Participants: Chris Holland
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201324
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00:11 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time.
00:15 God's book, The Bible 00:18 Still relevant in today's complex world 00:23 It Is Written 00:25 Sharing messages of hope around the world! 00:40 >>Chris: What would you say if I told you that there was a lake that had 00:43 water that was actually pink? How about if I told you that there was a 00:47 mountain with red, blue, and gold rock formations? Or what if I told you 00:52 there was a cave that had crystals that grew to over 12 meters high and 4 00:57 meters in diameter? Do they all sound impossible to even exist? All of them 01:04 are real places on this earth. The pink lake is Lake Retba near Dakar 01:10 Senegal, not very far from the Cape Vert peninsula. Its pink color is due to a 01:16 specific kind of algae growing in the lake. The multi-colored mountains? 01:21 They can be found in Gansu, China and throughout the region 01:26 wonderfully red colored mountains and rock formations. Those huge 01:33 crystals also are a reality they are found in the Cave of the Crystals 01:38 in Chihuahua, Mexico. A cave that reaches a blistering 58 degrees 01:44 Celsius at times. But the beauty of such crystals is amazing. All of these 01:51 seemingly unreal places are real. They actually exist even though their 01:58 description may seem otherwise. But what about a place that is often 02:03 discussed in religious circles. Heaven. Is Heaven for real? People have a 02:09 lot to say about, some people have even claimed to have been there. But 02:15 what does the Bible say about heaven? Is it a real place? Is it some far away 02:21 distant sphere with clouds and babies playing harps? What is this place? The 02:27 word heaven or heavens appears over 720 times in the Bible. It is important 02:34 to note that the word heaven or heavens can mean several different things. 02:38 Heaven and earth together can refer to the entire universe, the word heaven 02:42 or heavens can refer to the sky along with stars and planets, and it can 02:49 mean the home of the righteous. The word can have a literal meaning or 02:55 metaphorical at times. For our new series, we will concern ourselves with the 03:01 literal meaning, the home of the righteous. 03:06 Sometimes heaven is described with out using the word heaven. This is 03:13 the case when Jesus speaks of heaven and the preparations He is making 03:17 there for us. Notice what He says in John 14:1-3, it is a text you know well 03:26 because we have studied it previously, 03:55 Here, heaven is described as where God dwells and where He wants those who 04:01 want to follow Him to live as well. Jesus is preparing it for His 04:06 followers. Now over the next few moments we are going to look at a number 04:10 of Bible texts that describe heaven. Through all of this, we must keep 04:15 in mind Isaiah 64:4, and I love how the old King James Version puts it, 04:40 The Bible describes heaven in human terms so we can understand them, but those 04:45 descriptions fall short of how amazing heaven will be in reality. áááEphesians 04:51 3:20 ááásays that God is "able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that 04:57 we ask or think." 05:02 So why even try to understand. Because heaven is an important place and 05:08 it is a place that none of us want to miss out on. The Bible describes how 05:14 God will make our final home. In Isaiah 65:17 it says, 05:30 It says that He will make something new. I Revelation 21:1 the Bible 05:36 describes it this way, 05:54 Heaven, the home of the righteous will be a recreated earth. You see 06:01 God created this earth over 6000 years ago and He created it over the course 06:07 of six days. And it was perfect. Perfect in every aspect. Then sin marred 06:13 the earth into the situation that we have today or a very imperfect 06:19 planet. But a day is coming when God will destroy this earth to make 06:24 a new earth on which we will live. 2 Peter 3:10 says this, 07:09 Now remember, heaven is God's home and where He wants His followers to 07:13 live. In the meantime, where is heaven, where God lives, now. The Bible 07:20 doesn't give us an exact location. It is out in the universe somewhere. Psalm 07:27 14:2 says, 07:42 And again in Psalm 33:13, 07:54 And then in Acts 1:9-11, describing Jesus' ascension from this earth, 08:07 it says, 08:37 So heaven is a real place. In fact, the book of Revelation tells us about 08:43 heaven now. John looks up and in chapter 21:2, it describes what he sees, 09:10 Where is heaven? It is out there, but Jesus is making preparations there, to 09:17 make this earth God's home and our home with Him. Heaven is a real place. 