what will we DO in heaven?

well tonight is um another one of our question and answer services and before I start the microphone part uh Sometimes some of the best questions are the ones that after the service people come up and they say I am too shy embarrassed and unable to stand in front of that mic so just answer it for me right here and so that was last uh Sunday night right after the service and so and I didn't even speak last night it was uh or last Sunday it was the Word of Life team and uh the question was um actually what they said actually was is heaven only bowing down around the throne that's all you talk about that wasn't a question really and I said and what's the question he said what will we be doing in heaven only bowing down around the throne and and I guess what it is is um that that there's just been so much talk about heaven and all these multicolors and all these people coming and going from Heaven that it's just Peak uh within uh many of us what we do in heaven so then they said does the bible explain other activities and so what I said to them in the front was this is what is uh almost every time Heaven is portrayed this is how it's portrayed but there's a lot more in heaven so what I did this is what I told him but you know the longer you give me to think about something it gets longer but uh so I'll just run through it real quick and then we'll go to the microphones God's word presents at least five distinct now I said at least I mean I'm just standing there in front uh actually uh when I had to write my dissertation at Dallas Seminary on Heaven it was much more than five but number one Heaven is a place where everything that's good and perfect actually originates and I think we need to recalibrate uh we don't need um all of these addendums to what God has already told us everything that is good and perfect means all the amazing sensations of our human lives God is the one by the way that designed us thought all this stuff up our sight our smell our taste our touch our emotions the way we think how we remember anticipation did you know anticipation and reminiscence are two of the most powerful gifts God has given us I I know because I take people on trips and and I anticipate with them and then when they come back they reminisce and it's it think about that all the way through life and that's something God designed and all activities are at their Supreme level in heaven think of the sense of sight where you don't you know need glasses and and laser surgery and cataract surgery and drops can you imagine just having a sense of sight and smell in perfect form of taste and touch the same of all the Delights of anticipation and reminiscence none of that will go away in heaven secondly Heaven is a place where Jesus said real life finally begins now you talk to most people and and if things are going well they have enough money and they're healthy and and everything they think they're really living you ever heard that boy we're really living now Heaven Jesus said is when real life finally begins if you think any part of this life is good you have no idea how good it can be if if you you come to the Lord and experience this that means any of the joys Delights and pleasures of this life that are good see God is only going to perpetuate the the unfallen unsinful but did you know you know I mean for a believer about 99% of everything available in the world is wonderful there's only a very small part there was only one thing the whole garden that Eve was supposed to stay away from and of course like I said this morning that's where we go first right but anything in life that's good will be magnified in heaven anything you will ever experience enjoy share and treasure in life that was good anything will be best in heaven you know most people think that what God wants to do is is uh just make us all uh you know just kind of be like the stereotypical uh 17th century Puritan and I'm not opposed to I Love The Puritan prayers and everything but you know the dark clothing derer somber that I I we're supposed to be very serious and Jesus was meek and lowly but God is the god of Wonder and it if you know anything about the Jewish form of worship uh I love that's why I guess I I I I would move to Jerusalem if I could and live there because I just love seeing even in their fallen blindness how exuberant those people are they they have Zeal without knowledge as as uh Paul says and and they are zealous in their worship of the god that many of them don't even know they know about him but they don't know him and and uh but everything in heaven will be best never forget Jesus created all these amazing Pleasures in life humans did not think up the pleasures of life God designed them every one of them uh and here's another one Heaven is a place that is always portrayed as surrounding a huge happy banquet of feasting on food and drinks and unhurriedly surrounded by friends all the best Pleasures on Earth are perfected and magnified in heaven for us the redeemed just as now think about this all of the worst evils of Earth will be endlessly magnified for the Lost God gives everybody what they really want really think about it I mean you you can act one way but down deep all of us really want certain things and those really are the drivers of our life and for those who want uh you know to to be pursuing things that God says are evil and wicked and sinful they will forever be wanting those things and never be satisfied have you ever seen someone detoxing or you know going through you know rehab for alcohol for anything like that I mean well you've probably seen it portrayed on