The Bible says God has set eternity in the hearts of men. A deep desire to be with God forever. Fulfilling that desire will be beyond exciting. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah continues his look.
and why our experience in heaven won't be dull and dreary. but constantly surprising and inspiring. to introduce the conclusion of his message, Won't Heaven Be Boring? Piers David. You know, I like to think about this in human terms.
That here on earth we have just a glimpse once in a while of what it will be like. Maybe we're at a concert and the music is so glorious we think that's heavenly. Of course, the problem is the music stops and you go back to the real world. In heaven, The music never stops, and the real world is just as beautiful as that moment you experience. At the ecstasy of a concert, heaven will not be boring.
It will be the epitome of everything you've always looked forward to. And we'll have more about that in just a moment. Did you know that we take a conference cruise every year at the end of the month of December? After Christmas is over and we've recovered a few hours, we get on a cruise ship and we go to the Caribbean and we stay over the holiday of New Year's. We have New Year's together aboard this beautiful ship in the warm climate of the Caribbean with a bunch of fellow believers and great music and teaching from the Word of God.
And this has become more and more a routine for a lot of us. We have some of the same people who do that with us every year, and we've discovered it's a great way to begin the new year. The Eastern Caribbean cruise is december twenty seventh, Through January the 3rd, and that you can find out about it and get your reservation by going to davidjeremiah.org. There you will get all the stuff you need to get plugged in and come with us on this beautiful tour. We are very excited to be here every day for you.
This is a time when we need each other, and while we can't be together personally, we interact through this program. I'm thankful to be able to share this time with all of you around the world who listen to this program.
So, thank you for being here today. Let's learn more about heaven and why it won't be boring. Everything I've described to you so far. is for us to view Through our reading and through our minds, we haven't seen it, but one day we're going to see him, and the Bible says we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. If he's as wonderful as he is, having not seen him, wait till we see him.
And when we see him, he's going to be overwhelming.
So Heaven won't be boring because God is not boring. And Jesus is not boring, and you're going to have to really trust me with this one. Heaven will not be boring because you will not be boring. Where in the world do you find that in the Bible, Dr. Jeremiah?
Well. Let me tell you what Paul wrote. He said, Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep. But we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. at the last trumpet.
Paul said we're all going to be what? Changed. Not changed for the worse, changed for the better. In Philippians, he put it another way. For our citizenship is in heaven.
From which we all so eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, watch this. Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body? What Paul is telling us in these two passages of Scripture is that When we go to heaven, On our way up, we're going to be transformed and we're going to get bodies just like the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven won't be boring because you will not be boring. And for some of you, that's a real stretch, I know.
But just think of it for a moment. When you get to heaven, all the reasons that you are boring now will have been reshaped into a perfectly resurrected you. Consider this. When we get to heaven, We will not be either bored or boring. because we'll have received new bodies that are anything but boring.
They won't age. They won't get tired. They won't malfunction or grow sick or weak. and we'll have all the energy and drive and ambition imaginable and our bodies will never weaken or suffer fatigue. We can be at the full height of joy every day, 24 hours a day, without ever wearing out.
Can you imagine that? As you know, I have been. I guess you could call it sick. I'm having this. Condition that I got on Labor Day in 23 where I lost the use of my lower part of my body and I'm been trying to get it back little by little and it's coming back.
What I've discovered during this time was, I've had to have.
sort of an edited version of the old David Jeremiah. The old David Jeremiah would say yes to anything anybody asked him to do and do it with all his heart. Tired at night, but do it again the next day, but I can't do that anymore. I can do certain things, like I can preach these sermons. But I'm not going to any Broadway place.
You know, you learn that you have to Put your situation into the setting that you can do. As you get older, things get different and you can't do everything you used to do. I know that doesn't.
Sounds like good news is just true. But The Bible says our resurrected and heavenly bodies. We're going to be able to experience everything at the highest Experience value. All the time without ever being tired of being happy. Can you imagine that?
So Heaven won't be boring because God the Father is not going to be boring, and He'll be there. Jesus Christ, who will be there in his human body. He won't be boring. We know what he's like. We've studied him in the Gospels.
You'll be there, and you won't be boring because you're going to have a makeover on the way up. And then the Bible teaches also that heaven will not be boring because your friendships won't be boring.
