Heaven is Reality. Preparing for our future. Jesus loves you

Transcription

1 Heaven is Reality Preparing for our future Jesus loves you

2 2 Heaven is Reality Jesus knew Heaven is reality. At his baptism, as he came up from the water, we read: At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove...a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:16,17) Jesus invited us to talk to his Father in a down-to-earth way: Our Father in heaven, holy be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9,10) Jesus also told parables about heaven and his miracles showed this man from heaven has power over sickness, nature and death. His life showed us a glimpse of heaven s reality. In our world of cynicism and moral emptiness yet where we all need real hope for everyday life Jesus highlights this truth: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3) So WHAT is heaven like?

3 3 At Jesus crucifixion, one of his mates John was there to support Mary in that intensely traumatic event. At that stage, he was just a young bloke. On the Sunday morning, John and Peter discover Jesus had risen from the dead. John became a key leader among the early Christians. Many years later, when John is in his late 80 s, God gives him a vision of the return of Jesus Christ and of heaven. It s fantastic! In Revelation 21, we read John s description I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven...

4 4 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, Look, God s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. And the one sitting on the throne said, Look, I am making everything new! (Revelation 21:1-5) Heaven will be great. It will be great, not just because of what is present, but because of what is missing. John s list (see above) could have gone on forever. Since heaven has no sin or death there will be no more. You fill in the blank. No more Panadol. Chemotherapy. No more wheelchairs. Disease. Prison cells or brokenhearts. Crippled limbs or car wrecks. To be crowned in life means no more death. To be crowned in righteousness means no more sin, and to be crowned in glory means no more defeat. Heaven is total joy, unabandoned worship, unlimited creativity. There are no limits. The call will go out, further in and higher up and we discover the real that Almighty God has created and gives to us. Heaven will be a place where there will be no more shame or hiding.

5 Jesus spoke about needing to become like little children, or you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3), so let s get the perspective of a four year old on Heaven. 5 Jesus is the first person you see in Heaven. Colton Burpo Colton Burpo, with parents Sonja and Todd. Colton "died" in the operating room (back in 2003) when he was four (4) and went to heaven. He came back with amazing stories, which are recounted in the book Heaven Is for Real. During a car trip, when Sonja asked him about his memories of being in the hospital, little Colton replied: Yes, Mommy, I remember that s where the angels sang to me. Colton made his parents jaws drop when he told them about sitting in Jesus lap, watching his parents while he lay seemingly near death, and meeting his great-grandfather.

6 6 The Burpo family from Nebraska, USA talks to a TV interviewer about their book Heaven is for Real and Colton s visit to heaven. Colton told his parents things about heaven in detail that he had NO previous knowledge of. For example, Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us. Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the simple message of heaven is a real place and Jesus really loves children. See more at

7 After he told his parents that he d seen Jesus, Colton s parents showed him lots of pictures of Jesus Christ. 7 None of them matched the Jesus he saw until one day... Akiane Kramarik has been painting since four and is acknowledged as a child prodigy. Akiane says that angels taught her how to paint and she had a vision of Jesus. Akiane did this painting of Jesus Christ when she was eight years old. When Colton s dad showed him this painting he was stunned. Dad that s exactly what Jesus looks like.

8 8 Jesus Christ has acted so that you and I can enjoy his love in this life. He has invited us to accept his love and power transforming our life. And Jesus is coming back to take everyone who believes in him to heaven. Want to join Jesus? The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Anyone who believes in God s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn t obey the Son will never experience eternal life. (John 3:36)

9 9 The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) Dear God, I know that I have run from You, but today I turn to You and I ask that You forgive me of all my wrong doings and sins in the past. I believe that Jesus Christ died and gave His life for my sins and that He rose again from the dead. I invite Jesus Christ to come into my heart to be my Lord and Saviour from this moment on. Amen

10 10 Heaven sounds good but will Jesus Christ really help me? From his cell in Kerobokan jail, Andrew Chan shares his heart. Andrew leans forward so he will be clearly heard. "I am really sorry for what we have done. Really, really sorry. I had no purpose, I didn't know where I was going. I was living life on my own selfish terms," he says in his broad Australian accent over the din. "I was pretty much heading nowhere. Even though I had a pretty good job and stuff, I hated myself. I was always stirring up trouble." Only when he was in prison did Andrew give up the drugs and convert to Christianity. He is now training to be a pastor, mentors other prisoners and the people who write to him from Australia. "I think these people respect what I have to say," he says. "The majority of things that people are in trouble with, I've probably done them before. Are you going to listen to someone who has been through it, or someone who hasn't been through it?" I ve met Andrew twice in Kerobokan jail. His eyes are full of fire and his love for Jesus. It s not some con job he is fair dinkum! One of the Chaplains at Kerobokan jail is a personal friend of mine and he has watched the transformation in Andrew since his arrest. His shame, anger and hate have gone. He has discovered Jesus can love a criminal on death row and change his life. It s all real.

11 With God on our side, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? 11 The One who died for us who was raised to life for us is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats or backstabbing. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus Christ, our Master has embraced us. (Romans 8:31-39) =

12 12 OUR LAST DAY ON EARTH 1. God won t ask what kind of car we drove. He ll ask us how many people we helped who never owned a car. 2. God won t ask the size of our home. He ll ask how many people we welcomed into our home. 3. God won t ask about the clothes we had in our wardrobe. He ll ask us how many people we clothed. 4. God won t ask what our highest salary was. He ll ask us if we compromised our character to obtain it. 5. God won t ask how many friends we had. He ll ask us how many people we were a friend to. 6. God won t ask what suburb we lived in. He ll ask us how we treated our neighbours. 7. God won t ask the colour of our skin. He ll ask us how about the content of our character. God won t ask why it took us so long to accept salvation by his grace and love to us. He was loving us before we were born. God delights in you, loves you, acts to show kindness to you.

13 13 For generations people have waited for THE day when Jesus returns to planet earth. Then will come the Day. It will be the revelation of the King of Kings to everyone who has ever lived. Life on this earth, as we know it, will cease as the world witnesses the coming of the King Jesus Christ. Trumpets will sound in heaven and Jesus tells us: At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

14 14 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:30,31) In 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 we have another insight to this glorious event: The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Picture the scene of that amazing Day of the King s return! All the movement stops, the trumpets are silent and the triumphant cry goes up from all the host of Heaven Holy, Holy, Holy. You hear your voice join in the chorus...

15 Suddenly the heavens are quiet, the angels turn, you turn, the entire audience of Earth turns and there is Jesus. Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figure of Christ the King. He is on a great stallion and the stallion is riding a billowing cloud. 15 Jesus opens his mouth and all heaven hears His declaration I am the Alpha and Omega. The elders remove their crowns, the angels bow their heads and all humanity falls to their knees. Before you is a figure so consuming that you know, instantly that nothing else matters. Forget work schedules and school reports. Sales meetings and footy games. All that mattered, matters no more for King Jesus has come. Hallelujah! Jesus says "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3)

16 Jesus Christ continues to powerfully impact the lives of children, teens, men and women just as he did 2000 years ago. Today, over two billion people have a relationship with Jesus Christ. God welcomes us into his family a relationship that is filled with love, freedom, power for life and hope. Over the centuries, we have waited for heaven. This booklet will give you hope as it shares true stories, an invitation to join God s family and truth. You may want to chat about anything this booklet raises for you and your Chaplain Ross Wakeley would be delighted to meet with you and explore your questions. Call him on Scripture quotations are from: The Holy Bible, New International Version Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society Contemporary English Version Copyright 1995 American Bible Society The Message. Copyright Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group Written by Ross Wakeley Free colour version at