What Will We Know in Heaven Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on What Will We Know in Heaven Part 2. He will be reading out of 1st Corinthians 13:12.

The Bible tells us in Revelation 21 for that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying and neither shall there be any pain for the former things are passed away. Hello this is Pastor Mike Sanders from the Open Door Church with Hope Worth Having and we are delighted to have you here today and we’re going to continue our study on what we will know in heaven. That’s a great question.

You know the Bible talks about heaven 582 times in 550 verses and so this morning I want you to join me as we begin in 1st Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 12 and let’s begin to learn more about what the Bible teaches on heaven. And not only are we overcoming death as believers but our loved ones who have already preceded us in death are going to overcome death for the scripture says that the dead in Christ shall rise. Isn’t that wonderful church? I mean just reflect upon that think about how momentous that will be how majestic will be to see your loved one rise.

The Apostle said to live as Christ this is the essence of your life. I know that some of you are pursuing that career. You’re pursuing that money.

You’re pursuing that American dream and I’m not against any of those things as long as they’re kept in perspective that your life is Christ. It’s all about Jesus. Wherever God plants you, whatever he uses you, whatever skill sets he gives you, whatever career he gives you, it’s all about Jesus.

Here is something that you don’t hear a lot but you and I need to be reminded. It’s not about you. It’s about Jesus.

It’s about Jesus. Don’t believe the lie of the devil. Don’t believe the lie of the world that it’s about you.

But remember that it is about Jesus Christ. Think about this what John the Revelator said in Revelation 14 verse 13 relating to death. I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me write blessed are the dead.

Think about that for a second. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yes, sayeth the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.

God does not forget what we have done for him and he rewards us. And so again, what is the perspective of the Bible about death? It is not one of finality. It is not one of end for the believer.

It is blessedness. It is gain. It is life.

It is to be in the presence of God enjoying all that God has for us. Now, we have many perspectives of heaven. Perhaps some of you are like what Mark Twain said to Huck Finn and Huck Finn was not really interested in heaven and so he said all a body would have to do was to go around all day long with a harp and sing forever and ever.

That would take me out because A, I can’t play a harp and B, I can’t sing. But a lot of people think that’s all you’re going to do. We’re just going to float on clouds.

We’re going to just sing and we’re just going to play an instrument. But friends, that’s not all you’re going to do in heaven. So let’s talk about this.

I want you to write this down and I hope you’ll do further study. Don’t be scared that there’s five points. First of all, remember that Pastor Mike will cut off his sermon when necessary.

And then B is that not all these points have a lot of sub points so we’ll be able to move through them quickly. But number one, our knowledge in heaven will be greater than it is now. I want you to remember that.

Again, I think that’s self-evident in our text, isn’t it? Verse 12, we know in part but then, meaning face to face, I shall know just as I also am known. So your knowledge is going to be greater. I love what the apostle said in 1 Corinthians 2, 9, but as it is written, I 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.

I say it to you all the time. I know you get tired of it. I hope it’s a comfort to you.

I really do, that none of your loved ones went to heaven and were disappointed. They were not let down and they were not bummed out and they did not say, I want to go back to suffering. I want to go back to sorrow.

I want to go back to struggle. I want to go back to sin. I want to go back to dealing with difficult people.

Amen? Our loved ones bust into heaven with great joy. The Bible says, in thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore.

So it’s so awesome. And I want you to know that when we get to heaven, the degrading effect of sin on our minds, that is gone. And when we live in this world, your mind isn’t as good as it used to be.

Do you remember that? But I’m just saying that our minds aren’t as sharp as they used to be. You think about these kids when they’re little, man, they’re just soaking it up. You know what I’m saying? And everything you say, they remember what you say.

Have you noticed that? My grandson Isaiah, he was in trouble last Wednesday and his mother said to him, you better straighten up or I’m going to give you a spanking. And Isaiah respond to his mother. He said, I don’t have time for that.

