Hope

What do you think of when you hear the word "hope"? What comes to mind? Christmas will be here soon. Is there something special that you really hope to receive? Or as you plan for the future, is there some particular place you really hope to visit, or something you hope to be able to do?

Sunday, December 3 will be the first Sunday of Advent. There are four consecutive Sundays of Advent leading up to Christmas day, each with a Bible theme. The theme this Sunday is HOPE.

There are many directions we could go with this, but I would like to consider our hope in Christ. There are several different Scriptures that speak of hope, but I would like to look at one that we probably don't often think of in terms of hope. Here it is:

But those who wait on the LORD

Shall renew their strength; 

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

 We don't always think of this verse because we don't always think about needing renewed strength. As you grow older, you tend to tire easier. You need endurance. If you are young and active in athletics, you need muscle strength and coordination. When facing hard or trying times, you need mental or even spiritual strength. Let's look at the passage.

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. In ancient Hebrew, to "wait" (v. 31a) means to wait actively with anticipation, hopefully watching for God to act. We pray for our needs, strength, or endurance, then we actively wait on God's answer, knowing that He will give you the strength you need.

"Strength" (v. 31b) refers to power, might, or fierceness. However, this same Hebrew word also can refer to courage. In fact, courage is derived from strength, but not strictly from physical strength. It is God's strength, spiritual strength that the Lord supplies.

Note how Isaiah describes this inner spiritual strength and courage. "They shall mount up with wings like eagles" (v. 31c). Eagles fly high and fast, swooping down quickly for their prey, then back up they go high in the sky. That takes strength beyond measure, the type of strength God promises to give you when you wait on Him, trusting Him by faith and placing all hope in Jesus.

God also promised to give you endurance when you wait on Him. Isaiah said that when your hope is in God and you wait on Him, He will take care of you. Specifically, Isaiah said, "They shall run and not be weary" (v. 31d). Getting your second wind from the Lord ls an amazing experience.

Finally, Isaiah said, "They shall walk and not faint" (v. 31e). Again, in ancient Hebrew, the word "faint" means to be grieved or tormented or fatigued. Isaiah said, however, that if your hope is in Jesus, you trust in Him as your Lord and Savior, and you walk with Him daily, you will never tire. You will never tire of worshiping and serving Jesus. Amen.

Keep an Eye on the Sky

We should all be ready to meet Jesus, that is, all true believers. We should walk in the power of the Spirit, always keeping an eye on the sky, watching for Jesus to return and catch us up into the air to be with Him forever. That is how most true believers lived in the early New Testament church.

The believers in Thessalonica were becoming concerned. It had now been some time since Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into heaven. They were faithfully keeping an eye looking toward heaven expecting Jesus to return, while faithfully walking with Him. Like us, they fully expected Jesus to come at any moment and call them home to spend eternity with Him. But where was He?  Loved ones began to die. What would become of them?

Paul wrote the believers in Thessalonica to comfort those among them who mourned departed loved ones. Paul told them not to be concerned about their fellow believers who had died and were buried. He didn't want them to be sorrowful and mourn "as others who have no hope" (1 Thess. 4:13b). Then he made a remarkable statement of truth that must have sent shivers up their spine. "If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus" (v. 14). That's right! We will not leave them behind, but rather, when Jesus comes back to gather us unto Himself, "the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (vv. 16-17). From that moment forward "we shall always be with the Lord" (v. 17b).

Peter spoke to this same issue when writing the believers who were scattered throughout Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). He told them to remember this truth: "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). He told them that God wasn't procrastinating or reneging on His promise, but was being "longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (v. 9).

Peter was telling them not to worry. The Lord's delay is to allow more time for people to be saved. In other words, He is not being slow or lazy; He is being longsuffering. He is making time to allow His kingdom to grow. He would prefer that none "should perish but that all should come to repentance."

Returning to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul was saying not to worry about your loved ones who have gone on before you. They will not miss out on anything. In fact, they will meet Jesus in the air before we do. When God calls us home, or when God summons us to heaven at His return, "the dead in Christ will rise first" (v. 16b) and the rest of us who are still alive "shall be caught up together with them in the clouds" (v. 17) to be with Jesus. We will spend all eternity with the Lord. These are to be words of comfort.

What Paul describes in these verses is often referred to as the "Rapture." The word rapture does not occur anywhere in Scripture. The Greek word used here is harpazo. It is translated as "caught up" in our English translations. Latin translates this word as rapturo, which is where we get our English word rapture.

The rapture of the church means that we will all be transformed; our bodies changed in an instant. "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51-52). What better description can there be of the Rapture?

The Rapture will come as a surprise, perhaps when we least expect it. No one can know the day or the hour. It "comes as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2b). "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober" (vv. 4-6). So we are to keep an eye on the sky while walking in the Spirit, watching for Jesus to come and snatch us away. Amen.

The Heavenly City of God

John concludes Revelation 21 by pointing out the absolute glory of the heavenly city of God, indicating just how glorious heaven will be: "But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light" (vv. 22-23).

