The Three Surprises We'll Find in Heaven

I heard the late Adrian Rogers of Love Worth Finding Ministries (lwf.org) say that there will be three surprises in heaven that every believer will discover to their amusement when they are taken there.

Surprise number one: The people you may have thought that wouldn't be there will be there.

Surprise number two: The people you thought that would be there won't be there.

Surprise number three: How the heck did I get here!?

Now for those that are saved, there is not really any surprise that we will be there for sure, withJesus and the Father since they have both promised this and God can not lie (John 10:28-29). The sad fact is that only 1 in 20 Christians will lead at least one other person to Christ Jesus in their entire lifetime! That's only five percent of evangelicals worldwide. How stunning this is given the fact that Jesus gave an imperative command when telling us to "Go!" concerning the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20/Acts 1:8). Are we disobedient or just shy in sharing Jesus with others? Last night in going door to door, what I have discovered over time is that the more you share the Gospel with others, the incredibly easier it becomes. In fact, after a while it becomes so natural that you share Him without even thinking about it. How's that for someone who had low self-esteem, was terribly shy, and on my first outreach going door to door, someone told me to my face, "Yeah, we worship Satan here...and we're going to hell, what do you think about that?!" I almost quit right there and ran. It was almost like, "Run, Forest, Run!" But something inside me made me sad about that. And I went back to do it again and again.

What is even sadder is that fact that most Americans think they are going to heaven because they are, generally speaking, "pretty nice people". But let me tell you what I heard an evangelist I trained with say..."There'll be a lot of "nice people" in hell. This made me all the more bold. We fact rejection, ridicule, and persecution, but isn't this what Jesus faced. And wouldn't you want to risk this anyway and do it out of love?

According to an ABC poll, the vast majorities of Americans believe in heaven and think they are headed there. [1] But elbow room won't be a problem: About eight in 10 believers envision heaven as a place where people exist only spiritually, not physically. And eighty-nine percent in this ABC News poll believe in heaven, which is consistent with data going back 30 years. Among believers, 85 percent think they'll personally go there. Now who gets in is another matter. Among people who believe in heaven, one in four thinks access is limited to Christians. More than a third of Protestants feel that way, and this view peaks at 55 percent among Protestants who describe themselves as very religious.

Among all adults, 79 percent identify themselves as Christians, 14 percent have no religion, and the rest (5 percent) are non-Christians.

As noted, people without a religion are the least likely to believe in heaven (51 percent do, 46 percent don't), followed by people who describe themselves as not religious (72 percent of them do believe, 26 percent don't). Non-religious people who do not have a relationship with Christ are a still high 77 percent. But the real discrepancy is troubling. It is that only those who have accepted and believed on Him and the personal Lord and Savior will be granted eternal life (Acts 16:30-31). Many who have never accepted Jesus Christ and believed in Him are not going to inherit eternal life even though they think their good deeds or behavior will get them there. Their future place of eternity is not where they think it will be. It is not surprising then that they are deceived and blinded to this fact (Rev. 20:10/II Cor. 4:4 & 11:3).

So I beg you all who do believe to share this Good News that offers the only real hope in a world that, besides Him, is hopeless. Since it breaks the heart of God, should it not also break our hearts, for we know that God doesn't want anyone to perish, and neither should we (II Pet 3:9)? Pray for boldness to share Jesus with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and strangers and since this is the will of God, we know He will answer this. I have found myself more and bolder since I know that time is running out on this world's age. I found myself in liquor stores, bars, convenience stores, and on the street sharing Him. This is the love of God. Jesus prayed at His crucifixion to "Father forgive these people! For they don't know what they're doing." (Luke 23:34a - CVE). If they don't know, then we must tell them. God give you all courage and boldness or as the scriptures say in Acts 4:29 (NIV), "Now Lord, consider thier threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness".

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Beliefs/story?id=1422658