(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

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Circumstance"] All right, good evening, everyone. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Let's all find our seats. As you find your seats, go ahead and grab a hymnal. Turn to song number 449, Dwelling in Bulaland. Let's all stand together for this first song, If You're Able, song number 449, Dwelling in Bulaland. On that chorus, when you see the Praise God, let's shout it out nice and strong. Song number 449, all together on that first verse. Far away the noise of strife, Upon my ear it's fully, And I know the sins of earth be said on every hand, Doubt and fear and pains of earth in vain to me are calling, None of these shall move me from Bulaland. I'm living on the mountain, Underneath the cloudless sky, Praise God, I'm drinking. One thousand, that never shall run dry, Oh, yes, I'm feasting on the manna, From a bountiful sublime, Or I am dwelling in Bulaland. Far into the storm, The power of God above is feeling, Sons of men in battle, Let them be wisdom, Save their mind within the castle, Love that will be treating, Loving then can reach me, Since Bulaland. I'm living on the mountain, Underneath the cloudless sky, Praise God, I'm drinking. At the fountain, that never shall run dry, Oh, yes, I'm feasting on the manna, From a bountiful sublime, Or I am dwelling in Bulaland. Let the stormy breezes blow their cry, Denied of army, I am safely sheltered here, Protected by God's hand. Here the sun is always shining, Here there's nothing on me, I am saved forever, In Bulaland. I'm living on the mountain, Underneath the cloudless sky, Praise God, I'm drinking. At the fountain, that never shall run dry, Oh, yes, I'm feasting on the manna, From a bountiful sublime, For I am dwelling in Bulaland. You may hear the words of God, I seek in contemplation, Hearing now His blessed voice, I see the way He planned, Dwelling in the Spirit, Here I learn of full salvation, Gladly will I tarry, In Bulaland. I'm living on the mountain, Underneath the cloudless sky, Praise God, I'm drinking. At the fountain, that never shall run dry, Oh, yes, I'm feasting on the manna, From a bountiful sublime, For I am dwelling in Bulaland. Amen. Wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving us this day. I thank you for our salvation, Lord, and I thank you for providing for us all our needs and keeping us in Goshen here. And I just ask that you please bless this service, Lord, bless the singing, and most of all, bless the preaching of your word. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Go ahead and turn to song number 27. Song number 27, The Old Rugged Cross. Song number 27, on that first verse, nice and strong. On a hill far away, Stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame. And I love that old cross, Where the dearest and best, For a world of what sinners was slain. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it someday for a crown. Oh, that old rugged cross, So inspires the world, As a wondrous attraction for me. For the dear Lamb of God, Left His glory above, To carry to our Calvary. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it someday for a crown. In the old rugged cross, Stained with blood so divine, A wondrous beauty I see. For it was on that old cross, Jesus suffered and died, To pardon and sanctify me. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it someday for a crown. To the old rugged cross, I will let her be true, It's shame that it grows gladly there. Then He'll call me someday, To my home far away, Where His glory forever I'll share. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it someday for a crown. All right, great singing. Thank you so much for being here. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Just a few announcements. If you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand. One of the ushers can get one for you. Our next song will be 261, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, if you want to get that ready in your songbooks. 261. Our services are as follows. Sunday evening is at 5 p.m. And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock. You see the soul winning times and teams there as well. The list of expecting mothers, please continue to pray for them. And today, of course, was our special Mother's Day service. So again, happy Mother's Day to you all, to all the moms out there. And I'm sure they enjoyed the gift, the chocolate, and the lunch thereafter. And so that was a blessing to have them here with us. On Saturday, May 15th, we have the Men's Smokeout. This coming Saturday, and that'll be at Dr. Rita's house, between 4.30 and 5 is when we're going to get started. And so there's going to be plenty of meat. Make sure you sign up tonight, because tonight is the deadline to sign up for the smokeout. And so make sure you sign up in the back. We will not take any late comers to that, okay? Because we need to make sure we get a head count to purchase all the meat. So keep that in mind. Saturday, May 15th, if you have any questions, you can see me after the service. One announcement that's not here on the announcement is that we're going to have a PE class for the children beginning on May 18th at 10 a.m. here at the church. I forgot, is it three years older or third grade and older? Is it three years older? Three years and older. If your child is three years old and older, they can participate. But Brother Ulysses is going to be running the PE program, okay? Doing jumping jacks and push-ups and deadlifts and all that. It's going to be great. So that will be here on May 18th at 10 a.m. here at the church. And as the months go by, we're going to offer more things for those who homeschool in our church. And so that's just one of them there. And we're actually going to get, not this coming Tuesday, but we are going to get PE t-shirts for all the kids as well. And so if you have any questions about that, you can see my wife after the service, and she'll give you more details about that. Friday, May 28th, we have the men's prayer meeting. And then Sunday, June 6th is the birthday breakfast. Sunday, June 20th, we're going to be celebrating Father's Day. I want to encourage you to bring your dads. Bring yourself if you're a dad. And we're going to have a gift for all the dads on that day. Special service is going to be great. And then, of course, you see the reminders there. Make sure that there's no food or drink in the main auditorium except for water and coffee. And please silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. At this time, we're going to take some soul-winning numbers from this past week. So let's get some soul-winning numbers from Monday to Thursday. Any salvations from Monday to Thursday? Brother Maury. Five for Brother Maury's team. Three for Brother Ulysses. Anybody else from Monday to Thursday? Friday and Saturday. Friday and Saturday? Yes. Six for Brother Maury. Okay. How about this afternoon? Brother Paul? Two? Brother Maury? One? Brother Mark? One. Brother Marcos. Three salvations for Brother Marcos? Yes, sir. You got one? Whose team are you on? Oh, okay. For Brother Haik's team. One? One. Great. Anybody else? Going once, twice, thrice? Okay. Keep up the great work on soul-winning. Let's go ahead and sing our next song. 261, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. Song number 261. Song number 261, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. All together on that first verse. Oh soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see. There's life for a look at the Savior and life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face when the beams of earth will grow strangely dimmed in the light of His glory and grace. Through death into life everlasting we follow Him there. Over us sin no more hath no million, for more than conjures beyond. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face and the beams of earth will grow strangely dimmed in the light of His glory and grace. His word shall not fail you, we promise. Believe in Him and all will be well. Then go to a world that is dying, His birth, its salvation to tell. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face and the beams of earth will grow strangely dimmed in the light of His glory and grace. Amen. Wonderful singing. At this time the ushers will collect the offering and you can turn your Bibles through 2 Corinthians 12. 2 Corinthians 12, the Bible reads, It is not expedient for me, doubtless to glory, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ about fourteen years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth, such in one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth, that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Such in one will I glory, yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth, but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me, and he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, but when I am weak, then I am strong. I am become a fool in glorying, ye have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended of you, for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest of apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds, for what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong. Behold the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you, for I seek not yours, but you, for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. But be it so, I did not burden you, nevertheless being crafty I caught you with guile. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? Walked me not in the same spirit, walked me not in the same steps. Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? We speak before God in Christ, but we do all things dearly beloved for your edifying. For I fear lest when I come I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as you would not. Lest there be debates, envines, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumult, and lest when I come again my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed. Let's pray. Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving us this day. I thank you for giving us this opportunity to hear your word preached, and I just pray that you would please fill Pastor Mejia with your spirit as he preaches your word, and give us also attentiveness as we listen in the congregation, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen. All right, we're in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Look down at your Bibles at verse number 2. It says, I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth. Such an one caught up to the third heaven, and I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth, how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which is not lawful for a man to utter. And the title of my sermon this evening, or what I'm preaching on this evening, is the subject of heaven. The subject of heaven. Now, one of the reasons I'm preaching this is because I was actually inspired by someone earlier this week. My wife's uncle, his name is Uncle Trent. We call him Uncle Trent. He actually passed away recently, and he died of cancer, but he was a saved man. He was saved for many, many years. And he just kind of lost the battle with cancer, and he passed away. But within the last couple of days, my wife sent me a video, and I think it was a video that was circulating from his family, and somehow it got to my wife. And it was a video of him in his living room, surrounded by his church members. And he obviously looks different because he had cancer, he was battling cancer. And he was just basically telling them how he was ready to die. And he was talking about heaven. And the sincerity in his voice of the anticipation of going to heaven was pretty remarkable, actually. Because he was just saying, man, I can't wait to go. I'm so looking forward to heaven. He's like, it's been a long time since I've seen my mom. I'm finally going to see my mom again. And he said, in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you I'd go to prepare a place for you. It's going to be awesome. And he's just kind of like encouraging his church members, those who go to his church, over the fact that he's going to pass away. And he wasn't sad. He wasn't kind of down. He was looking forward with anticipation to this place called heaven, because he knew he was saved. And of course, he passed away. And he's there today, no longer battling cancer, no longer suffering from that disease. Now he's free of that, and he is in heaven today. And when I saw that video, I was so inspired by that, because obviously heaven was very much real to him. He was obviously saved. But it got me thinking about this concept of heaven, what the Bible teaches about it. And so I just began to think upon him and started looking through the scriptures. And that's what I want to preach on tonight. I'm going to give you a lot of basic things that you probably already know. But I'm also going to tell you some other things that maybe you don't know. And so tonight I'm preaching on the subject of heaven. And when we think of heaven, obviously the first thing that comes to mind is that celestial, spiritual realm, which we would consider to be the abode of God. It's where all the heavenly hosts are. It's where all the redeemed have gone after they passed away here on this earth. And this is what's known as heaven. Now here in 2 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul refers to it as the third heaven. Now why does he do that? Well because of the fact that when you read the Bible, both Old and New Testament, you'll come to passages where heaven is being described but it's actually referring to the sky, it's referring to the atmosphere, or even the expanse outside of the parameters of earth known as space. That can be considered heavens, and the sky can be considered the heavens. And so Paul the apostle is being specific in saying, I was caught up to the third heaven. He wasn't caught up to the sky, he wasn't caught up to space, he's not somewhere on Mars or on the moon, he's referring to that spiritual place, that spiritual realm where God abides. Now many people have actually erroneously taught that there's actually different levels of heaven. And they'll try to use this passage to try to prove that because they say, well Paul the apostle was talking about the third heaven, lo and behold that means there's a first, there's a second, there's a fourth, fifth, sixth, and even seventh heaven. How many of you have ever heard of the seven heavens? This is actually something that's taught in Hinduism, Islam, and I don't want to talk about that lame show from years ago. Seventh heaven, no that's not what I'm referring to. This show is gay. Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism actually taught that concept. And what they were referring to was, you know Judaism in the Talmud actually teaches there's seven levels of that celestial realm where God abides. And obviously this is false. And actually even this stupid book called the book of Enoch teaches this matter of different levels of heaven. Now obviously the book of Enoch is a false book. It's not true at all. It's on the same level as the Apocrypha. Just a bunch of fables, someone made it up. Enoch did not write that book. And we know that because it doesn't line up with the rest of scripture. It's not compatible with what the Bible teaches. And in this book of Enoch, he goes through all these visions and these chambers that he sees in heaven and he brings that knowledge back and he says that there's different levels that you can attain to when you go to heaven. But here's the thing is Hinduism teaches that because Hinduism teaches this false doctrine of karma. And if you do right in this life, you're going to be able to go to one of these levels of heaven, etc. So obviously a false teaching is not true. Now here's one thing that is true is when it comes to different levels is hell. There are different levels of hell for sure. And the reason we know that is because the Bible explicitly teaches and talks about the lowest hell. And of course the implication there is that there's different levels including a lowest hell that's actually reserved for people who are guilty of the greater damnation. They're guilty of the greater sin. And so God does punish people in hell with different levels of hell. But here's the thing, it's still hell. There's parts of hell that are hotter than others, but it's still going to burn, it's still going to be very extremely painful. It's just that at the center of hell, the lowest hell, is reserved for the Judas Iscariots of this world. But there's only one abode of God where the throne of God is, and that is heaven. Now go to Genesis chapter number one if you would. Genesis chapter number one. I'm going to make three simple points tonight, and of course under those three we're going to make some comments on those. Point number one when it comes to heaven is that heaven was created. In other words, it hasn't always existed. Now sometimes we think, well, heaven has always been because of the fact that if heaven is the abode of God, God is eternal, therefore heaven is eternal also. But actually that's not true. And when we think about it, you know, when we go out soloing, we often say, are you 100% sure that if you died today that you would go to heaven? But really what we mean is if they're going to live forever, right? Heaven is just associated with eternal life because that is where God is, you understand? But heaven is a place that was created and hasn't always existed, and in fact we see with the very first verse of the Bible that it was created on the first day. It says in Genesis 1 verse 1, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now what I want you to notice is it says heaven singular, not heavens. The reason that's important is because a lot of the modern versions of the Bible actually render this as heavens and earth. And they'll say, well, this isn't referring to the abode of God, that celestial realm where God dwells, where the throne of God is, it's referring to the atmosphere, it's referring to space, you know, the other heavens that the Bible talks about. But that's obviously not true. We're going to look at what the Bible says about that. Look at verse number 2. By the way, we know that this isn't true because of the fact that those heavens were actually created on the second day. The first day, what do we see? We see heaven and earth, we see light and darkness, you know, the light He called day, the darkness He called night, the evening and the morning were the first day. This is the first day, that's when all those things were created. Look at verse number 2. And the earth was without form and void, darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, let there be light, and there was light, and God saw the light that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness, and God called the light day, and the darkness He called night, and the evening and the morning were the first day. So heaven, that celestial realm, was actually one of the first things that was created on the creation period, the six-day creation period. Look at verse 6. And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters, and God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament, from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so. And look what it says. And God called the firmament heaven, and the evening and the morning were the second day. Oh, hold on a second, pastors. Don't you know that firmament is that, you know, that glass dome? This is a flat earth. You know, it's a dome, it's a snow globe. That's what firmament is actually talking about. Wrong. Look at verse 20. And God said, let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. So if the firmament was some solid, firm dome that covered the world, what are the birds doing flying in the firmament, right? And so, obviously, firmament is referring to that expanse, is referring to the heavens, the sky, and even that which is outside of that, what we would call space, okay? So that was created on the second day. Therefore, what's created on the first day when it talks about heaven is referring to that abode of God. It's referring to that celestial realm that we see there, okay? And look, you know, the Bible tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. You know, that celestial realm known as heaven where God abides, you can't see that with the naked eye. We cannot observe that with the naked eye. We can't see that. Those are things that are believed by faith. But, you know, what we can see is the sky. We can see the clouds. We can see, you know, the stars and the moon. We can see the celestial bodies known as the planets, and we can glorify God because of those things because we're looking at his handiwork. So we see there that heaven is synonymous with firmament. That's what that's referring to there. Now, this misinterpretation has led Christians to teach that heaven has always existed. They say, well, when it says in Genesis 1, 1 that God created the heaven and the earth, it's not referring to that eternal abode. It's referring to the atmosphere or space because heaven has always existed, okay? That's what they want to teach. And look, you can obviously see how people can get mixed up with that. You know, it's like, well, heaven, God lives in heaven, therefore, because God is eternal, therefore, heaven is eternal also. But what we have to understand is that the Bible actually tells us that the high and lofty one, God, inhabited eternity. And eternity is something that existed prior to heaven even being created, okay? Eternity is not something that is subject to time, space, or matter, something that's beyond that. If we were to describe heaven or prior to Genesis 1, 1, we would just say eternity past. Because here's the thing, God has always been, you understand? Heaven is used as a reference point for us, okay? And I'll explain what I mean in just a bit. Now, think about this. You know, if heaven was created, which it was, the question is, why was it created, right? Like, why would God, he doesn't need somewhere to abide in. God has always existed. What's the purpose of heaven being created? Well, we can simply answer this by examining its counterpart in the creation story, which is earth. Because it says God created the heaven and the