Resurrection - the path to heaven

You probably heard before the old story of the guy who goes to church in the minister is talking about heaven. And he says, how many of you want to go to heaven? And he asked everybody, he wants you to have it to stand up, and there's one guy there. Been there before and he doesn't stand up and so he says it again, it's same thing, happens. And finally, the minister says, not want to go to heaven when you die. I want to go when I die, but I thought you were at the group to go now.

That's probably for a typical the way we view Heaven, long far, great beyond we we, we, we, we talk time from now. Yeah. But right now, I'm doing other things and I have a life and yet I would guess that every single person in this room has somebody they love that lives in heaven right now. Maybe multiple people and maybe your longing and hoping and wanting to see them again, be with them again. And that's a great. Opportunity. And if it was truly helpful to us in Forest, how do you get there? Today is a day that we kind of look at his resurrection day and the resurrection of Jesus is so critical to this whole process of us getting home. Are getting home is dependent on Jesus and what he's done. But most importantly, the fact that he is demonstrated, Victory over death and a new and different life. But start this morning and John chapter 1:14.

Jesus is in the last week of his life and he says it was disciples. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God believe. Also in me my father's house has many rooms if that were not. So whatever. Told you that I would have told you I'm going there to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to your fee. So you also may be where I am And then Jesus says, you know, the way to the place where I'm going and normally we talked about this. But there's an interesting follow-up to that that occurs in verse 5, Thomas said to him and Thomas is going to go to does the doubting Thomas, says the Lord, we don't know where you're going. So how can we know the way I was just being your practical, real honest, you're talkin about going to this place.

Jesus answered. I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father, except through me if you really know me you will know my father as well from now on, you do know him and have seen him. We can be in heaven because Jesus is the way to put us there. He's the gate. He used to live. He's the door, he's the opportunity and when we celebrate his resurrection, we're celebrating not only what he did. Only what he sacrificed, not only the power of God and lifting him from the dead, but we're celebrating where he is right now. Hebrews chapter 10. Day after day, every priest stands and performed his religious duties. Again, and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins when was just a human process. It couldn't do anything roll soon. Forward. First. Well, but when this priest Jesus had offered for all-time, one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God and since that time, he waits for it, and I'm used to be made his footstool for by one sacrifice. He has been made, perfect. Forever. Those who are being made. Holy where is Jesus right now. He did this task, he completed the task, he was resurrected from the dead, and then he went to the right hand of God and at this very moment, the living savior is at the right hand of God. The day will come in the Closet open in the Son of God, will return it individually as our lives, the end, and we go to the other side. We're blessed by watch Jesus, his son for it. So what we celebrate Resurrection, we're celebrating the price that was paid. We're celebrating. The fact that somebody does know, the way somebody has gone that way. Somebody has left us the information for how to do that and right now they're waiting at the right hand of God.

I just like to look at a few passages that emphasize this is we kind of thing together this morning. The first one is a long one, and I always try to find ways to make passage of shoulder, a possible important verses, 1 through 5, and it's a little bit of a story. for we know that if the Earthly tent we live in is destroyed, We have a building from God. I need Turtle house in heaven. Not built by human hands. Meanwhile We Grown Longing To Be clothed with our Heavenly drawing because when we are close we will not be found naked for a while. We are in this tent. We grown and a burden because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be close instead with our Heavenly dwelling. So that one is Mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now, the one was fashioned us for this very purpose is God who has given us the spirit as a deposit guarantee? What is the come? My friend become weary for you. When I was a kid and somebody would talk about looking forward to Heaven, I was like, wait a minute, you know, that Heather and besides that, how could you ever get to the point where you were tired of being here? I made sure this before I started 1951 and people would ask you think you'll be alive when the calendar changes over at the Millennium and I feel a whole lot differently about it, but the whole process of Life takes life out of us. We invested and we use it and it wears us out. Spiritually and emotionally and physically because the answer is not here. The answer is over there. I like so much verse 5, God's given us a spirit.

Something that's a deposit to carry us over. And sometimes we get to see the spirit working, really, really powerful ways. And it really give us that flash of light, that helps us to understand, just the brightness that God is bringing you into our lives. I meant to Triple X. I lost a brother earlier this year. He had one grandson and all of us in the family. You've tried to think and make connections. And we want to be closer to his to this young man and participate in this life and Shawn's younger, son. Elijah want to play soccer and so he really, really push it Sean to coach a soccer team Johnson. Well, I just can't do it. Seleucid, I will it be about teaching? I can figure this out and so, she signed up to be the coach, they mailed her her list of players. And there's Elijah, And there's Dylan. Marx grandson. We'd all been saying, God give us a way to be more connected and when those kind of things happen, we see God moving. And we get those flashes of life and just give us that really free. Is this deposit is here through the spirit. Going to be real. Hang on, we need renewal. 1st Corinthians 2:9. However, is as it is written. What? No, I have seen. What? No ear has heard. And what no human mind has conceived. I think of those things. Something beyond your eyesight is on your hearing, something Beyond, even conceiving of it. I believe the King James version says imagination beyond. What we can imagine.

