February 5, 2023 “What Will Heaven Be Like?” Mark 12:18-27

thank you, thank you foreigner, good morning, I'm so glad you're here with us this morning here and at home, as you can see, the lights are a little bright this morning, huh, but that's the way it is, isn't it, but We're happy about Look at the Sun, aren't we? and the warmer climate. Isn't the Lord good and he is so good to us that we have much to be thankful for and he is here with us this morning? It is not like this? So let us give him our praise now as we stand and worship with him now um let us join in singing open the

heaven

s Ephesians 1 18 says I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the Hope to which he has called you. the riches of his glorious inheritance to his people his holy people Lord we fix our eyes on you today stranger we have waited for this day we have gathered in your name crying to you Your Glory like a fire Awakening you while I burn our hearts truly you are the reason why that we are here you are the reason we sing open the

heaven

s friends and we see you open the floodgates your presence in this place your glory in our face we are looking at the sky spending like a cloud you are standing with us now Lord, uncover our eyes you are the reason we are here open the heavens we want to see you open the floodgates show us show us your glory show us your power show us show us your glory Lord show us your glory show us show us your power show us show us your glory Lord open the heavens open the heavens we want to see you open the gates foreign father that is why we have come is to experience you in a fresh way we know that there is never a moment when we are out of your presence but we thank you for this secluded place for the purpose of seeking you and worshiping you and that is why we are here today and we want to give you our love our adoration we want to exalt you and lift you up Lord reorder Our Lives that we prioritize our lives around your values ​​we give you this time that you are pleased with our worship we pray in the name of Christ amen every day we need Pray to God to May he help us live for him, so that he may strive for higher ground.

Only he can guide us to live as we should. Amen, thanks. I'm pressing up, Road to New Heights, my heart longs to say where the dogs are. arise I am I am the supreme Lord guide me by faith in him I am Lord plant my feet pleaded Christ is our hope and life and death we can hope to be with him in heaven amen

what

is Christ alone

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is our only trust Hallelujah that the truth can cause to all the troubled soul God is good God is good where is his grace and goodness sense far that the Lord brings us Hallelujah now whatever we confess Christ Our hope in life and in death now whenever let us confess Christ Our open life and death, good morning, our scripture this morning is Revelation 7, verse 9 to 10.

I would like to share with this this morning, after this I looked and beheld the crowd at the door that no one could count in number of each nation, of all tribes, peoples and languages. standing in front of the throne and in front of the lamb dressed in white with palm branches in his hands crying out with a loud voice salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb thank you Marco Lord this morning we come we thank you for your message Thank you for your word I only ask that you take care of us all today and thank you very much that our pastor is with him and thank you for actually sending all these things that we ask of you and it is not for your good amen the Bible tells us what no eye has seen no ear has heard nor the heart of man imagines what God has prepared for those who love him 1 Corinthians 2 9 we have no idea or we cannot imagine what heaven

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be like one day when we all get to heaven we

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be able to see thank you one day you will do everything new Jesus one day you will find everyone four more things will happen No more tears one day you will make sense of everything Jesus one day every question we solved every anxious thought we have had no more foreign fears a moment ago we will be changed that day one day indeed Jesus when we all gather together rejoicing that will be when we see Jesus will sing and shout victory foreign foreigner you see the moment when we will be transformed into the day of rejoicing that will be Jesus I can't wait can you please stand holy holy holy is the Lord Almighty God who was and who is and who is to come Revelation 4 8. how I long to breathe where the pain is gone and mercy fills the streams to look at the one who bled to save me and walk with him for all eternity there will be one day when all will bow before him there will be a day when death will be no more be face to face with the one who died and rose again and every prayer we make in desperation the songs of faith sing through doubt and fear and in the end We will see that it was worth it when he returns to dry our tears when death will no longer be face to face Lord and on that day we join the resurrection and we stand next to the heroes of faith with one voice a thousand generations and with one single voice thousand Generations it is today we shout the hymn of heaven with angels and saints that we raise holy holy is glory to our God who gave us to our Lord thanks foreigner I cannot even imagine it we can understand what he has in store for those who trust in his son We try with hymns and words what we read in the Scriptures and still being in His presence seeing Him is going to be something, isn't it?

Pray with me and then we will read the scriptures before you are seated, the Father in heaven we thank you for the Promise of eternal life in your presence Lord, we know what your word tells us and we have these glimpses of what it will be like in those moments when, so to speak, you pulled back the curtain and made known the things you said. Jesus on preparing a home in heaven what was revealed to John the Apostle about heaven and those other places throughout the Scriptures God we just can't imagine it but we know that being with you for eternity like we just sang will be worth it , we praise you We pray that as we study a word this morning you will give us an idea of ​​what we have to expect.

