“THE JOURNEY WE CALL LIFE #8-HEAVENLY HOPE”
“THE JOURNEY WE CALL LIFE #8-HEAVENLY HOPE”
REVELATION 21:1-4
INTRO: The Bible tells us in Titus 2:13 that we who believe are to be “Looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus
Christ.” Whether we leave this life by death or by the rapture Heaven is the hope
of every believer! During the first century Christians were persecuted, ridiculed,
and tortured for their faith. Their hope was the return of their Saviour Jesus Christ.
Their prayer was “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20). Christian
slaves during that horrible time of slavery in our country would sing songs about
that hope. They were “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” They would sing the old hymns
about heaven such as:
“This world is not my home,
I'm just a passing thru,
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue;
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home in this world any more.”
(Albert E. Brumley. This World is Not My Home. All-American Church Hymnal. p. 229).
Friends, It was this HOPE of Heaven that kept them going and motivated their love
and service for the Lord! Friends, the HEAVEN HOPE has empowered Christians to
endure difficulties for centuries. Sadly, we don't seem to think as fondly of Heaven as
earlier believers did. Maybe the reason might be because we have it too good down
here. Compared to the majority of the world we live in wealth, happiness, and comfort.
But friends, we must not let that HEAVENLY HOPE within us diminish! There are
three reasons why we must keep “looking for the blessed hope...”. Friends, we must
keep our eyes on Heaven because....
(1) FOCUSING ON HEAVEN DIMINISHES THIS WORLD'S ATTRACTION
COLOSSIANS 3:1-2—“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth.”
A. TRUTH DEMANDS THAT WE FOCUS ON HEAVEN. Warren Wiersbe said, There is
no greater incentive for Christian living than the second coming of Jesus Christ.” (Warren
W. Wiersbe. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines On The New Testament. p. 663). Paul here
says—“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above...”. If you
are truly born again, if you are really a child of the King, and if Heaven truly is your home,
then your focus should be on Heaven! Friends, we must not become enamored with the
things of this world. If this world means more to us than the world to come then something
is seriously wrong spiritually! 1 John 2:15 reminds us—“Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
V17 says—“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever.” Every thing in this world is passing away. This world is destined for
destruction.
ILLUS: An ad for New York City says, “The fun and excitement of New York City just never
stops.” But on 9/11/01 it did.
We live in an uncertain and unstable world and if our focus is not on Heaven then we prove
that our love for God is not real.
B. TRUST DEMANDS THAT WE FOCUS ON HEAVEN. Paul says that when you truly
have faith in God you will “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
If our focus is Heaven we will recognize that this world is temporary. We won't get
so enamored with the World that we lose sight of what awaits us in Heaven. When our hope
is in Heaven we are truly blessed.
* IF YOUR HOPE IS HEAVEN YOU ARE NOT TERRIFIED WHEN YOUR WORLD COLLAPSES.
* IF YOUR HOPE IS HEAVEN YOU ARE NOT JEALOUS WHEN OTHERS HAVE MORE RICHES OR POSSESSIONS THAN YOU DO.
* IF YOUR HOPE IS HEAVEN YOU ARE NOT EASILY TEMPTED BY THE PASSING PLEASURES OF THIS WORLD.
* IF YOUR HOPE IS HEAVEN YOU WILL NOT BE CAUGHT UP IN YOUR OWN SUCCESS.
FOCUSING ON HEAVEN DIMINISHES THIS WORLD'S ATTRACTION and...
(2) FOCUSING ON HEAVEN PREVENTS DISCOURAGEMENT'S ATTACK
2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18—“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward
man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things
which are not seen are eternal.”
A. WE BECOME DISCOURAGED BECAUSE WE LACK A PROPER FOCUS. If our
primary focus is this present world we will become easily discouraged. In fact, the older we
get the more discouraged we will become.
ILLUS: Mark Twain, ”under the weight of age...said in his biography, 'The burden of pain,
care, misery grows heavier year by year. At length ambition is dead, pride is dead,
vanity is dead, longing for release in their place. It will come at last--the only
unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them--and they vanish from a world where they
were of no consequence, where they achieved nothing; where they were a mistake and
a failure and a foolishness” (Heaven. Randy Alcorn. p. 7).
Focusing on Heaven gives us a hope that will not fade away. There is power in future hope.
