Pathway to Victory

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Hey, podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast.

To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

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Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm.

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Glad to study God's Word with you every day.

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This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

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The time, the treasure, the opportunities God has given us here on earth will determine what responsibility we have in all eternity.

Yes, in heaven, we'll have work to do, but it's not gonna be work all the time. There's also gonna be some fun in heaven.

We'll be worshiping, we'll be working, but we're gonna be having the time of our lives as well.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and doctor Robert Jeffress. When you think of heaven, what picture comes to mind? Maybe you imagine cherubs floating around on clouds with harps, or angels in white robes singing never-ending praise.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress sets aside Hollywood's very bland depiction of heaven to discover what scripture says it will really be like. But first, let's take a moment to hear some important ministry updates.

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Thanks, David. And welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Perhaps you heard we recently started our next teaching series. Today and throughout the end of February, we're talking about a place called Heaven. So I want to begin today's study with an honest question. What's the big deal about heaven? I mean, really, does your eternal destination truly make any difference in the here and now?

Well, I've written a thoughtful book for you and it's called *Encouragement from a Place Called Heaven*. Look, when we're grieving the loss of a loved one or when we're struggling with illness, it truly helps to remember that God is preparing a place for us in heaven. And when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request a padded hardcover copy.

Plus, when you request my book today, I'll also include the popular brochure called *What Seven World Religions Teach About Heaven*. This tool is designed to show you what the Bible teaches about your heavenly home and how it compares to other major religions such as Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. This is something you should read first and then pass along to your student or grandchild. Again, it's titled *What 7 World Religions Teach About Heaven*.

I'll say more about my brochure and book later in the program, but right now let's continue a message we started yesterday. Many people think that life in heaven will be uneventful. So let's answer the honest question. What will we do in heaven?

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Is heaven going to be a boring place? Well, people who believe that do so because they have embraced three popular myths about God, heaven, and eternity. Let's look at those myths for just a moment and see what the scripture says.

First of all, some people believe that God is a cosmic killjoy. When they think about God, they think of him as being a perennial party pooper, and they think of Satan as being the life of the party. Did you know there's nothing interesting about Satan? Nothing at all. Nothing creative about him. He never created anything. Instead, he ruined everything. He is a perpetually boring person—completely unoriginal. Contrast that to God. I mean, if you want to know how exciting God is, just look around you at everything that God has created. Everything we live in and watch is good, beautiful, enjoyable, refreshing, fascinating, and exciting because it's created by someone who is all of those things.

A second myth people have about heaven is that heaven will be monotonous. You know, the fact is, no matter how good something is, we get bored with it after a while, don't we? The only reason things seem monotonous to us is because we live in bodies that grow tired. But in heaven, we'll have none of those limitations.

A third myth people have about heaven, and the reason they think it is boring, is they believe heaven is going to be one long and unending church service. I mean, let's be honest, the idea of heaven being one long church service is a yawn fest for most of us. But the reason we feel that way is we really have a misunderstanding of what worship is going to be like in heaven. Worship will be a central activity in heaven, but it won't be our only activity in heaven. You know, the Garden of Eden is a template for what the new heaven and the new Earth is going to be like. God placed Adam and Eve in the garden before they sinned. And God said, you're going to have perfect fellowship with me, but you're not going to sit around and worship me all the time. I've also given you work to do. In fact, he said in Genesis 2:8, 15, you are to cultivate the garden and keep it. There were two primary activities in heaven: worshiping, but also working. And the same is going to be true for us.

Let's look at each of those two activities in depth. First of all, heaven will be a place of indescribable worship. If you want to get an idea of what that experience is going to be like, look at Revelation 5:11-12, where John describes the worship we will experience in heaven. He said, then I looked and heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders. This is you and I, the elders, the church. And the number of them was myriads of myriads, millions of people surrounding the throne. And notice verse 12 saying, with a loud voice—underline that word, loud. Heaven will be a time of indescribable worship.

But there's a second thing we're going to experience in heaven. Heaven will also be a place of enjoyable work. In his original form, man was created to work. Now it's true, after the sin of Genesis 3, work became harder for us. It became more tedious. But work itself has never been a curse; it is a privilege God has given us. God basically said, I'm gonna give you this slice of paradise called Eden, but you have a responsibility to cultivate it. That is, you're to till the soil, you're to plant the seeds. And it's the same thing with us.

