Penn Forest Worship Center

Sunday August 17, 2008 - Pastor Myron D. Atkinson

If you are a Christian (A person who has asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and have consciously chosen to daily to follow Him and His example) you can expect Satan to attack you. He will attack you through:

• Discouragement
• Frustration
• Temptation
• Guilt
• Belittlement
• Weariness
• Deception
• Strife
• And the list goes on…

Randy Alcorn says, “Our enemy slanders three things: God’s person, God’s people, and God’s place - namely Heaven.”

Why does Satan attack followers of Jesus Christ? Because he wants you to get your eyes off of Jesus Christ, off of the HOPE that Jesus offers and onto yourself. Satan wants to defeat you. The Bible says in John 10:10, that Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy. In I Peter 5:8 it says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Satan knows that there is a great reward for those who are faithful to serving Jesus Christ. The Bible talks about heaven and today I want to focus just a bit about that and also to encourage you to NOT GIVE UP! In spite of what Satan or life throws at you, always keep your eyes on Jesus Christ and the goal!

Florence May Chadwick, an American swimmer born in San Diego was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Her biggest contribution to swimming history occurred on August 8, 1950, when she crossed the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking the then-current world record.

On July 4, 1952, Florence was the first woman to attempt to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. That morning the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid grip of the sea, she struggled on - hour after hour - while millions watched on national television. Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. She swam for another hour before asking to be pulled out, unable to see the coastline due to the fog. As she sat in the boat, she found out she had stopped swimming just one mile away from her destination.

Two months later, Florence tried again. This time was different. The same thick fog set in, but she made it because she said that she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was the island and this time she made it!

Our life is full of challenges and many people give up easily when they face adversities. But instead of giving up, getting discouraged, feeling sorry for ourselves, we should find our strength to get up, stand firm and move forward. Florence kept the image of the shoreline in her mind, so she made it. Rather than telling God how big our problem is, why don’t we tell our problem how big God is? Let us focus on the source of our solution and not on the problem. Let us focus on the source of our strength and not on our defeat. Let us focus on Jesus Christ the author and perfecter of Life

Philippians 3:13-15 (The Message)
12-14I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward-to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
15-16So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision-you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.

This past week Michael Phelps won eight gold metals. His seventh win was the one that was most exciting for me because of the narrow margin of victory and his desire to NOT GIVE UP. When Michael’s competition, Milorad Cavic of Serbia was just inches from the gold, he stopped pushing for the goal and instead just glided to the finish. This gliding allowed Michael Phelps with his long arms to take one more stroke and slam into the wall winning the gold by 10-thousandth of a second. Michael said “That was my last individual race, so I was just trying to finish as strong as I could.”

This is our only race as well, we will have no second chances. When this life is over, eternity awaits. For those who are followers of Jesus Christ they will receive a great reward - Heaven.

So what will heaven be like?
Revelation:

• It will be a holy place (Revelation 21:27) - NO Sin, no temptation!
• It will be a place where everything is new (Revelation 21:5). Everyone likes new stuff but the difference is there won’t be any repairs from decay!
• It will be a place where the curse and all it’s consequences will be gone (Revelation 22:3)
• It will be a place where there is no pain, death, darkness, sorrow or tears (Revelation 21:4)
• It is a place where we will know everyone (I Corinthians 13:12)
• It is a place of great rejoicing (Revelation 4)
• It’s a place where we will be able to spend eternity

Heaven is a place that we should look forward to with great anticipation. Some people have a misconception of what Heaven will be like. They think we will be sitting around all day in white robes, floating on clouds, and playing harps. That’s kind of boring, but that’s not what Heaven is like!!

“Satan need not convince us that Heaven doesn’t exist. He need only convince us that Heaven is a place of boring, unearthly existence. If we believe that lie, we’ll be robbed of our joy and anticipation, we’ll set our minds on this life and not the next, and we won’t be motivated to share our faith. Why should we share the “good news” that people can spend eternity in a boring, ghostly place that even we’re not looking forward to?” - Randy Alcorn

I also know that as awesome as Heaven is going to be, Hell will be the total opposite. It will be a place of eternal loneliness, pain and punishment! Not a party with all our friends that is often associated with it! I want to know where I am going to spend eternity and I want to prepare for it. Randy Alcorn in his book HEAVEN says, ” “If you want to get somewhere, guesswork is a poor strategy. The goal of getting to Heaven is worthy of greater advanced planning than we would give to any other journey - yet some people spend far more time preparing for a trip to Disney World”

Do you know where you will spend eternity? As a Christian we can be sure that we have eternal life with Jesus Christ!

I John 5:13 says “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

How can you know you are a Christian?

• Do you get a little dot on your forehead?
• Do you have this insatiable desire to wear white shirts, black ties, ride bikes and knock on doors?
• Do you loose all your hair and start wearing a robe?

NO - We can know that we are Christians because:
1. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins He (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.” (I John 1:9) There is no one greater than God and He is faithful to His promises.
2. Jesus took the penalty for our sins on the cross! Just before He died He said, “It is finished.” He had taken what we deserved upon Himself! In addition to that the Bible says in Romans 8:34 “Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

Salvation is the immensity of God’s Grace (A gift freely given that we don’t deserve) and Mercy (Punishment withheld which we deserve) that is extended to us. It’s our choice what we do with it. He will not force it on us.

Revelation 3:20 says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

For those here this morning that have never asked Jesus Christ to forgive them of their sins why put it off The Bible says in II Corinthians 6:2b, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

For those here this morning that are discouraged, considering giving up in marriage, in life, on your family, on whatever… let me encourage you to not give up! Pick yourself up and focus on Jesus Christ

Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Being in God’s presence’s and spending and eternity in a New Heaven and a New Earth is something to long for, prepare for and pursue. Don’t give up!

“Soon you will read in the newspaper that I am dead. Don’t believe it for a moment. I will be more alive than ever before.”
- D.L. Moody