Turn Your Forward Into Forever - Part 1

As you move forward into each new phase of this life, you might wonder about the next life. Will your momentum continue or come to a stop in heaven? Today on Turning Point, Dr David Jeremiah offers a glimpse of what you can expect in your eternal home.

And you can rest assured it won't be boring. His message, Celebrate, turn your forward into forever, is David. We're going to be a part of that. We're going to celebrate someday. So after you've dreamed and prayed and chosen and focused and risked and pursued and believed and invested and finished, you get to go to heaven and celebrate. Celebrate, turning your forward into forever.

We have two days to talk about that and I can't wait to get started. Well, here's part one of Celebrate, turn your forward into forever. You might say that Luke Pittard relished his job at McDonald's in Cardiff, Wales, but he walked away from it after winning the UK National Lottery. After all, he was an overnight millionaire. He celebrated his good fortune by marrying his girlfriend, Emma, who was also a McDonald's employee.

And they bought a house and took a long holiday in the Canary Islands. But after returning to Wales, Luke was bored. To be honest, he said, there's only so much relaxing you can do.

I'm young and a bit of hard work never did anyone any harm. So he asked for his old job back and now you can find him flipping hamburgers again at McDonald's. He makes more money from the interest on his winnings than at the restaurant, but he feels a natural need to work and be with his friends and his co-workers. They all think I'm a bit mad, but I tell them there's more to life than money, he says.

And Emma added, I can totally understand it. We both really enjoyed working at McDonald's and still have good friends there. So it was very familiar for him, something for him to look forward to. And we all need a break now and then, but we don't need an endless holiday. And after the pandemonium we've been through or the pandemic or whatever you want to call it, we all would agree to the fact that there's more to life than just sitting around and waiting for something to do. What we need is meaningful work, close friends, something to look forward to.

And those facts don't ever change. Listen to me, not in this life and they won't change in heaven either. When you have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you are wealthier than the winner of the richest lottery. Remember, much of our treasure is ahead of us in heaven, but many people are afraid they're going to be bored there. It's remarkable how many people tell me they'd rather not go to heaven because it will be boring. What if I get to heaven and I'm bored, they ask me. Well, after all, there's only so much relaxing I can do, so what if I miss my friends?

What if I long for the kind of activity that enriched my life on this earth? And I want to say to them, don't worry, you won't be bored. And for one reason, God is not boring. Heaven won't bore you. It will bring fulfillment and celebration. All your dreaming and praying, all your focusing and risk-taking and investing, all your forward momentum on earth is a prelude to greater service, happier work, and richer fulfillment in your heavenly home. God's children are always moving forward, even as they depart earth. Now, the heroes of scripture thought of heaven constantly, confessing they were strangers and pilgrims on this earth, that they were seeking a homeland, desiring a better country, a heavenly one, and looking forward to the city whose foundations and builder and maker is God. And Jesus longed for heaven as he approached the end of his life, too. He told his disciples, if you loved me, you would rejoice because I said, I'm going back to the Father.

The apostle Peter said something important about this. He said, you ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire and the elements will melt in the heat, but in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him. Three times in that passage I just read, Peter told us to look forward, to anticipate what God has for us in the future, the return of Christ, the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, and our eternal home in heaven. Our anticipation empowers us to live holy, godly, and purposeful lives in this present age. The Bible says it this way, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Will that make us too heavenly minded to always be thinking about heaven? Well, listen to the words of C.S.

Lewis. This is what he said about that. He said, a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not, as some modern people think, a form of escapism or wishful thinking. But one of the things a Christian is meant to do, it does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next world. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become ineffective in this world. Aim at heaven, he said, and you will get earth thrown in.

Aim at earth, and you will get neither one. What then can you and I do to expect heaven and to get ready for it? What kind of celebrations will we discover in God's eternal home? Well, first of all, we can look forward to a rousing welcome.

Most of us are apprehensive about dying, but the Bible is full of information to alleviate your concern. The apostle Peter said that if you serve the Lord Jesus faithfully, you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A rich welcome.

It's easy to underestimate those words. Recently, a little boy in Ohio named Grady went back to school after having been diagnosed with leukemia. He'd missed a whole year with his classmates because of his treatments, but finally he was able to return for a few hours a day. On his first day back, the principal met him and opened the door, and in front of Grady were all the students and teachers lining the hall, holding strands of bright crepe paper. They yelled and cheered as eight-year-old Grady ran between them, and at the end of the hall, there was this big giant sign that said, Welcome back, Grady. The children clapped and laughed, and teachers wiped tears from their eyes. Arriving home later that day, Grady said, This was the best day ever, Mom.

