Title: Taking the Ho Hum Out of Heaven
Text: Revelation 21:1-5
Thesis: A clear glimpse of the heaven God has promised will stir us with anticipation of the future and change the way we live in the present.
Series: The Bible in 90 Days Whole Church Challenge
In the first chapter of the bible God created everything and it was good. Then sin entered the world and we now live in on a broken planet. There are still marks of beauty and human goodness but there are also marks of a deeply scarred earth and of human depravity. Jesus entered the world to redeem all that was ruined by the fall… and now as we come to the end of the bible we hear God saying, “I am making everything new.” The bible ends where it began… with a good, “all things made new” creation and unbroken communion with God.
Introduction
I am not all that enthralled by the biblical images of heavens walls being built on twelve foundations, each foundation made of a different precious stone and having twelve gates of pearl with the streets inside the walls paved with gold. And I’m not much into the thought that I might have to spend all eternity singing in a heavenly choir. A more appealing image would be of a cottage in the Scottish highlands next to a noisy little stream running over stones, overlooking a vast moor with a view of the ocean in the distance and the sweet sound of bagpipes playing in the wind.
I also confess, I have neither suffered enough nor lived long enough to be so world-weary that I long to be free of this life and immersed into the next. I suspect that if I lived in another place or a different time, that would not be the case. And, I may in time think otherwise. But for now, I love living the life God has given me in this temporal place. But that is not to say that I do not think about heaven and live in anticipation of spending eternity there. I know that the Apostle John’s dream of heaven or vision of heaven is meant to instill in us a sense of the immensity and grandeur of the place God has prepared for us. And I also am aware that heaven is not just about being in a place of extravagant beauty and opulence. It is about hope and reunions with loved ones and a place where there are not more tears or death or crying or pain.
A few months after the tragic death of a young boy, his mother gave me asked me to read a book someone had given her. The family was not part of our church family but we were friends and she simply wanted to know if she could believe her little boy was in the place described in the book.
The book was written by Rebecca Ruter Springer and first published in 1898 with the title Intra Muros. It was later re-titled: My Dream of Heaven.
The author was careful to explain that she makes no claims that her experience was a revelation or an inspiration. The book simply came to her during a long period of illness. Her simple claim is that her experience was of great comfort and help.
Billy Graham said of My Dream of Heaven, “…it captures biblical truths with emotional impressions.”
Some time ago I attempted to find a copy of the book but it was long out of print. But more recently, when I tried again, I found it had been re-printed and even included two additional chapters that were in the original manuscript but omitted from earlier printings.
When asked how she found life in heaven she said, “Ah, if they could only know! I never fully understood until now the meaning of that sublime passage, ‘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.’ It is indeed past human conception.” (My Dream of Heaven, P 67)
Perhaps the most insightful and beautiful impression I lifted from the book is expressed in this quote which speaks in reference to her discovery of what life is like in heaven: “These happy surprises do not come by chance. One of the delights of this rare life is that no occasion is ever overlooked for reproducing here the pure enjoyments of mortal life. It is the Father’s privilege to make us realize that this existence is but a continuance of the former life, only without its imperfections and cares.” (My Dream of Heaven, PP119-120)
So how does this hope of heaven affect me now…
I. Heaven gives me the hope of a dream destination.
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. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Revelation 21:1-2
The biblical image is intended to be a description of a spectacularly beautiful place. Over the years I have officiated many, many weddings and I can honestly say, “I have never seen a bride walk down the aisle that was not, in the eyes of the groom, the most beautiful creature on the planet.” That is what God wants us to think when the Holy City, the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven. God wants us to be stunned by her beauty.
For nearly two weeks in August, I lived in a cabin on a lake in the UP of Michigan. It is not a place that would appeal to everyone but it was heaven to me. It is comfortable. The view of the inlet that leads out to the big lake was beautiful. The varied call of the loons was exhilarating. The rain pattering on the roof and the crackling of the fire in the fireplace was music in my ears. Reading by gas light into the night until the fire died out and sleeping in until I was all slept out was heavenly. At the end of my time there I wrote on my yellow pad, “I don’t want to leave.”
The idea God wants to instill in our minds is that heaven is not a boring, bland or dull place. It is not an HOA where the rules say your heavenly home can only be some variation of tan. It is a place you will want to go and it is a place you will want to stay. It is the kind of place where you write on your yellow pad, “I want to go there and after I get there, I don’t ever want to leave.”
It is a dream destination. It is a cruise up the Inside Passage. It is a trek through the Himalayas. It is standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon. It is Death Valley in springtime when all the desert wild flowers are in full bloom. It is walking among the giant sequoias. It is the white sanded beauty of a beach in the Caribbean. It is a café patio in a small village in Greece overlooking the Mediterranean. It is to stand in wonder at the base of Denali or Everest. It is as some amusingly say, “All that and a bag of chips!” It is all of these things and so much more that it is indescribable.
And then there’s the realization that God is there.
II. Heaven motivates me to prepare to be in God’s presence.
And I heard a voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling place of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Revelation 21:3
The bible begins with the Genesis account of creation and speaks of how Adam and Eve enjoyed the presence of God in the Garden of Eden. That all changed after Adam and Eve fell from grace, so to speak, when they disobeyed God. Throughout the entirety of scripture we are aware of God’s interaction with his people. In the Gospels Jesus walked among us. And in the Acts through to this day we have enjoyed the presence of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives. But now at the end of our journey, we will once again live in communion with God… We are told that God will live among us in heaven.
