Heaven’s Declare!

The heavens declare the glory of God. The very first verse in the word of God says, in the beginning God created the heavens. The very first, the very first mention of anything, heaven.

And the last chapter and the last words of the Bible conclude with tremendous information about heaven. It’s heaven from cover to cover. In the beginning God created the heavens. I’m not trying to impress you with my Greek, my Hebrew. I only know, I don’t hardly know any Hebrews and I know a couple of Greek. But the word bara is a Hebrew word and the only place you’ll find that word used is in the sacred scriptures. It’s a Hebrew word and it means to create or form from nothing.

God made all of this from nothing and this is what is driving the scientists crazy. They can take a frog and disassemble the thing but they can’t tell you where the material came. God is the uncaused cause. He caused everything and he did so from nothing and he made the heavens. I want to talk to you this morning about the heavens. I want to talk about all of them and which one we’re destined for. The heavens have a language.

The heavens declare. The heavens have a language that’s understood by all humanity. The heavens speak to us. The heavens declare the glory and the majesty of God. The heavens declare the glory of God, Psalm 9, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech. Night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun which comes out like a bridegroom leaving for his chamber and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them and there’s nothing hidden from its heat. This passage is speaking about two of three heavens. Did you ever hear a sermon before about heavens, plural? Did you ever hear some preacher who had a brain the size of a walnut say there are three of them?

Another translation of that same passage, Psalm 9, is to King James. You know it well. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night shows knowledge. 

There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all of the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoices as a strong man to run his race.

His going forth is from the end of the heaven and his circuit under the ends of it and there’s nothing hid from the heat thereof. Scientists have developed two tremendous searching elements that view the universe. The most recent one is called the web after the fellow that dreamed it up and oversaw its development. It views the universe with an infrared light. You know what infrared is. You know a little bit about that. And this telescope is part of a satellite that’s traveling right now a million miles away.

Can you wrap that around your head? One million miles from here there is a spyglass. It’s called the web and it’s reporting back to the scientists of the world. Its information is shared to all nations that want to see it and try to understand it. And as those scientists are looking they are bewildered by what they see because what they’re seeing you cannot hardly comprehend it. You can’t describe it. You can’t understand it because it’s declaring the glory of God in a language that everyone can understand in that it says glory, glory, majesty, ultimate power.

And we are like, our planet is like one tiny grain of sand on a massive beach. And that massive beach is like a galaxy. And that galaxy is one of millions of galaxies. Can you comprehend any of this? These guys who want to run the world like Trump and Putin and Carney, they want to run the world. Have at it boys. You’re in charge of a grain of sand.

Do you feel big now? None of them will go down in history as having done accomplished anything of any true value because God’s in charge of the whole thing. Say amen. Then there’s the Hubble Space Telescope and it’s been around a little bit longer and it’s circling the earth just outside of apparently our atmosphere. And its ability is very, very short compared to the web. So we’ll go back to the web for just a moment and have a look. What are we looking at?

It looks like somebody sneezed and we got a picture of it, doesn’t it? This is what’s so interesting about this slide. This is what you’d see if you were riding on your trike, Tom, a million miles out in the universe. And what you’re looking at is galaxies and the density of that light tells the scientists that there are so many planets and so many moons and so many Saturns and so many suns. There are so many of them that taking a picture of them is just dense, dense, dense. And yet if you were to scatter them in some way, shape or form, well that’s just not possible. There’s not a picture frame large enough to show us any details whatsoever.

It’s absolutely massive. Pastor, where are you going with this? You said we’re going to find out where heaven is. You’re looking at it, honey. You’re incredible. If you really got into it, I think it would be actually a frightful thing, really and truly. They have now discovered, they have now discovered that the universe is traveling outward. In other words, it’s like throwing a fistful of sand and throwing it out like this. And it started small and condensed, but as it left your hand, it scatters. That’s what this picture is showing us of the universe, that it’s getting wider and wider and getting farther and farther apart.

What this really tells us, that if you go at that cone and not look at the broad end of it, but look as it goes out into infinity, you discover, you will discover that there was a starting point. You know what we’re saying? There’s a starting point out there somewhere, and it’s going out broader and broader. And the question that the scientists cannot deal with is what’s at that starting point?

And they don’t want to read Genesis 1. 1, in the beginning. There’s proof. There was a beginning. There was a beginning. I’m the alpha and the omega. The beginning and the end.

