Heaven: The Ultimate Destination of Love

• Heaven and Eternity [00:00:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that heaven is the end goal of Christianity, yet believers are disconnected from this reality, focusing instead on temporal matters like news and sports.
• Charity (Love) vs. Faith and Hope [00:05:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > Explains that in heaven, faith becomes sight and hope is realized, leaving only charity/love as the enduring attribute of God and the saints.
• Jonathan Edwards' Theology [00:01:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The sermon draws heavily on Edwards' 'Charity and Its Fruits' to describe heaven as an infinite fountain of divine love.
• The Church's Lack of Longing [00:11:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor critiques the congregation for lacking excitement for heaven, noting that only the elderly or sick seem eager to leave earth.
• The Nature of Heaven [00:12:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes heaven as a place without wickedness, temples, or night, illuminated by God's glory, where only the pure enter.
• Sanctification and Glorification [00:13:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > He explains that believers are made sons of God with an inheritance, and through Christ, they are cleansed and conformed to His image to enter heaven without sin.
• Christian Citizenship [00:15:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that believers' citizenship is already in heaven, urging them to live with that eternal perspective rather than dismissing heaven as irrelevant to the young.
• The Marriage Supper of the Lamb [00:17:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > He uses the metaphor of Christ as the bridegroom cleansing the church (the bride) to present her holy and without blemish.
• Continuity of Relationships [00:19:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > He asserts that true, godly love and relationships on earth are not lost but renewed and perfected in heaven.
• Absence of Sinful Emotions [00:22:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > He details how heaven will lack envy, pride, competition, and hatred, replaced by perfect love and benevolence.
• Heavenly Humility and Lack of Envy [00:24:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that those with the highest glory in heaven will have the greatest humility, eliminating envy or competition among the saints.
• Unhindered Worship and Love [00:26:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > Citing Jonathan Edwards, the pastor describes how heavenly love will be expressed freely without the hindrances of dullness, physical weight, or corruption found on earth.
• The Nature of Heavenly Peace vs. Earthly Turmoil [00:29:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > A contrast is drawn between the 'tempestuous sea' of earthly selfishness and envy and the 'haven of rest' in heaven, where perfect harmony and love reign.
• The Metaphor of the Flower and the Seed [00:37:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using 1 Peter 1:23, the pastor illustrates that believers are 'flowers' in heaven only if they possess the 'incorruptible seed' of the Word of God through being born again.
• Christian Direction and Aim [00:35:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that knowing the destination (heaven) is crucial for living the Christian life, using the analogy of aiming a gun to explain the need for clear spiritual direction.
• Regeneration and the Incorruptible Seed [00:37:47 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that being born again involves receiving an incorruptible seed (the Word of God) that grows into a flower of praise, contrasting it with the corruptible seed of Adam/the serpent.
• Heavenly Inheritance vs. Earthly Gratification [00:39:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > He argues that the purpose of being born again is to head to heaven, not to live a 'cool' life or finish a bucket list, using the prodigal son analogy to warn against demanding the inheritance now.
• Assurance of Salvation and Election [00:45:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > Citing 2 Peter 1:10, he urges listeners to make their calling and election sure, warning that mere church attendance or childhood religion is insufficient for heaven.
• The Reality of Hell [00:46:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > Quoting Jonathan Edwards, he describes hell as a place of absolute hatred, wrath, and mutual torment among the damned, serving as a stark warning for those unsure of their salvation.
• Hell and Divine Wrath [00:49:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes hell as a place of eternal torment, mutual hatred among the damned, and separation from God, contrasting it sharply with heaven.
• The Evil Nature of the World [00:53:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The speaker characterizes the current world as a place of pride, malice, contention, and selfishness, urging listeners not to find contentment in it.
• Heaven as the World of Love [00:56:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > Heaven is presented as the ultimate destination of peace, love, and rest, contrasting with the chaos of earth and hell.
• Practical Steps to Seek Heaven [00:57:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines five specific points for seeking heaven: rejecting worldly chief goods, meditating on heavenly things, enduring difficulties, fixing eyes on Jesus, and living a life of love.
• Eternal Inheritance and Joy [01:01:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes the future state of the blessed, free from hunger, thirst, and pain, where God wipes away tears and leads them to living waters.
• Sanctification and Conformity to Christ [01:03:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the process of believers being conformed to the image of Christ through the growth of the implanted seed of grace, leading to holiness.
• Assurance of Salvation [01:04:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor issues a call to those uncertain of their inheritance to seek help from pastors to receive the gift of salvation through belief in the Lamb of God.

• Sermon Illustration [00:05:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the hymn 'Sweet Hour of Prayer,' noting its lyric about dropping the 'robe of flesh' to seize the everlasting prize, using it to illustrate that prayer ceases in heaven because God is immediately present.
• Sermon Illustration [00:11:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor observes that excitement for heaven is rarely found in healthy, young Christians, but is common among the elderly in nursing homes or those who are sick in hospitals.
• Sermon Illustration [00:20:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references Jonathan Edwards' analogy that true goodness in the world tends toward heaven like streams tending to the ocean, and that Christian friends who have died are waiting to welcome us.
• Sermon Illustration [00:19:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > He mocks the modern cultural definition of love as 'love is love' as the 'most foolish thing' and 'least profound definition' he has ever heard.
• Sermon Illustration [00:22:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > He uses the analogy of going on vacation to escape earthly problems, noting that you eventually have to come back, whereas in heaven there is no remaining enmity or need to escape.
• Sermon Illustration [00:28:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > An anecdote about an evangelist asking the congregation to raise their hands if they want to go to heaven; one man in the front row hesitates, revealing he wants to stay to grow up, go to college, or buy a car first, highlighting a misplaced priority.
• Sermon Illustration [00:35:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy comparing the Christian life to aiming a gun: one cannot hit the target (live correctly) without knowing what they are aiming at (heaven/the gospel).
• Sermon Illustration [00:33:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy comparing saints in heaven to flowers in a garden opening their blossoms to the sun to receive light and warmth, symbolizing how souls receive and reflect God's love.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a seed growing into a flower to describe spiritual growth from regeneration to glorification. He also references the Prodigal Son to illustrate the error of wanting the heavenly inheritance immediately rather than waiting for heaven. Finally, he extensively quotes Jonathan Edwards' sermon 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' to depict the horrors of hell, describing it as a place where everyone hates God and each other.
• Sermon Illustration [00:54:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of the world being a 'wilderness of hissing serpents' and a 'tempestuous ocean where there is no quiet rest' to describe the chaotic and hostile nature of earthly life compared to the peace of heaven.
• Sermon Illustration [01:02:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the biblical imagery of the Lamb feeding the saints and leading them to living fountains of water, and God wiping away all tears, to illustrate the final state of blessedness in heaven.
• Sermon Illustration [01:03:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of a flower coming into full bud, open to the rays of God's love in his presence, to describe the believer's state when they see Him.

• Pastoral Charge [00:12:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > To become excited about heaven.
• Pastoral Charge [00:16:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > To understand and accept their citizenship in heaven.
• Pastoral Charge [00:27:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor urges the congregation to cultivate a genuine desire and hunger for heaven rather than treating it as a passive destination.
• Pastoral Charge [00:37:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor instructs the congregation to open their Bibles to a specific scripture to verify the biblical basis for being 'flowers in heaven'.
• Pastoral Charge [00:45:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > Actively verify and ensure the reality of one's salvation and election.
• Pastoral Charge [00:53:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > Flee to God for refuge immediately.
• Pastoral Charge [00:55:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > Apply heart and strength to store up heavenly treasure and pursue heaven.
