We Have This Hope
Nathan Hall
Midland SDA Church
April 23, 2022
I want you to daydream with me this morning. Now, this shouldn’t be hard for anyone here today because, according to a Harvard study in 2010, people spend approximately 47% of their waking hours daydreaming.
So, in order to do that, I want you to close your eyes for a little bit. Now if closing your eyes makes you feel uncomfortable, you can still participate with your eyes open. The point is to try to block out any distractions.
Okay, so I want you to imagine that you’re standing outside on a beautiful day. Now, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing or where you’re at. The temperature is warm. The sky is clear and there is a gentle breeze that helps to balance out the warmth from the sun. The birds are singing and the flowers are in full bloom. There is life all around you.
Out of the corner of your eye, you notice something in the sky. It’s a small cloud. Now, this wouldn’t normally catch your attention, except that it’s the only cloud in the sky. As you look at the cloud, you notice that it seems to be getting bigger and brighter. It’s so subtle at first, that you wonder if you’re just imagining it. You are completely focused on this cloud, causing everything around you to seem like its stopped. Suddenly, you are startled by the sound of trumpets, followed by singing. You look around to see that everyone else is looking up too. As you return your gaze, you see that the cloud is surrounded by angels, there is a brilliant rainbow above the cloud and Jesus is looking right at you.
Okay, now open your eyes. As you were imagining all of this happening, I’m sure there was some sort of emotion you felt. I would guess that some of you may have started to feel a deep yearning, while others may have begun to feel a little bit of anxiety. And the rest were somewhere in between.
Now I don’t want to seem as if I know what the weather will be like on the day Christ returns. Instead, my desire today is to help bring this event to your mind as something you can legitimately expect to experience in your lifetime. As Seventh-Day Adventists, our very name proclaims that we are looking forward to the Second Coming of Christ. Yes, one day very soon, we will look up and see Jesus coming in the clouds of glory to take us home with Him.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Too often as humans, we subconsciously place this event in the category of things that will never happen in our lifetime. It’s so easy for this to happen though isn’t it. I mean, the Gospel has been preached for almost 2000 years since Christ’s resurrection. And over that time, everyone who has believed in His return has not experienced it. They have all died with that hope in their hearts. So why should we expect it to be different for us?
The Bible talks about Jesus’ second coming many times. And fortunately, there are many signs of His return that have been recorded for our benefit. All around us we see creation groaning (Romans 8:22). The birth pangs are coming in rapid succession. These signs include things such as wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, false christs/false prophets, and persecution, which we see in various places around the world. These things are causing men’s hearts to fail them from fear. Luke 21:28 reminds us that when we see these things begin to happen, we need to look up and lift up our heads, because our redemption draws near.
What about our relationships with others? As a society, we are divided like never before. And with the recent pandemic, I believe that we have seen glimpses of how rapidly our freedoms can be eroded for the sake of the common good. So, it is not hard to imagine how people will be betrayed and persecuted by their family, friends and neighbors. (Matthew 24:10-12).
In addition, the Bible says that the end will come once the gospel has been preached to all the world (Matthew 24:14). But, who’s to say when that occurs? It’s not like we have a gauge to measure the percentage of people in the earth that have heard about the message of salvation. In the Seventh-Day Adventist church alone, we have missionaries all of the world. In addition, there are radio, television and internet broadcasts that are helping to reach people in countries that don’t allow physical missionaries to be present. And that is only the Seventh-Day Adventist church. There are many other Christian denominations and organizations that have missionaries or do other types of mission work.
Yes, we can all see the signs of Jesus’ soon return. And it’s important to remember that these signs have been given to us so that we can be alert and ready. They are not meant to cause us fear. In Matthew 24:43-44, Jesus says that we should be watchful and alert as the owner of a home looking for a thief that would want to break in and steal. And since we do not know when His Second Coming will be, we need to maintain our alertness.
I believe that the final events will be rapid ones. And if we put off preparing ourselves daily, we will be unprepared both physically and spiritually, just as the five foolish virgins were.
But that is where the emphasis always seems to be placed though, isn’t it? For some reason, we like to focus on the part of the story that talks about what happens to those who were not prepared.
Today, I would like to focus on the five wise and prepared virgins. Now, all ten virgins fell asleep and all ten were surprised by the coming of the bridegroom. However, only 5 of them were ready to go into the feast with Him. Now, I want you to picture what it will be like when the bridegroom comes. For those who seek the Lord with all their hearts, who have a longing to be with Him for eternity, those who have been wise and have asked the Holy Spirit to dwell within them, they need not fear.
