Heaven, Hell and Everything In Between (part 8)

Father, we thank you for this morning, for just the beauty of your creation, for all that you have provided us, even just getting up this morning and being able to have breakfast, all the blessings that you have given us physically, but more importantly, spiritually.

Lord, as we turn to your word, as we fix our thoughts on heaven, as we discuss what you have told us, that you have even promised us, awaits those who believe.

Lord, we just pray that you would bless this time, in Christ's name, amen. I want you for just a moment,

I won't ask for every head bowed and every eye closed, but I want you to just think for a moment, not sinfully, but about the best, happiest moment of your life.

What was the absolute best thing that ever happened to you? The Lord saved you.

That's a great moment, but the recognition of that moment, the excitement of that moment, whatever that moment was for you this morning, can

I just say, it's going to seem boring compared to all of eternity in heaven.

It's going to seem minuscule, it's going to seem, even the moment of salvation, you'll think that was a great moment and you'll rejoice about it, but compared to being in the presence of Christ, it will pale in comparison.

We were talking about heaven last week and there was some conversation after the class and there seemed to be some confusion over exactly who would be in heaven, so we're going to start there.

Who will be in heaven? Well, God the Father is going to be there. That was part of the confusion.

Will God the Father be in heaven? He absolutely will be in heaven, but his presence will not be, it's kind of difficult to talk about this without crossing some line.

So God is a spirit, God the Father is a spirit, he will always be a spirit, he's not going to suddenly get a body and start walking around heaven, however, his glory, his presence and he will be there.

In fact, if we look at Psalm 139 .8, the psalmist asks where can he go to flee from God and the answer is nowhere and that would have to do with his spirit as well, but even

Matthew 6 .9, part of the

Lord's Prayer, what's commonly referred to as the Lord's Prayer, what really ought to be called the Disciple's Prayer because he says, remember, pray in this way, it's not

Jesus praying, he's instructing people on how to pray and what does he say? Our Father who will be in heaven, our

Father who was in heaven, our Father who is in heaven, who art in heaven,

Kistemacher notes, and by the way, Simon Kistemacher, another bit of conversation last week, who is Simon Kistemacher?

Just some guy, Simon Kistemacher.

It's one of my favorite commentaries in the New Testament, usually because he's right, that helps, but also because there are many levels of commentary, there are some that are really technical, there are some that are just filled with unbelief,

I've talked about that before, it's an amazing concept that you would spend your entire life devoted to studying the Bible and you don't believe it, but people do it, but Simon Kistemacher, William Hendrickson started a commentary series and died,

Simon Kistemacher finished that commentary series and it's one of the ones that I would say to anyone who really wants to get serious about Bible study, it's one that belongs on your shelf.

Simon Kistemacher says this, the striking fact of which we should never lose sight is that he who is king of the kingdom of heaven is at the same time the father of its citizens.

Now let's just ponder that for a moment, God, the king of the kingdom, at the same time the father of its citizens.

The citizens are the children, the kingdom is the father's family. Note also the combination of imminence, that is closeness, nearness and transcendence, that is that he's above us.

God is at once near us and above us. Of condescension, that is how he stoops to be with us and yet majesty, how he is glorious and far above us.

The fact that he's called our father indicates his nearness. He is near to all his children, infinitely near.

Think of all the times Jesus talks about the father and even how he teaches, if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your father in heaven.

Therefore with confidence they approach the father's throne to make all their wants and wishes known to him, that is all those who are in harmony with his revealed will.

They need not be afraid for God is their father who loves them, yet he is the father in heaven, literally in the heavens, therefore he should be approached in the spirit of devout and humble reverence.

The chumminess or easy familiarity that marks a certain type of present day religion is definitely anti -scriptural.

I was listening to a song the other day, not a Christian song, and the lyrics, yeah

I know that's a sin, listen to the Legalism series, and it says,

Jesus is my friend. Is that true? Yes.

Is that enough? No. God is my friend. God is my father.

Is that enough? No. He is king and we need to keep that in mind.

