← ArchiveB2ChurchSunday, August 4, 2019DateAugust 4, 2019Speaker—Text—Passages in this sermonEcclesiastes 31:46Genesis 53:542 Kings 24:40Revelation 45:36Isaiah 610:29Isaiah 6611:111 Thessalonians 417:53Luke 2323:432 Corinthians 824:54John 1426:301 John 5:1333:05TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Music Music Music Music0:30Good morning. My name is Josh Burnham, lead pastor here and really we have such awesome pastors on staff. I'm so thankful to serve with the team. Having Brad to be able to serve and Dan who is leading and it's my joy to bring the word to you and with you this morning. So what you're about to see is a brand new sermon series for the next several weeks. And this began last Christmas. If you remember, we passed out a survey and we simply asked the question, what would you like to hear about? In the word of God. And by far, your biggest ask was heaven. What's heaven going to be like? And I said, well, we can do something about that. And you're not alone. Because a 2014 Gallup survey found that 72% of Americans believe in heaven or have questions about heaven.1:0047% of non-Christian faiths have a belief about heaven. You're ready for this? 14% of agnostics believe in heaven. And yes, 5% of atheists who say there is no God. I don't believe there is a God, but I do believe there is a heaven. You're not alone.1:25Why is that true? Why is that true? Because we see in Ecclesiastes 3 verse 11 that God has put eternity on the hearts of man, of you and I. We long for heaven. And so today that's a good question. Lord, put eternity in our hearts.1:46So where do we go? How do we proceed? Well, if you look around and if you turn on the radio, we are bombarded by thoughts of heaven. You could turn on the Christian radio station and you can hear, you can still hear, I can only imagine what it would be like when I walk by your side.2:11What a beautiful song that is. Some of you know the old hymn, right? Some of you think that Alan Jackson wrote it, but he didn't. He sang it. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. Some of you are thinking, what are y'all talking about? Some of you know this. Some of you know Eric Clapton singing about tears in heaven on the rock station.2:35Or even Robert Plant singing about the stairway to heaven. You don't have to let me know who you are.2:52You know you would have a Led Zeppelin reference. Or even on the country station. There are songs about heaven today. And if that's not enough, you can go to the bookstore. Is that still a thing? Let's assume bookstores are still around. You can go to a place that sells books and you will find books that say, is heaven for real? Or visiting heaven. So our culture is bombarded with thoughts about heaven. So where do we go as people of the Lord?3:20It's a great question. C.S. Lewis says this about people who think of heaven a lot. He said, if you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present were the ones who just thought about the next. That's true. May we fix our eyes upon heaven today. So there are several people in Scripture who went to heaven quickly.3:47They had the fast pass to heaven. You have Enoch in Genesis 5, 24. Literally, the verse says, Enoch walked with God. He was no more because God took him. Boom. You say, where did it go? That's all I have for you. All we know. And there have been entire communities built around Enoch. Qumran, the Essenes were built around maybe we are part of this legacy or this Enochic literature.4:15Came from this one man. You have people like Elijah, who was taken up to heaven in a chariot, a fire, but it was within a whirlwind. Now, I don't know how the Lord is going to take me home, but that would be cool. I'm going to sign up for the whirlwind in 2 Kings 2, verse 11. You have Paul in 2 Corinthians, verse 12, who was called up to the third heaven.4:45But he says very clearly that I heard inexpressible words, which a human being is not allowed to speak. And then you have John the Elder on the island of Patmos, who says, I saw an open door into heaven. So right now we're going to open that door and we're going to simply ask, God, what will heaven be like?5:11Because God wants you to know. He's given you his word that you might know what heaven would be like. And I think it's going to shape how we think and live. Because the more we think about heaven, the more we think about God today. And that is our desire. So join me in Revelation, chapter 4, beginning in verse 1.5:36Yes, you will hear a sermon on Revelation with an Eric Clapton reference. Who would have thought? Revelation, it is the last book in the Bible. So find the maps in the back and work your way towards the words. Pass the concordance, the very last book. Now let me just say this about Revelation. The word Revelation means to unveil, to make it easier.6:07So Revelation doesn't make it more difficult for us to understand the Lord. It makes it easier. Now let that be the way you interpret Revelation. Don't make it more complicated. Revelation is us saying, God, who are you? These are the words of the Lord. Revelation 4, verse 1. Now highlight that mentally, physically.6:31We're going to come back to that verse. The one seated there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone.7:00A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne. Around the throne were 24 thrones. And on the thrones sat 24 elders dressed in white clothes with golden crowns on their