Now, where did a two-year-old hear that from? He probably heard it from his mother’s grandmother. But he said, I don’t have time for that. And these little kids, their minds are so sharp.

They soak up everything. It’s amazing what they remember. As we get older, our minds are not as mentally sharp.

But friends, what I want you to understand is when you leave this world, you may not remember things down here and you may have forgot to brush your teeth this morning, but in heaven, your mind is as sharp as it ever was. It is blessed and you are intellectually able to understand. Remember what Philippians 3.21 says, that God who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to his glorious body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself, this body, which includes our mind, every aspect of it, my friends, it is going to be one day transformed.

Hallelujah. And one day, we are going to have a brand new body. And I understand it’s not immediately, and I understand it’s after the resurrection, but it’s still a great promise and it’s still a great hope that God is going to give you a new body.

Now, people talk about getting their knee replaced. They talk about getting their hips replaced, and they talk about getting their shoulders replaced. And I’m sure it won’t be long, they’ll be implanting AI in your brain.

Okay? And I’ll be pastoring AI people. But none of that compares to the original creation, and none of that compares to the new creation of a new body of what God has in store for us. And so, we understand.

Think about it. Really, it’s this, that God is moving everything back to the way it was before sin entered the world. And what it was like for Adam and Eve in that paradise, in that garden of beauty, and all that God had created.

And so, when we think about sin entering to the world, we understand that Adam, certainly his mental capabilities, were greater before the fall than they were after the fall. So, I want you to know that our knowledge in heaven is greater. It is better.

It is sharper in heaven than it is now. Number two, I want you to learn that even though it will be better and greater, that we’ll never be omniscient. We will never be omniscient.

We will not know everything there is to know. Please keep that in mind. You won’t have all knowledge in heaven.

You won’t have everything figured out in heaven. You won’t have all the answers in heaven. I know some of you believe you already have all the answers.

We appreciate you, but we know that sometimes your answers aren’t right, but we just say to you, that’s interesting. Because you’re a brother and sister in Christ, and we don’t want to hurt your feelings, but that’s interesting. People tell me all kinds of crazy things.

So, I just say, well, that’s interesting. I think to myself, do I have time to debate with this person? And if I debated with them, would they even change their mind? Right? And so, I just say, well, that’s interesting. But I want you to know, today, we possess a very limited understanding.

The Bible says, we know in part. We’ve read it twice in this passage. We have a limited understanding of life.

And one day, though, we’re going to see better. But it does not in any way imply that you are equal with God in knowledge. So, please don’t go up there thinking in heaven.

Please. Our pastor told us we would know everything. No, you won’t.

Which will lead me to my third point, where I really want to spend some time with you, and that is that we will continue to learn and grow in our knowledge throughout all eternity. You’re going to continue to learn and grow. You say, well, I thought I was done.

And some of you are like, I’m never going back to school. Well, you’re going to the school of heaven. And it is a wonderful school, because your mind is sharp.

And you’re absorbing. Your knowledge is sharp. You’re going to be able to learn and grow.

So, what we know in the eternal state will not be static. But it will always be increasing. We will always be learning.

God made and designed us to be a people who will grow and learn. And let me tell you something, that you will revel in it. You will enjoy it so much.

There’ll be times that you’ll be walking around, and you’ll bump into the old apostle Paul. And you’ll be asking him 100 questions about what it was like. And he’s like, look, I told the other Christian this.

I ain’t got time to tell you guys. You’ll say, we got all eternity, Paul. Tell me the story again, and how you came to Christ, or how you handled that shipwreck.

Or, I’ve always wondered about this thing in the Bible, or this thing that you wrote. What did you mean, Paul? What did you mean? And so, it’s going to be beautiful. Now, what will we learn about in heaven? Please write this down.

But Revelation 6.10 gives us a little insight here. And I want you to know the context. It’s the tribulation period.