Just like the story of the ten virgins, we will all be surprised. That is why we should not focus on the signs we see. Rather we should focus on a daily commitment to preparing our hearts for what we see coming, by spending time in Bible Study and prayer. Do you see the difference? We should not spend all of our time obsessing with the latest news article or broadcast about the pandemic or the invasion of Ukraine. There should be a balance though, as we also should not be uninformed or unaware. Knowing all of the information about how terrible the world is does not prepare our hearts for His return. It’s knowing as much about Him as possible, choosing to follow in His footsteps. While growing closer to Him, our characters are brought more in line with His.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.
There is a wedding feast awaiting those who are ready to go in with the bridegroom, when He comes. And weddings seem to rank up there with the happiest of happy occasions in life. So, I’m picturing a joyful, celebratory, dare I say, surprise party? And there are no words that can fully describe how amazing that day will be. That will be a wonderful day when Jesus will come back to take us to Heaven. We will get to live with Jesus forever in Heaven and the New Earth. And we will get to leave behind all of the things that sin has corrupted in our lives.
What are some of the things that you will be happy to leave behind?
When I was six years old, my family moved to northwest Arkansas. My Dad had just started pastoring at a couple of small churches in the area. My parents bought a house in the country for us to live in. As we settled in to our new home, my parents noticed there was a huge tree in the back yard that appeared to be dying. Due to the close proximity to our home, they decided it would be safer to cut the tree down. So, my Dad enlisted the help of several men in our church and they all came over to help us cut it down. Since I was only six, I remember only a few things from that day. I remember shouting “Timber!” as the tree fell. Well, everyone left and went home. And it was up to my Dad to work on cutting up the tree into smaller, more manageable pieces over the next several weeks. One Sunday, he decided that he wanted to work on the tree some more. It was a beautiful day to be outside. My brother and I were outside with him while he was working. We were playing around and having a good time. We had been outside for several hours and it was almost time for us to go inside because we had to get ready for a wedding that my Dad was performing. Unfortunately, my Dad was having trouble with splitting the part of the tree he was working on. There was a huge knot in the wood and it would just not split apart. He had a sledge hammer and he was trying to drive an iron wedge down into the wood so it would split. He kept hitting it and hitting it. But nothing happened. He was getting tired and finally told me to back up because he was going to hit it one more time really hard and then we would go inside and get ready for the wedding. Now I don’t know how far away I was standing originally. But if I was anything like the six-year-old in my house, I was probably standing relatively close to my Dad watching him and talking to him. So when he told me to back up, I probably backed up about 6-8 feet from the original spot where I’d been standing. He took one huge swing with the sledge hammer and when he hit the wedge, it ricocheted off of the knot in the tree, popped up in the air, and landed on my foot. Now, I will spare you some of the remaining details. Eight days and 50 stitches later, I was released from the hospital to begin my recovery, which included learning how to walk again after losing my big toe.
And that is just one example of how I need to be made new. You see, we all bear those scars in one form or another. Maybe you have no physical scars, but they are instead emotional or mental. Whatever the case, we all have things that we want to leave behind, things that God will remove from our lives, when He fulfills His promise that all things will be made new. And the only scars that remain in Heaven will be on the forehead and in the hands, feet and side of Jesus, serving as a reminder of what He did for us.
ISAIAH 35:5-6
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.
Revelation 21:4-5
4 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. 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
In addition to having our bodies restored and perfected, emotionally, mentally and physically, we will be given gifts from our Lord. He will give us a crown*, a white robe+, a new name {}, a new home^ and eternal life~ with Him.
*1 Corinthians 9:25 Imperishable Crown, 2 Timothy 4:6-8 Crown of Righteousness, Revelation 3:11, Revelation 2:10 Crown of Life, 1 Peter 5:4 Crown of Glory, 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 Crown of Rejoicing
+Revelation 7:9-14
{} Revelation 2:17 and Revelation 3:12
^John 14:1-3
~John 3:16
And in gratitude and praise to our Savior, we will cast our crowns at His feet in worship. We do not deserve crowns, He does. And as a major part of our worship, there will be lots of music. Isaiah 35:10 tells us that the ransomed of the Lord shall come with singing. Revelation 14:3 goes on to say that we will sing a new song to the Lord.
Now we only have a limited description of that Holy City, the New Jerusalem. However, I believe that this speaks to how awesome it is and how incapable we are of comprehending its splendor and beauty. Through this glimpse of glory, we find out that the walls are made of jasper and the city is pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation is made up of twelve layers of various precious stones. There are twelve gates to the city, each one made up of a single pearl. The street is made of pure gold, like clear glass. Everywhere we look, we will see beauty and purpose. God has used only the very best materials in preparing our mansion for us. And there will be no need for a sun or moon since God’s glory will illuminate the city. Which for any kids listening today, probably means that there is no bed time there. Hmm, what do you think?
