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What Will Heaven Be Like?

Written by amerrill on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on What Will Heaven Be Like?

Heaven is not a figment of someone’s imagination or a mystical fairy tale. It is as real as the world you and I live in right now. When you try to imagine this glorious city, what do you think of? Fluffy clouds? Angels strumming harps? Philadelphia Cream Cheese? No, no, no. Forget about what you’ve seen in commercials, movies, and television. Let’s look to God’s Word, the Bible, for the truth about Heaven. Here are three important things we learn:

No Expense Spared

In Revelation 21:18–21, John described the most precious elements known to man as comprising the very foundations of this majestic metropolis:

“The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, as pure as transparent glass.”

[Photo by Alicia Lee on Flickr.]

Here on earth, we would never dream of walking on gold—gold so pure that it’s like transparent glass, no less! But the God of the universe reserved the choicest materials to build a heavenly city for those who love Him. Even the material under our feet will be made from the same stuff that we today scrimp and save for just to buy a small ring or a delicate necklace. This tells me that nothing this world has to offer—not even the very best things here on earth—can ever come close to what God intended for us at creation, which will one day be fully restored in Heaven.

He is Preparing a Place for You

Just before Jesus was betrayed, He comforted His disciples with these words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:1–2)

What a mind-blowing promise for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ! This very moment Jesus is in the heavenly realm laying foundations, framing walls, tiling floors, hanging pictures, building cabinets, and planting gardens . . . just for us. Here’s the thing I can’t comprehend: Jesus loves us so much that He humbled Himself as a man and died for our sins more than 2,000 years ago. The work He did on the cross was more than enough. And yet—He continues to love, give, and provide for us. He continues to work on our behalf by preparing our heavenly home. How astounding is the love of Christ!

No More Tears

Heaven is our home. This earth, with all its troubles and tragedies, is not our permanent dwelling. Revelation 21:3 tells us that in Heaven, God will be with us. He will make His dwelling among us, just as He walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8–9). Verses four and five of Revelation 21 go on to reveal: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

These are words we can trust in: that in Heaven there will be no more sorrow, disease, pain, crime, or death because Almighty God will make all things new. Oh, I can’t wait for that day! How about you?

Tell the World!

Heaven is that place we long for. It is where our friends and family who believed in the Lord and have died are right now. It is the blessed hope that drives us to share the Gospel. After all, what is the best way to invest in Heaven? Isn’t our best investment the people with whom we’ve shared the Good News? I don’t know about you, but when I get there, I want it to be filled with people. I want to get there and see billions of people there, from every tribe and from every nation, all together worshiping the Lord in our heavenly home. The only way that will happen is if you and I are compelled to tell the present world about our wonderful Savior and the truth of His Gospel.

**Excerpt from the book, Compelled: The Irresistible Call to Share Your Faith by Pastor Dudley Rutherford, available at Amazon and wherever books are sold.

12 Years After “The Secret” and There’s Still No Substitute for the Gospel

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Since its release in 2006, a self-help book called The Secret has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over forty-six languages. The premise of the book is that you can create whatever you want by using the power of your mind. It is a self-centered philosophy that is actually nothing more than recycled Hinduism and New Age folly. Many people think if Oprah endorses something, that makes it okay.

According to the book, to attract your perfect weight you just think it in your mind and then you become it! (Oh, if that only were true—I would have six-pack abs and a full head of hair!) The book also suggests that everyone has his or her own personal genie standing by with a “your wish is my command” policy.

I want to share with you what one fan of The Secret wrote—not to poke fun, but to demonstrate how far the world has come in creating substitutions for a relationship with Christ:

The one thing that stuck with me was the Genie. I immediately felt a connection to this concept. I drew a Genie with a handsome face, a look of satisfaction and a perfect body to compliment it.

He is there in my room on the wall and he is like the most perfect thing that ever happened to me! Be it exams, relationship problems, health problems, or just something I am scared of, I just tell it to Genie and believe that he will manage it somehow.

