This World Is Not Our Home - Or Is It 2-1-2020

HEAVEN - SEEING THE UNSEEN THIS WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME...OR IS IT? Sunday February 2, 2020 Scripture Reference: Revelation 21:1-7 Intro. A. In the last two messages as we talked about the Present Heaven I said that I am going to spend most of the time in this series talking about the Future Heaven or what we commonly call "Our Eternal Home". If Jesus tarries and we die before the rapture and the final resurrection when we will receive new bodies but they will not be the bodies we have for eternity when we enter our Eternal home. Here is what Paul said of in 1 Corinthians 15 when he said "51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies." 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (NLT) 1. I also said numerous times in the last two messages that this Eternal Home is called the New Heaven and the New Earth and this is where we will live for eternity in these new resurrected and redeemed bodies. Today we will begin to talk about this New Heaven and New Earth and we will spend the rest of our time in this series talking about what these redeemed bodies will be like and what our lives will be like in our Eternal Home. 2. Our scripture for today is found in Revelation 21:1-7 so if you have a bible please turn to those verses if not I will put them up on the screen. "1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" And then he said to me, "Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true." 6 And he also said, "It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega-the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children." Revelation 21:1-7 (NLT) 1. What we are going to talk about today is so very important for laying a solid foundation which will allow us to gain that true, accurate and most of all biblical picture of what Heaven will be like. Trans. I have been asking and endeavoring to answers questions through-out this series so let's consider another one of those questions. I. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FORWARD TO? I would say that this is a very important question because probably all of us have these ideas about Heaven that we have developed over the years, but as many of us are finding out these ideas are not necessarily accurate. So when I ask "What are you looking forward to" we are going to answer that question based on what we have come to believe. So let's see if these ideas are have are true. A man named Paul Marshall wrote, "Our destiny is an earthly one: a new earth, an earth redeemed and transfigured. An earth reunited with heaven, but an earth, nevertheless." Whether we realize it or not there is within each of us a longing for Eden. A. Our Longing For Eden. 1. When we think of the Garden of Eden we think of a place where things were perfect where things were as they were supposed to be. Our relationships with each other were right, our relationship with the world God created was right. Do you think that Adam and Eve had to worry about being attacked and eaten by wild animals? Did they have to worry about the right SPF level on their sun screen? Remember they were naked so there was a lot of area to get sun burned. Even the so called environmental movement of today is an attempt to regain what we lost in Eden. Our ancestors came from Eden and we are headed back there in what we now call the New Earth. Right now we are having to live in a sin corrupted world. A world that is filled with sin, suffering, strife, war, famine, poverty and the list goes on and on, but this was not our natural state. All these things we are dealing with now that make life so hard and complicated were not a part of the natural order God created. These are the things that have come because of sin. What we now desire is a home that is incorruptible. We desire a place, and a physical place I might add where we can walk and talk with God as Adam and Eve once did in the Garden of Eden and I am so excited to tell you today that this is exactly what God is preparing for us. Here is how Peter put it, "3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:3-7 (NIV) B. What Will This New Earth Be Like? 1. I have been emphasizing through-out this series that I believe Heaven is a physical place and we will be physical beings there and while I will concede that I don't think we can fully imagine what Heaven will be like I also know the Bible gives us a lot of clues for us to draw from. Let me offer a few. a) Heaven is described as a city. "For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11:10 (NIV) When you think of a city what are some of the things that come to you mind? Roads, homes, commerce, art, culture, and of course people. b) Heaven is also described as a country. "Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one." Hebrews 11:16 (NIV) What do you think of when you think about countries like the USA? You think about governments, states or territories, and we probably think about a diverse group of people. 2. Can you imagine this earth we now live in without mountains, oceans, rivers, lakes, forests, flowers, or animals? Then why would we try to imagine a new earth without these things? God did not promise us a non-earth He promised us a New Earth with many of the things we know about earth today. Revelation 21-22 mentions many of these. As I have said repeatedly we will have resurrected bodies, but some might say "I can't imagine what my resurrected body would look like". Well yes maybe not in every measure, but you now have a body don't you and can't you imagine what that body would look like without all the impairments we deal with because of sin? Did you know we will work in Heaven? I bet you thought it was going to be eternal retirement but Revelation 22:3 says "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him." Revelation 22:3 (NIV) Some translations use the word "worship" here but the Greek means "to be hired to work." It would not be inaccurate for us to say that when we work we worship because even in our secular jobs we can lift up the name of God. [] My conversation with Ray McGuire the other day. He was talking about how important my job is as a pastor, but I told him your jobs are very important as well. You, far more than me enter into the mission field each week. Each day of the week you have far more opportunities to share Christ than I do. I consider your jobs extremely important and I hope that what I do makes you better equipped to not just work, but worship at work as you serve our Lord. 3. In Hebrews 11 we read over and over of those who died in their faith looking forward to their eternal reward. We can only look forward to what we can imagine. I often look forward to going fishing and what makes this so appealing to me is that I am imagining all the fish I am going to catch and how big they will be. Now granted I don't always catch all the fish I imagined but I will chalk that up to the curse of sin, but how excited would it be to be going fishing not being able to imagine what it would be like? Yes we cannot fully grasp all that God has in store for us in Heaven, but He has certainly given us a lot to think about and imagine as we keep moving towards that place. C. Are We Just "Passing Through"? 