October 27, 2002 Sermon Series on the End Times - Heaven
Heaven. Oh that we were there, oh that we were there! We sing about it. We talk about it. We look forward to it. If there’s one teaching you would think everyone would be in favor of - it would be the teaching about heaven. But if you look back over time, it hasn’t always been looked upon so favorably. This really isn’t worth repeating, but Mark Twain once wrote about heaven:
I gave my palm branch a wave or two, for luck, and then I tautened up my harp-strings and struck in. Well, Peters, you can’t imagine anything like the row we made. It was grand to listen to, and made a body thrill all over, but there was considerable many tunes going on at once, and that was a drawback to the harmony, you understand; and then there was a lot of Injun tribes, and they kept up such another war-whooping that they kind of took the tuck out of the music. By and by I quit performing, and judged I’d take a rest. There was quite a nice mild old gentleman sitting next me, and I noticed he didn’t take a hand; I encouraged him, but he said he was naturally bashful, and was afraid to try before so many people. By and by the old gentleman said he never could seem to enjoy music somehow. The fact was, I was beginning to feel the same way; but I didn’t say anything. Him and I had a considerable long silence, then, but of course it warn’t noticeable in that place. After about sixteen or seventeen hours, during which I played and sung a little, now and then - always the same tune, because I didn’t know any other - I laid down my harp and begun to fan myself with my palm branch. Then we both got to sighing pretty regular. Finally, says he - "Don’t you know any tune but the one you’ve been pegging at all day?" "Not another blessed one," says I. "Don’t you reckon you could learn another one?" says he. "Never," says I; "I’ve tried to, but I couldn’t manage it." "It’s a long time to hang to the one - eternity, you know." "Don’t break my heart," says I; " I’m getting low-spirited enough already." After another long silence, says he - "Are you glad to be here?" Says I, "Old man, I’ll be frank with you. This AIN’T just as near my idea of bliss as I thought it was going to be, when I used to go to church." Says he, "What do you say to knocking off and calling it half a day?" "That’s me," says I. "I never wanted to get off watch so bad in my life." So we started.
He envisioned heaven as a boring place where you’d only sing on song at a time.
Lenin once wrote this -
Those who toil and live in want all their lives are taught by religion to be submissive and patient while here on earth, and to take comfort in the hope of a heavenly reward. But those who live by the labor of others are taught by religion to practice charity while on earth, thus offering them a very cheap way of justifying their entire existence as exploiters and selling them at a moderate price tickets to well-being in heaven. Religion is opium for the people. Religion is a sort of spiritual booze, in which the slaves of capital drown their human image, their demand for a life more or less worthy of man.
He looked at heaven as restrictive and demeaning to the image of man - a cheap excuse for their existence on earth.
Therefore, maybe it would be good for us, on this last sermon on the End Times, to defend the doctrine of heaven. What is it? Is it a good thing to talk about? How does it affect our lives? This sermon is -
For Heaven’s Sake
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians he said, I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. . . . I know that this man . . . was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. (2 Co 12:2-4). Paul first of all called heaven “paradise” - the same thing that Jesus said to the thief on the cross. Such a picture brings to mind the Garden of Eden - where Adam and Eve were able to live without thorns or pain in a wonderful and lustrous land. Paul also said that the things which were heard in heaven were “inexpressible.” It was beyond description in human terms. Therefore, when God describes heaven, he often just says what WON’T be there. For instance, in the book of Revelation God says, Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Re 7:15-17
It is impossible for us to really imagine or comprehend a life without hunger, tears, or pain. But that is not all that Paul had to say about heaven. The dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Paul describes the first day of eternity as being a great big reunion, where we will be caught up in the air together with those who have previously died. Imagine how good it will feel to see your spouse, child, or parents who have passed away. What a wonderful description of heaven this is! In the Revelation of St. John, he said there would be - a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.
What will we do there? John said we would “serve him day and night in his temple. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” Re 5:11-13 Will it be the eternally same song? No. Will it just be singing? Of course not.