earth. Now, let me ask you, why was earth created? To be inhabited, right? He created it so that man can inhabit the earth, have dominion over all things. Look at verse 26. It says, and God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So we see there that God created earth because he wanted man to inhabit the earth. He wanted man to have dominion over the fish, over the beast of the field, over all things. And so when we look at that, we can apply that to heaven and say, well, God created heaven to be inhabited by man as well. He said, well, that doesn't really make sense. If he created earth to be inhabited by man, why would you say that he made heaven to be inhabited by man also? Well, I'll tell you why. Because God created heaven with the foreknowledge that heaven would one day occupy the righteous. You see, God knew before the laying of the foundation of the world that man would sin, he would die spiritually, would need a redeemer, that he would send his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for all of mankind to redeem and reconcile the world back unto him and that those people would need a specific place to go to, which is heaven. So he created heaven with the foreknowledge that one day it would accommodate righteous people, righteous souls or spirits. You understand? He created heaven knowing that one day it would accommodate the souls of the righteous. Go to Philippians chapter number two. Philippians chapter two. So heaven was created to be inhabited by the redeemed. This is why the Bible talks about that our names are written down in heaven. But other than that, you know, heaven is created, was created to be a reference point for the presence of God. Now, we know that God is omnipresent. That means he's in all places at all times. The Bible tells us that in him we live and move and have our being. He's in all places at all times. He sees everything. He's omnipresent. And we know that God is eternal. But here's the thing is that, you know, we judge everything based upon its depth, based upon time, based upon length and distance. Right? I'll give you an example. Apparently, everywhere else other than California, everyone always says, you know, where's this store at? They'll say it's about 10 miles from here. And am I correct about that? Right? It's like 10 miles away. You tell me 10 miles. I'm like, what? I know what miles are, but why are you telling me miles? And Cali, what do we say? Minutes. How far is that? It's about five minutes away. That's what we say. Right? Don't we do that? We base it off of time. So we base distance off of time. How far is, you know, Los Angeles from here? It's about like an hour and a half depending upon traffic or something. We never use miles here. Okay? Some of you use miles and we can tell where you're from, you know what I mean? You know, when they start using miles to describe how far something is, we tell them, you ain't from around here, huh? We use minutes around here, son. But what I'm saying is that, you know, we judge things based upon, you know, depth, time, how deep something is, how long something is, how far it is, how long it takes. But when it comes to this matter of eternity, you can't really judge that. Like, we don't know what that's like. Because something that's eternal is outside of time, space, and matter. You understand? And because God is eternal, we can't really judge where He is because of the fact that for us, we can only be at one place at one time, whereas God is everywhere at all times because He's eternal. You understand? However, because we have heaven, now we have a reference point. We can look up unto the Lord. Right? We can pray unto the Lord. We have a reference point for the presence of God. Look what the Bible says in Philippians chapter 2. I'll read to you from Colossians chapter 1 verse 20. It says, And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. Look at Philippians 2 verse 8. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. Now, what is He doing? He's describing basically the plenary of His preeminence, right? His dominion. He's basically saying everything. Okay? Everything that's in heaven, everything that's in earth, and let's just throw in under the earth as well because I'm in charge of everything. That's what He's saying. But it's giving us a reference point for that. When we say God is in charge of all things, what does that mean? He's in charge of everything that's in heaven, everything that's in earth, and everything that's under the earth as well. Okay? And this helps us when we pray. When we pray, or even helps us when we think of those who have passed on, we know that they're in heaven. We obviously know that now they're eternal. They will live forever if they're saved. But it gives us a reference point. It helps us to think upon an actual place. You understand? So heaven was created in order to give us a reference point for His presence. That's why when David is speaking of the presence of God, he says, if I make my bed in hell, thou art there. If I ascend into the heaven, thou art there. He's giving us a reference point to help us to realize where God is. Okay? Now obviously we understand that though God is in heaven, He's in all places at all times, but it helps us to have that reference point there. But not only that, heaven was created to help us to identify with a different system. You say, what system is that? The kingdom of heaven. Okay? Look what the Bible says. Go to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. The Bible says in Matthew 5 verse 10, blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Hebrews 11 verse 13 says, these all died in faith, not having received the promise, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. So we often identify by where we're born. It's like, well, I was born here in the United States. I'm a citizen of the United States. I was born in this country, so I'm actually African. I am from Central America. But God wants us to identify with something that doesn't really have a place in this world. Which is the kingdom of God. And so He places it in a place called heaven to help us to realize we're actually strangers, we're foreigners, we're pilgrims on this earth, our citizenship is actually in heaven. Look at Ephesians 2 verse number 18. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. This is one of the reasons why a lot of the parable says the kingdom of heaven is like unto. It's helping us to identify with a different system. Because if you're a Christian, you're living in this world, there's a lot of injustice in this world. A lot of things that we're going to experience, there's a lot of injustices that we're going to see, we're going to be defrauded, we're going to be mistreated. And God is letting us know, hey, there's actually a kingdom that you're a part of that's not of this world, it's in a place called heaven. So it helps us to realize it's really a reminder that we're not really part of this world. And what's unfortunate is that there's a lot of Christians who act like, yeah, well I am a part of this world. This is my home. This is my place, and I'm proud to be an American, and I'm proud to be a Republican, and this is what I am, and this is where I was born, and this and this. But here's the thing, that's not the way God wants us to think. God wants us to identify with heaven, to identify with the kingdom of God. He wants us to act like we are representing him. We are ambassadors for Christ, you understand? Representing