I Believe in Heaven
I Believe in Heaven
1 Corinthians 2:9
Introduction:
I remember back in my first church in Clarkfield,Mn I was give a wall hanging and painted on this where the words “ The pay isn’t great but the retirement benefits are out of this world” This morning I want to talk to you about home. I want you to open your minds with me this morning and let your imagination paint a picture of Heaven. Let’s get a vision of this wondrous place as a reality and not just some faraway destination. Let us rejoice as we look forward to going there to be with our God.
A. There is no possible way that I can explain to you the awesomeness of Heaven and there is little spoken about it because our minds can not comprehend such a place
B. There will be no Alliance people in heaven, no Pentecostals, no Presbyterians, no Anglicans, no Catholics, no Methodists. All man given labels will be left outside, and only those who have had their sins cleansed away and forgiven by Jesus Christ will be admitted.
C. Spurgeon said, "When a mortal man speaks anything of that eternal blessedness of the saints in glory, he is like a blind man discoursing about the light which he has never seen, and so cannot distinctly speak anything concerning it. He also said "In a way it is akin to a man writing a travel guide for a land he has never visited or seen. It is to attempt to describe the indescribable with words which cannot come close to expressing the glory of heaven."
D. But I pray that with what is spoken about Heaven that we can get a small picture of it’s glory
E. Heaven is a mystery but we know it is real by the word of God and the fact that the human spirit longs for an afterlife.
a. Most religions in almost all the cultures in the world throughout all of time have some belief in some kind of Heaven
b. This longing is the longing of the eternal spirit that God created to live forever.
c. It is kind of like the young boy who was flying a kite and he flew it so high that it flew out of sight. Someone asked him “where it is” and he just pointed up into the sky and they asked, “how do you know?”
And he answered I know it’s there because I can feel it’s tug.”
I know Heaven’s there because I can feel its tug on my soul and I long to be there, and like John the revelator wrote in Revelation, so I say, “Come Quickly, Lord Jesus. Come Quickly.”
1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV)
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him
John14:1 (KJV)
1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:2 (KJV)
2In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:3 (KJV)
3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Revelation 21:1 (KJV)
1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Revelation 21:2 (KJV)
2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:3 (KJV)
3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Revelation 21:4 (KJV)
4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:5 (KJV)
5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Revelation 21:6 (KJV)
6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Revelation 21:7 (KJV)
7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my sons
I Believe in Heaven
I. The Bible calls Heaven a Mystery
A. In the days of Alexander the Great, the Greeks originated the first group of “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” This group is composed of monuments remarkable for their splendor and/or size:
i. Pyramids of Egypt
ii. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
iii. Temple of Diana at Ephesus
iv. Statue of Jupiter in Athens
v. Mausoleum of Artemisia in Asia Minor
vi. Colossus of Rhodes—bronze statue of the sun god—105 feet high
vii. Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt
B. Seven Wonders of the Modern World include
i. Golden Gate Bridge
ii. St. Sophia
iii. Leaning Tower of Pisa
iv. Taj Mahal
v. Washington Monument (555 ft. high)
vi. Eiffel Tower (984 ft. high)
vii. Mt Rushmore
C. Seven Wonders of the Natural World
i. Grand Canyon
ii. Rio de Janeiro Harbor
iii. Iguassu Falls of Argentina
iv. Redwood Trees
v. Mt. Everest
vi. Nile River
vii. Northern Lights
D. We could go on and on, talking about the wonders of science, transportation, communication, and medicine. The beauty in this world that God has made holds such mystery and unexplainable awesomeness
E. But as wonderful as these all are, we can turn to the Book of God and find something more amazing than all of these—heaven!
i. There is nothing more Amazing, beautiful or intriguing as Heaven
F. C.S. Lewis said, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.”
J. We know Heaven to be the reward for those who have remained faithful.
i. Here are some various names for Heaven given in the Bible.
