Sermons About Heaven: February 28, 2010
Sermon #1: What’s Up With Heaven?
Introduction:
Probably one of the MOST MISUNDERSTOOD DOCTRINES within the BIBLE & MISUNDERSTOOD by MANY CHRISTIANS is the DOCTRINE of HEAVEN.
There is a LOT of FALSE MYTHS about HEAVEN & it is EASY to get CAUGHT UP in them if we are NOT CAREFUL.
The BIBLE tells us that we are going to SPEND an ETERNITY THERE so I THINK it only makes SENSE that we CHECK OUT the PLACE where we are going to LIVE FOREVER & FOREVER. Don’t you?
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In this SERIES of MESSAGES about HEAVEN I’d like for us to LOOK at MANY of the DIFFERENT ASPECTS of HEAVEN & see if we can get a BETTER UNDERSTANDING as well as a BETTER APPRECIATION for HEAVEN.
I ENJOY READING VARIOUS EPITAPHS. {INSCRIPTIONS of TOMBSTONES}
EPITAPHS are VERY FITTING for a SERIES on HEAVEN for they are WRITTEN on OUR TOMBSTONES.
I ENJOY THIS ONE:
Here lies the body of old man Peas, Buried beneath the flowers & trees
But Peas ain’t here, just the pod, Peas shelled out & went to GOD.
That’s an ACCURATE EPITAPH for that’s what HAPPENS when we DIE. We SHELL OUT & we go to GOD. The POD stays here, right?
One dear lady MISWROTE the EPITAPH and when she SHARED IT with the LADIES MISSIONARY GROUP at CHURCH; WHAT CAME OUT was this:
Here lies the body of old man Peas, Buried beneath the flowers & the trees,
But Peas ain’t here, just the shell, ------------
She said IMMEDIATELY she KNEW she was IN TROUBLE.
It was SUNDAY & in SUNDAY SCHOOL the TEACHER of the 5th GRADERS was DRILLING her CLASS about the GOSPEL of SALVATION.
She was QUIZZING them & she said, ‘If I SOLD EVERYTHING & GAVE the MONEY to the CHURCH would that get me INTO HEAVEN?’
& the ENTIRE CLASS RESPONDED TOGETHER with a big ‘NO!’
So then the TEACHER asked, ‘Well, if I’d CLEAN my HOUSE every day & MOWED the YARD & PLANTED FLOWERS & made my HOME BEAUTIFUL; would that get me INTO HEAVEN?’
& once again the KIDS RESPONDED with ‘NO!’
Then the TEACHER added, ‘Well, if I was KIND to ANIMALS & POLITE to ALL my FRIENDS & if I LOVED my FAMILY; would that get me INTO HEAVEN?’
& once again there was this UNANIMOUS ‘NO!’
“Well,” she asked, “Then HOW can I get INTO HEAVEN?”
& there was ONE LITTLE BOY who was NEW to SUNDAY SCHOOL & he SHOUTED OUT the ANSWER; ‘You have to BE DEAD.”
& that is TRUE, isn’t it?
If JESUS DOESN’T RETURN & TAKE US to be with HIM in the RAPTURE then the ONLY WAY we can get INTO HEAVEN is to DIE.
& that MEANS that EVERY ONE OF US in this CONGREGATION this morning has a CHANCE to GO to HEAVEN.
Because the DEATH RATE is PRESENTLY 100%:
& UNLESS CHRIST RETURNS SOON ---we’re ALL GOING to DIE!
WORLD WIDE – 3 PEOPLE DIE EVERY SECOND.
That’s 180 PEOPLE DIE EVERY MINUTE.
That’s NEARLY 11,000 PEOPLE DIE EVERY HOUR.
& if the BIBLE is RIGHT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO US AFTER WE DIE that MEANS that MORE than 250,000 PEOPLE EVERY DAY will either GO to HEAVEN or GO to HELL.
Here in OUR COUNTRY we seem to have a LOT of INTEREST in all of this.
In a 2003 HARRIS POLL 82 % of AMERICANS BELIEVED in HEAVEN.
63% said they EXPECTED to GO THERE AFTER THEY DIE.
But there’s an OLD SPIRITUAL SONG that says:
LOTS of PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT HEAVEN; AIN’T GOING THERE.
NOT MANY SERMONS are PREACHED in OUR CHURCHES TODAY ABOUT HEAVEN & even FEWER are PREACHED ABOUT HELL.
