WEBVTT 00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:01.230 We're going through a new series you just heard. 00:00:01.240 --> 00:00:02.880 It's called FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions. 00:00:02.880 --> 00:00:09.980 We've been asking our church family for a while to ask whatever questions on your mind about the Lord, the Bible, life in 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.300 general as it relates to God. 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:19.460 We would give the answers, over the course of a few Sundays up here, and then we'll blog some of the answers that 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:25.520 weren't as prominent in our Q&A time with everyone having the opportunity to fill out their questions. 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:32.220 Today's question, I just want to give you a little bit of background before I jump in and tell you what the topic is. 00:00:32.580 --> 00:00:37.840 You're going to have, a little more information given today than the typical sermon that we do here. 00:00:37.860 --> 00:00:44.780 And here's my hope is that when you we consider this information is that we'll use it for transformational lives. 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:50.440 Meaning I'm not always going to connect the dots some sometimes in this information, I'm going to answer some questions about this topic that we're going through today. 00:00:51.020 --> 00:00:58.100 So your job this morning as I talk about some of the information, is to figure out in your life how it encouraged you to worship and 00:00:58.100 --> 00:00:59.060 pursue after God. 00:01:00.120 --> 00:01:07.360 And today's topic, what we've seen is we put out the questionnaires over the last few weeks, over a month we've had them out is there were a significant amount 00:01:07.360 --> 00:01:09.400 of questions that dealt with the idea of heaven. 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:14.220 And so today I'm just going to answer a lot of those questions people had about heaven. 00:01:14.240 --> 00:01:16.700 There was a lot of side questions in regards to heaven. 00:01:16.720 --> 00:01:20.040 But here's the big question we're going to answer is what will heaven be like? 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:20.160 Right? 00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:24.140 What will heaven be like? 00:01:24.140 --> 00:01:31.340 And as I considered this topic that we're going through together, one of the things that I, started off by 00:01:31.340 --> 00:01:38.460 thinking about were those who endure suffering or have endured suffering in this world because those of us 00:01:38.460 --> 00:01:45.960 who have life pretty good, the thought of heaven isn't maybe as significant to us, or we don't quite think of it as often as 00:01:45.960 --> 00:01:49.260 we would if life was just going horrifically wrong. 00:01:50.340 --> 00:01:57.720 I noticed on the news last few weeks, and I've posted a few articles on this from the Christian Post, but in Iraq right now, Christians are being 00:01:57.720 --> 00:01:59.100 beheaded for their faith. 00:01:59.100 --> 00:02:06.160 Little children, just small kids are having their lives taken from them in order as a scare tactic to scare the rest of the people 00:02:06.160 --> 00:02:11.980 who follow after Jesus, and to converting to Islam and think in their moment and their need. 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.200 The hope that they rest in resides in heaven. 00:02:16.260 --> 00:02:19.380 I think of the African African American slaves in America. 00:02:19.380 --> 00:02:26.560 When you study their spiritual songs that they would often sing, many times they would focus the attitude of those songs in a slow 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:31.110 rhythm to the thought of a better home or to heaven, a hope that is to come. 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:36.700 God as people, has created us with the opportunity to have this thought of hope. 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:41.760 And could you imagine where you would be in your life if this was all that there was? 00:02:43.020 --> 00:02:45.140 Whatever you live in this world, this is as good as it gets. 00:02:46.880 --> 00:02:50.480 And unfortunately for us, the Bible gives a different picture to us. 00:02:50.500 --> 00:02:57.680 It tells us in Ecclesiastes 311 that God has written eternity on our hearts, which is saying this to us, that life we recognize 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:00.060 is important and we want it to carry on. 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:02.900 We long and look for hope. 00:03:04.200 --> 00:03:05.580 And when I ask the question, what? 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:07.420 What is heaven going to be like? 00:03:07.480 --> 00:03:13.180 I want to go ahead and tell you that no matter what description our wrap around that for you, none of us can imagine it. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.880 But if you were to think of something this morning about what heaven would be like, what? 00:03:18.940 --> 00:03:20.260 How would you explain it? 00:03:21.980 --> 00:03:28.920 I read a story about a father explaining to his younger son about growing up, the birds and the bees. 00:03:30.700 --> 00:03:37.780 And as the dad's describing, you know what God's desire is for that and what God's course of action is for that, and the joy 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:40.430 that comes with the husband and wife relationship. 00:03:41.140 --> 00:03:45.150 The only thing that the kid could think of in his mind, because he has no concept of this is chocolate. 00:03:45.480 --> 00:03:49.980 And so he asked his dad, dad, whatever, whatever this is you're talking about, we must be eating chocolate while we do it. 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:57.960 We can't conceive of the good things to come, because our minds can't imagine what God holds for us. 00:03:58.660 --> 00:04:04.720 And so no matter what kind of picture we paint of heaven, it's going to drastically fall short from what awaits us. 00:04:05.920 --> 00:04:12.600 But the Bible is glorious to us in the sense that it begins to reveal for us this hope and this home that we have awaiting to us. 00:04:12.680 --> 00:04:15.770 And so if I ask you this morning, what do you think about when you picture heaven? 00:04:15.920 --> 00:04:16.980 What would come to mind? 00:04:17.980 --> 00:04:19.880 Maybe, maybe for some of you. 00:04:21.260 --> 00:04:22.040 Well, there we go. 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:22.540 What about that? 00:04:23.400 --> 00:04:24.960 Oh, well, let me go back. 00:04:25.960 --> 00:04:27.180 I'm not done looking at that ribs. 00:04:28.940 --> 00:04:30.220 No. 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:38.220 Ribs eating. 00:04:38.220 --> 00:04:39.740 I mean, is there food in heaven? 00:04:39.820 --> 00:04:42.150 I don't know if I want to go if I can't bite into some ribs. 00:04:42.700 --> 00:04:43.760 What does the Bible say about that? 00:04:44.020 --> 00:04:51.020 I just want you to know in revelation 19 nine, and Jesus, when he celebrates the Passover with his disciples, the first 00:04:51.020 --> 00:04:55.380 time they partake of communion, Jesus says, I will not drink of this wine now until I drink of it. 00:04:55.840 --> 00:04:56.800 Where? 00:04:56.940 --> 00:04:58.790 And having to come right in the father's kingdom. 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:00.840 There's there. 00:05:00.840 --> 00:05:03.640 There's going to be us participating with Jesus in wine. 00:05:03.640 --> 00:05:10.940 If you take that passage literally in heaven and revelation 19, it talks about the marriage supper of the lamb or the marriage feast of the lamb. 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:15.800 There is this nice course Kingsmill delivered to us. 00:05:16.080 --> 00:05:20.360 So whatever I think about ribs times it by ten and it's in heaven, right? 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:21.060 Or. 00:05:21.580 --> 00:05:22.090 Or what about this? 00:05:27.640 --> 00:05:29.300 There you go. 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:30.320 Golf course. 00:05:30.340 --> 00:05:30.500 Right. 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:34.240 Some some of you know, if you could just skip work and go there all day, you would. 