Tell Me About Your Heaven Part 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Tell Me About Your Heaven Part 1. He will be in John John 14: 1-6.

I want you to know that there is no dwelling place on this earth that can compare to the dwelling place that Jesus Christ has for each one of us that has a real relationship with Him. We want to welcome you to Hope Worth Having and I know that I’m a little bit biased about this but this is the best radio program on this side of heaven and I hope that you are delighted and excited about tuning in today and that you are ready to learn the Word of God.

So today we’re going to be in a new study and it’s going to be in John chapter 14 and so we’ve been traveling through the Gospel of John together and we’ve just been learning chapter by chapter verse by verse and we’re learning about what Jesus is teaching us and I love this section of the Gospel of John because now we’re going to really learn some powerful truths about heaven so I’ve entitled the message tell me about heaven and you know that’s what a lot of people want to know they want to know more about heaven.

Well we’re going to take a look at that in the Gospel of John today so get your Bible get a pen and paper and let’s start learning together in the Gospel of John. This morning I want to invite you to the Gospel of John chapter 14 is our text this morning and I’ve entitled my message tell me about heaven that’s exactly what Jesus did in John chapter 14 is he told his disciples about heaven.

I read several years ago about a rock group that was called blood sweat and tears and they sang a song with these lines in it and I quote I swear. There ain’t no heaven, and I pray there ain’t no hell,” end of quote.

And I would say that’s bad grammar, but it’s also bad theology. Because there are many people who know that the Bible teaches us clearly that there is a heaven. Unfortunately, there are people who do not believe in heaven.

They believe that heaven does not exist. The atheist says that heaven is an illusion, and the philosopher says heaven is just an idea for those who are idiotic. The liberal theologians say that heaven is just a musty, worn -out idea from a previous superstition that in modern times must be disregarded.

But I tell you that heaven is real. where can we go to get reliable information about heaven? We can go to the Bible. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, 9 and 10, as it is written, eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.

But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. God has given us His Bible. He has given us His Word, and in His Word He tells us about heaven.

He does not tell us everything that we would like to know about heaven, but He certainly tells us enough about heaven to let us know that it is a wonderful and it is a glorious place. Jesus spoke about heaven often, and He spoke in terms of parables and promises and precepts, and He wanted His people to know that there is a place that He has prepared for them.

When we come to our text this morning, Jesus Christ has been communicating to His disciples, and He’s been letting them know that it will not be long before He departs, that He will go to the cross, He will be crucified, He will resurrect, and He will ascend.

The disciples did not clearly grasp all that He was telling them, but they did catch that He would leave them, and this so troubled their hearts that Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 1, let not your heart be troubled.

You believe in God, believe also. and me. In my father’s house are many mansions, and if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there, ye may be also.

And whether I go, you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said unto him, Lord, we know not whether thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. There are some things I want you to learn about heaven this morning from this text. The first thing, if you’re taking notes, I want you to note that heaven is a real place.

Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. It is interesting, the word place is the Greek word topos, which we get our word topology, which means a material, tangible place. Jesus was not just giving something in hyperbole or even in metaphors, but rather Jesus was wanting his disciples to know that he was going to a real, tangible place, a place that they could call home, a place that he would prepare for them,

a place that they would live with him and all those who love God forever and ever and ever. And I want you to know that heaven is as real as the town of Chambersburg. It is as real as the city of Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York City.

Heaven is a real place that you and I can look forward that we will live with Jesus Christ and all of our loved ones forever and ever. What is this real place like? We know that it’s divine. Heaven is divine because it is the dwelling place of God.

It is the dwelling place of God. Solomon said in his prayer in 1 Kings, listen in heaven, your dwelling place. And when you hear, forgive. As he was crying out to God on behalf of the people, he reminds us that the dwelling place of the Father is heaven.

Jesus taught us in his prayer to his disciples, teaching them how to pray. that at the very outset we are to pray our Father, which art in heaven. Heaven is a divine place. It is a place where God dwells.

It is a place that the throne of God sits. Heaven is real because it is divine. Heaven is real because it is desirable. The Bible tells us that Paul the Apostle struggled. He said, I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better.

