Heaven - What will our Heaven be like?
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Big Idea:
Big Idea:
Heaven fulfills the desires of our heart.
Intro:
Intro:
Good morning!
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria.
Remember that phrase “He had to pass...” Fast-forward: Jesus stops to rest at a well while the disciples go into town for food. Then, a Samaritan woman comes to the well and Jesus asks her for drink of water...
The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.
I read this story for two reasons:
It’s the Word of God. My words will not change your life, but God’s will. And so that’s why it’s good for us to read God’s word and not just listen to me talk.
I believe we can all find our story in the Samaritan woman’s story.
And let me summarize the story this way:
The Samaritan woman feels alone and rejected. She has a desire to belong.
She’s also burdened and tired, which is why she asks for living water. She desires rest.
Her life is a series of unsatisfying experiences, moving from relationship to relationship. She desires love.
Finally, she desires to know God, but feels both disconnected and confused about Him.
Do any or all of these resonate with us? But after meeting Jesus, she says...
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
… the sense is, Jesus is who I’ve been searching for all my life. He satisfies EVERY desires!
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
The phrase “eternal life” can be synonomous with Heaven. And if that’s true, then - ultimately - Heaven is being with Jesus. Furthermore...
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
And if Jesus satisfied desires 2000 years ago, I believe it is biblical to believe He satisfies desires today, and will satisfy our desires for eternity.
Does that statement bother you? To be honest, it bothers me a little bit. Maybe because it sounds like the prosperity gospel. But it’s not. Because biblically, it’s truth is… Jesus wants to give us the desires of our heart!
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Jesus said...
But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
And a couple verses before that, He said...
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
We are designed to need God as Provider. And He delights in satisfying our desires...
And today… as we continue in our Heaven series, I’d like to discuss “What will Heaven be like?”
And I’ll answer that question upfront in two ways (but break it down later…):
Heaven is being in the presence, and in relationship with, God.
But Heaven is also the place where God will eternally satisfy our desires. Not because we deserve it or because He’s obligated to… but because He chooses to as an expression of His everlasting love and grace.
Does this excite you about Heaven? It should! And if it doesn’t, it’s probably because Satan has done a good job lying to us about God’s eternal goodness!
I love what Randy Alcorn says in his book on Heaven...
“No wonder Satan doesn’t want us to learn the truth about Heaven. If we fall in love with the place and look forward to the future that God has for us, we’ll fall more in love with God, and we’ll be emboldened to follow Him with greater resolve and perspective.”
One reason we decided to do a sermon series on Heaven is because knowing the truth about Heaven matters. We should be excited about it! Because the truth is… Heaven is far better than we can ever imagine!
Paul’s words are helpful in understanding this...
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
So, are you ready to find out what Heaven is like? Then, let’s get started...
First off, wee need to understand the difference between “what Heaven is presently like” and “what Heaven will be like for all of eternity,” because there is a difference, though they will share many things...
This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?
Could you build me such a resting place?
Currently, Heaven is the space God chooses to occupy. He is not limited to it, because by definition, God has no spacial limits. But it is the place where His manifest presence dwells.
Additionally, God is not alone there. Revelation 4 (which we’ll read later) says that God is surrounded by both angels and saints. And when I say “saints,” I don’t mean statues of famous Christians or faces on coins and necklaces… I’m talking about us - the church.
Because of what Jesus did on the cross, when we turn from our sin and put our faith in Jesus, we are made right in God’s eyes - we become saints… which is why when Paul writes letters to the church, he writes, “to the saints...” (Eph 1:1).
What all of this means is there is relationship in the present Heaven.
We will have relationship with God.
We will have relationship with angels.
We will have relationship with other saints.
Now, here’s something you may have wondered about before...
Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment for you against her!”
In the end times, God will pour out judgment on the earth (during the Great Tribulation), and Heaven is told to rejoice over the current events. Therefore, we can infer that in those presently in Heaven can see what’s happening on Earth!
This is further supported by Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. As He’s up there with Peter and John, Luke writes...
And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Moses and Elijah, who were previously in Heaven, visited Jesus and were fully aware of what was happening on Earth.
This may cause you to ask, “How can it truly be Heaven (a place of joy) if we can see the pain of this Earth, especially if we see loved ones suffering?”
I have few responses to that:
First off, Psalm 16:11 says that it is God’s presence, not the absence of pain, that brings joy. Joy is not activated by ignorance, but by perspective.
Jesus sees everything and His joy is never diminished. And in Heaven, we’ll be like Jesus.