heads. Flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder came from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.7:24Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and they covered their eyes around and inside.7:45Day and night, they never stopped saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come. And whenever the living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks to the one seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before the one seated on the throne.8:14And they worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they cast their crowns before the throne. And they said, oh, Lord, our God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power because you have created all things.8:32And by your will, they exist and were created. Let us pray, Lord, we simply ask right now that you would give us a God-sized glimpse of heaven. We thank you for your living and active word. Lord, word that wants to push us towards your throne.9:02Lord, wants us to push us to know you more. Lord, that we would not just hear or say, wow, what a beautiful picture, but that we would long for the presence of God in our life. And that we, like the 24 elders, would fall down on our face. Say, oh, Lord, you are worthy to receive honor and glory forever and ever because you are the one who is and who was and who is to come.9:23We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let's unpack this vision today. First, we see that heaven is about the sovereignty of God. Look at the first piece of furniture that John sees right here in Revelation.9:49I looked and there was an open door. Now, I would give you the doors probably the first piece. Okay. So the second piece of furniture. Immediately, I was in the Spirit in verse 2 and there was a throne. But this throne did not mimic what was in Jerusalem. It wasn't a picture of the temple, which one would expect in heaven. It wasn't the stone altar of sacrifice with the four horns on the side.10:18This throne was something unique in itself. It's the same picture Isaiah has in Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah, in the year that King Uzziah died, he looks up and he sees the Lord high and lifted up. And the train of his robe filled the temple and he sees the throne of God. What is this telling us about heaven? No vision of heaven is accurate or complete without the throne.10:49So I don't know what your vision has of heaven. But if the throne is not central to your thought process of who God is and where he's sitting, you can throw out your vision of heaven. Because in heaven, God is sovereign and he reigns. Isaiah 66, verse 1. Heaven is his throne and the earth is his footstool.11:14Our vision of heaven must begin with the throne. This word thrones occurs often in this chapter, but it occurs 40 times in the book of Revelation. Why? Why would John want us to know about the throne of Jesus? Who sits on the throne? The king. Why does the king sit on the throne? To remind you that you are not king and that I am not king.11:43The one who sits on the throne is the one who is in control. And this is John's way to remind us. And if you know the background story of the intense persecution of those that are receiving this letter from Revelation, these churches, what is going on? They are being killed for their faith. And John is saying, your world might be out of control, but just know God is sitting on the throne and he is in control. So if you feel like your world is crashing down and it is out of control, you are never beyond the control of God.12:12He is in control right now. What a perfect picture of heaven. And not only will God be in control one day, but he is in control. Look what John says in verse 2. Immediately I was in the spirit and there was a throne in heaven. When someone, you know, tenses matter.12:41I know school hasn't started, but let's go back to grammar school really quick. He doesn't say future tense. He doesn't say, hey, someone was about to sit on the throne. They thought about sitting on the throne. What's going on in this throne? He was sitting. He is sitting. God is in control right now. When someone goes into Walmart in El Paso and kills 20 people and injures many, many more, God is in control.13:08When someone, I heard this morning, Dayton, goes and shoots. For no reason that we could ever think of. God is in control. And if you only hear one thing about what heaven truly is, know that Jesus is sitting on his throne today.13:36Right now, A.W. Pink says this about the kingship and the sovereignty of God and Jesus. Listen to how he puts this. God being infinitely elevated above the highest creature. He is the most high. He is the Lord of heaven and earth.14:05Subject to none. Influenced by none. Independent. God does as he pleases, only as he pleases, and always as he pleases. None can thwart him. None can hinder him. That is heaven. That is our Savior. He is in control. Why does this matter? Because to follow Jesus Christ means that you follow his lordship today.14:34We don't wait to get to heaven one day and say, Lord, when I get closer to death, then I will make you the king of my life. No, if you long for heaven tomorrow and today, Jesus will be sitting in your life right now. And I know what you might be thinking. Well, Pastor, if this is the vision of God, man, this scares me. He's subject to none. He's influenced by none.15:04He always does what he pleases, only as he pleases, always as