Pastor Joe McKeever

"Your words have stood men on their feet." Job 4:4

Pastor Joe McKeever

Things I wonder about Heaven

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I think about Heaven a lot.  So many people whom I love with all my heart are there and I miss them every day.

I wonder what they are doing and if they think about us.  I wonder if my brothers are really playing rummy with our dad, the way we say they are.  Are they going fishing and is our mom visiting with her wonderful parents whom she had not seen in half a century?

What will Heaven be like? After all, in addition to loved ones in Heaven, there are also uncounted millions of brothers and sisters of all races and tribes whom we have yet to meet. There are “myriads” of angels, and best of all, our wonderful Lord and Savior Himself.

Who would not want to go to Heaven?

My friend Barbara Hardy used to say when she got to Heaven, she was going to ask for a size 10 body.

A pastor friend used to say that in Heaven, he would be able to eat all the lemon ice-box pie he wanted without gaining an ounce.

Joni Aereckson Tada has said that when she gets to Heaven, the first thing she plans to do is ask Jesus to dance. (She’s been a quadriplegic all her adult life.)

Some more serious things I wonder about Heaven include…

Who specifically will be there?  So many people are borderline, it seems to me, and I would find it impossible to decide whether they are true believers or not.  (I’m eternally grateful it’s not up to me to decide!)   I hope everyone is in Heaven, even though I know that’s not going to happen.  No one wants anyone to go to hell.

Will we have the option of seeing a replay of our lives here on earth? (And why would we want to?!)  The point of allowing us to see the replay would be to show us a) what God was doing behind the scenes, b) how He used the tiniest deeds and words and gifts to achieve His purposes, c) how even the sufferings and pain were instruments in His hand, and d) a thousand other things we cannot even imagine.

Or would He not do that out of love and mercy? It’s impossible to know.

Will we have classes where the apostles fill us in on “the rest of the story?”  I’d like that.

Surely, the ministry of our Lord Jesus on earth is the story of the ages, and nothing rivals it in heaven or earth.  Wouldn’t we like to have been there, and wouldn’t it be almost as good to hear it from the lips of those who were?

I’ve told how at one of our family reunions in rural Alabama, about 50 or 60 of us sat around a bonfire in the dark (no electricity at the old home place) and talked about an incident from 1951 when an elderly neighbor was murdered one mile up the road.  I brought the subject up, and was enthralled as one after another told what they knew of the incident: my dad participated in the Sunday manhunt for the man eventually caught and convicted, mom told of seeing that man the day before walking up the road with the walking stick which turned out to have been the instrument of death, and my brother Glenn told of skipping school to sit in the courtroom and watch the trial. Perhaps Heaven will be a time of sitting around discussing events from Scripture with the actual characters and hearing their stories. 

And will there be history classes where the saints of the ages give their personal stories? Oh, sign me up for as many of those as you can!

I want to hear the Lord’s people of the early days, the Middle Ages, from the Black Plague years, those who came through the Inquisition and experienced the Reformation.  I’d love to sit at the feet of the godly ones who came through the fires of Hitler’s extermination camps and revel in their stories.  I want to hear from Reverend and Mrs. Covell, missionaries to Japan and beheaded by the Japanese soldiers early in World War 2, and from Dr. Bill Wallace, martyred by the Red Chinese around 1950.

I reflect on this and think, “All of this and Jesus too!”

No wonder they call it Heaven.

And through it all, I wonder how eternity will feel.

As a child, I would lie awake at night trying to imagine endless time and limitless space.  How could this be? What would that feel like to know time has no end but this just goes on and on and on….?  It was almost frightening. The answer of course is that all of this will be on another plane, another dimension perhaps, and the constraints we know here will not be present there.

Imagine trying to explain the operation of computers to an ant.  Imagine trying to tell your favorite lapdog how to build a house.  Imagine you and me in the presence of the Creator of the vast reaches of the universe.

Just because the ant cannot understand computers, the dog cannot “get” home construction and we cannot imagine being in the presence of God, does not mean this is not so.  Some matters are so grand they exceed the capacity of small minds to grasp.