There is no end, because there’s no end with God. I’m just amazed at the colors, and there are sounds coming from the universe. And I think I’ve mentioned that before. And April and I went to a conference down in Sarasota, Florida, and there was a preacher there from somewhere in North Carolina, I believe it is, a pastor of a big church. And he had got some stuff from NASA, and he played for us over the sound system, a very distinct rumble. And you had a young fellow there that has written some songs, and we sing that young man’s songs in this church. How big is our God?

That fellow. Sorry, I can’t remember his name. Doesn’t matter. He wrote a great song. How big is our God? That fellow was on the platform with a guitar, and as he’s listening to the perfect rhythm, he starts playing his guitar. Then other instruments started playing along.

And soon there were a few thousand of us all singing whatever song started to come up. The Word of God says, sing a new song unto the Lord. We did. We did. And the leader of that song was somewhere out in the universe. My back was tingling, the hair on the back of my neck. That’s the only place I can grow it.

It was Springer standing on end. I was so excited. He is there, and he’s not silent. Who knows what that is? But something’s happened. It looks like something’s spewing out or spewing in. They have things called black holes.

I’ve tried to understand it. It’s just beyond me. They say it’s a universe, it’s a galaxy apparently that’s being swallowed up and obliterated. Who can handle that? That’s the universe. But that’s not the end of it, because scientists cannot find an end, because that satellite has only traveled a million miles. It’ll have to go a million, billion, trillion, quadrillion miles, I suppose, in search of.

. . Where’s the end of that? Where’s the beginning of this? Pictures. That’s not just a. .

. That’s not a flash. That is stars and suns so dense that it looks like a flash. Beautiful. This is closer, you see. As we get closer, not so far away, we’re seeing it spread out a little bit. The rich man and Lazarus, we know the story. I want to talk now about our relationship with this heavens. The rich man and Lazarus, I really had to dig deep. I really had to talk to some scholars. Not talk to, but read Jewish scholars, non-Jewish scholars. I wanted to know, what is this about Abraham’s bosom? What kind of a picture you get in your head there that Lazarus was escorted by an angel to Abraham’s bosom? 

And as I delve into it, I discover this, that remember that John would put his head against the chest of Jesus. That would be leaning against the bosom of Jesus. You’ve heard the terminology, bosom buddies. It means they’re so close in their friendship, you can’t hardly see any daylight between them, because you see one, you see the other. Where he is, the other guy is too. They’re just inseparable. They’re bosom buddies. It means that this one is always with that one.

So when it says that Lazarus was escorted by the angel to Abraham’s bosom, it means he was escorted to be close to Abraham. Jesus, when they would sit down and eat, probably when they had the last supper that we just celebrated, they were probably laying down, because that is the fashion of so many, not to sit at a table, but to actually be in a circle and leaning against each other. And it sounds a little cumbersome to us, because one of your arms is going to be tangled up because you’re leaning against the other, but you still have one hand, one arm to function. And John, the disciple of Jesus, always had the place nearest to Jesus, because John considered Jesus to be his bosom buddy. But then we read this verse that says, he led captivity captive. Who were captivated? Who were tied up?

Who were almost like in a prison setting, not prison maybe, because you see that prison was called paradise. And it says he, speaking of Jesus, and this was prophesied in the Old Testament, and then verified by the apostles, he led captivity captive. Who were those who were captive? It was the saints from Adam, all the men of God, all the women of God, the saints of God, who lived from Adam, died. They were escorted by angels to Abraham’s bosom until the resurrection of Jesus. He led captivity, he led captive captivity, he led them out of there. When Jesus rose again from the dead, he emptied the place that the word of God is referring to as the bosom of Abraham.

And where did he take them? He took them to the third heaven. Oh, now you’re mixing us up again. Where’s this third heaven? Well, where’s the first? Well, where’s this first heaven? I’m getting there.

I’ve run ahead of myself, you see. So three skies, three heavens, three heavens. There’s a heaven immediately above us, and it’s the space between us and where we sort of run out of atmosphere. And that sky, we refer to it as one of the first, it’s the first heaven that we see. It’s where the birds can occupy, and Boeing 747s. Hopefully they stay aloft in the sky. Did I ever tell you the story about an airplane that had 15 of my bosom buddies, 15 of my friends, nurses all.