television you know the the all of the contortions and vomiting and you know being sick I mean I remember uh what was the Johnny Cash movie you know the ring of fire one you know and how he was just all like that think of all the people in hell that are going to endlessly be increasing in their desires and increasingly being dissatisfied hell is the worst evils endlessly magnified for the lost as as their all those passions and desires the Lord doesn't take away they they don't be they're not taken away they're hell is called an unsatisfied just like you know it's just never satisfied we will will be endlessly satisfied that's why the banquet idea and and I'll talk about that in just a minute what it means fourthly by the way this is just the these are just the points I haven't gotten to the message Heaven is a place where everyone that has ever invested our time and talents and treasures into either directly or indirectly will be seeking us out did you know that have you ever thought about that have you ever thought about yeah every day I have two choices I mean I can just be posting endlessly on my Facebook page and taking a picture of everything I can think of in the world and and and just spending all of my time in amusements and things I love or I can do what most people least like to do and that is walk up to people I don't know and could be rejected and I can keep trying to share the gospel let me ask you in heaven do you think anybody's going to come to you in heaven and ask you about your Instagram account and how many twits or tweets or whatever pokes you did in your life no but the Bible says that every single person that you and I invested our life into on Earth for Christ will be seeking us out and welcoming Us by inviting us into their rooms in our father's house and I didn't get this by getting my head bumped you know and getting an out of body it's actually in the Bible see that's how most people don't even know it's in the Bible because they've spent so much time you know trying to hear fantasies to share what the Lord did through us in their lives this is such a big dimension of Heaven what God used us Fallen frail sinful weak people to accomplish for his glory that means as we daily surrender to Christ Living his life through us and we pray for people we teach people we lead people to Christ we disciple people we support people in Ministry we help them through their life struggles we encourage them in the word or even getting in the word and we sorrow and sympathize with them plus all whose lives they touch onward for the Lord all that comes back to touch us with the delightful Joy it's endless I remember um let's see if I remember how Phil taught me to do this there we go I remember uh I don't know how to do it because I haven't done it since the 70s but it was something like this and then this and then this this is Amway by the way did you ever think you'd get an Amway show here I I mean I sat in in uh Roger Charlie Marsh and uh what I don't even remember all their names all the biggies in the 70s in the 60s actually I I sat and and listen to them do this Charlie Marsh and everything what they said is this is you and if you would just find two people to buy the mway kit for $35 back then and they each find two to buy the Amway kit and if they just buy a little soap for their washing machine and cons some off on their grandmother and you know what I mean and sell it at work and if they will you all know this that you will get some percent off this thing and you know I think it was 35% and then you get I don't know what on that and I don't remember what on this but the big one was that you would get one quarter now I know it's all changed but one quarter of 1% of all that and there was a lady named Esther or no Krauss was their name Krauss she was one of the original herbal or uh neutralite I don't remember but Krauss up here was one of like the two people that Jay vanad started and when Amway got to like $40 million Mrs Krauss was making 1/4 of 1% of it all and that was the Paragon that that the higher up the pyramid you were or it's not a pyramid it was it it's a legitimate thing and they were really working but what it was saying is that Mrs Krauss might have only Bernice I think her name was only got this far in the process and 40 Years of Amway just blew it out to whatever it's in the billions now she still getting now of 12 billion that's a lot of money that communicated to people and I remember almost every American Airline Pilot in the 70s was in Amway and they were everybody was in Amway and everybody was thinking of what would happen now everyone everyone that that we as we're surrendered to Christ Living his life through us that we pray for and teach and lead to Christ and disciple and support in Ministry and help through life struggles and and I could go on and on with that what that means is that that if you invest in you know Frank and Karen Mills over here and they're off in you know Romania and there some little kid gets saved and he goes off to Croatia and and leads a thousand people to the Lord guess who knows better than Amway your connection to that you understand you understand the the spiritual counting that God is doing and I'll show you in just a minute where it says that in the Bible but I was just introducing this and finally here's the last Point God's word presents another distinct dimension of heaven I'm only covering the ones that I covered last week so um Heaven is finally a place of the throne falling down before God joining everyone in the universe together in worship of his greatness and glory and that's what the questioner