Watch Church Online
Today is the final sermon in our series exploring what we believe as Christians in general, and in particular as Global Methodists. We’ve been using the Apostles Creed as the pathway for that exploration. Our belief in the communion of saints, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting are all statements of Christian belief that answer one question: What is the Christian’s greatest hope?
What is our greatest hope? Our Global Methodist Church Catechism says that we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Our greatest hope is resurrection life! That is what we are talking about in our Apostles Creed when we affirm our belief in “the Communion of Saints, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” The Bible tells us “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”- Romans 6:5,8. Friends, I can’t wait for that day. I am thankful that heaven is above time because my debrief with Jesus after I die is going to take a while!
What is heaven like? We can’t know for sure, but, the Bible drops hints of heaven in a lot of passages. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us “For now we see through a glass darkly; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” 1 Corinthians 13:12. The Book of Revelation gives many majestic verses describing heaven as “new” and heaven’s culture as a culture of joy and “no more death or pain.” Revelation also speaks to gates of pearl and streets of gold. John’s Gospel chapter 14 alludes to heaven as a place “with many mansions”, with the prophet Isaiah’s affirmation that we will be in the presence of the one who has “called us by name”- Isaiah 43:1. Whatever heaven is, we know it is going to be great.
If our greatest hope is resurrection life in heaven, how do we get there? Generally, we must “know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 so that I can attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”- Philippians 3:10-12. John Wesley writes “I want to know one thing, the way to heaven – how to land safely on that happy shore. God himself has come down to teach the way: for this very end, He came from heaven. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God! I have it. Here is knowledge enough for me. In his presence I hope, I read his Book; for this end, to find the way to heaven.” Paul lays down 3 daily habits as a pathway for the believer to follow toward heaven. First, Know Christ! There are a lot of different ways a person can come to know Christ, but the best, day in and day out, are daily prayer and Bible reading. Friends, there is no good substitute and I want to encourage each of you to please find time each day for those things. And if you have a particularly busy day where you may have to miss your daily Bible reading, then have a strong Bible verse or two committed to memory, or maybe get the YouVersion Bible app and subscribe to its Verse of the Day daily email so you can still experience the benefit of His Word that day. Just try not to let a day go by without spending some time in the Word! Second, Know the power of His resurrection. Do we believe that the Gospel can change lives today? I hear a lot of talk of “Pastor, it’s human nature” when we sin. But Peter’s letter tells us, that, because through the promises of Jesus, “you may participate in the divine nature”-2 Peter 1:4. This is good news friends! The Gospel is not only our personal salvation, the Gospel and our participation in the divine nature should make a difference in our marriages, our jobs, our communities, and even our nation. Third, Participate in His sufferings. Choosing to suffer is not a choice many modern Christians make, but that’s what Paul wants! Friends, if we want to reach the happy shore of heaven, we are going to have to sacrifice. Paul’s letter to the Romans urges the Roman church to live a life of a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.”-Romans 12:1. You never wish for people to suffer, but doing so made Paul a better follower of Jesus, because it helped him stay focused on Jesus In hard circumstances. Paul writes that “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong”-2 Corinthians 12:8-10. Paul’s willingness to sacrifice what he wanted was rooted in a desire to be with Jesus, so much so that he chose(!) to “suffer the loss of all things, and count them garbage, that I might win Christ.”- Philippians 3:8.
Here is how I try to get to heaven. Galatians 2:20 is my memory verse: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” That verse alone is the ground of our assurance, isn’t it friends? Jesus paid a personal cost for you and me. The truth is, getting to the happy shore is not only about saving my own soul, it’s about how I live for Jesus. Have I really crucified my own flesh in all I do? Am I living a life that keeps sin at bay? My wife Rhiannon will tell you I don’t handle participation in Jesus’ sufferings very well. In any situation that includes “waiting” and “suffering”, I tend to be impatient. When I am impatient, Psalm 103:8 is a Psalm I increasingly come back to “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” A God who abounds in love wouldn’t allow me to suffer if He didn’t have a plan to defeat it, amen?! In the same way, a God of abundant love always plans with love in mind. As a runner, I love the idea of pressing on. I get asked questions all the time “Why do you run? Why are you running and it’s so hot?!” Friends, I love the idea of just being in motion. It’s not the speed, it’s the direction. I rarely respond to texts in the morning because that’s my time to work out. In the same way, in the Christian life, pressing on to heaven means we don’t let less important things distract us. Even more so, let us not, as Christians, distract others. “I don’t care what people think” is not in the vocabulary of the believer when they are trying to get to heaven. It’s our job as believers to care what people think. We need to offer Christ as an alternative to what people are thinking in our jobs, our communities, our families, etc.
We aspire to heaven, but let’s not get caught up in only looking forward to heaven, because heaven is also here on earth. The modern vernacular would say Christians are getting a “preview of heaven” every day. In the 1500s, the author John Milton wrote in his classic “Paradise Lost” “What if earth be but a shadow of heaven?!” In John’s Gospel, Jesus places eternal life not only in a place and a future, but also in a person and the present saying “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent”– John 17:3. Philippians 1:27 calls on the Philippian church to live as citizens “worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” In the text we read today, Paul tells the Philippian church that they are already “citizens of heaven”. Colossians 3:3 is interesting, because, in that book, Paul writes that believers are already “hid with Christ” after changing their focus to “things above” and dying to sin. Our Mighty Lord’s Prayer “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”
Church, where are you headed? “We believe in the communion of saints, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” We look for the resurrection of the dead, and life in the world to come! Friends, we want to get to heaven, and we want to experience a slice of heaven right here on earth. To do so, may we leave unhelpful distractions behind, know Christ, know the power of His Resurrection and participate in His sufferings. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.