Kerry Shook - Heaven on Earth
Chris: Hey, church family. Good morning. It is so great to see you guys. We're so happy you're here because we're kicking off this new series we're so excited about, and it's all about heaven. And it has the potential to change, not only your life, but your family, our community, our city, and even the world. So, we are super excited about it. And it's our heaven on earth adventure. The whole thing is based on the Lord's Prayer, part of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew chapter 6, verse 10.
Kerry: So, would you stand in honor of God's Word? And why don't you read this one out loud with me, okay? Just read it out loud. Just go for it. Here we go. "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". You can be seated. Jesus here in the Lord's Prayer is saying, "Wherever I'm allowed to rule and reign and be king, I'm gonna bring some heaven into that place". And so, if you allow Christ to be king of your heart, he's gonna bring the peace of heaven into your heart, no matter what's going on around you.
If you allow Jesus to be King in your marriage, he's gonna bring the love of heaven into your marriage, the supernatural, that agape unconditional kind of love that the world can't understand. And God wants to be King in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in our community. Wherever Christ is allowed to be King, he's gonna bring some heaven to that place. And we're to pray for God to bring some heaven to earth. That's God's will. He wants to bring some heaven right into where you live. Heaven to earth and earth is a place, and you live in a place. And God wants to bring some heaven to your place.
Now, we live in a world where we see a lot of hell, and not a lot of heaven. I mean, we live in a broken, sin-filled world that is full of pain and poverty and sickness and sorrow. But God wants to bring some heaven right into the pain. And over the next few weeks, we're gonna pray for heaven and earth to collide in such a way that we experience so much more of God's unexplainable peace, so much more of God's unbelievable power in our lives. God wants to do something so great in your life, he wants heaven to break loose. He wants heaven to break loose in our church. He wants heaven to break loose in your family, in your home.
That's God's will. But I believe before we can really pray that heaven will come to earth, we need to see what heaven is like. We need to see what we're praying for. So, we're gonna kick off this series today by talking about what heaven is like. In 2 Corinthians 5:2 it says, "Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less".
You see, we can't even begin to fathom in our finite minds what heaven is and what heaven is like. It's hard for us to humanly even imagine heaven. But if we can just get a glimpse of heaven, this passage says that God wants us to get a glimpse of heaven because if we get a glimpse of heaven, it will change everything about the way we live on this earth. So, we're gonna look at what heaven is like.
Chris: Most people don't spend much time thinking about heaven. I mean, really, when was the last time you spent a good long while thinking about heaven? Even Christians who believe that heaven is their eternal destiny rarely give it any thought in life. Why is that? Why are we not thinking about heaven more? I mean, if I'm gonna go to say, India, then I spend some time digging into that, looking it up, finding out all the details. What is it like? But the place that we're destined for as believers to spend eternity, we haven't even spent as much time looking into it, usually, as the time we spent last time we went on vacation, went out of town for a couple days. Why is that?
Well, I think it's not so much about doubt as it is dullness. It's not so much about disbelief as it is disinterest. We hate to admit it, but most people think heaven is just going to be really, really, really boring. I mean, just boring. Somehow, we've gotten this idea that heaven is gonna be something like a mash-up of a classical opera, and staring at clouds, and a sermon that just goes on and on and on forever, this eternal, mind-numbing boredom. And our only consolation will be that we're not in the other place. Well, of course, it's no wonder, if that's our view of heaven, it's no wonder that we would rather think about a ballgame or sex or getting ahead in our job or what's for dinner.
And even if we do occasionally think about heaven, a lot of times we're too shy to speak about it, to talk about heaven with people we know who aren't Christ's followers, maybe at work or at school or in our neighborhood, because we're afraid that they will secretly think that we are naive, that we're trying to escape reality by daydreaming about something better, pie in the sky, we all need a crutch to get us through, that kind of thing. So, we're hesitant to talk about heaven around non believers. But here's the deal, here's the truth. Let's face it. Either heaven is real or it isn't. If it's not Christianity is false because heaven is woven in to the fabric of the whole thing. But if heaven is real, then this truth should be faced full-on like any other truth.
It should make a difference to us on Monday morning. Heaven, the reality of heaven, should make a difference in the way we live our lives today. So, what is heaven really like? Well, Scripture gives us a solid outline without filling in all the details. And really, that makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? Because all we have to use to be able to describe things are earthly terms, and we're trying to describe something heavenly, otherworldly. But we just have these words that we know that refer to things that we're familiar with. So, it makes sense that heaven's really hard to describe. And when Jesus talked about heaven, when heaven is talked about in the Bible, our earthbound minds can't comprehend it. It's the only words we know. But we are going to look at three things about heaven.
And the first is that heaven is a place of so much more, so much more, way more than we could ever imagine. The night before Jesus's crucifixion, he gathered his closest friends for his last meal. And he wanted to assure them, so this is what he said. So, listen closely. He said, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am".
