Sermon Central
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Your First 30 Minutes In Heaven
Contributed by John Gaston on Oct 4, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: What will it be like when you find yourself in Heaven? What will be your first thoughts? What will you do? What will surprise you and what will you feel? We look at five things you'l probably think and four things you'll find untrue.
YOUR FIRST 30 MINUTES IN HEAVEN
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. There’s a natural curiosity about Heaven. One little boy asked his Mom, “Mom, are there animals in Heaven?” She replied, “What kind of animals?”
2. He said, “Regular animals, cows and bees.” She said, “I’m not sure about that. I doubt they will be necessary in Heaven.”
3. “Then where are we going to get enough milk and honey for everybody?” he asked.
B. TEXT
1Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2In 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. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3, KJV
C. THESIS
1. A few years ago the number one Christian song was “I Can Only Imagine,” written by Bart Millard and sung by MercyMe. In it, the writer imagines what it will be like to suddenly find yourself in Heaven, and what you would do, one thing after another.
2. So that’s what I want to do today, to describe what it will be like “Your First 30 Minutes in Heaven.”
I. WHAT YOU’LL THINK WHEN YOU GET THERE
A. THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS WAS ENOUGH
1. The first thing we’ll realize is that the grace of God through Jesus Christ was sufficient to save us from all of our sins and that nothing else could have.
2. There will be an overwhelming relief that we really made it, and that it’s so real. The old world will seem so remote and tenuous and the new world of God so solid and eternal, we’ll wonder how we could have ever doubted God’s reality & kingdom.
B. YOU’LL KNOW IT WAS “WORTH IT ALL”
1. Knowing the old fallen universe will soon burn up and that we have escaped, and that all God has prophesied about the New Heavens and New Jerusalem will come true;
2. We will put all our suffering, persecution, and rejection for the Gospel on one side of the scales, and put the blessings & benefits of being one of God’s adopted children & heirs, on the other side of the scales – and we’ll see it was infinitely worth it to be on God’s side!
3. As Stephen Funderburk said, “When you arrive in heaven you will shout unto God with the voice of triumph. You will go running on the hills of glory. You will high five the great cloud of witnesses!”
C. YOU WILL WANT TO SEE JESUS!
1. When you get there it won’t be the golden streets or the angels that will excite your curiosity, or the fact that you have a new resurrected body or a mansion.
2. The overwhelming wish of all heaven is to look on the face of Jesus. Each person who does will be smitten with the beauty and the pleasure of beholding Him. Better than seeing any wonder of nature or creation of man, will be to look on the face of God. Such joy no tongue can tell.
D. YOU’LL HAVE A FAMILY REUNION
1. Not only will you see old friends and family who’ve made it, but you’ll meet countless thousands that have some bearing on your life that you’ve never met.
2. It will be the biggest party in history. 3 times Jesus described it as a party: 1). The woman who found her lost coin & threw a party, 2). The prodigal son coming home & his father threw him a party, and 3). The Wedding Feast for the King’s Son. Heaven will NOT be a boring place!
E. YOU’LL RECEIVE YOUR REWARD
1. Jesus said, “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
2. Paul said when we bless other people as we serve Jesus on earth, we “lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age” 1 Tim. 6:19. As we work, our reward is accruing. When we get to heaven, we’ll receive our reward.
II. THINGS WE’LL FIND OUT WEREN’T TRUE
A. “NO ONE KNOWS WHAT HEAVEN IS LIKE”
1. Many people are under the mistaken notion that all talk about heaven is just guessing, that nobody really can say what heaven is like. There is one Person who knows what heaven is like – Who has been to heaven and can tell us what it’s actually like: JESUS!
2. Listen to these statements of Jesus:
a. “No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven – the Son of Man”.(Jn. 3:13)
