I Thes 4:13-18
Intro: “Groundhog Day.” It’s the story of a weather man who goes to Punxsutawney, PA to cover the groundhog festivities on Feb. 2. But, when he wakes up on what should be Feb. 3, he finds himself starting the same day over again – Feb. 2. In fact, no matter what he does, every morning, when he wakes up, it’s Groundhog Day all over again – same people, same events, all exactly the same. At first it scares him. Then, he tries to use it to take advantage of people. Then, he gets desperate. No matter what happens to him, every morning, he wakes up exactly like the day before. Nothing he tries will stop the monotony of that alarm going off at 6 am every morning day after day. He can’t escape his personal eternity, and it begins to drive him crazy, until he resolves to use it for good – to develop himself, and to use his days to help others.
What would you do? What will we do for forever?
When was the last time you used the word “forever” and you meant it as a positive thing?
Isaac Asimov – “Whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of Heaven would be even worse.” So, let’s begin with an important acknowledgment this morning: many people think Heaven sounds boring.
Why might we think Heaven will be boring?
1. We’ve bought into a lie: sin is exciting and righteousness is boring; sin expands life and righteousness shrinks it.
Really? So we get the sexual revolution. No more of this restrictive, prudish stuff. Let’s declare our sexual freedom. How has it worked out? It hasn’t expanded life. It has reduced something sacred and wonderful to a marketing tool, a substitute for real relationships, a cheap commodity. Does faithfulness to part of God’s plan for marriage really reduce us? I read in
Proverbs 6:26
The prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread…
Paul tells the Philippians about people with a worldly mindset. He says,
Philippians 3:19
Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
How big is their god if it’s their stomach? God the Creator is bigger than that – bigger than my impulses, bigger than my appetite that’s satisfied in minutes and then returns in a few hours, bigger than my emotions. Sin shrinks life; it doesn’t expand it.
John describes the great beast that comes out of the sea…
Revelation 13:6
He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.
Satan wants you convinced that Heaven is boring. Don’t buy into the lie. The idea that Heaven is boring is a lie from the devil, and I intend to prove this morning that it isn’t!
2. We live a Christian life that’s boring!
Part of the problem with accepting that Heaven won’t be boring is the number of people who live their life in Christ in boredom. If you’ve reduced Christianity to just a list of things you can’t do and another list of things you have to do, then imagine how much that will be multiplied in Heaven! If you can’t have fun now, then Heaven’s got to be 10X worse! If the list of things you can’t do now is strict, imagine how much stricter it will be in Heaven!
You see, if that’s the way you approach your relationship to Jesus, your rehearsal for Heaven is already boring.
There are some Christians who defy this idea – who travel to foreign lands and risk their lives in order to preach; who dare to go against the flow in their schools, even though it’s tough; who dig into God’s word with seriousness to learn and apply it; who actually pray and then watch for God to answer; who stick their necks out at work or in their community, because they’re counting on God to back them. Bored? Hardly! But if you’re living your Christian life in a boring way now, no wonder you expect Heaven to bore you!
3. We haven’t considered closely enough what will and won’t be in Heaven
That’s why, for these past weeks, we’ve been taking a more detailed look at what we can know and understand about Heaven now. I want for every one of us to put away any wrong ideas we have about Heaven being a boring place. Instead, I’d like to see us get chills up and down our spines whenever we talk about it.
Bilbo Baggins, at the end of “The Return of the King,” is a Hobbit now old and decrepit. But he has been granted a special invitation by the elves to voyage from Middle Earth to Veldinor. Suddenly, his face gets a glimmer, his step quickens, and he heads to the ship to leave, “I think I’m quite ready for another adventure.”
So, in the interest of Heaven being another adventure that brightens our face and quickens our step, let’s talk about what won’t and will be in Heaven, and what we’ll do for forever.
Won’t be in Heaven:
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Go ahead and make your list. Every thing that happened clear back in Genesis 3 because Adam and Eve sinned is going to be undone. The curse and all that goes with it is going to be removed. The creation, the way it was when God made it all and looked at it all and it says in Gen 1:31 “it was very good,” is going to be restored.
No more viruses or allergies. No more cancer. No more birth defects. No more mental disease. No more natural disasters. No more mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, or poison ivy. No more arthritis or heart attacks. No more near-sightedness.
