In life It’s nice to be able to look forward to something.
• In the daily grind of life it is great to look forward to a vacation.
• When we were kids we got excited waiting for Christmas. We would literally count the days before it would arrive.
• When we were kids we looked forward to the end of the school year and the beginning of summer vacation.
• Our parents had some thoughts about school also. They looked forward to sending the children back to school.
But we Christians have the most to look forward to - that is our arrival in heaven.
Illus: Heaven is such a great place that I am sure that when church members arrive there they will say to their pastor, “WHY DIDN’T YOU PREACH ON HEAVEN MORE THAN YOU DID, I HAD NO IDEA THAT HEAVEN WAS SUCH A GREAT PLACE!”
Illus: Story is told of a little girl who was born blind. Sometime later a doctor was examining her eyes and he told her parents, “I have some good news to tell you!” The doctor went on to say, “With today’s advanced medicine I believe your little girl can have an operation and she will be able to see. I cannot guarantee it, but I believe we can fix her eyes and she will be able to see.” They did the operation and when they got through they bandaged her eyes up for some period of time. But when the doctor thought it was the right time he called the parents, and nurses in to be there when he took the bandage off. He very carefully un-rapped the bandage and when all the bandages were off he told this little darling girl to open her eyes. They had been closed for so long she had a hard time opening her eyes but finally she managed to open them and the first face she saw was her doctor’s, than her nurse’s, and for the first time she saw her mother’s face with a tear running down her cheek. She was so happy she jumped out of bed and ran to the window:
• She didn’t just see grass, she saw green grass.
• She didn’t just see a sky, she saw a blue sky.
• She didn’t just see flowers, she saw multiple colored flowers.
She ran back to her mother and said, “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME HOW BEAUTIFUL EVERYTHING IS.” The mother said, “Honey, I tried but I could not make you understand!!!”
I believe it is going to be like this in heaven. When church members arrive in heaven they will be asking, “PASTOR, WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE?”
And pastors will have to say, as this mother said, “I tried but I could not make you understand!!!”
• Heaven is not just a figment of our imagination, it is a real place just like Columbia, S.C. is a REAL PLACE!!!
• Heaven is a REAL PLACE FOR A PREPARED PEOPLE!!!
This sermon is about this wonderful place we call heaven so that you won’t come up to me in heaven and say, “WHY DIDN’T YOU PREACH MORE OFTEN ABOUT HEAVEN THAN YOU DID?”
One thing is for sure. A lot of folks do not know much about heaven.
Illus: About the only thing that people know reminds me of a Sunday School teacher was teaching her class about heaven.
• She asked the children, “If I sold my house and my car, had a huge yard sale, and gave all the money to the church, would that get me into heaven?” All the children answered, “NO!”
• “If every day I vacuumed the church carpets, cleaned the washrooms, and mowed the grass, would that get me into heaven?” Again, all the children answered, “NO!”
• “If I was kind to the poor, gave candy to children, and loved my wife, would that get me into heaven?” Once more, the children answered, “NO!”
• “Then how can I get into heaven?” the teacher asked.
• A five-year-old boy shouted out, “YOU GOTTA BE DEAD!”
We need to know much more about heaven than that!
Illus: It is an exciting time when a married couple decides to build a house for their family. Generally, before they take on a project like this, they study the proposed plans carefully because they want to make sure that every little detail is considered so that they will have a wonderful place to live the rest of their lives on this earth.
Yes, planning a family house is exciting, but listen, if people can get excited about earthly houses, then it is easy to understand why Christians should get excited about their future home in heaven, where they will live for eternity.
In this sermon we want to study the "blueprints" in God's Word, to see what kind of eternal home God has prepared for His family. As we study the Word of God, we find three people who are qualified to tell us about that wonderful place.
(1)THE APOSTLE PAUL
It is not unusual to hear people talk on television about actually going to heaven.
Illus: There is one TV minister (Jesse Duiplantis) who claims he was swooped up to heaven basically the same way Paul was swopped up.
But I do not believe he was swooped up to heaven. This TV minister is all about money.
• He has mansion in the Destrehan suburbs of Louisiana. This 35,000 square foot property consists of 25 rooms.
• He also owns another mansion on Ormond Boulevard. The property consists of 20 rooms.
• He is a luxury-car lover. He has a Royce worth $350,000. It is reported that he also owns a Bentley and an Aston Martin.
• His net worth is $35 million dollars.
But scripture tells us that Paul, that great man of God, was caught up into heaven.
Look at II Cor. 12:2-4. We read, "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
Paul speaks of himself in the third person to show his modesty and humility, and how much he declined vain glory and popular applause.
What a contrast to many today who claim to be caught up to heaven as Paul was. In other words it seems they are saying, ”SEE HOW GREAT I AM!”
Notice when Paul was caught up to the third heaven.
