There we go. So look how the confession summarises the journey of a soul.
! The bodies of men and women, after death, return to dust and see corruption.
! But their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, an immortal existence,
immediately return to God who gave them.
The souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness,
are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory,
waiting for the full redemption of their bodies.
Today, I want us to see why this is true.
I want us to have the assurance and the confidence and the comfort,
knowing that what the confession just said here, that this is what happens to a believer's soul after death.
And so the first thing we need to see is this, and the first point today, there is a heaven.
There is a heaven.
We often just kind of know and we just say that when a believer dies, they go to heaven.
That's kind of our instinct to say that.
So ask someone even on the street that's not in church today, ask them what happens after death.
And the word heaven will probably be mentioned somewhere in there.
And the confession says it too, doesn't it?
The souls of the righteous are received into the highest heavens.
But what is that?
What is heaven?
Well, firstly, heaven is in creation.
Heaven is in creation.
How does the Bible begin?
What's the first verse of the Bible?
Genesis 1.1.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
First there was nothing.
Then out of nothing, God made all creation.
So, this is why I'm so excited.
I can do this.
Here we go.
There we go.
Thank you, Chris Kitchen, for driving to pick this up.
There we go.
Okay.
So, first there was only God, no creation.
Then out of nothing, Genesis 1.1, he created all things, the heavens and the earth.
So, God created all things.
This is all things.
Anything that is not God himself is in this circle, right?
All things.
Creation.
And in that creation, there are two realms.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Now, heavens can have three meanings in the Bible.
The word heaven can have three meanings in the Bible.
First, heaven can mean the sky, the clouds, the earth's atmosphere.
So, Isaiah 55.
The rain and the snow come down from heaven.
Okay.
It's the sky.
Or heaven can mean space, kind of like stars and the sun, moon, galaxies.
So, Genesis 1.14, let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens.
And then God created those lights, the sun, moon, and stars.
Or, heaven can mean something not in this visible universe.
So, you have the highest heaven.
That's 2 Chronicles 2.
You have the heaven of heavens in Deuteronomy.
It is a heaven outside and beyond these other two heavens.
That's why Paul calls it, in 2 Corinthians, he calls it the third heaven.
When he's taken up into the third heaven, he's talking about heaven.
So, you have the first heaven sky, the second heaven space.
And then, kind of beyond that, not just kind of above that, but kind of beyond that,
you have a special location called heaven, the heavens of heaven, the heaven of heavens.
And so, when God made all creation, the heavens and the earth,
he made the visible universe with those two heavens.
And he also made a special location in creation, a place called heaven.
So, this is all things, all creation.
You have the universe here.
That's what we can see.
That's what we live in.
But you also have a location called heaven.
And it's not part of this visible universe.
It's outside, beyond it.
And so, you can't physically travel there by a spaceship.
But it is real.
It is a location.
And so, without our minds going too sci-fi,
so don't load this too much in your mind with sci-fi things,
but heaven is a different dimension of creation.
It's a different realm of creation.
But what is heaven?
Well, heaven is God's home.
It's my next sub-point.
Heaven is God's home.
Heaven is a place where God specially dwells.
He's specially present in heaven.
So, look at 1 Kings 8.
Listen in heaven, your dwelling place, God.
And Isaiah 63.
Look down from heaven and see from your holy and beautiful habitation.
Heaven is always described as God's home.
That's why we pray our Father in heaven.
Now, that doesn't mean that God is only locked up in heaven.
Look at 1 Kings 8.
I've got it there for you.
Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you.
God exists outside of creation.
He exists everywhere in creation.
So, Psalm 139 says, where can I run from you, God?
But God has a special intensified presence in heaven.
It's his home.
Which is just like the tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament.
So, God is everywhere, isn't he?
At all times.
But he specially dwelt in an intensified way in the temple, in the Holy of Holies particularly.
There was a location on earth where there was an intensified holiness and majesty and glory of God.
Where you could particularly and more directly come into God's presence.
And it was even dangerous to enter the temple, do you remember?
Because his glory was so present there.
Well, that is just like heaven.
It's where God specially dwells.
God's temple.
Which is why heaven is also called God's temple.
That's my third sub-point, C.
Heaven is God's temple.
So, look at Hebrews 8.
I've got it written there for you.
Look how Hebrews talks of heaven where Christ has gone to be our high priest.
It says, Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven.
Heaven is the true temple.
A minister in the holy places.
In the true tent that the Lord set up.
Not man.
Heaven is the true holy of holies.
The true temple where God dwells.