These are martyrs who are standing before God Almighty at the throne. And they cried out, the Bible says, with a loud voice, saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? They didn’t know everything. They were in the throne of God.

And they were wondering, and they were asking questions. Isn’t it great that when we get to heaven, we’re going to be able to ask questions, and nobody’s going to be offended? And I doubt that God’s going to say, because I told you so. But we’re going to learn and grow.

So, what are we going to learn? Number one, write this down, we will learn more about the person of God. We’re going to learn more about who God is. Who is God? Oh, friends, you think you know the holiness of God.

Wait till you get to heaven. You think you know about the righteousness of God, but you and I really don’t understand all of its depth, and breadth, and height, and width. We haven’t fully grasped the faithfulness of God, and the goodness of God, and the loving kindness of God, all these wonderful attributes that describe who our God is, all these wonderful words that we use to praise his name, to give him glory.

You are going to know the person of God in a greater and deeper way beyond anything that you’ve ever experienced here on this earth. That is going to bring great joy to our hearts as we learn about the person of God. Because I want you to understand something, one of the great passions of your life should be even now, to be learning about who God is.

And the more that you spend saturating your life learning about the attributes or the characteristics of God, your spiritual life is going to grow and expand in ways that you never thought to be true. But I want you to know the second thing is that we’ll learn more about the plan of God. Now, this is important.

We already told you in Revelation 6.10 that they were asking Jesus, Lord, how long is it going to be? When are you going to avenge our blood? When are you going to make things right? When is your justice going to fall down in the tribulation period? Look at verse 11. They go on, the Bible says, and white robes were given unto every one of them. And it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled.

You know what happened as they asked the question? God said to them, I want you to be patient. I want you to rest. I want you to remember that I got a plan and there’s still more martyrs in the tribulation period.

There’s still more people who are going to have to die and be promoted to heaven. And so they had to understand the plan of God. And you know, as you and I go through life, it’s hard for us to understand.

It’s hard for us because we see so much suffering in this world. We see so much sadness in this world. We feel it personally, what is going on.

And we say to God, how long? How long, God? Will you leave us in this state? I sometimes visit our members or our shut-ins and people in our church and they say, you know, Pastor Mike, why has God left me here? I mean, I don’t know God’s perfect plan, but bare minimum, the best I got is he definitely wants you to pray. But God has his reasons. Letha Koontz lived to be 107 in our church and I would go visit her and she would say to me, why am I still here, Pastor Mike? And I said, because God knew that Pastor Mike would need all the prayer he could get.

And you see, friends, God has a purpose and a plan. I can’t explain it all. The Bible says the secret things belong to the Lord.

And I want to give you some words of wisdom for those that are grieving. Brothers and sisters in Christ, when you minister to them, don’t act like you have all the answers. Are you with me? Sometimes we need to do what the Bible says and weep with those who weep.

You understand? We don’t have good answers. I don’t know why God called your loved one home and I don’t know why he promoted them. And you’re not helping by telling me that you got it all figured out.

It’s better to be humble and encouraging and comforting that you’re here to help out in whatever way that you can. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 12, 1, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Here’s what he’s saying to us.

Don’t give up. Keep running the race. Endure.

There are already those who have gone on before you and the great host of heaven is cheering you on. And from heaven, they see the big picture. And from heaven, they understand the plan of God.

And from heaven, they see how God is putting everything together in such a beautiful way that it will bring glory to his name. But you and I are down here. So many things are besetting us.

Sin is besetting us. Suffering is besetting us. Our struggles are besetting us.

Different things in our life are weighing down on us and they hinder us from enduring and staying faithful and keep going for God. But there’s a host in heaven that’s saying, don’t quit. Don’t give up because God has a plan.

My friends, one day we’re going to see everything from a divine advantage point. Isn’t that beautiful? It’s going to be beautiful. Let me tell you something else you’re going to learn.