00:05:34.260 --> 00:05:41.400 This is your picture of having your wondering, am I going to be able to pay play a back nine with, Peter and Paul and 00:05:41.400 --> 00:05:42.380 show them what I got? 00:05:42.380 --> 00:05:42.500 Right? 00:05:43.180 --> 00:05:50.240 I, I don't know for sure, but I do know that it tells us in Isaiah chapter 11 and verse eight that we will play in heaven. 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:53.820 And so if you got time to build a golf course, you're there for eternity. 00:05:54.540 --> 00:05:55.340 Take the opportunity. 00:05:55.960 --> 00:05:56.680 Or what about this? 00:05:56.840 --> 00:05:57.520 Right. 00:05:57.520 --> 00:05:57.980 Shopping. 00:05:58.860 --> 00:05:59.360 I like this. 00:05:59.400 --> 00:06:02.140 Every once in a while my wife will go on a shopping trip and I always text her the same thing. 00:06:02.380 --> 00:06:03.110 Did you win? 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:03.680 Right? 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:07.540 Because when she comes home, she tells me of all her victories and I'm just looking at the credit card statement. 00:06:07.700 --> 00:06:09.800 I'm like, this is not a victory, dear. 00:06:09.820 --> 00:06:13.640 I don't care what you got off, 50% off is still 50% gone. 00:06:13.640 --> 00:06:13.740 Right? 00:06:14.200 --> 00:06:18.840 But shopping, that is heaven, right? 00:06:18.900 --> 00:06:19.460 For some of you. 00:06:19.460 --> 00:06:19.660 Not me. 00:06:20.940 --> 00:06:21.440 What about this? 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:26.920 Sep September 4th, 630 I looked it up last night. 00:06:27.140 --> 00:06:31.200 Nfl season kicks off right all summer long I'm like, what do I do? 00:06:31.380 --> 00:06:33.060 No basketball, no football, soccer. 00:06:33.100 --> 00:06:36.980 No no no I tried I tried football, right. 00:06:37.080 --> 00:06:37.780 That's where it's at. 00:06:38.960 --> 00:06:40.080 Are we playing that in heaven? 00:06:40.200 --> 00:06:42.180 I don't know or how about that right. 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:45.850 Maybe we all get our private beach somewhere. 00:06:47.280 --> 00:06:47.660 I don't know. 00:06:49.320 --> 00:06:51.920 When you talk about heaven, what is it that you think about? 00:06:53.460 --> 00:06:58.640 Ecclesiastes 311 tells us this that God has set eternity in our hearts. 00:06:58.640 --> 00:07:01.860 We recognize that we are created for so much more. 00:07:01.880 --> 00:07:05.800 Sometimes I describe it this way what God has created when he created this world is he. 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:07.580 He created us as people for worship. 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:12.820 And when he designed the world, he created the world in such a way that it would inspire worship within us. 00:07:13.820 --> 00:07:20.960 And then when you go and visit grand places across the world, whether it be mountain ranges, waterfalls, beaches, grand canyons, 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:27.400 whatever it is, when you see come up on the moose in the middle of a mountain somewhere, when you see those things, it captivates your mind. 00:07:27.400 --> 00:07:27.720 And you don't. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:33.040 You don't think about how good that you are in those moments, but just how glorious that is. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:40.240 You realize you're a part of something bigger than yourself, and when life doesn't always go our way, we're reminded of the heartache 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:40.640 of life. 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:45.280 God has made life good in such a way that we desire to continue in that goodness. 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:51.240 But God has also allowed things to happen in life that we recognize that when those things happen, we're also created for so much more. 00:07:52.540 --> 00:07:58.160 And the apostle Paul said in first Corinthians 15, talking about the pain that he has experienced in life. 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:05.340 And he says, but when this perishable talking about our body will have put on the imperishable, talking about the renewed nature in 00:08:05.340 --> 00:08:12.810 Christ in heaven, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. 00:08:12.900 --> 00:08:15.240 Oh, death, where is your victory, old death? 00:08:15.400 --> 00:08:16.980 Where is your sting? 00:08:18.460 --> 00:08:21.490 The start of heaven gives us this eternal thinking. 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:28.160 And in fact, in the book of Matthew, the Bible tells us that we are created both as a material being and an immaterial being. 00:08:28.200 --> 00:08:30.170 You have a physical part and a spiritual part. 00:08:30.340 --> 00:08:37.580 When God created you as an individual, when you are resurrected to him as a believer in Christ, God unites both body 00:08:37.580 --> 00:08:39.200 back with the spirit. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:40.240 God sees you holistically. 00:08:40.760 --> 00:08:43.400 The good news is that it's redeemed, right? 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:47.330 I've heard some people ask, what age am I in heaven? 00:08:47.420 --> 00:08:54.460 And I just want you to know, based on Isaiah 65, there is a discussion based on your depending on your interpretation of Isaiah 65, where it 00:08:54.460 --> 00:08:57.000 talks about young and old and the new heavens and new earth. 00:08:58.460 --> 00:08:59.540 What age are we in heaven? 00:08:59.560 --> 00:09:03.960 Some people even suggested that when you get to heaven, the perfect age is 33. 00:09:04.040 --> 00:09:05.580 Which, by the way, my birthday is September 9th. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:06.560 I hit that in a few days, right? 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:08.520 The perfect age is 33. 00:09:08.700 --> 00:09:09.960 That's when Jesus died. 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:10.940 Jesus was perfect. 00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:12.660 He must have chosen the perfect age when he died. 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:14.660 So when we get to heaven, we're all going to be 33. 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:19.040 I don't know, I don't know what the answer to that is, but this is what I do know. 00:09:19.040 --> 00:09:26.100 When it talks about us in our body, we have for certain both a physical part and a spiritual part, both a material part and 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:27.360 an immaterial part. 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:32.440 God will join both of those in eternity, just as he was resurrected from the grave. 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:35.280 So we will be resurrected in a glorified body. 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:36.910 The point of it is this. 00:09:38.520 --> 00:09:43.440 And sometimes in our society it's popular to say, I don't go to church, but I'm a spiritual person. 00:09:45.260 --> 00:09:49.810 And when I hear that, I think that's great that someone's at least recognizing they're a spiritual person. 00:09:49.880 --> 00:09:57.420 But at the same time, it's not a big deal because the Bible tells us that when God created you, he created everyone as a spiritual person. 00:09:57.940 --> 00:10:05.220 And so whether you recognize it or not, we're all spiritual and understanding that there's both material and immaterial part 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:06.140 of you is important. 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:11.080 But realizing that immaterial part was intended to connect to God, that is where life is discovered. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:16.540 We are created as spiritual beings, both having immaterial and material parts. 00:10:16.540 --> 00:10:24.020 And Daniel chapter 12 and verse two says this when it talks about the afterlife, it says many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake these 00:10:24.020 --> 00:10:29.700 to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt, meaning God created your spirit. 