What's Heaven like? (November 21st, 2021)

Is David mentioned, this is the second of our third, in a series of messages regarding heaven. Last week was how do you get to happen? And this week? What type of like This is so I think you'll find the tempo and the style of sermon. Just a little different this morning. So let me just tell you why that is and how you might best. Listen at the Bible is not written, like a systematic theology books. So let's turn to the Bible where it talks about heaven, and there's a little bit there. There's a little talks about angels all over the place this morning. I have like 35 Bible references and I preached put my normal Style. Hey, did you notice a tense of this verb and the Greek root word here or forever, which is fine by me, but I know you guys need to get the dinner. So I will be using these references but just to tell a story. I think you may find it very difficult to examine each verse because I'm building a narrative out of a series of races. I would just remind you that this is being recorded how YouTube friends and you can watch it at a later time if you had wanted to zero in on any particular verse. The three things we want to do today. First is no earthly idea of people with really no knowledge of the Bible and no Christian Heritage, think about heaven and they come to the wrong conclusions. Generally speaking because they don't listen to the eyewitness accounts of people who've actually they don't listen to The God Who created heaven. Just want to take a look at for ideas. The world has to go to heaven and just a firm that they are not the Biblical teaching. Run understandings, even people who have a knowledge of the scriptures even people who have some sort of Christian Heritage often come to wrong, conclusions about heaven. And we'll take a look at two of those. And then, finally, we're going to glimpse into heaven. The Bible does Supply glimpses into heaven. It doesn't tell us everything, but it doesn't tell us nothing. We want to take a look at some of these glimpses into heaven and just discern 6 things about heaven. First no earthly idea, when people of the world, think about heaven, they sometimes come to conclusions, like it, boring. Heaven is going to be like one Eternal church service, singing and preaching. And I love church, but not, all of us have the same. Not everybody loves him. That doesn't mean you don't let the Lord. It just means you're built different. I got to tell you. That heaven will not be boring. It will be exciting. It will be thrilling. It will be so filled with love and fees but also edge-of-the-seat excitement. We will be doing what we want to do. Most, it will not be boring. Some people think that heaven is basically just an expression of Earthly lost. So is if you didn't have limited money, if you didn't have limited the, how you do this, you do that, but have them. All the limits are off and you can just indulge yourself. To all of your appetite. That's not heaven is a little taste of that in on Earth, when someone wins the lottery that we've been having lotteries for a lot of years now. And there is a real trim people that win the lottery use the money to destroy themselves. Because when they haven't won the lottery, they couldn't buy all the drugs that they wanted to. They couldn't do all the things that it was natural limitations that curb. They're sitting Flynn bosses. But when you get this influx of money, you could do every evening and I do everything happen, isn't indulging, Earthly appetites. Heaven is wanting what we should want, and getting all that and more. Some people say, Heavens, not real. Let me just tell you. It is the myth that religious guys like me voice to find you to keep you under control. It was Karl. Marx, said religion is the opiate of the masses. If it doesn't really exist. We just need some way of exerting control over you and so, we made the whole thing up. Friends Heaven exists. It is a real place, a real physical place. And if you've accepted Lord, Jesus Christ, you're going to be there. And then finally having may exist but it's not physical. This is kind of this whole Eastern idea if you die, and you become one with the universe and and you're the Yang to the university Yang and so forth.

This is not a Serial clouds floating around in the disembodied. State estate. Heaven is a real physical place. It has roads. It has buildings, we have bodies. And I want to tell you more about that today. Even some people with some Bible teaching, even some people that have some sort of Christian Heritage, sometimes come to the wrong conclusion. Sometimes we think there's Soul sleep. So when you die, you basically become unconscious until the resurrection. Prince that is not what the Bible teaches will see that this morning or Purgatory to enter Heaven. You need to be perfectly righteous. By the way, that's true. I'm not perfectly, right? Just so you have to go to this holding tank and progressively become more righteous and become prepared for heaven. Friends. This is not the Biblical teaching. The Biblical teaching is The heaven is filled with inexpressible glory and beauty. I said there's teachings about having a Sprinkle All Through the Bible. That's true. But to really concentrated places. The first one is Ezekiel 1. And in Ezekiel 1, we hear about Julian, rainbows around. Glorious Thrones breathtakingly, beautiful Angelic creatures, flashing colors. Seas of Crystal Pavements of sapphire streets of gold. Is at the Throne of God, Revelation 21 that starts at the Throne of God and works out from their Revelation 21. The passage will be looking at briefly. This morning is kind of the most comprehensive description. We have of Heaven that we have and it is inexpressibly glorious and beautiful. Listen to some eyewitness accounts. Having the glory of God its Radiance. Like a most rare Jewel clear as Crystal. Notice these words like very often we find, when when a human tries to describe what they saw and Heaven, that use the word like, you know, why? Because heaven is so beautiful. So Glorious. That was just face me. I don't know how to describe this. I've never seen anything like it. It's like gold, but it's kind of like glass. It's like this. It's like that heaven is so beautiful. Heaven Is So Glorious that I can't communicate.

