Sermon Tone Analysis

Date: Jan 2023 – LHBC; April 2012 - LHBC

Intro: There are a lot of opinions about heaven.

Probably one of the more famous in Australia was the late Kerry Packers interview in which he said that it did not exist.

“I have good news and bad news” he said.

“The good news is that there is no devil, and the bad news is there is no heaven either.”

The problem with that is it was his opinion.

Yes, he based it on being dead for 6 minutes, but who is to say that God has to reveal Himself to the unsaved that will be living again soon?

There are actually an overwhelming number of stories from people who died and were brought back to life.

Almost all say there is a heaven or hell.

My own grandfather was one such person.

He was dead for 15 minutes at one point, and he had something to say on the subject as well.

This morning we do not want to base our time together on hear-say.

We know the Bible is true - it has never been wrong.

So, let’s see what the Bible says about heaven.

1. Defined:

According to the ancient Jewish understanding, there are three heavens,

1.

The atmosphere, as “birds of the heavens”(Gen.

2.19; 7.3, 23; Ps. 8.8, Lam.

4.19 etc.)

2. The starry heavens or outer space (Deut.

17.3; Jer.

8.2; Matt.

24.29).

3. “The heaven of heavens,” or “The third heaven” (Deut.

10.14; 1 Kings 8.27; Ps. 115.16; 148.4; 2 Cor.

12.2).

For the sake of time we are going to concentrate only on the last one of these three.

Popular culture tends to make a caricature out of heaven as a place where people sprout wings and become angels, wear halos, strum harps, walk on clouds and often rest comfortably on a big fluffy cloud.

St. Peter supposedly sits at heaven’s gate, deciding who may enter.

Heavenly choirs sing incessantly.

And the only thing to do is worship all the time.

Fortunately this is all wrong!

Men never become angels, and walking on clouds is never mentioned in scripture.

An intensive study of the Bible would lead us to define heaven as:

“The place above that was created by God to be a supernatural dwelling place of God; other heavenly beings and His redeemed.”

2. The inhabitants of heaven.

God dwells there.

a.

It was created by Him.

Gen 1.1

b.

It is His home.

1 Kings 8.30 “. . . in heaven, Your dwelling place. .

.”

* If it is His home, then He can decide who He wants to come in!

Christ presently lives there.

Heaven was not unknown to Jesus when He was on earth.

He is the only one to live on earth after He had lived in heaven.

As believers, you and I will live in heaven after time on earth, but Jesus was different.

He knew heaven before He came to earth.

Holy Spirit lives there too.

The whole trinity, Godhead, was present in heaven in Gen 1.26 when He said, “Let us make man in our image...”

Angels and other beings reside there:

Matt.

18.10 “...do not despise one of these little ones.

For I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

Luke 2.13 “ a great multitude of heavenly hosts” 15 “when the angels had gone away from them into heaven...”

The justified live there after life on earth.

Paul says, 2 Cor 5: “absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

3. Let’s look at some of the positive characteristics of heaven.

Joy Luke 15:7, 10 “. . .

there will be more joy in heaven. .

.”

Lk 15 gives 3 parables of lost things.

In all three when “the lost” is found a party is thrown.

Jesus is explaining that the same is true of heaven.

Who could imagine that the actions of men could have such a profound impact on heaven?

ILL.

On the stroke of midnight, within the first few moments of the new year, people stopped and celebrated.

Why?

It was only time passing, another year; another number to remember to change.

We know of only one thing that makes Heaven burst in to party mode, pour the punch, string the streamers, and throw the confetti: A sinner being saved.

We could do better at rejoicing here in preparation for our time there.

Rest Hebrew 4.9; Rev. 14.13

As in the Garden of Eden, they had work from the beginning, but it was not until after the fall that they had “toil.”

I think we will live stress free lives, and that will be a major part of our “rest.”

Peace and comfort Luke 16.19–25 (Rich man and Lazarus)

Again, the lack of stress will play a major role here.

We will not worry, be uncomfortable, or uneasy about anything.

There will be no guilt, no crying, no sense of loss.

Righteousness 2 Pet.

3.13 “we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

Because it is the place of God, and all believers will be “clothed in Christ’s righteousness” everything done there will be right.

We will be incapable of sinning, turning away from God, or wanting anything against His righteous standard.

Service Rev 7.15 “they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple”

In Matthew 19:28, Jesus told His disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones and serve as judges of Israel.

In the Bible, judges were also administrators, which again suggests that there will be more work to do in God’s new kingdom.

In the parable of the stewards (Matthew 25), the reward for faithful work was the opportunity for more responsibility.

Reward Matt.

5.11-12; 2 Corinthians 5.10; 1 Corinthians 4.5; Rev. 2.11, 17, 26-28; 3.5, 12, 21

There will be crowns, positions of honour, and other as of yet unspecified rewards.

Inheritance Mt 25.34 “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”

This is one inheritance you get when you die.

See also Col 3.24

Glory Rom.

8:16-18 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,that we may also be glorified together.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Feasting Rev.2.17; 19.9 ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'

The “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” is a 7 year feast that takes place in heaven during the tribulation period.

Because our bodies will be incorruptible, we will not get fat, have heart problems, diabetes, and I am not sure we will even get uncomfortably full.

WOW!

4. Things lacking in heaven include:

Marriage Matt.

22:30

Death Luke 20:36