We need to not think of him as a buddy. I think

Charlie talks about, you know, worship songs that are, you know, if you just close your eyes and you thought about,

I'll just say my wife since I don't have a girlfriend, you know, could these songs be written about my wife?

That is not a worship song. If I can close my eyes and just substitute my wife in there and go, oh yeah, it's beautiful.

That is not a worship song. There is a gap that exists between us and at the same time

God has closed that gap. It's a either, it's not an either or, it's a both and.

God is near and he is high above us. Yes, Daniel.

Yeah absolutely, Daniel's making the point that the performance of a song can actually take away from the lyrics.

The lyrics could be God honoring and the performance itself could deflect away from it and, you know, a simple illustration would be,

I'm pretty sure Charlie could play some wailing guitar solos on Sunday morning, you know, but how good would that be, you know?

We all sing and then he's like, okay, time for a break. You know, that, you know, at that moment we'd be thinking, oh

Lord, aren't you good? No, we'd be thinking, oh, that Charlie's a wailing guitar player. And that's not, you know, that's, you know,

Christine during the middle of a hymn, she goes, she just looks at me because I'm leading music this morning, she goes, hold on there pastor,

I got a little, you know, interlude for you. No, no.

The point of worship music is to worship the king. It is to be, have our thoughts turn toward him, not toward, oh gee, wasn't that, you know.

I mean, you could go to some places and hear drum solos on Sunday morning and you just go, not exactly sure how we, you know, are worshiping right now.

But now, God will be in heaven and now he is our father and our king.

He is near to us and yet he is above us. Well think about what will our relationship to God be in heaven?

As I say, I'm hearing some kind of weird noise. Will we see the father in heaven?

Will we take walks through the valley with God the father? I don't see anything in scripture that would indicate that, but the one thing we need to keep in mind is

John 4, 24, Jesus talking to the woman of the well and he says, God is spirits.

Those who worship him will worship him in spirit and in truth. We have no indication ever that God the father is going to be or take on any form other than that.

Certainly, and Charlie and I were talking about this last week after class, we're going to see the glory of God. The glory of God is going to be, of God the father is going to be evident throughout heaven and nowhere more evident than from his throne.

We read about it last week, Daniel. Yeah, I think that's a foreshadowing.

Daniel is asking about the Old Testament, you know, the glory of the temple.

Remember, where is it? You know, the glory that she kind of has left the temple kind of thing. And certainly the glory.

They had a pillar of fire at night and all that.

So, yeah, they had a presence of God. Israel did with them. But I think we're going to see it in a whole more whole more in a whole different way, quantitatively, qualitatively, you know, with sinless eyes as we see the glory of God.

So, God, the father will be in heaven. Also, God, the son, let's turn to we're going to stay there for a while this morning.

Hebrews chapter 12. I can't really seem to make my color stay down today.

So I'm going to be like the flying nun. I don't know. Hopefully there won't be an updraft here.

Now, if you're laughing, you must be really old to rumor. I wonder how long, though, till they remake that movie.

I just, you know, they remake everything from the 60s. Verses 12 to,

I'm sorry, chapter 12, verses 22 to 24. Who would like to read that, please? Bruce?

Yes, sir. What translation is that, by the way?

I like the translation innumerable. I mean myriads. How many are myriads?

I mean, basically, innumerable is a good translation. I think technically it's like 10 ,000s of 10 ,000s or thousands of thousands or something like that.

But the point that the writer is making when he says that is, you know, how many are there?

Forget about it. I can't count that high. You know, it's just too many. Look at what

Grimacki says when he's talking about this heavenly mountain. He calls it Mount Zion because that's spelled with an

S, not a Z, but then he goes back to Zion. The earthly mount, or Zion, was the site of the city of Jerusalem.

It personified the nation of Israel. This title, however, refers to the heavenly Zion where Christ presently dwells.

Where Jesus currently is. From verse 24, he says, the

Savior, namely, Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. That's who

Jesus is, the mediator of the new covenant. What is the new covenant? Is the new covenant the same?

Well, what's the old covenant? What was wrong with the old covenant? They had to keep doing the sacrifice over and over and over again, okay?