1. How many times have we said that, how many times have I said that? We sing songs that say "This world is not my home I am just passing through" but is that correct? If you are like me and like most Christians we have believed that there is something wrong with this world that God created and therefore this world needs to be utterly destroyed that's why it is a New Earth right? What if I told you that concept did not line up with the bibles teaching about Heaven? Once again the reason we think this way is because all we know is this sin corrupted world. All we know is about the pain and suffering sin has caused and as I said earlier we have been on this constant quest since Adan and Eve fell to try and restore what was lost. What I want to do to conclude this message is speak to you about God's Redemption Plan for Earth. II. GOD'S REDEMPTION PLAN FOR EARTH. Here is the key phrase in understanding why we don't believe that this earth will be destroyed and God will start all over again. A. God Said It Was "Very Good". 1. Genesis 1:31 says "Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!" Genesis 1:31 (NLT) God never once said that there was something wrong with what He has made and that it needed to be destroyed and start all over again. Now you might say "Well what about Noah and the flood?" The purpose of the flood was not to destroy the earth it was to destroy the sin that had corrupted the earth. God even made the provision of having the animals in the ark so that after the flood they could multiply and restore what once was. 2. What I propose to you today is that God is in the business of restoring and redeeming. God has never given up on His original creation. If that were the case then we would not have the story of Noah because God would just have destroyed the earth and started over. If God had given up on His creation then He would not have sent Jesus Christ to be our redeemer. Consider the very language the Bible uses, Reconcile, Redeem, Restore, Recover, Return, Renew, Regenerate and Resurrect. That prefix "re" at the beginning of each word suggests a return to the original condition. These words remind us that God always sees us as He intended for us to be. God desires for us to become what He created us to be when He created Adam and Eve. Albert Wolters in his book "Creation Regained" wrote this, "[God] hangs on to his fallen original creation and salvages it. He refuses to abandon the work of his hands-in fact, he sacrifices his own Son to save his original project." 3. I love how Randy Alcorn put this, "God is the ultimate salvage artist." God loves to not only restore things to their original condition, but also to make them even better. The hymn writer said this so well in the hymn "Hallelujah What A Savior" Man of Sorrows! What a name For the Son of God, who came. Ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior! To use the word reclaim is to say that God had a prior claim on our lives but because of our sinful rebellion we divorced ourselves from Him, but God didn't turn His back and say "Fine be that way". He like the prodigal sons father keep looking and longing for us to return and He sent His son Jesus to make that reclamation possible. PRAISE THE LORD! B. The New Earth Is The Old Earth Restored. 1. Peter in his Pentecostal message said this, "For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets." Acts 3:21 (NLT) This is an inclusive promise meaning Peter was not just referring to how God wanted to restore these who were listening to his message, but this promise was for all of mankind. Now think about this, if God is going to restore all things will He restore us as disembodied spirits to a non-physical world? No because that would not be restoring. You can't restore what has been destroyed. God wants to restore what he made to its original design and that includes not just you and me but this earth He made as well. What was that thing I told you to be thinking about in the very first message? I said you need to be imagining this world without the curse of sin and all it has done to this world. 2. Notice also that Peter says this was promised by the prophets long ago. This was not a new idea God came up with nor was it a new idea the apostles came up with. Let's look at what these prophets said. "Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore." Isaiah 65:17 (NLT) The fact that we will not think about the old one is because the old one was so messed up by sin. "In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards." Isaiah 65:21 (NLT) "My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken!" Isaiah 66:2 (NLT) 3. To quote Randy Alcorn again, "God placed mankind on Earth to fill it, rule it, and develop it to God's glory. But that plan has never been fulfilled. Should we therefore conclude that God's plan was ill-conceived, thwarted, or abandoned? No. These conclusions do not fit the character of an all-knowing, all-wise, sovereign God. God determined from the beginning that he will redeem mankind and restore the earth. Why? So his original plan will be fulfilled." Randy Alcorn Here is the problem with thinking that the earth will be destroyed and God will start all over again. Whether we realize it or not this line of thinking says that God made a mistake that He failed in some way. What is there in the Bible that would give us any cause to believe that God has "oops" in His vocabulary? To do so is to reduce God to just another deity like any other who maybe makes for a nice security blanket, but is certainly no sovereign Creator. 