Friday, January 5, 2018

January 6, 2018

"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
If you wanted to take Jesus seriously and strive to help His kingdom come and His will to be done what would that look like?
To answer that question you would need to know what is done in Heaven and needs to be done on earth.
From the Scripture text above I have identified three heavenly activities and today I will highlight a fourth.
  • There will be a diverse population in Heaven so we must oppose racism and prejudice on earth.
  • There will be dynamic worship in Heaven so we must learn to worship well on earth.
  • There will be delivery from suffering in Heaven so we must pray and work to relieve suffering.
The fourth heavenly activity is there will be duties in Heaven. So, let's serve Jesus in the church and in the world.

Some are possessed of the notion that work was a result of the curse. I would remind them that one of the first things God did for Adam in Eden was to assign him the job of tending the Garden and all that was contained therein. Even prior to that, God had Adam name the animals and maybe even some of the plants. Who can know for sure?

But the point is God instituted work into the human experience as a part of His perfect original plan. So work is good! Work is holy! Work is worship! Work is a witness!

Rest assured that you won't be sitting idle for eternity lounging in leisure or burdened by boredom. You will be working - serving God and serving others in meaningful and fulfilling ways!

Work is a blessing not a curse. Especially when your work is a function of what you were created and gifted to do! As perfect and wonderful as Heaven will be, the duties you and I are assigned will add to the total experience of this eternal paradise!

So, if you will be serving eternally in Heaven what are you doing to serve today? Have you volunteered in your church? Are you volunteering in your town or around your community?

According to the Word of God you will have duties assigned to you in Heaven. How do you think you can get away with not serving dutifully in your local church and in your community?

Don't just sit there! I'm sure there is something you should be doing!

Where did you serve in your church last Sunday?

What have you volunteered to do in your church tomorrow?