Heaven!

Heaven!

Part 1: “Longing for Heaven...!”
Part 2: “What Heaven will be like...!”
Part 3: “What we will be like in Heaven...!”

“Longing for Heaven!” (Part 1)

2 Cor 5:1-9; Phil 1:20-23

Introductory Thoughts:

·        Q: How many conversations did you have this past week about heaven...? This past month...?

·        Q: How many people asked you a question this week about heaven...? This past month...?

·        Q: How many times this week did you think about heaven...? This past month...?

·        Although we are now nearer to the return of Jesus as we have ever been in the history of the world, there seems to be a lack in people longing for heaven... especially in the West.

·        Many people believe that there is a heaven, and yet how many people would want to go there right now...?

·        Why are there a lack in people longing for heaven...?

▪ People aren’t saved...

▪ People are misinformed about heaven... think it is going to be boring...

▪ Many people, even Christians have to great an attachment to this material world that results in them not thinking rightly about heaven and not longing for heaven...!

John MacArthur: "Most Christians in wealthy Western cultures have things too good right here in this world. Most don’t really know what it is to long for heaven. We are in danger of becoming so comfortable in this life that we forget we are but strangers and pilgrims in this world... I often meet Christians who live as if heaven would be an unwelcome intrusion into their busy schedule – an interruption of their career goals or holiday plans... It is all too easy to become absorbed in temporal matters and neglect what is eternally important."

·        In contrast to this, Jesus teaches us in Matt 6:19-21...

·        Paul commands us in Col 3:1-2... We should have heaven constantly on our mind...

·        One writer: "Because the church doesn’t really have heaven on its mind, Christians tend to be self- indulgent, self-centred, weak, and materialistic."

·        We should have a greater longing for heaven up until the point where we are consumed with our longing for heaven...!

·        Paul is a great example of this – Phil 1:20-23; 2 Cor 5:1-9...

Teaching Points:

·        We want to look at five meditations on Heaven to increase our longing for Heaven:

1. The preciousness of Heaven...

·        In reality, everything that is truly precious to us as Christians, is in heaven...!

▪ The Father is there – Matt 6:9

▪ Jesus is there – Heb 9:24

▪ Many brothers and sisters in Christ are there – Heb 12:22-24

▪ Our names are recorded there – Luk 10:20

▪ Our inheritance is there – 1 Pet 1:3-4

▪ Our citizenship is in heaven – Phil 3:20

·        In other words, everything we should love everlastingly, everything that we rightly value, everything of any eternal worth is in heaven...!

·        Worldliness stands as the sin and hindrance that is causing us to become blinded and distracted from these precious things that is waiting for us in heaven...!

·        Worldliness is a love for earthly things, an esteem for earthly values, and a preoccupation with earthly cares. (cf. Jam 4:4; 1 Joh 2:15-17)

John MacArthur: "The hope and preciousness of heaven should fill us with a joy of anticipation that loosens any grip this transitory world might have on our hearts."

2. A worldview that Looks toward Heaven...

·        It may sound like a paradox to say this, but heaven should be at the centre of our worldview...!

·        A proper Christian worldview is uniquely focused heavenward.

·        Many people would maybe label this as having an "escapist" mentally where we use heaven to escape the reality that we are in.

·        But we are not using it to escape... we are simply obeying scripture... (Col 3:1-2)

·        Looking towards heaven, helps us to have a proper perspective on this life...!

·        2 Cor 4:16-18; Rom 8:18; 1 Pet 1:3-7

·        All these passages has the same teaching namely that we endure the sufferings of this world for the sake of heaven’s glory... Whatever we suffer in this life cannot be compared with the glory of the life to come...!

·        In other words, we do not set our minds on heaven to escape this world and reality, but rather to endure whatever we may go through in this temporal world, knowing that heaven is real and that it is eternal...!

·        This then also results in us not looking to make this world our paradise, knowing that this life is not it...!

·        We are not looking at this life here on earth to bring about our joy, peace or satisfaction...!

·        We hope in Jesus for much, much more...! (cf. 1 Cor 15:19)

3. A new building from God...

·        2 Cor 5:1-4 – when this earthly body comes to an end, we will receive a glorified body...!

·        Phil 3:20-21

·        When we have our new bodies, the presence of sin will be removed...! (cf. Rom 7:24)

·        We will also be healed from every and all ailments that we may experience in this life...