• Pastoral Charge [00:56:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stop caring for worldly friendship and seek heaven.
• Pastoral Charge [00:57:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > Do not hate abusers; instead set heart on heaven and press toward it.
• Pastoral Charge [00:57:32 ▶️ 📄]
  > Do not pursue worldly things as chief good or indulge in earthly possessions for satisfaction.
• Pastoral Charge [00:58:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > Turn thoughts and affections toward heaven, God, and heavenly beings.
• Pastoral Charge [00:58:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > Commune with God in prayer and think often of heavenly realities.
• Pastoral Charge [00:59:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > Look to Jesus in His glory, example, mediation, intercession, and strength, and trust in His promises.
• Pastoral Charge [01:00:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > Live a life of love to God and men, cherishing the spirit of holy love.
• Pastoral Charge [01:02:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > Set mind on Christ and God; get excited about His work and heavenly inheritance.
• Pastoral Charge [01:03:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > Walk in faith, holiness, love, peace, and joy to be conformed to Christ's image.
• Pastoral Charge [01:04:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > Those uncertain of their salvation are instructed to approach the pastors for assistance in receiving the gift of salvation.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] A simple observation. You know, this thing called Christianity. As I understand it, the end goal is heaven. Isn't that right? Isn't that what it's all about?
[00:00:12] But, you know, I don't hear us talking a lot about heaven. We're talking about the football game, we're talking about, you know, what's in the movies, what's in the news, but we don't seem to talk that much about heaven.
[00:00:25] And, by the way, how long are we going to be in heaven, according to the Bible? That's pretty long, isn't it?
[00:00:33] and our life compared to eternity is just a vapor, it would seem that if we really believed the Bible and that what Christianity is really all about is going to heaven for eternity, there would be more a part of our mind and discussion.
[00:00:52] There seems to be a great disconnect.
[00:00:54] Well, this last message in our series in 1 Corinthians 13 is going to talk about that.
[00:00:59] Heaven, a world of charity or a world of love.
[00:01:03] As I've been telling you, these messages have been heavily influenced by Jonathan Edwards' book, Charity and Its Fruits.
[00:01:12] And basically, this last chapter of his book, I'm going to be drawing on heavily today.
[00:01:18] And yes, much to the chagrin of some, I'm going to do some reading.
[00:01:22] And so, I know that a lot of people don't like it when I read that much.
[00:01:26] But, you know, I haven't yet seen a great awakening happen just yet under my ministry.
[00:01:33] Pastor Andy and I are praying for that.
[00:01:35] But the man who did see it, Jonathan Edwards, wrote on this subject of heaven, a world of love, so wonderfully, so eloquently, that I think I would do you a disservice by not reading at length some of his selections within my sermon today.
[00:01:54] So at the risk of you all leaving and saying, boy, that was a boring one from Pastor Joseph, I know that we only have so much time.
[00:02:04] Some of you have purchased the book, Taken My Advice, Charity and Its Fruits, or found it online for free.
[00:02:10] It's an excellent work.
[00:02:12] But I know realistically most of you will never read it.
[00:02:15] And so I would rather you get some of this last wonderful chapter, rich teaching.
[00:02:22] And by the way, these messages that form the book, Charity and Its Fruits of Jonathan, were preached in 1738.
[00:02:28] So you'll be hearing extracts from a sermon from 1738 from Jonathan Edwards as we preach this subject, Heaven, a World of Charity.
[00:02:39] One last time, let's now read 1 Corinthians 13.
[00:02:43] Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity, I am become as a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
[00:02:53] And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
[00:03:03] And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
[00:03:12] Charity suffereth long and is kind.
[00:03:14] Charity envieth not.
[00:03:15] Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
[00:03:32] all things, charity never faileth. But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part
[00:03:49] shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass
[00:04:01] darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.
[00:04:10] And now abideth faith, hope, and charity. These three, but the greatest of these is charity or love. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, help us now as we ponder that glorious world of charity in your very presence where those are spiritual forefathers are already residing in the presence
[00:04:31] of your love.
[00:04:32] May we now enter in by faith into that very presence.
[00:04:35] May your spirit come and work in us to preach and to hear what you would have us to know about this glorious place that your son has gone to prepare for us who've been born again
[00:04:48] and are your children by grace, through faith in his blood.
[00:04:52] In Christ's name we thank you.
[00:04:53] Amen.
[00:04:54] This idea of love, the Bible is teaching here in 1 Corinthians 13 about the nature of true love.
[00:05:06] True love is from God.
[00:05:08] God is love, the word charity or agape in the Greek.
[00:05:12] And we've talked for these many months now, has been interrupted by different things, but many months we've been in 1 Corinthians 13.
[00:05:18] What is love?
[00:05:20] What is it?
[00:05:20] What is it not?
[00:05:21] It's very important.
[00:05:22] Remember we talked about it's being described by verbal forms.
[00:05:26] what it is and what it is not.
[00:05:28] And then here at the end of the section, it says, and of all of these other things, faith and hope, all of these things, as we sung Sweet Hour of Prayer, that last verse, says, you know,
[00:05:39] this veil of, this robe of flesh, I'll drop and rise and seize the everlasting prize and shout while passing through the air, farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer.
[00:05:54] Why are you saying goodbye to prayer?
[00:05:56] Because when you get to heaven, you won't need to pray.
[00:05:59] He'll be right there.
[00:06:00] Faith will be sight.
[00:06:01] And that's what we're looking to.
[00:06:03] So God, love, he is love, is the fountain of all salvation for God.
[00:06:09] So love the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
[00:06:14] And so love is the root of salvation and of Christianity.
[00:06:18] But love is also the fruit, the end point.
[00:06:22] Because at the end of our chapter it says, Now abideth these three, faith, hope, and charity, or love.
[00:06:31] These three, but the greatest of these is charity.
[00:06:33] So in heaven, really the only thing left as we preached last week is going to be love.
[00:06:37] There's no room for faith anymore because faith has become sight.
[00:06:40] There's no room for hope anymore because we've already seen what we hoped for.
[00:06:43] There's no room for prayer because all of our prayers have now been answered.
[00:06:46] And now we're in the presence of love himself in God in heaven.
[00:06:51] It's a wonderful and beautiful thing.
[00:06:53] And so this is what we have from Jonathan Edwards on this subject.
[00:06:58] And again, bear with me.
[00:07:00] Try to pay attention.
[00:07:02] I know that reading is not as engaging as me, as someone said, waving my arms and yelling and everything.
[00:07:09] But please try to be blessed by a preacher who's already experiencing that love, who was blessed with much more success than I have in the gospel ministry.
[00:07:21] And so he says on this subject, In heaven dwells the God from whom every stream of holy love, yea, every drop that is or ever was, proceeds.
[00:07:33] There dwells God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, united as one in infinitely dear and incomprehensible and mutual eternal love.
[00:07:43] There dwells God the Father, who is the Father of mercies and so the Father of love, who so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son to die for it.
[00:07:52] There dwells Christ, the Lamb of God, the Prince of peace and love, who so loved the world that He shed His blood and poured out His soul unto death for men.
[00:08:01] There dwells the great Mediator, through whom all the divine love is expressed toward men and by whom the fruits of that love have been purchased and through whom they are communicated and through whom love is imparted to the hearts of all God's people.
[00:08:17] There dwells Christ in both his natures, human and divine, sitting on the same throne with the Father, and there dwells the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of divine love, in whom the very essence of God, as it were, flows out and is breathed forth in love,
[00:08:34] and by whose immediate influence all holy love is shed abroad in the hearts of all the saints on earth and in heaven.
