It's a Win-Win Situation!

Zig Ziglar has coined the phrase, "It's a win-win situation," but did you know that He said God gave it to him? That he is a solid born again Christian! Have you ever considered that one day, you will enjoy eternity with God, if you're a believer of Jesus Christ? If you've read the Book of Revelation, we know how it all ends up.  We are in the last chapter of Revelation and of the Bible, and we see how God's perfect restoration and identification all culminate in eternity with Him. We will all get new names in heaven and it will have a new significance there.

If we follow Christ, it's a win-win situation. It doesn't matter what happens to us in this life, whether we are shot, killed, or beheaded or simply breathe our final breath in peace, because when our life ends here, we go immediately into the presence of God. It's not about us and what we have done in this life, but in trusting in Jesus Christ and what He has done.

Some people think heaven will be boring. That it is quiet there. We're all in white choir robes. The Bible says that it is beyond man's ability to imagine or comprehend it. We will interface and interact with angels, and we will behold the face of God, face to face. No one has ever seen the face of God before. We will have an eternal existence, and there will be no end. We will explore an infinite world, beyond what we can ever imagine.

Eternity is real. You need to pick where you are going to live. There is more than enough room in heaven for everyone.

Revelation 22:1-7 ~ "Then the angels showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city, also on either side of the river, the tree of life, with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place." And behold, "I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of this prophecy of this book."

Until we get to heave, we need to fix our eyes on eternal life, and the sufficiency of God in Christ.

Revelation 22:1 ~ "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,"

Proceeding from God's throne...was a pure river of something very different. It's not water like we think of in terms of water to drink. This 'proceeding' is an overflowing, a flooding or a gushing forth. We saw life giving water flow out of Eden, the garden of God. We see life giving water flow out of the New Jerusalem, the city of God. It is God who gives eternal life. It's in the heart of every man.

What was lost in the garden of Eden is restored by God. Adam and Eve were created never to die. They were the first perfect humans, yet they sinned. Did you ever consider that? So how is that possible if they were perfect?

God engineered within them the ability to exercise a free moral agency. You can't have real love or a relationship without the ability to make real decisions. God doesn't make robots and we are all responsible for the decisions that we make. You can do anything you want in this life, it's your choice. You have that freedom. But freedom carries with it, responsibility. God says choose me. Your freedom of choice comes with it the responsibility for that choice.

If people can wrestle you into heaven, than they can wrestle you out of heaven as well. The choice must be yours.

The water in this verse is not real water. It is life giving water of eternity from God. There are four rivers that flowed from Eden. They had their origin there and we know the names because they are in the Bible. There is restoration in heaven, because there shall be no more curse there.

Jesus was the bridge of restoration of man. On one side, He reaches out to what was lost in the Garden of Eden with His right hand. With His left, He reaches out to the very eternity of God and the dwelling place of God's children, because it is God's desire to bridge that gap. In between those two moments, two great events, there is Jesus Christ.

Out of His side, the Bible tells us in John 19:34: "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water."

People have tried to explain this event but the amount of water that came out doesn't make sense, "it gushed out, it didn't drip out slowly." What was Jesus doing on the cross? He was dying for our sins, it was an atonement for us and He had an appointment He couldn't miss.