·        A glorified body alone is a great reason to fix all our hopes and affections on heaven...!

·        John MacArthur testifies about a lady he knows who where paralyzed as a youth... making appointments with her Christian friends to do all sort of fun things once they get their new bodies...!

·        She writes: "My assurance of heaven is so alive that I’ve been making dates with friends to do all sorts of fun tings once we get our new bodies... I don’t take these appointments lightly. I’m convinced these things will really happen."

·        In heaven we will receive a new body that is more solid and stable than this body here can ever be...!

4. No place like home...

·        2 Cor 5:5-8

·        We have received the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of what it to come, and what is to come is that we will be going home...!

·        This world is not our home... we are aliens and strangers in this world... we are pilgrims...

·        We do not feel comfortable in this world... more and more so...!

·        Home is where the heart is... God has our hearts and home is to be with Him...!

·        The great assurance is that we who are in Christ can be certain that we will come to our eternal home, for God Himself is our Shepherd who is leading us there...! (cf. Ps 23:5-6)

·        The story is told of a missionary couple who returned from the missions field at the same time that the president of the United States came to visit their home town... "We are not home yet...!"

·        May we long for heaven because that is our home... and we are almost home...!

5. The dwelling place of God...

·        Q: Where is heaven...?

·        The Bible speaks of three heavens.

·        First heaven is our atmosphere... Gen 1:6-8

·        Second heaven is the planetary heavens... Gen 1:14-17; Ps 19:1

·        Third heaven is where God dwells... 2 Cor 12:2

·        The other two heavens will pass away, but the third heaven is eternal and it exists outside of our universe...! This is where God dwells, where His throne resides, from where He rules all things...!

·        Isa 57:15; Ps 33:13-14; Matt 5:16; 16:17

·        God has a real dwelling place... that does not mean that God is confined to heaven or is even contained to heaven, but that there is a place which God calls His home and in due time, it will be our home as well...!

·        Heaven, in the end, is a place. It is a place where God dwells, the place where the elect will dwell with Him for all eternity, the heaven of heavens – the third heaven...!

Closing Thoughts:

·        In closing, how can we then grow in our longing for heaven?

·        We need to purge our hearts from worldliness.

·        We need to wean ourselves from the preoccupations of this life... what will matter for eternity, is what should matter to us now...!

·        We need to look ahead to eternity and live in the expectation of a sure and certain hope.

·        We need to look away from the mundane and temporal, fixing our eyes steadfastly on Him who is the glory and the centrepiece of heaven...!

·        Ultimately, to have a greater longing for heaven, is to have a greater longing to be with Jesus...!

·        It is to keep our eyes on Him...! (Heb 12:1-2)

·        It is to look back at the cross and remember what he has done for us...!

·        It is to look up and to know that He is in control...!

·        It is to look forward and to know that He is coming...!

·        May we long more for heaven...!

“What Heaven will be like...!” (Part 2)

Joh 14:1-3; Rev 4; 21; 22

Introductory Thoughts:

·        What a great joy to remember and celebrate the ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ...!

·        We read in Acts 1:6-11...

·        Jesus ascended into heaven and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father where He is reigning over everything, for all authority has been given to Him, and where He is interceding for us...!

·        These alone are great truths that should cause us to be greatly encouraged and have great hope and joy and it should cause us to worship our Lord and Saviour...!

·        Jesus is in control of everything that happens in our lives and He is interceding for us constantly with the Father so that we can have absolute assurance of our full and final salvation...!

·        But that is not all that Jesus is doing... there is something else that He is also doing as we are waiting for His return...

·        We read about this is Joh 14:1-3...

·        The context is that Jesus has just revealed in Joh 13 that one of the twelve is going to betray Him... that Peter, their leader, is going to deny Him... and that Jesus Himself will be going away...

·        And then He says this to them... Joh 14:1-3...

·        Jesus has ascended to go and prepare a place for His disciples... for His followers...!

·        And tonight we want to look and think Biblically about this place that Jesus has gone to prepare for us... we want to look at the theme: What Heaven will be like...!

·        From these verse we can already make three quick observations about heaven namely:

1. Heaven is big enough for all of God’s children...!

2. Heaven is a prepared place...! Jesus himself is preparing it... Can you imagine what it will look like if in six days He created all of creation and for almost two thousand years He is now preparing heaven...! What a glorious wonder it must be...!