Jesus described heaven as a place that He would personally prepare for those who love Him. Jesus said there are many mansions, there are many dwelling places. It is something to really desire in your heart.

It’s not too spiritual to have a longing in your heart to want to be with Jesus forever. There’s nothing wrong for you to have a desire to go and live with Christ. Paul had that wrestle in his life. He desired to stay and help as many as he could and to reach as many as he could.

But in his heart, he desired to go to a place that was far better than anything on this earth. I remind you, many of you have loved ones who are living in heaven today. And I want you to know that when they got there that they were not disappointed nor were they let down.

But rather in their hearts, they are so filled with joy and meaning and fulfillment in their hearts that they are excited and they long to continue to worship and they can’t wait till you get to join them there one day.

Someone once asked me, are we gonna know each other in heaven? Well, I always like to respond what Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century preacher said, I’d hate to think I’d be dumber in heaven than I was on earth, amen?

Yes, the Bible teaches that we will be known and that we will be known as we are known even today. And yes, you and I will be known in heaven and we will know our loved ones and our loved ones will know us.

And I always get the question, well, how old are we gonna be in heaven? Well, unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t tell us. There is speculation. The Bible says that when we see him, we will be like him.

We know that Jesus Christ lived for 33 and a half years on this earth. Will we be that beautiful person that’s right there at the perfect age of 33 and a half? I don’t know. Will we be that person at the age of?

that we left it doesn’t matter because in heaven age just doesn’t matter because there’s no timekeeping there’s no Google calendars in heaven there’s no schedules there’s no agendas as far as something I’ve got to get done every day because in heaven we live forever and ever and ever and we can spend 10 ,000 years praising God and we can spend 10 ,000 years fellowshiping with the saints and we still got more than 10 ,000 years time does not matter heaven is a place that we should desire think about this wonderful thought that Jesus Christ was the master carpenter on this earth and yet he has gone to prepare a place for each of us that love him in heaven The King James translator said,

in my father’s house are many mansions. The Greek word has the idea of dwelling places. As someone once asked me, they said, do you think it’s wrong to give people the impression that they’re going to get a mansion, maybe with 10, 15 acres of land?

Listen, what the translators wanted to capture is that heaven will be the greatest dwelling place and it will be superior to any dwelling place that is upon this earth. And as you and I drive around and you look at all the wonderful fancy houses and the beautiful mansions and how they’re sprawled out, I want you to know that there is no dwelling place on this earth that can compare to the dwelling place that Jesus Christ has for each one of us that has a real relationship with Him.

Jesus said in Revelation 21 .4 in our scripture reading this morning that God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. Have you ever wondered why would God wipe away tears? Are they tears of sadness?

Are they tears of joy? I do not know. But I know that God wipes away all tears. And the Bible says there’ll be no more death. Can God’s people say amen? Right there’s enough, isn’t it? That is sufficient.

Death means to separate. Death separates us from our loved ones. But friends, I want you to know there is no separation in heaven. There is no taking your loved ones, snatching them out of your life.

In heaven we will be with our loved ones forever and we never have to wake up worried. will they be here tomorrow, will they be here today? In heaven we’ll be united forever because there is no more death.

Jesus said there’s no more sorrow. There’s no more sorrow. You and I live in a flawed world. We live in a world that is sinful. A world where people are selfish and they make choices and decisions that have ripple effects upon our life.

And people can be living innocent lives but because of the choice of one person, their life can face tragedy and crisis in moments and seconds, but in heaven there’s no sorrow. Why? Because there’s no sin.

Because in heaven we’re all perfect. There’s no crying in heaven. There’ll be no more pain in heaven, and the former things are passed away. Here’s the thing that I want you to note about heaven. In heaven, we all get along.

No one’s ever offended in heaven. I mean, you can just really be bold and say, you know, that outfit really looks bad on you. And you’ll be okay because we’re just not going to be hurt. You can really speak your mind.

In heaven, there is no offenses because we fellowship in sweet harmony because there’s no more sin. The former things are passed away. The second thing I want you to learn about heaven this morning is that heaven is a remarkable place.

Jesus said, in my father’s house are many mansions. This place, this dwelling place that God has made for us is very remarkable. It is remarkable because it is uniquely built. Jesus being the master carpenter has built a place for you to dwell and to live.