09:26 God made earth to be with humankind, but we rebelled and turned away from Him. 09:31 Now, He will make it again, perfect again but with a guarantee, 09:37 according to áááNahum 1:9ááá, a place where "Affliction will not rise 09:43 up a second time." No more sin. Heaven is a real place where there won't be 09:49 any sin. No more drive by shooting, no more car accidents, no more drunk 09:53 drivers, no more calls at midnight telling us about a son or daughter, no 09:59 more. The book of Revelation goes on to tell us what else won't be 10:04 there. Revelation 21:4 tells us that, 10:19 Heaven is a real place and it seems just too good to be true. But there won't 10:25 be any more death - no more goodbyes, no more sudden losses, no more 10:31 unexpected deaths, none of that will exist. Oh friend, maybe you've lost 10:36 son or daughter, maybe you've lost mother, father, brother or sister. 10:40 You will never be separated again, because there is no more death. 10:48 And because of that there will be no more sorrow or grief. You will never have 10:55 to mourn again. Perfect harmony. Can you picture it? No crying or no pain. 11:06 Friends, we will have no need to weep. No more tears of sadness - 11:11 everything will be perfect in Jesus. No pain. Unquestionably there will 11:19 be do physical pain. No arthritis, no aches and pains - are you happy to 11:24 know that? I know I am. I've had four knee surgeries and look forward 11:28 to the day when there will be do aches and pains. But it is also talking about 11:36 emotional pain or social pain. Friend maybe you've been abused, maybe you've 11:41 gone through a traumatic time that has left you emotionally damaged. Jesus 11:45 reaches out his arms of love and tells you heaven is real. I am preparing a 11:50 place for you right now. Cling to me, stay close to me and I will take you 11:55 there. Friend, don't you want to be there with Him? Hebrews 11:16 is another 12:03 invitation to you, 12:19 God has prepared heaven for you. With you in mind He has made this place. 12:26 Heaven is a real place for real people like you and like me. Listen to this 12:30 marvelous description in Revelation 21 of what this heavenly city looks like, 13:20 Heaven is a real place and it has real gates. These gates are not to keep 13:25 anyone out, but rather are a message for people to come from all corners of 13:31 the earth and be a part of this place. Three gates to the north, three gates to 13:36 the south, three gates to the west and three gates to the east all cry out as 13:40 an invitation to come and be a part of this beautiful place. 13:45 Revelation 21 continues describing this real place, 14:25 Heaven is a real place that has a real foundation. That 14:29 foundation has the names of the apostles inscribed on it. And the city is a 14:34 perfect square. 12000 furlongs is just over 2200 kilometers. This means 14:44 that the city would be just over 550 kilometers per side. That would be 14:51 the equivalent of driving from downtown Toronto to Montreal - just one side. 15:00 It would be comparable to the distance between Calgary and Saskatoon or 15:04 Calgary and Kamloops. Each side 550 kilometer with a wall that is almost 64 15:12 meters thick. Heaven is a real place. Now listen to the description of some of 15:21 the actual construction of the city, 16:11 Can you picture the perfect beauty in your mind. Heaven is a real 16:16 place for real people. Jesus has prepared all of this for you and for me. 16:24 Are you excited friend? No more pollution, no more terrible weather. Absolute 16:29 perfection. I want you to take just a moment. Think of the best place you've 16:36 ever been - hold that image in your mind. Heaven will be so much better, it 16:47 is almost unimaginable. 