Eternal Perspectives: Understanding Heaven and Our Future
Summary
### Summary
Today, we concluded our series on the theme "After This," focusing on what the Bible says about heaven and eternity. We began by emphasizing the importance of gathering together to lift up the name of Jesus, who is worthy of all our praise. Our key scripture was Hebrews 9:27, which reminds us of the certainty of death and the judgment that follows. We discussed the importance of basing our understanding of heaven on scripture rather than personal experiences or near-death accounts, which can sometimes be misleading.
We addressed several questions about heaven, such as whether we will see God, experience marriage, and have relationships. Revelation 22:4 assures us that we will see God's face, and Matthew 5:8 promises that the pure in heart will see God continuously. We also explored the nature of relationships in heaven, affirming that while marriage as we know it will not exist, the bonds we form on earth will carry over in a transformed way.
We touched on the presence of animals in heaven, citing Isaiah's vision of a peaceful coexistence among all creatures. We also discussed the possibility of seeing our pets again, referencing Billy Graham's comforting words that heaven will be a place of perfect happiness.
The sermon emphasized the importance of living with an eternal perspective. Using a rope as an illustration, we showed that our current life is just a tiny dot in the grand scheme of eternity. How we live now, in this "dot," affects our eternal future. C.S. Lewis's quote reminded us that those who think most of the next world do the most for this one. We are encouraged to set our sights on the realities of heaven and live each day in light of eternity.
Finally, we discussed the Bema Seat of Christ, where believers will be rewarded for their faithfulness. Our goal should be to please God in all we do, knowing that our actions have eternal consequences. We concluded with a prayer for believers to focus on living in light of eternity, making a difference in the lives of others.
### Key Takeaways
1. Seeing God in Heaven: Revelation 22:4 and Matthew 5:8 assure us that we will see God's face in heaven. This vision will be a continuous, ever-increasing reality, filling us with awe and wonder. The essence of God will be manifest in ways beyond our current understanding, making us realize how we lived so long without seeing Him. [40:57]
2. Relationships in Heaven: While marriage as we know it will not exist in heaven, the bonds we form on earth will carry over in a transformed way. We will recognize and have relationships with our loved ones, experiencing a deeper intimacy that surpasses earthly understanding. The ultimate marriage in heaven will be between Christ and His bride, the Church. [48:02]
3. Animals in Heaven: Isaiah's vision of a peaceful coexistence among all creatures suggests that animals will be present in heaven. Romans 8 speaks of all creation groaning for redemption, indicating that animals will be part of the new earth. If having pets makes our happiness complete, we can trust that God will provide for that in heaven. [51:16]
4. Living with an Eternal Perspective: Our current life is just a tiny dot in the grand scheme of eternity. How we live now affects our eternal future. C.S. Lewis reminds us that those who think most of the next world do the most for this one. We are encouraged to set our sights on the realities of heaven and live each day in light of eternity. [59:12]
5. The Bema Seat of Christ: Believers will stand before the Bema Seat of Christ to be rewarded for their faithfulness. Our goal should be to please God in all we do, knowing that our actions have eternal consequences. The crowns we receive will be a testament to God's grace and mercy, and we will lay them at His feet in worship. [01:08:26]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[36:21] - Introduction to the Series
[37:45] - Near-Death Experiences and Scripture
[39:31] - Prayer and Introduction to Questions
[40:57] - Will We See God?
[48:02] - Relationships in Heaven
[49:34] - Animals and Pets in Heaven
[51:16] - Eternal Perspective
[57:27] - The Rope Illustration
[59:12] - Living in the Dot
[01:01:22] - Setting Our Sights on Heaven
[01:03:16] - Expiration Date Illustration
[01:05:14] - The Bema Seat of Christ
[01:08:26] - Rewards in Heaven
[01:11:48] - Living to Please God
[01:13:39] - Prayer for Believers
[01:15:14] - Closing Prayer
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. Hebrews 9:27 (NIV) - "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."
