Heaven: More Than We Imagined
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Sunday School | Heaven is More Than We Imagined
Pastor Dean Deguara
Big Idea: The Christian’s hope isn’t merely that we go to heaven, but that God will dwell forever with His redeemed people in a restored creation.
What has God actually revealed to us through Scripture about heaven?
The Bible’s future promises weren’t written to help us win arguments; they were written to help us keep going.
JESUS PROMISED HEAVEN
John 14:1-6 (NKJV)
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:2-3 (NKJV)
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Heaven is a Place
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV)
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
The certainty of heaven doesn’t rest on our ability to imagine it. It rests on Jesus’ ability to keep His promise.
THE CHRISTIAN’S HOPE IS BIGGER THAN DEATH
Philippians 1:21-23 (NKJV)
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
The greatest gift God can ever give us is Himself.
2 Corinthians 5:1-8 (NKJV)
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:20–26 (NKJV)
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
Christianity isn’t built on the immortality of the soul. It’s built on the resurrection of the body.
God’s plan has never simply been to rescue people from creation. His plan has always been to redeem creation itself.
GOD IS MAKING ALL THINGS NEW
Romans 8:18-25 (NLT)
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
God doesn’t scrap creation; He restores it.
Revelation 21:1–2 (NKJV)
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:3-4 (NKJV)
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. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
God has always been making a way to dwell with His people.
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So glad that you're here.
We're continuing our Sunday school series.
You guys getting anything out of this series?
And we're diving into the word and looking at topics that a lot of times we don't talk about a whole lot on Sunday mornings.
And so I wanted to take time this summer to dive a little deeper into God's word and what he says about
some things.
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It just helps increase our influence in our community and beyond.
When you hear the word heaven, what picture comes to your mind?
Think about it for just a moment, the things that you've heard, the things that you've said, the things maybe that you've even read in Scripture.
Maybe it's streets of gold.
Maybe it's pearly gates.
Maybe it's angels singing or worshiping.
Maybe it's being reunited with loved ones.
Or maybe it's simply this, a place where everything finally stops hurting.
If I've asked everyone in this room to describe heaven, I would get multiple different answers.
And some of those pictures would come straight from the Bible.
Others would come from songs that we've sung here at Real Life, books we've read, movies we've watched, conversations that we've all had at life celebrations.
And most of us have built our idea of heaven from a mix of Bible, tradition, and culture.
And today I want us to answer the question, what has God actually revealed to us through scripture about heaven?
And the big idea that I want you to walk away with this morning is this.
The Christian hope, Christian's hope, isn't merely that we go to heaven, but that God will forever, with his redeemed people, in a restored creation.
Let me say that again.
The Christian hope isn't merely that we go to heaven, but that God will dwell forever with his redeemed people in a restored creation.
creation.
Father, I pray that you would give us revelation this morning, God, about what awaits us.
God, we thank you for the promise of heaven in Jesus' name.
And everybody said, amen.
As I studied the topic this week, and we're good, my brother.
As I studied the topic of heaven this week, I noticed that every time the Bible pulls back the curtain on eternity, it's never to just give us information about the future.
It's always meant to encourage us in the present.
So God doesn't reveal the future to make us fearful.
And a lot of what is in social media, in our threads, in our feeds, and all of that thing is a future based on fear.
Jesus actually reveals the future to give us hope.
And in the New Testament, when heaven is mentioned, it's always connected to people who are hurting, people who are grieving, people who are facing persecution.
If you don't know what's happening in Nigeria right now, you need to know that the church is being persecuted.
And yet when you watch these pastors and these people, though they are hurting, they are grieving, they are mourning tremendously.
I can't even begin to understand what they're going through.
Never been persecution and seen it like what I've seen.
But these people have hope.
People wondering...
Heaven is mentioned for people who are wondering if following Jesus is even worth it.
1 Thessalonians 4, 13 and 16 says Paul teaches about, in that chapter, Paul teaches us about Christ's return and the resurrection because believers were grieving the death of loved ones.
He says this, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
1 Peter 1.6, Peter points suffering Christians to their living hope and inheritance kept in heaven while they endure persecution.
