The Rapture, Afterlife Or Death? (With Greg Laurie)

i love that song and that's really a glimpse of what is going on in heaven and that's what we're going to be doing a lot of when we get to heaven we're going to be worshiping the lord and that's what i want to talk to you about in this service heaven the title of my message is after life let's pray together now father as we open your word speak to our hearts because there's so much we need to discover about what is next in the afterlife so we ask your blessing on this bible study in jesus name we pray amen i'd like you to turn in your bibles to revelation chapter 4. again the title of my message is simply after life the story is told a billy graham going to a city to hold one of his great crusades and billy wrote a letter to his wife ruth to tell her how things are going by the way kids letters that's what we used to write a long time ago we wrote them out we licked the envelopes we put a stamp on it and went to a place called the post office and mailed them now people call that snail mail funny thing now even emails seem slow we'd rather text but anyway billy wanted to send this letter home to ruth in north carolina but he didn't know where the post office was in this particular town he saw a young man standing on the street corner and he called out to him young man where's the post office and so the young boy told billy graham where the post office was and then billy said to that young guy hey you want to come to the stadium tonight and hear me preach i'm going to tell people how to get to heaven the little guy said how would you know how to get to heaven you don't even know how to get to the post office well sooner or later if you're a christian you're going to enter the afterlife and if you put your faith in christ you're going to go to heaven what a great hope that is the bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the lord you'll close your eyes on earth and you'll open them in heaven so we have basic two modes of transportation to get us to the afterlife if we're a believer it's either gonna be death or the rapture and i'm gonna talk a little bit about the rapture in this message i'm going to tell you what it is why there is a rapture when it would potentially happen in a little bit more but we're back here now in the book of revelation and we close chapter 3 with a closed door and we start chapter 4 with an open door remember chapter 3 ended with the words of jesus as he spoke to the church of laodicea and he said behold i stand at the door and i knock if any man will hear my voice and open the door i will come in the door was closed to christ he was trying to get in to that church so this reminds us if we will open the door of our hearts to christ one day he will open the door of heaven to us now as we come to revelation chapter 4 the camera swings so we've been looking at earth and what's happening here now suddenly we're looking at from a heavenly perspective we're seeing it from god's viewpoint there's a major shift from revelation 3 to revelation chapter 4. because revelation 4 and 5 are the introduction and background of the tremendous sweep of prophetic events that will point that we'll look at for the remainder of this book and it is worth noting that the church is nowhere to be found from revelation 4 to revelation 19. let's read revelation chapter 4 verses 1 to 2. remember john's on the island of patmos he's been catapulted into the future in kind of a spiritual time machine i don't think it was a delorean and he's seen things that are to come and he writes about it now in revelation 4 when he says after these things you might underline that phrase after these things john says i looked and behold a door standing open in heaven and the first voice which i heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying come up here and i will show you things that will take place after this you might underline those words after this and john says immediately i was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne so he begins by saying after these things then the greek it's metatalta the book of revelation as i pointed out to you before comes complete with its own outline and there is a golden key to unlocking the book there is an encryption key or a password if you will that makes revelation understandable it's found in revelation 1 19. it says write the things that you have seen the things which are and the things that will take place after this so revelation is broken into three sections number one the things that you've seen this is what john writes about in revelation chapter 1. he sees the glorified christ with all power on heaven and earth in control of all that is about to happen number two the things which are this is a reference to the seven churches spoken of in revelation chapters two to three as i described it it's the seven love letters of jesus to his church and finally category three and that's where we're at now those things that will take place after these things so we basically have the lord's person his people and his program it's all laid out again to review chapter one is a revelation of the glorified christ chapters 2 to 3 is a flyover of church history chapters 4 and 5 were taken up into heaven in the rapture chapter 6 to 19 we have the great tribulation period that will last for seven years chapter 20 we have the millennium chapters 21-22 we have the new heavens and the new earth so let's talk about the next event on the prophetic calendar it's called the rapture look at what john writes in verse one the first voice which i heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying come up here and i'll show you things