Sunday 03/21/21 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Eternal Hope!”
("The Journey to New Hope and New Life"- Series: Part 5 of 7)
Old Testament Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34
New Testament
Scripture: Hebrews 5:5-10
Gospel Lesson: John 12:20-33
Last Sunday, we were all challenged with
the quote, “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are useless here on earth”. This
challenge was for us all to not only think about our Christian faith only in
terms of the heaven. Meaning, we have faith and life on earth now, before
eternity with Jesus Christ. Last Sunday I talked about how we can preach faith
and live faith, as we all have limited time on this earth. We care share Jesus,
and also live like Jesus.
Thus far in this sermon series “The Journey to
New Hope and New Life,” I have compared this specific 40-day season of Lent to
Jesus’ 40-days and 40-nights in the wilderness. Jesus was tried and tempted,
and so have we been through this time of pandemic. Jesus suffered and
struggled, as we have. Even though this is true, Jesus’ time in the wilderness
came to end, as this Global COVID-19 Pandemic will come to an end, as well.
As a result, I challenged us all a
couple of weeks ago to “Change and Re-Group,” with the idea that this time of
pandemic will soon end. Our “new normal” will arrive, and are we ready for it?
Are we prepared to rejoin the world?
To better explain how we can “Change
and Re-Group” as we enter our “new normal,” I talked about faith on earth last
week. Specifically, that we are not only called to preach Christ, but to live
like Christ. We need tell people about the saving grace of Jesus, but we also need
to live like he taught us to live. We need to help those who suffer, those who
hunger, those who hurt, and those who feel unloved. The Christian faith is
sharing faith and living faith.
Now when we die our earthly deaths, or
if Jesus returns before our earthly deaths, then we will be in eternity with
Christ. In eternity with Christ there will not be the brokenness or the
problems that we have on earth. In heaven we will just worship God forever and will
all be part of that great cloud of witnesses.
Once again, since I talked last week about
sharing and living our Christian faith here on earth, this morning I want to
talk biblically about heaven. To start this discussion, I want to share with
you a story that I tell at virtually all funeral services that I have ever done.
I remember when I was quite young, attending a funeral for a man in the
community in which I lived. At this funeral, which was over 30-years ago, from
what I remember of it, there was a packed church full of people. I bet probably
two-hundred or more people, and family was in the front rows of the church. The
family was sobbing, crushed, mourning, and beside themselves as this beloved
man and community member died suddenly. The much older and wiser minister than
me, then looked out among the masses, and then his eyes looked squarely on the
family members. The older and wiser minister looked at them with the greatest
of love and compassion. He then said this, “It is on days such as this that our
flesh grieves, and our soul rejoices”. Once again, the older and wiser minister
said, “It is on days such as this that our flesh grieves, and our soul rejoices”.
At the time I think I was six or seven
years old, and I had no idea what that minister meant. Years later, I know exactly
what he meant. Last Sunday, I talked about sharing and living our faith in
Christ here on earth, but this Sunday, I am talking about the “Eternal Hope” of
heaven with Jesus. This is why when we lose someone that we love “Our flesh grieves,
and our soul rejoices”. God is with us here on earth, and Jesus saves us here on
earth. We are called to share and live the gospel here on earth, but what is
heaven like?
The assumption then, is that what
comes after this life on earth for those who love Christ must be great. So
great that when someone we love dies, “Our soul rejoices”. Now again, we are
not supposed to be “so heavenly minded that we are useless here on earth,” but
with this said again, what is heaven going to look like and what is heaven going
to be like?
Before jumping into some of the more
biblical ideas, many of us might have ideas of what we think heaven will be
like. There have been countless movies that portray heaven. In heaven we are
given angels wings, we have golden halos, and we lay on clouds and play harps
all. Well maybe, but this is mostly stuff we created. I heard a comedian say
once that his idea of heaven is not laying on a cloud all day and playing a harp.
In fact, he said that he would be bored of this in about 5-minutes!