(a) Christ calls it his “Father’s house”
(b) It is called “paradise”
(c) “The heavenly Jerusalem”
(d) The “kingdom of heaven”
(e) The “eternal kingdom”
(f) The “eternal inheritance”
(g) The “better country”
K. We know that the builder of Heaven was God and it is prepared and waiting for us.
i. According to the Bible, Heaven is 15,000 miles square or roughly half the size of the United States
ii. It is plenty big enough for all God’s children the Bible says, Heaven has “Many rooms and many mansions.”
The group Audio Adrenaline has a song called my father’s house...
In the song they begin by saying that they do not know what kind of house we live in... big or small/nice or rundown/whether we have a mom or dad -- but no matter what kind of "earthly" house we may have they try to encourage us by telling us about their father’s house... It’s a fun song... The chorus goes like this:
Come and go with me to my father’s house
It’s a big big house - with lots and lots of rooms
With big big tables with lots and lots of food....
A big big yard were we can play football
It’s my father’s house...
iii. In my Father’s House I’ll have a mansion in Glory
1. that is completely furnished complete with Lazy boy and all
2. with a refrigerator full of food that will never ruin
3. With a game room, a dining room, a living room,
4. With a big Hot Tub with crystal clear Water
5. and one day I am going there, one day I am going home.
iv. That is something to get excited about. I may not have much here. I may not have much money, I may not have many nice things but I got some in Heaven waiting on me.
I am laying up my treasures in Heaven
II. The Beauty of Heaven
Revelation 21:18 (KJV)
18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
Revelation 21:19 (KJV)
19And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
Revelation 21:20 (KJV)
20The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
Revelation 21:21 (KJV)
21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Revelation 22:1 (KJV)
1And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
A. This gentleman had died in his sleep and the angel came to pick him up. The man said let me get a few things and the angel watched as he stuffed 10 gold bars into a bag. The angel took him to Heaven and Peter was minding the gate and asked “what is in the bag?”. The man showed him and Peter started laughing hysterically.
The man looked at the angel confused and asked “what is he laughing at,” and the angel shrugged and said he is just trying to figure out why you brought pavement to Heaven.
B. In our minds we can not even fathom a city like this. Any words that we have can not properly describe Heaven because in our eyes we have never seen anything that could compare.
a. Also no one has seen it. I cannot begin to explain to you the beauty of Niagra Falls because I have never seen it so I can not give you an adequate description
C. The word rendered “glass” in this place occurs in the New Testament only here and in Rev. 21:21. It means, properly, “anything transparent like water”;
a. as, for example, any transparent stone or gem, or as rock-salt, crystal, glass
b. Here the meaning is, that the golden city would be so bright and burnished that it would seem to be glass reflecting the sunbeams.
c. The appearance of the city would be like the sun setting and the reflection of its beams from thousands of panes of glass
gives it the appearance of burnished gold.
d. There could be nothing more beautiful than a city made of entire transparent gold with the light of God shining through.
D. It will be the perfect city
a. No graffiti
b. No smoke
c. No messes
d. No pollution
e. No littering
f. Pure Water with fruit that grows year around.
g. Perfect….Paradise…Heaven
III. No more Curse
A. The beauty we cannot understand and we cannot describe but there is a few things we do understand that Heaven will be.
Revelation 22:3 (KJV)
3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
B. Because of Adam we live under a curse but one day, we will live in a curse free place called Heaven
C. A new Body
i. No more overweight
ii. No more watching what you eat
iii. No more tired and exhausted
iv. No more aches and pain
1. back pains
2. stomach pains
3. joint pains
v. No more Cancer or other diseases
vi. No more arthritis
vii. No more glasses or hearing aids
viii. We will be changed into a heavenly body that is perfect and all our senses will be perfect like they were meant to be.
