(Sermon outline authored by Dr. Phil Sanders)
A CITIZEN OF HEAVEN
Phil 3:20-21
Introduction:
1. It is a wondrous thing that you and I can become a citizen of Heaven NOW in this life:
a. Jesus is preparing a place just for me! (Jno 14:1-3)
b. Jesus is now preparing me just for that place (2 Cor 5:1-5)
2. [Matt 25:34] Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world
3. HEAVEN is a real place that has been assured to those who remain faithful in following the Word of God.
a. It is a place EVERY CHRISTIAN should know something about
b. NO ONE STUMBLES into heaven- people must intend to go there!
c. Our inheritance in heaven is worth more than anything we might have here
d. For us, heaven is a cheap purchase whatever the cost.
e. But it was not cheap for our Lord Jesus, He died for us;
Heaven is the place God has prepared to bless mankind!
1. We will never be able to understand some things about heaven until we go there.
a. Heaven would hardly be heaven if we could describe it!
b. [2 Peter 3:12,13] We are looking for a NEW (in kind and quality) heavens and earth; because the old ones we know are gone!
c. When Jesus describes heaven to us, He uses things we know about to describe and suggest what his “new home of ours” will be like
i. “If God hath made this world so fair, Where sin and death abound, how beautiful beyond compare; will paradise be found” (James S. Montgomery)
2. What Will NOT be in Heaven
a. Rev 21: 2-4 no weeping, no death or separation, no sorrow
b. Rev 21:21-27 no night, nothing unclean, no one commits sin
c. Rev 22: 1-3 no division, no curse
d. Rev 7: 16-17 no discomforts
3. What will be in Heaven
a. JOY (Matt 25:21) “enter into the JOY of your Master”
i. C.S. Lewis says Joy is the serious business of Heaven
ii. Heaven will not be a place of boredom, monotony, or indifference
iii. 1 Peter 4:13 His coming will be a Time of “Exceeding Joy”
b. SERVICE (Rev 22:3) =“Latreuo”= is a service of worship as in the temple;
i. We are God’s bond-servants, (slaves) our task is to serve Him;
1. it is inconceivable to think we would do nothing in Heaven
ii. Matt Ch 25 those who use their talents were given greater roles of service in the Kingdom
iii. Service= implies a kind of worship that GLORIFIES GOD
iv. If you do not enjoy worshipping down here, you will probably not enjoy heaven,
1. for it is a place where worshipping God will be pure joy and overflowing!
c. RICH WITH TREASURES—OUR INHERITANCE
i. 1 Peter 1:3-4 “born to receive an inheritance undefiled”
ii. Eph 2:6-7 “in the ages to come show us the incomparable riches of His grace”
iii. Matt 6:20 “lay up for yourselves riches in Heaven”
iv. LK 12:21 the rich fool: “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself, but is not rich towards GOD”
v. The riches of heaven will satisfy us spiritually, unlike the treasures of this earth.
1. new car=rusts away 2. Clothes soon go out of style 3.gold=tarnish
d. FELLOWSHIP what makes heaven precious is WHO is there!
i. All of God’s people will be in heaven= everyone whose name is written in the Lamb’s book of life
1. We will be surprised at who is there {God’s grace is wondrous}
2. We will be surprised at who is not there
ii. We will be at ‘Home with the Lord”
1. 2 Cor 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
2. Phil 1:21-23 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I want not.
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
3. 1Thes 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
e. Who will be there? (to fellowship)
i. God (to be removed from His presence is the worst thing in Hell; to be in His presence is the best thing about Heaven)
ii. Jesus Christ we will see His face and say “Thank You”
iii. Holy Spirit who has been our constant companion indwelling in us
iv. Heavenly Host angels, cherubim, seraphim
v. Bible characters Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter, Andrew, James and John, Paul, Esther, Ruth, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Dorcas.
vi. Christian Loved Ones family, teachers, loved ones
vii. Infants and small children
viii. Kings and people from all nations
1. Rev 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Conclusion:
1. Getting into Heaven is the most important task of ours lives!
2. Don’t let anyone or anything keep you from entering!
John 14:1-3
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 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.
3 And 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.
2 Cor 5:1-5
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven:
3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