I had so much fun. I didn't know days could be this good. I tell you that story because if school children can pull off a welcome celebration like that, just think of what Almighty God and his angels can do. You are promised a rich welcome into heaven. It'll be your best day ever.

You can't imagine that a day could be so good. Your rich welcome actually begins before you arrive in heaven. In our Lord's parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus, we're told, the time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side in heaven.

I believe that the Lord Jesus sends an angelic escort to accompany his departing saints to heaven. You'll not be forgotten, forsaken, or alone for a single second, and you'll arrive there to find your home at last. If you want to imagine how you'll feel when you see your amazing new home, listen to what the martyr Stephen said in the New Testament. As he died, he looked up to heaven, and he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he shouted, Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

As the first person to give his life for Christ, Stephen's experience is unique. But to some extent, it surely anticipates the rich welcome that you and I will receive the moment we're transported to heaven. We will enter into the joy of our Lord.

So as you look forward to celebrate what God has done in your life and is doing in your life, look forward to a rousing welcome. Then look forward to a rich reward. Among the joys of heaven will be the rewards given for faithfulness on this earth. If you live according to biblical principles, such as the ones that I've talked about in previous messages, there's a series of rewards for you described in the Bible. Jesus often said things like, Whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. Luke 6 23, Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for indeed your reward is great in heaven. Luke 6 35, But love your enemies, do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward will be great.

Paul picked up the theme saying, Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Did you know that at fabulous award shows like the Oscars, even those who lose still get gifts? According to Forbes magazine, every Oscar nominee gets a gift bag valued in 2020 at $225,000.

These are not for the winners, these for just the people who showed up. I don't know what could be in a gift bag worth that much, but I did a little homework and I found out that there's certificates in there for plastic surgery. There's some incredible bath bombs valued at $75 each. You can find a voucher good for a 12-day cruise on a yacht with butler service, a helicopter, and a spa.

Some bags contain a trip on a submarine, others a gift card redeemable for a romantic getaway at a Spanish lighthouse converted into a luxury hotel. I don't know all the things that are in a $225,000 gift bag, but I got to tell you, the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness that the Lord offers us when we get to heaven will make all of that seem as if it was nothing. The Bible describes heaven's rewards as crowns. There's the victor's crown described in 1 Corinthians 9, where we're told to run in a way that we may obtain it and that everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.

Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we do it for an imperishable crown. This is God's reward for those Christians who live a disciplined, godly life on earth. And then there's the crown of rejoicing.

Paul describes this in 1 Thessalonians 2. What is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? This is the joy of seeing those in heaven who were influenced for Christ by our lives and our deeds and our words. And then there's the crown of righteousness. The key to this reward is developing an intense desire for the Lord's return. The apostle Paul said it this way, Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Next, there is the crown of life given for those who endure temptations and trials. Here we read, Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life.

And finally, there's the crown of glory, and Peter describes it this way. When the chief shepherd appears, you shall receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. The greatest reward in heaven will be seeing those who've been influenced by your work. That's when you'll understand that you've achieved something in life, far more than you realized, for your labor in the Lord is never in vain. When we get to heaven, we're going to spend eternity with people, some of whom are only there because of your faithfulness and what you have done. And the Bible tells us that we're all going to get a reward for the part we play. I've often wondered how he's going to divide it all up, but if he can create all of us out of the dust of the earth, I figured he can probably figure out the reward system for which we all will be benefited. So when you look forward to celebration, look forward to a rousing welcome and a rich reward, and look forward to a resurrected body.

Oh, my goodness, listen to this. It's important to remember that we aren't going to be ghosts or angels or disembodied spirits in heaven. At the moment of our rapture or our resurrection, we're going to celebrate our new glorified bodies. We're not going to be like Lazarus who was raised from the dead in John 11. He hobbled out in his grave clothes. Others cut him out of the shroud. We'll be like Jesus who was resurrected and passed right through his grave clothes, and nobody could figure out how all that happened. Lazarus rose to die again. Jesus rose never again to age, experience illness, face weakness, or encounter death. Philippians chapter 3 says that the Lord Jesus will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be just like his glorious body. So I don't know about you, but for me, that's really good news. Some of you who are listening to this message are battling illnesses and disabilities and ravages of aging.

Medical science is grappling with all these issues, and some of our advances are amazing. Sergeant John Peck is an American Marine who lost all four limbs to an explosion in Afghanistan in 2010. At first, he thought he'd spend the rest of his life wearing prosthetic arms and legs, but I can hardly believe this. In 2016, he received a double arm transplant. The limbs came from a young man who was declared brain dead and whose arms were rushed in ice packs to an operating room in Boston for the 14-hour transplant surgery performed by a team of 60 surgeons, nurses, and technicians. When Peck woke up the next day, he had someone else's arms.