All of God's people, all who have been saved by the blood of Christ, will walk in the light of God's glory forever (v. 24). Heaven has no temple, because there we will have the Lord God, Father and Son, whom we will worship. There is neither sun nor moon because the light comes from God. He is our light. Jesus is our light. 

Heaven will be so glorious that the city gates of this heavenly city of God will remain open every day, all day. In fact, "there shall be no night there" (v. 25). So the gates are always open. Anything that brings honor and glory will be allowed in (v. 26). But anything evil or sinister, "anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie" (v. 27a) will not be allowed to enter this heavenly city of God. Only the people of God, "those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life" (v. 27b), will be allowed to enter this glorious heavenly city of God. All glory and honor will be brought into the holy city through its gates which are never shut. No bad thing will find entrance. Heaven is all good and only true believers, God’s true people, will be there.

Of course, no description of heaven would be complete without mentioning the tree of life. Revelation 22 indicates that the tree of life is right in the center of everything. Coming directly from God's heavenly throne is "a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal" (v. 1). This river of life was flowing right down the middle of the street, and the tree of life was on either side of the river, apparently twelve such trees because they yield twelve different fruits with "each tree yielding its fruit every month" (v. 2a). Its leaves were used for healing (v. 2b), not likely the idea of healing a wound or curing a disease, but the idea of therapy that promotes good health and wellness.

There will be no more curse (v. 3a). God and Jesus will be in our midst and we will serve Him (v. 3b). We will see Jesus face to face and our foreheads will bear His name (v. 4). We are His people and He will lay claim on each one of us by engraving His name on our foreheads. Jesus will make it clear that we are His people.

Again, what a beautiful place! Let your imagination run wild with the thought of heaven. It is the most beautiful and peaceful place you could ever imagine. The crystal clear “water of life” coming from the throne of God, the throne of Jesus, with the “tree of life” growing on either side of the river. The curse is gone! We will see Jesus face to face and serve Him gladly. No night, no day; God lights the way. No pain, no sorrow, no tears, just pure joy and blessing. And most importantly, heaven is forever! Just imagine; spending all eternity in the presence of Jesus. Amen.

The Joy of Heaven

It has been a long time since my last Bible Insight, four weeks in fact. For a month now, I have been out of pocket and unable to make any entries. I have spent this past month in two hospitals and one rehab center. This may sound crazy, but I believe I went three days and three nights with very little food or sleep. I was experiencing hallucinations everywhere I looked. I was seeing things that weren't there; things that didn't exist. Funny looking people who were all mute, were everywhere. They were all through my house, walking right through the walls. I would look out my living room window and they covered the yard. It seemed they wanted to harm me in some way. I knew they were not really there, they didn't exist, yet it seemed so real to me. It was a horrible experience. I can tell you this, I don't ever want to go through any such ordeal ever again.

Finally, I called the lead elder of my church and he tried to help me but I still saw them. I also grew so weak that I could no longer walk or even stand by myself. He took me to emergency at the local hospital, where I was admitted. I had a scrape on the back of my ankle. I had it treated, but it got an infection: cellulitis. The infection had worked its way to my brain causing the hallucinations. They began to give me antibiotics, but my heart started racing, beating at well over 100 beats per minute. So off I went to Mercy West Hospital in West Des Moines, where they were able to get my heart back to normal.

They then sent me back to Greenfield Rehab and Care Center. Finally, after about two weeks there, working with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, I am back home. And oh, how good it feels to be home again. If you listen to my podcast each week, where I upload my Sunday morning messages, you will see I haven't preached for five consecutive Sundays, but this coming Sunday, November 12, I will be back in the pulpit and my messages will again be available on my podcast (pastorlaott.buzzsprout.com). Now on to today's Bible Insight.

The saints that have gone before us, all believers who have already died on earth, will be in heaven awaiting the rest of us to join them. "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor. 5:1). Jesus also assured His disciples that He was leaving for a purpose: "to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). And when He is ready He "will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (v. 3).

This is describing the present, original heaven, but change is coming. Peter reveals, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Pet. 3:10). But God is all set to create a new heaven and a new earth, a new earth with "no more sea" (Rev. 21:1b).

There is "a new heaven and a new earth" (v. 1a). This heaven and this earth is destroyed and replaced! There is also a "New Jerusalem" (v. 2). The old imperfect is replaced with the new and perfect. So, heaven is indeed a new and beautiful place.

God is there to reside with us and to be with us, as He is our God (v. 3). All things good are in heaven. There will be no more tears because death and sorrow do not exist in heaven, so there will be no crying. Even pain is gone, never to be felt again. Those things will have all "passed away" (v. 4). The current heaven would also have no pain or sorrow. In that sense, it will be much the same.

This city that John saw coming down from heaven, "the holy city, New Jerusalem" (v. 2) is then described in detail; and oh, how beautiful it will truly be. Again, we see that heaven is absolutely beautiful, elegant, in fact. Not only is the "New Jerusalem" (v. 2) perfect in every way, but it is also elegantly constructed of fine, "pure gold, like clear glass" (v. 18b) or "transparent glass" (v. 21b), along with many other precious stones (vv.18-21).

How could anyone not long for such a home? Remember, Paul said, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20). Heaven is ultimately our home; the home of every true believer. Amen.