Better by Far 好得無比 3-2-08
INTRODUCTION
Let me begin with a question for you: do you miss home? Some of you may think: what do you mean? I just left home a couple hours ago. Yeah, I confess that it took some mental effort to drag myself up from the bed. But I don’t miss my home that desperately. Or some other people had the privilege to go back to your hometown just the recent Chinese New Year or last year when your kids were out of school for summer or winter break. That may be considered my home. So it is just a matter of definition when talking about “home.” But think of it this way. All those homes will eventual go away. But the Bible says that God prepares an eternal home for human.
But you may think if heaven is only about the future then why do we need to pay attention to it now? Some people may respond: I don’t have time 沒空去想to think about heaven now. I have enough trouble to deal with tomorrow. I have a project due next week. If I don’t work hard enough I may be a victim in the next layoff ordeal. I need to save up money for my kids’ college fund and for my retirement. Yet other people may think: I don’t need to think about heaven不用多想? I have full confidence that I will get there someday. Why not spend time to enjoy the here and now? But the fact is, the decisions we make in our earthly life世上的生命can somewhat carry eternal consequences. Therefore, the issue affects not only our future as much as our everyday life. So let us talk about heaven today.
Q1 –
First of all is heaven a state or a place? Is that where a bunch of spirits hovering around in a fuzzy manner in a vacuum? Or do they live in a physical location like a building? The Bible uses a few different words to describe heaven, which leads us to conclude that heaven is an actual place. In John 14:2-3 when Jesus was about to say farewell to the disciples at the last supper He reminded them that “In 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.” Three different words are used in verse 2. The word “house” can refer to either the building 房子where people live or the family 家庭itself. Then there is the word “rooms,” which can be understood as “living space,” as in the Chinese translation. As for the word “place” it talks about a locale where things are stored or something happens or people dwell.
In Hebrews 11:14-16a when talking about the faith of the
ancestors of
In the
second half of Heb.
Q2 – WHY IS
HEAVEN A
If heaven is a real place then why is it a paradise that people will long to go there? Is there unlimited mahjong? Never ending buffet? Endless TV drama? Abundant supply of Italian sports cars? Whether or not heaven has any of those things will be known when we get there. But the Bible gives us clear information why heaven is a place better by far.
A. God’s Eternal Presence 神永恆的同在
Rev. 21:3 says: “And 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.’” The word “dwelling” should be more appropriately translated as “tabernacle” in the KJV or in the Chinese translation. For the Jewish readers when they come across this term they would naturally relate it back to the tabernacle their ancestors once carried when they were wandering in the wilderness for forty years. The tabernacle is like a tent and is in essence a portable temple. When God asked the Israelites to settle at a certain place they would erect the tabernacle so that they can worship God. The tabernacle represents the presence of God among His people. In heaven God will dwell with His people forever.
Another indication of God’s forever presence is in Rev. 21:16: “The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia (that is about 1,400 miles) in length, and as wide and high as it is long.” The New Jerusalem is cubic in shape. It may not mean anything to us but to a typical Jew he would immediately think of the Holy of Holies. Let us read from 1 Kings 6:20: “The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high.” That is about 30 feet in length, width and height.
What is the
big deal about all that? In the Old Testament era God’s presence with His
people was temporary and localized 地區性through the tabernacle and later replaced by the temple. The
Israelites had to go to the tabernacle or the temple to meet with God. When it
came to the New Testament Jesus lived among the people. One of His titles is
Immanuel, meaning God with us. When Jesus ascended to the heaven the Holy
Spirit was sent to live among all the believers. The apostle Paul says we the
believers are the
B. God’s Eternal Blessing 神永恆的祝福
Then Rev. 21:4 continues “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.” When I prepared this message I had a terrible toothache. I have never had a toothache all my life. I thought: how good it would be that there will be no more toothache in heaven! But I can imagine that very often the pain we suffer in this earthly life is not of physical nature. But in heaven all the separation分離, rejection拒絕, oppression欺壓, hatred仇恨, bitterness 苦毒and every effect as a result of sin will be canceled. John uses the term “the old order of things” to describe the situation in our earthly life. Death, being the ultimate curse of sin, will also be conquered.
