Jentezen Franklin - A Place Called Heaven
I want you right now to look at 1 Samuel 20:3: "Then David took an oath again, and said, 'Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, 'do not let Jonathon know this, lest he be grieved.' But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death". That phrase, the last sentence really caught my attention. There is a but a step, really because of what David is going through, King Saul was trying to kill him. He was talking to Jonathon, King Saul's son, and he was expressing how afraid he was in previous verses how tormented he was by Saul trying to take his life and he concluded by saying, "David a young man said, 'I feel like I'm a step away from death.'"
There's a just a step, life is so grieved, so fragile with this season in my life David says, "I realize I could be here in one moment and gone the next". There is but it's a profound thought. It's something that we should always be aware of that you're one step away from death that you could be here alive and well this morning and one step away you can be gone, and you will stand before the Lord. One out of one dies. The only way that you get to heaven is through death. We're going to face death, there's not a person here who couldn't be in a casket tonight. I wanna say it that plain, I wanna say it that blunt because we don't like to think about it, we don't like to even imagine, especially young people and middle-aged people, even older people but the truth is you're just one step away from death.
Death can come suddenly, death can come instantly, unexpectedly. Are you ready? Are you ready to die? Are you ready to face God? All men die. Hebrews 9:27: "It is appointed onto men once to die and after death the judgement". You're going to answer to God for the life that you live. Kings die, queens die, rich men die, poor men die, young people die, old people die, the wealthy, the poor, the scholar, the illiterate, they all die and then comes the judgement. If you die today, where would you be? If you die today where would you spend eternity? Church membership will not get you into heaven. There's only two places, heaven or hell and church membership will not get you into heaven. Crying tears will not get you into heaven. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all unrighteousness.
There's no other name whereby we can be saved but the name of Jesus Christ. He is the way, He is the truth, He is the life, no other way, no other truth, no other life. Everything else is a deception and a lie. Jesus is the way. Jesus said heaven is a place. Jesus said in John 14: "I go to prepare," listen, "a place for you that where I am there you may be also". Jesus lived in heaven and then he came down to earth, and he said and testified, "I'm telling you I've been in heaven, I'm now on earth and I'm promising you that it's there, it's real, it's eternal, it's a place, there is a place". Jesus was saying it's not a fairy tale. There is Jesus who makes this promise.
There is another life beyond this life, there is another place beyond this earth, and it is more glorious and splendid than anything we can even imagine and Jesus Himself said, "I have prepared that place for you and it's real, I've been there and I'm telling you it's real". Its beauty is beyond anything you can imagine. The Apostle Paul went to heaven in 2 Corinthians 11:9, he wrote, "Eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for them who love him".
Paul was the most brilliant scholar perhaps the world has ever known. His writings were even more masterful than people like Shakespeare. He has the profound ability to put pen and paper and write thoughts and things and theology that is so brilliant that scholars to this day marvel at the genius of the Apostle Paul to use words like a word smith and create ideas and complex thoughts that relay the love and the greatness of our God and yet after he went to heaven and he came back, this same man when Paul saw the glory and the splendor of heaven he said, "Men will not believe what I have seen". And he wrote, "The half has not even ever been told". In other words, Paul was saying, "Let your imagination run wild this morning".
I want you to think of the happiest most gorgeous most beautiful most splendid thing you can ever imagine with every comfort and every blessing and everything that you could imagine that would bring happiness and peace and joy and then Paul adds this little letter and that's only half. You can only imagine half of what God has prepared for us in a place called heaven. The Apostle John saw heaven and in the book of Revelation he wrote a traveler's brochure for all of us to let us know what was coming in our future. He said that "The city of heaven is New Jerusalem and it's four square". That four square speaks of absolute perfection.