Hebrews teaches us in Hebrews 11 .10 that Abraham looked for a city who had foundations whose builder and maker is God. You may live in a home where the builder made some mistakes, and you may live in a home where it’s lived so long that it’s beginning to show its age and walls are cracking and basements are leaking and there’s all kind of issues with the roof.

We have this beautiful 52 acre campus and we have all these buildings on it and every one of them’s got an issue except for the new fellowship hall, amen. Yes, that’s right. But they leak. I remember when I first came to the open door church 14 years ago and I was preaching.

And as I was preaching, the roof was leaking and it was just dripping right down on top of my head. had. And I thought, wow, what a wonderful place I’ve come to. It was so ironic because I had just finished a 1 .5 million dollar brand -new auditorium in Connersville, Indiana, and we had roof leaks problems as well.

In heaven, every dwelling place that God builds for us will be perfect. It’ll be perfect. I know some of you ladies like to watch those shows where they’re always fixing things up. It’s really the detriment to my life.

I’m very happy and I’m just like, why can’t we just be satisfied? Why do we need fresh paint? And why do we need a new door? And why do we need this and that? In heaven, nothing needs to be renovated.

Isn’t that great, guys? Jesus builds it. It’s remarkable. Jesus said in Luke 23 43 assuredly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise. When the thief on the cross acknowledged his sinfulness and cried out to God for forgiveness, Jesus immediately while being suspended between heaven and earth told the thief on the cross not thinking about himself, Jesus thought about this poor sinner who was seeking salvation and forgiveness and he said I tell you assuredly today you will be with me in paradise.

What is heaven like? It’s like paradise friends. The psalmist said that in thy presence is fullness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures forever more. I heard the story of a little girl. She was taking an evening walk with her father.

She was just looking up into the stars and she exclaimed to her father oh daddy if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful what must the right side be like? And friends when you look out across the heavens and you see the beauty of the mountains and you see the majesty of God’s creation and you are overwhelmed by the glory of his creation remember that heaven is even better.

Heaven is a remarkable place because it is uniquely built. It is eternally built. It is eternally built. First John 2 17 says the world passes away in the lust thereof. Everything that is here is going to pass away.

Man likes to brag about its buildings and they will say this is one of the wonders of the world, but I tell you everything on this earth will eventually burn up and be destroyed. Everything will pass away and God will create a new heaven and He will create a new earth that will be even more majestic than what you and I are seeing today.

What God builds for us to live with Him forever will be eternal. It will never fade away. Again the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5 -1, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle, referring to our bodies, were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house that is not made with heavens, that is eternal in the heavens.

So the body that we live in now is a limited body. It is a corrupt body. It is a mortal body. We know that all too well. I know the young people think that they will be healthy all their life. They think they will never encounter, and they say to me, Mike, why are you slowing down?

And I tell them, I may not be able to go as long as I used to could go, but when I go, I’ll give 100 percent, amen? But the thing is that our body does get old, and our knees hurt, and our elbows hurt, and our shoulders hurt, and if it’s not one thing, it’s another, right?

And if your mind isn’t going, your body’s going. And we work tirelessly to try to keep our bodies in shape, and we’re looking for everything to put on our face so that it does not wrinkle. We’re trying to hide every flaw that we can, and I’m not against any of that.

I mean, I just think if you need it, do it, make it work, all right? Whatever works. I’m all in. But I want to tell you, there’s coming a day that you’re going to get a new body, and that body will be incorruptible.

It’ll be immortal, and you’ll never need another knee surgery, knee replacement. You’ll never have to get any new parts in your body. You don’t have to go and get something checked on and fixed on. You are going to have the greatest body ever, and I know that excites many of us.

Yes, it’s a body that’ll last forever. It’s a body that is eternal. Heaven is eternal. Our bodies are going to be eternal, and we’re just not going to have to worry about these things. D .L. Moody was a great evangelist in the 19th century, and he said, someday you’ll read in the papers that D .L.