Specially dwells in creation.
And the earthly temple and the tabernacle that we read in the Old Testament.
That's just a reflection, a miniature version of the true heaven temple.
It's where God's glory is directly revealed in creation.
So, where do you go to to experience the full weight and brightness of God's majesty and glory?
You go to heaven.
It's the ultimate temple.
And what happens in temples?
Worship.
Which is why heaven is a place where angels dwell and worship God.
So, look at Nehemiah 9.
You are the Lord.
You alone.
You made heaven.
The heaven of heavens.
With all their host.
That's referring to the angels.
Armies of angels.
Host means armies.
And you made the earth and all that is on it.
The seas and all that is in them.
And you preserve all of them.
And the host of heaven worships you.
And in Revelation 4, we get a glimpse into heaven.
Into God's intense presence.
And we see angelic beings worshipping God.
And they cry out,
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
And so, when God created the heavens and the earth,
He created a special place full of armies of angels.
And since the beginning of time,
they have been worshipping and praising the triune God
in His intensified presence.
And this place is perfect.
The Bible never mentions any stain of sin
or any evil or any suffering in heaven.
There's never any mention of it.
Because there's nothing in heaven to diminish God's glory.
And it's from heaven that God rules creation.
Heaven is His home, but it's also His throne room.
So, this is my next sub-point.
Heaven is God's throne room.
So, look at Psalm 103.
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens.
And His kingdom rules over all.
Isaiah 66.
Heaven is my throne.
And the earth is my footstool.
Heaven is where God's glory and His power
is concentrated.
And it's from heaven, from there,
that He rules the rest of creation.
Which is why, when Jesus is given all authority
in heaven and on earth,
that's why He then ascends to heaven.
So, Paul preached that in Acts 1 a few weeks ago, didn't he?
He said, Jesus went to heaven to be enthroned
and to rule over everything.
And that's what Hebrews 8 says.
If you look back to Hebrews 8,
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne
of the majesty in heaven.
Sat just means enthroned.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
in the flesh, in His glorified body,
He is enthroned, along with the Father,
ruling over creation together,
being worshipped by angels in all His glory.
A Scottish theologian called John Duncan,
he put it well, he said this,
the dust of the earth,
now sits on the throne of the universe.
And so heaven is where Jesus is now.
It's a location,
because Jesus is physically there,
Jesus still has a body,
and that's where He is.
But heaven, it's not in the visible universe.
It's another realm, a spiritual realm.
And you can't fly there,
but you can go there.
God can take you there.
And the Bible tells us it's here in heaven
that believers go when they die.
And this is my second big point today.
After death, believers go to heaven.
It's important to see that after death,
there is an afterlife.
And just to say,
I'm going to stop for questions at the end.
So, if you've got any questions,
write them down,
and then we'll stop at the end.
So it's important to see that after death,
there is an afterlife.
There is an existence immediately after death,
and before the resurrection.
So let's remind ourselves of this.
This timeline.
This timeline will make sense as the weeks go on.
But here we are.
The point of death,
something happens.
That there is an existence.
That there is an intermediate state.
That's what we often call it.
Line that up.
And for the believer,
what happens to us?
We go to be with Christ.
So look what Jesus,
do you remember what Jesus says to the thief on the cross
as they're both dying?
Wonderful words.
Luke 23.
Truly I say to you,
today you will be with me in paradise.
And think of Stephen before he dies.
In Acts 7.
He cries out,
Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit.
At the point of death,
believers go to be with Christ.
And where is Christ?
In heaven.
Our bodies stay here on earth.
Our souls are separated from them.
And our souls go to be in that heavenly realm.
And that's why we often say,
when a Christian has died,
we might say,
that brother,
that sister,
she's gone to glory.
Heaven is the place of God's glory.
And we go there to be with Christ.
And believers in the Old Testament,
they knew this too.
They didn't have as clear a grasp on it
as we do in the New Testament.
It's kind of in,
it's a little bit out of focus in the Old Testament,
but it's there.
This belief didn't just appear in the New Testament.
Look at Psalm 73.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterwards you will receive me to your glory.
Or Ecclesiastes 12.
The dust returns to the earth as it was,
but the spirit returns to God who gave it.
And who goes to heaven after death?
Everyone who is in Christ.
We are so united to Christ
that we will always be with him.
Nothing can separate you from Christ
so that in death you will,
you must go to Christ.
And this is the greatest thing about heaven.
It's the greatest joy and the greatest comfort.
Just look how positively Paul talks about
death for the Christian.
Philippians 1.
