When We All Get To Heaven

By John Stallings



A story is told of a wealthy man who arrived at the pearly gates with several large suitcases. St. Peter met him & explained that he could bring only one suitcase with him into heaven.

The man began to go through all his possessions in order to comply with the rule & finally made the decision that he’d carry a suitcase full of gold bars with him.

When he approached the gate again with the single suitcase, St. Pete asked to see what he’d be bringing in. The man opened his suitcase & when St. Pete saw the gold he exclaimed, “You brought PAVEMENT?”

WHY STUDY AND RUMINATE ABOUT HEAVEN?

The word heaven is found 582 times in the Bible. It has different senses & meanings, like the atmospheric heavens, the planetary heavens, or outer space, then the one we’re discussing, the heaven where God dwells. Have you ever heard someone say, now let’s don’t get too heavenly minded because if we do we’ll be no earthly good? Friend, it’s not possible to be too heavenly minded. If a person is useless on earth it isn’t because they think too much about heaven, but too little.

There’s a deafening silence these days about heaven among Christians. In this era of prosperity, it seems that heaven has fallen off the radar screen. About the only time we hear about heaven is at funerals or when we’re singing one of the old Hymns. In our prayers or sometimes in conversations we give heaven a ‘wink & a nod” but very little in-depth study occurs regarding heaven. This shouldn’t be.

-We should study heaven because Christians are going there. If you were going to move to a foreign land in another hemisphere, wouldn’t you be interested in what the country was like where you’d be living? Wouldn’t you like to learn all you could about your new home? To me it would be indeed strange for a person to take no interest in learning all he could about his new abode. It seems that we can get more interested in the doctrine of last things or eschatology, than we are our final destination where we’ll live throughout all eternity. If I were not interested in heaven, where Christ lives I’d have to ask myself what that lack of interest or desire stemmed from because the Bible makes it clear that if we love this world more than we love Christ the love of the Father isn’t in us. We should be interested in heaven because that’s where Jesus is if for no other reason.

Colossians 3:2 says—Set you mind on things above, not on earthly things.

Do we really want to go to heaven? Sometimes I wonder. I look around & see folk preparing for their future—but not their future in heaven. I see very little eagerness for heaven. Why? I think it’s partly because we have gross misconceptions of what heaven is like. Let’s try to clear that up.

If you want to get a spring in your step & get some “Jesus Joy” in your soul, stop & think with me about the beautiful city we are going to when we leave this planet. I’d like to re-kindle the fires of hope & anticipation within your soul. I’d like to remind you that you & I have something worth talking about & shouting about & singing about. We have something to look forward to & get on our “tip toes of expectation.” The moment we take our last breath on earth we take our first breath in heaven.

Friend, if you are a Christian you’re marching to Zion. Every day you & I get closer to heaven. We’re marching upward to Zion that beautiful city of God. Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says speaking of the saints of old;

….for they were strangers & pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country….But now they desire a better country, that is an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a CITY.
Heb.11:13-16

Over the centuries, many things have been written about heaven. Books about heaven are easy to find & there are many who’ve had visions & dreams about the beautiful place called heaven. I’ve heard many moving testimonies from good folk who’ve been, in a vision or dream, escorted by angels down the streets of gold & I have no reason to doubt what they saw. No reason at all. But as wonderful as these stories may be, I don’t think we’re safe building theology around them. I’m going to use the Word of God as my guide as I write so that when we are through we’ll know what we need to know about heaven straight from God’s book.

Although the Bible doesn’t give us a lot of information about heaven we do have some tantalizing hints. Here are a few Bible facts about heaven;

-Heaven is God’s dwelling place-Psalm 33:13

-Heaven is where Christ is today-Acts 1:11

-Heaven is where Christians go when they die-Philippians 1 21-23

-Heaven is a city designed & built by God-Heb.11; 10

-Heaven is The Father’s House-John 14:2

-Heaven is a better country-Heb 11:16

-Heaven is Paradise-Luke 23:43


Here are some reasons I’m looking forward to going to a place called heaven;

1. WE GET A NEW BODY

Our present bodies will be changed. In heaven we get a new body. Friend, I don’t know about your body, & I don’t want to sound ungrateful for the good health I enjoy but the body I’ve got isn’t exactly a picnic. I’m somewhat like the older lady who worked as a housekeeper for a rich family. One day the lady of the house got exasperated with her & said, “Don’t you do anything fast?” She replied, “Yes ma am, I get tired fast.”

Most people aren’t all that excited about their body, & many get all sorts of nips & tucks to lift things up to try to change real or perceived bodily flaws. I heard a man jokingly say, the Doctor couldn’t give him a face-lift so he did the next best thing & lowered his body. These earthly bodies get tired, feel pain, get sick, move slower with age, & sag in all the wrong places. Our eyes get dim & our ears get dull & our teeth keep needing work. Some people’s teeth are like stars, they come out at night. But in heaven you & I are going to get a brand new body. Listen to 1. Corinthians 15:53,--

For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.
Listen to 2 Corinthians 5:4;--For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed upon mortality might be swallowed up of life.

