Recap of Series
This is the final week of a seven-week series on heaven. The first week we looked at Luke 16 and the story of Lazarus and the rich man, where Jesus teaches about the finality of death, the reality of heaven and hell, and how once we die, our fate is fixed.
Then we looked at Ecclesiastes 3 and how the monotonous flow of time is meant to lead us to God because he’s “put eternity in our hearts,” or that he’s put a sense of eternal things in us to tell us that this life isn’t all there is. He created us to live for him, which is why we long for something more than this world.
Then we talked about what the Bible teaches about life after death for those who’re in Christ. I said that when a believer dies, their body goes into the ground and their spirit goes to Jesus where they’ll be until Jesus returns to the earth and their spirit is united with a new body at the resurrection of the dead, with which they’ll live forever in a resurrected universe with the resurrected Christ.
Then we talked about the central and most important reality of the new universe: we will live with God. In Revelation 21-22, John sees a new heaven and new earth but then describes it as a temple-garden-city. His point is that the entire new cosmos is God’s sanctuary, his Garden-like temple city where he lives with his people. The most beautiful part of this new world is that we’ll get to see God’s face, or what’s often called the beatific vision, the “happy-making sight” of seeing God’s face (Rev. 22:4).
Then we talked about how heaven is a world of love and a society of love. Heaven is where the triune God lives, and God is love, so his house is a house of love. We also talked about how heaven will be a new earth where God’s people will live with resurrected bodies and enjoy meaningful work and beautiful singing and never-ending growth and deepening.
Then last week we talked about how heaven is a dynamic place of reveling in the glory of God for all eternity, and part of how that will happen will be through heavenly memories and rewards. God will show us his glory in our lives without pain and we’ll receive what we earned based on how we lived.
These things await everyone who knows they don’t deserve them, those who put their faith in Jesus and turn away from their sins. These promises are what carry us as we travel through the wilderness of this life. With Paul, we believe that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).
“Aim at Heaven and You Will Get Earth ‘Thrown In’”
Today I want us to consider what our lives should look like now while we wait on heaven. Some say that those who think too much about heaven become useless on earth, or “so heavenly minded that they’re of no earthly good.” In reality, however, those who never think of heaven are probably not of much earthly good.
In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis put it this way:
“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”[1]
We set our eyes on heaven so we can make a difference on earth. While we wait for heaven, what should we be doing with our lives in order to make a difference on earth? The New Testament directly connects three aspects of our lives to Jesus’ return, showing us how thinking about the next life should shape this life.
So what should we do while we wait on heaven? We should go to work, go to church, and go to the nations.
Go to Work
In Luke 12, Jesus gives a parable about being ready for his return at any time (vv. 35-48). In verses 41-44, Jesus says that, in light of his return, his servants need to be faithfully working. The principle here is that the Master has given his servants work to do while he’s gone and he expects to find them faithfully doing what he gave them to do when he returns. Those who follow Jesus have a responsibility to manage his affairs until he returns.
What things has the Lord called you to “manage” until he comes? Whatever work the Lord has given you is service for the Master. Your schoolwork, housework, paid work, ministry work, parenting work, marriage work must all be done in service to Jesus.
As his servants, our primary assignment is to follow him. Everything else is subordinate to this. The Bible doesn’t depict our lives as a juggling act, where we have to balance everything perfectly. Rather, our lives are more like our solar system, with Christ in the center and everything else orbiting around him (Matt. 6:33).
Many of us are living life like jugglers, trying to keep as many balls in the air as possible without dropping one. We see the goal of life as finding balance. But what if balance is actually impossible? And what does it even mean to be “balanced”? Does it mean spending equal amounts of time on everything we do? What if the goal in our work is faithfulness, not balance?
For all the assignments Jesus gives us, he gives us minimum standards of faithfulness in the Bible, or basic requirements that we must meet to please him. But there are also principles of fruitfulness that we can apply once we’ve met the standards of faithfulness if we’re able.
Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert talk about this in their book The Gospel at Work. They say we should start by determining if we’re being faithful in our assignments, then consider where we could invest for greater fruitfulness, and to avoid the trap of idolatry, where we’re mastered by our work instead of our Lord. They offer excellent practical advice to guide our thinking through these things.[2]
Since Jesus is coming back, we should pursue the work he’s given us with all the faithfulness and fruitfulness we can muster. The promise for those who do so is that, when he returns, there will be blessing and the privilege of managing even more of the King’s estate (vv. 43-44).
What is the blessing? Did you see the promise in verse 37? For those who’re awake and waiting patiently and working faithfully, Jesus will come back and serve them! In heaven, we’ll rest and Jesus will go to work. We’ll “recline at his table” and he’ll serve us. He’ll give us what we need and want. He’ll fulfill our deepest desires for love and connection and belonging and joy and meaningful work and adventure and discovery. In heaven, Jesus will go to work for his workers. He’ll serve his servants.
Isn’t this what he’s already done? “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45). Jesus came to serve, to give his life for us on the cross for our sins. He “took the form of a servant” in his incarnation (Phil 2:7), in his death, and again in heaven. Servanthood is the essence of Jesus’ ministry.
Is it any surprise then that this is what he calls his followers to (Lk. 12:43)? Serving Christ in all our callings is what he’s called us to while we wait for heaven. And one day the Christ who we serve will come serve us.
Go to Church
Secondly, while we wait for heaven, we should go to church (Heb. 10:24-25). Did you notice the contrast between “not neglecting to meet together” with “encouraging one another” in verse 25? He’s setting two opposing ideas against one another and drawing a contrast between them. The opposite of not meeting with the church is encouraging the church.
In other words, meeting with the church is encouraging. Our most basic ministry to each other is attendance. One way to battle discouragement is to be present with the church. Isolation and seclusion only bring more darkness and despair.
And all of this is to be done in view of Jesus’ second coming (v. 25c). The “Day” refers to the climatic and catastrophic end of history when Jesus returns and judges his enemies, rescues his people, and sets up his kingdom on the earth.
The reality of that “Day” should compel us to increasingly (“all the more”) stir up and encourage one another. We need each other if we’re going to make it to that Day still fighting the good fight of faith. And one of the ways God intends to get us there safely is through thoughtful and timely words of encouragement that stimulate and sustain our love for God and for one another.
This kind of ministry requires thoughtfulness. Notice that verse 24 begins, “Let us consider how…” We’re to “consider,” or think about, specific ways we can encourage one another. Encouraging words rarely come spontaneously. We don’t need to prepare speeches for each other, but we do need to think about specific ways we can encourage one another.
When you see evidence of faith, hope, and love in someone’s life, call it out! Point it out with specific words of encouragement. This helps us see God’s work in our lives and keeps us going.
Sometimes we think that relationships in the church are more about accountability than encouragement. If all we ever do is correct each other then it can certainly seem that way. But what if encouraging one another is one of the best ways to motivate the kinds of things we’re holding each other accountable for? Are you generally more inspired to pursue love and holiness when you’re scolded or when you’re encouraged? Was it the teachers and coaches that yelled at you or encouraged you that had the greatest impact on your life? Correction and rebuke are part of our life together. But they’re not the only part. And without heavy doses of encouragement, correction will be received begrudgingly, if at all.
Encouragement makes us ready for Jesus’ return. And attending church every week is where we find encouragement. As we attend church regularly and look for ways to point out evidence of grace in each other’s lives, something of the world to come becomes visible. Who can you encourage in the church with specific words that will help them keep going with Jesus?
Go to the Nations
Thirdly, while we wait for heaven, we should go to the nations (Matt. 24:14). In verses 3-13, we learn that things will get worse before Jesus returns. But despite these things, verse 14 says that the gospel will spread around the world. This is a promise, not just a command. It will happen. The gospel of Jesus will spread to every people group on the planet because the Father sent the Son to redeem people in every people group on the planet. He was “slain, and by his blood he ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9).
Matthew 24:14 is a promise, but also an encouragement and an incentive. Encouragement because it teaches us that every advance of the gospel is evidence that the Lord’s return is nearing. Incentive because it says that the Lord’s return is quickened by our work to spread the gospel.