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:32.380 When God created your spirit, he created your spirit to last for eternity. 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:38.100 The determination of where your soul ends and eternity is based on your decision of Jesus. 00:10:38.660 --> 00:10:41.520 It's not about what you do and earning your favor to God because it's impossible. 00:10:41.680 --> 00:10:48.070 But it's about embracing the King who has come to give his life on your behalf, paying your debt that you may experience life with him forever. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:56.120 When God created you as a spiritual being, the purpose and created you, creating you as a spiritual being is that you could connect to him all the 00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:57.760 days of your life when he created you. 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:00.500 From that day forward, you became an eternal being. 00:11:01.400 --> 00:11:04.870 God's desire is that you spend it with Him in His eternal presence. 00:11:06.060 --> 00:11:13.320 Your spirit, your soul will live somewhere forever in eternity at a cemetery in Indiana. 00:11:13.800 --> 00:11:21.060 There's a tombstone, a little a little over 100 years old, and the epitaph reads like this Paul's stranger, when you pass 00:11:21.060 --> 00:11:23.400 by as you are now. 00:11:23.400 --> 00:11:25.880 So once was I, as I am now. 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:29.600 So you will be prepared for death and follow me. 00:11:30.760 --> 00:11:34.780 A few years later, someone came along and added this thought to follow you. 00:11:34.780 --> 00:11:37.760 I am not content until I know which way you went. 00:11:41.380 --> 00:11:48.600 God has created us for eternity, and I want to say in all the things that we discuss about in heaven today and all the questions 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:52.550 that we answer or the fact sheets over the next few minutes, this is the most important thing. 00:11:53.900 --> 00:11:56.220 That when you get there, Jesus is there. 00:11:57.660 --> 00:11:59.600 Jesus is the prize of heaven. 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.200 It's not about getting to heaven so I can be away from bad things. 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:05.760 It's about getting to heaven so I can be next to Christ for which I was created. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.260 Sometimes in life we're really good at making idols. 00:12:10.280 --> 00:12:17.440 Meaning we recognize that life has good things, and rather than chase after the giver of those good things, we chase after the good things themselves and we create idols of them rather than 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.240 recognizing the God who designed them. 00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:23.540 We worship and serve the creature rather than the creator. 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:27.100 And we can even run that risk when we think about heaven. 00:12:27.160 --> 00:12:34.380 This as if to say this to you, if I were to come and bring you a bowl of water, you would look at that and say, wonderful, this bowl of water will provide for me until it's gone. 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:37.560 But if I were to take you next to the river that provided that water. 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:41.420 You have life as long as you stay near it. 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:43.540 Jesus. 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:44.010 Is that life? 00:12:45.560 --> 00:12:48.370 The things of heaven are only good because God is good. 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:52.500 And being in his presence is where our desire. 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:54.800 Heaven is in heaven without Christ. 00:12:55.980 --> 00:12:58.780 And wherever Christ is, that's where I desire to be. 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:07.560 Ezekiel 48 and verse 35 describing heaven, says this and the new city of Jerusalem that God recreates in the name of the city from 00:13:07.560 --> 00:13:10.840 that time on will be the Lord is there. 00:13:13.160 --> 00:13:19.220 The joy of heaven is recognizing the one who created it with all of its goodness is present there with us. 00:13:20.880 --> 00:13:25.960 But I want to be honest, when I talk about heaven with you this morning and say, the thought of heaven used to always freak me out. 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:34.240 I remember when I was 4 or 5 years old, somewhere around that age, and my mom was telling me about this heaven thought this heaven ordeal, I don't know, I've not contemplated 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:35.020 heaven to this point. 00:13:35.680 --> 00:13:38.100 I was happy with my life where it was on earth. 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:43.180 My mom tells me about heaven, and she shares the thought that we'll be there forever and ever and talks about all the good things. 00:13:43.260 --> 00:13:44.570 But I didn't pay attention to the good things. 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:46.240 I only pay attention to the word forever and ever. 00:13:47.040 --> 00:13:50.020 What am I going to do in heaven forever and ever? 00:13:50.300 --> 00:13:54.480 The best thing I could imagine was watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating dream sicles and. 00:13:54.740 --> 00:13:57.000 But I couldn't think about anything greater than that. 00:13:57.020 --> 00:14:00.740 I'm thinking, oh, I mean, I do that for a little bit in my life, but forever and ever. 00:14:00.740 --> 00:14:02.280 What is that going to be like for me? 00:14:03.040 --> 00:14:08.400 So heaven became somewhat of a fear in my mind because I didn't understand what heaven was like. 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:11.810 And then on top of it, as a young person, when I would go go to church. 00:14:13.300 --> 00:14:15.220 Church I found to be boring sometimes. 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:20.410 Or, if I'm honest, as a kid and what I went through, it was boring most of the time. 00:14:21.860 --> 00:14:29.110 And I thought to myself, if the church is where God, God's people go, and it's the closest where I feel like I get closest to God, 00:14:29.160 --> 00:14:33.080 or however people want to teach about the church gathering together. 00:14:33.920 --> 00:14:35.130 And I feel that church is boring. 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:37.660 What if heaven is like church? 00:14:39.020 --> 00:14:40.740 I mean, what am I going to do about that? 00:14:42.260 --> 00:14:48.980 Well, and I just want to say this to you this morning, if you grew up in boring church, heaven is not like that. 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:49.340 Okay. 00:14:50.020 --> 00:14:55.620 When you read the stories about God, you see these miraculous things taking place as Jesus walked the earth. 00:14:55.640 --> 00:15:01.980 And when you read the stories about heaven, Isaiah chapter six just it's like it's like better than any rock star concert you had. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:09.260 If you read the passage of Scripture, it tells us in Isaiah six that around Jesus's throne are seraphim, which means angels of fire, better than any pyro 00:15:09.260 --> 00:15:11.560 job you've seen at some kiss concert or something. 00:15:11.680 --> 00:15:13.960 It's just lighting around his throne. 00:15:13.980 --> 00:15:17.960 These angels, seraphim, mean angels that are burning and they're crying out holy. 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:20.330 And the foundation of the ground shakes. 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:20.540 And. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:22.220 And the smoke fills the temple. 00:15:24.260 --> 00:15:24.940 I mean, it is glorious. 00:15:25.420 --> 00:15:25.700 It is breathtaking. 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:27.500 It's captivating. 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:32.500 In fact, Isaiah's response when he saw it as a sinful man was, woe is me, for I am a dead man. 00:15:32.540 --> 00:15:35.750 For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of glory. 