Get Me My Hat!

In front of 65,110 screaming fans in Pittsburg, the 2009 NFL season got under way. The Steelers against the Titans, a showdown of powerhouse defenses on display at Heinz Field.

At the end of regulation, the score was a 10-10 tie. As the Steelers were about to get the ball, Ben Roethlisberger, the defending Superbowl champion quarterback, turned to a ball boy and said, “Get me my hat. I’m about to take us down the field for the winning score and I want to cover my sweaty hair when I do the postgame interview with Andrea Kremer.” That play yielded the game-winning drive in overtime.

Now I have to tell you that from age 5 to at least 23, if I wasn’t in class or church I had a baseball cap on. I had dozens of options. I had my St. Louis Cardinal caps, of course, caps of teams I played on, caps bearing the logos of banks, farming equipment and seed companies. I’m not sure why I wore them — security perhaps, or team pride. Or maybe cap-wearing was just a habit that made me feel more like others around me. What I do remember is that I never left home without a cap.

While I never will lead an NFL team or drive for a final score, I have a much larger task: Leading people to heaven. The Bible is quite clear about who will go to heaven. In Acts 4:12, we read: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Research shows that on our current course, America will be less than 14% Christian in the next generation. Christ followers need to be more aggressive in sharing the story of Jesus. After all, the opposite of heaven is hell.

Heaven = In God’s presence, joy, worship, peace, rest, celebration
Hell = Cut off from God, weeping and gnashing of teeth, fire and pain. See Matthew 25

The apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus will be returning soon in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to 18:

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
Are you ready to go?

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:37-38.

• Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?
• Have you repented (turned from sin)?
• Have your been baptized (buried in water)?
• Have you committed to following Jesus even unto death?
  

We all want to go to heaven, yet most are unprepared for the most important trip they will ever take. So are you ready?

I guess what I’m saying is, get your hat!

Death: The great equalizer

“He is the most popular man in the world,” said Shepard Smith for Fox News, speaking of Michael Jackson. “He’s the greatest entertainer on the planet.” Another news anchor questioned, “How could this happen?”

Here is the simple answer, written 2,000 years ago in Hebrews 9:27: “…Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…”

In fact, 3,000 years ago King Solomon said it thusly: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Death is the great equalizer. Death knows no talent, race, economic situation or political position. Death comes to all. Armed with this information, we are once again reminded to make eternal preparations our priority. Secondly, we should help others with their own preparations.

What should we do? Our task is spelled out in Acts 2:38.

• Accept Jesus as Savior and Lord
• Repent, which means to turn from sin
• Confess Jesus publicly
• Be baptized
• Follow Jesus
  

The reality is that death is a transition into eternity, not the end. But there is no certainty of our own day of transformation. Therefore we need to work now — starting, restarting or renewing our relationship with King Jesus. As I’ve heard stated, “You can live without Jesus, but your eternity will be a mess if you die without Him.”

Perhaps the Apostle Paul’s words to the church of Philippi in Philippians 2:5-11 will serve as motivation for us:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Tempted

Matthew 4:8-9 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."


Hebrews 4:15 is a text of great grace for all of us when it states that Jesus was tempted in every way, yet he was without sin.

The third temptation that satan hit Jesus with was the glamor of this world. This temptation took Jesus to the top of a mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world at one time. Satan then said, "All this I'll give you if you bow down and worship me." What did Jesus see? Here are just a few...


Inca









India








New York City








Egypt








Mexico City











England







Jesus replies, "Get away from me satan - the Word says you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." He stuck to the Torah for it's words are life. All the great kingdoms of man are temporary where as God's city is eternal. No remodeling ever. God is there and sin and temptation are not. The supreme architect and builder has erected the heavenly city for us.

Observations:

1. If satan has this power, what does God have?
2. God might let us see all of history in eternity - cool!
3. Heaven must be beyond description for Jesus to see all of the kingdoms of man and walk away.

Hope

"We have this hope (Jesus) as an anchor for our soul." -Hebrews 6:19

This hope gets us through the battles of life. When we stand with Jesus in glory all of the hurts, loneliness, and struggles will be forgotten in a second. The thought of that one second in glory will help us leave behind all that is in this world. In fact, I suspect that a billion years into eternity we still will not have given one seconds thought to this world. Words of encouragement for those who need it today.

It was my privilege to warm up for Heaven with Tomoka Christian this week. Thanks for being at rehearsal. Revelation 4 & 5.

What If?

What if in eternity...

...we get to see all the great civilizations of history?
...we get to explore billions of stars in billions upon billions of galaxies?
...we find out that there are trillions of colors that we could not see in the natural and each has a sound?
...we experience the greatest angelic choir in the universe?
...we see our lives again with the insight of God's plan and we are stunned?
...we meet with all of our relatives back to Adam and swap stories over coffee? I'm assuming coffee will be in Heaven.
...we travel instantaneously through the universe?
...we have joy exploding out of us continually?
...we meet every tribe of man and get to eat the greatest potluck ever and forever?

"No eye has seen,no ear has heard,no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." -1 Corinthians 2:9

What if?