Heaven at Last

Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. The party isn't here, it's in heaven. And the party there is is to celebrate Christ. and your life. In him.

And By the way, you won't be counting those birthdays anymore. on today's PowerPoint. Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can live each day in expectation of eternity.

Now here's Doctor Graham with his message. Heaven at last.

Now heaven is beyond our imagination. But it is not beyond Our contemplation, it should not escape. our contemplation. And there is Given to us in the Word of God descriptions. Snapshots.

of the place. Called heaven.

Well, John the Apostle. John the Revelator is on the Isle of Patmos. And he sees some amazing sights. And he travels. down the streets of heaven.

And he writes, he gives us photographs, if you will. He writes with these pictures. of what it will be like when we are in the presence of the Lord. And Yet it cannot compare. to what he will actually Be like.

The Bible inspires us. instructs us. to set our affections on things above. Jesus told us to store up treasures. in heaven.

He taught us to pray, Lord. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are challenged in the Word of God to Fix our eyes upon Christ, to fasten our attention on the life that is to come, because knowing That life. Makes this life all the better.

We have a proper perspective and a passionate, bold reason for living. when we embrace eternity and eagerly expect eternity now. We are to anticipate our time with Christ forever every single day. I heard about an old man who was dying. He was a strong believer in Christ.

His son asked him, Father, what is it like to die? How do you feel? And he said, I feel like a little boy on Christmas Eve. And that is the spirit. That is the heart.

That is the hope. that we have. Writer C.S. Lewis said, I must make it, that is heaven. The main object of life.

To press on to that other side or that other country and to help others. Do the same. I hope, as a believer in Christ, that you are thinking about heaven. Not just a little bit. But a whole lot.

I pray that you are teaching your children about heaven. That you're speaking to your family. about this wonderful place that is prepared. for us. We ought to Sing the songs of heaven.

and preach messages concerning that day, preparing one another. and preparing our own lives. For the day. We go to heaven. In Revelation 21, verse 1, I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea. And then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And there shall be no more death.

nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. And then he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things New. And he said to me, write. For these words are true.

and faithful. Jesus said, I will make all things Neh. Everything will be brand new. In that glorious place called heaven. You know, on this side, Even the newest things get old.

But in heaven We will live in the perpetual freshness and newness. The joy of adventure every single day. The scripture tells us that this place called heaven, heaven at last, will be a brand new place. creation. Verse 1 says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth has passed away.

The world as we know it. Will change dramatically when Christ comes and the new heavens and the new earth. is established.

Now of course we Want to ask the question: well, why new heavens and why new earth?

Well, because the first heaven and the first earth is passed away. How will the first heaven and the first earth pass away? We're told in 2 Peter chapter 3 that the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the name, by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. This creation, this current creation, is scarred, stained by sin, and therefore groans. That's what the scripture talks about in Romans chapter 8 when Paul speaks of this world, mother earth, being in labor.

And that is why we know suffering and pain and sorrow. This creation is cursed by the power of sin. And therefore, there will be a great transformation when Christ comes and his kingdom comes. And there will be a new heavens and a new earth. but not only a new creation.

But there will be a new city. A heavenly city. A holy city, verse 2, that comes down out of heaven prepared beautifully like a bride adorned. For her husband. What is this new city going to be like?

This is a description. This is a photo. of heaven. What will it be like?

Well, what is a city like? What is a city? A city is a community. It is a place filled. with homes.

When Jesus chose to describe heaven, he described it as the Father's house. He described it as a place of many mansions, of many dwelling places.

So heaven is like home. We have an instinct, an intuition, a yearning to be at home. to be at home with him. The Bible says that God has set eternity in our hearts.

Now in life, home is where you want to be. And no matter what your experience in life, no matter how great... This journey of life may be. There is the eager expectation, there is the excitement for the believer about going. Home.

Now I know I'm speaking to some today who have had horrible experiences. at home. Growing up in a home. That wasn't like heaven, and you might be thinking, my home wasn't like heaven at all. My home was more like hell than heaven.

