“HOW important IS YOUR FUTURE? NO, I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT HERE ON EARTH, I’M TALKING ABOUT IN ETERNITY. MANY SIMPLY IGNORE THIS AND BELIEVE THERE IS NO ETERNITY, BUT MY FRIEND, THE BIBLE TELLS US DIFFERENT!”

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about the wonderful and marvelous truth – there is a heaven to come!..

…Of all the things man likes to speculate about, one of them is a place called Heaven. However, the only persons in a position to know such things are those who have been there or are its residents. However, they are not in any position to return to this life to tell us about it. The Bible makes this clear as we read in,

Heb 9:27 (NIV)  “…man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”

Actually in our fast paced world of the 21^st century, few today take the time to consider the possibility of life after death, and what it holds for us.  As a result, they live their lives with no thought of the consequences and possibilities of an endless tomorrow. In this life we often prepare for tomorrow by maintaining a savings account for a “rainy” day of life, or we invest in the stock market to put away funds for a happy and secure retirement. All worthy endeavors indeed, but what about tomorrow in eternity? What plans are we making for this which is surely greater and more important than anything in this life! Why? Simply because we live a short time here, but eternity is very, very long time. Well after our second pause for a musical refreshment, I’ll return with some Good News and positive thoughts about tomorrow you’ll not want to miss. So stay tuned for my message entitled: THE WONDERS OF HEAVEN…

…If one opens the Christian Bible and searches the pages from cover to cover, they will find much about the afterlife, especially a place called Heaven.  Actually, the Bible speaks of three “heavens,” right from the beginning when Moses wrote by divine inspiration,

Gen 1:1 (NIV)  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Now one of these is (1) ATMOSPHERIC HEAVEN, or earth’s atmosphere, called the “open firmament of heaven” in which “birds fly above the earth” (Genesis 1:20).  Another is the (2) CELESTIAL HEAVEN, which is a vast expanse of outer space  that houses the sun, moon and the stars and planets. Of this heaven the psalmist writes:

Psa 8:3-4 (NIV)  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

But still there is, another which is called the, (3) “THIRD HEAVEN”  (2 Cor. 12:2). This “Third Heaven” is also called the “heaven of heavens” (2 Chronicles 6:18; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 148:4). This is the actual dwelling place of God, the Heaven of God’s presence and the location of the throne of God. It was to this heaven that Jesus Christ ascended after His resurrection.

Mark 16:19 (NIV)  After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

Also, the Bible says it is the residence of God's elect angels. This place called Heaven, which God made, was created so that His creatures who love Him and are obedient to Him could live and fellowship with Him forever. Thus, the third heaven is a real place that exists somewhere outside the created universe. Although God is omnipresent and He exists everywhere, His special abode is in this “third heaven.”

In addition, the Bible tells us that this “Third Heaven” is where God sits enthroned and renders judgment (Gen. 19:24; Josh. 10:11). We also find that God’s blessings come from the Third Heaven as God looks down in love upon His people (Exo. 16:4; Deut. 26:15). Moreover, from this heaven we discover God comes down and hears our prayer (Ps. 20:6).

So today this “Third Heaven,” is what I want to examine. Let’s look at the Heaven of God’s abode now and see the wonders of it.

Now that we’ve established from the Bible that Heaven is a literal place of reality, which Jesus Himself affirmed in (John 14:2), we must ask: “who are its residents?” The Bible declares Heaven now contains all the saints of all ages! This was not always true, for prior to Christ’s death and resurrection, the Old Testament saints went to what was essentially a holding place called Hades, where a section of it was described by Jesus Himself as “Abraham’s Bosom,” (Luke 16:19-31). This was “heaven” for the saints till the Messiah would come and fully purchase their redemption promised long ago.  However, after Christ rose from the dead, God now calls all believers at death to go to the “third Heaven” (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:14). But what does Heaven hold for us in eternity that is the next question.

Now to answer that we must examine another place in future called the “New Jerusalem.”  We are told of this “city of heaven” in the book of Revelation chapter 21.

Here we find the final eternal abode for believers is described as “a new heaven and a new earth” (21:1). We’re told that the old heaven and old earth are burned and refashioned (2 Pet. 3:10) because the first and second heavens were stained by sin, being the domain of angelic and human rebellion against God. However, the redeemed believers of all ages we are told will inhabit this the “New Jerusalem,” a city of heaven.  Now I believe this “New Jerusalem” is the actual home Christ spoke of he was going to prepare for us (John 14:2), and also will be part of the heaven of the eternal state. Now, what’s Heaven like? John the apostle tells us first of all Heaven will be,

I. A PLACE OF ABSOLUTE JOY AND SATISFACTION – Although we suffer here on earth in heaven there will be no tears, no pain, no heartache. Only unending joy and satisfaction with life eternal!

Rev 21:4-5 (NIV)  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Secondly we discover that the eternal heaven, the abode of the saints will be,

II.  A PLACE OF ENDLESS FELLOWSHIP & REUNION – All of us long for and enjoy those times of the year when we can get together with family and friend to celebrate holidays. There are dinners, fellowship, fun times and events we participate in – Oh the joy of such occasions. Well we are told that those who get to heaven will be reunited with all their loved ones who were saved in this life, and likewise friends who died and went before them. From both the Old Testament and the New we discover there will be recognition and fellowship with all who are residents of God’s heaven. King David upon losing his son declared,

2 Sam 12:23 (NIV)  But now that he is dead… I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

Mat 8:11 (NIV)  I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Eph 3:15 (NIV)  from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

The Bible promises us when we get to heaven, we will be reunited with all who have gone before. Oaul writes in,