he pleases, as always as he pleases. None can thwart him. None can hinder him. Well, how can I ever approach this God? His name is Jesus. Because of Christ, you and I have an open door to this throne. That is the purpose and the power of prayer, that God says, I am currently sitting on my throne and I am listening to you.15:31Seek me. That's the power of Jesus Christ. He is holy and high and lifted up. Secondly, about heaven. It's about who, not what. It's about who, not what. Isaiah says, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. John says, immediately in verse 2, I was in the spirit and there was a throne in heaven and someone was seated.15:58Did you hear what was not said by John? Now, before I make you too angry, give me two minutes to explain this. Just breathe. John does not say, immediately, that I saw Peter at the pearly gate. And we, you know that secret handshake thing, that discipleship handshake?16:28He still remembered. And John does not say, I saw Mary, the mother of Jesus, the one who on the cross, Jesus looked at me and said, John, behold your mother. And he looked at Mary and said, behold your son, the one that I took care of. I saw Mary. John didn't say, man, I saw Matthew. Whoever thought he would write a book of the Bible. And I saw, maybe I saw Stephen, you know, the one, the first martyr for his faith.16:59And I even saw my brother James. Heaven begins with a picture of Jesus. Begins with a picture. Does this mean we will not recognize one another in heaven? By no means. Okay, now you can exhale. Because we see over and over again in scripture that we will recognize those that we love.17:26The disciples recognize Jesus countless times after the resurrection. On the Mount of Transfiguration, you have Jesus and Moses and Elijah. And the disciples have never met these people. They were dead. And what did they do? They recognize them. You have the parable of rich man and Lazarus. In 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13, we grieve as those who have hope because we will be caught up to gather in the clouds.17:53That would offer us no source of solace if we did not recognize one another. So let me say this about heaven. We don't know everything, but here's what we do know. Heaven will be a familiar place and your relationships right now on earth will matter in heaven. I firmly believe that those you are most familiar with here on earth, because God has longed, put a longing in our hearts for eternity, you will know in heaven.18:19It'll be a completely different environment. But none of that even compares to the relationship that we will have with Jesus Christ. None of that. So let me just caution us. I know it's easy when we get around the casket, and I have had too many funerals in my life in the last several weeks, and we have another one this week.18:46You know, it's easy for us to say, well, when I get to heaven, I can't wait to see Mamaw. I can't wait to see Josh. I can't wait to see whoever. But if our vision of heaven does not begin with, I can't wait to see Jesus, maybe we have the wrong vision of heaven. Because heaven is heaven because of the presence of Jesus Christ.19:13And any vision of your heaven that does not have Jesus is only a derivative of hell. It's not heaven. It begins with Jesus Christ. And I will never treasure Christ for eternity if I don't treasure him today. Oh, that should be our heart for heaven. It is about who, not what.19:41And lastly, I think we see this about heaven. Look what John's trying to do here in verse 3. There is one seated on the throne, the sovereignty of God. He was Jesus Christ. He is Jesus Christ. He was, he is, and he is to come. And John is like, okay, now let me, how do I, hmm, how do I tell you guys what I saw? Okay, let me try my best. Verse 3. The one seated there had the appearance of jasper, which is an opaque stone.20:12And, and Carnelian stone. Some of you are like, I knew it Carnelians were going to be in heaven. And it's more of a crimson reddish color. I'm just going to leave that there. The Lord's been working on me over time this week. John says there was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne.20:39What is John saying? He's trying to describe the light that is radiating from the throne. Now, why does this make sense? Why is, John is trying to describe the indescribable, but why does this make sense? Jesus himself said that he was the light of the world. And John is saying, it's true. He is the light. The sun's going to be in heaven, but it's not going to have a job.21:07It's just going to be there. Because Jesus is the light. So John is trying to describe the indescribable. I remember when we left for Israel this last trip, and we're going to go again in February if you want to go. But our tour guide, Mark, said something in our last debriefing. He said, you're going to go home, and you're going to try to describe what you experienced in Israel. And he said, don't get frustrated at people, because they won't understand.21:34That's exactly what John is doing. He's trying to say, okay, there's this light, and I can't even describe how beautiful and majestic Jesus is, but it's like jasper. Okay, no. Okay. Carnelian. The emeralds. You know, the green stone. It's like that, but it's so much more. And this is what John is telling us about heaven and Jesus Christ.22:02However beautiful you think the majesty of Jesus is, it's more. It's more. That is the power of the God that we