Some people say, well, when I get to heaven, I won't know anybody.
Well, Friendship doesn't end at heaven's gate. It will flourish like never before. The scripture hints that our relationships won't be erased. but they'll be redeemed. They'll be deepened.
They'll be made eternal. Jesus spoke of sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom. And Paul encouraged believers with the hope that we'll be reunited together forever with our families and our loved ones. In Luke 16, 9, Jesus spoke of eternal dwellings where friends welcome each other. One of the most insightful theologians of early America.
If you've studied any of the history of the church, was a man by the name of Jonathan Edwards. I don't like to read long quotes. This is a little bit longer than I would normally read, but it's worth listening. This is what he said. No inhabitants of that blessed world Will ever be grieved with the thought that they are slighted by those that they love.
or that their love is not fully and fondly returned. There shall be no such thing as flattery or insincerity in heaven. but their perfect sincerity shall reign through all and all. everyone will be just what he seems to be. and will really have all the love that he seems to have.
It will not be as in this world, where comparatively few things are what they seem to be, and where professions are often made lightly and without meaning. But there, every expression of love will come from the bottom of the heart. And all that is professed shall be really and truly felt. Can you imagine that? That brings heaven down to what we're dealing with right now.
You know, I've said to people: if I could know the absolute truth, I'd always know what to do. But unfortunately, when you're dealing with issues between people, you don't know the truth. Because you don't know if she's telling you the truth, or he's telling you the truth, or if either one of them are telling you the truth.
So you don't know what to do, but in heaven there will be no such thing as dishonesty. And truth will permeate every single relationship, so you will never walk away from a relationship and say, I wonder what he meant by that. You will always be aware of the fact that you're dealing with life on the human level of perfection. Imagine strolling through the golden streets of the New Jerusalem with a friend. marveling at the breathtaking beauty of God's creation.
Walking together by the crystal clear river of life, watching the trees bear fruit in every season. and join the multitudes in worshiping the Lamb who was slain. Every moment will be filled with pure joy, deep love, and wonder. No jealousy, no insecurity, no weariness. Just the love of Christ.
And then this one might surprise you, but it doesn't surprise me because I understand this one completely. Heaven will not be boring because your work will not be boring. Work is my life. When I first. Got myelitis, I thought, well, I won't be able to work, but I did.
I found, I wrote a couple of books. I've been preaching. We had a great Father's Day service, work is a blessing. It's not a curse.
Somebody said, if you do something you like to do, you'll never work a day in your life. That's kind of the way I feel. You know, I don't work. This is what I do. This is who I am.
Well, heaven is not a place of idleness. It's a place of joyful activity and meaningful service. One of the most consistent themes running through the book of Revelation is that of serving God. When we're in heaven, we're going to serve God. From beginning to end, heaven is described as a realm where God's people serve him.
I could give you many, many scriptures. Here's a few. Revelation 7, 15. Therefore they are before the throne of God. and they serve him day and night in his temple.
Revelation 19:5, then a voice from the throne saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, and those who fear him, both great and small. Revelation 22, 3. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. and his servants shall serve him. And when you get to heaven and you walk in the door as a believer, listen to the welcoming speech you're going to get from God.
Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. You had a little job here, but I'm giving you a big job up here. Enter into the joy of your Lord.
And that verse doesn't sound to me like we're going to be sitting around doing nothing forever and ever in heaven. Doesn't sound like retirement, but a promotion. In other words, eternal life is not a break from work, it is a breakthrough to better work. It is purpose without pressure, its service without fatigue, and its joy without end. There are two things against which we all revolt.
One is work that's tedious and meaningless or encumbered. by a difficult working environment. The other thing we don't like is idleness and the lack of occupation. But the work that awaits us in heaven will be a delight to the soul. Rudyard Kipling meant these words when he wrote them, he said, When Earth's last picture is painted, And the tubes are twisted and dried.
When the oldest colors have faded and the youngest critic has died, We shall rest and faith, we shall need it. Lie down for an aon or two. till the master of all good workmen, She'll put us to work anew. Isn't that true? That's what's going to happen when we get there.
But in his book, on heaven. Wilbur Smith says that in heaven we will be permitted to finish Many of those worthy tasks which we had dreamed to do while we were on earth. but which neither time nor ability allowed us to achieve. you probably have a project you've been working on. Maybe it's a good and godly one.
