SERMON: HEAVEN IS FOR REAL

13 April 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Revelation 4:1-8

Revelation 4:1-8 (NIV)

1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.

4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.

5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.

6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.

7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

            -- this morning I wanted to discuss a new movie that is opening this week -- it's called "Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back" -- it's based on a 2010 book by the same name and it relates the story of Colton Burpo, a four-year-old little boy who supposedly died and went to heaven and then came back to tell his story

            -- Colton's story begins with emergency surgery after a ruptured appendix -- the doctors weren't sure Colton was going to survive, but he did, and a few months later, Colton began telling his father about going to heaven and about the people he met there

            -- Colton said as he was going to heaven, he saw his father and mother praying for him in the hospital -- once he was there, he met relatives who had died before he was even born -- he told his father he had talked to his great-grandfather and met a sister who had died in a miscarriage -- he saw Jesus come riding up on a rainbow-colored horse, and he met John the Baptist and the angel Gabriel -- he said everyone in heaven had wings and halos just like all the angels -- and that heaven was filled with little children who had either died in utero or as an infant and who continued to grow at a normal rate once they went to heaven -- he said he saw God the Father on His throne, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, who he described as being bluish and transparent and hard to see

            -- so what do you think? -- sounds pretty accurate, doesn't it? -- it seems to fit pretty closely with what most people believe about heaven

            -- we all know that heaven is in the clouds and that when we die, we will go to heaven to be with Jesus and we will become angels -- or, at least, we will be given wings like angels

            -- everyone agrees that we will know each other when we get to heaven -- and we will spend eternity sitting around on the clouds and playing harps and singing hymns, right? -- that's pretty much what Colton saw when he went to heaven and came back and that's pretty much what we have seen in books and paintings and movies over the years

            -- but before we head out to see "Heaven is for Real" at the movies this weekend -- before we pick up Colton's book or one of the other many books that have come out about near death experiences recently where someone either goes to heaven or hell after they die and come back to tell us about it -- we really should turn to the Bible and see what it says about heaven and the afterlife

            -- I know I tend to say this a lot, but if you get nothing else out of our time together at Koinonia, I want you to get this -- always, always, always go to the Bible and see what it says before you accept any spiritual teaching

            -- I don't care how popular it is -- I don't care whether I say it or whether you hear it from a preacher on the radio or on the TV or if it's the latest movie on the big screen or the hottest Christian book out on the market

            -- before you believe what you hear, check it against the Bible -- if there was one verse in the Bible -- other than John 3:16 -- that I wanted all of you to know and to live by, it is Acts 17:11 -- "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

            -- when the Apostle Paul preached and shared the message of the gospel with the Bereans, they didn't accept it at face value, but they went back and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul -- the Apostle Paul -- said was true -- and we should do no less with every spiritual message that we receive today

            -- and that's what we're going to do this morning with Colton Burpo's story, "Heaven is for Real"

            -- just to let you know, we're going to be going to be jumping around a great deal in the Bible this morning, but I'm going to give you a study guide with a list of all the scriptures and I want you to commit to going back and reading these in context to make sure what I'm saying is what God is telling us through His word

            -- so let's get started

II.  Is Heaven for Real?

            -- let's start with the question that Colton tries to answer -- "Is Heaven for Real?" -- is heaven a real place?

            -- Americans certainly think so, and I expect this movie to do really, really well at the box office because of that -- depending on the poll you look at, somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of Americans believe in heaven -- they believe heaven is a real place -- but, what does the Bible say? -- is heaven real?

            -- sure it is! -- of course heaven is for real -- that is one of our basic beliefs -- at the very start of the Bible -- in Genesis 1:1 -- we read that "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" -- at the beginning of time, God created heaven -- and in almost every book of the Bible, we see a reference to heaven -- heaven is real, there is no doubt about that

            -- now before we move on, let's talk about one thing -- if you notice in Genesis 1:1, it says that "God created the heavens" -- plural -- and in many places throughout the Bible, we see references to "heavens" -- plural -- and in 2 Corinthians 12:2, Paul talks about being caught up to the third heaven -- about being carried to Paradise

            -- so why does the Bible talk about heavens in a plural sense? -- it has to do with the way the Israelites used that term -- they recognized three heavens -- three spheres or plains that existed above the earth

            -- the first heaven is the atmosphere -- the air we breathe -- the place where clouds are -- this is the first heaven -- the second heaven is what we call space -- the place where the heavenly bodies reside -- the sun and the moon and the stars -- the third heaven, that Paul talked about, is what we normally think of in our day as heaven -- it's the abode of God -- it's the place where God lives -- it's the place where we find the throne of God

            -- so that's why the Bible refers to heavens in a plural term

            -- so Heaven is real -- the Bible confirms that -- Colton and all the others are right in their assertion that heaven is a real place

III.  Does God Live in Heaven?

            -- let's move on to the next question:  "Does God live in heaven?" -- according to Colton's story, when he went to heaven he saw God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit -- so, what does the Bible say? -- does God live in heaven?

