God's promise of heaven

Sunday 19^th December 2010 by Alan Walden

Readings: Revelation 21:1-7; Luke 23:33-43

Today, we reach the end of our series on discipleship by looking at ‘God’s promise of heaven’. It would be easy to speculate about heaven on the basis of what we might like, or be able to imagine. C.S. Lewis once described heaven as ‘that remote music we’re born remembering’. He suggested that the whole human race has a kind of deep sense that there must be a better, different world that we were designed for.

That is an interesting point, but we can do better than that, because we have specific information in the Bible, promises and teaching from God about heaven.

At this time of year, in the depths of this snowy winter, our thoughts naturally turn to warmer, brighter times and places, in other words to holidays! After Christmas we will be bombarded by holiday adverts, brochures, and doubtless competitions to win a luxury holiday. Imagine if you won a holiday. I guess if you did that the first thing you would want to know would be: where? Is it somewhere nice, is it somewhere I want to go? The other thing you would want to know would be the travel arrangements - what will the journey to your destination involve?

If this is true of a holiday, how much more is it true of heaven? The Bible tells us about the journey and what it will be like when we get there. And it tells us, not just to fulfil our idle curiosity, but so that we can get ready for heaven. The best we can do with this life is - prepare well for heaven, and there are 3 features in particular which we see today in our readings which will help us prepare.

The first, key feature of heaven is the presence of God. In our reading from Revelation it says ‘See the home of God is among mortals; He will dwell with them, they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them’ God in all his glory pervades everything in heaven. (The power of God, the love of God, the righteousness of God - all of the nature of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - is fully, eternally, present). To be in heaven will be to have a clear view of God in all his glory.

In this life we get glimpses of God, heavenly moments, when we experience God’s healing, his love, when we understand and experience some small part of what God has done for us. But in heaven, that experience of God will be much more intense than the best of this life, and it will be like that constantly.

Have you have ever visited a place which made a real impact on you? When I was 18 years old I went abroad on my own for the first time to Hong Kong. I had done quite a lot of research about Hong Kong before I went, I had seen pictures, read guide books, talked to people who had been there, etc, but nothing prepared me for what it was like when I arrived. There are hugh skyscrapers, on either side of a harbour thronged with boats. There is a vibrant Chinese cultural life, an incredible selection of restaurants with different types of cuisine. An incredible experience on many levels. It wasn’t all heavenly, needless to say, but it was incredibly intense. I was very grateful for the preparation I had done, but no amount of research could have prevented me being completely overawed, amazed and energised by the place.

And the presence of God will be something which we will never be fully ready for, it will be intense, awesome and overpowering. Our preparations for it, never complete, will be very worth while.

The second feature of heaven which arises out of God’s presence is the absence of sin. It is hard for us to grasp what the full presence of God will be like in positive terms, and it is explained more by absence of things which pervade our current world. V4 ‘Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more.’

In the presence of God there can be no sin, and if there is no sin, then all the terrible consequences of sin are abolished. Imagine a world with all that is good in it still there, but no sin - you are imagining heaven.

In the presence of God and the absence of sin, there can be no suffering - no unhappiness of any kind - no decay or aging - no death - no experience of loss - no reason for grieving. There can only be life, joy, peace.

When we are suffering, and finding this life a trial, then this aspect of heaven is a wonderful encouragement. When we are enjoying this life, feeling that everything is pretty good, then that will still be nothing compared with heaven. Heaven will be like the occasional glimpses we get of God, our mountain top experiences. Tackling sin in our lives will be a great preparation for heaven.

The third aspect of heaven for which we can prepare is that it will be a communal experience. Heaven is a place where we will be able to have fellowship not only with God but also with the rest of God’s people there. The Bible talks about people in heaven being together and worshipping God. We have images such as the wedding banquet, and in verse 2 the Holy City. A city is a place where many people all live together. V3 ‘God will dwell with them, they will be his peoples, God himself will be with them’. It’s all plural - this will not be an individual experience.

In this life, many of the problems we have stem from difficulties between people. There might even be some people in the church whom the prospect of spending eternity with does not seem like your idea of heaven.

But whatever it is you don’t like about them - great news - that will be sorted out in heaven! They will be changed, and so will you, so that you can have not just perfect fellowship with God, but also perfect fellowship with other people. That will make all sorts of wonderful things possible which are just not possible now, including everyone getting on well together.

Benjamin Franklin, who as well as being a founder of the United States, was also a printer, penned his own epitath:

The Body of B. Franklin, Printer

Like the Cover of an old Book

Its contents torn out,

And stript of its Lettering and Guilding,

Lies here, Food for Worms,

But the Work shall not be wholly lost:

For it will, as he believ'd,

Appear once more

In a new & more perfect Edition,

Corrected and amended by the Author.

