Unimaginable Heaven
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Today’s the last week in our Tough Questions series which has been all about seeking answers to complex questions. A couple of times a year we want to give people on social media an opportunity to ask us whatever questions they have about faith or life in general, and then we’ll preach on the top 2 questions people ask. Last week I preached on the #1 question people asked which is “What is hell, and why would God create people if He knew they’d sin, suffer, and go to hell?” Some of you are like, “So that’s why we’re so thin today. It’s because you preached on hell and scared people off.” No it’s because we have a lot of people traveling for thanksgiving. We don’t believe in scaring people into heaven, and if you were here last week you heard our hearts on that. But last week it was about what is hell, and why would God create people if He knew they’d sin, suffer, and go to hell. This week it’s about “What will heaven be like when we die?” That’s the 2nd most popular question people asked. It’s what will heaven be like when we die, and there’s a lot of opinions on what it’s gonna be like. In fact a while back I did a little google search on this and here’s what a few people said heaven’s gonna be like:
“When I die, I’ll meet Jesus and he’ll take me on a tour around Heaven. Then he’ll take me to my mansion. In my mansion, there's a food court, kind of like a mall. L...O...L…There's a McDonalds, Burger King, Krispy Kreme, Subway, Baskin Robbins, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Wendy's…” Apparently Chick Fil-A didn’t make the cut. “There's a weight room since I love to lift weights. A library since I love to read. A movie theatre, not just for movies but for football games too. A zoo. A candy shop. An ice cream mountain. That's all I’ve got. L...O...L…What do you guys think? Remember, Heaven is whatever you want it to be, as long as it’s not threatening to God…Atheists, please don't write anything rude! God Bless!...” This person thinks heaven’s gonna be whatever YOU want it to be, but that’s not true. Heaven’s not gonna be whatever YOU want it to be, it’ll be exactly what God wants it to be...It’ll be exactly what God wants it to be... which will make it far better than you want it to be...Here’s another one, this one from a pastor:
“Whenever I think about heaven, it makes me depressed. I’d rather just cease to exist when I die, because I can’t stand the thought of that endless tedium where we float around in the clouds with nothing to do but strum a harp…It’s all so terribly boring. Heaven doesn’t sound much better than hell. I’d much rather be annihilated, than spend eternity in a place like that.” Man sign me up for his church! I mean can you imagine what his small group meetings are like? “Okay everybody we need to practice for eternity. Let’s grab a fluffy pillow, put on some yoga pants, and start strumming for Jesus...” Look I can promise you this, if you attend mine and Aaron’s small group, that’s not gonna happen. But Zack’s? Can’t make any promises there. He wears skinny jeans, so no promises there...All jokes aside, I’m seriously baffled at what bible this pastor’s reading because the bible never says we’re gonna float on clouds playing the harp for eternity. The bible doesn’t teach heaven’s gonna be boring like that, it teaches us it’s gonna be much greater than that, and I want to show you that today. I want to show you what the bible says heaven’s gonna be like when we die, because here’s what I know about everybody in this room. It’s that we all want to be happy...We all want to be happy, we all want to be joyful...It’s something we all have in common, Christian, non-Christian, we all want happiness and joy, and today I’m gonna give you a glimpse of the happiness and joy Jesus offers us in heaven. So let’s turn our bibles to Revelation 21:1-5 and get into it. The title of todays message is ‘Unimaginable Heaven.’ It’s called Unimaginable Heaven because all words and imageries we use to describe heaven can’t ever grasp the greatness of heaven. You need to know that going into this. You need to know that all words and imageries we use to describe heaven, none of it will ever grasp the greatness of heaven. You need to know that heaven will never be what YOU want, or imagine it to be...It’ll be far greater...It’ll be far greater than you could ever possibly imagine.
Context:
Here’s your context. The book of Revelation was written by one of Jesus’ followers named John, and in Revelation 1:1 we learn the reason Jesus wanted him to write this book. It was because Jesus wanted John to tell his followers about some things that are gonna happen in the future. Now in particular chapter 21 takes us to a future place in time where Jesus has already returned, he’s judged the living and the dead, he’s defeated Satan once and for all, he’s taken his throne, and he’s restoring the entire world as we know it. Ch. 21 takes us to a future place in time where Jesus is restoring the entire world as we know it, and he’s gonna give us a glimpse into what that world’s gonna be like. He’s gonna give us a glimpse of what heaven’s gonna be like when we die, and as we study this text I’m gonna teach you 6 things about heaven. We can’t fully imagine it, but we can get a glimpse of it. So let’s get a glimpse.
The Word:
Revelation 21:1-5 states this, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” Okay so this is the 1st of 6 things I want to teach you about heaven.
