but it is a fact that we must choose between heaven and many other things.

II. CHOOSING TO GO TO HEAVEN

A. First: Heaven is for those who choose to go there.

Not everybody is making the choice to go to heaven. To say that a person is "HEAVEN BOUND" is only true if it is true! If you are not a Christian, a redeemed one, from the heart, you are heave bound.

B. Second: If heaven is to be our home, there is a certain decisiveness that we must have about the matter.

We must long to be with God with a passion that will not be denied. Even now, those who will be "FILLED" are those who "HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS"

(Matthew 5:6) We need to be careful what it is we really want--because we are apt to get it.

C. Third: We need to discipline our decisiveness .

The free will that God has given to us needs to be carefully protected and nurtured. Life is filled with choices that affect us on an everyday basis in everything we do which means our everyday choices are not without significance.

We simply must learn to keep our mind on where we are going. "FOCUS" on our goal. We must keep on keeping on--refusing to let discouragement or detours rob us of our destiny. We have got to disciple ourselves not to do anything "DUMB" that would jeopardize our place in heaven.

(I Corinthians 9:27) "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

D. Fourth: If we (free will) honestly and decisively place ourselves under God’s protection, there is not a power in the universe that can separate us from God or keep us out of heaven You are the only one that can do that.

Your free will can choose to do so. There is no other power that can take you away from God and heaven. So having heaven as our goal is the most empowering thing we can experience

III. GROWING TOWARD GOD

A. First: Heaven is not merely an arbitrary "REWARD" for those who have fulfilled certain requirements.

It is the end results of the Christian life. Heaven will be populated with people who have been redeemed, those who have allowed God to conform their lives to His.

God want us to be with Him forever. He wants us to think like Him, to be like Him, Holy. He want us to share the goodness of H8is character, to become "PARTAKERS" of His nature.

B. Second: Heaven will NOT be our home if our heart is not right with God.

God is not going to "INFLICT" heaven on anyone who has no desire to be with Him and be conformed to His character.

We do not spend our live in this world growing our characters away from God and then wake up in eternity and find ourselves among those who are grown toward Him. Every DEED every DECISION, every CHOICE we make moves us either closer to God or farther away from Him.

C. Third: This is why it is dangerous to say NO to God.

Every "no" becomes a part of our character and makes it all the more unlikely that we still ever be anything but rebels against God. But saying "YES" is what He wants us to say. It is what He will help us say, if that is our CHOICE.

D. Fourth: Heaven is for those who want what God wants!

And if we truly want what God wants for us, we can know that heaven will be our home.

(I John 5:13) " These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

CONCLUSION

A. First When our concept of (1) our identity, (2) Our destiny are based on truth, we enjoy a great advantage. We know who we are and where we are going, we are among the fortunate few in this world who do. The person who knows these things is the person who has truly got his or her act together.

B. Second: To be a Christian - God’s created child and bound for heaven is to have a purpose for living that gives meaning and significance to every single day. If you are not a Christian, right now is the time to become one.