After telling my problem to Genie and asking him to take care [of] it, I just stop thinking about it. Somewhere in my heart I feel that he’ll take care of it, and trust me, he has never failed me once! He is my universe, my personal Genie and he fulfills all my wishes, no limitations.

When I read this testimonial, I can’t help but feel both sadness and frustration that such a simple book could lead so many people astray. Jesus Christ—not an imaginary genie—is real and alive (Ephesians 1:19–20). He is the one who truly cares and asks us to cast all our burdens upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). Hebrews 1:3 puts it this way: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

In its futile attempt to be the answer for all of mankind’s needs, The Secret fails to address the most basic reality of life: death! If the Law of Attraction really worked, then no one would ever die or suffer from disease, because most people would like to live forever. This fact became painfully clear when a viewer of the Oprah show, after seeing two episodes dedicated to The Secret, wrote to Oprah to “announce that she had decided to halt her breast-cancer treatments and heal herself with her mind.”

The Secret is Out

The truth is, God offers eternity through Jesus Christ alone (John 3:16). His living words are the only words of eternal life (see John 6:68 and Hebrews 4:12).

All other religions began with people asking, “How can we get to God?” That’s a very good question. And in the attempt to find an answer, many different people came up their own moral system. They said in essence, “Let’s do these things to get to God. And if we do enough of these good things, we’ll get to heaven.” (Or, in new age thinking, “find peace within ourselves.”)

In Christianity, God looks down from heaven and wants to redeem mankind. So, He left heaven and came to this earth in the form of a baby to bring salvation to the earth. His name was Jesus. He lived thirty-three years and never committed a sin. Then He died on a cross as atonement for our sins so we could have eternal life. No other man in the history of the world—and certainly not a make-believe genie—has ever done such a thing for humanity.

No Substitute

There is no other substitute for Jesus’ love. Every other attempt falls devastatingly short because it will have zero ability to change our hearts, cure our sin, or impact our eternal destiny. Christ’s love is our true motivation, and it propels us toward greater feats than we ever thought possible. We will share His truth with the world so that as many people as possible can have a relationship with God and spend eternity with Him in heaven.

That’s what being “Compelled to Tell” is all about! It’s a passion that will get us out of bed in the morning better than any alarm clock, deadline, or sales goal. It’ll help us endure pain, sorrow, and hardship in order to tell others about the best thing that has ever happened to us.

Pastor Dudley Rutherford is the author of “Compelled: The Irresistible Call to Share Your Faith” (available on Amazon) and the senior pastor of Shepherd Church in Porter Ranch, California, which has four campuses in the Greater Los Angeles area. You can connect with Dudley at dev.fishhookcms.com/ and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

Soul Winning Made Simple

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The word evangelism can conjure up a variety of images and thoughts ranging from world missions to flashy televangelists. Many faithful church members would answer, “Evangelism? Oh, that’s something our preacher does on Sunday morning.”

Well, yes . . . and no.

Many years ago I heard one of the greatest definitions of evangelism, and to this day it has stuck with me: evangelism is nothing more than mouth-to-ear resuscitation!

What a great yet simple description. The Gospel of Jesus comes from your mouth to someone else’s ear—and brings life to a spirit who, without Christ, is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1).

With typical mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or CPR, you don’t have to be a doctor or medical expert to administer it. Anyone can do it with the proper training. It’s the same thing with sharing the Gospel! You don’t have to be a preacher or possess a master’s degree from a Bible college. Any believer can share the Good News—effectively—with the proper training.

[Photo credit: U.S. Pacific Fleet on Flickr.]

I’ve written a book called Compelled: The Irresistible Call to Share Your Faith, to reassure you that evangelism doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating—and you can participate in it every single day of your life once you have the right tools. Once you do, you will be able to win souls for the Kingdom of God.

What do I mean by that? Well, let’s take a look at what the Bible says about winning souls.