In  these and so many spiritual matters, we are stumble along with the understanding of infants.  We see through the glass darkly. We do things we do not want to do and fail to do what we should.  We throw ourselves on His mercy out of sheer desperation.

Of such celestial matters, the Singer of Israel exclaimed, “This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me; It is lofty; I am unable to reach it” (Psalm 139:6).  I know the feeling.

We defer to the Lord Jesus on all things Heavenly.

As He told Nicodemus, “No one has been to Heaven except the One who came from there,” referring to Himself (John 3:13).  Jesus is a native of Heaven and thus the Authority on all things celestial.

We defer, as I say, to the Lord Jesus but also to the inspired writers of Scripture, who left us mind-boggling and thought-provoking insights about Heaven….

Heaven is “the Father’s House” which David mentioned (Psalm 23:6) and the Lord Jesus promised (John 14:1-6).  That sounds like the soul’s real home, doesn’t it?

Heaven is “the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Every house I’ve ever lived in has been generic, but my heavenly home is a) a kingdom–if you can imagine! and b) prepared with me in mind.  That, I confess, is way beyond my poor ability to conceive of.

Heaven is “the city which hath foundations,” promised in Hebrews 11:10 and described in Revelation 21. Heaven knows no vagabonds and has no nomads. Everyone is settled.

Heaven is to be “at home” and “with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-9).  There are no homeless in glory.

Heaven means “resting from our labors,” with “our works following us” (Revelation 14:13).  While Scripture promises “His servants shall serve Him” (Revelation 22:3), this is merely a joyful response to the blessings of the Lord. What a privilege this will be.

Heaven is a land with all new realities, new everything, where nothing is the same and “all things have become new.”  (Start with 2 Corinthians 5:17 and end up with Revelation 21:5. In between, pause to consider Matthew 22:30-32, where Jesus says, “In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”)  No one in Heaven will live by earthly rules and be bound by manmade regulations. Gloryland has no licensing bureaus, no code enforcement offices, and no department to see that we all obey the rules.

Heaven is the culmination of everything we have hoped for and dreamed of.  “We shall know as also we are known” (I Corinthians 13:12) when we shall “see face to face.”  “We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:1-3). :We shall be changed” (I Corinthians 15:51-52). No one is deformed, unformed, partial or incomplete in Heaven. No one in Glory has self-esteem problems.

Heaven is the end of all the grief and pain we have known in this lifetime. No tears, no pain, no darkness, no wickedness, no devil, no death, and no bullying or competition. (Revelation 21:1-8). There are no counseling services in Heaven.

Heaven is your inheritance for all who are born again. “An inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:4). No one can take Heaven away from you. (See Luke 10:20 and John 10:28-29).

Heaven is a place of reward. “You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14) and “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness…and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).  No one in Heaven gets the short end of the stick. Gloryland has no complaints department.

Heaven is “a building of God, not made with hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1), in contrast with “our earthly tent.”  Comparing the incomparable!  No one camps out in Heaven. The fellow who asked the Lord to “build me a cabin in the corner of Gloryland” wanted what God has no intention of giving.

Heaven is a place of music, singing, praise, and harmony as we have never heard it done. “The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps” (Revelation 14:2).   “They sang a new song before the throne” (Revelation 14:3). “And they sang the song of Moses…and the song of the Lamb, saying ‘Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty….” (Revelation 15:3).  No one is tone-deaf in Heaven. No one “sits this one out.”

I  wonder what else is true about heaven but was left unsaid.  Clearly, human language throws in the towel and admits that these things are indescribable.

But we still wonder. We cannot help ourselves.

What I do not wonder about however—just so you will know–is whether I’m going. I have the word of the Lord Jesus Christ on that. “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

I believe, Lord Jesus.

Now, help me to take as many people with me as possible.

That’s why it’s so necessary to keep reminding people of certain truths: 1) Not everyone is going to Heaven. Oh, that they were!  2) Jesus Christ and He alone is the door–the way, the entrance–to Heaven. We come by Him or we miss Heaven altogether. 3) Entering the door which is the Lord Jesus is a matter of repenting of our sin of self-trust and rebellion, humbling ourselves before Him in prayer, inviting Jesus into our lives as Lord and Master, and then living for Him thereafter.