For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain.
If I'm to live in the flesh,
that means fruitful labour for me.
Yes, I can do good things while I'm alive in this body.
Yet which shall I choose?
I cannot tell.
I'm hard pressed between the two,
between living and dying.
My desire is to depart and be with Christ,
for that is far better.
When we die,
Christ in his glorified body,
he will welcome us into heaven.
And we will see him.
We will actually be with him.
And it will be a positive,
conscious experience.
Now, we won't have bodies, remember.
We will be spirits.
And so we don't know what this will look like
or how it will work.
But we will be conscious.
We will be aware.
And somehow we will be able to see
and interact in heaven.
And it will be us.
It will be consciously us in soul form
with Christ,
joining with the angels,
worshipping him.
And so two things to note here.
Death is not deletion.
Death is not being deleted.
We are not just atoms
that, you know, when we die,
we just kind of experience nothing
at the point of death.
It's kind of like,
it's not like, you know,
the TV turns off
and it's just nothing,
not even static.
No, it's not like our experience
just gets deleted
and we finish.
No, we are bodies and souls.
And our souls continue to live.
They can never be deleted.
Souls are immortal
in the sense of once they're created,
they always exist.
There is an existence after death.
And that goes for the non-Christian too.
And we'll see that in a few weeks.
So that's the first thing.
Death is not deletion,
but also death is not soul sleep.
Death is not just kind of
an unconscious sleep period
where we kind of shut our eyes
and then time goes really fast,
a bit like when you're sleeping.
And then before we know it,
we open our eyes
and then it's the resurrection.
It's not kind of like death
and then we're just sleeping.
Oh, didn't even realise,
boom, it's the resurrection.
It's not that.
No, that there is a conscious
intermediate state
between the two.
And for the Christian,
this state
will be a conscious,
joyous experience
with Christ in heaven.
It will be rest.
And this is the next thing
I want us to see.
I want us to see what heaven is like.
What is heaven like?
Heaven is rest.
Look what believers experience in heaven.
Revelation 14.
Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord from now on.
Blessed indeed,
says the Spirit,
that they may rest
from their labours
for their deeds follow them.
we experience rest in heaven.
It is rest from pain
and disease
and cancer
and suffering
and trials
and persecution
and anxiety.
it is true
peaceful rest.
And it's even rest
from our own sin
because look what our souls
are like in heaven.
Look at Hebrews 12.
The spirits
of the righteous
are made perfect.
In Hebrews 12,
it's talking about
the heavenly Jerusalem here,
the spirits in heaven.
The spirits of the righteous
are made perfect.
death is the moment
that sin is stripped
from us.
It's the moment
that pull of temptation
that we feel every day,
it's the moment
that that temptation goes.
We stop being sinners
in heaven
because no sin is allowed.
it's too glorious
in heaven.
But,
but,
heaven
won't feel
like this
weird
foreign place
to us.
I think sometimes
we can feel that
about this
this glorious place
that we can't even
really picture
but we know
that there's worship
and angels
and God's presence.
We can know
it's glorious
but sometimes
our instinct
is to think
that it's kind of
a weird foreign place
to us.
A bit like
you know,
if you walk
into a cathedral
like you know
that wow
this is glorious
but also
you can feel
a bit awkward
in it.
Maybe a bit
uncomfortable,
a bit nervous.
But no,
heaven will feel
like home.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5.
Yes,
we are of good courage
and we would rather
be away from the body
that means death,
being separated
from the body
and death
and be at home
with the Lord.
You know
when you've been
on a long journey,
maybe you've been
travelling for work,
maybe you've done
D of E,
a big expedition,
and it's been tiring
and traumatic
and you're just spent,
you are just wiped
out by the end of it.
But after that long journey,
finally,
you get to your front door,
you open it up
and you go into your house
and you just feel like,
oh,
I'm home.
And everything feels right,
doesn't it?
Well,
when we get to heaven
and we get to be with Christ,
it will be a feeling of,
oh,
I'm home.
the Christian has escaped
the pains of this pilgrimage,
this journey on earth
and we get to just enjoy Christ.
And that is why
the Christians in heaven
are sometimes referred to as
the church triumphant.
Have you ever heard that?
And the church on earth below
is sometimes called
the church militant.
And that's because
here on earth,
we are still fighting.
We're fighting against the world
and the flesh
and the devil.
We're not at rest
in this world,
are we?
We have peace with God,
our sins are forgiven,
but we're not at rest.
But the church in heaven,
Christians in heaven,
the church in heaven
has made it
to the end
of this earthly journey
and they have triumphed
in their fight.