00:15:38.020 --> 00:15:44.120 He looked at that image in his unglorified state and thought, I am just unworthy for this. 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:47.160 Heaven has incredible. 00:15:49.540 --> 00:15:56.580 Some of us have asked various questions about the thoughts of Heaven, and I'm just going to as I explain this, I'm going to give us a little 00:15:56.580 --> 00:16:03.640 backdrop, as Scripture describes to us, this thinking of afterlife as the terminologies used within the 00:16:03.720 --> 00:16:11.200 Bible when you read about the afterlife and any concept, whether it be heaven and hell or Abraham's bosom or Sheol. 00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:13.360 I just want to explain what some of those words are. 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:18.720 If you're just hearing Sheol and Abraham's bosom for the first time, well, welcome to the two words of the Bible. 00:16:19.160 --> 00:16:22.740 When the Bible talks about Sheol, sometimes we mistakenly identify it for hell. 00:16:22.780 --> 00:16:28.050 But when it describes Sheol, it's an Old Testament word for a holding place. 00:16:28.380 --> 00:16:33.460 And the word literally means the place of the dead or the place of the departed. 00:16:34.560 --> 00:16:37.220 So there's Sheol discussed in the Old Testament. 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:38.810 It overlaps some into the New Testament. 00:16:39.280 --> 00:16:41.190 And there's also this thought of Hades. 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:46.660 Hades is actually the Greek word for Sheol, Hebrew Old Testament word. 00:16:47.300 --> 00:16:55.000 And so those words are interchanged in Scripture, when you talk about someone passing on into Sheol, sometimes 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.400 in Scripture refers to as falling asleep. 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:00.670 Now some sometimes when you read the word falling asleep, they fell asleep. 00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:03.440 Other times they fell asleep into eternity. 00:17:04.140 --> 00:17:10.359 And so it's important to recognize that falling asleep also means they they've passed or they've ceased. 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:11.000 They've died. 00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:16.079 Sheol, when it's described in the Bible, has both a good side and a bad side. 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:22.220 In the Old Testament, those who put their faith in Christ went to what's called Abraham's bosom. 00:17:22.220 --> 00:17:23.619 That's called the good side. 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:30.240 If you want to read about it in Scripture, you find it in Luke 16, Luke 16 and verse 22. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:33.180 It says, talking about the rich man and poor man, Lazarus and the poor man. 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:37.530 That gives a description, starting in verse 19 of their lives, the rich man lived a glorious life. 00:17:37.660 --> 00:17:39.720 Lazarus lived a very humble life. 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:40.670 He had sores all over his body. 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:41.580 People ignored him. 00:17:41.800 --> 00:17:43.240 The rich man was very popular in life. 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:46.080 Lazarus put his faith in Christ and hope in heaven to come. 00:17:46.280 --> 00:17:52.060 The rich man was only concerned with the life that he had, and it writes about the rest of their lives as they went on into eternity. 00:17:52.080 --> 00:17:56.320 It says, now the poor man died, and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. 00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:59.820 And the rich man also died, and was buried in Hades. 00:17:59.820 --> 00:18:04.140 He lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 00:18:04.820 --> 00:18:11.960 And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, 00:18:12.020 --> 00:18:13.320 for I am in agony in the flame. 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:19.100 But Abraham said, child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things. 00:18:19.360 --> 00:18:22.830 But now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 00:18:23.320 --> 00:18:30.480 And besides all this, between us and you, there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, 00:18:30.820 --> 00:18:33.700 and that none may cross over from there to us. 00:18:34.300 --> 00:18:38.340 And he said, then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:45.300 The rich man begins to beg to send someone to his father's house to talk to his family about the importance of eternity. 00:18:46.560 --> 00:18:49.930 But the picture for us is this it describes Sheol or Hades. 00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:53.840 It's this holding ground of those that have departed from earth. 00:18:54.360 --> 00:18:56.780 And the good side is Abraham's bosom. 00:18:58.400 --> 00:18:58.580 The. 00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:06.340 Some people will ask, when Jesus have had has passed, when he was on the cross, did Jesus go to hell 00:19:06.340 --> 00:19:09.060 for the three days that he was on the cross? 00:19:09.080 --> 00:19:16.280 And I want to let you know this morning that is a false assumption, I think, that arose out of the 12th century when it talks about Jesus 00:19:16.580 --> 00:19:21.260 after he was crucified on the cross, the Bible is very clear and sharing with us what took place. 00:19:21.320 --> 00:19:22.680 There's two passages on this. 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:23.680 One is Ephesians four. 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:25.600 It's in your notes, the others first Peter three. 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:26.900 And so it says this about Jesus. 00:19:27.540 --> 00:19:35.220 For Christ also died for sins once for all the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:42.020 the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits, now in prison. 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:46.740 So it's recognizing this in Ephesians four it says, he leaves captives free. 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:49.300 In first Peter three it says he gave some sort of declaration. 00:19:49.580 --> 00:19:52.040 So the thought is this Jesus didn't go to hell. 00:19:52.100 --> 00:19:53.950 Hell's different than Hades shield. 00:19:54.280 --> 00:19:56.040 Jesus went to Hades or Sheol. 00:19:56.280 --> 00:19:58.220 And what happens when Jesus went to Hades and shield? 00:19:58.220 --> 00:20:00.690 The Bible refers to Jesus as the first fruits of the resurrection. 00:20:01.600 --> 00:20:03.300 So he goes to Abraham's bosom. 00:20:03.300 --> 00:20:09.820 Those who had put their faith in the future coming of a messiah, and he leads them free, meaning he takes them to heaven, Jesus becoming the first fruits of that. 00:20:10.080 --> 00:20:14.900 And those in Abraham's bosom go along with him, those that remained in Hades. 00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:18.780 Jesus went and pronounced judgment on them for rejecting him as the Messiah. 00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:21.740 And so Jesus never went to hell. 00:20:21.740 --> 00:20:22.680 The Bible doesn't say this. 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:24.160 He went there for three days. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:28.880 The Bible says that he went to Sheol, led the captives free, preached judgment on those who were left behind. 00:20:29.840 --> 00:20:35.320 In fact, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, he looked at the thief who was dying with him and said, this you will be with me this day. 00:20:35.340 --> 00:20:35.640 And where? 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:37.160 Paradise. 00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:44.760 So wherever Jesus went after the cross, we know that day he was in Paradise. 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:46.000 So what is Paradise? 00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:47.120 I'm glad you asked. 00:20:48.300 --> 00:20:50.220 Paradise is heaven. 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:53.400 The Bible uses several passages of Scripture. 