You can accuse me of being a kind of “glass half empty” guy, but I believe one of the great joys about Heaven is this list of things that won’t be there. Jesus referred to the fact that moths and rust aren’t there, and thieves aren’t there. I’m thankful this morning for what won’t be in Heaven.
But the long list is the list of what will be there…
Will be in Heaven:
Mark Buchanan, talks about Heaven in Things Unseen – “It’s the one place where both impulses – to go beyond, to go home – are perfectly joined and totally satisfied….Our yearning for home is once and for all fulfilled. The ahh! of deep satisfaction and the aha! of delighted surprise meet, and they kiss!”
So many people have done such a good job of taking Scripture and describing Heaven. I’m using a lot of other peoples’ words this morning. Just like I’ve been using some really good books to help me in this series, I find a lot of joy in the words others have used to talk about our Home.
A Welcome
Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The point of the parable that Jesus tells here is that we should use our resources now to help other people make it to Heaven. The result will be that, when you arrive there, those people you helped will be part of the welcome you’ll receive. People you knew, welcoming you, into Heaven.
Several times in the OT, rather than just saying someone “died,” it says, he was “gathered to his people.” What’s that mean? It means he was welcomed into Heaven, by those who died before him.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 is given to us as a word of comfort. So much of it refers to the fact that we’ll be conscious of each other in all this. We’ll see a difference between those who have died and those who are alive when Jesus returns. And, it ends,
1 Thessalonians 4:17
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. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Together, with the Lord, forever.
Paul tells the Corinthians that the Spirit will “present us with you in his presence.”
2 Corinthians 4:14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
I’m looking forward to a great welcome when we arrive in Heaven.
Rest
Revelation 14:13
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
The book of Hebrews says there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Come tomorrow morning, when the alarm goes off, that’s going to be a happy thought, if I’m able to think it! And if you’re old and your body is getting tired, that’s a happy thought, isn’t it? If you’re stressed, or working 2 jobs, or frustrated by the way everything never seems to get done, rest sounds good, doesn’t it? There will be rest in Heaven, but there will also be…
Work
John 5:17 "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
The ability to work is one of the characteristics God built into us that is a blessing. Adam and Eve were placed in the perfect garden in a perfect creation in order to “work it.”
But, I also understand what it’s like to mow the lawn only to know that the grass will grow back. I know what it’s like to fix the faucet and know that one day, it will just wear out again. What will it be like to know that every bit of work we do will last? What will it be like to know that, no matter what we do, our next work will be our best?
Ill - Herbert L. Clarke was one of the greatest cornet players who ever lived. He was born in 1867, and he achieved notoriety worldwide. Despite his fame and success at the time, he determined to stop playing concerts when he turned 50, because he would be past his prime. He knew that as he aged he would begin to lose some of his skills.
Just imagine what it will be like to become only better and better at everything we try! Imagine what it will be like to not only see all your work last, but to see your own skills always increasing. Imagine erasing the words, “I used to be able…” from our language.
Service
Revelation 22:3
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.
Part of the joy of Heaven will be that we can serve God. This is another one of those things that we ought to be practicing now. If you don’t enjoy serving God now, if you have no interest in that, then I’m afraid that you’re not going to like Heaven. That’s a big part of what we’re going to do for forever.
Eating, Healing
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
This isn’t the only Heaven passage that talks about eating in Heaven. Just for a moment, think about all the important events that surround eating. Eating together is about relationships. Eating is an occasion when God reminds us He loves us by providing for us, and we remind Him that we appreciate Him by thanking Him for it. We’re going to participate in a great marriage feast, and then, John tells us about the tree of life, with a new crop of fruit every month.
Then there’s this idea of healing. I’ve often wondered, “Healing from what?” If disease and pain are gone, what will we need to heal? Randy Alcorn suggests that maybe it will still be possible for us to have minor injuries – like scraped knees or knuckles from mountain climbing – not to the extent that we’ll have suffering or real pain from them, but the kind that need “healing.” You go ahead and wrestle with this. I’m just reading the same thing you are here, and it says there’s some healing to be done in Heaven.
Reigning
Revelation 22:5
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
We have a hard time envisioning rule and authority without corruption. We have a hard time imagining kingdoms without war between them. But take away all the abuse of power, the lack of justice, the selfish ambition, and start over, and that’s what Heaven will be like. There are kingdoms in this new earth. How those are formed, and how responsibility is divided, I’m not sure. Maybe it will be based on our abilities and strengths that we’re already developing right now. However God sets it up, there will be kings and leading.