Bruce? It was weak because of man, because it was dependent, right?

Ultimately, if we read it all, it was a type of the new covenant, a foreshadowing of what was to come.

It was pretty bloody. Yeah, it was. Anybody else?

Okay. Okay, it wasn't sufficient, Vida. Unable to save, able to lead us to Christ, okay?

Brian? Schoolmaster. Sounds like we're talking about the law, okay,

Pam? Couldn't clear the conscience, in fact, really kind of left us pretty dire.

Well, what makes the new covenant better than the old covenant? It's permanent, okay?

Relies upon God, not upon man. Let me just read from Jeremiah 31, verses 31 to 34.

Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which

I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which, like Bruce was hinting at here, they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the

Lord. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the

Lord. I will put my law within them, and on their heart,

I will write it. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

They will not teach again each man his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, know the

Lord, for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the

Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.

I think Bruce hit the nail on the head. What's going to be better about it is the new covenant is dependent upon the power of God.

When we think about Christ as the mediator of this new covenant, what's the significance of that?

What does it mean to be a mediator, a go -between? Good, Brad. So in what sense is

Jesus the mediator of this new covenant, the go -between between us and God?

Would it be right to say that God is, or should have been, angry with mankind in light of the old covenant?

And if we read about Jesus being the mediator, we know that as a go -between, that he has brought, he has reconciled the two parties.

He's taken two parties that were at enmity or war, and he's brought them into harmony with one another.

He's reconciled them. As he is both God and man, he is alone able to do that.

By the way, does anybody mediate between Jesus and man? I have to pronounce a couple of anathemas.

Excuse me. Mary is not the mediatrix, but nice try.

There'll be a review after. All right. Back to our notes here.

Page 31. Christ promised his own, that is, the elect, those who belong to him, that where he was, there they would be, right?

Where I am going, why is he going there? To make a place for us that we could be with him.

And then the hope of the believer is ever to be with the Lord. Is there a better promise in all of Scripture than believers will spend eternity with Christ?

And the answer is no. So God the Son, Jesus Christ, will be in heaven.

Also, God the Holy Spirit, you know, is there a verse that says directly,

God the Spirit is in heaven? I could not find that, but think about this, or that he will be in heaven.

I certainly think we have Psalm 139 again. But listen what Gramacchi says back to Hebrews 12.

He says, second, it is the city of the living God. It is the great and holy city being prepared in heaven by Christ.

Its composition and revelation are fully discussed by the Apostle John. And I note here that the

Trinity cannot be divided in any permanent sense. We certainly know that there's some kind of separation.

Although I was listening to MacArthur, I listened to it a few times. Listened to him and Phil Johnson try to sort out the moment where the father turns away from the son on the cross.

And that is a, it's a difficult issue. Exactly how, what was the nature of the separation?

And we know one thing, it wasn't permanent. Let me see if I even got this verse right, because that's always a good thing if I did.

Psalm 139, since I've referred to it a few times, or if I'm off by one verse, which, party fell.

Oh no, there it is, Psalm 139, 7. The psalmist writes, where can

I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your presence? The idea, and he goes on, he gives a few places.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there. And he's saying, look, I can go to the highest heaven.

I can go to the lowest low, wherever I go, you and your spirit are there.

The Holy Spirit is omnipresent. Holy Spirit has also taken up residence in us and will not leave us.

The sealing of the spirit, the sealing of the Holy Spirit, is a permanent evidence that we belong to God. That will not leave us.

So we have the triune, God will be in heaven. For the more angels, as we mentioned, myriads of angels.

Grimacki says the first group of inhabitants of Zion is literally myriads of angels. The angels assisted in the giving of the law at Sinai.

And today, angels minister before the divine presence. I saw something even the other day.

Oh, Facebook is such a dangerous thing. You get your theology from Facebook, it's really bad.

But somebody from my old high school, I mean, there are benefits to the internet. People can find you from all over the place.

Although some people, I still have pending on my list because I'm going, I have no idea who this person is.

Someone put angel of the day. They've got some new application.

Angel of the day. And today's angel is the angel of caring or something. And I'm just like, what is that?

