Intro:

Sometimes I get up to preach and I bet you look at your clock. We don’t have a clock in the sanctuary, but I can assure you I am also mindful of the time I preach. Before he was called as their pastor John MacArthur filled the pulpit at the church he currently serves. He preached something like an hour and a half that Sunday, or close to it. He thought he wouldn’t be invited back. The next Sunday he was invited back and he noticed a big clock on the back wall had been added. He has been there some 47 years, since 1969 and still preaches about an hour. You can hear his sermons on the radio or the computer called “Grace to You.” I know I have preached long, but never that long.

We are very mindful of the time; I know I am. I remember looking at my watch when I was at the orthodontist and they asked if I had somewhere to be. I was in seventh or eighth grade. I had nowhere to be. I began regularly wearing a watch when I was in 1^st grade. My parents and teachers thought it was great that I was very good at telling the time and watching the time. Whether it was good or not, I don’t know, what I do know is I probably became obsessive about time. I am very detail oriented. I still watch the time, all the time. I still plan according to time, a lot. I have this mental plan, based off of the time, in my head.

So, when we think about Heaven, do you think there will be time? Can you imagine existence without time? From birth we are limited by time. Is time evil? Is time part of our existence because of sin?

Let’s talk more about Heaven and time.

My theme:

There will be time in Heaven but we will not be limited by it.

1. Whether encouraging or discouraging, there will be time in Heaven.
   1. I don’t know whether you hate time or not. If you hate time, don’t be discouraged yet. If you like time, then maybe this is encouraging.
   2. Think about this, without time:
      1. We can’t cook, right?
      2. We can’t play sports because there is time.

• We can’t play music because we must keep notes, right?

1. There are other things that we need time for such as planting and harvesting and even assignments that have a due date. How many of us are procrastinators?

1. It appears from certain passages that there will be time in Heaven. Let’s look at a few:
   1. Heaven’s inhabitants track with events happening in time, right down to rejoicing the moment a sinner on Earth repents (Luke 15: 7).
   2. Martyrs in Heaven are told to “wait a little longer” when they ask “how long” before Christ will judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge the martyrs’ blood (Revelation 6: 10-11). Those in Heaven couldn’t ask “how long” or be told “wait a little longer” unless time passes in Heaven.
   3. Paul spoke of Heaven in terms of “the coming ages” (Ephesians 2: 7). He speaks not just of a future age but of ages (plural).
   4. God’s people in Heaven “serve him day and night in his temple” (Revelation 7: 15).
   5. The tree of life on the New Earth will be “yielding its fruit every month” (Revelation 22: 2). There are days and months both in the present and eternal Heaven.
   6. God says, “The new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure   before me.  .  .  . From one New Moon to another and from one   Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me” (Isaiah 66: 22-23). New Moons and Sabbaths require moon, sun, and time.
   7. God said, “Summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis   8: 22). This wasn’t the result of the Curse; it was God’s original design.
   8. We’re told that “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8: 1).
   9. The book of Revelation shows the present Heaven’s inhabitants operating within time. The descriptions of worship include successive actions, such as falling down at God’s throne and casting crowns before   him (Revelation 4: 10). There’s a sequence of events; things occur   one after another, not all at once.
   10. The inhabitants of Heaven sing (Revelation 5: 9-12). Music in Heaven requires time. Meter, tempo, and rests are all essential components of music, and each is time-related. Certain notes are held longer than others. Songs have a beginning, middle, and end. That means they take place in time.[1]
2. Some think we won’t have time and they think we won’t have time because God does not have time, but remember we will not become God in Heaven.

• God created time in Genesis 1:1, long before sin entered the world.

1. Be encouraged we will not be limited by time in Heaven.
   1. The discouraging thing now is that we are limited by time.
   2. Right now we have a certain amount of time for rest and a certain amount of time for play and a certain amount of time for work.
   3. We are watching the clock because we want to get our work done in time to play or spend with family before we must sleep.
   4. Honestly, there are many days, okay, almost every day that I look forward to my girl’s bedtime. They can be exhausting, they are exhausting. At the same time, I try to get home before their bedtime to spend time with them.
   5. We are also limited by death. Eventually, we all die. That is another limitation of time.
   6. In Heaven, we won’t have the limitation of death. Death shall be no more (Rev. 21:4).
   7. In Heaven, we will work and not grow weary. Working grew tiresome after sin (Genesis 3:19).
   8. Imagine, not having to think about being tired when we work. If you like cutting down trees you can do that as long as you want without being tired. We will have new bodies.
   9. Imagine having the benefits of time without the weaknesses. Imagine having the ability to MEASURE time, but not feel the negative effects of time?

So, in Heaven, we will have time without the limitations of time.

Rejoice, hallelujah, heaven will be beyond your greatest imaginations.

I have been watching time closely since first grace. But I have had the effects of time on my life for my whole life. In fact, sometimes, in the right lighting, you may notice my gray hair.

I have been painting a picture of Heaven. I hope your picture of Heaven is getting more focused.

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Alcorn, Randy (2011-12-08). Heaven (Alcorn, Randy) (Kindle Locations 5042-5043). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.