2. Revelation 22:4 (NIV) - "They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."
3. Matthew 5:8 (NIV) - "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
#### Observation Questions
1. According to Hebrews 9:27, what are the two certainties mentioned about human life? ([36:21])
2. What does Revelation 22:4 say about our experience of seeing God in heaven? ([40:57])
3. How does Matthew 5:8 describe those who will see God? ([40:57])
4. What illustration was used in the sermon to explain the concept of living with an eternal perspective? ([57:27])
#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the certainty of death and judgment in Hebrews 9:27 influence the way believers should live their lives? ([36:21])
2. What might it mean to see God continuously in heaven, as described in Revelation 22:4 and Matthew 5:8? How does this vision impact our current understanding of God? ([40:57])
3. The sermon mentioned that relationships in heaven will be transformed. How might this transformation affect our current relationships and how we value them? ([48:02])
4. The concept of the Bema Seat of Christ was discussed in the sermon. What are the implications of believers being rewarded for their faithfulness? ([01:08:26])
#### Application Questions
1. Hebrews 9:27 speaks of the certainty of death and judgment. How does this reality affect your daily decisions and priorities? ([36:21])
2. Revelation 22:4 and Matthew 5:8 assure us that we will see God's face in heaven. How can you cultivate a "pure heart" in your daily life to prepare for this continuous vision of God? ([40:57])
3. The sermon emphasized that our current life is just a tiny dot in the grand scheme of eternity. What practical steps can you take to live with an eternal perspective, focusing on the "line" rather than the "dot"? ([59:12])
4. Reflect on your current relationships. How can you invest in them in a way that aligns with the transformed relationships we will experience in heaven? ([48:02])
5. The presence of animals in heaven was discussed, including the possibility of seeing our pets again. How does this vision of a peaceful coexistence among all creatures influence your view of God's creation and your role in it? ([51:16])
6. The Bema Seat of Christ will be a place where believers are rewarded for their faithfulness. What specific actions can you take this week to ensure that you are living a life that pleases God and has eternal consequences? ([01:08:26])
7. C.S. Lewis's quote was mentioned, stating that those who think most of the next world do the most for this one. How can you balance your focus on eternity with your responsibilities and actions in the present world? ([59:12])
Devotional
Day 1: Seeing God Face to Face
In heaven, we will experience the profound joy of seeing God face to face. Revelation 22:4 and Matthew 5:8 assure us that this vision will be a continuous, ever-increasing reality, filling us with awe and wonder. The essence of God will be manifest in ways beyond our current understanding, making us realize how we lived so long without seeing Him. This encounter will be the culmination of our faith journey, transforming our relationship with God into an intimate, unending communion. [40:57]
"And they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." (Revelation 22:4-5, ESV)
Reflection: How does the promise of seeing God face to face change the way you live your life today? What steps can you take to cultivate a deeper relationship with Him now?
Day 2: Transformed Relationships in Heaven
While marriage as we know it will not exist in heaven, the bonds we form on earth will carry over in a transformed way. We will recognize and have relationships with our loved ones, experiencing a deeper intimacy that surpasses earthly understanding. The ultimate marriage in heaven will be between Christ and His bride, the Church. This transformed state of relationships will be marked by perfect love, unity, and joy, reflecting the divine nature of our eternal home. [48:02]
"For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." (Matthew 22:30, ESV)
Reflection: Think about your current relationships. How can you begin to cultivate a love and unity that reflects the eternal relationships we will experience in heaven?
Day 3: Animals in Heaven
Isaiah's vision of a peaceful coexistence among all creatures suggests that animals will be present in heaven. Romans 8 speaks of all creation groaning for redemption, indicating that animals will be part of the new earth. If having pets makes our happiness complete, we can trust that God will provide for that in heaven. This vision of harmony and peace among all creatures points to the comprehensive redemption and restoration that God has planned for His creation. [51:16]
"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6, ESV)
Reflection: How does the idea of a redeemed creation, including animals, shape your understanding of God's plan for the future? How can you reflect this vision in your care for creation today?
Day 4: Living with an Eternal Perspective
Our current life is just a tiny dot in the grand scheme of eternity. How we live now affects our eternal future. C.S. Lewis reminds us that those who think most of the next world do the most for this one. We are encouraged to set our sights on the realities of heaven and live each day in light of eternity. This perspective helps us prioritize what truly matters and motivates us to live faithfully and purposefully, knowing that our actions have eternal significance. [59:12]
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." (2 Corinthians 4:16-17, ESV)
Reflection: What are some practical ways you can shift your focus from temporary concerns to eternal realities? How can this shift impact your daily decisions and actions?
Day 5: The Bema Seat of Christ
Believers will stand before the Bema Seat of Christ to be rewarded for their faithfulness. Our goal should be to please God in all we do, knowing that our actions have eternal consequences. The crowns we receive will be a testament to God's grace and mercy, and we will lay them at His feet in worship. This understanding of eternal rewards encourages us to live with integrity, purpose, and a heart devoted to serving God and others. [01:08:26]
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." (2 Corinthians 5:10, ESV)
Reflection: Reflect on your daily actions and choices. Are they aligned with the goal of pleasing God? What changes can you make to ensure that your life reflects a commitment to eternal rewards?