Paul was saying that he had been caught up to the THIRD HEAVEN. He did not know if he had been in his body or out of his body. That was not significant.
However, what was significant was that he supernaturally was swooped up to heaven and he saw the third heaven and he saw such things that cannot be uttered by man. Earthly language did not have words to describe what he saw!
How many heavens are there? There are three:
(a) THE FIRST HEAVEN is where the clouds are, and where the birds and planes fly. We can see this first heaven with the human eye.
(b) THE SECOND HEAVEN is where all the planets and stars are located. We can see into this heaven with a powerful telescope. In this space age, we have been able to send people into the second heaven.
As far as science can tell there is no life that exists in the second heaven.
The second heaven is beautiful, but there is a heaven that is more beautiful, it is the third heaven.
(c) THE THIRD HEAVEN is where God lives. People have some beautiful places to live but nothing can come close to being as beautiful as Heaven.
Illus: Years ago a Russian astronaut was declaring, “THERE IS NO GOD.” The reason he thought that there is no god is because he went up into the second heaven and he looked everywhere and he never saw God.
He went to the wrong address. God does not live in the SECOND HEAVEN, HE LIVES IN THE THIRD HEAVEN!!!
Illus: You could take all the beautiful areas in the world and put them together, and they would not come close to being as beautiful as the place where God lives in the third heaven.
Illus: Sometimes on TV they show us where the RICH AND FAMOUS live. We marvel over the mansions they live in.
But those who have died in the Lord have already gone to the beautiful place called heaven. You could take all the beautiful mansions on earth and put them together and they could not come close to what heaven is like. EYES HAVE NOT SEEN NOR HAS EARS HEARD WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THE SAINTS OF GOD.
Do you know what is so great about that? That is exactly where every saint of God will live for eternity!
In fact, I have a:
• Father
• Mother
• Brother
• Aunt
• Granddaddy and
• People who were saved under my ministry
• And many church members living there now!!!
Illus: Some saints of God who live in third-world countries live in some horrible conditions. But one of these days, they are going to live in this wonderful place called heaven.
Illus: Years ago I had a nephew named Ray Shealy. Ray had Down syndrome. He came every Sunday to church. Often I would ask him, “Ray, do you love Jesus?” And he would say, “Love Jesus! Love Jesus.” He died in this condition and I have often thought of how much he now is enjoying heaven no longer with Down syndrome.
God allowed Paul to make a short visit to that glorious place, but once he visited it, GOD TOLD HIM NOT TO SPEAK OF WHAT HE SAW to people on earth.
Can you imagine how hard it was for Paul to see all the glory of heaven and not being able to say a word about it?
Illus: That would be as bad as the preacher who skipped church and played a perfect game of golf. He could not tell anyone what he had done, because if he said a word, they would have known he played golf instead of going to church.
God did not want him to tell. Why? There are two possible reasons:
(a) Because there are no words that could DESCRIBE HEAVEN.
Illus: We are told in the human language there are two places that cannot be described.
(1) One is hell. It is so horrible that no one has a vocabulary big enough to describe this horrible place.
(2) The second is heaven. It is so beautiful that no one has the words that can describe this marvelous place.
Illus: Dr. Robert Lee told Dr. Adrian Rogers, “I have preached on heaven many times but I have never felt I did the subject justice.”
As a pastor I know exactly what he means!!!
This is why I titled this sermon, “A sermon that is difficult to preach.” Heaven is so great no preacher can really do a sermon on Heaven (or Hell) justice. NO PREACHER!
Often, to describe something we have to have something we can relate it too.
Illus: Have you ever tried to describe a beautiful red rose to a person who was born blind? It is impossible to describe such a thing to a person who does not know how to relate anything to colors.
The best thing Paul could do was not say anything, to prevent giving a distorted view of this wonderful place! That could be one reason God would not let Paul say anything about what he saw.
Illus: Suppose you lived on earth in the days of Noah, and someone told you that one day there would be automobiles, airplanes, computers, televisions, telephones, fax machines, interstate highways, and space vehicles that would take a man to the moon, etc.. You would have thought that they had escaped from the "funny farm."
I can assure you that if Paul had to describe what he saw, we all would say, "Paul, your much learning has made you mad."
(b) Perhaps God wanted it to be a SURPRISE.
A lot of people do not like surprises, but when the saints of God see this wonderful place it will be a surprise they will enjoy.
Whatever the reason was, scripture tells us God prohibited Paul from talking about it when he came back.
In Phil. 1:23 we read, "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better."
Paul, one of the few to see that glorious place, never was the same afterwards!
Another mortal that can tell us about that glorious place is...
2. THE APOSTLE JOHN
When John was on the isle of Patmos, God revealed to him all the horrifying things that were going to take place after the rapture of the church.
