How Beautiful Heaven Must Be!

1. Read: Revelation 22:1-5

2. About the Text:

1) We have a song: “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be!”

2) It was written by Cordelia Bridgewater in 1920.

3) This is a spiritual song that gives us hope.

4) Let’s think about the lyrics of this song and the Bible’s teaching about heaven.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. “We read of a place that’s called heaven, It’s made for the pure and the free; These truths in God’s Word He hath given, How beautiful heaven must be.”

2. We certainly read about heaven in the Bible.

1) “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2b).

2) “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven” (2 Corinthians 5:2).

3) “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

4) “to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).

3. It’s made for the pure and the free.

1) “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27).

2) “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 13:14).

3) “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).

4) “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” (John 8:31-32).

5) “When free from envy, scorn, and pride, our wishes all above, each can his brother’s failings hide and show a brother’s love.”

4. It is truly a pure place made for a pure people.

1. “In heaven no drooping nor pining, No wishing for elsewhere to be; God’s light is forever there shining, How beautiful heaven must be.”

2. We will want to be in heaven at every moment.

1) “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

2) “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘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 and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelation 21:3-4).

3. God’s light will shine on us for all eternity.

1) “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

2) “who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen” (1 Timothy 6:16).

3) “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there” (Revelation 21:22-25).

4. We will be with God and Christ forever!

1. “Pure waters of life there are flowing, And all who will drink may be free; Rare jewels of splendor are glowing, How beautiful heaven must be.”

2. We will have eternal life in heaven.

1) “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 John 2:25).

2) “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

3) “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him” (Revelation 22:1-3).

3. Rare jewels of splendor are glowing.

1) What are these jewels?

2) “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal” (Revelation 21:9-11).

3) “The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Revelation 21:18-21).

4) “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19).

4. We will be with the most beloved people for all eternity!

1. “How beautiful heaven must be, Sweet home of the happy and free; Fair haven of rest for the weary, How beautiful heaven must be.”

2. Heaven is our ultimate home.

1) “For man goes to his eternal home” (Ecclesiastes 12:5).

2) “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:3).

3) “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:1-4).

4) “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:13-16).

3. The weary will rest in heaven.

1) “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).

2) “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’?” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”” (Revelation 14:13).

4. We will have rest in heaven.

1. How beautiful heaven must be because…

1) The Pure Live There

2) God’s Light Shines There

3) The River of Life Flows There

4) Rest for the Weary is There

2. Invitation