I worry about people who think because they have just prayed a little prayer they’re going to Heaven. I worry about those who think because they belong to this church or that denomination they are automatically in.  I worry about some who have no personal inner witness of God’s Spirit that they are saved but go forward in the blind assurance that they are because some preacher or priest said they were.

Get into the Word of God and read it. Start with the first page of the New Testament and read it all.  Then come back to the Gospel of John and camp out there until you’ve read it several times. Obey what you read (see John 13:17). Live for Christ.  Serve Him. Get with His people in a Bible-believing church, be baptized, read your Bible and pray.

Do this and upon the authority of the Lord’s Word, I will guarantee you two big things:

1) You will go to Heaven.

2) You will be right at home there.

I wonder if you will start on this journey with us today. And I wonder why anyone would choose to delay.

Lord, forgive us for our word-congestion!

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“Let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

We preachers know how to “multiply words without end.”

It’s our occupation, and it’s an occupational hazard.

They call on us for a few words and half an hour later, they wish we would sit down and shut up.

When one preacher asked why his hosts had not called on him to say grace throughout the entire week they’d been together, the man replied, “Because we want to eat tonight!”  (I was there and I heard it. It was not well-received.)

“Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him…. Yet the fool multiplies words” (Ecclesiastes 10:12-13)

We fill the silence with words, fill the air with our thoughts, try the patience of everyone around us with our wordiness.  Long prayers, wordy introductions, repetitive announcements, the list is unending.

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What we know about how God works

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“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8).

“When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8)

On the farm, after we killed the hog, someone had to make cracklings, known otherwise as “cooking the lard.”  (They were never pronounced “cracklings;” the ‘g’ was always dropped.)

A fire was built under a black iron pot into which cut-up portions of the less-desirable fatty hog meat was thrown.  As a worker stood by stirring, the contents boiled and bubbled and gradually released the lard, leaving behind a crisp rind (called the cracklin’), sometimes carrying a streak of lean.  The lard went into gallon containers for household cooking throughout the year. Cracklins became snack-foods for relaxing times, and can be bought commercially even today.

Now, in a similar (but very different!) way, the messages I have preached over six decades of  ministry have been boiled down to their essence. (No greasy rinds left, however!)  Mostly, the result–that is, the gist of my preaching these days–may end up looking something like this….

When God begins to act, He loves to start small, use ordinary people, employ the most surprising methods, and take His own good time about it. Only people of faith will still be standing by at the end, watching to see what God has done, on hand to bask in the glory He is revealing.

Or, more concisely, “Our God is in the Heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”  That happens to be Psalm 115:3.

Our Lord, being God, can do this any way He pleases. But what I have noticed and what I preach is that His way most often seems to involve the following:

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What would make the Lord happy today?

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“Well, I know there’s a lot of big preachers that know a lot more than I do, but it could be that the good Lord likes a little pickin’ too.”  –Tom T. Hall, “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died”

Yogi Berra watched as the batter approached the plate.  The Yankee catcher had seen it all, and this guy was like so many: eager to get a hit, but needing all the help he could find.  The batter stood at the plate and made the sign of the cross, then pointed toward the skies, both symbols of prayer as he summoned the Almighty to his aid.

“Hey buddy,” said Yogi from behind his mask, “Why don’t we just let the Lord enjoy the game?”

I’m with Yogi.

That begs the question of course.  We wonder if the Lord enjoys a baseball game occasionally.

Does God smile at the antics of a small child?  Revel at the cuteness of puppies?  Does He ever sit back and enjoy the music of an orchestra or choir?  Did God like that rainbow I saw yesterday?

Does the Lord ever summon an angel in and say, “Look at that waterfall! And take a gander at those butterflies. Didn’t we do good?”

I wouldn’t be surprised.

He has been known to enjoy His own work.