I mean, just making it up as they go along. Angels, we know minister before the divine presence.

We know that angels are present in some sense here. But we don't know exactly what they're all doing.

And I certainly don't want to get into some kind of angelic warfare message here this morning.

But they will be in heaven as well. Every believer, point

E on page 32, will be in heaven. This group is literally, or is the assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven.

The term firstborn is in the plural, designating all believers of the church age who have spiritual birth rights in Christ.

By the way, Gromacky is also a commentator, writes very good commentaries, has,

I think, about eight of them. They're all excellent. The Savior is the firstborn, the prototokos, the authoritative head of the church, because he died and was the first to rise out of death.

All names of genuine believers who are heirs of God are written down in the heavenly book of life.

And the church is composed of saved Jews and Gentiles called out of the world to constitute the family of God in the age between the crucifixion and the return of Christ.

So every single believer will be in heaven. Daniel. Well, we're going to talk about the

Old Testament saints. I hadn't really thought about the Tribulation saints. Let me think about that for a minute.

While I'm thinking about it, we'll continue to march. But let me just think about that. Is there a difference?

Well, certainly they're going to be in heaven. Or let me enunciate that better. They are going to be in heaven.

Tribulation saints. Let me continue to ponder that as we move along here.

Good question. I hadn't really thought about them. Kiss the Marker notes, what an honor to live in that city, talking about Zion.

Consider this, talking about heaven. Moses was given the honor of climbing Mount Sinai and being with God for 40 days and 49 days.

We shall be with him in heaven always, with Moses meaning. Mount Sinai is a windswept, uninhabited mountain.

The New Jerusalem is a city populated by saints who dwell permanently in Zion with their living

God. It's interesting that Moses had that honor, and yet look at how much greater it's going to be to be in heaven.

Old Testament saints will certainly be in heaven. Kiss the Marker writes of Matthew. Let's read

Matthew 17, 1 to 8. Tribulation saints.

Well, I mean, clearly will be in heaven. But I don't know if it says that there will be.

I mean, the ones who, I think, are martyred, are given some kind of special status.

Does anybody else have any? Anybody read through all the Left Behind series and have any thoughts on that? OK. But again, having to do then with the, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Not really. Matthew 17, 1 to 8.

Would someone like to read that, Pastor Dave? Now, it's interesting, why do you suppose that this would indicate that Old Testament saints are going to be in heaven?

Where did Elijah and Moses come from? They dig themselves out and then show up on the, let's know what

Kiss the Marker says. He says, how did the disciples know that these two visitors from the other world who suddenly appeared upon the scene were

Moses and Elijah? Well, how do they know based on that reading? Yeah, name tags.

No. And he asked, did they introduce themselves?

Hi, I'm Moses. Hi, I'm Elijah. Did the disciples gather this information from the words spoken by each in his conversation with Jesus?

Had the appearance of the two been transmitted to the disciples by tradition, whether oral or written, so that for this reason it was easy to distinguish between the two?

Was it divinely revealed to them? Did they know it intuitively? Or last but not the least fanciful, was

Moses carrying in his hand a copy of the law, and did Elijah descend from heaven to the mount in his fiery chariot?

All we know, and this is what makes him so smart, all we know and need to know is that in a manner not revealed to us, the three disciples recognized the two visitors.

So here they are, Moses and Elijah, appearing in glory, probably meaning surrounded with heavenly brightness, and speaking with Jesus about his exodus or departure, which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.

That the word departure was referenced to the Lord's bitter suffering, and especially to his death, needs no proof.

The question that's been asked, does it include the resurrection? The question is, however, not very important, for even if the word in and by itself should not be that inclusive, it is conceivable that the heavenly visitors spoke with Jesus about his death without even mentioning his victory over death.

But the point is, here are these two men. They came from somewhere. They appeared in glory.

Seems reasonable to presume that they came from heaven, for some reason, to represent the approval,

I think, of those who wrote the Old Testament scripture, and that Jesus was, in fact, the fulfillment of it.