            -- sure He does! -- all the way back in the Book of Genesis, we see references to God being in heaven -- Genesis 21:17 -- "God called to Hagar from heaven" -- Genesis 22:11 -- "The Angel of the Lord called out to him [Abraham] from heaven"

            -- same thing in the New Testament -- in Matthew 5:16, Jesus told us to let our light shine before men, that they might see our good deeds and praise our "Father in heaven." -- in many references in the gospels, Jesus referred to our Father who is in heaven -- we even see that in the Lord's prayer -- "Our Father, who art in heaven..."

            -- so, yes, God lives in heaven -- that is where He has chosen to reside and that is where His throne is -- Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 6 that he say the Lord seated on His throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple -- over in Revelation Chapter 4, John was caught up to heaven and saw God seated on His throne

            -- and we know that Jesus is there, too -- in Acts 1 we read of the ascension of Jesus from the Mount of Olives -- and in Acts 7:55 we read, "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" -- in Ephesians 1:20 it says Christ was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly realms

            -- so both God the Father and Jesus are in heaven -- the Bible tells us that -- however, there are not any clear references to the Holy Spirit being in heaven -- at least at this time -- we know the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity -- He is God -- so in that sense He is in heaven because God is in heaven -- and Jesus also said in John 16:7 it was good for Him to leave because when He ascended, the Father would send the Holy Spirit down to be our Counselor and Comforter -- so in order to send the Holy Spirit down, He had to have also been in heaven -- however, the Holy Spirit is never described as having a body of any type or of being in a form that we can see -- so this part of Colton's story breaks down a little

            -- also, Colton's description of the throne room of God does not match what we see in Scripture -- in the Bible, we see two accounts of people being caught up to heaven and appearing before the throne of God -- Isaiah in Isaiah Chapter 6 and the Apostle John in Revelation 4 -- and both of their accounts are remarkably similar

            -- both describe the scene in the throne room of heaven as being filled with worship led by the Seraphim -- the Seraphim have six wings, are covered with eyes in front and in back, and have different faces -- one has the face of an ox -- one the face of a lion -- one the face of a man -- and one the face of a flying eagle -- and both Isaiah and John describe them as flying around and crying out in a loud voice, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty"

            -- the throne room is described as being filled with smoke -- and John describes elsewhere in the Book of Revelation that peals of thunder and lightning came from the throne

            -- none of this is mentioned in Colton's book, which is hard to believe -- I would think this would stand out to anyone who went to heaven -- that we certainly would notice four living creatures with six wings, covered with eyes, and leading worship around the throne -- both John and Isaiah mentioned this in their accounts

IV.  Our Bodies in Heaven

            -- let's move on to our bodies -- Colton said that everyone in heaven had wings just like the angels -- and that's a common belief of most people -- that when someone dies, they go to heaven and become an angel -- or at least, they get angel wings

            -- we see that in one of our most loved Christmas movies -- "It's a Wonderful Life" -- Clarence is an angel who is sent to help Jimmy Stewart so he will get his wings -- and remember the line from the movie, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings"

            -- the only problem with this -- and with Colton's story about everyone in heaven -- including the little children -- having wings like the angels is that not all angels have wings -- in fact, according to the Bible -- out of the four types of angels we know of -- angels, archangels, seraphim, and cherubim -- only the seraphim and cherubim have wings -- the other two don't

            -- in the accounts of angels appearing to people in the Bible, they are never described as having wings -- in Luke 2, when the angels appeared to the shepherds in the fields outside Jerusalem, there is no mention of wings -- when the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament, and then to Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, and to Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the New Testament -- no mention of wings

            -- when Mary Magdalene and the other women visited Jesus' tomb on Easter morning in Luke 24:4, they were startled by the appearance of two men with clothes that gleamed like lightning -- no wings

            -- so what about us? -- when we die and go to heaven, will we get wings? -- no where in the Bible are we told that people are going to get wings when they die and go to heaven

            -- we will be given a new body when we go to heaven -- Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:49 that our new bodies will bear the likeness of the resurrected Jesus -- our bodies will be imperishable -- immortal -- and physical

            -- think about what Jesus' resurrected body was like -- Jesus was not a spirit -- He was not a ghost -- He was flesh and blood -- He didn't have wings, and we won't either -- after the resurrection, He talked with His disciples -- He ate with His disciples -- He touched His disciples and let them touch Him -- and our new bodies will be like His

            -- Colton's story about seeing people in heaven with wings is not biblical -- it does not line up with the biblical account -- not for the angels -- and, definitely, not for people who have passed away and who have gone to be with the Lord

V.  People in Heaven

            -- let's look at one more part of Colton's story and we'll end there

            -- Colton told his father he had talked to his great-grandfather and met a sister who had died in a miscarriage -- his sister was a little girl and his great-grandfather was a young man

            -- that brings up two questions, the first of which we have partly answered -- what will our bodies look like in heaven? -- will we be present in heaven at the age at which we died or will we be given a body at a different age?

