02 - Suited Up For Heaven 2010

John 3: 1-3

We talked last time about the place called heaven.

Now today I want to talk about being suited up for heaven—how one is made ready to enter that place, what happens when we die, and how our bodies will be raised from the dead.

First, Jesus laid down the primary requirement for entry into heaven.

We must be “suited up” for it.

When an athlete prepares to go onto the football field, he is told to “suit up.” Without the gear he cannot occupy the field.

When a person prepares to scuba dive, he must “suit up.” Without it, he cannot survive underwater.

If you want to experience heaven, you must be “suited up” for it with a brand new nature!

The Bible says:

2 Cor. 5: 17 “Therefore if any person is in Christ he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!”

Not only does one receive a new nature, but also a spiritual resurrection from death to life:

Eph. 2:1 “And You He made ALIVE, who were DEAD in trespasses and sins…”

Once this marvelous experience has taken place one can expect a future resurrection from the dead.

Christianity without a resurrection from the dead is like a beautifully wrapped gift with nothing in it.

Christianity without a resurrection from the dead is no Christianity at all, because the cornerstone promise of the Christian faith is eternal life following a resurrection from the dead!

Paul said,

1 Cor. 15 : 13-19 “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen; 14And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching amounts to nothing, and your faith is devoid of truth and is fruitless, empty, imaginary, and unfounded…”

Furthermore:

“We are even discovered to be misrepresenting God, for we testified of Him that He raised Christ…16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised; 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is mere delusion, and you are still in your sins;

18And further, those who have died (believing in Christ) have perished! 19If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hope only in this life and that is all, then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.”

“But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”—vs. 20

So without a doubt, a great resurrection from the dead will one day occur.

You say, “Jeff, c’mon, do you really believe this?

I believe it because the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of it over and over again. Listen to some of His statements:

John 11:23-26 “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”

John 6: 40 “For this is My Father's will and His purpose, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] at the last day.”

John 5: 25; 28-29 “Believe Me when I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the time is coming and is here now when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear it shall live.”

“Do not be surprised and wonder at this, for the time is coming when all those who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and they shall come out--those who have practiced doing good [will come out] to the resurrection of [new] life, and those who have done evil will be raised for judgment.”

First,

How will this happen?

Phil 3: 20-21 “And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the (same) power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

The resurrection of the dead will happen by the SHEER POWER of the same God who spoke something out of nothing, who sculpted the great mountain ranges with a word, Who scooped out the rolling seas, hurled countless stars and galaxies through an endless space, and created all living things.

He will do it by “the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”—Eph. 1:19-20

The resurrection from the dead…

Will be sudden and without warning, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…the dead in Christ shall rise first…”

It will occur in His perfect timing, “the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” Jesus said. (Acts 1:7

It will be transformative. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye we shall be changed.”

“Some skeptic is sure to ask, "What does this 'resurrection body' look like?"

1 Cor. 15 teaches, “The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different. The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it is glorious…

“Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural—same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!”

The Bible teaches that following the resurrection we will have a “real” body, like the one Jesus displayed after His resurrection.

Luke 24: 38-43 “Look at my hands; look at my feet—it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this." As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41-43He asked, "Do you have any food here?" They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.”

He could be touched. He possessed muscle and bone. He ate food. Yet He appeared to them behind locked doors, unhindered by physical obstacles!

John records that, following the resurrection of Jesus, “the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house.” Yet amazingly:

“Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you." Then he showed them his hands and side.”

Furthermore, in heaven:

We will likely be able to recognize family and friends in heaven

The disciples recognized the glorified bodies of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, though they’d never met them.

Jesus said in His parable of the rich man that went to Hell, he “recognized Abraham and his former servant in heaven.”

Another aspect of heaven is:

Bodies that were imperfect or destroyed on earth will be perfected.

The Lord Jesus will resurrect bodies that were burned to ashes, devoured by wild animals, racked with disease, and turned to dust in the grave!

If we lacked sight, hearing, limbs, or intelligence on earth, He will recreate and restore those things in heaven.

Those who have died before us—aged parents, family, friends—will meet us with invigorated, rejuvenated bodies.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will TRANSFORM OUR LOWLY BODY that it may be CONFORMED TO HIS GLORIOUS BODY…”—Phil 3: 20-21

In heaven:

We will possess greater knowledge and awareness.

Just as we see far more of the world from a plane, you will see, understand far more from the vantage point of heaven.

“We will know,” wrote Paul, “even as we have been known.”

Mysteries will disappear and give way to understanding.

All our curiosity about science, creation, and history will be satisfied.

Some of you may be thinking, “This is all very inspirational, but I’m confused.

How is it said that when someone dies they go to heaven when their bodies lie buried awaiting the resurrection.

How can they be in two places at once?”

ILLUS. Hand in glove.

GLOVE represents the body. HAND represents our eternal soul. ELABORATE

QUESTION: Are you ready? Have you placed your faith in Christ Jesus to forgive you? Are you suited up for heaven?