Look at what Gromachy says back in Hebrews 12, verse 23. The Old Testament saints designated as the spirits of men.

Remember that in verse 23. Let's just turn back to Hebrews 12. And as we turn there, it's good to remind ourselves who wrote the book of Hebrews.

We'll find out many considerations. Many think it was Paul. Other theories abound.

But we don't know. Verse 23 again, he says, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.

And that's what Gromachy is addressing here. The Old Testament saints designated as the spirits of just men made perfect will be present at Zion.

They are judicially righteous before God, because they trusted God for their salvation as Abraham did.

They are made perfect, and I won't attempt to pronounce that, in that they have received their new bodies through resurrection and have reached their heavenly destination.

So Old Testament saints saved in a completely different way than New Testament saints. No, always by faith.

In fact, that's what Hebrews chapter 11 was all about, explaining that they were saved by faith and some pretty amazing names.

My favorite always is Samson, because we don't see anything in the life of Samson that would seem deserving of heaven until really, ultimately, his last breath on earth.

So for those of you who think it's too late for anybody in your family to get saved, think about Samson. Walk up to your family members and say, you could be like Samson.

So what will we do in heaven? Is it going to be boring?

Again, I think this whole idea, and this is such a worldly concept of heaven.

I can remember being a Mormon at various times. My wife would say, if we don't get sealed in the temple, we'll be floating on our own little clouds.

And then there are the worldly cartoon -like portrayals of heaven, where people are floating around, playing their little harps and stuff like that in heaven, eating cream cheese.

Pat's got her own version of heaven going on here. Yeah, well, the

California Milk Advisory Board had this thing, heaven is a fresh chocolate chip cookie and cold milk to go with it.

So yeah, heaven's going to be a little bit better than that. But I write here, boredom is impossible in heaven.

Is it going to be boring? Are we just going to think, oh, another day, the presence of Christ, and everything's just perfect.

I'm a little tired of this whole perfect thing. I don't know. But there are people who think it's going to be boring.

Usually, they're unbelievers. Listen to what MacArthur says. Part of understanding what we will do in heaven is understanding what we will not do.

Now listen to this list. We will not sin. We've talked about that. But think about the implications of that.

So we will never need to confess it or struggle with it. We will never have to apologize to anyone.

We'll never experience guilt. We'll never need to write a letter to correct something we said or did.

Imagine that. Never again will I say anything imperfect. I know, that's pretty amazing.

I heard a couple of wows. We won't have to straighten out something that got confused, because nothing will ever be confused.

Perfect communication. We won't have to repair or replace anything, because nothing will ever malfunction or wear out.

Can I get another amen? We won't have to help. We won't have to help anyone, because no one will ever need help.

We'll never have to battle Satan or demons. We'll never have to deal with sinners. We won't have to defend ourselves against attack, because we won't ever be attacked.

We'll never be sad or lonely. We'll never be hurt emotionally or physically. We'll never need to be cured, counseled, coddled, or entertained, or entertained.

We'll never experience anything but absolute joy. Well, I don't know about that heaven.

We'll never grieve, because we won't lose anyone or miss anyone. We won't have to be careful, because we can never make a mistake.

We won't ever have to plan for emergencies or avoid danger, because we won't encounter them.

I mean, think about all the things we won't have to do. No planning for your future.

No taxes. No saving. No worrying about sales. There won't be nothing.

What was that, Brad? Nothing to worry about.

Secondly, we will worship perfectly. Again, MacArthur says this. Heaven will be a place of eternal, loving, adoring worship throughout eternity.

Without interruption, we will continually praise God. Our worship won't be related to a particular place, because all heaven will be a temple.

In fact, God's purpose in salvation has clearly delineated in scripture was to create an eternal group of worshipers.

Speaking to the Samaritan woman, Christ said, such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. Philippians 3 describes

Christians as those who worship in the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

In heaven, we will have a fuller knowledge of who God is and what he has done than we have now.

That deep knowledge of his attributes, deeds, and presence will burst forth in unending praise.

