The past two weeks we studied the letters to the
seven churches, written with pen and ink by the Apostle John, just as Jesus
told him to write them. Some of it was
not a pretty sight.
The seven were: Backslidden, Rich,
Called, Polluted, Proud,
Positioned, and Passe’. Frankly, it
was tough to get through some of that; it hurts a pastor’s heart to think of a
church – any church – as being less than what Jesus called us to be.
But today we
are focusing on a different view – a church that is perfectly
what God wants. And that view begs a
question we have all pondered:
I wonder what Heaven is like?
Perhaps your child has
asked you that question. Maybe when you
visited the doctor and he said he’d like to do more tests, you began to think…what if it’s cancer, or my heart? Maybe someone left a pamphlet
about the afterlife on your front door.
Somebody started the question moving within you. Today we’re going to investigate it; we are
going to look at what’s going on in Heaven.
Revelation 4:1-11
Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in
heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast.
The voice said, “Come up here, and
I will show you what must happen after this.”
And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw
a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one
sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian.
And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four
thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold
crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of
lightning and the rumble of thunder. And
in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of
God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass,
sparkling like crystal. In the center
and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front
and back. The first of these living beings was like a
lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was
like an eagle in flight. Each of these living beings had
six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep
on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always
was, who is, and who is still to come.” Whenever the living beings give glory
and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives
forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship
the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne
and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor
and power. For you created all things, and
they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Some folks will only come to church to be
baptized, married, and buried. Dr.
Adrian Rogers calls it hatched, matched, and dispatched. (The first time they throw water on you, the
second time rice, and the last time, dirt!)
They have the same attitude as Dolly in that
comic strip, The Family Circus.
The family is sitting in church,
and Dolly, with a bored expression on her face, asks her mom: How much longer till we goeth home?Friend, when you come to stand in the presence of
holy God, the transcendent, King of glory, the resurrected LORD of all, somehow
the thought of how long it's going to take, or if the Baptists will beat us out
to the cafeteria; these things ought not to be.
So…let’s dig-in to what John saw in this
unveiling of Jesus Christ, the answer to our question, what is Heaven
like?
Heaven is a Holy Place
When Isaiah had his eyes opened to see the glory
of God filling the temple, he saw the angels flying back and forth, crying
Holy, holy, holy. Isaiah's reaction was
to shrink away. Isaiah knew
himself. He said, I'm a man of unclean
lips -- I can't say what I'm seeing here.
God is different from man; He is beyond description. And, like Isaiah, we know ourselves;
we wonder how God will deal with we (who are unholy) in His holy place. But this wonder, even trembling and fear,
prepares us for standing in a holy place.
Standing before Almighty God will change your perspective on life!
Paul recorded (2 Corinthians 12:4-5) that he'd been lifted-up to the third
heaven. Like John, Paul couldn't utter
appropriate words to describe what he'd seen.
How unspeakable, how wonderful, words cannot say.
Marco Polo went to the far east in the thirteenth
century. The reports of his discoveries
were not believed by everyone. On his
deathbed he was urged by some to recant, and withdraw the tales he'd told about
the wonders of China. But his reply was,
I have not told half of what I saw. How can you tell the wonder of God's
holiness in mere words? You cannot. You simply let your song lift your heart to
Him.
Holy, holy,
holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the
morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy,
holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three
Persons, blessed Trinity!
Heaven is a Holy Place Full of Majesty
The crowns and beasts speak of the royal nature
of our God.
·
The lion represents nobility.
·
The calf is strength.
·
The man indicates wisdom, and
·
The eagle speaks of grace and speed.
·
The twenty-four elders are the leaders of worship in
every age.
In Old Testament times there were twelve tribes
of the Jewish nations. Added to this
group are the twelve apostles of the New Testament. These elders, leaders of the worshipping
community in every age, take off their own crowns, symbols of authority, and,
along with the angels, bow down to the only truly majestic one
in the bunch, King Jesus.
If you are Billy Graham, or a murderer on death
row who is converted at the last hour, there will come a time when we will all
bow before the throne to worship. ALL
the saints adore Him, but, saint or hardened sinner, Scripture declares every
soul will bow before Jesus someday.
For the
Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare
allegiance to God.’” Romans 14:11
It is not a wrong thought to begin to practice
that here. Our worship ought to include
bowing before God. Sometimes I think we Methodists
don't do much of that because the Catholics are doing
it! In heaven, therefore, the Catholic
saints will be way ahead of us!
Holy, holy,
holy! all the saints adore Thee,
Casting down
their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and
seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who wert, and
art, and evermore shalt be.
Heaven is a One-of-a-Kind Place
This is a dark world. On every hand the evil that is prevalent in
our day attempts to push Jesus to the side , to trivialize the Gospel. When John looked at the throne, one thing he
noticed was that there was only ONE SEAT. This is a solitary seat because there is only
one Jesus!
Many have tried to include
Jesus in their life. They try to make
room for Him among all the other stuff, people, and interests we have. The reality is that Jesus IS life. When it comes to living or not, you don't
make room for breathing; it happens, or you don't! It’s the same with Jesus…you have life in
Him, or not.
