Greg Laurie - The Blessed Hope (02/11/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie teaches on the blessed hope of Christ's return and heaven from John 21 and 1 Thessalonians 4, emphasizing the rapture, our glorified bodies, reunions with loved ones, and how this hope purifies our lives. Heaven is home, with recognition, joy over salvations, and awareness of earth from a perfect perspective. The sermon urges readiness for Jesus' imminent coming through turning from sin and committing to Him.
The Blessed Hope: Looking for Christ's Return
Today we are going to be looking at two passages of Scripture together. I would like you to turn in your Bible to John 21 and also 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. John 21 and 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. And the title of my message today is The Blessed Hope.
Hey quick poll. I know you are busy turning in your Bibles. But I want to ask you a couple of quick questions. How many of you here today believe in heaven? Raise your hand up. If you believe in heaven. Oh good. Good. How many of you believe you are going to heaven? Raise your hand up. Alright. Good. How many of you are happy about the fact that you are going to heaven? Raise up your hand. Alright. Good. Good. How many of you are tired of raising your hand? Raise your hand. Yeah. Exactly.
I heard a story about a pastor that was speaking on the topic of heaven. And he asked his congregation How many of you would like to go to heaven tonight? Everybody raised their hand except one little boy up in the balcony. So the pastor asked the question again. Again I ask you, how many of you would like to go to heaven tonight? Every hand shot up except that little boy.
So the minister actually singles the little guy out and he says, son, don't you want to go to heaven? The little boy said, yeah I want to go to heaven. But I thought you were getting a load up right now.
I mean we like the idea of going to heaven. But we are not necessarily in a rush to get there. As country artist Kenny Chesney sings, Everybody wants to go to heaven. Have a mansion high above the clouds. Everybody wants to go to heaven. But no one wants to go now.
Heaven Isn't Just for the Elderly
Well, we are in our series, Hope for Hurting Hearts, and we have been talking about the hope of heaven. And we described what the Scripture says about it. And some of you listening to this message might say, Well you know Greg, that is a good message for you older people in your forties and beyond. But I am still pretty young. So I am not really thinking too much about this.
Well first of all you need to know that you never know when life will end. Irregardless of your age. But here is another thing to think about. There is more than one way of getting to heaven. Death is one way. The other way is an event that is coming. An event that we could all experience together. An event that the Bible calls the blessed hope.
And I am speaking of course of the rapture of the church when we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. It is spoken of in Titus 2:13 looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Now listen. If we really understand this blessed hope. This biblical teaching about the imminent return of Christ. It should affect us in the way that we live. 1 John 3 says, We know that when He appears we will be like Him. We will see Him as He is. And He that has this hope fixed on Him purifies Himself even as He is pure.
So if you really believe this it should impact you in the way that you live. But most of all it should give you hope.
What True Biblical Hope Really Means
Now when we talk about the hope of heaven, this is not wishful thinking or blind optimism. It is a quiet confidence. It is a supernatural certainty. We know deep in our hearts that we indeed are children of God. We are told in Romans 8 His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
Do you have that sense inside of you right now? What a great thing it is to have. To have this certainty. This hope that we will meet the Lord one day.
What is hope? When we use that word. What is it? Here is an acronym that may help you to understand hope. H-O-P-E. That is how to spell hope. Right? H for holding. O for on with. P for patient. E for expectation. Hope. Holding on with patient expectation.
Now this applies to life in general. When you are facing a crisis. When you have a marriage that is unraveling. When you have a child that has gone prodigal. When you have a crisis that you are facing you need to hope. Which means hold on with patient expectation. Which means that God is in control of your life. He can work all things together for good. Don't forget there is a loving Father who has a watchful eye on you.
But then as we look at life in general and we know that Christ could come back at any time. We also hope. We hold on with patient expectation. Looking forward to that day.
