What Will Heaven Be Like?

“What Will Heaven Be Like?”

Revelation 21: 3-5

January 24, 2010

Intro: A Sunday School teacher was teaching his class about heaven. He 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 everyday 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!”

-A crash course on heaven is first of all, to go there, you got to die. I think most of us would like to skip that whole process, but the chances of us avoiding that are very slim. So I think a big question a lot of us have is “What’s heaven going to be like?”

-I know as a kid I thought heaven was going to be a place where I wore a white robe and sort of floated along in the clouds. Others of us think of heaven as sitting on a cloud and playing a harp. Generally, our thoughts of heaven are that it’s gong to be a rather boring place; a place where it’s going to be hard to have a lot of fun.

-But instead of going w/what we’ve heard @ heaven, I think it’ll be a good idea for us to take a look at what the Bible says @ heaven.

Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’ll see Jesus’ disciple John give us a glimpse into what Heaven will be like. Revelation does speak of heaven as having streets of gold, and pearly gates, and these incredibly beautiful stones that will adorn heaven.

-I think John used language like that b/c he was speaking metaphorically. Our focus is going to be on some of the basic things @ heaven.

TEXT: REVELATION 21: 3-5

Bckgrd: John wrote this while he was in exile on the Greek island of Patmos b/c he was a follower of Jesus. He was isolated from his family. He was isolated from the region where he’d grown up. It would’ve been a very easy time for John to be bitter and angry at what had happened to him.

-But instead, John shared w/us the hope for a future he’d found while in exile. He shared w/us, thru a revelation he’d received from God, what heaven was going to be like. So, what is heaven going to be like?

DIV. 1: IT WILL BE A PLACE WHERE GOD DWELLS (v. 3)

Exp: What are the 3 most important words in real estate? Location, location, location. The house can look great, it can have top of the line appliances, but if it’s in a bad location it’s not going to matter! You want your home to be in a nice, safe area. You want your home to be in an area where you’ll have good neighbors.

A. Well, heaven is in a great location! The location’s so good that we’re told God dwells there! Can you imagine that? One of your new neighbors is going to be God! And God’s presence affects everything!

1. His presence affects the environment. Rev. 21: 23, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light.” The Bible also says in James 1: 17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows.”

a. Can you imagine what heaven would be like w/o the presence of God? From the verses I just read we could gather that it would be a place of darkness and a place where goodness didn’t exist. I guarantee you it’d be a place you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with.

b. But not only that, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. 1 Pet. 2: 6, “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” What’s the importance of a cornerstone?

2. The cornerstone is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, which is important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. W/o the cornerstone there is no solid foundation.

a. And as we know, anything built w/o a solid foundation will eventually fall. Therefore, we want Jesus to be present in heaven b/c He is the one who holds all things together. W/o Him nothing would be lasting.