What will heaven be like?

“I would rather rule in hell, than serve in heaven”. This is one response I once received many years ago, when I was sharing the gospel with a family friend. It reflected a crude understanding of what heaven would be like. For this friend, heaven would be like an endless church service, sitting on a white cloud, surrounded by people with whom you would not normally mix. The reality is most people have only a vague idea of what heaven will be like.

So what is the future for those who are followers of Jesus?

The Bible says that God will one day restore his perfect rule over the universe through his son Jesus (Eph 1:10). Every form of evil, corruption and tyranny will be destroyed. Sickness and death will be no more. There will be no more disappointment or frustration or pain. Everything that stands against God’s purposes will be completely removed.

Instead, people will enjoy the fruit of their labour. ‘They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit’ (Isa 65:21). They will enjoy a world of perfect peace, righteousness and justice. We will enjoy perfect relationships and real community. What will guarantee this future is that God will live with his people and we will be with him forever.

We do not have space to fully present all the biblical images of heaven. But for the Christian, heaven will be the ‘home’ towards which we look forward. It will be our ‘promised land’, the place of rest. It will be a wedding feast. It will be the security, companionship and riches of a great and perfect city.

The book of Revelation is full of imagery, speaking of things beyond our own experience. And the most striking imagery is given in Revelation 21:1-22:2, where our future hope is described as the city of God, the new Jerusalem. God will be at the centre of that city’s life and joy.

“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev 22:3-5)

What the Bible presents is only a glimmer of what that future glory will be like (1Cor 13:12, Rom 8:18). But God’s word calls us to constantly set our hope on that day when Jesus returns (1Pet 2:13, Col 3:4). And we’re called to think often about this future hope, like homesick travellers looking forward to the day when we’ll finally be at home with the Lord (2Cor 5:7).

Why don’t you take time out this week to meditate on some of the Biblical pictures of heaven in the following passages: Isaiah 65:17-25, Revelation 7:14-17; 21:1-22:5?

An outpost of heaven

Some weeks ago I spoke to a guy from mainland China who works in Sydney. He was sincere about wanting to read the Bible and finding out more about Christianity. But his main problem was how being a Christian would practically help him live life in a dog-eat-dog world. When everyone else is looking out for number one, when people are ready to take advantage of you for their own profit, what point is there in doing the right thing? Why not follow the crowd and give in to selfish ambition? Let me share five reasons.

Firstly, we submit to Jesus because he rules the world (Eph 1:22-23). God is not watching from a distance. He is in control over every part of his creation. Our future is not determined by chance, nature or by the actions of other human beings. Our present and our future depend on God’s perfect and sovereign will. He is able to protect and sustain those who trust in him (Ps 1:6).

Secondly, Jesus is the one who will judge the world (Acts 17:31). At the end of the day none will escape God’s judgment. We must all stand before God’s judgment seat. He will hold each of us to account for every action whether great or small. ‘He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts’ (1Cor 4:5). It will be based on truth and without partiality. So even if we experience injustice today, Christians entrust themselves to God’s perfect justice which will be fully revealed on the last day (Rom 1:5-6; 12:19).

Thirdly, we obey him because he loves us. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his Son, so whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). We love him because he first loved us, dying for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and become friends with God. There is no greater love than this ‘that a man lay down his life for his friends’. And that is exactly what Jesus did for us on the cross. Such love compels us.

Fourthly, as Christians we’re called to live out our identity as God’s chosen people. ‘For you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light’ (1Pet 2:9). We are called to live out our identity as ‘salt and light’, citizens of heaven, a transformed community (Matt 5:13-14, Phil 3:20, Rom 12:2). As such we are called to be a positive influence on this world, and not be part of the problem of self-centred living. We’re to be an outpost and a foretaste of the kingdom of God still to come (Rev 21:1-4).