3. Heaven is to be with Jesus...! Ray Pritchard: "The glory of heaven is not the streets of gold or the gates of pearl or the river of living water. The glory of heaven is JESUS. Wherever He is, that’s where heaven is."

·        Along with this, we also need to understand that heaven will be a place of unspeakable and unmeasurable joy and pleasure...!

·        Many people, as well as some uniformed Christians, have this idea and perspective that heaven is going to be boring...! They think that life here on earth is much more exciting and pleasurable than heaven...!

·        One writer comments on this wrong idea and says: "Our belief that Heaven will be boring betrays a heresy namely that God himself is boring. There’s no greater nonsense. Our desire for pleasure and the experience of joy come directly from God’s hand. He made our taste buds, adrenaline, and the nerve endings that convey pleasure to our brains. Likewise, our imaginations and capacity for joy were made by the God whom some then imagine is boring. Are we so arrogant as to imagine that human beings came up with the idea of having fun?"

·        David had the right perspective about heaven when he wrote in Ps 16:2, 5-6, 11...

·        The highest and chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever...! This end will be fulfilled in heaven...!

Teaching Points:

·        Building on these brief observations we will then look at three components of heaven to help us think more Biblically about What Heaven will be like...!

·        In order to do this, we will turn to the book of Revelation namely Rev 4, 21 and 22...

1. The breathtaking throne of God...! (Rev 4; 22:3)

·        At the centre of heaven right now and then also for all eternity in the final heaven that is to come, the throne of God is the focal point of it all...!

·        There is a throne in heaven and there is one sitting on the throne...!

·        John MacArthur: "The throne... is the hub of all heaven and the focal point of God’s presence. From the throne of God emanates all the glory of heaven."

·        The description that John gives us here is to implant in our minds the understanding that it is a breathtaking and awesome sight...! That it is beautiful and majestic and overwhelmingly awesome...!

·        John uses things that he has seen, namely precious jewels, to try and describe what He is seeing as he behold the throne of God... the throne of the almighty, sovereign, holy and glorious God...! (cf. v3)

·        He also describes what He experiences concerning the majesty and glory that is coming from the throne in verse 5...

·        This language and description is designed to inspire awe and fear... it speaks of an immeasurable glory, power and majesty...!

·        We find the reaction of the marvelous angelic beings and of the combined and completed church is to worship the one who is on the throne...!

·        Being in the glorious presence of the almighty God will bring about that all of our being and existence in heaven, namely all of our thoughts, words and actions will be done as acts of worship to God...!

·        We will experience the perfect reality of Rom 12:1 in heaven...!

·        Rev 22:3 – We will be perfect servants of God and we will worship Him...!

·        Q: What will heaven be like...?

·        It will be awesome and beautiful and glorious, beyond any physical sight we can even imagine now, and it will characterised by unbroken and constant worship...!

·        Q: Are you living in awe of God now and are you desiring and striving to worship Him...?

2. The new heaven and the new earth...! (Rev 21:1, 4-5)

·        These verses makes it clear that God will establish a new heaven and a new earth as He replaces the existing heaven and earth – referring to the creation of God that was marred by sin.

·        This is something that the Old Testament prophecy about – Ps 102:25-26; Isa 65:17; 66:22

·        The apostle Peter also wrote about this – 2 Pet 3:10, 13

·        After the final judgement, God will remake, recreate, restore, renew, regenerate the old creation so that it will be made new...!

·        But please note that it will be a new heaven and a new earth...!

·        This is referring to physical realities where it contains something familiar to us...!

·        It will be like the old heaven and earth concerning its reality and even design, but it will be of a different quality...! It will be new...!

·        John MacArthur: "The new heaven and earth, like our newness in Christ, will be glorified, free from sin’s curse, and eternal."

·        That is why Rev 21:4 mention the things that will be absent in the new heaven and earth – they are all because of the consequences of sin...!

·        The new heaven and earth, creation being restored and renewed, makes us think of Rom 8:20-22...

·        Wayne Grudem: "Though [this creation] have been marred and distorted with sin, God will not completely destroy the physical world (which would be an acknowledgement that sin had frustrated and defeated God’s purposes, but rather He will perfect the entire creation and bring it into harmony with the purposes for which He originally created it. Therefore we can expect that in the new heaven and new earth there will be a fully perfect earth that will once again be “very good”. And we can expect that we will have physical bodies that will once again be “very good” in God’s sight, and that we will function to fulfil the purposes for which he originally placed man on the earth."