There are still thousands of people groups without a vibrant, healthy, reproducing gospel church. How will we know when we’re getting close to finishing the task of reaching all of them? George Ladd says:
“Someone else will say, ‘How are we to know when the mission is completed? How close are we to the accomplishment of the task?…How close are we to the end?’…I answer, I do not know. God alone knows the definition of terms. I cannot precisely define who ‘all the nations’ are. Only God knows exactly the meaning of ‘evangelize.’ He alone…will know when that objective has been accomplished. But I do not need to know. I know only one thing: Christ has not yet returned; therefore the task is not yet done. When it is done, Christ will come. Our responsibility is not to insist on defining the terms of our task; our responsibility is to complete it. So long as Christ does not return, our work is undone. Let us get busy and complete our mission.”[3]
Many people want Jesus to return but do nothing to spread the gospel, not even to their next door neighbor, much less the person from another country who lives down the street or an unreached people group overseas.
You may say, “I’m not a missionary and don’t really want to be one, how can I be a part of the worldwide work of Jesus?” Start right where you are. Start praying with your church for the nations. Give generously to the church so the church can support more mission work. Consider living your life in another part of the world for the sake of the gospel.
And share the gospel! You have no idea how God will use you when you proclaim the gospel. My dad told me this week that he ran into a guy he worked with at Coca-Cola forty years ago, who he’d shared the gospel with. The guy came up to him and thanked him for doing that because he eventually became a Christian and his whole family was changed. As my dad said, “The only thing we can take to heaven is other people.”
“If I Could Have Seen the Shore”
While we wait for heaven, what should we be doing with our lives on earth? We should go to work, go to church, and go to the nations.
One reason I wanted to do a series on heaven is because, as we get a clear picture of what’s ahead of us, we’ll be more faithful and fruitful with what’s right in front of us.
In 1952, a young woman named Florence Chadwick attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the shore of mainland California. She’d already become the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways. It was chilly and foggy and she swam for fifteen hours before she gave out physically and emotionally. When she was pulled up on the boat, she realized she was less than half a mile away from the shore. She said, “All I could see was the fog…I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”[4]
I hope this sermon series helps us “see the shore.” If we can look through the fog of our busy and stressful lives and see the shore of Jesus Christ and the New Earth, we’ll find the comfort and energy we need to keep swimming. As Lewis said, “Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in.’”
With our eyes fixed on the shore of Jesus, we go to work, go to church, and go to the nations, with the aim of serving him, and one day he’ll come back and serve us.
Lord’s Supper
Jesus and Paul connected the Lord’s Supper to Jesus’ second coming. Jesus said, “I will not eat (the Passover meal) until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Lk. 22:16). And Paul says in First Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
The Supper reminds us of what Jesus did in the past and what he’ll do in the future. He died for us so that we can dine with him. Everyone who submits to him as Master now will be served by him later.
As we prepare to take the Supper, let’s pause and take a moment to confess our sins to God, receive his forgiveness, and rest in his love.
- Pray for God’s blessing over the Supper (ushers and musician come forward).
One of the things we teach here is that the Lord’s Supper is for people who’ve trusted in Christ, been baptized, and are members of a local church. This is based on the belief that Jesus took the Supper with those who were following him. Because a follower of Jesus is someone who’s been baptized and is part of a church, we believe that the Supper is only for those who’ve been baptized and are members in good standing of a gospel preaching church.
If you’re not yet a baptized follower of Jesus who’s part of a local church, we’re glad you’re here, but we’d encourage you to refrain from taking the Supper. If you’re a visitor and you’ve been baptized as a believer and you’re a member in good standing at another gospel-preaching church, you’re welcome to observe the Supper with us.
- Pass out the elements.
- The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for you, preserves your body and soul for everlasting life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and feed on him in your heart by faith, and be thankful. (take the bread)
- The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for you, preserves your body and soul for everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ’s blood was shed for you, and drink on him in your heart by faith, and be thankful. (take the juice)
- Let’s stand and sing “Christ, the Sure and Steady Anchor”
[1]Quoted in Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), 21.
[2]Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert, The Gospel at Work: How Working for King Jesus Gives Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), chapter 6, especially 98-9.
[3]George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), quoted in John Piper, Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Second Coming of Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 284.
[4]Alcorn, xxii.