Not only is it physically, beautiful, but it is the place where we go to have unbroken fellowship with God. Many people are familiar with John with Jesus high in Priestly prayer. In John 17, where he, he prays for us on Earth and he prays to be kept, that will be kept from the evil one. Yes, but he also many people Miss verse 24, because he also praised that will go to heaven. Father. I desire that they also whom you have given me. That's you. What does he pray? May be with me where I am? I want, father. I want them to come and join me so that they can see my glory. Jesus wants us to go to heaven so that we can enjoy perfect Unbroken. Relationship. And by the way, this tension is the basis of the Christian Life. Are we here today on Earth? Yes. Do we have actual physical bodies? Yes, are you actually sitting in a green chair? Yes. This is not an illusion. This is real and does the Holy Spirit Come into at the point of Salvation and increasingly make you price. Like can we look safe for wise and experienced the joy of the Lord? Yes. But that's this, the beginning. There's this whole other thing happening in the future called heaven. The Bible everywhere teaches this notice the famous Psalm 23, the last verse surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. That's talking about the here. And now as the Lord is we live Faithfully, we can expect that. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of our life, but that's not all because living for the Lord ends in die in the Lord and dying in the Lord monsters. This whole new phase where we dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

There's this tension we do exist now, but this is not our home. There's something better coming. The Bible says, for me to live is Christ and that is true to live Faithfully for Christ is is joyful, and it's gross and it's exciting. It is Meaningful, but it's just the beginning to live is Christ, but to die. That's where the smart money is. That's game.

And when we do die, this unbroken Fellowship. Starts immediately. Paul says, be a good cat courage. We would rather be away from the body. We would actually rather die where we are separated from our body. Why would why want to be separated from our body? Because then you're at home with the Lord friends, this unbroken Fellowship starts at the moment of death, the moment. We leave our bodies. We go into the presence of the Lord forever.

To remember in Matthew 17. Jesus is on the Mount of transfiguration. Does he see a ghost or a vision of Moses? And Elijah know, it's Moses. It's Elijah. They're not in so they're not unconscious. They're aware of what's going on there, talking to him about his ministry on Earth. Fellowship for Moses and Elijah started on the moment of death. Remember Luke 23, Jesus dying on the cross and he says to the Cross To The Feast after several thousand years of Soul sleep. You'll come to me with Paradise. No, he says on this very day. You'll be with me in Paradise. Remember Luke 16 Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham's bosom and the rich man, they are aware. They are conscious. And they say and in the richmond-san go warn my brothers. Go to back to Earth. Your brothers. Have the scriptures if that's if they are not going to listen to scriptures do not going to listen to me. But the point is, these dead people are conscious.

Heaven is inexpressibly, beautiful and glorious. The second thing we see what heaven is that it is a sure thing. But it's not here. It's a sure thing. Happen is going to happen. If you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, as your personal, Lord and Savior, you will dwell in heaven forever. It's a sure thing, but it's not here. This is not heaven. This is not our life. This is the warm-up round. We're just passing through, we're like Abraham was called to a land of promise. Yes. It was a land of promise but he saw it as a foreign land. Cuz he was looking for the city, whose foundations and whose designer and Builder is God. That's like us we live on earth. We absolutely loved on Earth. I've got an address. You go to church website. I think you can find it. I live in a house. That's absolutely true. But this is just the warm-up. This is why I don't have my citizenship here. I'm living for this other place, the city that has foundations whose designer and Builder is God.

This is very important for us to understand the world we live in is absolutely real. This is not an illusion. It is real, but it is temporary. Is it true that God created the world? He laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of his hand, but it is also true that they will perish.

They're like a garment that gets worn out. Have you ever had a piece of clothing that just gets wore? No, you just wrote a way to buy a new pair of pants that will happen to this earth. We don't live for this Earth. We live for something called a new heavens and a new Earth that God also makes just like the old habits in the old or the difference. Is this shall remain before him all the time when the new heavens and a new Earth, come they come. And they State. They are never destroyed. They are permanent.