            -- Colton said both in his story -- his little sister was brought up to heaven as a miscarried baby and grew from that point on until she was a little girl about his age when he went there -- his great-grandfather, however, was not an old man, but instead was a young man in the prime of his life

            -- so what does the Bible say? -- well, it doesn't -- the Bible just tells us that we will be given a new body -- as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, this new body will be imperishable and immortal -- but he doesn't tell us how old we will appear to be when we are in heaven

            -- over in Revelation 7:9, when John sees the multitudes that appear before the throne of God in heaven, he doesn't tell us their age

            -- so we really don't know -- the Bible is silent on this account -- and this is true whether we're speculating on the presence of infants and children in heaven or speculating that we will all be given a new body as a young adult in the prime of life

            -- the Bible simply does not say -- I think the assumption that is made by most believers is that we will be given the body of a young adult is based on the story of the creation of Adam and Eve -- it is obvious from that account that Adam and Eve were created as adults -- they were not infants -- they were not children -- they were created as adults and placed in the Garden of Eden -- we can assume from this that our resurrected bodies will be the same -- but that is not stated in Scripture -- we simply do not know

            -- the other question Colton's story raises is whether we will know each other in heaven -- will we know our relatives in heaven? -- every single story about people dying and going to heaven and coming back say the same thing -- they all knew their family in heaven -- but what does the Bible say?

            -- once again, the Bible really doesn't tell us a whole lot on this account -- the closest thing we have is the story of Lazarus and the beggar from Luke 16 -- you need to keep in mind this occurred prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus -- it references what happened to people who died prior to the resurrection of Jesus

            -- when people died before the cross, they were sent to Hades -- there were two areas in Hades -- paradise or Abraham's bosom -- and a place of torment -- Lazarus was sent to the place of torment and he could look across to paradise -- he recognized and knew both the beggar and Abraham and spoke to them

            -- that is the only reference we have in the Bible about people knowing others beyond the grave

            -- I think we will know each other after death -- but I cannot back that up with a scriptural reference -- as he was dying, Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right of hand of God and knew Him and recognized Him -- and we know that Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration -- and Peter and James and John recognized them even though they had never seen them before -- so I believe we will recognize and know each other in heaven

VI.  Closing

            -- so let's bring this home -- what does all this mean?

            -- Friday I had a coworker come up to me to talk about this movie, "Heaven is for Real" -- I know him to be a Christian -- he teaches Sunday School -- he leads the youth for his church -- and he was planning on carrying his young people to go see this movie, but another friend of his told him not to -- that it wasn't biblical -- and so he was coming to me to see what I thought

            -- I don't know if I've ever told you I have an unwritten rule I try to live by -- I do not take unsolicited books -- I have people constantly trying to get me to read this or that book -- "just take it -- borrow this and let me know what you think" -- and I did that early on in my ministry -- but I don't do it any more -- and it's all because of this book, "Heaven is for Real"

            -- when that book came out, I had a lot of people trying to get me to read it -- and so I looked up what it was about -- and I decided it was not scriptural -- it just did not line up with what the Bible taught about heaven -- and so I refused to read it

            -- and when my friend came up and asked me about it, I told him that I didn't think he should carry his youth group to see the movie because it was not biblical and it might plant wrong ideas about heaven in the minds of these impressionable youth -- I told him if he wanted to see an unbiblical movie that had a better plot and more action, go see "Noah" -- it doesn't line up with scripture either, but it has a lot of action

            -- the book and the movie, "Heaven is for Real," is simply not correct -- it does not line up with the word of God -- but it raises a larger issue

            -- why do so many people have wrong views about heaven? -- why are there so many false teachings about heaven out today?

            -- the answer is simple -- these false teachings have been introduced by Satan to lead the world astray -- in Revelation 13:6, John writes that the Beast -- the Antichrist -- is empowered by Satan to "blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven"

            -- this is what Satan does -- he attacks God by slandering God's name, God's people, and God's dwelling place -- heaven

            -- by slandering heaven, Satan has been able to take God's most wonderful promise to us -- His promise of the kingdom to come -- of life everlasting filled with wonders and excitement and rest -- and turn it into a parody of disembodied saints with wings floating on clouds and sitting in church all day

            -- by convincing the world that everyone is going to heaven regardless of what you believe, Satan is keeping people away from the truth of the gospel

            -- that is his goal -- that is his purpose -- and our goal and our purpose should be to stand against false teachings, to share the good news of Christ, and to point people to the truth

            -- let's not totally castigate this movie -- it is an opportunity for us to talk with others about what heaven is really like and what the says about heaven and, more importantly, how we get to heaven in the first place

            -- so I'm going to leave you with that -- and let's join together in prayer to pray for those in our world who are being led astray through false teachings -- and let's pray that God would open their eyes and remove the veil Satan has put before them so they might come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ

            -- let's pray