Quotes
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "So today we're going to try to answer some questions of what the scripture says and I'm going to ask a question of one of our listeners and that's what I do in the last service we said look we're going to spend eternity on a new earth and a new heaven we talked about that somebody in the last service said man I never heard that before I have to go back and look at that read it well it's in the bible it's good to read and uh so if you missed that series be sure to do that but we've gone by what the bible says not what somebody says when after you know a near death experience and I don't discount near death experiences there's a lot of people who have written good books about going to heaven and come back but also some of them went to heaven and came back and then said it was all a lie and they made it up yeah which only makes it harder for people that are believers but I also say that when a person talks about an uh and a near-death experience and whatever they saw in what they thought was the new earth or the new heaven needs to line up with the word like somebody I read they said well when I was there I saw rainbow colored unicorns no sorry somebody said well I saw all the people there had wings no sorry it doesn't line up with the word because you see you can have a vision or a dream and think you've seen something" [37:45] (78 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Will we experience marriage in heaven will we have relationships in heaven will we know our friends in heaven a lot of people say well when I'm in the intermediate heaven will I know what's going on on earth before the Lord comes back and uh so I guess the general answer would be yes in the in the intermediate heaven it said the martyrs look down on the earth and said how long oh Lord is it going to be until you redeem the world so to a degree I would say yes while we're in the intermediate heaven we could look upon the earth that's still to be the new earth and say yes we can see but on the new earth we wouldn't need to know that because we all we see each other we know so but in heaven yes there will be relationships our our kids and our grandkids will always be ours right and those of us that are married when you get to heaven even though it says that we will not participate there won't be any need for marriage you're still going to have that bond of marriage uh not that bad word marriage but that relationship that you had together on this earth and you're still going to have that bond of marriage that you had together on this planet earth you don't live 60 or 70 80 years on this planet earth with somebody who is your husband or wife and not know them in heaven and not have a close relationship with them yes you will have that and you say well if I've been married five anticipation one of those things yeah but I do know this that when we get to heaven we'll know one another we'll experience that and we'll experience we'll experience some sort of intimacy that's beyond anything that we can ever imagine and let me just say this a lot of people say there won't be any marriage in heaven yes there will be marriage in heaven Christ marries his bride that's the thing that focuses everything in heaven" [48:02] (120 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "So, the question is simply this. In light of these five weeks, I just didn't do these five weeks because we want to just do that. But I wanted to teach this five weeks about heaven because we need to live every day as though what I'm doing today affects my eternity. Remember, we've been talking about this rope and we said this rope, this from the white part back here represents eternity past. God has always been. God was never created. He never started. But somehow as we read, there was chaos and there was darkness. And out of that chaos and disorder, God brought order. And then he created man. And so, I come to this red part. And this red part on this rope really is the history of man from Adam and Eve till where we are now. We'll talk about that. But then there's more. There's more. There's more. There's more. There's more. There's more. I'm sure the rest of this rope talks about eternity future that the future ahead of us is longer than a thousand years it's longer than a million years it's longer than a billion trillion years it goes on forever and ever and ever have you ever stopped to think about that that what I'm doing now will affect everything in my future" [57:27] (86 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Here's what C.S. Lewis said I love this quote look at this if you read history you will find the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next it is since Christians since then Christians have largely ceased to think about the other world that they've become ineffective in this one so we said this little blue spot here represents all of our life right now in which that we're living but in the midst of that little blue spot there's a white dot and that white dot is representative of my life so what I'm doing now in living in the dot every day I'm living in the dot how I live today what I do today affects my eternity so in other words catch this today you get to speak into your dot you speak into that dot but one of these days the line will tell about you we come to your memorial people say yeah well you know he lived here there was a dash you know he's born 1950 dash died 19 whatever not yet 20 20 thousands no forget it just a long time and what you do here but here's what I know James says life is like a mist you uh you spray some spray and there's a mist and they're pretty sure it's gone then it also talks about our life as like a like a flame here today burn out and just smoke that's all that's left there are some people who live and think their entire life it's going to be right here in the dot but it's here and it's gone so the question would be today is that how are you living are you living in light of eternity are you living just for the vapor just for the match" [59:12] (155 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Here's what the scripture says this is just this just so important Colossians 3 verses 1 and 2 since you've been raised to new life with Christ set your sights on the what look at your neighbor and say set your on the realities of heaven so we're not just talking it's like somebody left in last service and she said to me is it wrong in light of listening to this series I feel like I want to go I said no isn't that how we should live