Will You be Bored in Heaven? Revelation 22:1-7
By Dr. Jeffery C. Russell
Edenton, NC
Mark Twain, the famous American humorist and author of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, was asked at a dinner party where he thought he would like to spend eternity, replied: “I’d rather refrain from saying, because I have friends in both places!” When pressed further about the subject, in his typical tongue in cheek fashion Twain replied candidly: “I would like to spend eternity in Heaven for the climate, and Hell for the company!” Can you imagine such a thing? That may sound shocking to some, but he honestly revealed what is in the heart of many people- including some Christians I’ve known when it comes to their ideas about Heaven.
Your'e up to pitch next Friday.
You’re probably curious about the title of my message: Will you be bored in Heaven? That’s because so many of us make it sound that way. The Bible teaches that when a Christian dies he/she goes immediately to Heaven as absent from the body he will be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) Then he will be introduced to all the joys and splendors of heaven, including that heavenly mansion that Jesus talked about in John 14- one that will be more like a celestial condominium and better than any palatial home that we could ever find here on earth. Some would say, and I would tend to agree with them, that the description of that dwelling place doesn’t really matter to me. I just want to know what I will be doing when I get there? There is a myth (among several) that we need to dispel about Heaven and that is that we will be floating on clouds, with haloes over our heads, dressed in a Roman toga with wings. I’m not sure where this idea came from- probably from Roman mythology and paganism that we have transposed onto modern ideas but one thing I do know and that it did not come from Scripture. But besides that, nothing could be more boring to me than the thought of sitting around in eternity with nothing meaningful to do-without a cell phone, may I add! Who would want to do that? I can’t stand sitting around waiting for a car to be fixed or waiting to get in to see the doctor. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I. Some Myths about Heaven: The problem isn’t heaven- it is our idea of heaven that makes it boring. Sitting on a cloud might be good for about thirty minutes- what am I going to do for the rest of eternity? Will we be bored in heaven? The short answer is no-because we will no longer inhabit aging bodies that grow tired or live in a sin-infected world that makes life tedious. Revelation 21:4 says: God will wipe away every tear from our eyes” Including being bored to tears!
Another myth about heaven is that it will be like one long church service- for all eternity. That’s a persistent myth that really dulls the idea of heaven for some- especially for those who aren’t in church now because they already find it boring! Dr. Robert Jeffress tells the story how a number of years ago he had a guest preacher tell his congregation, “If you have trouble sitting through an hour-long church service here on earth, you will be miserable in heaven because all we are going to do for eternity is praise God!” He said he groaned when he heard that, because it made heaven sound like a giant yawn-fest and it was hardly helpful to those who might be considering Christ on the prospect of going to heaven one day. Now don’t get me wrong. I love to worship, and I love singing God’s praises with His people. And while we were created by God to worship and yes worship is going to be a prominent activity there, it will not be the only thing we’ll be doing.
When God created Adam, He gave him two primary responsibilities: to work into worship. Scripture says that the Lord God planted a garden for the east in evening in there he plays the man whom he had formed in order to cultivate it and keep it. (Genesis 2:8, 15) That was the work Adam was to accomplish.
But Adam was also created to worship God. Genesis 3:8 implies that Adam and Eve had daily fellowship with the Lord they walk with him in the cool of the day. When Christ establishes our eternal home on the new earth, it will be a Eden-like existence. Just as Adam had to primary responsibilities in Eden, I believe we will have two primary responsibilities in Heaven.