God. People want to complain about, oh, you know, all these foreigners coming into America, all these illegal aliens, all of you are illegal aliens. Any Christian who's, oh, I'm against all these illegal aliens, you're against yourself then too because you don't even belong here. Earth is not your home, folks. You're not a citizen of earth. That citizenship has been revoked when you got saved. You're actually a citizen of heaven, okay? You are a fellow citizen of the commonwealth of Israel, as the Bible puts it, okay? Oh, but I'm an American, okay? You being an American then, I'm a Christian, okay? I'm an American, and I did everything I could to come to this country, well great, well you know what? We look for a better country, and the Bible actually talks about the better country being Mount Zion, the new Jerusalem. That's what we're citizens of, right? So why identify with the things in this world where we have a better kingdom to come? And here's the thing, you're a pauper here, but you're a king and a priest in heaven, right? So why waste your time trying to establish yourself as a pauper here on this earth when you can actually lay up treasures in heaven and be a king and a priest as God meant you to be? So heaven was created to give us a reference point to his presence. It's there to show us that we operate under a different system. The second thing I want you to notice is that heaven is actually temporary. Salvation is not temporary. Heaven is temporary though, okay? Eternal life is forever. Go to Matthew 24, if you would, Matthew 24. What? This is heresy. What do you mean heaven is temporary? And by the way, just remember this is that Satan takes what the Bible actually teaches and perverts it, right? So wherever you heard about this temporary place of the righteous, Abraham's bosom, this teaching that people say, well, when the righteous passed away in the Old Testament, they went to a place called Abraham's bosom. It was the abode of the righteous. They were there until Jesus came, preached to them, then they had to get saved again. And then they came out of there. It was a second compartment of hell and all this weird nonsense. But you know what? It's a perversion of what the Bible actually teaches. Now what does the Bible actually teach? It teaches that heaven, which is where God abides, that's actually temporary. You say, well, how do you know that? Well, because of the fact that the Bible teaches us that we're going to inherit the earth. So everyone who has ever died from the beginning of time until now, they're in heaven right now. To be absent from the bodies, to be present with the Lord, and the Lord is currently residing in a place called heaven. But wait, there's more. They will not always be there. Why? Because the Bible actually teaches that there will be a new heaven and a new earth and that we will inherit and inhabit the earth for all of eternity. I want to be in heaven. Who cares where you're at as long as God's there, right? But if he wants us to inhabit the earth, why not? And we're going to go into the deeper meaning as to why we're inheriting the earth and not just staying up in heaven. What do I have here? Matthew 24, Psalm 37 verse 11 says, but the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Matthew 24 tells us heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. So it clearly tells us that heaven, the current heaven, earth, the current earth, will one day pass away. Now this doesn't mean that it's going to cease to exist. We're not going to draw closer to the sun and burn and all these theoretical scenarios that people come up with. Oh, we're getting farther away from this and we're getting closer to the sun. One day the earth is going to cave in and we're going to be destroyed and all this. It's never going to happen. It's all sci-fi nonsense. Now it will one day change, it will one day be transfigured, God will one day terraform the earth to bring it back to its original intent, which is the Garden of Eden conditions, but it's still going to remain here in existence as well as heaven. The Bible says in Isaiah 65, before behold, I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind. The Bible says in Isaiah 66 and verse 22, go to Hebrews chapter 12 if you would, for as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. So what is the thing that we see here? We see that the current heaven is actually a temporary place. It's not going to be there forever. Revelation 21 verse 1 says, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. The fact that God is going to make a new heaven tells us that the old one has passed. Now why is God allowing, we could see why God creates a new earth. He's got to change it. It's going through all these transitional periods of sin, it's been corrupted, I mean God just got finished destroying the earth, you know, through those three and a half years of God's wrath being poured out, the seven trumpets and seven vials, he's burning all the elements, it's being destroyed. So you can see why he would take a thousand years to rebuild it and at the end of those thousand years, completely transform it, terraform it to bring it back to its original purpose. We can see that with the earth, but why is he changing heaven? Why does heaven need to be made new? Well I believe it's because the old heaven at that point will have fulfilled its purpose. Because there's a purpose behind the current heaven. What is the purpose behind the current heaven? Well as I mentioned, it holds the spirit of man until it is reunited with the body. That's why it's there. Because heaven means an expanse, it's a massive space. And you've got to think about it, all the billions and billions of spirits that are in heaven today. It's not a holding cell, but it is a place where it's holding the spirits of the righteous until it is reunited with its body at the resurrection. Look at Hebrews chapter 12, let me read to you from 1 Thessalonians actually, chapter 4 and verse 13, if you want to turn there you can, 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 says, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep, meaning those who are dead, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. So picture this, at the rapture you have the resurrection, but it's the resurrection of those who are asleep in Jesus first. So when Jesus Christ descends, when every eye shall see him, he's actually coming with all of his saints as well. So why is he bringing all the saints? To reunite them with their body and at that point they receive their resurrected form. Verse 15 tells us, For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. In other words he's saying, those of us who make it through the tribulation and we see Jesus Christ coming in the clouds, we're not going to get raptured until the dead in Christ rise first. We're not going to prevent them, they're going to go first. He says, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 22, the Bible tells us, But ye are coming to Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. The Bible says this is referring to those righteous people who have already passed and have gone into heaven. And so what is the purpose of heaven being created? It's created as a temporary place for the spirits of the righteous to abide in before they are reunited with their bodies once again. Not only that, it holds the rewards of the righteous. Remember when we talked about that heaven is like a reference point for the presence of God? Well, we need a reference point for our rewards as well, because doesn't God constantly tell us that we're going to be rewarded, that we're going to receive the recompense, we're going to see a reward? Well, we judge everything based upon distance. Well, where is it? And what does God tell us? It's in heaven. You're going to receive a reward, but it's currently in the bank account called heaven. Turn with me, if you would, to Hebrews chapter nine. The Bible says in Matthew chapter five, verse 12, rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. So persecute today the prophets, which were before you. Matthew chapter six, verse 20 says, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in where? Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Where your treasure is there where your heart be also. So it operates somewhat as a reference point for us to realize, well, the work that I'm doing here, the souls that I'm getting saved, when I serve God here, although I'm not seeing the reward physically with my eyes, I know that it's being transferred to a place called heaven. So it holds the reward of the righteous. But also think about this, the current heaven is essential, especially for the transition between Old and New Testament, because heaven served as a divine pattern for a worldly sanctuary. Look at Hebrews chapter nine, now in the Old Testament you had the tabernacle and God gave the description of the tabernacle to Moses to build, and of course you have the holiest of all, you have all those details of the tabernacle that he gave, but here's the thing, when Moses built that tabernacle, he had to use a pattern. So there's actually another tabernacle that existed prior to the earthly tabernacle, as the Bible calls it, the worldly sanctuary. Look at Hebrews nine verse 10, which stood only in meats and drinks and diverse washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come and high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building. So he's talking about a tabernacle, but it's not the tabernacle that existed then, he's talking about another tabernacle that's not made with hands, not of this building. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Think about this, it was essential, it's essential that heaven exists because of the fact that that's where Jesus Christ was going to place his blood on the mercy seat. Mercy seat had to have a place to be, right? Not only that, but the tabernacle needed to be created because an earthly or worldly sanctuary was going to use it as a template, as a pattern to create one here on this earth. But when Jesus Christ died, when he died, he descended into hell for three days and three nights, his soul was not left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption. He resurrected on the third day, shortly thereafter, he ascended unto the father. He told his disciples not to touch him because he had not yet ascended into his father. He ascended up into heaven and he spread his blood on the mercy seat, which is located in heaven. Try telling that to John MacArthur, who completely downplays and blasphemes this matter of the blood of Christ. Folks, it looks to me like this is important. It looks to me that the importance of the mercy seat is also based upon the fact that heaven is created in order to house that tabernacle, to have that mercy seat so that Jesus Christ could one day spread his blood on that mercy seat to make that full payment for all of mankind. And of course, he descended back down and at that point, they were able to touch him and he breathed upon them and gave them the Holy Ghost, etc. Look at verse 23. It says, it was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. So God didn't just create heaven just to make space and you know, just to have this place where he can abide in and have the righteous in. He created it because it was going to house the tabernacle that would be a pattern for the earthly worldly sanctuary that we saw in the Old Testament, etc. Now go to Revelation chapter 21, if you would, Revelation chapter 21. It's a real simple sermon tonight and you may think, well, I already know all of this. Don't you know I'm already a biblical scholar, I already know these things. I already heard all the sermons on heaven, okay. Yeah, I already know this, okay, all right. Know it all. Well, let's see if you can learn something new. Now here's the thing is that we know that heaven was created, okay. The current heaven is only temporary and we know that it's temporary because number three, it shall be made new, okay. When the Bible talks about a new heaven and a new earth, it's not referring to a completely different one, okay. He's just making it new, he's changing it. Look at Revelation 21 verse one, let's read a couple of verses here. It says here, and I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. Now obviously we understand that there's no more sea because now all believers from the beginning of time up until the end of the world or what Revelation 21 would consider the end of the current world, they're inhabiting the earth so there needs to be enough space to occupy all these saved people so therefore there's no more sea, there's no more need of it, okay. It says in verse two, John saw the holy city in new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband and 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 and be their God and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes 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 and he said unto me write for these words are true and faithful. Now think about this, you know obviously we see that God has to wipe away our tears because this is chapter 21 and it comes right after chapter 20 where we see what the great white throne judgment and it's at the great white throne judgment that people are the damned are judged eternally and they're cast into the lake of fire so everyone who's currently in hell is brought up and they too get reunited with their with their carcass okay with their body you know because the Bible talks about the sea giving up their dead hell gives up their dead they're reunited only to be cast both soul and body in a place called hell and you know to us it's a it's a time of rejoicing because we're gonna see all these reprobates and wicked people and enemies of God those who have persecuted us we're gonna see their carcasses thrown into the lake of fire and we're gonna wash our feet in the blood of the wicked amen but here's the thing I'm sure we're gonna see a lot of people that we know love maybe even thought who were saved who are gonna be cast there as well and that's partly the reason why I believe it's saying that he has to wipe away all our tears because it's gonna be a mournful time when we see our loved ones cast into the lake of fire as well and you know the symbolism there that he's wiping away our tears it's like he's wiping away our memory of those things because I don't think we're gonna remember those who are dead who have gone to hell it's hard to it would be very difficult to live all of eternity knowing that your your family your cousin your brother sister someone that you love went there so therefore you know it tells us that there will be no more sorrow no more crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away we don't have a remembrance of these things okay now keep that in mind so go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 it was 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 