(VIDEO) Do You Know Where You'll Spend Eternity?
- Keith Harris
- Sep 12, 2019
- 5 min read
Jesus was remarkably clear about eternal life and how you can be sure to spend eternity with God. Do you know where you'll spend eternity? As I ask this question, I’m thinking about a new friend today. I’ll call him Dembe for his safety.
Chatting With Dembe
Dembe and I were chatting recently. He was writing from his home in Central Africa, and I was writing from home in the USA. His life is difficult. Certainly, it’s more difficult than mine. He knows Jesus and knows he is loved by a good God. However, in our conversation, Dembe said, “I don’t want to go to Hell.”
I had to stop and re-read his text. This is when I engaged “discipleship mode.” This precious child of God needed assurance of his faith. God gave me a great opportunity to hand out some hope to my friend.
I started checking off my questions. The exchange went something like this:
HOH: “Have you accepted Jesus as your own?”
Dembe: “Yes.”
HOH: “Do you believe Jesus’ death on the cross was meant for you, to pay for your sins?”
Dembe: “Yes.”
HOH: “Do you continue to turn away from your sins and follow Jesus?”
Dembe: “Yes.”
HOH: “Then you are forever His, and He is forever yours! Nothing can take that away from you!”
Dembe: “Amen! Thank you, Jesus, for loving me!”
HOH: “Jesus has put his stamp of love on you and you are safe from the enemy! You will be in Heaven with Jesus in heaven forever. There is nothing more important in life than this one thing. Now do you know this to be true!”
Dembe: “It is in Jesus’ name!”
HOH: “Then you don’t have to hope you don’t go to hell. Now, you know without a doubt that Heaven is your destination!”
Hallelujah! This, my friends, is what Handing Out Hope is all about. From here, our conversation took a turn towards how we would spend our time in heaven praising Jesus and singing backup vocals in the choir!
Discipling New Christians
Now, I didn’t do much except listen to my friend, engage in discipleship, declare the promises made by Jesus Christ, and call out the truth I recognized in my friend.
Have you done that with a friend recently? Or, ever?
What a chance to offer hope! What a chance to encourage a new believer! Don’t miss out on opportunities to encourage and hand out hope to people you come across in life.
Here are a few reasons why I know the case for my assurance of faith, and how I know my friend and I can meet in heaven someday. There are many verses in the Bible that detail this hope. Jesus was the biggest preacher of hope in eternal life. Not far behind Him was John, Jesus’ friend and follower.
I want to share a detailed list of faith assurance verses that were compiled by Robert Morgan’s in his book, 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know By Heart.
John on Eternal Life
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” (John 3:36)
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life.” (John 6:47)
“Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.” (John 6:68)
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,” (John 10:28)
“And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” (John 17:3)
“This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.” (1 John 1:2)
“So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.” (1 John 2:24-25)
“And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12)
“I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”
That’s quite a list and the evidence is clear: Jesus claimed to be God on earth, and He promised to take His followers along to join Him with God in Heaven for eternity.
Christ-Followers Listen Up
This part is for followers of Jesus Christ. The question I have for you is this: What are you going to do with this information? What are you going to do with Jesus?
This is like having the cure for cancer. Are you going to sit on this information, or are you going to share it with the people you know? You could save lives if you just talk about it.
You make sure you tell everyone about your favorite TV show, or about the MVP in the big game. You sing the praises of the movie you saw last weekend. You even write a glowing Yelp review for your favorite restaurant!
But, when it comes to Jesus - does He get a five-star rating? Are you telling your neighbor dying of cancer about the cure? How about the free gift of eternal life that anyone can claim?
“But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15)
Sing the praises of the one you love! Shout the Good News from the rooftops! Travel to spiritually dark places to speak the name of Jesus to those who have never heard.
Non-Believers This Is For You
For those of you who have never accepted Jesus’ gift of eternal life as your own, what are you waiting for? The hype is real! The cure for cancer is available to you. The freedom and peace you’ve been looking for are free for you. What’s stopping you from accepting Jesus today?
Reach out to me. I want to hear from you if you’re interested in finding out the truth about Jesus.
Salvation Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank you for the gift of eternal life. Thank you for rescuing me from a life apart from God for all time. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. Thank you for coming back to life after conquering sin and death once and for all. Jesus, I’m turning away from my sin and accepting you for myself. I can’t wait to spend eternity with you. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me! Amen!
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