Believe 10 - Eternity
John 14:1-6
November 23, 2014
Dwight L. Moody was a great evangelist in the 19th century. Moody would often begin his evangelistic sermons with the statement - “Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone up higher, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal; a body that death cannot touch; that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto his glorious body. I was born of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit will live forever.” Moody would say this to shock his audience with the truth that death would not be the end of his life but would be the start of a new beginning.
His words came true on Friday, December 22, 1899. With his family around him, he cried out, “Earth recedes; heaven opens before me.” His family thought he was dreaming. Then he spoke to one of his sons, “No, this is no dream, Will. It is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go.” Then it seemed as if he saw heaven opened before his eyes, as he cried out, “This is my triumph, this is my coronation day! I have been looking forward to it for years.” His face lit up. “Dwight, Irene, I see the children’s faces.” He was speaking of 2 grandchildren who died the previous year.
A few minutes later he took his last breath and Dwight L. Moody entered heaven. (From The Life of D. L. Moody by William Moody).
Welcome to week 10 of Believe. Today we are taking a look at eternity. Wow! Now there is a topic to talk about. We can spend weeks on it. In fact, I spoke about eternity and a number of aspects regarding it in 2010. What I thought would be about a 3-4 week series, ended up lasting 8 weeks. Hopefully today’s sermon won’t last 8 weeks!
George Bernard Shaw once said, “The statistics on death have not changed. One out of one person dies.”
We might say those are not great statistics. Most of us would say we look forward to heaven, but we’re just not ready.
Yet, there are those who tell me they are ready. When the Lord calls them to heaven, they hope there’s no delay. There’s not a long slow Alexandria train holding them back, or a snow storm ala Buffalo. Most of us aren’t ready. I look forward to that day, but don’t want it rushed anytime soon.
One day, each of us will die. And so will our loved ones. This is not a fact we like to face. We live in a death denying society. We don't like to talk about it, think about it, or hear about it. We don't even like to say someone has died. We prefer to say he “passed on” or she “departed” or they’re “not with us anymore.” It seems so harsh to come right out and say someone died, to even talk about someone in the past tense . . . just seems wrong.
The thought of death can be very scary. As long as we believe Jesus is the Christ we don’t have to fear what happens after death. Because we’ve been promised we will reside with Him and all of the saints in heaven; and heaven will surpass our greatest images of beauty and power.
As Jesus was preparing for the cross and for heaven, He knew the disciples were anxious, confused, uncertain about what was happening, going to happen and how. It’s the Last Supper. Jesus had washed the disciples feet, He spoke about the one who would betray him. Judas has just left the table, the tension is high.
And Jesus attempted to comfort the disciples and these words are comforting for us as well. I say them at every funeral for a person who is a follower of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, 1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
These are great words from Jesus, but also they are words that set the Christian apart from the rest of the world. These are words which must set us apart. It’s through some of what Jesus has just said which causes the world to react and proclaim we are an exclusive religion. You must believe in Jesus or you don’t go to heaven. My response is “Yup!”
And in reality, Christianity in that sense and only that sense is not different than most religions. Because if you look at them, they have certain beliefs you must hold onto. For example, in order to become a Muslim, you must state the declaration of faith. Then you have to follow their laws. That sounds pretty exclusive. The same is true in Mormonism, as well in other religions and cults.
I could never say there are many ways to get to heaven. Believe in whatever god you want and all will be good, as long as you are good. Of course, the next question is how good do I have to be. I don’t know, I’m not your god, maybe you’ll never be good enough.
But, we have a Great God who loves us so much that He sent His Son for us, so that we could be forgiven for our sinfulness and have a relationship with God. In fact, as a Christ follower, this is the only religion in which we can have a personal relationship with God. It’s faith that brings salvation and eternity with God. We can never do enough, we can’t earn it. That’s great news!
So, we look at this statement from John — and Jesus tells us He has prepared a place for us. For each of us that mansion, that heavenly home is currently under construction. It’s not finished . . . yet! One day it will be and we will have the privilege of entering heaven, being welcomed home by God because of our faith in Jesus, the Christ, the One who is the only way to find entrance into heaven.
We are given the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Gospel, means Good News! It’s great news. In the face of death. In the midst of walking through the valley of the shadow of death, there is still good news, great news . . . even as we stare down death.
When we need it the most, when we need Him the most, when we need His people the most —
when everything in our world is upside down—
when everything is dark,
when everything seems lost,
when everything seems hopeless,
there is light, there is hope, there is good news.
And simply, it is this: With Jesus, there is always something more ~
Something more than the end of a story.
Something more than death.
Something more than this earth - - - which will perish.
Something more than this body which experiences pain and sickness.
Something more than this world that is subject to sin, hurt and hatred.
Something more than time which seems to run out on us.
There is something more. There is eternity.
What is eternity? Simply defined, eternity means — infinite time; duration without beginning or end. There is no end. And on it’s surface, that sounds great. When we’re faced with death — with what looks like an ending, the prospect of the never-ending sounds good. But is that all eternity is? Just no end?
Never ending more of the same, day after day, really isn’t good news. Day after day of life in a broken world, in bodies that hurt and wear out, in a world that seems to be in decline, is not good news.
But the ETERNITY God has for us is more than just never-ending life. Countless works of fiction have been written about people who do not die. There’s the program “Torchwood” in which people cannot die. At first it was a miracle, but each of the characters sees unending life not as a blessing but a curse. Never ending life in these bodies, on this earth, is not good news.
The good news is God’s eternity is more than a life that doesn’t end. It is a NEW LIFE, in a new place, to God’s own specifications. That’s the good news about eternity. Not just that we live forever. But that we can live in a world without sin and evil. Listen to how John describes this world ~
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
Aren’t those great words from God to John. If that doesn’t bring us comfort about our loved ones who were in a relationship with Jesus Christ when they died, then nothing will. We know our loved ones will never again have tears, no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain. Praise God! We should be running around like Pente-Baptists or Bapt-acostals! This is great, great news! Comforting news!
Yet, there is the bad news in the midst of it all. In the next verse, John tells us, 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
The simple question is . . . “Do you know Jesus?” If you do, no worries. If you don’t, there’s worries.
Knowing that there’s something more than this life should also change the way we live. Knowing that death is not the end ought to change the way we look at death. It doesn’t mean we don’t get sad — we certainly do. We mourn for lives lost too soon. We mourn for lives lost at a good old age, too, because we will miss the company and love we shared. But knowing there is something more changes the way we mourn.
As Paul told the people in Thessalonica, 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
You see, the Thessalonians were concerned that their loved ones who died had missed out on the return of Jesus. Paul wanted them to know that death cannot separate us from the eternal love and life of God.
Paul didn’t tell them not to grieve. Instead he told them not to grieve like those who have no hope. Why? Because even in death, we have hope. We have hope that there is something more. Even when the darkness of death closes in, we are called to live in the light of eternity. We mourn and we grieve because we miss those who have died — I do, and I know you do. And that’s OK. But when we know the promise of eternity, we mourn, we hurt, we cry, but we have hope and - -
We look forward to that new heaven and a new earth.
For now, we have this book, the Bible, which instructs me and teaches me about God’s promises. But there will be a day when I will no longer need this book. WHY?! Because I will be right there with God and God will be right there with me. I look forward to an eternity where I won’t need the light of the sun, because the glory of God will be all I need. I look forward to experiencing the majesty and mysteries that I cannot even understand yet, because my vision is limited by time and humanity.
But I look forward, trusting in the God who gave me life to give me eternal life. And I have to tell you something as we finish up today. I look forward to spending that eternity with you.
Do you know Jesus!?!?
