16
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man
perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal.
1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with
our house which is from heaven:
~ 2 Corinthians 4:16 - 5:2
Hardships Of Life
• Life is filled with ...
– Heartache
– Tragedy
– Sorrow
– Sadness
– Loss
– Regret
• All of which test, shape, and mold our
moral & spiritual character
• Worse, others who make little to no effort
to serve God are seemingly “exempt” from
many of the hardships faithful followers
are subjected to
Remember ...
• God never promised to shelter
Christians from adversity
– Promised to strengthen & sustain us as
we face the hardships of life
• Despite trials and afflictions so
prevalent, we have the blessed
assurance, “Heaven will surely be
worth is all”
• By reflecting upon our eternal
home, it will help us to face (and
overcome) the burdens we face ..
In This Past Week ...
• It is altogether likely that each of us
have done things that would be
highly inappropriate in the Heavenly
realm (perhaps even w/o realizing
it!)
• Not necessarily “sinful” things, but
simple, ordinary, commonplace,
things that serve to remind us that
“this world is not our home”
• We are but strangers and pilgrims
(Heb 11:13)
Things You Will
Never Do In
Heaven
You Passed A Cemetery
• Hillsides are dotted with the markers
of those who have gone before us
• Like silent cities, they remind us of
the brevity of life / certainty of death
• Death eventually touches the life of
every person
– Broken relationships ...
– Crushed hearts ...
– Shattered plans ...
– Unrecognized dreams …
– Financial burdens …
– Bitter sting of loneliness ...
You Passed A Cemetery
• Not so in the Heavenly realm, “there
shall be no more death” (Rev 21:4)
• For the faithful child of God, death
is not a frightening prospect!
• Rather, it is something looked
forward to with great anticipation
“21 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”
~ Philippians 1:21-23 (NKJV)
You Passed A Cemetery
• In the Heavenly city, these things shall
have passed; there will be no more …
– Bitter loneliness caused by the passing of a
lifelong companion
– Grieving for the passing of a mother, father,
brother, or sister
– Broken / bleeding hearts for the untimely
death of a husband, wife, son or daughter ...
“54 So when this corruptible shall have put
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have
put on immortality, then shall be brought to
pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ”
~ 1 Corinthians 15:54-55
There Shall Be
No Death In The
Heavenly Realm!
You Faced A Temptation
• Temptations are the common lot of
all mankind
• Even Jesus, the sinless Son of God,
had to face, endure & overcome
temptation (Luke 4:1-13)
“For we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin”
~ Hebrews 4:15
You Faced A Temptation
• 3 avenues of temptation (1 Jn 2:16)
– Lust of the flesh
– Lust of the eyes
– Pride of life
• Jesus endured / overcame all three
– Flesh, “command this stone that it be
made bread” (Luke 4:3)
– Eyes, “the devil … shewed unto him all
the kingdoms of the world … All this
power will I give thee” (Luke 4:6)
– Pride, “And he brought him to Jerusalem,
and set him on a pinnacle of the temple,
and said unto him, If thou be the Son of
God, cast thyself down ...” (Luke 4:9)
You Faced A Temptation
• Perhaps the most important fact
revealed by Luke
– “And when the devil had ended all the
temptation, he departed from him for a
season” (Luke 4:13)
• Satan is allowed to tempt, but God provides
a way of escape
“There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able; but will with
the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it”
~ 1 Corinthians 10:13
3 C’s … (C)ommon, (C)ontrolled, (C)onquerable
You Faced A Temptation
• In Heaven, No More Temptation
• Satan (“tempter”, “adversary”) will
have been cast down
– “And the devil that deceived them was
cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet
are, and shall be tormented day and
night for ever and ever” (Rev 20:10)
• As will the wicked dead
There shall in no wise
enter into it [Heaven]
anything that defileth!
(Rev 21:27)
– “And whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire” (Rev 20:15)
You Shed A Tear
• Hardly a week goes by where we do
not have to contend with sadness
• Do you ever yearn for a time when
there will be no more ...
– Sadness? Heartache? Shedding of
tears?
• For the faithful in Christ, that day is
coming!
“And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying ...”
~ Revelation 21:4
You Shed A Tear
The Lovely Land Of Unclouded Day Lies Ahead!
Oh they tell me of a home far beyond the skies
Oh they tell me of a home far away
Oh they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise
Oh they tell me of an unclouded day
Oh they tell me that He smiles on His children there
And His smile drives their sorrows away
And they tell me that no tears ever come again
In that lovely land of unclouded day
Indeed, there shall be
“No Tears In Heaven”
You Visited A Sick Person
• Congregational announcements are
filled with the names of those
struggling with heath issues ...
