The Present Heaven Pt.2 1-26-2020

HEAVEN - SEEING THE UNSEEN THE PRESENT HEAVEN PT.2 Sunday January 26, 2020 Scripture Reference: 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Intro. A. Last week we began talking about The Present Heaven. We are trying to answer the question that many people have which is "What happens to me when I die?" We are seeing that the Bible reveals to us that when we die we do go to Heaven, but it is not the Heaven that will be our eternal residence which the Bible calls the New Heaven and New Earth. I noted last week that there is no biblical evidence for the idea that there will be a place we can go after we have died if we did not die as followers of Christ and get our lives right with God so that we can eventually go to Heaven. That idea comes very close to what is call Universalism which believes that everyone no matter who they are what they have done or what they believe will eventually end up in heaven. 1. The biggest problem I see with the idea of Universalism is that it would seem to discredit Jesus because Jesus talked a lot about Hell and he spoke of a judgment to come for those who were not trusting in God. Nothing in the words of Jesus can be used to justify the idea of a purgatory and certainly if the opportunity of a second chance to come to faith in God existed would it make any sense whatsoever that Jesus would not speak to it? B. I finished the message last week addressing the question "Will we have physical bodies in the Present Heaven or will we be spirit beings? Once again I see the preponderance of evidence from the Bible shows us that we will not be spirit beings but that we will be physical beings, but I also believe those physical bodies will not be like the ones we have now. One of the reasons I say this is because Revelation shows us scenes in Heaven where those now in Heaven see what is going on down on earth. I can't see what is going on in Heaven right now with the eyes I have now, but it seems that when we enter the Present Heaven we will have greater capabilities than we have now. Trans. So let's talk some more about what life will be like in the Present Heaven. I. WILL THE PRESENT HEAVEN BE A PHYSICAL PLACE? We already answered the question of whether or not we have physical bodies so the answer to this next question will be obvious but I want us to talk about it any way. A. Is The Present Heaven A Physical or Non-Physical World? 1. If God gives us a new physical body when we die and enter the Present Heaven it certainly makes sense that we will need a physical world to live in with that body. [] This reminds me of an episode of Star Trek Next Generation. Two of the characters in that episode found that their bodies were "phased" in a transporter incident. Now if you are not a star trek fan I can't take time to explain what a transporter is but I don't think you need to understand this illustration. When these two were phased they were in the physical world, but they were not physical. They saw and heard everything that was going on but they had no way to communicate and being in this non-physical state they could pass through matter. My point in all of this is that they were extremely frustrated because they were around all these people and things but they could not communicate or interact with them. This is what life would be like if we were physical beings in a non-physical place. We would to use the old expression, like a fish out of water. This would definitely not be Heaven. 1. For some it seems that referring to Heaven as a physical place somehow makes it less sacred. It is as though we are viewing physical and spiritual things as exact opposites. One pastor objected to the idea of Heaven being a physical place by quoting Jesus' word in John 4:24 "God is Spirit." I totally agree God is Spirit, but that does not make Heaven a non-physical place. Here is something to consider, Heaven is a created place God is not created. God made Heaven for us and since God created us as physical beings it only makes sense that the place God created for us will be physical. 2. Now I realize that we are treading through some rather deep theological grass right now, but what have I been saying from the very beginning about this series? I have been saying that we need to have an accurate picture of Heaven based on what Bible says, not simply based on what I have come to believe or want to believe. The reason this discussion is important is so that we do not find ourselves ascribing to that false theology John addressing 1 John of Gnosticism. To believe this way, that physical things are evil and spiritual things are good is to believe that God created evil since He created these physical bodies. As a spiritual being I get to choose what I do with this body. My body is not evil it is what I do with it that can make it good or bad. 3. Here is further evidence that the Present Heaven is a physical place. Let's look at the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross. And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 (NLT) The key word here is the word "paradise" what does that word mean? The Greek word here refers to a park. It