& BECAUSE the CHURCH of TODAY does not have HEAVEN ON IT’S MIND as it SHOULD then the CHURCH sometimes BECOMES INDULGENT & SELF CENTERED & WEAK.
SOMETIMES the PRESENT DAY COMFORTS of THIS LIFE TEND to MAKE HEAVEN just an AFTERTHOUGHT.
& ONE of the REASONS the POLL SURVEYS tell us that the LIVING STYLES & the MORALS BETWEEN SOME CHRISTIANS & NON CHRISTIANS can be DUE to the FACT there IS LITTLE PREACHING about HEAVEN. We’re NOT as HEAVENLY MINDED!
For WHEN we FORGET that GOD has PREPARED a PLACE for us in HEAVEN where we will SPEND an ETERNITY & that it is a GLORIOUS PLACE that is REAL & NOT IMAGINARY then we TRY to CREATE a PARADISE HERE on THIS EARTH. & we will SPEND EVERY DIME & GO to EVERY EXTREME to TRY to FIGURE OUT HOW we can MAKE OUR SITUATIONS in on THIS EARTH as MUCH LIKE the THINGS we’ve HEARD ABOUT HEAVEN as we POSSIBLY CAN.
GET RID of the PAIN. GET ALL the TOYS. LIVE in a BEAUTIFUL PLACE
& while ALL of THOSE THINGS are OK they can NEVER COMPARE to WHAT GOD has PREPARED for those that TRULY LOVE HIM.
We CANNOT CREATE HEAVEN on EARTH. It is IMPOSSIBLE!
The RICHEST MAN who EVER LIVED TRIED IT. The WISEST MAN who EVER LIVED TRIED IT. (SOLOMON)
& HE DISCOVERED that it was ALL VANITY. WORTHLESS
GOD has PLACED WITHIN each of OUR HEARTS a DESIRE for HEAVEN.
& IF we DO NOT FEED that HUNGER with SPIRITUAL TRUTHS then we TRY to REPLACE it with EARTHLY THINGS that will ONE DAY FADE AWAY.
JESUS taught us: ‘Lay up treasures in HEAVEN where it cannot be stolen or worn out.’
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SO WHAT IS UP WITH HEAVEN?
This morning I’d like for us to LOOK at SOME THINGS that are FOUNDATIONAL about HEAVEN.
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#1: THE PROMINENCE of HEAVEN:
Although HEAVEN is NOT being PREACHED ABOUT in CHURCHES much anymore it is AMAZING HOW that it KEEPS POPPING UP in POPULAR CULTURE.
The BOOK – FIVE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET IN HEAVEN has been on the BEST SELLING LIST for a LONG TIME.
The BEST SELLING SERIES of BOOKS in the HISTORY of BOOK WRITING is the LEFT BEHIND SERIES.
HEAVEN is of INTEREST to MANY PEOPLE; it just SEEMS SO STRANGE that the CHURCH of TODAY isn’t as INTERESTED as she SHOULD BE.
Did you KNOW that HEAVEN is MENTIONED OVER 500 TIMES in the BIBLE?
The WORD HEAVEN MEANS --- that which is RAISED UP & LOFTY
HEAVEN is a PLACE that is HIGH & LIFTED UP; LOFTY
So if we TOOK the WORD HEAVEN OUT of the BIBLE it WOULD NOT BE THE SAME!
HEAVEN is such a PROMINENT TEACHING in the BIBLE.
#2: THE PLURALITY OF HEAVEN:
Did you KNOW that there are 3 HEAVENS?
Man, I’m TRYING to FIGURE OUT ONE HEAVEN & you tell me there are THREE HEAVENS.
There are THREE HEAVENS:
When PAUL was writing in II Corinthians 12: ‘He was caught up into the 3rd HEAVEN.’
Then later on he REFERS to that as being CAUGHT UP INTO PARADISE.
So it only MAKES SENSE that if there is a 3RD HEAVEN then there MUST BE MORE THAN ONE.
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Let’s LOOK at the THREE HEAVENS:
#1: First of all the 1ST HEAVEN is the ATMOSPHERE HEAVEN.
It is MENTIONED in the BIBLE a # of times. For instance in
Isaiah 55: 9 ‘For as the HEAVENS are higher than the earth, so are MY ways higher than your ways & MY thoughts than your thoughts, for as the rain comes down from HEAVEN
This ATMOSPHERIC HEAVEN refers to the BLANKET of AIR that is IMMEDIATELY ABOVE our HEADS & that SURROUNDS the EARTH. It is WHERE the BIRDS & the CLOUDS move.
