Description
What The Heaven Is Going On?
Part 1
By Ed Young
June 5, 2016
Transcript
Two things, two things. Everybody wants to know about Heaven, and everybody wants to go to Heaven. Heaven. We’re hung up on Heaven. Movies are all about Heaven. Best-selling books are about Heaven. We have phrases about Heaven, like Heaven help us! Or that’s heavenly, or that’s a match made in Heaven. Well, today Heaven is going to help us. We’re going to look at one of the most fascinating subjects ever. Because it’s about forever, Heaven.
When I say Heaven what do you think about? When I say Heaven what comes into your mind? Amazingly most of what we think about Heaven is more from folklore as opposed to fact. Most of us think about what we’ve learned just on the street as opposed to what the Spirit of God tells us from his Word. I really believe that the enemy likes to keep us in the dark when it comes to Heaven. Let’s talk about Heaven. Let’s talk about the hard data, because the Bible gives us data, as I always say, that “mattas”! We can use our intellect based on Scripture and our imagination to come to some amazing conclusions when we talk about the afterlife.
I have to admit to you, when I was a kid I had a faith crisis because I used to think to myself, Heaven? Robes and a church service that will last forever. Sitting on a hard pew and listening to a choir. Maybe I’ll just move around from cloud to cloud shining my halo and saying halleluiah. I remember thinking, I’m not sure I wanna go! I’m ADD. I’m not sure I really want to go to Heaven. Well, I discovered that Heaven is not like that. If you think that’s what Heaven is like, it’s not like that. You’re not going to be in some mansion by yourself binge-watching Netflix and eating m&m’s forever and ever. It’s much more than that.
I love how the Bible gives us just enough information about Heaven so we can really understand it. As I was preparing for this talk, and I’m talking about Heaven this week and next, when I was preparing for this I was thinking about the message I did a couple of weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago I did a message called, “The Only Sermon I Hate to Preach.” I talked about Hell. If you missed it, watch it on fellowshipchurch.com. This, though, is my most favorite message I can preach. It’s about Heaven. Heaven help us. Heaven is a real place. Heaven is a place of outrageous and contagious joy. Heaven is a place where we will be with Jesus. Heaven is a place where we will continue our purpose forever and ever.
Just to think about something lasting forever freaks us out, because we’re finite. God is infinite. Yet even though we’re finite here on this earth the Bible tells us we’ve never locked eyes with someone who’s not going to live forever and ever and ever. And that’s a long time. So if you’re wrong about Heaven, you’re really, really, really wrong. So I want everybody here to be right about Heaven. What is Heaven like? What about Heaven?
When Lisa and I were on our honeymoon we went to Hawaii. I’d never been to Hawaii before. How many people have been to Hawaii here? Have you been to Hawaii? Gorgeous place, gorgeous. The breeze, it’s kind of a floral breeze. The mountains cascading into the turquoise sea. We had an amazing time. I loved looking around and the resort we were staying at was just totally over the top.
I decided one day to go snorkeling. I’d never snorkeled in my life and it was a unique experience. I put on the fins and the mask and I moved from one world into another. When I began to snorkel I swam up to a reef. I saw a fish. I’ve never seen the fish with this many colors, and I’ve never seen a fish swim like this. I was like, whoa! I said <muffled sounds> And then I saw another fish that topped that one, another fish that topped that one, a fish bigger over there, the colors more vibrant over here. It was like a new adventure at every turn. I went from one world to another. So today as we just kick off Heaven Help Us, What In the Heaven Is Going On? That’s what I’m calling this, I think we’re going to discover a new world. We’re going to look from this world into the next world. We’re going to see things with brilliance, with boldness, with a supernatural flair like we’ve never, ever, ever seen before. Heaven, though, is going to be that way.
Here’s what I want you to understand. I want you to understand the fact that the reason you have a focus, the reason I have a focus on forever, is because God has set us up that way. God has set us up for success. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:11. He has set eternity in the human heart. Love is a choice. You choose either Heaven or Hell. I make that choice, so do you. God has set us up for success. God has done the work. The data is right there for us about the other side. The data that matta’s, about Hell, about Heaven. We make that choice. God has given us the ability to choose. He set us up for success. Are you going to Heaven?
