Today I woke up overwhelmed, anxious and fearful, this video transformed my perspective and lifted my spirits. Every day I put on the armor of God. The first piece is the helmet of the hope of salvation. This video explains that hope. With that hope we know what we are fighting for and how to best utilize the other weapons.
Imagine being able to run up to Jesus, jump into his arms, hug him tight, and thank him directly for what he did for us... Oh, what a day, glorious day, that will be!
There could be a long line, lol. I don't know how that works. I think everything will be so joyous. We'll have joyous reunions w/ loved ones. We'll have joyous reunions w/ saints of old that we know through the bible and history. I think we'll know people we never knew here though. We'll be so connected up there, that we'll just have this unlimited knowledge of the other beings, as if we knew them too. I have a sense of that.
I certainly do not think of heaven nearly enough. I'm so well acquainted with this cursed world. It's difficult to imagine a place where there is no possibility for darkness or boredom or suffering or fear.
I'm very mixed, because I do think of heaven quite a bit. I also struggle w/ all the suffering, so try and focus on heaven more at times. I busied my mind to comfort myself and give myself something to look forward to by watching NDE stories. That worked for a awhile, but then backfired, because how long and hard this world is was standing out too much in stark contrast.
I did an in-depth study on the topic of heaven about a year and a half ago and it completely changed my life in the BEST way possible. "Heaven will make amends for everything." I believe that quote is from one of Tim Keller's books. When you have a proper understanding of heaven, it really calms your soul and allows you to face even the greatest suffering with a sense of peace.
The best thing about heaven for me will be the reality that sin will no longer hinder my fellowship with God. To see Him face to face and to forever learn about His love and character is what I long for.
It's not small and silly. That's a constant torment. People that don't have it take it for granted. While it may sound small to others, it's because they don't know. I've had very short bouts of it, but I've known some that got hit w/ it hard. I knew at least one that had it bad enough that it affected his balance. He wanted to die if he had to keep living that way, but it suddenly resolved for him.
I’ve had short bouts of tinnitus. A friend told me of this technique and how it helped her. I tried it and it helped mine go away. Maybe check it out. It’s a video on RU-vid. Sorry I don’t remember the guys name. Im sure a search will bring it up. God bless
Very encouraging. Been meditating on this verse in Isaiah 65 lately as I am going through a long and difficult trial. Isaiah 65:17-18 (ESV) 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. Gavin’s reflection on how God will heal our hurts and turn them, somehow, to glory brought me to tears. I so desire relief from both my circumstances and my sometimes sinful responses. I long for the day when this trial will not come to mind. I long to be conformed more and more to the image of Christ and be a total gladness to the Lord.
Thanks so much for making this kind of video, Gavin! Maybe I'm not alone in this, but in my Christian life so far I feel I haven't put enough emphasis on eternal rewards and realities. Feeling like if I did that that I wouldn't be able to focus on "the task at hand". But lately im realizing its just the opposite!: The more I put my hope in Heaven and the resurrection, "and the grace that is to be beought at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13), the more energy I feel I am given to serve, and I am able to serve in a lightness, a joy, and an effectiveness that I've never had before! All glory to the Holy Spirit Who has led me in this truth recently. I also realized, while reading Acts especially, that the early church was constantly talking about the resurrection and hope of glory!! So I asked myself, why am I not talking about it as much? Or thinking about it as something that is REALLY happening? Praise God that it is! Ps. I love your devotional videos the most. I showed a Godly older woman from my church one of your videos and she absolutely loved it too. Your voice is very calming, and you can tell you really believe what you are saying. Such an encouragement! Would you please consider making more devotional-like content? Thanks for everything you do to edify the body of Christ. Praying for God to annoint Truth Unites so that this generation would love God and people more than the last.
Man did the thought of infinite progressive joy hit home! How Good is God. Thanks Dr. Ortlund for this gospel centered video, we need more of this light in our world filled of darkness.
