Let’s Talk About Heaven | What to Expect

We're glad you're joining us for A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast supported by Harvest Partners. Get more encouraging audio content when you subscribe to Pastor Greg's Daily Devos.

Learn more and sign up at harvest.org. But you can do it in heaven. Heaven is better than earth. Earth is just sort of a glimpse of greater things to come.

Pastor Greg Laurie revealed last time that 81% of Americans, church to non-church, believe in heaven, more than three-quarters. Even more hope to go there. But what's it like there? Is it even possible to know?

Well, yes it is. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg brings a biblical travel brochure about our eternal home. It's beyond our imagination, but we'll see today the Bible gives some good information. Let's open our minds and hearts to God's Word.

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.

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 say, OK, 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 repercussion. So as you can see, your 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 panic. He said, what are we going to do master? He actually woke Elisha up and said, oh whatever.

Okay. The 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.

Now that's it. It's seeing God. That's why heaven is so appealing. Now let's answer some questions about heaven. What is heaven like? What is heaven like? Because we try to understand it and compare it to something.

Well short answer. Heaven is amazing. Heaven is awesome. Heaven will exceed your wildest dreams. Let me begin by simply saying heaven is a real place. Jesus said in John 14, I've gone to prepare a place for you. Now I think the problem is we form our view of heaven from well movies, TV shows, songs, images we've seen in art.

And usually those are not biblically accurate images. It really does kind of look like a boring place. Big billowy clouds. People just laying around. Plucking harps. Little fat babies with wings hovering over us. I guess they're little baby angels.

I'm not sure what they are. And it's sort of almost presented as a long nap. Which for some people may sound very appealing.

I don't know. But I don't know about you but I like to be active. I like to do things. I like to go out and see things and experience life.

And trust me when I tell you and we'll get into this next time more but there's going to be so much that we will do in heaven. But it's a real place. Real things.

Real people. Recognizing one another. Not floating around in clouds with fat babies with wings. We're active. We're doing things.

We're experiencing things. We're even learning new things in heaven. So heaven is a place. Also heaven is described in the Bible as a paradise.

A paradise. Remember when Jesus hung on the cross next to the thief who came to a census. He said, Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom.

And what did Jesus say? Truly, truly I say to you today you will be with me where? In paradise. He was describing heaven. And it's funny because after Paul died for a time he went to heaven and he called it paradise.

A lot of people don't know that. The apostle Paul died. And we don't know when exactly it happened. But it may have been in one of his preaching adventures when he was stoned and thought dead. And that may have been the moment when he went to the third heaven and wrote briefly about it in 2 Corinthians that I'll read to you in just a moment. And he came back again.

And I just wondered what happened on the other side. So here's Paul. He's stoned.

Not that kind of stone. And he's in heaven. And it's amazing. And there's Jesus.

And he's so excited to be there. And the Lord might have said, so Paul I have some good news and some bad news. Well good news and bad news what? Yeah well first the good news. This is heaven. And you'll be coming back here again.

Again? Eh that's the bad news. Down on earth there's some believers praying for you to be resurrected. Lord Paul might have said don't listen to their prayers.

They're sinners. I don't want to go back. Trust me when I tell you no one who is in heaven would ever want to come back to earth even if given the choice. Meanwhile back on earth oh Lord raise Paul up. Oh Lord bring Paul back to us.

Oh Lord we need Paul. Suddenly the color returns to his face. His hand begins to move.

He clenches his fist. Bam! I would have hit someone. Whose idea was it to pray for me to be raised from the dead? Listen however it happened or whenever it happened we know this much. Paul died. He went to heaven and he came back.

And he didn't write a book about it. So what about all those books about heaven? Can we trust them? I don't know.

Should I? There's only one book I trust. That's the Bible.

Now I'll look at some of these books and I find them interesting. Writing on unicorns over rainbows and all these things they say they see. And I'm not going to say they're making it up though I think some of them are. I'm not going to say that none of this happened. Maybe something happened to them.

I'm not really sure. But I'll say this much. I would never base my belief about heaven on the basis of someone who wrote a book about it. But I do believe what the Bible says. And it's interesting because one man who actually did go to heaven and return to the earth had actually very little to say about it. Here's what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12. And I'm reading from a modern translation.

