Summary of Sermon preached on Sunday, September 19, 2021
Introduction: Summary of Sermon preached on Sunday, September 19, 2021
This sermon talks about the fact that there is a place called Paradise.
“It is real beyond any dream you may have.”
“The book of Revelation did not describe all of the secrets and things about Paradise, for it is saved to be revealed to His chosen people!”
Revelation 21: 2: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven”. Revelation 21: 3: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them”.
The holy city is our eternal home with God. It must be eternal for us to dwell in it for eternity – and that is why it is coming from God.
Revelation 21: 22: “And I saw no temple therein”.
In this eternal city, you will not find a Temple for the eternal God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the Temple of it. The eternal city is the very presence of the Lord God Almighty.
The translation will be taking place soon. It means we will soon be residing permanently for eternity with Him that is our Lord God and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
You will be blessed.
Summary of Sermon preached on Sunday, September 19, 2021
We listened to a sermon titled “The Place – Paradise”, CD # 1143, preached by Brother Neal Frisby on 2/15/87 (PM).
In the sermon, Brother Frisby said:
There is a place called Paradise. It is real beyond any dream you may have.
It is God’s abode. It is where the people that love God will go.
The spiritual benefits of heaven outweigh all of the things on this earth.
Apostle Paul talked about being caught up into Paradise, into the third heaven.
There are different sections of Paradise: there is the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12: 1 – 4); there is the holy city, new Jerusalem (Revelation 21: 2); there are mansions (John 14: 2 – 4); there is The Midst of the Paradise of God (Revelation 2: 7).
When you pass on, you are in a section of Paradise – the third heaven.
Man is always searching for something to worship; God put it within him.
It is within man to want to worship. If you do not find the Lord, it will be cults, idols, false religion, tradition, a philosophy, but we have the true word of God.
Man is always searching in the heart for a place to live; a type of unrest in man. This is a way of God letting man know that He has our final resting place; where you will never desire another place.
Jesus symbolized this search for a place to live in Matthew 8: 20: “And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”
The Lord stepped into our time zone from eternity. He was showing that His home is in heaven.
Your spirit is yearning for Paradise. Those that believe the Lord Jesus will also have their home in heaven.
When you are changed into the glorified body, you will have spiritual eyes to see the significance of the holy city; you will see dimensions that you cannot see in this world.
Your resting place is coming.
Paradise, what a place; it is real; God has a special place for you.
If you believe that you have a heavenly home, it will create joy in you.
No matter how poor you are on this earth, you who believes will have a treasure waiting for you in heaven. God has a special place for you.
The Lord does not forget you. He knows everything; He has a place for you; He knew about you before you came to this earth.
We are on a journey on this earth, we are on a trail, there is a place prepared for you.
Since Adam, man has been on a journey for this place.
The place you are searching for is in heaven.
This is in the heart, the very core, of the word of God.
We are racing towards this place; we are racing towards God.
You have a treasure waiting for you. I Corinthians 2: 9: “But as it is written, EYE HATH NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NEITHER HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN, THE THINGS WHICH GOD HATH PREPARED FOR THEM THAT LOVE HIM.”
No matter how poor you are, you have a treasure awaiting you in heaven that the richest man on this earth cannot buy.
You will have a sparkling mansion, which is different from the holy city.
The richest man on this earth does not have enough wealth to buy an inch of the mansion that awaits you.
Jesus is the builder of that city.
Ignore the cares of this world; rather, daily think about heaven.
In Revelation chapter 21, John saw some sections of Paradise.
The holy city expands into the immortals of God.
Luke 16: 9: “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.”
It means those that you have helped bring to salvation, friends that you have helped save, when you fail (that is, when you leave this earth), they will welcome you to heaven, they will welcome you into everlasting habitations. It shows the importance of witnessing, winning souls, praying for souls. You might have just done something that helped bring in souls to the Lord.
Luke 16: 19 – 31 tells us about the rich man and Lazarus. It mentions Lazarus was carried by the angels after death into Abraham’s bosom which represented Paradise at that time. The Lord has now moved it higher. The rich man, who did not come to the Lord while he was alive, also died; he went to hell.
Both the rich man and Lazarus were in reality. They could taste, see and feel.
When the Lord gives you your place in Paradise, no one can take it from you; it is yours throughout eternity.
Luke 23: 42 – 43: The thief on the cross “said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
The Lord was after the soul; He was still saving a soul at His last breath.
God has prepared a place for you.
The Lord will carry you away in the arms of Angels.
This is a time of rejoicing; what a place – Paradise; what a reality.
It is a prepared place; there are many mansions in Paradise.
John 14: 2 – 3: “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 ye may be also.”
The holy city is coming from God, it is racing out of eternity (Revelation 21: 2).
Revelation 2: 7: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”
This is a section of Paradise called The Midst of the Paradise of God.
The Lord Jesus is the Tree of Life.
Revelation 2: 17: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”
The Lord will give you a heavenly name which He had reserved for you before you came to this earth.
John 10: 27: “My sheep hear my voice”.
Revelation 22: 14: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
You will have the right to enter into the holy city, all those who know the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
You will never age again beyond the age that He gives your immortal body; you will be a vibrant person.
Mark 16: 5: “And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.”
This Angel was probably millions or trillions of years old, and yet, he was described as a young man.
Matthew 5: 12: “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven”.
