1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
Life is a challenge- crazy world in which we live.
- Most people probably think the time they live in is the worst time to be alive
- I actually like being alive right now. Read anything about history, and you’ll see that the Creature comforts of life abound in this era, that did not before (auto, appliances, lights, heat, food etc)
- It’s actually less violent, people live longer, prices are cheaper, we can do more, travel more,
- Have more and be more than was ever possible.
- Documentary on NY- people in early 1900s showed up and lived in windowless tenements
- That was their whole life. No travel, no microwave, no mcd, no nothing.
- I think our lives become so encompassing, we focus too much on this life
- If you were hauling water every day and hunting for food you’d welcome death
- But also- I think that living in squalor, and seeing more death regularly (most everyone I Know would be dead) would make you think about heaven more.
1. You are going to die
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- Many people never attend a funeral in their lifetime because they don’t want to face the reality of their death- my dad never went to one. Not long before he died, talked about a coast to coast train trip. Bro- you cant walk yourself to the bathroom
- People don’t want to face the reality that people die every day
- Total Deaths: Approximately 3,090,582 deaths occurred in the U.S. in 2023.
- Life Expectancy: Life expectancy rose to 77.5 years in 2022,
- Leading Causes of Death: Heart Disease: Cancer: Unintentional Injuries: COVID-19: Stroke: chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases: Alzheimer’s Disease: Diabetes: kidney disease Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis
- Mortality Statistics from 100 Years Ago (1923):
- Life Expectancy: In 1920, life expectancy was approximately 54.1 years. Leading Causes of Death: Pneumonia and Influenza, Tuberculosis, Gastrointestinal Infections
- Comparative Analysis:
- Life Expectancy: Increased from about 54.1 years in 1920 to 77.5 years in 2022, reflects improvements in healthcare, nutrition, and living conditions.
- Leading Causes of Death: Shifted from infectious diseases to chronic conditions such as heart disease and cancer,
- Death Rate: The overall death rate has declined over the century. Less people die more often
- So you’re going to die for sure, but nowadays, you get 30 more years to prepare for it.
- Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
- You have an expiration date there is a time that is known by God that you are going to meet him and on that day, you will give an answer to how you have lived.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted.
- Heaven-Focused Lyrics in Hymns vs. Contemporary Worship
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- Hymns (Pre-20th Century to Early 1900s): Classic hymns such as “I’ll Fly Away,” “When We All Get to Heaven,” and “The Sweet By and By” emphasize the hope of heaven and the believer’s journey toward eternity.
- Research shows that between 1850 and 1950, about 40% of top hymns had a strong emphasis on heaven or the afterlife, often linking Christian endurance to heavenly rewards.
- Modern Worship Music (2000s to Present): A study by the Christian music chart database PraiseCharts found that modern worship songs from 2000 onward include heaven or eternity as a theme in fewer than 15% of the top songs. Today’s lyrics tend to focus more on God’s presence, personal healing, and immediate blessings or spiritual experiences.
- Shift from Future Hope to Present Assurance- Hymns and Gospel Songs: Songs from the early 1900s, such as “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Blessed Assurance,” often spoke of enduring present trials with a focus on heavenly reward and ultimate peace with God.
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- Current Worship Trends: Modern worship, exemplified by songs like “Gratitude” by Brandon Lake and “Trust In God” by Elevation Worship, places more emphasis on God’s intervention and faithfulness in present struggles. Worship analytics show that “present tense” words like “today” and “now” have increased in usage, while words like “heaven” and “eternity” have declined in frequency. WHY THE SHIFT?
- Psychological Influence and Cultural Shifts Historical Context: In the 1800s and early 1900s, themes of heaven were prevalent partly due to higher mortality rates and life expectancies averaging around 50 years. Songs often addressed the believer’s hope in heaven, providing comfort during a time when death was a frequent reality. See it a lot, hope for heaven
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- Contemporary Context: With life expectancy now around 77 years and modern healthcare advancements, today’s worship music leans more toward themes of God’s active presence, focusing on faith’s practical benefits in the here and now.
- Data from Worship Playlist Analysis Changes in Theme: A playlist analysis from Christian music streaming services (such as Spotify’s “Top Christian Songs”) reveals that in the last decade, fewer than 20% of top Christian songs emphasize themes of heaven. In contrast, themes like “hope” and “peace” are mentioned but in relation to overcoming earthly trials rather than entering eternal rest.