So we prepare for heaven by spending time with other Christians not focussing on their flaws (which God will sort out), but on their good points (which will endure for ever). The best preparation is to worship God together.

There is much more that I could say, but time doesn’t permit. But do look out for other references to heaven in the Bible, and think how they might help you prepare.

Having explored what heaven is like, the other question is - when do we go there? There seem to be two different aspects of this presented in the Bible.

Firstly, there is what Jesus said on the cross to the thief, as we heard in our gospel reading. ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise’

How do we square this with other passages on the resurrection, such as 1 Corinthians 15 which talks about the dead being raised at the end of time when Christ returns, having been asleep. Also, the new creation in Revelation 21.

Putting together everything which the Bible says about heaven, and what will happen after we die, it is fairly clear that there is a two stage process. (My understanding of this has been helped immensely by reading a book called Surprised by Hope’ by Bishop Tom Wright.) After we die, there will be a period of waiting. This is not purgatory, but of being with Jesus, held in God’s love. If you like, that is being ‘in heaven’, for it is in God’s presence. But it is described as a period of rest, sleep and waiting. If even an executed criminal can be there with Jesus, then all who trust in him can surely expect to be there too.

And what is being waited for is the new creation. At the end of time, Christ will come, and the dead will be raised. There will be a new creation - a new heaven and earth, as described in Revelation 21. And there will also be new bodies - resurrection bodies for those who are in Christ. We will then live in the new creation, with God, with a new body. That is the ultimate Christian hope. Not for a vague ethereal existence, but a real, solid one, in God’s presence without sin and with each other. That is a richer hope than simply going to heaven when we die.

So as we contemplate what will happen after we die - our heavenly presence with God, involving both waiting and resting in his presence, and living with him in a physical new creation, we can now see how we might store up treasure in heaven, by the way we live now.

· As we get to know more about the Lord, and practice being in his presence, we are storing up treasure in heaven.

· As we seek to live godly lives, submitting to the will of God, not focussing on our own short term happiness, we are storing up treasure in heaven.

· As we seek good fellowship with our fellow Christians - in St Peters and St Francis, with those in other churches and other denominations, we are storing up treasure in heaven.

This world is shadowy and temporary, compared with our hope of heaven. The new heaven and new earth will be the true and permanent reality.

God has told us quite enough for us to know how to get ready. If you would prepare to go on holiday, how much more should you prepare for heaven. That is our Christian discipleship - spending this life preparing for eternal life, together with the rest of God’s people, in the presence of our righteous and loving heavenly Father.

Questions

1) How do you imagine heaven? What common images are helpful, and what are misleading?

2) If someone asked you to explain what happens when we die, how would you answer them?

3) What things do you do which help you prepare for heaven, and how might you seek to be better prepared?

4) As you look back over the discipleship series, how has God spoken to you about the way you live your Christian life?

God's rescue from judgment and hell

Sunday 12^th December 2010 by Alan Walden

Romans. 8: 1-11

Gram Seed is an unusual name. It belongs to a very hard man. Gram Seed was a skinhead, a football hooligan, a burglar, and was charged with murder. He spent much of his early adult life in prison. His mother gave up on him. She told him he was “the son of Satan” - evil like his father, who he’d never seen. She said, “I don’t want nought to do with you. You’re dead as far as I’m concerned.”

He grew up in the roughest part of Teesside with his Gran who was drinking and taking drugs all the time. His life revolved around drugs and alcohol and sex and violence. After 3 years of living rough, he collapsed and went into a coma in 1996 and was not expected to survive. His mother was called to the hospital by the doctors to sign the papers to switch of his life support.

You might think that he had it coming, that he was suffering the consequences of sin in his life. You might more sympathetically see him as a victim of the sins of others. He was an example of what our reading describes as the law of sin and death at work.

Most of us have not experienced that level of criminality in our own life. If we know God and have an inner desire to serve him, then we can stay on the level, can’t we? Yes, and no. The problem is our own human weakness. Even when we know what is right, we find it difficult to do.

The experience of struggling with condemnation is one which St Paul wrote memorably in the section just before our reading in Romans today. (You might want to turn to Romans 7:19 ‘I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do’ and then verse 24 ‘Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Our trouble is the very nature of our humanity, what is referred to in the reading in Chapter 8 as our ‘flesh’. Human nature, human flesh is selfish, sinful, and rejects God (verse 7). ‘the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.’

If we live according to our flesh, according to our human nature and desires, then we are heading to death and separation from God, as Gram Seed was. Not in the same way, or at the same speed, but just as surely.

Elsewhere, Paul (in Galatians 5:19-21) distinguishes neatly for us between the works of the flesh, and the fruit of the Spirit:

'Now the works of the flesh are obvious’ he says. His list is tamer than what brought Gram Seed down, perhaps we can more easily find our own weaknesses here. It includes: enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness. Paul writes ‘I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.’

