How Beautiful Heaven Must Be!

1. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be!

2. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be! • The picture of Biltmore Castle is used to help illustrate our study of Heaven. • We need to try to understand that in order for God to give us any clear glimpse of the grandeur of heaven He uses concepts, illustrations, pictures, things we would be familiar with, that we hold precious in order to describe the beauty and wonder of Heaven. • Our goal this morning is try to get a view, an understanding of what awaits the faithful Christian. • Sometimes we use Pictures to try to exemplify what we are trying to explain.

3. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be!“In my Father’s house there are many mansions…” John 14:2

4. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be!

5. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be!

6. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be! HEAVEN, Is there really such A Place called heaven? The Bible says that there is and if there is not - what are we all doing here TODAY in this service?

7. How Beautiful Heaven Must Be! The Bible Says that there is only one way to get to heaven Where the heavenly father dwells.

8. How Important of a Topic is Heaven? • God believes that this is a very important and practical topic. Over and over again heaven is the prize held out to all Christians, especially those who are suffering, struggling and laboring in difficult circumstances (Matthew 5:12 "for your reward in heaven is great";6:19-20 - Laying up treasures there ; Romans 2:7,10; 2 Corinthians 4:17 "an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison"). • The hope of eternal life is what kept many people going in past ages (Hebrews 11:10,16, 26, 35). Heaven is a great incentive for righteous living, resisting temptation, enduring any and all hardships which are necessary for the furtherance of the kingdom of God, and for rejoicing and remaining optimistic and cheerful in all circumstances, even in the face of death (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

9. How Important of a Topic is Heaven? • Paul writes- • "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,“ Ephesians 1:18 • God wants us to know all we can know about our eternal home and instill in us a desire to do whatever it takes to get there. WHY? -

10. IT IS OUR ANCHOR OF HOPE • It is WHERE WE WILL LIVE FOR ALL ETERNITY. • The hope of our calling is heaven, eternal life • Titus 1:2; “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,” • Colossians 1:5. “because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,”

11. This hope is viewed as an anchor of the soul Hebrews 6:18-19. “That by two immutable things, in which it [is] impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before [us]. 19. This we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the [Presence] behind the veil,” • Paul prays that the Christians in Ephesus would truly understand what God is wanting to give the faithful. If Christians really understood what God is offering, then we wouldn't try to walk as close to the line of sin as possible. Neither would we be careless and apathetic.

12. Far beyond whatever sacrifices we must make in this life, let us realize that being a Christian leads somewhere! • Let us look beyond the present to the future that God is wanting to share with us. If we are going to fantasize or day dream about something, then let us dream about heaven.

13. IT IS THE FINAL ABODE OF THE RIGHTEOUS! • Matthew 8:10-12"And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline at table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven;"

14. IT IS THE FINAL ABODE OF THE RIGHTEOUS! • While the above passages might have some applications to the kingdom of heaven here on earth (i.e. the church), verse 12 makes it clear that eternity is also in the context, the final abode of the righteous. • In Jesus' teaching, heaven is often pictured as a place of great joy. Of all things to which Jesus could have compared heaven to, He chose to compare it with a great feast. "The image of the kingdom is that of a vast hall for feasting and joy, all blazing with light"(Lenski p. 331). • Far from being cold, antiseptic or the silence of a monastery or library, heaven is pictured as a wonderful banquet, filled with happy quests, and filled with the warmth of friendship, like the warm glow that radiates from a happy home during the holidays. Jesus often compared the kingdom of heaven, which includes the church here and in eternity to a grand and lavish banquet.

15. IT IS THE FINAL ABODE OF THE RIGHTEOUS! • In Matthew 22:1-14, the comparison is to a wedding feast that a king gave for his son. "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast" (22:4). • Most of us have never even been to an earthly wedding of this magnitude. The common Jewish wedding was celebrated over a period of seven days. This royal wedding would go far beyond that. Once again, Jesus who came from heaven is trying to describe to us the wonder, magnificence, joy, splendor and abundance of heaven. • He selected a wedding feast which only a king could afford, in which he would lavish upon his guests the best of everything, from the best steaks to the best desserts.

