There’s More to This Life

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Eternal Realities

There’s More to This Life By Rick Warren — Mar 15, 2015 “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (Hebrews 13:14 NLT, second edition) When you hear talk about Heaven, does it ever occur to you that God designed Heaven for you? This is such an amazing thing! God designed the earth for us so it could sustain life and we could live here. But then he also designed Heaven for us, and he wants us to live there with him forever. The Bible says in Matthew 25:34, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world” (NLT, second edition). From the very beginning, God knew that there would be more to life than just this life on Earth. There’s more to life than just here and now. You’re going to spend 80 or so years on this planet, but you can spend eternity — trillions and trillions and trillions of years — living in Heaven with God. Ephesians 1:10 says, “This was his purpose: that when the time is ripe he will gather us all together from wherever we are — in heaven or on earth — to be with him in Christ forever” (TLB). You were made to last forever. The question is, where will you last forever: Heaven or Hell? You get to choose which door you go through at the end of your life. Hebrews 13:14 says, “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come” (NLT, second edition). Once you become a part of God’s family, there’s a whole lot more to life than just here and now. If you were to drop dead later today, are you absolutely certain you would go to Heaven? If you’re not, you can make sure right now. Why put it off? You need to settle this issue, and you need to put your trust in God’s plan for your salvation. You need to accept his free gift of eternal life. Pray this prayer today if you are ready to invite Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord and Savior: “Dear God, you are God, and I’m not. I admit it. I’m humbling myself, and I’m letting go of my pride. I know that I could never be good enough. I know that I’ve sinned and I need a Savior to get into Heaven. Thank you, God, that you loved the world so much that you gave your Son, Jesus, so that I could spend eternity with you by believing in you and making you Lord of my life. “Jesus, I believe that you died for me. I want to change. I want to repent. Today, I commit myself completely to you. I commit to follow you, trust you, serve you, know you, and love you. I’m going to depend on your promise that whoever believes in you will not perish but have everlasting life. I trust you for my salvation. Thank you for dying for me, and thank you for loving me. I pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen. PS... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s0KYTQb5UQ Hope For Your Future TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; this very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.” (Zechariah 9:12, NASB) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Are you a prisoner of hope? A prisoner of hope is someone who has an attitude of faith and expectancy even when things aren’t going their way. They know that God has a plan to get them through difficulty, a plan to restore their health, finances, dreams, and relationships. You may not be where you want to be today but have hope because all things are subject to change. In this scripture, God promises to restore double to those who hope in Him. When God restores something, He doesn’t just set things back the way they were before, He goes above and beyond. He makes things better than they were before! That’s a reason to have hope today. That’s a reason to rejoice today! Don’t let circumstances drag you down, instead, choose to be a prisoner of hope and watch what God will do to restore every area of your life! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for Your good promises found in Your Word. I choose to be a prisoner of hope. I choose to keep my eyes on you knowing that you are working behind the scenes and you will restore double in every area of my life! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.