Maybe you ask, “What about when it says that in Heaven God will wipe away every tear?” Remember, that promise is specifically referring to the New Heaven and Earth, and not necessarily the present Heaven, which we are discussing.
However God makes it work, have no fear… the present Heaven will still be Paradise. Both Paul and Jesus describe it this way...
When God gave Paul a vision on Heaven and he wrote...
And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—
And Jesus told the thief on the cross...
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
...Finally, the present Heaven will be radically different and better, but it will also be very FAMILIAR...
When I the prophet Isaiah saw Heaven he wrote...
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
He saw a temple. And the book of Hebrews says about the temple...
They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”
Here’s the idea: Much of what God created here is ONLY A TASTE of something better - and more real - in Heaven.
Author C.S. Lewis had a gift for communicating this heavenly truth in his fictional works - The Chronicles of Narnia. At the end of the series, he wrote...
When Aslan said you could never go back to Narnia, he meant the Narnia you were thinking of. But that was not the real Narnia. That had a beginning and an end. It was only a shadow or a copy of the real Narnia, which has always been here and always will be: just as our own world, England and all, is only a shadow or copy of something in Aslan’s real world.
When we get to Heaven, it will be different and better, but it will also feel like home - supernaturally familiar to our soul, because God’s goodness has intentionally allowed us to experience hints of it here!
Now.. let’s briefly discuss what Heaven will be like for ALL of eternity...
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
The Bible teaches that a new Heaven and new Earth is coming. Although the present heaven is a real place, it is not permanent. One day God will make it new.
And it’s the New Heaven that Jesus was talking about when He said...
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 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? 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.
My son Nole is currently obsessed with the show Fixer Upper. If you’ve never watched it, it follows home renovators Chip and Joanna Gaines. And in a short time, they (as they put it), “take the worst house, in the best neighborhood, and turn it into someone’s dream home.” And they do an amazing job…
...but think about this: Imagine what our home looks like if Jesus has been working on it for 2000 years? I’d love to have a home by Chip and Joanna. But the house Jesus is making, is infinitely better!
Furthermore...
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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.
Here’s the best part about the Eternal Heaven...
Currently, Heaven and Earth are separated.
But one day, the will be the same place.
And God will be with us in the New Heaven.
Piggybacking on what I mentioned a moment ago, there are also familiar things in the New Heaven...
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.
It goes onto to give measurements that if we take literally (which is appropriate), the new Jerusalem alone would be almost the size as the United States!
And notice a few things...
There appears to be “a mountain,” which means there is likely much more mountains for all of you heavenly hikers!
And if there are mountains, wouldn’t there naturally be valleys?
And if valleys, why not animals? More on that next week!
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The New Heaven has water, trees, and fruit.
There are also seasons, which may imply weather. Now, this could cause us to pause because weather can be destructive. But Scripture also teaches weather (like thunder and lightning) declares God’s power. If the possibility of death and destruction is removed, could we not appreciate the power of God through weather?
What if we could watch a tornado without fear of destruction? Sound impossible? Then think about the burning bush Moses encountered? It was real fire (which is destructive), but it did not consume the bush.
There is a CITY. So beautiful that the apostle John struggles to describe it. He’s using the highest language he can, but we can be confident he’s falling short! And building on the idea of familiarity… we can biblically assume that a city includes things like government, streets (it says there’s a Main Street!), culture, music, sports, art, and much more.
Don’t be afraid of that. Don’t let our earthly experience corrupt our heavenly future. None of those things are inherently sinful!
They are things given by God for structure, beauty, and enjoyment! Remember, God created fun.
Additionally...
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Key phrase… there is “no need of sun or moon.” Having “no need” doesn’t mean there isn’t a sun or moon. It just means that in New Jerusalem, there is NO NEED for supplemental light because the glory of the Lord is more than enough.
…but there COULD BE need for light outside the city, because...
By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,
Doesn’t this imply that there are people who dwell outside New Jerusalem? And if so, then there is much more space than the New Jerusalem and God may choose to use celestial lights to govern it. Which brings me to a fun thought I came across...
I’m a huge fantasy and Sci-Fi fan. I love things like Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. I’m fascinated by space. And Randy Alcorn (in his book on Heaven) shares this… speaking of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah write, “Of the INCREASE of His government and peace there will be no end..”
Regarding “increase,” is it possible that the eternal Heaven includes space exploration?
