The Hope of Heaven
17 Feb 08
James B. Stockdale, an American Pilot, was shot down during the Vietnam War in 1965.
For the next 7 years, Stockdale would be held as a prisoner of war by the Vietcong.
He was often tortured in an attempt to break his will and get him to denounce U.S. involvement in the war.
They would bind his hands above his head for days at the time so that he couldn’t even swat the mosquitoes.
The Vietcong broke one of his legs and never set it properly.
Perhaps the worst torture was being separated from other POW’s and put in solitary confinement for four years.
How could he survive such treatment?
How could anyone endure and carry on?
When asked what helped him make it through those seven years, Stockdale said that it was his hope.
Hope that one day he would go home.
He knew that he had to hold on to the hope that every day could be the day he would be released and go home.
And that kept him going.
The Hope of Home.
Job 14:1-2 (NASB95)
1 “Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.
Do you know what he’s saying?
Friends, he’s saying that life is hard.
Some of you are dealing with situations at work that are hard.
There are people that you work with whom you just can’t get along with.
Their always causing problems and you come to the point where you dread going to work every day.
Others of you hate your job but you’re stuck in it, and you dread it every day.
Many of you come from broken homes.
Some of you are living in broken homes right now.
And it’s hard to live with that.
Many of you know the sting of divorce, and the pain of going through that, and it’s hard.
Broken promises and broken hearts.
So many here this morning are living with sickness and pain every day.
We all have loved ones who are suffering.
For some it was a struggle just to get out of bed this morning.
And others just couldn’t get out of bed.
And we all go through the pain and the sorrow of losing those we love.
And it’s so hard to go on.
Life is so hard.
And I can’t help but wonder what God would say to us, if He would just open up the sky and speak directly to us this morning in light of all of the pain and suffering we go through.
He did speak through Peter.
In 1 Peter 1:3, we have God’s word spoken to Christians who knew that life is hard.
They were being persecuted for their faith.
They had had to leave their homes in Jerusalem because of the persecution.
They were outcasts of society.
Friends and family cut them off and wanted nothing to do with them.
Local people refused to do business with them.
And they too faced the pain of separation and death.
Life was hard.
1 Peter 1:3-7 (NASB95)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
I think the key for us is found in verse 6.
6 In this (salvation which will be revealed in the last time) you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
We are being distressed by various trials in this life.
And it is hard.
What Peter is saying to us is that we’ve got to do the same thing that Stockdale did as a POW.
We’ve got to hold on to the hope of going home.
That any day could be the day that we are released from this prison and taken home.
I want to tell you about a dream that I had.
This was a vivid dream.
It was one of those dreams where you can literally see and hear and feel, and you know it’s real.
Mat 24:36-51
NARRATIVE
The alarm clock went off.
I Got up and sang the “Good Morning” song to Mariah.
Next, I took a shower
Shaved
Just another day
Kissed Jessica goodbye and walked out the door to go to work
Something was different
Couldn’t put finger on it
All of a sudden a shout and trumpet sounded
Not whistle from mill
1 Thes 4:13-18
Looked up and saw the Son of Man, Jesus coming on the clouds And the Dead in Christ, those who have gone on before, were rising up to meet him in the air.
And then I started to rise up.
It was amazing
I was just picked up by invisible hands and flying to Jesus
As I got closer I could see that there was a division
Mat 25: 31-46
A multitude of people were on his left, and I knew that these were the ones who had never accepted him as Lord and Savior.
I knew that they would spend eternity in Hell.
And somehow I could see that there were more people on his left.
But over to his right there was another multitude.
And I knew many of the faces I saw over there.
These were those who had washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
Those who had accepted Christ as Lord and Savior and had lived for him
I knew that they would spend eternity in heaven with Jesus
And I can’t tell you the joy I felt as Jesus sent me to his right side in his mercy and grace
Matthew 25:34-36 (NASB95)
Then the King said “to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’”
Matthew 25:41 (NASB95)
Then He said “to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”
I drifted out at that point
Next thing I know, I’m standing on a road
In front of me is a massive wall Rev 21:1-21
Stretches as far as I can see east to west, as high as I can see into the sky
1,500 miles
As I looked at the foundation of this great wall, I saw that it was made of all kinds of different stones and it was so beautiful
I made my way to the open gate in the wall and saw that it was cut from one huge pearl.
It was magnificent
An Angel stood guard at the Gate, and he let me pass
The wall was so thick that it was like walking though a beautiful, multicolored cave.
But when I came out the other side, into the city, I lost my breath.
I was on a street of pure Gold, and all of the city that I could see looked so wonderful, I can’t describe it with words.