I put them on an airplane in Lusaka, Zambia, because you see, I had taken them with me over to Lusaka, Zambia, changed planes, fly to Nairobi, and then put them on little piper clubs and sent them out into the bush where these nurses took care of mamas and babies and people who hurt and do that. And then they flew back. I sent the plane back. All these little piper cubs flew back, brought them back to Nairobi. Then we got on a plane. We went to Lusaka, and then I prayed with them, and they all got aboard a big plane to head for John F. Kennedy Airport, prayed with them. They got on the plane. They flew over to Liberia where they were to get their airplane refueled, and then that plane took off, and I wasn’t there. 

So I got the story from these people. Happily, they had a story for me because partway across, let’s just say halfway across the Atlantic heading for John F. Kennedy, the pilot came on the plane, on the overhead speaker, and he said, we have a problem. We’re going to turn around and start heading back because we’re running out of fuel. Those guys in Liberia did not fuel our plane.

So we got to go back, but he said, there’s nothing out here. We’re out in the middle of nowhere. But then somebody radioed him and said, I found a place. I found a little island, but the problem was that there was a dinky airport there, and it was not equipped for big airplanes like this, and everybody had gone home anyway. So there’s no landing lights. My friends, 15 of them are on an airplane heading for an airport that they’ve got to find in the dark, landed in the dark, find somebody, get some fuel and fly on. Well, happily, somebody out there in the universe radioed them and said, I found you an airport, but there’s nobody there, and the lights are off.

That pilot, he’s our hero. He landed that thing in the dark. Then he turned on the lights and said to everybody, okay, you’re safe. He said, drinks are on the house. Have a party. I’m leaving. He left to go and knock on doors and say, do you know somebody that works at the airport?

I need fuel for my big bird. Somewhere in the middle of the night, a machine rolled up, fueled them up and helped them home. So birds fly in the heaven, in the heavenly, and airplanes fly in the heavenly, but then there’s another place beyond that. That’s the universe. That’s all these pictures that I, that’s the second heaven. And that’s not where you’re going to go. When it says you go, we die and we go to heaven.

We don’t go up with the birds in this atmosphere. We go beyond the universe. You will pass the satellite that’s out there at a million miles, Doug. When you get to that million mile mark, you’re just getting started, bro. You’re on your way to the third heaven, to the place of God’s abode. God resides in the third loft, the heaven. There’s more, honey.

There’s the second heaven, which is the universe. We showed pictures of it. And then there’s God’s domain, God’s heaven. In my father’s house are many mansions. There’s one mansion that’s spoken of specifically, but it’s never called a mansion. It’s called a city. In that third heaven is a city.

That city has a name that is repeated on the earth. The city on the earth is God’s city and it’s called Jerusalem. And the new Jerusalem is already built. And it’s in the third heaven right now. In my father’s heavenly Jerusalem, there are lots of places and one’s being prepared for you. And the hour is coming when that new Jerusalem will descend and it’ll become the capital city of the world in the Messianic kingdom. The heavens declare it so.

God’s domain, God’s house, present with the Lord, 2nd Corinthians 5. 8. Absent from the body, present with the. . . Is this exciting? The new Jerusalem will descend. It’s going to descend. What a thought. And some person who doesn’t even, you know, they can’t comprehend God, they can’t. . . I mean, it’s difficult for us. We know the scriptures, we believe in the scriptures, but it’s still.

. . It’s something to wrap your head. A city is going to descend from the heavenlies. It’s much to wrap your head around. Don’t get too disgusted. Don’t get too trivialized by all of this.

You can’t comprehend the universe, which has no beginning and no end. Don’t worry about how is Jerusalem going to come down through the universe and arrive here. It’s all beyond your comprehension. And you know why? Because the heavens, the universe declares the majesty, the glory, the power of the glorious King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end. We’re heading for heaven. Just over in the glory land.

Can you find it up there? Can you find that? I didn’t plan on this, but I’m going to do it. I’m going to ruin everything. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. This is the report of the book of Revelation. Then I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from heaven.

Coming down from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold, the tent, the dwelling place, the tabernacle of God is with men. We’re not excluded. Angels aren’t even mentioned. And he will dwell with them. That tabernacle that was built in the wilderness, it was a forth telling. A day is coming when I will dwell among you.

Moses tell God to stop talking to us. Just the sound of his voice is scaring us to death. And the Lord said, I want to dwell among you. And so he said, build me a tent, build me a tabernacle. It was a forth telling, you see, of a tabernacle that would descend from the heavens, not made with badger skins, not made with silver and gold and the best wood that the world can come up with, but a house made by God, a tabernacle, a tent. But this is not a tent. This will be a permanent dwelling.