Revelation 21:24
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
Some people in Heaven are going to applying themselves to the task of leading as kings.
Singing and music
Without trying to cite all of them, let me encourage you just to read through the book of Revelation and the number of times that the people of God around the throne sing. Also, notice the number of times instruments are used. It shouldn’t surprise us. The Psalms are full of commands to praise God with both our voices and instruments. God even established music as an organized part of worship in the temple and tabernacle. Here’s another one of these skills that we’ll get to use and develop for forever! We get to practice it now, but I’m looking forward to being able to improve it forever!
Dancing
Surely there won’t be dancing in Heaven, will there? Well, once again, without taking the time to read every account, let’s just say that in the Scriptures, godly people like David, and Miriam, and others worshiped God with dancing. We’re too quick to say it’s all no good because of the way Satan has taken a good thing and corrupted it. I want to suggest that the natural response to dance that sometimes accompanies music and singing, in the context of praise to God, is something that God put into us. In other cultures, like in parts of Africa and in Haiti and Hawaii, it’s practiced today to praise God, and most of us are fine with that…as long as it’s “over there.” Our problem here is the way it has been taken away and abused. In Heaven, the abuse will be gone. I can full well picture that there will be dancing in the midst of the singing and music of Heaven.
Laughter
Luke 6:21b
…Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Heaven will be a place of laughter. There’s no sense in being gloomy all the time now. Becoming a Christian doesn’t mean you’re baptized in vinegar. Laughter is good for us, and it’s good for the people around us. Heaven is going to contain laughter - real laughter that shames the shallow and empty attempts of the late night comedians. C.S. Lewis, describes the reunion in New Narnia – that’s Heaven – in The Last Battle, “And there was greeting and kissing and handshaking and old jokes revived. (You’ve no idea how good an old joke sounds after you take out again after a rest of 5-600 years.)” Could it be that we’ll speak of humorous things in Heaven ?
God has a sense of humor. If you don’t know this, you don’t know Him well. Jeff Snell was able to write a whole doctoral thesis on humor in the Bible. If you don’t realize that God has a sense of humor, you’ve never looked at a kiwi, or a platypus, or a koala bear. God made us able to laugh, and gives us reasons to laugh
Stories around the campfire
Have you ever sat around a campfire and shared stories of days gone by? Have you ever learned things from your Grandpa as he sat around and told about what happened before you were born? Imagine what things Father Abraham has to share. Imagine what it would be like to hear from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego about their experience. Imagine what stories early missionaries and martyrs could share.
Remember the ending of the book of John:
John 21:25
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
There is so much for us to learn. Will we cease to learn, now that our minds will be free from the distractions of sin and the ravages of aging? There will be, in Heaven, the collective knowledge of all of God’s people and their experiences, and on-going constant discovery and development.
Maybe you’ll be working on some new poem or song while I’m off exploring some wonder of the new creation, and we’ll get together and trade notes about what we’ve learned.
Seems to me the only sad thing about stories about the campfire is that you have to go to bed at some point. In Heaven, there won’t be time limits.
Conclusion:
Since eternity will go on and on and never stop, so could a sermon about Heaven. We really have only touched the fringes of this subject. But if it has whet your appetite any, that’s great. And if just the tiniest taste of Heaven has stirred up something inside of you, imagine what the whole thing is going to be like!
The novel, Edge of Eternity, Nick Seagrave sees the end of the world, and he comes to realize it’s really the beginning:
“I saw a dying cosmos hold out its weak right arm, longing for a transfusion, a cure for its cancerous chasm. I saw the Woodsman (that’s Jesus), holding what appeared to be a tiny lump of coal the same size as the blue-green marble he’d held before. The Woodsman squeezed his hand and the world around me darkened. Just as I felt I would scream from unbearable pressure, the crushed world emerged from his grip a diamond. I gasped air in relief.
I saw a new world, once more a life-filled blue-green, the old black coal delivered from its curse and pain and shame, wondrously remade.
It looked so easy for the Woodsman to shape all this with his hands. But then I saw his scars…and remembered it was not.”
That’s the story of creation and recreation. God has made us for this very purpose…
*My thanks and acknowledgement to Randy Alcorn and Bob Chambers who both have written books by the same title: Heaven. I have referred to both to help write this series.