said is that all I said no that is what is most portrayed in the scriptures but it's not the only element we're taught as a part of our Eternal home so real quickly so we aren't here too long think deeply about what you know already and apply it to Heaven okay first of all here's a verse James 1:17 every good and perfect gift is from above anything good and perfect in life whether it's the joys of parenting whether it's the joys of helping people whether it's the joys of meeting the needs of a needy whether it's the joy of of stepping back and and watching all the glory go to the Lord whatever is good and perfect in life comes down from the Father of Lights everything good comes from God so that's what I mean by this everything that's good and perfect in life actually originated with God do you think it's wonderful to see creation uh do you think it's wonderful to the varieties of smells did you know if you want to be challenged um uh Brandon yansy the fearfully wonderfully made book it talks about how our sense of smell can detect one particle you know a micron siiz particle of something out of gazillions of particles and that one particle going through our old factory system will hit a synaptic connection going go all the way to our brain and you will remember your grandmother's muffins that you haven't thought about for 30 years and the sense of smell is so powerfully connected with experience experiences in the past with everything in between and see it to think that that evolved how did it evolve you know every one of these our senses and and the the the elements of our humanness God gave all those to us now we've corrupted them a lot of ways and I mean I could go on and taste and touch and emotion and thought and memory and all the others but anything that's good in life about how we are how we're designed anything the Lord designed it today we only partially taste the joys of Heaven what are the good and perfect joys of life here are a few to think me with me about and as we do remember this the best the the most beautiful parts of every dimension of our Earthly life will be exponentially you know that's to the power of exponentially immeasurably more so in heaven that's why in just a moment we'll get to the next verse Jesus said when you enter life you know what he said we're not really even living now we're like zombies to use a movie term compared to what life is like in heaven and see that's why the devil is so dead set on obfuscating what's really going on and that's why we are bound in our sinfulness and darkness and blindness because if we really knew did you remember what Paul said Paul did have an out of body only his he went to heaven the Lord took him and showed him and he says what I've seen is unlawful to be uttered why cuz everybody would have wanted to die that night that nobody would have wanted to stay here on Earth that's why he says I would rather be in heaven but it's needful for me to stay if we really knew what it means that the best of anything and far more than I mean God has only revealed so so minute amount to us because we have so little capacity to even understand but but just what we've seen is so nice people are willing to do anything to get it I mean the Beauties and joy and travel and experiences and everything they're willing to spend their whole life just to get that and they don't realize that they're down uh in the Twilight Zone and they're not even alive compared to what God has prepared for us so the best the brightest the most beautiful parts of every dimension of our Earthly life there's not one dimension that we experience that God hasn't designed it's just we have in our fallenness have Twisted it but everything I mean for everybody that's you know under whatever age uh guess who designed this wow doubt do do you think the devil designs sex are you kidding why does God talk about heaven like being married that we're engaged and we're going to our wedding night is heaven that's supposed to conjure up an idea of well it doesn't anymore because everybody nowadays you know sex is so demeaned and commercialized and debased but I'm talking about unsaved people and gradually with save people God portrays Heaven as us being engaged going to a wedding banquet and to begin an endless what would be called a honeymoon in heaven it's amazing to think about that as uh CS Lewis said you know we're content making mud pies in the alley when he's invited us to a beach resort in heaven forever okay so just think about and I just I told you the longer I think I I mean just think of everything with what God's given us all the amazing endless variations of our taste all those things you know I was hungry when I was writing this you know and I was smelling you can tell when I wrote this Bonnie was cooking you know perfectly prepared beef she made these New York uh strips and and you know citrusy perfectly done fish I was really getting hungry corn to FL all of those are the wonders of taste see how each of them lights up a memory I mean if I say chocolate cake or cranberry orange sauce or creamy Italian or baso it immediately in your mind you know hints of cilantro whatever it just look at this this each of them lights up a memory path of synaptic connections there are there are uh more synaptic neural Connections in our mind than there are stars in the universe did you know that it's interesting to think about and God designed that for what for us to sit on a cloud like a Puritan you know what I mean no no I'm not making fun of them but you know what I mean you've seen the pictures the best the brightest the most beautiful of every Dimension is going