That will be the first passage that we read together. John chapter number three, a very well-known portion in the word of God. Christ speaks to Nicodemus. And then we have probably the most famous verse in all the Bible, John 3, 16. And we'll be in that. in that vicinity in the chapter this morning. But our topic is heaven. And our statement is, we believe all men rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the conscious torment of a literal lake of fire. That was last week's Bible study continuing on. While those receiving the Lord Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the glorious presence of God. So heaven and hell are real places according to Jesus. Heaven and hell are real places according to the Bible. And heaven and hell are what the Bible say they are. And the way to get to one place or the other, that is also determined by Scripture. None of this is subject to man's opinion. None of this is subject to man's interpretation. None of this has anything to do with what we think or what we feel. It is all clearly defined in the Word of God. And I am thankful this morning that I have the hope and the confidence that I will not spend a part of a second in the flames of hell, but having Jesus Christ as my Savior, that my home is heaven." We gave you some statistics how often hell is mentioned in the Word of God. It's 54 times. Some form of the word heaven occurs 739 times in the Bible. 739 times. Now the initial response to that would be that heaven is discussed much more often than hell, but that actually is not the case. In fact, we noted last week that Jesus Christ himself spoke of hell eight or nine times more often than he did of heaven, at least in the sermons and the words that are recorded for us in the gospel records. So why does it seem as if the Bible has a lot more to say about heaven than it does about hell? We have to remember that in the Bible, there are three heavens, and we don't have the time to study this this morning, but if you read carefully from Genesis 1 and 2, and then you turn to 2 Corinthians 12, it's clear that the Bible speaks of three heavens. The first heaven is where the birds fly. The first heaven is the sky out there, okay? The second heaven, and again, this is from Genesis 1, the creation account. The second heaven is where the sun, the moon, and the stars. are hung. The second heaven is outer space, you might call it. The universe, okay? So the first heaven where the birds fly, the second heaven, the solar systems, the galaxies, outer space, and then the third heaven is what we're referring to most oftentimes when we talk about heaven. And that is the place where God lives. It's on the sides of the North. It's behind this deep, this frozen expanse the Bible talks about. It is beyond the reaches of this universe. And in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul's acquaintance who was caught up into the Third, heaven. That's where paradise was. That's where the Lord was and he saw unspeakable things that was not lawful. for man to utter. So when we take away the first heaven, we take away the second heaven and we're speaking exclusively of the third heaven as the place where God lives, as the place where those who are saved, those who have believed in Jesus Christ are going to spend eternity. When we pare it down to just that, there is very little in the Bible about it. You think about it, the Bible is 1189 chapters, 66 books, over 30,000 words. And think about what you know about heaven. Here's what the preachers have said. Here's what the songs you've heard have mentioned. There are walls of Jasper and gates of pearl and streets of gold and a clear crystal river. All of that information comes from half of Revelation 21 and half of Revelation chapter 22. So basically what we know about heaven is one out of 1189 chapters in the word of God. There's just not a lot of material there. There's just not a lot of information that's given. We've got a couple verses in the book of John. We'll read some of those. We've got a little bit of information in Corinthians. We'll read a couple of those verses. But there's just not a lot that's said about heaven. Why is that? Why is that? I believe we have part of the reason here in John chapter number three. This is the passage where Christ is conversing with Nicodemus and it leads up to probably most famous verse in all the Bible. We're gonna begin in verse number 11 and read through 15. John three, verse number 11, Christ is speaking, verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness." There's a cross-reference in 1 John chapter, I believe it's five and verse nine, you receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. So, we speak that we do know, testify that we've seen, ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things? Now, verse 13 might be in red letters in your Bible, but it's debatable whether or not Christ is still speaking at this point. The red letters are not inspired. I'm having a rough morning today. Forgive me. The red letters are not inspired. That is a printer's preference. But the Bible says, No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, which is in heaven, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." That is a reference to Christ's crucifixion on the cross, His sacrificial and substitutional death for our sins, that we might look to Him and be saved, just like the Israelites who were bitten by the serpents in the wilderness would look to that serpent on the pole and they would live. Verse 15, that, "...whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. So eternal life is the hope of the believer. And when I say hope, I don't mean in the modern sense. I mean in the biblical sense, something that we are certain about, something that we have a full expectation of. It just awaits a future Fulfillment. So if you believed in Jesus Christ, you have eternal life That is going to that is going to mean you're gonna go to heaven when you die when this life is over You'll enter into God's presence But why doesn't the Lord have a whole lot to say about it in verse number 12? The answer is this because if he tried to explain it to you, you wouldn't get it. I because it is so wonderful and so incredible and so amazing. It is so far beyond the realm of our ability to comprehend or to take in or to believe. Jesus said, if I've told you earthly things, you're having a hard time. How are you gonna get it? How are you gonna believe if I tell you of heavenly things? Now, let me compare a verse with that. 1 Corinthians chapter two and verse number nine. We're explaining why there's not a lot in the Bible about heaven. A Bible study about what the Bible says about heaven doesn't take much time at all because there's not a lot of information there. 