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:55.500 Revelation two seven is one of those. 00:20:55.500 --> 00:21:01.400 Jesus in Luke 2343 is one of those where Paradise and heaven are used simultaneously. 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:06.100 Paul is talking about in Second Corinthians chapter 12, his appearance to the celestial kingdom. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:14.000 In verse two he says, as I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago caught up to the third heaven, it's the celestial kingdom, whether it was in 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:15.960 body or out of the body, I do not know. 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:16.460 God knows. 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:19.660 I was caught up to Paradise. 00:21:20.660 --> 00:21:26.880 Paul's referring to Paradise as the same terms that he uses for the celestial kingdom. 00:21:28.300 --> 00:21:30.330 The last thought is this is one of Sharon terminology. 00:21:31.020 --> 00:21:33.930 Is the idea of I don't have it up here for you? 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:37.800 Is the idea of Gehenna or hell or the lake of fire. 00:21:38.760 --> 00:21:45.820 Jesus, when he was walking the earth, would commonly try to use some some earthly setting to describe some spiritual teaching. 00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:51.240 One of the things that he used was this thought of hell, what is hell going to be like? 00:21:52.140 --> 00:21:54.280 Jesus would use this term called Gehenna. 00:21:55.320 --> 00:21:57.040 Gehenna was a place of torment. 00:21:57.360 --> 00:22:00.700 Gehenna was an actual place that existed in Israel's history. 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:07.300 It began as a place of pagan idol worship, where, false worship and sacrifices of human life took place. 00:22:07.380 --> 00:22:11.100 That ended up being a trash dump for the city where it was always burning. 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:13.360 If someone died, no one knew who they were. 00:22:13.360 --> 00:22:13.790 They were homeless. 00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:21.080 No one cared for whoever it was that died, people that were crucified, they would just heap into this place called Gehenna and their bodies would just lay there. 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:29.580 And so when Jesus was talking about hell to us and he's trying to create this picture, he describes it as Gehenna 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:36.640 in revelation chapter 20 and verse 11, it says that Sheol or Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire or hell. 00:22:38.410 --> 00:22:43.940 And so those are some terminologies when you read about in Scripture to understand what is discussed. 00:22:44.020 --> 00:22:46.350 But one of the questions that we also had was dealing with angels. 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:47.450 What about angels? 00:22:47.760 --> 00:22:54.760 Will we be like angels when it comes to Matthew chapter 22 and verse 30, this is the only passage that says, in some degree we are 00:22:54.760 --> 00:22:55.440 like the angels. 00:22:56.120 --> 00:23:00.120 Just because this passage says you're like the angels doesn't mean you're like the angels in every way. 00:23:00.360 --> 00:23:02.720 In fact, it says, we're like the angels basically in this way. 00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:03.180 And that's it. 00:23:03.760 --> 00:23:06.740 So it says at the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 00:23:07.040 --> 00:23:09.480 They will be like the angels in heaven. 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:13.900 The reason we make a distinction between humans and angels is because they're not the same. 00:23:14.820 --> 00:23:15.900 Angels were created beings. 00:23:16.040 --> 00:23:23.020 When angels are seen as being created, they aren't seen as being procreated, which means when God made angels, he made each one distinct and unique. 00:23:24.100 --> 00:23:26.270 When God made us, he made man and woman, and we Procreated. 00:23:27.540 --> 00:23:31.420 When you read about angels and Ezekiel chapter one, they seem a little a little freaky. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:32.820 I don't know if that's a good word, but. 00:23:33.300 --> 00:23:39.860 But they have strange faces, like, you see the body of maybe of a human being, and then all of a sudden it's got wings and it's got the head of an animal. 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:45.860 And so angels are separate creatures than than human beings. 00:23:45.880 --> 00:23:47.020 Some of them look like humans. 00:23:47.260 --> 00:23:54.420 When angels walked around in Sodom and Gomorrah before its destruction in Genesis 19, they represented a human look. 00:23:54.620 --> 00:23:58.970 And in revelation four they represent an animal like look. 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:02.820 some of them have wings, some of them don't have wings. 00:24:02.820 --> 00:24:03.700 Isaiah chapter six. 00:24:03.840 --> 00:24:04.640 They're covered in wings. 00:24:04.980 --> 00:24:08.180 And when they come to Sodom and Gomorrah, they're not described as having wings. 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:15.360 When you read about the birth account of Jesus in the Gospels, it says that the angels ascended into heaven, maybe leaving the thought that they 00:24:15.360 --> 00:24:17.990 flew with some wings. 00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:20.980 angels have wings. 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:25.320 Humans in their resurrected form aren't described as having wings, making us distinct from them. 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:32.720 In Hebrews chapter one and verse 14, it says, those who are in Christ actually have guardian angels that look over them in this 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:33.100 earth. 00:24:34.940 --> 00:24:36.160 Angels set aside. 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:37.340 What about three heavens? 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:40.180 And I'll just give you a little bit more information and move on from this. 00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:46.560 But three heavens refer to describe that there are three heavens that we might end up in, into, in life. 00:24:46.560 --> 00:24:51.600 When we just read the passage from the Apostle Paul in second Corinthians 12, it talked about three heavens. 00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:53.880 Or are there three heavens where we go to? 00:24:54.020 --> 00:25:01.200 I say in the very beginning, know Jesus talks about the celestial kingdom for people who put their faith in him, and you live 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:01.920 there for eternity. 00:25:01.980 --> 00:25:04.240 I'll give you some verses on that in just a second. 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:10.360 In John 14, Jesus said, in my father's house are many mansions. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:12.480 If it were not so, I would have told you. 00:25:13.880 --> 00:25:18.120 Behold, I go to prepare a place for you, that where you are there, where I am, there you may be also. 00:25:18.740 --> 00:25:20.160 If it were not so, I would have told you. 00:25:20.320 --> 00:25:21.720 But behold, I go to prepare a place for you. 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:23.160 That where I am, there you may be. 00:25:24.340 --> 00:25:25.160 In John 14. 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:33.540 Jesus desire in that passage, he's describing the church as his bride, and he's saying to his bride, bride, I want you in my presence. 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:42.420 When we talk about the third heaven, the reason that Paul talks about the third heaven in that passage of Scripture is that Paul is clarifying for 00:25:42.420 --> 00:25:45.400 us what he is referring to in reference to heaven. 00:25:46.020 --> 00:25:53.320 And the reason that Paul is doing that is ancient Hebrew traditions as well as other cultures during that time and previous to Paul's writing, would often 00:25:53.320 --> 00:25:57.580 describe layers of heaven meaning in Scripture. 