Ok, so now you’re probably wondering…Mike…what’s the deal with the hat? Well…there’s two things going on with the hat. Number one….I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and one of my buddies from work got to go to Europe a couple of weeks ago. He was in London and was on Baker Street where Sherlock Holmes was supposed to live…so he brought me this hat. Pretty cool, huh?
But there is something else going on with the hat…we are starting a new series today and we’re going to do an investigation in this series….we are going to investigate heaven and hell…so in order to do any investigation…you have to be properly equipped…and you can’t do a proper investigation without a deerstalker hat on….so I decided to wear it today. However, so I won’t be to distracting I’ll take it off and set it here on the pulpit…but, every once and awhile…I want you to glance down and look at this hat and remind yourself…we are doing an investigation….and an investigation is supposed to be unbiased…a search for the truth….so for the next four Sundays we are going to attempt to uncover the truth about heaven and hell…or as much of it as we can.
Any detective worth his fingerprint powder will tell you….a good, well-pursued investigation will attempt to answer these questions…who..what..when..where..why..and how. In order for any investigation to be complete and to fully arrive at the truth…those questions must be answered fully. One cannot go to court and prosecute a case if any element of those questions is left unanswered. For instance…you couldn’t prosecute someone for murder if you did not know how they committed the crime. It would leave to much reasonable doubt for the defendant to exploit…the same goes for any other of these questions…if they can’t be answered then the investigation is not complete.
So…let me tell you in advance…our investigation into heaven and hell…it is not going to be complete. We are not going to be able to answer all of these questions completely…if we were able to then there would be no atheists in the world because nothing would be accepted by faith. So…we aren’t going to be able to prove our case beyond a reasonable doubt…but we are going to make as complete of an investigation as we possibly can…and today we are going to start by answering the question of “what.” What, exactly, is heaven and hell? After all, we must first define and understand what exactly we are investigating if we are going to do so in an intelligent manner. So, for today, our question is going to be…what exactly are these places we call heaven and hell…what are they like? I think that we often can learn some pretty profound things from children…so listen to what these kids had to say about what heaven is like…
"Everything is free," says Christina, age 12. "Everyone lives in a mansion. No one has to go to work. There are no house payments."
"Heaven is a place that is so beautiful, you would think it was make-believe. It’s perfect," says Molly, 9.
"Heaven is paradise," says Jake, 9. "The weather is nice. It never rains. Nothing can go wrong. My dad will not have a scar in the middle of his head. We will be perfect."
Annslee, 11, "Heaven is beautiful with no hurt or talking about people and no drugs. It is all good.
"You will be beautiful. Clouds are floating. Kids are laughing and praying with Jesus. You get everything you want, and you have beautiful voices to sing for God’s glory. Sunflowers are everywhere. Streets are made of gold! And it smells heavenly."
"Trees in heaven are full with rich fruit. And everywhere you go, you can feel and see the glory of God"
Those comments were found on the website kidstalkaboutgod.org. and I think that they give us a pretty good representation of what the experience of Heaven will be like…there was a good reason why Jesus said that we have to become like kids in order to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. But…for the purposes of our investigation…we have to go just a little bit deeper…and answer this question of what exactly makes heaven…heaven…and what exactly make hell…hell.
We’re going to do that by taking a look at one of the parables of Jesus. If you have your Bibles turn them over to Matthew 13:36. While your turning over let me acknowledge a few things to you. I realize that, traditionally, we don’t turn to the parables of Jesus to find out about Heaven and Hell. We turn them to find out how we should live in order to get there…but Revelation…the epistles of Paul…these are the places that we get our theology about Heaven and Hell. But, today, we are going to start our month long investigation here…with a story from Jesus. We’ll start in verse 36 and read through 43.
Before we go much further let’s catch up a little bit about this parable that Jesus is explaining to his disciples. Many of us are familiar with this story that is found in verse 24 of this same chapter. Jesus...he says that the kingdom of heaven is like a man who goes out and sows a field..but while he is asleep his enemy comes and sows some tares among the field. The farmer’s servants...they come to him...wanting to pull the weeds out but the farmer...he won’t let them because they might pull some of his crop up with them...he instead makes them wait until harvest time and they are separated then...the rest is covered in his explanation...and I think in this explanation we find the key to answering the question...what exactly makes heaven heaven and what exactly makes hell....hell.