Fifthly, we trust and obey God’s word because his way is always better. Jesus came to give us life, peace, and joy. He came to restore and heal broken relationships. He came to make possible relationships of grace, forgiveness and mutual love. The God who made the world knows what is most important and how best to live in it. His commands are an expression of his love for us, that we might enjoy life to the full and be his transformed community (1Pet 1:11-12).

His forgiveness and his promises give us confidence and hope in a fallen and broken world. This is why we are committed to being an outpost of heaven. We live today in eager expectation of the kingdom yet to be revealed when Jesus comes in all his glory (Tit 2:13).

 

God’s full attention

Have you ever wondered how God can listen to your prayers and at the same time listen to the prayers of the other two or three billion people in the world? What if our prayers contradicted each other? Whose prayer would he listen to? What difference do our prayers really make?

The first thing we need to remember is that God is not our servant. He is the one ‘who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will’ (Eph 1:11). God is the sovereign creator to whom I am accountable. And the most important thing is that I align myself with his will (Rom 12:2). I was made by him and for him (Col 1:16).

The second thing the Bible affirms is that God is good. What God created he also cares for (Ps 104). And he has a special care for those he has adopted as his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:4-5.) As a Father who loves his children, God invites us to bring all our needs to him. And he promises to hear and answer every one of our prayers (Matt 7:7-11, Phil 4:6).

The question remains: How can God give full attention to my prayers as well as the prayers of a billion other Christians around the world?

The short answer is that nothing is too difficult for God (Gen 18:4, Job 42:2). is able to raise the dead, calm the storm and bring universes into existence. ‘Nothing is impossible for God’ (Luke 1:37). He is the God of infinite power. God is able to comprehend and manage every need in every part of his creation.

The power that created the universe is the same power that sustains it. God’s powerful acts did not stop at creation. God’s infinite mind perfectly controls, all of the time, every detail of created things (Col 1:17, Heb 1:3), from the rising of the sun, to the birth of the tiniest plankton, he sustains and controls it all. Just as a perfect traffic control system can keep the traffic flowing at all times, God is even more able to manage every event in the universe to fulfill his purposes and meet the needs of his people.

God’s power extends also to his control over the wills of people. Sinful people are within God’s complete control (Prov 21:2). God is able and in fact uses the acts and evil intentions of sinful people to fulfill his good purposes (Gen 50:20). Nothing can thwart his plans for his people and for his own glory.

God’s infinite power and his infinite mind means that he is not overwhelmed by numbers or confused by detail. He is able to give full attention, care and protection to every person throughout the world. To each person God is able to give the same intensity of concern that he would give if he were related to a single individual only. Our heavenly Father gives each of us his undivided attention and his full friendship as though we were his only friend.[1]

Pastor Owen Seto – English Assistant Pastor/elder

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[1] D. B. Knox, The Doctrine of God, Vol 1, p. 57.

Rich Fool or Wise Steward?

In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus tells the story of a man who was wise by worldly standards (Luke 12:13-21). His ground produced a bumper crop. And rather than waste his earnings, he reinvested his money to build bigger barns. He was going to set himself up for life, plan an early retirement and live off his wise investments. But God struck him down in the prime of his life, instantly calling him to account for his self-centred view of his wealth. All his plans came to a crashing halt. Jesus called him a ‘fool’ because he stored up things for himself but was ‘not rich towards God’.

We may not come to such a dramatic end, but we should take this strong warning to heart. One day he will call each of us to account for how we have used our wealth – just like ‘the rich fool’. And before that great day it’s worth asking ourselves how God would want us to use our money.

Paul gives a clear set of instructions in 1Timothy 6:17-19.

1. Don’t be arrogant, nor put your hope in wealth (6:17). Don’t live as if you live your life independently of God. He is the source of your wealth who richly provides everything for our enjoyment. It is he and not your wealth, which is the source of your life and your security.