to be in heaven think about smell you can go through this and I already told you about that I mean I I thought of every smell and and God designed that I mean do you think we're not going to smell in heaven I mean there are trees bearing fruit everything on Earth that was good is going to be in heaven in some form that's going to be exponentially better it's it's interesting um sight God loves I mean just look how he describes Heaven John could not and Ezekiel and Moses in Exodus and you know everybody that's writing and Daniel everybody that's writing about heaven they couldn't figure out how to describe it I mean it was streets of gold but you could see through them you know clear as Crystal even the glassy sea that reflects and refracts and then the you know it's kind of like a a Telsa you know whatever those are called where the Lightning's going like this uh that's what the Throne of God is like I mean do you think that the God who made a world of sunsets and storms and softly falling huge flakes of snow which yay or daffodils bursting out and all of the colors and and everything the wonders of sight everything we see connects in our minds God created it for our pleasure and Heaven is going to be exponentially immeasurably more than that if you study the doctrine of God God can endlessly reveal more to us he'll never run out he is infinite and we are finite and we can just keep pursuing forever and will never get near the end of God who would trade that for being an unrepentant sinner who will never be able to enter the kingdom of God see I think that we don't need any more movies we just need to tell people what the Bible says uh doing think about the things we can do we can write and think and plan and learn and we can cook and bake and sew and craft and and Ski and swim and surf and skate and go hunting and fishing and camping and enjoy painting and woodworking building and drawing and how about designing and programming and collecting and studying and add to that the Wonders of discovering and traveling and exploring and experiencing all of those wonders of doing do you think God's going to shut all that down do you think about everything the Bible says about what everything good and perfect came from above and and we are endlessly I I think that the throne times are when we all just get back and just can't wait to do what we Sayang tonight How Great Is Our God and and we'll just be overflowing uh and the Lord will be uh glorified second Jesus said this is where real life finally begins I'm going to show you the verse uh anything you will ever experience and share in Treasure in life that was good the best of it will be in heaven uh life with God will be of a such greater magnitude that anything we are aware of or experienced on Earth that it will seem in comparison that we weren't even alive you know we will have memory in heaven did you know that we have memory remember the rich man of Lazarus he remembered his family he remembered Lazarus he remembered what he did he remembered how much food he had do you realize we remember now God's going to divinely edit out all the sin the the record of sin the the pain and the but not the fact that we sinned that isn't going to be removed but it's going to be the sting remember Paul could talk about murdering and being the chiefest of Sinners and he glorified God because it meant how much he'd been forgiven of and so it's not like we're going to forget how bad we were but it's going to be transformed into how great God is to forgive us that much we'll finally see how much he forgave us for and we'll be amazed but turn to Matthew 18 in fact you ought to turn your Bibles you guys will just be Spectators but some of these you should Mark so that you can talk to people about this these two are great this is what Jesus said in Matthew 18 now he started saying this in Matthew 5 when he talks about uh you know if you look at a woman it's the same as committing adultery if you hate it's just like murder do you remember when he Wasing talking about the radical steps we need to take sin is so bad that we don't play with it we don't get as close as possible to it we take radical measures to to avoid sin if your hand or foot causes you to sin cut it off and cast it from you now listen to this I mean most people don't like that part and it's bothersome so they don't keep don't keep really deeply thinking what Jesus is saying it is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed what saying is go from this world to God's presence lame or maimed rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into Everlasting fire now he's making a strong contrast here with the say between the saved and the lost did you catch what he said though enter into life what he's saying is compared to what you're going through right now it's like you're you're not there yet it's like you're still inside the womb you know you're kicking and and starting to you know move around and sense things but you don't even know what's out there yet you you really aren't into life I mean you've got a great taste and you know me the Lord says he say it again in verse 9 enter into life uh what he's saying is that that that where we're headed and what it's like around his throne is like Paul said he says it is just inexpressible I can't really tell you I can tell you what the Bible says I'm not going to tell you anymore Matthew 25 this is really interesting his the Lord said to him well done good and faithful servant you were Faithful over a few things I will make you ruler over many things look at this this is how Jesus describes Heaven the joy of your Lord that's