Let’s start off by acknowledging something here...all of us...we have our preconceived notions of what heaven and hell really are...and many of them are based on scripture. For instance, we read in Revelation chapters 21 and 22 of a city that is made of pure gold and that has streets that are also made of pure gold and a river flowing through it that is as clear as crystal. The walls of this city are made out of jasper and their foundations are decorated with every kind of precious stone. As hard as it is...we attempt to picture these things in our mind...things we read from scripture...and while there is some debate as to what John was writing about here...whether it be heaven itself....or a New Jerusalem here on Earth in which Christ rules and reigns supreme...the view you adopt depends on your theology on the return of Christ...the fact remains that many of us...when we think of heaven...we think of those streets of gold....the clear water.....the beauty we will see.
And let’s not forget what television and other secular things have engrained into our minds about heaven. We die...and what happens....all of a sudden we are standing on a cloud. We walk down this cloud and we come to a gate...and who is standing there...Saint Peter of course. How many jokes...and many funny ones I might add...have this as a story line. Several of them and while I don’t have a personal problem with these secular depictions...the fact remains that, whether we are aware of it or not...they add to our preconceptions of Heaven.....but, in our investigation today...I want us to put aside our preconceptions and see if we can come to an answer...what is heaven? What makes it so special? Again, I think Jesus gave us the answer here...not in Revelation or some other book of prophecy...but in a simple story about the harvesting of a field.
The same thing...it applies to hell...doesn’t it? We have our preconceived beliefs about hell, don’t we? Again, many of these notions are based on scripture...many times...including this instance here....we find Jesus speaking of fire when it comes to the destination for those who do evil...also...what about the story of the rich man and Lazarus that Jesus tells in Luke 16? What does the rich man beg Abraham to do? Allow Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue because he says that he is "in agony in this fire." The rich man...in that same story...he says that hell is a "place of torment."
With these word pictures...is it any wonder that our mental image of hell is a place of fire...a place of heat....a place of eternal torment and mourning?
I remember...when I was a boy...being in church one day and complaining how hot it was in the church building and being told by an adult that if "I thought it was hot in here...then I didn’t want to go to hell." Well..he was right there...I don’t want to go.
Let me tell you something about this word that is translated hell...it doesn’t appear in the Old Testament....in the New Testament "hell" is either the Greek word "hades" or the Greek word "Gehenna." Without going to deep into this...let me explain to you the origin and the meaning of the word Gehenna. At the time of Christ...south of Jerusalem....there was a valley called the valley of Hinnom...and it was there that the filth and dead animals of the city were thrown away and were burned. So, basically, it was a dump in which the trash was being burnt constantly...and this is what Jesus compared the place that we have come to call "hell" to...a constantly burning trash pile. Now...show of hands...who wants to go there? No one? Wow...that’s a shocker.
With all that being said...I have to tell you...I can’t tell you with one hundred percent certainty what Hell is going to be like....I can’t tell you what temperature it is...whether there will be any light there...just the same as I can’t tell you for sure what Heaven is going to be like. You see...I’ve never been to either place...and, thanks to Christ...I will never know what one of them is like. But...we get the basic idea...the Bible...television...stories...and our imaginations...they provide us with our preconceptions of what these two places are really like.
Do you want me to tell you what I do know for certain? First, let me tell you that I know for certain that there is a Heaven and a Hell....have I ever been there? No. Have I ever talked to anyone who has been there? No. But...I believe the Bible...and if you study apologetics and if you pay attention to archaeology and other sciences...to many things in the Bible are confirmed for it to be incorrect. So...if the Bible says that there is a heaven and a hell...then I believe it. Since I have no direct evidence of its existence a portion of this belief is based on faith...but let me assure you...their existence is very real...contrary to what our current culture says.
But..that’s not all I know for certain...by reading the explanation of this parable...I know what makes heaven so wonderful and hell so horrible...and it isn’t the streets of gold or the fire.
So, what exactly are these two places…are they places of reward and punishment? Yes, they are. Are these places of joy and of anguish? Yes, they are. But…more paramount…is the presence of God in Heaven and the absence of God in Hell.
Let’s go back to our text for just a moment…what happened to the weeds? They are burned, right? And who is the farmer in this story? He’s Jesus. Now, if you as a farmer…if you burn something to dispose of it…do you hang on to it? Do you take the ashes back to the house with you and hang on to them? Or do you just leave them where they are….and remove them totally from your presence? If you are a sane and rational person…you don’t take them back with you…they are removed totally from your presence…and never thought of again.
