Looking Forward: Until Heaven is Full
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Year-End Sermon - December 29, 2024
Opening Prayer
"Lord, as we gather on this final Sunday of 2024, open our hearts to Your vision. Help us see what You see, feel what You feel, and dream what You dream. Speak through human words to bring divine truth. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Introduction
The year was 1927. The brand new Yankee Stadium was packed to capacity – 58,000 people. But this wasn't a baseball game. These thousands had gathered to hear Charles Lindbergh speak after his historic trans-Atlantic flight. When asked about that moment, Lindbergh later said it was the largest crowd he'd ever seen in one place.
In 2008, Barack Obama spoke to an estimated 200,000 people in Berlin. In 2013, around 3.7 million people gathered in Rio de Janeiro to hear Pope Francis. The largest gathering in human history was India's 2019 Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, with an estimated 120 million people attending over 49 days.
But I want you to imagine something even bigger. I want you to try to picture a vast crowd that no one could count. Not thousands. Not millions. Not billions. A multitude beyond numbering, from every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language.
This is exactly what the Apostle John saw in his vision of heaven. Turn with me to:
Revelation 7:9–10 (MEV)
Then I looked. And there was a great multitude which no one could count, from all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out with a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
But here's the amazing thing – heaven isn't full yet. There are still empty seats at the greatest celebration in history. As we stand here on the edge of 2025, God has given us a vision, a theme that will guide everything we do in the coming year: "Until Heaven is Full."
I. Looking Back to Look Forward
I. Looking Back to Look Forward
Genesis 15 finds Abraham standing under a Middle Eastern night sky. The stars are blazing above him – no light pollution, no city glow, just the pure brilliance of God's celestial creation. And God says something extraordinary to him: "Look toward heaven and number the stars if you can number them... So shall your offspring be."
Now, modern astronomers estimate there are around 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone. But God wasn't just talking about physical descendants. Paul tells us:
Galatians 3:29 (MEV)
If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
If we belong to Christ, we are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
But this vision of multiplication, this dream of filling heaven, broke Jesus's heart.
Matthew 9:36–38 (MEV)
But when He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they fainted and were scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send out laborers into His harvest.”
Let me ask you something: When was the last time your heart broke for the lost? When was the last time you looked at the crowds in our city and felt what Jesus felt?
II. The Vision of Heaven
II. The Vision of Heaven
John's vision in Revelation 7 shows us God's endgame. Look at the details:
First, it's a multitude no one could number. In Greek, this phrase suggests a large crowd and an impossible-to-count throng. This is significant because John gives us specific numbers throughout Revelation—144,000 sealed servants, 24 elders, and 7 churches. But here, the crowd defies counting.
Second, notice the diversity: "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages." The Greek text uses four different words to emphasize complete diversity. No one is left out, and no culture is excluded. Heaven will be the most diverse place we've ever experienced.
But here's the powerful part – all this diversity unites in one purpose: "crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God.'" Different languages, one message. Different cultures, one worship. Different backgrounds, one salvation.
Yet today, there are still empty seats at this great celebration. Thousands don't know Christ in our city alone, and over 3 billion people worldwide have little or no access to the gospel. The vision is clear, but the work isn't finished.
III. Until Heaven is Full: Our 2025 Focus
III. Until Heaven is Full: Our 2025 Focus
This brings us to our vision for 2025: "Until Heaven is Full." This isn't just a catchy phrase – it's a mission that will shape everything we do.
This vision operates on two levels:
First is personal commitment. You can't give what you don't have. That's why our first focus is growing deeper as disciples ourselves. Jesus's pattern was simple: He called the disciples to be with Him before He sent them out to serve.
The second is multiplication:
2 Timothy 2:2 (MEV)
Share the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses with faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
Notice the multiplication: Paul to Timothy to faithful men to others. That's four generations of disciples in one verse.
Let me be very practical about what this means for us in 2025:
IV. Practical Steps Forward
IV. Practical Steps Forward
See these empty chairs? Each one represents someone who isn't yet part of that numberless multitude in heaven. Your neighbor. Your coworker. Your family member. The barista at your coffee shop. The person sitting next to you on the plane.
Here's what we're asking everyone to do:
Commit to Growing
Join small group discipleship pathway in January
Engage in daily Bible reading using a new reading plan
Connect with a prayer partner for accountability
Identify Your One
Write down the name of three people you'll pray for daily
Build an intentional relationship with them
Look for opportunities to share your faith story
Engage in Ministry
Find your place on a ministry team
Closing
Closing
Imagine with me for a moment. Fast forward to December 2025. We're gathering here again, looking back over the year. What will we see? How many empty seats in heaven will have been filled? How many lives changed? How many families transformed? How many disciples made?
The vision John saw isn't just a future hope – it's our present mission. Every person you see this week is a potential part of that numberless multitude. Every conversation is an opportunity. Every relationship is a divine appointment.
Closing Prayer
"Father, as we stand on the threshold of a new year, we thank You for the privilege of being part of Your grand vision. Give us Your heart for the lost. Please show us the empty seats that need to be filled. Use us to help fill heaven with worshippers from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Make us faithful disciple-makers who won't rest until heaven is full. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Altar Call
With every head bowed and every eye closed... Maybe you're here today and realize you're not yet part of that great multitude in heaven. Or maybe you're a believer who needs to recommit to God's mission of filling heaven.