Heaven: Our True Home
And really what is this an expectation of? It is an expectation of heaven. Now in our last message we talked about what heaven actually is. Heaven is the dwelling place of God Himself. Heaven is a place not a mere state of mind. Jesus said I have gone to prepare a place for you.
And remember that we discovered that heaven is described in Scripture as a country, a city, a garden, a paradise. Heaven is home. That is really what it is. Heaven is home. Jesus said I have gone to prepare a place for you. And in my Father's house are many mansions or dwelling places. And were we not so I would have told you.
And because of this we have this homesickness for heaven. The Bible says that God has placed eternity in our hearts. We are longing to be home again. You know as Dorothy said to Toto there is no place like home. Right?
And isn't it true? You look forward to getting home. Because at home you are comfortable. At home you are with family. At home you can be yourself. You probably have comfortable clothes you wear around your home that are not really fit for wearing in public. Right?
Sometimes in the morning if you go out to get your newspaper or someone might be walking by and you are in those clothes and they look at you. Oh hi. Yeah. Whoops. But home is a comfortable place. Home is a safe place.
When you are playing baseball what is the objective? Well hopefully it is to get a home run. Cross those bases and when you are coming around third base you are going to slide toward home. Right? And that is what we are all thinking about. Going to this place. Heaven. That is really home.
Common Questions About Heaven Answered
So let's deal with some of the most commonly asked questions when we come to the topic of heaven. Number one. Will we know one another in heaven? I don't know why this question is asked so much. Because the implication of it is I am going to know less in heaven than I know on earth.
Listen when you get to heaven you are going to know more not less. Here is the question. Do you recognize people on earth? Well I hope you do. We don't always. Sometimes I will see someone and I do recognize them. But I forgot their name.
I will say, Hey. How is it going? And they will start talking to me. Oh Greg. That a little lot. And on they go. And I am hoping they will somehow use their own name in a sentence. So then I can sort of pick up there and not say. Because it is really embarrassing to say, I am really sorry but I forgot your name.
This is especially said when it is your wife you are talking to. Because this happened to me yesterday. No it didn't really. But well yeah we sometimes recognize one another on earth. But guaranteed we will recognize one another in heaven. Because there we know more not less.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13 we will know as we are known. Now we see through a glass sort of like a tinted window. You can't really make it out. But then everything is crystal clear. It is like going from the worst signal imaginable to 3D HD. You know everything is very easy to make out. All these things will be resolved. We will know one another.
You know scientists tell us that we use about 5% of our brain capacity on earth. I wonder if some people even use the whole 5%. And I am talking about you. No I am not. I am talking about me. But in heaven presumably we will get that other 95% back and probably a lot more as well. We will know more in heaven than we know on earth.
But the desire to sin will be gone. And we will recognize one another and we will still love one another. You will still love your family. You will still love your friends. But it will be a stronger, sweeter, purer love. Listen. There is no more a break in your love. And there is a break in your thoughts. Death breaks ties on earth, but it renews them in heaven. Because heaven is the perfecting of the highest moments of the present Christian experience.
Awareness in Heaven: Do Loved Ones See Earth?
But you know when you have a loved one in heaven you wonder a lot about what they know. We know what we know. But what do they know? Is heaven completely oblivious to what is happening on planet earth? Or do they have ringside seats? And are they watching everything that happens to us with bated breath?
Well I think both of those ideas are not correct. I don't think heaven is oblivious. Nor do I think they are necessarily watching our every movement. But I do believe that people in heaven are very aware of many things that are happening on earth.
Let me give you three scriptural illustrations to make my point. And I bring this up because sometimes people will say, you know when you get to heaven you won't care about what happened on earth. You won't remember anything about earth. All those things have passed away. And you will just be preoccupied with worshiping the Lord.
Well I don't know that that is really true. Because of the verses I am going to share with you now.
Awareness of Unsaved Loved Ones
Number one. People in eternity are aware of the fact that loved ones are not saved. You may recall in our last message on heaven, we looked at Luke chapter 16, which is the story of the godly Lazarus and the wicked rich man. They both passed into eternity. The rich man went to a place of torment. And Lazarus went to a place of comfort.