And that's why
they're called
the church triumphant.
So actually,
you can think of it like this.
So this timeline
still keeps going,
but there are still,
there's still the church
on earth,
the church militant.
And in heaven,
it's the church
triumphant.
And this means
something amazing
for us now.
All this means
that heaven
is a real comfort
for us now.
And this is my
second sub-point,
heaven is our comfort now.
death is now.
If you are in Christ,
death is now
completely transformed
for you.
Death is not
an unknown
for us.
Death is not
a scary experience
stepping into darkness.
Death is not punishment.
No,
death is coming home.
we go to be
welcomed,
actually welcomed
by Christ.
Heaven is
far better.
To be with Christ
is far better
than even
your best memory
here on earth.
Death is to gain
everything.
Peter Pan,
the great theologian,
he said it best.
To die
would be
an awfully
big adventure.
That lost boy
has nailed it.
To be with
Christ in glory,
that is
an adventure.
And so,
we can have
immense
and real
comfort
knowing that
there are
loved ones
who die
in Christ,
they are
with Christ
in heaven.
We don't need
to worry
about them.
We don't need
to be scared
because where
are they
right now?
They are
at rest
with no pain,
no sadness,
joyfully
in the presence
of Christ,
worshipping him,
seeing his glory.
And he is
looking after them
better than we
ever could
here on earth.
Now,
at this point,
I want us to
address a really
important question.
What about
our children?
What about
infant children
of believers
who died
maybe before
they could talk
or maybe
before we think
that they could
understand the
gospel?
Or maybe
if they were
still in the
womb,
what about
them?
Well,
I want us
to just
look how
King David
responds
when his
young son
dies
to Samuel
12.
But now
he is dead.
Why should I
fast?
Can I bring
him back
again?
I shall
go to him.
He will not
return to me.
Then David
comforted his
wife.
David knows
he is sure
that after
death he
himself will
go to
glory and
he knows
that he
will see
his son
there again
in the
glory of
heaven.
And that
is a reality
that comforts
him and his
wife.
But why
does David
have that
assurance?
Well,
let's ask
ourselves,
who is
the promise
of heaven
for?
The promise
of the
covenant
and salvation
and heaven,
who is that
promise for?
Well,
we need to
really remember
these words.
Take the
words of
Acts 2
in.
For the
promise is
for you
and for
your children.
the promise
of heaven
is for
our
children.
How does
God view
the children
of believers?
Whether that's
one parent
is a believer
or both
parents.
Well,
Paul calls
them holy.
Our
children are
holy,
they are set
apart by
God.
They belong
in the
covenant of
grace.
And so
to them
belongs
the promise
of heaven.
And so
our default
position
when thinking
about our
children is
not to
worry
if they
were saved.
But actually
our default
position
should always
be to be
assured that
they are.
The
Canons of
Dort,
which is a
bit like
the Westminster
Confession of
Faith,
it says it
really well.
Canons of
Dort 1.7
says this.
Since we
are to
judge of
the will
of God
from his
words,
which testifies
that the
children of
believers are
holy,
not by
nature,
not because
they're
sinless,
but in
virtue of
the covenant
of grace,
because of
the promises
God has
made them,
in which
they,
together with
their parents,
are comprehended,
they're all in
the covenant
of grace.
because of
that,
godly parents
have no
reason to
doubt of
the election
and salvation
of their
children,
whom it
pleases God
to call out
of this
life in
their infancy.
this is the
comfort we
have.
Our
children belong
to Christ.
For us
and for
them,
Christ has
prepared a
place in
heaven.
and so
when they
die,
they do
go to
be with
him.
Christ
welcomes
them,
and so
we have
no reason
to doubt
the salvation
of our
children,
that there's
nothing to
worry about,
that they
are cared
for and
happy and
they are
safe with
their
saviour in
heaven.
And that
goes for
everyone in
Christ.
we cannot
be separated
from him.
We are
going to
heaven when
we die.
And so
for us,
to die,
it's to
gain
everything.
But it's
not the
end.
Heaven is
rest, it's
true,
peaceful
rest, but
it's not
final rest.
The souls
in heaven
still need
to be
reunited with
their bodies
here on
earth.
And so
the end
is not
heaven,
the end
is
resurrection.
And we're
going to
see that
next week.
I'll stop
there, we
can ask
some questions.
We might
need to
stop a
little bit
early because
it's
Remembrance
Sunday.
Oh no, we're
doing well
for time.
Yeah, we've
got time
for questions.