And you say, I don't know. We're all just going to be wearing robes, sitting around, you know, and it's going to be some big church, like the

Mormon tabernacle or something. And we're just going to be singing forever. That's going to be dull. It won't be dull, because we're going to have hearts that don't want to do anything but what

God wants us to do. Again, talking about boredom,

MacArthur writes, this deep seated suspicion that heaven may be an eternal bore reflects the sinful thinking of man.

As sinners, we are naturally prone to think a little sin is surely more enjoyable than perfect righteousness.

It is hard for us to imagine a realm wholly devoid of sin and yet filled with endless pleasures.

It's not how we typically think. But that is exactly how heaven will be.

We will bask in the glory of God, realizing at last our chief end to glorify

God and enjoy him forever. Where's that from? Westminster Confession of Faith, Westminster Catechism, one of those

Westminster things. The psalmist wrote, in thy presence is fullness of joy.

At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Such a thought is unfathomable.

It is incomprehensible to us. But scripture repeatedly makes clear that heaven is a realm of unsurpassed joy, unfading glory, undiminished bliss, unlimited delights, and unending pleasures.

Nothing about it could possibly be boring or humdrum. It will be a perfect existence.

We will have unbroken fellowship with all of heaven's inhabitants. Life there will be devoid of any sorrows, cares, fears, tears, or pain, et cetera.

And I like this last part. Murphy's Law will finally be nullified. In heaven, whatever might go wrong can't.

What's that? Yeah, Murphy's not going to make it. Also, we will be physically perfect.

We're going to have a perfect thought process, perfect minds, sinless minds.

We're also going to be physically perfect. Johnny Erickson taught us earthly body was paralyzed.

MacArthur writes, from the shoulders down, when she dived, he wrote. I want to say dove, but dived will go with, since he's the expert, she dived into shallow water as a teenager.

As long as I've known her, she has had her heart set on heaven. It shows in her conversation, her songs, her radio messages, and her artwork.

Often it seems as if talking with her draws one to the very edge of heaven where we can see in.

Johnny explains this in a recent book on the subject. This is what Johnny Erickson Tata wrote. I still can hardly believe it.

I, with shriveled, bent fingers, atrophied muscles, gnarled knees, and no feeling from the shoulders down, will one day have a new body, light, bright, and clothed in righteousness, powerful and dazzling?

It's easy for me to be joyful in hope, as it says in Romans 12, 12, and that's exactly what

I've been doing for the past 20 -odd years. I think it's a lot longer now. My assurance of heaven is so alive that I've been making dates with friends to do all sorts of fun things once we get our new bodies.

I don't take these appointments lightly. I'm convinced these things will really happen.

What a great thought. I mean, the older you get, the tougher it is to get out of bed in the morning.

You know, some days you're just like, I don't know why my back's hurting. I don't know why, you know.

None of that. Everything perfect. You know, here's the bad news. Chiropractors, you're out of work.

You know, I mean, it's going to be an entirely different existence.

Everything that we know will be changed. Point D, we will serve perfectly.

Let's read Revelations 22 .3, or Revelation 22 .3. Who has that?

Yes, Will. I love that verse, but it's not the right verse.

Revelation 22 .3, no longer be any curse.

All the reverse, or all the, you know, we're going to reverse the curse for real, as opposed to the televangelists.

But look what he says there at the end. And his bondservants, which is the same as other places in the

New Testament where it talks about bondservant, means bondslave, voluntary slave.

Listen to what Culver writes in his systematic theology. He says, servant is a term Paul applied to himself frequently.

It means bondslave. As created and redeemed or bought with a price, believers are gods.

We belong to him. And are obligated not only to glorify God here on earth, but also to serve him forever in heaven.

The word for service has no relation to slave labor as such, but to ministry of various sorts, especially religious service.

Perhaps, though, there will be service in the form of work. I mean, it's not entirely clear what serving

God will mean, but we will do so joyfully, happily, and perfectly in heaven.

Whatever God wants, that's what we're going to do. And I want to just close.

I found this by Archibald Alexander, who was on the faculty at Princeton.

He says, heaven is a reality, not seen by eyes of flesh, but made known by revelation and received by faith.