was a word used to describe the gardens of Persians kings. Here is a photo (show Photo) of a garden King Cyrus built back in 550 BC. Guess what he called this garden? Paradaisia and I think you can guess what that name means. Now think about this, here is a thief who has been condemned to die for his crimes and here he hangs on a cross. Then Jesus tells him that very day he would be with him in a place fit for kings! Friends that ought to cause us to just about if not in fact, jump out of our skin!! We are no better than this thief and yet God is going to take us from this broken and sinful world and place us in a place fit for kings! PRAISE THE LORD!! 4. Now some believe the Jesus was just speaking in the language of allegory. That He was not speaking of an actual place, but the fact is there is no evidence to support that idea. If we are not going to be physical beings how do enjoy such a place? Imagine seeing the flowers but not being able to smell them. Imagine seeing a banquet table filled with all the wonderful foods we enjoy but not being able to smell the food or taste the food? Here is another example from the Bible. "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God." Revelation 2:7 (NLT) Here we are told that the Tree of Life that was in the Garden of Eden has been restored in Heaven. Now let me ask you to consider a question that I bet most of us never have thought of, I know I never did. After the fall was Eden destroy? The Bible seems to indicate that it was not, but that in fact it was restored and is now a part of Heaven. If Jesus' words to the thief are true then it would appear that when we die we will experience the Eden that Adam and Eve were placed in. Trans. Now I want us to move along to consider one more question before we conclude our discussion on the subject of the Present Heaven. II. WHAT WILL OUR LIFE BE LIKE IN THE PRESENT HEAVEN? Here I want us to look at three more questions before we leave this discussion of the Present Heaven. #1 Will we remember things from earth when we are in Heaven? #2 Do people in the Present Heaven see what is happen in our lives today? #3 Do people in Heaven pray for us? OK let's take these questions one at a time. A. Will We Remember Things From Earth When We Are In Heaven? 1. I want to say once again that in this study I have been doing on Heaven I have had a lot of ideas and notions about Heaven discredited. It seems that I have accumulated a lot of excess baggage along the way on my spiritual journey when it comes to Heaven. This question addresses one of the concerns I had about life in Heaven. I can't say where this idea come from but I have believed for a long time that when we got to Heaven basically our memories would be wiped clean. I believed that I would not remember anybody or anything, but that really does not square with the Bible. Let me remind you of what that youth pastors wife said in my first message. "When I was seven, a teacher at my Christian school told me that when I got to Heaven, I wouldn't know anyone or anything from earth. I was terrified of dying. I was never told any different by anyone.... It's been really hard for me to advance in my Christian walk because of this fear of Heaven and eternal life." 2. Let's see what the Bible says. "When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. 10They shouted to the Lord and said, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?" Revelation 6:9-10 (NLT) The scripture tells us that these people who were martyred for their faith remembered what happened to them. Once again if we use the reasoning God has given us we would have to assume that if we remember this we would remember other things as well. Let's go back to the story of the rich man and Lazarus "But Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish." Luke 16:25 (NLT) Notice that Lazarus is being comforted and the only reason he would need to be comforted was if he remembered the things that had happened to him. Even beyond that were the very words Abraham said to this man. He said to him "remember". How could he do that if his memory had been wiped clean? 3. Last week I said I believe there will be two judgments, one to determine where we will spend eternity and one to determine our rewards. Paul said this in 2 Corinthians "For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body." 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NLT) What would the purpose of this judgment be if we didn't remember these works? If God remembers them but I don't then what is the purpose for bringing them up at all? Now I will assume that a question arises here for you as it has for me. "Will I remember all the bad things I did, all the times I disobeyed God and sinned even as a child of God?" In all the research I did I could not find a specific answer to this question, but as we are doing in this series I want us to use our God given reasoning to see if we can find an answer. Here is what I propose. If God forgives and forgets our sins, "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west." Psalm 103:12 (NLT) What would be His purpose in bring them up to us in Heaven? Would God have any reason to cause us to feel shame in Heaven? Isn't that the Devils work? Once again I fall back on the fact that in Heaven the curse of sin has been removed and things will not be done the way they are in this fallen world. There are no scriptures I can find where the saints of God are feeling shame and embarrassment for past sinful acts in Heaven. Trans. Now let's look at that second question. B. Do People In The Present Heaven See What Is Happening To Us On Earth? 