Let us jump
to Rev. 22:1-2 as John continues to describe
this eternal city: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as
clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down
the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the
tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” When is the
last time we read about the tree of life? In Genesis
In summary heaven will be a paradise because heaven will be a like the Garden of Eden all over again!
Q3 – WHO IS QUALIFIED TO GO TO HEAVEN? 誰有資格進天堂？
This may be the most important question we need to ask. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” Jesus is the only way through which we can enter into heaven. In one of Jesus’ teaching recorded in Matthew 7:21 He explains that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Here Jesus is not talking about the qualification for those who will enter heaven but rather the evidence of those who have been qualified. If a person says that he is a Christian, then God will examine if he has a desire in his heart to follow His will.
Those of who attended the Chinese New Year celebration organized by Life Renewal Fellowship may remember a drama depicting four people who are forbidden to go to heaven. Remember who they represent? Those groups of people are those who believe that they can use their wealth財富, power權力, education 學問and good work 善行to gain entrance into heaven. But only the fifth person who admits that he is a sinner, truly believes that Jesus Christ died for his sin on the cross and accepted Christ as his Savior is allowed to enter heaven. If God is the host of heaven then it is up to Him to decide what the qualification is in order for a person to enter heaven.
The seminary I used to study at located in a rather affluent community. It is surrounded by huge mansions. My wife and I like to study architecture a little. I always thought it would be quite an experience if the host of one of those huge mansions would invite us to go inside and take a look. Of course, that never happened. But fortunately one of my wife’s sisters has a brand new big house. Although there are bigger and more beautiful houses than that everywhere but 4,000 square feet is big enough for me. I enjoy staying there every time we visit her family. See, I am allowed to get into this big house and stay there for a few days only because my sister-in-law and her husband give me permission. And such permission is granted because I married her sister. In the same way if it is not because God give us permission no one can enter heaven. Such permission is only given to those who have eternal relationship with Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Nowadays some people seek divorce because they firmly believe that they have married the “wrong person.” To these people who look for an easy way out get stuck in an unhappy marriage may be painful. But for those who do not love God in this life if they are to receive admittance to heaven to praise God forever that may be the biggest torture and curse.
Q4 – HOW TO PREPARE OURSELVES FOR HEAVEN? 我們該如何準備進天堂？
You say: I am confident that I will go to heaven some day. Good! What difference does it make for my life today? There are many things we can talk about but let me suggest a few of them.
A. Live Like A Citizen of Heaven 活像天堂公民
Paul in Colossians 3:2-4 reads “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Does it mean that we just do nothing and meditate on heaven every day? Of course not! Paul gets into the specifics in the next few verses. From a negative standpoint he warns us to get rid of our old sinful behavior. Verse 5 goes on to say “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Then jump to verses 8-10 “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Then on the positive side Paul continues to encourage us in verses 12-14 of the same chapter: “12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Everything comes down to a general rule like this: if you say that you are a believer of Christ then you are a citizen of heaven on earth. The way you lead your live should help people around you long for heaven. Say if I tell you that I am the representative for a hair re-growth product and I am the living proof of how great the product works, would you believe it? Of course, that is just a joke. But you get the idea here. Sometimes we are hesitant to tell our friends, neighbors and coworkers that we are Christians for fear that they may scrutinize our lives and see if we live up to what we believe to be true. But that is exactly why God puts us where we are. Yeah people around you may suspect that you are a Christian because you say grace at meals. But the way you treat your spouse, your children, and I may add your in-laws can say a lot about your relationship with Christ. How about if I ask what kind of a person you are at work? Or how about the joy and peace you display even when you encounter a tragic situation in life?
B. Live Like A Traveler on Earth 活像地上旅客
Hebrews
There is a story about an
American tourist who traveled to
If that is the case then how should we live
our life on earth? Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:19-21
that “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Essentially what Jesus
says is that we have to examine whether or not what we do here on earth has
eternal value. And no, it does not mean that everyone has to become a minister
or a missionary. Not that we ministers do not welcome competition at the market
place. But the simple truth is that, if everyone becomes a minister or a
missionary who go to your work place to share the gospel with your coworkers?
So when Jesus talks about “store up treasures in heaven” He has a wider scope
in view.
