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It Is Written Canada

Chris Holland

Is Heaven For Real?

1. Is Heaven For Real?

2. Is Heaven For Real?- When Do We Get There #1

3. Is Heaven For Real?- When Do We Get There #2

4. Is Heaven For Real?- Some Misunderstandings

5. Is Heaven For Real?- When Does It All Happen?

6. Is Heaven For Real?- What About Hell #1

7. Is Heaven For Real?- What About Hell #2

8. Is Heaven For Real?- Choose Life


It has stood the test of time. God's book, the Bible, still relevant in today's complex world. It is written sharing messages of hope around the world. Stephen Sykes was born in 1914 in England. He is most well known for his work as an artist, especially in the Gethsemane Chapel in Coventry Cathedral, which is also referred to as St.

Michael's Cathedral in West Midlands, England. During World War II, Sykes joined the British Army where he worked in the camouflage unit. At a most critical junction in the war, Sykes was commissioned to help camouflage the building of a railway from the sea to Mishifa. How would he actually hide a railway? Sykes devised a plan that was ingenious.

Instead of camouflaging the actual railway, Sykes decided to build a false railway. The plan was outrageous. But when presented, the commanding officer actually approved of the idea. Sykes and his team took leftover wood, palm fronds, and leftover gas cans to form this false railway and railhead. The rails, the buildings, tanks, all were included in this grand scheme.

On November the 22nd, 1941, the true test came and enemy bombers flew overhead and they actually bombed the false railway and all of its accessories. The team was there to set off flares to further the deception. The other railway and railhead were built successfully. The entire scheme was based on deception. Deception is the art of deceiving.

It is often subtle. Could it be that Christianity over the centuries has been deceived into believing 1 of the original lies of the devil in Genesis chapter 3 verses 4 to 5 the devil said these words to Eve Genesis chapter 3 verses 4 and 5 Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." It was a promise to become like God. And the devil made other promises that were lies. Number 1, even in disobedience, she wouldn't die. Number 2, he promised that her eyes would be opened and that ultimately she would be like God, knowing good and evil.

1 of the subtle lies of the devil was the promise of immortality. However, the Bible is quite clear in 1 Timothy 6, 16, when referring to God, he says, who alone has immortality. God alone inherently possesses eternal life. Man must put on eternal life as is promised in 1 Corinthians 15, 54. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

Even when we receive the gift of immortality from the Lord, we will still be ever dependent upon Him for life. Now over the last several programs, we have been looking at heaven and asking the question, Is heaven for real? Last week we began a study on what happens when you die. Now if you missed last week's program, you can go to our website. It is written Canada.ca and there you can find archived programs or you can go to our YouTube channel, youtube.com forward slash IIW Canada.

And there you can watch any of the previous programs. In a thorough study of the scriptures, we discovered 2 very important things. Number 1, the Bible is clear that man doesn't have a soul, but rather he is a soul. Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7 say these words, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." Or, a living soul, as it is written in the King James Version. Secondly, we saw over and over again that the Bible refers to death as a sleep.

In fact, the Bible is quite clear that death is like a sleep that lasts until Christ's second coming. The Bible mentions death as a sleep more than 50 times in the Bible. David says in Psalms, in the book of Psalms, Psalm 13, and in verse 3, it says these words, Consider and hear me, O Lord my God, enlighten my eyes, David says, lest I sleep the sleep of death. David believed death was a sleep. Peter, in his famous sermon after Pentecost, speaking of David, said these words in Acts chapter 2 and verse 29.

Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day. And then later in verse 34 says this, For David did not ascend into the heavens. David taught and believed that death was asleep. Peter believed and taught that death was asleep. So what did Jesus teach about death?

Jesus taught as well that death is like a sleep. You'll remember Jesus' friend Lazarus became sick and he died. Lazarus had been dead for 4 days and Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Lazarus' home. And as they arrived, Jesus said these words in John chapter 11, verses 11 to 14. These things he said, and after that he said to them, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.

Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well. However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought he was speaking about taking rest and sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. The disciples thought if Jesus is going to wake up Lazarus up out of a sleep, Lazarus must be doing pretty well because he's simply sleeping and he would be well again. I want you to notice how Jesus uses these words interchangeably.

First Jesus said, Lazarus is sleeping. Then Jesus said, Lazarus is dead. So in Jesus' mind, death was but a sleep. Oh friend, the idea that the soul lives on outside of the body is derived straight from Greek dualism, which was inherited from Egyptian mystical religions. Friend, I would much rather learn about death from Jesus and His Word, the Bible, than to learn about death from Egyptian, Babylonian, or Greek philosophy.

I'd much rather learn about death from Jesus. As we continue the story of Lazarus, Jesus went to the grave. And along the way, He stopped at the home of Mary and Martha. These 2 sisters, the sisters of Lazarus, were crying. They'd lost their brother.

And Martha, in her distress, in John 11, 21, says these words to Jesus. Now Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been there, my brother would have not died. And Jesus then reassures Martha with these words in John 11, 23. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha learned directly from Jesus.

Martha learned from the Bible. How did she answer about her brother's death? In verse 24, she replies with these words, Martha said to him, I know that he will arise again in the resurrection at the last day. Martha did not speak of Lazarus being in heaven now. She did not speak of the joyful bliss he was experiencing.

She looked forward. She looked forward to the last day when Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead, then Jesus responds with these powerful words. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

Do you believe this?" Jesus reassured Martha that death is temporary. It is a temporary pause. It is a sleep that Jesus will wake us up from, and then we will live again. Jesus was clear with Martha that even death cannot snatch away our assurance of eternal life. Martha knew her brother would rise, but she knew that he was going to rise in the resurrection at the last day.

Martha learned her religion directly from Jesus. She didn't say, oh, Jesus, my brother is up in heaven. Oh Jesus, my brother is looking down at me now. Jesus, I'm not going to worry about his death." No, she said to Jesus, I know my brother is going to rise again at the last day. She believed that Lazarus was sleeping until the day that Jesus Christ would come and raise him from the dead.

That, my friends, is what the Bible teaches. Jesus holds the keys to the tomb. He is the only 1 who can hit the resume button from that temporary pause. Jesus knew that he would go to the grave, but he would come out. Death cannot hold him.

And he assured Martha, if the tomb can't hold him, it certainly won't be able to hold your brother. Then Jesus did something amazing. As a testimony that he could raise the dead, as a testimony that millions will be raised when he comes again, as a testimony that the grave can't hold those people who have dedicated their life to him. He said, I'll raise Lazarus from the dead. So with that, Jesus went to Lazarus's tomb.

Lazarus had been dead for 4 days and listen to what the Bible says in John 11, 38 to 43. Then Jesus again, groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead 4 days." This leaves little doubt, my friends.

Lazarus was dead. Martha was concerned that he was already decomposing and there would be a smell. But reading on in the text, Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me, and I know that you always hear me.

But because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they may believe that you sent me. Now when he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth! And he who had died came out, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, Lose him and let him go. Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth.

And Lazarus came out of the tomb. He came out. Jesus saw him there. And as Jesus saw Lazarus coming out of the tomb, all the people that gathered around were absolutely stunned because Jesus Christ had raised Lazarus from the dead. Let's be very clear today.

If Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he can raise your husband, he can raise your wife, He can raise your son, your daughter, your brother or sister, that aunt or that uncle, that special friend. Jesus will raise those who have committed their life to Him from the dead. Are you feeling alone? Is there disappointment in your life? You retired, and then your wife died suddenly.

You're lonely. You're all alone. Or maybe you lost that little child and you long to hold him or her in your arms again, Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. He can and He will raise that loved 1. Death is not the end.

