00:01Hey friends, it's Doug Vandegraaff, your Jesus VJ, and this morning I was listening to R.E.M.'s
00:08Man on the Moon, and there's a little line about seeing somebody in heaven if you make
00:14the list.
00:15Now, obviously I'm not a VJ, I just have an MTV shirt on today, and that inspired me to
00:21be a little goofy.
00:23But I was listening to that song this morning, and there's lyrics in there that say,
00:28See you in heaven if you make the list.
00:32Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:34Now, before all of this, being on YouTube and doing and speaking on behalf of Christ, I used
00:41to think about that lyric every time I listened to that song, and I thought, wait a minute,
00:48is there really a list?
00:51Because if there is, I'm probably in trouble.
00:54Is God sitting up there with a clipboard watching everything I do?
00:59You know, do you finally arrive at heaven, and an angel says, name, Douglas Vandegraaff?
01:06And then he starts flipping through pages, then he makes that face and says, oh, yeah,
01:14Douglas Vandegraaff.
01:15Yeah, we need to talk about a few things, and that's the picture of God I think a lot
01:23of people have grown up with.
01:25God does see everything.
01:28Does he write everything down?
01:31Every mistake?
01:32Every bad decision?
01:35Every time you've lost your temper?
01:38You know, is that the case?
01:41Or does the book of life have a different meaning instead of the list imagery we've been provided
01:49by our religions, saying, oh, if your name isn't written in the book because you've done
01:54something wrong, you're not coming in heaven.
01:58And you know what?
02:00Fear is a tremendous motivator.
02:03I think we can all agree.
02:05You know, every time you've said something you shouldn't have said, oh, that's there.
02:10And someday, apparently, God is going to pull out the file, and he's going to use all of
02:17that against you.
02:18But is that really the Christian message?
02:21I want you to think about that for a second, because what I think is not quite.
02:29You see, the Bible absolutely teaches that our lives matter.
02:33Our choices, well, they matter.
02:36How we treat people matters as well.
02:38There is accountability before God.
02:42That's not what I'm saying.
02:44But the center of Christianity isn't a list of everything you've done wrong.
02:50The center of Christianity is Jesus Christ.
02:54And that, my friends, changes everything.
02:58Because the gospel isn't, try really hard and maybe you'll accumulate enough points to
03:06someday get into heaven.
03:07I want you to imagine for a second if it really worked that way.
03:12And it doesn't.
03:14You know, it doesn't work like, help somebody carry groceries.
03:20Plus three.
03:22Lose your temper in traffic.
03:24Minus four.
03:26Give money to someone in need.
03:29Plus five.
03:30Call the guy in front of you an idiot because he forgot how a turn signal works.
03:35Minus two.
03:37Although, I think we can all agree that each of these particular cases deserves further review.
03:44But thankfully, Christianity is not a heavenly rewards program.
03:50You know, Paul tells us in Ephesians that salvation comes by grace through faith.
03:57Grace.
03:59You know what?
04:01That word matters.
04:03Grace means you don't earn God's love by being perfect.
04:07And maybe you need to hear that today.
04:11Maybe what you've been told by those that didn't know any better and weren't trying to hurt you
04:18isn't the correct version of what's actually going on.
04:22You know, there could be something perhaps in your past that still bothers you.
04:29Something you said.
04:31Maybe something you did.
04:33A relationship you damaged.
04:35A season in your life you wish you could redo.
04:38And every once in a while you think,
04:42God remembers that and he's holding that against me right now.
04:46But you know what?
04:49God does know your past.
04:51But knowing your past and holding your past over your head forever
04:55are two very different things.
04:59Psalm 103 says,
05:00God removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west.
05:06Think about that.
05:08You know, some of us are still carrying around things that God has already forgiven.
05:14God threw it away.
05:16We pick it back up.
05:19You know, we are constantly thinking,
05:22Hey Lord, remember when I did this?
05:25It was horrible and I'm sorry for it.
05:27But you know, maybe heaven is saying,
05:30Why are you still carrying that?
05:33Romans 8 says,
05:34There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
05:39No condemnation.
05:41Christ himself said,
05:44Where are your accusers, woman?
05:46And she looked up and said,
05:48Lord, there is no one.
05:50And he said,
05:52Then neither do I condemn you.
05:54Go now and sin no more.
05:57And you know what?
05:59That doesn't mean there are no consequences.
06:02If you hurt somebody,
06:04You may need to apologize.
06:06If you made a mess,
06:09You may need to still clean that up.