You're saying, wait a minute, Pastor. Working for an eternity? That sounds more like hell than heaven to me. The reason our work is hard is because we live in sin. But in Revelation 22:3, it says, in the new heaven and new earth, the curse of sin will be removed. In heaven, we'll be able to perform our work in bodies that never grow tired. What is it that we'll be doing? What will our work entail? Two words I want you to write down. First of all, our work of cultivating, that is taking what God has created and making it even better.

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Better.

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But there will also be a work of creating. That is as human beings. God has given us the ability to create something out of nothing. For example, God said to Adam in the garden, "I've made these animals. I want you to come up with the names for them." Today we see man's God-given creativity at work. The invention of the automobile, the jet airplane, and the iPhone are all testimonies to a God-given creativity. Why do we think that in heaven that won't be present as well in our lives? We'll use the gifts God has given us.

Now, I said that our work in heaven will be an extension, possibly, of our work here on earth. How do you know what your life work should be both on earth and in heaven? My friend Bob Beal has a great question you ought to ask and answer for yourself sometimes. Bob says, "If money and education were not a factor and you could do anything in the world you wanted to do, knowing you wouldn't fail, what would you do?" Isn't that a thought-provoking question? If there were no limitations of money or education, you could do anything in the world, and know you wouldn't fail at it, what would you do? That goes a long way in determining what God's life work is for you.

And by the way, it's built on Scripture. Philippians 2:13 says, "God is the one who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose." God's will for our vocation is the intersection of our passions and our skills. That's what Paul is saying. God is working it in you, giving you both the will, that is the desire, and the ability to achieve his purpose. What is it God has created you to do? Whatever your passion is here on Earth, whatever your gifts are here on earth, will probably be your same passions and your same gifts in heaven.

If you don't hear another word I'm saying, remember this: When you die, you don't become a different person in heaven than you are here on Earth. Your life is a continuum. It begins now and transcends the grave. Who you are now is who you will be in heaven, minus all the flaws. You'll know what you're going to do in heaven probably by what you're doing right now. Yes, we'll be worshiping God. We'll be working. But there's one other aspect that some people will be doing in heaven, and that is ruling and reigning with God. Some people are created to rule over the new heaven and the new Earth. That was God's plan for Adam and Eve.

Remember in Genesis 1:26, he said, "Let us make man in our own likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over the cattle and all of the earth and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Adam and Eve were created to be co-regents with God on planet Earth. Now, because of sin, they had to abdicate their rule. But in the new heaven and new Earth, you and I will be co-rulers with God. Revelation 22:5 says, "We will reign with him forever and ever."

Now that brings up two questions. First of all, who exactly will be reigning with God? Obviously, everybody's not going to be reigning, or there'd be nobody to reign over. So who will be reigning with God? To be one of those who rule and reign with Christ involves three criteria. First of all, you will need to have the desire to rule. Only those who have a desire to rule will rule. You know, for some of you right now, the idea of being in charge of anything makes you break out in a cold sweat. Well, don't worry about it. If you don't enjoy ruling, you're not going to be ruling in heaven. Not everybody enjoys that. There has to be a desire.

Secondly, there has to be an ability. Romans 12 says one of the spiritual gifts is the gift of leadership, to be able to organize. Some people couldn't organize themselves out of a paper bag. I mean, it's not that they're bad people; they're just not.

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Not leaders.

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But thirdly, and this is all important, faithfulness is a criterion for leadership in God's kingdom. You can have the desire and even the ability to rule, but you also have to have a track record of faithfulness to God. We don't have time to look at the parable today. We'll look at it in Luke 19 when we get there. But remember the parable Jesus told about the minas. The point of the parable is how we handle the time, the treasure, and the opportunities God has given us here on earth will determine what responsibility we have in all eternity.

The second question, besides who will reign, is what does ruling and reigning involve? What does it mean we're going to rule with Christ? There are two aspects of that. First of all, judging. Part of ruling and reigning with Christ involves judging. In 1 Corinthians 6, remember, the Corinthians were fussing and fighting with one another. They couldn't come to an agreement. Paul says it shouldn't be this way. He says in verse two, "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world one day?" Christians will judge the world. That word "judge" (kreno) means to render a verdict. While there's no evidence that you and I will be judging other people in the new heaven and new earth, the Bible is clear: we're going to be judging angels. Verse 3 says, "Do you not know that we shall judge the angels?" Right now, Psalm 8 says, God has created man lower than the angels, but in the new heaven and earth, that will be reversed, and we'll be judging angels.