Many of us have heard the story about
the Apostle Peter or St. Peter sitting at a desk in front of the pearly gates
of heaven. Peter checks people in, or presumably has been given the authority from
God to turn people away and let us just say send them to the deep south. So,
the Apostle Peter, which our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters believe was
the first pope, is rewarded eternally by not actually being in heaven, but just
in front of the pearly gates as a check in person, like a government worker
would be when immigrants came through Ellis Island in New York City.
Since I am a sort of smart-aleck, I
have asked some of my Roman Catholic friends, “Does St. Peter get a lunch break
every day?” Or I have asked, “Does St. Peter get to back through the pearl
gates to sleep every night”? I have also asked “does St. Peter get vacation
time?” Further, I heard one comedian say if heaven is a gated community, what
kind of neighborhood is it in. Is it possible that when we die our earthly deaths,
that we suddenly find ourselves in a long line people, with Saint Peter at the
front checking us in? I guess, but it is not a strictly biblical idea.
I have heard so many stories of people
dying for a few minutes, and then coming back to life here on earth. I have
heard stories of people’s souls leaving their bodies, people going into a “great
light” or a tunnel, being reunited with family, feeling great warmth and love,
and etc. Some of us have read the book or seen the movie “Heaven is for Real”.
So just what does the bible say about heaven?
In our reading for this morning from
the Book of Jeremiah once again, the Prophet Jeremiah talks about God making a “New
Covenant” with the house of Israel. The scripture says we will know God, that
God will be revealed among us, and that God’s law and love will be written on
our hearts. This person, Jesus the Christ, will come to set us free, and we
will one day be in eternity in heaven with him forever (Jer. 31:31-34, NRSV).
In our reading from the Book of
Hebrews for this morning, the Apostle Paul tells us once again that Christ was
begotten of God, not made, that he suffered like we do on this earth, but that
he became the source for eternal salvation for us all (Heb. 5:5-10, NRSV). We
hear so much in the Bible about what God has done, what Jesus has done to
change us, so that we might share his love and live like him. Yet what will it be
like when we are eternally with him?
An article that I researched about the
Bible says this about heaven:
“1 Corinthians
2:9-10 says, “The things God has prepared for those who love
him” are “revealed to us by his Spirit.” To counter false, unbiblical notions,
we need to study and meditate on “words taught by the Spirit” (1 Corinthians
2:13). Our eternal home is a real place (John 14:1-3)
where we will reside in real, physical bodies (1 Corinthians
15) and where we will experience everlasting joys, rewards, and
treasures (Matthew 5:12; Matthew
6:19-20; Luke 6:23).”
“God dwells there
(Revelation
21:3) and the light of Jesus will permeate every corner of this
place (Revelation
22:5). Charles
Spurgeon said,
“To the lover of Jesus it is very pleasant to observe how the Lord Jesus Christ
has always stood foremost in glory from before the foundation of the world, and
will do so as long as eternity shall last.”
“We shall see the Lord “face-to-face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). The fact that our all-knowing, all-powerful Creator will dwell with us and we shall know him in an even more intimate way should be sufficient for the true Christian to rest assured that they will be satisfied there, but the Bible gives us many other glimpses of what this place will be like” (christianity.com/wiki/heaven-and-hell/what-is-heaven-like-according-to-the-bible.html).
This article then goes on to give us for Biblical ideas of
what heaven will be like. Here they are:
“1. Eradication of
evil. Jesus promised that when he returns, he will send out his angels to
“weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil,” and
“then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew
13:41-43). Picture your favorite place on earth. Now imagine that
place completely free from any of the unpleasantries that make you feel sad,
uncomfortable, or anxious. Perfect righteousness and justice reign supreme.
Every shred of evil has been completely eliminated and, instead, will be the
opposite of anything that causes displeasure.
In Revelation 21:4, we see that the eternal state will have “no more sickness, crying, or pain.” What is the opposite of these? Perfect health, joy, and pleasure. In God’s presence, there are “pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11, ESV). Lovers of God will find that the pleasures of heaven eclipse their wildest imaginations (1 Corinthians 2:9).”
