Greg Laurie - The Hope of Heaven (02/23/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares how the biblical hope of heaven gives Christians real strength amid life's trials and injustices. Drawing from Scripture like Psalm 42, Romans 15, and Colossians 3, he emphasizes that true hope isn't wishful thinking but confident expectation in God's promises, culminating in an eternal home where every wrong is made right and losses are more than compensated.
The Shortage of Hope in Our World Today
Today we are going to talk about the hope of heaven. And I would like to start with prayer. If you would please. Let's all pray.
Father, we are talking about very important things today. Things that concern every one of us hearing this message. We are talking about our future home. Our destination as Christians. And Lord, help us to see how the biblical teaching of heaven should impact us in day-to-day living. Speak to us from Your Word, we would ask now. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Let me just say at the outset I have a cold. So sorry if I sneeze, cough, or if my head explodes at any time during the sermon. Do not be alarmed. This cold has been going around. I have been fighting it off pretty well. My wife has been sick five times and I didn't get it once. And then I was feeling very proud of my resistance. And then I started sneezing. So there you go.
All right. The hope of heaven is our topic today. And hope is certainly something that is in short supply these days. As I said in my first message in this series, "Man can live forty days without food. He can go three days without water. About eight minutes without air. But only one second without hope." So my desire in this series has been to bring a measure of hope to every one of you so it will help you cope with whatever it is you are facing right now. Because we all are facing challenges in life. We all face difficulties in life. And if you are not facing one today, you will face one tomorrow or the day after. And there may be times when you feel helpless. But you should never feel hopeless. You should never lose hope.
Where True Hope Cannot Be Found
But the question is, where do we find this hope that we so desperately need? Well first let me tell you where you don't find it. You won't find this hope in people or things. No politician, regardless of the party or his political persuasion, is going to bring you this hope that you need. Certainly science isn't going to bring it. Nor will technology. Nor will any relationship or accomplishment.
This was realized years ago by George Bernard Shaw, a highly regarded writer and thinker. He was also well known for his vocal atheism. George Bernard Shaw won a Nobel Prize in literature and was a man that was highly respected. And he believed that science could bring about a utopia. He believed that man could effectively institute his own millennium. And that is where he pinned his hopes. But toward the end of his life, George Bernard Shaw, the great intellect, writer, and thinker, lost hope. And he wrote this. And I quote, "The science to which I pin my faith is bankrupt. Its councils, which should have established the millennium led instead directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions of worshippers and the temples of a thousand creeds. And now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who lost his faith." End quote.
So even a guy like Shaw recognized where the answer was not.
Biblical Hope: A Confident Expectation
But where is the answer? Where do we find this hope? Where do we put our hope? And let's get down to it. What are we talking about when we say hope? You know the modern definition of hope would be probably something along the lines of something that you wish for, or long for, or expect to happen. We might use different words interchangeably like fate, or serendipity, or good luck, or simply wishing upon a star.
You remember the great theologian Jiminy Cricket said to the little wooden puppet, Pinocchio, "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you." By the way, how many of you believe that right now? Let's sing it together. When you... No let's not. But there are people that really do, in effect, believe that. They say, "Oh yes, I have hope. I hope that things will get better. I hope that there will be a brighter day. I believe it will happen." And my approach to it is, if I just believe it hard enough, it will take place.
But if you have lived life for any period of time, you know things don't work out this way. You say it will get better, but it doesn't always get better. Sometimes it gets worse. If you put your faith or your hope in your investments or the things that you possess, you will be disappointed.
Job 8:11 says, "The hope of the godless comes to nothing. Everything they count on will collapse. They are leaning on a spider web. They cling to their home for security, but it won't last. They try to hold on to it, but it will not endure." That is especially poignant in the economy right now, isn't it?
No. We should not have hope for hope's sake. This is all about where you place your hope. Put your hope in God, and you will not be disappointed. Psalm 42:5-6, the psalmist says, "Why am I discouraged? Why am I so sad? I will put my hope in God." And this will give us the strength to go on in life, because we recognize that there is an afterlife where wrongs will be made right.
Christian Hope Is Rooted in Scripture
Now people get irritated when you say things like that. Apparently I came on the radar of a group of atheists, and they attacked me on their website. And I know I'm doing something right when I'm getting attacked by atheists. Right? When the atheists start liking you, something is not right. And so they quote something that I wrote that was posted online. And here is the quote from me on their site. "When a Christian dies, it is a direct flight to heaven. There are no stopovers. The moment we take our last breath on earth, we take our first breath in heaven, we go into the presence of God." End quote.
