Grace Fellowship    2/8/09        Hoping for Heaven        Colossians 1:5a

CLICK HERE to listen to this sermon in MP3 audio.

“Hope” is a word that has been thrown around a lot in recent days.  It is a very good word, but it is really meaningless outside the context of pain, suffering, and affliction.  Hope is the anticipation of, or the longing for something better than the present.  No one hopes for evil or trials or trouble, unless they are hoping for it to fall upon someone else.  As a nation, we hope for the failure and the destruction of our enemies, if God does not grant them repentance and faith, because believe their failure will bring better days and a better life for us.

Hope is a positive emotion, if it can be called an emotion.  It is the anticipation of good.  Many people are hoping for a better day in America because of the election of a new president.  But isn’t that always the case?  When did we ever elect a president who promised to make things worse?  What kind of candidate would run on a platform that promised bad things to come, terrible days ahead, the falure of the economy, and the elimination of more jobs for the middle class?  Nobody hopes for such things unless it’s for people they hate.

People exercise hope all the time.  We buy a new car, hoping that it will be better than the one we have.  People get married because they hope it will bring happiness.  Young couples have children because of hope.  We invest in the stock market, people buy lottery tickets, we send our kids to college, fill out job applications, move across the country, move across town, move to the front of the bus, buy pets, go on diets, check out eHarmony, and share the Gospel, because of hope.  We have come to church today in the hope that God will speak to us from His word.

When we hope, we look forward to better, happier, positive, more pleasant circumstances in the future.  We hope for improvements in our lot in life, and shun those things (or we think we shun those things) that will bring us sorrow, discouragement, frustration, despair, and hopelessness.

Look with me please at Colossians 1, verses 1 through 5a.  This is our text for today. ¹

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

The word “hope” used here does not refer to an active emotion or a state of mind.  It is not a verb, but a noun.  Paul does not say here, “We always thank God when we pray for you because you are so hopeful, because of your positive outlook on life.”  Paul speaks here of some thing, some object, some tangible future reality laid up in Heaven.  The Greek word translated “laid up” refers to something reserved, not unlike what we do at Christmas when we buy things and put them on “lay away”.  We set aside something for a later enjoyment.

So Paul is talking about some thing, some object for which the Colossian believers hope.  Hopeful emotions cannot be set aside for us in some specific place and held there until we arrive to pick them up.  Here, Paul equates the experience of Heaven that awaits us with the hope believers have.  The thing hoped for is our hope.  Heaven itself is our hope.  That object, that real place, that future life for which we and the Colossians hope is spoken of here as the hope itself.

There are many passages in the NT which speak with subtle differences about hope, but they all refer to the same thing generally, our future eternal life in Heaven.  For instance, in 1 Timothy, Jesus is referred to as Christ Jesus our hope.  Peter speaks of how God has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).  Titus chapter 2 reminds us of how we wait for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

But here in Colossians when we read of hope, Paul is not speaking of Jesus as our hope, or our hope for the day of His return, or the hope of resurrection AS SUCH.  Certainly, these things are various aspects of the hope we have as believers.  All these things (the resurrection, the return of Christ, and the person of Christ) are part of the salvation we enjoy and will enjoy.  

In fact, Paul says to the Colossians that they know of this future hope specifically because of the gospel message which has been brought to them.  In other words, hope is inherent in the Gospel: “Of this [hope] you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel” (Col 1:5b).  The Gospel is a message of hope.  Then, to put an even finer point on it, look at verse 12: “. . . giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

Here, Paul is talking to the Colossian believers about Heaven itself.  The heavenly realms are the common inheritance of all God’s children.  Having been born again by God into His family, He promises us a heavenly inheritance.

As you know, much has been written in recent years about Heaven.  Most of it is speculative.  I once attended an event in which people were invited to actually enter Heaven and see all the different rooms there.  Or at least, that’s what they said was happening.  I didn’t see anything myself.  And there are endless testimonies given of out-of-body experiences and visions and transportations where people have been embraced by the light, so to speak, and have come back to Earth to write books about their adventure.  Seems to be a bit of a stretch to me.  Except one of those people was the Apostle Paul.  Speaking of himself in the third person, he says,

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.  And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)

Paul actually saw Paradise.  And God commanded him not to talk about it.  In fact, this is why God gave him his figurative thorn in the flesh: to keep him humble.  Paul saw Heaven but was forbidden to discuss the things he saw there.  If that was Paul’s experience, then it might be wise to hold our tongues when we’re tempted to talk about things we don’t know or understand, like Heaven.  I can’t tell you what Heaven is like.  I haven’t been there.  Paul went there.  But he didn’t talk about it either.