“2. Perfect
friendships. Think of all the Old Testaments saints or Christians down
through history that you would like to meet… Abraham, Moses, Hannah, the
Apostle Paul, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliot, Corrie Ten Boom. The
Bible says we will be with all of those people but describes them as “just men
made perfect” (Hebrews
12:22-23). There will no longer be any hint of pride, insecurity,
jealousy, discrimination, or competition — nothing that would hinder the
sweetest Christian fellowship.
Think about a time when you felt deep love and respect for fellow believers. Now imagine that love and respect being completely untarnished by any ounce of sin on their part or yours. Imagine that love being multiplied to a perfect degree and encompassing people “from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9; Daniel 7:14) who are perfectly united in the one aim of loving God and seeking his glory alone.”
“3. Learning and
growth. While our knowledge will greatly increase in the eternal state (1 Corinthians
13:12), there is no reason to conclude that we will become
all-knowing. William G. T. Shedd states,
“By this we are not to understand that the creature’s knowledge, in the future
state, will be as extensive as that of the Omniscient One; or that it will be
as profound and exhaustive as His. The infinitude of things can be known only
by the Infinite Mind.” Alcorn comments on Ephesians
2:6-7: “The word show means ‘to reveal.’ The phrase in
the coming ages clearly indicates this will be a progressive, ongoing
revelation, in which we learn more and more about God’s grace.”
“4. Meaningful work. Work was part of God’s original plan for humans before the fall (Genesis 2:15). God is always working (John 5:17) and Jesus said his mission was to finish the work of doing the Father’s will (John 4:34) to bring God glory (John 17:4). Reagan Rose writes, “Imagine all of the things you love about work — the satisfaction, the sense of progress, the knowledge that you have brought something that was disordered into a greater state of order — but imagine all of that without the confusion, sweat, or annoyance that is part and parcel of our work now! Now, that’s a job I wouldn’t mind signing up for.” This eternal view of the satisfying aspects of work can impact our perspective on our earthly jobs. Tom Nelson comments, “If our daily work, done for the glory of God and the common good of others, in some way carries over to the new heavens and new earth, then our present work itself is overflowing with immeasurable value and eternal significance” (christianity.com/wiki/heaven-and-hell/what-is-heaven-like-according-to-the-bible.html).
Imagine my friends a place such as this? A
place free from all suffering, worry, and pain. A place of perfect harmony and
love. Do I think that we can build such a place here on earth? No, I do not,
but I think that we can make it much better through Christ and the power of the
Holy Spirit. We are stuck on this earth, sharing and the living Good News of
Jesus Christ, but the scriptures tell us that there is eternity with Jesus to
come.
In touching on our gospel lesson once again for this
morning, Jesus tells us once again that the time has come for him to tried, mocked,
tortured, and crucified. In fact, Jesus says once again in John 12:24-25:
“24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (Jn. 12:24-25, NRSV).
Jesus tells how us how to live and love and how we will be
with him for eternal life, as I just gave you a biblical depiction of eternal
life. Jesus then tells us more about following him, God the Father speaks, some
think it was an angel, and Jesus again talks about the significance of his crucifixion
and our faith in him.
So far in this sermon series, “The Journey to New Hope and
New Life,” we have talked about a time of trial and suffering, both in general,
and during this pandemic. We have also talked about needing to change and
re-group. We have talked about living our faith here on earth, and we have now
talked about eternity with Jesus. Next week, on Palm Sunday, we will talk about
what it must have been like to see and experience Jesus while he was alive here
on earth.
To close this message about “Eternal Hope,” I want to read
the last bit of the article that I just read part of to you about what eternity
or heaven will be like. This is what it says:
“Knowing the reality of our eternal state and that many of
the things we are doing now will continue, only in a perfected condition, should
motivate us to live with purpose and Godly motivations now. Those who love God
will continue to love God and want to obey Him.”
“Peter writes, “What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming….since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Peter 3:11-14) (christianity.com/wiki/heaven-and-hell/what-is-heaven-like-according-to-the-bible.html).
So, we have suffered long and hard through this pandemic,
but it is coming to end, we are called live and love as if we are in heaven
already. Friends be of good cheer Jesus will son die for us all on Good Friday,
be raised to new life on Easter, and one day he will return in glory. One day
we will all see our “Eternal Hope” realized in glory with Jesus Christ. Amen.
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