Be Strong in the Lord

Be Strong in the Lord                                     8/2/15

Ephesians 6:10-20, Mark 10:43-45

What does it mean to be strong?

Websters has two very different definitions.  The first is image that most of us think:

Having the power to move heavy weights or other physically demanding tasks.

 

Definition 2 is not as well known, but very helpful:

Able to withstand great force or pressure.

Not all of us will achieve the first definition.  If being able to hold onto the bars of a crib when you are trying to change his diaper is a sign of strength, my two year old son might already be physically stronger than I am.

As Christians, the 2^nd definition is a calling we all should embrace.  Part of the Christian Life is our ability to fulfill this definition by God’s help:   Able to withstand great force or pressure.

Every message from society beckons us to look within for the ability to withstand force or pressure. Look to yourself.  Look inside you.  Conjure up the courage. The Scripture calls us to a different direction.  We are to look up to God and look outside our selves for the resources to be strong. 

How are you made strong?  The biblical answer in Ephesians is by putting on the full armor of God.  The imagery is one of a soldier.  Yet this soldier is not one who wages war against other people.  It is not a human battle, but a spiritual one.  Paul writes that our struggle, our ability to withstand great force or pressure, is not against flesh and blood, but against powers that are larger than any person.   Our enemies as Christians are not people, but the devil’s schemes, rulers and authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil.  It is against these entities that we should put on armor.

Paul says we put on this armor so you can stand your ground, and when all is finally  said and done, to stand.  Did you hear how similar Webster’s definition is to Paul?  “Able to withstand great force or pressure”.

Paul, with the Roman Empire and their efficient military training in his mind, instructs us as to the armor we should put on:

*the belt of truth

            *Breastplate of righteousness

 

            *Feet fitted with readiness that accompanies the gospel of peace

           

            *Shield of faith

            *Helmet of salvation

*sword of the spirit (the word of God)

In addition to the sword of the Spirit, the second weapon Paul identifies is prayer.  We often consider prayer defensively.  Something happens to us, and we pray.  This isn’t wrong, mind you, but prayer should also be offense oriented.  Paul encourages us to pray:

            *in the spirit

*on all occasions

*with all kinds of prayers and requests

*for all the saints:   Always keep on praying for all the saints.  It is almost as if the Christian life could simply be fulfilling that work!

 

If the soldier image is distracting to you, take away the armor imagery, and what do you have left?

Truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, the word of God, prayer

Whether we call these armor, or resources, or tools, or gifts:  we can all agree to their goodness.  These are the things that overcome the world.  These are the things that outlast the devil, and call out the forces that draw away from God.  Scripture says that even the demons believe in God.  Our job is to proclaim the majesty of God.  All truth is God’s truth.  We live right when we live God’s way.  Readiness is our openness to being led by the Holy Spirit.  The Gospel which has made us at peace with God should not put us to sleep, but rather, should make us strong for our work.  We are ready to go where God wants us to go and do what God wants us to do.  To have faith, to find salvation, to encounter the Word of God, to pray:  these are good things that bring life to the soul, to our neighbor, and borough and nation and all peoples of the world.

What does it mean to be strong?  It means to be people of truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, the Word of God and prayer.  These are our weights which, when lifted make us strong.  These expression are the life from God that allows us to withstand the pressure and great forces that stand against God.

This morning, I want to express how proud I am of you as we have finished up two busy weeks of programs: all wonderfully successful in bringing strength to this community, the Stockton community and neighbors from surrounding places.  You strength in the Lord was on display through Vacation Bible School, the Delaware Valley Summer Institute and Summer Art Camp.   VBS called upon a good number of volunteers to work together.  The Volunteer team also consisted of a large number of graduates from VBS.  There is certainly a good future in the program.  Summer Art Camp was organized by the Johnson family, with help this year from the two Stockton community teenagers who once came to VBS, and the Good Life afterschool program, and then have been helpers at VBS, Good Life and now Art Camp.  It was a delightful time, with the week culminating in over 75 people in our Main Hall to celebrate the young artists and their work.  Cheering on the young to nurture their creativity:  How strong is that?  Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

These events expressed so much goodness in this urgent battle against forces that seek to bring harm, evil and hurt into the this world.  God’s vision for humanity is far different.  These programs brought life, goodness, community, togetherness, relationships with old friends and new, a closeness to neighbors, a welcome to people who do not worship here to consider their humanity in light of how God created us to be.  What a wonderful model of strength you have been these past two weeks.