Genesis 1:20 ‘Then GOD said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures & let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the HEAVEN.’
This 1st HEAVEN is WHAT WE SEE when we walk out into the YARD at NIGHT & we LOOK UP into the SKY & we SEE the ENVELOPE that SURROUNDS the EARTH & you see the JETS as they TRAVEL through the ATMOSPHERE.
#2: The 2ND HEAVEN in mentioned in the BIBLE as well. STELLAR HEAVEN:
Genesis 1:14-17 ‘Then GOD said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the HEAVENS to divide the day from the night. Let them be for signs & for seasons & for days & for years & let them be for the lights of the firmament of the HEAVENS to give light unto the earth & it was so. & GOD made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day & the lesser light to rule the night & HE made the stars also. & GOD set them in the firmament of the HEAVENS to give light onto the earth.’
This 2ND HEAVEN REFERS to the OUTER SPACE that CONTAINS the SUN & the MOON & the STARS & all of the GALAXIES that are OTHER than OUR OWN. That’s the 2ND HEAVEN.
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#3: The 3RD HEAVEN:
But REMEMBER that PAUL said he was CAUGHT UP into the 3RD HEAVEN.
11 Corinthians 12:2-4 ‘I know a man in CHRIST about 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know or whether out of the body I do not know, for GOD knows. Such a one was caught up to a 3RD HEAVEN. & I know such a man whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, GOD knows. He was caught up into PARADISE & heard inexpressible words which it is not lawful for a man to utter.’
PAUL is saying that there is SOMETHING BEYOND the ATMOSPHERIC HEAVEN & there is SOMETHING BEYOND the STELLAR HEAVEN. There is a 3RD HEAVEN & it is THERE that GOD RESIDES.
In the BIBLE we are TOLD over & over again that GOD is in HEAVEN.
JESUS TAUGHT US to PRAY:
‘Our FATHER, who art in HEAVEN…’
Matthew 5:16 we are told to ‘Let our light shine so that men may see our good works & glorify our FATHER who is in HEAVEN.’
Psalm 11:4 says ‘The LORD is in HIS holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in HEAVEN.’
WHENEVER we see that REFERRED TO as the PLACE where GOD IS we know that HE is NOT in the ATMOSPHERIC HEAVEN ( 1ST HEAVEN) & HE is NOT in the STELLAR HEAVEN ( 2ND HEAVEN) GOD RESIDES in the 3RD HEAVEN. That’s the HEAVEN of HEAVENS.
& it is this 3RD HEAVEN which we LONG FOR.
THERE is WHERE we are GOING ONE DAY to BE WITH GOD & with JESUS CHRIST.
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#3 THE PLACE of HEAVEN:
John 14: 1- ‘Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in GOD, believe also in ME. In 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, & if I go & prepare a place for you, I will come again & receive you unto MYSELF, that where I am, there you may be also.’
JESUS has ANNOUNCED to HIS DISCIPLES that HE was GOING to the CROSS. HE was going to DIE & to be BURIED & HE was going to be RESURRECTED & then HE was going BACK to HEAVEN.
The DISCIPLES we filled with SORROW & their HEARTS were TROUBLED; they didn’t UNDERSTAND.
Put ourselves in their place.
JESUS said ‘I am GOING AWAY. & the DISCIPLES were FILLED with WORRY & FEAR & ANXIETY. They wanted to KNOW WHERE HE WAS GOING & WHY.
& JESUS said to them, “I DON’T WANT your HEARTS to be TROUBLED for in MY FATHER’S HOUSE are MANY MANSIONS & I’M going there to PREPARE a PLACE for you. & I go & PREPARE a PLACE for you, I will RETURN AGAIN for you & TAKE YOU to WHERE I am. YOU are GOING to BE with ME.’
THOMAS, the DOUBTER, DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT.
“LORD, we DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU are GOING. HOW can we KNOW HOW to get there?’
Hopefully we UNDERSTAND it BETTER TODAY.
JESUS was PROMISING SOMETHING NOT to JUST HIS DISCIPLES but ALL of us also.
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NOTICE WHAT JESUS SAYS:
HE went to HEAVEN to PREPARE a PLACE for us.
HEAVEN is NOT some place of SPIRITUAL FOG or FUNK.
Over & over in the BIBLE HEAVEN is DESCRIBED as a REAL PLACE.
In some places HEAVEN is REFERRED TO as a COUNTRY.
It speaks of the VASTNESS of its TERRITORY.