[00:08:42] There in heaven, this infinite fountain of love, This eternal three-in-one is set open without any obstacle to hinder access to it.
[00:08:52] It flows forever.
[00:08:54] There the glorious God is manifested and shines forth in full glory in beams of love.
[00:09:01] And there this glorious fountain forever flows forth in streams, yea, in rivers of love and delight.
[00:09:08] and these rivers swell, as it were, to an ocean of love in which the souls of the ransomed may bathe with the sweetest enjoyment and their hearts, as it were, deluged with God's love.
[00:09:26] I wouldn't have preached it just that way.
[00:09:28] You see why I read it for you?
[00:09:31] Praise God, amen, for Jonathan Edwards.
[00:09:34] Notice, in heaven, there is nothing that is unlovely.
[00:09:37] There is nothing that is wicked or bad or that offends or in any sense grotesque in the sense Revelation chapter 21 gives us an insight.
[00:09:49] We don't have a lot of pictures of heaven in the Bible, but Revelation certainly gives us some clues and some instruction.
[00:09:57] In the first eight verses of Revelation 21, I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
[00:10:01] For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea.
[00:10:05] And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
[00:10:13] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them,
[00:10:25] and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
[00:10:31] And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away and he that sat upon the throne said behold I make all things new
[00:10:42] and he said unto me write for these words are true and faithful and he said unto me it is done I am Alpha and Omega remember the root and the fruit the beginning and the end
[00:10:53] I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely he that overcometh shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my son
[00:11:03] But the fearful and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
[00:11:20] Heaven's going to be a beautiful place.
[00:11:22] It says, actually, though, it says, who is a thirst for the fountain of the water of life?
[00:11:26] I'm really concerned because most Christians I see don't seem to hunger and thirst for heaven.
[00:11:32] Oh, yes, Pastor Joseph, I hunger and thirst for righteousness.
[00:11:35] Yeah, but if you do, where can it be found most preeminently and perfectly?
[00:11:38] In heaven.
[00:11:39] But the only place I find people that are excited about heaven is in the nursing home.
[00:11:44] Or in the hospital.
[00:11:46] When they're 80, 90 years old and they're just, oh, they're in such a bad way.
[00:11:50] And if they're Christians, then they want to go to heaven.
[00:11:54] Very seldom do I ever find any Christian anywhere who's excited about heaven unless they're old and sick.
[00:12:02] Or young and sick and think they're getting ready to die.
[00:12:05] Is there something wrong with that?
[00:12:07] If you're not excited about heaven, why do you want to go?
[00:12:12] Why become a Christian in the first place?
[00:12:16] Isn't the end of Christianity heaven?
[00:12:19] So we need to get excited about heaven.
[00:12:21] We need to understand that all of the wickedness that gives us troubles and trials will have no place in heaven.
[00:12:27] A little further in the chapter, just a few more verses of insight, Revelation chapter 21, verses 22 through 27.
[00:12:34] And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
[00:12:41] 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.
[00:12:48] And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it.
[00:12:51] And the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.
[00:12:55] And the gates of it shall not be shut all day by day, for there shall be no night there.
[00:13:01] And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
[00:13:05] And look at verse 27, and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
[00:13:18] Only things that are lovely, only things that are pure, only things that are, then you might say, well, Pastor Joseph, maybe I'm not good enough to go.
[00:13:27] Well, praise God, if you know Christ, there is an answer even for that.
[00:13:31] In 1 John chapter 3, we see the apostle answering this issue.
[00:13:36] Verse 1, behold, 1 John chapter 3, verse 1, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God, being born again.
[00:13:45] We're put in of our sins, put in our faith in Christ.
[00:13:47] And he doesn't just make us his servants or his employees.
[00:13:50] He makes us his sons, and sons in particular.
[00:13:54] What about daughters?
[00:13:55] Isn't he like the daughters?
[00:13:57] Sons, because the sons have inheritance.
[00:13:59] This is for male and female, but the issue is because of the inheritance.
[00:14:03] We have a full inheritance as a child of God, yes?
[00:14:06] And behold now, verse 3, the manner.
[00:14:09] Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
[00:14:14] Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
[00:14:18] Beloved, now are we the sons of God.
[00:14:21] But you say, yeah, but pastor, I'm not perfect.
[00:14:25] I thought nothing perfect can go into heaven.
[00:14:27] Well, look what's going to happen if you are born again.
[00:14:29] Beloved, verse 2, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
[00:14:43] Praise God.
[00:14:45] We are being conformed to the image of Christ, and then when we see him, glorification, we become like him without sin, without even the history or knowledge of sin or the impulse or the temptation and forever with the Lord
[00:14:58] in perfect love and righteousness and holiness.
[00:15:02] Praise God.
[00:15:03] Also, we find in Philippians, the Apostle Paul addresses this in chapter 3, verse 20 and 21.
[00:15:12] He says there about being conformed to that image of Christ.
[00:15:18] Philippians 3, verse 20.
[00:15:20] For our conversation is in heaven.
[00:15:23] Conversation, our citizenship, our life.
[00:15:25] If you're truly born again, we're already there Ephesians chapter 2 says we who were dead in sins and trespasses he has made alive together in Christ Ephesians chapter 2 verse 5 and verse 6 and hath raised us up and made us
[00:15:40] to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus if you're born again the Bible says you already have a placeholder in heaven it even says that we're in heaven it says we're to lay up our treasures in
[00:15:49] heaven that our life is to be hid in God and found in Christ in heaven and that our citizenship is in heaven. But if we don't ever talk about heaven or think about heaven, or this is just, ah, he's
[00:16:00] preaching to old people now, are you really going to go? And I have to say, you, whoever's watching, I doubt it. I doubt it. If you're not the least bit interested in heaven, you say, well, I'm young.
[00:16:13] I don't care. Young people die too. The Lord comes back. He's not going to say, oh, only old people now I'll take. I'll wait for you young people to get older. Now that happened in the wilderness
[00:16:27] wandering 40 years.
[00:16:28] It's not going to happen in the second coming.
[00:16:30] We have to go immediately when he comes.
[00:16:32] We should understand our citizenship is in heaven.
[00:16:35] Verse 20, Philippians chapter 3.
[00:16:37] For our conversation, our citizenship is in heaven from whence also we look.
[00:16:41] We're looking for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will do what?
[00:16:46] He will change our vile body, vile in that it's sin, it has sin, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
[00:16:59] Praise God for that wonderful day.
[00:17:02] Paul says just before this in Philippians 3.14, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
[00:17:10] I'm pressing forward and upward to that place, but we can't ascend without God changing us and conforming us to the image of his Son.
[00:17:20] And remember, his son is also active in cleansing us because we are his bride.
[00:17:26] And he's not going to marry trash.
[00:17:30] Amen?
[00:17:32] Not white trash, black trash, or any other kind of trash.
[00:17:37] He's going to cleanse us.
[00:17:39] He's going to.
[00:17:40] It doesn't matter what skin color we have.
[00:17:42] It doesn't matter male, female.
[00:17:43] It doesn't matter what nationality.
[00:17:44] It doesn't matter.
[00:17:45] If we're his, he's going to cleanse us.
[00:17:49] He is going to make.
[00:17:50] We're not worthy.
[00:17:51] None of us.
[00:17:51] But he is going to make us worthy.
[00:17:53] How?
[00:17:53] Now, Ephesians chapter 5, in this beautiful passage that teaches that we should love husbands, we should love our wives like Christ loved the church.
[00:18:02] Chapter 5, verse 25 in Ephesians.
[00:18:05] Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.
[00:18:09] For what purpose?
[00:18:11] Gave himself for it.
[00:18:13] For what purpose?