– People we know and love
– Husbands, wives, brothers, sisters,
mothers, fathers, sons, daughters …
– Often, we are powerless to prevent it
• Many members of our spiritual family
are shut in and physically unable to
attend services as they once did …
• Hospitals are filled to capacity with
the sick & suffering ...
You Visited A Sick Person
• Sickness is something we will not
contend with in Heaven
– Sickness is the consequence of sin
– It, along with all other ill effects of sin,
will be reversed in the Heavenly realm
– “… the former things are passed away”
(Revelation 21:4)
• This is not idle speculation, but a
promise of God ...
In Heaven, access to
the tree of life, whose
leaves are for the
healing of the nations,
will be fully restored
(Revelation 22:2)
“And he that sat upon the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new. And he said
unto me, Write: for these words are true
and faithful”
~ Revelation 21:5
You Took An Aspirin, Tylenol, or Advil
• Physical discomfort is commonplace
during our earthly pilgrimage ..
– Headaches, Backaches, Arthritis …
– A million other “ache and pains”
simply become a part of everyday life
• Therein lies the primary blessing of
death! Our fleshly bodies are not
meant to last for eternity...
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God... ”
~ 1 Corinthians 15:50
You Took An Aspirin, Tylenol, or Advil
• No pharmacies in Heaven!
– The faithful in Christ shall be changed
(1 Cor 15:51)
– Shall partake of the divine nature, “...
but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see
him as he is” (1 John 3:2)
“And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain ...”
~ Revelation 21:4
“Aches And Pains”
are among those
“former things” that
will have passed away!
You Flipped A Light Switch
• Few things are as “unnerving” as
being completely enshrouded by
sheer, unmitigated darkness
• Hell is described as …
– a place of outer darkness (Matt 25:30)
– Angels that sinned are reserved in
everlasting chains under darkness (Jude
6)
– The wicked will be subjected to the
blackness of darkness forever (Jude 13)
Thankfully, in Heaven, you will not have
to worry about such things!
You Flipped A Light Switch
• No street lights, light switches, oil
lamps, candles, sun, moon, or stars ...
There They Need No
Sunshine Bright
In the city foursquare
For the lamb is all the light
And there is no night there
“23 And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the
glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is
the light thereof … 25 And the gates of it
shall not be shut at all by day: for there
shall be no night there”
~ Revelation 21:23,25
You Locked Your Door
• We live in a wicked society (if you
doubt that, just watch the evening
news on any given day)
– Filled w/stories of those who have been
robbed, beaten, shot, murdered, etc.
• Before we pillow our heads at night
– Lock doors
– Fasten & secure windows
– Lock automobile doors
– Turn on home security systems
You Locked Your Door
• In Heaven ...
– No “deadbolts” on the doors
– No “locks” on the windows
– No “alarms” to alert us of intruders
• There is no need!
“And there shall in no wise enter into it
any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but
they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life ”
~ Revelation 21:27
Can you imagine the
joy of living in such a
city? This wedding
feast is by invitation
only!
You Saw An Old Person
• With each passing day, we recognize
the toil taken by the aging process…
–
–
–
–
–
Skin Wrinkles …
Vision dims …
Hearing diminishes …
Energy wanes ...
Strength fails …
• Solomon refers to the infirmities of old age
using the term, “evil days” (Eccl 12:1)
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of
thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor
the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I
have no pleasure in them”
~ Ecclesiastes 12:1
You Saw An Old Person
• In that land of fadeless day, there will
be no more wheelchairs, walkers,
retirement centers, nursing homes,
etc..
• No need of such things, because there
will be no “old people” there!
Wherefore comfort
one another with
these words.
(1 Thes 4:18)
I have heard of a land, on a faraway strand
Tis’ a beautiful home of the soul
Built by Jesus on high, where we never shall die
Tis’ a land where we’ll never grow old
HEAVEN - A Prepared Place For A Prepared People
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
~ John 14:1-3
God’s Plan For Saving Man
• Alien Sinner ...
– Hear (Rom 10:17; Luke 11:28)
– Believe (John 8:24: Heb 11:6)
– Repent (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30)
– Confess (Matt 10:32-33; Rom 10:10)
– Baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38)
– Live Faithful Until Death (Rev 2:10)
• Erring Christian ...
– Repent (Acts 3:19)
– Confess (1 John 1:9)
– Prayer (Jms 5:16; Acts 8:22)