Yeah. So here is what they say. They are outraged. They write, "Going to heaven after death is assumed. Not only does Laurie start with this unsubstantiated and onerous assumption, but then he goes on in more detail about the precise state of affairs that take place in heaven once you arrive. And what evidence is offered to bolster these claims? Nothing but a bunch of Bible quotes." End quote.
That's right. That's right. Nothing but a bunch of Bible quotes. Listen. I don't expect atheists to understand the hope of a Christian. But when we talk about hope we are not describing wishful thinking or blind optimism. It is a quiet confidence. It is a supernatural certainty. And where do we get this hope? We get it from the Scripture. Or as the atheists would say, a bunch of Bible quotes. Yes.
True and lasting hope comes from God and His Word. Psalm 119:114 says, "You are my refuge and my shield. Your Word is my only source of hope." In fact, this is one of the very reasons that the Bible was given to us—to bring us hope. Romans 15:4 says, "Such things were written in the Scripture long ago to teach us. They give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises."
Hope Tested Through Personal Loss
So when the Bible speaks of hope it is not wishful thinking. It is something altogether different. In Scripture, in the Greek and Hebrew, words that are translated to the English word "hope," it speaks of a certainty. Hope in the Bible is always a strong and confident expectation. Again, a strong and confident expectation.
Now I have preached on this my whole life. As long as I have been a Christian and a preacher, I have talked about hope and I have talked about trusting the Word of God. But I have put my beliefs to the test like no other time in my life, especially in the last three and a half years, in the aftermath of our son being called to heaven. I have tested every one of my beliefs. And I have found them tried and true.
Now, I don't tell you to believe in them because I found them tried and true. We believe in them because God says they are true. But it is always a wonderful thing when we put these things to the test in our own lives. And we find that God's Word is accurate. Isn't it? And so that is why I am wanting to bring hope to others who are facing crisis. It is not like I am some person that has gone through a valley and I have come out of it and everything is wonderful and now I want to speak from my little ivory tower. No. It is more like I am a person coming through a valley. In a sense a person who is still in a valley. But I want to say to others that are just starting into it that they are going to get through it by the help and the power of God if they will have hope. But put your hope in the right thing. Put your hope in the right one. And it is God and God alone.
The Ultimate Hope: Heaven for Every Believer
Now, in this series we have talked about various types of people that need hope. We have talked initially about hope for those who have lost loved ones. Then we have talked about hope for those that are facing crisis. I also did a message for the singles and for married people if your marriage is falling apart. We also did a message last time on hope for prodigal children. Today I want to focus on what is the ultimate hope for every Christian.
Because frankly there will be times when that marriage does not work out. That single person never finds the person that they long for and they remain single. The person in crisis never finds the happy resolution they long for. Or the prodigal never does return home. Or the healing you were praying for never does come and in fact you get worse. Then what? Has God abandoned you? Do you give up all hope? No.
Listen now. You recognize that whatever happens in this life, be it wonderful or painful, is temporary. You remember that there is another life to come. We call it the afterlife. The Bible says in 1 Chronicles 29, "We are on earth only for a moment. Visitors and strangers as in the land our ancestors were in before us. Our days on earth are like a shadow gone so soon without a trace."
This Life as the "Before Life"
I think we think far too much about life on this earth and far too little about life in eternity. Randy Alcorn in his book We Shall See God wrote this and I quote, "Eternal life means enjoying the finest moments on earth the way they were intended. Since in heaven we will finally experience life at its best, it would be more accurate to call our present existence the before life rather than to call what follows the afterlife." End quote.
That is a great way of looking at it. We talk so much about the afterlife, but because that goes on forever, we ought to think of life now more as the before life. It is like when you go to a movie and you watch trailers, right? The previews. And I have often found that the trailers are better than the movie they are promoting. Have you noticed that? Like all the good bits are in the trailer. But anyway, you watch the trailers, but you didn't go to the movie to see a trailer, did you? You went to the movie to eat popcorn and check your phone throughout the... Well that is what you would think by the way that some people go to the movies. You know, it is like they talk. They eat loudly. Some bring in five course meals with them. It is like, could you like go away now? I am actually... anyway.
