SIMPLY JESUS
HEAVEN WITH JESUS
HEBREWS 12:14-29
INTRODUCTION
-This past week I was at camp with a bunch of 4-6th graders.
-Our theme was Winema National Park and I decided to teach a course on wilderness survival because I’m uniquely qualified to do
-I have made about every mistake you could make in the wilderness…and I still survived!
-I’ve climbed Mt. Hood with a frozen water bottle.
-I came off of Three Fingered Jack at dusk with no flashlights/food
-And I once led and expedition of high school kids into the mountains in late August when it snowed several inches.
-Fortunately for us we had no tents or warm clothes!
-So…when I was teaching wilderness survival to these small children we put a lot of emphasis on planning ahead.
-Trying to anticipate what you’ll need in the wilderness before you actually get to the wilderness.
-Our passage today is Hebrews 12 and it’s a chapter that gets us thinking about heaven before we actually get there!
-If we are the people who are bound for heaven, if we are the people who have believed in Christ’s promise of salvation, then how do we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead?
-What do we need to be doing to get ready for heaven?
-This section begins with some very practical advice about what to do
ON YOUR WAY TO HEAVEN… (12:14)
14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.
-LIVE AT PEACE WITH EVERYONE. (14)
-I cannot overemphasize how important this is in our Christian life
-Xians are people whose lives should be characterized by peace!
-We are not the ones who stir up trouble.
-We are not the people who yell, intimidate, bully, and argue.
-We are not to be people who start fights and divisions.
-We are not the ones to be quarreling with our neighbors and yell at wives and kids.
-We are called to live at peace with everyone. And everyone includes…everyone!
-Notice that the key word in verse 14 is the word “work”.
-It requires effort to live peacefully with people.
-So we work at it. We fight for it.
-Even if everyone around us wants to war and fight and divide…
-We go the extra mile to have peace with all people.
-I know a man that was going to church with his wife and 2 kids.
-Because they started going to church his brother’s family started going to church and his parents were coming to church.
-9 people were coming to faith and plugging into the church body because of this one man.
-But then the man got sideways with someone in their church.
-There was tension, there was division, and ultimately the man left the church over the conflict.
-And guess where those 9 people are going to church now?
-Nowhere. The family isn’t worshipping together.
-The family isn’t in fellowship, no one is being discipled.
-That doesn’t seem like the Spirit of God working in those people’s lives. That sounds like the work of the enemy.
-It’s easier to quit than work out our problems.
-It’s easier to sling mud than fall on your sword.
-It’s easier to nurse hurt feelings than to work for peace.
-But here is a sobering fact: we are going to spend all of eternity with our fellow Christians.
-You might think you’re getting away from them by switching churches, switching small groups, switching ministries…but you will be stuck with them in heaven forever!
-So learn to keep short accounts with people. Live in peace.
-Make apologies, make amends, swallow pride, and be people of peace! That’s part of how we do life on our way to heaven.
-WORK AT LIVING A HOLY LIFE. (14)
-Christ has made us holy by his perfect sacrifice.
-But we still have to make the choice to live a holy life.
-That means we have to steer away from unholy, sinful things.
-Heaven is a peaceful place…we’re working at peace on our way.
-And heaven is also a holy place, and we are working at holiness on our way there!
-Notice that it also requires work to live a holy life.
-Holiness means living the set apart life that Jesus has called us to.
-At times being holy means that we don’t do what other people freely do.
-At times being holy means sacrificing what we want.
-At times it means missing out on opportunities.
-Being holy means doing things that other people aren’t doing.
-At times, living a holy life requires us to make sacrifices.
-We make choices each day to walk away from unholy things.
-We have to choose the things of God, even when people around us are not. It can be hard work to live a holy life.
-That’s probably why the next line says…
-LOOK AFTER EACH OTHER. (15A)
-We are all serving the same Lord…Jesus!
-We are all heading to the same place…heaven!
-We have the same goal in mind….holiness!
-We’re trying to stick with Jesus until we cross the finish line!
-So look after each other.
-Pray for each other, counsel, and caution each other.
-Check in on people who are missing, go after people who
are wayward. We look after each other for an important reason:
-Verse 15 says, “so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.” We’re keeping each other on the path that leads to life.
15b Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
-We don't have to look all the way back to Esau to find examples of people who have gone astray.
-Every day Christians, regular people like you and I, decide to trade our holiness for the temporary pleasure of sin.
-Sometimes we get back on track before anything serious happens
-But some walk away and never come back…they fail to receive God’s grace. That’s why we look out for each other.
-That’s why we do life2life groups, so you have people teaching, encouraging, praying, and discipling each other.
-You’ll notice one of the things that destroys our faith is bitterness
-WATCH OUT FOR BITTERNESS. (15B-17)
-I was surprised to read this verse.