I "discovered" these truths about heaven a number of years ago now and it completely transformed my Christian walk. I used to be scared of Heaven because I did think of it as a floaty ethereal place and I thought the only thing we would do there was sing and praise God around the throne forever. Whenever I would think about it my mind would get stuck in a loop and I would end up terrified of the idea of being stuck in a kind of eternal "time loop"... Knowing that the eternal state involves a redeemed creation with believers resurrected in physical bodies doing a variety of engaging, worshipful, and fulfilling things is exhilarating. I can't imagine what it will be like to explore the depths of the love of God and the intricacies of the redeemed creation unhindered by sin and death. It saddens me that these misconceptions pervade many Christian circles. I picked up these wrong ideas in my childhood at funerals and during sermons and etc. It makes me sad because the biblical vision of heaven is so much more inspiring and exciting. I am now driven by thoughts of eternity rather than being afraid of it... I want the same to be true for other Christians. Thanks for covering this topic!
I was always taught that there would be no more suffering, pain, tears or struggles. Revelations talks about it and my mom always taught me. I know there will be praise, but that sounds wonderful too. The music is supposed to be otherworldly, of course and beautiful beyond comparison. I can't imagine being afraid of heaven. I'm afraid of earth. It's not great down here, to say the least.
@@saintejeannedarc9460 as the apostle Paul puts it the creation itself is groaning. So yes things aren't peachy. But Paul also teaches that the creation will be redeemed, along with us. God has a glorious future in store for us as well as the world that he made for us.
I always wanted a family on earth. God never gave me family or a home. I'm lonely much of the time. Worried I'll be lonely and homeless for eternity. I won't even have a former family to hang with. That will NEVER, EVER be made right through all eternity. Jesus Himself said it won't.
This reminds of a hymn where it says, "Just one glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase, so bravely run the race till we see Christ!" It will be worth it all when we see Jesus! Thanks for the encouraging video Gavin!
I think I get we taste of heaven when we do beautiful things. Like enjoying a beautiful flower, or hugging a loved one, or enjoying our studies and loving learning, or doing a job well ... we can do all these things for God and His glory and they are therefore worshipping God, I think*. And I think it will be like that in heaven: enjoying these wonderful things but without the concern for the threats to our biodiversity, or sickness of our loved ones, or stress of work etc...And tbh we really don't need to worry about those things now, because we can pray (Phil 4:6) then heaven would be a little closer. But it is easy for me to say... *Did I mention music and singing? They are obviously included.
I've been struggling with aging lately. I'm not "old" by any stretch, but it's still been a struggle for me. Just constantly in the back of my mind. This video definitely puts it in a better perspective for me.
Watching this this morning I have an increase in encouragement and hope. I needed to hear this. Please never stop making these videos, the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit is very present in the work you are doing.
Wonderful, thanks so much Gavin. I am one of those who struggles to grasp hold of heaven even though I know my faith is assured. I'm the first of my family to believe and although I've ministered to them (Dad, Mom, Step Dad, Brother) only my Dad made a faith decision before he died. The others have walked away from God. It's hard to be happy about heaven when also dealing with having a heart for the lost. I struggle with the duality I think. Thanks for helping me step into that space of hope, even though it seems like it's unsure footing for me. So thankful for your ministry and so blessed by it. P.S. I'm a dad of 4 and its a wild adventure raising all these kids in Christ! God bless you and your wife with 5!
What a wonderful note to start off a new year. I do pray that all of your children become filled with faith in the Lord, and should He tarry, do great things in Him. Come soon, Lord! I look forward to meeting you all one day 🙂
Dr. Ortlund, I wanted to take a minute and say thank you for your videos. I’m currently trying to improve my relationship with God after a lapse in faith due to my 3 year old son’s cancer diagnosis. Please pray for him (Nathan). And let’s pray he doesn’t discover how wonderful heaven is for a very long time. PS: I am also a UGA BA in Religion graduate :).