4. So will this earth we know come to an end? Yes, but to a final end? No. Let's go back to Revelation 21:1 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea." Revelation 21:1 (NIV) When someone "passes away" do they cease to exist? I hope you would be able based on all we have talked about so far in this series to answer that question with a definitive "No". We cease to exist in this world, but we will continue on in eternal life whether that life is with God or with the Devil. While this earth as we know it passes away it seems to be clear from what the Bible tells us that it will be redeemed and restored to what God originally intended. Trans. I want to see if I can tackle one more topic before I end this message. I have challenged you from the very beginning of this series to imagine what this world would be like without the curse of sin. I want us to consider that as I finish this message. III. WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR THE CURSE TO BE LIFTED? After the fall of Adam and Eve God immediately put into effect his redemption plan. Look at what He said, "And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:15 (NLT) This small verse gives us an incredible picture of what the curse of sin has done to humanity but it also reveals God's plan of redemption. The first part of this verse speaks of the ongoing war battle we have had since the fall. It shows that we are constantly battling the forces of darkness. The second half of the verse reveals the defeat of Satan. Satan will strike the heel of Christ which most believe is a reference to the cross, but then it says that Christ will strike the head of Satan. Jesus will deliver the death blow to Satan! One of the results of sin is death, not only the physical death, the spiritual death in separation from the relationship God designed for us to have with Him. But what does Jesus do? He delivers us from the power of death. Sin also banished us from the Garden, but through Christ we are restored to the Garden. I love these words "God did not sit idly by or shrug his shoulders at sin, death, and the Curse. He did not relinquish his claim on mankind and the earth. No sooner did ruin descend on humanity and Earth than God revealed his plan to defeat Satan and retake them for his glory." Alcorn, Randy One day Heaven and earth will be united. A. Heaven And Earth United. 1. Right now a separation exists between Heaven and earth. There is so much I do not know or understand right now, but this will change after the final resurrection. Right now the Present Heaven is separated from earth. As I spoke about last week it appears that those in the Present Heaven can see what is happening in this world, but we only have glimpses of Heaven from a few scriptures, but we do not interact with them. Listen to these words of Paul from Ephesians "And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ-everything in heaven and on earth." Ephesians 1:10 (NLT) When we think of the Garden of Eden we think of it as paradise, of a perfect place. We probably don't use this word a lot to describe it but Heaven would be accurate. It was the place where God dwelt with man. God's plan has not changed and Revelation 21 Shows us that God will once again bring Heaven and earth together and there we will be together with God. I love these words, "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them." Revelation 21:3 (NLT) Just as we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ God is also going to reconcile Heaven and Earth. He is going to bring them back together as He originally planned. 2. "For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us." Ephesians 2:14 (NLT) Just as God broke down the wall between ourselves and Him so He will one day break down the wall that exists between Heaven and earth. **This is why I have spoken so much about the physical aspects of Heaven. We have been falsely lead to believe that this world is evil, but it is not the world that is evil it is the spirit of the antichrist that inhabits this world that is evil and has corrupted this world. God created a beautiful and wonderful world that sinful man has corrupted, but one day God will redeem and restore this world to its original design. How will He do this? By removing the curse. B. Removing The Curse. 1. Revelation 22:3 says, "No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him." Revelation 22:3 (NLT) Here is why I have been encouraging you to imagine what this world WILL be like when the curse of sin is forever removed. God said to Adam that the ground would be cursed and we feel it don't we? The ground being cursed is not just about farmers and the toil that we all go through in this world to make a living. How often it is that even our best efforts do not produce the results we desire. [] How many times have we worked hard for a promotion and been passed over by those who didn't try as hard? How many times have we worked to make a marriage work, but it still failed? How often have we tried to direct our children down the right path, but they still chose the wrong one? As a pastor how many times have I worked hard, but not seen the results I desired or even felt I deserved? Is this not all a part of the curse? It is also about the other things the curse has caused. Not just earthquakes and tornados, but diseases like cancer. 2. Death is also a part of the curse and we have seen our fair or maybe unfair share of death at Cornerstone. God has provided for us a way to escape death through Christ. No not the physical death of these bodies, but the death that separates us from God and through Christ we will one day have a resurrected body that will be totally free from the curse of sin. Christ's victory is complete. Death will not limp away it will be totally annihilated!! Here is what God said through the prophet Isaiah. "7 There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. 8 He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The LORD has spoken!" Isaiah 25:7-8 (NLT) Conclusion A. As I close today I want you to consider this statement, "We have never known this world as it was meant to be." This is why it is so hard for us to imagine the things I have been talking about for a few weeks now. All we know is a world messed up and corrupted by sin. Maybe this why Paul wrote the words, "That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT) In fact as I think about it maybe it is why Paul also wrote these words "Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT) B. Think with me for a moment about those times (as few as they might have been) when life was about as good as it gets. You were in great physical condition, your relationships were good and you even had a positive balance in your checkbook. Think about those times when you were out in your favorite place in nature. Maybe that was the mountains, the desert or at the ocean. Do you remember what those times felt like? You probably said something like, "I wish it could be like this all the time." Guess what, if you chose to follow Jesus Christ the time is coming when it will be like that all the time. I cannot provide you with an escape from the sin corrupted world, but here is what I said a few weeks ago but it bears repeating. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ this world is the closest thing to hell you will ever know, but if you chose not to follow Jesus this world is the closest thing to Heaven you will ever know. 1. As always the choice is ours. Follow Jesus now and have His help and guidance through this sin cursed world with the promise of Eternal life with him some day or reject Christ and try your best to make this life as good as you can, but in the end all you will get is eternal life in Hell. The choice ought to be easy. 8