What you have waiting for you in heaven is beyond what you can imagine.
Luke 10: 20: “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
Paradise is a place of many mansions; it is beyond any dream you may have.
The searching, the restlessness, that is in you is to show you that God has your place in heaven.
The translation will take place soon.
Once you give your life to the Lord Jesus, you have shaken hands with eternity.
I started the sermon.
I read from Special Writing # 136:
PARADISE – GOD’S WISDOM
“We have been writing about God’s heavens and His beautiful creation. And Jesus said rejoice, that your name is written in heaven! Someday soon He will carry His elect away and we will understand all about His secrets and wonderful mysterious works! – We believe the Lord is coming soon in our generation! – You won’t see an announcement before hand in the newspaper, radio or television. They can broadcast the weather report and storms on the radio and television, but this will be a surprise! . . . Jesus has already told us, watch therefore, be ye also ready, for He will come in an hour that you think not!” (Matt. 24: 42-44) – “But He is and will reveal the season to the ones who are spiritually awake!”
“Let us discuss the different sections of Paradise. For there are many mysteries and secrets concerning the place of the saints! . . . We know the apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven; and he saw the most amazing things in this section of Paradise! And he was actually forbidden to tell all he had seen! – It was so marvelous, evidently the Lord did not want Satan or the world to know anything about this particular area! The Scriptures say, Paradise, a place of many mansions! And it is prepared by the hands of the Lord Jesus himself!” (Luke 16: 22) “Lazarus suffered many things, but at death he went to Paradise! – You know according to the Scriptures there is a section of Paradise for those who have gone on beforehand and are in a waiting place! – When a person dies they are immediately in the presence of the Lord! (Eccl. 12: 7 – II Cor. 5: 8)
Angels carry the righteous at death to Paradise! (Luke 16: 22) – The repentant thief found a place in Paradise with Jesus . . . Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in Paradise! (Luke 23: 43) – Also the Tree of life is in the section of Paradise called, The Midst of Paradise of God!” (Rev. 2: 7) – “The obedient to enter the gates of the city of Paradise!” (Rev. 22: 14) “So we see in another section of Paradise is a beautiful Holy city! – One can hardly describe the magnificent splendor within its walls of living glory. Colorful beyond our imagination! Sparkling and glowing place prepared of God’s wisdom! – You know at last the people of God will feel right at home!”
“The book of Revelation did not describe all of the secrets and things about Paradise, for it is saved to be revealed to His chosen people! And my, what a revelation they will receive. The Scriptures say, it has not entered into the heart and thoughts of man what he has prepared for those who love Him!”
“A question often asked is, Will we recognize our loved ones there? – Yes, Paul said, But then shall I know even as also I am known!” (I Cor. 13: 12) – “And certainly we will definitely recognize Jesus! – So we see right now is our hour to witness and to win as many souls to Jesus as we can! For there are special rewards for those who do all they can to help others to receive salvation! – And this one thing we know the angels are definitely busy separating the righteous from the world!” (Matt. 13: 49) – “And we are entering the midst of more restoration as He will absolutely prepare us for translation!”
“Also we might say in due time God will reveal to His saints what He has in other parts of the Universe that has been hidden from view. Surely many parts of it is inhabited by some type of life and so forth, and after the translation He will reveal to His elect their duty and the rest of His plans for the ages into the eternities! – Rejoice that you know and understand these things and be prepared in your heart to be ready at all times!”
I continued with the Sermon:
Hebrews 11: 13 -16: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
It shows from the Old Testament the people of God had been longing for this heavenly city. They knew they have a home in heaven; they knew that they were just passing through this earth. They knew “that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
They desired “a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”
Revelation 21: 2 – 3: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
This heavenly city is referred to as “the holy city”. It means there is no other place throughout the entire Universe of God’s creation that can be compared to this place of His abode with us.
You will notice it also states that the holy city, new Jerusalem, is “coming down from God out of heaven”. It is originating from the eternal God; it is not coming from somewhere else.
This city must be eternal for us to dwell in it for eternity – and that is why it has to come from God.
It states: “the tabernacle of God is with men”. It means the abode of the Lord God Almighty is now with men in this holy city, “and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
Psalm 100: 4: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
Revelation 21: 22 – 23: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”
While you reside on earth, you can enter into the gates and into the courts of the Temple of the Lord in heaven with thanksgiving and with praise.
However, when you reside in this eternal city, you will not find a Temple for the eternal God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the Temple of it – “And I saw no temple therein”.
The eternal city is the very presence of the Lord God Almighty.
We will have no need of the light of the sun or of the moon in our eternal home. The glory of our Lord God will provide all of the brightness that we need for eternity.
Revelation 22: 5: “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
Our Lord God is the light of this eternal city.
This holy city is the abode of God. It is also the abode of the children of the Lord. Our faith in His salvation that He paid the price for our sins on the cross, has been counted unto us for righteousness.
Let the thought of your heavenly home occupy your mind.
Colossians 3: 2: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
When you set your affection on things above, when you do not let the things of this earth bother you, you will have the peace of God in your soul; you will have the joy of the Lord; you will rejoice in the Lord.
Philippians 4: 4: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”
We thank God that the translation will be taking place soon. It means we will soon be residing permanently in our eternal home with Him that is our Lord God and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Josephus Oluwatoyin Thomas