Natural scientists cut paths deep into jungles where no human has ever walked.  They see wildlife in profusion, plants and animal life in varieties unknown before that moment, all of it carrying on through the ages without one thought to humans, the self-appointed kings of the planet.

Clearly, God made these things for His own pleasure.

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Things a pastor does not know

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As a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, we know a great many things.  “We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren” (I John 3:14).  “We know love” (3:16). “We know that we are of the truth” (3:19). “We know that He abides in us” (3:24).

But–concerning those of us called as pastors–there remains so much we do not know.  Here are some things that come to mind which we do not know.

1) Pastors do not know what their people are going through.

True, we know some of what several are experiencing. But even with those closest to you, so much of their personal lives is hidden from all but God.

2) Pastors do not know what God is doing in each life.

It’s like the wind which blows, said our Lord to Nicodemus. “It blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes” (John 3:8).

3) No pastor knows the plans the Lord has for each one.

“What about him?” said Peter to the Lord, pointing to John.  “What is that to you?” said Jesus. “You follow me” (John 21:21-22).

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How a small church can grow

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“It doesn’t matter to the Lord whether He saves by the few or by the many” (I Samuel 14:6).

Depending on a number of factors, growing a small church may well be  one of the more do-able things a pastor can achieve.

Those variable factors include…

–the health of the church.  You don’t want a sick church to grow; it needs to get well first!.  I once told my congregation, “There’s a good reason no one is joining this church.  I wouldn’t join it either!” I went on to explain that the Lord was not going tolet us grow until some people got their hearts right with Him.

Believe it or not, those words were inspired and the people received them well, and repented. This was followed by three years of dynamic fellowship and constant revival.

–the attitude of the congregation.  If the people are satisfied with the status quo, outsiders will not be made welcome, I’ve known Sunday School classes composed of a small cluster of best friends who felt imposed on by visitors and new members.  No one wants to go where they’re not wanted.

–and the location of the facility   A church situated five miles down an isolated road, at the end of the dead end trail, can almost certainly forget about growing.  Yes, it’s been done, but rarely.

—the will of the Father.  God may well have plans He has chosen not to reveal to us.

The great thing about pastoring a reasonably healthy, small church is you can make a big difference in a hurry.

My seminary pastorate had run 40 in attendance for years. The day that congregation called me as pastor, I overheard one man saying to another, “This little church is doing all it’s ever going to do.”  I was determined to prove him wrong.

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Joe is interviewed for a national magazine. Well, in a way.

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On the final page of a popular magazine–which shall go unnamed–a celebrity is interviewed in each issue.   I thought I’d give it a try and answer the questions myself. (At the end, I added a few more.)  

Need to say that I first did this five years ago.  I am redoing some of the comments, because some things have changed.  Okay, now.

Here goes….

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Being in the place God put me, doing the work He gave me.  It doesn’t get any better than this.  Likewise, the best definition of hell on earth is to be out of His will.

What is your greatest fear?

Just that very thing: being out of his will.  I fear nothing so much as disappointing Him.  That could happen to any of us. None of us is immune to temptation. That keeps me on my knees every day.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Abraham Lincoln. I’ve been to his birthplace (a log cabin in Kentucky), the restored “New Salem,” Illinois, where he lived as a young man, and through his home in Springfield.  I’ve been to his burial place, and in Washington, D.C., to Ford Theatre where he was shot and the house across the street where he died, as well as through the White House.  I own many books on Lincoln.

Or maybe Winston Churchill.  I’ve been to Chartwell, his country home in England.  And have shelves of books on him.  Oh, and I have shelves of books on Harry Truman who was president during my childhood. I’ve been to his home in Independence, MO and to his birthplace in Lamar, MO, and twice have visited his presidential library.

Which living person do you most admire?

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Our first discoveries in Heaven

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“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so, amen” (Revelation 1:7).

I’m going to go out on a limb here and make a few predictions about Heaven.

As with every religious charlatan who ever came down the pike, there’s no way to prove me wrong for the time being. But unlike the con men, I’m just thinking out loud here. After all, who among us does not like thinking about Heaven, our abode forever and forever?