Someone has said, “If we have a why to live, we can endure any how.”
B. WE BECOME DISCOURAGED BECAUSE WE LIVE A PRAYERLESS FAITH. We
go busily throughout our day never pausing to ask God's assistance or to seek God's will
concerning our lives and then we our cherished plans go awry we become discouraged and
wonder why God isn't blessing us any long. Instead of focusing on God we focus on our
circumstances. Instead of living with Heaven in view we live as if this world is our final
home. Friends, we need to live a life of prayer! If we live a prayerless faith we will face:
* UNCERTAINTY (Philippians 4:6). Friends, the cure for being careful for nothing is to pray about everything!
* UNEASINESS (Philippians 4:7). When we fail to pray we will not have peace but will be restless, anxious, and unsure.
FOCUSING ON HEAVEN DIMINISHES THIS WORLD'S ATTRACTION, FOCUSING ON HEAVEN PREVENTS DISCOURAGEMENT'S ATTACK, and finally...
(3) FOCUSING ON HEAVEN SATISFIES OUR DEMANDING AWARENESS
ECCLESIASTES 3:11—“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath
set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
from the beginning to the end.”
A. WE HAVE A GOD-GIVEN AWARENESS. “....He hath set the world in their heart...”.
Our word “world” here is translated from a Hebrew word that means “eternity”. God has
placed in the inborn constitution of man the capability of conceiving of eternity, the struggle
to apprehend the everlasting, the longing after an eternal life. (Albert Barnes. Albert Barnes'
Notes On The Bible. e-Sword. Version 7.8.5. Copyright 2000-2007. Rick Meyers. All Rights
Reserved Worldwide). “Virtually every religion believes in some time of afterlife, and down
inside we all sense there is something beyond this life” (Billy Graham. The Journey. p. 300).
B. WE HAVE A GLORY AWAITING. Focusing on Heaven satisfies the hunger in our souls.
It is foretaste of eternity. Focusing on Heaven satisfies our longing deep within for
something more. Friends, the Scripture promises that we have a glorious future awaiting us!
That is why it is so important that, as believers, we live our lives in light of eternity.
ILLUS: It is precisely because of the eternity outside time that everything in time becomes
valuable and important and meaningful. Therefore, Christianity ... makes it of urgent
importance that everything we do here (whether individually or as a society) should be
rightly related to what we eternally are. "Eternal life" is the sole sanction for the
values of this life. (Dorothy L. Sayers in Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul.
Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 11).
The trials of earth are nothing compared to the triumphs of heaven. We are looking for
HOME! Listen to the words our text this morning—“And God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
CLOSING: How can we forget some of the final lines in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy
keeps saying, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home." Most of us
feel the same way. Man has always felt a fondness for that dwelling called home.
Adam and Eve were grieved when they were cast out of the garden of Eden-their
home. Noah and his family listened as the waters covered their homeland. Moses
left his homeland to follow the will of God for his life. Jesus found that a prophet
was not without honor, except at home. The prodigal son knew that even as a
servant, home was better than the pigpen. We rejoice today as we round the corner
to "our home." Whether it be a cardboard box in an alley, or a fine air-conditioned
bastion of comfort in the stifling heat, we are glad to get home. As temporary as
the structures on earth are, our home in heaven will be permanent. God challenges
us to live daily in preparation for that great eternal home that He is preparing for
His children. It will be untouched by the elements of nature, unscarred by strife,
pure, clean, and holy, and yes-IT WILL LAST FOR ETERNITY! Do you feel as
good about the home God is preparing for you as the one that may be gone
tomorrow? If we anticipate that home with joy, how wonderfully we will live our
lives today! May God bless us unto that end.
Friend, Do you possess that HEAVENLY HOPE today? Do you know Jesus as
your Saviour?
Christian, Do you have your heart focused on Heaven so to keep your
HEAVENLY HOPE alive? Do you with joy anticipate the coming of the Lord?
FOCUSING ON HEAVEN DIMINISHES THIS WORLD’S ATTRACTIONS,
FOCUSING ON HEAVEN PREVENTS DISCOURAGEMENT’S ATTACKS,
and FOCUSING ON HEAVEN SATISIFIES OUR DEMANDING
AWARENESS.
Friend, How is your HEAVENLY HOPE this morning?
PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 24, 2OO8.
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