Wow, there are so many things we can learn about heaven just right there in this short passage. One is, heaven is a real place. It's a real place. Jesus Christ said, "I am preparing a place for you. This is a place. My father has a house". It's a real place, more real than the room that we're in. So, that's the first thing we know about heaven. We can also know that it's expansive beyond our wildest imagination. It's huge. Jesus said, "There is more than enough room in my Father's home". What other words can you use to talk to people, try to explain something that's so massive when we, all we know is our tiny, little spot on this little earth in this little galaxy?
And we're talking about God and all of heaven, and it's a place prepared for you. That's something else we can know. Have you ever had a houseguest come over to stay with you? Most of you have. And what you do is you think of, what kind of food do they like? You prepare a meal for them. You get their room ready. You know just what they would like. And, you know, heaven is going to seem custom made for us because our Creator, the very one who designed us, is preparing a place just for you. He's preparing a place just for you. And in heaven, we can also know, from what Jesus said, that we will always be in his presence, in his real, actual presence where we can see him with our eyes.
He says, "There you will always be with me". And lastly, we can see that knowing that heaven is in our future, knowing that what Jesus said when he tells us something is true, we can bank on it. We know it is and knowing that, that heaven in our future, should give us peace in the present. The very first thing he said was, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Don't worry, stop worrying. I've got this. I have a place for you. It's prepared, it's ready and at the right time, I will come and get you, and you will always be with me".
Heaven is way more real than anything we could imagine here on earth. The very best that this life has to offer, those moments of intense joy, or intense love, or intense beauty, are just the faintest hint of what God has in store for us in heaven. Heaven is more real, it's more dimensional, it's more detailed than earth is, not less. All that we love about this earth is only a shadow of what's to come. That's why the most joyful moments of our lives always hold a little heartache when you see that just stunningly beautiful sunset, when you see that reunion, there's a reunion between you and a loved one that you haven't seen for a long time. And why is it that we cry tears of joy? It's kind of strange, isn't it?
We think tears are associated with sadness. And we don't have tears when we're just happy. We smile, we laugh, but when we're deeply joyful, then the tears come, the emotion overflows. I think it's because as we touch just even this slightest edge of heaven, our hearts burst with joy and at the same time they ache because that moment is already receding. We're are seeing a glimpse, just a glimpse of something, that feeling that we're always longing for, this universal longing. C. S. Lewis captured this really well in "Mere Christianity," which is my favorite book. He said, "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world". You were made for so much more. You were made for nothing less than heaven.
Kerry: Heaven is a place of so much more. But secondly, heaven is a place of no more. It says in Revelation 21:4, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away". That's one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It's the "no more" verse. It's heaven is a "no more" place where God declares no more, no more pain, no more suffering, no more sickness, no more sorrow, no more death. Heaven is a place of no more. It's a place of no more brokenness.
You see, heaven is the great restoration that's coming. Heaven is the great restoration that your heart longs for, as Chris said, you were made for. And that's why there's always an ache in our hearts where it feels like something is missing. Think about it. Everything in your life that is broken, or will be broken, totally restored, totally made whole. Your broken dreams, your broken emotions, broken relationships, everything that is broken and wrong in your body, everything restored. All that is wrong will be made right. All that is wrong will be taken away, everything restored and made new. Everything in your life that you've lost, or will lose, and life can just be a long goodbye at times.
Did you realize that every one you hold dear to you, everything you hold dear, you're gonna lose it at some time? You're gonna lose it at some time. Life can be just a long goodbye here on this earth, everything that you've ever lost, everything that you will lose one day. But in heaven, it'll all be restored. In heaven, it'll all be restored. I mean, all the lost time that you wasted, restored. Those lost years, your lost innocence, restored. Lost loved ones have gone on to be with the Lord, restored. All that is lost will be found. Jesus says, "If you're a Christ follower, I know it hurts now, I know it's hard to believe right now, but everything you've lost will be restored. Nothing is really lost if you're a Christ follower".
You see, Chris and I lost our grandson, Jude Samuel, after only one day on this earth. And this last year and a half, I lost both my mom and my dad. When Chris was a freshman in college, she lost her mom to cancer. But we know they're not lost. They're not lost. I mean, well-meaning people come up and say, "I'm sorry for your loss". I know exactly what it means. I've said it many times. But really, they're not lost. We know right where they are. They're in the perfect place of heaven, the place of so much more and the place of no more. They're right there in heaven because for a Christ follower, nothing is really lost. Real lostness is not knowing and trusting the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. That's real lostness.
And I have to say to you, not only is having a place of so much more and heaven is a place of no more, but heaven is also a place of one way. There's one way, and Christ has made that way. In John 14:6 when the disciples said, "Jesus, well, where is this place heaven? How do we get there"? He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".
Jesus said, "I'm making a way for you. I'm gonna go to the cross, and I'm gonna die and shed my perfect, sinless blood for all of your sins, all of your mistakes and regrets, so that you can be in perfect heaven. I know you're not perfect. I know you've sinned, but I'm gonna take your place so that you can be in perfect heaven. And I'm gonna be risen from the dead so that I can defeat death and conquer the grave. And I'm gonna give you a ticket to heaven that I'm gonna buy. I'm gonna buy your place in heaven through my blood. I'm gonna buy you a place in heaven, and I'm gonna give you your place in heaven that's custom made as a free gift. But you have to receive it. You have to receive it. You get to choose whether or not you want it".
