Re: Some Surprises in Heaven
Posted by: preachervent <preachervent@...>
Greetings in Jesus’ wonderful name. I don’t know if anyone else is having this problem, but I am not able to open the attachment. I use a Mac and tried opening it in Pages and LibreOffice and I keep getting the message “unable to open this document.” I haven’t had this issue with any of your other postings.
On Mar 4, 2018, at 11:03 AM, Craig Ledbetter <craigaledbetter@gmail.com> wrote:
Some Surprises in HeavenAssorted ScripturesJanuary 28, 2018 AMPastor Craig LedbetterBible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, IrelandSong: Unworthy!I. Introduction (1Cor 2:9,10)
A. What will it be like in heaven? Who will be there? What surprises will we find there?
B. Not everybody who thinks they are going, will get there
C. It should be No Surprise that…
1. Jesus is in heaven
a. Seated at the right hand of God the Father!
b. Interceding, advocating for us as our Defense Attorney until we get home to heaven oursleves
2. God Almighty will be there, surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand angels
a. HE is the centre of everything that there is
b. Ruling, directing, managing, governing
c. All from His throne in heaven
3. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah and Rebekah and Rachel and Leah; will all be there – great men and women of faith
4. King David, and Solomon, and Elijah and Elisha will be there
5. Peter, and James and John, and the great apostle Paul will be there
6. And that followers of Jesus will be there
7. These are all expected to already be there. We expect all those people to be there, in that place called heaven
D. It all happens in an instant (2Cor 5:6,8)
1. Even though this body will perish, a soul is made to live forever
2. To be absent from the body, means you will either be present with the Lord Jesus, or lifting up your eyes in the torments of hell.
E. But there will be some big surprises in heaven – things you might not be expecting to be there
F. I want to take a brief look around at heaven this morning through the eyes of Scripture
G. This morning, let’s peal back the shroud covering eternity, and let the Bible surprise us and delight us at the future home, called heaven!
II. Message
A. The Unworthy Will Be There (Luke 14:12-24)
1. When a person makes a big dinner, and wants to celebrate something…
a. They usually invite special friends – important people – close family
1) People who can make it to your home on their own, in pomp and glory
2) People that can appreciate all the work you went through, and will pay you back by inviting YOU over to THEIR home at another time
b. But Jesus says that NOT how heaven works!
c. Jesus said for us to invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind – people who you will have to make a load of effort to go and get and bring to your dinner
d. People who won’t appreciate all you did in preparing that meal and celebration
e. People who might embarrass you, and let you down
f. But those will be the kind of people filling heaven
2. You see, NOT many smart, wealthy people, of royal birth will be in heaven (Mt 19:23; 1Cor 1:26-29)
3. Only sinners, flawed people, the embarrassing kind of people (Romans 5:6,8) will be there
4. Christ Jesus came into our world, THIS world to save SINNERS (1Tim 1:15)!
5. People you never thought would ever get saved will be standing right next to you on those streets of gold
a. Ungodly, wicked people
b. Adulterers, harlots, liars, even murderers will be hugging you and surrounding you
c. People who deserved hell, yet will be forever with Jesus in heaven!
6. You say, How can you say that? Surely all of those deserve hell and not heaven, right?
7. RIGHT!
8. But let me give you and Illustration:
a. In the 3rd-century there was a debate between a Pagan named Celsus and a Christian named Origin
b. Celsus the pagan declared "When most teachers go forth to teach, they cry, 'Come to me, you who are clean and worthy,' and they are followed by the highest calibre of people available.
c. But your silly master cries, 'Come unto me, ye who are down and beaten by life,' and so he accumulates around him the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity."
d. The Christian (Origen) wrote him back and said: "Yes, they are the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity. But my Master Jesus does not leave them that way. Out of material you would have thrown away as useless, He fashions MEN, giving them back their self-respect, enabling them to stand on their feet and look God in the eyes. They were cowed, cringing, broken things. But the Son makes them free."
e. That’s you.
f. And that’s me.
g. We were useless, we were broken, we were rejects.
h. And then we discovered that Jesus WANTED us! – even the chiefest of sinners!
i. And that he completely paid off all our mess-ups, all our wickedness on the cross
j. And made us again, forgiven sinners
9. As unworthy as any of us could ever be, we ALL are welcome, and invited to be with Jesus, for ever and ever and ever! All because of JESUS and HIS righteousness, and not because of US!
