Heaven

Mark Dunagan
11/02/08 - Sunday Morning

 The Fullness of Joy

"Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fullness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever" (Psalm 16:11).

In this life joy is often mixed with sorrow, or there is something that can always limit the length of our rejoicing or the depth of our joy. We live in a world where blessings are often mixed with problems (Philippians 1:15-18). By contrast, Heaven is a place of pure and unmixed joy, a joy that is full and never ending.

Unrestrained Joy and Love

In writing to the Corinthians, Paul complained that their love was guarded or limited, "Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide. You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections" (2 Corinthians 6:11-12). "We throw our hearts wide open to you" (Knox). "He has spoken with great frankness. He has revealed to them all the secret springs of his actions. Nothing has been kept back. He has laid bare before them all his motives and aims as a minister of Christ" (Erdman p. 73). "Our mouth is still open toward you in what we have said; our heart is still expanded to take you in with all its love" (Lenski p. 1074). Notice the attitude of this man. Even after dealing with all the discouraging things which had come out of this congregation, Paul still had enough room in his heart for them. "Paul's heart was not narrowed or pinched by suspicions and misconceptions of the Corinthians. Though he knew their failings and though their attitude to him had been marked by a deplorable lack of generosity, yet his love for them remained unaffected; there was no question of their being squeezed out of his heart" (Hughes p. 239). In this life we often do face the temptation of guarding our feelings, toning down our enthusiasm, limiting our joy and holding back some of our love. We might not fully trust someone; we may have been burned in the past, and are now very cautious, yet heaven is a place of unrestrained joy and love. Peter noted,"And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). In this life, our limited language skills may prevent us from truly expressing all our joy, yet there will be no limitation in heaven.

No Sin

"And there shall no longer be any curse" (Revelation 22:3). "And nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it" (21:27). "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone" (21:8).

We need to spend some time contemplating an existence free from sin. This is something that we have never experienced. We were born innocent, yet we were immediately brought into a world cursed by sin. Even before we ourselves sinned we felt pain and sorrow as children, and saw the effects or consequences of sin on the adults around us. What is life like in an environment that is free from sin and all its consequences? One writer said it this way:

"In heaven we will serve without exhaustion"

It will be service without earthly-time demands, service without frustrations, disappointments, setbacks, or failure. It will be service without the limitations that so often hinder us on earth, service without growing tired, and may be even more meaningful; service which is not hindered by a lack of education, know-how, skill, or knowledge. How many times in this life do we have to settle for second-best, because we really do not have the skills, knowledge, tools or means to do the job with absolute perfection? How many times in this life will I never do something, because I either lack the resources, tools, or the time to learn? God has built into man a creative drive to produce something productive. We all derive pleasure from a job well done and from knowing that others are pleased with our service. In heaven, this creative drive will not be frustrated, but rather completely unleashed.

"In heaven we will serve and administrate without failure"

In this life we are stewards (1 Cor. 4:1-2). "God has delegated to us a great responsibility. We often feel the pressure and guilt of not being able to measure up to our self-imposed expectations. And how guilty we feel when we do not measure up to what God expects! In heaven we will never have to face failure" (Whatever Happened To Heaven and Hell, Eighth Annual Shenandoah Lectures, p. 335). Jesus said, "Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master" (Matthew 25:21). The verse not only suggests activity in heaven, but greater and more rewarding activity. Note the faithful, exciting, busy, and often challenging life of the fruitful Christian here is spoken of as being "faithful with a few things". In contrast, heaven is pictured as being "put in charge of many things". Just think for a moment, Christian. Look at all the things that God has allowed you to do in this life! Look at the doors of opportunity He has providentially opened. Look at all your rich, rewarding, fun, enlightening, and joyful experiences. Far more awaits you in the life to come! Remember when the Bible describes heaven as "rest" (2 Thess. 1:7), the thought is not one of idleness for even in this life work can be either refreshing, relaxing and rewarding, or work can be frustrating! When working on something in this life, we might be putting forth a lot of effort and sweat, yet are enjoying every minute of it - that's just a taste of the type of work and service that awaits us in heaven.

"In heaven we will worship without distraction"

Worship will never be forced, manipulated, or contrived. It will truly be genuine, and everyone will participate. In our earthly worship services, there is sometimes someone who does not really want to be there. In our earthly worship services, typically there is someone either from the outside or inside who is not happy with the length of the songs, the number, the ones selected, and on and on. For those people who really do the bulk of the work in any given congregation, heaven is quite appealing, because it means that everyone there is happy! Compare with 1 John 3:2; Matthew 5:8 "for they shall see God".

"True Unconditional Love"

"And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain" (Revelation 21:4).

This equally means:

• No more misunderstandings
• No more mistrust and no one will ever abuse your trust
• Your motives will never be called into question and neither will you question the motive of anyone else
• There will be no need to guard your feelings or words
• Whenever you talk you will be completely accepted and fully loved
• There will be no thoughts like, "I am accepted?" "Do people like me?" "Did I just say something stupid?" "I wish I could find someone to love".
• No jealousy or envy
• No strife or divisions
• And no holding back of our love and worship. We will love and worship with all our being.

"No sin also means..."

• No frustrations
• No worry/anxiety
• No fears
• No more anger
• No more self-pity
• No more discouraging thoughts

"Saints from the Past Ages"

At the Transfiguration, Peter clearly understood that the two individuals with Jesus were Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:3-4). This tells me that there is the ability to recognize the resurrected dead. It will be amazing to see other resurrected believers and now that one is looking at a believer from the first century, from the time of Moses, from the time of David and so on. We will interact with believers that lived prior to the Flood or in the centuries that followed New Testament times, and with every life we will find that there is a great story of courage, sacrifice, honor and faith (Revelation 12:11; Hebrews 11:38 "Men of whom the world was not worthy"). We will see believers who remained faithful in spite of intense persecution or who were believers during a time of total apostasy, or who were born during a time when no one really was interested in God's truth (Ezekiel 3:6). And we will have a story of faith to tell as well. We lived during a time when immorality was blatant, when pornography was one click away within our own homes, and when men were "lovers of self" (2 Timothy 3:2).

"Look at all the People"

The way to eternal life is narrow (Matthew 7:13-14), yet in heaven we will probably be amazed when we see how many people did remain faithful (Revelation 7:9).