The Bible also says in Hebrews 11:13, 16. “All these people were still living by faith when they died…” and again, I checked the stats, 1:1 die. OK? In fact, when you laid your head on the pillow last night over 161,000 people died around the world. 89,000 people died in their sleep just last night. So we’re going to die. “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has (say it with me) prepared a city for them.”
Now how cool is that? It took God, what, six days to create the earth? Jesus has been preparing a place for you and me for over 2,000 years. You talk about a developer? It’s going to be off the chain. John 15:11, “I told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete,” Jesus said.
What is the dominant disposition of Heaven? Outrageous and contagious joy. What a great title for a book! If you’re not laughing, see one of my books, Outrageous, Contagious Joy.
So it’s not going to be boring. It’s not going to be predictable. It’s not going to be same old same old. It’s not going to be just chilling. No, no, no. It’s going to be joyful. Joy unspeakable. Take the greatest feeling of joy you’ve ever had in your life, multiply it exponentially, and it will not touch the joy that we’ll have in Heaven. Isn’t that great? Joy! Joy! And that should be our dominant disposition here. But it’s really going to be the dominant disposition when we get to Heaven.
T.S. Several things about Heaven, five things, and let’s get ready to write. Please write down and fill in the blanks, because thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through someone’s lips through your fingertips. In fact, we remember more when we write stuff down, I’m talking about old school, than if we use our iPhone or some other device with technology. It’s best to write. You remember it better.
First of all, let’s look at the location of Heaven. Where is Heaven? Where is it? Heaven is a real place. Let me say it again. Heaven is a real place. It’s a tangible town. This lectern is tangible. The stage is tangible. This church is tangible. You’re tangible, I’m tangible. Heaven is a real place. And it’s much closer than you think.
Take, for example, an unborn child. That unborn child in the womb has no idea that right outside is a whole new world. Our loved ones who have gone to Heaven are near us. Jesus resides in us. The Holy Spirit has residence in our lives. The angels are all around us. Heaven is not some far-off place. It’s not like, whoa! It’s way the heck out there! it’s close. It’s close. So the location.
John 14:2, Jesus said, talking about the location, “My father’s house has many rooms. If it were not so would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
You realize those who love statistics, the word Heaven is mentioned in some of the translations over 582 times. Heaven. It’s a location, a tangible location. It’s a place.
ILLUS: I had some friends who bought some land in East Texas. They used to say, “we’re going to the place.” And I thought, what do you mean we’re going to the place? They’d go, “the place.”
“What do you mean the place? You’re going to the place?”
“Yeah, the place that we bought.”
Heaven is a real place. We’ll have new resurrected bodies in Heaven. Our bodies will be perfect. They’ll be absolutely unbelievable, no muffin-tops, no manssieres, no spare tires in Heaven. In fact, Josh, come up here Josh. I would look like that. I mean, I could wear a onesie like Josh in Heaven. Thank you, Josh Shockey!
You know, guys, we have so much pride we think we look like him when we look in the mirror. We don’t. But our wives are so sweet they don’t tell us. They just, “Oh, you look great, baby.” Anyway, the location of Heaven.
ILLUS: The first time I ever flew first class, again, was on the honeymoon. Lisa and I had these seats in coach by the restroom. And this is back in the day when flying was a little bit different than it is today. This guy walked up and he goes,
“You guys look like you’re on your honeymoon.” I mean, we were kinda tied up like a couple of boa constrictors. <kissing noises>
“Yes, sir, we are.”
“Listen, today is your day. There are two seats in first class.” Wow! Walked up to first class. I’d never been in first class before. I sat down, looking back. Flight attendant, whoosh! Closes the curtain separating economy from first class. And the food is better in first class. The service is better in first class. And I have to be totally candid with you. When I was in first class, the first time I was in first class, I didn’t go, “man, I miss coach. I wish I was back there by the restroom eating peanuts…” No, I didn’t!
People sometimes ask me, “Dude, am I going to miss the world? Am I going to miss my job? Am I going to miss my job?” No! You’re in first class, baby! You’re in Heaven!
