A little boy got on the elevator with his father at the Empire State Building. They were going to the observation deck at the top and view the city. As the elevator ascended the boy watched the signs flash as they went by the floors: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70. The farther up they went, the more nervous the boy became. Finally he looked up as his dad and said, “Daddy, does God know we're coming?” (Leighton Ford, "Hope for a Great Forever," Preaching Today, Tape No. 96)
This morning, we’re going to talk about what heaven is like, and the first thing I want to point out is this: God knows we’re coming. Jesus said: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” John 14:2
God knows we’re coming… and He’s prepared a room just for you. You could go to the swankiest resorts or the most expensive hotels on the face of the planet and you’ll never experience such a glorious room as the one God has set aside just for you.
AND many people want to go there. In fact almost every religion has some concept of what heaven is: “It’s been called paradise, utopia, Nirvana, Asgard, Valhalla, Zion, City of David, New Jerusalem, it’s a city and a country, the kingdom, the city of God, the happy hunting grounds, the sweet by and by, a house not built by hands, streets paved with gold, walls made of jasper, pearls and all kinds of precious jewels.” (Joseph Phillips)
And the reason Heaven is so universally believed in is because “(God) has set eternity in the hearts of men…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) God has placed - inside of us - this idea that there’s got to be more than THIS! There’s got to be a place where God rewards those who love Him, and (of course) a place where God punishes those who don’t!
So what will heaven be like? Well, ODDLY enough… the Bible doesn’t really tell us all that much. In fact, Paul implies that when HE got to go see heaven “he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” II Corinthians 12:4
Now other religions have very explicit descriptions of heaven. The Koran has a very detailed description of paradise – it’s a place filled with beautiful, large eyed “female companions” (It’s all about the guys. The girls get to tag along, but heaven for Muslims is a very male type of place). And much of Muslim teachings about heaven is based on stories Mohammed told about a miraculous journey he supposedly had there.
Now, the Buddhists have as many paradises as there are Buddhas. Each enlightened being has their own personal heaven. And, in addition, there are various gods and goddesses inhabit a series of heavens all their own. (Time 3/24/97 p. 78)
And I could go on and on and on about the various religions and their descriptions of what heaven would be like… BUT CHRISTIANITY says comparatively little about heaven outside of some cryptic statements about what will and won’t be there. And you got to expect that… because no matter what you and I may think of heaven our imaginations are just a pathetic shadow of the reality of what it’s going to be like.
ILLUS: Now if you were to ask ME what I thought heaven would be like: I’ve always pictured heaven as a Log cabin beside a waterfall with a couple of horses out back. I’m going to get a bowl of manna and watch reruns of the crossing of the Red Sea, the day the Sun stood still in sky, and the day Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego were thrown in the fiery furnace.
But all of my imaginations of what heaven will be like can’t even touch the glory, the majesty and the awe we’ll feel when we get there.
Now here’s the deal: the Bible doesn’t get real “descriptive” about heaven. It doesn’t tell us the color of the curtains and carpets. It doesn’t tell us what pictures will be on the walls. Instead, God gives us images - word pictures - that help us have a “feeling” of what Heaven in like.’
For example, the Bible tells us that heaven is… UP. Now, you’d think that’d be obvious, but skeptics have attacked that for years. They’ve scoffed and asked “where exactly is this heaven of yours? Is it up there in the stratosphere somewhere? Is it on the outskirts of our solar system? Is it in a distant galaxy? Or on the other side of the Universe?”
ILLUS: Back in the 60’s there was a Russian Cosmonaut Major Titov who mocked our faith. He’d just returned from his trip into space (UP) and scoffed that he hadn’t seen God while he was there. Someone heard about that joked: “Well, if he’d stepped out his space suit he’d have seen God!”
But I suspect that that’s not the point. I suspect God uses this idea of heaven being UP as a kind of word picture to tell us about Himself and about heaven.
You see, UP really isn’t where God dwells anyway… He’s everywhere. Solomon said: “… who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, CANNOT CONTAIN HIM? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?” 2 Chronicles 2:6
And David noted: “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” Psalm 139:8-10
God is everywhere! But the Bible still talks about God being UP in heaven. Now WHY would it do that? Well, as I was studying for today’s sermon I ran across these 3 verses that I think illustrate the “why?”
Psalm 14:2 “The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, TO SEE if there are any who understand, who seek after God.”
2 Chronicles 6:21 “listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place (the Temple). AND LISTEN from heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”
Deuteronomy 26:15 “Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, AND BLESS your people Israel and the ground that you have given us…”
This idea that God is looking down from heaven (I believe) is there to help us to understand that God is in a position to see… EVERYTHING, and to hear… EVERYTHING, and to look down into our lives and bless … ALL of us.
It doesn’t really matter WHERE Heaven is exactly. All that matters… is that we realize how HIGH and powerful God is, and how HIGH and majestic our eternal life will be.
And a lot of the imagery about heaven in Scripture is like that. They’re word pictures. Revelation speaks of gates made of a single pearl and streets made of gold that’s so pure you can see through it. Now I suppose there could be a pearl so huge you could use it for a gate and gold could be so pure it would be transparent… but I’m convinced these images were not meant to be taken literally. I’m convinced they’re descriptions that God uses to impress us with the beauty and the awesomeness of heaven. And I believe God uses such imagery because there’s nothing we’ve encountered on this earth that would prepare us for the splendor and majesty of heaven.
ILLUS: My grandson Benjamin is now a little over 9 months old… and he’s cute. Well, let’s say that when he gets older I offer to take him to Cedar Point or King’s Island amusement parks. If he asks me what they’ll be like, how I can I explain it to him? I might thy comparing the rides to times when he’s been on a swing, or compare the pleasure of being at the park to a birthday party. But all my words would fall short… because he would never have seen or experienced anything as a child that would prepare him for the sights and sounds and experiences he’ll have there.
