If You Died Today, Could You Tell Me Where You’re Going?

The Word at the Table

I'm Neal Reyes, The Entrepreneurs' Pastor, and I'm glad you're back at the table. Two words for you again this week. One for your faith and one for your leadership. The faith word this week is one I want you to sit with, because I believe it is going to shift something in the way you think about your life right now and where you are headed. Let's get into it.

This Week's Word

The Opening: If You Died Today, Could You Tell Me Where You're Going?

Not what it would feel like. Where.

That is the question I want you to sit with for a moment before we go anywhere else today. Because most people, when you ask them about heaven, they can describe a feeling. A sense of peace. Somewhere beautiful. A place where good people go. But if you ask them to tell you what heaven actually is, that is where it gets fuzzy.

And here is the problem with fuzzy. You cannot pursue a destination you cannot define. And you cannot lead others toward a place you have never thought through yourself.

This week on Champion's Walk, we went deeper into our series Eternity: Waking Up the Church, and the word was simple and direct. Heaven is real. Not a concept. Not a feeling. Not something that exists to comfort us when life gets hard. Heaven is a real place that God built, and it has an address.

If that sounds elementary, stay with me. Because what I want to do in this word is give you something you can carry with you, something that moves you from a general belief in heaven to a settled, specific, biblically grounded understanding of it. There is a real difference between those two things. And that difference matters more than most people realize.

Part One: Heaven Is Real, and It Has an Address

We are in Part 3 of our series Eternity: Waking Up the Church on Champion's Walk. In Part 1 we talked about the danger of Comfort Christianity. In Part 2 we walked through the manuscript evidence that makes the Bible the most verified document in the history of the world. This week we are taking on the topic that sits underneath all of it. If eternity is real, and if the Bible is real, then heaven is real. And it is time for the church to understand what that actually means.

Here is where I want to start. The Bible does not use the word heaven in just one way. The Bible describes three distinct heavens, and most believers have never been taught this. But it matters, because when we talk about eternity, we are talking about a specific one.

The first heaven is what we see when we look up. The sky. The atmosphere where the birds fly. Genesis 1:20 gives us that picture when God speaks over the waters and says let the birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens. That is the first heaven. The sky.

The second heaven is outer space. The sun, the moon, the stars. Psalm 19:1 NKJV tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. And then Genesis 1:16-17 fills that in when it says God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night, and He set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth. That is the second heaven. Space.

And then there is the third heaven. The dwelling place of God. The eternal heaven. The one that will never pass away.

2 Corinthians 12:2 NKJV gives us a window into this. The Apostle Paul writes, "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago, whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows, such a one was caught up to the third heaven." He is describing a man who, during Paul's own lifetime, was caught up to the place where God dwells. Not centuries ago. Within Paul's own generation.

Faith Anchor #1: Heaven is a destination, not a daydream.

The first two heavens, the sky and the space beyond it, the Bible tells us those will pass away. But the third heaven, the eternal dwelling place of God, that is permanent. And here is what seals it. Jesus Himself, in John 14:2-3 NKJV, says this. "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

Those are red-letter words. And red words win.

He is not speaking in metaphor. He is not giving us a feeling to cling to. He is describing a real place that He personally went to prepare. A place with an address. A place where He is waiting.

And then Philippians 3:20 NKJV gives us something that, if you really let it land, it will change how you carry yourself every day. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." You are a citizen of heaven. The moment you were born again and your name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life, your citizenship was secured. Not earned. Secured. And citizenship is what gives you legal access, legal standing, and the full coverage of every benefit that kingdom provides.

Faith Anchor #2: Everyone can see two heavens, but to see the third, you must be born again.

Anyone can walk outside and look up. The sky is visible to everyone. Outer space is visible to everyone on a clear night. But the third heaven, the eternal heaven, the one being prepared for you right now, that one requires something. It requires a decision. Romans 10:9 NKJV tells us what that decision is. When a person believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, they are born again. Their name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. And their citizenship in the third heaven is established.