When I Stand before the throne, Dressed in beauty not my own, When I see thee as thou art, Love thee with unsinning heart, Then oh lord, shall I fully know Not till then how much I owe Robert Murray McCheyne
May my suffering be a resource for heavenly joy, ever more... for ever! Thank you Gavin. I pray your children may be blessed even more than I hope you will be. Thank you for sharing the hope I often am unable to see through this foggy life. GOD bless
Thank you Brother! You are such an encouraging pastor. I am a high school Bible teacher down here in Panama(Central America), and your podcasts are a blessing!🎉🙏🏼
Very encouraging thanks. A propos of your final point, Kallistos Ware had a marvellous quip: 'In eternity, we will never have to say to God, ' You're repeating yourself.''
9:33 I had an argument about praise and worship in heaven with somebody about 15 years ago. She claimed that we would be doing literally nothing else, just gathered around the throne of God, forever singing praises. I pointed out that God sends the angels to do things, so they are not literally just sitting/standing around singing hymns all day forever. I asked if she believed they ceased praising God and being worshipful while doing those things, and she agreed that wasn't the case. The point being that there are other ways of praising God than singing hymns.
There is plenty of evidence in the bible that we interact w/ each other too. That we have heavenly mansions, that there is access to renewing food. That we help God w/ heavenly tasks. Even if it was just worship, it's going to be blissful. It's not just singing though.
Psalm 122:8 is a favorite. “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.“ In the margin, I have written a quote by Alec Motyer that thrills me every time I read it: “It is hard to say which is more comforting-the fact that it starts now or that it runs on, not to the end of time but to time without end.” I’ve been singing the Gloria Patri since I was five years old: “Glory be to the Father to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, it now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen” I’ve been thinking about and longing for heaven as long as I can remember and I am one day closer. Hallelujah!
Thinking about the infinite nature, and the growing joy, of heaven, after listening to this video, I envision it like this: spending precious time with those I love, then meeting folks I never knew, then conversing and interacting with them one-on-one, in small intimate groups, in larger groups, with all the time needed to truly enjoy the engagement, with the greatest benefit of the presence of Jesus...that scenario seems like infinite, growing, expanding joy! Thanks, Gavin, for enlightening my mind to this glorious vision...now I can keep the shoreline in my mind's eye❤
My impression of heaven is very similar. In a word- fulfillment. Fulfillment of everything I lack and yearn for on earth. A perfect and whole love and feeling of belonging
Praise God!! You are so awesome, Gavin, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude to have the chance to learn from you, from your work and content. Thank you! God bless you and your family during this time
Feeling the tender love of the Lord as He provided through this video! Had to stay up late to wait for emergency maintenance help for plumbing issues. Was watching videos and discouraged. Saw your upload and was struck as my prayer for encouragement was answered through your desire to leave this video encouraged. And then to see the parallels between your recent move from a beloved community to a new place God called your family to and my family’s own imminent move. Thank you for your encouragement, Gavin! The Lord used this to give my heart courage and joy tonight.
I love this , thank you Gavin and praise God for the great hope of heaven. Early on we taught our children about the physical nature of heaven and the new earth and it has been the subject of so many wonderful conversations. The joy of hearing their wondering and musings on what that time will look like has been a source of great joy to me already.
Thank you for this wonderful description of heaven. I do not want to sound trite but if there is tennis or golf, there there has to be winners and losers. Blessings from uk.
God bless you and your family and thank you for reminding us of the hope of heaven. My dad's passing was some years ago and it's still affecting me today. I often wonder what it's like for him now with the Lord.
N. T. Wright's "Surprised By Hope" encourages this same re-thinking about the life to come. The Spirit moves in the body and restores our focus on the gospel.
I love these kinds of videos from you where talking about the wonder and beauty of the gospel or the nature of God literally causes my jaw to drop in awe. I watch your videos against Catholicism as well, because I think it’s healthy to have my faith challenged, but those videos just do not carry the same magnitude in changing my heart and intensifying my yearning for my God.
Thank you for this video. Since virtually all people quoted in this video, including even C.S. Lewis, did not have accurate knowledge of the physical world, I wonder how this lack of understanding impacted their understanding of the “physical world” in heaven.