He says this, so be truly glad.
Say what?
So be truly glad there is wonderful joy ahead even though you must endure many trials for a little while.
Amen.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and chapter 5, Paul speaks about our heavenly dwelling while describing affliction, suffering, and the wasting away of the body.
He says something like this, though our outer self is wasting away, we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.
You see, what I want us to understand is God never tells us about tomorrow so we'll become obsessed about tomorrow.
He tells us about tomorrow so we'll have strength for today.
The Bible's future promises about heaven were not written to win arguments.
They were written to help us keep going.
Come on.
To help us keep moving forward and to endure so that we could experience the future that he has planned for us.
It's not on the screen, but Hebrews 11 is about the heroes of faith.
And verses 13 through 14 and then verse 16 says this, that they did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.
They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
Verse 14, obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.
Verse 16, they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland.
And if we'll let scriptures like these shape our understanding about heaven, we'll discover something even better than clouds.
Come on.
even better than angels' wings, better than streets of gold, better than anything we could imagine.
So instead of guessing about heaven or letting culture shape our view or even cartoons shape our view, we need to hear from Jesus himself.
Amen.
Come on, especially when life is falling apart.
And that's exactly what he does for his disciples the night before the cross.
Open your Bible to John chapter 14.
My first point is this, that Jesus promised heaven.
Jesus promised heaven, John 14, one through six.
And we're gonna read some scriptures today.
We're gonna dive down deep.
And there's kind of sometimes scriptures that are hard to understand, but I think it's important for us to see what the word says about heaven.
It says this, let not your heart be troubled.
Amen.
You believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many mansions.
If it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself.
That where I am, there you may be also.
And where I go, you know, and the way you know.
And I love what Thomas, you've got Doubting Thomas.
How many know we've got Doubting Thomas here?
He says, Lord, we don't know where you are going.
And how can we know the way?
And Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
And no one comes to the Father except through me.
Yeah.
But before we talk about what Jesus says, let's notice when he says it.
This is Thursday night, less than 24 hours before he would be crucified on the cross.
The disciples didn't know that yet, although they know that everything around them is falling apart.
Jesus has told them that he's leaving.
Judas has already betrayed him.
And Peter has been told he'll deny him.
The world they thought they understood is about to collapse.
Has anybody in the room ever had one of those moments?
Where you, come on, it seems as though everything is about to fall apart.
And that's exactly where the disciples are, and Jesus doesn't explain every detail.
How many of you wish he would?
He doesn't answer every one of their questions.
Instead, he gives them a better promise.
"'Let not your hearts be troubled.'"
In other words, he said, don't let fear become the ruler of your heart.
And then Jesus tells them why.
He says, in my house, in my father's house, are many mansions.
If it were not so, I wouldn't have told you.
And then he goes, I go to prepare a place.
Everybody say a place.
I want you to highlight that word everywhere you see it in John chapter 14, one through six.
Every time you see place, underline place.
Why?
Because Jesus promises a real place.
Not a higher consciousness.
A real place.
That word mansion means homes, rooms, or dwelling places.
The point Jesus is making isn't a retirement home for you.
It's actually being at home with God.
It's about belonging to God.
It's about fulfilling, listen, the void in your heart that you may even sense right now.
That when we get to heaven, listen, you will be home and you will know that you belong.
How many know we can experience that right now?
He promises a place.
Why is this important?
Because Christianity has never taught that eternity is simply escaping the world into some vague spiritual existence.
Jesus speaks about heaven the same way he speaks about Galilee, Jerusalem, and Bethany.
It's real, it's prepared, it's waiting because heaven is a place.
Now catch the most important part of this promise.
Look again at verses two and three, and notice how many times Jesus says I. He says I will go, I prepare, I will come again, and I will receive you.
Ultimately, our confidence isn't in just a location, a real place, though that's incredible, it's in a person who promises a place.
You see, the certainty of heaven doesn't rest on our ability to imagine it.
It rests on Jesus' ability to keep his promise.
And Jesus has promised a real place prepared for us.
And our confidence rests in him.
But that leaves a question we may all have wondered about and maybe have asked.
Well what happens to Christians when they die?
