What Is Heaven Like?

Luke 16:19-32

Thesis: To show what Heaven is like?

Introduction:

1. All of us speculate as to what Heaven is like.

2. There are many parables in Matthew 13 that Jesus used to describe Heaven.

3. But we still struggle with what Heaven is like.

A. One Sunday morning a faithful Sunday school teacher was teaching her class of

boys about heaven. She asked the question, “Where is heaven?” And one

happy boy replied, “It’s in our home since my daddy became a Christian."1

B. What is Heaven Like?

Discussion:

We will recognize Heaven…

I. By its architecture.

A. Listen to Revelation 21:12-21.

1. It will be a city like we have never seen.

2. There will be a wall great and wide.

3. There will be twelve gates with angels standing guard.

4. The city will be built foursquare.

5. The walls will be of tremendous stature.

6. It will be made of jasper, and the city is pure gold, like a clear glass.

7. The foundations of the city will be garnished with all manner of precious stones.

B. The late Harry Rimmer penned the following letter to Charles E. Fuller of the Old

Fashioned Revival Hour, shortly before his death. It reads:

“Next Sunday you are to talk about heaven. I am interested in that land

because I have held a clear title to a bit of property there for over 50 years. I did

not buy it. It was given to me without money and without price; but the Donor

purchased it for me at a tremendous sacrifice.

“I am not holding it for speculation. It is not a vacant lot. For more than half a

century I have been sending materials, out of which the greatest Architect of the

universe has been building a home for me, which will never need remodeling or

repairs because it will suit me perfectly, individually, and will never grow old.

“Termites can never undermine its foundation for it rests upon the Rock of

Ages. Fire cannot destroy it. Floods cannot wash it away. No lock or bolts will

ever be placed upon the doors, for no vicious person can ever enter that land,

where my dwelling stands, now almost completed and almost ready for me to enter

in and abide in peace eternally, without fear of being rejected.

“There is a valley of deep shadow between this place where I live, and that to

which I shall journey in a very short time. I cannot reach my home in that city

without passing through that valley. But I am not afraid because the best Friend I

ever had went through the same valley long, long ago and drove away all its gloom.

He stuck with me through thick and thin since we first became acquainted 55 years

ago, and I hold His promise in printed form, never to forsake me or leave me

alone. He will be with me as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and

I shall not lose my way because He is with me.

“I hope to hear your sermon on heaven next Sunday, but I have no assurance I

shall be able to do so. My ticket to heaven has no date marked for the journey, no

return coupon and no permit for baggage. Yes, I am ready to go, and I may not be

here while you are talking next Sunday evening, but I will meet you there some

day.”2

2. Truly Heaven will be wonderful; surely you want to go!

II. By its activities.

A. Some verses describe our activities:

1. We will worship God (Rev. 22:3) “And there shall be no curse any more: and

the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and his servants shall

serve him.”

2. The angels worship God, saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the

Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come” (Rev. 4:8).

3. We will song the wondrous story “And I heard a voice from heaven, as the

voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and the voice which

I heard was as the voice of harpers harping with their harps and they sing as it

were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and

the elders: and no man could learn the song save the hundred and forty and

four thousand, even they that had been purchased out of the earth” (Rev. 14:2

3).

B. Other than the described verses, I don’t know what else we will be doing; but God

has great things in store.

A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months

to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her preacher and

asked him to come to her house to discuss some of her final wishes.

She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral service, what Scriptures

she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. She requested to

be buried with her favorite Bible.

As the preacher prepared to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something

else. ‘There’s one more thing,’ she said excitedly.

“What’s that?” said the preacher.

“This is important,” the woman said. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right

hand.”

The preacher stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say.

The woman explained. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck

dinners, when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would

inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite part of the meal

because I knew something better was coming—like velvety chocolate cake or

deep-dish apple pie.

“So, when people see me in that casket with a fork in my hand and they ask,

‘What’s with the fork?’ I want you to tell them: ‘Keep your fork. The best is yet to

come!’”3

III. By its absences.

A. Some things will not be there (Rev. 21:4) “and he shall wipe away every tear from

their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying,

nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.”

