Let's turn in our Bibles, please, to the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation, the seventh chapter. This was, of course, our scripture reading this morning. And as I reflected on this passage, I thought that an exposition of it would be a good way to wrap up and conclude our teaching on the doctrine of sanctification. I know last week I intimated that that would be our last message, but I thought, you know, to handle the matter of glorification without dealing with the issue of heaven is kind of truncating things a bit. So I thought that we would take this passage and look at it and gain an appreciation of where sanctification completed will ultimately bring us and to rejoice our hearts in the contemplation of what Christ has laid up for us and to which he will bring us when he comes again to receive us to himself. So to that end, we want to begin reading at verse 9 of Revelation chapter 7. And what we have here is a vision and a view of heaven and of what is going on there and of the condition of the redeemed who are in heaven. And I think that it will provide us with a good deal of comfort as we slog through the battle of life here below. Revelation chapter 7 beginning in verse 9. After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen. Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of water. And God shall wipe all tears from their eyes. Now we're told in the book of Colossians 3, verses 1-2, that if then we be risen with Christ, we are to seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth. Now, this exhortation to believers is an exhortation to heavenly mindedness. And if we are to set our affections or our minds on things above, then we need to know something about those things that are above. And this setting of our affections upon the things above is not just to be a one time event. For the verb tense implies that we are to keep on thinking about the things above. Keep on setting your affections upon the things above. It is to be a continuous process. And I think the principle that Paul is trying to teach us in that passage is that we need to be a heavenly-minded people. We need to set our minds upon things above. Now, you have probably heard people say, well, he's so heavenly-minded, he's no earthly good. And I think rather the problem in our day and age is that we're so earthly-minded that we're no heavenly good. We ought to be a people who have our feet on the ground, yes, living in contact with and in a proper response to the realities of life. But the only way we're going to be able to do that is if our affections and our thoughts are upon the things in heaven. And the things in heaven shape, and form, and direct, and mold our responses to the things here upon the earth. In Isaiah chapter 26 in verse 3, it says, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon Thee. And you see, when our mind is stayed upon God and upon the things above and upon the heavenly realities, that gives us a serenity and a peace in the midst of a life of turmoil and difficulty and tribulation that passes all understanding. Well, if we are to be a heavenly minded people, then we ought to know something about heaven. And I think our passage in Revelation chapter 7 sets before us a very clear description about what heaven is like. And we want to notice this evening six things about heaven, and then we want to consider together how the knowledge of these things should affect our lives here upon earth. If in the process of sanctification begun and sanctification continued and sanctification completed, we're going to wind up at this destination doing these things, then certainly it ought to have an effect upon how we behave and conduct ourselves now. In the first place, then, we want to notice together this evening that heaven is a place that is well populated. Heaven is a place that is well populated. Now notice, if you will, verse 9. He says, After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice. Now, when John had this vision of the condition and situation in heaven, he was impressed with the vast number of people that were there. In fact, he says there is such a great number that no man could number them. Now, this does not mean that there was an infinite number there, but it means looking out upon the crowd, you couldn't even begin to guess how many were there. And so what we have here is a description of the fact that even though the Bible says straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life everlasting and few there be that find it. It is few, yes, in proportion to the total number of people that have ever lived on the face of the earth. But even that few and added up over the ages amounts to a vast multitude of people. Millions and millions and millions and millions of people have been converted to Jesus Christ and saved by his blood. And so when we get to heaven, a lot of people are going to be there. Old Testament saints are going to be there. Moses and Elijah and Noah and in the New Testament saints, Paul and Peter and John and all of these people that you've read about in the scriptures and that you've wondered so much about. They're going to be there. In fact, the knowledge that they are there now is given to us by the author of the book of Hebrews as an exhortation for us to live in such a manner as to be worthy of such company. After cataloging all of the people who have lived the life of faith and died and gone on ahead of us in Hebrews 11, Then in Hebrews 12, he says, Wherefore, seeing we also are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight in the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And what he's saying is that the recognition that men