These past two weeks have lived out the spirit of today’s Gospel passage, where strength is displayed in gentleness.  The world looks at strength simply as power to be displayed, where God invites strength of a different kind.  Jesus welcomed the children, and blessed them, even though there were cries that he not waste his time on the children.  Surely there were better ways to get the message out.  To Jesus, the best way was to take a knee, and place his hand on the head of a child, and bless them.   You have shown the gentle strength of Jesus Christ these past two weeks.  Thank you.

Briefly, I’d also like to highlight the teaching of Joel Estes, PhD Candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary,and leader of the 6^th annual DVSI, with his series of lectures entitled “Disability, Theology and the Church”.  Joel gave us a lot of spiritual nutrients for thought.  He invited us to be strong in the Lord, by our presence and support of those whose disabilities are more tangible.  All people can give glory to God.  Joel invited us to consider a spectrum of being able and disabled.  Those with the most severe of physical challenges still display the glory of God, and offer strength and ability to the community of faith.  Their exclusion weakens us, but their inclusion strengthens us.  People with physical, social or mental challenges remind us that all of us need the Lord.  All of us depend on God.  All human life will have varying degrees of challenge, even if everything looks strong from an outward perspective.  In short, we need each other to be strong in the Lord.  Will we remember our readiness that accompanies the gospel of peace?

Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthian church, reminds us that Jesus Christ’s grace is sufficient for our living, that the Lord’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.  We are called to have a faith that withstands great force or pressure.  We are called to stand firm in the Lord and in his mighty power.

You too can bring the Lord’s strength into this worshipping community.  Someone asked me this week the importance of writing letters, of making phone calls and having meaningful conversations before or after worship.  Amen (May it be so).  As Paul writes:  Do good to all people, but especially to the family of believers (Galatians 6:10) In caring for each other, we stand firm in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Notes for Deeply Rooted

Dear Friends,

The week before this sermon threw me for a few loops:  These are the notes from the August 2nd worship:  To read Matthew 13, parable of the sower, alongside Psalm 1 and Matthew 6 is the real blessing. 

Deeply Rooted                                          8/2/15

Psalm 1, Matthew 6:28-34

What is the most beautiful or meaningful thing that you have grown?

 

My experience with growing seeds inside during the winter has taught me a few lessons:

Under the lights, you do not want seeds to grow too quickly, or they are stringy and don’t develop roots.

Well watered with balanced sunlight, amazing growth happens

When a plant becomes all that it is supposed to be, it is marvelous to behold.

Abundance is there is you have the eyes to see it (my Father with Latin names of plants, plants teach me about life)

In every plant, there is an amazing abundance of life.  (even weeds, down by the river, dandelions)

 

Today is the conclusion of our summer series:  Praising the Lord with symbols:

 

How are  plants symbols:

          the curse upon Adam in the garden:

cursed is the ground because of Adam, through painful toil you will eat of it…It will produce thorns and thistles for you…by the sweat of your brow

(we can’t control the world)

 

The olive branch in the Ark Story…brought back to Noah by the Dove.   (there is life beyond the immediate floods before us)

 

Palms:  instruments of praise, prepared a walkway for the King

 

The lilies of the field:  God’s gift of life around us

 

Psalm 1:

Blessed:  not walking in wickedness, but delighting in the Law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

She or he is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever she or he does prospers.

 

Great self-analysis in this verse.  Does this verse describe you?  Why or why not?

 

 

Matthew 6:

Last week:  worry cannot add to life.  Implied that it can take away.

Today:  God sowing the lilies of the field, more beautiful that what we clothe ourselves.