Perhaps you're running out of time. But don't worry, you're going to have plenty of time one day to finish whatever you didn't get done down here that you wanted to do for God. And Randy Alcorn once again tries to help us understand how different work will be when we get to heaven. What will it be like to perform a task, to build and create knowing that what we're doing will last. What will it be like to always be gaining skill so that our best work?
will always still be ahead of us. Because our minds and our bodies will never fade, and because we will never lack resources or opportunity, our work will never degenerate. Buildings won't last for only 50 years, and this one I love, and books won't be in print for only 20 years, they'll last forever. Can you imagine that? So there you have it.
Five reasons why heaven won't be boring. Don't forget them. God won't be boring. Jesus won't be boring. You won't be boring.
Your work won't be boring. And the Bible teaches us there's a lot of good reasons to get excited about heaven. Heaven is everything you've ever enjoyed on earth, multiplied a million times over. if it's good and godly. Romans 8, 22 and 23 says, For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. Paul wrote to the Romans and he said, We Christians, we groan because we were made for more than what we can ever experience in this world. We were not created to have ultimate joy in this world. We were created to have ultimate joy in heaven when we get with God.
So heaven won't be boring because it's the fulfillment of every desire in your heart. The most tragic strain in human existence. lies in the fact that the pleasure which we find in the things of this life however good that pleasure may be in itself. It's always taken away from us. The things for which men strive hardly ever turn out to be as satisfying as they expected, and in the rare cases in which they do.
Sooner or later, they are snatched away. I was preparing this book and I read a story about Tom Brady. and all of the Super Bowls that he won. And at the end of one of them he said to a friend, Is that all there is? And everybody thinks: you know, if you're a football player, go to high school, get a scholarship to college, go to college, do really well, get drafted at a high, go to a good team, win the Super Bowl, and life will be forever okay.
But it's not. I have a study that I found on what happens to Super Bowl rings. When NFL players get Super Bowl rings, you wouldn't believe how many of them get hawked. How many of them get sold? Because what they thought was going to bring satisfaction.
only brings it for a moment and then it goes away. Here's a surprise. One writer put it this way: God made us this way. He made us to yearn, to always be hungry for something we can't get. To always be missing something we can't find, to always be disappointed with what we receive, to always have an insatiable emptiness.
That no thing can fill, and an untameable restlessness that no discovery can still. Yearning itself is healthy. a kind of compass inside of us pointing us true north. We long for heaven and we long for God. And when we finally get to heaven, that longing will be met, and it will be the most fulfilling and satisfying emotion.
We have ever known. It will be the exact opposite of boring. I can hear us all saying, aha. Finally.
Now it's all together. This is what I've been looking for all of my life. King David had that hunger. And it came out in many of his Psalms, especially in this one. Psalm twenty-seven, four.
One thing I have desired of the Lord, That I will seek. that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. David didn't want more of this world. He wanted more of the presence of God.
And that is where our deepest satisfaction will always be found. Only in heaven will we finally feel the completeness. that we were created to enjoy. A man by the name of Mark Mittman said it this way: However, messed up, Our abnormal world may be, the story is not over yet.
Someday there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Birds will really sing. Lions and lambs will tumble and play in the grass that is truly green. Our bodies won't be riddled with wrinkles and muscle spasms and cancer. there will be pure joy and beauty and goodness.
And God, who longs to be with us. will walk with us in the garden. That may sound frightening or intimidating now, but it won't then. No ecstasy in this broken world will ever compare with our joy then as we walk with God. We will be home.
And it won't just be a story about a prodigal son or daughter who could never be good enough to earn God's favor. It will be a story about a loving God who delights in offering lavish. Exuberant love, the depths of God's love will be seen everywhere. I know I'm in New York, city where Broadway reigns and where plays are. Pretty prominent, and so you bear with me if I just use this closing illustration carefully.
There are few songs that capture our desire for heaven like Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It swept the world like a tornado when Judy Garland, playing Dorothy, sang it in the 1939 film The Wizard of Odds. In an early scene, Dorothy wonders out loud: do you suppose there is such a place? It's far, far away behind the moon, behind the rain. Then she begins to sing somewhere over.
