John 14:1-3 – Heaven’s Renovations – Bible study

John 14:1-3 Heavens Renovations I draw your attention to verse 3. Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us. To prepare has the idea of changing or to adding to something. Where was Jesus going? To heaven. So Jesus was going to go to heaven to change or to add to it. Hence, the title of the message: Heavens Renovations. Understand that Jesus was not talking about something He would do in the distant future. All of the events from John 13:1 to John 19:42 take place in less than 24 hours. What are some of the renovations Jesus is making? I. God is building a new heaven. A. Heaven is a place still under construction. B. We define heaven as the place where God abides. 1. That has always been a good definition of heaven but after the resurrection of Jesus, it needed to be amended. 2. Since Jesus resurrection, heaven has been the place where God and His saints live. 3. \#Eph 4:8-10\ tell us that on or around Jesus resurrection day, He took the first batch of saints to heaven so some renovations were necessary. C. The Bible never describes a scene with carpenter and engineers. 1. If you will read Revelation 4, you will see heaven as it was in the beginning. 2. If you will read Revelation 21, you will see it as it will be when it is completed. a. Four times in chapter 21, we are told what God WILL do. b. In eight different verses, God describes the things which SHALL and SHALL NOT happen there. 3. Comparing chapter 4 to chapter 21, we see that: a. Both now and then, heaven is the place where God abides. b. Both now and then, heaven is sinless. (1) Sin will never enter that place. (2) Sinners will never enter that place. (3) The effect of sin will never enter that place. 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. c. Both now and then, heaven is glorious. (1) Everything about heaven demonstrates the glory of God. a. Rainbow around Gods throne \#Rev 4:3\ b. The lightning, thunderings and the voices from the throne \#Rev 4:5\ c. Four Beasts \#Rev 4:7-8\ d. The resounding worship e. The angels f. The streets of gold \#Rev 21:21\ g. The gates of pearl \#Rev 21:21\ (2) You and I have never seen a place like this and it is what it is because God is there and His glory fills it. d. Both now and then, heaven will be beyond our human comprehension. 1Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 4. But if you contrast the heaven of Revelation 4 to the description of 21, you see some differences. a. There will be renovated earth. Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. b. There will be the New Jerusalem. Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. c. All of the redeemed will be there. Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; (1) The population of heaven is growing every day. (2) Every day, believers who have died make the journey to heaven to make it more like the perfect heaven that God saw before the world began. 2Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Philippians 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: II. God is building on to heaven. A. Heaven, as it will be, will include the earth that God intended us to have. Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 1. The earth we are on today is NOT the earth God created or intended us to dwell upon. 2. In the original creation, earth and heaven were not as far apart as they are now. a. Today, sin separates the two. b. There was no sin in the original creation so there was so separation between heaven and earth so God and Adam were much more like neighbors. 3. There is no record of Adam and Eve ever travelling to heaven, but God did travel to earth. Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 4. What was Eden if not a little piece of heaven on earth? 5. The earth that God is offering us is like Eden only it will be better. B. Heaven, as it will be, will include a city called New Jerusalem. Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 1. This city is unlike any and every other city that has or will ever exist. 2. It will hover above the earth. 3. John gave great detail of his city. In fact, some people think New Jerusalem is all there is of heaven, but I think so. 4. Their mistake is an honest one. Listen to how glorious this city will be. Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. (GODS PRESENCE) 23 And the city (NEW JERUSALEM) had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (GODS PRESENCE) 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. (NEW EARTHS INHABITANTS) 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. C. The question becomes, "Who shall dwell on the New Earth?" 1. Most feel it will be resurrected Jews. 2. Gods promises to the Jews always deal with the kingdom of God on earth. D. Then who gets to dwell in New Jerusalem? 1. Most feel it will be the New Testament Christians. 2. Gods promises to the Christian always deal with the Christian being with Christ in the heavens. E. I will be honest. I dont care. Whether my heaven is living on the New Earth or living in the New Jerusalem, it is going to be infinitely better than everything that ever has been and anything that ever will be. III. God is building us new bodies. A. What good would heaven be if we were bodiless or even worse, we lived in these old, tired, worn-out bodies? 1. The Bible tells us plainly that Jesus resurrection was the FIRST in a line of resurrections. 1Cor 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the FIRSTFRUITS of them that slept. 2. The truth is that every Christian will one day be resurrected and given a new body. 1Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 3. The Bible even gives the order of these resurrections: 1Cor 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christs at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. a. Christ FIRST. b. Those who are Jesus when He comes (both the living and dead). c. The END TIME RESURRECTIONS (1) Of the millennium saints, those who trust Christ after the rapture. (2) At the same time, the lost, those who never trusted Christ at all. d. \#Rev 20:4\ mentions another resurrection which I believe will be for the Jews. B. For those that are Christs, God is preparing a glorious body. 1Cor 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 1. Our body will be INCORRUPTIBLE (compared to corruptible). 2. Our body will be GLORIOUS (compared to dishonorable). 3. Our body will be POWERFUL (compared to weak). 4. Our body will be SPIRITUAL (compared to natural). C. John tells us that we shall be LIKE HIM. 1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1. If we our bodies are to be like His, we will be able to: a. Live with or without eating. (Jesus ate after His resurrection.) b. Live within or without the physical constraints. (The disciples touched Jesus, but He suddenly appeared and disappeared.) c. Move freely between earth and heaven. (Jesus travelled from earth to heaven and from heaven to earth on the Resurrection Morning in a short period of time.) 2. The bodies that God is offering to give us infinitely better than the bodies Adam and Eve had. Most people on this planet are asking the wrong questions. They ask questions like, "Is there life after death?" or "Is heaven real?" The question that need to be asking is, "Am I going?"