David Jeremiah - Tough-Minded About Heaven
Often, people tell me, when they know that we're gonna be talking about this subject or even after they've been here to hear the teaching on it, that perhaps we are not really being very practical. The way they say it is usually something like this: "You know, Pastor, we shouldn't be so concerned about heaven. After all, when we get to heaven, there'll be plenty of time to be worried about heaven. We need to be spendin' our energies and our time here. Will we not have all eternity to worry about heaven? And aren't people who are heavenly minded usually no earthly good"? I've actually had people tell me that.
Now, if we didn't have the New Testament, we might be able to reason like that, but one of the most consistent truths of the New Testament is this: What you think about heaven determines how you live today. The future is like an anchor that has been cast ahead of us, and it is pulling us into the future. In his 2nd epistle, Peter ends his letter with a question. After describing the renovation of the earth at the end of the age, and you all know about that because we studied it, how the earth is going to be renovated and made new.
At the end of his discussion of the renovation of the earth, Peter, in verse 11, of chapter 3, of 2 Peter, says this: "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be"? Not "What manner of persons ought you to be in the future"? but "What manner of persons ought you to be now"? His question is at the very heart of our discussion today. What difference does it make now that we know about heaven and God's future plans for us? How should we live now in light of what we know about the future? In the next verses of this chapter, the apostle tells us in straightforward language what kind of people we ought to be.
Let me remind us all that, when we learn new truth, with that truth comes new responsibility. Because we know some things now that we did not know before, we can never live the same as we lived before. We must be different people because of our exposure to God's Word. I've been thinking and praying lately about the importance of these days in my own life, and I believe with all my heart, if you and I are to realize all that God has for us, we are gonna have to discipline our minds to think biblically. The explosion of information that is assaulting our minds and hearts from the media is not leading us toward a biblical mind-set, and we are going to drown in all of this if we don't make up our minds about a few things.
And when I say, "make up our minds", I mean, be tough-minded about these things. Hold your place now in 2 Peter 3, and go back, if you would, to 1 Peter chapter 1, and look at verse 13. I wanna give you a little phrase that I hope you will never forget. 1 Peter 1, in verse 13, and I wanna just read the first part of that verse. Here's what it says: "Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind and be sober". It's the only place where that exact expression is found in the New Testament. Peter is using an oriental expression in this verse that described how a Jewish person would get ready to run or get ready to engage in battle.
As you know, the Jews wore long, flowing robes, and when it was time for them to move quickly, to be disciplined in their approach to some process, the Jews would take that long, flowing robe, and they would gather it up, and they would stuffed it down in their belt or in the girdle that went around their waist so that the long, flowing robe wouldn't get in the way of their moving forward. Now, using that expression, Peter says, "It's time for us to gird up the loins of our mind". One translator has put it this way: "Roll up the sleeves of your mind". Does that communicate what you need to hear?
He's saying we can't be sloppy in our thinking anymore. We can't be casual in how we think about life. We really have to gird up the loins of our mind. We have to roll up the sleeves of our mind and begin to be tough-minded and think critically about some things because, if we just float along with the culture, we will be victimized by it. We are not like everyone around us. We are not like the world in which we live. We are God's people. We're different. But in order for us to maintain that difference, we have to gird up the loins of our mind.
Now, Peter says, back in 2 Peter, that when we know what we know about what God has planned for us, it's gonna change the way we think. And I wanna just take you through this passage of Scripture, and I wanna show you what Peter has to say. Here, in 2 Peter chapter 3, are five things that demand our tough-mindedness. These are five things that are true because Jesus is coming back. Five things that are true because there is a heaven, and there is a hell. Five things that we all need to take seriously because we know where we're goin'. Now, notice, first of all, we're to be tough-minded about our purity. Tough-minded about our purity.
