A Pastor’s Thoughts: Heaven Is Real AND You Can Go There

[By Pastor Wayne Sibrava, Living Water Baptist Church]

It’s pretty sobering to think about death. It’s a fact of life that one out of every one person dies, and there’s no way to escape it. What makes these conversations so difficult is that we don’t know when or how we’ll  die. Even just thinking about it is hard because we’re uncertain if it will be old age, an accident, or a sickness that leads to our death, and we spend our lives without knowing how or when we will die.  

Perhaps a bigger question is, “What is death, and what happens after I die?” Some people believe that death is the end, meaning there’s nothing after it – we simply stop existing. Others believe that after death, the body goes to the grave, and the soul goes straight to hell, a  place of pain and suffering, or to heaven, a place of bliss and blessing. No matter what anyone believes, we can’t stay here forever because it’s our fate to die, and then there’s judgment.

If we imagine that when we die, we simply cease to exist, then the question becomes, “What’s the point of life and living?” But if we believe in a creator, then another question arises: “What does the Creator say happens after the last breath?” The creator, who is God, wrote a book called the Bible, where He says there are onlytwo  places: hell and heaven. There’s no middle ground where people hang out waiting for someone to pray or do something to get them out. No, when someone dies, they either go to hell or heaven.  

I’ve traveled quite a bit, visiting India and Peru this year, and I’m planning two more trips to Florida and California. I truly enjoy traveling. Imagine if we boarded a plane, the door closed, and the pilot announced a 90% chance of a safe landing and a 10% chance of a crash. Now, what if there’s a 10% chance that my thesis is correct: that people go to hell or heaven when they die? Wouldn’t it be risky to take a chance, and wouldn’t it be wiser to decide ahead of time for heaven rather than hell? After all, hell is real, and you don’t have to go there. Heaven is real, and you can go there!  

I want to be as clear as possible about knowing for sure that a person dies and goes immediately into the presence of God in heaven. May it be clearly stated that you can know beyond a shadow of doubt that you will go to heaven when you die. Consider this verse: 1 John 5:13 (NLT) ¹³ I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. Knowing for sure that when you die you go to heaven is as simple as A, B, and C.

A You must admit that you’re a sinner. That’s all of us. B You must believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and C, you must confess Jesus as your Lord. Should a person make this decision, they can have full assurance that when they die they will go to heaven. I hope and pray that everyone who reads this will repent, believe in Jesus,  and confess him as Lord: John 3:16 (NLT) ¹⁶ For this is how God loved the world:  He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not  perish but have eternal life.