What Will Heaven Be Like? | Revelation | Full Experience

Hi church we're so glad that you're here I want to invite you to your feet with us let's worship the Lord together feel free to clap along and sing along with us here we go He's coming on the clouds, kings and kingdoms will bow down and every chain will break as broken hearts declare his praise for who can stop the Lord Almighty Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah He's roaring with power and fighting our battles and every knee will bow before Him Our God is the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain for the sins of the world His blood breaks the chains and every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb every knee will bow before Him so open up, so open up the gates make way before the King of Kings the God who comes to save is here to set the captives free for who can stop the Lord Almighty Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah He's roaring with power and fighting our battles and every knee will bow before Him Our God is the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain for the sins of the world His blood breaks the chains and every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb every knee will bow before Him before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords sing this with me Who can stop the Lord Almighty Who can stop the Lord Almighty No one Who can stop the Lord Almighty

No one can stop Him Who can stop the Lord Almighty Who can stop the Lord Almighty Who can stop the Lord Our God Our God is the Lion The Lion of Judah He's roaring with power And fighting our battles Every knee will bow before Him Our God is the Lamb The Lamb that was slain For the sins of the world His blood breaks the chains And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb Every knee will bow before Him Yeah Every knee will bow before Jesus Oh, you've been so good to us, Jesus Thank you, God I have tasted, I have seen The realness of your love for me It's written on your hands and feet It's all the evidence I'll ever need Your love is better than life I can't even wrap my mind around it One day here in your house Better than a thousand elsewhere Your love keeps on running, running Keeps on running after me

Keeps on running, running Keeps on running after me, yeah And there's no one that can take your place There's nothing that can separate Oh, how high, how wide, how deep The greatest love the world has ever seen Sing your love Your love is better than life I can't even wrap my mind around it One day here in your house Better than a thousand elsewhere Your love keeps on running, running Keeps on running after me Keeps on running, running Keeps on running after me, yeah Oh, it's everywhere I go Everywhere I turn Your love follows me Your goodness follows me, yeah Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me Come on, sing that with me Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me Every time I turn around Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me Every time I turn around Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me Every time I turn around Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me Every time I turn around Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me, yeah

Your love is better than life I can't even wrap my mind around it One day here in your house Better than a thousand elsewhere Your love keeps on running, running Keeps on running after me Keeps on running, running Keeps on running after me, yeah So They Nevertheless So wholly It's their power and their love So They Nevertheless So they nevertheless A thousand generations Falling down in worship To sing the song of ages to the Lord And all who've gone before us And all who will believe Will sing the song of ages to the Lord Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all All pros and dominions All powers and possessions Your name stands above them all And the angels cry Holy, all creation cries Holy, you are lifted high Holy, holy forever ♪ And forgiven, and if you've been redeemed ♪

♪ Sing this song forever to the land ♪ ♪ And if you walk in freedom, and if you bear His name ♪ ♪ Then sing this song forever to the land ♪ ♪ Sing this song forever, anything we sing and the angels rhyme ♪ ♪ Holy, all creation rise ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Holy, here your people sing ♪ ♪ Holy, to the king of kings ♪ ♪ Holy, you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ We believe that, all thrones. ♪ All thrones and dominions ♪ ♪ All powers and possessions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ Sing that again, your name. ♪ Your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ No one higher, no one greater. King of kings, Lord of lords. ♪ All thrones and dominions ♪ ♪ All powers and possessions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ And the angels cry, holy ♪ ♪ All creation cries, holy ♪ ♪ You are lifted high, holy ♪