1 Corinthians chapter two and verse number nine. 1 Corinthians chapter two And verse number nine, but as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. We're about to read from John 14 where Jesus said, I've gone to prepare a place for you. First Corinthians two says the things God has prepared for them that love him. Your eye hasn't seen it. Your ear hasn't heard it. It couldn't even enter into your heart. It is so outside the realm of our comprehension. Think about it this way. Last week, we talked about what the Bible says about hell. It has a lot to say. And as horrible as hell is, more horrible than we could ever describe, that's how wonderful heaven is. It is more wonderful than we could ever hope to begin to describe or to fathom. And a lot of people have their own ideas about heaven and what it's going to be like and the fact that their puppy's going to be there to lick their face when they step inside the pearly gates. all that stuff that's the figment of people's imagination. They imagine what would be the most wonderful thing that must be what heaven is. Our ability to try to come up with what the most wonderful thing would be is so finite and is so limited by our humanity. God didn't even try to explain heaven because we just couldn't get it. That's how great it is. That's how wonderful it is. As much as hell is to be avoided, heaven is to be gained. Whatever it takes to get there. Whatever it takes to stay out of hell, it's worth it. Whatever it takes to get to heaven, it's worth it. Thankfully, what it takes to stay out of hell and get to heaven is the same thing. It's a sinner believing that Jesus Christ died for their sins, calling out to him in a heart of faith. and repentance. So, in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, this verse, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither in the heart of man. Thanks God, prepare for them, love him. I'm taking it out of context to apply it to heaven. I want to mention this because I don't want to confuse you as you read through this passage at some point. You're like, that verse is not about heaven. In 1 Corinthians 2, it's not. In 1 Corinthians 2, it's about the Spirit revealing spiritual truth to the saved person. If we continued reading, that would be evident, that the Spirit of God... Look, a lost man can't understand the Bible because he doesn't have the Spirit of God. Saved man has the Spirit of God. Now he has the author of Scripture living inside of him with the ability to teach him and to guide him and to lead him, direct him into all truth. But the reason that I feel confident taking this verse out of its context to apply it to heaven, two reasons. One, we already mentioned the cross-reference in John 14. And two, this is a quotation of an Old Testament verse. to Isaiah chapter 64 and verse number three, and we're not gonna turn there, but that context certainly fits an eternal hope that we can cling to. So come now to John chapter 14, and let's try to, let's try to make some practical application to the believer's hope of heaven this morning. John chapter 14 and verse number one, another very well known passage. And one of the few places where Jesus did speak of heaven, John 14, verse number one, let not your heart be troubled. So it's a matter of personal decision. There are a lot of troubling things in life, but are you going to let it trouble you? If you get focused on the world around you, you're going to let your heart be troubled. But if we will focus on what Christ is about to say, it has a way of giving us peace and hope and assurance. So let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. A lot of people say they believe in God, but don't believe in Jesus. That doesn't work. because Jesus is God, second member of the Godhead, second member of the Trinity. You say you believe in the Father, you don't believe in the Son. Well, you can't believe in the Father without believing in the Son, because the Father's the one who sent the Son and told you who he is. Does that make sense? Thank you, Kristen. So 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 unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. Let's add one more point to what we know about heaven. We know there are walls of jasper, gates of pearl, streets of gold. I mean, God's so rich, he uses gold for pavement. There's a clear crystal river. There's a tree on the banks of that river bearing all manner of fruits. Add to this, there are mansions in heaven. In my Father's house are many mansions. So this is a place that God is obviously preparing for people to dwell. with Him. But what makes heaven heaven, it's emphasized here in John 14. There's a great song about it in our hymnal. What makes heaven heaven is not the mansions. There are mansions on the earth. Now, granted, they're not going to compare to the mansions in heaven. But people have mansions on the earth and people with billions and billions of dollars have multiple mansions that they live in. And yet, That does not guarantee happiness. That does not automatically mean that their lives are filled with joy. We think that we would envy the wealthiest people in the world, but truth be told, you would not want to swap places with them this morning if you knew what went on inside of their homes and inside of their hearts, if you have peace and joy and love and comfort and hope and friends and family and a walk with God. You wouldn't want to trade places with