A second aspect of ruling and reigning is governing. That is, there will be parts of God's creation that some of us will govern. In 2 Timothy 2:12, Paul says, "If we endure with him, we shall also reign with him." In the Old Testament, we have examples of God's people reigning over certain territories. Joseph was prime minister over Egypt, Daniel over Babylon, and Mordecai over Persia. We're going to be ruling; some people will be ruling over parts of God's creation. While the new heaven and new earth will be the central part of God's creation, ruling and reigning probably won't be limited to there. There will still be galaxies far-flung throughout the universe over which God's people will rule.

Yes, in heaven, we'll have work to do, but it's not going to be work all the time. There's also going to be some fun in heaven. Let me just suggest to you what I call three perks of heaven—three permanent perks of heaven. We'll be worshiping, we'll be working, but we're going to be having the time of our lives as well. The Bible suggests at least three benefits of being in heaven.

First of all, it'll be a time of enjoying other believers. Do you realize God made us where we need other people to be truly fulfilled? Remember, God said to Adam, "It's not good for you to be alone." I've always thought that was interesting. Adam wasn't alone; he had a perfect relationship with God that hadn't been tainted by sin. But God said, as good as our relationship is, it's not enough. You need somebody else. That's why he made Eve. God made us in such a way that we need fellowship with other human beings. In heaven, we're going to enjoy that in a way we've never experienced on earth.

My friend David Jeremiah says, because we will be God's people made over, we will be perfectly compatible with one another and able, for the first time ever, to enjoy the intimate fellowship that we all long for in our hearts in heaven. Gone will be the impure motives, the suspicions, and the sins that taint and ruin relationships today. Just think about in heaven how fascinating it's going to be not just to talk with the friends we have right now, but to sit down and talk to your grandparents, your great-grandparents who are in heaven, and learn more about your family.

Or just think what it's going to be like to sit down and listen to the saints of old and be riveted by their stories. To hear Noah tell about what it was like on that ark for a year as the flood descended over the earth, or to listen to the children of Israel talk about what it was like escaping Pharaoh in his chariots and parting through the Red Sea. Just think about listening to David describe his miraculous victory over the giant Goliath, or the disciples tell about what it was like that first Easter morning when they ran to the tomb and saw that it was empty.

Think about sitting down and talking theology with Calvin or Martin Luther, or talking science with Newton and Pascal. Think about talking to courageous leaders like William Wilberforce or those who wrote our faith's most beloved hymns, like Charles Wesley and John Newton. Can you imagine sitting down and having a book review with G.K. Chesterton or C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien? Can you imagine what it would be like to sit down and listen to D.L. Moody or Billy Graham describe what it was like to preach before thousands? I mean, that's what we're going to be doing in heaven—enjoying fellowship, perfect fellowship with one another.

Secondly, heaven will be a time of learning more about God. Yes, it's true. The prophet Habakkuk promised that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God. But have you ever wondered how that knowledge will come? I mean, when we die, is there a sudden information dump into our brains where we know everything about God when we're in heaven? Maybe that happens, but I doubt it. And here's why. Think about your most important relationships here on earth. Hasn't part of the enjoyment of that relationship been learning more about that person over a period of time rather than learning everything at once? There's a joy of discovery.

You know, I think about the first time I met Amy. We were 12 years old. She was sitting in front of me at Ms. Denny's math class. I only knew one thing about Amy: she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. That's all I knew about her. But believe me, I wanted to know more. So we started passing notes back and forth in class. We got in lots of trouble for passing these notes. But through those notes, we learned more about each other. I spent 50 years getting to know Amy, and guess what? I don't know everything about her. But there's a lot more to discover, and the whole process has been an exhilarating one. It's going to be the same way in our relationship with God. I think we're going to have all eternity to get to know God, and that's how we'll increase in our knowledge of Him. We'll get to know Him better and better and better.