serve in our lives should be lived, attempting to describe the indescribable to a world who needs hope. They don't need this little Jesus. They need the one that we say, you know what, he's on his throne right now, and if you looked at him, like, your eyes would burn out of your head.22:31And he is so magnificent that these, I don't know, these creature things that have eyes all over them, they were covering themselves from the glory of God. I don't know how big your God is and how big mine is, but he's even bigger than that. I don't know how beautiful you think Jesus is and how you're living towards the majesty of Christ, but he is so much more.22:57Hey, I've forgotten about heaven. I just want to see Jesus. How majestic is his name. How beautiful is this Christ. We must live a life attempting to describe the indescribable to a world who so longs for this hope. Now, some of you are thinking, well, you haven't told us anything about heaven yet.23:25I'm glad you asked. So let me give you a quick rundown really quick. So what is heaven going to be like? Jesus is in control on his throne. It is about the Messiah. It is indescribable. Well, let me try. Okay. First verse, I want us to look at Luke 23, 43. Jesus on the cross and you know the story. He's looking at the two thieves and they're kind of mocking him also. And one says, forgive me. Well, forgive me, Lord.23:53Remember me when you die. And Jesus says to him, okay, today you will be with me in paradise. So the first thing we need to understand about heaven is that heaven is an immediate home. Luke 23, 43. Heaven is an immediate home. This is the powerful promise to the thief on the cross. When will the thief be with Jesus? Today. Right now.24:23Right now. Now, if you're trying to figure out when am I going to die, that might have caused him some anxiety. But he is with Jesus Christ. Heaven is an immediate home. So this completely obliterates the idea of soul sleep or purgatory. We don't have to wait to be with Christ. We will not cease to exist like annihilationism claims to propose. The words of the Messiah that heaven is an immediate place for those who are called.24:502 Corinthians chapter 8. Some of you know this. We are confident that we prefer to be away or absent from the body, but to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. What does that mean? When I die, I will be no more alive than I ever have in the presence of God. Right then. Right then. Heaven is an immediate home. But not only is it an immediate home, it is a physical home.25:20We're not going to float around like Casper. Which sometimes we, I used to believe that, right? We're just going to be these spirit entities and we're just going to float from here to place. What does Jesus say to the thief? Today you will be with me in paradise. So the word paradise is used in the New Testament to describe a park, a physical park, often with animals. So think of it like a wild game preserve.25:48It's exactly what it would have been. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament scriptures, it's the same word that described the Garden of Eden. So it is a very real, literal, physical place. That's why Jesus says, I am going to prepare a place for you. If it were not so, I would tell you. And I firmly believe that if anyone could build a perfect home, a physical home, it would be the master carpenter.26:11Heaven is an immediate home and it is a physical home. But it is also a purposeful home. Jesus says that I, in John 14, verse 2, I have gone to prepare a place for you. Why would the Messiah remind us that he is going to prepare?26:38Because God wants you to know that your eternity is not left to chance. Heaven is a prepared place. God doesn't say, okay, Josh, I'm going to wait till you die. Then I'm going to figure if you were naughty or nice. And then we'll just figure it out. I'm thankful for a God who says, look, Josh, I'm going to prepare a place for you. He doesn't leave it to chance.27:09God has prepared and not only prepared a place, but he has prepared a way for us to be in that place. His name is Jesus Christ. Heaven is prepared for us. It's almost as if Jesus was saying, I'm going to leave the light on for you. The light is me, but I'm going to leave it on. Can you imagine what a beautiful, prepared place that is? This is the power and the purpose of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.27:38Preparing the way of salvation and preparing our eternal home. But there's more. Heaven is a familial place or a familiar place. John 14, Jesus says, I will prepare a place for you. He says this also in verse 4, that you know the way. What does Jesus mean when he says that you know the way?28:06Very clearly, heaven is a familiar place. You can get to your house because you're familiar with the path. And we have at least three reoccurring metaphors or pictures in Scripture for what heaven is going to be like. The first, I've already mentioned, garden. The second is a city. It's an eternal city. And the third is an eternal kingdom.28:34And those are pictures that we all can relate to. We know what a garden is. We know what a city looks like. We know what a kingdom is. And I just don't believe that we're going to get to heaven and say, so that's what a garden looks like. I knew it. They don't have those nasty tomato worm things that can just ravage a tomato plant overnight. They don't have weeds that grow.29:05And man, who knew a garden could look so