From the teachings of David Brandt Berg
IT'S ALWAYS EXCITING WHEN YOU KNOW THAT SOMEONE WHO LOVES YOU HAS A SPECIAL GIFT, SURPRISE OR REWARD TO GIVE YOU for your Birthday, Christmas or some other special day! Someone Who loves you very much--Jesus--has the best, most wonderful Heavenly surprises that you have ever imagined waiting for those who love Him!
BUT BEFORE WE RECEIVE THOSE WONDERFUL REWARDS, JESUS IS GOING TO COME BACK HERE TO EARTH TO TAKE US ALL TO HEAVEN TO BE WITH HIM! He's going to return in the clouds of the sky, and with a mighty voice He's going to call all of His children from all around the World to come up and meet Him in the air! He will rescue all of us from this old World and all of its wars and troubles! (Mt.24:30,31)
WHEN HE RETURNS, NEW BODIES OF ALL OF GOD'S PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALREADY DIED WILL RISE UP OUT OF THEIR GRAVES, right out of the ground!--And all of those who are still alive will suddenly be changed! In one moment, the body you have now will suddenly become a new kind of super-body that will fly up into the sky to meet the Lord! (1Cor.15:51,52; 1Thes.4:16,17)
THEN JESUS IS GOING TO TAKE US ALL TO A GREAT BIG PARTY!--The biggest, happiest, most fun and exciting party you've ever been to or even imagined! You'll see Jesus face-to-face and you'll get to meet all of the great Saints and Apostles of the Bible and all of the wonderful folks who love the Lord who have ever lived!
THIS WONDERFUL PARTY, THE "MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB" (Rev.19:6-9), will be held in God's Heavenly Space City!--The greatest, most beautiful and wonderful place ever created!--Floating through space on its way to Earth right now! (Rev.21) There's going to be laughter and singing and music and dancing and loving and playing!
IT'S AT THIS GREAT PARTY IN HEAVEN THAT JESUS IS GOING TO REWARD ALL OF HIS GOOD CHILDREN! We will all come and stand before the "Judgement Seat of Christ", as we see in this picture where the little boy is standing before the Lord, receiving his reward! (Rom.14:10) Those other children behind him are waiting for their turn to come and stand before Jesus too.
JESUS SAID, "BE FAITHFUL UNTO THE END, AND I WILL GIVE YOU A CROWN OF LIFE!" (Rev.2:10)--And that's what He's giving this boy! A Crown of Life is like a crown of light, or a halo, a shiny glowing crown!--How brightly your halo will glow then, will have a lot to do with how faithful you are to the Lord now!
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT GOD'S CHILDREN WHO ARE FAITHFUL and who tell others about Jesus and lead them to the Lord, will "shine as the brightness of the stars for ever and ever!" (Dan.12:3) When they stand before Jesus, they'll receive a shiny sparkling crown and a great reward from the Lord! Through all Eternity, folks will see this little boy and they'll say, "Look at how bright that boy's crown is!--He must have really done his best for Jesus!"
BUT SAD TO SAY, SOME ARE GOING TO BE ASHAMED when they see Jesus, when they see how much He loved them and how much He did for them, and they realise how little they did for Him in return! (Dan.12:2) He says that those who are ashamed of Him and His name before others, He will be ashamed of them before God and the angels of Heaven! (Mk.8:38)
BUT TO THOSE WHO WERE NOT ASHAMED to live for Him and to tell others about Him, He's going to say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Come on in, enter the joy of the Lord!" (Mt.25:21) And all Heaven will cheer and applaud and rejoice!--Like all those people on the balcony watching this faithful boy get his reward.
THAT SPARKLING SHINING STONE ON THE NECKLACE THAT JESUS IS ALSO GIVING THE BOY IS A SPECIAL WHITE STONE that He promises to give all of His faithful servants. Do you like secrets? Well, in that stone there will be a new name written, which no man knows, except the one who receives it! (Rev.2:17)--A secret new name!
DO YOU WANT A CROWN AND REWARD FROM THE LORD?--Then just be faithful to Jesus!--"There's only one life, it will soon be past!--Only what's done for Jesus will last!" The only things that will last into Eternity, that you'll be able to keep with you in Heaven, are the things that you do for Him now! And the most important thing, Jesus said, is to love God and to love your neighbour as yourself! And if you really love your neighbour, you'll tell him about Jesus, and try to show him love by being kind and loving and helpful.--Right?
ARE YOU LIVING YOUR LIFE FOR JESUS AND OTHERS?--If so, He has a great reward for you! It says in the Bible that God will not forget the good things you do, the things you do out of love, and that He has a great big Book that He writes everything down in! (Heb.6:10; Mal.3:16,17) So even when you do nice or kind things for others and nobody seems to see or appreciate it, remember, Jesus sees it and He will remember it!
AND THOUGH YOU CAN EARN AND WORK FOR YOUR HEAVENLY REWARDS, YOU CAN'T EARN OR WORK YOUR WAY INTO HEAVEN!--Because none of us can possibly be good enough or work hard enough to earn God's forgiveness for our sins! This is why God sent His Son Jesus into the World--to die and to take the punishment that we deserve for our sins! And if we'll just confess that we're sinners and ask Jesus to forgive and save us, He will!
ARE YOU ONE OF HIS SAVED CHILDREN who will rise to meet Him in the air, and then go to that wonderful Party in Heaven? If you're not sure, simply pray this little prayer and Jesus will come into your heart to stay right now:
"DEAR JESUS, I BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD and that You died for me. Please forgive me for all my sins. I now open the door of my heart and I ask You, Jesus, to please come in and give me Your free Gift of Eternal Life! Help me to love You and to love others by telling them about You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."
GOD BLESS YOU! We love you.
Copyright © 1998 by The Family International