10.02.2022 | HEAVEN
HEAVEN
John 14:1-2 – “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
John 14:3-4 – “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
John 14:5-6 – “Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
John 11:25 (KJV) – “Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet he shall live.”
HEAVEN IS REAL, AND YOU’RE GONNA LIKE IT!
John 14:1a – “Let not your heart be troubled.”
Troubled – fearful, disturbed, in distress, agitated
John 14:1b – “You believe in God, believe also in Me.” (Keep believing)
John 14:2a – “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.”
Mansions – dwelling places
John 14:2b-3 – “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 to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
2 Corinthians 5:8 – “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
1. Believe Heaven is Real
A. Jesus declared it.
John 14:2a – “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.”
B. The Word describes it.
Revelation 21:10 – “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.”
C. The resurrection of Jesus confirms it.
John 14:19b – “Because I live, you will live also.”
D. Believers have had a glimpse of it.
2 Corinthians 12:2 – “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a one was caught up to the third heaven.”
E. Our hearts yearn for it.
Ecclesiastes 3:11a – “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts.”
84% of Americans believe in some kind of heaven. 7 out of 10 say it is absolutely true.
Truly believing in heaven should impact the way we live on earth.
2. Anticipate the Joy and Beauty of Heaven
Revelation 21:21 – “The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”
Revelation 21:23 – “The city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”
Revelation 21:4 – “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 4:8b – “And they do not rest day or night, saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’”
Revelation 22:3b – “His servants shall serve Him.”
Revelation 22:4a – “They shall see His face.”
“The Glory of Heaven is that we shall see Him, the same Christ who died upon Calvary’s cross.” – Charles Spurgeon
I couldn’t take my eyes off Jesus. He’s beyond beautiful. He’s everything I’ve ever longed for.
Psalm 27:4 – “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”
3. Live Free from the Fear of Death, in the Assurance of Heaven
Hebrews 2:14-15 – “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except though Me.’”
Luke 10:20 – “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you have an absolute conviction about the reality of heaven? Why or why not?
2. Have you ever had a glimpse of eternity? Would you be willing to share that experience?
3. What are some of the things you are most looking forward to about heaven?
4. How does believing in heaven impact the way you live your life on earth?
5. Do you have any doubt about where you will spend eternity?