16:56 In addition to the city of Jerusalem on this earth made new, we will also 17:00 live in homes that we build on the countryside, Isaiah 65:21-22 says, 17:33 Heaven is a real place and it will have real people. We will build, we will 17:38 plant gardens and we will enjoy the fruit of our labor. No more will be 17:45 build our dream home only to have to sell it. No more will we have that 17:53 beautiful garden destroyed by weeds and pests, but we will enjoy our lives in 17:57 this very real place. Our bodies will be new. So we will be able to labor and 18:03 not experience exhaustion and pain. Philippians 3:20-21 says, 18:40 Just so we are not mistaken, what was Jesus' glorious body like. Jesus 18:46 appeared to the disciples after He had risen from the dead and listen to 18:50 these words, 19:17 Jesus was real flesh and bones. But He was perfect. His lowly body was no 19:24 glorious. It would never grow old - it wouldn't grow weary and stop 19:32 working. Neither will ours. Our bodies will be perfect and imperishable. 19:40 Heaven is real with real people. 19:49 And in case you haven't gotten the picture, we won't be sitting around on 19:53 clouds, strumming our harps. But Heaven is a real place for real people 19:59 who will have real conversations. Jesus said in Matthew 8:11, 20:19 What will it be like to have a conversation with one of heroes of the 20:21 Bible? Who is that you would talk to? Daniel, Jeremiah, Matthew, Mark, 20:28 or maybe David or Joshua? Who will it be? In addition to all of this, 20:34 the perfect harmony of heaven will be seen in the animal kingdom as well. 20:40 Isaiah shares a beautiful seen, " 21:30 Perfect harmony and perfect peace. No animals eating one another. All of 21:34 them together enjoying the peace of God. 21:40 There is one thing in heaven above all else that should attract us. There 21:46 is one thing above all others that will bring supreme joy. And that my 21:54 friends is the opportunity to meet Jesus. Jesus is the reason that we will be 21:58 there. He has made the provision for you to go. He has prepared a place 22:02 for you and today He is calling you and He is calling me to come to Him, 22:09 give our life to Him, live for Him and be obedient to Him. Then the Bible 22:17 promises that we will receive a crown in heaven, 2 Timothy 4:8 says, 22:48 What a glorious day that will be! Jesus has paid the price. He has invited 22:53 you not matter if you are rich or poor, male or female, young or old, 22:59 whether you're successful or not.Jesus is calling. He is calling you to be 23:08 prepared for heaven. A real place, for real people where we will 23:14 receive a real crown. But we won't even glory in that crown. Revelation 4 23:26 says that those in heaven cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus. Why? 23:31 Because he paid the price for it all. Jesus calls today, will you answer. 23:38 Listen to this song and prayerfully consider the invitation of Jesus. 23:50 Princes and paupers, sons and daughters 23:57 Kneel at the throne of grace 24:03 Losers and winners, saints and sinners 24:10 One day will see his face 24:16 And we'll all bow down 24:22 Kings will surrender their crowns 24:29 And worship Jesus 24:36 For he is the love, unfailing love 24:43 He is the love of God 24:59 Summer and winter, the mountains and the rivers 25:06 Whisper the Saviour's name 25:12 Awesome and holy, a friend to the lonely 25:19 Forever His love will reign 25:25 And we'll all bow down 25:31 Kings will surrender their crowns 25:38 And worship Jesus 25:45 For He is the love, unfailing love 25:52 He is the love of God 25:58 He is the light of the world 26:04 And Lord of the cross 26:20 And we'll all bow down 26:26 Kings will surrender their crowns 26:32 And worship Jesus 26:39 Worship Jesus 26:46 Worship Jesus 26:54 For He is the love, unfailing love 27:01 He is the love of God 27:34 >>Chris: Heaven is a topic that deserves extra study. I'd like to offer the 27:38 Discover Bible lessons to you for more information on this very important 27:45 topic. Here's the information you need to get those lessons. 28:20 Thank you for watching. Please join us again next week. Until then, 28:26 remember, it is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 28:30 word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 28:36 $$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-02-05