The same is true for those who are deemed to be weeds or tares by God. They are thrown into the fire to be burned and they are never in the presence of God again. That, my friends, is what makes hell…well, hell.
Let me give you an example…all of you know that Anne occasionally goes back to California to visit her family. That is expected and understandable…but when she goes she has to take Suzy with her…so I am left home alone. Let me tell you what makes my house a home. It is my wife and daughter. We have a nice house…but without them it doesn’t seem so nice. They are what makes those four walls and a roof a home. I would be much happier with them in a one room cabin then I would in a mansion without them….and I think that, if you have been around me while they were gone, you would vouch for that statement. I joke when they’re gone about missing my cooked meals and my laundry getting done…but it isn’t really the laundry or the meals…I miss my girls.
That, my friends, is what hell will be all about. You will miss the presence of God. I hear a lot of comments today about how wicked the world has become and how God is waiting to hand us over for judgment….but, let me tell you something…God is working in this world more than you can ever realize. Many people, who in my opinion are fond of scare tactics, they look at the events of today and place them in context of God’s judgment. Some say that the events in September over six years ago were because of America’s falling away from God…others say the same thing about Hurricane Katrina. If we were a God-honoring nation then we would not have had those things happen to us…God would have prevented them.
I have one word for my opinion about that…and it is a deep theological term…hogwash. When we look at the events of 9/11 and of Katrina…some of us see the bad events and place them in context of judgment….others, like me, we see the presence of God in the aftermath. The sacrifices of the workers who worked hard to save the lives of survivors….we see the mercy shown by others to their fellow man…we see the miracles that came out of that event. We see the presence of God in this world…not as a force of judgment…but as a force of love.
You see, the Bible is very clear of when God will judge…it will be at the end of this life and existence on Earth. Yes, he will correct and discipline…but his judgment is reserved for the end. Now to some this may be splitting hairs…but to me…it is very important. If God were not present in a very positive way on this Earth…then things would be very different…in fact, this life now…it would be Hell. It doesn’t matter if you are an atheist, a doubter, or a believer…whether you want to acknowledge it or not…God is very present in this Earth and his presence makes a difference. Jesus tells us here that the weeds in the furnace…the place of that furnace…it is a place of weeping and teeth gnashing. These weeds, which represent all who reject God…they are removed from God’s presence and they are in misery because of it. Yes, if God was not present here…this world would be a miserable place as well.
Our example…it applies to Heaven as well. The thing that will make it Heaven is the presence of God. Let’s go back to our text again…Jesus says that the righteous will shine like the sun IN the kingdom of their Father. The key word to this whole thing is that two letter word “in.” When you are “in” a person’s kingdom…they are there too. It can’t be your kingdom if you aren’t a part of it as well and present. Someone else will take it over. We all know the story of Robin Hood…how did the evil prince John come to take over? Because his brother, King Richard…he was gone to the crusades. When we enter Heaven…it will be wonderful only because God is present.
Remember my example about Anne and Suzy…the nicest house in the world would be miserable because they were not there…and the same will be true of Heaven. Does Heaven have golden streets? I don’t know for sure…like I said I have never been there…but if it does they will be the secondary attraction…just a bonus…because the important thing is that God will be there. Will there be a river of crystal…again…I can’t say…but if it is there I am sure it will be beautiful…but it will take a backseat to the presence of God.
So, as we start our investigation of this month….I think we can close the book on the “what” question for both Heaven and Hell. We have answered it sufficiently. Heaven is a place where we will be for all eternity in the presence of the Living God…and that is really all that matters. Everything else is just a bonus. Hell…it is a place where those consigned to it will be eternally removed from God’s presence. I think we can safely say that this one thing…the presence of God…it is what gives the substance to both places. The gold in Heaven doesn’t matter…and the fire of Hell doesn’t matter. I’m sure these things will be in the back of the mind of those who are in each place.
We always end with a time of invitation…and the natural question to ask is…where would you rather spend eternity? If you would rather spend it removed from the presence of God…then this time of invitation…just ignore it. But, if you want to spend it with the Living God…the giver of all good things and the creator of the world…then this time is for you. If you have never accepted the work of his Son Jesus on the cross…won’t you come forward and do so now?