[00:18:14] That he might sanctify it.
[00:18:15] What is sanctify?
[00:18:16] Make holy and cleanse.
[00:18:19] Cleanse it.
[00:18:19] What?
[00:18:20] Us, the church, with the washing of the water by the word.
[00:18:24] That, for what purpose?
[00:18:26] So in other words, why were we saved?
[00:18:28] For the purpose, verse 27, that he might present it, the church, us, to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
[00:18:42] When is that going to happen?
[00:18:44] In the marriage supper of the Lamb, when he returns, and there is the spiritual marriage of the body of Christ, the bride, with the groom, Jesus.
[00:18:52] Praise God.
[00:18:52] He's going to cleanse us.
[00:18:54] He's in the process even now.
[00:18:56] Wash us, cleanse us, and make us more like himself until we see him and we're made just like him, except we don't become God, but we are in God's presence forevermore without sin and living lives, eternal life to the full in the presence of his love.
[00:19:13] All true and godly love.
[00:19:16] What about all of the love on earth?
[00:19:18] What about the people we've loved?
[00:19:20] What about the brothers and sisters and the connections?
[00:19:23] Is God just going to throw all that away?
[00:19:26] No, not at all.
[00:19:29] All of those loves that are true love, the definition of the Bible love, not the definition of the world's love, which they don't know how to define it.
[00:19:38] The most foolish thing I've ever heard, the least profound definition of love that I've ever heard is, love is love.
[00:19:48] Wow, that's profound.
[00:19:51] Oh, yeah, for these people that hang out at the CBD place.
[00:19:58] Lord have mercy.
[00:20:01] All true and godly love is not lost but found in heaven.
[00:20:06] And Jonathan Edwards blesses us once again in this.
[00:20:12] All the truly great and good, all the pure and holy and excellent from this world, and it may be from every part of the universe, are constantly tending towards heaven.
[00:20:23] as the streams tend to the ocean so all these are tending to the great ocean of infinite purity and bliss the progress of time does but bear them on its blessedness and us if we are holy
[00:20:36] to be united to them there every gem which death rudely tears away from us here is a glorious jewel forever shining there every Christian friend that goes before us from this world is a ransomed spirit
[00:20:52] waiting to welcome us in heaven.
[00:20:55] There will be the infant of days that we have lost below, through grace to be found above.
[00:21:03] There the Christian father and mother, wife and child and friend, with whom we shall renew the holy fellowship of the saints which was interrupted by death here, but shall be commenced again in the upper sanctuary
[00:21:15] and then shall never end.
[00:21:18] There we shall have company with the patriarchs and fathers and saints of the Old and New Testaments and those of whom the world was not worthy with whom on earth we were only conversant by faith.
[00:21:30] And there above all we shall enjoy and dwell with God the Father whom we have loved with all of our hearts on earth and with Jesus Christ our beloved Savior who has always been to us
[00:21:42] the chief among ten thousands and altogether lovely and with the Holy Ghost our sanctifier and guide and comforter and shall be filled with all the fullness of the Godhead forever.
[00:21:58] Praise God.
[00:22:00] Hallelujah.
[00:22:02] You know, here on earth, you know, have you ever noticed that there's some problems on earth, trouble?
[00:22:09] A little bit, not too much.
[00:22:13] Enmity, envy, competitions, hatreds, malice, these types of things.
[00:22:21] Well, praise God, in heaven no more.
[00:22:26] You know, here on earth we try to get away from those things, but it never works, does it?
[00:22:31] You know, you can only go away so far on vacation, and you've got to come back.
[00:22:34] In heaven there shall be no remaining enmity, or distaste, or coldness, or deadness of heart towards God and Christ.
[00:22:44] Not the least remainder of any principle of envy shall exist to be exercised towards angels or other beings who are superior in glory, Nor shall there be aught like contempt or slighting of those who are inferiors.
[00:22:56] Those that have a lower station by glory than others suffer no diminution of their own happiness by seeing others above them in glory.
[00:23:04] On the contrary, all the members of that blessed society, heaven, rejoice in each other's happiness.
[00:23:11] For the love of benevolence is perfect in them all.
[00:23:14] Every one has not only a sincere but a perfect goodwill to every other.
[00:23:18] Sincere and strong love is greatly gratified and delighted in the prosperity of the beloved object.
[00:23:24] And if the love be perfect, the greater the prosperity of the beloved is, the more is the lover pleased and delighted.
[00:23:31] For the prosperity of the beloved is, as it were, the food of love.
[00:23:36] And therefore, the greater that prosperity, the more richly is love feasted.
[00:23:41] The love of benevolence is delighted in beholding the prosperity of another, as the love of complacence is in beholding the beauty or perfection of another, so that the superior prosperity of those that are higher in glory
[00:23:54] is so far from being a hindrance to the degree of love felt toward them that it is an addition to it or a part of it.
[00:24:03] And it will not be a grief to any of the saints to see those that are higher than themselves in holiness and likeness to God more loved than themselves, for all shall have as much love as they desire.
[00:24:15] and as great manifestations of love as they can bear, and so all shall be fully satisfied.
[00:24:22] And where there is perfect satisfaction, there can be no reason for envy.
[00:24:27] There will be no temptation for any to envy those that were above them in glory, on account of the latter being lifted up with pride, for there will be no pride in heaven.
[00:24:38] Praise God.
[00:24:39] We are not to conceive that those who are more holy and happy than others in heaven will be elated and lifted up and their spirit above others, for those who are above others in holiness
[00:24:49] will be superior to them in humility.
[00:24:52] The saints that are highest in glory will be the lowest in humbleness of mind, for their superior humility is part of their superior holiness.
[00:25:00] Though all are perfectly free from pride, yet as some will have greater degrees of divine knowledge than others and larger capacities to see more of the divine perfections, so they will see more of their own
[00:25:13] comparative littleness and nothingness, and therefore will be lowest and most abased in humility. And besides, the inferior in glory will have no temptation to envy those that are higher than themselves, for those that are highest will not only be more loved by the lower for their
[00:25:31] higher holiness, but they will also have more of the spirit of love to others, and so will love those that are below them more than if their own capacity and elevation were less. That might be a little confusing, but
[00:25:47] no room for envy. No room for competition in heaven. Yes, some will have a higher degree of blessedness than others, but there will be no room for envy, no room for pride, because all will be swallowed up in perfect love. Have you ever
[00:26:03] been trying to pray and your mind gets distracted?
[00:26:07] once or twice maybe in heaven it'll never happen I'm looking forward to that praise God that's what it says in the Bible and how well here's Jonathan Edwards take on the biblical view in heaven there shall be no hindrances of this sort
[00:26:32] there they will have no dullness and unwieldiness and no corruption of heart toward against divine love and hindrance expressions And there no earthly body shall clog with its heaviness the heavenly flame.
[00:26:46] The saints in heaven shall have no difficulty in expressing all their love.
[00:26:51] Their souls being on fire with a holy love shall not be like a fire pent up, but like a flame uncovered and at liberty.
[00:27:00] Their spirits being weaned with love shall have no weight upon them to hinder their flight.
[00:27:05] There shall be no want of strength or activity, nor any want of words wherewith to praise the object of their affection.
[00:27:13] Nothing shall hinder them from communing with God and praising and serving Him just as their love inclines them to do.
[00:27:21] Love naturally desires to express itself, and in heaven the love of the saints shall be at full liberty to express itself as it desires, whether it be towards God or to created beings for God's glory.
[00:27:37] Amen.
[00:27:38] There'll be nothing to hinder our worship of the Lord.
[00:27:42] And so then, what is this heaven?