that must take place after this after this after what after the things of the church on earth so now the church or all believers in jesus are caught up to meet the lord first thessalonians 4 says the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of god and the dead in christ shall rise first and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up together with them in the air so if you're taking notes here's point number one truly a question what is the rapture listen very carefully the rapture is a future event when christ will descend from heaven and resurrect the bodies of believers who have died their spirits have gone to heaven but their bodies are still here in the earth in the grave at the same time we who are alive if it happens in our lifetime we will be caught up together with them with who with those others who are having their resurrection bodies given to them we'll be caught up together with them in heaven it'll be a great reunion the word rapture comes from the greek word harpazo this word harpazo is used 13 times in the new testament it means to take forcibly to snatch or to catch up some will say you don't find the word rapture in the bible well it depends if you have a latin bible you have it because the latin translation of harpazo is rapturous where we get our english word rapture it doesn't matter what you call it the rapture the harpazo the great escape whatever you prefer but it means to take forcibly to snatch or to catch up that's what the rapture is why is there a rapture point number two paul was writing to the believers there in thessalonica and they had loved ones who had died and they were wondering if they would ever see those people again so he wrote these words inspired by the holy spirit to calm their hysteria and to bring them perspective he's saying you are going to see them again going back to first thessalonians 4 verse 13 paul says i don't want you to be uninformed brothers about those who have died so that you will not grieve as those who have no hope this is interesting he says i don't want you to be uninformed and this sort of addresses the question of why should we study bible prophecy someone said would say you you can understand it no you can't understand it let me take it a step further you need to understand it the more we know about the afterlife will better enable us to live a good life here on earth and so it's very important how we view these things because it will affect us and so paul is saying i don't want you to grieve as those that have no hope listen when a christian loses a loved one when a loved one dies we grieve and i bring this up because sometimes well-meaning christians will say to someone who's lost a loved one well don't cry they're in heaven excuse me i will cry i must cry my sorrow is an indication of my love so paul's not saying don't creep he's saying don't grieve as those who have no hope he's saying don't grieve hopelessly grieve hopefully yes you can miss them yes you can be sad but remind yourself of this fact you will see them again and so that's what he's saying to the believers there and really in effect to all of us today and you know when you've lost a loved one especially if they were taken from you quickly or unexpectedly it's devastating you had conversations that weren't finished things that weren't said things you wanted to do with them adventures you wanted to have and you you find yourself thinking about them often or or they enter your dreams and and you're saying things to them that you want to say they're never far from your thoughts so imagine this dear grieving friends you could be going about your business doing whatever it is you're doing maybe even thinking about your departed loved one when suddenly in a moment that happens so quickly it can't be measured in time boom you're with them you're reunited with them there they are and even better you're there in the presence of jesus himself mothers and fathers reunited with sons and daughters husbands reunited with wives wives reunited with husbands children reunited with parents and parents with children siblings being reunited with siblings and of course friends with friends the great reunion your sorrow vanishes and it's replaced with ecstatic joy and again you're not only with your loved one you're with the lord as well so go ahead and think about these things and dream about these things and look forward to the afterlife c.s lewis wrote these words and i quote a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form of escapism or wishful thinking it's one of the things that christian is meant to do paul writes in colossians that we should set our affection on things above another translation says think heavenly thoughts or simply think heaven so it's a good thing to contemplate the afterlife it's an important thing for all of us to do coming back to this event that we refer to as the rapture is it spoken of elsewhere in scripture answer yes uh jesus spoke of it in john chapter 14. he said in my father's house there many mansions 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 you may be also jesus also mentioned this event in what we sometimes call the olivet discourse found in matthew 24 he says there in verse 42 men will be in a field one will be taken in the other left two women will be at a hand mill one will be taken and the other left so be watching you don't know what day your lord will come so some are in the field some are working some are sleeping so it's a global event that will happen in a moment that you can't even really measure in time the apostle paul again refers to it in first corinthians 15 51 he says behold i tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep and by the way when this phrase we shall not all sleep is used it's speaking of the death of a believer isn't that interesting it's never used to describe the death of a non-believer only a believer i don't know about you but as i get older i kind of enjoy sleeping or at least i like naps right and in the same way you don't have to dread a nap you don't have to be afraid of sleep and you don't have to be afraid even of death but paul goes on to say we shall not all sleep or die but will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed now some would say well you know there's no example of people being raptured in the bible actually i i would beg to differ we find it in the old testament let's start with enoch remember him the bible says enoch walk with god and was not he was close to god he had a relationship with the lord and i guess one day enoch and god were taking their daily walk and the lord said hey buddy we're closer to my place than yours why don't you come home with me but he walked with god and he was caught up to be with the lord in heaven a little commentary in that in hebrews 11 5 it says enoch was taken up to heaven without dying suddenly he disappeared because god took him and before he was taken up he was approved as being pleasing to god so he was in a solo rapture if you will also think of elijah he did not really die he was caught up to heaven and again sort of a solo rapture you remember the story of elijah and elisha walking together in the book of kings second kings chapter 2 when suddenly the bible says a chariot of fire appeared drawn by horses of fire it drove between them separating them and elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven so those are two old testament believers who did not die but were effectively caught up to heaven coming to the new testament philip was raptured in a way but i might say it was like a sideways rapture let me explain uh he was sharing the gospel with a man visiting from ethiopia and we read in acts chapter 8 verse 39 after he baptized this man the spirit of the lord caught philip away and by the word that's that root word harpazo again and the eunuch never saw him again and he went on his way rejoicing and basically he's placed 30 miles away now i would like to move around that way just kind of get moved from this place to that place without having to drive or walk that's what happened to philip in effect jesus christ himself was raptured if you will because he was taken into heaven remember he had given the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel and then we read that word harpazo when it says he was taken up harpazo into the sky and they were watching as he disappeared into a cloud so my point is simply this there's precedent for it and it's going to happen for a generation of believers now here's the big question the one that's asked more than any other when is the rapture and i'm going to give you the answer so get ready for it get out your pen get ready to write it down when is the rapture answer any time it could happen today it could happen tonight it could happen tomorrow we don't know the bible says no man knows the day of the hour when the son of man will return and if you were to go back to the original language that would be translated out to no man knows the day of the hour when the son of man returns and what that means is no man knows the day of the hour so when someone comes along and says i've cracked the code i know the date don't listen to them they're wrong no one knows the day or the hour it can happen at any time in a moment in a twinkling of an eye it's been said that the twinkling of an eye is one thousandth of a second so what's going to happen first well when the rapture happens the dead will rise first and you might be asking greg are you actually saying that people are going to burst out of their graves and get new bodies in effect yes that's exactly what i'm saying because that's what the bible says the bible teaches that there is a bodily resurrection so this is something we can look forward to in fact there's even a prototype for this event found in the gospel of matthew after jesus died on the cross a lot of amazing phenomena took place we read in matthew 27 51 after christ died at that moment the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom the earth shook listen and the tombs opened and bodies of many godly men and women who died were raised from the dead after jesus resurrection they left the cemetery and walked into the holy city of jerusalem and appeared to many people it says only in one gospel it's amazing so you're walking through jerusalem and and hey that's i just saw uncle harry walk by me i thought we buried him three days ago he's alive again the people are going to come out of their graves and be alive again so let's look at the chronology of these things and try to understand it because sometimes people confuse the rapture and the second coming the rapture is what we might call a stealth event that's why it's called uh jesus coming like a thief in the night if a guy's gonna come rip you off uh in the night he doesn't call you and say i'll be actually robbing you breaking into your home at 304 am so you might want to no they don't tell you that they they come like a thief in the night when he comes it'll be sort of a quiet event we're just caught up to meet the lord in contrast the second coming is a big global event and everyone's aware of it jesus says as the lightning shines from the east to the west so will the coming of the son of man be the rapture is when he comes in the air and the second coming he returns to the earth and the rapture he