Thirdly, in heaven, it will be a time of experiencing real rest. We've already seen that in heaven, we're not floating on a cloud somewhere. God will have us engaged in meaningful work, but that doesn't mean that's all we're going to do. You know, with the Israelites, God set aside a day of rest, and then he set aside certain weeks and certain months. Sometimes there is a year of rest as well. I think we'll experience the same thing in heaven. In Revelation 14:13, John was commanded to write these words: "And I, John, heard a voice from heaven saying, 'Write this down. Blessed, literally, happy are the dead who die in the Lord from now on that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.'"

What does he mean, "Blessed are those who die that they may rest?" I mean, to me, that sounds so boring—resting. I hated it as a kid when my parents would make me take a nap. I just hated that. Is that what heaven is? Is that what he's talking about—resting from our labors? Do we just go to sleep? Some eternal nap? No. The key is understanding that word "labors." The word "labors" (kapos) refers to the persecution of living in this world. The people John is talking about are those who were martyred during the Tribulation for their faith. He said, "Blessed are those who die for their faith. Happy are those, because in heaven they will be free. They will rest from the persecution they've experienced in this world."

But I think the kind of rest you and I are going to experience goes beyond the cessation of persecution. The rest we're going to experience in heaven is that occasional respite we even experience here on earth when we finish a big job. Have you ever had a big project to finish? And once you're finished, you say, "Whew, it's over, it's over. I finished." What I've done is not just good; it's very good to be satisfied with what God has allowed you to accomplish. I think that's what it's going to be like in heaven. There will be those times that we rest from our labors—those times that we're able to have true satisfaction in a job well done.

And it's that rest that reminds us that as important as our work is here and will be in heaven, there's more to life than working. Heaven will be a time of enjoying the perfect fellowship with one another and that perfect relationship with God we've always longed for. That's what we will be doing in that place called heaven. Aren't you ready to go? I am. Let's just load up right now. What do you say? Not quite yet, but soon. God has a great, indescribable future planned for those who love Him.

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As a result of this series on A Place Called Heaven, we're gaining a much better picture of our eternal home. And now I'm inviting you to take your next steps in gaining a deeper understanding of Heaven.

First, I want to send you an exclusive book from Pathway to Victory. It's titled *Encouragement from a Place Called Heaven*. This padded hardcover book was written especially for those who might be going through a painful time of loss, perhaps recovering from a serious illness, or maybe grieving over the loss of a loved one. My book is filled with inspirational Bible verses, wisdom, and it includes breathtaking pictures as well.

And today, when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'm going to send the book to your home. In fact, when you respond right now, I'll also include a companion tool that we've prepared for you. It's a convenient brochure that explains what seven world religions teach about Heaven. It clearly shows you how the biblical view of Heaven differs from religions like Mormonism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

Yes, your contribution is what's required to receive these helpful materials. But the best part is this: your generous gift is applied directly toward reaching people who need to hear the truth.

Recently, I received an encouraging note from Clay. He said, "Pastor Jeffress, I was raised in the church, but in my youth drifted away because I felt disconnected. Not long ago, my wife introduced me to Pathway to Victory, and your teaching has made a huge difference in my spiritual walk. In fact, today I'm serving as a deacon and on the board of my local church."

You see, when you give financially, you're making an investment in men and women like Clay, and God's truth is transforming lives.

Here's David to tell you more today.

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When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of the gift book from Dr. Jeffress, *Encouragement from a Place Called Heaven*. Just call 866-999-296 or go online to ptv.org to give. By text, simply send PTV to 78800, and when you give $75 or more, you'll receive the *A Place Called Heaven* Teaching series on CD and DVD, along with a copy of the original bestselling book by Dr. Jeffress titled *A Place Called Heaven*.

To request the complete package of resources, call 866-999-296 or go to ptv.org. You could write to us if you'd like; here's that address: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins inviting you to join us again next time when we continue our series *A Place Called Heaven* with a message titled "Who Will Be in Heaven?" That's Wednesday here on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Alaska's pristine wilderness showcases God's glory like nowhere else on earth, and you're invited to experience it firsthand on the Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska.

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You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org/donate or you can follow the link in our show notes.

We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Oh, and one last thing before we go. Have you reserved your spot yet for the 2026 Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska? You've been hearing me and Dr. Jeffress mention it, so what are you waiting for?

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