Michael Youssef - The Joys of Heaven
How come there are very few believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who are studying, examining, learning, and preparing, for they will be living forever? Very few Christian believers make any serious preparation for heaven, where they're gonna be forever, not just for a few years. Please listen to me. There are some who spend more time planning for their vacation than they plan for their forever. There are others who spend a lot of time preparing for their retirement (God forbid that for me) than for heaven, where they'll be spending their eternity.
Please hear me right. If Jesus is your Savior and Lord of your life, if you have placed your whole faith and trust in him as your only Savior and Lord, then you are heavenbound. It is not maybe or possibly. You are. And that is why I'll be spending the next eight to nine messages talking and telling you all what the Bible said about that place called heaven: the joy of heaven, the beauty of heaven, the benefits of heaven, the blessings of heaven, that is, if I don't levitate.
Well, someone may ask, "Michael, why should I be interested in heaven? When I die, I go there". Ah, because heaven is a real place and it exists right now, at this very moment. Jesus said in John 14:2, he said, "In My Father's house, there are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that, that I'm going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I'm gonna come back and take you with me so that you also be where I am".
In Philippians chapter 1, amen. Give God glory. That's fine. The best is yet to come. In Philippians chapter 1, verses 23 and 24, the apostle Paul said, "I'm torn between the two". I truthfully can tell you that is where I am at this stage of my life and ministry. "I'm torn between the two". What two is he talking about? He said, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is by far, much better; but for your sake and the sake of the gospel and the ministry, it is necessary for me to remain in the body".
In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 2, he tells us that he was privileged to be taken into heaven in a very short period of time. He was caught up in that heaven and he saw with his own eyes the splendor of heaven so much so that he couldn't even talk about it. And while the apostle Paul's experience of heaven was a very, very short period of time, was a temporary experience, he could not wait to go to heaven and dwell permanently with Jesus. But I also want to emphasize the fact that heaven is not only a future reality.
Listen to me very carefully, please. It is not only future reality, but it is a present reality. It's a present reality. For those who love Jesus, it is a present reality. What do I mean by that? Because heaven is our future dwelling place. This present life becomes joyous anticipation of that permanent dwelling, of that permanent home. This present life will be an exciting preparation for the one to come. And that is why Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroys". They used to bury their treasures.
If he's speaking to us today, he said, "Well, that inflation will eat it up". "And where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures", where? In heaven, where you're gonna be spending forever and ever and ever. And here's a Youssef translation: Invest in a place where you're gonna be living for a long, long, long period of time. Today, let's look at the joys of heaven. That's suffice for today. The joys of heaven. What makes heaven heavenly? What makes heaven heavenly?
The Bible tells us a lot of things about heaven, talks about the precious stones and the pure gold. The Bible tells us about the great reunion with our loved ones. Or the amazing features, there's the tree of life which we don't know what that is like, or the river of life or it's the immense size of the mansions in the sky. I can go on and on and on about what the Bible said about heaven. And I will be saying a lot more in the coming messages. But listen to me.
Please listen to me. None of these things make heaven heavenly. And so what is then that makes heaven heavenly? Ah, it's the presence of God. It's the presence of God, the literal presence of God. Imagine being physically, not in this body, thank God, but we will be physically in the new body, the glorified body, in the presence of Yahweh. Think about this. Think of the overwhelming blessings of seeing Jesus face to face. Imagine bowing at his feet and saying to him, "Thank you for saving me. Thank you for redeeming me. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for using me. Thank you for blessing me. Thank you for allowing me to serve you on the earth".
Oh, my beloved friends, next to seeing Jesus in heaven, nothing else matter. Nothing else matter, why? Because Jesus is what makes heaven heavenly. Can I get an amen? Just the thought of seeing Jesus face to face is enough. The thought here and now, that thought is enough to lift us up above all of the spiritual warfare that we're facing, above all of the pain of all the suffering, and my dear, beloved friends, that enables me to rejoice in the midst of life's disappointments. That empowers me to persevere through the opposition and the adversities that we face.