2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 11, "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness"? In this one verse, Peter describes the lifestyle of a Christ-follower who understands the future plan of God. Notice, first of all, he says that we're to be people of holy conduct. The word "holy", "hagios", means, "to be set apart for the service of God". Peter, over in chapter 1, again, in that very same verse, we looked at it a minute ago, Peter addresses the same issue in his first letter.
Go back to 1 Peter chapter 1, and verse 13. Now, notice what he says in the rest of that passage: "Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, and be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, but as he who has called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy'".
Peter tells us that we are to be tough-minded about godliness, and this illustrates the importance of the inward attitude that we have. Godliness is our inward attitude toward God. In his letters to Timothy and to Titus, young preachers whom Paul was mentoring, he wrote some things to them that have always struck me as very important for our culture today: "Exercise yourselves toward godliness". Say that out loud: "Exercise yourselves toward godliness". What that means is you don't just become godly normally. You don't just wake up one morning, and all of a sudden, you're godly. You gotta exercise yourself to godliness. Ever since I've had cancer, I've been gettin' up in the morning and going to the gym.
Now, I don't like doin' that. I mean, I don't go to bed at night thinkin', "Boy, I just can't wait till the morning". I don't wake up in the morning and think, you know, "This is just automatic. I'm goin'". I have a little war that goes on with, you all know what I'm talkin' about, "Oh, I think I'll sleep in today". Sometimes I do, but most of the time I get up, and I go because I have to exercise myself to stay healthy. Now, Peter is telling us, and if we're gonna be godly people in this generation, we've gotta put some exercise into it. We gotta exert ourselves. It doesn't just happen to us. You don't just wake up one day, and it's all different. The exercises and the reading of the Word of God and in prayer and in making sure you're in church and doing the things that you know are going to cause you to be a more godly person, you're not gonna just become godly automatically.
In Titus chapter 2, in verse 12, he says, not only are we to pursue godliness, but we're to deny ungodliness. These are all action words. These are not spiritual terms. This is not some sort of a mystery. This is everyday experience on our part. Because we know someday, we're gonna go and live with a holy God, we're to be in process right now, becoming more and more like him in holiness and righteousness and godly conduct. Now, put that over here, and then put over here what you're exposed to every day on television, in the media, in the places where you work. Do you understand why you have to be tough-minded about this? You have to get up in the morning. You've got to make some decisions about how you're gonna let your life be lived, tough-minded about purity.
Now, if you sensitize yourself to what I'm saying today, if you let this be a little grid that you have in your mind, you will discover that over and over and, I mean, over again in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit associates godliness and holiness and purity with the return of the Lord to this earth. Those of you who say, "Well, knowing about the future doesn't have anything to do with today", you're giving yourself away. You haven't read your Bible. I have known some of this, but this week, I became fully equipped on this particular subject, and it has stunned me to see how often in the New Testament you have the truth of Jesus coming back, or heaven or the future, and in the same verse, because of that, this is what you should be like.
Now, I'm just gonna give you a little survey, and here's what I wanna assign you to do. I want you to notice two things in every passage. I want you to notice the return of Christ, the Second Coming, the future, and holiness, godliness, impurity, all right? You ready for this? Here we go. 1 Corinthians 1:7-8, "Waiting for the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ", there's the future, "who will conform you to the end, that you might be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ". There's holiness. Colossians 3:4-5, "When Christ who is our life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, and idolatry".
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ". There it is again. 1 Thessalonians 5:23, "May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ". 1 John 2:28, "And now, little children, abide in him, that when he appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him in his coming". 1 John 3:2-3, "Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it has not yet revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in home purifies himself, just as he is pure". You got that? When you read about the future, it always has an impact on the present. Because he's coming back, it ought to motivate us to live in a godlier way.
