What on Earth will be in Heaven?

Revelation 5: 1-14

My Sermon today asks, WHAT ON EARTH WILL BE HEAVEN?

In the book of the Revelation, John, the author of Revelation, has been called up into Heaven to receive the vision of things to come. While in Heaven, John saw many wonderful things and he later wrote down for you and me those things. What the Bible reveals about Heaven is enough to encourage even the most downcast of the Lord’s children.

I think that of all the promises given in the Bible, the promise of Heaven may stand as the most precious to the people of the Lord. Just the fact that one day, we will be allowed to leave this world with all its trials and troubles behind us, and enter a land of absolute perfection is almost too good to be true. But, thank God it is true!

Just before Jesus died, He gave His disciples a promise that has cheered the hearts of the Christians for 2,000 years. He promised us that He was going to prepare a place in the Father’s House for each of us and that one day, He would return for us and take us to be with Him there. John 14:1. I don’t know if that promise does anything for you,

but it certainly does bless my heart!

Now, much has been said about Heaven. Many sermons have been preached about that celestial city. Books have been written and Heaven has filled the fondest dreams of God’s saints from time immemorial. My assignment from the Lord is not to recount all the splendours of that city. I am not about to speak of golden streets, gates of pearl, walls of jasper or foundations of precious stones. I did not prepare to speak of endless day, angelic hosts, crystal rivers or the tree of life. I believe that while all the things that come together to make Heaven all that will be, are very precious, those things that will be missing from Heaven will make it a wonderful place as well. Think about it, there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more

crime, no more separation, no more suffering, no more sin and no more Satan. These things of earth will not make the trip to glory when we go home to dwell in the regions of light. I praise the Lord for that great truth!

However, I would like to tell you today, to remind you, that there are a few things that will make the trip with us from earth into Heaven. These are things that you won’t mind being in Heaven. For they will not hinder the experience of that city, but they will enhance it and

add to its beauty. As I look around this world today, there aren’t many things in the earth that I want to see when I get home to Heaven. However, there are a few things from this world that will be found over there. I want to share them with you as I preach today on

What On Earth Will Be In Heaven?

Allow me to share 5 precious things cited in Revelation Chapter FIVE that we will take with us to Heaven when we leave this world behind. What on earth will be in Heaven? Let me show you!

Verse 9 tells us THERE WILL STILL BE SINGING IN HEAVEN

Notice who was doing the singing. The 24 elders. These men represent the redeemed of God down through the ages. The picture here is of those who have been saved, and have arrived at home in Heaven standing before the throne of God singing a brand new heavenly song of praise unto the Lord and the God who redeemed them from an eternity in Hell.

Singing has always been important to the worship of the Lord.

The Bible tells us that in the creation, the angels sang, Job 38:7. By the way, this is the only reference to angels singing in the Bible! We always picture the angels singing at the birth of Jesus, but a careful examination of the text reveals that they did not sing, they just said, Luke 2:13-14.

When Israel wanted to worship their God, they often did so by singing. The Song of Moses, Ex. 15; The Song of Deborah and Barak when they had defeated Sisera, Judges 5; and Psalms 120-134 are called “Songs of Degrees”.

That is, they were songs sung by the pilgrims who were making their way up to Jerusalem to worship at the Tabernacle and later at the Temple. In fact, the Book of Psalms is in reality a Hebrew songbook! Singing was vitally important in the worship of the Jews.

When the church was formed, singing became a vital part of Christian worship. Remember Paul and Silas in prison? Acts 16:25. Verses like Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16 tell us that singing is important to Christian worship.

It would be difficult to place or to estimate the real value of Christ-honouring, scriptural singing in the church. Singing sets the mood for the rest of the service. Lively, energetic singing prepares the worshipers for the Word of God that is about to be preached. The right kind of singing can even be used by the Lord to bring lost people to Him to bow in repentance for salvation. Thank God for good, Biblical singing! I love it, and I hope you do too?

I hope so, because it will be one of the few things that will accompany us into Heaven!

The Bible says in this verse that we will sing “a new song“.

I am not sure what all the words are to that new song today, but I believe that God put that song in my heart and yours when He saved us by His grace, Psalm. 40:1-3. All I know for sure is that one of these days, I will leave this world behind and I will stand in the presence of the blessed Lamb of God and will open my

mouth and sing a new song unto Him in pure worship, in the language of Heaven! I look forward to that wonderful time.

So, There Will Still Be Singing In Heaven!

and verses 12-14 show us that THERE WILL STILL BE SHOUTING IN HEAVEN?