People do not get to heaven by being good. They do not get there by being kind, by living a moral life, or by doing more right things than wrong ones. Those things reflect godly character and they matter. But they are not the entrance. The entrance is being born again. That is not Neal's standard. That is the standard of God's Word.

Now here is where this word gets personal. If heaven is real, and heaven is real, then it must change how we live today. You are a citizen of heaven, but you are stationed on this earth right now for a reason. God did not place you here like a waiting room where you sit until your number is called. He placed you here because there is something He intends to do in this earth that He can only do through you. His power, as the scripture reveals it, operates through people. Through His believers. Through you.

Colossians 3:1-2 NKJV instructs us this way. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." When you set your mind on the things above, you live eternity-minded. And when you live eternity-minded, you reach more people. You carry more weight. You walk with more authority. Because you know where you are going, and you know why you are still here.

Faith Anchor #3: If someone studied your life right now, would they know you are going to heaven?

I do not say that to condemn anyone. I say it because this series exists for a reason. One of the three assignments God gave Neal Reyes Ministries is to wake up the church. And part of waking up means asking the questions that are uncomfortable but necessary. Not what heaven feels like. Where it is. Whether your life today reflects that you are a citizen of it. And whether the people around you can see the evidence of a life that is eternity-minded.

Heaven is real. It has an address. God built it. And it is waiting for you.

Part Two: You Can Disagree Without Destroying

Let me bring you the second word today, and this one is for every leader, entrepreneur, and high performer who knows what it is like to walk into a conversation that has the potential to cost you more than the disagreement was ever worth.

I want to talk to you about how to disagree without damaging relationships.

We are living in a time when people get offended faster than at any point I can remember. The political climate, the cultural temperature, even inside organizations and families, the ability to have a healthy difference of opinion without it becoming a full rupture in the relationship is becoming rare. And I do not think that is okay. I think it is one of the most costly things a leader, a person, a spouse, or a parent can allow to happen.

Here is the truth I want you to hold onto first. Disagreement does not equal disrespect.

When I say that, I mean it in both directions. When you disagree with someone, you are not disrespecting them. You are bringing a perspective. And when someone disagrees with you, they are not coming against you. They are doing the same thing. The moment you can separate disagreement from attack, you are already operating at a higher level than most people around you.

Leadership Truth Bomb #1: Disagreeing with you doesn't mean I'm against you.

Here is what I see happen most often when disagreements go sideways. People stop talking about the issue and start attacking the identity. Instead of staying with what is actually on the table, they go after the character of the person. The wheels come off the bus. And once that happens, whatever the original disagreement was about becomes irrelevant, because now someone is hurt, and hurt does not heal as fast as arguments end.

A mentor I have great respect for, Kenneth Hagin, used to say something I have never forgotten. There are three sides to every story. Your side, their side, and the truth, which is usually somewhere in the middle. That framing alone can take the temperature down in almost any conversation, because it removes the pressure of having to be completely right in order to move forward.

And this brings me to something I want you to really hear. Emotions are signals. They are not drivers.

Think about it like driving down the road. When you see a red light, it is not just a suggestion. It is telling you to stop before something bad happens. A yellow light tells you to slow down and proceed with caution. Green means go. Those signals exist for a reason. Your emotions in a disagreement work the same way. When you feel something rising up inside you, that feeling is information. It is telling you something. But it is not supposed to take the wheel. You are supposed to take that signal, process it, and make a wise decision about how you proceed.

Leadership Truth Bomb #2: You can feel strongly without speaking harshly.

When emotions run the room, reason gets shut out. Every time. And when reason is shut out, you are no longer having a conversation. You are having a collision. And collisions leave damage, even when both parties walk away.