♪ Holy forever ♪ ♪ Hear your people sing, holy ♪ ♪ To the king of kings, holy ♪ ♪ You will always be, holy ♪ ♪ Holy forever ♪ ♪ Hear your people sing, holy ♪ ♪ To the king of kings, holy ♪ ♪ You will always be, holy ♪ ♪ Holy forever ♪ ♪ You will always be, holy ♪ ♪ Holy forever ♪ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus. CCB, what a gift that is to be able to worship God together. You can have a seat. Those words that we just sang together, Holy, holy forever, are powerful. And that one word, holy, it means set apart, it means perfect in every single way. And if we take a deep look into the holiness of God, if we study it, it creates a gap, a distance between who he is and who we are. Because the reality is that, is that he is perfect and we're not. That he is without sin and we carry it. But the beauty of it all,

something that's so incredible is that the story of the Bible is not about us trying to climb up to a God who is holy. It's about a holy God who came down to be with us. And that's what communion is all about. And this is what the Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews chapter 10, verses 19 through 22. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter. the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way open for us through the curtain that is his body. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings. CCV, that's the invitation. The gap that has been created by the holiness of God. Jesus closed it the moment he died on the cross for you and for me. The same God that we just sang about, the same God that at this very moment is surrounded by angels crying and singing, holy, holy, holy, allowed his body to be broken and his blood to be poured out for you and for me so we could be near him. Not because we earned it, not because we're good people, because he is loving. So today, as we're taking communion together, that bread, remember, it's his body being broken for us

as we take the cup, that is his blood being poured out for us. And maybe let's just whisper that word one more time, holy, not just because of who he is, but because what he has done. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that you are a God who listens, you're a God who cares, you're a God who came down to earth to be with us, to walk among us, to bring hope, love, joy, and peace. Father, thank you for the sacrifice of your son, Jesus. It is in his mighty name that we pray, amen. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪♪ ♪ A cry with creation ♪ ♪ Responding in worship ♪ ♪ A fresh revelation ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ The rhythm of heaven ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Holy are You, Lord ♪ ♪ Holy are You, Lord ♪ ♪ I'll spend all my days ♪

♪ Finding every way to sing holy are You, Lord ♪ ♪ A cry with creation ♪ ♪ We're responding in worship ♪ ♪ It's a fresh revelation ♪ ♪ The rhythm of heaven ♪ ♪ Holy are You, Lord ♪ ♪ Holy are You, Lord ♪ ♪ I'll spend all my days ♪ ♪ Finding every way to sing holy are You, Lord ♪ ♪ You're so worthy ♪ ♪ Worthy are You, Lord ♪ ♪ Worthy are You, Lord ♪ ♪ Heaven's roll, Lord's roll ♪ ♪ I don't see you alone, worthy are you Lord, yes. ♪ ♪ So worthy, so worthy Lord, yes Lord. ♪ ♪ We cry worthy, we cry holy, with all creation we join in that cry, we sing together. ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh. ♪ ♪ We adore thee, we adore thee yes. We adore thee yes Lord, yes Lord. ♪ ♪ We adore thee, we adore you Lord. We adore you Jesus. ♪ ♪ We adore thee, we adore thee yes. We adore thee, we adore you Lord. ♪ ♪ We sing holy. Sing it with us. Holy are you Lord. Holy are you Lord. ♪ ♪ And I'll spend all my days, finding every way to sing holy. Are you Lord. Worthy be your name. ♪ ♪ Worthy, worthy, worthy. Worthy are you Lord. Worthy are you Lord. Heaven's throne belongs to you Lord. Worthy are you Lord. ♪ ♪ Worthy, worthy, worthy. Worthy are you Lord. ♪ ♪ Before I get into the message today, I wonder as a church if we can just celebrate what God is doing with young adults. If you don't know what God's doing, we've been leaning in with young adults for about the past year or so, and it's miraculous just the stirring God's doing with them. In fact, if you're a young adult here as a church, can we just celebrate them? God's doing something. It's like revival-like with young adults. In fact, right now, you may not know