1. Obviously our strongest scripture for answering this question is Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) Now once again there will be those who look at this language as symbolic, but there seems to be no reason in this case to assign these words to symbolism. We won't go back there but read Revelation 6:9-10 to see again people's awareness of what is happening on earth. Here is another scripture that helps. "But Samuel replied, "Why ask me, since the LORD has left you and has become your enemy? 17The LORD has done just as he said he would. He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. 18The LORD has done this to you today because you refused to carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites. 19What's more, the LORD will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The LORD will bring down the entire army of Israel in defeat." 1 Samuel 28:16-19 (NLT) This comes from the story of Saul asking a witch to conjure up Samuel from the grave so he could seek his advice. Samuel is aware of what is going on and even informs Saul of the judgment of God to come because of his disobedience. 2. There are more scriptures to support the idea that those in Heaven see and are aware of what is going on in our lives on earth, but we do not have time to look at all of them today. While we are not aware of what is happening in Heaven is seems that Heaven's residence are aware of us. **Here is one warning I must give you. This will lead us into the last question. While those in Heaven are aware of us we must not treat them like they are gods of some kind. I have had the experience of those who lost loved ones and felt they could do what Saul did in the scripture we just read, but this was the only incident in the Bible where this happened and it should not be used as a proof text for us to somehow channel the dead. The passage in Hebrews tells us that those in Heaven are cheering us on but it makes no mention of us praying to them or talking to them. Trans. As I said this leads me into the last question I want to address. C. Do People In Heaven Pray For Us? 1. As I just said I do not believe we should pray to those who have gone before us to the Present Heaven, but the Bible does seem to tell us that those gone before us do pray for us. We know that Jesus is praying for us the Bible says "Who then will condemn us? No one-for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us." Romans 8:34 (NLT) We also saw again in Revelation 6 that the martyrs were praying for those on earth. 2. If prayer is talking to God would we do less of it in Heaven than on earth? It certainly seems from what we have already looked at that there is a connection between Heaven and earth and if that is true it only seems appropriate that this connection would be enhanced in Heaven. If people in Heaven are allowed to see what is going on here on earth it only seems reasonable that their desire to pray for us would be increased not lessened. Now let me say one more time, the saints in Heaven may well be praying for us but we must not be praying to them. We can be comforted and encouraged to know they may be watching over us and taking our needs and concerns to our Heavenly Father but they are not Jesus or God and we are only to pray to God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit not to the saints. Conclusion A. Let me take you back to our scripture text for these last two messages. "And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope." 1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NLT) 1. My prayer is that these last two messages have helped you to be able to live out this scripture. When people die in the faith we will certainly express the natural emotion of grief, Paul does not deny that and he also does not tell us not to grieve, but he tells us our grief is different and it is different because we know what happens after we die. 2. We will miss that persons physical presence with us, but we also rejoice because we know that they now are in the Presence of God and the sorrows of this life are over. We can also take courage in that these loved ones of ours know of our struggles and they are going to God on our behalf. While I am seeking Jesus for the battles and struggles of this life so are they! That is exciting because the prayer effort on our behalf is being doubled. B. Do you have this hope for your life? Have you placed your trust in Jesus? Have you asked him to forgive your sins? Are you doing what the Bible says as his follower are you walking in the light and endeavoring to live for him each day as the Bible instructs us? If not then let today be the day it all begins for you. PRAYER 8