Seek first the kingdom of God.

 

Close the sermon with a reading of the Parable of the Sower:

Animal Crackers

Animal Crackers                                                                                             7.26/15

6^th sermon in the series Praise the Lord with Symbols

Genesis 2:19-20, Matthew 6:25-27

 

Four beginning comments: 

First, Al Curving, a member of the Son Rise church in Flemington, is here today to represent the local chapter of the Gideon’s.  He will be presenting the second half of the sermon today.  He has come to us by way of Walt Errico, a long time Stockton resident and Gideon.  Walt and I have been corresponding for quite some time, and their group sends us yearly postcards that they pray for us. Walt’s children and I were in high school together, and his son is a pastor in Kentucky.  Today’s lesson is on Animals, and how they ultimately perform the will of God.  Our primary job as Christians and as a congregation is to do God’s will by spreading the gospel message.  That the Gideon’s have put Bible’s throughout the world is one diligent example of spreading the word.

Second, because Al is speaking, I have shortened my sermon.

Third, because I have shortened my sermon, I’ve prepared some homework for you. 

Fourth, you’re welcome.

Oh wait, 3A was the implied “Thank You” I know all of you were thinking after I shared number 3.

 

This summer, we have been talking about symbols in the church and how they give their praise to the Lord.  We’ve talked about bread and wine speaking to the presence of Jesus Christ, the sanctuary, a space where we encounter the Omnipresent God, we talked about the letters on our paramounts and communion ware, letters that represent the Name of Jesus Christ, we talked about the two flags that are in this space, and last week, we talked about the seal of our denomination, reminding us that we represent the King of kings as his ambassadors.  Today, we talk about animals.

The homework is really not work, it is pleasure.  It is a list of animals whose characteristics or behavior is referenced by God the Creator, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit through the biblical authors.  It isn’t an exhaustive list of animals mentioned in the Bible, just the ones that point to something greater than themselves.  It is a list of animals who symbolize something greater.   If you remember the word symbol means a physical token that speaks to an invisible reality.

In Genesis, we have the man naming the animals, as commanded by God.  It could be possible that Adam just blurted out the first syllables that came to his mind, without thought or reason.  But I have always imagined this passage is a very methodical, serious work by the man.  Adam observed the creatures, looking at patterns, behavior throughout different seasons and settings.  He compared and contrasted and recorded his data.  When he was all done, he was ready to name them.  Of course, we will have to wait for the movie version in heaven to find out exactly how it happened.  But what is really interesting, is that “God brought them to the man to see what he would name them”.  What a delightful verse about the Lord!  He was interested to see the man’s work.  He gave freedom and a job, and then waited with expectation about the good work that would occur.  It is a reminder to us, that our work can be very valuable,

 

Jesus referenced the birds.  Their existence continually speaks to God’s care.  They do not plant their food, they wait for what comes to them, they do not have barns or refrigerators or grocery stores.  They wait upon God for their food.  They have to work for it, and they show great care for their young.  But ultimately, they cannot do more than their capacity.  They have to trust.  Jesus says that we cannot add life to ourselves by worrying.  We too have to trust.

In Scripture, Jesus is called both Lion and Lamb.  The Lion represents royalty, power and strength.  The Lamb was the key animal in the sacrificial system of the Jewish Law.  Jesus is the King.  He was also the sacrifice to redeem our sins.  And thus, in Revelation’s vision of Heaven, he remains the Lion and the Lamb. 

Last week, I mentioned that our job is to be ambassadors of the King of Kings.  The creation joins in praise to God.  We too, though given freedom, can only find our freedom, and true purpose of what it means to be human, when we follow the Lord.  His command is to go and preach the good news throughout the earth.  We have these wonderful symbols from creation that join us in our work.  I invite Al to come forward now to share how this group with a familiar name has done its work, both here and throughout the world.  Thank you Al.