“Win as Many as Possible”

Although we don’t see the exact term “soul winner” in God’s Word, it most likely comes from two different Scriptures. The first is Proverbs 11:30, which says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.” The second comes from 1 Corinthians 9:19–23, where Paul wrote about humbling himself toward everyone so that he could “win as many as possible.” He wrote:

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Four times in this passage Paul used the word win. He was using his influence and background to persuade and convince those around him to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord. He was competing for their souls. Do you think this came easily and without a fight, resistance, or conflict? I don’t think so. While recapping his life, one of Paul’s last words was that he had “fought the good fight” (2 Timothy 2:4).

The Battle is Real

Winning souls basically means to lead people to a saving knowledge of the truth. Think of the expression “winning someone over.” In that sense, you are convincing someone of something or gaining his or her support. Or consider the saying “winning someone’s heart.” This has a more intimate meaning of gaining a person’s affection or causing them to love you exclusively.

If you are winning souls, then you are a soul winner. I’ve often wondered why so many people back away from this term. Maybe it’s because the word winning constitutes a battle or conflict. I realize our society has fallen into a “can’t we all just get along” mentality, but the Bible says that there’s a war going on. Not a war against people, but against the dark forces in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 6:12). And these powers are doing everything possible to win this war. That same passage of Scripture, Ephesians 6:10–17, also says that we must put on the full armor of God. We wouldn’t need to wear armor if a battle wasn’t going on, right?

Here’s the thing: the church is not a “bless me” club meant to provide comfortable seats and feel-good messages for its members. Christian fellowship and community are absolutely important. But what’s more important is the church’s role to equip its members with the knowledge of the Word of God…so that we will boldly engage in the war that is taking place over the souls of mankind.

How Christians Can Live a Life with No Regrets

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Life is full of many different pursuits and possible achievements, but as followers of Christ, how do we live our lives to reach our full potential so that, in the end, we will have no regrets? I will never forget something an elder in our church told me right before he died. He had served the congregation faithfully for sixty years, and as his frail body prepared to step into eternity, he told me, “Dudley, one of my biggest regrets in life is that I cannot recall actually leading someone to Jesus Christ.”

My heart grieved along with his. This man had knowledge of the Scriptures. He knew the Lord. He had likely sat in more than three thousand church services in his lifetime, sang worship songs, tithed, and served others. But one thing was missing: he never used what he knew to bring salvation to one person. Not one.

Friend, this does not have to be the deathbed regret of any Christian. With every fiber of my being, I believe we serve a mighty God who invites us into a powerful partnership with Him and will equip us to do His will here on earth.

Hope of the World

As believers, we have the hope of the world living inside us. The most pressing crisis at hand is that there are people who are lost without Jesus—prisoners to their sin, searching for answers, lonely, hurting, confused. Some are suicidal, thinking there is no way out of the situation they’re in currently. Many need healing spiritually, physically, and relationally. The message of the cross is lifesaving, and I’m convinced beyond any doubt that the best life anyone could possibly live is one that serves God and obeys His Word. This includes sharing His Word with others.

My passion is to see this current generation of believers become so compelled by the love of Christ that we cannot help but try to persuade our fellow man that He died for all. I want to see the modern-day church more closely resemble the early church, which was fearlessly and singularly focused on spreading the Gospel—to the degree that the early disciples were accused of turning the world upside down by those who opposed them (Acts 17:6). With all my heart I believe that same boldness can be mustered in the church today to transform the world for Jesus!

Life and Death

For these loved ones and acquaintances of yours, hearing the Gospel is a matter of life and death. Paul explained unequivocally in Ephesians 2:1–3 that without Christ, we are dead in our transgressions and deserving of God’s wrath. That’s bad news—a tragic reality for everyone on this planet who has not put their faith in Jesus Christ. Now let me show you what Paul wrote in the very next few verses, because it is unfathomably good news:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (vv. 4–7)

Paul also explained this same idea more simply as this: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

We have been saved by the excessive love, mercy, and grace of God. And since it exceeds us, we should not keep it to ourselves. The greatest assignment we have ever been given by Almighty God is to grab a hold of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of us—which is sharing the Gospel with others before they enter into eternity.