But what is the best part? The most important part of heaven is that all of us will be standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. The Lamb will be at the center of the throne - the main attraction. What a wonderful thing that will be, when we will be able to see the Lord face to face! As the Psalmist said, One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Ps 27:4 Imagine singing to the Lord in perfect harmony with angels and fellow Christians standing side by side! Who couldn’t look forward to that?
How do we know we are going there? In a parable of a banquet, Jesus illustrated who goes to heaven. The servant was told to - Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. (Mt 22:9-10). All were invited - not on a basis of their actions - but freely as a gift. Jesus promised us that I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. (Jn 11:25-26) Peter says that salvation through Christ is an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You don’t earn an inheritance. It is something that is given to you - through faith! As Christians, we realize that heaven is a gift of God, based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - not on our righteousness. What more could you ask for than a free gift of eternal joy?
So why are some people so opposed to the doctrine of heaven? It all comes down to either a misunderstanding of what heaven is or who heaven is for. For when you don’t understand what heaven is or who it is for - you will find people doing some strange things.
☹ In 1077 Henry IV, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, stood for three days outside the pope’s residence at Canossa, barefoot and bareheaded in the bitter January cold, begging the forgiveness of Pope Gregory VII, whose authority he had defied. The pope claimed that he alone, as the vicar of Christ and successor of Peter, possessed the keys to the kingdom of heaven - and King Henry the Fourth believed him.
☹ Mormon’s Gospel Principles: states: If we prove faithful to the Lord, we will live in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom of heaven. They will become gods. They will have their righteous family members with them and will be able to have spirit children also. Therefore, Mormons will do their best to do what the Gospel Principles tell them to - like be baptized for the dead, research their family history, and not drink hot tea.
☹ According to the Muslim religion - the smallest reward for the people of Paradise is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby. Therefore, some believe that destroying democracy and capitalism will earn them an instant ticket to heaven.
These ideas of heaven are based on false ideas of what heaven is and who it is for. Heaven is not a place where we will constantly have sex and be pampered by servants. It is not a place where we will even marry or be given in marriage or have children. (Mark 12:25) We won’t need our own family unit because heaven will be one big family. But it’s these deviations from the doctrine of heaven that make it a doctrine of hell. It encourages people to blow up buildings and their own bodies all “for heaven’s sake” - so they can enjoy selfish and sinful pleasures.
There’s a story in the Bible about how James’ and John’s mother came up to Jesus and asked, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” The disciples seemed to be regularly talking about and arguing over who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “there is no greater or lesser places in the kingdom of heaven!” What did Jesus say? First of all he stated that These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father. Then he went on to say, Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. (Mt 20:26-27). What was Jesus’ point? He was saying, “You have the wrong mind set behind what you’re doing. Heaven has already been prepared for those whom my Father has chosen. Instead of worrying about what you’ll get, just do the unnoticeable and common tasks!”
Even as Christians, how often do we really do things with the right motivations? Or how often is it that instead, we do things for selfish reasons. One of the original reasons that I went into the ministry was selfish. I had been going down the wrong path in high school, and I knew if I continued that way into college, I could very easily end up in hell. I felt that by entering into the ministry I would be able to expose myself to much more of God’s Word on a regular basis. It was a selfish motivation - because I didn’t want to burn in hell. Think about how often when we look forward to heaven, we are saying it selfishly. We look forward to heaven mainly because WE don’t want ourselves or our children to SUFFER anymore. In that sense, if that’s the only reason we look forward to heaven, then heaven becomes a selfish little shelter that we want to run to in order to get out of this world. Instead of fighting, we show God a cowardice attitude by selfishly wanting heaven before He is ready to take us there. Or, when we go to church, we only think in terms of what I can get out of the service, instead of being also concerned about the other members of the congregation as well. That’s selfish. For heaven’s sake, how loving is it when you know a neighbor who is an unbeliever on the way to hell, but say nothing to him or her because you don’t want to get ridiculed. If God wants all people to be saved, how heavenly is it to only hang out with Christians who agree with your view point, and to say nothing to unbelievers about God’s plan for them? If that’s all the doctrine of heaven is doing for you, how heavenly is it?