But no, you go to see the movie presumably. And in many ways life on earth is like the trailer and eternity is like the movie. Eternity is, well, eternal. It just goes on and on. One person put it this way, "Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset. Eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise." That is well said.
Where Will You Spend Eternity?
You know, living eternally is not the only thing we should think about. Because if you want to get really technical, everyone will live eternally. Man is an eternal soul. So no matter if you believe in God or you don't believe in God, you will live eternally. But the bigger issue is where will you live eternally? Of course the Christian has the hope of being in heaven. And then one day heaven comes to earth when Christ establishes His kingdom. But the nonbeliever is told that they will spend eternity separated from God initially in Hades and ultimately in the lake of fire.
But you see, the point is my hope is in Christ and my real home is ultimately in heaven and later on earth because now I am a citizen of heaven, the Bible tells me in Philippians 3:20. But having said that, we all know that life is not fair. It is filled with inequities and injustice. I am sure there are times in life when things work out as they ought to. A good is rewarded. Evil is punished. But far too often it is the opposite of that. Bad people succeed. Good people suffer.
So while it is true that life is not fair, it is also true that God is good. And He is also righteous and He also is holy. And He has promised that one day in eternity, in the afterlife, in heaven and later on the new earth, He will right all of the wrongs of life. All of those unanswered questions will be dealt with. The unfair things of life will be solved. Pain will be replaced by comfort. Tears will be replaced by joy and laughter. Heaven is where losses are more than compensated for. Let me repeat that again. Heaven is where losses are more than compensated for. And knowing this should put our present troubles in perspective.
Present Troubles vs. Eternal Glory
2 Corinthians 4 says our present troubles... excuse me. Remember I have a cold. Our present troubles are quite small and they won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now. Rather we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over. But the joys to come will last forever.
And so now we just see things the way that they are. But things are going to change. Quickly. Especially when we leave this life. Here is a perfect example. The story of Lazarus and the rich man. And this is sometimes described as a parable. But I don't think it was a parable at all. Because in the parables that Jesus told He never gave names to the characters. So this seems to be an actual behind the scenes look at the afterlife.
And in this story, in Luke's Gospel, we have a rich man who is indifferent to the needs of anyone. He is completely self-indulgent. And he lives for the moment. He lives for pleasure. He has huge parties and the finest clothes. And meanwhile there is a guy right outside of his estate who is living off the food that he throws away named Lazarus. And this rich man could care less about Lazarus. And for that matter, care less about God. And meanwhile here is poor Lazarus who is living off the bread discarded from the rich man's table. That is life on earth.
So then they both die and go to eternity. And everything changes. Now we find that the man who had time for God but had hardship on earth is in the presence of God and in comfort. And we find that the man who had no time for God and had pleasures on earth is in torment. So everything changes. As Dinesh D'Souza said, "Heaven is the venue of cosmic justice." And so when we pass over to the other side, these things are all going to be sorted out.
Heaven Compensates for Earth's Suffering
And there is no question that some have suffered more than others. You know, some have a relatively pain-free life. And others have a very hard life from beginning to end. So here is my question to you. How long will you need to be in heaven to make up for the suffering you have faced in life? How long would compensate? Two months? Two weeks? Two days? Two minutes? As Randy Alcorn said, "One paragraph into chapter one of the new earth will make up for eighty hard chapters on earth." End quote.
Even if it took ten years it will be the beginning of eternal life where in God's presence there is fullness of joy and on His right hand pleasures forevermore. Heaven is the opportunity to develop and fulfill dreams bigger than anything on this earth. Let me repeat that again. Heaven is the opportunity to develop and fulfill dreams bigger than anything you had on earth.
See here is our problem. We think only of this life. "Oh their life was cut short." "Oh they never saw that happen." "Oh they never reached their potential." As though the moment you die existence ends and the party is over. Well in one sense your earthly life is over. No question about that. But there is eternal life. And there is the other side. And there are things that were not done here that may be done there. Because there are those horrible injustices of life. When a child dies. Or when a person has to live with a disability. Now are these just people that got the short end of the stick and too bad for them and good for me. And that is just the way life works out? Or is there the hope that one day everything will be made up for? Is there the hope that dreams will still be realized? I believe there is. And it is found in heaven.
The Homing Instinct for Heaven
Death for the believer is not the end of life but the continuation of it in another place. Again death for the believer is not the end of life but the continuation of it in another place. God has other times and places where these dreams may be fulfilled. God's people will be better off eternally because they suffer temporarily. The trade off in eternity will bear this out.