·        The point is this: The new heaven and earth that God will remake, recreate, restore, renew, or regenerate, will be a physical heaven and earth...! For all eternity we will dwell on a physical earth with physical bodies in which we then will be able to enjoy God and His creation...!

·        Randy Alcorn: "God’s future plan of a renewed physical universe means we will live, eat and drink, laugh and play, rest and work, exercise our gifts as God’s image-bearers, and most importantly, be with, worship, and serve King Jesus... God plans to physically restore his entire creation, including us, the earth, and the animals."

·        That brings me to same facts about heaven that Randy Alcorn mentions, based on his in-depth study of the Scriptures concerning heaven, facts that might surprise you, as some of them surprised me...

1. We won't miss our old lives... – Have you ever bought an economy ticket for a flight, but because of overbooking, been upgraded to first class? Did you regret the upgrade? Did you spend your time wondering, What am I missing by not being in the back of the plane? The upgrade from Earth to heaven will be vastly superior to that from economy to first class. If we would miss something from our old lives, it would be available to us in heaven. Why? Because we will experience all God intends for us. He fashions us to want precisely what He will give us so what He gives us will be exactly what we want.

2. We won't become angels... – I'm often asked if people, particularly children, become angels when they die. The answer is no. Death is a relocation of the same person from one place to another. The place changes, but the person remains the same. The same person who becomes absent from his or her body becomes present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). We won't be angels but we'll be with them.

3. We won't be tempted... – Once I was asked if we will ever be tempted to turn our backs on Christ. The answer is no. What would tempt us? Innocence is the absence of something (sin), while righteousness is the presence of something (God's holiness). God will never withdraw His holiness from us; therefore, in heaven we cannot sin. We'll never forget the ugliness of sin, however. Having known death and life, we who experience life will never want to go back to death. We'll never be deceived into thinking God is withholding something good from us or that sin is in our best interests. We'll always know sin's costs. Every time we see the scarred hands of Jesus, we'll remember. We'll see sin as God does. It will be stripped of its illusions and will be utterly unappealing.

4. We will have work to do... – The idea of working in heaven is foreign to many people. Yet Scripture clearly teaches it. When God created Adam, he "took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Gen 2:15). Work was part of the original Eden. It was part of a perfect human life. God Himself is a worker. He didn't create the world and then retire. Jesus said, "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17). Jesus found great satisfaction in His work. "‘My food,' Jesus said, ‘is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work'" (John 4:34). We'll also have work to do, satisfying and enriching work that we can't wait to get back to, work that'll never be drudgery. God is the primary worker, and as His image-bearers, we're made to work. We create, accomplish, set goals and fulfil them—to God's glory.

5. We will still experience emotions... – In Scripture, God is said to enjoy, love, laugh, take delight and rejoice, as well as be angry, happy, jealous and glad. To be like God means to have and express emotions. Hence, we should expect that in heaven emotions will exist for God's glory and our good. We know that people in heaven have lots of feelings – all good ones. We're told of banquets, feasts and singing. People will laugh there (Luke 6:21). Will we cry in heaven? The Bible says, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain" (Rev 21:4). These are the tears of suffering over sin and death, the tears of oppressed people, the cries of the poor, the widow, the orphaned, the unborn and the persecuted. Such crying will be no more. We might, though, shed tears of joy. Can you imagine joy flooding your eyes as you meet Christ, for example, and as you're reunited with loved ones? I can.

6. We still won't know everything... – God alone is omniscient. When we die, we'll see things far more clearly, and we'll know much more than we know now. But we'll never know everything. In heaven we'll be flawless, but not knowing everything isn't a flaw. It's part of being finite. Righteous angels don't know everything, and they long to know more (1 Pet 1:12). They're flawless but finite. We should expect to long for greater knowledge, as angels do. And we'll spend eternity gaining the greater knowledge we'll seek.

7. We will recognize one another... – Scripture gives no indication of a memory wipe causing us not to recognize family and friends. Paul anticipated being with the Thessalonians in heaven, and it never occurred to him he wouldn't know them. In fact, if we wouldn't know our loved ones, the comfort of an afterlife reunion, taught in 1 Thess 4:14-18, would be no comfort at all. In heaven we probably won't fail to recognize an acquaintance in a crowd or forget people's names.

