A bank in Binghamton, New York, sent some flowers to a competitor who had recently moved into a new building. There was a mix up at the flower shop, and the card sent with the arrangement read, "With our deepest sympathy." The florist, very embarrassed, apologized. But it was worse, because the other card, the one that was supposed to go to the bank, was attached to an arrangement sent to a funeral home in honor of someone who had died. That card said, "Congratulations on you new location!"
I want to congratulate you this morning, if you’re a follower of Jesus, on your future location! You have a great place in preparation right now. We don’t speak about it nearly enough. Heaven is an amazing topic.
When you consider how short, by comparison, the time that we’re going to live here is next to forever, what really is amazing is that we don’t spend a whole lot more time thinking about it and talking about it! I think there are 2 reasons:
1. We’re afraid
My wife doesn’t like talking to me about life insurance. She doesn’t like me joking about it. She doesn’t want to dwell on the idea of me dying, so she avoids it. I guess I should be glad about that! So, some people are afraid to think or talk about Heaven because it means…dying. That’s kind of scary to many people who would rather not dwell on such a scary thing.
But I think there’s something about the subject of Heaven that scares even more people: that it’s going to bore us. We’ve allowed false concepts about Heaven to shape the way we picture it, and we don’t want to dwell on something that’s going to be the greatest letdown in all of our experience. So, why look?
Clip from “All Dogs Go To Heaven” 16:04 – 17:38
The reason so many people hear we’re going to have a series on Heaven and yawn is because of this right here – not this movie, but because of the misconceptions people have about what Heaven is going to be like.
I’m wondering…
Who said we’re going to have wings?
Where does it say that we’re going to become angels?
Where does it say we’re going to sit around on clouds? And most importantly,
Where does the Bible say that Heaven is going to be boring?
It’s time to stop being ashamed of our great hope! It’s time to stop being afraid that we’re going to arrive at Heaven and have to act happy, when, in the back of our minds, we’re bored out of our skull! Having a right concept of Heaven will take away our fears about it.
2. We don’t understand a lot about it, so we don’t bother trying to think about it.
All of us have heard stories about someone whose heart has stopped, and they have an out-of-body experience, and then they’re brought back and they talk about what it was like. The problem is that the stories aren’t consistent, and that many of them are told by people who certainly weren’t in a right relationship with the Lord. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? We grow up, told that Heaven is going to be more amazing than we can possibly imagine.
Then, we read stories and see paintings and movies about it that plant all kinds of off-the wall ideas in our heads. Then, we read about it for ourselves in the Scriptures, and most of it’s in, you know, Revelation – that book that makes more people scratch their heads or argue more than any other. So, the whole quest to understand Heaven can be frustrating. Why bother?
Here’s why! Having a proper knowledge of Heaven can change the way we live our entire lives!
I understand Heaven to be what we’re really made for.
2 Corinthians 5:4-5
For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
As long as we’re here, as long as we’re in this body, we still haven’t made it to our purpose. We can live out God’s purposes for us in this temporary arrangement, but until we get past this, we haven’t made it to the purpose for which God made us. We’re still separated from Him in some way.
Ill – John Matters and I visited Ralph Drennan Thursday. You know, since he came back from WW2, Ralph has run a business of re-binding books. He’s in his 90’s now, so Ralph has cut his hours back a little. He still gets work sent to him from all across the US, because there aren’t many people who do what he does. And his work is excellent. He can take an old, battered, water-and-smoke-damaged mess and turn it into a brand-new looking book. And when I look at Ralph’s work, I think, here’s a guy who found something he enjoys, that he’s very good at, and that very few people can do. But you know what? That’s not Ralph Drennan’s ultimate purpose for being created by God, is it? Ralph gets winded real easily. Ralph’s joints hurt. Ralph has to take medicine every day. That’s not the purpose for which God made him either. God has something even better in mind! Now, if one day Ralph is binding books in Heaven, that would make perfect sense to me. But right now, as much as it suits him, there’s something more waiting for him.