00:25:57.620 --> 00:26:01.120 They would refer to the place where the birds flew and the rains came as the first heaven. 00:26:01.140 --> 00:26:08.540 The sky was referred to in their literature as the first heaven, the place where the stars dwelt that we couldn't reach or couldn't see, but the twinkling 00:26:08.540 --> 00:26:09.460 in the sky. 00:26:09.860 --> 00:26:14.640 That was the second heaven, the sun, the moon and the stars, the outer space, the second heaven. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:16.060 But the place where God dwells. 00:26:16.060 --> 00:26:17.940 The spiritual place that we can't see. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.760 That's the third heaven. 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.940 That's the celestial kingdom. 00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:26.580 That's where those in Christ will be all together as one family. 00:26:28.180 --> 00:26:29.710 Verses for that are on the screen. 00:26:30.580 --> 00:26:31.600 Isaiah 55. 00:26:31.600 --> 00:26:33.700 The rains come down from the heavens or the sky. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:39.720 Genesis 116 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night. 00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:41.540 We call those them the moon and the sun. 00:26:41.540 --> 00:26:46.620 He made the stars also, and God placed them in the expanse of the heavens outer space. 00:26:48.040 --> 00:26:49.260 But then Paul clarifies. 00:26:50.840 --> 00:26:56.440 Because I want you to know, in Second Corinthians 12 he sang that I got to go to the presence of God. 00:26:57.840 --> 00:27:05.000 And I think the reason that Paul clarifies this in Second Corinthians chapter 12 is because Paul wants people to know how 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:07.080 precious this moment is, and that he actually went there. 00:27:07.100 --> 00:27:13.760 Meaning, when you read the Bible, there's only a couple of people who even discuss about being in the presence of God in the celestial kingdom. 00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:17.860 Just about three people within scripture describe this. 00:27:19.280 --> 00:27:23.160 And so when Paul is talking about heaven, he wants them to know he's just not talking about the atmosphere, the expanse, the outer space. 00:27:23.380 --> 00:27:24.540 He's talking about heaven. 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:33.100 And so he begins to describe what that celestial kingdom is like, and that we will be in the presence 00:27:33.100 --> 00:27:33.700 of God. 00:27:35.060 --> 00:27:38.780 Some have asked, are people aware of what happens on earth as we go to heaven? 00:27:38.980 --> 00:27:42.920 One of the passages people often use for that I don't have on screen is Hebrews chapter 12. 00:27:43.540 --> 00:27:46.200 We're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses in verse. 00:27:46.560 --> 00:27:51.210 In verse one it tells us, therefore it encourages us to run the race. 00:27:52.220 --> 00:27:59.620 Moses and Elijah at Jesus's transfiguration, come back to earth as if they had some awareness in heaven of what was taking place on earth to partake 00:27:59.620 --> 00:28:03.380 of Jesus's life as he gets ready to go to the cross. 00:28:05.080 --> 00:28:05.560 Angels. 00:28:05.560 --> 00:28:10.000 It tells us in first Peter chapter one and verse 12, long to look into the things that God is doing. 00:28:10.300 --> 00:28:13.080 So angels are aware of what's taking place on earth. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:19.640 I don't see any reason to not acknowledge the fact that there's the possibility of people knowing what's happening or taking place on Earth. 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:25.870 But here's the thing that we've always we get concerned with when we talk about the awareness of people, is that the prize of heaven is always Jesus. 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:30.420 And so what we don't want to get into, if you discuss things like that, is ancestral worship. 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:35.080 Meaning Jesus is capable of handling anything and all things in this world. 00:28:35.100 --> 00:28:35.360 He is. 00:28:35.800 --> 00:28:37.760 He is all powerful, all knowing. 00:28:37.760 --> 00:28:40.920 So our praise and worship and acknowledgement always goes to him. 00:28:42.280 --> 00:28:43.360 What is the structure of the family? 00:28:43.360 --> 00:28:47.580 Some people have asked the structure of how the family operates in the afterlife. 00:28:48.660 --> 00:28:52.140 And I will say, my picture of heaven is like one big family. 00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:54.580 If we're all in the celestial kingdom, we're all going together. 00:28:55.640 --> 00:29:00.740 In revelation seven it says this people want to know, Will I be able to recognize my family when I get there? 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:01.500 We have those relationships. 00:29:02.260 --> 00:29:09.280 Revelation seven nine says, A great multitude which no man could number out of all nations, and kindreds, and tongues, and people are there. 00:29:11.020 --> 00:29:18.080 There seems to be some awareness of earth and what took place on earth, and the ethnicity of people now 00:29:18.080 --> 00:29:20.300 being present in heaven, and us being aware of that. 00:29:21.140 --> 00:29:25.340 So whatever was taking place on earth, it looks like we continue that into eternity. 00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:33.860 And those relationships of multiple people groups we could at least recognize, allowing us maybe to draw conclusions that the family relationships 00:29:33.860 --> 00:29:35.340 that we have will be there. 00:29:35.360 --> 00:29:43.020 But the Bible describes that we will also be like angels in heaven, meaning we're neither given nor taken in marriage. 00:29:47.190 --> 00:29:49.860 We'll talk about rewards in heaven. 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:53.120 The Bible talks about all kinds of rewards. 00:29:53.560 --> 00:29:56.500 It mentions five crowns for the life of the believer. 00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:03.340 I don't see those as necessarily literal crowns, crowns of victory, crowns of rejoicing, crowns of righteousness, crown of life, the crown of glory. 00:30:03.900 --> 00:30:04.760 Those are five crowns. 00:30:04.760 --> 00:30:05.540 I've got one head. 00:30:05.860 --> 00:30:06.600 I can't wear all that. 00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:14.640 What I think that the Bible is talking about is the crown, is that when we get to eternity, there's one passage of scripture you can go to that maybe emphasize that it's a literal 00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:15.080 crown. 00:30:15.100 --> 00:30:18.840 It's in revelation five where the 24 elders lay down their crowns before the Lord. 00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:25.640 You have to get the 24 elders to be the church in that passage, in order to believe that we all get crowns. 00:30:26.580 --> 00:30:29.920 But I think the crowns that he's talking about is it's really in reference to wreaths. 00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:32.580 It's this life in God, this righteousness. 00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:40.180 We're clothed with, this victory, clothed with because of Jesus, this rejoicing that we're clothed with because of Jesus, this life that we're clothed 00:30:40.180 --> 00:30:42.220 with, because of Jesus. 00:30:44.520 --> 00:30:45.840 And when we get there to heaven. 00:30:47.540 --> 00:30:48.500 What will we do all day? 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:54.430 Bible describes many things I couldn't even get to with you. 00:30:54.900 --> 00:30:58.320 Take all the time this morning to describe everything that we do in heaven. 00:30:58.340 --> 00:30:59.450 But let me just share some of these thoughts. 00:31:00.800 --> 00:31:01.700 Revelation 22. 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:03.240 It tells us that we're serving our Lord. 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:11.340 In Matthew 25 it says, those who are faithful in a few things, he will make us ruler over many things. 00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:16.000 Meaning based on our faithfulness to God. 