We pray in the name of Christ. Amen, if you take your copy of the word of God and give the gospel of Mark in chapter 12. this corresponds with the other gospels Matthew records the story Luke records it Matthew and chapter 22 here it is in the gospel of Mark this is the last week of Christ's ministry before his crucifixion when these events are happening. I will read Mark 12 18. until 27. and the Sadducees approached him who says there is no resurrection and asked him a question saying that the teacher Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children , the man must take the widow and raise up offspring.

For his brother there were seven brothers, the first took a wife and when he died he left no offspring and the second took her and died without leaving any offspring and the third likewise and the seven left no offspring the last of all the woman also died in the resurrection when they are resurrected. Whose wife will she be for the seven if they had her as a wife Jesus told them that is not the reason why they are wrong because they do not know the scriptures or the power of God when they will rise from the dead nor will they marry or give themselves in marriage but they are like angels in heaven and ask that the dead be resurrected.

Have you not read in the book of Moses in the bush passage how God spoke to him saying I am the god of Abraham and the god of Isaac and the god? of Jacob, he is not the god of the dead but of the living, you are very wrong, this is the word of God. Amen, could you please sit down? Well, once again, as we studied last week, these religious teachers are trying to trip up Jesus by asking him. a question that they think there is no way I can give an answer that will please the people, the authorities and certainly those asking the question, is about a woman and husbands without children and there was a misunderstanding that Jesus clarified.

That's what we're going to study this morning, what heaven will be like and what are some of the misconceptions we have about heaven, but let's talk about marriage for just a minute, the world record for longest marriage goes to this one. the couple Herbert and zelmira Fisher who were married 86 years, nine months and 16 days when Herbert died on February 27, 2011. Now I discovered that if you want to have the longest marriage you must also live a long time. Herbert was 106 years old. when he died she was born in 1905 zelmira was born in 1907 they were married on may 13, 1924 in north carolina so she lived two more years after his death and she died at 105 years old.

He was 105 years old when he died and she was 105 years old when she died a couple had five children you know there are some records that I am not interested in breaking can you imagine 86 years old well these leaders who came to Jesus asked about the future they were talking about the resurrection and then they came to him? asking him to tell them what will happen in the future, now we don't need to know some things about the Sadducees to understand the question and Jesus pointed out that while he was answering them, the Sadducees accepted only the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. and those first five books are called pentatuit and you know that because the principle Pinta means five, the first five books and because that is what they base their beliefs on, they saw no room for a life after this physical life, the Sadducees were the richest were influential of all the Jewish religious leaders the high priest the chief priests most of the Sanhedrin were members of this class called the Sadducees they were not interested in the Oral Traditions the oral law the laws of the scribes that were put down by the Pharisees so much action they simply ask the question what does the Torah say those first five books well, something else about them that is interesting they did not believe in the resurrection I did not believe in disembodied spirits they did not believe in angels now all that is important because the question they ask It's about the resurrection and the people who will live after this physical life and about the angels, so look at the question they ask: They didn't even believe what Jesus was going to do.

They say they had already ruled out the possibility of life after this physical life these were the Sadducees now I don't know if you get confused with the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes and all that when I became a Christian at the age of 14 and I remember learning a song uh maybe you learned a song in youth group I'm sure they don't sing it anymore you know some things just happen this is one of those songs I don't want to be a Pharisee, I don't want to be a Pharisee because they're not fair, you see, I just want to be a sheep and everyone said goodbye, I don't want to be sad, you see, I don't want to be sad, you'll see, because they're too sad, you'll see.

I just want to be a sheep. So if this will help you remember the difference, the Sadducees were sad because they didn't believe there was life after this life and friends, there was. this is all there is even on our best days if this is all there is that would cause sadness think of all the missed opportunities all the regrets all the disappointments all the heartbreaks if this is all there is then there would be sadness and then they come to Christ asking him a question they didn't believe what he was going to say they didn't believe in the resurrection MacArthur said it so they kept their allegiance to the pentateuch to Moses' belief that Moses didn't teach about a resurrection, so they said it shouldn't be possible with such contempt.

MacArthur said that for the future they were interested in the moment and whatever they could do, how they could make a profit, so they were in charge of the temple business, which is why they got so angry when Jesus struck down. the tables and they sent the money changers out of the temple that day because their way of earning money had been interrupted and, upset about that and many other things, they came to Jesus to discredit him, then they asked him the question about the future and they proposed a dilemma Jesus is offered this undoubtedly hypothetical situation invented about a woman who was married seven times and at the end of the story they asked him the question of who will be his wife.

