This topic should take about 10 to 12 minutes and the full page should take 12 to 24 minutes, when played without stopping. New Topic: What is Heaven? Short Answer Version: In the world today, there is a lot of misunderstanding about how to get to heaven. But here is what I consider the straight answer. We get into heaven by believing in Jesus. When you or I die physically, we see and dwell in heaven because we believed in Jesus beforehand. This is not complicated. God made it simple because He loves us. Believe in Jesus as your Savior today; I highly encourage it if you want to go to heaven. Long Answer Version: The word ''heaven'' suggests hope for eternal life. Jesus was the first to introduce this meaning, according to history. You can reed about it in the New Testament. Jesus urged people to turn to God because the kingdom of heaven was in their midst. When He first started teaching this, I don't think any human but Jesus had a clue what it meant. As time went on, He unwrapped this concept in great detail. We'll cover that more below, but I'd like to give you the short version here. Heaven was in their midst because Jesus was in their midst. Jesus is the King of Heaven. When the King is in our midst, heaven is also present. Jesus prayed, "Our Father who are in heaven." It was widely accepted that God is in Heaven. Later in the prayer He taught us to pray "Let your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." That was a very new concept to the people. The people listening to Jesus already believed God is in heaven because, roughly 2,000 years before Jesus, Moses told the people God had said, ''You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.'' About 1,000 year later King Solomon repeatedly used the phrase ''Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive.'' Jesus was the first to teach that that heaven is the best place to go when people die. But He also taught us heaven is down here, in our midst, when we believe in Jesus. It can be apprehended here on earth. Modern culture often leaves that part out of the message, or misinterprets it as meaning something much different than what Jesus taught. It is a tendency to skip over the teaching that God does not only live in heaven. Instead, some people intentionally picture God as aloof, distant, and uncaring about the everyday affairs of humankind. When Jesus said ''the kingdom of heaven is in your midst'', it was contrary to the mental picture that heaven is ''up there'', and we are ''down here''. It flies in the face of God being far away and unconcerned. Nothing could be further from the truth. ''Kingdom of heaven'' is used as a way of saying the ''kingdom of God'', which carries the idea that a kingdom includes the rule and reign of a king. It is not just the place where a king lives. Therefore, heaven can be thought of as a place as well as the presence of a person, God. The place conveys the Person. You can't order heaven with a ''side of God''. They come together. When God does something wonderful in our current locale and time, the kingdom of God is extended to earth. It is an answer to ''Let your kingdom come.'' Jesus also said, ''if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.'' This was an interesting choice of words -''come upon you''. The presence and power of God's Spirit are involved with the kingdom of heaven coming upon people. His power is also released to drive out evil and darkness, replacing them with good and light. This takes place by the action of Jesus to set a person free. But in this statement by Jesus, it is not only the demonized person that the kingdom comes upon. He clearly said it comes upon ''you'', the people who were listening to Him teach this. Similarly, ''Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a person is born again, he or she cannot see the kingdom of God.'' That is another quote from Jesus. He meant that in order to go to heaven, we must be ''born again'', born of the Holy Spirit. When we are reborn in this way, God gives us a new start. He gives a new awareness that He is in the center of the picture, and heaven is the hope for our eternal well being. How does a person become born again? By believing in Jesus as their Savior. Jesus is the One who died on the cross to make entrance to heaven free for anyone who would let God give it to them. Heaven includes living in a much better state of mind, in a much better place, and with a much clearer understanding and appreciation of our loving God. The phrase ''kingdom of God'' appears about 70 times in the New Testament. ''Kingdom of Heaven'' appears about 36 times. I mention this because, it helps illustrate how prominent and recurring the concept of heaven is. It was at the front of Jesus' mind, and those of His apostles. For believers, it is presented as our calling and destiny. Heaven is widely thought of as a place of inexpressible beauty, peace, love, purpose, and meaning. It reflects the glory of God. Jesus said from the cross, to a thief being crucified ''you shall be with me in paradise''. Jesus gave us this picture of heaven being a paradise. God's loving presence fills heaven in a way that is very tangible and enjoyable, or so I am told by Scripture. What Does It Mean To Be Saved? When it comes to believing in Jesus, being saved means a number of very positive things. 1. As we mentioned, the most commonly held meaning to being saved is to live-on after physical death. But it means much more than that. Getting saved also means being set free in this life from many of the burdens that we humans experience. God can set us free from guilt, shame, loneliness, sin, and hopelessness, to name just a few. He saves us from ourselves and many of the unwise choices we would make without Him. He saves us from behaviors that hurt us and that bring negativity into our lives. 2 . Not only does Jesus save us FROM many unwanted circumstances, but He saves us TO a better life with Him in the picture during this era. We experience many blessings after He saves us. Maybe not all at once, but just wait. You will see when you get to know Jesus a little better a new clarity is blooming about a lot of things. 3 . Becoming saved is to have a Father who is generous and loving to His children. As we give Him that place of loving Father in our lives, it is amazing what good it produces in our hearts, and experiences. 4 . Becoming saved means being infused with life of a godly nature that grows within you and makes you a better person progressively through your stay here on earth. 5 . Being saved is starting a new relationship with Jesus. 6 . Receiving salvation means you receive forgiveness for sins. 7 . Being saved leads to many other new rights and benefits that come with the salvation ''package''. When the king is good and loving to His people, the word ''Kingdom'' also means the wonderful experiences and benefits that the King brings upon those who live under His reign. Jesus is the highest King of all. He brings His kingdom to earth in our lives and hearts when we are saved and afterward. The brilliance of His kingdom that we experience later, will far exceed the glimpses in our earthly lives. However, these glimpses are breathtakingly beautiful to our souls here in this life. They are foretastes of a future that believers will experience in His kingdom someday. Believers are said to be ''partakers of the good things of the age to come''. These glimpses might not come to us all the time, but even when they are infrequent, they are blessings nonetheless. The apostle Peter stated something as one of the central reasons to believe in Jesus. He addressed the crowd after healing a lame man in Solomon’s porch of the Temple. He proclaimed the message of the good news of Jesus. Shouting so the crowd could hear, he said, ''turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.'' In a sense these times of refreshing are God’s kingdom love, presence, and power appearing for us to experience. They are foretastes of age to come. My prayer is that you will receive and enjoy periods of refreshing from Jesus for years to come in this lifetime. I have found that refreshing comes more often and tangibly to my heart the more often and intently I spend time with God in prayer, praise, and worship. Refreshing also comes when I serve others and God. These activities deepen my love and trust for Him. The more we deeply express our love to Jesus, the more our emotions will follow suit. We will find ourselves loving Him more. The more we love Him, the more we will recognize the many blessings He puts into our lives. Website Theme: All You Need to Do To Be Saved is Believe in Jesus Christ as Your Savior. He Has Already Done the Work to Earn Your Entry into Heaven. To continue to the next Topic, What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus, please click the link below.