But let me remind you that the heavenly home Will be everything that God intended the home and the family of faith to be. With all the good. And none of the bad. And you may be suffering various trials, a variety of trials in your life. You may be in the middle of the griddle right now.

And you think there's no way out. of my situation. There's no exit from my problem. Maybe someone has hurt you very deeply in life. Maybe you started out with a marriage with such hopes and such dreams for the future and love and yet everything is crashed and burned.

And your family is fractured, not once, maybe even twice or more. And you never expected life to turn out as it's turned out. Maybe you're so far in debt that you feel you'll never dig out, and all your career path that's ended up in the weeds. Perhaps uh A loved one has died or is dying. And you're wondering, will I ever?

See them. Again.

Now if you have hope in this life only If you think life is just all about now and living it up today, this present world, then you're going to become increasingly discouraged, despondent. and depress. If you think the whole purpose is just to enjoy life and live it as long as you can here and now, you have missed the points. Certainly as a believer in Christ, and you will find yourself Deep. In a hole that you wonder, where is hope?

But in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 16 and 18, we read of our hope. He says, Therefore, we are not. Disappointed. Therefore, we do not lose. Heart.

And the reason that we do not lose heart, according to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Even though our outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed every day. That is, we are getting stronger and stronger spiritually, though outwardly, physically, we're dying. But our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us.

Now watch this. A far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Why do we not look at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen? For the things which are seen are what? Temporary.

But the things which are not seen R Eternal.

Now I want you to think of heaven as, and the idea of heaven being a home, is much more than a metaphor. Because heaven is a literal place. It is a physical place, not.

some mystical ethereal existence out there somewhere. Heaven is a place more real. Than this place. And just as your home is a home which Is filled with familiarity and security of family and friends. Heaven is not some strange place.

Far, far away. But it is a wonderful place where family and friends now await us. where we will share together perfect. love and life. and liberty with Christ.

Heaven is home. I know sometimes we feel as though This side is home, and particularly if a loved one, or perhaps you yourself, are facing a terminal illness and death. at an earlier age that We worry that we would leave the party early. That we would miss something, that we would leave something behind.

Well Let me tell you something. The party isn't here, it's in heaven. What did Jesus say? He said, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angel when a sinner comes home. And what joy there's going to be when you get to heaven.

You're thinking as you leave, oh, I'm bummed out. I'm leaving the party early. No, you're just getting there before the rest of us. And the party there is to celebrate Christ. And your life.

In him. And By the way, you won't be counting those birthdays anymore. Because this will be Forever. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: heaven at last. Pastor, there is an upcoming opportunity for our listeners to join you on the trip of a lifetime.

Can you tell us more? I want to personally invite you to join me for something very special. It's the Patriot Tour to Washington, D.C., April 22nd through 27th, 2026. As we celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, we're going to visit some of the most powerful and historic places in our nation's capital, like the U.S. Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, the National Monuments, Mount Vernon, and the Museum of the Bible.

This won't be just a tour. It will be a spiritual journey. Really, I'll be opening God's Word along the way, teaching us about the spiritual foundations, the biblical foundations of our nation, and the hope that we have for the future.

So, registration is now open and I'd love for you to be a part of this unforgettable experience. For more information and to reserve your spot today, text Patriot to 59789. Can't wait to see you there. How would your life change if you applied a bit of practical wisdom each day of the month? Find out by joining Dr.

Graham in October as he dives into practical wisdom from the Bible. If you're ready, text CHALENGE- to 59-789. That's CHALLENGE to 59-789.

Now let's get back to today's message, heaven at last. I like what Randy Alcorn has said in his Classic book on heaven. He said, the day I die will be the best day I ever live. And I would simply add to that that it's even better. That the day you die will be the best day you live.

In heaven forever, and you won't be in heaven ten seconds until you realize. Until you realize What if I had lived for this earth. What if I had somehow missed the whole point of life and lived for now? Not realizing. That I am to live.

for them. There's a homesickness for heaven. in the believer's heart. Have you ever been homesick? I've been homesick a time or two.

