INTRO: The Three Levels of Heaven

1. The Atmospheric Heaven - The First Heaven

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience." Ephesians 2:1-2

2. The Celestial Heaven - The Second Heaven

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken..." Matthew 24:29

3. Abode of God- The Third Heaven

" After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God….the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” Rev 4:1-5,10-11

ANALYSIS/APPLICATION: The Importance of Realizing Heaven

1. Realizing Heaven puts us in the right state of Ministry.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies..." Matthew 15:18-19

The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.

2. Realizing Heaven puts us in the right state of Mind.

3. Realizing Heaven puts in the right state of Membership (Citizenship).
" 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." Vs 2

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is
ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus..But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."
Phil 3:13-14, 20-21

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

4. Realizing Heaven puts us into the right state of Motivation.

"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." Vs 3

5. Realizing Heaven puts us into the right state of Mission.

"Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how
can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Vs 5-6