comes for his bride for his church and the second coming he returns with his church in the rapture he comes before judgment and the second coming he returns with judgment so here's john on the lowly island of patmos writing these words and he's concluded again with the words of jesus standing at the door and knocking now a door is open for john in heaven and he's hurtled into the after life revelation chapter 4 verse 2 john writes immediately i was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and once sat on the throne and he who sat there was like a jasper and sardius stone in appearance there was a rainbow around the throne i find that interesting a complete circular rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald around the throne were 24 thrones and on the thrones i saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white robes and they had crowns of gold on their heads and from the throne preceded lightnings thunderings and voices seven lamps of fire burning before the throne which are the seven spirits of god before the throne verse six there was a sea of glass like crystal and in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes and front and back the first living creature was like a lion the second living creature like a calf the third living creature had the face of a man and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle and the living creatures uh each having six wings were full of eyes around them within and they don't rest day and night saying holy holy holy lord god almighty who was who is and who is to come john is now in the afterlife and what does john see in heaven first of all he sees the lord seated on his throne you know that's a phrase we use often as christians well god's on the throne and that's our way of saying god's in control and indeed he is john sees the lord sitting on his throne in control of all things and it's beautiful to behold john's trying to describe these things he says in verse 3 they were like we're like you know it's not like the way a teenager says it you know when they'll say like i'm all and she's all and he's like and i'm like and i'm like hey shut up you know it's not that kind of thing it's john is trying to the best of his ability with first century language to describe this amazing thing he has seen how can he describe heaven the apostle paul was caught up to heaven the third heaven and he said what i saw was indescribable there's hardly even words i can use to explain it to you but paul said it was like a paradise imagine trying to describe paradise to someone who's never seen it imagine trying to describe the island of maui to a two-year-old how are you going to convey that information so here is john trying to convey to us what he has seen as he has taken into the afterlife but he sees the lord on his throne also verse 4 he sees 24 elders who are these elders nobody knows they could be angelic beings perhaps it's 12 patriarchs from the old testament and 12 apostles from the new testament but they're given crowns and we know already that there are rewards promised to us who faithfully serve the lord and their crowns the bible speaks of a crown of life and a crown of rejoicing and more and so the elders are given crowns but this is what's important what do the elders do with the crowns they cast their crowns down before the lord so when we're in heaven or not we're not going to be walking around saying hey check out all my crowns man i you know check out all the medals and the ribbons i have a friend who's been in so many uh track meets and other athletic events he has so many ribbons i don't think i won a single ribbon or award throughout my childhood but this guy has so many and i said you ought to just put them all on at one time just hang them around your neck and wear them all out well that would be a little ridiculous so no one's going to be walking around with heaven saying hey look at all my rewards you know otherwise a guy like billy graham man who could touch him it's not about that we take these things that we've done for god on earth and we present them back to the lord in heaven in heaven there are also ominous storm warnings look at verse 5. john writes from the throne proceeded lightnings thunderings and voices seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne which are the seven spirits of god this is all symbolic of judgment in scripture from the safety of heaven john can see that a storm is brewing on earth he is uh in a shelter from the storm but ominous things are coming to planet earth which of course will be the great tribulation period and i already pointed out earlier god has promised to keep his children from the great tribulation period because remember earlier we read in revelation 3 10 because you've kept my command to persevere jesus says i'll keep you from the hour of trial which will come upon the whole world to test those that dwell in the earth think of noah judgment came in the earth in the form of a flood what did the lord do he got noah and his family safely in the ark and as the rain came down as the judgment came down the ark went up god will preserve us he will deliver us before this time of tribulation that is coming upon the earth and it's interesting to think about the simple fact that when we're in heaven we're going to know so much more than we know now you know you ever seen those little bobble head dolls and uh the head's really big and it kind of moves around you know and it's not like we're going to be bobble heads in heaven oh i know so much but it's interesting because the bible says we'll continue to learn in heaven but we're told in first corinthians 13 we will know as we are