2. Be rich in good deeds, generous and willing to share (6:18). Remember that your money is not your own. God wants you to be generous as he has been to you through the gospel. Remember that ‘for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.’ (2Cor 8:9)

3. Invest in the treasures that last (6:19). Let the gospel and the advance of God’s kingdom shape your priorities. When you stand before Jesus on the final day you won’t regret anything you’ve given for him or sacrificed for his cause. You won’t regret the souls that have been won through your financial partnership in the gospel. You won’t regret the day when he says to you, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’, when you’ve been faithful with all he has given you.

In a wealthy society like ours, when we have so many options, when every advertisement tells you that you need more, it takes great discipline to say ‘NO’. It takes discipline to plan our giving and our spending. It takes great discipline to set a percentage figure of how much we will give and to review this regularly. It takes great discipline not to bite off more than we can chew – not to need another trinket, not to upgrade our car or our house, so that we can be more generous to the greater needs of others and the eternal needs of the gospel. God promises that we will never be a loser by him (Luke 18:29-30). And as we commit our lives and our wealth to him today we can look forward to his rich welcome.

If God were to assess the management of your financial resources today, what do you think he would say? And when you finally stand before Jesus on the last day, how will you answer him?

How do I fit into God’s plans?

Many people today wonder what to do with their lives. What job or career should I pursue? Should I work in Sydney or should I go overseas? The current GFC has probably put a halt to some of our plans. But the question remains: what should I do with my life?

The Bible’s answer is to begin with a bigger question: What are God’s plans for the world? What is God doing right now and how do I fit into his plans? God is not standing idly by as the world tumbles from one global disaster to another. God is not standing idly by hoping we’ll fix our own problems our own way.

God has in fact already revealed his plan to bring an end to all evil. God has set a day when he will bring an end to all wars, all sickness, and every natural disaster. It will be a new world order, ‘the home of righteousness’. A picture of this future is given to us in Revelation:

“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.” (Rev 21:3-4)

This picture of perfect peace is what the world is destined for, where it will no longer be a self-centred, dog-eat-dog world, based on insecurity and greed. Instead God will be with his people and he will be their God. He will rule over them perfectly and lovingly through his Son Jesus.

This is the work God is doing right now as the message of Jesus is preached. It is a message of forgiveness and relationship with God, a relationship that begins now and will last for eternity in God’s new world order. And it begins now as we submit our lives under the perfect rule of King Jesus.

As Christians, we experience a foretaste of the new world now as God transforms us to be more like Jesus. He calls us to no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus who died for us (2Cor 5:15). He calls us to live for his kingdom and his future. In practice this means that serving God’s kingdom will be my highest priority (Matt 6:33). My decision-making will be based on what will best promote the message about Jesus. And I will seek to live such a life that will bring most glory to him (1Pet 2:11-12).

The better question to ask therefore is: Am I part of God’s plans for the future? How does what I do fit into his plans? And how can I best serve him with the gifts and opportunities he has given me today?

How to pray like Mr Universe

Would you like to be like Mr Universe or Mr Puniverse? A friend of mine used to have a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger on his wardrobe door. It was a picture of Arnie half-naked posing with his bulging and glistening muscles, a perfectly sculptured body. Whenever he needed inspiration he’d only have to look at that picture of Mr Universe then run off to the gym to pump some more iron. Arnie was my friend’s model and inspiration.

In the same way, the Lord’s Prayer is meant to be our model. It is the ‘prayer of prayers’ and the model for all our prayers guiding and shaping them in a Christ-centred, God-honouring direction. It teaches us to pray large God-centred prayers, rather than puny and trivial self-centred prayers. The Lord’s Prayer is meant to be the poster on our wall teaching us how to pray ‘Mr Universe’-type prayers.

This then is how Jesus teaches us to pray: (Here we’ll only focus on the first half of the prayer from Matthew 6:9-10.)

Pray to ‘Our Father in heaven’. God is far above us in majesty and power and holiness. He is also our loving Father who cares intimately for all our needs. We love him because he first loved us, adopting us as his children through Jesus. And we pray to our Father, not just to my Father. We remember that we are part of a larger spiritual family and my concern is not for myself only but for all who are in Christ.