I've been recommending to you, during this series, a book by Randy Alcorn, which is, in my estimation, the best book on heaven that's ever been written. One place in the book he was talking a little bit around this subject. Here's what he said. He said, "If my wedding date is on the calendar and I'm thinking of the person I'm gonna marry, I shouldn't be an easy target for seduction. Likewise, when I've meditated on heaven, sin is terribly unappealing. It's when my mind drifts from heaven that sin seems attractive. Thinking of heaven leads inevitably to pursuing holiness. Our high tolerance for sin testifies of our failure to prepare for heaven. If I believe I'll spend eternity in a world of unending beauty and adventure, will I be content to spend all my evenings staring at game shows, sitcoms, and ball games? Even if I keep my eyes off of impurities", he wrote, "how much time will I want to invest in what doesn't really matter"?
You see, the future is like an anchor out there, and it's reeling us in. And on the way through, it's calling us to a holiness of life. I'll tell you what, that's a message that's needed in our culture today more than any other message because, little by little, we are allowing the world to pour us into its mold. Do you know how I know that? Just think about all the things that used to be almost intolerable to you that you now tolerate. Think about the things that you used to never dream you'd be involved in and, little by little, you've gained a comfort with it. The world has, little by little... And so, what I'm saying to you men is this. What I'm saying to you women is this. We need to be tough-minded about purity.
All right, let me give you the second one. Secondly here, back in 2 Peter chapter 3, I want you to notice that we're to be tough-minded about his promises. 2 Peter 3:12 says: "Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord". Now what Peter's talking about here is that we must be tough-minded about this fact that Jesus is coming back because, you know, a lot of people who call themselves evangelicals don't really believe it or, if they do believe it, they don't think it's very important. I've actually had people say, "You know, I don't care if you're pre-Trib, mid-Trib, post-Trib, whatever you are, doesn't matter. You shouldn't be studying all that stuff. You're just wasting your time. It's like trying to figure out how many angels can perch on the head of a pin, you know"?
That's what they think, you know? It's just really not really important. But people who say that don't really have the right attitude and they've lost their tough-mindedness about the future. You see, the Bible teaches about the future. If you take all of the information out of the Bible that has to do with everything that's gonna happen after you and I aren't here or after the Rapture, you would take about one-fourth of the Bible and destroy it. One-fourth or better of the Bible is all about what's gonna happen in the future.
Now, if God thought it was important enough to put it in this book and preserve this book for all these years accurately, I'd best be finding out what that's all about. Not just out of curiosity, but out of a desire to find out how that's gonna affect my life. And Peter says we need to be tough-minded about the promises of God. He has promised that he is coming back, that Christ is coming back to this earth. We believe he's coming first in the Rapture and then later coming with his saints to set up his kingdom on this earth. The Bible says Jesus is coming back. Do you believe that? "Well, yeah, I suppose". No, no, it can't be like that. You have to believe it with all your heart and with all your mind. You've gotta develop a tough-mindedness about it.
You see, Peter already knew what our generation was gonna be like. Look down in your Bibles at chapter 3 of 2 Peter and verses 3 and 4. Listen to what it says: "Knowing that first that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation'". Now, that's just exactly what the attitude is today. You know, "Hey, Pastor, what do you mean, the Lord's coming back? Look, he's been gone for 2000-plus years. He's not coming back. If he was coming back, he'd be back".
And they forget that 1 day is with the Lord is 1000 years, and 1000 years is 1 day, that he doesn't keep time the way we do. You know, since he made that promise, a few minutes has gone by. But one day, he's coming back. And we have to remember that what God has said is true. Let me tell you something, there are countless numbers of prophecies in the Old Testament about his First Coming and every single one of them were fulfilled in exact proportion to the prophecy. The same God who fulfilled his prophecies of his coming at Bethlehem has made some statements about his coming in the future and they will be fulfilled as exactly as the ones were in the First Coming. So Peter says be tough-minded about his return.
C.S. Lewis wrote this. He said, "I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country which I shall not find until after my death. I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside. I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and help as many as I can do the very same". We need to be tough-minded about the promises of God. He tells us that we're to be looking for and hastening his coming. Philippians 3:20 says: "We're to eagerly wait for the Savior". Titus 2:13 says: "We're to look for his coming". Hebrews 9:28 says: "We're to eagerly wait for his coming". And when Peter writes in verse 12 that we are hastening the coming of the Lord, he is reminding us that we're to earnestly desire the coming of the Lord.
