I. Does God record names in heaven?
A. Luke 10:17 - 20 "...The seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the
demons are subject to us in Your name.' 18And He said to them, 'I saw Satan
fall like lightening from heaven. 19Behold, I give you the authority to trample
on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing
shall by any means hurt you. 20Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the
spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because you names are written
in heaven.'"
1.The names of the 70 were written in heaven.
2. Jesus said that should cause them to rejoice.
3. Luke 10:20 b "rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
B. Have other names been written in heaven?
1. Philippians 4:3 "...I urge you also, true companion, help these women who
labored with me in the gospel, with Clenent also, and the rest of my
fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life."
a. Women at Philippi who labored with Paul in the gospel.
b. Clemet and other fellow workers with Paul.
c. Have their names "in the Book of Life."
2. Revelation 3:5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments,
and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his
name before My Father and before His angels."
a. Observe that Jesus will confess before the Father those whose names
are in the Book of Life.
1.) In Matthew 10:32 Jesus said, "Whoever confesses Me before men, him
I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven."
2.) Romans 10:10 "...With the heart one believes unto...."
b. In Revelation 3:5 "He who overcomes" does so by living a life of
confession.
1.) His name will not be blotted out of the Book of Life.
2.) Be warnd, the names of those who do not overcome evil will be
blotted out of the Book of Life.
3. There is another warning in Revelation 22:19 "...If anyone takes away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from
the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in
this book."
a. A child of God who has been overcome with evil should not dispair.
b. It may be possible to have your name RE-ENTERED in the Book of Life.
Acts 8:22 "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if
perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you."

II. Has God always recorded names in heaven?
A. Exodus 32:30 - 33 "...Moses said to the people, 'You have committed a great
sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for
your sin.' 31Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, 'Oh, these people
have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!
32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your
book which you have written.' 33And the LORD said to Moses, 'Whoever has
sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.'"
1. Moses knew of a book in which he was recorded.
2. The LORD acknowledged the existence of that book.
a. The book is not Old Testament. -- Adam, Cain, Nadab, etc.
b. Neither is it the New testament. -- Ananias, Hymenaeus, Alexander, etc.
B. Malachi 3:16 & 17 "Then those who feared the L0RD spoke to one another,
and the LORD listened and heard ...; So a book of rememberance was
written before Him For those who fear the LORD And meditate on His name.
17'They shall be Mine,' Says the LORD of host, On the day that I make them
My jewels.'"
1. This book of remembrance does not make all the difference in the world.
2. This book makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN HEAVEN.

III.Who may have their names written in heaven?
A. Matthew 11:28 - 30 "Come to Me, all ... who labor...."
1. Here Jesus Christ invites all who labor under a load of sin, "COME TO ME."
2. He promises those who come to him, "I will give you rest."
a. Rest from the heavy load of sin.
b. Not a SIT DOWN, RELAX and DO NOTHING rest.
c. "Rest for your souls."
3. those who accept the invitation and come to Jesus are given things to do.
a. "Take My yoke upon you."
b. "Learn of Me."
4. However, Christ also said, "My yoke is easy."
a. Some do not believe His yoke is easy.
b. They complain, "It is HARD to be a Christian."
1.) Those complaineers probably have failed to crucify "the flesh with its
passions and desires" (Gal 5:24).
2.) Proverbs 13:15 "...The way of the unfaithful is hard."
3.) John 10:10 Jesus said, "I am come that they may have life, and that
they may have it more abundantly."
B. John 3:16 "God so loved the world that...."
1. "whoever believs in Him should not perish."
2. Observe the fact that there is a difference between believing "in him" and
believing about Him.
a. When I was growing up, polio was a dreaded disease which killed and
crippled many people.
b. When my children were small, I heard about a doctor Sabin.
1.) I believed what I heard - he had developed an oral polio vacine.
2.) However, to acquire imunity from polio it was necessary to do more
than believe those things about Dr. Sabin.
3.) It was necessary to believe in Dr. Savin and his vacine enough to take
the prescribed dosage.
3. Likewise, to be saved from sin one must do more than believe things about
the GREAT PHYSICIAN.
a. To be saved a sinner must believe in the GREATR PHYSICIAN enough to
take the mecicine He has prescribed for sin-sickness. Matthew 7:24
"whoever hears these saying of Mine...."
b. Those who hear Jesus and do what He says may have their names
written in heaven.

IV. What is required to have your name written in heven?
A. In Matthew 7:21 - 24 Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not
prophecied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many
wonders in Your name?' 23And then I will declare to them, I never knew
you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! 24Therefore whoever
hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man
who built his house on the rock:".
1. We must do "the will of [the] Father in heaven."
2. We know His will by hearing what Christ has said.
3. We do the Father's will by doing what Jesus has said.
B. Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they
may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into
the city."
C. Acts 10:35 "...in every nation whoever fears Him...."
1. John 6:28 & 29 "...They said to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work
the works of God?' 29Jesus answered ... 'This is the work of God, that you
believe in Him whom He sent.'"
a. John 8:24 "...If you do not believe that I am ... you will...."
b. Hebrews 11:6 "...Without faith it is impossible to please...."
2. Working righteousness also requires repentance.
a. Acts 17:30 "...these times of ignorance God overlooked, ...."
b. 2 Peter 3:9 "the Lord is not slack concerning His promise...."
3. To work righteousness one must confess faith in Christ.
a. Romans 10:10 "...With the heart one believes unto...."
b. Matthew 10:32 "...Whoever confesses Me before men, him I also...."
1.) Matthew 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who
does not gather with Me scatters abroad."
2.) Not being with Christ has the same result as DENYING HIM. Matthew
10:33 "...Whoever denies Me before men, him I also will deny before
My Father who is in heaven."
3.) We must be with Christ to be with God because "God was with Him"
(Acts 10:38).
4. Another work of righteousness is baptism.
a. Matthew 3:13 - 15 "...Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be
baptized by him, 14And John tried to prevent Him saying, 'I need to be
baptized by You, and are You coming to me?' 15But Jesus answered and
said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all
righteousness,' Then he allowed Him."
1.) John baptized for remission of sins (Lk. 3:3).
2.) However, Jesus was without sin (Heb. 4:15).
3.) the baptism of Jesus shows that baptism is necessary to
righteousness.
b. With the exception of Jesus, "all have sinned" (Ro. 3:23 & 5:12).
1.) We noticed that the LORD said, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will
blot him out of My book " (Ex. 32:33).
2.) However, it is now possible to have our sins washed away. In Acts
22:16 Ananias told Saul of Tarsus, "Arise and be baptized, and wash
away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
3.) Baptism is into death with Christ.
a.) Romans 6:3 & 4a "...Do you not know that as many of us as were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4Therefore
we were buried with Him through baptism into death."
b.) Romans 6:7 "...He who has died has been freed of sin."
c.) Galatians 3:26 & 27 "...You are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put
on Christ."
c. Being baptized into Christ is necessary because salvation is in Christ.
2 Timothy 2:10 "...I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they
also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."
5. There is "a book of remembrance written before Him For those who fear
the LORD And who meditate on His name" (Malichi 3:16).

V. What if your name is NOT in that book?
A. Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead small and great, standing before God,
and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book
of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things
which were written in the books."
B. Revelation 20:15 "...Anyone not found written in the Book of life was cast
into the lake of fire."
C. If your name is not written in heaven - by faith, repentance, confession and
baptism you can become one of those wh can read about in Hebrews 12:22
& 23 "...You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23to the general
assembly and church of the firstborn who are regestered in heaven,...."

By Fred Shewmaker

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