Video Links To This Sermon
WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN - PART ONE
WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN -PART TWO
WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN - PART THREE
When We All Get To Heaven
by Pastor Mark Taylor
My objective is to help us focus on the reality of Heaven. God wants us to know that death is not something we should fear but look forward to. It is a place where we and our loved ones will live and enjoy. “This world is not my home, I am just passing through.” This sermon can only introduce what a wonderful place Heaven will be. The Bible reveals a lot about this wonderful place, but our minds can only process a small picture of what we will experience. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Our Lord Jesus has said that He would immediately be with Him when we leave this world. “Jesus said: I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in Me, though he were physically dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25). To the thief on the Cross, Jesus said: “Verily I say unto you. Today you shall be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43).
I have personally met some people who were clinically dead but came back from the dead and told me and others about visiting with the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people have shared with me accounts of loved ones returning to bring a message from Heaven to their loved ones to assure them that they are ok. There are more cases of “NDE” (Near life Experiences) than the average person may be aware of. Dr. Elizabeth Ross was awarded 10 Doctor degrees including M.D.'s and PhD's for her 20 years of work, wrote a book titled Life After Death. Elizabeth devoted her life to proving that an after life did exist. Her work showed that death was really a beautiful experience and the beginning of another life.
Her work showed that death was really a beautiful experience and the beginning of another life. She showed that this after life was full,of promise and love and meeting those we loved who had died before us. She studied 20,000 cases of people all over the world who had been who had been declared clinically dead and had returned to life. She inspired the start of the Hospice movement. Some awoke naturally, and others had been brought back to life through medical help.
Dr. Elizabeth Ross states in her book Life After Dearth that “The dying experience is almost identical to the experience at birth. It is a birth into another experience that can be proved. "The death of the human body is identical to what happens when the butterfly emerges from its cocoon. “At the moment of this transition you are never ever alone. You are not alone now, but you don't know it. At the moment of your transition, your guardian angels, your loved ones who have passed on before you will be there to guide you. "We have verified this beyond a shadow of a doubt, and I say this as a scientist. There will always be someone to help you with this transition. Most of the time it is a parent or a grandparent, or a child if you have lost a child. Sometimes it is people you did not know we're on the "other side" already. This means that many children who do not have anyone they know on the "other side", see Jesus.”
Other observations that Dr. Ross received from those who had “Near Death Experiences” (NDE’s) was “The time you spend in your physical body is a very, very short time of your total existence. It is a very important time because you are here for a very special purpose, which is yours and yours alone. The question of time is not terribly important; it is a man made artificial concept anyway. Death is like putting away your winter coat when spring comes. You know the coat is shabby and you don't want to wear it any more.” Look at a little seed that we put into the ground, or take a look at a dry looking bulb that some put into the ground. They look withered and dead, but in the spring we see the flowers and the fruit of the new life. We shall be changed into the new order of life: our personalities continuing in those bodies that God will prepare for us, which are supernatural.
Dr. Eben Alexander M.D, an academic neurosurgeon for the last 25 years did not believe in “NDE’s” until his own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the braid that controls thought and emotion. He was in a coma for seven days. Then as his doctors considered stopping treatment, his eyes open and he came back to life. He wrote about his time in Heaven in a book titled PROOF OF HEAVEN. He said when he initially entered Heaven he both felt and heard three messages: “You are loved and cherished”, “You have nothing to fear”, and “There is nothing you can do wrong here.” He said: “The unconditional love and acceptance that I experienced on my journey is the single most important discovery I have ever made.” It is no wonder those who have had “NDE’s do not want to return to Earth, but are sent back as an answer to other’s prayers.
Colton Burpo had an emergency appendectomy when he was four years old. He told his family a beautiful story of his trip to Heaven and back. His parents retold his story in a book about his experiences titled HEAVEN IS FOR REAL. Colton told of meeting people in Heaven like a sister he never met or knew of that had died when his mother had a miscarriage years before his birth. He described Jesus and the angels, and how “really, really big” God is and how much God love us.
I would encourage you to look up the story of Akiiane Kramarik experiences about Heaven. She was brought up in a family in Lithuania that “never talked about religion, never prayed together, and never went to any church.” The family was atheist. Her vision has been seen on many national TV news and entertainment programs. She had never had a drawing or painting lesson but drew and painted from the age of 4 and at the age of 8 1/2 she desperately wanted to paint portraits of Jesus who she had seen in another vision of Heaven. Two of her paintings are “The Prince of Peace.” and “Father Forgive Them”. She said this was a gift given to her while she was in Heaven. Many of her paintings, drawings and poems are in a book titled AKIANE .
My prayer for you is that you will begin to think about Life after Death as a wonderful promise that God has given to those who love Him and have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. “For we walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). “For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)