[00:27:45] How do we look at it?
[00:27:47] Well, here's a summary of what we should understand about heaven, where we're all hoping to go, I hope.
[00:27:54] When we all get to heaven, I hope all of you are hoping to get to heaven.
[00:27:58] And if so, then let's try to create a little bit of a hunger for it.
[00:28:03] It concerns me, I think you've heard it, for people to say, I'm going to heaven.
[00:28:08] But they don't seem to be the least interested.
[00:28:11] It's like the old evangelist who was preaching and he got so excited and he said, well, we're getting ready.
[00:28:17] He says, how many of you want to go to heaven?
[00:28:21] Raise your hand.
[00:28:21] They all raised their hand except this one fellow on the front row.
[00:28:24] What's wrong with you?
[00:28:26] Don't you want to go to heaven?
[00:28:28] He said, yeah, but I was afraid you was getting a trip to go right now.
[00:28:36] If you want to go at all, why not right now?
[00:28:39] I'd like to grow up, or I'd like to go to college, or I'd like to accomplish this, or I'd like to accomplish that.
[00:28:45] What's better than heaven?
[00:28:48] The one that we claim to love with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength?
[00:28:51] I'm sorry, God.
[00:28:53] I want to save up money and buy a car.
[00:28:55] Can you wait for me to enjoy that car, and then I'll come see you?
[00:29:03] Something's not right.
[00:29:05] Well, I hope you'll listen carefully as Jonathan Edwards gives to us what I believe is a biblical picture and summary of what is in store for us in heaven.
[00:29:20] There are many principles contrary to love that make this world like a tempestuous sea.
[00:29:27] Selfishness and envy and revenge and jealousy and kindred passions keep life on earth in a constant tumult and make it a scene of confusion and uproar where no quiet rest is to be enjoyed except in renouncing the world
[00:29:41] and looking to another.
[00:29:43] But oh, what rest is there in that world which the God of peace and love fills with His own gracious presence and in which the Lamb of God lives and reigns, filling it with the brightest
[00:29:54] and sweetest beams of His love where there is nothing to disturb, nothing to offend, or being nothing, no being or object to be seen that is not surrounded with perfect amiableness and sweetness, where the saint shall find and enjoy
[00:30:11] all that they love and so be perfectly satisfied, where there is no enemy and no enmity, but perfect love in every heart and in every being and to every being, where there is perfect harmony
[00:30:24] among all the inhabitants, no one envying another, but everyone rejoicing in the happiness of every other, where all their love is humble and holy and perfectly Christian, without the least carnality or impurity, where love is always mutual and reciprocated to the full,
[00:30:43] where there is no hypocrisy or dissembling, but perfect simplicity and sincerity, where there is no treachery or unfaithfulness or inconstancy or jealousy in any form, where there is no clog or hindrance to the exercises or expressions of love,
[00:30:58] no imprudence or indecency in expressing it, no influence of folly or indiscretion in any word or deed, where there is no separation wall, no misunderstandings, no strangeness, but full acquaintance and perfect intimacy in all,
[00:31:15] where there is no division through different opinions or interests, but where all in that glorious and loving society shall be most nearly and divinely related, and in each shall belong to every other, and all shall enjoy each other in perfect prosperity and riches and honor
[00:31:33] without any sickness, praise God, or grief or persecution or sorrow or any enemy to molest them or any busybody to create jealousy or misunderstanding or more of the perfect and holy and blessed peace that reigns in heaven.
[00:31:49] And all this in the garden of God, in the paradise of love where everything is filled with love, everything conspires to promote and kindle it and keep up its flame and nothing ever interrupts it
[00:32:00] but everything has been fitted by an all-wise God for its full enjoyment under the greatest advantages forever and all too where the beauty of the beloved object shall never fade and love shall never grow weary nor decay
[00:32:14] but the soul shall more and more rejoice in love forever oh what tranquility will there be in such a world as this and who can express the fullness and blessedness of this peace.
[00:32:27] What a calm is this!
[00:32:28] How sweet and holy and joyous!
[00:32:30] What a haven of rest to enter after having passed through the storms and tempests of this world in which pride and selfishness and envy and malice and scorn and contempt and contention and vice are as waves of a restless ocean
[00:32:45] always rolling and often dashed about in violence and fury.
[00:32:49] What a Canaan of rest to come to after going through this waste and howling wilderness full of snares and pitfalls and poisonous serpents where no rest could be found.
[00:33:00] And oh, what joy will there be springing up in the hearts of the saints after they have passed through this wearisome pilgrimage to be brought to such a paradise as this.
[00:33:12] Here is joy, unspeakable indeed and full of glory.
[00:33:16] Joy that is humble, holy, enrapturing and divine in its perfection.
[00:33:21] Love is always a sweet principle, and especially divine love.
[00:33:26] This even on earth is a spring of sweetness, but in heaven it shall become a stream, a river, an ocean.
[00:33:33] All shall stand about the God of glory, who is the great fountain of love, opening as it were their very souls to be filled with those effusions of love that are poured forth from its fullness, just as the flowers on the earth in the bright and joyous days of
[00:33:50] spring open their blossoms to the sun to be filled with his light and warmth and to flourish in beauty and fragrancy under his cheering rays. Every saint in heaven is a flower in the garden of God
[00:34:06] and holy love is the fragrance and sweet odor that they all send forth and with which they fill the bowers of that paradise above. Every soul there is as a note in some concert of
[00:34:20] delightful music that sweetly harmonizes with every other note and all together blend in the most rapturous strains in praising God and the Lamb forever. And so all help each other to their utmost to express the love of the whole society to its glorious Father in head and to pour back
[00:34:40] love into the great fountain of love whence they are supplied and filled with love and blessedness and glory and thus they will love and reign in love and in that god-like joy that is its blessed fruit such as i hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath entered into the heart of man
[00:35:00] in this world to conceive and thus in the full sunlight of the throne enraptured with joys that are forever increasing, and yet forever full, they shall live and reign with God and Christ forever and ever.
[00:35:21] I'm ready to go.
[00:35:23] How about you?
[00:35:25] Praise the Lord.
[00:35:27] Now, as you get older, it's easy to say that, ain't it?
[00:35:33] But it shouldn't.
[00:35:34] I wish I knew this when I was younger, because how can you go the right direction if you don't know where you're headed?
[00:35:42] Alan's got a gun or two.
[00:35:46] How can you hit the target if you don't know what you're aiming at?
[00:35:49] You just aim in the old kind of place and hope you're going to shoot something.
[00:35:52] Boom, boom, boom.
[00:35:54] No, it ain't going to work.
[00:35:55] You've got to know what you're aiming for.
[00:35:58] Right?
[00:35:59] And if you don't understand what you're aiming for, what's this Christian life about?
[00:36:03] It's all about what you're aiming for.
[00:36:05] And that's what we're talking about here today.
[00:36:10] Now, praise God.
[00:36:13] In heaven, there will be a reverential fear of God full.
[00:36:18] that there will be no fear of man, no fear of the devil, no fear of bad news, because there won't be any bad news.
[00:36:26] No fear of loss, because there won't be any loss.
[00:36:28] No fear of anything except a reverential, loving fear of God.
[00:36:33] Because after all, God's not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
[00:36:42] Don't leave love out.
[00:36:45] Somebody say, are you going to be done preaching on love?
[00:36:47] Well, don't leave it out too quickly.
[00:36:52] All right.
[00:36:53] Now, the question is, which one of you are going to be flowers in heaven?
[00:37:01] I don't necessarily want to think of myself as a flower in heaven, but the imagery is beautiful.
[00:37:09] Well, the answer is, it is a biblical thing.
