Heaven: Why It Matters Now
Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsHeaven is sometimes depicted a place where we play harps endlessly on clouds. But the Biblical reality of heaven is so much greater and joy-filled than we can imagine. Let's explore the hope of heaven.
Notes
Transcript
adoption and fostering event...
we want to highlight a special event put on by Brickhouse, a program of loving shepherd ministries out of Bluffton
it takes place tomorrow night, Monday May 1 at 7pm here in Berne at the Gathering Place downtown. this i an event to educated and encourage:
*adoptive and foster parents
*families considering adoption or foster care
*anyone who wants to learn how to support these families
“Together we can help families better succeed and thrive in times of joy and trials. Join us as we share the challenges many families face and also discuss how trauma impacts both foster and adopted children.”
so I have with me Zane and Danielle Martens who have both fostered and adopted.
Just a quick question - why should people consider attending this?
and if you do—it doesn’t mean you have to but is educational—for all of us to learn how to support those journeying this path.
I asked Shawn and Nicole Fear—about this—they have also been on this journey of fostering and adoption.
and Nicole shared a great story that she gave me permission to share (they are currently serving in Kids today) about how you can support those on this journey
she tells a story of Bud Bears, some of you remember him who passed away several years ago. She says “We had support from many people this this has just always stuck with me. Bud was so good at always just touching base. Checking in. Really listening. One day I was home, in the midst of a meeting with some caseworkers; I’m sure at least one toddler running around causing chaos while the rest were in school. I don’t remember what the meeting was about; I just remember it was a high stress time for us and I felt like we were in over our heads. My doorbell rings and when I open it, Bud just quietly walks past with a crockpot full of dinner he had gotten ready. Plugs it in, hugs me, and then leaves.That was it.
the meeting continued and my day went on. But that simple thing meant so much. it probably took him 10 minutes to put together. it was nothing complicated. But it changed the whole tone of the day for me. If an 80 year old widower can get dinner for someone, anyone can find some way to step in. It really showed me how it doesn’t have to be complicated to ease someone’s burden and I will never forget it.
"I think I remember it so much because it was not like a time where we were in public crisis mode if that makes sense. It wasn’t some big organized thing. It was a quiet time of stress for us, that he only knew exited because he asked questions and listened.”
Please turn to Revelation 21. Revelation 21, beginning at verse 1.
BTW—I would encourage you—I know we all have phones or tablets we can access God’s Word on…BUT…BUT…if you have a Bible, I would encourage you to bring it to church every time and open it.
why? it’s not b/c it’s more magical no...
but there is something powerful about opening God’s Word—and being able to see the context before and after what we are preaching...
it helps familiarize yourself with where books of the Bible are...
so for what it’s worth…I encourage you to bring a Bible and if you need help finding one—let us know.
One of the most popular scenes to depict in movies and books—is heaven.
I remember as a kid watching the movie All Dogs go to heaven—(b/c obviously cats don’t)—on VHS, an animated film
and Charlie, the main character, a german shepherd dog, dies and goes to heaven. and is met by another dog—who says all dogs go to heaven—because dogs are naturally good unlike people...
and the other dogs says to Charlie describing heaven—”welcome to doing whatever you wish, eating whatever you please.” “we keep it 73 degrees here she says.” “laughing and singing all day
floating around in the clouds
is that heaven...
or maybe you have read different books about what people have experience of heaven—near death experiences—people ask, “Pastor Rick—is that heaven? can we trust that?” My advice would be “those are interesting stories and books—but get your final word from the Word on what heaven is like.
let’s stand and listen to God’s Word as John the Apostle gets a vision of what the new heaven and new earth is like at the end of time..
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
What is heaven like…3 images we see… and why it matters...
Nancy Guthrie book...
Image #1: No Sea (Heaven is a place with no sea)
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
now that’s kind of disappointing…no sea! You mean we can’t go swimming, boating, fishing, water skiing, deep sea diving—no sea in the new heavens and earth? what?
how many of us go on vacation to a place with the ocean—we love it b/c it is relaxing…reminds us we are pretty small...