awesome? Or I've never seen a city before. Why is God giving us pictures that we understand? Because it's familiar. And I believe one day we're going to walk through the garden. We're going to walk through the streets of the city. And we're going to say, God, this city reminds me that when I was walking through the streets of Moody, you were there. And God, this heavenly garden reminds me that when I was in this garden on earth, I get it.29:35God, you were there. And God, this little kingdom that we were building in our lives, God, your eternal kingdom reminds me that you were there when I needed you the most. God, this is familiar. And we're going to say, God, I now understand that in all of this, you were building within me an eternal weight of glory.30:00God, this is so familiar. I now see what you were doing here on earth as it was in heaven. Heaven is a familiar home. It's also, lastly, it's a place where the curse will be lifted. I want you to lean in because we have no clue what this means, but we long for it. We want this.30:30Randy Alcorn, who wrote one of the best books other than the Bible on heaven, says it this way. When God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, earth was heaven's backyard. The new earth will be even more than that. It will be heaven itself. You see, when Adam fell because of sin, all creation fell with it. That's us. Everything that you and I know have been tainted by sin's effects.31:00However, we long for the day where the effects of sin are no longer. We long for the day where Christ's redemption work will not be painful. There will not be thorns. The difficulties that we now experience, those will be removed and the final enemy, death, will ultimately be vanquished.31:23Can you imagine that we will be in heaven? And I don't think we're going to be sitting there just perpetually singing around the throne, but that's a whole different discussion. I think we're going to be serving God with kingdoms that we can serve, the true King of kings and Lord of lords. But can you imagine worshiping God without any distraction? No, you can't.31:55I can't. But I can only long for that day to say, God, I want to worship you right now in spirit and in truth. And God, I don't know what that day is going to look like, but I can only imagine what it will look like. Heaven is a place where the curse has been lifted. We can spend many, many days talking about heaven. I taught the chick class, a ladies class, last year.32:22Long story. But for six months, we talked about heaven more and more. And the more we opened the word of God, the more we longed for that. Here's the reality, though. The great question about heaven is not, does it exist or what it's going to be like? The question is, are you going to go there? Because the reality is, the crucial question is, if you died right now, where would you go?32:51Because God wants you to know the answer to that. 1 John 5.13 says, If you are not fully confident that Jesus is your salvation, and maybe the thought of being around that throne with the light of Christ that shines through every crack in our lives, if that terrifies you, maybe that's because you don't know Jesus.33:07Because the same light that exposes your darkness is the same light that says, if you trust in me by faith, you can come into my presence.33:35Have you surrendered your life to Jesus, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords? You say, Pastor, how do I do that? I want to go to heaven. No, you want to be with Jesus. No, you want to be with Jesus. How can you be with Jesus? The Bible says, if you would turn from your sins and by faith accept the free gift of eternal life.33:58If you confess with your mouth and believe with your heart, you will be saved. And as sure as Jesus right now sits on the throne in heaven is the same assurance that you can have for your salvation if you confess him as Lord right now. It's the same assurance that Linda has. It's the same assurance that Caleb has, not because of a baptism or because of this church, but because they say Jesus is mine.34:23And because of that, I will be with him in heaven one day. Would you trust in him for the first time? We would love to talk with you more about that. You can put a connect card. We can follow up with you after the service or one of our pastors and counselors will remain here after the service down front. We would love to encourage you in your faith. But maybe you're past all that.34:53Maybe you say, well, I am a Christ follower. I firmly believe that thinking about heaven should change our lives. Thinking about heaven should change our lives. One of the purposes of the church meeting weekly is to remind ourselves of our heavenly existence. So I want us to respond to the gospel with this quote. By an old pastor named Jonathan Edwards. He says it becomes us to spend this life only as a journey.35:22Toward heaven. To which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. We should, why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else but that which is proper and the proper end of our true happiness. Maybe you're like me today.35:51You just need to say, God, I focus too much on earth. And I want a heavenly perspective. God, if you would just crack that door. If I could just see what John would see. It would change my life. Those that think about heaven the most. Do most for Christ here on earth. Church, let's pray.Next in B2Church →Sunday, August 11, 2019