In Ephesians 2:8 and 9 it says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast". You see, heaven is a gift that we have to receive. You can't earn it or deserve it. I mean, if we could get to heaven because of our good works, heaven would be a place where everyone's bragging. "How did you get to heaven"? "Well, I'm better than most people on earth. My good outweighed my bad. I'm a good person. I gave more to charity than a lot of people. I did all these good things in my neighborhood". No, you know, there'd be people bragging.
But no, no one can boast because it's not by works. It'll be, "How did you get to heaven"? "I didn't deserve it. I'm not perfect, but I'm here in perfect heaven because I received Christ's ticket. I accepted it, what he did for me when he bought my place in heaven through his blood". You see, we'll all be there because we received Christ's ticket. You see, the decisions you make on earth are magnified in eternity. And so, if you decide you want Christ in your life here on this earth, you'll be with him forever in heaven. But if you decide you don't want Christ, you don't need Christ, that you'll do it on your own, then you'll be separated from them for all eternity.
You see, one second after your heart stops beating, you will live on either in heaven or in hell. And God says, "I want everyone to be with me in heaven". The Bible says that hell was designed for the devil and his demons. But yet, human beings still choose to go there because they reject Jesus, separation for all eternity. And God says, "Heaven's a free gift, but you gotta stop trying to save yourself and just let me save you. Just accept that ticket that's free. Humble yourself and admit you can't get there on your own and receive the free gift, that ticket where you're assured of being with me forever in heaven". See, heaven is a place for those who know they're broken and need to be made whole, not for those who think they've got it all together and don't need restoration. Heaven a place of restoration.
Chris: Imagine with me that God appeared to you and he said, "If you want, I'll make a deal with you. I'll give you anything and everything you ask me for, pleasure, anything that makes you feel good. Power, all the power you want, a promotion to the top of your company, 100 million followers, you name it. Honor, hey, if you want the cover of 'Time' Magazine, a Nobel Prize, name it and it's yours, wealth, enough to buy whatever you want in this world. I'll even throw in freedom," says God. "You'll have no boss, do whatever you want to. Plus, peace of mind and a good conscience and for you, nothing will be sin, nothing forbidden, nothing off limits, nothing impossible. You'll never be bored, and you'll never die. Only, you will never see my face".
Did you notice that unspeakable chill in your deepest heart at those last words? The whole first part of God's deal makes our minds leap in excitement. "Yes! That's everything, everything I've always wanted". But our hearts freeze in shock at, "You'll never see my face". See, your deepest heart knows the truth, and the truth is that you want God more than anything else in the world. I want God more than anything else in the world. And we're not alone. That little thought experiment we just did together, that seems pretty contemporary in this society we live in, but it was devised over 1600 years ago by St. Augustine. Maybe you've heard of him. You see, it turns out that our modern culture is 24-hour-a-day busyness and obsession with entertainment and diversions, is nothing new. We're all searching for the same thing. Humans in every country all throughout time, we're all searching to be satisfied. We're just all trying to be satisfied.
Remember that U-2 song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"? It's like the anthem of the human race. We're all trying to find something, and we just can't quite find it. We're like children opening a thousand Christmas presents and asking after each one, "Is that all there is"? Every time we get what we wanted, that thing that we've really been striving for, we get the new job, we get that hot date, we get that diploma, we get that new outfit, and that feeling of satisfaction comes on us like fireworks. "Yes, this is what I wanted". But just like fireworks, it's a quick explosion and fades fast. And then we're right back to asking, "Is that all there is"? And then we start over again, don't we? We start another search. "Well, there's gotta be something else that's gonna satisfy me".
We always think if we could just find what really satisfies, but why can't we ever find it? Well, the child in us that opens all those presents and is always disappointed isn't greedy. We've just been promised something that we have not yet received. All of our longings point to heaven. There's a verse in Ecclesiastes, it's chapter 3, verse 11 and it says, "He has planted eternity in the human heart". Our hearts are hardwired by God to long for heaven. It's a universal longing. I found that slowing down to really think about this explains a lot because when you think about heaven being hardwired into our hearts, and we are all longing for it and it's something we can't let go of, it helps us to understand ourselves and why we always have an itch that we just can't quite scratch. Nothing quite does it for us.
As Americans, we grew up understanding that the Declaration of Independence protects our inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. "This is my right. I'm gonna try over and over and over and over and over and over again to be happy". And God says the same. He gives us free will. We can try over and over and over and over and over to be happy, but the truth is, we're never gonna be happy here. We're not supposed to be. We're not home yet. We are made for something this world does not have, and that's why we're never satisfied when we try to fill that spot, fill our longing for heaven with something on earth.
I found that it's when I'm the very most disappointed in this life, when my heart is breaking in a million pieces, when I'm crying, I mean, ugly, crying, you know what I mean, the heaving, and you have mascara running down your face. Those are the very times that I long for heaven the most. And as I've gotten older, I've come to see that experiencing deep dissatisfaction is actually a gift because it's when I'm most dissatisfied with this world that I seek Jesus more.