this, across our city and our state, we have 1,400 young adults gathering in 58 small groups all across our CCB campuses, and it's really fun to see what God's doing. And if you're a young adult here today, and you want to plug in more with what God's doing, maybe meet some people your age and just lean in, we have something coming up this Thursday night, March 26th at 6 30 p.m. on our Peoria campus. It's a young adult night, and what's going to happen here is there's going to be fun, some worship, a message, free food. I say free food, and it's going to be epic. So I really want to encourage you if you're a young adult, if you know a young adult, please come, and it's going to be an amazing time. Well, there was a man who died and went to heaven, and he's greeted at the pearly gates by St. Peter, and St. Peter says, hey, before we go see the big guy, let's just for fun, like tell me, what's one of the best things you did on earth? And the guy kind of perked up. He said, oh, oh, well, you're not gonna believe this St. Peter, but there was a time where I walked out of a grocery store and I saw in the parking lot, a gang of the baddest, meanest, biggest guys I've ever seen. And they're surrounding this older, elderly woman in a wheelchair and they're picking on her and harassing her. And I don't know what came over me cause I'm a little guy, as you can tell. I just, I looked at them and I said, you will not bother her. And when they didn't stop, I stepped in between them and this elderly woman in a wheelchair. And I said, you won't touch her. And St. Peter's like, wow, man. I mean, you're like a small dude. You really did that?

He's like, I did. He said, when did that happen? I think it was about two or three minutes ago. This thing all went down, you know? I got a corny joke at the top. I got a corny joke at the bottom. This is what you got today. But I, hey, I am fired up to talk to you about heaven today. Cause I'm convinced most people, most Christians don't have a clue what heaven's gonna really be like. And as we finish our Revelation series today, let me just tell you this. Everything in Revelation culminates with God letting us know that he's creating a new heaven and a new earth and what it's gonna be like. In fact, let me just show you on the timeline where we've been. We started Revelation just saying that when Jesus died and rose again and ascended into heaven, that started the last days. Are we in the end times right now? Let me ask you again. Yes, we are. Do we know when Jesus is gonna return again? No, we don't, but we're in the end times. And throughout this series, we've talked about the rapture. We talked about that two weeks ago. If you missed Mark's message last week on the tribulation, so good, these seven years of tribulation.

But everything culminates when Jesus returns and then eventually he creates a new heaven and a new earth. That's Revelation chapter 21 and 22, the last two books in the entire Bible, which we're gonna cover today. But I wanna start just asking you this. When you think about the new heaven and new earth, how many of you have actually put any time into studying or understanding or even thinking about what heaven's gonna really be like? For some of us, if you haven't lost someone recently or you're not in the middle of maybe a terminal illness, for many of us, you're like me. We don't think about what heaven's even gonna be like sometimes. And it's a massive mistake because Colossians 3, verse two commands us, think about the things of heaven, not the things of this earth. And some of us are so consumed with this earth that we're missing what God has planned and it's so good. And sometimes we're not anticipating it because we can't fathom it. We don't even know what it's gonna be like. Let me put it this way. It's hard to anticipate what we can't imagine. And that's why I am, like, I can't tell you how excited I am for today, because I have a goal today that when you walk away today, I want you to have an accurate biblical picture of heaven.

And some of us do not. In fact, our view of heaven is so far off, it's not even funny, because a lot of us, you know where we got our view of heaven? From Hollywood, cartoons, or corny jokes. And it's way off. In fact, some of us right now, our view of God, we see God as Morgan Freeman. Or if you're really old, George Burns. Some of you know. Like, who's that? Google him, you know? And it's like our view of heaven. You know what some of our view of heaven is? We think heaven like we float on clouds, and there's harps, and little baby angels with wings flying around everywhere. And there's like bright lights, and there's like it's cerebral, and then like maybe there's just an eternal choir. Does that sound appealing to anybody else? Yeah, me neither. And that is not heaven, not even close. So today, I'm gonna give you the biblical view of heaven. And very imperfectly, because what I'm gonna try to do, and John even struggles with this, I'm gonna try to describe the indescribable. But here's the big idea I want you to walk away with today. Heaven is better than you can think. In fact, it is better than you can fathom.