Animals and Their Lessons:

Matching Human Experience with Biblical Witness

 

Of Creatures Large and Small:

Proverbs 30:24-31:  animals and their attributes

 

Creature                     Biblical Verse                                     Symbol/Lesson

 

Ant                              Proverbs 6:6-8                                  diligence

 

Bear                             II Samuel 17:8                                  defender of young

 

Beast                           Rev. 4:6-9                                           performing God’s will

 

Bee                              Exodus 23:28                                      driving away enemies

 

Behemoth                    Job 40:15-24                                       strength, security

(hippo or elephant?)

 

Camel                          Matthew 19:24                                    travel through adversity

 

Chicken                       Matthew 23:37                                    caring concern

 

Deer                            Ps 42:1, Isaiah 35:6, Habakkuk 3:19  God as our strength

 

Dogs                            Matthew 15:26-27                              used as an example of faith

 

Donkey                       Zechariah 9:9                                      Royal procession

 

Dove                           Genesis 8:8-12, Matthew 10:16          innocence

 

Fish                             early Christian symbol                        part of Jesus miracles

 

Fly                               Exodus 8:20-32                                   judgment

 

Fox                              Luke 13:32                                          craftiness

 

Locust                         Joel 2                                                   armies, devestation

 

Horse                           Psalm 147:10                                       strength

 

Hyena                          Isaiah 13:22                                         desolation

 

Lamb                           John 1:29                                             name for Jesus, sacrifice

Lion                             Revelation 5:5                                     strength, name for Jesus

 

Moth                           Job 4:19, Matt. 6:19                            fragility of life

 

Ox                               Luke 13:15                                          rest for workers

 

Owl                             Psalm 102:6                                         presence

 

Pig                               Matthew 7:7, 2 Peter 2:22                  careless trampling

 

Ravens                        I Kings 17:4, Job 38:41                       fed and helping feed

 

Scorpion                      Luke 11:12                                          example used by Jesus

 

Sheep                          Psalm 23, John 10                               believers, God as Shepherd

 

Snake                          Number 21, Isaiah 11;8                       part of miracle stories, future

                                                                                                     in God’s kingdom, shrewd

Serpent                        II Corinthians 11:3                              cunning

 

Sparrow                       Psalm 84:3, Matthew 10:29                God’s care

 

Wolf                            Matthew 7:15, Isaiah 65:25                ravenous, future in kingdom

 

 

NOTES:

Douglas, J.D. and Merrill Tenney, The New International Dictionary of the Bible, Zondervan, 1987. Animals and Birds entry was instrumental in making this list. 

This list is not the entire list of animals mentioned in the Bible:  not even close.  It is a list of animals whose behavior or characteristics are referenced by God the Father, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit through biblical authors to teach about what is true and real. 

This list does not include fish, which are referenced generically throughout Scripture.  

Most animals on this list are mentioned more than once, but I included the Scripture that might be familiar or is a good starting point for the image.  

Many animals are referenced in Scripture in multiple ways:  and sometimes in very different ways (example, Jesus is named the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and the devil roams like a lion)

 

 

                                   

7 Symbols

7 Symbols                                                                              7.19.26

5^th sermon in Praise the Lord with Symbols Series

Genesis 4:1-7, Psalm 50, Luke 3:21-22

Ask for A company whose logo best fits its message/product

A seal allows an ambassador or representative to act on behalf of the One who has sent.  The Scripture proclaims, we are ambassadors of Christ:  we have been sent by God to bring a message, and that announcement is not our own doing, it is done on behalf of the King.

Employees in successful companies understand and implement the message found in a company logo.  Ambassadors act on behalf of presidents and leaders and kings.  Christians need to understand our role in announcing the King’s message.  We speak because we have been commanded by God to go and tell the gospel.  That reason is sufficient.  Many Christians and churches have forgotten the authority of the Lord.   We belong to God.