Just listen. He says, I knew a man 14 years ago was seized by Christ and he was swept into ecstasy to the heights of heaven. I don't know if this took place in the body or out of it. Only God knows. I also know that this man was hijacked into paradise. There's that word paradise.

Again whether he's in the body or out of the body. I don't know. God knows. And then he says, there he heard the unspeakable spoken but he was forbidden to tell what he heard.

Isn't that interesting? He says, I'll tell you this much. It was paradise. And the word that he uses for paradise is a word that speaks of a royal garden.

And I don't know if there's anything we can think of that compares to what Paul is referring to. He's referring to the kind of a garden you would see in a royal estate. It's just something amazing, something awe-inspiring, something that makes your jaw drop. Wow, the beauty of it. He says, it was like paradise.

That's the word he uses. So heaven's a paradise. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Well Pastor Greg is bringing several biblical insights today on heaven, our eternal home. So far he's pointed out heaven is a real place and it's a paradise.

Let's continue. Number two, heaven's a city. Heaven's a city, Hebrews 13, 14 says. Here we do not have an enduring city but we're looking for a city that is to come.

Hebrews 11, 10 says of heaven that this city has an architect and a builder. Now cities are real places. You go to different cities in the world and they all have unique features.

I've had the opportunity to visit a lot of amazing cities. Jerusalem, Rome, Paris. You know you go to some cities and you remember a certain thing about it. Paris is called the city of lights.

Jerusalem is called the city of gold. So cities are real places. There's neighborhoods. There's streets. There's activities. There's places to get food. There's places to get good coffee. There's beautiful parks to walk in. So think of the best city you've ever been to but without all the bad stuff. No crime. No urban decay. Nothing that would be threatening to you in any way, shape, or form. Not cars trying to run you down like New York City.

But the best you've ever experienced in a city. You're saying, Greg are you actually telling me that when we're in heaven we might go and sit down and have a meal? Why not? The Bible talks about eating in heaven. Are you actually saying that we could be in heaven and we would go to a concert?

Why not? There's going to be some pretty awesome singers up there. Are you telling me like when we're in heaven we might go out and do fun stuff? Of course. Do you do fun stuff on earth? No.

Well that's your fault. But you can do it in heaven. Heaven is better than earth.

Earth is just sort of a glimpse of greater things to come. I think we can go this is it. This is it.

Then I just go to the clouds and float with the fat babies. No. No. This is just a glimpse of greater things to come. Earth is the imitation. Heaven is the real thing.

Not the other way around. Heaven is a paradise. Heaven is a city. And it appears from Revelation 21 and 22 that there is a translucent quality to heaven. It says there the foundations of city walls were garnished with every precious gem imaginable. The main street of the city was pure gold.

Translucent as glass. There was no sign of a temple for the Lord God and His Lamb or the temple. The city doesn't need sun or moon or light. Heaven is also described as a country. A country. Hebrews 11 says now they desire a better that is a heavenly country. God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them.

So there it is. Heaven. A country. A city. A garden. A paradise. A real place that we will go to.

Now listen. Earth is great. Enjoy the beauties of birth. It is created for us by God. Even in its diminished state. And even with the entrance of sin and the curse and all that. There are still many beautiful things to see here on planet earth that we can enjoy. That have been given to us by the Lord. Even Jesus took time to admire a simple flower. Didn't He? He picked up a flower and He said, well look at these flowers.

How they grow. They don't work or make their own clothing yet Solomon in all of his glory was not dressed as beautifully as one of these. So I think we should enjoy the creation God has given us but understand there are greater things coming. Alright so let's come back to Colossians chapter 3 because we are talking about heaven.

How should that affect us in the way that we live on earth? So first we read set your mind and your heart on things above. Think about heaven. Seek heaven. Now back in Colossians 3 Paul starts with the word therefore put to death the sinful earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.

Don't be greedy for a greedy person is an idolater worshipping the things of this world. Because of these sins the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. Now is the time to get rid of rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all of its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. Listen if you have put your faith in Christ you are a child of God. You are a citizen of heaven and it is time to start living like what?

A child of God. And we are not known for slander. We are known for love.

We are not known for condemnation. We are known for forgiveness and restoration. That is who you want to be. You want to be that guy, that girl that people go to and say you know you are always fair minded about these things. You are always compassionate. You are always caring.