Pray for his name to be hallowed. We pray for God’s name to be honoured and adored above our own. For his name to be ‘hallowed’ means that God’s name be honoured and set part as holy. What I am asking is that God’s name be thought of more highly than my own name. This is a radically God-centred prayer. It means that I will be concerned for God’s honour above my own in any and every situation. When you’re having a fight with your parents, when others hurt you, when you’re wronged, when others are going past the speed limit and you’re not, when others freely break copyright law, you will be more concerned to protect and promote God’s honour before your own! Pray that God’s name be hallowed not just in your own home but in all the earth!

Pray for his kingdom to come. God already rules the universe. But through Jesus, God has been spreading and growing his saving rule through the preaching of the gospel. As people submit their lives to King Jesus, they are rescued from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Those who are saved into this kingdom are saved for eternity and they are being transformed to be like Jesus. This is a missionary prayer, asking that the saving rule of Jesus would spread and grow in our church, city and world. And we long for the day when this kingdom will be complete, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; and when we will experience the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness.

Pray for his will to be done ‘on earth as it is in heaven’. We pray that people will obey God’s word willingly and without compromise. God has not kept his will hidden from us. But he has revealed his will through his Word, the Bible. Our prayer is that as people submit their lives to King Jesus that they will commit to obeying ‘every word that comes from the mouth of God’. Just as the angels in heaven willingly and unreservedly obey God’s word, so may we. Our commitment must be to listen to where God has spoken and then to obey. Don’t be satisfied by anything less that wholehearted obedience. Pray for his will to be done.

In summary, if you want to pray like Jesus,

1. Pray to our Father.
2. Pray that his name be honoured above our own.
3. Pray that the saving rule of Jesus continue to spread and grow through the gospel.
4. Pray that we will obey God’s word willingly and without compromise.

(Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to make the Lord’s Prayer one of our regular prayers.)

Why work is good!

Most of us have a love-hate relationship with work. Many of us find it a chore. It’s a necessity of life, a means of earning an income to support ourselves. But it can be unsatisfying, frustrating, and sometimes meaningless. For some people, however, work means a lot to them. They love it for different reasons. It’s the means to personal fulfilment, to achieving wealth and personal security. It gives them a sense of personal identity and status. For some, work means everything to them.

What does the Bible teach us about work? How should we view work?

The first thing the Bible teaches is that work was part of God’s good creation. It was part of God’s good purpose for Adam and Eve. God put Adam in the garden ‘to work it and keep it’. God called them to ‘be fruitful and multiply’, and to care for and rule over everything God had made (Genesis 1:28, 2:19). God provided Adam a ‘suitable helper’ in the form of Eve. Why? Not just to deal with loneliness, but to be his ‘helper’ in the work God had given them, that they might serve God together.

Secondly, the activity of work reflects the God who works. Genesis describes the six days of creation as the days God worked (Gen 2:2). And on the seventh day God rested. The work God did was creative and satisfying. Each day God surveyed all he had made and ‘saw that it was good’. God made things aesthetically beautiful as well as enjoyable to eat (Gen 2:9). In this sense work was meant to be satisfying, enjoyable and creative.

Thirdly, work was meant to cultivate, nurture and promote life. This is the work God did in the six days of creation. God’s work involved creating the sea and the skies and then filling them with fish and birds. God created land and vegetation and then fills it with animals and humans. God created the environment for life to flourish and grow. Men and women’s purpose was to nurture and cultivate that life which God created. This did not mean exploiting and destroying God’s good creation, but continuing the work which promotes life and serves the community.

Obviously much has changed since the picture of perfection in Genesis 1-2. Since then sin and death has entered the world through human rebellion. Creation was cursed and work itself became frustrated.

How then should we view work today? Here are some very brief points.

1) While work has been frustrated by sin, it remains part of God’s good creation.

2) God’s plan is to restore life to its original perfection when Jesus returns (2Pet 3:13).