When we die, we rest. We sleep until Jesus calls us forth. Friends, I would also like to point out to you from this story, if what a lot of people believe was true, that we go straight to heaven or we go straight to hell, well, you would think that Lazarus would have had a lot more to say than he did. Think about it for a moment. If it were true that we went straight to heaven or hell, Lazarus would have been up in heaven for 4 days.

Now I don't know about you, but if I had been in heaven for 4 days and the Lord would have said, Chris, come forth, come back to this imperfect earth, I would have said, Lord, You've called the wrong name. I'm up here in heaven now. I'm not coming back." If Lazarus really had been in heaven for 4 days, he would have told the Lord, Lord, I'm not coming back. Lord, I want to stay up here in glory land and eat the fruit of the tree of life. I just can't return.

Lord, I want to stay with the fellowship of the angels." If anybody could have written a bestseller, it would have been Lazarus and his tale of the afterlife. But there was nothing, not 1 mention of what heaven was like. He didn't share any stories of a near-death experience. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Why didn't he share those stories? Friends, I'll tell you why. It's because he was sleeping. He was dead. Because he didn't know anything.

Because the Bible says In Ecclesiastes 9, 5, For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. The resurrection of Lazarus is a demonstration that Jesus Christ will someday resurrect our believing loved ones too. Death is simply a sleep until Jesus comes again. The grave could not hold Lazarus and the grave cannot hold your believing loved ones. And most of all, you need not fear death because the grave cannot hold you.

The Bible goes on and in further evidence says these words in Job chapter 14 and verse 21. Job 14 verse 21. His sons come to honor and he does not know it. They are brought low and he does not perceive it. Friends Lazarus didn't know the pain of his sisters.

Lazarus did not know the pain of his sisters. Lazarus did not know the pain of his friends because he was sleeping. The reality is that when we die, the events on earth that continue on are completely unknown to us. Now Some people will say to me, but I like to think of my mama up there, looking down at me. I like to think of daddy looking down at me.

I like to think of dead loved ones who are looking down on me. And friend, while I understand you, let's think this through further. Think it all the way through. Here's a young boy playing with his friends and the baseball is knocked over his head. It's going out into the road and he runs after it then screech The tires of the car and he's hit he's knocked down He's now a paraplegic who lies in pain for the rest of his life If what some want to believe were true, and his mother were in heaven, looking down on her son, lying in pain for the rest of his life, would she be happy in heaven?

Or maybe that soldier who gets caught behind enemy lines, he's captured, they gouge out his eyes, They torture him mercilessly. If what some believe is true, and his father would be watching all of that, is that what the Bible teaches? Isn't God's way so much better? The Christian father doesn't see his son who's gone astray, addicted to drugs, shooting things in his vein in some back alley. Those who have died in Christ are protected from all of that.

Jesus' way is so much better than man's way. We die. There is no suffering, no pain. We rest. We sleep and are protected from the pain of life that continues on around us.

We sleep from all the agony and disappointment. We sleep. There is no passage of time. It is like a mere moment. There's no consciousness of the time passing by.

We are unconscious to everything. The next thing we know is Jesus Christ coming for us. Death is a state of perfect rest or sleep until the resurrection when Christ wakes you up and says now all the sorrow is over. Now all the pain is over. He does not allow a mother to see her daughter in a car wreck.

He does not allow a father to see his son dying of some terrible disease in some hospital. Jesus' way is so much better. He lets us sleep until the storm is over. He lets us sleep until the heartache and the sorrow of earth is over. Friends, David described when he would receive his new body in Psalm 17 and verse 15.

Psalm 17 and verse 15. I shall be satisfied When I awake in your likeness. When will he awake? At the last trumpet of God. Paul describes that day and what will happen.

2 Timothy chapter 4 and verses 7 and 8. Second Timothy chapter 4 verses 7 and 8. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.

Finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing." Friend, we don't have to fear death. It is a temporary pause in life. Jesus promised in Revelation 22, 12, and behold, I am coming quickly and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work." That reward is not at death. That reward is when he comes again. Next week we will continue this study and look at some misunderstandings on this issue.