Paul put it this way toward the end of his life: 2 Timothy 4:8: "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but to also to all who have", what? "Loved His appearing". Do you love his appearing? We ought to think about it regularly. You know, I think we do that maybe as we get a little bit older. We keep thinking maybe the Rapture's gonna come and beat us out of death, you know? But we're to think about that because that's the Word of God.
Number three, not only should we be tough-minded about purity and tough-minded about his promises, but we need to be tough-minded about our purpose. Notice verse 14, 2 Peter chapter 3: "Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things", what things? The things we've been talking аbout: heaven and the dissolution of the earth, and all the promises God has. "Looking forward to these things", watch this, "be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless". Now, the words "be diligent" here in 2 Peter are found three times in this Epistle. The first time is in 2 Peter 1:5 through 7 where we're told to "be diligence, to add to our faith virtue, and to our virtue knowledge". That's a good passage. We should go and review that again sometime.
The second time is in 2 Peter 1:10: "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and your election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble". Many of you have told me that during these days God has put on your heart what it is you're supposed to do with your life. We've actually, as you know, had some people leave our church and move to another part of the country because God told them that this is something they should do. And one of our best friends, because of the messages I preached, went to Florida because she felt God calling her there. And that was the purpose God had for her life. We know, all of us, that we have been given a gift. We spent a whole series on the gifts of the Spirit. But we have to be tough-minded about this, says Peter. We have to be diligent to make our election and our calling sure. We have to be diligent to make sure that our lives are matching the purpose for which we were created.
Do you realize how easy it is to just let days and weeks and months go by and all of a sudden you wake up and the thing to which you have been called has been put on the back burner and it's not even in play in your life. And one day when you stand before the Lord as a Christian you're gonna give an account for the things done in the body and God is gonna tell you, "I gave you a gift. What did you do with it"? And you know, there's a lot of teaching in the teaching of Jesus that tell us that's a real situation that's gonna happen. And so Peter is saying in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back, be diligent about your purpose. Make sure you get up every day and think Christianly. Gird up the loins of your mind around the thing God has called you to do and say, "This is what I'm all about. And a lot of other things are gonna come and try to take me away from what I'm supposed to be doing but I'm gonna be tough-minded".
You can't always put God at the bottom of the list and then say, "I'm making God my priority". You need to be diligent about your calling. Paul understood that heaven was his goal and his life reflected this. He eloquently wrote to the Philippians in Philippians 3:13-14 these words. He says: "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do", listen to this. "Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus". What was he saying? "I've had to say no to some stuff. I had to forget about the past and I've gotta press toward and focus in and get tough-minded about what God has called me to do".
Are you tough-minded about God's purpose in your life? That's one of the things Peter says should come when we realize that one day we're gonna report for the final time. We're gonna stand before the Lord and give an account of how we've lived our lives. In light of that, gird up the loins of your mind, roll up the sleeves of your mind and be tough-minded about your purpose. Now, here's the fourth one. Tough-minded about your profession. 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 17: "You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand", know what? Know that God's got the future all lined out for you, "beware", now watch this. "Beware lest you fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked".
Now, please note he didn't say, "Beware that you fall from your salvation". You can't do that. He says, "Beware that you fall from being steadfast". What does that mean? Solid, you know what you believe, you know why you believe it, and nothing can sway you from it. You're not just a surface Christian but the roots go down deep into your heart. And when someone knocks at your door, maybe it's two guys who are traveling in the neighborhood and they want to engage you in some sort of conversation, you already know who Jesus is, who he was, and who he always will be. And so you're not moved from the steadfastness of your faith. Peter says, "In light of the fact that Jesus is coming back and that one day you're gonna go be with him, you better beware lest you be drawn away from your steadfastness and drawn into error".