And the rich man, in eternity, on the other side, in torment, said in Luke 16:28, I have five brothers and I want to warn them about this place of torment so they won't have to come here when they die. That would indicate that there is a knowledge in eternity about what is happening on earth. This man, at least in the torment part of Hades, was aware of his life on earth still.
Heaven Rejoices Over Conversions
Number two, when people believe in Jesus on earth, it is public knowledge in heaven. In Luke 15 Jesus told three parables All dealing with lost things. One was a Shepherd that lost a sheep. The other was a woman that lost a coin. And finally a father that lost a son.
In the case of the Shepherd we read that one sheep went astray. He left the ninety-nine and searched until he found it. And wrapping around his shoulders he returned rejoicing. And he said, Rejoice! I found my lost sheep. And Jesus then says, And I tell you in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repents. And over ninety-nine righteous persons who don't need to repent.
So that means that when a person believes on earth it is a big deal in heaven. So here is my question. If it is a big deal in heaven shouldn't it also be a big deal on earth?
You know when we invite people to Christ and sometimes more people will come than other times. You know sometimes maybe the whole front of the stage is filled with people. There have been times we have had them going up the aisles and up the sides. And of course we have been to crusades and we have seen thousands of people come forward.
If you become jaded to that sort of thing something is wrong with you spiritually. Your heart should leap every time someone comes to faith.
Joy in the Presence of the Angels
Then Jesus talks about a woman who lost a coin. Now that may not seem significant to us but back in those days instead of a wedding ring a woman would wear a wedding band. Like a headband. And in the headband there would be these coins. So to lose a coin from your headband was the equivalent of losing your wedding ring.
So needless to say she searched until she found it. And then drawing from that Jesus said, likewise I say, there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents.
And then Jesus goes on to tell the story of the prodigal son. And now there is that joy in heaven. But I want you to notice that Jesus says there is joy in the presence of the angels. It doesn't say that there is joy among the angels.
Now I am not saying that I don't think angels rejoice when people come to Christ. They probably do. But He didn't say there is joy among the angels. He said there is joy in the presence of the angels, which would make me wonder if that joy is not experienced by those who are in heaven.
Wait. I know more in heaven than I know on earth, right? So if a party breaks out in heaven, don't you think I will know about it? Don't you think I would want to join in the festivities?
Have you ever been in a room next door to a party happening? A number of years ago we did a crusade in San Jose. We did our first night and went to our hotel. And I was trying to go to sleep. And all of a sudden I heard music in the next room. But this was really loud music. It was like thump, thump, thump, thump of the bass.
And I thought, I have never heard music so loud coming from a room. I put my hand up to the wall. You could feel the wall vibrating. So I called security. I said, I don't know what is going on in this room next to me. But you guys have got to come up here. I can't sleep.
And so they go and they check. And next thing I know they evicted the people. Apparently it was a bachelor party. And they had hired two DJs with full blown sound systems.
So as they are taking the people out of the room I am watching through my little peephole, you know. Wearing my comfortable clothes, right? And I see them carrying out speakers and lighting equipment. And I went, what is going on? I knew when a party was going on next door.
So when I am in heaven and a party breaks out, since I know more in heaven than I know on earth, would I not be aware of that? And listen, what if I played a part in that conversion? I mean maybe it was a seed I sowed years ago. Now I am in heaven and I am seeing that seed breaking ground.
Maybe it is my son, my daughter, my grandchild. Maybe it is my great grandchild depending on how long I have been there. But I say, oh Lord, you let me play a part of that and I rejoice. There is joy in the presence of the angels.
Martyrs in Heaven Aware of Earthly Injustice
But then another illustration that really shows there is an awareness of heaven of what is happening on earth is found in Revelation 6:9-11. Where we read these words, and we will get to this later when we study Revelation. He says, He opened the fifth seal. I saw under the altar the souls of those that have been slain for the word of the Lord, for the testimony which they held.