Sometimes it is REFERRED TO as the CELESTIAL CITY.
HEAVEN as a CITY implies that it is an INHABITED PLACE.
Sometimes HEAVEN is REFERRED TO as a KINGDOM.
The TERM KINGDOM implies that it is a PLACE of GOVERNMENT & a PLACE where GOD & JESUS RULES & EVERYTHING is UNDER HIS AUTHORITY.
But the BEST DEFINITION of HEAVEN is there is JOHN 14 where JESUS DESCRIBED it as MY FATHER’S HOUSE.
MY FATHER’S HOUSE:
We TRY to CREATE that ENVIRONMENT for OUR FAMILIES TODAY, don’t we?
Many of us have some GREAT MEMORIES of the FATHER’S HOUSE.
SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT IT that DRAWS US BACK.
No matter WHERE WE GO we LONG for HOME & the FATHER’S HOUSE.
HOLIDAYS are SPECIAL BECAUSE we are ALL GATHERED TOGETHER at HOME.
It is SPECIAL BECAUSE it is a PLACE of LOVE!
HEAVEN is a PLACE of SWEETNESS & BLESS.
HOME SWEET HOME:
In our MIND’S EYE we SEE a REAL PLACE.
FURNITURE & DECORATIONS & WARMTH & the HEART of a HOME.
A PLACE of PERFECT CONTENT & BLESS!
& JESUS has PROMISED US that IF we PUT OUR FAITH in HIM HE has PREPARED a PLACE for us in HEAVEN that is in HIS FATHER’S HOUSE.
& we are PRIVILEGED to be able to LIVE THERE in that PLACE for ever & ever.
HEAVEN is NOT an IMAGINARY PLACE.
Some say that HEAVEN is a STATE of MIND where we are ETERNALLY ASLEEP in the GRAVE.
Some say HEAVEN is a REWARD for BEING GOOD.
SOME SAY that HEAVEN or HELL is WHATEVER we MAKE of it in THIS LIFE.
But LISTEN, HEAVEN is NOT a FIGMENT of OUR IMAGINATION. It is NOT a FEELING or an EMOTION.
HEAVEN is NOT the BEAUTIFUL ISLE of SOMEWHERE.
HEAVEN is NOT a THOUGHT merely a THOUGHT FORM.
HEAVEN is NOT the INVENTION of MAN.
OUT THOUGHTS do NOT make HEAVEN.
HEAVEN is a PREPARED PLACE for a PREPARED PEOPLE.
It is a PLACE & the WORD & in the NEW TESTAMENT GREEK that WORD is “TOPOS” which is a VERY STRICT WORD & it REFERS to a PLACE that you can LOCATE. A REAL PLACE.
JESUS said, ‘I go to prepare a PLACE for you..’
& I stand before you this morning BELIEVING that there IS a LITERAL PLACE called HEAVEN.
If you ASK ME WHERE HEAVEN IS – I DON’T KNOW that I CAN ANSWER that TOTALLY with AUTHORITY but I CAN TELL YOU WHAT I BELIEVE the BIBLE TEACHES.
MOST of the TIME when we TALK ABOUT HEAVEN, we say it is UP don’t we?
HEAVEN is UP.
Ephesians 4:10 says ‘HE who DESCENDED is also the ONE WHO ASCENDED far ABOVE the HEAVENS that HE might fulfill all things.’
& when JESUS was READY to GO BACK to HEAVEN, in HIS ASCENSION in
Acts 1: 10-11 ‘While they looked steadfastly toward HEAVEN HE went UP & behold two men stood by them in white apparel which also said, ‘Ye men of GALILEE, why stand ye gazing into HEAVEN, for this same JESUS who is taken UP from you into HEAVEN shall so come in like manner as you saw HIM go into HEAVEN.’
So we would have to ASSUME that HEAVEN is UP.
Closing: Chorus:
Heaven is sounding sweeter all the time
Seems like lately it always on my mind
Soon & very soon I’ll leave this troubled world behind
Heaven is sounding sweeter all the time.
The OLDER we get the SWEETER HEAVEN SEEMS to us.
Because the OLDER we become the MORE PHYSICAL ACHES & PAINS of our BODY.
& also the OLDER we get the MORE OUR LOVED ONES DEPART from us.
Yes, HEAVEN is SOUNDING SWEETER ALL THE TIME.
Don’t GIVE UP TODAY & don’t LOSE HOLD.
It’s the LAST MILE that COUNTS. Don’t MISS HEAVEN for ANYTHING or for ANYONE!
