Some People Miss Heaven by 16 or 18 Inches

John 1:12; John 3:16
Children—H. Roossinck
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Front rows, there's a road there and there's a road there and there's a lot of empty chairs here. Just come right up right now and don't pay any attention to the older ones and this or your mom or your dad. Otherwise, if you want to come up, you're welcome to come right up here to the front because I need a little help and I like to work with children because they're a little easier for me to get along with sometimes than the older ones. Although I really am thankful for all my older friends as well.
But I need help this morning first of all.
And starting the meeting, the children's meeting, I might be a minute early so anybody comes in, don't think they're late. But if we get started a minute early, maybe we'll even stop a minute or sometimes 2 minutes early.
Okay, who has a hymn that we could sing? And we're going to try to stay with the Backpage of the handbook. OK, this young man here with a red coat on.
17.
OK, we're going to start our Sunday school with him #17.
Have you any room for Jesus? That's a question.
You have room for Jesus.
Well, let's sing that here and we find out what it says.
Have you any room for me?
And in our time.
Did your name make?
During that verse, was your name mentioned?
And look at that first verse. Was your name mentioned in that first verse? I'm going to read it to you very careful because some of you perhaps don't read it says, have you any room for Jesus? You bore the Lord of sin as he knocked and asked admission, Sinner.
Will you let him in? Is your name mentioned there? Do you qualify for one of those names?
Are you a Sinner?
00:05:00
Oh, you know what the Bible tells us? That all were born and sinned and everyone in this room came short of the glory of God. Well, the Lord Jesus came down into this world to make a way that sinners might be saved and have all their sins put away. I know you know that story, and we're going to talk a little bit about it later on. Now we have another number for us.
OK, I'll ask this young lady here. That boy last time, 46.
46 Well that's a nice one. Got to do a little spelling here, don't we? Glad TIDINGF.
Glad TIDIM.
Dreams.
Flash day after I come to have to say.
That's a nice tell this about glad hiding, glad kiting. You like good news. I'm sure that a lot of these children like it when they hear that grandpa and Grandma are coming, and then they really look forward to a time when they can have some fun with grandpa and grandma and maybe other relatives too.
But here is some tidings that come from heaven. They come from heaven and it tells us that Jesus has come order that we might be saved. Thank you.
I if you can't hear me in the background, just raise your hand and I'll try and talk a little louder, but.
Good news, good news, that's what we have to tell you today is good news. Okay, who's got another hymn that we can sing? OK, I'll, I'll ask this young boy here #41.
Around the throne of God in heaven.
Around the throne of God in heaven. Well, many children say children.
Are all forgiving? Well heavily on the brain singing glory.
Glory.
Glory.
To God.
Online.
And shining around the fatherless white one will be already.
Taking glory?
Glory.
Glory.
You know boys and girls.
We can sing glory, glory be to God on high right now. We don't have to wait till we get to heaven. And I'm glad that I could look around and I could see quite a few miles opening and shutting. And I know that you were singing the words, and that's wonderful to sing the words from your mouth about the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus loves to hear.
00:10:10
Boys and girls, you know when He was on earth, He took children up in his arms and he blessed them. He loved the children. God is light, but it says to that God is love. And when we think that God is light, that means that God can look right down into your heart, right down into your heart, and He can see whether or not you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
If you have accepted him, God is well pleased because He sent his Son into the world to do what? What did he send his Son into the world to do?
The guy to die on the cross, didn't he? So that sinners like you and like me and like all the rest of us could be saved. OK, let's have another hymn. OK, we'll take the.
2nd girl from that end, your daughter.
41 Again. Well, we'll sing the first verse and the chorus. 41 Again, the first verse in the chorus. Sometimes we do that, don't we? We we repeat as stands, and that's nice. It ought to mean a lot to us. Now think about the words real closely.
Around the throne of God and heaven. Well, many children.
Six children.
From spring singing.
Hurry, Glory.
You know, I think it'd be nice if right now we're just all close our eyes and we look to the Lord for his help. Well, let's close our eyes and thank the Lord. Together, our gracious God and our loving Father, we thank Thee this morning that Thou hast provided a Savior for sinners. And I was provided thy beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, to come down into this world, to make known unto us the Father's heart of love.
And we pray that every boy and girl here would be found with their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. So we pray for Thy help and blessing this morning, that the message that might be spoken would be simple and easy for the children to understand, and that they might in their simple way, just put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Today we pray for Thy help and we give thanks.
In thy name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
You know, I thought when I was asked to speak here.
Or something that took place in this neighborhood not too far away. It was a train and a bus collided Iraq, wasn't it?
I'm sure many of your children had heard about that. And I wondered about those children that were on that bus. I wonder if some of them are up in the glory now. I don't know. You know, none of us know what a day will bring forth, do we? We don't know when something's going to happen in our lives. How many children here have ridden the school bus, these front rows? Many of you ride the bus. Did you ever think what would happen if you were in that bus and you were one of those children that died?