B. Certain ones will not be there (Rev. 21:8) “But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and

abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all

liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is

the second death.”

C. There are a few things that we know from Lazarus (Lk. 16).

1. Lazarus was carried by angels (v. 22).

2. Lazarus was in Abraham’s bosom (v. 23).

3. Lazarus was far away from Torment, where the rich man dwelt (v. 23).

4. Lazarus had access to cool refreshing water to quench his thirst (v. 24).

5. Lazarus is now comforted (v. 26).

6. Lazarus, probably like the rich man, wanted his family to know of life after death

(vv. 27ff).

IV. By its appearance.

A. Several verses provide a description:

1. It will be a great city (Rev. 21:10).

a. I have been in some great cities:

1) New York City—skyline

2) Chicago—Sear’s Tower

3) Toronto—CN Tower

4) Moscow—St. Basil’s Cathedral

5) Las Vegas—Hoover Dam

6) Then there's the Grand Canyon

b. But none of these cities will compare to the grandeur of Heaven.

2. It will contain the proverbial mansions (Jn. 14:2).

a. I have been in some magnificent mansions, and seen many on T.V. and in

books.

b. In Star Wars, the fourth episode, we find a character by the name of Hans

Solo who is the typical rich man condemned in the Bible. He asked his

friend how big his reward would be if he helped to save the princess, to

which he heard, “More than you can imagine” His quick reply was, “I

don’t know; I can imagine a lot!”

c. Rich men never set their eye on Heaven. If they do it’s for all the wrong

reasons.

d. The mansions might be splendid; not because of its size, but because of

who is there—you—and that it’s tailored to suit just you!

3. It will be filled with the holiness and glory of God (Rev. 21:11).

a. You have seen some truly special occasions where silence was the only

resolve:

1) The birth of your children;

2) The marriage of your daughter;

3) The beauty of your wife;

b. None has surpassed the glory of Heaven.

4. It will shine forth as a brilliant light: as a stone most precious (Rev. 21:23).

a. Public Television’s The Antique Road Show priced a 5 carat rose-cut

diamond at $50,000 to $60,000. An average looking woman with an average

lifestyle had such an amazing stone.

b. But its brilliance does not compare to that of Heaven.

B. Consider how one preacher penned the description of our last day on earth and

the beauty of Heaven.4

A father will be looking through the glass at his firstborn son; but will only be

able to spend a short time with him—for Jesus Christ is coming.

There will be a shout, the voice of an archangel; the trump of God. And I’m

sure that everybody will freeze wherever this particular sound catches them

because they have never heard a piercing sound like this one. All whoever lived,

and have died, will come forth. Jesus said, “Marvel not at this: for the hour

cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come

forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have

done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment” (Jn. 5:28-29). Those of you who will

be alive at the day of Christ’s return will be changed at the twinkling of an eye. We

will all rise to meet Jesus in the air. We have all been earthbound for all of our

lives, but now earth is turning loose of us. We’re all rising to meet Jesus in the air.

We’re leaving the place where we have talked and walked; where we have lived

and loved. We are leaving not by airplane, nor spaceship; but, we’re leaving by the

power of God.

Not only that, as we ascend up to Heaven, we’re going to be given a new

body. We’ll begin to explore our new bodies as a little child explores their body.

No more hurts; no more cripples; no more pains; no more suffering. This will be a

new body that will never grow old. It’ll be new, not only for that day, but for all

eternity.

And as we keep ascending up into Heaven, we begin to think of the earth that

we are leaving fast behind. We think, “Have I got my wallet,” “Have I got my

purse,” “Have I got my driver’s license,” “Have I got my American Express card,”

but then I think, “All of those things belong to the earth, which I am leaving

behind. I think, “What time is it?” Really, I don’t need my watch anymore because

time is no more.

And as I rise higher and higher in the air to meet Jesus, I see the earth vanish.

And somehow another, I don’t seem to miss the things we have thought so needful

in life: the driver’s license, the credit cards or even our money. All of that belongs

to the earth that we leave behind. We see with our eyes now for the first time and

really for the last time all of the descendants of Adam in one assembly. We see for

the first time every man, woman and child that has lived upon this earth come

together in one place to meet God face to face. And every eye is drawn to a

central focus. It is a focus upon Jesus Christ. There is a great hush; there is a great

quiet. It is so deafening, you could literally hear a pin drop. You can literally hear

because everybody is quiet.