This is all temporary. It's real but it's all temporary, the new heavens and a new earth. Once they are established will never be on this tablet. That's pretty good news. That's not even the best news.

Where the we are in there. It shall remain social your Offspring and your name remain? When you're in Heaven and Earth, you're as permanent as it is. Nothing will ever interrupt it. Nothing will ever it end it.

Let me just tell you how old is plays Odin history.

Scoffers. You know what's conference like to do? Like to scoff. Like to scoff at the things of God. And you know, why? Because let's just be honest. There's no real proof that there's God is just something we made up. So it's not that at all. There's a God, they scoff because they're following their own. So sinful desires. And they say things like all the world just goes on and on and has been going on for thousands of years ago on 4,000. Don't, you know, you redneck radical, that something came out of nothing and then random chance created this whole thing and it'll just keep going and going and going until the sun blows up, or something like that.

That's not what's going to happen. What's going to happen is the Lord will come like a thief. And then the heavens will pass away with the roar. This is the old heavens and the old Earth and the heavenly bodies. This isn't just an Earth. This is Jupiter. This is Saturn. This is the sun. This is the Milky Way. This is the dromida. This is the entire galaxy everything that has been created will be burned up and dissolve.

Friend looked at the person ahead of you here in the church. Do you notice or sitting in a green chair that green chair will be dissolved? Very temporary. Look down. Do you see a floor? That floor will be dissolved. Look around at this building. This building will be dissolved. It'll be burned up.

I think about visualizing your mind, the car you drove here in. The car will be dissolved. It'll be burnt out. In your own mind right now, recreate the path, you drove along to get here to church, think of the roads, and the intersections in the signs. You saw all will be burned up. Everything.

This affects how we live. Since we know this since we know these things and are thus to be dissolved. It should affect our life of Holiness and godliness because we don't live like other people. We are waiting for the hastening and the coming of the day of God. Do we have things that we enjoy and look forward to. Hear course, we do friends parties, good meals, buying a new possession scene in old friend. We look forward to that.

But that's not our ultimate desire. We're waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn. But for us, according to his promise, we are waiting for something else, the new heavens and the new Earth in which all righteousness. Dwells.

Four friends. I want to take, you know, to Revelation 21 that let me just remind you of the context of Revelation 21. Revelation 19 is the battle of Armageddon. It is the end. It is the defeating of the world system. It is The Binding of Satan. It is the throwing of the false prophet in the Antichrist into the Lake of Fire forever, Revelation 19. And then Revelation 20 is the Earthly Millennial Kingdom a thousand years on this Earth. Not the new Evans, not the new, not the new Heavens, not the new Earth on this Jesus comes and rains in a perfect Human Society or as close as we can get to it with Sims, still existing you range from Jerusalem, Revelation, 20, and then Revelation 21, that gives way to the Eternal state. What we're about to see is not the millennial kingdom is not the return of Christ. It's not the defeat of Satan. This is the beginning of the Eternal state. And this is what we see. 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. We could preach a whole series, not only a whole sermon, but just a whole series on this verse, but I just want to point out one word new. The Greek word. New here means new of the same kind. Princess, if I said to you good news everybody. I just bought a new car. When I say new car, you don't assume that I bought exactly the same car, same manufacturer, same model. Same features, same color. You don't assume that. Could be a different manufacturer, could be a different model, could have different features. It's a new car to be different color car. You assume it is new, but at the same type, but if I say to you, hey, good news. I just bought a new car. You don't think I bought a dishwasher. Cuz the dishwasher send a different category, you don't drive a dishwasher while this new Heaven and a new Earth are new. But in the same category, there are going to be similarities with the old Heavens in the old Earth, but there's going to be some really Stark. Differences is a matter of fact, to get a better understanding of this word new. Let me just tell you. It's the same word. The same grief word is in this famous verse. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. When we become converted, when we accept Christ, we become a new creation. We were spiritually dead. Now, we're spiritually alive. The Holy Spirit did not dwell in us. Now. He does our hearts instantly become increasingly form to the image of Christ. We are a new creature. But there are many things that don't change, your hair color, doesn't change. Are eye color, didn't change or basic body shape. Doesn't change our interests and passions and hobbies and friends. They didn't change. We are new but knew of the same type, there are some areas of dissimilarity and some areas of similarity.