And God answers that clearly through Paul.
Turn to me with Philippians, to Philippians chapter one.
It leads me to my second principle and it's this.
The Christian's hope is bigger than death.
The Christian's hope is bigger than death.
Let's look at what Paul says to the Philippian church.
Chapter 1, verses 21 and 23, he says, to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor.
Yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell.
For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
For some context, Paul is writing these words from prison.
He isn't sitting in a comfortable office discussing theology.
He's awaiting trial.
And he knows that execution is a real possibility.
And yet listen to the way he talks about death.
To die is gain.
Who says that?
Why isn't Paul afraid to die?
You see, the only way someone can call death gain is if he knows death doesn't get the final word.
Paul doesn't say it doesn't matter if I die.
He says to depart and be with Christ is far better.
Look where Paul's emphasis falls.
He doesn't talk about heaven.
He doesn't talk I'm going to the sweet by and by.
He doesn't talk I'm gonna have a mansion.
He doesn't talk about his rewards.
His hope in this passage is centered on the reality that he's going to be with Christ.
Church, as Christians, that's our greatest hope.
The greatest gift God can ever give us is himself.
And as believers, the next face you see when you take your last breath is the face of Jesus.
Now just turn a couple books over to 2 Corinthians 5, one through eight.
Back up.
For we know that if our earthly house, and I'm just gonna read these slow and let the scriptures do the teaching, is that all right?
For we know, everybody say, for we know, that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For in this, in this tent, we groan.
Anybody groan lately?
Come on, anybody ever wake up with a pain in their side?
Come on.
Say, Lord, help me, Lord.
Anybody besides me wake up and go, Lord God, help my back.
For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from heaven.
If indeed having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.
For we who are in this tent groan.
Being burdened, listen to this.
This is life-lifing right here.
For we who are in this tent, come on, this earthly suit, we groan being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God.
who also has given us the Spirit, this is important, as a guarantee.
Why is that important that he has deposited the Holy Spirit on the inside?
Look at the next verse.
So we are always confident.
Come on, how do you know the Holy Spirit will give you confidence?
Supernatural confidence of who you are in Christ.
So we're always confident knowing that while we are at home in this body, how many know we got two homes?
Come on, how many know we got dual citizenship?
Come on, if you're a born again believer this morning, come on, you got citizenship in this world and you have citizenship in heaven.
So we're always confident knowing that while we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Now look at what Paul says in verse 8.
We are confident, yes, well pleased, rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
Again, where's his emphasis?
With the Lord.
Paul doesn't spend time describing what heaven looks like or what believers are doing.
Instead, he anchors his hope in the certainty that a moment a believer leaves this body, he enters the presence of Christ.
Church, that's why we can grieve differently.
It doesn't mean we don't grieve.
Some people take that scripture out of context and says, you don't grieve.
Get over it.
That's not what Paul is saying.
Death hurts.
Death is an enemy.
Death separates.
But for the believer, death never separates us from Christ.
It brings us into the immediate presence of the living God.
But listen, don't stop there.
Because this is where most of us stop.
And here's why I think many of us have intentionally settled for a smaller hope than the Bible actually gives us.
Let me challenge you with this question.
If going to heaven when we die is the end of God's story, then why does the New Testament spend so much time talking about a resurrection?
Why does Paul devote an entire chapter, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, to the resurrection of our bodies?
Why is Jesus' own resurrection so central to the gospel?
Come on, turn to your neighbor and say, he's going deep.
Being with Christ after death is wonderfully true, amen?
But it's not God's final goal.
And that may surprise some of us today because the Bible's hope is actually bigger than when I die, I go to heaven.
That's gloriously true, but it isn't the last chapter.
1 Corinthians 15, 20 through 26, and again, I'm just reading verses of Scripture, and I'm gonna let Scripture do the teaching.
Is that all right?
But now, everybody say, but now.
Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by man came death, talking about Adam, right?
By man also came the resurrection of the dead, talking about Christ.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
but each one in his own order.
Christ, the first fruits, I'm gonna tell you what that means in just a moment.
Afterwards, those who are Christ at his coming.
Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God, the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
In verse 23, Paul calls Jesus firstfruits.
The first fruits in Scripture guarantee, and I'm giving you a real brief definition, the first fruits in Scripture serves as a guarantee or promise that a much larger, complete harvest is on the way.
Catch this.
Jesus, then, was our first fruits.
He didn't rise from the dead merely to prove he could.
He rose to guarantee that everyone united to him will also rise.
Church, the Christian hope isn't simply that our souls go to heaven when we die.
It's that one day God will raise our bodies and make all things new.
Amen.
Now, this may change the way you think about Easter.
I hope it does, because Easter was God's announcement that death has finally met its match.
Imagine, let me just give you a little illustration here.
Imagine watching a sunrise.
Anybody ever watch a sunrise before?
Now,
Think about it.
When you get to that sunrise, it rises over the horizon.
You usually pick up your blanket, and if you're at the beach, you go back to wherever you came.
Oh, that was awesome.
That sunrise is the first light.
That first light is evidence that a full day is coming.
Jesus' resurrection is the first light, come on, of the new creation.
Amen.
His empty tomb is not an isolated, come on, once in a lifetime miracle.
It is the beginning of the morning that God has promised for the whole world.
In other words, Easter is not just about one man escaping the grave.
Easter was the dawn of a world where death will not survive.
Amen.
I want you to see the timeline of this, and it doesn't matter where you stand, and we're going to talk about this in a few more weeks.
It doesn't matter all your eschatology and stuff.
This is right here.
I'm not going to dive into all that, but this is the timeline of what Christians believe.
Can we just see this for a moment?
Can you see this on the screen?
We all experience life.
We all experience death.
When we die, we are what?
With Christ.
Most of our timelines stop here.
I'm good.
I got my insurance.
I'm with the Lord.
That's all I need to know.
But look, the Bible keeps going.
God's story doesn't end with us going to heaven.
He returns.
Come on.
Jesus will return in glory to complete his plan.
The dead in Christ, that's us.
Come on.
We'll rise.
We'll be raised with glorified bodies.
And come on.
There's a new heaven and new earth.
Come on.
That is coming.
That should have got, I thought I'd get a little more than that.
A new heaven and a new earth has always been the destination.
Not that you just make it, come on, by the hair on your chinny chin chin.
That you just barely get in.
No, no, no.
That you would give your life to Jesus and you would start co-laboring with him.
Amen.
towards a new heaven and a new earth.
When you have this revelation, you will understand the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray.
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
If you stop here, if you stop here, you don't give a fly and flip.
Because you made it and you got your mansion and you got your slippers floating on clouds.
But friends, can I just tell you, if you are a believer in Christ, we got work to do.
God is reconciling the earth to himself.
I hope I'm able to preach this good in the other services.
This has always been the destination.
God's plan has never simply been to rescue people from creation.
His plan has always been to redeem creation itself.
Have you ever wondered why nothing in this world ever completely satisfies?
Why every vacation, come on, I just had one, they eventually end.
Dang it, they end.
Relationships can disappoint.
Accomplishments can fade.
And everybody, I don't care what kind of cream you're using, because I'm using some cream on these eyes.
I'm just letting you know.
No matter what cream you use, this body grows old.
Why is that?
It's because deep down your soul longs for a world that you've never seen.
This is why Paul says, no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, but God has revealed to those who love him.
So if believers are with Christ after death, and if one day Jesus will return and raise his people, what exactly is he returning to do?
That's a good question.
So turn with me to Romans chapter 8.
And it's my third and last principle.
Are you guys getting something out of this?
God is making all things new.
The answer to that question is found in Romans 8, 18 to 25.
And I'm reading this out of the NLT.
I've been using the NKGV mostly today, but it was a little clearer in this translation, so I'm using it.
It says, yet what we suffer now.
Anybody ever suffer?
What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
For all creation, that includes you and I, come on, that includes all of creation, is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.
Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse.
But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day.
Oh, go back to that slide real quick.
The slide with, it looks forward to the day.
Can you go back to the timeline really quick?
We look forward to the day.
This is what Paul's talking about.
He's not talking about this day.
He's talking about this day.