10. So be ready to be shocked at the kind of people you will meet in heaven!
11. People who WERE once lost, blind, wicked, ungodly, but were washed, forgiven, saved, born again, changed!
12. That surprising fact just reflects who Jesus is – a FRIEND of sinners!
B. Worship Will be There! (Rev 4:8-11; 7:9-11)
1. You would THINK that people would expect worship going on in heaven…
2. But it probably will surprise you that worship goes on all the time in heaven
a. Not just by the angels
b. But by ALL of heaven (Rev 5:11,14)
c. You will be SURROUNDED by millions and millions of people who love God and love Jesus and don’t mind praising Him and saying “I LOVE GOD” and publically THANKING HIM for saving them!
3. Listen to me… There will be REAL worship going on all the time in heaven
a. Worship in heaven won’t be for just an hour or two on a Sunday, but for ever and ever and ever
b. Not floating around on clouds with gentle harps
c. But there will be laughter, and such joy, and shouting, and dancing, and unhindered praise of the Lamb of God!
d. Hearty, passionate, victorious worship – like the victory song of a team after a win, or of an army after a war!
e. There will be Wow’s said over and over and over and over – we will never get over being there!
4. No time for you to get carnal – no backsliding there
a. You won’t be able to go sneak off and smoke a fag
b. You won’t find Netflix or the internet up there
c. You won’t be drinking any beer or champaign or wine or Guinness
d. No time for arguing and fighting and complaining
5. Only True worship!
6. Maybe some of you don’t want that kind of heaven, so you stay back, and never really get excited
a. Sit as far back in church as possible
b. Come as rarely as possible
c. Sing as little as possible
d. Never say Amen
e. Never let your heart get engaged and passionate about these things!
f. You probably wouldn’t like heaven anyway
7. And if you DO ever get there, you probably will be VERY surprised at it
8. But “I” am looking forward to it
9. I enjoy MY taste of heaven every time I am at church, and every time I open my Bible and listen to its marvellous words, and when I PRAY, I know I am right in the presence of the throne of almighty God!
10. All that worship just shows how WORTHY Jesus is – of all our worship
C. Treasures will be there (Matthew 6:19,20)
1. Heaven is enough for me! Just being there! Being welcomed there!
2. But there will be more added to this unworthy sinner’s eternity than just eternal life
3. There are awards and rewards in heaven - TREASURES
4. Awards and Rewards (Treasures) for both the big things people do for Christ…
a. Like when Christians sacrificed everything for the Gospel’s sake – not many do that
b. But some sacrifice their careers, their health, their very lives to teach and preach this Book, and win souls, and raise their families AGAINST the flow
c. God will reward every loss of friends and fortune with great rewards
5. But God will also reward a Christian for the little things they do to honour and obey Christ that no one else may notice!
a. Like giving a cup of water (Mark 9:41) to someone
b. Just keeping your mouth shut when you wanted to say things you would regret
c. Just being faithful at your job, in your home, in church, in reading your Bible
6. There will be rewards in heaven like we cannot imagine
7. That fact reveals just how much our God notices our lives, and our sacrifices we make for His sake
8. Be ready to be surprised
9. Warning: Be ready to be disappointed too, because with no sacrifice, comes no reward
D. Tears will flow in Heaven (Rev 7:17; 21:4)
1. Now wait a minute! How can that be? If there are so many treasures in heaven, and so much rejoicing in heaven, how can there be tears as well?