The endpoint of living according to the flesh is what Jesus called hell - final, eternal separation from God. What else can be possible ultimately for those who reject God? That is not God’s choice but the choice of those who go away from him. Such separation is necessary for justice and righteousness to be maintained. God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. It is not God’s will for anyone to be in hell. But people have a strong tendency to reject God.

We need rescuing, and God has a rescue plan. It is Christ in us. V1 of Romans 8 delivers that great gospel message: ‘There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’. Rescue is available from God for us - even for Gram Seed.

When Gram’s mother turned up at the hospital, she found some lads who’d been trying to tell him about Jesus when he was on the streets. (He had gone after them, and chased them away). They had come to visit him. They asked, “Can we pray for your son?” and she said, “Yes, but you know they’ve given up on him.” And they said, “We know someone who loves him and wants to help him.” So they went into his room in intensive care and prayed for Gram. They said: “In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, give this man new life.” And by his own account, he woke up and started breathing. He was miraculously healed from both his illnesses and his addictions.

Gram said `Four days later, my mother told me about them praying to Jesus, and I said, “What does Jesus want to know about a scumbag like me for?” I heard all these stories about Jesus. When I came out of hospital I wanted to look into it.’ He did just that - he turned up at an Alpha course, and ended up dedicating his life to God.

The Law of Life sets us free from sin and death. There is a life and death battle going on - sin taking us in the direction of death and separation from God, and hell.

But Christ offers freedom from that battle. He does it because he came as a human being, he was condemned for us and died for us on the cross. So he gave us the Spirit which gives life, our rescue from the law of sin and death.

When I was at college, training for ministry, one of the most sought after visits was to the prison. Going to a prison, and having the privilege of preaching the gospel there, was known to be a really satisfying and enriching experience. People would return with amazing stories of people who are physically in prison, but have been set free in their hearts by the Spirit of God, by Jesus Christ.

There is a powerful and effective Christian ministry within prisons, and often that those people who are physically in prison but know Christ are more free than those who are out of prison but in captivity inwardly.

The remarkable thing about God’s rescue plan is that it is not just an external thing. Christ’s victory over death was not just an event which happened somewhere which we can assent to. When we accept Christ it transforms us. So much so that Paul can say in v9 ‘You are not in the flesh’. You are not in the flesh, ‘you are in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God lives in you’ Even though we are in a body which sins, which is perishing and which will die, because of Christ in us we have eternal life. What a wonderful transformation.

Verse 6 ^'To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.'

Gram Seed was totally transformed by Christ in him. He wanted to tell people about Jesus. Having been rescued and given new hope, he wanted to share that with other people. He started a prison ministry. After 10 years in prison trying to get out, he now spends all his time trying to get back in!. You can read more in his autobiography ‘One Step Beyond’.

Rescue comes from knowing Christ, setting our minds on him, and inviting his Spirit to come and live in us. Gram Seed did exactly that. If God can do that for him, he can certainly do it for us.

As disciples of Christ, the life which we have is God’s life. Our human nature is still at work, we are liable to sin, we are subject to sickness and ultimately to death. But with God in us, we can be confident that death is ultimately defeated. Everything which is not of God will die, but the more we are in God, the more we will defeat death and live on.

There is a life and death battle going on. Death, sin and our flesh versus life, hope and peace. Which will win? Well Christ has assured us of the victory, by defeating death for us.

The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) include love, joy, peace. If we know Christ, then we should also know the fruit of the Spirit growing in us. (Also patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.)

God has done amazing things in the life of Gram Seed. He now runs Sowing Seeds Ministries, aimed at taking God's message of hope and love to prisoners and ex-offenders.

God’s rescue plan is for us to know Christ, to set our minds on him, to invite his Spirit to come and live in us. Gram Seed did exactly that - if God can do it for him, he can certainly do it for us.

As disciples, we are called to be open to Christ at work in us. We can be confident that he has done everything needed for our freedom - from condemnation, from being spiritually held captive by our sins, from the road to destruction. Whatever darkness we know, God’s life and light can overcome it when we are in Christ and he is in us. And so as we wait to be united with Father, he assures us by his Spirit that in Christ we have life and peace. Amen.

Questions

1) How have you experienced God’s rescue - in your own life and in the life of people you know?

2) Take some time to reflect on you human weakness, considering the list in Galatians 5:19-21. You may want to share with your group, but don’t feel obliged.

3) How does Christ’s victory over sin and death help us in our Christian discipleship?

4) Re-read Romans 8:1-11. As Christians we have assurance that there is no condemnation. How does this make you feel?