Nothing on this earth is perfect, not even you. Nothing is perfect. You buy a new home, and termites eat it up. You buy a new car and go to the mall and come outside and it's got a dent, or you scraped the rims, which I've never done but you scrape the rims of that new car, and it just breaks your heart. But nothing on earth is perfect, but he said, "I saw 12 gates of pearl. I saw streets of pure gold". Gold uses pavement and gold, He paves the streets in gold, and you think you have arrived, wait 'til you see this place called heaven. He said there are 12 foundations stop, 1,500 miles square, 1,500 miles north, south, east and west and then its 12 foundations. He said the first layer is made of diamonds, the second layer of heaven is made of rubies, the third layer is sapphires, the fourth layer is emeralds and then he gives nine more layers of precious stones.
In the theatre of your mind, I want you to walk with me on those streets of gold and look at those and see those gates of pearl. Look at the names that are written in clusters of diamonds, look on the doorpost of the mansions there and see the name Matthew and one, Mark, Luke, John, Daniel, Ezekiel, Elijah, Elisha, I have one that I see in my mind, my dad, Billy Franklin's name in diamonds is on one of those mansions. Maybe your mother's there. Maybe your father's there. Maybe your brother, your sister, someone that you have lost but really you have not lost them because they are in a place called heaven and they await your arrival with joy. Heaven is a place of rest. The Bible says that we will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the text said, "And we will be at rest".
Heaven is a reunion. I want you to imagine in your mind and see your loved ones waiting just inside the eastern gate. They are there, they are there this morning, they are there and they're happy and they're joyful, they are there and there's not a sick one among them. They are there and there's not a depressed, defeated one among them. They are overcomers by the blood of the lamb, and they stand in complete wholeness in the presence of God. With eyes of faith, I want you to look and I want you to listen over the balconies of heaven this morning. You can hear sounds that your mortal ears have never heard, sounds of praise, the orchestra of heaven according to revelation has 144,000 violins that are playing worship. It has 102 million voice choir, every musical instrument ever made was made to glorify God and there the worship cannot even be imagined.
Ears have not heard, the Apostle Paul was referring to the music and the worship that is in heaven. There's going to be a grand reunion around the throne of God one of these days. We who are alive and remain will be called up in the twinkling of an eye. The blink of an eye and it'll be over, and you'll be left behind. Going to a city where the roses never fade, going to a city where the blind see and the lame wake. Going to a city where there are no more tears and no more death and no more parting, we're going to a city where will be absolutely no negativity whatsoever in that place called heaven. That's the bottom line. No negativity, no death, no depression, no suicide, no addiction, no alcoholism, no pain, no suffering, no tears, no aches, no headaches, no troubles, no negativism whatsoever. Joy unspeakable and full of glory.
That's why it's worth it. That's why we go through life and yeah, we have burdens but one of these days we're gonna hear Him say, "Come up here and let me show you what joy is. Let me show you what I prepared for those who have loved Me". Everybody take a praise break and act like you believe in a place called heaven. The greatest attraction in heaven is going to be Jesus. Heaven is where Jesus is and heaven is heaven because of Jesus. We're going to be with Him and we're going to be with them, our loved ones, our family and the great body of Christ. We shall see Him as He is the scripture declares. The virgin Mary saw Jesus as a little baby, John the Baptist saw Jesus as a candidate for water baptism on the muddy banks of the Jordan river. The disciples saw Jesus as a great rabbi, a great teacher.
The inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem that cried, "Crucify Him," saw Jesus as a common criminal but when we see Jesus we shall see Him as He is. We shall see Him as the King of Kings and as the Lord of Lords as the lion of the tribe of Judah, as the living water and as the bread of life. We shall see Him as the bright morning star, we shall see Him as the rock and our fortress, our deliverer and our strong tower. We shall see Him as our burden bearer. That's the one that bore my burdens and carried my griefs. That's the one who took my sins away. That's the one that's my Great Shepherd, and my Great Physician and the Great I Am. He's heaven's wonder and He's hell's dread. His name is Jesus and He's King of Kings and He's Lord of Lords and we shall see Him as He is on that great day.
What will you experience when you die as Christian? I never will forget as long as I live, the man who really impacted my life concerning preaching. His name was Bob Gas. He preached the sermon one time that I heard on cassette tape that really touched my life. One saying in particular, he's talked about how that he was called to the emergency room; one of his members was in terrible accident. And he went to the emergency room there was a young woman in there who was fatally injured, and she was dying, and she was screaming, "No, no, no. I don't wanna die". And she was screaming and it was just horrible, just the screams, and agonies of crying. And Bob said that the doctor walked out, and after he told the family that she had passed, he pulled him over to the side and he said these words. "For God's sake pastor, teach your people how to die".