But you see something that is happening among this great mass of people:

every knee bows and every tongues begins to confess that Jesus is Christ. People

who never wanted to confess Jesus, never saw the need of confessing the sweetest

name on earth (the name of Jesus), and have chosen not to do so, are now doing it.

They are confessing that he is the Son of God. All nations are there. It will be a

surprise to know that everybody in America will be there. Everyone in the African

continent will be gathered in that assembly. Every person that ever lived, we’ll

meet. Jesus said, “and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall

separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the

goats” (Mt. 25:32). And this assignment is not where I want to sit. I would

remember the days at church when I had my own place on the pew; I had my own

parking place at work; I had my own favorite place to go at the end of the activities

of the day. But I realize that I’m in the hands of Jesus. The assignments now for

me, whether on the right hand or on the left hand, is all within the power of Jesus.

I’m puzzled as I see the right side of the throne and the left side of the throne.

And I find myself by the grace of God and obedience to his will upon the right

side. I turn and I come face to face with God. And as I look at him face to face, he

calls out my name. I am amazed. He calls out not only David’s name, but he says,

“Esker,” “Harry,” “Susan,” and all the others present here this morning. It seems

like that he has known us forever. There is a sweetness in his voice as he speaks

our name. Maybe for the first time we know that he knows the number of hairs on

our head. It seems as though he has known us when we were a child. He has

known us when we were a teenager. He has known us when we went to the

marriage altar and said, “I do.” He knew us when we went to the hospital, and

stood before the nursery window to see our firstborn. He knew us when we were

older and because of pain and suffering, we were limited and sometimes bound to

our own residence. It seems that he has known us and that he has known us well.

He opens the books. He turns those pages in that Book of Life. The stardust

literally flies from each page. We realize more than ever that this is the man who

died for me. This is the man who made it all possible for me to be on the right side

of God’s throne. He begins to tell me everything that I ever did. He tells me the

exact date that I became a Christian, who baptized me into Christ (after I had

believed with all my heart that Jesus is the Christ is the Son of God, after I had

repented of all my sins; after I had done what is necessary in confession of my

faith in Christ), he told me about how the baptism went. He tells me all things that

I ever did. He tells me the number of times that I partook of the Lord’s Supper,

how that I fed the hungry, how that I had fulfilled the Scriptures, and when I went

out to seek others to Christ. And then he says words, “Inasmuch as ye did it unto

one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me” (Mt. 25:40). He tells

things that I really didn’t remember. He tells me about the times that I gave to feed

the poor – how that I gave to a missionary who came by asking for help to carry

the gospel to distant place. He tells me all the times that I attended the worship

services – about how I was faithful in attending on Wednesday night. He tells me

about my prayers, how that I prayed and that because of my prayers somebody was

healed – somebody was saved as they came into contact with the gospel of Christ.

He tells me about my prayer life. He talks about my love life – how that in reality I

was willing to put him first in my life – how that I could simply say that “I love

God with all my heart with all my soul and with all my mind.” I realize, and you do

too, that he knows you better – he knows me better – than we know ourselves.

And then with a bit of anxiety, I begin to shake as I think of possible sins that I

have confessed – possible sins that I have not confessed. And then I simply say,

“Lord, I am an unprofitable servant. Please let me go into the throne room of

God.” He simply smiles as he turns. And he says, “I don’t any sins marked up

against your name here in the Book of Life because in early life you obeyed the

gospel and your sins were washed clean by the blood of Jesus. And as you walked

faithfully as a child, you had the blood of Jesus cleanse you daily of all your sins

and mistakes. And I want to tell you that I do not find any sins whatsoever against

your name because of the blood of Jesus.” And then he says the words that are the

most pleasing words I’ve every heard. “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Mt.

25:21). Words that I’ve wanted to hear all of my life.

