“What on Earth will we do in Heaven?”
1st Corinthians 10:31, Rev. 7:9-10, Matthew 25:23
The ministry of Dr. Billy Graham began when he was 28 years of age. He died one year ago this month at the age of 99. So he preached the gospel for 70 years. He is a hero to me and many other pastors. In his lifetime he preached to over 200 million people in 185 countries. Years ago someone asked Dr. Graham what he planned to do as soon as he got to heaven. He simply said, “I plan to lie down and sleep about 100 years.”
Isaac Asimov, the science fiction writer --- also known as an atheist, said “I don’t believe in the afterlife so I don’t spend my whole life fearing Hell. Then he said an interesting thing …. He said whatever the tortures of Hell will be like, I believe the boredom of Heaven would be even worse. I think it is a question every one of us have asked at some point …. What on earth will we do when we get to Heaven? Well first let’s look at a few popular ideas about what we will do in Heaven.
Idea #1. God is boring so Heaven will be dull. Some have come to the conclusion that Heaven must be as dull as watching paint dry. They also have the false idea that Hell will be like on big party. Both of these conclusions are false. Let me ask you….. Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with someone, perhaps you didn’t know will came to the conclusion of man, this is really boring conversation I made your seated next the dinner party— the conversation is just less than exciting minutes seem like ours and convinced that it will never end. It leads me to this conclusion.
1. There is nothing exciting about Hell and Satan and living with Him forever. Hell is a place where people are completely removed from the presence of God…. no hope. No future. I have even heard people comment “well that’s where all my friends are going and I want to be with them.” The problem is you will not know them.
2. There is nothing boring about God and there will be nothing boring about Heaven. Heaven is a place where everything will be
• Good…. Forever
• Beautiful beyond our imagination
• Refreshing
• Exciting.
Why? Because that is the kind of God we serve.
Idea #2. Heaven will be monotonous. Some are convinced that no matter how exciting heaven may be …. Doing the same thing over and over for all of eternity will become monotonous. They say too much of a good thing isn’t good …. It’s boring. There is a country song that tells the story of a guy that gets pulled over by the police --- he has 14 people in the back of his pick-up truck and the office writes him a ticket. He charges him with having too much fun. He responds by saying:
Too much fun, what’s that mean?
It’s like too much money; there’s no such thing
It’s like a girl too pretty or being too lucky or having a car that’s too fast
Then he closes by saying no matter what they say I’ve done,
I ain’t never had too much fun.
For at least a generation now children have had access to a house full of video games, movies, board games, sports equipment. Yet many times we still hear them say, “Mom, Dad I’m bored! I don’t have anything to do. So because THIS life can seem monotonous or boring we come to the false conclusion that Heaven will be also. But nothing could be further from the truth. Life can be monotonous for some and they then assume life in heaven will be just as boring.
G. K Chesterton has some interesting thoughts about this. For me 3 of our grandkids were in town last week. I realized once again that there were and are some things they never grew tired of doing. And I have noticed this will all children. My grandson, Jack likes to bounce in my lap. And then I pretend I’m going to drop him but of course I don’t and he knows I won’t. He just laughs really loud and then smiles and says do it again Papaw. Do it again. So we do. I have never won at that game. I always give out before they do. It simply does not grow old to them.
Chesterton makes that point children love to repeat things ---- nothing has to change and for them it could just go on forever. For us as adults, it can be tiring. But Heaven will be a different place, God is unchanging so picture this … He says perhaps it is possible that God says every day to the sun …. Do it again! And every day to the moon, do it again. Then He says this …. Maybe God has an eternal appetite like children do for those things. We on the other hand ---- we have sinned and grown old and our heavenly Father is younger than we are. Now think about that. Sin destroys. Holiness perfects. God is being made new every day. We are not. Not now.
So even if we do the same things over and over it will never become monotonous and here is why …..
• We will no longer sin
• We will no longer age
• We will no longer grow tired
• No more sickness
• No more death
• No more sadness
• No more tears
We will perhaps be like children saying do it again Lord. Do it again.
Idea #3. Heaven will be like one long church service. One long sermon. Yikes. Hear me carefully on this. We will worship in Heaven. But listen….
Although we were created for worship, we were also created to do more than worship. Worship will be a central activity in Heaven but it will not be our only activity. This is what I see.
There will be two primary activities in heaven. Worship and work. Look with me at Genesis 2:8 and 15. When God created Adam He gave him two primary responsibilities: to work and to worship. And this was before sin entered the world, not after. This is when things were perfect. Adam was assigned certain jobs/work. But he was also crated to worship God. Genesis 3:8 reminds us that He and God had daily fellowship …. That God walked with him in the cool of the day and they talked. When God establishes our home on the new earth, it will be similar but even better. And I believe that just as Adam had two primary responsibilities in the Garden of Eden we will have two in the Garden City described in the last chapter of the bible. The Bible starts in a garden and ends in a garden.
