Let’s Talk About Heaven: The Hope of Heaven

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Hey, I want to hear from you. Would you consider emailing me? You can reach me at Greg at Harvest dot org. Again, that's Greg at Harvest dot org.

And you can also make me one of your friends on Facebook and drop me a comment. The statistics on death are quite impressive. One out of every one persons will die. And then there's the afterlife. And the afterlife lasts a lot longer than this life on Earth.

The before life is short. The afterlife is forever. And so we need to know about heaven. Coming up today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us learn more about the future destination of every true believer in Jesus Christ. Heaven is a hope of a Christian.

It's a supernatural certainty. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace how sweet the sound. Again you hear all the angels are singing.

This is the day, the day when life begins. Each year, more than 30 million people in this country move, relocate. That may explain why there are 7,000 moving companies across the fruited plain. When we move, we try to find out some details about our new home. Well today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie provides some details about our eternal home. The Bible gives us more detail than you may be aware.

And none of us knows our moving date. So it's a good idea to get that information now and to be prepared. This is the day, the day when life begins. We're going to do a series about heaven because that is a subject I love to talk about.

That's a topic the Bible addresses many, many, many times. And heaven is a place that we all need to know about because if we're a Christian, that's where we're going to end up one day. And you want to be ready for where you're going. You know if you take a trip, you want to know a little bit about where you're going. You know what clothes do I take? What's a good place to eat? Where should I stay?

What site should I go see? You know we prepare ourselves for a trip that we take. Well we want to be prepared for heaven because heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. So let's talk about heaven and we're going to turn to Colossians chapter 3 tonight.

Turn over there with me if you would. Colossians chapter 3. Heard about an 85-year-old couple who had been married for almost 60 years who incredibly died on the same day. They had been in good health actually for the last 10 years.

Mainly as a result of the wife's interest in health food and exercise. So they reach the pearly gates and they're met of course by Saint Peter. And he takes them to their brand new mansion waiting for them in heaven.

It's equipped with a beautiful kitchen, a master bath suite, and a sauna and jacuzzi as they're oohing and aahing. The old man says to Peter, how much is this going to cost? Peter says, it's not going to cost anything man. This is heaven.

And then they looked out in their backyard and it's a championship golf course that changes every day resembling one of the great golf courses on planet earth. And the old man says, what are the green fees? Peter says, there's no green fees. It's heaven.

Everything is free. Then they take the couple to this massive buffet lunch. And it had all the food that the old man wanted to eat but couldn't eat. Mexican food, Italian food, nachos with lots of cheese, pizza, hamburgers, all that good stuff.

That's the stuff I like too by the way. And the old guy is looking at all of this food and he says, well where's the low fat and low cholesterol tables? Peter says, that's the great thing. We don't have low fat tables. We don't have low cholesterol.

Eat whatever you want and you never get fat and you never get sick. With that the old man takes his hat off, throws it on the ground and starts stomping on it. And Peter and the man's wife are looking at him like, what is wrong with you? They said, what is happening? He looks at the wife and he says, this is your fault.

He says, if you hadn't been feeding me those blasted bran muffins for the last ten years I would have been here sooner. This is a true story. It's also a bad joke. But heaven of course is no joke. It's a real place as I said for real people to do real things. Now how many of you believe in heaven? Raise your hand if you believe in heaven.

Right. Ok. Well most Americans actually do believe in a place called heaven. 81 percent.

The stats are a little lower for hell. 69 percent believe in a place called hell. But I think deep down inside we long for a place we have never been to before. Have you ever traveled for a while especially overseas and found yourself really homesick? Wanting to get home again especially those that serve in the armed forces or those that do business overseas. They can't wait to get back home again. I think deep down inside God has pre-wired us to be homesick for a place we have never been to before. And that place is heaven. We long for it. In fact the Bible even tells us over in Ecclesiastes 3.11 that God has said eternity in our hearts.

The great writer C.S. Lewis speaking of heaven said it was the secret signature of each soul. Lewis continues, There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven but more often I find myself wondering whether in our heart of hearts if we have ever desired anything else. It is the secret signature of each soul the incommunicable and unappeasable want.

I love that. It is this longing deep inside of us. Like the story of the little boy who was flying this kite and it went up higher and higher. And soon you couldn't see it.

