Dr.
Gary VanDeWalker
Evangelical
Free Church
Of Mount Shasta
Fall 2009
Week
Five:
What
difference does Eternity make to my today?
And Now
Miguel…
1.
Reorienting
ourselves to heaven as our home.
A.
"I must keep alive in myself the
desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I
must
never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main
object
of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the
same." C.S.
Lewis
B.
Our craving for heaven should be deep.
C.
"When I get to heaven, I shall see
three wonders there. The
first wonder
will be to see many there whom I did not expect to see; the second
wonder will
be to miss many people who I did expect to see; the third and greatest
of all
will be to find myself there."
John Newton\
D.
Our real home is a physical place.
E.
It is unbiblical to think of heaven as
a vague, incorporeal existence.
F.
"Future existence is not a purely
spiritual existence; it demands a life in a body, and in a material
universe." Graham
Scroggie
G.
"Christians faced with terminal
illness or imminent death often feel they're leaving the party before
it's
over. They have to
go home early. They're
disappointed, thinking of all they'll
miss when they leave. But
the truth is,
the real party is underway at home precisely where they're going. They're not the ones
missing the party; those
of us left behind are. (Fortunately,
if
we know Jesus, we'll get there eventually."
Alcorn
H.
Eden is in our blood.
I.
Ephesians 2:6, we can't be satisfied
with less than heaven.
J.
"Work, leisure, creativity, and
intellectual stimulation matter. Rivers
and trees and flowers matter.
Laughter
matters. Service
matters. Why?
Because they are eternal."
Alcorn
K.
Luke 10:20;
1 Peter 4:13
L.
"Anticipating heaven doesn't
eliminate pain, but it lessens it and puts it in perspective." Alcorn
M.
Romans 8:20-25, we should hope
N.
Reepicheep longed for Aslan's country,
p 445.
O.
Death is walking the family through a
doorway.
P.
Every person here is dying.
Q.
Death is like a ship sailing from one
shore to another.
R.
"Can you not see death as a friend
and deliverer?...What is there to be afraid of?...Your sins are
confessed...Has
this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things
ahead than any we
leave behind...Our Lord says to you, 'Peace, child, peace. Relax.
Let go. I
will catch you. Do
you trust me so little?'...Of course, this
may not be the end. Then
make it a good
rehearsal." C.S.
Lewis, 5 months
before his death to a friend who feared her own death was coming soon
2.
Anticipating the
great adventure
A.
"H.S. Laird's father, a
Christ-loving man, lay dying. His
son
sat at his bedside and asked, "Dad how do you feel?"
His father replied: "Son, I feel like a
little boy on Christmas Eve."
B.
We shouldn't glorify or romanticize
death. This was not
Christ's response.
John
11:35; 1
Corinthians 15:25-26
C.
Isaiah 25:7-8
D.
What is the worst death can do to you?
E.
Romans 8:35, 38-39
F.
Don't cling desperately to this life.
G.
Hebrews 11:16
H.
Don't take shortcuts to get there.
As long
as you are here, this is where God
wants you.
He is
expanding your capacity for eternal joy
I.
Train yourself to be heavenly minded
Do I
daily reflect on my own mortality?
J.
Do I daily realize there are only two
destinations Heaven or Hell and that I and every person I know will go
to one
or the other?
K.
Do I daily remind myself that this
world is not my home and that
everything
in it will burn, leaving behind only what's eternal?
L.
Do I daily recognize that my choices
and actions have a direct influence on the world to come?
M.
Do I daily realize that my life is being
examined by God, the Audience of One, and that the only appraisal of my
life
that will ultimately matter is His?
N.
Do I daily reflect on the fact that my
ultimate home will be the New Earth, where I will see God and serve Him
as a
resurrected being in a resurrected human society, where I will overflow
with
joy and delight in drawing nearer to God by studying Him and His
creation, and
where I will exercise, to God's glory, dominion over His creation?
O.
2 Peter 3:11-14;
1 John 3:3; .
Phil. 3:13-14