Thursday, January 4, 2018

On Earth As It Is In Heaven...

"After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from all nations and provinces and languages, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God upon the throne, and from the Lamb.” And now all the angels were crowding around the throne and around the Elders and the four Living Beings, and falling face down before the throne and worshiping God. “Amen!” they said. “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be to our God forever and forever. Amen!” Then one of the twenty-four Elders asked me, “Do you know who these are, who are clothed in white, and where they come from?” “No, sir,” I replied. “Please tell me.”“These are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation,” he said; “they washed their robes and whitened them by the blood of the Lamb. That is why they are here before the throne of God, serving him day and night in his temple. The one sitting on the throne will shelter them; they will never be hungry again, nor thirsty, and they will be fully protected from the scorching noontime heat. For the Lamb standing in front of the throne will feed them and be their Shepherd and lead them to the springs of the Water of Life. And God will wipe their tears away.” Revelation 7:9-17


Jesus certainly gives us a clue in the pattern for prayer He left His followers, "...your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..."
Could it be more clear?
Jesus want us to be doing on earth the things that will be (and probably are) done in Heaven.
For that to happen you must know what is going on in Heaven!
That's what these verses reveal to us!
There will be a diverse population in Heaven so we should be opposing racism and prejudice here on earth!
There will be dynamic worship is Heaven so we should be learning to worship better here on earth!
And, thirdly, there will be delivery from suffering!
See verses 13-15, "Then one of the twenty-four Elders asked me, “Do you know who these are, who are clothed in white, and where they come from?” “No, sir,” I replied. “Please tell me.”“These are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation,” he said; “they washed their robes and whitened them by the blood of the Lamb. That is why they are here before the throne of God, serving him day and night in his temple. The one sitting on the throne will shelter them; they will never be hungry again, nor thirsty, and they will be fully protected from the scorching noontime heat."
One of the things most people DO know about Heaven is there is nor ever will be any suffering, pain or tears!
Won't that be Heavenly?!
So, if Heaven is free from suffering and pain shouldn't those of us on earth get involved in relieving some of the suffering we see in our community?
There is certainly no shortage of suffering around us! If the people of God don't respond to the needs who will?
Heavenly action point number three is - Let's pray and work to relieve suffering.
What greater tool is there to work against suffering than the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Gospel means good news and the good news is that it can transform a human heart and mind! Nothing else can!
But the reality in a broken world is that people who need the gospel are often so burdened with physical hunger or illness that they aren't receptive to the Gospel story. So the challenge of Gospel believing churches is to discover the most effective ways to meet felt needs in order to open a door for the Gospel.
Make no mistake! The church, our church, is about saving souls! There is only short-term value in feeding a hungry person or healing a sick person but not presenting a clear and compelling Gospel message!
That is why FredWes collects food for SECA! That is why we do dinners at a homeless center or a motel. That is why we send missionaries and go on mission trips. It is why we raise money to drill fresh water wells in Africa. It is not to make ourselves look better or feel better but it is about creating opportunities to share the Gospel!
So, to help God's kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven we must work and pray to relieve suffering.
And ultimately, if we do our job well, we will not only relieve their suffering but help them one day go to an eternity free from suffering, tears or pain!