I heard a voice from heaven. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them. He’s not going to send a bunch of angels. He’s going to dwell among us. And God will wipe away every tear, every sorrow, every disappointment, because you will remember the disappointments of this world. You will be disappointed that your loved ones, some of them are missing.

It’ll be enough for you to cry a river, but there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying. There will be no more pain, because all of those things will have passed away. Then he that sat on the throne said, behold, I will make all things new. And he said unto me, write, for these words are faithful and true. He said to me, it’s done. I am the alpha, the omega, the beginning and the end. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to whoever’s thirsty.

He who overcomes shall inherit all things. I’ll be his God. He will be my son. But the cowardly, the deniers, you can deny climate change. I’ll be with you. But you can’t deny that the heavens speak so loudly, so glorious, a language that all can understand. What language? Open your eyes and look up. The heavens are screaming at you. The cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, the liars, they’ll have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. 

Can you come, Linda? We have to sing something. Can you stand with me? We can sing whenever you, there’s going to be a meeting in the air. Oh, that will be glory for me. Glory for me. Glory for me. Can you find any of those? Can you find us a song? Oh, that will be. Oh, that will be glory for me.

Glory for me. Glory for me. When by his grace, I will look on his face. Oh, that will be glory. Glory for me. Be glory for me. Some glad morning when this life is over, I’ll, I’ll fly away to a land where cloud rests your shore.

I’ll fly away. It’s always, come on now. I’ll fly away, oh glory. I’ll, I’ll fly away. When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away. My dad took that flight. My mom took that flight.

Lily Quinn took that flight. Sue Zaturski just took that flight. Oh, glory. Because you see, Abraham’s bosom has been emptied. It’s not a physical frame. Abraham’s bosom, wherever Abraham was, they were there with him from Adam until the resurrection morning. And on that morning, he led all the saints, all the Moses’s and the Daniel’s and the Jeremiah’s and the EZ.

He led them all. Can you just about imagine if it was like a parade? Let’s go through the universe, past Saturn, past, past all those beautiful, I hope they went slow enough that they could take in the scenery. Can you imagine Doug? Can you imagine? Can you even think it through? You say it’s too big for me.

That’s all right. Just look it up on the web and see if you can figure that out. Just the pictures that are coming back from the universe. Unbelievable. Glory to God. Heads bowed, eyes closed. We’re about to close.

I don’t know everybody in this room. There’s visitors come, visitors go. But if something touched your heart this morning, you say, David, I don’t know if I breathe my last tonight, my last breath. I don’t know if I’ll smell the smoke of hell or I’ll smell the fresh air of heaven. I have no assurance of where I’m going. David, can you help me? David, will you pray for me?

I’ll stand here. You stand where you are. I’m not going to embarrass you. But this is a decision you have to make. You want to smell smoke or do you want to smell the fresh air of heaven? It’s going to be real. Hell is described as a place, gnashing teeth.

Why? Because they’re going to accuse each other. If only you’d done this. Only gnashing teeth, weeping, wailing, crying. And heaven, singing, dancing, glory. Say, Pastor Dave, I don’t believe that. Have it your way.

I know where I’m going. I know where I’m going. As heads are bowed, eyes are closed. Is there even one this morning who would just slip up a hand? Don’t have to say anything. Just slip up and say, David, I invite you to pray for me before you close. So in my prayer, I would include a prayer for you that you would get to know Jesus and there to be a place for you in heaven.

Is there anybody who would say, David, this might be my last chance? Anyone at all? Good for you. Anyone else? David, include me in this prayer. Include me in this prayer. Good for you.

I’m not sure, Dave. I’m just not sure. Heavenly Father, I pray for these who have raised their hands and said, I need Jesus. I need to know that I know that I know. In the inner sanctuary of my person, I need to know. Heavenly Father, you’re as real as the breath we breathe. I pray, Lord, that you will reveal yourself to these people.

I pray that they will cry out to you personally and say, Jesus, make yourself real to me. Jesus, come into my heart. Come into my life. Forgive me for all my waste. Forgive me for all my errors. Forgive me for all my sin. For I’m like everybody else.

I have failed you. But I acknowledge that you died on the cross for me. You paid the price for my sinfulness. Come into my life now and write my name down in that heavenly book that the word of God talks about. I pray that each one of these will pursue you with a vengeance. It’s not a one moment decision.

It’s a lifestyle.

Make all things new in our lives, we pray in Jesus name.