#1 Heaven Will Include Reconciliation = Heaven will include reconciliation. It’ll include reconciliation between heaven and earth. The text states there’s gonna be a NEW heaven and a NEW earth, and that the first heaven and earth are gonna pass away, meaning the heaven and earth that exists now are gonna pass away, they’re not gonna be the same anymore when Jesus returns. It’s because Jesus is reconciling them, he’s bringing the two of them together, he’s bringing heaven and earth together as one. It’s the fulfillment of the Lord’s prayer where Jesus teaches us to pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” This is the moment where that prayer’s becoming a reality. It’s the moment where there’s gonna be complete reconciliation between God, His Kingdom, and His creation so that God’s will on heaven and earth become one. It’ll be a NEW heaven and a NEW earth full of reconciliation, and not just reconciliation between God, His Kingdom, and His creation, but also with each other.
See when John says “the sea was no more,” he’s talking about how there’s not gonna be anything causing us to divide against each other anymore. I’m talking no division over race, gender, politics, socio-economic statuses, none of those things will divide us anymore. He’s gonna reconcile all those differences in heaven. It’s not that there won’t be diversity in heaven, it’s just our diversity won’t cause us to divide against each other. Heaven will still be diverse, it’ll just be diversely unified. I’m talking racial, generational, gender, socio economic, Democrat, Republican, USF, UCF, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants fans all coming together at the foot of the cross to worship Jesus. It’s diversity, but unity in diversity because of Jesus. It’s one of our codes, one of our core values at the church. We believe in “cultural diversity but gospel unity,” because the gospel’s our common ground, Jesus is our common ground. We want our church to be a reflection of heaven, and it’s gonna take time to accomplish that, because sin has so permeated our culture that people use diversity against each other. But when Jesus returns he’s gonna reconcile all our differences, and we’ll have complete unity in diversity. Heaven’s gonna be full of reconciliation between God, His Kingdom, His creation, and all those who believe in Jesus. It’s gonna be a new heaven, a new earth, and the seas of division will be no more. Heaven will never be what you want it to be, or what you imagine it to be. It’ll be far greater!
Again vs. 1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem...” You noticing a theme yet? There’s gonna be a NEW heaven, a NEW earth, a NEW Jerusalem. Everything in heaven will be made new, which is the 2nd thing I want you to know about heaven.
#2 Heaven Will Include New Things = Heaven will include new things, and the Greek word for “new” can also be translated as “renew,” meaning heaven’s not just gonna include new things, it’s also gonna include “renewed” things making old things better than the way they were before. It’s gonna be like this endless progression into new and renewed things, which is why I can’t understand why some people think heaven’s gonna be boring. It’s not gonna be boring, it’s gonna consist of an endless progression of new and renewed things. Ladies you have a lot of shoes now, just wait until you get to heaven. You’ll have a new or renewed pair of shoes for every day in eternity. Men you think the BBQ we have on earth is good, wait until you taste the BBQ in heaven. Your gonna be like “Man, I never had BBQ like this before. Can I have the recipe?” No you can’t! “Why not?” Because I’ll give you a new one, a renewed one, an even better one than the one you just had! “Okay isn’t that a bit far fetched pastor?” No it’s not! At least not on the BBQ part. I’ll prove it. Turn to Luke 24:36-43 for a minute. In Luke 24 Jesus has already lived, died, and rose again, he’s now in his resurrected body, and he’s about to show his friends he’s alive. In this text we’ll learn 2 more things about heaven, then I’ll get to the BBQ.
Luke 24:36-43 states this, “As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.’” Jesus says “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.” This is the 3rd thing I want you to know about heaven.
#3 Heaven Will Include Visible Recognition = Heaven will include visible recognition of those you love. Again Jesus says “SEE my hands and my feet, that it is I myself,” meaning Jesus can visibly recognize them and they can visibly recognize him. So in heaven we’ll get to visibly recognize those we love, and they’ll get to recognize us. I’m talking your family, your friends, the people you love and lost over the years...The person you love who was tormented by cancer and died...The person you love who died in a car accident...My very own mother who died 6 yrs ago...Everybody you love who’s died or will die in the future, if they love Jesus, you’ll get to see them again. You’ll get to see them again, and that’s not a promise from me it’s a promise from Jesus. It’s a promise from Jesus that’s being lived out in this text. In heaven we’ll get to visibly recognize those we love, and they’ll get to recognize us. It’s one of the reasons why all of us should be diligent in sharing the gospel and praying for those we love to receive the gospel. It’s so we can see and spend eternity with them in heaven. Heaven will never be what you want it to be, or what you imagine it to be. It’ll be far greater! We’ll get to visibly recognize those we love.