why the around the throne isn't really bad I mean if you think it sounds boring you don't really understand God because the highest pursuit of our life is to remember the Westminster catechism is to glorify God and if we really understood that then we wouldn't want to go on any trips and explore and taste and smell and anticipate and reminisce we just want to be there and we will be wanting to be there and God's going to throw in everything else but Jesus described Heaven as the joy of your lord but but look at also in heaven what is that I by how you operated with what I gave you on Earth I'm going to let you rule over many things people go what are you going to rule over do you think God has limits I mean he he is watching it it's very interesting to think about what's going on here God is above you know up here uh I always call it the ant farm you know God is looking down at us and he is watching uh what he gave us each of us are here and he gave us our our little area and he's watching what you know whether we're doubling or you know quadrupling or hiding you know what he gave us and he's watching what we do this is this is in our Earthly life and this is in our eternal life and what God says is okay I gave you speaking and serving gifts and you you worked at you know 30-fold then you're going to start here in heaven you know at a 30-fold rate in heaven see what we do on Earth is how we're going to begin in heaven you notice he says that he says in proportion that you are a good and faithful over a few things I'm going to I'm going to increas inas those for you and you're going to have the joy of continuing to serve me in heaven and he says it all the way through you can read this so basically what the Lord is saying is that there is there is a reciprocity between here and there and for those those who you know hide their Treasures have a bad ending they get thrown out so probably they're not saved but those who do very little it says they're saved yet so as by fire and they sorrow that's 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 there's another dimension here suffering suffering in fact I was just in the hospital uh reading this to one of our dear Saints uh Phil Schmidt uh 2 Corinthians 4 says that to the degree that we suffer increases in heaven our capacity to worship did you know that most of us run from suffering if we realize that our light momentary tribulations work an exceeding our suffering on Earth is light and momentary that's how God describes the worst the worst it can be here you know it's light compared to hell it's light it's momentary compared to Eternity it's momentary but in heaven it works an exceeding and an eternal weight of Glory did you know who some of the greatest people are going to be in heaven you probably never heard of them they persisted in loving and worshiping and serving God in handicap weak I mean look at some of our greatest hym writers of past Generations before they all became Superstars and performers they used to be sick blind helpless weak people Fanny Crosby all of these people how many of them wrote hymns from sickness weakness blindness poverty and everything else and what they were doing is they were experiencing limitations and you know a lot of them had all kinds of struggles in life and didn't live very long and all of that suffering was increasing their capacity for worship and and giving them an exceeding and eternal weight of Glory why do you think the man after God's Own Heart was one of the most depressive kind of people you've ever met David David was very much a minor key person I mean he danced with his tambourines now and then but that wasn't I don't think that was his norm and and part of that is that the Lord has a whole different way of measuring stuff but I'm getting off the page Third Heaven is the place that's always portrayed as surrounding a huge happy banquet and and think about this for the vast and this part you haven't thought about for the vast majority of the people in the Bible times life was a constant lifelong struggle I just read a piece that's so interesting on what you and I are going home through tonight we all have running water that's heated we all have something of some kind to cook with we all have some type of cooling system so we can have food that that we don't have to go and kill and and pluck and you know and get ready for that meal and and we don't have to grind it unless we want to you know the Grain and and I just read a piece that talked about how many servants it took in the old world to have light in the house heat in the house water in the house water of various temperatures in the house water to be poured over us while we bathe do you realize getting in a shower do you know how hard that was in the ancient world you had to have several slaves that were going and dumping water on you and they were out back chopping wood and and heating it and bringing it and going from the wherever they got it from while a whole bunch of other slaves were cooking and doing all this stuff and and we come home and poke the microwave button and don't realize that for the mass vast majority of everybody in the Bible times life was a constant lifelong struggle and We complain have you ever noticed how less the attendance is here when it rains we don't want to get wet how about when you know what I mean if you can't find a close parking space it's it's a hardship these people life was a struggle to work to get enough to eat and drink to even find a place of shelter to rest I mean you're you did not have asphalt shingles back then remember a bad wife was like a constant dripping they