so what do we just see in Revelation 21 the new heaven and the new earth we know why the earth was made new it's got just got finished being obliterated a thousand years prior for three and a half years and in my opinion that the obliteration was so severe that it takes about a thousand years to rebuild it okay the entire world is being reconstructed you know we're ruling and reigning with Christ we're laboring there and then at the completion of those thousand years is where God terraforms the earth and he makes it brand new and I believe he takes it back to the Garden of Eden conditions okay only it's on a larger scale because in Genesis what you have is you have the world but you have the Garden of Eden and you have the garden that's in Eden you have paradise you have the tree of life there and I believe that's basically what we're gonna see in the new heaven the new earth or the new earth so to speak you know we're gonna see perfect conditions everything's gonna restore be restored back to its former condition we're all gonna be vegetarians at that point sorry you know so let's get in all the smoke outs that we can while we're here on this earth and we're still gonna be eating meat during the millennial reign but in the new heaven new earth there's not gonna be any more of that because of the fact that there's no more death and you know animals have to die to please us right now so obviously there's not gonna be any more death of animals either okay but at that point you know obviously when we receive our resurrected bodies there's gonna be a transformation of ourselves our transformation of our of our bodies you know we won't need those things we won't even desire those things anymore okay so what happens in the new heaven new earth at this point you know we're reigning with Christ for a thousand years but then God the Father descends right with a tabernacle also known as the new Jerusalem and that's when it resides on earth and then the earth is made new okay you say I know that where are we going with this okay well I've explained this in times past the parallels between the millennial reign the new heaven new earth and if you've never heard it then you're about to hear it tonight okay because I believe that what we see going on with the world you know even now going into the millennial reign and then the new heaven the new earth is actually symbolic of our salvation okay and what I mean by that is that you know prior to the millennial reign you have a cursed world okay you have a cursed world you know Satan is just Roman freely he's just kind of destroying everything but then in the millennial reign what you have is Jesus Christ descending and we have righteous people reigning but it's not absent of the old man right there's still sinners in the world you know sinners they just live longer but there's still sin in the world but there Jesus Christ is reigning over that the Bible says that he is ruling them with a rod of iron okay and that I believe is symbolic of our salvation because prior to getting saved we were under the curse so to speak right but then when we got saved now we have Christ in us the hope of glory but Christ in us the hope of glory doesn't mean we're absent of the old man we still have the flesh and the Bible tells us reckon yourselves also to be dead indeed into sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies that we should obey in the lustre of the Bible constantly tells us that we need to have dominion over our flesh we need to rule over our flesh just as Jesus Christ and the Saints will reign over sinners in the millennial reign okay but here's the thing so you have Jesus Christ you have the presence of people people who are living and dying and you know some of them are breaking the law so they need to be put to death right just as the Bible tells us therefore mortified therefore the members of your body which are upon the earth okay he labels all those sins that are there but at the end of those thousand years you have the earth being transformed at that point it's made completely new and I would refer to that as like the resurrection because what happens with us at the end of our lives whether we die or when Christ comes back we are then made perfectly new okay now at that point we're absent of the flesh we're absent of the sin nature and now it's all a new man just as in the new heaven and the new earth it's only perfection okay there's no more sin no more devil and in fact you know when we get saved you know we basically conquer death right that's what first Corinthians 15 teaches us we conquer death the Bible says we've overcome the wicked one well in the new earth that's exactly what happens because death and hell are cast into the lake of fire you know Satan is now in the lake of fire okay and now his presence is no longer there okay now let me read to you from 2nd Peter chapter 1 verse 14 you know often in the Bible in the New Testament you often see Peter and Paul referring to our physical bodies as a what what does he refer to it as a tabernacle can I get another tabernacle here another tabernacle there a tabernacle right temple or a tabernacle okay and in fact he says knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me now think about this let me read to you from 2nd Peter chapter 3 verse 11 what happens during those three and a half years of God's wrath being poured upon the earth the elements are what dissolved they're melted and they're dissolved right it says looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat okay so Peter refers to this body as a tabernacle and the Bible says that the tabernacle of God will one day descend from heaven in Revelation 21 look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse number 1 for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were what dissolved okay we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens for in this we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked for we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened not for that we would be unclothed but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life now what is the tabernacle that he's referring to he's referring to his resurrected body okay and he says look if our earthly tabernacle be dissolved because one day it's corrupt it's gonna be destroyed okay we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens and he's referring to his resurrected body now didn't Jesus say you know something about in my father's house are many mansions I go to prepare a place for you right now a lot of people have mistakenly said well this is actually referring to actual mansions in heaven I don't believe that's what it's talking about because we don't really care about those things right we don't why do we need a mansion in heaven you just you're in heaven you're like all right guys I'm gonna go inside my mansion real quick close the door lock it I mean like what that's like a earthly way of thinking you understand like when you're resurrected you don't need like shelter right you're resurrected you're perfected what does that mention referring to it's referring to our heavenly house our resurrected body okay and it makes sense because it matches double what we see in second Corinthians 5 verse 1 where it says in house not made with hands eternal in the heavens we earnestly groan for these things the Bible says right we desire to be clothed upon we desire to be resurrected because we're tired of