Again vs. 39, “‘See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’” Notice that Jesus says “Touch me, and see.” He says touch me, and see, which is the 4th thing I want you to know about heaven.
#4 Heaven Will Include Physical Touch = Heaven will include physical touch, meaning you’ll get to physically touch those you love. Again Jesus is in his resurrected body, he says he has “flesh and bones,” and he tells them to physically touch him, meaning in heaven, in our resurrected bodies, we’ll have flesh and bones, we’ll be able to physically touch those we love, and they’ll be able to physically touch us. We’re not gonna be angels, ghosts, reincarnated into something else, or zombies like the walking dead. We’re gonna be the walking living in new, renewed, imperishable, resurrected bodies with flesh and bones able to feel the ocean breeze on our faces, enjoy relaxation in the sun, and smell the sweet fragrance of spring. Some of you are like, “Yo! Does this mean I’ll have a 6 pack or love handles?” I have no idea, I just know you’ll love whatever you have. But in your resurrected body, you’ll be able to feel the warm embrace of those you love again. You’ll be able to feel the warm clasp of their hands, the warm embrace of their hugs, the warm embrace of their presence only this time it’ll be better. It’ll be much better, because it’ll be for all eternity never to be taken away by the sting of death again. It’s gonna be amazing. I’m telling you, but Jesus is showing you, heaven’s gonna be so amazing, and we’ll get to visibly recognize and physically touch those we love never to be taken away again. Heaven will never be what you want it to be, or what you imagine it to be. It’ll be far greater!
Again vs. 39, “‘See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.” There it is, there’s the BBQ. The text states they gave Jesus some “broiled fish,” and “he took it and ate before them.” The Greek word for “broiled” can also be translated as “roasted, baked, or grilled.” The only reason smokers isn’t in that list is because they didn’t have smokers back then. But in heaven everything’s being made new and renewed so we’ll have smokers, even better smokers than what we have now, and we’ll get to eat BBQ. Broiled fish? Done! T-bone steaks? Done! Brisket? Done! Burnt ends? Done! Vegetarian burgers?...That’s served in hell!...Bacon? Done! Chorizo? Done! Salmon? We’re back to fish again, done! The bible teaches us we’re gonna eat BBQ in heaven. If you’re an animal lover I don’t know how it’s gonna work, we’ll find out in heaven. I just know we’re gonna get to eat BBQ. Jesus even promised we’ll get to celebrate Communion with all the saints in history, all those who loved Jesus. It’s gonna be one giant family reunion, one giant family celebration bigger than thanksgiving, and we’ll get to celebrate good food, good times, and good stories about how Jesus fulfilled all his promises. So back to Revelation 21, will we eat BBQ in heaven? Yes, we will. “Can I have that recipe?” No, you can’t! Because I have a new recipe, a renewed recipe, an even better recipe than the one before. It’s because heaven’s gonna be full of new and renewed things. There’s gonna be a NEW heaven, a NEW earth, a NEW Jerusalem.
Again vs. 2, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” John’s saying what a beautiful sight it’ll be. Jesus is showing John that when heaven and earth are reconciled, when they become one, it’s gonna be a beautiful sight like “a bride adorned for her husband.”
Vs. 3, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Three times the text says God will be with us. It’s “with, with, with,” God’s gonna be “with us” in heaven, and this the 5th thing I want you to know about heaven.
#5 Heaven Will Include God Being With Us = Heaven will include God being with us face to face. Again the text states three times “with, with, with,” meaning God’s gonna be with us face to face, like a loving Father waking with his child answering every question their child has. He’ll answer all our questions on theology, life, why He answered some prayers and not others, why He allowed you to go through the tough seasons you’ve gone through. He’ll answer every question you’ve ever had because He’ll be right there with you face to face making sense of all of it. It’ll all finally make sense to you. The apostle Paul said it like this in 1st Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” When we see God face to face everything about our lives, about God, about our world will finally make sense to us. You won’t be omniscient like God, because only God’s omniscient, only God’s all knowing, but you will have clarity wherever clarity is needed. You won’t know everything there is to know, but you’ll know everything you need to know. It’s because God will be with you face to face like a Father with his child, and when God’s with us face to face we’ll have way more than clarity. Check out vs. 4.
Vs. 4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” God’s gonna wipe away every tear from our eyes, which is the 6th about heaven.