Extravagant Grace

Our God wants everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). He “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people” (1 Timothy 2:4–6). Through His extravagant grace, your heavenly Father has made a way for everyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to have everlasting life. Even the difficult people in your life.

Yet many people have never heard a clear and simple explanation of how forgiveness and redemption take place through faith in Christ alone. It’s our obligation to tell them. Paul left no room for debate when he wrote,

How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14–15 NLT)

You have a once-in-lifetime opportunity to pick up the Gospel and take it to desperate souls. No one is out of God’s reach, and He uses Christ followers like you to carry His message of truth.

This is how Christians can live a life with no regrets!

Starting today, may you look around and truly see those around you, asking the Lord for the courage and the opportunity to share the Good News with them.

How Can We Become Bold to Share the Truth?

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When I was nineteen years old, I preached at a little church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The church only had about forty people, most of whom were elderly. Of those forty members, only one was younger than me. I would love to say we had a youth group, but in reality, it was more like a “youth kid.”

I was just starting college in Missouri, so I had to drive about two hours every weekend to get to the church. At this time I was a very shy, mild-mannered, and meek guy. I was the kind of guy who didn’t want to offend anyone. People who know me now are shocked to learn this, but it’s the truth.

Smoking in the Church

Every time I drove to Fayetteville, I was terrified of the three elders of the church who awaited me. I referred to them as the “smoking elders” because all three of them smoked cigarettes. They burned through them by the pack. And what’s worse, they actually lit them up inside the church building. (Yes, I said inside the church building!)

Their smoking always bothered me. I knew it was an unhealthy habit, and the fact that they were church leaders indulging in plain view of the church wasn’t helping us out at all. Who wants to go to church and smell cigarettes as soon as they step in the door? Many, many times I wanted to talk to them about it, but I couldn’t. They intimidated me.

Preach the Truth

One day the director of a local orphanage called me and asked if he could bring the kids to church. “Of course,” I replied. “Come over and we’ll have lunch for you, too!”

He brought about ten kids, which increased our church attendance that Sunday by 25 percent. After the service was over, we all moved downstairs to enjoy our lunch together, but the director pulled me aside and asked to speak to me. Once we were out of sight and away from everyone else, his demeanor changed. He got right in my face and started poking me in the chest with his index finger.

Dead serious, he said, “Preacher, I’m gonna tell you something. Every single day these kids fight the temptation to drink, swear, and smoke. The last place I ever thought they would see a bad example was in the church! You better start preachin’ what people need to hear and not what they want to hear.”

Then he said, “We will never come back to this church again.”

Though his words were harsh, they were a necessary wake-up call. For the rest of that afternoon, I was racked with conviction. My church had served as a bad example to those kids, and it was all because I didn’t have the guts to say what needed to be said.

[Photo credit: factoids on Flickr]

Boldness Unleashed

That evening, as I arrived for our Sunday-night service, I prayed earnestly for God to grant me boldness to do just what that man had said. To preach what people needed to hear.

During my prayer, I felt the power of the Holy Spirit rise up within me and fill me with courage and purpose. Before I even entered the church door, I knew I would finally be able to speak what God had placed on my heart. When I got up to preach that night, I threw away my prepared notes. I stood up there and let them have it with both barrels.

I don’t remember everything I said during that message, but I do remember saying at one point, “If God had intended for you to smoke, he would have put a chimney on your head! Smoking won’t send you to hell, but it will sure make you smell like you’ve been there!” I stressed the fact that we shouldn’t be smoking in the first place, let alone inside the church of Jesus Christ, because doing so would undoubtedly set a poor example for others in the faith.

Truth be told, I was surprised at myself. I never knew I could speak like that. And many in the church were just as surprised as I was. The point being, God unleashed a boldness in me that was completely contrary to my nature.

Fired in Fayetteville

The very next Sunday morning I made my drive from college to Fayetteville. I was preparing to deliver the message when one of the three elders pulled me to the side.

