Heaven Part 3

“Heaven’s Population”

September 10, 2023

FBC Baxley

am service

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Welcome radio and online guests…

*It’s ok if you’re broken, unfaithful, lost, we are too and we are here seeking God’s will and way and plan.

We are all prodigals here…

Some rescued….Some Not..

All Loved…

*Acts 4:12 (repeat)

*John 3:16

Sermon Title: Heaven’s Population

Scripture Passage: Revelation 21:3-7

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

PRAY

TWO Points:

The People in Heaven

The Person of Heaven

I. The People in Heaven

THE SAVED GO TO HEAVEN IMMEDIATELY UPON DEATH

(2 Corinthians 5:6-8)

6 “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

You can go to Heaven in a body or out of the body.

You can be absent from your body and go to Heaven, or you can go to Heaven in a resurrected body.

A. The saints go immediately to Heaven upon death.

The soul does not sleep in the grave to await the resurrection.

B. The body awaits the resurrection; the spirit goes immediately to be with Jesus.

Luke 23:43-46

43 “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

Acts 7:56-59

56 “And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

C. There comes a time when we move out of this body and move into a position with our Lord in Heaven.

Philippians 1:23

23 “I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”

WE WILL KNOW OUR LOVED ONES IN HEAVEN

(1 Corinthians 13:12)

12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

A. We will know them face to face.

1. “In a glass darkly.”

2. In Bible times, they did not have mirrors as we have today.

3. They would take brass and polish it; it was a burnished brass reflector that they would look into.

4. They could see but could not see clearly.

B. We really do not know one another now.

Instead of asking if we will know one another in Heaven, the real question is do we know one another now?

1 Samuel 16:7

7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

God doesn’t see as man sees; God looks on the heart.

2 Samuel 12:16-23

16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

We go to our loved ones in Heaven.

C. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

16 “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

The Apostle Paul points out that at the second coming of the Lord Jesus, we will be

gathered not only to meet the Lord but also to meet one another.

3. “The dead in Christ shall rise first” refers to the body that’s in the grave.

D. When the saints of the Bible died, the Bible says that they went to be with their people.

Genesis 25:8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

Abraham knew that he was going to have a family reunion.

Genesis 35:29, “And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.”

* Isaac was gathered to his people.

Genesis 49:33, “When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.”

* The body is still in the grave, but Jacob is with his people.

Matthew 8:11, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,”

*Jesus talked about a family reunion in Heaven.

* We will fellowship in Heaven with others; we will know them.

Matthew 17:1-13

* We had a preview of Heaven when Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration.

a. Elijah and Moses were there.

b. The disciples had never met Elijah or Moses; they were from a different era.

c. But the disciples recognized both Elijah and Moses.

**We will know one another in Heaven!

II. The Person of Heaven

JESUS IS THE KING OF HEAVEN (John 14:2-3)

Heaven is not primarily a place, Heaven is also a person.

Heaven is Being with Jesus!!

John 14:2-3

2”In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Are you looking forward to being with Jesus?

If you’re not looking forward to being with Jesus, if you’re just waiting for an eternal

vacation, then you’re not going to Heaven.

Heaven is where Jesus is.

B. Jesus is what makes Heaven, Heaven!!

John 17:24-26

24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

It is alright to pray for the healing of our sick loved ones, but Jesus is also praying that we be with Him.

It is not a bad thing when a loved one steps into the presence of Jesus to behold His glory.

C. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!!

From A-Z......GOD IS……

Awesome. “Out of the North he comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty.” Job. 37:22

Beautiful. “Behold the beauty of the Lord” –Ps 27:4

Compassionate. “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” Ps. 145:9

Dependable. “God is not a human being that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” —Numbers 23:19, NRSV

Eternal. “The eternal God is your Refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms.” —Deut. 33:27, TLB

Faithful. “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he had made.” —Ps. 145:13, NIV

Good. “For the Lord is good, and his mercy is never-ending; his faith is unchanging through all generations.” —Ps. 100:5

Holy. “Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the Lord our God is holy.” —Ps. 99:9, NKJV

Impartial. “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” —Ac. 10:34-35, NIV

Just. “For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, His work is perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is He.” —Deut. 32:3-4, NRSV

Kind. “Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” —Rom. 2:4, NRSV

Love. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.” —Ps. 103:11, RSV

Merciful. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” —Isa. 55:7-8, KJV

Near. “The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.”– Ps 145:18 (NKJV)

Omnipotent. “It is He (God) who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.” –Jer 10:12

Patient. “The Lord is slow to anger and abounding steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression.” –Ps 145:8

Quickens. “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (give life to) your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.–Rom 8:11

Refuge. “The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed. A refuge in times of trouble.” – Ps. 9:9,10 (NKJV)

Sovereign. “Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it now I, the Lord? There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is no one besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” —Isa. 45:21-22, NRSV

Trustworthy. “In You our fathers put their trust; they trusted and You delivered them. They cried to You and were saved; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.” (Ps 22:4-5, NIV)

Unchanging. “You Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.” (Heb 1:10-12, NKJV)

Victorious. “I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but You give us victory over our enemies, You put our adversaries to shame.” (Ps 44:6-7, NIV)

Wonderful. “This also comes from the Lord of hosts; He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom”(Isa 28:29, ESV).

Xristos. (Greek for Christ) “He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” (Lk. 23:35)

Yearning (For Us). “Listen I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in you and eat with and you with me” (Rev. 3:20, NRSV)

Zealous. “His authority shall grow continually and there shall be endless peace…He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness and from this onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” (Isa 9:7, NRSV)

** Jesus is Lord!!

PRAY

Invitation

“Are you born again?”

Is your name written in the Lambs Book of Life?

“Have you surrendered/repented to Jesus?