#6 Heaven Will Include No More Sin, Suffering, Sickness, or Sadness = Heaven will include no more sin, suffering, sickness, or sadness. The text states that God will wipe away “every tear from their eyes.” Like a loving Father who bends down to wipe his child’s tears after skinning their knee, our loving Father will bend down, take His finger, wipe it across your face, and take away all the pains you’ve ever experienced in life never to return again. There will be no more sin, suffering, sickness, or sadness. Cancer? Gone! Brain tumors? Gone! Death, funerals and mourning? Gone!..Crying from depression? Gone! Crying from broken relationships? Gone! Crying from sins you committed or sins committed against you? Gone!..Pain from arthritis? Gone! Pain from an old sports injury? Gone! Pain from the wear and tear on your body? Gone!.. It’ll all be gone. It’ll all be gone because our Father will be “with us.” It’s because our Father will be with us, and when our Father’s with us, He’ll wipe away every tear from our eyes removing all sin, suffering, sickness, and sadness never to return again. It’s what makes heaven so great! What makes heaven so great isn’t all the things we’ll get to enjoy in heaven, it’s the fact that we’ll be in the presence of our Father. If it wasn’t for the presence of our Father none of the joys of heaven would exist. Like I said last week hell is a place where God completely removes His presence and grace, but heaven is a place where God fully releases His presence and grace. Right now we’re experiencing some of His presence and grace, but in heaven we’ll experience the full manifestation of His presence and grace to the point where sin, suffering, sickness, and sadness won’t ever be able to touch us again. None of those things will ever be able to touch us, because will be in the presence of our Father, and His grace will constantly cover us. Nothing will be greater than us being face to face in the presence of our Father and His grace. Heaven will never be what you want it to be, or what you imagine it to be. It’ll be far greater!
Vs. 5, “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” Jesus tells John these words are trustworthy and true. He tells him he’s making all things new, it’s gonna be far greater than we could ever possibly imagine, it’s all trustworthy, it’s all true, and He above anyone else would know, because he’s the only one who lived, died, and rose again to tell us about it.
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea of the message. Here’s the big idea. Heaven will never be what you want it to be, or what you imagine it to be. It’ll be far greater...Heaven will never be what you want it to be, or what you imagine it to be. It’ll be far greater...Look everybody in this world wants to be happy. Every Christian, non-Christian, we all want to be happy, we all want to be joyful, and Jesus wants that too. Jesus wants you to be happy and joyful too. It’s one of the reasons he came to live, die, and rise again for your sins. He came not to take happiness and joy FROM you, He came to bring happiness and joy TO you. He came not to bring you hell, He came to save you from hell and bring you to heaven. He came so you could have the fullness of happiness and joy in heaven with him. Jesus wants you to be full of happiness and joy.
But the issue is we think we know what’s best...We think we know what’s best, we think we know what will bring us happiness and joy, but apart from Jesus you’ll never know the fullness of happiness and joy. Apart from Jesus, you’ll never know the fullness of happiness and joy. It’s primarily because sin hinders your happiness and joy, but it’s also because your version of happiness and joy is limited compared to the happiness and joy Jesus offers. I mean if heaven were up to you it’d be boring, because your creativity and imagination is limited. You’d run out of creative ideas to keep yourself happy and full of joy. You already have a hard time keeping yourself happy and full of joy, imagine trying to do it for eternity. You couldn’t do it, because your creativity and imagination is limited. But Jesus isn’t limited like us which he proved when he rose from the dead. He’s not limited like us, which means his creativity and imagination isn’t limited like us. Jesus has infinite amounts of creativity and imagination which makes his heaven far greater than yours. So when I say heaven will never be what you want or imagine it to be, you should be glad it’s not, because what you want, what you imagine, what you think will bring you happiness and joy is limited compared to Jesus. C.S. Lewis puts it like this, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. We’re like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum, because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” We want to play with mud pies of happiness and joy, but what Jesus offers us is an endless sea of happiness and joy in relationship with Him.
What mud pies of happiness and joy are you seeking?..What mud pies of happiness and joy are you seeking?..Those mud pies are nothing compared to the endless sea of happiness and joy Jesus offers us in Him. What makes heaven so great isn’t all the happy and joyful things heaven will give us, it’s because of the presence of Jesus and full manifestation of his grace that will be with us. Jesus is so infinitely great that we’ll never exhaust from learning ABOUT Him, and His grace and creativity is so infinitely wonderful that we’ll never exhaust from enjoying the grace and creativity that comes FROM Him. What Jesus offers us is an endless sea of happiness and joy in him. So let’s stop chasing mud pies of happiness and joy, repent for the mud pies we’ve been chasing, believe Jesus died for our sins, and find our greatest happiness and joy in him. Heaven will never be what you want it to be, or what you imagine it to be. It’ll be far greater!..It’ll be far greater, because of Jesus.