They cried with a loud voice, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth. And a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said that they should rest a little while longer.
These believers are ones that have been martyred for their faith in the tribulation period and have gone to heaven. I want you to notice that though they are in heaven, they have a keen interest in what is still happening on earth.
For instance, they knew they were killed for following Jesus Christ. And this shows a direct continuity between our identity on earth and heaven. They are not different people. They are the same people relocated.
These martyrs are fully conscious, rational, and aware of each other. And they know they have been killed and they want justice.
This is important. Because I have heard it said, well we have just almost become a different person in heaven. No I am sorry. I am still me. But I am a perfect version of me. The radically upgraded Greg. You see? The glorified you. Without flaw. Without sin. Without shortcomings. In a new body yes. But with a connection to your old body that I will talk about in a few moments.
Now some people will say, no wait. They couldn't be aware of what is happening on earth. Because in heaven it tells us that there is no sorrow nor crying. Revelation 21:4. The former things have passed away.
Yeah but that doesn't mean we have had a collective lobotomy. That doesn't mean that there has been a brain wipe. Like in Men in Black. Remember the little device and they erase your memory. You are still you. You know more than you knew on earth. And you remember things.
And these people, these tribulation martyrs were fully aware of what was happening. You say, well then how can you be aware of something said happening on earth and still enjoy heaven? Answer. You have perspective. It makes all the difference.
You know, remember when you were a kid and something dramatic happened and you thought it was the end of your world? The other day one of my granddaughters had the head of her Barbie doll come off. This is a big deal. I tried to fix it. I couldn't get the head back on again. And I said it will be okay. It will be okay.
Because I knew that I am going to go buy her another Barbie doll or a Disney Princess or whatever it is that is going to make them happy. And maybe I will throw in a little extra thing and the new one will come with a horse or a pink telephone. Who knows? Brad picks all these toys out for me.
But you know, I know it is going to be better. I remember when I was a kid in elementary school I got in a fight. Well let me restate that. I got beaten up. It wasn't really a fight. There was this bully that chose me off. Remember that? And I really didn't want to fight this guy because I knew he would win.
But he was insistent. And so I tried to talk him out of it on the way as we rode on the bus to the stop. And we actually were joking and laughing. I thought everything was cool. And so we got off the bus and he literally started hitting me on the back of the head.
So I am on the ground facing the dirt. He is pounding my head in. And everyone is yelling, Make Laurie eat dirt. Make Laurie eat dirt. I still remember this. Right after it happened I felt like my world had ended. I mean I had nightmares about it. I was humiliated. People laughed at me.
I have since by the way found this guy and taken him out completely. Not true at all. I made that up. But I called my friend Michael Franzese. He used to be in the Mafia. I said Michael. No I am kidding. No you know what. I look back at that now with no pain. In fact it is kind of a funny story to me.
But in the time it was happening it wasn't funny at all. Why? Because I am older now and I have perspective. And I am not suggesting that what you may be going through right now is not painful or hard. But when you are looking at it from the perspective of heaven in a glorified state, seeing things as God sees them, you will be able to see it in a much more objective and spiritual way.
Thus these believers in heaven, though they have been martyred, are aware. But they see it with that proper perspective. But at the same time they are wanting a wrong to be righted.
And thirdly, they were aware of the passing of time. They say, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth? So when it said, Well in heaven we won't be aware of time. Well these tribulation martyrs were aware of time.
So interesting things to think about.
The Glorified Body We Will Receive
Another thing about heaven is we are going to receive a glorified body. Isn't that great to know? Now the question is sometimes asked, When you die do you get your glorified body? Sorry to keep clearing my throat. I have had a cold for three years. Remember?
When you get to heaven, do you get that glorified body? And I think the answer is no. I think you get the glorified body at the resurrection. And the resurrection, that we will read about in a moment, is at the rapture of the church.