·        What a glorious hope we have, anticipating and waiting for the new heaven and earth...!

3. The Holy City – the new Jerusalem...! (Rev 21:2-3; 21:9-22:5)

·        Rev 21:2-3...

·        This has been maybe the most wonderful component of heaven to learn and think about...!

·        I understand and believe this to refer to a physical city that Jesus is preparing and that will one day be the dwelling place, the home of the inhabitants of heaven, of all the saints where we will dwell with God...!

·        This is the "place" that Jesus is preparing for us and that will one day come down from heaven to be on the new earth...!

·        Randy Alcorn: "After the final judgment, God will remake the universe itself and then relocate the present heaven to the new earth, where he will live with his people."

·        Heaven will come to earth...! The third heaven will enter into the new creation.

·        John MacArthur: "As John watches an entire city, magnificent in its glory, descends whole from heaven and becomes a part of the new earth. Heaven and earth are now one. The heavenly realm has moved its capital city intact to the new earth."

·        In Rev 22:9-21 we are then given a very specific description of this city, which convinces me it is a physical and literal city in which we will dwell...! This is going to be our eternal home...!

·        It is described as having twelve gates and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are on them... the gates themselves are made of one single pearl each, which means that these are huge pearls...

·        The wall of this city has twelve foundations on which is written the name of the twelve apostles...

·        But it is the dimensions of this city that is simply staggering...!

·        This city is said to be a cube with its length and width and height measuring the same namely 12,000 stadia which translates to 2,250 km...

·        That give a surface area of around 5 million square kilometres...! RSA is about 1,2 million square kilometres...! This means that this city will be more than four times the size of South Africa...

·        That is not to mention that it is 2,250 km in height as well, meaning that it comes to having a volume of 11,2 billion cubic kilometres...!

·        Q: Why is it a cube...?

·        Because the most holy of holies was a cube and that is where the presence of God was concentrated in the temple...!

·        John MacArthur: "The New Jerusalem is the Most Holy place for eternity..!"

·        That is why we then read in Rev 21:22-27... only God and the saints will dwell there...!

·        Please note: The gates will be open... there will be no security issues and we will not be confined to the city... It will be our home but we will be able to enter and leave the city, for we will have the entire universe to travel...!

·        And then in Rev 22:1-3 we read of the provison for food and drink that will be there... we will not need it, but God will give it for our enjoyment and fellowship...!

·        And then we read in Rev 22:3-5 the closing verses for this section about the Holy City...

·        This is the heaven of heaven, namely that we will see His face and that we will belong to Him and be able to have intimate fellowhip with Him...!

·        Wayne Grudem: "More important than all the physical beauty of the heavenly city, more important than the fellowship we will enjoy eternally with all God’s people from all nations and all periods of history, more important than our freedom from pain and sorrow and physical suffering, and more important than reigning over God’s kingdom, more important by far than any of these will be the fact that we will be in the presence of God and enjoying unhindered fellowship with Him."

·        This is what David longed for as he declared in Ps 27:4...

·        This is what Asaph was referring to in Ps 73:25-26...

·        God will dwell with us in the new Jerusalem...!

·        This is the Father’s house in which there are many rooms...!

Closing Thoughts:

·        Q: When Jesus comes, will you go with Him...?

·        Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people...!

·        It is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that prepares us for heaven...!

·        In Joh 14:4-6 we read..

·        Q: Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour...? Have your repented of your sins...? Do you love Jesus and long to be with Him...?

“What WE will be like in Heaven...!” (Part 3)

1 Joh 3:2; Phil 3:20-21; 1 Cor 15:35-49

Introductory Thoughts:

·        As we close our Ascension Day Mini Series on heaven tonight, we want to spend our time in thinking Biblically about this theme: What we will be like in Heaven...!

·        The short answer to this implied question can be summarized in two words: perfect & happy...!

·        In heaven we will experience the fulfilment of our highest and chief end as creatures made in the image of God namely: To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever...!

·        We will glorify God completely and continually when we are perfected...!

·        We will enjoy God completely and continually and that will make us happy...!

·        Those are two things that we haven’t experienced yet and even struggle to imagine namely being completely perfect and the experience of continual and consistent happiness...!

·        Yet, I believe that is what is waiting for us in heaven one day, when we will live in the Holy City, being heirs of the new heaven and earth as we dwell with God, living in His presence and worshipping at His throne..!