1. We will have worship like we have never experienced. I hope that occasionally you leave here on Sunday and say now that was a good, perhaps even great worship service. The music was wonderful----hey even the sermon was good!
The single most remarkable aspect/part of our worship in Heaven will be seeing Jesus face to face. It will be unlike any worship experience you have ever had on earth. We know the host of angels worship God the Father with shouts of praise —nonstop. There are likely millions and the sound will be unlike anything ever heard on earth.
Just a few years ago, fans of the Seattle Sea Hawks football team set a world record as the loudest football fans in the NFL. In 2013 while playing against the New Orleans Saints they produced 137.6 decibels of sound. Now in case that number doesn’t mean much to you consider this …. The roar of a jet engine 100 feet away produces 140 decibels. In fact the fans that day were so loud that they triggered a minor earthquake in Seattle. But that will not be a match for what God’s fans will sound like in Heaven. On occasion someone might comment, the music was a bit loud today ….. Worship in Heaven will be like this…..
Isaiah 6:4. “And the foundations of the thresholds of the temple trembled at the voice of (the angels) who called out (in worship to God). And one day we will add our voices to that group. Look at this. Revelation 7:9-10. It will be unlike anything we have ever experienced here on earth. Joni Earickson says praise will not be something we will be assigned or commanded to do; it will be natural. And it will be amazing, exceptional, incredible; --- every single time. Here is Paul’s definition of worship …….”so whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”
Worship is not a scheduled activity between 11:00 and noon, worship is a lifestyle. When you honor God with your life you are worshipping. We must stop thinking that we can only worship God while doing nothing else. Actually we worship God in all we do. We worship God while we are doing everything else. Worship is a lifestyle.
2. We will have work we will actually enjoy. Ever had a job you didn’t like? Sure you have. But that won’t happen in Heaven. Listen God is a worker. He didn’t create the world and then retire. He did pause to take one day off. After all it was a pretty busy week. ? In John 15:17 Jesus said “My Father is working until now and I myself am working.” We are created in His image so it should be no surprise to us that we have been created to work also. Remember it was before Man sinned that God gave him work to do. Work was not punishment for his sin. Work existed before sin entered the world. God created paradise and gave us the responsibility of cultivating it. I believe meaningful work will always be a part of God’s plan for us.
We will not:
• Take a nap on the clouds every day
• Play golf all day
• Play a harp all day
In the new heaven and earth there will no longer be any curse. Revelation 22:3. In this world work can be exhausting; in heaven it will be exhilarating. Perhaps something that has only been a hobby for you on earth will become you job in heaven. Or perhaps God will give you a brand new vocation. Whatever it is, it will not include the things that currently drain the joy out of work. Here’s a question for you to think about … if money and education were not a factor and you could do anything in the world with the guarantee that you would never fail, what would you do? Phil. 2:13 says God is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve His purpose. He gives us gifts, experiences, desires and then give us a purpose. And He doesn’t waste any of it.
Final point. In heaven we will rule and reign. Matthew 25:23. God assigned Adam and Eve the job of ruling over his first creation. So we believe we will have assignments when the Garden is restored …. To reign over the new heaven and the new earth.
Here are 3 things we will have in heaven we do not have here ….. Our knowledge will be complete. We will know as we are known. 2. We will enjoy being with all of God’s people. For the most part we do now. That’s how people choose a church many times. But all of us would probably admit, well there is that one person I just don’t get along with. Churches split, they argue over things but that will not happen in Heaven.
3. We will experience real rest. When God created the world He rested. We will also. Now He didn’t rest because He was exhausted… he rested to reflect on what He had accomplished. He looked back at it and said this is good. Jesus said, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Bruce Larson, in his book, Believe and Belong, tells of the years he spent in New York City as a counselor. He said that often when some heartbroken, distraught person would come to him, he would have that person walk with him down to the RCA Building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building there is a gigantic bronze statue of the mythological Greek god named, Atlas. That entire statue is 45 feet tall and weighs seven tons. With his muscles bulging, and his head bowed from the stress, he looks like he might collapse at any moment, Atlas is holding the world on his shoulders. His face and posture make it clear that he is struggling and barely standing up under the strain. Larson would point to that statue and say to his client, “Now that’s one way to live: trying to carry the world on your shoulders. But now come across the street with me.” Then he would take that person to the other side of Fifth Avenue to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and they would go inside. They would walk up to the front, and there behind the high altar is a statue of Jesus as a little boy, effortlessly holding the world in the palm of his hand. Referring to those two statues, Larson says, “We have a choice. We can carry the world on our shoulders, or we can say, ‘I give up, Lord; here’s my life. I give you my world, the whole world.” You and I have that same choice. We choose heaven or we choose Hell. It is a choice. We choose to carry the weight of the world or allow Jesus to carry it for us.