Over the rainbow, way up high. The songwriters Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen, were both sons of Jewish immigrants. They wrote this song in 1939 as war loomed over Europe and Though safe in America, they felt the ache for something more, peace, safety. A place to belong. I think something like what we feel at this very time in our own lives.
So they gave the world a lyric that still pulls at our heart.
somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue. And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. It's in our DNA to long for a better place. To ache for a place way up high where dreams really do come true.
There's only one place like that, friends, and it's called heaven. Huckleberry Finn didn't think much about heaven. In the opening chapter of Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck is living with the spinster Miss Watson. a starchy, crabby old woman who is bent on reforming him.
And she's going to knock the wildness out of him and stuff him full of manners. Her principal weapon was religion. She bludgeons him with Bible verses. She threatens him with hell. She coaxes him with heaven, and in a streetwise, cocky, cockeyed way.
Huck tells us what he thinks of all of that. He says, she went on and told me all about the good place. She said all a body would have to do there was go around all day with a harp and sing forever and ever.
So I didn't think much of it. I asked her if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said, not by a considerable sight. I was glad about that because I wanted him and me to be together. Can you blame him if that's what heaven is? An endless dull hymn singing in the clouds, who would want to go there?
But that's not the heaven the Bible describes. Let me say it again: heaven will not be boring, not even close. Because God isn't boring, you aren't boring, your friends aren't boring, your work isn't boring, and most of all, heaven is the place your soul has been searching for for your entire life.
So don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Heaven will be the most thrilling, joy-filled, adventure-packed reality you have ever known, multiplied beyond anything you can imagine. You want to know what boring is? Imagine being locked in solitary confinement forever. cut off from every relationship, stuck with nothing but regret, That's how the Bible describes hell.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 says, These shall be punished with everlasting destruction. from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. In hell, there will be no friendships, no laughter, no hope. Just endless separation. When I was in seminary at Dallas, Texas, I worked in the trucking industry during.
the afternoons to Pay my tuition. And the guys there were not Christian guys. They were pretty rough characters. And they used to pick on me. They'd call me Preacher Joe.
Preacher boy and preacher Joe. And they would always come into my truck, and I'd be working in there, and they'd get me going, and they'd start saying stuff like, I'm going to hell and partying with my buddies. But I realized they had it backwards. Hell isn't the party. It's the absence of everything good.
Heaven is the party. Heaven is where the joy is. And here's the best part. You can know today that heaven is in your future. For Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also.
And he made it so simple. He said, I am the way. The truth and the life And no one comes to the Father except through me. What a wonderful promise that is. He didn't just say, Go that way.
No, he said, I am the way. I will take you to heaven. If you want to go to heaven, you have to let Jesus take you there by accepting what he did on the cross for your sin and asking for forgiveness. Heaven is real. It's awesome.
It's offered freely to anyone who will put their trust in Jesus. And if you haven't done that, I hope you will do it today because I'm going to pray a little prayer. That you can follow me in your heart to pray. And when you pray that prayer, you will invite Jesus Christ into your life and you will become a Christian. What a wonderful thing that would be if that were to happen to you today, or you or you.
You can't go to heaven. unless you accept Jesus Christ. I didn't say that. I didn't make the rules. The rules were made in eternity past by Almighty God, and this is what Jesus told us.
He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no man comes to the Father except through me. You want to go to heaven? You want to be with Jesus?
Well, you have to know Him first. You have to put Him in your heart, on the throne of your life. You have to pray and ask Him to come and save you from your sin and forgive you. And he will do that. You don't have to be in church to do it.
You can do it right now, right wherever you are. You can ask the Lord Jesus Christ to become your Savior. He will change your life. He will make you anew. He will change you from the inside out.
Old things will pass away and all things will become new. I promise you. Trust him today, will you? Let us know if we can help you. We'll send you some information to help you grow.
And we'll see you here tomorrow. God bless you. Today's message from Dr. David Jeremiah came to you from the Appell Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. We always welcome your notes of encouragement.
So please write us at Turning Point, PO Box 3838. San Diego, California, 92163. Visit our website at davidjeremiah.org/slash radio. or call 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's new book, The Promise of Heaven.
31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home. It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also download the free Turning Point mobile app for your smartphone or tablet. or search in your app store for Turning Point Ministries to access our content. Visit davidjeremiah.org.
Slash radio for details. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series The Promise of Heaven on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.