- But heres the deal- impending death shouldn’t be the only thing that gets you to think about heaven- it should give you hope as you’re going through your trials
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- Tonight, I want to encourage you with the hope of heaven, this message is more for the believer than the non-believer but let me encourage you to face this reality if you have not-
- You are not going to go to heaven if you don’t have Jesus.
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- And the promise of Jesus- is that if you will believe in him, you will be forgiven, and you’ll live forever with him in heaven-
- John 3:16 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.
- You will not die! You will not perish. You will not end up in Hell eternally separated from God!
- John 5:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
- The bible says that it is appointed once for men to die and then comes the judgment, and the way to escape that judgment is to receive Christ as Lord, and live for him
- This is the hope of heaven! That we have a future hope past this life, that we can truly live forever with HIM for eternity! Heaven is the greatest inheritance of the saints of God
- John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
- We shall live! This has been a question that people have had since the dawn of time- Job, the earliest book of the bible Asked- Job 14:14 If a man dies, shall he live again?
- Because life is so alive and so precious, its perilous to think that there’s nothing more past this.
- The Hope of Heaven should assure us that we truly have something to look forward to
- If you’re here tonight and you don’t believe, I hope you will tonight and change the trajectory of your eternity. I hope you receive Jesus and gain your heavenly inheritance
- For many believers tho, I think they forget their trajectory. They get bogged down with life.
2. Focus on more than this life.
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- Life can become to be consumed with this life. All you think about is live, work, retire, recreate
- 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
- Your life, my life, this life, can often be consumed with the things of this life. We forget our future hope because we are too focused on the here and now. We want now Jesus not future
- Following Jesus is great. I love the God life, but the promise of Jesus wasn’t that he would fix your finances, heal you, fix your marriage, give you good kids, shower you with stuff, give you a full belly, help you find yourself, give you purpose, etc etc
- It IS all those things! He does all those things plus MORE in THIS LIFE
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- But if that’s all there is? The bible says we are to be pitied. That means that even having the BEST life on this side of heaven with NO problems makes us pitiable.
- The KJV says ‘miserable’. Life is miserable if you only have a good life
- that’s because no matter how good this life is, its still not good enough
- its why rich people still commit suicide and you cant eat enough pie, go on enough vacations, have enough stuff, do enough stuff, consume, drugs, sex etc etc
- without the hope of eternal life you still find yourself saying ‘this is it’?
- have you forgot the hope? Have you been too focused on this life and not the life to come? If you’re satisfied, don’t forget the hope. If you’re down and out don’t forget
- 1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
- That eternal life is real and possible and fulfilling. It can give you power and contentment. It will lift you up when you’re feeling down, give you an emotional rudder that will sustain you in the good and the bad- don’t forget the hope of heaven!
- There was a guy named stanley milgram- prisoner story- they forgot they were in research
- they took on the persona that someone had given them and forgot this wasn’t real
3. remind yourself of the hope.
- You have got to make the hope of heaven commonplace in your life.
- Just because Jesus didn’t fix it, doesn’t mean heaven isn’t real, if you’re waiting, hurting, struggling, wrestling, Heaven is still real!
- Remind yourself- Psalm 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me
- Remind yourself- Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
- We know Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- We are quick to remember the wages of sin and forget the gift of God! When life is hard
- Its like this- maybe you’re happy or sad about the election- are you too much sad or happy?
- Phil 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,
- One fine day, when this life is over, I’ll fly away.
- Deployed– got orders about right same age as Paul. Hated it. Seemed like whole life. 20 years later- distant memory. Great relationship with son. All is well. No big deal
- When you die, and you have been in eternity- this life will be a distant memory
- Whatever toils, whatever challenges, will not seem important
4. Benefits of focusing on heaven
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- One- you worry less about what is going on around you
- Psalm 73:24-25 You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
- When you know you’ve got a place in glory reserved for you, the things of this earth seem to have less trouble for you because you know you’re just passing through.
- You endure pain better-
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- Isa 25:8 He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.
- Revelation 7:16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore;
- Reve 21:4 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.
- If you have life that has physical or emotional pain, you can look forward to time its gone
- There have been days in my life that the only thing that helped me was the hope of the day ending end my pain. Just rest- but then next day back at it
- The hope of heaven is that it will be gone forever. Never to deal with it again.
- You have more joy!
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- Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,
- Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven
- John 14:2-3 In My Father’s house are many mansions;
- Man- that sounds great! Having something to look forward to, gives you joy
- It means that when you’re here, and in the midst of it, you have future hope that should manifest itself with the an exceeding joy in your life on the daily basis. You live in joy.
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
- Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
- Colossians 3:1-4 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is
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