They didn't have much time to think about it, maybe a few seconds. Oh, you know, it's so important, boys and girls, to decide right now to accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior. And if those boys and girls, any of them have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, they're up in glory.
What about if they have not accepted the Lord Jesus? There was some fairly old ones on there. They weren't all children your age. Some of them were 1415 and maybe even 16.
Where do you think they would be if they hadn't accepted the Lord Jesus?
They would be where? Where would they be, John?
Inhale, inhale the lake of fire. That's a terrible thing. So we want to warn you boys and girls this morning to accept the Lord Jesus while you're young. Don't put it off and wait a little longer, OK? We're going to sing a few more hymns. Who's got another one? I haven't taken any from this side, so I'll ask this boy in a green shirt.
00:15:17
Watch on.
Number one.
31 Thank you.
Is that the right one? Point it out.
Oh wow, wow, 21 backwards.
That's all right.
Just as I am. Oh you know, that's so nice. The Lord Jesus takes us just as we are. OK #12.
Just as I am.
Crying.
All right.
Maybe we'll start singing now for a little bit, or we'll sing a little later again, perhaps. And I excuse me.
And I have a little bench, a little bench here to lay some of my things on.
00:20:05
How many?
Here, get this paper. How many boys and girls get this paper?
Oh good, you get it every week.
You know the verse.
Some of you do and some of you don't.
I'm going to read the verse. I think I'm going to read it wrong.
And you see if you can tell me where I made a mistake. Maybe I don't know if everybody hears me or not, but.
Verse Where is the verse found? I know that little girl down here. In the end, Christine, where is the verse found?
You told me this morning because we stayed at your house and you said it was John. What?
John 1.
And verse 12 John one and verse 12 OK I'll read it to you. As many as receive the Sunday school paper to them gave thee power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Did I read that right?
What did I Where did I miss up?
Where did I miss that?
Sunday school paper. You know, just because you read it in the Sunday school paper. How many read all the stories in the Sunday school paper?
Well, that's good. None of the older ones read it, but some of the younger ones did. And I'm thankful for that. You know, in the little town where we come from, every home in that town gets the Sunday school paper. Every home. And I'm thankful for that. But it doesn't help us to get to heaven. You know, a lot of people miss heaven by about 16 or 18 inches. Do you know what I mean?
They miss heaven by 16 or 18 inches, and you could miss heaven too, by that much.
Everybody here, I believe could say, is there anybody here that doesn't know John 316?
Offer in case somebody doesn't know it, Let's sing it. John 316. John 360.
Of the world.
That day gave the lonely God on the sun.
That girl saw ever.
Believe within him.
Shall not hear anybody.
Well, you know, and I said that we might miss heaven. There might be someone would miss heaven. By 16 inches, what do you think I meant?
What do you think I meant?
Well, I'll tell you what I meant so everybody can hear. We might know the way to heaven in our head and we might know that the Lord Jesus and we really believe in our head that the Lord Jesus and the Bible is true, but we never have believed it in our heart and our brain up here down to our heart. That's about 16 or 18 inches depending on how tall you are. And you know, a lot of people believe in their head.
That that what we said about John 316 is true, but they don't believe it in their heart. And today we want to make the way of salvation very plain so that boys and girls can get saved without having to know a whole lot about the Bible. But they have to know one thing, and that is that they are what?
Why that they are saved? They have to know something before they can be saved. You have to be what?
They have to be what?
You have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but you have to know that you are a Sinner.
And you know there's no room for sin up in heaven.
All those guilty stains of sin must be, must be washed away. So you have to just simply tell the Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, I'm a Sinner and I want to be saved. And the Lord Jesus has done all the rest. You don't have to quote John 316. You don't have to quote any other verses. You can and it's very nice if you do. But I want you to know that to be saved, you just have to tell the Lord Jesus that you are a Sinner and you want to be saved.
00:25:13
And the Lord Jesus has done all the rest. He died on the cross. And we read about that in the home where we stayed this morning, of how he was hung on the cross there. And he was forsaken of God because he was bearing the judgment of our sins there on that cross. Well, you know.
I thought about a little story in the Bible and it's found in the Gospel of Mark in the 11Th chapter.
Mark 11 and I'm going to read it to your children. You don't have to open up your Bibles necessarily, but just listen and you see if you recognize some of the stories that we're going to talk about it says and when they that's the Lord Jesus and those with him came nigh to Jerusalem. He wasn't quite in the city yet on the Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives he sent forth two of his disciples.
He sent forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you, and as soon as you've entered into it.