We look forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
For we know.
Everybody say, we know.
Let me say it this way.
We're supposed to know.
I would argue we don't know.
Because if we knew, we'd live differently.
If we knew, we wouldn't just put our Christianity on on Sundays.
If we knew, we'd be reconcilers on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday.
I know, do you know?
For we know that all creation has been groaning.
Again, here we are.
As in the pains of childbirth up to the present time.
And we believers also groan.
Even though we have the Holy Spirit within us, again, that's the guarantee, as a foretaste of future glory, at the end of that timeline, for we long for our bodies to be released.
How many longing for your body to be released?
Yes.
from sin and suffering, and we too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies that he's promised us.
Come on, some of you are scheduled to get a new hip right now, but anyway.
You're gonna get better than that.
I know people that have hip surgeries and knee surgeries.
My mom just had her hip replaced.
She's like, it's brand new, you know?
Mom's 80 years old, you know, jumping rope and stuff.
You know what I mean?
I'm like, Mom, this is crazy.
But how many know what I'm trying to say?
How many know God, he's going to do better than titanium?
You know what I'm saying?
So we wait with this eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as adopted children, including the new bodies he's promised us.
We were given this hope when we were saved.
What?
I wish somebody would have told me, come on, that I wasn't just getting saved to get to heaven.
Amen.
I wish somebody would have told me, listen, you're getting saved so you can see, come on, heaven come to earth.
Come on, somebody.
We are given this hope when we are saved.
If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it.
But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.
Paul tells us that creation itself is groaning.
Think about that.
The earth isn't dying.
It's not dying.
It's laboring.
I've been in the labor room two times.
Labor hurts.
Come on.
There's some groaning going on in the labor room.
But labor always has hope.
Because on the other side of labor is birth.
It's life.
And Paul says, again, it's not just, he's not just talking about creating.
He's talking about all of creation.
Think about some of the beautiful places you've been in the world.
And you've been like, man, it's like, you're like, wow.
Could you imagine if it wasn't under the curse how beautiful it would be?
Wow.
Paul says this whole world is waiting for something.
Come on, we see earthquakes, hurricanes, disease, decay, death, broken families, broken bodies, broken hearts, and none of these things are the way that God intended creation to be.
And they remind us that something is terribly wrong with the world.
And if you've ever looked and thought, this isn't the way life is supposed to be, you're absolutely right.
This isn't the world that God created, as I said last week.
It's the world that sin corrupted.
But don't miss the point.
Paul never says creation is waiting to be destroyed.
Get me out of here, Lord, and blow this place up.
That's some of our mentality, right?
Lord, just take me to heaven.
Come on.
Get me out of this place.
Paul never says creation is waiting to be destroyed.
He says creation is waiting to be set free.
Do you know that in our lifetime, in your lifetime, creation can begin to experience freedom right in the here and now?
How do I know that?
Because Jesus told me to pray.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So listen, I don't gotta wait.
Come on, I can start co-laboring right now.
You see, God doesn't scrap creation.
He restores it.
This is so significant because sometimes we talk about heaven as though God's ultimate plan is simply to get out of here.
Almost as though creation was a failed experiment.
But that's not the story that the Bible tells.
Is anybody getting anything out of this today?
The Bible tells the story of a redeemer and how redeemers restore.
God has always been in the business of restoring what sin has broken.
When sin shattered our relationship with him in the garden, he made a way to reconcile us.
When sin brought death, Jesus conquered the grave.
And one day he will redeem all of creation itself.
The gospel always has been bigger than saving souls.
It's about restoring everything that sin has destroyed.
Church, God doesn't scrap creation.
He restores it.
You know, as soon as we meet our goal and we raise this 2.5 million, and by the way, we have about four months left and we're actually just about halfway to our goal.
And so I'm excited about that.
As soon as we secure, yeah.
Yeah.
As soon as we secure the financing, we're going to begin our make room renovation project.
Right now we got the plans complete.
The permits are complete.
We've seen the digital drawing of what it's going to look like.
And when construction begins, the first phase is demolition.
How many know when demolition happens, that's when I get involved, right there, right?
That's the work that I can do, right there, right?