Don't be known as that mean spirited judgmental harsh person. But be a heavenly minded person because one day this life that we love so much will pass and we will enter into the after life. I think when it is all said and done here is what we really need. We need something greater to move us through this life than the things that distract us so often. An old minister put it this way. I love this phrase he used. The expulsive power of a new affection.

That is good. The expulsive power of a new affection. So the idea is I have something that I am so committed to and so enthralled with and so filled with that I don't even want to look at these other things. It is the expulsive power.

It drives out those other things. It is a new affection. And what is a new affection? It is Jesus. And when I love Jesus with all of my heart and with all of my soul and with all of my mind it is going to change the way I look at everything in life.

So here is what this is really saying. Put the Lord first in every part of your life. In the thoughts you think. In the friends you choose. In the way you use your time. And it will transform you.

Make every year, every month, every week, every day, and every hour count. May God give to each of us the expulsive power of a new affection. Pastor Greg Laurie, pointing out how heaven can be the thing that compels us, drives us forward in the Christian life.

Good insight today here on A New Beginning in his message called, Let's Talk About Heaven, Part 1. Pastor Greg, you're a car guy, right? I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. I am. Pastor Greg, you're a car guy, right?

I am. I've always liked cars ever since I've been a little kid, for sure. I read about the new Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept car. It's a Dodge Charger electrified. It's battery powered. It's a battery powered muscle car with nearly 900 horsepower.

Wow. You know, one of the things people like about muscle cars is their deep throaty sound. But an electric car doesn't go vroom, it goes zing.

Yes, it does. But this car has a way to artificially replicate the vroom. Oh, that's funny. I don't know how they're doing it, but it's going to sound like a classic muscle car artificially. Isn't that wild? Wow. Funny, it sounds like a big toy really, doesn't it?

With a big price tag. Yes. Sometimes I wonder about the sounds we make as believers. You know, there's the verse that says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Right. What can we do to make sure our hearts are causing us to speak like a believer? Well, I think that, you know, when you first become a Christian, there's sort of a cryptic language that believers sometimes use that I describe as Christianese. And I remember when I was a brand new believer, I didn't know what Christians meant when they said, hey, this is worldly. I'm like, worldly?

What do you mean? Or, you know, they would use words like redeemed and justified and sanctified, and I didn't know what those words meant. So I went on a crash course on learning what these words meant, learning what the Christian life was all about.

I wish I had someone to explain it to me. Because of that, it's been part of my mission as a pastor and as an evangelist to make the things of God as understandable as I can to people, almost like we're just sitting down and having a cup of coffee and talking about these things together. So my objective is not to be complex. It's to be simple.

Not simplistic, but simple and understandable. You know the Bible says of Jesus, the common people heard him gladly. Jesus was understandable.

He was accessible, and he still is today. And to help you understand what the Bible says about life, what Scripture says about what your focus and priorities ought to be as a Christian, I've written this book called The New Believer's Guide to Effective Christian Living. This isn't a huge book, but it's action-packed.

There's a lot of great material in it. I deal with all kinds of topics that believers face each and every day, like how to know the will of God, how to resist temptation, how to share your faith with others, why the Word of God is important and why our study of it is necessary, what the role of the church is, why you should be involved in the church, how to pray more effectively, and a lot more. So my hope is to make these truths more accessible to you. I heard one preacher say that the goal of a pastor is to get the cookies on the bottom shelf so the kids can get to them, right? So here's some cookies on the bottom shelf, if you will.

Here's a simple book that you could read in one sitting that I think will enrich you and help you and perhaps clarify some things for you as well. It's called The New Believer's Guide to Effective Christian Living, and we'd like to send it to you for your gift of any size. Yeah, that's right. And we have a copy waiting for you right now. Get in touch and ask for it. And by the way, we depend on the generous support of our listeners. It's the only way we can bring you these studies. There are no churches or large organizations paying all our expenses. So please, show your support today and be sure to ask for The New Believer's Guide to Effective Christian Living. You can call us at 1-800-821-3300. We're here to take your call 24-7. Again, the number 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to Harvest.org. Well, next time, we'll get some words of warning about those things that so easily distract us from the eternity we're waiting for. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie.

This is the day, the day when life begins. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to Harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally, go to Harvest.org and click on Know God.