A Prepared Place For A Prepared People

The hope of a home in heaven has always been central to the Christian message.  But to the child of God,  it is more than a hope  It is life's greatest certainty.   But, after all,  when all is said and done, it is as the apostle Paul said,  "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

When people think of  heaven, a number of questions naturally arise.   Is it a real place?   Or is it, as some assert, merely a figment of a fertile imagination.  Has man, in facing his obvious fragile existence and mortality,  merely conjured the concept up to fulfil his wistful longing for immortality?   Or could it be, as some insist, just pie in the sky by and by, used as a tool of manipulation by religionists in order to deceive the gullible masses?   Is such a  longing and seeking just another expression of  Lenin's discredited thesis that "religion is the opiate of the people"?   Is it, as some sceptics say,  that if God and heaven did not exist, man of necessity would invent them?   Even sincere seekers for truth may understandably ask:   "How can we ever know for sure there is a  heaven for believers and a  hell for Christ rejecters?"

If  it is all just pie in the sky,  please don't tell me!    I am as convinced of the reality of heaven as I am  of the reality of a Creator God! Paul said that those who seek Him by faith can come to Him and He will reward those who diligently seek Him.  I have sought and found God by faith in Jesus Christ and have become a child of the King;  a joint-heir with Christ of all the glories of heaven and eternity!  I can say with John, by faith, "Now I am a son of God.  I do not know  what I shall be, but I know when He shall appear, I shall be like Him for I shall see Him as He is!"

We who know Him by faith know that heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.  Enoch is an example of such a person.  He walked with God and was no more.  Someone has proposed a beautiful scenario.  Enoch and God walked together daily.   As the quantity and quality of their walk increased, God said at the end of one of their daily walks,   "It's closer to my house than yours, just come on home with me today!"   Our walk with Christ on earth is designed to mature us and prepare us for an eternity with Him in heaven. After all, those who love the world and the things of the world would probably be unhappy in heaven in any case.

But just where is heaven?   Astronomically some speak of a great empty place in the North.  The Bible speaks of a third heaven - beyond the bonds of earth and over and above any astronomical heavens.   Personally,  I like the response of a little girl, who, when asked by a sceptics where heaven was, simply said,  "It's where Jesus is."  When the sceptics pressed the point and asked,  "But where is Jesus?"  The little girl replied,  "Well, I don't know exactly, but where Jesus is - is heaven enough for me!"

An Upward Look

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have lived in the first century and been one of those disciples who walked with Jesus? One of those who heard His stories as they fell from His lips and personally witnessed His marvellous miracles? One of those who walked with the resurrected Saviour on the road to Emmaus? One of those who stood and watched Him as He slowly ascended into the heavens in the presence of two angelic beings in white apparel?

Or, what would it have been like to have been caught up into the third heaven, as Paul, into the very presence of the Lord? Is it any wonder those who had been with Jesus, were said to have turned the world upside down? Surely Paul’s special insight into the sights and sounds of that other world, had a profound effect upon Him and radically changed His outlook upon this mundane world in which he lived.

Yes a glimpse of other places can sometimes change our outlook or up-look. Until I had the privilege of staying a few weeks with a pastor friend and preaching in a number of rural churches in the pristine and beautiful mountains of West Virginia, I could not appreciate the words of John Denver’s beautiful song, "Almost heaven, West Virginia..." Until my daughter and her family moved to North Carolina, the history, geography and contemporary nature of the place were of little interest to me. But now I find the place has a special attraction and fascination for me. Perhaps it’s because I have loved ones there.

Until I was sure God was calling me to plant churches in the great land down under, I knew very little of the place; nor did I have any particular desire to make a twenty-four hour plane trip to see it and find out more. But now, since I have so many loved ones in Australia, both in the physical and spiritual sense, the Lord has given me a deep love and affinity for the country.

Although there are many beautiful spots on God’s green earth, none could compare to the marvellous wonder and beauty of heaven. Even so, the main attraction of heaven for the Christian is not the place but the people and the main Person Who draws us heavenward is Jesus Christ. In heaven we shall see Him face to face. Just as our roots sometimes tug at us, drawing us back to the places and people of our origins, so does our heart draw us heavenward and homeward. The presence there of loved ones who have gone before add to this upward pull.

