before i became a christian through faith in jesus christ i used to wonder is this all we had to look forward to what would happen to me after this is over it really used to bother me the uncertainty of not knowing what would come after i pass on this internal dialogue became overwhelming at times and the only adequate way i can describe it is it felt as if i was drowning that's the truth it felt as if i was drowning in it and in the ocean of my own thoughts i found a lifeline and that
lifeline was the bible and in the bible i met a man called jesus my lord jesus and what astonished me about jesus is that jesus lived his whole life with the expectation and hope and motivation of one day going back home to heaven the assurance of heaven ought to make a difference in our lives just like it made a difference in the life of jesus well you may say to me you cannot be sure you're going to heaven you cannot be sure you're going to heaven until you die but that's not true men and women
in the bible knew that they were going to heaven our lord jesus did john 14 in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so i would have told you i go to prepare a place for you this wasn't a privilege reserved only for jesus john knew he was going to heaven yes he did first john 3 2 beloved now we are the children of god it has not yet been revealed what we shall be but we know that when he is revealed we shall be like him for we shall see him as
he is first john 5 13 these things i have written unto you who believe in the name of the son of god that you may know that you have eternal life king david israel's greatest king knew he was going to heaven according to psalms 23 verse 6 surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever paul knew he was going to heaven second timothy chapter 1 verse 12 be he says for i know for i know whom i have believed in
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which i have committed unto him against that day there are some distinct signs some residual evidences some clear benefits that demonstrate that a believer is saved and that he or she is going to heaven i don't believe that god would put us into suspense as to whether or not we will make it to heaven we do not necessarily have to go before the judgment throne before we know our eternal destination there are clear indicators that prove a believer is saved and that they are going to
heaven the assurance of heaven starts from earth the first evidence that we're going to look at today is that you have given your life to christ ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 says for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of god not of works lest any man should boast salvation is a gift for anyone that would ever get into heaven salvation is a must salvation is the gateway and the spiritual highway that leads to eternal bliss in heaven however salvation can only be attained can
only be attained through faith in the finished work of christ anyone who finds it hard to accept and believe the fact that jesus came to this earth and died for our sins and died for the sins of humanity and that he resurrected on the third day for them will not dwell in heaven jesus is the way the truth and the life the first and foremost evidence that you are going to heaven is that you have given your life to christ by exercising faith in the work of his redemption salvation comes by faith in jesus christ
not by works of the law if we attain salvation by works it will imply that we earn it ourselves you cannot work your way into heaven there are many people who believe that moral living is their way to heaven but that's not true morality and salvation are two different things salvation is the free gift of god which can only be received through faith although we are saved to do good works our good works cannot save us if you have not given your life to christ you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven you cannot enter
into heaven jesus said that except a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of god so the first initial sign the first initial evidence is that they have given their life to christ and once they give their life to christ a transformation begins to take place and the signs of this transformation begin to show one of which is that you begin to become a servant of god we see this in john 12 26 it says if any man serve me let him follow me and where i am there shall also my servant be
if any man serve me him will my father honor now i want you to look at this phrase here and where i am there shall also be my servant and where i am there shall also my servant be here jesus is referring to heaven where he says where i am where jesus is is where his servants will be and that is heaven at salvation our self-will is lost we no longer belong to ourselves because we have been bought with a price if you still find it hard to submit yourself to the will of god and
to the leading of his spirit it means there is an area in your salvation you need to work out remember the bible instructs us clearly in philippians 2 12 work out your salvation with fear and trembling this is a unique remark work out your salvation with fear and trembling speaks of ongoing obedience for those already saved it's crucial to note that paul is not telling us he's not telling them to work for their salvation this statement implies a need to live out to practice to demonstrate and exhibit the salvation which believers have in christ at
salvation we accept jesus by faith not just as a savior but as our lord the implication of this is that we believe that christ died for us more so we submit ourselves under his rule he is our lord lord means master and that's exactly what christ is to us the problem is that many believers have accepted christ as savior but they do not want to accept him as lord we are to be servants of christ while he is becoming our lord we need to die to our flesh and self-will in order to live in eternal
life a clear evidence that someone is going to heaven is that they serve and are obedient to the commands of jesus christ god is the center of their life god is their very top priority in their life so i ask you today is the lord the top priority in your life does he hold the central seat in your life is he number one in your life are you sure christ is leading you how obedient are you to his commands are you earnestly trying to keep his word the third sign is a peaceful heart john 14
verse 1 to 3 says let not your heart be troubled ye believe in god believe also in me in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so i would have told you i go to prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you i will come again and receive you unto myself that where i am there you may be also when jesus was about to die on the cross he was still comforting the disciples jesus is amazing jesus is the dictionary definition of strength he was about
to die on the cross yet he was the one doing the comforting his disciples were scared of what they were going to do without him [Music] however jesus gave them the promise to return to take them where he is after he has prepared a place for them and this promise was just not to the disciples this promise is for you and me a believer that has the assurance of heaven has peace in their hearts and these three verses from jesus should be held closely to the heart of every believer every time you were worried you
need to remember that this world is not your home and let not your heart be troubled you need to remember john chapter 14 and remember that one day the lord is coming back for you he promised you he said it i will come again your heart won't be troubled if you remember that one day you were going home one day you were going to see the king one day you will be in heaven and one day all you will be able to see as far as your eyes can see is angels upon angels upon angel
in heaven they shall be no more weeping there will be no such thing as sickness or pain or disappointment or divorce every pain you have ever experienced even the pain that you're experiencing now will be a distant memory this is why our lord told us let not your hearts be troubled you have heaven to look forward to you have heaven to look forward to this is why as christians god has given us peace that surpasses all understanding the bible gives testimony to the peace given by jesus in john 14 27 peace i leave with you
peace i leave with you my peace i give to you not as the world gives do i give to you let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid this kind of peace is exclusive to you and i as children of god and it's another indication that you are one day going to heaven the passage continues saying a loud voice from the throne saying look god's dwelling place is now among the people and he will dwell with them they will be his people and god himself will be with them and be their god
[Music] you will finally get to see god the god who you felt his presence whilst you were on earth the god who protected you i honestly believe when we are in heaven and we look back over our lives everything will be revealed we will be able to see the times god saves us from bad situations and we will be able to see all the times god blocked us from making bad decisions we will be able to see the great gift god gave us during this life that we currently take credit for and we will turn
and look into the face of god and realized truly it was him it was him who was there all the time it was him who picked you up when you had no more strength it was him who gave you the ability to work and provide for your loved ones it was him who gave you every good gift i must reiterate what i said earlier we will not have cause to cry but i believe we feel things we have never felt before to see him god your creator your true father who what a glorious day that
will be