every day you get up and maybe you're the best Sean maybe you're the best builder in the villages and so you don't get up and say oh man I'm a good builder today and I get to go build things but you wake up every morning and you think I get to live life today in light of an eternity that's going on forever and who can I add value to do Matt when you walk into your medical facility and you're you're one of the best ones that's there but you don't wake up in the morning think yeah I'm I'm really good at this medical stuff I'm really good people seek me out all the time no you wake up and thinking I get to live today in the reality that eternity is going to go on and on and how I live today is not only affecting my eternity but it's affecting everybody that is around us I wonder how many people have you changed their life this week simply because we lived with that thought in mind so he says keep thinking about the realities of heaven and then in verse two he says think about the things of heaven set your sight on the things of heaven" [01:01:22] (105 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for Members
1. "Will we actually see God will we actually see him well revelation 22 and 4 it says simply that read it with me they will see his face and I don't know how that's going to be God is the spirit holy spirit is the spirit uh we know that Jesus is still being his uh body uh uh that he was incarnated to we know that he'll still have the wounds and the scars in his body so when we see him we say yeah we see the essence of God but also I really believe that we're going to be able to see however that is God I mean he's able to manifest himself any way that he wants to the scripture says in matthew 5 and 8 blessed are those pure in heart for they shall see God yeah the word see there is the is the greek word horo which means future continuous reality so that means in heaven we're going to see God and we're going to see him continuously and it's just going to keep increasing and increasing and increasing and increasing I think I think it all comes down to this after we see him we'll wonder how did I live so long without seeing him the way that he surprised by some things don't you when you get surprised right now well I say that next time you know what Jesus had a physical body and so will we it was a glorified he still had the same body going to be who knows there might be a better meat substitute in heaven I mean God could concoct without killing a cow and say ribeye come forth okay he could Al that's thanks to Al he told me because it's a plant and you know plant or tree doesn't it well okay all right keep going" [40:57] (437 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Will we experience marriage in heaven will we have relationships in heaven will we know our friends in heaven a lot of people say well when I'm in the intermediate heaven will I know what's going on on earth before the Lord comes back and uh so I guess the general answer would be yes in the in the intermediate heaven it said the martyrs look down on the earth and said how long oh Lord is it going to be until you redeem the world so to a degree I would say yes while we're in the intermediate heaven we could look upon the earth that's still to be the new earth and say yes we can see but on the new earth we wouldn't need to know that because we all we see each other we know so but in heaven yes there will be relationships our our kids and our grandkids will always be ours right and those of us that are married when you get to heaven even though it says that we will not participate there won't be any need for marriage you're still going to have that bond of marriage uh not that bad word marriage but that relationship that you had together on this earth and you're still going to have that bond of marriage that you had together on this planet earth you don't live 60 or 70 80 years on this planet earth with somebody who is your husband or wife and not know them in heaven and not have a close relationship with them yes you will have that and you say well if I've been married five anticipation one of those things yeah but I do know this that when we get to heaven we'll know one another we'll experience that and we'll experience we'll experience some sort of intimacy that's beyond anything that we can ever imagine and let me just say this a lot of people say there won't be any marriage in heaven yes there will be marriage in heaven Christ marries his bride that's the thing that focuses everything in heaven so a next question I know some of you have been asking this and you thought Anita would answer this but I'm answering this one" [48:02] (120 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "So, the question is simply this. In light of these five weeks, I just didn't do these five weeks because we want to just do that. But I wanted to teach this five weeks about heaven because we need to live every day as though what I'm doing today affects my eternity. Remember, we've been talking about this rope and we said this rope, this from the white part back here represents eternity past. God has always been. God was never created. He never started. But somehow as we read, there was chaos and there was darkness. And out of that chaos and disorder, God brought order. And then he created man. And so, I come to this red part. And this red part on this rope really is the history of man from Adam and Eve till where we are now. We'll talk about that. But then there's more. There's more. There's more. There's more. There's more. There's more. I'm sure the rest of this rope talks about eternity future that the future ahead of us is longer than a thousand years it's longer than a million years it's longer than a billion trillion years it goes on forever and ever and ever have you ever stopped to think about that that what I'm doing now will affect everything in my future here's what C.S. Lewis said I love this quote look at this if you read history you will find the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next it is since Christians since then Christians have largely ceased to think about the other world that they've become ineffective in this one so we said this little blue spot here represents all of our life right now in which that we're living but in the midst of that little blue spot there's a white dot and that white dot is representative of my life so what I'm doing now in living in the dot every day I'm living in the dot how I live today what I do today affects my eternity so in other words catch this today you get to