Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
September 29, 2002 A.M.
Looking Forward To Heaven's Reward
Reading - Revelation 21.1-7, 22-27 and 22.1-5
I believe that God motivates us in three ways... THROUGH...
1. The fear of punishment... Jesus said... Fear not the one who can destroy the body... But fear the One who can destroy both body and soul in Hell.
2. The promise of reward...
3. And the amazing love he has and continues to lavish upon us. Paul says... The love of God compels us... Constrains us... Motivates us. This morning we want to consider the promised reward of heaven.
Jesus said..." Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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." I believe a proper understanding of Heaven should motivate all of us to make the necessary preparations to go.
HEAVEN IS GOD'S WORD FOR HOME.
Ecclesiastes 3.11 in our modern speech translations has Solomon saying that... God has placed eternity in the heart of all mankind.
God has placed a desire for home... heaven... A desire to live forever within each of us. Man has always held on to the hope of heaven... Something better than this life... A paradise existence that lasts forever. Why is that?... Because God has set life after life within the human heart. It is a sixth sense to us.
Some people argue that our hope of Heaven is a direct result of our Judao-Christian culture... This is not true... Even if one looks outside of our Judao-Christian heritage he finds this instinct... this longing in every major civilization. The Babylonian... Persian... and Egyptian cultures had a longing for life-after-life. I learned Friday that the Egyptians believed in life-after-life as early as 16 to 1800 B.C. The pyramids are ancient relics from this belief. Why did the Egyptians spend so much time and effort in these giant structures? Because God placed eternity in their hearts.
The early patriarchs believed that important people, like royalty and the rich, would live forever with those buried with them... Perhaps this is the reason Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Ishmael were all buried together in the cave at Machpelah... near Mamre.
The Greeks and Romans had a place in their culture for an eternal destiny.
Look at our American Indians... Even though removed from the ancient civilizations by two major oceans... Half a world away from the Asian, African and European cultures...Yet when our Pilgrim fathers arrived, they found a strong belief in life-after-life. Why was that audience?... Because God had placed eternity in their hearts. You see... This is the way He made us.
Our third point is that the concept of heaven is taught throughout scripture.
Examine with me some of the scriptures that affirm life-after-life is possible in heaven...
Job, one of the oldest books in the Bible, poses this question in rhetoric... If a man die will he live again?... Of course the answer is yes.
David speaks repeatedly of life being forever... Everlasting life. Psalm 21, 23, 121, & 123.
Daniel 12.2 says... Those asleep in the earth will awake, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt.
Jesus... In the great sheep and goat judgment of Matthew 25 states that some would be given everlasting punishment while others will be granted... (WHAT?)... Everlasting life.
In John 14, Jesus says... In my Father's house are many mansions. Jesus says... If you believe in God... You can believe in me. Then He says... If you believe in God... If you believe in Me, then you can believe in heaven.
Folk... If there is a God... If Jesus was a historical reality... Then we can believe there is...
- A heaven...
- A promised reward...
- A place in the Father's house... Prepared for the saved.
Peter believed in heaven... In I Peter 1.4 he speaks of... An inheritance... Incorruptible and undefiled that fades not away, reserved for us in heaven.
Paul, in II Corinthians 5:1 writes... For we know that if this earthly dwelling... This earthly house... This earthly tabernacle be dissolved we have a building of God, a house, a home not made with hands... Eternal... ETERNAL in the heavens.
You see... God has placed eternity... A home with Him... In our hearts, and promises this reward to all who will make the necessary preparations.
There is no doubt that the Bible teaches us... That beyond this life... Immediately beyond the grave, we will be resurrected either to...
- Eternal life in heaven or eternal condemnation in hell...
- Eternal joy or eternal torment.
We must know this morning that there are no other destinies, choices, or options... Only two possibilities... HEAVEN OR HELL.
For the remainder of our time, let's look at heaven and what it is like.
Now we must understand that describing heaven is tough. In fact... The entire concept of eternal life and what we can expect seems to defy verbal description. You see, we can't comprehend eternity... Because we have little to reference it to.
There are no mile posts... No handles we can get hold of. Time, in no way, really equates to eternity. It's like measuring the distance to a star in millimeters or inches.
Even when New Testament writers like John attempt to describe the joys of heaven, they fall far short... don't they?... Streets paved with pure gold, transparent as glass. Do you see the problem? Gold is not transparent--You can't see through your wedding band. John is tying to describe something beyond our imagination... Beyond our comprehension.