Teaching Points:

·        Tonight we want to look at five glorious realities that will be true of us in heaven:

1. Perfectly changed from the inside out...! (Rom 8:28-29; 2 Cor 3:18; 1 Joh 3:2)

·        One day in heaven, our salvation will be completed...! (1 Pet 1:3-5, 8-9)

·        Salvation is very often divided into these three components namely justification, sanctification and glorification.

·        Our salvation starts with being justified... as we place of faith in Jesus, we are declared not guilty and perfect in God’s sight based on the life and death of Jesus in our place. (cf. Rom 3:21-24) The result of our justification is that we are now free from the penalty of sin...! (cf. Joh 3:18; Rom 5:1; 8:1)

·        Our salvation is the further "worked out" as we are being sanctified... we are then made to become what we are in Jesus Christ. God in His grace will sanctify those whom he had justified. He will change them to become more like Jesus...! This is the great process that everyone of us who are in Christ are in right now...! (cf. 2 Cor 3:18) God is busy conforming us to the image of Jesus...! He is working in us to bring about this change and we must live lives of obedience with this aim of becoming more like Jesus...! (cf. Phil 2:12-13) Through our sanctification we are free from the power and pleasure of sin...! (cf. Rom 6:11-14)

·        The last component of our salvation is then that of glorification... when we are fully and finally changed to be like Jesus...! This will happen in an instant...! In the twinkling of an eye when Jesus returns and we see Him, face to face...! (cf. 1 Joh 3:2)

·        In that moment, our salvation will be perfected in that will be like Jesus...! We will be perfectly changed from the inside out to be like our Lord and Saviour...!

·        This is then what has been the plan of God from even before the beginning of our time, namely our perfect salvation...! (cf. Rom 8:28-30)

·        It is then at our glorification that we will be free from the presence of sin for all eternity...!

·        And that brings us to our second glorious reality namely...

2. A perfectly redeemed soul...! (Rom 7:18-24; Ps 16:1; 1 Cor 13:12-13; Luk 16:25; Matt 25:23)

·        The greatest struggle and frustration here on earth as we are awaiting our glorification is the struggle against our own flesh...namely the presence of sin that is still residing in our unredeemed human nature that we have because of the fall of man into sin...

·        Paul writes about this reality and the struggle that we have against our flesh in Rom 7:18-24.

·        This is one of the greatest glories that awaits us in heaven namely that complete absence of sin – in us and therefore in heaven...!

John MacArthur: "When people ask me what appeals to me about heaven, it isn’t the streets of transparent gold or gates of pearls; its the absence of sin. I’m tired of sin...!"

·        I can only but say amen to that...! I am so tired of myself... of my flesh and all the sin that I do in my thoughts, words and deeds... I am tired of myself...!

·        What a joy it is going to be to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and to be able to know Him and love Him and worship him with an unsinning heart, for we will have a perfectly redeemed soul...! Sin will for all eternity be gloriously absent from us...!

·        The result of this...?

John MacArthur: "There will be no temptation because the world, the flesh, and the devil will al be conspicuously absent. There will be no persecution, division, disunity, or hate. In heaven there will be no quarrels or disagreements. There will be no disappointments. Prayer, fasting, repentance, and confession of sin will cease because the need for them will cease. There will be no weeping because there will be nothing to make us sad. With sin and its effects erased forever, it will be a life of unimaginable blessing!"

·        In heaven our souls will know:

▪ Perfect pleasure – Ps 16:11

▪ Perfect knowledge – 1 Cor 13:12

▪ Perfect comfort – Luk 16:25

▪ Perfect love – 1 Cor 13:13

▪ Perfect joy – Matt 25:23

·        But it is not just our souls that will be perfected....

3. A perfectly glorified body...! (Phil 3:20-21; 1 Cor 15:35-49)

·        God has made humans body and soul together... at death they are separated for a time, but God will one day reunite every perfect redeemed soul with a perfectly glorified body...!

·        We read in Phil 3:20-21 this glorious truth...

·        We must firstly understand that our resurrection bodies will be our earthly bodies that has been resurrected and glorified...!

·        The bodies we receive in the resurrection will have the same qualities as the glorified resurrection body of Jesus. (cf. 1 Joh 3:2)

·        Christ’s resurrection body was the same body as before, not a whole new one – the tomb was empty...! The very same body that was crucified was raised – the wounds of the crucifixion was still visible...! Jesus could be touched and handled and He wasn’t merely a hologram or phantom of sorts... he looked and was human in every regard... He walked with some of His disciples and they never questioned His humanity... He ate real, earthly food with His disciples as well...!