You see, there's a way to die. People need to understand not just how to live. We need to teach you, not just how to live but we need to know how to act when we're facing death, and it finally does come, and someone near to you, or perhaps you. And you realize there is a way to die. It can be in terror, it can be in fear, it can be in torment, and dread, and hopelessness, and despair, and this is it, and it's all over. But if you are a believer, if you are Christian, I want this morning to teach you how to die. You have to understand what is about to happen is the most glorious thing.
Paul put it like this, "To live is Christ, to die is gain". Oh, we don't shout over that when we don't get happy, 'cause we're too in love with this world. But if you understood what's on the other side, again, not even a trace of negativism in the next world. God himself will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there'll be no sorrow, death, dying, pain, agony, it'll be over. What will happen when a Christian dies? The first thing that you will see is the dazzling lights of squadrons of angels as they fill the room. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of one of His saints". And that's why He gives such careful attention to it.
The word precious, doesn't mean common, normal, average, ordinary. Anytime a child of God dies, it has the full eye of God on that moment in on that place, because He dispatches His angels according to the book of Luke 16:22. "And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by angels". Suddenly, even though the people in the room with you may not see it, if you are a righteous believer, angels will fill the room and you will feel a peace and a calm overcome you that surpasses all human understanding. You will realize and see in those bright lights around you, I am entering into another world. Those angels will speak to you in the most soft and tender voice and they will say, "Jesus is awaiting your arrival. Are you ready to go"?
And you'll take those angels by the hands and they will put you in the arms of angels and they will begin to carry you. You'll look down on your cold, lifeless body. You'll look down on those who are weeping. But suddenly a joy will fill your soul as you realize I'm leaving this world. "But where am I going? And why am I so excited"? You'll begin to ascend just like Jesus walked through walls in His glorified body in the upper room. When He rose from the dead, you will have a brand new glorified body. And as you are going up with the angels in their arms.
You see the Bible teaches they're three heavens. The first heaven is the sun, the moon, the stars, what you see on a beautiful night as far as telescopes and technology can see. That's the first heaven. And then there's the second heaven, that's Satan's throne room. Satan is not in hell; Satan is not in a compartment of hell. He will go to hell and he will be bound with a chain and thrown into hell. And when he reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. At least I got a future, I know I've got a pass but you got a future too. And I'm gonna enjoy seeing you go through what you go through. I don't hate nobody but the devil, but I hate the devil. Oh, one angel is gone chain him up!
Can you imagine the second heaven the Bible called Satan in Ephesians 2, the prince the power of the air. Bible talks about spiritual wickedness in Ephesians 6. Being in spiritual wickedness in high places. It's a reference to the second heaven. First heaven is what we have. Second heaven, there is a place beyond the stars and the moon, where Satan's domain and throne room is. And all of a sudden as those angels are carrying you out of this world, and you see that blue ball down there called Earth. And you're rising into a new domain, and you enter into a dark place that feels heavy for just a second, but suddenly the angels will announce, "There is a blood bought child of God coming through. All hail the power of Jesus' name! Fall, prostrate demon spirits". And you'll go right through the devil's bedroom and pause, and look over and see him crying.
And you can say, "Goodbye, devil. I'll see you. Hell lost another one, I am free. I am free. I'm going home to be with the Lord". Oh, I think we ought to praise the Lord for our redemption this morning. It's real! It's real! They'll escort you right through the devil's bedroom. And when you get there, you're going to have a perfect disease free, never dying body. The most magnificent body you can fathom. Throw away your Vogue magazines. Those girls and those guys are gonna look like a wart on a witch's nose compared to the bodies. Turn to somebody and say, "You need this". Come on now. Compared to the bodies that we're gonna have, when we all get to heaven. What a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus! We'll sing and shout the victory.