And we're gonna turn in our Bibles to find the truth, not to Hollywood or something else. So if you have your Bibles, open up Revelation chapter 21. And I wanna pray for us as we get started today, because there's a lot riding on this message for someone here today. Father, I wanna pray that as we get into your word, God, would you reveal whatever you want to reveal to us. There's someone here today that's lost someone recently, and they're in pain. And understanding what heaven like matters more than they could ever imagine, not only for what their future holds, but even dealing with it. with what they're dealing with today. But God, there's more on the line for someone else here today who has never given their lives to Jesus fully. They've never gone all in and truly given their lives to Jesus and been baptized. And Father, I pray today that you'd open their hearts to what you have planned, the hope of heaven, if they would simply give their lives to you. We pray all this though in Jesus' name and we all said, amen. Revelation chapter 21, starting in verse one, what the apostle John does, remember he's on the island of Patmos, he's been given a vision from Jesus. He's gonna describe what heaven is like

and he starts this way. He says, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. This is critically important. John tells us that there's gonna be a new heaven and a new earth, which means there's an old heaven and an old earth that are going to pass away. Let me just say it clearly. I'm preaching this message from the old earth and if you pass away before Jesus comes back, you go to the old heaven. But we're told right up front, there's a new heaven and a new earth that God creates when Jesus comes back and all followers of Jesus are gathered at this new heaven and this new earth because the old heaven and the new earth are gone. Now you need to lean in on this next part because this is huge. Verse two, I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, say the next two words out loud with me, what? Coming down. Say it one more time, coming down. Coming down from where? Coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Now John's describing that when the old heaven and the old earth pass away, this new heaven's gonna come out of heaven where?

Down here to us. And he goes on and he says this, he says, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, God's dwelling place is no longer out there, it's with us here on this earth among the people and he will dwell with them. So let me show you verse two one more time. This is one of the biggest misunderstandings about heaven. Heaven is coming where? Coming down, it's coming down. So here's surprise number one, I'm gonna give you three surprises about heaven today. Surprise number one, heaven isn't up there, it's coming down here. Some of you are like, what? I thought when we died, we just went up in the cloud somewhere. No, no, no, when Jesus comes back again and he creates a new heaven and a new earth, heaven comes down here to us and there's a new earth created and heaven is combined with this new earth in a miraculous way we probably can't even fathom right now but that's what happened. What is God doing? Watch this, God's recreating Eden. Remember at the beginning of the year, we started in the book of Genesis, we said we're gonna go from Genesis and then we're gonna jump to Revelation.

One of the reasons I wanted to do that is I wanted to show you in Genesis that God created paradise here on this earth and when we took the fruit, when we sin entered this world, we now got kicked out of Eden, paradise and we live in a sinful world but one day there'll be a day where Jesus comes back and there will be no more sin, no more pain and there's a new heaven, a new earth but it doesn't come, we don't go up there, God brings heaven down to here. You need to understand this and even 2 Peter 3 confirms this. Watch this, 2 Peter 3, 13. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness will dwell. God will dwell with us. And people ask me all the time, what will heaven be like? My answer is, it's a whole lot like this earth right now with no more pain, no more sin, it is perfect, it's paradise. And we know that because watch this, verse four, John goes on to tell us that in this new heaven and new earth, he will wipe every tear from their eyes. That is one of the most powerful and important passages of scripture for you to understand.

That there's a day coming where every bit of pain and anxiety, abuse you've experienced, all the suffering, the tears you have shed, you will never shed another tear. Why? Because there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things is passed away, it's done. And then John says this, he who is seated on the throne. and said, I am making everything new. That's beautiful. Everything will be brand new or be paradise. And then he said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true, not Hollywood's version of heaven, these words. So what will the new heaven and new earth be like? And again, I'm trying to describe the undescribable, but I'm gonna do my very best today. What's the new heaven and new earth gonna be like? Well, think about it. Imagine the most beautiful place you have ever been on planet earth and then times it by a million. I think God gives us glimpses of heaven on this earth. And it creates a longing in us for something more than we're experiencing on this earth. You know, sometimes you go on vacation to a beautiful place or to an epic area and you don't wanna leave, but you gotta come back home.