Now let me ask you this: Does the prospect of seeing God thrill you? Does it thrill you? Listen, please, please, please listen. I am realistic enough, I have lived long enough, I've been around long enough, I have talked to people long enough to know that not all Christians are thrilled at that prospect. I know that. There are some who don't even want to think about heaven. "Oh, when the time comes, that's fine". There are others who are ambivalent about heaven. There are still others who are afraid of the thought of going and seeing God's face face to face.
Now, if that is you, if that is you, if that is you watching around the world, I want to tell you, I'm gonna implore you in Jesus's name to take time to rethink. Take time to rethink your mistaken views. I pray that you begin to see that seeing the face of God should be your greatest inspiration to live this life for him, to impact every decision that you make in this life, to motivate you to work and serve with the hope of always being in the front of your mind.
Now, in the New Testament, we know, at least most of you here know, some may not know who are watching, that the Holy of Holies, which is only a symbol, it was not the real, but it's a symbol. The Holy of Holies was only, no one was allowed to go in there except the high priest on once a year. Why? Because they believed that that's where the Shekinah glory dwells. Of course, as I said, this is just a symbol of the presence of God, only a symbol. In fact, Exodus chapter 33, Moses asked God, "Show me Your glory"! And God replied, "Ye cannot see My face and live. You'll be incinerated".
Please think with me. Think with me. Moses, a great man of God, who's handpicked by God to do mighty things for God, who served God, was not allowed to see the face of God, but we will. We will. I'm gonna explain that to you in a minute. Or someone ask, "Why? Why will we be able to see the face of God, but Moses could not"? Great question. Thank you for asking. Because the Bible said that "without holiness, no one sees the Lord". Say that with me: "Without... holiness, no one sees the Lord". But who among us is sinless? Who among us has not been tainted with sin? I'm not.
Please wait because the best part is coming. The best part is coming. In heaven, we will not be dressed in our filthy clothes of this earth, but we will be clothed with Jesus's righteousness. The Bible talks about robes, white robes. This is symbolic terms for putting on the righteousness of Jesus. Sure, without holiness, no one can see God, but Jesus's righteousness will be our righteousness. Jesus's holiness will be our holiness. Jesus's perfection will be our perfection. Jesus is gonna present us to his Father as if we have never sinned.
Think about that. Please listen to me. Without repentance and faith in Christ alone, without God's forgiveness of sin, without receiving God's gift of salvation, without being born again of the Spirit of God, no one will see God or his heaven. Please, if you have never done this, if you have never done this, you can do that today, you can do that today. You can come and confess your sin. Ask God that "you're the only one who can save me. I can't save myself". And that moment, the Bible said, you'll become spiritually reborn.
Otherwise, think about this, think about this. If heaven is all about Jesus and if you don't love Jesus here in this life, on this earth, heaven will be a miserable place for you because it's all about Jesus. But to all my believing friends, that's who I'm talking to, all my believing friends, when you see the face of God, that will be fulfilling to all of your hopes and dreams. It will be fulfilling of all of your unfulfilled expectations. It will be fulfilling for all of the longing of this life. Still some might be asking, "But how can we see the face of the invisible God"? Bible makes it clear: The Father is invisible, is a spirit. If he's spirit, he's invisible. Bible said it's invisible. "How we're gonna see it"?
In fact, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, you remember in John chapter 4, he said, "God, the Father, is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and truth". And that is why God the Son took on human flesh and came to earth, but not God the Father. Of course, the Bible uses human language to describe God the Father. He has to do that. Otherwise, we can't relate to him. The finite cannot relate to the infinite. For example, in Isaiah 59 says, "The arms of the Lord is not short".
It doesn't mean that he wear 55 long. This is just a figure of speech to talk about the limitless power of God. Being spirit, God the Father is invisible. And that is why Colossians 1:15 tells us that. He said, "Jesus, God the Son, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation". "Well, so wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. You're telling us that God is spirit, is invisible. Moses couldn't see his face, but we're gonna see his face"? Yes, yes. "How"?