The Presbyterian Church, for all its struggle and decline, has an important seal, which accurately speaks to what the King has called us to do as a church.   All that we are is rooted in God’s initiation of grace and good news.  The top image is that of the descending dove of peace that came at Christ’s baptism.  The word of God in the form of an open Bible is the next part of the seal, with the next two lines coming together to speak to three different priorities:  the baptismal font, the Lord’s Table, and the pulpit.  The seal includes all things that ambassadors do:  they bring the new business of the king, they share meal and they listen.  Christians show their allegiance to our God by receiving the gifts of baptism, table fellowship, and commit to listening to God and announcing his Word.  The two fires on the seal recall the burning bush and the fire of Pentecost, both speaking to God’s presence.  Finally, if you imagine, or possibly squint, the overall shape takes on the figure of a human, reaching out with a message.  This seal reminds all believers of what our job is.  It speaks to how we represent the King of kings. 

When Jesus was being baptized, God spoke out of heaven:  This is my Son, whom I love, listen to him!  As Christians and as the church, this is our job, to see God’s gift of Jesus, to see the ultimate expression of God’s love, and listen.  This pleases God!

This summer, we have considered symbols that give their praise to the Lord:  bread and wine, sanctuary space, letters that speak to Jesus name and flags.  Today we bring forth the seal of the denomination.  At the end of this sermon, we’ll come back to the seal.

But first, let’s turn our attention to Psalm 50.  Reading this Psalm this week in preparation for today, it struck me that there is an important message here for Stockton Presbyterian.  God is God and he doesn’t need you (us, me)!

Didn’t expect that, huh?  But before you file out, this is a liberating perspective for us to unpack.  The Psalm is very similar to the story of Cain and Abel.  God speaks to those he has accepted, and then to the wicked.  It is to those who are consecrated that God offers some thoughts about who he is (consecrated means set apart for God’s service, and that is not a term for professional ministers, it is a term for believers)    

God is God.  He is your God, our God.  That doesn’t mean we own God, it means that we have been invited into a relationship with this God.  This God says some startling things in the Psalm, which I summarize with four statements:

 I don’t need you.

I own everything.

I don’t need to tell you anything.

I am not like you.

Now, if we pay more attention to the sin crouching at our door that is ready to devour us, we can turn each of these statements into an unintended message, and so deceive ourselves.  But God’s Spirit, dwelling in our hearts through faith, can deliver the true meaning of these statements.

 I don’t need you.  While at first our hearts might sink, it is liberating.  Pride goes before the fall.  We often think of ourselves in more important ways than we ought.  God can do anything.  He doesn’t need a bull from our stall or a goat from our pens.  He doesn’t need our sacrifices.  Really, he doesn’t need us in order to accomplish any of his purposes.

‘I don’t need you’ becomes, ‘but I love you’.  It is a totally different type of relationship.  God is, whether we are aware or not.  But in great kindness, we can be aware.  God has invited us into covenant, into relationship.  It is his love, not any neediness, that calls out to us.

God also declares “I own everything”.  “Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine”.   This isn’t a petulant child speaking, it is the Creator.  All resources, all life in fact, comes from God. 

It is always a helpful exercise in our prayers to name what makes us anxious and then consider God in light of that anxiety.  Is God surprised?  Does God not have any money?  Is God overcome by obstacles?  Does God not have forgiveness for us, seventy times seven?  Has the Spirit not planted all the spiritual gifts necessary for a congregation’s work within us?  He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.  Does your problem extend wider or farther than that?   “I own everything” becomes, “my grace is sufficient for you”

The third idea for in the psalm is “I don’t have to tell you anything”.  If God were hungry, would he consult with us?  Would he seek our approval?  Would he need our signature?  No, he would eat.  All the world is his.   Yet, “I don’t have to tell you anything” becomes “but I do have something to tell you”.  God has spoken in the Scripture and in Jesus Christ.  I don’t have to tell you anything becomes, “but I do want to tell you something”.  How delightful is this!  God has chosen to say something to us, not because he needs to, but because he wants to. 

The fourth idea is “I am not like you”.  The Psalm declares:  Do I eat the flesh of bulls?  God is Holy.  We are in the image of God.  God is not in the image of people.  This is comforting because we have seen what humans can do apart from God.  The results are not good.  Because God is different, not like us, we can have salvation, we can have hope, we can have wisdom and help, grace and kindness and strength from above.