those people. So mansions aren't what makes heaven heaven. Golden Street's gonna be pretty cool. That's gonna be awesome, right? Gates of pearl, I don't even know, like artists try to depict what heaven's gonna be like and they can't even do it. I'm looking forward to seeing all those things. But if we had all those things and we put them down here on the earth, well yeah, it'd be cool, it'd be nice to see, it would maybe be, but it wouldn't be heaven. What makes heaven heaven is the fact that when we go there, we're going to be with the Lord. What makes heaven heaven is the fact that we're going to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. The main attraction, not the mansion houses, the main attraction, not the pearly gates. The main attraction is not that river. The main attraction is the throne and on the throne. is the Lamb and when we get to heaven in Revelation 5 and in Revelation 7 and Revelation 19 every time we get a glimpse at what is taking place in heaven there are multitudes crowding around the throne singing praise and honor and glory to the one who's seated on that throne because he's the only reason that any of us get to enjoy that place for all of eternity. So what makes heaven heaven? That question is given in your outline and it's the presence of God. The songwriter said where Jesus is, tis heaven there. And that's emphasized in John 14 but I want you to turn to Matthew 28. What makes heaven heaven is the presence of God. Matthew 28 In verse 18, I said verse 20, we'll start in verse 18. Matthew 28, verse 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Here's the great commission, our responsibility to preach the gospel to disciple believers. Verse number 20, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even into the end of the world. Amen. So Jesus said, I have all power and I'm sending you forth to be my representatives throughout all of the earth. And I'm going to be with you every step of the way. We're not going to turn to Hebrews 13, but he made a similar promise. In Hebrews 13, the Bible says he will never leave us. and he will never forsake us. If you are saved, the Holy Spirit lives inside. Psalm 46 says you have a very present help in time of trouble. A God who is ever present. Okay, look at James chapter four. Let's turn and read this one. James chapter four and verse number eight. James chapter four and verse eight. James chapter four and verse eight, the Bible says this, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to you. That's an incredible promise. It means that all of us are as close to God as we want to be. Because you're not gonna seek God and he's gonna hide from you. You're not going to try to get close to God and He's going to reject you. People do that. There might be people that you want to get close to and you made some efforts and you made some attempts and you got rejected and it hurts, right? The Lord is not like that. If you want to be close to Him, He wants to be close to you. He wants it more badly than you do. But if you'll take the initiative and if you'll enter into His presence, The Bible says he'll let you just as close as you want to be. What's my point in saying all of this? My point is this, if God's presence is what makes heaven heaven, we can start to enjoy a little bit of that down here on the earth because he's always with us, he'll never leave us or forsake us, and if we draw an eye to him, he will draw an eye to us. You see, being saved is not just about going to heaven when you die. If you are saved, your life can begin to become heavenly in the sense that God's presence is always with you. If you're saved, That means you're a child of God and you have access to the throne of God and you can now commune with God and talk with God and walk with God and have a real close personal relationship with the one who saved you. Now one day you'll get to heaven and you'll see his face and you'll look into his face and you'll cast your crowns at his feet and faith will become sight. But just because it's not sight right now doesn't mean it's not real. You can enjoy God's presence and that's what makes heaven heaven here on the earth. What did Jesus say? Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Church is a little bit like heaven. You don't like church? I don't know what you're gonna do for eternity. Now you're gonna be changed and you will like it. I'm not, I'm not. Not saying that, but what I'm saying is why we don't have to wait until we get to heaven to begin to enjoy all the benefits and blessings. Okay. Come with me to Hebrews chapter 13. Just, just one book back from James, Hebrews chapter 13. We're not going to read the passages in revelation that we've already mentioned. Revelation 5, 11 through 14, Revelation 7. 9 through 12, Revelation 19, 1 through 6, all three of those are the same. It indicates what people in heaven are doing. And I'll give you a hint. They're not sitting on clouds, wearing robes, playing harps. Don't let cartoons interpret your Bible. Don't interpret your Bible in light of cartoons. That's not what takes place in heaven. I don't even think we wear halos or wings, okay? Just saying. But what takes place in heaven is the multitudes giving the Lord the glory he deserves. He doesn't get it here. He doesn't get it here, but he'll get it one day. Everybody there, they're not gonna be bragging on themselves. They're gonna be bragging on Jesus. They're not gonna be boasting about how wonderful they are. They're gonna be declaring how great he is. That's what all of us are going to be doing when we get to heaven. Hebrews 13, verse number 15 says, 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. Look, you don't have to wait until you get to heaven to begin praising God. You don't have to wait until you get to heaven to begin declaring God's goodness and God's faithfulness. You can have some joy and rejoicing. You can express that gratitude. You can give him that praise right here, right now, in church, in your car, in the shower, wherever it is. You can, what we're going to do when we get to heaven, we don't have to wait till we get there to do it. You can do it right here and right now. What makes heaven heaven? The presence of God. You can have some of that. What are we gonna do in heaven? We're gonna give praise to the Lord. Why wait? Make a joyful noise to the Lord. That's Psalm 100, verse number two. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with thanksgiving. We can start to have a little bit of heaven practice. We can start to tune up a little bit for the great big choir we're gonna be part of one day. Again, church, a little bit of heaven practice. Look, we come to church, we open the hymnal, you can stand there and mumble or you can pretend like you're in heaven. Come with me to 2 Peter chapter number three. What else makes heaven heaven? 2 Peter chapter number three and verse number nine. 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse number 9 says, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise. In the context, he is going to judge the world. Now he's waiting, he's long suffering, but it's going to happen. The Lord is not slack concerning His promises. Some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish. He didn't make hell for anybody. He made it for the devil and his angels. He doesn't intend for anyone to go there. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The problem is man will not repent. Verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. Maybe you've heard of the Big Bang. Science just gets it on the wrong side of history. The world didn't start with a big bang. The world's going to end with a big bang. The heavens shall pass away, not originate. Heaven shall pass away with a great noise, and elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. You read about this in the end of the book of Revelation. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, What manner of persons ought ye to be in a holy conversation and godliness, looking forward, hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, elements shall melt with fervent heat." Look, everything on this earth is temporal. It's not going to last. One day, God is going to renovate the earth by fire. He's going to trash this one and make a new heavens. and a new earth. In fact, that's what we read about in verse 13. Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Why would we be so invested in this world if it's going to pass away? Why would we be so attached to temporal things if they're not going to last? It's going to be burned up. Let's get our eyes on heavenly things. Let's set our heart on heavenly things. Let's set our affection on things above and not on things of the earth, lest love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, man of the Father, brother of the world, the world passeth away. And the lust thereof, that he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." Now, This passage says, we are looking for, we are hasting unto, we are anticipating that day when God makes all things new, when God eradicates the world of sin. Because what makes heaven heaven, it's a place where not only God's people dwell with him, but it's a place wherein dwelleth Righteousness. Do you see that? Verse 13, 2 Peter 3, a new heaven is a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. You know what the problems in this world come down to? There's no righteousness. You know why there is pain and sorrow and death and all of those things in this life? It's because this world is under a curse of sin. In Revelation 21, in verse number four, we cited that reference in your outline. That's when God wipes all tears from our eyes, and there's no more sickness, and there's no more sorrow, and there's no more pain, and there's no more death. Do you know why there's no more of those things? Because what causes all of that is sin, and when God makes a new heaven and a new earth, sin is done with. It's over with. It's gone. Okay, so what makes heaven heaven is Righteousness. Now wait a second. Can I go ahead and add some of that to my life right now? What makes heaven so great is that sin is eradicated. Wait a second. The Holy Spirit wants to accomplish that in my life at least to a degree. down here. I don't have to wait till I get to heaven to start getting rid of sin. My life can become heavenly if I will let the Lord give me victory over the sin that so easily besets me. If heaven is heaven because righteousness dwells there, maybe my home could be heaven if there were some righteousness there. Maybe my relationships could be heavenly if they were based on righteousness. Maybe my life could be a little taste of what it's going to be like. If I would just put on the breastplate of righteousness, and I would pursue and follow righteousness, and if I would base my life on righteousness. Okay, so what is absent from heaven is sin. And it'll be a blessing if you get it absent from your life. Philippians 3 talks about how when Jesus Christ comes, he's gonna change our vile body, maybe fashion like in his glorious body. According to the working whereby he's able to subdue all things to himself. For some people, it's gonna be a real dramatic change from being like them to being like Jesus. God's able to do it and he's gonna do it, but man, talk about a makeover. Talk about a project. Talk about before and after pictures, right? The goal, the objective, and what would be beneficial to us is if we would let God make us more and more like Christ down here and right now. Isaiah 35 in verse number eight talks about a way of holiness, a way of holiness. The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. A way of holiness, okay? We can start walking that way right now. We can start having some of those blessings. Now, I just remembered why I wrote down Ephesians one. So let's read that and we'll wrap this up. Ephesians chapter number one. Look at verse number three. Ephesians chapter one, verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Chapter two, verse six says, he has raised us up together, made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. When God promises something, it's as good as done. Like you're sitting in Sunday