HEAVEN
INTRODUCTION: It’s nice to be able to look forward to something. When we were kids we got excited waiting for Christmas or our birthday to come. At this time of year we looked forward to the end of the school year and the beginning of summer vacation. Although I’m sure by the end of August our parents eagerly anticipated the beginning of the next school year. We as Christians are looking forward to something too. We eagerly await our arrival into our heavenly home. But what exactly is it we looking forward to.
1) How do we know heaven is real? There are plenty of people, atheists and non atheists alike, who don’t believe in an afterlife. So how can we know that heaven is a real place?
• The bible talks about it. There are over 400 references to “heaven” in the bible. God definitely wanted us to know about heaven. And it’s written about all throughout the bible. 44 of the 66 books talk about heaven. The bible is the infallible word of God. Its contents are proven and they can be trusted.
• Jesus assured us. John 14:1-3. We can be sure heaven is real because Jesus is real and he doesn’t lie to us about anything. Jesus’ word is authenticity of the existence of heaven. Besides, who better to tell us about heave than the one who came from there! John 3:13, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man.” 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” Jesus came down from heaven. Jesus came from heaven, he tells us about heaven, so therefore, we can believe in heaven. (Apostle John’s Revelation-Rev. 21-22)
2) What will heaven be like?
• There will be newness. We know what it’s like to experience newness. We know the excitement, the joy of that new thing. No new thing can compare with heaven. Rev 21:1-5. In heaven we will look forward to the “no-mores”, no more crying or pain. Rev. 7:16 tells us there will be no more hunger or thirst. Instead, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. And part of that newness will be us. 1st Cor. 15:50-54. Many of us are dealing with bodies that identify with what Paul said, “Outwardly we are wasting away”. What a joy it will be when we receive our new bodies. No more pain and ailments. No more disease and debilitations. We will be strong, fresh, energetic, alive; new.
• There will be purity. Rev. 21:27, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” No sin or temptation will be there. No filth, no evil. Satan is not allowed on the premises. Everything is beautiful, nothing is ugly or disgusting. We will be pure, therefore, there will be pure harmony, pure fellowship among all of us. Galatians 3:8, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In the world you have divisions, cliques, racism, hatred and discord. In heaven, there will be no distinctions of color or ethnicity. We will all truly be one big happy family. There will be pure harmony with all God’s creatures. Isaiah 65:25 says that the wolf and the lamb will feed together and the lion will eat straw like the ox. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain says the Lord. There will be purity with all of heaven and the relationships therein.
• There will be understanding. 1st Cor. 13:12, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I as fully known.” Elie Wiesel said, “Heaven: where questions and answers become one.” We have a lot of questions unanswered here on earth. We might have a lot of ‘why’ questions about events in our life. We might just be inquisitive about many things the bible is silent about. In any event, we look forward in eager anticipation for our questions to have answers to them.
• There will be beauty. Rev. 21:9-22:6. We see the beauty of God’s creation here but I’m sure that pales in comparison to the beauty of heaven. Rev. William Meeker said, “There is no more comparison to be made between heaven and earth than there is between a piece of rusty iron and refined gold.” There was a rich man who was distressed on hearing he could take none of his riches to heaven. He pleaded with God to make an exception. Finally, God said, “Okay, whatever you can fit into a garbage bag can be brought in.” The man immediately thought of gold. He joyfully went and spent his time accumulating gold. Then, it came time for him to die. He went to the pearly gates, black garbage bag filled with gold in tow. When the angels questioned him about the bag the man declared that God allowed it. When it was confirmed they asked him if they could see what was so special inside this bag. The man proudly opened the bag to show them its contents. The angels looked at each other in bewilderment. Then one of them asked the man, “Why did you bring pavement?” Gold is a hot commodity here on earth but in heaven it’s only pavement.
3) What will we do there? People see our existence in heaven as sitting on a cloud wearing a halo playing our harps as we float along. Others see it as an unending church service, or just singing hymns for all eternity. Forever is a long time so what will we be doing? In Heaven will be busy; not bored. What are some of the things we’ll be doing?