Heaven is a rest from toil, trouble, temptation, and sin. Such a rest is very desirable, even if it were only a sweet sleep, but heaven is more.

Heaven is forever. It is a state of delightful activity.

Every faculty and every affection will find appropriate exercise. We'll be used to our full capacity.

And probably latent powers, things that we're not even aware of, not needed here, will there be waked into activity.

Power suited to the new condition in which the soul exists. Heaven is full of light.

All darkness and doubt are absent. Knowledge there will be clear and will possess a transforming efficacy.

That means it will have an impact on you. Still, knowledge in heaven will be progressive.

The pleasure will partly consist in ever learning something unknown before. God is an immense and inexhaustible source of knowledge, and we will learn more and more and more.

Heaven is a region of perfect love. All the heart and mind and strength will be exerted in love.

And if the power of loving should in the progress of the immortal soul be increased 1 ,000 fold, all this increased ability will be kept constantly in full stretch by the loveliness and glory of the objects of affection.

We will ever increase in love. Christ is a center of attraction in heaven. From him radiate the rays of divine glory, which enliven, attract, and beautify all the innumerable army of worshipers.

Love in heaven is pure, perfect, and reciprocal, meaning it goes both ways. He who loves cannot be satisfied without a return of affection.

And the more exalted and excellent the character of the person beloved, the sweeter the sense of his favor.

Heavenly joy consists in loving with all the heart and in being beloved. As heaven is a society, the members are happy, not only in loving their king, but in mutual love.

There will exist no envy, no jealousy, nor apathy. The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.

And there will be no indifference in heaven. Every soul will be transparent to every other.

And all will see that nothing but pure love exists in every heart, right? We talked about how we will fulfill the great commandment and we will love the

Lord, our God, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But the second is like unto it. Love your neighbor as yourself.

We will love our neighbor perfectly. Heaven is a place of peace, sweet peace, and uninterrupted harmony.

All disturbing elements will be left behind. In the symbolical heavens of revelation, we read of wars.

But in the heaven where saints and angels dwell and worship, war can have no place.

The atmosphere of heaven is exempt from all evil. It is purity itself. All sin and impurity are denied admission into that holy place.

Heaven is a place of song. For some of you, that might be a little bit scary. But I can assure you, you will sing perfectly in heaven.

Whatever's wrong with your voice here will be cured. High affections are expressed in celestial music.

Oh, how elevating, how delightful the melodies. Heaven is an unchanging state.

All change is advancement in knowledge, in dignity, in happiness. There is nothing better than heaven.

Again, the best thing that ever happened to you in this life, whatever it is, the happiest you ever were, whatever that was.

As long as it's not sinful, you'll look back on it, and you'll think that was a, you know, maybe in heaven, you'll think, oh, that was a good day.

But it's nothing compared to this. It is good to have our hope set on heaven, because to be reminded of our citizenship of the things that are promised to us gives us motivation in this life to serve and to warn others, by the way, of the very dangers of missing out on heaven.

Because to miss out on heaven is not to go to a slightly lesser place. There are religions who say, look, you can either go to the celestial kingdom, which is the highest place, or you can go to the telestial, which is pretty good, or you can go to the terrestrial.

But don't worry about it. You're going to get to one of those heavenly spots. To not go to heaven is to go to a place of unspeakable pain and suffering.

And we are going to talk about that as well. Let's pray. Our Father, what a delight it is to be numbered among your children, among those whom you have called, among those for whom the

Son has given his life, whom you have drawn and whom the

Holy Spirit has sealed. Father, set our hearts and our minds and our affections above, not that we would ignore the things of this earth, but so that we might be motivated for service now, thinking of the things that we cannot do in heaven, like evangelism.

Lord, would you make us such a joyful people as we think, focus on your promises in spite of our problems.

Would you give us just such a, as it were, a glow, that when we speak the words of truth, our words have power because of the hope that is within us.

Lord, for any here this morning that don't know you, I pray that you would quicken them, transfix them, give them such a vision of Christ and of their hopelessness without him, that they would indeed, even this morning, flee to the cross.