As wonderful as the city was though, that wasn’t the best thing.
There, waiting for me when I came through the gate, were loved ones I haven’t seen in years.
Granddaddy Hux was there.
He died when I was a baby.
But I got to see him and meet him.
Granddaddy Baird was there.
He had Alzheimer’s all the time that I knew him.
But he didn’t have it anymore.
We hugged and talked.
Grandma was there, better than ever, and we caught up.
I saw Ronald Baird, and Elbert Hurst, and George Warwick, Jimmy Newsome, Romona Chambliss, Jan Coggins, Anita Wright, Rensa Moseley.
The list goes on.
There were so many to see again, and new people to meet.
Rev 21:3-4
And there was no more pain, or sorrow, or suffering.
No more medications.
No Lupus
No Alzheimer’s
No old age
No Arthritis
No Nursing Home or hospital
No need
I saw Paul and Peter and John, and we talked about the way they had spread the Gospel and how the church grew.
Peter pointed behind me and when I turned around I saw him.
Jesus was hurrying down the street toward me with a smile on his face and his arms stretched wide.
And I couldn’t help myself.
I fell down at his feet sobbing
“Thank you for the Cross.”
He picked me up and wiped the tears from my face and crushed me in a bear hug.
“No more tears. Welcome home”
Jesus took me on a tour of the city and showed me all of its wonders
And we made our way to the center of the city.
Here was the Throne of Almighty God.
Jesus went ahead and was seated to the Right of the Father.
Revelation 7:9-12 (NASB95)
A great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, (was) standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
And I fell down on my face in worship.
When I opened my eyes, the alarm clock was going off and Mariah was stirring beside me.
It was time to sing the “Good Morning” song and shower and shave, and head out the door for another day’s work.
Just another day.
What trials will come my way?
I don’t know.
Life is hard.
Brothers and Sisters, I don’t know what tomorrow holds for you.
But I know who holds tomorrow.
And if we want to endure this life and all of the trials it throws our way, then the best thing we can do is hold on to our hope.
The hope of Heaven.
The hope that any day could be the day that we are released from this prison and taken home to heaven for eternity.
That’s exciting to me, to know that at any moment I could hear that shout and that trumpet call, and my dream will be a reality at last.
And that hope will bring me through anything this world throws at me.
What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon his face,
The one who saved me by his grace,
When he takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day, that will be
And it’s a day we can only imagine.
I Can Only Imagine
For most of us that day when we hear the trumpet call and see Jesus coming on the clouds will be a wondrous day indeed, for we have accepted Christ as our Savior.
Let us live faithful to him even in the trials of life, and let us look forward to that day when we can finally go home.
But there is one here today who can’t look forward to that trumpet call.
You know that if you were to walk out the door of your house in the morning and hear that call, you would not be going home to heaven.
You’ve never accepted Christ as your Lord and as your Savior.
You’ve never been baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.
You’re living for yourself instead of for Jesus.
Don’t let this invitation pass you by.
Life is hard.
Can you begin to imagine eternity in hell?
But friend the invitation is given.
Come to Christ today, and receive eternal life.
Receive the hope of eternity in heaven.
The Hope of Heaven
17 Feb 08
Life is hard. Isn’t that the understatement of the year! Friends, life throws all kinds of trials our way: problems at work; fights with friends; troubles with family; health problems; money problems. Need I go on? There are wonderful things to experience in this life on the mountaintops, but the valleys can be harsh places to travel. How can we endure? What is the key to walking through the worst moments of life, and making it through to the other side?
The following is a list of scriptures used in the message today. I encourage you to read these verses in the coming days, especially when the trials of life threaten to drag you down.
Job 14:1-2
1 Peter 1:3-7
Matthew 24:36-51
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:31-46
Revelation 21:1-21
Revelation 7:9-17
Acts 2:38
Romans 6:3-10
The key to walking through the trials of life is to keep our eyes focused on the hope of Heaven. Do you have this hope? Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and as your Savior? Are you living for him? If not, now is the time to act.
If you have never accepted Christ, then you need to turn from sin, and determine to live for Jesus. Come forward during the invitation and confess that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the Cross for your sin, and rose from the dead conquering death. Be immersed in the waters of baptism. This is where you come into contact with the blood of Christ. You will be forgiven of all your sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He will help you to live faithful to God for the rest of your life. And on the day that the trumpet sounds and Jesus returns on the clouds, you will go home to heaven for eternity.
What a wonderful promise that is. What a wonderful home to look forward to. What a wonderful God we serve. Let us all be faithful, just as he is faithful. And let us press on, no matter what trials come our way, so that we will receive the crown of life when Jesus returns.