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:20.440 Now God gives us the opportunity to serve and rule with him in heaven. 00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:25.110 When you read about the Garden of Eden before the fall of Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve worked. 00:31:25.360 --> 00:31:26.440 They worked in a perfect world. 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:26.940 But they worked. 00:31:27.080 --> 00:31:27.940 They took care of things. 00:31:28.060 --> 00:31:30.430 They oversaw the land and they took care of the animals. 00:31:30.520 --> 00:31:31.080 But it was perfect. 00:31:31.380 --> 00:31:37.960 Now I hesitate to say we're going to work in heaven, because when you think about that with your job, if you don't like your job, that's not going to be very cool, right? 00:31:38.380 --> 00:31:44.020 But there's this perfect form of living with God and doing things of purpose with him. 00:31:44.300 --> 00:31:49.820 And in Psalm 1611 it says this in your presence is fullness of joy. 00:31:50.360 --> 00:31:53.690 In your right hand there are pleasures forever. 00:31:56.020 --> 00:32:03.100 Book of Revelation is often looked at as a worship book, and in chapter 15 and verse four it says that we will worship 00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:03.680 Christ forever. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:12.520 The glory of heaven just described to you a lot of information, right? 00:32:14.340 --> 00:32:20.420 Lot of information, but the thought of these things offers us hope and the glory that we have to come in Christ. 00:32:22.520 --> 00:32:24.360 What will heaven be like? 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:33.080 No matter how much we try to describe it or pack it into a sermon this morning, second Corinthians should be says this in chapter two 00:32:33.080 --> 00:32:33.840 and verse nine. 00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:41.100 No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who 00:32:41.100 --> 00:32:41.460 love him. 00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:48.460 God's got such a glorious plan for you that you couldn't even begin to imagine. 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.290 Scriptures describe it in Isaiah six, talked about this at the very beginning. 00:32:54.480 --> 00:33:01.620 It says, in the year that King Uzziah death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe just filling the heavens, and 00:33:01.620 --> 00:33:05.340 the seraphim, which means angels of fire stood above him, each having six wings. 00:33:05.340 --> 00:33:08.650 With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 00:33:09.120 --> 00:33:12.540 And one called out to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 00:33:12.900 --> 00:33:14.380 The whole earth is full of his glory. 00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:21.830 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out while the temple was filling with smoke. 00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:24.110 Bring your earplugs. 00:33:24.620 --> 00:33:24.720 Right. 00:33:26.700 --> 00:33:30.920 We can't imagine this glory, but we read it as the Bible has described it. 00:33:32.100 --> 00:33:35.580 You know, one of the beautiful pictures I love about thinking about eternity. 00:33:35.720 --> 00:33:42.820 God will one day create a new heaven and new earth, the Bible tells us, and I love the way that Peter describes it for us, because you think 00:33:42.820 --> 00:33:44.900 about us as human beings. 00:33:45.540 --> 00:33:47.390 God doesn't just wipe you off and start over. 00:33:47.600 --> 00:33:49.120 God takes you and he redeems you. 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:51.300 God takes sin. 00:33:51.340 --> 00:33:52.730 Cursed body that will go through death. 00:33:52.940 --> 00:33:57.860 My spirit that's not connected to him but stands in death before him and God redeems it. 00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:03.290 God connects my spirit back to him, and when I'm resurrected from the grave, he makes my body new in him. 00:34:03.460 --> 00:34:03.560 God. 00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:08.659 God redeems me and we read about the new heavens and the new earth. 00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:10.659 When God recreates that, he's doing the same thing. 00:34:12.179 --> 00:34:13.679 So some some would say this. 00:34:13.699 --> 00:34:20.960 They describe God's need to recreate a new heaven and a new earth, that on the earth sin was came through Adam and Eve, and it cursed the earth. 00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:23.020 And so there needs to be a redemption of the earth. 00:34:23.020 --> 00:34:25.780 He doesn't destroy it, but he recreates it. 00:34:26.040 --> 00:34:29.679 When you talk about heaven, Lucifer falls from heaven. 00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:29.780 There. 00:34:30.060 --> 00:34:31.699 There was some something that took place. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:34.260 It looks like sin of some sort. 00:34:34.300 --> 00:34:41.600 And God is going to recreate the heavens in second Peter chapter three and verse ten. 00:34:41.659 --> 00:34:45.060 The passage says that it will be burnt up when you read it. 00:34:45.060 --> 00:34:52.120 In some translations it says, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will 00:34:52.120 --> 00:34:55.760 be destroyed with an intensity, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 00:34:56.639 --> 00:35:00.220 Some people read that and assume that God's going to just destroy the earth and start over. 00:35:01.520 --> 00:35:07.220 But the thought of the Greek language in this passage of Scripture doesn't describe being burnt up. 00:35:07.220 --> 00:35:09.520 It actually means being laid bare. 00:35:10.580 --> 00:35:17.800 I mean, God's just going to wipe wipe off the sinfulness of the earth, and he's going to redeem it or recreate the perfection he desires upon 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:17.900 it. 00:35:19.460 --> 00:35:21.800 And the same thing happens with verse 13. 00:35:22.040 --> 00:35:28.140 It says, but according to his promise, we are looking for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:33.340 And when you read the word new in the Bible, there's two Greek words for new. 00:35:33.340 --> 00:35:36.280 One means new in existence, and one means new in quality. 00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:39.620 When Peter describes this, he talks about new in quality. 00:35:41.180 --> 00:35:43.560 He is redeeming it for us. 00:35:45.460 --> 00:35:48.400 The Bible goes on and on and describes what heaven will be like. 00:35:48.520 --> 00:35:49.640 Revelation 21. 00:35:49.640 --> 00:35:56.740 If you want to read in verse ten, down to the end of the chapter describes a new Jerusalem that God is creating a city for all of 00:35:56.740 --> 00:35:59.360 us to dwell with him for eternity. 00:35:59.660 --> 00:36:05.600 It describes the city as having been made of precious stones with streets lined in gold. 00:36:05.680 --> 00:36:12.900 I'm going to try to take some streets lining gold and pearly gates and all those things described of just 00:36:13.140 --> 00:36:14.440 precious metals. 00:36:14.660 --> 00:36:15.860 I don't know what it's going to look like for us. 00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:17.520 It talks about this heaven just being enormous. 00:36:17.620 --> 00:36:19.660 Thousands of miles wide, long, tall. 00:36:19.660 --> 00:36:22.980 It's a perfect cube and it's got multiple levels to it. 00:36:23.020 --> 00:36:24.230 And I don't know how it's going to work. 00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:31.300 When we get there with our families, they're going to be like, they're going to walk by one day, and Jesus is preparing a place for you in John 14, and someone's going to see, like 00:36:31.300 --> 00:36:35.120 your last name and your family chiseled on the wall like walls, right there. 00:36:35.120 --> 00:36:37.580 And then somebody comes back and was like, oh, do you see the walls are moving? 00:36:37.720 --> 00:36:37.880 No. 00:36:37.900 --> 00:36:43.760 Or that they're on like one, two, three Peter Way, it's the blue sapphire house that's shining with diamond shutters. 