We’re going to start this year with a series of messages about Heaven. I need to acknowledge that I’ll be using a lot of material from books by Randy Alcorn, Bob Chambers, Kenny Boles, and a few others. This first message is to help us all appreciate just how much it will help us to spend some time on this subject. After all, when was the last time you spoke about someone having his head in the clouds and that was meant to be a good thing? Well, I want to tell you this morning that we need to get our head in the clouds – we need to get Heaven on our minds. We do. That’s not my idea.
Colossians 3:1-2
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Go ahead, get your head in the clouds. Having your head in the clouds will do some things for you…
1. Having Your Head in the Clouds Will Guard Your Joy
When Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians, the 2nd item on the list is joy. It’s one of the evidences that the Holy Spirit lives in you. Do you realize what that means? Satan doesn’t want you to have joy. So, if he can steal it away, he will. How’s he doing at it?
It’s no mystery that, given the chance, this world will steal away your joy. It’s the job of the news media. Try the headlines:
• 5 people shot outside of Chicago High School
• Israel tells Gazans to brace for war escalation
• Costa Rica digs for quake victims
• Venezuela’s Chavez threatens to expel U.S. diplomat
If you live on earth, you’re going to have plenty of opportunity to lose your joy. How do you guard against that? By having your head in the clouds.
Jesus sent out 72 disciples on short-term mission work. He gave them all kinds of abilities to validate their message. So, when they returned, they were pretty excited…
Luke 10:17-20 …"Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Ralph Waldo Emerson was approached by a troubled man who said, “I’m told the world is coming to an end.” Emerson answered, “Never mind; we can get along without it.” Not only can we, but we will!
It’s fine to have things on earth that bring you joy, but Jesus said the real reason to rejoice is that you have a place reserved in Heaven. Bury your head in the earth, and you’ll continue to have reasons to lose your joy.
Heaven gives us an answer to the joy stealers. Here, try it…
• My back hurts. It’s not a permanent condition.
• My car is acting up. It’s all going to burn.
• There sure is a lot of political unrest right now. There’s a new kingdom coming.
• Our house has lost its value. I’m not going to always live there.
• My life is lonely. One day, I’m going to be surrounded with people who love me.
• My 401k just lost 40%. That’s OK, my real treasure is laid up where it can’t be lost.
Jesus Himself was pretty troubled in spirit. He was about to face the cross. He’d been telling it pretty openly to the disciples, and they were getting pretty unsettled too. So, where does Jesus point them for comfort? Heaven.
John 14:1-3
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
If Jesus uses Heaven as a way to comfort and help His followers in the face of hard times, then I’m pretty sure that calling our attention to Heaven to comfort and help us today is a good thing to do. Thinking about Heaven, talking about Heaven, ought to make the joy we have in Jesus show on our faces. CH Spurgeon once told his preaching students: "When you talk about heaven let your face light up with a heavenly glory. When you tell about hell, your everyday face will do.
Having your head in the clouds isn’t a way to have joy by ignoring what’s going on around you. It’s a way to guard your joy from being stolen by what’s around you.
2. Having Your Head in the Clouds Will Make You Steadfast
Anytime I attend the funeral of someone who has loved the Lord and died in Him, there’s this distinct difference. It’s not that there’s no grief. It’s not that everyone’s pretending. The difference is hope.
Romans 5:2b-5
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
I remember years ago a VBS theme: Jesus is the answer! That was true, and it still is. But it’s too simplistic when it comes to some questions - because there are some questions that rage and that aren’t asked in calm and intellectual terms. They’re screaming out for answers.
What is the answer for a person who’s severely handicapped? What is the answer for someone who has grown old and is forgotten by family members? What is the answer for the grieving parent who has just lost an infant? What is the answer for people in Sri Lanka, where civil war has been going on for 30 years, but where the government is just as corrupted as the opposition? Monty Coffey’s sister Tracy has been battling lung cancer for a long time, and now it looks like she’s in her final weeks here. What is the answer for Tracey? “Oh, well, ‘Jesus is the answer’!”
The promise of Heaven that we have in Jesus, the promise of new bodies, the promise of eternal life, of one day, all things being made right and new, that’s the only real answer to those issues.