There's gonna be noise, there's gonna be dust, things are gonna look worse before they look better.
There will likely be moments that when we walk through that building as it's being demolished, or the inside of the building as it's being demolished, there'll be times that it won't look like progress.
But here's the difference.
We already know the architect's vision.
We've seen the plans.
We know what the finished project is going to look like.
So when the walls come down, we won't panic and we won't assume that everything is falling apart.
We'll know something better is being built.
And this is exactly what Romans 8 invites us to see.
When we look at our world, all we see is the construction zone.
We see disease.
We see war.
We see broken families.
We see persecution in Nigeria.
We see death.
And it's easy to think everything is falling apart, but God has already shown us the blueprint.
Hallelujah.
And Revelation 21 is the blueprint.
He told us how the story ends.
How many are thankful he told us how the story ends?
He's making all things new.
Turn to Revelation 21 and listen to how the Bible ends.
Verses 1 and 2.
Is this okay?
Let the scriptures do the teaching.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also, there was no more sea.
And then I, John, saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
John says, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
He doesn't describe believers escaping the earth.
He describes God making everything new.
Look at verses three and four.
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.
God himself will be with them and be their God.
And God at this moment will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Amen.
There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, no crying.
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
Again, God himself will dwell with his people.
And church, it's important for us to understand that the Bible is ultimately the story of God refusing to give up on us.
Can you imagine?
Death is gone.
Mourning is gone.
Crying is gone.
Pain is gone.
No hospitals, no funerals, no cancer, no Alzheimer's, no addiction, no anxiety, no violence, no abuse.
Does that sound familiar?
Sounds a lot like how it all started in Genesis chapter 1.
When God created everything very good.
Very good.
everything sin brought into this world is finally going to be removed forever.
And Jesus says something that's my favorite verse in the whole chapter.
I just said it a couple of minutes ago.
Verse five, then he who sat on the throne said, behold, I will make, I make all things new.
Can we just say that together?
Behold, I make all
And he said to me, write for these words are true and faithful.
Jesus didn't say, listen, I'm making all new things.
He said, I'm making all things new.
There's a difference.
He's not throwing away creation.
Come on.
He's redeeming it.
He's restoring it.
Come on, he's renewing it.
And that's the story.
This is what I wanted you to see today.
This is the story of scripture.
From the garden of even, to the cross, to the empty tomb, to this moment right here in Revelation.
So what do we do with all this truth about heaven?
We stop living as though this broken world is all there is.
We grieve, but not without hope.
We wait, but not without confidence because the world isn't spiraling out of control.
It's moving towards a day when King Jesus will make all things new.
Come on, don't give up on the world.
Come on, because Jesus hasn't gave up on the world.
And when that day comes, we won't simply arrive at a better place.
We'll finally be home.
About a month later,
Before my dad passed away, when I would visit my dad... I'll get there.
I would just ask him things.
I would just ask him things I didn't know that we never talked about.
I knew I was going to cry.
About a month before he passed, my last time seeing my dad.
I asked him, Dad, what was the address of the house where you grew up in San Francisco?
And without hesitation, now, remember, my dad had suffered that last year.
I mean, he could barely remember what he ate for lunch.
You know what I mean?
And I said, Dad, what was your address in San Francisco when you grew up?
And he said, 1507 Gerald Avenue.
at that time it was just an address and just a piece of family history that I wanted.
And a month or so later on the night that my, it was, uh, after it was on a Sunday night and my sister called me and said, Hey, dad's in his final moments.
It was unexpected to be that fast.
Couldn't get there.
And, uh,
He passed, and later they told me the family was gathered around, and they were all holding hands, and my mom had my dad's hand.
And they told me that in those final moments of his life, he kept repeating the same words over and over.
1507 Gerald Avenue.
1507 Gerald Avenue.
1507 Gerald Avenue.
1507 Gerald Avenue.
And I don't know why that address was on his mind in those last moments.
Maybe that's where he felt safest.
Maybe it held some of his happiest child's memories, which I really do believe.
And I can't say for certain, but I do know this.
Every one of us is longing for a home.