speak into your dot you speak into that dot but one of these days the line will tell about you we come to your memorial people say yeah well you know he lived here there was a dash you know he's born 1950 dash died 19 whatever not yet 20 20 thousands no forget it just a long time and what you do here but here's what I know James says life is like a mist you uh you spray some spray and there's a mist and they're pretty sure it's gone then it also talks about our life as like a like a flame here today burn out and just smoke that's all that's left there are some people who live and think their entire life it's going to be right here in the dot but it's here and it's gone so the question would be today is that how are you living are you living in light of eternity are you living just for the vapor just for the match" [59:12] (155 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Here's what the scripture says this is just this just so important Colossians 3 verses 1 and 2 since you've been raised to new life with Christ set your sights on the what look at your neighbor and say set your on the realities of heaven so we're not just talking it's like somebody left in last service and she said to me is it wrong in light of listening to this series I feel like I want to go I said no isn't that how we should live every day you get up and maybe you're the best Sean maybe you're the best builder in the villages and so you don't get up and say oh man I'm a good builder today and I get to go build things but you wake up every morning and you think I get to live life today in light of an eternity that's going on forever and who can I add value to do Matt when you walk into your medical facility and you're you're one of the best ones that's there but you don't wake up in the morning think yeah I'm I'm really good at this medical stuff I'm really good people seek me out all the time no you wake up and thinking I get to live today in the reality that eternity is going to go on and on and how I live today is not only affecting my eternity but it's affecting everybody that is around us I wonder how many people have you changed their life this week simply because we lived with that thought in mind so he says keep thinking about the realities of heaven and then in verse two he says think about the things of heaven set your sight on the things of heaven wow every person in this room when my daughter Kelly our daughter Kelly comes to our house the first thing she does is she goes to the fridge and she starts looking you guys have things that are expired so I know we don't do things like that here at the father's house so I went to the freezer back here and the boys helped me and we found that this says let's use if by December 2022 this is expired I don't know if that matters anything or not but here's what I do know would would you look at your your neighbor's back or the back of their neck and do you see the little expiration date that's there do you see that little expiration date we all have one we have a time in which that this life is going to be I don't get to do a do-over them don't get to do a do-over when when when I drop that last breath and I leave this body and I'm in the presence of the Lord I I don't get to say I I didn't do such a good job give me a do-over no we start off in life with a heartbeat and then it becomes a heart beep and that's it today by the grace of God your heart will beat over a 100 000 times and you will breathe 900 gifts of air today but we're all moving towards the beep and one day that'll end and what we do with the cross determines where we'll spend eternity but what we do as believers determines how we will spend eternity there's an amazing scripture in first Corinthians 5. it says so we are confident even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we're not at home with the Lord for we live by believing and not by seeing yes we're fully confident and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies for then we are at home with the Lord so whether we are here in this body or away from this body our goal is to what our goal is to what right now my goal is to please him my goal is not to impress you my goal is not to say you know this but my goal is to please him that's why I got up this morning lord I want to please you today because I know what I do with my life today because I'm a Redeemer because I've been redeemed will determine how I spend eternity and the rewards he said let me tell you the story he said a wealthy man went away and he left one man with a bag of silver and he said I want you to make sure you invest this to use this use this I'm giving you this I'm giving you this this he gave another five bags and another one and he came back after a long time and and he said how what'd you do with what i gave you the first one says i doubled it the second one says i doubled it third one says i hid it and he says to those who use their resources their time their talent their treasury for his kingdom he said well done thou good and faithful servant you've been faithful over small things i'm going to make you ruler over many i want to make you ruler over 10 cities but make you rule over five cities make you ruler over this so i don't get to do a do-over and say god how did i miss that how did i live thinking so much about the dot that i didn't realize that that how i use this redeemed life i have is going to affect my eternity because everybody's not going to get the same reward in heaven the thief who died on the cross he cried out to the lord in the last seconds of his life and he said with me today you'll be in paradise but he never had a chance to do anything we're not saved by our works but our positions on the new heaven and the new earth are by our works not what people see us do but what we do with the right heart the right attitude in the right way you see you may do a lot of things down here but your motive is to be seen by other people well guess what that's going to be burned up with the purification of the lord and only you that which we've done with the pure motives that's scary to me only what we've done with the pure motives but this verse goes on to says for we must all stand before christ to be judged and we will read it with me we will receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done so he says there's coming a day when we as believers you say well as a believer did i ever do anything that's evil uh yeah yeah that's why he said we'll give account for every idle word we speak but
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