Moody is dead. He said, don’t you believe it, because at that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. Isn’t that true? Oh, my friends, you have loved ones in heaven, and you refer to them as being dead but my friends I want you to know their body has died but their soul and spirit lives with God forever and they are more alive today than they’ve ever been and you can rejoice that they are enjoying the wonderful time we miss them in our heart our heart aches and longs to fellowship with them again but that day is coming that day is coming when you’ll be reunited and the dead in Christ shall rise and we which remain shall be caught up together to live forevermore with Jesus Christ and our loved ones and that’s why I said to you that the hope of heaven helps me to endure the struggles and trials of life and that’s why each and every one of us needs to take time to study about heaven to read about heaven to learn about heaven because heaven is a hope in our heart that infuses strength and joy within us that we might keep our focus on Jesus Christ For what God has for us in the future supersedes anything that we might lose on this earth.

The third thing that I want you to learn this morning is heaven is a reserved place. Heaven is a reserved place. Jesus said in verse 3, I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you unto myself and where I am there you may be also.

And he said whether I go you know and the way you know. Jesus said you know where I’m going and you know how to get there. You know how to get there because Jesus had been teaching and Jesus had been illustrating and Jesus had been living out how to inherit eternal life and how to make heaven your home.

Thomas said to him, Lord, we don’t know where you’re going and we don’t know the way to where you’re going. And Jesus reminded them in verse 6, I am the way, the truth and the life and no man cometh unto the father but by me.

And I want you to know that heaven is a reserved place. In first Peter 1 for were reminded that this inheritance that it is incorruptible. It is undefiled and that it fades not away but it’s reserved in heaven for you.

It is reserved in heaven for you. You can’t just show up to heaven because you lived in this world but you must make reservations to go to heaven. You have a responsibility. I have a responsibility and we are called to make reservations.

So how do we make these reservations? Let me give you some key words. Number one is invitation. There is an invitation to each and every one of us. this invitation is extended to you personally and it is from Jesus Christ and he invites us into a real relationship with him.

Jesus is not inviting you to religion. He is not inviting you to join the church. He is not inviting you to pick up more rituals and rules in your life but he is inviting you to turn away from your sin and to turn to him for eternal life.

Jesus Christ was not saying that there is some special formula that if you do A, B, C and D that you will get to heaven. Jesus is not telling us that there is some special ritual that we have to go through or some class we have to take.

Jesus simply said this and I want you to look at verse six again. He said, I am the way. The way is not a process. The way is not a formula. The way is a person. It is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

This invitation is to you. Jesus is not claiming to know the truth, but he is claiming to be the truth. It is hard to get reliable information about heaven. There are so many different books that are written about heaven.

People have shared their experiences of what they recall to be heaven. But where can we get that information that we know to be rock solid truth? Well, that’s the Bible. And whatever you might read about or others are speculating about heaven, remember that the truth and the facts are in the Bible.

And in the Gospel of John chapter 14, John lays out more and more understanding about heaven. And so we’re excited to be able to learn about that. And we’re going to continue our study next week. So make sure that you tune in at the same time on this station and that you have your pen and paper ready as we study the Word of God.

Did you know that Hopeworth having has an app? We have an app where you can learn more and grow more and you can follow along in Pastor Mike’s study notes. So what I need you to do is go to your store, whether it’s Apple Store or Play Store, and type in The Open Door Church PA and that will pop up our app.

And then I need you to download it. And then as you’re setting up your profile, you certainly can pick which things you want to be a part of. We have a multi -ministry here, but pick the ministry Hopeworth having and then let that be your main focus there and all the notifications you’d like to receive.

But in that, on the bottom, you can learn how to connect to Hopeworth having. You can learn how you can keep up with all the media options. Opportunities for hope worth having the different platforms were on in addition you can keep up with all the sermon notes So if you’re like me I love to follow and learn the Bible in an orderly way and it’s broken down and structured in a way that it’s given to Me in bite sizes.

So that’s our goal in our attempt. So you could follow along as we’re studying the Bible Maybe you’re a Bible teacher a Sunday school teacher. Maybe you enjoy helping others understand It can be a great witnessing tool But all these notes are available to you and we’re just saying look download the app and there it is It’s all there for you.

And so it can enrich you and your faith. So take advantage of this opportunity Don’t forget to download that app the open door Church Pa and sign up to be in the hope worth having ministry and it’ll be a great blessing to you This is pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.