[00:37:12] Everything that he's saying is biblical.
[00:37:14] And listen, how is it?
[00:37:15] Well, how are we going to be a flower in heaven?
[00:37:16] How is that biblical?
[00:37:18] Turn with me, if you would, to 1 Peter 1, verse 23.
[00:37:22] Which one of you will be flowers in heaven?
[00:37:25] The Bible tells us.
[00:37:26] In other words, which one of you are going to go to heaven?
[00:37:28] The Bible tells us.
[00:37:30] 1 Peter 1, verse 23.
[00:37:33] Being born again, not of incorruptible seed, but of...
[00:37:38] I'm sorry.
[00:37:41] Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
[00:37:47] You see, when we're born again, a seed is placed in us.
[00:37:50] the earnest of our inheritance, the Holy Spirit.
[00:37:53] But there's a seed, and that seed grows as we are more and more conformed to his image and as we become more and more like him.
[00:38:02] And then in glorification, in his presence, the full flower blooms and opens.
[00:38:08] But if we don't have that seed, not corruptible seed, the seed of Adam, the seed ultimately of the serpent, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
[00:38:19] All of us were dead in our sins, born separated from God.
[00:38:23] But the incorruptible seed of the word of God, the sower went out to sow.
[00:38:28] The seed, which is the word.
[00:38:29] The seed and its fruition becomes a flower open to praise of God.
[00:38:36] And so the question is, have you been born again?
[00:38:40] If you hadn't been born again, you're not going to be a flower in heaven.
[00:38:44] You understand what I'm saying.
[00:38:46] Actually, forgive me, but time is running.
[00:38:50] But let's read the whole chapter.
[00:38:51] Why?
[00:38:51] Because the whole chapter, chapter 1, tells us all about this.
[00:38:55] From the beginning of being saved until heaven.
[00:38:58] And what should our life look like right now?
[00:39:01] Because this idea that we have to be born again by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, in his death, burial, and resurrection, his perfect life, repenting of our sin, so that one day we might be with him.
[00:39:11] How do we live in the meantime?
[00:39:12] 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 1.
[00:39:14] Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia.
[00:39:20] Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience of sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
[00:39:27] Grace unto you and peace be multiplied.
[00:39:29] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us.
[00:39:35] You see, we're born again.
[00:39:37] Begotten us again.
[00:39:38] Unto what?
[00:39:39] A lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
[00:39:43] We've been born again to go there.
[00:39:45] Not to be cool and live a life and show everybody how cool and hip of a Christian I can possibly be.
[00:39:51] And enjoy this life and finish my bucket list.
[00:39:54] Oh yeah, oh yeah, it's time to die.
[00:39:56] Oh yeah, remember Pastor Joseph said, if I believe, I'll go to heaven.
[00:39:59] Alright, I'm ready. I'll go now.
[00:40:03] Don't expect to get in at all.
[00:40:06] No.
[00:40:06] When you're born again, your whole life has a new direction.
[00:40:10] heaven. That's what it says here. Born again, been gotten again, verse 3, unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance. If you're born again, you're a child of God, you've got an inheritance.
[00:40:24] Incorruptible, verse 4, undefiled, that fadeth not away. Where is it? Reserved in heaven for you. I want it now. Look what happened to the prodigal son.
[00:40:33] And then when he came back in humility and begged to be a servant, then he can get it.
[00:40:38] And enter into the joy of the Lord at that day. It's all about heading to heaven. Who are kept? We are kept, if we're born again, by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed at the last time wherein
[00:40:50] you greatly rejoice though now for a season if need be in heaviness through manifold temptations that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ
[00:41:05] Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your fate, even the salvation of your souls,
[00:41:17] of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it testified beforehand,
[00:41:30] the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached
[00:41:40] the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven which things angels desire to look into wherefore gird up the loins of your mind be sober and hope hope to the end of the grace
[00:41:52] that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ you see it's all about going to heaven isn't it as obedient children in the meantime not fashioning yourself according to the former lusts
[00:42:04] in your ignorance but as he which hath called you is holy Christian so be ye holy in all manner of conversation because it is written be ye holy for I am holy and if you call on the Father
[00:42:15] who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work pass the time of your sojourning here in fear in a godly reverential fear of him not of man for as much as you know
[00:42:27] that you are not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by the tradition of your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot
[00:42:38] who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory
[00:42:48] that your faith and hope might be in God seeing you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently
[00:43:03] being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever for all flesh is as grass.
[00:43:12] See, I'm young.
[00:43:12] I don't need to hear this.
[00:43:13] All flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
[00:43:18] The grass withereth.
[00:43:19] The flower thereof falleth away.
[00:43:21] But the word of the Lord endureth forever.
[00:43:25] And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
[00:43:29] It says you're going to get an inheritance.
[00:43:38] If you're born again, you are been saved, begotten again, verse 3, verse 4, to an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.
[00:43:48] I got a question for you before we move on.
[00:43:51] Is your name on the will?
[00:43:58] If not, you're not getting an inheritance.
[00:44:01] If you're born again, your name's on the will.
[00:44:04] The last will and testament of who?
[00:44:06] Jesus Christ.
[00:44:08] It only comes to pass when the one who is the testator dies.
[00:44:13] That's why Jesus had to die.
[00:44:15] The inheritance is reserved for us in heaven, but the down payment or the earnest is the Holy Spirit inside of us now.
[00:44:21] And that should be like the end of the chain which is pulling us towards heaven where the anchor of our faith has reached in even to the holiest of all in the very throne room of God, it says in the book of Hebrews at the end of chapter 6.
[00:44:37] is your name on the wheel.
[00:44:39] Where's your portion going to be?
[00:44:41] For some people, I want it now, like the prodigal son.
[00:44:44] I'll take it now.
[00:44:46] Life is all about whoever has the most toys wins.
[00:44:49] I'll take it now.
[00:44:52] You'll get it now, but don't expect anything in heaven.
[00:44:58] God forbid.
[00:45:00] 2 Peter 1, verse 10 warns us.
[00:45:04] Peter says, Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.
[00:45:12] Don't just say, well, I said some kind of prayer.
[00:45:15] Oh, I grew up in church.
[00:45:16] I went to VBS as a kid.
[00:45:18] I went to Sunday school.
[00:45:20] My name's on the membership roll of all kind of churches.
[00:45:22] And all other churches that don't have membership, they know about me.
[00:45:26] You think that's going to get you to heaven?
[00:45:30] Make sure.
[00:45:33] What is the cost if you're wrong?
[00:45:36] I'm not so sure about this whole thing.
[00:45:38] Okay, but what's the cost if you're wrong?
[00:45:42] It's not pretty, folks.
[00:45:46] Most of you know Jonathan Edwards, at least, or know of him.
[00:45:49] More for the sinners in the hand of an angry God than on the message on love.
[00:45:55] But the gospel tells us both, doesn't it?
[00:46:00] Notice what Jonathan Edwards has to say on this subject.
[00:46:04] If you have no portion in heaven, brothers and sisters, friends, if you're not sure about your portion in heaven, then where will your portion be?
[00:46:16] The same Jonathan Edwards who waxes so eloquent on the heights of love now describes for us a biblical view of hell.
[00:46:26] Everything in hell is hateful.
[00:46:28] There is not one solitary object there that is not odious and detestable, horrid and hateful.
[00:46:34] There is no person or thing to be seen there that is amiable or lovely, nothing that is pure or holy or pleasant, but everything abominable and odious.
[00:46:42] There are no beings there but devils and damned spirits that are like devils.
[00:46:47] Hell is, as it were, a vast den of poisonous hissing serpents, the old serpent who is the devil and Satan, and with him all his hateful brood.