And do you know why he said that? Because elsewhere in the text, it says that when the Lord is about to come back there's gonna be an increased amount of demons and an increased amount of diverse opinions and increased amount of cults and isms and wasms and all of the other things. And I'm seeing that happen right now. Are you? Every time you turn around, somebody's come up with a new religion, come up with some new crazy idea about how you know God. And Peter says, "In light of the fact that Jesus is coming back", he says, "I want you to be steadfast. I want you to be tough-minded about what you believe". Finally, last of all, number five, he says, "I want you to be tough-minded about your progress". We have to be tough-minded about our progress.
Did you know that when you read 2 Peter chapter 3, you're reading Peter's swan song? Did you know that? It's the last thing we have of him having said or written. Do you know what the last thing Peter said was, before he shut it all down? Here's what he said: "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever, amen". Do you know how to keep from getting carried away with some weird person who comes knocking at your door? Just keep growing in your own faith. That's the best way to stay steadfast. You know, the Christian life, friends, is not like something where you get to a certain place and where you say, "Well, I finally figured this out. I made it".
As I told you, this week I discovered a whole bunch of new truth I didn't know before and I've studied the Bible a lot. And every time I open this book I am so overwhelmed at what God is willing to teach me if I'm willing to be a learner. And there's so much I'll never learn; if I live to be 100, I'll never ever be able to master all of the Bible. But every day I get into this book I learn and I grow. Are you the same person this year that you were last year? Can you identify any change and growth in your life? Peter says the thing you need to do in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back, and this is his last admonition: "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ". Are you a growing Christian or have you just stagnated?
You know, there's a story about a little boy who fell out of bed one night and his mother went up to check on him. And she said, "Honey, why did you fall out of bed"? He said, "Well, Mama, I guess I fell asleep too close to where I got in". You know, I know a lot of Christians like that, don't you? They fall asleep as soon as they get in the faith. They get in,and that's it. They never grow. If you're not growing, you are an absolute perfect target for the enemy. He can come and draw you away, and you can get caught up in something that can ruin your life.
So Peter is really on target here when he's saying, "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ". Why? Because Jesus is coming back. I want him to find me growing. I want him to come back and I'm just discovering something new about him. And I'm just growing in him all the way to glory. I don't want him to come back and find out that the last time I read my Bible was 6 months ago or it's on the back shelf of my car and I can't find it. I want him to come back, finding me a growing Christian. And Peter says, "I want you to be tough-minded about that".
How do you be tough-minded about growing? You know, in the physical realm you don't have to do that. You just grow. But you've got to be tough-minded about some things even there. You gotta eat right, you gotta exercise, you gotta get clean air. You gotta make sure you stay away from contaminants or things that can poison your system. Not a whole lot different than the spiritual realm, is it? If you wanna grow, there are certain things that are true. In fact, I thought it was interesting that there are a number of things in the Bible that talk about what we need to do to grow and they're related to the coming of Christ. One of my favorite verses, for instance, is Philippians 1:6. It says: "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until", when? "The day of Jesus Christ". I've written down in my notes: "Growth comes through the will of God". Growth comes through the will of God.
Did you know that it's God's will for you to grow? I don't know what God's will is for your job or what his will is for the person you're thinking about marrying. I don't know about his will for where you're supposed to live. I can tell you one thing for sure. God wants you to grow. It's the will of God for you to be a growing Christian. He didn't bring you into his family so you could be dwarfed. He brought you into his family so you could grow into a strong, vibrant, virile Christian. Secondly, growth comes through the watchfulness of prayer. 1 Peter 4:7 says: "But the end of all things is at hand", there's the future again. "Therefore", what? "Be watchful and serious in your prayers".