Well, one day there'll be a time where you never leave. It's that beautiful and epic. And if God is recreating this earth to be paradise, to be perfect, don't you think chances are pretty good a lot of what you enjoy on earth today, you will have infinitely better in the new heaven and new earth that God's creating? Let me give you some examples. And this is where my mind goes. For those of you that love golf, and I can't prove this, but I think God is gonna create some of the most beautiful golf courses you could ever fathom in the new heaven and new earth, and there's no green fees. And all the golfers said, amen, right? Some guy just perked up, he's like, what are you saying? Yeah, you gotta be listening, man. But I love golf, some of you know that. I grew up until seventh grade in a little town of 1,000 people that's near the border of Mexico and Arizona called Wilcox, Arizona. And I grew up playing golf on maybe one of the worst golf courses in Arizona or the world. It's called Twin Lakes. This is a picture of the golf course. If you could see the course, it's more dirt than it is grass. It may be better now, but it was a goat track. I mean, it was bad, and this is all we did. We just played this over and over again, but it was bad. Now, the most beautiful golf course that I think I've seen, or it's one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world,

I think is Pebble Beach. And if you've never seen Pebble Beach, it's just an epic, epic place in Northern California on the coast. And I just think this area of our world is epically beautiful. And here's what I think. I think there's coming a day in the new heaven and new earth where God is gonna create golf courses for golfers that love golf that will make Pebble Beach look like Twin Lakes. Some of you are like, well, I'm not a golfer. That doesn't do it for me. Okay, imagine you love gardening. Imagine you love the outdoors. Could you imagine the Garden of Eden? Could you imagine? I mean, just picture this. Picture wherever you think is the most beautiful place on earth. Picture Lake Como in Italy. Picture Banff in Canada. Picture the Maldives or the beaches of Maui, if you love the beach. Picture the Swiss Alps and the majestic majesty you see looking at that. And then imagine a place, the new heaven and the new earth, where these places are average. That's what God is creating. We have the seven wonders of the world.

Imagine the seven trillion wonders of the world. And you have eternity to explore all them. This is what God is creating with the new heaven and the new earth. It's better than you could imagine. And think about all the things you enjoy on earth today. Some of us, like, we don't have a picture of heaven because we think, well, I'm not gonna enjoy the things I enjoy on earth. Why wouldn't you if it's a new heaven and a new earth? Why wouldn't there be things you enjoy? Like, how many of you love coffee out there? You love coffee? And some of you are like, is there coffee in heaven? You know, you're like shaking. Why wouldn't there be? In Eden, if there's trees and plants, why wouldn't there be coffee beans and you're gonna be able to taste coffee from places you can't even imagine that are 10 times better than anything you've had to hear? No bad coffee in heaven. Some of you are like, well, are there pets in heaven? Because I love my pet. You know, is Sparky gonna be there? And you know, I've talked about this in the past. You already know about cats, right, in heaven. I've actually told you, Isaiah 65 says, there will be animals in heaven. Did you know that?

I mean, it's a new heaven and new earth. There's animals here on this earth. Why wouldn't there be, in the perfect heaven and earth, why wouldn't there be animals? Now, will there be cats? I think there will be. I think God will just supernaturally, because there's no sin, there's no pain, so God will supernaturally strip away the evil sinfulness in cats. And I think I could potentially have a cat if they weren't evil. anymore, you know? So I don't know. But I just, like God has so much good in store for you. And we have such a limited view of what he might do, but it's a perfect new heaven and new earth combined. It's amazing. We'll be married in heaven. My greatest joy on this earth is actually spending time with my wife, Jamie. I love her more than I can ever, ever describe. Matthew 22, Jesus tells us there will not be marriage in heaven. And some of us, that like disappoints us, but just keep in mind the goodness of God. Did you know with our new bodies that were given in heaven, do you know we will recognize each other? We know that from scripture because the disciples recognize Jesus' resurrected body.