We will study the thief on the cross, Samuel, and other Bible texts, and look at near-death experiences. But today, I'm thankful that in death we don't experience the sorrows of life. I'm thankful that the friends I've had that died of cancer no longer suffer, but they are sleeping, resting until the glorious day of the resurrection when Jesus comes again. Your loved ones aren't suffering, they sleep awaiting the return of Jesus. I'm thankful that death is not the end.

You can see that husband that died. You will see that wife that died. You will see again that son that died. Christ is going to come again. There'll be a glorious resurrection morning and they will be raised from the dead.

They will be raised from the dead if they've been believers and followers of Jesus with immortal bodies. We who are alive will receive those immortal bodies as well. And then we'll be caught up together with them to meet Jesus Christ in the air. Death is but a sleep. The Bible writers teach that Jesus will wake us from that sleep when He comes again.

Wouldn't it be a tragedy if your mother were there in heaven Looking for you and you weren't there, wouldn't it be a tragedy if your son, your daughter were there looking for you and you weren't there lost for all eternity? But the greatest tragedy would be when Jesus comes looking for you and you're not there. Where's John? Where's Mary? Where's Tim?

Oh friend, He wants to save you. He wants you to be in His kingdom forever. There'll be an emptiness in His heart if you're not there in heaven with Him. 1 day soon, Jesus Christ will come. The sky will be illuminated with the glory of God.

The earth will shake. The graves will be open. Death will be defeated forever. And God will give us immortal bodies and we'll ascend through the sky. And Jesus is looking for you.

He's looking for you to be there. The gleams of the golden morning will come. Don't miss it. Friends, don't miss it. Don't sell out cheap.

Do you want to be there? Why not pray right now? Why not say in your heart, Jesus, I want to be there. If I die before you come, Lord, I want to rest in the security of knowing that the grave will be open. I want the next voice I hear to be Jesus's voice.

I want the next scene to be the picture of Jesus' face. Lord, I want to be reunited with my family and friends. I want to see Jesus. Why not think about that scene when He comes and give your heart to Jesus and give your life to Him right now. Dear Lord, we give our lives to You right now.

We want to be raised from the dead. We want to be transformed with immortal bodies when you come again Today in this decision we rest securely knowing with the assurance that you are coming again to take us home We pray this in Jesus name Amen In Jesus' name, Amen. The subject of heaven, and especially the subject of what happens when you die, is an important topic in the Bible. Sometimes it requires even additional reading and resources and study. I'd like to offer to you today the Discover Bible series.

The Discover Bible series guides will help you to further your relationship with Jesus. I also want to encourage you to go to our website, www.itiswrittencanada.ca, and there you can find additional resources for study on this topic and many others. You can also go to our YouTube channel, youtube.com forward slash IIW Canada, and watch a number of programs that will help you develop your spiritual life and your relationship with Jesus. If you would like to receive those Discover Guides, here's the information that you need. The offer will be sent free and postage paid.

For viewers outside of Canada, shipping charges will apply. If you prefer, you may call toll-free at 1-888-CALL-IIW. Or if you wish, you may write to us at It Is Written, Box 2010, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 74. I hope you enjoyed today's program. Heaven is a real place that Jesus wants to take us, that we can spend eternity with Him.

Please join us for next week's program. Until then, remember, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. ♪♪ ♪♪ you

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Series

Is Heaven For Real?

3. Is Heaven For Real?- When Do We Get There #2

Parent Series

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Other Teachings in Series

1. Is Heaven For Real?

2. Is Heaven For Real?- When Do We Get There #1

3. Is Heaven For Real?- When Do We Get There #2

4. Is Heaven For Real?- Some Misunderstandings

5. Is Heaven For Real?- When Does It All Happen?

6. Is Heaven For Real?- What About Hell #1

7. Is Heaven For Real?- What About Hell #2

8. Is Heaven For Real?- Choose Life

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