Revelation 21:1-4 “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no
more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven
saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from
their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall
be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Over the three day holiday
weekend, our family drove up to Bass Lake, California to introduce my dad to
his great grand-daughter Scarlett Ann. Whenever we visit the lake, we be sure
to join dad at his church “The Little Church in the Pines for Sunday Worship
Services. Pastor Rolff is going through
a Sermon series titled “The Good News” and this Sunday, he was preaching on the subject of “the Good
News of Heaven”. Pastor Rolff stated that despite how amazingly wonderful Heaven is, we don’t spend much time
thinking beyond this world that we live in to the world to come. Putting almost
all of our time, talents and treasures into the “stuff” of today’s here and now
shows that we put too much importance in the things of this world. We buy
bigger houses to hold it all and sometimes our house is part of our stuff also.
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and
where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Look at your checkbook register or
monthly bank statement for your credit and debit cards and see where your heart
is.
2 Corinthians 5:1 explains “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a
building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
We know that this life is only temporary, yet, how much do we
think about this eternal house in heaven? There are no U-haul trailers being pulled
behind the Hurst
to the cemetery. You cannot take it with you when you go. The one with the most stuff at the end leaves it all behind. It's not just about "what on earth am I here for", but then what? Where then?
Ecclesiastes 5:15
“Everyone comes
naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.”
1 Timothy 6:7 “For we brought nothing into the world,
and we can take nothing out of it.”
Job 1:21 “Naked I came
from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Let’s continue Pastor Herk’s
Sermon on Heaven tomorrow.
In Christ, Brian
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