-Of all the sins he could have listed…he named bitterness.
-Bitterness is a deadly enemy of the Holy Spirit.
-You’ll notice that it calls bitterness a poisonous root.
-And what do roots do? They grow.
- Bitterness starts as something under the surface & quickly grows
-It so easy to find ourselves bitter at God when life’s circumstances seemingly go against us.
-It’s so easy to find ourselves bitter at family and friends when they have done us wrong.
-It’s so easy to find ourselves bitter at brothers and sisters in
Christ over petty little things.
-Bitterness is a weed that will choke the faith right out of us.
-Bitterness is something that has sidelined countless Christians.
-We on our way to heaven…bitterness has no place in our lives.
-Sometimes we read warnings like this and feel a heaviness of heart and feel weighed down.
-Sometimes saved people even start doubting and fearing that they won’t make it to heaven…the path is too narrow and the road is too difficult.
-We can feel like they are so many things trying to jam us up.
-We do need to watch out, we do need to stay on track, but we also need to remember that….we’re heading to heaven!
-DON’T BE AFRAID, BE EXCITED! (18-21)
18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: …21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight
-The entire book of Hebrews is comparing the OT and NT.
-In the OT they had the Law, in the NT we have Jesus!
-When the OT people came to their mountain, Mt. Sinai, they came into the presence of God and they were terrified.
-Sinai was where they received the Law!
A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN
-But look at verse 22.
-The place where the law was given is being compared to the place where grace is given.
22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things.
-Look at all that we are looking forward to!
-We are heading to Mt. Zion. That’s one of the names for heaven.
-Mt. Zion is: THE CITY WHERE GOD LIVES. (22)
-Heaven is not a place of fear, there is no wrath waiting 4 us there
-Heaven is a place of celebration, rejoicing and reunion with God!
-It’s going to be the place where we welcomed into the arms of our loving Father.
-After fighting our whole life long to live for Jesus, to live holy lives, to live at peace with all people…we will finally move into our
new heavenly dwelling place.
-I wish I had the time to tell you all about it today.
-He mentions some of the highlights of heaven.
-THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF JOYFUL ANGELS. (22)
-You’ll meet those guardian angels, and see those crazy seraphim.
-You’ll hear the heavenly choirs and see the mighty archangel Gabriel who threw Satan out of heaven.
-You’ll meet the messenger angel Gideon and hear him tell about scaring the pants off of Mary and Joseph.
-We’ll walk the golden streets where only the angels have trod.
-You’ll notice the angels are called joyful…and we will share in their joy.
-As impressive as the angels are, we’re more eager to see the…
-THE ASSEMBLY OF SAINTS. (23)
-All the Christians who have gone before us.
-We’ll meet Peter and Paul. We’ll meet Sarah and Rebekah.
-We’ll probably be surprised at some of the people we see in heaven, and probably surprised at some that we don’t see.
-In that heavenly city we’ll see believers who came from every tongue, tribe and nation in history.
-Noah, Rahab, Abraham, Deborah and David and all the ones that you’ve never heard of.
-And we’ll live together, forever, in paradise.
-Look at the end of verse 23:
You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect.
-THE COMPLETION OF OUR PERFECTION. (23)
-Here on earth we have constant reminders of our imperfection.
-We have a daily problem with sin.
-We have bodies that break and bleed and suffer.
-We have battles with temptation, depression, fears & doubt.
-Here on earth we have to work at living holy.
-But on the day when we get to heaven, our perfection will be complete. We will finally be perfect.
-Has anyone ever described you as being perfect before?
-That has never happened to me!
-But that’s what in store for us because of what Jesus has done.
24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
-THE PRESENCE OF JESUS. (24)
-On the day we enter God’s Kingdom we will stand face to face with Jesus Christ.
-We always picture ourselves being fearful, bowing, groveling….
-But this book of Hebrews has repeatedly told us that we can approach our Lord boldly and with confidence.
-We’ll see the nail scarred hands and we’ll proclaim like Thomas…My Lord and My God!
-And I’m not a big hugger, but I’m laying a hug on Jesus.
-Maybe more than one! Heaven is going to be worth it.
-Whatever you have to give up in this life for Jesus, know that heaven will be worth it.
-Whatever work we put in for peace, for holiness…worth it.
25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. 28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29 For our God is a devouring fire.
-The chapter ends with a statement that cuts through all the hype; our God is a devouring fire.
-Our author is making one final comparison here.
-Israel’s messenger was Moses. He was an earthly messenger.
-We have a heavenly messenger, Jesus.
-They rejected his message and they received wrath.
-If we reject the greater message, from the greater messenger, what should we expect to see? Wrath.
-So 25 says be careful to listen to the One who is speaking to us.
-ADMISSION TO HEAVEN CENTERS ON JUST ONE THING; JESUS. (25-27)