You’re going to learn about the power of God. We will learn more about the power of God because see, now I have days and I have moments where I experience the fullness of his spirit and the fullness of God. And I get to experience his great power in my life.

But can we be honest, church, that many times we find ourselves living in the flesh, responding in the flesh, handling things in the flesh. And as a result of that, we don’t experience the power of God. But when you’re in the presence of God, his fullness will be all over you, in you, and through you, and that you’ll be experiencing this great utopia moment in heaven throughout all eternity, and you will truly know what it is to have the eternal power of God operating in you.

It’ll help you to continue to move forward for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let’s look at our fourth truth. Well, look at that.

Here we are on number four. We still got a couple hours to go, so I feel good. Number four, we will remember.

Now here’s a tough one. We will remember our past experiences. Now I know that some of you are revolting.

Let me help you. I know you need to help me. And we can have some good times with this down the road.

But let’s talk about it right now. I want you to think about your memory because your memory is an essential part of your personhood. That means your memory is an important part of who you are.

Think about that. We see this manifested in our loved ones who have had dementia, Alzheimer’s, and their memory has been stripped from them, and they cannot recall. And many times people have shared with me that, you know, Mom, she said things that she would have never said, or she did things that she would have never done.

And people have recalled to me how different things have happened. They’re like, that’s not my mom. That’s not my dad.

That’s not my spouse. Because this terrible disease of dementia and Alzheimer’s has stripped their memory. And what I’m trying to say to you, that our memory is a part of who we are, and it impacts our life.

The things that we have experienced, they shape our hearts, our thoughts. Our relationships, we have a special affection for those who are in our family, those who we love and care about, those that we have sacrificed, our children that we’ve raised, grandchildren that we have loved on. And these things are in our life as we recall the memories of our spouse and the memories of people in our lives that have been so important to us, and they affect us.

But when that is gone, we’re different. And so I want to make the case to you that we will remember our past experiences. Because without memory, how could we appreciate and give gratitude to God Almighty for the splendor of our salvation? How could we remember that Jesus saved us from our sins? The Bible tells us in Revelation 21.4 that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, and neither shall there be any pain.

For the former things are passed away. Again, in Isaiah 65.17, the Scripture says, For behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. Let’s try to understand the Bible because it seems to conflict with what I’m telling you.

And let me help you. The Bible tells us that God will take our sin and he will cast it as far as the east is from the west to be what? Thank you. I’m just making sure you’re still awake.

Now, let me ask you a question. Do you believe the omniscient God who knows everything doesn’t know about your sins in the past? Why would the prophet say that? Because the Bible uses what we often do as ourselves as metaphors to describe the significance and the impact of what God might do in our life. You and I talk like this.

We say it’s raining cats and dogs out there. It ain’t raining cats and dogs. You know what I’m saying? You just are using metaphors and idioms and different terminology to describe what it’s really like.

God knows everything. And when he tells us that God is going to give us a point where we’re not going to remember no more, he’s talking about the full impact of sin and death and sorrow. But we will recall, we will remember because he will wipe away our tears.

But let me tell you something, that when you get to heaven, its impact upon you will be mitigated and minimized in your life, that it will not affect you, that you will continue to go on. It’s like your little child that fell and bumped their head, but then all of a sudden there’s a new toy in front of them and they forgot all about that. And so it is in our life that when we think about the splendor, the glory of God, the things that we might ever be tearful of, that God will wipe away, it’s not like he’s going to erase your memory and that somehow you’re going to be a different person up in heaven than you are here, but that you are going to be this same person with the same personality and the same experiences, and you’re going to know, and you’re going to know greater, and your mind’s going to be sharper, and you’re going to be able to recall things even better, because you will know face-to-face, fully, all things that God wants you to understand.

