HEAVEN!

(James Smith, “Heaven!” 1858)  Play Audio!  Download Audio “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand!” Psalm 16:11 HEAVEN! What is it? It is . . . God’s residence, the Savior’s home, our Father’s house, a paradise of pleasure, a temple of worship, and the residence of perfect purity and peace! There . . . God unveils His glory, the Savior exhibits His charms, the angels perform their service, and the saints are entirely happy with their God. In Heaven . . . sin is banished, holiness is perfected, life is a continual feast, and mortality is swallowed up in life! From Heaven . . . all pain is banished, all enemies are excluded, and all causes of sorrow are shut out! In Heaven . . . all our prayers are answered, all our desires are gratified, and all our needs are supplied. There is no weeping, wailing or wishing there. In Heaven . . . our knowledge will be perfect, our happiness will be abiding, our pleasures will be ever new. In Heaven we shall . . . see Jesus, be with Jesus, and be like Jesus, forever! HEAVEN! Who are there?  All tried and tempted followers of Jesus are there. All doubting and fearing disciples of Jesus are there. All poor and despised believers are there. Multitudes, who felt totally unworthy of such glory, and feared they would never reach the place–are there. All who were chosen by the Father, all who were redeemed by the Son, and all who were sanctified by the Holy Spirit–are there. HEAVEN! What do they enjoy there? Who can answer this question, but one who has been there; and he would need a new language to state, and new figures to represent the enjoyments of Heaven. They enjoy rest from their pains, and a full supply of all their needs. They enjoy perfect satisfaction, a fullness of joy, and pleasure forevermore. They . . . see all that they believed, realize all that they hoped for, and possess all that they loved. They have . . . health, without sickness; pleasure, without pain; and holiness, without sin. Every sense is gratified, every power is pleasurably employed–and they are perfectly and perpetually happy! O Heaven, in you there is . . . no tempting devil, no ensnaring world, no indwelling corruption, no doubts, fears, or misgivings! And best of all, there is no sin! O Heaven, in you I shall . . . see my God, possess my Savior, and enjoy the fullness of the Holy Spirit! O my God, in Heaven I shall be satisfied–for I shall be with You, serving and enjoying You without weariness or cessation! HEAVEN! Who will yet get to Heaven? Who? Ah, perhaps many we little think of! We shall miss many whom we expected to find there–and find many whom we never expected would reach that glorious place! Who will go to Heaven? That poor man who is striving against sin, mourning over corruption, and loathing himself before God. That poor woman, who sighs because she sins, pants for perfect holiness, and clings to the cross of Jesus. Do you see that poor soul on his knees, confessing his transgressions, pleading for pardon, and seeking grace to sanctify his nature–he will go to Heaven. Do you see that lowly Christian who is visiting the sick, pointing sufferers to the cross, and trying to alleviate human woe, out of love to Jesus–he will go to Heaven. Do you see that Sunday School teacher, who, after a hard week’s work, is regularly in his class, speaking loving words in tender tones, to win the little ones for the Savior–he will go to Heaven. Do you see that preacher who exalts Christ in his ministry, honors the gospel in his life, and travails in birth for souls–he will go to Heaven. Heaven will be peopled by all who believe in Jesus, love the brethren, and worship God in Spirit and in truth. There will be a numberless multitude there, all . . . deeply indebted to free mercy, washed in the Savior’s blood, and sanctified by the Spirit’s grace! Reader, there is a way–but only one way to Heaven! Only those found in that way will ever reach it! You yourself, may be within an hour or two of either Heaven or Hell! Do you know which? If called away suddenly, to which would you go? You have a Heaven to obtain, or a Hell to endure–to all eternity! Which shall it be? O that you were wise, that you properly realized this, that you would consider your latter end! Heaven with all its glories, or Hell with all its horrors–must be your eternal portion! If you despise the Savior, make light of the Gospel, and neglect God’s great salvation–then Hell, an eternal Hell, with all its unspeakable horrors, is your portion! “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined–what God has prepared for those who love Him!” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Comment

Our Eternal Home

Heaven is more than an idea—it is a real place of healing, restoration, and unimaginable joy.

John 14:1-6 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be. 4 And you know the way where I am going.” 5 Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” 6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. When Jesus told His disciples He was going away, He promised to return and take them to His Father’s house, where He had prepared a place for them. This confirms that heaven is a real place, not some ethereal cloud where we play harps. We tend to think of anything heavenly as less tangible than earth, but Scripture suggests the opposite. Hebrews 11:10 tells us that by faith, Abraham “was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”And (10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very valuable stone, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, 144 cubits, by human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. 18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.) Revelation 21:10-27describes this city—called the New Jerusalem—in great detail. Unlike earth, the kingdom of heaven cannot be shaken (27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let’s show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; Heb. 12:27-28). It exists forever, and we’ll be worshipping and serving the Lord there. As Christians, we know our citizenship is in heaven. When we die, our spirits immediately go there (but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 2 Cor. 5:8), into the presence of the Lord, awaiting the immortal body we’ll be given at Christ’s return. That new body will be perfectly suited for heaven and free from the temptations, trials, heartaches, pain, and death that make life on earth so wearying. There will be rest, not from activity and fulfilling work, but from the consequences of sin that plague us here. I believe the joy we’ll experience when we finally see our Savior face to face is beyond our imagination.