06:11You know, grace doesn't remove responsibility.
06:15Grace gives you the courage to face responsibility
06:18Without believing that your worst mistake
06:21Defines you forever.
06:24God can correct you
06:26Without rejecting you.
06:29Let me say that again.
06:34God can correct you
06:36Without rejecting you.
06:39And I want you to understand that
06:42That's an important difference.
06:44Maybe God isn't an angry accountant
06:47Keeping your spiritual balance sheet.
06:51Maybe he's a father
06:53Trying to help his child grow.
06:56Maybe he's trying to help you grow.
06:59And yes,
07:00The Bible does talk about the book of life.
07:03So there is actual imagery there
07:06That's misunderstood by a lot of people.
07:08But you know what?
07:10Heaven isn't portrayed
07:12As an exclusive nightclub
07:14With God standing behind a velvet rope
07:17Deciding whether you
07:19Are impressive enough to enter.
07:22Look at the people Jesus welcomed.
07:25He welcomed fishermen,
07:27Tax collectors,
07:29Doubters,
07:30Sinners,
07:32Broken people,
07:34Complicated people.
07:36Think about it.
07:37Peter denied him three times
07:39After he promised he would not.
07:42Thomas doubted him.
07:44Paul once persecuted Christians.
07:47Now when he was Saul
07:49He was not the friend of our
07:51Neighborly Christian brother and sister.
07:54I gotta tell you
07:54He did some horrible things.
07:56But God used him
07:57And worked through him
07:59To write more of the New Testament
08:01Than any other writer.
08:03Than the other gospels put together
08:05Paul wrote
08:06More than them.
08:08He was an amazing man.
08:10He was born again.
08:12He's the
08:12Direct representation
08:14Of being born again.
08:16He's also the direct representation of
08:19You can't get much worse than this.
08:22But God can still find something positive for your life.
08:27I think a lot of us get run down.
08:30You know, we've all been there.
08:31Run down.
08:32Where nothing's going right.
08:34We've made a mistake.
08:35And it's a mistake we can't walk back from.
08:39But you know what?
08:40God can redeem you.
08:42Carry you forward.
08:43Give you purpose.
08:44And develop you into the type of person
08:47That he needs
08:48To achieve his goals on this planet.
08:51And that's good news.
08:53Because, you know what?
08:55God isn't intimidated by a messy resume.
08:59Because, if we're honest,
09:02Most of us have one.
09:03So, maybe the better question isn't
09:07Is God keeping track of everything I've ever done wrong?
09:12Maybe the better question is
09:14What is God doing in my life today?
09:18Am I becoming more loving?
09:21More patient?
09:23More forgiving?
09:25More generous?
09:27More like Christ?
09:29You know,
09:31It's not
09:32You better behave
09:33Or God might stop loving you.
09:36Grace says
09:38God loves you.
09:39Now, let that love change you.
09:43That's Christianity.
09:45You fall?
09:46You get back up.
09:48You hurt somebody?
09:50You make it right.
09:52You sin?
09:54You ask forgiveness.
09:56You learn.
09:58You grow.
10:00And then you keep moving forward.
10:03You don't have to drag yesterday behind you
10:06For the rest of your life
10:07Like a suitcase with a broken wheel.
10:11God isn't sitting in heaven
10:13Waiting to catch you failing.
10:16He's trying to bring you home.
10:19So, yes.
10:20You know what, my friend?
10:22Your life matters.
10:24Your choices matter, too.
10:27And you and I are both going to get things wrong.
10:32But the good news of Jesus Christ
10:35Is that grace is bigger than the list of things we wish we could change.
10:40So keep walking.
10:42Keep growing.
10:44Keep loving people.
10:47And when God forgives you
10:51Maybe it's finally time to stop arguing with Him
10:54About whether you deserve to be forgiven.
10:58You don't have to be perfect.
11:00You just have to keep turning toward the One who is.
11:05And maybe, well, maybe that's the real answer.
11:10Is God keeping a list?
11:13I'd spend a whole lot less time worrying about the list
11:18And a whole lot more time walking with Jesus
11:21Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
11:26My name is Douglas Van de Graaff
11:28And I believe in Jesus Christ
11:31God bless every single one of you
11:35Every single one
11:37And everyone
11:39You love
11:40Bye-bye
11:43Bye-bye
11:43Bye-bye
11:43Bye-bye
11:43Bye-bye
11:44Bye-bye
11:44Bye-bye
11:46Bye-bye