And in Luke chapter 16, there's a story about a rich man who peers up into heaven and sees Lazarus and he recognizes Jesus. He sees Lazarus and he recognizes Lazarus in heaven. So when we get to heaven, the new heaven and the new earth that's created, we will recognize each other, our resurrected bodies. And who's to say we can't have a special relationship with someone we recognize? I'm planning on having a relationship with Jamie. And she's gonna, I don't know if she's planning on it with me, but I'm planning on it with you, Jamie. You know, it's like a mansion, it's gonna be awesome. Some of you are like, is there sex in heaven? Ask your parents, okay? This isn't to be weird, so don't let your mind go crazy, but I want you to just think with me deeply. If God created these imperfect bodies we have today, right now on this imperfect, sinful earth, and God created our bodies to experience all sorts of sensations and pleasures, why would you ever think in heaven that it wouldn't be exponentially more with our new perfect bodies? Do you know what I'm saying? We have such a limited view. Some people think like, some people say something like this, like, I'm gonna be so bored in heaven. If you think that, you have no idea what heaven is gonna be like.

It is going to be the most perfect, beautiful, amazing, stupendous, like I have no words to describe what it's gonna be like. And if you could understand it, you'd have your mind set more on heaven, which is a problem for some of us. Because when you study history, the Christians who had the greatest impact in this world were the ones that had their focus on heaven, not this world. C.S. Lewis put it this way. He said, if you focus on heaven, you get earth thrown in, but if you focus on earth, you miss both. And some of us just need a better picture of what heaven is really like, and it's better than you could ever think. In fact, 1 Corinthians 2.9, this is what the scriptures mean when they say, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind could imagine what God has prepared for those who love him. Does that get anybody else fired up about heaven? Is it just me? Like, could you imagine how good it's gonna be? So that's surprise number one, right? Heaven doesn't, we don't go up there. It comes down here, and it's gonna be amazing. Here's surprise number two. Heaven is bigger and more beautiful than you can fathom.

In Revelation chapter 21, verse 15, it says, this is John, it says, the angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. And so if you read Revelation chapter 21 and 22, and I encourage you to do it this week, what is amazing is John measures heaven. We get a measurement of heaven. And I'll just give you the summary, you ready? The summary is the length and the width and the height of heaven is 1,500 miles each. Let me give you a picture of what that looks like. That's from Canada to Arizona, or from Canada to Mexico, and then from Arizona to the Carolinas. But that's just the length and the width. But the height is 1,500 miles as well. So most theologians believe with the height, there could be 600,000 stories in heaven. You're like, then you need a good elevator system, right? No, we won't, because it's our resurrected bodies. A resurrection happens immediately. You can just be there. If you do the math on this massive, massive, massive city that God's bringing down to create a new heaven and a new earth, there's room for billions and billions of people. There's ample room. There's room for you if you follow Jesus. Heaven is huge. It's big, and could you imagine all the room there is

for lakes and fountains and gardens and beauty beyond what we could ever imagine, and we have eternity to explore and enjoy. The beauty of heaven. See, it's not just bigger than you think, it's more beautiful than you can fathom. And John tries to put human words to something that would be impossible to describe what God has planned for us. But John does his best, Revelation 21, 18, he says, the walls are made of jasper, the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The most beautiful things you've ever seen in this world, heaven's gonna blow that away. In fact, gold, the whole city's made of gold, and gold is so common, the streets are paved with gold. Imagine that. And then he goes on to just describe over and over again just how beautiful this place is. So surprise number two is it's bigger and more beautiful than you can fathom, but here's surprise number three, and this is what someone needs to hear today. Surprise number three is the pain you carry here will not follow you there. You may have heard that there is no pain, there's no death, there's no suffering, there's nothing bad in heaven. You may have heard that before,

and you might say, that's not really a surprise to me, but let me tell you where it could be a surprise. A lot of us know it intellectually, but it's never sunk into our heart where we're experiencing it personally. I'll just use myself as an example. Sometimes when you're in the midst of pain, you're in the midst of pain, and sometimes when you're in the midst of pain, you can know something intellectually, but not experience it personally. And when you're here on this earth, there's sometimes pain that you think is never gonna go away, and it just continues over and over again. And I'll just use myself as an example, and I've shared with you over the years just things our family's been through, even the past couple years. Some of them I've shared with you, some of them I haven't. Some of you know that a few years ago, my wife Jamie was diagnosed with cancer, one of the most painful things we tried to walk through, and even today, we wrestle with the uncertainty of what that looks like in the future. What I haven't told you is that last year, my dad was diagnosed with dementia, and it has been so destructive on our family that I can't even describe it. You know that when God's moving in a church like CCV,