My wife Janelle loves the movie Contact. I’m not necessarily endorsing that movie because there are some ideas I completely disagree, but in the movie, Matthew McConaughey, who is supposed to be a priest, says, “The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”
There’s some logic to that. Not to say there are aliens, but what if the curse has temporarily limits our focus to Earth. But in eternity, God allows us to expand His kingdom (to increase His government) through space exploration? Wouldn’t that be a kinda cool way to enjoy the New Heaven?
…But, as we begin to close, I want to share a four things that I believe both the Present Heaven and the New Heaven will include...
So, when we think about what Heaven will be like, we can know that...
Heaven will be a place of worship.
Heaven will be a place of worship.
We’ve jokingly talked about this before… but I do not believe Heaven will just be one big worship service. But don’t get it twisted, WORSHIP will be a HUGE part of our heavenly experience.
Right now, in Heaven...
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
Right now, in Heaven, worship is happening! And it will continue to happen for eternity because Heaven is first and foremost about Jesus, who is worthy of our worship.
Additionally...
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
In eternity, every time we enter the New Jerusalem, we pass thru a giant pearl gate. Why a pearl? Could it possibly be because an earthly pearl is made through an oyster’s pain?
And what if the purpose of the Pearl Gates is to remind us of Christ’s suffering that won our beautiful salvation? And every time we come to our heavenly home, we are inspired to worship Jesus!
Heaven will be a place of fellowship.
Heaven will be a place of fellowship.
God, by biblical definition, is community. He is triune - Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Three distinct Persons, one God. And as we already discussed, He will be with us in Heaven. And we will be with each other.
When Jesus was asked, “What’s the most important thing in this life?”
This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
I believe this is NOT just a earthly commandment, but an expression of God’s eternal heart. The Great Commandment will not be limited to this earth; but rather, it will continue to instruct us in heavenly relationship.
Heaven will be a place of rest.
Heaven will be a place of rest.
Somebody say “Amen! I need it!”
So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.
The ultimate fulfillment of this Scripture is Heaven. It will be the place where, as Psalm 23:3 says, “God restores our soul.” If Jesus is the Good Shepherd leading us to Heaven, then it only follows that Heaven be a place of rest.
But just because we rest, doesn’t mean we’ll be inactive… because...
Heaven will be a place of work.
Heaven will be a place of work.
Work is not sinful. Work existed in the Garden of Eden before the Fall of man. God created us for an eternal purpose. He gave us gifts to accomplish work. In it’s purest state, work brings fulfillment! That’s by divine design. It’s the curse of sin that makes it a burden, but that’ll be gone in Heaven.
We’ll talk more about this in 2 weeks…
Response:
Response:
To close, let me leave us with a couple more Narnia quotes that paint a beautiful picture of Heaven…
Of the New Narnia, Queen Lucy says, “I’ve a feeling we’ve got to the country where everything is allowed.”
Don’t misinterpret this. Heaven is holy. But imagine living in a new world, with a resurrected body, and a redeemed heart… and confidently pursuing your passions and desires without the corruption of sin. That’s true freedom!
And this next one is my absolute favorite (I quote it often)...
And for us this the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.
Heaven will be an eternal series of improving moments. Can you imagine what that will be like?
Maybe Heaven framed this way sounds too good to be true. Or, like we’re making it too much about ourselves and our desires. To be clear - it’s not! Again… Heaven is all about Jesus.
But consider this… one of the most famous Christian confessions says, “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.” Even the most conservative of Christians agree with this confession. And it clear states… our greatest purpose includes ENJOYING GOD FOREVER.
When we opened up, I asked you to hang onto...
And he had to pass through Samaria.
That phrase “He had to pass” is translated from the Greek word “dei.” And it refers to God’s sovereign will. That God planned this moment for His eternal purpose.
I believe we can apply that word to today’s sermon. When it comes to the gospel, I don’t believe there are coincidences. And today, you are hearing this message for one of two reasons...
If you are a Christian, God wants you to be excited about Heaven. So much so that you start living like a citizen of Heaven today.
If you don’t belong to the family of God yet, God is inviting you into His family today. He desires for you to be with Him in Heaven. That’s why He created you. He wants to give you the desires of your holy heart for all eternity.
Therefore, if you like to secure your place in Heaven today, pray this with me...
Jesus, I’m ready to come home today. I’m ready to take my place in Your family. I confess my sins. I have rebelled against You. But today, I repent and put my faith in You as Lord and Savior. And I believe Your promise that when I do that, I will be saved. I will be made new. I will have eternal life. My home will be Heaven. Thank you for saving me. In Your name, amen.