Week 7...“Faith and Your Future”, James 5.7-12

Read James 5.7-12...

"Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace; 
I wanna' see my Saviour's face, 'cause Heaven is a wonderful place!"

Well how was your yesterday? And how are things today? And how will your tomorrow be? Our yesterday may have been hard, and today may be better or worse, but our future is uncertain...unless your trust is in Jesus! As we read last week from Prov. 27.1... ”Boast not of tomorrow, because we just don't know what another day will bring”. However, your faith, if it counts for anything at all, has secured your eternity.
Now some may say...”What is he on about now?! This moment is momentous enough!” And that's true; every moment of every day is fraught with notions, emotions and commotions that tend to erode us away. But there is hope for the hopeless. Check out what Paul has written for our encouragement in 1 Cor. 2.9...”But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” And Jesus has told us in His word, the Gospel of John, chapt. 14.1-3...(read).
So Jesus has set the stage for a discussion about a future that is available to every single one, but when He explained that truth to His disciples, they responded with scepticism...”Lord, we don't know where you're going so how can we know the way?” (vs. 5). The question of the ages...where did He go, and how do we get there. Well, Jesus answered the second part of that question in vs. 6...”I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father but by Me”. But that matter of “where” still remains pretty much a mystery to us. The fact is, Jesus reveals very little in the gospels about our eternal future, and the rest of scripture has only a little more to offer.
Billy Graham has this to say about Heaven...
“Jesus mentions Heaven about seventy times in the book of Matthew alone. It appears by name from Genesis to the last reference found at the end of Revelation. In fact, fifty-four of the sixty-six books in the Bible mention Heaven. Remember...the Bible is our only authoritative source of information about Heaven.”
(By-the-by, the term “heaven” occurs 551 times in the KJV and 622 times in the NIV, so your version may record some verses differently)
And the very best information we have about eternity is of course, found in the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John, where Heaven is described as being a place of everlasting peace and joy. Let's turn there simply to review what we've already learned over the years, of the glory of the place, and what occurs there.
Read Rev. 19.1-10, 21.1-8, 9-27, 22.1-5...discuss each section.
What is your perception then, about our future in “the place (He) has gone to prepare...” for us?
Here are some things we know for sure about that “place” the scriptures refer-to as Heaven...
1. First of all, it is the dwelling place of God...1 K. 8.27-32 (note...”Thy dwelling place...”, vss. 30, 39, 43, 49)
...and of Jesus...He. 9.24, 12.2, Rev. 1.13
...and of H.S...Ps. 139.7-8
..and the angels...Matt.18.10 (note cherubims, Ge. 3.22-24, 2 Sam. 22.5-21; and seraphims, Is. 6.2; archangels...Michael (Jude 9) and Gabriel (Luke 1.19), and ordinary angels, or messengers)
...and other privileged chosen ones (as described below)
2. Secondly, there are certain things that will not be there, such as...
...no marriage, Luke 20.34-35
...no death, Luke 20.36-38. Rev. 21.4
...no fleshly bodies, 1 Cor. 15.50-54
...no hunger or thirst, Rev. 7.16
...no sorrow or tears, “ 7.17, 21.4
...no pain, “ 21.4
...no temple, “ 21.22
...no curse, “ 22.3
...no night, “ 22.5
...no artificial or natural light, “ 22.5
...no wickedness (no Satan, no temptation), “ 22.15
...no end, “ 22.5, Matt. 25.46 (note that, by-and-large, what is true in Heaven will be the opposite in Hell!)
3. Third, there are certain things that will be there, like...
...eternal joy, Luke 15.7,10
...eternal rest Rev. 14.12-13
...eternal peace, Luke 16.19-25
...eternal righteousness, 2 Pe. 3.10-13
...eternal service, Rev. 7.15
...eternal worship, “ 19.1-6
...the church (the saints, the Bride of Christ), “ 19.7-9
...rewards, Matt. 5.12, Col. 3.22-24, Rev. 11.15-18, 22.12
...inheritance, 1 Pe. 1.3-4
...glorified bodies, Ro. 8.16-17
4. Last, everything is prepared and waiting...
...the Son of Man, Rev. 1.10-20
...the keys of hell and of death, “ 1.18
...the throne room of God and of the Lamb, “ 4.1-5, 22.1,3
...the books of judgement, “ 5.1-5, 20.12, 21.27
...the 4 horsemen, “ 6.1-8
...the 144,000 servants from the 12 tribes of Israel, “ 7.2-4
...the 7 trumpeters of judgement, “ 8.6
...the 7 vials of judgement “ 15.1, 16.1
...the marriage supper and the marriage garments, “ 19.7-9
...the thrones of judgement, “ 20.4,11
...a new, holy Jerusalem, “ 21.2, 10-27
...a new heaven and a new earth, “ 21.1
...the river of the water of life, “ 22.1
...the tree of life, “ 22.2
Heaven IS a wonderful place...! But never forget that the gospel road is the only way to get there; in fact, it is THE way to God, Who alone makes Heaven the destination of choice!