The first surprise, I have no doubt, will be to find yourself awake.  “Wow,” you think. “I died.  I really did.  I remember everyone gathering around the hospital bed and them all crying.  And I recall that last surge of pain and then everything went black.  And lo and behold, I wake up.  How wonderful is that?”

“As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness.  I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awaken.” (Psalm 17:15)

When I awaken.  A given fact. It’s going to happen.  But as much as we say we believe that, I’m confident the first sensation we will have on the other side of that curtain is to find our eyes open and the new realities of our situation setting in.

The second surprise will be to see how real everything is.  How bright and clear are the colors, how total your hearing, how alive you feel. And–dare I say this–how young you are.  Not the elderly person who dealt with aches and pains, with wrinkles and gray hair, with failing eyesight and weak hearing.  Young, really young!

Now, all this time, when you thought of Heaven, it was in the sense of it being ethereal, somewhat foggy, as though this earthly life is the real thing and the celestial is something not quite as solid.  Imagine your surprise when you find it to be quite the opposite.

“…an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,” is how 2 Corinthians 4:17 puts it.  “For the things which are seen (i.e., the earthly) are temporal, but the things which are not seen (heavenly) are eternal.”

The third surprise?  I don’t have a clue.  It could be so many things….

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Fifteen lies Satan will tell you about Scripture

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“(The devil) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar, and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

If I were the devil, I would do everything in my power to keep you from the Word of God.  I would say anything I could think of, anything I thought you would believe, anything that works, to get you to read other things.

As Paul said, “We are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11).  We know how he works.  And here are some of the lies we have noticed pouring out of his factory, all geared toward destroying confidence in God’s Word.

One. “You already know it, so don’t read it.”

He’s lying. You do not know it. I’ve studied the Bible all my life and in no way could I say I “know” it. I know a great deal about it, but there is so much more.  For the typical church member to shun the Bible because “I’ve been there and done that” is laughable. And frankly, Satan thinks you are a fool.

Two: “No one can understand it, so don’t read it.”

He’s lying.  Even a child can understand a great deal of Scripture.  Paul said to Timothy, “From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Meanwhile, the Ph.D. will find plenty to challenge his thinking.  Only a book from the Almighty could touch so many people at every level of their existence.

Three: “It’s boring. So don’t read it.”

He’s lying.  The Bible is a lot of things, but boring is not one of them.  We’re boring, and that’s the problem.

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When the pastor exceeds his expiration date

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Of all the questions church people send my way, this may be the most difficult.

Our pastor has been here umpteen years.  He has lost his vision and his energy, and the church is dying.  The numbers are down considerably, and yet the church is located in a growing area.  We love him and are so grateful to God for his ministry over the years. But isn’t there a limit to the loyalty thing?  At what point does a pastor need to be told that his time here is up?

There are no simple or easy answers to this.  Handled wrongly, this matter can destroy a church, inflict a terminal wound to a veteran minister, and hurt his family in lasting ways.

On the one hand, the minister is there by the Lord’s doing. Paul tells us the Holy Spirit makes the pastors/elders the overseers of the church (Acts 20:28).  We do not want to casually hurt God’s servant since our Lord Jesus said, “Whoever receives you, receives me” (Matthew 10:40).  Now, we are not equating today’s pastors with Moses but throughout Israel’s wilderness wanderings, it was clear that the Lord took personally the treatment/mistreatment of His man by the people.

I think that’s still the case.  When people mistreated God’s prophets down through the ages, He interpreted that as an offense toward Himself.

So, we always want to try to honor the Lord’s servant, even if he is undeserving at this particular moment.

On the other hand.

We feel a strong devotion to the health of the Lord’s church and the need to protect it.  Anyone who is depressing the church, blocking its mission, sapping its strength, and deadening its soul needs to be dealt with, even when that happens to be the undershepherd himself.

So, what is a church to do?

Pray for wisdom. Pray for understanding to know what to do. Pray for courage to be able to do it. Pray for the pastor to get his act together.  Pray for the church leadership to be faithful and responsible. Pray for the membership as they respond to their leaders.

Pray for the Lord’s will to be done in this and everything.

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