A Place For You

A Place for You

January 25, 2009 Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: We have a place in Heaven if we have a place for Jesus in our hearts.

Focus Passage: John 14:1-6

Supplemental Passage:

Introduction: After having served for decades in Africa, a missionary couple, Mr. & Mrs. Henry Morrison, were returning to New York to retire. After years of service they had no pension and their health was failing. They were worried and discouraged. They were on the same ship as President Theodore Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his African hunting expeditions. No one paid any attention to the missionary couple. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President and his entourage. That night the man said to his wife, “I can’t take this, God is not treating us fairly.” His wife replied, “Why don’t you go into the other room and tell that to the Lord? He did just that and returned a short time later but his face was different. His wife asked him what happened. “The Lord settled it with me,” he said. “I told Him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one even met us at the dock. Andwhen I finished complaining, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said ‘BUT YOU ARE NOT HOME YET.’” This earth is not our home.

Heaven: After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things." (Revelation 4:1) The first thing he saw was a throne. This is God’s throne. He was sitting on His throne. It looked like a jasper, sardine stone, or an emerald. It is hard for the finite mind to grasp infinite things. We cannot imagine the beauty and radiance of God. Behind the throne was a sparkling rainbow. The twenty-four elders, clothed with glistening, white garments and pure gold crowns on their heads, were seated upon the twenty-four seats. Thunder and lightning were proceeding out from the throne and voices could be heard. There were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.

The Tree of Life was there. Is this same tree was in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve? After the fall of man, an angel was posted at the gate with a revolving sword, to keep them away from this tree lest they should eat of it and live forever in their fallen state. On this tree grew twelve different kinds of fruit each month. The leaves were for the healing of the nations.

The beautiful River of Life was flowing out from under the throne and pure water of life was freely accessible. The streets were made of pure gold. As John continued to look, he saw twelve gates of pearl; three on the north, three on the south, three on the east and three on the west. Twelve angels stood at these twelve gates. But Jesus will be what makes it heaven for me! Part of what will make it heaven is what won’t be there… There will be no tears, no death, no sorrow, no crying, no pain, no night, no more curse, no hunger, no thirst or hundreds of other things that have plagued us here.

I. Review:

a. Judgment: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10) At that time, we should be able to look to Jesus and ask Him to take over for us.

b. The Marriage Feast: "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7) Only the saved will be there.

II. Records: Heaven is a place of records. The Lamb’s Book of Life is there, and other record books at the judgment seat and at the great white throne judgment. God has a great recording system to preserve every idle word, thought or deed.

a. We are told to rejoice because of this. “But rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20)

b. John tells us in Rev. 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”.

III. Rewards: Heaven is a place of rewards.

a. Matt. 5:12, “Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven . . .”

b. Matt. 6:20, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal”. This is our heavenly safe deposit box.