“A massive assumption has been made in Western Christianity that the purpose of being a Christian is simply, or at least mainly, to “go to heaven when you die…”
– N.T. Wright, Surprised By Hope
This World is Not My Home
When I was a kid growing up in church we used to sing this song, and I really do love this song, but I want you to hear these lyrics. If you know the song, you can’t help but sing it in your head…
This world is not my home I’m just a passing’ through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.
What has happened for a lot of Christians is that this has by and large become our theology of Heaven. This world, this earth, is not our home. We’re strangers here. We’re pilgrims on a journey. We’re awaiting the day we can leave this old world behind, go to heaven, be reunited with loved ones in that distant place where we will live eternally singing worship songs without end.
The reason this is so important is because: What we think about the future determines how we live in the present.
What I want to suggest today isn’t that Heaven is less than we’ve imagined, but that it’s so much MORE than we’ve imagined. And the hope we have because of Jesus is bigger, better, and fuller than you or I could ever know.
Jesus on Heaven
The Good News is that Jesus had A LOT to say about Heaven. But when Jesus talked about Heaven, he wasn’t just talking about an eternal destination. He wasn’t just talking about a future hope. When Jesus talked about Heaven He seemed to have something more in mind.
Immediately following his baptism, Jesus enters the wilderness for 40 days of prayer and fasting. It’s during this time that he faces temptation from the devil. After these 40 days, Jesus begins his ministry. And here’s what Matthew says,
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Matthew 4.17
Then in verse 23, Matthew says…
Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.
Matthew 4.23-25
So Jesus arrives on the scene announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven is near and He does THREE THINGS:
1 — He preaches, repent of your sins and turn to God.
2 — He teaches people what life is like in the Kingdom of Heaven.
3 — He shows people what life is like in the Kingdom of Heaven as he heals every kind of disease and illness.
It All Started in Nazareth
According to Luke, this all started in Nazareth. Jesus’ first stop was the synagogue where he went every week as a kid growing up in this little village in Galilee. He went into the synagogue and picked up the scroll of Isaiah and began reading these words…
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
Luke 4.18-21
According to Jesus, this was and this is the Good News. And the Good News was breaking into the world in the here and now. That He has come, filled with the Holy Spirit as the anointed one to bring Good News to the poor, to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.
Of course, no one in his home town could believe this. How could Jesus, this is Mary and Joseph’s boy, be the anointed One that the great prophet Isaiah spoke of?
This past week our family was reading James together. James was written, we believe, by James the half-brother of Jesus. So we got to talking about that with our kids and I asked my daughter, Ella Grace, can you imagine growing up and then one day realizing that your brother was the Son of God?
Of course, everyone died laughing. As good as my son is, and he’s one of the best, we know he’s not the Messiah! He may think he is some days, but he’s not!
This was the same reaction the people of Nazareth had that day. We know Jesus. We know his mom and dad. We’ve known him since he was a boy. He’s crazy to come in here, read from the prophet Isaiah, and then announce that he’s the one Isaiah was talking about!
This is What the Good News about Heaven is All About
But Jesus wasn’t crazy, he was exactly who Isaiah was talking about. And right here, he uses this ancient prophecy to announce what the Good News is all about. And then, he shows us what the Good News is all about.
Jesus goes from town to town announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of Heaven, healing every disease and illness, and teaching people to repent from their sins and turn back to God.
So what’s interesting about Jesus is that He’s not announcing a future time and place where, if you believe in Him, put your faith in Him, then when you die your spirit can go to a place called Heaven where you can live forever and be reunited with the ones you love. He seems to be teaching about something that is happening right then and there. About something that is breaking into this old world in real time in a new way. About a new kind of Kingdom of which He is King in which everything changes.
And what Jesus does over the course of His ministry is invite people to follow him to be a part of living this life in His Kingdom.
Revival Salvation
For the past 100 years or so, every great revival moment in America has centered around a few factors. Powerful preaching that in one way or another magnified human sin and people’s feelings of guilt and shame that had only one answer if a person hoped to avoid hell and go to heaven when they died… believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior and giving your life to Him.
For many of us today, this is our story too. At some point we came face to face with the reality of our sin problem, we were taught that Jesus is the answer to that problem, and that if we made Jesus our personal Lord and Savior then we could go to Heaven when we died.
But what if your baptism is about more than you first thought? What if your Christian life is about more than you first realized? And what if your future is about more than an eternal destination?
Heaven is Within You
Here is what Jesus taught.
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”
Luke 17.20-21
If you translate those last words of Jesus literally he says… the Kingdom of God is “inside of you” or “within you!”
And this is the GOOD NEWS today, when you put your faith in Jesus as Lord and you give your life to Him…
This is the Good News about the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s already breaking into this old world. Yes, one day we will rejoice in the new heavens and new earth when all things are fully and finally made right and made new, but right now we also participate in making things on earth as they are in heaven.
Eternity Starts Now
For those who have believed in the Good News of Jesus and put their faith in Him, your eternal life has already begun!
We’re not waiting for Heaven. We’re bringing Heaven to earth! And this happens every time you participate in bringing hope and healing into the lives of other people. This happens every time, like Jesus, you care for the sick, you feed the hungry, you comfort the grieving, you lift up the marginalized, and you announce the good news. Every time we do this, as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven we participate in making things on earth as they are in heaven. And this is how Jesus taught us to pray and how he taught us to live. “May your kingdom come, may your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Not one day in a future place. Right here, right now! For the benefit of others, the spread of the good news, and the glory of God!
God’s kingdom is not about us escaping this world and going into another one, but about God’s sovereign rule on earth as it is in Heaven. And it’s my prayer today that in this moment, in these days, as the church we would participate in making things on earth as they are in Heaven.
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