known so many mysteries will be revealed to us many problems will be solved many questions if not all immediately will be answered but then we'll spend the rest of eternity just discovering more about the lord more about his glorious nature and his plan etc but in heaven you're also remembering earth i think sometimes people think that we have sort of a brain wipe you remember that movie men in black and and people would see an alien so they'd do that little thing where they their memory would be erased and people think their memory will be erased in heaven because they'll say well we can't remember what happened on earth because we'll be so sad that's not true the bible never says that actually because the fact is in heaven you will have perspective you'll see things the way god sees them as an example in heaven you're aware of the passing of time because over in revelation 6 10 we have those folks that have come out of the tribulation period saying how long o lord holy and true until you judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth so they're remembering earth how could you have a reward for something you did on earth in heaven if you had no recollection of what you did well what's this ribbon for this crown why do i have it i don't remember anything no you'll remember but with perspective now do people in heaven know what is going on in earth immediately people say no they're oblivious to it i don't know that that's completely true they may know some things that are going on on earth as an example every time a person comes to christ on earth there's a party in heaven right jesus said i'll tell you there's joy in heaven in the presence of the angels over one sinner that comes to repentance so that shows a direct connection between an earthly event and a heavenly awareness so we need to expand our thinking about heaven we have a lot of unbiblical ideas we're going to know more than we know now that is for sure and we'll see it with perspective i remember when my granddaughters were younger i had four granddaughters and one grandson and they were in a doll phase and they just loved dolls there was a little doll i used to buy for them if i'm not mistaken i think it was called lalaloopsy and it was i had a big little head and for some reason the little legs didn't work so you just stacked them all up against a wall or something and they collected them and so they were losing them or they would come apart so i bought a couple of extra boxes of these little dolls and one day one of my granddaughters gave me papa my doll's head came off and there she was holding a decapitated doll i said everything's okay no papa you don't understand the head came up it'll be okay no and she's so upset i said look and i pulled out the box and gave her a brand new doll so we come to god lord everything's a mess it's horrible lord says it'll be okay because he sees it from a different perspective as will we when we get to heaven also john sees angelic creatures look at verse eight four living creatures he's having six wings full of eyes around and within and they don't rest day or night saying holy holy holy lord god almighty who was who is and who has to come now i know this is so hard to visualize if you did a drawing of this it's almost a little scary right this is symbolic what john is saying the presence of the eyes just conveys the awareness of the angelic beings the bible tells us there are different rankings of angels it seems to me that at the top of the heap if you will of the angelic world is michael who's uniquely identified as the archangel so he's a high-ranking angel he plays a singular role going back to first thessalonians 4 the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel so michael's a part of the great rapture event we read of him elsewhere in scripture but there's also gabriel now i don't know if gabriel is an archangel but certainly gabriel is a high-ranking angel a gabriel was given the special blessing of revealing to zechariah that he would be the father of john the baptist and of course it was gabriel they came to nazareth and revealed to the young lady mary that she was going to have the privilege of being the mother of the messiah also we read about cherubim and seraphim spoken of in isaiah 6 when it says i saw the lord sitting upon his throne he was high and lifted up and his glory filled the temple and the angels cried holy holy holy so cherubim seraphim archangel all kinds of angels doing the work of god and they're doing a work in your life too because the bible says the angel of the lord encamps around those that fear him sometimes the question is asked do we have guardian angels i don't know maybe we do we have angelic protection we have angels assigned to us but we do do we have a personal angel that follows us through life who can say but no matter what know that angels are actively involved in your life now here's the big question what are we going to be doing in heaven this is important because sometimes people think heaven is going to be boring it's going to be a drag we're going to just sit around and fluffy clouds and pluck harps and and just sleep now actually some people might find that very appealing like a long nap but we're going to be doing a lot of things in heaven starting with worship we'll be worshiping the lord in heaven look at verse 10 here in revelation 4 the 24 elders fell down before him who sits on the throne and they worship him who lives forever and ever they cast their crowns before him listen to what they say you are worthy o lord to receive glory and honor and power you created all things for by your will they exist and were created so they are giving honor