In Psalm 50, the result of God differentiating himself from all people is a command to those who are in covenant:

Verse 14-15 read:  Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon him in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you will honor me.  What a good way forward!

--sacrifice your thank offerings.  Our words, our actions, our gifts, all of it, can be done out of gratitude.  The command is to offer to God.

--fulfill your vows.  Do what you’ve said you will do.

--call upon God in the day of trouble and he will deliver you.

 A quick side note:   I had a little anxiety this week, and I was thinking about this Psalm.  In reading it, I realized that this anxiety was not from God, but created and nurtured by me.  I started to name my anxiety thinking of the Psalm’s phrase “in the day of trouble call upon God” when I realized that my anxiety wasn’t actually a day of trouble.  And so I started praying for those who were actually in trouble. My prayers went to others throughout the world who are suffering and in difficult situations. 

The Psalm next moves to God’s words to the wicked.  My suggestion is to not be in a place where these words apply to you.  If you are heading that way, stop, and go a different direction. The possibility to stop and go a different direction is as old as Cain and Abel.  We don’t know why God accepted Abel’s offering and not Cain’s.  But the clue is in God’s word to Cain:  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?

The New Testament makes 5 mentions of Cain and Abel.  Two mentions are in the Gospels, when Abel is listed as the first to be martyred for his faith.  Hebrews says “By faith, Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.  By faith he was commended as a righteous person, when God spoke well of his offerings.  And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”   I John includes these words:  “We should love one another.  Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.  Do not be surprised if the world hates you.”  Hebrews 12 writes that we have come “to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” 

To do what is right is the opportunity before us.  Yes, you can choose the sin crouching at your door, but that simply will lead to death.  And you don’t really want death.  How can we know what is right?  The seal speaks to us:  we are ambassadors with the gospel message.  We can tell the world, with God’s authority, that there is salvation.  Jesus is the way, the truth, the life.  No one comes to the Father except through him.  Trust in God and trust in Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior.  The seal speaks to that great message that has come down from heaven through Jesus.  We have the Word of God.  We have a baptism that claims us and a table where we meet with Jesus and a pulpit that reminds us of truth.  We have the presence of God in the story of the burning bush and the presence of the Holy Spirit that came to believers that day at Pentecost.  We too reach out to the world with a tangible, compassionate message of truth from the King.  We don’t ask for obedience to the ambassador.  We demand obedience to the King.

When we offer sacrifice and fulfill our vows and call upon God.  God reminds us of these good words at the end of Psalm 50:  The One who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.  Our offerings aren’t really needed by God, author of all life and resource.  We benefit.  Offering opens our hearts to see God’s saving work.  But most of all, and most important, God is honored.

We don’t ask for obedience to the ambassador.  We demand obedience to the King.  Remember who you represent.

To Be Determined: A Sermon on Heaven

To Be Determined                                                                 7/12/15

Revelation 21-22:6, John 14:1-14

Ask the congregation:   Where have you seen heaven on earth?

Today’s sermon is about heaven.  It is a one week break from our Summer Sermon Series Praise the Lord with Symbols.  I had a nice conversation with one of you and this topic was on your mind.  Heaven is our future because of the grace of the Lord.  So, in the leisurely pace of summer, and also in an ever increasing hopeless world, let us place our minds square before the reason for our hope.  The Bible says, “everyone who has in them the hope of Christ’s coming, purifies themselves, just as they are pure”  (I John 3:3)

Today’s sermon is about what the Bible says about heaven.  You need to throw away the medieval images of individuals on their own clouds playing their own harp.  This is not our destiny according to Scripture.

There are four main things we will explore today:

1.     an overview of Heaven from Genesis 1—Revelation 19.

2.     The consummation of human history:  the judgment (Revelation 20)

3.     The New Heavens and New Earth, as described in Revelation 21-22

4.     The call before us from heaven

 An Overview of Heaven

Our overview of heaven will take us through the Creation Story, Jewish understanding of the afterlife, the first advent of Christ, and the call upon our lives to follow Jesus.