Now next week I’m going to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about Heaven. Like, people ask me this all the time. Will pets go to Heaven? And I will talk about that next week. But let me give you the short answer. Yes. Cats will not but the other pets will go to Heaven. What will I wear in Heaven? How about the people I’ve known in my life who are in Hell, can I see them? Next week we have to have a Biblical framework, a Biblical theology of Heaven, and that’s why we’re doing this. Yet a lot of us still have some weird views about Heaven. I would say let’s take the culture and move away from the culture and let’s see what Jesus says about it. So, the location of Heaven.
Also notice too, the population of Heaven. Heaven is going to be a big place. Now Heaven is for you and Heaven is for me. Jesus said I go to prepare a place for you, right? Revelation 7:9, a great multitude. It’s not going to be small. Now sometimes people have told me this. They’ll go, wow, Fellowship Church is big. It’s just a big church. And you’ve heard me say this if you’ve been around here for a long, long time. Yeah, it’s a big church, one of the biggest churches in America. Good. We need to be bigger because there are still a lot of people who are not going to Heaven and we want to be a part of populating Heaven. That’s one of the reasons we’re here.
There are basically two things we can’t do in Heaven. #1 – We can’t sin, I like that. #2 – We can’t share Jesus. So why are we here? To sin? No, we’re here to share Jesus. And that’s what I love about Fellowship Church. We live in a big city. Heaven is going to be a big place. So if you don’t like a big church you’re not going to like Heaven. Because Heaven is going to be a big honkin’ place. A great multitude, the Bible says, of all the nations and kindred and people and tongues.
Won’t it be just great to be able to relate to people from all walks of life, all skin colors, all nationalities, all socioeconomic levels?
I’ve had the opportunity to travel a lot of places in the world, and the wonderful thing about travel is I’ve met people from every nationality I can think of. And those who are on their way to Heaven tell the same story. I had this longing for something more. You know what I’m saying to you.
Isn’t it true in this world, you do something or accomplish something or whatever it is, you’re always going, there’s got to be something more. There’s got to be something more. And then we understand Jesus and we receive him, and of course there’s got to be something more, the ultimate being Heaven. But all those people from all different backgrounds tell the same story. I was once lost, now I’m found. I understood that Jesus took the punishment for my wrongdoings on the cross and I received him, and my life has never, ever, ever been the same. So worship will be a huge thing. It’s the thing in Heaven.
But we’ve learned about worship. Worship is not just choir robes and a pipe organ and singing halleluiah. Worship is everything we do, say, touch, and feel. As a believer you don’t come to Fellowship Church to worship, you come worshiping. So everything we do in Heaven will be an act of worship.
We are going to be with other people. Just the relational opportunities! Have you thought about that? I mean now we have all this pride and ego, I know I do, and issues and stuff and baggage. Can I really relate perfectly to people? Heck no. No! Nor can you. That’s why we have so many problems. In Heaven, all that stuff’s going to be gone! We’ll be able to relate, I mean in a pristine way. The cosmic communicative process will be just ridiculous. Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life. You will fill me with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Eternal pleasures. After all, pleasure is God’s invention, not ours. Let me say that again. Pleasure is God’s invention, not ours.
Notice, too, after the location and the population of Heaven, the occupation of Heaven. What will we do in Heaven? OK, what do you like to do? I like to build stuff. You’re probably going to do that in Heaven. What do you like to do? I like to create stuff. You’ll probably do that in Heaven. What do you like to do? I just like to blog and write. You’ll probably do that in Heaven. What you’ll do and I’ll do will embarrass Picasso. It will embarrass Michelangelo. It will embarrass Hemmingway. I mean, we’ll be able to do things in a perfect way but it’ll never get boring. Isn’t that great? You like to speak, you like to teach, you like to create, you like to build, you like to decorate? Just take that and multiply it for the glory of God? You like nature? Nature’s going to be like we’ve never seen nature! We’ll have a connection with nature like we’ve never had before in our lives! The occupation.
Now, of course on planet Earth many of us like to do certain things and we can’t do those things for a living. It’s part of our fallen-ness. It’s just like man, I like my job and all that, but I wish I could do, whatever. I wish I could teach golf. Or I wish I could whatever it is, you know! Design clothes! I believe in Heaven we will have the purpose that God has planted into us and well do that on another level for eternity.
Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden at Eden to (say work with me), work it and take care of it.”