Calmly he said, “Dudley, we’ve decided to let you go.”

“Why?” I asked.

He said, “For financial reasons.”

“Financial reasons? You only pay me $50 a week!”

“I know, but we just can’t afford to keep you.”

I tried reasoning with him, saying, “I’ll tell you what; I just want to preach. What if you paid me $5 a week? That would at least cover the gas. Would that be in the budget?”

He firmly answered, “No, we’re letting you go. Today will be your last day.”

I immediately felt that same boldness rise up in me again, except this time it was twice as strong! For the second service in a row, I threw my sermon notes away and let them have it again. They definitely didn’t want me to come back after that message.

I will never forget what the orphanage director said to me on that Sunday afternoon in Fayetteville: “You better start preachin’ what people need to hear and not what they want to hear.” If I had a photo of him digging his finger into my chest, I would have it framed and sitting on my office desk to this day. It changed my life.

Fire in Your Bones

Today you may be just like I was at age nineteen—timid and frightened to say what you know in your heart is true. God can empower and embolden you to proclaim truths you never thought were possible. He will change the lives of others before your very eyes.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7 nkjv)

Sharing the hope of the Gospel with as many people as I possibly can is my life’s burden and passion. Do you feel this compelling call as well? Pray and ask God to fill you with boldness and courage to speak up. Pray and ask Him to dissolve concerns about what others might think of you or say or do if you tell them the truth.

You don’t have to be a full-time preacher or pastor to get involved in God’s mission to save the world through His Son Jesus. If you ask Him, God will instill in you a burden for sharing your faith. Just as the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed in Jeremiah 20:9, the Word of God will become like a fire in your heart and in your bones that you won’t be able to hold in even if you tried.

 

Taken from the book, Compelled: The Irresistible Call to Share Your Faith, © 2018 by Dudley Rutherford. Used with permission by Worthy Books, an imprint of Worthy Publishing Group, a division of Worthy Media Inc., All Rights Reserved.

A Picture of Heaven

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From the beginning of time, people young and old have wondered what Heaven will be like. Is Heaven real? If so, what does it look like? Who will be there? What will we do there? Thankfully, we find the answers to these questions in God’s Holy Word. The last two chapters of the last book of the Bible, Revelation, have more to say about Heaven than the rest of the entire Bible.

Revelation 21:5 declares, “He [God] who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”

Here is what we learn about Heaven from Revelation 21 and 22:

The splendor, size, and structure of Heaven

Heaven is beyond anything we could ever imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9), but we get a picture of its magnificence from Revelation 21:11-12, which says, “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.”

This new city is about 1500 x 1500 miles long. (For reference, the city of Los Angeles is 22 x 22 miles long.) “The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone… The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass” (Revelation 21:11-21).

Isn’t it amazing to know that God has reserved the most precious and beautiful materials for our heavenly home? He truly has spared no expense for the wondrous place He is preparing for those who love Him.

Who will be in Heaven?

We learn from Revelation 21:3 that God Himself will be in Heaven. “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Just like in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man, God will once again live and walk among His beloved people. Revelation 22:4 says God’s servants “will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”

We also learn from Revelation 21:7 that “those who are victorious” will inherit the new Heaven and be children of God. Who are these victorious ones? We learn from Scriptures such as Matthew 10:22 and Romans 8:4-6 that they are the people who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, followed His ways, lived according to the Spirit and not the flesh, and endured trials until the very end.

What will NOT be in Heaven?

The Bible reveals that there will be no tears, death, or disease in Heaven. Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:8 makes it clear that sinners and evil will not be found in Heaven either. “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Every heartache, every tear, and every pain in our body is a reminder that this world is not our true home (Hebrews 13:14; 1 Peter 2:11). Each story of crime, corruption, evil, and injustice you hear about on the news is a reminder that this world is fallen due to sin. “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him” Revelation 22:3. I’m looking forward to that great day, aren’t you?