First time I was ever homesick was when I went off to college at Hardin Simmons University in Abilene. I'd grown up in Fort Worth. And like most college kids, I couldn't wait to get to leave the house and go to college. And I had a I had a beautiful car at that time. It was a 1960 Gray and purple rambler with a hole in the fender.

I bought it for $75 from a friend. I mean, it was a real chick magnet, this car. I'd gone down to Spartan's Department Store. The stuffing was coming out of the seat, so I'd gone down to Spartan's Department Store and got one of those nylon slip covers to put over it. Remember those?

Oh yeah, it was really great. But anyway, I I didn't even know if this car would make it to Abilene, so my parents, with stuff in the back, you know, we travel out there as we've done with our children and you with yours. And we spent the day unpacking, getting me set up in room 281 in Anderson Hall, a corner room overlooking the campus. It was a great room. And then the time came to say goodbye.

And it was dusk by now and getting dark. And we hugged goodbye, and I started feeling it a little bit. And I stayed in the room as my parents walked down and I watched my dad and my mom. Get in there, Chevrolet and turn the ignition on, the lights on. And I remember to this day, I still tear up thinking about it, my parents driving off in the distance, the taillights getting dimmer and dimmer and dimmer and dimmer.

And I can tell you a wave of homesickness came over me like nothing that I had ever felt in my life. Oh, I was excited to be there, but it wasn't home, and it took me a while. to adjust to campus life and and being at home. It is a sick, sick feeling.

Some of you veterans. Maybe you have the experience of going off. to the military and being so homesick. And the day you came home, what a day that was for you, your family.

Well, just multiply that times eternity times infinity. And you know that there is a homesickness in the heart of the believer. We feel it every now and then. But I tell you, the longer I live, even though I've never been to heaven. I miss it already.

I miss it. What did Peter say? The Savior is coming, the one that we have not seen and yet we love. Our hearts should be there. Because the best this earth has to offer is just an appetizer.

For heaven. Maybe you've been in a worship service when your soul has soared as you've worshiped God, or and maybe something in the message motivated you or moved you, and you were, though you walked in, maybe bored or tired or. even discouraged, you are lifted up and you're inspired. And maybe you were in a revival meeting one day and you were moved to repent and return to Christ and you were so close to God. Remember those times, those moments when you could just sense the presence of God as though you could reach out and touch Him.

Well, in heaven. You can reach out and touch it. We will look into his eyes. We will be embraced by his nail-scarred hands. We will fall at his feet and worship him forever.

That's what we'll be doing.

Now, please don't get the idea that heaven is going to be this long, boring church service. It will be an exciting, glorious. worship service. And We're told in that place there will be no pain, there will be no sorrow, there will be no disturbances. No more death, no more tears.

And that brings me to the final word, which is this. Place called heaven is a new condition. Old things are passed away, everything has become new forever. No more tears, no more crying, no more suffering. No more pain.

Why? No more pain. Because all of this has passed away. There's no more sin. There's no more curse.

There's no more drag. There's no more defeat. No more temptation. No more dealing with the flesh and the power of the flesh. No more dealing with the devil because evil has been eradicated.

The devil has been banished. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Why will there be no tears? Why will there be no sorrow? Why will there be no death and no pain?

Because there's no more sin. Sin is the cause. Sin is the curse that has caused so much pain in life. When I was a college student in nineteen seventy. Deb and I had just gotten married.

We were Young and Probably stupid, but in love. We grew up in a hurry the summer of our marriage in 1970 because my father was brutally injured and subsequently died in an attack at his business. My father was murdered. He lived for 10 days after the attack and Of course, we did. What many of you have done, and that is to live in an ICU unit at Harris Hospital for those days and hours that just seemed to never end.

We had prayed that he would get well, but he didn't. I remember slipping away to the chapel of Harris Hospital and getting on my knees and praying and just Asking God to Show me somehow. A purpose in this, or a reason for this, and of course, there's so many questions and. in the times of death and certainly a tragic and unexpected death. I remember getting back to Hardin Simmons and I was pastor of a little church at that time out in Cross Plains, Texas, and Deb and I.

Had a great time in that little church. I kept preaching. I was playing baseball, working my way really through. college by playing b baseball and preaching on Sundays. They paid me $40 a weekend.