And we will read about it when it says that the dead in Christ rise first, and we which are alive and remain are caught up together with them in the clouds. And then we meet the Lord. That is when mortality puts on immortality, and corruption and incorruption.
So when a Christian dies and goes to heaven they are in some kind of a body. I am not quite sure. Maybe an intermediate state. But the glorified body, i.e. the upgraded, perfected version of the body they are in now happens then.
So we are going to receive this new body one day. And that is great to know. Because you see the telltale signs of age kicking in. And you realize that you don't remember the things you used to remember. And you can't do the things you used to do.
You know you are getting old when your spouse goes out and you don't care where they go. As long as you don't have to go. Right? You know you are getting old when happy hour is a nap. You know you are getting old when you start every sentence with a word nowadays. Oh you know I know you have it. But nowadays things are different.
When I was a kid a lot of that goes on. You know you are getting old when you confuse a clear conscience with a bad memory. You know you are getting old when your idea of weight lifting is standing up. You know you are getting old when someone compliments your new alligator shoes and you are not wearing any.
You know you are getting old when your knees buckle and your belt won't. You know you are getting old when your teeth and you You don't sleep together anymore. And when it takes twice as long to look half as good. Right?
But we are going to get that radically upgraded body. And that is important because some people seem to think that there are just going to be a disembodied spirit in heaven. A poll was taken of Americans who believe in the resurrection of the dead. And two thirds believe they will not have bodies after the resurrection. What are we all going to be a bunch of ghosts just floating around?
No. The Bible teaches that we are going to have a body and it is going to be directly connected to the body we are in now. Job said in Job 19:26, In my flesh I will see God. I myself will see Him with my own eyes. I and not another.
And the prototype for this new body if you will is Jesus Christ Himself. Because the Bible says when Christ who is our lives shall appear we shall see Him as He is for we will be like Him. That means that we can take some cues from the resurrected Lord and the body that God has in the future for us.
Jesus' Resurrected Body as Our Model
We know this about Jesus after He Rose. Jesus Rose in a real body. In a real world. In a real way. With a real voice. And commissioned His disciples to do real work until the time when they die and are raised again in real bodies to be with Him.
And that brings us to one of our passages here. And that is John 21. And before we read it let me just sort of set the scene. Jesus has been crucified. He is risen again from the dead. He has made a number of appearances already to His disciples including Simon Peter.
He has told the disciples to wait for Him. Peter being a fisherman gets tired of waiting. Hangs a sign on his office door. Gone fishing. Goes out to the Sea of Galilee with some of the others. They fish all night and they catch nothing.
So as they are coming into the shore early in the morning before the sun has even risen someone is standing there that they don't recognize. He calls out, Boys did you catch anything? They say no. He says why don't you cast your net on the other side of the boat. They do it and pull in so many fish they can't contain them in the nets.
So now they drag in the nets full of fish to the shore. And here is the scene that awaits them in John 21:9. As soon as they came to land they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish which you have just caught. And Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three. And although there were so many the net was not broken.
Jesus said come and eat breakfast. Or if you have a King James Version, come and dine. Yet none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you? Knowing it was the Lord, Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them. And likewise the fish.
This is the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Now this relates again to our new body. Let's look at a few things. Verse 4 tells us Jesus stood on the shore. He wasn't a phantom floating around. He stood on the shore. He spoke to them with a human voice. Do you have any fish?
He then made them fish. He didn't hover above the ground. He was a real person. Later we read, He breathed on them the Holy Spirit.
You say, Well what does that have to do with me? Well everything. Because your glorified body resembles his. Three things that stand out about the glorified body of Christ. The resurrected body.
Number one, He was recognizable. Including the fact that He bore the scars of the crucifixion. Number two, He did not have normal limitations. He was able to appear and disappear at will. And thirdly, He ate food.
So number one, we will be recognizable in heaven. In our new body, as I said, you will be you. Also, you won't have the natural limitations that your body has now. The blueprints for our glorified bodies are in the bodies we now possess.