What do you do when you are in the presence of an important person? President Obama caught flack for showing too much respect for the crowned head of one of America’s closest allies during a recent seven day tour of four Asian nations. The president’s critics viewed his observation of custom and respect as a “gesture of submission.” One went so far as to call it, “A spineless blunder.” (Michael Scherer, The Deference Debate, Time, November 30, 2009, p. 18)
Perhaps a bit of respect and humility is becoming of international leaders. It seems The Lord of Lords and Kings of Kings said something of whoever would be greatest must be servant of all.
But what would you do if you were walking along a path through a woods and met God? Or what would you do if after getting settled in your heavenly mansion you received an invitation to attend a State Dinner at God’s house? Should you bring a gift for the host? Do you bow or curtsey? Do you look God in the eye and offer your hand in friendship?
Maybe it isn’t so much what you do when you get there as what you do in preparation for getting there.
Evangelist Charles Spurgeon said, “There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”
The Apostle Paul, looking forward the rewards of heaven wrote, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” I Corinthians 9:25
Jesus warned his followers not to “store up treasure here on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves may break in and steal. But rather to store up our treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
In Ephesians 5:15 and 16 Paul wrote, “Be very careful, then how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
The best way to anticipate life in heaven is to live in anticipation of heaven here.
Rebecca Springer wrote, upon her arrival in heaven she was welcomed by her uncle, whose job it was to show her around and get her established in her new heavenly mansion. In one conversation, Rebecca Springer speaks of having chatted with some people she had known on earth who were then in heaven. She said something to the effect of how little she knew of the links binding earth and heaven. He uncle responded, “Ah, yes! That is just it. How little we know! If only we could realize while we are yet mortals, that day by day we are building for eternity, how different our lives in many ways would be! Every gentle word, every generous thought, every unselfish deed, will become a pillar of eternal beauty in the life to come. We cannot be selfish and unloving in one life and generous and loving in the next. The two lives are too closely blended – one but a continuation of the other.” (My Dream of Heaven, P 21)
The idea is that living in anticipation of being in the presence of God then means we live here as if we were already there. Knowing that we are destined for heaven also gives us some perspective in coping with living here until we get there.
III. Heaven gives me a new perspective on temporal living.
“He will wipe away 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.” Revelation 21:4-5
Earlier I said something to the effect that, life in heaven may be much like life here on earth except without its imperfections and cares. I don’t know how accurate that is but I do know that heavenly scenes are depicted as a beautiful city with spacious landscaping, fruited trees and a river running through the center of it. And the gates of the city are always open and people come and go through the city gates. And Jesus spoke of mansions… so we must have homes there.
So maybe an important point is not so much what will be there as what will not be there. And what will not be there is any imperfection or care.
John Venn, a British social reformer, once lamented that a drawback of entering heaven might be that there won’t be anything to do: "There will be no sick to visit, no naked to clothe, no afflicted to relieve, no weak to succor, no faint to encourage, nor corrupt to rebuke or sinners to reclaim." (William Wilberforce, Christian History, no. 53)
The bible says God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
I subscribe to 9News Updates. On Wednesday leading reports included an account of road rage in which a man in a white pickup with Texas plates followed a woman into a business parking lot where he smashed in her window and began slugging her in the head. In another story a 37 year old woman was killed while jaywalking across east Colfax early on Monday morning. And a woman has been arrested and charged with embezzling $308,000 from the HOA she managed since 2004.
No more road rage. No more accidental deaths. No more embezzling. No more abortion clinics. No more cancer. No more emergency rooms. No more psychiatric wards. No more rapes. No more genocide. No more war. No more taxes. No more unemployment. No more potholes. No more credit cards or monthly minimum payments. No more oil spills. No more security codes. No more… no more…
There may well be many things we might hope will be carried over from earth to heaven but anything that is sinful, hurtful or causes sadness will not be there.
So, it is that we live now knowing this is all temporary.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” II Corinthians 4:16-18
There is much in this life that is discouraging but we may find comfort and hope when viewed in light of what is yet to come.
Conclusion
In the first chapter of the bible God created everything and it was good. Then sin entered the world and we now live in on a broken planet. There are still marks of beauty and human goodness but there are also marks of a deeply scarred earth and of human depravity. Jesus entered the world to redeem all that was ruined by the fall… and now as we come to the end of the bible we hear God saying, “I am making everything new.” The bible ends where it began… with a good, “all things made new” creation and unbroken communion with God.
He was just a little fellow. His mother died when he was just a child. His father, in trying to be both mommy and daddy, had planned a picnic. The little boy had never been on a picnic, so they made their plans, fixed the lunch, and packed the car. Then it was time to go to bed.
The little guy just couldn’t sleep. He tossed and he turned, but the excitement got to him. Finally, he got out of bed, ran into the room where his father had already fallen asleep, and shook him. His father woke up and saw his son. He said to him, "What are you doing up? What’s the matter?"
The boy said, "I can’t sleep."
The father asked, "Why can’t you sleep?"
In answering, the boy said, "Daddy, I’m excited about tomorrow."
His father replied, "Well, Son, I’m sure you are, and it’s going to be a great day, but it won’t be great if we don’t get some sleep. So why don’t you just run down the hall, get back in bed, and get a good night’s rest."
So the boy trudged off down the hall to his room and got in bed. Before long, he was back. He was pushing and shoving his father, and his father opened his eyes and asked, "What’s the matter now?"
The boy said, "Daddy, I just want to thank you for tomorrow."
Our loving Heavenly Father has loved us all through this life and has planned a wonderful new thing for us in the life to come. All the sadness and loss of this life will pale in comparison to what he has planned for us tomorrow. It is fitting that we too say, “Father, I want to thank you for tomorrow!” (Benjamin Reaves, “Living Expectantly,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 65)