I wasn't worth that, I assure you. One day in the locker room, a teammate of mine said, Jack, aren't you? He said, why do you keep this preaching? Why do you keep doing this? What happened to your father?

Said, aren't you just. Angry with God? Aren't you mad at God? Aren't you bitter? And I said, let me tell you something, I am bitter.

And yes, I'm angry. I'm extremely upset about this. But I'm not angry with God. I'm not bitter. about life.

I'm bitter at the devil. I'm angry with evil. And I intend to spend the rest of my days preaching Christ. and the love of God and the power of Jesus to save people from sin. I'm on fire because I believe God has given me a purpose.

Even in death, there is life. And this is what God has called me to do. And it changed my perspective. But in heaven, there will be no more injuries and no more death and no more sorrow and no more hospitals and no more grief and all the rest. We will be with him.

And yes, we'll worship him forever. And don't think that we're just going to sit on a cloud and waste eternity away. No, the Bible says they're his servants. Serve him day and night. There will be no skeptics there, no cynics there, no sin there, just the pouring out of perfect praise, and all the glory will go to Jesus.

or what it's going to be like. When we see his face, when we look into his eyes, when we... See him smile. And say welcome home. My child.

And to fall at his feet and say, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus. for loving me and giving me eternal life. For this is eternal life, our Lord said, and that is to know the one true God and his only Son whom he has sent. And the way you can know that you have eternal life is to receive Jesus today because it's.

If you wait till you get there on the other side, As to try to figure out whether you've got eternal life or not, it's too late. Today is the day of salvation. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father except by me. I want to invite you to the one And only one. Who could give you eternal life and the hope of heaven?

And his name is Jesus. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: Heaven at last. In a time marked by confusion, anxiety, and spiritual compromise, your support of PowerPoint helps point others to the source of unshakable hope. God's Word. Through your generosity, we're proclaiming the gospel across the airwaves, on digital platforms, and through daily devotionals.

reaching hearts in living rooms, prison cells, and far beyond. And with every broadcast, more people are discovering the Bible not just as a rule book. But as the living voice of God that speaks with clarity, power, and power, and power, and the Power and grace.

So, to thank you for your gift of $10 or more, we'd love to send you Dr. Jack Graham's powerful book, The Jesus Book. This life-changing resource walks you through every book of the Bible and shows how each one points to Jesus. It's a tool to deepen your confidence in Scripture and help you experience Christ in a fresh and personal way. To give your gift and receive your copy of the Jesus book?

Text book to 59789. Again? Book to 59789. How would your life change if you applied a bit of practical wisdom each day of the month? Find out by joining Dr.

Graham in October as he dives into practical wisdom from the Bible. Each day we'll send its short teaching from God's Word to help you grow in wisdom and live the life He desires. If you're ready, text CHALENGE to 59-789 and we'll get started. Again, that's challenge to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

The day believers come face to face with Jesus in heaven will be glorious. You know, there is great hope in what's to come if you know Jesus, and I mean know him personally. We're to pray for his coming every day, and we should live as though his return could be at any moment. In today's message I gave you a few points from Scripture that will help remind you of what's to come when we reach heaven. Our world is dying right now, but in heaven we can look forward to a new creation, a new city, a new condition in which we live forever.

It's so important to remember that we're just passing through this world. In fact, the scripture says that life is a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. You know, I realize you may be going through a difficult situation in your life right now. Maybe you're struggling through a marital problem, even a divorce or the death of a loved one, or perhaps you're desperate to regain the control of your finances and your future.

Well, whatever it is, stay strong in Jesus. And remember that you have hope. the hope of spending eternity with him if you're a believer. And that life with him will be without pain and full of joy. As you continue looking and living towards the future, I pray that you will put into action the words of Paul in Philippians 3.14.

that you will press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ. Until the day you meet Jesus in heaven, Press forward, push forward, lean hard upon Christ. Begin sharing Him with others and following Him passionately in every area of your life. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you a copy of Dr.

Graham's book, The Jesus Book, as our thanks. Text the word book to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about what you'll feel forever in heaven. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

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