Jesus in John 14 says... In my Father's house are many mansions.
Does God live in a house?... Is our place in heaven a mansion? No!... Jesus is simply describing the grandest thing our human mind can comprehend. The Holy Spirit is attempting to communicate:
- Celestial...
- Spiritual...
- Heavenly...
Joys using a terrestrial... material... earth-bound language.
It may be taking things out of context... But the principle holds true when Paul says..."Eye has not seen... Ear has not heard... Neither has it entered into the mind of man what God has in store for us in heaven." Scripture lets us know that heaven is... Beyond our imagination... Beyond our comprehension. Describing heaven is a lot like describing love... Can you put into words how you feel toward...
- Your spouse...
- Our children...
- Grandkids...
- Or parents? Of course not... The same is true of heaven.
Let's examine how the Holy Spirit does it!... Ready?
FIRST... HEAVEN IS A CITY.
The Hebrews' writer... and John here in Revelation... Refer to heaven as a city. Abraham is said to have been searching for a city whose founder, creator, and maker is God. In Hebrews 12.22 heaven is referred to as the city of God. Our text says heaven is a holy city... A new Jerusalem.
YES... I understand that the new Jerusalem is symbolic of the church... But heaven is the church fully realized... Life in the church is only a shadow of what heaven will be like.
No!!... Heaven is not a city with Streets... Curbs... Gutters... Parks... Alleys... Multi-story buildings.
The idea from the Holy Spirit is a community of believers.
- Heaven is a fellowship of the redeemed.
- Heaven is a family of the saved.
The Holy Spirit is speaking of relationships... Not inanimate objects... Not things!
You see... Heaven is best described by relationships.
Let me ask you this... When our forefathers traveled west... Why did they settle in communities? Why is it that we live in a community?... Bella Vista... Bentonville... Rogers... Pineville
- For protection.
- For the services...
- For the provisions provided...
- For social fellowship... togetherness.
God created us for togetherness... One anotherness.
In heaven... The city of God... The omnipotent creator of the universe is our protector. The provisions include eternal life--Provided by the tree of life and the river of life. He is the LIGHT and LAMP of that city. The fellowship includes living with God and the saved of all ages. What a fellowship!!... What a community!!... What a city!! That's where I want to be... How about you?
SECONDLY... HEAVEN IS A HOME.
In John Chapter 14... Jesus says... Heaven is a home... A place in the Father's house. The Greek is mone (mon-ay')... A mansion... An abode... Literally the Greek means a dwelling place.
In John 14.23 this same word is translated abode in our King James Bibles. Jesus says... If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we... (The Father and I)... Will come to him and make our... (mone)... home... (our abode)... with him.
Now don't look for a two-story Cape Cod style house on the ocean... A rambling ranch style home... A log cabin in the woods... Or a penthouse apartment.
Here it is church.... Heaven is not a house... but a home. There is a world of difference... Isn't there?
When we move, we go house hunting. We want to know how well the house is built. So, we examine...
- The roof...
- We try the plumbing...
- Examine the foundation...
- We check the furnace... The heat pump. It's just a house... floor... ceiling... four walls... a roof. But we move in... paint... paper... put up pictures. The children and grandchildren come. At Thanksgiving the whole family is there... then Christmas... New Year's... Spring... Summer... Fall. Memories are made... Problems are solved... Joys shared. In time, the house becomes a home.
- Home is where our loved ones are...
- Home is where we are accepted as we are...
- At home... There is security...
- Home is a refuge.
- Home has a connotation of permanence.
God wants us to know that in heaven we will be at home. Always welcome... Always accepted... Because we're sons.
Look at our text... "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the tabernacle of God, the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.... They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."
Folk... That's home... A house not made with hands... Eternal in the heavens. At home with God... That's where I want to be... How about you?
HEAVEN IS A PLACE OF ETERNAL JOY AND HAPPINESS
In Matthew 25.21 Jesus said... "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness, come share in the joy of your Lord."
Sometimes heaven is best described by what is not going to be there. Look at our reading... Chapter 21... Verses 4 & 5
- He will wipe away our tears...
- There'll be no more sorrow...
- No more death...
- No more mourning...