Those Christians who received the letter we call Hebrews were living under persecution. Although they weren’t dying for their faith yet, they were suffering for it, and they needed to be reminded to not give up. What would help them be steadfast? It was there hope of Heaven.
Hebrews 10:34
You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
Remember, our theme for this year is Press On. The list of reasons not to press on will continue to be there and to grow all year long. It will always be there. What are you going to do? When you need a reason to press on this year, let’s remember the hope we have in heaven.
3. Having Your Head in the Clouds Will Help You Remain Dedicated
This whole idea of “having your head in the clouds” raises objections. After all, if you’re so focused on Heaven, how can you possibly be doing what you’re supposed right here and now? I like what CS Lewis pointed out: “If you read history, you’ll find that the Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought the most of the next world.”
Heaven, and keeping ourselves focused on it, will help us to be people who are dedicated to being what God wants us to be right now.
Hebrews 4:9-11
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
We’re anticipating this rest – this time when all the hard work of living will be over. So, what should we do? Make every effort…obedience. The hope of Heaven ought to help us be dedicated to what God wants us to be now.
Paul said that the prize of Heaven was why he pressed on, not a reason to let up!
It’s Wednesday afternoon. The work week, the school week, is only half way over. But you suddenly remember that Friday’s coming! And once you’re done on Friday, there’s rest in the picture. So, what do you do? You keep working. You keep studying. You think about the fact that rest is on the way, and you don’t give up.
No matter how challenged or how tired life may have you feeling today, remembering that there’s a Heaven on the way will help you remain dedicated to what the Lord wants you to be.
4. Having Your Head in the Clouds Will Free You From Being Tied To Worldly Things
Malcolm Muggeridge - The only ultimate disaster that can befall us, I have come to realize, is to feel ourselves at home here on earth.
It’s easy, isn’t it, to get completely tied up in worldly things? We devote such a large percentage of our lives to just getting an education, in the name of getting a vocation, so that we can purchase a location from which we rarely take a vacation. Just think for a moment how much of your life is devoted just to preparing and eating food. We get so caught up in stuff. Do you ever get tired of it? There’s a cure. It’s having your head in the clouds. Jesus said we simply need to be investing ourselves in things that are not of this world.
Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Joke – One story out of the “scenes from Heaven” barrel is about a man who was being ushered into Heaven to his prepared quarters there. As he walked the streets of gold, guided by his assigned angel, he noticed all the beautiful, elaborate houses along the way. The more he saw, the more he got excited about what his was going to be like. Finally, they arrived at a little, run-down looking shack. “Here you are!” the angel said. “What? This is it?” “Yes.” “I don’t understand! I saw all those other places we just passed by, and they were beautiful! How come my place looks so plain and simple?” “Well, we did the best we could with the money you sent ahead.”
Your life really is about Heaven. Get focused on Heaven. Don’t be tied to so many things here.
2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Conclusion:
Henry Morrison served as a missionary in Africa for over 40 yrs. When he and his wife retired, they headed back to the US on a ship. He wondered as they traveled if anyone would remember them – if anyone would appreciate them and would come to greet them as they arrived. What they didn’t know was that Teddy Roosevelt was also on the same ship, returning from a hunting trip in Africa. The ship pulled into NY Harbor, and Morrison looked to see if anyone was coming to welcome their return. There were thousands of people cheering, bands playing, signs and banners everywhere saying, “Welcome Home!” Henry and his wife were excited at all the people there to welcome them home. They went down, got their luggage, and when they came back to the ship’s deck to get off, the crowd of people was already gone. They had been there to welcome Teddy Roosevelt. Morrison went to his hotel room, downcast. Sitting on the bed, he asked his wife, “Honey, I just don’t get it…for 40 years we poured our lives into ministry and service. And yet we come back to America and not a single soul comes to welcome us home!” His wife came and sat down next to her husband, she put her hand on his shoulder, and comforted him with words that he would never forget, “Henry, you have forgotten something, you’re not home yet!”
Until Jesus comes again, or until we die, we’re not home yet. We have to remember that. And until we are, our business here is to present every person complete in Jesus Christ. So, we’re inviting you this morning to make Heaven your home – to get your head in the clouds. This is for real…
