Transcription
It's sad, but the truth is most Christians don't know anything about heaven. In fact, what they think they know about heaven is actually false. And let me give you a few examples to illustrate what I'm talking about.
Most people think that heaven is ethereal. How many of you know what ethereal means? It's not etheral. It's ethereal. Well, ethereal means lacking material substance. In other words, it's all spiritual and not physical. So when people die and they go to heaven, they're like ghosts. They're disembodied spirits. And all day long they're hanging out on the clouds that are kind of floating in the heavens and they're playing a harp. That's heaven. That's wrong. That's not what heaven is like.
And then you have other others that think that heaven is going to be one long boring church service. That for all eternity we're going to all be gathered around the throne of God and all we're going to be doing is standing up and worshiping God and then falling to her face. And we're going to do that 24 hours a day, seven days a week forever. Wrong.
And then you have those that don't have any idea what heaven is going to be like, but they can't imagine it being any better than what we have here on this earth. So when I talk about Jesus coming back and the rapture taking place, if you're a teenager, you think, I don't want Jesus to come back yet. I haven't even had sex yet. I don't even want to have sex before he comes back. Or if you're a college student and I talk about Jesus coming back and us going to heaven, you're probably thinking, "Well, I don't want Jesus to come back. I haven't been married yet. I at least want to get married, maybe have some kids before Jesus comes back. And maybe you're a little bit older and you're getting close to retirement. And I talk about the rapture and us going to heaven. And you think, well, I don't want Jesus to come back yet. I haven't I haven't reached retirement. Me and the wife, we're going to go to Hawaii when I retire. I at least want to go to Hawaii before Jesus comes back. So, in essence, what everyone is saying is they don't know what heaven is like, but it can't be better than sex, marriage, or Hawaii. >> [laughter] >> No wonder Christians aren't excited about going to heaven. Who wants to go somewhere that's ethereal, that's all spiritual and not physical, or go to a place where it's one long boring church service where all we do every day for all eternity is worship God or a place that's not as good or fun as where we are right now on this earth.
But the problem is in heaven, the problem is we have all of these misconceptions about heaven because we don't know anything about it. So that's the first reason we need to learn about heaven. The second reason we're to learn about heaven is because God has commanded us to. Turn with me if you would to the book of Colossians chapter 3. We're going to read verses 1 and two. Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights. Now this is written in the imperative mood. That means it's a command. God is not suggesting that you set your sights on the realities of heaven. He's commanding you to do that. So, let's keep reading. Since you've been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven. Where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think. That word think is written in the imperative mood. That means that God is not suggesting that you think. God is commanding you to think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. So, as Christians, we're supposed to set our sights on the realities of heaven and we're to think about the things of heaven.
Now, does everyone know what it means to set your sights on something? Yeah. Well, it means to focus on something or in other words, to make something the central point or the focal point of your life. So, what this verse is saying is that we're supposed to make heaven the focal point of our life. And we're to constantly be thinking on the things of heaven and not the things of earth. But why? Why should heaven be the focal point of our life? And why should we constantly be thinking about the things of heaven? Well, I'll tell you what. When we make heaven the focal point of our life and we think about the things of heaven more than we think about the things on this earth, it changes our perspective, our will, and our priorities. Yeah. You see, when heaven becomes the focal point of my life and I'm constantly thinking about it, it gives me an eternal perspective. And that's what I need when things get tough. I need to realize that what I'm going through is temporal, but the way I respond to what I'm going through will have eternal consequences. Turn to second Corinthians 4 16-18, and I'll show you what I'm talking about. Notice what it says. That is why we never give up. Some of you guys are wimpy Christians. You're wusses. And the reason I say that is you get so down and depressed and you just kind of lose heart and you give up. You quit coming to church, you don't do what you're supposed to. And you know what I attribute that to that to? I attribute it to the fact that probably you've never played sports. Because when you play sports, you learn to play with pain. You learn to play even if you're not going to win. You play you're like you're going to win. YOU DON'T STOP UNTIL THE GAME IS OVER. And as a result of that, you learn certain life lessons on the field to play that you can actually come in and and use on in life. But you know, there's so many people they get upset. Certain things happen in their life and they quit coming to church. There are bodies are dying. Our spirits are being renewed every day. You see, our life or our our physical body, it keeps getting stronger until we actually hit about our peak at the age of 28 to 30. And then after about 30 years old, I hate to say it, but we're on a downward slope. So, it says, "Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long." In other words, they're temporal. Do you realize that in the grand scheme of eternity, the troubles that we have are just a blip on the radar? Sh. But pastor, you don't know the troubles I have. It doesn't matter what troubles you have. It doesn't matter how bad it gets on this earth. I want you to understand something. In the grand scheme of eternity, it's just a blip on the radar.
When I make heaven the focal point of my life, and when I think on the things of heaven, it does something else. It also makes me more determined to persevere in tough times. Turn to second Peter 3 13-14 and I'll show you what I'm talking about. Says, "But we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth he has promised." You see, God has promised that after the millennium and after the great white throne judgment, this present earth and the heavens, they're going to be consumed with fire and God's going to create a new heaven and a new earth. Those are the things that he has promised. And says, "If we look forward to the new heavens and the new earth he has promised," and then he goes further, "A world filled with God's righteousness." In other words, a world without sin. At that point, there's not going to be any more sin. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. You see, looking forward to heaven and seeing God's promises promises fulfilled is what motivates me to live the way that I'm supposed to and to persevere when things get tough.
Plus, it also helps me to keep my priorities straight. Look with me if you would in the book of Matthew chapter 6 19 and 20 and I'll show you what I'm talking about. Very familiar passage of scripture. Notice what it says. Don't store up treasures here on this earth where moths eat eat them and rust destroys them and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. Now, let me ask you a question. How many of you are laying up treasures in heaven? I'm not trying to ask you to be arrogant or to boast, but I just want to know. I'm going to raise my hand. How many of you are laying up treasures in heaven? Well, if you're not, I can tell you why. It's because you think more about the things on this earth than you do about the things in heaven. All you really think about is maybe that new car or maybe getting a raise or maybe getting a promotion at work or maybe putting in a swimming pool or maybe retiring or maybe buying that bass boat. You see, what you're really focused on are the things of this world. The realities of heaven is not the focal point of your life. You're not thinking on the things of heaven. You're thinking on the things of this earth.
Trust me, your whole life would change if you made heaven the focal point of your life and you started thinking about the things of heaven rather than the things of this earth. Because number one, it would give you an eternal perspective on life rather than a temporal perspective. And number two, it would motivate you to persevere when things get tough. You'd stop giving up and staying out of church and feeling so sorry for yourself. And number three, it would help you to get your priorities straight and to keep your priorities straight. But here's the thing that I want you to realize. You can't focus on the realities of heaven if you don't know anything about heaven. That's kind of a no-brainer, isn't it? You know, God told us to make the things of heaven or the realities of heaven the focal point of our life. But if we don't know anything about heaven, we can't make the realities of heaven the focal point of our life. And you can't think about the things of heaven if you don't know what the things of heaven are. That's why God commands us to learn as much as we can about heaven.