knew what that meant their roofs leaked and and I mean you talk about the way they lived and and they their clothes to wear I mean they had to kill them or cut it or grow it to make it and and it was hard and the idea of not working and instead being served a banquet do you see this we've lost so much we have too many um what's it called across the street up there you know the Gourmet or the buffet place you know we have too many of those in life so banquet has dropped the idea of of served at a banquet was almost the greatest possible dream for a normal person everything provided your food was there it was in a comfortable well-lit sheltered place you were given a a robe remember when we get to heaven Jesus is going to put a robe and walk us up and introduce us to God now this is how Jesus describes where we're going look at this Matthew 811 and I say to you Jesus is presenting the gospel El and he says I say to you that many will come from the East and the West see he was talking about the gospel Going Global and it was going to transcend as God always intended the Jewish people it was going to widen out and he says people from all over the world are going to come and see this sit down thing this is the banquet Motif it's called Uh look what getting to Heaven is called for us beli in Revelation 19 the marriage supper of the Lamb uh Jesus goes on in Matthew and says the Kingdom of Heaven uh talking about God's Rule and his Reign and his righteousness and our Salvation is like a certain King who arranged a marriage for his son see that that idea of marriage and then Luke goes on and says you can eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on my Thrones he's talking to the to the deciples right then the 12 specifically because the 12 are going to sit on Thrones and judge the 12 tribes there's another dimension of what's going on in heaven this is probably Millennial uh the the uh Earthly Kingdom of Christ but whatever Heaven is talked about is a banquet sitting down uh having everything in abundance but it doesn't end there it's also the scriptures use the family joys of a Wedding Banquet quit where all cares are forgotten all work is set aside remember how they used to do weddings it was a weeklong celebration every moment is focused on celebrating satisfying food and drink spending time with everyone that really matters in life that's what back then a wedding was everybody came in all of your neighbors and friends and relatives I mean you just spent your fortune because it was the most glorious time that's what a Wedding Banquet was and that's what heaven is described as God has paid the highest price to get us there and to provide this and ideally A Wedding Banquet portrays almost the highest of imaginable Joys remember the primary interpretation of the Bible is what did God mean when he talked to the people that directly received it the first time that's the first Canon of textual interpretation if he said heaven is like a banquet you know what they thought about they thought about what everybody I mean longed for that's why when the wine ran out in John 2 it was like the ultimate disaster because everything was about making this the best and what Jesus said Heaven is God the ultimate host has gone to absolutely the highest expense to make Heaven portraying the highest of imaginable Joys that's how God wants to think about heaven not about whether the horses are purple and they're unicorns if he doesn't talk about it it's not important okay and it doesn't deserve uh time fourthly Heaven is a place where everyone we've ever invested our time and talents and treasure into either directly or indirectly will be seeking us out I don't know we've thought about this enough if we did would change everything I mean who wants to have the iPhone 12 you know and pay the extra whatever or whatever it's on if you could have the iPhone 3 and have extra money to have people that will forever I mean you can only impress people so long you know with this and then it's dud you got to have a better one think of this think of this because Jesus portrayed money as dangerous in fact the best way I could illustrate money is money is like a radioactive substance and if it's not encased carefully and if it's not controlled and if it's not directed in the right way it's absolutely dangerous money if it's not encased with what God says that we are to do with our money it pierces us through like radiation how many people do you know that love love money so much that they deny their responsibilities to the Lord to their family to his calling and everything else because they believe that the goal of life is to get as much of this radiation as possible and it's shriveling their soul while they're doing it that's God always talks about money either negatively or neutral and and never positive unless it's encased with with his eternal principles about the purpose of money and so so think about what money is for everyone we've invested and by the way more than our money money is just distilled time if you think about it's yours or somebody else's either your grandparents made it all or you did or someone gave it to you so we have time that's distilled into money and then we have the the giftedness God has given us and he is watching us through life to see how we invest those things either directly or indirectly and the people that it ends up touching that's what you really have to watch for is what is the actual touch that that the investment's going to make will welcome Us by inviting us into their rooms in our father's house do you ever wonder why Heaven is portrayed as this big complex of homes