It was obscured by the cloud. And someone said, Boy how do you know that kite is still up there? The little guy said, I can still feel its tug. And I think deep down inside we feel the tug of heaven.

And it goes back to our childhood. I think even our excitement about Christmas in a way is a longing for heaven. There is something about Christmas apart from all the commercialism of it. And also apart from the fact that it starts in August now. There really is a glimpse of heaven.

Is it not? All the beautiful lights. The angels. The beautiful songs. Like I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus.

No not those ones. The beautiful Christmas songs that we sing. And it is just like a little glimpse of heaven. It is sort of like a promise.

Of course Christmas cannot deliver on the promise but Christ can and heaven can. And the Bible teaches that when a Christian dies they go straight to heaven. Now I came across an atheist website a while ago. I don't usually read that many atheist websites. But from time to time I will check in on what other people are saying. And it turns out that they were quoting something I said on their atheist website. And here is what it said. They quoted me rightly with these words. They said that I said quote, When a Christian dies it is a direct flight to heaven.

There are no stopovers. The moment we take our last breath on earth. We take our first breath in heaven.

We go into the presence of God. That is exactly what I said. And they were outraged by this.

And here was their response. Going to heaven after death is assumed. Not only does he start with this unsubstantiated and onerous assumption. But he goes on in more detail about the precise state of affairs that take place in heaven once you arrive. And what evidence does Greg Laurie have to bolster these claims?

Nothing at all. Just a bunch of Bible quotes. That's right. Just a bunch of Bible quotes. By the way I love that. I stand by that.

That's right. Just a bunch of Bible quotes. I am building everything I believe on just a bunch of Bible quotes. I am building my hope on Jesus Christ and what he tells me in his Word.

Now listen. I don't expect atheists to understand the hope of a Christian. It is hard for them to wrap their mind around the fact that we have such a strong hope. But this is something that God gives to us.

Isn't it? It is a quiet confidence. It is a supernatural certainty. And where do we find this hope? We find it from Scripture. Or as the atheist website said, a bunch of Bible quotes. That's why it is a good thing to memorize the Bible. And to fill your mind with what the Bible says. And the Bible actually has a lot to say about heaven. In fact Psalm 119 says, You are my refuge, my shield.

Your word is my only source of hope. That is one of the reasons the Scripture was given to us to begin with. To give us hope. Romans 15 says, Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. They give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises. And by the way the word that is used there for hope is a word that can be translated a strong and confident expectation.

And we all have that. And I have the hope that one day I will go to heaven. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We send these daily studies out via radio, satellite and over the internet.

And we don't always know how these messages are touching lives. But when we hear the stories of our listeners, it really is encouraging to us. Hi Pastor Greg.

You share the same birthday as my dad. Thank you for the online videos of your sermons. I was a prodigal child and I stumbled across your videos and decided to recommit my life to the Lord.

I've never felt better. You have brought me back in my faith and now I want to live right and serve the Lord. One of your videos about prayer helped me learn how to pray. I hope one day when this pandemic is over that I can visit your church in person.

Thank you. Do you have a story to tell of how Pastor Greg's teaching has impacted you? If so, why not email him at Greg at Harvest dot org. Again, that's Greg at Harvest dot org. Well, you've joined us for the kickoff message in Pastor Greg's new series, The Afterlife and the Eternal.

To get a replay of any part of today's study, go online to Harvest dot org. I was asked in a TV interview a while ago by the interviewer, why do you talk about heaven all the time? He said, I've noticed in your sermons, I'll see you on TV or hear you on the radio and you're always talking about heaven. And I thought, really? Well, good. That's a good thing to be always talking about.

I wasn't aware of that, but I'm not embarrassed by that or ashamed of that because really when it's said and done, what's more important than that? Than where we spend our eternal destiny? I mean, I want to do everything to help you come into a relationship with God and find that beautiful and meaningful relationship He has for you on this earth. But when it's all said and done, the statistics on death are quite impressive. One out of every one person will die. And then there's the afterlife. And the afterlife lasts a lot longer than this life on earth. Maybe we should call our time on earth the before life. We put so much focus on the afterlife. No, the before life is short. The afterlife is forever.

Yes, it's true. I admit it. I want to take as many people to heaven with me as I possibly can. And so we need to know about heaven. I've always studied heaven, always been fascinated by it.

