Introduction
Illustration: Heaven
There was a group of boys in Mr. Smith’s Sunday School Class who were learning about Eternal Life. At the close of the lesson, Mr. Smith wanted to see how well he taught his lesson and so he asked his class who wanted to go to Heaven? The entire class raised its hands, expect one boy. Thinking that this young boy did not hear him well, he repeated the question. Still he did not raise his hand. Finally out of frustration, Mr. Smith addressed him asking him if he wanted to go to Heaven, to which he replied Sure I do Mr. Smith, but I thought that you were planning on taking a group up right now, and I am just not ready!
Death is a very uncomfortable subject to discuss, and we all must face it one day whether or not we are ready. It is my prayer this day, that I will be able to give you a reality check in your Christian faith on this very point so that when you face death, you will have God’s peace
Read the Text:
2 Corinthians 5:1-5 NIV
Our Heavenly Dwelling
1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
The Deposit of the Spirit.
God puts a little bit of heaven in our hearts so that we just won’t settle for less! (I Cor 5:5 The Message) He gives us the Spirit, His pledge that it is only going to get better. Throughout the many difficulties that Paul went through as a minister, he never lost sight that something better was in store for him. And not only that, he told others the same thing.
Illus:
There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible.
Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. There’s one more thing," she said excitedly. "What’s that?" came the pastor’s reply. "This is very important," the woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say.
"That surprises you, doesn’t it?" the woman asked.
"Well, to be honest, I’m puzzled by the request," said the pastor.
The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ’Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder "What’s with the fork?’. Then I want you to tell them:
"Keep your fork....the best is yet to come."
The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the woman’s casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question "What’s with the fork?" And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.
So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently, that the best is yet to come. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.
The very presence of God the Holy Spirit is in your life, Christian.
1. That is why when you pray, at times, other concerns come to mind as you look down your prayer list.
2. That is why instead of giving out a piece of your mind, you give out a good word.
3. That is why in the simple things of creation, you can find so much joy, O Christian. It WILL only get better, because of that Hope that is in you.
The Conviction Of Frustration
It is hard to wait at times. The same is true for the Christian. Paul writes that ‘we groan’
1. because we are stuck in these bodies.
2. We realize that this Earth is not our home,
3. that we are just passing through, that there are better days to come.
When the Christian considers what is in store for him once he passes from this Earth, it can become not just a time of frustration, wanting it now, but of great joy and hope.
Listen to what Paul told this church at Corinth, while remembering these same things are written for your joy and assurance:
1. Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption;
2. sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power;
3. sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.
1 Corinthians 15:42-43
The Knowledge Of Experience
Don’t you love it when you read with such certainty that Paul knows what is ahead for him and all believers in Christ! It is not wishful thinking, but an extremely sound conviction.
Listen to what Paul knows with conviction:
1. the blessedness of God in all his affliction and writes of it to the church in Cornith
i. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God
ii. 2 Corinthians 1
2. the grace of the Lord Jesus, who raised him up from a sinning life and called him to be an apostle.
3. the love of God the father, who embraced him even while he was a sinner,
4. blessedness of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, who not only knit his soul with God but knit him with fellow believers.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
2 Corinthians 13
And this grand certainty of
1. knowing His redeemer lives,
2. knowing the God the Father had given him a bit of Heaven to have something greater to look forward to
3. knowing that our momentary afflictions are nothing compared to seeing Jesus
gives to you, my dear friend in Christ, assurance of Heaven.