it's our father's house we all have these rooms in fact the word in John 14 in my father's house are many mansions that word is actually when it's translated in the septu it's the word for the nests of the animals in the ark it's like Heaven's one big Ark and we're all in it we all have our little nests and we're going from Nest to Nest not like the one that with the smoke that they just did from Hollywood but uh I don't like that one um to share what the Lord did through us in their lives and it's going to be endless that means we're daily as we surrender and pray for people uh that I mean the longer your prayer list you realize every prayer we make God collects keeps it right in front of him every prayer we offer he's got it right there that is the closest thing you want to get close to God better than than than you know a lot of the mechanics we go through today prayer catapults us to the bows right at the foot of his throne of grace and mercy and we find him responding uh the people we teach the people we lead to Christ we take them with us to heaven the ones we disciple we fulfill what we were called for people we support in Ministry people that supported Paul he told them your gift is acing to your account now we're back to the Amway thing can you imagine investing in Paul better than Google you know what I mean can you imagine that that everything Paul did here's Paul and he ceaselessly for a generation started churches all across the ancient Roman World from end to end and all of those people took the gospel out like this and they're coming down to most of us today in Michigan are probably somehow a byproduct of the Gentile Ministry that Paul began and that means that the people in Philippi that sent once and again to Paul Philippians 4 a sweet smelling offering you provided Paul said your gift and the ministry I accomplished is acing to your account Philippians God is keeping a record of what you supporting me so I could lead them to Christ and train them to be Church planners and you prayed for me I mean you can just do the math yourself so all of that now let's go to the dimension in Luke here we go here's the look at this oh come on where's the verse well let's just turn there Luke 16 I don't know how come I didn't get it so we don't have a slide for it let's look at Luke 16 so I don't have any of these things now we'll have to go back to the front of the church uh last Sunday night because this is what I was talking about look at Luke 16 and look at what Jesus says this this is just an amazing how Jesus uh tells he's telling the story about this unjust Steward in Luke 161 and he says there's a rich man he had a steward and d d d and he called in verse 5 all the debtors and told them to change everything and you know what I would think the Lord would go into he'd be talking about being an honest businessman is not I mean he doesn't condone this guy's uh misappropriation of his master's assets but he used after he got everybody's attention with this story and you ought to read this story over and over and over it's one of the most fascinating motivators but look what happens in verse 9 so we're in Luke 16 and verse 9 and I say to you make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mment remember I told you that God is very cautious God is not positive about money money is dangerous it's radioactive it destroys the Puritans said for every 99 that can endure adversity only one can endure Prosperity see I do like like the Puritans they were wise you send sickness and weakness and struggles and hardships for most people makes them trust the Lord love the Lord more seek him more people pray for them they get encouraged you send someone $648 million a Powerball and their life check it out is destroyed check out the lives of the people that win the lottery destructive hor I mean they'll try and give you know 20 million to the church hoping that'll help people cannot few people can take Prosperity it it makes our hearts cold it makes us think that we don't need God it makes us start to look down on people we're scared someone's going to take it from us we want to enjoy it all and you know it just it brings out the worst Parts in us so Luke 16:9 here's what God says now he said this is what you should do with money make friends for yourselves with your money that when you actually when your your finances fail like this guy remember this Steward his job was over and he was thinking about after his job so the Lord says think about your money what you're going to do with it this is in life we have this money this is in eternity and what the Lord is saying here this is the most fascinating thing he said did you know that you can take this money that come on this money come on maybe I'm not going to be able to erase it that's not pot there we go that that is at best neutral and probably negative but if you send it for purposes over here that's what it means about uh make friends by your unrighteous Mammon that when it fails what does the next word say they now we've you don't call money they that's a pronoun a personal pronoun they we're talking about not it we're talking about people here this story is transmuting money into people and they look what they will do they will receive you into an everlasting home do you think money money can take me to an everlasting home that's Catholicism that's that's Cults that's not the Bible money doesn't take me to an everlasting home but money invested now look back at the connection the that money that that we use directly or indirectly seeking out or or ministering these people leading them to Christ and training and discipling