The things God has prepared for those who love him. God's prepared something that's beyond our ability to even conceive. It my father-in-law love a peanut Eminem's and he could eat them. Jack used to eat a bowl full of thing. You know, Robert many calories are these in heaven and pour myself another Bowl.

whatever those are beautiful thing you've ever seen in this world is It doesn't compare to what's over there. We think about having it was like to have all the details, are there going to be pets in heaven? This passage just says, there's nothing I can imagine. That's beyond what's going to be in heaven. I can't imagine being in heaven without my cats and you're like cats dogs. Dogs. Cats are such therapy to me that I just, I just know. And if they're not there, just be something better there for all you Doug leffert. You could go out there and read the Rainbow Bridge. I'd love to share it with you but I'd be in a puddle after it was over. It's just one of those challenges. What are those grand? That we have those people who love each other in this life, get together in the other life. Sitting here on Thursday at the memorial service for Myra Albright couldn't help but think of Rick waiting on the table, I can see him walking down the aisle. I can see him helping and I can see him here at the church with the boys and there was just this great feeling of

What a wonderful blessing it is so casually but there was a awesome. Paid awesome price that was paid and there was his awesome power that was demonstrated that proves to us that this is real.

What am I very, very favorite passages is from Joseph 28:5. When the writer describes the death of Abraham, Ben, Abraham, breathe his last and died of the good old age and old man and full of years. We talked about Prosperity last week, Abraham is just a manifestation of prosperity, not just in wealth but in all those areas of life and then look at the last part of that and he was rather too. His people. Three more times in Genesis talk about Isaac, talking about Jacob. They are described when they go to the other side is being gathered to their people. Oh, I love that feeling. I love the depth. What's going to happen?

Mamacita, all those folks. I want to see you just have a friend at the Guthrie Church. He was in his nineties, he was the oldest of seven children. And all six of his excuse, all six of his siblings had preceded him in death by at least 20 years. And he used to say, boy, I sure hope my family doesn't think I've gone to the bad place.

Taking me so long to get there. I hope they're still looking for me to come over that Hill.

God says, I got for you. A place of perfection. Revelation 21 one box 3, God's dwelling place is now among the people and He will dwell with him. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He'll wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or Mourning or crying or paneling the old order of things been passed away. how many watch a hurting child run to their mom with tears in their eyes and mom drives those tears and shares that love you, just be a little bit of a Feeling But that's going to be like the new day, a new place, a new experience. This tremendous blessing that God's help out for us there or be enough or not. Do the kind of things that I'm not supposed to do. I could just get it under the door, I'll be happy. Why will all be happy to be there? I think the reason that we're going to be so happy to be there is because it's the place where we finish. What we started here. We just starting here. We get to complete those relationships. Do, please that growth and development, we get to fulfill that Don't just come to me. I've paid a terrible price. But I did it because I love you. I want to tell you what got me started thinking about the sermon, I have a good friend that I've known for more than 30 years, he lives in another state and recently, He drove here just so he and I could sit in the park and talked for a while and I appreciate it very, very much. He's a guy that's fought some tough things in his life. He has wrestled with alcohol. I when he was a young man that was a really difficult thing in his life one Sunday morning he went to the front and said, I'm an alcoholic, I need help and the people have a small Texas Church rallied around him. And I helped him and he did fairly well. Until you relapsed. Which he had four times over the next five years and every time, those people said they help with his daughter, they help to support his wife or the difficulties that she was facing it and they were just there over and over again.

And then you turn the corner. 5 years, sober.

Any relapse. And the people Lalo's Church said, don't give a hang on, hang in there with you. It's now 17 years later that he's been sober. He knows that it's a day-to-day struggle and he talks about that very straightforward lie. But what really got me going on this cuz he said we were talking about the people that we knew who've died and gone on to the other side. And they were way too many of them and he said, you know what, I like to do. I like to sit there and think about brother so and so our sister's getting her crown And she probably is all pretty and glorious When You See It originally or initially, but there's bound to be a time. When you just take the ground and goes like,

We sat around there on the back. Dare to build Brown star. These are the people of my church who stood with me who helped me who simply want my daughter to their house, for the weekend who gave us support, who gave us helped Davis hung with us over and over and over again.

There's a medical Mission. Start a lot of people.

Because my daughter is the medical director. As that medical place, that medical mission. Those people in that little town. No earn stars in their crown of love, and they cared and they live life together. And they lifted each other up. Where they always perfect. No. Do they always say the right thing? No. But they were loving and supporting and they spread the love of God. And it's better off. Awesome difference in this man's life. I see that happening in the body. I see that happening in the church. How do we build up and support each other? And I'm so, so grateful.

App. That

John chapter 14. 4 + 18 + 19. They don't really understand and remember the early part I go to prepare a place for you. They don't really get it. Jesus comes back to the mutant, used to talk to them and he says, I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you before long. The world will not see me more, but you will see me. Because I live. You also will live. That's the resurrection message. Jesus, I'm alive. And you can be as well. Would you play with me?

Dear God, we thank you for this moment. It's so a positive moment in the world, When The World Turns for a moment to look at the power of the resurrection, and I celebrate the fact that there's attention their father, we know that your Resurrection means something to us everyday, and every moment and we pray, that that might always be the case. We thank you for The Love Boat. We thank you for the strength that brought it to reality. We thank you so much for the power when Jesus took his life backing up. And became a resurrected human be a resurrected being. father, we know that he set for us an example and he lives for us a pattern and through his power and through your will That's a reality for all of us. We thank you for that, pray for those who were waiting for us, and we look forward to the day. We join them in that grand place before this for your precious son, Jesus. Amen.

This morning, if there's something needs to be different in your life. So that, you know, for sure where you're going to wind up, we would encourage you to make whatever changes, you need to make sure we can help. You will be glad you always dancing this song together.