And you will grow, but it doesn’t mean that you won’t recall, or you won’t forget, but God will give you the ability that it no longer causes you sorrow, and it no longer causes you sadness, and it no longer breaks you down emotionally. And you will not focus on the past, but you will focus in the present of all the glory and the majesty of our Savior. Now, why are we really here? Because of point number five, we will recognize one another.

What will you know in heaven? Well, let me ask you some questions. Do we recognize loved ones here? Do you know who your loved ones are? Do you know who your children are? Do you know who your grandchildren are? Yes, and let me tell you something. You will not know less in heaven than you know on earth.

You will not know less. When you get to heaven, you’ll know more. Some of you have children in heaven.

Some of you have spouses in heaven, and you have parents in heaven, and you have loved ones in heaven, and you have dear friends in heaven. But I want you to know that we will know our friends, and we will know our family when we get to heaven, and it’s going to be a glorious reunion, and it’s going to be sweet, and it’s going to be better than it’s ever been here on this earth. Why? Because sometimes we get offended down here.

Have you noticed that? I mean, even the people we love, they offend us. And in heaven, you’ll never be offended. Your wife can tell you how to drive, and you’ll still, guys, won’t get upset.

You’ll be, it’s okay, hon. Thank you. It’s a blessing to have you right next to me telling me to turn left.

It’s so beautiful. It’s beautiful. How do I know this, Pastor? How do you know this? Luke 24, real quickly.

I don’t have time to break all this down, but in Luke 24, the disciples of Christ recognize the resurrected Savior. And you see, your body will be just like his body, and you will be recognizable. And how he lived after his resurrection is how you will live.

Well, let me tell you something. I got to thinking about Jesus and his resurrected body, that he ate fish. He got the disciples around, and he said, come and dine with me.

And I’m just thinking that in heaven, it’s going to be so glorious, and it’s going to be so wonderful that we’re just going to eat all kinds of food, and my friends, there’ll be no calories. There’ll be no fat, sugar, all those things. They’re gone, all right? Now, that’s a little speculation on my part, okay? I’m still looking for a Bible verse.

But in Luke 16, another example, Lazarus and the rich man clearly identified one another. They had recollection of each other’s interactions before they died. In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul told the Thessalonians that they were his joy, and they would be his crown in heaven.

And he referred to them as being people he would know, and they were ones that he had won to the Lord, and that he would know them. But 1 Thessalonians 4 reminds us that our loved ones will resurrect, and that we will spend eternity with them. Luke chapter 9, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John intuitively recognize Moses and Elijah as the glory of our Savior was pulled back and revealed to these great disciples so much.

They said, Lord, let us build a tent, and let us just stay here for a while. And he said, nope, that’s just a picture for you. We got to get back to work.

And of course, in our text today, 1 Corinthians 13, 12, we shall know even as we are known. It boils down to this, church. We will be at least as discerning, as smart in heaven as we have been here on this earth.

We see now in a mirror, the image is poor. It’s dark. It’s dim.

But one day when we see Jesus face to face, it’s going to be clear. It’s going to be beautiful. It’s going to be special.

It’s going to be beyond what you can even imagine in your mind. And let that rest in your heart and encourage you in the days ahead. Would you pray with me? We can certainly read different passages on heaven, and we know that God teaches us that we’re going to know each other in heaven.

And one great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, said, I’d hate to think that I’ll be dumber in heaven than I am on earth. And so how important it is for us to recognize that we are going to have great fellowship and connection with our loved ones and even people we don’t know that we will know. And we’re just going to continue to grow in our faith.

So it’s such a blessing to think about what we will know in heaven and the things that we’ll get to enjoy and get to learn and grow together. Now, I want to encourage you to check out our website, hopeworthhaving.com. And on that website, there’s many different things that you can learn about. You can keep up with some of our sermons and you can watch us live.

In addition, you can check out different aspects of our newsletter. So jump on that website, hopeworthhaving.com, and see what the Lord has for you as you continue to grow in your journey of faith. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ, there is hope worth having.