And then I make my exit from the judgment, and I know for the first that I’m

entering a gate that is made of pearl. I see that massive wall that is made of jasper. I

walk for the first time not on streets of asphalt or stone. I walk upon a street of

gold. I look and see that the very walls itself, its foundation is made up of precious

stones. I suddenly realize that it is just like John said it was, that it’s like a bride

prepared for a husband.

I’m at home at last. No stress, no hurry. No saying to me, “Come on! Can’t you

keep up? Can’t you walk a little faster? Can’t you do it a little bit better? Hurry up!

It’s already time to start!” There’s no hurry. There’s no stress. I see God. And I

think of the passage that I learned as a child, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for

they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8). And I turn my ear that is new (no longer do I have

to put my hand to my ear to hear because that ear has long faded. It’s been

changed into a new ear) and I hear upon a ear that will never grow dim or need any

aid or assistance the beautiful singing of Heaven. And as I listen I find the

redeemed of all ages singing a new song – a song I really never knew back on

earth. But possibly they might sing some songs like “O Why Not Tonight?” “I Am

Persuaded” or “Almost Persuaded.” Those songs surely they will sing. And I look

at that glorious face and I see everybody happy. I see everybody content.

I see for the first time the plan of God for man has been realized. I think

about, “It’s been a full day, and surely it’s going to be dark in a little while. And

then I remember there will be no darkness there. I look around to see what time it

is as people have looked around at jobs, at church, at school to see what time it is,

but it’s always the same time in eternity. It never grows old.

And then I see a mansion. And I see my name up on that mansion prepared by

Jesus Christ. There’s no lock on the door for there is need neither of a lock nor a

key for there is no one there who is going to steal, mar or destroy the beauty of

that place. And I look at this mansion that has been prepared by the God of

Heaven, who made the rainbow, the cloud formations and all the beautiful things

of earth that I remember. I see that all the buildings that I ever saw on earth fades

in comparison to this one. It’s on Hallelujah Square.

And somehow another it’s been a full day, but I’m not tired. I’m not sad

because I never hurt again. I see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I see Peter, Andrew,

James and John. And they’re all coming with smiles on their faces to meet me, and

to welcome me for all eternity into this wonderful place. I see people that I’ve

known. I remember this lady over at the camp; I remember sister So-And-So at

Cedar Grove. And then I see people that we have never known. There’s such a

joyful embrace. There’s such a friendly smile on everybody’s face. They treat us all

like we’re somebody because we are the sons of God eternally saved by the grace

of God. Maybe for the first time in my life, I realize that I am God’s child. I realize

what a great love God had for me – that he wanted me to be saved. And I joyfully

say, “For God so loved”; but, I change it to say, “For God so loved David, that he

gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish,

but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world;

but that the world should be saved through him” (Jn. 3:16-17).

Conclusion:

1. Heaven is wonderful.

2. Surely you want to go.

A. A man who was dying called upon his secretary to write a letter to a friend. “I

continue to be in the land of the living,” his secretary wrote in her desire to

help him. But he corrected her. Instead, he instructed her to write, “I am still

found in the land of the dying, but soon I shall be found in the land of the

living.”5

B. Why go to Heaven?

a. Heaven is the dwelling place of God (Lk. 11:2).

b. Heaven is the final dwelling place of the saints (Rev. 21, 22).

c. Heaven is a safe deposit for treasures (Mt. 6:20).

d. Heaven contains a register of the saints (Lk. 10:20).

e. Heaven has room for all believers (Jn. 14:2).

f. Heaven holds the glorified Christ (Acts 7:55-56).

g. Heaven was built by God’s hand (Col. 1:5).

h. Heaven will hold the redeemed of all nations (Rev. 7:9).

i. Heaven will require obedience to enter (Rev. 22:14).

Endnotes:

1 A Treasury of Bible Illustrations Copyright © 1995, 1998 by AMG International, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by Permission.

2 A Treasury of Bible Illustrations.

3 Adapted from Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion Copyright © 2002 by Craig Brian Larson & Drew Zahn, English US edition © 2004 by Biblesoft with permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. All rights reserved.

4 Adapted from Levi Sides, “Second Coming of Christ” sermon, Central Church of Christ, Andalusia, Alabama, June 07, 1993.

5 Illustrations of Bible Truths Copyright © 1995, 1998 by AMG International, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.