These verses make clear the great truth that when we get to Heaven, there will be a shouting over there! Here, the angels and the saints both have the privilege of lifting their shouts

unto the glorified Lamb. Just as singing has always had a place in the praise and worship of the Lord, so too has shouting.

Job 38:7 tells us that the angels shouted for joy!

During the history of the nation of Israel, shouting and praising the Lord were valuable parts of God’s worship. They shouted when the Ark was returned to Jerusalem,

2 Sam. 6:15. The worship of Israel was often punctuated with the shouting of the people, Psalm. 5:11; Psalm. 32:11; Psalm. 47:1; and Psalm. 132:9.

In the early church, the people were encouraged to

participate in the public praises of the Lord, Heb. 13:15.

In our modern society and churches, old fashioned praising of the Lord has fallen out of favour with many people. In fact, shouters, criers, hand wavers, and

amen-er’s are all ridiculed and misunderstood. I would just like to remind you today that God’s praises still have a valuable place in the church! Now I know that not everyone of us praises the Lord in the same way and that some feel funny when the shouting begins, but let me just challenge you to leave the shouters alone. They have something to shout about!

By the way, I am glad the Lord gave me something that I can feel! I am grateful to the Lord that I have a Forgiveness and Saviour who is worth shouting about!

Some people will go to a football game or some other type of sporting event and will shout themselves hoarse, screaming like a bunch of Comanche Indians, then those same people will go to church and sit there like Wooden Indians while the Lord’s praises are sung and preached! Something is wrong somewhere in that picture?

May I suggest that you need to get used to shouting? If you plan to go to Heaven, you had better get ready for it, because it is one of the things on earth that will be there in Heaven. How do I know this? Because every time we are allowed a sneak peak into Heaven, there is one thing that we are always shown, and that is the fact that the inhabitants of Heaven are seen praising the Lord!

(Rev. 4:1-11; 5:1-14; 7:9-11; 19:1-8)

Much of what passes for worship down here, isn’t! However, praising the Lord is in fashion in Heaven, and it always will be! The best advise that I can give you is to get into shouting practice now so that you won’t be too shy about it,

when you get over there!

So then:- There Will Still Be Singing In Heaven

and There Will Still Be Shouting In Heaven

Verses 10, and 14 show us that THERE WILL STILL BE SATISFACTION IN HEAVEN

As these 24 elders lifts their song of praise unto the Lord, they express their pleasure in their present state. They comment about the great things the Lord has done for them and state their satisfaction in their worship of the Lord. You see, a satisfied people are a worshiping and praising people! Throughout history, God has proven that He was in the business of satisfying His people. He satisfied Israel when they travelled through the wilderness. He satisfied the hungry when He fed the 5,000. He is in the satisfying business; … Even during the days of the early church the evidence would suggest that the followers of Jesus Christ were a satisfied people, Acts 2:42-47. After all, many of those early believers chose to die rather than to deny their Lord!

The same is true today! People are still giving their lives for the Lord Jesus. Why? Because He has met the deepest need of their soul and they are perfectly satisfied with Him!

In Heaven, we will only be more satisfied! If one takes the time to look at what the Bible says about that Heavenly land, it will be easy to see that we will be a satisfied people over there.

Notice Rev. 21:4;

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”

and Rev. 7:16-17,

“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”.

these are the glories of that perfect land! So much of what causes us grief down here will never enter there! David tells us that being there with Him will bring complete satisfaction,

Psalm. 17:15.

As we stroll around Heaven, there will be no hard luck stories, no times of depression, no physical problems, no emotional trial, no financial stress, nothing to cause us to be the least bit

dissatisfied! Some who don’t want to believe the Gospel story might hear this and concluded that we Christians are just dreaming. Well, if I am, please don’t wake me! All I know is that I am satisfied today and I know that my satisfaction will only improve when I arrive home in the glory!

There Will Still Be Singing In Heaven

There Will Still Be Shouting In Heaven

There Will Still Be Satisfaction In Heaven

and verse 9 reminds us that THERE WILL STILL BE

SALVATION IN HEAVEN

Notice that these redeemed ones sing of their salvation in Heaven. The verb construction here speaks of a completed work. Their salvation was purchased when Jesus died on the cross, accomplished when they trusted Him by faith and it followed them right on into the glory. No wonder they are shouting the praises of the Lord Jesus Christ there in Heaven!

