5 Surprises You will Discover in Heaven: Surprise #4 The Activity of Heaven
Surprise #4 The Activity of Heaven
Review:
Surprise #1: The Nature of Heaven: A Renewed, Recreated, resurrected, Redeemed Earth! Heaven and Earth are One!
Surprise #2: The People of Heaven:
1. We will still be the same person in Heaven...having our own personality!
2. We will still be physical...having bodies...although perfected (free from sickness)
3. We will still be limited...having expanded capacities, but still limited.
4. We will still be made in the Image of God with out the curse! Having Creative capacity!
5. We will be Freed Forever from Sin and the Curse!
Surprise #3: The Relationships of Heaven
1. Will be Rich
2. Will be Pure
The Activity of Heaven
What will we do with all that time?
1. There will be at least 5 types of Activity in Heaven.
A. Worship -- Check out Revelation 5 and the complete Soul Satisfying Worship of God!
B. Learning -- Again we are not Omni-Anything!
C. Fellowship -- Rich, Deep, and Pure!
D. Rest and Pleasure -- God instituted this in Genesis when He rested on the 7th Day...and it wasn't because He got tired! Also, everything that is created was originally for our good and enjoyment.
E. Work/Labor/Service
Lets focus on the Work/Labor/Service!
Heaven, I imagine will be a Bee Hive of activity! It will be God directed, Soul Satisfying, and God Honoring! As well as Deeply Fulfilling! Can you imagine you Job without sin?!
2. What is the Biblical evidence for Work/Labor/Service in Heaven?
Work was before the Fall! Genesis 1:28-31, God tells Adam and Eve to fill, Subdue, and Reign over the Earth and all that is on it! These are Work Words!
Work was not a punishment for the first sin. The curse was to frustrate our work! We were originally designed to work!
Revelation 5:9-10
"And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."
God's people are a Kingdom and Priests! They will Reign on the Earth!
The Word Reign implies -- Activity, Order, Society...We have been Redeemed to Reign!
Revelation 7:13-15 and 22:3-4
"Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?' I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.'"
and
"No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."
We will be serving God Day and Night!!!
Revelation 21:22-26
"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations."
Kings...there will be Kings! Kings also imply Society and Culture! We will most definitely be in Active Service of the King of Kings!
Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Talents
"For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
Vs. 21 Says, "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; go and take your rest.'"
???????????????????????????????????
Did that get your attention?
Vs. 21 Says, "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'"
I will put you in Charge of much! Those are workin' words if I have ever heard them!
For those who would say that this is just a parable and that we can't read into it that much...
It is repeated in Luke 16 and Luke 19
In Luke 16:10-13, Jesus is no longer in Parable mode, He has gone into Teaching Mode.
"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
If we are Faithful on Earth with the little that we are given, we will be intrusted with much more in Heaven!
Use what you have Well, it is only on Loan!!!
Life on Earth is Training for Life in Heaven!!!
It doesn't matter where you are called to serve! Whether it be in business or in ministry. What matters is Serving Well!!!
So how does this sound to you? Are you excited for Heaven? Completely fun and fulfilling work?
Well, Some who read this will not be going to Heaven!
Awe...Dave, why do you have to be such a downer, I was getting excited?
Well,
Matthew 25:34-40
The Final Judgment
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
And 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Take another look at that list...it is a sobering list! We all fall in that list somewhere!
Some wont go to Heaven!
Here is how you can know for sure that you will go!
Romans 3:23
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Have you ever lied? Stolen anything? Disobeyed your parents or anyone in authority over you? Broke the Law? Looked at another in Lust?
If you say yes, You've sinned! If you say No, You have just lied, and sinned...so lets move on!
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
We earn death by sinning, but God offers us a FREE Gift...Eternal life in Christ Jesus!
Romans 5:8
"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
The debt we owed because of our sin was paid by God, in having Christ died in our place!
Romans 10:9-10
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
Self explanatory!
Romans 5:1
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Our Faith in Christ Jesus, that He is our only Hope of Salvation is what gives us peace with God.
Romans 8:1-2
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
And when we have peace with God, we no longer stand condemned!
Romans 8:38-39
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
And nothing can take away what we have received through Christ Jesus!
John 14:6
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
This is it...there is only one way! If you want to enjoy Heaven...Christ must be your only hope at attaining Eternal Life.
We cannot earn it...it is a FREE Gift offered by Christ...and you must accept that gift to go to Heaven!