2. Two kinds of tears – ready to be blown away?
a. God somehow kept all your tears in some sort of a bottle (Ps 56:8) – whew!
b. And then there will be fresh tears in heaven! Let me show you why
3. There will be loads of tears in heaven folks
a. Tears for lost souls – people missing, who you thought were saved, or good enough
b. Tears for wasted lives - Tears of an eternity knowing what God did for us, and how little we did for HIM
c. Tears of lost rewards – seeing what we could have had
d. Tears will flow for quite a while in heaven before God personally wipes them all away in the end! Only God will be able to make our tears turn to joy
4. Just know this – there will be tears in heaven, and that will surprise everyone
E. A Massive City will be there (Heb 11:8-10; Rev 21:10-12, 15,16, 23)
1. Heaven is NOT filled with clouds and everyone just floating around
2. But a huge city is there
3. And I mean MASSIVE 1,500 miles by 1,500 miles by 1,500 miles city
4. The NEW Jerusalem
5. Shining as bright as a diamond in the sky
6. Mansions everywhere - The city in heaven is filled with MANSIONS
7. A river flowing right out of the centre of the city
8. The streets are paved with pure gold – not gravel or chippings or tarmac, but GOLD
9. There is ONLY light there – all radiating out of that city – no need for the sun anymore - no darkness at all
10. Filled with believers, with Christians, with sinners saved by God’s grace!
11. Next time you watch Star Wars and Star Trek and so on, and see their massive cities in space, remember that one day, YOU and I will be overwhelmed by the biggest sight imaginable – the city of God, the New Jerusalem!
F. Jesus will Serve us, not just angels (Lk 12:36,37; Rev 7:17)
1. There will be many surprises in heaven, but this one shakes me
2. To learn that in heaven, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will take the time to sit me, and then serve ME!
a. I am unworthy to unloosen the laces of His sandles
b. I am not supposed to even BE there along side Abraham and Isaac and Jacob
c. I don’t deserve to be treated so well by the Son of God
3. Yet, I will watch as Jesus serves ME!
4. What a surprise
5. What a wrong
6. What an honour!
7. What a surprise!
8. I think we will ALL be gobsmacked – no words!
9. We will be like Peter saying LORD NO!
10. But, that just is WHO Jesus is! The Prince of Servants
G. Understanding – we will finally understand what God was doing (Luke 24:44,45)
1. We know that all things work together – we believe it (Rom 8:28)
2. But one day we will understand it!
3. Every question will be settled
4. Every painful memory will be explained
5. Every problem and disaster in our lives will be seen for what they were perfectly designed by God for
6. And it will all surprise us just how wise, and good, and right our God is and always has been!
H. The Blood of the Atonement Will be There (Heb 12:22-24)
1. Up in heaven, sprinkled alll over God’s throne, is the blood of God’s Son
2. Sounds strange, but it is necessary
3. Christ’s blood is eternal – cannot just disappear
4. It will surprise you to see it stain the beautiful throne of God
5. But it shows us and reminds us how God became a Man to die at our hands
6. And for all eternity, that throne is stained with the consequences of OUR sinful lusts!
7. We will constantly be reminded what it costs for us to be there in heaven
8. It will stop us dead in our tracks, as we rejoice and are free, and worship and sing, and go and do whatever we want… we will see this reminder - it will be an eternal reminder to us
9. Heb 9:12-14 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
I. My Last Thought… Scars will be there (Luke 24:36-40)
1. Not any of OUR scars – no – we all get a new body
2. But one Person has chosen to KEEP His scars
a. The massive scars on His two hands
b. The gouge in His side
c. And the two scars in the centre of His feet
3. The ONLY imperfection throughout all of heaven, will be found in the scars on Jesus’ body
4. Kept to gently remind us of the price he paid to get us access to such a wonderful place
5. Zech 13:6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
6. Joh 20:24-28 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
III. Conclusion
A. Heaven will take our breath away, not because of what we expect, but because of the surprises that will be there.
B. But the question to answer is this… will YOU be there?
C. Only one kind of person can look forward to a place called heaven…
D. Only A messed up, broken, frail, failure of a sinner… who has been BORN AGAIN on the inside…
E. You had better make sure you are going
F. Unbelievably, you CAN make sure today!
1. By owning up to the wicked man or woman that you really are under the skin
2. By repenting of your sins – that means turning away from YOUR will and YOUR ways and turning to Christ Jesus, believing that HIS death was in your place – really believing it with all your heart
3. And then accepting the free gift that Chrst offers you – eternal life (Rom 6:23)
4. He paid for it all – there is nothing for you to pay
5. Just believe it to be true and it wil save you!
6. Sounds so simple!
7. Thank God that it is!
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