May I suggest a way of thinking that may be helpful? Some of us have a HP computer or printer at home. I think we all ought to have an HP in our hearts and minds. This HP stands for “heaven perspective天堂的視野.” Let me give a few examples. I know some Christians who purchased bigger houses, perhaps something with a large basement, because they want to invite people to have home gathering when they can study the Bible with believers and non-believers. Some Christians have very successful careers and get promotion quickly. But as they get blessed in their income they also enjoy more financial freedom to offer their money to support various Christian works. On the other side of the spectrum some Christians may defer a promotion because it may mean that they have to work longer hours or do more travel and thus end up having less time with their families. That is also HP! So depending on your particular situation you may have a different way to express your HP. Since we are on the topic of family allow me to say more. How concerned are you about the spiritual life of your children? I do not want to cause any extra guilty feeling in you for I know you love them but nowadays we all have a busy life. James Dobson of the Focus Family once said that the most important expectation he had for his children is one day they will “be there.” Be where? In heaven, of course.
CONCLUSION
There may be some other things you want to know about heaven
that we cannot cover today. But my prayer for you is that you will continue to
live this life on earth with a heaven perspective. This life may seem too short
for those who want to indulge themselves in all the treasures they can get. But
it may seem far too long for those who suffer in every kind of hardship. Heaven
may seem too intangible 難以捉摸to the former group of
people and too far-fetch for the latter group. But as the lyrics of the song
the members of Mustard Seeds and Good Soil presented earlier if eternity is
indeed far shorter than this earthly life then we had better be wise in
investing our life for eternity. Someone put it this way: this earthly life may
seem like the most beautiful heaven for those who believe in Christ but at the
same time it may seem like the worst hell the believers have to endure. Let me
conclude with two true stories.
Some time earlier Pastor Chou commented that we had lots of
people passed away in 2007 than before. It was either a member of our church or
some of our family members. That also included our beloved Pastor Kong-tao
Chiow. I remember on a particular morning Mrs. Chiow and one of their sons
asked Pastor Chou and I to go to the funeral home 墓園to pay final
tributes to Pastor Chiow before his body 遺體was cremated. Mrs. Chiow
looked calm when we met her. What I want to share next is not out of disrespect
but I just describe what I saw. Then the funeral home representative led us to
a small house where the cremation would take place. When the door opened and
Mrs. Chiow saw her husband laying there she burst into tear almost immediately.
I thought scene like that only happened in movies or on TV. Wondering what to
do next to comfort Mrs. Chiow God put an idea in my heart. I said to her “We
will see each other again.” It seems trivial that when we bid farewell we
always say “see you” to each other. In strict sense we can never be fully
certain what will happen in our lives before we really see each other again.
But to Christians when we say “see you” to each other we have full assurance
that it will happen whether on earth or in heaven.
Years ago I read a story about an old lady who was well-loved
by everyone in her church. One day her doctor told her that there was an
undetected tumor somewhere on her body. The doctor predicted that she probably
had six months to live. She asked her pastor to visit her. The pastor felt
sorry for what he heard. But she responded, “Don’t be. The Lord has been good
to me. I live a long life and now I am ready to go home.” Then the next few
minutes they talked about how to plan for the funeral service. You know as a
Christian one of the most glorious things you can ask for is how people should
organize your funeral. I once told my wife that if I should go to be with the
Lord sooner than her she has to remember to say this at my funeral “Please stop
scandalizing Vincent, for he can hear anything you say about him now.” Okay let
us go back to the story. After making all her requests about songs and
Scripture passage she added, “Oh pastor, there is one more thing. I want to put
my old Bible in one hand and a fork in another hand.” The pastor wanted to make
sure that he heard it correctly, “A fork?” The lady went on to explain. “In the
many years I have associated with this church one thing I cherish most is the
various banquets I attended. Toward the end of the meal at some of those really
nice gatherings a person sitting next to me would whisper to me ‘Keep the
fork.” Do you know what that means? Dessert is coming! You don’t need a fork
for pudding or ice-cream. So it has to be something better, perhaps a slice of
pie or cake. So when people pass by my casket at my funeral they may wonder:
why the fork? Then I want you to remind people I keep my fork because something
better far is yet to come.”