of God and women of God have fought the good fight of faith, and that they are in heaven and that they are awaiting us and we will someday go to join them is a strong exhortation for us to be faithful as we go through the same tribulations that they went through. But not only will there be a great multitude there in terms of Old Testament saints, but our relatives and our friends and our loved ones who have been saved will be there as well. Paul comforts the Thessalonians concerning their dead loved ones in the book of First Thessalonians chapter four, and he says to the Thessalonians, Brethren, I would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which have died, that you sorrow not, even as those which have no hope. And then he goes on and he describes how though they have died, yet they have gone to heaven and there will come a time when Jesus will return with them. It says, for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. And you see one of the great solaces that we have while we live here on earth is as we see our loved ones and our friends and our fellow church members die. It is not the end, but rather it is but the beginning of a glorious state of eternal glorification in the presence of God. And so the knowledge that heaven is a place that is well populated is an encouragement to us to recognize that we will see those who are redeemed someday in heaven. I don't know how many of you have ever gone to airports, but you see people who have gone off maybe for an extended period of time and they come back and there's the relatives looking down the jetway and here comes the people walking up the jetway and they embrace and hug and you see the joy on their face. That's what's awaiting us. As we enter into heaven, there's going to be a great multitude of people there. And of course, the most important face in the whole crowd will be that of the Lord Jesus. It says in verse 9 that these people stood before the throne and before the Lamb. You see, He's going to be there. He whom having not seen, we love. And though now we see Him not, yet we rejoice with joy unspeakable, because there will come a day when we will see the Savior face to face. And you see, it's that encouragement to us to be faithful to him now that we will see him there. And so heaven is a place that is well populated and knowing that it is well populated with the saints, with our loved ones and with our Lord Jesus Christ is a great encouragement to us as we travel the path of sanctification continued in this life. The second thing that we see about heaven is that heaven is a place that is full of praise. Heaven is a place that is full of praise. Notice, if you will, verse 10. It says regarding those who are in heaven that they cried with a loud voice. saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb." You see, those who are Christians who are redeemed, which are described in verse 9, are those who are crying with a loud voice in verse 10. And what are they praising God for? Well, specifically, they are praising Him for His salvation. is ascribed to our God, which sits upon the throne and unto the land. You see, it is the mighty saving work of God that is going to be the object of our praise when we're in heaven. And I think oftentimes on Earth, we don't praise God for our salvation as much as we ought, because I think that we oftentimes aren't aware of all that we have been saved from. and all that we have been saved to. And when we get to heaven, I think there we will obtain a true and a complete and an unblemished vision of how far God has raised us in pulling our feet out of the miry clay and setting them upon a solid rock and who has established our goings. But this praise is not only going to arise from the saints, it's also going to arise from the angels. Notice verse 11. It says, And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. You see, the angels are intensely interested in the salvation plan of God. And when they see the saints redeemed and washed and in their white robes and praising God, then what are they going to do? In looking upon this saving work of God, they themselves are going to fall down. And what are they ascribing to God in verse 12? Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might. All of these attributes and characteristics of God are what are displayed in the redemption of God's people in heaven. And it is as those people are seen in heaven that these attributes of God that he exercised in saving them are on glorious display and the angels are just struck with the wisdom and the power and the blessing and the honor and the might of God in working such a glorious salvation. It says in Luke chapter 15 verses 8 through 10 that there is more joy in heaven among the angels over one sinner who repents than over the ninety and nine who are righteous. And if the angels in heaven, according to Luke 15 10, rejoice when one sinner is saved, how much more are they going to rejoice when they see a multitude that no man can number? Heaven is a place that is full of praise. We read in Isaiah 2 in verse 11 regarding that day. It says, the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And so I'm sure that there are few things that are more delightful to God than to be praised for the marvelous salvation that he has wrought. Now, if we're going to be praising him for salvation in heaven, we certainly ought to be praising him for it upon earth. The book of Psalms has been given to us as the praise book of God, and I think as we read through the book of Psalms and see how David praised the Lord for the salvation that God wrought on his behalf, that it's a great encouragement to us to praise him for that salvation as well. For example, in Psalm 34, he says, Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. And so this business of praise is going to be our chief occupation in heaven. It ought to be one of our chief occupations here upon the earth. You see, a heavenly minded person is doing what he's thinking about his salvation. He's thinking about what God has done for him, and he is praising God for that. And this is why Paul says in Hebrews 13 15 by him. Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. And so a heavenly minded person is one who reflects upon the work of God, the saving work of God, and who praises him for it. The third thing that we see about heaven is that heaven is not only a place that is well populated, not only a place that is full of praise, but thirdly, heaven is a place that is completely pure. Heaven is a place that is completely pure. Notice, if you will, verse 13. One of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. You see, John didn't know the answer to the question. He didn't know where all these people came from. And so he confessed his ignorance. And by way of aside, don't ever be afraid to admit that you don't know something when someone asks you a question. When someone says, what about that? Feel free to say, I don't know. Do you know? You see, this was the humble attitude of John. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Who are these people? These are people who are washed from their sins. The robe here is used of the image and the analogy of righteousness. Over in Revelation 19, in verse 8 it says, And to her, that is to the bride, was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And so when these people are described here as having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb, it is an indication that these are people who have been completely cleansed and purged from all sin. And you see, heaven is a place that is completely pure. It is a place in which all sin has been purged away. No longer are we going to have to struggle with remaining sin. No longer are we going to have to struggle with the wiles of the devil, or with the clarion call of the world. The Scriptures tell us that when Jesus appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. That is, we will be like Him morally. We will be as pure and as holy as He is. And so, as you struggle here below, with sin, And with all of the grief and the agony and the groaning that that brings to pass in your life, be encouraged. There's going to come a day when that struggle is over. There's going to come a day in which the grievous effects of sin shall be entirely removed. The Scripture says in Revelation 21 and verse 27, regarding heaven, there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles." You see, when you're in heaven, you're not going to have to watch where you look. You're not going to have to guard what you hear. You're not going to have to constantly be sifting and analyzing everything that is said and read for the subtle wiles of the devil. In Revelation 21, it says that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. Now, when you think about death, and sorrow and crying and pain. What is the cause of all of these things? Well, the answer is the cause of them is sin. And you see, when sin is completely purged away, then all of its effects will be entirely erased. You see, heaven is a place that is completely pure. And this is why in Isaiah chapter six, we read about the angel saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. Now, it's important for us to realize that these people are in heaven and they experience this blessed purity because of the blood of the Lamb. It was by the shedding of blood in their place, bearing the wrath and the punishment of God, that they know this forgiveness, this purity, and this holiness. And I would say to anyone that is here today, if you sense the defilement of sin and you're not sure that you have a place in heaven, or that you have been accepted with God, I would remind you of the words of the leprous man who came to the Lord Jesus and says, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And Jesus said, I will be Thou clean. And just as He cleansed the physical, sickness of leprosy so he cleanses away every spot of sin. The scriptures tell us that Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. In order that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water of the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. And so the expectation that we have as heavenly minded people is that someday, someday we're going to be delivered from sin. And the expectation of that and the encouragement of that should help us to fight against it now. And you know, fighting against sin is not easy. Notice what these people experienced before they got there. Verse 14. These are they which came out of great tribulation. Great tribulation. You see, these aren't people who sailed to heaven on flowery beds of ease, who just indulged the flesh and went the way of the world and thus had a life of comfort and ease. These were people who fought the good fight of faith. And you see a heavily minded person who has his eye on purity will be a person who is constantly fighting iniquity while he's here upon this earth because he's never comfortable, he's never satisfied with a life and a condition that is defaced and defected by sin. In Acts chapter 14 and verse 22 the apostle tells the church there, we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And yet the comfort is that not even tribulation, according to Romans 8.35, can separate us from the love of Christ. And so though we go through great tribulation, and though great