- No more pain... Because the old order of things are passed away... Behold all things are made new. Indeed, heaven is a state of endless joy... peace... and happiness.
HEAVEN IS SINLESS.
Heaven is a place... a life... an economy... where sinning is over. This is symbolically represented by white robes. In heaven there will be no more sin... no guilt... no more shame. In heaven we will have a clean conscience... Made permanently clean by the blood of the lamb.
Church... We must know this morning that sin is responsible for all that's bad in this life...
- All the pain... sorrow... sadness...
- All our troubles... trials...
All of life's ugliness is the result of sin... Either our sin... Or the sin of others, going all the way back to Adam.
But in heaven there is...
- No more sin...
- No more remorse...
- No more regret...
- No more guilt.
We will be...
- Sinless...
- Shameless...
- Blameless...
FOREVER.
Truth will have set us absolutely free. There will be no sin, and no consequences of sin. Nothing... NO THING... No one impure or unclean will ever enter heaven's gate. Look at 21.27... "There shall by no means enter it anything that defiles... Or causes an abomination or a lie... But only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Sin and sinners will not be in heaven... Only those who have had their robes washed clean by the blood of the lamb. I want to be one of those... Don't you?... OF COURSE!
HEAVEN IS A PRESENCE WITH GOD.
Our text says... We will meet him face-to-face.... Chapter 22... Verse 4
I want you to think of the most awe inspiring sight you've ever seen... The Grand Canyon... The Tetons... The Painted Desert... The Royal Gorge... The Garden of the God's... The Redwood Forest of the Northwest... The Pacific at sunset... A beach on the Atlantic at sunrise.
Listen. if we gasp in awe at his creation, at his handiwork in this world, what will it be like to see him face-to-face. If we shudder in the shadow... Think about what will happen when we see the reality of God and what he has prepared for us in heaven.
INDEED!!... Eye has not seen... Neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has in store for us at home forever in heaven.
FINALLY... WE NOTE THAT HEAVEN IS ATTAINABLE.
Jesus said... "I go to prepare a place for you... I will come again... So that where I am there you may be also." Thomas said... "Lord... We don't know where you're going... How can we know the way?" Remember what Jesus said... "I am the way... I am the truth... I am the life... No man comes to the Father... except by Me." Peter says..."We can make our calling and election sure."
The Book of Revelation appears to be written to tell us that... HEAVEN IS FOR:
- Those whose names are in the lambs book of life.
- Those washed in the blood of the lamb.
- Those who keep on keeping on.
- Those who walk in the light as He is in the light.
Well, we began our lesson tonight by saying that heaven is God's word for home. We also have a saying in our generation that home is where the heart is.
In order to live in heaven we must pay the supreme price... Giving our heart to Jesus.
QUESTION!!... Where is your heart???
You see...
- We can't have our hearts firmly planted in this world... Die, and have our soul in His world.
- How we live is how we die.
- How we die is how we spend eternity.
Remember what Jesus said in John 14.23... "If anyone loves Me... He will keep My word... and My Father will love him... And We will come to him and make Our home with him." Jesus is saying... You give me a home... A place of abode in your heart... In this life... and I'll give you a HOME in my world... in heaven... in the Father's house.
QUESTION!... What commands of Jesus... What Biblical principles do we need to accept and obey tonight to insure us as place in the Father's house?
Perhaps we need to become a child of God by accepting Jesus for who He is--The Son of God, by accepting... His way... His truth... His life... As the only way to heaven. Jesus said... Unless you believe that I am He... You will die in your sins. He said... I tell you... Unless you repent... You too will perish. Jesus insisted that we must be willing to confess Him... If you confess Me before men, I will confess you before the Father in heaven... But if you deny Me, I will deny you.
Then, Jesus believed in genuine New Testament baptism. He said... Unless you be born again of water and Spirit... You cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven… He that believes and is baptized will be saved.
Perhaps others of us need to make something right with God, with the church family, or others.
Maybe we need the prayers of the church to help us maintain our salvation by walking in the light of God's truth.
Folk... There is no doubt that God has providentially extended our lives. Providentially brought us together one more time. Giving us one more chance. Another opportunity to make things right with Him, so that heaven can be our home.
Aren't HIS LOVE AND GRACE AMAZING?
Don't turn your back on what you know to be the truth... Make Jesus your way... Your truth... Your life... As we stand and sing this invitation song together...
Will you come!!