[00:46:56] In that dark world, there are none but those who hate God with a perfect and everlasting hatred.
[00:47:02] He exercises no love and extends no mercy to any one object there, but pours out upon them horrors without mixture.
[00:47:10] All things in the wide universe that are hateful shall be gathered together in hell as in a vast receptacle provided on purpose that the universe which God has made may be cleansed of its filthiness
[00:47:22] by casting it all into this great sink of wickedness and woe.
[00:47:28] It is a world prepared on purpose for the expression of God's wrath.
[00:47:32] He has made hell for this and He has no other use for it but there to testify forever His hatred of sin and sinners where there is no token of love or mercy.
[00:47:44] There is nothing there but what shows forth the divine indignation and wrath.
[00:47:49] Every object shows forth wrath.
[00:47:51] It is a world all overflowed with a deluge of wrath, as it were, with a deluge of liquid fire, so as to be called a lake of fire and brimstone in the second death.
[00:48:02] There are none in hell but what have been haters of God and so have procured his wrath and hatred on themselves.
[00:48:10] And there they shall continue to hate him forever.
[00:48:13] no love to God will ever be felt in hell but everyone there perfectly hates him and so will continue to hate him and without any restraint will express their hatred to him blaspheming and raging against him
[00:48:26] while they gnaw their tongues for pain and though they join all together in their enmity and opposition to God yet there is no union or friendliness among themselves they agree in nothing but hatred and the expression of hatred
[00:48:40] They hate God and Christ and angels and saints in heaven, not only so, but they hate one another like a company of serpents or vipers, not only spreading out venom against God, but against one another, biting and stinging and tormenting each other.
[00:48:53] The devils in hell will hate damned souls.
[00:48:56] They hated them while in the world, and therefore it was that with such subtlety and indefatigable temptations they brought them to their ruin in hell.
[00:49:06] They thirsted for the blood of their souls because they hated them.
[00:49:09] They longed to get them in their power to torment them.
[00:49:13] They watched them as a roaring lion does his prey because they hated them.
[00:49:17] Therefore, they flew upon their souls like hell hounds as soon as ever they were parted from their bodies, full of eagerness to torment them.
[00:49:25] And now they have them in their power.
[00:49:27] They will spend eternity in tormenting them with the utmost strength and cruelty that devils are capable of.
[00:49:33] They are, as it were, continually and eternally tearing these poor damned souls that are in their hands and these latter will not only be hated and tormented by devils but they will have no love or pity one towards another but will be like devils one to another and will to their
[00:49:49] utmost torment each other being like brands and the fire each of which helps to burn the others in hell all those principles will reign and rage that are contrary to love without any restraining grace to keep them within bounds here will be unrestrained pride malice envy revenge contention
[00:50:11] and all its fury and without in never knowing peace the miserable inhabitants will bout and devour one another as well as be enemies to god and christ and holy beings those who in their wickedness on earth were companions together and had a sort of carnal friendship one for another
[00:50:26] will here have no appearance of fellowship but perfect and un and continual undisguised hatred will exist between them.
[00:50:35] As on earth they promoted each other's sins, so now in hell they will promote each other's punishment.
[00:50:42] On earth they were the instruments of undoing each other's souls.
[00:50:45] There they were occupied in blowing up the fires of each other's lusts, and now they will blow forever the fires of each other's torments.
[00:50:53] They ruined one another in sinning, setting bad examples to each other, poisoning each other by wicked talk, and now they will be as much engaged in tormenting as once they were in tempting, and corrupting each other.
[00:51:05] And there, their hatred and envy and all evil passions will be a torment to themselves.
[00:51:12] God and Christ, whom they will hate the most and toward whom their souls will be as full of hatred as an oven is ever full of fire, will be infinitely above their reach, dwelling in infinite blessedness and glory
[00:51:23] which they cannot diminish.
[00:51:25] And they will but torment themselves by their fruitless envy of the saints and angels in heaven whom they cannot come nigh to or injure and they shall have no pity from them or from anyone
[00:51:38] for hell is looked on only with hatred and with no pity or compassion and thus they will be left to spend their eternity together.
[00:51:54] God forbid any of our loved ones fall into this.
[00:52:01] Now consider all ye that are out of Christ and that were never born again and that never had any blessed renovation of your hearts by the Holy Spirit and planting divine love in them and leading you to choose the happiness
[00:52:15] that consists in holy love as your best and sweetest good and to spend your life in struggling after holiness.
[00:52:20] Consider your danger and what is before you.
[00:52:23] For this is the world to which you are condemned and so the world to which you belong through the sentence of the law and the world that every day and hour you are in danger of having your abode
[00:52:34] everlastingly fixed in and the world to which if you repent not you will soon go instead of going to that blessed world of love of which you have now heard, consider, oh, consider that it is indeed thus with you.
[00:52:49] These things are not currently devised fables, but the great and dreadful realities of God's Word and things that in a little while you will know with everlasting certainty that they are true.
[00:53:01] How then can you rest in such a state as you are in and go about so carelessly from day to day and so heedlessly and negligent to your precious immortal souls.
[00:53:13] Consider seriously these things and be wise for yourself before it's too late, before your feet stumble on the dark mountains and you fall into the world of wrath and hatred where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth
[00:53:24] with spiteful malice and rage against God and Christ and one another and with horror and anguish of spirit forever.
[00:53:30] Flee to the stronghold while ye are prisoners of hope before the door of hope is closed and the agonies of the second death shall begin their work and your eternal doom is sealed.
[00:53:45] Lord, have mercy.
[00:53:47] Bear with me just a few more minutes.
[00:53:51] Is not what we have heard of the blessed world of heaven enough to make us weary of this world of pride, malice, contention, perpetual jarring, jangling, a world of confusion, a wilderness of hissing serpents,
[00:54:06] a tempestuous ocean where there is no quiet rest, where all are for themselves, and selfishness reigns and governs, and all are striving to exalt themselves regardless of what becomes of others, and are all eager after worldly gain and good,
[00:54:20] which is the great object of desire and contention, and where men are continually annoying, calumniating, that is, saying bad things about and reproaching, and otherwise injuring and abusing one another, a world full of injustice and oppression and cruelty,
[00:54:34] a world where there is so much treachery and falsehood and fickleness and hypocrisy and suffering and death, where there is so little confidence in mankind, and every good man has so many failings and has so much to render him
[00:54:46] unlovely and uncomfortable and where there is so much sorrow and guilt and sin in every form.
[00:54:52] Truly, this is an evil world and so it is like to be.
[00:54:56] It is in vain for us to expect that it will be any other than a world of sin, a world of pride and enmity and strife and so a restless world.
[00:55:04] And though the times may hereafter be mended some, yet these things will always be more or less found in the world as long as it stands.
[00:55:11] Who then would content himself with the portion in such a world?
[00:55:16] What man acting wisely would consider himself much about laying up in store in such a world as this?
[00:55:24] I would not rather neglect the world and let it go to them that would take it and apply all of their hearts and strength to lay up treasure in heaven and to press on to that world of love.
[00:55:36] What will it signify for us to hoard up great possessions in the world And how can the thought of having our portion here be pleasing to us when there is an interest offered us in such a glorious world as heaven is,
[00:55:49] and especially when, if we have our portion here, we must, when the world has passed away, have our eternal portion in hell, the world of hatred and endless wrath of God, where only devils and damned spirits dwell.
[00:56:08] How do we end this message?
[00:56:11] Well, he ends the book and his sermon series this way.
[00:56:16] We all naturally desire rest and quietness.
