Sermon Tone Analysis

There’s a saying that goes something like this: “Anticipation is half the fun.”

I’ve found this to be true for me at times.

In fact, sometimes it has been more than half the fun!

We look forward to vacations and special times with great excitement.

Sometimes the anticipation of the time is more exciting than the event itself!

Many times, however, the anticipation is a wonderful prelude to a good time.

And then every once in a while, we discover that our anticipation wasn’t nearly as good as the experience itself, which is a pleasant surprise!

This may occur because of unexpected blessings that crop up to make the time better than we thought it would be.

This morning, I want to tell you about something in my future that I am anticipating with great excitement; I can’t wait for it to come!

I’ve never anticipated anything as much as this, but I still know that my anticipation is nowhere near “half the fun.”

I know that my excitement can’t possibly be in proportion to the experience itself.

If you’d like to know what I mean, then stick around, because in just a few moments I’ll tell you, and show you how it relates to what God has to say to us in His Word, the Bible.

Stay tuned!

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Good morning, and welcome to Truth for Today, a weekly radio ministry of Bible Baptist Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

My name is Ethan Custer, and I serve as the assistant under Pastor Mike Custer, the regular host of this broadcast.

We at Bible Baptist Church desire to be a spiritual blessing to you in any way that we can.

We are located west of I-29 at 6367 Gateway Drive in Grand Forks.

We meet several times each week to worship God, and our purpose in life is to obey and please the Lord Jesus Christ in all that we do.

Our source of truth and guide for living is the Authorized King James Bible, the Word of God in the English language.

In it He offers solutions for every one of life’s problems!

If we can help you in any way, please let us know.

We hope to have that opportunity.

I’ll be giving our contact information at the end of the broadcast, so please stick around.

A moment ago, I mentioned that anticipation can be half the fun, and sometimes more than half of it.

For example, you envision that raise at work to be much better than it actually turns out to be over the long term.

Your long-awaited vacation passes too quickly, and it was more tiring than you planned.

That new house you bought has more problems than you thought.

Your dream car doesn’t make you happy like you wanted it to, and your new friend isn’t as loyal as you expected.

These disappointed expectations are normal, because when we are talking about temporal things, or things that are part of this physical world, we usually find that they don’t satisfy us very well, or for very long.

Their enjoyment is very temporary, and usually isn’t as great as we expected.

This short fulfillment period usually keeps people occupied in searching for the next exciting thing, as though THAT will satisfy them where all the ones in the past have failed.

We would be wise to understand that all earthly things have this shortcoming in common!

However, God gives us things that are true blessings, and they satisfy us much longer than the things that we get on our own.

Proverbs 10:22 says this:

We also find these words in Ephesians 3:20:

The greatest blessings in my life have all been given to me by the Lord, and they are more wonderful than I could have imagined.

For example, my salvation is the single greatest blessing I have, and it grows more wonderful by the day.

On July 15, 1993, I gave myself to God, turning from my sin and trusting Christ alone to save me from the condemnation I deserved.

As a result, the Spirit of God came to live in my heart, and I have a daily, personal relationship with Him.

His presence gives me joy and strength to do what is right, and confidence that no matter what the future brings, I don’t need to worry or fear about anything.

I have been forgiven of my sins, and been given the wonderful gift of eternal life!

That is the greatest blessing I have, and the greatest I could ever want.

I don’t deserve God’s goodness or forgiveness, but I’m so thankful for it.

It’s a blessing that does not fade with time, but only grows better and better.

I also thank God for the blessing He gave me when He gave me my wife.

I’m so thankful for God’s leading in our lives to bring us together.

I was greatly anticipating marriage and expecting it to be a blessing, but God gave me a greater blessing than I thought possible.

My children are also a great blessing to me.

I have been blessed beyond measure.

These are just a few of the blessings from God that I enjoy, and I have learned that if I will wait for Him to supply what I need, then when He does, it will be much more wonderful than it would have been if I tried to meet that need.

God always does it the best.

Earlier, I said that there is something I’m anticipating with great excitement, more than I’ve ever anticipated anything.

Usually that kind of anticipation ends in disappointment!

But in this case, I know that my anticipation won’t be greater than the experience.

In fact, I know I can’t imagine the half of it!

I’m talking about Heaven.

Do you believe in Heaven?

Most people, I think, believe in some form of the idea.

Some people believe in an unconscious or “sleep-like” state after this life; many others believe in a conscious, wonderful place of some sort.

Some people believe there is nothing at all after death.

The Bible is clear, however: there is a literal place called Heaven, and there is a literal place called Hell.

Last month we studied what the Bible says about Hell, and today we’ll be seeing what Scripture says about Heaven.

First of all, the Bible makes it clear that Heaven is God’s home.

Deuteronomy 26:15, speaking of God, says this:

King Solomon was praying to God when he said this:

If you were to come to my home, it would probably give you a pretty good idea of the kind of person I am.

You would observe the condition of my home, the size of my home, and the people who live in my home, and you would probably understand me a little better.

Learning about God’s home does help us understand Him a little better.

Though nothing can fully define God or capture the essence of His being, we learn more about the infinitely mighty and holy God by hearing about His Heaven that is fit for Himself.

In Isaiah 66:1, we read God’s words to Israel that indicate how powerful and majestic God is.

Heaven is His throne.

The prophet Isaiah also was the one given the awe-inspiring vision of God on His throne in Heaven.

Listen to these verses:

What an impressive scene this was to behold!

We may try to imagine the glories of Heaven after reading accounts like this, but we must remember that the Almighty God is much greater than anything He creates!

Creation is finite and limited.

God is infinite and everlasting.

God’s power, majesty, and greatness is more than we can imagine.

God is the most high.

There is none as high as He.

He possesses all of creation!

The Almighty, perfect, infinite God has made Heaven a place that more glorious than anything we have ever seen.

The Apostle John, in the book of Revelation, attempts to describe what he saw of Heaven in the vision that God gave him.

What a magnificent place!

We may try to imagine Heaven from this description in the book of the Revelation, but it is impossible for us to fully grasp Heaven’s splendor and joy.

Most of all, we cannot imagine what it is like to be in a place where there is no death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain.

Those things are all around us all the time on earth, but they cannot penetrate God’s Heaven; it is a perfect place!

Of course, Heaven is perfect only because God has made it and kept it so.

He will not permit anything corrupt or unlawful into it.

As we just read, Revelation 21:27 says this:

As we consider this mighty, majestic, high and holy God, we ought to wonder: “How could He ever let me into His home?”

And it’s a good question.

How could the Almighty God ever entertain the idea of opening Heaven’s gates to vile and lowly sinners like you and me?

Some people recoil at words like “vile” and “sinner” in reference to themselves, but that is what we are.

The Bible makes this clear.

This isn’t a very complimentary description, is it?

The Bible goes on to tell us what happens to those who sin.

How can God let anyone like us into Heaven?

There is only one way: it is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that He shed on Calvary’s cross.