3) Until then we should not have too low or too high a view of work.

4) Work remains good when we do it in a godly way, serving and promoting life in our community (e.g. even a bank provides a community service.)

5) Work is good not because it is tied to income or reward, but because it’s lived in obedience to God. Even unpaid work that serves the community is still meaningful work.  In this sense ‘unemployed’ people can still do meaningful work. Mothers too in raising children are doing God’s good ‘work’.

6) Work is good when we remember it is ultimately God that we are serving.

7) We should thank God for the privilege of serving him in every part of our lives, including in our working hours.

We should pray that we will be godly in all our work (Colossians 3:22-4:1).

1) While work has been frustrated by sin, it remains part of God’s good creation purposes.

2) God’s plan is to restore life to its original perfection when Jesus returns (2Pet 3:13).

3) Until then we should not have too high or too low a view of work.

4) Work remains good when we do it in a godly way, serving and promoting life in our community (e.g. even a bank provides a community service.)

5) Work is good not because it is tied to income or reward, but because it is lived in obedience to God. Even unpaid work that serves the community is still meaningful work.  In this sense ‘unemployed’ people can still do meaningful work. Mothers too in raising children are doing God’s good ‘work’.

6) Work is good when we remember it is ultimately God that we are serving (Colossians 3:22-4:1).

7) We should thank God for the privilege of serving him in every part of our lives, including in our working hours (Rom 12:1-2).

8 ) We should pray that we will serve God with gladness and for his glory in all our work. (1Peter 2:12, 1Corinthians 10:31)

God looks forward to your time

One of our problems when it comes to prayer is that we’re driven by guilt. We haven’t spent enough time with God, nor do we always look forward to that time. We don’t always pray with passion or persistence. And we’re a lot more self-reliant than we should be.

But as with every other area of the Christian life, we should be motivated by grace and not by guilt. We should be motivated by the privilege, the joy and the unfailing love of our heavenly Father. To be motivated by grace we need to remember the following.

Prayer is first and foremost our response to God’s love for us. It is not a way to earn God’s love or favour. For God has already loved us! He has lavished his love on us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. He has brought us to himself as sons and daughters of God. God loves to hear the prayers of his children who come to him.

Secondly, prayer is our response to God’s word to us. It is not that God silently waits for us to speak to him before he speaks to us. God has already spoken to us through his word, and through his Son Jesus. He has graciously revealed himself, his character his plans and his purposes to us. In response he invites us to pray not only for ourselves, but also for others, and for his glory, his kingdom and his will to be done (Matt 6:9-13).

Thirdly, God’s love for us is never dependent on how we’re feeling emotionally. Our feelings may go up and down, but God’s love for us never changes. As Paul says in Romans 5:6-11, if God loved us when we were his enemies, how much more will he love us now that we are his friends? James Hudson Taylor once said that even when he felt his prayers were flat and wooden, he often experienced God’s answers to prayer.

Fourthly, God listens to imperfect prayers. It is the perfect Son of God who intercedes for us and makes our prayers acceptable (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25). And it is God’s Holy Spirit who helps us in our weakness, bringing our prayers to God even when we cannot express them perfectly (Rom 8:26-27). God knows what’s on our heart even before we ask.

Fifthly, in answer to prayer God will always give us what is best as only the perfect heavenly Father can (Matt 7:7-11). God is never stingy or joyless. In fact Jesus came to give us life to the full (John 10:10). He came to make our joy complete in him (1John 1:4). God will never give us second best!

Lastly, through prayer God has given us the privilege of being part of his kingdom work in the world. God can do all things single-handedly, but he has chosen to work both through the preaching of his word and through the humble, dependent prayers of his people. As it says in James 4:2, ‘God is more willing to give than we are to ask.’

Be encouraged by this simple fact: God looks forward to our time with him. How can we do anything less than go to him frequently, passionately, and confidently, praying for ourselves, for others and for his kingdom to come!