[00:56:19] And if we would obtain it, let us seek that world of peace and love of which we have now heard.
[00:56:24] Where a sweet and blessed rest remaineth for God's people.
[00:56:28] If we get an interest in that world, then when we have done with this, we shall leave all of our cares and troubles and fatigues and perplexities and disturbances forever.
[00:56:38] We shall rest from these storms that are raging here, and from every toil and labor in the paradise of God.
[00:56:45] Ye that are poor and think yourself despised by your neighbors, a little cared for among men, do not much concern yourself for this.
[00:56:53] Do not care much for the friendship of the world, but seek heaven, where there is no such thing as contempt, and where none are despised, but all are highly esteemed and honored and dearly beloved by all.
[00:57:04] You that think you have met with many abuses in this life and much ill treatment from others, care nothing for it.
[00:57:12] Do not hate them for it, but set your heart on heaven, that world of love, and press towards that better country where all is kindness and holy affection.
[00:57:22] And here he says for direction how to seek heaven.
[00:57:25] I'm not going to read it all, but he gives several points.
[00:57:28] I'm just going to annotate them briefly.
[00:57:30] The first point, how to seek it.
[00:57:32] First, let not your heart go after the things of the world as your chief good.
[00:57:38] Indulge not yourself in the possession of earthly things as though they were to satisfy your soul.
[00:57:43] This is the reverse of seeking heaven.
[00:57:45] It is to go in a way contrary to that which leads to the world of love.
[00:57:49] If you would seek heaven, your affections must be taken off from the pleasures of the world.
[00:57:53] You must not allow yourself in sensuality and worldliness or the pursuit of enjoyments or honors of this world or occupy your thoughts or time in heaping up the dust of the earth, you must mortify the desires of vainglory
[00:58:06] and become poor in spirit and lowly in heart.
[00:58:09] Second, you must in your meditations and holy exercises be much engaged in conversing with heavenly persons and objects and enjoyments.
[00:58:18] You cannot constantly be seeking heaven without having your thoughts much there.
[00:58:23] Turn then the stream of your thoughts and affections towards the world of love and towards the God of love that dwells there and towards the saints and angels that are at Christ's right hand.
[00:58:34] Let your thoughts also be much on the objects and enjoyments of the world of love.
[00:58:38] Commune much with God and Christ in prayer.
[00:58:41] Think often of all that is in heaven, of the friends who are there and the praise and worship there and of all that will make up the blessedness of that world of love.
[00:58:50] Let your conversation be in heaven.
[00:58:54] Third, be content to pass through all difficulties.
[00:58:57] you may face on this way to heaven.
[00:59:03] Fourth, in all your way, let your eye be fixed on Jesus who has gone before, our forerunner.
[00:59:12] Look to Him.
[00:59:13] Behold His glory in heaven, that a sight of Him may stir you up the more earnestly desire to be with Him.
[00:59:20] Look to Him in His example.
[00:59:22] Consider how by patient continuance and well-doing and by patient endurance of great suffering, He went before you to heaven.
[00:59:32] Look to Him as your mediator and trust in the atonement which He has made for you entering into the holiest of all in the upper temple.
[00:59:42] Look to Him as your intercessor who is right now pleading for you at the right hand of the throne of God.
[00:59:50] Look to Him as your strength that by His Spirit He may enable you to press on to overcome whatever difficulty you find in the way.
[00:59:58] Trust in His promises of heaven to those that love Him and follow Him, which He has confirmed by entering into heaven as the head and representative and Savior of His people.
[01:00:09] And lastly, fifth, if you would be in the way to the world of love, see that you live a life of love, of love to God and love to men, all of us to have part in the world of love hereafter.
[01:00:22] And therefore, we should cherish the spirit of love and live a life of holy love here on earth.
[01:00:27] This is the way to be like the inhabitants of heaven, who are now confirmed in love forever.
[01:00:32] Only in this way can you be like them in excellence and loveliness, and like them too in happiness and rest and joy.
[01:00:39] By living in love in this world, you may be like them too in sweet and holy peace, and thus have on earth the foretastes of heavenly pleasures and delights.
[01:00:51] and then he finishes his book and his whole sermon series with this paragraph.
[01:00:59] Thus also you may have a sense of the glory of heavenly things as of God and Christ and holiness and your heart be disposed and opened by holy love to God and by the spirit of peace and love to men
[01:01:15] to a sense of the excellence and sweetness of all that is to be found in heaven.
[01:01:20] thus shall the windows of heaven be as it were opened so that its glorious light shall shine in upon your soul thus you may have the evidence of your fitness for that blessed world and that you are actually on the way to its possession
[01:01:37] and being thus made meet through grace for the inheritance of the saints in light when a few more days shall have passed away you shall be with them in their blessedness forever happy, thrice happy
[01:01:52] those who shall thus be found fateful to the end and then shall be welcomed to the joy of their Lord. There they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them,
[01:02:06] nor any heat, for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and lead them to living fountains of water and God himself will wipe away all tears from their eyes
[01:02:23] because he so loved them that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
[01:02:38] Yes, it starts here, but it's forever endured.
[01:02:44] It doesn't end there.
[01:02:45] It starts here and it continues there forever and ever and ever.
[01:02:52] Set your mind on Christ.
[01:02:54] Set your mind on God.
[01:02:55] get excited about what he's done for us, what he bought and paid for, and what he has laid up in heaven for you, an inheritance that is pure and undefiled and waiting in the very presence of God.
[01:03:08] All of this life, yes, it's important, but it's a test.
[01:03:12] And we are to walk in a faithful way, in a holy way, in a way filled with love and with peace and joy, the fruits of that seed that was implanted in us by grace through faith in Christ
[01:03:24] that is now growing in us, growing in us, and we become more and more conformed to the image of Christ.
[01:03:30] Those of you who are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, more and more sanctified, more and more holy, but it's a little bit of progress.
[01:03:36] And then when we see him, we're like him.
[01:03:39] The flower comes and is in full bud, open to the rays of God's love in his presence forevermore.
[01:03:48] We worship him and praise him, loving him and loving one another, even as we are loved through the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit in whose presence we will live and reign eternally.
[01:04:01] I'm excited and looking forward to that.
[01:04:04] I hope everyone else here is.
[01:04:07] If there's anyone here who's not certain that that is their inheritance, come see Pastor Andy or myself and let us help you to receive the most precious gift that was ever given by the precious and infinite blood
[01:04:25] of the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world for each and every one of you who truly believe in him.
[01:04:34] To him be the glory, honor, and praise both now and forevermore.
[01:04:38] Amen.
[01:04:39] Dear Heavenly Father, help us now.
[01:04:41] Thank you for Jonathan Edwards preaching this series of messages in 1738.
[01:04:47] We know your word endures forever.
[01:04:50] May these words not fall to the ground but find good place in our hearts.
[01:04:54] May you create in us a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
[01:04:59] And we know you are righteousness, perfectly existing for all eternity in heaven.
[01:05:05] And so may we look forward with great anticipation to that wonderful inheritance laid up before us, which is that glorious salvation and fellowship and presence with you, Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and all the true saints and people of God.
[01:05:23] may there not be one person here who's not sure of their election and calling but Lord may we all be able to sing and praise you knowing that Lord you await our revival for you've loved us
[01:05:36] you've chosen us and you've called us to be your children I pray that that's true for each and every one of us here and Lord may you be glorified in us walking in a spirit of love
[01:05:47] looking forward to that day where your love in us is perfected for all eternity.
[01:05:53] In Christ's name we thank you.
[01:05:56] Amen.
[01:05:58] Praise the Lord.
[01:06:00] What more fitting song than Marching Design?