to god and we will be worshiping the lord so get into practice now be a worshiper of the lord because this is something we'll be doing a lot of in heaven but we're not going to just sit around and have one long church service i think that's how some people envision it oh it's like church on sunday when it goes too long no no they'll be worshiped and you'll see the lord in his glory and you'll want to worship but listen you'll be doing things as well you'll be busy serving the lord revelation 22 3 says his servants will serve him we'll serve him so there'll be tasks for us to accomplish can you imagine the lord saying would you go do something for me right now yes lord what can i do anything you want we're told in revelation 7 15 that we're going to be serving him day and night in his temple i mean i'm looking forward to rest but i can only rest for so long i like to get out and do things and i even like to accomplish things you wonder will we be able to accomplish some things in the afterlife we were not able to complete in this life you know we all have dreams and aspirations things we wished we could have done or maybe our dreams were shattered and and i think sometimes people act as though everything that can be done must be done in this life and if it's not done in this life then that's it there's no other chances now i think it is important to do what we can with our life on earth we certainly don't want to waste our life it was cory tin boom who wrote a life is not measured by its duration but by its donation we all want to make a donation with our life but what if a life was cut short through disease or a disability or that life was shorter than we hoped it would be because they died as a young man or a young woman they had no control over those circumstances that doesn't seem fair so do they just lose and that's it too bad you died younger and that's the way it goes for you and then you see other people living long lives sometimes honestly long wicked lives long wasteful lives and then you see someone that had so much promise and so much potential i think of my own son age 33 just such a wonderful young man so full of talent and vision and plans for his future and he was taken to be with the lord at 33. but why do we think everything that can be accomplished can only be accomplished on earth there are things that we will do in the afterlife as well and don't forget and we'll get into this later heaven is going to come to earth we read about it at the end i read about that at the end of revelation there's also the millennial reign of christ that's a thousand years in fact we read in isaiah 65 21 we'll build our own house and eat the fruit of our own vineyard wait what i thought we were going to just sit around on clouds and pluck carps oh no we have a lot of things we're going to be doing we're going to be worshiping we're going to be learning we're going to be serving we're even going to be building houses in the millennium so you might get that dream home after all let me restate that you will get that dream home after all and now as we close this message the elders give us an insight as to why we exist because this is a question that is often asked why am i here on earth what is the meaning of life why was i placed here these elders in heaven tell us why we are here on earth let's go back to revelation 4 verse 11. they say you're worthy o lord to receive glory honor and power you created everything and it's for your pleasure that they exist and were created why do i exist why do you exist why was i put here here's the answer i exist and i was created to bring glory and pleasure to god i was not created to bring glory and pleasure to myself but there are people that dedicate their entire life to the pursuit of pleasure the bible even tells us in the last days people would be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god at first timothy 5 6 we're told she that lives for pleasure is dead while she lives listen to this living for pleasure is one of the most unpleasurable things that you can do let me say that again living for pleasure is one of the most unpleasurable things you can do it's been said the best cure for hedonism is an attempt to practice it just go for it you're saying so greg are you saying that we can't experience pleasure as christians no i'm saying don't live for it don't make that the pursuit of your life because if you do you'll never find it however the bible says in his presence there is fullness of joy and on his right hand there are pleasures forevermore jesus said in john 10 10 i have come that you might have life and that more abundantly so oh yes you can experience pleasure but you experience it not by living for pleasure but by living for god my friend randy alcorn put it this way and i quote if we come to see the purpose of the universe as god's long-term glory rather than our short-term happiness then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem of suffering end quote well said if i understand that that the ultimate goal of my life is bringing glory to god it changes everything here's the bottom line when you seek to fulfill the purpose you were created for which is to know glorify and worship god you will find the happiness you've been seeking in life you won't find the happiness you want in life by seeking it you'll find the happiness you want in life by seeking him because the bible says happy are the people whose god is the lord yes god created you for his own glory isaiah 43 7 the lord says everyone that i've created i've created for my glory then first corinthians 10 31 paul says whatever you do do it for the glory of god here's what it means whatever you're