God’s life even in death

Sunday 5th December 2010 by Mavis Wilson

Readings: Genesis 23:1-8, 25:7-11; Romans 8: 31-39; John 11:17-27.

Life is very precious and we do all we can to preserve and protect life. Some people spend the whole of their working lives protecting the life of others – doctors, medical staff, emergency service personnel, for example. We do not usually spend a lot of time thinking about our death and if we did so we would probably be rather neurotic.

The traditional themes for Advent in the Book of Common prayer - those rather sombre ones of death, judgement, heaven and Hell, have been somewhat watered down in more recent years into Patriarchs, prophets John the Baptist and Mary. All worthy enough but this year it seemed important to dare to look at the more sombre themes and see how they affect us all. This week we consider ‘God’s life even in death’.

The only two certainties about human life are that we each have a beginning, our birth and an ending, our death. We cannot remember our birth and most of us prefer not to imagine our death. But a realistic look at our end and a sensible preparation may bring us some unexpected blessings.

In todays OT reading we hear about Abraham who had set out many years before on a journey of which the end was completely unknown to him. In the course of his long and demanding life journey he had learnt to trust God in a profound way. But neither his trust in God nor his many blessings prevented him from being bereaved and when his wife died he made plans not only for her burial but also for his.

The passage tells how he has to do a deal with his Hittite neighbours who own the land which he needs for a burial place. Rather like people coming to the parish office to book a space in the churchyard! Abraham’s negotiations are a kind of sophisticated dance of offering and bargaining and there is obviously a lot of mutual respect between the two parties; but in the end he buys a cave and there Sarah and later he too are buried.

How practically prepared are you for the arrangements for your death? How do you want to be cared for when you may become too old to care for yourself? In my experience of taking funerals the more the person who has died had made it clear what they would like the better it is for the people who are left behind grieving and the less sense of guilt there is if people have been able to be open with each other during the last years and months of life.

Making a will, planning a service, being clear while allowing others freedom to make decision too is a great blessing and makes for a good ending. A funeral then becomes something done within a pattern of good relationships and hopefully with a trusting sense of God’s presence and in a spirit of thanksgiving. All this is life giving for people left behind.

But there are more than practical preparations - as we face in to death we need to be spiritually in a place of peace with God. As Christians we believe that Jesus is always present with us, but it is so easy to lose touch with him. We need to practice God’s presence in the every day experience of our lives.

How could St Paul be so definite that nothing could separate him from the love of Christ?

For two reasons I think. Firstly he had really discovered the truth about what Jesus had done for him. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He writes at the beginning of Romans 8. He understood that God had accepted Jesus’ work on the Cross as setting aside all the old claims of the Law which would have certainly reckoned him, and us, sinners. By God’s grace Christ came to overcome all the powers of death and sin for us and to set free from their influence all who trust in him.

Secondly Paul had lived through myriad testing experiences in his Christian discipleship and had found Christ to be faithful and present with him in them all. He had endured trials of all kinds. He had been ill. He really had fought against destructive religious, civil, political and demonic powers and had been rescued form them. He had trusted God, like Abraham, in every circumstance of a challenging life. No wonder he could be confident that nothing could separate him from God’s love - not even death. He had already put God to the test and found God faithful.

Is that the God whom we know? Do we have that kind of relationship with Christ by the Spirit? Do we bring all the circumstances of our lives to him in prayer? Do we ask for his presence and help every moment of every day? If our lives over the years have tested God’s faithfulness it will be easier, much easier to face death with calmness and hope.

We need too to have a clear conscience before God. That may involve keeping short accounts with others and not letting the sun go down without making peace with anyone whom we have hurt or offended or who has hurt or offended us. We need to be free of any sin or evil doing which might be on our conscience and here too the habits of a lifetime may help. We need to confess our sins and shortcomings to one another or to a soul friend or confessor. Maybe you think this is not a part of the tradition of the Church of England but it is. The group of curates who I tutor listened to a wise and experienced priest who hears people’s confessions and from experience I know that this can be a most liberating and life giving thing to do. That is why the notice about Advent and speaking to one of the clergy appeared on the Newsletter last week. It is just an invitation to people to come and receive something which they may find liberating and life giving.

In today's Gospel reading Jesus stood in front of a tomb containing the body of his friend. This incident is recalled in every funeral service where we use a prayer about Jesus grieving at Lazarus’s tomb. Jesus shouted out to Lazarus the command to come out. All Jesus’ faith in God’s trust in him was tested. He summoned every ounce of energy to call upon God to hear him. And Lazarus came out of the tomb - a mighty sign that Jesus embodied the life which could not ultimately be defeated.

That did not ultimately protect him form facing his own death. In that experience on the Cross he too had to trust totally in the faithfulness of God to raise him from death. But that resurrection life was in him just as it will be in us if we trust him with all that we have been, are and shall be.