And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming out of Heaven, from God, prepared, as a bride adorned for her husband friend. I just want to point out. This is a point of similarity. This is not clouds where we dance around and play Harps. This is a city. It has treats, it has buildings and the building have different purposes. This building over here. That's where we prepare food. This building over here. This is where we perform musical pieces. This building over here. This is where we eat the food that is prepared there. It's a city.

And I also wanted to point out that this is prepared. When John saw the city. He didn't see it being created by God. He saw it already prepared. This is this already done. It's just coming down, you know, when you go to a play and they draw back the curtains and you see the set will, they didn't just build that sad now? It's been prepared. This is what Jesus meant when he said that, I go to prepare a place for you. And by the way, if I go to prepare a place, I'm coming again. I'm going to get you. I got to pick you up. You going to come and live with me, and we're going to have this unbroken Fellowship. Friend, I just wanted to point out.

That he said this 2000 years ago, if Jesus spent 7 Days building. everything that exists, all the planets, all the

Galaxies, all the physical laws seven days. What do you suppose? He's cooked up for in the past 2000 years and still going. This is going to be a place located in time and space filled with an unbelievable Glory. And beauty, and that's why although we live here. We don't really live here. We're looking forward to another city with the foundation's. Who's that has foundations to designer and Builder is God. And as I mentioned before, it's on Bute. Is unbelievably beautiful. Is built of Jasper, pure gold, like, clear glass. It's decorated with sapphire, and agate and emerald. All I'm trying to say is it's located in space and time. It's not only glorious and beautiful. It's not an ethereal Dream, It's not a cloud world. It is located in space and in time.

A point of dissimilarity is there's no pain. There's only joy. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and Death Shall be no more. Neither shall be, there should be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.

By the way, that is this is hard to imagine. Can you imagine living in a world where there's no tears? There's no pain. There's no crying. There's no morning. How can that be? It's be because the curse has been reversed. Everything we experience from your newborn's. Your toddler's first acting out as sinful. I love babies. We have four of our own, we've got six grandchildren. Now, five of them are born once coming next month. We love babies, but it does not take very long for them to grow up and start expressing their sinfulness, their selfishness. Why is that? Because they live in a world that's worse than they are under the curse, but in heaven all that's reversed. The curse is gone and that's why we live in this kind of world where there's just Joy.

Let me tell you a little bit more. Here's a picture from Hebrews 12. It come from Mount, Zion to the city of the Living. God the heavenly Jerusalem, and we see innumerable. Angels angels are innumerable right now, but we don't interface with them. The interaction between human and Angels is very limited. I mean, it happens, but it doesn't happen very often, but Gabriel with the birth of Christ.

We are going to be living with the angels. And it's going to be a happy time. It there in Festival gathering this word Festival here. Is a Greek word that would be used for Pacific celebrations. The Santa Claus parade. The cookout I was talking to Malachi earlier this week and he was telling me. Not that he went to an NFL game for the first time, and he said, the tailgate parties before the game or unbelievable people bring like barbecues and tons of food. They open up the back of their truck. It's just unbelievable. That's a festive Gathering December 3rd, which I hope you all come to. We're going to have hot chocolate and bonfires and singing. It's going to be great. We are going to be with innumerable angels in Festival Gathering. Did you notice is Kronos reading the scripture? At one point, one of the angel said, let me show you the bride, the beauty of the Bride, which Angel was that.

That was one of the angels that previously in the Book of Revelation, with one of the seven bowls of Wrath. Here's my point, the same angel that was used by God as an agent of righteousness, pouring, wrath and death, and destruction upon the Earth. That's over the old Earth, and the old Heavens. They're gone. We're on the something new now. There's no more curse, the new heavens and a new Earth and those same angels that were agents of Wrath and judgment and righteousness are not party animals. You're right there with them.

And why are we there? Because we're in the Assembly of the first born?

We are enrolled in heaven.

Friends, this is a beautiful truth.

Not only no pain, only joy, but a clear understanding. Can we just admit some things here? We don't understand very much. You know, we've had tragedy strike our church, this past year.

Some, you know, about some you just don't and sometimes people come to me. Is this the pastor and said, why, why would God allow this? And I'm smart enough to say, I don't know. There's coming a day where we will know. There is coming a day where we will be able to see everything that God did and everything that he allowed and see how this was an outworking of love and righteousness and say no, I get it. Not only is it okay that this happened but it couldn't be perfect unless it did happen.

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 known. There is a y for everything that happens. We just don't know. The why. But that day is coming, hold on to your hats friends because that day is coming. We will have a clear understanding.