For example, God revealed to him about the antichrist, the tribulation period, the battle of Armageddon and the Great White Throne Judgment.
John saw THE MOST HORRIFYING MOMENTS OF THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. Then, God evidently thought he might be due some good news, so God pinned back the curtains of heaven and let John have just a glimpse.
John's response after he saw it was, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20b)
Illus: Some have asked, "Why doesn't the Bible say more about heaven than it does?"
The answer has been given, "If God told us about the greatness of heaven, we all would be begging Him every day of our lives to please take us to our eternal home, and we would not want to stay here on earth to serve Him."
The apostles John and Paul saw that glorious place, and once they saw it they were ready to depart from this life immediately.
There is one more person who can tell us about this grand place that is called heaven.
3. THE LORD JESUS
Jesus had more to say about heaven than any other person in the Bible!
• He came from heaven
• He is in heaven now
• He is waiting for our arrival
It is appropriate that He has so much to say about heaven because He knows more about heaven than anyone else.
In Rev. 21, He tells us that heaven is a...
I. NEW PLACE
In Rev. 21:1-3 we read, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
God's Word says that God will create A NEW HEAVEN and A NEW EARTH. The Word of God is very clear on this, but some people have a hard time interpreting the Word of God literally.
Some say this is not actually what is going to happen, that what is going to happen is that the heaven and earth will be CLEANSED or RESTORED.
Illus: In other words, they believe it is as if someone had an old rocking chair that had gotten in bad shape. Instead of buying a new one, they restored it and made it look like new.
IS IT NEW JUST BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN RESTORED?
No! It has the appearance of being new, but the fact is that it is the same chair it has always been. God's Word says nothing about RESTORATION! It only speaks of a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH.
WELL, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE OLD ONE?
We do not have to GUESS. Look at the rest of the verse - "...For the first heaven and the first earth were PASSED AWAY..."
A. Why will God make a new heaven and a new earth?
Many believe, (and we can only speculate), that He does this for a couple of reasons.
1) Because Satan had corrupted the old heaven
2) Because Satan has corrupted this old earth
You may ask, “So what! What DIFFERENCE does that make?”
It makes a BIG DIFFERENCE!
Illus: Suppose you were an abused child. All your childhood you were abused by someone in the home you were reared in. Would you, as an adult, want to spend the rest of your life in that home? You probably would not! Why? Because you have bad memories, and you would want to move away from that place and never again be reminded of the horrible abuse.
God has some horrible memories of Satan's rebelling against Him, and one-third of the angels of heaven turning against Him. Satan corrupted heaven with sin! Likewise, we all have memories of sin in our lives. We have been gloriously forgiven, but we remember things we would like to forget.
Illus: One young lady lived in sin and did not think much about it as a teenager. But later in life when she was married and had children she had to live in that same town and lived with regret. She said many times, “I wish I could move out of this town and never come back!”
We all have had SINFUL THINGS in our lives that we wish we could put behind us, but we will be locked in prison with our memories until we die. As long as we live, we cannot get away from them.
Listen, here is the good news! Heaven could not be the great place for FOR GOD or FOR US, if we had to be constantly reminded of the corruption of HEAVEN and EARTH.
So, God will do something about that. He will create a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH.
In Isaiah 65:17, we read, "For, behold, I create NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH:…”
WHY DOES GOD USE SUCH DRASTIC STEPS?
Look at the last part of verse 17 again, “…and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
Illus: Those who are lost probably do not know this when they are cast into hell:
• God could say to them it is not My will for you to be cast into hell.
• It is your will!!!
How could a loving God be happy in heaven knowing those He died for are in a burning hell!!!
The reason He will be able to enjoy this new heaven while they are in hell once this takes place IN THE MIND OF GOD IT WILL BE LIKE THEY NO LONGER EXIST!!!
Once God creates the NEW HEAVEN and the NEW EARTH, the old heaven and earth will pass FROM GOD'S MEMORY AND FROM OUR MEMORY.
Once again, read Isaiah 65:17, "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former SHALL NOT BE REMEMBERED, NOR COME INTO MIND."
Illus: Christian parents could not enjoy heaven if they knew their lost children were suffering torment in a Christless eternity. God will allow all the former things to be remembered no more.
B. How will God make a new heaven and a new earth?
He will create it. Look at Isaiah 65:17 again, "For, behold, I CREATE NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH..."
We often use that word "create" when we say someone is "very creative."
We are misusing the word "create" when we use it in connection with humans. It is impossible for a human to CREATE ANYTHING! Only God is the CREATOR.
We can build things. That is, we can take pre-existing materials and build things out of them, but we cannot "create" anything! For example,
Illus: A carpenter can build a house, but he cannot "create" a house. Anything we build comes from pre-existing materials.
God is the CREATOR and God will create, "...NEW HEAVENS AND A NEW EARTH..."