Ed, why did you talk about? I mean, you went back to Genesis 2:15 and you had me emphasize the word work? That sounds odd. God gave work before sin entered the human equation. Now, we jacked it up because of our sin. God, though, is a working God. Our work space in Heaven will be a worship place. We’re made to accomplish things. We’re made to have goals. And we’re going to help God run and rule the universe. John 5:17, “My Father is always at work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”
That brings me to this thought. Will people recognize me in Heaven? Yes. Will I have the same identity in Heaven? Yes. For example, on this side I’m Ed Young. I’m a sinner, I’ve fallen, I’m fallible. God knows that. I received Christ into my life. Christ is taking care of my sins. On the other side as a Christian, I will be held accountable, so will you. And this is not preached about very much but this is Bible. I’m talking to Christians now, what you did, what I did, with what we were given on planet Earth. So if somehow I changed identities that couldn’t take place. Are you feeling me? So I’m Ed Young here. I’m saved, I’m born again. God has given me these gifts and abilities like he’s given you gifts and abilities. Now, I clock out. I go to Heaven and God is going to say, “all right. Here is this awards ceremony. Here’s what you did, Ed, with what you were given.” So yes, we’ll have the same identity. And yes, we will recognize loved ones. That’s a huge thing.
And that brings me to the fourth thing. The community, or you could say the communication of Heaven, the connectivity of Heaven. The communication of Heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 you can read that, but the last part says, “And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
If you think about Matthew chapter 22, this is one of the key scriptures, the key chapters that we base Fellowship Church on, but a specific time in that chapter Jesus said, “Love God holistically and love your neighbor as yourself.”
That is what we’re going to be doing forever and ever and ever. Heaven is close. Our loved ones are close. Angels are close. Jesus is close. We will be reunited with them. And that gives you and me, that should give us Godfidence, because even right now, think about this.
Hebrews 12:1 and following says we have a cheering section that never sits down. We have the matriarchs and patriarchs cheering for us right now as we live our lives and they’re all around us. We can’t see them. They’re all around us.
You’re going through a trial, they’re cheering for you. Stay with it. God never wastes a time of suffering. Don’t you waste it either. You’re going through maybe a relational challenge. They’re cheering. Just diesel through it. You’re going through a time where you’re hot, man. Things are happening for you! Remember they’re cheering. Who has blessed you?
So we have a cheering section that never sits down. That’s why when people go to be with the Lord, our friends and family, we have a sense of wow! I just feel them. I know that they’re watching. Once someone goes to Heaven, God doesn’t close the blinds. I mean they can see you and they can see me, and one day we will have that view as well. So this is exciting, isn’t it? To me this is like, wow, this is great!
So you see, too, why God doesn’t give us all the information, all the stuff on Heaven. We couldn’t handle it. I mean, we’re not smart enough to digest it. We just can’t.
ILLUS: It’s like, it’d be like when I was teaching our little kids when they were little. I mean, they’re not little now but when they were like 2-3 years old, teaching them how to read or maybe recognize words. What if I just started talking to them about some complex novel. I enjoy the old school author Ernest Hemingway. Or what if I described to them a book like Mere Christianity, or The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. They couldn’t. I mean, they’re 3 and 4 years old, they could not grasp it! I’d be wasting my time! Or I’m teaching them numbers. You remember the Count? 1-2-3-ah-ah-ah-ah! I love the Count. Wonderful, wonderful! I would do that with sound effects. But what if I said, no, no, no. Forget the count. Let’s talk about calculus. Let’s talk about quantum physics. They wouldn’t understand it!
So the genius of God is he’s given us the desire to live. We have a plan, a purpose, we’re living forever, yet he tells us there’s a tissue-like veil separating this life from the next and we’re going there. He’s preparing a place for us. The question is, are you prepared for the place he has prepared for you? The communication of Heaven.
Also, too, notice this last thing, the 5th thing. The situation of Heaven. The situation of Heaven. What is the situation? Well, the situation is if we’re right on Heaven we’re very, very, very, very, very, very right. If we’re wrong on Heaven and we say, you know what? Forget that. I’m not sure. I have questions. Well you’ll never be totally sure. You’ll always have questions, so do I. But you’ll be very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very wrong. Really wrong. Yes. You’ll face Hell.