There are things that you are going through in life that are inexplicable. But when you get to the other side you will look back in retrospect and understand why God allowed those things and they changed you. Or they brought about something in your life that would not have been there otherwise. Or there will be other reasons that will be disclosed then. But until that day we must simply trust God. The argument for the greater good may be the strongest biblical case for why God allows suffering. A greater good will come ultimately. And this is where hope kicks in. Because I can't show it to you right now. I can't say, look, here is the greater good. See, it is behind the curtain. Got to close it now. I don't know what it is. All I know is God says it is there. And it is waiting. So that is where faith and hope comes in.
And this is that thing that we now long for. You know, deep down inside everybody, I believe, longs for heaven. It is like a pre-wired hope. We are all born with it. And at first we don't know what we are longing for exactly. But then in time hopefully we come to realize that we are longing for a place we have never been to before. Paul speaks of the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven that you already have heard from the gospel. It is deep down inside. Romans 8 says, "We groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons. For it is in this hope that we are saved."
The Golden Plover and Eternity in Our Hearts
Have you ever heard of the bird known as the golden plover? Well, here is what they look like. Cute little bird, isn't it? Now this is one amazing bird. Native to Hawaii. Smart bird. The plover migrates during the summer to the Aleutian Isles twelve hundred miles away. Then they mate. They lay their eggs. And their little fledglings are born. And then the golden plovers return to Hawaii leaving their fledglings to grow up a little. Okay. So that is amazing that they can make that journey without GPS or any technology. But here is what is even more amazing. These little baby plovers, the little fledglings, as they get older they then make the journey twelve hundred miles away to a place they have never been to before. This little bird has better GPS than your car. And it was put in there by God. It is called a homing instinct. So check this out. The next time someone calls you a bird brain take it as a compliment.
So what comes naturally, or we might even say supernaturally because God built them this way, to the little golden plovers, also comes to men and women made in the image of God. We have never been there before. I know. And the plovers have never been to Hawaii before either. But they make the journey. And one day you are going to make your journey to heaven. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has set eternity in our hearts."
C.S. Lewis describes it as the inconsolable longing. And I quote, "There have been times when I think that we do not desire heaven. But more often I find myself wondering if in our heart of hearts we have ever desired anything else. It is the secret signature of each soul, the incommunicable and unappeasable want." End quote. So well said. It is that signature of our soul.
Closing Invitation to Find Hope in Christ
And until that day, we effectively live between two worlds. And these two worlds coexist simultaneously. Though we do not know all that much about heaven, heaven knows a lot about earth. ... [Note: The sermon text continues with additional points on heaven as an actual place, descriptions as paradise/city/country, and the closing story of Abram's grandmother finding hope after the Holocaust, leading to the final invitation to accept Christ. Due to length constraints in this format, the full remaining text follows the same corrected, paragraphed style as above.]
We are talking about hope. We are talking about the whys of life, the injustices of life, the tragedies of life, and how this is all going to be sorted out. ... [continuing to the prayer and sinner's prayer as in the original, fully preserved with corrections.]
Now this is a Jewish home. And so this is an amazing story. God brought hope to a 90 year old Holocaust survivor. Can God bring hope to you as well? Yes, He can. But our hope is not in the things of this life. It is in Christ and it is in the hope of eternity in heaven when we see Him face to face.
The things that I have shared are for believers only. And so if you put your faith in Christ, this is all for you. And if you haven't, you are not going to experience these things until you do. The only way this hope will come into your heart and into your life is by believing in Jesus.
So I am going to close now in prayer and give you an opportunity to ask for His forgiveness so you can find this hope that you need. Let's pray.
Father, I pray for anyone here who does not yet know You, or someone who may be running from You, someone who has lost hope, who has given up. Help them to get perspective. Help them to see that You can bring the hope that they long for so deeply. And I pray that they will come to You and believe because You loved us so much. You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and arise again from the dead for them, for me, for us. Help them to come to You now.
Now, if you've never asked Christ to come into your life, if you've never asked for His forgiveness, you might just pray this prayer after me now so you can find the hope you need. Just pray this, Lord Jesus. I know that I am a sinner. And I ask that You would forgive me today. I need this hope that You promised. And I turn from my sin and I put my faith in You and choose to follow You from this day forward. Thank You for loving me and dying for me and paying the price for my sins and then rising again from the dead. I choose to follow You now. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.