The Creation Story

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  One of the basic principles of heaven is that it is a part of God’s creation.  God is.  God is eternal.  That which is made is not eternal.  Yet humankind has a special place in the creation.  God said “let us make man in our image, in our likeness”.  Male and female are created, and humankind was made in the image of God.  “God blessed them and said to them, ‘be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”  Christian theologians find fascination that God said “let us”, and see the idea of community deeply embedded in the creation and human story.  God’s plan, from the beginning, is for humans to reflect the image of God, to be in community, and to be caretakers of the earth. 

Jewish Understanding of the Afterlife

Over the generations, Jewish hope looks to the coming of the promised Messiah.  The Messiah will be sent from God to overcome all the wrong in the world, and rule with justice.  This Messiah will make Jerusalem his capital.  By Roman times, this Messiah has strong political overtones, helping conquer the most powerful earthly expression of kingdom.

Heaven is referenced over a hundred times in the Hebrew Scripture.  It is the place where God dwells (with the Temple being the space that the nation can experience the presence of the Lord).

Hebrew Scriptures also affirm the idea of resurrection.  Resurrection was a common idea throughout religion and history: an old, core foundation of the story of life.

The First Advent of Christ

Jesus comes from God to be and do the will of God the Father.  Jesus lives perfectly, full of grace and truth.  He is the way, the truth and the life.  He rejects the will of the crowds to become a political leader, shocking some who had become convinced that the Messiah would have to overthrow the power of Rome.  Jesus dies on the cross as our Savior.  He rises from the dead by the power of God.  His resurrection becomes our prototype.  Humans are not made immortal.  But through the power of resurrection, they will one day put on immortality.  Our future is secured because of the work of Jesus Christ.  We can live forever, not because of something within us, but because of the work of Jesus Christ.  Humans have perpetuated sin, and we need reconciliation with God. We cannot enter the presence of a holy God without the righteousness and holiness of our Savior.  This is accomplished through Jesus Christ.

The Call to Follow Jesus

As Christ’s followers, our lives take on his story.  We are called to become like him, which includes dying to ourselves, and having God’s Spirit live within us.  We are to let Christ’s power be displayed in our words and actions.  We are to do God’s will, not our own.  As his followers, we find fellowship (togetherness) with other believers.  We find community for the journey of life.  Our bodies will also one day rise from the dead, and enter everlasting life.

You might be saying:  I know these things.  I’ve heard this before, but what does it have to do with Heaven?  The truth is:  if heaven is for real, and what Scripture says about it is true:  it will be forever.  Our earthly lives are but a blink, a snap of the fingers, here and gone.  Yet, whatever the span is, is enough time to shape our lives for what will really last.  God’s plan is for us to live forever.  Will we accept that plan?   I hope that decision for you is not To Be Determined.

The second main thing I want to say today is about the Consummation of Human History:  the Judgment. 

The Scripture gives evidence that those who die before Christ’s second return experience two images:  Paradise and rest.  But both images are temporal.  After all, Revelation speaks about a New heaven.  It seems to replace the current version.  History and creation will be transformed by the power of God, not by our own power or goodness, and certainly not by our own evolution.

Immediately before our morning reading about heaven is Revelation 20, which speaks of the final judgment.  At that final judgment, the dead will be raised, and join the living to stand before the presence of God.  They will give account of their lives.  You and I will give account of our lives.  Scripture speaks of three main entities that will be judged:  every moral creature, cosmic forces, and the creation itself.

From a biblical perspective, every human has one life, which is followed by our standing before God.  We are responsible for all of the life given to us, and in a post-resurrection world, we are responsible for how we have responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Have we joined in making Jesus known as Lord and Savior?  We will be rewarded according to our works.  The Bible clearly says that it is faith in Christ, not our works, that allows us to live forever.  The Judgment is about giving account of what we’ve done for the glory of God, and our works validating our belief.  We will be rewarded according to our deeds.  This is good news for all of us:  every word, every deed, can give God glory.  This is good news for all of us:  we can make our whole life about giving glory to God.  By putting God first now, we judge ourselves through our attempts to live a holy and pleasing life before God, so that God’s pronouncement, which will be clear and decisive, speaks to what we’ve already built for him.

