Heaven - Audio
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What we're going to consider this morning is the subject of heaven, and let me preface that by saying that the older I get, the more interested I become in the subject. It's interesting that, as Cindy and I were talking the other day, looking through modern music, or contemporary music, there's not a lot there that speaks specifically about heaven, about golden streets and about the heavenly city. I think that, in part, much of the modern or contemporary music has been written by baby boomers or was part of that generation, and they were younger when much of that was written, but I've got a feeling that in the next 10 years there's going to be an outpouring of music, contemporary music that will speak more clearly about heaven as we age together. I'd like to mention a couple things about heaven that I think is important for us to understand. We're going to look at a very specific passage this morning of Scripture that talks about heaven in Revelation chapter 21, and if you'd like to turn there, you may, just to prepare yourself. But before we move to that passage, I'd like to mention that this passage is going to talk about heaven on earth. Heaven will be within the reach of everyone one day who lives on earth. Now, when I think of heaven on earth, I think of going to a bakery and smelling the smells and then tasting that great taste, I think of a motorcycle trip around the world with perfect weather. I think about sitting around with friends and having a good meal and sharing experiences. I think about listening to Handel's Messiah or gazing at the world from the top of a mountain, a great mountain. But this is not exactly what God had in mind when He speaks to us about heaven on earth. Part of our need to understand what God means by heaven and particularly heaven on earth can be clarified if we keep in mind that in Scripture there are three heavens. Because the first heaven is our atmosphere that's right above us that includes the place where the planes fly and the birds fly. Then there's the second heavens, which is what we would call our universe, space with all its stars and planets. And then the third heaven that's spoken of is the home of God. And it's called in several places the paradise of God, several places in Scripture. One famous one that we probably would recall quickly is when Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "Today you shall be with me in paradise." Paul spoke of being caught up to the third heaven, the paradise of God. John records the words of Christ to his churches when he said this in the book of Revelation, to him who overcomes, "I will give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Now what is this third heaven, this place that is called the paradise of God which God has created? Many of us have been trained to think of it as a place where we have clouds and we sit around with golden harps and we strum those harps for all eternity. That could not be farther from the truth thought in Scripture. Some people think of it as a surreal place where people exist in sort of a semi-conscious state of dreamy-eyed spirits. That couldn't be farther from what the Scripture teaches. Most of us would like to think that it's a place where everyone goes after they die to live out their fantasies and their dreams. If your dream was to play Pebble Beach, it will be there in heaven in the minds of most people.
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Message on heaven from the Book of Revelation.