The Final Surprise...Tomorrow!
In Christ,
David
Review:
Surprise #1: The Nature of Heaven: A Renewed, Recreated, resurrected, Redeemed Earth! Heaven and Earth are One!
Surprise #2: The People of Heaven:
1. We will still be the same person in Heaven...having our own personality!
2. We will still be physical...having bodies...although perfected (free from sickness)
3. We will still be limited...having expanded capacities, but still limited.
4. We will still be made in the Image of God with out the curse! Having Creative capacity!
5. We will be Freed Forever from Sin and the Curse!
Surprise #3: The Relationships of Heaven
1. Will be Rich
2. Will be Pure
The Activity of Heaven
What will we do with all that time?
1. There will be at least 5 types of Activity in Heaven.
A. Worship -- Check out Revelation 5 and the complete Soul Satisfying Worship of God!
B. Learning -- Again we are not Omni-Anything!
C. Fellowship -- Rich, Deep, and Pure!
D. Rest and Pleasure -- God instituted this in Genesis when He rested on the 7th Day...and it wasn't because He got tired! Also, everything that is created was originally for our good and enjoyment.
E. Work/Labor/Service
Lets focus on the Work/Labor/Service!
Heaven, I imagine will be a Bee Hive of activity! It will be God directed, Soul Satisfying, and God Honoring! As well as Deeply Fulfilling! Can you imagine you Job without sin?!
2. What is the Biblical evidence for Work/Labor/Service in Heaven?
Work was before the Fall! Genesis 1:28-31, God tells Adam and Eve to fill, Subdue, and Reign over the Earth and all that is on it! These are Work Words!
Work was not a punishment for the first sin. The curse was to frustrate our work! We were originally designed to work!
Revelation 5:9-10
"And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."
God's people are a Kingdom and Priests! They will Reign on the Earth!
The Word Reign implies -- Activity, Order, Society...We have been Redeemed to Reign!
Revelation 7:13-15 and 22:3-4
"Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?' I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.'"
and
"No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."
We will be serving God Day and Night!!!
Revelation 21:22-26
"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations."
Kings...there will be Kings! Kings also imply Society and Culture! We will most definitely be in Active Service of the King of Kings!
Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Talents
"For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
Vs. 21 Says, "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; go and take your rest.'"
???????????????????????????????????
Did that get your attention?
Vs. 21 Says, "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'"
I will put you in Charge of much! Those are workin' words if I have ever heard them!
For those who would say that this is just a parable and that we can't read into it that much...
It is repeated in Luke 16 and Luke 19
In Luke 16:10-13, Jesus is no longer in Parable mode, He has gone into Teaching Mode.
"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
If we are Faithful on Earth with the little that we are given, we will be intrusted with much more in Heaven!
Use what you have Well, it is only on Loan!!!
Life on Earth is Training for Life in Heaven!!!
It doesn't matter where you are called to serve! Whether it be in business or in ministry. What matters is Serving Well!!!
So how does this sound to you? Are you excited for Heaven? Completely fun and fulfilling work?
Well, Some who read this will not be going to Heaven!
Awe...Dave, why do you have to be such a downer, I was getting excited?
Well,
Matthew 25:34-40
The Final Judgment
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
And 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Take another look at that list...it is a sobering list! We all fall in that list somewhere!
Some wont go to Heaven!
Here is how you can know for sure that you will go!
Romans 3:23
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Have you ever lied? Stolen anything? Disobeyed your parents or anyone in authority over you? Broke the Law? Looked at another in Lust?
If you say yes, You've sinned! If you say No, You have just lied, and sinned...so lets move on!
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
We earn death by sinning, but God offers us a FREE Gift...Eternal life in Christ Jesus!
Romans 5:8
"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
The debt we owed because of our sin was paid by God, in having Christ died in our place!
Romans 10:9-10
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
Self explanatory!
Romans 5:1
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Our Faith in Christ Jesus, that He is our only Hope of Salvation is what gives us peace with God.
Romans 8:1-2
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
And when we have peace with God, we no longer stand condemned!
Romans 8:38-39
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
And nothing can take away what we have received through Christ Jesus!
John 14:6
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
This is it...there is only one way! If you want to enjoy Heaven...Christ must be your only hope at attaining Eternal Life.
We cannot earn it...it is a FREE Gift offered by Christ...and you must accept that gift to go to Heaven!
The Final Surprise...Tomorrow!
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 10:23 AM
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