Finding the Love of Your Life
04/25/2004 - Meeting the Love of Your Life
What were the most exciting five minutes of your life? What were the most breath-taking, exhilarating, emotionally charged three hundred seconds you've ever experienced?
If you're married maybe those five minutes occurred on your wedding day or on your wedding night. If you have children maybe those five minutes happened in the delivery room giving birth or watching your children being born. If you're into sports maybe it was the first time you hit a home run or scored a goal or a touchdown or earned a medal or won a trophy. If you're a thrill seeker maybe it was a bungee jump or a free fall out of an airplane. If you're into roller coasters maybe it was that first drop on Millennium Force the tallest roller coaster in the United States. I took that ride at Cedar Point Park in Ohio and I've got to tell you that's right up there with my wedding day and my children being born!
But whatever those five minutes were for you, they can't begin to compare to the five minutes that are yet to come. I'm convinced that for the believer in Jesus Christ the most amazing and exciting five minutes of our lives will be the first five minutes after our heart stops beating. Esperanza experienced those first five minutes this week and she's been having the time of her life ever since.
For centuries, the brightest minds on earth have devoted their whole lives trying to figure out what lies beyond the grave. But five minutes after we die, we'll know. And those five minutes are coming for every single one of us, unless Jesus comes first and then that will be the most exciting five minutes of our life. Either way we can't lose.
The writers of Scripture say that for every human being those five minutes will reveal an eternal destiny of either indescribable joy or unspeakable misery. So today as we finish this series called Finding the Love of Your Life I want to end with a teaching about heaven that I've called "Meeting the Love of Your Life."
What do you think about when you think about heaven? Do you think about robes and choirs and harps and clouds? Do you think about streets of gold and pearly gates? Maybe you think of the ultimate retirement community where you can finally rest from your labors with all your meals provided, bus trips to Atlantic City, and bingo on Friday nights.
In his book Everybody's Normal Till You Get To Know Them, John Ortberg tells the story about a man who asked him in all seriousness, "Will there be golf in heaven? I can't be happy unless I'm playing golf. And heaven is supposed to make me perfectly happy, right? So there must be golf in heaven."
Ortberg tried to explain that heaven is a place of ultimate joy, but we need to be changed first so that we can enjoy whatever heaven has to offer. He said to the man, "Is it really possible that God made us for nothing more significant than a never ending game of golf? Besides, we know that in heaven there will be no lying, swearing, or cheating. So how can there be golf? On the other hand, we also know there's another place where there will be 'weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.' So maybe that's where the golf course is!"
It's easy to get confused about heaven. A lot of us carry around a cartoon image of angels in white robes sitting on puffy clouds and playing harps. But what we have to understand is that when the writers of Scripture describe heaven they're trying to describe the indescribable.
It would be like trying to describe a jet airplane to someone who lived in the first century. How would you do it? You'd use symbols that they could understand and talk about the plane like a giant, silver bird made of metal that flies in the sky with people sitting on it's back. Sounds weird to us, but you'd have to use images that were known to describe what was unknown.
That's exactly what the writers of Scripture do when it comes to heaven. In his book, The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis writes about this when he says, "There is no need to be worried by facetious (mocking) people who try to make the Christian hope of heaven ridiculous by saying that they do not want to spend eternity playing harps. The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them at all. All the scriptural imagery - harps, crowns, gold, and so on - is of course a symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible ... People who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Christ told us to be like doves, he meant that we were to lay eggs."
So while we don't know everything there is about heaven, we do know quite a bit from the images communicated in the Scriptures. We also know that for the believer in Jesus heaven will come in three stages. The first stage happens at death. To be absent from the body is to present with the Lord, says the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8. Esperanza is with the Lord right now. Seeing Jesus is the best part of those first five minutes. That's when we finally meet the love of our life.
The second stage of heaven is when God's kingdom comes to this earth. That's what Jesus taught us to pray for in his famous Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-10, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Many refer to that as the millennial kingdom that will come to this earth after the great tribulation and last for one thousand years.
And the third stage of heaven will come at the end of the millennial kingdom when God finally destroys this earth with fire and creates a new heaven and a new earth that will last forever.
The apostle John describes this third stage in Revelation 21:1, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
So let's take a look at some of the images in Scripture used to describe this final stage of heaven that will last forever and ever. Most of them come from the pen of the apostle John, Jesus' best friend on earth, who wrote the book of Revelation, which contains some of the Bible's most vivid pictures of heaven. John wrote it when he was an old man, about ninety years old, in prison, in exile on a little island in the Aegean Sea called Patmos, far away from the ones he loved. Jennifer and I have been to Patmos and believe me there is nothing there. And when your ninety years old, living in exile on rock in the middle of the sea, you think a lot about heaven.
If you have your Bible turn with me to Revelation 14:13. In this passage John writes,Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
We usually don't think about people who have died as being blessed. But for John, that was the word God wanted him to use for believers in Jesus Christ. We are blessed when we die in the Lord. The word blessed means "fortunate, happy, privileged." Why are we blessed? Because that's when we really start to live!
D. L. Moody the great 19th century evangelist once said, "Someday you will read in the papers that Moody is dead. Don't believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now ... I was born in the flesh in 1837. I was born in the Spirit in 1855. That which is born of the flesh may die. But that which is born of the Spirit shall live forever." Little Esperanza is fully alive right now. She's more alive than she's ever been and at rest from all her struggles.
Then John gives this description of heaven in Revelation 21:10-11, And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
In this passage John describes heaven as a shining city, the emerald city, made from very expensive material. It's a beautiful city. It's a brilliant city where people come together in community. That's what cities do. They bring lots of people close together. But on earth cities also bring other things together like crime and fear and poverty and violence and all the other expressions of sin.
