LOOKING WAY AHEAD
Pastor Eric J. Hanson
January 13, 2013
The most defining event in this life is the moment of death. Every time that someone near to us dies, it reminds us all that this present life is not permanent. As a pastor, I have often been present to observe the reactions of family members when a loved one slips out of this World. Even is that person: Mom, Dad, Wife, Brother, Sister, dear Friend, or Child, has been slipping for a long time, and in poor health; I always have the strong sense that the family feels cheated. Death came too soon. Death came to the wrong person. Life was not fair to this person, and now this.
The greatest devastation seems to come with sudden death: the soldier who will never come home, the teen whose car is now wrapped around a tree, or the vigorous businessman who dropped to the sidewalk, never to get up. As if these instances are not bad enough, many innocent people are murdered every year, whether by a total stranger who has walked into the store, a disenchanted classmate who hates everyone, or a husband who promised to always protect the one he now shoots to death.
Suffering and death, which are both results of the curse of sin, which has plagued this Earth ever since Adam fell, are often wrongly blamed on God. Millions shake their fist at God. Even people who have been raised as secular humanists do this. Somewhere deep inside they know that God exists, but they do not know Him, and they misjudge his character. The truth is this: because of sin, this life will never be all that it should be. Loss will always come at us from many directions; and the loss of loved ones, combined with the loss of youthful vigor, and the general unfairness of people and events, combine every single day, to remind us that something is terribly wrong.
In addition to all this, many people don’t really believe that God has prepared something better for us after our time on this sin-injured Earth is over. Some people, even believers in Jesus Christ, are not looking forward to Heaven, because they are afraid of losing certain pleasures of the here and now, which are important to them; certain activities and interests which feel like the presence of an oasis in the middle of the dessert of this life.
Perhaps there are such things in your life, which you fear losing, even if you know that your sins have been forgiven through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. More than one believer has told me, in a candid moment, they are not that thrilled about their perception of what Heaven will be like.
Does it get any better? After this life is over, is there actually a better day coming? For everyone who makes it to Heaven, will it actually be a certifiable improvement? I believe that it will; so much so that we cannot genuinely grasp the reality of it at present. We are simply not able to do so.
A little story comes to mind. After attending a wedding one day; little Jimmy, age four, asked his Father what the Bride and Groom were doing now? The Father told his little son that the happy couple was now on their honeymoon. He added, “When you grow up, you may get married one day to a wonderful girl, and then you can go on a honeymoon too.” After thinking this over for a moment, the son asked “Will I be able to take my toy dinosaurs with me on my honeymoon?” “I’m afraid not.” His father replied. After another brief pause the little guy enquired further, “Can I take Freddy along on my honeymoon? He’s my best friend.” With a twinkle in his eyes Daddy explained that Freddy can’t come along on the honeymoon. It’s only for you and that special girl you marry. Jimmy looked at the floor for a moment, and then he mumbled, “I don’t think I want to go on a honeymoon.”
Similarly to little Jimmy’s limitations on the topic of honeymoons, many believers have a limited understanding of Heaven. They see it as a place where people dressed in bleached choir robes float around playing harps endlessly. Many envision a place of clouds with ethereal choir music coming vaguely from somewhere.
Others, having heard certain passages in the book of Revelation, see Heaven as an endless 27/7 church service in the throne room of God, where we do nothing but sing, shout the word “Holy”, and bow down over and over forever.
A lot of people snuggle into their massaging recliner, grab the remote to their big screen HD TV with Bose surround sound, and enjoy their Buffalo wings, ranch dressing, and Mountain Dew on ice. They feel very emotional while watching the Patriots game with friends, enjoying all of this, and also thinking ahead fondly to next week’s hunting trip. In the back of their mind they have a nagging feeling that this is better than Heaven. They may feel vaguely guilty about this, but they feel this way regardless.
I’m here to tell you today, that such thinking is as off target as little Jimmy’s comparisons regarding toy dinosaurs versus a fully funded luxury honeymoon. The future that God has prepared for those who love Him, is literally “great beyond our comprehension”. Let’s look now at some scriptures that at least put us on the right track regarding these things.
One caveat before I jump into discussing the future of those who know the Lord. Not everyone gets in. In Matthew Chapter 25, at the final Judgment, the Lord separates people as a shepherd might separate sheep from goats. Those whom he knows enter into the everlasting Kingdom prepared for them by God. Those He does not know are cast into outer darkness: into eternal punishment. John 14: 6 is true. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Him. Admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven cannot be earned. It is gained through life changing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who bore the punishment for our sin, so that we don’t have to bear it ourselves. Be sure that you have received Jesus Christ by faith as your Savior and Lord. Be sure to follow Him and learn to know Him well.
Now let’s get back to the future of those who know the Lord!
Read Philippians 3:20-21. Wow! Our bodies which age, grow weak, and die, will be changed to be just like Jesus’ body, which cannot age, grow weak, or die. How fabulous! That’s a powerful thing to look ahead to! Jesus himself will do this for us! We were never designed to be disembodied ghostlike beings. The life Adam had in Eden before he sinned was the ideal. I John 3:2-3 and the whole of I Corinthians chapter 15 backs this contention up, saying that we shall be like Jesus when He appears at his second coming. Jesus is in His resurrection body, which cannot die, grow old, or become diseased. Looking ahead to this wonderful future state of being with longing, even helps us to forsake sin.
Read Hebrews 11:13-16. We have not seen what God had been building for us, but it is called here “a better country, and a Heavenly one”. God has prepared a city for those who are looking ahead to such a place. He is not ashamed to be called their God. God’s building materials are beyond our imagining. If pure gold is used as street pavement, what else has God prepared for us?
Read Psalm 16:10-11. Not only did the Psalmist have confidence that he would not go to Hell; he also had confidence that being in the presence of God is anything but boring. He speaks of fullness of joy and pleasures forever! How amazing it is to look ahead to that?
Read Matthew 6:19-20. Treasures here do not last, but we can lay up treasures in the Kingdom of Heaven, which shall never fade away! Are things “here today, gone tomorrow”? In Heaven they’re not!
Read Hebrews 12:22-24. There is much in this short passage, but may I point out that your friends in Heaven will never betray you. They will not be fickle. They will be made perfect. Friendship in Heaven is going to be a never-ending joy.
Read Luke 23:43. Jesus promised Heaven to the penitent thief dying beside him. That very day the man would enter paradise! Though Heaven can never be earned, it is real and sure for those who genuinely believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what they have done in the past. When true believers die; that very day, they enter Heaven.
Several scriptures combine to make it clear that we shall have leadership roles in the life to come. I Corinthians 6:3 states that we shall judge angels. Revelation 3:21 informs us that “overcomers” shall sit on God’s throne with Him. There will be useful important work to do in eternity.
Finally, the whole universe will be renewed, with all the effects of sin removed. Our final scriptures today look ahead to this. Revelation 21:3-5 shows us both the wonderfulness and newness of the next life and all things at that time. The remainder of the book of Revelation gives us some insight into the New Heavens, the New Earth, and the amazing New Jerusalem, built by God, not Man.
Our horizons are limitless. The life to come is not a life of less. It is a life of more, and it includes all of the things God told Adam to do before sin ruined things. It also includes much more than that, because we shall have more than just the new Earth to enjoy, but even a renewed Heaven. It is going to be great beyond our current ability to understand.
C.S. Lewis wrote to his granddaughter about his own looking ahead to that day when God will send us forth to enjoy the entire universe and spirit realm, free from sin, and without limitations. What a day what will be! How beyond our present capacity to comprehend, is the wonderful future God has in store for us!
(Give an altar call.)