Is there anything, friends, that takes more tough-mindedness than developing your prayer life? Me, that's for me. Prayer's hard work. If you only pray when you feel like praying, you probably never pray 'cause prayer isn't the kind of thing where you get up and say, "Oh, I just can't wait to get on my knees and pray". You do it out of obedience and what happens when you do it out of obedience, God fills your heart with love and desire and hope and excitement. But you've got to be tough-minded about it. You've got to say, "I'm gonna do this and in order to do this, I'm not gonna do that. Because if I do that, it's gonna wipe this out and this is the priority". That's how you grow. Tough-minded about prayer.
Thirdly, you grow through the Word of God. In Revelation 22:7 it says: "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of this prophecy". That was written about the book of Revelation but it applies to the whole book. You grow through the Word of God and finally, you grow through the work of the church. Hebrews 10:25, here again is the future: "Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another", now watch this, "and so much the more as you see the Day approaching".
Are you getting a picture in this message? If you don't get anything else out of this, I hope you get this. That what you believe about the future determines how you live today. And over and over again in the Bible, that is the truth that we hear. If you believe Jesus is coming back, you will develop a tough-mindedness about how you live your life today. And the more you move yourself away from what God has planned for you in the future, the more apt you are to become a person who just sort of drifts through life.
You see, when you know where you're going, it makes all the difference in the world how you live. And if you keep reminding yourself that one day you're gonna spend eternity with a holy God and that the only way you're gonna get rewards up there is by bringing people with you and by encouraging people and by your own giving and all of that, makes all the difference in the world. So you see, the coming of Christ and the doctrine of heaven provides some of the strongest motivation for living the Christian life you will ever find.
C.S. Lewis once again said it this way. He said: "If you have read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next world. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this world". Then he said this, and I wrote this down. This is great. "Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get nothing". Isn't that true? Aim at heaven and you get the earth thrown in. But you aim at the earth and you don't get anything 'cause one of these days, as we learn at the beginning of this chapter, this is all gonna be dissolved and only what's eternal is gonna last.
Every year, for many years, Donna and I have gone to the NRB which, by the way, is one of those acronyms for the National Religious Broadcasters Association. It's always kind of a highlight. We love going there because we meet our friends and, every once in a while, we have a special guest speaker. Three or four times, they've had the president of the United States. I saw President Bush's father, saw President Reagan, and I sat on the front row when George W. came. Shook his hand, even got my picture taken. But you know, I gotta tell you something. I love it when they come but it's almost really not worth it 'cause when the president comes, I mean, when he comes to the conference, it messes everything up.
From the night before until he leaves, it messes everything up. To go see the president who's gonna speak at 10:45, you've got to get in line at 8 o'clock in the morning. You've got to stand in a line where you go in and out like this, like this, like this, through several rooms. I saw people standing in line. You'd think they would be frustrated and bored. They were having the highest time of their life. They were greeting their old friends and they stood in line for 3 hours just talking to one another. Then when you finally get to the front, you've got to go through a metal detector.
Now, before you go through the metal detector, you've got to have credentials showing that you've registered for the NRB. Oh my goodness, you should have seen the people that stood in line from 8 all the way through to 11 and they got up to the gate and they didn't have any credentials. And they had to go back to their room, get their credentials, and get in the back of the line. You say, "Who would put up with that"? Nobody would put up with that if you weren't gonna go see the president. I'll tell you one thing, friends. One day I'm gonna see the King of kings. I wanna see the Lord of lords. I'm not in any queue line. I'm just getting ready.
I wanna tell you something that I've done to get ready. First of all, I've got my credentials. I've got 'em. Have you got your credentials? Amen. I've got my credentials. And I'm not gonna get turned away when I get to the front of the line. He's gonna see my credentials. You know what they are? I was born again, I was saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus, and Christ is my Savior. I can't get to heaven on my own. It's gonna say on my credentials, "David Jeremiah, in the name of Jesus Christ". That's what it's gonna say. And I hope that you understand that because the one that we're gonna go spend eternity with is far greater than any human president or human leader or king or queen or potentate, we need to start getting ready. We need to start living our lives like we really believe that one day we're gonna spend eternity with Almighty God. We need to become tough-minded about heaven.