fighting the flesh tired of constantly fighting the world the flesh and the devil you know that this corruptible body this this sinful body you know this wretched man that I am who shall be able to deliver me from this body of death will one day will be delivered this corruptible body shall put on in corruption it shall be one day be dissolved just as the world will one day be dissolved because it's going to burn with fire okay and then at that point we shall put on a new house a new tabernacle we will put off this tabernacle and put on a new one go to first Corinthians chapter 15 now you say what does it have to do with the new heaven well what is the new heaven synonymous with in revelation 21 the new Jerusalem okay why is it new because at this point in revelation 21 you have the tabernacle of God descending down just as the spirits of the righteous at the rapture coming with God down right to meet their body to be reunited with their body so the new heaven and the new earth is symbolically representing the rapture is what it's doing because just as our spirit if we die you know the dead in Christ they shall descend with God with Jesus Christ and be reunited with that body in lack in like manner the tabernacle of God will descend one day and be reunited with the earth okay oh you're looking too much into that well look what the bible says talk about the resurrection verse 45 and so it is written the first man Adam was made a living soul the last Adam was made a quickening spirit how be it that was not first which is spiritual but that which is natural and afterward that which is spiritual the first man is of the earth earthy and the second man is of the lord from heaven as is the earthy such are they also that are earthy and as is the heavenly such are they also that are heavenly and as we have borne the image of the earthy we shall also bear the image of the heavenly so this is representing you know when you look at man's body the man's tabernacle saved man and you look at the resurrected body God is just showing us a global representation of that through the heaven and the new earth okay where it will one day descend in the form of new Jerusalem upon the earth and then all things are made new pretty amazing things there you say why is this important well I think it's important to be reminded of the resurrection every once in a while and to hit it from different angles you understand to to recognize that you know uh I'm not saying don't take care of your body here and eat right and do all those things and exercise but here's the thing this this body will one day dissolve it will one day dissolve it is a corruptible body and we're waiting to wit the redemption of our body and the new earth is the redemption of the earth that's what it's referring to it's when it's made new but it doesn't take place until the tabernacle of God descends upon it just as part of the elements that takes place with the resurrection is that we don't get to resurrect the body until you know the spirits descend first right are reunited with the body are resurrected and are completely transformed you know thinking about my wife's uncle you know that his body was just wrecked with cancer when I saw the the video I'm like man it doesn't even look like him anymore if you've ever seen someone who's wrecked with cancer it just completely changes you know how they look and they're looking at him like wow that doesn't look like him but you know what he could care less he couldn't care less why because of the fact because he knew he was going to get a resurrected body one day that's why when he spoke of heaven he spoke of it as a reality he anticipated it because he's tired he was he he was ready for his body to dissolve which is exactly what it was doing it was dissolving it was corruptible it was wracked with not just you know uh uh cancer but with a spiritual cancer known as sin and now he was excited that he was going to put off that body he was going to be in heaven and that one day he will be resurrected one day amen and so let that be a reminder to us all regarding the resurrection that just as you know he will one day die we're all going to one day die and we should look forward to these things not fear death not fear oh but man what about all my possessions well why are you going to look are you looking at the reference point you know are you looking at your destination are you all american doubt because if you are then you know what you're not you're not behaving like a citizen of heaven you know that that's what we're going to be one day and one day we'll return to a better earth amen you know a lot of people are like well you know i i need to move out to the sticks i want to move out to the sticks these u-haul baptists i want to get out of the fight move out to the sticks i want to grow my own you know chickens or whatever breed my own chickens grow my own eggs i know you don't grow eggs you know grow my own eggs and grow my own cheese and do all these things you know because i just want to live a more natural life phooey with all that this is where the fight's at was it bad that i want to eat a little no but you know what if you do it at the expense of serving god then at that point it becomes bad because here's the thing you're gonna be able to do all those things in the millennial reign and new heaven in the earth and you're gonna be able to do it for a lot longer time too and you know what it's not these lame chickens that here you know you're gonna be able to have some grade a chickens in those days okay what i'm saying is this stop acting like you're a citizen of this world because you're really not okay if you're saved you're you you are a part of the commonwealth of israel not part of this world and you know the more you think you're part of this world the harder it is it's going to be for you to let those things go when the time comes for it amen hey i'm looking forward to my heavenly tabernacle i'm looking forward to that house of god when jesus said in my father's house of many mansions if it were not so i would have told you i believe it and you know what one of those mansions is probably mine let's pray father we thank you so much for your word and i pray god that you um you'd help us to be more heavenly minded lord and think upon the resurrection think upon the rapture lord and so much so many deep meanings in your word uh even when it comes to this this earth and all the transitions that that it has gone through we're so thankful for heaven we're thankful that it was created for us to inhabit one day because we got saved but not only that it's there as a holding place for our our rewards it's a reference point for your presence so that we know where we're praying to we know that as high as the heaven is from the earth so great is your mercy towards them that fear you and that helps us to realize how great your mercy is it gives us that reference point but not only that it helps us to to appreciate and think upon the new heaven that new tabernacle that mansion that is being built that will one day descend at the rapture for us lord and i pray god that you'd help us to do so we love you so much and we thank you pray these things in jesus name amen go ahead and turn to your song which is song number 49 meet me there song number 49 meet me there all together nice and strong on that first verse on the happy golden me there when the storms of life here meet me oh meet me there there amen wonderful singing you are dismissed you