I don’t think that’s what it means.
the sea in Scripture—is a theme that often represents chaos, disorder, death itself and darkness. a lot of the ancient cultures thought of that. sea = chaos
so if you go back to Genesis 1:1-2
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
over the waters/the sea...over the chaos and darkness and disorder
and as you keep reading Genesis 1, God the all powerful God tames the sea---and brings land—he brings order out of the chaos—God is all-powerful! the sea is no match for our God.
and then if you go to Noah and the Ark—Genesis 6. Sin and wickedness are rampant—how does God judge the world—he sends a flood—Only Noah and his family (8 people are spared).
many Biblical scholars have said that there is a reason God didn’t just send wild animals, or fire—flood…God is sending the earth back to its state before creation. He is reversing it. He is de-creating it. bringing the waters of his judgment and chaos on the earth…and then after the flood restarts mankind.
think of the book of Exodus—when God leads the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt—incredible story. God sends the 10th plague—and really the 11th plague—is when God parts the Red Sea—and leads the Israelites across on dry ground and then brings the floodwaters on the Egyptians. God is leading them to salvation through the chaos.
fast forward to the NT—is it any accident that 2 of Jesus’ miracles recorded are him:
walking on the water—walking on the sea—Jesus is the Lord of everything!
and also calming the storm—as he is asleep—he speaks and the storms calms.
the Biblical writers are selective in what miracles they record of Jesus—but they want us to know—He is Lord of the sea and chaos
and on the cross—Jesus took the floodwaters of God’s judgment so we wouldn’t have to. He was de-created so we could be re-created as he took our sin on himself.
here in Revelation — we see that the beast or the antichrist comes out of the sea...
and so when Revelation says there is no sea—there might actually be a sea—because there is a new earth—a re-created earth—it will be physical. we will have resurrection bodies. it’s saying there is no more chaos. no more disorder. no more judgment. no more enemies of God reigning or ruling—God is reigning..and he has calmed the sea—and punished all his enemies.
none of verse 4:
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
death…mourning…crying…or pain…all gone...
think of all the chaos and disorder in your life. some from our own choices of sin—some from others’ choices, some from living in a fallen world. All that is GONE!
I think of the Hebrew word “shalom” = peace. everything is rightly ordered and whole—right relationship with God; right relationship with others; right relationship with creation; right relationship with ourselves .
Think of even the minor chaos in your life this week—the craziness, hectic-ness, change of plans, not to mention the deep sufferings of death. all gone....
You may say why does this matter now? why does heaven matter now...
it certainly helps us persevere now—knowing that God will defeat these things one day. to keep following Jesus. don’t let the chaos and disorder distract you from what God is going to do..
but I also believe it helps us with our expectations now—when we decide to follow Jesus—life does get better—our sins are forgiven; we have new life; we have the HS and the family of God. purpose, deep mission. but we also know that not everything will be put right—until God does. we can work hard now for the kingdom of God sacrificing, but not everything will be perfect until God makes it perfect. you may say why do you say that? sometimes as Christians we can be a little naive and think if “we just have Christians everywhere—if we just get Christians in power…if we just…___.” this passages reminds us that—that just won’t happen until God does it. but He is going to do to it—so keep loving Jesus.
Image #2 of Heaven: Marriage (vs. 2)
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
this new Jerusalem represents the people of God, those who are saved and redeemed by Jesus.
and it mixes it with the image of a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband.
heaven is like marriage, the best marriage ever.
Let’s journey through Scripture a little bit.
if you go back to Genesis again—Genesis 2. We read that God brought Adam, the first man, a bride, Eve. Nancy Guthrie in her book Blessed says this marriage was filled with so much promise. They were to know God together. They were to fill the earth and subdue it as image bearers of God. They had the best marriage ever...
but when the devil, that ancient serpent deceived them, and convinced them to eat from the tree they shouldn’t…their marriage broke—Adam Blamed Eve— “The woman you gave me—she did it.” She blamed the serpent. and they both hid from each other in shame.
every marriage has been affected by this (and every relatinoship)
Guthrie says “A more faithful bridegroom than Adam was needed, one who would obey rather than rebel, one who would faith fully lead his bride to eat from the tree of life together rather than cause them to be barred from it.”
Throughout the OT—Israel, God’s people is depicted as a bride, and God is her husband. but Israel never can live up to being married to God. Israel constantly commits spiritual adultery.
but when Jesus shows up — John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the bridegroom.
29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
The Apostle Paul says that our human marriages—are not meant to be about ourselves—but about the relationship between Jesus and the church.
31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
God gave us marriage to point to something greater—our marriage to Christ.
here’s the challenge...
I remember when my wife Jamie were dating, and then got engaged (I shared about that with the hot air balloon ride)…we were engaged for about a year. a year—that’s 365 days…now the older I get, a year is not very long at all…but when you are engaged, and you just want to be married so you don’t have to say goodbye anymore…it feels like forever. That was our senior year in college were engaged—and both of us were trying to finish school, work hard, and prepare for a wedding and marriage—we couldn’t wait.
and the same is true now with Christ. It’s like we are engaged to him—and it’s been a long engagement! and it can be hard to stay faithful over that time period...
it can be hard to keep our eyes on Jesus, our fiance and not get distracted by Babylon, the world...but one day Revelation 21:2 will be fulfilled
we will be with Jesus—we will dwell with him—it will be better than any honeymoon or marriage possible...
so why does heaven matter now:
If Jesus is our bridegroom, am I developing my relationship with Jesus now? am I, are you, are we growing in intimacy and love with and for Him. we get samples of that intimacy now on earth—we get slices of that future intimacy now since Jesus and the Holy Spirit have come. Am I taking time to grow—if being with Jesus forever is what ultimately matters—am I doing that now?
because he gave his life for me...