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Bible says that believers are citizens of Heaven. Yeah, we live here, but our citizenship is in Heaven. And this verse, John 14:6, is the exclusivity of Christianity.
1 Corinthians 2:9, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love him.”
We serve a great God, a God who has made us in his image. Yes, on one hand we’re finite, on the other hand we’re infinite.
ILLUS: When I was 21 years old, I mean a young preacher boy. I had just been ordained to the ministry. It was after we got back from the honeymoon to Hawaii, first class. I was finishing up college at a Bible college and I got this unique invitation to go to Los Angeles, California with a group of people, a small group of people, one being George Foreman. You know the Foreman grill? Those of us who are older, one of the great heavyweight boxers of all time. So I agreed to go. The second time I flew first class, to Los Angeles.
We were picked up in a limousine, first time in a limousine, driven to a beautiful hotel. Went through all the security and I walked into this room and I saw all of these great athletes. All of these athletes over the last decade or so that had won gold medals and my friend who was with me turned, and there to my shock, was Muhammad Ali, sitting down with a friend. Ali stood, embraced my friend, and my friend said,
“Muhammad, I want you to spend some time talking to Ed. He just was ordained as a pastor and I want you guys to talk about religion.” Ali looked at me and he said, “Are you a preacher?” I said, “Yes.”
So we sat down side by side. Ali actually had his elbow resting on my knee and we started talking. I was thinking to myself, oh my gosh! This is Muhammad Ali!
My friend didn’t tell me we were going to meet with Ali! Had he told me I would have lost it! I mean, I would have been a disaster! But it happened so fast and I began to share with him about Jesus and I mentioned John 14:6 and started talking to him about Heaven. And he was talking to me about Islam and Muhammad and back and forth, and we had a great, great conversation. And someone snapped a picture of us. How do you like the glasses? Pretty sad. And on Muhammad Ali’s left but to our right would have been George Foreman and that’s in our conversation.
And so we talked about those things and I thought, how crazy is that? I mean, here is a 21-year-old kid, living in an apartment, a newlywed, going to a little Bible college, and God in his sovereignty deposits me to Los Angeles, California and I have this long conversation with Muhammad Ali about Jesus and about Heaven? Then he invites us over to his house and my friend goes,
“No, Muhammad, we have to get back.” I’m like, wh-what???
So, I told Muhammad I would pray for him, and we talked on and on. And so I went to the banquet. There was this deal and after the banquet I was backstage with my friend and I was walking, we were walking back to the limousine. And I saw Ali and his entourage in the distance. He was going to walk past us. And I thought to myself, I’m going to say, “Hey, thanks again for talking, Muhammad!” but then I thought, oh that’s sad. I mean it’s Muhammad Ali. I talked to him. I’m not going to… that’s whatever. So I just kept walking and the entourage walked passed me and all of a sudden I heard him say,
“Hey!” and I turned around. He said, “Come here, man. Give me a hug.” And he hugged me and he said, “Thank you for talking to me. Thank you.” I said,
“Muhammad, I’ll be thinking about you.” And that’s the last time I saw him.
Now, fast-forward this thing. I had planned talking about Heaven a while back and Muhammad Ali passed away just several days ago. The greatest. So, God in his sovereignty knew that I could talk about this, that I talked to him about Heaven in 1982, and now today we’re going to have this conversation. And pretty much the same conversation I had with Ali, in a way, is the conversation I’m having with you today.
Are you going to Heaven? Many of us are. Heaven is an amazing place. It’s an amazing space. It’s full of grace, man. Heaven. Heaven, help us. Those of us who are in Christ, we should live differently, talk differently, act differently, steward our gifts differently, because we’re going to Heaven. It is my prayer that all of us, by God’s grace and power, take as many people to Heaven as we possibly can.
Maybe Heaven is not locked for you. Maybe you’re like, I’m not sure, Ed. I don’t know if I’ve ever made that transaction to step over the line and give my life to Christ. You can make it today. Because you’ll live forever, and if you’re right you’ll be very, very, very, very, very, very right. If you’re wrong, you’ll be eternally wrong. Let’s pray together.
[Ed leads in closing prayer.]