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Sermon on Heaven (page six)

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We can only see Jesus

ruling over all things

with the eyes of faith.

The eyes of the flesh

will tell you otherwise.

We can only see that with the eyes of faith. The eyes of the flesh will tell you otherwise. But we believe that Jesus is ruling over all things. We believe that He was speaking the truth when He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection and said, “All authority has been given to me in Heaven and on earth. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:18)

  The whole world is under Christ’s authority. John draws attention to this. He tells us that “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was going to God.” (John 13:3) So as we look forward to that perfect world that’s coming, we don’t lose heart.

  Patience is essential if we are to reach our goal. That’s the part of being a Christian that none of us finds easy. Perhaps you think I’m a patient person, that things don’t rattle me and I’m fairly even tempered. But actually, I’m very impatient, when it comes to gardening.

  You should see me. I’m like a little kid. You know, year after year I’ve been sowing seeds in the garden. I sow the seed and a couple of days later I run out to see if anything is up yet. I come back all discouraged. “Honey, nothing’s up!” Of course, the wise wife that I have says, “Dear, when did you sow those seeds?” “Yesterday.” “How long before they germinate?” “A week.” “So there won’t be anything for a few more days.” “Yes, I know.”

  And then the next day, I go out to see if any seeds are up! Come back in. “Honey, no seeds.” This repeats itself day after day.

  And then! The glorious day appears! I burst in the door and shout, “Honey! The seeds are up! The seeds are up!”

  And then the next day I go out and I drag back in, “I can’t see any more growth.” I’m just so impatient. I’m so impatient to see the full growth.

  There are times when we look ahead to that land of glory and it’s like holding an ice cream cone in front of someone on a diet. It’s tantalizing, isn’t it? We so much want to be there in glory because of whatever problem we have. It just seems so far away and impossible. It seems like a dream, like a fairy tale.

  We’ve had longings for things before in life, and when we’ve gotten there we’ve been disillusioned. So we think, “Maybe Heaven’s like that. Maybe it’s just a dream.”

  You know something? It’s immature for me to run out to the garden every day. I should know better. If experience doesn’t teach me, then reading the seed packet should! “Seeds germinate in 7 - 10 days.” Not 2 days. Not the day after you plant it.

  We want to be in Heaven. We’re not there yet, and it’s so easy to get discouraged and just sort of forget about that life to come. It’s so easy to start getting fixated on all the problems of living in this world. Before you know it, we haven’t even thought about Heaven for days.

  But Christians should know better. We are to live our entire earthly life with a view to that heavenly home. We’re to structure our entire life in this earthly body thinking continually about the effect for eternity of what we’re doing in the here and now.

  Paul the apostle did. He writes from his prison cell at the end of his life, “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”

  Of everything we should say, “Lord, will this please You? Will this have an impact for good on other people so that they turn to You?” What will be the eternal harvest from the seeds that we’re planting now? What are we planting?

  If it’s true that Heaven is real and that Jesus is preparing Heaven for us now, we should not get irritated because we have to wait for that perfect world to appear.

  Jesus has promised, “I will come back.” He hasn’t gone away to that perfect world and shut and bolted the door and left us on this side of it. No, He is coming back precisely so that we will be able to go with Him to that perfect world. “I will return and take you to be with Me where I am.”

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