1 Th 4:17 (NIV)  “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

These and a host of other passages indicate the promise we will know and fellowship with our saved loved ones in Heaven. Yes, pure friendship and family ties begun here will be perfected in Heaven for all eternity. Heaven is therefore the Christian’s fatherland where we shall see our friends and family and know them intimately for eternity. No thirdly we discover that heaven will be,

III. A PLACE OF INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGE AND SATISFYING LABOR – I’m so tired of the false idea that when we get to heaven we’ll be sitting on a cloud strumming a harp for eternity. What nonsense! The Bible tells us a life without occupation is inconceivable. Heaven will be a place of intense activity, challenge, and rewarding satisfying labor. Jesus said in,

John 5:17 (NIV)  Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”

Heb 1:14 (NIV)  Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Rev 7:15 (NIV)  Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

1 Cor 13:9 (NIV)  “For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

That last verse tells us that when eternity arrives for the saint, we will have full knowledge and ability to know and learn. You see God is eternal and omniscient. In heaven we will be able to learn and comprehend everything God teaches us. Intellectually, the stimulus will go on for eternity since no one can exhaust God. Yes, what a joy it will be to serve Him and study Him forever and never tire of what wonders we will learn. But most of all, I discovered that heaven will be,

IV. A PLACE OF COMPLETE COMFORT AND REST  - We all look forward to vacation time, so we can do the things we please and to rest from the daily grind. How wonderful it is we are promised that when we reach heaven, the toil and strain of earthly labor will be gone! 

Rev 14:13 (NIV)  “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.””

Additionally, you know the older I get the more weary I become in the struggle for existence in our fallen world and humanity. First of all, I struggle with myself, that is my sinful nature. Yes, I am saved and I am eternally grateful, but I also realize that this life is at best a struggle. The great King Solomon wrote of sinful man’s frustration with life when he said,

Eccl 1:2 (NIV)  “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

Eccl 1:8 (NIV)  All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

Eccl 1:15 (NIV)  What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.

Eccl 2:11 (NIV)  Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

Yes, Solomon’s frustration with the sinful world in which we live without God, is meaningless! And, although life is a blessing and a joy in Christ, I find I long for eternity where I can rest from my labors in this life. For sure, as the body grows old, the aches and pains, the loss of good hearing, and the diminished eyesight and weakness takes its toll. But thanks be to God the best is yet ahead. Paul the apostle encouraged us when he said,

2 Cor 4:16 (NIV)  Therefore do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Yes, God promises us who are Christ’s own, that Heaven will be a place where no weariness or weakness or any debility will be experienced. Jesus said,

Mat 11:28-29 (NIV)  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Say, I’m ready for Heaven, are you? To be ready of course entails two important things. First of all, (1) everyone needs to be rightly related to God. No one is going to Heaven who has not had their sins forgiven and received a new heart and life to be equipped to live there. The Bible says we are all sinners, lost and dying with a dead spirit. In this fallen state we can live here and now, but not in God’s eternity called Heaven. To be ready we must be changed not at death but before. The Bible says,

Rom 3:23 (NIV)  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

John 6:47 (NIV)  I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.

Mat 25:46 (NIV)  “Then they [the unsaved sinners] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

If you truly want to experience God’s future promise and blessing it will not come through religious works and attendance, nor living a good life. It can only come through God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. The great news is we can all be a candidate for heaven because – JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS!

The Bible says Christ offers His sinless, perfect, infinite life to each of us who will reach out and receive Him as our God and Savior. This is GOOD NEWS that no one needs to be lost, or to miss eternity in Heaven with God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, if confess our sins, and call upon Jesus Christ to save us, the promise is God will accept us and equip us for heaven and life eternal. Friend are you genuinely saved from your sins? I’ve not asked you if you go to church, been baptized, live a good moral life or keep the law. I’m asking you if you have received Jesus Christ into your heart by surrender of your life to Him? If not, heaven will not be your home! The Bible says,

Rev 21:8 (NIV)  But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Rev 22:15 (NIV)  Outside [of heaven] are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

What John the apostle says here is that all those whose sins are “unforgiven,” cannot be granted entrance into God’s eternal kingdom. You see all those sins mentioned are just the outward expression of our lives. Indeed, murderers, idolaters, the immoral and others will be in heaven, only because their sins have been forgiven.

When I vacation in a new area, at times I like to visit the local cemeteries. That might sound morbid but hear me out. I do that to read the inscriptions on gravestones. Usually they clearly depict the life or emphasis of the one whose body lies in the dust there. One time I was completely overcome by what was written on one stone. In bold letters was one word – “FORGIVEN!” Oh it spoke volumes and told me all I needed to know about that soul who passed on. Yes he or she was forgiven! Heaven is the place of all those who are forgiven. Are you? If not, you will not be going to heaven but rather to the “other place called Hell,” which is a place that is essentially the absence of all that God is and does, and a place of no rest, no joy, no happiness or fulfillment. Moreover it will be a place of  terrible lost, suffering ,loneliness and darkness. Make your choice today – it will be worth it all now and for eternity!

I tell you my friend, I long for and look forward to the promise of heaven for the saints. I’m not worthy to go there, but my Savior is and He invited me to join Him there for eternity. Will you be there too? The only way to heaven and to receive forgiveness of all your sins once for all and forever -  is to go to the cross of Christ and lay your burden of life there. Look up into the face of your God and Savior, and receive His gift of love and heaven itself. That’s the joy that awaits all who know Christ and have received Him. The Bible says,

John 1:11-12 (NIV)  “He [Jesus Christ] came to that which was his own [Israel], but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”

May you be a part of God’s forever family and enter the promises of God for abundant life now and eternity to come.