There will be no Baptists in heaven, no Pentecostals, no Presbyterians, no Anglicans, no Catholics, no Methodists. All man given labels will be left outside, and only those who have had their sins cleansed away and forgiven by Jesus Christ will be admited.
Spurgeon said "When a mortal man speaks anything of that eternal blessedness of the saints in glory, he is like a blind man discoursing about the light which he has never seen, and so cannot distinctly speak anything concerning it. He also said that "In a way it is akin to a man writing a travel guide for a land he has never visited or seen. It is to attempt to describe the indescribable with words which cannot come close to expressing the glory of heaven." I Cor. 2:9 says "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"
Together you and I are going to be spending a few more Sundays looking at various scriptures which give us glimpses of Heaven.
Last week we examined II Cor. 5:1-5 and were reassured that in Heaven we who go there will have new bodies. Eternal, imperishable, made by God, glorious bodies. The ground of our confidence? The indwelling Holy Spirit who testifies to our hearts that we are the children of God.
Today v.6-10
READ v.1-10
In v.6 Paul says "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord"
"Therefore" Q What's it there for?
-links the upcoming verse to the previous discussion. Little summary statement that reminds us of the important things just taught or communicated.
The ground of our confidence that in Heaven we are going to get new bodies is the indwelling Holy Spirit. At the moment of conversion the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our bodies (He empowers us, gifts us, gives us the desire to be holy and like Christ, convicts us, brings to our remembrance the words of scripture that we have taken in, testifies to our hearts that we belong to God. Our possession of the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee to us that we have a relationship with God and that we will have new bodies in Heaven.
Then Paul moves forward, assured of getting a new body, to the topic of desiring to be with Jesus.
A book written a number of years ago by Paul Smith called "The country I love best" In the preface told of how he would often travel to speak in other countries of the world. While appreciating the sights and enjoying the people of the countries he was in it was always inevitable that homesickness would set in. He would long to be back in our fair country. The country of Canada. The country of his birth. The country where his citizenship was held. The country where there are rolling hills, high mountains, plains, glaciers, lakes beyond number and 4 seasons. His point. For those who have called upon the name of Jesus as Savior and Lord. For those whose sins have been forgiven and washed away by Christ. Whose sins are remembered no more. There homeland is heaven. There citizenship is in heaven. We ought to long to be in that sweet home that is being prepared for us. We are citizens of the King. Our home is Heaven and hence that is where our affections and thoughts!
are to be set. Currently we are out of our real country. We are abroad
Paul says as long as we are here in the body we away from the Lord. In verse 8 he says "we are confident, yes well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord"
Listen to Paul's words from Phil. 1:21-26 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the 2: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me."
Paul really wanted to go and be with Jesus. And why not? Consider Psalm 16:11 "In thy presence is fullness of joy; in thy right hand there are pleasures forever"
Those who are the children of God long to be where they will sin no more. Those who are the children of God long to be free from the temptations of the devil. Those who are the children of God long to be free from the consequences of sin. Those who are the children of God long to see Christ face to face. I John 3:2 says "we shall see him as he is". Not only will we see Jesus face to face, but we shall walk with him and talk with him, enjoying full fellowship with him.
In respect to being with the Lord Ps. 84:4,11 says "How blessed are those who stand in thy very presence"
Applic:
I fear that some of us do not have our eyes fixed properly on our heavenly home.
At times I have asked Christian people "Are you looking forward to Heaven" and I've got some strange responses.
It's easy to get distracted and sucked into the world's ways. I've bumped into some in life who are seemingly looking more forward to retirement than they are to Heaven. Not Paul.
Heaven is the most desirable place to be. It's our home. It's where are Savior is. It's a place of perfection.
In describing Heaven, Spurgeon said "Heaven is a place of unspeakable glory where the elect of God live with one another in the immediate presence of God and of the Lamb and where they behold Him in all His glory face to face. It is a place where the curse of sin and all of its effects have been removed forever from all who dwell there; they, being made joint heirs with Christ, inherit all things and live with unmixed joy in a state of perfect happiness incapable of being described or exaggerated forever and ever."
Point: If not eager about going to Heaven, if being with Jesus is not something you regularly think about, If not longing to be there something's wrong with you.
v.7 "we walk by faith, not by sight"
-the confidence that Heaven exists, that we will get new and glorious bodies, that we will see Jesus face to face in the end boil down to a matter of faith.
-the faith which Paul speaks of here is all about trust, all about confidence in. Trust and confidences in the promises and Word of God
Consider II Cor. 4:18 "For 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"
Consider Heb. 11:1-2 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for..." by faith, by faith, by faith....
