“There is no humor in heaven.” And he said he preferred “Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.”(Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven) 

 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. – Revelation 21:1

 

Revelation 4:2-3 “The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were SINGING A NEW SONG before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders…”

 I Corinthians 15:51-53 says “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

The story’s told of a missionary work amongst the Chol Indians in Southern Mexico. The work lasted for years but it ultimately resulted in a thriving church of 12,000 believers. What’s interesting is that when the missionaries came, the Chol Indians didn’t know how to sing. But when they fell in love with Jesus, the believers in the tribe became known as “the singers”.       

One of the missionaries noted:

“They love to sing now, because they have something to sing about.”

(“Psalms of the Heart,” George Sweeting)
https://www.preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/singers/

 

Here’s a song in Daniel “… there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was LED INTO HIS PRESENCE. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an EVERLASTING DOMINION that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” – Daniel 7:13-14

 

“a NEW heaven and a NEW earth” Revelation 21:1

‘Behold, I am making ALL THINGS NEW…’” Revelation 21:5

“The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,… etc. etc.”   Rev 21:18-19                                

 

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

2 Samuel 12:8 “if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!.”

 

Revelation 21:3-4 

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

 

“No dust, nor rust, no rats, no rot,

No raucous rock, no potent pot.

All tell the truth, state only facts,

No wars, no debts, no income tax.

No growing old with weakened sight,

No dentures slipping when you bite,

No bombs, no guns, no courts, no jails,

Where all succeed and no one fails.

According to this dream of mine

In Heaven no one stands in line.

And there are only smiling faces

And lots and lots of parking places.”

(Humorist Richard Armour)

1 Thessalonians 4:16 “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven WITH A SHOUT…”

 

“Enough suffering.

Enough starvation.

Enough terror.

 Enough death.

Enough indignity.

Enough lives trapped in hopelessness.

Enough sickness and disease.

Enough time.

Enough!”

(A missionary named Gregory Fisher quoted in a sermon on sermoncentral.com)

 

I long for your salvation, O Lord,

    and your law is my delight. – Psalm 119:174

 

 

CLOSE: Revelation 22:1-2 tells of the Eternal River of Life.

 

“Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.”

 

This natural spring in Blackville, South Carolina has the unusual distinction of being legally owned by God. The spring was known for its healing powers by Native Americans, and news of its magical abilities spread when six badly wounded Revolutionary War soldiers made stunning recoveries after drinking and bathing in it.  The land was purchased by Lute Boyston who believed the spring should be free for all and in 1944 he deeded the spring and surrounding acres to “Almighty God, for the use of the sick and afflicted.”
https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/travel/7-of-the-worlds-amazing-healing-waters

 

INVITATION Song: Have you Been to Jesus – 904

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?