D. No more sin. The source of all pain and misery in this world is because of sin. The city of Heaven will be pure an holy and nothing else will enter in.
i. No more stealing
ii. No more locking your doors
iii. No more being afraid
iv. No more murder
v. No more guilt and shame
vi. No more fight and constant struggle to do what’s right
vii. No more Satan
viii. No more demons
ix. No more temptation
x. No more struggle
E. No more Tears
i. No more being hurt by people
ii. No more being let down by others
iii. No more death
iv. No more crying over unpaid bills
v. No more depression
vi. No more loneliness
vii. No more low self-esteem
viii. No more problems
ix. Only happiness for eternity.
x. No more wants
xi. All your desires will be fulfilled.
xii. No more darkness
xiii. No more fear
xiv. But a “paradise” and this word means the highest level of happiness, such as we have never experienced.
F. NO MORE. We will be free from heartache, free from pain, free from all that makes us sad.
G. Nothing but an eternity of happiness and joy.
IV. Sweet Homecoming
A. One of the things that we never have understood and have always struggled with as mankind is death.
i. When we loose our loved ones we blame ourselves, we blame others and sometimes we blame God.
ii. It is hard to let go of the people you love.
iii. It is hard to watch them breathe their last breathe
iv. But as Christians we have a hope that is far greater than any other. For our last breathe is the beginning of an eternity.
B. There is going to be a homecoming like you have never imagined and like ever good family reunion there is going to be a big feast.
i. My Dad and Mom has gone on home.
ii. My mother-in-law has gone on home.
iii. I have friends that have gone on home
v. And I believe that they are waiting for me and when I walk through those gates they will be there to greet me.
vi. If you have had loved ones die who were Christians they to will be there.
i. Mothers, Fathers, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Sisters, Brothers, Aunts, Uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.
D. We’ll see Peter, Paul, Joseph, Jacob, Abraham, John, James and we will see our favorite or most loved Bible character or prophet.
i. We’ll get to ask Moses how it felt to walk through the red sea
ii. Jonah how it felt to be swallowed by a fish
iii. David how it felt to face a giant
iv. Daniel how it felt to be delivered from lions
v. We will finally be home and to tell you the truth, I am getting homesick.
V. God will be there
A. Of all the prophets we will see, of all the sights we will see, of all the beauty and loved ones…..
i. There will be one sight that behold all.
ii. There will be one who stands out among all the rest
iii. There will be one person who we will want to see above all others …..and that is Jesus Christ.
B. The most spectacular thing about Heaven will not be the beauty, the people, the paradise…..
i. But the thing about Heaven will be that God will be there.
Revelation 21:3 (KJV)
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
ii. No more seperation from God.
iii. No more mystery
iv. But all things will be revealed as God lives freely with man and man with God
v. I am looking forward to that day to be able to stand in the actual presence of God.
1. To see his face.
2. To experience the fullness of his glory.
3. To worship before him.
vi. In the center of Heaven will be the throne of God and we will all dwell with him forever. Forever.
vii. With God—the creator of all
1. King of Kings,
2. The Lord of Lords,
3. The Lion of Judah,
4. The Balm of Giliead.
5. Elohim
6. Elyon, the strongest strong One
7. Roi, the strong One who sees
8. Shaddai, the breasted One
9. Olam, the everlasting God
10. Adonai—God owns all his creation
11. Alpha and Omega
12. Jehovah
viii. We will dwell with him
1. Not as servants.
2. Not as his people.
3. Not as his kingdom.
4. Not as his parishioners.
5. Not as his followers.
6. Not as his puppets.
7. Not as his clones.
8. Not as his friends
ix. But we will dwell in Heaven with God as
1. joint “heirs with Jesus”
2. we will share the throne with God
3. WE WILL BE THE CHILDREN OF GOD. We will have a relationship with God. We will be intimate with God.
a. Somebody give him praise
VI. The Worship Service
A. I love awesome worship services. I love to praise and worship God and in Heaven will be he most awesome worship service ever.
B. We have at times felt such a mighty move of God that we were amazed but that is nothing compared to the service we’ll have in Heaven.
a. Holy laughter
b. Running the isles
c. Dancing
e. Your soul overwhelmed with a feeling of joy, happiness and fulfillment that you have never felt before.
i. You might be mister dignity here.
ii. You might not be one who gets excited here
iii. You might call yourself Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic and say that those Pentecostals are too crazy and you don’t understand how they dance and shout.