1 John 3:2 says—When He shall appear we shall be like Him.


C.S Lewis said, “Aim at heaven & you’ll get earth thrown in: aim at earth & you will get neither.”

Another reason I want to go to heaven is;

2. WE GET A NEW HOUSE

Listen to Jesus’ words about heaven;

Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions.
I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.—John 14:1-3

Notice that Jesus called heaven a place twice in three verses. So we’re correct in thinking & believing that heaven is a place as real as the city you live in. Revelation 21-22 depicts heaven as an enormous city teeming with people.

I remember the first church I pastored in Alabama. We’d been on the road as full time evangelists our entire ministry & had pulled trailers all over the country so we could have at least a modicum of home life. When we were called to this church they had a beautiful parsonage in a nice area of the city. It had a large front yard & also a big back yard where the kids could run & play.

Since we had no furniture the church allowed us to go down to a whole-sale furniture company & by furniture for the house. There are no words to describe how it felt to walk into that beautiful home, decked out with all new furniture. We’d lived in Trailers & Motor Homes so long it took us a while to get used to not walking in a straight line all the time. What a feeling to close the door behind us & actually have all that living space.

I’ve lived in many beautiful homes since then, but I’ve never lived in a perfect one. Living in a perfect house, a house built by God will be an indescribable experience, don’t you think?

Years ago when I first wrote the song, “You’re all invited to my mansion” I sang it one night in church. After the service a man came up to me & explained that he knew Greek & Hebrew & that my song was unscriptural. What he didn’t know was that I also knew a little Greek & a little Hebrew. The little Greek ran a deli & the little Hebrew ran a dry cleaning business. But anyway, this man told me that in the original Greek the word mansion was literally translated-places. He wanted me to know there were no mansions in heaven, only places. I of course accepted what he had to say, but as I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that it really doesn’t matter what you call it, any house built by our God will outshine anything we’ve ever seen on this planet.

I am convinced that we can’t even imagine how beautiful heaven will be. Heaven really won’t be anything like we think it will be; it’ll be much greater.

Heaven will be filled with abundant parks, rivers, rolling meadows, & flowing streams. Lining the streets will be flowers in constant bloom, fruit trees of every kind, every species of plant life growing free from pestilence & disease. The streets are made of gold & the walls are made of jasper. The gates are made of pearl & one of those pearls would be worth more than all earth’s riches. Precious stones will lie on the ground like playthings; emeralds, rubies & diamonds galore.

3. THE –NO MORES-OF HEAVEN!

In heaven there will be;

NO MORE hunger,
NO MORE thirst,
NO MORE scorching heat,
NO MORE tears,
NO MORE death,
NO MORE crying in pain,
NO MORE bad guys,
NO MORE impure things,
NO MORE sorrow,
NO MORE bitterness & failure,
NO MORE eyeglasses,
NO MORE hearing aids,
NO MORE braces,
NO MORE bald heads,
NO MORE crutches,
NO MORE nursing homes,
NO MORE paramedics,
NO MORE CPR,
NO MORE Aspirin,
NO MORE accidents,
NO MORE cancer,
NO MORE heart attacks,
NO MORE AIDS,
NO MORE hospitals,
NO MORE cemeteries,
NO MORE funerals,
NO MORE artificial lighting, for the Lamb is the light.
NO MORE darkness for there’s no night there.
NO MORE pollution for the skies will always be clear.
NO MORE violence for no criminals will ever enter.
NO MORE greedy politicians, or drug pushers,
NO MORE child abusers.
NO MORE potholes& power outages.

4. IN HEAVEN WE’LL EAT GOOD FOOD.

In heaven we’ll indulge in the mother of all buffets. I love to go to Cracker Barrel, Outback Steak House, Olive Garden & other great restaurants, but in heaven we’ll be eating the best possible food. How do I know this? The Bible says;

I say to you that many will come from the East & the West & will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven. MT.8:11.

Then the angel said to me, write; blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.—Rev. 19:9

Won’t it be great to say, “Hey Abraham, will you pass me some more Lobster? And I think I’ll have a little more of that steak…. & by all means I’ll have a slice of that coconut pie.”

I’m going to go out on a limb here & suggest that in heaven, we’ll eat a lot of barbequed pork, quail, & fish. Here’s my reasoning; I believe that before it’s all over, there’ll be lots of Jews saved. Some of these folk have been denied the culinary deliciousness of good barbequed pork. Don’t you think God is thinking about this? These good folk deserve a chance to enjoy this fantastic food item.

As for Quail, when Israel got tired of manna in the wilderness, God gave them Quail. So I figure that God must think Quail is pretty good stuff. When I was a kid, we’d go hunting for Quail & believe me it’s good-eating.

I chose fish because Jesus seemed to be partial to fish. When He came back in His glorified body, He cooked a meal for His disciples. He could have prepared anything He wanted but He chose to cook fish. And notice He eats with them. I’m assuming if Jesus could eat in His new body, we’ll eat too, & one of the foods will be fish.