Satan will come against it, and there's all sorts of things that happen that are hard, and it's hard on me, and you just have my commitment that I will lead with integrity and humility to always point our church to Jesus no matter what Satan brings against us. He doesn't stand a chance. Doesn't stand a chance. But there's other pain, there's other pain we experience. I mean, I told you a few weeks back that I lost a deep friend. I went and did his funeral, and it was a great celebration, but it's still hard. And then last week, we have a cousin that lives in Kansas City that I love so much, and she took her own life in the worst possible way you could imagine. And now, I will fly to Kansas City, and I will do that memorial, which that is one of the hardest things you will ever do in life. And that pain I've got right now, that doesn't compare to what some of you are in the middle of right now. And so, you must know and let it sink into your heart. This guy's, the pain that you carry here, it will not be there. In fact, if you have Jesus, he can bring a little heaven to earth

and help you deal with your pain here. But remember, Revelation chapter 21, verse four tells us, he will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be, say it out loud, no more. There will be no more. And the list of no mores that you don't have to carry with you from this world into heaven is infinite. Can I just give you a little list today? There will be no more cemeteries, no more cancer or crime that steals innocents and shatters lives. There's no more depression or anxiety that cripples your days. There's no more suicide, no more corruption, addictions, drunk drivers, or dementia. There's no more divorce, deception, lying, or hate. There's no more heart attacks, heat strokes, homelessness. There's no more mammograms, knee replacements, colonoscopies, or kidney stones, amen? There's none of that. There's no more, come on, yeah, there's no more infertility. There's no more miscarriages. There's no more nursing homes or nuclear threats. There's no more greed, gossip against you, isolation, loneliness. There's no more prisons, poverty, performance reviews, or any political party needed. Come on, somebody. Yeah.

out. There's no more root canals. There's no more racism. There's no more road rage or regret. There's no more lust, shame, hurt, ever feeling broken again. There's no more unwanted children, unloved spouses, or a single unmet need in your life. There's no more Zoom calls. There's no more Zyrtec or Xanax. There's no more worry ever. And I can just hear God in all of his power and tenderness whispering to someone today, what I create in this new heaven and new earth. Every wounded heart today, I am creating everything new. I will redeem everything that was lost. I will restore everything that was broken. Which means the person on one of our campuses right now who spent a lifetime in a wheelchair or struggling to walk, do you understand in heaven you will run and jump with unending joy. The person today that is deaf and you are listening to this service with sign language or even closed captioning or the person who's blind, you can hear this but you cannot see the colors of the rainbow. You've never seen a flower or the blue sky. Do you understand in heaven every deaf person will hear the beauty they missed on this earth and every blind person will see all the majesty of God. For every person here who hasn't had a full night's sleep in years because of fear, anxiety, or abuse in heaven, there's no more restless nights. There's just peace. And for the person battling cancer or watching someone around you fade away with their illness, in heaven there's no more bad news. There's no more treatments. There's no more from doctors, we're not sure what to do. There's only life to the fullest, fully and forever. And for the person here who spent a lifetime being overlooked, lonely, you feel empty inside. In heaven you are fully seen, fully known, fully loved, more than you can ever imagine. And for the person here carrying regret, you look back on your life, there's so many things you want to do differently, you want to undo. God says, I redeem even that. And in heaven you will have no shame. It is gone. And for the person here who's been searching for love your whole entire life, in all the wrong places, you've searched for love in relationships and success and approval and things that never quite satisfied, in heaven you will find love to its fullest. Not a temporary love, not a fragile love, not a conditional love that comes and goes, a perfect love because you will be in the presence of love himself, his name is Jesus. That's what you'll experience. Hey, you know in your life, you know that peace that you're always searching for that's just out of grasp? You know that joy that you get every once in a while but it just disappears like it happens on a vacation or a tender moment and then it's gone. In heaven it's all fulfilled and forever. It never goes away. And the question I have for someone here today is,