tribulation is the standard fare for the people of God, yet it will ultimately issue out into a place where there is no tribulation. And what is the source of the tribulation? It's fighting against sin. You see, those who give in to sin do not have this battle with sin that those of us have who fight against it. And so what is heaven? Heaven is a place that is completely pure. And if we are a heavenly minded people, we're headed for heaven, then purity ought to be something that is high on our priority list, because that is the environment in which we will be living all the days of our life throughout eternity. The fourth thing that we see about heaven is that heaven is a place of holy service and fellowship. Heaven is a place of holy service and fellowship. Notice, if you will, verse 15, the condition of those who have made their robes white in the blood of the lamb. Verse 15 says, Therefore, Are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple? And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. Now, we see that heaven is a place here of holy service and fellowship. It says, therefore, are they before the throne? Why are they before the throne? What does the therefore refer back to? refers back to the phrase, they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. You see, they weren't trusting in themselves, but they were trusting in Christ. And it is by trusting in him that they were cleansed. And therefore, are they before the throne of God. because they are pure, because they are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ. That's why they're before the throne. Now, when they're before the throne, what are they going to be doing? What are we going to be doing as we stand before the throne? Well, first of all, it says we will be serving God, it says, and they serve him day and night in his temple. Now, what we see here is that this service is, first of all, an untiring service. It says that they serve him day and night. Now, it is the heart of a true Christian that they love to serve the Lord and they want to serve the Lord and they wish they could serve the Lord more. And yet the distractions and the wearinesses and the limitations of our own human frailty and the fact that we've got to sleep at night And all of the things that tug at us frequently keep us from serving the Lord as much as we would like. And yet when we get to heaven, we'll never grow tired. Not only is this a service that we do not grow weary in, but it's also a service of delightful anticipation. You see, frequently when we think of a servant, we think of someone who is under bondage and in voluntary servitude. And yet this is precisely the opposite of what we see here. The people in heaven are going to have the attitude of Isaiah. When God says, who will go for us? Isaiah said, hear my Lord, send me. And you see, in heaven is going to be the eager delight and anticipation of the people of God to serve him. And they will serve him unceasingly, day and night. They're not going to ask for vacations or time off. They're not going to seek to want to do anything else. Because this is the greatest delight that possesses the heart of the Christian. Psalm 84 and verse 10 says, a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. And you see, this is the reflection of the heart of the believer. He wants to serve God. He wants to serve God unceasingly. And he wants to serve him with a glad anticipation. This is the condition of heaven. And so this should be our condition on earth. You know, so oftentimes churches wind up losing opportunities for ministry because they can't get anyone to volunteer. People are so busy and wrapped up in their own selfish, self-centered lives that they forget that their whole purpose for being here on earth is to serve God. And I'm not saying that a person ought to be down at the church every night of the week and neglecting his family. But what I am saying is that it should be the heart of every Christian to faithfully and frequently serve the Lord Jesus Christ in whatever way he can. And so may the Lord give us a heart of service so that we are constantly saying, what can I do for the Lord? And not waiting for someone to come up to us and tap us on the shoulder and say, hey, why don't you do this for the Lord? It is the nature of heavenly minded people that they want to serve him day and night. But then not only is it a situation in which we will be serving God, but also a situation in which we will be fellowshipping with God. Now, where are these people? It says, therefore, they are before the throne of God. And then the second part of the verse says, and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. You see, these people are not off there somewhere. They are where? Right in the very presence of God. And it says with reference to God that he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. And so we see here that heaven is a place not only of serving God, but it is a place of fellowship with God, a place of perfect unbroken fellowship. Now, the word dwell here means to tabernacle. It means, if you will, to set up housekeeping. And it says regarding God that he that sit upon the throne shall set up housekeeping among them. You see, we'll be family members in the same house with God. And you know when you settle down to live with someone, an intimate relationship begins to develop. And you see the glory of our condition in heaven as that we will always be with God. And so our relationship will develop more and more and deeper and deeper Because you see, if you're going to get to know someone, you have to spend time with them. And God has reserved all of eternity just to spend with us. And so, how