I wouldn't say I'm an expert on it at all, but I would say I'm a student of it. And I probably became a greater student of it, no doubt, in 2008 when my son went to heaven. He beat me to heaven. My son Christopher was 33 at the time. Now, Christopher and I used to race each other on the beach. And he was a runner. He was out on track and field.

He was very good. But I was okay as a runner in high school. And so I was a bit younger.

And so we'd be on the beach. And I'd race him all the time. I'd say, let's race to that mark down there. And I was better at short distance and he was better at long distance.

So I always picked a distance that favored me, right? Because I would run out of steam quicker than he would. Let's run to that mark. And so, ready, go! And I would run and I'd get ahead of him. And I beat you again. You didn't beat me yet.

And one day we're walking along the beach. I said, okay. I picked a spot. Let's go. And your mark gets said go. And off we went. And he beat me.

Ah! It finally happened. Well, that happened in life too. You know, I expected that I would go way before him to heaven.

In fact, written on his tombstone are the words, I fought the good fight. I kept the faith. I finished the course.

And that is what we're all going to do. And we don't know how long that course will be. Some of us may run that course for 85, 95 years. Some of us may run that course for 45 years. Some of us may run the course for 18 years.

Some may run it for 33 years like my son. We don't know. None of us know.

That's why we want to run as well as we can and as hard as we can while we can. Because one day will be our last day. And then we're in eternity. And then we're standing before the Lord.

So what is heaven like? Let's talk about that a little bit here in Colossians chapter 3. I'm going to read two verses. Since then you've been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above.

Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above. Not on earthly things.

We'll stop there. So we are to set our hearts and we are to set our minds on things above. This phrase set your mind can be translated think. Or more thoroughly have this inner disposition.

Let me put it another way. The verse is actually saying simply think heaven. Think heaven. That's something we're all supposed to do as Christians.

And by the way the verb that's used in this verse is in the present tense. So it can be translated keep thinking heaven. Or keep thinking about heaven. Or keep seeking heaven.

Put it all together. It's saying constantly be seeking and thinking about heaven. You see our feet must be on earth but our minds and our hearts can be in heaven. But if we're honest many of us have gone an entire day without a single thought about heaven.

And that's not a good thing. We should always be thinking about it. Warren Wiersbe a great Bible commentator said quote for the Christian heaven isn't simply a destination. It's a motivation. You say okay well that's fine. But you know how do I think about a place I've never been to before?

How do I wrap my mind around a place I know so little about? Well you need to learn about heaven and see what the Bible says about scripture. Because when you're thinking about heaven and you're seeking heaven you will be a heavenly minded person in the best sense of that phrase.

I know it's used to critique people. Oh they're so heavenly minded they're no earthly good. And I know a lot of people who are so earthly minded they're no heavenly good. And I think if you're heavenly minded in the right way you'll be of the greatest earthly good. Fact of the matter is those that think the most of the next life do the most in this one. Because if I believe there's an afterlife and I believe there's a reward waiting for me for my faithfulness won't that make me want to serve the Lord? And if I believe in an afterlife and I believe there's a potential judgment for me won't that make me want to fear God and avoid sin? So you see how my belief in the afterlife affects me in this life? But if on the other hand I don't believe there's a reward waiting why do anything for anyone but me? And if I don't think there's a future judgment out there why can't I do whatever the heck I want to do to whoever I want to do it to? Because there'll be no eternal repercussions. So as you can see you're thinking about the afterlife has a dramatic effect on you in this life. So let's just start with what is heaven?

What is it? Well it's the dwelling place of God. Alright where is heaven?

Well we know it's up. We know that there's a third heaven. The Bible talks about three heavens. And the first heaven would just be basically you walk outside you look up you see the sky. The second heaven would be the solar system.

And the third heaven is that supernatural realm. But it may be closer than we think. I think we think it's so far away you know.

And maybe it's just right next to us in a way. It's really another dimension. You see right now we live in the physical dimension.

But at the same time we coexist with an eternal dimension. It's a dimension of God and the devil. Of angels and demons.

Of the supernatural world. A great illustration of this is found in the book of Kings with the prophet Elisha and his servant Gehazi. They were surrounded by their enemies.

They were closing in with chariots and armed soldiers. And Gehazi started to freak out and panicked. He said, what are we going to do master? He actually woke Elisha up. Elisha said, oh whatever.