It is said that the homing instinct of certain Arctic birds placed in zoos always compel them to look northward or homeward. We who are merely temporary colonisers of planet earth, have a strange, other-worldly attraction as well. We are focused on another place. Our affections are set there. Our mind-set is in tune with our Master who resides there. We are looking for that other city whose builder and maker is God. Through Christ, we as Paul, have been given a peep into that eternal city that is our eternal destiny, and it draws us ever onward and upward.

But is heaven a real place or, as some say, just a figment of a fertile imagination? Is it pie in the sky by and by, or the ultimate dwelling place of God with His people? I am convinced that heaven is a real special place. Heaven is not a figment of an overworked imagination. Nor is it just pie in the sky by and by.

Although heaven is a real place that will be populated with real people, it is still beyond the keen of the mind of mortal mind to begin to comprehend its magnificence. Paul could not even utter the sense of awe he felt about it. He could only quote, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

Can you imagine the amazement of our rural forefathers would experience if they could see the wonders of modern civilization today? Heaven is a place designed and built for the people of God by the Divine Architect of this vast universe. Look at the beauty of this world and multiply that beauty by infinity and we might have an inkling of the beauty of that other land. Imagine a place without any of the terrible effects of sin and the fall of man. Imagine paradise restored in all its perfection and completion. Such is unimaginable and unspeakable!

 - Pastor John White

Note - As I draw ever closer to heaven’s shore, I think more and more about those who have gone before. My older brother was with my father when he went home to heaven. He said that when my Dad was taking his last breaths he began to smile. My brother asked, "Do you see Jesus, Dad?’ My Dad smiled and said, "Yes."- Pastor John White

Our Greatest Appointment

Hebrews 9:27 "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment..."

Have you ever had an important appointment? Perhaps you were scheduled to meet an important person. Someone like a potential employer or banker who might hold the keys to your professional or financial future. Success or failure may hinge upon the outcome. Days of struggle or times of leisure may rest upon the result.

But the importance of the one vital appointment we all have with the common denominator of all men, death, and with Jesus Christ, the Judge of this universe, makes all such mundane matters pale into relative insignificance. If we will be realistic about it, we will admit we are approaching the day of that appointment at what seems to be lightning speed. We are relentlessly rushing headlong into the future at a breakneck pace. Considering this, it might be good to remember a few things.

We should always remember that life, even at its longest, is short. The Psalmist says that life is like a sleep. A good night’s sleep seems to pass as a swift breeze. He also says that our life is like grass that flourishes in the morning, but is cut down, and withers in the scorching heat of a sunny afternoon. At one moment we may be jovial, vigorous, happy and hopeful. The next we may be pale, cold, speechless and lifeless. He also compares life to a tale that is told. A really good story told be an accomplished story teller is almost always over before it begins.

As we consider our future appointment, let us also remember that death is certain. It is an appointment we all must keep. In giving the genealogy of the antediluvian patriarchs, the phrase, "and he died," is repeated nine times. It matters not how long man shall live it will always be said of him, "and he died."

As sure as we live, we die. Whether we like it or not or are prepared for it or not, that sure visitor knocks at the door of the humble or the haughty, the beggar or the billionaire. He visits the humblest hovel or the highest house on the hill of wealth.

Death may be a close as a stray bullet or the bumper guard of a speeding car. It may be lying in the luggage compartment of an air plane. It is as close as a malignant cell. It is only one heartbeat away. One piece of foreign matter in the blood stream or one submicroscopic deadly virus or bacteria may be the means by which we ultimately meet our demise.

Yet, death tends to catch many unaware. Raphael died with his last picture half finished. It was carried in his funeral procession as a mute reminder of life’s brevity. Sir Walter Scott’s penned these last words in his journal, "Tomorrow I shall..." Franz Schulbert left his unfinished symphony. When he was 89 years of age Micheangelo wrote, "I have reach the twenty-fourth hour of my day and no project arises in my brain which hath not the figure of death graven upon it"

As someone has well said we should, "In time, take time, while time does last, for time is not time, when time is past." And as some else once said, "Lost, some place between yesterday and tomorrow, one day, made up of twenty-four precious hours, each filled with sixty golden minutes, which are studded with sixty diamond seconds. No reward is offered, they are gone forever!"

If we truly understand the brevity of life we will attempt to seize the day for the Lord. We will understand that we should grasp opportunity by the forelock, because he is bald behind!  A thought worth remembering:  "Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow a mystery.  Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.  - Pastor John White