Below are the notes from this past weekend. I ended this incredibly interesting series by talking about Heaven. You can listen to this message online by clicking here!
Also, you can read answers to many of your questions about heaven by clicking here!
I also highly recommend these 2 books for your personal study: 1. Heaven, by Randy Alcorn, 2. One Minute After You Die, by Erwin Lutzer
WEEK 4- HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men” Ecclesiastes 3:11
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4
WITH GOD, EVERY END BRINGS A NEW BEGINNING! (REVELATION 21:1-4)
…"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9
Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you” John 14:2.
Urban Legend #1: When We Die, We Bill Be In Heaven FOREVER.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… Revelation 21:1
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17 (see also Isaiah 66:22)
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 2 Peter 3:13
God will establish a new heaven and a new earth. When we die we go to be with Christ it will be wonderful, but incomplete. Unless you’re raptured, you will be in a pre-resurrected state, anticipating Christ's return to earth. After the 1,000 year reign of Christ, God will renew (2 Peter 3:11-13) the earth. The place we'll live forever will be where God comes down to dwell with us, on the New Earth (Revelation 21:1-3).
Urban Legend #2: Heaven will be BORING!
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Psalms 84:10
…you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalms 16:11
Everything good, enjoyable, refreshing, and exciting comes from God. Jesus is creative, fascinating, and anything but boring. Heaven is going to be full of surprises and adventures as we learn more about God and explore His new universe.
God says that on the New Earth “His servants will serve Him” and “they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3,5). Servants are always active with things to do, places to go, and people to see. Rulers of the earth will have plenty to keep them busy!
We will LAUGH in Heaven
Jesus promised we will. “Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh... Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! Take note—your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:21,23). The Bible promises God will wipe away all of our tears (Revelation 21:4). Heaven will be full of joy. Do you think God ever laughs? In the Bible, God is said to enjoy, love, laugh, take delight, and rejoice.
We will EAT, DRINK & PARTY.
Think about the food you most enjoy. Maybe your idea of Heaven is eating that food for thousands of years. After His resurrection, Jesus asked His disciples for some food and ate a piece of fish in front of them (Luke 24:41-43). He proved that resurrected people can and do eat real food. Other Bible verses say that we will eat at feasts with Jesus in an earthly kingdom.
URBAN LEGEND #3: IN HEAVEN WE WILL BE LIKE ANGELS OR GHOSTS.
"And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another" Job 19:26-27
“We know that when He appears we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2
Resurrection means we will retain our identities and be forever reestablished as individuals, liberated to see God and worship him as our primary joy. Many people, including children, are put at ease about Heaven when you explain that we will not be ghosts. Jesus in His resurrected body proclaimed that he was not a ghost but that He had actual “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39).
Christ’s resurrection body was suited for life on earth. As Jesus was raised to come back to live on earth, we, too, will be raised to come back to live on earth (1 Thessalonians 4:14; Revelation 21:1-3).
You will be you in Heaven, and I will be me. Think about it. The resurrected Jesus did not become someone else; He remained who He was before His resurrection. When John was fishing with some of the other disciples, he saw Jesus on the seashore and said, “It is the Lord!” (John 21:7). So you will still recognize friends and family, and they will recognize you, too. Angels and human beings are entirely different creatures (Hebrews 2:5-9). Angels will always be angels and people will always be people. Relocation to Heaven includes becoming better humans (Romans 8:23), not space aliens.
URBAN LEGEND #4- MOST PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HEAVEN.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14
WILL YOU HAVE A “HAPPILY EVER AFTER?”
Also, you can read answers to many of your questions about heaven by clicking here!
I also highly recommend these 2 books for your personal study: 1. Heaven, by Randy Alcorn, 2. One Minute After You Die, by Erwin Lutzer
WEEK 4- HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men” Ecclesiastes 3:11
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4
WITH GOD, EVERY END BRINGS A NEW BEGINNING! (REVELATION 21:1-4)
…"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9
Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you” John 14:2.
Urban Legend #1: When We Die, We Bill Be In Heaven FOREVER.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… Revelation 21:1
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17 (see also Isaiah 66:22)
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 2 Peter 3:13
God will establish a new heaven and a new earth. When we die we go to be with Christ it will be wonderful, but incomplete. Unless you’re raptured, you will be in a pre-resurrected state, anticipating Christ's return to earth. After the 1,000 year reign of Christ, God will renew (2 Peter 3:11-13) the earth. The place we'll live forever will be where God comes down to dwell with us, on the New Earth (Revelation 21:1-3).
Urban Legend #2: Heaven will be BORING!
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Psalms 84:10
…you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalms 16:11
Everything good, enjoyable, refreshing, and exciting comes from God. Jesus is creative, fascinating, and anything but boring. Heaven is going to be full of surprises and adventures as we learn more about God and explore His new universe.
God says that on the New Earth “His servants will serve Him” and “they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3,5). Servants are always active with things to do, places to go, and people to see. Rulers of the earth will have plenty to keep them busy!
We will LAUGH in Heaven
Jesus promised we will. “Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh... Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! Take note—your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:21,23). The Bible promises God will wipe away all of our tears (Revelation 21:4). Heaven will be full of joy. Do you think God ever laughs? In the Bible, God is said to enjoy, love, laugh, take delight, and rejoice.
We will EAT, DRINK & PARTY.
Think about the food you most enjoy. Maybe your idea of Heaven is eating that food for thousands of years. After His resurrection, Jesus asked His disciples for some food and ate a piece of fish in front of them (Luke 24:41-43). He proved that resurrected people can and do eat real food. Other Bible verses say that we will eat at feasts with Jesus in an earthly kingdom.
URBAN LEGEND #3: IN HEAVEN WE WILL BE LIKE ANGELS OR GHOSTS.
"And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another" Job 19:26-27
“We know that when He appears we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2
Resurrection means we will retain our identities and be forever reestablished as individuals, liberated to see God and worship him as our primary joy. Many people, including children, are put at ease about Heaven when you explain that we will not be ghosts. Jesus in His resurrected body proclaimed that he was not a ghost but that He had actual “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39).
Christ’s resurrection body was suited for life on earth. As Jesus was raised to come back to live on earth, we, too, will be raised to come back to live on earth (1 Thessalonians 4:14; Revelation 21:1-3).
You will be you in Heaven, and I will be me. Think about it. The resurrected Jesus did not become someone else; He remained who He was before His resurrection. When John was fishing with some of the other disciples, he saw Jesus on the seashore and said, “It is the Lord!” (John 21:7). So you will still recognize friends and family, and they will recognize you, too. Angels and human beings are entirely different creatures (Hebrews 2:5-9). Angels will always be angels and people will always be people. Relocation to Heaven includes becoming better humans (Romans 8:23), not space aliens.
URBAN LEGEND #4- MOST PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HEAVEN.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14
WILL YOU HAVE A “HAPPILY EVER AFTER?”