Angels and Demons - Heavenly Misconceptions
This past Sunday we continued our Angels and Demons series by diving into what Scripture has to say about Heaven! This has already been a great series, full of information that many of us have never really sat down and addressed before surrounding the ‘spiritual realm’ around us. Heaven and Hell are pretty broad topics, so we decided to split these up into two separate messages; we don’t want to miss out on any important details. If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you and hope to be able to see you this upcoming Sunday!
When someone talks about Heaven, what naturally comes to mind? Some think of the idea that we will be in ‘some ethereal space’ where we will be singing and praising God. Others have never really considered that question, and just know that they would rather be there than in Hell. The afterlife, and what we believe about the afterlife directly effects what we in our lives here today. But, even from what we can see in Scripture, describing heaven explicitly probably takes away from the grandeur it will likely be! 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” - this being said, what we have to work with is what we see in Scripture, and there is quite a lot to consider about Heaven. Consider John 14:1-
Pastor Robbie starts us off saying, “My strategy today is this: In order to try to help you understand what heaven is, what I want to do is I want to start by showing you what heaven is not. Because I really believe a lot of people have misconceptions about what heaven's going to be like.” The first of these misconceptions surround this idea about heaven somehow being boring! Many people have many different ideas about heaven, and this could be from Satan whispering lies in the ears of people who are spreading such an idea. “If I were the devil, what I would do, is try to convince the world today that hell is not a real place...or at the very least you shouldn't worry about it. And I would try to convince you that heaven is boring. You might as well live for today. This is all that matters. Heaven is boring, why would you want to go there?” Revelation 21:1-7 has a lot to say about heaven - heaven will be a perfect dwelling place between mankind and God, ‘death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore…’ (v4). God has a place for us, holy and perfect. Heaven is the opposite of boring, because our God is the opposite of boring, for those that know Him.
Naturally, the question we all want to know, is if heaven isn’t this or heaven isn’t that - what will heaven actually be like? In heaven, you will see Jesus face to face. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will have has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2). Your body will be perfect and new in every way. “What will heaven be like? Heaven is the absence of everything bad, painful and evil. It's the presence of everything good, holy and glorious. Based on my study of heaven, what it appears is that we'll actually have the glory of working for Jesus - in a way that we enjoy and love.” For all eternity, you are ruling and reigning with the king of all kings and the Lord of all lords. It’s the presence of everything good, holy, right and just - the absence of everything evil and painful.
The lies that we continue to hear from people around us, from those who do not know God tries their very best to convince everyone that this world is the only thing there is! They believe that this world is the only world that matters - that we should live for this life, and just do what makes us happy. Philippians 3:19-20 informs us of something very different church, “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Not to mention, some of these same people would suggest, that even if there was a heaven, most of us will be there because ‘most of everyone is good, right?’ There is a belief that all people eventually end up in heaven, because most everyone around us are not murderers, rapists, or any severe violator you would like to input - this is not the case church, Heaven is for those who are forgiven, not those who are ‘good’ enough. All have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), all of us have turned our backs away from what God desires for our lives, and we must be forgiven to be able to dwell with Him eternally.
Those who are forgiven, gain eternal life in Christ Jesus. People ask themselves, Have I been good enough? What about all my secret sins. Have I been too bad? I go to church, I try to do good, I try to dedicate my life and but I keep messing up. These things are not what we find salvation in, faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is what gives us salvation - through this faithfulness, by God’s grace, we are forgiven. A Heaven of pure bliss and perfect communion with the Creator and Lord of our world is what awaits those who are found faithful.
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Angels & Demons - Heavenly Misconceptions: While there are many different ideas about Heaven, Scripture is clear that it is among the most unique things possible.
Main Scripture Passages: John 14:1-6; Rev. 21:1-7; 1 Cor. 2:9; 2nd Cor. 4:17-18; Rom. 3:23; Phil. 3:19-20
What Will Heaven Be Like? Is it boring? - New Bodies, no sickness, no pain, living life with Jesus, and working with pure and sinless purpose - Heaven is going to be awesome!
This World is Not Our Home - Some would say that this world is all there is, we know different - there is freedom and hope in what is to come!
Only ‘Forgiven People’ Will Be In Heaven - ‘Good’ people do not go to Heaven - ‘Forgiven’ People, go to Heaven!
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes.
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Join us next Sunday as Pastor Robbie continues in our Angels & Demons series when we explore the subject of Hell!
We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!