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
that’s what Jesus did for me on the cross...
It also redefines marriage and singleness now. Nancy Guthrie in her book Blessed says: You may have been blessed in this life with a long and happy marriage. If so, you’ve had a foretaste of heaven. Or you may have spent a lot of years longing to be married or a lot of years disappointed in a marriage or have come to the place of giving up on marriage altogether. The truth is, as good as human marriage can be, no marriage can live up to the level of our desires for what only this eternal marriage to our divine bridegroom can and will provide.
if your marriage has been tough—one day you will get the best marriage ever with Jesus
if you are single and longing to be married—one day that will be fulfilled in the new heaven and new earth with Jesus
if your marriage is great—you need to be reminded it is not ultimate—but points to the best marriage.
If Jesus is your fiance it will revolutionize your singleness and your marriage
we long to be loved and known fully—heaven is that place with Jesus—we are perfectly known and loved by Him—(same is true now)
Guthrie, N. (2022). Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation (p. 226). Crossway.
the 3rd image — Children of God/Sons of God = Inheritance
heaven is like being children of our Father, getting an inheritance. (vs. 6-8)
Revelation 21:6–8 (NIV)
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
heaven is a place with no sea (chaos, perfect peace)
heaven is marriage - perfect intimacy
heaven is a place of inheritance as God’s children, or sons.
We see this image just like the sea and marriage back in Genesis.
BTW—this is one of the reasons I like these final chapters—b/c it helps us understand how the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus.
Adam and Eve were the first children of God. they were told to be fruitful and fill the land. but when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were rejected from their inheritance—kicked out of the Garden, the Land.
but God wasn’t done—a few chapters later—he calls Abraham to inherit the land. he has Abraham leave his land to go to a future land, the Promised Land.
Abraham’s descendents we read go into slavery in Egypt for 400 years, but Moses leads them out, and Joshua leads them into the Promised Land—(Journey of the OT)
God led them into this land—to dwell with him, so they could begin to regain the inheritance they lost.
but they lost it again—when they disobeyed God—he kicked them out of the land a couple of times and they went into exile...
but He brought them back...
this is the story of the OT—kicked out of the land and their inheritance—brought back—kicked out---brought back---car sickness from it.
but all of this was pointing to a greater inheritance we get through Jesus.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham knew that the Promised Land—was pointing to a greater inheritance—life with God.
and for this to be available to us Jesus had to be cut off from the land.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
Jesus was exiled, so we could be brought in—and participate with life with God forever.
we get that inheritance now at some level—but in the new heaven and new earth we will get it fully.
why does this matter now? why does heaven—this inheritance matter now...
it teaches us true contentment now. Where is our contentment—where is our hope?
one of the emails I used to get was these offers from Nigerian princes. this person would claim to be royalty from overseas—who have a lot of money—and will give some to you if you help them with something. then they ask you for your bank account # so they can transfer money to you. that’s when they take your money.or for a small payment to help transfer the money.
Americans lost over $700,000 to this specific scam still last year—and it’s been around for ages! overall, Americans loves over $26 million to scams!
why do people fall for these? I am sure it is complicated—but we love money—and if we don’t have to work for it—even better…and if we get to help someone—it’s a win win win.
we love the idea of money and inheritance...
I see families still today—when a loved one passes, and the will is read, and if they don’t get what they perceive their share of the inheritance should be—even the most godly families struggle with this...
but the beauty of heaven says—your earthly inheritance pales into comparison with your heavenly one.
no matter if you stand to inherit a lot here on this earth—still no comparison--
and if you don’t—it’s a reminder that your inheritance is coming..and I am not talking about money—but life with Christ in the new heaven and new earth—reigning with Christ, in a redeeemed resurrection body—the best is yet to come.
don’t seek your inheritance or contentment in earthly things—but put them in Jesus.
you are his dear beloved child—you have access to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
let’s pray.
Thank you for the hope of heaven—thank you that it matters now.
Thank you that you are our peace/shalom, no sea, our bridegroom—marital intimacy, and our inheritance as your sons and daughters.
Thank you that you are the Ancient of Days that we will enjoy forever—help us to put our hope in you—amen.
no sea---expectations...
Marriage—am I developing my relationship with Jesus now?
Contentment—am I eagerly content in Christ
Next week:
City (Community as part of that city)
Temple
Glory/Light
Following Week:
No Curse (Rev. 22:1-5....)