Cities are where rapists prey on women and children get caught in the cross fire and suicide bombers destroy lives, but not so in the heavenly city. It's a perfect city where we all finally live in perfect community with each other. We'll all get along and experience deep, open, intimate, joy filled, trusting relationships, like Adam and Eve enjoyed with each other before the fall.
Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian likes to say, "Community is not the most important thing God is doing, it is the only thing, ultimately, that God is doing in history, because it is the only thing that will remain for eternity."
This concept of living together in perfect community is what Jesus meant when he said that he was working on our accommodations in John 14:1-3, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
In this passage, Jesus is not talking about building our dream house, a two-story colonial, rancher or split-level. Instead, he's saying that when we get to heaven we'll finally be home. No other word in the English language moves the human heart as deeply as the word "home." It's the place we all long for. It's the place to belong and to be safe and to be special. Those are the deepest yearnings of the human heart and when we finally get to heaven they'll be satisfied because we'll finally be home, home forever in the presence of the one who loves us the most.
We'll meet and live together with the love of our life. And like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz we'll say, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Esperanza is home right now and given the choice she would never want to leave home ever again.
John tells us what we'll wear in heaven. Look at Revelation 19:6-8, Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
In this passage John describes the church as a bride dressed in white ready to meet Jesus, the Lamb of God. But does that mean we'll all wear white wedding gowns forever? It would be pretty tough to play golf in a wedding dress! No, the fine linen John says stands for the righteous acts of the saints.
This is a picture of our perfection in heaven where we'll finally be free from sin and all the things that displease God. Our hearts will be full of love, our hands will be quick to serve, our lips will speak nothing but the truth. Revelation 14:5 says, No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. All the things that destroy community between us will be gone.
In his vision of the new heaven and the new earth John sees that there will no longer be any sea. Revelation 21:1 says, 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.
For years I thought, "What's up with that? How can it be heaven without the sea?" We vacation at the sea. In fact, when we're at the beach we think we're in heaven! I don't need a golf course in heaven, but I've got to have a beach and a place to swim. Is John saying that there won't be any water in heaven to enjoy?
No. In Revelation 22, John talks about the river of the water of life as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God. Sounds like a pretty nice place to snorkel! No, when John says that there will no longer be any sea I think he means that we will no longer be separated from each other. Remember, John is in exile, imprisoned on a desert island, completely surrounded by water. It's the sea the cuts John off from the people that he loves the most. And everyday he looks out over the water and wishes he could go beyond it to talk to and embrace those he loves and cares about. John was a prisoner of the sea.
So when John says that there will be no more sea, he's saying that the day is coming when he will no longer be separated from one another. We will be delivered, not just from the physical barriers that separate us, but from the spiritual ones as well. No more abandoned children or broken homes or lonely hearts. The sense of oneness and community that now characterizes the Trinity will finally be ours as well.
John continues by saying that every tear will be wiped from every eye. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order is passed away. Love will triumph.
Look at Revelation 21:2-4, I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
The community that we'll have in heaven will be so intimate and God himself will be so close to each one of us that he'll wipe away every tear from our eyes. You have to get pretty close to a person to wipe away a tear. There will be no more death or mourning, crying or pain. It will be perfect. Esperanza is finally in that perfect place forever out of her pain.
But the best part of heaven will be seeing Jesus face to face and finally meeting the love of our life. Trapped on this lonely, desert island John has a vision of the throne room of heaven. Its a strange vision of one "like a son of man," with hair that's white like wool, eyes that blaze like fire, a double-edged sword coming out of his mouth, a face that shines, and hands that hold seven stars.
Turn to Revelation 1:9-20, I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." 12I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
This is John's imagine experience. "Surrounded by your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you, Jesus, or in awe of you be still? Will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine. I can only imagine."
John doesn't have to imagine. He answers those questions right here by collapsing at the feet of Jesus as though dead before this powerful figure. His white hair stands for wisdom. The seven stars in his right hand shows that he's ready for action. His eyes are on fire seeing everything clearly. His mouth holds a sword, which speaks of his power and authority. What he says goes. His face is brilliant speaking of his holiness. This is the holy, transcendent, awe-inspiring God of wonders who knocks John right off his feet.
Then comes one of the most tender moments in Scripture. Look at verse 17,Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
"Hey John, don't be afraid, it's me. It's your friend, Jesus. The one you love. The one who went to the cross for you and died and rose again. The Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the ruler of the universe. It's me, John. Please don't be afraid." This week Esperanza had her own awe inspiring encounter with this Jesus. And she need not be afraid to see him face to face.
There's one more image from John about heaven that we need to look at. Not only will we see God, John says, but we will also experience the joy of the ultimate wedding.
Revelation 19:9 says, Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
The Bible says that the kingdom of heaven is like a groom who waits for his bride on the wedding day. Remember that in the garden, God said it was not good for man to be alone, so he created a woman for the man to marry. That was a solution to his loneliness. But it wasn't the ultimate solution. The ultimate solution to our loneliness is our marriage to Christ. So it's fitting that heaven is pictured as a wedding between the bride, the church, and the groom, Jesus.
And when that occurs then no one will be lonely anymore. No one will be alone. John Ortberg ends his book with these poignant words, "Then, finally, the human race will no longer be the 'as-is' department of the universe. Then, for the first time since Eden, everyone will be the person God intended him or her to be. Then we will discover that what we call the end our lives is really not the end at all. It is only the beginning of Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before. And we will all be normal at last."