They were referring to what is called in the scriptures the marriage lever that is described in Deuteronomy 25 verses 5 to 10. In Deuteronomy, which is in those first five books, they accepted the teachings of Deuteronomy, the Sadducees, there was this custom that if a marriage ended without children, then the man's brother would marry the wife he had. a son so that the name would continue his brother's name would continue and then they supposed that there was a man who died without children his brother and in the future and their question was whose wife will she be at the resurrection?

I have a better question who would want to marry this woman okay, that's not part of this, but that's what they brought before Jesus, whose wife will she be? Now what Jesus told them as he responded is that they misunderstood marriage, they just didn't understand what the purpose was. of marriage was and what it would be like in eternity when we were in the presence of God now if you looked around you and just if you've been married once if you've been married more than once um there are people who've been married numerous times , we think ofElizabeth Taylor's Zaza Gabor, Larry King, Melanie Griffith, Nicholas Cage, these are celebrities who have been married multiple times, there is a man named Glenn Scotty Wolf, who is supposedly the man who holds the record for the most marriages.

He died when he was 88 years old and by that time he had been married 29 times. His last wife, Linda Essex Wolf, held the record for the most married woman in the world, she had had 23 husbands, now they were actually living separately, which maybe was why they were married for a year, that was all. They were married and were planning to renew their vows on their first anniversary, but he died before then. His shortest marriage was 19 days His longest marriage was seven years but you know when he died, although he had 29 wives, 19 children, 40 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren, no one came forward to claim his body when he died, so the authorities of San Bernadette Bernardino County.

They cremated him, cremated him and spread his ashes in a collective grave to get married and ignore the Marriage Covenant. You see, these Sadducees didn't understand marriage and the purpose for which God gave it, so their question was ridiculous from the start, they weren't. interested in the truth, they misunderstood and Jesus said that not only did they misunderstand marriage but they misunderstood the scriptures, they misunderstood the power of God, they did not understand what God taught and it was not limited to those first five books of the Jewish scriptures that are our Old Testament, you understand that our Old Testament is the Jewish scriptures and therefore it was more than just those first five books, they got it wrong and then they said you know nothing about the power of God and then he He answered them what heaven will be like. what will the resurrection be like then what is different in heaven Jesus told her in heaven we will not get married this is found in Mark 12 25. see marriage was designed by God for companionship and the continuation of humanity on Earth Jesus was emphasizing the fact that in heaven there will be no exclusive relationships Believers will experience a whole new existence in which we will have relationships that are broader than earthly relationships, so that simple statement in heaven we will not get married, that's what he said, Won't it be like that in heaven? not being married or given in marriage, how do we understand this?

Well, the Scriptures teach that marriage is not an eternal Covenant. You must hold on to this and understand. Mormons teach something called celestial marriages, that if a couple is worthy and if a couple is married in a temple and if they are worthy and married in a temple that marriage will last two eternities it will be a forever marriage. I have heard Christian people who have mistakenly spoken of eternal love or marriage, salvation is an eternal covenant. what God does with us redeems us, but marriage is not eternal, the Scriptures tell us that we are united in marriage until death, that is in Romans 7.

Now, if you are married, it is likely that you have made marriage vows to unless you've written your own wedding vows that say something. for better for worse for richer for poorer and sickness and health as long as we both live or until death do us part well so you are familiar with that so we understand that even in the vows that people exchange there is this understanding that marriage gives us unites until death and Jesus reiterates this truth that we understand that the scriptures teach that marriage is not an eternal Covenant it is a limited Covenant what is different in heaven we will not marry and we will not procreate Mark 12 25. you see God told the people in Genesis 1 28 who are fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth.

I think we filled it. How many people do they say there are now on the planet? Yes, like eight billion people. You see, marriage will not be necessary because in the resurrection in heaven. We will not have an exclusive relationship with them and since we will not die in heaven, reproduction is unnecessary to perpetuate the human race. Jesus said to those who ask the question, they do not understand marriage, they do not understand the scriptures, they do not understand the power of God and I have discovered that Often we as Christians accept common ideas or fanciful ideas that have no basis in Scripture, so what is the purpose for which God gave us marriage?