No longer will we have to worry about contaminates in our food or water as we will get to drink from the river of life and eat from the tree of life, which bears 12 different fruits. All of creation will once again live in harmony. There will be no more fear from humans or animals.
Isaiah 11:6-9
6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain.
However, it’s important to remember that as wonderful as all of this sounds, these things will not be our focus. Instead, our focus will be on the One who created all of it. Our prize is a face-to-face relationship with our Savior.
We will remain in Heaven for a thousand years. But have you ever actually thought about how long a thousand years will be? The average lifespan in the United States is just under 79 years old. So, most of us won’t even experience 10% of that total. According to the Guinness Book of World Records the oldest person, that has had their age independently verified, was Jeanne Louise Calment. She was approximately 122 ½ years old when she died in 1997, leaving her 878 years short of the mark. Now there are plenty of people in the Bible that are recorded as living into their 900s, but none of them reached 1,000 years old. One thousand years is a long time.
Fortunately, we do not have to worry about getting bored in Heaven. The list of things to do in Heaven will be limitless. Some of these things will include spending time with each other, getting to know our guardian angels, singing with the Heavenly choir, talking with champions of faith such as Abraham and Moses, sitting at Jesus’s feet and listening to Him tell us stories. One of the things my daughters say they want to do in Heaven is ride a cheetah. What about you? Is there anything that you want to do when you get to Heaven?
The Bible tells us that during the millennium, the wicked will be dead and Satan will be bound to the earth with no one to tempt. This will also be the time that we have to review God’s judgements over the wicked. We may wonder why someone we know is not in Heaven. God will give us that time to see the motives behind the decisions that person made and we will know beyond a doubt that God is a righteous judge, showing wisdom, mercy and love.
1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.
1 Corinthians 6:1-3
Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
Ultimately, anyone who wants to be with God for eternity will be in Heaven with Him. You see God wants all of His children to be there.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
And when the millennium finally draws to a close, the New Jerusalem will descend to the earth. This sin-battered planet of ours will be wiped clean and returned to the perfection that God had intended for us. The Bible tells us that Eden will be restored. And the best news of all is that Jesus Himself will live with us in the New Earth for eternity.
Now a thousand years may seem like a really long time. And it is. But what about the promise that we will have eternal life? Have you ever stopped and tried to wrap your mind around the fact that there will be no end to our lives with Jesus? In the world that we live in, everything has a beginning and an end. But in the New Earth, there will be no end to our lives. So, you just keep living and living and living and living and living and living and living, well you get the idea. If you think about it long enough it will make your head spin. Fortunately, we don’t have to understand everything right now. What God has revealed to us in scripture, paints a picture of a perfect paradise prepared for us by His own hand, where our favorite thing to do will be to spend time with Him. It will truly be the fulfillment of our heart’s desires.
Now I know what it’s like to feel anxious about the Second Coming of Christ. It’s easy to take a look at your own life and see that you don’t measure up. Maybe you’ve done some things you’re ashamed of, or you’ve simply not made consistent time for the Lord.
For those of you who may be thinking similar thoughts, I want to bring you hope. God is a God of second/third/fourth/500th chances. He knows you, your thoughts, your motives, your desires. He is working on you through the Holy Spirit, pleading with you to make that choice today. We are not worthy on our own, no, not one of us. Jesus is our only hope. And this is good news, because it helps us to focus less on our inadequacies and more on His act of love for us. When we accept His sacrifice on our behalf, His perfect record replaces ours so that someday soon, we will be able to be in Heaven with Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Satan, on the other hand, is the one who wants you to give up hope and not turn to God through confession and repentance. Satan is the one who wants to fill your life with bills to pay, things to fix, obligations to meet and things to entertain so that you literally have no time left for the Lord. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. It is up to each of us to decide how we spend them. Now is time to turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full into His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.
After all of this talking about how wonderful it will be to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven, I’m excited! What about you? Does it bring you joy and happiness to think about these things? And we aren’t the only ones. Do you think Jesus and the angels are excited to bring us home to Heaven? Have you ever thrown a surprise party for someone? One of the hardest parts about a surprise party is waiting for the day to come. And why is that? It’s because you’ve put a lot of love for that person into your plans, knowing the joy that it will bring to their face when they get to celebrate that special day with you.
Jesus tells us, in John 14:2-3, that He is preparing a place for us in Heaven and will come to take us there to be with Him. And when He does return, we will finally get to see with our eyes, what we’ve only been able to dream about on this earth. And talk about a party! It will be a celebration greater than any wedding feast you’ve ever been to.
Christ’s coming is very near. So, cling to Him and make Him your priority each day. And when the day finally comes that we see Him in the clouds, we can say, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him and He will save us.” Isaiah 25:9
https://www.adventist.org/who-are-seventh-day-adventists/heaven-and-the-new-earth/