The use of “progressive” because through the years I find those things I pursue and obtain are fleeting,,, that they lose their flavor. With this analogy though it gives me a thought about heaven giving that blessed feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment without the need for a “higher dose” next time to yield the same result. It’s that “thrill” feeling without the “been-there-done-that” - so it will continue to be thrilling. Thank you for this message!
This was lovely and soul-stirring! Christopher Holmes' chapter on the beatific vision in The Lord is Good: Seeking the God of the Psalter is similarly full of hope and expectation. Thank you so much for this!
Such a blessing Gavin. Thank you so much for this video! I am now going to try and practice "thinking about heaven until it makes you happy". Praise God for his wondrous plan!
What I long for is the worship of the holy Triune God, with all the angels and saints. Lord, grant me the strength to be a living sacrifice of worship now in this life. I want to live to glorify You on this earth while I can in this .
Bless you, Gavin, and pray for you and your family. I am persuaded that God will use you in a mighty way. Love most of your videos, and the timing of this one is perfect. Recently, my wife's mother was promoted to Glory, and she has many questions about Heaven. I know she will be thrilled to watch and learn. God Bless you, Brother!
I've had the audiobook of Randy Alcorn's Heaven book. It's been on my list of books to listen to for months. Ill have to bring it up higher on the list.
Thanks, Gavin. Here's one of my favorite sections on our future hope: For behold, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart. But be joyful and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for joy. I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be joyful in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the voice of crying. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not fulfill his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred, And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed. They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and another inhabit; They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for terror; For they are the seed of those blessed by Yahweh, And their offspring with them. Isaiah 65:17-25 (LSB)
This is an awesome video, literally. Thank you, Gavin. I published a book last year on this, "Embodied Afterlife: The Hope of an Immediate Resurrection."
I am one of those people who is so scared of heaven. I often get panic attacks with a sudden re-realization that heaven really is real and that I will spend eternity there. I often try pondering these things you’ve shared to help ease my fears, but I still really struggle with the fear of all the unknown aspects of heaven. If anyone has any practical advice on how to help, I am all ears!
Randy Alcorn's book Heaven is very good. He uses a lot of biblical references and I share his convictions (with biblical support) about things like animals and our pets in heaven. We really will dwell on the New Earth. Believers will rule and reign with Christ. We will have immortal bodies which means no more sickness for us. Personally, I long to never be tempted to sin, to be able to truly love God and others without my fallen nature fighting me constantly. I'm sick of this world with its lies and deceptions. Imagine a world with perfect judgment and no more wars. Even during the millennium on God's holy mountain animals will not attack each other. Babies will play with snakes and not get hurt.
Honestly I read Randy Alcorn’s book about a decade ago and it was right after that that I started getting these panic attacks. The book made heaven feel all just that more real, which made it more scary. I don’t even know how to explain it. The people I’ve tried to explain this to just think I’m crazy 😆
My hope in heaven is what gets me through my worst days with chronic illness. I know this life is not even a blip in the grand scheme of eternity and that I can do this by God's grace. As for how old we will appear in heaven, I have my own theory. It's based on absolutely nothing but my own thoughts. I imagine Jesus in a 33 year old resurrected body. I'm 54 now, but I still mentally feel like I'm in my early 30s. Not that I haven't grown in wisdom with age. It's just a feeling that my body is aging, but I'm still my younger self with more knowledge and experience. If that makes sense. Out of curiosity, I've asked many people over the years how old they feel inside. Almost everyone says they feel like they're in their late 20s or early 30s. Anyway, it's just an idea and it's fun to think about.. I can't wait for heaven. I can't wait to see our Lord's beautiful face.
I’m so glad that Gavin is interacting with Feser’s work! I’m currently reading his book on metaphysics, and he is the philosopher that i’m most enjoying reading (man have such a great mind). I’m moved forward to see this video! Great video Gavin, God Bless you!
