Sunday, August 13, 2023 - Common Ground Church of Sahuarita 

Alright, let’s dive right into it today. For the last three weeks we have been in our series called Heaven Set where we are exploring the realities of Heaven and how we should, as those in Christ, set our hearts and minds on Heaven. The Apostle Paul says…

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of Heaven, not the things of earth. (Col. 3:1-2) (NLT)

The Apostle Paul is saying set your hearts, your minds, your sight on the realities of Heaven. And this morning, I want to dive into a key reason as to why we are to set our hearts on Heaven and that is because Heaven is so Good. When was the last time that you discovered something good, and it just captured your thoughts so much that you just want to make it a part of your life.



I really like Mexican candy and I have discovered Mazapan. And it is so good. Now, when I go to convenience stores or Walmart. I am looking for that goodness. It’s goodness has captured my taste buds and it’s a goodness that I keep wanting to go back to or look forward to. And I know my examples are lame except for the goodness of my wife, Stephanie. But, you get the picture. The goodness of something can draw us in and give us something to set our sights on. So, the Apostle Paul says for us to set our hearts on the realities of Heaven and the key reason to do so is because Heaven is so good. And Heaven is so Good because…

We Have A Good God!

Let me give you several scriptures that reinforce this truth. Look at these truths about God’s character…

• Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)
• Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1 Chron. 16:34)
• The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,…(Nahum 1:7)
• You are good, and what you do is good;…(Psalm 119:68)

I’ll say it again…

We Have a Good God!

He just doesn’t have goodness. His very character is good. He is Good. But going a step further, God in His goodness wants to share His goodness with us. God is a giver of His goodness. And his goodness is infinitely beyond our so-called goodness. His goodness is better. Jesus says in Matt. 7:11…

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matt. 7:11)

God is a giver of His goodness. King David says in Psalm 119:68 that God even stores His goodness up for us. David says in Psalm 119:68…

How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. (Psalm 119:68)

Heaven is the place where we will experience the full extent of God’s goodness and love upon us. It is something to set our hearts on, to look forward to, and to keep focused on. And, so this is what I want to do today. I want to give you 6 goodness facts about Heaven. And my prayer is that these truths will give you endurance, encouragement, and help you to look toward the goodness of God in Heaven. So, let’s start with the first one, in Heaven…

Goodness Fact #1: We Will Experience the Fullness of God’s Presence 

The most important thing about the goodness of Heaven is that Christ reigns and the splendor of His full glory engulfs all things in Heaven. All who are present will be immersed in the presence of almighty, wonderful, good, and righteous God expressing His eternal love upon us. Listen to the description of this in Rev. 21:22-27. Jesus gives the Apostle John this vision of God’s presence in Heaven. He says…

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Rev. 21:22-27)

Wow! It’s amazing. In Heaven there is no temple because God is the temple. There is no need for light (sun or moon) because God gives light to all Heaven. There is no darkness in Heaven. There is no need for shut doors, gates, or locks because God’s righteous reign is sufficient. Sin is no more and thus there is no impurity, or deceit, or shamefulness. Everything is open and pure. And God’s splendor will overwhelm the splendor of any kingdom and king. Can you imagine such a place with such an unhindered presence of God and His goodness? Such presence will consume our affections and emotions for an eternity. Jesus’ reign and presence will be so mesmerizing and thrilling and mind-altering that we will spend an eternity never getting over it. This is what makes Heaven, Heaven. We will spend an eternity being fulfilled in the loving presence of our savior; a fulfillment in which we were created for. It will be wonderful! But there is more, so let continue to Goodness fact #2…

Goodness Fact #2: We Will Experience Complete Victory

You know when I was thinking about this point that word victory got me thinking about battles. Because victory is the positive side of a battle. And as we live our life in this world, don’t we fight battles. Day after day it seems there is a new battle. We find ourselves fighting battles…

 …in relationships, in health, at work, in our community.

There is always something to deal with. There is always something coming our way to work through and sometimes we do ok and sometimes we don’t. And then there are those personal battles. There are these battles within. These are the battles of…

 …temptation, insecurities, bondages, habits, identity, and the list can go on.

And it can get tiring fighting these battles. And we wonder, will it ever go away. And the answer is yes! In Heaven there is victory. And the reason there is victory is because Jesus reigns. Paul tells us to focus on this in Col. 3:1…

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of Heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
 
You see, we will be in Heaven because we have been raised to a new life in Christ by putting our trust in Him and in Heaven Jesus reigns victorious over sin. He sits at the right hand of God. When a king sits it means He is victorious. There is no sin in Heaven because sin is conquered with all of its effects and battles. John saw in his vision of Heaven in Rev. 21:27…

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Rev. 21:22-27)

Everyone that is in Heaven has been made pure by Christ. We are written in the Lamb’s book of life and enter Heaven without impurity, shame, deceit. There is no sin and thus there is no longer any battle. Think about that. Your battles will be no more…

• That temptation you have is gone.
• That bondage you have is gone.
• No more struggling with identity or insecurity or shame.
• No more battling over relationships and work.
• No more health battles. 