should that affect us if we're a heavenly-minded people? Well, it should cause us to want to spend time with Him now, and to seek Him now, and His fellowship now. And indeed, we can have it. Jesus said, Lo, I am with you always. And so the people of God who are heavenly-minded who are on the path of sanctification continued, looking forward to sanctification completed, are people who are not only constantly seeking to serve God, but they're people who are constantly pursuing fellowship with God. That brings us then to our fifth point this evening. Heaven is a place, fifthly, a place of full provision. Heaven is a place of full provision. Notice, if you will, verse 16. It says, They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. First of all, our physical needs will be met. For in heaven, we will have physical bodies. We will have bodies like the resurrection body of our Lord Jesus, who ate and drank after his resurrection. For he was a perfect glorified man. The point he's making here is that no one is going to go to bed hungry or thirsty. That is, there's going to be no lack They shall neither hunger any more, nor shall they thirst any more. So whatever physical needs we have now, and whatever physical needs we have throughout all eternity, they're going to be perfectly met. And there will be no lack, and there will be no want, and there will be no unmet needs. But not only will our physical needs be met, our spiritual needs will be met as well. because the bread of life will be there to satisfy us, and the water of life will be there to quench our spiritual thirst. You see, the scripture says, Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be fulfilled. And you see, this hungering and this thirsting that we have now, not only physically, but spiritually for righteousness, will be completely and perfectly satisfied. It goes on to say that neither shall the sun light on them, neither any heat. And you might think, well, my, that's kind of strange. Is heaven going to be cold and dark? Well, I think you have to understand the context in which this book was written. The Jews and the people of Palestine were a people who lived relatively near to the equator. And tremendous burning heat was an onerous burden to them. You remember that the brings of the rains were a great blessing to the people of God and the cooling of the land. Or this could be a reference to perhaps the wrath of God or the chastisement of God. It could be taken literally or metaphorically. But the idea is that conditions that create discomfort will be utterly removed. I don't know if you've ever been in a hot, humid climate where the temperature is 100 degrees and the humidity is 100 degrees, but you're not very happy there. And the point is that heaven will be perfectly climate controlled. And we often tend to think of these things in material terms, but you see, It is important that we recognize that God has mercy on our infirmities, and frequently he describes the glories of heaven in physical terms, because he understands that that's the realm in which we relate. That's why he's given us the Lord's Supper, and that's why he's given us baptism. These material, physical reminders of blessed spiritual truths. And so our hungering and our thirsting, our sense of discomfort, any kind of needs that we have, all discomfort will be removed physically and spiritually, and all needs, physically and spiritually, will be entirely met. Now, if God is going to do that for us in heaven, don't you think he's going to do it for us now in terms of ensuring that all of our needs are met? You know, our God is a gracious God, and he cares no more for us in heaven than He cares for us now. And while it is true that because we live in a sin-cursed world, we have difficulties, yet our Savior promised that if we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added to us. All what things? Food and clothing and shelter and meat and drink. That's the context in Matthew 6, isn't it? And so the provision that He has for us in Heaven, He has promised to us in a limited degree now. I'm not preaching a health and wealth and a comfortable Christianity, but what I am saying is the heart of a God who would give us that in heaven is going to care for his children here on earth. And he's going to add the things to us that we need as we seek first the kingdom of God. And that brings us then to our sixth point this evening. Heaven is a place, finally, of perfect peace. Heaven is a place of perfect peace. It says, verse 17, for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes. Now there's a sense in which we have peace now. Jesus says, In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. In my Father's house there are many mansions. Over and over again the scriptures promise us peace now. The peace that passes understanding. The peace that guards our hearts and minds. And yet the peace that we experience now is not a perfect peace in the sense that it is never interrupted. But the peace that we begin to experience now on earth, this passage tells us will be perfect and complete in heaven. You see, Christ here in this passage, verse 17, has a personal relationship with each one. and a personal concern for each one. Notice it says for the lamb, that's Jesus, which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them. You see, when we're in heaven. Christ is not going to delegate our care to someone else. He's going to perfectly take care of it himself. He personally shall lead us. He personally shall feed us. He personally shall wipe away our tears. You see, we sow in tears in this life, don't we? The scripture tells us that we shall reap when we are in heaven, reap