If You Could See Me Now

I. INTRODUCTION

I invite you to open your Bibles, this morning to John chapter 14 and verse 1. John chapter 14 and verse 1. We’re going to be there in just a minute.

I said, “Please turn in your Bibles.” I hope you have one and that you have one with you. In Matthew 15:9 Jesus laments,

> Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

We never want to be found guilty of teaching the doctrine of men in this church. We want to preach and teach the Word of God as revealed in the Bible. So I invite you to check out what I preach. See if it is actually coming from the Bible.

Many of us have experienced the loss of a loved one in recent years, as a result there has been some talk and some questions about heaven.

Public-opinion polls show that most Americans not only believe in God but also anticipate some kind of heaven. According to a Newsweek Poll, 94 percent of Americans believe that God exists and 77 percent believe in a heaven. Among those believers, three out of four rate their chances of getting there good or excellent.

Christian author Phillip Yancey wrote, "Although [most] of us believe in an afterlife, no one much talks about it. Christians believe we will spend eternity in a splendid place called heaven . . . isn't it a little bizarre that we simply ignore heaven, acting as if it doesn't matter?” (Quoted in “A Ticket to Heaven” Rick Ezell, January 1, 2014, Lifeway).

Dr. Lee, that famous Baptist preacher from Memphis, was on his death bed and had been for some time. As he was waiting to be escorted to the other side, he slipped into a coma for a brief time. When he awoke, he said to Dr. Rogers, “I have preached on heaven many times, but it is so much better than I was able to describe.”

Is it any wonder?

> 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Heaven is so much better than we can describe, or, according to the apostle Paul, better than we can even imagine.

Last week Landon sang the song for us, “I can only Imagine.” Well let me tell you my friend, heaven is so great a place that in our limited earthly experience we can only, vaguely, imagine how great it is and how great it is going to be.

This morning I would like to share some facts about heaven with you. Again, I can’t describe it completely, I can just briefly share some of the things the Bible tells us about this place we all hope to see.

II. FACTS ABOUT HEAVEN

1. Heaven Is A Real Place

First, I want you to know that heaven is a real place.

- John 14:1-3

In these verses Jesus tells us that He is going to prepare a place for us.

Heaven is a real place. It is not a state of mind. It is not a dream state. It is not a hypnotic dream state. It is a real place, prepared for us by a real God. Jesus said, “I am going to prepare a place for you.”

The word translated as mansion, or room, is the word Meno. It means room, or dwelling place, lodging, or abode. Regardless of how you translate it, each individual place will be prepared for you by Jesus.

I can look around and see what He prepared, what He created in just 6 days. Imagine what that place will be like.

Look with me please at 2 Corinthians 12.

- Read 2 Corinthians 12:2-4

Here Paul speaks of his journey to heaven. He says, whether in the body or out of the body I do not know.

Then in the next few verses he describes how he received a thorn in the flesh to keep him from becoming too proud, or exalted because of what he had seen.

Paul says, modestly describing it as a man, instead claiming the trip for himself, he says, “This man was taken to the third heaven.” Now what does that mean, the third heaven?

There are 3 heavens spoken of in the Bible, besides the new heaven. There is the heaven of the atmosphere.

Jeremiah 15:3 speaks of the birds of the heaven, or in some translations, the birds of the sky. The first heaven then is the atmosphere. It is the area the birds fly in.

The second heaven is the heaven the stars are in. The stellar heaven. Isaiah 13:10 talks about the stars of heaven. So the second heaven is the heaven the stars and galaxies are in.