"Faith must never be counter to reason; yet is must always go beyond reason, for the nature of man is more than rationalism. Faith is emotion as well as reason" George Buttrick
"Faith is not belief without proof but trust without reservation" Elton Trueblood
The Bible does not call us to blind faith. There are good and logical reasons to believe
When Paul says "We walk by faith, not by sight" he's saying "Heaven can't be seen by human eyes, it's a matter of faith. It's a matter of believing what God has told you about himself and the heavenly land." To walk by faith is to take God at his word and remain unwaverly committed to its truthfullness and veracity. That is faith.
When we step out in faith God reinforces our faith in Him. The Holy Spirit testifies to our hearts. The answers to our prayers, the word of God, the promises of God, the creation itself testifies to God's existence and glory, the testimonies of others and how God has worked in their lives.
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters."
Pt: God calls us to step out in faith. We can't see Him, but he sure sees and loves us.
If faith weak get into God's word. If faith weak pray to the Lord to strengthen it. If faith weak memorize and meditate on the scriptures. If faith weak make sure you come regularly to church and to the Bible studies that offered. If not, your faith will remain weak
ONES DESIRE TO BE WITH THE LORD WILL REFLECT ITSELF IN OUR DESIRE TO LIVE A LIVE THAT IS PLEASING TO HIM v.9
-when our eyes are fixed on Heaven and being with Jesus, of course we are going to want to do everything we can to be pleasing to Him
-it's only natural for one whom has been forgiven and loved by God to want to reciprocate that love. One does it by obeying God
In I John 3:2-3 it says "We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." Goal: to be like Christ.
"make it our aim"
the word used in the Gk is philotimeomai. It means to aspire to. It also happens to be a compound word for the word philo is on the front. A Gk word for love. Hence our aspirations to please God come from the motive of love for God and Jesus on our parts. It's all about living in such a way as to bring the positive regard and favor of God our way.
Motives for pleasing someone
-look up to them, admire them
-want to be like them as far as possible
-fear them
-love them
Our text provides for us a number of motivations to be pleasing to God
1. On the positive side there are all the benefits and blessings that have been given to us in Jesus Christ (forgiveness, peace with God, answered prayer, promise of a new body, indwelling Holy Spirit)
2. On the other side is the impeding judgement seat of Christ before which all must appear.
"For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" v.10
Here's a very good reason to live in a way that pleases God.
There are many scriptures that speak of the reality of a judgment day.
Eccl. 12:13-14 "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
Heb. 9:27 "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment"
Rom. 14:10b,12 "For we will all stand before God's judgment seat" "So then, each one of us will give account of himself to God"
Rev. 20:11-15 "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small standing before the throne and the books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were throne into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the 2nd death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
I Cor. 3:10-15 "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stone, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through flames."
For those who have not turned to Jesus as Savior and Lord, evidencing that in the way they live Judgment Day is a frightful day for it is the day one will forever be cast into Hell.
For those who are committed followers of Jesus we still will be called before the judgment seat of Christ.
Q Why? To give an accounting of the way we have lived as the followers of Jesus
There of course is no fear for a committed follower of Jesus in respect to Hell because the scriptures affirm that in Christ God remembers our sins no more, we have been cleansed of all unrighteousness.
I John 4:17-18 "In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
WE ARE THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS ARE TO GIVE AN ACCOUNTING
Jesus will be sitting on a raised platform called the 'judgment seat'.
At the Grecian games the umpire would sit and carefully watch the athletic events. The winner would be brought to him and be rewarded. Paul had in mind these rewards in Phil. 3:13-14 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting whose things which are behind, and reaching for unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus"
The Judgement seat, being a raised platform or dais mounted by steps, was also used as the place to dispense justice and to pass out condemnation (see Acts 18:12)
We will appear before the judgment seat of Christ and "will receive what is due us for the things done in the body, whether good or bad"
Q What are you and I going to give an accounting for?
Everything as it pertains to being a follower of Jesus Christ.
-how faithful we have been in fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ
-how faithful we have been in studying, meditating upon, and learning God's word
-how faithful we have been in using the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given us.
-how faithful we have been in telling others about Jesus
-Whether our motives and attitudes have been right when we have served.
-every word and thought will be brought into account
-everything we should have done but neglected to do will be brought into account
The result of this examination:
Some of us will find ourselves in Heaven by the skin of our teeth "saved as one escaping through flames"
Woe to any Christian who is satisfied with that.
Some of us will find ourselves commended and rewarded by God.
-the scriptures often speak of being rewarded in Heaven and of laying up treasure in Heaven. Hard to say exactly what those treasures and rewards are. Some think crowns.
CONCLUSION
1. This not our home. Citizenship in Heaven
2. Longing to be with Christ. Better to be with him
3. Faith; striving towards unseen realities. Trusting God, taking him at his word. We walk by faith, a faith that is buttressed and reinforced by the Lord in a variety of ways
4. Motivations to be pleasing to God
A. Forgiveness, seeing Jesus face to face and communing with him
B. Judgment day where will either be ashamed or rewarded. That know held accountable ought to motivate us. If doesn't then ought to think about whether you really belong to Christ.