• First, we’ll be judged and rewarded. 2nd Cor. 5:10, “ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” Even though we Christians won’t be judged regarding heaven or hell since we’ve trusted in Christ for our salvation, we will be judged by our works since we became Christians and will be rewarded as such. Jesus said in Rev. 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” In our judgment of things done while as a Christian, we will be rewarded with different crowns. There’s the crown of perseverance in 1st Cor. 9, the crown of soul-winning in 1st Thess. 2, the crown of life in James 1 and Rev. 2, the crown of righteousness in 2nd Tim. 4 and a crown of glory for shepherding God’s flock in 1st Pet. 5. Heaven starts with judgment and rewards.
• We will worship. Rev. 5:8-14. There’s going to be plenty of singing and praising and worshipping going on in heaven. No voice will be silent before God’s throne.
• We will work. Rev. 22:3 says that we will be serving Jesus. That means we will have responsibilities. 2nd Tim. 2:12 and Rev. 20:6 says that we will actually reign with him. I don’t know exactly how that will play out but it will be amazing. In Matt. 25, Jesus rewarded his faithful servants by telling them he would put them in charge of many things. In any event, we will have things to do in heaven.
4) What should we be doing now?
• Make sure we’re going. John 3:3-6, 16-18. Jesus said we must be born again. We need to have our names written in heaven. Rev. 20:11-15. We need to realize there is a judgment coming and if you want your name to be found in the book of life you need to admit you’re a sinner and that you need to be born again.
• Focus on heavenly treasures. Matt. 6:19-21. When you go to a hotel room do you take the time to change the wallpaper and put in new windows, drapes and carpeting? No. Why? Because you’re only going to be there for a few nights. That’s not your home. That’s the way it should be with us. We should be investing all our time amassing material things here on earth because they are only for a moment. Since our permanent destination is heaven and our time on earth is temporary what should be our priority? We should be focusing on the things that will not rust or decay. Once there were two women. Both were Christians. One however, was greedy, stingy and miserly. She gave, but when she did, it was done begrudgingly. The other woman was actually the maid of first woman. She didn’t have much, but loved to give, and looked for opportunities to do so. Both women died. An angel escorted the wealthy woman around. He said, let me take you to your new home, and on the way we’ll pass by your maid’s house. Down the golden street they went, and as they approached a great mansion she said wow, and that’s just for my maid?! I can’t wait to see my place! They moved on to a cardboard shanty. “What is this?” “Sorry, we did our best with the materials you sent us!” Col. 3:1-10. We need to set our minds on heavenly things.
• We need to desire it above all else. Phil. 3:7-8, 18-21. Paul considered everything else not worth comparing to what he had through Christ. It was of utmost importance to him. He contrasted those whose desire was for themselves against those who knew they had something better to live for. Matt. 13:44-46. These people were willing to give up all they had in order to obtain the kingdom of heaven. Not that we can buy our way into it but this is an example of someone who, like Paul, realized that nothing in this world is worth losing heaven for.
• Look forward to it. 2nd Cor. 5:1-9. We need something to look forward to. Knowing we’re on our way to heaven, knowing that this life with its troubles and hardships is the not the end of the road for us gives us the hope and encouragement we need to not only press on and endure, but to do it with joy. Two men were dying across town. One was wealthy and had amassed and enjoyed his fortune. He had many wonderful things. The second never flourished financially, but enjoyed serving the Lord at his local church. The first man, as he died, moaned, “I’m leaving home…I’m leaving home.” The second man died with a glow on his face and declared, “I’m going home…I’m going home.”
• We need to persevere in faith. Matt. 24:1-13. Troubles will come that will test our faith and perseverance. We have to be sure we don’t turn away from the faith. We have to be sure our love doesn’t grow cold. Instead we need to do what Paul said in 2nd Cor. 4:16-18. Even though we are dealing with troubles now, we look forward to something better. But we need to persevere until the end so we can hear God say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share in your master’s happiness.”
CONCLUSION: Heaven is going to be a blast. We’re going to live face to face with almighty God. We get to enjoy conversations with Moses, Abraham, David, John and Paul. We will be able to reunite with loved ones who we miss dearly. We get to enjoy existing in the perfect place. Think of the most perfect place on earth. Some might say Hawaii or others, like Eric, might say Alaska. Wherever your dream destination would be, it seriously pales in comparison to the mother of all dream destinations-heaven. Heaven will someday be my home. In the words of Judy Garland, ‘there’s no place like home’.