In Heaven, you are a fully secure child of God with nothing hindering your identity in Christ. You are fully restored emotionally, mentally, socially, and personally. Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:57…

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:57)

Which leads me to my next goodness fact about Heaven and that is…

Goodness Fact #3: We Will Have New Bodies

Yes! Who is looking forward to a new body? Someone right now is saying, who need a new body, mine is spectacular as is. Who is saying that? If you are, I have a song for you, “You're so vain, I bet you think this point is about you?” No really! Looking at 1 Cor. 15:53-54 says about our bodies being changed for Heaven…

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor. 15:53-54) 

Our bodies will be transformed to live for eternity (from mortal to immortal). And these are not spirit bodies but real bodies. When Jesus resurrected, He had a physical body that the disciples were able to see and touch, and He shared meals with them. In John 20:27, Jesus says to Thomas,…

“Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27)

Jesus' resurrected body is the first fruits example (a foreshadowing) of what we will have in Heaven. It is not subject to the effects of death and sin. It does not deteriorate. It is not corrupted. Our bodies will be transformed perfectly to experience eternity free of ailment. And, no, in scripture we are not given an example of what our body size will be, or what age we will possibly exemplify in our body, etc. But it will be a perfect body for eternity. Here is what I am excited about. It seems that there will be food in Heaven. There are all types of references to banquets and Adam and Eve before the fall were able to eat the fruit of the trees. So, I wonder what it will be like to eat and not worry about what it does to our bodies. Bring on the Mazapán De La Rosa. Can’t wait for our new bodies. No pains, no hurting, no high blood pressure, no tiring. Ok, let’s on to another goodness.

Goodness Fact #4: Heaven Is Going to Be Diverse 

I love this! You know I said, that there is no indication of what size our bodies will be, etc. But, one thing I can say is that we will not all look the same. In fact, it seems that we will keep aspects of our personality and our uniqueness in how God originally created us.  When Jesus told the parable in Luke 16 about Lazarus and the rich man, in the Parable Lazarus is known. The Rich Man says in the parable in Luke 16:23…

‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,…(Luke 16:23)

Lazarus is recognized. Jesus is giving indication that we will be recognized in Heaven in our unique way as we were originally created. That means we will not all look the same. Furthermore, in Heaven, all tribes from every nation will be there. Remember, we are to go to all the nations to share the good news of Christ. As a result, all nations will be represented in Heaven. The Apostle John in His vision of Heaven says in Rev. 7:9…

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:9-10)

Isn’t that beautiful? In Heaven, every tribe is represented in all the colors of mankind. We will be perfectly represented in all races and unique identities and personalities in Heaven as one family. Heaven is beautifully diverse. Hey, can I say this? There is no room for racism in being a follower of Christ! Absolutely none! If your heart cannot be open to other races, then you are not going to want to be in Heaven! Heaven is beautifully diverse representing God’s full spectrum of creation created in His image! It will be a beautiful family. Here is another goodness fact about Heaven…

Goodness Fact #5: We Will Have Assignments In Heaven

To be clear, we will work and serve and reign under the authority of Jesus. You know we have all heard this phrase about those who have gone on before us…

May They _______ in _________ !

That’s right! We like to R.I.P. our loved ones. And, yes, there is rest in Heaven in the sense that we will not grow tired and that we will not be hindered by sin and death. Heaven is a joyful place. But, some may think, I don’t want to rest for an eternity. Man, that sounds boring. Like Heaven is this permanent vacation. A vacation is good for a bit but then you get restless, right? But that is not the case in Heaven. We will serve. This is the way it was in the beginning with Adam and Eve. They served. It says in Gen. 2:15…

 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. (Gen 2:15)

In Paradise, there was work. But it was not a burdensome work and service. It was work that gave meaning and pleasure. It wasn’t until sin entered the world that work became toil. It is hard to fathom. But in Heaven, it seems that there will be assignments and service. It says in Rev. 22:3 that…

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. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 22:3&5) 

There will be service, and we will reign with Christ forever. And it seems that we will be rewarded with service based on how we served Christ on earth. When Jesus taught of His Kingdom and told the Parable of Talents in Matt. 25, listen to what He says to the servants in the parable that used their gifts wisely to serve the master. Jesus says in Matt. 25:23…

‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matt. 25:23)

It is an indication that what we do with God’s gifts that He has given us here on earth in serving Him, will determine how we are rewarded in service in His eternal kingdom. Something to think about. But, we will serve and in whatever we do it will be in pleasure of our Lord and we will not be burned or grow tired. It will be purposeful and with happiness. Ok, one last goodness fact about Heaven and that is…

Goodness Fact #6: Heaven Will Be A Great Family Reunion

Listen to what Paul says in 1 Thess. 4:17 in talking about Christ’s return. Paul states…

Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. (1 Thess. 4:17-18)

Did you catch that all the believers in Christ who preceded us in death and all the people who are called up with Christ at His return will meet in the clouds together and Paul says…

Then WE will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thess. 4:17)
 
In other words, those of us who love Jesus and put their faith in Jesus unto salvation, we will all be with the Lord forever. And so Paul tells us to…
 
…encourage each other with these words. (1 Thess. 4:18)

And here is encouragement for you today. For those of your loved ones who were believers in Christ who have gone on before you to the presence of Jesus, if you are a child of God in Christ, you will one day see them again. We will be reunited as one big family and we will know each other perfectly. That is such great encouragement.

And, this should encourage us that death is not the end for our relationships in Christ but it also should encourage us that for those we know that are not believers that we do all we can to share with them the good news of Jesus that they may be there with us in eternity one day.  

And so, God is good and as a result Heaven is good and it will be a place where we will experience the full extent of God’s love and goodness toward us. But again, the question that I must ask is will you be there? God says in Rev. 21:27…

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Rev. 21: 27)

To experience the goodness of Heaven, our names must be written in the Lamb’s book of life. The Lamb is Jesus who died (became our sacrifice) to forgive us of our sin. We must put our faith in Him onto salvation by repenting and giving our life to Him. Have you done that? Today is the day!