And finally, we are going to live in unimaginable privilege and position. Have you ever been to an event? Where you're the big shot?

When I work for a large multinational company, they have this very prestigious award called the leadership award. I want it. And they make a big deal in your home office. They do a big presentation. And then they give you two plane, tickets for California, Sand and I went, they put you up in a really Swanky Hotel. You wake up the next morning and you have breakfast with a high-powered executive who tells you how great you are and then he gives you three or four thousand dollars and says have a nice time. We went to an Oakland A's game. We went to restaurants that we did it during our snack for a cat. We just can't afford that, we went to the Redwoods. We rented a car, or we had a great time. But if you ever been there, have you ever been the big shot? Have you ever been the focus while that's where we're going to be? The one who conquers, this is a phrase, two diapers in Revelation that talks about you. The talks about be this describes every Christian and we're going to have a Heritage when we get into this new Heavens in this new Earth. And what is that Heritage? The heritage is this I will be his God and he will be my son when we get to heaven. It won't be because we're guests.

I've ever been someplace as a guest. Can't quite let your hair down. Can't quite feel comfortable. You never sure where the towels are and can I use three towels? Like I usually put one on the floor wondering if people drive me and want to join my phone, but I don't know how everybody else you just feel like I guess. Yeah, we're not going to be a guest. We're not in heaven as guess. We're in heaven as heirs. Wichita State.

We're not visitors. We're family members.

This is a beautiful thing, beloved. It's hard to comprehend. Jesus said, This truly, I say to you. He's talking about John the Baptist, truly. I say to you among those born of women there, has arisen, no one greater than John, the Baptist in this world. He's the bee's knees. He's the cat's pajamas. He's the top of the Heap. He's everything yet. The one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.

Friend. I just wanted to invite you to consider the claims of Christ. And I wanted to do that by replying some ground that I plowed earlier in the sermon. Remember when I was talking about what have I even call them wrong understandings? And the second one was purgatory. A little bit of a history of the whole idea of purgatory, where it comes from and why it's kind of understandable. Purgatory is based on the correct, understanding the scripture says You must be completely righteous to get into heaven.

That's what scripture says. Remember, Matthew 19. Jesus is talking to the Rich Young Ruler. What must I do? She saw everything, sell everything and follow me. He goes away. and the disciple say, wow, that's kind of a high price. And they realize the significance of what Jesus says the disciples say to Jesus after the Rich Young Ruler, who can be saved.

The bar.

And Jesus doesn't say, will you? But you just really have to work hard nor does he say you but after you die, we're going to put you in this holding tank and work on your little bit polish, you up a little bit till you're ready. What does he say? He says with men, this is impossible.

You're right. It is impossible to get to heaven because you need to be completely righteous. And even if you could become completely righteous right now, but you can't it's too late cuz you've already send. With men, this is with man. This is impossible with God that all things are possible. I'm telling you, friend. Jesus will pay for your sins and take your condemnation for you.

Cameron Bure and Matthew 5:20. Jesus the Same busted of the merciful bust of the persecuted, people think.

Jesus says, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, Pharisees were professional righteous people. They woke up everyday thought about being righteous until he fell asleep, and then they woke up and is against he says, that's not even table. Stakes. You can't even get in the game with that, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The correct understanding of how righteous you have to be. To get to heaven, which is absolutely biblical creates this need for Purgatory. However, Purgatory is based on the right understanding of how righteous you have to be, to get into heaven. But on the wrong understanding of how Christ gives us his righteousness.

I have a wonderful Truth for your friend. God will impute his perfect righteousness to you.

Today. And it will be yours.

If I go home today. And if I transfer $100,000 from my bank account into yours, it's yours.

No one asked where the money came from money's money, by the way, this is extremely hypothetical.

Jesus today will transfer his righteousness into your account. You will go directly to heaven on death. Not because you're right, just but because he is, there will be no purgatory. I would just encourage you to consider the claims of Christ.

For those of you that have accepted the Lord, Jesus, as your personal Lord, and Savior, I would just remind you. This is not our home. The humidity in some ways were very simple creatures. We focus on what we can see what we can taste, what we can feel, and that's this world, but I would just remind you. This is not our home. This is not where our focus is. We're headed for this other place. Allow your heart to fall in love with this other place and live this life in light of our next life and live in this place, knowing about this other place. Friends, the Bible says many things about heaven and we can take that to the bank, but it doesn't spend say everything. Some things it says explicitly but some things we can only imagine.