You shall find a cold tide where on never man sat loose him and bring him to me. You know in the Bible in Job, I think it's chapter I have it written down here 11 and verse 12. It says that we're like a wild *** is cold. In other words, boys and girls are born into this world. They're born in sin and they need a savior for the Lord Jesus.
Wants to save boys and girls, and he wants to bring them to himself. And so it says here.
If any man.
If any man say unto you, Why do ye this? Say ye that the Lord hath need of him, and straightway he will send him? Hit her. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without, in a place where two ways met.
So this little donkey, this little donkey, we sing about him, don't we? Sometimes. And I think maybe we'll try to sing about him when we get done talking. I think, you know, the, the little story about a wild little donkey and boys and girls. We're like that little wild donkey. We, we, this little donkey was tied, he had to be tied to a tree. Well, you know, your parents bring you to the Sunday school and that, see some of them set the, the different ones in different chairs here and there and everywhere.
To hear the gospel message, to hear how boys and girls can get saved while they're young. Well, it says there was a place where two ways met. Two ways met. You know, there are. There's only one way to heaven. There's not two ways. There's not two ways. One time I heard a man say, well, you go your way and I'll go my way. And in the end, we're all going to get to the same place. Well, you know, that's not true.
When we came to the meetings here, we could come several different roads and eventually end up coming here to this school. And we could come from the east, from the West, from the north, from the South, and we could get here all kinds of different ways. But there's only one way to heaven. There's only one way. And the Lord Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh into the Father.
Bought by me and you know, there's another story in the Bible about the donkey.
About the lower coal of an *** that says in Exodus that everyone of them, if the man had a a little donkey or a little cold, he had to redeem it. He had to redeem it. Well, that was a little picture way back almost 2000 years before the Lord Jesus came into this world about redemption. Redemption you and I, in order to be made fit for heaven has to be redeemed.
And the Lord Jesus has shed his precious blood that we might be redeemed, that we might be made fit for heaven. There's no other way that we could get to heaven without being redeemed.
Well, it says, It says here, if any man saying to you, Why do you this, say unto them, The Lord hath need of him. Does the Lord need you?
00:30:10
What do you think? Do you think the Lord needs you? Yes, he does. And so this morning we're here to hear the word of the Lord and to sing these hymns. The Lord needs you, He wants you. He died for you. But there are some who will never get to heaven. Why won't they get to heaven?
Why won't they come to him? Why?
They don't lie.
They don't listen, they don't believe. You know, it's nice to see your children listen. And I like that when boys and girls really listen, it makes it very helpful for the one talking because I know that you're listening to the word of God. Don't listen to my voice, but remember, this is the voice of the Lord speaking to us.
And so it says, the Lord hath need of him. And you know that's so wonderful because many of us have been saved many, many years ago. And then we realized that the Lord wants them and.
The last one accepts the Lord Jesus as their Savior. In this the day of grace, something is going to happen. What's going to happen?
What? You're answering all the questions. Let's get somebody else.
I'm glad you answered it. Anybody else want to answer that question? What's going to happen when the house is full in heaven? You know, John?
It'll be shot, yes. He's going to give a shout, isn't he? And then all the redeemed of the earth are going to go to meet the Lord in the air. And that's wonderful. But you know, children, it's while we're down here that we have the opportunity to be saved. But the last one might be saved in another 2 minutes, maybe only two minutes from now. The last one will be saved, and then the door will be shut and it will be forever too late.
You know, not so long ago at our home, we live on a farm where we grow apples, and a school bus turned in to the driveway by the storage where we pack apples. And the children on that bus wanted a tour and the arrangements had been made before. And so we put them on a wagon and I drove them through the orchard. And this particular group I happened to drive the tractor and I drove them through the orchard and we talked about all the different kinds of apples.
And then I stopped at one place and I said to the boys and girls on that, on that wagon who were riding with me, I said, you have red apples and we have yellow apples. We have Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and we have Ida Reds and we have all different kinds of apples that you probably know.
But I said, if I wanted to plant an orchard, and I wanted an orchard of Red Delicious, what kind of apple would I plant in the ground?
What kind of apple do you think I'd land?
Well, you know, that's the way it would seem if I took an apple and planted it in the ground, that if it was a Red Delicious apple, the tree that would come up would bear Red Delicious apples. But that's not true. That's not true. It might have red looking apples, but they wouldn't be like the apple that I planted in the ground because the apple I planted in the ground would be a wild root and it might be a thorny apple.
It's hard to say what kind of apple might come up.
But it may not be red, it might be yellow, it might be orange, it might be a different color. So I pointed out to the children, they stopped the tractor and I got off and I went to a little apple tree about this high. And I pointed to a little spot on that tree right down by the ground where they could see there was a little bump in the bark. And I said that tree that's on top of that bump, That's where the tree was grafted. It had to have a new.
Life, the old life of that tree would produce only.
