Sermon on Heaven

By Brian Pepper

A man was having a real struggle, he had been sick and somehow or other things had become serious. You know how it is. The rent has to be paid, the grocery bills have to be met. Everything seems to mount up and there seems to be no way around it. His wife did her best but she had the children to care for and she couldn't help very much. The children had only rags to wear, for long before now the clothes had worn thin. Somehow the struggled on. When the man was asked, "How did he do it? What spurred him on?"  He said the thing that kept him going was the thought of his children. They must have food and shelter. God is thinking of his children. He thinks of them night and day for the Scripture says that he that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. Yes he thinks of them and their interests in this world and He earnestly desires that they shall have a part in the world to come. This present world is like a fleeting shadow. We are here for a few brief years and then we are gone. But life to come is eternal, it is real and tangible.   Can Heaven be described? Our heavenly home will certainly be something worth while. But how can we describe the glories of that better land? For we read in the Bible that ear hath not heard, nor eye seen, or the mind ever imagined the wonderful things that God has prepared for those that love Him. There is one thing that we can be very sure of and that is heaven will not be a spirit world or a spook country. There is one thing of which we can be quite certain of and that is, we definitely will not be seated on cotton wool clouds strumming on celestial harps. Heaven will be one of the most substantial places in the universe.  We read in Philippians 3:20-21: "Our conversation is in Heaven: from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body."   Real, tangible people in heaven Our present bodies will be changed. They will be changed to resemble Jesus' glorious body or resurrected body.  Goodspeed in his modern translation of this text renders it thus: "He will make over our poor bodies to resemble his glorious body." In 1 John 3:2 it says: "When he shall appear, we shall be like him." Jesus' glorified or resurrected body was real.  It was not a spirit body. When Jesus met with His disciples after His resurrection, He made it very clear to His followers that He was a real, material being. He stated this fact positively in Luke 24:39: "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." When Jesus first appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, they were of the opinion that he was a spirit or a ghost. But Jesus immediately set about to make it clear that He was a live, tangible being. He not only told them that He had flesh and bones, but He asked them to verify this fact by handling Him. Thomas, who happened to be absent at the first appearance of Jesus among the disciples, refused to believe that Jesus had appeared to the disciples in person. However eight days afterward, when Jesus made His second appearance, Thomas was present and Jesus was determined that Thomas also should be persuaded that He was a real, material being.  He said to him: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing." (John 20:27) When Thomas reached out his hand, he found that the Master was actually there in person. He felt the riven side and the print of the nails in His hands.  Then he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God." Doubting Thomas established for himself and for all other doubters the certainly that Jesus Christ was resurrected bodily and that it was Jesus himself that he met in the upper chamber that day, not an immaterial spirit. And just as Jesus Christ was a real, tangible person who could be handled, so shall we be in the resurrection morning, for we shall be like Him. When we come forth from the grave, our vile body will be like unto His glorious resurrected body. And those who are alive and belong to Jesus at His coming will not see death, but will be changed into immortal beings. When the voice of Christ sounds in that great day, the Christians who are alive will immediately be changed from mortality to immortality. They will not die; they will be changed. And those who are changed from mortality to immortality in the twinkling of an eye will look the same as those who come up out of the grave when they hear the Master's voice. There is no difference between them. They will both be real, tangible, material beings who will be as real as Jesus was after His resurrection and as real as He is today.  And just as real as He will be when He returns in glory and is seen by every eye. Here is another thing, Christ ate food in his resurrected body.  We read in Luke 24:41-43: "While they yet believed not for joy, and wonder, He said unto them, have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb and he took it, and did eat before them." You will notice that Christ in His resurrected body both ate and drank, thus we can readily assume that we too in our resurrected bodies will do the same. Here is further proof in the statement of Jesus in Matthew 26:29: "I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." So you see, God's heaven will be a very real place with real people in it. It is spoken of as a place where houses will be built and crops harvested. We will be busy in heaven In Isaiah 65:17,21 we read: "Behold I create new heavens and a new Earth. ...They shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." You and I will be busy people. We will be building homes of our own and what homes they will be, with unlimited time at our disposal, we can take our time and make something that is really grand. I have tasted some lovely grapes in my time but the very best will be as nothing in comparison to the luscious grapes of the Earth made new. Will we know others in heaven? There is one thing that is uppermost in many peoples' minds when they think about heaven, and that is whether in heaven we will recognize the relatives and friends whom we have known in our life on Earth. There is a statement made by the apostle Paul which indicates that we will know one another in Heaven. In 1 Corinthians 13:12 we are told: "Now I know in part: but then shall I know even as also I am known."  Paul says "of course we will know each other". What about infants in heaven? There is one question that mothers are fond of asking, and that is: "Will our children grow up in heaven, or will those that die as infants always remain babies?" We are assured that the babies will grow up. For in Isaiah 65:20 says: "There shall be no more thence an infant of days." And Malachi 4:2 says: "Ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." So you can see that children will grow up. One of the pleasures that await fathers and mothers in heaven is to see the children grow up, whom with broken hearts and many tears they had laid in the grave. The angels will place them in our arms in the glorious resurrection morning and we shall see them grow up in an atmosphere of glory. That thought itself should spur us on, never to give up, but to struggle on to win the prize of immortal life and to join the loved ones on the banks of the river of life. Will we be tired in heaven? A woman on one occasion said to me, "I am afraid I would get tired of life if I knew I had to live forever." There is no such word as tired in the vocabulary of the better land.  