I mean, the fact that Christ could appear in a room and disappear without using a door is interesting. But at the same time, you could reach out and touch Him. So that is a different kind of body all together.
Our bodies will no longer age, or get sickness, or break down. We are told over in 1 Corinthians 15, Our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die. Our bodies disappoint us now. But when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now. But when they are raised, they will be full of power.
Eating in Our Glorified Bodies
Another thing, we will eat in our new resurrection body. How many of you are excited by that? You are going to eat. How many of you like to eat? Raise your hand. You like to eat food? Good, good. How many of you don't like to eat? Raise your hand. I have actually met people. I don't really like to eat. Okay, I don't get you at all. All right? But whatever.
But we will be able to eat in this new body. When the Lord Rose again from the dead, He wanted to prove it. And He said, Well do you have anything to eat? And He ate a piece of fish.
It is not like Jesus was like translucent or something. And you could see the fish going down, you know. I mean we get weird ideas. He was a guy who could reach out and touch. Hey, it is really me. Give me something to eat. And He starts chowing down on some fish. And they are saying, That is our Jesus. Because Jesus liked to eat. Right? He was eating all the time with His disciples.
In fact He used eating as a metaphor of how He longs to have a relationship with us. In Revelation 3:20 If any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and what? Have a meal with Him. Sup with Him. Spend time with Him.
And so we will eat as well. And it seems like we won't gain weight. Or maybe the glorified state is we are all fat. And that is perfect. And skinny people are imperfect. I don't know. Probably not on that.
But the Bible tells us in Revelation 19:9, Blessed are those that are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. I like that word supper. That is what they call dinner in the south. Not dinner. Supper. Y'all coming to supper? Wash up for supper.
I remember hearing this when I was a kid growing up with my grandparents. Because they were from Arkansas. And so my grandmother made everything from scratch. We used to have a little cabin out in the desert, Yucca Valley, that we would go to. There was no electricity. We had kerosene lamps in the old days. An outhouse, etc. Which is a terrifying thing for a small child to use an outhouse at night. But pretty much any time.
But my grandfather would literally kill the chicken. I remember it. He would take a chicken, put it on the block, chop its head up, blood spurting out. I am still traumatized from it. I break out in a cold sweat when I drive by a Pollo Loco. I am not kidding. It is really bad.
But my grandmother, she knew how to make fried chicken. It was so good. And healthy, I don't know, but good. You know? And then all the southern fixings of Black Eyed Peas and collard Greens and the best mashed potatoes you have ever had. But a crowning achievement was this biscuit. It was unbelievable.
Well, I think that at the great supper, the Lord might put Mama Stella to work up there. I can just see her making those biscuits.
Can you imagine a feast like this, though, sitting around with the great men and women of the Bible, turning over to Moses? Moses, could you hand over the manna, please? Oh, maybe we should have that for dessert. Hey, Elijah, my meat is a little undercooked, a little too rare. Could you get a little fire on that for me? Hey, Lot, could you pass the salt? Oh, Lot, you are so sensitive. Get over it.
Hey, that is a good question. Let's ask C.S. Lewis. Spurgeon, why don't you chime in on this? Corrie Ten Boom, I love what you always had to say on this topic. Well, let's ask President Lincoln. President Lincoln, what would you think about this?
We will have the most amazing conversations.
Reunited Relationships in Heaven
But it is not only gathering together with the great men and women of the Bible. Heaven is going to be a place of resurrected relationships. You are going to be reunited together with your loved ones that have gone before you who believed in Jesus.
You know, there are different kinds of relationships in life. There is what you might describe as a high maintenance relationship. These are the people that if you don't call them every week, they get all stressed out about it.
Then there are relationships that you have had with people that you have known for 35 years. And you literally don't see them for a year to two years. And when you see them you pick up where you last left off. You know what I am talking about? I have friendships like this. And it is great. You know you have not seen each other for so long. But that relationship goes back so far.