1. Them Holy Rolers.
2. Them Charismatics.
3. Well one day, when you go to Heaven, we are all going to have church and it don’t matter what demonation you are.
4. I would like to see you contain yourself as you walk through the gates of Heaven.
5. I’d like to see you contain yourself when you’re handed the keys to your mansion.
6. I’d like to see you contain yourself when you see Jesus face to face.
7. I’d like to see you contain yourself when God says, “Well done thy good and faithful servant.”
8. I ‘ll bet that you dance all over Heaven
a. and I an’t talking about no boot, scoot-n-boogie
b. no achy-breaky heart
c. no moon walking
d. but a dance of praise, a dance of glory, a dance of honor. A dance of worship. A dance of happiness. A dance of love. A dance and a shout to the Lord on high.
C. I am talking about an extreme worship service. I wish I could dance but ………..one day I will dance before God
a. One day I will walk down the street hand in hand with Jesus
b. One day I will hug his neck
c. One day I will see the face and touch of God
d. One day I will be home
Revelation 19:6 (KJV)
6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Isaiah 6:3 (KJV)
3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Revelation 5:11 (KJV)
11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Revelation 5:12 (KJV)
12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Revelation 5:13 (KJV)
13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Revelation 5:14 (KJV)
14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
D. If you have ever been to a church convention or a large church service where thousands of people are lifting their voices to God in Worship, it is amazing. There is nothing like it and it is like a roar as God’s people worship and give him praise.
E. We have seen many earthly services when we walked away and was sad because we knew deep down that we wouldn’t experience church like that again for a while.
a. To those of us who have felt the power of God move know a fraction of what we
are in for. We know how it feels to be in the partial presence of God.
b. Think of the worship service we will have in the fullness thereof.
c. We have only felt a wave of his hand and the breathe form his lungs but one day we will see his face and worship at his very feet.
G. All the angels, all the saints present and past will lift their voices in a roar in magnificent praise to God singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
H. The rewards we receive for our service we will lay down at his feet and cry, “You alone are worthy.”
Conclusion:
D. L. Moody gave a vivid description of Heaven when he wrote, “A city without pain, a city without sorrow, without sickness, without death. There is no darkness there. The Lamb is the light thereof. It needs no sun, it needs no moon. The paradise of Eden was as nothing compared with this one. The tempter came into Eden and triumphed, but in that city nothing that defileth shall ever enter. There will be no temper there. Think of a place where temptation cannot come. Think of a place where we will be free from sin; where pollution cannot enter, and where the righteous shall reign forever. Think of a city that is not built with hands, where the buildings do not grow old with time; a city whose inhabitants no census has numbered except the Book of Life, which is a heavenly directory. Think of a city through whose streets runs no tide of business, where no nodding hearses creep slowly with their burdens to the tomb; a city without griefs or graves, without sins or sorrows, without marriages or mournings, without births or burials; a city which glories in having Jesus for its king, angels for its guards, and whose citizens are saints!
We have a hope that one day we will either pass on into the next life or the rapture will take place and we will be in Heaven
This is what we strive for. This is what it is all about and if you are not a Christian then you will not go there. Heaven is guaranteed for all those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and strive for holiness.
John 3:16 (KJV)
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This is your chance to secure your eternity.
Stand Please
The character “Christian”, in the book “The Pilgrim’s Progress” drew near to the Heavenly City, he saw the gates opened to receive others. “I looked in after them,” he says, “and, behold, the city shone like the sun; the streets also were paved with gold, and in them walked many who had crowns on their heads and palms’ in their hands and golden harps to sing praises withal. There were some that had wings, and they answered one another without intermission, saying ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord!’ And after that they shut up the gates; which, when I had seen, I wished myself among them.”
If you also, wish to be among them, accept Jesus as your Saviour.