The Bible says in Isaiah 40: "They shall run, and not faint." Their strength is continually renewed as "they shall mount up with wings as eagles." As Moffatt translates it, "they run and never weary, they walk and never faint." They resemble our heavenly Father, of whom it is said, "He never faints, never is weary." (Isaiah 40:28 Moffatt) Neither will heaven ever grow tiresome or monotonous, for every time you see Jesus there will be a new thrill of glory and wonder. He truly shall be called "Wonderful".  Heaven will never become commonplace. What about missing loved ones? But what about the ones that we hope to find there who are missing? Can we possibly enjoy heaven without them? Will our joys be dimmed when we become persuaded that they failed to be saved?  For a moment no doubt, there will be great anguish when we look for them in vain.  No doubt there will be deep pangs of sorrow and heartbreak. But Jesus will bind up the broken hearted and wipe the tears away.  For we read in Revelation 21:4: "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." We will never remember them again through all eternity: "The former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." (Isaiah 65:17) It would be impossible to enjoy heaven if we were constantly reminded of the lost. An eternity to chase your dreams However heaven will not be a lazy man's country. With a perfect mind in a perfect body, we shall constantly be so full of energy that we will always be eager to do something. We will not be content to sit on a cloud and sing hallelujah all the time. All the things that we have sighed to accomplish will be possible in that fullness of strength and better light. We will not be hurried, for we will have an eternity in which to bring to fruition our fondest dreams and our greatest ambitions. Why, here on Earth just when we have begun to appreciate the wonders that God has prepared for man's enjoyment, we come to the end of life. You take the artist, just when he sees the great and marvellous glories in his art, when he begins to master his technique, his hands begin to tremble and he is through with his life. The astronomer sits up night after night beholding the wonders of the starry heavens. He is so fascinated by the depths of the heavens and the glories that constantly beckon him on, that he forgets sleep and even food in his eagerness to delve even deeper into the mysteries of worlds and space. But his eyes grow dim; his frame shakes and trembles: and all too soon he is forced to give up. The businessman is all animation as he sees his affairs growing more and more prosperous and successful. The call of the office is so fascinating that he hardly takes time to eat his meals. Then suddenly the break comes and the journey's end is reached. It is astounding how many businessmen go off between fifty and sixty. Truly this life has many disappointments. We are just starting when the finishing bell sounds. But God is not unmindful of all the disappointments and heartaches of this present life; He has provided a way out.  By paying an enormous price, He has brought a complete solution to his apparently hopeless end of life. He has provided the very thing man needs to give him a happy outlook on life and to assure him of the fruition of his ambitions and hopes. If we were given an extension of an hundred years of our present life it would be generous, and we would be happy for the time and opportunities it would afford us to finish many tasks that must of necessity left undone for lack of time and strength. But God blesses us abundantly by giving us, not a hundred years, or a thousand years, but a life that measures with His own life. No more death Yes, we will have perfect minds in perfect bodies with aches and pains all gone. Heaven will be a place that death will never enter. No funerals, no farewell partings with swollen eyes and tear stained cheeks, will ever be seen in heaven. The aches that rock the body and the fears that distress and perplex the mind will have no place there. Of course it all sounds too good to be true, so consequently people shrug their shoulders and say, "Well I would like to believe it but,". I tell you the Devil likes that little word 'but'.  If he can through doubt and fear get people to disbelieve the reality of heaven, then he is content. If people believed that there was an insurance company that could forever perpetuate life in this world, it would be so crowded that there would not be police enough to keep people from breaking through the lines in their endeavour to reach the office.  Heaven will be true But God understands us perfectly. He is never taken by surprise. When he reveals to John the beloved the realities of heaven, He told him to assure people that it is really true that heaven is all and more then has ever been thought of it. In Revelation 21:5 after telling of the glories of heaven, John adds: "He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." I am so glad that heaven is true. Thank God for such a wonderful place. When Andrew Carnegie was eighty-two years of age, he offered to give his doctor a million dollars for each year he could prolong his life. But money cannot bribe the death angel. Not withstanding all Carnegie's wealth, death could not be stayed. This world holds out no hope when it is weighed up and taken unto consideration. How to obtain your passport to heaven But God provides a place where men can live forever with a perfect mind in a perfect body in a perfect world. And remember this, that the entrance into this beautiful country is not based on our financial standing, or our intellectual endowments, or our political accomplishments, but is free to all that really wish to become like the Master. In Revelation 21:27 we read of the class that will not be admitted: "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." And just what is required to get one's name in the Lamb's book of life is indicated in Revelation 22:14: "Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." If you feel the Spirit tugging at your heart, urging you to make sure of entering through the gates into the city of God, do not delay. Your passport into the heavenly country can be obtained right now, at this very moment. Your name can be registered upon the Book of Life just where you are. Ask the Lord Jesus to have your name inscribed upon the pages of the Book of Life. If you are willing to surrender your all to Him and follow in His footsteps, your name will immediately be written in letters of gold upon the white pages of the book of Life. Millions who have longed for heaven will never be there. It is not enough to be anxious about going to heaven. We must make a definite decision to have Jesus for our king in God's country. A man was lost in the mountains of Wales in deep fog.  For two nights and a day he wondered about trying to find his way back home. Finally tired and exhausted he gave up and sat down in despair in the gloom and darkness. Just as he felt that all hope of being saved was gone, he suddenly heard a voice saying: "I wonder if by any chance he could have come this way?"  Help was near at hand, coming out of the unseen.  At first he could not see the man who had been searching for him; he could only hear his voice. Soon however, the friend himself came into view. God is calling us home So God out of the unseen is calling us. To us He may seem to be far away off, but He is not far away.  We read in Acts 17:27: "They should seek the Lord , if haply they might feel after him, and find him, through he be not far from every one of us." We may not know how to find the way home, but God comes prepared to bring us safely home to heaven. Seated right where we are, let us bow our heads and ask the King of Glory to come into our hearts and make them His dwelling.