That is what heaven is going to be like. Because if you have lost a loved one unexpectedly, and communication was cut off quickly, you long to reconnect. You long to finish the conversation. You long to have new ones. There were new adventures you planned on having. In heaven, that is all going to be sorted out.
Have you ever been on a phone talking with someone? I am talking a cell phone now. And suddenly your call is cut off. Let me restate the question. Do you have AT&T as your carrier? You laugh because it is true. I have a time where I am talking to someone and I say, Well really the most important thing I want to ask you is this. Silence. Silence. Wow. Why are they not responding? Because I have been talking to them for four minutes. The call dropped and I am talking to no one.
But all those conversations are going to be put reconnected again. And when is this going to happen? This is going to happen at the resurrection that I alluded to.
That brings us to our second passage. 1 Thessalonians 4. Turn there now. Start in verse 14. We believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again. And we believe that when Jesus comes He will bring with Him all the Christians who have died.
For the Lord Himself will come from heaven with a commanding shout, with a call of the archangel, with a trumpet call of God. First all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then together with them we who are still alive and remaining on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and will remain with Him forever.
So comfort and encourage one another with these words.
You are going to be going about your business and suddenly find yourself in heaven. Reunited with loved ones. Face to face with Jesus in your new glorified body. And this could happen in a moment in a nanosecond. The Bible says in Corinthians it will happen in a moment in the twinkling of an eye.
Now that phrase twinkling comes from the original word atomos that we get our word atom from. And it is speaking of a word that cannot really be measured. In other words, the time is so quick you can't measure it. I mean the twinkling, not even the blinking of an eye.
Death is the great separator. Jesus Christ is the great reconciler. We will be reunited with loved ones. Husbands will be reunited with wives. And wives with husbands. Children with parents. Parents with children. Friends with friends. It is like a big family reunion.
How many of you like family reunions? Raise your hand. You didn't all raise your hand. Boy, when I asked you how many of you would like to eat all raise your hand. Well that is because we all have weird family members. I totally understand your response. We all come from dysfunctional families.
But in heaven all the dysfunction is gone. All the weirdness is gone. All the problems are gone. All the drama is gone. It is just a perfect reunion. As we are joined together around the throne of God.
Living in Light of the Blessed Hope
So how should this affect us? Well, if I really believe Jesus is coming it should certainly impact me in the way that I live and in the choices that I make and what I think about and what I spend my time doing, what I spend my money on. It should affect every aspect of my life.
Coming back to a verse I quoted earlier. But now let me quote a couple of verses that precede it to give it context. Listen, 1 John 3. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. Therefore the world does not know us because it did not know Him.
Beloved, now we are the children of God. It has not yet been revealed what we will be. But we know that when He appears we will be like Him and we will see Him as He is. Listen now, everyone that has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure.
We are talking about hope. If I have the hope of the Lord's return, the blessed hope, it should affect me in the way that I live. It should cause me to want to live a godly life. In recognition of the fact that God loves me. And God has chosen me. And God has so much waiting for me on the other side in heaven.
And ultimately when heaven comes back to earth, how should I respond? I should purify myself. In other words, gratitude leads to godliness. A hopeful Christian seeks to be a holy Christian. He or she purifies himself from all known sin.
Question. Are there any things that you are doing presently that you would be ashamed to be doing if Christ were to return? Is there a relationship you are engaged in right now that is dragging you down spiritually?
This is where the purifying yourself comes in. It means that I make decisions. Things I don't do. Things I do in their place. So I am living in a sense of anticipation and readiness.
In so many parables that Jesus gave, He told us to be watching and to be waiting and to be alert. as we look for the return of Christ again. You will purify yourself even as He is pure.
Here. Coming back to that great theologian, Kenny Chesney. Let me finish a song. Everybody wants to go to heaven. He sings, Preacher told me last Sunday morning, Son you better start living right. You need to quit the whiskey and the women. And carry it on all night. Classic country song, isn't it?