II. The Work We’ll Do In Heaven. I’ve already talked some about the worship part, and I’ll get back to that in a moment. First I want to talk to you about the work we’ll be doing in Heaven. I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a pickup truck that summed up the essence of work for most people: “A bad day of fishing beats a good day at work any time!” And I think I would have to agree with him. But when we get to Heaven, I believe we will be engaged in the most invigorating work that you’ve never experienced in your life here on earth. You will actually enjoy it. Will we get paid? I don’t know if the pay is much but the benefits are out of this world! God is a worker. He is, after all, the Creator. He did not create the world and then walk off and leave it. He worked before send ever entered into the world and continues to work well soon remains in the world. Jesus declared, my father is working until now, and I myself am working,” (John 5:17). Since we are created in the image of God, it should be no surprise that we have been created to work as well. Contrary to what many people believe, work is not a curse from God as a result of Adam and Eve sent in the garden. Before the first couple ever took a bite of the for bidden fruit, God gave them the responsibility of work: then the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15.
And even though Eden was perfect, it was not self-sustaining. God did his part in creating the slice of paradise on earth, but he also gave man the responsibility of taking care of it Tilling the soil and planting and harvesting crops. And yes while it’s true that Adam and Eve’s work became much harder after their fault because of God’s judgment, work has always been, and always will be part of God’s plan for each and everyone of us. Since our lives in the new heaven and a new earth are simply extensions of our lives now, we shouldn’t be surprised that God plans for us to continue working in the new heaven and a new earth. Heaven will not be a place to be eternal retirement where we do nothing but play golf or pluck a harp well living off of a 401(k) plan that never runs dry.
You say, “well, wait a minute, working for eternity? That sounds more like hell then it does Heaven!” Like they say- “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!” leric found himself wondering whether there were any golf courses in Heaven. He even began to ask the question in his prayers. One day, in answer to his prayers, he received a direct answer from on high. "Yes," said the Heavenly messenger, "There are many excellent golf courses in Heaven. The greens are always in first class condition, the weather is always perfect and you always get to play with the very nicest people." "Oh, thank you," said the cleric, "That really is marvellous news." "Yes, isn't it?" replied the messenger, "And we've got you down to T off next Saturday."
III. No More Curse in Heaven. Well this is because the only reason why we might cringe at the concept of working for eternity is because our labor has been burdened today by the effects of since the curse: body that grow tired, relationships that become strained, government regulations that are burdensome, and an environment that is uncooperative. Everything seems to be a hassel. But in the new heaven and a new earth all of those affects will evaporate because there will be no longer any curse. (Revelation 22:3). In this world, work-no matter how much we enjoy it-can be exhausting. In the New World, work will be nothing but exhilarating. Obviously, once the curse of sin is removed from the earth some jobs will automatically disappear. For example, there will be no need for doctors (disease will be completely eradicated), dentists (there will be no more tooth decay), fire-fighters (because destruction and fire and will be a thing of the past). Recently at a grave-side service I respectfully told the local funeral director, Andy Walker that in Heaven we will have no funeral homes- but not to worry, funeral directors won’t be unemployed. God will find them something else to do! Even my job as a preacher will probably be eliminated since there will be no more sin to preach against because, as Habakuk said “The earth will be filled with the knowledge and the glory of the Lord!” (Hab 2:14). I’m not gonna be bored, running around meeting everybody- learning about Habakuk and all the characters of the Bible! Wont that be something!
There’s obviously so much more that I can share with you about the marvelous joys of heavenly work than time will allow me to share this morning. But let me get back to the worship part that I shared only briefly a moment ago. Let me say that one of the most remarkable, exhilarating joys of worship like we’ve never experienced will be wonder of seeing Jesus face-to-face. What’s that going to be like? Let me invite you to see this in I John 3:2-3:] Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
To be sure our worship in heaven nobody’s going to merely mouth through the hymns or go through the motions of worship. We all will sing with hearts that are going to be on fire! Instead of the kind that unfortunately many church-goers engage in week after week, in heaven its going to be the kind that flows out of the deepest recesses of our hearts will happen ever tie we are in God’s presence in the new Heaven and the New Earth. A worship that will be the continual awareness of, the gratitude toward, the submission to God in everything that we do. And most of all, Jesus will be there!
Next time we will look at another thing we’ll be doing besides worshipping and working in Heaven- and that is reigning with Christ! You won’t have time to be bored- even though you have all eternity!