It’s the same way with heaven. There’s nothing we’ve ever seen or experienced here on earth that even begin to prepare us for what heaven will be like, because Heaven will be so different from anything we’ve ever experienced here on earth.
So I don’t know exactly WHERE heaven is… or exactly WHAT it looks like, but I do know what will be there in heaven… and won’t be there.
Revelation 21 (for example) tells us what won’t be there: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain...the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light...On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there...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.” Revelation 21: 4, 23, 25, 27
No death, no sorrow, no crying, no pain, no people who hurt you or make you feel insecure or threatened. There’ll be a lot of things MISSING from heaven…things that we experience here on earth that are frustrating and make life uncomfortable and dangerous.
One poet spoke of heaven this way:
“No dust, nor rust, no rats, no rot - no raucous rock, no potent pot.
No growing old with weakened sight - no dentures slipping when you bite,
No bombs, no guns, no courts, no jails - where all succeed and no one fails.
No strikes, no layoffs, full employment, and everyone with job enjoyment
All tell the truth, they state only facts - no wars, no debts, no income tax.
According to this dream of mine, in Heaven no one stands in line.
And there are only smiling faces, and lots and lots of parking places."
So… that’s what WON’T be there. But what WILL be in heaven? What can we expect? Well, 1st - there’s going to be a lot of singing and worship up there. Revelation tells us
“… every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, were singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” Revelation 5:13
I’ve heard of people who’ve read stuff like that in Revelation and they come to the conclusion that all this worship and singing will boring… but it won’t.
ILLUS: Have you ever gotten up one morning and you turn on the radio and you hear this song that just makes you want to bounce with the music? You begin to tap your feet and sing and dance around. you just can’t help yourself because that song makes you feel so GOOD.
That is what worship in Heaven will be like!!! The songs you’ll hear and the worship you’ll experience will so fill you with joy and excitement you’ll wish it would never stop… and it won’t have to – because this will be heaven and such joy and pleasure could on and on and never stop.
It won’t be boring in heaven.
ILLUS: I’ve been to King’s Island about 20 times now and (frankly) I don’t really want to go back. You know why? Because it’s the same old stuff. After a while a roller coaster is just a roller coaster and the sights and sounds are all pretty much the same. It’s boring for me!
But heaven won’t be the same old stuff all the time. In heaven, every time you turn around – you’ll practically run into something that’s new and exciting.
God says “Behold I make all things NEW” and I think that’s partly because God hates boredom as much as we do. For God, it will be a priority to make sure heaven is not boring.
And, heaven’s not only NOT gonna be boring – there’s gonna be a lot famous people up there. Jesus said “(you’ll) see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God… People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Luke 13:28-29
We’ll get to see Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Paul and Peter - and on and on and on. And can you imagine the stories they’ll be able to tell us? I’d love to sit around and listen to Noah tell about building the Ark, and about spending an entire year on that boat with all those animals. I look forward to having Jonah explain what it was like to be swallowed by that whale and hearing Peter talk about walking on the water.
AND I really believe I’m gonna get a bowl of manna while I listen to them (I’m not giving up on that bowl of manna), and I really believe I’m gonna get to see reruns of all kinds of stories from Scripture. I believe we’ll get to see how God created the world in 6 days, and watch as Moses received the 10 Commandments… and even get to see things not described in Scripture – about what God did behind the scenes in course of working in the lives of men/women down through the ages.
And you’ll not just get to see famous people… you’ll get to see people you’ve known here. The people you’ve loved/cared for while you lived on earth.
When Jesus took Peter James and John up on the Mountain Elijah and Moses appeared to them. Now these guys (Moses and Elijah) had died ages before - but Peter KNEW who they were. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Matthew 17:4
Now, if Peter could recognize Moses and Elijah (who he’d never met) you can count on the fact that we’ll be able recognize our loved ones who’ve died in Christ (Christians).
But … they will be a little bit different than how we remember them. And so will we. Paul wrote: “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory.” I Corinthians 15:51-54
I’ll be able to recognize you, and you’ll be able to recognize me but we WILL have changed. Once we reach heaven, we’ll be imperishable/ immortal/ eternal - we’ll live forever.
CLOSE: But there is one more thing we’ll see in heaven. And that one more thing will make all the wonders and glory of heaven seem pale by comparison. That one more thing will be even more important to us than family, friends, or even meeting all those famous people.
Job said it this way: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes — I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Job 19:25-27
I can’t explain why that will excite you and I so much… but I know it will.
It’ll be like walking into a room & seeing someone you’ve always respected, cared about or loved entering the room…and they look right at you - and you can tell they’re glad you’re there. That’s just an inkling of what it will be like when we see Jesus. All He’ll have to do is just look at you… and you’ll know it’s all been worth the wait. You wouldn’t have had it any other way.
ILLUS: The story’s told of the days when doctors visited their patients at home. It was obvious the patient didn’t have long to live… and as the doctor was about to leave, the sick man called out to him: "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Can you tell me what lies on the other side?"
The doctor was very quiet for a moment and then said, "I don’t know."
"You do not know? You are a Christian man and you do not know what is on the other side?"
The doctor’s hand was on the handle of the door, and on the other side of there was this sound of scratching and whining. And as he opened the door a dog leaped into the room and jumped up on him… and eagerly licked his face. It was the doctor’s dog. He’d brought with him on this visit.
Suddenly the Doctor realized how to answer the man’s question.
"Did you see what my dog just did? He’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside. He knew nothing except that I was here, and when the door opened he sprang in without fear. I know very little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing: I know my Master is there, and that is enough. And when the door opens, I’ll pass through with no fear, but with gladness.”
INVITATION
