“Spiritual Things: Heaven”

Series: Spiritual Things[on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

May 10, 2020

Introductory Comments:

There’s a show that came out on Netflix a few years ago called “Stranger Things.” The show captured a lot of the American population for several reasons, one of which was that the show dug into the paranormal, and people seem to be really interested in that. 

Similarly, when people suggest sermon ideas for pastors there are usually multiple people who suggest that the pastor teach a series on Heaven and Hell, angels and demons, spiritual warfare, and the like. People are interested in the supernatural. They are interested in spiritual things.Well, the people have spoken. People have asked me to do a series on spiritual things. Since I am a man of the people (most of the time), I’ve decided to do a series on spiritual things. I’ve dug deep into my creative capabilities and have come up with the title, “Spiritual Things.” [show slide for Spiritual Things] Over the next several weeks we will learn about Heaven, Hell, angels, demons, and spiritual warfare. 

Today, on Mother’s Day I wanted to talk about something very positive. Let’s talk about heaven today!

Before we do, let’s pray together.

(prayer)

As we get into today’s lesson we will seek to answer several questions regarding Heaven.It’s important to stop and recognize how popular a topic Heaven is. There has been so much said and so much written about Heaven that there’s no way we can address all the information about Heaven. 

Similarly, there is a lot of confusion about Heaven in our culture. Rather than address every question about Heaven, this morning we will seek to hit the main points from the Bible regarding Heaven.

So, let’s dive in. First, . . .

I. What is Heaven? [on screen]

Immediately, as we seek to answer this first question we must acknowledge that there are two answers, from the Bible, to this question. 

The Bible speaks of Heaven in two ways. At least, in the sense that we understand Heaven. We’re going to learn about what we call present Heaven and future Heaven. 

A. Present Heaven [on screen]

Present Heaven is just what it sounds like. Present Heaven refers to Heaven now. 

You might wonder, “Pastor Matt, are you saying that Heaven will be different later than it is now?” The answer to that is an emphatic yes. I’ll show you from the Bible how that is the case. 

We know that God dwells in Heaven now. This present Heaven is the place where God dwells in His glory, accompanied by His angels, the spirits of His children who have already left this earth, and with Jesus seated at His right hand. We’re going to get into these specifics in just a minute. 

You see, the truth is, for followers of Jesus, to be away from our bodies now is to be in Heaven with God now. The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, “6 So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” [on screen]

Similarly, Jesus spoke to the criminal on the cross who was crucified next to Him. Listen to their exchange in Luke 23:42-43, “Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ 43 And he said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” [on screen] So, there’s not an intermediate state before Heaven. There’s no purgatory. Jesus said that this man would be with Him in Heaven today. His spirit is with Jesus in Heaven. Obviously, the man’s original body is not in Heaven because his body was buried. But the man’s spirit was in paradise with Jesus and is with Jesus today. 

So, then, what happens to our bodies?Well, that takes us to our second understanding of Heaven . . .

B. Future Heaven [on screen]

The Bible clearly teaches that there will