Heaven -- A Radio Devotional Series by Pastor Glenn Wilson

Pastor's Devotions KJLY Radio Monday, May 14 -- Series on Heaven

WE ARE CITIZENS OF HEAVEN -- PHIL. 3:20-21

This is the Reverend Dr. Glenn Wilson, pastor of the Burt and Woden, Iowa Presbyterian churches, and this week we will be talking about that miracle every Christian is touched by – the salvation that Jesus Christ gives us that leads us to eternal life in heaven – "Now, hear this folks, Heaven is a place, just as much a place as Minneapolis St. Paul or Chicago or Blue Earth.”

I begin this devotional series with two statements that I believe to be almost universally true: Everyone wants to know about heaven and everyone wants to go there. Recent polls suggest that nearly 80% of all Americans believe there is a place called heaven. I find that statistic encouraging because it tells me that even in this skeptical age there is something deep inside the human heart that cries out, “There’s got to be something more. Something more than the pain and suffering of this life in this world broken by sin. Something more than our time on planet earth. Something more than being born, living, dying, and then being buried in the ground.

Sometimes we talk about a “God-shaped vacuum” inside the human heart. I believe there is also a “heaven-shaped vacuum,” a sense that we were made for something more than this life. We were made to live forever somewhere. In a real sense we were made for heaven.

There is another fascinating statistic I should mention. Not only do most Americans believe in heaven, most people expect to go there when they die.  But in order, the Bible plainly says you need a relationship with Jesus Christ.  you need to believe in Him as Lord and Savior. Whenever you talk about living forever somewhere, it would help to know for sure where you are going. After all, if you’re wrong about heaven, you’re going to be wrong for a long, long time.

The Bible clearly tells us how you get to go to heaven.  John 3:16, perhaps the most well known verse in the Bible, states, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Now the  only things we can know for certain about heaven are the things revealed in the Bible. Everything else is just speculation and hearsay. The Bible tells us everything we need to know and I believe it also tells us everything we can know for certain about heaven.

There are three things I can tell you in answer to this question. The most important fact is that heaven is a real place. Listen to the words of Jesus on the night before he was crucified, revealed in John 14:1-3.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am

Twice in three verses Jesus calls heaven a place. He means that heaven ("my Father’s house") is a real place, as real as the city or town where you live. The place called heaven is just as real as the place you call home. It’s a real place filled with real people, which is why the Bible sometimes compares heaven to a mansion with many rooms (John 14:1-3) and also to an enormous city teeming with people (Revelation 21-22).

The Bible also tells us that heaven is the dwelling place of God. His throne is there, the angels are there, and the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven. Philippians 3:20 says very plainly that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

What a day of rejoicing it will be when we all get to heaven.  This has been Pastor Glenn Wilson of the Burt and Woden Presbyterian Churches.  Have a Jesus-filled day!