Bad fruit, that is, it would produce fruit. It might taste fairly good and it might not, but very likely it would be a thorny apple tree. We had to put a new branch in. And you know, in order for you and I to go to heaven, we have to have new life. We have to have the life that the Lord Jesus gives us and he can bring us. He can give us a new life if we put our faith and trust in Him. But you know, by nature, and I say this.
I hope you'll understand that you, everyone in this room was born in sin and we have to have new life.
00:35:07
So I told that to the children, and some of them seemed to understand. I noticed when the bus drove in that it said some Christian Academy on the bus. So they gave me a little courage to talk to them because I thought they wouldn't mind hearing a little, a little bit about the gospel of the grace of God and that we have to have new life to serve the Lord Jesus. And you and I, all of us need to have new life. And the Lord Jesus will give it to us if we just come to him and tell him that we're a Sinner and we want to be saved.
And you know, there's another side too, that I want to mention to your children. We're not going to talk too long, but you know, the Lord Jesus loves to hear our voices. And there's a verse.
That I really enjoy. I'm just going to read it to you and I'm sure many of you have heard it before.
It's Malachi 3 and verse 16 and there it says they that feared the Lord.
They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it.
In a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord.
And that thought upon his name. And you know, I think that's so nice for children because, you know, just a little thought about the Lord Jesus and what he has done for you brings honor and glory to God the Father. And a book is written up there and then and what you thought about and what you talked about to your friend about the Lord Jesus is being written down in heaven. It's being written there.
If it comes right from your heart, if you really love the Lord Jesus and you sing songs about the Lord Jesus, and if we talk to one another about the Lord Jesus, all those things are being written down. God never forgets. He never forgets what we have said about His Son. There's one thing He will forget. He will forget our sins. If we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus, then God says their sins and their iniquities.
Well, I remember no more. So boys and girls, as we close the Sunday School, we want you to stop and realize and remember that.
You can miss heaven by 16 inches If you just believe in your head and know the verses from the Bible, but don't believe them in your heart, you're going to miss heaven. We have to believe in our heart. We just simply have to tell the Lord Jesus that we want to be saved because we're lost. And the Lord Jesus has done all the work on the cross. He hung there on the cross for three hours, for three hours. We read about that this morning.
At the home where we were and it's so wonderful to realize how much he loves us. We would never be able to measure all his love. But if we just think about that, just the thought of that running through your mind. The Lord Jesus is being recorded in heaven. Those that thought upon his name. Now I want to sing that little song about the donkey and I know it's in this book. It's not in our hymn sheet. It's 88 in here. And I think most of you know the song about the little.
Donkey and I thought maybe we could sing it.
Yes, there once was a wild little donkey. He had to be tied to a tree and Jesus was thinking about him. He said go and bring him to me. And when they had brought him to Jesus as quickly as ever they could, that restless that wild little donkey was quiet, obedient and good. You know, when we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.
Nice to see if there's going to be some fruit in our lives.
When Jesus was riding upon him, he went just the way that He should. A quiet submissive. We donkey made soul by the blessed Son of God. And Jesus is able to make you whatever He wants you to be. He loves you and longs to forgive you and make you both happy and free. And do you know that Him? Supposing we started to sing, and I think quite a few know it by heart. There once was a wild little donkey.
He had to be tied to a dream and Jesus was thinking about him.
00:40:03
He said go and bring him to me, and when they had brought him to Jesus.
And wickedly as ever, they could collaborate myself while there's a donkey.
Was quiet, obedient anger.
When Jesus was riding upon him, he went up the way that he should. A quiet sadness. And we don't give me so, my love and son of God.
And Jesus is able to make you.
Whatever he wants you to.
He loves you and make your both happy and free.
You know, that's what we would like to see this morning, that all the boys and girls would be happy and free. And now in the next meeting that comes after this one, we're going to be able to remember the Lord Jesus and his death. And maybe some of you are not at the Lord's table, but in the in your heart you can have precious thoughts of the Lord Jesus. And that's pleasing to God the Father to have a precious thought of the Lord Jesus in your heart.
So now we'll commend ourselves to the Lord, and we'll pray again. Our gracious God and our loving Father, we thank Thee for everyone of the children that are present here this morning, and we earnestly pray that with each one they may put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. While it is yet the day of grace, we realize how feebly the word often is spoken, but we know thou art able to speak to the heart and soul of each one.
And we pray that there would not be one here who would miss heaven as it were by 16 or 18 inches, but that they might just come and simple faith and put their trust in Thee. Help those of us who are older to be of help and encouragement to them and to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We need Thy grace. We need Thy help. We need Thy help for this day. Help us to learn the verse.
That thou has provided for us, We thank Thee for the messages of the love of God that are handed out.
And that these children receive them, and that many of them read the stories. And we pray Thy blessing upon this paper. So we commend thy word to thee, and do give thanks in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.