Sermon on Heaven

I quoted the old beautiful paragraph from The Last Battle in my sermon conclusion on Sunday. Here it is again for anyone to read:

Conclusion

So in conclusion, let me read you an incredible paragraph. If you have read it before, you will probably agree that it is one of your favourite paragraphs in all of literature. It takes place at the end of The Chronicles of Narnia. At the start of the book Jill and Eustace were traveling on a train when they were suddenly thrust into Narnia. After their amazing adventures in Narnia they are afraid they will be sent back home but Aslan (who is a picture of Christ) tells them this good news:

“There was a real railway accident,” said Aslan softly. “Your father and mother and all of you are – as you used to call it in the Shadowlands – dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”

And then here is the beautiful paragraph I want you to hear:

“And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read; which goes on forever; and in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

Heaven will be glorious – both the present Heaven that we go to the second we die, and the future New Heavens and New Earth. Our joy will increase daily forever and ever and ever. I can hardly wait. Tears will be wiped away. There will be no more sickness, no more children dying of aids, no more cancer. There will be no more depression. There will be no more struggles with sin. There will be love and joy and peace and perfect fellowship. There will be Jesus Christ in all His glory.

Final Application

Look forward to it and think about it everyday! Remember everyday that if you know Jesus you will go there not because you are a good person but because of God’s incredible grace in having His Son die on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. Remember everyday to set your mind on things above. Remember that there is only one life and it will soon be passed and only what is done for Christ will last. So let us dedicate ourselves afresh today to living for eternity, and to storing up treasures and joys in Heaven by being true disciples who are fully committed to Christ and His church and committed to worshiping God, walking with God, and working for God. I wish I could go on but I must close – so come back next week and bring your friends and we will go on to talk about the final New Heavens and New Earth.