school this morning, but from God's vantage point, from God's reckoning, you're as good as sitting in heaven. The difference between our standing and our state, another lesson for another time. Verse number four, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. He didn't choose who would get saved, he chose how people would get saved. And everybody who's saved is in Christ, and everybody who's in Christ is holy and without blame. Verse number five, having predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." The only reason God accepts me is because I trusted Christ and that put me into Jesus Christ. My identity is wrapped up in Jesus, His finished work, His righteousness, His merit. That makes me acceptable to God. Not my King James Bible, though it's the Word of God. Not my Baptist upbringing, though I'm thankful for it. Not my membership at the Bible Baptist Church, though I wouldn't want to be any other place. None of those make me accepted in the Beloved. It's the fact that I've trusted Jesus Christ and He has made me holy and without blame. Verse 8, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, and in dispensation and fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also, pay attention now, verse 11, in whom also Pay attention to the other verses too, but really slow down now. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. So we are in Christ, we're saved, we're secure, we're promised heaven, and we also have an inheritance to look forward to. Right? It's what verse 11 says. Whom also we have an inheritance. That we should be, verse 12, with praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ, and whom he also trusted, after that he heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also after that he believed, we studied this, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. So right, the moment you got saved, you were baptized into Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, you were sealed by the Holy Spirit, you're indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Nothing can change the fact that you were saved by the grace of God once you believe the gospel. That's wonderful, wonderful news. Verse 14, which, the Holy Spirit, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of His glory. So verse 11 says we have an inheritance. Verse 13 says we have been given the Holy Spirit. And verse 14 says the Holy Spirit is the earnest of that inheritance. It's the down payment. It's a little bit of what you're going to get later given to you right now to show how serious God is about giving you the rest. When you buy a house, you put down a deposit. It's $1,000. It's $5,000. It's $10,000. It's not the purchase price of the home, but it's enough to make the seller know you're serious about fulfilling your contractual obligation to purchase this house at the agreed-upon price. It's a down payment. It's an earnest. And God gave us an earnest. He gave us a down payment. What is it? It's the Holy Spirit. Now think about that. So what is the down payment of our inheritance? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit. It's interesting that in verse number 13, holy is not capitalized. In other places it is. Holy in verse 13 is not capitalized. Here's where I'm going. When you buy a house, you need money. Okay? That's what the seller is going to want in exchange for the property. Money. Now, you might have to get it from a bank or, you know, get a loan, a mortgage, that kind of thing. But when you go to close, they're going to want the full price of the home. So what do you give as a down payment? You don't give them chickens. Right? If you're going to buy the house with money, your down payment is money. Right? You don't give them a kiss. It's not a down payment. You put down the same thing you're going to come through with at the end. Does that make sense? Okay, so if my down payment is the Holy Spirit, What's my inheritance? We often hear inheritance and we think money, so we think mansions. We hear inheritance and we think money, so we think crowns. We think inheritance and we think money, so we think rewards. If the down payment on my inheritance is the Holy Spirit who has given me to make me holy, then my inheritance must be holiness. That's what makes heaven heaven. The fact that I'm not going to be a jerk anymore. That's what makes heaven heaven. The fact that we're going to be around people who are no longer sinners. We're all going to be right and do right and love God and love one another. That's the inheritance. It's holiness. And holiness, if it doesn't ruin heaven, why do you think it's going to ruin your life? Saved young people have this idea, if I try to be holy, I can't be happy. You're never going to be as happy in life as you're going to be in heaven. And the reason you're going to be happy in heaven is everybody is holy. So it just makes sense that if you'd strive for some more holiness, maybe you'd get some more happiness as a byproduct. Our hearts are so deceitful, aren't they? Our minds just think the wrong way so often. We've got an inheritance to look forward to, and it's holiness. And we've got a down payment on that. It's the Holy Spirit. We can have a heavenly life. God has made that possible. He didn't just promise heaven. He gave us a little taste of what it's gonna be like if we'll just go ahead and access that, take advantage of it. The presence of God, praising Jesus Christ, pursuing holiness, all of those can make your life on the earth. and we believe it's a real place, and I'm going, I'm looking forward to it, can't imagine what it's gonna be like, but I'm gonna go ahead and live the Christian life right now and begin to enjoy some of it, okay? Let's pray. Father, surely thank you for being so good to us and giving us your word and the instruction and the truth that's there. Thank you for all these young people in church this morning in the right place, and Lord, what a blessing that is. I pray that you'd impress these truths upon our hearts God, may we be convinced that your will is best and your way is perfect. We love you, in Jesus' name, amen.