And I think that's why the Bible speaks so often about heaven in terms of home, because every home we've ever loved, every place where we've belonged, every place where we've been welcomed is only a shadow of the home that Jesus is preparing for his people.
And he says this, I go to prepare a place for you.
Hear the Holy Spirit beckoning this morning.
And I will come again and I will receive you to myself.
That where I am, there you may be also.
One day every believer will finally be home.
Come on, not because they found the right address, but because Jesus, come on, our conquering king, he made a way when there was no other way.
Are you ready to come home?
Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
And if you've never trusted Christ today,
It can be that day.
Today can be the day that you come home to the Father.
This morning, if you're far from God, listen, don't listen to the preacher.
Listen to the Holy Ghost.
Come home.
If you need forgiveness, come home.
If you need hope, come home.
The door is open and Jesus is inviting you in.
With every head bowed and every eye closed, if you want to come home today and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you say, Pastor Dean, I want to come home.
If that's you, will you just slip up your hand maybe all over this room and say, Pastor Dean, I need to come home.
Or maybe you just, you thought it was all about just getting to heaven, but you're understanding that, like, man, I've got to take this thing more seriously.
I need to rededicate my life.
whether you need to come home or you need to come home again.
If that's you, you just slip up your hand.
Pastor Dean, will you include me in this prayer of getting my life right with God?
If that's you, will you just lift up your hand?
Anybody in the... Yes, thank you so much.
Anybody else?
Yes, thank you so much.
I'm just going to sit here in this moment.
Anybody else want to join these two brave people that raised their hand?
Anybody else?
Three, yes.
Thank you, Jesus.
I feel the Holy Spirit this morning.
And I believe, listen, I believe he's also releasing confidence for those who've had questions about what God is doing in their lives.
On the count of three, for those folks that raised their hands, or if you wanted to raise your hand and you didn't, we're gonna pray this prayer.
Come on, this homecoming prayer together this morning.
On the count of three, it's on the screen.
Pray it with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul.
The count of three, one, two, three.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness.
I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.
Right now, I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life.
I want to trust and follow you from this day forward.
I confess you as my personal Lord and Savior.
Thank you for saving me.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Can we give God praise?
Hallelujah.
Listen, if you raised your hand, my friend Jeff back there, you can take that card that was placed in your hand, or if you didn't get one, see him, the I Have Decided banner.
We want to put a new Bible in your hand before you leave, as well as some next steps that you can take and we can take with you in this newfound journey, now that you're home.
Everybody say, you're home.
Amen.
Will you stand with me please as our prayer ministers come?
Because this is what I know with a message like this.
There are people hurting in need of healing.
There are people suffering and they need the Savior to show up.
There are people that, listen, you're in pain and you need prayer.
And this morning I believe is a good time, listen, to come forward and receive the prayer you need.
To see, come on, to experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit in this place.
Will you come as we close?
Let me pray.
Father, I thank you for every single one of us.
God, I thank you that, Father, we have hope.
No matter what we're going through, God, on this earth.
God, we have hope.
God, that our future is bright.
Our future is secure.
God, that you're bringing heaven to earth.
Father, we give you praise and we give you glory.
In Jesus' name.
And everybody say it.
Amen.
Listen, if you're suffering in any way, having to endure some hardships, listen, come forward.
We want to pray for you.
Church, we love you and God bless you.
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Heaven Is More Than You Think: A Future That Changes Everything
What comes to mind when you hear the word "heaven"?
Perhaps you picture streets of gold, pearly gates, or angels singing worship songs. Maybe you imagine a reunion with loved ones who've gone before you. Or perhaps, in your most honest moments, you simply hope for a place where everything finally stops hurting.
Most of us have built our understanding of heaven from a patchwork of sources—Bible verses we've memorized, songs we've sung, movies we've watched, and conversations we've had at funerals. But what if our picture of heaven, while partially true, is smaller than what God has actually revealed in Scripture?
The Christian hope isn't merely that we go to heaven when we die. The Christian hope is that God will dwell forever with His redeemed people in a restored creation.