joy in the next. The description we have here in verse 17 reminds me of the 23rd Psalm. which describes the fact that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And you're familiar with the rest of the psalm, how he leads us beside still waters and makes us to lay down in green pastures and all of the other blessings prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. And yet that which began on earth in terms of his tender shepherding care for us is that which is going to be completed and perfected in heaven. Turn with me, if you will, to Isaiah chapter 40, verse 11. The book of Isaiah, chapter 40. Here we have a description of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 40, verse 10. Isaiah 40 and verse 10 says, Behold, Jehovah God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. Now notice what he'll do with reference to his people. It says he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arms and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Now isn't that a tender scene? And to be sure, shot through with metaphor, but the picture there is this is how Jesus is going to take care of us when we're in heaven. And it kind of makes you feel like the Apostle Paul, who said, I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better. Being in heaven is far better than being here upon earth and yet upon earth we have the opportunity to begin to taste the joys and the pleasures of heaven. Now from this brief look at heaven Perhaps we can better understand what it means to set your affections upon things above and what it means to be a heavenly minded person. Is heaven a place that is well populated? Well, then a heavenly minded person is one who is winning the lost to Christ. Because after all, how do you think those people got there? Every single one of those people got there through the witness and the testimony of the scriptures and other people. With a few very rare exceptions, where God directly revealed himself to an individual, 99.9% of the people got into heaven because someone shared the gospel. And so if we are heavenly minded, we recognize, you know, heaven is a place that's well populated. How are people going to get there? They're going to get there by my telling them about Jesus Christ and preaching the gospel. And so we ought to be a people who are actively witnessing, seeking to populate heaven by the grace of God and according to his sovereign purposes. Is heaven a place that is characterized by continual praise to God, then we ought to be a people who are praising God now. Is heaven a place of perfect purity? Well, then if we're heavenly-minded people, we should be leading pure lives now. Is heaven a place of holy service and fellowship? Then our purpose in life should be to fellowship with God and to serve Him. Is heaven a place of perfect provision? then every day we should thank God for whatever provision he gives to us and we should be continually expressing our dependence upon God for the provision of our needs. Is heaven a place of perfect peace? Then we ought to have peace in our hearts because we have cast all of our cares upon the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, if we are going to be heavenly-minded people, then we need to be living now as much as we can, as we shall live when we are in heaven. And you know, just as living in heaven in that way is the essence and epitome of all delight and fulfillment, so to the extent that we are able to live that way now, we will know delight and fulfillment. Paul says in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 20, for our manner of life is in heaven. From whence we also look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the question that I would ask you this evening is this, is your manner of life, your citizenship, your conversation, is it in heaven? In other words, do you live here on earth according to the principles and the rules and the patterns of behavior that are in heaven? Well, I hope tonight, by examining this passage, you will be able to answer that question perhaps a little better than you could before. And to the extent that your mind and affections are not set upon things above, to that extent I trust that you'll seek the Lord in repentance and reformation. You see, having gained a glimpse into heaven, we can now know how we ought to be living now. And so let us be involved in heavenly things. Let us be a heavenly minded people, because that is the best path to pursue sanctification continued now, because that's ultimately where it's going to lead us. Well, let us pray together. Father, we thank you for the glorious description of heaven that we have had before us. We thank you, Father, for the blessedness of that place. And Father, we pray that you might help us to be a heavenly-minded people who live according to the precepts and the principles and the activities that have been set before us. Help us, Father, to be faithful in sharing the gospel with the lost. Help us to be faithful in praising you. Help us to be seeking purity and service and fellowship. And Father, we acknowledge our dependence upon you. We acknowledge, Father, that all good gifts come from your hand. So, Father, help us. We pray to think in these channels, And as we wade through the mire and the muck of the culture in which we live, help us, Father, not to be so focused on the wind and the waves that we take our eyes off Christ and thus begin to sink and to lose our heavenly vision and perspective. Father, help us to think aright and to labor according to the principles of God and of eternity as we go through the great tribulation of this earth. We ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.