doing in life whatever your career path or if you're a student or a husband or a wife or a parent or whoever you are whatever you're doing do it for the glory of god and if you can't do it for the glory of god maybe you shouldn't be doing it anymore jesus taught us in the lord's prayer to pray hallowed be thy name if you can't write hallowed be his name or honor be his name over what you're doing then don't do it do what you can ask god's blessing on and do it for his glory why because life is preparation for eternity we were made by god we were made for god and god wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity so let me close with this are you ready for the afterlife you cannot escape it it is there you're going to get there if you're a christian by death or by rapture but non-believers are going to enter the afterlife too they of course would not go via rapture but they will go via death and life here will end for some sooner than later and we all have an appointment with the afterlife i decide in this life where i will spend the afterlife let me say that again i decide in this life where i will spend the afterlife you have two choices heaven or hell smoking and non-smoking you decide where you will go sometimes people will say how can a god of love send people to hell why do you say that you're immediately questioning the love of god has god not shown his love by sending his son jesus christ to suffer and die in our place listen god doesn't send people to hell we send ourselves to hell as c.s lewis wrote quote the gates of hell are locked from the inside listen friend if you end up in hell one day and we'll talk about this later in revelation but if you end up there it's on you it's not god's fault hell was not created for people according to jesus hell was created for the devil and his angels or his demons but god doesn't want people made in his image to spend eternity separated from him that's why he sent jesus to die on the cross in your place and he took his anger and wrath and judgment and poured it upon christ when it should have come upon you and me and jesus rose again from the dead and as we pointed out he stands at the door of our life and he knocks and if we'll hear his voice and open the door he'll come in as i said earlier if we'll open the door of our heart to christ on earth he'll open the door of heaven to us later so it's your choice where do you want to spend eternity do you want to go to heaven when you die do you want to know that you're ready to meet god then you need jesus to come into your life jesus is standing at the door of your life knocking ready to come in only you can open that door and invite him in and receive his forgiveness in a moment i'm going to pray for you and i'm going to pray that you will make this decision to follow christ so let's all pray father i thank you for your word to us thank you for your promises to us and i pray for everybody watching listening wherever they are right now speak to their heart show them their need for jesus and help them to come to you and believe so they can change their eternal address from hell to heaven from hopelessness to hope from death to life in jesus name we pray amen do you want jesus christ to come into your life do you want him to forgive you of your sin do you want to go to heaven when you die i'm going to lead you in a simple prayer and i want you to pray this prayer out loud after me if you like you can pray it quietly if you prefer but i want you to pray this prayer i mean it the bible says whoever will call upon the name of the lord will be saved and in this prayer you're doing just that if you want to go to heaven when you die if you want to be forgiven of all of your sins if you want want to find the meaning and purpose of life if you want hope instead of hopelessness if you're ready to say yes to jesus pray this prayer with me right here right now pray these words lord jesus i know that i am a sinner but i know that you are the savior who died on the cross for me and rose again from the dead now come into my life and forgive me i choose to follow you from this moment forward in jesus name i pray amen did you just pray that prayer with me if so i want to send you a copy of a bible that looks like the one i'm holding here it's called the new believer's bible it's the new living translation which is very understandable and it's filled with hundreds and hundreds of notes that i wrote to encourage you in your relationship with jesus christ it's kind of like you and me are sitting down over a cup of coffee and we're just talking about these things together i want to send this to you at no charge now if you look in your screen for a moment you'll see there's a number would you call that number and i'll send you the new believer's bible there's also a little box that you can click indicating you just prayed with me and if you click that box we'll get your information and we'll send you this bible this is a private conversation between you and us here at harvest we'll keep your information confidential but we want to help you grow spiritually and we want to send you your own copy of the new believer's bible

Channel: Pastor Greg Laurie

Views: 160,213

Rating: 4.8848257 out of 5

Keywords: harvest, greg, laurie, Harvest Christian Fellowship, Greg Laurie Sermons, bible study for me, bible study, youtube sermons, what awaits me in the afterlife, is the afterlife real, what does the bible say happens when you die, help im scared of dying, how to get over a fear of death, fear of death anxiety, The Rapture, Afterlife Or Death

Id: uLiovnm_xWw

Length: 46min 41sec (2801 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 22 2021