New Heaven

Main Idea: When we look to our future with Jesus in Heaven, it changes how we interact with the world of Jesus.

How do I see Jesus:

ME

We live in a world where it is not hard to see how riddle we are with problems and turmoil. We watched as the year began and Los Angelos burned out of control. We look around the world and see nations who are at war and people are dying by the hundreds and thousands. And not just on the grandiose scale, but when we look on a more personal relatable level we see people who are facing difficult trials. Marriages fall apart, the people they love are dying, they are losing their jobs, their children are no longer talking to them and the list can go on and on. Yet, when the world looks at Christians who are fully living out their faith they will see people who are living a life of blessing even in the middle of some of their toughest trials.

One of the stories I think about the most is the one we sung about a few weeks ago when we introduced the song Trust in God… It says he’s been my fourth man in the fire time after time… and what it is talking about is this story about three boys in the book of Daniel…Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego In this time King Nebuchadnezzar… image of gold… sixty cubits tall(90ft) and 6 wide… everyone had to bow down when the sound of the horn or flute or lyre was played you must bow down and worship the image… and if you didn’t you would be thrown in the fiery furnace… and so there were some Chaldeans who turned in the three boys for not bowing down when the sound was played… and brought before the king… is it true you don’t bow down and worship my gods? And he gives them this test… I am going to play the sound and if you bow down it will be all good.. but if not you will be thrown into the furnace. And they are all, bro we don’t even need to answer you… Our God can deliver us from that furnace… and even if he does not, you should know we aren’t serving your Gods… and Nebuchadnezzar was really mad, and he had them heat the furnace 7x the normal heat. He had the boys bound and taken to the furnace… and it was so hot the men who carried them to the furnace died… and the men fell in still bound. And as he is looking on king nebuchadnezzar looked at saw 4 men in the fire.. and he questioned it and was like… yo didnt we only put three guys in there? and he called for the three men to come out, so they did… Everyone sees they are fine… and Neb is astounded… and he says if anyone say anything against the god of these men they shall be ripped apart… and most scholars believe that was Jesus in there with them protecting them… and thats what the song is talkign about… in the middle of all the turmoil he has been my fourth man in the fire time after time… and it says Neb made them prosper in teh land…

and I wonder why today when people look at Christians living in joy in the midst of their tragedies, why they don’t flock to Jesus for the answers they are looking for in this life and the help they need. I would think they would see the lives of Christians and the joy they have in turmoil and ask questions and want to know what it is keeping them together. Perhaps, if we aren’t seeing that response in the world around us its because the people we are living around don’t know we are Christians, or maybe it is because as we live in our turmoil we are looking just like the world and we are living without hope.

Today, Jesus talks about the blessings we have in our current lives, and the blessing of Heaven to come. Hopefully, as we look at these verses it will give us the outlook we need to live with hope in our turmoil for all to see.

EXPOSITION

And the first promise Jesus gives us to help us to have peace in the middle of our turmoil is the promise of his presence.

John 17:24 ESV

24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Look here at what Jesus says, His desire is for us to be with him. I just want you to pause on that for a minute, because the problem with most of us as Christians is we see truths like this and it doesn’t move us anymore. I was talking recently with a pastor friend of mine

YOU

WE