Ah, this is the greatest news of all. This is the greatest news of all because we will have a new, spiritual, resurrected bodies in heaven. It will be like Jesus's body after the Resurrection. No physical limitation. We will be recognizable, yes, but complete and perfected. We will have supernatural spiritual knowledge. We will have supernatural spiritual eyes. And, my beloved friends, please listen to me. That is the only way we will be able to see the invisible God. Can I get an amen?
You know, some theologians, at least the good ones, they say that in heaven, we will be kind of a restored Garden of Eden. And in many ways, there's truth to that. There's truth to that. For example, the tree of life, which Adam and Eve lost after their sin will be replaced in heaven by another tree of life in the New Jerusalem. The splendor and the beauty of the Garden of Eden will be everywhere in heaven. That's true. But, listen carefully, listen carefully. Many people misunderstand the true source of splendor and beauty in Eden. It is not the trees and the plants, and it's not the abundance of food that was growing everywhere. It is not the waterfalls and the streams. It's not the variety of peaceful animals.
These will be there, sure enough. But that's not what made Eden to be Eden. That is not what made Eden to be the great, indescribable place. No, Eden was astonishingly beautiful because God was present there. In Genesis chapter 3, verse 8, he tells us that the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden. You see, they were fellowshipping with him, they were talking to him, they were communicating with God. Oh, but after the Fall, they were hiding from him. All the true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, those who love him, can experience, on occasions, a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny presence of God, just a small one.
That's because the Holy Spirit dwells in us. That's because the Holy Spirit dwells in us. That's why we have that. The Holy Spirit guides us. The Holy Spirit comforts us. The Holy Spirit fills us with joy, and I praise God that he has given us the Holy Spirit. But because of our fallen, unresurrected state, our experience of the presence of God, as I said, is very, very, very limited. Oh, but not in heaven. We will experience God in a way that is limitless. It is complete. It's beyond our ability to comprehend now. Like Adam and Eve before the Fall, we will fellowship with God face to face.
Please listen to me. When we get to heaven, we will see the face of Jesus. At that moment, every puzzlement in life will be solved. Every puzzlement will be solved. At present, painful experience will be transformed into heavenly delight. Our tears, he's gonna, it's gonna keep Jesus busy, wiping mine. Our tears will become oceans of joy. Our pain will become the clouds of endless beauty. Glory to God. Glory to God. Let me tell you this as I conclude.
Evangelist Charles E. Fuller, after whom Fuller Seminary was named, he had a very popular radio program nationwide. He announced on his radio program one day that next week he will be speaking on heaven. A man who was a regular listener to Dr. Fuller was in the last stage of terminal illness. He wrote him a letter. I'm not gonna read the whole letter, but just, I'll give you a little part of it. It read, in part, as follows: "I'm interested in that land because I have had clear title to a bit of property there for over 55 years. I did not buy it. It was given to me without money or price, but the donor purchased it for me at a tremendous sacrifice. Termites will never undermine its foundation, because it's built on the rock of ages. Fire cannot destroy it and floods cannot wash it away. Praise God".
These are the words of a man who was truly living in his life, this life, with eternity in mind. He is eagerly anticipating heaven and leaving behind this world with all its sorrows and was ready to move into his eternal home and see God face to face. Did you know when I say that, I am certain the majority here in this room, yeah, they will say yes, maybe watching, millions of people watching around the world might not know. Did you know that all the believers are gonna go to heaven? I'm sure most of you know that. All the believers will go to heaven, but not all the believers will receive the same reward.
Not all the believers are... Paul said that in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10. Listen carefully. He said, "For we all", he's including himself, the great apostle, "for we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ". Please listen to me. Jesus already resolved our eternal destiny. That's already been taken care of on the cross. Jesus settled heaven for all the believers when he said on that cross, "It is finished". But Jesus will judge us, not for sin, because he took care of that, but for our faithfulness or lack of it. Many of you know I spend every waking moment, sometimes even in my sleep, for one reason: so I can hear from his holy lips, "Well done. Well done". Would you say it with me? "Well done".