5. IN HEAVEN WE’LL FELLOWSHIP WITH BIBLE CHARACTERS.

We’ll get to ask David how it felt to kill Goliath. We’ll be able to ask Noah what it was like living in the ark. We can ask Moses what it was like to pastor a trouble church, & part the Red Sea. We’ll get to ask Daniel & the three Hebrew boys any questions we like & talk to Mary about what Jesus was like during His “terrible two’s.” [My mother said trying to get me through those dangerous years was like being on suicide watch.]

WILL WE SEE GOD & THE HOLY GHOST IN HEAVEN?

Of course we all look forward to seeing Jesus face to face. I’ve had people ask me, “Will we see God & the Holy Ghost in heaven?” To be perfectly candid, I must tell you that much of this is a mystery to me. Maybe you have the answer but I can’t say I can answer every question in regards to this.

I can say of a certainty that Jesus said—Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Revelation 22:3-4 says—the throne of God & of the Lamb shall be in it and His servants shall worship Him: they shall see His face… To be frank, it’s not clear to me all that will happen here & we probably won’t understand it all until we get to heaven. Even then, maybe it will all be understood as eternity rolls but whatever we learn will give us delight & joy for all eternity.

6. WE’LL SEE OUR LOVED ONES AGAIN.

1 These. 4:13-17 says;-…we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the air & so shall we ever be with the Lord.

I remember an old song we used to sing, -There is going to be a meeting in the air in the sweet sweet bye & bye. I’m going to meet you, meet you over there in that home beyond the sky.

Won’t it be wonderful there? Have you ever had the feeling that the Holidays came & went too quickly? Though in one way, you were glad to get back to your routine, there was this feeling of sadness when you said goodbye to your loved ones you knew you wouldn’t see for another year.

Although my parents have been in heaven for many years I still miss them terribly. I used to call them on Sunday afternoons & sometimes now on Sunday, I find myself hungering to call them. Friend we’re going to have a wonderful time in heaven reuniting with our loved ones who’ve gone on before us & the blessed thing about it is we’ll never have to say goodbye again.


ETERNAL GLOWING!

Psalm 16:11 says….in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore

We’re told that heaven will be a place of unending pleasure in God’s presence.

Can you remember times in your life when you had an experience so wonderful that, for lack of better words, you tingled & glowed from your head to your toes? Think about it. Maybe it was when you saw your first child’s face. Maybe it was when you saw your beloved on your wedding day. Maybe it was the first time you flew in a plane. Maybe it happened when you were told you’d won a scholarship or, perhaps you even won a lottery. But you remember this glowing feeling came & went in a flash.

Its not that you didn’t continue to enjoy the feelings of fulfillment, maybe even for many years, but that flash---a flash I’m calling the “glow,” came & went in a nanosecond. We all have these times when we glow & we’d like to make them last longer but it just can’t be done. The glow hits & runs & we never know when we’ll feel like that again. Sometimes we might try to grab hold of those moments & make them last longer but alas they are too fleeting for us to embrace for any length of time.

I’m suggesting to you that these rare “glowing feelings” are God’s way of showing us what heaven will be like. They are “little eternities,” fleeting moments of time God let’s us experience. I think this glowing will be a feeling that will come when we get to heaven & never leave us throughout eternity.

THERE WILL BE NO SURPRISED PEOPLE IN HEAVEN.

Here’s what I mean by that; no one will wake up in heaven & say,
“well what do you know, I made it?” No. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people & if we’re going there we have the witness in our hearts that we’re going.

The late Dr. D. James Kennedy, who pastored the famous Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, FL, told the story of being at the White House attending an evangelical meeting while Ronald Reagan was president. During the meeting DR. Kennedy asked Reagan, “Suppose you were standing at the door of heaven & God were to ask, “why should I let you in?”

The president paused for a moment then replied, “Well, I guess I’d have to answer with John 3:16,--For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

I don’t know about you but I think President Reagan gave the perfect answer because our only hope of heaven is through the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of our most beloved hymns puts it this way;

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood & righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

In 1952, a young girl stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island determined to swim from it to the shore of the state of California. She was an award winning swimmer but on this day it was so cold & foggy she could hardly see the boats that were around her accompanying her on the journey. The young lady swam & swam but after 15 hours she’d had enough & could take no more. She asked to be taken out of the water.

She cried, “Mother, get me out” & her mother told her she was very, very close to the shore & she could make it if she just kept going. Finally the girl was emotionally, mentally & physically exhausted & she had to be winched out of the water. It wasn’t until she got into the boat that she discovered that the shoreline was less than half a mile away. At the news conference the next day she was crestfallen as she said; “All I could see was the fog, I think if I could have seen the shore I would have made it.”

Do you see the shore, believer? Do you have a glimpse of Glory? The old song says, “Just one glimpse of Him in Glory- will the toils of life repay.”

The Apostle Paul was taken up into heaven & the things he saw & heard were so astounding it took him 14 years before he ever brought it up again. It was so amazing, so astounding & so spectacular, that he just kept it between him & God.-2 Cor.12:1-4

Paul knew what he was talking about when he exclaimed;

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for them that love him….
1. Cor.2:9


Blessings,


John