Today, John Peck is able to perform many daily tasks with his new arms, including signing copies of his book, Rebuilding Sergeant Peck. If human medical technology can do so much to help our bodies recover from horrific tragedies, imagine what God can do instantaneously at the moment of the resurrection. 1 Corinthians says it this way.

We will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. Consider what we know about the resurrection body of Christ. It was his own natural body, recognizable with his unique DNA. His personal essence and his personal qualities were intact. It was the same body he acquired in embryonic form at conception. But in a flash of Easter glory, it was transformed into an imperishable body with new capabilities. His resurrection body is the way our bodies are going to be when we go to heaven. We have bodies just like the Lord. Now, you can contemplate that all you want.

The next time you're considering cosmetic surgery, just remember, if you wait long enough, you won't have to do that, because Jesus Christ is going to change everybody to be just like him. So when you go to your celebration, you will look forward to a rousing welcome. You will look forward to a rich reward. You will look forward to a resurrected body.

Here's one that surprises a lot of people. You will look forward to a renewed assignment. You'll need your resurrection body because you're going to have a lot of work to do when you get to heaven. One of the greatest aspects of heaven involves the prospect of more service. Twice in the book of Revelation, we're told, will be involved in meaningful tasks and acts of service in heaven. Revelation 7.15 says, therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night. And Revelation 22.3 says, 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. You know, we're not going to go to heaven and sit in a cloud and strum a ukulele or whatever it is that you think we're going to do when we get there.

No, we're going to go to heaven and we're going to work. And if you don't understand how powerful that is, then you don't have a job you love, you don't have a career you're excited about. You say, well, what kind of work is it going to be?

Listen to the words of Randy Alcorn as he describes it. Work in heaven won't be frustrating or fruitless. Instead, it will involve lasting accomplishment, unhindered by decay, unhindered by fatigue, enhanced by unlimited resources.

We'll approach our work with the enthusiasm we bring to our favorite sport or our favorite hobby. In other words, work won't be difficult. It'll be the greatest joy of heaven, to be able to work without anybody pushing back on you, anybody trying to tell you to do what you don't want to do because God puts within you the desire to do the right thing.

You will be able to get up and work every day and it will be the joy of your life. Perhaps our occupations in heaven will be an extension of the work that we do here on this earth. Some occupations won't exist in heaven. There won't be any doctors in heaven because there won't be any illness.

There won't be any police officers or prison guards. There won't even be any evangelists for everyone will already know Christ. But there will be musicians and they may also be teachers for we won't be omniscient. We'll be capable of learning and teaching what we learn.

We know there will be layers of authority and responsibility in the administration of the new heavens. I expect some of us will be scientists because God's new heavens and new earth will be full of surprises to investigate. You'll have plenty of time to undertake new vocations, new hobbies, new pursuits with eternity to practice. You'll be able to master great symphonies, create wonderful works of art, play extreme sports, write books, deliver lectures, explore exotic locations and enjoy thrills without risk.

All along the way, there will be meaningful work and there will be fulfilling responsibilities and activities. When you get to heaven, when you attend the celebration at the end of what happens here on this earth, you will have a rousing welcome. You will get a rich reward. Your body will be resurrected and changed completely.

You'll get a new assignment and you will look forward to a royal throne. By far the greatest energy and enthusiasm in heaven will be around the throne of God when we cast our crowns at his feet and worship him with full understanding and joy. We have a preview in Revelation 4 and 5 when the saints and angels of heaven sing in a loud voice, blessing and honor and glory and power to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. Amen.

Amen. Just one of the songs of Revelation, just part of the celebration that awaits us as we look forward to being with our Lord in heaven forever and ever. Tomorrow we will conclude our discussion of Celebrate, Turn Your Forward Into Forever, and then on Thursday we're going to reprise the interview that we did with Sheila Walsh at the beginning of this series. It will be a great review of everything we've talked about over these last few days. Now, friends, don't forget to be here when we meet again next time right here on this good station for the next edition of Turning Point. When you do, be sure to ask for your copy of David's powerful new book, Forward, Discovering God's Presence and Purpose in Your Tomorrow. It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard Version, the New International Version, and the New King James Version.

All are available in a variety of handsome cover options. Visit davidjeremiah.org.au for details. I'm Gary Hookefleet. Join us tomorrow as we conclude the series, Forward. That's here on Turning Point with Dr David Jeremiah.