·        Yet, His body had also had other wordly properties...! He could pass through solid walls...! He could appear in different forms so that His identity was not immediately revealed at times... He could suddenly appear out of nowhere...! And He could ascend directly into heaven in bodily form, with no adverse effect as he went through the atmosphere...!

·        Our bodies will be exactly like that...!

·        Paul deals with our glorified bodies at length in 1 Cor 15:35-49...

·        Note just these observations:

▪ Our bodies will be the same body, but of a different quality – it will be far more glorious...! (God is able to do this as He has designed all kinds of different "bodies" and "flesh" for all kinds of purposes...)

▪ Our new bodies will be imperishable... glorious... powerfull... spiritual...

▪ No more sickness and death... no more shame because of sin... no more frailty in temptation... no more limits to the time and space sphere...

▪ Again, Paul stresses that Jesus’ resurrection body is the prototype for our resurrection bodies... we will be like Him...!

John MacArthur: "So the best picture of what we’ll be like in heaven is the resurrection body of Jesus Christ. We will have a body fit for the full life of God to indwell and express itself forever. We’ll be able to eat but won’t need to. We will have bodies that can move at will through space and matter. Our bodies will be ageless and incorruptible, we will know nothing of pain, tears, sorrow, sickness, or death."

4. Perfect relationships...! (Matt 22:25-30; 1 Thess 4:16-18; Joh 17:20-22)

·        Our relationships that we had with one another here on earth will not cease in heaven, but they will be perfected...! We will love each other perfectly as Christ loves us...!

·        Joh 13:34 will be fulfilled in heaven...! I look so forward to that, because we, I, can make such a mess of relationships here on earth...!

·        One great question that lingers in our minds concerning our relationships in heaven is, how will a husband and wife relate to one another in heaven...?

·        We know that they will not be married in heaven – Matt 22:25-30

·        Why? Because the need and purpose for marriage will not exist anymore... all the reasons for marriage will not exist anymore... namely Here on earth man needs a helper, woman needs a protector and God has designed both to produce children. In heaven, glorified man will not need a helper... glorified woman will not need a protector... and the population heaven will be a fixed number...

·        But our companionship will not come to an end...!

John MacArthur: "You will enjoy an eternal companionship in heaven that is more perfect than any earthly partnership. The difference is that you will have such perfect relationships with every other person in heaven as well! If having such a deep relationship with your spouse here is so wonderful, imagine how glorious it will be to enjoy a perfect relationship with every human in the whole expanse of heaven – forever!"

·        Like we have mentioned now a few times in this series, we will be ale to recognize one another for all the redeemed will maintain their identity forever...! (Ex: Moses and Elijah on the mountain...) We will be able to have fellowship with one another and all the saints of old and those who are still to come...! (1 Thess 4:16-18)

·        And every one of these relationships will be perfect...! We will be perfectly one with one another as the Father and Son are perfectly one...! Jesus’ prayer in Joh 17:20-22 will be answered...!

5. Perfect fellowship with God...! (1 Joh 1:3; 1 Cor 1:9; Joh 17:24; Rev 22:3-4)

·        Our salvation here on earth brings about that we are in a relationship with God where we can have fellowship with Him – 1 Joh 1:3

·        This is then also why God saved us namely to have fellowship with His Son – 1 Cor 1:9

·        This is what it is to have eternal life - to know God; be in fellowship with Him – Joh 17:3

·        The issue is that in this life, sin always comes and hinders our intimacy with God...!

·        The joy of heaven – no more sin and therefore we can have perfect and unhindered fellowship with God permanently...!

·        This was and is the desire of Jesus – Joh 17:24

·        This is what should be our desire as well...!

·        The presence of Christ is what make heaven, heaven and the fact and reality that we can be in perfect fellowship with God is the very essence of heaven...!

·        We will be in the very presence of God – the triune God – and we will have complete access to Him, for He will dwell with us...! (cf. Rev 22:3-4)

Closing Thoughts:

·        So what will we be like in heaven...?

·        Perfect and happy... forever...!

·        For we will have the fulfilment and satisfaction of our deepest desire – to be with God...!

·        I hope that is your desire tonight...

·        Ps 27:4; 73:25-26