Don't you want to hear Him call your name when you are standing at the pearly gates? I told the preacher, Yes I do. But I hope they don't call today. I ain't ready. Everybody wants to go to heaven. Have a mansion high above the clouds. Everybody wants to go to heaven. But nobody wants to go now.
Now the person in this song is someone that is in church. Hearing the preacher. Saying he wants to go to heaven but he is not ready. Why? Whiskey and women. In other words he is doing things he should not do. And he is aware of it. Don't come now.
And really in many ways this is a way to show where you are at spiritually. If you long for the return of Jesus and look forward to it, that would say to me your life is right with God.
How many of you would be happy if Jesus came back before the day was over? Raise your hand. Don't do it unless you don't mean it.
Now I am not going to ask you to raise your hand if you would be unhappy. But if I did, and if you were honest, there might be a few who would. And why would you raise your hand? Because you would say, Well, I am doing things I am not so sure I should be doing.
Well here is the thing. He that has this hope purifies himself, even as he is pure. So you need to be making some changes. Because listen, Christ could come back at any moment.
Folks, this is a whole other topic for a whole other time. But all around us, I am telling you, every day it seems like you see things happening in our world that say Jesus is coming. You have got to be ready. And I want you to be ready.
Invitation to Get Ready for Christ's Return
So we are going to close now in prayer. And I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God. If you are not sure, if you are ready for the Lord's return, respond to this invitation I will extend. And if you are maybe living a compromised life, you are kind of like that guy in that song, or the girl, then you respond as well.
Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word to us. Lord Jesus, thank you that you are coming again. And we want to be ready for your return. And I pray now for every person here, hearing this message. Help us all to be ready for your return, we would ask.
Now while our heads are bowed, and our eyes are closed, and we are praying, how many of you would say today, Greg, I want to be ready for the return of Christ, but I am not sure that I am. I don't have the confidence right now that I would go to heaven if I were to die. Nor do I have the confidence that if Christ were to come back, I would be ready to meet Him.
But I want to be ready. I want Jesus to come into my life. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to go to heaven when I die. I am ready to turn from my sin and believe in Jesus.
If that is your desire wherever you are, I want you to lift your hand up right now. If you want Christ to come into your life today, if you want your sin forgiven, if you want to go to heaven when you die, lift your hand up and I'll pray for you.
God bless you. God bless you. Lift your hand up. God bless you. Up there in the balcony, God bless you. I can't see you outside in the amphitheater or up in the court building, but you raise your hand as well if you want Christ to come into your life.
This is also for you at Harvest in Orange Crest and Orange County. Raise your hand if you want Christ to come into your. God bless you. God bless you up in the balcony. Just lift your hand up. You want His forgiveness. God bless each one of you.
While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, You know what? I am living a compromised life. I am doing things I know I should not be doing. And I have been made aware of this today by the Holy Spirit. And I am going to respond to what He is saying to me. And I am going to turn from this sin before it is too late. And I am going to make a recommitment to the Lord.
If that is you, if you need to recommit your life to Jesus today, you raise your hand up and let me pray for you. You know who you are. God bless each one of you. Anybody else? Lift your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless all of you.
Alright, now while our heads are still bowed, I want all of you that just raise your hand, if you would please, to stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up. We are going to have a prayer together. Wherever you are. Stand there. Right there at your seat. At your pew. Stand up.
That is right. Stand up. Do the same outside in the amphitheater. Up in the court building. Harvest. Orange County. Orange Crest. Stand to your feet. Right where you are. I am going to lead you in this prayer of commitment or recommitment.
Anybody else? Even if you did not raise your hand, but you want to make this commitment to Jesus. Stand now. God bless you guys. Anybody else? Stand now. One final moment. God bless you. Stand now. God bless all of you.
Alright. Now you that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is a prayer where you are asking Christ to come into your life. Again as I pray, pray this out loud after me.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sin. I turn from it now. I want to follow you as your disciple. I want to be ready for your return. So I commit my life to you now Jesus. And I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.