Thousands came to faith in Christ through Moody’s meetings. As
he approached the end of his life, he viewed Heaven as something to anticipate.
Moody wrote:
The following words are inscribed on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier: “HERE
RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD.”
If America remembers her unknown soldiers, think of the celebration that
awaits countless servants of God who are relatively unknown on earth when they
reach Heaven’s gates.
The story is told of a Jewish woman in New York City who was approached
by a Christian worker. He began to tell
her of Christ and her need of salvation. He explained that she was a sinner and was going to Hell. She cried out, “I don’t believe in hell!”
“Why not?” asked the Christian.
“Because 6 million of my Jewish brothers and sisters were murdered at the hands
of Adolf Hitler and his Nazis. I cannot
believe they will all go to Hell!”
One of the early explorers of South Africa’s ocean waters, Bartolomeu Dias, went around a cape on a stormy sea. His ship threatened to go to pieces, so he called the place the Cape of Storms.
But Vasco da Gama, who came later, changed the name to the Cape of Good Hope, for he saw ahead of him the jewels and treasures of India. You can call this a life of storms if you wish. But if you can see the glorious redemption of eternity ahead of you, you can call it what it is only in Christ—a life of good hope.
When Dr. Broadus was a boy in a little town he was
converted to Christ. He had been attending some meetings, and he went to one of
his playmates, Sandy Jones, a red-haired, awkward chap, the next day and said
to him: “I wish you would be a Christian. Won’t you?”
And Sandy said, “Well, I don’t know, perhaps I will.” And
sure enough, after a little while, one night in the little church, Sandy Jones
accepted God. Straightway he stalked across that little meeting house, held out
his hand and said, “I thank you, John, I thank you, John.”
One lovely moonlit night a grandfather and his
small granddaughter went for a walk. The stars were magnificent. As the
grandfather named individual stars and constellations, the granddaughter
exclaimed, “Grandpa, if the bottom side of Heaven is this beautiful, just think
how wonderful the top side must be.”
When John Adams, our second president, was living in Philadelphia he and Abigail
befriended a boy of African descent named James Prince. The local school refused to allow
him to attend. Mrs. Adams demanded that the boy be allowed to attend. She said,
“Is this the Christian principle of doing unto others as we would have others
do to us? I hope that we shall all go to Heaven together!”
A Barna poll indicated that 76% of Americans
believed in Heaven and 71% believed in Hell. Of those who believe
in Heaven 50% believe you can get there without accepting Christ as Saviour.
Warren Buffet is one of the greatest investors
in our day. In June 2005, someone bought a lunch with him for $351,100. If
there was an entrance fee to Heaven no one would get there.
The story is told that a man died and went to Heaven. He
was met at the pearly gates by the apostle Peter who led him down the golden
streets. They went past mansions after beautiful mansions until they came to
the end of the street where they stopped in front of a shack.
The man asked Peter why he got a hut when there were so
many mansions he could live in.
Peter replied, “I did the best I could with the money
you sent us.”
In
one of his books, A.M. Hunter, relates the story of a dying man who asked his
Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going.
As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and he
had his answer. “Do you hear that?” he asked his patient. “It’s my dog. I left
him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice.
He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn’t
it the same with you? You don’t know what lies beyond the door, but you know
that your Master is there.”
A Sunday school teacher was telling the story of the rich man and
Lazarus. She said that Lazarus sat outside the rich man's gate covered with
sores and begging for food. And that the rich man passed Lazarus without even seeing him. But when they both died Lazarus went to Heaven, while
the rich man found himself in hell, which the
teacher described most graphically. When she had finished, she asked
the children, “Now which would you rather be—the rich man or
Lazarus?” One little fellow answered, “I would like to be the rich man
until I die and then Lazarus afterwards.”
“If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?” I asked the children in my Sunday school class. “NO!” the children all answered.
“If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?” Again the answer was, “NO!”
“Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and loved my wife, would that get me into heaven?” I asked them again. Once more they all answered,“NO!”