Okay. Lord just opened his eyes. And his eyes were open and he saw the supernatural forces of God all around him.

And he discovered that they had more on their side than the enemy had on their side. And right now we're surrounded by this supernatural world. The Bible says that the angel of the Lord encamps around those that fear him. And we may even have guardian angels.

I'm not sure of this. But I think you can make a fairly good case for it. At least maybe children have them. Because Jesus talks about how our little children have their angels. So it may be that we have personal angels. And it may be we just have angels that just do God's bidding. But they're working around us every single day.

God's at work. So this supernatural realm. This place called heaven. We don't know where it is. But it is where God is.

And that is the most important thing of all. Because really the greatest thing about heaven is going to be seeing God. We're focusing on eternity in this new series here on A New Beginning called The Afterlife and the Eternal. Pastor Greg Laurie is offering compelling insights on what's waiting for us. If you missed any part of today's study, you can catch up by hearing the message online at harvest.org. It's a presentation called Let's Talk About Heaven, Part 1. Now for a permanent copy on CD, call us any time around the clock seven days a week at 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. And then we're excited about making available Pastor Greg's book called Jesus Revolution. Pastor Greg, during the Jesus movement, you were a new Christian yourself. Did you have any idea the uniqueness of the season you were living in? Or when did you start realizing you had lived through something rather epic?

Yes. You know, that's a really good question, Dave. And the answer is I did not know I walked smack dab into the middle of a spiritual revival. You see, I wasn't raised in the church, so I had no real background in these things.

I'd never really read the Bible for myself. So when I came to Christ on my high school campus and then went to this church, Calvary Chapel, where the Jesus movement was in full swing, I thought, wow, this is amazing. And I didn't realize that I was in a revival until I started traveling around the country because I would travel with these Christian bands and speak in various venues, and I was in a lot of different church settings. And I realized, oh, wow, what we're experiencing is not happening everywhere, but it was happening in some places. You know, revival's interesting.

It's sort of like will you open or close your door to it? For the churches that opened their door to revival and opened their door to the kids coming to Christ, which in this case were primarily hippie kids, they experienced revival. To the churches that kept their doors closed, they missed it. So it was really a lot up to the people.

Do you want to see God work, or do you not want to see him work? So it was like little embers blowing, and they would catch here, and they would catch there, and many of those embers came together, and it was like a fire, but a good fire spreading across our nation, and we need to see that again. And so I wanted to talk about it for a long time, so I decided to write a book.

And I had a person work with me. Her name is Ellen Vaughn, very talented writer. In fact, she helped me write my autobiography called Lost Boy. She did a lot of research on the time, on the culture, on what was happening around us, and it gives you a greater appreciation of what God did in the Jesus movement, in the Jesus revolution. And then I also weave my personal story throughout the book, and I seek to find takeaway principles in this book that we can apply in hopes that we can see another Jesus revolution. So you want to know more? Well, yeah, got to get a copy of this book. It's free. Well, let me restate that. It's free for your gift of any size.

This is not a gimmick or a trick. Some can only give a little. We'll send you the book. Some can give more. We'll send you the book.

But whatever you can do, know this. We'll take those resources and use them to continue to get the gospel out to as many people as possible. So again, for your gift of any size, I want to send you a copy of my book, Jesus Revolution. And we'll also include a copy of a brand new study guide that's been created that undergirds the insights in the book, isn't that right?

That's right. Yes, that's something special. We've prepared for this special edition of Jesus Revolution, and this will help you to dig in deeper. Well, we'll be glad to send you this special edition of Jesus Revolution along with a study guide to thank you for your donation of any size, large or small. You know, it's the investments of listeners that make it possible for us to bring you these studies each day and that help us reach out with the gospel. More than 150,000 people made decisions for Christ through Harvest Ministries last year alone. We're so thankful for the investments of listeners that helped to make that outreach possible.

So with your gift today, be sure to ask for Jesus Revolution. You can write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. And we can take your call anytime.

Or go online to harvest.org. Is heaven just some ethereal, metaphysical idea or ideal? Next time, Pastor Greg points out heaven is a real place, and it's really paradise. Learn more next time on A New Beginning with Pastor Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins. The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Sign up for Pastor Greg's free daily email devotions at harvest.org.