The point you made about worship looking different from a church service-- i.e., that we can worship in other things we do, if we do them in and for Christ, as giving glory and thanks to Him for having these things to enjoy (I'm expanding a bit)-- this is something I've long thought myself, and hearing the same from you is a confirmation. Thank you so much for putting that out there! And to think--the forms of worship which will exist then, and the kinds of things we'll be able to enjoy-- will be far beyond anything our little earthly minds can imagine now...! Praise the Lord!!! (Ha ha! Maybe we can even play a match of tennis With Jesus😉)
In sort of… childish terms, it’s like there will always be some new game to play, some new movie to watch or a book to read. New forms of art to enjoy. A new project to help build. A new food to eat. A new instrument to play and a new song to hear. And, on top of that, all the old stuff to remember fondly and to enjoy again. All the people we’ve read about in the Bible can and will become good friends. We’ll have dinner at Moses’ house and play board games with Apostle Paul. Just awesome.
Great video, Gavin! It's super encouraging and helpful to think about heaven. On your view will animals be in heaven? I ask because animals suffer greatly on earth, and one of the current difficult challenges to theism is the problem of animal suffering. Some solutions involve an afterlife for animals. Yet, I'm curious on what you think about animals in heaven? Cheers brother!
@@TruthUnitesYup, there are animals in the spirit world(s). My first EVP contact [an adult human male spirit] confirmed that there are animals. I was in contact with him from the evening of July 18th to the afternoon of July 26th of 2017.
Thank you Gavin! I often deal with some very hypochondriac-like anxieties, as I've always struggled with my own mortality, this video was a great source of peace and reassurance, I know God is working through my fear of death to help me stop holding onto earthly things so tightly and truly embrace the incredible joy that awaits us all in his perfect eternity, thank you so much!
The unfathomable but true fact of delight in the joy of others builds my faith in its eternal antecedent in heaven. I was serendipitously reading Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "This Lime-tree Bower my Prison" just before watching this video, and he speaks to this phenomenon. So my friend Struck with deep joy may stand, as I have stood, Silent with swimming sense; yea, gazing round On the wide landscape, gaze till all doth seem Less gross than bodily; and of such hues As veil the Almighty Spirit, when yet he makes Spirits perceive his presence. A delight Comes sudden on my heart, and I am glad As I myself were there!
Dr. Ortlund, I'm excited for you & your family's new beginnings in Tennessee. It was good to see your dad (Ray) in your "What is Revival?" video. When it comes to paranormal phenomena, the domains that I operate in are extreme. They involve great conflict and spiritual warfare. Some things, in the spirit world, are worse than people can imagine. It's absolutely horrible. I (we) need you, your family, friends & associates to stay healthy. It happens that you are a very important person in current & future operations, actions & events in spiritual battle. These are not normal Demons here! They are very powerful. They are in the highest echelons of badass entities. Stay safe, keep praying.
Thoughts on your last point. I've thought of the continual increasing joy as being caused not by heaven itself getting better, but our capacity to enjoy it getting greater forever. I've heard Piper describe the fulfilling joy of heaven being like throwing different sizes of vessels into the ocean. Every vessel is fulfilled yet some have greater capacities. This is used to describe in his view the distinction of reward in heaven. Yet imagine we take this image and imagine that the vessels begin to grow once they touch the water and expand all the more into the vast infinite ocean. Heaven will thus become more and more fulfilling and yet we will perpetually be fulfilled to the max.
19:57 I believe the term "iterative" (in the mathematical/computer science sense) works to a limited degree. Speaking temporally, each successive moment builds on the previous one to attain greater heights of joy (and everything else - singling out joy for brevity). "Compounded/compounding" (in the financial sense) would sort of work as well. Compounded joy would function like compounded interest such that not only is each moment greater than the moment before, but the gap between each successive moment grows larger and larger. So not only is joy ever-increasing, but the "amount" by which it is increasing is also ever-increasing.
Thank you for such stimulating devotional reflections on our eternal home. Is it possible that part of the wiping away of our tears by our Lord include memories of our own times of personal disobedience and it’s negative effects on others? Could this also include the tears we shed for loved ones who did not turn to Christ or those who we had shared the gospel with but who did not repent and remained in unbelief by refusing the gospel?