However, the Scriptures are not silent on this matter.  We are certainly allowed to go as far as the Bible goes when discussing this hope we all have.  There are things we do know from the Bible about Heaven which should cause us to rejoice.  Perhaps the greatest passage we have is from John 14.  Jesus was speaking to His disciples about Heaven.  It was the night of His betrayal, the night when He would be forsaken by them all, and He would be arrested by His enemies, and He talks with them about Heaven.

36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 13:36 - 14:3)

Jesus knew Peter would deny Him.  But He told Peter not to worry.  Don’t be troubled.  What greater word of hope and encouragement could a sinner ever hear than the assurance that His Savior wants to spend eternity with him?  He may as well have said,  I go and prepare a place for you, Peter.  I will come again and take you to Myself, Peter.  I want you, Peter, to be with Me forever, even though I know you will deny that you even know me in a few hours.  And in John 17:24 we read these words of Jesus as He prayed later that same night, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”

The Son of God who has born in His body the punishment for every sin you and I have ever, or ever will commit, actually wants us to be in Heaven with Him.  How is that possible?  Jesus has prayed and asked His Father to allow Him to bring us to Heaven to be with Him and see His glory.  I think it is safe to assume that the Father is going to grant His Son that request.  Jesus WANTS, the Lord Jesus DESIRES that we who believe in His name be with Him in Heaven.  That is why we have hope.  That is our hope.

Beloved, were you aware that you were loved like this?  Jesus is our sure hope of glory because He has done everything necessary in order to insure our eternal life WITH HIM in His Father’s house.  
- He has made payment for our sin,
- He has granted us the perfect righteousness we need in order to live forever,
- He has interceded and will continue to intercede forever to the Father on our behalf,
- He has been preparing a place for us to live for 2000 years,
- He has promised us new, incorruptible bodies, like His own resurrected body, fitted for life in Heaven,
- He has promised to come and get us and take us there.

What do we have to do?  Is there anything left for us to do to insure that this will actually happen to us?  No.  We’re in the same situation as Thomas:  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5).  Even if we knew where Heaven was, how could we get there?  All we do is persevere in believing that Jesus is who He said He is.  It is that perseverance in faith that proves our faith is real, our salvation is genuine, and our eternity is secure.  He will come and take us home.

If there is a passage more glorious than John 14 in regard to our heavenly hope, it must be Romans 8.  Look there with me please, and marvel at the grace of God to us:

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give [eternal] life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope [i.e. in the hope of physical redemption, the salvation of our physical bodies] we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. [I.e. perseverance].

The message of the Gospel brings with it a hope that causes us to eagerly look for something better, with patience and perseverance.  Our sufferings in this world, and Christ’s life and death and resurrection on our behalf, cause us to hope for the day of our physical, bodily redemption. On that day, the fallen, sinful bodies of those Christians who are alive at that time will be changed and made immortal and sinless. It is then that we, along with all those believers from the past who have died, and who are resurrected right before our eyes, all of us get to leave this fallen, sinful world in which we have wandered as aliens.  

We who are the sons of God, heirs of God, co-heirs with Jesus, LONG for the day when we go home! It is then that we receive the heavenly inheritance which has been laid up, set aside for us, waiting for our arrival in Heaven.  Hope like this, and an inheritance like that, makes us welcome our departure from this wasteland into glory!  This is the hope of every true believer that has ever, or that ever will live.  Listen to these verses:

Ephesians 1:11-14  In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,  12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Hebrews 9:15  Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

1 Peter 1:3-5  3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

I have just one question for you: If even half of all this is true, who in their right mind would run the risk of missing it?  What sane person would gamble away this heavenly inheritance for the sake of sin?  You children, if you have never trusted in the Lord Jesus to save you, why not?  Jesus came to give eternal life in Heaven to all who believe in Him. Sin is no longer an issue.  The condemnation of sin is no longer valid.  Christ has already dealt with that on the cross.  Death is not an issue.  We get new bodies outfitted for eternal life.  What keeps people who are normally rational and logical and sensible from repenting of their sin and embracing this gospel of hope?

Suffering and affliction and hardship and sickness and tears and death are all obsolete in Heaven.  They are unknown there.  And the eternal joys believers will experience are unspeakably glorious.  Everyone in Heaven is always loving and good.  No one there ever gets their feelings hurt.  No one is ever offended.  There’s never any arguing, or fighting, or a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day!

It is a place where the love of God for us is experienced in its fulness.  I cannot even imagine what that must be like.  Our experience in Heaven will be one of “fullness of joy”.  What does that look like?  I don’t know.  Our constant, never-ending state will be one of love toward God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, endlessly.  Finally, we will be all we have been created to be.  

There is no such thing as need in Heaven.  No such thing as temptation, much less sin.  No evil thing can enter there, no good thing is lacking there.  And Jesus Himself, in person, will come for us and take us home to His Father’s house, so we can live there with Him.  He wants to spend eternity with us!

Heaven is the sure and precious hope of every true believer.  Is it yours?  Do you believe these things?
----
1. All Scripture references are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.