JOY AT THE THRONE

TEXT: LUKE 15:1-10

IN THE PASSAGE I'VE JUST READ THE SCENE WAS HEAVEN AND THE STATE OF BEING OF WAS JOY! I DON'T ABOUT YOU BUT I LIKE TO THINK ABOUT HEAVEN.... Heaven would hardly be heaven if we could define it.

I am told that an Indiana cemetery has a tombstone (more than a hundred years old) which bears the following epitaph:

An unknown passerby read those words and underneath scratched this reply:

IT'S GOOD THAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT HEAVEN.... I HEARD ABOUT A little boy WHO'SE MOM WAS FUSSING AT HIM FOR RUNNING IN AND OUT THE DOOR..., HIS MOM asked HIM: "How do you expect to get into heaven?" He thought a minute and then said: "Well, I'll just run in and out and in and keep slamming the door until they say, 'For goodness sake, come in or stay out.' Then I'll go in." AT LEAST THE BOY HAD SENSE ENOUGH TO THINK ABOUT HEAVEN AMEN.

TRULY! The only thing on earth a man can absolutely gain is heaven.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE FACED WITH HEAVEN OR HELL!!! I HEARD ABOUT A MAN WHO DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN AND WAS QUESTIONED BY AN ATTENDING ANGEL! "Fred, it would help the process if you could share with me some experience from your life on earth when you did a purely unselfish, kindly deed." Well, Fred thought about it for a minute and then said, "Oh, yes. I think I have something you might he interested in. One day I was walking along and I came upon a little old lady who was being mercilessly beaten up by a huge motorcycle gang type of fellow. He was smacking her back and forth. Well, I just stepped right up and first I pushed over his motorcycle--just to distract his attention. And then I kicked him real hard in the shins and told the old lady to run for help. And then I hauled off and gave the guy a great shot right to the gut with my fist." THE ANGEL looked at Fred with a great deal of interest and said, "Wow, that's quite a story. I'm very impressed. Could you tell me just when this happened?" Fred looked at his watch and said, "Oh, about two or three minutes ago." WE DON'T KNOW HOW WE ARE GOING TO GO BUT WE ARE GOING TO GO! IT MAY BE A WHILE, IT MAY NOT BE THAT LONG..... IT MAY COME EXPECTED AFTER ILLNESS OR AFTER AN UNEXPECTED ACCIDENT.

I. JOY AT THE THRONE

GOD STATED WHAT HE THOUGHT OF PEOPLE DYING AND NOT GOING TO HEAVEN BY THE PROPHET BY EZEKIEL, HE SAID IN Eze 18:23

IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE BUT YOU KNOW GOD LONGS TO BE WITH THOSE WHO' HE'S SAVED... HE'S HAD TO TALK TO US FROM A GOOD DISTANCE BUT WHEN WE GET TO HEAVEN IT WON'T BE THAT WAY.

I READ OF A LADY WHO LOST A PRECIOUS TWO YEAR OLD... Bonnie H. Brechbill HAD A 2-year-old son, Jamie, WHO DIED...., SHE SAID, SHE was comforted by the thought he was well cared for in heaven. But I worried that he had forgotten the mommy and daddy who loved him. Since there's no sadness in heaven, I reasoned, he can't miss us. Finally I asked my husband, Dwaine, "Do you think Jamie just forgot us? Or does he wonder why we're not there along with him?" Dwaine was thoughtful. "Remember when we used to leave him with his grandma for a few hours? He'd kiss us goodbye, then run to the toy shelf. When we returned, he'd run toward us with outstretched arms, happy to see us again." SHE SAID SHE nodded, remembering THEIR STURDY LITTLE boy flinging himself at me WHEN I RETURNED. Dwaine continued. "Grandma said he never cried while we were gone. He knew we always came back for him." My husband put his arm around me. "Well, I think that's how it is now. Don't you imagine God surpasses even Grandma at keeping little boys happy and secure?" Bonnie H. Brechbill, Chambersburg, PA