There is another, lesser throne. It is the one in each of our hearts. And on that throne there is also room for
only one. It is more than important who
is sitting on that throne – it is that way because the choice determines
everything about where you will spend eternity.
The problem with sitting on that throne yourself is that the
responsibility is too big. It is so big,
that the shadow it casts blocks out any view of God. And anything that gets in-between you and God
separates you from His loving care. You
embrace Him fully, or you go it alone.
He has given us that choice; it’s called free-will.
The Old Testament story of Jacob illustrates
this. Jacob was second in line to his
father's estate, so he decided to take matters into his own hand. He sat on the throne, he decided he wanted to
be in charge. Eventually, he messed up
and had to leave the very place he'd called home.
Twenty years later Jacob came back home, but not
until he wrestled with this issue of who's in charge. One night he wrestled with the angel of the
Lord, and Jacob finally said, I'm not leaving this place, or letting go
of you until the matter of who's going to sit on the throne of my heart is
settled. In that pre-dawn
struggle, Jacob got himself off the throne of his heart, and allowed God
control. It was a life-or-death matter, and
once Jacob got out of the way, he could see the glory of the Lord.
With our hearts and voices as one, put away the
sinful eye of man and see that there is none but Jesus Who should sit on the
throne of your heart! He is a
one-of-a-kind, unique God, who inhabits a one-of-a-kind, unique place called
Heaven.
Holy, holy,
holy! tho' the darkness hide Thee,
Tho' the eye
of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art
holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in
pow'r, in love, and purity.
Heaven (above all else) is a Place of God’s
Mercy
Only mercy can evoke true praise.
It is only the saved sinner who can look back and
see that he deserved Hell, and was handed Heaven!
What has God been merciful over?
·
Creation was an act of mercy
·
God's patience over sin is an act of
mercy
·
God's Word which reveals Himself is an
act of mercy and
·
the CROSS was the supreme act of mercy.
What shall we do about His mercy?
Praise!
If the God of all mercy chose to come to earth,
die, go to Hell, and suffer the penalty for all our sins, what an incredibly
small thing it is for us to return praise.
Holy, holy,
holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works
shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy,
holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three
Persons, blessed Trinity!
Joni Eareckson Tada is the beautiful young woman
who became a quadriplegic through a diving accident when she was
seventeen. Once, according to a magazine
article she was in a worship service where everyone was asked to kneel in
prayer. She was unable to do so, and
began to cry silently because she really did want to kneel before her
Lord. Through her tears she prayed, Lord
Jesus, I can't wait for the day when I will rise up on resurrected legs. The first thing I will then do is to drop on
grateful, glorified knees and worship You.
This, then, is the real test of worship; does it
-- whatever we do, and however we do it -- does it come from the heart? Do we recognize that it can never be
enough? Do we offer our best, despite
the inadequacies of our human condition?
Are we in the worship service to be pleased by a fine choir, soloist,
neatly constructed and cleverly presented sermon? Are we in the worship for the entertainment value? Or are we there (here) to please God, bow
before Him, and cry Holy, Holy, Holy? This
is why God placed the “wonder” in your soul about what
Heaven (the place of God) is like. And
He placed more than wonder there…you also have want. It is undeniable…give people a choice between
Heaven and Hell…Heaven wins every time!
A test
What are you going to DO about what you have
experienced here today?
Will there be any difference about the way you
spend this week?
Paul Rees said:
If you can
leave your church on Sunday with no feeling of discomfort, of conviction, of
brokenness, of challenge, then for you the hour of worship has not been as
dangerous as it should have been.
Another pastor wrote:
If worship
does not change us, it has not been worship.
·
Are you challenged to live in worship this week?
·
Are you different because you've been here?
·
What will you do in response to the mercy of a holy,
majestic, unique God?
This church is not perfect because you are
here…and I am here…and neither of us is perfect, or worships perfectly. But what makes this a holy, majestic,
one-of-a-kind place of mercy, perfect in power, love, and purity, is Jesus, Who
is also here.
What is over-the-top incredible is that the
reason Jesus is here is because of you.
And me. He is waiting for us to
break out in joyful worship, lifting our hands in praise, ready to charge the
gates of Hell with the Good News that Jesus saves, and nobody is too good or
too bad to come to this altar and offer Him that worship.
·
You can do that right now as we sing.
·
You can come offer praise by bringing your offering,
or bringing your commitment to join with us here as a member of this church, in
its prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.
·
You can come in any need you have to be prayed for,
loved, and welcomed.
·
You can come here because you are not perfect, and you
need to be forgiven and have treasure in Heaven, God’s holy, majestic,
one-of-a-kind place of mercy, perfect in power, love, and purity.
·
You can come because Jesus said so!
Some images in public domain The Scripture Says, Joshua Washington
website
Sources:
The Holman Bible Dictionary, Trent C. Butler, Gen Ed., (Nashville, Holman Bible Publishers, 1991),
1421
Moody Monthly,
(March 1993), 32
Adrian Rogers, Our Worship: The Church in the
21st Century, (1992 Southern Baptist Pastor's
Conference, Prestonwood Baptist Church)