The happiness of Heaven!

(Thomas Sherman, “Divine Breathings; Or, a Pious Soul Thirsting after Christ”) “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him!” 1 Corinthians 2:9 The vessel of our soul is too capacious to be filled with all the pleasures and delights the world put together. But hereafter, our pleasures and delights shall be too great for the most capacious vessel to hold! Our glory shall be so great, that power as well as goodness, shall be given by God Himself to renew and enlarge these vessels, that they may be capable of receiving and retaining that glory. Strength and love shall go forth together, to prepare and elevate our dispositions, that they may be suitable for such a transcendent and exalted state! At present, we are too weak to bear such a weight of glory; therefore God will immortalize us, that we may be able to sustain it! And because our eternal joys cannot fully enter into us while in this world, we shall fully enter into them in heaven. What fool would place only a few drops of carnal pleasures into so large a vessel as the soul; and neglect the spring, or rather the ocean of unspeakable bliss, and everlasting glory! O my soul, what a glorious day is coming, when the vessels of mercy shall be cast into the ocean of mercy, and be filled to the very brim with divine mercy! Then the soul that is love-sick for Jesus–shall lie in the bosom of divine love, and forever be satisfied with unfathomable love! Then the children of God shall have a full fruition of God, and be forever satisfied with the presence of God! The joy of His glorious presence, the fullness of His joy, the sweetness of this fullness, the eternity of this sweetness–the heart of man can never adequately comprehend. Lord, let the glory which you have prepared for me, turn my soul from the vanities of earth! “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand!” Psalm 16:11

Comment

God Has Prepared a Place for Us

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

This is part of a passage that often gets read at funerals. It is a passage of hope and blessing. We believe that Jesus was crucified – died – and was buried. He rose again – on that Easter morning – long ago. He ascended to heaven and sits at the righthand of the Father. From this place – we believe that He will judge the living and the dead. He has also gone – according to His own words – to prepare a place for us.

In today’s passage – John records these words of Jesus. John 14:3 – And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. We believe that Jesus has gone before us – to the grave and He has risen from the grave – the first fruits of those who will follow Him. He has gone before us and we believe that – with faith – we will follow Him. We will follow Him to the grave and we will rise again – with Him. He has gone before us to prepare a place for us.

Here’s today’s passage in partial context. John 14:1–7 – ¹ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

 

Read more at: https://raymcdonald.wordpress.com/2022/03/24/god-has-prepared-a-place-for-us/

The New Jerusalem

A Broadcast with W. Robert Godfrey

The book of Revelation provides assurance that a glorious future awaits all those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Today, W. Robert Godfrey guides us through the marvelous description of the New Jerusalem.

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What Will Heaven REALLY Be Like?

Find Out In This Jam-Packed Video from Randy Alcorn

“Randy Alcorn addresses a common misconception about Heaven.”

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A Passage To Ponder: Revelation 4

by ThePreachersWord

A Bible class teacher was explaining to the class that we really don’t know what Jesus looked like.

To illustrate, she showed a painting of Jesus, illustrating it was the painter’s rendition. “It’s not really Jesus. It’s just the artist’s conception of Him.”

One little fellow, looking long and hard at the painting finally said, “Well, it sure looks like him.”

What Is the Correct View of Heaven?

What Is the Correct View of Heaven?

That Will Be Glory for Me

If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Romans 8:17 Salvation is past, present, and future—we have been saved, are being saved, and will be saved. We often call justification that process by which we are saved from the penalty of our sins. That happens the moment we receive Jesus as our Savior. Sanctification is the ongoing process of becoming more like Christ as we are set aside for His service. We are being saved from the power of our sins. Glorification will occur when we are raptured or resurrected. Our bodies will be transformed for eternity, and we’ll be saved from the very presence of sin.

When we come to Christ, we are saved once for all. But salvation touches our past, present, and future. Romans 8:17 looks forward to the day when we will be glorified together, changed in an instant, and transformed for eternity. What should we do as we await the day when God will glorify us? We should glorify Him now and praise His name forever. The Bible tells us to “glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20). The work of sanctifying his redeemed, which the Saviour begins on earth, finds its completion in their glorification in heaven. Samuel Harris -David Jeremiah

What will we experience on the New Earth?

y Randy Alcorn

(Make your own list. This is just a portion of mine.)

Forever more:

• Closeness to God greater than we’ve ever known
• The companionship of Jesus
• Wonderful, loving relationships with people
• Reunions with family and old friends
• Making new friends
• Getting to know angels
• Seeing how God truly did work all things together for our good
• Meeting and talking to Christians who impacted us through their writings and lives
• Happiness
• Delight
• Comfort

Continue at: https://www.epm.org/resources/2021/Jul/16/forever-mores-and-no-mores/