A Promise Made in the Darkest Hour
Consider the context of Jesus' words in John 14. It's Thursday night, less than 24 hours before the crucifixion. The disciples don't know what's coming, but they sense everything falling apart. Jesus has told them He's leaving. Judas has already betrayed Him. Peter has been warned he'll deny Him. The world they thought they understood is collapsing.
In this moment of crisis, Jesus doesn't explain every detail or answer every question. Instead, He gives them something better—a promise:
"Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also."
Notice the repetition: "I will go," "I prepare," "I will come again," "I will receive you." Our confidence doesn't rest in our ability to imagine heaven. It rests in Jesus' ability to keep His promise.
Heaven is a real place, prepared by a faithful person.
Beyond Death's Door
When the Apostle Paul faced possible execution in a Roman prison, he wrote words that seem almost shocking: "To die is gain" and "to depart and be with Christ is far better" (Philippians 1:21-23).
How can someone call death "gain"? The only way is if death doesn't get the final word.
For believers, the next face we see when we take our last breath is the face of Jesus. Being absent from the body means being present with the Lord. This is why Christians grieve differently. Death hurts. Death separates. But for the believer, death never separates us from Christ—it brings us into His immediate presence.
Yet this glorious truth is not the end of the story.
The Timeline We Often Miss
If going to heaven when we die is the end of God's plan, why does the New Testament spend so much time talking about resurrection? Why is Jesus' own resurrection so central to the gospel?
Here's the biblical timeline: We live. We die. When we die, we are with Christ. But the story continues. Jesus returns in glory. The dead in Christ rise with glorified bodies. A new heaven and new earth are established.
This has always been the destination.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul calls Jesus the "firstfruits" of resurrection. In Scripture, firstfruits guarantee that a much larger harvest is coming. Jesus didn't rise from the dead merely to prove He could. He rose to guarantee that everyone united to Him will also rise.
Think of a sunrise. That first light breaking over the horizon is evidence that a full day is coming. Jesus' resurrection is the first light of the new creation. His empty tomb isn't an isolated miracle—it's the beginning of the morning God has promised for the whole world.
Easter isn't just about one man escaping the grave. Easter is the dawn of a world where death will not survive.
Creation's Groaning and Coming Glory
Romans 8:18-25 reveals something stunning: "All creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are."
The earth isn't dying—it's laboring. And labor, though painful, always has hope because on the other side of labor is birth and life.
We see earthquakes, hurricanes, disease, decay, death, broken families, broken bodies, and broken hearts. None of these things are the way God intended creation to be. If you've ever looked at the world and thought, "This isn't the way life is supposed to be," you're absolutely right.
But here's the crucial point: Paul never says creation is waiting to be destroyed. He says creation is waiting to be set free.
God doesn't scrap creation. He restores it.
The gospel has always been bigger than saving souls. It's about restoring everything that sin has destroyed. God has always been in the business of restoration. When sin shattered our relationship with Him, He made a way to reconcile us. When sin brought death, Jesus conquered the grave. And one day, He will redeem all of creation itself.
The Blueprint Revealed
When a building undergoes renovation, the first phase is demolition. There's noise, dust, and chaos. Things look worse before they look better. But when you've seen the architect's vision and the finished plans, you don't panic when walls come down. You know something better is being built.
This is exactly what Romans 8 invites us to see. When we look at our world, we see the construction zone. It's easy to think everything is falling apart. But God has already shown us the blueprint.
Revelation 21 is that blueprint: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth... 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. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.'"
Then Jesus declares: "Behold, I make all things new."
Not all new things—all things new. He's not throwing away creation. He's redeeming it, restoring it, renewing it.
Living With Hope Today
So what do we do with this truth about heaven?
We stop living as though this broken world is all there is. We grieve, but not without hope. We wait, but not with anxiety. We pray "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" with fresh understanding.
The world isn't spiraling out of control. It's moving toward the day when King Jesus will make all things new. Don't give up on the world, because Jesus hasn't given up on the world.
Every home we've ever loved, every place where we've belonged, every moment we've felt welcomed is only a shadow of the home Jesus is preparing for His people.
One day, every believer will finally be home—not because they found the right address, but because Jesus made a way when there was no other way.
The door is open. Jesus is inviting you in.