16. IT IS THE FINAL ABODE OF THE RIGHTEOUS! • The type of feast and celebration in which no corners had been cut and no expense was spared. In light of such a wonderful invitation, it is truly amazing that some people can't seem to get excited about such an invite (22:5). • In the face of such a wonderful offer, some people would rather look at a piece of property or plow a field (Luke 14:16-19). • What sort of silly and mundane thing are we tempted to occupy ourselves with instead of accepting God's offer of eternal life?

17. IT IS THE FINAL ABODE OF THE RIGHTEOUS! • Can you imagine anyone wanting to plow a field or look at a piece of property instead of going to a lavish banquet? Can you imagine someone not wanting to bring his new bride to such a wonderful and festive feast? (Luke14:19,20) Instead, why didn't this newly married man say, "Honey, what luck! We have been invited to a lavish banquet. What a wonderful event to take place during our honeymoon!"Wouldn't you think that people would have considered themselves fortunate to even be invited in the first place? Jesus seems to be saying, "You just have to see this place!" • Then in the story of the prodigal son, heaven is also pictured as a place of great rejoicing (Luke 15:7). Long ago David had said, "In Thy presence is fulness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever" (Psalm 16:11)

18. IT IS THE FINAL ABODE OF THE RIGHTEOUS! • Points To Note: • 1. God doesn't view Christianity or eternal life as an invitation to "miss out" on the fun things in life. • God offers is an invitation to joy, warmth, happiness and more blessings that you can imagine. • Barclay notes, "It reminds us that the things which make men deaf to the invitation of Christ are not necessarily bad things in themselves. One man went to his estate; the other to his business. They did not go off on a wild carousal or an immoral adventure….It is very easy for a man to be so busy with the things of time that he forgets the things of eternity….If we refuse the invitation of Christ, some day our greatest pain will lie, not in the things we suffer, but in the realization of the precious things which we have missed, and of which we have cheated ourselves" (Matthew, pp. 295,296).

19. IT IS THE FINAL ABODE OF THE RIGHTEOUS! • 2. Far from being an uncomfortable place, heaven is viewed as a place in which the believer can relax and enjoy themselves. • Some may believe heaven is a place in which God is constantly scrutinizing us, and just waiting for us to slip up. Heaven isn't pictured as a stiff, stuffy and uncomfortable party in which you are afraid to touch anything. • Rather, the picture is that of God comforting us and putting us at ease. In all these verses God is pictured as a gracious host who encourages us to partake of what He is offering. I see the same picture in what is said concerning Lazarus when he died, "but now he is being comforted here" (Luke 16:25).

20. Revelation 14:13 "Blessed are the dead who died in the Lord from now on!" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them". * This same idea of rest is found in Hebrews 4:9-10 and 2 Thess. 1:7. "Rest" doesn't mean complete cessation, especially when we note the use of the word in Hebrews 4:10. Some people worry about whether heaven will be boring, or a place of eternal inactivity. When I look at these verses I see the word "rest" meaning that our labors on this earth are over, the period of testing and trial has been finished. * I believe that the comfort given to Lazarus was that his life of suffering, struggling, pain, discomfort, etc….was through. He had passed the test! "the soul now rests from life's competition, its toil, sorrow, pain, its mental anguish and especially its sin!" (The Bible On The Life Hereafter, William Hendriksen, p. 59).

21. REST! • Heaven will mean the release from all those things which seem to get under our mental and emotional skin. • How often do various thoughts eat away at your happiness or contentment? • You will be delivered from restless thoughts, rehashing the same thing over and over in your mind, dwelling on past mistakes, past regrets and lost opportunities. You will be finally delivered from sins of the mind, lust, envy, jealousy, anger, bitterness, resentment, self-pity, etc….Oh, how that will be a nice change! • "Rest" also seems to imply that eternal life with God will not be an awkward existence. Lest anyone worry about the question, "How do I act in the very presence of God?", the clear implication is that God makes the first move, and that God is a heavenly parent who will make all the saved feel extremely welcome, "Well done, good and faithful slave….enter into the joy of your master" (Matthew 25:21).