So what does healthy disagreement actually look like? It looks like asking questions instead of making accusations. It looks like listening more than you speak. And here is a simple reminder that I come back to often. God gave every person two ears and one mouth. That is a design choice. You were built to listen twice as much as you speak.

It also looks like honoring another person's perspective even when you do not share it. You do not have to agree to honor. And when someone feels honored in a disagreement, the whole tone of the conversation shifts. They stop defending. They start engaging. And both of you walk away better for it.

Leadership Truth Bomb #3: Healthy discourse is about clarity, not conquest.

There is no prize on the other side of winning an argument. No medal. No ribbon. No award money. But there is a cost. And that cost is often the relationship itself, or at least the health of it. When your goal in a conversation is to win, you may feel like you did in the moment. But something was paid in the process, and you may not recognize the full price until later.

The goal is not to win. The goal is to understand. And sometimes understanding means reaching an agreement. But sometimes it simply means both people leave the conversation still respecting each other, still valuing each other, even when their opinions did not change.

Not every disagreement has to be resolved. But every person involved should leave feeling respected.

And here is the final word on this. If the cost of having a relationship with you is that everyone around you has to agree with you, your price is too high. The relationships that matter most in your life, whether in your family, your team, or your closest circle, they cannot survive a standard like that. Nobody grows in an environment where they are not allowed to bring a different perspective. And you do not grow either when everyone around you is just agreeing with everything you say.

Leadership Truth Bomb #4: If agreement is the cost of the relationship, your price is too high.

Learn to disagree well. It is one of the most underrated leadership skills in the room. And when you master it, the people around you will trust you more, not less, because they will know that even when you see things differently, the relationship is safe.

Take This With You

Two things this week, one for each lane.

On the faith side, I want you to get specific about heaven this week. Not the feeling of it. The fact of it. The Bible describes three heavens. The sky, outer space, and the eternal dwelling place of God. Only the third one is permanent. Only the third one is being prepared for you right now. And only those who are born again have their name written in the Lamb's Book of Life and citizenship in that kingdom secured. If you have not made that decision, today is the day. And if you have, let it change how you live this week. You are a citizen of a kingdom that does not pass away. Walk like it.

On the leadership side, take an honest look at how you show up when you disagree. Ask yourself whether you are showing up to seek understanding or to win. Think about a relationship in your life that has taken some damage because a disagreement went too far. Is there something worth going back and repairing? The seed you sow in how you treat people when you disagree is the harvest you will receive in those relationships over time. Sow the right seed.

From the Table Last Week

On Champion's Walk, my faith show that teaches Real Help For Real Hope, I brought you Does Heaven Have an Address? This is Part 3 of our series Eternity: Waking Up the Church. I broke down the three heavens the Bible describes, walked you through what makes the third heaven the eternal dwelling place of God, and delivered three faith anchors on why heaven is not a concept but a real destination that must change how we live today. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUP3L1p91Wo&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNvHLzeBuhqHvZhuCSMEQEgV

On The Executive Perspective, my leadership and business show that delivers Real Help For Real Success, I brought you How to Disagree Respectfully Without Damaging Relationships. I broke down why disagreement does not equal disrespect, walked through why emotions are signals and not drivers, and delivered four leadership truth bombs on how to have healthy discourse that preserves the relationship even when agreement is not on the table. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AJJ3JyFfOA&list=PLMPDSgKkGZNuJ-dNFVFCWc3lb7BmJ07mM

Until Next Time

Heaven is real. It has an address. And you are a citizen of it. Let that truth anchor you this week, not just as a belief you hold, but as a reality that shapes how you live, how you lead, and how you treat the people around you.

This Wednesday on Champion's Walk, we continue our series Eternity: Waking Up the Church. You do not want to miss what is coming next.

Then Saturday on The Executive Perspective, I have something powerful lined up for the leaders and entrepreneurs who are building right now. Be there.

I'll see you at the table next Tuesday.

Neal Reyes, The Entrepreneurs' Pastor