How would you describe heaven? Are you looking forward to going to heaven someday? And if someone asked you, how can I make it to heaven? What would you tell them? When I hear people answer that question, a lot of people say, I hope so. And what does I hope so really mean? Here's a simple metaphor. A ladder. It represents performance. There's a lot of people who think they need to perform to make it to heaven. They're hoping to climb the ladder. It's a religious ladder. You could even say it's religion. And it's dead. But that ladder is a ladder of performance and works. Going to church enough. Praying enough. Being a good enough person. There's a long checklist that people create that they try to accomplish to make it to heaven. And basically it's a statement saying Jesus' death on the cross is not sufficient. Some will say his death is a starting point but only covers a certain percentage of my entrance into heaven. And the rest of it is on me that I earn through my good works. And hopefully at the end of my life my good works outweigh my bad works and the performance is enough and God approves and I get in. And they're not really sure and they say, I hope so. But the word hope has two meanings. One is, I'm not really sure if I'm getting in. I hope so. The other meaning is, hope is guaranteed. It's a sure thing. So when the Bible talks about heaven, it is our hope, it is our guarantee, it is our promise. But here's the second metaphor. It's a chair. And a chair represents grace, an undeserved gift. It's not by works or performance, but instead it's what God has accomplished. It's not what I do, it's what Jesus has done. And His death on a cross is a 100% sufficient payment for all my sins and guarantees my entrance into heaven. What an incredible gift. That's why when you hear the word gospel, it simply means good news. Gospel is kind of a stained glass word, but good news. The good news is not that we have to perform and try to be good enough to get into heaven, for the Bible says it's not by works or else we could boast. No one can accomplish earning a spot in heaven, but instead good news means God loves us before we ever love Him. And Jesus has sacrificed the full price for us so that we can have sins forgiven, peace with God, and entrance into heaven, even eternal life. So as you think about hope and you think about heaven, is it the ladder or the chair? Are you in a system of trying to climb your way into heaven through the ladder, or is there a shift to the chair? Sitting in the chair. When the Bible says trust Jesus, It's similar to a chair where you have to trust the chair. You can check out the chair. You can see if it's reliable. You can investigate the chair. Eventually, you sit down in the chair, put your full weight on the chair. It's not enough to just say, intellectually, I think that chair will hold me. Or intellectually, I think Jesus probably did dine across and is risen and he factually is the Son of God. No, it's an individual decision to sit in a chair. And it's an individual decision to put your trust in Jesus. We don't have to hope and wonder, but we can hope and be sure. Why? Because of the good news. Not because of performance, but because of grace. As you think about heaven, take some time, go deep with God and think about the ladder and the chair. Receive that gift of eternal life by putting your trust in Jesus. Don't play the game of the ladder anymore, but just know that the chair is dependable and you can trust Jesus and have eternal life and know you're going to heaven.