does anybody want a place like that? Does anybody want a place like that? Because that's what I want. The question is, will you have the hope of that? Like if you died today, are you confident that you would have the hope of heaven? Because it's that good. Revelation ends in chapter 22 verse 12 and Jesus says, look I'm coming soon. He says it over and over again. Some of you need to wake up. He's coming and he says, my reward, everything we've talked about today, the reward of heaven, the new heaven and new earth, I will give to each person according what they've done. And you're like, have I done enough? Like have I done enough on this earth to get heaven? Well there's another man who died and went to heaven and St. Peter is at the pearly gates and he says, hey to get into heaven you need a thousand cumulative points on earth. So let's start counting your points on earth. Let's add it up. And the guy starts. He goes, well, I mean, so I was faithful to my wife of 50 years. Peter goes, awesome. Three points. Three points? Are you kidding me? He goes on. He goes, but I went to church like every weekend. He was like, awesome, two points. But I went to CCV. Oh, you should have said so, man. Two and a half points now. But I served every weekend, and I served in my community, and I gave generously to my church and to people, and I took care of my kids, and I worked hard, and I did so many good things. And Peter goes, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. Five more points. The guy throws his hands in the air. He says, this is ridiculous. I will never get into heaven unless it's by the grace of God and the power of Jesus's forgiveness on the cross. And Peter looks at him and says, bingo, come on in. Let me remind someone here today, your good works will never get you into heaven.

Scripture says we are all sinners, me included. And the only people that get into heaven are not good people, they're forgiven people, that have given their lives to a Savior that can cover their sin by his sacrifice on the cross. It's talking about Jesus Christ who went to a cross to die for you. So you need the shed blood of Jesus to cover your sin and make you whole and righteous in God's sight. It's not your good works. In fact, Revelation goes on to say this in verse 22, verse 14. Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. He's talking about heaven. Watch what he says. He says, you wanna go through the gates of heaven? Remember the tree of life in Genesis? We took the fruit and we sinned. Well, when God recreates heaven, there's a tree of life right in the center that we have forever. And how do you get it? Only by being washed. You wash your robes. You are clean only by the blood of Jesus, period. Have you given your life to Jesus, accepted his forgiveness,

repented of your sins, and gone into the water of baptism to draw a line in the sand and say, I'm going all in with Jesus? If you've never taken that step, I think this weekend is a great step to take it. What are you waiting for? At the end of our service, we're gonna have a prayer team at the front of every service. You can come pray with them. Let them serve you. If you're in pain today, come have someone pray with you. And if you're a Christian here today, let me challenge you with this. Your mind needs to be more focused on heaven if you ever wanna live the life God has for you on this earth. Some of you are living way too much for this earth, and it is temporary and passing away, and the new heaven and new earth is going to blow your mind. If you're not a follower of Jesus here today, listen to me. You are not guaranteed tomorrow, but you have today to be washed clean by the blood of Jesus. It's free. You don't earn it.

And God is asking you today to take a step of faith. So as we wrap up this Revelation series, anybody else feel like God's spoken to you in this series? It's been so good on so many, so many, so many places, but let me take you back to the very beginning, Revelation chapter one. Here's what we're told. Verse three, blessed is the one who reads aloud these words of this prophecy. It's what we've been doing in this series. And blessed are those who hear it and take it to heart what's written in it. In other words, they do something with it. You're not blessed by just hearing it. You're blessed when you take a step of faith, a step of faith, because the time is near. God, I wanna pray for every person here that needs to take a step of faith. We're not blessed by just coming to church and hearing your word preached. We're blessed when we take it and we do something with it, we apply it to our lives. So for the person here who is in pain, remind them that there's a day coming when there is no more pain. And God, for the person here today that doesn't have Jesus, they've never given their lives to Jesus in faith and taken a step of faith to be baptized. God, would you give them the courage

to take that step today so they don't miss out on the greatest gift you wanna give them, being forgiven, clean, and having the hope of heaven. We pray all this in Jesus' name. We've all said amen, amen. Hey, Easter's coming in two weeks. Talk about heaven. We're gonna celebrate. Make sure you're inviting people now. We'll see you next week, everybody.