He gave us marriage for procreation, for association, that is, companionship, intimacy. It exists between a husband and a wife unlike any other relationship marriage was and is given for provision and protection the scriptures say those are the main reasons why God has given us marriage now you understand that by looking at those four reasons Those reasons do not exist or those needs will not exist in heaven it will not be necessary to perpetuate the race through procreation there is intimacy this closeness with others in heaven is not exclusive to a marriage this unity that exists among the people of God who do not There are limits to heaven's provision, we will all be provided with protection, we will be safe there, so everything we need and that God gave us to enjoy in marriage will be taken care of in heaven, so Jesus told those who made the question: you don't understand, in heaven you will. do not get married in heaven you will not procreate or have families and he says another very significant thing, he says that in heaven we will be like the angels this is important to understand what he tells us in Psalm 8 5 the psalmist says that he marveled at the Creator and everything that God had done and made the statements that you have made man inferior to the angels, you have given dominion to man to rule the Earth and take care of the Earth, but understand what Jesus said, we will be like angels, that is, spiritual beings. that those who will not die will live eternally but Jesus did not say that we will be angels countless times I have heard people make the statement about someone who has died that they have become one of God's angels that is wrong the scriptures do not teach anywhere that when you and I die because we become angels Jesus said that we will be like angels and that we will be Spiritual Beings the scripture that we saw in Genesis 1 26 this would be 26 and 28. it says that we were made in the image of God Angels were not made in the image of When God said let's make man in our image God was talking about creating man and woman people angels are not created in the image of God so people will not become angels when we die we will be like angels in the sense that they will worship without obstacles in heaven in Revelation 22 verses 3 and 4 says there will be no longer any curse but the Throne of God and the Lamb will be in him and his servants will worship him and see his face and his name.

It will be on their foreheads when we go to heaven, we will worship as the angels have been worshiping God around the throne giving Him infinite glory, so we will be like angels in that we will have unrestricted access to the presence of God and we will be able to worship Him in His presence that is what one of the things we will experience in heaven what else is different about heaven we will be in the presence of God endless one of the descriptions of heaven and the Revelation is that John said I saw talking about heaven and he said there will be no more sea ​​of ​​all the things God could make us know about heaven.

The fact that God says there is no sea in heaven has caused great speculation as to why there will be no sea. there is no C in heaven, well a lot of opinion guessing, I understand that means there will be no separation, is what God was saying, you see bodies of water separating the earth and large bodies of water separating people by great distances, what God wanted us to know. is that when we enter Heaven we will never again say goodbye, we will never again experience separation in any form when we are there and specifically that means that we will be with him without end.

God responded to these Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection. Spirits or incorporeal Angels answered and said: Have you not heard what God said to Moses at the burning bush? He said: I am the god of Abraham, the god of Isaac and the god of Jacob, if there was no life after this earthly life, then he I have said that I was the god of Abraham, but the fact that I said that I am the god of Abraham Isaac and Jacob means that Abraham Isaac and Jacob are present with me now and I am still their God.

What he said about these Patriarchs will be true for each one of us we will be with him without end Revelation 21 verse 3 and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying Behold the Dwelling Place of God is with man and he will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God and as the promise that we who have loved, believed and served him here have trusted in him for salvation will be with him in his presence without end forever and ever we will live continually unharmed in heaven in Revelation 21 verse 4 this same The familiar description of Heaven says that he will wipe away every tear from your eyes and that Death will be no more nor will there be any more mourning or crying or pain because the former things have passed away.

This is one of those things we just can't. understand that there is no harm in heaven in any form you see in heaven we will not grow old and we will not face pain we will not experience suffering and we will never again suffer illness because there in his presence we will live unharmed can you? I understand that I can't, but that is what God promises his people and tells us that we will live joyfully without fear in the last two chapters of the word of God in Revelation 21 and Revelation 22, there are these descriptions of heaven and in both chapters we are .

It is said that there is something significant that is not what it says in Revelation 21 verses 23 and 25 and the City, the Celestial city, does not need the sun or the moon to illuminate it for the glory of God, it illuminates it and its lamp is the lamb and By its light the Nations will walk and the kings of the earth will bring their Glory to it and its Doors will never be closed during the day and there will be no night there. We have made missionary trips to other countries. El Salvador we went on five different missionary trips and one of the things Interesting things about that Central American country are the bars on the windows and doors of each house and the barbed wire on the top of the walls that surrounded these houses, some of them not much more than you would. call a shack but it had bars and doors and this protection to go to a gas station and see armed guards walking back and forth in this country and know that they had lived in the '80s, I think, and they had that uprising and and And many, many People were murdered and lived with it for years after that experience.