00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:44.440 You can't miss it. 00:36:44.520 --> 00:36:45.660 It makes you blind when you go by. 00:36:45.980 --> 00:36:52.960 I don't I don't know how that's going to look, but it describes in revelation 21 this glorious place for us to live. 00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:58.080 No matter what we discuss about heaven, it's wonderful to see. 00:36:59.080 --> 00:37:00.100 It's wonderful to understand. 00:37:00.100 --> 00:37:01.960 But the most important thing for us is. 00:37:03.280 --> 00:37:03.780 Consider this. 00:37:03.780 --> 00:37:04.720 It offers us hope. 00:37:06.640 --> 00:37:07.990 A better life to come. 00:37:09.220 --> 00:37:11.400 Reminds us that we're going to be in the presence of Jesus. 00:37:13.220 --> 00:37:18.080 And no matter how much we try to conceive of it, we can never imagine just how good it's going to be. 00:37:19.400 --> 00:37:23.290 Even this morning, I could just say everything that I said is just sinful because it falls short. 00:37:25.200 --> 00:37:28.090 In no way could it ever compare to what Christ has to offer us. 00:37:29.940 --> 00:37:33.060 And the good thing is we've experienced enough goodness in this life. 00:37:34.500 --> 00:37:37.400 But we can think about even better things to come. 00:37:39.520 --> 00:37:45.880 The other day, I was driving down the road and it was, I think, the second of those series of rainstorms that we had here in Lehigh. 00:37:47.440 --> 00:37:52.010 And I grew up on the East Coast, where it rains like that every hour. 00:37:52.800 --> 00:37:54.350 A couple inches of rain a day is nothing. 00:37:55.540 --> 00:37:59.180 Thunderstorms when I travel back east always, always want the same thing. 00:37:59.970 --> 00:38:01.210 I want sweet tea and I want thunderstorms. 00:38:01.960 --> 00:38:02.240 I just want to. 00:38:02.500 --> 00:38:03.520 I just want to experience those things. 00:38:04.520 --> 00:38:07.460 And, I always check the weather as soon as I get back. 00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:08.660 Man, when is my thunderstorm coming? 00:38:09.060 --> 00:38:09.240 Right? 00:38:10.120 --> 00:38:17.780 And so I'm driving down the road, and we had one of those storms here, and I'm just driving down the road and my mind just starts to just think 00:38:17.780 --> 00:38:21.760 back at times where I was a kid, just experiencing those thunderstorms in the East Coast. 00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:26.880 I didn't get to do it this year, and I started thinking about this particular age where I was between 7 and 8. 00:38:27.880 --> 00:38:35.080 I grew up with a single mom who would work, and so my grandparents would watch me and some of my cousins and during that time period, 00:38:35.180 --> 00:38:42.180 my great grandmother had a stroke and my grandmother would take us and my grandfather, us kids to her house to help care for her 00:38:42.180 --> 00:38:42.860 during the day. 00:38:43.640 --> 00:38:45.130 And we would sit out and play. 00:38:45.260 --> 00:38:48.500 My great grandmother lived on a farm and my uncle lived right beside her on a farm. 00:38:49.020 --> 00:38:52.680 And there was this tree we learned to climb and this pond we learned to fish in. 00:38:53.340 --> 00:38:55.980 And she had this incredible front porch. 00:38:55.980 --> 00:38:58.080 And when it would start to rain, sometimes we'd play outside. 00:38:58.080 --> 00:39:05.160 But when the rainstorm got extremely bad and there was thunder, my grandmother playing a trick on us would always make us warm, sweet tea, and we 00:39:05.160 --> 00:39:12.300 would go sit on the front porch and we'd all sit on these rocking chairs, and we would just watch the storm pass by the static electricity so strong it'd 00:39:12.300 --> 00:39:13.400 make your arms stand up. 00:39:13.460 --> 00:39:16.300 And my grandpa would always come out as my grandma gave the sweet tea. 00:39:16.340 --> 00:39:20.570 And he had to have us look at these trees on the East coast that were well over 100ft tall. 00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:22.260 And the trees always did the same thing. 00:39:22.600 --> 00:39:27.200 Every every storm that came like that, they would they'd always begin to sag and they would flip over. 00:39:27.200 --> 00:39:30.080 And the bottom of a tree is a lighter color on the leaf. 00:39:30.640 --> 00:39:33.420 The aspen trees in Utah do this in rainstorms. 00:39:34.220 --> 00:39:35.460 And he would say, kids, do you see? 00:39:36.140 --> 00:39:36.830 Do you see that tree? 00:39:37.780 --> 00:39:39.780 And we'd say, yeah, we see the tree. 00:39:39.800 --> 00:39:46.320 And he would say, the tree is bowing down to God and worship and thanks for the rain and us as kids. 00:39:46.380 --> 00:39:50.180 We would look at that, drinking our sweet tea, watching this thunderstorm think, man, that is incredible. 00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:54.420 I'm driving down the road and I pull over because I'm having this thought. 00:39:54.420 --> 00:39:55.660 I got to the church parking lot. 00:39:55.660 --> 00:39:56.600 It's actually what happened. 00:39:56.600 --> 00:39:58.960 And I'm still imagining this, imagining this. 00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:01.660 And I thought, man, I would love just to go back to that moment. 00:40:02.740 --> 00:40:03.640 And then it dawns on me. 00:40:05.240 --> 00:40:06.530 I can never go back to that moment. 00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:10.760 Most people in that story are gone. 00:40:12.680 --> 00:40:14.760 That thought is just a memory. 00:40:17.420 --> 00:40:17.840 I've lost. 00:40:19.780 --> 00:40:24.560 And as much as I had joy of thinking about that, and in that moment, I was filled with heartache. 00:40:28.420 --> 00:40:29.000 How did I lose that? 00:40:31.520 --> 00:40:32.360 How do you get that back? 00:40:35.380 --> 00:40:39.680 Revelation chapter 21 Jesus gives us this thought. 00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:47.520 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth passed away. 00:40:47.620 --> 00:40:49.090 And there is no longer any sea. 00:40:49.120 --> 00:40:55.820 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 00:40:56.300 --> 00:41:03.340 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be 00:41:03.340 --> 00:41:05.760 his people, and God himself will be among them. 00:41:06.080 --> 00:41:13.290 And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death, and there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. 00:41:13.380 --> 00:41:15.760 The things have passed away. 00:41:18.220 --> 00:41:25.300 One of the things I remember about my family in those moments is I've lost a cousin from that story, and my grandparents, my grandfathers 00:41:25.340 --> 00:41:28.460 passed, my great grandmothers gone, my uncle who owned the farm, they're all gone. 00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:31.380 Those homes don't belong to anyone in our family anymore. 00:41:31.380 --> 00:41:34.200 I could even go back and visit them unless I look like some weirdo on someone's porch. 00:41:36.780 --> 00:41:37.900 But they had their faith in Christ. 00:41:41.140 --> 00:41:45.700 And we're not married or given in marriage in heaven, as Bible describes in Matthew 22 and verse 30. 00:41:45.740 --> 00:41:47.840 But the joy of those relationships I think we have. 00:41:49.780 --> 00:41:57.000 And just as revelation says, when we get into heaven, we see the multitude of people all in the celestial kingdom together, praising God 00:41:57.000 --> 00:41:59.220 of many tribes and tongues and languages. 00:41:59.600 --> 00:42:04.880 I think we'll all have the opportunity to relive in those relationships and those glorious moments that God has given us. 00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:12.080 But ultimately, in all those things, we give him praise because never again will I lose moments like that for the rest of 00:42:12.080 --> 00:42:12.900 eternity. 00:42:12.900 --> 00:42:15.080 It will rest secured in him. 00:42:18.700 --> 00:42:20.830 I don't know what you think about when you think about heaven. 00:42:24.820 --> 00:42:25.480 But my hope. 00:42:27.500 --> 00:42:31.770 Is that it brings you such thoughts of joy that you just can't wait to see your Savior. 00:42:33.620 --> 00:42:37.720 You can't wait to enjoy it with a multitude of people praising his name. 00:42:39.360 --> 00:42:45.840 No matter what good memory you have on this earth to know that it will fade, but in eternity it will last forever.