What is true for these believers in this heavenly picture is also true for you and for me! When Jesus died on the cross He wasn’t dying to provide a salvation that was temporary; one that would wear off or wear out. When Jesus perfected the plan of salvation by the shedding of His own blood, He provided a salvation that would last for all eternity!

Notice how the writer to the Hebrews speaks of salvation –

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood

he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”. Heb. 9:12

What I am trying to get you to see today is this: If you are saved, then you will always be saved and when you die you’ll still be saved! The salvation that God gives us through His Son the Lord Jesus is eternal.

While eternity unfolds before us in all the panoramas of its glory and beauty, I’ll still be saved! While the endless day affords me the privilege of bowing before the King of kings and the Lord of lords in humble worship of His glory and majesty, I’ll still be saved. What I have this very day will endure until the end of time, then it will just have begun, for I am as saved today as

I will ever be, and I will ever be as saved as I am today!

The question is, are you? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour yet? If not, I invite you to come to Him right now! You do not need to wait for some special meeting or some special Church Service or liturgy, or ritual, or sacrament to be saved. If the Lord is calling you to come to Him, then get up and out from the world and come to Him! Eternity is far too long and Hell is far too awful for you to go there when Heaven could be yours with a simple cry of faith. How easy is it to be saved? As easy as believing! “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shalt be saved”, Acts 16:31.

Put your confidence in Him!

There Will Still Be Singing In Heaven

There Will Still Be Shouting In Heaven

There Will Still Be Satisfaction In Heaven

There Will Still Be Salvation In Heaven

Finally, verse 6 shows us that THERE WILL STILL BE

A SAVIOUR IN HEAVEN

This precious verse tells us that in Heaven, there will be One who will be the centre-piece of it all! Notice how the Bible describes Jesus Christ and His appearance in Heaven. He is pictured as a “lamb as it had been slain.” Many of you know what I believe about this. I personally believe that the glorified Christ still bears the marks of His suffering at Calvary in His body, the nail prints in his hands and feet, the thorn prints on

his brow, and the wound in his side. Why do I think this? Because when He appeared to the disciples in the upper room, after He was resurrected and glorified, He still had them then, John 20:27. If He possessed those marks at that time, it is reasonable to assume that He still has them today and will have them for all eternity! Lest any of us should forget?

Now, that may not mean a whole lot to you, but it means the world to me! When you and I get to Heaven I don’t think we’ll spend our time sightseeing and mansion hunting. I don’t think we’ll be overly impressed with the golden streets and the jasper walls. I am inclined to think that the gates of pearl will not be as meaningful when we step over on that other shore. In fact, I think our soul desire when we reach that land will be to see the One who went to the cross and took our sins upon Himself that we might live. When we get to Heaven, we will want to see Jesus! And, the good news is, … that we shall! Rev. 22:4.

Can you imagine what it will be like when we see the Lord Jesus? I don’t know for sure, but I think that maybe we will react like the 24 elders did in Rev. 4:9-11. I would imagine that we would fall down before Him, cast our crowns at His feet and worship Him for all eternity!

As we travel through this world, … we have the presence of the Lord with us, Matt. 28:20; we have the Spirit of the Lord within us, John 14:17; and we have the hand of the Lord upon us, Proverbs. 3:6.

However, none of you listening today, have ever seen the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit or God the Father. Yet, the same One who walks with us day by day will be with us when we get home to Heaven. The difference then will be that we will have a body and a mind that will be able to see Him in all His glory and enjoy His blessed presence! I tell you again that the greatest glory of

Heaven will be to see this One called Jesus Christ. To be able to bow down before Him and thank Him forever for going to the cross will be the crowning hour of glory. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to seeing my Saviour first of all, on the other side.

NOW THIS FINAL WORD

I think it is clear today that some of the things that we enjoy down here will be making the trip with us to Heaven. However, there will be plenty of things that will not go. For instance, your sins will not, they cannot go, neither will your unsaved soul. If you have never trusted Jesus as your personal Saviour, you have absolutely no hope of ever experiencing these things. But, there is good news today!

The same Jesus who saved me, and multitudes with me, can and will save you if you will only call on Him by faith! If you are unsaved you need to come to the Lord and be born again. If you are out of the Lord’s will, you need to make things right so you can enjoy the trip and look forward to Heaven. If you are struggling, then I invite you to bring your need to Jesus and allow Him to help you through.

I am glad that some things will be left behind for ever when we get to Heaven. However, I praise the Lord for those things that will be there with us: the Song, the Shout, the Satisfaction, the Salvation and most of all the Saviour Himself.

Amen