In researching the final judgment, I want to offer a few thoughts from Stanley Grenz in his thorough and insightful book Theology for the Community of God. 

1.     The creation needs to be judged because decay exists, and this was not God’s intent for the creation.  The creation longs to be liberated, according to Paul in Romans 8, and God’s judgment will liberate the creation (pg. 816)

2.     Humans need judgment.  We were created for community, and we have divided ourselves from God, neighbor and earth.  Judgment will ultimately rescue us from ourselves, and bring us back to God’s true will for us. 

3.     All humankind will be judged by their conformity to the will of God.  (820)  The judgment “will indicate the extent to which our individual histories reflect and incorporate the meaning of God’s history”.

4.     Hell is not the place where all the rebels get to hang out and party.  What a cosmic deception straight from the devil.  Hell is isolation.  It is the absence of community.  Originally reserved for the devil and his minions, people who choose hell choose everything that they weren’t created for:  death, not life, isolation, not community, distance, not closeness.

5.     “Judgment is the Spirit’s radical perfecting of the community we now share” (845).  There is a sense in which we experience heaven on earth.  There is strong biblical evidence that we will know each other, and enjoy each other in the life to come, in a never-ending existence.  But to get there from here, we have to go through judgment.  Judgment is God’s decisive act against all sin and wrongdoing, so that goodness and life return to their place as the norm.

What I’ve shared so far is necessary to help us think of heaven.  Heaven is the presence of God in its fullest expression.  After human history, with its breakthrough by Jesus Christ, and after the consummation of history in the final judgment, we then see the new reality:  the true and full expression of everlasting life.  In an interesting use of words, we see the New Heaven and the New earth “for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away”.

You heard Revelation read.  This particular chapter is the culmination of John’s vision, but also is the ending of Holy Scripture, with only a brief epilogue following these delightful words.

Our third goal today is to offer a few observations from the new heavens and the new earth.

·       Heaven is “seen” by John.  It isn’t just spiritual.  It isn’t just mental.  It exists.

·       The absence of the sea in the new heavens seems to imply that all which separates will not be part of that great day.

·       Heaven comes to earth.  God dwells on earth with his people.   Most people miss this.

·       The future is brilliant—literally.  We won’t need natural light.

·       Heaven is built upon human history:  The 12 tribes and Apostles are given special place on that day.

·       The most valued elements of earth are but things used for walls and streets and entry ways.  We walk on the gold, histories most sought after element.

·       Nations still exist in this vision, only, existing for their true intent of blessing others and God.

·       Heaven has the river, trees, fruits, leaves.  Creation isn’t something to be forgotten.  It is good and will endure because God made it.

·       There is the perfect balance of city and creation in the vision

·       There will be no more curse.  A quick side note:  I’ve heard from several people over the years about how, or why, would we want to live forever.  What will we do?  No more curse.  Think of all that you love, or will come to love, without any of the effects of sin. 

·       God’s presence will rule.

·       God’s servants will reign forever.  There is work to be done on that great day, freed from the power of sin, we will then do what God wants done.

The final part of today’s sermon is The call before us from heaven.

Revelation invites us to thirst for God, now.  We are called to overcome evil, now.  We are to move away from all that leads to the second death, the death of the spirit, now.  In doing so, we see little glimpses and have brief moments of heaven on earth.  We come to taste and feel and see the real future.  Paul writes:  Now we see dimly, then we shall see face to face.

In closing, a quote from G.C. Berkouwer, from his book The Return of Christ

“The new earth is never a strange and futuristic fantasy, but a mystery that penetrates into this existence and will make itself manifest there, where steadfast love and faithfulness meet, where peace and righteousness kiss each other, and where the lines that seem blurred to us now will come clearly into focus.”

In other words, To be determined, but with early results in, the future looks, and is, good!