There is only one person who didn’t selfishly look forward to heaven. For heaven’s sake, this person went out among the damned unbelievers. He fed the poor. He healed the sick. He brought comfort to the bereaved widows. He even raised the dead. For heaven’s sake, he proclaimed the truth and denounced the heretics. But what thanks did he get for all of his works of mercy? All his countrymen yelled was, “crucify, crucify.” And when he was on the cross - suffering for crimes he did not commit, instead of recognizing him, His own Father disowned Him. Instead of recognizing Jesus as His only beloved Son, Jesus was disowned and treated like a well known criminal. Even though Jesus knew this would happen to him, He went to Jerusalem anyway. Why did he do it? Why did he put up with it? The writer to the Hebrews says, for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2) What joy was set before him? The joy of seeing us be declared not guilty. The joy of seeing us end up holy and righteous. The joy of hearing us sing praises to God in heaven eternally. That was his motivation. For heaven’s sake, Jesus died for the sins of the world - including ours.
The wonderful message of the Gospel declares that we don’t need to kill ourselves to get to heaven. We don’t need to stay away from hot tea. We don’t need the pope’s approval to get to heaven. We don’t need to do anything, for Jesus has done it all for us. When we were baptized, we were immediately made a member of God’s family - anointed as Jesus’ brother. When God made us part of His family through the blood of Christ, we were given a slice of heaven at that very moment - for God ultimately describes heaven as BEING WITH JESUS. With that message of forgiveness in Christ, all of us were freed from the chains of thinking we have to earn heaven to knowing that heaven is free. We were brought out of the kingdom of hell into the kingdom of heaven. Now angels surround us and protect us. The Holy Spirit lives in us. Jesus is with us and strengthens us every time we take the Lord’s Supper. Even though we can’t see it or always feel it, heaven surrounds us. When we get to heaven, however, the veil will be lowered. We will simply be able to see what was happening around us. We will have the full experience of heaven.
If I look at myself as living in a portion of heaven right now, and on a sure path to heaven through God’s Word - how will it effect me? How will it effect you? Paul described it with these words - we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. (2 Co 5:6-9). What is the attitude that Paul said the Corinthians would have? Confidence and eagerness. God promises us that we are forgiven and holy through the life and death of Christ. He promises us eternal life through the resurrection of Christ. That’s what we have to look forward to in heaven.
For heaven’s sake, Paul was willing to risk his life time and again to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For heaven’s sake, then, what will we do? We will not live like cowards. We know that the devil cannot get us to fall as long as we stay in the word. We will be confident in God’s protection. We will be confident that God works all things out for good. We will look forward to heaven. We will take risks to see other people there. Instead of walking around ashamed of who we are and afraid of persecution, we will be afraid of nothing knowing that God promises us an eternal reward of heaven in Christ.
Devereux Spratt, an Englishman, was captured with one hundred and twenty others in 1641 by the Algerian pirates. He was put to work with his fellow-slaves on the fortifications around Algiers. Cut off from congenial company, he looked to God for sympathy and strength, and God’s grace proved, as always, sufficient.
Finding his fellow-captives full of despair, he began to cheer them with words of faith and hope; and soon he had gathered about him, through his faithful testimony, a little band of praying and worshiping Christians. Through the influence of his brother in England, after several years, Devereux Spratt was ransomed, and the order for his release was brought to the fortifications.
His fellow-captives rejoiced with tears at his good fortune, but expressed regret that their leader was to leave them. However, Devereux Spratt refused to accept the ransom, and remained until he died, a slave among slaves, that he might continue to comfort those whom God had brought to Christ through him. For heaven’s sake, Devereux picked up his cross and followed Jesus - all the way to heaven.
For heaven’s sake we will do things that people will not like in this world. We’ll tell them they’re sinners. We’ll work to protect unborn babies. We’ll proclaim Christ. We’ll take risks, knowing that God has us in His hands. We’ll give God our firstfruits. We’ll take time to look after each other. Why? For heaven’s sake, why not? Amen.