You see in many places in our world in this country there is this fear and one of the descriptions of Heaven is that the doors never close. Do you know what that means? They will be safe with it and there are people who have lived much of their lives in fear with the threat of harm but not there and that is that description that there is no sun because the glory of God illuminates the place revelation 22 5 and night. They will no longer exist and will not need the light of a lamp or the sun because the Lord God will be their light and they will reign forever and ever.

What will heaven be like? Well, we have these flashes, don't we? and it is important. that we report what we think heaven will be like with what the scriptures teach heaven will be like, we often talk about gathering with family and I believe we will certainly be the ones to see our loved ones yesterday was the first anniversary of my The death of my mother today would have been my father's 93rd birthday on February 5th, so my parents are in heaven and as a believer in Christ, they were believers. I hope to see you again when we get a very close look at what will happen in heaven.

Being like teaching teenagers when I was a youth pastor and I was talking about heaven and one of the young people asked the question: will we live with our families in heaven? And one of the kids raised his hand and was always making comments trying to. to be CL, the comedian of the group, but he didn't always participate in the Bible study, but this time he raised his hand and said: I know the answer, I know the answer. I said well, what's the answer we're going to live with? our families he said absolutely not. I said well, how can you be so sure?

He said the Bible says there will be no tears in heaven and if I live with my mom and dad, what will heaven be like? You see many of the things we say, some of the things we say have no biblical basis, so why don't we stay with what we know and what we don't know? Why don't we leave it to God? I heard someone say that when I get to heaven I have all these questions that I'm going to ask God like if you're going to put God down and say, "Okay, I want, I want some answers," I don't think we will.

That's what you say that in heaven First Corinthians 13 that we will know just as we are known I have no doubt that all the things that have been Mysteries to us that have confused us that have overwhelmed us that we will understand when we are in His presence and that we will not demand any answer but we will worship forever in his presence you will pray with me father thank you for what is coming for those of us who trust in Jesus you have made it very clear in your word that there is no other way to the father to heaven but through the son Jesus you are the way truth and life my prayer for each of us is that we know with certainty whether we are saved or not and if there is any question that even today anyone whonot sure would secure and trust in you for salvation God, help us to base our hope on the truth of your word and not on meaningless speculation and God, we long to be in your presence, there will be absence of sin. and suffering and sadness there is no separation but the greatest thing is that we will see you face to face yes we will reunite with our loved ones and we will be together in heaven but God we know that there are people we love who have not done so yet. believe in Christ help us Lord to share with love the good news of Christ we pray in the name of Jesus amen could you stop?

I invite you to give an answer to trust Christ as your savior to renew your commitment to him to come Join our church to come seek believer's baptism or come to pray and then return to your seat you would come as we sing foreigner foreigner was bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ before closing the invitation would you take a few moments to think about what God has in store for his children in heaven perhaps you need to adjust some things that have been spoken to you about heaven or that you thought about in heaven pray for those who you know who don't have the hope of heaven who would trust that Christ went well a couple of announcements this morning um for those of you who like to plan ahead um and know that you have a tight schedule, especially on Sundays, in two weeks we will have another breakfast for the whole church, this one will follow the service and it will be between the service and Sunday school, so it will adjust the Sunday school schedule so that you can receive We will leave here a little later in two weeks, but the Sean's Sunday school class will provide breakfast in two weeks.

There will also be a luncheon on February 26 for all members of the Church after Sunday school, so here in the month of February. We're going to have multiple opportunities to fellowship and eat together, so we wanted to make sure you had them on your calendar and didn't skip this, so a text presenter was also sent, but the business meeting and the ministry. The team meeting for next week just got canceled and we're meeting at the regularly scheduled one in March, so I think I read it in the newsletter and it said we're meeting, we're not meeting next Sunday, there's a football game. so we want you to fellowship with each other in that, let's pray, oh, okay, uh, the flowers here.

I realized these are from Naomi's 90th birthday party and aren't they pretty? Let us pray Heavenly Father Lord, we simply thank you for this morning. We thank you for the chance to come here and worship you Lord, we just look forward to the time when we can worship you in heaven Lord, we don't know exactly what that will be like as our sermon is this. The morning told us, but Lord, we focus our lives on you so that we can rejoice with others. Lord, for those who do not know you this morning. Lord, we pray that they will come to know you.

Lord, I pray that we take advantage of every opportunity we have. We need to share your good news with those around us, Lord, so that we can all rejoice together in heaven with you. Lord, I just pray for Sunday school classes this morning, Lord, that we can continue to grow in you. Lord, we pray these things in your name of the son, amen, I'm fine, that's it.