The present heaven and earth will pass away into oblivion as if they had never existed. One day we shall live in the NEW PLACE and we will not remember the past OLD HEAVEN and the OLD EARTH anymore. Jesus tells us that heaven will be A NEW PLACE.
He also provides...
II. NEW PEACE
Heaven will not only be a NEW PLACE, Jesus will also provide a NEW PEACE.
In Rev. 21:1 we read, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was NO MORE SEA..."
WHY DOES GOD SAY THERE WILL BE NO MORE SEA?
Look at the words, "...no more sea..." We all know people who love the sea. In fact, some people think the nearest thing to heaven in this life is to live by the sea.
In the Bible the "sea" does not speak of such good times, but there it often represents bad things.
A. The "sea" represents storms
Those of you who frequently watch the weather channel notice that many storms come from the sea. Over water they build up high winds and we wait on shore, at their mercy, for them to hit us, sometimes with such forceful winds that it is devastating. When this happens, there is very little we can do to protect ourselves from them.
Likewise, in this life we are often struck by all kinds of devastating things such as sickness, diseases, and death. There is very little we can do about these things.
In the Bible, the sea represents storms. God says He will create new heavens and a new earth, but He makes a point to say there will be NO MORE SEA. That is to say, when we go to heaven there will be no more storms in our lives.
THE SEA REPRESENTS STORMS.
B. The "sea" also represents separation
When countries are at war, often wives and husbands have been separated when the husband had to ship out to go to a foreign country across the sea. Husbands and wives have stood at the edge of the ocean, and water was all they could see. They knew that somewhere beyond that place where it seemed like the sea and the sky touched, was a loved one. Their hearts were saddened because that sea separated them.
On the sea of life, DEATH has separated us from our loved ones, but notice, in the Bible there IS NO MORE SEA! Also, in the Bible...
Heaven is going to be the perfect environment.
Look at the architectural plans of this marvelous place. For example, the Bible tells us that...
• THE GATES WILL BE OF PEARL
In Rev. 21:21 we read, "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl..."
Today we ride by houses where rich people live, and see the beautiful ornamental iron gates. Gates have always been a SYMBOL OF PRESTIGE, and the affluent have spent more on their gates than others of us have spent on the houses we live in.
Notice, in heaven the gates will be made of pearl. We know how valuable pearls are and so God lets us know that in heaven pearl will be no more than iron is down here.
Why? Heaven is something that is so much greater than we can imagine. Diamonds and pearls will not be so valuable there.
Illus: Speaking of diamonds and pearls I think about the young lady when her husband bought her a diamond wedding ring. She said she was so proud of it that when she was walking down the street she would scratch her nose so people coming toward her could see it. And she said when she passed them she was so proud she would rub hair down in the back so that people behind her could see her diamond.
But when we get to heaven diamonds and pearls will be in such abundance they will not be important then.
• STREETS WILL BE PAVED WITH GOLD
In Rev. 21:21b we read, "...and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."
Why? Because we understand that gold is one of the most valuable things on this earth. Heaven will be such a wonderful place, that there we will walk on gold as if it were no more than asphalt.
• THE FOUNDATION OF THE WALL WILL BE MADE OF PRECIOUS JEWELS
In Rev. 21:19-20 we read, "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst."
If we were going to build a building and we had all these valuable stones, we would not place them in the foundation where no one could see them. We would want to make walls out of them where everyone could see them. What God is saying is that heaven is such a wonderful place that the things that men crave and die to have here will be no more than foundation stones in heaven. Just reading about this glorious place makes us want to go there.
Perhaps one of the reasons God mentions these things as building materials could be He is trying to help us understand that heaven is such a beautiful place the most valuable things on earth, like diamonds and gold, will be no more than asphalt in heaven.
Conclusion:
I get amused when I hear people talk about looking forward to going to heaven.
• Many talk about the streets of gold.
• Many are excited about the gates of pearl.
• But listen, when I go home from the office and I get home I do not go around touching my big screen TV, my lazy boy lounge etc.
• You know what I get excited about - I go in my house hollering, “ILLA I AM HOME!”
• And when I get to heaven I am going to enter heaven hollering for Jesus!!!
But you know what is exciting about heaven,
Let me close by saying a few things to those who have not accepted the Lord.
That is, I need to tell you this - without Christ what you have on earth is the best you will ever have.
Without Christ you’d better enjoy all this world has to offer because this is the only heaven you will have.
Those who know Christ - the best is yet to come!
I. NEW PLACE
A. WHY WILL GOD MAKE A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH
B. HOW WILL GOD MAKE A NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH?
II. NEW PEACE
A. THE SEA REPRESENTS STORMS
B. THE SEA REPRESENTS SEPARATION
If you would like to hear this sermon preached by Dr. Odell Belger please type YOUTUBE - LYKESLAND