them and sending people like Paul to them and being like Christ and and actually going after some ourself when we do that those people are going to be right here in verse 9 they're going to be seeking us out if you think about what this means it means that they're going to come back to us and tell us what happened I mean think about with Paul um just think about the Philippians investment and there's someone down here in the 11th century and they're going to come to the room of the person from the first century Philippi church that invested in Paul and they're going to say did you know what well Paul went on that trip to Spain and when he went on that trip to Spain he led this person to the Lord and that person actually LED this person to the Lord and they live right over there by the way and that person LED this person to the Lord and you know what that person came and my great grandmother who's over there uh you know they're going to connect all of that you understand in heaven we will be known as we're now known God knows all the connections because he's already seen the beginning to the end and in heaven God is going to connect all of the pieces right down to how we got saved I mean I was led to the Lord by my mom who was led to the Lord by Holman Johnson you know the founder of Camp barel who was led to the Lord by somebody in Illinois who was was led to the Lord from some camp meeting and you talk about you know people do their genealogy you to do your spiritual genealogy sometime who led you to the Lord who how did they come because that's part of what heaven that's a little taste of Heaven how God orchestrates us coming to Faith well I could go on this all night so finely Heaven is the place of the throne falling down before God and imagine is your you know the the Muslims when I teach over in uh Jordan the converted Muslim back ground Believers tell me that when they're in the mosque and they all get down that they actually are talking to each other you know that they just go through the motions but they're all talking they saying hey what movie are you going to next week and can you want to come to my house for lunch you know they really do they tell me all these stories can you imagine when we're around the throne I'm not making fun of them it's true they do uh when we're around the throne we're with people that gradually were coming to know every everyone that God by his grace and mercy saved we're finally seeing the connection of how they were a part of how God used them in my life and how I use them God used me in their life and all that and this which is most portrayed in the scripture is not the only element we're talking about all the throne time that's why what everything we've heard and thought about it's just the central feature in heaven but the best the bright us the most beautiful parts of every dimension of our Earthly life will be exponentially immeasurably more in heaven life with God will be of a greater magnitude than anything we are aware of or experienced on Earth that it will seem in comparison we weren't even alive compared to our first taste of Heaven the scriptures most use the family joys of a Wedding Banquet where all cares are forgotten all work set aside and every moment is focused on celebration satisfying things and spending time with everyone that really matters to us in life ideally A Wedding Banquet portrays almost the highest imaginable joy and that's how God wished for us to think of heaven and so I would encourage you to get to know Heaven the way God describes it because it's so good that uh Paul said if you really knew about it you want to go right now and most people don't want to go right now they'll do anything to stay okay you've been sitting so long let's all stand and um I'm going to pray and then we're going to welcome these 10 wonderful new Saints uh into the membership here at Calvary but let's bow together father I pray that we would be overwhelmed at your love that you sent your only begotten son so that we would not perish and eternally be unsad satisfied in the Blackness of Darkness feeling your endless wrath upon our sin and the debt we owe but that we get to actually sit down at an endless banquet with you married as your beloved to you on our honeymoon forever Never Growing Old never getting tired never getting bored only increasing in our capacity to love and adore and be in Wonder at How Great Is Our God I pray that we would be thinking more of your greatness and what you've prepared that place for us and look forward to when you come to take us to that place that you prepared for us and thank you that while we're here you've told us clearly what you want us to do and I pray that we would think more and more about how to invest in those people we're going to spend forever being invited over to hear about how you oh God used us to touch them and we'll thank you and thank you even for these new members you've sent to our fellowship in Jesus name amen

Channel: DTBM

Views: 18,675

Keywords: Bible, God, Jesus, Christian, teaching, biblical, teach, sermon, trinity, church, lesson, traditional, truth, true, divine, theology, freedom, guilt, testament, pure, interpret, spirit, holy, John, Barnett, christ, father, heaven, hell, doctrine, doctrinal, sinful, forgive, forgiveness, history, teachings, chapters, verses, discover, the book, ministries, dtbm, Dr. Barnett, controversial, repent, helpful, sin, the, book, dr, john, doctor, barnett, training, videos, series, resources, savior, god, jesus, holy land, pilgrimage, spiritual renewal

Id: 2AcC6MTvkvM

Length: 53min 47sec (3227 seconds)

Published: Mon May 06 2024