Bringing Heaven to Earth

In this season of Hope Valley...

We are talking about a needed missional shift in our culture and practice as a church

We are not just talking about growing our congregation and resources

We are not talking about inviting more people to our house churches or merely sharing the Gospel message

We are talking about going to lost, building relationship, and bringing heaven to earth

Rather then inviting them to house church, it’s inviting them to your house, and being invited into theirs

Today we’re going to talk about Heaven & Earth and the way scripture talks about it

What does the Bible mean when it talks about “Heaven and Earth”?

Heaven – you can think of as “God space”; it’s his presence

It’s more than just this angelic place where dead people go

Earth – you can think of as “Human space”; the physical natural world

It’s not literally talking about the planet we live on

Throughout scripture we see that God’s wants to cohabitate with the humans that He created

He wants Heaven and Earth to come together, and this desire is key to understanding the story of the Bible

Let’s follow this thread through the story of the Bible

God created Adam & Eve and then the Garden of Eden for them to live together

But these first humans sinned and that introduction of sin into the physical world created an incompatibility between “heaven” and “earth”, so Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden that God had created for their cohabitation (Genesis 2:8-9; 3:8,22-24)

This corruption of sin was passed down generationally, making it impossible for human beings to cohabitate in God’s presence

God commissioned the Tabernacle, a place where people could enter God’s presence

The Tabernacle was decorated with images and designs that called back to the Garden of Eden, and in this place priests could enter God’s presence on behalf of the people – i.e. where “God space” and “human space” could overlap (Exodus 29:43-46)

This was accomplished partly through animal sacrifice – the blood of the sacrifice temporarily provided a sin-free clean zone where God and people share the same space (Exodus 30:10)

God came to live among us as a human being i.e. Jesus

As both God and Man, Jesus was the Tabernacle - the place where Heaven and Earth overlapped - John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus was the pure and sinless sacrifice who eternally provides a sin-free clean space for God and man to dwell together - Hebrews 10:12–14 “12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.”

Jesus empowered the spread of the “Kingdom of Heaven” (God space) throughout the world (human space) - This is where you and I come in!

He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us, transforming believers and the church into a new tabernacle – we are called the Temple of God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:9)

The New Jerusalem

The total reunification of Heaven and Earth is where the story of the Bible concludes - Revelation 21:1–3 “1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.”

And this is the conclusion that you and I have been invited to partner with God in bringing to fruition - making the New Heaven and the New Earth a reality!

What does this mean for us?

We have been called to something so much greater than we realize!

The church is like pockets where heaven and earth overlap - where people can be restored and redeemed to true humanity (A reversal of Adam & Eve’s fall)

This is a cause for which we must sacrifice, exercise personal discipline, walk in obedience, and abandon worldly comfort

1 Peter 1:13–19 “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”

Today’s challenges

Open up your mind to the possibilities

There are so many ways for you to bring heaven to earth! To create a space where the lost can enter in and encounter the presence of God, so that they may see and turn to the Lord

Open up your heart to obedience

When the Lord speaks and directs, do not be stubborn or cling to tightly to your comfort