22. The Best Company • Jesus pictured the righteous as reclining at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Matthew 8:11). • Now and then famous people will be asked to make up a list of the 10 people in history, past or present to form the ideal dinner party. On most lists, Jesus of Nazareth is the first guest invited. • Heaven means being in the eternal company of the best people who ever lived. • Imagine the conversations! If you relish stimulating conversation, being around truly good and wonderful people, hearing exciting and intriguing stories, then just imagine hearing every detail of what happened in Egypt and the wilderness, from Moses himself! • The entire life of Adam and Eve!

23. The Best Company • The things which John said would fill books which the world itself could not contain (John 21:25). • Hebrews chapter 11 gives us a good look into the type of people that will be found in heaven, "men of whom the world was not worthy" (11:38). • Along the same line, in heaven there will be no more dealing with difficult people, "and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it" (Revelation 21:27).

24. The Best Company • Hendriksen notes, "This means that the chief obstacle to progress will have been completely removed. Neither sin nor the curse is able to dwell there at all. • Now it would seem that minds unobscured by sin will make better progress in knowledge than minds obscured by sin; that hearts no longer oppressed by the results of sin will advance more readily in inner delight than hearts that are thus oppressed" (p. 77). • This comment really should make us think: What is life like without sin or the desire to sin? What is the quality of life, contentment, meaning, purpose, etc…without sin? What thoughts could I think, what goals could I reach, if there wasn't any sin to get in the way?

25. The Best Company • Clearly, we will never become Divine ourselves, for we are created beings. • That mean that we won't continue to grow in knowledge, understanding, and similar qualities? • Heaven is truly a place in which all self-imposed obstacles have been removed. Just think of the possibilities! • A place where you can really reach your ultimate potential for goodness, happiness, righteousness, and so on! "but are like angels in heaven" (Matthew 22:30). Comments borrowed from Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church Of Christ

26. More Wonderful Considerations • 1). Heaven is a place of happiness -"God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).

27. More Wonderful Considerations • 2).In heaven God will dwell with man -"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God"(Revelation 21:3).

28. More Wonderful Considerations • 3). No sin will be allowed there - "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

29. More Wonderful Considerations • 4).No night there - "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof " (Revelation 21:23).

30. More Wonderful Considerations • 5).Heaven's New Jerusalem - is an unspeakable beauty, a city and streets of gold, gates of pearl, and precious stones (Revelation 21:10-21).

31. More Wonderful Considerations • 6).A righteous person or a true Christian (is someone who makes Jesus the Lord and Savior of their life) will go to heaven at death -"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord"(2 Corinthians 5:8).

32. More Wonderful Considerations • 7). Christians will live with Jesus in heaven -Jesus said, "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. 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” (John 14:2-3).

33. More Wonderful Considerations • 8). The reunion of Christian loved ones -"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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" • (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

34. More Wonderful Considerations • 9). A Christian's eternal inheritance - "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you"(1 Peter 1:4).

35. More Wonderful Considerations • 10). God's saints (Christians) will reign -And they shall reign forever and forever. • ( Revelation 22:3-5).

36. HOW DO WE GET THERE? • To be sure of eternal life in Heaven we must turn away from sin and let Jesus Christ rule and reign in our lives. He must become our Lord and Savior.1 John 2:3 says,"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments".If we truly know Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we will KEEP His commandments and our hearts desire will be to SERVE Him in any way we can. • The Christian life is to deny ourselves and to take up the cross on a daily basis.

37. HOW DO WE GET THERE? • It is far more important to store up treasures in heaven which is for eternity than to spend our whole lives storing up treasure here on earth that shortly fades away. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

38. HOW DO WE GET THERE? • To know Jesus Christ as our personal savior is a wonderful, fulfilling way to live this life. Happiness and joy comes when we look away from ourselves and look first to God and then to others. Our hope and peace is to look forward to spending all eternity with our precious Lord in heaven. "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him • (1 Corinthians 2:9) • WON’T IT BE WONDERFUL THERE?

39. What MUST You Do to Be Saved? • Hear The Word Of God Romans 10:17 • Believe His Word Mark 16:16, John 8:24 • Repent of your sins Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38 • Confess your belief Romans 10:10, Acts 8:37 • Be Baptized Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38 For the Remission of Your Sins Acts 22:16 Galatians 3:26, 27 • Live Faithfully Titus 2:11-14