AREN'T YOU GLAD THAT... Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

II. JOY AROUND THE THRONE

Someone asked G. Campbell Morgan, "Do you think we will know our loved ones in heaven? Dr. answered, "I do not expect to be a bigger fool in heaven than I am here, and I know my loved ones here." I WAS ASKED THE SAME QUESTION... AND THAT LEAD TO THOUGHTS THAT LEAD TO THIS MESSAGE.... LISTEN TO HEB. 12:1

GOD IN THIS PASSAGE USED THE GROUP IN HEAVEN TO MOTIVATE THE GROUP ON EARTH... HOW DID HE DO THAT? HE SAID THEY WERE WITNESSES OF WHAT WE ARE DOING?

I'M GLAD WE HAVE TESTIMONIES OF THE SAVED FOLK WHO WENT TO BE WITH THE LORD:

A few hours before Dwight L. Moody died, Awakening from a sleep, he said, "Earth recedes, heaven opens before me. If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go!" His son who was standing by his bedside said, "No, no father, you are dreaming." "No," said Mr. Moody, "I am not dreaming; I have been within the gates; I have seen the children's faces." A short time elapsed and then, following what seemed to the family to be the death struggle, he spoke again: "This is my triumph; this my coronation day! It is glorious!"

III. NO JOY BELOW THE THRONE

THESE FOLKS HAD NEVER BEEN LOST And FOUND! No man can be qualified for heaven until he first realizes that by nature he is qualified for hell.

HELL IS PLACE OF FIRE AND TORMENT... OF SCREAMS AND PAIN AND MISERY AND SUFFERING... IT IS A PLACE WHERE THOSE WHO'VE REJECTED GOD'S ATONEMENT FOR SIN! IT ISN'T FOR YOU... HEB. 2:3

TESTIMONIES OF THE LOST WHO WENT TO HELL:

1. A MAN IN NY. WHO DIED IN 1883, CRIED OUT ON HIS DEATH BED, "I'M IN FLAMES --- PULL ME OUT!"

2. PHOEBE PLUMBER TELLS OF A LOST FRIEND WHO DIED SAYING, "I CAN'T DIE, I WON'T DIE"

3. REV. THOMAS GRAM TELLS OF A MAN HE WAS CALLED TO VISIT, HE WAS A LOST MAN, HE REFUSED THE GRACE OF GOD AND MERCY OF CHRIST, AND JUST BEFORE HE DIED, HE CRIED OUT, "THE DEVILS ARE COME, THE DEVILS ARE COME, KEEP THEM OFF ME!", HE FELL BACK AND JUST BEFORE HE LEFT THIS WORLD, HE ROSE UP IN HIS BED, CHOKED AND GASPED AND SHOUTED, "HELL AND DAMNATION, HELL AND DAMNATION", AND WITH THAT HE CHOKED AND DIED!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE, IS THAT HOW YOU WANT TO GO.... FOR US IN 1997 WE HAVE ENOUGH MORPHINE AND MEDICATION MAYBE YOU WON'T SCREAM IN THE FINAL SECONDS BUT YOU WILL SHORTLY THERE AFTER.

CONCLUSION:

A veteran missionary was returning home to the U.S. after several terms on the field. Aboard a ship bound for New York harbor, a secularist challenged him by pointing out the futility of giving one's life in missionary service. He continued by noting that no one on board ship was paying any attention to the veteran missionary, a sign they apparently considered his efforts quite wasted.

The servant of God responded, "I'm not home yet."

The agnostic assumed the missionary was referring to a large crowd that would meet the ship, and he scoffed again when they disembarked--not a solitary person welcomed the missionary. Once again, the missionary said, "I'm not home yet."

A lonely train ride lay ahead as he made his trek from New York City to his small Midwestern hometown. Reaching his destination, the missionary could no longer fight back the tears as the train pulled off. OFF OF THE TRAIN, Again, he stood alone. It was then that the inner voice of God's Spirit brought comfort by reminding the faithful servant, "You're not home yet.